諸經要集 8.16

8.16

As the Baiyu jing says: Formerly, there was a woman who was wanton and licentious beyond measure. Her lustful passion being vehement, she detested her husband. She constantly thought of strategies, repeatedly wishing to harm him, but despite various schemes she found no opportunity. It happened that her husband was sent as an envoy to a neighboring country. The wife secretly devised a plot, making poisoned balls with which she intended to kill her husband. She deceitfully told her husband, "You are now going on a distant mission, and I worry that you will lack provisions. I have now made five hundred delight-candies (modaka) to serve as provisions and see you off. When you leave the country and reach foreign territory, you may take and eat them when you are hungry and exhausted." The husband followed her words, and after reaching the foreign territory, before he had eaten them, he lodged overnight in a forest in the dark of night. Fearing ferocious beasts, he climbed a tree to avoid them, forgetting and leaving the delight-candies under the tree. That very night, it happened that five hundred thieves had stolen five hundred horses as well as treasures from the king of that country and came to rest under the tree. Because of their headlong flight, they were all hungry and thirsty, and they saw the delight-candies under the tree. The thieves took them and each ate one ball. The poisonous vapors of the medicine were potent, and all five hundred thieves died at the same time. When dawn came, the man in the tree saw these thieves lying dead under the tree. He deceitfully struck and shot the corpses with knife and arrows, collected their saddles, horses, and treasures, and drove them toward that country. At that time, the king of that country, leading a large troop of men, was pursuing them by tracking their trail. Halfway along the road, he encountered that man. The king asked, "Who are you, and where did you get these horses?" The man answered, "I am a man of such-and-such a country. On the road I encountered a band of thieves, and we fought with blades and arrows. The five hundred thieves are now all dead together in one place under a tree. For this reason, I obtained these horses and treasures, and have come to submit to Your Majesty's kingdom. If you do not believe me, go and see the wounds and slaughter on the thieves." The king immediately dispatched a trusted attendant to go and see, and it was indeed as he had said. The king was then overjoyed and exclaimed at what had never been before. Having returned to his country, he bestowed lavish titles and rewards upon him, enfeoffing him with a village. The king's former ministers were all filled with envy and jealousy, and said to the king, "He is a man from afar and cannot yet be trusted and submitted to. Why should he suddenly receive such excessive favor, even surpassing the old ministers in titles and rewards?" When the man from afar heard this, he spoke these words: "Who is so brave and strong that they can test themselves against me? I request that we compare skills on an open plain." The old ministers were flabbergasted, and none dared to face him. Later, in the great wilderness of that country, there was a ferocious lion that blocked the road and killed people, cutting off the king's highway. The old ministers conferred together: "That man from afar claims to be so brave and strong that none can match him. If he can now kill that lion and eliminate this harm for the state, it would truly be extraordinary!" Having made this consultation, they spoke to the king. Having heard this, the king gave him knives and staves, and immediately dispatched him. At that time, the man from afar, having received the order, steeled his resolve and went to the lion's lair. Seeing him, the lion roared and leapt forward. Terrified, the man from afar immediately climbed a tree. The lion opened its mouth and looked up toward the tree. In extreme panic, the man dropped the knife he was holding; it fell into the lion's mouth, and the lion instantly died. At that time, the man from afar leapt with joy, went and reported to the king, and the king doubled his favor toward him. Thereupon the people of that country spontaneously respected and submitted to him, and all praised him.