經律異相 36.17

36.17

There was an elder named Yinyue. His wealth was immeasurable, but he was old and without sons, on account of which he was sorrowful. Nevertheless, overtaken by merits from past lives, he received four retributions: first, his wife gave birth to a boy; second, five hundred white mares gave birth to foals at the same time; third, the king of the country sent an envoy to confer a gold seal upon him; fourth, five hundred treasure-ships arrived together at the same time. The Buddha said to Ānanda: “In a past life, the elder Yinyue sent five hundred men by ship into the sea, who obtained many treasures and returned safely home. Therefore, the Tathāgata says that these four blessings converged all together.” The elder thought: “Heaven has sent down blessings and good fortune, gathering them in my courtyard. I must prepare sweet delicacies to celebrate with my household and clan.” At that time, the Four Heavenly Kings, Śakra, Brahmā, the various devas, nāgas, spirits, ghost kings, asuras, and others, each with their retinues, crowded and filled empty space. The Tathāgata, by his divine penetration, knew that this elder was leaping with joy; taking advantage of his delight, he went thither to praise him, [thinking that] if he attained understanding, blessings might be cultivated. Thereupon he sang auspicious eightfold sounds. Leaping with joy, the elder addressed Gautama, saying: “Truly it is wondrously divine! Knowing that my household has boundless good fortune, you have condescended your venerable divinity to come and praise me.” With fine white cotton cloth worth ten million liang of gold, he offered it to the Tathāgata, and the Buddha accepted it. The Buddha said to the elder: “Wealth has five perils. If you are able to act [generously] now, you will certainly obtain a reward like a shadow [following the form]; wherever you are born, the blessings will naturally return to your person.” The elder said to the Buddha: “What are the five perils?” The Buddha said: “First, burning by fire; second, washing away by water; third, [confiscation by] government officials; fourth, an evil son whose spending is boundless; fifth, bandits and thieves. When any one of these five arrives, it cannot be held back.” Hearing this expounded, the elder leaped with even greater joy. Thereupon the Tathāgata suddenly returned to Gṛdhrakūṭa Mountain. At that time, in the kingdom there was a non-Buddhist Nirgrantha named Pūraṇa Kāśyapa. Hearing that the Tathāgata had gone to the elder's house, chanted a verse, and obtained ten million liang of gold from the elder, [he thought:] “If even a śramaṇa can obtain gold, how could I not obtain any if I went to beg?” He also thought to himself: “I should go and seek the verse spoken by the śramaṇa Gautama; after that, when I go to beg, I will surely obtain rare treasures. My fitting praise will certainly surpass Gautama's.” Harbouring this foolish and jealous intention, Pūraṇa Kāśyapa went to ask the Buddha: “Word has it that you, Gautama, went to the elder's house, chanted a verse, and obtained great treasures. Could you take pity and bestow the verse you spoke, so that I may recite it in hope of obtaining treasures?” The Tathāgata, with his threefold knowledge, knew that after a while the elder's wealth and treasures would scatter; and that Pūraṇa Kāśyapa did not know the proper time, and if he spoke of good fortune in a house suffering calamity, he would certainly receive countless painful beatings with staves from the elder. The Tathāgata said to him: “I do not begrudge this verse, but you do not know the time. If you speak this verse, you will certainly suffer bitter pain. Therefore I go against your wish. If you wish to obtain an exposition suited to the time and of matchless, wondrous phrases, I shall give it to you. That will allow the elder to hear true words and also spare you the pain of poisonous beatings.” Pūraṇa Kāśyapa thought to himself: “The śramaṇa Gautama does not want me to go and beg for rare treasures; therefore, out of stinginess, he refuses to give it to me.” He then made his request again: “Just give it to me; why concern yourself with anything else?” Out of compassion, the Tathāgata admonished him up to three times, but in the end he did not believe or understand. The Buddha also knew beforehand that by conditions from a past life, Pūraṇa Kāśyapa was destined to suffer this pain. The Tathāgata also thought: “Sin cannot be dissuaded.” The Buddha then spoke the auspicious verse for him. The Nirgrantha recited it for a whole year before mastering it. Later, the elder suffered a fire that burned down his house, and all his rare valuables were utterly destroyed; the five hundred foals were burned to death at the same time; the wondrous son born to him suddenly died one day; the king sent an envoy to seize back the gold seal; and later, after sending ships to the sea to gather jewels, they returned safely, but while anchored at the shore, the five hundred treasure-ships were suddenly submerged and lost in a single day. Young and old in the household were all bitterly grieving. Pūraṇa Kāśyapa went to his gate and chanted the Tathāgata's auspicious verse as told above. When the elder heard it, his whole household was enraged: “No calamity in the world surpasses ours! Why does this shameless naked man perform witchery here, proclaiming good fortune to us to increase our distress?” He immediately came out and beat him, from head to foot, so that he crawled back home. The leaders of the six teachers and others came to inquire about his condition, and he answered: “This misfortune was caused entirely by Gautama!” Unable to discipline himself within, he instead resented the World-Honoured One. The Buddha told the assembly: “Earlier, Pūraṇa Kāśyapa sought a verse from the Tathāgata, wishing to go to the elder to chant it and seek treasures. The Tathāgata admonished him, but he did not believe it. Now he has already suffered poisonous affliction and pain there.” Ānanda said to the Buddha: “What past causes and conditions did Pūraṇa Kāśyapa have with this elder that led him to suffer this affliction?” The Buddha said to Ānanda: “Long ago in the past, an asaṃkhyeya of kalpas ago, there was a king who was also named Yinyue. There was also a bird named a parrot, which sang with a harmonious and fine voice above the royal palace. At that time the king was napping during the day; hearing the bird's song, he awoke with a start and asked those around him: ‘What bird is this with such a wondrous voice?’ An attendant said: ‘There was an extraordinary bird, brilliant with five colours, which was just above the palace; having sung, it departed.’ The king sent infantry and cavalry to pursue and seek it. After searching for a very long time, they captured it and presented it to the king, who immediately adorned its body with the seven treasures and always kept it by his side, watching it day and night without leaving it. After a short while, there was another bird named an owl, which came above the palace. Seeing that the parrot alone received exceptional favour, it asked the parrot: ‘By what circumstance did you bring this about?’ The parrot answered: ‘I came above the palace and uttered a very fine cry; the king loved and respected me, took me, and always keeps me by his side.’ Hearing this, the owl harboured jealousy, thinking to itself: ‘I too should cry out to surpass you, and the king will also love and favour me.’ While the king was sleeping, the owl cried out. The king awoke with a start, his hair standing on end in terror. The king asked those around him: ‘What sound is this that startles and terrifies me?’ An attendant said: ‘It is a bird of evil voice named an owl.’ The king sent out a large host to disperse and search for it; they captured it and presented it to the king. The king ordered his attendants to pluck out its feathers alive. With severe pain throughout its body, it walked away on foot. The other birds asked: ‘By what circumstance did you bring this about?’ The owl, enraged, answered the birds: ‘It was precisely on account of the parrot that I suffered this affliction!’” The Buddha said: “A good voice invites blessing; an evil voice brings disaster. The sinful retribution came from himself, yet he was angry at the parrot instead. The king of that past time was Yinyue; the parrot was my own person; and the owl was Pūraṇa Kāśyapa.” (Extracted from the Sūtra on the Elder Yinyue.)