諸經要集 9.51

9.51

復有一鬼問言。我受此身。肩上常有銅瓶滿中洋銅。手捉一杓取自灌頭。舉體燋爛。如是受苦無數無量。有何罪咎。目連答言。汝前世時出家為道。僧典飲食。以一酥瓶私著餘處。有客道人來者不與之。去已出酥行與舊僧。此酥是招提僧物。一切有分。此人藏隱雖與不等。由是緣故受此罪也。譬喻經云。昔外國有人。死魂自鞭其屍。傍人問曰。是人已死何以復鞭。報曰。此是我故身。為我作惡。見經戒不讀。偷盜欺詐。犯人婦女。不孝父母兄弟。惜身及財不肯布施。今死令我墮惡道中。勤苦毒痛不可復言。是故來鞭之耳。

Yet another ghost asked, saying, 'Having received this body, upon my shoulder there is always a bronze jar filled with molten bronze. With a ladle in hand, I take it and pour it over my own head, and my whole body is scorched and rots away. Thus I undergo boundless, immeasurable suffering. What fault or offence did I commit?' Maudgalyāyana answered, saying, 'In your past life you left household life to practice the Way and managed food and drink for the saṃgha. You secretly placed a jar of ghee elsewhere; when visiting monks came, you would not give it to them. After they left, you brought out the ghee to distribute to the resident monks. This ghee belonged to the saṃgha of the four quarters, and all had a share in it. This person concealed it, and though it was distributed, it was not equal. Due to these causes and conditions you undergo this punishment.' The Avadāna-sūtra says: 'Formerly, in a foreign country, there was a man whose deceased spirit was whipping his own corpse. A bystander asked, "This person is already dead; why whip him again?" He replied, "This is my former body. It committed evil for me: seeing the scriptures and precepts it did not read them; it engaged in theft and fraud; it violated other men's wives and daughters; it was unfilial to parents and brothers; and begrudging its body and wealth, it refused to practice generosity. Now that it is dead, it has caused me to fall into the evil destinies, where the toil, suffering, and toxic pain cannot be expressed in words. For this reason I have come to whip it."'