經律異相 45.18

45.18

The people of the kingdom of Campā served the six non-Buddhist masters. Initially, they had never heard the name of the Buddha, Dharma, or Saṅgha, and they committed extremely evil deeds. At that time, for the sake of sentient beings, the Buddha went to the city of Campā. At that time, there was a great elder in that city who had no heir and worshipped the six masters together with others to seek a child. Soon after, his wife became pregnant. When the elder knew of it, he went to the six masters, asking joyfully: "Will it be a boy or a girl?" The six masters answered: "The birth will certainly be a daughter." The elder was grieved and distressed. Then an acquaintance came and said to the elder: "Have you not heard whose disciples the brothers Uruvilvā-Kāśyapa were? If the six masters were omniscient, why did Kāśyapa abandon them to follow the Buddha? Furthermore, Śāriputra, Maudgalyāyana, and others, as well as various kings such as Bimbisāra, their royal consorts such as Queen Mallikā, and elders of various kingdoms such as Sudatta—all such people are disciples of the Buddha. The Tathāgata, the Bhagavat, has unimpeded knowledge and vision regarding all dharmas, and is therefore called the Buddha. The Tathāgata is now dwelling nearby. If you wish to know the truth, you should go to the Buddha's place." At that time, the elder went to where I was and asked the Buddha about the matter. The Buddha said: "Elder, your wife is pregnant with a boy, without doubt, and his merit is peerless." The elder was joyful. Jealous at heart, the six masters mixed poison into an āamra fruit and gave it to the elder, saying: "How splendid that Gautama is skilled in explaining marks! When your wife reaches her month [of delivery], she may take this medicine. The child will then be handsome, and the woman who gives birth will be free from illness." The elder received it and gave it to his wife to take. Having taken it, she soon died. The six masters were joyful. They proclaimed throughout the city, shouting: "The śramaṇa Gautama prophesied that that elder's wife would give birth to a boy. Now, before the child is born, the mother has already lost her life!" At that time, the elder again gave rise to lack of faith in me, and immediately prepared the encoffining, closed the lid, and cremated her. Having seen this, I looked back and instructed Ānanda: "Bring my robes; I wish to go there to destroy their false views." At that time, the six masters saw the Buddha going from afar and said to one another: "Has the śramaṇa Gautama come to this cemetery wishing to eat meat?" The upāsakas who had not yet attained the Dharma-eye were filled with shame and fear, and said to the Buddha: "That woman is already dead; we pray you need not go." At that time, Ānanda said to the people: "Wait just a moment. Soon the Tathāgata will broadly expound the realm of the Buddhas." When the Buddha arrived, the elder challenged him, saying: "Your words are said to be without duplication. The child's mother has already passed away; how can she give birth to a child?" I said: "Elder, at that time you did not ask whether the mother's life was long or short; you only asked whether she was carrying a boy or a girl. The words uttered by the Buddhas, the Tathāgatas, are never false; therefore, you should know that you will certainly obtain a son." At that time, the fire burned the corpse and her belly burst open, and a child came out from within, sitting upright in the midst of the fire like a lotus dais. When the six masters saw it, they said it was an illusion. When the elder saw it, he was filled with joy again and rebuked the six masters: "If you say it is an illusion, why can you not do it?" At that time, I immediately told Jīvaka: "Go into the fire and carry this child here." Jīvaka went forward into the mass of fire as though entering a cool, great river, carried the child back to where I was, and handed the child to me. Having received the child, I told the elder: "The lifespan of all sentient beings is indeterminate, like a bubble on water. If a sentient being has the karmic retribution of heavy karma, fire and poison cannot harm him; it was not my doing." At that time, the elder said: "Excellent, Bhagavat! If this child can fulfill his natural lifespan, I only pray that the Tathāgata will give him a name." The Buddha said: "Elder, this child was born in a fierce fire; fire is called Jyotiṣka. Therefore, his name is Jyotiṣka." (Extracted from the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra, fascicle 28)