諸經要集 5
English (machine translation) 5
- Language
- English
5.1
Compiled by the Śramaṇa Shi Daoshi of Ximing Monastery
5.2
Section 7: Receiving Invitations (containing eight occasions)
5.3
Occasion of Stating the Intention
Occasion of Making Offerings
Occasion of Distinguishing the False
Occasion of the Holy Saṅgha
Occasion of Bestowing Food
Occasion of the Mealtime
Occasion of the Rules for Eating
Occasion of Finishing the Meal
5.4
Occasion 1: Stating the Intention
5.5
Now, the Triratna is impartial, vast as empty space, without enmity or affection, and beyond high or low status. Neither favouring nor rejecting, it responds to the 마음 of the donor. Therefore, holding this silently and banishing characteristics, it takes the boundary of space as its limit; according with time and following conditions, it is commensurate with the dharmadhātu. Since the cause is unexhausted, the fruit is likewise inexhaustible. Furthermore, in secular frugality and material poverty, gifts are restricted and bounded; when things are limited, the mind is also narrow and attached. Some weigh the person to select their virtue, some restrict by practice to weed out impurity, some grasp at marks to distinguish form, or observe appearances to dismiss the unsightly. In this way, restricting by person and restricting by wealth, the constrained mind is hard to record. Unbelieving in finite blessings, they nevertheless hope to partake in boundless retribution. Thus, long ago, the mother of Viśākhā individually invited five hundred arhats, but the Tathāgata reproached her, saying that this was not equal to inviting a single ordinary monk in accordance with the saṅgha's turn, which yields boundless merit. Therefore, know that when the mind is limitless, blessings pervade the ten directions; when wealth is neither much nor little, the mind encompasses the dharmadhātu.
5.6
Occasion 2: Making Offerings
5.7
As the Bodhisattvabhūmi-śāstra says: The bodhisattva's offerings to the Tathāgata are, in brief, of ten kinds: first, offerings to the body; second, offerings to the caitya; third, offerings in presence; fourth, offerings in absence; fifth, offerings made by oneself; sixth, offerings made by others; seventh, offerings of material goods; eighth, superior offerings; ninth, untainted offerings; and tenth, offerings of the path of attainment. If a bodhisattva makes offerings to the physical form of the Buddha, this is called offerings to the body. If a bodhisattva, for the sake of the Tathāgata, makes offerings to stūpas, caves, or shrines, whether old or new, this is called offerings to the caitya.
5.8
If a bodhisattva sees face-to-face the Buddha's body and caityas and makes offerings, this is called offerings in presence. If a bodhisattva makes offerings in presence to the Tathāgata and caityas, accompanied by a mind of aspiration and accompanied by a mind of joy—just as to one Tathāgata, so too to those of the three times; and makes offerings in presence to the caityas of the Tathāgata across the three times and ten directions in boundless worlds, whether new or old—this is called the bodhisattva's joint offerings in presence.
5.9
If a bodhisattva, toward the Tathāgata and caityas when not present and after his nirvāṇa, erects stūpas with the Buddha's relics, whether numbering up to hundreds, thousands, myriads, or billions, according to their ability, this is called extensive offerings in absence. Due to these causes and conditions, they obtain boundless great fruits, constantly gather the merit of Brahmā, do not fall into the evil destinies for boundless great eons, and complete all provisions for anuttara-bodhi.
5.10
If a bodhisattva makes offerings in presence, they obtain great merit. If they make offerings in absence, they obtain even greater merit. If they make joint offerings both in presence and in absence, they obtain the greatest of great merit.
5.11
If a bodhisattva personally makes offerings with their own hands to the Tathāgata and caityas, not relying on laziness to have others do it, this is called the bodhisattva's offerings made by oneself. If a bodhisattva does not make offerings alone to the Tathāgata and caityas, but universally causes relatives, laypeople, and monastics all to make offerings together, this is called offerings made together by oneself and others. If a bodhisattva possesses only a small amount of goods and, with a mind of compassion, gives them to those poor, suffering, and merit-deprived sentient beings, causing them to make offerings to the Tathāgata and caityas so that they may attain peace and happiness, rather than acting for oneself, this is called offerings made by others. One who makes offerings oneself obtains a great retribution; one who causes others to make offerings obtains an even greater retribution; and one who makes offerings both oneself and through others obtains the greatest of great retributions. If a bodhisattva makes various offerings of clothing, food, and miscellaneous treasures to the Tathāgata and caityas, this is called offerings of material goods.
5.12
If a bodhisattva has long made offerings of material goods, whether many or few, present or absent, made by oneself or made by others, making offerings with pure faith and dedicating these roots of goodness toward anuttara-bodhi, this is called superior offerings.
5.13
If a bodhisattva makes offerings with their own hands to the Tathāgata and caityas without slighting others, without negligence, without indolence, with utmost reverence and an untainted mind, without displaying flattery or deviousness toward superior persons of faith to seek wealth, and never making offerings with impure things, this is called untainted offerings.
