經律異相 12
English (machine translation) 12
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- English
12.1
Compiled by the Liang dynasty śramaṇas Sengmin, Baochang, and others
12.2
1. Wugou Dwells in the Mountains, a Woman Takes Shelter from the Rain in His Cave, the Rṣis Call It Impure, He Ascends into the Air to Prove Himself
2. King of Wisdom Converts People to the Way with Food of a Hundred Flavours
3. The Elder Accepts the Sale of Gaṅgā's Body to Offer Food
4. Sumati, Initially an Eight-Year-Old Girl, Transforms into a Man, Goes Forth from the Household, and Preaches the Dharma
5. Mahālu Reads the Mahāyāna Sūtras and Is Guided by the Sage
6. Sumati Has Five Kinds of Dreams and Entreats the Buddha to Explain Them
7. A Woman on a High Tower Sees the Buddha, Transforms into a Male Body, Goes Forth from the Household, and Brings Benefit
8. A Woman in the Womb Hears the Dharma, Transforms into a Man, Goes Forth from the Household, and Cultivates the Way
9. A Śramaṇa Shows Compassion to a Dog, Who Transforms into a Human and Establishes Himself on the Stage of Non-Retrogression
12.3
1. Wugou Dwells in the Mountains, a Woman Takes Shelter from the Rain in His Cave, the Ṛṣis Call It Impure, He Ascends into the Air to Prove Himself
12.4
In the past, during the time of Kakutsunda Buddha, there was a monk named Wugou who lived in seclusion in a mountain cave within the borders of a kingdom. Not far from him were five immortal ṛṣis. A woman encountered a great downpour on the road, entered the monk's cave, and departed when the rain stopped. At that time, the five ṛṣis saw her, and each said, 'The monk is licentious and defiled.' Hearing this, Wugou immediately leapt into the air, forty-nine feet above the ground. Seeing him flying in the air, the ṛṣis each said, 'According to the records of our scriptures, one who is tainted by the dust of desire cannot fly.' Thereupon, they cast their five limbs to the ground, prostrated themselves, and confessed their false slander. Had the monk not manifested supernatural transformations, the five kings of ṛṣis would have fallen into the great hells. That monk Wugou was the present Bodhisattva Maitreya. (Extracted from the first fascicle of the Huishang pusa jing.)
12.5
2. King of Wisdom Converts People to the Way with Food of a Hundred Flavours
12.6
In the past, there was a Buddha named Monengsheng. There was a monk named King of Wisdom. At daybreak, while begging for alms, he received food of a hundred flavours and various types of provisions. On the road was the son of an elder, named Vimalabāhu, being carried by a wet-nurse. Seeing the monk from afar, he slipped down from the nurse's embrace, immediately followed the monk, and begged for food from him. At that time, the monk gave him a honey cake. The child ate it and knew it to be sweet and delicious, so he followed the monk. As the honey cake was almost finished, the monk gave him another, and brought him to where the Buddha was, prostrating at the Buddha's feet. The King of Wisdom took the food he had obtained and gave it to the child, having him offer it to the Buddha to cause him to generate the mind of the Way. The Buddha immediately received it, and it filled the Buddha's bowl without diminishing. Next, it was given to eighty-four thousand śrāvakas and one billion two hundred million bodhisattvas. The Buddha and the holy assembly were all fully sated. Such offerings continued for seven days, and the food remained as before, without being depleted. The child rejoiced and spoke verses in praise of the Buddha, immediately giving rise to the unsurpassed, true Dharma-aspiration. At that time, his parents searched for their child, and came to the Buddha's location. The child greeted them and praised his parents in verse. Then the child converted his parents and five hundred people, causing them all to aspire to the unsurpassed, true Dharma. They all abandoned their homes to become śramaṇas, practiced the bodhisattva path, and attained Buddhahood. The King of Wisdom of that time was Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta; Vimalabāhu was myself. (Extracted from the Wanggu zaoxing jing.)
12.7
3. The Elder Accepts the Sale of Gaṅgā's Body to Offer Food
12.8
At that time, there was a bodhisattva named Shangshou, who acted as a mendicant and entered the city to beg for food. There was a monk named Gaṅgā, who said to the mendicant, 'Where have you come from?' He replied, 'I have come from the true reality.' Gaṅgā asked, 'What is meant by the true reality?' He replied, 'Because it has the characteristic of quiescent cessation, it is called the true reality.' Gaṅgā asked, 'Where should one seek the true Dharma?' He replied, 'One should seek it within the six pāramitās.' Gaṅgā rejoiced, bowed at Shangshou's feet, and asked, 'With what kind of food should one make an offering to this person?' Shangshou replied, 'You should offer the flavour of sudhā.' Gaṅgā then went to the market place and cried out, 'I wish to sell my body; who wants to buy it?' There was a householder named Vinodaka, who asked him, 'I want to buy you. What do you require?' Gaṅgā replied, 'I require sudhānara.' He said, 'How many do you want?' Gaṅgā replied, 'I want five.' The householder bought this man of the Way for five coins to employ him as a servant. Gaṅgā said to the master, 'My body belongs to you, but grant me seven days; I wish to make offerings to the monk Shangshou.' The householder said to Gaṅgā, 'I shall show you the residence, and then release you to return.' After seeing the residence, Gaṅgā set out on the road to return. Seeing that Shangshou had not yet obtained alms, he brought Shangshou to the market, bought food and drink of a hundred flavours, and brought him to a monastery named Four Kings. He arranged couches and seats, burned incense, scattered flowers, and presented various kinds of food and drink. (Extracted from the first fascicle of the Dafangdeng tuoluoni jing.)
12.9
4. Sumati, Initially an Eight-Year-Old Girl, Transforms into a Man, Goes Forth from the Household, and Preaches the Dharma
12.10
Sumati said to the Buddha, 'Bhagavat, as for the forty practices of a bodhisattva you have spoken of, I shall practice them without lack or deficiency.' At that time, the elder Maudgalyāyana asked, 'These forty practices are undertaken by great beings; how can you, a little girl, manage them?' She replied, 'Truly, I am capable of practicing them. If you do not believe me, may the three-thousand great-thousand world system shake in six ways on my account, may heavenly flowers rain down, and may musical instruments sound of their own accord without being played.' Immediately, it happened as she had spoken. The girl said, 'To prove my utmost sincerity: if I will later attain Buddhahood without falsehood, may those in the assembly all turn golden in colour!' Instantly, as she had spoken, their colour became like yellow gold. Maudgalyāyana said to the Buddha, 'I pay homage to one who has first generated the great aspiration and become a bodhisattva. Why so? Even an eight-year-old girl has such efficacy; how much more so an eminent mahāsattva!' Mañjuśrī asked, 'Why do you not transform your female body?' Sumati replied, 'In this, there is nothing to be attained. Why so? Dharma has neither male nor female. Now, I shall sever your doubts.' Sumati said, 'So that I may soon attain correct awakening, let me now transform into a male!' As soon as she spoke these words, she became a male body: her hair fell off on its own, a kāṣāya was upon her body, and she became a novice monk. She also said, 'When I become a Buddha, may there not be three things in my land: first, works of Māra; second, hell; third, female forms. If I am of utmost sincerity, may my body be like that of a thirty-year-old śramaṇa!' As soon as she spoke these words, her physical appearance and colour became like those of a thirty-year-old. She further said to Mañjuśrī, 'When I become a Buddha, may the people of my land all be golden in colour; may the land and the city walls have seven-jewelled trees, jewelled ponds, and jewelled flowers, neither too many nor too few, all perfectly equal.' She also said, 'May all those in the assembly become golden in colour!' Instantly, the entire assembly took on a golden appearance. At that time, the Earth-holding deity emerged from the ground, manifested a heavenly body, raised his voice, and praised the virtue of Sumati's three declarations, saying that she would before long become a Buddha. (Extracted from the Fosong xumati pusa jing.)
12.11
5. Mahālu Reads the Mahāyāna Sūtras and Is Guided by the Sage
12.12
The monk Mahālu: the king of the country, believing that he frequently read the Mahāyāna, always untied his hair to let him step across it. There was another monk who said to the king, 'This Mahālu does not read the sūtras often; why do you make such offerings to him?' The king said, 'Day and night, I wish to see this monk.' He then went and saw him reading the Lotus Sūtra in a cave. He saw a person of golden radiance riding a white elephant, with hands joined in offering. As the king approached closer, the figure disappeared and was no longer seen. He then asked, 'Venerable One, why did the person of golden radiance disappear when I came?' The monk said, 'That was the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra (who is Samantabhadra in the Lotus Sūtra) coming to teach and guide me in reciting this sūtra.' (Extracted from the ninth fascicle of the Dazhidu lun.)
12.13
6. Sumati Has Five Kinds of Dreams and Entreats the Buddha to Explain Them
12.14
The monk Sumati said to the Tathāgata Dīpaṃkara, 'In the past, while in the deep mountains, I had five kinds of dreams: first, I dreamed I was lying upon the great sea; second, I dreamed I had Mount Sumeru as a pillow; third, I dreamed that all sentient beings in the sea entered into my body; fourth, I dreamed that my hand held the sun; fifth, I dreamed that my hand held the moon. I pray only that the Bhagavat explain them for me.' At that time, the Buddha replied, 'Dreaming of lying upon the great sea means that your body is presently in the great sea of birth and death. Dreaming of having Mount Sumeru as a pillow means you will transcend birth and death and attain the characteristic of nirvāṇa. Dreaming that all sentient beings in the sea enter into your body means that in the great sea of birth and death, you will serve as a refuge for all sentient beings. Dreaming that your hand holds the sun means the light of your wisdom will universally illuminate the Dharma realm. Dreaming that your hand holds the moon means that by the wisdom of expedient means you will enter into birth and death, and with the cooling Dharma guide and convert sentient beings.' (Extracted from the first fascicle of the Guoqu xianzai yinguo jing.)
12.15
7. A Woman on a High Tower Sees the Buddha, Transforms into a Male Body, Goes Forth from the Household, and Brings Benefit
12.16
The elder Xufu had a daughter named Longshi, who was fourteen years of age. At that time, she was in the bathhouse, bathing, smearing herself with incense, and putting on fine clothes. The Buddha and his retinue emitted light from the curl of hair between his eyebrows, illuminating the interior of the sevenfold gates and causing the halls and rooms all to be brightly lit. The girl saw a light that surpassed the sun and moon, and knew in her heart that this was extraordinary. She then ran up to the top of the seven-storey tower, and facing east, saw the Buddha standing outside the gate. Greatly rejoiced, the girl thought to herself: 'Now I am able to give alms to the Buddha and the assembly of disciples, giving rise to the aspiration to practice the vows of a bodhisattva, so that I may later attain the Way like the Buddha.' Seeing the girl generate this great aspiration, Māra was displeased; he immediately descended and transformed into the girl's father, saying to Longshi: 'What you contemplate is extremely burdensome, and the Buddha-Way is difficult to attain. Fortunately, there is a Buddha in the present world; it would be better to seek [the stage of] an arhat. Moreover, both are liberation from the world and nirvāṇa, without difference.' Longshi replied: 'It is not as father says. The Buddha's wisdom is vast and saves people limitlessly, while an arhat's wisdom is as minute as a single speck of dust. What noble person would take joy in what is minor?' Māra spoke again: 'I have never heard of a woman becoming a wheel-turning king, let alone becoming a Buddha! It is better to seek [the stage of] an arhat and enter nirvāṇa early.' Longshi retorted: 'I too have heard that a woman cannot become a wheel-turning king and cannot become a Buddha. I shall make energetic progress and transform this female body into a male body. Indeed, I have heard that whoever in the world practices the bodhisattva Dharma without slackening for billions of kalpas will later become a Buddha.' Seeing that the girl's intention would not change, Māra became even more distressed and bitter, and further offered an urgent instruction, saying: 'If one practices the bodhisattva conduct, one is not covetous of the world and does not begrudge one's life. Now, if you are diligent and able to cast yourself down from the tower to the ground, you may later become a Buddha.' Longshi thought in her heart: 'Now I see the Buddha and crave the bodhisattva Way. My father has taught me to make energetic progress, and that through this body I can attain Buddhahood. Why should I begrudge this frail and brittle life?' She immediately stood by the railing, pressed her palms together toward the Buddha, and said: 'I take refuge in the God among gods. With omniscience, know what I seek: I pray to abandon my physical body and life without relinquishing the bodhisattva [vow], offering my body to the Buddha, wishing it to be like scattered flowers.' She then threw herself down from the tower. Before she reached the ground, she transformed into a man. The Buddha smiled, and five-coloured light issued from his mouth, illuminated one buddha-realm, circled the Buddha's body three times, and entered through the crown of his head. [The Buddha said:] 'Do you see this girl cast herself into the air and transform into a man? In past lives, this girl had already served ten thousand Buddhas, and in the future she will make offerings to future Buddhas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. Reaching seven hundred and sixty million kalpas, she will become a Buddha named Supreme Name (Mingshang). His lifespan will be one kalpa. After his parinirvāṇa, the scriptural teachings will flourish, coming to an end only after half a kalpa.' Thereupon, Longshi stood before the Buddha and addressed her parents, saying: 'I pray you will release me to become a śramaṇa.' Her parents immediately consented. The relatives within and without all gave rise to the aspiration for unsurpassed enlightenment. (Extracted from the Sūtra of the Girl Longshi)
