經律異相 28.8

28.8

舍衛國有二商人。一人念曰。佛身丈六華色紫金。頂有肉髻項背日光巍巍難言。佛猶帝王沙門猶忠臣。佛陳明法沙門誦宣斯王明矣。知佛可尊。佛知其意而熟視之。其人心意喜如獲寶。其一念曰。佛者如牛弟子猶車。彼牛索車東西南北。佛亦猶然。佛知其有惡念必獲其殃愴然愍之。其人心惡二人俱去。至三十里有亭住宿沽酒飲之。共平屬事訟之紛紜。其善念者。四天王遣善神護焉。其毒念者。太山鬼神令酒入腹。猶火燒身。出亭露臥宛轉落車轍中。晨有商人車五百乘經轢之焉。伴見之曰。吾今衰矣。還國見疑取物而去名為不義。遂輕身委財而逝。展轉遠邁去舍衛數萬里。有一國。國王崩無太子。讖書云。中國有微人當王斯土。群僚議曰。國之無君猶體之無首。難以久立。故王有馬常為王作禮。若任王者馬必屈膝。僉曰大善。即具嚴駕以王印綬著車上。人馬填路觀者莫不揮涕。時彼商人亦出觀看。國太史曰。彼有黃雲之蓋斯王者之氣也。神馬直進屈膝舐足。群臣欣豫香湯澡浴。拜為國主。僉然稱臣。王曰。余本商人。無德於民不任天位。群僚曰。天授有德神馬屈膝。於是遂處王宮。聽省國政。深自惟曰。我無微善何緣獲此。必是佛恩使之然也。晨在御座嘆佛無上之聖。率土群僚向舍衛國。稽首言曰。賤人蒙世尊潤獲為人君。斯土傳世不知有佛。流俗之書亦無記焉。願以大明開斯國人之聾盲也。明日願與應真聖眾。垂意顧斯一時三月。佛告阿難。勅諸比丘。明日彼王請。皆當隨變化現神尊德。令其國民咸共覩焉。諸天聞佛之彼教化。相率導從作樂歌德。寶帳幢幡華下紛紛光色燿目。佛及應真皆坐正殿。王自斟酌畢。以小床於佛前坐。佛廣說法。王曰。吾本微人。業無快德何緣獲斯。佛告王曰。昔彼國王飯佛。王心念言。佛心如國王。沙門如臣。王種斯栽今獲其果。彼人云。佛若牛弟子若車。彼人自種車轢之栽。今在太山為火車所轢。自獲其果也。非王勇猛所能致矣。為善福隨履惡禍追。響之應聲善惡如音。非天龍鬼神所授。非先禰所為也。造之者心。成者身口矣。佛頌偈曰。

In the kingdom of Śrāvastī there were two merchants. One thought to himself: "The Buddha's body is sixteen feet tall, radiant like purple-gold. He has an uṣṇīṣa upon his crown, and the halo of light behind his neck is lofty and sublime beyond words. The Buddha is like an emperor, and the śramaṇas are like loyal ministers. The Buddha expounds the bright Dharma, and the śramaṇas recite and proclaim it—truly, this king is enlightened!" Knowing that the Buddha was worthy of veneration, the Buddha knew his thoughts and looked closely at him. The man's heart was as joyous as if he had obtained a precious gem. The other thought: "The Buddha is like an ox, and his disciples are like a cart. That ox pulls the cart east, west, south, and north; the Buddha is just like that." The Buddha, knowing that he harboured evil thoughts and would surely suffer calamity, grieved for him with compassion. That man was evil in heart, and the two went away together. When they had travelled thirty li, they came to an inn, where they stayed the night and bought wine to drink. They argued heatedly while settling their business. For the one who had good thoughts, the Four Heavenly Kings dispatched good spirits to protect him. For the one who had malicious thoughts, the ghosts and spirits of Mount Tai made the wine enter his belly like fire burning his body. Going out of the inn, he lay exposed in the open, rolling about until he fell into a cart rut. In the morning, a caravan of five hundred merchant wagons passed by and crushed him. His companion saw this and said: "Misfortune has befallen me! If I return to my country, I will be suspected of having taken his goods and departed, and I will be deemed unrighteous." Thereupon he abandoned his wealth, travelling light, and departed. Wandering far and wide, he reached a kingdom tens of thousands of li from Śrāvastī. The king of that country had died leaving no crown prince. A prophetic book had said: "A humble man from the Middle Country shall become king of this land." The officials deliberated, saying: "A state without a ruler is like a body without a head; it cannot long stand. The late king had a horse that always bowed to the king. If one is fit to be king, the horse will surely bend its knees." All said: "Excellent!" So they prepared a ceremonial carriage and placed the royal seal and ribbons upon the vehicle. Horses and people filled the road, and none among the onlookers could hold back their tears. At that time, that merchant also came out to watch. The royal astrologer said: "There is a canopy of yellow clouds; this is the aura of a king!" The divine horse went straight up to him, bent its knees, and licked his feet. The ministers rejoiced, bathed him with fragrant water, saluted him as lord of the realm, and unanimously declared themselves his subjects. The king said: "I was originally a merchant. I have no virtue toward the people and am not fit for the heavenly throne." The ministers said: "Heaven confers it upon the virtuous, and the divine horse has bent its knees." Thereupon he took up residence in the royal palace and oversaw the governance of the state. He reflected deeply within himself: "I have not the slightest goodness; by what cause did I obtain this? It must surely be the Buddha's grace that brought this about!" In the morning, seated upon the royal throne, he praised the Buddha's unsurpassed sanctity. Leading all the officials of the realm, he faced toward the kingdom of Śrāvastī, bowed his head, and said: "A base person such as I has received the World-Honoured One's favour and become a ruler of men. Generations have passed in this land without knowing that there is a Buddha, and the common books contain no record of him. May you, with great brilliance, open the eyes of the deaf and blind among the people of this land. Tomorrow, may you deign to visit here with the assembly of arhats for a period of three months." The Buddha told Ānanda to instruct the monks: "Tomorrow, at that king's invitation, all should display divine and venerable virtues through transformations according to their powers, causing his people to behold them together." When the devas heard that the Buddha was going thither to convert them, they led the escort, playing music and singing of his virtues. Jewelled canopies, banners, and streamers were displayed, and flowers fell in profusion, their dazzling light radiant to the eyes. The Buddha and the arhats all sat in the main hall. After the king had served them himself, he sat before the Buddha on a small seat. The Buddha expounded the Dharma at length. The king said: "I was originally a humble man, with no fine virtues in my deeds; by what cause did I obtain this?" The Buddha told the king: "Formerly, when the king of that country offered food to the Buddha, you thought in your heart: 'The Buddha's mind is like a king, and the śramaṇas are like ministers.' You sowed that seed, and today you reap its fruit. That other man said: 'The Buddha is like an ox, and his disciples are like a cart.' He sowed for himself the seed of being crushed by a cart; now he is in Mount Tai, being crushed by flaming carts, reaping his own fruit. This was not something brought about by your own valour. Goodness is followed by blessings, and walking in evil is pursued by calamity. An echo answers a sound; good and evil are like sounds and their echoes. It is not conferred by devas, dragons, ghosts, or spirits, nor is it wrought by ancestors. It is the mind that creates it, and body and speech that bring it to pass." The Buddha chanted this verse: