佛說目連問戒律中五百輕重事 1.361

1.361

問：「比丘貪資之物，其罪甚重。昔有一比丘，貪著一銅鐃，死後作餓鬼。眾分物竟便來，其身絕大，黤黮如純黑雲。諸比丘驚怪：『此是何物？』眾中有得道者言：『是死比丘貪著鐃故，墮餓鬼中。今故貪惜，來欲索之。』諸比丘即以鐃還，既得便捉，舌舐放地而去。諸比丘還取之，而絕臭不可近。復使人更鑄作器，猶臭不可用。以此驗之，知貪為大患。比丘貪著衣服，乃有自焚之酷。昔有一比丘喜作衣，晝夜染著，得病困篤。自知當死，便舉頭視衣，內起毒想，言：『我死後，誰敢著我此服者。』不久便命終，作化生蛇，還來纏衣。眾舁死比丘出燒葬訖，遣人往取衣物。見蛇纏衣，延咽吐毒，不敢近。即還白眾，具說所見。諸比丘便共往看之，都無敢近者。有一比丘得道，便入四等觀，毒不中，便往近之，語言：『此本是汝衣。今非汝有，何以護之？』便即捨去。不遠入一草，毒火出然草，還自燒身命終。即入地獄火燒，一日之中三過被燒，皆由貪害。」

Question: "A monk's greed for possessions incurs extremely grave guilt. In the past, there was a monk who was greedily attached to a bronze cymbal; after death he became a hungry ghost (preta). Just as the saṅgha had finished dividing the property, he arrived; his body was extremely large, dark and murky like a pure black cloud. The monks were alarmed and wondered: 'What is this thing?' An attained one among the saṅgha said: 'This deceased monk, because of greed and attachment to the cymbal, has fallen among the hungry ghosts. Now, still greedily begrudging it, he has come seeking to demand it.' The monks immediately returned the cymbal to him. Having obtained it, he grabbed it, licked it with his tongue, set it on the ground, and left. The monks went back to retrieve it, but it was foul beyond measure and could not be approached. They further had someone recast it into a vessel, but it was still foul and could not be used. Verifying it by this, one knows that greed is a great calamity. A monk's greed and attachment to robes even brought the cruelty of burning oneself alive. In the past, there was a monk who was fond of making robes; day and night he was attached [to them]. He fell critically ill. Knowing himself that he was about to die, he raised his head to look at the robes, and internally a venomous thought arose, saying: 'After I die, who will dare to wear these robes of mine!' Not long after, he died, was reborn by spontaneous generation (aupapāduka) as a serpent, and returned to coil around the robes. The saṅgha carried out the deceased monk to cremate and bury him, and afterwards sent someone to go and retrieve the robes and belongings. Seeing the snake coiled around the robes, extending its neck and spitting venom, [the person] did not dare approach. He immediately returned and informed the saṅgha, recounting in full what he had seen. The monks then went together to look at it, but none dared approach. There was a monk who had attained the path; he entered the contemplation of the four immeasurables (apramāṇa), so the poison could not harm him. He then went near it and said to it: 'This was originally your robe. Now it is not yours; why protect it?' [The snake] immediately abandoned it and left. Not far away, it entered some grass; venomous fire issued forth and burned the grass, and in turn burned its own body to death. It immediately entered hell to be burned by fire, being burned three times in a single day—all caused by the harm of greed."