經律異相 17.6

17.6

舍衛國有一長者。其家大富。生一男兒。身體金色。相師占省見其奇相。即為立字。字修越那提婆（梁言金天）其生之日。家中自然出一井水。縱廣八尺。汲用其水能稱人意。一切所須如心即出。兒年轉大才藝博通。長者愛之。未敢逆意。而作是念。我子端正容貌無倫。要當推求選擇名女。金容妙體。類我兒者當往求之。即募諸賈周遍求之。時閻婆國有大長者。方生一女。字修跋那波婆蘇（梁言光明）端正非凡身體金色。初生之日。亦有自然八尺井水。其井所出稱適人意。時彼長者。亦自念言。我女端正。要得賢士。如我女比乃當嫁與。爾時女名遠布舍衛。金天名稱復聞女家。時二長者各懷歡喜。求為婚姻。娶婦既竟。還至舍衛。時金天家便設上供。請佛及僧供養。一日佛受其請。為長者及金天夫婦。廣宣妙法。皆獲須陀洹。佛還精舍。金天與婦。白父母求索出家。父母聽許。俱往佛所。佛言。善來比丘鬚髮自墮法衣著身便成沙門。漸漸教化悉成羅漢。佛言。過去毘婆尸佛滅後。遺法在世。有諸比丘遊行教化到一村落。有諸人民豪賢長者。見眾僧至各競供養。時有夫妻二人。貧餓困乏。每自惟念。我父在時財寶積滿。今者我身貧困極甚。何其苦耶。爾時雖富不遭斯等聖眾之僧。今既得值無錢供養。愴然而啼。婦見夫啼而語婿言。今汝可往至本舍中。於故藏內推覓錢寶當用供養。夫如婦言。至故藏內得一金錢。于時其婦有一明鏡。即共同心以用布施。買一新瓶盛滿淨水。以此金錢著瓶水中。以鏡著上。持至僧所。至心布施。於時眾僧即為受之。各各取水而用洗鉢。復有取水而飲之者。時彼夫婦。歡喜情悅遇疾命終。生忉利天。時貧人者。此金天夫婦是也（出賢愚經第五卷）。

In the kingdom of Śrāvastī there was an elder whose household was exceedingly wealthy. A son was born to him with a golden-hued body. A physiognomist examined him, saw his wondrous signs, and immediately gave him a name, calling him Suvarṇadeva (which in the language of Liang means 'Golden God'). On the day he was born, a water well spontaneously appeared in his house, eight spans in length and breadth. Drawing and using its water satisfied every wish of people; everything that was needed came forth directly at will. As the boy grew older, he became widely accomplished in skills and arts. The elder loved him dearly and never dared go against his wishes, but thought to himself: 'My son is handsome, and his appearance is beyond compare. I must search for and select a renowned maiden of golden complexion and wondrous form who matches my son, and go seek her.' He then recruited merchants to search everywhere for her. At that time, in the land of Jambu, a great elder had just fathered a daughter named Suvarṇaprabhāsa (which in the language of Liang means 'Brightness'), extraordinarily fair of face and with a golden body. On the day she was born, there likewise spontaneously appeared an eight-span water well whose yield satisfied all desires. At that time that elder also thought to himself: 'My daughter is fair of face. I must find a virtuous gentleman who matches my daughter before I marry her to him.' Then the girl's fame spread far to Śrāvastī, and Suvarṇadeva's reputation was also heard by the girl's family. Thereupon the two elders rejoiced and sought to make the marriage match. After the wedding was concluded, they returned to Śrāvastī. Suvarṇadeva's family then prepared supreme offerings and invited the Buddha and the saṅgha to accept an offering of food for one day. The Buddha accepted their invitation and widely proclaimed the wondrous Dharma for the elder, Suvarṇadeva, and his wife; all of them attained srotāpanna. The Buddha returned to the vihāra. Suvarṇadeva and his wife spoke to their parents, asking permission to go forth from the household life. The parents consented, and together they went to the Buddha's place. The Buddha said: 'Welcome, monks!' Their hair and beards fell off of themselves, Dharma robes came onto their bodies, and they immediately became śramaṇas. Taught and guided by degrees, they both became arhats. The Buddha said: 'In the past, after the parinirvāṇa of Vipaśyin Buddha, when his bequeathed teachings remained in the world, some monks were traveling to teach and arrived at a village. The people, eminent worthies, and elders, seeing the assembly of monks arrive, vied to make offerings. At that time there was a husband and wife who were destitute, hungry, and exhausted. They often thought to themselves: “When my father was alive, wealth and treasures were accumulated in abundance; today, our persons are impoverished to the utmost. How bitter it is!” At that time, though wealthy, they had not encountered such a holy saṅgha; now having met them, they had no money to make offerings. They wept sorrowfully. The wife saw her husband weeping and said to him: “Now you may go into our original house, search in the old storehouse for coins or valuables, and use them to make offerings.” The husband did as his wife said, went into the old storehouse, and found a single gold coin. At that time, his wife also had a bright mirror. With one mind, they gave them as a donation, bought a new vase, filled it with pure water, put this gold coin into the water of the vase, placed the mirror on top, brought it to the monks' place, and gave it with sincere hearts. The monks immediately received it, and each took water to wash his bowl, while others took water to drink. That husband and wife rejoiced with delighted hearts. Contracting an illness, they passed away and were reborn in the Trāyastriṃśa heaven. Those poor people were this Suvarṇadeva and his wife.' (Extracted from the fifth fascicle of the *Sūtra of the Wise and the Foolish*)