經律異相 12.6

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.)