經律異相 22.10

22.10

When the Buddha was in Śrāvastī, at that time the Venerable Śāriputra would use his divine eye during the three intervals of the day and night to observe who should be delivered, and would immediately go to deliver them. At that time, some merchants wished to go to another kingdom (the Sūtra on the Repayment of Kindness says: between the two countries of Madra [and another] there were five hundred merchants). These merchants took a dog along with them (the Sūtra on the Repayment of Kindness says: a white dog). Midway on the road, while the merchants were resting, the dog stole some meat. Thereupon the crowd beat the dog together, broke its legs, cast it into the open wilderness, and abandoned it. Śāriputra saw with his divine eye that the dog was crippled on the ground, starved, exhausted, and on the verge of death. Flying to where the dog was, he gave it food as an offering. The dog’s remaining life was saved, and its mind was full of joy. Śāriputra then expounded the subtle and marvelous Dharma to this dog. The dog then died and was born into a brāhmaṇa family in Śrāvastī. At that time, Śāriputra was walking alone on his alms round. The brāhmaṇa saw him and asked, “Is the Venerable One walking alone without a śramaṇera?” Śāriputra said, “I have no śramaṇera. I hear you have a son; you should give him to me.” The brāhmaṇa said, “I have a son named Kuṇḍi. He is still a small child and not yet capable of carrying out service. When he grows older, I will give him to you.” Śāriputra kept this in mind. When the boy reached seven years of age, he returned to ask for him. The brāhmaṇa then had the boy leave home. Śāriputra brought him to the Jetavana and gradually expounded the Dharma to him. His mind was enlightened and he attained arhatship (the Sūtra on the Repayment of Kindness says: the Buddha said, “Welcome,” and his beard and hair fell off of themselves, with kāṣāya robes covering his body). After the śramaṇera Kuṇḍi had newly attained the Way, he used the power of his wisdom to observe his past lives. He saw that in his former life he was a hungry dog, and through the grace of his preceptor he had now obtained a human body and attained the fruit of the Way. Joy arose within his mind, and he thought to himself, “Receiving the grace of my teacher, I have escaped all suffering. For the rest of my life I should provide for all his necessities and remain a śramaṇera forever.” In the distant past, in the time of the Buddha Kāśyapa, bhikṣus were gathered in one place. At that time, a young bhikṣu had a voice that was pure and elegant, and he was skilled at chanting praises. There was an elderly, venerable bhikṣu whose voice was muddy and dull, incapable of recitation and chanting; he would simply chant aloud to amuse himself. The elderly bhikṣu had already attained arhatship. At that time, the young bhikṣu rebuked him, saying, “Now, elder, your voice is like the barking of a dog!” Then the elderly bhikṣu called to the youth, “Do you recognize me?” The youth answered, “I know you well; you are a senior elder bhikṣu from the time of the Buddha Kāśyapa.” He answered, “I have now attained arhatship.” The youth was terrified, blamed himself, and repented; yet for five hundred lifetimes he constantly received the body of a dog. Because he had left home and kept the pure precepts, he has now met me and obtained liberation. (Extracted from the twelfth fascicle of the Sūtra of the Wise and the Foolish).