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譬喩經

Pronunciations

Basic Meaning: Āsīvisôpama-sutta

Senses:

  • May refer to Saṃyutta Nikāya 35. 〔善見律毘婆沙 T 1462.24.685b15〕 [Thomas Newhall; source(s): FGD]
  • A text in one fascicle translated by Yijing 義淨 in the Tang dynasty (T 217 譬喩經). One of several by this name found in Taishō volume 4. The text describes metaphors taught to King Prasenajit 勝光王 / 波斯匿王 at Śrāvastī 舍衞城. The sutra explains that once upon a time there was a man running away from an angry elephant in an open field. Eventually, the man came to the roots of a tree where he could take cover, or a well he could enter into in order to escape the elephant. However, at that time there were two mice, black and white, gnawing at the roots of the tree, and at each of the four sides of the well were poisonous snakes, while at the bottom of the well was a poisonous dragon. The man was afraid of the dragon and the snakes, as well as of the tree falling over. Five drops of honey fell from the tree into the manʼs mouth, but bees came and stung the man, while the field surrounding the tree and well was on fire. In this story, the open field represents ignorance 無明, the man represents life in the mundane world, the elephant represents impermanence 無常, the empty well represents birth and death 生死, the tree roots represent life 生命, the two mice represent night and day 晝夜, the gnawing at the tree represents the moment-to-moment extinction 念念滅 of things in the world, the four snakes represent the four great elements 四大, the honey represents the five desires 五欲, the bees represent mistaken thoughts 邪思, the fire in the field represent old age and sickness 老病, while the poisonous dragon represents death 死. The moral of the story, is that birth, old age, sickness, and death 生老病死 is to be feared 可怖可畏, and that one ought to separate themselves from the five desires, and seek after release (from saṃsāra) 解脫. [Thomas Newhall; source(s): FGD]
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    [Dictionary References]

    Bukkyō jiten (Ui) 883

    Bulgyo sajeon 347a

    Fo Guang Dictionary 6816

    Ding Fubao {Digital Version}

    Bussho kaisetsu daijiten (Ono) ⑨130d/⑨131a*

    Bukkyō daijiten (Mochizuki) (v.1-6)2567a,2973a

    Bukkyō daijiten (Oda) 1477-2

    Copyright provisions

    The rights to textual segments (nodes) of the DDB are owned by the author indicated in the brackets next to each segment. For rights regarding the compilation as a whole, please contact Charles Muller. Please do not reproduce without permission. And please do not copy into Wikipedia without proper citation!

    Entry created: 2012-11-03

    Updated: 2012-11-03