法苑珠林 35.15

35.15

如僧祇律云。昔佛在世時。尊者達尼迦闇取官材罪在不捨。時瓶沙王信敬三寶。見達尼迦身著袈裟。雖取官材釋然不問。比丘見已而白佛言。此達尼迦宿殖何業。為瓶沙王原恕乃爾。佛告比丘。乃往過去。爾時有一金翅鳥王。其身極大。兩翅相去六千餘里。常入海中取龍食之。諸龍常法畏金翅鳥。常求袈裟著宮門上。鳥見袈裟生恭敬心。便不復前行食彼諸龍。鳥食龍時。以翅博海水擗龍現而取食之。時有一龍為鳥所逐。即取袈裟戴著頂上。尋岸而走。時金翅鳥化作婆羅門。追逐龍後種種罵言。汝今何不放此袈裟。龍畏死故急捉不捨。爾時海邊有一仙人。龍時恐悑投趣仙人。鳥見仙人不敢復前。仙人即出為鳥說法。教鳥向龍共相懺悔已各去。佛告比丘。昔仙人者今我身是。金翅鳥者瓶沙王是。爾時龍者達尼迦是。昔蒙袈裟得免鳥食。今復蒙我袈裟因緣得脫王難。出家修道獲阿羅漢。是故當知。袈裟威力不可思議。

As the Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya says: In the past, when the Buddha was in the world, the Venerable Dhaniya secretly took state timber, an offense that was unforgivable. At that time, King Bimbisāra had faith and reverence for the Three Jewels. Seeing Dhaniya wearing the kāṣāya, although he had taken state timber, the king let it go without questioning. The bhikṣus saw this and said to the Buddha: 'What past karma did this Dhaniya cultivate that King Bimbisāra should pardon him so?' The Buddha told the bhikṣus: 'Long ago in the past, there was a garuḍa king whose body was exceedingly vast, the span between his two wings being more than six thousand li. He would constantly enter the ocean to seize nāgas and eat them. It was the customary practice of the nāgas to fear the garuḍa, so they always sought kāṣāyas to hang over the gates of their palaces. When the bird saw the kāṣāya, he gave rise to reverence and would not advance to eat those nāgas. When the bird ate nāgas, he would strike the ocean water with his wings, parting it to reveal the nāgas and taking them to eat. At that time, a nāga was pursued by the bird; he immediately took a kāṣāya and wore it upon his head, fleeing along the shore. The garuḍa transformed into a brāhmaṇa, pursued the nāga, and reviled him in various ways: “Why do you not release this kāṣāya now?” Fearing death, the nāga held fast to it without letting go. At that time, there was an ascetic on the seashore; in his terror, the nāga took refuge with the ascetic. Seeing the ascetic, the bird did not dare advance further. The ascetic then came out, preached the Dharma to the bird, and instructed the bird to repent together with the nāga, after which each departed.' The Buddha told the bhikṣus: 'The ascetic of the past was myself; the garuḍa was King Bimbisāra; and the nāga at that time was Dhaniya. In the past, relying upon the kāṣāya, he escaped being eaten by the bird; now, again, through the conditions of my kāṣāya, he escapes the calamity of the king, leaves home to practice the Way, and attains arhatship. Therefore, you should know that the mighty power of the kāṣāya is inconceivable.'