經律異相 32.6.2

32.6.2

The king then granted permission. The prince was delighted and bowed with his head to the ground before the king. The great king issued an order: "Who wishes to go to the ocean?" When the multitude heard this, they gathered joyfully. Five hundred men all said, "Great King, we shall now follow the prince." There was a sea captain who had previously gone into the great ocean several times and was well acquainted with the signs of passable and obstructed routes, yet he was eighty years old and blind in both eyes. The king said to the guide, "I have only one son, who has never before stepped outside our gates. I trouble and impose upon you, Great Master, to accompany him into the great ocean; I pray you will accompany him." The guide then said, "In the great ocean the perils and hardships are not of a single kind; among those who set out by the tens of millions, those who reach their goal are but one or two. How can the Great King send the prince to travel afar upon such a perilous path?" The king replied to the guide, "Out of pity I have acceded to his wish and given my permission." The guide said, "I dare not disobey." The prince prepared travel equipment for the five hundred men, loading everything to set off for the seashore. Bad Friend thought to himself, "Good Friend is favored and beloved by our parents. Now he goes into the great ocean to gather wondrous treasures. If he succeeds in returning, our parents will surely cast me aside." He said to his parents, "I wish to follow Good Friend into the ocean to gather treasures." The parents replied, "Do as you wish; when crises and perils arise on the road, brothers traveling together must surely rescue and protect each other." When they reached the great ocean, they locked the ship with seven iron chains and halted for seven days. At sunrise each day, the prince beat a drum and proclaimed: "All of you people, who wishes to enter the ocean? Those who will enter, remain silent; if you yearn for your beloved relatives, you may turn back now! In the great ocean the perils are not of a single kind." The multitude remained silent. Thereupon he severed one chain and drew it up onto the ship. Day after day he made this proclamation, and on the seventh day he severed the seventh chain, watched for the wind, and hoisted the sails. By virtue of the prince's compassionate mind and the power of his merit, there were no perils or hindrances, and they succeeded in reaching an ocean isle, arriving at a mountain of rare treasures. The prince beat the drum and proclaimed: "The way is distant; quickly load the rare treasures. At most we shall halt for seven days." He further said, "These treasures are extremely heavy, yet in Jambudvīpa they are of no great value. Do not load them so heavily that the ship sinks and fails to reach its destination; yet do not take too little, lest on this distant road it fails to repay your toil." When the preparations were complete, he parted from the crowd, saying, "May you all return safely and in peace. I am now about to press forward to gather a maṇi jewel." The prince and the blind guide then advanced further. They traveled the road for one week, with water reaching up to their knees. They traveled on for another week, with water reaching up to their necks. They pressed forward again for another week, swimming across, and thereupon reached the treasure land. The guide asked, "What kind of land is this?" The prince answered, "This land is made purely of white silver sand." The guide said, "Looking in all four directions, there should be a white mountain; have you seen it yet?" The prince said, "In the southeast there is a white silver mountain." They reached the foot of this mountain, and the guide said, "Next should come gold sand." The guide, exhausted and faint, collapsed to the ground and said to the prince, "My life is short; I must surely perish here. Prince, if you go east from here for one week, there will be a gold mountain. Advancing another week from that mountain, it is purely blue lotus flowers. Advancing another week, the ground is purely red lotus flowers. Passing another week, there is a great jewel-city, adorned purely with the seven treasures, where the nāga king resides. In the nāga king's ear is a wish-fulfilling maṇi jewel. Go and beg it of him. If you obtain this jewel, it can fulfill [all wishes] throughout Jambudvīpa, raining down the various seven treasures, clothing, food and drink, medicines, music, and entertainment according to one's desires; it is called the wish-fulfilling jewel." Having spoken, the guide's breath ceased and he died. The prince embraced him, weeping aloud with grief: "How unfortunate I am to lose you in this life!" He then buried him in the earth, covered him with golden sand, circumambulated him to the right seven times, paid reverence, and departed. Proceeding past the gold mountain, he saw blue lotus flowers, beneath which were blue serpents. These serpents possessed three kinds of venom: biting venom, touching venom, and breath venom. These venomous serpents coiled their bodies around the lotus flowers, opening their eyes and panting as they glared at the prince. The prince immediately entered the samādhi of loving-kindness, rose, advanced along the path, and stepped on the lotus leaves. At that time, none of the venomous serpents harmed or injured him, and he reached the nāga king's dwelling place. There were sevenfold city walls and moats, filled with venomous nāgas coiled together, raising their heads and intertwining their necks to guard the city gate. When the prince reached the outside of the city gate, seeing the venomous nāgas, he gave rise to a mind of loving-kindness and thought of all sentient beings in Jambudvīpa: "If my body is harmed now by these venomous nāgas, all of you sentient beings will lose a great benefit!" He immediately raised his right hand and announced to the venomous nāgas: "You should know that for the sake of all sentient beings I wish to see the nāga king." The venomous nāgas cleared a path to let the prince enter. He saw two jade maidens spinning crystal thread. The prince asked, "Who are you?" They answered, "We are the maidservants of the nāga king guarding the outer gate." Entering to the middle gate, he saw four jade maidens spinning white silver thread. The prince asked again, "Are you the nāga king's wives?" They answered, "No, we are only the maidservants of the nāga king guarding the middle gate." The prince entered to the inner gate and saw eight jade maidens spinning yellow gold thread. The prince said to them, "Who are you?" They answered, "We are only the maidservants of the nāga king guarding the gate." The prince said, "Announce me to the great ocean nāga king, saying: 'Good Friend, crown prince of the king of Vārāṇasī in Jambudvīpa, wishes to meet with you and is now at the gate.'" The gatekeeper immediately informed the king. The king was greatly astonished: "Unless he were a person of merit and pure goodness, there would be no way for him to travel so far along this perilous path." He immediately invited him into the palace, and the king came out to receive him. The ground was made of deep blue lapis lazuli, and the seven treasures emitted various rays of light dazzling to the eye. The prince expounded the Dharma, instructing, encouraging, and delighting him; he praised discourses on giving, discourses on morality, and discourses on heaven. The nāga king was delighted in his heart: "Having wearily traversed such a distant journey, what is it that you desire?" The prince said, "Great King, all sentient beings in Jambudvīpa suffer endless hardships on account of clothing, food, and drink. I now wish to beg of the king the maṇi jewel in your left ear." The nāga king said, "Accept my humble offerings for one week, and I shall bestow it upon you." The prince accepted the nāga king's invitation. After seven days had passed, he took the jewel to return to Jambudvīpa. (The Damamūka-nidāna-sūtra says: When he reached the seven-jewel city, the gate was firmly shut. He saw a vajra pestle beside the gate, and following his master's instructions, took the pestle and struck the gate. At the gate were five hundred heavenly maidens holding jewel pearls who came to present them to the prince; the foremost woman's pearl was lapis lazuli in color, and he accepted it and tied it to the hem of his robe.) The nāga king sent various nāga deities to escort him through the air, and he reached this shore. Seeing his younger brother Bad Friend, he asked, "Where are your companions now?" Bad Friend replied, "The ships sank, and all of them perished."