法苑珠林 49.62

49.62

Furthermore, the Avadānaśataka states: When the Buddha was in the world, there was an elder brāhmaṇa in the city of Śrāvastī. His wife gave birth to a baby boy whose appearance was repulsive and whose body was foul-smelling. When he drank his mother's milk, he caused the milk to curdle and spoil; if he drank anyone else's milk, that too would curdle and spoil. Only by smearing honey and clarified butter on their fingers for him to lick could his life be sustained. Therefore, they gave him a name, calling him 'Attaining Satiety' (Sampūrṇa). Later, as he gradually grew up, he sought to leave the household life under the Buddha. The Buddha said to him, 'Welcome, monk!' His hair and beard fell away of themselves, the monastic robes draped his body, and he at once became a śramaṇa. Cultivating with energetic diligence, he attained the fruition of an arhat. Yet when he went begging for alms, he never obtained anything. He then reproached himself; entering the stūpa, he saw a little dust and dirt, and immediately swept and washed it. When the time came to beg for alms, he was bountifully supplied. With a joyful heart, he said to the saṃgha, 'From this day forward, allow me to sweep and wash the saṃgha's stūpas and monasteries.' The saṃgha granted his request. Later, one day, he slept without awakening at dawn. Śāriputra, seeing a little dust and dirt in the Buddha's stūpa, immediately swept it. At that moment, Sampūrṇa woke from sleep; seeing that Śāriputra had finished sweeping, he felt disappointed and resentful, and said to Śāriputra, 'You have swept my ground, causing me today to suffer hunger and exhaustion for the day!' When Śāriputra heard these words, he said to him, 'I myself will enter the city with you today to accept an invitation; you will obtain your fill, so do not worry.' Hearing this, his mind was at ease. When the time to accept the invitation arrived, he entered the city with Śāriputra to accept the invitation. As it happened, the donors, husband and wife, were quarreling, and ultimately he did not get any food; he returned hungry. On the second day, Śāriputra spoke to him again: 'This morning, I shall personally take you to accept an elder's invitation to make you fully satisfied.' When the time arrived, he took him there; the upper, middle, and lower seats all received food, but this one man alone did not get any food. He cried out aloud, 'I have received no food!' At that time, the host heard nothing at all, and he returned hungry and exhausted. At that time, Ānanda, having heard of this, took deep pity on him, and on the third day said to him, 'This morning, I shall accompany the Buddha to accept an invitation and fetch food for you, enough to make you fully satisfied.' Now, Ānanda had received and retained the eighty-four thousand Dharma-gates of the Tathāgata without ever letting a single one slip; yet today, having specifically set out to fetch food and drink for this monk Sampūrṇa, he suddenly forgot and returned with an empty bowl. On the fourth day, Ānanda again fetched food for him and returned to his dwelling; on the road, he encountered a vicious dog that bit and tore at him; the food was scattered on the ground, and he returned with an empty bowl. On the fifth day, Mahāmaudgalyāyana again fetched food for him; midway, he was spotted and attacked by a king of garuḍas, who snatched the food together with the bowl and dropped them into the great ocean, so that he again received no food. On the sixth day, Śāriputra again fetched food for him; when he arrived at the monk's door, the door closed of its own accord. [Śāriputra] then, through his supernatural power, entered the room and sprang up before him; he dropped the bowl, which fell to the ground down to the vajra-stratum. Again using his supernatural power, he stretched forth his hand to retrieve the bowl, but the monk's mouth became clenched, so that he was completely unable to eat. Only when the hour had passed did his mouth open of its own accord. On the seventh day, having received no food at all, he felt extreme shame; before the fourfold assembly, he ate sand and drank water, and thereupon entered nirvāṇa. At that time, when the monks saw this matter, they wondered about its origin and requested the Buddha to explain the past causes and conditions. The Buddha told the monks: 'Long ago, immeasurable kalpas in the past, a Buddha appeared in the world named Ketu-dhvaja, who led the monks wandering to teach and transform. At that time, there was an elder named Gomi; seeing the Buddha and the saṃgha, he gave rise to deep faith and reverence, and invited them to receive offerings day after day in this manner. It then came to pass that the father died; the mother continued to practice giving, but the son was stingy and would not allow it, even rationing the food given to his mother. The mother continued to divide and reduce her share to give to the Buddha and the saṃgha. Hearing of this, the son was enraged; he immediately seized his mother, locked her in an empty room, bolted the door, and went away. By the end of seven days, the mother was extremely famished and exhausted, and begged her son for food. The child answered his mother, saying, "Why not eat sand and drink water? That is enough to survive! Why ask for food now?" Having spoken, he abandoned her and left. Ultimately she received no food, and the mother then passed away. Upon the son's death, he entered Avīci Hell. Having finished enduring that suffering, he was reborn among humans to suffer hunger and exhaustion like this. However, because he had made offerings to the Buddha in the past, he was now able to encounter me, leave the household life, and attain the Way.' Having heard this, the monks rejoiced and put it into practice.