§53 师患脚付二弟子喻

(53) THE MASTER'S ACHING LEGS

    譬如一师，有二弟子。其师患脚，遣二弟子，人当一脚，随时按摩。其二弟子，常相憎嫉。一弟子行，其一弟子捉其所当按摩之脚，以石打折。彼既来已，忿其如是，复捉其人所按之脚，寻复打折。

Once a master told two of his disciples to take care of his aching legs. Each one had to massage continuously each of his two legs. The two disciples bear strong dislike of each other. When one left for a break, the other broke with a stone the leg that the first one had massaged out of spite. The first one, angry at his doings, broke the other leg that the second one had massaged.

    佛法学徒，亦复如是。方等学者，非斥小乘；小乘学者，复非方等。故使大圣法典二途兼亡。

So are the Buddhist disciples. The scholars of Mahayana criticize the Hinayana, and vice-versa. Therefore, these two schools' scriptures of the Great Saint, run the risk to be both vanishing.

注释：

　　①方等：是大乘经典的通名，方指方广，等即平等，大乘理论的玄妙观念，放诸四海而皆准，所以说是方广；且又适用于凡夫与圣人，所以说是平等。

白话：

譬如某位大师有两位弟子。大师脚有病了，就让两个弟子每人一只脚，随时按摩。这两个弟子平常互相憎厌嫉妒，其中一位外出了，另一位就把他应按摩的脚用石头砸折了。他回来之后，见到这般情景，也气忿地把那人按摩的脚立即打断了。

佛门的弟子也是这样，大乘学者攻击排斥小乘，小乘学者也攻击排斥大乘，所以使得大圣的法典在双方的争执中失去了它原初的意义。

这故事比喻∶佛法中的学人，也有这样情形，常常有大乘的学者排斥小乘，小乘的学者排斥大乘，或者这一宗派无端地破斥那一宗派。这样的阋（xì）墙之争。是会把大圣的法典破坏的！

源流：

　　昔雪山中有鸟名为共命，一身二头。一头常食美果，欲使身得安稳。一头便生嫉妒之心，而作是言：「彼常云何食好美果，我不曾得。』即取毒果食之，使二头俱死。

（《杂宝藏经》卷三，见《大正藏》第四册第四六四页）