經律異相 46.7

46.7

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).