法苑珠林 5.22

5.22

Furthermore, the *Subduing the Arhat Sutra* says: Formerly, in the palace of the Trāyastriṃśa heaven, there was a deva whose life was drawing to a close, and seven kinds of omens appeared: first, the light from his neck went out; second, the flowers on his head withered; third, his facial complexion changed; fourth, dust appeared on his clothes; fifth, sweat flowed from beneath his armpits; sixth, his bodily form grew emaciated; seventh, he left his original seat. He then contemplated for himself that after his life ended, he would descend to be born in the belly of a mangy sow in the country of Kuśīnagara as a piglet. He felt extreme sorrow and anguish in advance, not knowing what plan to make. Another deva said to him, 'Now the Buddha is here preaching the Dharma for the assembly. Only the Buddha can liberate you from your transgressions.' He immediately went to the Buddha's place, bowed with his head to the ground, and before he could ask, the Buddha, knowing, told him, 'All things without exception return to impermanence. You have always known this; why be sorrowful? To be freed from a pig's body, constantly recite the three refuges.' He did so for three days, and seven days later the deva's life ended, and he descended to be born in the country of Vaiśālī as the son of an elder's household. While in his mother's womb, he took the three refuges three times a day. When first born, falling to the ground, he also knelt and took the refuges himself. His mother delivered him without lochia. The maidservants attending the mother were terrified and ran away. The mother also found it deeply bizarre, thought it was a demonic delusion, and intended to kill him. The father knew he was an exceptional son and ordered that he be well cared for. When he was approaching the age of seven, playing by the roadside with his peers, he encountered Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana. The boy came forward and bowed. The noble ones were astonished and marvelled; he fully recounted the events in heaven. This boy invited the Buddha to his home, and the Buddha preached the sutra for them. The boy, his parents, and his inner and outer relatives all attained avaivartika, which here is translated as non-retrogression. (According to the sutras, there are many kinds of heavens, fully explained in the thirty-two sections of the earlier chapter on the Three Realms; here, in relation to the six destinies, four sections are briefly set forth.)