經律異相 18.46

18.46

佛在舍衛國。有一長者。請佛及僧。時比丘往。如來不往。遣信取食。有二因緣。一者欲與諸天說法。二者瞻視病人。是時世尊遍觀比丘。皆悉受請。即取鑰母開一房門。見一比丘。抱患頓篤臥大小便不能轉側。世尊問曰。汝有何患。比丘曰。受性闇鈍恒懷懈慢。初不勸他瞻視餘人。是故今日無看我者。今實孤窮所怙無處。爾時世尊。慈憐躬抱。除去不淨。湔浣坐具。水洗其身。更與著衣。敷新坐具。還置房中。躬自案摩。告比丘曰。汝不加勤求增上法。死後便當更受劇苦。漸與說法勸使勇猛。乃告諸僧。汝等比丘。無父母兄弟。亦無姊妹宗族。不相瞻視此非其宜。我法齊正上下和從。自今為始。弟子侍師如事父母。至死不捨。師看弟子視如己息。隨時將息至死不捨。師徒相慈流于永劫。所有什物平等分布。設無什物當廣分衛。有瞻病者則瞻我身。所獲功德亦無差降。時病比丘便自思惟。即捨形壽。便得無餘（出佛看比丘病不受長者請經）。

The Buddha was in the country of Śrāvastī. There was an elder who invited the Buddha and the saṃgha. At that time, the monks went, but the Tathāgata did not go; he sent a messenger to fetch his food. There were two causes and conditions [for this]: first, he wished to preach the Dharma to the devas; second, to care for the sick. At that time, the Bhagavat surveyed all the monks, and they had all accepted the invitation. He then took the key and opened the door of a room. He saw a monk suffering severely from an illness, lying in his own feces and urine, unable to turn over. The Bhagavat asked, 'What illness do you have?' The monk said, 'By nature I am dull and obtuse, constantly harboring indolence and arrogance. Never did I encourage others or attend to other people. For this reason, today there is no one who looks after me. Now I am truly destitute and have nowhere to rely.' At that time, the Bhagavat, out of loving-kindness and pity, personally embraced him, removed the filth, washed his sitting mat, cleansed his body with water, changed his clothes, spread a new sitting mat, and placed him back inside the room. He personally massaged him, and addressed the monk, saying, 'If you do not redouble your diligence to seek the higher Dharma, after death you will surely suffer even more severe pain.' He gradually preached the Dharma to him, encouraging him to be valiant. He then addressed all the monks: 'You monks have no parents or brothers, nor sisters or clansmen. Failing to look after one another is not proper. My Dharma is even and upright, superiors and subordinates being harmonious and obedient. From this day forward, disciples shall attend to their teachers as they would serve their parents, never abandoning them until death. Teachers shall look after disciples as if watching their own children, nursing them back to health at all times, never abandoning them until death. The mutual kindness between teacher and disciple shall flow for eternal kalpas. All belongings shall be distributed equally. If there are no belongings, one should make extensive collections of alms. One who cares for the sick cares for my body, and the merit obtained is without any difference.' At that time, the sick monk contemplated within himself, immediately cast off his bodily lifespan, and attained [nirvāṇa] without remainder. (Extracted from the *Sūtra on the Buddha Caring for a Sick Monk and Not Accepting an Elder's Invitation*.)