12.17
8. A Woman in the Womb Hears the Dharma, Transforms Her Body into a Male, and Leaves the Household to Cultivate the Way
12.18
The Buddha was in Rājagṛha, at a great assembly of bodhisattvas and the fourfold community. As the Buddha preached the Dharma, there was a pregnant woman of the Jiala clan in the assembly. The child in her womb joined its palms and listened to the sūtra. Wanting the entire assembly to see this, the Buddha then manifested a great light that illuminated where the Jiala woman was sitting. The multitude all saw the female child in the womb joining her palms and listening to the sūtra, as if reflected in a mirror. With eight kinds of voice, the Buddha asked the female child in the womb: 'For what reason do you join your palms and listen to the sūtra?' By the Buddha's spiritual power, she immediately answered the Buddha: 'Because people in the world all practice the ten unwholesome deeds, I wish to cause them to practice the ten wholesome deeds. Furthermore, because birth and death among worldly people do not cease, and because people in the world are unfilial to their parents and do not make offerings to śramaṇas, brāhmaṇas, and men of the Way, for these reasons I join my palms and listen to the sūtra.' When the female child finished speaking these words, she was born, just as the Prince was born from the right side. The earth shook in six ways. Spontaneous heavenly music sounded in the air, and a multitude of heavenly flowers rained down. There was a thousand-petalled lotus flower as large as a chariot wheel, with a stem made of jewels, resembling blue lapis lazuli. The female child then sat upon the lotus flower. Śakra held heavenly garments and gave them to the child to wear. The female child told him: 'You are an arhat, and I am a bodhisattva; you are not my peer and not of my kind. I have my own garments.' Śāriputra addressed the Buddha: 'From which country has this female child come, that clothes should be sent to her?' The Buddha said: 'This female child comes from a pure buddha-realm in the southeast, a hundred thousand buddha-realms away from here.' Garments from her native country spontaneously arrived through the air with a rustling sound. When the female child saw the clothes arrive, she put them on. She was destined to attain the five supernatural faculties; moreover, the people of her native country all attained the five supernatural faculties. When the female child had finished putting on the clothes, she stepped down from the lotus flower and walked before the Buddha. With each step the female child took, the earth shook in six ways. Touching her head and face to the ground, she paid homage to the Buddha, saying three times, 'Namo Buddhāya.' Then kneeling upright, she addressed the Buddha: 'Now in this assembly there are many women of the Jiala clan. May the Buddha preach the sūtra for them, so that they may obtain male bodies.' The Buddha said: 'I do not cause you to become a man, nor do I cause you to become a woman; it is entirely obtained from one's own bodily deeds.' The Buddha said: 'There is one matter by which a male body can be quickly attained. What is this one? Generating the aspiration for the bodhisattva Way. Furthermore, a woman's body should be contemplated internally: it is like a mechanism, with bones and joints propping one another up, covered only by sinews and skin. A woman is constantly afraid of others, like a viper or a toad, not daring to come out by day.' At that time, seventy-five women of the Jiala clan in the assembly, hearing the Buddha preach the sūtra, rejoiced and leaped with joy. Stepping forward, they touched their heads and faces to the ground, paid homage to the Buddha, and said to him: 'We vow to generate the bodhisattva mind and become men. If we do not obtain male bodies, we will never rise.' At that time, seventy-five Jiala householders came from the country of Śrāvastī to the Buddha's place. Seeing all their wives before the Buddha, they thought to themselves: 'We have already lost our wives!' They then asked Śāriputra: 'These women are our wives; why are they here?' Śāriputra answered: 'They wish to become bhikṣuṇīs. Will you permit it or not?' The householders replied: 'First allow us to become bhikṣus.' Śāriputra addressed the Buddha: 'These seventy-five householders all wish to become bhikṣus.' The Buddha called out: 'Come, good sons!' They all became bhikṣus: their hair fell off spontaneously, kāṣāyas came onto their bodies, and with alms bowls in hand, they all came forward and paid homage to the Buddha. At that time, the seventy-five women each took off their pearl circlets and scattered them over the Buddha. Thereupon, in the sky, they spontaneously transformed into seventy-five pearl-encrusted canopies with hanging ornaments; inside the curtains were seven-jewelled beds with seats upon them, and beside the Buddha were countless bodhisattvas listening to the sūtra. Seeing this transformation, the seventy-five women all