佛說戒消災經

Thus have I heard: at one time, the Buddha was dwelling in the garden grove of the Elder Sudatta and Prince Jeta.

At that time, all the people of a certain district reverently practiced the Five Precepts and the Ten Wholesome Deeds taught by the Buddha, so that throughout the whole district no one brewed or sold liquor.

In that district there was a young gentleman, the son of a noble family, who wished to travel to a distant place to engage in trade. As he was about to set out, his parents instructed him: "My son, you must keep the Five Precepts and diligently practice the Ten Wholesome Deeds. Be most careful, and do not drink liquor and so violate the grave precept forbidden by the Buddha—heed this, my son." The young gentleman obeyed this instruction and departed. Arriving in a neighboring land, he suddenly met a close friend who had been a fellow student in former days, and so he was overjoyed. They welcomed him back to the friend's home, held a feast in his honor, and brought out grape wine to drink together.

The young gentleman declined, saying: "In my country, by law, we keep the Five Precepts forbidden by the Buddha, and so I dare not drink, for the Buddha taught that 'one who drinks liquor shall be foolish in future lives and shall not be able to behold the Buddha'! Moreover, when I set out on this journey, both my parents admonished me and reminded me of the precept against liquor. If now I should disobey the command of my parents and, for the sake of friendship, violate the precept, what fault could be greater? We brothers have been long apart, and today we have met and rejoiced in one another enough already; you should not cause me to violate the precept and disobey my parents' stern instruction."

The host pleaded with him insistently, saying: "We studied under the same teacher and are as brothers; my parents are likewise the elders of your own household. Since you have graciously condescended to come down to us, how could you, as a son, go against their word? Were I in the circumstance of being at your home, I too would have to respectfully comply with the command of your honored parents."

Compelled by these circumstances, against his own will, the young gentleman had to drink. He lay drunk for three days, and when the fumes of the wine had passed off, his heart was filled with fear!… The matter done, he returned home, and before his parents he confessed his fault… His parents reproached him, saying: "My son, you have gone against your father's word… and furthermore violated the precept of the Buddha. To begin by throwing the Dharma into disorder—thus you are no longer a filial son. Say no more. Among this nation's people, with respect to the Buddha's law, you are the first citizen to have transgressed! Therefore depart from this country and do not remain here, for the bad must not be mixed in with the good!"

Then the youth, having been driven out by his father, went to lodge in another land, boarding at someone's house. The master of this house worshiped three Ghost-Spirits, who could appear in human form, converse with people, and eat and drink with them. The master had grown weary, for he had toiled in worshiping them for a long time; his money and goods had gradually run out, and sickness and death had piled up besides! Troubled and wearied of these Ghosts, he privately schemed and consulted with others…!

The Ghost-Queen understood the master's intent, for she too possessed the "knowledge of others' minds," and so she was filled with worry and distress! Then they all gathered to deliberate together: "The master's wealth and property are now nearly exhausted, and this is precisely because of us; yet we have not done anything to repay him with kindness, so the master has grown weary. Therefore we must now go and find some precious treasure, to bestow blessings in return, that the master's heart may be set at ease."

Having deliberated thus, they slipped together into the treasury of a king in another land, stole gold and jewels, brought them back and placed them at the rear of the garden, and told the master: "Out of compassion for the master of the house, who has labored and suffered in his devotion for many years, we brothers now bestow blessings in return upon you with priceless treasure, placed there at the back of the garden. So go and take it, and become wealthier still—how delightful that shall be!"

The master gave thanks, saying: "I gratefully receive your divine grace." Then, in great excitement, he went out, brought the treasure in, and bowing before the spirits in gratitude, he invited them in advance, saying: "Tomorrow we shall hold a feast; may the spirits descend and condescend to attend." The three spirits accepted the invitation, and together they vanished.

The master prepared the feast, the tables arrayed and adorned. The three Ghost-Spirits, riding the wind and returning on the clouds, had just reached the door—their feet barely wet, in a flash of an instant—when they saw a man of the land of Śrāvastī sitting within the master's house. At once they turned and bolted away in a single rush, with no time even to transform or conceal themselves.

