法苑珠林 9.20

9.20

As the Sūtra on Cause and Effect says: When the Prince was born, beneath the tree there also grew seven lotus flowers with seven stems made of the seven treasures, as large as cartwheels. The Bodhisattva immediately landed upon the lotus flowers, and without anyone supporting him, he walked seven steps on his own (the Sūtra on the Great Skillful Means says: walking seven steps corresponds to the seven limbs of enlightenment). He raised his right hand and made a lion's roar, saying: “Among all devas and humans, I am the most honored and most supreme. Countless births and deaths are now ended!” Having spoken these words, the Four Heavenly Kings immediately received the Prince's body with celestial silk and placed it upon a jewelled stand. Śakra Devānām Indra held a jewelled canopy in his hand, and the Great Brahmā King held a white whisk, standing in attendance on the left and right. The Nāga King Nanda and the Nāga King Upananda spouted pure water in the sky—one warm, one cool—to bathe the Prince's body. (The Lalitavistara says: The devas, Śakra, and Brahmā rained down varied rare fragrances, and nine dragons above poured down fragrant water to bathe the Bodhisattva. The Auspicious Response Origin Sūtra says: Brahmā and Śakra descended to attend him, and the Four Great Kings received the Bodhisattva's body and placed it on a golden stand. The Origin of Practice Sūtra says: The nāga king brothers rained warm water on the left and cold water on the right, and Śakra and Brahmā wrapped the Bodhisattva's body in celestial robes.) His body was golden, endowed with the thirty-two marks, radiating a great light that universally illuminated the trichiliocosm. The country of Kapilavastu is the center of three thousand suns and moons, and twelve thousand heavens and earths. (Thus there are a million billion suns and moons, and four million billion lands under heaven. “Three thousand” is merely an abbreviation of the essential number. From this we know that distinguishing between Chinese and barbarian is neither easy nor detailed. The Classic of the Regions Within the Seas says: The country of Shendu is where the Xuanyuan clan dwelt. Guo’s commentary says: It is the country of Tianzhu. Based on this, calling it the center of heaven and earth is not without basis. The Book of the Later Han says: Regions beyond the Congling mountains are called the Nine Barbarians; their magnificence surpasses the Central Plains. The Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu and Yue says: When Jizi entered Zhou, he saw the Zhangfu caps and the music of the Three Dynasties, and said, “How could the barbarian state of Wu possess this?” Although such distinctions exist, governance is not necessarily bound to territory; thus it must change with the times and cannot be equated with the Madhyadeśa being permanently fixed from beginning to end.) Furthermore, the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-śāstra asks: “Why is the Buddha of golden color?” It replies: “If iron is placed beside gold, it is not seen. Present gold, compared with the gold of the Buddha's time, is not seen. The gold of the Buddha's time, compared with Jāmbūnada gold, is not seen. Jāmbūnada gold, compared with the golden sands on the path of the wheel-turning holy king in the great sea, is not seen. Golden sand, compared with a golden mountain, is not seen. A golden mountain, compared with the gold of Mount Sumeru, is not seen. The gold of Mount Sumeru, compared with the gold of the necklaces of the thirty-three devas, is not seen. The gold of the necklaces of the thirty-three devas, compared with the gold of the Yāma Devas, is not seen. The gold of the Yāma Devas, compared with the gold of the Tuṣita Devas, is not seen. The gold of the Tuṣita Devas, compared with the gold of the Nirmāṇarati Devas, is not seen. The gold of the Nirmāṇarati Devas, compared with the gold of the Paranirmitavaśavartin Devas, is not seen. The gold of the Paranirmitavaśavartin Devas, compared with the bodily color of the Bodhisattva, is not seen. Such wondrous color is called the mark of golden color.” Furthermore, the Auspicious Response Sūtra says: When the Prince was first born, the eight classes of devas and nāgas appeared in the sky, performing celestial music and singing hymns and praises, burning incense and scattering flowers, raining down countless celestial robes and necklaces in dazzling profusion. Furthermore, beneath the tree there suddenly sprang up four wells of water endowed with the eight virtues. There were thirty-four auspicious signs, which cannot be recounted in full (they are roughly the same as those explained above among the thirty-two signs).