申日兒本經

Thus have I heard:

At one time, the Buddha was dwelling on Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa, near the city of Rājagṛha. At that time the king of the country, together with the great ministers, the elders, and the people, all revered him and upheld the precepts of the Buddha.

The Buddha taught: the king, the ministers, the elders, and the people must not kill, must not steal, must not violate the women of others; must not speak with a double tongue, must not speak harsh and evil words, must not speak falsely, must not speak frivolous and flattering words; must not be envious, greedy, or doubting.

One should believe that doing good brings blessings, and doing evil incurs an evil retribution.

What one does not wish for oneself, do not give to others.

As for those who study the various heterodox doctrines and do not receive the precepts taught by the Buddha, the king, the elders, the officials, and the people all do not pay them respect. The reason they are not respected is that theirs is not the true and right path, for they teach people to be without virtue: they themselves kill and teach others to kill; they themselves steal the wealth and goods of others and teach others to steal the wealth and goods of others; they themselves violate the women of others and teach others to violate the women of others;

they themselves speak with a double tongue, speak harshly and evilly, speak falsely, speak frivolously and flatteringly, and teach others to speak with a double tongue, to speak harshly and evilly, to speak falsely, to speak frivolously and flatteringly; they themselves are envious, greedy, and doubting, and teach others to be envious, greedy, and doubting.

At that time, there was in the country an elder belonging to one of the four clans, named Śrīgupta, whose wealth was very great, with gold, silver, and precious jewels beyond number. Śrīgupta made offerings to the heterodox teachers, did not revere the Buddha's Way, and did not believe in the Buddha's scriptures. The heterodox teachers were envious of the Buddha, and they gathered together and discussed with Śrīgupta:

"Now the Buddha is revered by the king, the close ministers, the elders, the officials, and the people; we alone are not revered by the king, the close ministers, the elders, the officials, and the people. The Buddha is always saying that he knows all matters in the present, the past, and the future; and that he even knows beforehand what others are saying within their thoughts and what they are pondering. Now we can put it to the test, to see whether the Buddha truly speaks as he claims or not."

Śrīgupta said:

"How should it be tested?"

The heterodox teachers said to Śrīgupta:

"You should prepare a meal to invite the Buddha, and in it mix poison. Right at the gateway, dig a deep pit five zhang deep and place fire within it, covering it over with a thin layer of earth, so that when the Buddha walks upon it he will fall into the pit. If the Buddha truly knows the matters of the present, the past, and the future, he will not accept our invitation. But if he accepts the invitation, then he does not know the matters of the present, the past, and the future. Dig the earth and make the pit, and set out the food, which has been steeped in poison."

Śrīgupta said:

"Yes, indeed. Excellent!"

He then went forth to invite the Buddha.

The Buddha said:

"Excellent!"

Śrīgupta returned and reported to the heterodox teachers. The heterodox teachers said:

"This man truly knows nothing. Hurry now and dig the earth to make the pit!"

Śrīgupta had a son named Candraprabha, sixteen years of age, who understood his former lives, had studied the Way of the Buddha, and was able to know the matters of the present, the future, and the past.

Candraprabha said to his father:

"The Buddha already knows the matter we have discussed; there is no need to test him. Father, you should not heed the words of evil men and throw yourself into boiling water and scorching fire."

Śrīgupta did not believe and follow his son's words, but at once ordered men to dig the pit, to place fire within it, and to prepare food steeped in poison.

The Buddha said to Ānanda:

"You should tell the bhikṣus: 'Tomorrow morning, when going to receive the meal offering, you must not walk ahead of the Buddha, but must all follow behind the Buddha.'"

The Buddha sat in contemplation of the right Way, and all the heavenly kings were shaken and stirred.

Śrīgupta sent a man to address the Buddha. The man came to the place where the Buddha was and said:

"The time has come; we invite the Venerable One to come and receive the meal offering."

The Buddha said to Ānanda:

"You should tell the bhikṣus to put on their robes, to carry their bowls, and to follow behind the Buddha."

The bhikṣus obeyed, put on their robes, took up their bowls, and followed behind the Buddha.

Countless heavenly kings and the various spirits and deities all came following along.

The Buddha then transformed the earth into the color of pure gold, leading straight to the gate of Śrīgupta's house. As soon as he arrived, the Buddha at once emitted a radiance that made all within Śrīgupta's house turn the color of gold.

Candraprabha said to his father:

"Now the Buddha has arrived at the city gate, and the ten directions are all bright as the sun. The Buddha, together with the bhikṣus and countless heavenly beings, is coming. The Buddha walks amid the assembly of bhikṣus and the countless heavenly beings like the bright moon amid the stars. Now within father's house it is bright just like this. Father, you should not test the Buddha."

Śrīgupta still did not believe his son's words.

The Buddha arrived at the city gate, and just as he stepped upon the threshold, the whole city was shaken with a mighty quaking: the sick were made well, the blind regained their sight, the deaf could hear, the mute could speak, those struck by poison were unharmed by the poison, those mad and deluded gained understanding, the hunchbacked were made upright, and those filled with anger were all made joyful. All manner of music and instruments—lutes and harps—sounded of themselves though none played them. The strings of pearls and jade worn by the women all gave forth sounds. The hundred kinds of birds and beasts all sang together most beautifully.

The Buddha arrived at the gate of Śrīgupta's house, and the fiery pit five zhang deep had become a bathing pool, in which lotus flowers had blossomed. The Buddha rested upon a lotus flower of a thousand petals, while his disciples rested upon lotus flowers of a hundred petals, and all walked upon the lotus flowers as they entered.

Seeing the fiery pit transformed into a pool of water, and lotus flowers blossoming within the pool, Śrīgupta was greatly terrified, and bowing his head to the ground, with utmost sincerity he said:

"The food offered to the Buddha today has all been steeped in poison; let me take it back, and I beg to prepare other food to offer to the Buddha."

The Buddha said to Śrīgupta:

"Enough, there is no need to prepare the food again! Bring here the food that has been mixed with poison."

At that time the bhikṣus were all seated peacefully upon their seats.

The Buddha said to Ānanda:

"You should tell the bhikṣus not to eat. They must obey the Buddha's instruction, and only after the invocation has been pronounced may they eat."

The Buddha then pronounced the invocation:

"In the world there are three poisons:

1. Greed and craving.

2. Anger and hatred.

3. Delusion and ignorance.

The Buddha is free of these three poisons. Poison cannot harm him. One who with utmost sincerity upholds the Dharma-scriptures cannot be harmed by poison. The bhikṣus who practice the true and right Way cannot be harmed by poison."

As soon as the Buddha had finished speaking, the poison in the food was entirely dispelled.

The Buddha said to Ānanda:

"You should tell the bhikṣus to partake of the meal. The poison mixed in the food has all been dispelled."

When the Buddha and the bhikṣus had finished receiving the meal, Śrīgupta came forward, bowed his head and face to the Buddha's feet, knelt with palms joined, and said:

"World-Honored One! I was originally guilty of no offense; it was only because I believed the words of evil men that I did this evil deed. I vow to follow the Buddha, and I beg to repent."

The Buddha then expounded a scripture for Śrīgupta. Śrīgupta then attained the first fruit of the Way: that of the Srotāpanna; he received the five precepts and became an upāsaka:

1. Not to kill.

2. Not to steal.

3. Not to violate the women of others.

4. Not to speak with a double tongue.

5. Not to drink intoxicants.

After receiving the precepts, Śrīgupta bowed his head and face to the Buddha's feet in reverence.

THE SŪTRA OF ŚRĪGUPTA (ŚRĪGUPTA-NIDĀNA)

The End