經律異相 7.31

7.31

Śāriputra addressed the Buddha, saying, “What merit did Chandaka possess in a previous life, such that he led the Bodhisattva into the mountains to attain buddhahood?”
The Buddha said, “Not only in this life does Chandaka possess such merit. Long ago, when I was a bodhisattva in the country of Śihavyālikā (?), King Sudharmati heard that some people in the world practice the Way to ascend to the heavens, while others perform sacrifices to ascend to the heavens. The king constantly desired to ascend to heaven, but did not know the method. In that country, there were practitioners of the brāhmaṇa way, more than forty thousand in all. Among them was an eminent, venerable brāhmaṇa. The king approached and asked him, and he replied, ‘Do you wish to ascend to heaven in your living body, or to ascend to heaven upon death?’
The king said, ‘To fly up to heaven in my living body.’
[The brāhmaṇa] said further, ‘Great King, you must perform a sacrifice.’
The king was delighted. He brought forth treasures from his storehouse and gave them to the brāhmaṇa, seeking one hundred handsome men and one hundred handsome women throughout the kingdom, as well as one hundred elephants, horses, and livestock of each kind. First, four brāhmaṇas were to be fed; afterwards, the humans and beasts were to be killed to sacrifice to heaven, using their blood to make steps. Then the brāhmaṇa made a further request: in the Gandhamādana mountains, there was a divine woman named Kinnarī (Candra?), and he wished to obtain her blood to combine with the rest to make the steps. Hearing this, the king said with delight, ‘Why did you not tell me sooner?’
The king immediately issued an order throughout the country, asking everywhere who was able to capture Kinnarī. One person addressed the king, ‘In the seventh mountain range, there are two men: one named Ācārya and one named Upāli, who know where Kinnarī is.’
The king said, ‘Summon them quickly!’
When they arrived, the king was overjoyed, immediately set out wine and food to entertain them as they pleased for seven days and seven nights, and rewarded them most generously. The king said to the two men, Ācārya and [Upāli], ‘If you can bring the Kinnarī maiden here so that I may ascend to heaven, I will hand this kingdom over to you two.’
Receiving his command, those men exerted all their strength to seek Kinnarī. For more than two months, they traversed eight ranges of mountains, reaching a great pool of water in the Gandhamādana mountains. They saw Śakra Devānām Indra together with innumerable divine maiden entertainers emerge from their city to sport and bathe in the pool, and when they finished, they all flew up into the sky. At that time, beside the water pool, there was a brāhmaṇa who had already attained the five superknowledges of the four dhyānas. Ācārya and his companion went forward, paid homage, and asked, ‘What manner of sound and pleasure is this here, being so delightful?’
He replied, ‘King Dhūma and more than a thousand of his followers are sporting and bathing in this city; they are to come to my place to pay homage. You people should leave.’
Ācārya and his companion then left. In a secluded spot, they conferred, saying, ‘This is a great spirit-sage; where can we obtain this divine woman from him?’
The man thought to himself, took grass, tied it into a knot, threw it into the water to cast a binding spell, causing the brāhmaṇa to become unable to move, and further bound the divine woman so that she could not fly. When the divine spell was concluded, Śakra Devānām Indra and all the divine maidens flew up to heaven together, but the king, the maiden, and King Manohara alone remained in the water, unable to fly. They then went forward, bound the maiden, and brought her to their former kingdom. The king invited them into the palace, fed them, and rewarded their toil. The crown prince Narāśi had become king of a different country; that king had a crown prince named Sūra, who was the former king's eldest grandson. Endowed with great compassion, he practiced the bodhisattva path. He sent someone to summon [the men] and came to see this maiden, wishing to take her as his wife. The king said, ‘I will take another wife for you; this maiden belongs to heaven, and her blood is to be taken for sacrifice to be used for ascending to heaven.’
The Bodhisattva replied, ‘If she is not given to me, I shall fall into despair and die.’
The king, fearing his death, gave the maiden to him. After more than four months, the brāhmaṇa came and addressed the king, ‘The Kinnarī maiden obtained previously must now be killed. Together with the humans and livestock, dig a pit in the ground eight cubits square; we should take their blood and choose an auspicious day to perform the sacrifice.’
The king said, ‘Very good.’
When the Bodhisattva heard this, he asked what they were doing. The brāhmaṇa replied, ‘Performing a sacrifice to ascend to heaven.’
The Bodhisattva said, ‘Killing humans and beasts will cause you to enter hell; how could you ascend to heaven?’
The brāhmaṇa said, ‘You are still young; this is no business of yours.’
The Bodhisattva said, ‘I know all about your past causes and conditions.’
The brāhmaṇa said, ‘If you know, try to explain them.’
The Bodhisattva explained his practices and methods. The brāhmaṇa was ashamed, paid homage, and departed. The Bodhisattva then preached the sūtra to the king, saying, ‘One who wishes to ascend to heaven must uphold the five precepts, cultivate the ten wholesome deeds, practice charity, be filial to and care for father and mother, serve śramaṇas, have compassion for the myriad people and crawling insects, and supply them with sufficient food according to what they eat; only then can one ascend to heaven.’
