起信論疏筆削記 19.35

19.35

Regarding the duitig ghost: The Chanbing jing says: "When the elder's son Luo Xunyu first renounced household life, while practicing the mindfulness of breathing taught at the time of Kāśyapa Buddha in a quiet place, he saw a ghost whose face was like a pipa lute, with four eyes and two mouths, its entire face emitting light. It struck and tickled both of his armpits and other parts of his body with its hands, saying with its mouth: 'Duitig, duitig,' like a whirling wheel of fire, like a flash of lightning, now vanishing, now arising, or taking the form of a mouse, or making the sound of a horse, or groaning like a ghost, or whispering secretly, harassing and confusing in various ways to drive the practitioner mad. The Buddha said: 'This ghost was a monk in the time of Konāgamana Buddha who was approaching the first fruition. Because he engaged in wrong livelihood, he was expelled by the Saṅgha. Dying in anger, he vowed of his own accord to become a ghost to harass the fourfold assembly.'" "Duitig" refers to what it says with its mouth. Regarding lakṣaṇas (luojizhi): The Chan jing says: "These are vetālas (corpse-reviving ghosts)." When the text mentions "stealing," it may be because this ghost loves to steal corpses, or it may be linked with the Sanskrit word below; we preserve both readings for now, not that it is due to stealing monastic retreats (vassa). Thus the sūtra says: "The lakṣaṇas hold iron rods in their hands," and so forth. "Precepts and vinaya" refers to the vinaya texts of the various sections of the Śrāvaka precepts. The three refuges and five precepts are self-evident.