[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [法苑珠林](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2122) › 49.18 # 法苑珠林 49.18 法苑珠林 49.18 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [49.18](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2122.49.18) 如報恩經云。佛告阿難。過去久遠無量無邊阿僧祇劫有佛出世。號毘婆尸。入涅槃後。於像法中波羅柰國王名羅闍。其王統領六十小國。王有太子作小國王。有一大臣名羅睺羅。心生惡逆殺害大王并二太子。王最小子作邊國王。仁性調善天神敬愛。生一太子名須闍提。年始七歲。聰明慈孝。王甚愛念。時神語王。羅睺大臣謀奪國位。收殺父王并殺二兄。軍馬不久當來殺王。今可逃避王聞是語心驚毛竪。仰而問曰。卿是何人。但聞其聲不見其形。所宣實不。即報王言。我是大王守宮殿神。以王福德正法治國不枉人民故先相告。王宜速出衰禍不久正爾當至。王聞是已即入宮中。便自思惟。欲投他國。時向隣國有其二道。一道計行七日乃到。一道計行十四日至。王即尋辦七日糧食抱兒而去。夫人隨後。時去怱怱心意荒錯迷惑誤著十四日道。其路嶮難復無水草。初發唯將一人食糧。而於今者三人共食。數日糧盡前路猶遠。王與夫人舉聲大哭。怪哉苦哉。我從生來未曾聞有如是苦惱。何其今日身自更之。窮厄並至。舉身投地自悔言。我等宿世作何惡行今受此禍。思已大哭悶絕躄地。復自思念。不可三人併命此死。宜殺夫人取肉活身并續子命。念已拔刀欲殺夫人。其子見王欲殺其母。前捉王手問其因緣。王即洟泣悲淚滿目。微聲語子。欲殺汝母取其血肉以續餘命。若不殺者亦當自死。我身亦爾。今者死活竟何所在。為活子命欲殺汝母。子白父言。王若殺母俱亦不食。何處有子噉於母肉。既不噉肉子當俱死。王今宜可殺子取肉濟父母命。王聞子言。即便悶絕踠轉躄地。而語子言。子如吾目。何處有人自挑目食。吾寧喪命。終不殺子噉其肉也。子又語父言。若斷子命肉則臭爛。未得幾日。唯願父母。宜可日日就子身上割肉三斤分作三分二分奉父母一分自食以續身命。父隨子言。割肉三斤支命進路。二日未到身肉轉盡。骨節相連餘命未斷。即便倒地。父母見已尋前抱持舉聲大哭。而作是言。我等無狀橫噉汝肉。使汝苦痛。前路猶遠未達所在。汝肉已盡。今者併命聚屍一處。子諫父言。已噉子肉進路至此。計前里程餘一日在。子身今者捨命在此。仰願父母莫如凡人併命一處。可於子身諸支節間悉割餘肉。用濟父母可達所在。父母隨言。割得少肉分作三分。一分與兒。二分自食。食已別去。子起立住看父母去。父母爾時舉聲大哭隨路而去。父母去遠不見太子。戀其父母目不暫捨。良久躄地。身體血出蚊虻唼食。楚毒苦痛不可復言。餘命未斷發聲立誓。願宿世殃惡從是除盡。自今已往更不敢作。今我身肉供養父母。願我父母常得餘福。臥安覺安。不見惡夢。天護人愛。縣官盜賊陰謀消滅。觸事吉祥。餘身血肉施此諸蟲皆使飽滿。令我來世得成佛道。施以法食除汝飢渴生死重病。發是願時。天地大動日無精光。帝釋見已即便化作師子虎狼。恐怖太子欲來𪙍齧。太子語言。汝欲噉我隨意取食。何為見怖。釋即語言。我非師子虎狼之屬。是天帝釋。故來試卿。太子聞已歡喜無量。釋問太子。汝於今者難捨能捨。能以身肉供養父母。如是功德願作何等。天王人王梵王魔王耶。太子答言。我不願此欲求佛道度脫一切。天王釋言。佛道長遠。久受勤苦。然後乃成。汝云何能受如是苦。太子答言。假使熱輪在我頂上。終不以苦退於佛道。天帝釋言。汝唯空言。誰當信汝。太子尋即立誓願言。若我欺誑天帝釋者。令我身瘡始終莫合。若不爾者。令我平復血變為乳。太子誓已。即時身體平復如故。血白為乳。身體形容端正倍常。帝釋即讚言。若得佛道願先度我。爾時父母到隣國已。向彼國王具說上事。吾子孝養身肉供養其事如是。隣王聞已感其慈孝。即與兵眾遣還歸國。往伐羅睺。父將兵眾順道還過與子別處。即自念言。吾子死矣。當收身骨還歸本國。舉聲悲哭隨路求覓。遙見太子身體平復端正倍常。即前抱持悲喜交集。語太子言。兒今活耶。爾時太子具以上事向父母說。父母歡喜共載大象還歸本國。太子福德慈孝力故伐得本國。父王即立太子為王。佛告阿難。爾時父者。今現我父悅頭檀是。爾時母者。今現我母摩耶夫人是。太子者今我身是。時帝釋者今阿若憍陳如是。 > As the Sūtra on the Requital of Kindness states: The Buddha told Ānanda: Long ago in the past, immeasurable, boundless asaṃkhyeya kalpas ago, a Buddha appeared in the world named Vipaśyin. After his entry into nirvāṇa, during the Semblance Dharma, the king of the country of Vārāṇasī was named Rāja. That king ruled over sixty lesser kingdoms. The king had a crown prince who ruled as a king of a lesser kingdom. There was a minister named Rāhula who conceived an evil rebellion, murdering the great king as well as the two princes. The king's youngest son was the ruler of a frontier kingdom; he was gentle, kind, well-tamed, and virtuous, respected and loved by the heavenly deities. He fathered a prince named Sujāti, who was only seven years old, intelligent, loving, and filial, deeply cherished by the king. At that time, a deity said to the king, 'The minister Rāhula has plotted to seize the royal throne, executing your royal father and killing your two elder brothers. His troops and cavalry will soon arrive to kill you, O King. You should flee now.' Hearing these words, the king was terrified and his hair stood on end. Looking up, he asked, 'Who are you, sir? I hear only your voice but do not see your form. Is what you proclaim true or not?' \[The deity\] immediately replied to the king, 'I am the palace-guarding deity of the great king. Because the king possesses merit, rules the kingdom with the correct Dharma, and does not oppress the people, I have come ahead to inform you. The king should depart swiftly; calamity is not far off and will arrive right now.' Having heard this, the king went into the palace and pondered, wishing to seek refuge in another kingdom. At that time, there were two roads leading to the neighboring kingdom: one road was estimated to take seven days to reach it, and one road was estimated to take fourteen days to arrive. The king immediately prepared seven days of provisions, carried his child, and departed, with his queen following behind. At the time of departure, in their haste and confusion, their minds were bewildered, and by mistake they took the fourteen-day road. The road was treacherous and difficult, lacking water and grass. When they first set out, they had brought provisions for only one person, but now three people were eating together. After