長壽王經

Thus have I heard:

At one time the Buddha was dwelling at the grove of Jeta, in the Garden of Anāthapiṇḍika, in the country of Śrāvastī.

At that time, the Buddha addressed the bhikṣus:

"In ages past, there was a Bodhisattva who was a great king named Long-Lived (Dīrghāyu), and he had a crown prince named Long-Life (Dīrghajāti). The king governed his country by means of the True Dharma, and did not employ punishment with blade or rod against the people. Therefore the rains were timely and the winds favorable, and food was abundant.

There was a king of a neighboring country whose disposition was cruel and tyrannical, who did not know how to govern his country by the True Dharma, so that his people were poor and hungry. This king consulted with his close ministers:

'I have heard that the country of King Long-Lived lies not far from here, that it is rich and at peace, yet has made no preparation of soldiers and weapons. I wish to lead an army to attack and seize this country. Do you, my ministers, think this can be done?'

The close minister replied:

'Very good.'

The tyrannical king then raised an army and went to the borders of King Long-Lived's land. The border guard officer of this country ran back and reported to the king:

'The greedy and cruel king of that other country is leading his army here, wishing to invade our land. May the great king prepare soldiers and horses at once.' King Long-Lived then summoned his assembled ministers and said:

'The king of the neighboring country has brought his army here only because, out of greed, he wishes to seize the food and possessions of the multitude of people here. If I fight with them, the good people will surely be wounded and harmed. Alas! To kill the people in order to contend over the country—I cannot do such a thing.' The assembled ministers replied:

'We have all long since prepared our military forces and tactics. Surely we will defeat that other country, and we will not let the soldiers of our wise king be harmed by the enemy.' The king answered:

'If I win, then there will be those who die. The soldiers of that country and my own people all cling fondly to their lives. To harm others out of love for oneself—this is something a worthy person does not do.'

The assembled ministers would not heed the king's words. They kept the king within the palace, and then together they assembled the military forces and weapons, brought them to the border to be arrayed, and drew up their ranks to resist.

The king said to Crown Prince Long-Life:

'Now the assembled ministers, for my sake, wish to resist the army of that tyrannical king. I think that when the two sides fight, there will surely be death and injury. Now I wish to abandon the country and flee together with you.'

The crown prince obeyed. Father and son then climbed over the city wall and went into the secluded depths of the mountain forest.

At that time, the tyrannical king, having won the battle, led his army into the country of King Long-Lived, and demanded that there be paid to him a thousand catties of gold and ten million in coin.

The next day, the father and son, King Long-Lived and the prince, came and sat to rest beside the root of a tree by the road. There was a brāhman who came from a distant region, who also paused to rest beside the root of the tree, and he asked King Long-Lived: 'Where are you from, and what business brings you here?'

The king replied:

'I am a man of this country, who happened to come here to stroll about.'

King Long-Lived asked the brāhman:

'Worthy one, from where have you come, and what business do you need?'

'I am an ascetic, poor and rustic, from a far distant region. I heard that King Long-Lived of this country had the good intention to give alms to all those who are destitute. For this reason I came here, wishing to ask the king to help provide me with the means to make a living. I do not know how the king fares now. You are a man of this country, surely you know of this matter—but why is it that now the king no longer gives alms?'

The king was silent and reflected: 'This man needs my help, and so he has come from afar to this place. He has met me at a time when I am in exile, carrying no possessions whatever. Thinking on it, he is truly pitiable!'

The king shed tears and said to the brāhman:

'I am none other than King Long-Lived. The tyrannical king of that other country brought his army to invade my land, and I have abandoned the country, intending to go into seclusion in that mountain forest. Now I have met you, worthy one, coming here at a time when I have nothing—I do not know what I might take to help you!'

The two men wept together, choked with grief.

The king said:

'I have heard that the new king is exerting himself to hunt for me. You could take my head and present it to him, and you will be richly rewarded.'

The brāhman said:

'From a distant region I heard that the great king always rescues and helps all people, and so I sought my way here to beg of you, because I am so poor and wretched that I do not know what to take to nourish my own body! But to meet you at the time when the king has lost his country—this is due to my own meager merit. Now that you instruct me to take your head, truly I do not dare to obey.'

The king said:

'You have come here from afar because you need wealth to make a living, but you have met me at a time when I am entirely empty-handed, with nothing to help you. Moreover, all who live in this world must die; we too will be just so. Now I offer my body to you—why then do you refuse to accept it? If now you do not accept, and later someone comes to seek it, I will give it to them as well. Better that you, who have come first, accept it.'

The brāhman said:

'I cannot bear to kill the great king! O great king, if you have a vast and great heart of compassion, you surely wish to take your own life in order to give it as alms to them—yet you should go there together with me, only then will it be proper.'

The king then followed the brāhman to outside the city gate, and told him to bind him, and then to go in and report to the greedy king. The greedy king then bestowed gold coin as a reward upon the brāhman and told him to depart. At that time, the greedy king intended to kill King Long-Lived and then burn him, and to take his head and display it at the crossroads. The assembled ministers of King Long-Lived reported to the greedy king:

'We are his former subjects. Now is the final day on which that king must suffer death. We beg to be allowed to hold a small banquet to see him off.'

The greedy king consented. Those assembled ministers were all choked with grief as they came to the place of King Long-Lived. The people who saw it all said:

'The king is dying—truly an unjust death!'

The multitude of people within and without the city all cried out to heaven.

Crown Prince Long-Life at that time was near the highway. When he heard people tell him that his royal father had been seized by the greedy king, the crown prince then went to chop firewood and carried it into the market to sell. At that time his royal father was standing amid the clamor of the crowd. The crown prince saw that his father was about to be killed, and his heart was pained as if cut. King Long-Lived saw Long-Life, and fearing that the crown prince would, in anger, seek a way to take revenge, he raised his face to heaven and lamented:

'If you are a son of supreme filial piety, then let your father die in joy, with a heart free of hatred. You should not, for your father's sake, requite the grievance—that is, your father would then die gladly, without the least sorrow or worry. But if you go against your father's instruction and still carry out revenge, that is, you would then have caused your father to die with regret in his heart.'

Long-Life could not bear to watch his father die, and so he went into the mountains. King Long-Lived was taken to the place of beheading, and his body was burned. A long time afterward, Long-Life thought to himself: 'My father was a man of utter benevolence and righteousness, who even unto death did not change! As for this greedy king, he is of the kind who cannot distinguish good from evil, and has unjustly killed my father. Because my father had a heart of loving-kindness and compassion, kind and gentle, he died still without any heart of resentment. But I cannot endure as he did! If I do not act to kill this greedy and tyrannical king, then truly I am no longer worthy to live upon this earth!'

Thinking thus, Long-Life then went to work as a hired laborer within the country. There was a great minister who went about all the gardens outside the city to hire workers. He met Long-Life and so hired him to take charge of growing vegetables. Long-Life grew vegetables very well. One day, the great minister went to inspect the vegetable fields, and seeing that the vegetables were fresh and flourishing, he called the garden keeper and questioned him. The garden keeper said:

'Previously you hired a man to take charge of growing the vegetables, and so now they have come to be fresh and flourishing like this.' On account of this the great minister summoned Long-Life and asked him: 'Are you able to do the work of cooking?' 'Yes, I am able.'

The great official ordered Long-Life to cook, and Long-Life did this work very skillfully and deliciously. The great minister thereupon invited the king to come to his house to dine. Seeing that the food was both skillfully prepared and delicious, the king then asked:

'Who cooked this food?'

The great minister reported:

'Previously I hired a man, and it is he who cooked these dishes.'

The king had Long-Life summoned to the palace and ordered him to take charge of cooking food for the king. Several days later, the king asked Long-Life:

'Do you know how to practice the art of war?'

Long-Life reported:

'Yes, I know it.'

At that time, the king sat off to one side and said:

'I have a deep-seated enemy—the son of King Long-Lived—and so I always live in dread of his taking revenge. Now that I have you as my close attendant, it is truly fortunate for me.'

Long-Life replied:

'Yes, indeed. I vow to do my utmost to protect the life of the great king.'

The next day, the king asked Long-Life:

'Are you skilled at hunting?'

'I know only a little.' The king ordered his attendants to prepare the chariot, and then went hunting together with Long-Life. As soon as they reached the mountain forest, they saw a beast running, and so the two of them gave chase together, running ever deeper into the mountains until they forgot the way out. The two men lost their way for three days, unable to find the path of return, to the point of being hungry, exhausted, and in distress. The king dismounted from his horse, drew his sword and handed it to Long-Life, saying: 'I am very weary. Sit down so that I may lie with my head pillowed upon your thigh.'

Long-Life assented. The king lay down and slept soundly.

Long-Life reflected: 'I have, by stratagem, striven to find you, and now I have indeed attained my long-cherished wish!' He then drew the sword, wishing to kill the greedy and cruel king, but he recalled the words his royal father had earnestly enjoined upon him before his death, and so he reproached himself: 'How could I be so foolish and benighted as to wish to go against the teaching given by my kind father before he passed away?' Long-Life then sheathed the sword again and did not kill.

The greedy king awoke in alarm and asked Long-Life:

'I just dreamed that the prince of King Long-Lived came here wishing to kill me, which filled me with utter terror. Why should this be?'

Long-Life said:

'Surely there is some fierce ghost or spirit in this mountain forest who, seeing the great king come here, has sought you out to harass and terrify you. Since you have a god to guard you, let the great king rest in peace and have no fear.'

The king lay down again. Long-Life drew the sword once more, wishing to kill the king, but then he recalled his father's words and stayed his hand.

The greedy king again awoke in terror and said to Long-Life:

'I again dreamed that the prince of King Long-Lived came here wishing to kill me. I am very afraid—what shall I do now?'

Long-Life replied:

'Surely it is the Mountain God who is merely frightening you. May the great king have no fear!'

The king set his mind at ease and lay down to sleep. Long-Life again drew the sword wishing to kill him, but then recalled his father's words and gave up. Long-Life then cast the sword down to the ground, no longer having any wish to kill the king.

The king again awoke in alarm and said to Long-Life:

'I again dreamed that the prince of King Long-Lived revealed his own heart and mind and would no longer kill me.'

At that time Long-Life said:

'I am none other than Crown Prince Long-Life, the son of King Long-Lived. Truly I came here on purpose in order to kill the great king, to avenge my royal father. But I recalled the words my father earnestly enjoined upon me before his death—he did not wish me to requite the grievance.

Because I was foolish and benighted, I wished to go against my father's words. But because I remembered very clearly that earnest and heartfelt teaching, I hesitated and could not act according to my own intent. Now I have cast the sword down to the ground to prove that I have entirely obeyed my father's teaching.

Yet I still fear that hereafter, through delusion and a failure to reflect and reckon, I might again ruin the teaching of former days. Now I beg the great king to kill me soon, in order to eliminate my evil intent, and quickly help me bring this body to an end.'

The greedy king, repenting of himself, said:

'I am a violent and cruel man, tyrannical, who does not know where good and evil lie. Your father was a worthy man who always manifested a heart of kindness, and even unto death did not change—whereas I, being greedy and cruel, have therefore lacked understanding. Today, my life thus already lies in your hands; yet you, because you remembered your father's teaching, did not harm me. I sincerely feel that pure and good-natured heart of yours. Now, if I wish to return to my country, which road should I take?'

Long-Life replied:

'I know the way to go, but these past days I deliberately came here to cause the great king to lose his way, only because I wished to avenge my father.'

Long-Life led the king out of the forest. They saw the assembled ministers standing and sitting scattered all along the forest's edge. The king then sat down to rest and ordered food and drink to be served. The king asked the assembled ministers:

'Do you, my ministers, know the prince, the son of King Long-Lived?'

Among these officials, those who did not know him replied that they did not know. There were those who knew, but because formerly they had received favors from Long-Life and feared the crown prince would be harmed, they too replied that they did not know. The king pointed with his hand and said: 'This is Prince Long-Life.' The king continued:

'From this day on, I shall return to my own country, and I beg to hand this country back over to the crown prince. From now on you shall be my younger brother. If another country comes to invade, I will come to lend my strength alongside you.'

Then the king, together with his officials and troops, returned to his old country. Whatever precious and valuable products there were in his country, he would always send envoys to bring over and present as gifts.

The Buddha said to the bhikṣus:

"King Long-Lived at that time is now none other than I myself. Crown Prince Long-Life is Ānanda. The greedy and cruel king is Devadatta. Devadatta and I have had enmity life after life. Although I have always had a heart of goodness toward Devadatta, he still wishes to harm me. Ānanda from the very beginning has had no ill will toward me, and so he meets me with a heart of understanding, harmonious and accordant.

The Bodhisattva, in seeking the Way, is ever diligent and toils in hardship in this manner, even to the point of being harmed by bandits, still without any heart of resentment. By this, I attained to the fruit of Buddhahood, the Most Honored One in the three realms."

The bhikṣus rejoiced and made obeisance to the Buddha.

The Buddha is the Master Pilot of the Ocean,
Seeking the Dharma to ferry beings across the river;
A vehicle bearing the Way of the Great Vehicle (Mahāyāna),
Delivering all gods and humans.

Living of himself, with no teacher to provide,
Walking alone, with no companions;
Accumulating, he completed the fruit of Buddhahood,
And from that thoroughly penetrated the holy Way.

Seeking the unsurpassed tranquility and stillness,
Ultimately undergoing no suffering;
Though the heaven-realms are places of goodness,
Still they are not equal to Nirvāṇa.

The Teacher of the gods, the god among gods,
In the three realms none can compare with him;
With excellent marks, his body sixteen feet tall,
By spiritual powers he roams through empty space.

Upholding the precepts, pure, he cut off defilement;
With a heart of loving-kindness he aided living beings;
With wisdom he entered into meditative absorption;
With great compassion he broadly expounded the sūtras.

He is the one to whom the wise look up with reverence,
The place that all the holy ones venerate;
Śakra and Brahmā revere him as their teacher—
Only then is it known that the Buddha is supreme.

I hear the ten directions sing his praises:
He shatters delusion, his meditative absorption serene;
His brilliance penetrates the seven heaven-realms,
The fragrance of his virtue surpassing sandalwood (Candana).

The lord of heaven, with marvelous spiritual power, comes
To praise and revere the Most Honored, the Vast One;
Śakra and Brahmā both, with reverence,
Bow their heads and beg to receive his teaching.

Thus the Buddha delivers the world,
His blessings of giving reaching all the myriad kinds;
He preaches the Dharma, teaching the conduct of the precepts,
Everywhere making all things clear and distinct.