諸經要集 20.84

20.84

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.