經律異相 24.17

24.17

王然千燈供養大師。其明遠照十方世界。其燈光中亦出音聲說此半偈。其聞法者。皆發道心。其光上照至忉利宮。隱蔽天光。忉利天王即作是念。以何因緣有此光明。即以天眼觀於世間。見轉輪王以大慈悲熏修其心。為眾生故剜身千燈。供養大師為度眾生。我等當往勸戒佐助。即下世間化作凡人。往詣王所問大王言。剜身千燈修此苦行。為求半偈何所作為。報言。善男子。我為眾生令發道心。爾時化人即復釋身。報言。作是供養。願求天王魔王梵王耶。言。我不求此。正求菩提為眾生故。不安者安。不解者解。未度者度。未得道者欲令得道。天王釋言。大王。今者不乃愚也。求菩提者。久受勤苦乃可得成。汝云何欲求無上道。報天王釋言。假使熱鐵輪在我頂上旋。終不以此苦退無上道心。汝雖發是言吾終不信也。時轉輪王。於天王釋前立誓言。若不真實求三菩提。欺天王釋者。使我千瘡終無愈時。若不爾者。血當為乳千瘡平復。說是語時瘡即如本。天王釋言。善哉大王。真是大悲。如是苦行不久當得無上菩提。得菩提時要先度我。時天帝釋。放大光明遍炤王身。與百千諸天發菩提心。五百太子見其父王身瘡平復歡喜無量發菩提心。二萬夫人百千婇女亦復如是（出大方便佛報恩經第三卷）。

The king lit the thousand lamps to make an offering to the great master. Their light illuminated the worlds of the ten directions far and wide. From within the light of the lamps, sounds also came forth speaking this half-gāthā. Those who heard the Dharma all resolved upon the mind of awakening. The light shone upward to the palace of Trāyastriṃśa, eclipsing the light of the devas. The king of Trāyastriṃśa Heaven then thought: "For what cause and condition is there this brilliance?" With the divine eye, he viewed the world and saw the wheel-turning king perfuming his mind with great compassion, gouging his body for a thousand lamps for the sake of sentient beings, and making offerings to the great master in order to deliver sentient beings. "I must go to encourage, admonish, and assist him." He then descended to the world, transformed into an ordinary man, went to the king's place, and asked the great king: "You gouged your body for a thousand lamps and practiced this austerity in order to seek half a gāthā; what is your aim?" [The king] replied: "Good son, for the sake of sentient beings, I wish to cause them to resolve upon the mind of awakening." At that time, the transformed man reverted to his form as Śakra and said: "In making such an offering, do you wish to seek to become a heavenly king, Māra king, or Brahmā king?" [The king] said: "I do not seek these. I seek only bodhi for the sake of sentient beings: to bring peace to the unpeaceful, understanding to the uncomprehending, deliverance to the undelivered, and attainment of the path to those who have not yet attained it." Śakra, the king of the gods, said: "Great King, are you not being foolish now? Those who seek bodhi can only succeed after enduring hardships and toil for a long time. How can you hope to seek the unexcelled path?" [The king] replied to Śakra, the king of the gods: "Even if a wheel of glowing iron were to spin upon my crown, I would never, on account of such suffering, retrogress from the mind directed toward the unexcelled path." [Śakra said:] "Although you have spoken these words, I do not believe them." The wheel-turning king then made a vow before Śakra, the king of the gods: "If I am not truly seeking samyaksaṃbodhi and am deceiving Śakra, the king of the gods, may my thousand wounds never heal. If this is not so, may the blood become milk and the thousand wounds heal completely." As he uttered these words, the wounds immediately healed as before. Śakra, the king of the gods, said: "Excellent, O Great King! This is truly great compassion. Practicing such austerities, you will before long attain unexcelled bodhi. When you attain bodhi, you must deliver me first." Śakra Devānām Indra then emitted a great light that illuminated the king's body, and together with hundreds of thousands of devas, he resolved upon the mind of awakening. The five hundred princes, seeing their father the king's bodily wounds heal completely, rejoiced boundlessly and resolved upon the mind of awakening. The twenty thousand consorts and hundreds of thousands of court ladies did likewise. (Extracted from the third fascicle of the Sūtra on the Skillful Means of the Buddha's Repayment of Kindness)