經律異相 32.6.2

32.6.2

王便聽許。 太子歡喜頭面禮王。 大王宣令誰欲入海。 眾人聞之歡喜聚集。 其五百人皆言。 大王我等今者隨從太子。 有一海師前後數反入於大海。 善知道路通塞之相。 而年八十兩目朦盲。 王白導師。 吾唯一子未更出門。 勞屈大師隨入大海。 願見隨從。 導師即告曰。 大海留難辛苦非一。 往者千萬達者一二。 大王云何能令太子遠涉險道。 王報導師。 為憐愍故隨從聽許。 導師言。 不敢違逆。 太子莊嚴五百人行具載至海邊。 惡友念言。 善友為父母偏心愛念。 今入大海採取妙寶。 若得還者父母當遺棄我。 白父母言。 欲隨善友入海採寶。 父母答言。 隨意道路急難之時兄弟相隨必相救護。 及至大海以七鐵鎖鎖其船舫。 停住七日。 日初出時太子擊鼓唱令。 汝等諸人誰欲入海。 入者默然。 若戀親愛可還去矣。 大海之中留難非一。 大眾默然。 即斷一鎖舉著船上。 日日唱令至第七日。 即斷七鎖望風舉帆。 太子慈心福德力故無諸留難。 得至海洲至珍寶山。 太子擊鼓宣令。 道路懸遠速載珍寶。 極停七日。 復作是言。 此寶甚重。 閻浮提中亦無所直。 莫大重載船舫沈沒不達所在。 莫過少取道路懸遠不足補勞。 裝束已訖與諸人別。 而作是言。 汝等於是善安隱歸。 吾方欲前進採摩尼寶。 太子與盲導師。 更次前進。 路行一七日水齊到膝。 復更前行一七日水齊到頸。 又復前進一七日浮而得渡即到寶處。 導師問言。 此何物地。 太子答言。 其地純是白銀沙。 導師言。 四望應當有白山汝見之未。 太子言。 東南方有一白銀山至此山下。 導師言。 次應到金沙。 導師疲乏悶絕躄地語太子言。 我命不久必喪於此。 太子於是東行一七當有金山。 從山復更前進一七純是青蓮華。 復前行一七其地純是紅赤蓮華。 復過一七有大寶城。 純以七寶裝挍龍王所止。 龍王耳中有一摩尼如意寶珠。 汝往從乞。 若得珠者能滿閻浮提雨眾七寶衣被飲食醫藥聲伎隨意能出。 名如意珠。 導師語已氣絕命終。 太子抱持舉聲悲哭。 一何薄命生失於汝。 即埋著地中。 金沙覆上。 右遶七匝頂禮而去。 前過金山見青蓮華。 下有青蛇。 此蛇有三種毒。 所謂嚙毒觸毒氣噓毒。 此諸毒蛇以身遶蓮華。 張目喘息而視太子。 太子即入慈心三昧。 起進前路蹋蓮華葉。 時諸毒蛇不毀不傷至龍王住處。 七重城塹滿中毒龍共相蟠結舉頭交頸守護城門。 太子到城門外。 見諸毒龍即慈心。 念閻浮提一切眾生。 今我身若為此毒龍所害者。 汝等眾生皆失大利。 即舉右手告毒龍曰。 汝等當知。 我為一切眾生欲見龍王。 毒龍開路令太子入。 見二玉女紡頗梨縷。 太子問曰。 汝是何人。 答言。 我是龍王守外門婢。 入到中門下見四玉女紡白銀縷。 太子復問。 汝是龍王婦耶。 答言非也。 是龍王守中門婢耳。 太子入至內門見八玉女紡黃金縷。 太子語言。 汝是何人。 答言。 我是龍王守門婢耳。 太子言。 汝為我通大海龍王云。 閻浮提波羅㮈國王太子善友欲來相見今在門下。 時守門者即以白王。 王大疑怪。 若非福德純善之人無由遠涉險路。 即請入宮王出奉迎。 紺琉璃為地七寶有種種光明耀動人目。 太子說法示教利喜。 讚說施論戒論人天之論。 龍王心喜。 遠屈塗涉欲須何物。 太子言。 大王。 閻浮提一切眾生為衣服飲食受無窮之苦。 今欲從王乞左耳中摩尼寶珠。 龍王言。 受我微供一七日當以奉給。 太子受龍王請。 過七日持珠還閻浮提（賢愚經言。 到七寶城門堅閉見金剛杵在其門邊如師戒語取杵撞門門有五百天女為持寶珠來奉太子最前一女珠琉璃色受結衣角耳）龍王使諸龍神飛空送之。 得到此岸。 見弟惡友問言。 汝徒黨伴侶今何所在。 答言。 船舫沈沒一切死盡。

The king then granted permission. The prince was delighted and bowed with his head to the ground before the king. The great king issued an order: "Who wishes to go to the ocean?" When the multitude heard this, they gathered joyfully. Five hundred men all said, "Great King, we shall now follow the prince." There was a sea captain who had previously gone into the great ocean several times and was well acquainted with the signs of passable and obstructed routes, yet he was eighty years old and blind in both eyes. The king said to the guide, "I have only one son, who has never before stepped outside our gates. I trouble and impose upon you, Great Master, to accompany him into the great ocean; I pray you will accompany him." The guide then said, "In the great ocean the perils and hardships are not of a single kind; among those who set out by the tens of millions, those who reach their goal are but one or two. How can the Great King send the prince to travel afar upon such a perilous path?" The king replied to the guide, "Out of pity I have acceded to his wish and given my permission." The guide said, "I dare not disobey." The prince prepared travel equipment for the five hundred men, loading everything to set off for the seashore. Bad Friend thought to himself, "Good Friend is favored and beloved by our parents. Now he goes into the great ocean to gather wondrous treasures. If he succeeds in returning, our parents will surely cast me aside." He said to his parents, "I wish to follow Good Friend into the ocean to gather treasures." The parents replied, "Do as you wish; when crises and perils arise on the road, brothers traveling together must surely rescue and protect each other." When they reached the great ocean, they locked the ship with seven iron chains and halted for seven days. At sunrise each day, the prince beat a drum and proclaimed: "All of you people, who wishes to enter the ocean? Those who will enter, remain silent; if you yearn for your beloved relatives, you may turn back now! In the great ocean the perils are not of a single kind." The multitude remained silent. Thereupon he severed one chain and drew it up onto the ship. Day after day he made this proclamation, and on the seventh day he severed the seventh chain, watched for the wind, and hoisted the sails. By virtue of the prince's compassionate mind and the power of his merit, there were no perils or hindrances, and they succeeded in reaching an ocean isle, arriving at a mountain of rare treasures. The prince beat the drum and proclaimed: "The way is distant; quickly load the rare treasures. At most we shall halt for seven days." He further said, "These treasures are extremely heavy, yet in Jambudvīpa they are of no great value. Do not load them so heavily that the ship sinks and fails to reach its destination; yet do not take too little, lest on this distant road it fails to repay your toil." When the preparations were complete, he parted from the crowd, saying, "May you all return safely and in peace. I am now about to press forward to gather a maṇi jewel." The prince and the blind guide then advanced further. They traveled the road for one week, with water reaching up to their knees. They traveled on for another week, with water reaching up to their necks. They pressed forward again for another week, swimming across, and thereupon reached the treasure land. The guide asked, "What kind of land is this?" The prince answered, "This land is made purely of white silver sand." The guide said, "Looking in all four directions, there should be a white mountain; have you seen it yet?" The prince said, "In the southeast there is a white silver mountain." They reached the foot of this mountain, and the guide said, "Next should come gold sand." The guide, exhausted and faint, collapsed to the ground and said to the prince, "My life is short; I must surely perish here. Prince, if you go east from here for one week, there will be a gold mountain. Advancing another week from that mountain, it is purely blue lotus flowers. Advancing another week, the ground is purely red lotus flowers. Passing another week, there is a great jewel-city, adorned purely with the seven treasures, where the nāga king resides. In the nāga king's ear is a wish-fulfilling maṇi jewel. Go and beg it of him. If you obtain this jewel, it can fulfill [all wishes] throughout Jambudvīpa, raining down the various seven treasures, clothing, food and drink, medicines, music, and entertainment according to one's desires; it is called the wish-fulfilling jewel." Having spoken, the guide's breath ceased and he died. The prince embraced him, weeping aloud with grief: "How unfortunate I am to lose you in this life!" He then buried him in the earth, covered him with golden sand, circumambulated him to the right seven times, paid reverence, and departed. Proceeding past the gold mountain, he saw blue lotus flowers, beneath which were blue serpents. These serpents possessed three kinds of venom: biting venom, touching venom, and breath venom. These venomous serpents coiled their bodies around the lotus flowers, opening their eyes and panting as they glared at the prince. The prince immediately entered the samādhi of loving-kindness, rose, advanced along