Sutta 63: The Pigeon King's Guidance

[The following represents an unverified English translation. For all purposes consult the original Chinese text.]

[0034a27] "Once, the Bodhisattva (菩薩 [pu sa]) was a pigeon king (鴿王 [ge wang]) with a troop of five hundred, soaring and seeking food in the king's garden (國王苑 [guo wang yuan]). The king (國王 [guo wang]) saw them and ordered the herdsmen to set nets and capture them. All of them, large and small, were caught without exception. They were caged and fed with polished rice and fatty meat, provided by the imperial kitchen (太官 [tai guan]) for feasts. The pigeon king (鴿王 [ge wang]), seeing himself imprisoned, wholeheartedly recited the Buddha's (佛 [fu]) name, repented, and cultivated compassion, wishing: 'May all sentient beings (眾生 [zhong sheng]) who are imprisoned be freed, and quickly depart from the eight difficulties (八難 [ba nan]), unlike me.' He said to the other pigeons (諸鴿 [zhu ge]): 'In the Buddha's (佛 [fu]) scriptures, among all precepts, greed (貪 [tan]) is the foremost. Those who attain glory through greed are like hungry people who drink poison. The joy of achieving one's desires is as fleeting as lightning, while countless kalpas of suffering afflict oneself. If you abandon food, your lives can be saved.' The pigeons (眾 [zhong]) replied: 'Being imprisoned in a cage, what else can we hope for?' The king (王 [wang]) said: 'Those who violate the Buddha's (佛教 [fu jiao]) teachings and indulge in greed will all lose their lives.' He himself abandoned food, and his fatty body dwindled daily. After much difficulty, he managed to escape. He looked back at the others and said: 'If you eliminate greed and abandon food, you can be like me.' After speaking, he flew away."

[0034a27] “xī zhě pú sà, shēn wèi gē wáng, tú zhòng wǔ bǎi, yú guó wáng yuàn áo xiáng suǒ shí. guó wáng dǔ zhī, chì lìng mù fū lǜ wǎng zhāng bǔ, qí zhòng jù xì wú yǒu zi yí, lóng ér bì zhī, shí yǐ jīng mǐ féi ròu, tài guān yǐ gōng yáo shàn. gē wáng jiàn jū, yī xīn niàn fú, huǐ guò xìng cí, yuàn: ‘lìng zhòng shēng jū zhě dé jiě, jí lí bā nán wú rú wǒ yě.’ wèi zhū gē yuē: ‘fú jīng zhòng jiè, tān wèi yuán shǒu, tān yǐ zhì róng zhě, yóu è fū huò dú yǐn yǐ. dé zhì zhī lè qí jiǔ ruò diàn, zhòng kǔ kùn jǐ qí yǒu yì zài. ěr děng juān shí, shēn mìng kě quán yǐ.’ zhòng duì zhī yuē: ‘jiàn jū chù lóng, jiāng yù hé jì hū?’ wáng yuē: ‘wéi tì fú jiào zòng qíng tān yù, mí bù sàng shēn zhě yě.’ jǐ zì juān shí, féi tǐ rì hào, jiān guān dé chū, gù wèi yú yuē: ‘chú tān juān shí kě rú wǒ yě.’ yán bì fēi qù.”

[0034a27] "xi zhe pu sa, shen wei ge wang, tu zhong wu bai, yu guo wang yuan ao xiang suo shi. guo wang du zhi, chi ling mu fu lu wang zhang bu, qi zhong ju xi wu you zi yi, long er bi zhi, shi yi jing mi fei rou, tai guan yi gong yao shan. ge wang jian ju, yi xin nian fu, hui guo xing ci, yuan: 'ling zhong sheng ju zhe de jie, ji li ba nan wu ru wo ye.' wei zhu ge yue: 'fu jing zhong jie, tan wei yuan shou, tan yi zhi rong zhe, you e fu huo du yin yi. de zhi zhi le qi jiu ruo dian, zhong ku kun ji qi you yi zai. er deng juan shi, shen ming ke quan yi.' zhong dui zhi yue: 'jian ju chu long, jiang yu he ji hu?' wang yue: 'wei ti fu jiao zong qing tan yu, mi bu sang shen zhe ye.' ji zi juan shi, fei ti ri hao, jian guan de chu, gu wei yu yue: 'chu tan juan shi ke ru wo ye.' yan bi fei qu."

[The following represents an unverified English translation. For all purposes consult the original Chinese text.]

[0034b10] The Buddha (佛 [fu]) told his bhikkhus (諸比丘 [zhu bi qiu]): "The pigeon king (鴿王 [ge wang]) at that time was I myself. The Bodhisattva's (菩薩 [pu sa]) sharp resolve in the perfection of diligence is like this."

[0034b10] fú gào zhū bǐ qiū: “gē wáng zhě, wú shēn shì yě. pú sà ruì zhì dù wú jí jīng jìn rú shì.”

[0034b10] fu gao zhu bi qiu: "ge wang zhe, wu shen shi ye. pu sa rui zhi du wu ji jing jin ru shi."