經律異相 23.6

23.6

時舍衛國有一長者婦。生一女。殊妙少雙。其初生時。細濡白㲲裹身而出。父母怪之。瞻相甚吉。因為作字。名曰叔離（梁言白也）叔離長大。㲲隨身大。此女璝偉。國內遠近競來娉求。女白父母。我欲出家。父母愛念不違其志。尋為出㲲。欲作五衣。女白父母。我此所著悉已具足。更不須作。唯願聽我時往佛所。詣佛作禮求索出家。佛言善來。頭髮自墮。所著白㲲尋成五衣。付大愛道為比丘尼。精進不久成羅漢道。阿難白佛言。叔離本修何德。生與㲲俱出家得道。佛言。過去有佛。名毘婆尸。時王臣民多設供養。時有女人。名檀膩䩭。極為貧窮。夫婦二人共有一㲲。若夫出行則被而往。婦便裸住。若婦被㲲。夫則裸坐。有勸化比丘。行至其家。見是女人。因勸之言。佛世難值人身難得。汝當聽法汝當布施。女還語夫。外有沙門。勸我見佛聽法布施。夫答之言。我家窮困。雖可有心當以何施。婦言。我意欲以此㲲布施。夫言我之與汝。共此一㲲。出入求索以自存活。今若用施俱當守死。婦言。人生有死不施會死。施而死後世有望。不施而死後遂當劇。夫歡喜言。分死用施。婦即還出。白比丘言。大德可上疏。下我名字。比丘答言。若欲施者汝當面施。為汝呪願。叔離白言。唯此被㲲內無異衣。女形穢惡不宜此脫。即還入內。遙於向下脫身上㲲。授與比丘。比丘呪願持至佛所。佛言。比丘持此㲲來。比丘授佛。佛自手受。此㲲垢污。時王眾會。微心嫌佛受此垢㲲。佛知眾心而告之言。我觀此會。清淨大施無過於此。以㲲施者。大眾聞已莫不悚然。夫人歡喜。即脫己身所著嚴飾瓔珞寶衣。送與陀膩䩭。王亦欣悅。脫身衣服送與其夫命令詣會。佛告阿難。欲知爾時貧窮女人陀膩䩭者。今叔離比丘尼是。由於爾時以清淨心㲲布施故。九十一劫所生之處。常與㲲生。無所乏少（出賢愚經第七卷）。

At that time in the kingdom of Śrāvastī, an elder's wife gave birth to a daughter of exquisite beauty, with few equals. At her birth, she came forth wrapped in fine, soft white cotton cloth. Her parents were astonished at it. Her physical marks were examined and found to be extremely auspicious, so they gave her the name Śuklā (in the language of Liang, “White”). As Śuklā grew up, the cloth grew along with her body. This maiden was extraordinarily lovely, and from near and far across the land suitors vied to propose marriage to her. The maiden said to her parents: “I wish to leave the household.” Her parents loved and cared for her, and did not go against her wish. They immediately brought out cloth, intending to make the fivefold monastic robes. The maiden told her parents: “What I am wearing is already fully complete; there is no need to make more. I only ask that you permit me to go to where the Buddha is.” She went to the Buddha, paid homage, and asked to leave the household. The Buddha said: “Welcome!” Her hair fell off of its own accord, and the white cloth she wore immediately turned into the fivefold robes. She was entrusted to Mahāprajāpatī to become a bhikṣuṇī, and practicing vigorously, before long she realized the path of an arhat. Ānanda said to the Buddha: “What virtue did Śuklā cultivate in the past, that she was born together with cloth and, leaving the household, attained the Way?” The Buddha said: “In the past there was a Buddha named Vipaśyin. At that time the king, ministers, and common people made many offerings. There was then a woman named Danikoṭī who was exceedingly poor. The husband and wife shared only a single piece of cloth between them. When the husband went out, he wore it, while the wife stayed naked. When the wife wore the cloth, the husband sat naked. An alms-gathering bhikṣu came walking to their house, saw this woman, and thereupon exhorted her, saying: ‘A Buddha's era is rare to encounter; a human body is difficult to obtain. You should listen to the Dharma and practice generosity.’ The woman returned and said to her husband: ‘There is a śramaṇa outside who exhorts me to see the Buddha, listen to the Dharma, and practice generosity.’ The husband answered her, saying: ‘Our family is destitute; although we may have the intention, what can we give?’ The wife said: ‘My wish is to give this cloth as an offering.’ The husband said: ‘You and I share this one piece of cloth, going out and coming in seeking resources to keep ourselves alive. If we now use it as an offering, we shall both stay here and die!’ The wife said: ‘Human beings are bound to die. If we do not give, we will still die. Dying having given alms brings hope for future lives; dying without giving will lead to far greater misery hereafter.’ The husband rejoiced and said: ‘Let us accept death and make the gift!’ The wife then went out again and said to the bhikṣu: ‘O Venerable One, please enter my name upon the donor register.’ The bhikṣu answered: ‘If you wish to give, you must present the offering in person so that I may pronounce a blessing for you.’ Śuklā said: ‘I wear only this cloth and have no other clothes beneath it. A woman's form is base and repulsive, and it is not fitting to strip here.’ She then returned inside, took off the cloth from her body from afar down below, and handed it to the bhikṣu. The bhikṣu pronounced a blessing and brought it to where the Buddha was. The Buddha said: ‘Bhikṣu, bring that cloth here.’ The bhikṣu offered it to the Buddha, and the Buddha received it with his own hands. This cloth was filthy and stained. At that time, the assembly of the king felt slight contempt in their hearts that the Buddha received such soiled cloth. Knowing the minds of the assembly, the Buddha told them: ‘I see that in this assembly, no pure and great giving surpasses this offering made with the cloth.’ Hearing this, the great assembly was awestruck. The king’s consort rejoiced, immediately took off the decorative jewels, necklaces, and precious robes she was wearing, and sent them to Danikoṭī. The king was also delighted, took off his own clothes, sent them to her husband, and commanded them to come to the assembly.” The Buddha said to Ānanda: “Do you wish to know who the poor woman Danikoṭī was at that time? She was none other than the present bhikṣuṇī Śuklā. Because at that time she gave the cloth with a pure mind, wherever she was reborn for ninety-one kalpas, she was always born with cloth, lacking nothing.” (Drawn from the Sūtra of the Wise and the Foolish, Fascicle 7)