摩訶般若波羅蜜道行經譬喻品第十二
The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines, Chapter 12: Parables
佛言：「譬如大海中船卒破壞，知中人皆當墮水沒死，終不能得度。是船中有板若檣，有健者得之，騎其上順流墮深得出，知是人終不沒水中死也。何以故？用得板檣故。菩薩有信樂、有定行、有精進，欲逮阿耨多羅三耶三菩，不得深般若波羅蜜，不學漚惒拘舍羅，是菩薩便墮阿羅漢、辟支佛道中。菩薩有信樂、有定行、有精進，欲逮阿耨多羅三耶三菩，得深般若波羅蜜，學漚惒拘舍羅，是菩薩終不中道懈惰，過出阿羅漢、辟支佛道去，正在阿耨多羅三耶三菩中住。譬如有人持坏瓶行取水，知是瓶不能久，當道壞。何以故。瓶未成故。若有菩薩有信樂、有定行、有精進，欲逮阿耨多羅三耶三菩，不得深般若波羅蜜，不學漚惒拘舍羅，是菩薩終不能逮薩芸若，便中道厭却，墮阿羅漢、辟支佛道中。譬若有人持成瓶行取水，知當安隱持水來歸至也。何以故？其瓶已成故。若有菩薩有信樂、有定行、有精進，欲逮阿耨多羅三耶三菩，得深般若波羅蜜，學漚惒拘舍羅，知是菩薩終不中道懈墯休止恣心，正上阿耨多羅三耶三菩。譬若大海中有故壞船不補治之，便推著水中，取財物置其中，欲乘有所至，知是船終不能至，便中道壞，亡散財物。若有菩薩有信樂、有定行、有精進，欲逮阿耨多羅三耶三菩，不得深般若波羅蜜，不學漚惒拘舍羅，知是菩薩中道厭、便亡失名珍寶，更棄大珍寶去。何所為大珍寶？佛是也。是菩薩便中道墮阿羅漢、辟支佛道中。譬若有𭶑人，拖張海邊故壞船補治之，以推著水中，持財物置其中，便乘欲有所至，知是船不中道壞，必到所至處。若有菩薩有信樂、有定行、有精進，欲逮阿耨多羅三耶三菩，得學深般若波羅蜜漚惒拘舍羅，知是菩薩終不中道懈惰，正在阿耨多羅三耶三菩中住。何以故？是菩薩一心有信樂、有定行、有精進故，終不復墮羅漢、辟支佛道中，正向佛門。譬若有人年百二十歲，老極身體不安，若病寒熱寢臥床褥，此人寧能自起居不？」
The Buddha said: “Suppose a ship in the great ocean is wrecked. Everyone on board will fall into the water and drown—none will reach the other shore. But if among the wreckage there are planks or a mast, a strong person may grab hold of them, climb aboard, and be carried downstream, escaping the depths and surviving. Such a person will not drown in the water. Why? Because they have found planks and a mast.
“Suppose a bodhisattva has faith and joy, has steady practice, and has diligence, and wishes to attain supreme perfect enlightenment—but does not obtain deep prajñāpāramitā and does not learn skillful means. That bodhisattva will fall onto the path of an arhat or a pratyekabuddha.
“Suppose a bodhisattva has faith and joy, has steady practice, and has diligence, and wishes to attain supreme perfect enlightenment—and does obtain deep prajñāpāramitā and learns skillful means. That bodhisattva will never grow slack midway, will pass beyond the paths of arhats and pratyekabuddhas, and will firmly abide in supreme perfect enlightenment.
“Suppose someone carries a cracked pot to fetch water. You know that pot cannot last and will break along the way. Why? Because the pot is not properly made. In the same way, if a bodhisattva has faith and joy, has steady practice, and has diligence, and wishes to attain supreme perfect enlightenment—but does not obtain deep prajñāpāramitā and does not learn skillful means—that bodhisattva will never attain all-knowing wisdom, but will grow weary and turn back midway, falling onto the path of an arhat or a pratyekabuddha.