5.14
If a bodhisattva makes offerings of superior and untainted material goods to the Tathāgata and caityas—whether obtained through their own power, sought from others, obtained as wished through wealth, or manifested through transformed bodies: two, three, or up to hundreds, thousands, myriads, or billions of bodies, all paying homage to the Tathāgata, each of those bodies manifesting hundreds of thousands of hands, each of those hands making offerings of various flowers and incenses to the Tathāgata and caityas, and all of those bodies praising the true virtues of the Tathāgata and benefiting sentient beings—such are called offerings through the power of wish-fulfilling mastery. They do not depend on the Tathāgata appearing in the world. Why is this? Because a bodhisattva abiding on the stage of non-retrogression is never obstructed in any Buddha-field. If a bodhisattva does not obtain wealth by their own power, nor seeks it from others to make offerings, but toward other sentient beings, throughout the boundless worlds of the ten directions, completely and everywhere rejoices in the offerings made with superior, middling, or inferior minds—such a bodhisattva, with little expedient means, raises great offerings and embraces great bodhi. Even for the duration of milking a cow, cultivating the four immeasurables and the like toward all sentient beings—this is called offerings of the path of attainment. This is foremost and supreme before the Tathāgata, exceeding the previous offerings of material goods by a hundredfold, a thousandfold, up to being beyond comparison through calculation or metaphor. These ten matters are called a bodhisattva's offerings of all kinds. The same applies to the Dharma and Saṅgha of the Tathāgata. One should know that to this Triratna, one makes the ten kinds of offerings. Toward the Tathāgata, the bodhisattva arouses six kinds of pure minds: the mind of the unexcelled field of merit, the mind of unexcelled kindness and virtue, the mind of unexcelledness toward all sentient beings, the mind that he is difficult to encounter like the udumbara flower, the mind that he is unique in the trichiliocosm, and the mind relying on meaning that is fully endowed with all worldly and supramundane dharmas. Making offerings with these six minds to the Tathāgata, Dharma, and Saṅgha, even with slight thought, obtains boundless merit, how much more so with many!
5.15
Furthermore, the Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra says: How does a bodhisattva make offerings to the Tathāgata toward the Tathāgata? One should know that offerings are briefly of ten kinds: first, offerings to relics (śarīra); second, distinctive offerings; third, offerings in presence; fourth, offerings in absence; fifth, offerings made by oneself; sixth, offerings taught to others; seventh, offerings of wealth and reverence; eighth, coarse and great offerings; ninth, untainted offerings; and tenth, offerings of right practice. (The explanatory text is largely identical.) Furthermore, the Upāsakaśīla-sūtra says: The Buddha said: "Good sons, if a lay bodhisattva wishes to receive and uphold the upāsaka precepts, he should first make offerings in sequence to the six directions." It says:
5.16
"The eastern direction represents one's parents. If a person can make offerings to parents with clothing, food and drink, bedding, medicines, dwellings, and wealth and treasures, revering, bowing down to, praising, and honouring them, this person can make offerings to the parents of the eastern direction. These parents will in turn recompense them with five things: first, caring for them with utmost devotion; second, never deceiving them; third, relinquishing wealth and giving it to them; fourth, arranging marriage into a superior clan; and fifth, instructing them in worldly affairs."
5.17
"The south refers to teachers and elders. If someone can make offerings to teachers and elders of clothing, food and drink, bedding, and medicine, respecting, praising, reverently bowing to, and venerating them, rising early and sleeping late, and accepting and practicing their good teachings, this person can make offerings to the teachers and elders of the south. These teachers reciprocate with five things: first, teaching quickly without letting them miss the proper time; second, teaching completely without leaving anything unexhausted; third, not giving rise to jealousy when [the student] surpasses oneself; fourth, entrusting them to strict teachers and good friends; fifth, relinquishing their property to them at the time of death.
5.18
"The west refers to wife and children. If someone can provide their wife and children with clothing, food and drink, bedding, medicine, necklaces, personal adornments, and articles for decorating the body, this person can make offerings to the wife and children of the west. The wife and children reciprocate with fourteen things: first, handling what needs to be done with all their heart; second, always working and never slacking; third, ensuring that whatever is done is brought to completion; fourth, acting swiftly without missing the proper time; fifth, always attending to guests; sixth, keeping their rooms and bedding clean; seventh, being gentle when showing love and respect; eighth, instructing with soft speech when giving commands; ninth, being good at guarding property; tenth, rising early and sleeping late; eleventh, keeping the house clean; twelfth, bearing instruction and admonition; thirteenth, covering up bad things; fourteenth, attending to illness and suffering.
5.19
"The north refers to friends. If someone can provide for and give to good friends according to their ability, with reverence, gentle speech, prostrations, and praise, this person can make offerings to the good friends of the north. These good friends reciprocate with four things: first, teaching them to cultivate wholesome dharmas; second, causing them to leave unwholesome dharmas; third, being able to rescue and relieve them when there is fear; fourth, being able to cause them to abandon and cast off negligence.
5.20
"The nadir refers to male and female servants. If someone can provide servants with food and clothing, and medicine when sick and emaciated, neither cursing nor beating them, this person can provide for the servants of the nadir. These servants reciprocate with ten things: first, committing no transgressions; second, not waiting to be told before doing their work; third, always completing what they do; fourth, acting quickly without missing the proper time; fifth, never deserting the master though he may be poor; sixth, rising early; seventh, guarding possessions; eighth, returning much gratitude for little kindness; ninth, reverently keeping them in mind with sincere heart; tenth, being good at concealing faults.
5.21
"The zenith refers to śramaṇas, brāhmaṇas, and the like. If one makes offerings to the śramaṇas and brāhmaṇas of the zenith of clothing, food and drink, dwellings, bedding, and medicine when sick and emaciated, can rescue them in times of fear, provides them with food in times of famine, turns away from evil upon hearing it, and prostrates, respects, honors, and praises them, this person can make offerings to the śramaṇas and others of the zenith. These renunciants reciprocate with five things: first, inspiring them to generate faith; second, teaching them to cultivate wisdom; third, teaching them to practice giving; fourth, teaching them to uphold the precepts; fifth, teaching them to become broadly learned. If someone makes offerings to these six directions, this person will increase in wealth and life, and will be able to receive and uphold the upāsaka precepts."
