雜譬喻經 1.46

1.46

Formerly in the Deer Park there was a herd of five hundred deer. In this park there were two deer kings: one was a bodhisattva, and the other was an ordinary deer king. At that time, a king went out of the city to hunt. Seeing this herd of deer, he led his troops to surround them. Those two deer kings devised a plan together and both approached the king of men, knelt, and addressed the king of men, saying: “We are now within Your Majesty’s borders and are destined to suffer slaughter. If the King slaughters all the deer at once, they cannot be consumed before they rot and spoil. We wish to send two deer daily to supply the King’s meals; the rest in sequence will be offered day by day, not daring to be deficient. May the King grant this permission so that our lives may be prolonged a little. How could this not be the great King’s kindness?” Thereupon the king of men granted what they requested, opened the cordon, and released them. From then on, those two deer kings sorted their herds themselves, set an order, and sent two deer daily to the king’s kitchen. After several more days, a pregnant doe was next in line to face death. That doe went to her king and begged to wait until she had given birth. That king replied to her: “The turn of the other deer has not yet arrived; who will take your place?” That doe then went to the bodhisattva king and addressed the bodhisattva, saying: “My king is not benevolent and does not pardon me with reason. I now come to take refuge with you; may you handle this reasonably.” The bodhisattva deer king took pity on her situation, and so went in person to the king of men’s kitchen. The cook reported to the king: “The deer king has come in person to the kitchen, seeking to take the place of that pregnant doe.” The king found it astonishing and rare, and told the cook: “Bring that deer king here.” Thereupon the deer king went before the king of men and fully explained his intention to the king. Thereupon the king of men gave rise to faith: “Even beasts still cultivate virtue, how much more so humans!” He commanded that within his whole country there should never be any hunting, and gave this forest wilderness forever to the herd of deer. From this time onward, it was named the Deer Park.