經律異相 17.6

17.6

In the kingdom of Śrāvastī there was an elder whose household was exceedingly wealthy. A son was born to him with a golden-hued body. A physiognomist examined him, saw his wondrous signs, and immediately gave him a name, calling him Suvarṇadeva (which in the language of Liang means 'Golden God'). On the day he was born, a water well spontaneously appeared in his house, eight spans in length and breadth. Drawing and using its water satisfied every wish of people; everything that was needed came forth directly at will. As the boy grew older, he became widely accomplished in skills and arts. The elder loved him dearly and never dared go against his wishes, but thought to himself: 'My son is handsome, and his appearance is beyond compare. I must search for and select a renowned maiden of golden complexion and wondrous form who matches my son, and go seek her.' He then recruited merchants to search everywhere for her. At that time, in the land of Jambu, a great elder had just fathered a daughter named Suvarṇaprabhāsa (which in the language of Liang means 'Brightness'), extraordinarily fair of face and with a golden body. On the day she was born, there likewise spontaneously appeared an eight-span water well whose yield satisfied all desires. At that time that elder also thought to himself: 'My daughter is fair of face. I must find a virtuous gentleman who matches my daughter before I marry her to him.' Then the girl's fame spread far to Śrāvastī, and Suvarṇadeva's reputation was also heard by the girl's family. Thereupon the two elders rejoiced and sought to make the marriage match. After the wedding was concluded, they returned to Śrāvastī. Suvarṇadeva's family then prepared supreme offerings and invited the Buddha and the saṅgha to accept an offering of food for one day. The Buddha accepted their invitation and widely proclaimed the wondrous Dharma for the elder, Suvarṇadeva, and his wife; all of them attained srotāpanna. The Buddha returned to the vihāra. Suvarṇadeva and his wife spoke to their parents, asking permission to go forth from the household life. The parents consented, and together they went to the Buddha's place. The Buddha said: 'Welcome, monks!' Their hair and beards fell off of themselves, Dharma robes came onto their bodies, and they immediately became śramaṇas. Taught and guided by degrees, they both became arhats. The Buddha said: 'In the past, after the parinirvāṇa of Vipaśyin Buddha, when his bequeathed teachings remained in the world, some monks were traveling to teach and arrived at a village. The people, eminent worthies, and elders, seeing the assembly of monks arrive, vied to make offerings. At that time there was a husband and wife who were destitute, hungry, and exhausted. They often thought to themselves: “When my father was alive, wealth and treasures were accumulated in abundance; today, our persons are impoverished to the utmost. How bitter it is!” At that time, though wealthy, they had not encountered such a holy saṅgha; now having met them, they had no money to make offerings. They wept sorrowfully. The wife saw her husband weeping and said to him: “Now you may go into our original house, search in the old storehouse for coins or valuables, and use them to make offerings.” The husband did as his wife said, went into the old storehouse, and found a single gold coin. At that time, his wife also had a bright mirror. With one mind, they gave them as a donation, bought a new vase, filled it with pure water, put this gold coin into the water of the vase, placed the mirror on top, brought it to the monks' place, and gave it with sincere hearts. The monks immediately received it, and each took water to wash his bowl, while others took water to drink. That husband and wife rejoiced with delighted hearts. Contracting an illness, they passed away and were reborn in the Trāyastriṃśa heaven. Those poor people were this Suvarṇadeva and his wife.' (Extracted from the fifth fascicle of the *Sūtra of the Wise and the Foolish*)