經律異相 14.18

14.18

The Buddha was in the Kalandaka Bamboo Grove at Rājagṛha. At that time, the Venerable Śāriputra was on Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa entering the diamond samādhi (the Saṃyuktāgama says he had just shaved his hair and beard). At that time, there were two spirits (yakṣas), one named Kāla and the other named Upakāla. Heavenly King Vaiśravaṇa sent them on a mission to King Virūpākṣa to discuss the affairs of humans and gods. At that time, the two spirits passed through the empty sky and from afar saw Śāriputra sitting cross-legged, keeping mindfulness before him, his mind in tranquil concentration. The spirit Kāla said to the other spirit, “I am capable right now of striking this śramaṇa's head with my fist!” The spirit Upakāla said to the second spirit, “Do not give rise to this thought of striking the śramaṇa's head! Why? This śramaṇa has tremendous spiritual virtue and great, awe-inspiring power; among the disciples of the Bhagavat, his intelligence and wisdom are foremost! You will incur immeasurable suffering in the long night [of saṃsāra].” At that time, that spirit repeated a second and third time, “I am capable of striking this śramaṇa's head!” The spirit Upakāla replied, “If you will not follow my words now, then stay here; I will abandon you and leave.” This evil spirit said, “Do you fear the śramaṇa?” Upakāla said, “I truly fear him! If you strike this śramaṇa with your hand, the earth will split into two parts, violent winds and swift rains will arrive, and the earth will also shake. The gods will be terrified, and the Four Heavenly Kings will know; we will not remain safely in our dwelling!” At that time, the evil spirit said, “I am capable right now of humiliating this śramaṇa.” Having heard this, the good spirit abandoned him and departed. Then that evil spirit struck Śāriputra's head. At that time, heaven and earth shook violently, and from the four directions violent winds and swift rains immediately arrived; the earth split into two parts, and the evil spirit plunged whole-bodied into hell (the Saṃyuktāgama says that Śāri[putra] said, “It burns me, it boils me,” and the spirit Ghāṭa sank into hell). Śāriputra arose from samādhi, straightened his robes, and went to the Bamboo Grove. Arriving at the Bhagavat's place, he bowed with his head and face to the feet and sat to one side. At that time, the Buddha asked Śāriputra, “Is your body free from illness today?” Śāriputra said, “My body is ordinarily free of ailments, but I suffer only from a headache.” The Bhagavat said to him, “The spirit Kāla struck your head with his hand. If that spirit had struck Mount Sumeru with his hand, the mountain would have split in two! Why? That spirit had great strength. Now, because this spirit must receive the retributive consequence of his offense, he has plunged whole-bodied into the Avīci hell.” At that time, the Bhagavat addressed the bhikṣus: “Extremely marvelous, extremely extraordinary is the power of the diamond samādhi, reaching even unto this: due to this samādhi, nothing can cause injury! Even if Mount Sumeru were to strike the head, it could never move a single hair of his! Why is this? Bhikṣus, listen! In this Auspicious Kalpa (Bhadrakalpa), there was a Buddha named Krakucchanda. That Buddha had two great śrāvakas: one named Sañjīva and the second named Mahāprajñā. Sañjīva was foremost in spiritual powers, and Mahāprajñā was foremost in wisdom, just as today Śāriputra is foremost in wisdom and Maudgalyāyana is foremost in spiritual powers. At that time, the two bhikṣus Sañjīva and Mahāprajñā both attained the diamond samādhi. Sañjīva was once in a quiet and secluded place entering tranquil concentration. At that time, herdsmen of cattle and sheep and gatherers of firewood and grass saw him, and said to one another, ‘This śramaṇa has now met his impermanence!’ They then gathered grass and wood, piled it upon his body, set it on fire, burned him, and went away. At that time, Sañjīva soon arose from concentration, straightened his robes, and entered the village to beg for food. The various firewood gatherers saw the bhikṣu returning, and said to one another, ‘This bhikṣu died yesterday and we burned him with fire, yet today he has returned alive! Now we should give him the name ‘Returned-to-Life’ (Sañjīva)!’ If a bhikṣu attains the diamond samādhi, though he enters water, fire, knives, or swords, they cannot harm him. Such is the awe-inspiring virtue of the diamond samādhi. Now Śāriputra has attained this samādhi; he frequently roams in two places: the emptiness-of-emptiness samādhi and the diamond samādhi.” (Extracted from the Ekottarika-āgama, scroll 30)