“Suppose someone carries a finished pot to fetch water. You know they will safely bring the water home. Why? Because the pot is properly made. In the same way, if a bodhisattva has faith and joy, has steady practice, and has diligence, and wishes to attain supreme perfect enlightenment—and does obtain deep prajñāpāramitā and learns skillful means—you know that bodhisattva will never grow slack or give up midway, but will rise straight to supreme perfect enlightenment.
“Suppose there is a broken-down boat in the great ocean that is not repaired. It is pushed into the water and valuables are placed aboard, intending to sail somewhere. You know that boat will never arrive—it will break midway, and the valuables will be lost and scattered. In the same way, if a bodhisattva has faith and joy, has steady practice, and has diligence, and wishes to attain supreme perfect enlightenment—but does not obtain deep prajñāpāramitā and does not learn skillful means—you know that bodhisattva will grow weary midway and lose the precious treasure, casting away the greatest treasure. What is the greatest treasure? It is the Buddha. That bodhisattva will fall midway onto the path of an arhat or a pratyekabuddha.
“Suppose a clever person drags a broken-down boat ashore and repairs it, then pushes it into the water, places valuables aboard, and sails where they wish to go. You know that boat will not break midway but will surely reach its destination. In the same way, if a bodhisattva has faith and joy, has steady practice, and has diligence, and wishes to attain supreme perfect enlightenment—and obtains and learns deep prajñāpāramitā and skillful means—you know that bodhisattva will never grow slack midway, but will firmly abide in supreme perfect enlightenment. Why? Because this bodhisattva is single-minded, has faith and joy, has steady practice, and has diligence; therefore they will never again fall onto the path of an arhat or a pratyekabuddha, but head straight for the Buddha’s door.
“Suppose someone is one hundred and twenty years old, utterly aged, their body frail. If they are sick with fever and chills, lying in bed—could such a person get up and move about on their own?”
須菩提言：「不能也。何以故？是人老極無勢力故，正使病愈，由不能自起居行步。」
Subhuti said, "No, he cannot. Why not? Because this person is extremely old and has no strength left. Even if he recovers from his illness, he still cannot get up, move about, or walk on his own."
佛言：「菩薩有信樂、有定行、有精進，欲逮阿耨多羅三耶三菩，不得學深般若波羅蜜漚惒拘舍羅者，終不能至佛，當中道休墮阿羅漢、辟支佛道中。何以故？不得學深般若波羅蜜漚惒拘舍羅故。」
The Buddha said: "A bodhisattva who has faith and joyful commitment, who practices concentration, and who is diligent—if they wish to reach supreme, perfect enlightenment but cannot learn the profound perfection of wisdom with skillful means, they will never reach Buddhahood. They will stop halfway, falling into the path of an arhat or a solitary buddha. Why is that? Because they cannot learn the profound perfection of wisdom with skillful means."
佛言：「但是人風寒病愈身體強健，意欲起行，有兩健人各扶一掖各持一臂，徐共持行。其人語病者言：『安意莫恐，我自相扶持在所至到，義不中道相棄。』如是人能到所欲至處不？」
The Buddha said: "Suppose this person has recovered from the cold illness and their body has become strong and healthy, and they wish to set out on a journey. Two strong men each support them under the arms and each hold one arm, and together they slowly support and guide them along. These men say to the sick person: 'Be at ease, do not fear. We will support and help you wherever you need to go, and we will certainly not abandon you along the way.' Could such a person reach the place they wish to go?"
須菩提言：「菩薩有信樂、有定行、有精進，欲逮阿耨多羅三耶三菩，得深般若波羅蜜，學漚惒拘舍羅，是菩薩終不中道懈墯，能究竟於是中得阿耨多羅三耶三菩。」
Subhuti said, "A bodhisattva who has faith and joyful aspiration, who practices concentration, and who applies diligence, wishing to attain supreme perfect enlightenment, and who gains the profound perfection of wisdom and learns skillful means—such a bodhisattva will never grow lazy or give up halfway along the path, but will be able to go all the way through and attain supreme perfect enlightenment."