經律異相 8.24

8.24

North of the city of Śrāvastī, not far from the city, in a village named Sāna, there was a poor brāhmaṇa woman named Bhadrā. She gave birth to a son named Sarvalokapriyadarśana. He lost his father when young. When he was twelve years old, his physical strength and human marks were foremost and complete; he was intelligent, eloquent, and skilled in subtle speech. Furthermore, in another village named Phalāhasi, there was a long-residing brāhmaṇa master named Maṇibhadra, who thoroughly understood the four Vedas. Sarvalokapriyadarśana studied under him, humbly compliant, respectful, and serving him with all his heart; his faculties were pure and gentle, and whatever he received he was sure to retain. The master accepted an invitation from the king, leaving Sarvalokapriyadarśana to guard the house while he departed. The brāhmaṇa's wife was young and fair; toward Sarvalokapriyadarśana she gave rise to deep lustful passion. Suddenly forgetting decorum and shame, she stepped forward and grabbed his clothes. At that time, Sarvalokapriyadarśana said: 'Good lady, you are now my mother. How could you perform what is not Dharma?' Harboring shame and fear within, he discarded his clothes and shunned her from afar. The master's wife, her lust rampant, wept tears and thought to herself: 'He abruptly spurns me and does not follow my desire. If you will certainly not comply, I must end your life.' She then gouged her own body with her fingernails, employed womanly deceit to arrange her appearance, and tied herself with a rope without her feet leaving the ground. When the husband returned and saw his wife, he severed the rope with a knife, shouted loudly, and asked for what reason. The wife replied: 'This Sarvalokapriyadarśana forcefully violated me and did such deeds.' Her husband reflected, saying: 'On the day Sarvalokapriyadarśana was born, all the knives and swords of all kṣatriyas drew themselves out, their blades curled and bent, and fell to the ground. At that time, all the kṣatriyas were greatly terrified. Since the day of his birth possessed such signs, one should know that this person possesses great power of virtue.' He said to Sarvalokapriyadarśana: 'You are an evil person who has disgraced the revered one. You are now no longer a true brāhmaṇa. You must kill a thousand people, and only then may your sin be expiated.' Sarvalokapriyadarśana, by nature reverently obedient, respected his master's instructions. He said to the master: 'Alas, Upādhyāya, killing a thousand people is not what I should do.' The master then said to him: 'You are an evil person; do you not delight in being born in heaven and becoming a brāhmaṇa?' He replied: 'Excellent, Upādhyāya, I obey your command.' He then killed a thousand people and returned to salute the master's feet. The master, hearing and seeing this, thought it extraordinary: 'You great evil person, are you still not dead?' He then thought again: 'Now I must make him die.' And he told him: 'As you kill each person, take one finger from each person. After killing a thousand people, take the fingers to make a garland, place it on your head, and return. Only after that will you succeed in becoming a brāhmaṇa.' Because of this circumstance, he was named Aṅgulimāla. He then said to the master: 'Excellent, Upādhyāya, I receive your teaching.' He then killed a thousand people, lacking just one. At that time, Aṅgulimāla's mother, thinking her son must be hungry, personally took four kinds of delicious food and brought them to him. When the son saw his mother, he thought to himself: 'I should enable my mother to be born in heaven.' He then held his sword and came forward, wishing to end her life. Ten yojanas short of one zhang from the country of Śrāvastī, there was a tree named Aśoka. At that time, the Buddha, with omniscient wisdom, approached like a king of elephants. Seeing the Bhagavat, Aṅgulimāla held his sword and rushed forward, thinking to himself: 'Now I shall also kill this śramaṇa.' The Bhagavat manifested avoiding him. Aṅgulimāla spoke a verse: