福蓋正行所集經

At that time, when the Transcendent Fierce-Beast Devaputra had finished praising the Buddha with verses, joy arose in his heart; like the Lord of Devas who has obtained great wealth, like that farmer who has reaped a bountiful harvest. He was again like a valiant general who has triumphed in battle. Like a man long afflicted by sickness who is at once cured of his disease.

At that time, within the assembly there was an Arhat who clearly knew the prior and subsequent causes and conditions of the Devaputra, and because of this he recalled his own Original Teacher who had passed away not long before, and wished to know clearly where he now dwelt. There was a faithful patron who had established a monastery, and there was a Bhikshu who labored diligently at carrying water to cook rice, performing acts of giving for the Sangha.

That Arhat received this water in an alms bowl of white copper and wished to drink it, and when he touched it with his finger he found the water truly cold. He then reflected thus: My teacher in the past was wont to act as the lord of the monastery (abbot); he clearly knew the affairs of the Great Assembly, and was wont to hoard up goods, and then, coveting them, made them his own private property; he constantly vowed that in his later body he would be reborn again in this place.

Because of such sins he has fallen into the hell of boiling copper water; though he wishes to obtain sweet water, how could that ever be? When he had reflected thus, he entered meditative concentration to contemplate. In the neighboring hells he saw only animals and ghostly beasts.

Wherever he looked, he did not see him. He continued to reflect further. Has he perhaps planted wholesome roots that have now come to fruition; and has he therefore been reborn in some fair realm?

And he observed among the devas, and saw that his teacher had been reborn in the heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings. At that time the Venerable One then went to that place to console and inquire after him, saying: "I have heard that in this heaven, although one performs wholesome deeds and steadfastly upholds the pure precepts, only thus is one first reborn here. What, then, have you accumulated that you could come to this place?"

At that time the Devaputra answered the Venerable One, saying: In days past I underwent the duty of being the lord of a monastery (abbot); foolish, I committed evil deeds, never once disclosing them in confession and repentance; therefore, when my life came to an end, I only single-mindedly and earnestly remembered the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha as my place of refuge. Through the power of the causes and conditions of remembering these Three Jewels, I obtained that wholesome root; and so I came to be reborn in this place.

At that time, when that Venerable One had heard this, his heart was truly joyful, and he attained that which he had never had before. Then, before the devas and human beings, the learners and those beyond learning, and amidst the Great Assembly, he proclaimed three times in fair praise. All such matters depend upon the power of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha; their merit is truly inconceivable, able to dissolve away the sufferings of the various hells; able, for the sake of sentient beings, to plant many wholesome roots, to sever the afflictions, to cut through the net of doubt; ultimately able to reach the far shore of Bodhi.

Those of wisdom constantly and diligently exert themselves to purify body, speech, and mind, and to cultivate and uphold giving, precepts, and meditative concentration. By this one can repay the great kindness and virtue of the Buddha. Then, since the desires and natures of sentient beings each differ, gradually one causes them to cultivate fully the three kinds of conduct; some delight in the enjoyment of the five desires.

Therefore the World-Honored One, by skillful means, has them constantly uphold the pure precepts; some delight in liberation, far removed from the sea of suffering. The World-Honored One, by skillful means, has them practice meditative concentration. Therefore the World-Honored One spoke of these three kinds of conduct; they are named the Canopy of Merit; and so they must be reverently practiced.

It is like two ghosts contending over three objects. These were a small chest, a pair of shoes, and a single bridge. The two parties fought with one another and quarreled in loud voices.

In that place there was a Brahmin who was exceedingly upright and able to resolve this matter. The two ghosts, holding the objects, went together to that place and, joining their palms, said:

Great Brahmin! For our sake, resolve this matter for us.

The Brahmin replied, saying: Tell me, why do you contend with one another, and why have you come from afar to seek a resolution?

The two ghosts said: This matter is no small affair; it is truly difficult to tell. Behold this chest: it can manifest in transformation according to whatever one wishes; all things come forth from within it. As for that pair of shoes, when a blind man puts them on he can travel to the heavens to enjoy wondrous bliss.

And as for that single bridge, it can help to subdue all enemies and foes and cause them all to retreat. At that time, when the Brahmin had heard this, he then ordered the two ghosts to withdraw to one side and said: I shall, for your sake, reflect upon and resolve this matter well, so as to divide these three objects; each party shall be made equal. That Brahmin then put on the pair of shoes and took the bridge as well as the chest, and flew up into empty space.

When the two ghosts saw this, they greatly regretted having made plainly known those three objects, which he now possessed.

In this parable one should now skillfully distinguish. Giving is like the chest: it brings about whatever one wishes. Upholding the precepts is like the pair of shoes: it can bring rebirth in the heavens. Meditative concentration is like the bridge: it can subdue the hosts of Mara. For this reason the World-Honored One calls them giving, precepts, and meditative concentration, and the skillful means that embraces them is the Canopy of Merit, the Right Conduct.

In contrast to this, there are again three evil conducts. These are stinginess, breaking the precepts, and distraction, which give rise to all manner of wrongs. These are the very root that causes one to be reborn through transmigration into evil realms.

They destroy the merit of giving, precepts, and meditative concentration. Therefore the World-Honored One has revealed the various acts of miserly stinginess to be like filth and defilement, polluting sentient beings, and never as one wishes. Thus the miser merely accumulates precious wealth yet does not bestow the giving of wisdom; he is like a pigeon perched upon a lotus flower.

Toward father and mother he does not provide or attend. When kinsfolk meet him, he seeks instead a way to depart elsewhere. He does not believe wholesome words; he takes no delight in the scriptures and the Dharma.

Relying upon his wealth, he pays no heed to the toil and hardship of others. He is like a drunken elephant, whose temperament is truly hard to subdue. He is again like a venomous serpent that people do not wish to look upon.

When good people see him, they all keep far away. Toward those deeds of merit and blessing he does not take delight in rejoicing along with them; seeing them, he tries to lure them away, and his heart certainly gives rise to worry. He is like a dry tree by the edge of a well that wishes for water.

Even though one may sigh and lament, people are unable to hear. Even though one may go to him, he is unable to speak. Amidst the Great Assembly he is like a deluded man; passing through the four destinies, he is like foul-smelling urine.

That foolish one, though dwelling in the world, is unable to keep far from the various kinds of vileness. He is unable to guard and uphold wholesome merits; he is unable to plant wholesome seeds. Thus the miser creates the cause of poverty.

Though presently rich, he is unable to make use of it. When those below have a request, he pays them no heed. One should know that this person is like the Hộ Đà forest, wherein no one in the world delights to dwell.

By reason of the causes and conditions of this stinginess, it is as said in the Sutra of the Elder Mahānāma.

At that time the World-Honored One was dwelling in the city of Shravasti, in the garden of Anathapindika and the grove of Prince Jeta. At that time, in that city there was a Great Elder named Mahānāma; he was truly wealthy yet had no children, and he suddenly passed away. At that time, when the Great King Prasenajit of the country of Kosala had heard of this matter, he then went to the Elder's house. The king confiscated all the wealth in the storehouses as well as the other possessions. All of it was handed over to the officials to oversee. When the matter was completed, he mounted his carriage and returned. He then came before the World-Honored One, and with his head and face bowed at the Buddha's feet, he then sat to one side.

The Buddha said: Great King! Why are you covered with dust and dirt, and what business brings you here?

The king then reported to the World-Honored One the matter as above.

The Buddha said: Great King! How great was that Elder's wealth and possessions?

The king replied: This house was truly exceedingly rich, with much wealth and many possessions, gold and silver and precious treasures, storehouses filled with goods. Each kind amounted to immeasurable hundreds of thousands of koṭis. So rich was he that none could compare; yet in his eating and drinking and spending he was extremely miserly; his clothing was but a single patch upon his body, and tattered.

When he traveled, he used a wretched cart covered over with leaves. Whenever he ate and drank, he had the doors shut. All day his belly was hungry, and he never ate his fill.

Supposing there came a Shramana or Brahmin to beg for alms, even though they came from a distant road, like those who wished to learn a trade and so forth—these people came only to seek work in order to obtain food and drink—not a single one of them was ever promised anything at all.

At that time the Great King Prasenajit again addressed the Buddha, saying: Reverently I address the World-Honored One! For my sake, speak of this Great Elder Mahānāma! Is it because of excessive stinginess that he received such a karmic retribution, and so cause whoever hears his name to come to know it clearly.

The Buddha said: Great King! Although this Elder was wealthy, he did not serve and honor the worthy ones, nor did he use it for himself, and toward that great field of merit he took no delight in giving. Even his friends and kinsmen never received any benefit.

Servants and helpers, and indeed everyone, abandoned him. Therefore one should know that, although this person dwelt in wealth, because of his stinginess he was unworthy of it. It is like a lotus flower growing amid impure things.

It is like fierce beasts within a fine and beautiful garden grove. It is like poison within delicious food. It is like a maṇi-jewel left in a barren and desolate place.

It is like sweet fruit planted in a place exceedingly high. It is like clean ground soaked with filth and excrement. It is like one who stores up poisonous drugs yet wishes to prolong his life.

It is like a pregnant woman who claims to be one of pure conduct. It is like one full of anger and hatred who wishes others to love and respect him. It is like a crafty deceiver who claims to be skilled in debate.

He speaks like a foolish child, without reflection. What is not the Dharma he calls the Dharma; what is not wholesome he calls wholesome, and he slanders all manner of things in the world. To guard wealth in such a way is called being rich.

Though he possesses those precious goods, those things are also useless. At the end of his life, his toil and hardship leave him without a single coin. The people of the world, seeing this, also do not understand it thoroughly, and even friends who have met him do not wish to come to visit him.

A miser such as this is wont to do nothing but base and evil deeds, like a flock of vultures roosting in the cold forest. By reason of that wealth he creates bondage for himself; he does not clearly understand the span of his life. It is like a mountain crumbling down a steep slope.

He does not remember and reflect upon impermanence. When worry and anxiety arrive, then in but a single instant, in sorrow he loses his own life. Therefore one should clearly know that wealth and riches do not remain for long, like an elephant's ear, never ceasing to move.

Toward the Dharma teacher he is not diligent in inquiry, and toward praise of the practice of giving his heart does not believe or delight. When he sees anyone come to teach and transform, he hides like a rat, running away to escape the place. Supposing someone sees him, he feigns ignorance without shame.

Thus the foolish fellow, though possessing much wealth, is no different from a man in a dream. As for hoarding and miserly stinginess, he buries it in the earth. When he meets with the suffering of illness, he does not seek out good medicine; when he hears that a physician has been summoned, worry and grief arise in his heart.

By reason of the heavy affliction of disease, he suffers and then comes to the end of his life. When people hear of this death, there is nothing worthy of praise in it. The whole of his bodily form will at last decay and dissolve, hard to draw near.

The fire blazes up, the foul smoke spreads everywhere, gathering into a cloud of smoke, which the wind then blows away. Therefore one should know that this person will certainly fall into the evil paths; in the hells, he undergoes every kind of suffering. Emerging from the hells, he is reborn as a hungry ghost, his body emaciated and gaunt, naked and dark; he is constantly burned and scorched by fire, his body consumed away.

His two eyes are sunken deep like a pit; his belly is truly large; his neck like a needle. Passing through many kalpas, he is unable to eat or drink, his skin and bones cleaving together, unable to stand firmly. He constantly eats filth until he dies; the filth and his parched lips give rise to no weariness or disgust.

If he sees phlegm and spittle, he then contends to seize it; or if he gets a little, he eats it with much anxiety. Then he comes to devour entirely the various shellfish or the grasses and trees of the sea. There is a certain ghost that has never even heard the very word "water"; its body is again huge, like a mountain; when a strong wind blows upon it, it sways and gives off a sound.

The various kinds of birds fly and alight upon it; they peck at it or tear at it. He endures such sufferings and afflictions. From here he is reborn among the ghosts, even as a yaksha, a rakshasa, a kumbhanda, a bhuta, a kumbhanda, a putana, a kataputana, a mikenna, an unmada, and so forth.

Supposing he is able to become a human being, his bodily form is foul-smelling, his skin and flesh dark, like the color of tree bark, his faculties hard to look upon. His eyes are not clear and bright; he is greedy and hungry and thirsty, taking food as his chief concern. He constantly uses stones and clubs to seize the goods of others.

Or if he gets a little, he cannot eat or drink in peace. Or worms are born that gnaw beneath his feet. When rain, wind, cold, and heat come, they cause him suffering.

Mosquitoes, gadflies, and other vermin come to sting him with pain; his whole life he has no joy, nor does he hear of wholesome things. Such evil retributions as these are truly to be feared. These are the vows and conduct of the miserly.

As recounted in the sutra inquired about by the Venerable One, it is told thus:

At that time the Buddha was dwelling in the city of Rajagriha, in the Kalandaka Bamboo Grove. At that time, in that city there was the son of an Elder who was wont to come often to where the Buddha was, joyfully to hear the Buddha's Dharma; he gave rise to a mind of pure faith and acceptance and wished to request to go forth into the homeless life. He then said to his mother:

I pray that, for my sake, mother, you will allow me to go forth and cultivate according to the Buddha's Dharma.

The mother said: Now you are my only son, and I am already old; when I have died, then you may do as you wish.

When the son had heard this instruction, he diligently exerted himself in work to obtain wealth and to support his mother, hoping that his mother would gladly accept it for her use. If there were any surplus, he would make merit through giving. But when the mother had wealth, she did not give it but instead wished all the more to hoard up a great deal, and she buried it hidden in many places; or when a Shramana came to beg for alms, she would even drive him away with her hand and say that a ghost had come.

When the son heard this he was not pleased, and said: My mother eats but little, so why does she not give, and why is she instead diligent in such deception? Not long after, the mother came to the end of her life. At that time the Elder's son then performed giving and offerings far and wide to dedicate the merit to his mother, and afterward he left home to go forth into the homeless life.

He diligently and energetically delighted in hearing the true Dharma. Reflecting in accordance with principle, he accomplished the various faculties and powers and attained the various conditioned works, awakened to the Dharma of arising and ceasing, put an end to transmigration, came forth from the five destinies, shattered the veil of ignorance, and departed from the craving of the three realms. When he saw gold and silver, it was like seeing tiles and bricks; nothing bound itself to his body, no craving or delusion arose, and this mind was impartial, like empty space, resolutely far removed from all the afflictions.

He realized the fruit of Arhatship in the present life. The Great Brahma Kings and the various Devas, Indra and Shakra, all honored and made offerings to him, extolling and praising him.

At that time he was in a thatched hut on the bank of the river Ganges, cultivating meditative concentration. Then a ghost came and stood before him, its bodily form dark and naked, like a withered branch, its hair disheveled and shaggy, its belly large and its head small, its hands and feet hot and blazing like fire, and it then gave forth howling and wailing cries. The Venerable One asked:

Who are you?

The ghost replied: I am indeed your mother. After I died, for twenty-five years I have fallen among the hungry ghosts, undergoing much suffering from hunger and thirst, never hearing of food and drink, nor even the very word "water." Supposing I see a great river, it naturally burns up like dry kindling. If I see a dense forest, when I arrive there is nothing there. Even within each single instant, there is not one moment of peace and joy. I reverently beg the Venerable One to rescue and help his mother; I pray to rely upon this place to live, seeking to obtain a little water to drink.

When the Venerable One had heard this, he wept with bitter grief and recalled how in former times, while she was still alive, his mother had cultivated no merit; therefore when she died she fell into the evil paths. Now he must give rise to a single-minded, earnest mind to repent and to apologize for his mother's former faults and offenses.

The ghost said: Because miserly defilement obscured this mind of mine, toward those fields of merit I never bestowed even the slightest gift. In days past I was master of much wealth, and I buried hidden in the garden of my house countless kinds of things. Venerable One, for my sake go quickly to dig up those things, and then bestow them far and wide in giving on my behalf. Give food and drink to Shramanas and Brahmins, and give to those who are poor and in need. Make offerings to the Buddhas and to the sages and holy Sangha, and read out my name so that I may disclose and confess in repentance; I pray that on my account my body may quickly be freed from this suffering.

When the Venerable One had heard this, he thought: If it is indeed so, then I must at once repent so that those sins may be extinguished.

The ghost said: Because in my former body I knew no shame, I must therefore be naked; it cannot be otherwise.

The Venerable One said: If, having committed sins, the mind does not recall them, then that karma can certainly be disclosed and confessed, and the sins will not increase and grow. Now if you give rise to such a mind, you may be able to remain in this place.

Afterward the Venerable One summoned and called his kinsfolk to return to the old house and dug up those buried things there, as she had instructed, in order to perform giving. Whatever kinds were fine and excellent he offered to the Three Jewels and to Brahmins. And those who came begging for food he supplied in full.

At that very time, the Venerable One's mother stood to one side and saw countless people gathered there; therefore a mind of shame arose in her, and her tears flowed down in streams, and she wept aloud, reverently beseeching the World-Honored One to take pity and to deliver her.

Afterward the Venerable One himself prostrated his five limbs to the ground and, in a loud voice, for his mother's sake pronounced her name, vowing that by this wholesome deed she might quickly attain liberation.

At that time the World-Honored One, using skillful means and the sustaining power of his majestic spirit, also expounded the Dharma. At that same time there were hundreds of thousands of sentient beings who, hearing the Dharma, were awakened and released, all seeing that which is truly real. The hungry ghost was freed from suffering and thereafter died.

Next, the Venerable One again entered concentration to contemplate, and again saw that his mother had been reborn as a wealthy hungry ghost, and then went at once to this place to tell her of the cause from her former life, so as to cause her to give rise to the mind and diligently to perform giving. Now she must cultivate merit in order to seek deliverance from suffering. When the ghost had heard this, she then reflected carefully and said:

Venerable One! Your mother is unable to give. When the Venerable One heard this, he was astonished and said: You are truly foolish!

Stinginess has been perfumed into you, just as in the present; you do not clearly understand karmic retribution, dark as this, which everywhere surrounds and besets you—the ghostly beasts so very evil—why then is mother not afraid? With every kind of skillful means, when that suffering is exhausted, you will gradually come to fairness and good. There were two coins of white color.

When the Venerable One had received them, he then offered them to the Sangha; before he had given them to anyone at all, a certain Bhikshu took them away, and the ghost, being ever unwilling to let go and relinquish, therefore in the darkness of that night took them and hid them away. When this Bhikshu had lost the things, he then came to ask the Venerable One, and the Venerable One reflected: This does not belong to that person, and I shall go and take it back; then he went to where that ghost was, and indeed recovered these two coins.

In this way the things were stolen a third time, and again were recovered as at the first. Holding those coins, the Bhikshu's heart gave rise to worry; therefore he again cut them into many pieces and distributed them among the Sangha; each and every one had a share; or he used a bag to hold them. That ghost again came, stole the bag, and departed.

The Buddha said: Know that the miserly mind has erred and gone astray far too greatly. By reason of that bondage, one is always made to fall among the evil beasts. Therefore I now, by skillful means, reveal this, so as to cause all sentient beings to sever miserly defilement. May they delight in cultivating the work of giving, pure, far-reaching, and great. This is called the Right Conduct of the Canopy of Merit that embraces giving.

The Sutra of the Collection on the Right Conduct of the Canopy of Merit

End of Scroll Six