釋門自鏡錄 1.10

1.10

佛滅度後罽賓山中。有聖比丘。名達磨蜜多。才慧超絕坐禪第一。蜜多住處有三重窟。時有二僧。遠聞勝名故往禮拜。見尊者獘衣醜露。於下窟竈前為欲調伏身心為僧然火。是時二僧問言。長老達磨蜜多為在何處。答曰。在彼重窟最上房中。彼便往尋。尊者以神足力欻還本房。二人既見咸生疑怪。曰大德聖人威名滿閻浮提。何故自屈為僧然火。蜜多曰。子今當知。我念生死受苦長遠。若使頭手可得然者。吾當為僧而並然之。況餘身分及以然火。何足為難。吾念往昔。五百世中常為狗身飢餓窮困。雖經多身唯兩得飽滿。一者有人飲酒大醉道側反吐。我行遇見獲一飽。又曾為貧家作狗。夫妻煮粥以器盛之。有事暫行。我以飢故內頭器中食之。得飽拔頭不出。人來見之。大起嗔心。便以利刀斬斷吾頭。自念狗身五百度受。雖逢二飽而失身命。是故思惟。生死長久周旋五道。隨所生處。無不受苦。故吾今者不憚劬勞。何辭為僧而然火也。

After the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, in the mountains of Kaśmīra, there was a holy monk named Dharmamitra. His talent and wisdom were transcendent, and he was foremost in sitting meditation. Where Mitra dwelt there was a three-tiered cave. At that time, there were two monks who, having heard of his superior fame from afar, went purposely to pay homage to him. They saw the Venerable One in tattered clothes, ugly and exposed, before a stove in the lower cave, lighting a fire for the saṃgha in order to tame his body and mind. At that time, the two monks asked, saying, 'Where is the Elder Dharmamitra?' He replied, saying, 'He is in the uppermost room of that multi-tiered cave.' They then went to seek him out. The Venerable One, by his supernatural power, suddenly returned to his original room. When the two men saw him, they both gave rise to doubt and wonder, saying, 'The Great Worthy is a holy person whose majestic name fills Jambudvīpa. For what reason do you humble yourself to light a fire for the saṃgha?' Mitra said, 'You should know now: I contemplate the suffering endured in saṃsāra over a long time. If my head and hands could be burned, I would burn them both for the saṃgha. How much less should other parts of the body, or lighting a fire, be considered difficult? I remember in the past, during five hundred lifetimes, I constantly took the body of a dog, hungry, impoverished, and destitute. Though I passed through many bodies, I only twice obtained fullness of food. First, there was a man who drank wine, became heavily drunk, and vomited by the roadside; as I roamed I came across it and obtained a single full meal. Again, I once became a dog for a poor family; the husband and wife cooked porridge and placed it in a vessel, and having an errand, stepped out briefly. Because of hunger, I put my head into the vessel to eat it, and having eaten my fill, could not pull my head out. The people came and saw it; they gave rise to great anger, and then with a sharp knife cut off my head. Reflecting on myself, I received a dog's body five hundred times; though I encountered two full meals, I lost my life. Therefore I contemplate: saṃsāra is long-lasting, revolving through the five destinies; wherever one is born, there is none who does not suffer. Hence I do not fear hard labor now; why should I refuse to light a fire for the saṃgha?'