法苑珠林 45.36

45.36

如付法藏因緣經云。時宿羅城中有一商主。為僧造作般遮于瑟大會。有一比丘尼得阿羅漢。觀察眾中誰為福田。又復思惟何者僧首。見諸羅漢及與學人久斷煩惱堪受供養。觀一比丘名阿沙羅。未得解脫最居眾首。時比丘尼即往語言。大德今者應自莊嚴。時此比丘未達其意。便著淨衣𩮜髮澡浴。復於後時此比丘尼更語嚴飾。時阿沙羅極大瞋忿。我隨汝語甚自嚴潔。有何醜惡屢出斯言。比丘尼曰。大德當知。此俗莊嚴非佛法也。佛法莊嚴者。謂獲四果。奇哉大德。甚為輕劣。長者設會多諸賢聖。汝為僧首未免生死。以有漏心最初受供。是故我今欲相覺寤。阿沙羅比丘聞已慘然悲泣。自惟老朽何能盡漏。比丘尼言。佛法無時豈簡壯老。聞此語已因向憂波毱多所。即為說法成阿羅漢。復有一比丘。性嗜飲食。由此貪故不能得道。憂波毱多請令就房。以香乳糜而用與之。語令待冷然後可食。比丘口吹糜尋冷。語尊者言。糜已冷矣。尊者告曰。此糜雖冷汝欲火熱。應以觀水滅汝心火。復以空器令吐食出。既吐食已還使食之。比丘答言。涎唾以合。云何食耶。尊者語言。凡一切食與此無異。汝不觀察妄生貪著。汝今當觀食不淨想。即為說法得羅漢道。

As the Sūtra on the Causes and Conditions of the Transmission of the Dharma Pitaka says: At that time, in the city of Saurasena, there was a merchant master who held a great pañcavārṣika assembly for the Saṃgha. There was a nun who had attained arhatship; she observed who in the assembly was a field of merit, and further considered who was the head of the Saṃgha. She saw that the arhats and trainees had long severed their afflictions and were worthy to receive offerings. She observed a monk named Aśala, who had not yet attained liberation, occupying the very head of the assembly. The nun then went and said to him, 'Venerable, today you ought to adorn yourself.' At that time this monk did not comprehend her meaning, so he put on clean robes, combed his hair, and bathed. Later, this nun again told him to adorn himself. Aśala became extremely enraged, [saying,] 'I complied with your words and adorned and cleansed myself exceedingly. What is so ugly and vile that you repeatedly utter such words?' The nun said, 'Venerable, you should know that this is worldly adornment, not the Buddha's Dharma. Adornment in the Buddha's Dharma means attaining the four fruits. How strange, Venerable, that you are so frivolous and base! The elder has arranged an assembly with many worthy ones and noble ones; you are the head of the Saṃgha, yet you have not escaped birth and death, and with an outflow-tainted mind you are the first to receive offerings. Therefore I now wish to awaken you.' Monk Aśala, having heard this, wept bitterly and grieved, reflecting on himself, 'I am old and decrepit; how could I exhaust my defilements?' The nun said, 'The Buddha's Dharma has no fixed time; does it discriminate between the robust and the aged?' Having heard these words, he went to Upagupta, who immediately preached the Dharma for him, and he became an arhat. There was also a monk whose nature was fond of food and drink; due to this greed, he was unable to attain the Way. Upagupta invited him to his room and gave him fragrant milk porridge, telling him to wait until it cooled before eating it. The monk blew on the porridge with his mouth, and it quickly cooled. He said to the Venerable, 'The porridge has cooled.' The Venerable said to him, 'Although this porridge is cool, your fire of desire is hot. You should use the water of contemplation to extinguish the fire in your mind.' He then used an empty bowl to make him vomit the food out. After he had vomited the food out, he had him eat it again. The monk answered, 'It has mixed with saliva; how could I eat it?' The Venerable said to him, 'All food is no different from this. Without contemplating it, you falsely give rise to greed and attachment. You must now contemplate the impurity of food.' He then preached the Dharma for him, and he attained the path of an arhat.