The master, seeing this and not yet understanding what it was, supposed that some urgent matter had befallen the spirits, and so he sprang up and ran after them, earnestly inviting them back, saying: "A hundred bows to the spirits! Ten thousand bows to the spirits! I beseech you to condescend, for the humble feast is already properly prepared and offered, everything set in order and complete. I bow and beg you to accept the offering, a small token of my sincerity. Why, having already descended, do you so hastily flee away? Or has this humble servant committed some breach of courtesy?"

The three spirits, their feet still stepping forward but their faces looking back over their shoulders, said in panicked, trembling voices: "There is presently an Honored Guest in the master's house; how could we dare to enter!" Scarcely had they finished speaking when they bolted off again!

The master returned, went into the house, and sat down to rest: here was no one other than the man who had just arrived to lodge for that day. Then he went out and entertained the guest, and when they were merry and full, the master inquired: "Honored guest! Surely you possess some majestic virtue surpassing this world, for you have caused the three spirits whom I worship now all to fear you and flee in panic."

The guest related: the merits of the Buddha-Dharma—how he himself had received the Five Precepts and practiced the Ten Wholesome Deeds, and then, having violated the precept against liquor, had been driven out of his country by his parents. Now he kept only four of the precepts, yet still twenty Wholesome Spirits followed and protected him, and so he had caused the three spirits whom the master worshiped to flee in fear. Thus one may know that "the heterodox dares not face the orthodox"—is this not so?

The master expressed his heartfelt wish and request, saying: "For a long time I have worshiped those spirits, but I have grown weary, for the feasts and offerings have been excessively wasteful. Now, having drawn from this experience the principle of the orthodox and the heterodox, I now wish to uphold and keep the Five Precepts of the Buddha…" And so, following the teaching transmitted by the guest, he received the Three Refuges, the Five Precepts, and the Ten Wholesome Deeds, single-mindedly diligent, not daring to grow lax.

One day, in the course of their discussion, the master of the house asked: "Where is the Buddha at present? May I be able to go and meet him?" The guest (the young gentleman) indicated, saying: "The Buddha is presently dwelling in the garden of Anāthapiṇḍika, in the land of Śrāvastī; so if you wish to pay homage to him, go there and you shall see him at once."

Then, taking leave of the guest… the master resolved firmly and set out upon the road. The man traveled for one day, and as evening was approaching, he came to a wayside pavilion in the midst of a desolate plain and thought to stop in and rest. The man went in and saw only a young woman, her body upright and proper, her countenance fair and handsome. The traveling guest asked to lodge there for one night. The lady of the house replied: "Sir, take care not to stay here; you should quickly go far away from this place!"

—But why is that? Is there some reason?

—I have told you so; why do you ask further?

The traveling guest thought to himself: That man of the land of Śrāvastī kept only four precepts, yet my spirits had to fear him and flee! How much more myself, who have received the Three Refuges, keep the Five Precepts, and practice the Ten Wholesome Deeds, with a heart that does not grow lax—what have I to fear? For I have the full complement of twenty-five Wholesome Spirits protecting my precepts. Having thought this in his heart, he stayed to rest, and was not afraid to remain.

That night, there was a man-eating Ghost. Seeing the precept-guarding spirits continually ascending and descending all around that pavilion, it stayed out in the field and did not dare to approach the pavilion. At dawn the traveling guest set out upon the road.

He had not gone very far when he saw many bones, some fresh and some old, strewn about in disarray—a hair-raising, soul-chilling sight! He repented and lost heart, and again began to think: When I was in my own country, I was at peace, well-fed and warmly clothed, with every kind of joy and comfort; in vain did I heed that man's advice to come to the land of the Buddha. The Buddha I have not yet seen—what is so excellent about that?

Yet already I have grown disgusted at the sight of these gruesome bones and corpses! It would be better—indeed, let me return to the old pavilion to join that lady and persuade her to come back with me to my native land, to join in the bond of phoenix and mate, to enter the dream of bear and serpent; first to unite in the harmony of strings and zither, then to grow warm in the incense and fire of married life. Such, I think, would be more delightful, for the Buddha is still far away, whereas that lady is already near at hand!

Having thought thus, he hurried straight back to the place of the pavilion of the night before, went in, and addressed the lady to ask to lodge there once more.

—Why! Why have you come back?

—Because my plan came to nothing, I beg to rest here for a while, and then I shall return to my old homeland.

—This time I fear you must die! For my husband, the Lord of the man-eating Ghosts, will be coming home; so you must quickly go away!

The guest did not believe her and stubbornly insisted on staying to rest. His heart grew ever more besotted, desire rising up in foolish delusion, and he forgot "the Buddha," forgot "the Refuges," forgot "the Precepts," and forgot even "the Wholesome." The good spirits scattered in all directions, and the evil Ghost was able to return. The woman, fearing that her husband would eat the guest, out of compassion for her own kind, hid him within a large earthen jar.

The male Ghost returned to the pavilion and, smelling the scent of fresh flesh, asked his wife: "Have you caught something? Then give me some to eat too?"

—I have been busy minding the house; how could I have gone anywhere, and so how could I have caught any flesh? And last night, why did you not come home?

—Because you were harboring an Honored Guest in the house, you caused me to be driven away!

—But why could you catch no flesh?

—It is precisely because there is a disciple of the Buddha in your house, who has Wholesome Spirits protecting his precepts, that I was naturally reprimanded and sent forty leagues away, suffering out in the dew and frost, terrified, all but ready to die—what strength had I left to go catching flesh!

At this time the guest, confined within the jar, hearing that there really was a Ghost-husband come home demanding to eat his flesh in this way, grew all the more terrified and aghast, and being too overcome with trembling, he broke out shivering with cold! He had already lost all remembrance of love and of the woman, and forgot the precepts and the Refuges all the more, for he could only fix his mind on death, just as on his fear of being eaten by the Ghost—how could he have any mind-strength left to dwell on love? Much less to be mindful of the Buddha, mindful of the Three Refuges, mindful of the Five Precepts!

While listening to the Ghost-husband tell his story—of being chased away by the disciple of the Buddha in the house and by the precept-guarding Spirits—the wife kept silent, rejoicing secretly in her heart, and then asked her husband:

—What are the Buddha's precepts? How does one uphold and keep them?

—I am terribly hungry and thirsty; just quickly bring it out here for me to eat, and do not ask about that matter, for it is the unsurpassed, perfectly true precept, which I dare not speak of!

—But since you do know it, you ought to tell me so that I may hear it. What is more intimate than the love we share for one another, and yet you would still hide it from me? Come, speak, and then I shall present you with fine, fresh, hot, tender flesh to feast upon.

The Ghost-kind, ever a class heavily given to greed for food, and being now coaxed and cajoled and pressed, with his belly set only on eating, was thus constrained to utter from his mouth:

—The Three Refuges are: to take refuge in the Buddha oneself, to take refuge in the Dharma oneself, to take refuge in the Saṅgha oneself. That is to say: one who has received the Dharma of the Three Refuges then worships the Three Jewels alone as one's teacher, and no longer worships the ranks of Gods, Immortals, Ghost-Spirits, heterodox teachers, or evil companions, for one keeps to the loyal and orthodox and does not hold a divided heart—just as a loyal minister does not serve two lords, and a chaste woman does not attend upon two husbands.

The Five Precepts are: 1) Keep a heart of benevolence and do not kill. 2) Keep the integrity of honesty and do not steal. 3) Keep chaste and upright conduct and do not engage in sexual misconduct. 4) Keep the virtue of truthfulness and do not speak false words. 5) Keep clear wisdom, be filial and obedient, and do not drink liquor to drunken infatuation…

As the Ghost spoke each precept, the wife at once seized upon each one, and so on until he had spoken all five precepts, it was the same. That is to say: the wife, as far as she heard, recorded and received and remembered and recited it that far, and then kept reciting it under her breath; and even the guest in the jar likewise repeated after, and whichever precept he heard he held in mind and recited again that precept, reciting it with greater earnestness and devotion than before, for he was intent only on escaping the calamity of being eaten alive and swallowed whole by the Ghost!

