經律異相 46

English (machine translation) 46

Language: English

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Compiled by the Liang śramaṇas Sengmin, Baochang, and others

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1. Asuras
2. Gandharvas
3. Kinnaras
4. Miscellaneous Ghosts

Chapter 1: Asuras
1. King Rāhu Is Enraged That the Gods of the Trāyastriṃśa Walk Above His Head and Raises an Army for a Great Battle
2. Vemacitrin Has a Daughter Whom He Gives in Marriage to Śakra, and Raises an Army Because of His Daughter's Jealousy
3. In the Past the Asuras Fought with the Gods and Dispersed upon Seeing Śakra Turn His Chariot Around
4. Rāhula Has a Daughter Whom Śakra Forcibly Seeks, Raising Troops in Battle
5. An Asura in a Previous Life Was Distressed by Being Carried Away by Water and Vowed to Attain a Vast Body

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1. King Rāhu Is Enraged That the Gods of the Trāyastriṃśa Walk Above His Head and Raises an Army for a Great Battle

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The great asura king (called asurin in the Chang ahan jing) named Rāhu lives at the bottom of the great ocean to the north of Mount Sumeru. The water hangs suspended above his palace, held up by four winds (the Loutan jing says held up in accordance with the wind). The city walls are eighty thousand yojanas across, inside and outside in seven layers, three thousand yojanas high, with golden walls, silver gates, cool gardens and ponds, and various birds singing in harmony. It is ten thousand yojanas away from Mount Sumeru. His body is twenty-eight thousand li tall (the actual body of other asurins is one yojana tall, their garments two yojanas long and one yojana wide, weighing six zhu). He also eats solid food, and when bathed, his garments become fine, smooth food. On the fifteenth day of the month, he enters the middle of the ocean and transforms his physical form: the water below reaches his navel, while above he peers over Sumeru and covers the sun and moon with his fingers. When the gods of the sun and moon see his ugly form, they are all terrified and lose their radiance. When he travels and observes, natural winds blow open and shut the gates, blow the ground clean, and blow flowers to scatter. He has five ministers: the first is named Grasping; the second, Mighty Strength; the third, Martial Valour; the fourth, Head; the fifth, Subduing. They attend him on his left and right. Suddenly he thought to himself: "I have such authority, virtue, and supernormal power, yet the king of Trāyastriṃśa and the gods of the sun and moon walk above my head! I vow to take the sun and moon and make them my earrings." Gradually he became filled with great wrath and wished to beat them. He immediately thought of the two asurin kings, Śambara and Vemacitrin, along with their ministers, each to prepare weapons and go fight the gods. At that time, the two great nāga kings Nanda and Upananda coiled their bodies around Sumeru seven times; the mountain shook, clouds gathered, and with their tails they struck the water. The great ocean surged with waves, crowning the top of Sumeru. The Trāyastriṃśa gods said: "The asurins wish to fight!" The various nāgas, garuḍas, ghosts holding flowers, and ghosts of constant delight in the ocean, each leading their troops, engaged in combat one after another. If defeated, they all fled. The palaces of the Four Heavenly Kings prepared their chariots to attack, first informing Śakra. Śakra informed the gods above. Then, from the Yāma gods upwards to the Paranirmitavaśavartin gods, countless heavenly hosts, nāgas, and ghosts surrounded him in front and behind. Śakra commanded: "If my army wins, bind Vemacitrin with fivefold fetters and bring him back to the Sudharmā hall; I wish to look upon him." The asurin also said: "If my host wins, bind Śakra with fivefold fetters and bring him back to the Saptaparṇa hall; I wish to look upon him." There was a great battle, weapons clashed, but neither side harmed the other; merely touching their bodies gave rise to pain and distress. Śakra manifested a body with a thousand eyes, holding a vajra pestle, with smoke and flames issuing from his head. When the asurins saw this, their army retreated in defeat. Vemacitrin was captured, bound, and brought back. Seeing Śakra from afar, he hurled abusive words at him. Śakra replied: "I only wish to discuss the meaning of the Way with you." His lifespan was one thousand heavenly years, slightly more or mostly less. Because of an evil mind that loved to fight yet did not break the precepts, and greatly practiced giving, he received this body (from the Chang ahan, fascicle 20; the Loutan jing, Huayan jing, and Dazhidulun are roughly the same).

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2. Vemacitrin Has a Daughter Whom He Gives in Marriage to Śakra, and Raises an Army Because of His Daughter's Jealousy

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Regarding Vemacitrin: in the past, at the beginning of the kalpa, the gods entered the water and their bodies experienced tactile pleasure; their essence flowed into the water and spontaneously formed an egg. The egg hatched a female whose form was bluish-black. She entered the great ocean, clapping the water for amusement. When the water's essence entered her body, she found herself pregnant, and gave birth to a boy. He had nine heads, each with a thousand eyes; fire came out of his mouths. He had nine hundred and ninety-nine hands and eight feet. Squatting in the ocean, he fed on blue mud and lotus roots. He took a gandharva divine maiden of Mount Gandhamādana as his wife; her appearance was graceful and beautiful, her complexion surpassing white jade. Later she gave birth to a daughter, upright and exceptional, peerless in heaven and earth. Kauśika sent a messenger to seek her. The asura said: "If you can make me ride a seven-jeweled palace, I will give her to you." Śakra then took off his jeweled crown, offering it in recompense for the ten wholesome deeds, enabling the asura to sit in a superior palace; he then rode a six-jeweled terrace to receive her. Placing her in the Sudharmā hall, he gave her the name Delight. None of the heavenly ministers failed to rejoice. Later, when Śakra was touring the Nandana park, he entered the pond to play with the court ladies. Delight was jealous and sent five yakṣas back to inform her father. Her father was furious, and raised the fourfold army to attack Śakra. Standing in the great ocean and squatting on the summit of Sumeru, his nine hundred and ninety-nine hands moved simultaneously; he struck the city of Sudarśana, shook Mount Sumeru, and the waters of the four great oceans surged with waves at once. Śakra Devānām Indra was terrified and alarmed, not knowing where to turn. At that time, a deity in the palace addressed the heavenly king: "The Buddha of the past spoke the King of Dhāraṇīs of the Prajñāpāramitā; you should chant and uphold it, and the ghost army will shatter of itself." Then the heavenly king Śakra gathered the assembly in the Sudharmā hall, burned famous incense, and made a great vow: "The Prajñāpāramitā is the great illuminating mantra, the unexcelled mantra, the unequaled mantra, true, real, and not false. As I uphold this Dharma, I shall attain the Buddha Way; cause the asuras to retreat and disperse of themselves!" When he spoke these words, four great sword-wheels spontaneously descended from the sky directly onto the asura. His ears, nose, hands, and feet fell off all at once, turning the great ocean water red like crimson pearls. The asura was terrified; having nowhere to flee, he entered into a lotus fiber hole (from the Guanfo sanmei jing, fascicle 1).

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3. In the Past the Asuras Fought with the Gods and Dispersed upon Seeing Śakra Turn His Chariot Around

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In the past, the asuras raised an army to fight the Lord of Heaven. Śakra Devānām Indra was not victorious; he rode in his thousand-spoke jewelled chariot and retreated in fear. On the road he saw a śāla tree with a bird's nest containing two chicks. He immediately ordered his charioteer, "This tree has two young birds. You must turn the chariot to avoid it. Better that they come and harm me than injure these!" He immediately turned the chariot around. When the asuras saw this from afar, they said to one another, "Śakra has turned his chariot; he surely wishes to return and fight. He cannot be withstood!" They immediately dispersed and retreated, and the heavens thus attained victory. (The Saṃyuktāgama says that in the grove there was a garuḍa nest; they thought he had come to fight, fled in great terror, and ran.) The asuras surpass Jambudvīpa in three matters: first, their palaces are tall and vast; second, their palaces are adorned; third, their palaces are pure (from the Dīrghāgama, fascicle 21).

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4. Rāhula Had a Daughter Whom Śakra Forcibly Sought, Raising an Army to Attack and Fight

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In a past age, there was an asura king named Rāhula. He fathered a daughter who was exceptionally lovely and upright, completely endowed with all sixty-four feminine virtues. Her breath was like an utpala flower, and her body emitted the fragrance of ox-head sandalwood. Her complexion was fair and rosy, pleasing and delightful to all who saw her. At that time, Śakra Devānām Indra had this thought: "The maidens in this palace are mostly fair and upright, yet none can compare to the daughter of the asura. Now I shall gather an army to go attack, take her, and make her serve me." He immediately summoned the devas and told them the matter in full. The devas said, "You should send the musicians of the Gandharva devas, holding ninety-one-stringed lapis lazuli lutes (the Garbhāvakrānti Sūtra says ninety-nine strings) in their hands, to sing of the blessings and happiness enjoyed by our celestials." He then commanded the heavenly son of musicians, Pañcaśikha, and others to equip the musical instruments and go before Vāsiṭṭha to play the lute, expressing his intent: "We wish to obtain Vāsiṭṭha to serve me. If you do not give her, we will take her by force of arms." The asura grew enraged: "I too have sufficient strength to resist you!" Pañcaśikha and the others immediately reported this to Śakra. Then the asuras assembled their forces and came beside Mount Sumeru, destroying the Qujiao heavenly palace, then the wind deity palace, the horse palace, the adornment palace, and other heavenly palaces, all the way to the four gates. Śakra remembered what he had originally recited and chanted the spell over them. The asura forces gradually fell back and retreated, leading their fourfold army into the hollow of the lotus stalks in Lake Kokiṭa. A man saw this and thought to himself, "I have gone mad and lost my wits, mistakenly seeing bizarre things." The Buddha told the monks, "This was real." Then Śakra Devānām Indra assembled the celestial hosts and went out through the four gates, but saw only swords, armour, bows, and arrows on the ground, and did not see the asura host. Advancing further, they went straight into the palace of the asura, where they saw tens of millions of Vāsiṭṭha women, but did not see the asuras. He brought the women back to the Trāyastriṃśa palace. At that time, the asuras begged for mercy and took refuge, saying to Śakra Devānām Indra, "We were foolish and deluded, not recognizing the majestic spiritual power of the Buddha's disciple. Our ancestors had faith in and venerated the Tathāgata, and heard that the Buddha has a precept against taking what belongs to others. Now the Heavenly King Śakra has taken our kin to fill the heavenly palace entirely; this is not the proper conduct of a disciple of the Buddha." When Śakra heard this, he felt dejected and displeased, [thinking,] "I must rather uphold the precepts and not commit theft." He immediately returned the women. Then the asura king offered his most beloved daughter to Śakra, and Śakra reciprocated with amṛta. The asuras and the devas reconciled and lived in harmony, together upholding the Tathāgata's three refuges and eight precepts (from the Garbhāvakrānti Sūtra and the second fascicle of the Avadāna Sūtra).

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5. In a Previous Life, an Asura Was Distressed by Being Swept Away by Water and Vowed to Attain an Immense Body

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In a past life, an asura was once a poor man. Living near a river, he often crossed it carrying firewood. At that time, the river water was deep and the current swift; this man was repeatedly swept away by the water. Having lost what he carried, his body also submerged, and following the current, he nearly died before managing to get out. At that time, there was a pratyekabuddha who assumed the form of a śramaṇa and came to his house begging for food. The poor man was delighted and immediately offered him food and drink. Having finished eating, the pratyekabuddha threw his bowl into the air and flew away into the heights. Seeing this, the poor man made a vow: "May my body in a future birth be immense, so that no deep waters anywhere exceed my knees!" Through this cause and condition, he obtained an exceedingly huge body: the waters of the four great oceans cannot exceed his knees; standing in the great ocean, his body surpasses Mount Sumeru, and resting his hands on the mountain peak, he looks down upon the Trāyastriṃśa heaven (from the fourth fascicle of the Saṃyukta-avadāna Sūtra).

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Part Two: Gandharvas

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The Gandharva King resides in a city on the right of the Snow Mountains named Vaiśālī. When the world was first formed, a wind-wheel arose named Adornment, which created this palace city. To the north of the city are seven black mountains, and north of the mountains is the Fragrant Mountain, situated among ten jewelled mountains, where sounds of music are constantly heard (the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-śāstra says they are the celestial musicians). The mountain has two caves: the first is named Day, and the second Good Day. They are composed of the seven jewels, soft, fragrant, and clean, like celestial garments. The Gandharva King resides in their midst accompanied by five hundred gandharvas. When the Buddha was on Mount Vediyaka (located north of Magadha), Śakra Devānām Indra instructed the musician deity Pañcaśikha to hold a lapis lazuli lute and sing before the Buddha. The Buddha said, "You are able to praise the Tathāgata with lute and song; your sorrowful, harmonious, and plaintive tunes move human hearts. In these sounds, you express how desire binds, pure conduct, the śramaṇa, and nirvāṇa—all these meanings are fully present." Śakra looked at him and said, "I will appoint you to your father's position, to be the supreme among your kind, and give you a wife." (from the Dīrghāgama and the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-śāstra).

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Part Three: Kinnaras

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The kinnaras (also called zhennaluo) reside to the north of Mount Sumeru. Beyond the Small Iron Enclosure is a Great Black Mountain, also situated among ten jewelled mountains. There is no Buddhadharma, nor sun, moon, or stars. By the power of past generosity, they now dwell in palaces of the seven jewels and enjoy exceedingly long lifespans. This king was originally among humans. When a great elder was erecting a Buddha stupa, this kinnara donated a spire pole to complete the monastery and also provided pure food to the artisans. When his life ended, he became a chest-creature spirit between two mountains. Earlier, when he was a human, he was a great elder possessing boundless wealth. A śramaṇa came begging for food, and his wife carried the rice to offer it to him. He became furious and said, "What beggar is this, ogling my wife? I shall cause this person's hands and feet to be broken!" After his life ended, he received this ugly form, being constantly without hands or feet for eighty-four kalpas. When the devas hold banquets, they take turns going up and down with the gandharvas. When the devas wish to play music, sweat and filth flow from beneath his armpits, and he then ascends to heaven on his own. There was a kinnara named Druma who played the lute and sang of the true reality of all dharmas to praise the Bhagavat. At that time, Mount Sumeru and the forests and trees all trembled, Kāśyapa could not sit still upon his seat, and five hundred sages became wildly intoxicated in mind, lost their spiritual penetrations, and fell to the ground all at once (from the Bodhisattva-garbhāvakrānti Sūtra and the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-śāstra).

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Part Four: Miscellaneous Ghosts and Spirits

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1. Ghosts and Spirits Are Named According to Where They Reside
2. The Retribution of Hungry Ghosts
3. A Ghost Sells Wine and Tells the Innkeeper to Retrieve Gold and Silver from a Dead Man in the Lake
4. The Maiden on the Golden Bed Goes Naked; When She Wears Clothes, Fire Burns Her
5. Two Ghosts Carry a Corpse and Pull Off Its Hands, Feet, Head, and Flanks, Exchanging Them with a Man's; Though His Form Changes, His Mind Remains, and Meeting the Buddha, He Attains the Way
6. A Golden Spirit's Fingers Flow with Amṛta and Requisite Supplies to Provide for Wayfarers
7. The Evil Ghost Piśāca Devours People and, Meeting the Buddha, Awakens to Understanding
8. Hārītī Previously Ate People; the Buddha Hid Her Child, and Only Then Did She Receive Conversion
9. Kumbhīra Yakṣa Invites the Buddha and Provides a Room and Lamps
10. The Demon King Disturbs Maudgalyāyana, Who Tells Him of His Own Past Deeds as a Demon
11. A Ghost Possesses Telepathy and Harms an Unfriendly Woman
12. Pāpīyas Stubbornly Harasses Mañjuśrī
13. Hungry Ghosts Ask Maudgalyāyana About the Causes of Their Suffering
14. An Evil Ghost Looks upon Śakra, and His Form Diminishes in Ugliness
15. A Ghost Returns to Whip Its Former Corpse

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1. Ghosts and Spirits Are Named According to Where They Reside

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There are four great heavenly deities: the first is Earth, the second Water, the third Wind, and the fourth Fire. The earth deity thought to herself, "Earth contains no water, fire, or wind." The Buddha said, "Within earth there is water, fire, and wind, but because earth is predominant, it receives its name." The deities of water, fire, and wind are all likewise. The Buddha expounded the Dharma for them, and they all received the five precepts and became upāsikās. In the residences where all the people live, there are ghosts and spirits; none are unoccupied. In streets, lanes, avenues, butcher shops, assemblies, marketplaces, and the various mountains and tombs, there are ghosts and spirits; there is no empty place. In general, all ghosts and spirits are named according to what they rely upon (the Loutan jing says that a tree seven feet high and one foot in circumference has a ghost or spirit). When a person is first born, there are ghosts and spirits following and protecting them. When a person is about to die, the ghosts collect their vital essence. A hundred or a thousand people who practice the ten unwholesome deeds share a single spirit guarding them, just as a king employs hundreds or thousands of people to guard a single minister (from the Dīrghāgama, fascicle 20).

