法苑珠林 90.47

90.47

Furthermore, the Sūtra of One Hundred Parables says: In the past, a king had a fine tree, extremely tall and wide, that was about to bear superior fruit, fragrant, sweet, and delicious. At that time, a man came to the king's place, and the king said to him: 'This tree will soon bear delicious fruit. Can you eat it?' He immediately answered the king: 'This tree is tall and wide; although I wish to eat it, by what means could I obtain it?' He then cut down the tree, hoping to obtain its fruit. Since he obtained nothing, his toil was in vain. Afterwards he wanted to stand the tree back up, but it had already withered and died, with no principle of life remaining. People of the world are also like this: the Tathāgata, the Dharma King, has the tree of upholding precepts and cultivating various merits; failing to understand expedient means, they conversely break his prohibitions. Just as with felling that tree and wishing to revive it, it is completely impossible. A person who breaks the precepts is also like this.