經律異相 36.4

36.4

流水長者子。於天自在光王國內。治一切眾生無量苦患。令身平復。以病除故多設福業。作如是言。善哉長者。能益眾生無量壽命。必是菩薩解諸方藥。時長者共二子水空水藏。將其二子次第遊行城邑聚落。最後到一大空澤中。見諸虎狼狗犬鳥獸。悉皆一向馳奔而去。長者逐而觀之見有一池。其水枯涸。於其池中多有諸魚。見是魚已生大悲心。時有樹神示現半身。作如是言。大善男子。此魚可愍汝可與水。是故號汝名為流水。汝今應當隨名定實。時長者子問樹神言。此魚頭數為有幾所。樹神答言。足滿十千。增大悲心。時此空池為日所曝。唯少水在。是十千魚。將入死門四向婉轉。見是長者心生恃賴。隨是長者所至方面。隨逐瞻視目未曾捨。是時長者馳趣四方。推求索水了不能得。見有大樹尋取枝葉。還到池上與作蔭涼。復更推求是池中水本從何來。即出四向周遍求覓。莫知水處。復更疾走見一大河。名曰水生。有諸惡人為捕此魚故於上流懸嶮之處。決棄其水不令下過。長者向王說其因緣。唯願大王借二十大象。令得負水濟彼魚命。如我與諸病人壽命。王勅大臣速疾供給。汝今自可至象厩中隨意選取利益眾生。是時流水及其二子。將二十象借索皮囊。疾至河上盛水象負。水遂彌滿還復如本。時長者子於池四邊傍佯而行。魚亦隨逐循岸而行。時長者子復作是念。是魚必為飢火所惱。復欲從我求索飲食。我今當與。時長者子告其子言。汝取一象最大力者。速至家中。所有可食之物。乃是父母飲噉之分。及以妻子奴婢之分。一切聚集悉載象上。急速來還。爾時二子往至家中。白其祖父說如上事。收取家中可食之物。載象背上疾還父所至空澤池。時長者子見其子還。心生歡喜踊躍無量。從子邊取飲食之物。散著池中與魚食已。即自思惟。我今已能與此魚食。令其飽滿。未來之世當施法食。曾聞過去空閑之處有一比丘讀誦大乘方等經典。其經中說。若有眾生臨命終時。得聞寶勝如來名號。即生天上。我今當為是十千魚。解說甚深十二因緣。亦當稱說寶勝佛名。即便入水。作如是言。南無過去寶勝如來。本往昔時行菩薩道。作是誓願。若有眾生於十方界。臨命終時聞我名者。當令是輩尋得上生三十三天。復為是魚解說如是甚深妙法。所謂十二因緣。說是法已。即共還家。是長者子復於後時。賓客聚會醉酒而臥。爾時其地卒大震動。時十千魚同日命終生忉利天。既生天已作是思惟。我等以何善業得生天中。復相謂言。我等先於閻浮提內。墮畜生中受於魚身。流水長者與我等水及以飲食。為我等說十二因緣。并稱寶勝如來名號。以是因緣令我等輩得生此天。我等今當報恩供養。時長者子在樓屋上露臥眠睡。是十千天子。以十千真珠天妙瓔珞置其頭邊。復以十千置其足邊。復以十千置右脇邊。復以十千置左脇邊。雨曼陀羅花摩訶曼陀羅華積至于膝。種種天樂出妙音聲。閻浮提中有睡眠者皆悉覺悟。流水長者子亦從睡悟。是十千天子於上空中飛騰遊行。天自在光王國內處處皆雨天妙蓮華。是諸天子復至本處空澤池所。復雨天華。便從此沒還忉利宮。隨意自在受天五欲。過是夜已。天自在光王。問諸大臣。昨夜何緣示現如是淨妙瑞相。大臣答言。大王當知。忉利諸天於流水長者子家。雨四十千真珠瓔珞及不可計曼陀羅華。王即告臣。卿可往至彼長者家喚令使來。即至其家宣王教令。是時長者尋至王所。王問長者。何緣示現如是瑞相。長者子言。我必定知。是十千魚其命已終。時大王言。今可遣人審實是事。爾時流水尋遣其子至彼池所。看是諸魚死活定實。爾時其子向於彼池。見其池中多有摩訶曼陀羅華。積聚成𧂐其中。諸魚悉皆命終。還白父言。彼諸魚等悉已命終。爾時流水復往王所。是十千魚悉皆命終。王聞歡喜。爾時世尊告善女天。時流水長者子今我身是。長子水空羅睺羅是。次子水藏今阿難是。時十千魚者今十千天子是。是故我今為其受記。爾時樹神現半身者今汝身是（出金光明經第四卷）。

