雜譬喻經 1.76

1.76

In the past, there was a butcher who went to King Ajātaśatru to ask for a wish. The king said: 'What wish do you seek?' He answered: 'When it is the occasion of Your Majesty's festivals, slaughtering is required; I wish Your Majesty would grant that I be the one to do it all.' The king said: 'The act of slaughter is something people take no delight in; why do you wish and take delight in doing it?' He answered: 'In the past I was a poor man and sustained myself by means of a sheep slaughterhouse. Because of this, I was reborn above in the Heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings. Having exhausted my lifespan in that heaven, I came to be reborn among humans and continued to slaughter sheep. After my life ended, I was reborn in the second heaven. In this way, I slaughtered sheep six times, and because of this matter, I was reborn throughout the six heavens, receiving immeasurable fortune. It is for this reason that I now ask this of Your Majesty.' The king said: 'Even if it is as you say, how do you know it?' He answered: 'I remember past lives.' When the king heard this, he did not believe it and considered it a falsehood: how could such a lowly person remember past lives? Later, he asked the Buddha. The Buddha answered: 'It is truly as he said; it is not a falsehood. In a past life, this man once encountered a pratyekabuddha. Seeing the Buddha, he rejoiced and gazed intently with a sincere mind. Looking up at his head and looking down to inspect his feet, a wholesome mind immediately arose. Because of this merit, he was able to be reborn in each of the six heavens one by one. Descending to be reborn in the human realm, he naturally remembered past lives. Because his merit and virtue had ripened, he was reborn six times among gods and humans. Because his sins had not yet ripened, he had not yet received [their retribution]. When this body ends, he will fall into hell to receive the retribution for slaughtering sheep; when the hell [term] ends, he will be reborn among sheep to repay them one by one.' This man's knowledge of past lives was shallow: he only saw the matters in the six heavens and did not reach back to his seventh prior existence. Therefore, he supposed that slaughtering sheep was the cause of rebirth in heaven. Such is merely remembering past lives; it is neither a supernormal power nor clear vision.