經律異相 4.15

4.15

The Buddha was in Kuśinagara, at the place where the Mallas were born, beside the Ajitavatī River, between the twin śāla trees, together with eighty billion hundred thousand great monks, who surrounded him before and behind. On the fifteenth day of the second month (the Sūtra on the Bodhisattva's Descent from Tuṣita Heaven says the eighth day of the third month), when his nirvāṇa was drawing near, using the Buddha's spiritual power he uttered a great voice that reached up to the Peak of Existence. According to their kinds, his voice universally proclaimed to all: “Today the Tathāgata, having pity on sentient beings, acts as their refuge. The Great Awakened World-Honoured One is about to enter nirvāṇa. If any sentient beings have doubts, they may now ask everything as their final questioning.” (The Dīrghāgama differs slightly; its text is voluminous and cannot be fully recorded.) In the early morning, the Buddha emitted various rays of light from his face, universally illuminating the great trichiliocosm and extending to the ten directions. Sentient beings in the six destinies who encountered this light had their sinful defilements and afflictions entirely eradicated. Sentient beings, seeing and hearing this, became greatly anguished in mind; all at once they raised their voices, crying out in grief and weeping bitterly, and the great earth, mountains, and seas all trembled. People at that time said to one another, “Let us hurry to the Buddha's place to entreat the Tathāgata not to enter parinirvāṇa, but to remain in the world for an eon!” Great disciples such as Kātyāyana, upon encountering the Buddha's light, trembled all over and could not contain themselves, wailing aloud and giving rise to all kinds of distress. Furthermore, there were eighty hundred thousand monks and sixty billion nuns, all of them arhats, whose bodily hair stood on end and blood appeared across their entire bodies, like palāśa flowers. There were also bodhisattvas numbering as many as one hundred million Ganges sands, whose stages were equal to the ten abodes; two Ganges sands of upāsakas; three Ganges sands of upāsikās; four Ganges sands of Licchavis; five Ganges sands of elders; six Ganges sands of kings; seven Ganges sands of royal consorts; eight Ganges sands of devīs and so forth, extending to the Buddhas and disciples of the ten directions. The great assemblies of the six destinies, seeing the signs of nirvāṇa, wept and wailed in grief, unable to control themselves. In the assembly there was also an artisan's son of Kuśinagara named Cunda, who, together with fifteen persons, paid homage to the Buddha and said, “We pray only that the World-Honoured One and the assembly of monks compassionately accept our final offering. From now on, we will have no master, no kin, no savior, and no protector; poor, destitute, and hungry, we wish to seek our future food from the Tathāgata. We pray only that you compassionately accept our modest offering, and thereafter enter nirvāṇa.” The Buddha said, “I shall now eradicate your poverty for you, raining the unexcelled rain of Dharma upon the field of your person, causing the sprout of Dharma to grow, and enabling you to fulfill the dāna-pāramitā.” The assembly at that time was filled with joy, praising him in unison, “How rare, Cunda! The Buddha has accepted your offering; you are a true son of the Buddha!” The Buddha said, “Cunda, now is indeed the time; the Tathāgata is just about to enter parinirvāṇa.” The second and third times were also like this. Cunda wept and wailed aloud, and again addressed the great assembly, “Let us now throw ourselves to the ground in full prostration, and together entreat the Buddha not to enter parinirvāṇa!” The Buddha told Cunda, “Do not weep so bitterly and disturb your own mind. Because I pity you and all beings, I wish to enter nirvāṇa today. Why is this? Such is the nature of all Buddhas, and conditioned things are also like this. Quickly prepare what you are offering; it is not fitting to delay for long.” The Buddha again emitted five-colored light from his face, illuminating Cunda's body. Carrying fine food, Cunda hurried to the Buddha's place, filled with sorrow and grief, still hoping that he would take pity and prolong his life for an eon. The Buddha said, “If you wish for me to abide long, you should present your final fulfillment of the dāna-pāramitā.” All the bodhisattvas, devas, humans, and various beings exclaimed in unison with one voice, “How wondrous, Cunda! You have achieved great merit! We lack virtue, and our prepared offerings are rendered in vain.” Wishing to fulfill the hopes of all beings, the World-Honoured One manifested from each single pore of his body countless Buddhas, each of whom had countless monk-saṃghas, all appearing to accept their offerings. Śākyamuni Tathāgata himself received that which was offered and prepared by Cunda. The cooked rice food brought by Cunda amounted to a full eight hu in Magadha, and through the Buddha's spiritual power it completely satisfied the entire great assembly. (The Dīrghāgama differs slightly; its text is voluminous and not recorded.) Manifesting illness, he lay on his right side like other sick people, and said to the Bodhisattva Kāśyapa, “These sentient beings do not understand the esoteric words of the Mahāyāna Vaipulya, and therefore say that the Tathāgata is genuinely sick. Now, between the twin śāla trees, I manifest reclining on a lion couch, wishing to enter nirvāṇa, causing all the disciple assemblies and the Mallas who have not yet attained the fruit of arhatship to give rise to great sorrow and suffering, and causing devas, humans, asuras, and others to make extensive offerings. Moreover, I cause people to wrap my body with a thousand lengths of cotton and place it in a coffin of the seven treasures (the Sūtra on the Bodhisattva's Descent from Tuṣita Heaven says that the Tathāgata personally ripped his three robes, took three strips from each, and spread them inside the golden coffin to line the bed under his body, with his two feet placed one upon the other, and with his hands handed over his bowl and staff to Ānanda), filling it with fragrant oil, piling up fragrant woods, and burning it with fire. Only two lengths cannot be burned: the innermost next to the body, and the outermost. For the sake of sentient beings, his relics are distributed into eight portions. All the śrāvaka disciples said, ‘The Tathāgata has entered nirvāṇa.’ You should know that the Tathāgata certainly does not enter nirvāṇa. Why? Because the Tathāgata is permanent and changeless. Having aspired to hear the true Dharma, you must abandon greed and lust, respect and uphold my teaching, and vigorously practice the path. This is the final bequest of the Buddha; you should together be circumspect with it. You monks, look upon the demeanor of the Buddha, for it is difficult to behold! Only after one hundred and forty million more years, until the coming of Maitreya Buddha, [will a Buddha appear].” As the Buddha approached nirvāṇa, the earth trembled greatly, and the devas and humans were all terrified. All the dark places, where the light of the sun and moon cannot reach, were bathed in great illumination, and beings were able to see one another. Devas scattered flowers and incense. When the Buddha passed into extinction, the kings of the six desire heavens, the spirit Kumbhīra, the Guhyapāda Malla, the Buddha's mother Māyā, and the spirits of the twin śāla grove each composed verses in praise. The monks were overwhelmed with grief, each sighing and sobbing, saying, “How swift is the Tathāgata's passing into extinction! The multitude of beings will long suffer decline; the eye of the world has been extinguished!” Aniruddha told the monks, “Cease, cease, do not grieve! Devas are above; they might reprove us.” The monks asked, “How many devas are above?” He answered, “They fill empty space—how could they be measured? They all pace back and forth in the sky, agitated, wailing, beating their breasts, leaping, and sighing, saying, ‘How swift is the Tathāgata's passing into extinction! The multitude of beings will long suffer decline; the eye of the world has been extinguished!’” (The Dīrghāgama is largely identical to the two-fascicle Nirvāṇa Sūtra; from the first fascicle of the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra.) “Where is the monk Ānanda now?” Mañjuśrī said, “He is outside the śāla grove, twelve yojanas from here, harassed by sixty-four billion māras. These māra hordes all transformed their bodies into the likeness of the Tathāgata, preaching various dharmas and displaying various manifestations. Ānanda thought, ‘I have never seen such a thing before! Who has done this? Could it be Śākyamuni?’ He wished to utter these words, but his voice would not obey his will. Ānanda suffered great distress and was unable to come.” The Buddha preached a great dhāraṇī spell, which Mañjuśrī received. Going to Ānanda's place, he chanted it to the māras, and the māra kings and others all gave rise to the bodhicitta. Mañjuśrī then returned with Ānanda to the Buddha's place. (From the Sūtra on the Bodhisattva's Descent from Tuṣita Heaven.) The Mallas gathered various offerings, and after a whole day had passed, they placed the Buddha's relics upon a litter. The Malla youths tried to lift the litter, but none could bear its weight. Aniruddha said, “Stop for a moment. The devas wish to keep it for seven days, so that all the people may make offerings.” Three times the Tathāgata extended his golden arm from within the golden coffin and asked, “Has Ānanda arrived? Have the roads been leveled and swept, and incense burned? How is it, Ānanda, the Vaipulya Mahāyāna scriptures that I have delivered before and after—have you mastered them all or not?” Ānanda replied, “Only the Buddha knows.” The Buddha said, “It is so. The various sūtras are now concluded.” On the seventh day, the Malla youths held up the four corners to carry it: “You may hold banners and canopies, burn incense and scatter flowers, perform various kinds of music, escorting before and behind, walking with solemn composure, entering through the eastern gate of the city, traversing all the streets and alleys, exiting through the northern gate of the city, crossing the Hiraṇyavatī River, and arriving at the Makuṭabandhana Temple.” The Malla officials had finished piling up the fragrant wood, but when set on fire, it would not burn. Aniruddha said, “The devas' intention has extinguished the fire. Kāśyapa is returning from the kingdom of Pāvā with five hundred disciples, wishing to see the Buddha's body.” Kāśyapa met a Nirgrantha holding a māndārava flower in his hand, and asked, “Do you know whether my Master is still living?” He answered, “Seven days have passed since he entered extinction. I obtained this flower from there.” Kāśyapa was distressed; his five hundred disciples rolled on the ground and wailed bitterly, unable to contain themselves, sighing in sorrow and saying, “How swift is the Sugata's nirvāṇa!” At that time Upananda said, “Stop crying for a moment! Now that we are rid of that old Mahāśramaṇa, we may find release.” Kāśyapa urged the monks, “Quickly take up your robes and bowls, and go to the city of Kuśi!” When they reached the relics, he asked Ānanda, “May the relics of the World-Honoured One be seen?” He replied, “Wrapped in karpāsa cotton, wound in white fine cloth, placed inside a golden coffin, deposited within an iron outer coffin, and covered with fragrant firewood, it is about to be cremated; it cannot be seen.” Kāśyapa requested three times, and was answered as before. Approaching the fragrant pyre, the Buddha stepped through the double coffin and manifested both of his feet (the Fourfold Vinaya says that the coffins opened of themselves and revealed both feet). Beneath his feet, the wheel marks bore unusual colors; he immediately asked Ānanda about it, who replied, “Women are soft-hearted; earlier, when paying homage to the Buddha, their tears fell and they touched them with their hands.” Kāśyapa paid homage, and the great assembly bowed together, circumambulated the trees three times, and each composed verses. The fragrant pyre spontaneously caught fire everywhere without being lit. (The Dīrghāgama and the two-fascicle Nirvāṇa Sūtra are roughly identical; its text is voluminous and not recorded.) The fire burned extremely fiercely and was difficult to quench; the spirit of the śāla tree extinguished it with its power. (From the Nirvāṇa Sūtra, the Dīrghāgama, the two-fascicle Nirvāṇa Sūtra, and also from the Sūtra on the Bodhisattva's Descent from Tuṣita Heaven.)