法苑珠林 46.18

46.18

Furthermore, the Mahāsaṃnipāta-sūtra, in the "Chapter on Saving the Nāgas," states: At that time, the nāga king Sāgara said to the Buddha: "Among these nāgas, some receive pleasant retributions like the gods; some receive pleasure like humans; some are like hungry ghosts; some are like beasts; and some suffer great torment as in the hells." When he had spoken these words, a son of the great nāga Sāgara named Utpalavaktrā (Blue Lotus Face) came forward and said to the Buddha: "World-Honoured One, by what karmic cause of evil deeds have I come to be born among the nāgas? My body is exceedingly handsome, yet all tactile contact and use of it is like being burned by fire, and I always lack clothing, walking naked. By contrast, my father the king enjoys supreme bliss, no different from the retribution of a cakravartin." The Buddha said: "Utpalavaktrā, I will explain it to you. Thirty-one kalpas ago, there was a Buddha, a World-Honoured One named Śikhin. At that time, in that world, there was a king named Vedapuṣpa (Peiduofusha). King Puṣpa made offerings to that Buddha for three months, as well as to immeasurable hundreds of thousands of great bodhisattvas and those who had attained the four fruits of the śramaṇa, supplying them with various robes, food and drink, and medicines. Having listened single-mindedly to the Dharma, he immediately gave rise to the mind of awakening (bodhicitta), and built a monastery for them, making various offerings. That king's eldest crown prince was named Vedapradyota (Peiduosuoshudi). Seeing the Buddha and hearing the Dharma, he felt great dread towards transmigration, and requested from his father the king to leave home. The king replied: 'As you wish.' Having left home, he said again to his father: 'I wish to dwell in the monastery.' The king said: 'Do so as you wish.' The monastic disciples of the Buddha Śikhin enjoyed food and drink in that monastery. That son of Puṣpa, Vedapradyota, gave rise to jealousy and frequently reviled and cursed them with anger. At that time, having been reviled and cursed, the saṃgha departed from the monastery entirely. Seeing that the monks had left, he felt joyful, and thought to himself: 'It is good that they are gone; I am at great ease.' He freely consumed the robes, food, and drink in the monastery, and when other people arrived, he would not allow them to stay. Having accumulated such evil karma, after his life ended he was born into the great hells, where he was burned by fires for immeasurable tens of millions of nayutas of years. Freed from the hells, he was born among the hungry ghosts, where he again underwent immeasurable hardship. Dying among the hungry ghosts, he fell back into the hells; freed from the hells, he was born again among the hungry ghosts. In this way, across thirty-one kalpas, he underwent such hardships fully in transmigration." The Buddha said: "Utpalavaktrā, could that Pradyota have been someone else? He was none other than your own body. Because of those evil karmic causes in the past, you were born into the great hells, the hungry ghosts, and the beasts, undergoing torment in transmigration, fully undergoing myriad sufferings throughout these thirty-one mahākalpas without a moment's relief. Due to the residue of that karma, you were born among the nāgas to receive this evil retribution." When the nāga Utpalavaktrā heard these words, he wept aloud with great wailing, threw his entire body with all four limbs to the ground, prostrated, and addressed the Buddha, saying: "Now, with an earnest mind, I confess and repent before the Buddha, daring not to conceal anything. My sincerity now penetrates into my marrow; I take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṃgha, becoming an upāsaka until the end of my life." The Buddha said: "Sadhu, sadhu! Those who take refuge in me in this manner shall exhaust that karma. Dying from this state, you will encounter Maitreya Buddha, obtain a human body, leave home in the Dharma of Maitreya Buddha, and realize the fruit of an arhat."