付法藏因緣傳 4.8

4.8

Upagupta, seeing that he was subdued and tractable, then preached the Dharma to him, and he became an arhat. At that time there was also an upāsaka who said to a brāhmaṇa, "There is no self." The brāhmaṇa said, "Who taught this?" He replied, "Gupta always proclaims that there is no self; it is only based on provisional combination that one speaks of 'self.'" The brāhmaṇa then went to the Venerable One's dwelling. Upagupta knew his thoughts and at once proclaimed to him that all things are without self: "It is like an echo arising in an empty mountain: if one closely observes and contemplates it, it is utterly unobtainable. It is formed merely through the combination of the five aggregates. What wise person would deem it to be real?" The brāhmaṇa was immediately awakened and became a srotāpanna. [Upagupta] caused him to go forth from the household life, and he attained the path of an arhat. There was a son of good family who went to Upagupta to go forth from the household life and train in the path. He was constantly fond of sleeping, indolent, and lazy. Although [Upagupta] preached the Dharma for him, he attained nothing at all. The Venerable One instructed him to sit in meditation under a tree, but under the tree he soon fell asleep again. Gupta magically created a deep pit of a thousand fathoms. When the monk saw it, he was filled with terror and single-mindedly concentrated on Upagupta. The Venerable One then magically created a small path and had the monk pass through it. [The monk] thought to himself, "My master has saved me from this peril!" Upagupta then said to him, "This terror is minor and not worth speaking of. The suffering of birth, aging, sickness, and death in the three realms of existence constantly attends the practitioner and never departs. The sufferings in the hells are of hundreds of thousands of kinds; fear of those far exceeds this pit." Thereupon the monk slept no more; vigorously contemplating, he attained arhatship. In an eastern country there was a son of good family who had faith and delight in the Buddha's Dharma, went forth from the household life, and trained in the path. He was skilled in managing affairs, leaving nothing undone. After a long time he grew weary, so he went to the Venerable Upagupta's dwelling. The Venerable One observed him and knew that because this monk's merit was not yet complete, he had not attained the path. He therefore had him wander and instruct [beings] for the sake of the Saṅgha. Receiving the instruction, he entered the city and begged from place to place. An elder saw him and asked him [about it]. He replied, "Elder, the Venerable Gupta sent me to instruct [beings]. Who in this city is of staunch faith?" The elder said again, "Take care not to go anywhere else. Whatever is needed, I shall provide it all to you." He then prepared everything. Having obtained it, the monk knelt before the senior elder holding the food. The entire Saṅgha all recited verses of blessing for him. When the blessing was finished, he became an arhat. There was a monk who by nature was fond of food and drink; because of this greed, he could not attain the path. Upagupta invited him to his cell and gave him fragrant milk gruel, telling him to wait until it cooled before eating. The monk blew on the gruel with his mouth, and it soon cooled. He said to the Venerable One, "The gruel has already cooled." The Venerable One told him, "Although this gruel is cool, the fire of your desire is hot. You should extinguish the fire of your mind with the water of contemplation." He then had him vomit the food out into an empty vessel. After he had vomited the food, [Upagupta] had him eat it again. The monk answered, "It is mixed with saliva; how could it be eaten?" The Venerable One said to him, "All food and drink is no different from this. Because you do not examine it, you falsely give rise to greedy attachment. You should now contemplate the notion of the impurity of food." He then preached the Dharma for him, and [the monk] attained the path of an arhat. There was a monk who deeply loved and cherished his body. Because he loved and cherished his body, he wished to return home. Taking leave of Upagupta, he spent the night on the road in a deva shrine. The Venerable One then magically created a yakṣa carrying a corpse to this deva shrine. Another ghost came from behind, and the two ghosts then fought over the corpse. In a tumultuous dispute, they could not settle it themselves. The ghost in front said, "I have a witness," and they together asked him, "Whose corpse is this?" The man was terrified and thought to himself, "Today I shall certainly die without doubt. Better to speak the truth and be slaughtered." He said to the ghost in front, "This is your corpse." The ghost behind was enraged and tore off his hands and feet. The ghost in front then took the corpse's [limbs] and replaced them; his body was restored, no different from before. Thereupon the two ghosts together ate the remaining flesh, and having finished eating, they went away. This man's self-love immediately ceased. He returned to the Venerable One, went forth from the household life, and practiced vigorously; shortly thereafter, he attained arhatship. In South India there was a son of good family who went forth from the household life and trained in the path. Attached to his own body, he bathed, smeared it with perfumes, and was fond of delicious food and drink, so that his body grew fat and robust; he was unable to attain the path. He went to the Venerable One's dwelling to seek the supreme Dharma. Upagupta observed that this person, because of attachment to the body, could not exhaust the outflows. He said to the monk, "If you can receive my teaching, I shall impart the Dharma to you." He magically created a large tree and had him climb it; the four sides turned into a deep pit of a thousand fathoms. He had him release his right hand, and eventually release everything. At that time, this person gave up his body and life, letting go of both hands and feet, and immediately arrived at the ground, seeing neither the deep pit nor the large tree. [Upagupta] preached the essential Dharma for him, and he attained the path of an arhat. There was a monk whose mind was extremely stingy and greedy; because of this cause, he could not attain stream-entry. Upagupta instructed him to practice giving. He answered, "I am poor; what can I use to give?" Upagupta sent two disciples to sit to his left and right, their bodies emitting light. The monk was delighted and gave a little food. Later, when he obtained good food, he gave rise to joy and thought, "A small gift still brings a great reward; if one gives much, the reward will be immeasurable!" His stingy mind was immediately broken. [Upagupta] preached the profound Dharma for him, and at that moment he attained the fruit of an arhat. There was a son of good family who went forth from the household life and trained in the path. Upagupta preached the essential Dharma for him, and he soon saw the truth and became a srotāpanna. He thought to himself, "Having severed the three fetters, what further progress should I seek? I can roam freely at will for at most seven lifetimes." The Venerable One said to him, "The phenomenon of saṃsāra is utterly detestable and vile, just like excrement, which is foul whether little or much." He then took him to a caṇḍāla village, where he saw a young child whose body was covered with malignant sores, with worms and blood flowing out together, suffering greatly. He asked, "Monk, do you see this child? This young child is a srotāpanna. Long ago, when the Buddha was in the world, there was an arhat whose body suffered slightly from sores, which made a sound when he scratched them. The karmadāna angrily said, 'Are there maggots and sores on your body now? You should go out to the caṇḍāla village!' The arhat said to him, 'Now you have incurred a transgression; do not utter such words.' The karmadāna then repented, cultivated with vigor, and became a srotāpanna. Later, he grew lax and did not seek to advance further, and therefore was born into this household to suffer this torment." Walking a little further, he saw a person being burned by fire, his body scorched and putrefied, the pain unbearable. Advancing still further, he saw another person who, having violated the king's law, had his body impaled upon a large wooden stake, uttering cries of lamentation and experiencing extreme suffering. The Venerable One then asked the monk, "Do you see these two people?" The monk said, "Indeed, I have seen them." The Venerable One told him, "The former person is a sakṛdāgāmin; the one seen later is an anāgāmin. They were both indolent and did not seek to advance further, and therefore were born among humans to undergo these bitter torments. Therefore you should now be diligent and seek liberation quickly." Having heard this, the monk cultivated and trained day and night, and before long attained the path of an arhat. The Venerable One then preached the essentials of the Dharma for the caṇḍāla's son, who became an anāgāmin, died, and was reborn in the Śuddhāvāsa heaven. In the country of Mathurā, an elder had a son who died at just one year of age. In this manner, [the same thing happened] successively up to six elders: [a son] was born, reached one year of age, and died again. Finally, he was born again in an elder's house, and when he had just reached seven years of age, he was carried off by robbers. Upagupta observed that this child was destined to attain the path in this lifetime. He magically created an army of four divisions to capture the robbers. When the robbers saw it, they were terrified, begged for mercy, and paid homage. He preached the essential Dharma for them, and they became srotāpannas; they took this child and gave him to Upagupta. The Venerable One then ordained this child and the robbers, causing them all to go forth from the household life. He preached the wondrous Dharma for them, and they attained the path of an arhat. He said to the child, "You may now observe your relatives and transform and deliver them." He then observed and saw his parents from seven lifetimes weeping in sorrow and longing for their son. He went to their house and said, "Elders, I am your son; do not be so sorrowful." He proclaimed the essential Dharma for them, and they attained the first fruit of the path. The successive six families were all likewise. There was a son of good family who had faith in the Buddha and went forth from the household life. Sitting in meditation, he attained the four mundane dhyānas and considered himself to have achieved the ultimate fruit of an arhat. Upagupta had skillful means: he sent that monk to another settlement, and midway on the road he magically created a merchant, and also manifested a band of robbers, five hundred in all, who gathered as a gang to rob the merchant, slaying, hacking, and stabbing so that [corpses] lay everywhere on the ground. The monk was seized with great terror and immediately knew that he was not an arhat. He then thought, "I am not an arhat, but an anāgāmin." When the merchant had been destroyed, an elder's daughter said to the monk, "I only pray that the Venerable One will go together with me." The monk answered, "The Buddha does not permit me to travel with a woman." The elder's daughter said, "I will keep the Venerable One in sight and follow behind." The monk took pity on her and walked keeping each other in sight. The Venerable One then magically created a great river. The woman said, "Venerable One, you may cross together with me." The monk was downstream and the woman was upstream. Afterwards, this woman sank and fell into the river, calling out, "Venerable One, save me from this peril!" The monk then pulled her out, gave rise to the thought of smooth softness, and aroused the mind of sensual desire. He immediately knew that he was not an anāgāmin. He gave rise to extreme lustful attachment to this woman and wished to have intercourse with her; taking her to a secluded place, he only then saw that it was Upagupta. He was filled with great shame and stood with head bowed. The Venerable One said to him, "Formerly you considered yourself an arhat; why do you wish to commit such an evil deed?" He took him to the monastery and taught him to repent. He preached the essential Dharma for him, and [the monk] attained the path of an arhat. There was a monk who practiced the contemplation of impurity; because the defilements temporarily did not arise, he considered himself to have attained the holy path. Upagupta said to him, "Monk, you may go to the country of Gandhāra." Receiving the instruction, he traveled to that country. In this country there was an elder named Kālava who had a daughter of extraordinary beauty. The monk went to their house to beg for food. The daughter brought out the food and smiled, showing her teeth. When the monk saw this, he gave rise to thoughts of greed and desire. Due to his prior habit of contemplating impurity, he grasped the sign of the woman's teeth and contemplated that all was white bones. Due to this contemplation, he attained the path of an arhat. Reproaching his original mind, he spoke a verse: