法苑珠林 59.10

59.10

The Sūtra on Karmic Conditions of the Buddha's Prior Deeds says: The Buddha said to Śāriputra: “Long ago in past ages, in the city of Rājagṛha, at that time the grain was dear and people suffered miserably from famine. People all gathered white bones, crushed them, boiled them, and drank the broth, digging up the roots of all kinds of grasses to prolong their frail lives. One pint of gold was used to trade for one pint of grain. At that time, in the city of Rājagṛha, there was a large village of several hundred families named Jūyuè. Not far to the east of the village was a pond called ‘Abundant Fish’. The people of Jūyuè village led their wives and children to the Abundant Fish pond to catch fish and eat them. Catching the fish, they placed them on the bank, where they flopped upon dry land. At that time, I was a small child, just four years old. Seeing them flop, I rejoiced. At that time, there were two kinds of fish in the pond: one named Mai, and one named Duoshe. They said to each other: ‘We did not harm men, yet we are unjustly killed. In future lives we shall take retribution.’ The Buddha said to Śāriputra: ‘The people of Jūyuè village, men and women, young and old at that time, are now the Śākya clan of Kapilavastu. The small child at that time was myself. The fish Mai of that time was King Viḍūḍabha. The fish Duoshe of that time was the king’s soothsayer-brāhmaṇa named Duḥśīla. At that time, when the fish were flopping, I struck the head of a fish with a small stick. Due to this karmic cause, I fell into the hells for countless thousands of years. Even though I have now attained buddhahood, due to these residual conditions, when King Viḍūḍabha attacked the Śākya clan, I developed a headache.’ The Buddha said to Śāriputra: ‘When my headache first began, I said to Ānanda: ‘Fill a four-dou bowl with cold water and bring it here.’ Ānanda brought it according to instructions. I wiped the sweat on my forehead with a finger and dripped it into the water; the water immediately evaporated away, just as if consumed by fire. All day long it was like dropping a single drop of water into a large empty cooking cauldron over a fire, and the water was instantly scorched dry. Such was the heat of the headache. Even if the crags jutting out from the side of Mount Sumeru, from one yojana to a hundred yojanas, were pressed against the heat of my headache, they would surely be melted away.’”