諸經要集 16.57

16.57

Furthermore, the Samantapāsādikā says: At that time, there were the six group bhikṣus who sat in a low place while the person requesting the Dharma sat high, and they preached the Dharma to them. Because they treated the Dharma with contempt, the Buddha rebuked them. The Buddha said to the bhikṣus: In the past, in the country of Vārāṇasī, there was a householder named Capaka. His wife was pregnant and craved mango fruits. She said to her husband, “I crave mango fruits; please seek some for me.” Her husband replied, “This is not the season for fruits; how could I obtain them?” The wife said to the husband, “If you do not obtain them, I will surely die.” Hearing his wife's words, the husband thought to himself, “Only in the royal garden are there out-of-season fruits. I should go and steal them.” Having had this thought, he entered the royal garden at night. Before he could obtain the fruits, the morning light appeared, and he could not leave the garden. He therefore hid in a tree. At that time, the king and a brāhmaṇa entered the garden wishing to eat mango fruits. The brāhmaṇa sat in a low place while the king sat on a high seat, and the brāhmaṇa preached the Dharma for the king. The fruit thief thought to himself from up in the tree: “For stealing fruits I ought to die, but because the king is listening to the brāhmaṇa preaching the Dharma, I am now able to escape. I presently have no Dharma, the king also has no Dharma, and the brāhmaṇa also has no Dharma. Why is this? For the sake of my wife I steal the king's fruit. The king, out of arrogance, has the master on a low seat while he himself sits on a high seat to listen to the preaching of the Dharma. The brāhmaṇa, out of greed for material gain, sits himself on a low seat to preach the Dharma for the king. All three of us together lack Dharma. I can now escape.” He then climbed down from the tree, went before the king, and spoke a verse: