法苑珠林 9.86

9.86

問曰。是三十二相幾時能成種。答曰。極遲百劫。極疾九十一劫。釋迦牟尼菩薩九十一大劫行辨得三十二相。如經中言。過去久遠有佛名弗沙。時有二菩薩。一名釋迦牟尼。一名彌勒。弗沙佛欲觀釋迦牟尼菩薩心純熟未。即觀見之。知其心未純熟。而諸弟子心皆純熟。又彌勒菩薩心已純熟。而弟子未純熟。是時弗沙佛如是思惟。一人之心易可速化。眾人之心難可疾治。如是思惟竟。弗沙佛欲使釋迦菩薩疾得成佛。上雪山上入寶窟中入火禪定。是時釋迦菩薩作外道仙人上山採藥。見弗沙佛坐寶窟中入火禪定放大光明。見已心生歡喜信敬。翹一脚立叉手向佛。一心而觀目未曾瞬。七日七夜。以一偈讚佛。

Question: In how much time can the seeds of these thirty-two marks be fulfilled? Answer: At the slowest, one hundred kalpas; at the quickest, ninety-one kalpas. Śākyamuni Bodhisattva practiced for ninety-one mahākalpas to accomplish the thirty-two marks. As it is said in a sūtra: Long ago in the past, there was a Buddha named Puṣya. At that time there were two bodhisattvas: one named Śākyamuni and one named Maitreya. Puṣya Buddha wished to observe whether Śākyamuni Bodhisattva's mind was ripe or not. Looking upon him, he knew that his mind was not yet ripe, but that his disciples' minds were all ripe. Furthermore, Maitreya Bodhisattva's own mind was already ripe, but his disciples were not yet ripe. At that time, Puṣya Buddha contemplated in this way: 'The mind of one person can be transformed swiftly and easily; the minds of many people are difficult to regulate rapidly.' Having contemplated thus, Puṣya Buddha, wishing to cause Śākyamuni Bodhisattva to quickly attain buddhahood, went up the Snowy Mountains, entered a jewelled cave, and entered the fire samādhi. At that time, Śākyamuni Bodhisattva was an external-path ascetic gathering herbs on the mountain. He saw Puṣya Buddha sitting in the jewelled cave, having entered the fire samādhi and radiating great light. Having seen him, joy, faith, and reverence arose in his mind. Raising one foot to stand, he joined his palms toward the Buddha, single-mindedly beholding him without blinking his eyes for seven days and seven nights, praising the Buddha with a single verse: