盧至長者因緣經

The Buddha taught:

– If a person is greedy and miserly, they are despised by gods and humans. Therefore, the wise should practice giving. Why is this so? - Because I once heard the following:

Long ago there was a great elder named Loci. His household was exceedingly wealthy, his possessions immeasurable, his storehouses overflowing like those of King Vaiśravaṇa. Because in former times he had sown the cause of great almsgiving in the field of merit, he received this reward of merit.

But because he gave without a sincere and earnest mind, although he became wealthy his disposition was base and mean; he wore filthy, unclean garments, ate coarse mixed rice of poor and bitter grain, and meager vegetables and grass merely to fill his belly; he drank spoiled water and cold water to quench his thirst; he rode a rotten, decayed cart and used leaves of grass as its canopy. Toward his own possessions he was extremely stingy, wearing out his spirit, laboring to guard and preserve his wealth, weary and miserable like a servant, mocked and ridiculed by everyone.

At that time, Rāhula spoke this verse:

– Because the giving was not the same

So the karmic rewards differ

Giving with a sincere mind

The disposition becomes content

If there is no reverent heart

The fruit of giving is impure

Loci, though exceedingly rich

Is despised, mocked, and ridiculed.

Furthermore, at one time there was a festival in the city. The houses were adorned and beautifully painted; banners, canopies, silks, and lapis lazuli ornaments hung everywhere; baskets of flowers were hung, fragrant water was sprinkled upon the ponds, and various sweet-smelling, beautiful flowers were scattered. The great doors, small doors, and windows were all decorated with flowers. There was also every kind of music, song, and dance, merriment and enjoyment of pleasure like that of the heavenly palaces. At each great door golden vases were set, filled with fragrant water. In each small lane banners and canopies of silk were hung, fragrant beautiful flowers were scattered, and fragrant water was sprinkled upon the ground.

At that time, seeing the people gathering together, joining one another in joyful play, dancing in great delight, Loci thought: "Those lowly servants and beggars all borrow garments and eat fine food. Yet I, who possess garments, necklaces, and treasures in abundance, why should I not enjoy myself in play?"

Loci then hurried back home, took the key and opened the storehouse door, took out five strings of coins, then locked the door again, and thought to himself: "If I eat at home, with my mother, wife, and relatives present, it will not be enough. If I go to another's house, then whether the host or a beggar, they will come to beg from me."

Then Loci used two strings of coins to buy cakes, two strings of coins to buy wine, and one string of coins to buy onions; he wrapped salt in the hem of his robe, and went out from his house beyond the city walls, to the foot of a tree. Arriving there, he saw there were many crows, and he thought: "If I sit here, the crows will come and peck at my food."

Thinking thus, he went to a high mound, but seeing there were many dogs he ran even farther away, to a deserted spot. He put salt into the wine, and ate the cakes with onions. Having never drunk wine before, he became very drunk. Once drunk, he said:

– Now the whole country is rejoicing; why should I alone not rejoice?

Loci then stood up, danced, and sang:

– Even Śakra

Enjoying himself today

Is still not equal to me

How much less Vaiśravaṇa?!

He further said:

– Now that I have met the festival, I drink wine to my heart's content, and am exceedingly joyful; I surpass even Vaiśravaṇa, and surpass even Śakra of the heavens.

At that time, Śakra Devānām Indra, together with countless heavenly hosts, wished to go to the Jeta Grove. Going along the way, he met Loci already drunk, dancing and singing, saying that he surpassed Śakra of the heavens.

Śakra thought: "This greedy, miserly fellow is in a deserted place, drinking wine and insulting me."

He further thought: "Let me not go to the Buddha's place yet, but first I should go and torment that fellow."

Śakra then transformed his body to look just like Loci, and went to his house. Arriving where the father, mother, servants, and relatives were gathered, he sat before his mother and said:

– Mother, please listen to my words. From the past until now, there has been a miserly demon following me, making me begrudge my possessions and not dare to eat, and not give to my father and mother, nor even to relatives, any money or goods... all because of this miserly demon. Now, when I went out, I met a man of the Way who gave me a wholesome mantra, by which I have been able to expel the miserly demon. If that miserly demon comes, it will be completely unable to disturb me. But this miserly demon looks just like me. If it comes, let the gatekeepers take a staff and beat it severely; it will surely falsely declare: "I am Loci." None of you should believe its words.

Having said this, he had the storehouses opened wide, took out much wealth, and made fine food for his mother, wife, and relatives to eat and drink to their fill. Then he told the gatekeepers to hurry out and shut the doors lest the miserly demon come, and to wait while he distributed necklaces and garments and had the various musics performed before opening the doors again.

Then the Lord of Devas opened wide the storehouses, took precious necklaces, and first presented them to the mother, then to the wife and all the men and women of the household. The guests who came to visit were also given necklaces, garments, and food, and the various musics were performed. The relatives within the house anointed their bodies with various perfumes, burned aloeswood incense, and sprinkled fragrant water.

At that time, Śakra led the mother by one hand and the wife by the other, playing and dancing, joyful beyond measure.

The people of Śrāvastī heard that the demon of greed and miserliness within the elder Loci had been destroyed, and so gathered to come and see for themselves.

Loci, sobering from his drunkenness, returned to the city. Entering his house, he saw the people standing crowded all about the doors, and heard within the house the sound of singing and dancing. Greatly astonished, he thought: "Surely the king is angry with me and has brought his ministers and troops to my house, wishing to reproach and punish me. Or perhaps the people of Śrāvastī, taking advantage of the festival day, have all entered my house? Or perhaps the devas, wishing to benefit me, have come to my house to perform this music? Or perhaps my household has plundered my storehouses and is feasting on its own?"

Having thought thus, Loci hurried to the main door and loudly called out to the people within the house.

At that time, the music within the house was so lively that no one heard Loci's call. Śakra heard the call and said to the people:

– Who is that banging on the door outside? All of you, stop the music. It may be that the miserly demon has returned.

Hearing that there was a demon, the people opened the great door and fled.

At that time, Loci entered the house and saw his relatives gathered around, Śakra sitting in the middle, the mother sitting on the right, the wife sitting on the left, all in beautiful garments, wearing precious necklaces, with drums, music, and singing, drinking wine to celebrate the festival, their faces joyful, seated in profusion... Loci, astonished, asked Śakra:

– Who are you, to enter my house so freely?

Śakra smiled:

– Today the people of the house already know me.

The relatives within the house then asked Loci:

– Who are you?

Loci replied:

– I am Loci.

Everyone pointed at Śakra and said:

– This is Loci, the master of our house.

Loci again asked the household:

– Then who am I?

The household replied:

– Though you claim to be so, you are like the demon of Loci.

Loci said:

– I am not a demon. I am Loci. Look at me carefully.

Looking toward his mother, Loci said:

– This is my mother, this is my elder brother, this is my younger brother, this is my beloved wife, this is my dear child, all the servants are mine.

He then pointed at Śakra and said to the household:

– Who is this person whose appearance resembles mine, who turns out to be impersonating me? From my childhood until now I have accumulated possessions, money, and storehouses... Who is this person who by illusion and deception has squandered my possessions?

At that time, no one in the house believed him.

Śakra asked the mother:

– This person and I greatly resemble each other, is that not so?

The mother replied:

– That demon's appearance greatly resembles you.

The mother again said to Śakra:

– Seeing that you are a filial and obedient one who knows how to support your mother, you indeed are the true one; I gave birth to you, and that other is the demon. If both persons were filial and obedient to me, then I would not be able to tell them apart. But because you are filial and obedient and that other is contrary and disobedient, I therefore surely know that you are my child.

Śakra turned and asked the wife:

– That person is your husband; why do you not go and be intimate with him!

The wife, her face flushing red with shame, said:

– How strange! Why do you not go away! I will certainly not be the wife of this person.

The wife said to Śakra:

– My lord! I would rather die beside you than live beside that demon.

Śakra said to the household:

– You have decided that you know me to be Loci; why then do you let that demon in here?

At that time, the household, hearing this, dragged Loci back by his legs, beat him, and pushed him out the door. Reaching the small lane, Loci wept loudly and lamented, saying:

– How truly strange! Now are my body, head, and face different from before, that everyone drives me away like this?!

He further said to those around him:

– Is my body like it was before? Is my face like it was before?

Then he again asked the passersby: was the height of his form, tall or short, any different?

Those beside him replied:

– You are still the same, no different from before.

Loci again said to everyone:

– Who am I now? Has someone transformed me into another person? What is my name? Where am I?

He further lamented loudly:

– How truly strange! Now which way should I go?

At that time, Loci was like a madman. The neighbors who were not of his household all came to console Loci:

– Do not be afraid. You are Loci, you live on the main street, within the city of Śrāvastī. We are your neighbors, and so we have come to visit you; be calm and seek a stratagem to make the matter clear and plain.

Hearing this, Loci was somewhat reassured. He wiped away his tears and asked everyone again:

– Am I truly Loci?

Everyone replied:

– You are truly Loci.

Loci said to everyone:

– Can you all bear witness for me?

Everyone replied:

– We can bear witness: you are truly Loci.

Loci said:

– If so, then listen as I tell the causes and conditions:

Who is this young man?

He resembles me exactly as if cast from the same mold

Together with my beloved wife

He sits side by side upon the bed

The relatives within my house

Have beaten and driven me out

They all love that other person

And let him stay within my house

I endure the suffering of hunger and cold

Accumulating money and wealth

That other uses it at his ease

While I have not a single coin

Just like Vaiśravaṇa

He eats and dresses at his ease

The people within the city

All are filled with doubt

All speak in this way:

"What should be done about this matter?"

There is a person of much understanding

Who speaks words like these:

"A crafty and deceitful person

Whose appearance resembles Loci

Knowing that you are very greedy and miserly

Has come to provoke and torment you

Let us together bear witness

Do not let him be driven away."

At that time, having heard this, everyone with one mind said to Loci:

– Well then, what do you wish to do now?

Loci then said:

– For my sake, all of you, gather tomorrow and go together to the king's palace.

Everyone said:

– Tomorrow morning we will take you to the king's palace.

When the next day came, everyone said:

– Excellent! Excellent! Now the time has come.

Loci then said:

– This is a great matter. As for my money, I now have no right to use it. Could you lend me some? If I win the lawsuit, I will repay you.

Everyone said:

– Whatever you wish for, we will give it to you.

They again asked Loci what thing he needed. At that time the elder Loci said:

– Give me two bolts of cloth worth four zhu of gold, to present to the king. (24 zhu = half a tael)

Everyone laughed and thought to themselves: "Loci has never been like this before. Now he speaks of four zhu—truly a great act of giving."

At that time Loci then carried the two bolts of cloth to the king's palace and said to the gatekeeper:

– I have something I wish to present to the king.

At that time, the gatekeeper was greatly astonished and, smiling, thought: "I have been here thirty years and have never heard of that man coming here to present anything. Now why is this so?"

At that time, the gatekeeper then entered and, with palms joined, reported to the king:

– This is something that has never happened before: today Loci has come to the palace gate to present an offering.

The king pondered, not at all hasty, and only thought to himself: "Today is a festival day; for what reason have so many people come to my palace? Loci is stingy and all the more would not come to my palace. The gatekeeper should not be joking with me. As for this matter, I cannot believe it. As a rule, one who is king is like the great ocean that does not flow backward into the little rivers; how could he reckon up whether possessions be many or few?"

At that time the king then had Loci led in. The king thought: "This Loci is by nature stingy; if it were not that death was upon him, he would not have come here."

At that time, Loci, together with everyone, came to the king's place, wishing to take out the two bolts of cloth to present to the king. Loci used his hand to pull out the cloth tucked under his arm, but pulled and pulled without success; he then turned and pulled with all his strength, and only then was able to take it out.

When Loci pulled it out, Śakra at once transformed it into two bundles of grass.

Seeing the two bundles of grass, Loci was greatly ashamed and sat down upon the ground. Seeing this, the king took pity and said:

– Even if it be bundles of grass, there is nothing to be distressed about. Whatever matter you wish to speak of, just speak.

Loci, choking and sobbing, said:

– Your servant, seeing the bundles of grass, is utterly ashamed. I wish I could bury my head in the ground. I know not whether today I even have this body or not! What am I to do?!

Hearing this, the king took pity and asked those beside him:

– Today, why is that man so distressed that he cannot utter a word? If any of you know of this matter, then you should present it clearly in his stead.

Those beside him reported to the king:

– Today Loci has come to the king's palace wishing to report a matter: an unknown person whose form resembles Loci has come to his house, falsely declaring himself to be Loci, causing everyone in the house to love that person; he has used up all the possessions, causing everyone in the house to fail to recognize the real Loci, and has beaten and driven Loci out, so that he has become like a stranger on the road. Therefore he is grieved and distressed, and cannot utter a word.

The king said:

– If it be so, then this is indeed grievous and distressing. Why? Because one's own possessions are being used by another. Even so, I will adjudicate the matter to recover the possessions for you.

The king further said:

– Among the people of the world, though their forms may resemble one another, their minds are not necessarily the same. Though their minds may be the same, the hidden places of their bodies bear marks that perhaps no one knows of, and these must differ at least a little. Do not be grieved; I will examine the matter again for you.

At that time, there was a minister named Sujāta who then stood up, joined his palms, and reported to the king:

– Excellent, great king! The wisdom of the king, taking pity on one wrongly aggrieved, is truly proper and right.

At that time Sujāta then spoke this verse:

– When people are grieved, distressed, and afraid

The king rescues and aids them

When the poor and destitute meet with calamity

The king becomes their close friend

To one who does true and proper good

The king becomes a Dharma companion

Toward one who does evil

The king becomes the elephant-hook.

At that time Loci, prostrating his five limbs to the ground, reported to the king:

– In my house there is a place where treasures are hidden most secretly, which that other could not possibly know. On my body there is a hidden mark; how could it be known? I humbly beseech the great king to examine the matter for your lowly servant.

The king then dispatched a messenger to summon the one resembling Loci, telling him to come quickly. Hearing the summons, that other came at once to the king's place and stood to one side. The forms and features of the two persons could not be told apart. The king examined them carefully and deemed it something that had never been before: their ages, features, the size of their forms whether large or small, their faces, their speech and laughter, their complexions, were all alike as if transformed from one another, alike without the slightest difference. "Now these two persons standing before me cannot be distinguished, filling me with astonishment and doubt."

The king asked the one who had just been summoned:

– Who are you?

That other then lamented:

– If your servant cannot go on living here, it would be better to die. How is it that your servant was born and raised in the king's country, yet the king does not know him, and even asks who your lowly servant is!

The king's face flushed red with shame, and he thought: "This is indeed the real Loci." The king said to the one who had come first:

– And what do you wish to say?

Loci said:

– I am Loci; that other is not.

The king said:

– You two persons are like reflections in a mirror, your faces and features alike; how can you be distinguished?!

Loci said:

– It is precisely because of this matter that your lowly servant came first to the king. If there are people who are sick and suffering, or who meet with calamity and are afraid, they all turn to the king.

The king said:

– It is truly so. The reason I receive the taxes and tributes of all the people is precisely for this.

The king pondered, then said to Śakra:

– I wish to ask you: Loci's nature is miserly, while your nature is generous; each person has a different nature. Now why do you call yourself Loci?

Śakra said:

– Now the king asks of so small and trivial a matter. It is truly as the king says, but now your lowly servant draws near to and follows the Buddha's teaching. The miserly fall among the hungry ghosts for a hundred thousand myriad years, suffering the torment of hunger and thirst, begging for blood, pus, and impure excrement and urine to eat, yet utterly unable to obtain them, even an amount as small as the tip of a hair; the cool waters of rivers and streams turn into currents of fire... Your servant, hearing that miserliness has such faults as these, was afraid and wished to cast off this transgression. Therefore he cast off greed and miserliness and gave rise to the mind of giving.

The king said:

– What you say has reason. Just as a foul, soiled garment, when washed with ashes, at once becomes clean, so too, hearing the Dharma, the mind's defilements are cut off.

The king said to the ministers:

– Thus, how can these two persons be distinguished as to who is Loci and who is the false Loci?!

The minister Sujāta reported:

– Your servant asks to inquire into the hidden matters within the houses of the two persons. If there be likeness or difference, then thereafter we may be able to distinguish and know.

The king said to the minister Sujāta:

– I am occupied with many affairs and cannot make such detailed inquiry. According to your words, you should inquire in this way.

The minister Sujāta then separated the two persons, each to his own place, and said:

– Each of you record the following: every year, the relatives, inner and outer, great and small, the number of persons, their names and surnames, how many there are; within the house the rooms, great doors and small doors, and the possessions, all the storehouses, and the various objects placed upon the ground or hidden within the earth—write out clearly every single thing, make it into a register, and bring it here at once.

The two persons each brought their registers. All possessions, secret matters, and even the hidden marks, were alike.

The king, seeing this, deemed it something that had never been before: "I have exhausted my many ways of thinking and yet cannot distinguish them. This is no affair of an ordinary person. Surely it is the work of a non-human."

The king said:

– Call the two persons to come beside me.

The king gazed at them for a long while, then said to his attendant:

– Call their mother to come.

The soldiers then summoned the mother to come. Arriving, the mother turned toward the king and made obeisance.

The king joined his palms:

– I too salute you, madam.

The mother said:

– May the great king live ten thousand years, be free from all enmity and harm, and cultivate merit without weariness!

The king had a seat spread and invited the mother to sit at ease.

The king asked the mother:

– Of these two persons, which is your child? Which is not your child?

Śakra whispered to the mother:

– Mother, do not look back upon the suffering of before.

The mother said:

– Do not be anxious, my child.

The mother respectfully reported to the king:

– This is the filial child, who offers me every kind of thing and is filial and obedient to me; this is my child. That is the unfilial child, who never loves me; thus you should know he is not my child. But these two persons, though I know the good and bad of their minds, their voices and forms are alike. I too am unable to tell them apart.

The king asked again:

– I wish to ask of other matters as well: You raised this child from when he was small, often bathing him; did you see on his body—in a hidden place—any scar or mole that is secret?

The mother said:

– O king, there is.

Śakra thought: "I can transform myself according to the mother's words."

At that time, Śakra listened attentively to the mother's words.

The mother reported to the king:

– My child has, below his left hip, a small scar like a bean.

Śakra thought: "Even if there were a scar as large as Mount Sumeru, I could conjure it forth, how much more a small scar," and at once transformed himself.

The king then thought: "Now I shall be able to settle this matter. Surely I can decide it!" The king said:

– Each of you, bare your left armpit and raise your arm high.

The two persons then raised their arms, and the two scars were seen to be no different. The king and his ministers laughed loudly and said:

– This is a thing never heard of before; it makes everyone laugh, it makes everyone fearful, it makes everyone doubt. This is a strange affair, exceedingly to be feared.

The king said to the ministers:

– A matter such as this I cannot comprehend; we should lead these two persons to the Jeta Grove to meet the Buddha, and surely it will be resolved clearly; this has spoiled my joy on this festival day.

The king then spoke this verse:

– The Buddha appeared in the world long ago

Able to rescue and aid the world

Liberating all from transgressions

Drying up the ocean of craving

His face like the light of the full moon

Complete in the supernormal power of psychic travel

The three realms all revere and look up to him

Sovereign and free within the world

The greatly compassionate one is able

To resolve doubts for us

All praise him:

This matter is most excellent.

Having spoken the verse, the king and his ministers all adorned their crowns and wore jeweled necklaces. The ministers held incense and flowers and followed behind the king. The two Locis rode upon two elephants, both adorned. At that time, the king rode in a covered carriage, and a hundred thousand myriad kinds of music all followed behind the king.

When they arrived at the Jeta Grove vihāra, the king took off his five precious caps, his jeweled canopy, sword, leather shoes, and belt, and with his jewels and garments neatly arranged, went to the Buddha's place.

At that time, the gods, dragons, the eightfold assembly, and the fourfold assembly surrounded the Buddha, listening to him expound the Dharma.

At that time, the king and everyone prostrated their five limbs to the ground, made obeisance to the Buddha, then with palms joined said to the Buddha:

– I and all sentient beings are veiled by ignorance and cannot distinguish the true from the false; only the Buddha is pure in mind. All sentient beings are burned by the hundred thousand flames of defilement; only the Buddha, the World-Honored One, has cut them off and is at peace. All the world is bound within birth and death; only the Buddha is the one liberated, the true close friend of sentient beings. Among all the blind, the Buddha is the one with clear eyes. We cannot distinguish the causes and conditions of these two persons, who is Loci and who is not Loci.

The king had the two Locis led before the Buddha. Everyone sat in silence.

The false Loci, his face joyful, his body adorned with jewels and necklaces, sat in silence.

The true Loci, his face haggard, his clothing filthy, his body covered with dust and dirt, was greatly grieved and distressed, and said:

– World-Honored One of great compassion, who rescues and aids all. I beseech you to rescue and aid me.

At that time, Śakra, seeing Loci grieved and sorrowful, smiled to himself.

King Prasenajit rose from his seat, joined his palms, and said to the Buddha:

– In this matter, the Buddha is able to know and bear witness. All sentient beings are clouded over by defilement; only the Buddha, the World-Honored One, holds the lamp of wisdom, guiding sentient beings along the path of liberation. Like the great King of Physicians, and like a guide, he is able to grant to all sentient beings fearlessness, and also to grant to all sentient beings the wealth of wholesome roots, destroying the fetters; therefore he is called the Great Sage. Excellent, World-Honored One! I beseech you to use the flame of wisdom to burn up the thicket and net of doubt and defilement within me. May the World-Honored One cut off our doubts. Of these two persons, who is the true one, who is the false?

At that time, the World-Honored One raised his arm of auspicious, dignified marks, pointed at Śakra, and asked:

– What are you doing?

Śakra then made the form of Loci vanish, and reappeared in his original form with the various radiances, the wish-fulfilling jewels and necklaces adorning his body, and with palms joined toward the Buddha, spoke this verse:

– Subdued by greed and miserliness

He dared not eat or dress

With five coins he bought wine and cakes

Mixed in salt and drank it

Having drunk, he became drunk

Laughing and jesting, dancing and singing

He reviled his child and the devas

For this reason, by these causes and conditions

Therefore I tormented him.

The Buddha said to Śakra:

– All sentient beings have transgressions; you should cast them off.

At that time Loci said to Śakra:

– I labored very hard to accumulate them. As for all my possessions, if you did not use them, how could they be gone?

Śakra replied:

– I have not diminished your goods and wealth by a single coin.

The Buddha said to Loci:

– Go home and look again at your goods and wealth.

Loci said to the Buddha:

– My goods and wealth he has already used up; what use is it to go home?!

Śakra replied:

– Truly, I have not diminished your possessions in the slightest.

Loci said:

– I do not believe you, but only believe the words of the Buddha's teaching.

Because he believed the Buddha's words, Loci attained the fruit of stream-entry (srotāpanna).

At that time, the eightfold assembly, the gods, dragons, and the fourfold assembly, seeing and hearing this matter, attained the four fruits of the path. The sentient beings who had sown the causes and conditions of the three kinds of karma, the devas, and the fourfold assembly, having heard the Buddha expound the Dharma, rejoiced and withdrew.

THE SŪTRA OF THE CAUSES AND CONDITIONS OF THE ELDER LOCI

The End