法苑珠林 66.22

66.22

如涅槃經云。譬如有王畜四毒蛇置之一篋。以付一人。仰令瞻養。若令一蛇生瞋恚者。我當準法戮之都市。爾時聞王切念。心生惶悑捨篋逃走。王時復遣五旃陀羅拔刀隨後。其人迴顧見後五人。遂自捨去。是時五人以惡方便。藏所持刀密遣一人。詐為親善。而語之言。汝可還來。其人不信。投一聚落欲自隱匿。既入聚落中闚看諸舍。都不見人。執持瓨器悉空無物。既不見人求物不得。即便坐地聞空中聲。咄哉男子。此聚空曠無有居民。今夜當有六大賊來。汝設遇者命終。今汝當云何而得免之。爾時其人恐悑遂增。復捨而去。路值一河。其水漂急無有船筏以恐畏故。即取種種草木為筏。復更思惟。我設住此當為毒蛇五旃陀羅一詐親者及六大賊之所危害。若度此河筏不可依。當沒水死。寧沒水死終不為彼蛇賊所害。即推草筏置之水中。身倚其上。手抱脚踏。截流而去。即達彼岸安隱無患。心意泰然悑懼消除。四毒蛇者。即是四大。五旃陀羅者。即是五陰。一詐親者。即是貪愛。投一聚落者。即是內六入。六大賊來者。即是外塵。是六大賊。唯有諸王乃能遮止者。唯佛菩薩乃能遮止。是六大賊。雖有諸王截其手足。猶故不能令其心息。六塵惡賊亦復如是。雖得四沙門果截其手足。亦不能令不劫善法。如勇健人乃能摧伏是六大賊。諸佛菩薩亦復如是。乃能摧滅六塵惡賊。

As the Nirvāṇa-sūtra says: For example, there was a king who kept four venomous snakes, placed them in a single chest, and entrusted them to a man, ordering him to look after and nurture them: "If you cause even one snake to give rise to anger, I shall execute you in the public market according to the law." At that time, hearing the king's stern command, the man was terrified in his heart, abandoned the chest, and fled. The king then dispatched five caṇḍālas, who drew their swords and pursued behind him. Looking back, the man saw the five men behind him, and thereupon fled further away. At that time, the five men used an evil expedient, concealing the swords they held and secretly dispatching one man to feign friendly intimacy, saying to him, "You may return!" The man did not believe him, and threw himself into a village wishing to conceal himself. Having entered the village, he peered into the houses and saw no people at all; the jars and vessels he held were all empty, without anything. Having seen no people and finding no provisions, he sat on the ground and heard a voice in the air: "Alas, O man! This village is desolate, without inhabitants. Tonight six great bandits will come; if you meet them, your life will end. How will you escape now?" At that time, the man's fear increased even more, and he abandoned it and fled again. On the road, he encountered a river whose waters were rushing swiftly, with no boat or raft. Out of fear, he immediately gathered various grasses and trees to make a raft. He reflected again: "If I stay here, I shall be harmed by the venomous snakes, the five caṇḍālas, the one who feigned friendship, and the six great bandits. If I cross this river, the raft cannot be relied upon, and I shall drown in the water and die. Yet I would rather drown in the water and die than be harmed by those snakes and bandits!" He then pushed the grass raft into the water, leaned his body upon it, embraced it with his hands and paddled with his feet, cutting across the current and departing. He immediately reached the other shore, secure and free from adversity, his mind calm and his terror extinguished. The four venomous snakes are the four great elements. The five caṇḍālas are the five aggregates. The one who feigned friendship is craving. Throwing oneself into a village is the six internal sense-bases. The coming of the six great bandits is the external sense-objects. That these six great bandits can only be stopped by kings means that only Buddhas and bodhisattvas can stop them. Though kings cut off their hands and feet, these six great bandits still cannot be made to cease their intentions; the evil bandits of the six sense-objects are also like this: though one attains the four fruits of śramaṇahood and cuts off their hands and feet, they still cannot be prevented from robbing wholesome dharmas. Just as only a valiant man can subdue these six great bandits, so too can the Buddhas and bodhisattvas destroy the evil bandits of the six sense-objects.