法苑珠林 50.34

50.34

又雀王經云。昔者菩薩身為雀王。慈心濟眾。由護身瘡有虎食獸。骨刺其齒困飢將終。雀王入口啄骨。日日若茲。雀口生瘡身為瘦瘠。骨出虎活。雀飛登樹說佛經曰。殺為凶虐其惡莫大。虎聞雀誡。厲聲勃然恚曰。爾始離吾口。而敢多言。雀覩其不可化即速飛去。佛言。雀王者是吾身。虎者是調達身。

Furthermore, the Sūtra of the Sparrow King states: Long ago, the Bodhisattva was reborn as a sparrow king, rescuing sentient beings with a compassionate heart. In order to protect its own body from injury, [it remained vigilant]. There was a tiger eating a beast, and a bone stuck in its teeth, leaving it starved, distressed, and on the verge of death. The sparrow king entered its mouth and pecked at the bone, doing so day after day. Sores broke out on the sparrow's beak and its body grew emaciated. The bone came out and the tiger lived. The sparrow flew up into a tree and preached a Buddhist scripture, saying: 'Killing is fierce and cruel; no evil is greater than it.' Hearing the sparrow's admonition, the tiger flared up in rage, shouting sternly: 'You have only just left my mouth, yet you dare talk so much!' Seeing that it could not be transformed, the sparrow quickly flew away. The Buddha said: 'The sparrow king was my own body; the tiger was Devadatta.'