經律異相 10.4

10.4

When the Bodhisattva was Śakra, king of the gods, his mind was fixed on the marks of suffering, emptiness, and non-self. When seated he engaged in contemplation; when wandering he instructed and transformed others. Pitying the foolish and cherishing the wise, his vigorous exertion never ceased. Seeing that a friend from a past life had taken the body of a woman, had become the wife of a man of wealthy clan, and, deluded by wealth and sensual desires, was unaware of impermanence while living in the marketplace and minding her shop, Śakra transformed himself into a merchant. The woman invited him to sit down. The merchant stared intently at her and smiled; the woman thought it strange. To one side was a boy shaking a rattle-drum and leaping about in play; the merchant smiled again. There was a person whose father was sick, and the son offered a sacrifice of an ox; the merchant smiled yet again. There was a woman holding a baby boy, and the boy scratched his mother's cheeks so that blood flowed down her neck; the merchant smiled once more. The wife from the wealthy clan asked: “You stand before me smiling incessantly. Just now when I slapped the boy, why did you laugh at me?” The merchant replied: “You were my good friend; have you forgotten me now?” The woman was despondent and grew even more displeased, thinking the merchant's words strange. The merchant said further: “The reason I smiled when you slapped the boy is that the boy was your former father; his conscious spirit has now become your son. In the space of a single lifetime, you fail to recognize your own father; how much more so across a long time! As for the boy shaking the rattle-drum, in his previous life he was originally an ox; when the ox died, it returned to become a son to its master. The family used that ox's hide to make the skin of this drum. The boy now shakes and beats it, not recognizing his former body. As for using an ox to sacrifice in hopes that the father's illness will be cured, it is just like swallowing potent poison to treat a disease: the father will end up being an ox and being slaughtered for successive lifetimes, while this sacrificed ox will in turn receive a human body. As for the boy who scratched his mother's face, the boy was originally a minor wife, while the mother was the principal wife. Female jealousy always inflicted harsh cruelty [upon the concubine]; the concubine harbored resentment and grudge, and when her life ended she became the son of the principal wife. He scratches her face and harms her body, and she dares not resent him for it! The mind has no constancy; former hatred turns into present love—what permanence could there be? When one does not know even a single lifetime, how much less multiple kalpas! A sūtra says: ‘One who obstructs oneself with physical beauty is blind to the Great Way; one who is devoted to corrupt sounds will not hear the voice of the Buddha.’ It was for this reason that I smiled. The glories of the world are like lightning, vanishing in the twinkling of an eye. You ought to realize impermanence and not join company with the foolish. Revere virtue and the six pāramitās! I shall now return to my dwelling; on a later day I will certainly come to your gate.” When he finished speaking, he disappeared. The woman returned home dejected; purifying her mind, she respectfully looked out [for him]. Later, [he] indeed appeared at the gate, ugly in appearance and wearing tattered clothes, saying: “My friend is inside; you call her to come out!” The gatekeeper went in and reported, explaining his appearance in full. The woman came out and said: “You are not my friend!” Śakra smiled and said: “Having changed my shape and altered my garments, you still fail to recognize me; how much more so across different lifetimes?” He repeated: “Exert yourself in serving the Buddha! An era with a Buddha is difficult to encounter; monks of exalted conduct are difficult to obtain the opportunity to support. Life is within a breath; do not fall into worldly delusions!” When his words ended, he vanished. The entire country rejoiced and sighed in admiration, each upholding the exalted and wondrous practice of the six pāramitās. The Buddha told Śāriputra: “The woman was Maitreya, and Śakra, king of the gods, was myself.” (Extracted from the Sūtra on Maitreya Becoming a Female Body).