採花違王上佛授決號妙花經
King Picking Flowers Offends the Buddha, Receives Prophecy as Wondrous Flower Sutra
東晉天竺三藏竺曇無蘭譯
Translated by Zhu Tanwulan, Tripitaka Master from India during the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
昔者世尊遊羅閱祇，說經散慧，初語亦善、中語亦善、竟語亦善，其義微妙，淨修梵行，所講廣普。
Earlier, the World-Honored One traveled to Rajagriha, spreading his teachings and sharing wisdom. His words were good at the beginning, good in the middle, and good at the end, with profound meaning that inspires a pure and disciplined life. His sermons were broad and comprehensive.
時，王便給使數十餘人，常採好花以給王家。後宮貴人婇女大小，一日俱出城外採華，欲還入城，路逕遇佛，遙見世尊相好威光巍巍無量，猶星中月；若日初出照于天下，與聖眾俱弟子、菩薩前後圍繞。
At the time, the king assigned several dozen people to constantly pick the finest flowers for the palace. One day, the palace nobles, ladies-in-waiting, and attendants of all ranks went outside the city together to gather flowers. As they were returning to the city, they happened to encounter the Buddha on the road. From a distance, they saw the World-Honored One’s magnificent marks, majestic radiance, vast and boundless, like the moon among stars, or like the sun just rising to shine upon the world. He was accompanied by the sacred assembly of disciples and bodhisattvas who surrounded him front and back.
往詣佛所稽首為禮，心自念言：「人命難保，佛世難遇，經法難值。今遭大聖，猶病者得良醫，身既貧賤加屬縣官，䩭役之患恒不自從，國王嚴急，主給採花常以早進，設失時節或能見誅。日不再中，聖眾難遇，億世時有；寧棄身命，以花上佛并散聖眾，因受經戒聽省深法無窮之慧。我於無數劫，為人所害不可稱載，未曾為法而惜身命，今供世尊三寶之業，縱使見害，不墮苦痛必生安處。」便以華散佛及聖眾上，却自歸命一心重禮。
He went to the Buddha’s dwelling, bowed in prostration, and thought to himself: “Human life is hard to preserve; meeting a Buddha is rare in the world, and the Dharma is difficult to encounter. Now I have met the Great Sage—just as the sick find a good physician. Yet I am poor and lowly, and under the control of the authorities. Bound by forced labor, I am never free. The king is strict and harsh: he orders me to gather flowers and present them early each day. If I miss the appointed time, I might even be executed. The sun never stands still at noon; the holy assembly is hard to meet, appearing only once in a hundred million eons. I would rather sacrifice my life and body to offer these flowers to the Buddha and scatter them over the holy assembly, and in doing so, receive the precepts, listen to the profound Dharma, and gain boundless wisdom. Throughout countless kalpas, I have been harmed by others more times than can be counted, but never have I risked my life for the Dharma. Now I make this offering to the Three Jewels. Even if I am killed, I will not fall into suffering; I will surely be reborn in a place of peace.” With that, he scattered the flowers over the Buddha and the holy assembly, then withdrew and, with single-minded devotion, bowed deeply again.
佛知其念發大道意，甚慈愍之，具為散講大乘之法、六度無極、四等四恩、三脫菩薩。時，諸採華人皆發無上正真道意，心解佛慧，至不退轉無所從生。佛即授決：「後當得佛，號曰妙華如來、至真、等正覺、明行成為、善逝、世間解、無上士、道法御、天人師，號佛、世尊。」其邊人聞，莫不怡悅，啟受大法供奉三寶。
The Buddha knew their thoughts had turned toward the great path, and he felt deep compassion for them. He gave them a wide-ranging teaching on the Great Vehicle Dharma: the Six Perfections, the Four Immeasurables, the Four Kindnesses, and the three liberations of the Bodhisattvas. At that time, all the flower-gatherers aroused the supreme, true intention for enlightenment. Their minds comprehended the Buddha's wisdom, and they reached the stage of non-retrogression, where nothing is born. The Buddha then gave them a prediction: "In the future you will attain Buddhahood, with the title Wonderful Flower Tathagata, Worthy One, Truly Enlightened, Perfected in Knowledge and Conduct, Well-Gone One, Knower of the World, Unsurpassed One, Tamer of Beings, Teacher of Gods and Humans, Buddha, World-Honored One." When the people nearby heard this, all were delighted. They embraced the great Dharma and made offerings to the Three Jewels.
時採華夫供養受決，稽首佛足還歸家中，與家二親妻子辭別：「我今命盡為王見殺。」
At that time, the flower gatherer made offerings and received the prediction of his future enlightenment. He bowed at the Buddha's feet and returned home. Taking leave of his parents, wife, and children, he said: "My life is at an end — the king is going to kill me."
父母愕然問：「何罪咎？」
Her parents were startled and asked, "What is her offense?"
諸子答曰：「為王所使行採諸華，中遙見佛以華貢上，王大嚴急，既違失時，復無有華，必見危命。故辭別耳。」
The disciples replied, "We were sent by the king to gather various flowers. Along the way we saw the Buddha and offered our flowers to him. The king is strict and quick to anger; we have already missed the appointed time, and now we have no flowers left. We will surely be put to death. So we are taking our leave."
二親聞之益以愁慼，當奈之何！發篋視之，滿中好華須曼雜香，香薰欝欝遠徹四面，父母告曰：「可以進王。」
When the parents heard of this, they were so grieved and distressed that they did not know what to do. They opened the trunk and looked inside, and it was full of lovely flowers and mixed fragrances of sumana blossoms, whose perfume wafted thickly and spread far in all four directions. The parents said, "You may present these to the king."
諸子各曰：「眾人見之，必傳至王，又復違時，恐不得安。」
Each of the princes said, "If people see this, word will surely reach the king, and we would also be acting against the proper time—I fear we will not be safe."
時王大瞋，見不時來復散眾華，遣邊大臣多將人兵收取將來。則受王教，反縛入宮，罪當棄市。諸人不恐，面色不變。王怪問之：「汝等罪過命在不測，縛來當殺。何故不懅，面色不改？」
At that time the king grew furious. Seeing that they had not come at the appointed time and had scattered all the flowers, he sent frontier ministers with a large force of soldiers to arrest them and bring them back. Receiving the king's order, they bound them hand and foot and took them into the palace, where their crime warranted public execution. Yet these people showed no fear, and their faces did not change. The king, finding this strange, asked them: "Your offense is grave, your lives hang in the balance; you have been bound and brought here to be killed. Why are you not afraid, and why do your faces not change?"
即白王曰：「人生有死，物成有敗，我從無數劫每以非法不惜身命，朝早採華值遇世尊，以華供上稽首歸命。爾時以知違令當死，寧以有德而死，不以無德而存。還視華篋續滿如故，皆是如來恩仁所覆。」
He then said to the king: "Human life must end in death, and anything that is built must eventually fall apart. For countless eons I have never once shied from giving my life for what is right. This morning while gathering flowers I encountered the World-Honored One, and I offered him the flowers, bowing my head in refuge. Now I knew that breaking your order meant death, but I would rather die with virtue than live without it. When I looked back at my flower basket, I found it full again, just as before — all of it through the gracious protection of the Tathagata."
王甚怪之，心不信然，故往詣佛，稽首足下，却坐一面，叉手問佛：「有是意不？」
The king found this very strange and could not bring himself to believe it, so he went to the Buddha, bowed his head at his feet, sat down to one side, joined his palms together, and asked the Buddha, "Is this really so?"
佛言：「然，王！此人至心欲度十方，不惜身命，故取眾華以散上佛，意無想報以得受決，將來成佛號曰妙華至真、等正覺，用發大意受決之故，慈心之香華滿篋器莫不聞知。」
The Buddha said: "Yes, King! This person sincerely wishes to save all beings in the ten directions, giving no thought to their own body or life. That is why they took various flowers and scattered them as an offering above the Buddha. Their mind held no thought of reward, yet they received the prophecy of future enlightenment. In the future they will become a Buddha named Wonderful Flower Tathagata, Worthy One, Truly Enlightened. Because they aroused the great intention and received this prophecy, the fragrance of their compassionate heart filled the vessel of flowers, and everyone came to know of it."
王大歡喜，疾解眾縛悔過自責：「愚意不及，繫縛菩薩，惟原其罪。」
The king was overjoyed, quickly released the bonds, and reproached himself with repentance: "In my foolishness I failed to understand, and I bound the bodhisattva. Please forgive my offense."
佛言：「善哉！善哉！能自改者與無過同。」
The Buddha said, "Excellent! Excellent! One who can correct oneself is the same as one who has never erred."
佛說如是，王及臣民莫不悅豫，作禮而去。
When the Buddha finished speaking, the king, along with his ministers and people, were all filled with joy. They bowed and departed.
採華違王上佛授決號妙花經
The Sutra of the Flower-Gatherer Who Offended the King and Was Predicted by the Buddha to Become the Buddha Named Wonderful Flower