法苑珠林 52.26

52.26

復語其姊。卿弟已死何不啼哭。姊復說譬喻向梵志言。譬如巧師入山斫木。縛作大筏安置水中。卒逢大風吹破筏散。隨水流去。前後分張不相顧望。我弟亦爾。因緣和合共一家生。隨命長短死生無常。合會有離我弟命盡各自所隨不能救護。

[The brahmacārin] spoke again to his elder sister: “Your younger brother is already dead; why do you not weep?” The elder sister likewise spoke a parable to the brahmacārin, saying: “It is just like a skillful artisan who goes into the mountains to fell timber and ties it into a large raft, setting it upon the water. Suddenly a great gale blows, smashing the raft apart, and it drifts away following the current, scattered far and wide, front and back, without looking after one another. My younger brother and I are also like this. Brought together through conditions, we were born into the same family. Following the length of life, death and birth are impermanent. Where there is meeting, there must be parting. My brother’s lifespan having ended, each follows his own course; he cannot be saved or protected.”