法苑珠林 77.19

77.19

At that time, when the people heard these words, they all agreed with one accord and said, “Luci, what are you trying to do now?” Luci said, “Please serve as witnesses for me. I wish to see the king, and I also beg you to lend me two bolts of white cotton cloth worth about four grains of gold, so that I may present them to the king.” Everyone laughed and said, “Luci has now become a great donor!” Tucking the two bolts of cotton cloth under his arm, he went to the palace gate and said to the gatekeeper, “Announce me to the king; I wish to make an offering.” The gatekeeper was startled and laughed, then went in to report to the king. When the king heard this, he thought, “Luci is so stingy that he would not part with anything until death. How could he suddenly do this?” The king then summoned him in. Having arrived before the king, he tried to pull out the cotton cloth with his hands to present it to the king. Because his armpit clamped down tightly, he could not pull it out; he then turned his body around and tugged with all his might before it finally came out. Once it came out, Śakra transformed it into two bundles of grass. When Luci saw the grass, he sat on the ground in shame, sobbing and choking with tears, unable to speak. The king felt compassion on seeing him and said to him, “Even if it is grass, there is no harm. Whatever you wish to say, speak according to your mind.” Choking with tears, Luci said to the king, “Seeing this grass, my shame is extreme; I wish I could sink into the ground. I do not know whether I have this body today or have no body. To whom can I appeal?” Hearing this, the king felt pity and said to the bystanders, “Since he is choked with grief and cannot speak, whoever knows his intention should speak on his behalf.” The bystanders answered the king, “We do not know what kind of person, identical in appearance, went to his house and falsely claimed to be Luci. The family all believed him, squandering and exhausting all the wealth and property. The family did not recognise [the real Luci], beat him with clubs, drove him out, and treated him like a stranger on the road. For this reason, he is distressed and cannot speak.” Hearing this, the king sent an envoy to summon the identical man, and both stood before the king. Seeing the two men, their features, words, and smiles were completely identical. The king thought the latter one was the real Luci, and said to the former, “What else do you wish to argue now?” Luci answered, “I am Luci; he is not Luci.” The king asked the latter, “Luci is stingy, but you are fond of giving. How can you claim to be Luci?” He answered the king, “I heard the Buddha say that the stingy fall among the hungry ghosts, enduring the suffering of hunger and thirst for hundreds of thousands of myriad years. Fearing these causes and conditions, I have abandoned stinginess.” The king said, “Indeed it is so. Just as soiled clothing is cleaned as soon as it is washed with lye, so the defilement of afflictions in the mind is eradicated as soon as one hears the Dharma.” Having observed this, the king separated the two men into different places and sent each to list the number of relatives and various properties, and quickly write them down and bring them. The intimate matters and handwriting held by both were completely identical, and the king could not distinguish between them. The king called the mother to question her. The mother said to the king, “This one is my son; that one is not my son—he is the ghost of stinginess.” The king asked the mother again, “Have you seen any scars, moles, or private marks on his body by which he can be recognised?” The mother answered the king, “My son has a small scar under his left flank, about the size of a small bean.” The king ordered them to strip off their clothes and raise their arms high to look; he saw that both scars were identical in size. Seeing this, the king laughed heartily, marvelled at this unprecedented event, and deeply blamed himself: “All sentient beings are covered by ignorance and darkness and cannot distinguish truth from falsehood. Such matters can only be resolved by the Buddha.” He then placed the two men on an elephant and went with them to the Buddha's place to request a resolution of the doubt. At that time, the World-Honoured One raised his arm marked with auspicious signs and his adorned hand, and said to Śakra, “What have you done?” Śakra immediately eliminated the physical appearance of Luci and returned to his original form with various radiances. Joining his palms toward the Buddha, he spoke a verse: