復次，迦葉告大王言：「勿更有喻，證彼無人及無後世亦無化生？」王言：「我復有喻可證斯理。尊者！譬如有人犯極重罪，近臣知已即白於王：『今有此人犯極重罪。』王既知已，乃令所司捉縛罪人依法斷理。法司奉命，即將罪人，縛其兩手鑊中煎煮。復宣令曰：『待其糜爛徹見骨已，可於鑊中以杖翻攪，子細尋覓彼後世人及化生等出入之者。』法司奉命，一依王旨，至糜爛時乃於鑊中翻攪尋覓，終不見有後世之人及化生等出入之者，乃至展轉重重尋覓亦終不見。」王言：「尊者！以此喻知，實無有人、無有後世亦無化生。」

Furthermore, Kasyapa said to the king, “Do you have any further analogy to prove that there are no beings, no afterlife, and no rebirth?” The king replied, “I do have another analogy to prove this principle. Venerable sir, consider a person who has committed a heinous crime. A close minister, upon learning of it, reports to the king: ‘There is a person here who has committed a grave offense.’ Upon hearing this, the king orders the authorities to arrest the criminal and try him according to the law. The legal officials carry out the command: they bind the criminal’s hands and boil him in a cauldron. They then issue a decree: ‘When the body has completely disintegrated until the bones are visible, stir the contents of the cauldron with a rod. Carefully search for any being from the afterlife or any reborn entity entering or exiting.’ The legal officials, following the king’s orders exactly, stir the cauldron after the body has decomposed. They search thoroughly but never find any being from the afterlife or any reborn entity entering or exiting. Even after repeatedly searching again and again, they find nothing at all.” The king continued, “Venerable sir, this analogy demonstrates that there truly are no beings, no afterlife, and no rebirth.”

迦葉告言：「大王！我念昔時，有一道人住於山中。時有商人，將多車乘載於財貨，近道人菴止宿而去。時彼道人乃於明旦觀彼宿處恐遺財物，果於是處見一童子，纔離乳哺未識東西，是眾商人之所遺墜。道人慈愍，恐彼童子飢渴所損，將歸菴中如親養育。而彼道人事火為行，常專其心添續柴薪未曾斷滅，以彼童子日來月往，漸漸長大年十五六。道人思惟：『童子長大，堪可委付。』一日道人以緣事故，當入城隍，暫拋菴所，即誡童子：『我有事緣要須暫出，菴中之火，如我每日添續柴薪，勿令斷滅。』言訖便行。道人既出，童子癡騃由貪戲翫，為貪戲故忘其事火，以無添續火遂斷滅。爾時，童子見火滅已，收拾柴薪積於爐內，發言祝曰：『汝火速出，若火不出，我當壞汝。』是彼童子苦切求哀，火終不出。火不出故，更發惡言：『火不出者亦當打汝。』是時童子求火不出，心即憂怖：『道人歸來，必當辱我。』住在一面思惟火事。道人事畢歸還菴中，見子默坐便知火滅，謂童子言：『汝貪放逸致火滅耶？』童子答言：『我暫忘失，火已滅矣。火滅之後積薪於爐，以善惡言祈火不出。』道人言曰：『汝甚癡騃！火若滅已，得火方然。未聞積薪於冷灰中有火自出，設汝爐中積無量薪作多方便，徒自疲勞無由得火。』大王！而此童子於火滅後灰中求火，亦如大王愚迷不迴，於死屍中搜求於人及化生者，妄執無人起於斷見。大王！應須知，實有人及有化生、有於後世。」

Kashyapa said, "Great King! I recall a time in the past when a monk lived in the mountains. At that time, a merchant with many carts loaded with goods stopped near the monk's hermitage for the night before moving on. The next morning, the monk went to see where they had stayed, fearing they might have left something behind. Indeed, he found a young child there—just weaned from milk, too young to know right from left—who had been left behind by the merchants. Moved by compassion, the monk feared the child would suffer from hunger and thirst, so he brought him back to his hermitage and cared for him like his own child.

Now, this monk practiced the fire ritual, always tending the flames with fuel, never letting them go out. As the child grew month after month, year after year, he reached the age of fifteen or sixteen. The monk thought, 'This child has grown up and can now be entrusted with duties.' One day, the monk had business to attend to in the town, so he had to leave the hermitage briefly. He instructed the child, 'I have matters to see to and must step out for a while. Keep the fire in the hermitage going—add fuel as I do every day, and do not let it die out.' With that, he left.

After the monk departed, the child—being foolish and childlike—was consumed with playing. Because he was so caught up in play, he forgot to tend the fire. Without fuel, the fire went out. When the child saw the fire had died, he gathered firewood, piled it into the hearth, and prayed, 'Fire, come out quickly! If you do not come out, I will break you.' The child pleaded earnestly, but the fire would not come. When it would not come, he grew angry and said, 'If you do not come out, I will strike you!' Still the fire would not come.

Filled with worry and fear that the monk would scold him upon his return, the child stood to one side, pondering what to do about the fire. When the monk finished his business and returned to the hermitage, he saw the child sitting silently and knew the fire had gone out. He said to the child, 'Did you let the fire die because you were being lazy and careless?' The child replied, 'I lost track of it for a moment, and the fire went out. After it died, I piled firewood into the hearth and used both pleas and threats to try to get the fire to come out, but it would not.' The monk said, 'You are very foolish! Once a fire has gone out, you can only relight it by finding a new flame. I have never heard of a fire spontaneously bursting forth from cold ashes—no matter how much firewood you pile into the hearth or how many clever tricks you try, you will only exhaust yourself and still get no fire.'

Great King, this child searched for fire in the ashes after it had died—just as you, in your confusion, search for a soul in a corpse, or for a being born through transformation, stubbornly clinging to the view that there is no soul, falling into the extreme of nihilism. Great King, you must understand that there truly exist souls, there are beings born through transformation, and there is a future life."

迦葉復言：「大王！我念往昔有二商主，皆有財寶一國無過，後於一時相約為侶，同往他邦貨鬻求利。是二商主，各集商人以為伴侶，於是各各多裝車乘，排比鞍馬同日上路，行赴前程。去國既遙，艱嶮在近，一人商主素知此路前有艱嶮，告一商主言：『汝今知不？前路艱嶮無有人煙，商眾既多宜其預備。』二主議已，一主先行，意在少人所須易足，所有米麵飲食之用，乃至柴薪皆亦持去。前行之次，忽逢一人相迎而來，身大黑色兩目皆赤，頂髮稀踈衣服襤縷，駕一驢車其狀如鬼。商主問言：『仁者！前路還有飲食柴薪等不？』彼人答言：『前路之中甚有飲食柴薪等物，皆悉無乏，汝之所載咸可棄之，免汝前行為重所滯。』是時商主聞此語已，謂商眾曰：『汝等人眾咸聞所言，前路之中飲食等物既不乏少，何用齎持分外之物困於車馬？』商主及伴皆非智人，便以所持棄之而去。行第一日至於日沒，唯有曠野不逢人煙，四顧杳然無所取給，飲食既乏悉受飢渴，忍苦終夜強復前進，於第二日又行至夜，但在曠野餘無所覩。商眾共議前所逢者，思其相貌定知是鬼：『我等無智便信彼言，妖妄惑人以致如是。』至第三日，人馬俱乏悉不能進，相顧無語待死而住。彼一商主隔日而進，亦逢是人相迎而來，乃問言曰：『前路之中還有飲食所須物不？』彼人同前一一妄說：『飲食所須皆不乏少，何用所持重滯車馬？是物可棄汝宜知之。』後一商主智慧聰明，凡所施為必先思慮，素知此路有大曠野艱嶮之處，度其地里嶮難非遙，又察是人顏貌不常行李麁惡，或恐妖妄不可信之，與諸商人議論而進。至第三日，忽於路次見前商主及眾商人飢乏而住，顧問所以，果是亦逢醜惡之人妖妄所悞。商眾共議，即以所持飲食之分，均分相濟，令彼商眾同度艱嶮。大王！彼一商主，以愚癡故信彼妖妄，致於嶮路受大苦惱。大王！以愚癡故自執斷見，必於長夜受大苦惱。」

Kāśyapa continued, "Great King! I recall a time in the past when there were two merchant leaders, both possessing wealth and treasure unmatched in the entire kingdom. Later, at one point, they agreed to become companions and journey together to another land to trade and seek profit. Each of these two merchant leaders gathered their own merchants as companions, and then each loaded up their carts, arranged their saddles and horses, and set off on the same day, traveling toward their destination. After leaving the kingdom far behind, danger approached. One merchant leader, who had long known of the perils on this road, said to the other, 'Do you know now? Ahead lies danger with no signs of human habitation. With such a large company of merchants, we should make proper preparations.' After the two leaders discussed this, one merchant leader went ahead first, thinking that with fewer people, their needs would be more easily met. All their provisions—rice, flour, food and drink, even firewood—were carried along. As they traveled forward, they suddenly encountered a person coming toward them. This person was huge and black in complexion, with both eyes red, sparse hair on top of his head, and wore tattered clothing. He drove a donkey cart and looked like a ghost. The merchant leader asked, 'Sir! Ahead, is there still food, drink, firewood, and such things?' That person replied, 'Ahead, there is an abundance of food, drink, firewood, and other things—nothing will be lacking. You can discard everything you carry, to avoid being slowed down by the weight on your journey ahead.'

"When the merchant leader heard this, he said to his company, 'All of you have heard what was said. Since food and other provisions are not lacking ahead, why carry extra things that only burden our carts and horses?' This merchant leader and his companions were not wise men, so they discarded what they carried and went on. They traveled through the first day until sunset—only a vast wilderness with no signs of human habitation. Looking around, there was nothing to be found. With food and drink exhausted, all suffered hunger and thirst. Enduring hardship through the night, they barely pressed on. On the second day, they traveled until nightfall, still seeing nothing but the open wilderness. The merchant company discussed the person they had met earlier, and upon reflecting on his appearance, they were certain it had been a ghost: 'We were foolish to trust his words—so deceptive and misleading to bring us to this state.' By the third day, both men and horses were exhausted and could go no further. They looked at each other in silence, waiting for death.

"The other merchant leader traveled one day behind and also encountered this same person coming toward him. He asked, 'Ahead, is there still food, drink, and other necessities?' That person gave the same false answer as before: 'Food, drink, and all necessities are in no short supply. Why carry heavy loads that burden your carts and horses? You should know—these things can be discarded.' But this second merchant leader was wise and intelligent. In everything he undertook, he always thought things through first. He had long known that this road passed through a great wilderness with dangerous places. He calculated the distance to the danger and knew it was not far off. He also observed that the person's appearance was unusual and his manner crude—perhaps this was deceptive and not to be trusted. He discussed it with his merchants and advanced with caution. On the third day, they suddenly came upon the first merchant leader and his company, halted by hunger and exhaustion. When asked what had happened, sure enough, they too had been deceived by the ugly person's false words. The merchant company then discussed the matter and divided their own food and provisions equally to share with them, allowing that merchant company to survive the danger together.

"Great King! That first merchant leader, because of his foolishness, trusted that deceiver and fell into danger on the road, suffering great misery. Great King! Likewise, one who clings to the view of annihilation out of foolishness will surely suffer great misery throughout the long night of saṃsāra."

爾時，迦葉又告王言：「昔有二人薄有財賄，結伴經營，錢物雖殊有利相報。結契已定擇日方行，不日之間便達他國。彼地多麻價賤可販，二人議畢出錢收買，如法裝結擔負而行，言到他邦有利即貨。前至別國，見兜羅綿得利倍多，可以迴麻作兜羅綿。一人有智，尋易其麻買兜羅綿。一人無智謂同伴言：『我不易麻為兜羅綿。何以故？以此麻擔用功裝結遠負而至，是故我實不能易也。』二人即日各負貨物，相次前進又至一國。彼國多絲復倍綿利，彼有智者便貨其綿再易為絲。一無智者又說前言：『不能易麻更求絲利。』二人持貨再復前行，至一國中疋帛至賤，比於絲利倍數轉多。其有智者見利倍多，便易其絲為於疋帛。一無智者由惜其麻，自遠持來不肯迴易。二人負貨又復前行，至一國中唯有坑冶，疋帛甚貴銀價至微，易帛為銀有百倍利。一有智者，賣帛買銀期利百倍。時無智者，由謂此麻未得厚價惜而不易。彼一智者又聞人言：『某國出金，絕無有銀。』即呼伴云可往彼國。不經時序達彼國中，時有智者便易其銀還買黃金，買得金已看翫歡喜，私自計云：『我昔離家錢物至寡，初始買麻已忻厚利，不期至此獲得黃金，世之貴重不過於此，將至家鄉足以致富。』即呼伴言：『歲月只賒，可共還國。』隨其所得，濟彼尊親。時負麻人謂同伴言：『我本買麻比望厚利，及其至此利轉輕微，君今欲迴豈敢相滯？亦且擔負相逐而歸，或遇價高隨處貨賣。』議畢已擇日舊路而歸。去國匪遙宗親得信，家人共出郊外相迎，忻喜非常各還所止。獲金之家，父母妻兒問得何利？家主報言：『得金可富，乃至宗親亦可給濟。』彼負麻者家人亦問，自爾經營當獲何利？是人報言：『唯得此麻，更無別物。』家人聞已苦惱其心，謂彼人言：『似汝經營，我等宗親不免貧賤。』大王！彼負麻人執性愚迷，雖覩真金不肯迴易，致令親屬苦惱長時。亦如大王！不自覺知執於斷見，長夜受苦後悔難追。」

Mahāvākyarāja Sūtra (大正句王經)

Mahāvākyarāja Sūtra (大正句王經)