several days, the provisions were exhausted, yet the road ahead was still far. The king and queen wept aloud, crying, 'How strange! How bitter! From our birth onward, we have never heard of such suffering and distress. Why do we personally undergo this today? Utter calamity has arrived all at once!' Throwing his entire body to the ground, he reproached himself, saying, 'What evil deeds did we perform in past lives to receive this disaster today?' Having thought this, he wept aloud, fainted, and fell to the ground. Then he thought to himself, 'It is impossible for all three of us to perish here together. I should kill the queen, take her flesh to preserve our lives, and prolong our child's life.' Having thought this, he drew his sword, intending to kill the queen. Seeing that the king intended to kill his mother, the child stepped forward, grasped the king's hand, and asked the reason. The king wept, his eyes filled with sorrowful tears, and in a faint voice told the child, 'I wish to kill your mother and take her flesh and blood to prolong our remaining lives. If I do not kill her, she will die on her own anyway, and so will I. As matters stand, where will life or death lie? To preserve your life, I wish to kill your mother.' The child addressed his father, saying, 'If the king kills my mother, neither of us will eat. Where is there a child who eats his mother's flesh? Since I will not eat her flesh, I shall die along with her. The king should now rather kill me, your child, and take my flesh to save my parents' lives.' When the king heard the child's words, he fainted, writhing and collapsing to the ground, and said to the child, 'You are like my own eyes. Where is there a person who gouges out his own eyes and eats them? I would rather lose my life than ever kill my child and eat his flesh!' The child said to his father again, 'If you end your child's life, the flesh will rot and stink within a few days. My only wish is that my parents daily cut three catties of flesh from your child's body, divide it into three portions, offer two portions to my parents, and leave one portion for myself to eat, so as to sustain our lives.' The father followed the child's words, cut three catties of flesh, sustained their lives, and proceeded on the road. Before two days had passed, the flesh on his body was completely gone, his bones and joints were linked together, and his remaining life was not yet extinguished, whereupon he collapsed to the ground. Seeing this, the parents immediately rushed forward, embraced him, and wept aloud, saying, 'We are wretched and have wrongly eaten your flesh, causing you such agony. The road ahead is still far, and we have not reached our destination. Your flesh is exhausted; now let us perish together, gathering our corpses in one place.' The child admonished his father, saying, 'You have already eaten your child's flesh and progressed on the road to this point. Calculating the distance ahead, there remains only one day left. Your child will now give up his life here. I earnestly request that my parents do not perish together in one place like ordinary people. You may cut all the remaining flesh from between the joints of your child's limbs to sustain my parents so that you may reach your destination.' The parents followed his words, cut a little flesh, divided it into three portions, gave one portion to the child, and ate two portions themselves. Having eaten, they parted. The child stood up and watched his parents leave. The parents at that time wept aloud and went on their way. When the parents were far away and could no longer see the prince, he longed for his parents and did not take his eyes off them for a moment. After a long while, he fell to the ground; blood flowed from his body, and mosquitoes and horseflies bit and ate him, the torment and pain being beyond description. Before his remaining life was cut off, he raised his voice and made a vow: 'May the calamities and evils of past lives be completely eradicated from this. From this day forward, I will never dare commit them again. Now I offer my body's flesh to my parents; may my parents always obtain residual blessings, sleeping in peace and waking in peace, seeing no nightmares, protected by deities and loved by people, with officials, thieves, and sinister plots eradicated, and all affairs auspicious. May the remaining flesh and blood of my body be given to these insects, causing them all to be satisfied, and may I attain the Buddha's path in a future life, giving them the Dharma food to eliminate their hunger, thirst, and the grave illness of birth and death!' When he made this vow, the earth shook greatly, and the sun lost its brilliant light. Seeing this, Śakra transformed himself into a lion, tiger, and wolf, terrifying the prince and coming as if to bite and gnaw him. The prince said, 'If you wish to eat me, take and eat as you please. Why try to frighten me?' Śakra then said, 'I am not of the kind of lions, tigers, or wolves; I am Śakra, king of the devas, and have come purposely to test you.' When the prince heard this, he rejoiced boundlessly. Śakra asked the prince, 'You have now renounced what is difficult to renounce, being able to feed your parents with your own flesh. For such merit, what do you wish to become? A heavenly king, a human king, a Brahmā king, or a Māra king?' The prince answered, 'I do not wish for these; I wish to seek the Buddha's path to liberate all beings.' King Śakra said, 'The Buddha's path is long and distant, attained only after undergoing toil and suffering for a long time. How could you endure such suffering?' The prince answered, 'Even if a burning iron wheel were upon my head, I would never retreat from the Buddha's path because of suffering.' Śakra, king of the devas, said, 'These are merely empty words; who will believe you?' The prince immediately made a vow, saying, 'If I am deceiving Śakra, king of the devas, may the wounds on my body never close from beginning to end. If it is not so, may I be restored as before, and my blood turn into milk.' After the prince made this vow, his body was immediately restored as before, his blood became white milk, and his appearance was twice as handsome as usual. Śakra then praised him, saying, 'When you attain the Buddha's path, I pray you will deliver me first.' At that time, when the parents arrived in the neighboring kingdom, they recounted the above matter in full to that king: 'Our son's filial devotion and his offering of his own flesh were like this.' When the neighboring king heard this, he was moved by his loving filial piety, and at once provided troops and sent them back to their kingdom to attack Rāhula. The father, leading the troops, passed along the road by the place where he had parted from his child. He thought to himself, 'My child is dead; I must gather his bones and return to our original kingdom.' Weeping sorrowfully aloud, he searched along the road. From afar he saw the prince, his body fully restored and twice as handsome as usual. He immediately stepped forward, embraced him, mixed with grief and joy, and said to the prince, 'My child, are you alive now?' Then the prince recounted the above events in full to his parents. The parents rejoiced, and together they rode a great elephant and returned to their native kingdom. Due to the power of the prince's merit and loving filial piety, they conquered their native kingdom, and the father king immediately established the prince as king. The Buddha told Ānanda, 'The father at that time was my present father, Śuddhodana. The mother at that time was my present mother, Lady Māyā. The prince was myself. Śakra of that time was Ājñātakauṇḍinya.' > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 49.17](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2122.49.17) - [Next: 49.19](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2122.49.19) - [Up: 49](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2122.49) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2122~en-mt.49.18) — English, machine translation ## Linked texts (1) - [大方便佛報恩經](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.156.1.57) — Classical Chinese --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2122.49.18](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2122.49.18) · Pramāṇa