經律異相 18.26

18.26

佛在舍衛精舍。有四比丘坐於樹下。共相問言。一切世間何者最苦。一人言。天下之苦無過婬欲。一人言。世間之苦無過飢渴。一人言。世間之苦無過瞋恚。一人言。天下之苦莫過驚怖。共諍苦義云何不止。佛知其言。往到其所。問其所論。即以事白佛言。汝等所論不究苦義。天下之苦莫過有身。飢渴寒熱瞋恚驚怖色欲怨禍皆由於身。夫身者眾苦之本患禍之器。勞心極慮憂畏萬端。三界蠕動更相殘賊。吾我縛著生死不息。皆由身興。欲離世苦當求寂滅。攝心守正怕然無想。可得泥洹。此為最樂。佛為說偈告諸比丘。往昔久遠無數世時。有五通比丘。名精進力。在山樹下閑寂求道。時有四禽依附左右常得安隱。一者鴿。二者烏。三者毒蛇。四者鹿。是四禽者。晝行求食。暮則還宿。四禽一夜。自相問言。世間之苦何者為重。烏言。飢渴之時身羸目冥神識不寧。投身羅網不顧鋒刃。我等喪身莫不由之。以此言之。飢渴為苦。鴿言。色欲熾盛無所顧念。危身滅命莫不由之。毒蛇言。恚意一起不避親疎。亦能殺人復能自殺。鹿言。我在林野心恒𪫟惕。畏懼獵師及諸虎狼。髣髴有聲奔投坑岸。母子相捐肝膽悼悸。以此言之。驚怖為苦。時精進力答言。汝等所論未耳。不究苦本。天下大苦無過有為。是為苦器憂畏無量。吾以是故捨俗學道。滅意斷想。不貪四大。欲斷苦源志存泥洹。泥洹道者寂滅無形。憂患永畢。爾乃大安。四禽聞之。心即開解。佛告比丘。爾時五通比丘則吾身是。時四禽者今四人是。前世已聞苦本之義。如何今日方復云云。比丘聞之慚愧自責。即於佛前得羅漢道（出法句經譬喻第四卷）。

When the Buddha was at the vihāra in Śrāvastī, four monks sat under a tree and asked one another, “In all the world, what is the greatest suffering?” One said, “Of all the suffering in the world, nothing exceeds sexual desire.” Another said, “Of the suffering in the world, nothing exceeds hunger and thirst.” Another said, “Of the suffering in the world, nothing exceeds anger.” Another said, “Of all the suffering in the world, nothing exceeds fright.” As they debated the meaning of suffering without ceasing, the Buddha, knowing what they were discussing, went to their place and asked about their discourse. They reported the matter to the Buddha. The Buddha said, “What you have discussed does not reach the ultimate meaning of suffering. Of all the suffering in the world, nothing exceeds having a physical body. Hunger, thirst, cold, heat, anger, fright, sensual lust, enmities, and disasters all arise from the body. Now, the body is the root of all suffering, a vessel of affliction and disaster. It wearies the mind, exhausts all thought, and brings countless anxieties and fears. The wriggling creatures of the three realms harm and prey upon one another; bound and clinging to self and others, birth and death never cease—all arising because of the body. If one wishes to leave the world’s suffering, one must seek extinction (nirodha). Gathering the mind, maintaining rectitude, and resting tranquil and free of conceptual thought, one may attain nirvāṇa. This is the supreme bliss.” The Buddha then spoke a verse and addressed the monks: “Long ago, incalculable ages past, there was a monk endowed with the five supernatural powers named Viryabala (Vigor of Diligence), who sought the Way in seclusion under a mountain tree. At that time, four animals relied on his presence and always enjoyed peace and security: the first was a pigeon, the second a crow, the third a venomous snake, and the fourth a deer. These four animals ranged about by day seeking food and returned at dusk to roost. One night, the four animals asked one another, ‘Of the world’s sufferings, which is the gravest?’ The crow said, ‘In times of hunger and thirst, the body is emaciated, the eyes are dimmed, and the consciousness is restless. One flings oneself into nets, heedless of sharp blades. None of our kind loses life except through this. Thus considered, hunger and thirst are suffering.’ The pigeon said, ‘When sensual lust blazes fiercely, one cares for and regards nothing. None of our kind imperils the body and destroys life except through this.’ The venomous snake said, ‘Once an angry thought arises, it spares neither kin nor stranger; it can kill others and can also kill oneself.’ The deer said, ‘Living in the forest, my heart is ever terrified. I fear hunters and tigers and wolves; at the faintest sound, I flee into ravines and pits. Mother and child abandon each other, their hearts trembling with dread. Thus considered, fright is suffering.’ Then Viryabala answered them, ‘What you have discussed is not yet it; it does not reach the root of suffering. Of the great suffering in the world, nothing exceeds conditioned existence (saṃskṛta). This is a vessel of suffering, bearing immeasurable anxieties and fears. For this reason, I left the secular world to study the Way, extinguishing mind and severing thought, without craving for the four elements, wishing to cut off the source of suffering and setting my aspiration on nirvāṇa. The Way of nirvāṇa is tranquil extinction without form, wherein anxiety and calamity are forever ended; only then is there great peace.’ Hearing this, the four animals immediately opened their minds and understood.” The Buddha told the monks, “The monk endowed with the five supernatural powers at that time was myself; the four animals of that time were you four men. In a previous life you had already heard the doctrine of the root of suffering—why do you now debate it again?” Hearing this, the monks were ashamed, reproached themselves, and immediately attained the Way of arhatship before the Buddha (from the fourth fascicle of the *Dharmapada-avadāna-sūtra*).