經律異相 18.46

18.46

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*.)