經律異相 36.19

36.19

In the past, there was an elder named Jiuliu who did not believe in the retribution for good and evil in this life or the next. He travelled with five hundred people to engage in trade. Before reaching another country, they ran out of food for three days. Walking forward, he saw from afar a grove of trees and thought it was a dwelling. Arriving there, he saw a tree deity and immediately bowed to him. The man was starved and exhausted; the deity raised his hand, and from the tips of his five fingers food, drink, and sweet water naturally issued forth and were given to him. When Jiuliu was sated, he wept aloud again. The deity asked why. He replied: “My five hundred companions are all terribly hungry and thirsty.” The deity had them summoned, and again gave them food and drink, so that both men and horses were satisfied. Jiuliu asked the deity: “What blessing did you originally have to bring this upon yourself?” The deity said: “In the time of Kāśyapa Buddha, I was a poor man who constantly polished mirrors at the city gate. Whenever śramaṇas went in and out, I always took pleasure in pointing out places for alms-gathering as well as stupas and vihāras, doing so on more than one occasion. When my lifespan ended, I was born here, naturally receiving blessings without any deficiency.” The elder's mind was awakened, and he practiced great generosity, feeding eight thousand people daily; the water from washing the rice flowed out of the city gate, enough to float a boat. Later, he was born into the second heaven as a flower-scattering deva. (Extracted from the second fascicle of the Ten-Fascicle Sūtra of Parables.)