5.22
Furthermore, the Dazhidulun states: "Because all Buddhas revere the Dharma, they make offerings to the Dharma, taking the Dharma as their teacher. Why? The Buddhas of the three times all take the true nature of all phenomena as their teacher." Question: "Since a Buddha does not seek merit, why does he make offerings?" Answer: "A Buddha has cultivated all merits and constantly practiced all goods through immeasurable kalpas; it is not merely to seek a recompense, but out of reverence for merit that he makes offerings. For example, when the Buddha was in the world, the elder Aniruddha, before attaining the divine eye, was blind and could see nothing, and was sewing his robe by hand. At that time, the needle came unthreaded, and he said: 'Who that loves merit will thread this needle for me?' At that moment, the Buddha came to where he was and said to the bhikṣu: 'I am one who loves merit; I have come to thread it for you.' Recognizing the Buddha's voice, the bhikṣu quickly arose, put on his robe, bowed at the Buddha's feet, and said to the Buddha: 'The Buddha's merit is already full; why do you say you love merit?' The Buddha said: 'Although my merit is already full, I deeply know the power of the recompense of merit; it is by this that I have attained preeminence among all sentient beings. It is by this merit, and also to instruct my disciples, that I say to them: "I perform merit; why do you not perform it?" It is like a hundred-year-old actor who still dances. Someone rebuked him, saying: 'Old man, you are already a hundred years old; what is the use of this dancing?' The old man answered: 'I have no need to dance, but only wish to teach my children and grandchildren.' The Buddha is also like this: his merit is complete, yet to teach his disciples to perform merit, he makes offerings. Therefore, when the Buddha's foster mother, Mahāprajāpatī, passed away, the Four Heavenly Kings carried her bier, and the Buddha walked before it holding an incense burner, burning incense in offering. To repay her kindness, although he sought no fruit, he practiced equal offerings. Only a Buddha should make offerings to a Buddha; other people do not know the Buddha's virtues. As the verse says:
5.23
"The wise can revere the wise; / When wisdom is discussed, the wise rejoice. / The wise can recognize the wise, / Just as a snake knows a snake's feet."
5.24
Furthermore, the Sūtra of King Bimbisāra Making Offerings to the Buddha states: "At that time, in the country of Magadha, Bimbisāra (which translates as 'complexion') sāra (which translates as 'upright') went to where the Buddha was and addressed the Bhagavat, saying: 'I govern this realm; with all the resources and wealth available to me, I wish for the rest of my life to make offerings to the Tathāgata and the assembly of bhikṣus of robes, food and drink, couches, bedding, and medicine when sick and emaciated. I will also urge my ministers and commoners so that they may obtain deliverance, escape the three wretched destinies, and forever abide in tranquility.'" Furthermore, the Zabaozang jing states: "The Buddha told the bhikṣus: 'There are eight kinds of people to whom one should give with certainty, without giving rise to doubt: first, the father; second, the mother; third, the Buddha; fourth, disciples; fifth, travelers arriving from afar; sixth, travelers departing for afar; seventh, the sick; eighth, those nursing the sick.'"
5.25
Furthermore, the Dazhidulun states: "The bodhisattvas have accomplished immeasurable and inexhaustible merit; making an offering of a single meal to the Buddhas of the ten directions and the Saṅgha, all are fully satisfied, yet it is not exhausted—just like a gushing spring that wells forth without drying up. It is like Mañjuśrī who, with a single bowl of modaka dumplings, made offerings to eighty-four thousand monks, and all were fully satisfied, yet it was not exhausted. Furthermore, the bodhisattva uses this single bowl of food to make offerings to the Buddhas of the ten directions, and before the Buddhas of the ten directions, utensils of food and drink appear in abundance, just as when spirits obtain a single mouthful of human food, it multiplies ten million times over."
5.26
Furthermore, the Mañjuśrīparipṛcchā-sūtra states: "Bodhisattvas may amass wealth and property for the sake of making offerings to the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, and to parents and siblings, for erecting monastery buildings, making statues, and for giving. If there are such causes and conditions, they may receive gold, silver, and wealth without fault."
5.27
Section 3: Distinguishing the Inauthentic
5.28
As the Xianyu jing states: "If a dānapati completely makes specific invitations to the sixteen kinds [of monks], although he will obtain karmic rewards of merit, it is still not much. What are the sixteen? Bhikṣus and bhikṣuṇīs each have eight classes. It is not as good as indiscriminately inviting four people; the merit and blessings obtained exceed the former, and [the former] do not equal even a sixteenth part of it. In the future age of decline, when the Dharma is on the verge of extinction, even if bhikṣus keep wives and raise children, if there are four or more, they are nominally the Saṅgha, and one should revere them just like Śāriputra, Maudgalyāyana, and the others." At that time, Maitreya Bodhisattva asked the Saṅgha: "If a dānapati invites one śramaṇa who observes pure precepts to his home and makes offerings to him, how does the profit obtained compare to someone gaining one hundred thousand coins?" Then Kauṇḍinya immediately said: "Even if someone obtained one hundred carts of precious jewels, when calculating the blessings and benefits, it would not equal inviting one śramaṇa of pure precepts to one's home and making offerings, which brings vastly more benefit." Śāriputra said: "Suppose someone obtained an entire Jambudvīpa filled with precious jewels; it would still not equal inviting one who observes pure precepts to one's home and making offerings, which secures far more benefit." Maudgalyāyana said: "Even if someone obtained the precious jewels of two continents, or up to all four continents, the benefit would still not equal inviting one pure śramaṇa to go to one's home and making offerings, which brings exceedingly superior benefit."
5.29
Furthermore, the Xiangfa jueyi jing states: "If a dānapati prepares food and invites the Saṅgha, but posts people to guard the gate, barring bhikṣus, the elderly, the sick, the poor, and beggars, not allowing them into the assembly, he wastes food and drink in vain, having no share of goodness whatsoever."
5.30
Furthermore, the Puguang jing states: "When disciples of the four classes observe the fast and precepts, they should hold the thought in mind of inviting the Saṅgha of the ten directions, without choosing between good or evil, upholding precepts or breaking precepts, or high or low conduct. When going to the stūpas and monasteries to invite monks, they should make offerings according to the order of the Saṅgha without discriminatory thoughts; their blessings will be manifold, immeasurable, and boundless. If they encounter arhats, individuals of the four fruits of the path, or those of great aspiration, their merit will bring limitless blessings; upon hearing the Dharma once, they can attain the supreme path, anuttara-nirvāṇa."
5.31
Furthermore, the Daśa-bhāṇavāra-vinaya states: "When the Mother of Mṛgāra made a specific invitation to five hundred arhats, the Buddha said: 'This is unwise and unwholesome. If one invites a single person in sequence from among the Saṅgha, one attains great merit; the karmic reward and benefit surpass specifically inviting five hundred arhats, as everyone near and far has fully heard.'"
5.32
Furthermore, the Qingseng futian jing and the Renwang jing repeatedly reproach and do not permit specific invitations; if one makes specific invitations, this is the method of non-Buddhists, not the Dharma of the seven Buddhas.
5.33
Furthermore, the Brahmajāla-sūtra states: "If a dānapati comes to invite the Saṅgha, visiting monks have a share in the offerings. The manager of the monastic dwellings should assign visiting monks in order to receive the invitation. If the resident monks alone receive it without assigning visiting monks, the manager incurs immeasurable sin, being no different from an animal; he is not a śramaṇa, not of the Śākya clan, and commits an offense of light defilement."
5.34
Furthermore, the Dazhidulun states: "There was once an elder of wealth and honor who made music and offered it to the Saṅgha. He told the monastic administrator: 'I wish to invite the monks in turn to eat at my house, requiring an invitation day by day down to the novices.' The administrator would not allow the novices to receive the invitation. The novices said: 'For what reason do you not allow the novices?' He answered: 'Because the dānapati does not like to invite the young.' Thereupon he spoke a verse:
5.35
"Temples and hair white as snow, / Teeth fallen and skin wrinkled, / Stooped in stride and frail in body— / He delights to invite such a congregation."
5.36
These novices were all great arhats. Like striking a lion's head, they abruptly rose from their seats and spoke a verse:
5.37
"The dānapati is an unwise person, / Looking at outward form and not grasping virtue; / Casting aside this appearance of venerable elders, / He chooses only the old, emaciated, and dark."
5.38
Regarding the signs of venerable elders of supreme honor, the Buddha spoke a verse, saying:
5.39
"What is called the mark of an elder / Does not necessarily consist in advanced age. / With emaciated form and white temples and hair, / One is merely old in vain, devoid of virtue within. / One who can abandon the fruits of sin and blessing, / Vigorously practices the holy life, / And has become detached from all dharmas— / Such a one is called an elder."
5.40
These novices further had this thought: 'We should not sit by and watch the dānapati evaluate the goodness and badness of the Saṅgha.' They then spoke a verse:
5.41
"Amid praise and rebuke, / Although our minds are one, / This person defames the Buddha-Dharma; / It is not right that we should not instruct him. / We should swiftly go to his house / And teach him with the Dharma. / If we do not deliver him, / He will be an abandoned thing."
5.42
Immediately, the novices transformed their bodies, all becoming old men:
5.43
"Temples and hair white as snow, / Long eyebrows drooping and covering their eyes, / Skin wrinkled like waves, / Their backs bent like bows. / Holding walking sticks in both hands, / They received the invitation in sequence, / Their whole bodies shaking and trembling, / Unsteady in their walking and standing, / Just like white poplar trees / Swaying with the wind. / Seeing these men, the dānapati / Joyfully invited them to enter and sit. / After they had been seated for a short while, / They returned to their youthful forms. / The dānapati said in astonishment and fear: / 'Such signs of advanced age / Have changed back into youthful bodies, / As if having taken an elixir of youth! / How has this come about?'"
5.44
The novices said: 'Do not give rise to doubt. Evaluating this matter is truly pitiful; therefore we manifested this transformation. You should deeply recognize this: the noble assembly cannot be measured.' As the verse says:
5.45
Just as with a mosquito’s beak
one might yet measure the ocean’s bottom,
so of all gods and humans,
none can fathom the Saṅgha.
The Saṅgha is noble by virtue of its merits,
which yet cannot be distinguished [by outward appearances];
yet you, by mere years of age,
weigh and measure these venerable ones!
Greatness and smallness arise from wisdom;
they do not consist in old age or youth.
One who has wisdom and strives with diligence,
though young, is truly old;
one who is indolent and without wisdom,
though old, is truly young.
