諸經要集 18.65

18.65

Furthermore, the Old Parable Sūtra (Jiu zapiyu jing) states: In the past, there were six companions who committed offenses and together fell into hell, cast into the same caldron. Each wished to speak of his original offense. The first said, "Sha"; the second said, "Na"; the third said, "Te"; the fourth said, "She"; the fifth said, "Gu"; and the sixth said, "Tuoluo." The Buddha saw them and smiled. Maudgalyāyana asked the Buddha, "Why do you smile?" The Buddha said: "There were six companions who together fell into hell and are in the same caldron. Each wished to speak of his original offense, but because the boiling soup bubbled up, they could not speak further. Having uttered just one word each, they sank back down. The first person who said 'Sha' meant: 'In the world, sixty trillion years are only one day in Niraya. When will this ever end?' The second person who said 'Na' meant: 'There is no time of exit; nor do I know when I shall attain liberation.' The third person who said 'Te' meant: 'Alas! How did I conduct my life? Unable to restrain my own mind, I seized the shares of the five houses to make offerings to the Three Honored Ones. In foolish greed there was no contentment; what does repentance avail now?' The fourth person who said 'She' meant: 'I pursued a livelihood without sincerity; my wealth and possessions belonged to others, and only pain has been gained.' The fifth person who said 'Gu' meant: 'Who will guarantee for me that upon emerging from hell I will not violate the prohibitions of the Way, and will attain rebirth in heavenly bliss?' The sixth person who said 'Tuoluo' meant: 'At the outset of these affairs, I never deliberated in my mind. Just like a charioteer who loses the way and enters an evil path, breaking the axle and destroying the cart, regret is of no avail.'"