雜譬喻經 1.48

1.48

昔有一居士，其婦妊身，請佛到舍供養畢，欲令如來占其妻後生子欲知男女。佛言：「後當生男，端正殊好，及至長大，當於人中受天上樂，後當得羅漢道。」居士聞之心疑不信，後復請六師供養畢，復令占之，居士語六師言：「前使瞿曇沙門占之，言後當生男，不知實為男不？」六師言：「當生女。」彼六師等憎疾佛法，苟欲相反還自思惟：「若彼生男者，彼居士便當棄我奉事瞿曇。」便作詭語：「居士！君婦當生男，生男之後方大凶禍，家室親屬七世絕滅，以不吉故，我前詭言是女也。」居士聞之，心用惶怖不知所如。彼六師等便語居士：「欲得吉利，惟當除去之耳。」六師便為居士婦按腹，按腹欲令落之。按腹不止，居士婦遂命終，而兒不死，宿命福德故也。居士便棄其婦著死人處，大積薪燒之，火焰既盛，佛便將諸弟子就往觀之，居士婦身破壞，便見其兒在蓮花上坐，端正殊好顏貌如雪。佛命耆域：「取此兒來。」耆域即取來，出還本居士，居士遂便長育之。至年十六才美過人，便廣設多美飲食請彼六師，六師既坐，未久之間便失笑，其人問：「何故笑也？」六師便答：「吾見五萬里有山，山下有水，有一獼猴落水，是故笑耳。」此兒知其虛妄，便鉢中盛種種好羹以飯覆上，使人擎與之，餘人鉢中下著飯上著羹。諸人皆食，唯六師獨瞋不食。主人問：「何故不食？」六師答言：「無羹云何食？」主人言：「君眼乃見五萬里獼猴落水，何不見飯下羹耶？」於是六師大瞋，竟不食而還，徑向尸利求多廣說。其人姉與求多作婦，尸利求多聞之亦瞋，告六師言：「瞿曇是彼師，我為大師請來毀辱之也。」是以作火坑、毒飯也。此喻極廣，不能一一出，故略舉其要也。

Formerly, there was a gṛhapati whose wife was pregnant. Having invited the Buddha to his house and made offerings, he wished to have the Tathāgata divine the child his wife would bear, wanting to know whether it would be male or female. The Buddha said: “She will later give birth to a boy, upright and exceedingly handsome; when he grows up, he will experience heavenly bliss among humans, and later attain arhatship.” When the gṛhapati heard this, he was doubtful and did not believe it. Later, he invited the six non-Buddhist masters, and after making offerings, also asked them to divine it. The gṛhapati said to the six masters: “Earlier I had the śramaṇa Gautama divine it, and he said she would later give birth to a boy; I do not know if it will truly be a boy or not?” The six masters said: “She will give birth to a girl.” Those six masters hated the Buddha-Dharma and merely wished to contradict it, but reflected to themselves: “If she gives birth to a boy, then that gṛhapati will abandon us and serve Gautama.” So they spoke deceitfully: “Gṛhapati! Your wife will give birth to a boy; but after a boy is born, a great disaster will follow, and your household and kin for seven generations will be wiped out. Because it was inauspicious, I previously lied and said it would be a girl.” Hearing this, the gṛhapati was terrified and did not know what to do. Those six masters then told the gṛhapati: “If you wish to obtain good fortune, you must simply get rid of him.” The six masters then pressed the belly of the gṛhapati's wife, wishing to abort it by pressing the belly. They pressed her belly without stopping until the gṛhapati's wife died, but the child did not die, due to the merits of his past lives. The gṛhapati then discarded his wife in the cemetery and piled up a great deal of firewood to burn her. Once the flames blazed vigorously, the Buddha led his disciples to go and look. The gṛhapati's wife’s body was destroyed, and then the child was seen sitting upon a lotus flower, upright and exceedingly handsome, his countenance white as snow. The Buddha commanded Jīvaka: “Fetch this child.” Jīvaka immediately retrieved him and returned him to the original gṛhapati, who then raised him. By the age of sixteen, his talent and beauty surpassed others. He then laid out many fine dishes and drinks and invited those six masters. After the six masters sat down, before long they burst out laughing. The youth asked: “Why do you laugh?” The six masters answered: “We see a mountain fifty thousand li away, with water beneath the mountain, and a monkey has fallen into the water; that is why we laugh.” This boy knew they were lying, so he filled bowls with various fine soups and covered them with rice, ordering people to present them, while in other people's bowls the rice was placed below and the soup on top. Everyone ate, but the six masters alone were angry and did not eat. The host asked: “Why do you not eat?” The six masters answered: “Without soup, how can we eat?” The host said: “Your eyes can see a monkey falling into water fifty thousand li away; how can you not see the soup beneath the rice?” Thereupon the six masters were furious, and went back without eating, going straight to Śrīgupta to tell him in detail. The youth's elder sister was Śrīgupta's wife. Hearing this, Śrīgupta was also angry, and told the six masters: “Gautama is his teacher; on behalf of the great masters, I will invite him and humiliate him.” For this reason, he prepared a fire pit and poisoned rice. This parable is extremely extensive and cannot be related entirely, so its essentials are briefly stated here.