經律異相 8.44

8.44

Question: "A bodhisattva's body is not made of wood or stone. Why, when sentient beings come to cut and sever it, does no different thought arise in him?"
Answer: "Some say: 'Because the bodhisattva has long cultivated the perfection of patience (kṣāntipāramitā), he can be free from sorrow and distress. Just as when the hands and feet of the Ṛṣi of Patience were severed, his blood all turned to milk.'
Some say: 'Because the bodhisattva has deeply cultivated great compassion for immeasurable lifetimes, though he is cut and severed he does not grieve or worry, just as grass and trees have no mind of anger.'
Some say: 'The bodhisattva deeply cultivates the perfection of wisdom (prajñāpāramitā), and in transforming his body he obtains the retribution of the perfection of wisdom. Because his mind is empty, he distinctly knows emptiness; when his body is cut and severed, his mind also does not move. Just as external things do not move, so it is within. Because of the retribution of wisdom, he makes no discrimination among any dharmas.'
Some say: 'This bodhisattva does not possess a body of birth-and-death; it is a body born of the Dharma-nature that has transcended the three realms. Because he abides in the fruit of the taintless noble mind, his body is like wood and stone, yet he is capable of compassionate thoughts toward those who cut and sever him. It is because this bodhisattva can produce such a mind that when inner and outer dharmas are severed or plundered, his mind remains unmoved.'
This is a rare quality of a bodhisattva. With my Buddha-eye, I see across worlds in the ten directions as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, where bodhisattvas enter into the hells, causing the fires to be extinguished and the boiling cauldrons to cool, teaching and transforming sentient beings with the three matters. For immeasurable asaṃkhyeya kalpas, they deeply practice a compassionate mind, providing gifts of external objects, yet in their intention they still feel unsatisfied; only when they make gifts of their own bodies are they satisfied. Like the Bodhisattva Bhaiṣajyarāja, who made offerings of external objects and precious jewels to the Buddha, yet in his intention still felt unsatisfied; only when he made a lamp of his own body was he satisfied. Though external things be many, they are not deemed a great debt of gratitude. Why is this? Because they are not what is most prized. Only when they receive his body can they be startled into feeling moved. Therefore he gives his body." (Drawn from the eightieth fascicle of the Da zhidu lun)