經律異相 22.26

22.26

昔有羅漢。與沙彌於山中行道。沙彌日日至人家所乞飲食。經歷堤基上行。岐嶇危險脚跌躄地。飯洿泥土沙彌取不洿飯。著師鉢中。洿飯洗自食之。如是非一日。師曰。何因洗棄飯味。答曰。行乞去晴。乞還時雨。於堤基躄地覆飯。師默然思之。知是龍嬈沙彌便起到堤基上。持杖叩藪之。龍化作老公來。出頭面著地。沙門言。汝何嬈我沙彌乎。答曰。實愛其容貌耳。從今日始日日於我室食。沙門受請日日往食。沙彌後時見師鉢中。有兩三粒飯非世間飯。問和上。師默不應。沙彌便入床下手捉床足。和上禪定竟相隨。俱飛到龍宮殿上。龍及婦女俱禮沙門復禮沙彌。師乃覺之。呼出語言。此非婇女。是畜生耳。汝為沙彌。雖未得道。必生忉利天上。勝彼百倍。勿以洿意。沙彌言。此龍居處世間少有。師曰。彼有三苦。一者雖百味飯入口即化成蝦蟇。二者婇女端正無比。欲為夫婦兩蛇相交。三者龍背有逆鱗。沙石生其中。痛乃達心胸。此為大苦。汝何因從之。汝未得道。不可令見鬼道及國王內事也。沙彌不應。晝夜思想。憶彼不食病而死。魂神生為龍作子（大智論云布施持戒願早作龍要期心重足下水出後至師本所入處大池之邊以袈裟覆頭而入死即變為大龍神殺舊龍舉池盡赤出迦葉詰難陀經又出大智論第十七卷）。

Formerly, an arhat practiced the Way in the mountains together with a novice. Every day the novice went to people's homes to beg for food. Travelling along an embankment, the path was rugged and perilous; his foot slipped and he fell to the ground, soiling the rice with mud. The novice took the unsoiled rice and placed it in his master's bowl; the soiled rice he washed and ate himself. This went on for more than a day. The master said: “Why do you wash the rice, discarding its flavor?” He answered: “When I went out to beg, it was clear; when I returned from begging, it rained. I fell on the embankment and overturned the rice.” The master reflected in silence and knew that a nāga was harassing the novice. He then stood up, went to the embankment, and struck the bushes with his staff. The nāga transformed into an old man, came out, and bowed with his head to the ground. The śramaṇa said: “Why do you harass my novice?” He answered: “I truly loved his handsome appearance, that is all. Beginning from today, come eat in my chamber every day.” The śramaṇa accepted the invitation and went daily to eat. Later, the novice saw in his master's bowl two or three grains of rice that were not food of the human world. He asked the upādhyāya, but the master remained silent and did not respond. The novice then went under the bed and held fast to the bed-foot with his hands. When the upādhyāya finished his meditative concentration, following along with him, they both flew up to the palace of the nāga. The nāga and the women bowed together to the śramaṇa, and also bowed to the novice. The master only then realized it. He called the novice out and said to him: “These are not court maidens; they are beasts! Though you are a novice who has not yet attained the Way, you will certainly be born in the Trāyastriṃśa heaven, which surpasses this a hundredfold. Do not sully your mind!” The novice said: “The dwelling place of this nāga is rarely found in the world.” The master said: “They have three kinds of suffering: first, though it is food of a hundred flavors, upon entering the mouth it immediately transforms into toads; second, though the maidens are peerlessly lovely, when they wish to become husband and wife, two snakes intertwine; third, on the nāga's back there are reversed scales, within which sand and stones form, causing pain that penetrates to the heart and chest. These are great sufferings; why would you follow them? Having not yet attained the Way, you must not be allowed to see the realms of spirits or the inner affairs of worldly kings.” The novice did not answer. Pondering it day and night and yearning for it, he stopped eating, fell ill, and died. His consciousness was reborn as the son of the nāga. (The Da zhidu lun states: “Having practiced giving and upheld the precepts, he vowed to quickly become a nāga. Because the resolve of his pledge was so intense, water sprang forth from under his feet. Later, he went to the edge of the great pool where his master had originally entered, covered his head with his kāṣāya, and entered. Upon dying, he immediately transformed into a great nāga deity, killed the old nāga, and made the whole pool turn completely red.” From the Kāśyapa-codana-nanda-sūtra; also from the Da zhidu lun, fascicle 17.)