法苑珠林 38.14

38.14

又百緣經云。昔佛在世時。與諸比丘到殑伽河邊。見一故塔毀落崩壞。比丘問佛此是何塔。朽故乃爾。佛告比丘。此賢劫中波羅柰國梵摩達王。正法治化。唯無子息。禱祀諸神求索有子。困不能得。時王國中有一池水生一蓮華。其華臺中有一童子結跏趺坐。有三十二相八十種好。口出優鉢羅華香。身諸毛孔出栴檀香。王及妃后見甚歡喜。即抱還宮養育漸大。隨其行處蓮華承足。因香立字栴檀香。後寤非常成辟支佛。身升虛空作十八變。尋入涅槃。王收舍利起塔供養。是彼塔耳。比丘問佛。宿殖何福受斯果報。佛告比丘乃往過去拘樓孫佛時有長者子。甚好婬色。見一婬女心生妉著。無財可與。遂至塔中盜華與之。乃共夜宿。曉即身體生其惡瘡。痛不可言。喚醫療治。醫占云。須牛頭栴檀用塗瘡上可得除愈。時長者子即賣家宅得於金錢滿六十萬。尋用買香正得六兩。擬用塗瘡。心自思惟。即語醫言。我今所患乃是心病。即持所買牛頭栴檀。擣以為末。入其塔中發誓願言。如來往昔修諸苦行。誓度眾生除其厄難。我今此身墮一生數。唯願世尊。慈悲憐愍除我此患。作是誓已用香塗塔。以償華價。至心供養求哀懺悔。瘡尋得差。身諸毛孔有栴檀香。聞此香已歡喜禮拜發願而去。緣是功德不墮惡道。天上人中常受快樂。隨其行處蓮華承足。身諸毛孔常有香氣。是故智者當作是學。

Furthermore, the Baiyuan jing says: Formerly, when the Buddha was in the world, he went with the bhikṣus to the banks of the Gaṅgā River and saw an old stūpa fallen into ruin and collapsed. A bhikṣu asked the Buddha: "What stūpa is this, that has become so decayed and old?" The Buddha told the bhikṣu: "In this Bhadrakalpa, King Brahmadatta of the kingdom of Vārāṇasī governed and transformed through the true Dharma. Yet he had no sons; he prayed and sacrificed to the various deities seeking to have a son, but was distressed at being unable to obtain one. At that time, in a pond within the king's realm, a lotus flower grew. In the calyx of that flower sat a young boy cross-legged, possessing the thirty-two marks and eighty minor characteristics. From his mouth issued the fragrance of an utpala flower, and from all the pores of his body issued the fragrance of sandalwood. The king and his royal consorts, seeing him, were exceedingly joyful; they at once carried him back to the palace and gradually raised him. Wherever he walked, lotus flowers supported his feet. Because of his fragrance, he was named Candana-gandha ('Sandalwood Fragrance'). Later, awakening to impermanence, he became a pratyekabuddha; his body ascended into empty space, where he manifested eighteen transformations, and he soon entered nirvāṇa. The king collected his relics and raised a stūpa to make offerings to them. It is that very stūpa." The bhikṣu asked the Buddha: "What merit did he plant in the past to receive such a retribution?" The Buddha told the bhikṣu: "Long ago, in the past during the time of Krakucchanda Buddha, there was the son of an elder who was extremely fond of lust. Seeing a courtesan, his heart gave rise to infatuation, but having no wealth to give her, he went into a stūpa, stole flowers, and gave them to her; he then spent the night with her. At dawn, evil ulcers broke out all over his body, bringing indescribable agony. He called a physician to treat it. The physician divined and said: 'Gosīrṣa sandalwood must be smeared on the sores, and then they can be cured.' At that time, the elder's son immediately sold his house and estate, obtaining sixty myriad gold coins. He promptly used them to buy the incense, obtaining precisely six ounces, intending to smear it on the sores. In his mind, he reflected and said to the physician: 'What ails me now is an illness of the heart.' He at once took the purchased gosīrṣa sandalwood, pounded it into powder, entered that stūpa, and made this vow: 'The Tathāgata in the past cultivated all manner of austerities, vowing to deliver living beings and eliminate their distress. Now this body of mine is counted among the living; I pray only that the World-Honoured One, with compassion and pity, will relieve me of this affliction.' Having made this vow, he smeared the stūpa with the incense to repay the value of the flowers, and with an earnest mind made offerings, begging for mercy and repenting. The ulcers were immediately cured, and from all the pores of his body came the fragrance of sandalwood. Having smelled this fragrance, he bowed in homage with joy, made his vow, and departed. By reason of this merit, he did not fall into the evil realms, always enjoying bliss in the heavens and among humans; wherever he walked, lotus flowers supported his feet, and from all the pores of his body there was always fragrance. Therefore, the wise should train in this manner."