The elder's son Jalavāhana cured the countless sufferings and afflictions of all sentient beings in the kingdom of King Devendrāvabhāsa, restoring their bodies to health. Because their illnesses were eliminated, they performed many meritorious deeds, saying, "Excellent, O elder! You are able to extend the countless lifespans of sentient beings. You must surely be a bodhisattva who understands all medicinal remedies." At that time, the elder, together with his two sons, Jalagarbha and Jalamambara, gradually travelled through cities, towns, and villages. At last they came to a large, empty marsh, where they saw tigers, wolves, dogs, birds, and beasts all fleeing in one direction. The elder followed and observed them, and saw a pool whose water was dried up, containing a great many fish. Seeing these fish, he felt great compassion. At that time, a tree spirit revealed half of its body and spoke these words: "Great good man, these fish are pitiful; you should give them water. For this reason you are named Jalavāhana ('Water-Bearer'); you should now act in accord with your name and fulfill its reality." Then the elder's son asked the tree spirit, "How many fish are there in number?" The tree spirit replied, "A full ten thousand." His great compassion increased. At that time, this dry pool was baked by the sun, with only a little water remaining. These ten thousand fish were on the verge of entering the gate of death, writhing in all directions. Seeing the elder, their minds placed their reliance upon him; whichever direction the elder went, they followed and gazed at him, their eyes never leaving him. Then the elder hurried in all four directions, seeking water, but was completely unable to find any. Seeing a large tree, he immediately took branches and leaves, returned to the pool, and made shade and coolness for them. Again he searched to discover where the water in this pool originally came from. He went forth, searching everywhere in all four directions, but found no water source. Running swiftly again, he saw a great river named Waterspring. Evil people, in order to catch these fish, had breached and diverted the water upstream at a precipitous place, preventing it from flowing down. The elder went to the king and explained the circumstances: "I only pray that the great king will lend twenty great elephants to carry water to save the lives of those fish, just as I have given life to sick people." The king ordered his ministers to supply them swiftly: "You may now go to the elephant stables and select them as you wish, to benefit sentient beings." Then Jalavāhana and his two sons took twenty elephants, borrowed leather bags, hurried to the river, filled them with water, and loaded them onto the elephants. The water thereupon filled the pool, restoring it to its original state. Then the elder's son paced back and forth along the four sides of the pool, and the fish followed along the banks. Then the elder's son had this thought: "These fish must be tormented by the fire of hunger; they are again seeking food from me. I should now give it to them." Then the elder's son said to his son, "Take one of the strongest elephants, go quickly to our home, gather all edible things—even the portions of food and drink for my parents, and the portions for my wife, children, male and female servants—load everything onto the elephant, and return in haste." Then the two sons went to the house, reported the matter to their grandfather, collected the edible things in the house, loaded them onto the elephant's back, and swiftly returned to their father at the pool in the empty marsh. When the elder's son saw his sons return, he was boundlessly overjoyed. He took the food and drink from the sons and scattered it into the pool. After feeding the fish, he reflected: "I have now been able to give food to these fish and satisfy them. In future lives, I should give them the food of the Dharma. I once heard that in an empty, quiet place in the past, a monk was reciting Mahāyāna Vaipulya sūtras, in which it was said that if any sentient being at the point of death hears the name of the Tathāgata Ratnaśikhin, they will immediately be reborn in heaven. I should now explain the profound twelve links of dependent origination to these ten thousand fish, and also proclaim the name of the Buddha Ratnaśikhin." He then entered the water and said: "Homage to the past Tathāgata Ratnaśikhin, who formerly, when practicing the bodhisattva path, made this vow: 'If any sentient beings in the realms of the ten directions hear my name at the point of death, I shall cause them immediately to be reborn in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three.'" He further explained this profound and wondrous Dharma—namely, the twelve links of dependent origination—to the fish. Having spoken this Dharma, they returned home together. At a later time, when guests were gathered, the elder's son became drunk with wine and lay asleep. At that time, the earth suddenly shook violently. The ten thousand fish died on the same day and were reborn in the Trāyastriṃśa heaven. Having been born in heaven, they reflected: "By what wholesome karma have we been born in heaven?" They said to one another: "Formerly, in Jambudvīpa, we fell among the animals and received the bodies of fish. The elder Jalavāhana gave us water and food, explained the twelve links of dependent origination to us, and proclaimed the name of the Tathāgata Ratnaśikhin. By these causes and conditions, we have been born in this heaven. We should now repay his kindness and make offerings." At that time, the elder's son was sleeping out in the open on the upper terrace of his multistoried house. The ten thousand devaputras placed ten thousand heavenly, wondrous necklaces of genuine pearls by his head, ten thousand by his feet, ten thousand on his right side, and ten thousand on his left side. They rained down māndārava and mahāmāndārava flowers until they piled up to his knees. Various kinds of heavenly music produced wondrous sounds, so that everyone in Jambudvīpa who was asleep woke up. The elder's son Jalavāhana also woke from sleep. The ten thousand devaputras flew and travelled through the sky above, raining down heavenly, wondrous lotus flowers everywhere within the kingdom of King Devendrāvabhāsa. The devaputras then went to their original place at the pool in the empty marsh, rained down heavenly flowers again, and then disappeared from there to return to the palace of Trāyastriṃśa, enjoying the five heavenly desires at will and with sovereignty. When the night had passed, King Devendrāvabhāsa asked his ministers, "For what reason did such pure and wondrous auspicious signs appear last night?" A minister replied, "The great king should know: the devas of Trāyastriṃśa rained down forty thousand pearl necklaces and immeasurable māndārava flowers at the house of the elder's son Jalavāhana." The king told the minister, "You may go to that elder's house and summon him here." He immediately went to his house and proclaimed the king's order. The elder then came to the king. The king asked the elder, "For what reason did such auspicious signs appear?" The elder's son said, "I know for certain that those ten thousand fish have died." The great king said, "Now we should send someone to verify this matter." Jalavāhana then sent his son to the pool to see whether the fish were dead or alive. His son went to the pool and saw that there were many mahāmāndārava flowers piled up into a mound, and the fish had all died. He returned and told his father, "Those fish have all died." Then Jalavāhana went again to the king [and told him] that the ten thousand fish had all died. Hearing this, the king rejoiced. At that time, the Bhagavat told the Goddess of Good Fortune (Śrīmahādevī): "The elder's son Jalavāhana at that time was myself. The eldest son, Jalamambara, was Rāhula. The second son, Jalagarbha, was Ānanda. The ten thousand fish were these ten thousand devaputras; therefore, I now confer prophecy upon them. The tree spirit who revealed half of her body at that time was you" (from the fourth fascicle of the Suvarṇaprabhāsa Sūtra).