經律異相 15.35

15.35

Ānanda, together with two monks, arrived in the kingdom of King Aśoka. In Shanxiang, upon the monk's pine tree, fragrant flowers arrived of themselves, and bells chimed as though speaking. The monk of Shanxiang did not know the reason; he came out, bowed to the four quarters, and returned to the vegetarian hall to recite sūtras. Ānanda and the two monks transformed themselves into beggars and, leading three hundred other beggars, went to beg for food. The monk of Shanxiang prepared food, and when they had finished eating, they asked for robes, so he lent them clothing. The three hundred beggars refused to leave, so he provided for them morning and evening. All the beggars fell ill. The monk of Shanxiang then burned incense morning and evening, praying for blessings, and compounded medicine. The three hundred beggars all died. The monk of Shanxiang then went about soliciting donations, bathed them, and encoffined them. The king of the Aśoka kingdom sent people to bury them. A few days later, Ānanda and the two monks again transformed themselves into three scholars, their robes and bedding spotless, and went among the pines. The monk of Shanxiang came down from the lecture hall to welcome them, set out seats, and had them sit. The three scholars said to the monk of Shanxiang, “What do you seek by serving the Buddha?” The monk of Shanxiang said, “The Buddha's Path is a divine path. Between heaven and earth, only the Buddha's Path is divine. In serving the Buddha, I wish and vow through the Buddha's Path to deliver humans and non-humans, seeking nothing else.” The three scholars said, “The Buddha's Path is not divine; it is merely empty and void. Few people follow it. Why are you so foolish as to follow others in serving the Buddha?” The monk of Shanxiang said, “What you gentlemen say is contrary to the Dharma. The Buddha's Path is supremely divine, not something seen by ordinary people. Its transformations and impermanence are not something ordinary people can know. The common people are foolish and do not know it themselves. Making such vain statements only increases your guilt, gentlemen.” The three scholars then grew angry: “If you serve the Buddha, you should not go against people's wishes. Are you able to follow us and be our slave?” The monk of Shanxiang said, “Yes.” The three scholars said, “You are not fit to be a good slave; we shall have you carry night soil. You must obtain a hundred dān of dung on your own. If you fail to obtain a hundred dān of dung, we shall cut off your head.” The monk of Shanxiang then went out to carry night soil. Unable to obtain much, he returned to apologise to the scholars: “My strength is exhausted and I could not obtain much. I beg you to forgive my fault.” The three scholars were furious; they seized him, tied him up, flogged him severely three hundred times, and suddenly vanished on their own. Ānanda then transformed into an upāsaka, went to the monk of Shanxiang, and said, “What the three scholars did was unprincipled. Should you not report it to the king so that they may be punished?” The monk of Shanxiang said, “This was brought upon me by my own faults alone. One who serves the Buddha begrudges nothing: if asked for a head, he gives his head; if asked for a body, he gives his body. I only carried night soil and was flogged—what suffering is there in this?” Ānanda and the two monks then turned into King Aśoka and went to tell the monk of Shanxiang, “Serving the Buddha is certainly of no benefit. It is merely vain toil and suffering. Born into this world, a person must die in an instant. Why alone toil and suffer to uphold this scripture? I now wish to discuss a matter with you. If you comply with me, it will be well; if you do not comply, you, man of the Path, must die.” The monk of Shanxiang said, “What matter does the Great King wish to discuss?” The king said, “I have an exalted daughter whose talents and conduct surpass all others; her face and eyes are fair and beautiful, and her hands are like bee larvae. I admire you, man of the Path, for being gentle and good, and wish to give her to you; therefore I have come to make known my intention. You, man of the Path, must comply with me.” The monk of Shanxiang said, “I know the king's generous intention. I have upheld the Buddha's Dharma for accumulated years. Before my merit is accomplished, to covet instead the king's daughter and bring shame upon the Buddha's Path would be no small sin. If the king would kill me, I shall naturally accept it.” The king then sent men to take the monk of Shanxiang to the marketplace to be beheaded. The monk of Shanxiang then bowed to the Buddha and departed. Looking back to take leave of the king, he saw that it was actually Ānanda. The monk of Shanxiang then came forward, bowed with head and face to the ground. Ānanda rose, supported him, and made him sit down again; they all recognised one another. Ānanda said to the monk of Shanxiang, “Your merit is already accomplished, and you are destined to attain the Path. I tested you on purpose, merely to observe your resolve.” The monk of Shanxiang stepped down to the ground and said, “Ignorant as I am, I received the Buddha's grace and was able to be in the Dharma, yet I could not perform good deeds, troubling the divine person to come with such concern.” Ānanda transmitted the Path to the monk of Shanxiang, and together they ascended to the upper storey, reciting scriptures and explaining their meanings in shared joy and delight. King Aśoka bowed and knelt upright. Ānanda asked the king, “How many fascicles of Buddhist scriptures are there?” The king replied, “The Buddhist scriptures are exceedingly numerous, beyond counting. The scriptures currently extant consist of twelve divisions, comprising eighty-four thousand fascicles.” Ānanda asked the king, “How many fascicles have you already upheld?” The king replied, “I have already recited twelve thousand fascicles of the Samādhi Sūtra, and twelve thousand fascicles of the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra.” Ānanda asked the king, “Since you have seen so many scriptures, do you know how many li separate heaven and earth?” The king replied, “The Large Chapter Samādhi Sūtra states that heaven and earth are eight hundred and ten thousand li apart.” Ānanda asked the king, “How many grades of earth are there?” The king replied, “The Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra states that the earth has eighty-one cities, and each city has its people. The people in the northern city are ten zhang tall; those in the central city are eight chi tall; those in the southern city are three chi tall.” Ānanda asked the king, “Do you know who you originally were?” The king replied, “I cannot know the distant past, but can only know the recent past. I have once entered Naraka; I have once ascended to heaven; I have once undergone toil and suffering; I have once been a slave; I have once been domestic animals; I have once entered fire; and I have once been a good person. From having been a good person, I obtained becoming a king. Having witnessed matters of toil and suffering, I dare not do evil again.” Ānanda said, “You, O King, were originally a monk under Dīpaṃkara Buddha named Titouluo. The monk of Shanxiang was the monk Subhadra under Śākyamuni Buddha. Since the Buddha passed away, our people have been destitute and failed to uphold the Dharma firmly, thereby incurring guilt and transgressions; over the passing of many years, they no longer recognised each other. Formerly, the monk of Shanxiang and I were both born into an ordinary family; I was the elder brother, and the monk of Shanxiang was the younger brother. We always loved each other and followed each other in going out and coming in, without initially recognising this. In the future I shall become a king, and when the monk of Shanxiang is reborn, I shall also not recognise him. In this world, the turning and dependent rebirths are beyond counting. Knowing now that he is to be liberated from saṃsāra, he then transmitted the path of an arhat to King Aśoka.” (Extracted from the Sūtra on Ānanda's Manifesting Transformations)