經律異相 30.13

30.13

槃提國王名優達。迦葉佛時出家修道。仰值釋迦皆得道迹。其國殷富人民熾盛。王有二萬夫人。第一夫人。字曰月明。容儀端正王甚愛敬。不過半歲夫人將終相現。王甚憂慼。月明問之。王言。汝壽將終。情愛別離是故愁耳。月明答言。夫生有死。自世之常。何獨憂耶。若隆顧念但放出家。王聽入道。汝若出家設未成道必生天上。若生天上還至我所。聽汝出家。月明即許其誓。喚比丘尼。即捨五欲。多來問訊恭敬供養妨其道業。是故遊行諸國。從出家日數滿六月。持戒清淨厭患世間。得阿那含道。終一聚落即生色天。觀昔因緣於王有約。欲赴本誓。觀王沒於五欲𢤱戾難化。直爾而往無以感發。宜以恐逼爾乃降伏。便自變身作大羅剎。衣毛振竪執五尺刀。因王夜臥去之不遠懸在空中。王甚大怖。即語王言。汝雖士眾千萬。今唯屬我不得自在。死時已至何緣自濟。王即報言。我無因緣惟持本所作善。修心清淨死生善處。天言。此最可恃更無餘理。王便問言。汝是何神使我怖畏。天答。我是月明夫人。王放出家思惟離欲生色天上。今來赴約。王言。汝雖說此我猶不信。復汝本形爾乃可信。天即變為昔形。衣裳服飾如本而立。王欲心發即趣欲捉。月明即昇虛空為王說法曰。此身無常彈指叵保。譬如朝露日出則滅。不惟無常貪著我身。王不見。盛年華色老所吞滅。諸根朽邁。目視不明。耳聽不聰。形敗腐朽無所復堪。譬如釀酒戾取淳味糟無所直。是身既老無所貪樂。唯有死在。身既生死無常與俱。王不見。胎夭幼壯皆死。是身危脆死賊常隨。身心火然但是眾苦。心有三毒身有寒熱飢渴。而不生厭貪著我身。宮人伎女華色五欲。國財妻子悉非我有。死去之時無一隨者。身尚自棄何況餘物。迷沒五欲迴流生死莫知出路。王是智人何不厭離出家求道。王善心生許其出家。月明重化之曰。君當出家求於妙法受而修行日夕精進翹勤勿懈。說此語已忽然不現。王即禪位太子。捨離五欲。投迦旃延出家為道。時人以其捨重榮利。求正真道。臣吏人民多來供養恭敬問訊方修道業。於是遊行至摩竭國。佛為說法得阿羅漢道。執持瓦鉢入王舍城。乞得宿飯還林坐食。洴沙王出遊詣林。問訊曰。汝本為王出入榮從。今作乞兒獨行匃食。豈可樂耶。汝還罷道分半國治。道人答言。我大國王聚落甚多。今復何緣捨大就小非我所宜。洴沙王曰。汝本食以上味盛以寶器。今執瓦鉢乞殘宿食不亦難乎。汝本為王勇士侍衛。今日單獨豈不恐耶。本在深宮妃妓妙色盈悅耳目。坐以寶床敷以細縟。今日獨宿林野臥坐唯草豈不苦哉。答曰。我今知足無所貪樂。洴沙王曰。卿今可憐。答言。卿是可憐非是我也。所以者何。卿五欲所纏恩愛所驅不得自在。我今快樂心無罣礙。瓶沙聞已即便還去（出雜藏經）。

The king of the country of Pāṇḍu was named Udayana. In the time of Kāśyapa Buddha, he had gone forth from home to practice the Way; aspiring to meet Śākyamuni, [he and his queen] both attained the traces of the Way. That country was wealthy and abundant, and its people flourished. The king had twenty thousand consorts. The chief consort was named Yueming (Moonlight). Her deportment was upright and dignified, and the king greatly loved and respected her. Before half a year had passed, the signs of the consort's impending death appeared. The king was extremely grieved. Yueming asked him about it, and the king said: 'Your life is about to end; sorrow comes from the parting of love, and so I grieve.' Yueming answered, saying: 'Where there is birth, there is death; this is the constant of the world. Why grieve alone? If you deeply care for me, simply allow me to go forth from home.' The king permitted her to enter the Way, [saying]: 'If you go forth from home, even if you have not yet attained the Way, you will surely be born in heaven. If you are born in heaven, come back to my place; [on this condition] I allow you to go forth.' Yueming then agreed to his vow, summoned a bhikṣuṇī, and immediately abandoned the five desires. Because many people came to inquire after her, pay homage, and make offerings, hindering her cultivation of the Way, she traveled through various countries. When six months had elapsed from the day of her going forth, keeping the precepts purely and feeling disgust with the world, she attained the path of the anāgāmin. Dying in a certain village, she was immediately born in the rūpāvacara heaven. Observing past conditions and her agreement with the king, she wished to fulfill her original vow. Seeing that the king was immersed in the five desires, obstinate, and difficult to transform, she thought: 'If I simply go like this, there will be nothing to inspire him. It is better to terrify and intimidate him, and only then will he be subdued.' She then transformed her body into a great rākṣasa, with bristling hair and holding a five-foot sword. When the king was sleeping at night, not far away, she hung suspended in mid-air. The king was terrified. She then spoke to the king, saying: 'Although you have ten million troops, now you belong solely to me and have no autonomy. The time of your death has arrived; by what means can you save yourself?' The king then replied, saying: 'I have no means other than relying on the good deeds I originally performed, purifying my mind, so that at death I will be born in a good realm.' The deity said: 'This alone can be relied upon; there is no other principle.' The king then asked, saying: 'What kind of spirit are you that makes me so afraid?' The deity replied: 'I am Lady Yueming. The king let me go forth from home to contemplate and leave desire, and I was born in the rūpāvacara heaven; now I have come to fulfill the agreement.' The king said: 'Although you speak thus, I still do not believe it. Restore your original form, and only then can I believe it.' The deity then transformed into her former shape, standing as before with her original clothes and ornaments. The king's desire arose, and he rushed forward wanting to grasp her. Yueming immediately ascended into the empty sky and preached the Dharma for the king, saying: 'This body is impermanent; it cannot be preserved for the snap of a finger. It is like morning dew, which vanishes when the sun rises. Do not fail to contemplate impermanence and greedily cling to my body. Does the king not see? The flourishing beauty of youth is swallowed and extinguished by old age. The sense faculties decay; the eyes do not see clearly, the ears do not hear sharply, and the physical form is dilapidated and rotten, no longer fit for anything. It is like brewing liquor: one strains off the pure flavor, while the dregs are worthless. Once this body is old, there is nothing to covet or enjoy; only death remains. Since the body is born, death and impermanence accompany it. Does the king not see? The unborn, the young, the adolescent, and the robust all die. This body is fragile and frail, constantly pursued by the thief of death. Body and mind are on fire, nothing but manifold suffering. The mind has the three poisons, and the body has cold, heat, hunger, and thirst; yet without generating revulsion, you greedily cling to my body. Palace attendants, entertainers, blooming beauty, and the five desires—the state's wealth, wives, and children—none of them belong to me. At the moment of death, not a single thing follows along. When even the body is abandoned, how much more so other things? Infatuated and submerged in the five desires, revolving in the flow of saṃsāra, one knows no way out. The king is a wise man; why not feel revulsion and detachment, and go forth from home to seek the Way?' Wholesome thoughts arose in the king, and he promised her that he would go forth from home. Yueming urged him again, saying: 'You should go forth from home, seek the wondrous Dharma, receive it and practice it, being diligent day and night, striving earnestly without laxity.' Having spoken these words, she suddenly disappeared. The king then abdicated the throne to the crown prince, renounced the five desires, and went to Kātyāyana to go forth from home into the Way. At that time, because he had abandoned great glory and profit to seek the true and upright Way, ministers, officials, and the common people came in great numbers to make offerings, pay homage, and inquire after him as he was cultivating the Way. Thereupon he traveled to the country of Magadha. The Buddha preached the Dharma for him, and he attained the path of the arhat. Holding an earthenware bowl, he entered the city of Rājagṛha, begged overnight rice, and returned to the forest to sit and eat. King Bimbisāra went out on an excursion to the forest, paid respects, and said: 'Formerly you were a king, with glorious retinues whenever entering or leaving. Now you act as a beggar, wandering alone to beg for food. How can this be enjoyable? Return, renounce the Way, and share half the kingdom to rule.' The man of the Way replied, saying: 'I was the king of a great country with very many settlements. Now on what grounds should I abandon the great to take the small? That would not be fitting for me.' King Bimbisāra said: 'Formerly you ate superior delicacies served in precious vessels. Now you hold an earthenware bowl and beg for leftover, overnight food; is this not difficult? Formerly you were a king, escorted and guarded by brave warriors. Today you are solitary and alone; are you not afraid? Formerly you were in the deep palace, with consorts and courtesans of exquisite beauty filling and delighting your ears and eyes, seated on precious couches spread with fine cushions. Today you lodge alone in the wilderness, sitting and lying only on grass; is this not suffering?' He replied, saying: 'Now I am content, with nothing to covet or enjoy.' King Bimbisāra said: 'You are now pitiable.' He replied, saying: 'You are pitiable, not I. Why is that? You are bound by the five desires and driven by affection, having no autonomy. Now I am happy and at ease, my mind without hindrance.' Having heard this, Bimbisāra immediately turned back and left. (From the Saṃyuktapiṭaka Sūtra)