The Buddha, wishing to restate his meaning, spoke verses, saying: Suppose there was an Elder,
Who had a large house,
Which was very old,
And so was collapsing.
The halls were high and precarious,
The pillars rotting at their bases,
The beams and ridgepoles aslant,
The foundations and stairways crumbling .
The walls and partitions were cracked and ruined,
The plaster flaking and falling off.
The thatch was falling every which way,
And the rafters and eavepoles were coming loose,
The partitions on all sides were bent and misshapen;
It was filled with all kinds of filth.
There were five hundred people
Dwelling within it. There were kites, owls, hawks, and vultures,
Crows, magpies, pigeons, and doves,
Black snakes, vipers and scorpions,
Centipedes and millipedes.
There were geckoes and myriapods,
Weasels, badgers, and mice--
All sorts of evil creatures,
Running back and forth. There were places stinking of excrement and urine,
Oozing with filth,
With dung beetles
Clustered upon them.
There were foxes, wolves, and Yeh Kan,
Who nibbled at, trampled on,
And devoured corpses,
Scattering the bones and flesh. Then packs of dogs
Came running to grab them,
Hungry, weak and terrified,
Seeking food everywhere,
Fighting and shoving,
Snarling, howling and barking. The terrors in that house,
And the sights were such as these.
Li Mei and Wang Liang
Were everywhere.
Yakshas and evil ghosts
Were eating human flesh. There were poisonous creatures of all kinds,
And evil birds and beasts,
Hatching their young,
Each protecting its own. 佛欲重宣此义，而说偈言： 譬如长者、 有一大宅， 其宅久故， 而复顿敝， 堂舍高危， 柱根摧朽， 梁栋倾斜， 基陛隤毁， 墙壁圯坼， 泥涂褫落， 覆苫乱坠， 椽梠差脱， 周障屈曲， 杂秽充遍。 有五百人， 止住其中。 鸱枭雕鹫、 乌鹊鸠鸽、 蚖蛇蝮蝎， 蜈蚣蚰蜒， 守宫百足， 狖狸鼷鼠， 诸恶虫辈， 交横驰走。 屎尿臭处， 不净流溢， 蜣螂诸虫、 而集其上。 狐狼野干， 咀嚼践蹋， □啮死尸、 骨肉狼藉。 由是群狗、 竞来搏撮， 饥羸慞惶， 处处求食。 斗诤□掣， 啀喍嗥吠， 其舍恐怖， 变状如是。 Yakshas raced to the spot
Fighting one another to eat them.
Having eaten their fill,
Their evil thoughts grew more inflamed.
The sound of their quarreling,
Was dreadful to the extreme. Kumbhanda ghosts
Were squatting on high ground,
Sometimes leaving the ground
A foot or two,
As they wandered to and fro
Amusing themselves as they wished,
Grabbing dogs by two legs,
And striking them so they lost their bark,
Twisting their legs around their necks,
Frightening the dogs for their own pleasure. Further there were ghosts,
Their bodies very tall and large,
Naked, black and thin,
Always dwelling therein,
Emitting loud and evil sounds,
Howling in search of food. Further there were ghosts
With throats like needles.
Again there were ghosts
With heads like oxen,
Now eating human flesh,
And then devouring dogs. Their hair was disheveled
They were harmful, cruel and dangerous,
Oppressed by hunger and thirst,
They ran about shouting and crying out.
There were yakshas, hungry ghosts,
And all sorts of evil birds and beasts,
Frantic with hunger, facing the four directions,
Peeking out the windows,
Such were the troubles
And terrors beyond measure there. 处处皆有， 魑魅魍魉， 夜叉恶鬼， 食啖人肉， 毒虫之属， 诸恶禽兽， 孚乳产生， 各自藏护。 夜叉竞来， 争取食之， 食之既饱， 恶心转炽， 斗诤之声， 甚可怖畏。 鸠槃荼鬼、 蹲踞土埵， 或时离地， 一尺二尺， 往返游行， 纵逸嬉戏， 捉狗两足， 扑令失声， 以脚加颈， 怖狗自乐。 复有诸鬼， 其身长大， 裸形黑瘦， 常住其中， 发大恶声， 叫呼求食。 复有诸鬼， 其咽如针。 复有诸鬼， 首如牛头， 或食人肉， 或复啖狗， 头发蓬乱， 残害凶险， 饥渴所逼， 叫唤驰走。 夜叉饿鬼， 诸恶鸟兽， 饥急四向， 窥看窗牖， 如是诸难， 恐畏无量。 This old, decaying house
Belonged to a man
Who had gone but a short distance
When, before very long,
The rear rooms of the house
Suddenly caught fire. All at once, all four sides
Were enveloped by raging flames,
The beams, ridgepoles, rafters, and pillars
Shook and split with the sound of explosion,
Snapped apart and fell,
As the walls and partitions collapsed and fell in. All the ghosts and spirits
Screamed loudly,
While the hawks, vultures, and other birds,
The Kumbhandas, and so forth,
Ran about in a panic,
Unable to get themselves out. Evil beasts and poisonous insects
Hid away in the holes and crevices,
While the pishacha ghosts
Also dwelt therein. Their blessings and virtue scanty,
They were hard pressed by the fire;
They wrought harm on one another,
Drinking blood and eating flesh. As the packs of Yeh Kan
Were already dead,
Monstrous evil beasts
Raced to devour them,
While billows of stinking smoke
Permeated all four sides. Centipedes and millipedes,
And various kinds of poisonous snakes,
Burnt by the fire,
Fought to escape their holes.
