SA 1175（一一七五） 紧兽

Thus have I heard:

At one time the Buddha was staying at Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park in the Jeta Grove near Śrāvastī.

At that time, a certain bhikṣu was sitting alone in meditation, thinking, "How should a bhikṣu know and see in order to attain pure vision?" Having thought this, he went to the bhikṣus and said to them, "Venerable bhikṣus! How should one know and see in order to attain pure vision?"

The bhikṣus replied, "Venerable one! It is by knowing and seeing the arising, cessation, taste, danger, and escape of the six sense bases as they really are. Bhikṣu! One who knows and sees in this way attains pure vision."

Having heard the bhikṣu's explanation, the bhikṣu was not pleased. He then went to other bhikṣus and asked them, "Venerable bhikṣus! How should one know and see in order to attain pure vision?"

The bhikṣus replied, "It is by knowing and seeing the arising, cessation, taste, danger, and escape of the six elements as they really are. Bhikṣu! One who knows and sees in this way attains pure vision."

The bhikṣu, having heard the bhikṣu's explanation, was not pleased. He then went to other bhikṣus and asked them, "Bhikṣus! How should one know and see in order to attain pure vision?"

The bhikṣus replied, "It is by contemplating the five aggregates as being like a disease, a boil, a thorn, and a killer, as impermanent, suffering, empty, and non-self. By knowing and seeing in this way, one attains pure vision."

The bhikṣu, having heard the explanations of the bhikṣus, was not pleased. He went to the Buddha, bowed his head at the Buddha's feet, sat to one side, and said to the Buddha, "World-Honored One! I was alone, in quiet contemplation, thinking, 'How do bhikṣus know and see in order to attain pure vision?' Having had this thought, I went to the bhikṣus and asked them about it. I have now told the World-Honored One what they said. When I heard their explanations, I was not pleased. I have come to the World-Honored One to ask about this meaning. How do bhikṣus know and see in order to attain pure vision?"

The Buddha told the bhikṣu, "In the past, there was a man who had never seen a tiger. He went to someone who had seen a tiger and asked, 'Do you know what a tiger looks like?' The other replied, 'Yes, I know.' He then asked, 'What does it look like?' The other replied, 'Its color is black, like a pillar burned by fire.' At that time, the tiger he saw was indeed black, like a pillar burned by fire.

At that time, the man, having heard that the tiger was black like a pillar burned by fire, was not very pleased. He went to another man who had seen a tiger and asked, 'Do you know what a tiger looks like?' The other replied, 'Yes, I know.' He then asked, 'What does it look like?' The man who had seen a tiger replied, 'Its color is red and open, like a piece of meat.' At that time, the tiger he saw was indeed open, like a piece of meat.

The man, having heard what was said, was still not pleased. He went to another man who had seen a tiger and asked, 'Do you know what a tiger looks like?' The other replied, 'Yes, I know.' He then asked, 'What does it look like?' The man who had seen a tiger replied, 'It is shaggy and drooping, like a śirīṣa fruit.'

The man, having heard this, was still not pleased. He went to ask another person who knew about tigers. He asked, 'Do you know what a tiger looks like?' The other replied, 'Yes, I know.' He then asked, 'What does it look like?' The other replied, 'Its leaves are green, its leaves are smooth, and its leaves are long and wide, like a nyagrodha tree.' Just as that man asked about the tiger and was not pleased upon hearing it, he went to seek it elsewhere. The people who had seen the tiger described it according to what they had seen, and therefore it was not the same.

Thus, monks, if one dwells in solitude, diligently contemplating, not being negligent, and the dharmas that arise from contemplation do not give rise to the taints, the mind is liberated, and one describes according to what one has seen. Now listen again as I speak a parable. The wise understand through parables.

It is like a border king who well governs the city walls, the gates are strong, the crossroads are level, and at the four city gates he places four guards, all of them wise, knowing who comes and goes. In the middle of the city, at the four crossroads, he places a bed and the city lord sits on it. If an envoy from the east comes and asks the gatekeeper, 'Where is the city lord?' he will reply, 'The lord is sitting on a bed at the crossroads in the middle of the city.' Having heard this, the envoy goes to the city lord, receives his instructions, and returns by the same route. When envoys from the south, west, and north come, they ask the gatekeeper, 'Where is the city lord?' He also replies, 'He is at the crossroads in the middle of the city.' Having heard this, the envoys all go to the city lord, receive his instructions, and return to their respective places.

The Buddha told the monks, "I have spoken this parable. Now I will explain the meaning. The city is likened to the coarse form of the human body, like the poisonous snake in the basket as described in the sutra. 'Well-governed city walls' refers to right view. 'Level crossroads' refers to the six internal sense bases. 'Four gates' refers to the four abodes of consciousness. 'Four gatekeepers' refers to the four foundations of mindfulness. 'City lord' refers to the consciousness aggregate of feeling. 'Envoys' refers to tranquility and insight. 'Speaking the truth' refers to the four noble truths. 'Returning by the same route' refers to the eightfold noble path.

The Buddha told the monks, "If a great teacher does something for his disciples, I have now done it out of compassion, as described in the sutra about the poisonous snake in the basket.

At that time, the monks, having heard the Buddha's teaching, diligently contemplated and abided without negligence, increasing their practice of the holy life, and ultimately not accepting future existence, becoming arhats.