37 Killing a Herd of Cattle

37杀群牛喻

Once there was a man who owned two hundred and fifty head of cattle. He often took them out to the pasture to graze. One day a tiger ate one of the cows. The cattle owner said to himself, “Now that I’ve lost one cow, the herd is no longer complete. What’s the point of keeping it at all?” Thereupon he drove the cattle up to a high cliff and killed them all by pushing them down into the deep gorge below.

Foolish people in the world are like this too. Having taken the Thus Come One’s complete precepts, they may happen to violate one precept. Not only do they not give rise to shame and remorse and try to repent and reform in a pure way, instead they say to themselves, “Since I have broken one of the precepts, they are no longer complete. What’s the use of holding any of the others? Then they go on to violate all of the precepts with none remaining. They are like the foolish man who killed all of his cattle so that not a single one remained.

译文

从前有一个人，养着二百五十头牛，常驱逐它们至水草丰美的地方，让它们随时可吃。这时一只老虎吃掉了一头牛。牛主人便想：已经去掉了一头，破了我的整数，还要这牛作什么呢?就把牛驱赶至深坑的高岸边，都推排到坑底去杀死了。

世上的愚人也是这样，受持如来二百五十条具足圆满的戒律，倘破了其中的一条，没有产生惭愧之情，去脱掉恶行的垢染，去真诚地忏悔，反而这样想：我已破了一戒，既已不具足完整了，还要受持下去吗?就把一切戒都破掉了，无一存留。就像那个愚人，把牛群全杀尽了，无一存留。

原典

昔有一人，有二百五十头牛，常驱逐水草，随时餧①食。时有一虎，噉食一牛。尔时牛主即作念言：已失一牛，俱不全足，用是牛为?即便驱至深坑高岸，排着坑底，尽皆杀之。

凡夫愚人，亦复如是，受持如来具足之戒，若犯一戒，不生惭愧，清净忏悔，便作念言：我已破一戎，既不具足，何用持为?一切都破，无一在者。如彼愚人，尽杀群牛，无一在者。

注释

①餧：喂。

源流

《大庄严经论》卷六：如人耻白发，并剃其黑者。剃之未久间，白发寻还生。(《中华大藏经》第二十九册第六六O页)

《弘明集》卷六道恒法师<释駮论>：无异人苦头虱，因欲并首俱焚，患在足刺，遂欲通股全解，不亦滥乎!(《大正藏》第五十二册第三十五页)

解说

俗语所谓要么流芳百世，要么遗臭万年，也是追求具足或全然毁坏的心理表现。