經律異相 14.39

14.39

Maudgalyāyana, receiving the Buddha's holy intention, [went to] a world in the west named Light Banner, where the Buddha named King of Light was currently preaching the Dharma. Maudgalyāyana arrived there to listen to the Buddha's words. That Buddha's body was four thousand li tall, the bodhisattvas' bodies were two thousand li tall, and the bowls from which the bodhisattvas ate were one li high. Maudgalyāyana walked along the rim of a bowl. Then the bodhisattvas addressed the Bhagavat: 'O Great Holy One! From where has this insect come, clad in the robes of a śramaṇa, walking along the rim of the bowl?' At that time, that Buddha said: 'Sons of good family, do not conceive a mind to despise or belittle this worthy. Why is that? This young man is named Mahāmaudgalyāyana; he is foremost in supernatural powers among the śrāvaka disciples of Śākyamuni Buddha.' Then the Buddha King of Light told Mahāmaudgalyāyana: 'The bodhisattvas and śrāvakas of my land, seeing your small body, have all conceived contempt. Worthy one, you should display the power of your supernatural feet, relying on Śākyamuni's majestic virtue.' Maudgalyāyana bowed down to his feet, circumambulated him to the right seven times, and stepped back before the Buddha, saying: 'I now wish to sit cross-legged in this place; will it accommodate me?' The Buddha said: 'As you please.' Then Mahāmaudgalyāyana leaped into the empty sky hundreds of millions of fathoms high, and above that jewelled city fashioned a couch and sat cross-legged. From his couch hung hundreds of thousands of koṭīs of diverse jewelled pearls. Each pearl emitted hundreds of thousands of rays of light, and in each ray of light there was a lotus flower. On every lotus flower, the body of Śākyamuni was manifested sitting upon the lotus flower, speaking just like Śākyamuni, his pure voice proclaiming the scriptures, identical and without difference. Having displayed his supernatural powers, Maudgalyāyana stood again before the Buddha. Then the bodhisattvas praised it as unprecedented and said to the Buddha: 'For what reason did this Maudgalyāyana come to this world?' The Bhagavat told them: 'Wishing to test how far the sound of Śākyamuni Buddha's voice penetrates, he came to this land.' Then the Buddha King of Light told Mahāmaudgalyāyana: 'Worthy one, you should not test the Tathāgata's voice. The Tathāgata's voice knows neither far nor near; it is vast, far-reaching, and immeasurable beyond comparison.' Then Mahāmaudgalyāyana cast himself at his feet, reformed, and repented his error: 'Indeed, Bhagavat! I was not discerning; the Buddha's voice is immeasurable, yet I recklessly conceived the thought of knowing its limits.' The King of Light told Mahāmaudgalyāyana: 'Although you have come far to this Buddha-land—' [Maudgalyāyana] further addressed the Buddha: 'It is very far, Deva among Devas; my body is utterly exhausted, and I cannot return to my own land.' The Bhagavat told him: 'How could you have reached this world by your own supernatural power? It was established solely by the majestic virtue of the Bhagavat Śākyamuni Buddha. You should take refuge from afar, bowing your head and paying homage to Śākyamuni Buddha, and you will naturally be able to reach it. If you were to use your own supernatural feet to return to your native country, you would not arrive in a kalpa.' Maudgalyāyana placed his right knee upon the ground, clasped his hands towards the east where Śākyamuni Buddha was, and took refuge; in the time it takes to bend and extend an arm, he immediately arrived (from the third fascicle of the *Guhyakādhipati-sūtra* [Miji jingang lishi jing]).