經律異相 12.16

12.16

須福長者有女。名曰龍施。厥年十四。時在浴室澡浴塗香著好衣畢。佛與眷屬放眉間毫相之光。照七重門內。令殿舍皆明。女見光明踰於日月。心知非恒。便走上七重樓上。東向見佛在門外住。女大歡喜。則自念言。今得施佛及眾弟子。以發意作菩薩行願。令我後得道如佛。魔見女發大意心為不樂。即下化作女父。謂龍施言。汝所念大重。佛道難得。今世幸有佛。不如求羅漢。且俱度世泥洹無異。龍施對曰。不如父言。佛智廣大度人無極。羅漢智少如一塵耳。有何高仁樂於小者。魔復言。未聞女人作轉輪王。況乃得作佛。不如求羅漢早取泥洹去。龍施報言。我亦聞。女人不得作轉輪王。不得作佛。我當精進轉此女人作男子身。蓋聞。天下行菩薩法。億劫不懈者。後得作佛。魔見女意不轉。益以愁毒。更作急教言。若作菩薩行者。不貪世間。不惜壽命。今汝精進。能從樓上自投地者。後可得作佛。龍施心念。我今見佛。貪菩薩道。父又教以精進。身可得佛。我何惜此危脆之命。即住欄邊。向佛叉手言。自歸於天中天。以一切智。知我所求。請棄軀命不捨菩薩。以身施佛。願如散花。便縱身自投樓下。未及至地。化成男子。佛笑。五色光從口中出照一佛剎。還繞佛身三匝從頂上入。汝見此女自投空中化成男子不。是女乃前世時。已事萬佛。後當供養恒沙未來佛。至七億六千萬劫當得作佛。號曰名上。其壽一劫。般泥洹後。經道興盛。半劫乃滅。於是龍施身住佛前報父母言。願放捨我得作沙門。父母即聽。中外眷屬皆發無上道意（出龍施女經）。

The elder Xufu had a daughter named Longshi, who was fourteen years of age. At that time, she was in the bathhouse, bathing, smearing herself with incense, and putting on fine clothes. The Buddha and his retinue emitted light from the curl of hair between his eyebrows, illuminating the interior of the sevenfold gates and causing the halls and rooms all to be brightly lit. The girl saw a light that surpassed the sun and moon, and knew in her heart that this was extraordinary. She then ran up to the top of the seven-storey tower, and facing east, saw the Buddha standing outside the gate. Greatly rejoiced, the girl thought to herself: 'Now I am able to give alms to the Buddha and the assembly of disciples, giving rise to the aspiration to practice the vows of a bodhisattva, so that I may later attain the Way like the Buddha.' Seeing the girl generate this great aspiration, Māra was displeased; he immediately descended and transformed into the girl's father, saying to Longshi: 'What you contemplate is extremely burdensome, and the Buddha-Way is difficult to attain. Fortunately, there is a Buddha in the present world; it would be better to seek [the stage of] an arhat. Moreover, both are liberation from the world and nirvāṇa, without difference.' Longshi replied: 'It is not as father says. The Buddha's wisdom is vast and saves people limitlessly, while an arhat's wisdom is as minute as a single speck of dust. What noble person would take joy in what is minor?' Māra spoke again: 'I have never heard of a woman becoming a wheel-turning king, let alone becoming a Buddha! It is better to seek [the stage of] an arhat and enter nirvāṇa early.' Longshi retorted: 'I too have heard that a woman cannot become a wheel-turning king and cannot become a Buddha. I shall make energetic progress and transform this female body into a male body. Indeed, I have heard that whoever in the world practices the bodhisattva Dharma without slackening for billions of kalpas will later become a Buddha.' Seeing that the girl's intention would not change, Māra became even more distressed and bitter, and further offered an urgent instruction, saying: 'If one practices the bodhisattva conduct, one is not covetous of the world and does not begrudge one's life. Now, if you are diligent and able to cast yourself down from the tower to the ground, you may later become a Buddha.' Longshi thought in her heart: 'Now I see the Buddha and crave the bodhisattva Way. My father has taught me to make energetic progress, and that through this body I can attain Buddhahood. Why should I begrudge this frail and brittle life?' She immediately stood by the railing, pressed her palms together toward the Buddha, and said: 'I take refuge in the God among gods. With omniscience, know what I seek: I pray to abandon my physical body and life without relinquishing the bodhisattva [vow], offering my body to the Buddha, wishing it to be like scattered flowers.' She then threw herself down from the tower. Before she reached the ground, she transformed into a man. The Buddha smiled, and five-coloured light issued from his mouth, illuminated one buddha-realm, circled the Buddha's body three times, and entered through the crown of his head. [The Buddha said:] 'Do you see this girl cast herself into the air and transform into a man? In past lives, this girl had already served ten thousand Buddhas, and in the future she will make offerings to future Buddhas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. Reaching seven hundred and sixty million kalpas, she will become a Buddha named Supreme Name (Mingshang). His lifespan will be one kalpa. After his parinirvāṇa, the scriptural teachings will flourish, coming to an end only after half a kalpa.' Thereupon, Longshi stood before the Buddha and addressed her parents, saying: 'I pray you will release me to become a śramaṇa.' Her parents immediately consented. The relatives within and without all gave rise to the aspiration for unsurpassed enlightenment. (Extracted from the Sūtra of the Girl Longshi)