諸經要集 15.42

15.42

At that time, the blind mother raised the child until he was grown, eight or nine years of age, and capable of walking about. Giving him a staff and an eating vessel, she told her son: “Beg for your own living; you must not stay here. I too have no eyes and must also beg to sustain what remains of my life.” This blind little child went from house to house begging, and gradually he reached the house of Candana. Standing outside the gate, he called out, “A blind child begs!” At that time, the gatekeeper in anger seized his hand and threw him into a deep pit, breaking his left arm and fracturing his head; the food he had begged was all spilled upon the ground. Someone who saw it felt great pity and grief, and went to tell the blind mother. Hearing this, the blind mother crawled with her staff to where the blind child was, took him onto her lap, and said to her son: “What fault did you commit to suffer such hardship?” The son replied to his mother: “Earlier I went outside the gate of Candana’s house to beg, and I met an evil man who struck and threw me like this.” The Buddha, knowing this at the time, said to Ānanda: “How disastrous! How disastrous! The householder Nanda died and became the child of that blind caṇḍāla woman, born without two eyes. His former estate was boundlessly wealthy, with elephants, horses, and the seven jewels beyond count; yet can he personally use them now? It was because of stinginess and greed that he received this retribution of blindness, and after this life ends he will enter the Avīci Hell.” After midday, surrounded by the assembly of bhikṣus and the citizens of the capital, the Buddha went to the gate of Candana, to the place of the blind child. At that time, Candana, hearing that the Buddha was outside, came out of the gate, bowed, and stood to one side. The Buddha, knowing the assembly had gathered and seeing Candana, broadly explained to the assembly that stinginess, greed, and jealousy incur limitless punishment, and furthermore explained that giving receives inexhaustible blessings, wishing to cause them to leave the realms of rebirth and proceed toward the unconditioned path. At that time, the Bhagavat, wishing to pull Candana out of the suffering of hell, said to the child: “Are you not the householder Nanda?” The child replied: “I am indeed Nanda.” This occurred three times. Hearing this, the great assembly was astonished and said, “Can it be that the householder Nanda has taken such a form?” At that time, hearing and seeing this, Candana wept tears uncontrollably. He bowed to the Buddha and pleaded for rescue, wishing to eradicate the root of sin. He then invited the Buddha and the Saṃgha to have a meal at his home the next day. The next day, when the meal was finished, the Buddha spoke the wondrous Dharma for him, and Candana attained the fruit of srotāpanna. The Buddha told Ānanda: “If a person amasses wealth, neither clothing and feeding himself nor practicing dāna, he is the most foolish of the foolish. Therefore, the wise should practice giving to seek freedom from saṃsāra, and not give rise to stinginess to suffer boundless torment.”