經律異相 19.4

19.4

昔有四姓。名伊利沙。財富無數。慳惜衣食。有貧老公。居與相近。日日自恣。飲食魚肉。賓客不絕。四姓自念。我財無數反不如此老公。便殺一鷄。炊一升白米。著車上到無人處。下車適欲飯。天帝化作犬來。上下視之。謂狗言。汝若倒懸空中者。我當與汝不。狗即倒懸空中。四姓意大恐曰。汝眼著地我當與汝不。狗兩眼脫地。四姓便徙去。天帝化作四姓身。乘車還家勅語。外人有詐稱四姓者。驅逐捶之。四姓晚還。門人罵詈令去。天帝盡取財物大布施。四姓亦不得歸。財物既盡為之發狂。天帝作一人問。汝何以愁曰。我財物了盡。天帝言。夫有珍寶令人多憂。五家無期積財不施。死為餓鬼。恒乏衣食。若脫為人。常墮下賤。汝不覺無常。富而且慳。貪惜不食。欲何望乎。天帝為說四諦。四姓意解。天帝化去。四姓歸。自悔前意。盡心施給財盡得道（出雜譬喻經第五卷）。

In the past, there was a man of the four castes named Illīsa. He possessed boundless wealth, but begrudged clothing and food. There was an impoverished old man living near him, who daily indulged himself, eating fish and meat, with guests arriving without end. The man of the four castes thought to himself: 'Though my wealth is boundless, I am conversely not equal to this old man.' He thereupon killed a chicken, cooked a sheng of white rice, loaded them onto a cart, and went to an uninhabited place. Stepping down from the cart, just as he was about to eat, Śakra transformed himself into a dog, approached, and looked at him up and down. He said to the dog: 'If you can hang upside down in midair, shall I give you [some] or not?' The dog immediately hung upside down in midair. The man of the four castes was greatly terrified and said: 'If your eyes drop to the ground, shall I give you [some] or not?' Both eyes of the dog fell out onto the ground. The man of the four castes then moved away. Śakra transformed himself into the body of the man of the four castes, rode the cart back home, and gave orders: 'If anyone from outside falsely claims to be me, drive him away and beat him!' The man of the four castes returned late; the gatekeepers reviled him and made him leave. Śakra took all the wealth and gave it away in great generosity. The man of the four castes could not return either; seeing that his wealth was completely gone, he went mad on account of it. Śakra transformed himself into a person and asked: 'Why are you grieving?' He said: 'My wealth has been completely wiped out.' Śakra said: 'Indeed, possessing precious treasures causes one much worry. The five families take without notice; if one amasses wealth without giving, after death one becomes a hungry ghost, constantly lacking clothing and food. If one happens to be reborn as a human, one constantly falls into the lowly and base. You did not realize impermanence; you were wealthy yet stingy, greedily hoarding and not eating—what were you hoping for?' Śakra preached the four noble truths for him. The man of the four castes understood. Śakra dissolved his transformation and left. The man of the four castes returned home, repented of his former intentions, dedicated himself to giving, and when his wealth was exhausted, he attained the Way (from the fifth fascicle of the Samyuktāvadāna-sūtra).