SA 1107（一一〇七） 夜叉

Thus have I heard:

At one time, the Buddha was staying at the Monkey Pond in the city of Vesālī, in a two-storied lecture hall.

At that time, the World-Honored One told the bhikṣus, "In the past, there was a yakṣa ghost with an ugly and evil appearance, sitting in the empty seat of Śakra. The thirty-three gods saw this ghost with an ugly and evil appearance sitting in the empty seat of Śakra. Having seen it, they all became angry. As the gods became increasingly angry, the ghost became more and more handsome.

Then the thirty-three gods went to Śakra, Lord of the Devas, and said to him, 'Kauśika, you should know that there is a strange ghost with an ugly and evil appearance sitting in the empty seat of the Heavenly King. We gods, seeing that ghost with an ugly and evil appearance sitting on the Heavenly King's seat, become extremely angry. As the gods become angry, that ghost gradually becomes more handsome.' Śakra, Lord of the Devas, told the thirty-three gods, 'That is a ghost that is the antidote to anger.

Then Śakra, Lord of the Devas, went to that ghost himself, adjusted his clothes, bared his right shoulder, joined his palms, and called his name three times, saying, 'Noble one! I am Śakra, Lord of the Devas.' As Śakra, Lord of the Devas, showed such respect and humility, that ghost gradually became more and more ugly and then disappeared.

Then Śakra, Lord of the Devas, sat down himself and spoke a verse:

One should not be angry, and when seeing anger, do not retaliate with
anger. Do not give rise to evil in the face of evil, and
destroy arrogance. Not being angry and not harming is called abiding in the
assembly of sages. Evil and anger arise, firmly abiding like a stone mountain
Being able to endure intense anger is like controlling a runaway horse-drawn carriage
I say that a good charioteer is not just someone who holds the reins.

The Buddha told the monks, "Śakra, Lord of the Devas, praises non-anger as the sovereign king of the thirty-three heavens. You who have rightly believed and left home to study the path should also praise non-anger and should learn in this way."

Having spoken this sūtra, the monks heard what the Buddha had said and joyfully upheld it.