百喻經 卷第一Sūtra of One Hundred Parables · Fascicle 1

Placement of the passage as a whole. This unit is the whole of Fascicle 1 of the Sūtra of One Hundred Parables: the fascicle title 「百喻經卷第一」—“Sūtra of One Hundred Parables, Fascicle 1”〔T04 0543a04〕; the author’s attribution 「尊者僧伽斯那撰」—“composed by the venerable Sengqiesina”〔T04 0543a06〕; the translator’s attribution 「蕭齊天竺三藏求那毘地譯」—“translated by Qiunapidi, Tripiṭaka master from India, under the Southern Qi”〔T04 0543a07〕; a table of contents at the head of the fascicle with twenty-one titles; twenty-one parables (parables 1 to 21 in the sūtra’s sequence of parables); the closing title at the end of the fascicle, 「百喻經卷第一」—“Sūtra of One Hundred Parables, Fascicle 1”〔T04 0546a15〕; and, after the closing title, one passage of preface (0546a16–0546b11). There are 4,294 Chinese characters in the fascicle. There are no verses in this fascicle. Each parable first narrates what a fool did (the parable), and then, with an application sentence, points out the Dharma it illustrates (the application); all twenty-one parables have an application. The speakers within the parables are assigned according to the base text’s markers 「答言」—“answered,” 「語言」—“said to,” 「問言」—“asked,” 「念言」—“thought,” and the like; the narration and the applications are the author’s words; the preface consists of the questions of the five hundred brāhmaṇa students and the Buddha’s answers, and one sentence in it lacks the marker 「問曰」—“asked,” and is, from the context before and after, the brāhmaṇa students’ question. This sūtra has no alternate translation and no line-by-line ancient commentary. The Taishō collation notes anchored in this fascicle number eighty (three of them revision lines of the current collated edition), and in addition there are eleven records of variant readings at repeated occurrences of the same character, without note numbers; see the ninth topic.

I. Doctrinal-Outline Placement

The place of Fascicle 1—this sūtra has four fascicles, and this is the first, holding parables 1 to 21; Fascicle 2 holds parables 22 to 41, Fascicle 3 parables 42 to 65, and Fascicle 4 parables 66 to 98. The head of the fascicle in the base text:

「百喻經卷第一」—“Sūtra of One Hundred Parables, Fascicle 1”〔T04 0543a04〕 「尊者僧伽斯那撰」—“composed by the venerable Sengqiesina”〔T04 0543a06〕 「蕭齊天竺三藏求那毘地譯」—“translated by Qiunapidi, Tripiṭaka master from India, under the Southern Qi”〔T04 0543a07〕

The closing title at the end of the fascicle likewise reads 「百喻經卷第一」—“Sūtra of One Hundred Parables, Fascicle 1”〔T04 0546a15〕.

The table of contents at the head of the fascicle (verbatim from the base text, twenty-one titles):

「愚人食鹽喻　愚人集牛乳喻　以梨打破頭喻　婦詐語稱死喻　渴見水喻　子死欲停置家中喻　認人為兄喻　山羗偷官庫喻　歎父德行喻　三重樓喻　婆羅門殺子喻　煮黑石蜜漿喻　說人喜瞋喻　殺商主祀天喻　醫與王女藥令卒長大喻　灌甘蔗喻　債半錢喻　就樓磨刀喻　乘船失釪喻　人說王縱暴喻　婦女欲更求子喻」—“The Fool Who Ate Salt; The Fool Who Stored Up Milk; Struck on the Head with Pears; The Wife Who Feigned Death; Thirsty at the Sight of Water; Keeping a Dead Son at Home; Claiming a Stranger as Elder Brother; The Hill Tribesman Who Robbed the Royal Treasury; Praising a Father’s Virtue; The Three-Storied Tower; The Brāhmaṇa Who Killed His Son; Boiling Black-Sugar Syrup; Telling a Man He Is Quick to Anger; Killing the Caravan Leader as a Sacrifice to Heaven; The Physician’s Medicine to Make the Princess Grow at Once; Watering the Sugarcane; A Debt of Half a Coin; Climbing the Tower to Sharpen a Knife; Losing a Bowl from the Boat; Telling the King He Is Cruel; The Woman Who Wanted Yet Another Son”〔T04 0543a08〕

Two of the titles in the table of contents differ from the titles at the head of the parables; both are recorded together, without adjudication (the reader-facing parable titles follow the titles at the head of the parables):

• Parable 3: the table of contents has 「以梨打破頭喻」—“the parable of breaking the head by striking with pears”〔T04 0543a08〕 (running across the two lines 〔0543a08–a09〕); the head of the parable has 「（三）以梨打頭破喻」—“(3) the parable of the head broken by striking with pears”〔T04 0543b08〕. The Taishō note 〔0543018〕 on the title at the head of the parable records 「頭破【大】，破頭【宋】【元】【明】」—“‘head broken’ in the Taishō; ‘broken head’ in the Song, Yuan, and Ming editions”; that is, in the three editions the title at the head of the parable has the same order as the table of contents (see the ninth topic).
• Parable 4: the table of contents has 「婦詐語稱死喻」—“the parable of the wife who falsely said she was dead”〔T04 0543a09〕; the head of the parable has 「（四）婦詐稱死喻」—“(4) the parable of the wife who feigned death”〔T04 0543b20〕. The Taishō note 〔0543019〕 records 「詐【大】，詐語【明】」—“‘feigned’ in the Taishō; ‘falsely said’ in the Ming” (see the ninth topic).

In the other nineteen titles, the table of contents and the head of the parable agree word for word (including the 「山羗」—“hill tribesman” of Parable 8).

The sequence of the twenty-one parables (the titles are verbatim from the head of each parable, here given in English; “Han” is the count of Chinese characters from the title line of the parable to the line before the title of the next parable; the type follows the base text’s own markers 「言」—“said,” 「答」—“answered,” 「問」—“asked,” and 「念」—“thought”):

The 141 in the row of Parable 21 does not include the closing title of the fascicle that follows it (6) or the preface (374); the colophon and table of contents before the head of the first parable come to 143. In total: the twenty-one parables 3,771, the head of the fascicle 143, the closing title 6, the preface 374; 4,294 in all.

The place of the preface—the base text places it after the closing title of the fascicle, 「百喻經卷第一」—“Sūtra of One Hundred Parables, Fascicle 1”〔T04 0546a15〕, from 「聞如是：一時佛在王舍城」—“Thus it was heard: at one time the Buddha was staying at Rājagṛha”〔T04 0546a16〕 to 「眾喻」—“the many parables”〔T04 0546b11〕; for the difference of its position in the three editions, see the ninth topic.

II. Collation with the Alternate Translations

This sūtra has no alternate translation. Of the eighty note numbers and eighty-six variant readings of the Taishō collation notes anchored in this fascicle, not one marks the number of an alternate translation, nor is there any mark of a parallel in another sūtra; the P. 546 and P. 543 recorded in the notes are cross-references to pages of this sūtra itself, not alternate translations. The other sūtras of miscellaneous parables of the same kind are not alternate translations of this sūtra; they are not collated, and no comparison of our own making is set up.

III. Scriptural and Treatise Grounding (the “eye”)

This sūtra is the author’s gathering of parables to make the Dharma clear; the Dharma that each application points out is listed below parable by parable. Of other sūtras, only words identical, word for word, in the base text of the Saṃyukta Āgama as this edition carries it are taken (anchors beginning with T02), and only the shared word is recorded; the other sūtra is not used to explain this parable, nor this parable to explain the other sūtra; where the context of the other sūtra differs from the matter of this parable, nothing further is said. Where no shared word is found, it is recorded as ‘no verbatim grounding for this parable found in the texts on hand,’ together with the words that were searched.

Parable 1 · followers of other paths · moderating food and drink · attaining the Way

• This sūtra: 「譬彼外道聞節飲食可以得道」—“Just so are those followers of other paths: hearing that by moderating food and drink one can attain the Way”〔T04 0543a21〕; 「即便斷食或經七日或十五日」—“they cut off food altogether, some for seven days, some for fifteen days”〔T04 0543a21〕
• The same word in another sūtra: 「若外道出家來問我言」—“if those gone forth among the followers of other paths come and ask me”〔T02 0012b14〕—the same word 「外道」—“followers of other paths.”

‘Moderating food and drink’ and ‘cutting off food’: no verbatim grounding for this parable found in the texts on hand (words searched: cutting off food · moderating food and drink).

Parable 2 · giving

• This sūtra: 「愚人亦爾，欲修布施」—“The fool is so too: wishing to practice giving”〔T04 0543b04〕
• The same word in another sūtra: 「一者布施，二者調伏，三者修道」—“first, giving; second, taming; third, cultivating the path”〔T02 0068a29〕—the same word 「布施」—“giving.”

Parable 3 · faith, precepts, learning, and wisdom · deportment · gain and offerings

• This sūtra: 「不能具修信、戒、聞、慧，但整威儀以招利養」—“unable to cultivate in full faith, precepts, learning, and wisdom, they merely keep their deportment in order, to attract gain and offerings”〔T04 0543b17〕
• The same word in another sūtra: 「晨朝著衣持鉢，威儀詳」—“in the early morning he put on his robe and took his bowl, his deportment composed”〔T02 0035a25〕—the same word 「威儀」—“deportment”; 「假形婆羅門，以求於利養」—“a brāhmaṇa in outward form only, to seek gain and offerings”〔T02 0063c16〕—the same word 「利養」—“gain and offerings.”

‘Faith, precepts, learning, and wisdom’ named together as four: no verbatim grounding for this parable found in the texts on hand (words searched: faith, precepts · precepts, learning).

Parable 4 · wrong teachings · the right teaching

• This sūtra: 「如彼外道聞他邪說心生惑著」—“Just like those followers of other paths, who, hearing the wrong teachings of others, give rise in their minds to delusion and attachment”〔T04 0543c02〕; 「雖聞正教不信受持」—“even when they hear the right teaching, they do not believe it, accept it, or uphold it”〔T04 0543c04〕
• The same word in another sūtra: 「去諸邪說」—“putting away all wrong teachings”〔T02 0035b19〕—the same word 「邪說」—“wrong teachings.”

For the word ‘the right teaching,’ what is found in the other sūtra is 「正教授、正說法」—“right instruction, right teaching of the Dharma”〔T02 0075c01〕; the words differ, and it is not listed; no verbatim grounding for this parable found in the texts on hand (word searched: the right teaching).

Parable 5 · the Buddha’s precepts · a share in attaining the Way · wandering on in birth and death

• This sūtra: 「以己不能具持佛戒，遂便不受」—“because they themselves cannot keep the Buddha’s precepts in full, they then do not take them up at all”〔T04 0543c12〕; 「致使將來無得道分、流轉生死」—“so that in the future they have no share in attaining the Way and wander on in birth and death”〔T04 0543c13〕

No verbatim grounding for this parable found in the texts on hand (words searched: the Buddha’s precepts · wandering on in birth and death · attaining the Way).

Parable 6 · breaking a precept · concealing · repentance · breaking the precepts

• This sūtra: 「譬如比丘私犯一戒」—“Just as a bhikṣu who secretly breaks one precept”〔T04 0543c23〕; 「默然覆藏自說清淨」—“silently conceals it and declares himself pure”〔T04 0543c24〕; 「禁戒如護明珠不使缺落」—“keeps the precepts as one guards a bright pearl, letting nothing be broken or lost”〔T04 0543c26〕; 「遂便破戒多作不善」—“So he breaks the precepts and does much that is not good”〔T04 0543c28〕
• The same word in another sūtra: 「無所覆藏」—“concealing nothing”〔T02 0066c20〕—the same word 「覆藏」—“concealing.”

‘Repentance,’ ‘breaking the precepts,’ and ‘the precepts’: no verbatim grounding for this parable found in the texts on hand (words searched: repentance · breaking the precepts · the precepts).

Parable 7 · the Buddha’s words · gain and offerings · practice

• This sūtra: 「聞佛善語貪竊而用以為己有」—“who hear the good words of the Buddha, greedily steal them and use them, taking them as their own”〔T04 0544a10〕; 「取彼佛語化道眾生」—“we take those words of the Buddha to teach and guide beings”〔T04 0544a13〕
• The same word in another sūtra, 「利養」—“gain and offerings”: see Parable 3 〔T02 0063c16〕.

‘The Buddha’s words’: no verbatim grounding for this parable found in the texts on hand (word searched: the Buddha’s words).

Parable 8 · the Buddha · the Dharma · followers of other paths · the marks of the Dharma

• This sūtra: 「王者如佛，寶藏如法，愚癡羗者猶如外道」—“the king is like the Buddha, the treasure-store is like the Dharma, and the foolish tribesman is like the followers of other paths”〔T04 0544a25〕; 「不知法相」—“do not know the marks of the Dharma”〔T04 0544a28〕

For the word ‘the marks of the Dharma,’ what is found in the other sūtra is 「聲、香、味、觸、法相斷」—“sounds, odours, tastes, tangibles, and the marks of mental objects are cut off”〔T02 0020b13〕, where ‘mental objects’ and ‘marks’ merely stand side by side; the words differ, and it is not listed; no verbatim grounding for this parable found in the texts on hand (word searched: the marks of the Dharma).

Parable 9 · praising virtue · disparagement

• This sūtra: 「欲讚人德不識其實，反致毀呰」—“wishing to praise another’s virtue, they do not recognize the truth of it, and instead bring on disparagement”〔T04 0544b08〕; what is praised within the parable, 「直作實語兼行布施」—“he is upright and speaks the truth, and he also practices giving”〔T04 0544b03〕

The same word ‘giving’: see Parable 2 〔T02 0068a29〕. ‘Praising another’s virtue’ and ‘disparagement’: no verbatim grounding for this parable found in the texts on hand (words searched: praising another’s virtue · disparagement).

Parable 10 · the four kinds of disciples · the Three Jewels · the fruits of the Way · the fruit of arhatship

• This sūtra: 「譬如世尊四輩弟子，不能精勤修敬三寶」—“Just so the four kinds of disciples of the World-Honored One, unable to practice diligently and revere the Three Jewels”〔T04 0544b27〕; 「欲求道果」—“wishing to seek the fruits of the Way”〔T04 0544b28〕; 「餘下三果，唯求得彼阿羅漢果」—“the other three lower fruits; I seek only to attain the fruit of arhatship”〔T04 0544b29〕
• The same word in another sūtra: 「清淨歸依三寶」—“taking refuge purely in the Three Jewels”〔T02 0006c01〕—the same word 「三寶」—“the Three Jewels”; 「得阿羅漢果證」—“attained the realization of the fruit of arhatship”〔T02 0065c05〕—the same word 「阿羅漢果」—“the fruit of arhatship.”

‘The four kinds of disciples’ and ‘the three fruits’: no verbatim grounding for this parable found in the texts on hand (words searched: the four kinds · the three fruits).

Parable 11 · gain and offerings · claiming to have attained the Way

• This sūtra: 「猶如佛之四輩弟子為利養故自稱得道」—“Just like the Buddha’s four kinds of disciples who, for the sake of gain and offerings, claim to have attained the Way”〔T04 0544c13〕; 「有愚人法殺善男子詐現慈德」—“by the ways of a fool kill a good man and feign the virtue of compassion”〔T04 0544c14〕
• The same word in another sūtra, 「利養」—“gain and offerings”: see Parable 3 〔T02 0063c16〕.

‘Claiming to have attained the Way’: no verbatim grounding for this parable found in the texts on hand (words searched: claiming to have attained the Way · attaining the Way).

Parable 12 · the afflictions · austerities · coolness

• This sūtra: 「其猶外道不滅煩惱熾然之火」—“It is like the followers of other paths, who do not extinguish the blazing fire of the afflictions”〔T04 0544c23〕; 「五熱炙身而望清涼寂靜之道」—“scorch the body with the five fires, and hope for the cool and tranquil Way”〔T04 0544c24〕
• The same word in another sūtra: 「瞋恚、愚癡及餘種種上煩惱心法」—“anger, delusion, and the various other mental states of the upper afflictions”〔T02 0013b21〕—the same word 「煩惱」—“afflictions”; 「我今持戒、苦行、修諸梵行」—“I now keep the precepts, practice austerities, and cultivate the pure practices”〔T02 0315a03〕—the same word 「苦行」—“austerities”; 「滅盡、寂靜、清涼」—“extinction, tranquility, coolness”〔T02 0017a19〕—the same words 「寂靜」—“tranquil” and 「清涼」—“cool.”

‘The five fires’: no verbatim grounding for this parable found in the texts on hand (word searched: the five fires).

Parable 13 · drinking wine · heedlessness

• This sūtra: 「譬如世間飲酒之夫」—“Just as people in the world who drink wine”〔T04 0545a07〕; 「躭荒沈酒作諸放逸」—“sunk in drink and dissipated, do all kinds of heedless things”〔T04 0545a08〕
• The same word in another sūtra: 「知言妄語、飲酒」—“knowingly speaking falsely, drinking wine”〔T02 0044c04〕—the same word 「飲酒」—“drinking wine”; 「修不放逸已」—“having cultivated heedfulness”〔T02 0003a10〕—the same word 「放逸」—“heedless.”

Parable 14 · the ocean of Dharma · the practice of good dharmas · the three evil destinies

• This sūtra: 「欲入法海取其珍寶，當修善法行」—“wishing to enter the ocean of Dharma and take its treasures, they should cultivate the practice of good dharmas”〔T04 0545a19〕; 「經歷三塗受苦長遠」—“passing through the three evil destinies and suffering long”〔T04 0545a21〕
• The same word in another sūtra: 「如是說正順欣樂善法」—“thus he speaks rightly, in accord with and delighting in good dharmas”〔T02 0019c09〕—the same word 「善法」—“good dharmas.”

‘The ocean of Dharma,’ ‘the three evil destinies,’ and ‘the guide’: no verbatim grounding for this parable found in the texts on hand (words searched: the ocean of Dharma · the three evil destinies · the guide).

Parable 15 · good friend · sitting in meditation · the twelve links of dependent arising · arhat

• This sūtra: 「世人亦爾，詣善知識而啟之言」—“People of the world are so too: they go to a good friend and make their request to him”〔T04 0545b03〕; 「教令坐禪觀十二緣起」—“teaches him to sit in meditation and contemplate the twelve links of dependent arising”〔T04 0545b05〕
• The same word in another sūtra: 「善知識教授教誡說法」—“the good friend instructs, admonishes, and teaches the Dharma”〔T02 0067a13〕—the same word 「善知識」—“good friend”; 「入室坐禪」—“entered his room and sat in meditation”〔T02 0053b14〕—the same word 「坐禪」—“sitting in meditation”; 「廣說緣起」—“taught dependent arising at length”〔T02 0077a23〕—the same word 「緣起」—“dependent arising.”

‘The twelve links of dependent arising’ as one phrase: no verbatim grounding for this parable found in the texts on hand (word searched: the twelve links of dependent arising).

Parable 16 · good merit · the root of merit · good fruit

• This sūtra: 「世人亦爾，欲求善福」—“People of the world are so too: wishing to seek good merit”〔T04 0545b13〕; 「用作福本期善果」—“making these the root of merit and hoping for good fruit”〔T04 0545b15〕

No verbatim grounding for this parable found in the texts on hand (words searched: good merit · good fruit).

Parable 17 · fame and gain · the great practice · ill repute · painful retribution

• This sūtra: 「要少名利致毀大行」—“seeking a little fame and gain, they bring ruin to the great practice”〔T04 0545b23〕; 「現受惡名後得苦報」—“in this life they receive ill repute, and in the next life they obtain painful retribution”〔T04 0545b24〕
• The same word in another sūtra: 「惡名流布，遍於諸方」—“his ill repute spreads, everywhere in all directions”〔T02 0077c15〕—the same word 「惡名」—“ill repute”; 「於未來世必受苦報」—“in the future world he will surely receive painful retribution”〔T02 0076b02〕—the same word 「苦報」—“painful retribution.”

‘Propriety’: no verbatim grounding for this parable found in the texts on hand (word searched: propriety).

Parable 18 · the precepts · cultivating merit · rebirth in heaven

• This sūtra: 「猶如愚人毀破禁戒」—“Just like the fool who breaks the precepts”〔T04 0545c02〕; 「多取錢財以用修福望得生天」—“takes much wealth to use in cultivating merit, hoping to be reborn in heaven”〔T04 0545c03〕
• The same word in another sūtra: 「長夜修福」—“through the long night cultivating merit”〔T02 0067c17〕—the same word 「修福」—“cultivating merit.”

‘Rebirth in heaven’ and ‘the precepts’: no verbatim grounding for this parable found in the texts on hand (words searched: rebirth in heaven · the precepts).

Parable 19 · right practice · liberation

• This sūtra: 「亦如外道不修正行」—“So too the followers of other paths do not cultivate right practice”〔T04 0545c17〕; 「以求解脫」—“to seek liberation”〔T04 0545c18〕
• The same word in another sūtra: 「心得解脫」—“the mind attains liberation”〔T02 0015c04〕—the same word 「解脫」—“liberation.”

‘Right practice’: no verbatim grounding for this parable found in the texts on hand (word searched: right practice).

Parable 20 · the next life · extinguishing offenses · the reward of merit

• This sūtra: 「不畏後世貪渴現樂」—“not fearing the next life, greedily craving present pleasure”〔T04 0545c29〕; 「望得滅罪而得福報」—“hopes thereby to extinguish his offenses and obtain the reward of merit”〔T04 0546a02〕
• The same word in another sūtra: 「此身惡行，現世、後世必得惡報」—“for the evil conduct of this body, in the present life and the next life one will surely obtain evil retribution”〔T02 0077c12〕—the same word 「後世」—“the next life”; 「得功德福報」—“obtains merit and the reward of merit”〔T02 0316a15〕—the same word 「福報」—“the reward of merit.”

‘Present pleasure’: no verbatim grounding for this parable found in the texts on hand (word searched: present pleasure).

Parable 21 · a pit of fire · rebirth in heaven

• This sūtra: 「為未生樂自投火坑」—“for the sake of a pleasure not yet arisen, he throws himself into a pit of fire”〔T04 0546a13〕; 「害身為得生天」—“harms his body … only to be reborn in heaven”〔T04 0546a14〕
• The same word in another sūtra: 「此有火坑，滿中盛火」—“here there is a pit of fire, filled with blazing fire”〔T02 0314a17〕—the same word 「火坑」—“a pit of fire.”

「生天」—“rebirth in heaven”: as in Parable 18, not found.

Preface · the four great elements · nirvāṇa · the fruit of stream-entry

• This sūtra: 「五穀從四大火風而生」—“The five grains are born from the four great elements, fire and wind”〔T04 0546a25〕; 「泥洹者是不生不死法」—“Nirvāṇa is the Dharma that is neither born nor dies”〔T04 0546b02〕; 「求受五戒，悟須陀洹果」—“asked to receive the five precepts, realized the fruit of stream-entry”〔T04 0546b09〕
• The same word in another sūtra: 「一切四大」—“all the four great elements”〔T02 0009b12〕—the same word 「四大」—“the four great elements”; 「佛般泥洹未」—“has the Buddha entered parinirvāṇa, or not”〔T02 0066b07〕—the same word 「泥洹」—“nirvāṇa”; 「必得須陀洹果」—“will surely attain the fruit of stream-entry”〔T02 0016a08〕—the same word 「須陀洹果」—“the fruit of stream-entry”; 「生、老、病、死苦」—“birth, old age, sickness, and death are suffering”〔T02 0049c06〕—the same word 「死苦」—“the suffering of death.”

‘Neither born nor dying,’ ‘the five precepts,’ ‘brāhmaṇa students,’ and ‘other schools’: no verbatim grounding for this parable found in the texts on hand (words searched: neither born nor dying · the five precepts · brāhmaṇa students · other schools).

IV. Essentials of the Commentary on This Passage

The parables of this fascicle have no line-by-line ancient commentary. Each parable of this sūtra has its own application, explaining the matter by the Dharma; this is the sūtra’s own explanation of itself. Below are listed, parable by parable, the words of self-explanation within the application other than the application sentences (verbatim + anchor); for the opening sentences of the applications and the application sentences, already listed in the tenth topic, only the anchors are given here.

1. Parable 1—anchors 〔T04 0543a21〕〔T04 0543a23〕〔T04 0543a24〕; 「徒自困餓無益於道」—“uselessly wearing themselves out with hunger, with no benefit to the Way”〔T04 0543a22〕.
2. Parable 2—anchors 〔T04 0543b04〕〔T04 0543b06〕; 「方言待我大有之時，然後頓施」—“he says, ‘Wait until I have great wealth, and then I will give it all at once’”〔T04 0543b04〕; 「或卒命終不及時施」—“or he suddenly dies and does not give in time”〔T04 0543b06〕.
3. Parable 3—anchors 〔T04 0543b16〕〔T04 0543b18〕〔T04 0543b19〕; 「但整威儀以招利養」—“they merely keep their deportment in order, to attract gain and offerings”〔T04 0543b17〕; 「乃至傷破反謂他癡」—“until he was hurt and his head broken, and instead called the other foolish”〔T04 0543b18〕.
4. Parable 4—anchors 〔T04 0543c02〕〔T04 0543c04〕; 「謂為真實永不可改」—“take them to be true and never to be changed”〔T04 0543c03〕.
5. Parable 5—anchors 〔T04 0543c11〕〔T04 0543c13〕; 「以己不能具持佛戒，遂便不受」—“because they themselves cannot keep the Buddha’s precepts in full, they then do not take them up at all”〔T04 0543c12〕; 「致使將來無得道分、流轉生死」—“so that in the future they have no share in attaining the Way and wander on in birth and death”〔T04 0543c13〕.
6. Parable 6—anchors 〔T04 0543c23〕〔T04 0543c29〕; 「情憚改悔，默然覆藏自說清淨」—“in his heart shrinks from correcting and repenting, silently conceals it and declares himself pure”〔T04 0543c24〕; 「遂便破戒多作不善，爾乃頓出」—“So he breaks the precepts and does much that is not good, and only then comes out of them all at once”〔T04 0543c28〕.
7. Parable 7—anchors 〔T04 0544a10〕〔T04 0544a14〕; 「乃至傍人教使修行不肯修行」—“when someone beside them teaches them to practice, they will not practice”〔T04 0544a11〕; 「取彼佛語化道眾生，而無實事」—“we take those words of the Buddha to teach and guide beings; but there is nothing real in them”〔T04 0544a13〕.
8. Parable 8—anchors 〔T04 0544a25〕〔T04 0544a28〕; 「竊聽佛法著已法中以為自有」—“overhear the Buddha’s Dharma and put it into their own teaching, taking it as their own”〔T04 0544a26〕; 「布置佛法迷亂上下，不知法相」—“in arranging the Buddha’s Dharma they confuse the upper and the lower and do not know the marks of the Dharma”〔T04 0544a27〕.
9. Parable 9—anchors 〔T04 0544b08〕〔T04 0544b09〕; 「欲讚人德不識其實，反致毀呰」—“wishing to praise another’s virtue, they do not recognize the truth of it, and instead bring on disparagement”〔T04 0544b08〕.
10. Parable 10—anchors 〔T04 0544b27〕〔T04 0544c01〕; 「不能精勤修敬三寶」—“unable to practice diligently and revere the Three Jewels”〔T04 0544b27〕; 「欲求道果」—“wishing to seek the fruits of the Way”〔T04 0544b28〕; 「亦為時人之所嗤笑」—“They too are ridiculed by the people of the time”〔T04 0544b29〕.
11. Parable 11—anchors 〔T04 0544c13〕〔T04 0544c15〕; 「有愚人法殺善男子詐現慈德，故使將來受苦無窮」—“by the ways of a fool kill a good man and feign the virtue of compassion, so that they bring on themselves suffering without end in the future”〔T04 0544c14〕.
12. Parable 12—anchor 〔T04 0544c23〕; 「少作苦行臥蕀刺上」—“only do a little of austerities, lie on brambles and thorns”〔T04 0544c23〕; 「終無是處，徒為智者之所怪笑」—“in the end there is no such possibility. They are uselessly ridiculed by the wise”〔T04 0544c25〕.
13. Parable 13—anchors 〔T04 0545a07〕〔T04 0545a09〕; 「見人呵責返生尤疾」—“seeing others rebuke them, they instead give rise to resentment and jealousy”〔T04 0545a08〕; 「見他道說返欲打撲之」—“seeing another speak of them, wanted instead to beat him”〔T04 0545a10〕.
14. Parable 14—anchors 〔T04 0545a18〕〔T04 0545a21〕; 「毀破善行，生死曠路永無出期」—“yet they destroy good practice, and on the wilderness road of birth and death have no time of escape forever”〔T04 0545a20〕; 「迷失津濟，終致困死」—“lost the ford, and in the end died in distress”〔T04 0545a22〕.
15. Parable 15—anchor 〔T04 0545b03〕; 「我欲求道願見教授，使我立得」—“I wish to seek the Way; I pray you teach me, and make me attain it at once”〔T04 0545b04〕; 「以方便故，教令坐禪觀十二緣起」—“by means, teaches him to sit in meditation and contemplate the twelve links of dependent arising”〔T04 0545b05〕; 「速能令我證最妙法」—“So quickly you have made me realize the most wonderful Dharma”〔T04 0545b07〕.
16. Parable 16—anchors 〔T04 0545b13〕〔T04 0545b16〕; 「恃己豪貴專形俠勢」—“they rely on their wealth and rank, depend wholly on position and wield their power”〔T04 0545b14〕; 「不知將來反獲其患殃」—“not knowing that in the future they will instead reap its harm and calamity”〔T04 0545b15〕.
17. Parable 17—anchor 〔T04 0545b22〕; 「苟容己身不顧禮義」—“they look after themselves at any cost, without regard for propriety”〔T04 0545b23〕; 「現受惡名後得苦報」—“in this life they receive ill repute, and in the next life they obtain painful retribution”〔T04 0545b24〕.
18. Parable 18—anchors 〔T04 0545c02〕〔T04 0545c04〕; 「多取錢財以用修福望得生天」—“takes much wealth to use in cultivating merit, hoping to be reborn in heaven”〔T04 0545c03〕; 「用功甚多所得甚少」—“the effort spent is very great, and what is gained is very little”〔T04 0545c04〕.
19. Parable 19—anchors 〔T04 0545c17〕〔T04 0545c18〕; 「相似善中橫計苦困，以求解脫」—“amid what only resembles the good they make wild calculations and wear themselves out with austerities, to seek liberation”〔T04 0545c17〕.
20. Parable 20—anchors 〔T04 0545c29〕〔T04 0546a02〕; 「苦切眾生，調發百姓多得財物」—“he cruelly oppresses beings and levies the common people, gaining much wealth”〔T04 0546a01〕; 「以餘肉補望使不痛，無有是處」—“patched it with other flesh hoping to keep him from pain—there is no such possibility”〔T04 0546a03〕.
21. Parable 21—anchor 〔T04 0546a13〕; 「種種害身為得生天」—“harms his body in all kinds of ways, only to be reborn in heaven”〔T04 0546a13〕.

The preface has no parable and application; the Buddha, with 「生者言有，死者言無」—“What is born is said to exist; what dies is said not to exist”〔T04 0546a23〕, himself explains 「亦有亦無」—“It both exists and does not exist”〔T04 0546a21〕; with 「泥洹者是不生不死法」—“Nirvāṇa is the Dharma that is neither born nor dies”〔T04 0546b02〕 he himself explains nirvāṇa; and with 「汝今不死亦知死苦」—“You have not died now, and yet you too know the suffering of death”〔T04 0546b07〕 he answers in reverse the question 「云何得知泥洹常樂」—“how can you know that nirvāṇa is everlasting bliss”〔T04 0546b04〕; all of these are the sūtra’s own explanations, recorded without elaboration.

V. Divergent Readings of the Commentators

There are no divergent readings of the ancient masters for this fascicle. This sūtra has no line-by-line ancient commentary, and there is nothing to set out in columns; the divergent readings of the three editions go into the ninth topic.

VI. Terms (first occurrences — glosses drawn only from the sūtra’s own words)

The terms found in this fascicle all follow the character forms of the base text (including transcriptions); where the sūtra itself explains a term, that explanation is quoted, and where it does not, ‘not explained in the sūtra’ is recorded. This fascicle gives no Sanskrit forms. The terms 「凡夫」—“ordinary person,” 「涅槃」—“nirvāṇa,” 「五陰」—“the five aggregates,” 「無常」—“impermanent,” and 「沙門」—“ascetic” do not occur in this fascicle.

The terms of this fascicle are all Chinese; the base text of this fascicle gives no Sanskrit forms, and none are supplied for it here.

VII. Similes and Rhetoric

The kinds of matter in the parables (persons · objects · actions):

Types of rhetoric:

