經律異相 37.33

37.33

有優婆塞本事外道厭苦禱祠。委捨入法奉戒精進。懃誦經好布施責。意忍辱常有慈心。暴疾命過臨當死時囑父母言。我病若不諱七日莫殯。奄忽如死停屍八日。親屬皆言。急當殯斂。父母言。不膖臭欲留至十日。當此語時便見眼開。未能動搖。父母歡喜守至十日。便自起坐善能語言。問所從來盡何所見。答言。有吏兵來將到一大城。城中有獄。獄正黑四面鐵城。城門悉燒鐵正赤。獄中繫人身坐火中。上下洞燒青煙上出。或有人以刀割其肉而噉食之。獄王問我言。汝何等人。犯坐何等乃來到此。此中治五逆不孝父母不忠信事君。答言。我少為惡人所惑。奉事外道愚癡。又飲酒殺生祀天地。又於市里採取財利。升斗尺寸欲以自饒。後與善師相值。牽我入佛道。見沙門道人。授我五戒奉行十善。自爾以來至于今日。不復犯惡。仰由明王哀我不及。我便叩頭。王即起叉手謂我言。止止。清信之人不應當爾。便與我坐。呼吏問之。此乃無上正真弟子。汝輩皆當從是人得度。以其人壽命自盡時。乃當死耳。魂神追行。若生天上天神迎之。若生人中人中迎之。何得將此人來。入是五逆之處。吏答王言。世間多有是種人。不畏王法。不畏四時。五行不拘。天地鬼神橫行天下。不可不問也。有師名沙門。既剃頭髮被服疎陋。以是自大。多將弟子東西南北。復大劇是應當治之。王言。止止法服之人人所貴敬他所畏難。諸釋梵日月中王。下及帝王臣民。尊奉是人得福無量。輕慢是者自求罪苦。急案名錄壽應盡未。吏言。未應死也。尚有餘算二十。以其先有所犯罪是以取之。使其黨輩小小自下耳。王言。佛子有戒精進天神所貴。佛以大慈救護一切蜎飛蠕動。天神地祇諸鬼龍等皆敬貴之。豈拘王相四時五行耶。佛恩如四海不得限量。吏言大王。奉佛戒耶。王曰。坐我不奉佛故追罪作此獄王。若人已入正法。後悔還外道。雖壽千歲當逢九橫。若持戒比丘及諸弟子。當懃行六度六衰斷絕二十事（亦在經文）觀佛功德猶若巨海不可當也。吏言。誠如王言。不別真偽。速發遣之辭謝使去。從高墮下㸌然而蘇。與其父母共至祇桓。自惟自剋。奉受五戒修行十善（出弟子死復生經）。

There was an upāsaka who originally served non-Buddhist traditions; abhorring suffering, he offered prayers and sacrifices. Leaving them behind, he entered the Dharma, upholding the precepts and striving diligently. He earnestly recited the sūtras, took delight in giving without seeking return, bore forbearance in his mind, and constantly harbored a compassionate heart. Suddenly contracting a violent illness, he passed away. When he was on the verge of death, he instructed his parents, saying: 'If my illness proves fatal, do not encoffin me for seven days.' Abruptly, as if dead, his corpse was kept for eight days. His relatives all said: 'He should be encoffined and buried immediately.' His parents said: 'He has not become swollen or foul-smelling; we wish to keep him until the tenth day.' At the moment of these words, they saw his eyes open, though he was not yet able to move. His parents were delighted and watched over him until the tenth day, whereupon he sat up on his own and was well able to speak. When they asked where he had come from and everything he had seen, he replied, saying: 'Officers and soldiers came and took me to a great city. Inside the city there was a prison. The prison was pitch black, with iron walls on all four sides. The city gates were all made of iron glowing red-hot from burning. People confined in the prison sat in the midst of fire, which blazed thoroughly from top to bottom, with blue smoke rising up. Some people cut their flesh with knives and ate it. The king of the prison asked me, saying: "What sort of person are you? What crime have you committed to have come here? Here we punish the five heinous crimes, failure to be filial to parents, and failure to serve one’s lord with loyalty and trustworthiness." I replied, saying: "When young, I was deluded by evil people, serving non-Buddhist traditions in foolish ignorance. I also drank alcohol, killed living beings, and sacrificed to heaven and earth. Moreover, in the marketplace, I sought wealth and gain, using dry measures and length measures wishing to enrich myself. Later, I met a good teacher who led me into the Buddha’s path. I saw a śramaṇa, a man of the Way, who conferred the five precepts upon me and taught me to practice the ten wholesome deeds. From that time until today, I have committed no more evil. I rely upon the radiant king's pity on my shortcoming." I then bowed my head. The king immediately stood up, clasped his hands, and said to me: "Stop, stop! A person of pure faith should not do this." He then offered me a seat, summoned an officer, and asked him: "This is a disciple of the Unsurpassed, True and Correct [One]. You all ought to attain deliverance through such a person! Only when such a person's life span comes naturally to an end should he die. His consciousness and spirit follow his deeds: if he is to be born in heaven, the heavenly spirits welcome him; if he is to be born among humans, the human realm welcomes him. How could you bring this person here and have him enter this place for the five heinous crimes?" The officer replied to the king, saying: "In the world there are many of this kind of people: they do not fear the king's law; they do not fear the four seasons; they are not bound by the Five Phases; they run rampant under heaven along with heaven and earth's ghosts and spirits. They cannot be left unquestioned. There are teachers called śramaṇas who, having shaved their hair, wear coarse and crude garments; through this they are arrogant, taking many disciples east, west, south, and north. They are even more extreme than this; they ought to be punished." The king said: "Stop, stop! Those wearing the Dharma robes are honored and respected by people, and feared and deferred to by others. The various Śakras, Brahmās, kings within the sun and moon, and down to emperors, kings, ministers, and commoners—those who honor and serve such people obtain immeasurable merit, while those who slight and insult them bring sin and suffering upon themselves. Quick, examine the register to see whether his life span should be ended or not." The officer said: "He should not yet be dead. He still has twenty years of remaining life. Because of sins he had previously committed, we therefore took him, so as to humble his kind a little." The king said: "The Buddha's disciples who have precepts and vigor are honored by the heavenly spirits. With great compassion, the Buddha rescues and protects all, down to flying and wriggling creatures; the heavenly spirits, earthly deities, and all ghosts and dragons honor and revere him. How could he be constrained by royal signs, the four seasons, or the Five Phases? The Buddha’s grace is like the four oceans, which cannot be measured." The officer said: "Does the Great King uphold the Buddha's precepts?" The king said: "Because I did not uphold the Buddha's precepts, I incurred guilt and was made this king of the prison. If someone has already entered the True Dharma and later regrets it and returns to non-Buddhist traditions, even if he lives a thousand years, he will encounter the nine untimely deaths. If precept-holding bhikṣus and their disciples diligently practice the six perfections, cut off the six decays, and sever the twenty matters (also found in the sūtra text), and contemplate the Buddha's merit, it is like a vast ocean, unfathomable." The officer said: "It is truly as the king says. I failed to distinguish the true from the false. Quickly dispatch him, take leave with an apology, and let him go." Falling from a high place, I suddenly revived.' Together with his parents, he went to the Jetavana, reflecting upon and disciplining himself, receiving the five precepts, and practicing the ten wholesome deeds (From the Sūtra on the Disciple Who Died and Returned to Life).