諸經要集 7.10

7.10

Now, laywomen at home have abundant faults of wrath and poison; the Buddha stated that their crookedness and flattery exceed that of men. Some artificially powder their faces and adorn their hair, ornamenting their figures and appearances. Some wear brocades, silks, and floral garments, deceiving and enticing foolish men. Some flirtatiously move their lips, casting crooked glances with song and laughter. Some sigh and hum, shifting their glances. Some bare their chests and expose their hands; some cover their faces and hide their heads. Some take measured, slow steps, swaying their bodies and sporting with their shadows. Some open their eyes and close their gaze, suddenly sorrowful and suddenly joyful, magically bewitching foolish men and making their minds falsely attached. Such seductive deceit can hardly be fully recounted. Ordinary people, infatuated and intoxicated, are all deluded by them. It is like deceitful bandits with manifold tricks; it is also like a painted vase storing dung to deceive people; it is also like a high net into which flocks of birds fall; it is also like a dense net into which schools of fish plunge; it is also like a dark pit into which the blind plunge; it is also like flying moths seeing fire and hurling themselves into it; it is also like flies coveting and delighting in a foul corpse. Drawing near to them ruins the state and destroys the family; touching them is like grasping a poisonous snake. Their outward speech is like honey, but their inner mind is like deadly venom. Families being poor and wretched is entirely due to women; going abroad and losing one's life is also due to women; discord among household members is also due to women; sons and daughters being rebellious is also due to women; brothers being separated is also due to women; clansmen becoming estranged is also due to women; falling into the evil realms is also due to women; failing to be born among humans or devas is also due to women; obstruction of the path of wholesome karma is also due to women; not attaining the noble fruits is also due to women. Faults and perils such as these cannot be fully recounted. Sentient beings are thus, which is truly terrifying; constantly burned by the fire of desire, they are unable to escape, thereby incurring disaster and suffering continuously without break. Furthermore, the Mātaṅgī Sūtra says: At that time, Ānanda, having taken his bowl and gone begging for food, was walking along the water's edge. He saw a woman drawing water by the water's edge, and Ānanda begged for water from the woman. The woman then gave him water. The woman followed Ānanda, observing where he stayed. The woman returned and told her mother; the mother's name was Mātaṅgī. The woman then collapsed on the bed at home and wept. The mother asked, 'Why are you weeping?' The woman said, 'If you wish to marry me off, mother, do not give me to another. By the water's edge I saw a śramaṇa, who begged water from me. I asked his name, and he answered that his name is Ānanda. Only if I get Ānanda can I be married, mother; if I do not get him, I will not marry.' The mother went out and inquired about Ānanda, and learned that Ānanda was an attendant of the Buddha. Having found out, the mother returned and told the daughter, 'Ānanda is a man of the Way who serves the Buddha; he will not agree to be your husband.' The daughter wept and would not eat. The mother knew the arts of sorcery, so she invited Ānanda for a meal. The daughter was overjoyed. The mother said to Ānanda, 'My daughter wishes to be your wife.' Ānanda said, 'I keep the precepts and do not keep a wife.' She said again, 'If my daughter cannot have you as her husband, she will commit suicide.' Ānanda said, 'My teacher is the Buddha; I do not have sexual relations with women.' The mother went inside and recounted this intention to the daughter in full. The daughter wept before her mother, saying, 'Just shut the door for me and do not let him leave; by evening he will become my husband on his own.' The mother then shut the door and bound Ānanda with the methods of sorcery. When late afternoon came, the mother laid out mats and bedding for the daughter. The daughter was overjoyed and thereupon adorned herself. Ānanda would not comply. The mother caused fire to burst from the ground in the courtyard, grabbed Ānanda's robe, and said, 'If you do not become my daughter's husband, I will throw you into the fire.' Ānanda reproached himself: 'Having become a śramaṇa for the Buddha, now, on the contrary, I cannot get out.' The Buddha, knowing Ānanda in his mind, then recited a divine dhāraṇī, and thus rescued him back to the Buddha's place, where he reported the previous events in full. Seeing Ānanda leave, the woman wept continuously at home, continuing to long for Ānanda. The next day, the woman went on her own to seek Ānanda. She saw Ānanda going about begging for food again, followed behind Ānanda's back, looked at Ānanda's feet, and looked at Ānanda's face. Ānanda bashfully tried to avoid her, but the woman followed without stopping. Ānanda said to the Buddha, 'The Mātaṅga girl is following behind me again today.' The Buddha sent someone to pursue and summon her. The Buddha asked the woman, saying, 'You pursue Ānanda—what is it you seek?' The woman said, 'I hear that Ānanda has no wife, and I also have no husband. I wish to be his wife.'