經律異相 35.25

35.25

At that time, in the country of Rājagṛha, there was an elder of the four castes named Shenri. His wealth was extremely vast, and his gold, silver, and precious jewels were countless. Shenri served other religious mendicants and did not serve only the Buddha. The various non-Buddhist mendicants were all jealous together. They conferred with Shenri, saying, “The Buddha is now revered by the king, ministers, elders, officials, and common people, yet we alone are not respected by them. The Buddha constantly claims of himself that he knows past, future, and present affairs, and knows what others think. Now, might we test whether it is truly so or not?” Shenri asked, “How should we test him?” The non-Buddhist mendicants said, “Invite the Buddha, place poison in the food, dig a pit inside the gate five fathoms deep, put fire inside, and cover it lightly above, so that the Buddha walks over it. If he knows, he will not accept the invitation; if he accepts the invitation, then he does not know.” Shenri agreed. He went immediately to invite the Buddha. The Buddha said, “Very good.” The non-Buddhist mendicants said, “He knows nothing at all. Just dig the pit.” Shenri had a son named Zhanluofa, sixteen years of age, who was thoroughly versed in past lives, excelled in studying the Buddha’s path, and was able to know past, future, and present affairs. He addressed his father, saying, “The Buddha already knows this. Do not heed the words of evil men and cast yourself into boiling water and fire!” Shenri did not believe him; he dug the pit, lit the fire, and placed poison in the food. [The Buddha] told the monks, “Follow behind me.” Just as the Buddha set out on the path, he emitted light and shadows, making everything in Shenri’s house turn golden. At that time Zhanluofa told his father, “Now the Buddha has set out on the path. The ten directions are all bright as the sun.” When the Buddha reached the city gate and set foot upon the threshold, the entire great city shook violently. The sick were immediately cured, and harps and musical instruments sounded on their own without being struck. When the Buddha reached Shenri’s gate, the five-fathom fire pit transformed into a bathing pool in which lotuses grew, each flower having a thousand petals. The lotuses stepped upon by his disciples each produced a hundred petals; they all walked by treading on the lotuses. Shenri, seeing the fire already turned into a pool of water with lotuses growing in it, was struck with great terror. Throwing his head and face to the ground, he spoke with sincerity, “Just now I prepared food for the Buddha, but I put poison in all of it. I beg you to allow me to cook again.” The Buddha said, “There is no need to cook again. Bring the poisoned food and eat it.” He instructed the monks, “Do not eat yet. Wait for my instruction before eating.” The Buddha then pronounced a verse of blessing, saying: “In the world there are three poisons: the first is greed and lust; the second is anger and hatred; the third is delusion and folly. For the Buddha, who is devoid of these three poisons, poison does not take effect; for those of supreme sincerity who possess the scriptural Dharma, poison also does not take effect.” The poison in the food dissolved of itself. The Buddha said, “You may all eat.” Shenri bowed his head and face at the Buddha’s feet, saying, “I was utterly worthless and followed the words of evil men. I beg the World-Honoured One for mercy and to allow me to repent my fault.” The Buddha preached the scriptures for him, and he attained the path of a srotāpanna (taken from the *Shenri tou ben jing*).