法華傳記 7.50

7.50

濟州靈光寺。有一老僧失名。淨修戒行。常持瓦鉢。數十餘年。未甞遣人執捉。後因遽務。令沙彌洗之。沙彌手誤墜破此鉢。老僧聞之。驚呼失聲。恨惜之甚。遂偃臥而死。弟子送葬於野。經數日。沙彌共諸僧。復往墳所。視有大蛇。復墳內出來。纏遶沙彌。從足至頂。屈頭向下。將欲吞之。僧徒驚歎。呪願曰。緣一鉢之故。慳毒嗔恚。死作蛇身。不悔往愆。又欲吞殺弟子。其大罪業何故如斯。廣說善惡。為之懺悔。發願良久蛇乃解身而去。沙彌迷悶癡駭旬日漸醒。為造法華經一部。就墳而供養。後見墳蛇既死。知改報而已（已上三緣又出自鏡錄）。

At Lingguang Monastery in Jizhou, there was an old monk whose name is lost. He purely cultivated monastic discipline and always held an earthenware alms bowl for several decades, never once letting another person handle it. Later, on account of urgent business, he ordered a śrāmaṇera to wash it. The śrāmaṇera accidentally dropped and broke the bowl. When the old monk heard this, he cried out in shock, lost his composure, and was so deeply aggrieved and distressed that he lay down and died. His disciples buried him in the wilderness. After several days, the śrāmaṇera together with the monks went again to the grave. They saw a great serpent come out from inside the grave and wrap itself around the śrāmaṇera from foot to crown, bending its head downward, about to swallow him. The monastic assembly sighed in astonishment, chanted prayers, and said, "For the sake of a single bowl, with stinginess, venom, and anger, you died and became a serpent; not repenting your past error, you now wish to swallow and kill your disciple! Why have you incurred such great sinful karma?" They spoke extensively of good and evil, performed repentance for him, and made vows for a long time; only then did the serpent release its coil and leave. The śrāmaṇera, dazed and stunned with fear, gradually came to his senses after ten days. He produced a copy of the Lotus Sūtra for him and made offerings at the grave. Later, when he saw that the grave serpent had died, he knew that its retribution had ended. (The above three accounts also come from the Mirror of Self-Cultivation.)