經律異相 34.35

34.35

In the past there was a king named Kṛki. He fathered a daughter who wore a naturally formed garland of golden flowers and was named Mālinī. The king summoned five hundred girls born on the same day throughout the country to serve as her attendants. When Mālinī grew older, she made offerings daily without fail to five hundred brāhmaṇas. At that time, Kāśyapa Buddha was residing in a park. She often went out on excursions and reached the park where the Buddha resided. Her charioteer would not enter. The daughter asked: "There is no park I do not enter; why do you avoid this one?" He answered, saying: "In this park there is only a shaven-headed śramaṇa named Kāśyapa. It is not suitable to see him; therefore we do not enter." The daughter said: "You may enter." Seeing the Buddha's golden colour, she rejoiced greatly in her heart. She bowed her head and face in veneration, and the Buddha preached the wondrous Dharma to her. She received the three refuges and the five precepts, paid homage, and departed. The daughter reflected to herself: "The brāhmaṇas are not a true field of merit and should not receive offerings." She redirected them as offerings to the Buddha. When the brāhmaṇas heard that Mālinī had become a disciple of Kāśyapa and made offerings of even more superior delicacies to him, jealousy arose in their hearts. When Kṛki's night was over, he had eleven kinds of dreams. At dawn, he assembled his ministers and recounted the dreams he had had. The ministers had him consult soothsaying brāhmaṇas. The brāhmaṇas said: "These dreams are inauspicious. You may lose the kingdom or lose your life." The king said: "Can this be averted?" The soothsayers replied, saying: "You must take various cattle, sheep, elephants, and horses, together with the king's daughter Mālinī and her five hundred attendants, and seven days from now slaughter them at the crossroads as a sacrifice to the gods; then this calamity can be averted." Hearing this, the king gave orders to prepare it at once, called Mālinī, and told her of the matter. Within the six days, she was granted whatever she wished. She replied, saying: "I do not begrudge death at all. I only wish that on the first day, together with the men and women of the city, I may go to Kāśyapa Buddha's place so that all may receive the three refuges and the five precepts." The king granted this. "I wish that on the second day, I may go to the Buddha's place together with the king's ministers. I wish that on the third day, I may go to the Buddha's place together with the princes. I wish that on the fourth day, I may go to the Buddha's place together with the princesses. I wish that on the fifth day, I may go to the Buddha's place together with the king's consort and court ladies. I wish that on the sixth day, I may go to the Buddha's place together with the king." The king consented to all of these. She went with the people to the Buddha's place, and the Buddha preached the Dharma for them, so that they attained the fruits [of the path] and all received the three refuges and the five precepts. The king told his eleven dreams to Kāśyapa Buddha. The Buddha said: "These dreams are concerned with the future, not the present. Dreaming of a small tree bearing flowers means that in the future there will be a Buddha named Śākyamuni; at that time, people will have white hair growing on their heads and will already have begotten children when only twenty years of age. Dreaming of a calf ploughing means that a ten-year-old child will manage household affairs while the parents have no independence. Dreaming of three cauldrons boiling rice side by side, where the cauldrons on the sides boil over into each other without falling into the middle one, means that the wealthy will bestow gifts upon one another while the poor receive nothing. Dreaming of a two-headed camel eating grass means that the ministers will consume the king's salary and also seize the people's property. Dreaming of a mare drinking the milk of her foal means that mothers of that time will marry off their daughters and in turn beg food from them. Dreaming of a golden bowl moving through empty space means that rain and moisture will not fall in season. Dreaming of a wild fox urinating in a golden bowl means that people will marry for wealth regardless of caste or lineage. Dreaming of a monkey sitting on a throne means that kings of that time will employ what is contrary to Dharma, being tyrannical and unprincipled. Dreaming of an ox's head wearing a sandalwood turban being equal in value to rotten grass means that the Śākya clan, out of greed for gain, will preach the Dharma to people. Dreaming of water being turbid in the middle but clear on all four sides means that the Buddha's Dharma will first perish in the central lands and conversely flourish in the borderlands. For the king's own person, there is no misfortune." The king then, right upon his seat, gave orders to his ministers, saying: "The sacrificial animals for the gods now need have no fear. From now on, I would rather lose my own life than intentionally kill a living being, much less kill human beings!" (Extracted from the Mahīśāsaka Vinaya, Fascicle 40)