諸經要集 2.28

2.28

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.