經律異相 40.29

40.29

In the past, there was a brahmacārin endowed with wealth and learning who did not believe in the right path. He frequently debated with śramaṇas and was bested. Whenever he heard that if śramaṇas eat people's offerings of faith and fail to make energetic progress, they will after death become oxen and horses to repay the donors, he secretly hatched a scheme: to set out food so that in future lives he could take them and put them to work for his livelihood. Although stingy and greedy by nature, he suddenly went to a monastery. In the monastery there were five hundred men of the Path, and he invited all of them, showing extra reverence and setting out food that was abundant, fine, and superior to any other, intending certainly to obtain five hundred oxen and horses. An elder monk who had already attained the fourth fruit of an arhat knew his thought; he then summoned the karmadāna and instructed the monks: ‘All should focus their minds, and each person should recite a verse, and together show great reverence.’ The elder monk said [to the host], ‘The debt is already paid in full; you will no longer obtain oxen and horses.’ The brahmacārin was astonished and said, ‘The man of the Path is divine and holy, knowing my thoughts in advance!’ The elder monk then explained fully to the monks, ‘Having received this food, if with a compassionate mind you contemplate the Path and recite a single phrase of the Dharma, you could swallow Mount Sumeru and still digest it, let alone this little bit of food.’ The brahmacārin was deeply ashamed. [The elder] then preached the Dharma to him, elaborating on its essential teachings. His mind opened and accepted the Path, and he immediately awakened to the stage of stream-entry. (Extracted from Essential Matters from Various Sūtras.)