雜譬喻經 1.66

1.66

昔天竺國有二貧人，營生計儉常賣酪自存，二人各頭戴酪瓶詣市欲賣。時值天雨道路泥滑，一人有智自思惟言：「今日泥雨道路難行，我或傾倒瓶破失盡，今並出酥，若我當倒所失無幾。」一人少智全持詣市，中路泥滑二人俱倒，一人愁憂涕泣宛轉臥地，一人都無愁色亦不懊恨。有人問言：「汝等二人酪瓶俱破，所失亦等，彼此無異，何故一人獨愁涕泣懊恨，一人靜然都無恨色？」一人答曰：「我所持酪都未出酥，今日瓶破所失蕩盡，是以懊恨不能自勝。」一人答言：「我所持酪先已出酥，今瓶雖壞所失無幾，是以坦然無所恨也。」瓶喻身也，酥喻財物也。有人慳貪悋惜財物，貪求現利不念非常，身瓶頓壞財物失盡。喻若彼人忘失酥酪，懊惱追恨悔無所及。有人深信後世果報，所有財物並用惠施，身瓶雖壞喪失無幾。亦如彼人酪瓶雖壞所失甚少，其心坦然無所追恨。

Formerly, in the land of India, there were two poor men who made a meager living, constantly selling curd to support themselves. The two men each carried a jar of curd on their heads and went to the market intending to sell it. At that time it happened to rain, and the road was muddy and slippery. One of them, being wise, thought to himself: “Today it is muddy and raining, and the road is difficult to travel. I might fall and the jar break, losing everything; now I will extract the clarified butter together with it, so that if I should fall, what is lost will be little.” The other had little wisdom and carried it all as it was toward the market. Halfway along the road, it was muddy and slippery, and both fell. One was grief-stricken, weeping, and tossing and turning on the ground; the other had no expression of grief at all, nor did he regret it. Someone asked, “You two men had your curd jars broken equally; what was lost was equal, with no difference between this and that. Why does one alone grieve, weep, and lament, while the other is calm and has no appearance of regret?” One replied, “From the curd I carried, no clarified butter had been extracted at all. Today the jar broke and all was completely lost; therefore I regret it beyond endurance.” The other replied, “From the curd I carried, I had already extracted the clarified butter beforehand. Now, though the jar is broken, what is lost is little; therefore I am at ease and have no regret.” The jar is an analogy for the body; the clarified butter is an analogy for wealth and possessions. There are people who are stingy and begrudge wealth and possessions, craving present gain and not contemplating impermanence; the jar of the body suddenly breaks, and their wealth is completely lost. This is like that person who forgot and lost both curd and clarified butter, grieving and lamenting in regret when it was too late. There are people who have deep faith in retribution in future lives, using all their wealth and possessions for generous giving; though the jar of the body breaks, what they lose is little. This is just like that person: though the curd jar broke, what was lost was very little, and his mind was at ease, with nothing to regret.