[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [法苑珠林](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2122) › 78.8 # 法苑珠林 78.8 法苑珠林 78.8 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [78.8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2122.78.8) 又六度集經云。昔者菩薩身為象王。其心弘遠。照知有佛法僧。常三自歸。每以普慈拯濟眾生。誓願得佛當度一切。從五百象。時有兩妻。象王於水中得一蓮華。厥色甚妙。以惠嫡妻。嫡妻得華欣懌曰。氷寒尤甚。何緣有斯華乎。小妻貪嫉恚而誓曰。會以重毒鴆殺汝矣。結氣而殞魂。靈感化為四姓女。顏華絕人。智意流通。博識古今。仰觀天文。明時盛衰。王聞若茲。娉為夫人。至即陳治國之政。義合忠臣。王悅而敬之。每言輒從。夫人曰。吾夢覩六牙之象。心欲其牙以為珮几。王不致之。吾即死矣。王曰。無妖言。人聞見笑爾。夫人心生憂結。王請議臣四人。自云己夢曰。古今有斯象乎。一臣對曰。無有之也。一臣曰。王不夢也。一臣曰。嘗聞有之。所在彌遠。一臣曰。若能致之帝釋。今詳於茲矣。四臣即召四方射師問之。南方師曰。吾亡父常云有之。然遠難致。臣上聞云。斯人知之。王即現之。夫人曰。汝直南行三千里。入山行二日許。即至象所。道邊作坑。除汝鬚髮。著沙門服。於坑中射之。截取其牙。將二寸來。象師如命。行之象處。先射象。却著法衣服。持鉢於坑中止住。象王見沙門即低頭言。和南道士。將以何事試吾軀命。答曰。欲得汝牙。象曰。吾痛難忍疾取牙去。無亂吾心令惡念生也。志念惡者。死入太山餓鬼畜生道中。夫懷忍行慈。惡來善往。菩薩之上行也。人即截牙。象曰。道士汝當却行。無令群象尋足跡也。象適人去遠。甚痛難忍。躄地大呼。奄然而死。即生天上。群象四來咸曰。何人殺吾王者。行索不得。還守王屍。悲痛哀號。師以牙還。王覩象牙心即慟悑。夫人以牙著手中。適欲視之。雷電霹靂。椎之吐血。死入地獄。佛告諸沙門。爾時象王者我身是也。大婦者瞿夷是。獵師者調達是。夫人者妙首是。菩薩執志度無極行持戒如是。 > Furthermore, the Liudu ji jing says: In the past, the Bodhisattva was an elephant king. His mind was vast and far-reaching, knowing and aware that the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṃgha exist, and he constantly took the threefold refuge. He always delivered sentient beings with universal benevolence, vowing that upon attaining buddhahood, he would liberate everyone. He was followed by five hundred elephants. At that time, he had two wives. The elephant king obtained a lotus flower in the water, exquisite in color, and gifted it to his senior wife. Receiving the flower, the senior wife rejoiced and said, 'The ice and cold are severe; by what cause is there such a flower?' The junior wife, greedy and jealous, angrily made a vow, saying, 'I will surely kill you with potent poison!' Succumbing to indignation, her life ended, and her spirit miraculously transformed into a woman of the four castes. Her beauty surpassed all others, her intellect was penetrating and versatile, and she was widely learned in antiquity and the present; looking up at the celestial patterns, she clearly understood the rise and fall of the times. Hearing of this, the king took her as his consort. Upon arrival, she set forth policies for governing the state, which were upright and aligned with loyal ministers. The king was delighted and respected her, complying with whatever she said. The consort said, 'I dreamed of seeing a six-tusked elephant; I desire its tusks to make ornaments and an armrest. If the king does not obtain them, I shall die.' The king said, 'Speak no bewitching words; if people hear them, they will only laugh at you.' The consort felt sorrow and melancholy. The king consulted four deliberating ministers, recounting it as his own dream, saying, 'Has there ever been such an elephant in antiquity or the present?' One minister replied, 'There is none.' One minister said, 'Your Majesty did not dream it.' One minister said, 'I once heard that there is such an elephant, but its dwelling is exceedingly distant.' One minister said, 'If anyone could fetch it, only Śakra could; let us deliberate on this now.' The four ministers then summoned archers from the four directions to inquire of them. The archer of the south said, 'My late father often spoke of it, but it is distant and hard to reach.' The ministers reported to the king, saying, 'This person knows of it.' The king then summoned him to appear. The consort said, 'Go straight south for three thousand li, enter the mountains and travel for about two days, and you will reach the elephant's dwelling. Dig a pit beside the road, shave your beard and hair, put on the robes of a śramaṇa, shoot it from within the pit, sever and take its tusks, and bring two inches of them.' The hunter obeyed the order and went to the elephant's abode. He first shot the elephant, then put on the Dharma robes, and holding an alms bowl, remained inside the pit. Seeing the śramaṇa, the elephant king lowered his head and said, 'Vandana, man of the Path! For what reason do you test my life?' He replied, 'I wish to have your tusks.' The elephant said, 'My pain is unbearable; quickly take the tusks and go. Do not disturb my mind and cause evil thoughts to arise. For those whose intentions harbor evil will upon death enter Mount Tai, or the paths of hungry ghosts and animals. Bearing patience and practicing benevolence, repaying evil with goodness—this is the supreme practice of a bodhisattva.' The man then sawed off the tusks. The elephant said, 'Man of the Path, you must walk backward, lest the herd of elephants follow your footprints.' When the man had gone far, the pain was unbearable; the elephant threw himself to the ground with a loud cry and suddenly died, immediately taking birth in the heavens. The herd of elephants came from all sides, all crying, 'Who killed our king?' They searched around but found no one, then returned to guard the king's corpse, weeping and wailing in sorrow. The hunter returned with the tusks. Seeing the elephant tusks, the king's heart was gripped with grief and fear. The consort placed the tusks in her hands, but just as she was about to look at them, thunder and lightning struck; battered by them, she vomited blood, died, and entered hell. The Buddha told the bhikṣus: 'The elephant king at that time was myself. The senior wife was Gopī. The hunter was Devadatta. The consort was Sundarī. Such was the Bodhisattva's upholding of resolute commitment to the perfections and observance of the precepts.' > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 78.7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2122.78.7) - [Next: 78.9](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2122.78.9) - [Up: 78](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2122.78) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2122~en-mt.78.8) — English, machine translation ## Linked texts (1) - [諸經要集](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2123.15.55) — Classical Chinese --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2122.78.8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2122.78.8) · Pramāṇa