釋氏要覽 1.433

1.433

The Nirvāṇa Sūtra says: The Buddha converted the spirits of the wilderness, and having administered the five precepts to them, they said to the Buddha: 'My retinue and I eat only raw flesh and blood. Now the Buddha forbids me from killing; how shall we sustain our lives?' The Buddha said: 'From now on, I will instruct my śrāvaka disciples that wherever they practice, they must offer you food and drink.' Thereupon he established the precept: 'From now on, bhikṣus must constantly give food to the spirits of the wilderness. If there is a dwelling where they cannot give it, they are not my disciples.' (There are two kinds of giving food: If giving to the spirits of the wilderness, it is done in monasteries where food is shared; the Buddha ordered two offering seats to be established—one for the spirits of the wilderness and one for the Mother of Demon Children—taking food from the Saṃgha and calling their names to offer it. If bhikṣus each prepare a peck of food to offer, it is based on the Jiaomian dashi jing to give to the hungry ghosts).