Date: 09/27/2025 09/28/2025
Location: Star River Meditation Center
Teacher: Yunquan Huang
Dharma Talk
The Latrine Cleaner Who Became an Arahant
Thus have I heard:
At one time, the Blessed One was dwelling in Śrāvastī.
Now in that city there was a poor man, lowly and despised, whose livelihood was to remove human filth. In the eyes of the townspeople, he was as foul as the refuse he bore. None would approach him, and none would speak to him. He himself, filled with shame, would withdraw from others lest he be reviled.
Yet when the Blessed One entered the city, this man alone was granted the fortune to behold the radiance of the Buddha.
On a certain day, bearing a great load of filth from the privies, he walked toward the outskirts, intending to use it as manure for trees and vegetables. All who saw him held their noses, cursing and saying:
“Wretched one! Do you not watch where you walk? The stench is unbearable!”
Long had he borne this torment in silence.
Entering a narrow lane, he suddenly beheld the Blessed One, whose body shone with golden light. Struck with awe, he thought:
“How can I, so filthy and foul, stand before the Exalted One?”
Ashamed, he turned aside, seeking to hide.
The Blessed One called after him:
“Why do you flee from me? Know that I have come for your sake.”
The poor man, astounded, thought:
“Can it be that the Buddha speaks to me?”
Again the Blessed One said:
“Do not avoid me. Truly, it is for you that I have come.”
Hearing this, the man set down his load, bowed his head in fear and shame, and said:
“O Blessed One! I am the most lowly, reeking of filth. I dare not approach you.”
The Buddha spoke with great compassion:
“Be not afraid. Do you know why I have come?”
The man replied trembling:
“I do not know, World-honored One. How could one so base and impure receive your teaching?”
The Blessed One smiled and said:
“It is for the deliverance of those who suffer that I have appeared in the world.”
Then, taking him by the arm, the Buddha rose into the air, and in but a moment they stood upon the banks of the Ganges.
The Buddha said:
“Go, enter the sacred river. Let its waters cleanse your body. Then come with me to the monastery.”
The man bathed, washing himself again and again, until the waters bore away layers of grime. Suddenly, without effort, he found himself lifted from the river and set before the Buddha. Overcome, he fell prostrate at the Buddha’s feet.
The Blessed One placed a new robe upon him, shaved his head, and admitted him into the Sangha.
Turning to the monks, the Buddha said:
“From this day, a new companion joins you. Aid him well in the holy life.”
Thereafter, the man practiced diligently. Within ten days he attained the first fruit. Within a month, he realized the fruit of Arahantship.
When the townspeople of Śrāvastī heard of it, they murmured:
“How can this be? That a man so base could become a disciple of the Buddha!”
“Indeed! It is as if the sun were to rise in the west!”
“Had we known this, we too would have carried filth rather than toil in vain!”
The rumor spread from mouth to mouth, until it reached King Prasenajit.
The king, displeased, said:
“Can this be true? That one who bore filth should be received into the Sangha? The Buddha, born of noble Śākya lineage, honored in my palace, yet he takes as disciple a latrine cleaner?”
Filled with resentment, the king went to the monastery to question the Buddha.
Arriving, he beheld a monk seated upon a stone, mending his robe with serene composure. This was none other than the Arahant who once bore filth.
The king thought:
“I once regarded monks as pure and holy. Yet if even a latrine cleaner may be one, what then are monks but men of low estate?”
So he said with disdain:
“Ho! Monk, go tell the Buddha that the king has come.”
Immediately, the Arahant entered into the stone by his spiritual power and vanished from sight. The king was astonished. Soon, the monk emerged again, saying:
“Great King, the Blessed One summons you.”
Humbled, the king laid aside his anger and entered.
He asked the Buddha:
“World-honored One, by what teaching has this monk attained such power?”
The Buddha replied with a gentle smile:
“He is the very man who once bore filth.”
The king, displeased, said:
“World-honored One, I cannot fathom why you, honored above kings, would choose to deliver such a one.”
The Buddha asked:
“Great King, when you beheld this monk, did he seem lesser than others?”
The king answered:
“No, indeed! I was filled with wonder, for his attainment is swift and marvelous.”
The Buddha said:
“It is not by my power that he has attained, but through his own diligence and merit.”
Then the king, stricken with remorse, bowed and said:
“World-honored One, may I offer alms and service to this venerable monk?”
The Buddha consented. From that time forth, the Arahant was supported by the king, who often received teachings from him. And by his words, the king grew in compassion toward the lowly and oppressed, and was beloved by his people.
