法苑珠林 97.27

97.27

Furthermore, the Ekottarika-āgama says: The Buddha told Ānanda and Rāhula, "Lift the body of Mahāprajāpatī; I shall personally make offerings." At that time, Śakra Devānām Indra, the Four Heavenly Kings, and others came forward and addressed the Buddha, saying: "We pray only that you do not exhaust your spirit; we ourselves will naturally make offerings." The Buddha said: "Cease, cease! Why is that? Parents give birth to children and benefit them greatly; the kindness of raising them is profound, suckling them and holding them in their bosoms. One definitely must repay this kindness; it cannot be left unpaid. The mothers of all the buddhas of the past and future took extinction first, and all buddhas personally made offerings and cremated their relics." At that time, Heavenly King Vaiśravaṇa sent various spirits to go to the candana forest to take candana firewood and bring it to the wilderness. The Buddha personally carried one leg of the bier-couch and Ānanda carried one leg, flying through the sky and proceeding to the graveyard. At that time, the Buddha personally took the candana wood and placed it upon Mahāprajāpatī's body. The Buddha said: "There are four persons for whom a stūpa should be erected and offerings made: first, a buddha; second, a pratyekabuddha; third, an arhat whose outflows are exhausted; fourth, a wheel-turning sage king; all because they transform sentient beings through the ten virtues." At that time, the people took the relics and each erected a stūpa to make offerings. According to the Saṃyuktāgama, the maternal aunt Prajāpatī was the biological mother of Nanda.