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| Contents Preface 1-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 |
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Hundred Parables Sutra 百喻經
81 - 90
(八一)為熊所嚙喻
Parable 81. Being Attacked by a Bear
昔有父子，與伴共行。其子入林，為熊所嚙，爪壞身體；困急出林，還至伴邊。父見
其子，身體傷壞，怪問之言:「汝今何故被此瘡害？」子報父言：「有一種物，身毛躭毶，來毀害我 。」
父執弓箭，往到林間，見一仙人，毛髮深長，便欲射之。傍人語言：「何故射之？此人無害，當治有過。」
世間愚人，亦復如是：為彼雖著法服無道行者之所罵辱，而濫害良善有德之人，
喻如彼父，熊傷其子而枉加神仙。Once upon a time, a father and son went to the wilderness together. The son entered the forest but was bitten and clawed by a bear. He quickly left the forest and went to where his father was. Upon seeing his son was injured, the father said curiously, “Why is your body covered with wounds?”
The son replied, “An animal with thick fur attacked me.”
The father took his bow and arrows into the forest, where he saw an immortal with long hair. The father aimed an arrow at the immortal and was about to shoot him, when someone stopped him, saying, “Why shoot this person? He is harmless; you should only shoot those who cause harm.”
The fools of the world are also like this. They may be insulted by those who don the clothing of the Dharma but lack real virtue; but instead of harming them, they harm those who are truly virtuous, just like this foolish individual who, seeing his son had been harmed by a bear, blamed not the bear, but an immortal.
(八二)比種田喻
Parable 82. Farming
昔有野人，來至田里，見好麥苗，生長鬱茂；問麥主言：「云何能令是麥茂好？」
其主答言:「平治其地，兼加糞水，故得如是。」
彼人即便依法用之，即以水、糞，調和其田，下種於地。畏其自脚蹋地令堅，
其麥不生：「我當坐一床上，使人輿之，於上散種，爾乃好耳。」即使四人，人擎一脚，至田散種。地堅逾甚，為人嗤笑。恐己二足，更增八足。
凡夫之人，亦復如是： 既修戒田，善芽將生；應當師諮，受行教誡，令法芽生；
而返違犯，多作諸惡，便使戒芽不生，喻如彼人，畏其二足，倒加其八。Once upon a time, there was a farmer who visited a field. Seeing that the wheat in the field was growing quite well, seeing how lush and dense it was, he asked the farm owner, “How did you make the wheat grow so well?”
The owner answered, “First I leveled the ground, then I watered the field with wastewater (for the nutrients it contained). That is why the wheat has grown so well.”
Following the owner’s advice, the farmer mixed water with wastewater to irrigate his farm, and then began sowing seeds. But he was worried that by walking on the ground he might harden the soil, making it difficult for the wheat to sprout. So he said, “I shall hire people to carry a sedan chair, and sit within it, scattering seeds from above. Then the crop will grow well.”
So he hired four people, one to hold each leg of the sedan chair, and went to the field to sow seeds. But it turned out that this made the ground even harder. Because of this he became a laughing stock. First only his two feet could have harmed the seeds; but after he brought in four people, there were eight feet to harm them instead of two.
Ordinary people are precisely the same: When they cultivate the precepts (as if cultivating a farm), they establish the conditions for their roots of goodness to grow. At this stage they should find a real teacher to exhort them, so that they can grow the sprouts of Dharma; but instead they break the precepts, disobey rules and regulations, and perform numerous bad deeds. Because of this, the sprout of the precepts cannot grow. So, ordinary people are just like the man who was afraid that his two feet would harm the soil of his farm, but then brought in more people, so that there were eight feet.
(八三)獼猴喻
Parable 83. Macaque (Monkey)
昔有一獼猴，為大人所打；不能奈何，反怨小兒。凡夫愚人，亦復如是：先所瞋人， 新陳代謝不停，滅在過去。乃於相續，後生之法，謂是前者；妄生瞋忿，毒恚彌深，
如彼癡猴，為大所打，反嗔小兒。Once upon a time, there was a macaque who was beaten by an adult man. Since there was nothing the macaque could do, he helplessly endured it, then, later he vented his anger on a child.
The fools of this world are also like this: When they are beset by anger, they fail to realize that there is a process of the new replacing the old which keeps going without a single interruption. What is past is past. They vent their anger on persons or objects which appear in the future, mistaking the subsequent person for the previous one. As a result, they are plagued by hatred and anger, emotions which poison them. They are just like the macaque who was beaten by a human but went on to vent its anger on the child.
(八四)月蝕打狗喻
Parable 84. Beating Dogs When Seeing an Moon Eclipse
昔阿修羅王，見日月明淨，以手障之。無智常人，狗無罪咎，橫加於惡。凡夫亦爾：
貪瞋愚癡橫苦其身，臥蕀jí刺上，五熱炙身，如彼月蝕，枉橫打狗。Once upon a time, there was an ancient asura king who tried to block the sun and the moon with his hands when he saw that they shined so brilliantly with pure pristineness.
