法苑珠林 69.55

69.55

又佛說四不可得經云。佛與比丘及諸菩薩。明旦持鉢。入舍衛城分衛。四輩皆從。諸天龍神各齎華香伎樂。追從於上。時佛道眼覩見。兄弟同產四人。遠家棄業。山處閑居。得五神通皆號仙人。宿對來至自知壽盡。悉欲避終。各各思議。吾等神足飛騰自恣。在所至到無所罣礙。今反當為非常所得便危失身命。當造方便免斯患難。不可就也。於是一人則踊在空中。而自藏。形無常之對安知吾處。一人則入市中人鬧之處。廣大無量在中避命。無常之對趣得一人。何必求吾。一人則退入于大海。三百三十六萬里。下不至底。上不至表。處於其中。無常之對何所求耶。一人則計。竊至大山無人之處。擘山兩解。入中還合。非常之對安知吾處。於時四人各各避命。竟不得脫。藏在空中者。便自墮地。猶果熟落。其在山中者。于彼喪已。禽獸所噉。在大海中者。則時夭命。魚鼈所食。入市中者。在于眾人而自終沒。於是世尊覩之如斯。謂此四人暗昧不達。欲捨宿對三毒不除。不至三達無極之慧。古今以來誰脫此患。佛則頌曰。

Furthermore, the Sūtra on the Four Unattainable Things spoken by the Buddha says: The Buddha, together with the monks and bodhisattvas, holding bowls at dawn, entered the city of Śrāvastī for alms. The fourfold assembly followed, and the gods, dragons, and spirits each brought flowers, incense, and instrumental music, following along above. At that time, with his Buddha eye, the Buddha saw four uterine brothers who had left their families, abandoned their worldly careers, lived in seclusion in the mountains, attained the five supernatural powers, and were all called rṣis. When their karmic retribution arrived, knowing that their life spans were exhausted, they all wished to avoid death. Each thought: "With our supernatural powers of flight, we soar at will and reach wherever we wish without hindrance. Now instead we are to be caught by impermanence and lose our lives; we should devise a method to escape this disaster and must not submit to it." Thereupon, one leaped into empty space to conceal his form, [thinking]: "How can the retribution of impermanence know my place?" Another entered a crowded market place of boundless expanse to escape death within it, [thinking]: "The retribution of impermanence only takes one person at a time; why must it seek me?" Another retreated into the great ocean, three million three hundred and sixty thousand li deep, neither reaching the bottom nor coming to the surface, but staying in between, [thinking]: "What would the retribution of impermanence seek here?" Another calculated and secretly went to an uninhabited place in the great mountains, split a mountain in two, entered inside, and closed it back up, [thinking]: "How can the retribution of impermanence know my place?" At that time, the four men each sought to evade death, but in the end none could escape. The one concealed in the sky fell to the ground of his own accord, like a ripe fruit dropping. The one in the mountain perished there and was devoured by beasts. The one in the great ocean died prematurely at that time and was eaten by fish and turtles. The one who entered the market place breathed his last amidst the crowd. Thereupon the World-Honoured One, seeing them like this, declared that these four men were darkened and uncomprehending: wishing to cast off karmic retribution while their three poisons remained unerased, they had not attained the boundless wisdom of the three knowledges. From ancient times until now, who has escaped this calamity? The Buddha then spoke in verse: