法苑珠林 59.28

59.28

Thereupon King Ajātaśatru, hearing the Buddha preach the Dharma, wept in sorrow and was deeply moved. The Buddha asked the king: “Why do you weep?” The king answered the Buddha: “Because sentient beings lack wisdom and do not understand these three matters, they constantly suffer diminution and loss; therefore I am sorrowful. These sentient beings merely consider body and speech to be paramount, not knowing that the mind is deep and profound. Just as when people kill, steal, and commit sexual misconduct, all under heaven see it; when they commit the four actions of speech, all under heaven hear it. As for the three actions of the mind, they are not heard by the ear nor seen by the eye. Therefore sentient beings consider what is seen by the eye and heard by the ear to be paramount. Now that the Buddha has explained it, I know that the mind is paramount and body and speech are secondary. For this reason, the two matters of body and speech are bound to the peg of the mind. Just as the slanderous woman wished to slander and disparage the Buddha, her mind first thought of tying a basin to swell her belly and uttering this slander in the great assembly. Therefore we know that the mind is paramount and body and speech are secondary.” The Buddha said: “Excellent, excellent! Great King, you understand this matter well. You should constantly learn this matter of the mind being paramount and body and speech being secondary.” When he preached this Dharma, eight thousand bhikṣus ended their outflows and their minds were liberated; two hundred bhikṣus attained the path of anāgāmin; four hundred bhikṣus attained the path of sakṛdāgāmin; eight hundred bhikṣus attained the path of srotāpanna; eighty thousand heavenly beings attained the purity of the Dharma eye; one hundred thousand humans and non-humans all received the five precepts; and two hundred thousand ghosts and spirits took the three refuges.