法苑珠林 45.34

45.34

Furthermore, the Sūtra on Prince Mūkapakkha Spoken by the Buddha says: The Buddha told the monks, "In the past there was a country named Vārāṇasī. The king had a crown prince named Mūkapakkha. At his birth he bore boundlessly excellent marks, dignified, upright, fine, and pure, without equal. His parents marvelled at him, providing for and looking after him, intending to name him when he grew up. He tied his tongue and did not speak for thirteen years. Placid, simple, and unadorned, his mind was like dead ashes and his body like withered wood. His ears did not listen to sounds; his eyes did not look at sights. In appearance he resembled a mute, deaf, or blind man. Thereupon his royal father was grieved and distressed by this. The king said to his queen, 'What shall we do? This son will surely be ridiculed by other countries.' The queen said to the king, 'We should summon a physiognomist and have him read his signs.' The king then summoned a brahman master to read his signs. The brahman said, 'This child is not an ordinary man of the world, but merely a misleading apparition. Outwardly dignified and handsome, within he harbors ill fortune. He should be eliminated and cast out by the state before long; he must not be raised. He should be buried alive, executed, and killed. If this child is not eliminated now, I fear that later you will have no other heir.' Thereupon the queen deferred to whatever the king would do. The king then summoned the great ministers of the state to deliberate together. One minister said, 'Just abandon him in the deep mountains, where there are no people.' One minister said, 'Cast him into deep water.' One minister said, 'Just follow the master's words: dig into the earth to make a deep pit and bury him alive.' The king then summoned more than two thousand outer defensive soldiers of the state and had them dig the earth to make an underground chamber, furnishing it with twenty years' worth of stored provisions. Then the prince's servants, precious gems, and necklaces were all returned to the prince. Thereupon the queen was brokenhearted, [saying,] 'I alone am without fortune; my child was born with an ill-fated life to meet such disaster. There is nothing to be done.' Thereupon they sent the prince into the main hall. Five hundred queens came to look upon the prince; seeing that the prince was dignified, upright, fine, and pure, without equal, they said, 'Why does the prince not speak, so that he is to be buried alive?' Five hundred court ladies came to look upon the prince; seeing that the prince was dignified, upright, fine, and pure, without equal, they said, 'Why does the prince not speak, so that he is to be buried alive?' Each performed music for the prince. The prince remained silent, neither watching nor listening. Thereupon they sent the prince to the outer hall. Five hundred ministers came to look upon the prince. Seeing that the prince was dignified, upright, and pure, they rushed to report to the great king, 'This child is not someone who cannot speak. Please retain him for a short while; speech will come before long. The brahman master cannot be trusted.' The king said, 'This is a state affair, not for you ministers to know.' When the chamber was completed, they came to fetch the prince. The king said to his servants, 'Have the prince ride an elephant-drawn carriage with a four-way view, so that the people of the state may see the prince; the prince ought to speak. If he speaks, have him brought back.' Thereupon the prince rode the carriage along the road. At that time the elder ministers of the state rolled on the ground before the carriage, [saying,] 'The prince must speak a single word! If you do not speak, crush us with the carriage and go over!' The imperial guards escorted him and helped him pass. At that time tens of millions of people surrounded him, so that the prince could advance no further. Flying birds and running beasts circled the chamber three times and blocked its doorway, so that the prince again could not advance. He then raised his hand, stopped, and said: 'If I truly wish not to speak, I am to be buried alive; if I truly wish to utter words, I fear falling into hell. The reason I did not speak was that I wished to preserve my body whole and avoid harm, to save my spirit and leave suffering behind—this is why I did not speak. Yet you believed deceitful words, supposing I was deaf and blind, or genuinely mute!' At that time, when the people heard the prince's wondrously exquisite voice, those walking stopped, and those sitting stood up; all stepped forward and kowtowed, [saying,] 'We pray you forgive our transgressions!' His servants, hearing this, leaped for joy and rushed to report to the great king, 'The prince has spoken! His voice penetrates above to the blue heavens and below to the Yellow Springs! Flying birds and running beasts have all come to prostrate and listen before the prince! Because the prince has spoken, [all are] leaping for joy!' The king then, along with the queen, rode an elephant-drawn carriage with a four-way view to welcome the prince. Looking back and seeing his royal father, the prince dismounted from the carriage, stepped aside from the road, bowed four times, and stood up, [saying,] 'I have troubled and inconvenienced the Great King to come from afar to welcome me. But now father and son have abandoned each other in this life, our affection is already severed, and righteousness is severely violated; it is not fitting that we look upon one another.' The king said to the prince, 'No, no! You are a wise person and should pardon our failings. Return to the country with us; I will confer the throne upon you and withdraw myself.' The prince replied, 'In my previous life I was already a king; because my conduct had defiling flaws, I fell into hell for more than sixty thousand years. Being steamed, boiled, sliced, and torn was so painful it was hard to bear. Could my parents know my suffering or not? I loathed and feared hell; therefore I tied my tongue and did not speak for thirteen years, hoping to escape beyond the worldly dust, not to encounter sin, and to distance myself from unrighteous ways, soaring high and departing afar to save myself from the world. The world is impermanent, fleeting like a dream; the pleasures of home and family last but an instant. Sorrow and suffering are protracted; joy and pleasure are only momentary. Since the King understands the extremity of the matter, only permit me to study the Way.' Thereupon the prince abandoned the state and renounced kingship, entered the mountains to seek the Way, and practiced meditation. When his life ended, he was immediately born in Tuṣita Heaven. When his merit was exhausted, he descended to be born among humans as the crown prince to the king of the state of Kapilavastu. The prince knew himself that he would become a Buddha. The Buddha told Ānanda, 'The Prince Mūkapakkha at that time was myself; the king was Śuddhodana; the queen was Māyā; the five servants were Ajñātakauṇḍinya and the others; and the brahman at that time was Devadatta. Devadatta has had enmity with me life after life.' All the devas, dragons, and spirits leaped for joy, made obeisance, and departed."