經律異相 40.37

40.37

There was a lay devotee whose wife was upright and handsome, unequaled in majesty and virtue, and respected by everyone for her speech and eloquence. Her husband did not value her, nor did he like to see her; on the contrary, he loved a maidservant. Seeing her husband's mind, the wife said to her husband: 'You do not like me. Please permit me to go forth from the household.' The husband then permitted her. She immediately went forth from the household to become a bhikṣuṇī. Diligent day and night, before practicing the Way for long, she realized arhatship. Later, the woman loved by the lay devotee died. The lay devotee called the bhikṣuṇī to return, but the bhikṣuṇī utterly refused. The bhikṣuṇī addressed the Buddha, recounting the beginning and end [of the story]. The Buddha said: 'This lay devotee in a past life had already humiliated this virtuous person. This woman has extraordinary aspirations; this man has constantly disrupted and disordered them. Now that she has entered the Great Path, he wishes to ruin her again, but he cannot succeed.' The Buddha said: 'In a past life, there was a brahmacārin whose wife was named Padmā, possessing unexcelled beauty. The brahmacārin did not like her; the one he loved was a maidservant. Taking the maidservant's advice, he abandoned his wife in the mountains. Climbing an udumbara tree, he selected and picked the ripe fruit, while throwing the unripe ones down to his wife. His wife asked: "Why do you alone eat the ripe fruit and throw the unripe to others?" The husband said: "You can climb the tree." The wife then climbed the tree. The husband gathered brambles and encircled the tree on all four sides, wishing to make her die without being able to come down. At that time, the king of the country was out hunting. Seeing that the woman was upright and handsome, he asked the woman: "Who are you?" The wife herself fully related the beginning and end of the matter. The king thought: "This brahmacārin is foolish and ignorant, not a real man." He immediately cleared away the brambles, brought her back to the palace in a carriage, and installed her as queen. She was skilled in many arts, unequaled in wisdom and eloquence, and moreover skilled at dice. Women from near and far came to play dice with her; the queen always won, and none could match her. The brahmacārin was skilled at board games. Hearing from afar of the queen's victories, he thought: "This must be my former wife; it cannot be anyone else." He thereupon wished to visit the king to display his skills. When the queen heard the description of a certain brahmacārin, she knew he was her former husband. She reported to the king to have him shown in, and challenged him to a game of dice from afar. The queen answered with a verse: […] The brahmacārin harboured shame and regret in his heart, reproaching himself, but his remorse was of no avail. The brahmacārin of that time is now this lay devotee; the wife of that time is now this wife; and the king of that country was myself.' (Extracted from the Sūtra on Husbands and Wives)