Ignorant ones who have no wisdom in the world are also like this: When seeing a moon eclipse, they blame the dog in the moon for eating up the moon; thus, they detest dogs who were actually innocent in this case and beat the dogs when they see them.
Ordinary people are also like this: They suffer the poisoning effects of their greed, anger, delusion. To find a way out, they lie on thick thorns and brambles, with fire scorching them from underneath. They are just like those who beat dogs when they see a moon eclipse.
(八五)婦女患眼痛喻
Parable 85. A Woman Suffered Pain in the Eyes
昔有一女人，極患眼痛。有知識女人問言：「汝眼痛耶？」
答言：「眼痛。」
彼女復言：「有眼必痛。我雖未痛，並欲挑眼，恐其後痛。」
傍人語言：「眼若在者，或痛不痛。眼若無者，終身長痛 。」
凡愚之人，亦復如是：聞富貴者，衰患之本。畏不布施，恐後得報，財物殷溢，
重受苦惱。 有人語言：「汝若施者，或苦或樂；若不施者，貧窮大苦。」如彼女人，不忍近痛，便欲去眼，乃為長痛。
Once upon a time, there was a woman who had a severe eye problem and suffered unbearable pain. A ‘knowledgeable’ woman asked her, “Your eyes hurt?”
Replied, “Yes. They hurt.”
The ‘knowledgeable’ woman said, “Having eyes will surely hurt; although my eyes do not hurt, I want to gouge my eyes out because I am afraid that they will hurt in the future.”
The people beside them said, “If you have eyes, they may or may not hurt. If you don’t have eyes, then you will suffer forever.”
Ignorant ones who have no wisdom in the world are also like this: Some people, upon hearing that wealth is the root of troubles and decline, become fearful and do not want to practice giving lest they have the karmic retributions of being wealthy, lest that material abundance will once again bring them suffering and afflictions. Then someone says to them, “Practicing giving, you may either suffer or enjoy happiness; but, if you do not practice giving, you will suffer great poverty.”
They are just like that ‘knowledgeable’ woman. She found the short-term agony of eye pain and wished to have her eyes removed, which would lead her to long-term pain.
(八六)父取兒耳璫喻
Parable 86. Father Taking His Son’s Earring
昔昔有父子，二人緣事共行。路賊卒起，欲來剝之。其兒耳中，有真金璫。其父見賊
卒發，畏失耳璫，即便以手挽之，耳不時決。為耳璫故，便斬兒頭。須臾之間，賊便
棄去。還以兒頭，著於肩上，不可平復。如是愚人，為世間所笑。凡夫之人，亦復如
是：為名利故，造作戲論。言二世有、二世無；中陰有、中陰無；心數法有、心數法
無。種種妄想，不得法實。他人以如法論，破其所論，便言：「我論中都無是說。」如是愚人，為小名利，便故妄語，喪沙門道果，身壞命終，墮三惡道，如彼愚人，
為少利故，斬其兒頭。Once upon a time, there was a father and a son on the same journey due to some businesses. Some robbers hid in ambush and when the father and the son got near, the robbers rose suddenly to attack them, trying to rob all of their valuable belongings. The son had an earring made of true gold. The father saw that the robbers were so abrupt that he was afraid of losing the true gold earring. He reached out to grab the earring, but was unable to get it off his son’s ear. For the sake of keeping the earring, he chopped off his son’s head. Soon when the robbers retreated, he tried to put the head back onto his son’s shoulders. It was of no use, there was no way that he could make his son alive again. Such a stupid person became a laughing stock.
Ordinary people in the world are also like this: For the sake of fame and gain, they make various sophistries, claiming that the periods of time exist, or do not exist; claiming that the mid-skanda body exists, or does not exists; or claiming the dharmas belonging to the mind exist, or do not exist. With all these various false thoughts, they are unable to attain the true benefit of Dharma. Then, when others whose teachings are in line with the Dharma break their doctrine, they claim, “There are no such teachings within our doctrines!”
Out of desire for petty fame and gain, such foolish people tell lies. Thus, they forfeit their fruition of śramaṇas, their bodies ruin, their life ends, and they fall into the three paths of misery. Such foolish people, for the sake of small gain, beheaded their sons.
(八七)劫盜分財喻
Parable 87. Robbers’s Sharing Their Wealth
昔有群賊，共行劫盜。多取財物，即共分之，等以為分。唯有鹿野欽婆羅，色不純好，以為下分，與最劣者。下劣者得之恚恨，謂呼大失，至城賣之。諸貴長者多與其價。一人所得倍於眾伴，方乃歡喜，踊悅無量。猶如世人，不知布施有報無報，而行少施得生天上 ，受無量樂，方更悔恨，悔不廣施。如欽婆羅後得大價，乃生歡喜；施亦如是；少作多得；爾乃自慶，恨不益為。
Once upon a time, there was a group of robbers who ganged up to rob people. When they got a large sum of wealth, they would share equally among themselves, except for a kambala cloth from the Deer Park region. The cloth’s hues were of low quality. They thought whoever got this kambala must be the lowest of the low class people. Whichever robber got this cloth would become angry and cry out, “What a great loss I’ve taken!”
He brought it to the city to sell it, which caught the eyes of someone of high social class who bought it at a high price. This made the robber’s [share of the plunder] earnings much higher, several times higher than that of his fellow robbers. It was not until then did he jump with boundless joy.
This kind of boundless joy can be likened to ordinary people in the world who do not know the joy they will obtain if they practice the act of giving, thus they give little. It is only until after they are reborn in the heavens do they regret that they have not practiced giving on a vast scale. They are just like this robber who became greatly joyous after obtaining a high return. The practice of giving is also like this: small giving can bring great returns.Basically, when they celebrate their good fortune, they then regret for not having done more giving.
(八八)獼猴把豆喻
Parable 88. Macaque Holding A Handful of Beans
昔有一獼猴，持一把豆。誤落一豆在地，便捨手中，豆欲覓其一。未得一豆。先所捨
者，雞鴨食盡。凡夫出家，亦復如是：初毀一戒，而不能悔。以不悔故，放逸滋蔓，
一切都捨， 如彼獼猴，失其一豆，一切都棄。Once upon a time, there was a macaque who held a handful of beans, and one of the beans dropped on the ground by accident. Wanting to get that one bean back, the monkey discarded all of its other beans trying to get a hold of it. But before the macaque got that bean back, the other beans were eaten up by chickens and ducks.
Ordinary monastics are also like this: Having broken one precept, they fail to repent; because of not repenting, they start to slack off, giving up on all that they have vowed to uphold. They are just like the macaque who lost all the other beans trying to get back that one bean.
(八九)得金鼠狼喻
Parable 89. Getting a Golden Weasel
昔有一人，在路而行。道中得一金鼠狼，心生喜踊，持置懷中，涉道而進，至水欲渡，脫衣置地，尋時金鼠變為毒蛇。此人深思，寧為毒蛇螫殺，要當懷去。心至冥感，
還化為金。傍邊愚人見其毒蛇變成真寶，謂為恒爾，復取毒蛇內著懷裏，即為毒蛇之所蜥螫，喪身殞命。世間愚人，亦復如是：見善獲利，內無真心，但為利養，來附於法，命終之後墮於惡處，如捉毒蛇，被螫而死。Once upon a time, a man was making a journey. On the way, he found a golden weasel and rejoiced. Holding the weasel, he kept walking. Then, encountering a river he needed to cross, he took off his clothes and set them on the ground. As he did this, the weasel turned into a poisonous snake. The man thought, “I would rather die from being bitten by the snake than leave it here unattended.”
His great sincerity evoked a response: the snake turned to gold. Being a fool, when he saw a poisonous snake could turn into a valuable treasure, he believed this to be a common occurrence. Later, when he saw a poisonous snake, he picked it up, but the snake immediately bit him and he died.
The fools of the world are also like this: when they see that one benefits by doing good, they fail to bring forth a true resolve. Desiring to profit and receive offerings, they enter the Dharma, claiming to be adherents of the Dharma, but after they die, they fall into the paths of misery. They are just like this man who picked up a poisonous snake and died as a result.
(九○)地得金錢喻
Parable 90. Finding Money Left on the Ground
昔有貧人，在路而行。道中偶得一囊金錢。心大喜躍，即便數之，數未能周。
金主忽至 ，盡還奪錢。其人當時，悔不疾去。懊惱之情，甚為極苦。遇佛法者，
亦復如是：雖得值遇三寶福田，不勤方便，修行善業。忽爾命終，墮三惡道，如彼愚人，還為其主奪錢而去。如偈所說：
今日營此事 明日造彼事
樂著不觀苦 不覺死賊至
怱怱營眾務 凡人無不爾
如彼數錢者 其事亦如是Once upon a time, a poor man was walking down the road. He stumbled upon a bag of money and was beside himself with joy when he saw it. He began counting it, but before he could finish, the owner appeared and seized the money, reclaiming it. The poor man regretted that he had not run away quickly with the money. Because of this regret, he suffered and felt distressed.
Those who encounter the Buddhadharma are also like this: although they have the good fortune to encounter the Buddhadharma, and the Three Jewels that are the field of blessings, they fail to diligently cultivate the karma of goodness and skillfully make use of expedient means.
One day when their life suddenly ends, they may fall into the three paths of misery. They are just like this fool who found the money on the road, which was then seized and taken back by its owner. As the verse says:
Beings do one thing today;
Tomorrow, another.
Carried away by pleasure, they fail to reflect on the nature of suffering.
Soon Death, like a robber, arrives on their doorstep.
Always rushing around and busily caught up in many endeavors,
Ordinary beings are all, without exception,
Like this man counting the money he found:
Their deeds are no different.