rejoiced greatly, and using the Buddha's spiritual power, they flew and remained in the sky. Flowers spontaneously rained down and were scattered over the Buddha. Coming down from the sky, they obtained male bodies, stepped forward, and addressed the Buddha: 'We wish to become bhikṣus.' The Buddha said to Maitreya Bodhisattva: 'Lead them away and confer the precepts upon them.' Maitreya Bodhisattva immediately conferred the precepts, and they became bhikṣus. For the female child, there spontaneously appeared a sevenfold transformed canopy of flowers with a stem like a lotus flower. She took it and gave it to her mother, saying: 'The Buddha is the teacher who delivers people in heaven and on earth. Mother, offer this flower canopy to the Buddha; it is a canopy for the teacher of heaven and earth. In the future, mother, you will also be a canopy for the world.' The female child said to her mother: 'Now you should generate the bodhisattva mind.' The mother replied to the female child: 'When I first conceived you, I constantly saw the Buddha, the Dharma, and the saṅgha of bhikṣus in dreams; I was free from the minds of the three poisons, and my body was peaceful and secure. I knew that the child in my womb was a bodhisattva mahāsattva; because of this, I was at ease. At that time, I generated the bodhisattva mind.' Having received the flower canopy, the mother took it and offered it to the Buddha. The earth shook in six ways. The Buddha said to Śāriputra: 'The stars of the four continents may still be counted, but the parents delivered by this female child throughout past and future cannot be known.' (Extracted from the Sūtra on the Girl in the Womb Listening to the Sūtra)
12.19
9. A Śramaṇa Shows Compassion to a Dog, Which Transforms into a Human and Stands in the Stage of Non-Retrogression
12.20
Formerly, in a certain country, grain prices soared, and the people were starving. At that time, a śramaṇa entered the city on his alms round, but obtained nothing. Next, he came to the gate of an elder of great nobility and wealth, where he received coarse, poor-quality food. Just as he was about to leave the city, within the gate he met a hunter and slaughterer who killed living beings, carrying a pup he was bringing home to kill. Seeing the śramaṇa, he rejoiced, came forward, and paid homage to him. The śramaṇa gave a blessing for longevity and long life. The śramaṇa knew that he had a pup and wished to kill and eat it, so he asked what he was carrying. He answered: 'I travel empty-handed.' The śramaṇa asked again: 'I have already seen the sin of killing living beings; it is extremely unwholesome. I wish to exchange my food for this pup so that its life may be saved; your merit will be boundless.' The man would not give it to him. The śramaṇa earnestly reasoned with and begged him, but he would not comply. The śramaṇa said again: 'If you are unwilling, you can at least show it to me.' The man then brought it out to show the śramaṇa. The śramaṇa took the food and fed it to the pup, stroked it with his hand, made a wish, and shed tears: 'It is the result of your own sins that you have received this dog's body, lacking freedom and facing being killed and eaten. May your sins be extinguished and blessings arise from life to life; may you leave the body of a pup, be born as a human, and encounter the Dharma wherever you are.' Having received the food, the pup gave rise to a wholesome mind, leaping with joy. After this, [the man] took it away, went home, and killed and ate it. When the pup's life ended, it was born into the family of a wealthy and noble great elder. As soon as it fell to the ground at birth, it had a compassionate mind. At that time, that śramaṇa on his alms round happened to arrive at the elder's gate. When the elder's son saw that śramaṇa, he remembered his past conditions; he then came forward, bowed his head, paid homage at the śramaṇa's feet, and invited him forward to make offerings of food of a hundred flavours. He came forward and addressed his parents: 'Now I wish to follow this great Upādhyāya, receive the sūtras and precepts, and become his disciple.' Cherishing him dearly, his parents would not allow it: 'Now our entire family has only you, a single son, who should continue our lineage. As master of the household, for what reason do you now wish to abandon us and depart?' The young child wept, refused to eat or drink, [saying]: 'If you do not wish to permit me, I will simply face death.' Seeing this, the parents then permitted him to go. Following his master to study the Way, he shaved his beard and hair, donned the three Dharma robes, chanted the Buddha's sūtras, deeply understood their meaning, attained samādhi, and stood in non-retrogression, inspiring and converting all beings and generating the great intention for the Way. The śramaṇa immediately recognized past lives, generated the bodhisattva mind, and stood in non-retrogression. How much more so would it be for someone who makes offerings to and serves the Three Jewels, and recites the Mahāyāna! (Extracted from the Sūtra on the Deliverance of the Pup)
12.21
Diverse Phenomena from the Sūtras and Vinaya, Fascicle 12
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- 經律異相 — Classical Chinese