Your measuring of the Saṅgha today
is indeed a great loss.
5.46
To wish to fathom the bottom of the great ocean with a single finger is ridiculed by the wise. Have you not heard what the Buddha taught? Four things, though small, must not be slighted: A prince, though small, will become a king of the realm; he must not be slighted. A young serpent, though small, has venom that can kill a person; it also must not be slighted. A spark of fire, though small, can incinerate mountains and plains; it also must not be slighted. A novice (śrāmaṇera), though young, has attained holy supernormal powers; he is most of all not to be slighted. When the dānapati heard this and saw these supernormal powers, his body shook and his hair stood on end. Pressing his palms together toward the novices, he said: 'Holy ones, I now repent. I am an ordinary person whose mind is constantly harboured with sin. Now I wish to ask: when one has pure faith in the Buddha and in the Saṅgha-jewel, which merits are superior?' They replied: 'From the first, we see no more and no less between the Buddha and the Saṅgha-jewel. Why is this? As when the Buddha once entered the city of Śrāvastī to beg for food, there was a brāhmaṇa of the Bhāradvāja clan. The Buddha repeatedly went to his house to beg for food. The brāhmaṇa thought to himself: "Why does this śramaṇa come repeatedly, as if I owed him a debt?" The Buddha then spoke a verse:'
5.47
Seasonal rains fall repeatedly;
the five grains ripen repeatedly;
repeatedly one cultivates meritorious deeds;
repeatedly one receives the retribution of their fruit;
repeatedly one undergoes birth,
and therefore repeatedly suffers death.
When the holy Dharma is repeatedly cultivated and fulfilled,
who then undergoes repeated birth and death?
5.48
When the brāhmaṇa heard this verse, [he thought:] 'The Great Sage knows my mind fully!' Filled with shame, he took his bowl, entered his house, filled it with fine food, and offered it to the Buddha. The Buddha would not accept it, saying: 'Because I spoke a verse, I obtained this food. I shall not eat it.' The brāhmaṇa said: 'To whom then should this food be given?' The Buddha said: 'I see no one among gods or humans who can digest this food. Take it and place it on ground with little grass, or in water without living creatures.' He followed the Buddha’s instruction, taking the food and casting it into water without living creatures. The water immediately boiled violently, with smoke and fire bursting forth together, just as when a great hot iron is plunged into it. Seeing this, the brāhmaṇa was terrified and exclaimed: 'Unprecedented! That even in food there should be such spiritual power!' He bowed to the Buddha, repented, and begged to leave home (pravrajyā) and receive the precepts. Gradually severing the fetters, he attained the path of an arhat. Later, Mahāprajāpatī Gautamī offered the Buddha a precious golden-coloured robe. The Buddha urged her to bestow it on the Saṅgha, [saying they] could digest and receive it. Therefore we know that in the merit of the Buddha-jewel and the Saṅgha-jewel there is neither more nor less. Therefore a verse says:
5.49
If one loves and respects the Buddha,
one should also love and respect the Saṅgha;
one should make no distinction between them,
for both are equally jewels.
5.50
Furthermore, in the Dharmapada-avadāna-sūtra, the Bhagavat spoke a verse saying:
5.51
A person should be mindful and aware,
every time they eat knowing to take little;
from this, suffering becomes slight,
and by moderating digestion, long life is preserved.
5.52
Furthermore, the Daśabhāṇavāra-vinaya states: At that time, in the city of Rājagṛha, there was a householder named Śrīgupta, exceedingly rich and wealthy, who was a disciple of non-Buddhists. This man constantly doubted whether the śramaṇa Gautama possessed omniscience or not. He went to where the Buddha was and addressed him: 'Śramaṇa Gautama, eat at my house tomorrow.' Because he was someone who should be delivered, the Buddha accepted the invitation silently. The householder then went outside his house gate and dug a great fire-pit, causing the fire to have neither smoke nor flame, and covered it with sand. He then entered the house and spread unthreaded sitting couches, and further blended poison into the food. He thought in his mind and spoke with his mouth: 'If Gautama is an omniscient person, he will know this matter. If he is not an omniscient person, he will fall into this pit and die of poison.' He sent a messenger to inform the Buddha: 'The food and drink are now prepared.' The Buddha said to Ānanda: 'Order the monks that none may walk ahead of the Buddha.' Then the Buddha walked in front and the monks entered behind him. At the fire-pit of Śrīgupta’s house, the Buddha transformed it into a lotus pond, filled with pure water, both sweet and cool. The Buddha and the Saṅgha walked on the flowers and leaves and entered the house. When they sat on the unthreaded couches, he transformed them into woven ones. The Buddha told Śrīgupta: 'You should remove the doubt in your mind; I am truly an omniscient person.' Seeing these two spiritual powers, the householder immediately gave rise to faith and revered the Buddha. Crossing his hands, he addressed the Buddha: 'This food is poisoned; it is unfit for the Buddha to eat.' The Buddha said: 'Simply give this food; the Saṅgha will not fall ill.' The Buddha told Ānanda: 'Proclaim an order among the Saṅgha that until the equal offering is chanted, no one may eat.' This was the Buddha’s benediction: 'Lust, hatred, and delusion are the poisons in this world. The Buddha has the true Dharma, which removes all poisons. By virtue of these true words, the poisons are all removed.' The food was then purified. When the Saṅgha had eaten their fill, the householder sat before the Buddha to listen, and right on his seat he attained the purity of the Dharma-eye. When the Buddha returned, he assembled the Saṅgha and told them: 'From this day forth, you must not walk ahead of the Buddha, nor ahead of the upādhyāya, the ācārya, or the elders of the Saṅgha. Before the equal offering is chanted, you must not eat.' Furthermore, the Mātṛkā-śāstra states: 'When the Saṅgha distributes food, the elder should say, "All are equal", and have the chant of the saṃbaddha performed, after which all eat together.' (This is what is called the 'equal offering').
5.53
Conditions of Holy Monks, Part 4
5.54
Ever since the Great Awakened One entered nirvāṇa, the Dharma has been entrusted to the community of holy ones. Bodhisattvas (mahāsattva) and arhats have expounded and propagated the teachings of the latter age, flying and transforming across many realms, gathering and guiding beings according to conditions. When perspectives differ, though in the same room they are separated as by heaven; when there is a sympathetic resonance, across different realms their faces meet. At the end of the Taishe era of the Song dynasty, the monk Fayuan of Zhengsheng Monastery and the monk Fajing of Zhengxi Monastery and others first painted images of the holy monks, depicting them seated apart as models. Down to the beginning of the Tang dynasty, miraculous auspicious signs descended repeatedly: at times toes were exposed, half-visible between couches; at times staff marks and footprints were pressed deep into the level ground. Therefore, the Liang emperor, hearing of this, rejoiced and praised it, his respectful mind looking up in devotion. When auspicious responses occurred in the state and family, he unfailingly prayed and held fasting-feasts. In the eighth year of the Yongming era, the emperor was personally unwell; though Bian Que and Hua Tuo offered their skills, he remained bedridden on his mats and pillows. He then set his mind and made a vow, taking refuge in the holy monks. He decreed that within the Yanchang Hall, prayers and entreaties be made for seven days, offering food to all the Buddhas and the community of holy and worthy ones. The fasting chamber was solemn and strict, not even light dust stirring. As the seven days were nearly complete, the spiritual response was felt: a divine fragrance and wondrous aroma penetrated the nose and pierced the heart, outshining the censer so that it held no more fragrant power. Furthermore, shadows of feet and sandal prints filled the hall; the ringing of monk's staffs sounded clear and melodious, their echoes arising beyond the windows. Seeing the traces and smelling the fragrance, all were solemn and thrilled to their souls. At that time, Xu Guangxian and more than ten others all saw and heard it together, and immediately presented a memorial. Thereupon, as the fasting assembly concluded, the imperial health was restored. Therefore the whole court took refuge in these clear proofs and spiritual responses. Thereafter, Xu Guangxian and several others, monastics and laypeople, established fasts and made invocations, and all received auspicious signs. The spiritual resonance of the holy ones cannot be fully recorded.
5.55
For instance, of old there was the elder Jyotiṣka, who made a sandalwood bowl, placed it in an openwork net bag, hung it high on an ivory peg, and said: 'If any śramaṇa or brāhmaṇa can obtain it without using a ladder or staff, I shall give it to him.' The various Buddhist and non-Buddhist practitioners, knowing he wished to see supernormal powers, all shook their heads and walked away. When Piṇḍola heard of this, he asked Maudgalyāyana: 'Is it really so?' He replied: 'It is really so. You are foremost among those who roar the lion's roar; go and take it.' Maudgalyāyana feared the Buddha’s instruction and was unwilling to take it. Piṇḍola then went to his house and entered meditative absorption; right from his seat, he extended his hand and took the bowl. According to the Dharmaguptaka-vinaya, at that time he was sitting on a square rock of immense breadth, which followed his body and flew through the air; having obtained the bowl, he departed. When the Buddha heard this, he rebuked him: 'A monk, for the sake of a non-Buddhist’s bowl, has displayed supernormal power before an unordained person! From this day until the end of your life, you are expelled; you may not dwell in Jambudvīpa.' Thereupon, Piṇḍola, in accordance with the Buddha’s injunction, went to Western Aparagodānīya to teach and transform the fourfold assembly and broadly propagate the Buddha's Dharma. When the four groups of disciples in Jambudvīpa yearned to see Piṇḍola, they addressed the Buddha. The Buddha permitted his return to his seat, but because he had displayed supernormal faculties, he was not permitted to enter nirvāṇa, and was commanded to serve as a field of merit for the fourfold assembly of the latter age. He also made a vow himself: wherever invited in the three continents, he would go. Furthermore, in the Aśokāvadāna, the monk Samudra flew into the air from a caldron and spoke a verse for the king:
5.56
Your body is the same as a human body,
but your power surpasses human power.
You should let me know this,
and I shall perform supernormal power for you.
5.57
The king gave rise to the aspiration [for awakening], invited the monks of the four directions, and spoke a verse saying:
5.58
May all the arhats
come to embrace and receive me;
I invite the arhats,
may all come to this place!
5.59
Therefore, relying on the Sūtra on Inviting Piṇḍola, it says: In India, when upāsakas, kings, or elders arrange any assembly, they always invite the arhat Piṇḍolabhāradvāja. "Piṇḍola" is his personal name; "Bhāradvāja" is his clan name. Because that man displayed supernatural feats before the elder Jyotika, the Buddha checked him and did not permit him to enter nirvāṇa, commanding him to serve as a puṇyakṣetra for the beings of the four assemblies during the Final Dharma age. When inviting him, one burns incense and makes prostrations in a quiet place, faces toward Mount Mālya in India, and with utmost sincerity invokes his name, saying: "Venerable Piṇḍolabhāradvāja, who received the Buddha's instruction to serve as a puṇyakṣetra for the people of the Final Dharma, may you accept my invitation and take your meal in this place." If newly constructing a house, one should also invite him: "May you accept my invitation and lodge upon the couches and bedding in this house." When generally inviting the saṃgha to bathe, one should also invite him, saying: "Accept my invitation to wash and bathe here." Before daybreak, one prepares fragrant warm water, lye-water, bath powder, willow tooth-sticks, and fragrant oil, adjusting the temperature as in the bathing method for a human being. One opens the door, invites him to enter, and then shuts the door. After a period of time comparable to that of a person finishing bathing, the saṃgha then enters. Whenever wishing to convene for a meal or bath, all monks must seek liberation with utmost sincerity, free from doubt and obscurity, with pure faith; only then can he be enticed to come. In recent times, there was an elder who heard it said that the great arhat Piṇḍola received the Buddha's instruction to serve as a puṇyakṣetra for the people of the Final Dharma. He then arranged a great assembly in accordance with the Dharma. With utmost sincerity, he invited Piṇḍola and spread fine flowers everywhere under the woolen carpets, wishing to verify [his arrival]. When the assembly finished eating, he rolled back the carpets, but the flowers were all withered and yellow. Distressed and reproaching himself, not knowing whence his fault arose, he made another painstaking effort. He inquired thoroughly of Scripture masters and again set up a great assembly, spreading flowers as before, yet they also were all withered. Once more exhausting himself, he depleted his family's property to hold another great assembly, yet it was still as before. Distressed and reproaching himself, he invited more than a hundred Dharma masters, begging them to tell him what he had missed, and repented of his transgressions. He approached one elder thera who was advanced in years, making prostrations on all sides to repent of his errors. The thera said to him: "At your three assemblies you invited me, and I accepted every invitation. You yourself had your servants turn me away at the gate. Because I was old and my clothes were tattered and ruined, they thought I was an expelled, rejected śramaṇa and refused to let me come forward. Because of your invitation, I tried to force my way in, and your servant struck me with a stick, breaking my head; the scar on the right side of my forehead is from it. You did this yourself; what is there to be distressed about?" Having spoken, he vanished. The elder then knew that he was Piṇḍola. Ever since then, whenever people arrange merit-making, none dares obstruct the gate again. If one succeeds in having Piṇḍola come, the flowers at his seating place do not wither or yellow. When newly erecting rooms, couches, or beds and wishing to invite Piṇḍola, one should sprinkle the ground with fragrant warm water, light fragrant oil lamps, and set out new beds and new mattresses. Over the mattress, one spreads loosened cotton wool and covers it with white silk. At the first watch of the night, one invites him according to the Dharma and then closes the door of the room. Be careful not to peek out of disrespect. Each must believe with utmost sincerity that he will surely come; when sincere devotion thoroughly moves him, there is nowhere he does not reach. When he comes, an impression where someone has lain will appear on the mattress, and evidence of warm water having been used will also appear in the bathhouse. When he accepts an invitation to a great assembly, he may sit in the seat of the thera, in the middle, or at the bottom; he appears in the form of a monk fitting the place. If people seek anything different about him, it can never be found. Only after he leaves and the flowers at his seat are seen not to have withered is he recognized. Daoshi states: Nowadays, I see that the families hosting vegetarian feasts mostly do not act in accordance with the Dharma; merely following worldly sentiment, they seat ordinary mortals, having no concern at all for the seats of the Buddha and the holy saṃgha. As the aforementioned sūtra says, the donor must first sweep and sprinkle the Buddha hall in advance, arrange the seats for the holy saṃgha, bathe to purify their bodies, burn supreme famous incense, hang silk banners and canopies, and scatter diverse flowers. Holding an incense burner in hand, with complete sincerity and reverence, one respectfully invites the Triratna and the holy saṃgha, as well as all holy and ordinary beings throughout the Dharma-realm of the ten directions, inviting them all generally: "Accept your disciple's invitation, deign to lower your holy presence, and come to visit our residence." Young and old of the entire household should unite in devout sincerity, giving rise to this serious mindset seven days in advance. If it is a poor household without fine incense and flowers, nor a place for [proper] arrangement, they must nevertheless weigh the situation at the time: before [anyone] sits down, first in the best place arrange the Buddha's seat, sweeping and sprinkling in accordance with the Dharma; in the next best place, arrange the seat for the holy saṃgha, spreading soft, new, white, and pure articles with cotton wool spread on top. If the donor's devotion is deep and brings a response, then upon inspecting after the meal, there will be an impression resembling a person sitting; one will then know that his reward body (saṃbhogakāya) came to attend. If no sign appears, only his transformation body (nirmāṇakāya) came. If one is completely disrespectful, neither the reward nor the transformation body will arrive. On that seat, one must not place painted patterns, brocades, damasks, fine silks, gold and silver ornaments, or scattered flowers. Although an arhat, he nevertheless observes the two hundred and fifty pratimokṣa precepts together with ordinary monks; this is why he does not receive multicolored silks, gold, silver, and such items. If it were the Buddhas, bodhisattvas, or persons of the Mahāyāna whose forms are not restricted to the renunciant appearance, they could therefore receive