• Rebuke by counter-question—bystanders and the people rebuke the fool with counter-questions: Parable 3, 「云何名彼以為癡也」—“how can you call him foolish?”〔T04 0543b15〕; Parable 5, 「今至水所何故不飲」—“now that you have come to the water, why do you not drink?”〔T04 0543c08〕; Parable 6, 「云何得留自欲棄去」—“How can you keep him here and go away yourself?”〔T04 0543c19〕; Parable 9, 「若斷婬欲，云何生汝」—“If he cut off sexual desire, how were you born?”〔T04 0544b07〕; Parable 10, 「何有不造下第一屋而得上者」—“How could one, without building the first story below, have the one above?”〔T04 0544b26〕; Parable 11, 「何為豫哭」—“why weep in advance?”〔T04 0544c08〕; Parable 12, 「扇之不已云何得冷」—“fanning it without end, how can it get cool?”〔T04 0544c22〕; Parable 13, 「云何諱之」—“how can you deny it?”〔T04 0545a06〕; Parable 19, 「今在此覓何由可得」—“now you look for it here—how could you find it?”〔T04 0545c16〕; Parable 21, 「未生子者竟可得不」—“Can the son not yet born ever be got at all?”〔T04 0546a12〕.
• The fool’s self-justification—the fool answers by his own notion and shows his folly all the more: Parable 3, 「如彼人者憍慢恃力癡無智慧」—“That man is arrogant and relies on his strength, foolish and without wisdom”〔T04 0543b12〕; Parable 5, 「君可飲盡，我當飲之」—“If you could drink it all up, then I would drink it”〔T04 0543c09〕; Parable 7, 「我以欲得彼之錢」—“Because I wished to get his wealth”〔T04 0544a08〕; Parable 13, 「我曾何時喜瞋、倉卒」—“When have I ever been quick to anger or hasty?”〔T04 0545a03〕; Parable 19, 「本所畫水與此無異，是故覓之」—“the water I marked before is no different from this, and so I look for it here”〔T04 0545c14〕.
• Hyperbole—Parable 11, 「日月可闇星宿可落」—“The sun and moon may darken, the stars may fall”〔T04 0544c09〕; Parable 20, 「如截子頭，雖得千頭不免子死」—“It is as if one cut off a son’s head: even if one got a thousand heads, it would not spare the son his death”〔T04 0545c28〕.
• Chains of questions—in Parable 19, five questions from the people and four answers from the boatman; in Parable 10, four rounds back and forth between the fool and the carpenter; in the preface, the brāhmaṇa students question back step by step from 「天下為有為無」—“Does the world exist, or does it not exist?”〔T04 0546a21〕 to 「泥洹從何而生」—“From what is nirvāṇa born?”〔T04 0546b01〕, and the Buddha answers each in turn.
• Ending with the laughter of the crowd—the parable passages often end with the laughter of the people of the time or the crowd: Parable 2, 「或瞋或笑」—“some were angry, some laughed”〔T04 0543b03〕; Parable 5, 「皆大嗤笑」—“all laughed loudly at him”〔T04 0543c11〕; Parable 6, 「深生嗤笑怪未曾有」—“laughed at him deeply, finding it strange as nothing ever before”〔T04 0543c23〕; Parable 7, 「人聞此語無不笑之」—“Of the people who heard this, there was none who did not laugh at him”〔T04 0544a10〕; Parable 9, 「深為時人之所怪笑」—“He was deeply ridiculed by the people of the time”〔T04 0544b07〕; Parable 10, 「時人聞已便生怪笑」—“The people of the time, hearing this, found it strange and laughed”〔T04 0544b25〕; Parable 12, 「爾時人眾悉皆嗤笑」—“At that time the people all laughed at him”〔T04 0544c22〕; Parable 15, 「時諸人等笑王無智」—“At that time the people all laughed at the king for having no wisdom”〔T04 0545b01〕; Parable 17, 「果被眾人之所怪笑」—“and indeed he was ridiculed by the people”〔T04 0545b22〕; Parable 18, 「深為眾人之所嗤笑」—“and he was deeply laughed at by the people”〔T04 0545c02〕; Parable 19, 「爾時眾人無不大笑」—“At that time the people all laughed loudly”〔T04 0545c16〕; Parable 21, 「傍有智人嗤笑罵詈」—“A wise man beside them laughed at her and scolded her”〔T04 0546a11〕. Some applications also end with laughter: Parable 10, 「亦為時人之所嗤笑」—“They too are ridiculed by the people of the time”〔T04 0544b29〕; Parable 12, 「徒為智者之所怪笑」—“They are uselessly ridiculed by the wise”〔T04 0544c25〕.

Sentence patterns from parable to application (our own count, over the applications of the twenty-one parables):

The opening sentence of the application takes 「外道」—“followers of other paths” as what is illustrated in seven parables (1·4·5·7·8·12·19), 「比丘」—“bhikṣus” in two (3·6), 「四輩弟子」—“the four kinds of disciples” in two (10·11), 「世人」—“people of the world” in four (14·15·16·17), 「愚人」—“the fool” in four (2·18·20·21), and 「世間無智之流」—“that kind of people in the world who have no wisdom” and 「世間飲酒之夫」—“people in the world who drink wine” in two (9·13).

VIII. Citation and Carrying Forward

• Gathering by ancient commentaries—none of the parables of this fascicle is found gathered into a line-by-line commentary of the ancient masters.
• Anchors of the same words in another sūtra—already given in the third topic; here only the anchors are listed: 〔T02 0012b14〕〔T02 0068a29〕〔T02 0035a25〕〔T02 0063c16〕〔T02 0035b19〕〔T02 0066c20〕〔T02 0006c01〕〔T02 0065c05〕〔T02 0013b21〕〔T02 0315a03〕〔T02 0017a19〕〔T02 0044c04〕〔T02 0003a10〕〔T02 0019c09〕〔T02 0067a13〕〔T02 0053b14〕〔T02 0077a23〕〔T02 0077c15〕〔T02 0076b02〕〔T02 0067c17〕〔T02 0015c04〕〔T02 0077c12〕〔T02 0316a15〕〔T02 0314a17〕〔T02 0009b12〕〔T02 0066b07〕〔T02 0016a08〕〔T02 0049c06〕.
• The questions and answers of the preface—for the chain of questions from 「天下為有為無」—“Does the world exist, or does it not exist?”〔T04 0546a21〕 and 「人從何生」—“From what are people born?”〔T04 0546a24〕 to 「泥洹從何而生」—“From what is nirvāṇa born?”〔T04 0546b01〕, no sentence identical word for word is found in the base text of the Saṃyukta Āgama as this edition carries it; the shared words are four items, 「四大」—“the four great elements,” 「泥洹」—“nirvāṇa,” 「須陀洹果」—“the fruit of stream-entry,” and 「死苦」—“the suffering of death”; see the entry for the preface in the third topic.
• Carrying forward within the fascicle—「四輩弟子」—“the four kinds of disciples” appears in Parable 10 〔T04 0544b27〕 and Parable 11 〔T04 0544c13〕; 「利養」—“gain and offerings” appears in Parable 3 〔T04 0543b17〕, Parable 7 〔T04 0544a12〕, and Parable 11 〔T04 0544c13〕; 「祀天」—“sacrifice to heaven” appears in Parable 14 〔T04 0545a16〕 and Parable 21 〔T04 0546a08〕; 「生天」—“rebirth in heaven” appears in Parable 18 〔T04 0545c04〕 and Parable 21 〔T04 0546a14〕; 「導師」—“the guide” is a person in the parable (Parable 14 〔T04 0545a12〕) and the practice of good dharmas in the application (〔T04 0545a19〕). The killing of a son appears three times: in Parable 6 a son is killed to make the burial carry easier, in Parable 11 a son is killed to prove the father’s words, and in Parable 21 a son is to be killed to seek many sons. 「傍人」—“a bystander” is the voice in the parables that rebukes the fool, in Parables 3·5·6·7·12·13·20; Parable 21 has 「傍有智人」—“A wise man beside them”〔T04 0546a11〕. The closing words of the preface, 「今為汝廣說眾喻」—“Now I will expound at length for you the many parables”〔T04 0546b10〕, carry forward into the many parables that follow; this is recorded without adjudication.

