法苑珠林 9.11

9.11

As the Sūtra on Cause and Effect says: When the Bodhisattva had stayed in the womb for nearly ten full months, the limbs of his body and his primary and secondary marks were all complete. The Queen wished to enter the garden for an excursion. The King ordered the graceful court ladies of the inner palace, eighty-four thousand in all, to attend Queen Māyā. He further selected eighty-four thousand graceful maidens to carry incense and flowers and proceed to the Lumbinī Grove. The King also ordered all his ministers, officials, and their wives to follow along on foot. Thereupon the Queen mounted a jewelled chariot and, preceded and followed by the officials and court ladies, went to the Lumbinī Grove. At that time, there were also the eight classes of devas and nāgas, who likewise followed, filling the sky. When the ten months were fulfilled, on the eighth day of the fourth month at sunrise, the Queen saw a great tree in the rear garden called Aśoka. Its floral color and fragrance were fresh, and its branches and leaves were spread out, exceedingly lush. She raised her right hand, wishing to draw it near and pick [a flower]. The Bodhisattva gradually emerged from her right side. The Bodhisattva in the Womb Sūtra says: The Buddha addressed Maitreya: “You should know that you too received a prophecy that after fifty-six billion and seven hundred million years, you will achieve unsurpassed, complete enlightenment beneath this king of trees. I was born from the right side; you, Maitreya, will be born from the crown of the head. My lifespan is one hundred years; Maitreya's lifespan will be eighty-four thousand years. My land is of earth; your land will be of gold. My land is full of suffering; your land will be full of joy.”