諸經要集 13.29

13.29

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。各齎花香伎樂。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。一人則入市中人閙之處。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。處於其中間。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。無常之對安知吾處。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。魚鱉所食。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 *Si bukedeqing jing* spoken by the Buddha says: The Buddha, together with the monks and bodhisattvas, held their bowls at dawn and entered Śrāvastī to beg for food. The four assemblies all followed, while the devas, nāgas, and spirits each carried flowers, perfumes, and music, following along above. At that time, with his Dharma-eye, the Buddha beheld four brothers born of the same mother who had renounced their family and abandoned their livelihood to dwell in the seclusion of the mountains; having attained the five supernatural powers, they were all called rṣis. Their past retribution arrived, and knowing their lifespans were exhausted, they all wished to avoid death. Each considered: 'Our supernatural powers allow us to fly freely, reaching wherever we wish without hindrance. Now, conversely, we are about to be overcome by impermanence and lose our lives. We must devise an expedient to avoid this calamity; it must not be undergone.' Thereupon, one leaped into the air and concealed his form, thinking: 'How could the retribution of impermanence know my whereabouts?' One entered a crowded, bustling marketplace, vast and boundless, to hide his life therein, thinking: 'If the retribution of impermanence merely seizes anyone at all, why must it seek me?' One retreated into the great ocean, three million three hundred and sixty thousand *li* wide, neither reaching the bottom below nor the surface above, staying in between, thinking: 'What would the retribution of impermanence seek here?' One calculated and secretly went to an uninhabited great mountain, split the mountain into two, entered within, and closed it back up, thinking: 'How could the retribution of impermanence know my whereabouts?' At that time, each of the four attempted to avoid death, but in the end none could escape. The one concealed in the air fell to the ground like ripe fruit falling; the one in the mountain perished there and was eaten by birds and beasts; the one in the ocean met an early death and was eaten by fish and turtles; the one who entered the marketplace passed away amidst the crowd. Thereupon, the World-Honoured One, seeing them like this, regarded these four men as ignorant and unenlightened, wishing to discard past retribution without eradicating the three poisons, failing to reach the boundless wisdom of the three masteries. From ancient times to the present, who has escaped this calamity? The Buddha then spoke in verse: