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| Contents Preface 1-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 |
| 61-70 71-80 81-90 91-100 < Previous Next > |
Hundred Parables Sutra 百喻經
51 - 60
(五一)五人買婢共使作喻
Parable 51. A Maid Servant and Five Masters
譬如五人，共買一婢。其中一人，語此婢言：「與我浣衣。」
次有一人，復語浣衣。婢語次者：「先與其浣。」
後者恚曰：「我共前人，同買於汝，云何獨爾？」
即鞭十下。如是五人，各打十下。五陰亦爾，煩惱因緣，合成此身。而此五陰，恒以生老病死無量苦惱，搒 笞眾生。
Once five men chipped in to buy a female servant. One of them told her, “Wash my clothes for me.”
Another said the same. The maid replied, “I will wash for whichever one of you gives me his clothes first.”
Getting angry, the second man said, “I also paid for you. Why should you wash for only one of us?" and he gave her ten strokes of the whip. Her other four masters did the same–each gave her ten strokes.
The five skandhas are also like this: they are the causes and conditions of the afflictions which combine to make up this body, and they constantly whip living beings with the limitless sufferings of birth, old age, sickness, and death.
(五二)伎兒作樂喻
Parable 52. The Musician
譬如伎兒，王前作樂，王許千錢。後從王索，王不與之。王語之言：「汝向作樂，
空樂我耳。我與汝錢，亦樂汝耳。」世間果報，亦復如是：人中天上，雖受少樂，亦無有實。無常敗滅，不得久住，
如彼空樂。Once there was a musician. He played music before a king who promised to pay him a thousand coins. Afterwards he asked the king for the money, but the king refused to give it to him, saying, “Just as the music you played only served to please me momentarily, so too is my promise to pay you money please your ears only momentarily.”
Worldly rewards are the same way. Although one may enjoy a small amount of pleasure in the human or heavenly realms, this pleasure is not true and actual. Impermanent and subject to destruction, it is like the music that gives only temporary pleasure and cannot last long.
(五三)師患脚付二弟子喻
Parable 53. The Master’s Hurting Legs and His Two disciples
譬如一師，有二弟子。其師患脚，遣二弟子，人當一脚，隨時按摩。其二弟子，常相
憎嫉。一弟子行，其一弟子，捉其所當按摩之脚，以石打折。彼既來已，忿其如是。
復捉其人所按之脚，尋復打折。佛法學徒，亦復如是：方等學者，非斥小乘；小乘學
者，復非方等。故使大聖法典，二途兼亡。One time a master with a foot problem had two disciples. He thus instructed them to take care of his hurting feet. Each disciple was told to continuously massage one foot. But each of the two disciples disliked and felt jealousy toward the other. When one disciple went out, the other would use a stone to break the feet the first one had been massaging. When the first one came back, out of anger he would break the leg that the second one had been massaging.The same is true of Buddhist disciples: scholars of the Vaipulya (Great Vehicle) deprecate scholars of the Theravada, while scholars of the Theravada deprecate scholars of the Vaipulya. Therefore, both traditions of the Great Sage’s (the Buddha’s) Dharma canon will be brought to ruin.
(五四)蛇頭尾共爭在前喻
Parable 54. The Snake Whose Head and Tail Had an Argument
譬如有蛇，尾語頭言：「我應在前。」
頭語尾言：「我恒在前，何以卒爾？」
頭果在前，其尾纏樹，不能得去。放尾在前，即墮火坑，燒爛而死。師徒弟子，亦復如是：言師耆老，每恒在前。我諸年少，應為導首。如是年少，不閑戒律，多有所犯。因即相牽，入於地獄。
Once there was a snake whose tail told its head, “I should be in the front.” The head told the tail, “I’ve always led the way. Why do you want to make the sudden change?”
When the head led the way, the tail twisted its way around a tree and refused to budge. And when the tail was allowed to lead, the snake fell into a fiery pit and was burned to death.
