眾經撰雜譬喻 2.12

2.12

Ānanda said to the Buddha, 'The Buddha was born in a royal household, sat under a tree contemplating the path for six years, and thus attained Buddhahood. Was it that easy to attain?' The Buddha told Ānanda, 'Formerly, there was an elder whose household was exceedingly wealthy and fully possessed of all treasures; he lacked only red pearls and considered this a deficiency. He then led men into the ocean to harvest pearls. Passing through perils and obstacles, they arrived at the place of treasure. He pierced his body to draw blood, wrapped it in an oil bag, and hung it at the bottom of the sea. The pearl oysters, smelling the fragrance of the blood, pecked and ate at it, and only then could he obtain the clams. Opening the clams to extract the pearls, he harvested for three years before obtaining a single pendant. On the return journey to the seashore, his companions, seeing that he had obtained a fine treasure, wished to conspire against him. They went together to fetch water; the crowd pushed him into a well, covered it, and left. Having fallen to the bottom of the well for a long time, the man saw a lion come from a side hole to drink water. The man was terrified again. After the lion left, he followed the hole and came out, returning to his home territory. When his companions returned home, he called to them, saying: 'You took my single pendant; no one knows of it, and you also wished to harm me. You may secretly return it all to me, and I will never speak of you!' Terrified, the man returned all the pearls. Having recovered it, the pearl's owner carried it home. At home, his two children were playing together with the pearl and asked each other, 'Where was this pearl born?' One child said, 'It was born in my bag.' The other child said, 'It was born in the jar in the room.' The father saw this and laughed at it. His wife asked, 'Why are you laughing?' He replied, 'I endured such toil and suffering to obtain this pearl; relying on me, the little children obtained it, and knowing nothing of its origin, they say it was born in a jar.'' The Buddha told Ānanda, 'You only see me attain Buddhahood, not knowing that I studied with toil and suffering over countless kalpas, only to attain it now; you consider it easy, just like those infants saying the pearl was born in a bag!' Therefore, the cultivation of the myriad practices and the accumulation of merit through successive kalpas cannot be attained merely by a single deed, a single practice, or a single lifetime!