經律異相 28.26

28.26

昔瓶沙王先祖。治罪人法。若作賊者以手拍頭。賊大慚愧與死無異。後更不作。至父王時治。若作賊者驅令出城以為嚴教。賊悉慚愧與死無殊。後更不作。洴沙嗣立。若作賊者驅令出國。時有一賊七反驅出。猶故復還劫殺村城。最後縛送。王言。將去截其小指。時有司急截恐王有悔。王自試嚙指痛殊難忍即追莫截。臣答王言。已截。王甚愁悔。即自念言。我為法王之末。而為非法之始。夫為王者憂念民下。而截人指。即自命駕。詣佛白言。我曾祖先王迄至父王。皆以法治民。及到我身。為惡日滋正化漸薄。謬得為王傷截人體。自惟無道愧懼實深。佛告大王。治國之法。盜至幾錢罪應至死至幾出國。齊幾用刑。王曰。世尊。以十九古錢為一罽利沙槃分。一罽利沙槃為四分。若盜一分罪應至死。佛為說法。王禮佛而退。時諸比丘言。云何瓶沙王畏罪乃爾。佛言。其不但今世畏罪。過去有國名曰迦尸。王號名稱。時國人民。工巧伎術無不悉備以自生活。若無工伎者謂之愚癡。若作賊者亦名愚癡。時有一人作賊縛送王所。王言。止止。彼人失財此人作賊。我復何用共作惡為。思惟。昔來始一癡人。是愚癡人不能滿千我應命終。即持愚人付於大臣云。我須千愚癡人用作大會。收覓數滿白我令知。臣執持愚人繫在一處。王尋念言。是愚癡者將無自苦。便告大臣。好看此人莫令羸瘦。著我無憂園中。五欲娛樂伎樂供給。大臣奉教。欲取王意加情看視。如是不久其數滿千。臣啟滿千。更須何等當速辦之。王聞此言。甚大愁憂。昔來久遠始有其一人。如何今者倏已千數。將是末世惡法增長。王勅群臣。灑掃園內燒香懸繒。備辦種種餚饍飲食。王與群臣十八部眾詣無憂園。勅現愚人見其衣破垢膩爪長髮亂。即勅沐浴剪髮截甲。給以新衣。然後將來各與種種飲食財寶。恣其所須。語令還家供養父母。勤修產業莫復作賊。愚人聞勅歡喜奉行。時王以位授其太子。出家入山學仙人法。時國王者洴沙是也。常畏罪報。佛言。洴沙王。不但今世教令斬指追即還悔。過去世時有婆羅門。無有錢財以乞自活。是婆羅門妻不生兒子。家本有那俱羅蟲。便生一子。婆羅門念如兒想。那俱羅子於婆羅門亦如父想。少時婦生一子。行乞食時便勅婦言。汝若出行當將兒去。婦與兒食往比舍寄舂。兒有酥酪香氣。毒蛇張口吐毒欲殺小兒。那俱羅蟲便作是念。我父母不在。云何毒蛇欲殺我弟。即殺毒蛇斷為七分。以血塗口當門而立。欲令父母見之歡喜。時婆羅門。始從外來遙見其婦於舍外。便瞋恚言。我教行時當將兒去。何以獨行。父當入門見那俱羅口脣有血。即作是念。我夫婦不在。那俱羅於後將無殺噉我兒。以杖打殺那俱羅。入門見其兒。坐於庭中𡂡指而戲。又見毒蛇七分甚大憂悔。是那俱羅救我子命。我不善觀卒便殺之可痛可憐。即便迷悶僻地。時空中有天。即說偈言。

