釋氏要覽 1.13

1.13

The first is Kṣatriya (referring to the lineage of hereditary rulers). The second is Brāhmaṇa (translated into Chinese as 'pure actions', referring to those with pure conduct whose resolve is on the Way; this lineage has separate scriptures and books passed down generation after generation; whether householders or having undertaken pravrajyā, they practice austerities and mostly rely on their own arts, being arrogant towards others). The third is Vaiśya (also called Feishe, referring to the lineage of merchants). The fourth is Śūdra (also called Chendaluo, referring to the lineage of farmers). Our Buddha Śākyamuni, the World-Honoured One, was of the Kṣatriya varṇa. The Dīrgha Āgama states that at the initial formation of the auspicious kalpa, there were no sun or moon. At that time, beings from the Ābhāsvara heaven were born below; all had radiance from their bodies and flew freely, without distinctions of male or female, noble or base, close or distant. They ate the natural taste of the earth. Because they ate this substance, their bodily radiance vanished and their supernatural powers were lost; greedy thoughts began to sprout. Again there arose tastes of earth-cake, earth-skin, and earth-fat which they ate, whereupon various evils gathered, and male and female physical forms first appeared. Non-glutinous rice grew from the earth, harvested in the morning and regrown by evening, without husk or chaff. The people of that time grew in greedy minds and all took in advance and hoarded abundantly; consequently, the rice ceased to grow. They then individually claimed fields and lands, learning the work of weeding and planting. From this point on, treachery and theft proliferated, and there was no one to make judgments. Among them was one man of magnificent appearance and stature, whom the world admired and trusted. The multitude discussed and established him as the master of the people, styled Mahāsaṃmata-rāja (translated here as 'Great Master of Equality'). Each pledged to pay taxes to provide an abundance (this was the beginning of ancestral taxation). Therefore, his clan was named Kṣatriya (translated here as 'Master of Lands', referring to his being made master when disputes arose upon the initial division of lands).