經律異相 16.26

16.26

The Buddha resided in Śrāvastī. At that time, in this city there were two sisters who went forth to practice the Way while pregnant before giving birth. The nuns, seeing the appearance of her abdomen, drove her out. Because of this cause, [they] went and reported it to the Bhagavat. The Bhagavat replied, "Being pregnant while a householder can be without guilt." Later, this nun gave birth to a boy named Kumāra-Kāśyapa. At the age of eight, he went forth to practice the Way and became an arhat. Together with a group of sixteen monks, each holding a water pitcher, they went to the bank of the Aciravatī River. They washed, entered the water, floated and played on their backs and bellies, crossed the river, splashed the water, and bathed. At that time, King Prasenajit was in a multi-storied pavilion looking out in all directions. The king did not yet have faith in the Buddha's Dharma, and having seen this matter, his lack of faith doubled. He then said to Queen Mallikā, "The great beings of the field of merit whom your family serves, in whom you believe deeply without doubt—why do you not look at them?" She answered the king, "Perhaps they are young and have gone forth newly having received the full precepts, not yet knowing the vinaya rules; or perhaps the Bhagavat has not yet instituted this rule, which is why it is so." Kumāra-Kāśyapa, hearing the sound of the king's words with his divine ear, said to his companions, "The king's lack of faith has doubled, and Queen Mallikā's mind is displeased. Now we should make them give rise to joyful faith." They all said, "Excellent." Each took their water pitcher, filled it with water, placed it in front of them, sat cross-legged in orderly ranks, soared through the void, and passed through the air above the king's palace. Queen Mallikā was sitting in the open; seeing the shadows of those seated, she looked up and saw them in orderly ranks, sitting cross-legged with water pitchers before them, riding through the void like king geese. Seeing this, she was overjoyed. She said to the king, "Look at the supernormal virtue of our family's field of merit, which is like this!" Seeing this, the king was overjoyed and spoke thus: "Excellent, excellent! I have obtained good benefit. I pray that the Buddha, the Bhagavat, and the saṃgha of monks will remain in this country for the rest of their lives to be an excellent field of merit." When the Buddha heard of this matter, he immediately instituted a precept so that they would not do so again (from the nineteenth fascicle of the Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya; also the same in the Daśabhāṇavāra Vinaya).