法苑珠林 42.12

42.12

As the Nirvāṇa-sūtra states: Because the spirits and ghosts of the wilderness were conferred the precept against killing, and subsequently, having ceased to eat meat, their vital breath and strength grew weak and their lives were about to end, the Buddha told the ghosts: 'I command my śrāvaka disciples: wherever there is the Buddha's Dharma, they must all give food to you. If there is a residence where they are unable to give, they are the retinue of Māra, not my disciples, not true śrāvakas.' However, when dispensing food to sentient beings, there must be a proper measure. If one eats the food of other dānapatis, one must then follow the Mahīśāsaka-vinaya, which says: 'If one gives to beggars, birds, dogs, and the like, one should estimate within one's own allotted portion, reducing it to give to them; one must not take from outside one's allotted portion to give.' (Lately I have seen monastics and laity attending vegetarian feasts where the dānapati was frugal and did not provide for his wife and children, first making offerings to the monastic community to serve as a field of merit. The monks, without estimating the quantity of food beforehand, first gorged themselves and then took much to distribute as food, giving it to feed birds and dogs. This harms the other dānapati, and they also incur sin themselves. If one takes from within one's own portion, or uses one's own food, one may do as much or as little as one pleases, without being subject to restrictions.) Furthermore, the Twelve Dhūta Sūtra states: 'When obtaining food, one should form this thought: seeing sentient beings who are thirsty and destitute, give one portion to them. I am the dānapati, and they are the recipients. Having given, one makes this vow: "May all sentient beings generate blessings to save them; let them not fall into stinginess and greed." Carrying it to an empty and quiet place, take off a morsel and place it on a clean rock to bestow upon birds and beasts, also making the vow as above. Just as one is about to eat, one forms this thought: "Within the body there are eighty thousand families of worms; when the worms obtain this food, they will all be at peace and ease. I now give food to these worms; when I attain the Way in the future, I shall bestow the Dharma upon you." This is not abandoning sentient beings.'