法苑珠林 64.53

64.53

After the ṛṣi spoke this verse, he then made a vow: 'May I, life after life, not give rise to thoughts of killing, constantly refrain from eating meat, enter the white-radiance compassion-samādhi, and, upon attaining Buddhahood, establish the precept prohibiting meat.' Having said this, he threw himself into the fire pit to perish together with the rabbits. At that time, heaven and earth shook in six ways. Due to the power of the devas, the trees emitted light, radiant with a golden hue that illuminated a thousand realms. When the people of that kingdom saw this light, they all aroused the aspiration for the unsurpassed, truly authentic path. The Buddha said to Śikhi: 'You should know now that the white rabbit king of that time was myself; the young rabbit was Rāhula; the sūtra-chanting ṛṣi was the brāhmaṇa youth Maitreya Bodhisattva in this assembly; the flock of five hundred rabbits were Mahākāśyapa and the five hundred monks; the two hundred and fifty mountain and tree spirits were Śāriputra, Maudgalyāyana, and the two hundred and fifty monks; the thousand kings such as Bhadrapāla were the thousand bodhisattvas, who, from my appearance in the world until Rucika, are the disciples during that interval who receive the Dharma and attain the path.' The Buddha said to Śikhi: 'When a bodhisattva seeks the Dharma through hardship across kalpas, not begrudging body and life, and throws himself into a fire pit to offer his body, he immediately transcends the sins of birth and death for nine hundred million myriad kalpas.' At that time, Śikhi and the five hundred ascetics sought ordination under the Buddha and became arhats. After the ṛṣi threw himself into the fire pit, he was reborn in the Brahmā world until he achieved Buddhahood. Those who eat meat violate a grave prohibition; where they are reborn in future lives, they will constantly drink molten copper.