法苑珠林 29.15

29.15

Further, passing one country and crossing a river, one reaches the country of Takṣaśilā, belonging to North India. Seventy li northwest of the royal capital, between two mountains, there is a stupa over one hundred feet high. When the Buddha formerly prophesied the four great treasures that would emerge when Maitreya appears in the world, this was where one of them would appear. Twelve li north of the city, there is the stupa of King Candraprabha. On fast days, it frequently emits divine light, celestial flowers, and heavenly music. Recently, a leper repented and paid homage at the stupa, cleaned away the defilements, and applied fragrant paste; before long, he was cured, and his body became fragrant and pure. This is the place where the Buddha in the past, as King Candraprabha, offered his head in dāna, repeating this a total of one thousand times. There is also the pool where the Nāga King Elāpatra passed, and the place where Candraprabha gouged out his eyes; King Aśoka marked it with a stupa ten zhang high. There is also the place where Prince Mahāsattva offered his body to feed the tigress, piercing himself with a bamboo stalk to feed his blood to the beasts; the earth, grass, and trees are even now crimson in color. There is also the place where the Buddha converted a yakṣa to refrain from eating meat.