[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) › 11.55 # 經律異相 11.55 經律異相 11.55 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [11.55](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2121.11.55) 昔者菩薩。曾為鼈王。生長大海化諸同類。子民群眾皆修仁德。王自奉行慈悲喜護。愍於眾生如母愛子。其海深長邊際難限。而悉周至靡不更歷。於時鼈王出於海外。在邊臥息積有日月。其背堅燥猶如陸地。賈人遠來因止其上。破薪然火炊煮飯食。繫其牛馬車乘載石皆著其上。鼈王欲趣入水。畏墮商人。適欲強忍痛不可勝。便設權計入淺水處。除滅火毒不危眾賈。眾賈恐怖謂潮卒漲。悲哀吁嗟歸命諸天。釋梵四王日月神明。願以威德唯見救濟。鼈王心益愍之。因報賈人。慎莫恐怖。吾被火焚故捨入水。欲令痛息。今當相安終不相危。眾賈聞之知有活望。俱時發聲言。南無佛。鼈興大慈。還負眾賈移在岸邊。眾人得脫靡不歡喜。遙拜鼈王而歎其德。尊為橋梁多所過度。行為大舟載越三界。設得佛道當復救脫生死之厄。鼈王報曰。善哉善哉。當如汝言。各自別去。佛言。時鼈王者我身是也。五百賈人。五百弟子舍利弗等是（出生經第四卷）。 > In the past, the Bodhisattva was once a king of turtles. Born and raised in the great sea, he transformed his fellows, so that his subjects and folk all cultivated benevolence and virtue. The king himself practiced kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity, pitying sentient beings as a mother loves her child. That sea was so deep and vast that its boundaries were hard to determine, yet he traversed all of it, leaving nowhere unvisited. At that time, the turtle king emerged beyond the sea and rested on the shore for many days and months. His back became dry and hard, just like dry land. Merchants coming from afar stopped upon it, chopped firewood, kindled a fire, and cooked their meals. They tethered their oxen and horses, and placed their carts and loaded goods all upon him. The turtle king wished to head into the water, but feared the merchants would fall in. Just as he tried to endure it with all his might, the pain became unbearable. He then devised an expedient: he entered a shallow place, quenching the heat of the fire without endangering the merchants. The merchants were terrified, thinking the tide had suddenly surged; lamenting and sighing, they took refuge in the deities: Śakra, Brahmā, the Four Kings, the sun and moon spirits, saying, 'We pray that through your majestic virtue you will save us!' The turtle king felt even greater pity for them, and so told the merchants, 'Do not be afraid. Having been burned by fire, I entered the water only to quell the pain. I shall now set you at ease, and will never bring harm upon you.' Hearing this, the merchants knew they had hope of surviving. With one voice, they called out, 'Homage to the Buddha!' The turtle gave rise to great compassion, carried the merchants back, and moved them to the shore. The people, having escaped, were all filled with joy. Bowing toward the turtle king from afar, they praised his virtue: 'Honoured as a bridge, you carry many across; acting as a great vessel, you ferry them across the three realms. When you attain the Buddha way, please rescue and deliver us again from the perils of birth and death.' The turtle king replied, 'Excellent, excellent! It shall be as you say.' Then each went their separate ways. The Buddha said, 'The turtle king of that time was myself. The five hundred merchants were the five hundred disciples such as Śāriputra and the others.' (Extracted from the fourth fascicle of the Sheng jing.) > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 11.54](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2121.11.54) - [Next: 11.56](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2121.11.56) - [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.11.55) — English, machine translation ## Linked texts (1) - [諸經要集](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2123.8.64) — Classical Chinese --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2121.11.55](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2121.11.55) · Pramāṇa