經律異相 36.15

36.15

時舍衛國有大長者。財富無量無有男兒。唯有五女端正聰達。其婦懷妊長者命終。國法無男財物入王。王遣大臣攝錄其財。其女心念。我母懷妊未知男女。若續是女財應屬王。若其是男應為財主。往白國王。時波斯匿王法平政。即可所白。其母不久月滿生兒。其身渾沌無復耳目。有口無舌又無手足。唯有男根。即為作字名鏝慈毘梨。爾時是女。具以是事往問於王。王告諸女。財屬汝弟。吾不取也。爾時大女。往適他家奉給夫主。謙卑恭敬謹如婢事。大家長者覩其如斯。怪而問言。女子對曰。我父終沒家財無量。雖有五女猶當入王。會母有身生我一弟。人相都缺但有男根。得為財主。雖有諸女不如一男。長者聞已。即與其女往至佛所。白言。世尊。彼長者子以何因緣。佛言。乃往過去有大長者兄弟二人。兄名檀若世質。弟名尸羅世質。其兄少小。忠信成實常好布施舉國稱美。王任此人為國平事。國法舉貸取與無券悉詣平事。時估客從弟尸羅世質多舉錢財。時弟長者。唯有一子其年幼小。將其子并所出錢。到平事所。白言。大兄。是估客子從我舉錢。入海來還應得爾許。我若終亡證令得之。平事言然。其弟長者不久命終。估客入海遭風失貨。估客得全。時長者子聞其空歸。便自念言。此雖負我何由可得。須有當償時。此估客復餘舉假。續復入海獲大珍寶。安隱來還。心自念言。彼長者子前雖不從我債我舉錢。時此人幼稚或時不憶。或見我前窮故不責耶。今當試之。即嚴好馬眾寶服飾。長者子見即遣人語。汝負我錢今可見償。答曰可爾。估客自念。所舉頓大重生累息。無由可畢。當作一策乃可了耳。持一寶珠到平事婦所。白言。夫人。我本從尸羅世質舉錢財。其子來責。今上一珠價直十萬。若從我責可囑平事。其婦答言。長者誠信必不肯爾。為當試語。即受其珠平事暮歸。婦即具白。長者答言。何有是事。以我忠信不妄語故王立我為國平事。若一妄語此事不可。明估客來具告情狀。即還其珠。時估客子更上一珠直二十萬。願使囑及。此既小事。但作一言得三十萬。爾時女人貪愛寶珠即為受之。暮更白夫。昨日白事願畢在意。長者答言。絕無此理。爾時長者有一男兒。其婦泣曰。若不見隨我先殺兒然後自殺。長者聞此。譬如人噎。自念。我唯一子。若其當死財無所付。若從是語人不信用。將來受苦迫憱不已。即便可之。婦語估客。長者已許。估客欣悅。還嚴大象眾寶莊校著大寶衣乘象入市。長者子見即往語曰。先所負錢今宜見償。估客驚言。我都不憶何時負君。尋共相將至平事所。長者子言。此人往日親從我父舉若干錢。伯為時平事為爾不。答言不知。其姪驚曰。伯父爾時審不見聞。又答不爾。姪子恚曰。以伯忠良。王令平事。國人信用。我親弟子非法猶爾。況於外人抂者豈少。此之虛實後世自知。佛告長者。欲知爾時平事長者。今鏝慈毘梨是。由於爾時一妄語故墮大地獄多受苦毒。從地獄出五百世中常受此身。植好布施。常生豪富得為財主（出賢愚經第七卷）。

At that time, in the country of Śrāvastī, there was a great elder who possessed immeasurable wealth but had no sons, only five daughters who were upright, intelligent, and perceptive. His wife was pregnant when the elder died. According to the law of the land, if there was no son, the wealth and property reverted to the king. The king dispatched a great minister to confiscate his property. The daughters thought to themselves: "Our mother is pregnant, and it is not yet known whether it will be a boy or a girl. If it is another girl, the property should belong to the king. If it is a boy, he should be the owner of the property." They went and informed the king. At that time, King Prasenajit governed with fairness, and so he granted their petition. Soon after, when her months were fulfilled, the mother gave birth to a child. His body was an undifferentiated lump, devoid of ears and eyes; he had a mouth but no tongue, and he had neither hands nor feet—only a male organ. They forthwith gave him a name, calling him Mañjūpikā. At that time, the daughters went and reported the matter in full to the king. The king told the daughters: "The property belongs to your brother. I will not take it." At that time, the eldest daughter went to marry into another family to serve her husband, being humble, reverent, and attentive as if she were a maidservant. When her master, the elder, saw this, he found it strange and questioned her. The woman replied: "When my father died, our family had immeasurable wealth. Although there were five daughters, it was still about to revert to the king. It happened that my mother was pregnant and gave birth to my one brother. Though completely lacking in human features, having only a male organ, he was able to become the owner of the property. Thus, having many daughters is not as good as having a single son." Having heard this, the elder immediately went with the woman to the Buddha's dwelling, and addressed him, saying: "Bhagavat, by what karmic causes and conditions is this child of the elder like this?" The Buddha said: "Long ago, in the past, there were two elder brothers. The elder was named Dhanyasaṃpatti and the younger was named Śīlasaṃpatti. The elder brother, from his youth, was loyal, trustworthy, and honest, and constantly took pleasure in giving, so that the entire kingdom praised him. The king appointed this man as the judge of the kingdom. According to the kingdom's law, when borrowing or lending, taking or giving, there were no written deeds; all went before the judge. At that time, a merchant borrowed a large sum of money from the younger brother, Śīlasaṃpatti. At that time, the younger brother, the elder, had only one son who was young of years. Taking his son together with the lent money, he went to the judge's dwelling and said: 'Elder brother, this merchant's son has borrowed money from me. When he returns from entering the sea, he should repay such-and-such an amount. If I should pass away, please testify so that he may receive it.' The judge said: 'So be it.' Soon after, the younger brother, the elder, passed away. The merchant entered the sea, encountered a windstorm, and lost his cargo, but the merchant escaped with his life. At that time, when the elder's son heard that he had returned empty-handed, he thought to himself: 'Although this man owes me, by what means could I obtain it? I must wait until he has the means to repay.' At that time, this merchant borrowed again from others, and once more entered the sea, where he obtained great and precious jewels and returned in safety. He thought to himself: 'Although that elder's son previously did not demand repayment of the debt for the money I borrowed—at that time this person was young and perhaps now does not remember; or perhaps seeing my former destitution, he did not press me? Now I should test him.' Forthwith, he adorned fine horses and wore garments decorated with many jewels. When the elder's son saw this, he immediately sent someone to say to him: 'You owe me money; now you should repay me.' The merchant answered: 'Very well.' The merchant thought to himself: 'What I borrowed was very large, and with the principal and accumulated interest compounded, there is no way it could be settled. I must devise a strategy to bring it to an end.' Holding a precious pearl, he went to the judge's wife and said: 'Lady, I originally borrowed money and goods from Śīlasaṃpatti. His son has come to press for it. Now I present a pearl worth one hundred thousand; if he presses me, please entreat the judge on my behalf.' The wife replied: 'The elder is sincere and honest; he will certainly not agree to this. But I will try to speak to him.' She forthwith accepted the pearl. When the judge returned in the evening, the wife reported everything to him. The elder replied: 'How could there be such a thing? It is because I am loyal, trustworthy, and do not speak falsely that the king established me as the judge of the kingdom. To speak falsely even once—this matter is unthinkable.' The next day, when the merchant came, she told him the situation in full and immediately returned his pearl. At that time, the merchant presented another pearl worth two hundred thousand, saying: 'I beseech you to intercede. Since this is a minor matter, with just a single word you will gain three hundred thousand.' At that time, the woman, craving the precious pearls, accepted them for him. In the evening, she again spoke to her husband: 'Regarding what I spoke of yesterday, please fulfill my wish.' The elder replied: 'There is absolutely no reason for this.' At that time, the elder had an only son. His wife wept, saying: 'If you do not comply with me, I will first kill our son and then kill myself.' When the elder heard this, he was like a choking man. He thought to himself: 'I have only one son; if he should die, my wealth will have nowhere to be entrusted. If I comply with her words, people will not trust me, and I will suffer pain in the future.' Being incessantly pressured, he forthwith consented to it. The wife told the merchant: 'The elder has already consented.' The merchant was overjoyed. Returning, he adorned a great elephant with many jewels, put on magnificent jeweled garments, and rode the elephant into the marketplace. When the elder's son saw him, he immediately went and said to him: 'The money you previously owed should now be repaid.' The merchant said in astonishment: 'I do not remember at all when I owed you anything.' Thereupon, they went together to the judge's dwelling. The elder's son said: 'In the past, this man personally borrowed such-and-such an amount of money from my father. Uncle was the judge at the time; was it not so?' The judge replied: 'I do not know.' His nephew said in astonishment: 'Uncle, did you truly not see or hear it at that time?' The judge again replied: 'No, I did not.' The nephew said angrily: 'Because my uncle was loyal and good, the king made him judge, and the people of the country placed their trust in him. Even toward me, his own brother's son, he acts unlawfully like this; how much more so toward outsiders—can those who are wronged be few? The truth or falsehood of this will be known for itself in future lives.' The Buddha told the elder: 'If you wish to know who the judge elder of that time was, it was this Mañjūpikā. Because of that single false word at that time, he fell into the great hell and suffered much bitter torment. After emerging from hell, throughout five hundred lifetimes he has constantly received such a body. Because he planted the cause of taking pleasure in giving, he has constantly been born wealthy and noble, able to be the owner of property.' (Extracted from the Damamūka-nidāna-sūtra, fascicle 7.)