諸經要集 2.28

2.28

又舊雜譬喻經云。昔有沙門晝夜誦經。有狗伏床下。一心聽經不復念食。如是積年。命盡得人形。生舍衛國中。作女人長大。見沙門分衛。便走自持飯與沙門歡喜。後作比丘尼得應道果。又付法藏經云。佛言。一切眾生。欲出三界生死大海。必假法舡方得度脫。法為清涼除煩惱熱。法是妙藥能愈結病。法是眾生真善知識。作大利益濟諸苦惱。所以然者。一切眾生志性無定。隨所染習。近善則善。近惡則惡。若近惡友。便造惡業。流轉生死無有邊際。若近善友。起信敬心聽受妙法。必能令離三塗苦惱。由此功德受最勝樂。華氏國王有一白象。能滅怨敵。若人犯罪令象蹋殺。後時象厩為火所燒。移象近寺。象聞比丘誦法句經偈云。為善生天。為惡入淵。象聞法已。心便柔和起慈悲心。後付罪人。但以鼻嗅舌䑛而去。都不肯殺。王見斯已心大惶怖。即召諸臣共謀此事。智臣白王。此象近寺必聞妙法。是故爾耳。今可移近屠肆處繫。王用其言。象見屠殺惡心猛熾。殘害更增。是以當知一切眾生志性無定。畜生尚爾聞法生慈見殺增害。豈況於人而不染習。是故智者宜應覺知。見惡須棄。覩善宜近。勤聽經法。又於往昔有婆羅門。持人髑髏其數甚多。詣華氏城中遍行衒賣。經歷多時都無買者。時婆羅門極大瞋恚。高聲罵言。此城中人愚癡闇鈍。若不就我買髑髏者。我當與作惡名聞也。爾時城中諸優婆塞。聞畏毀謗便將錢買。即以銅箸貫穿其耳。若徹過者便與多價。其半徹者與價漸少。都不通者全不與直。婆羅門言。我此髑髏皆悉無異。何故與價差別不等。優婆塞言。前徹過者。此人生時聽受妙法。智慧高勝。貴其如此相與多價。其半徹者。雖聽經法未善分別。故與少直。全不通者。此人往昔都不聽法。故不與價。時優婆塞持此髑髏。往至城外起塔供養。命終之後悉得生天。以是因緣。當知妙法有大功德。此優婆塞。以聽法人髑髏起塔。而供養之。尚得生天。況能至心聽受經法。供養恭敬持經人者。此之福報實難窮盡。未來必當成無上道。是故智者。欲得無上安隱快樂。應當至心勤聽經法。

Furthermore, the *Jiu za piyu jing* says: "In the past, there was a śramaṇa who recited the sūtras day and night. A dog crouched under the bed, single-mindedly listening to the sūtras without thinking of food. After years accumulated like this, when its life ended it obtained a human form, being born in the country of Śrāvastī as a girl. When she grew up, seeing a śramaṇa on almsround, she ran and personally took food to give to the śramaṇa with joy. Later she became a bhikṣuṇī and attained the fruit of arhatship." Furthermore, the *Fu fazang jing* says: "The Buddha said: 'All sentient beings wishing to cross the great ocean of saṃsāra of the three realms must rely on the raft of the Dharma to attain deliverance. The Dharma is a cool freshness that removes the fever of afflictions; the Dharma is a wondrous medicine that can cure the sickness of defilements; the Dharma is the true good friend to sentient beings, bringing great benefit and rescuing them from all suffering and distress. Why is this? The nature of the will of all sentient beings is unfixed: they follow what they are dyed with and accustomed to; approaching good, they become good; approaching evil, they become evil. If they approach bad friends, they then create evil karma and transmigrate through birth and death without limit. If they approach good friends, they arouse a mind of faith and reverence, listen to and receive the wondrous Dharma, and are certainly caused to leave behind the suffering and distress of the three wretched realms, and through this merit experience the most supreme bliss.' The king of the country of Pāṭaliputra had a white elephant capable of destroying enemy adversaries. If someone committed a crime, the king had the elephant trample them to death. Later, the elephant stable was burned by fire, and the elephant was moved near a monastery. The elephant heard a bhikṣu reciting a verse from the *Dharmapada*: 'Practicing good leads to rebirth in heaven; practicing evil leads into the abyss.' When the elephant heard the Dharma, its mind became gentle and aroused loving-kindness and compassion. Later, when a criminal was delivered to it, it merely sniffed with its trunk, licked with its tongue, and walked away, completely refusing to kill him. When the king saw this, his mind was greatly terrified. He immediately summoned all his ministers to deliberate on the matter together. A wise minister said to the king: 'Because this elephant was near the monastery, it must have heard the wondrous Dharma; that is why it is so. Now it can be moved to be tied near a slaughterhouse.' The king adopted his words. When the elephant saw slaughtering, its evil mind blazed fiercely, and its cruelty increased even more. Therefore, one should know that the nature of the will of all sentient beings is unfixed: even animals, hearing the Dharma, give rise to kindness, while seeing slaughter, increase their harm—how much more so for humans, who would not be conditioned by habits? Therefore, wise persons should realize this: seeing evil, one must discard it; beholding good, one should approach it; and one should diligently listen to the scriptures and teachings. Furthermore, in the past there was a brahmin who held human skulls, in very great numbers, and went throughout the city of Pāṭaliputra hawking them for sale. After passing much time, there was no one who bought any. The brahmin was then exceedingly angry, and shouted abuses: 'The people of this city are foolish and dull! If you do not buy skulls from me, I will make an evil reputation for you!' At that time, the upāsakas in the city, fearing defamation, took money and bought them. They then used a copper chopstick to pierce their ears: if it passed completely through, they paid a high price; if it passed halfway through, they paid gradually less; and if it did not penetrate at all, they gave no payment at all. The brahmin said: 'My skulls are completely identical; why do you pay unequal, differing prices?' The upāsaka said: 'The one that passed completely through was a person who in life listened to and received the wondrous Dharma, possessing high and supreme wisdom; we value it for being like this and gave a high price. The one that passed halfway through listened to the scriptures and teachings, yet could not skillfully distinguish them; therefore we gave a small price. The one that did not penetrate at all was a person who in the past did not listen to the Dharma at all; therefore we gave no price.' Then the upāsakas took these skulls, went outside the city, and erected stūpas to make offerings to them. After their lives ended, they were all born in heaven. By these conditions, one should know that the wondrous Dharma has great merit. Even these upāsakas, by taking the skulls of those who listened to the Dharma to erect stūpas and make offerings to them, were still able to be born in heaven—how much more so if one can with utmost sincerity listen to and receive the scriptures and teachings, and offer and revere those who uphold the scriptures! The retribution of such merit is truly difficult to fathom, and in the future one will surely achieve the anuttara path. Therefore, wise persons, wishing to attain unexcelled peace and joy, should with utmost sincerity diligently listen to the scriptures and teachings.