經律異相 45.26

45.26

Formerly, there was a monk who was diligent and kept the Dharma; from his youth he maintained the prohibitive precepts and never violated them. What he chanted was the Prajñāpāramitā. Whoever heard this monk's voice was filled with joy. There was a young boy, seven years of age, herding cattle outside the city; hearing the sound of the monk reciting the scripture from afar, he went to the vihāra, bowed to the monk, and listened to his scriptural words. At that time, [the monk] was speaking of the emptiness of form; hearing it abruptly, he understood immediately. The boy was greatly delighted, and then questioned the monk, but the monk's responses did not satisfy the boy's mind. At that time, the young boy instead explained the meaning for the monk. Having rarely heard such things previously, the monk was joyful and marveled at this young boy's extraordinary wisdom. Then the boy departed and returned to the cattle. The calves he was herding had scattered and fled into the mountains. The boy followed their tracks and pursued them. He encountered a tiger that killed the young boy. When the young boy died, he was born into an elder's family. When the lady became pregnant, her mouth was immediately able to recite the Prajñāpāramitā, from morning to evening, never resting. That elder's family marveled at it, thinking this lady's speech was wild talk and calling it a demonic affliction. They divined and inquired about what spirit caused the misfortune, but no one could know. At that time, the monk entered the city to gather alms and came to the elder's gate. Hearing the sound from afar, his heart was very pleased. He immediately asked the elder: "Who within is speaking this profound scripture?" The elder replied: "My wife has a demonic affliction, uttering wild words day and night, her mouth never stopping." The monk replied: "This is not a demonic affliction; she is merely speaking the venerable scripture, the Buddha's Great Path. I wish to be permitted to enter inside and meet with her." The elder said: "Very well." He then went to the wife's quarters. The monk posed difficult questions, which she unraveled back and forth. They then retained the monk and provided food and drink for him, saying to one another: "The lady is pregnant, and her mouth recites the venerable scripture; her voice is wondrously fine!" On a later day, the elder invited the monk again, requesting all of them to go to his house and preparing food provisions. At that time, the lady came out, bowed to the monks, and again expounded the Dharma for them; wherever there were doubts or difficulties that could not be resolved, she explained them all. The saṅgha was joyful. When the months and days were fulfilled, she gave birth to a boy. As soon as he was born, he clasped his hands, knelt upright, and spoke the pāramitā. After the lady gave birth, she returned to as she was before. The elder asked: "What kind [of person] is this?" The monk answered: "A true disciple of the Buddha; nurture and protect him well! When this child grows up, he will become a teacher to all people. We all shall receive instruction from him." When the child was seven years old, he was fully equipped with the Dharma of the Path; exceeding the entire assembly, his perfection of wisdom was limitless. Wherever scriptures had errors, omissions, or shortages, he edited and corrected them all, supplying what was lacking. Wherever the child's mother went, she constantly converted people. The elder's household, internal and external, great and small, amounting to five hundred people, all learned from the child. Those he inspired were eighty-four thousand people, all of whom gave rise to the aspiration for supreme, correct, and true awakening. Five hundred monks, hearing what the child expounded, exhausted their taints, attained liberation of mind, aspired to seek the Mahāyāna, and attained the purity of the Dharma-eye. The child of that time was my own person; the monk was Kāśyapa Buddha. (Extracted from the Dumu ji jing, fascicle 6)