經律異相 36.15

36.15

At that time, in the country of Śrāvastī, there was a great elder who possessed immeasurable wealth but had no sons, only five daughters who were upright, intelligent, and perceptive. His wife was pregnant when the elder died. According to the law of the land, if there was no son, the wealth and property reverted to the king. The king dispatched a great minister to confiscate his property. The daughters thought to themselves: "Our mother is pregnant, and it is not yet known whether it will be a boy or a girl. If it is another girl, the property should belong to the king. If it is a boy, he should be the owner of the property." They went and informed the king. At that time, King Prasenajit governed with fairness, and so he granted their petition. Soon after, when her months were fulfilled, the mother gave birth to a child. His body was an undifferentiated lump, devoid of ears and eyes; he had a mouth but no tongue, and he had neither hands nor feet—only a male organ. They forthwith gave him a name, calling him Mañjūpikā. At that time, the daughters went and reported the matter in full to the king. The king told the daughters: "The property belongs to your brother. I will not take it." At that time, the eldest daughter went to marry into another family to serve her husband, being humble, reverent, and attentive as if she were a maidservant. When her master, the elder, saw this, he found it strange and questioned her. The woman replied: "When my father died, our family had immeasurable wealth. Although there were five daughters, it was still about to revert to the king. It happened that my mother was pregnant and gave birth to my one brother. Though completely lacking in human features, having only a male organ, he was able to become the owner of the property. Thus, having many daughters is not as good as having a single son." Having heard this, the elder immediately went with the woman to the Buddha's dwelling, and addressed him, saying: "Bhagavat, by what karmic causes and conditions is this child of the elder like this?" The Buddha said: "Long ago, in the past, there were two elder brothers. The elder was named Dhanyasaṃpatti and the younger was named Śīlasaṃpatti. The elder brother, from his youth, was loyal, trustworthy, and honest, and constantly took pleasure in giving, so that the entire kingdom praised him. The king appointed this man as the judge of the kingdom. According to the kingdom's law, when borrowing or lending, taking or giving, there were no written deeds; all went before the judge. At that time, a merchant borrowed a large sum of money from the younger brother, Śīlasaṃpatti. At that time, the younger brother, the elder, had only one son who was young of years. Taking his son together with the lent money, he went to the judge's dwelling and said: 'Elder brother, this merchant's son has borrowed money from me. When he returns from entering the sea, he should repay such-and-such an amount. If I should pass away, please testify so that he may receive it.' The judge said: 'So be it.' Soon after, the younger brother, the elder, passed away. The merchant entered the sea, encountered a windstorm, and lost his cargo, but the merchant escaped with his life. At that time, when the elder's son heard that he had returned empty-handed, he thought to himself: 'Although this man owes me, by what means could I obtain it? I must wait until he has the means to repay.' At that time, this merchant borrowed again from others, and once more entered the sea, where he obtained great and precious jewels and returned in safety. He thought to himself: 'Although that elder's son previously did not demand repayment of the debt for the money I borrowed—at that time this person was young and perhaps now does not remember; or perhaps seeing my former destitution, he did not press me? Now I should test him.' Forthwith, he adorned fine horses and wore garments decorated with many jewels. When the elder's son saw this, he immediately sent someone to say to him: 'You owe me money; now you should repay me.' The merchant answered: 'Very well.' The merchant thought to himself: 'What I borrowed was very large, and with the principal and accumulated interest compounded, there is no way it could be settled. I must devise a strategy to bring it to an end.' Holding a precious pearl, he went to the judge's wife and said: 'Lady, I originally borrowed money and goods from Śīlasaṃpatti. His son has come to press for it. Now I present a pearl worth one hundred thousand; if he presses me, please entreat the judge on my behalf.' The wife replied: 'The elder is sincere and honest; he will certainly not agree to this. But I will try to speak to him.' She forthwith accepted the pearl. When the judge returned in the evening, the wife reported everything to him. The elder replied: 'How could there be such a thing? It is because I am loyal, trustworthy, and do not speak falsely that the king established me as the judge of the kingdom. To speak falsely even once—this matter is unthinkable.' The next day, when the merchant came, she told him the situation in full and immediately returned his pearl. At that time, the merchant presented another pearl worth two hundred thousand, saying: 'I beseech you to intercede. Since this is a minor matter, with just a single word you will gain three hundred thousand.' At that time, the woman, craving the precious pearls, accepted them for him. In the evening, she again spoke to her husband: 'Regarding what I spoke of yesterday, please fulfill my wish.' The elder replied: 'There is absolutely no reason for this.' At that time, the elder had an only son. His wife wept, saying: 'If you do not comply with me, I will first kill our son and then kill myself.' When the elder heard this, he was like a choking man. He thought to himself: 'I have only one son; if he should die, my wealth will have nowhere to be entrusted. If I comply with her words, people will not trust me, and I will suffer pain in the future.' Being incessantly pressured, he forthwith consented to it. The wife told the merchant: 'The elder has already consented.' The merchant was overjoyed. Returning, he adorned a great elephant with many jewels, put on magnificent jeweled garments, and rode the elephant into the marketplace. When the elder's son saw him, he immediately went and said to him: 'The money you previously owed should now be repaid.' The merchant said in astonishment: 'I do not remember at all when I owed you anything.' Thereupon, they went together to the judge's dwelling. The elder's son said: 'In the past, this man personally borrowed such-and-such an amount of money from my father. Uncle was the judge at the time; was it not so?' The judge replied: 'I do not know.' His nephew said in astonishment: 'Uncle, did you truly not see or hear it at that time?' The judge again replied: 'No, I did not.' The nephew said angrily: 'Because my uncle was loyal and good, the king made him judge, and the people of the country placed their trust in him. Even toward me, his own brother's son, he acts unlawfully like this; how much more so toward outsiders—can those who are wronged be few? The truth or falsehood of this will be known for itself in future lives.' The Buddha told the elder: 'If you wish to know who the judge elder of that time was, it was this Mañjūpikā. Because of that single false word at that time, he fell into the great hell and suffered much bitter torment. After emerging from hell, throughout five hundred lifetimes he has constantly received such a body. Because he planted the cause of taking pleasure in giving, he has constantly been born wealthy and noble, able to be the owner of property.' (Extracted from the Damamūka-nidāna-sūtra, fascicle 7.)