菩薩從兜術天降神母胎說廣普經 7.41

7.41

At that time, the Bhagavat, knowing the thoughts in the minds of the assembly, entered the Formless Samādhi of Fixed Intention, to deliver beings according to their voices. 'In the past, I was a gandharva in the human world, ruling one Jambudvīpa, two Jambudvīpas, up to countless Jambudvīpas [numerous as] the sands of the Ganges. The male and female retinues took fragrance as food, and their robes and adornments were all perfumed with scent. Or I was born in the northern realm of Uttarakuru, Godānīya, or Pūrvavideha; wherever born, I was a gandharva king, sometimes with a lifespan of one kalpa, two kalpas, three kalpas, up to countless asaṃkhyeya kalpas. Knowing that there were the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Bhikṣu-Saṃgha, my mind was always distant and did not draw near to them. Why is that? Greedily attached to the five pleasures, we took fine fragrances as pleasure; amid fine fragrances we heard no other sounds, hearing only the songs, praises, and play of the five desires, day and night without knowing satiation. There was a good friend who had cultivated roots of goodness in the past. Emerging from the earth, half of his human body appeared, and he told me: "Is this place delightful? Why be greedily attached to it? This is not true and pure conduct. Discarding the perfumed smoke, you can attain a place of peace. This fragrance is a disaster, an illusion, a phantom. Now a Buddha is in the world; you may go and receive his teaching, obtaining pure fragrance that pervades all directions." The gandharva king, hearing this, rejoiced greatly: "Excellent, excellent, Good Friend! You wish to guide me and show me pure fragrance; now is precisely the time. Where is the Buddha? Let us go together to pay homage." At that time, the earth deity who had emerged addressed the gandharva with a gāthā, saying: