經律異相 28.22

28.22

古昔有佛。號曰始無。時有國王。名曰好信。好樂佛法視佛無厭。種尼俱類樹。樹下為佛敷栴檀床座。佛坐其上。好信王聽經。佛泥洹後。王不見佛。便名尼俱類樹則為佛樹。見之如見佛。日日往樹下坐。常所坐處想聞教戒。王有青衣。名曰拘錄。常侍王邊。夫人嫉妬雇婆羅門令呪殺佛樹。於常婆羅門。四月七日夜取南山中大毒蛇腦塗樹。樹即枯死。王即便悲涕不能自勝。四月八日夜半明星出時取五色香水集華用灌此樹。即還更生。王便願言。當令十方諸佛生時用今日。得道時用今日。般泥洹亦用今日。從此以來諸佛興世。皆是此日。故用四月八日灌佛也（出宿願果報經）。

In ancient times there was a Buddha named Shiwu. At that time there was a king named Haoxin (Good Faith) who delighted in the Buddha-Dharma and never tired of gazing upon the Buddha. He planted a nyagrodha tree, and beneath the tree spread out a sandalwood couch for the Buddha. The Buddha sat upon it, and King Haoxin listened to the sūtras. After the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, the king, no longer seeing the Buddha, named the nyagrodha tree the 'Buddha tree.' Seeing it was like seeing the Buddha; day after day he went and sat beneath the tree, visualizing and hearing the teachings and precepts at the place where the Buddha had constantly sat. The king had a maidservant named Julu who constantly attended at the king's side. The queen was jealous and hired a brāhmaṇa to chant incantations to kill the Buddha tree. On the night of the seventh day of the fourth month, that brāhmaṇa took the brain of a large venomous serpent from the southern mountains and smeared it on the tree; the tree withered and died immediately. The king wept sorrowfully and was beside himself with grief. In the middle of the night on the eighth day of the fourth month, when the morning star appeared, he took five-colored fragrant water, gathered flowers, and bathed this tree. It immediately revived. The king then made a vow, saying, 'May the time when all Buddhas of the ten directions are born be this day; the time when they attain the Way be this day; and their parinirvāṇa also be this day.' From that time forth, the appearance of the Buddhas in the world has always been on this day. Therefore, the Buddha is bathed on the eighth day of the fourth month. (From the Xiuyuan guobao jing.)