諸經要集 9.35

9.35

Furthermore, the Zabaozang jing states: Maudgalyāyana arrived at the bank of the Ganges River and saw a flock of five hundred hungry ghosts coming toward the water. A water-guarding ghost was driving them off with an iron staff, preventing them from approaching. Thereupon, the ghosts went straight to Maudgalyāyana, paid homage at his feet, and each asked about their offenses. One ghost said: 'Having received this body, I constantly suffer from burning heat and thirst. Having previously heard that the water of the Ganges River is clear and cool, I joyfully approached it, but it boiled with heat and destroyed my body. When I tried to drink a mouthful, my five viscera were scorched and rotted, foul beyond endurance. By what causes and conditions do I suffer such retribution?' Maudgalyāyana said: 'In your past life, you were once a physiognomist. When divining people's fortunes, there was little truth and much falsehood; either disparaging or praising them, you claimed to be accurate in order to manipulate people's minds, practicing deception and fraud to seek wealth and profit, misleading sentient beings and causing them to lose what they desired.'