投身飼虎緣起第一
爾時世尊將諸大眾，詣般遮羅大聚落所，至一林中，謂阿難曰：「汝於此間為我敷座。」佛坐其上，語諸比丘：「汝等欲見我往昔時修行苦行舍利已不？」白言：「願見。」
于時世尊以手按地，六種震動，有七寶塔涌現其前，世尊即起作禮右旋。「阿難！汝可開此塔戶。」見七寶函珍奇間飾。「阿難！汝可復開此函。」見有舍利白如珂雪。「汝可持此大士骨來。」
Then the World-Honored One pressed his hand upon the earth. The ground shook in six ways, and a seven-jeweled pagoda rose up before him. The World-Honored One stood, paid reverence, and circled it to the right.
"Ananda, open the door of this pagoda."
He saw a seven-jeweled casket, adorned with rare and precious ornaments.
"Ananda, now open this casket."
Inside were relics, white as snow-white shell.
"Bring here the bones of the Great Being."
世尊受已，令眾諦觀而說頌曰：
「菩薩勝功德， 勤修六度行；
勇猛求菩提， 大捨心無倦。
"The Bodhisattva's supreme virtue, Is diligently practicing the six perfections; Bravely seeking enlightenment, With a great, tireless heart of selfless giving."
「汝等比丘咸伸禮敬，此之舍利乃是無量戒、定、慧香之所熏修。」
Venerable monks, all of you now pay your respects. These sacred relics were formed through the long cultivation of boundless virtue, deep concentration, and profound wisdom.
時會作禮歎未曾有。時阿難陀白言：「世尊！如來大師出過三界，以何因緣禮此身骨？」
At that moment, the assembly bowed in reverence, marveling at what they had never seen before. Ananda then asked, "World-Honored One, you are the great teacher who has transcended the three realms. For what reason do you pay respects to these bodily remains?"
佛言：「阿難！我因此故得至成佛，為報往恩故茲致禮。今為汝等斷除疑惑說昔因緣，志心諦聽。阿難！乃往過去無量世時，有一國王名曰大車，王有三子：摩訶波羅，摩訶提婆，摩訶薩埵。是時大王縱賞山谷，三子皆從，至大竹林於中憩息。次復前行見有一虎，產生七子已經七日。第一王子作如是言：『七子圍繞無暇尋食，飢渴所逼必噉其子。』第二王子聞是說已：『哀哉此虎將死不久，我有何能而濟彼命？』第三王子作是思念：『我今此身於百千生虛棄敗壞曾無少益，云何今日而不能捨？』
The Buddha said: "Ananda, it was precisely because of this that I attained Buddhahood. I bow in gratitude for that past kindness. Now, to dispel your doubts, I will explain the cause from long ago. Listen carefully with focused mind.
Ananda, in the distant past, countless lifetimes ago, there was a king named Great Chariot. He had three sons: Mahapala, Mahadeva, and Mahasattva. One day, the king went on an excursion into the mountains and valleys, and his three sons accompanied him. They rested in a great bamboo grove and then continued on their way.
Soon they came upon a tigress who had given birth to seven cubs seven days earlier. The first prince remarked, 'Surrounded by her seven cubs, she has no time to search for food. Driven by hunger and thirst, she will surely devour her own young.'
Hearing this, the second prince exclaimed, 'How pitiful! This tigress will not live much longer. What can I possibly do to save her?'
The third prince then reflected, 'Throughout hundreds and thousands of lives, this body of mine has been uselessly wasted and decayed, without ever bringing any real benefit. How can I not give it up today?'
「時諸王子作是議已，徘徊久之俱捨而去。薩埵王子便作是念：『當使我身成大善業，於生死海作大舟航。若捨此者，則棄無量癰疽惡疾百千怖畏，是身唯有便利不淨，筋骨連持，甚可厭患；是故我今應當棄捨，以求無上究竟涅槃，永離憂悲無常苦惱，百福莊嚴，成一切智，施諸眾生無量法樂。』是時王子興大勇猛，以悲願力增益其心，慮彼二兄共為留難，請先還宮，我當後至。
At that time, the princes, having made this decision, lingered for a while and then all departed, leaving the place. Prince Mahasattva then thought to himself:
'Let my body now accomplish a great good deed, becoming a great vessel sailing across the ocean of birth and death. If I cling to this body, I am merely clinging to a mass of countless festering sores and malignant ailments, a source of hundreds and thousands of fears. This body is nothing but filth and impurity, a framework of connected bones and sinews—truly detestable and burdensome. Therefore, I should now relinquish it, to seek the unsurpassable, ultimate Nirvana. Thus may I forever leave behind sorrow, grief, impermanence, and distress; may I be adorned with a hundred merits, attain All-Knowing Wisdom, and bestow upon all beings boundless joy of the Dharma.'
Then the prince, arousing immense courage, strengthened his heart with the power of his compassionate vow. Concerned that his two elder brothers might jointly hinder him, he asked them to return to the palace first, saying, "I will follow later."
「爾時王子摩訶薩埵，遽入竹林，至其虎所，脫去衣服，置竹枝上，於彼虎前，委身而臥；菩薩慈忍，虎無能為。即上高山，投身於地，虎今羸弱，不能食我，即以乾竹，刺頸出血。于時大地六種震動，如風激水，涌沒不安，日無精明，如羅睺障，天雨眾華及妙香末，繽紛亂墜遍滿林中，虛空諸天咸共稱讚。是時餓虎即舐頸血噉肉皆盡，唯留餘骨。
At that moment, the great being, Prince Mahasattva, swiftly entered the bamboo grove and came to where the tigress lay. He removed his garments, hung them upon a bamboo branch, and then, before the tiger, laid himself down upon the ground. Through the prince’s compassionate forbearance, the tiger was powerless to harm him. So he climbed a high hill and threw himself down from it. “The tiger is now weak and cannot eat me,” he thought. Then he took a dry bamboo stalk and pierced his own neck, letting the blood flow.
At that instant, the great earth shook with six kinds of tremors, like water churned by wind, heaving and unsteady. The sun lost its brightness, as if veiled by the eclipse‑demon Rahu. From the sky fell a rain of many flowers and fine fragrant powder, scattering and drifting until they covered the whole grove. The devas in empty space all joined in praise.
Then the starving tiger licked the blood from his neck and devoured all his flesh, leaving only bones behind.
「時二王子生大愁苦，共至虎所不能自持，投身骨上久乃得穌，悲泣懊惱漸捨而去。時王夫人寢高樓上，忽於夢中見不祥事：兩乳被割，牙齒墮落，得三鴿鶵，一為鷹奪。夫人遂覺兩乳流出。時有侍女聞外人言：『求覓王子今猶未得。』即入宮中白夫人知。聞已憂惱悲淚盈目，即至王所白言：『大王！失我最小所愛之子。』王聞是已悲哽而言：『苦哉！今日失我愛子。』慰喻夫人：『汝勿憂慼，吾今集諸大臣人民，即共出城分散尋覓。』
At that time, the two princes were overcome with great sorrow. They went together to the place where the tiger lay, unable to control their grief. They threw themselves upon the bones and remained there a long time before they could rouse themselves. Weeping bitterly and filled with anguish, they gradually tore themselves away and departed.
Meanwhile, the king’s consort was resting in a high tower. Suddenly in a dream she saw ominous signs: both her breasts were cut off, her teeth fell out, she obtained three young doves, and one was snatched away by an eagle. She awoke with a start, and her breasts began to flow.
Just then, a maidservant heard people outside saying, “The search for the princes is still unsuccessful.” She entered the palace chambers and reported this to the consort. Hearing this, the queen was stricken with worry and sorrow, her eyes filling with tears. She went at once to the king and said, “My lord, I have lost my youngest, most beloved son.”
When the king heard this, he choked with grief and said, “Alas! Today I have lost my beloved son.” He comforted his consort, saying, “Do not grieve so. I shall now gather the ministers and the people, and together we will leave the city and search in every direction.”
「未久之頃，有一大臣，前白王言：『聞王子在，其最小者，今猶未見。』次第二臣來至王所，懊惱啼泣，即以王子捨身之事具白王知。王及夫人悲不自勝，共至菩薩捨身之地，見其遺骨隨處交橫，悶絕投地都無所知，以水遍灑而得惺悟。是時夫人頭髮蓬亂宛轉于地，如魚處陸，若牛失犢，及王二子悲哀號哭，共收菩薩遺身舍利，為作供養置寶塔中。
Not long after, a minister approached the king and said, "I have heard that the princes are here, but the youngest one has not yet been seen."
Then a second minister came to the king, weeping in distress, and told the king in full how the prince had given up his life.
The king and queen were overwhelmed with grief. They went together to the place where the Bodhisattva had sacrificed his body. There they saw his scattered bones lying in disarray. They fainted and fell to the ground, senseless. Only after being sprinkled with water did they regain consciousness.
At that time, the queen’s hair was disheveled as she writhed on the ground, like a fish out of water or a cow that has lost its calf. The king and the two other princes wept bitterly in sorrow.
Together they gathered the Bodhisattva’s relics, made offerings to them, and enshrined them in a jeweled stupa.
「阿難當知！此即是彼薩埵舍利。我於爾時，雖具煩惱、貪、瞋、癡等，能於地獄、餓鬼、傍生惡趣之中，隨緣救濟令得出離；何況今時煩惱都盡無復餘習，號天人師具一切智，而不能為一一眾生於險難中代受眾苦？」
Ananda, you should understand: this is the very same bodhisattva’s relic. At that time, even though I was still burdened with afflictions—greed, anger, delusion, and so on—I was able, according to circumstances, to rescue beings from the miserable realms of hells, hungry ghosts, and animals, and lead them to liberation. How much more so now, when all my afflictions have been exhausted, without a trace remaining—now that I am called the Teacher of Gods and Humans, endowed with complete wisdom—how could I not be able to endure suffering on behalf of each and every being in the midst of danger and hardship?
佛告阿難：「往昔王子摩訶薩埵，豈異人乎？今此會中我身是也；昔國王者，今淨飯父王是也；昔后妃者，摩耶夫人是也；昔長子者，彌勒是也；昔次子者，文殊是也；昔彼虎者，今姨母是也；七虎子者，大目乾連、舍利弗、五比丘是也。」
The Buddha told Ananda, "The prince and great being of the past—who do you think he was? He was none other than myself, here in this assembly. The king of that time is now my father, King Shuddhodana. The queen consort is now my mother, Queen Maya. The eldest prince is now Maitreya. The second prince is now Manjushri. That tigress is now my aunt. Her seven cubs are now Mahamaudgalyayana, Shariputra, and the five ascetics."
爾時世尊說是往昔因緣之時，無量阿僧祇人天大眾，皆悉悲喜，同發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心。先所涌出七寶妙塔，佛攝神力忽然不現。
When the World-Honored One finished speaking this story of past causes and conditions, countless, immeasurable multitudes of humans and gods were all moved to both sorrow and joy, and together they resolved to seek the supreme, perfect enlightenment. The wondrous seven-jeweled pagoda that had previously risen up, by the Buddha’s withdrawing his spiritual power, suddenly vanished from sight.