法苑珠林 12.45

12.45

The sound of this ghaṇṭā, making Mahākāśyapa's voice, reached throughout the great thousand-world system, and all heard it. All disciples who possessed supernatural power came and assembled at Mahākāśyapa's place, and one thousand persons were selected. Except for Ānanda, all were arhats. They had also thoroughly read and knew the internal and external scriptures and the eighteen kinds of great scriptures of the non-Buddhists, and all were able to debate and subdue those of other teachings. Mahākāśyapa said: 'In the past when I constantly went on alms rounds, non-Buddhists would constantly come by force to pose difficult questions, neglecting the Dharma affairs. Now Rājagṛha regularly provides meals to supply a thousand persons; we must not take more. Inform King Ajātaśatru to provide us with food, delivering it daily, and no one may go elsewhere.' During the three months of the summer retreat, on the first fifteenth day, at the time of reciting the precepts, they assembled. When Kāśyapa and the others had entered samādhi, they observed with the divine eye: 'Among this congregation now, who has defilements not yet exhausted and should be expelled?' There was only one person, Ānanda, whose defilements were not yet exhausted; the remaining nine hundred and ninety-nine persons had all their outflows exhausted, pure and undefiled. Mahākāśyapa arose from meditation, took Ānanda by the hand in the midst of the assembly, and led him out, saying: 'Now in this pure congregation we are compiling the scripture piṭaka. Your fetters are not yet exhausted; you should not remain here.' At that time Ānanda was ashamed, wept in grief, and thought to himself: 'For twenty-five years I attended upon the World-Honoured One, serving at his side, and never did I hear such distress. The Buddha truly had great virtue, compassion, and forbearance.' Having thought thus, he said to Mahākāśyapa: 'I have the ability and could long ago have attained the Way. But according to the Dharma of the Buddhas, an arhat may not attend at the side and be sent on errands. It is for this reason that I retained residual fetters and did not completely sever them.' Mahākāśyapa said: 'You have another offense: the Buddha did not wish to permit women to renounce household life, but you persistently urged and entreated him until the Buddha permitted them to practice the Way. Because of this, the Buddha's True Dharma declined five hundred years earlier. You must perform repentance for a duṣkṛta.' Ānanda said: 'I had pity on Gautamī; furthermore, the Dharma of the Buddhas of the three periods of time all has the fourfold assembly—why should our Śākyamuni Buddha alone lack it?'