法苑珠林 44.13

44.13

又百喻經云。昔有一人。說王過罪。而作是言。王甚暴虐治政無理。王聞是語既大瞋恚竟不究悉。信傍佞人捉一賢臣。仰使剝脊取百兩肉。有人證明此無是語。王心便悔索千兩肉用為補脊。夜中呻喚甚大苦惱。王聞其聲問言。何以苦惱。取汝百兩十倍與汝。意不足耶。何故苦惱傍人答言。大王如截子頭。雖得千頭不免子死。雖十倍得肉不免苦痛。愚人亦爾。不畏後世貪濁現樂。苦切眾生調發百姓。多得財物。望得滅罪而得福報。譬如彼王割人之脊取人之肉以餘肉補望使不痛。無有是處。

Also, the Sūtra of a Hundred Parables says: In the past, there was a man who spoke of the king's faults and offenses, saying, "The king is extremely tyrannical and governs without principle." When the king heard these words, he became furious and did not investigate them thoroughly at all. Believing a flatterer at his side, he seized a worthy minister and ordered that his back be flayed to take one hundred ounces of flesh. Someone testified that he had never spoken these words. Regret arose in the king's heart, and he sought a thousand ounces of flesh to patch his back with. During the night [the minister] groaned in intense suffering and distress. Hearing the sound, the king asked, "Why are you in distress? I took a hundred ounces from you and have given you ten times as much. Is this not enough for your mind? Why are you in distress?" A bystander replied, "Great King, it is like severing your son's head: even if you obtained a thousand heads, it would not save your son from death. Though he has received ten times the flesh, he cannot avoid suffering and pain." Foolish people are also like this: not fearing future lives, they greedily crave present pleasures, tormenting living beings and levying taxes upon the common people to acquire abundant wealth, hoping thereby to eradicate their offenses and obtain fortunate recompense. This is just like that king who sliced a man's back, took the man's flesh, and patched it with other flesh, hoping to make him feel no pain—this is impossible.