大方便佛報恩經 3.65

3.65

The Buddha told Ānanda: “Listen carefully! Immeasurable thousands of years ago in the past, there was a buddha who appeared in the world named Vipaśyin, who taught and transformed beings while in the world, benefiting devas and humans. When his conditions for teaching were complete, his spirit departed into nirvāṇa. After his parinirvāṇa, during the true dharma age, there was a young bhikṣu who had penetrated the three piṭakas—namely the Abhidharma-piṭaka, the Vinaya-piṭaka, and the Sūtra-piṭaka. His face and head were upright, he was endowed with the human marks, possessed eloquence in expounding the Dharma, and had a wondrous voice; he was known by many people, and kṣatriyas and brāhmaṇas made offerings to him. At that time there was a bhikṣu whose physical form was coarse and ugly, lacking handsome human marks, and furthermore his voice was dull and heavy, yet he constantly took joy in praising the Triratna. At that time the young Tripiṭaka bhikṣu saw that his voice was unpleasant and immediately reviled him, saying: ‘Such a voice is not as good as the barking of a dog!’ Then the old bhikṣu said: ‘Why do you revile me? Do you not recognize me?’ The young Tripiṭaka [master] said: ‘I recognize you: you are an old, unlearned (mahallaka) bhikṣu in the true dharma of Vipaśyin Buddha; why would I not recognize you?’ The mahallaka said: ‘What was to be done I have done; the brahmacarya has been established; I shall experience no further existence.’ Having heard these words, the Tripiṭaka bhikṣu was shocked, and his hair stood on end. Then the mahallaka raised his right hand and emitted a great light that illuminated the ten directions everywhere. Thereupon the Tripiṭaka [master] stepped forward, bowed with his head and face touching the feet in veneration, and begged for mercy in repentance: ‘Because of my foolishness I failed to recognize a worthy sage and committed this evil deed. May I in future lives draw near to good spiritual friends, encounter holy masters, exhaust the defilements, and untie the fetters, just like the Venerable One!’”