the path, and stepped on the lotus leaves. At that time, none of the venomous serpents harmed or injured him, and he reached the nāga king's dwelling place. There were sevenfold city walls and moats, filled with venomous nāgas coiled together, raising their heads and intertwining their necks to guard the city gate. When the prince reached the outside of the city gate, seeing the venomous nāgas, he gave rise to a mind of loving-kindness and thought of all sentient beings in Jambudvīpa: "If my body is harmed now by these venomous nāgas, all of you sentient beings will lose a great benefit!" He immediately raised his right hand and announced to the venomous nāgas: "You should know that for the sake of all sentient beings I wish to see the nāga king." The venomous nāgas cleared a path to let the prince enter. He saw two jade maidens spinning crystal thread. The prince asked, "Who are you?" They answered, "We are the maidservants of the nāga king guarding the outer gate." Entering to the middle gate, he saw four jade maidens spinning white silver thread. The prince asked again, "Are you the nāga king's wives?" They answered, "No, we are only the maidservants of the nāga king guarding the middle gate." The prince entered to the inner gate and saw eight jade maidens spinning yellow gold thread. The prince said to them, "Who are you?" They answered, "We are only the maidservants of the nāga king guarding the gate." The prince said, "Announce me to the great ocean nāga king, saying: 'Good Friend, crown prince of the king of Vārāṇasī in Jambudvīpa, wishes to meet with you and is now at the gate.'" The gatekeeper immediately informed the king. The king was greatly astonished: "Unless he were a person of merit and pure goodness, there would be no way for him to travel so far along this perilous path." He immediately invited him into the palace, and the king came out to receive him. The ground was made of deep blue lapis lazuli, and the seven treasures emitted various rays of light dazzling to the eye. The prince expounded the Dharma, instructing, encouraging, and delighting him; he praised discourses on giving, discourses on morality, and discourses on heaven. The nāga king was delighted in his heart: "Having wearily traversed such a distant journey, what is it that you desire?" The prince said, "Great King, all sentient beings in Jambudvīpa suffer endless hardships on account of clothing, food, and drink. I now wish to beg of the king the maṇi jewel in your left ear." The nāga king said, "Accept my humble offerings for one week, and I shall bestow it upon you." The prince accepted the nāga king's invitation. After seven days had passed, he took the jewel to return to Jambudvīpa. (The Damamūka-nidāna-sūtra says: When he reached the seven-jewel city, the gate was firmly shut. He saw a vajra pestle beside the gate, and following his master's instructions, took the pestle and struck the gate. At the gate were five hundred heavenly maidens holding jewel pearls who came to present them to the prince; the foremost woman's pearl was lapis lazuli in color, and he accepted it and tied it to the hem of his robe.) The nāga king sent various nāga deities to escort him through the air, and he reached this shore. Seeing his younger brother Bad Friend, he asked, "Where are your companions now?" Bad Friend replied, "The ships sank, and all of them perished."