The same situation applies to teachers and students. The disciples insist that they should lead, since their teachers are too old and yet have always gone before us. But these youths do not observe the precepts and commit many infractions of the rules. As a result, they mutually drag each other to the hells.
(五五)願為王剃鬚喻
Parable 55. The King’s Barber
昔者有王，有一親信。於軍陣中，沒命救王，使得安全。王大歡喜，與其所願。
即便問言：「汝何所求，恣汝所欲。」臣便答言：「王剃鬚時，願聽我剃。」
王言：「此事若適汝意，聽汝所願。」
如此愚人，世人所笑。半國之治，大臣輔相，悉皆可得，乃求賤業。愚人亦爾：
諸佛於無量劫，難行苦行自致成佛。若得遇佛及值遺法，人身難得譬如盲龜值浮木孔，此二難值今已遭遇，然其意劣，奉持少戒，便以為足，不求涅槃，勝妙法也。
無心進求，自行邪事，便以為足。Once upon a time, there was a king’s close attendant who risked his life to save the king at the battlefront. Delighted, the king promised the man anything he wanted. He asked him, “What would you like? All of your wishes will be granted.”
The attendant said, “Please let me shave your beard when you need a shave.” “If this agrees with you, I’ll grant you your wish.”
That foolish man became the laughing stock of the world. He could have asked for half the kingdom or the position of a minister or premier, but instead he opted for an inferior profession. Stupid people are this way, too.
Buddhas became Buddhas because, for limitless kalpas, they have been cultivating ascetic practices that were extremely difficult. It is very rare that we can encounter the Buddha or the bequest of his Dharma; it is difficult to attain this human form. To encounter the Buddha, his Dharma, and to have the human body is as difficult as a blind turtle swimming in the ocean to bump into the hole of a piece of drifting wood.
Now, having encountered all these things difficult to encounter — Buddhadharma and the human form, we only bring forth an inferior resolve and are content with holding just a few minor precepts without seeking the supreme Dharma of Nirvana. We think that this is enough. With no thought of making further progress, we are content with doing deviant deeds.
(五六)索無物喻
Parable 56. To Ask For Nothing
昔有二人，道中共行。見有一人，將胡麻車，在嶮路中，不能得前。時將車者，
語彼二人：「佐我推車，出此嶮路。」二人答言：「與我何物？」
將車者言：「無物與汝。」
時此二人，即佐推車，至於平地，語將車人言：「與我物來。」
答言：「無物。」
又復語言：「與我『無物』。」
二人之中，其一人者，含笑而言：「彼不肯與，何足為愁?」
其人答言：「與我『無物』，必應有『無物』。」
其一人言：「『無物』者，二字共合，是為假名。」
世俗凡夫，若無物者，便生無所有處。第二人言『無物』者，即是無相、無願、無作。
Once there were two men walking together, and they saw another person standing in vain to pull his cart of sesame out of a rut in the road. The person pulling the cart called out to the two men, “Please give me a hand, so as to get this cart out of the rut.”
The two men asked, “What will you give us in return?”
The person said, “I will give you ‘nothing’.”
The two men managed to pull the cart out anyway, and then to the cart owner they demanded, “Now give us something.”
He said, “I have nothing to give you.”
One of the two men pressed further, “Give us ‘nothing’ then!”
Then the other smiled and said, “He doesn’t want to give us anything. There’s no use getting upset.”
The first man said, “He said he’d give us ‘nothing’. But that ‘nothing’ must be something.”
The other man responded, “The word ‘nothing’ is merely a compound of two words that compose a false name.”
Common people of the world who are attached to that ‘nothing’ will be reborn in the Realm of Nothing Whatsoever. The ‘nothing’ spoken of by the second man refers to ‘no marks, nothing wished for, and nothing done.’
