分別功德論 4.23

4.23

The reason why the bhikṣu Kṣema is called foremost in caring for the sick is this: once, at the Jeta Hermitage, there was a bhikṣu who was critically ill and had been confined to his bed for a long time. Worms crawled out from under his spine, and he moaned and wailed all day long. The Buddha, inspecting the quarters together with the bhikṣus, saw this bhikṣu in such dire distress and asked, 'Is there anyone caring for you?' He replied, 'No.' [The Buddha] asked again, 'In the past, did you ever care for others' illnesses?' He answered, 'No.' The Buddha said, 'If you do not attend to the illnesses of others, how can you expect people to look after you?' Thereupon, the Tathāgata folded his saṃghāṭī, massaged and wiped him with his own hands, and washed him clean. At that time, Śakra Devānām Indra also came to assist the World-Honoured One in tending to the sick man. Thereupon, receiving the grace of the World-Honoured One, the sick bhikṣu was immediately healed. The Buddha told the bhikṣus: 'From this day forth, if anyone is sick, you should care for one another.' Then the World-Honoured One looked around and said to the bhikṣus, 'Who can constantly care for the sick?' Only the bhikṣu Kṣema [could do so]. The bhikṣu Kṣema constantly used five things to care for the sick. What are the five? Distinguishing good medicines; not being indolent, rising before and sleeping after [the patient]; always delighting in conversation and sleeping little; offering service with the Dharma without greed for food and drink; and being capable of preaching the Dharma to the sick. Thus it is said that whenever the bhikṣu Kṣema cared for the sick with these five dharmas, none failed to recover. Why is that? In past lives, this bhikṣu had been a physician for five hundred lifetimes, excelled in understanding prescriptions and herbs, and by listening to voices and observing complexions knew the root causes of diseases; furthermore, he nursed the sick with the four necessities. For this reason, the bhikṣu Kṣema is called foremost in caring for the sick.