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2. The Retribution of Hungry Ghosts

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If sentient beings are born among hungry ghosts, because of perpetual hunger and thirst their eyes are sunken and their hair is long; they run erratically east and west, or eat vomited food, fat, flesh, pus, blood, feces, urine, snot, spittle, and the leftover water from washings. Their lifespans last for immeasurable hundreds of thousands of years, during which they never once hear even the name of broth or water. Even if their eyes happen to see it and they rush toward it in haste, it turns into fierce fire, pus, and blood. Or at times it does not transform, but many people holding weapons prevent them from approaching. Or in summer, rain falls and turns to fire upon reaching their bodies; this is called evil retribution. By the banks of the Ganges River there were five hundred hungry ghosts who for immeasurable years had never seen water. Although they reached the riverbank, they saw only flowing fire; pressed by hunger and thirst, they uttered loud wails. The hungry ghosts said to the Buddha, "We are hungry and thirsty, and our lives are about to end." The Buddha said, "The Ganges River is flowing with water." The ghosts said, "The Tathāgata sees water, but we constantly see fire." The Buddha said, "I shall remove your delusion and enable you to see water." He expounded at length on the faults of stinginess and greed. The ghosts said, "Now we have been thirsty for so long that although we hear the words of the Dharma, none enters our minds. May we first enter the river and drink as we please?" By the Buddha's power, they immediately were able to drink the water. The Buddha preached the Dharma for them, and they all gave rise to the mind of awakening and shed their ghost forms. Some hungry ghosts are constantly burned by fire, like the mountains bursting into flame at the end of a kalpa. Some are emaciated, running madly with tangled hair covering their bodies. Some stand beside latrines seeking filth. Some constantly seek the postpartum blood of women to drink. Their bodies are like burnt trees and their throats are like needles; even if given water to drink, they would not be satisfied in a thousand years. Some crack open their own heads and lick their brains. Some have forms like black mountains, with iron chains around their necks, bowing their heads to beg for mercy and taking refuge with the hell wardens. Some in former lives had evil speech and liked to direct harsh words at others, so that people hated them and viewed them as enemies; through this transgression, they fell among the hungry ghosts. Such retributions of transgressions entail immeasurable suffering (from the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra and the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-śāstra).

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3. A Ghost Sells Wine and Tells the Innkeeper to Retrieve Gold and Silver from a Dead Man in the Lake

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There was a man whose occupation was selling wine. A ghost manifested and came to drink wine without paying money, and told the host, "Tomorrow a person holding flowers will come, dressed in white above and below, wearing a blue sash. In the sash will be a thousand catties of gold and silver. He will bathe in the lake and suddenly die without emerging. You go and take the gold and silver, and you will certainly be free of worry thereafter." The next day, the host kept watch and saw a man enter the water to bathe; he came ashore, put on his clothes, washed his feet, and then fell backwards onto the ground and died. The wine merchant went and took the gold and silver according to the amount. On a later day, the ghost came. The host prepared food, served wine, and told the spirit, "I saw the man put on his clothes and prepare to leave before dying. Why didn't you kill him in the water so he wouldn't come ashore?" The ghost said, "I cannot kill people or sicken people. I only know when a person's lifespan and fortune are depleted." The merchant said, "The ghosts and spirits in heaven and on earth know when people's lifespans, transgressions, and blessings are due to arrive or have not yet arrived. They cannot give life to people, nor can they kill people; they cannot make people wealthy, noble, poor, or base. They only wish to make people do evil and commit slaughter, and taking advantage of people's decline, they go to disorder them, telling them of their fortunes and misfortunes so that people will face them and make offerings." (from the sixth fascicle of the Ten-Fascicle Avadāna Sūtra).

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4. The Naked Woman on the Golden Bed Whose Clothes Caught Fire When Worn

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A king of the country of Kāśī was named Brahmadatta. Once, when out hunting in the wilderness, he saw a house (the *Fubao jing* says: under a tree by the mountain) and went toward it. Inside there was a woman. When he asked her for food and drink, there was nothing he sought that he could obtain. The king asked to see her, but she was completely naked. The king took off his clothes and gave them to her, but as soon as they touched her body, they burst into flames. This happened three times. The king asked the woman about it. The woman answered: "In the past I was a king's wife. The king offered food to śramaṇas and gave them robes as well. At that time I admonished him, saying: 'Giving food alone is enough; there is no need to give robes' (the *Fubao jing* says: 'cut down what was given to the śramaṇas'). For this reason I suffer this retribution. If the king wishes to enable me to wear clothes, he must make clothes for me and first give them to śramaṇas and those who understand the scriptures. If the king seeks a śramaṇa and cannot find one, he may give them to a worthy who observes the five precepts. Let that worthy make a prayer of dedication, saying: 'May the woman on the golden bed gain immeasurable merit and be able to wear royal garments.'" The king asked the woman, "What kind of spirit are you?" She answered: "I am superior to humans and slightly inferior to devas; therefore, I am among the ghosts and spirits. After casting off this life, I shall be born in the first heaven" (drawn from the *Dṛṣṭānta-sūtra* and drawn from the *Fubao jing*).