In ancient times, King Bimbisāra's ancestors had laws for punishing criminals: if someone committed theft, his head was slapped with a hand; the thief was so deeply ashamed that it was no different from dying, and he would never do it again. By the time of his father the king, if someone committed theft, he was driven out of the city as a severe reprimand; the thieves were all ashamed, no different from dying, and would never do it again. When Bimbisāra succeeded to the throne, if someone committed theft, he was driven out of the country. At that time there was a thief who was driven out seven times, yet he still returned to plunder and kill in villages and cities. At last, he was bound and sent to the king. The king said, 'Take him away and cut off his little finger.' At that time, the official cut it off in haste, fearing the king might regret it. The king tried biting his own finger, and finding the pain extraordinarily difficult to bear, he immediately sent word not to cut it off. The minister replied to the king, saying, 'It has already been cut off.' The king was full of sorrow and regret, and thought to himself, 'I am the last of the righteous kings, yet the first of the unrighteous. A king should be anxious and caring toward his subjects, yet I have cut off a man's finger.' He immediately ordered his chariot and went to the Buddha, saying, 'From my great-grandfather down to my father the king, all governed the people with righteousness. But when it came to my person, evil has increased daily and correct transformation has gradually weakened. Having wrongly become king, I have wounded and severed a man's body. Reflecting on my own lack of virtue, my shame and fear are truly profound.' The Buddha asked the great king, 'According to the laws of statecraft, theft of how much money warrants the death penalty, how much warrants exile from the country, and how much warrants corporeal punishment?' The king said, 'Bhagavat, nineteen ancient coins make one part of a kārṣāpaṇa, and one kārṣāpaṇa has four parts. If one steals one part, the crime warrants death.' The Buddha preached the Dharma for him, and the king bowed to the Buddha and withdrew. At that time, the monks said, 'Why does King Bimbisāra fear offenses so greatly?' The Buddha said, 'Not only in this life does he fear offenses. In the past there was a country named Kāśi, whose king was called Mingcheng (Renown). At that time, the people of the country were fully equipped with arts and crafts to support themselves. Those without crafts were called foolish, and those who committed theft were also called foolish. At that time a man committed theft and was bound and sent to the king's location. The king said, "Stop, stop! That man lost his property and this man committed theft; why should I join in committing evil?" He reflected, "Since ancient times, this is the first foolish man. Until these foolish men reach a thousand, my life will not end." He immediately handed the foolish man over to his ministers, saying, "I need a thousand foolish men to hold a great assembly. When you have gathered that full number, report it to me." The ministers held the foolish man and bound him in one place. Soon the king thought, "Might not this foolish man be suffering?" He then told his ministers, "Look after this man well and do not let him become emaciated. Place him in my Aśoka Garden, and provide him with the pleasures of the five desires and musical entertainment." The ministers obeyed the order, and wishing to please the king, they looked after him with extra care. In this way, before long, the number reached a thousand. The ministers reported, "The thousand is complete. What else is needed? We shall prepare it quickly." Hearing these words, the king was exceedingly sorrowful: "In the long past, there was only one such man; how is it that now there are already a thousand? This must be the latter age when evil dharmas proliferate." The king ordered his ministers to sweep and clean the garden, burn incense, hang silk banners, and prepare all kinds of delicacies and food and drink. The king, accompanied by his ministers and the eighteen groups, went to the Aśoka Garden. He ordered the foolish men to be presented, and seeing their clothes torn and filthy, their nails long, and their hair disheveled, he immediately ordered them to bathe, cut their hair, trim their nails, and be supplied with new clothes. Afterwards, they were brought forward, and each was given various kinds of food, drink, and treasures according to what they needed. They were told to return home, provide for their parents, diligently pursue their livelihoods, and never commit theft again. Hearing the command, the foolish men rejoiced and obeyed. The king then ceded his throne to the crown prince, renounced the household life, entered the mountains, and studied the ways of the ṛṣis. That king was none other than Bimbisāra. He was always fearful of karmic retribution.' The Buddha said, 'Not only in this life did King Bimbisāra regret immediately after ordering a finger to be severed; in a past life there was a brāhmaṇa who had no wealth and lived by begging. This brāhmaṇa's wife bore no son. The household originally had a nakula (mongoose) that gave birth to a young one. The brāhmaṇa regarded it as his own child, and the young mongoose also regarded the brāhmaṇa as its father. After a short while, the wife gave birth to a son. When going out to beg for food, he instructed his wife, saying, "If you go out, you must take the child with you." The wife fed the child and went to a neighboring house to help pound grain. The child had the fragrance of ghee and curd; a poisonous snake opened its mouth and spat poison, wishing to kill the small child. The mongoose thought, "My parents are not here; how can this poisonous snake try to kill my younger brother?" It immediately killed the poisonous snake, tore it into seven pieces, smeared its mouth with blood, and stood facing the door, wishing to make its parents rejoice upon seeing it. At that time, the brāhmaṇa, just arriving from outside, saw his wife outside the house from afar, and angrily said, "When I instructed you to go out, you were to take the child; why did you go alone?" When the father approached the door, he saw blood on the lips of the mongoose, and thought, "My wife and I were away; did the mongoose kill and devour my child behind our backs?" With a staff he beat and killed the mongoose. Entering the door, he saw his child sitting in the courtyard, sucking his fingers and playing, and also saw the poisonous snake in seven pieces. He was overcome with profound sorrow and regret: "This mongoose saved my child's life, but without examining carefully, I killed it in haste! How tragic and pitiable!" He then fell into a dead faint upon the ground. At that time, a deity in the air uttered a verse:'