法苑珠林 53.40

53.40

Furthermore, the *Dharmapada-sūtra* says: When the Buddha was in the world, there was a bhikṣu named Cūḍapanthaka who had newly renounced the household life and was dull and blocked by nature. The Buddha had five hundred arhats teach him day after day, but in three years he could not learn a single verse. The four assemblies in the kingdom all knew he was foolish and ignorant. The Buddha took pity on him and taught him a verse: / Guard your mouth, govern your mind, and commit no offense with your body; / One who practices thus will cross over the world. / [The Buddha said,] "Now that you are old, you have finally mastered a single verse. Everyone knows it, so it is nothing extraordinary. I will now explain its meaning to you." His mind opened wide and he attained the path of an arhat. At that time, King Prasenajit invited the Buddha and the saṃgha to an assembly in the main palace hall. The Buddha wished to manifest Panthaka's majestic divine power, so he gave him his bowl and had Panthaka follow behind. The gatekeeper recognized him, stopped him, and would not permit him to enter, saying: "You are a śramaṇa and cannot even master one verse; why receive an invitation? I am a layman, yet I still know verses. How much more so should a śramaṇa have wisdom? Making offerings to you brings no benefit; you must not enter the gate." Panthaka then remained outside the gate. The Buddha sat in the palace hall, and the water ceremony was finished. Panthaka raised the bowl, extended his arm from afar, and offered it to the Buddha. The king, his ministers, the queen, the crown prince, and the four assemblies of the gathering saw the arm come in but did not see his body. Wondering at this, they asked the Buddha: "Whose arm is this?" The Buddha said: "It is the arm of the worthy bhikṣu Panthaka." He was immediately invited in, his majestic divine power manifoldly surpassing the ordinary. The king addressed the Buddha, saying: "I have heard that the venerable Panthaka is foolish and dull by nature, only just knowing a single verse. By what cause did he attain the Way?" The Buddha told the king: "Learning need not be vast; practice is supreme. The worthy Panthaka understood the meaning of a single verse, penetrating the subtle principle with spirit; his body, speech, and mind are tranquil, pure as heavenly gold. Even if one learns much, if one does not practice, it merely destroys one's consciousness and perceptions in vain—what benefit is there?" Thereupon the World-Honoured One spoke a verse: