經律異相 2.7

2.7

帝釋曰。如尊所誨。全其軀命。無功夫者。願聞施食施法。野干答曰。布施飲食。濟一日之命。施珍寶物。濟一世之乏。增益生死。繫縛因緣。說法教化。名為法施。能令眾生出世間道。一者得羅漢。二者辟支佛。三者佛道。此三樂人。皆從聞法。如說修行。又諸眾生。免三惡道。受人天福樂。皆由聞法。是故佛說。以法布施。功德無量。天帝曰。師今此形。為是業報。應化身耶。答曰。是罪業報。非應化也。天人曰。我意謂。是菩薩聖人應現濟物。方聞罪果。未知其故。願聞因緣。野干曰。昔生波羅㮈波頭摩城。為貧家子。剎利種姓。幼懷聰朗。特好學習。至年十二。隨逐明師。在於深山。辛苦奉事。翹勤不懈。師亦晨夜。切磋教授。不失時節。經五十年。九十六種。經書讖記論。醫方呪術。瞻相吉凶。災異禍福。靡所不達。高才智慧。名聞四遠。乃自思惟曰。今獲濟拔。皆由和上教化之恩。其功難報。家既貧乏。無可供養。唯當賣身以報師恩。師曰。山居道士。乞食自存。正無所乏。何用毀賣貴身為供我也。子今成就智慧辯才。當轉教化天下人民。為法燈明。教化之功。豈不足報於我之恩。遂住山中。乞食自資。不久國王崩。群臣集國內學士五百餘人。講論七日。勝者為王。是貧家子。享受王位。盡國財力。供養師及父母。後安陀羅國。與摩羅婆耶國。共相誅罰多年不剋。安陀羅王。召其群臣。當作何方。得摩羅婆耶國。諸臣答曰。唯有波羅㮈波頭摩國。

Śakra said, 'It is just as the Venerable One has instructed: preserving one’s physical life is of no merit. I wish to hear about the gift of food and the gift of the Dharma.' The jackal replied, 'The giving of food and drink preserves a single day’s life. The giving of precious treasures remedies a lifetime of poverty. [Yet these] merely increase birth-and-death and are causes and conditions that bind one [to saṃsāra]. Preaching the Dharma to transform [beings] is called the gift of the Dharma. It can lead sentient beings to the supra-mundane path: first, attaining the state of an arhat; second, a pratyekabuddha; third, the Buddha path. These three sorts of happy persons all stem from hearing the Dharma and practicing in accordance with what is taught. Moreover, that all sentient beings avoid the three evil paths and receive the blessed bliss of humans and devas is entirely due to hearing the Dharma. For this reason, the Buddha taught that the merit of giving the Dharma is immeasurable.' The Heavenly Emperor asked, 'Is the Master’s current form a karmic retribution, or is it an accommodating transformation body?' [The jackal] replied, 'This is the retribution for sinful karma; it is not an accommodating transformation.' The devaputra said, 'I thought that you were a bodhisattva or holy sage who manifested accommodatingly to deliver beings. Only now do I hear it is the result of sin, yet I do not know the reason. I wish to hear the causes and conditions.' The jackal said, 'Long ago, I was born in the city of Padmāvatī in Vārāṇasī as the son of a poor family of the kṣatriya caste. From childhood, I possessed a keen intelligence and was exceptionally fond of study. When I reached the age of twelve, I followed an enlightened master deep into the mountains, serving him through hardship and striving diligently without remiss. Day and night, the master also honed and instructed me without missing the proper seasons. After fifty years, among the ninety-six varieties of scriptures, prophetic records, treatises, medical formulas, incantations, physiognomy of good and ill fortune, and natural anomalies, calamities, and blessings, there was nothing I did not master. My lofty talent and wisdom became renowned far and wide. I then reflected to myself, "That I have now attained deliverance is entirely due to the kindness of my upādhyāya’s teachings. His merit is difficult to repay. Since my family is poor and destitute, having nothing with which to make offerings, I ought simply to sell myself to repay the master’s kindness." The master said, "A recluse living in the mountains maintains himself by begging for food and lacks nothing. What need is there to ruin and sell your noble body to provide offerings for me? Now that you have perfected wisdom and eloquence, you should turn to teaching and transforming the people of the world, serving as a lamp of the Dharma. How could the merit of teaching and transforming not be sufficient to repay my kindness?" I then remained in the mountains, sustaining myself by begging for food. Not long after, the king of the country died. The ministers gathered more than five hundred scholars from within the country to debate for seven days, the victor to be made king. I, the son of the poor family, acceded to the royal throne and exhausted the wealth and power of the realm to make offerings to my master and parents. Later, the country of Andhra and the country of Mālava fought each other for many years without victory. The king of Andhra summoned his ministers [and asked], "What method should we employ to conquer the country of Mālava?" The ministers replied, "There is only the country of Padmāvatī in Vārāṇasī.'