In the era when Buddha Shakyamuni lived in this world, there was a person named Nitti in the city of Shravasti. Because of his humble caste, he has been doing dung removal work all his life to support himself, just picking up dung.
One day, when the Buddha was in the Jetavanavihara, he saw that the cause of the dung scavenger Nitti had matured, so he took Ananda into the city to find Nitti.
Nitti was holding the earthen jar full of excrement at this time, ready to go outside the city to dump it, and saw the Buddha walking towards him from a distance. He saw the Buddha's peaceful steps, solemn appearance, and the golden light radiating from Buddha’s eyebrows, which made Nitti feel filthy. So he immediately avoided the way and left quietly. When he was about to walk out of the city gate, he unexpectedly met the Buddha again. In fact, the Buddha deliberately came to save him, wherever he went, the Buddha appeared.
At this time, Nitti, who was holding the earthen jar full of excrement, wanted to evade as soon as possible, but he was panicked and turned around. The earthen jar happened to hit the wall and shattered immediately, and the excrement splashed all over him. This happened before the Buddha, and Nitti was ashamed and panicked. At this time the Buddha walked up to him and said compassionately to him: "Do you want to become a monk?" No one has ever spoken to Nity in such a kind voice. He was moved and nervously replied: "Noble Buddha, you are from the noble Kshatriya caste, and your disciples are all nobles with similar status to you. I am a humble slave, how can I become your disciple like them?"
The Buddha said to Nitti: "The greatness of Dharma is like pure spring water, which can wash away all dirt; and it is like a raging flame, no matter it is huge or small, delicate or crude, it can be burned to the end. The compassion and equality of Dharma are vast and boundless. Whether it is poor, rich, noble, cheap, male or female, anyone who wants to cultivate his heart can obtain the most ultimate benefits from the Dharma."
The Buddha's teaching was like the dawn of dawn, which made Nitti feel unprecedented light and hope, and a desire to become a monk grew in his heart. The Buddha asked Ananda to take him to the big river outside the city to take a clean bath, and then brought him back to the Abode. In the abode, he heard the Buddha's teachings, Nitti opened his mind, and immediately attained the first fruit.
Nitti therefore earnestly asked the Buddha to allow himself to become a monk. He said, "I want to become a monk." The Buddha said to Nitti: "This monk is very good, and his beard and hair fall off naturally, and his robes are naturally put on."
When the Buddha said that, in an instant, Nitti's hair fell off by himself. After putting on a robes, he suddenly appeared solemnly, like a monk. At this time, the Buddha taught the Four Noble Truths, and Nitti Bhikkhu immediately realized the Arahant, the troubles since the beginning of the karma were all eliminated, and the supernatural powers were realized.
The people of the Shravasti Kingdom heard that Nitti, a lowly dung-bearer, had become a monk, and they had contemptuous thoughts in their hearts. They didn't understand why the Buddha allowed a slave to be a monk, so they talked in the streets. Many people said: "How can such a lowly person deserve our worship and support?" "If Nitti enters the city to beg, our house will be soiled by him."
Such rumors spread so quickly that even the king knew about it. After the king heard this, he felt contempt and doubt in his heart, so he rode a carriage and took his servants to the Jetavanavihara and asked the Buddha to solve his doubts. The group of people took a rest in front of the gate of the Abode. At this time, Nitti Picchu was sitting on the boulder outside the mountain gate, mending clothes. Seven hundred celestial beings surrounded him. When the king saw this magnificent sight, he was amazed in his heart: "Why is this monk so powerful? Why does he have celestial beings by his side?" The king walked up to Nitti Bhikkhu and said, "Monk, I want to see the Buddha, please help me. Tell the Buddha." The king didn't know that he was Nitti.
Nitti Bhikkhu immediately used his magical powers, sank his whole body into the boulder, appeared in front of the Buddha, and told the Buddha: "Buddha, King Pasenadi is now outside the door and wants to come and ask the Buddha for Dharma." The Buddha said to Nitti Bhikkhu: "You use the magical powers you just used to get out, and invite the king to enter." Nitti Bhikkhu shrank and drilled out of the huge boulders, just like water can freely enter and exit all the gaps. He said to the king: "I have already notified Buddha for you, please come in."
When the king saw that this person could go in and out of the boulder at will, he was surprised and admired. His previous doubts and evil thoughts were wiped out. He decided not to ask about how the dung-bearer's becomes a monk. He wanted to ask the Buddha why does this person has such great supernatural powers at ease first.
After thinking about it, the king walked in front of the Buddha, bowed to the Buddha, turned around three times to the right, retired and sat aside respectfully, and told the Buddha the doubts in his heart: "Respected Buddha, the one who reported my visit to you can use supernatural powers, I saw that he can submerge his whole body into the boulder, like water seeping into the stone, or he can emerge from the boulder freely. I don't know how this venerable is called?
The Buddha told King Pasenadi: "King, this supernaturally capable monk is exactly the dung-carrying man Nitti mentioned by the people of Sravasti. I have turned him into a monk, and he has attained Arahantship."
As soon as the king heard it, the arrogant and arrogant thoughts immediately disappeared, replaced by immense admiration and joy. The Buddha once again explained to the king: "King, everything in the world is always inseparable from cause and effect. Why is there poverty, wealth, nobility, inferiority, honor, humiliation, suffering, and happiness in life? It's all because of past lives, the cause planted. If in the past life, a person always cherished the kind thoughts of kindness, compassion, humility, and obedience, and practiced respecting the Buddha, the Dharma, the monks, the elders, the younger generations, and all living beings, good deeds will lead to honor and wealth in this life. If you were cruel and tyrannical in your past life, tribute to yourself, and let your own bad ailments go unnoticed, you will feel humble and poor in this life. Therefore, the king, cause and effect are the truth of the world and beyond the world."
King Pasenadi asked the Buddha again: "Excuse me, Buddha, what kind of cause has been planted by Venerable Nitti in his past life so that he has obtained the degrading result in this life? What kind of cause has he planted in his past life, so that he can meet the Buddha in this life to save him and achieve the holy fruit? I pray for your compassionate teachings."
The Buddha told King Pasenadi: "In the past, after Buddha Kassapa left this world, there were 100,000 monks. In this group, there was a monk who served as the administrator of the monks. This monk was often sick because of his illness. He had diarrhea and frequent urination, but he did not go out to the shelf to go to the toilet, but excreted it in a vessel made of gold and silver. He also relied on his power to order his disciples to dispose of excrement. Because he was an important member of the group In management work, he indulged his own habits and arrogant. When he felt a little uncomfortable in his body, he slackened and instructed his disciple to remove the feces for himself. However, the disciple he ordered was a saint who had achieved first results. Because of this, he was born as a lowly person for five hundred lives, and supported himself by removing dung for others. Until this lifetime, he was still a lowly person who carried dung for others. But because he was a monk and obeyed the precepts, so In this life, the cause and conditions are mature, to be able to meet the Tathagata, to hear the teachings, to miss all the troubles, and to prove the Arahant. King, do you know who the administrator who drove the saint to bear the dung is just mentioned? He is the previous life of Nitti Bhikkhu."
After listening to the Buddha's teaching, King Pasenadi immediately understood that the Dharma was full of joy, and the arrogant heart disappeared. He admired: "The Tathagata appears in the world. It is so rare and rare. Infinite and boundless living beings can benefit from the Dharma, get away from pain and gets happiness.” After speaking, the king got up from his seat and walked to Nitti Bhikkhu to kneel respectfully, bowing to Nitti Bhikkhu, and sincerely repent of the evil thoughts he had created.
At this time, the Buddha saw that King Pasenadi had gotten rid of his arrogant heart, so he spoke subtle dharma for Pasenadi. The Buddha said: "If you take attachments to give, keep the precepts, and even hope to be born into heaven, these are the reasons of birth and death, not the ultimate truth. Do not be attached to the appearance, practice all the good deeds, and the mind does not stay in any attachment, this is the most ultimate joy." At this time, the people presented heard the subtle teachings of the Buddha, and they all followed the teachings. This story is selected from "The Sutra of Virtuous and Foolishness• Volume Six"
When Vimalakirti and Manjushri Bodhisattva discussed the Dharma, a goddess scattered flowers on the Bodhisattva and the major disciples of the Buddha who listened to the Dharma.
The flowers scattered on the Bodhisattvas naturally fell, and the flowers scattered on the major disciples remained attached. No matter what magical powers these major disciples use, they can't shake off the flowers attached to their bodies.
So the goddess asked Sariputta, one of the major disciples of the Buddha: "Why do you want to shake off these flowers?"
Sariputta said: “The flower on the monk’s body is inconsistent with the Dharma.”
The goddess said: "Don’t say that flowers do not conform to the Dharma. Flowers and Dharma are indistinguishable from each other. It is your own mind that makes the difference. When the mind of separation arises, it is not the Dharma, and the mind of non-discrimination is the true Dharma. Bodhisattvas do not stick to flowers, because the Bodhisattvas have no discriminating mind." "When you become a monk in Buddhism, if your mind makes a distinction between things, you are not in accordance with the Dharma. If there is no distinction, then it is the Dharma."-"The Goddess Scattered Flowers-Vimalakirti Sutra"
All Dharma are established on non-attachment. -"Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa"
Flick the dust off and remove the dirt:
That was when the Buddha lived in the Jetavana. One day the Buddha walked to the door of the Jetavana and saw a monk crying loudly. Many people were laughing at his foolishness. This monk's name is Suddhipanthaka, and he is not a clever person. But the Buddha knew his integrity, so the Buddha sympathized with him and valued him. The Buddha asked Suddhipanthaka: "Why are you crying here?"
"Buddha! My temperament is a dull person. I became a monk with my brother. My brother taught me to recite a verse. I can't remember. My brother said that I have no hope of learning Dharma. He ordered me to go home today and he didn't allow me living here, I was driven out by him, so I cried here, I begged the Buddha for mercy to save me!"
After hearing this, the Buddha kindly comforted Suddhipanthaka: "Is there such a thing? Don't worry about it, you follow me to where I live. If you know you are dull, you are a wise man; those who think they are smart are dull people."
The Buddha returned and ordered Ananda to teach Suddhipanthaka. Soon, Ananda also replied that there was no way.
Therefore, the Buddha had to teach Suddhipanthaka himself. The Buddha taught him to recite the verse "Flick the dust off and remove the dirt." But Suddhipanthaka still can't remember. Everyone says that this person has no hope of learning Dharma. But the Buddha would not be disappointed with all living beings. Therefore, the Buddha told Suddhipanthaka: "You sweep the floor with a broom and flick the dust off the clothes and sundries for the monks. While you are doing things, you can recite the verses."
Suddhipanthaka served the monks in accordance with the instructions of the Buddha. But the monks blamed him for disrupting the practice. They forbid Suddhipanthaka to clean up debris or flick their clothes and shoes. After the Buddha knew about it, he told everyone, "This is what I taught him to do. Don't stop him."
From then on, when Suddhipanthaka swept the floor, everyone sympathized with him, everyone helped him and taught him to recite the verses of "Flick the dust off and remove the dirt."
Suddhipanthaka worked hard and devoted himself to chanting, and then he remembered the verse of "cleaning dust and removing dirt." As time went on, he gradually realized the meaning of this verse. He thought: "Dust can be seen from two aspects, one is internal and the other is external. The external dust is visible dust and cobblestones, which are easy to remove; the internal dust is greed, hatred, ignorance and worries, it takes great wisdom to clear it up.”
When Suddhipanthaka understood the meaning of this verse, his heart gradually became clear, and he gradually understood what he could not understand in the past. He also thought: "The desire of man is dust and dirt. A wise man must eliminate his desire. If this desire is not cut off, he will not be able to avoid life and death. This is a shameful thing. Desire produces all kinds of disasters and distress, which restrains people. People cannot be free because of desire. Without desire, the heart can be pure and free, and the truth can be seen.”
Suddhipanthaka thought this way, and gradually calmed down the three poisons controlled heart and brought it into an equal state where there is no love and hate, no likes and dislikes, and is out of the shell of ignorance. His heart suddenly opened.
After enlightenment, Suddhipanthaka happily walked to the Buddha and bowed to the Buddha and said, "Buddha! I now understand that I have wiped out the dust in my heart."
The Buddha was also very happy and praised Suddhipanthaka. The Buddha said to everyone: "If you recite a lot of scriptures, but you don't understand the meaning of the scriptures, you still can't comprehend the Dharma; although you only receive one verse, follow it , You will be able to comprehend the Dharma, look at Suddhipanthaka!"
From then on, Suddhipanthaka became a famous bhikkhu in the Jetavana, and he was very respected by everyone. However, Suddhipanthaka's life remained unchanged. When cleaning the floor every day, he still whispered: "Flick the dust off and remove the dirt. "