《百喻经》
[The] Sūtra [Of A] Hundred Parables
（三二）估客偷金喻
(32) Parable [Of The] Merchant Guest [Who] Stole Gold
昔有二估客，共行商贾，一卖真金，其第二者卖兜罗绵。
[In the] past, [there] were two merchant guests, together [as] travelling merchants trading, [with] one selling true gold, [and] that second [one] selling tūla cotton.
有他买真金者烧而试之，第二估客即便偷他被烧之金，用兜罗绵裹，时金热故烧绵都尽，情事既露二事俱失。
[When there] was another [person] that [was] buying true gold then testing it, [the] second merchant guest immediately stole [the] gold of [the] other [that was] by [fire] burnt, using tūla cotton [to] wrap [it]. Then, [with the] gold hot thus, burning [the] cotton all completely, [with the] facts [of this] matter since revealed, [with the] two things together lost.
如彼外道偷取佛法着己法中，妄称己有非是佛法，由是之故烧灭外典不行于世，如彼偷金事情都现，亦复如是。
Like those external paths stealing [the] Buddha’s Dharma [teachings to] attach [to] their ‘Dharma’ [teachings] within, falsely calling themselves [to] have [those which] are not [the] Buddha’s Dharma [teachings], because of this thus, burning [and] destroying [their] external [paths’] canonical [texts, with them] not circulated [in this] world, like that [with] stealing [of] gold’s matter all appearing, [they are] likewise thus.
[Note: External paths that are attached to the Buddha’s teachings (附佛外道) with similar (yet different) Dharma (相似法), (perhaps to ride upon the Buddha’s teachings’ popularity for selfish benefits), not only misrepresent their own ‘original’ teachings, they also misrepresent the Buddha’s pure teachings. Thus, they corrupt and destroy both their wrong teachings and the Buddha’s Right Dharma (正法), doing justice to none.
Indeed, many of the 96 external paths in the Buddha’s time now have few or no texts left for posterity’s sake, with only traces of their wrong teachings occasionally mentioned and corrected in Buddhist texts. It is the Buddha’s teachings, like pure gold, that persist on, while the false teachings, like cotton, that perish easily, are unable to stand the test of time.]
Namo Amituofo : Translation and notes by Shen Shi’an
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[31] The Parable Of Hiring An Earthenware Master
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[33] The Parable Of Cutting The Tree To Obtain Its Fruits
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