經律異相 10.18

10.18

In the past, in the eastern Jambudvīpa, there was a bodhisattva named Rūpala. Due to the power of his vows, he was born therein and became a wheel-turning sage king ruling the four continents, known as Pure like Space. He addressed all sentient beings, establishing them in the ten wholesome deeds and the three vehicles. At that time, he gave everything away without distinction. Because the beggars were countless, the rare treasures were insufficient. He then asked his ministers: 'From where do such rare treasures originate?' The ministers replied: 'Although the nāga kings have them, they are offered only to sage kings.' In the age of the five turbidities, when defilements are thick and heavy and the human lifespan is one hundred years, he would certainly attain anuttarasamyaksaṃbodhi. Becoming a great nāga king, he manifested various treasuries of jewels. In choosing various evil worlds, in every place throughout the four continents, he took birth seven times in each continent, and in each birth manifested immeasurable hundreds of thousands of millions of nayutas of treasuries of rare treasures. In this sequence, he pervaded the ten directions. In the evil age of the five turbidities, hundreds of thousands of millions of devas and humans rained flowers in the sky, praised him, and lauded him as fulfilling all wishes; the great assembly heard the voice. For King Pure like Space, the devas gave the name Giver of All. At that time, people respectively begged the king for his queen, court maidens, and children; the king gave all of them away. There was a beggar named Blue Radiance who, observing the canine precepts, begged the king for Jambudvīpa. The king joyfully gave it to him, anointed his head with fragrant water, and had him succeed to the sage king's throne. Furthermore, the people were led to serve this king. The king's lifespan was no different [from before]: 'When I attain the Buddha path, I shall give him a prophecy of being bound to one more birth.' A brāhmaṇa named Ruci begged for his two feet; a brāhmaṇa named Tooth begged for his two eyes; a brāhmaṇa named Pure and Firm begged for his two ears; a Nirgrantha ascetic named Concept begged for his male organ; and a brāhmaṇa named Honey Flavor begged for his two hands. Thereupon he severed or gouged them all and bestowed them on the spot. Then all the lesser kings and ministers said: 'How pitiful, what a foolish man! Why cut yourself up? What are the remaining pieces of flesh worth? Carry him out and place him in the wilderness, so that insects, beasts, vultures, and eagles may all come and eat him.' [The king vowed:] 'If what I aspire to is fulfilled, may this body become a great mountain of flesh, so that all blood-drinking and flesh-eating creatures may come here and drink and eat at will, and my body may grow ever larger! By the power of the vow regarding the tongue I have renounced, may I obtain a broad and long tongue in future lives!' At that time, when my life ended in Jambudvīpa, by the power of my past vows I was born as a nāga king named Manifesting Treasuries of Jewels. On the very night of my birth, I manifested hundreds of thousands of millions of nayutas of various kinds of treasuries of jewels, personally proclaiming the order: 'Equipped with all rare treasures up to mani pearls, use them as you wish; fully practice the ten wholesome deeds, and generate the supreme bodhicitta!' In this way, I assumed bodies seven times, and in each life the lifespan was seventy-seven thousand million nayutas of hundreds of thousands of years; the immeasurable treasuries of jewels were likewise so." (Extracted from the Sūtra on Choosing Various Evil Worlds in the Future).