法苑珠林 35.63

35.63

又譬喻經云。昔佛在世時。諸弟子中德各不同。如舍利弗智慧第一。大目連神通第一。如阿那律天眼第一。能見三千大千世界。乃至微細無幽不覩。阿難見已而白佛言。此阿那律。宿有何業。天眼乃爾。佛告阿難。乃往過去九十一劫。毘婆尸佛入涅槃後。此人爾時身行劫賊。入佛塔中欲盜塔物。時佛塔中佛前然燈。其燈欲滅。賊即以箭正燈使明。見佛威光。㱇然毛豎。即自念言。他人尚能捨物求福。我云何盜便捨而去。緣正燈炷福德因緣。從是以來九十一劫。常生善處。漸捨諸惡福祐日增。今得值我出家修道得阿羅漢。於眾人中天眼徹視最為第一。何況有人至心割捨。然燈佛前所獲福德難可稱量。又智度論云。若人盜佛塔中珠及盜燈明死墮地獄。若出為人世世生盲。

Furthermore, the Dṛṣṭānta-sūtra says: In the past, when the Buddha was in the world, the virtues of the disciples were each different. For instance, Śāriputra was foremost in wisdom, Mahāmaudgalyāyana was foremost in supernatural powers, and Aniruddha was foremost in the divine eye, able to see the trichiliocosm, down to the subtle, leaving nothing concealed unseen. Seeing this, Ānanda addressed the Buddha, saying: 'What past karma did this Aniruddha have, that his divine eye is like this?' The Buddha told Ānanda: 'Ninety-one kalpas ago, after Vipaśyin Buddha entered nirvāṇa, this person at that time acted as a robber. He entered a Buddha-stūpa intending to steal the objects in the stūpa. At that time, a lamp was burning before the Buddha in the stūpa, and the lamp was about to go out. The robber then straightened the lamp with an arrow to make it bright. Seeing the majestic radiance of the Buddha, his hair bristled in awe. He then thought to himself: "Other people can even renounce possessions to seek blessings; how can I steal?" Thereupon he gave it up and left. By virtue of the karmic conditions of merit from straightening the lamp's wick, from then on for ninety-one kalpas he was constantly born in good realms, gradually renouncing evil, with his blessings and protections increasing daily. Now he has met me, left the household life, cultivated the Path, and attained arhatship, being the foremost among the assembly in penetrating vision with the divine eye. How much more so for one who, with utmost sincerity, makes a sacrifice and lights a lamp before the Buddha; the merit obtained is difficult to measure!' Furthermore, the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-śāstra says: 'If a person steals pearls or steals lamp-light from a Buddha-stūpa, upon death he falls into hell; if he emerges as a human, he will be born blind life after life.'