經律異相 19.62

19.62

When the Buddha was in the country of Śrāvastī, there was a monk dwelling among the rocks in an earthen hut in the country of Can. He had long hair, beard, and nails, and wore worn-out rags. At that time, King Udayana wished to go out on an excursion and had the roads cleared. The king was accompanied by his beauties to the foot of the mountain. One beauty looked back and saw the earthen hut, in which was a monk with long beard, hair, and nails, his garments torn and ruined, resembling a ghost. She cried out loudly: "Son of Heaven, there is a ghost in here!" From afar, the king asked: "Where is it now?" The beauty said: "Close by, among the rocks in an earthen hut." The king immediately drew his sword and went after him. Seeing the monk like this, he asked: "What kind of person are you?" He replied: "I am a śramaṇa." The king asked: "What kind of śramaṇa are you?" He said: "I am a Śākyan śramaṇa." The king said: "Are you an arhat?" He said: "No." "Do you possess the four dhyānas?" He again said: "No." "Do you possess the third dhyāna or the second dhyāna?" He again said: "I do not." "Have you attained the first dhyāna?" He replied: "In truth, I practice the first dhyāna." The king became enraged and was not pacified. He turned to his attendants: "Eunuchs have lustful minds; now this śramaṇa is an ordinary mortal without true practice. How dare he look upon my beauties!" He then commanded his attendants to execute him immediately. The attendants left. The mountain spirit thought: "This monk is without fault, but now he is about to die. I should protect him and let him escape this calamity." It transformed into the body of a large boar and ran slowly beside the king. An attendant immediately reported to the king: "A large boar is close beside the king." The king then abandoned the monk, drew his sword, and chased the boar. Seeing that the king was far away, the monk ran off. (Extracted from the first fascicle of the Arthapada Sūtra).