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5. Two Ghosts Carried a Corpse and Exchanged It for a Man's Limbs, Head, and Torso; With His Body Changed but His Mind Preserved, He Met the Buddha and Attained the Way

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In the past, a man travelling afar spent the night alone in an empty house. In the middle of the night, a ghost carrying a corpse came and placed it in front of him. Another ghost followed behind, furiously shouting: "The corpse is my property; why did you suddenly carry it here?" The first ghost said, "It is my property; I carried it here myself." The second ghost said, "It was truly I who carried this corpse here." The two ghosts each took hold of a foot and a hand, disputing over it. The first ghost said, "There is a person here; we may ask him." The second ghost then asked, "Who carried this corpse here?" The man thought: "These two ghosts possess great strength. Whether I speak the truth or lie, either way I cannot escape death." He said to them, "The first ghost carried it here." The second ghost became greatly enraged, seized the man's hand, pulled it out, and threw it to the ground. The first ghost took an arm from the corpse and attached it to him, and it immediately adhered. In this manner, both arms, both legs, his head, and his torso—his entire body—were all exchanged. Thereupon the two ghosts together devoured the man's exchanged body, wiped their mouths, and departed. The man thought: "The body born of my father and mother, I saw with my own eyes completely devoured by the two ghosts. Now this body of mine is entirely the flesh of another. Do I now definitively have a body, or do I have no body?" He walked to a Buddhist stūpa and asked the monks, explaining the above matter in detail. The monks said: "From the beginning, there has always been no self; it is merely due to the conjunction of the four great elements that it is reckoned to be one's self. Your original body and this present one are no different." The monks ordained him into the Way, and he attained arhatship (drawn from the *Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa*, fascicle 12).

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6. The Golden Spirit Whose Fingers Flowed with Amṛta and Resources to Provide for Travellers

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There was a ghost and spirit whose body was extremely large, with hands of golden colour. From his five fingers amṛta constantly flowed. If a traveller needed anything, whether food, drink, or necessities of life, all came forth from his fingers, freely given to them. Maudgalyāyana asked, "Which heaven are you from? The karmic fruit of your merits is extraordinary to such a degree." [The spirit replied,] "I am not a heavenly king or a Brahmā king. I am a ghost and spirit, and I reside relying on a great city of a certain country. I came here merely to wander and sightsee." Maudgalyāyana asked, "What good deeds did you perform to obtain such retribution?" He replied: "The great city in that country is called Rauruka. In the past I was a poor woman there, spinning woollen thread and sacks to sell to support myself. My livelihood grew ever poorer, and my house was completely ruined. Thereupon I went to the street corner, spinning thread near the house of an exceedingly wealthy and generous elder to support myself. When midday was approaching, whenever a śramaṇa or brāhmaṇa came holding a bowl begging for food and asked me: 'Where is the house of that elder?', my mind was truthful and devoid of deceit; joyful, I raised my hand and pointed to his house, saying: 'Go to that place. The midday hour is about to pass; do not seek elsewhere'" (drawn from the *Samyukta-piṭaka-sūtra*).

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7. The Fierce Ghost Viśa Devoured People, Encountered the Buddha, and Reached Awakening

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Within the borders of the Vṛji country, there was a ghost named Viśa (the *Chengshisheng yi jing* says Āḷavaka) who was extremely violent and ferocious, killing countless people, usually dozens every day. The people gathered together and said, "We may flee this country and go far away to other realms." The ghost, knowing the minds of the people, said to them: "Do not leave this place for other lands. You will never escape my hands. If you bring one person each day to sacrifice to me, I will not disturb you." At that time, the Vṛji people brought one person each day to sacrifice to that evil ghost. The bones of the humans this ghost devoured filled the mountain valleys. At that time, there was the son of an elder named Subhūti, who resided there, possessing abundant wealth and many treasures. His son was named Nakula; he had only this one son. Because of this restriction, the boy Nakula was due to be sacrificed to the ghost. The parents bathed the little boy, dressed him in fine garments, and took him to the ghost's dwelling, crying and wailing beyond measure, while saying: "May all the ghosts and earth gods together bear witness! This is our only son; we pray that you protect this boy so that he may be saved and spared! Śakra Devānām Indra and the Brahmā king, all the disciples of the Tathāgata, the arhats whose outflows are ended, and the pratyekabuddhas, up to the Tathāgata, the most honoured, supreme, auspicious protector and field of merit—there is none surpassing the Tathāgata—may they examine this! May the Tathāgata illuminate our sincere mind!" Having handed the boy over to the ghost, they withdrew and departed. At that time, the Bhagavat, seeing and hearing with his divine eye and divine ear, went north of the snowy mountains by the power of his supernatural feet, entered the ghost's dwelling place, and sat cross-legged. At that time, the little boy arrived at the ghost's dwelling place and saw from afar the Tathāgata's brilliant light and colour, his body adorned with the thirty-two marks and eighty secondary signs. He gave rise to a joyful mind toward the Tathāgata, thinking he was the evil ghost, [ready to be] eaten at will. At that time, the Bhagavat said to him: "Nakula, it is as you say. I am now the Tathāgata, Samyaksaṃbuddha; I have come specifically to save you and subdue this ghost." Nakula joyfully bowed his head at the Buddha's feet. The Bhagavat then explained the wondrous doctrine to him, and right upon his seat, all dust and defilements were exhausted, and he obtained the purity of the Dharma eye. Having seen the Dharma, he took refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Holy Saṅgha, and received the five precepts. When the evil ghost returned to his original place and saw from afar the Bhagavat sitting upright and motionless, he was aroused to fury. He rained thunderbolts, lightning, and claps of thunder, or rained swords and knives. Before they could fall to the ground, the Tathāgata transformed them into blue utpala lotuses. The ghost further sent down various supernatural forces, but the Tathāgata subdued them as they came. [The ghost thought,] "Not a hair of the śramaṇa's robe has moved; I shall now go and question him on deep doctrines. If he cannot answer me, I will seize his two feet and throw him into the southern sea." The Buddha said, "Whether human or non-human, none can seize my two feet and throw me into the southern sea. If you wish to ask, then ask." At that time the ghost asked, "What are past actions, new actions, and the cessation of actions?" The Bhagavat told him: "You should know that the eye is past action: actions formed in the past due to conditions and afflictions. The ear, nose, mouth, body, and mind are also past actions. What is performed in the present life—three of the body, four of speech, and three of the mind—these are new actions. You should know that when past actions are brought to an end, no longer arise, and no further actions are formed, one can take these actions to never arise again, exhausted forever without remainder; this is called the cessation of actions." The ghost said to the Buddha, "I am now extremely hungry; return the little boy to me." The Bhagavat told him: "In the past, when I was a bodhisattva, a dove threw itself upon me, and I did not even spare my own life to save that dove from peril. How much less now that I have become a Tathāgata could I abandon this boy to be eaten by you? In the time of Kāśyapa Buddha, you were once a śramaṇa who cultivated the brahma-conduct, but later you broke the precepts and were born as this evil ghost." At that time, relying on the Buddha's spiritual power, the evil ghost remembered all the deeds he had performed in the past. He immediately went before the Bhagavat, bowed his head at his feet, [and said:] "I am now ignorant and deluded, unable to distinguish the true from the false, and thus gave rise to such a mind toward the Tathāgata. I only pray that the Bhagavat accept my repentance!" He repeated this three or four times. The Bhagavat told him, "I permit your repentance," and explained the wondrous Dharma for him. Then that evil ghost raised several thousand ounces of gold in his hands and offered them to the Bhagavat, [saying:] "I now offer this mountain valley to the saṅgha of the four quarters. I only pray that the Bhagavat accept it on my behalf." The Bhagavat then accepted it and spoke this verse:

46.34

"Offering orchards and fruits in purity,
And constructing wooden bridges,
If one can build great ships,
And provide all the requisites of life,
Day and night without negligence,
One obtains immeasurable merit;
Accomplished in Dharma, righteousness, and precepts,
After death, one is born in the heavens."

46.35

The ghost asked, "Are there any further instructions?" The Bhagavat told him: "Relinquish your original form, put on the three Dharma robes, become a śramaṇa, and enter the city of Vṛji, teaching and instructing everywhere: 'The Tathāgata has appeared in the world to deliver those who are undelivered and cause them to attain liberation. He is the most honoured, supreme, auspicious protector and field of merit. He has now delivered the little boy Nakula and subdued the evil ghost Viśa. You may go to him and receive transformation.'" At that time, the ghost Viśa proclaimed these words in the country of Vṛji. When the elder Subhūti heard these words, he leaped with boundless joy, and leading a multitude of eighty-four thousand people, went to the Bhagavat (drawn from the *Ekottarika-āgama*, fascicle 8).

