法苑珠林 52.17

52.17

長者聞偈驚而問之。道人何故說此。答曰。案上雞者是卿先世時父。以慳貪故常生雞中為卿所食。此小兒者往作羅剎。卿作賈客大人乘船入海。舟輒失流墮羅剎國中為羅剎所食。如是五百世。壽盡來生為卿作子。以卿餘罪未畢故來欲相害耳。今是妻者。是卿先世時母。以恩愛深固今還與卿作婦。今卿愚癡不識宿命。殺父養怨。以母為妻。五道生死輪轉無際周旋五道。誰能知者。唯有道人見此睹彼。愚者不知豈不慚恥於是長者忽然。毛豎如畏悑狀。佛現威神令識宿命。長者見佛即識宿命。尋則懺悔謝過便受五戒。佛為說法得須陀洹道。又雜寶藏經云。佛時游行到居阿羅國。便於中路一樹下坐。有一老母名迦旦遮羅。繫屬於人井上汲水。佛語阿難。往索水來。阿難承佛勅即往索水。爾時老母聞佛索水。自擔罐往。既到佛所放罐著地。直往抱佛。阿難欲遮。佛言莫遮。此老母者。五百身中曾為我母。愛心未盡是以抱我。若當遮者沸血從面門出而即命終。既得抱佛。嗚其手足。在一面立。佛語阿難。往喚其主。其主來至頭面禮佛却住一面。佛語主言。放此老母使得出家。若出家者當得羅漢。主便即放。迦葉佛時出家學道故得羅漢。爾時為徒眾主罵諸聖尼為婢。今屬於他。五百身中常為我母。遮我布施常生貧賤。

Hearing the verse, the elder was startled and asked him: 'Why does the practitioner say this?' He answered: 'The chicken on the table was your father in a past life; because of stinginess and greed, he was constantly reborn among chickens to be eaten by you. This small child was formerly a rākṣasa. When you were a wealthy merchant, you boarded a ship to enter the sea; the boat lost its course and fell into the realm of the rākṣasas, where you were eaten by that rākṣasa. Thus it went for five hundred lifetimes. When his lifespan ended, he came to be born as your son; because your remaining karmic offenses were not yet exhausted, he came intending to harm you. Your present wife was your mother in a past life; because her love and affection were deep and firm, she has now returned to be your wife. Now, in your foolishness, you do not recognize your past lives: you kill your father, nourish your enemy, and take your mother as wife. The samsāra of the five destinies revolves without end, turning round and round in the five destinies. Who could know this? Only a practitioner can see both this and that. When the foolish do not know, should they not be ashamed?' Thereupon the elder's hair suddenly stood on end as if in terror. The Buddha manifested his divine power to make him recognize his past lives. Seeing the Buddha, the elder immediately recognized his past lives, promptly repented, acknowledged his faults, and received the five precepts. The Buddha preached the Dharma for him, and he attained the fruit of srotāpanna. Again, the Saṃyuktaratnapiṭaka-sūtra says: When the Buddha was once traveling, he came to the country of Kośala and sat under a tree along the way. There was an old woman named Kaṭañcarā who was a bondservant drawing water at a well. The Buddha told Ānanda: 'Go and fetch water.' Receiving the Buddha's command, Ānanda went to request water. At that time, hearing that the Buddha requested water, the old woman carried the jar herself and went. Having reached the Buddha's place, she set the jar on the ground, walked straight up to the Buddha, and embraced him. Ānanda wished to stop her, but the Buddha said: 'Do not stop her. In five hundred lifetimes, this old woman was once my mother. Because her affectionate mind is not yet exhausted, she embraces me. If you were to stop her, boiling blood would surge from her face, and she would immediately die.' Having embraced the Buddha and kissed his hands and feet, she stood to one side. The Buddha told Ānanda: 'Go and summon her master.' When her master arrived, he bowed his head at the Buddha's feet and withdrew to stand to one side. The Buddha said to the master: 'Release this old woman and let her go forth. If she goes forth, she will attain arhatship.' The master then released her. Because she had gone forth to practice the path in the time of Kāśyapa Buddha, she attained arhatship. At that time, as the head of an assembly, she had scolded holy nuns as servant-maids; hence she is now a bondservant to others. Because in five hundred lifetimes she was constantly my mother and hindered me from giving, she was constantly born poor and lowly.