經律異相 35.7

35.7

In the city of Campā there was the son of a great elder named Śroṇa. His parents had only this one son and were extremely fond of him. From his birth he was accustomed to pleasure and had never trodden the bare ground, so that hair grew beneath his feet. At that time the king of Magadha, having heard of the great elder's son in the city of Campā, wished to see him. He therefore ordered the lord of the city to have all the elders bring their sons. The lord of Campā city complied with the decree and went before the king of Magadha, standing to one side. The king allowed [him] to spread clothes on the ground, and [Śroṇa] came before the king. When the king saw the hair on his feet, he was exceedingly pleased. He then said to him: 'You may go to see the Buddha, pay homage, and inquire after him; this will bring you benefit in future lives.' Then the lord of Campā city and all the elders went together to Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa. At that time the elder Vāgīśa was serving as the Buddha's attendant and was seated upon a boulder. The lord of Campā city went before the elder Vāgīśa and said: 'We wish to see the Tathāgata.' Vāgīśa then submerged into the rock and surged out before the Buddha, saying: 'The elders of Campā wish to see the Bhagavat.' The Buddha said: 'Go into the shade of the shelter and lay out a seat; I will go and sit there.' Vāgīśa, having laid out the seat, returned to the Buddha and said to the Bhagavat: 'The seat has been arranged.' When the Bhagavat sat down, he told Vāgīśa: 'Tell the elders to come.' Vāgīśa then submerged before the Buddha and leaped out upon the boulder. The elders marveled at this unprecedented feat: 'If the Bhagavat's disciple has supernatural power such as this, how much more so the Tathāgata!' Vāgīśa said: 'Elders, you may now know [that you may enter].' At this, the lord of Campā city came before the Buddha. The Bhagavat then expounded the Dharma to encourage and transform the sons of the elders and the lord of Campā city, and right upon their seats they attained purity of the Dharma-eye. They said to the Bhagavat: 'Venerable One, from this day forth we take refuge in the Three Jewels and become upāsakas.' Later, Śroṇa went forth from household life. He went to a śītavana cemetery by the warm-water river and practiced with diligent vigor. The place where he walked in meditation was soaked with blood staining the earth, as if smeared with blood. Then Śroṇa reflected in a quiet place: 'Among the Buddha's disciples who practice with diligent vigor, none surpasses me. Why then do I still not attain the cessation of defilements (āsravakṣaya)? I should give up the precepts, return home, indulge in the five desires, and make offerings to generate merit.' The Buddha, knowing his thought, came to Śroṇa's dwelling [and said]: 'I shall now ask you; answer me as you wish. When you were at home playing the lute, if the strings were loose or tight, was the sound good or not?' [Śroṇa replied:] 'Only if they were neither loose nor tight was a good sound produced.' The Buddha said: 'A monk is also like this: only when neither loose nor tight will the mind accord with the Path.' Following this teaching, he practiced and attained the status of an arhat. (Extracted from the Sifen lü, Part Three, Fascicle 2).