諸經要集 6.68

6.68

At that time, the old mother rejoiced upon hearing the verse. She thought to herself that the previous day she had received foul rice-water; to give it would mean it could not be drunk. From afar she addressed Kāśyapa, 'Out of pity for me, will you accept it?' Kāśyapa replied, 'Very good.' The mother then crawled in the cave to fetch it. Her body was naked, so she could not come out carrying it; leaning to the side and stooping, she presented it over the fence. Kāśyapa accepted it, and with his venerable mouth made an auspicious blessing that she might receive merit and peace. Kāśyapa thought: 'If I take it away to drink elsewhere, the mother will not believe it and will think I discarded it.' Thereupon, in front of the mother, he drank it up, rinsed the bowl, and placed it back into his bag. At this, the old mother gained especially genuine faith. Kāśyapa thought to himself: 'I should display psychic powers so that this mother will surely attain great peace.' Thereupon he broadly manifested miraculous transformations in the air. At that time, the mother leaped with joy upon seeing this. Single-mindedly kneeling upright, she looked up from afar at Kāśyapa. Kāśyapa told her, 'Mother, what do you now wish for in your heart?' She then addressed Kāśyapa, 'I wish that by this tiny merit, I may be born in heaven.' Thereupon Kāśyapa suddenly disappeared. A few days later, the old mother reached the end of her lifespan and was immediately born in the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven. Her majestic virtue was towering, shaking heaven and earth; her radiance was extraordinary, like seven suns rising all at once, illuminating the heavenly palace. Śakra was startled and terrified: 'Whose merit is so moving as to surpass mine?' He then used the divine eye to observe this devī, [seeing that] her merit had brought this about, and immediately knew the place of her previous rebirth. At that time, the devī thought to herself: 'This retribution of merit was brought about by having made offerings to Kāśyapa in my previous life. Even if I were to present hundreds of thousands of various heavenly treasures to Kāśyapa, it would still not repay the kindness of a single moment.' She immediately led her handmaidens, bearing heavenly incense and flowers, and suddenly descended. In empty space she scattered them over Kāśyapa, and then came down, prostrated her whole body on the ground in reverence, stood back, joined her palms, and praised him: