法苑珠林 16.27

16.27

時舍利弗。欣然大悅如冥覩明。口言善哉。昔來抱疑。又吾好學八歲從師。至年十六靡不周綜。行遍天下十六大國自謂已達。今乃聞異無上正真得吾本願。由如來過去心淨離著不害眾生故。所行之處脚足不污蟲蟻不損。故處處經云。佛不著履有三因緣。一使行者少欲。二現足下輪。三令人見之歡喜。佛行足去地四寸有三因緣。一見地有蟲蟻故。二地有生草故。三現神足故。亦欲令人意止。佛行地高下皆平有三因緣。一本行四等心欲令一切安隱。地在水上水中有神。蟲蛾一切值佛足下皆安隱同心立意。是故卑者為高。高者為卑。二諸天鬼神行福為佛除地故高下為平。三佛為菩薩時通利道徑橋梁度人。故從是得福。故高下正平。欲令人意亦爾。

At that time, Śāriputra was immensely delighted, like seeing light in darkness. He voiced aloud, “Excellent! In the past I harboured doubts. Moreover, I was fond of learning; from the age of eight I followed a teacher, and by the age of sixteen there was nothing I had not thoroughly mastered. Travelling through all sixteen great states under heaven, I thought of myself as already having reached the goal. Only now do I hear this wondrous, unexcelled, and true [teaching] and attain my original wish!” Because the Tathāgata’s mind in the past was pure, free from attachment, and did not harm sentient beings, wherever he walked, his feet were unstained, and insects and ants were unharmed. Thus the Chuchu jing states: “There are three reasons why the Buddha does not wear shoes. First, to cause practitioners to have few desires. Second, to display the wheels beneath his feet. Third, to cause people to be joyful upon seeing them. There are three reasons why the Buddha’s feet walk four inches above the ground. First, because he sees that there are insects and ants on the ground. Second, because there is living grass on the ground. Third, to display his divine feet, and also because he wishes to bring people’s minds to rest. There are three reasons why the ground becomes level whether high or low when the Buddha walks. First, his original practice of the four impartial minds aimed to bring peace and ease to all. The earth rests upon water, and within the water there are spirits; insects, moths, and all creatures, when encountering the Buddha’s feet, are all at peace and ease, united in mind and purpose. Therefore the low becomes high, and the high becomes low. Second, the devas, ghosts, and spirits cultivate merit by clearing the ground for the Buddha; therefore the high and low become level. Third, when the Buddha was a bodhisattva, he cleared and made accessible paths, trails, and bridges to cross people over, and thus derived merit from this; therefore the high and low become upright and level, wishing also to make people’s minds so.”