[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [經律異相](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2121) › 30.4 # 經律異相 30.4 經律異相 30.4 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [30.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2121.30.4) 昔阿育王。未解佛法。造諸地獄。入者必治。酷以眾毒。後得信心。因棄諸非奉事正覺。人民疾疫。王斷內外不得相通。畏病及宮中。遣信白聖眾。乞遙呪願。可遣一比丘入宮。達嚫使天下安病疾消除。眾僧荷之。願以見告。時聖眾遣一沙彌其年八歲。名曰妙顏。已得羅漢神通具足。飛到王宮見夫人婇女宣語。所乏并顯道德知佛至尊況弟子乎。妙顏受教。飛入王宮住王后前。王后作禮舉手欲抱。言妙顏子何能自屈顯其神足。妙顏謂夫人曰。且却且却。不宜身近沙門。夫人答曰。卿年幼小方始八歲。心相戀念猶如吾子。雖身近之當何所苦。沙彌答曰。近情喻之如夫人教。情從微起。猶粟之火能燒萬里之野。譬指渧之水陷穿玉石亦能盈器。事皆以漸。以少致多。以小成大。是以智者遠嫌避疑。以防未然。沙彌夫人相難往來言聲遂高。聲徹正殿。王問傍人。是誰語聲如有所諍。傍臣答曰。沙彌妙顏這至宮中。與正后語。音聲高亮乃聞於此。王即起往與之相見。作禮問訊以何所諍。沙彌答曰。貴后見顏垂意見愍。欲往相見道法不應。故難却之耳。阿育王曰。卿年尚幼猶如吾子。愛念抱之當有何嫌。乃以壯言相折耶。沙彌答曰。不如王語。古聖制儀豫其未萌亦戒終始。女子年七不戲父机。男兒八歲不倨母床。果下不捫首。苽田無摸足。所以然者。遠嫌避疑杜漸消萌也。勸示將來便防未然。吾心以淨無復微翳。譬如蓮華泥水不洿。猶水精琉璃之器也。實如來談。等於母子所以無異。雖知無瑕當為不能者施。王與夫人聞其所言驚然琦之。如妙顏言。年幼八歲尚顧眾難。況年長大三毒未滅者。於是沙彌為說經法。夫人婇女五百餘人悉得道跡。及正后傍臣太子皆發道意。尋時得立不退轉地（出八歲沙彌開解國王經）。 > Formerly, King Aśoka had not yet understood the Buddha's teachings. He built various hells; whoever entered them was inevitably punished, cruelly afflicted with numerous tortures. Later, he gained faithful trust, whereupon he abandoned all misdeeds and served the Sambuddha. When a pestilence struck the people, the king severed communication between the inside and outside, fearing that the disease would reach the palace. He dispatched a messenger to inform the holy assembly, requesting that they bestow blessings from afar and send one monk to enter the palace, to give a gift of the Dharma (dakṣiṇā) so that the realm would find peace and the disease would be eliminated. The assembly of monks took pity on this and granted his request. Thereupon, the holy assembly sent a novice monk who was eight years of age, named Miaoyan (Suvaktra), who had already attained arhatship and was fully endowed with supernatural powers. He flew to the royal palace to see the queen and court ladies to declare the words \[of Dharma\], and to provide what they lacked while manifesting the virtue of the Path, so that they might know the supremacy of the Buddha, let alone his disciples. Miaoyan, having received the instructions, flew into the royal palace and stood before the chief queen. The chief queen bowed in homage, raised her arms, and wished to embrace him, saying: “Master Miaoyan, how could you deign to come yourself and display such spiritual feats?” Miaoyan addressed the queen, saying: “Step back! Step back! It is not appropriate to approach a śramaṇa bodily.” The queen replied: “You are very young, just turning eight years old. In my heart, I cherish you like my own son. Though I draw near to you bodily, what harm could there be?” The novice answered: “Bodily closeness is perceived just as you describe, my Lady. Yet passions arise from subtle beginnings, just as a spark as small as a millet grain can burn a wild plain of ten thousand leagues; and just as water dripping from a fingertip can pierce through jade and stone, or can fill a vessel. All matters develop by degrees: from little comes much, and from small emerges great. Therefore, the wise keep far from suspicion and avoid doubt, so as to guard against what has not yet occurred.” As the novice and the queen debated back and forth, their voices eventually grew loud, reaching the main hall. The king asked his attendants: “Whose voice is that, sounding as though there is a dispute?” An attendant minister replied: “The novice Miaoyan just arrived in the palace and is speaking with the chief queen; his voice is so clear and resonant that it is heard here.” The king immediately arose and went to meet him, bowed in homage, and inquired: “Over what are you disputing?” The novice replied: “The noble queen saw Miaoyan, and looking upon me with pity and affection, she wished to approach and meet me. But the norms of the Path do not permit this; therefore, I objected and kept her back, that is all.” King Aśoka said: “You are still young, like my own son. If she lovingly embraces you, what reproach could there be? Why do you rebuke her with such harsh words?” The novice answered: “It is not as the King says. The ancient sages instituted rituals to forestall what had not yet sprouted and to caution from beginning to end: a girl at age seven does not play upon her father's stool; a boy at eight years of age does not sit arrogantly upon his mother's bed. Under a fruit tree, one does not adjust one's cap; in a melon patch, one does not bend to arrange one's shoes. Why is this so? It is to keep far from suspicion, avoid doubt, stop beginnings, and eradicate sprouts. By encouraging and guiding future generations, one guards against what has not yet occurred. My own mind is already pure, without the slightest blemish, like a lotus flower unstained by mud and water, or a vessel of crystal and lapis lazuli. Indeed, as the Tathāgata spoke, it is just like mother and son, with no difference whatsoever. Yet though one knows there is no fault, one must act as an exemplar for those who are not yet capable.” When the king and the queen heard his words, they were astonished and marvelled at him: “Just as Miaoyan said, even at the young age of eight, he still takes heed of all reproaches; how much more so for those of advanced age whose three poisons are not yet extinguished!” Thereupon, the novice expounded the sūtras and teachings for them. The queen and more than five hundred court ladies all attained the trace of the Path (stream-entry), and the chief queen, the attendant ministers, and the crown prince all gave rise to the aspiration for the Path, promptly attaining the stage of non-retrogression. (Extracted from the Sūtra of the Eight-Year-Old Novice Enlightening the King.) > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 30.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2121.30.3) - [Next: 30.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2121.30.5) - [Up: 30](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2121.30) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2121~en-mt.30.4) — English, machine translation --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2121.30.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2121.30.4) · Pramāṇa