法苑珠林 84.8

84.8

如法句經心意品說云。昔佛在世時。有一道人在河邊樹下學道。十二年中貪想不除。走心散意但念云欲。目色耳聲鼻香口味身受心法。身靜意遊曾無寧息。十二年中不能得道。佛知可度。化作沙門。往至其所。樹下共宿。須臾月明。有龜從河中出來至樹下。復有水狗飢行求食。與龜相逢。便欲噉龜。龜縮其頭尾及其四脚藏於甲中。不能得噉。水狗小遠。復出頭足。行步如故。不能奈何。遂便得脫。於是道人問化沙門。此龜有護命之鎧。水狗不能得其便。化沙門答言。吾念世人不如此龜。不知無常放恣六情。外魔得便。形壞神去生死無端。輪轉五道苦惱百千。皆意所造。宜自勉勵求滅度安。於是化沙門即說偈言。

As the Chapter on the Mind in the Dharmapada explains: Formerly, when the Buddha was in the world, there was a man of the Way who studied the Way beneath a tree beside a river. For twelve years, his thoughts of craving were not eliminated; his mind wandered and his thoughts were scattered, thinking only of lust: his eyes of forms, his ears of sounds, his nose of scents, his tongue of tastes, his body of tangibles, and his mind of dharmas. His body was quiet while his mind wandered, without ever finding peace. In twelve years, he was unable to attain the Way. The Buddha knew he was ready to be liberated, so he manifested as a śramaṇa and went to his location to lodge together beneath the tree. Shortly afterward, under the bright moon, a turtle emerged from the river and came under the tree. There was also an otter roaming hungrily in search of food. Coming upon the turtle, it wished to eat it. The turtle pulled in its head, tail, and four legs, hiding them within its shell, so that the otter could not eat it. When the otter moved slightly away, it brought out its head and legs again, walking as before; the otter could do nothing to it, and so the turtle escaped. Thereupon, the man of the Way asked the manifested śramaṇa: "This turtle has armour to protect its life, so that the otter could not get the advantage of it." The manifested śramaṇa answered: "I reflect that the people of the world are not like this turtle; not knowing impermanence, they give free rein to the six emotions. External Māras gain the advantage over them: their bodies decay, their spirits depart, and saṃsāra is without end. Transmigrating through the five destinies, they suffer hundreds of thousands of miseries, all created by the mind. One ought to exert oneself to seek the peace of cessation and deliverance." Thereupon the manifested śramaṇa spoke this verse: