The Buddha's Shadow at Eosan魚山佛影

The Buddha's shadow at Eosan.

The Old Record says this:

"Maneosa (萬魚寺) is the old Jaseongsan (慈成山), also called Ayasasan (阿耶斯山).〔It should be written 'Mayasa'. This is a word meaning fish.〕 Beside it was the country of Gara (呵囉國).

Long ago an egg from heaven came down to the seashore, became a man, and ruled the country; this was King Suro.

At this time there was a Jade Pond (玉池) within the borders, and in the pond was a venomous dragon. On Maneosan there were five rakshasi who went back and forth and consorted with it. Because of this, lightning and rain came from time to time, and for four years the five grains did not ripen.

The king tried to stop it with spells but could not, so he bowed his head and asked the Buddha to preach the Dharma. Only then did the rakshasi receive the five precepts, and there was no more harm afterward.

Therefore the fish and dragons of the East Sea at last turned into stones filling the valley, and each gives the sound of a bell or a chime."〔Up to here is the Old Record.〕

Also, on examination, the twelfth year of Dading (大定), the gyeongja year, is the eleventh year of Myeongjong, and in this year Maneosa was first built.

The dongnyang (棟梁) Borim (寶林) submitted a memorial saying, "There are three ways in which the so-called strange traces in the mountain match the story of the Buddha's shadow in the country of Gara in northern India. First, in the Jade Pond in the region of Yangju, on land near the mountain, a venomous dragon also lies hidden. Second, from time to time a cloud vapor rises from the riverbank and reaches the mountaintop, and within the cloud there is a sound of music. Third, northwest of the shadow there is a flat rock where water always gathers and never runs dry, and this is said to be the place where the Buddha washed his robe."

Up to here are all Borim's words.

Now, having come in person to look up at it and pay homage, I find two further things that are clear and can be respectfully believed.

Roughly two-thirds of the stones in the valley all give the sound of metal and jade; that is one. And seen from afar it appears at once, but seen close up it is not visible, so that sometimes it can be seen and sometimes not; that is the other.

The text from northern India is fully recorded below.

The seventh scroll of the Sutra on the Samadhi of Contemplating the Buddha says this.

The Buddha came to the country of Yageongara (耶乾訶羅國), beside the venomous dragon in the champaka flower grove on Goseonsan, in the rakshasa cave north of the Blue Lotus Spring, south of Anasasan.

At that time there were five rakshasa in that cave who changed themselves into female dragons and consorted with the venomous dragon. The dragon in turn sent down hail and the rakshasa ran wild, and famine and plague had already lasted four years.

The king, alarmed and afraid, prayed to the gods, but it was of no help.

At that time there was a brahmin, clever and of much wisdom, who said to the great king, "The son of King Suddhodana of Kapila has now attained the Way and is called Shakyamuni."

When the king heard these words he rejoiced greatly in his heart, bowed toward the Buddha, and said, "How is it that today the sun of the Buddha has already risen, yet it does not reach this country?"

Then the Tathagata commanded the monks who had obtained the six supernormal powers to follow behind him, and accepted the invitation of Bulpabuje, king of Yageongara.

Then the World-Honored One sent out light from the crown of his head, created ten thousand great transformation buddhas, and went to that country.

Then the dragon king and the rakshasi threw their whole bodies to the ground and begged the Buddha to let them receive the precepts. The Buddha at once preached the three refuges and the five precepts, and the dragon king, having heard them, knelt with joined palms and begged the World-Honored One to stay in this place always: "If the Buddha is not here, I have an evil heart and no way to attain unsurpassed enlightenment."

Then the king of the Brahma heaven came again, bowed to the Buddha, and asked, "World-Honored One, for the sake of all living beings of ages to come, do not act partially for this one small dragon alone." A hundred thousand Brahma kings all made this request.

Then the dragon king brought out a dais of seven treasures and offered it, and the Tathagata told the dragon king, "There is no need for this dais. Only take the rakshasa stone cave and give it to me." The dragon rejoiced.

Then the Tathagata soothed the dragon king, saying, "I accept your request. I will sit in your cave for one thousand five hundred years."

The Buddha leaped up and entered the stone. Just as a person sees his own face in a bright mirror, all the dragons appeared, and the Buddha, inside the stone, shone out and appeared on the outside.

Then all the dragons joined their palms in joy, and without leaving that ground they always saw the sun of the Buddha.

Then the World-Honored One sat cross-legged inside the stone wall, and when living beings looked, seen from afar he appeared at once, but seen close up he did not appear.

The devas made offerings to the Buddha's shadow, and the shadow too preached the Dharma.

It also says, "When the Buddha stepped on the rock, it at once gave the sound of metal and jade."

The Biographies of Eminent Monks says, "Huiyuan (慧遠) heard that in India there was a shadow of the Buddha, a shadow left long ago for a dragon, in the stone chamber of an ancient sage south of the city of Nagarahara in the country of Yuezhi in northern India."

Also, Faxian's Record of the Western Regions says this:

"On reaching the borders of the country of Nagara, half a yojana south of the city of Nagara there is a stone chamber, and on the southwest face of a broad mountain the Buddha left his shadow.

Looking at it from about ten paces inside, it is like the true form of the Buddha, and its light shines clearly, but the farther one goes, the fainter it grows.

The kings of many countries sent painters to copy it, but none could come even close.

The people of that country say that the thousand buddhas of the Bhadrakalpa will all leave their shadows here. About a hundred paces west of the shadow is the place where the Buddha, while he was in the world, shaved his head and cut his nails."

The second scroll of the Record of the Western Regions says this.

Long ago, when the Tathagata was in the world, this dragon was a cowherd who offered milk and curds to the king. There was a fault in what he offered and he was rebuked. Bearing a grudge in his heart, he bought flowers with gold coins, made an offering, and prayed for a prophecy at the stupa:

"May I become an evil dragon, wreck the country, and harm the king."

Then he went straight to a stone cliff, threw himself down, and died.

At last he lived in this cave, became a great dragon king, and was just stirring up his evil heart.

The Tathagata saw this, exercised his supernormal power, and came here. When the dragon saw the Buddha, his venomous heart at last ceased and he received the precept against killing. Then he asked, "Tathagata, dwell always in this cave and always receive my offerings."

The Buddha said, "I am about to enter nirvana, but for you I will leave my shadow. When you are venomous and angry, always look at my shadow, and your venomous heart will cease."

He gathered in his spirit and entered the stone chamber alone; seen from afar he appeared at once, but seen close up he did not appear. He also stepped on the stone and made it become seven treasures.

Up to here, the gist of the sutra texts is all like this.

The people of Haedong name this mountain Anasa (阿那斯), but it should be written Manasa (摩那斯). Translated, this becomes 'fish'; in general, the story of northern India was simply borrowed to name it, and that is all.