經律異相 26.26

26.26

阿難知眾所念。前白佛言世尊。從何因緣初發道心。佛言。過去遠劫。此閻浮提有一大王。名大光明。福德聰明。時邊國王與為親厚。更相贈遺國之所珍。時彼國王獵得二象。白如頗梨七支拄地。莊以雜寶極世之珍。遣人往送。時光明王見象心悅。付象師散闍。散闍奉勅。不久調從。往白王言。象今已調。願王觀試。王會臣下令觀試象。大眾既集。王初升象出城遊戲。象氣猛壯。見有群象在蓮華池。奔逐牸象遂至深林。時王身破出血。自惟必死。手搏樹枝象去王住。下樹坐地生大苦惱。象師叩頭白言。願王莫憂苦。象淫心息厭穢。草思美飲食如是自還。王即告曰。吾不復用。象後果還。象師白王。象今還來。王言。我不須汝亦不須象。散闍啟王。王若不須。唯願觀我調象之方。王即可之。尋使師作七鐵丸燒令極赤。作已念言。象吞此丸決定當死。王後或悔白言。大王。此白象寶唯轉輪王乃得之耳。今有小過不應喪失。王怒隆盛告言。遠去。象師告象。吞此鐵丸。若不吞者當以鐵鉤斷裂汝腦。象知其心。我寧吞此熱丸而死。屈膝向王垂淚望救。王怒徐視散闍告象何不吞丸。時象取丸置口吞之。入腹燋爛直過而死。丸墮地猶赤。王見乃悔。即告散闍。汝調象乃爾。何故在林不能制之。時淨居天知光明王應發菩提心。即令象師跪答王言。我唯能調身不能調心。唯有佛能調心耳。王言。佛者何種。姓生。答二種姓生。一者智慧。二者大悲。勤行六事。所謂六波羅蜜。功德智慧悉具足已。號之為佛。王聞踊躍。即起洗浴更著新衣四向作禮。於一切眾生起大悲心燒香立誓。願我所有功德迴向佛道。自調其心亦當調伏一切眾生。若於地獄有所益者當入是獄。終不捨於菩提之心。作是誓已。六種震動。諸山大海虛空之中自然樂聲。佛告諸比丘。爾時白象吞鐵丸者難陀是也。時象師者舍利弗是也。光明王者我身是也。我於爾時見象調從始發道心（出賢愚經第三卷）。

Ānanda, knowing what the assembly was thinking, went forward and addressed the Buddha, saying, "World-Honoured One, through what causes and conditions did you first bring forth the resolve for the Way?"
The Buddha said, "Countless kalpas ago in the past, there was a great king in this Jambudvīpa named Mahāprabhāsa (Great Brightness), who was blessed with merit, virtue, and wisdom. At that time, the king of a neighbouring state was on close and affectionate terms with him, and they regularly sent each other the treasures of their realms as gifts. Later, that neighbouring king caught two elephants in a hunt: white as crystal, their seven points touching the ground, adorned with assorted jewels—the supreme treasures of the world. He dispatched an emissary to deliver them.
"When King Mahāprabhāsa saw the elephants, his heart was delighted, and he entrusted them to the elephant trainer Sañjaya. Sañjaya obeyed the royal decree, and before long he had tamed and trained them. He went to inform the king, saying, 'The elephants are now trained; may the king inspect and test them.' The king assembled his ministers to inspect and test the elephants. Once the great assembly had gathered, the king mounted the elephant for the first time and rode out of the city for recreation. The elephant was vigorous and fierce; seeing a herd of elephants in a lotus pond, it rushed off in pursuit of a female elephant, going straight into a deep forest.
"At that time, the king's body was cut and bleeding, and he thought to himself that he would surely die. Seizing a tree branch with his hands, the elephant dashed away while the king stayed behind. Descending from the tree and sitting on the ground, he suffered great distress. The elephant trainer prostrated, touching his head to the ground, and said, 'May the king not be distressed. When the elephant's lustful desire abates and it tires of filth and weeds, longing for fine food and drink, it will return on its own.' The king answered him, 'I have no further use for it.'
"Later, the elephant indeed returned. The elephant trainer said to the king, 'The elephant has now come back.' The king said, 'I need neither you nor the elephant.' Sañjaya petitioned the king, 'If the king has no use for it, I only request that you witness my method of training elephants.' The king assented to it. He immediately had the trainer fashion seven iron pellets and heat them red-hot. After making them, the trainer thought to himself, 'If the elephant swallows these pellets, it must surely die; the king might later regret it.' He addressed the king, 'Great King, this precious white elephant can only be obtained by a wheel-turning king. Now it has committed only a minor fault; it should not be destroyed.' The king's fury blazed, and he said, 'Be gone!'
"The elephant trainer said to the elephant, 'Swallow these iron pellets! If you do not swallow them, I will shatter your skull with an iron hook.' The elephant knew his intention: 'I would rather swallow these hot pellets and die.' It bent its knees toward the king and shed tears, hoping for rescue. The king glared in anger, and Sañjaya told the elephant, 'Why do you not swallow the pellets?' The elephant then took the pellets, put them into its mouth, and swallowed them. Entering its belly, they scorched and melted its entrails, passing straight through, and it died. When the pellets fell to the ground, they were still red-hot.
"Seeing this, the king felt remorse. He then asked Sañjaya, 'Your training of elephants is such as this; why could you not control it in the forest?'
"At that time, a deva of the Śuddhāvāsa heaven, knowing that King Mahāprabhāsa ought to generate the bodhicitta, caused the elephant trainer to kneel and reply to the king, 'I can only tame the body; I cannot tame the mind. Only a Buddha can tame the mind.' The king asked, 'From what lineage and clan is a Buddha born?' He answered, 'He is born from two kinds of clans: first, wisdom; second, great compassion. Through diligently practicing six matters—namely, the six pāramitās—when merit and wisdom are both completely fulfilled, one is called a Buddha.'
"Hearing this, the king leaped with joy. He immediately arose, bathed, put on fresh clothes, and made obeisance in the four directions. Generating great compassion toward all sentient beings, he burned incense and made a vow: 'May whatever merit and virtue I have be dedicated to the Buddha Way! Having tamed my own mind, I shall also tame all sentient beings. If it will benefit any in the hells, I shall enter those hells, never abandoning the bodhicitta.' When he had made this vow, the earth shook in six ways, and natural music sounded in the mountains, the great seas, and the empty sky."
The Buddha told the monks, "The white elephant that swallowed the iron pellets at that time was Nanda; the elephant trainer of that time was Śāriputra; and King Mahāprabhāsa was myself. At that time, seeing the elephant obediently submit, I first brought forth the resolve for the Way." (Extracted from the third fascicle of the *Damamūka-nidāna-sūtra*).