various offerings. When arranging the holy saṃgha's seat and presenting food, one also must not set it on a place exceeding one cubit and six inches in height. At one cubit and six inches or less, a Dharma-compliant monk's seat is permissible. One also must not make an unpainted clay effigy of a holy monk to place upon the seat. If the reward body should come in person, how could he push aside the clay image to sit down? Nor may one take permanent saṃgha utensils from a monastery to hold the food, lest when the reward body comes, it would be unacceptable for him to touch the saṃgha's pure utensils to eat. If one uses alms bowls and secular plates and dishes to present offerings, this accommodates both transformation and reward bodies, and is most in accordance with the Dharma. If there is money dedicated to the holy monk, it must be used for the holy monk: used to buy alms bowls, spoons, chopsticks, copper bowls, and hand towels, as well as fine plates and vessels, writing an inscription on the back so that other people dare not use them indiscriminately. Every day, depending on the family's ordinary meals, every morning and noon, constantly fill vessels with food to offer to the Buddha and the saṃgha; would this not be a good deed? If there is surplus money, buy a folding chair and a food mat; after eating, wash them clean with bath powder, place them on the folding chair, and cover them with an oiled cloth. Doing this daily symbolizes an uninterrupted intention to make offerings to the Triratna, and great merit is obtained. If one obtains much money, then in accordance with the monastery regulations of the Western regions and in secular houses, construct a room or hall for the holy monk in an empty, quiet, and superior place, arranging items to make offerings according to the four seasons, winter and summer. If in summer, daily spread fine and clean mats in the hall, with single-layered under-sheets, copper basins, copper jars, bath powder, and clean towels. Before noon, also present food and drink; at night, light lamps and burn incense, making offerings according to one's heart and means in accordance with the Dharma. When the cold of winter arrives, arrange quilts, thick felt, charcoal braziers, hot water, and lamplight, offering them according to the season. Even if there is surplus money and property for the holy monk, it must not be applied to other individual monks or to the permanent saṃgha's use, nor may it be applied to the Buddha or Dharma. One must also not separately fashion the image of a holy monk. I have often seen people demand money meant for the holy monk to paint Buddha images and to paint images of holy monks like Kāśyapa, Ānanda, and others on the four walls. Since the arhat sage Piṇḍola is present now and has not entered nirvāṇa, and since one has not obtained the holy monk's instructions on what to undertake or cease, how can one interchange them and carelessly redirect [the funds] elsewhere? If one uses them for oneself, one must repay double; not repaying incurs sin. Therefore the Dharmaguptaka-vinaya says: What is promised to this place cannot [be taken to] another place, [or one] incurs an offense (just as when something belongs to oneself, another person takes it for another purpose without asking oneself—how could that be permissible?). What has been stated above has all been recorded based on the sūtras, vinaya, and the holy intention, and must be practiced. The property of the Triratna is weighty and must not be used interchangeably; for fear that an error of a hair's breadth leads to a discrepancy of a thousand leagues, these true words are not empty—examine yourself and apply them. Therefore, during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Liang, the eminent monks and outstanding scholars of the Chinese realm jointly requested a Tripiṭaka master from the Western Regions to compile the regulations and usages for the holy monk, translating five fascicles; what was explained above is generally the same.
5.60
Conditions of Giving Food, Number Five
5.61
As the Ekottarika-āgama says: At that time, the Bhagavat addressed the bhikṣus: "There are four kinds of nutriment that sustain the varieties of living beings. What are the four? They are called: solid nutriment, whether large or small; contact nutriment; volition nutriment; and consciousness nutriment. These are called the four nutriments. What is solid nutriment? It refers to that which is eaten among human beings today: all things that enter the mouth and can be eaten; this is called solid nutriment. What is contact nutriment? It refers to garments, parasols, mixed incense and flowers, scent from fires, fragrant oils, gathering with women, and all other things experienced and enjoyed by the body; this is called contact nutriment. What is volition nutriment? It refers to that which is thought of, conceived, and reflected upon in the mind, whether spoken with the mouth, touched with the body, or the various dharmas that are held; this is called volition nutriment. What is consciousness nutriment? It refers to that which is known by the mind; with the Brahmā Heaven at the head, up to the Heaven of Neither Perception nor Non-perception, consciousness serves as nutriment; this is called consciousness nutriment. Beings transmigrate through birth and death through these four nutriments."
5.62
The Ekottarika-āgama also says: The Bhagavat addressed Aniruddha, saying: "All phenomena subsist through nutriment. The eye takes sleep as its nutriment; the ear takes sound as its nutriment; the nose takes odor as its nutriment; the tongue takes taste as its nutriment; the body takes smoothness as its nutriment; the mind takes mental objects as its nutriment; and nirvāṇa takes diligence as its nutriment." At that time, the Buddha addressed the bhikṣus: "Such is this wonderful Dharma. Now in observing nutriment, there are nine matters. In the human realm, there are four nutriments: first, solid nutriment; second, contact nutriment; third, volition nutriment; fourth, consciousness nutriment. There are further five kinds which are supramundane nutriments: first, meditation nutriment; second, vow nutriment; third, mindfulness nutriment; fourth, eight liberations nutriment; and fifth, joy nutriment. These are the supramundane nutriments. You should together focus your mindfulness on relinquishing and removing the four kinds of nutriment, and seek to achieve the supramundane nutriments."
5.63
The Saddharmasmṛtyupasthāna-sūtra also says: If there are beings who, with a mind of faith and a mind of compassion, give various kinds of food to others, upon the end of their lives they will be born in the Citra Heaven to enjoy various pleasures; when their lives there end, they will obtain human bodies, being immensely rich and abundant in wealth, and always practicing the true Dharma.
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Linked texts (1)
- 諸經要集 — Classical Chinese