經律異相 39.11

39.11

有王名多福。太子字增福。王奉六師。子事佛道。所遵不同。時世無沙門。唯一白衣以為師首。其外道五百人嫉師名德。即白王言。國事兩法令人不專一。願與佛道師各現奇德。要不如者沒屬為奴。王即可之。外道與此師剋日。要結。王前各試功藝共相然可。梵志皆善射馭。即行入山。五百人各射射一鹿。皆貫左目來角伎術。賢者亦入山精思念佛求威神佐助以彰大道。即有五色鹿子忽從地出。歡喜持歸。外道知之。伺賢者出行。往詣其家。詭語其婦曰。卿夫欲捨家作道人。但坐此鹿當破汝家。婦聞恚怒。以鹿乞之。賢者來歸不見其鹿。問婦曰。不祥之物今已失之。夫甚愁憂。復還山中至誠懺悔。即有明月神珠忽從地出。便持此珠齎現梵志。往詣至門行賣奇物。梵志婦曰。吾家亦有異物可共相方。即出鹿子。賢者便白王。使吾掌此鹿子。汝今盜之其罪不測。婦懅還之。至其試曰。梵志各送死鹿皆傷左目既穢且臭。王甚惡之。賢者前牽神鹿。齎明珠來上王殿。二物飛騰嬉戲星流電曜。舉宮奇之。婆羅門五百人自知術藝不競。即沒為奴。婦皆為婢（出十卷譬喻經第八卷）。

There was a king named Duofu (Abundant Blessings), whose crown prince was named Zengfu (Increasing Blessings). The king revered the six teachers, while the prince served the Buddhist path; what they adhered to differed. At that time there were no śramaṇas in the world, and only a single layman served as the foremost teacher. The five hundred non-Buddhists were jealous of that master's renown and virtue, and so said to the king, "The state serving two doctrines makes people not single-minded. We wish to display extraordinary wonders against the master of the Buddhist path, on the condition that the loser shall become enslaved to the other." The king consented. The non-Buddhists set a date with the master and made an agreement: before the king, each would test their skills and abilities and acknowledge the victor. The brahmacārins were all skilled in archery and charioteering; they immediately went into the mountains, and each of the five hundred men shot a deer, all piercing the left eye, and came to compete in arts and skills. The virtuous man also entered the mountains, focused his mind in contemplation of the Buddha, and sought supernormal assistance to reveal the Great Path. Immediately, a five-colored fawn suddenly sprang up from the ground, and he joyfully took it home. The non-Buddhists learned of this, waited for the virtuous man to go out, and went to his house, deceitfully saying to his wife, "Your husband wishes to leave home and become a practitioner of the Path; solely on account of this deer, your family will be ruined." Hearing this, the wife became furious and gave the deer to them. When the virtuous man returned home and did not see his deer, he asked his wife; she said, "It was an inauspicious thing, and now it is lost." The husband was exceedingly grieved and sorrowful, returned to the mountains, and repented with utmost sincerity. Thereupon, a moon-bright divine pearl suddenly emerged from the ground. He then took this pearl and presented it to the brahmacārins, going to their gate peddling the extraordinary object. The brahmacārin's wife said, "My family also has an unusual object that can be compared with it," and brought out the fawn. The virtuous man then said, "The king had me take charge of this fawn; your stealing it now is a crime beyond measure!" In fear, the woman returned it. When the day of the test arrived, each brahmacārin presented a dead deer, all wounded in the left eye, which were foul and stinking; the king despised them. The virtuous man stepped forward leading the divine deer and carrying the bright pearl up into the king's hall; the two objects flew and leaped about in play, flashing like shooting stars and lightning. The entire palace marvelled at them. The five hundred brāhmaṇas, realizing that their skills could not compete, fell into servitude as slaves, and their wives all became handmaids. (Extracted from the Ten-Fascicle Sūtra of Parables, Fascicle 8)