法苑珠林 59.32

59.32

又大乘方便經云。以何緣故。如來及僧在婆羅門毘蘭若聚落。三月之中食馬麥耶。佛言。善男子。我於昔時知此婆羅門必捨初始請佛僧心不給飲食。而故往受請。何以故。為彼五百馬故此五百馬先世中已學菩薩乘。已曾供養過去諸佛。近惡知識作惡業緣故。墮畜生中。五百馬中有一大馬。名曰日藏。是大菩薩。於過去人中。已曾勸五百小馬發菩提心。為欲度此五百馬故現生馬中。由大馬威德故。令五百馬自識宿命。本所失心而今還得。我愍彼五百菩薩墮馬中者。欲令得脫離於畜生。是故如來知故受請。是時五百馬。減所食麥半分持施僧。大馬半分奉施如來。爾時大馬為五百馬。以馬音聲而為說法示教悔過。令當禮佛及比丘僧。說此事已復作是言。汝等當以所食半分供養於僧。爾時五百馬悔過已。於佛及僧生淨信心。過三月已。其後不久是五百馬命終生於兜術天上。彼五百天子。即從天來至於佛所。聞說法已必定得成阿耨菩提。五百馬子於將來世得辟支佛。彼日藏大馬。於當來世復得作佛。號曰善調如來。雖食草木土塊瓦礫。大千界中無如是味。爾時阿難心生憂惱。轉輪聖王種出家學道。如下賤人食此馬麥。我於爾時見阿難心。即與一粒麥語阿難言。汝嘗此麥。味為何如。阿難嘗已生希有心。我生王家已來未曾得如是之味。阿難食此麥已。七日七夜無飢渴想。如來復知五百比丘。若食細食增益欲心。若食麁食心則不為貪欲所覆。彼諸比丘過三月已離婬慾心證阿羅漢果。善男子。為調伏五百比丘度五百馬菩薩故。如來以方便力受三月食馬麥緣非是業報。

Furthermore, the Mahāyāna-upāyakauśalya-sūtra says: For what reason did the Tathāgata and the saṃgha eat horse-fodder barley during the three months in the Brahmin village of Verañjā? The Buddha said: "Good sons, in the past I knew that this Brahmin would surely abandon his initial intention to invite the Buddha and the saṃgha and would fail to provide drink and food; yet I went deliberately to accept his invitation. Why? For the sake of those five hundred horses. In their former lives, these five hundred horses had already trained in the Bodhisattva Vehicle and had made offerings to past Buddhas. Because they associated with bad spiritual companions and created karmic conditions of evil deeds, they fell into the animal realm. Among the five hundred horses, there was a great horse named Sūryagarbha, who was a great bodhisattva. Formerly, while among humans, he had exhorted the five hundred small horses to generate the aspiration for awakening. In order to liberate these five hundred horses, he manifested birth among horses. Due to the majestic virtue of the great horse, he caused the five hundred horses to recall their own past lives; the mind they had originally lost, they now regained. Pitying those five hundred bodhisattvas who had fallen into the midst of horses, and desiring to enable them to gain release and be separated from animal rebirth, the Tathāgata knowingly accepted the invitation. At that time, the five hundred horses reduced their own eaten barley by half to offer it to the saṃgha, while the great horse offered half of his to the Tathāgata. Then the great horse, for the sake of the five hundred horses, preached the Dharma using the voice of a horse, teaching them to repent of their transgressions and causing them to pay homage to the Buddha and the saṃgha of monks. Having spoken of this, he further spoke thus: 'You should take half of the barley you eat and make offerings to the saṃgha.' At that time, after the five hundred horses had repented of their faults, they gave rise to pure faith in the Buddha and the saṃgha. After three months had passed, shortly thereafter those five hundred horses ended their lives and were reborn in Tuṣita Heaven. Those five hundred devaputras immediately came from heaven to the Buddha's abode, and having heard the preaching of the Dharma, they were determined to attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. The five hundred horses in a future life will become pratyekabuddhas. That great horse Sūryagarbha in a future life will also become a Buddha, named Suviśodhita Tathāgata. Although he ate grass, wood, clods of earth, tiles, and gravel, in the great trichiliocosm there was no flavor comparable to it. At that time Ānanda felt distress and sorrow in his heart: '[The Buddha], born of the lineage of a wheel-turning king, went forth from home to cultivate the Way, yet like a base and lowly person he eats this horse-fodder barley.' At that time I saw Ānanda's thought and immediately gave him a grain of barley, saying to Ānanda: 'Taste this barley; what is its flavor like?' After Ānanda had tasted it, he gave rise to a rare and wondrous thought: 'Since my birth into the royal family, I have never attained a flavor such as this.' After Ānanda had eaten this barley, for seven days and seven nights he had no thought of hunger or thirst. The Tathāgata also knew that if the five hundred monks ate fine food, it would increase their desires, but if they ate coarse food, their minds would not be covered by lustful craving. After the three months had passed, those monks were freed from lustful desires and realized the fruit of arhatship. Good sons, in order to tame the five hundred monks and liberate the five hundred horse bodhisattvas, the Tathāgata through the power of skillful means took upon himself the condition of eating horse-fodder barley for three months; it was not a karmic retribution."