Because the power of the wholesome mindfulness of these two people was so intense, it at once stirred the mind of the Heavenly Emperor Śakra. He, examining and knowing the mindful intent of the Buddha's precepts in these two people, immediately dispatched fifty Wholesome Spirits down to protect the two of them. And so it was that, just as the Ghost was reciting the fifth precept—before he could even finish speaking—he suddenly, all at once, bolted off in a flash, running out and crying aloud as though he were being chased and beaten. The wife, seeing this state of affairs, thought it pitiable…! And yet thought it cause for joy as well! For now she would be able to escape the Ghost that haunted her—he had gone off to perish like a phantom!

At dawn, the lady of the house asked the guest:

—Last night, were you afraid?

—Homage to the Buddha, terribly afraid! And yet it was thanks to the grace of you, kind one, who caused my heart to awaken and remember the precepts of the Buddha.

—Yesterday, why did you turn back?

—Not far from here, I saw the bones and corpses of people, some fresh and some old, strewn about the field in disorder, which struck me with terror and broke my spirit, so that out of fear I turned back.

—Those bones are ones that I cast there; I was originally a young maiden of an upright and honest family, who was carried off alive by the Ghost and brought back here to be his wife. For several years I have eaten sorrow and swallowed grief, lamenting my fate and reproaching my lot, knowing not where to flee or hide, nor to whom to cry for rescue! For he has the skill of transformation and appearance, and the magic to bind people, and above all he is the lord of this region! Now, whatever may come, I hope for the grace of the worthy one, for through this opportunity I have been able to hear the Three Refuges and Five Precepts of the Buddha—if not directly, then at least indirectly.

The woman asked further:

—Worthy one! May I ask, where is the worthy one wishing to go?

—I wish to go to the land of Śrāvastī to be able to see the Buddha.

—Excellent! Wonderful! Then this humble woman begs to take leave here of her native land and her parents to follow the worthy one, that I may be led to an audience with the Buddha.

The two of them advanced together… and as they drew near to Śrāvastī, they met 498 people, both men and women, and so they asked the reason: "Where have you come from, and where do you intend to go?"

—We have come here from the place of the Buddha.

—Why! You have already been able to see the Buddha; for what reason then have you turned back?

—With regard to the sūtras that the Buddha spoke, we were no different from a flock of ducks, for we could understand nothing at all, and so we have had to return to our homeland.

The two worthy ones each related the whole story from beginning to end about the matter: how the three spirits and the one man-eating Ghost all feared the precepts and were driven off by the precept-guarding Spirits—they recounted it for the multitude to hear. Among the group there were one or two persons of lofty conduct and broad understanding who, having heard and come to know the circumstances just related, encouraged one another, and being willing and united, turned back to make progress and to return to pay homage to the World-Honored One.

The Buddha said to Ānanda: These 498 people have now been able to meet their original teacher, and so they have together turned back to see the Buddha and to understand the Dharma, and they shall all attain the fruit of the Path of the Arhat. The man who violated the precept against liquor, the master who worshiped the three spirits, and the imperiled woman who escaped from the hand of the hungry Ghost-husband—they are all brethren of one another from many lifetimes past. These two people are the teachers in a former life of these 498 people.

Therefore the great assembly should know: in general, one who goes seeking the Path must above all be able to meet one's original teacher and good spiritual friends—only thus are the causes and conditions complete, that one may be able to understand the principle and attain the Path. This is called the "causes and conditions of the Buddha's transformative teaching," for it is only by having such complete opportunity and conditions that it can be accomplished. But if one lacks them, or has insufficient prior causes and prior conditions, then even though it be the Buddha himself, he cannot bring deliverance. How intimate, then, are "causes and conditions"! And as for "keeping the precepts," how greatly it causes one to be protected by Spirits, feared by Ghosts, and to advance victoriously!?

When the Buddha had finished speaking the Sūtra on the Precepts Dissolving Calamity, the great assembly rejoiced, bowed in gratitude, and withdrew.