經律異相 44.70

44.70

昔有人行空澤中。見一黑象。人念。此象必來害我。我當殺之。象亦念言。人必殺我。我當危之。人便捨去。象從後逐。前走數里墮一深谷。谷絕無底。即於岸邊捉持樹根。其形如指。尋根而下。懸在岸邊。象於谷上以鼻撈之。欲及不及。下向見底但是𨥨𮣃復有兩鼠共嚙樹根。又三黑蛇出頭欲囓。復有蚊虻來螫其眼。其人念曰。今日死矣。仰天求救。聲哀情至。天降甘露渧其口。始得一渧二鼠去。得二渧毒蛇捨之。得三渧黑象自還。得四渧蚊虻除。得五渧深谷自平出在平地。天為化導將還天上（出譬喻經第七卷）。

Formerly, a man was walking through a desolate marsh and saw a black elephant. The man thought: 'This elephant will surely come to harm me; I must kill it.' The elephant also thought: 'The man will surely kill me; I must endanger him.' The man then fled, and the elephant pursued him from behind. Running forward for several leagues, he fell into a deep ravine. The ravine was sheer and bottomless. At its edge, he grabbed a tree root as thick as a finger, and climbed down along the root, hanging suspended by the cliff's edge. The elephant reached down with its trunk from above the ravine, trying to get him but failing to reach. Looking down, he saw that the bottom was covered entirely with sharp knives; moreover, two mice were gnawing together at the tree root, three black snakes were sticking out their heads wanting to bite, and gnats and horseflies came stinging his eyes. The man thought: 'Today I shall die!' Looking up to heaven, he cried for help, his voice sorrowful and full of devotion. Heaven rained down amṛta, dripping into his mouth. With the very first drop, the two mice departed; with the second drop, the poisonous snakes abandoned him; with the third drop, the black elephant went back of itself; with the fourth drop, the gnats and horseflies were eliminated; with the fifth drop, the deep ravine leveled itself, and he came out onto flat ground. A deity transformed to guide him, taking him back to heaven. (Taken from the Parable Sūtra, fascicle 7.)