諸經要集 12.18

12.18

Fourth, the rebuke of the fault of craving for tastes: one should awaken oneself [thinking]: 'Merely because of greedy attachment to fine tastes, I will have to undergo the suffering of retribution, having molten copper poured into my mouth and swallowing burning iron pellets. If I do not contemplate food, and my gluttonous mind is stubbornly attached, I will fall among impure worms.' For example, a novice's mind always craved curd. Whenever dānapatis offered curd to the saṃgha, the novice would always receive the leftover portions; his mind was fondly attached to it, rejoicing and unwilling to part with it. After his life ended, he was reborn inside that jar of leftover curd. The novice's master attained arhatship. When the saṃgha was distributing curd, he said, 'Slowly, do not harm this curd-loving novice.' The people said, 'This is a worm; why do you call it the curd-loving novice?' He replied, 'This worm was originally my novice. Merely because he greedily craved the leftover curd, he was reborn in this jar.' When the master received his portion of curd, the worm came along in it. The master said, 'Curd-loving person, why have you come?' and immediately gave the curd to it. Furthermore, there was a king named King Candrabhāga (Yuefen). He had a crown prince who was fondly attached to fine tastes. The king's orchard-keeper delivered fine fruits daily. In the orchard was a great tree upon which a bird was rearing its young. It would regularly fly to the Fragrant Mountains (Gandhamādana) to take fine, fragrant fruits to nourish its chicks. When the chicks squabbled over them, one fruit fell to the ground. The orchard-keeper saw it in the morning; marveling at its extraordinary nature, he immediately presented it to the king. The king prized this fruit for its remarkable fragrance and color. When the crown prince saw it, he at once demanded it; the king, loving his son, gave it to him. The crown prince ate the fruit and tasted its flavor; his desiring mind was deeply attached, and day after day he wished to obtain it. The king immediately summoned the orchard-keeper and asked for its origin. The orchard-keeper said, 'This fruit has no seed [here]; I found it on the ground and do not know where it came from.' The crown prince wept and would not eat. The king pressed and reproached the orchard-keeper: 'I rely on you to obtain it!' The orchard-keeper went to the place where he found the fruit, saw that there was a bird's nest, and knew the bird had brought it in its beak. Concealing himself in the tree, he waited, wishing to seize it. When the mother bird came, he immediately snatched the fruit and delivered it; it was like this day after day. The mother bird grew furious, and in the Fragrant Mountains took a poisonous fruit whose fragrance, taste, and color were made to resemble the previous ones. The orchard-keeper snatched it and presented it to the king. The king gave it to the crown prince to eat; before long, their flesh rotted and decayed, and they died. Various such circumstances as these are the rebuke of the fault of craving for tastes.