法苑珠林 45.36

45.36

As the Sūtra on the Causes and Conditions of the Transmission of the Dharma Pitaka says: At that time, in the city of Saurasena, there was a merchant master who held a great pañcavārṣika assembly for the Saṃgha. There was a nun who had attained arhatship; she observed who in the assembly was a field of merit, and further considered who was the head of the Saṃgha. She saw that the arhats and trainees had long severed their afflictions and were worthy to receive offerings. She observed a monk named Aśala, who had not yet attained liberation, occupying the very head of the assembly. The nun then went and said to him, 'Venerable, today you ought to adorn yourself.' At that time this monk did not comprehend her meaning, so he put on clean robes, combed his hair, and bathed. Later, this nun again told him to adorn himself. Aśala became extremely enraged, [saying,] 'I complied with your words and adorned and cleansed myself exceedingly. What is so ugly and vile that you repeatedly utter such words?' The nun said, 'Venerable, you should know that this is worldly adornment, not the Buddha's Dharma. Adornment in the Buddha's Dharma means attaining the four fruits. How strange, Venerable, that you are so frivolous and base! The elder has arranged an assembly with many worthy ones and noble ones; you are the head of the Saṃgha, yet you have not escaped birth and death, and with an outflow-tainted mind you are the first to receive offerings. Therefore I now wish to awaken you.' Monk Aśala, having heard this, wept bitterly and grieved, reflecting on himself, 'I am old and decrepit; how could I exhaust my defilements?' The nun said, 'The Buddha's Dharma has no fixed time; does it discriminate between the robust and the aged?' Having heard these words, he went to Upagupta, who immediately preached the Dharma for him, and he became an arhat. There was also a monk whose nature was fond of food and drink; due to this greed, he was unable to attain the Way. Upagupta invited him to his room and gave him fragrant milk porridge, telling him to wait until it cooled before eating it. The monk blew on the porridge with his mouth, and it quickly cooled. He said to the Venerable, 'The porridge has cooled.' The Venerable said to him, 'Although this porridge is cool, your fire of desire is hot. You should use the water of contemplation to extinguish the fire in your mind.' He then used an empty bowl to make him vomit the food out. After he had vomited the food out, he had him eat it again. The monk answered, 'It has mixed with saliva; how could I eat it?' The Venerable said to him, 'All food is no different from this. Without contemplating it, you falsely give rise to greed and attachment. You must now contemplate the impurity of food.' He then preached the Dharma for him, and he attained the path of an arhat.