Summary
s.1In this Mahāyāna sūtra, a group of the Buddha’s most eminent śrāvaka disciples are collecting alms in the city of Rājagṛha when they arrive at the palace of King Ajātaśatru. There, the king’s daughter Aśokadattā, who is seated on an ornate throne, neither rises from her seat to greet them nor pays them any form of respect. Outraged by her rudeness, the king chastises her. The girl is unrepentant, and in a series of elegant verses she explains to her father the superiority of the bodhisattva path, which renders such obeisance to śrāvakas inappropriate. The eminent śrāvaka disciples then engage the girl in debate, but each in turn is silenced by the eloquence and confidence of her replies, by which she deconstructs their questions based on her knowledge of the emptiness of all phenomena. Having thus impressed them, she descends from her throne and serves them humbly with food and drink. They then all go together to Vulture Peak, where the Buddha prophesies her future full awakening.
s.1在這部大乘經中，佛陀最傑出的聲聞弟子們一群人在王舍城中托缽乞食，來到了阿闍世王的宮殿。在那裡，國王的女兒阿育王女端坐在華麗的寶座上，既沒有起身迎接他們，也沒有向他們表示任何敬意。阿闍世王對她的無禮感到憤怒，責罵了她。這位女孩毫無悔意，用一系列優美的詩句向父親解釋了菩薩道的殊勝之處，這使得對聲聞的禮敬變得不相宜。傑出的聲聞弟子們隨後與這位女孩展開了辯論，但他們一個接一個地被她回應的雄辯和自信所折服。她基於對諸法空性的了悟，解構了他們的問題。藉由這樣給他們留下了深刻的印象，她從寶座上走下來，謙卑地用食物和飲料款待他們。之後他們一起前往靈鷲山，在那裡佛陀預言她未來將圓滿覺悟。