法苑珠林 6.67

6.67

我等處此城　百千萬歲中
尚不聞水名　況復得飲者
譬如多羅林　熾然被火焚
我等亦如是　肢節皆火燃
頭髮悉蓬亂　形體皆毀破
晝夜念飲食　慞惶走十方
飢渴所逼切　張口馳求索
有人執杖隨　尋逐加楚撻
搥打不得近　我等憂此苦
云何能得水　以用慧施人
我等先身時　慳貪極嫉妬
不曾施一人　漿水及飲食
自物不與他　抑彼令不施
以是重業故　今受是苦惱

‘We dwell in this city / for hundreds of thousands of myriad years,
Yet we have not even heard the name of water, / how much less obtained any to drink!
Just like a forest of tāla trees / blazing and burned by fire,
We too are like this: / all our limbs are ablaze with fire.
Our hair is completely disheveled, / our bodies are broken and ruined.
Day and night we think of food and drink, / panicked, we run in the ten directions.
Pressed hard by hunger and thirst, / with open mouths we rush about seeking.
There is someone who follows holding a club, / pursuing and severely beating us;
Beaten, we cannot draw near. / We suffer this sorrow and distress.
How could we obtain water / to bestow with wisdom upon others?
In our previous lives, / we were stingy, greedy, and extremely jealous;
We never once gave to a single person / syrup, water, food, or drink.
Our own possessions we did not give to others, / and we restrained others so they would not give.
Due to such heavy karma, / we now suffer this torment.’