Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3
南剡浮提品第二
Chapter 2: The Southern Jambudvīpa
[0174c25] 佛說比丘。有樹。名曰剡浮。因樹立名。名是洲地。曰剡浮提。此樹生剡浮提地北邊。在泥民陀羅河南岸。是樹株本。正洲中央。從樹株中央。取東西角。並一千由旬。是樹生長。具足形容可愛。枝葉相覆。密厚多葉。久住不凋。一切風雨不能侵入。比丘。譬如裝花鬘師。裝飾花鬘及耳上莊嚴。其樹形相可愛如是。上如華蓋。次第相覆。高百由旬下本洪直。都無 瘤節。五十由旬方有枝條。樹身徑刺。廣五由旬。圍十五由旬。其一一枝。橫出五十由旬。 間中亘度一百由旬。周迴三百由旬。
The Buddha said to the bhikṣus:
“There is a tree called, Jambu. It is due to the name of this tree that this continent is so named Jambudvīpa. This tree grows on the north of borders of Jambudvīpa, and south of the bank of the River Nimindhara. This tree’s trunk and roots is the central upright-continent, and from this tree’s central trunk its branches extend outwards, east to west, a total of one-thousand yojanas. The tree grows long, and is endowed with an agreeable appearance. Its branches and leaves interlink and form a canopy, dark and thickened with its many leaves. It stands long-lived, and all the wind and rain cannot penetrate it.
O Bhikṣus! As an analogy, it is like a master of making flower-garlands, who arranges the flower-garland and adorns them above one’s ears. This tree’s form is agreeable in this way.
Above, it is like a floral canopy, each layered one by one, with a height of one-hundred yojanas. Below, it has roots which are straight and massive, and are without knots of swellings. For a direction of fifty yojanas, there are branches and twigs which extend from the tree’s main wooden body, which itself has a width of fifty yojanas and has a circumference of fifteen yojanas. Each individual branch extends horizontally for fifty yojanas, and so its total extent is one-hundred yojanas, with a circumference of three-hundred yojanas.
其菓熟時。甘美無比。如細蜂蜜。味甜難厭。菓味如是。菓大如盆。其核大小。猶如世間剡浮子核。其上有鳥形。如大殿獼猴之形。知六十歲大象。是兩鳥獸恒食其實。東枝菓子。多落剡浮提地。少落水者。西枝菓子。多落剡浮提地。少落水者。南枝菓子。並落剡浮提地。 北枝菓子。悉落河中。為魚所食。樹根悉是金砂所覆。當春雨時。下不漏濕。夏則不熱。冬無風寒。有乾闥婆。及藥叉神。依樹下住。如是之事。
When its fruits ripen, they are indescribably sweet. Like fine honey, it is difficult to tire of the flavour of its sweetness. The flavour of its fruits is like this.
The fruits are as large as a basin and its seeds are more or less the same size as the worldly jambu fruit offspring’s. Above it, there are birdlike beings, or those which resemble palace monkeys, or those which resemble sixty year-old Mahāhastis, and these kinds of birds and beasts eat of its fruits.
The fruits of eastern branch mostly fall onto the land of Jambudvīpa and a few fall into the water. The fruits of the western branch mostly fall onto the land of Jambudvīpa while a few fall into the water. The fruits of the southern branch completely fall onto the land of Jambudvīpa. The fruits of the northern branch all fall into the middle of the River [Nimindhara], where fishes eat of them.
The tree’s roots are entirely covered with suvarṇa sand, and when the spring rain falls, the ground beneath the tree does not become wet. In the summer it is not hot, and in the winter it has no cold winds. There are gandharvas and yakṣas who are supported by the tree and who dwell below it. Thus is this matter.
云何知耶。昔王舍城有兩比丘。具神通力。共為朋友。從佛口。聞剡浮樹相如此。是二比丘互相謂言。我等當往看彼剡浮。各云我去。遂至樹所。見樹菓熟。墮地自破。其一比丘從其蔕孔。授手至臂。其最長指。猶不至核。牽手而出。為菓所染。手臂皆赤。猶如世間貴 赤栴檀汁所染污。其菓香氣能染人心。是時比丘鼻嗅菓香。第二比丘問言。汝欲食不。長老。我不樂食。是事希有。不可思議。是離欲結。最為廣大。何以故。若人未離欲嗅如是香。即生心氣。乃發顛狂。有諸離欲外人。若嗅此香。退失離欲之地。
How is this to be known?
Formerly, in the City of Rājagṛha, there were two bhikṣus, endowed with ṛddhibalas, and who were close friends. Having heard from the Buddha’s own mouth of the characteristics of the Jambu Tree, they spoke to each other, saying:
“We should go together to that Jambu Tree.”
And then each said:
“We shall go.”
And so having gone to that tree, they saw that its fruits were ripe and would fall to the ground and split open by themselves. Therein, one bhikṣu inserted his hand into the hole where the stalk once was, and his whole arm reached in up to his elbow, but not even his longest finger could reach the seed. When he pulled his arm out of the fruit, it had stained his arm red as if it were stained by the sap of precious red-sandalwood.
The fragrance of the fruit was able to stain people’s minds, and at this time the Bhikṣu’s nose had smelled the fruit’s fragrance.
The second Bhikṣu said:
“You wish to eat of it, no?”
And the Āyuṣman replied:
“I would not enjoy eating it. For this is exceedingly rare and inconceivable, severed from the bonds of desire, and is vast. Wherefore? If one were not free of desire, then one’s mind would have in this way become stirred by having smelled the fragrance of this fruit, and caused one to become mad. Were there various externalists who were free of desire, and who had smelled this fragrance, they may still retrogress from their state of desirelessness.”
是二比丘。還王舍城。說如上事。時有一人。名曰長脛。本是王種。姓拘利氏。宿業果報所得神通。是人有此威神相貌。若行水中。前脚未沒。後脚已移。若行草上。草雖未靡。便得移步。若行樹葉。樹葉未低。後足已度。鞋履踐處。並不為難。
These two bhikṣus then returned to the city of Rājagṛha, and each spoke of the above matter. Therein, a man named Dīrghajaṅga, originally of royal lineage, belonging to the Koliya clan, due to the ripening of past karmas, obtain ṛddhibalas.
This man possessed a body of such characteristics of anubhāva that:
Whenever he walked on water, his front foot would not sink before his back foot moved forward;
Whenever he walked on grass, the grass would not yet bend until he had stepped forward;
Whenever he walked on tree leaves, the leaves would not yet lower until he had crossed past them;
Wherever he his sandals stepped on the ground there would be no difficulty or obstruction.
是長脛人從佛所聞。是剡浮樹。如此如此。即白佛言。世尊。我今若行至剡浮樹不。答云得至。是人頂禮佛足。右繞三匝。面正向北。發此而去。行度諸山。一名小黑山。二名大黑山。三名多犛牛山。四名日光山。五名銀山。六名香水山。七名金邊山。是人登金邊山頂。轉面向北。聳身遠望。唯見黑暗怖畏而反。
This man, Dīrghajaṅga, had heard from the Buddha of this Jambu Tree, and so in that way turned to the Buddha and asked:
“O Bhagavān! If I go, would I be able to reach that Jambu Tree?”
The Buddha replied and said that he could indeed reach it. And so the man prostrated before the Buddha, circumambulated him three times to the right, then faced north, and departed.
He then travelled beyond various mountains:
The first was named Mt. Cūlakāla;
The second was Mt. Mahākāla;
The third was Mt. Camaraguhā;
The fourth was Mt. Sūryaprabha;
The fifth was Mt. Candraprabha;
The sixth was Mt. Gandhodaka;
The seventh was Mt. Suvarṇapārśva.
The man ascended to the summit of Mt. Suvarṇapārśva, turned his face northward and stretched himself up to peer over, but he could only see darkness and fear, and so he turned back.
佛問汝至剡浮樹不。答言不至。佛問汝何所見。是人答曰。唯覩黑暗。佛言。此黑暗色。即剡浮樹。是人重禮佛足。右遶三匝。更向北行。重度七山。一名周羅迦囉第二摩呵迦羅第三瞿漢山第四首羅山。第五稽羅山。第六乾陀山。第七修跋姖山。
The Buddha then asked him:
“Did you reach the Jambu Tree?”
He replied:
“I did not reach it.”
The Buddha asked:
“What did you see?”
The man replied:
“I saw only darkness.”
The Buddha said:
“The form of that darkness is the Jambu Tree itself.
The man then prostrated himself again before the Buddha, circumambulated Him three times to the right, and then departed northwards.
He passed again seven mountains:
The first was Mt. Cūlakāla;
The second was Mt. Mahākāla;
The third was Mt. Camaraguhā;
The fourth was Mt. Sūryaprabha;
The fifth was Mt. Candraprabha;
The sixth was Mt. Gandhodaka;
The seventh was Mt. Suvarṇapārśva.
又渡六大國土。一名鳩留國。二名高臘鞞。三名毘提訶。四名摩訶毘提訶。五名欝多羅曼陀。六名沙熈摩羅野。是名六大國土。
Then, he crossed the Six Mahādeśas:
The first was named Kuru;
The second was Gurava;
The third was Videha;
The fourth was Mahāvideha;
The fifth was Uttaramandā;
The sixth was Śaśimāraya.
又度七大樹林。林間有河。度是七河。又度阿 摩羅林。及訶梨勒林。乃至剡浮提樹南枝。從南枝上。行至樹北枝。是人俯窺見下水相。與常水異。最澄最清。向底洞澈。都無障翳。是人觀已。作是思惟。我之神通。今於此處。得成就不。因脚履水。手攀樹枝。是脚至水。如石即沒。於此神通。不得成就。云何如此是水。最輕最細。若以彼水。投此澗水。如蘇如油。浮在水上。若以此水。投於彼水。即沈如石。
Then, he crossed the Seven Mahāvrkṣa Forests. Between each of the forests were the Seven Rivers. Then, he crossed the Āmra Forest, then the Harītakī Forest, then he reached the southern branches of the Jambu Tree. From atop the southern branches, he then walked to the tree’s northern branches. The man bent down and looked below, seeing the appearance of water which looked different to ordinary water for it was extremely clear and blue, the bottom could be seen clearly without obstruction.
The man having saw this made the following thought:
“Has my ṛddhibala been perfected for such a place or not?”
Then, he placed his right foot upon the water while he grasped one of the tree’s branches. But as his foot hit the water, it sank as if it were a stone. In this way, his ṛddhibala was not effective here.
Why was the water like this?
It is because it was extremely light and extremely subtle. Were one to take this water and pour it onto a mountain’s stream, it would be as if it were ghee or oil floating atop the water. And if one were to pour that stream’s water into here, it would in the same way, immediately sink as if it were a stone.
是人從剡浮樹。取一菓子。還王舍城。奉上世尊。佛受此菓。破為多片。施諸大眾。菓汁染於佛手。爾時佛以此手擊於山石。至今赤色如昔不異。濕亦不燥。掌迹分明。因昔分菓為片片故。因名此石。為片片巖。
The man then took with him one of the fruits from the tree, and then returned to the city of Rājagṛha and offered it to the Bhagavān.
The Buddha accepted that fruit, divided it into pieces as offerings for the Mahāsaṃgha, but the fruit’s juice stained the Buddha’s hands. And at that time, the Buddha then struck a mountain-peak. Even now that red handprint remains there like it did back then, and when wetted it remains dry with the features of the handprint clearly visible. Because the fruit had been divided there, this place was therefore named, Khaṇḍakūṭa.
是時佛化優婁頻螺迦葉。取此剡浮提樹子。送與迦葉。迦葉。汝食是菓。迦葉問佛。大瞿曇沙門。那得是菓。佛語迦葉。是樹名曰剡浮。此菓從彼樹得。迦葉曰。我不能食是菓子。沙門但取自食。時諸天神又送剡浮樹子。供養於佛。或在舍衛若王舍城迦毘羅衛國等。佛得受已。分施大眾。復餘比丘住剡浮所。還此土說。目連比丘亦曾住彼還此。次第為比丘說。以是因緣。此事可知。
Therein, the Buddha manifested before Uruvilvākāśyapa, bringing with Him the fruit of the Jambu Tree.
Giving it to Kāśyapa, He said:
“You should eat this fruit.”
Kāśyapa then asked the Buddha:
“Mahāśramaṇa Gautama, from whence did you attain such a fruit?”
The Buddha replied:
“There is a tree called, Jambu, and it is from this tree that this fruit is obtained.”
Kāśyapa replied:
“I cannot eat this fruit. O Śramaṇa, may You obtain and eat of it yourself.”
From then, the various devatās would send these Jambu Tree fruits as offerings for the Buddha. Sometimes in Śrāvastī, other times in the city of Rājagṛha, or in the kingdom of Kapilavastu, and so on. The Buddha having received these fruits would share them among the Mahāsaṃgha.
At other times, bhikṣus who had dwelt there at the Jambu Tree and who returned to this land would speak of their experience. The Bhikṣu Maudgalyāyana had also stayed there once and returned to explain it in detail with all of the bhikṣus.
It is due to these causes and conditions that this matter is known.
Saddharmatā 