眾經撰雜譬喻 1.43

1.43

Formerly, a bhikṣu was expelled [from the saṃgha]; distressed and weeping, he walked along lamenting and sighing. On the road he met a ghost. This ghost had violated the law and had also been banished by the Heavenly King Vaiśravaṇa. The ghost asked the bhikṣu: “What matter makes you walk weeping?” The bhikṣu answered: “I violated saṃgha affairs and was expelled by the saṃgha. All offerings from dānapatis are entirely lost, and an evil reputation has spread far and near; for this reason I sorrow, sigh, and weep!” The ghost said to the bhikṣu: “I can make your evil reputation vanish and cause you to receive great offerings. You may stand on my left shoulder, and I will carry you, walking in the air. People will only see you and will not see my body. If you receive great offerings, you must give them to me first.” The ghost then carried the bhikṣu, walking in the air above the village from which he had previously been expelled. When the villagers saw him, they were all astonished and marveled, thinking he had attained the Way, and said to one another: “The saṃgha was wrongful in falsely expelling one who has attained the Way!” Then the villagers all went to the monastery to reprimand the saṃgha, and they escorted the bhikṣu back to live in the monastery, where he received great offerings. The bhikṣu, in accordance with whatever robes, food, and goods he received, always gave them first to the ghost, not violating their original agreement. On another day, this ghost again carried the bhikṣu wandering in the air, and happened upon the subordinate officers of the Heavenly King Vaiśravaṇa. The ghost saw the judicial officers and was terrified; he threw down the bhikṣu and ran away with all his might. The bhikṣu thereupon fell to the ground and died, his body and head smashed to pieces. This parable illustrates that a practitioner should cultivate oneself so that wherever one goes one has no doubts; relying on the powerful and influential leads to collapse in an instant, no different from him.