經律異相 34.33

34.33

Formerly, a king had a daughter who was so beloved by the king that she was never out of his sight. At that time, rain fell from the sky, and bubbles formed upon the water. Seeing the water bubbles, the daughter was filled with fond affection for them. She said to the king: "I wish to obtain the bubbles on the water to make a flower garland for my head." The king told the daughter, saying: "The bubbles upon the water now cannot be grasped or held. How could one take them to make a flower garland?" The daughter said: "If I cannot have them, I shall commit suicide." Hearing his daughter's words, the king told his skilled artisans, saying: "You possess wondrous ingenuity and there is no craft you do not master. Quickly take the water bubbles and make a garland for my daughter. If you do not, you shall be beheaded." They replied: "We are unable to take bubbles to make a garland." There was an old craftsman who said: "I can take the bubbles." The king was greatly pleased and immediately told his daughter, saying: "Now there is a man capable of making the garland. You may go yourself and watch over it in person." In accordance with the king's words, the daughter went outside to look on. Then the old craftsman addressed the king's daughter, saying: "I am ordinarily unable to distinguish good bubbles from bad. I humbly ask the king's daughter to personally select the bubbles, and I will make the garland." The daughter then tried to grasp the bubbles, but they broke beneath her hand and could not be seized. Thus the whole day ended without her obtaining any bubbles. Exhausted and weary, the daughter gave up and left. The daughter said to the king: "Water bubbles are false and fleeting, unable to endure for long. I ask the king to make me a garland of purple-sheen gold, which through all days and nights will never wither. The bubbles on the water deceive human eyes; though having form and substance, as soon as they arise they perish. The shimmering heat mirage of the wilderness is also like this; wearied by craving, one loses one's life. The human body is false and fleeting, with little joy and much suffering. A thing destined for destruction cannot endure for long; shifting and transforming, it remains in the world for only a little while." (Extracted from the Water-Bubble Sūtra)