法苑珠林 64.42

64.42

又大悲分陀利經云。佛言。我憶無量劫時。此佛剎名日月明。於五濁時。我於此閻浮提為轉輪王。名曰燈明。以善勸化一切眾生。我時出游觀園。見有一人反縛兩臂極為急切。即問諸臣。此人何罪。諸臣答言。此誑王法。敢是天民。常由輸課。六分輸一。此人違命。即告諸臣。速放斯人。儲糧蘇油勿苦索之。臣答王言。終無有人能以善心輸王諸物。所可日日給王夫人及諸眷屬。厨供所須皆從民出。自非王力終不可得。我時愁憂却自思惟。此之王位今當付誰。我有五百子皆勸以菩提。即分此閻浮提為五百分付與諸子。即捨詣林求仙梵行。南近大海憂曇波羅林中坐禪。食果草根用濟身命。漸漸不久得五神通。爾時閻浮提有五百商人。入海採寶。獲眾寶聚。其中商主名曰宿王。小福力故得如意摩尼。從彼寶洲多取眾寶及與摩尼。始發引時海水波涌。諸龍惱亂海神啼泣。中有龍仙。名曰馬藏。實是菩薩。以本願故生於其中。彼摩訶薩擁護商客安隱度海。自還所住。隨彼商客有惡羅剎。常逐於後伺求其便。彼於晝日放暴風雨。使諸商人迷失徑路。不知所趣極甚恐怖。發大音聲啼號悲泣。求諸天神風雨神等。乃至稱喚父母所愛兒息之聲。爾時我以天耳聞彼音聲。即生慰喻。汝等商人勿得恐悑。我當示導汝等徑路令汝安隱至閻浮提。我於爾時即以繒帛而自纏手。內著油中以火然之。發至誠言。我於林中三十六年游四梵處。為益眾生故食眾果。既化八萬四千諸龍夜叉令住不退轉。以是善根令我手然。使此商人至閻浮提。如是手然經於七日七夜。彼諸商人安隱得到。即自立願。如此珍寶若我得成阿耨菩提。令我得為商主操如意珠。於此佛土一切十方殑伽河沙數五濁空佛土中雨於眾寶。一一方中七反雨於種種眾寶。隨意充足。無量阿僧祇眾生令住三乘。又大丈夫論提婆菩薩說偈云。

Furthermore, the *Mahākaruṇāpuṇḍarīka-sūtra* says: The Buddha said, “I recall that immeasurable kalpas ago, this Buddha-land was named Sūryacandraprabhā (Sun and Moon Radiance). During an era of the five turbidities, I was a wheel-turning king in this Jambudvīpa named Dīpaprabhā (Lamp Light), who guided all sentient beings through goodness. At that time, I went out on an excursion to view a pleasure garden and saw a man whose arms were bound behind his back very tightly. I immediately asked the ministers, ‘What crime did this man commit?’ The ministers replied to me, ‘He has defied the king’s laws. He had the audacity, though being a subject of your majesty, to evade the regular taxes. One-sixth was to be paid, but this man disobeyed the order.’ I immediately addressed the ministers, ‘Release this man at once. Do not bitterly extort grain, butter, or oil from him.’ The ministers replied to the king, ‘There is never anyone who will surrender items to the king with a good heart. The daily provisions for the king’s consorts and retinue, and the necessities for the royal kitchen, all come from the common people. If it were not by the king’s authority, they could never be obtained.’ At that time I grew sorrowful and reflected to myself, ‘To whom should this royal throne now be entrusted?’ I had five hundred sons, all of whom I had exhorted toward bodhi. I then divided this Jambudvīpa into five hundred portions and entrusted them to my sons. Thereupon I renounced [the world], went to the forest, and sought the pure practice of an ascetic (ṛṣi). Southward, near the great ocean, I sat in dhyāna in an udumbara forest, eating fruits and roots of plants to sustain my life. Gradually, before long, I attained the five supernatural knowledges. At that time, in Jambudvīpa there were five hundred merchants who entered the sea to gather jewels and acquired a heap of manifold gems. Among them was a merchant leader named Nakṣatrarāja. Due to his modest merit, he obtained a wish-fulfilling maṇi jewel. From that jewel island he took many jewels and the maṇi. When they first set sail, the seawater surged in waves; the nāgas created disturbance, and the sea spirits wept. Among them was a dragon-ṛṣi named Aśvagarbha, who was truly a bodhisattva born among them by the power of his original vow. That mahāsattva protected the merchants, allowing them to cross the sea in peace and safety, while he returned to his own dwelling. Following those merchants was an evil rākṣasa who constantly pursued them from behind, watching for an opportunity. In the daytime, it unleashed a violent storm of wind and rain, causing the merchants to lose their path. Not knowing where to go, they were extremely terrified. They cried out loudly, weeping and wailing, imploring various devas, wind and rain spirits, and so forth, even calling out the names of their parents and beloved children. At that time, with the divine ear I heard their cries and immediately gave them comforting words: ‘You merchants, do not be afraid! I will guide you on the path and make you reach Jambudvīpa in peace and safety.’ Thereupon, I wrapped my own hand with silk cloth, placed it in oil, and ignited it with fire. I uttered sincere words of truth: ‘For thirty-six years in the forest I have dwelt in the four brahma-abodes. For the benefit of sentient beings, I have eaten various fruits. Having transformed eighty-four thousand nāgas and yakṣas, causing them to dwell in non-retrogression, by these roots of goodness, may my burning hand enable these merchants to reach Jambudvīpa!’ In this manner, my hand burned for seven days and seven nights, and the merchants arrived safely. Then I made a vow: ‘May it be that if I attain unexcelled bodhi with such precious treasures, I shall become a merchant leader holding a wish-fulfilling jewel, and rain down manifold treasures in this Buddha-land and throughout all the Buddha-lands across the ten directions—as numerous as the sands of the Gaṅgā that are devoid of Buddhas in the five turbidities. In each direction, may it rain varied treasures seven times, satisfying desires as wished, and establishing immeasurable asaṃkhyeyas of sentient beings in the three vehicles!’” Furthermore, in the *Puruṣa-śāstra*, Bodhisattva Āryadeva speaks a verse, saying: