佛為勝光天子說王法經

Thus have I heard:

At one time, the World-Honored One was dwelling in the Jeta Grove, the Garden of Anāthapiṇḍika, in the country of Śrāvastī, together with a great assembly of bhikṣus numbering a hundred thousand persons, all of them Arhats who had exhausted every defilement. There were also innumerable Great Bodhisattvas, all of them renowned among humankind, all of them at the stage of being but one birth removed from Buddhahood.

At that time, the World-Honored One was seated cross-legged upon the Supremely Wondrous Throne at the foot of a tree, and in the midst of the great assembly, for the sake of all the heavenly beings and humans, he expounded the profound Dharma that he himself had realized. Its words and meaning were subtle and marvelous; good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end, of a single nature, pure in the holy life, perfect and complete.

At that time, the king of the country of Kośala, the Deva-son Prasenajit, with his carriage arrayed in proper order and accompanied by his retinue, set forth from the city of Śrāvastī and journeyed to the Jeta Grove in order to behold, revere, make offerings to, serve, and draw near to the World-Honored One. Upon arriving, the king dismounted from his carriage and arranged his robes so as to approach the World-Honored One.

From afar the king beheld the Tathāgata seated peacefully beneath the tree, expounding the teaching of the Dharma to the great assembly: his bearing majestic, his faculties harmoniously composed, his mind at ease and tranquil, abiding in the supreme concentration; the Dragon-Elephant among humankind, like a lion-king, like a bull-king, like a wisely skilled horse, the most honored among humankind, like a white lotus flower, like a pool of water clear and still, like Mount Sumeru standing firm upon the great ocean, fully endowed with the thirty-two marks and the eighty graceful features, like a banner of pure gold beautiful with every color, like the sun radiating a thousand brilliant rays, like the full moon encircled by the stars.

When the king beheld this, joy arose in his heart, his whole body was moved, and he attained what he had never known before. The Great King held the consecration of the Dharma of anointing and possessed the five regalia: the wish-fulfilling jewel, the white parasol, the white fly-whisk, the jeweled sandals, and the jeweled sword—all of these he set aside, and clad only in ordinary attire, leading his great ministers, he abided in right mindfulness, his faculties serene.

He arranged his robes and crown, bared his right shoulder, bowed his head and joined his palms toward the place of the World-Honored One, paid homage at the feet of the Buddha, scattered various wondrous flowers, burned various fragrant incenses as offerings, circumambulated to the right three times, then withdrew and sat to one side.

At that time, King Prasenajit rose from his seat, ever maintaining proper deportment, joined his palms toward the Buddha, and said:

"I pray that the Great Teacher will awaken me, and skillfully instruct me concerning the Dharma of a king, so that in the present life I may attain peace and joy, and after my life ends I may be born in the heavens, even unto the unbroken continuance of the mind of Bodhi."

The Buddha said:

"O Great King! Excellent, excellent! Great King, you should listen single-mindedly, for this is a most rare matter. Whoever is able to inquire so as to seek the attainment of these supreme provisions should accord with the Dharma in practice and conduct, and put an end to evil deeds. Why is this? O Great King! If a king and his great ministers abandon the wholesome Dharma and practice the evil Dharma, then in the present life they will be despised and reproached by others, who will not dare to draw near them and will all give rise to doubt; they will often see evil dreams and have many enemies and foes; moreover, regret will arise in them, and after death they will fall into the hells.

"O Great King! If a king and his great ministers part far from the evil Dharma and cultivate the wholesome Dharma, then in the present life they will be revered by others, who will all come to draw near and will give rise to no doubt; they will ever see auspicious dreams, will be able to dispel all enemies and adversaries, and will have no regret; after their lives end they will be born in the heavens, and even attain the supreme fruit of Bodhi, the ever-blissful.

"O Great King! It is like a father and mother who love their children, ever wishing them to be at peace and free from harm and affliction, preventing them from doing evil deeds and exhorting them to cultivate what is good.

"O Great King! To be a Deva-son is likewise so. Toward his ministers and even his attendants, and all the people of his realm, he should employ the Four Means of Embracing to teach and transform them. These are: Giving, Loving Speech, Beneficial Conduct, and Cooperative Endeavor. When that king, within his realm, is able to produce such great benefit, then he accomplishes two things. What are the two?

"1. As a king, he is no different from a father and mother who love their child.

"2. The people of his realm regard him as their own child, wholeheartedly loyal and filial.

"Furthermore, O Great King! To be a Deva-son one must have kindness and affection, be tolerant and forbearing, lighten the taxes and levies, reduce the burden of corvée labor, establish the army and apportion offices without requiring great numbers, and remove and punish those who do evil while promoting and rewarding the worthy. Those who are not loyal and good should be swiftly sent far away. Follow the holy kings of old; do not carry out execution and slaughter. Why is this? Because toward the living, it is best to employ various conditions to transform and inspire them; for if one severs another's life, one will surely receive an evil retribution.

"O Great King! You must ever, single-mindedly, revere the Three Jewels, and give rise to no wrong views. After I have entered Nirvāṇa, the teaching of the Dharma should be wholeheartedly upheld by kings, great ministers, and chief ministers, and not allowed to decline and be diminished.

You must kindle the torch of the True Dharma and turn the Wheel of the Dharma, even to the very end of future ages, ever causing it not to be cut off. If one is able to rely upon the teaching of the Dharma and practice in this way, then it will cause the Dragon Kings within the realm to rejoice, the rains to be timely and the winds gentle, the devas to be glad; it will cause the people to be wealthy and at peace, the various calamities to be dispelled, the country to be tranquil.

The king's own person will obtain wondrous bliss, his throne will ever be held secure, his merit, virtue, and majestic power will endure long, he will no longer have grief and affliction, and his life span will increase. In the present life his good repute will resound throughout the ten directions, and the kings of other countries will all praise him, saying: 'The Deva-son of that realm is benevolent and humble, loyal and filial; with the True Dharma he teaches and transforms, rescues, and shows compassion to his people; he is the foremost and most supreme among all countries.

Now we should all submit ourselves to this great Dharma King.' After he casts off his body and life, he will be born in the heavens, receiving every kind of supreme and wondrous bliss, and reaching the fruit of Bodhi.

"Furthermore, O Great King! All dharmas are empty and still in their essential nature, impermanent, and subject to decay and destruction. It is like a person who, lying asleep at night, dreams of beautiful flower gardens, mountains and rivers, dense forests, clear springs, people, houses, and pavilions, delighting in all of these things—yet upon awakening, sees nothing of them at all.

The Great King should know! The succession to the royal throne and one's life span; the various fine things, the sovereign honor and self-mastery; the delight in the five desires—such as elephants, horses, and carriages, father and mother, brothers, sons and daughters, queens and consorts, all the people now present in the realm; and then ministers, wives and concubines, gold and silver, jewels and treasures, garments, food and drink, and the various storehouses of treasure—all of these, when death comes, are entirely cast off.

These things are all dharmas of impermanence, decay, and destruction, hard to hold and keep; their characteristics are ever changing, and in the end all disperse. They are a place worthy of dread, from which arise suffering and affliction. Therefore there is no self and nothing belonging to a self, nor is there any ruling agent.

Thus one should constantly contemplate them and not be heedless.

"Furthermore, O Great King! It is like a great tree: at first it puts forth leaves and bursts into blossom, and afterward it bears fruit; and when the fruit ripens, it falls one after another, the green leaves succeeded by yellow leaves, until in the end all of them have fallen, leaving only the bare tree. That tree withers and dries up, and then, when a great fire comes blowing upon it, it blazes up fiercely and in a moment is burned away completely.

"Furthermore, O Great King! It is like the moon and the sun, which possess great majestic power and are fully endowed with great light, able to drive away the realms of darkness—yet this too does not last long, and all returns to decay and destruction. The Great King should contemplate such dharmas of impermanence, non-self, and decay, and give rise to fear and dread. As the king of a country, one should rule by transforming with the Dharma, and not act in accordance with what is contrary to the Dharma; one should constantly cultivate every wholesome thing, and not follow what is evil.

"Furthermore, O Great King! It is like the four directions, where in each direction there are great mountains joined together throughout the four quarters, all of them solid and firm without crack or gap, rising above to the empty sky and below pressed against the surface of the earth, and in between are grasses and trees, dense forests, and the various kinds of living beings dwelling there. Not a single creature is able to escape from it; not a single mighty person is able to withstand it; nor can spells, medicines, or wealth cause it to turn back.

"O Great King! The four mountains of the world are likewise so. These are old age, sickness, death, and the utter loss of one's power.

"O Great King! When old age arrives, a person grows feeble and withered; when sickness comes, it gives rise to suffering and affliction; when death is present before one, it will surely sever the faculty of life; and when one loses one's power, one's majestic might is likewise destroyed.

"Furthermore, O Great King! It is like the lion-king, swift and possessed of great strength, with sharp fangs and claws, who enters the herd of deer and seizes them to eat at will, none being able to stop him; those various beasts, oppressed by the other species, are not free. The Great King should know!

All sentient beings are struck by the arrow of death; they have no strength, no place of refuge, and none to rescue them. When their life is about to end, the bones and joints come apart, the blood and flesh dry up, the mouth can no longer speak, the hands and feet grope about, the strength is about to be exhausted, the saliva overflows, the urine fouls the whole body, the six faculties—such as the eyes and ears—all cease to function, the throat is choked and stifled, the breath does not pass through, eating and drinking are no longer possible, and thought succeeds thought in unbroken sequence; thereafter the consciousness departs.

From beginningless time until now, one has ever been born, grown old, sickened, and died, drifting and turning within the sea of suffering, going to take rebirth according to one's karma. Now, at this very moment, when the life-faculty has just been severed, all that one has done by way of karma appears before one's eyes. The messengers of King Yama are exceedingly terrifying; the long night is dark and cannot be resisted; the breath, in and out, suddenly ceases altogether; alone one departs, heading toward the place of dread.

Casting off this life and taking on a body in the life to come, one will fall into a great pit, a deep and dark abyss, passing only along the road of perilous calamity, without provisions for the journey; the wind of karma blows upon one, and one does not know the way ahead. At that time, the various sufferings, calamities, and disasters have no clear place of return; one merely follows one's karma and receives its retribution.

"O Great King! There is a Dhāraṇī teaching called Banner of Victory. If a person has previously received and upheld it, then within the realm of birth and death it can be a good friend, helping to rescue one. Great King, listen closely; I shall now speak the mantra for you:

"Namo Śākyamuni-mahaye. Tathāgatāya, arhate samyaksaṃbuddhāya. Tadyathā oṃ. Śame śame sarva-pāpa praśamani svāhā.

The Buddha said:

"O Great King! That Dhāraṇī teaching is the utterance of all the Buddhas. If each day, having bathed clean, one constantly recites it seven times, then it possesses great majestic power and one can be rescued—just as in time of extreme cold one meets a great fire, or in time of great heat one meets cool refreshing water, or in the burning heat of summer one suddenly meets the shade of a tree upon the road, or as one who thirsts meets a clear spring, or as one who hungers meets fine food, or as one who is sick obtains a divine mantra and medicines and moreover meets a skilled physician, or as one who is frightened meets a strong companion.

"O Great King! When a person of such merit is about to die, there will surely be auspicious signs and omens to guide and lead him.

"O Great King! At that very moment, only the wholesome Dharma is able to keep watch and guard over one and to serve as a place of refuge; and this very Dhāraṇī teaching is skillfully able to rescue. Therefore, O Great King!

Day by day you should recite and chant that mantra, and then you will be able to dispel all the obstructions of misdeeds, and moreover be able to give rise to abundant merit and virtue. You should skillfully contemplate that all dharmas are impermanent, subject to decay and destruction, and entirely empty. Within the gate of death you should give rise to great fear and dread, employing wholesome deeds to teach and transform the world; do not do evil, ever cultivate the works of merit, and arouse the mind of loving-kindness and compassion.

Why is this? Because toward this body one ever delights to guard and protect it, supplying it with the finest of foods, resting and reposing in self-mastery as the time requires, free of grief and care; yet though one receives such supreme and wondrous pleasures, in the end one cannot avoid death. When about to relinquish one's life, the fire of hunger will come to torment one, and one dies burned and scorched.

"O Great King! The garments one wears are all fine and beautiful things—white Kāśi silk, brocades and damasks and gauze—which when put on are cool and warm, indulging one's feelings and enjoying their delight; yet in the end one cannot avoid death. When about to die, one lies still upon bed and mat, turned and shifted by others, the various impurities appearing about the body, blankets and quilts draped around the place where one lies, causing those who see it to give rise to revulsion and disgust.

"Furthermore, O Great King! Day by day while still alive, one ever bathes oneself clean, employing every kind of fragrant powder and scented unguent, the various adornments perfumed and richly fragrant, with a garland of flowers set upon the head; yet though one enjoys such supreme and wondrous pleasures, in the end one cannot avoid death, and gradually decays and disintegrates, returning to the foul and stinking form as before. The bathing and anointing with the various fragrances are all but temporary.

"Furthermore, O Great King! Within the great palace, many palace women surround one, strings and pipes take their turns, and at will there is dancing and singing, indulging in delight as time goes on, with no further thought of grief and sorrow; yet in the end one cannot avoid the suffering brought on by death, pressed and oppressed so as to die in terror.

"Furthermore, O Great King! One's dwelling in the palace halls, with every kind of solemn adornment, the doors airy and cool, suited to the season—one delights and revels the whole day long, enjoying and partaking through the night. In the chamber the lamps and torches blaze brightly, there are many palace women, fragrances waft afar, beautiful flowers are scattered everywhere, the bed is decorated with the seven kinds of treasure, the cushions are layered many fold and the pillows arranged straight, and one sleeps and rests as one pleases, free of care and weariness; yet when one's karma is exhausted, one likewise cannot avoid death.

After the body has perished, it is borne to the burial ground, cast away in the open wilds, the corpse rotting and decaying, blood and gore flowing forth, bones and flesh coming apart, so that those who see it are sickened and disgusted; it becomes food for the birds and beasts of the forest, such as foxes, wolves, kites, and crows. Alas that this body should come to such a state.

"Furthermore, O Great King! On a fine morning of a beautiful day, one bids one's retinue prepare the carriage and set forth from the city, journeying to the fragrant grove, roaming and delighting at will, with elephants, horses, and carriages all ready before and behind, galloping about to one's heart's content; the attendant officials, standing fanning, are ever solemn and stately, the curtains and canopies hung high with jeweled parasols besides, drums and music of every kind resounding, and everyone reverently serves and attends upon one as upon Śakra Devānām Indra.

Yet if one's blessings and life span are exhausted, the messengers of Yama come seeking and seize the spirit-soul, leading it before King Yama, where according to one's karma it is judged and apportioned and sentenced—hard indeed to avoid—and there remains only the skeleton upon the ground. Father and mother, wife and children, and all the people of the realm grieve and weep, crying out and beating their breasts, all of them in anguish; the funeral carriage bears the coffin to the burial ground, where it is either cremated, or buried, or set adrift upon the water.

The various flying birds and running beasts, the various fishes, soft-shelled turtles, tortoises, frogs, and toads, smelling the scent of that flesh, vie with one another to come and eat, swallow, burrow into, and gnaw at it, until the bones become dust, no different from the earth. The Great King should know! All sentient beings, the kinds that take on consciousness, are all like this; entirely they undergo impermanence, decay, and destruction; the body is hard to preserve, in thought after thought it shifts and changes, and the afflictions of the body are not to be cherished.

Whoever is a person of wisdom should give rise to the mind that parts far from it.

"Therefore, O Great King! You should contemplate that this body is the root of misfortune and calamity, subject to impermanence, ever pursued and pressed by the god of death. Knowing this matter, you should use the True Dharma to govern the realm, and should not, driven by greed, hatred, and delusion, carry out the various evil deeds. Why is this? O Great King! I do not say that there is any foolish and benighted ordinary person who, toward the realms of the five desires—namely form, sound, scent, taste, and touch—ever heaping up much and ever delighting to draw near such things, is able to give rise to a mind of satiety and contentment.

"O Great King! Whoever is able, toward the realm of desire, to arouse a mind of weariness and disgust—this is a sage and worthy one, who gives rise to supreme wisdom; even now, in the present, he is able to give rise to a mind of satiety and contentment, gradually to part far from it, to cultivate, and to realize the wondrous fruit of Nirvāṇa."

At that time, the Deva-son Prasenajit, having heard the Buddha expound the Dharma that produces peace and security for oneself, the Dharma that preserves the realm for long, that brings benefit to all the myriad kinds of beings, whose good repute resounds throughout the ten directions, and by which, when one passes away, one is born in the heavens and receives every kind of wondrous bliss—in the depths of his heart greatly rejoiced and attained what he had never known before. Joining his palms reverently and single-mindedly gazing in admiration, he addressed the World-Honored One:

"The Tathāgata, in his Great Kindness, has for my sake expounded such wondrous meaning of the Dharma. Now I, with utmost reverence, vow to spread it abroad throughout the whole realm, so that all people may recite, chant, cultivate, and practice it."

The Buddha praised him:

"Excellent, excellent! O Great King! In former lives you cultivated the causes, and so in this life you receive a supreme retribution and are made a Deva-son, all in accordance with the wishes of your mind. You should act exactly as has been expounded, and do not be heedless."

At that time, the Deva-son Prasenajit and the great assembly all rejoiced, faithfully received and reverently practiced the teaching, paid homage, and withdrew.