法苑珠林 77.22

77.22

Furthermore, the *Luoxunyu jing* says: When the Buddha was in the world, there was a brāhmaṇa's son with meager merit. A physiognomist read his fortune and found he had no auspicious signs. When he reached the age of twelve, his parents expelled him. Thereupon he went begging for food and arrived at the Jetavana. The Buddha, with great compassion, stroked his head with his hand; his hair fell out at once, and kāṣāyas adhered to his body. The Buddha gave him a name, calling him Luoxunyu. At that time, whenever the monks of the five divisions went out to beg for alms, whichever division Luoxunyu was in returned with empty bowls. The Buddha instructed the bhikṣus to share [their alms] and give to him; this happened repeatedly. Maudgalyāyana thought, “Because of this bhikṣu, the Saṃgha gets no food.” The Buddha knew his thought, so he accompanied Śāriputra, while making Maudgalyāyana accompany Luoxunyu, each dividing into a separate group. The Buddha told Maudgalyāyana, “You must not go where I am.” Maudgalyāyana then walked with Luoxunyu. Wherever they were about to go, they immediately saw the Buddha and Śāriputra at the gate. In this manner they passed through over five hundred billion kingdoms, and still obtained no food. Maudgalyāyana thought to himself, “Today I certainly will get no food.” Luoxunyu was extremely starved and stopped by the bank of the Gaṅgā. Maudgalyāyana then went to the Buddha's place. There was still leftover food in the Buddha's bowl, which he gave to Maudgalyāyana. Maudgalyāyana thought, “I am so starved now that even if I swallowed Mount Sumeru I would still not be full; how could such a little rice be enough to eat?” The Buddha told Maudgalyāyana, “Just eat this rice; do not worry about it not being enough.” Maudgalyāyana then ate; after he was full, the rice in the bowl had not diminished. Śāriputra then thought, “Luoxunyu has not eaten yet and must be suffering greatly from hunger.” He said to the Buddha, “I pray to beg for the leftover rice to give to Luoxunyu.” The Buddha then told him, “I do not begrudge the rice, but by the retribution of his past deeds Luoxunyu ought not to obtain it. If you think otherwise, you may give it to him.” Śāriputra then gave the rice to him. Just as Luoxunyu was about to receive the rice, the bowl sank a hundred fathoms into the earth. With the hand of his spiritual power, Śāriputra followed the bowl, retrieved it at once, and returned it to Luoxunyu. Just as he was about to eat it, he accidentally overturned the bowl, and the food spilled and scattered into the water. Luoxunyu returned to his seat, stilled his mind, and thought to himself, “Whenever I walk with the bhikṣus, we never obtain anything and return with empty bowls. When the Buddha gave me rice, I immediately overturned it again. This is all due to karmic retribution; I ought to endure it.” Thereupon he contemplated, his fetters unfastened, his defilements were eliminated, and he attained the path of an arhat. He then ate dirt and entered parinirvāṇa. If you wish to know who Luoxunyu was: in the past, at the time of Vipaśyin Buddha, he was a commoner who constantly harboured stinginess and refused to practice dāna. At one time, when he was about to eat, he stripped off his clothes and spread them on the ground for fear that grains of rice might fall. A śramaṇa passed by begging alms from him. Luoxunyu saw him and said, “What should I give you?” He then took up a handful of dirt in his hands and gave it to the śramaṇa. The śramaṇa then made a vow: “It is only out of foolishness [that you do this]. May you quickly attain deliverance!” From that distant past, wandering through saṃsāra, down to the present, wherever he went he never obtained food. Now having attained the path, he ate dirt and entered nirvāṇa. The śramaṇa who received the dirt was Śāriputra. Therefore know that evil deeds and merit both bring their retribution in the present.