[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [冥報記](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2082) › 3.20 # 冥報記 3.20 冥報記 3.20 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [3.20](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2082.3.20) 武德初。遂州總管府記室參軍孔恪。暴病死。一日而蘇。自說。被收至官所。問恪。何因殺兩牛水。恪云。不殺。官云。汝弟證汝殺。何故不承。因呼弟。弟死已數年矣。既至。枷械甚嚴。官問。汝所言兄殺牛虛實。弟曰。兄前奉使。招慰獠賊。使某殺牛會之。實奉兄命。非自殺也。恪因曰。恪使弟殺牛會獠。是實。然國事也。恪何有罪。官曰。汝殺牛會獠。欲以招慰為功。用求官賞。以為己利。向云國事耶。因謂恪弟曰。以汝證兄。故久留汝。兄今既承遣殺。汝無罪。放任受生。言訖弟忽不見。亦竟不得言敘。官又問恪。何因復殺他兩鴨。恪曰。前任縣令殺鴨。供官客耳。豈恪罪耶。官客自有食料無鴨。汝殺供之。以求美譽。非罪如何。又復殺雞卵六枚。恪曰。平生不食雞卵。唯憶年九歲時。寒食日。母與六卵自煮食之。官曰然。欲推罪母耶。恪曰。不敢。但說其因耳。此自恪殺之也。官曰。汝殺他命。當自受之。言訖。忽有數十人。皆青衣執恪將出。恪大呼曰。官府亦大枉濫。官聞之呼還。何枉。恪曰。生平來有罪。皆錄不遺。生來修福。令無記者。豈非濫耶。官問主司。恪有何福。何為不錄。主司對曰。福亦皆錄。但量罪福多少。若福多罪少。先令受福。罪多福少。先令受罪。恪福少罪多。故放未論其福。官怒曰。雖先受罪。何不唱福示之。命鞭主司一百。倏忽鞭訖。血流濺地。既而唱恪生來所修之福。亦無遺忘。官謂恪曰。汝應先受罪。我更放汝歸家七日。可懃追福。因遣人送出。得蘇。恪大集僧尼。行道懺悔。精勤行道。自說其事。至七日與家人辭訣。俄而命終。臨家兄為遂府屬故委之。 > At the beginning of the Wude era, Kong Ke, an adjutant for records in the Area Command of Suizhou, suddenly fell ill and died, reviving after one day. He personally recounted that he was arrested and taken to an official's office. The official asked Ke, 'Why did you kill two water buffaloes?' Ke said, 'I did not kill them.' The official said, 'Your younger brother testified that you killed them; why do you not confess?' He then summoned the younger brother, who had already died several years earlier. When he arrived, he was under heavy wooden cangue and fetters. The official asked, 'Is what you said about your elder brother killing the buffaloes true or false?' The brother said, 'My elder brother was previously dispatched on an imperial commission to pacify and conciliate the Liao bandits. He ordered me to kill the buffaloes to feast them. It was truly done on my brother's orders, not of my own accord.' Ke then said, 'It is true that I had my brother kill the buffaloes to feast the Liao. But it was a state affair; what crime has Ke committed?' The official said, 'You killed the buffaloes to feast the Liao because you wanted to take the pacification as your own achievement and seek official rewards for your personal benefit. How can you call it a state affair?' He then said to Ke's brother, 'Because you were needed to testify against your brother, we detained you for a long time. Now that your brother has admitted to ordering the slaughter, you are innocent and are released to take rebirth as you please.' When he finished speaking, the brother suddenly vanished, and they could not even exchange words of farewell. The official further asked Ke, 'Why did you also kill two ducks belonging to someone else?' Ke said, 'During my former post as county magistrate, I killed the ducks merely to provide for official guests. How is that Ke's crime?' The official said, 'Official guests have their own rations that do not include ducks. You killed them to provide for them in order to seek a fine reputation. How is that not a crime?' The official added, 'You also destroyed six chicken eggs.' Ke said, 'All my life I have not eaten chicken eggs. I only recall that when I was nine years old, on the Cold Food Festival, my mother gave me six eggs, and I boiled and ate them myself.' The official said, 'Indeed. Do you wish to shift the blame to your mother?' Ke said, 'I would not dare; I am only stating the cause. It was indeed Ke who destroyed them.' The official said, 'Since you took their lives, you must suffer for it yourself.' When he finished speaking, several dozen men in dark clothes suddenly seized Ke and were about to lead him out. Ke cried out loudly, 'This official bureau is also greatly unjust and corrupt!' Hearing this, the official called him back and asked, 'How is it unjust?' Ke said, 'Since my birth, every sin I committed has been recorded without omission. Yet regarding the merits I cultivated in my lifetime, there is no record whatsoever. How is that not corrupt?' The official asked the clerk in charge, 'What merits does Ke have? Why were they not recorded?' The clerk replied, 'Merits are also fully recorded. But we weigh the amount of sins against merits: if merits are many and sins few, we first have them receive reward; if sins are many and merits few, we first have them undergo retribution. Ke's merits are few and his sins many, so we temporarily set aside his merits without discussing them.' The official said angrily, 'Even if he is to undergo retribution first, why did you not proclaim his merits to show him?' He ordered the clerk to be given one hundred lashes. In an instant, the whipping was finished, blood splattering the ground. Then the clerk chanted the merits Ke had cultivated throughout his life, not omitting a single one. The official said to Ke, 'You should receive punishment first, but I will release you to return home for seven days; you may diligently cultivate posthumous merits.' He then sent someone to escort him out, and he revived. Ke gathered a large assembly of monks and nuns to practice the Way and repent, striving with utmost diligence. He recounted this affair himself. When the seven days arrived, he bade farewell to his family and passed away shortly after. My elder brother was a subordinate official in the Sui Commandery, and so I know this in detail. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 3.19](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2082.3.19) - [Next: 3.21](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2082.3.21) - [Up: 3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2082.3) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2082~en-mt.3.20) — English, machine translation ## Linked texts (1) - [法苑珠林](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2122.71.29) — 道世, Classical Chinese --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2082.3.20](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2082.3.20) · Pramāṇa