經律異相 23.8

23.8

In the kingdom of Kosala, King Prasenajit heard that Bhadrā Kapilā had left the household, and immediately invited her into the palace to spend the four months of the summer retreat residing in the same place. The king went to the garden and said to the gatekeeper: “Guard the gate well; do not allow this bhikṣuṇī to leave.” The gatekeeper thought: “This bhikṣuṇī is pleased to stay and will not flee.” Then the gatekeeper had other business to attend to. The bhikṣuṇī put on the garments of a royal consort and went out through the gate. From afar, she went to the Jetavana to listen to the Buddha preaching the Dharma. Seeing her from afar, the Buddha said: “Welcome, Bhadrā Kapilā!” At once, the consort's garments vanished, her hair fell off of its own accord, kāṣāya robes appeared on her body, and she became a bhikṣuṇī. She approached the Buddha and paid homage with her head to his feet. The Buddha preached to her the powers of the four bases of psychic power, and the bhikṣuṇī attained the power of psychic faculties. At that time, when the king heard that the woman Bhadrā Kapilā had fled, he led troops to surround the assembly of bhikṣus and the bhikṣuṇī convent. The bhikṣuṇī then flew into the sky. Looking up, the king immediately gave rise to remorse, thinking: “How could I have defiled an arhat bhikṣuṇī?” Fainting with distress, he fell to the ground and confessed his error to the bhikṣuṇī. The bhikṣuṇīs in the monastery drove her out. She replied: “I had no lustful desire in my mind.” The bhikṣuṇīs said: “You spent the four months of summer in the king's palace; how could there have been no desire?” They reported the matter to the Buddha. The Buddha, though knowing, intentionally asked: “Bhikṣuṇī, did you truly experience soft and smooth touch?” She replied: “Bhagavat, how could I have received pleasure? I felt that smoothness as though hot iron were entering my body.” The Buddha said: “If your mind did not take pleasure in the smooth touch, there is no transgression.” (Drawn from the Ten Recitation Vinaya, Good Recitation, Fascicle 2)