法苑珠林 91.9

91.9

又中阿含經云。爾時鹿子母毘舍佉。平旦沐浴著白淨衣。將子婦等眷屬。往詣佛所。稽首作禮。白世尊曰。我今持齋善。世尊問曰。居士婦今持何等齋耶。齋有三種。云何為三。一者放牛兒齋。二者尼揵齋。三者聖八支齋。云何名放牛兒齋者。若放牛兒。朝放澤中。晡收還村。彼還村時。作如是念。我今日在此處放牛。明日當在彼處放牛。我今日在此處飲牛。明日當在彼處飲牛。我牛今日在此處宿止。明日當在彼處宿止。如是有人。若持齋時。作是思惟。我今日食如此之食。明日當食如彼食也。我今日飲如此之飲。明日當飲如彼飲也。我今日含消如此含消。明當含消如彼含消。其人於此晝夜樂著欲過。是名放牛兒齋。若如是持齋。不獲大利。不得大果。無大功德。不得廣布。云何名尼揵齋耶。若出家尼揵者。彼勸人曰。汝於東方過百由延外。有眾生者。擁護彼故。棄捨刀仗。如是南西北方亦爾。或脫衣裸形。我無父母妻子。勸進虛妄之言。將為真諦。或執苦行自餓諸邪法等。是名尼揵齋也。若如是持齋者。亦不獲大利。不得大果。無大功德。不得廣布。云何名為聖八支齋。多聞聖弟子。若持齋時作是思惟。阿羅訶真人。盡形壽。離殺斷殺棄捨刀仗。有慚有愧。有慈悲心。饒益一切。乃至蜫蟲。於殺淨心。乃至盡形壽。離非時食斷非時食。一食不夜食樂於時食。我以此支於阿羅訶等同無異。是故說齋。彼住此聖八支齋已。於上當復憶念如來無所著等十號。出世淨法。捨離穢污惡不善法。是名聖八支齋也。若族姓女。持聖八支齋者。身壞命終得生六欲天。遠得四沙門果。

Furthermore, the Madhyamāgama says: At that time, Viśākhā, mother of Mṛgāra, bathed at dawn, put on clean white garments, and together with her daughters-in-law and other kin went to the Buddha's dwelling. Bowing her head in reverence, she said to the World-Honoured One: 'I am now observing the wholesome fast.' The World-Honoured One asked: 'Laywoman, what kind of fast are you now observing? There are three kinds of fasts. What are the three? The first is the cowherd's fast; the second is the Nirgrantha's fast; the third is the noble eightfold fast. What is called the cowherd's fast? A cowherd grazes his cattle in the marsh in the morning and gathers them back to the village in the late afternoon. When returning to the village, he thinks: "Today I grazed cattle in this place; tomorrow I will graze cattle in that place. Today I watered cattle in this place; tomorrow I will water cattle in that place. Today my cattle lodged in this place; tomorrow they will lodge in that place." In the same way, when a person observes a fast, he contemplates: "Today I ate such food; tomorrow I will eat that food. Today I drank such drink; tomorrow I will drink that drink. Today I tasted such savours; tomorrow I will taste those savours." That person spends this day and night delighting in and clinging to sensual desires. This is called the cowherd's fast. If one observes the fast in this way, one does not obtain great benefit, does not attain great fruit, does not have great merit, and it is not widely diffused. What is called the Nirgrantha's fast? When a Nirgrantha leaves home, he exhorts people, saying: "For the sake of protecting beings that are more than a hundred yojanas to the east, cast away your weapons." It is the same for the south, west, and north. Or they strip off their clothes and go naked, saying, "I have no parents, wife, or children," promoting false words and taking them to be true reality; or they adhere to austerities, self-starvation, and other such wrong practices. This is called the Nirgrantha's fast. If one observes the fast in this way, one likewise does not obtain great benefit, does not attain great fruit, does not have great merit, and it is not widely diffused. What is called the noble eightfold fast? When a learned noble disciple observes the fast, he contemplates: "The arhats, true persons, for the rest of their lives refrain from killing, abandon killing, cast away knives and clubs, have shame and conscience, possess a mind of loving-kindness and compassion, and benefit all beings down to insects; their minds are pure regarding killing. Down to: for the rest of their lives they refrain from eating at improper times, abandon eating at improper times, eat once and do not eat at night, and take pleasure in eating at proper times. With this factor, I am equal to and no different from the arhats; therefore it is called a fast." Having abided in this noble eightfold fast, he should further recollect the Tathāgata's ten titles such as "Free from Clinging" (Arhat) and the like, the pure transcendent Dharma, and abandon defiled, evil, and unwholesome phenomena. This is called the noble eightfold fast. If a woman of good family observes the noble eightfold fast, when her body breaks up and life ends, she will obtain rebirth in the six desire heavens, and ultimately attain the four fruits of a śramaṇa.'