經律異相 26.24

26.24

King Ajātaśatru addressed Mañjuśrī (the Pu shou tongzhen jing has: addressed Pu shou tongzhen [Samantamukha Kumārabhūta]): 'I only pray that you will show favor, and tomorrow bend your virtue to visit my palace for a meal.' He answered: 'Enough has already been done to constitute an offering. Furthermore, the Buddha's Dharma does not exist for the sake of clothing or food.' The king asked: 'With what should it be offered?' He answered: 'If one enters deeply into the subtle and profound, examines the matter truly, is without contamination, without attachment, without doubt, and without fear or hesitation; and further, contemplates all phenomena while neither contemplating existence nor non-existence, nor contemplating the end of past, future, and present; and further, does not contemplate all that can be seen—then all attain favor.' The king said: 'What you say is entirely what the Dharma conveys; there is no difference. It is solely on account of this [physical] body that you should show favor and accept the invitation.' Mañjuśrī said: 'Cease for now. The practitioner does not act for the sake of this—whether food or drink. If the king does not contemplate the existence of a self, life, or person, then by contemplating this, he has already received favor.' (This exchange goes back and forth at great length; much of the text is omitted.) The king rejoiced greatly and asked: 'How many people are there?' Śāriputra said: 'Five hundred. You may bid them all eat at your palace.' The king returned to the city and ordered the preparation of foods of a hundred flavors to furnish his palace hall. He set up banners, pennants, canopies, and curtains, spread flowers upon the ground, and perfumed it all with incense. He arranged five hundred high couches. The palaces, streets, and markets were all swept clean, strewn with flowers and incense, and the people came out to welcome them. Mañjuśrī, in the time it takes to bend an arm, reached the east, crossing eighty-two thousand Buddha-lands. That Buddha's title is Chang Mingwen (Ever-Renowned), his name is Weijing Shou (Vimalapraśāntamukha), and he is presently existing in the world. He was accompanied by a host of bodhisattvas, with no other path. In that land the wheel of the non-retrogressing Dharma (avaivartika-dharmacakra) is constantly turned, and the sound of the Three Jewels constantly issues forth. Mañjuśrī addressed the Buddha: 'I pray that all the bodhisattvas may be sent to the Sahā world to attend King Ajātaśatru's meal.' The Buddha said: 'Those who wish to go may go.' (From the first fascicle of the Ajātaśatru-rāja-sūtra.) The king heard that Mañjuśrī was about to arrive accompanied by 22,500 bodhisattvas and 500 monks (the Pu shou tongzhen jing says twenty-two thousand bodhisattvas and all the śrāvakas). The king thought to himself: 'I have prepared provisions for only five hundred people; how can I manage to provide for them?' Thereupon, a heavenly king named Xiuxixin (Resting Mind) and an honored yakṣa named Jinbī came together to meet the king, saying: 'Do not be alarmed, do not be panicked, do not consider it difficult.' He asked: 'How is it not difficult?' They replied: 'Mañjuśrī has cultivated upāyakauśalya (skill-in-means) and boundless wisdom, and arrives fully endowed with the light of merit. He can take a single portion of food, and it is equal to Mañjuśrī's [own vastness]. If all the people of a trichiliocosm were to seek food and drink, he could satisfy them all and the food would not be exhausted. Why worry about these twenty-three thousand people? Mañjuśrī's merit is exceedingly exalted and inexhaustible.' The king leapt for joy, brought his musicians, went out in person to welcome them, and entered the palace together with them. There was a bodhisattva named Pushi Xijian (Universal Vision Who Sees All). Mañjuśrī commanded Samathārutha to adorn and prepare the place so that it could accommodate all who were coming. The bodhisattva received the instruction, looked around in the four directions, and immediately everything was prepared. There was another bodhisattva named Falai Zede (Obtained as the Dharma Comes), who was commanded to prepare couches. In the snap of a finger, there were twenty-three thousand couches and seats, decorated in diverse ways. The bodhisattvas and śrāvakas all took their seats. The king addressed Mañjuśrī: 'The provisions I have made are very few. I pray you will bear with me for a moment while I prepare more.' He replied: 'What has been prepared is already sufficient; do not trouble your mind any further.' The Heavenly King Vaiśravaṇa, along with his family, servants, and attendants, all came to pay homage and reverently attended to the left and right. Śakra Devānām Indra, together with his chief consort named Shouye and heavenly maidens, all held famous fragrances to make offerings, scattering them over Mañjuśrī and the host of bodhisattvas and monks. The bodhisattvas and others were not moved by the flowers and perfumes. Brahmā transformed himself into a youthful brāhmaṇa, exquisite and handsome, who stood to Mañjuśrī's right, attending him and fanning him. The sons of Brahmā all fanned the bodhisattvas and monks. The Nāga King Anavatapta, remaining invisible in the sky, held strings of pearls hanging down like banners. Fragrant water of eight flavors flowed down along the strings. In front of each person hung pearls, with water issuing from them to supply all necessities. The king thought: 'Those who have assembled do not hold alms-bowls; from what vessels will they eat?' At that time, Mañjuśrī said: 'Bodhisattvas do not carry bowls as they travel; at the place where they eat, bowls naturally come into their hands.' When the bodhisattvas thought of bowls, the bowls spontaneously flew through the air, arriving in ranks. King Anavatapta washed them all clean and filled them to the brim with water. The nāga maidens held up the twenty-three thousand bowls and placed them into the hands of each bodhisattva. Mañjuśrī said to the king: 'You may distribute the food; it will reach everywhere without diminishing.' Then Mañjuśrī asked: 'Is it finished now?' He answered: 'It is not finished. The reason it is not yet finished is that there is still doubt.' When the bodhisattvas had finished eating, they threw their bowls into the empty sky, where they remained hovering in rows, neither falling to the ground nor shaking. The king again asked: 'How do the bowls abide, and upon what do they rely?' Mañjuśrī said: 'The abiding of these bowls is like the abiding of the king's doubts.' The king said again: 'These bowls have no place of abiding; they are not on the ground, they rely on nothing, and they have no location.' Mañjuśrī said: 'Just as the king's doubts have no abiding, all phenomena are like these bowls: they neither abide nor fall.' The meal being concluded, the king took a seat and addressed Mañjuśrī: 'I pray you will resolve my doubts.' He replied: 'Even Buddhas equal to the sands of the Ganges could not explain these doubts for the king.' The king was terrified and fell from his seat like a great falling tree. Mahākāśyapa said to the king: 'Do not be afraid, do not be terrified. Why? Mañjuśrī has entered profound upāyakauśalya. Inquire gently.' The king said: 'Buddhas equal to the sands of the Ganges cannot explain what I doubt.' Mañjuśrī said: 'Do you, worthy one, maintain that it can be seen from mental causes and conditions?' The king said: 'One does not employ mental arising to see the Buddha; it is not through [the duality of] saṃsāra and liberation—taking these two things—that one becomes a Buddha. My doubts cannot be explained by Buddhas equal to the sands of the Ganges. Why? If someone were to say, "Can one defile empty space with dust?" could they do it?' 'No.' 'If someone were to say, "Can one remove the defilements of empty space?" could they certainly remove them?' The king said: 'They could not.' Mañjuśrī said: 'The Buddhas know that all phenomena are like empty space. Why? Because they are free from an origin, nor do they see phenomena as having an origin. If someone were to speak of it, the king's doubts are not something that Buddhas equal to the sands of the Ganges could explain.' At that moment, the king attained receptive patience (kṣānti). Leaping with joy, he said: 'Excellent, excellent! You have resolved my doubts.' Mañjuśrī said: 'This is a great doubt. In the Dharma just explained, phenomena have no origin; from whence could doubt arise?' The king said: 'Through this great favor, I have found a slight respite. Now, when my life ends, I have no fear of not reaching nirvāṇa.' Mañjuśrī said: 'What the king hopes for has no origin. Why? Because phenomena are originally nirvāṇa, and therefore nothing is produced.' The king then rose from his seat, took fine cotton cloth worth hundreds of thousands of millions, and draped it around Mañjuśrī's body. Mañjuśrī's body became invisible, and the cotton cloth hung in empty space. The king heard speech but could not see his form; hearing the speech was like seeing him. The king himself saw his doubts and thereby saw all phenomena as they are seen. A voice in the sky addressed what the king saw, and he then gave the cloth to it. The bodhisattva seated next was named De Shangyuan (Attainer of the Highest Vow). The king again held up this cloth, wishing to present it to him. De Shangyuan said: 'As for those who seek liberation and nirvāṇa, I do not accept anything from them, nor do I accept what belongs to ordinary people. Why? Because ordinary people are entangled in worldly matters, I do not accept it. Nor do I accept anything from those seeking the state of an arhat or pratyekabuddha. The giver has no dual mind, and the receiver also has no dual mind; therefore it is said that what is received transcends liberation.' The king then wished to place the robe upon the bodhisattva, but suddenly he became invisible and his whereabouts were no longer known. He only heard his voice, without seeing his form, saying: 'Offer the robe to the body that is manifested.' In this manner, one by one, he offered the robe, and all became invisible; even the couches, tables, and seats all became invisible. He only heard their voices, saying: 'Offer the robe to what is manifested.' Even the five hundred śrāvakas would not accept it. The king thought deeply: 'The bodhisattvas and the saṃgha of monks are all gone. To whom shall I give my robe?' He went to give it to his chief queen in the inner palace, but the queen also became invisible at that time. The king then attained samādhi, seeing no forms, seeing neither woman nor man, and seeing neither walls, trees, rooms, houses, nor city fortifications. He still retained a lingering thought, thinking: 'There is my body.' All perception of forms ceased. Again he heard the voice: 'Just as everything seen is observed, you should observe your own doubts. As your doubts are seen, all phenomena are seen likewise.' He then took the robe, intending to put it back on himself, but he could see neither his body nor his mind. (Explaining this state of forgetting marks is extensive; much of the text is omitted.) Mañjuśrī said: 'Have you ever heard the Buddha say that those who commit heinous crimes will enter the great hells?' The king said: 'I have.' 'Do you yourself know whether you will enter hell?' The king said: 'In the Buddha's attainment of Dharma, is there any dharma that ascends to heaven or enters hell? Is there any dharma that peacefully reaches nirvāṇa?' Mañjuśrī said: 'There is none.' The king said: 'I know that all phenomena are empty. Why? Hells, ascending to heaven, and peace are all likewise empty. Phenomena cannot be destroyed; therefore, one enters the Dharmakāya. In the Dharmakāya, there is neither heaven nor the human realm, neither hells, beasts, nor pretas.' The king's various heinous offenses having been purified, he attained this receptive patience. The king said: 'All phenomena are completely pure, without any defilement.' When these words were spoken, he swiftly attained the receptive patience of faith (From the lower fascicle of the Ajātaśatru-rāja-sūtra, and also from the second and third fascicles of the Puchao sanmei jing [Ajātaśatrukaukṛtyavinodana-sūtra]).