眾經撰雜譬喻 2.10

2.10

Once, a butcher went to King Ajātaśatru to request a boon. The king asked, 'What boon do you seek?' He replied, 'Whenever festivals and gatherings occur, butchering is required; if the king would bestow it upon me, I will do it all.' The king said, 'The business of butchering is something people take no pleasure in; why do you delight in seeking it?' He replied, 'Formerly, I was a poor man and sustained my life through a shop butchering sheep. By virtue of this, I was born into the heaven of the Cāturmahārājikas. When my lifespan in that heaven was exhausted, I came to be born among humans and continued to butcher sheep. After my life ended, I was born into the second heaven. In this way, I butchered sheep through six cycles, and on account of this affair, I was born throughout the six heavens and received immeasurable blessing. For this reason, I now seek a boon from the king.' The king said, 'Assuming it is as you say, how do you know this?' He replied, 'I remember my former lives.' Hearing this, the king did not believe him, taking it to be falsehood: 'How could a lowly person such as this know former lives?' Later, he asked the Buddha, and the Buddha replied, 'It is truly as he said; it is not a lie! In a past life, this man once encountered a pratyekabuddha. Seeing the Buddha, he rejoiced and contemplated him with a concentrated mind, looking up at his head and looking down at his feet. A wholesome mind immediately arose. Due to this merit, he was able to be born in the six heavens and undergo six cycles among humans, remembering his former lives of his own accord. Because his blessings had ripened, he was able to make six cycles between humans and devas; because his offenses had not yet ripened, he had not yet suffered pain. When this life is ended, he will enter naraka to receive retribution for the sin of butchering sheep; and when his sins in naraka are ended, he will be born among sheep to repay them one by one. This man's knowledge of former lives is shallow: he sees only the events within the six heavens and does not reach the past seventh life; thus he took butchering sheep to be the cause of being born in heaven. In this way, he only recognizes former lives, but possesses neither spiritual superknowledges nor clear insight!' Therefore, those who cultivate merit must make vows; do not act rashly so as to leave vipāka unclear. This can serve as proof!