經律異相 16.14

16.14

Śāṇavāsa built a monastery on Mount Mahādadhimanta. There was an incense-selling merchant leader named Gupta. Śāṇavāsa used the power of skillful means to instruct and convert the incense-selling merchant leader, causing him to be vigorous. Once, Śāṇavāsa entered his house alone. Gupta asked, "Holy one, why are you alone without disciples? I delight in remaining at home enjoying the five desires and cannot leave the household life. If I have a son, he shall follow the elder." In due course, Gupta had a son, named Apagupta (rendered in Liang as "Not Truly Protected"). When he grew up, Śāṇavāsa went to Gupta and said, "You previously made a vow: 'If I have a son, I shall give him to the elder.' Now that a son is born, you should permit him to follow me and leave the household life." Gupta said, "I now have only one son. If a second son is born, I will give him to the elder." In due course a second son was born, named Dhanagupta (translated as "Treasure-Protected"). He again asked for him, but Gupta still would not give him. He also asked for the third son, Upagupta. Gupta replied, "I shall make an oath: Let Upagupta trade. If he makes a profit or suffers a loss, he may not leave the household life; only if he neither profits nor loses will I permit him to leave the household life." At that time the demon king Māra caused all the people of the country of Mathurā to buy his goods so that he would make a profit. Meanwhile, Upagupta was selling incense. The elder Śāṇavāsa said to him, "Regarding the mental states of your mind, what is good and what is evil?" He replied, "I do not know." The elder said further, "If the mental states of your mind are associated with greed, anger, or ignorance, they are called evil. If they are associated with non-greed, non-anger, or non-ignorance, they are called good." Then the elder made balls of black earth and white earth respectively, and told him, "If a black thought arises in you, take a black ball; if a white thought arises, take a white ball." Upagupta acted according to his words. Good did not arise in his mind, so that he obtained only one white ball. Gradually progressing in this way, he took two parts black balls and one part white balls. Reflecting further, he took half black balls and half white balls. Mindfully maintaining goodness in succession, evil did not arise, and he took only white balls. At that time, in the country of Mathurā, there was a courtesan named Vāsavadattā (rendered in Liang as "Given by the Lord of the Devas"). She had a maidservant who went to Upagupta's place to buy incense and obtained a great deal. Her mistress asked, "Where did you get so much incense? Did you not steal it?" The maidservant said, "There is a merchant named Upagupta, possessing fine appearance and subtle speech, who sells goods fairly according to the law." When her mistress heard this, lustful desire arose in her. She sent her maidservant back to Upagupta's place, saying: "Go tell him: 'I wish to make merry with you.'" Upagupta replied, "It is not yet the time for us to meet." When this went on repeatedly, he still did not agree. At that time, she invited the son of an elder to come to her place. A merchant leader came from northern India with five hundred horses and various goods to the country of Mathurā. Having arrived, he asked the people of Mathurā, "Where in this country is the foremost beautiful woman?" The people replied, "There is a woman, foremost in beauty, named Vāsavadattā." The merchant leader said, "I now wish to take five hundred silver coins and various goods to go to her place." Then the courtesan, coveting his goods, killed the elder's son, placed his corpse in an impure place, and made merry with the [newcomer's] son. Friends and good acquaintances of the elder's son found his corpse in the impure place and went to report it to the king. The king said to them, "You may take that Vāsavadattā, sever her hands and feet as well as her ears and nose, and scatter them in the open wild." They acted according to the king's instruction. At that time Upagupta reflected: "Previously I took no pleasure in seeing her to share in the five desires. Now I wish to see her, to observe her hands and feet and her ears and nose." He then went to observe her and spoke verses for her. When Vāsavadattā heard his words, she became deeply afraid of birth and death; hearing of the Buddha's virtues, she changed her mind and took delight in nirvāṇa. She then spoke verses in reply to Upagupta. Upagupta preached the Four Truths for her; further observing her body, he developed revulsion toward the desire realm and attained the fruit of anāgāmin. Vāsavadattā attained the fruit of srotāpanna. Not long after Upagupta departed, Vāsavadattā passed away and was reborn in the heavens. Then the elder Śāṇavāsa went to Gupta and said, "You should permit Upagupta to follow me and leave the household life." Gupta replied, "I previously made an oath that he should trade; only if he neither profits nor loses will I permit him to leave the household life." Śāṇavāsa used his spiritual powers to cause his trade to neither profit nor lose. Then Upagupta reflected to himself, weighing and calculating, and found that he neither profited nor lost. Śāṇavāsa went again to Gupta and told him, "This son of yours has been prophesied by the Buddha: 'One hundred years after my entering nirvāṇa, he will perform the Buddha's deeds.' You should permit him to follow me and leave the household life." Gupta then permitted it. Śāṇavāsa took Upagupta to the Naṭabaṭa monastery, had him leave the household life, and administered the complete precepts. At the fourth karmavācanā, all his fetters were eradicated and he attained the fruit of arhat. At that time Śāṇavāsa said to Upagupta, "Good man, as the Buddha prophesied: 'One hundred years after my entering nirvāṇa, there will be a monk named Upagupta who will perform the Buddha's deeds and later become a buddha named "Without Marks".'" Thus he preached the Dharma. At that time the demon king Māra rained genuine pearls down into the assembly to confuse the minds of the people. Because the assembly was confused, not a single person was able to see the Truth. He reflected to himself and knew that it was the demon king. On the second day, twice as many people came. The demon king rained gold, again confusing the minds of the assembly. On the third day, twice as many people came again. Māra rained pearls and gold and produced heavenly music. The assembly, not yet having freed themselves from desire, saw forms and heard sounds; their minds were agitated, and they no longer listened to the Dharma. Then the demon king placed a flower garland around Upagupta's head. When Upagupta considered who had done this, he knew it was Māra. Upagupta then had this thought: "Why did the Bhagavat not convert him?" He reflected to himself: "It is I who should convert him. The Buddha prophesied of me that I would be the Buddha Without Marks, converting the people." Upagupta took three corpses: the first a dead serpent, the second a dead dog, and the third a dead human. Using his spiritual powers, he transformed the three corpses into a flower garland, went to the demon king, and bound it to his neck. Then the demon king went to Maheśvara, Śakra, the thirty-three devas, and the Four Heavenly Kings to have the corpses removed, but they could not remove them. He went further to the Great Brahmā Heaven. Great Brahmā said, "Good man, this was wrought by the spiritual powers of a disciple of the Ten Powers. None can remove it, just as the banks of the great ocean cannot be broken by water." The demon king said, "How do you instruct me? In whom should I take refuge now?" Great Brahmā said, "Go quickly now and take refuge in Upagupta. Just as a person falls to the ground, so from that very ground they must rise." At that time the demon king finally understood that the spiritual powers of the Buddha's disciple were great. He then spoke verses praising the Buddha and reproaching himself. The demon king of the desire realm then cast aside his pride and confessed his past transgressions. (Taken from the eighth fascicle of the Sūtra of King Aśoka.)