法苑珠林 50.33

50.33

又九色鹿經云。昔者菩薩身為九色鹿。其毛九種色角白如雪。常在殑伽河邊飲食水草。常與一烏為知識。時水中有一溺人隨流來下。或出或沒。仰頭呼天。山神樹神諸天龍神。何不愍我。鹿聞下水救之語言。汝可騎我背捉我角。負出上岸。溺人下地繞鹿三匝。向鹿叩頭。乞為大家作奴。給其使令採取水草。鹿言。不用且各自去。欲報恩者莫道我在。此人貪我皮角必來殺我。時國王夫人夜夢見九色鹿。即詐病不起。王問何以。答曰。我昨夜夢見非常之鹿。其毛九種色。其角白如雪。我思欲得其皮作坐褥其角作拂柄。王當為我得之。王若不得我將死矣。王募國中。若有能得當分國而治。賜其金鉢盛滿銀粟。賜其銀鉢盛滿金粟。溺人聞之。欲取富貴。念言。鹿是畜生死活何在。往至王所言知鹿處。王大歡喜言。汝若能得其皮角來者。報之半國。溺人面上即生癩瘡。溺人言。大王。此鹿雖是畜生大有威神。王宜多出人兵乃可得耳。王即大出人眾。徑到殑伽河邊。烏在樹頭見人兵來。即呼鹿言。知識且起。王兵來至。鹿故熟眠臥不覺。烏下啄耳。鹿方驚覺。四向顧望無復走地。便往趣王車邊。傍臣欲射。王曰莫射。此鹿非常。將是天神。鹿言。大王。且莫射我。我前活王國中一人。鹿復長跪問王言。誰道我在此。王便指示車邊癩面人是也。鹿即仰頭視此人面。眼中淚出不能自勝。此人前溺在水中。我不惜身命。自投水中負此人出。約不相導。人無反復。不如出水中浮木也。王有愧色。汝受其恩柰何反欲殺之。即下於國中。若有驅逐此鹿者。當誅五族。眾鹿數千皆來依附。飲食水草不侵禾稼。風雨時節五穀豐熟。人無疾病其世太平。時九色鹿我身是也。烏者阿難是也。國王者今父王悅頭檀是也。時王夫人者今孫陀利是也。時溺人者調達是也。我雖有善心向之。故欲害我。難有至意。

Furthermore, the Sūtra of the Nine-Coloured Deer states: Long ago, the Bodhisattva was reborn as a nine-coloured deer. Its hair had nine colors, and its antlers were as white as snow. It frequently drank water and ate grass along the banks of the Gaṅgā River. It was always a companion to a crow. At that time, there was a drowning man in the water drifting down with the current, bobbing up and down. Looking up, he cried out to Heaven: 'Spirits of the mountains, spirits of the trees, and all devas and nāga spirits, why do you not take pity on me?' Hearing him, the deer entered the water to rescue him, saying to him, 'You may ride upon my back and hold onto my antlers.' It carried him out onto the bank. Reaching dry land, the drowning man circumambulated the deer three times and kowtowed to it, begging to become the master's slave, to serve at its bidding and gather water and grass for it. The deer said, 'There is no need; just go your own way. If you wish to repay my kindness, do not speak of where I am. People covet my hide and antlers, and will surely come to kill me.' At that time, the queen of the country saw the nine-coloured deer in a dream at night. She then feigned illness and took to her bed. The king asked why, and she replied, 'Last night I saw an extraordinary deer in a dream. Its hair had nine colors, and its antlers were as white as snow. I long to obtain its hide to make a seat cushion and its antlers to make a whisk handle. The king must obtain it for me; if the king does not obtain it, I shall die.' The king made an appeal throughout the country: 'Whoever is able to obtain it shall be granted half the kingdom to govern, given a golden bowl filled with silver millet, and given a silver bowl filled with golden millet.' The drowning man heard this, and wishing to secure wealth and nobility, thought to himself: 'The deer is an animal; what does its life or death matter?' He went before the king and said he knew where the deer was. The king was greatly delighted and said, 'If you can bring its hide and antlers, I will reward you with half the kingdom.' Leprous sores immediately grew upon the drowning man's face. The drowning man said, 'Great King! Although this deer is an animal, it possesses great supernatural power. The king ought to send out a large force of men and soldiers; only then can it be caught.' The king thereupon dispatched a vast army and went straight to the bank of the Gaṅgā River. The crow, perched in a treetop, saw the men and soldiers coming and at once called out to the deer, 'Friend, arise! The king's soldiers have arrived!' The deer was sleeping soundly and did not wake. The crow flew down and pecked its ear, and only then was the deer startled awake. Looking around in all four directions, there was nowhere left to flee. It then proceeded toward the side of the king's chariot. The flanking ministers wished to shoot it. The king said, 'Do not shoot! This deer is extraordinary; it must be a heavenly deity.' The deer said, 'Great King, pray do not shoot me! Previously, I saved a person from the king's country.' The deer then knelt upright and asked the king, 'Who told you that I was here?' The king pointed directly to the leprous-faced man beside the chariot, indicating that it was he. The deer then looked up at this man's face, tears flowing from its eyes beyond restraint. 'Earlier, this man was drowning in the water. Spared neither body nor life, I threw myself into the water and carried this man out. We agreed that he would not guide others here. Man has no gratitude; he is not as good as floating wood retrieved from the water.' The king showed shame on his face: 'You received its kindness, yet how could you turn around and wish to kill it?' He immediately issued an order throughout the country: 'Whoever chases or hunts this deer shall have their nine clans exterminated.' Several thousand deer all came to take refuge there; they ate grass and drank water without infringing upon the standing grain. The wind and rain came in season, the five grains ripened in abundance, people were free from disease, and that age was peaceful. At that time, the nine-coloured deer was myself; the crow was Ānanda; the king was my present royal father, Śuddhodana; the queen was Sundarī; and the drowning man was Devadatta. Though I had a good heart toward him, he still wished to harm me; it is difficult to find a sincere mind.