法苑珠林 58.9

58.9

又舊譬喻經云。佛在世時。有一大姓。常好惠施。後生一男。無有手足。形體似魚。名曰魚身。父母終亡襲持家業。寢臥室內人無見者。時有力士向王厨食。常懷飢乏。獨牽十六車樵賣以自給。身又常不供。魚身請與相見示其形體。力士自惟。我力乃爾。不如無手足人。往到佛所問其所疑。佛言。昔迦葉佛時魚身與此王共飯佛。汝時貧窮助其驅使。魚身所具與王行之。而謂王言。今日有務不得俱行。若行無異斷我手足。時行者今王是也。不行言者魚身是也。時佐助者汝身是也。力士意寤。即作沙門。得阿羅漢道。又百緣經云。佛在世時。舍衛城中有一長者。財寶無量不可稱計。其婦產一男兒兀無有手。產便能語。作是唱言。今此手者甚為難得。深生愛惜。父母怪之。因為立字。名曰兀手。年漸長大。見佛聞法得須陀洹果。求佛出家。佛告善來。鬚髮自落法服著身。便成沙門。精勤修習得阿羅漢果。諸天世人所見敬仰。時諸比丘請佛說本因緣。佛告比丘。此賢劫中迦葉佛時。有二比丘。一是羅漢。二是凡夫。為說法師。時諸民眾競共請喚。常將法師受檀越請。後於一日法師不在。將餘者行。瞋恚罵言。我常為汝給使。今將餘者共行。自今以往更為汝使令我無手。作是語已。各自辭退。止不共行。以是業緣。五百世中受是果報。是故唱言。今此手者甚為難得。由於彼時供給聖人故。今得值我出家得道。比丘聞已歡喜奉行。

Furthermore, the *Old Avadāna Sūtra* states: When the Buddha was in the world, there was a prominent family who always took pleasure in giving. Later they gave birth to a boy who had no hands or feet, and whose bodily form resembled a fish; he was named Fish Body. When his parents died, he inherited and managed the family estate, lying in the inner bedchamber so that no one saw him. At that time, there was a strongman who ate at the royal kitchen; he was constantly hungry and impoverished. Alone he hauled sixteen carts of firewood to sell to support himself, yet his body was constantly unprovided for. Fish Body requested to meet with him and showed him his physical form. The strongman reflected to himself: 'My strength is like this, yet I am inferior to a man without hands or feet.' He went to the Buddha's place and asked about what he doubted. The Buddha said: 'Long ago, in the time of Kāśyapa Buddha, Fish Body and this king together offered a meal to the Buddha. At that time, you were poor and helped serve them. Whatever Fish Body prepared, he had the king perform it, but he said to the king: "Today I have affairs to attend to and cannot go together with you. If I were to go, it would be no different from severing my hands and feet." The one who went at that time is the present king; the one who did not go and spoke those words is Fish Body; the one who assisted them at that time is your own self.' The strongman's mind was awakened; he immediately became a śramaṇa and attained the path of an arhat. Furthermore, the *Sūtra of the Hundred Avadānas* states: When the Buddha was in the world, in the city of Śrāvastī there was an elder whose wealth and treasures were immeasurable and incalculable. His wife gave birth to a boy who was limbless and had no hands. Upon being born, he was immediately able to speak, and cried out: 'Hands such as these are extremely difficult to obtain!' He gave rise to deep cherishing of them. His parents thought it extraordinary, and thus gave him the name Handless. Gradually growing up, he saw the Buddha, heard the Dharma, attained the fruit of a srotāpanna, and requested the Buddha to go forth as a renunciant. The Buddha told him, 'Welcome!' His hair and beard fell away naturally, kāṣāya robes draped over his body, and he became a śramaṇa. Diligently cultivating and practicing, he attained the fruit of an arhat, revered and looked up to by gods and mortals. At that time, the bhikṣus requested the Buddha to explain his past cause and condition. The Buddha told the bhikṣus: 'In this Bhadrakalpa, in the time of Kāśyapa Buddha, there were two bhikṣus: one was an arhat, and the other was an ordinary person who was a Dharma-reciting master. At that time, the people competed to invite them, and the Dharma master was always led along to accept the dānapatis' invitations. Later, on one day, the Dharma master was away, so he took another person along. In anger, [the Dharma master] scolded him, saying: "I have always served you, and now you go together with someone else! From now on, if I ever serve you again, may I be without hands!" Having spoken these words, each departed, ceasing to travel together. Due to this karmic cause, he received this retribution for five hundred lifetimes. Therefore, he cried out: "Hands such as these are extremely difficult to obtain!" Because he served a holy person at that time, he has now been able to meet me, go forth as a renunciant, and attain the path.' Having heard this, the bhikṣus rejoiced and practiced accordingly.