法苑珠林 10.18

10.18

At that time, after the World-Honoured One had first attained the Way, Udāyin said to the Buddha: "I wonder, World-Honoured One, in times past, what karmic connections did you have with the Śākya maiden Gautamī that could make her abandon all the young men and directly choose the Tathāgata as her husband, taking joy in her heart? How was this achieved?" At that time the Buddha told Udāyin: "Udāyin, listen attentively with all your heart. It was not only in this life that the Śākya maiden Gautamī disliked the other Śākya youths and took pleasure in me; in past lives it was also like this: she rejected those Śākya youths and chose me as her husband. I remember in the past, beneath the Snow Mountains, there were diverse kinds, countless and boundless wild beasts roaming freely, each following its companions and feeding at will. At that time, among those beasts there was a tigress of exquisite form, having few equals, peerless among all the beasts. This tigress, with lustrous and radiant fur, was sought after by the countless beasts wishing to take her as a mate. Each one said: 'Belong to me! Belong to me!' Furthermore, the beasts said among themselves: 'Wait a while and do not fight. Let the tigress choose for herself whom she will make her mate, and that beast shall be our king.' At that time, among the beasts there was a bull king who spoke a verse to the tigress: