Summary
s.1The Exemplary Tale of Sumāgadhā opens at Prince Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park, in Śrāvastī, where the Buddha is staying. At the time, Anāthapiṇḍada’s daughter Sumāgadhā is married off to Vṛṣabhadatta, the son of a nirgrantha merchant in the distant city of Puṇḍravardhana. After arriving at the home of her in-laws, Sumāgadhā is repulsed and disheartened on encountering the nirgrantha mendicants. When her mother-in-law asks why she seems despondent, Sumāgadhā tells her about the Buddha. At her mother-in-law’s request, she invites the Buddha and the saṅgha of monks for a meal, and she does so by preparing an offering and calling out from the rooftop. When Ānanda inquires about this invitation, the Buddha announces that all monks with miraculous powers must take a tally stick and travel to Puṇḍravardhana. As the śrāvakas arrive with their miraculous displays, Sumāgadhā relates a brief story about each of them. Finally, the Buddha arrives and converts the people of Puṇḍravardhana with his own miraculous display. When the monks ask how Sumāgadhā’s marriage has benefited so many beings, the Buddha relates the story of her past life as the princess Kāñcanamālā during the time of the Buddha Kāśyapa and, in turn, Kāñcanamālā’s past life as the virtuous wife of a farmer, explaining that she has performed buddha activity in the past and continues to do so. This sūtra also contains the popular account of the ten dreams of King Kṛkin, which are interpreted by the Buddha as foretelling the future decline of the Dharma.
s.1《蘇摩伽陀本緣經》開始於祇樹給孤獨園，這是給孤獨長者在舍衛城的公園，佛陀正在那裡駐留。此時，給孤獨長者的女兒蘇摩伽陀被嫁給了遠方磐陀婆蒂那城一位尼乾陀派商人的兒子牛授。蘇摩伽陀抵達公婆的家後，在接觸到尼乾陀派出家人時感到厭倦和沮喪。當她的婆婆問她為何看起來悶悶不樂時，蘇摩伽陀向她講述了佛陀的故事。應婆婆的要求，她邀請佛陀和僧團的比丘們來用餐，她通過準備供養並從屋頂呼喊來發出邀請。當阿難詢問這次邀請時，佛陀宣布所有具有神通的比丘必須帶上籌碼前往磐陀婆蒂那城。當聲聞們帶著他們的神變到來時，蘇摩伽陀講述了關於他們每一個人的簡短故事。最後，佛陀到來並用他自己的神變使磐陀婆蒂那城的人民皈依。當比丘們詢問蘇摩伽陀的婚姻如何使這麼多眾生受益時，佛陀講述了她過去生作為金光女公主的故事，那時是迦葉佛的時代，以及金光女過去生作為一位農民賢妻的故事，解釋她過去曾進行過佛事，並繼續這樣做。這部經也包含了栗峙王十夢的流行故事，由佛陀解釋為預示了正法衰落的未來。