雜譬喻經 1.4

1.4

Formerly, at Cauri monastery, there was a senior bhikṣu who had attained arhatship. From time to time he would take a śrāmaṇera downhill to enter the city and wander about sightseeing. Because the robes and bowl were very heavy, he had the śrāmaṇera carry them and follow behind him. On the road, the śrāmaṇera thought to himself: "In living beings' existence in the world, there are none who do not suffer. If one wishes to be free of this suffering, what kind of Way should one cultivate?" He reflected: "The Buddha always praises the bodhisattva as superior. I must now arouse the mind of a bodhisattva." As soon as he had this thought, his master, using his knowledge of the minds of others, illuminated what he had thought and said to the śrāmaṇera: "Bring me the robes and bowl." The śrāmaṇera brought the robes and bowl and handed them to his master. The master said to the śrāmaṇera: "Walk in front of me." Just as the śrāmaṇera was walking in front, he thought again: "The Way of a bodhisattva is exceedingly arduous. If someone asks for one's head, one must give one's head; if someone asks for one's eyes, one must give one's eyes. This matter is extremely difficult and beyond my capacity. It would be better to attain arhatship early and swiftly be free from suffering." The master again knew what he had thought and said to the śrāmaṇera: "Carry the robes and bowl and return to follow behind me." This happened three times, and the śrāmaṇera was bewildered, not understanding what this meant. Going forward until they reached the place where they were staying, he clasped his hands, addressed his master, and respectfully asked the reason. His master replied: "Because you advanced thrice toward the bodhisattva path, I also thrice yielded to you to go ahead. Because your mind thrice retreated, I yielded to you to go behind. Why so? Because the merit of arousing the mind of a bodhisattva surpasses that of a three-thousand-world full of perfected arhats."