百喻經之十一: 婆羅門殺子喻
§11 婆羅門殺子喻
(11) the brahman kills his son
昔有婆羅門，自謂多知，于諸星術種種技藝無不明達。恃己如此，欲顯其德，遂至他國，抱兒而哭！有人問婆羅門言：“汝何故哭？”
once upon a time, there was a brahman who prided himself on his erudite knowledge of astrology and various arts. he was such a conceited man that he claimed to be learned in everything. to show his ability, he went abroad carrying his son in his arms and cried. the brahman was asked, "why are you crying?"
婆羅門言：“今此小兒，七日當死，愍其夭殤，以是哭耳！”
he replied, "this baby is going to die within seven days. i'm grieved at his inevitable death. that's why i can't help crying."
時人語言：“人命難知，計算喜錯。設七日頭或能不死，何為預哭？”
the contemporaries said, "it's difficult to know a man's life. it's easy to make a miscalculation. he may not die seven days. why should you weep in advance?"
婆羅門言：“日月可暗，星宿可落，我之所記，終無違失。”
the brahman said, "the sun and the moon may set and the stars may fall, but i have never had a miscalculation on my record."
為名利故，至七日頭，自殺其子，以證己說。
to prove his self-claimed knowledge, he killed his son on the seventh day, for the sake of fame and gain.
時諸世人，卻后七日，聞其兒死，咸皆嘆言：“真是智者，所言不錯！”心生信服，悉來致敬。
the contemporaries heard the news of his son's death at the foretold time. they marvelled that he was indeed an erudite man who could prove true of what he had said. they all came to pay him homage, and were heartily convinced that he deserved respect (as a prophet).
猶如佛之四輩弟子，為利養故，自稱得道，有愚人法，殺善男子，詐現慈德，故使將來，受苦無窮。如婆羅門為驗己言，殺子惑世。
this is also true with those of sakyamuni's four degrees of disciples who claim to have attained the path of enlightenment for the sake of the material offerings from others. they would try to fool people by killing an innocent man in order to deceitfully show the virtue of compassion. such disciples would be certainly doomed to limitless suffering in time to come, just like the brahman who wanted to prove the accuracy of his prophecy by killing his son and thus deceived people.
注釋：
①婆羅門：古印度的貴族集團，是四種姓中的第一種姓，掌握神權，成為知識壟斷者。四種姓依次為：婆羅門、剎帝利、吠舍、賤民。
②星術：用星象占卜兇吉的方法。
③明達：清楚地了解和掌握。
④愍其夭殤：愍，憐憫；夭殤，未成年而死亡。
⑤喜錯：容易出差錯。
⑥詐現慈德：詐，偽裝；慈德，慈善的品德。
白話：
從前在古印度有一位婆羅門種姓的人，自稱知識淵博，能掌握星象占卜吉兇的方法預知未來。他自稱技藝高明，于是就來到別的國家，抱著自己的兒子，在人們面前哭喊不止。有人問他說：“你為什么哭泣？”這個婆羅門種姓的人說：“這個小孩，過七天后就要死了，我憐憫他的夭折，所以痛哭啊！”那旁邊的人說：“人的生命難以預料，預測很容易出差錯。也許過了七天未必死亡，何必預先就悲痛呢？”婆羅門種姓的人說：“太陽月亮也有黑暗的時候，天上的星宿也可能會隕落，而我所預測的，從來沒有失算過。”為了維護自己的名譽和利益，過了第七天，他親手殺死了自己的孩子，以此來證明自己的推測。過了七天，人們聽說他的兒子死了，都感嘆地說：“真是一個智慧的人，所預言的果真不錯。”人們從心里對他信服，向他致敬。
這就好比信奉佛教的比丘比丘尼和不出家的善男、信女，為了得到利益和供奉，自稱已經悟道，用世俗的思想誘導，去傷害一心事佛的修行者，用偽裝出的慈善品德騙人，從而使自己在輪回中受盡苦難。就像那個婆羅門種姓的人，為顯示自己的預言靈驗，親手殺死兒子來愚弄大家。
解說：
四眾弟子為了貪得供養，自稱得道，以欺世盜名，最終必將遭到傾覆。為理解此意，可抄出《雜譬喻經》（比丘道略集、鳩摩羅什譯）的一則譬喻，以供并讀，亦屬以喻解喻的方法。
昔有一比丘被擯（驅逐走），懊惱悲嘆，涕哭而行，道逢一鬼。此鬼犯法，亦為毘沙門天王（即四大金剛之一）所擯。
時鬼問比丘言：「汝有何事，涕哭而行?」比丘答曰：「我犯僧事，眾僧所擯，一切檀越供養盡失：又惡名聲流布遠近，是故愁嘆涕泣耳。」鬼語比丘言：「我能令汝滅惡名聲、大得供養，汝可便立我左肩上，我當擔汝虛空中行，人但見汝而不見我身。汝若大得供養，當先與我。」彼鬼即時擔此比丘，于先被擯聚落上虛空中行。時聚落人見皆驚怪，謂其得道，轉相謂言：「眾僧無狀，枉擯得道之人。」
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