眾經撰雜譬喻 2.20

2.20

昔有賈客，入海採寶，逢大龍神舉船欲飜，諸人恐怖。龍曰：「汝等頗遊行彼國不？」報言：「曾行過之。」龍與一大卵如五升瓶，「汝持此卵埋彼國市中大樹下，若不爾者後當殺汝。」其人許之。後過彼國埋卵著市中大樹下。從是以後，國多災疾疫氣。國王召道術占之，云有蟒卵在國中，故令有災疫。輒推掘燒之，病悉除愈。賈客人後入海故，見龍神重問事狀，賈人曰：「昔如神教埋卵市中，國中多有疾疫，王召梵志占之，推得焚燒病者悉除。」神曰：「恨不殺奴輩。」船人問神：「何故乃爾也？」神曰：「卿曾聞某國有健兒某甲不？」曰：「聞之，已終亡矣！」神曰：「我是也！我平存時喜陵擽國中人民，初無教呵我者，但獎我，使我墮蟒蛇中，悉欲盡殺之耳！」是以人當相諫從善相順，莫自恃勢力陵擽於人，坐招其患三惡道苦，但可聞聲不可形處。

Formerly, there was a merchant who went to sea to gather jewels. He encountered a great nāga spirit that lifted the boat and was about to capsize it, and the people were terrified. The nāga asked, "Have you ever traveled to that kingdom?" They replied, "We have passed through it." The nāga gave them a large egg like a five-sheng jar: "Take this egg and bury it under the big tree in that kingdom's marketplace. If you do not, I will kill you later." The man agreed. Later, he passed through that kingdom and buried the egg under the big tree in the marketplace. From then on, the kingdom suffered many disasters, diseases, and pestilence. The king summoned practitioners of esoteric arts to divine it; they said there was a python's egg in the kingdom causing the disasters and pestilence. They immediately searched, dug it up, and burned it, and the illnesses were all cured. Later, when the merchant went to sea again, he saw the nāga spirit, who asked about the matter. The merchant said, "Formerly, according to your instructions, I buried the egg in the marketplace. Many diseases and pestilences arose in the kingdom. The king summoned brahmacārins to divine it; they found it and burned it, and the sick were all cured." The spirit said, "I regret not having killed those slaves!" The boatmen asked the spirit, "Why is that so?" The spirit said, "Have you ever heard of a valiant warrior so-and-so in that kingdom?" They replied, "We have heard of him; he has already died." The spirit said, "I am he! When I was alive, I liked to oppress the people in the kingdom. From the beginning, no one ever taught or admonished me, but only encouraged me. This caused me to fall among pythons, and I wanted to kill them all!" Therefore, people should admonish one another, comply with goodness, and not rely on power and authority to oppress others, bringing upon themselves the suffering of the three evil paths, which should only be heard of by report and never experienced in bodily form.