譬喻經

Thus have I heard:

At one time, the Buddha was dwelling in the Jeta Grove, in Anāthapiṇḍika's Park, in the city of Śrāvastī. At that time the World-Honored One, in the midst of the great assembly, spoke to King Prasenajit, saying:

"Great King! I shall now, for Your Majesty, briefly relate a parable concerning how sentient beings, amid birth and death, become attached to flavors, create faults, and meet with calamities. Now, Great King, listen attentively and reflect upon it well.

In a past age, immeasurable kalpas ago, there was a man who entered a wilderness and was pursued by a fierce elephant. Terrified, he ran for his life and could find no place of refuge. Suddenly he caught sight of a dry well, and beside the well there was a tree root hanging down. So he grasped the root, climbed down, and clung there dangling, hiding within the well.

At that moment there were two rats, one white and one black, gnawing together at the root above. Around the well were four venomous serpents that sought to bite the man, while below there was a poisonous dragon. Within his heart he was terrified of the serpents and the dragon, and dreaded that the root would break. Yet upon the cluster of roots above there was also a beehive, and just then five drops of honey fell into the man's mouth. As the tree swayed, the swarm of bees flew down and stung him. Moreover, wildfires kept rolling in and scorching the trunk of that tree."

The king said:

"World-Honored One! Why is it that this man, while suffering immeasurable afflictions and perils, still craves that little taste of sweetness?"

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At that time the World-Honored One taught, saying:

"Great King! —The wilderness is a metaphor for the long, endless night of ignorance. —The fleeing man is a metaphor for the ordinary worldling. —The elephant is a metaphor for impermanence. —The well is a metaphor for the perilous shore of birth and death. —The tree root is a metaphor for the life-span. —The two rats, one white and one black, are a metaphor for day and night. —The gnawing of the root is a metaphor for thought after thought wearing away. —The four venomous serpents are a metaphor for the four great elements. —The five drops of honey are a metaphor for the five desires. —The bee is a metaphor for wrong thoughts. —The fire is a metaphor for old age and sickness. —The poisonous dragon is a metaphor for death.

Therefore, Great King! You must understand that birth, old age, sickness, and death are truly to be feared. Your Majesty should ever contemplate your own thoughts, and not let yourself be oppressed and swallowed up by the five desires."

At that time the World-Honored One, restating this in verse, declared:

The wise one contemplates this matter
And grows weary of impermanent birth and death

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When the mind clings not to the five desires
Only then is one a liberated person

When King Prasenajit heard the Buddha expound upon the calamities of birth and death, he attained that which he had never had before and gave rise to boundless weariness with birth and death. Thereupon he joined his palms in reverence, single-mindedly gazed upon the Buddha, and addressed the Buddha, saying:

"World-Honored One! The Tathāgata, out of great compassion, has expounded such subtle and wondrous meaning of the Dharma; I now respectfully receive it upon my head."

The Buddha said:

"Excellent, excellent! Great King, practice in accordance with this teaching and do not be heedless."

At that time King Prasenajit, together with all the great assembly, were all filled with joy, and with faith they received it and reverently put it into practice.

The Sūtra of the Parable Spoken by the Buddha