(五七)蹋長者口喻
Parable 57. Putting His Foot In the Elder’s Mouth
昔有大富長者，左右之人欲取其意皆盡恭敬。長者唾時，左右侍人以脚蹋却。有一愚
者，不及得蹋，而作是言：「若唾地者，諸人蹋却。欲唾之時，我當先蹋。」於是長者正欲咳唾，時此愚人即便舉脚蹋長者口，破脣折齒。長者語愚人言：「汝何以故蹋我脣口？」
愚人答言：「若長者唾出口落地，左右諂者已得蹋去。我雖欲蹋，每常不及。
以是之故，唾欲出口舉脚先蹋，望得汝意。」凡物須時，時未及到，彊設功力，返得苦惱。以是之故，世人當知時與非時。
Once upon a time, there was a very wealthy elder. His attendants tried to court his favor by paying him all manner of deference. Whenever the elder spat, his attendants would rub it with their feet. Among them was a foolish man, who could not catch up with the others in rubbing the spit, and so he said to himself, “Whenever he spits on the ground, others rub it with their feet. Next time he spits, I’ll be the first one to do so.”
So when the elder coughed and was about to spit up, that foolish man thrust up his foot and kicked the elder’s mouth, injuring the elder’s lips and breaking his teeth. The elder asked him, “Why did you do that?”
The foolish man answered, “Whenever your spit falls to the ground, those who fawn on you are quick to rub it with their feet. Although I wish to serve you, I’ve always fallen behind. Therefore, I thought that by raising my foot to your mouth when you were about to spit, I would be able to please you.”
There is a right time for doing things. If the right time has not yet arrived, then even if people apply all their energy, they will only get into trouble. For this reason, people of the world should be aware of when is the right time and wrong time.
(五八)二子分財喻
Parable 58. Two Sons Share Their Inheritance
昔摩羅國有一剎利，得病極重，必知定死。誡勅二子：「我死之後，善分財物。」
二子隨教，於其死後，分作二分。兄言弟分不平。爾時有一愚老人言：「教汝分物，使得平等。現所有物，破作二分。云何破之？所謂衣裳中割作二分，槃瓶亦復中破作二分。所有瓫瓨亦破作二分，錢亦破作二分。如是一切所有財物，盡皆破之而作二分。如是分物，人所嗤笑。如諸外道，偏修分別論。論門有四種，有：
1、決定答論門：譬如人一切有皆死，此是「決定答論門」。
2、死者必有生，是應分別答：愛盡者無生，有愛必有生，是名「分別答論門」。
3、有問：「人為最勝不？」應反問言：「汝問三惡道？為問諸天？若問三惡道，人實為最勝。若問於諸天，人必為不如。」如是等義名「反問答論門」。
4、若問十四難，若問世界及眾生有邊無邊，有終始無終始，如是等義，名
「置答論門」。諸外道愚癡，自以為智慧，破於四種論，作一分別論。喻如愚人，分錢物，破錢為
兩叚。Once upon a time, in the country of Māla, there lived a Kṣatriya. He fell gravely ill and knew his final hour was at hand. He ordered his two sons, “After my death, divide my wealth and possessions fairly between the two of you.”
After his death, the two sons complied with their father’s instructions and divided his wealth. But the elder brother complained that the younger brother had an unfair share of the inheritance.
A foolish old man said to him, “I will teach you how to divide evenly your father’s wealth. Break each item into two parts. For instance, cut the garments into two parts. You can also break everything else—plates, bottles, bowls, dishes, money, and so forth—into two parts, and divide them equally between the two of you.”
Others laughed at this method. This is like externalists who answer all questions with the one-sided approach of theories that split things into categories. There are four ways to answer questions:
1) Giving an absolute answer. For instance, “All beings are subject to death.”
2) Answering in accordance with reason and logic. For instance, if asked whether those who die will be born again, the answer is split into categories, such as: “those who have ended love and desire will not be reborn; those who have love and desire will be reborn.”
3) Answering by turning the question around. For instance, if someone asks, “Are human beings the most supreme?”
You should turn the question around and ask, “Are you referring to the three evil paths or the realm of the gods? If you are referring to the three evil paths, then I would say that human beings are supreme. If you are referring to the realm of the gods, then I would say that human beings are not up to them.”
4) Not answering the question if, for instance, someone asks one of the fourteen types of tricky questions, such as whether the world has a limit or not, or whether human beings have a beginning and end or not.
Non-buddhists are deluded but are convinced they are wise. They break down the four ways of answering questions by only using the approach of splitting things up into categories. This is just like the stupid man who advised the two brothers to divide their fortune by breaking everything into two.
(五九)觀作瓶喻
Parable 59. Two Men Watching Urn Making
譬如二人，至陶師所，觀其蹋輪而作瓦瓶；看無厭足。一人捨去，往至大會，極得美饍，又獲珍寶。一人觀瓶而作是言：「待我看訖。」
如是漸冉，乃至日沒；觀瓶不已，失於衣食。愚人亦爾：
修理家務，不覺非常。
今日營此事， 明日造彼業
諸佛大龍出， 雷音遍世間
法雨無障礙， 緣事故不聞
不知死卒至， 失此諸佛會
不得法珍寶， 常處惡道窮
背棄放正法， 彼觀緣事瓶
終常無竟已， 是故失法利
永無解脫時Once, two men went to a potter's field where they watched a tread wheel making urns. They were delighted at seeing the work insatiably. One then left for the great assembly where he was well received with excellent food (clothing) and got precious teachings as well. The other stayed at the potter’s field and said, ”I'll get a good look at how urns are made."
Thus, he stayed until it was sunset without realizing that he went amiss with opportunities like the first who obtained great food and clothing. Just as the second person was, so are stupid ones in the world who engage themselves in their housework without being aware that all things are subject to change.
Beings engage in one thing today, and
Tomorrow another endeavor, while
Buddhas appear like great dragons,
Whose voices of Dharma pervade the world.Whose rain of Dharma is without hindrance.
However, beings do not hear due to being preoccupied.
They are unaware that death can strike at any moment.
They miss the chance of encountering Buddhas.They fail to obtain the Dharma’s treasures,
And thus always dwell in the poor evil paths,
Because they gave up on Proper Dharma, just like
The person who watched the urns’ making
Nonstop, never feeling enough;
Thus, they lose the benefit of Dharma,
And never attain liberation.
(六○)見水底金影喻
Parable 60. Seeing the Reflection of Gold at the Bottom of the Pond
昔有癡人，往大池所。見水底影，有真金像，謂呼有金。即入水中，撓泥求覓。
疲極不得 ，還出復坐；須臾水清又現金色。復更入裏撓泥更求覓，亦復不得。
其如是，父覓子，得來見子，而問子言：「汝何所作，疲困如是？」子白父言：「水底有真金，我時投水欲撓泥取，疲極不得 。」
父看水底真金之影，而知此金在於樹上，所以知之，影現水底。其父言曰：
「必飛鳥銜金著於樹上。」即隨父語，上樹求得。凡夫愚癡人，無智亦如是：於無我陰中，橫生有我想，
如彼見金影，勤苦而求覓，徒勞無所得。Once upon a time, there was a simpleton who went to a large pond where he thought he had seen the shadow of pure gold at the bottom of the water. He gave a cry of joy, saying: “There is gold!”
He immediately jumped into the water to fumble through the mud in search of the gold. A few moments later, he began to feel very tired but still could not find any gold; so he got out of the pond.
As soon as he was out of the water, in a short while the water became clear again, which in turn showed the reflection of golden color. Then he dived again to search once more. Still, he found nothing. At this point, his father came looking for him. Seeing the state he was in, his father asked, "What have you been doing to get so tired?"
“There is gold underwater. I searched for it but could not find anything. I am pretty worn out.”The father could also see the shadow of gold in the water. but he soon realized that it was in the trees, so he knew what was in the water was mere reflection. Then he told his son that it was held by the bird's beak and brought onto the trees. Following his father's instructions, the son climbed up the tree and immediately retrieved the gold.
Just as the son, so are the ignorant in this world: Amid the skandhas that are devoid of a self, they stubbornly give rise to the notion of a self. This is comparable to the son who, upon seeing the reflection of gold, diligently searched for it but just wasted his efforts.