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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
21 - 30
(二一)婦女欲更求子喻
Parable 21. The Woman Who Wished For A Second Child
往昔世時，有婦女人，始有一子，更欲求子，問餘婦女：「誰有能使我重有子？」
有一老母語yù此婦言:「我能使爾求子可得，當須祀天。」
問老母言：「祀須何物？」
老母語言：「殺汝之子，取血祀天，必得多子。」
時此婦女，便隨彼語，欲殺其子。傍有智人，嗤笑罵詈lì：「愚癡無智，乃至如此。未生子者，竟可得不，而殺現子。」
愚人亦爾：為未生樂，自投火坑；種種害身，為得生天
In the past, there was a woman who had a son. She wanted another child, and asked other women, “Who could bring me another child?”
An old woman told her, “I can help you get another child; but you must make a sacrifice to heaven.”
The woman asked the old woman, “What kind of sacrifice should I offer?”
The old woman told her, “Kill your son and make a sacrifice of his blood to heaven. Then you will certainly be blessed with many more children.”
The woman followed the old woman’s advice and was about to kill her own son when an intelligent bystander laughed and chastised her, saying, “How could you be so stupid and ignorant? You’re not sure whether you will get another child; yet you intend to kill the one you already have.”
Stupid people act in the same way. Desiring the bliss of a future, they leap into a fiery pit, exposing themselves to all sorts of harm, thinking that this is the way to attain rebirth in the heavens.
(二二)入海取沈水喻
Parable 22. Getting Sink-In-Water Incense From The Sea
昔有長者子，入海取沈水，積有年載，方得一車，持來歸家。詣市賣之，以其貴故，卒無買者。經歷多日，不能得售。心生疲厭，以為苦惱。
見人賣炭，時得速售，便生念言：「不如燒之作炭，可得速售。」
即燒為炭，詣市賣之，不得半車炭之價直。
世間愚人，亦復如是：無 量方便，勤行精進，仰求佛果；以其難得，便生退心，不如發心，求聲聞果，速斷生死，作阿羅漢。
Once upon a time, an elder’s son went to search for sink-in-water incense from under the sea. After searching for many years, he finally managed to bring home a cartload of it. When he went to market to sell his wares, he could not find any buyer because of the high price that he asked for the incense. After several days he grew tired and was afflicted. He saw that the charcoal merchants were able to sell their wares very quickly and thought to himself, “Why don’t I burn the incense into charcoal and then I’ll be able to dispose of it quickly!”
Thereupon he burned the incense until it became charcoal and went to sell his wares at the market. But the price he got for the burned incense did not even come up to that of half a cartload of charcoal!
So are the stupid people of the world. With countless expedients they diligently cultivate, aspiring towards Buddhahood. But because attaining Buddhahood is so difficult, they become discouraged. They think, “I might as well seek the fruition of śrāvakas, quickly cast off birth and death, and become an Arhat.”
(二三)賊偷錦繡用裹氀褐喻
Parable 23. The Thief Who Stole Embroidered Satin To Wrap His Rags In
昔有賊人，入富家舍；偷得錦繡，即持用裹故弊氀lǘ褐hè種種財物，為智人所笑。
世間愚人，亦復如是：既有信心，入佛法中；修行善法，及諸功德，以貪利故，
破於清淨戒，及諸功德，為世所笑亦復如是。Once upon a time, a thief entered the house of a rich family and stole a piece of embroidered satin. Then, he used it to wrap up his old rags and sundry effects. He was scoffed at by the wise.
Stupid people of the world are like this, too. Although they bring forth faith in Buddhism and cultivate wholesome dharmas and meritorious acts; nonetheless, due to their greed for benefits, they break the pure precepts and lose their merit. Thus they are laughed at by those of the world.
(二四)種熬胡麻子喻
Parable 24. Planting Cooked Sesame Seeds
昔有愚人，生食胡麻子，以為不美；熬而食之，為美，便生念言：不如熬而種之，後得美者。便熬而種，永無生理。世人亦爾：以菩薩曠劫修行，因難行苦行，以為不樂，
便作念言：不如作阿羅漢，速斷生死，其功甚易。後欲求佛果，終不可得，如彼燋種，無復生理。世間愚人亦復如是。Once upon a time, there was a fool who ate raw sesame and thought that it did not taste good; cooked sesame tasted good. He then came up with the idea: “Why don’t I plant cooked sesame seeds, then reap a tasty harvest?” Thereupon, he cooked the sesame and planted them in the ground. Of course, the sesame never sprouted.
People of the world act in the same way. Because they feel that Bodhisattvas must suffer a lot from their arduous ascetic discipline throughout many aeons, they arrive at this notion: “I should become an Arhat and swiftly put an end to birth and death. To practice this path is quite easy.” But, afterwards, when they wish to pursue the fruition of Buddhahood, they never attain it, just as cooked sesame seeds could never grow. Stupid people commonly act this way.
(二五)水火喻
Parable 25. Water and Fire
昔有一人，事須火用及以冷水。即便宿火，以澡灌盛水置於火上。後欲取火，而火都
滅。欲取冷水，而水復熱。火及冷水，二事俱失。世間之人，亦復如是：入佛法中，
出家求道；既得出家，還復念其妻子、眷屬、世間之事、五欲之樂。由是之故，失其功德之火、持戒之水。念欲之人，亦復如是。Once upon a time, there was a man who needed fire and cold water to carry out his household chores. He built a fire in his room, filled a kettle with water, and put it on top of the fire. Afterwards, the fire burned out, and the water became hot. He ended up getting neither the fire nor the cold water.
Many people make a similar mistake. They enter the Buddhadharma, leaving the home-life and seeking the Way; yet, they still pine for their wives, children, relatives, worldly matters, and the pleasures of the five desires. From this, they lost their ‘fire’ of merit and virtue and their ‘water’ of upholding the precepts. Those who cannot let go of their desires are also like this.
(二六)人效王眼瞤喻
Parable 26. Imitating the King’s Blinking Habit
昔有一人，欲得王意，問餘人言：「云何得之？」
有人語言：「若欲得王意者，王之形相，汝當効之。」
此人即便後至王所，見王眼瞤，便効王瞤。
王問之言：「汝為病耶，為著風耶，何以眼瞤？」
其人答王：「我不病眼，亦不著風，欲得王意，見王眼瞤，故効王也。」
王聞是語，即大瞋恚，即便使人，種種加害，擯令出國。世人亦爾：於佛法王，
欲得親近，求其善法，以自增長。既得親近，不解如來法王，為眾生故，種種方便，
現其闕短；或聞其法，見有字句不正，便生譏毀，効其不是，由是之故，於佛法中，
永失其善，墮於三惡，如彼効王，亦復如是 。Once upon a time, there was a man who wanted to please the king. He asked someone how he could go about it. That person told him, “If you want to please the king, you should imitate his moves.”
The man immediately went to where the king was, and seeing that the king had a habit of blinking his eye, started to imitate his blinking habit.
The king asked him, “Do you have an eye problem? Or is it on account of the wind that you are blinking?”
The man replied, “No. It’s not that I have an eye problem, nor is it on account of the wind. Wishing to please your Majesty, I’ve taken to imitating your Majesty’s blinking habit.”
When the king heard this, he was outraged. The king inflicted upon this man various tortures and then had him banished from the country.
People in general have the same problem. They wish to draw near to the Buddha, the Dharma King, so as to pursue the wholesome Dharma and grow. Upon being able to draw near him, they fail to understand that the Thus Come One, the Dharma King, exhibits various shortcomings as a skill-in-means to take beings across.
Perhaps they hear the Buddha using certain incorrect phrasings in his teachings at which point they start to ridicule and slander him, imitating his mistakes. Because of this, they perpetually lose the wholesome benefits of Buddhadharmas and fall into the three paths of misery. This is just like the man who imitated the king’s blinking habit.
(二七)治鞭瘡喻
Parable 27. Dressing Whip Wounds
昔有一人，為王所鞭。既被鞭已，以馬屎拊之，欲令速差。
有愚人見之心生歡喜，便作是言：「我決得是治瘡方法。」
即便歸家，語其兒言：「汝鞭我背，我得好法，今欲試之。」
兒為鞭背，以馬屎拊之，以為善巧。世人亦爾：聞有人言，修不淨觀，即得除去五陰
身瘡，便作是言：「我欲觀於女色，及以五欲。」未見不淨，返為女色之所惑亂；流轉生死，墮於地獄。世間愚人，亦復如是。
Once upon a time, there was a man who was whipped by the king. After the whipping, he applied some horse dung to his wounds to effect a speedy recovery. A stupid person who happened to pass by saw this and became very pleased. He said to himself, "Now I have obtained the means to cure whip wounds! "
He hurried back home and told his son, "Whip my back ! I have discovered a wonderful remedy and I want to try it out. "
The son whipped his father's back. The man put horse excrement over the wounds, thinking this to be the most clever method.
Worldly people act in very much the same way. When they hear that people who cultivate the contemplation of impurity are able to heal the wounds caused by the craving for the body of the five skandhas, they say to themselves, "I should contemplate female beauty and the five desires."
However, failing to perceive the impurity of these things, they instead become confounded and misled by beauty and as a result flow and turn in birth and death. At death they fall into the hells. This is true of stupid people in general.
(二八)為婦貿鼻喻
Parable 28. Changing His Wife's Nose
昔有一人，其婦端正，唯其鼻醜。其人出外，見他婦女，面貌端正，其鼻甚好，
便作念言：我今寧可截取其鼻，著我婦面上，不亦好乎。即截他婦鼻，持來歸家，
急喚其婦：「汝速出來，與汝好鼻。」其婦出來，即割其鼻；尋以他鼻，著婦面上。既不相著，復失其鼻；唐使其婦，受大苦痛。
世間愚人，亦復如是：聞他宿舊沙門、婆羅門，有大名德，而為世人之所恭敬，得大利養，便作是念言：我今與彼，便為不異。
虛自假稱，妄言有德。既失其利，復傷其行。如截他鼻，徒自傷損。世間愚人，亦復如是。
Once upon a time, There was a man whose wife had well-formed features except for her unsightly nose. One day the man went out and saw another attractive woman who had a fine nose.
He thought, "Why don't I peel the nose off this woman and put it on my wife's face? Then she'll have an excellent nose. Wouldn't that be great?"
Thereupon he cut off the woman's nose, took it home, and called to his wife, "Come quickly! I have a fine nose for you!"
When his wife came, he immediately cut off her nose and tried to put the other woman's nose in its place. Of course it didn't fit, and the end result was his wife lost her own nose. Thus the man subjected his wife to a lot of agony unnecessarily.
Stupid people of the world act the same way.
When they hear that senior or elderly śramanas and brāmans enjoy a fine reputation and are venerated by people who lavish bounteous offerings upon them, they have this thought, "I am not different from them." And so they venture to create a false reputation for themselves, deceitfully boasting of their own virtue. Not only do they lose all benefit, but they also damage their own practices. This is like the man who cut off another‘s nose, only to bring injury to his own wife. Stupid people of the world are known to act in this way.
___________ THE END __________________
Related Quote:
“It is the person that makes the clothes, not the clothes that makes the person.”
