《百喻经》
[The] Sūtra [Of A] Hundred Parables
（一九）乘船失釪喻
(19) Parable [Of] Riding [A] Ship [And] Losing [An] Alms Bowl
昔有人乘船渡海，失一银釪堕于水中，即便思念：「我今画水作记，舍之而去后当取之。」
[In the] past, [there] was [a] person riding [a] ship crossing [the] ocean, [where he] lost a silver alms bowl, [with it] falling within [the] water. [He] immediately thought, ‘I [will] now draw [on the] water [to] make [a] mark, [temporarily] giving [it] up, then leaving, [I] will later retrieve it.’
行经二月到师子诸国，见一河水，便入其中觅本失釪。
Passing by two months, reaching Lion [Kingdom’s] [i.e. Siṃhala; Ceylon; Sri Lanka] many countries, [when] seeing a river’s water, [he] then entered it [to] seek [his] originally lost alms bowl.
诸人问言：「欲何所作？」
Many people asked, saying, ‘What [is] that [you] desire [to] do?’
答言：「我先失釪今欲觅取。」
[He] replied, saying, ‘[For] my earlier lost alms bowl, [I] now desire [to] seek [and] retrieve [it].’
问言：「于何处失？」
[Those] asking said, ‘At which place [was it] lost?’
答言：「初入海失。」
[He] replied, saying, ‘[Where I] first entered [the] ocean, [it was] lost.’
又复问言：「失经几时？」
Also again asking, saying, ‘[Since] losing [it], how [much] time [has] passed?’
言：「失来二月。」
[He] said, ‘Since losing [it, it has been] two months.’
问言：「失来二月，云何此觅？」
[Those] asking said, ‘[If] since losing [it, it has been] two months, why [are you in] this [place] seeking [it]?’
答言：「我失釪时画水作记，本所画水与此无异，是故觅之。」
[He] replied, saying, ‘When I lost [the] alms bowl, [I] drew [on the] water [to] make [a] mark, [with] that originally drawn water with this without difference, therefore [am I] seeking it [here].’
又复问言：「水虽不别，汝昔失时乃在于彼，今在此觅何由可得？」
Also again asking, saying, ‘Although [the] water [is] not different, when you lost [it, it is] thus at that [place], now [at] this [place] seeking, how can [you] get [it]?’
尔时众人无不大笑。
At that time, [the] crowd [of] people [were] without [those] not laughing greatly [at him].
亦如外道不修正行，相似善中横计苦困，以求解脱，犹如愚人失釪于彼而于此觅。
[He is] also like [those of] external paths [who do] not cultivate right practices, [with what] resembles good within, perversely planning [to be with practices of] suffering [and] hardship [i.e. extreme asceticism], with [these] seeking liberation. [They are] similar to [the] foolish person losing [the] alms bowl at that [place], yet at this [place] seeking [it].
[Note: What more treacherous than more obviously evil (i.e. wrong) teachings (邪法) are those that ‘resemble the (Right) Dharma’ (相似法), which are not the actual Good Dharma (善法) or the Right Dharma (正法). These dangerous teachings are ‘seemingly right yet wrong’ (似是而非). Those misled by such teachings will be searching for what is right (i.e. liberation) with wrong methods (at the wrong places and times).]
Namo Amituofo : Translation and notes by Shen Shi’an
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就楼磨刀喻
[18] The Parable Of Accommodating Stairs To Sharpen A Knife
https://purelanders.com/2023/08/03/18-the-parable-of-accommodating-stairs-to-sharpen-a-knife-from-the-sutra-of-a-hundred-parables
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Next Parable:
人说王纵暴喻
[20] The Parable Of A Person Saying A King Is Recklessly Brutal
https://purelanders.com/2023/08/03/20-the-parable-of-a-person-saying-a-king-is-recklessly-brutal-from-the-sutra-of-a-hundred-parables
全百喻
All Hundred Parables:
https://purelanders.com/baiyu