IX. Placement Among the Recensions

The Taishō collation notes anchored in this fascicle come to eighty note numbers in all (【大】 = the original Taishō printing; 【宋】【元】【明】 = the three editions, the Song, Yuan, and Ming, abbreviated 【三】 in the Taishō notes; 【麗-CB】 = the Koryŏ edition as recorded by the current collated edition; 【CB】 = the character adopted in the current transcription; ＊ = applies likewise at repeated occurrences of the same character; recorded together, without adjudication). How the notes are recorded: seventy-seven in the mod form and seventy-seven in the orig form (two ways of writing the same note number), three in the add form (revision lines of the current collated edition, not original Taishō notes), none in cf1, none in cf2. In addition, eleven variant readings recorded at repeated occurrences of the same character without note numbers are appended at the end of the table. No record of 【卍正-CB】 is found in the collation. In the table below, the ‘variant reading’ column follows the mod form of the Taishō notes word for word (the three add entries follow their own form), with an English gloss after each.

Variant readings of the collated editions at repeated occurrences of the same character (without note numbers; base-text character → character of the three editions):

Notes on the preface and the division of fascicles (recorded together, without adjudication):

• The position of the preface in the three editions—the Taishō note 〔0543006〕 is anchored at the first character of Parable 1 (0543a16): 「愚【大】，愚字上有（聞如是…廣說眾喻）三百七十四字【宋】【元】【明】(P. 546)」—“Taishō ‘fool’; Song, Yuan, Ming have, above the character ‘fool,’ the three hundred and seventy-four characters from ‘Thus it was heard’ to ‘expound at length the many parables’ (P. 546).” The Taishō note 〔0546006〕 is anchored at the first line of the preface (0546a16): 「（聞如是乃至廣說眾喻）三百七十四字在卷首【宋】【元】【明】，(P. 543)，麗本闕」—“the three hundred and seventy-four characters from ‘Thus it was heard’ to ‘expound at length the many parables’ stand at the head of the fascicle in Song, Yuan, Ming (P. 543); the Koryŏ edition lacks them.” That is: the base text places this passage after the closing title of Fascicle 1, the three editions place it at the head of the fascicle before Parable 1, and the Koryŏ edition lacks the passage. The count of Chinese characters of the preface, from 「聞如是」—“Thus it was heard”〔T04 0546a16〕 to 「眾喻」—“the many parables”〔T04 0546b11〕, is 374, which agrees with the 「三百七十四字」—“three hundred and seventy-four characters” of the two notes.
• The division of fascicles—the Taishō note 〔0543001〕 is anchored at the fascicle title (0543a04): 「此經分為二卷【宋】【元】【明】」—“Song, Yuan, Ming: this sūtra is divided into two fascicles”; 〔0543002〕, at the same anchor: 「第一【大】，上【宋】【元】【明】」—“Taishō ‘first’; Song, Yuan, Ming ‘upper.’” The Taishō note 〔0546005〕 is anchored at the closing title of Fascicle 1 (0546a15): 「百喻…鬼喻【大】，〔－〕【宋】【元】【明】，【宋】【元】【明】不分卷但目錄在卷上初」—“Taishō has the text from ‘Hundred Parables’ to ‘…ghost parable’; Song, Yuan, Ming lack it; Song, Yuan, Ming do not divide the fascicles, but the table of contents stands at the beginning of the upper fascicle.” The Taishō note 〔0546013〕 is anchored at the title of the first parable of Fascicle 2 (0546b25, outside this fascicle): 「【宋】【元】【明】不分卷，但目錄在卷上初」—“Song, Yuan, Ming do not divide the fascicles, but the table of contents stands at the beginning of the upper fascicle.” The base text still divides the sūtra into four fascicles.
• The numbering in the table of contents—the Taishō note 〔0543011〕 is anchored at the title of Parable 2 (0543a25): 「目錄喻下有二三乃至二十一記數下准之【元】【明】」—“Yuan, Ming: in the table of contents, below each ‘parable,’ the numbers two, three, up to twenty-one are recorded; the same applies below.”
• ‘Hundred / thousand’—the Taishō note 〔0545026〕 is anchored in Parable 20 (0545c24): 「百【大】，千【宋】」—“Taishō ‘hundred’; Song ‘thousand’”; the base text has 「剝脊取百兩肉」—“his back be flayed and a hundred taels of flesh cut from it”〔T04 0545c24〕, where the Song edition has 「千」—“thousand”; later in the same parable the base text has 「索千兩肉用為補脊」—“he sought out a thousand taels of flesh to patch his back”〔T04 0545c25〕 and 「取汝百兩，十倍與汝」—“I took a hundred taels from you and have given you back tenfold”〔T04 0545c26〕. Recorded together, without adjudication.

Character forms: there are no PUA-created characters in this fascicle. In the base text there are four characters belonging to the extension areas: 𤚲 (U+246B2, seen twice, at 0543a27 and 0543a29), 𤛓 (U+246D3, 0543b02), 𧂐 (U+27090, 0543b28), and 懶 (U+2F8B1, a compatibility ideograph, 0544b28); they are recorded as in the base text, without being changed to standard forms. There are no interlinear notes in this fascicle.

X. Correspondence of Parable and Application

All twenty-one parables have an application; parables without an application: none.