法苑珠林 57.12

57.12

又雜寶藏經云。昔罽賓國中有阿羅漢。名曰離越。山中坐禪。時有一人失牛逐蹤至離越所。時值離越煮草染衣。衣即自然變作牛皮。染汁自然變作牛血。所煮染草變成牛肉。所持鉢盂變作牛頭。牛主見已即捉收縛將詣王所。王即付獄。經十二年。常與獄監𩚅馬除糞。離越弟子得阿羅漢者有五百人。觀覓其師不知所在。業緣欲盡有一弟子。觀見師在罽賓獄中。即來告王。我師在獄。願王斷理。王即遣人就獄檢校。使至獄中唯見有人威色樵瘁鬚髮極長。而為獄監𩚅馬除糞。使還白王。獄中都不見有沙門。離越弟子復白王言。願王說教。有比丘者悉聽出獄。王即宣令有僧悉遣出獄。離越聞已鬚髮自落袈裟著身。踊出虛空作十八變。王見是事五體投地。白言。尊者。願受我懺悔。王即問言。以何業緣在獄受苦。離越答言。我於往昔亦曾失牛。逐蹤謀他經一日夜。後墮三塗受苦無量。餘殃不盡。今得羅漢猶被謀謗。以是因緣一切眾生應護口業莫謀謗他。離越昔所謀人是辟支佛。以是因緣故得此報。依法華經說。謗誦經人。若實若不實。現世得白癩病。

Also, the Saṃyuktaratnapiṭaka-sūtra states: In the past, in the country of Kaśmīra, there was an arhat named Revata, who was sitting in meditation in the mountains. At that time, a man lost his cow and, following its tracks, arrived at Revata's dwelling. At that moment, Revata was boiling plants to dye his robes. The robes spontaneously transformed into cowhide; the dye broth spontaneously transformed into cow's blood; the dye plants being boiled transformed into beef; and the bowl he held transformed into a cow's head. Seeing this, the cow's owner seized and bound him, and brought him before the king. The king committed him to prison. After twelve years, during which he always fed horses and cleared dung for the warden, Revata had five hundred disciples who were arhats. They searched for their master but did not know his whereabouts. When the karmic causes were about to be exhausted, one disciple perceived through contemplation that his master was in the prison of Kaśmīra. He came at once to inform the king: "My master is in prison. May the king judge the case." The king immediately sent someone to inspect the prison. When the envoy arrived in the prison, he saw only a man of haggard appearance, with very long hair and beard, feeding horses and clearing dung for the warden. The envoy returned and reported to the king: "In the prison, there is no śramaṇa to be seen at all." Revata's disciple again said to the king: "May the king issue an edict: wherever there are monks, let them all be released from prison." The king then proclaimed an order that all saṃgha members be released from prison. Hearing this, Revata's hair and beard fell off of their own accord, kāṣāya robes clad his body, and he leaped into the air and performed eighteen transformations. Seeing this matter, the king cast his five limbs to the ground and said: "Venerable one, please accept my repentance!" The king then asked: "By what karmic cause did you suffer torment in prison?" Revata answered: "In the past, I also once lost a cow. Following its tracks, I falsely accused another person for one day and one night. Thereafter, I fell into the three bad destinations and suffered immeasurable torment. Since the remnants of the disaster were not exhausted, even though I have now attained arhatship, I was still falsely accused and slandered. For this reason, all sentient beings should guard the karma of speech and not falsely accuse or slander others." The person Revata had falsely accused in the past was a pratyekabuddha; by this cause and condition, he received this retribution. In accordance with what the Lotus Sūtra says: 'Whether true or untrue, one who slanders a reciter of this sūtra will contract white leprosy in the present life.'"