經律異相 2.22

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)