法苑珠林 41.67

41.67

Furthermore, the Saṃyukta-avadāna-sūtra says: In the past, there was a poor family in Śrāvastī. In their courtyard was a grapevine with several clusters of grapes. They thought of giving them to a person of the Way. At that time, the king had previously invited the monks for meals for an entire month. The poor family lacked the influence of the king, and only after waiting a full month did they finally receive a person of the Way, to whom they presented them in offering. They said to the person of the Way, 'I have been thinking of making this offering for a month already, and only now has my wish been fulfilled.' The person of the Way said to the upāsikā, 'You have already been giving for an entire month.' The upāsikā said, 'I have only given a single cluster of grapes; how could it be an offering of an entire month?' The person of the Way said, 'Merely by maintaining the thought of wishing to give for an entire month, it counts as a month's offering.'