(二九)貧人燒麤褐衣喻
Parable 29. The Poor Man Burns His Coarse Woolen Robe
昔有一人，貧窮困乏，與他客作，得麤褐衣，而被pī著之。有人見之，而語之言：
「汝種姓端正貴人之子，云何著此麤弊衣褐？我今教汝，當使汝得上妙衣服。
當隨我語，終不欺汝。」貧人歡喜，敬從其言。其人即便在前然火，語貧人言：「今可脫此麤褐衣，著於火中。於此燒處，當使汝得上妙欽服。」
貧人即便，脫著火中。既燒之後，於此火處，求覓欽服，都無所得。世間之人，亦復如是：從過去身，修諸善法，得此人身；應當保護，進德修業。
乃為外道、邪惡、妖女之所欺誑：「汝今當信我語，修諸苦行。投巖赴火，捨是身已，當生梵天，長受快樂。」
便用其語，即捨身命；身死之後，墮於地獄，備受諸苦。既失人身，空無所獲，
如彼貧人，亦復如是。Once upon a time, a poor man made a coarse woolen robe for his customer and then tried it on himself. Someone saw him and said to him, "You are the son of a noble family—why do you put on this coarse woolen robe? I will now teach you a way to get fine clothes. Follow my advice. I will never cheat you."
The poor fellow was pleased and respectfully followed the advice. The other man immediately lit a fire and told the poor man, “Take off your coarse woolen robe and throw it into the fire. From the flames, you will obtain some fine clothes.”
The poor man took off his robe and threw it into the fire.
After it had been consumed by the flames, he looked for fine clothes in the fire, but he couldn't find any.
People of the world often act very much like the poor man. They have gained human bodies from having cultivated good dharmas in the past and should protect themselves and make progress in refining their virtue and karmic deeds.
Instead, they are deceived by non-buddhists, deviant or evil persons, or seductive women who say to them, “You should believe in us and cultivate our ascetic practices. After you throw yourself from a cliff or into a fire, relinquishing your present body, you will be reborn in the Brāhma Heaven where you will enjoy eternal bliss.”
The people believe what they hear and give up their lives. After they die, they fall into the hells and undergo great torment. Not only do they lose their human bodies, they gain absolutely nothing. They are just like the poor man in this story.
(三○)牧羊人喻
Parable 30. The Shepherd
昔有一人，巧於牧羊，其羊滋多，乃有千萬，極大慳貪，不肯外用。時有一人，善於巧詐，便作方便，往共親友，而語之言：「我今共汝，極成親愛，便為一體，更無有異。我知彼家，有一好女。當為汝求，可用為婦。」
牧羊之人，聞之歡喜，便大與羊，及諸財物。其人復言：「汝婦今日，已生一子。」
牧羊之人，未見於婦，聞其已生，心大歡喜，重與彼物。其人後復而語之言：「汝兒生已，今已死矣。」
牧羊之人，聞此人語，便大啼泣，噓欷不已。世間之人，亦復如是：既修多聞，
為其名利，祕惜其法，不肯為人教化演說；為此漏身之所誑惑，妄期世樂。
如己妻息，為其所欺；喪失善法。後失身命，并及財物，便大悲泣，生其憂苦，
如彼牧羊之人，亦復如是。Once upon a time, there was a man who was a skilled shepherd. His flock multiplied until he had hundreds and thousands of sheep. However, he was extremely stingy and would never spend his money. A clever swindler happened to find a way to befriend the shepherd and said to him, "Now that we have become such close friends, there is no barrier between us. I know of a fine girl in a certain family, and I shall solicit her as a wife for you."
When the shepherd heard this, he was very pleased and gave the swindler many sheep and other items of wealth.
Then the swindler said to him, “Your wife gave birth to a son today!”
The shepherd was beside himself with joy at this news, despite the fact that he hadn't even met his wife, and gave the swindler more gifts. Shortly thereafter, the swindler again spoke to the shepherd and said, "Your newborn son has just died."
When the shepherd heard this, he started to sigh and shed bitter tears.
People of the world are like this, too. They amass much learning, but because they yearn for fame and wealth, they hoard their secrets and refuse to teach others.
They are deceived by the physical body, which is subject to outflows, and vainly pursue mundane pleasures, just as the shepherd was deceived by the false notion that he had a wife. These people forget their wholesome practices and then also lose their lives and their wealth. They weep bitter tears and experience tremendous turmoil and grief over these illusory things, just like the shepherd in this story.