法苑珠林 21.15

21.15

According to the *Mahālaṃkāra-śāstra*: When selecting a puṇyakṣetra, one should select its virtue; one should not discriminate between young, prime, old, and decrepit. The Buddha said: Formerly I heard that a dānapati sent an acquaintance who was a religious follower to the saṃghārāma to invite the monks, seeking only the old and venerable, not wanting the youthful. Later, when the acquaintance came to invite the monks, he reached the novice monks (śrāmaṇera) in the order, but he did not accept them. A novice said, 'Why do you not take us?' He replied, 'The dānapati will not use you; it is not my doing.' The monk acting as the canvasser then spoke a verse: