翻譯名義集 2.195

2.195

[Nāga] In Qin it is translated as dragon. The *Shuowen* says: "The dragon is the chief of scaly creatures. It can be hidden or manifest, small or large, long or short. At the spring equinox it ascends to heaven, and at the autumn equinox it enters the earth, acting in accord [with the seasons]." The *Guangya* says: "One with scales is called a *jiaolong*; one with wings is called an *yinglong*; one with horns is called a *qiulong*; one without horns is called a *chilong*; one that has not yet ascended to heaven is called a *panlong*." The *Abhiniṣkramaṇa-sūtra* says: "The Buddha is called a nāga because he has distanced himself from all attachments in the world. Being liberated from fetters and having exhausted all outflows, he is therefore called a nāga. Thus it is said: 'The nāga is constantly in samādhi; there is no time when he is not in samādhi.'" The *Dazhidulun* says: "As when the Bodhisattva himself was once a mighty poisonous dragon. If a sentient being came before him, if its bodily strength was weak, a glance would kill it; if its bodily strength was strong, an exhalation of breath would kill it. This dragon took the precepts for a single day and night, leaving home to seek tranquility. Entering among the trees of a forest, having meditated while seated for a long time, he grew fatigued and lay down. The habit of dragons is that when sleeping, their form is like a snake, its body adorned with patterns in the diverse colors of the seven treasures. A hunter saw it, and was startled and pleased, saying: 'With such a rare and hard-to-find skin, would it not be fitting to offer it to the king to serve as an adornment?' He then pressed down its head with a staff and stripped its skin with a knife. The dragon thought to himself: 'My power is according to my will; overturning this kingdom would be as easy as turning over my palm. How could this petty creature trouble me? Yet now, because of upholding the precepts, I do not value this body and must follow the Buddha's words.' Thereupon he endured it patiently, closing his eyes without looking and holding his breath without exhaling. Pitying this man, he single-mindedly endured the flaying without giving rise to regret. Having lost its skin, his red flesh lay upon the ground. At that time, the sun was scorching hot; writhing in the dust, he wished to head toward a large body of water. Seeing small insects coming to feed on his body, he dared not move again for the sake of protecting the precepts. He thought to himself: 'I now offer this body of mine to these insects for the sake of the Buddha path. Now offering flesh to satisfy their bodies, later when I attain Buddhahood, I will offer them the Dharma to benefit their minds.' Having made this vow, his body dried up and his life ended, and he was born in the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven. The poisonous dragon of that time was Śākyamuni Buddha; the hunter of that time was Devadatta and the six teachers of today; and the small insects were the eighty thousand devas who attained the Path at the first turning of the wheel of the Dharma."