法苑珠林 8.83

8.83

時千聖王。聞此語已皆默然住。佛告颰陀婆羅菩薩。汝今當知。第一婆羅門讚檀波羅蜜者。過去定光明王佛是。牢度跋提者。過去然燈佛是。千聖王出家學道見然燈佛。行諸苦行。心生悔恨。於一劫中墮大地獄。雖墮地獄菩提願力莊嚴心故。火不能燒。從是已後復得值遇燈明王菩薩。為其說法從地獄出。廣為讚歎過去千佛。解脫稱莊嚴佛。乃至自在王佛時。千聖王聞千佛名。歡喜敬禮。以是因緣超越。九億那由他恒河沙劫生死之罪。跋陀婆羅。汝今當知。時千聖王豈異人乎。我等賢劫千佛是也。

When the thousand holy kings heard these words, they all fell silent. The Buddha told Bodhisattva Bhadrapāla, 'You should know that the first brahman who praised dānapāramitā was King Prabhadīpa Buddha of the past. Raudrabhadra was Dīpaṃkara Buddha of the past. The thousand holy kings who left home to study the Way, seeing Dīpaṃkara Buddha perform such austerities, gave rise to regret in their hearts and fell into the great hells for one kalpa. Although they fell into the hells, because the power of their bodhi vows adorned their minds, the fire could not burn them. From then on, they further encountered Bodhisattva Lamp Light King, who preached the Dharma for them and brought them out of the hells, extensively praising for them the thousand Buddhas of the past, from Muktikīrti-alaṃkāra Buddha down to Īśvararāja Buddha. When the thousand holy kings heard the names of the thousand Buddhas, they rejoiced and paid homage. Due to these causes and conditions, they bypassed the offenses of birth and death spanning nine hundred million nayutas of Ganges sands of kalpas. Bhadrapāla, you should now know: how could those thousand holy kings have been other people? They are we, the thousand Buddhas of the Bhadrakalpa.'