法苑珠林 19.34

19.34

又付法藏經云。昔佛涅槃一百年後有阿育王。信敬三寶常作般遮于瑟大會。王至會日香湯洗浴著新淨衣。上高樓上四方頂禮。遙請眾僧。聖眾飛來凡二十萬。王之信心深遠難量。見諸沙門若長若幼若凡若聖。皆迎問訊恭敬禮拜。時有一臣。名曰夜奢。邪見熾盛無信敬心。見王禮拜而作是言。王甚無智。自屈貴德禮拜童幼。王聞是已便勅諸臣。各遣推覓自死百獸。人仰一頭。唯使夜奢獨求人首。得已各勅詣市賣之。餘頭悉售。夜奢人頭見者惡賤。都無買者。數日欲臭。眾人見已咸共罵辱。而語之言。汝今非是旃陀羅人夜叉羅剎。云何乃捉死人頭賣。夜奢爾時被罵辱已。來詣王所而白王言。臣賣人頭反被罵辱。尚無欲見。況有買者。王復語言。若無買者但當虛與。夜奢奉教重齎入市唱告眾人。無錢買者今當虛與。市人聞已重加罵辱無肯取者。夜奢慚愧。還至王所合掌白王。此頭難售。虛與不取反被罵辱。況有買者。王問夜奢。何物最貴。夜奢答王。人最為貴。王言。若貴何故不售。夜奢答王。人生雖貴死則卑賤。王問夜奢。吾頭若死同此賤不。夜奢惶懼怖不敢對。王即語言。施汝無畏。汝當實答。夜奢惶怖俛仰答王。王頭若死亦同此賤。王語夜奢。吾頭若死同此賤者。汝何怪我禮敬眾僧。卿若是吾真善知識。宜應勸我以危脆頭易堅固頭如何今日止吾禮拜。夜奢爾時聞王此語方自悔責。改邪從正歸敬三寶。以是因緣眾生聞者。若見三寶應當至心恭敬禮拜。

Furthermore, the Sūtra on the Transmission of the Dharma Pitaka states: Formerly, one hundred years after the Buddha's nirvāṇa, there was King Aśoka, who faithfully revered the Three Jewels and constantly held the great pañcapariṣad assembly. When the day of the assembly arrived, the king bathed in perfumed water, donned new, pure garments, climbed atop a high tower, and made prostrations in the four directions, inviting the assembly of monks from afar. The noble assembly flew there, totaling two hundred thousand. The depth of the king's faithful mind was difficult to fathom: seeing the various śramaṇas, whether old or young, common or noble, he welcomed, greeted, revered, and prostrated to them all. At that time, there was a minister named Yaśas whose wrong views flared fiercely and who lacked a mind of faith and reverence. Seeing the king make prostrations, he spoke these words: 'The king is extremely unwise, bending his noble virtue to bow to children.' Having heard this, the king then ordered his ministers, sending each to search for hundred kinds of beasts that had died naturally, requiring one head per person, but commanded Yaśas alone to seek a human head. Having obtained them, each was ordered to go to the marketplace to sell them. All the other heads were sold; but as for Yaśas's human head, whoever saw it detested and disdained it, and there were no buyers at all. After several days, it began to stink; when the crowd saw it, they all reviled and abused him, saying to him, 'You are not a caṇḍāla, a yakṣa, or a rākṣasa now; why do you hold a dead human's head to sell?' At that time, having been reviled and abused, Yaśas came to the king's place and reported to the king, saying, 'When I tried to sell the human head, I was instead reviled and abused; no one even wanted to look at it, let alone buy it.' The king spoke to him again, 'If there are no buyers, you should just give it away for nothing.' Yaśas received the command and carried it back into the marketplace, proclaiming to the crowd, 'Whoever lacks money to buy it, I will give it away for nothing now.' When the people of the market heard this, they reviled and abused him all the more, and none was willing to take it. Ashamed, Yaśas returned to the king's place, joined his palms, and reported to the king, 'This head is difficult to sell; when given away for nothing, no one takes it and I am instead reviled and abused, let alone finding any buyers.' The king asked Yaśas, 'What thing is most noble?' Yaśas answered the king, 'Man is most noble.' The king said, 'If noble, for what reason was it not sold?' Yaśas answered the king, 'Although human life is noble, in death it is base.' The king asked Yaśas, 'If my head were dead, would it be just as base as this, or not?' Yaśas was terrified and fearful, not daring to answer. The king immediately told him, 'I grant you fearlessness; you must answer truthfully.' In terror, Yaśas bowed his head and answered the king, 'If the king's head were dead, it would also be just as base as this.' The king said to Yaśas, 'If my head in death would be just as base as this, why do you wonder at my paying reverent homage to the saṃgha? If you were my true spiritual friend, you should encourage me to exchange a fragile head for a solid head; how could you stop my prostrations today?' Hearing these words from the king, Yaśas only then felt regret and self-reproach, abandoned the wrong to follow the right, and took refuge in and revered the Three Jewels. For this reason, sentient beings who hear of this, if they see the Three Jewels, should revere and prostrate with the utmost mind.