46.36

8. Hārītī Formerly Devoured People; the Buddha Hid Her Child, and Then She Received Transformation

46.37

In the past, there was a woman who had very many children. By nature she was wicked and devoid of compassion, fond of stealing other people's children, killing them, and eating them. The families who lost children did not know who had taken them, and weeping throughout the lanes like this was not an isolated occurrence. Whenever Ānanda went out, he saw them weeping. Having returned, [the monks] discussed it together, grieving for the families who had lost children. Knowing this, the Buddha intentionally asked, "What are the assembly discussing?" Ānanda said to the Buddha, "Just now while walking for alms I saw people weeping. When I questioned them, they all said: 'Our children have disappeared alive, and we do not know where their corpses are.'" The Buddha then explained to Ānanda: "The one stealing people's children in this country is no ordinary human being. She is the Mother of Demon Children (Hārītī). Having now been born as a human, she takes pleasure in stealing people's children. This mother has a thousand sons: five hundred are in the heavens, and five hundred are among humans. All thousand sons are demon kings, each accompanied by tens of thousands of demons. In this way, the five hundred demon kings in the heavens harass the devas, and the five hundred demon kings in the world harass kings and common people. Even the devas can do nothing against these five hundred demon kings." Ānanda said, "Since the Mother of Demon Children is in this country, could she perhaps be commanded not to steal people's children?" The Buddha said, "Excellent." Ānanda said, "By what expedient means?" The Buddha said to Ānanda, "Go to this mother's place, watch for her going out, collect her children, and place them inside the monastery." [Ānanda] immediately went, watched, collected more than ten of her children, and hid them in the monastery. When the mother returned and did not see them, she abandoned the other person's child and did not dare kill it again. She went in search of her children everywhere without knowing where they were, weeping along the roads like this for ten days. The mother then beat her breast, threw herself on the ground, cried aloud to heaven, and no longer ate or drank. The Buddha sent a monk to go and ask her. She replied to the monk, "It is because I have lost many children that I weep." The monk said further, "Do you wish to get your children back?" She replied, "I do." The monk said, "If you truly wish to get them back, you may go and ask the Buddha; you will be able to recover your children." Hearing these words, the mother was delighted and relieved in mind, and she went to the Buddha's place. She paid homage to the Buddha. The Buddha then asked the mother, "Why are you weeping?" The mother replied, "Because I have lost my children." The Buddha asked, "Where did you go when you abandoned your children and lost them?" The mother remained silent. When this happened three times, the mother realized that stealing other people's children was evil. She immediately rose and paid homage, saying, "It was out of my foolishness." The Buddha asked her again, "You have children; do you love them?" The mother said, "When I have children, whether sitting or rising, I always want them by my side." The Buddha asked again, "Since you have children and know how to love them, why do you go out every day to steal other people's children? Other people have children and love them just as you do. The families of lost children also weep along the roads just like you. In return, you steal people's children, kill them, and eat them. After death, you shall enter the Taishan hell. Would you rather get your children back?" The mother then bowed her head and face to the ground: "May the Buddha have pity on me!" The Buddha said, "If your children were still alive, would you be able to repent? If you can repent, your children will be returned to you." The mother said, "I can repent." The Buddha said, "If you can repent, what kind of repentance will you make?" The mother said, "I will listen to the Buddha's teachings and precepts, and follow the Buddha's words. Let the Buddha return my children!" The Buddha said, "If it is truly as you say, [I will] confer the five precepts upon you. You have a thousand sons; I will declare their names: five hundred are in the heavens, and five hundred are in the world, harassing the devas and humans. Your sons are demon kings leading tens of thousands of demons, countless in number. Some are called tree spirits, earth spirits, water spirits, spirits of boats and carriages, of houses, of darkness, of dreams and waking, of terror and bizarre occurrences, various kinds of spirits. Falsely assuming these titles, they cause people to offer sacrifices, slaughtering and cooking for food and drink, yet they cannot protect or preserve human life; they only multiply offenses. These foolish people do not understand, sitting and brooding in poverty." When the Mother of Demon Children heard the Buddha's preaching, she whole-heartedly repented, and immediately attained the fruit of stream-entry (srotāpanna). Kneeling upright, she said to the Buddha, "May the Buddha have pity on me! I wish to dwell beside the Buddha's monastery. I wish to summon my thousand sons; I wish to make them enter into an agreement with the Buddha; I wish to repay the kindness of those people above in heaven and below on earth." The Buddha said, "Sadhu! If you have such an intention, it is very good." The Buddha said, "Then dwell beside the Buddha's monastery. When people in this country have no children, if they come seeking children, you must grant them children according to their wish. I will instruct your sons to go and protect people accordingly, and not harass them recklessly again. Those who wish to seek boons from the Mother of Demon Children should know that her name is Bhūtamāṇibhadra, and her elder sister is named Jitinī. The demons in heaven and on earth belong under this Māṇibhadra's control. Within the four seas, boats, carriages, commerce, and property all belong to Māṇibhadra. Māṇibhadra entered into an agreement with the Buddha, received the precepts, and protects people's wealth and property. Jitinī presides over humans: when there is childbirth, she goes to save them." (Extracted from the Sūtra of the Mother of Demon Children)

46.38

9. The Yakṣa Kumbhīra Invites the Buddha to Provide Chambers and Lamps

46.39

At that time, the yakṣa-demon Kumbhīra came to the Buddha's place, bowed his head at the Buddha's feet, and withdrew to stand at one side. Then the demon Kumbhīra said to the Buddha, "World-Honored One, I now invite the World-Honored One and the great assembly to lodge here for the night." The World-Honored One remained silent. Thereupon, Kumbhīra magically created five hundred multi-storied chambers, beddings, couches, and sitting platforms, each accompanied by five hundred sets of cushions and pillows. He also magically created five hundred lamps, free of any smoke or flame. (Extracted from the Samyuktāgama, fascicle 49)

46.40

10. The Demon King Harasses Maudgalyāyana, Who Tells of His Own Past Life as Māra

46.41

At that time, Maudgalyāyana was walking in the dark of night. The wicked Māra transformed himself, penetrated his form, and entered Maudgalyāyana's belly. Maudgalyāyana entered samādhi, examined its source, and immediately said to the wicked Māra, "Come out! Come out! Do not harass the Buddha's disciple, or you will reap suffering for the long night." Māra thought to himself, "Now this śramaṇa has never even seen me, yet he arbitrarily utters false words. Even his teacher would not know of me, much less his disciple." Maudgalyāyana replied, "I also know what you are thinking in your mind." Māra became terrified: "He has already detected me!" He then transformed his body to pass through, came out, and stood before him. Maudgalyāyana told Māra, "In the past, at the time of Krakucchanda Buddha, I was once Māra, named Dūṣī. I had an elder sister named Kālī. You were born as her son; by this I know that you are my sister's son. At that time, when the Buddha appeared in the world, he had two disciples: one was named Mahāmaudgalyāyana (Great Voice), and the second was named Sañjīva (Knowing Thought). Why was he named Mahāmaudgalyāyana? Dwelling in the Brahma heaven, when he cleared his throat and made a sound, it was heard throughout the three-thousandfold world system. As for Sañjīva, he dwelt alone in quiet seclusion, sitting beneath a mountain tree in correct absorption of samādhi. Cowherds, shepherds, and bearers of firewood and grass said to each other: 'He has already passed away; let us cremate him together.' Sañjīva arose from samādhi and entered the city to walk for alms." (Extracted from the Sūtra on the Wicked Māra Testing Maudgalyāyana; also extracted from the Madhyamāgama, fascicle 27)

