法苑珠林 19.35

19.35

Furthermore, the Dharmaguptaka-vinaya states: The arhat Piṇḍola was originally a minister of King Udayana. Due to diligent austerities, the king permitted him to renounce the householder's life, and he attained the fruit of an arhat. Afterwards, whenever the king went out of the city to pay homage, the monastery was twenty li from the city. The various sycophantic ministers saw that Piṇḍola did not rise to welcome the king, and with evil minds remonstrated with the king. Later, the king accepted the sycophantic ministers' advice, endangered [by their words], and wished to kill him. When Piṇḍola saw the king coming and entering the gate later, he immediately descended from his couch and walked seven paces to welcome him. The king said angrily, 'The Venerable One has always been difficult to move; why do you now leave your seat to welcome me?' He answered, saying, 'Previously the king came with a good mind, therefore I did not rise to welcome you; today you come harbouring an evil mind, and if I did not rise to welcome you, I feared I would be killed.' The king sighed, saying, 'Excellent! I, your disciple, was foolish and muddled, falsely accepting sycophantic words and not discerning between the common and the noble.' Although the king's request for repentance spared him from hell, Piṇḍola nonetheless predicted for the king that because a monk had risen to welcome him, after seven days he would certainly lose his royal throne. It turned out exactly as predicted: a neighbouring country raised troops and came to seize him, and he was chained by the feet and imprisoned for twelve years (and so forth, as detailed elsewhere).