法苑珠林 80.23

80.23

The commentary says: There may also be someone who promises a gift to the poor to make them happy, but later regrets it and does not give it, incurring increasingly more suffering. Or there are sentient beings who themselves lack faith in giving, and seeing others practice giving, are unable to rejoice in it; rather, they give rise to slander and prevent others from giving, incurring the gravest guilt. Or when property is held in common, using it exclusively for oneself is blameworthy: for instance, property in the household is jointly experienced by husband and wife, each having a share, and is not obtained by one person alone; yet someone is exclusively stingy with it and unwilling to bestow it, obstructing others from cultivating merit—this incurs the deepest evil. Therefore, the Saddharmasmṛtyupasthāna-sūtra states: 'If a man instructs his wife to give food to śramaṇas, brāhmaṇas, and the like, and his wife is stingy, having food in fact but claiming to have none, telling her husband: "There is nothing at all in the house; what should I give to the śramaṇas and virtuous people?"—such a woman, deceiving her husband, being stingy with wealth, and not practicing dāna, when her body breaks up and life ends, falls among the needle-mouthed hungry ghosts. Because of her accumulated habits of committing much bad karma, women are mostly born into the realm of hungry ghosts. Why is this? Because women have much greed, desire, and jealousy, not equalling men; women have small minds and frivolous minds, not equalling men. Due to these causes and conditions, they are born among hungry ghosts, and until their evil karma of jealousy is exhausted, unabated, undestroyed, and undecayed, they cannot escape from among the hungry ghosts. When their karma is exhausted and they attain escape, upon dying there they are born among animals, receiving the body of a cātaka bird (this bird eats only rainwater from the heavens; looking up with mouth open to receive celestial rainwater, it drinks it, unable to drink other water), constantly afflicted by hunger and thirst, suffering great torment. Dying among animals, they are born among humans, and due to the residue of their karma, they are constantly beset by hunger and thirst, suffering hardships that are difficult to exhaust, constantly going about begging for food.' Furthermore, when within the family there is food held in common, to eat it exclusively oneself without giving to others also incurs grave guilt. Therefore, the Saddharmasmṛtyupasthāna-sūtra states: 'One who eats much delicious food eats it alone, not giving to his wife, children, or other family members; the wife and children and the rest only smell its fragrance without tasting its flavour. He eats it alone before his wife and children. Out of stinginess and jealousy, he does not give to his dependents of common karma; he also instructs others not to provide for their wives and children, and gives rise to rejoicement [in such deeds]. Constantly committing these faults without repenting, he gives rise to neither shame nor remorse. When such an evil person's body breaks up and life ends, he is born among the hungry ghosts who feed on breath-vapour. Having been born there, hunger and thirst scorch his body as he scurries everywhere, groaning and wailing, weeping and grieving in distress. He relies solely on stūpas and temples as well as shrines to devas, where people of faith make offerings, and by their fragrance and smelling the residual vapor, he sustains his own life.' Hence we know that sentient beings who use household property exclusively or eat food exclusively alone all incur great guilt. Or, fearing they have no wealth—even down to water and grass—they also do not give them, and later suffer poverty and hardship for life after life without cessation. Therefore, the Upāsakaśīla-sūtra states: 'When a person without wealth says of himself that he has no wealth, this meaning is not so. Why is this? There is no one who does not possess all the water and grass. Although someone is the ruler of a state, he is not necessarily able to give; although someone is destitute, he is not unable to give. Why is this? Even a destitute person has a portion of food; having eaten, he washes the vessel, and if he discards the wash-water and gives it to those who should eat it, he also attains merit. If one gives a speck of parched flour to an ant, he also attains immeasurable fruits of merit. In the whole world, who among the most destitute would lack this speck of parched flour? Who among the most destitute is completely naked without clothing? If one has clothing, could one not have a single thread or a single needle to give to someone, or a piece of cloth the size of a finger to bind a wound or make a lampwick? Good sons, who among the people in the world who appear destitute does not have their own body? If they have a body, seeing others making merit, they should go in person to assist: undertaking labor, sweeping, and sprinkling also attains karmic reward.' Therefore, the Tattvasiddhi-śāstra states: 'Sweeping the saṃgha's ground of the entire Jambudvīpa does not equal sweeping the Buddha's ground the size of a palm.'