經律異相 35.35

35.35

佛在羅閱祇國。有豪長者。名尸利躓。大富盈溢。婦生一男形容嚴妙。請師占候歎子福德。問言。從懷此兒有何瑞應。長者曰。其母訥口鈍辭。既懷此子談語巧妙。字婆世躓。及年長大遊行觀看。見那羅伎家有一女子。心便染著欲得娉娶。還啟父母願為求索。父母告言。高卑非匹如何為婚。子重啟言。莫問門戶但論其身。幸為我求若不如志便自殞命。父母從之。共作婚姻。兒惑其色不恥鄙事。即詣彼家。學習戲藝皆已成就。是時國王集諸那羅眾多戲事。時長者子次應現伎上索而走。王脫不見。復勅更上。氣力漸羸中道欲墮。心中惶懅無所歸依。目連陵虛告之曰。如卿今日寧全身命出家學道。為寧墮地娶彼女耶。答言。願自存濟不用女也。目連即時化作平地得全身首。喜不自勝。隨逐目連。往詣世尊禮拜供養。佛於是時廣說妙論。心意開解便得初果。因求出家世尊聽之。鬚髮自落法衣在身。專精禪思成阿羅漢。佛言。過世波羅奈國。有大長者。初生一子端正無比。有人從海中來齎一鳥卵用奉長者。長者納受。經少時間。其卵便剖出一鳥雛。毛羽光潤。長者受與子使弄。子騎鳥脊飛遊觀看。聞他國王作那羅戲。乘鳥至彼。鳥住樹上。偶見王女情便染愛。遣信騰情。女便與交。為王所知。推捕縛來而當斬戮。長者子言。諸君何為勞力殺我。聽我上樹自投而死。諸人聽許。便相上樹乘騎其鳥翔虛而去。得延壽命。時長者子今婆世躓是。王女者今伎家女是。爾時鳥者則目連是。過去世惑色致困由鳥得濟。今垂當死。由於目連故得安隱（出賢愚經第十三卷）。

When the Buddha was in Rājagṛha, there was a prominent elder named Śrīṣṭha, exceedingly wealthy. His wife gave birth to a boy whose appearance was dignified and wonderful. He invited masters to divine his fortune, and they praised the child's merit and virtue. They asked, saying, "Since conceiving this child, what auspicious signs have there been?" The elder said, "His mother was slow of speech and blunt of phrase, but once she conceived this child, her speech became clever and wondrous." He was named Vaśeṣṭha. When he grew up, he went out on an excursion to look around and saw a woman from a family of naṭa performers. His heart immediately became attached to her, and he wished to take her as his wife. He returned and requested his parents, "I wish that you would seek her for me." His parents said to him, "High and low are not a match; how could we arrange a marriage?" The son requested again, saying, "Do not ask about family status; just consider the person. Please seek her for me; if it does not accord with my wish, I will end my own life." His parents consented and arranged the marriage. The son was infatuated with her beauty and was not ashamed of base matters. He went to her house, learned the arts of entertainment, and mastered them all. At that time, the king gathered numerous naṭa acrobats for performances. When it was the elder's son's turn to show his skill, he ran upon a high rope. The king happened not to see it and ordered him to go up again. His strength gradually grew exhausted, and halfway across he was about to fall. In his heart, he was terrified, having nowhere to turn for refuge. Maudgalyāyana soared in the sky and said to him, "As for you today, would you rather preserve your life, go forth to learn the Way, or would you rather fall to the ground and marry that woman?" He answered, saying, "I wish to save my own life; I have no need for the woman." Maudgalyāyana immediately transformed [the ground below] into level earth, and his whole body and head were saved. He was overjoyed beyond measure. Following Maudgalyāyana, he went to the Bhagavat, bowed down in homage, and made offerings. At that time, the Buddha extensively preached the wondrous discourse. His mind opened in understanding, and he immediately attained the first fruit. Thereupon he requested to go forth, and the Bhagavat granted it. His hair and beard fell off on their own, and the Dharma robes were upon his body. Concentrating with diligence on meditation, he became an arhat. The Buddha said: In a past age, in the kingdom of Vārāṇasī, there was a great elder. He first had a son born who was incomparably handsome. A person came from the sea carrying a bird's egg, which he presented to the elder. The elder accepted it. After a short time, the egg hatched a fledgling bird, whose feathers were sleek and lustrous. The elder took it and gave it to his son to play with. The son rode upon the bird's back and flew about on excursions to look around. Hearing that the king of another state was staging a naṭa spectacle, he rode the bird thither. The bird perched in a tree. He chanced to see the king's daughter, and his passion became inflamed with love. He sent a message to convey his feelings, and the woman had relations with him. This became known to the king, who had him tracked down, bound, and brought forth to be decapitated. The elder's son said, "Why should you gentlemen trouble yourselves to kill me? Allow me to climb the tree and throw myself down to die." The people permitted it. He thereupon climbed the tree, mounted his bird, and flew away into the sky, thereby prolonging his life. The elder's son of that time is now Vaśeṣṭha. The king's daughter is now the woman of the entertainer's family. The bird at that time was Maudgalyāyana. In a past life, he was brought to distress by infatuation with beauty and was saved on account of the bird; now, when he was on the verge of death, it was on account of Maudgalyāyana that he gained safety (from the thirteenth fascicle of the Damamūka-nidāna Sūtra).