法苑珠林 19.34

19.34

Furthermore, the Sūtra on the Transmission of the Dharma Pitaka states: Formerly, one hundred years after the Buddha's nirvāṇa, there was King Aśoka, who faithfully revered the Three Jewels and constantly held the great pañcapariṣad assembly. When the day of the assembly arrived, the king bathed in perfumed water, donned new, pure garments, climbed atop a high tower, and made prostrations in the four directions, inviting the assembly of monks from afar. The noble assembly flew there, totaling two hundred thousand. The depth of the king's faithful mind was difficult to fathom: seeing the various śramaṇas, whether old or young, common or noble, he welcomed, greeted, revered, and prostrated to them all. At that time, there was a minister named Yaśas whose wrong views flared fiercely and who lacked a mind of faith and reverence. Seeing the king make prostrations, he spoke these words: 'The king is extremely unwise, bending his noble virtue to bow to children.' Having heard this, the king then ordered his ministers, sending each to search for hundred kinds of beasts that had died naturally, requiring one head per person, but commanded Yaśas alone to seek a human head. Having obtained them, each was ordered to go to the marketplace to sell them. All the other heads were sold; but as for Yaśas's human head, whoever saw it detested and disdained it, and there were no buyers at all. After several days, it began to stink; when the crowd saw it, they all reviled and abused him, saying to him, 'You are not a caṇḍāla, a yakṣa, or a rākṣasa now; why do you hold a dead human's head to sell?' At that time, having been reviled and abused, Yaśas came to the king's place and reported to the king, saying, 'When I tried to sell the human head, I was instead reviled and abused; no one even wanted to look at it, let alone buy it.' The king spoke to him again, 'If there are no buyers, you should just give it away for nothing.' Yaśas received the command and carried it back into the marketplace, proclaiming to the crowd, 'Whoever lacks money to buy it, I will give it away for nothing now.' When the people of the market heard this, they reviled and abused him all the more, and none was willing to take it. Ashamed, Yaśas returned to the king's place, joined his palms, and reported to the king, 'This head is difficult to sell; when given away for nothing, no one takes it and I am instead reviled and abused, let alone finding any buyers.' The king asked Yaśas, 'What thing is most noble?' Yaśas answered the king, 'Man is most noble.' The king said, 'If noble, for what reason was it not sold?' Yaśas answered the king, 'Although human life is noble, in death it is base.' The king asked Yaśas, 'If my head were dead, would it be just as base as this, or not?' Yaśas was terrified and fearful, not daring to answer. The king immediately told him, 'I grant you fearlessness; you must answer truthfully.' In terror, Yaśas bowed his head and answered the king, 'If the king's head were dead, it would also be just as base as this.' The king said to Yaśas, 'If my head in death would be just as base as this, why do you wonder at my paying reverent homage to the saṃgha? If you were my true spiritual friend, you should encourage me to exchange a fragile head for a solid head; how could you stop my prostrations today?' Hearing these words from the king, Yaśas only then felt regret and self-reproach, abandoned the wrong to follow the right, and took refuge in and revered the Three Jewels. For this reason, sentient beings who hear of this, if they see the Three Jewels, should revere and prostrate with the utmost mind.