[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) › [經律異相](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2121) › 11.53 # 經律異相 11.53 經律異相 11.53 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [11.53](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2121.11.53) 昔者菩薩貧窶。與諸商人俱至他國。菩薩覩海中魚巨細相吞。以身代小者令得須臾之命。即自投海大魚得飽小者得活。魂神化為鯨魚之王。身有數里。海邊國旱人民饑饉。更相吞噉。魚即蕩身于國。噉者存命。輦肉數月而魚猶活。天神下曰。爾為仁慈苦可堪乎。何不收壽離斯痛也。魚曰。吾神逝身腐。民後饑饉。復當相噉。吾不忍覩。天曰。爾必得佛度苦眾生。有人取其首魚時死矣。魂為王子。有上聖之明。四恩弘慈潤齊二儀。愍民困窮。言之哽咽。然國尚旱。靖心齋肅。退食絕獻。頓首悔過曰。民之不善。咎在我身。願喪吾命惠民雨澤。月月哀慟。由至孝之子遭聖父之喪。精誠遠遠有名。佛與五百人來其國界。王聞心悅。奉迎稽首叩頭涕泣。心穢行濁。不合三尊四恩之教。苦酷人民。枯旱累載。黎庶饑饉。怨痛傷情。願除民災以禍罪我。諸佛答曰。爾為人君。慈惻仁惠德齊帝釋。諸佛普知。令王受福慎無慼也。勅民種穀。家無不修。稻化為滋。王曰。須熟。禾實覆國。皆含稻穬。中容數斛。其米芬芳舉國欣懌。歎詠王德。率土持戒。歸命三寶。王及臣民命終生天。時貧人吾身是（出度無極集第一卷）。 > In the past, the Bodhisattva was poor and destitute. Together with merchants, he went to another country. The Bodhisattva saw that fish in the sea, large and small, were devouring one another. Sacrificing his own body on behalf of the small ones so that they might gain a moment of life, he threw himself into the sea. The large fish were sated, and the small ones survived. His conscious spirit transformed into the king of whale-fish, whose body was several leagues long. A country beside the sea suffered a drought, and the people starved, devouring one another. The fish then washed its body ashore in that country. Those who ate of it preserved their lives. They carted away its flesh for several months, yet the fish was still alive. A heavenly deity descended and said, 'You practice benevolence and compassion, but can such suffering be endured? Why not withdraw your lifespan and part from this agony?' The fish said, 'If my spirit departs and my body rots, the people will starve afterwards and again devour one another. I cannot bear to see it.' The deity said, 'You will surely attain Buddhahood and deliver suffering sentient beings.' Someone took its head, and the fish then died. Its spirit became a prince, endowed with the supreme sage's illumination. His great compassion through the four obligations was equal to Heaven and Earth. Pitying the people's destitution, his voice choked whenever he spoke of it. Yet the country was still in drought. With a settled mind in fasting and solemnity, he declined food and refused offerings, bowing his head in repentance and saying: 'The people's lack of goodness has its blame upon my own person. I wish to lose my life so that rain and moisture may be bestowed upon the people.' Month after month he mourned and grieved, like a most filial son suffering the loss of a sage father. His absolute sincerity was renowned far and wide. The Buddha, together with five hundred followers, came to his borders. Hearing of this, the king was delighted in heart. Going out to welcome them, he bowed his head, kowtowing and weeping: 'My mind is defiled and my conduct turbid, not in accord with the teachings of the Three Venerable Ones and the four obligations. I have brought hardship and cruelty upon the people; drought has persisted for successive years, and the common folk starve. My grief and anguish wound my feelings. I pray that the people's disaster be removed and the guilt be visited upon me!' The Buddhas replied: 'As a ruler of men, your compassionate sorrow and benevolent kindness equal the virtue of Śakra. The Buddhas all know this. Let the king receive blessings; by all means, do not grieve.' He ordered the people to sow grain, and every household cultivated it. The rice grew lush. The king said, 'Wait until it ripens.' The grain covered the realm, each holding husked rice with a volume of several bushels inside. Its grain was fragrant, and the whole realm rejoiced, praising and chanting the king's virtue. Across the entire land they maintained the precepts and took refuge in the Three Jewels. The king and his ministers and subjects were reborn in heaven at the end of their lives. The poor man at that time was my own person. (Extracted from the first fascicle of the Collection of Crossing the Limitless.) > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 11.52](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2121.11.52) - [Next: 11.54](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2121.11.54) - [Up: 11](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2121.11) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2121~en-mt.11.53) — English, machine translation --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2121.11.53](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2121.11.53) · Pramāṇa