經律異相 2
English (machine translation) 2
- Language
- English
2.1
Compiled by the Liang śramaṇas Sengmin, Baochang, and others
2.2
Śakra receives the precepts from a jackal, 1
Śakra observes the precept of non-retaliation; the asuras attack him and bind him with the five bonds, 2
Śakra was destined to be born among donkeys; dying from the womb, he returned to his original body, 3
Devaputra Sibira's giving in a past life, 4
The king of the sun gods asks about the past deeds of the sun and moon, 5
A Trāyastriṃśa devaputra near the end of life sees the seven omens, meets the Buddha, and attains rebirth among humans, 6
A celestial being's hand produces sweet water to rescue five hundred merchants, 7
A deva of Trāyastriṃśa was destined to be born among pigs, but instead entered the human realm, 8
Celestial maidens sit on flowers, and all their requisites for living come from flowers, 9
Celestial jewel-maidens are reticent of speech, 10
Celestial maidens hear deer and oxen playing the zither, and descend to sing and dance, 11
2.3
Śakra Receives the Precepts from a Jackal, 1
2.4
Long ago, at Mount Congtuo in the country of Bhīma, there was a jackal that was pursued by a lion and fell into an abandoned well in a mound. Three days had already passed, and accepting its fate, it resigned itself to death. It spoke a verse saying:
2.5
"All things are impermanent; / I regret not having fed the lion. / How wretched this body of sin and distress, / clinging to life only to die without merit! / That it is without merit is already regrettable, / and it further defiles the water of humankind. / I repent before the Buddhas of the ten directions; / may they deign to illuminate my mind! / May all evil deeds of past lives / be completely repaid in the present. / From now on may I meet an enlightened teacher / and cultivate practice until I become a Buddha."
2.6
Śakra heard this, and along with eighty thousand gods, sought where it was and flew down beside the well. He said: "For long we have not heard the holy teachings, in darkness without a guide. What you just spoke were no ordinary words; we pray you proclaim the Dharma teachings for us." [The jackal] answered: "The heavenly lord has no discipline and completely fails to know proper conduct: the Dharma master is below while you position yourself above, showing not the slightest respect yet inquiring after the essentials of the Dharma!" Śakra lowered his heavenly garments, pulled up the jackal, and bowed down in repentance. The heavenly lord said: "I remember that in the past I once saw worldly people who wished to hear the true Dharma: first they set out a high seat, adorned and purified it, and only then invited the Dharma master." The gods then each took off their celestial jewel robes and piled them up into a high seat. The jackal ascended the seat and said: "There are two great causes and conditions [for speaking the Dharma]: first, preaching the Dharma to transform gods and humans brings boundless merit; second, to repay the kindness of offering food, how could I not speak?" The heavenly lord said: "To be rescued from the distress of the well is a great recompense of merit; why is preaching the Dharma to repay kindness not equal to this?" He answered: "Life and death have their fitting paths, and each person differs: some crave life, while some take pleasure in death. Foolish people do not know that after death one is born again; they turn away from the Buddha's Dharma, do not meet an enlightened teacher, and engage in killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, and deceit, devoting themselves solely to evil. Such people crave life and fear death, but upon death they fall into hell. Wise people serve the Three Jewels, encounter an enlightened teacher, reform evil and cultivate good, show filial piety to parents, respect and serve teachers and elders, keep their relatives in harmonious concord, and act with humility and respect toward inferiors. Such people detest life and welcome death, and upon death they are born in heaven."
2.7
Śakra said, 'It is just as the Venerable One has instructed: preserving one’s physical life is of no merit. I wish to hear about the gift of food and the gift of the Dharma.' The jackal replied, 'The giving of food and drink preserves a single day’s life. The giving of precious treasures remedies a lifetime of poverty. [Yet these] merely increase birth-and-death and are causes and conditions that bind one [to saṃsāra]. Preaching the Dharma to transform [beings] is called the gift of the Dharma. It can lead sentient beings to the supra-mundane path: first, attaining the state of an arhat; second, a pratyekabuddha; third, the Buddha path. These three sorts of happy persons all stem from hearing the Dharma and practicing in accordance with what is taught. Moreover, that all sentient beings avoid the three evil paths and receive the blessed bliss of humans and devas is entirely due to hearing the Dharma. For this reason, the Buddha taught that the merit of giving the Dharma is immeasurable.' The Heavenly Emperor asked, 'Is the Master’s current form a karmic retribution, or is it an accommodating transformation body?' [The jackal] replied, 'This is the retribution for sinful karma; it is not an accommodating transformation.' The devaputra said, 'I thought that you were a bodhisattva or holy sage who manifested accommodatingly to deliver beings. Only now do I hear it is the result of sin, yet I do not know the reason. I wish to hear the causes and conditions.' The jackal said, 'Long ago, I was born in the city of Padmāvatī in Vārāṇasī as the son of a poor family of the kṣatriya caste. From childhood, I possessed a keen intelligence and was exceptionally fond of study. When I reached the age of twelve, I followed an enlightened master deep into the mountains, serving him through hardship and striving diligently without remiss. Day and night, the master also honed and instructed me without missing the proper seasons. After fifty years, among the ninety-six varieties of scriptures, prophetic records, treatises, medical formulas, incantations, physiognomy of good and ill fortune, and natural anomalies, calamities, and blessings, there was nothing I did not master. My lofty talent and wisdom became renowned far and wide. I then reflected to myself, "That I have now attained deliverance is entirely due to the kindness of my upādhyāya’s teachings. His merit is difficult to repay. Since my family is poor and destitute, having nothing with which to make offerings, I ought simply to sell myself to repay the master’s kindness." The master said, "A recluse living in the mountains maintains himself by begging for food and lacks nothing. What need is there to ruin and sell your noble body to provide offerings for me? Now that you have perfected wisdom and eloquence, you should turn to teaching and transforming the people of the world, serving as a lamp of the Dharma. How could the merit of teaching and transforming not be sufficient to repay my kindness?" I then remained in the mountains, sustaining myself by begging for food. Not long after, the king of the country died. The ministers gathered more than five hundred scholars from within the country to debate for seven days, the victor to be made king. I, the son of the poor family, acceded to the royal throne and exhausted the wealth and power of the realm to make offerings to my master and parents. Later, the country of Andhra and the country of Mālava fought each other for many years without victory. The king of Andhra summoned his ministers [and asked], "What method should we employ to conquer the country of Mālava?" The ministers replied, "There is only the country of Padmāvatī in Vārāṇasī.'
2.8
'"Their king was born into poverty and baseness, upholds the ten precepts, and does not indulge in external desires. Although he has palace women, they are all elderly. If we search throughout the country, irrespective of noble or base, and select a full one hundred renowned maidens who are young, upright, and pleasing to the mind, and present them together with abundant treasures as a tribute—if he accepts them, we may borrow troops from him and join forces to attack and fight, and there will be none who will not submit to us." The king then followed the minister's plan and presented them all at once. The king was greatly delighted, reviewed and selected a million elite troops, and sent them to assist him. After a hundred days of bitter fighting, more than half of the soldiers died. The king of Mālava was completely executed, and only then was victory attained. Because of these beautiful women, [the king] forgot his original purpose, indulged in luxury and pursued pleasure, neglecting state affairs. The hundred officials and ministers conspired together in rebellion, and the children of good citizens were abducted as slaves. The wind and rain became untimely, and the roads were filled with the starving. Enemies from foreign lands then came to invade and plunder. From this, his country was brought to ruin. He was born into the hells, where he suffered all manner of bitter torments. Relying on the power of his prior learning and wisdom, he remembered his past lives, harbored remorse in his mind, and reformed his past to cultivate the future. After an instant, he ended his lifespan and was born among the hungry ghosts. There he further repented and apologized, mindfully cultivating the ten wholesome deeds. After an instant, he ended his lifespan and took on the body of a jackal. Still remembering his former conditions, he again practiced the ten wholesome deeds. Recently, encountering a lion, he fell into this well. With an open mind, he resolved to die, hoping to be born in heaven to leave suffering and enjoy bliss. Because you received me, I lost my original wish, and must now undergo bitter hardship—when will I ever be free? For this reason, I said that your saving my life was of no merit.'
2.9
'The reasons I entered your robe to come out are: First, so as not to thwart the god’s wish. If a wish is not fulfilled, great distress arises; and if one causes distress to others, wherever one is born, one will not obtain what one seeks. Second, because the gods wished to hear the Dharma. If a person is stingy with the Dharma, then life after life wherever he is born, he will be deaf, blind, mute, with his faculties blocked, born in borderlands, and stupid and ignorant; or if born in a good place, his cognitive faculties will be dull and obtuse, his studies will fail, and he will bring distress upon himself. Third, in order to propagate the Dharma’s transformation and awaken gods and humans, which is the gift of the Dharma. The benefit of the gift of the Dharma can enable sentient beings to know that after death there is rebirth, that doing good brings blessings, that doing evil incurs calamity, and that practicing the Way leads to attaining the Way. Wherever they are reborn, their wisdom will be luminous and clear, and they will constantly remember their past lives. If born in heaven, they will be teachers to the gods; if born among humans, they will be wheel-turning kings who transform the world through the ten wholesome deeds. Their light of wisdom will gradually grow, they will accomplish the bodhisattva practices, and they will reach the forbearance of the non-arising of phenomena. The gift of material goods is like a lamp that illuminates only a small room; the gift of the Dharma is like the sun, shining far across the world.' At that time, Śakra Devānām Indra, together with eighty thousand devas, received the teaching of the ten wholesome deeds from him, first subduing the sensory faculties with the ten expedients—namely, the six pāramitās and kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. Then the god asked, 'We are now returning to the heavenly palace. When will the upādhyāya cast off this retribution of sin and be born in heaven?' The jackal said, 'Exactly seven days from now, I will cast off this body and be born in the Tuṣita heaven. You all should make the aspiration to be born in that heaven, where there are many bodhisattvas who preach the Dharma to transform beings.' After seven days, his life ended, and he was born in the royal palace of Tuṣita, again remembering his past lives and practicing the path of the ten wholesome deeds (From the first fascicle of the Sūtra of What Has Never Occurred Before).
2.10
2. Śakra Receives the Precept of Non-Retaliation, Is Attacked by the Asuras, and Binds Them with the Fivefold Bond
2.11
In a past age, there was a Śakra Devānām Indra who said to the Buddha, 'I now receive the precepts: for as long as the Buddha's Dharma remains in the world, to the end of my physical life, if there is anyone who troubles me, I shall definitely not retaliate or inflict trouble upon them.' At that time, Vemacitrin, the asura king, heard that Śakra Devānām Indra had received such a precept. Having heard this, he took up a sharp sword and came along the contrary path. At that time, Śakra Devānām Indra saw him from afar and called out to him from the distance, saying, 'Asura, halt! Be bound and move not!' Thereupon [the asura] could not move. Śakra said, 'If you take an oath not to cause disorder, only then will I release you.' The asura king then spoke a verse:
2.12
'The destination of greed,
And the destination of anger,
The destination of lying,
And the destination of slandering the worthy and holy:
If I cause harassment and disorder,
May my destination be the same as those destinations!'
2.13
Śakra Devānām Indra addressed him again, saying, 'I release you to depart and follow your comfort.' He went to the Buddha's dwelling and reported everything in detail to the Buddha. The Buddha said, 'Excellent!' (From the Sūtra on Śakra Devānām Indra Receiving Precepts).
2.14
3. Śakra Was Destined to Be Reborn as a Donkey, Took Refuge in the Three Jewels, Died from the Womb, and Returned to His Original Body
2.15
In the past, Śakra Devānām Indra suffered the departure of the five marks [of decay] from his body and knew for himself that his life was at an end, and that he was destined to be born in a potter's house to take on the womb of a donkey. Sorrowful and anxious, he reflected to himself: 'In the three realms, the only one who can deliver beings from suffering and peril is the Buddha alone.' He hastened to where the Buddha was, bowed his head prostrate on the ground, and with utmost sincerity took refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Holy Saṅgha. Before he had risen, his life suddenly ended, and he entered the womb of a she-donkey. At that time, the donkey broke free, ran, and shattered the unfired earthenware. Its owner beat it, immediately injuring the fetus. His consciousness then returned into his former body; the five virtues were restored, and he was once again the Heavenly Emperor. The Buddha praised him: 'Excellent! At the brink of death, you took refuge in the Three Venerable Ones. Your sinful retribution is now finished, and you will not undergo further bitter toil.' The Buddha spoke a verse for him.
2.16
Śakra, hearing it, penetrated the transformations of sin and blessing, understood the root of rising and falling, followed the practice of quietude and cessation, and attained the stage of srotāpanna (From the third fascicle of the Dharmapada Avadāna Sūtra).
2.17
4. Devaputra Śibi’s Giving in a Previous Life
2.18
At that time, Devaputra Śibi said to the Buddha, 'In a past life of mine, I was a king named Śibi. At the four city gates, I practiced universal giving to cultivate merit, and at the crossroads within the city, I also practiced giving. At that time, the principal queen said, "The king performs great merit, but I wish to be foremost." The king said, "The giving and making of merit outside the eastern gate of the city shall all belong to you." The princes further said, "The merit of giving performed outside the southern gate of the city shall all belong to you." At that time, a minister also addressed the king, saying, "The merit of giving performed outside the western gate of the city shall all belong to you." At that time, the generals and soldiers also addressed the king, saying, "Allow the outside of the northern gate to be ours." At that time, all the common people also addressed the king, and the king replied, "The merit of giving performed at the four crossroads within the city shall all belong to you." At that time, the king, queen, ministers, generals, soldiers, and commoners all gave generously. In all the merits that I had formerly performed, the merit of generous giving was thereupon interrupted. Then those whom I had employed to perform the meritorious deeds returned to where I was, bowed to me, and said, "Great King, you should know: the places for cultivating merit have each been occupied by the queen, the princes, the ministers, the generals and soldiers, and the commoners to practice giving and cultivate merit. The Great King's giving is thereupon interrupted." I then replied, "As for the annual taxes from all regions that should enter to me, divide them in half: half to enter the storehouse, and half to be given generously there." Through such generous giving over the long night of the past, I have always obtained lovely, agreeable, and delightful retributions of blessing, and constantly enjoyed happiness without end. Through this karmic retribution of blessing, I have entered the great accumulation of merit. Just as the five great rivers merge into a single stream, namely the Gaṅgā, whose waters no one can measure in terms of hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, or billions of pecks and pints—its retributions of merit are immeasurable, and all enter the great accumulation of merit.' At that time, Devaputra Śibi, having heard what the Buddha said, rejoiced, paid homage to his feet, and vanished from sight (From the Sūtra on the Verses Spoken by Buddhas to Devaputra Śibi).
2.19
5. The Sun Deva King Inquires About the Past Deeds of the Sun and Moon
2.20
The Sun Deva King, together with countless devas, came to where the Buddha was, bowed his head, and said, 'By what kind of practice does one become the Sun Deva to illuminate the four continents? And by what conditions does one become the Moon Deva to illuminate and dispel the darkness of night?' The Buddha said, 'There are four things: first, always taking joy in giving; second, cultivating the body and acting prudently; third, upholding the precepts without violating them; fourth, lighting lamps in Buddhist monasteries, or planting light before one’s parents, śramaṇas, and practitioners of the Way, as well as practicing the ten wholesome deeds such as not killing with body, speech, and mind.' The Buddha said, 'There are also four things by which one becomes the Moon King: first, giving to the poor and destitute; second, upholding the five precepts; third, reverently serving the Three Venerable Ones; and fourth, setting up lamps in darkness for one’s lord, father, teachers, and monasteries' (From the lower fascicle of the Sūtra on the Samādhi of the Light Outshining the Sun).
