法苑珠林 25.22

25.22

Furthermore, the Sūtra of the Wise and the Foolish says: The Buddha was at Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa in Rājagṛha. At that time, the King of Vārāṇasī was named Brahmadatta. A prime minister had a son born to him whose primary and secondary marks were fully complete, his body of purple-gold hue, and his appearance exceptionally distinguished. When the prime minister saw his child, his joy was multiplied. The mother had originally not been of a good nature, yet ever since she conceived, she was compassionate toward those in suffering and distress, mercifully benefiting the common folk and nurturing them with an impartial mind. The father summoned a physiognomist to divine his signs. When the physiognomist saw him, he rejoiced, and accordingly bestowed a name upon him, calling him Maitreya. The child's extraordinary reputation spread throughout the entire land. Hearing of it, the king grew fearful, dreading that he would usurp the throne when grown, and thought that before he came of age he should be eliminated beforehand. He immediately ordered the prime minister: 'I hear that you have a son whose appearance and marks are extraordinary. You may bring him; I wish to see him.' At that time, the palace attendants and the father knew the king's intention and were extremely distressed, as if scalded by boiling water and fire. (Other sūtras record an expedient plan: he replied to the king that the boy had recently been sent to the home of his maternal uncle in southern India to be raised, and would be brought to show the king later.) The boy had a maternal uncle named Bāvarī, who was in the country of Pāvāpura and served as the national teacher of that realm. He was intelligent, immensely learned, and possessed rare talents of penetrating wisdom, with five hundred disciples who constantly followed and consulted him. At that time, the prime minister loved his son dearly and feared that he would be harmed, so he secretly devised a plan and sent someone to deliver him on an elephant. When the uncle saw Maitreya and observed the beauty of his appearance, he cared for and nurtured him with special affection, respectfully regarding him in his embrace. As he grew older, he instructed him in studies. What he received in a single day surpassed what others learned in an entire year. Before a full year had passed, he had mastered the standard scriptures and books. Seeing that his nephew had mastered all the books in so short a time, Bāvarī wished to hold an assembly for him to manifest and extol his excellence. He sent a disciple to Vārāṇasī to tell the prime minister about what the boy had learned and to ask for rare treasures to host the assembly. While the disciple was on his way, he heard people speaking of the Buddha's immeasurable virtues and deeds. Longing to see him, he immediately set off toward the Buddha, but before he arrived, he was devoured by a tiger. Riding on that wholesome thought, he was reborn in the heaven of the Cāturmahārājakāyika gods. Bāvarī exhausted all his own possessions to stage a great assembly, and all assembled there. When the assembly was concluded, he gave a great gift of dakṣiṇā: each person received five hundred gold coins, and his wealth was completely exhausted. There was a brāhmaṇa named Raudrākṣa who arrived last of all and alone received no food, being given only five hundred gold coins. Raudrākṣa said: 'I heard of your offerings; how can they now be empty? If you truly reject me and give me nothing [further], within seven more days your head will split into seven pieces!' At that time, Bāvarī feared evil curses and other witchcraft; the matter could not be taken lightly, and he was deeply terrified. The disciple sent earlier who had died and been born in heaven saw from afar that his master was sorrowful, emaciated, and helpless. He descended from heaven, came before him, and asked his master: 'Why are you grieving?' The master told him everything in detail. The god reported to the master: 'Raudrākṣa does not yet understand the Dharma of the head; he is an ignorant, bewildered, and wicked person of wrong views. What can he actually do that you should worry about this? Now there is only the Buddha who most thoroughly understands the Dharma of the head—he is the peerless Dharma King, the one especially worthy of refuge.' When Bāvarī heard the god speak of the Buddha, he questioned him again: 'Who is the Buddha?' The god then explained that the Buddha's merit and wisdom were beyond measure, and that he was now residing at Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa in Rājagṛha. Hearing the praise of the Buddha's virtue, Bāvarī thought to himself: 'This must be what my books record—that when the boiling star appears below, and heaven and earth shake mightily, a sage shall be born. Now all of these signs are present.' He thereupon instructed sixteen people, including Maitreya, to go and observe his marks, and to challenge him in their minds: 'How many marks does my master Bāvarī have? How old is my master? What is my master's clan? How many disciples does my master have? If he answers and knows the counts, he is certainly the Buddha, and you must become his disciples. Send one person back to tell me the news.' Maitreya and the others then proceeded toward Rājagṛha, and when they drew near to Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa, they saw the Buddha's radiance, his various divine anomalies, and his magnificent primary marks, and their joy increased even more. Following their master's command, they challenged him from afar with their minds. The Buddha answered them from afar, without the slightest error in any detail. Deeply reverent and admiring, they bowed their heads to his feet. The Buddha preached the Dharma for them; fifteen of them attained the purity of the Dharma eye and asked to leave the household life. The Buddha said: 'Welcome!' Their hair and beards fell away of themselves, and the Dharma robes were upon their bodies. He preached the Dharma to them again, and they became arhats. Among the sixteen, there was one named Piṅgiya, who was the son of Bāvarī's elder sister; he was sent back to report the news. Having returned to his home country, he told in detail all he had heard and seen. Bāvarī was overjoyed upon hearing it; he rose from his seat, knelt with palms joined facing Rājagṛha, and with sincere devotion invited the Buddha: 'May you condescend to come in your divine power and succour us!' The Tathāgata knew this from afar, and in the time it takes to bend or extend an arm, he arrived before him. Having bowed, Bāvarī raised his head, saw the Buddha, and was astonished and joyful. The Buddha preached the Dharma for him, and he attained the fruit of an anāgāmin. At that time, the World-Honoured One immediately returned to Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa. (Only Maitreya did not take the lesser fruit, having vowed a great aspiration with his mind set on bodhi.) The Buddha told the monks: 'In the future, the land of this Jambudvīpa will be square and level, vast and broad, without mountains or rivers; soft grass will grow on the earth, like heavenly garments. At that time, human lifespan will be eighty-four thousand years, and people will be eighty feet tall, dignified and extraordinary, by nature benevolent and harmonious, and fully cultivating the ten wholesome deeds. At that time there will be a wheel-turning sage king named Śaṅkha (translated into the Jin language as 'Complete'). In that age, a brāhmaṇa family will have a son born to them named Maitreya. His body will be of purple-gold hue, fully equipped with the thirty-two marks and all the secondary characteristics, his radiance extraordinarily brilliant. He will leave the household life to train in the Path, attain the most perfect enlightenment, and extensively turn the noble wheel of the Dharma for sentient beings. In his first assembly, he will deliver ninety-three billion beings; in the second assembly, he will deliver ninety-one billion; and in the third great assembly, he will deliver ninety billion. Those who are delivered by hearing his preaching of the Dharma across these three assemblies will all be sentient beings who planted blessings in my bequeathed Dharma; they will all be among those three assemblies.' Ānanda addressed the Buddha: 'I do not know from what origin he came to be named Maitreya.' The Buddha said: 'In the remote past, he practiced the loving-kindness samādhi; his settled intention was gentle and pliant, and he was devoid of any harmful thoughts. Therefore he was named Maitreya.' (In Sanskrit, Maitreya; here rendered as Ci-shi [the Loving One]. 'Maitreya' is also his clan name. Other sūtras say that in the past there was a buddha already named Maitreya, and encountering that buddha, he made a vow to share the name Maitreya. His name Ajita means 'Invincible'; because his wisdom surpasses that of others, he is called 'Invincible'.)