雜譬喻經 1.38

1.38

Formerly, there was the king of a great country who fell gravely ill for twelve years without recovering; none of the great physicians could cure him. At that time, in a small border state subject to the great king, there was a physician skilled at curing illnesses. The king summoned him and ordered him to treat his illness, and in no time he was relieved of it. The king thought to repay this physician's kindness, and repeatedly sent envoys to proclaim an order in that state: "This physician has cured the king's illness and has great merit; he ought to be rewarded. Give him elephants, horses, carriages, cattle, sheep, fields, residences, servants, retainers, and adornments—all are to be provided to him." The king of that small state respectfully carried out the superior command, preparing a residence with tall halls and multi-storeyed pavilions for him, providing the physician's wife with clothing, food, drink, pearl rings, and adornments, as well as elephants, horses, cattle, and sheep, all fully prepared. Beside the king, no one spoke of this to the physician. The physician then thought: "I took great pains in curing the king's illness; I wonder whether the king will reward me or not?" After a few more days, the king's health was completely restored. The physician asked to take his leave to return to his home country, and the king permitted it, giving him only a single emaciated horse with worn-out harness. The physician sighed in great resentment: "I took great pains in curing the king's illness, yet the king does not recognize my kindness and has made no arrangements for me, sending me away empty-handed." He walked along the road sighing in sorrow, regarding it as an eternal grievance. Just as he reached his native country, he saw a herd of elephants and asked an elephant-keeper: "Whose elephants are these?" The elephant-keeper answered: "These are the elephants of physician so-and-so." He asked the elephant-keeper again: "Where did physician so-and-so get these elephants?" The elephant-keeper answered: "Physician so-and-so cured the great king's illness, and these were obtained as a reward for his merit." Walking forward a little further, he saw a herd of horses and asked a horse-keeper: "Whose horses are these?" The horse-keeper answered: "Physician so-and-so's horses." Walking forward a little further, he saw a herd of cattle and sheep and asked the shepherd: "Whose cattle and sheep are these?" The shepherd answered: "Physician so-and-so's cattle and sheep." Walking forward a little further, he saw his original residence with tall halls and multi-storeyed pavilions, vastly different from his former house. He asked the doorkeeper: "Whose house is this?" The doorkeeper answered: "This is physician so-and-so's house." He entered within the inner quarters and saw that his wife was well-nourished and radiant, dressed in precious robes. Surprised, he asked: "Whose lady is this?" The retainer answered: "This is physician so-and-so's lady." From seeing the elephants and horses to entering inside his residence, he learned that all this had been obtained as the reward for the merit of curing the king's illness, and he regretted having put in so little effort in curing the king's illness in the first place. This is an analogy for merit: the hindrance of merit is like the king's illness; the physician is like one who cultivates merit; curing the king's illness is like a practitioner who is able to perform meritorious deeds; the recovery from the king's illness is like merit being accomplished; and the king proclaiming the order to bestow elephants, horses, and residences means that merit accumulates here while the retribution is realised there. Those who hope for quick results are always vexed that the response is slow. Like people of little faith, who, upon performing merit on occasion, expect a retribution from morning to evening; when old age, illness, and death arrive, they think there is naturally no good retribution. When one attains the intermediate existence of the heavens, the good response will arrive completely, like that physician seeing the elephants and horses. Riding this intermediate existence, having arrived at the heavenly palace, one receives the existence of birth there, and seeing with one's own eyes the various adornments of the heavenly hall, one then regrets not having performed more in the past, just as that physician, having seen the rewards, regretted that his effort in treating the illness had been so small.