佛說觀佛三昧海經 8.7

8.7

“Terrified, the women fled to the kingdom of Śrāvastī. Having arrived in Śrāvastī, they set up a brothel at the crossroads and plied their alluring arts as before. Śrāvastī was a great realm with a vast population; those who flocked to the women’s house and spent a single night had to pay two hundred gold coins. In that country was an elder named Rulüda, who had accumulated ten billion in wealth. The elder had a son named Huade. The three brothers dissipated themselves without restraint and vied with one another in rushing to the brothel. On their very first visit, each of them paid fifteen gold coins; day and night they continually paid gold coins, more than twice the amount of ordinary men. Within a single month, one treasury of gold was exhausted. His father, the elder, inspected his various treasuries and saw that one treasury was empty. He asked the treasury keeper: ‘Where has the gold in this treasury gone?’ The treasury keeper said: ‘The master’s sons take gold every day to the house of the courtesans. If they are not stopped, all the gold will be used up.’ Hearing this, the elder beat his chest and wept aloud: ‘Alas, these villainous sons have ruined my household!’ Taking a large stick in hand, he struck the sons’ mother on the head. His wife wailed and wept: ‘Alas, these villainous sons! Giving birth to such sons has brought no benefit; they stole the gold until the treasury was exhausted. You as their father provided no discipline and were never stern with them—why beat me now?’ Enraged, the elder went weeping to the king, threw himself prostrate before the king, and said: ‘Great King! The realm has fallen into disorder. The rākṣasa women from the kingdom of Mathurā have come to dwell in this city and have ruined my family estate.’ The king said to the elder: ‘You are exceedingly wealthy, yet even your treasury of gold was exhausted; how much worse for the ordinary folk—how could they not be reduced to distress?’ The elder said to the king: ‘I only pray that the Great King will swiftly execute these wicked people.’ The king told the elder: ‘I have received the Buddha’s precepts and do not even harm an ant, so how could I kill a person?’ Hearing this, the elder raised his hands, beat his head, and said: ‘Great King! I have heard that when a ruler executes and punishes wicked people to rid the state of harm, what fault could there be? Today, the Great King makes common cause with evil, indulging these courtesans to subvert and throw into chaos the true Dharma. When the realm falls into disorder and the people are destitute, where will your precepts stand?’”