法苑珠林 54.62

54.62

又百喻經云。昔有大富長者。左右之人欲取其意皆盡恭敬。長者唾時。左右侍人以脚蹋却。有一愚者不及得蹋。而作是言。若唾地者諸人蹋却。欲唾之時我當先蹋。於是長者正欲欬唾。時此愚人。即便舉脚蹋長者口。破脣折齒。長者語言。汝何以故蹋我脣口。愚人具答所由。故唾欲出舉脚先蹋望得汝意。凡物須時時未及到。強設功力反得苦惱。以是之故。世人當知時與非時。

Furthermore, the *Baiyu jing* says: In the past, there was a very wealthy elder. The attendants around him, wishing to curry his favor, all treated him with utmost respect. Whenever the elder spat, the attendants around him would stamp it out with their feet. There was a fool who could not stamp on it in time, and said, 'If he spits on the ground, everyone stamps on it; when he is about to spit, I will stamp first.' Thereupon, just as the elder was about to cough and spit, this fool immediately raised his foot and stamped on the elder's mouth, breaking his lips and knocking out his teeth. The elder said to him, 'Why did you stamp on my lips and mouth?' The fool fully answered the reason: 'Because the spit was about to come out, I raised my foot beforehand to stamp on it, hoping to gain your favor.' In all things, there is a proper time; if the time has not yet arrived and one forcibly exerts effort, one only brings about distress instead. For this reason, worldly people ought to know the proper time and the improper time.