經律異相 34.4

34.4

The queen of the king of the kingdom of Vārāṇasī gave birth to a daughter whose body was yellow-gold in color and whose hair was deep blue-black. At the time she was sixteen years old. Seeing the girl had grown up, her parents wished to seek a husband for her. The girl said, "I have no need for a husband. If you wish to seek a husband for me, he must have a body of yellow-gold color and deep blue-black hair. Only one like this will do." Her parents then sought for one, but could not find any at all. At that time, the Buddha was in the kingdom of Śrāvastī. There was a merchant from Śrāvastī who traveled for trade to Vārāṇasī. The king of the kingdom invited the merchant to meet with him, exchanged greetings, showed him the daughter, and said, "I am seeking a husband for this girl. Is there such a fine person anywhere under heaven?" The merchant replied, "In my country there is someone who surpasses even this girl." Hearing this, the king was delighted and ordered the merchant to welcome the Buddha. The merchant then wrote a letter to the Buddha. In the letter he stated that this girl was upright, wonderfully beautiful, and peerless, and that he wished to take her for the Buddha. The Buddha was in the Jetavana, preaching the sūtras to several thousand monks. The bearer of the letter went straight before the Buddha. The Buddha, knowing in advance what was written in the letter, took it and tore it to pieces. He wrote a letter in reply to the Golden Woman, saying: "The suffering of humans is all born of affection. Birth must be followed by aging; aging must be followed by sickness; from sickness one arrives at death; and from death one arrives at grief and weeping. All sufferings under heaven are born of affection." Upon receiving the letter, the girl reflected upon it and immediately attained the five supernormal knowledges: first, her eyes could see without obstruction; second, her ears could hear without obstruction; third, she knew the mental thoughts of others; fourth, she knew where she had been born from; fifth, she could fly. She then bade farewell to her parents and flew before the Buddha. The Buddha immediately smiled, and five-colored rays of light came out from his mouth. Ānanda stepped forward and asked about it. The Buddha said, "Ānanda, do you see that this girl is capable like this? If you wish to know: In the time of Kāśyapa Buddha, this Golden Woman was the wife of a poor family. Her husband's hands and feet were contracted, and he could not walk. At that time, the king of the country was named Kiki, and he had a daughter who was upright and beautiful, wearing gold and silver necklaces upon her body, who went straight to Kāśyapa Buddha's place to receive the scriptures and precepts. At that time, this poor man's wife was draped in only a single cotton cloth, yet she also followed along to the Buddha's place. The outsiders would not allow her forward. The poor man's wife thought to herself, 'Why am I alone not allowed forward, while the king's daughter alone goes forward?' The Buddha immediately knew this and ordered someone to call her forward. The wife bowed and said, 'Why is this king's daughter alone noble like this, while I alone am poor?' The Buddha told the woman, 'In a past life, this king's daughter loved to recite the scriptures and gave robes to śramaṇas, and therefore in her present life she obtained nobility, dignity, and beauty. In your past life you did not take delight in the Dharma of the scriptures, were stingy and unwilling to practice giving, and seeing śramaṇas did not serve them, which has caused you to be poor like this in your present life.' The poor woman said, 'I pray the Buddha pity my foolishness and teach me the Dharma of the scriptures.' Kāśyapa Buddha then taught her. Beneath a tree she recited the scriptures, sat, and reflected on them. She then took tree leaves, stitched them together to make a garment to cover her body, and wished to offer the cotton garment she was wearing on her body to the Buddha. Śakra, King of the Gods, seeing her utmost sincerity, brought heavenly robes, gold coins, and food and drink to give to her. Having obtained the robes, the woman gave them in charity and made offerings. When her life ended, she was born in heaven. When her lifespan there was exhausted, she came to be born in the human world as a king's daughter. Because she loved to recite the scriptures and practice giving, her body was yellow-gold in color and her hair deep blue-black." (Extracted from the *Golden Woman Sūtra*)