諸經要集 16.21

16.21

如舊雜譬喻經云。昔有婦人。富有金銀。與男子交通。盡取金銀衣物。相逐俱去。到一急水河邊。男子語言。汝持財物來。我先度之當還迎汝。男子度已。便走不還。婦人獨住水邊憂苦。無人可救。唯見一野狐。捕得一雁。復見河魚。捨雁取魚。魚既不得。復失本雁。婦語狐曰。汝何太癡。貪捕其兩不得其一。狐言。我癡尚可。汝癡劇我也。又僧祇律云。佛告諸比丘。過去世時。非時連雨七日不止。諸放牧者七日不出。時有餓狼。飢行求食。遍歷七村都無所得。便自剋責。我何薄相。經歷七村都無所得。不如守齋住還山林。自於窟穴呪願言。使一切眾生皆得安隱。然後攝身安坐閉目。帝釋至齋日月。乘伊羅白龍象觀察世間持戒破戒。到彼山窟。見狼閉目思惟。便作是念咄哉狼獸甚為奇特。人尚無此心。況此狼獸而能如是。便欲試之知其虛實。帝釋即變身化為一羊。在窟前住。高聲命群。狼時見羊便作是念。奇哉齋福。報應忽至。我遊七村求食不獲。今暫守齋。餚饍自來厨供已致。但當食已然後守齋。即便出穴往趣羊所。羊見狼來便驚𩣺走。狼便尋逐羊去不住。追之既遠。羊化為狗。方口耽耳。反來逐狼。急聲喚之。狼見狗來。驚怖還走。狗急追之劣乃得免。還至窟中。便作是念。我欲食彼返欲噉我。爾時帝釋。便於狼前。作跛脚羊。鳴喚而住。狼作是念。前者是狗。我飢悶眼華。謂為是羊。今所見者此真是羊。復更諦觀。看耳角尾真實是羊。便出往趣。羊復驚走。奔逐垂得復化作狗。返還逐狼亦復如前。我欲食彼返欲見噉。時天帝釋。即於狼前。化為羔子鳴群喚母。狼便瞋言。汝作肉段我尚不出。況為羔子而欲見欺。還更守齋靜心思惟。時天帝釋。知狼心念還齋。猶作羊羔於狼前住。狼便說偈言。

As the Old Sūtra of Miscellaneous Parables says: Formerly, there was a woman rich in gold and silver. She had an affair with a man, and taking all her gold, silver, clothes, and goods, they pursued [a journey] together. Coming to the bank of a swift river, the man said to her, "Bring the valuables here. I will cross over first and then return to fetch you." Having crossed over, the man ran away and did not return. The woman stood alone by the water in grief and distress, with no one to rescue her. She saw only a wild fox that had caught a wild goose. Then seeing a fish in the river, it abandoned the goose to seize the fish. Having failed to catch the fish, it also lost its original goose. The woman said to the fox, "Why are you so foolish? Coveting to catch both, you have obtained neither." The fox said, "My foolishness is still tolerable; your foolishness is worse than mine!"
Moreover, the Mahāsāṃghika-vinaya says: The Buddha addressed the bhikṣus: In a past age, unseasonable continuous rain did not stop for seven days. The herders did not go out for seven days. At that time, there was a hungry wolf searching for food in its hunger. It traversed seven villages completely without finding anything. It then reproached itself: "How poor is my fortune! Having traversed seven villages, I have obtained nothing at all. It would be better to observe the fast and return to live in the mountain forest." In its cave, it prayed with vows, saying, "May all sentient beings attain peace and security." Then, collecting its body, it sat peacefully with eyes closed.
When the day and month of fasting arrived, Śakra Devendra, riding the white dragon-elephant Airāvaṇa, surveyed the world to see who was keeping the precepts and who was breaking the precepts. Arriving at that mountain cave, he saw the wolf with closed eyes in contemplation. He then had this thought: "How astonishing! This beast of a wolf is truly extraordinary. Even humans do not have such a mind; how much more so that this beast of a wolf is able to be like this!" He then wished to test it to know whether it was genuine or false.
Śakra Devendra immediately transformed his body, turning into a sheep, and stood before the cave, calling out loudly to its flock. Seeing the sheep, the wolf thought: "How marvellous is the blessing of fasting! The retribution has arrived so suddenly! I wandered through seven villages seeking food without success, but now, having observed the fast for only a short while, fine viands come of themselves and kitchen provisions have arrived! I should simply eat it first and observe the fast afterward." It immediately came out of the cave and approached the sheep.
Seeing the wolf coming, the sheep took fright and fled galloping away. The wolf then pursued it, and the sheep ran on without stopping. After pursuing it far, the sheep transformed into a dog with a square mouth and floppy ears, which turned around to chase the wolf, barking urgently. Seeing the dog coming, the wolf was terrified and ran back. The dog pursued it urgently, and [the wolf] barely escaped, returning into the cave.
It then thought: "I wanted to eat it, but on the contrary it wanted to devour me!"
At that time, Śakra Devendra manifested before the wolf as a lame-legged sheep, bleating and standing still. The wolf thought: "The previous one was a dog; my eyes were blurred from hunger and faintness, so I thought it was a sheep. What I see now is truly a sheep." Looking again more closely, it examined its ears, horns, and tail, and it was truly a sheep. It then came out and approached it. The sheep again took fright and ran. As [the wolf] galloped in pursuit and was just about to catch it, it transformed back into a dog and turned around to chase the wolf as before.
[The wolf thought]: "I wanted to eat it, but on the contrary it wanted to devour me!"
Then Śakra Devendra transformed before the wolf into a lamb, bleating for its flock and calling for its mother. The wolf angrily said, "Even if you were a piece of meat, I still would not come out; how much less when you are a lamb trying to deceive me!" It returned to observe the fast again, calming its mind in contemplation.
Then Śakra Devendra, knowing that the wolf's mind had returned to the fast, still stood before the wolf as a lamb. The wolf then spoke a verse: