經律異相 27.15

27.15

In Śrāvastī there was a king named Lamda. The land was fertile and rich, and the people were honest and faithful; sovereign and ministers, fathers and sons, guided one another according to the Way. Later, a king ascended the throne; standards of virtue and custom grew slight, and his governance was unjust. He oppressed the common people and executed the innocent without cause. Governance being thrown into chaos, disasters answered: the rains ceased to fall in season, the five grains did not yield, and strange portents arose one after another. Desolation ensued, and he feared ruin and downfall. He served and honored more than five hundred followers of heterodox ways and also sacrificed to monstrous spirits. High and low followed one another in imitation, bending like grass before the wind. The populace took delight in disorder and vied in committing villainy; the strong bullied the weak and mutually harmed and killed, pillaging the property of others without following reason. They debauched others' women, and the sovereign and ministers were dissipated and drunken. Delusion grew daily, and drought exceeded three years. Praying repeatedly, they obtained not a drop of rain. The various teachers said to the king, "Now we must perform a great sacrifice: you should use seven young boys, ten white oxen, and ten white horses, burning them in sacrifice to Heaven. Only then may rain be obtained." The king then prepared the requisites. Throughout the country there was clamor and terror, and old and young were shaken and disturbed. The Buddha addressed Maudgalyāyana: "The realm of Lamda is desolate and the people are in distress. There are three hundred million people who should obtain liberation through you; you may go to instruct and transform them." Maudgalyāyana went to preach the Dharma for them to awaken their minds, but among the people in the country there was initially no one who would accept it. Maudgalyāyana then transformed into the body of a great demon-god, several tens of zhang tall, and sat before the city gate. With a resounding voice he summoned the king and his close ministers to come out. Sovereign and ministers were terrified and bewildered, fearing for their lives. The king then led his close ministers forward, kowtowing and making confession: "Our only wish is to be spared our lives!" The spirit said to the king, "Hurry, seek out disloyal ministers and unfilial sons and bring them here; I wish to eat them!" The king at once investigated, and they replied that there were none. The spirit again said to the king, "Hurry, seek out thieves, the licentious, and those of double tongue and malicious speech; I wish to eat them!" The king at once investigated, and they again replied that there were none. The spirit again said to the king, "Hurry, seek out those who drink alcohol; I wish to eat them!" The king at once investigated, and they again replied that there were none. Thereupon Maudgalyāyana manifested his true body again and went to speak with the demon-god. Seeing Maudgalyāyana, the king kowtowed and earnestly pleaded with him to propitiate the great spirit. Maudgalyāyana said to the king, "What is this spirit seeking?" The king said, "He wishes to eat evil people." Maudgalyāyana asked, "Are there truly such people in your country or not?" The king replied, "There are none. We entreat you again to send him away; for the rest of my life I will take refuge in you, O Man of the Way!" Maudgalyāyana addressed the great spirit, saying, "Among the people of this country, there are none whom you seek. You may pardon their offenses. If anyone offends again, you may return and eat them." The spirit then heeded his words and vanished all at once. The king, his ministers, and the common people then kowtowed together, offered thanks, and begged to take refuge. Maudgalyāyana told them, "If the Great King wishes to take refuge, he should first take refuge in the Buddha." The king inquired about the Buddha's merit, and Maudgalyāyana explained that the Buddha is the solely honored one in the three realms, and the sound of his preaching of the Dharma reaches three thousand [worlds]. The king said, "I am fortunate today to hear such an extraordinary thing!" He then addressed Maudgalyāyana: "I wish to invite the Buddha to receive his venerable words of Dharma and practice them for the rest of my life." Maudgalyāyana told the king, "If you are truly able to do so, your merit will be immeasurable. You need only purify your mind and keep the Buddha in your thoughts." The king then followed his instructions, bathed, observed the purification precepts, and prostrated toward the Buddha's land from afar, saying: "Being ignorant and benighted, I have wrongly occupied a station above the people, unable to cleanse my mind and guide them, causing the state to become empty and desolate; the fault lies upon myself. I only pray that the World-Honoured One will cast down his light and descend, so that all the common people may obtain inexhaustible blessings." The Buddha, accompanied by the bhikṣus, while still nearly a hundred li away, walked in advance through the air. Five-colored lotuses supported his feet, and the devas escorted him, with jeweled pavilions and flower canopies receiving him along the way, playing diverse celebrated music that packed the sky. Beholding the Buddha's majestic spiritual power illuminating heaven and earth, the king and his ministers prostrated at his feet. At the crossroads they extensively arranged curtains and canopies, sweeping and sprinkling them clean. The Buddha sat on a naturally appearing lion throne, entirely spread with celestial silk carpets. The king poured the food and drink with his own hands and personally presented the water for washing. When the blessings had been pronounced, the Buddha expounded the essentials of the Four Noble Truths—suffering, emptiness, and impermanence. The king then rejoiced and begged to receive the five precepts; the fetters being untied and defilements removed, he attained srotāpanna. At that time, the five hundred non-Buddhists served by the king begged to become bhikṣus. The Buddha then granted their wish; stroking their heads with his hand, their hair fell out, and kāṣāyas covered their bodies. Seven days later, they all attained arhatship. Among the assembled people, some attained srotāpanna, while others received the five precepts and diligently practiced the ten wholesome deeds. They took refuge in the Three Venerable Ones, observed the six fasts each month and the three fasts each year, and guided one another, making this their constant rule. Ānanda addressed the Buddha, "What previous cause did this king and his people share with Maudgalyāyana?" The Buddha said, "Long ago, in the time of Vipaśyin Buddha, Maudgalyāyana was an upāsaka. He lived in poverty, but observed the precepts and guarded his mind without transgression. Gathering flowers in the mountains, he saw a sumana tree. Just as he was about to climb the tree to pluck flowers, unaware that there was a beehive ahead, several thousand bees were startled, scattered, and pursued him. He then thought to himself: 'If I attain the Way, I will deliver you all.' Those who have attained the Way today are none other than the bees of that time." (Drawn from the Sūtra of King Lamda).