46.42

11. A Ghost Possessing the Knowledge of Others' Minds Kills His Enemy Woman

46.43

Once there was a woman who was possessed by a hungry ghost. Using spells, [someone] questioned the ghost, saying, "Why do you torment this other woman?" The ghost answered, "This woman is my enemy. Over five hundred lifetimes, she always killed me. I, too, over five hundred lifetimes, severed her life-faculty. If she can abandon her mind of old enmity, I can abandon it as well." At that time, the woman spoke these words: "I have now abandoned my mind of enmity." The ghost observed that although the woman's mouth said she abandoned it, her mind did not let it go; and he immediately severed her life. (Extracted from the Summary of the Vibhāṣā Sūtra, fascicle 8)

46.44

12. Pāpīyān Harasses and Besets Mañjuśrī

46.45

Māra arranged an offering of food, magically creating forty thousand monks wearing dirty, ragged, ruined robes, holding broken alms-bowls, with their chests and backs all exposed, their facial features hideous and ugly, crippled, lame, hunchbacked, their minds fearful and agitated, receiving various kinds of food. Mañjuśrī caused the bowls of these magically transformed persons to remain constantly full of food; yet when they took mouthfuls of food, they choked and could not swallow. Their bodies were ill at ease, and they naturally collapsed to the ground. [Mañjuśrī] asked Māra, "Why do the monks not eat?" Māra said, "They are about to die." Mañjuśrī said, "Can one who is free from poison still practice defiled poison? Those who have lust, anger, and delusion—that indeed is poison." Thereupon he preached the Dharma: "I am free from such poison." Five hundred devas who had accompanied Māra gave rise to the bodhicitta. (Extracted from the lower fascicle of the Sūtra on Mañjuśrī's Manifestation of the Treasure Store)

46.46

13. Hungry Ghosts Inquire of Maudgalyāyana Regarding the Causes of Their Suffering

46.47

Maudgalyāyana arrived at the bank of the Ganges River and saw a flock of five hundred hungry ghosts approaching the water. There were demons guarding the water who drove them off with iron staves, preventing them from drawing near. Thereupon the ghosts went directly to Maudgalyāyana, paid homage at his feet, and each asked about their offenses. One ghost said, "Having received this body, I constantly suffer from fever and thirst. Hearing previously that the water of the Ganges is pure and cool, I joyfully ran to it, but it boiled with heat and damaged my body. When I tried to take a single sip, my five internal organs scorched and rotted, stinking beyond endurance. Through what cause and condition did I receive such retribution?" Maudgalyāyana said, "In your previous lifetime, you were a physiognomist. You read people's good and bad fortunes with little truth and much falsehood, sometimes disparaging and sometimes praising them, claiming to be accurate in order to manipulate people's minds, deceitfully tricking them to seek wealth and profit, misleading sentient beings so that they lost what they desired."

46.48

Another ghost said, "I am constantly pursued by a large dog with sharp white-and-red teeth that comes to eat my flesh until only bones remain. When the wind blows over me, my flesh regenerates again, and the dog comes back to eat it. What is the cause of this suffering?" Maudgalyāyana replied, "In your former life, you were the master of a heavenly shrine. You constantly taught sentient beings to slaughter sheep and sacrifice them to the devas with their blood, while you ate the meat yourself. Therefore, today you repay it with your own flesh."

46.49

Another ghost said, "My body is constantly smeared and covered all over with excrement, and I also eat it. What is the cause of this offense?" Maudgalyāyana replied, "In your former life, you were a brāhmaṇa with wicked heterodox views, lacking faith. When a man of the Way begged for food, you took his bowl, filled it with excrement, put rice on top, and handed it to the man of the Way. The man of the Way took it back and ate the rice with his hands, so that the excrement defiled his hands. Therefore, today you receive such retribution."

46.50

Another ghost said, "My belly is huge like a vat, while my throat, hands, and feet are as thin as needles, so that I cannot eat or drink. What is the cause of this suffering?" Maudgalyāyana replied, "In your former life, you were a village headman. Relying on your noble wealth, you ate and drank extravagantly, looked down upon and abused others, snatched away their food and drink, and left sentient beings starving and destitute."

46.51

Another ghost said, "I constantly rush toward the privy wishing to eat excrement, but a large crowd of ghosts holding staves drive me away so that I cannot approach the latrine. Inside, I am rotting and foul, starving, destitute, and helpless. Why is this?" Maudgalyāyana replied, "In your former life, you were the master of a Buddhist monastery (stūpa-vihāra). When laypeople made offerings to the Saṅgha and prepared food utensils, you served the coarse offerings to visiting monks and ate the fine ones yourself."

46.52

Another ghost said, "Tongues grow all over my body. An axe comes and chops off my tongues, but as soon as they are cut, they grow back again without end. For what reason is this?" Maudgalyāyana replied, "In your former life, you were a man of the Way. When the Saṅgha appointed you to make honey syrup, the block of rock sugar was large and hard to dissolve; you chopped it with an axe and stole a mouthful with a mind of theft. Due to this cause and condition, your tongues are chopped in return."

46.53

Another ghost said, "I constantly have seven red-hot iron pellets go straight into my mouth, enter my belly, and scorch and rot my five internal organs; after coming out, they go back in again. Due to what cause do I receive this retribution?" Maudgalyāyana replied, "In your former life, you were a novice monk (śrāmaṇera). When distributing fruits and melons to your teacher, out of reverence for your teacher you were partial and gave him more, specifically an excess of seven pieces."

46.54

Another ghost said, "There are constantly two red-hot iron wheels under my armpits that rotate and scorch my body to rotting. Why is this?" Maudgalyāyana replied, "In your former life, when making cakes for the Saṅgha, with a mind of theft you took two cakes and tucked them under both your armpits."

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