2.21
6. A Deva of Trāyastriṃśa Near Death Manifests the Seven Auspicious Signs, Encounters the Buddha, and Attains Rebirth Among Humans
2.22
Formerly, in the palace of Trāyastriṃśa, there was a deva whose lifespan was nearly exhausted and in whom seven portents appeared: first, the light in his neck went out; second, the flowers on his head withered; third, his facial complexion changed; fourth, dust gathered on his garments; fifth, sweat issued from his armpits; sixth, his bodily form altered; seventh, he became uneasy on his seat. He reflected to himself: ‘After my life ends, I shall descend to be reborn in the belly of a mangy sow in the land of Kuśinagara as a pig.’ He was plunged into intense grief and sorrow, not knowing what scheme to devise. A deva said to him: ‘Now the Buddha is here preaching the sūtras for his mother. Only the Buddha can deliver you from your sins.’ He immediately went to the Buddha's place, prostrated himself, and made obeisance; before he could ask a question, the Buddha addressed the devaputra: ‘All myriad things inevitably return to impermanence. You have always known this; why do you sorrow?’ The deva fully reported to the Buddha. The Buddha said: ‘If you wish to escape the body of a pig, you should recite the three refuges, doing so three times a day.’ The deva complied with the Buddha's instruction, taking refuge morning and night. After seven days, the deva's life came to an end. He descended to be reborn in the country of Vaiśālī as the son of an elder. While in his mother's womb, he took refuge three times a day. When he was first born and fell to the ground, he also knelt and took refuge. His mother delivered him without lochia. The maidservants beside the mother were terrified and fled, and the mother was also profoundly amazed. When he fell to the ground, he spoke immediately; thinking him to be a demon, she wanted to kill him. She stepped back and reflected: ‘I have few sons; if I kill this child, the father will surely penalize me. It will not be too late to kill him after I gently inform the elder.’ The mother then took the child and went to inform the elder: ‘Having fallen to the ground, the male child knelt long on both knees with palms joined and took refuge in the Three Jewels. The whole household found it strange and deemed him a demon.’ The father said: ‘Stop, stop! This child is no ordinary person. People in the world at a hundred years of age still do not understand how to take refuge in the Three Honoured Ones, let alone being able to utter ‘Namo Buddhāya’ just after falling to the ground! Raise and attend to him well; be careful not to slight him.’ The child gradually grew up to around seven years of age. While playing by the roadside with his peers, he encountered Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana. The boy stepped forward to bow to them; the holy ones were astonished that one so young was able to bow. The boy said: ‘Do the men of the Way no longer recognize me?’ He then recounted in detail their meeting with the Buddha in the heavens: ‘I was originally in heaven and was destined to be born into an evil destiny. Meeting the Buddha's loving-kindness, who instructed me to take refuge, I was thereby able to become a human.’ The bhikṣus then uttered verses of blessing for him, saying: ‘Acārya.’ The boy said to Maudgalyāyana, Śāriputra, and the others: ‘May you convey my words to invite the Bhagavat, the saṃgha of all bodhisattvas, and yourselves, good sirs!’ Receiving [the invitation], he returned home and fully reported to his parents: ‘May you prepare an offering and make it delicious and sumptuous.’ The parents loved him and followed his words, marveling that at such a young age he had aroused the great aspiration, and wondering at his ability to trace and know his past lives. They made it extremely exquisite, exhausting the famous delicacies of the world; the fine detail of the offerings exceeded the boy's expectations. The Buddha and the saṃgha each exercised supernatural powers and arrived at the boy's house to take their meal. The Buddha preached the sūtra for them, and the boy, his parents, and his inner and outer relatives all attained avaivartika. (Drawn from the Shefu luohan jing)
2.23
7. A Deva's Hand Emits Sweet Water to Save Five Hundred Merchants
2.24
Formerly, there was a caravan leader who travelled with five hundred merchants to trade. Arriving at a great wilderness, they were exhausted by hunger and thirst. Taking refuge in the Bhagavat, Śakra, Brahmā, and the Four Kings, they were terrified and at a loss for a plan. At that time, the guide climbed a high place and looked into the distance; seeing a grove of trees with flying birds heading toward it, he hoped there would be water. They all ran together and soon arrived, but saw only trees surrounded by green grass, the ground clean and pure. The caravan leader nevertheless said to the merchants: ‘Let us dig the ground together to draw water; it will surely be found.’ Just as they finished conferring, a deva from afar in the heavens gazed upon this caravan leader and the five hundred men, distressed by lack of water. As quickly as extending an arm, he arrived at their place, stood upon a tree, stretched forth his right hand, and from between his five fingers flowed sweet water of eight flavours, supplying the caravan leader and the five hundred men. Each took what he needed without it being exhausted, and all were satiated. Why was this? In past lives they had been kin and had jointly cultivated gracious merit; therefore, the deva remembered them and descended to provide sweet water so that each attained peace. (Drawn from the Piyu jing, fascicle 3)
2.25
8. A Deva of Trāyastriṃśa Destined to Be Born Among Pigs Is Transformed to Enter the Human Destiny
2.26
Formerly, when a deva of Trāyastriṃśa was about to end his life, five portents appeared before him: flowers withered, his garments became soiled, sweat issued from his armpits, jade maidens diminished, and he took no joy in his seat, like a body growing scabies and ulcers. There was a devaputra in Trāyastriṃśa who, producing the five strange portents, grieved and groaned. At that time, Śakra heard this and asked: ‘In yonder heavenly palace, what sort of deva is grieving and groaning?’ A devaputra answered: ‘A devaputra manifests the five portents.’ ‘Good, [take me] to that devaputra.’ Śakra Devānām Indra went to his place and said: ‘Why do you grieve and groan?’ Slapping his thighs, he replied: ‘There are strange calamities and portents.’ Śakra Devānām Indra recited a gāthā for him:
2.27
‘All conditioned things are impermanent;
Those who are born must meet their end.
Whatever is born inevitably dies;
Their cessation is the supreme bliss.’
2.28
The devaputra said: ‘I have not heard this.’ Śakra Devānām Indra said: ‘All love and attachment entail separation.’ The devaputra said: ‘How could I not harbor grief? From the diverse five desires of this heavenly palace, I must now be separated. When my life ends, I shall be born in the womb of a pig in Rājagṛha, where what I eat will be dung, and I will subsequently be killed by butchers. Because I now foresee this, I harbor grief.’ Then Śakra Devānām Indra said to the devaputra: ‘Now you should take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṃgha. Why so? The Buddha spoke a gāthā:
2.29
‘Whoever takes refuge in the Buddha
Shall not head toward the three evil destinies;
Receiving blessings among devas and humans,
They later attain the realm of nirvāṇa.’
2.30
The devaputra clasped his hands and said: ‘The Bhagavat is omniscient, perceiving and seeing through all; may he save me! I now take refuge in the Buddha, take refuge in the Dharma, and take refuge in the saṃgha of bhikṣus.’ Consequently, he did not enter the womb of a pig, but was born into the foremost elder's house in Rājagṛha; when they saw him, their joy was boundless. (Drawn from the Ekottarika-āgama, fascicle 19)
2.31
9. A Devī Sits on a Flower, and All Requisites of Life Issue Forth from the Flower
2.32
There was a devī who sat upon a lotus flower one hundred yojanas in extent. This flower was uniquely wonderful, excelling all others; whatever requisites of life she desired issued from the flower according to her thought, accompanying her as she moved or halted. Maudgalyāyana asked: ‘What wholesome deeds did you perform to receive such a retribution?’ The devī answered: ‘After Kāśyapa Buddha entered nirvāṇa, he left behind his whole-body śarīra. Together with the disciples of the Buddha, I erected a seven-jeweled stūpa forty li in height and breadth. At that time, being a woman, I came out and saw the image inside the jeweled stūpa; faith and reverence arose, and recalling the Buddha's merit, I took off the flower on my head and offered it to the image.’ (Drawn from the Zazang jing)
2.33
10. The Jewel Devī's Secret Voice
2.34
The deva king Paranirmitavaśavartin has a jewel devī named Good Mouth (Śubhāsyā). In a single utterance, she reveals hundreds of thousands of delightful musical sounds; and within each of those sounds, there issue forth hundreds of thousands more sounds. Sons of the Buddha, you should know that from a single sound of Good Mouth, immeasurable sounds are produced, causing all to attain understanding according to what is appropriate for them. (Drawn from the Avataṃsaka-sūtra, fascicle 29)
2.35
11. Devīs Hear Luniu Play the Lute and Descend, All Singing and Dancing
2.36
In a past age, in the country of Kośala, there was a man who played the lute named Luniu. Travelling and resting in the wilderness, there were six vast heavenly palaces. Devīs came and said to Luniu: ‘Uncle, uncle, play the lute for us, and we will sing and dance.’ Luniu strummed the lute, and the six devas sang and danced. The lyrics of the first song went:
2.37
‘If a man or woman
Bestows supreme, wonderful garments as gifts,
Due to the condition of giving garments,
What they are born into will be extraordinary.
Giving the most wonderful things one has,
One is born in heaven according to one's desires.
See me dwelling in palaces,
Travelling through the empty sky;
My heavenly body is like a heap of gold,
Excelling among a hundred devīs.
Contemplate such merit and virtue,
Foremost among all dedications!’
2.38
The lyrics of the remaining devas were roughly similar (omitted due to length). Luniu also bowed; when the bow was done, the devas suddenly disappeared. (Drawn from the Guoqu tanqinren jing)
2.39
Diverse Phenomena from the Sūtras and Vinaya, Fascicle 2
Linked texts (1)
- 經律異相 — Classical Chinese