法苑珠林 91.9

91.9

Furthermore, the Madhyamāgama says: At that time, Viśākhā, mother of Mṛgāra, bathed at dawn, put on clean white garments, and together with her daughters-in-law and other kin went to the Buddha's dwelling. Bowing her head in reverence, she said to the World-Honoured One: 'I am now observing the wholesome fast.' The World-Honoured One asked: 'Laywoman, what kind of fast are you now observing? There are three kinds of fasts. What are the three? The first is the cowherd's fast; the second is the Nirgrantha's fast; the third is the noble eightfold fast. What is called the cowherd's fast? A cowherd grazes his cattle in the marsh in the morning and gathers them back to the village in the late afternoon. When returning to the village, he thinks: "Today I grazed cattle in this place; tomorrow I will graze cattle in that place. Today I watered cattle in this place; tomorrow I will water cattle in that place. Today my cattle lodged in this place; tomorrow they will lodge in that place." In the same way, when a person observes a fast, he contemplates: "Today I ate such food; tomorrow I will eat that food. Today I drank such drink; tomorrow I will drink that drink. Today I tasted such savours; tomorrow I will taste those savours." That person spends this day and night delighting in and clinging to sensual desires. This is called the cowherd's fast. If one observes the fast in this way, one does not obtain great benefit, does not attain great fruit, does not have great merit, and it is not widely diffused. What is called the Nirgrantha's fast? When a Nirgrantha leaves home, he exhorts people, saying: "For the sake of protecting beings that are more than a hundred yojanas to the east, cast away your weapons." It is the same for the south, west, and north. Or they strip off their clothes and go naked, saying, "I have no parents, wife, or children," promoting false words and taking them to be true reality; or they adhere to austerities, self-starvation, and other such wrong practices. This is called the Nirgrantha's fast. If one observes the fast in this way, one likewise does not obtain great benefit, does not attain great fruit, does not have great merit, and it is not widely diffused. What is called the noble eightfold fast? When a learned noble disciple observes the fast, he contemplates: "The arhats, true persons, for the rest of their lives refrain from killing, abandon killing, cast away knives and clubs, have shame and conscience, possess a mind of loving-kindness and compassion, and benefit all beings down to insects; their minds are pure regarding killing. Down to: for the rest of their lives they refrain from eating at improper times, abandon eating at improper times, eat once and do not eat at night, and take pleasure in eating at proper times. With this factor, I am equal to and no different from the arhats; therefore it is called a fast." Having abided in this noble eightfold fast, he should further recollect the Tathāgata's ten titles such as "Free from Clinging" (Arhat) and the like, the pure transcendent Dharma, and abandon defiled, evil, and unwholesome phenomena. This is called the noble eightfold fast. If a woman of good family observes the noble eightfold fast, when her body breaks up and life ends, she will obtain rebirth in the six desire heavens, and ultimately attain the four fruits of a śramaṇa.'