大方便佛報恩經 1.45

1.45

"At that time, the queen also followed along behind him. At that time, the king was flustered and his mind was confused; by mistake, he entered the fourteen-day route—a road that was hazardous and difficult, devoid of water and grass. Having traveled forward for several days, their provisions were exhausted. Originally, he had packed one person's share of provisions to travel a seven-day route; now, three people ate together, and they had mistakenly taken the fourteen-day route. After several days, the provisions were already gone, and the road ahead was still far. At this time, the great king and the queen wailed aloud: 'How monstrous! How monstrous! What agony! What agony! From birth until now, we have never heard of such suffering; how is it that today our own bodies experience it? Today we are in dire extremity, and ruin has come upon us.' They struck their heads with their hands, covered themselves in dust, threw their bodies to the ground, and reproached themselves with remorse, saying: 'What evil deeds did we commit in past lives? Did we kill our parents or true arhats? Did we slander the saddharma or break up the harmonious saṅgha? Did we hunt and fish, or use light balances and small bushels to plunder living beings? Did we consume the property of the saṅgha of the four quarters? Why do we suffer this retribution today?' Just as they wished to stop briefly, they feared the enemy would arrive; if captured by the enemy, they would surely die. Just as they wished to advance, pressed by hunger and thirst, their lives hung by a breath."