經律異相 36.36

36.36

昔給孤獨氏有三子。皆背正向邪酒荒女色。馳騁田獵樗蒲博弈。去明即暝日成狂愚。父愍悼之。慈惻誨喻指示禍福無日不爾。子獨不移放蕩日甚。父乃以苗草衣之以豆麥食之。窮而悔焉。父言。爾為不善現世獲殃甚困如此。豈況地獄燒煮之痛誰當濟爾。子叩頭曰。邪友所導狂惑習之。由猪處溷不知其臭。自今束身奉戴三尊。父曰大善。汝若洗心奉佛五戒終身不犯。歲與汝五千萬金。三自歸三千萬。子對曰。唯既奉尊教。即令洗浴將至佛所。稽首受戒退歸修德。清潔其志周窮濟乏。惠逮眾生國儒稱德。名齊古賢（出教子經）。

In ancient times, Anāthapiṇḍada had three sons. All of them turned their backs on what was proper and leaned toward evil, indulging in wine and female beauty, gallivanting about hunting, and playing board games and dice. Departing from light and entering darkness, they grew daily more mad and foolish. Their father grieved for them, instructing and illustrating to them with compassion and sorrow, pointing out misfortune and fortune, not letting a day pass without doing so. Yet the sons alone did not change, their licentiousness worsening daily. The father then clothed them in weeds and fed them peas and wheat. In their extremity they repented. The father said, "You have committed unwholesomeness and incurred calamity in this present life, becoming utterly destitute like this. How much worse the pain of burning and boiling in hell—who will rescue you then?" The sons knocked their heads on the ground and said, "Led astray by evil companions, we practiced this out of madness and delusion, like pigs residing in a privy, unaware of its stench. From this day forward we will restrain ourselves and revere the Three Honoured Ones." The father said, "Very good! If you cleanse your hearts, revere the Buddha, and keep the five precepts without violating them for the rest of your lives, I will give you fifty million in gold each year; and thirty million for taking the three refuges." The sons responded, "Yes, we will follow your honorable instructions." He then had them bathe, led them to the Buddha's presence, where they bowed their heads, received the precepts, and returned to cultivate virtue, purifying their aspirations, aiding the destitute, and relieving the impoverished. Their beneficence reached all living beings, and the scholars of the country praised their virtue, their renown equaling the sages of antiquity. (Extracted from the Sūtra on Instructing Sons)