Kumbhanda ghosts
Grabbed and ate them. 是朽故宅， 属于一人。 其人近出， 未久之间， 于后舍宅， 忽然火起， 四面一时， 其炎俱炽。 栋梁椽柱、 爆声震裂， 摧折堕落， 墙壁崩倒。 诸鬼神等、 扬声大叫。 雕鹫诸鸟， 鸠槃荼等， 周章惶怖， 不能自出。 恶兽毒虫， 藏窜孔穴， 毗舍阇鬼、 亦住其中， 薄福德故， 为火所逼， 共相残害， 饮血啖肉。 野干之属， 并已前死， 诸大恶兽、 竞来食啖， 臭烟烽烰， 四面充塞。 蜈蚣蚰蜒， 毒蛇之类， 为火所烧， 争走出穴， 鸠槃荼鬼、 随取而食。 Further, all the hungry ghosts,
The tops of their heads aflame,
Tormented by hunger, thirst, and heat,
Ran about in terror and distress. So it was in that house:
Terrifying to the extreme,
With dangers and conflagrations--
A host of troubles, not just one. At that time the owner of the house
Was standing outside the door
When he heard someone say,
“All of your children
Awhile ago, in play,
Went into this house.
Being young and ignorant,
They delight in play and cling to amusements.”
Having heard this, the Elder
Entered the burning house, in alarm. Intending to save them
From being burned
He warned his children
Of the host of disasters:
“The evil ghosts, the poisonous insects
and the spreading conflagration,
A host of sufferings, in succession
Are continuous, without interruption. The poisonous snakes and vipers
And all the yakshas,
And Kumbhanda ghosts,
Yeh Kan, foxes and dogs,
Hawks, vultures, kites and owls,
And varieties of centipedes
Are frantic with hunger and thirst,
And terrifying to the extreme. There are so many sufferings and troubles,
So much increased by this great fire!”
But all the children, without knowledge,
Although they heard their father’s warnings,
Still clung to their amusements
And sported without cease. 又诸饿鬼， 头上火燃， 饥渴热恼， 周章闷走。 其宅如是、 甚可怖畏， 毒害火灾， 众难非一。 是时宅主 在门外立， 闻有人言， 汝诸子等， 先因游戏、 来入此宅， 稚小无知， 欢娱乐著。 长者闻已， 惊入火宅， 方宜救济， 令无烧害。 告喻诸子， 说众患难， 恶鬼毒虫， 灾火蔓延， 众苦次第、 相续不绝。 毒蛇蚖蝮， 及诸夜叉、 鸠槃荼鬼， 野干狐狗， 雕鹫鸱枭， 百足之属， 饥渴恼急， 甚可怖畏， 此苦难处， 况复大火。 诸子无知， 虽闻父诲， 犹故乐著， 嬉戏不已。 At that time, the Elder
Further had this thought:
“Being like this, my children
Add to my worry and distress;
Now, in this house, there is not
A single thing in which to take pleasure,
And yet all these children
Are intoxicated by their play.
Not heeding my instructions,
They will be injured in the fire.”
Just then he thought
To devise expedients. He said to the children,
I have all kinds
Of precious playthings:
Fine carriages, wonderful, bejeweled
Sheep carts and deer carts,
And great ox carts,
Now, right outside the door.
So come out, all of you,
For I have, just for you,
Had these carts made.
Just as you wish,
You can play with them.” When the children heard him speak
Of carriages such as these,
They immediately raced
Out in a scramble,
To a clearing where
They were then safe from harm. The Elder, seeing that his children
Had escaped the burning house,
And were standing at the crossroads,
Sat on his Lion’s throne
And rejoiced to himself, saying,
“Now, I am happy!
All of these children
Were hard to bring into the world and raise;
Stupid, young and without knowledge,
They went into this dangerous house,
Swarming with poisonous insects
And fearful Li Mei ghosts,
Ablaze with a great fire,
Raging on all sides.
But all these children
Still clung to their amusements.
I have now rescued them
And saved them from disaster.
Therefore, of all people,
I am the happiest!” 是时长者， 而作是念， 诸子如此， 益我愁恼。 今此舍宅， 无一可乐， 而诸子等、 耽湎嬉戏， 不受我教， 将为火害。 即便思惟， 设诸方便、 告诸子等， 我有种种， 珍玩之具， 妙宝好车， 羊车鹿车、 大牛之车， 今在门外。 汝等出来， 吾为汝等 造作此车， 随意所乐， 可以游戏。 诸子闻说， 如此诸车， 即时奔竞、 驰走而出， 到于空地， 离诸苦难。 长者见子， 得出火宅， 住于四衢， 坐师子座、 而自庆言， 我今快乐。 此诸子等， 生育甚难， 愚小无知， 而入险宅。 多诸毒虫， 魑魅可畏， 大火猛炎、 四面俱起， 而此诸子、 贪著嬉戏， 我已救之， 令得脱难。 是故诸人， 我今快乐。 |