[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [法苑珠林](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2122) › 65.56 # 法苑珠林 65.56 法苑珠林 65.56 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [65.56](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2122.65.56) 又如度狗子經說。昔有一國。穀米踊貴。人民飢餓。時有沙門入城分衛。周遍門室無所一獲。次至長者大豪貴門。得麁惡飯適欲出城。門中逢一射獵屠兒。抱一狗子持歸欲殺。見沙門歡喜前為作禮。沙門呪願。老壽長生。沙門知有狗子疑欲殺之。故問其人。今何所齎。答曰。空行無所獲持。沙門又問。吾已見之。何為藏匿。殺生之罪甚為不善。願持我食貿此狗子。令命得濟。卿福無量。其人答曰。不能相與。我故行求。家門共食。卿此小飯何所足乎。沙門殷勤曉喻請之。其人觝突不肯隨言。沙門又言。設不肯者。可以示我。其人即出以示沙門。沙門舉飯以飼狗子。以手摩抆祝願淚出。卿罪所致得是犬身。不得自在。見殺食噉。使汝世世罪滅福生。離狗子身得生為人。所在遇法三寶自然。狗子得食善心生焉。踊躍歡喜知自歸依。人將還家屠殺共食。狗子命過即生豪貴大長者家。適生墮地便有慈心。時彼沙門分衛次到長者門裏。分衛時長者子見彼沙門。憶識本緣便前稽首禮沙門足。請前供養百味飲食。前白父母言。今我欲逐此大和尚。奉受經戒為作弟子。父母愛重不肯聽之。我今一門有汝一子。當以續後家門之主。何因便欲棄家而去。小兒啼泣不肯飲食。不欲聽我便自就死。父母見然便聽令去。隨師學道除去鬚髮。被三法衣諷誦佛經。深解其義便得三昧。立不退轉開化一切。發大道意。佛世難值。經道難聞。能與相值無不蒙度。畜生尚有得道。豈況於人。寧不獲果。縱復缺犯還生慚愧。白淨已來黑垢自滅。 > Furthermore, as related in the \*Sūtra on Saving the Pup\*: Once, in an ancient state, grain became exorbitant, and the people were starving. At that time, a śramaṇa entered the city on his alms round. He went everywhere from door to door, but gained not a thing. Next he arrived at the gate of a prominent elder of great nobility and obtained some coarse, foul food; just as he was about to leave the city, within the gate he met a hunter-butcher holding a pup, taking it home intending to kill it. Seeing the śramaṇa, he was delighted and stepped forward to pay homage. The śramaṇa pronounced a benediction: 'May you enjoy longevity and long life.' The śramaṇa, knowing he had the pup and suspecting he intended to kill it, purposely asked him: 'What are you carrying now?' He replied: 'I walk empty-handed, having obtained and carried nothing.' The śramaṇa asked again: 'I have already seen it; why conceal it? The sin of taking life is exceedingly unwholesome. I wish to trade my food for this pup, so that its life may be saved, and your merit will be immeasurable.' The man replied: 'I cannot give it to you. I intentionally went to seek it so my family could eat together. How could this small amount of food of yours be sufficient?' The śramaṇa earnestly reasoned with and pleaded with him, but the man was recalcitrant and refused to heed his words. The śramaṇa said again: 'If you are unwilling, you can at least show it to me.' The man thereupon took it out to show the śramaṇa. The śramaṇa held up the food to feed the pup, stroked it with his hand, pronounced a prayer, and wept, \[saying\]: 'It is by your sins that you have received this dog's body, obtaining no self-determination, only to be killed and devoured. May your sins be extinguished and merit be born life after life; may you leave the body of a pup and be born as a human being, wherever you are encountering the Dharma and naturally \[trusting\] the Three Jewels.' Having received the food, wholesome thoughts arose in the pup; leaping with joy, it knew to take refuge of itself. The man took it home, slaughtered it, and \[his family\] ate it together. When the pup's life ended, it was immediately reborn in the family of a noble and great elder. As soon as it fell to the earth at birth, it had a mind of compassion. At that time, that śramaṇa on his alms round happened to arrive inside the elder's gate. As he was begging for alms, the elder's son saw the śramaṇa, recalled his past circumstances, and thereupon stepped forward, prostrated at the śramaṇa's feet, and invited him in to make an offering of food and drink of a hundred flavours. He went forward to address his parents, saying: 'Now I wish to follow this great preceptor, receive the sūtras and precepts, and become his disciple.' His parents, cherishing him, would not permit it: 'In our whole family we now have only you, an only son, who ought to succeed as master of the household. For what reason do you wish to abandon home and leave?' The young child wept and refused to eat or drink: 'If you will not permit me, I will simply go to my death.' Seeing this, the parents then permitted him to go. Following his master to study the Way, he shaved off his beard and hair, put on the three Dharma robes, chanted the Buddhist sūtras, and deeply understood their meaning. He then attained samādhi, established himself in non-retrogression, transformed everyone, and brought forth the mind of the Great Way. A Buddha's era is difficult to encounter; the path of the scriptures is difficult to hear. For anyone who can meet with them, there is none who is not delivered. Even beasts can attain the Way, how much more so humans—how could they fail to obtain the fruit? Even if one has breaches and offenses, if shame and remorse return and pure goodness comes forth, dark defilements will naturally be extinguished. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 65.55](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2122.65.55) - [Next: 65.57](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2122.65.57) - [Up: 65](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2122.65) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2122~en-mt.65.56) — English, machine translation ## Linked texts (1) - [諸經要集](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2123.8.66) — Classical Chinese --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2122.65.56](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2122.65.56) · Pramāṇa