經律異相 10.28

10.28

'Ānanda, in the distant past there was a crown prince named Lotus King, upright, handsome, and of majestic spiritual power. Going out to travel, he saw a man on the road whose body was afflicted with leprosy. Having seen him, he felt deep compassion, and asked the sick man what medicine could cure him. [The sick man] replied: 'If I obtain the marrow of a royal prince to smear upon my body, the disease will be healed.' At that time, the prince cracked open his own bones and gave the marrow to the sick person in joyful generosity, with no regret in his heart. The prince at that time was myself. The water of the great ocean can still be measured by the bushel, but the marrow of my body given in charity is beyond reckoning' (Extracted from the Sūtra on the Questions of Maitreya on His Past Vows).