諸經要集 20.84

20.84

如付法藏經云。時有國王名曰罽昵吒。貪虐無道。數出征伐勞役人民。不知厭足。欲王四海戍備邊境。親戚分離。若斯之苦何時寧息。宜可同心共屏除之。然後我等乃當快樂。因王病虐。以被鎮之人坐其上。須臾氣絕。由聽馬鳴比丘說法緣故。生大海中作千頭魚。劍輪迴注斬截其首。續復尋生。次第更斬。如是展轉乃至無量。須臾之間頭滿大海。時有羅漢為僧維那。王即白言。今此劍輪。聞犍稚音即便停止。於其中間苦痛小息。唯願大德垂哀矜愍。若鳴犍稚延令長久。羅漢愍念為長打之。過七日已受苦便畢。而此寺上因彼王故。次第相傳長打犍稚。至於今日猶故如本。述曰。既知經意。鳴鍾濟苦。兼以集眾。即須維那將欲打鍾。斂容合掌。發願利生之意因鍾念善。便共受苦畢。

As the Fu fazang jing states: At that time, there was a king named Kaniṣka who was greedy, cruel, and unprincipled. He repeatedly went on military campaigns, toiling the people without knowing satisfaction. Desiring to rule the four seas, he garrisoned the borders, causing relatives to be separated. When will such suffering ever cease? 'We ought to unite our hearts and eliminate him together; only then shall we find joy.' Taking advantage of the king's severe illness, they smothered him with a quilt, and a person sat upon it; in an instant, his breath was cut off. Due to having listened to the monk Aśvaghoṣa preach the Dharma, he was born in the great ocean as a thousand-headed fish. A wheel of swords revolved and struck down, cutting off his heads. Then they grew back again, and in succession were cut off once more. Thus it continued repeatedly, even boundlessly; in a moment, his heads filled the great ocean. At that time, an arhat served as the monastic karmadāna. The king said to him: 'Now, whenever this wheel of swords hears the sound of the gaṇḍī, it immediately stops, and in that interval my pain briefly rests. I pray only that the Great Worthy show mercy and pity; when striking the gaṇḍī, prolong it for a long duration.' The arhat pitied him and struck it for a long duration. After seven days passed, his suffering was ended. Because of that king, the custom of prolonging the striking of the gaṇḍī was handed down in succession in this monastery, remaining as it originally was even unto today. Daoshi remarks: Having understood the meaning of the sūtra, striking the bell relieves suffering and also gathers the assembly. Therefore, when the karmadāna is about to strike the bell, he should compose his countenance, join his palms, and generate the intention to benefit living beings, so that through the bell they are mindful of goodness, and their suffering will fully come to an end.