法苑珠林 64.12

64.12

Furthermore, the Bodhisattva-jātaka-sūtra says: King Prasenajit had a great minister named Śīla (Shizhi), whose wealth was immeasurable and who was ripe for deliverance. Śāriputra expounded the sūtra teachings for him. Hearing the Dharma, Śīla felt no yearning for glory or high status, and sought to leave the household life. He then turned over all his household estates and business to his younger brother. Having shaved his head and beard and donned the kāṣāya, he went into the deep mountains to sit in meditation and practice the Way. His wife, sorrowful and longing for her former husband, would not submit to the younger brother. Seeing his sister-in-law's yearning, the younger brother feared his elder brother would break his vows, return, and reclaim the estate. He therefore said to a bandit chieftain, "I will hire you for five hundred gold coins to cut off that śramaṇa's head and bring it to me." The bandit chieftain took the money, went into the mountains, and saw the śramaṇa. The śramaṇa said to him, "I have only tattered robes and no property. Why have you come?" The bandit then answered, "Your younger brother hired me to come and kill you." The śramaṇa said to the bandit, "I am newly made a practitioner of the Way and do not yet understand the Dharma of the Way. Do not kill me yet. Wait until I have seen the Buddha and come to understand a little of the sūtras and Dharma; it will not be too late to kill me then." The bandit said to him, "I must kill you today. It cannot be stopped." The śramaṇa then raised an arm and said to the bandit, "Cut off one arm first, and spare the rest of my life so that I may be able to see the Buddha." Thereupon the bandit cut off one arm and took it away to give to the younger brother. At this, the śramaṇa went to see the Buddha. The Buddha expounded the Dharma for him: "Over countless kalpas, the blood from your severed head, hands, and feet has been more than the water in the four great oceans; the piled bones of your bodies have been higher than Mount Sumeru; the tears of your weeping have exceeded the four great rivers; the milk you drank from your mothers has been more than all rivers and seas. All who have a body undergo numerous sufferings; all these numerous sufferings arise from habitual afflictions. You should only contemplate the Eightfold Noble Path (āryāṣṭāṅgamārga)." Hearing what the Buddha expounded, his mind was suddenly opened to understanding. Directly before the Buddha, he attained the fruition of an arhat, and then let go of his bodily life and entered parinirvāṇa. The bandit, carrying the arm, took it to the younger brother. The brother then took the arm and placed it before his sister-in-law, saying to the woman, "You were always saying you longed for your former husband. Here is his arm." The woman wept bitterly and went to inform the king. The king investigated and found it to be completely true; he then put the younger brother to death. The bhikṣus asked the Buddha, "What evil deed did this śramaṇa commit in a past life that he should suffer having his arm cut off now? And what roots of virtue did he cultivate that he now encountered the World-Honoured One and attained the status of an arhat?" The Buddha told the bhikṣus: "Long ago in the past, in the kingdom of Vārāṇasī, there was a king named Brahmadatta. He went out on a hunt, pursuing running beasts, and lost his way, not knowing where to exit. The trees and grasses touched the sky, and there was no other plan by which he could get out. He was seized by great terror. Continuing forward, he saw a pratyekabuddha. The king asked him, 'I have lost the trail. From where may I get out? Where are my soldiers, horses, and men?' At that time, the pratyekabuddha had a malignant sore on his arm and could not raise his hand; he then pointed out the trail with his foot. The king grew enraged: 'This is my subject. Seeing me, he did not stand up, and he pointed out the trail with a single foot!' The king drew his sword and cut off his arm. At that time, the pratyekabuddha thought to himself: 'If the king does not repent and reproach himself, he will undergo severe karmic retribution with no time of release.' Thereupon the pratyekabuddha, right before the king, flew up into empty space and manifested transformations of spiritual power. Seeing this, the king cast himself upon the ground, cried out loudly in lamentation, repented of his error, and apologized, saying, 'I only pray that you descend and receive my repentance (deśanā).' At that time, the pratyekabuddha came down and received his repentance, and then entered nirvāṇa. The king collected his remains, erected a stūpa, and made offerings of flowers and incense. He constantly repented and made vows before the stūpa, and so attained deliverance. The king of that time was this very śramaṇa. Because he cut off the pratyekabuddha's arm, across five hundred lifetimes he has constantly suffered having his arm cut off and dying, right up to the present day. Because of his repentance, he did not fall into hell, and he attained deliverance and realized the path of an arhat." The Buddha told the bhikṣus, "All disasters and blessings never decay or perish." When the bhikṣus heard this, there were none who were not terrified and awestruck.