When the king heard this, he followed the Bodhisattva’s words. He brought forth the gold, silver, and precious jewels from the storehouse and gave them to the prince to bestow in charity at will. When seven days had passed, he paid homage to his wife, departed, and returned to his former kingdom. Day and night it rained gold, silver, and precious jewels. The Bodhisattva lived together with the maiden for one year without managing state affairs. A minister addressed the king, saying, ‘We must kill Kinnarī; only then will the prince manage the state.’
When the king heard this and found it unacceptable, he gave orders to take the prince and bind him. The maiden immediately flew away. Passing the place of the two men, Ācārya and his companion, she spoke to them, saying, ‘The prince is coming in pursuit. Please guide him along the way.’
She left a ring as a token of trust to be given to the practitioner. The king released the prince. Not seeing Kinnarī, he threw himself to the ground and said, ‘Where can I find the maiden?’
A spirit spoke to him, ‘You need not weep; I will tell you her location. Climb the seventh mountain, and pursue her quickly.’
He then donned jewel-adorned clothing, strapped on a sword, and held a bow. The jewel-adorned clothing shone for forty leagues. Leaving the kingdom, the prince reached the seventh mountain the following morning and saw the two men from before. He asked, ‘Have you seen the Kinnarī maiden?’
They replied, ‘We have seen her.’
They gave the ring to the prince, and then they advanced together. Ascending the eighth mountain, Gandhamādana, they saw the brāhmaṇa of the four dhyānas and stepped forward to pay homage. At that time, Śakra, King of the Gods, transformed into a terrifying monkey that shook the mountain. The Bodhisattva was greatly frightened. The brāhmaṇa said, ‘The monkey who constantly serves me has seen [you] and refuses to come down.’
The brāhmaṇa said, ‘Come down!’ The monkey immediately came forward, carrying fruit to offer up. The brāhmaṇa received it and shared it with the three men to eat. When they finished, he said to the monkey, ‘Take these three men to the divine maiden’s place.’
The monkey said, ‘What kind of people are these, that you have me take them up to heaven?’
The brāhmaṇa said, ‘This crown prince of the kingdom is a bodhisattva; he will uphold the Buddha’s Way to deliver devas, humans, and crawling insects.’
The monkey said, ‘Very good!’ and led them up to heaven. On the way, they passed the dwelling of five hundred pratyekabuddhas. The three sent the monkey back to fetch flowers to scatter over the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, making a vow, saying, ‘May I quickly become a Buddha!’
The monkey also said, ‘I vow to become a horse for the Buddha.’
Ācārya said, ‘I vow to become a servant for the Buddha.’
The other man said, ‘I vow to attain arhatship.’
Arriving at Kinnarī’s place, the monkey paid homage and departed. The Bodhisattva and the two men sat together outside the gate. A maidservant was drawing water. The Bodhisattva asked her, ‘What is this water used for?’
She replied, ‘To bathe Kinnarī.’
The Bodhisattva took off the ring and dropped it into the water. When the maiden was bathing and saw the ring, she stopped at once, went inside, and reported to her parents, saying, ‘My husband is outside.’
Her parents were delighted. Her father, named Dhūma (?), went out to meet him and paid homage to the Bodhisattva. Ācārya and the other man also paid homage and departed. The king invited him into the city, inquired after his welfare, washed the Bodhisattva’s hands with water, and handed over to the Bodhisattva his daughter along with more than a thousand maidservants. He remained there for seven years. The Bodhisattva addressed the king, saying, ‘I wish to return to see my parents.’
The king said, ‘Stay a while longer.’
After seven days, a spirit came to the king's place and said, ‘Earlier I heard that the Great King had lost his daughter, and I came to congratulate you on her return and your gaining a noble son-in-law.’
The king said, ‘My daughter is fine, and her husband is most venerable; he is a prince of a kingdom, who has long wished to return. Please escort him back.’
The spirit king consented. He took a seven-story tower made of the seven treasures from a kingdom, placed it in the palm of his hand, escorted them back to their former kingdom, paid homage, and departed. The Bodhisattva stepped forward to pay homage to his parents and inquire about their health. Having regained the prince, the king handed over the gold and silver of the state treasury to him. The king instructed his ministers and attendants, ‘Anyone from far and wide who wishes to have gold, silver, rice, or grain may come to the palace gates and take whatever they desire.’
Afterwards, when the king's life ended, he was reborn in heaven. The crown prince of that time was my own person; the brāhmaṇa of the four dhyānas was Śāriputra; Ācārya was Chandaka; the one who wished to become an arhat was Maudgalyāyana; Śakra, King of the Gods, who transformed into a monkey and wished to become a horse, was Kaṇṭhaka; the royal father of that time was my father Śuddhodana; the mother was my mother Māyā; and Kinnarī was Gopikā (from the *Chandaka Sūtra*).”