法苑珠林 9.86

9.86

Question: In how much time can the seeds of these thirty-two marks be fulfilled? Answer: At the slowest, one hundred kalpas; at the quickest, ninety-one kalpas. Śākyamuni Bodhisattva practiced for ninety-one mahākalpas to accomplish the thirty-two marks. As it is said in a sūtra: Long ago in the past, there was a Buddha named Puṣya. At that time there were two bodhisattvas: one named Śākyamuni and one named Maitreya. Puṣya Buddha wished to observe whether Śākyamuni Bodhisattva's mind was ripe or not. Looking upon him, he knew that his mind was not yet ripe, but that his disciples' minds were all ripe. Furthermore, Maitreya Bodhisattva's own mind was already ripe, but his disciples were not yet ripe. At that time, Puṣya Buddha contemplated in this way: 'The mind of one person can be transformed swiftly and easily; the minds of many people are difficult to regulate rapidly.' Having contemplated thus, Puṣya Buddha, wishing to cause Śākyamuni Bodhisattva to quickly attain buddhahood, went up the Snowy Mountains, entered a jewelled cave, and entered the fire samādhi. At that time, Śākyamuni Bodhisattva was an external-path ascetic gathering herbs on the mountain. He saw Puṣya Buddha sitting in the jewelled cave, having entered the fire samādhi and radiating great light. Having seen him, joy, faith, and reverence arose in his mind. Raising one foot to stand, he joined his palms toward the Buddha, single-mindedly beholding him without blinking his eyes for seven days and seven nights, praising the Buddha with a single verse: