法苑珠林 55.26

55.26

又百喻經云。昔有愚人煮黑石蜜。有一富人來至其家。時此愚人取石蜜漿為富人煮。即於火上以扇扇之。望得使冷。傍人語言。下不止火。扇扇不已。云何得冷。爾時人眾悉皆嗤笑。其猶外道不滅煩惱熾然之火。少作苦行臥棘刺上。洮糠飲汁斷穀自餓。五熱炙身而望清涼寂靜之道。終無是處。徒為智者之所怪哂。受苦現在殃流來劫。

Furthermore, the Baiyu jing (Sūtra of a Hundred Parables) says: In the past, there was a fool who was boiling dark molasses. A wealthy man came to his house. Then this fool took the molasses syrup to boil for the wealthy man, and right over the fire fanned it with a fan, hoping to make it cool. A bystander said to him: "You do not put out the fire below, yet keep fanning it incessantly; how can it cool?" At that time, all the people ridiculed him. This is just like non-Buddhists who do not extinguish the blazing fire of defilements, but undertake a few austerities such as lying on thorns, washing chaff and drinking the liquid, fasting to starve themselves, or scorching their bodies with five fires, hoping to attain the cool and tranquil Way—in the end, this is impossible. It merely brings the wonder and mockery of the wise; they suffer pain in the present, and disaster flows into future kalpas.