A Parable

Chapter 3

Sutra:

At that time, the Elder
Further had this thought:
“Being like this, my children
Add to my worry and distress;
Now, in this house, there is not
A single thing in which to take pleasure,
And yet all these children
Are intoxicated by their play.

Not heeding my instructions,
They will be injured in the fire.”
Just then he thought
To devise expedients.

Outline:

M2. Using the carts.
N1. Suitability of the three carts.

Commentary:

At that time, the Elder, the Buddha, further had this thought: Being like this, my children. They are not very bright, playing here. They add to my worry and distress. Why are the Buddha’s worries and troubles intensified? Because the Buddha’s vows are to save living beings and when he fails to save them, his heart is unhappy.

Now, in this house, there is not a single thing in which to take pleasure. In the burning house of the three realms, there is not a single thing to be happy about. And yet all these children are intoxicated by their play. They are greedy for good times and do not worry about anything at all. Bound by ignorance, we people in the three realms have forgotten everything. We have forgotten to bring forth the Bodhi mind and forgotten to cultivate the Bodhi Path.

Not heeding my instructions, they will be injured in the fire. They would not listen to the Buddha’s teaching. There are people in the world who do not cultivate the Way at all, and who do not believe in the Buddha at all. Today, one of my disciples told me that his parents came to San Francisco. They were very upset when they saw him. They told him he was really confused. Now, look at that! Basically, studying the Buddhadharma is a good thing, but they were upset by it. I said, “Before, when you were really doing bad things, they did not pay that much attention to you. Now, you are doing the best kinds of things and they think you are confused. Just what do people base their judgments on? When their son wants to cultivate the Way, they think it is terrible.

One of my disciples has recently had the experience of seeing everything as moving. This is true. Everything is, in fact, moving, just like the dust motes. When the sunlight streams in the window, you can see the motes of dust dancing in the air. Why can he see everything in motion? The light of his wisdom is unfolding, and so he can see that everything is alive, even the tables, chairs, the whole room is in motion, moving in frames. This is like seeing the dust motes in the sunlight. This experience happens to people just before they are about to open their five eyes. Not only may one have this experience, but it may happen that you cannot see anything at all. You may be as if totally blind. Just before the opening of the five eyes, a special “chemical” or biological transformation takes place. When this transformation takes place, if you get attached to marks and become happy or unhappy or wish to attain the five eyes or wish not to attain them, it is easy to become possessed by a demon.

Once the eyes have opened, it is not for sure they will always remain open. You must still continue to be good and remain in control of yourself. If you fail to do a good job at your cultivation, you can lose the vision in your five eyes. When the five eyes open they can shut again as well, if you start looking at things you should not be looking at, unprincipled things, things that are none of your business. If you start looking at unprincipled things, you can lose those eyes again. If you do wrong things, you can lose them. So this state is one in which you must put your feet firmly on the ground and go forward. Do not start minding other people’s business, taking a look at this and that. You cannot do that.

If you open the five eyes that does not mean you can look into other people’s business, peeping in to see what your neighbors are doing and so on. It is easy to lose those eyes if you do that. Sometimes people open their five eyes, and in the beginning they can see very clearly with them. Later on they cannot see so well with them or they cannot see anything at all with them. I have seen this happen many times. So take special care. If you have this experience, the most important thing is to maintain your Samadhi power. If you have Samadhi power and it becomes perfected, then you can give rise to wisdom power. Having genuine wisdom really counts for something.

They will be injured in the fire. In the future I am afraid they will all be burned in the great fire.

Just then he thought to devise expedients. The Buddha decided to think of a way that they could cultivate expedient dharma-doors. What is an expedient? It is a clever device. Since it would not work to try to teach them with the Great Vehicle Buddhadharma, there is nothing else to do but use the Small Vehicle dharmas to teach living beings.

Sutra:

He said to the children,
I have all kinds
Of precious playthings:
Fine carriages, wonderful, bejeweled
Sheep carts and deer carts,
And great ox carts,
Now, right outside the door.

So come out, all of you,
For I have, just for you,
Had these carts made.
Just as you wish,
You can play with them.”

Outline:

N2. Praising the three carts as rare.

Commentary:

These twelve lines of verse represent the Three Turnings of the Dharma Wheel of the Four Holy Truths. The first four lines, he said to the children, I have all kinds of precious playthings: fine carriages, wonderful, bejeweled represent the Exhortation Turning. The next three lines, sheep carts and deer carts, and great ox carts, now, right outside the door represent the Demonstration Turning. The following line, so come out, all of you, is again the Exhortation Turning. The last four lines are the Certification Turning: For I have, just for you, had these carts made. Just as you wish, you can play with them. For I have, just for you, had these carts made points to the fact that the Buddha has already certified to the fruition of Buddhahood. Thus, we have the Three Turnings of the Dharma Wheel of the Four Holy Truths.

The Buddha told all living beings, all the children, “You are having so much fun now, but I have some toys that are a lot more fun than the ones you are playing with now. Hurry up and come out. They are the finest toys. What are they? They are the best carts you could imagine. Some are drawn by sheep and others are drawn by deer. Isn’t that great? You have really never seen such neat toys. There are even some great ox carts. They are outside the door right now! So hurry up and come out. Do not hang around in that house. It is not that much fun anyway. I have got the best toys. I have got the carts! I had them made just for you. They are so much fun. You can sit in them and go wherever you like!”

When the children heard this, they came scrambling out of the house.

Sutra:

When the children heard him speak
Of carriages such as these,
They immediately raced
Out in a scramble,
To a clearing where
They were then safe from harm.

Outline:

N3. Granting the children their wishes.

Commentary:

When the children heard him speak. “Children” just means all living beings. “Heard” represents the wisdom of hearing. Of carriages such as these. Good dharmas. Children like to play. If you give them fun toys, they would not cry. They immediately raced. They started running right away to go get the carts. “Raced” represents the two wisdoms of thinking and cultivating. Thus we have the three types of wisdom: hearing, thinking and cultivating. Out in a scramble. This shows their vigor in cultivating the methods of the three types of wisdom. To a clearing where. The clearing represents the position beyond study, that is, fourth stage Arhatship. They were then safe from harm. At the position beyond study one has ended share section birth and death. Change birth and death remains, however. Once they arrived at the clearing, they were safe from sufferings and difficulties. This represents certification to the fourth fruit of Arhatship. This ends the section concerning the casting aside of the table to use the carts.

Sutra:

The Elder, seeing that his children
Had escaped the burning house,
And were standing at the crossroads,
Sat on his Lion’s throne
And rejoiced to himself, saying,
“Now, I am happy!
All of these children
Were hard to bring into the world and raise;
Stupid, young and without knowledge,
They went into this dangerous house,
Swarming with poisonous insects
And fearful Li Mei ghosts,
Ablaze with a great fire,
Raging on all sides.

But all these children
Still clung to their amusements.
I have now rescued them
And saved them from disaster.
Therefore, of all people,
I am the happiest!”

Outline:

L3. Granting all a great cart.
M1. Father sees children avoid disaster and rejoices.

Commentary:

The Elder, seeing that his children. The elder is the Buddha. He has ten kinds of virtuous conduct. When he saw all living beings had escaped the burning house, had run out of the burning house of the three realms and were standing at the crossroads. What do the crossroads represent? The Four Holy Truths. Now the living beings in the five paths and the thirty sons and five hundred people, since they have escaped the burning house and arrived at the stage beyond study, clearly understand the Dharma of the Four Holy Truths: suffering, origination, stopping and the Way.

Sat on his Lion’s throne. The elder had been standing outside the door, not sitting. Now, he sits on his lion’s throne. Why had he been standing outside the door? Because all living beings had not yet been saved. He was worried about them, afraid for them. What was he afraid of? He was afraid that living beings would be burned in the house. He was concerned because he cannot put living beings down. He could not, not try to save them because the Buddha is like a greatly compassionate father and all living beings are like his children. He cannot, not save them. He cannot let them go. He was afraid that unless he tried to save them, they would fall. Now, seeing that all the children had escaped the disaster and gotten out of the burning house, he no longer worries; he has no more concern. Since he is no longer afraid, he can sit down on his lion’s throne. In the previous chapter the text said, “Now I am happy and without fears.” Now the Buddha is really happy. He has nothing to fear. In other words, he can sit down and take it easy.

There is another meaning here. Previously, the Buddha had not encountered beings disposed to the Great Vehicle, and so he was standing. Now, he has finished teaching and transforming living beings of the Small Vehicle. He has finished his work in that regard. He is just about to save Great Vehicle living beings, and so the Buddha can sit down on his lion’s throne.

And rejoiced to himself, saying “Now, I am happy!” Why did he rejoiced? Because he has encountered the beings with the Great Vehicle potential, the beings he is to teach and save. Since they have now been saved, he rejoices. Living being’s have ripened for the Great Vehicle.

All of these children were hard to bring into the world and raise. It is not easy to raise children. Teaching living beings is also very hard. It is hard for the Buddha to teach and transform living beings. Here, we study the Buddhadharma, and I lecture the Sutras to you every day so that you can understand true principle. You are immersed in it, as it were. This work is by no means easy. In the beginning you did not understand any Buddhadharma at all. Now, soon it will have been a year that I have been “raising” you in the Dharma and you understand it to some degree. Even so, you still waver between faith and doubt. See how difficult it is?

During the time of the twenty thousand million Buddhas mentioned previously, Shakyamuni Buddha taught living beings with the Great Vehicle Dharma. The text represents this by the phrase, “bring into the world.” These children who had the Great Vehicle disposition sent down their seeds during the time of the twenty thousand millions Buddhas. Now they have grown.

Would you say this was hard or not? During the time of twenty thousand million Buddhas how much heart’s blood was spent to teach living beings? You should not think that lecturing on the Sutras and teaching the Dharma is an easy thing to do. If you lecture on a Sutra incorrectly, you can fall into the hells! You cannot think that you can say whatever you please. You cannot be casual about it, for if you make a mistake speaking the Dharma you are responsible for it. You will have to take on the burden of cause and effect involved. If you lecture incorrectly on the Sutras, you are in effect “blinding the eyes of people and gods.” If you lecture unclearly, you will put people on the wrong track.

People may start out intending to become a Buddha, but you lecture them into the hells! Not only that, but people who wind up there can drag you there as well. Once they get there, King Yama will ask them what they have come for and they will say, “I listened to the Sutras and was told I do not need to cultivate. I was told all I had to do was take certain drugs and in this way I could obtain emptiness. So I did not cultivate. Now, I know I was wrong. But the mistake was his, not mine and you really should get him down here too.” When Yama hears this, he cannot help but agree and sends for the lecturer as well and drags him into hell. It is not at all easy to lecture on the Sutras.

However, during the time of twenty thousand million Buddhas, Shakyamuni Buddha taught living beings with the Great Vehicle nature and in such a long, time he brought them to maturity. This is represented in the text by the phrase “and raise.” How much time do you think it took to teach these living beings? A long, long time, indeed. In all this time, Shakyamuni Buddha expended so much energy, so much toil to nurture those seeds of the Great Vehicle. It was not easy. It was a lot of hard work. It is like planting a tree, carefully placing the soil around its roots, watering and fertilizing it. It is also like planting a flower. It is a lot of work to take care of it. In today’s Chinese lesson we learned the sentence, “Red lotuses fill the pond.” Do you know how much work it takes to cultivate all those lotuses in the pond? We can imagine how much work the Buddha has to do to teach and transform living beings so that they can leave suffering and attain bliss. Really hard!

Stupid, young and without knowledge. Stupid means that they are not very bright. Young means that they are quite immature. This represents those whose good roots are weak and not very deep. Their virtue is thin and their blessings are few. They do not have much virtue and so they are stupid and young. Without knowledge means that they are covered by false delusions. Because they have no wisdom, the five turbidities arise. Once the five turbidities arise, they must undergo retribution. Their undergoing retribution is what is meant by the line of text they went into this dangerous house. They went into the dangerous house to suffer retribution. Swarming with poisonous insects and fearful Li Mei ghosts. The three realms are marked by the Five Quick Servants and the Five Dull Servants. The three realms are very dangerous, filled with such toxic substances. Ablaze with a great fire, raging on all sides. The fire is an analogy for the eight sufferings and the four inversions which are in the burning house of the three realms.

But all these children, all living beings still clung to their amusements. Some of them give rise to view delusions; others give rise to love’s delusions. They cannot get free of them. They have no way to separate from the delusions of love and views because they are so attached to them. They cling to their amusements. But I have now rescued them and saved them from disaster. All living beings in the three realms, as attached to love and views as they are, have been saved. I have rescued them from their suffering and difficulty. Therefore, of all people, I am the happiest. The elder says that he is the happiest person there is.

Sutra:

Then, all the children,
Knowing their father was sitting at ease,
All went before him
And addressed him saying,
“Please give to us
The three jeweled carts
That you promised to us, saying,
‘If you children come out
I will give you three carts
Just like you wanted.’
Now the time has come,
Please give them to us!”

Outline:

M2. The children demand the carts.

Commentary:

The children had escaped the burning house. Once they had run out, they did not even toss a look over their shoulders to see how high the flames were raging. The first thing on their minds was to go straight to their father and ask for those carts. Their father had told them that the carts were outside. Once they got outside, they did not see the carts and so they decided to ask. Then, all the children, knowing their father was sitting at ease. They saw him just sitting there on his lion’s throne, upright and proper and very happy. They knew it was a good time to ask for the carts. This represents the time when The Dharma Flower Sutra, the Great Vehicle Dharma, was about to be spoken. All living beings had a hope of attaining the Great Vehicle dharma.

All went before him. Previously in the text it said, “All with reverent hearts went before the Buddha.” They were all very respectful as they went to the Buddha. And addressed him saying, “Please give to us the three jeweled carts.” You told us awhile ago that you had small, medium and large carts to give to us. Now, we have come out and want them. That you promised to us. They still had some attachments that they had not broken off. They were attached to the Small and Middle Vehicle Dharma which the Buddha had previously spoken. They had doubts about the Great Vehicle Dharma now being spoken. They clung to the past and had doubts about the present. See? The Buddha had dwelt in the world teaching Dharma for so long. And yet, when at the very end he spoke The Dharma Flower Sutra, all the disciples gave rise to doubts. They did not show them on the outside, of course; but they still had doubts. Small wonder, then, that now as I speak this Sutra you do not believe. It is all very muddled for you although you do admit to it having some meaning, and so you listen.

Basically, you are not sure whether the Buddhadharma is true or false, but there is so much to be said about it that you half believe and half disbelieve. The reason that you do not obtain a response in the Dharma is just because of this doubt which prevents you from entering it deeply, from giving rise to genuine faith. Genuine faith means that you have to reform all your previous views about things. If you continue to have deviant knowledge and views, it does not matter whether you study for one life, or repeatedly through lifetime after lifetime, you still would not understand it. Studying the Buddhadharma means that you must bring forth genuine faith.

If you children come out I will give you three carts. I will give you the Three Vehicle Dharma just like you wanted. The Buddha has said they could choose whatever vehicle they wished according to which fruit they wanted to certify to--Sound Hearer, Pratyeka Buddha, or Bodhisattva. Now, in the Dharma Flower Assembly, the Three Vehicle Dharma is said to be expedient. That means there must be some other Great Vehicle Dharma to be given to living beings.

Now the time has come, please give them to us! It is just the right time because we want to study the Great Vehicle Dharma; so all of us living beings pray that the Buddha will use the Great Vehicle Dharma to teach and transform us.

Sutra:

The Elder, having great wealth,
And storehouses containing much
Gold, silver and lapis lazuli,
Mother-of-pearl and carnelian,
Used these precious things
To make several great carts.

They were decorated and adorned,
Surrounded by railings,
Hung with bells on all four sides,
With golden cords strung about them,
And gem-studded nets
Spread above them.

There were golden flowered tassels
Hanging from them everywhere,
And various multi-colored ornaments
Encircling them.

Soft silk and cotton
Made up the cushions,
And fine coverings,
Valued in the thousands of millions,
Pure white and sparkling clean
Were spread atop them.

Great white oxen,
Plump, strong and powerful,
Of fine appearance,
Were yoked to the precious carts.

They were surrounded by many footmen
Who were attending to them.
Such fine carriages as these
Were given equally to all the children.

Outline:

M3. Giving to all the children a great cart.

Commentary:

The Elder, having great wealth. In all the worlds, the Buddha is the most honored, the most noble, the most “wealthy”. He has the nobility of a king and the wealth of the four seas. He stood to inherit the throne in India. In transcendental terms he has cultivated and attained self-enlightenment, the enlightenment of others and the perfection of enlightened practice.

Having perfected the three kinds of enlightenment,
And complete with the ten thousand virtues,
He is therefore called the Buddha.

And storehouses containing much. Storehouses are places to put valuable things. The storehouses represent our six sense organs. Within the six sense organs the nature of the Thus Come One’s Storehouse is hidden. The Buddhanature manifests as a precious enlightenment nature at the gateways of our six sense organs. They also represent the ten thousand conducts which comprise a precious storehouse. You could also say that they represent the six perfections.

Using the dharma of the six perfections one adorns the virtuous fruition of the ten thousand conducts. Each one of the six perfections contains the ten thousand conducts. Each one of the ten thousand conducts contains the six perfections. Therefore, the six perfections and the ten thousand conducts are interrelated. All dharmas contain all conducts and all the conducts contain all dharmas. This is the limitlessness of both the dharmas and the conducts. Limitless conducts are used to cultivate limitless dharmas; limitless dharmas are used to realize the limitless conducts. The six perfections and ten thousand conducts are represented by this line of text.

Gold, silver and lapis lazuli, mother-of-pearl and carnelian. If you consider gold and silver a kind of gem, then there are four types of gems represented here. They stand for the Buddha’s Four Kinds of Wisdom which are priceless jewels:

1. The great perfect mirror wisdom.

2. The equality wisdom.

3. The wonderful observing wisdom.

4. The perfecting wisdom.

Used these precious things to make several great carts. There are more than just four kinds of precious gems in the world and likewise among all the Buddha’s Dharmas there are not just four kinds of wisdom. There are also five roots, five powers, seven Bodhi shares, the eight-fold path, the four applications of mindfulness, the four right efforts and the four bases of psychic power--a great many dharmas. Using these various Dharma-doors, he creates a Great Vehicle Dharma. The Great Vehicle Buddhadharma, the Buddha Vehicle, is comprised of all these dharmas.

They were decorated and adorned, surrounded by railings. They were adorned with intertwining decorations, very beautiful, representing the Buddha’s Great Vehicle Dharma which illuminates heaven and earth. It is extremely beautiful in the world. The carts were surrounded by railings, another kind of adornment. Hung with bells on all four sides. The bells represent the four kinds of unlimited eloquence. With golden cords strung about them, and gem-studded nets. The jeweled cords were strung about the cart in the form of a net or macramé. Would you imagine that such a netting would be expensive? This represents the Buddha’s compassion.

The methods of compassion used by the Buddha are as many as the holes in the netting. He has compassion like a network, like the net in the Heaven of the Great Brahma King in which there is a jewel in every hole in the net. Each jewel reflects the light of all the other jewels, as they shine upon each other infinitely. Such light represents wisdom. The Buddha has many methods of using compassion and just as many methods of using wisdom. Thus the lines of text here represent the Buddha’s compassion and wisdom.

The line “surrounded by railings” also represents Dharani. Dharani, a Sanskrit word which means “uniting and holding,” unites all dharmas and holds limitless meanings. Dharani unites all dharmas, both the Great and Small Vehicle. Dharani holds limitless meanings, all the limitless meanings in all the dharmas. Through the Dharani, one can offer up all good conduct and suppress all evil.

“Hung with bells on all four sides” also represents the four kinds of unlimited eloquence. “With golden cords strung about them” represents the Four Vast Vows:

1. I vow to save the boundless number of beings.

2. I vow to cut off the endless afflictions.

3. I vow to study the limitless Dharma-doors.

4. I vow to attain the supreme Buddha Way.

All the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Sound Hearers, and Condition-enlightened Ones are included within these Four Vast Vows. Therefore, it is not enough just to recite them. You have to return the light and think it over: The vow says that I will save the boundless number of beings. Have I done so? If I have, it should still be the same as if I had not saved them. Why? It is said that the Thus Come One saves all living beings, and yet not a single living being has been saved.

“Well,” you say, “if my saving them is the same as not saving them, then is my not saving them the same as saving them?”

No. You can say that you save them, and yet are not attached to them; not attached means that you are not attached to the mark of saving living beings. But you cannot fail to save them and claim to have saved them. It does not work that way. You can say that you save them without saving them because you are not attached to them. But you cannot say that you have saved them when you have not saved them.

The Buddha leads all beings to Nirvana and yet not a single being is led to Nirvana. We have not yet become Buddhas or saved living beings and so it is not all right for us to say that we have done so.

“Then just what are living beings?” you ask.

Living beings are born from a combination of causal conditions.

“How many?”

Twelve. Twelve causal conditions lead to the production of a living being. They are: Ignorance, which conditions action, action which conditions consciousness, consciousness which conditions name and form, name and form which condition the six senses, the six senses which condition contact, contact which conditions feeling, feeling which conditions craving, craving which conditions grasping, grasping which conditions becoming, becoming which conditions birth, birth which conditions old age and death.

This is not to say that only people are living beings. Why, even the smallest of ants are also living beings. The tiniest mosquito, too, is a living being. Even to all the tiny germs and so forth, all are living beings. Since this is the case, we should not look outwardly in our search to save living beings. Right within our self-nature can be found living beings, limitless in number, for us to save. Right inside our bodies there are limitless living beings. Recent progress in the science of medicine gives proof to the fact that human beings are all like big bugs and within our bodies live countless smaller bugs. How many? No scientific method can count them accurately. Why? Because they are countless! Who knows how many living beings are inside our blood, our flesh and our internal organs? Why are there so many living beings? Some people even eat living beings! They eat the flesh of pigs, cows, sheep, fish, chicken, and ducks.

When you eat the flesh of living beings, inside it are hidden the germs particular to that living being. When you eat it, that kind of living being’s organisms go into you. Whichever kind of meat you eat the most of, you have a majority of that kind of living being’s germs. That makes it very easy to become a member of the family of the kind of living being. You turn into one of his clansmen; because you have causal conditions with him that are just too deep, you cannot get away from him. If you eat mostly pig meat, you have an opportunity to turn into a pig. If you eat mostly beef, you may turn into a cow.

“Gees, I eat rice. Will I turn into a plant?” you ask.

No, because rice is not generally considered sentient in the way that animals are. If you eat sentient beings you can turn into that kind of living beings. If you eat insentient things, you will not turn into plants or grass or anything, but you will be truly helping the wisdom-life of your Dharma body. So do not worry about turning into a rice plant if you eat rice.

Sentient beings have blood and breath, and when you eat them their blood and breath mixes with yours. If you eat a lot of them, you turn into that kind of living being. You could even say that by not eating a particular kind of living being, you are saving that living being! If you do not eat beef, you are saving cows. If you do not eat sheep, you are saving the sheep. By not eating pigs, you are saving pigs.

What is meant by “save”? It means stopping the revolution of the wheel of birth and death by taking a being across the sea of suffering to the other shore of Nirvana.

You say, “Dharma Master, I really do not believe this. How can it be that by not eating something I am saving it? If I do not eat it, someone else will. So how can you consider it saved?”

Well, you should just look after yourself. The other people do not understand the principle, but you do. Those who do not understand will do confused things; those who do understand should not do confused things. You should not look after other people.

While we are on the subject: There once was a meat-eater who died and was sent before King Yama. When he got there, all the pigs, sheep and cows he had eaten when he was alive came to get even. One pig said, “When he was alive he ate a pound of my flesh.” A sheep said, “He ate two pounds of me!” A chicken said, “Two pounds? He ate three pounds of me--my whole body!! Now, I want to eat him!!” The meat-eater tried to “reason” with King Yama by saying, “I did not really want to eat their meat, you know. It was for sale in the store and I figured if they were selling it, I could buy it and eat it. The offense should be with the person who sold it. It should not be my offense just for eating it.”

Then King Yama brought the meat-seller before him and said, “You sell meat? That is an offense, you know.” The meat-seller objected, saying, “Yes, I sell meat, but only because people want to buy it. If no one wanted it, how could I sell it? The reason I sell meat is because people want to buy it.”

The meat-seller piped up saying, “But if he did not sell it, how could I buy it?”

The meat-seller said, “Then it is not my fault and it is not your fault. I sell it because you buy it and you buy it because I sell it, but neither one of us killed the pig. The offense lies with the butcher who killed the animal!”

Then the one who killed the pig was called in.

“Are you the one who kills the pigs?” King Yama asked him. “That is a grave offense.”

The pig-killer said, “Right, I killed those pigs. But if he did not eat them, why would I kill them?”

So, in the final analysis, who do you blame?

If the person did not eat the pig, the pig-killer would not have killed it. If the seller did not sell the meat, the buyer would not have bought it. The pig eater said, “I bought it because you sold it!”

The pig-killer said, “I killed it because you wanted to eat it!”

The pig-eater said, “If you have not killed it, I could not have eaten it!”

What a confusing case! There was no way King Yama could render a judgement. They each presented their testimony quite well, but they had all committed offenses. King Yama said, “Okay, if you ate a pound of pig’s flesh, you have to be reborn as a pig to repay that pound of meat. Since you ate two pounds of sheep meat, you can then be reborn as a sheep to repay that two pounds of meat. Since you ate a whole chicken, you can be reborn as a chicken to pay back your debt.” That is how the case was settled.

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