經律異相 25.22

25.22

The Buddha was in Śrāvastī. At that time, after the midday meal, Ānanda meditated in the forest: "When the Tathāgata appears in the world, sentient beings all receive peace and joy. Furthermore, what roots of goodness did Kauṇḍinya and the others plant, that when the Dharma-door was first opened, they were the first to enter?" He presented these thoughts to the Buddha. The Buddha told him: "Concerning Kauṇḍinya and the others: in a distant kalpa of the past, in this Jambudvīpa, there was a great king named Maitrībala, who had twenty thousand consorts and ten thousand ministers. The king was endowed with the four immeasurables and was never weary or indolent. He instructed the people with the ten wholesome deeds; the four quarters admired him, and the country was peaceful and happy. Now, pestilence spirits constantly fed on human blood. At that time, the people restrained their body, speech, and mind, and earnestly practiced the ten wholesome deeds, so the evil pestilences dared not attack, leaving them starving, emaciated, and exhausted. Then five yakṣas came to the king's place [and said]: 'We depend on the vital energy of human blood to sustain our lives. Because the king has guided them all to observe the ten wholesome deeds, we are starved and parched, with no way to survive. Will not the great king, in his loving-kindness and compassion, take pity on us?' The king felt sorrowful pity, and immediately opened his veins, piercing his body in five places. The five yakṣas caught the blood and drank it, overjoyed beyond measure. The king said: 'Mindfully cultivate the ten wholesome deeds. I now relieve your hunger and thirst with the blood of my body. In the future, when I achieve Buddhahood, I will use the blood of the Dharma-body—precepts, samādhi, and wisdom—to eliminate your three poisons and establish you in nirvāṇa.' King Maitrībala at that time was my present self. The five yakṣas were Kauṇḍinya and the others. Through my vows life after life, I promised that I would deliver them first." (Extracted from the second fascicle of the Scripture of the Wise and the Foolish)