經律異相 11.14

11.14

須菩提問。菩薩善根成就。云何生作象馬。佛言。菩薩實有福德。善根成就。為利眾生受畜生形。無畜生罪。菩薩在畜生中。慈愍怨賊。阿羅漢辟支佛之所無有。阿羅漢辟支佛。怨賊來害。雖不加報。不能愛念供養供給。如菩薩本身。作六牙白象。獵師以毒箭射胸。爾時菩薩象鼻擁抱獵者。不令餘象得害。語雌象言。汝為菩薩婦。何緣生惡心。獵師是煩惱罪。非人過也。我得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。當滅其煩惱。如鬼著人呪師治鬼而不見人。徐問獵者。汝何以射我。答言。我須汝牙。象即就石拔牙與之。血肉俱出不以為痛。供給糧食示語道徑。如是等慈悲。阿羅漢辟支佛之所無也。問曰。何以不作人身而為說法。而作此獸身。答曰。有時眾生見人身則不信受。見畜生身說法。則生信樂。受其教化。菩薩。欲具足大慈心。欲行其實事。眾生見之驚喜皆得入道（出大智論九十三卷）。

Subhūti asked, "A bodhisattva has perfected roots of goodness; why would he be reborn as an elephant or a horse?" The Buddha said, "A bodhisattva indeed possesses merit and has perfected roots of goodness; for the benefit of sentient beings, he takes on an animal form without the defilements of an animal. When a bodhisattva is among animals, he feels loving-kindness and pity toward enemies and bandits, which arhats and pratyekabuddhas do not possess. When enemies or bandits come to harm arhats and pratyekabuddhas, although they do not retaliate, they cannot cherish, support, and provide for them with affection. For instance, in a past life the Bodhisattva was a six-tusked white elephant. A hunter shot him in the chest with a poisoned arrow. At that time, the Bodhisattva embraced the hunter with his trunk, preventing the other elephants from harming him, and said to the female elephant, 'You are the wife of a bodhisattva; why would you give rise to an evil intention? The hunter is under the affliction of defilements; it is not the man's fault. When I attain anuttarasamyaksaṃbodhi, I will extinguish his defilements. Just as when a demon possesses a person, a spellmaster treats the demon and does not blame the person.' He gently asked the hunter, 'Why did you shoot me?' [The hunter] replied, 'I need your tusks.' The elephant thereupon went up against a rock, broke off his tusks, and gave them to him. Flesh and blood came out together, yet he did not consider it painful. He provided him with provisions and showed him the path. Loving-kindness and compassion such as this are what arhats and pratyekabuddhas do not have. It was asked, 'Why not take human form and explain the Dharma, instead of taking this beast's body?' The answer was, 'Sometimes when sentient beings see a human body, they do not believe and accept [the teaching]; but seeing an animal body explaining the Dharma, they give rise to faith and joy, and receive its conversion. A bodhisattva wishes to complete a mind of great loving-kindness and wishes to practice its actual deeds; when sentient beings see this, they are astonished and delighted, and all are able to enter the Path.' (Extracted from Fascicle 93 of the Dazhidu lun)