經律異相 9.35

9.35

In the past, there was a monk who vigorously observed the precepts, never violating them. He lived in a monastery, and what he would recite was the Prajñāpāramitā. Whoever heard this monk's voice was filled with joy. There was a young boy, just seven years old, herding cattle outside the city. Hearing from afar the sound of the monk reciting the scripture, he followed the sound to the monastery, heard it, and immediately understood it. The boy was overjoyed and asked the monk [about it], but [the monk's] answer was not satisfactory. The boy instead expounded its meaning, which was exceedingly subtle, rare to have been heard in the past. Hearing this, the monk praised the boy, [seeing that] he possessed wisdom and was no ordinary person. The boy then left and returned to the cattle. The calves he was herding had scattered and fled into the mountains. Tracking their footprints, he encountered a tiger and was killed. He was reborn as the son of the first wife of an elder's household. When the wife was pregnant, she could spontaneously expound the Prajñāpāramitā from morning till evening without ever resting. The elder's family had never revered the Dharma; finding the wife's speech strange, they took it for raving delusions or a ghost affliction. They consulted diviners about the curse, but none could explain it. Everyone inside and outside the household was filled with anxiety and fear. At that time, the monk entered the city to beg for alms and reached the elder's gate. Hearing the sound of the scripture from afar, his heart was very pleased. He asked the elder: "Who inside is expounding the profound scripture with such subtle and wonderful voice?" The elder replied: "My wife has caught a ghost illness. Day and night she raves without ceasing." The monk replied: "This is not a ghost illness; she is expounding a profound scripture with great doctrinal principle. I suspect the child carried by this lady is a disciple of the Buddha." The elder understood, kept the monk, and served him food and drink. When the months and days were fulfilled, she gave birth to a boy, free from lochia. As soon as the boy was born, he clasped his hands, knelt down, and expounded the Prajñāpāramitā. After giving birth, the lady returned to her original state, as though awakening from a dream, knowing nothing [of what she had spoken]. The elder assembled the monastic saṃgha, who witnessed the boy expounding the scripture without any obstruction. At that time, each of the monks single-mindedly observed the young boy. The elder asked: "What kind of person is this?" The monk replied: "A true disciple of the Buddha. Do not be startled or suspicious; nurture and raise him well. When this boy grows up, he will be a teacher to all people. We all shall receive instruction from him." By the age of seven, he knew all subtleties, surpassing the multitude with wisdom boundless as perfection (pāramitā). The monks all studied under him. Wherever the scriptures had omissions, errors, or defects, he edited and corrected them, supplying what was lacking. Wherever the boy went, he constantly converted people, causing them to bring forth the Mahāyāna resolve. Five hundred people in the elder's household, both inner and outer, great and small, all studied under the boy, brought forth the Mahāyāna aspiration, and practiced Buddhist deeds. Those throughout the city and markets whom the boy instructed and who brought forth the aspiration for supreme enlightenment numbered eighty-four thousand, and five hundred became his direct disciples. Hearing him, the monks understood, aspired to seek the Mahāyāna, and all attained the purity of the Dharma-eye. The Buddha said to Ānanda: "The young boy at that time was myself; the monk of that time was Kāśyapa Buddha." (From the Xiaor wenfa jiejie jing.)