The Numerical Discourses
Chapter 16: The Fire Extinguished
| （三） 烏 | 3. The Crow |
|---|---|
| 聞如是： 一時，佛在舍衛國、祇樹、給孤獨園。 | 1. Thus I have heard:1 One time, the Buddha was staying at Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park in Jeta’s Grove of Śrāvastī. |
| 爾時，世尊告諸比丘： 「我今當說烏喻，亦當說猪喻。 善思念之，吾當演說。」 | 2. It was then that the Bhagavān addressed the monks, “Now, I will teach you the analogy of the crow, and I’ll teach you the analogy of the pig. Consider well my explanation.” |
| 對曰： 「如是，世尊。」 是時，諸比丘從佛受教。 | They replied, “Yes, Bhagavān.” The monks then accepted the Buddha’s teaching. |
| 世尊告曰： 「彼云何名為人喻如烏？ 猶如有人在寂靜處。 恒習婬欲，作諸惡行。 後便羞恥，便自悔過。 向人演說，陳所作事。 所以然者，或為諸梵行人，所見譏彈： 『此人習欲，作諸惡行。』 彼作諸惡行已，向人悔過，自知羞恥。 | 3. The Bhagavān told them, “What’s the analogy of a person who’s like a crow? Take the example of a person who lives in a peaceful place. They are always making a habit of lustful desires and doing evil deeds. Sometime later, they are ashamed, and then they reform themselves. They go to someone for a teaching and spend time serving that teacher. As a result of this, religious practitioners who see this person might slander them: ‘This person made a habit of desire and they did evil deeds.’ After they did those evil deeds, they went to someone and repented because they felt ashamed. |
| 「猶如彼烏恒患苦飢，便食不淨，尋即拭𠿘。 恐有餘鳥見言： 『此烏食不淨。』 此亦如是。若有一人在閑靜處，習於婬欲。 作不善行，後便羞恥，而自悔過。 向人演說，陳所作事。 所以然者，或為諸梵行人所見記識： 『此人習欲，作諸惡行。』 是謂名為人猶如烏。 | 4. “That person is like a crow that’s often troubled by hunger and eats impure things, but it’s quick to clean its beak.2 Afraid that there are more crows, those who see it say, ‘This crow eats impure things!’ This is like that person who lives in a peaceful place and made a habit of lustful desires. They did unskillful deeds, but later they were ashamed and reformed themselves. They went someone to be taught, and they spend time serving that teacher. As a result of this, religious practitioners who see this person might slander them: ‘This person made a habit of desire, and they did evil deeds.’ This is called the analogy of a person who’s like a crow. |
| 「彼云何名為人如猪？ 若有一人在閑靜處。 長習婬欲，作諸惡行。 亦不羞恥，復非悔過。 向人自譽。 貢高自用： 『我能得五欲自娛。 此諸人等不能得五欲。』 彼作惡已，不羞恥。 | 5. “What’s the analogy of a person who’s like a pig? Suppose a person lives in a peaceful place. They make a habit of lust desires for a long time, and they do evil deeds. But they aren’t ashamed, and they don’t reform themselves. They go to someone and praise themselves. They proudly saying of themselves, ‘I can obtain and enjoy the five desires. These other people aren’t able to obtain those five desires.’ Having done evil deeds, they aren’t ashamed. |
| 「此人喻如猪，恒食不淨，臥於不淨。 便自跳踉向於餘猪。 此亦如是。 若有一人習於婬欲，作諸惡行，亦不羞恥，復非悔過。 向人自譽，貢高自用： 『我能得五欲自娛。 此諸人不能得五欲自娛。』 是名為人如猪。 | 6. “That person is like a pig that often eats impure things and lays in impurity. Then, it leaps at the other pigs. This person is like that. They made a habit of lustful desires and did evil deeds, but they weren’t ashamed of it and didn’t reform themselves. They went to someone and praised themselves, proudly saying of themselves, ‘I can obtain the five desires and enjoy myself. These people aren’t able to obtain those five desires.’ This is said to be a person who’s like a pig. |
| 「是故，諸比丘，當捨遠離。 如是，諸比丘，當作是學。」 | 7. “Therefore, monks, you should abandon [being like a pig] and stay away from it. Thus, monks, you should train yourselves.” |
| 爾時，諸比丘聞佛所說歡喜，奉行。 | 8. When the monks heard what the Buddha taught, they rejoiced and approved. |
Notes
I’ve not found a parallel for this sūtra. AN 10.77 likens a bad monk to a crow, whereas here the crow is employed as a positive analogy that’s contrasted with the pig. [back]
impure things. C. 不淨. Lit. “impure” or “unclean.” In this context, I would take it mean something considered inedible by people like carrion, dung, or refuse. [back]
Translator: Charles Patton
Last Revised: 13 November 2024
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