法苑珠林 28.9

28.9

As the *Aśokarāja-sūtra* states: Formerly, King Aśoka had deep faith in the Three Jewels and constantly made offerings to the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṃgha. The Brahmans and non-Buddhists were all filled with jealousy. Gathering together to select senior elders, they chose five hundred men, all of whom could recite the four Veda scriptures and were thoroughly versed in both astronomy and geography. They assembled and deliberated, saying, 'King Aśoka offers everything exclusively to those shaven-headed, bald people, while we elders have never once been consulted. What expedient should we devise to change his mind?' A Brahman skilled in spells said, 'Noble ones, just follow behind me. Seven days from now, by the power of my spells, I will take on the body of Maheśvara and fly through the air to the king's palace gate. You should all follow on foot behind me. I can make him prepare a great offering, which you will all receive.' The Brahmans all agreed. When the seventh day arrived, the spell-skilled Brahman cast a spell upon his own body and transformed into Maheśvara. Flying through the air, he arrived before the king's palace gate, with the other Brahmans attending him. Having reached the palace gate, they sent someone to announce to the king, saying, 'Maheśvara is in the air, bringing four hundred and ninety-nine Brahmans descending from the sky; he is now outside the gate. The other Brahmans are standing on the ground, wishing to see the king.' King Aśoka called the messenger forward, and then summoned them to enter, seating them on couches along the two wings [of the hall]. The king said, 'Pray be seated.' After exchanging greetings, he spoke to him, saying, 'Why has Maheśvara condescended to pay a visit? What do you require?' He replied, 'I require food and drink.' [The king] immediately ordered the kitchen to bring five hundred trays of food and drink and set them before them. Maheśvara and the others pushed them away with their hands, saying, 'Since birth, we have never eaten food like this.' King Aśoka replied, 'Having had no prior instruction, I do not know what food you should eat.' Maheśvara and the others said with one voice, 'Our food is shaven-headed, bald people.' King Aśoka immediately instructed an official, 'Go to Kukkuṭārāma monastery and tell the Venerable Yaśas: "Inside the royal palace are five hundred Brahmans, one calling himself Maheśvara. We do not know whether he is a human or an evil rākṣasa. Inquire into the reason, and may the ācārya come to drive them away for me."' The messenger sent was a disciple of a non-Buddhist with wrong views. Arriving among the assembly, his sentiments were not faithful to the king's words: 'King Aśoka has five hundred Brahmans whose appearance is like humans but whose speech is like rākṣasas; they say only, "We wish precisely to take you śramaṇas for food!"' The elder Yaśas immediately told the karmadāna to strike the mallet and assemble the monks. Rising, he took leave of the assembly of monks, saying, 'My years are old and decrepit; I should undertake this matter for the sake of the assembly of monks. May the assembly of monks remain in tranquility and protect the Buddha-Dharma; permit me to go.' The second elder said, 'The elder should not go; my body lacks any ability, so only I should go.' The third said, 'The second elder should not go; it is precisely I who should go.' In this way it passed down in turn, even to the novices among the one hundred and sixty-eight thousand monks. The lowest among them, a seven-year-old novice, rose and approached the assembly of monks, knelt on both knees, joined his palms, and said: 'None of the fully ordained monks need be disturbed. Since I am young and small, unable to bear the responsibility of protecting the Buddha-Dharma, I only wish the great assembly will definitely permit me to go.' The elder Yaśas was overjoyed; stroking the novice's head with his hand, he said, 'Child, you are indeed the right one to go.' The messenger did not wait, but went back ahead. Aśoka asked, 'Is anyone coming?' The messenger replied, 'Yielding to one another in turn, now the very lowest novice is coming next.' The king said, 'Because the great ones are ashamed, they have sent a little one to make a response.' Hearing that the novice had arrived, King Aśoka went out the gate to welcome him and seated this novice upon the royal throne. The Brahmans were all greatly enraged: 'King Aśoka shows great lack of discernment! He did not even rise to welcome us elders of virtue, yet he goes out in person to welcome this child!' The novice asked the king, 'Why have you summoned me?' The king replied, 'This Maheśvara wishes to take an ācārya for food. Does the venerable ācārya wish to serve as food or not?' The novice said, 'I am young and small, and have not eaten since morning. First let the king grant me food, and afterward I will grant them food.' The king immediately ordered the cooks to bring food to give him. He ate a tray of food completely. In this manner, five hundred trays of food were brought and given, yet he was still not satisfied. The king again ordered the cooks, saying, 'Bring all remaining food and give it to him.' The novice received the food and consumed it completely in an instant. They asked, 'Are you satisfied?' He replied, 'Not yet satisfied; my hunger and thirst are as before.' The head cook reported to the king, 'The food and drink are completely exhausted.' The king said, 'Bring all the parched flour, cakes, and dry provisions from the storehouse.' All was consumed in an instant. The king asked, 'Are you satisfied?' He replied, 'Still not satisfied.' The king replied, 'All the food and drink are completely gone; there is no more food.' The novice said, 'Seize the Brahman at the very bottom and bring him here; I wish to eat him.' He instantly devoured him completely. In this way, he ate four hundred and ninety-nine Brahmans, consuming them all completely. Only Maheśvara remained, who was terrified and flew into the air, wishing to flee. From his seat, the novice immediately raised his hand, seized him by the head from mid-air, and devoured him completely as well. The king was immediately terrified at seeing all the Brahmans devoured completely: 'Will he eat me too, or not?' The novice, knowing the thought in the king's mind, said to the king, 'The king is a dānapati of the Buddha-Dharma; you will never suffer any harm. Take care not to be frightened.' He then asked the king, 'Can the king go together with me to Kukkuṭārāma monastery?' The king said, 'Whether the ācārya takes me to heaven or enters the earth, I will follow you everywhere.' The novice immediately went together with the king to Kukkuṭārāma monastery. The king saw that the food the novice had eaten that morning was shared and eaten among all the monks; and the five hundred Brahmans who had been eaten had all had their hair and beards shaved off, were clad in Dharma robes, and sat at the end of the lowest row of the monks. The one eaten first sat at the head of the elder seats, while Maheśvara was at the very end of the row. Seeing the king and the novice, the five hundred people felt immense shame: 'We were not even able to contend with this novice, how much less could we match our strength against the great assembly! We were like a crane's tail awaiting the furnace coals, like a mosquito vying in speed of flight with a garuḍa, like a small hare contesting its might against the lion king. We were just like these, not knowing our own measure.' With shame arising in their hearts, the five hundred Brahmans attained the fruit of srotāpanna.