大般涅槃經集解 40.24

40.24

Sengliang states: The above simile concerned having joy and not having joy throughout a lifetime; this simile concerns the time of death. The cow is a simile for the sūtra teachings; the herdswomen are a simile for practitioners; the jar is a simile for the human body; the curd is a simile for breaking precepts; the strained liquid is a simile for upholding precepts; the city is a simile for the Nirvāṇa Sūtra; slipping is a simile for impermanence; the jar breaking is a simile for the end of life. The butter has already been extracted, and the whey is not worth regretting; this is a simile for the person who upholds the precepts, whose personal benefit has already emerged, so that the remainder is not worth looking back upon, illustrating joy. The butter remains within the curd and is lost together with the jar; this is a simile for the person who breaks precepts, whose personal benefit has not yet emerged, so that it is lost together with the body, illustrating that which brings grief and distress.