大方便佛報恩經 7.16

7.16

"At that time, there was a great hunter who saw this lion with golden fur on its body. He was filled with joy and thought: 'If I can catch this lion, strip off its skin, and offer it to the king of the country, he will surely grant me rank and emolument so that seven generations will not lack for anything.' Having thought this, he further said: 'The lion Firm Resolve is a king among beasts; bows and arrows cannot reach him, and snare nets cannot control him. I must devise another scheme. The one whom the lion Firm Resolve reveres and looks up to is none other than a śramaṇa. I shall now assume the guise of a śramaṇa and secretly shoot him with a bow. Covering myself with a kāṣāya, looking closely and walking slowly, I will go beneath a tree. If he sees me, he will surely come close to me. Once he draws near, I will draw my bow and shoot him with a poisoned arrow; out of ten thousand chances, I will not fail to get him.' Having thought this, he immediately returned home and exclaimed: 'From my ancestors down through the generations, we have always been hunters, yet never have we heard of a beast with golden fur on its body, let alone seen one! Now I wish to hunt and take it.' He then shaved off his beard and hair, put on the Dharma robes, and, just as he had planned, returned into the mountains and sat beneath a tree. At that time, the lion Firm Resolve saw this bhikṣu, was filled with joy, bounded up close to him, and licked the bhikṣu's feet. At that moment, the hunter shot him. Struck by the poisoned arrow, he snarled and roared, wanting to charge forward and seize him. On the verge of destroying and harming him, he thought again: 'This is a śramaṇa! Wearing robes of subdued color, he bears the emblem of the Buddhas, worthies, and sages of the three periods of time. If I now harm him, it would not be difficult; but if I take his life, I would be taking away the emblem of the Buddhas, worthies, and sages.' Having thought this, he swallowed his breath and endured the pain. After a short while, as the poison penetrated deeper, the pain became unbearable. Having reflected on this, he again wanted to attack and bite him, but he again said: 'It would not be difficult. But if I harm him, I will be rebuked by the Buddhas, worthies, and sages. Furthermore, in the world, good and evil are distinct: this is an evil man who harbored a venomous plot and came to harm me; if I do not endure it, I will be no different from that evil man. One who cultivates endurance is loved and respected by all; one who does not endure is loathed by the multitude, which increases afflictions. Because afflictions increase, saṃsāra increases; because saṃsāra increases, one is born in the difficult realms; because one is born in the difficult realms, one is separated from good spiritual friends; because one is separated from good spiritual friends, one does not hear the Saddharma; because one does not hear the Dharma, one is doubly veiled by the net of doubts; because of the net of doubts, one is far removed from anuttarasamyaksaṃbodhi. Therefore, I must not give rise to evil now.'