Petavatthu(Ghost stories)1.9

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1.8 The Master Weaver

While the Teacher(Buddha) was staying at Savatthi, he told this story. Just a dozen monks, having acquired a matter for practice from the Teacher, were investigating a place in which to live. As the Retreat of the rainy season was near, they saw a delightful forest-abode with shade and water, and at a convenient distance from it a village for getting food. They passed the night there, and next day, entered the village to collect alms. The people welcomed the monks and begged them to enter upon residence for the Retreat of the rainy season(Vassa). Then the head of the weavers guild respectfully served two months with their four necessities of life, while the rest of the guild members cared for each monk.

Now the wife of the chief weaver was unbelieving, without faith, unorthodox and greedy, and did not help the monks. Then the master weaver married her younger sister and made her mistress in his house. She had faith and zealously cared for the monks. All these weavers too, gave one cloak to each of the monks who were observing the Retreat of the rainy season(Vassa). Then the selfish wife of the head of the weavers' guild, with a wicked mind, abused her husband, saying: " Whatever food and drink you give as a donation to the sakya ascetics(monks), may that in the next world be turned into dung ,urine, blood & pus and may the cloaks become burning plates of iron."

At his death the master weaver was reborn in the Vindhya forest as a rukkha-deva(lesser angel) endowed with splendour. His stingy wife was reborn as a peti(ghost) not far from his abode. She was nude, ugly and overcome with hunger and thirst, and as she approached the earth-deva, she said : " My lord, I am naked and walk around exceedingly tormented with hunger and thirst ; give me clothes and food and drink." He gave her some of his excellent deva food and drink; this, immediately upon her taking it, was turned into dung, urine, blood & pus, and the cloak; with which she was clad became a burning iron plate. Vomiting and wailing, she went about in great misery.

At that time, a certain monk, who was going to pay his respects to the Teacher(Buddha), with a large caravan entered the Vindhya forest. The caravan, after having been travelling at night, saw by day a place abounding in shade and water, where they unharnessed the oxen and stopped to rest. Then the monk, who with a desire to be alone had strolled away a short distance, spread his cloak on the thick grass at the foot of a tree and lay down. Weary in body from the journey by night, he fell asleep. When the men of the caravan had rested, they went on their way, but that monk did not wake up. Then having got up in evening and missing his companions, he followed a side path and finally came to the abode of the above-mentioned deva(angel). When that deva saw him, he came up in human form and welcomed him; he took him into his mansion, and after he had given him ointment for his feet and other presents, he paid him homage and sat down. At this time, the peti also came and said: " Give me, my lord, food, drink, and a cloak," He gave her these things, which, the moment they were grasped by her, invariably they turned into dung, urine, blood & pus and burning plates of iron. 'When the man saw this, he became greatly agitated and asked the deva in these two stanzas :

1. " Dung and urine, blood and pus she gets ; of what is this the result ?

Now what deed has this woman done, who is always feeding blood and pus ?"

2. " New and lustrous, attractive, soft, white, and Shiny are the clothes given to her, but they become various metal plates. Now what deed has this woman done? "

The deva then explained her previous birth to the monk:

3• " This was my wife, venerable one ; she was not willing to donate, miserly and stingy was she. When I gave to monks and brahmans, she abused and censured me, saying:"

4• ," Dung & urine, blood and pus, even filth may you feed upon for all time. Let that be your lot in the other world, and may your clothes be like metal plates. Since she has committed such a wicked deed, she shall, for a long time after arrival here, eat that filth.

" Now, is there any means of freeing her from the world of the petas(ghosts)?" He said :" If one presents a gift to the Lord Buddha and to the Community of Ariya Sangha (Enlightened Monks), or even to one monk and transfers to her the credit, and she appreciates it, in that way she will have release from sufferings."

When the deva heard this, he gave that monk food and drink and transferred the virtue of the gift to that peti. Instantly she had sufficient; she was of joyful heart, and satisfied with the deva-food. Then he gave into the hand of the same monk a pair of deva-cloaks for the Blessed One and ascribed the credit of the gift to the peti. Immediately upon then, she was clad in deva-garments, well-provided with everything that is to be desired, became similar to a divine-nymph.

Furthermore that monk through the potency of that deva on that very day reached Jetavana Monastery in Savatthi and told all the incident to the Buddha. Buddha appreciated it and then he gave a Dhamma discourse.