諸經要集 4.110

4.110

As the Ajātaśatrukaukrtyavinodanā states: At that time, King Ajātaśatru invited the Buddha for a meal; when it was finished, the Buddha returned to the Jetavana. The king conferred with Jīvaka, saying, "The meal for the Buddha is already over; what else would be fitting?" Jīvaka said, "Only to light many lamps." Thereupon the king ordered one hundred hu of sesame oil to be lit from the palace gate all the way to the Jetavana monastery. At that time, there was an impoverished old woman who, seeing the king perform this merit, was even more deeply inspired. She begged and obtained two coins, and went to the oil merchant to buy oil. The owner said, "Old mother, you are extremely poor; having begged and obtained two coins, why not buy food to sustain yourself? What will you use this oil for?" The mother said, "I have heard that the appearance of a Buddha in the world is difficult to encounter, met only once in a hundred kalpas. I am fortunate to meet the Buddha, yet have no offerings. Today I saw the king perform great merit. Although I am truly poor, I wish to light a lamp to serve as a foundation for future lives." Thereupon the oil merchant, rejoicing in her sincere intention, added three he to the two he that two coins should have bought, giving her five he in total. The mother went before the Buddha and lit it. Calculating that this would not last half the night, she made an oath to herself: "If in future lives I attain the Way like the Buddha, may this oil remain throughout the night with its brilliance unfading." She bowed in reverence and departed. Some of the lamps lit by the king went out, and some were consumed; but the lamp lit by the mother was exceptionally bright, surpassing all the other lamps, and did not go out throughout the night, nor was the oil consumed by morning. The Buddha told Maudgalyāyana, "It is now dawn; you may extinguish the lamps." Maudgalyāyana received the instruction and extinguished the lamps in sequence. All the lamps went out, but only this one lamp of the mother could not be extinguished after three attempts. He then lifted his kaṣāya robe to fan it, but the lamp's light grew even brighter. He then used his supernatural powers to summon the vairambha wind to blow on the lamp, but the lamp blazed even more fiercely, illuminating Brahmā's heaven above and shining sideways across the trichiliocosm, its light visible everywhere. The Buddha told Maudgalyāyana, "Cease, cease! This is the radiant merit of a future Buddha; it is not something your supernatural powers can extinguish. In past lives, this mother made offerings to one hundred and eighty billion Buddhas, and has already received vyākaraṇa from a past Buddha. Because she devoted herself to the scriptural Dharma and had no leisure to cultivate dāna, she is now poor and has no wealth. After thirty kalpas have passed, she will become a Buddha named Sumerupradīpa Tathāgata, Arhat, Samyaksaṃbuddha. Her world will have no sun or moon; the bodies of the people will all possess great light, illuminating one another like the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven." When the mother heard this, she rejoiced, bowed in reverence, and departed. The king asked Jīvaka, "The merit I performed was as lofty as this, yet the Buddha did not give me a vyākaraṇa; but for this mother's single lamp, he gave her vyākaraṇa." Jīvaka said, "Although what the king performed was great, your mind was not focused; it was not like this mother's wholehearted dedication to the Buddha." Thereafter, because King Ajātaśatru offered oil and flowers to the Buddha with utmost sincerity, the Buddha gave the king vyākaraṇa, saying, "After eighty thousand kalpas, in a kalpa named Pleasing Sight, the king will become a Buddha named Jingqi." King Ajātaśatru's crown prince, named Candravardhana, was eight years old at the time. Seeing his father receive vyākaraṇa, he was overjoyed. He immediately took off the many jewels from his body, scattered them over the Buddha, and said, "May I become a golden wheel-turning king in the realm of the Buddha Jingqi, able to make offerings to the Buddha; and when that Buddha enters parinirvāṇa, may I succeed him as a Buddha." The Buddha said, "It shall certainly be as you wish; your Buddha name will be Candana."