經律異相 11.34

11.34

In the past, the Bodhisattva was a nine-coloured deer. Its coat was of nine colours, and its antlers were as white as snow. It ate and drank water and grass beside the Ganges River, and was constant friends with a crow. At that time, a drowning man in the water came floating down with the current, now rising, now sinking. Looking up, he cried out to Heaven: 'Mountain spirits, tree spirits, all heavenly and nāga spirits, why do you not pity me?' Hearing him, the deer entered the water and said, 'You may mount my back and grasp my antlers.' It carried him out and onto the bank. Reaching land, the drowning man circumambulated the deer three times and kowtowed to it, begging to become a slave to this great master, to run its errands and gather water and grass. The deer said, 'There is no need. Just go your own way. If you wish to repay my kindness, do not tell anyone that I am here. People covet my pelt and antlers, and will surely come to kill me.' At that time, the queen of the country saw the nine-coloured deer in a night dream. She immediately feigned illness and would not rise. The king asked why. She replied, 'Last night I saw in a dream an extraordinary deer: its coat had nine colours and its antlers were as white as snow. I long to obtain its pelt to make a seating mat, and its antlers to make a whisk-handle. The king must obtain it for me. If the king does not obtain it, I shall surely die.' The king recruited throughout the country: 'If anyone can obtain it, I shall divide the kingdom with him to rule, and bestow upon him a gold bowl filled with silver millet and a silver bowl filled with gold millet.' Hearing of this and wishing to acquire wealth and honour, the drowning man reflected, 'A deer is a beast; what does its life or death matter?' He went to the king's place and said he knew where the deer was. Overjoyed, the king said, 'If you can bring its pelt and antlers, I will reward you with half the kingdom.' Leprous sores immediately broke out upon the drowning man's face. The drowning man said, 'Great King, though this deer is a beast, it possesses great spiritual power. The king ought to dispatch many soldiers; only then can it be taken.' The king immediately dispatched a great host of men. When they reached the bank of the Ganges River, the crow was atop a tree. Seeing the soldiers coming, it called out to the deer, 'Friend, arise! The king has arrived!' The deer was still fast asleep and unaware. The crow flew down and pecked its ear. Only then was the deer startled awake. Looking around in all four directions, there was no way to escape; so it went directly towards the king's carriage. The attendants wished to shoot it. The king said, 'Do not shoot! This deer is extraordinary; it may be a heavenly spirit.' The deer said, 'Great King, please do not shoot me. Previously, I saved the life of a person in the king's realm.' The deer then knelt long and asked the king, 'Who told you I was here?' The king pointed it out: 'It was the leper-faced man beside the carriage.' The deer then raised its head and looked at this man's face. Tears flowed from its eyes, and it could not contain itself: 'This man was drowning in the water previously. Sparing neither body nor life, I threw myself into the water and carried this man out. We made a covenant not to speak of me. One without gratitude is not as good as a piece of floating wood retrieved from the water!' The king looked ashamed and reproached his subject three times: 'You received its kindness, yet how could you turn around and seek to kill it?' He then decreed throughout the realm: 'If anyone chases this deer, their five familial clans shall be executed.' Several thousand deer all came to take refuge with it. They ate and drank water and grass without harming the crops. The winds and rains came in season, the five grains were abundant and ripe, the people were free of disease, and the realm was at great peace. The nine-coloured deer at that time was my own person. The crow was Ānanda. The king was my present royal father Śuddhodana. The queen of that time was Sundarī. The drowning man was Devadatta. Though I had a wholesome heart towards him, he still wished to harm me. Ānanda had earnest intentions. (Extracted from the Sūtra on the Nine-Coloured Deer.)