法苑珠林 65.44

65.44

Furthermore, the Mahāsaṃnipāta-sūtra says: At that time, Bodhisattva Āṭavika manifested as the body of a ghost; Bodhisattva Saṃjñin manifested as the body of a deer; Bodhisattva Jñānolkā manifested as the body of a monkey; Bodhisattva Vigatarāga manifested as the body of a black he-goat; Bodhisattva Kṣīṇāsrava manifested as the body of a king of geese. In this way, five hundred bodhisattvas each manifested and assumed various bodies. From their bodies emanated great fragrance and radiance. Each bodhisattva held a lamp in hand in order to make offerings to the Buddhas of the ten directions. From the time of the seven Buddhas onward, they had been kin to these Buddhas, upholding the five precepts and generating the bodhicitta. For the sake of taming all sentient beings and causing them to generate bodhi, they took on these bodies.