法苑珠林 90.48

90.48

Furthermore, the Sūtra on Precepts Calming Disasters says: When the Buddha was in the world, the people of a certain county all practiced the five precepts and ten virtuous deeds, and there were no brewers of alcohol. Among them was the son of a prominent family who wished to travel far for commerce. As he was about to set out, his parents told him: 'Diligently uphold the five precepts and ten virtuous deeds; be careful not to drink alcohol and violate the Buddha's grave precept.' When he traveled to another state, he met an old classmate, who joyfully brought out grape wine and wished to drink together with him. He resolutely declined and would not drink, but the host was so earnest and insistent that he could not refuse, and followed him. Later, returning home, he confessed the matter from beginning to end. His parents reported to him: 'You violated our precept; this is the beginning of disordering the Dharma. You are not a filial son.' They then took the goods he had acquired and drove him out of the state. He went to another state and stayed at an inn. The host worshipped three ghosts and spirits who could take human form, eating and drinking face-to-face with people and talking with people. He had served them for years; his family wealth had become completely depleted, while his household was beset with illnesses, and deaths never ceased. They discussed this privately. The ghosts knew human thoughts, and the ghosts consulted together, saying: 'This man's property is exhausted, precisely on our account, yet we have never brought him any benefit. Now he has grown sick and tired of us; we ought to seek rare treasures to bestow upon him.' They then went and stole fine treasures from another king's storehouse, piling them in the garden. They informed him: 'You have served us for many years with great diligence and toil. We now wish to bless you and make you wealthy.' The host gladly entered the garden, saw the goods, carried them back to his house, gave thanks, and received the favour. The next day, he prepared a meal and invited them. The spirits arrived at the gate, saw the man from the state of Śrāvastī in the host's house, and immediately fled away. The host chased after them and called out: 'Since you have already come, why are you running away?' The spirits said: 'In your house there is an exalted guest; how could we approach?' Again they fled in alarm. The host reflected: 'In my house there is no other person, only this man.' He immediately went out, spoke to him respectfully, and then asked him: 'What merit do you possess? The spirits I worship feared you and fled.' The guest fully described the Buddha's merits. The host said: 'I wish to receive and uphold the five precepts.' He thereupon received the three refuges and the five precepts from the guest, focusing his mind on energetic practice, not daring to be indolent. He then asked where the Buddha was, and the guest replied that he was in Anāthapiṇḍada's park in the state of Śrāvastī. The host resolved with a single mind to go there. On his journey he passed through an inn, where there was an upright and handsome woman who was a man-eating demon's wife. His journey was long and distant, and as the day grew late, he asked the woman for lodging. The woman immediately informed him: 'Be careful not to stay here; you should hurry on.' The man thought to himself: 'That previous man from Śrāvastī only maintained four precepts of the Buddha, yet my spirits still feared him. I have already received the three refuges and the five precepts, and my mind is not indolent; what should I fear?' He thereupon stayed the night. At that time, the man-eating demon saw the majestic power of the guardian deities of the precepts, went forty li away from the inn, and did not return that night. The next day, going forward, he saw the scattered human bones of those eaten by the demon. In his heart he became terrified and regretful, and thought to himself: 'It would be better to take this woman back to my native land and live together as before.' He immediately turned back, and thereupon asked the woman again for lodging. The woman said to the man: 'Why must you return?' He replied: 'My travel plans did not succeed, so I have simply returned.' He asked to lodge for another night. The woman said: 'You will die! My husband is a man-eating demon; he will arrive shortly. You should leave quickly.' This man did not believe her, stayed and did not leave; further confused by lustful desires, he again gave rise to disbelief, no longer believing in the Buddha's three refuges and five precepts. The heavenly spirits immediately departed, and the demon was able to return. Fearing that he would eat this man, the woman hid him in a jar. The demon smelled the human scent and said to his wife: 'Did you get meat? I want to eat it.' The woman said: 'I did not go out; where would I get meat from?' The woman asked the demon: 'Why did you not return yesterday?' The demon said: 'Because of what you did—lodging an exalted guest in the house, which caused me to be driven away.' The man in the jar became all the more terrified. The woman said: 'Why did you not get meat?' The demon said: 'Only because your house lodged a disciple of the Buddha; the heavenly spirits drove me forty li away, where I slept in the open, terrified, and even now I am uneasy; therefore I did not get meat.' The woman then asked her husband: 'What are the Buddha's precepts like?' The demon said: 'I am extremely hungry and pressed for food; bring the meat! You need not ask about this. These are the unsurpassed, truly genuine precepts; I dare not speak of them.' The woman said: 'Just tell them to me, and I will give you meat.' The demon thereupon explained the three refuges and the five precepts for her. As soon as the demon spoke the first precept, the woman received it; by the fifth precept, she held it in her mind and recited it with her mouth. Inside the jar, the man recognized the five precepts and received them along with her. Śakra, lord of the gods, knew that these two people had taken refuge in the Buddha from their hearts, and immediately selected fifty good spirits to protect them both. The demon thereupon fled away. When the next day came, the woman asked the man: 'Were you afraid?' He replied: 'I was greatly afraid; thanks to your kindness, my mind awakened and recognized the Buddha.' The woman said: 'Why did you return?' He replied: 'I saw the bones of the newly and formerly dead lying crisscross, and returned out of fear.' The woman said: 'Those bones were discarded by me. I was originally the daughter of a respectable family, abducted by the demon to become his wife. In sorrow and destitution I had no one to appeal to. Now, receiving your kindness, I was able to hear the Buddha's precepts and be separated from this demon.' Later, returning along the road, they met four hundred and ninety-eight people, and together went to the Buddha's place. With focused minds they listened to the sutra; their minds opened and understood, and they all became śramaṇas and attained the fruit of arhatship. However, these two people had been the teachers of the four hundred and ninety-eight people in past lives. When people seek the Way, they must certainly find their original teacher and their good friends; only then will they attain liberation.