法苑珠林 35.38

35.38

The Buddha further said to Mañjuśrī: "By your supernormal power, go above the western jewel pavilion of the central hall in Jetavana, take my jewel casket, and show it to the great assembly. When I first vaulted over the city wall and departed from my father the king's palace, after traveling forty li I reached that grove. My body was slightly weary, so I paused for a short rest. At that time, the deity of that tree appeared before me and told me: 'You are now cultivating the path; you will certainly attain a golden body and become the great teacher of the tridhātu. When Kāśyapa Buddha entered nirvāṇa, he entrusted to me a jewel casket along with a silk saṃghārāṭī, commanding me to pass them on and entrust them to you.' I said to the deity: 'Your silk saṃghārāṭī is not for my use. I have heard what the elders of the past have said: when Buddhas appear in the world, they do not wear garments made from silkworms. Now that I am cultivating the path, how could I harm living beings and put on what you entrust to me to wear? You are a demon now, coming intentionally to afflict me.' The tree deity told me: 'You are a person of great wisdom; why do you utter harsh words so hastily? The Buddhas are compassionate and indeed do not wear garments made from silkworms; this silk was magically manifested and was not produced by harming living beings. If you now accept this jewel casket and open it, there is writing inside.' I thereupon opened the casket and fully saw all the extraordinary matters: there were the great Vinaya and Sūtra Piṭakas; Kāśyapa's bequeathed teachings were all inside it. I also saw the saṃghārāṭī and that Buddha's handwritten testamentary letter, which entrusted [the casket] to the tree deity to give to me. Kāśyapa Buddha's letter said: 'When I first attained awakening, the king Mahābrahmā gave me this silk; it was magically manifested, not reeled from cocoons. The Brahmā king gave the warp silk, and the king of the firm earth deities gave the woof silk; by these two donors, a single Dharma robe was jointly completed. For this reason, it was brought and given to me. Ever since I attained awakening, I have always worn this robe, and it has never suffered any damage. I now entrust it to Siddhārtha. When he succeeds in becoming a Buddha, he should take my saṃghārāṭī and place it in Jetavana; when turning the wheel of the Vinaya, he should wear it for my sake. I now leave this robe behind. One hundred years after your nirvāṇa, there will first be ignorant monks who will divide the Vinaya Piṭaka into five divisions; after one hundred years, they will divide your sūtras into immeasurable divisions. Controversies will arise from this, causing the Dharma to perish quickly. It will be because those foolish monks are not conversant with the Tripiṭaka that, upon hearing the permission to wear silk robes, they will kill silkworms. After you attain awakening, this silk will manifest spontaneously in various lands and will not involve killing silkworms. Therefore, I have entrusted it to the tree deity, and now it is transferred and entrusted to you. Inside this casket are all my bequeathed teachings; they are also transferred and entrusted to you to maintain the bequeathed Dharma.' After I read the letter, the earth shook in six ways, the jewel casket opened by itself, and it also emitted a great light. The tree deity also told me: 'You may place this robe casket upon your left shoulder; always give rise to reverence and do not place it elsewhere. When the jewel casket is on your shoulder, it can destroy all demons and subdue non-Buddhists, causing you to quickly become a Buddha.' Ever since I received the casket, it has always been on my shoulder, up until I received the milk gruel. When I sat beneath the Bodhi tree, Śakra came to my place, took the casket from my shoulder, opened it, took out the saṃghārāṭī, and made me put it on. He also took Kāśyapa Buddha's coarse-cloth saṃghārāṭī and placed it over the silk robe. The Brahmā king and Śakra once again offered a large cloth robe, and I accepted it as before. Having put on the three layers of robes—two were Kāśyapa Buddha's robes and one was mine—the king Mahābrahmā came and told me: 'I have seen that past Buddhas also put on three great robes, which the earth could not bear. The World-Honoured One should remove two of the great robes and restore them to their original place; by wearing the robe given by me, the great earth will then be able to remain secure.' I thereupon followed the king's words, and the great earth was then secured."