經律異相 31.4

31.4

The crown prince of the kingdom of Gandhāra did not care for worldly glory and retreated to dwell secluded among the mountains and marshes. At that time, in the bottom of a deep ravine, there was a starving tigress. Having newly given birth to seven cubs, she was met with falling snow. The mother tigress had cradled her cubs for three days without being able to seek food. Fearing her cubs would freeze to death, she guarded her cubs while starving as the snow fell ceaselessly. Mother and cubs were exhausted by hunger, and their lives would not last long. Pressed by hunger, the mother was about to devour her cubs. Then the ṛṣis said: "Who can sacrifice their body to save these creatures?" The crown prince said: "Excellent! My vow is now fulfilled!" Going to the edge of the cliff, he looked down and saw the mother tigress cradling her cubs, covered by snow, and great compassion arose within him. Standing upon the mountain peak, he entered stillness in samādhi. Thereupon he attained the pure forbearance of the non-arising of dharmas (anutpattikadharmakṣānti). He beheld the events of countless kalpas in the past, and likewise those of the future. He then returned and addressed his master and five hundred fellow students: "I shall now sacrifice my body; may each of you rejoice accordingly." The master said: "You have studied the Way for only a short time, and your knowledge and insight are not yet vast. Why have you suddenly resolved of yourself to sacrifice your cherished body?" The crown prince replied: "In the past I made a vow that I must sacrifice one thousand bodies. Previously I have already sacrificed nine hundred and ninety-nine bodies. The sacrifice today will complete the full thousand bodies; this is why I sacrifice it. May you, master, rejoice accordingly." The master said: "Your noble aspiration is sublime; you will surely attain the Way first. Do not forget me!" The crown prince took leave of his master and departed. His master and the five hundred divine ṛṣis, their eyes filled with weeping tears, escorted the crown prince to the edge of the mountain cliff. At that time, the elder Fulan was leading a retinue of five hundred men and women carrying offerings up the mountain. Seeing the crown prince sacrifice his body, he wept with grief and also followed the crown prince to the edge of the mountain cliff. Before the assembly, the crown prince made a great vow: "I now sacrifice my body to save the lives of living beings. May all the resulting merit enable me swiftly to achieve bodhi, to obtain a vajra body, and the unconditioned Dharmakāya of permanence, bliss, self, and purity. May those who have not crossed over be crossed over; may those who are not liberated be liberated; may those who are not at ease be set at ease. Now, this body of mine is impermanent, miserable, and afflicted, a gathering of all poisons. This body is impure, with its nine apertures flowing over, bitten and stung by the four great poisonous snakes, pursued, wounded, and cut by the five bandits with drawn swords. Such a body has no gratitude; though provisioned with delicacies, delicious tastes, and the pleasures of the five desires, after this body's life ends, there is no wholesome repayment of kindness, and it falls into hell to suffer immeasurable pain. The body of a mortal should only be subjected to suffering and not be granted pleasure." He made another vow, saying: "Now, with my flesh and blood, I shall save that starving tigress. As for the remaining relics of my bones, my father and mother in later times will surely erect a stūpa for them. May all sentient beings whose bodies suffer from various illnesses and the causal conditions of past sins, whom decoctions, medicines, acupuncture, and moxibustion cannot cure, come to the place of my stūpa and make offerings with a sincere mind; according to whether their illness is mild or severe, within no more than one hundred days they shall surely be cured. If this is true and not false, may the devas rain down fragrant flowers!" In response to his words, māndārava flowers rained down and the earth all shook. The crown prince then untied his deer-skin garment to wrap his head, and threw himself down before the tigress. The mother tigress obtained the bodhisattva's flesh to eat, and both mother and cubs survived. At that time, the people atop the cliff looked down and saw the crown prince being devoured by the tigress, his bones and flesh strewn about in disorder. Weeping and wailing loudly, their cries shook the mountain. Some beat their breasts and threw themselves down, writhing upon the ground; some engaged in dhyāna contemplation; some kowtowed in repentance. The devas of the Śuddhāvāsa, Śakra Devānām Indra, the Four Heavenly Kings, and the sun and moon devas, tens of millions in number, all gave rise to the mind of unexcelled bodhi. They played music, burned incense, and scattered flowers to make offerings to the crown prince, calling out these words: "Excellent, Mahāsattva! From this point on, you shall before long sit in the bodhimaṇḍa." The five hundred ṛṣis all gave rise to the intention for the unexcelled, true, and correct Way. The great master of the divine ṛṣis attained the forbearance of non-arising. The queen sent provisions, but only saw the garments, parasols, bowls, staff, bottles, and jars in the stone chamber. Inquiring everywhere of the ṛṣis, they were weeping to one another in groups of ten and fifteen. Going to the great master's quarters, she saw only the ṛṣi master with hand propping up his cheek, eyes filled with weeping tears, sitting and groaning. Inquiring all around, none was willing to answer. The messenger was terrified, and immediately gave the food and drink as an offering to the ṛṣis, and ran back to the queen to recount the above matter in full. The queen said: "Disaster! My son is dead!" Beating her breast and crying out loudly, she ran to the king. When the king heard this, he swooned in confusion. The ministers remonstrated with the king: "The crown prince is in the mountains; may the Great King rest a little."