經律異相 39.21

39.21

Formerly, in the state of Śrāvastī, there was a brāhmaṇa master named Pūraṇa-Kāśyapa. He was accompanied by five hundred disciples, and there were none among the king and people who did not revere and serve him. When the Buddha first attained the Way, he came with his disciples from Rājagṛha to the state of Śrāvastī. The Buddha's bodily marks were resplendent, and his teaching of the Way was pure and beautiful. From the king and his inner palace to the populace throughout the land, there were none who did not revere and honor him. Jealous and seeking to disparage the Bhagavat, Kāśyapa said to King Prasenajit: "We elders are long-standing scholars and old teachers of this realm. The śramaṇa Gautama has only recently renounced home to seek the Way and possesses no genuine spiritual holiness. Yet Your Majesty forsakes us. I now wish to compete with the Buddha: whichever of us has superior virtue and Way, Your Majesty shall revere." The king said: "Very well." The king reported this to the Buddha. The Buddha said: "Most excellent." They set an appointment in seven days to compete in supernormal transformations. In a flat, broad, and fine place east of the city, the king erected two high seats. The king, his ministers, and the great multitude gathered like clouds, wishing to watch the two compete in the Way. Kāśyapa and his disciples arrived first at the seats and climbed the ladder to ascend. The guardian spirit-king Pañcika, seeing his falsity and jealousy, immediately raised a great wind that blew the sitting mats upside down, toppled the banners, and sent sand, gravel, and stones flying like rain so that eyes could not see. The Bhagavat's high seat remained solemn and motionless. The Buddha and the great assembly arrived in stately order. Heading toward the high seat, he was suddenly already upon it. The entire monastic sangha sat in serene silence according to rank. The king and his ministers prostrated themselves with redoubled reverence and said: "We pray you will display your divine transformations to subdue false views and cause the people of this realm to clearly believe in the true and genuine." The Bhagavat suddenly disappeared from his seat and ascended into the empty sky, emitting a great radiance. He disappeared in the east and appeared in the west, and likewise in the four directions. From his body issued water and fire, alternating above and below. He displayed twelve transformations while sitting and lying in the air. Vanishing from sight, he reappeared upon the seat. Gods, dragons, ghosts, and spirits made offerings of flowers and incense, and their shouts of praise shook heaven and earth. Pūraṇa-Kāśyapa, knowing within himself that he had no Way, lowered his head in shame and terror, not daring to lift his eyes. A vajra-holding warrior grasped a vajra-pestle, the tip of which shot forth fire aimed at Kāśyapa, and asked: "Why do you not display transformations?" Terrified, Kāśyapa threw himself down and fled, and his five hundred disciples scattered in all directions. The Bhagavat's dignified countenance showed neither joy nor grief. He returned to the Jeta Grove. The king and his ministers rejoiced and took their leave. Thereupon, humiliated, Kāśyapa departed with his disciples. On the road, they met an old upāsikā named Maṇi, who rebuked them to their faces, saying: "You fools failed to gauge yourselves and dared to contest arts of the Way against the Buddha! You mad, foolish deceivers have no sense of shame. You might as well not show such faces in the world!" Ashamed before his disciples, Kāśyapa went to the riverbank and deceived them, saying: "If I now cast myself into the water, I will surely be reborn in the Brahmā heaven. If I do not return, it is because there is bliss there." His disciples waited for him, but he did not return. They conferred together, saying: "Our master has surely ascended to heaven. Why should we stay behind?" One by one they cast themselves into the water, hoping to follow their master, not knowing that dragged by their evil deeds, they all fell into hell. On a later day, the king heard of this and, greatly astonished, went to the Buddha's presence and said: "By what cause did it turn out thus for Kāśyapa and his disciples?" The Buddha told the king: "Kāśyapa and his disciples committed two grave offenses: first, their three poisons blazed fiercely while they claimed to have attained the Way; second, they slandered the Tathāgata in the desire for reverence and offerings. Because of these two offenses they were destined to fall into hell. Their retribution pressed upon them, causing them to drown in the river; their bodies died, their consciousnesses departed, and they suffer boundless torment. In the past, there were two monkey kings, each ruling over five hundred monkeys. One king gave rise to jealousy, wishing to kill the other king so as to rule alone. He went to fight him, but was repeatedly bested in combat. Ashamed, he withdrew to the seashore, where inside a bay there was a great heap of foam. Blown by the wind, it had gathered hundreds of fathoms high. That foolish monkey king thought it was a snowy mountain, and told his troop: 'I have long heard that there is a snowy mountain in the ocean, filled with bliss and sweet fruits to one's heart's content. Only today do I see it. I shall go ahead to inspect it. If it is truly blissful, I will not be able to return; if it is not blissful, I shall return to tell you.' Thereupon he climbed a tree, leapt with all his might, cast himself into the heap of foam, and drowned at the bottom of the sea. The others wondered why he did not emerge and thought it must be greatly blissful. One by one they cast themselves in, and the whole troop drowned to death. That jealous monkey king was Pūraṇa-Kāśyapa; his troop were the five hundred disciples of Pūraṇa today." (Taken from the fourth fascicle of the Dharmapada-avadāna Sūtra; the Xianyu jing records the incident with differing detail, so it is not adopted).