眾經撰雜譬喻 1.47

1.47

昔有一居士其婦妊娠，請佛到舍供養畢，欲令如來占其婦後生子，欲知男女。佛言：「後當生男端正姝好，及至長大當於人中受天上樂，後當得羅漢道。」居士聞之心疑不信，後復請六師供養畢，復使占之。居士語六師言：「前使瞿曇沙門占之，言：『後當生男。』實是男不？」六師答言：「當生女。」彼六師等憎嫉佛法苟欲相反，還自思惟言：「若彼生男，居士當棄我奉事瞿曇。」便作詭語語居士言：「汝婦當生男，生男之後方大凶禍，家室親屬七世絕滅，以不吉故我先詭言是女也！」居士聞之心大惶怖不知所以。彼六師等便語居士：「欲得吉利唯當除去之。」六師便為居士婦按腹，欲令墮兒反害其母，居士婦遂便命終而兒不死。宿命福德故也！居士便棄其婦著死人處，大積薪燒之，火炎既盛，佛便將諸弟子，往就觀之。居士婦身始破壞，便見其兒在蓮華上坐，端正姝好顏貌如雪，佛令耆域取此兒來。耆域入火抱兒來出，還本居士，居士遂便養育。至年十六，才美過人，便廣設多美飲食，請彼六師。六師既坐，未久之間便失笑，其人問：「何故笑也？」六師答言：「吾見五萬里有山，山下有水，有獼猴落水中，是以笑耳！」此兒知其虛妄，便鉢中盛種種好羹以飯覆上，使人擎與之。餘人鉢中下著飯上著羹，諸人皆食，唯六師獨瞋不食。主人問：「何故不食？」六師答言：「無羹，云何食？」主人言：「君眼乃見五萬里獼猴落水，何不見飯下羹耶？」於是六師大瞋，竟不食而還。居士及兒，因是止不奉事，歸命佛法僧。佛為種種說法，遂得道果，此喻極多，略記明真偽如是。

Formerly, there was a householder whose wife was pregnant. Having invited the Buddha to his house and made offerings, he wished to have the Tathāgata divine the child his wife would later bear, wishing to know whether it would be male or female. The Buddha said: “Later she will give birth to a boy, upright and handsome. When he grows up, he will experience heavenly bliss among men, and later he will attain arhatship.” The householder heard this and had doubts in his mind, not believing it. Later he invited the six non-Buddhist teachers, and after making offerings, had them divine it as well. The householder said to the six teachers: “Earlier I had the śramaṇa Gautama divine it, and he said, ‘Later she will give birth to a boy.’ Is it truly a boy or not?” The six teachers replied: “She will give birth to a girl.” Those six teachers hated and envied the Buddha-Dharma, seeking only to contradict it. They returned to reflect: “If she gives birth to a boy, the householder will abandon us and serve Gautama.” So they fabricated deceptive words and said to the householder: “Your wife will give birth to a boy, and after the boy is born, there will be great calamity and disaster; your household and kin will be wiped out for seven generations. Because it was inauspicious, I earlier deceptively said it was a girl!” When the householder heard this, he was terrified in his mind and did not know what to do. The six teachers then said to the householder: “If you wish for good fortune, you must simply get rid of it.” The six teachers then pressed the householder's wife's belly, intending to abort the child, but instead they killed the mother. The householder’s wife thereupon died, but the child did not die, on account of the merit of past lives! The householder then abandoned his wife, placing her in the charnel ground, and piled up a great heap of firewood to burn her. When the flames were blazing, the Buddha led his disciples to go and observe. Just as the householder’s wife's body began to break apart, they saw her child sitting upon a lotus flower, upright and handsome, his countenance like snow. The Buddha ordered Jīvaka to retrieve this child. Jīvaka entered the fire, took the child in his arms, brought him out, and returned him to the original householder. The householder then reared him. By the age of sixteen, his talents and beauty surpassed others. He then prepared an abundance of fine food and drink and invited the six teachers. After the six teachers were seated, before long they broke into laughter. The man asked: “Why do you laugh?” The six teachers replied: “Fifty thousand li away I see a mountain, below which there is water, and a monkey has fallen into the water; that is why I laugh!” The boy knew they were lying; so he filled their bowls with various fine broths and covered them with rice, and had someone carry them and give them to them. In the other people's bowls, rice was placed below and broth on top. All the other people ate, but the six teachers alone were angry and did not eat. The host asked: “Why do you not eat?” The six teachers answered: “There is no broth; how can we eat?” The host said: “Your eyes can see a monkey falling into the water fifty thousand li away, so why do you not see the broth beneath the rice?” Thereupon the six teachers were furious and returned without eating anything. Because of this, the householder and his son ceased serving them and took refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṃgha. The Buddha preached the Dharma to them in various ways, and they ultimately attained the fruits of the Way. Parables such as this are very numerous; this is a brief record to clarify the true and the false.