經律異相 7.19

7.19

佛弟孫陀羅難陀。身長一丈五尺四寸。佛與阿難在迦維羅竭國入城乞食。難陀在高樓上見。下作禮曰。如來應作轉輪聖王。何為自辱持鉢乞食。取鉢盛美食。佛即還尼拘類園語諸侍者。難陀出勿取令自送來。難陀送至佛所。婦出囑言待還乃食。授鉢催佛速受。佛言。卿已至此。今宜出家。加以神力閉在靜室。久久之後次第當直。難陀喜曰。我因事暇逃走還家。是時難陀隨所應作事事不闕。天神隨逐。汲水亦滿自然翻棄。所淨之地草土更滋。關閉門戶。戶輒更開。難陀念言。設有所失家足備償。脫三法衣。更著餘服。竊隨小徑。避佛還家。行來未遠。正值如來。奔就大樹。欲自隱身。樹反在後。佛以神力。拔樹懸空。難陀入樹根處。佛言。何為至此。默然慚愧。佛再三告云。汝欲何趣。答曰。還家與婦相見。佛言。夫人學道。心著貪欲不顧後世燒身之禍。我今將汝上天遊觀。宜自專心勿懷恐怖。佛接昇天。見一宮殿。七寶莊嚴玉女營從不可稱計。唯無夫主。難陀問佛。此何天宮。獨無夫主。佛言。汝可自問。難陀問之。天女答曰。佛弟難陀。若持戒者當生於此。還具白佛。佛言。快修梵行不久必生。復以神力。接至地獄。路經鐵圍山表。見一瞎獼猴。佛問難陀。汝婦孫陀利何如獼猴。答曰。孫陀利。女中妙絕。豈得比此。佛曰。比諸天女亦億千萬倍。遍至地獄。見種種苦痛。有一火鑊。獄卒圍遶。湯沸火熾。不見罪人。難陀白佛。那獨無罪人。佛言。汝自問之。獄卒答曰。甘露王子難陀。婬欲情重。恃貴輕人。死當生此。難陀失色。急問世尊。求離地獄。佛說微妙法。令至道場（出童子問佛乞食經又出出耀經第十六卷）。

The Buddha's younger brother Sundarananda was one zhang, five chi, and four cun tall. When the Buddha and Ānanda were in the city of Kapilavastu entering the city to beg for food, Nanda saw them from a high tower, came down, bowed, and said: 'The Tathāgata ought to be a wheel-turning sage king (cakravartin). Why debase yourself to hold a bowl and beg for food?' He took the bowl and filled it with fine food. The Buddha then returned to the Nyagrodha Park and told his attendants: 'When Nanda comes out, do not take the bowl; make him deliver it himself.' Nanda brought it to the Buddha's place. As he left, his wife had instructed him: 'Wait until you return before eating.' Offering the bowl, he urged the Buddha to accept it quickly. The Buddha said: 'Since you have come here, you should leave household life now.' Adding his supernatural power, he locked him in a quiet room. After a long while, it was his turn to take watch on duty. Delighted, Nanda said: 'Taking advantage of this spare moment, I shall flee and return home.' At that time, whatever tasks Nanda was supposed to perform, he left none undone. But heavenly spirits followed him: when he drew water until it was full, it spontaneously tipped over; on ground he had cleaned, grass and dirt grew even more abundantly; when he shut the doors and windows, the doors would always open again. Nanda thought: 'Even if there are losses, my family can fully compensate for them.' He took off the three Dharma robes, put on other garments, and secretly followed a small path, avoiding the Buddha to return home. Before he had gone far, he ran right into the Tathāgata. He rushed toward a large tree, wishing to conceal himself, but the tree turned behind him. By his supernatural power, the Buddha uprooted the tree and suspended it in the air. Nanda stood where the tree roots had been. The Buddha said: 'Why have you come here?' Silent, he was filled with shame. The Buddha asked him repeatedly: 'Where do you wish to go?' He answered: 'To return home and see my wife.' The Buddha said: 'When a man studies the Way, his mind clings to greed and desire, heedless of the disaster of burning his body in future lives. I shall now take you up to heaven to tour and see; you should concentrate your mind and harbor no terror.' The Buddha lifted him up to heaven. He saw a palace adorned with the seven jewels, with jade maidens attending in numbers beyond counting, but without a master. Nanda asked the Buddha: 'What heavenly palace is this that alone lacks a master?' The Buddha said: 'You may ask them yourself.' Nanda asked, and a heavenly maiden answered: 'The Buddha's younger brother Nanda, if he keeps the precepts, will be born here.' He returned and reported this in full to the Buddha. The Buddha said: 'Diligently cultivate the brahma-conduct, and before long you will surely be born here.' Again, using his supernatural power, he brought him to the hells. Passing beyond the Iron Enclosing Mountains, he saw a blind monkey. The Buddha asked Nanda: 'How is your wife Sundarī compared to this monkey?' He answered: 'Sundarī is supremely exquisite among women; how could she be compared to this?' The Buddha said: 'Compared to the heavenly maidens, she is likewise inferior by hundreds of thousands of ten-millions of times.' Going all through the hells, he saw various kinds of agony. There was a cauldron of fire surrounded by hell wardens; the broth was boiling and the fire blazing, but no sinner was seen. Nanda addressed the Buddha: 'Why is this one alone without a sinner?' The Buddha said: 'Ask them yourself.' The hell wardens replied: 'Nanda, son of King Amṛtodana, is heavy with lustful desire and relies on his nobility to demean others; upon death, he will be born here.' Nanda turned pale with fright and urgently asked the Bhagavat, seeking to escape hell. The Buddha preached the wondrous Dharma, causing him to attain the place of awakening (bodhimaṇḍa). (From the Sūtra of the Boy Asking the Buddha About Begging Food, and also from the sixteenth fascicle of the Udānavarga Sūtra).