---
title: 百喻經 6 子死欲停置家中喻 The Dead Son Remains in the House
description: "6 The Dead Son Remains in the House"
---

6 The Dead Son Remains in the House

6子死欲停置家中喻

Once there was a stupid man who had seven children. One child died young. Seeing this, the man wished to leave the corpse in the house and move out himself.

Observing this, a bystander said, 「Birth and death are separate paths. You should quickly conduct a proper funeral and bury the corpse in a far away place. How can you leave the corpse here and move out yourself?」

Hearing this, the stupid man thought to himself, 「If I』m not going to leave the corpse here, but bury it instead, I should kill another child to hang at the other end of a long pole. Then I can carry them both off to be buried.」 And so he proceeded to kill another child. Then he put both corpses on the ends of along pole and took them off to be buried in the forest. People who saw this were shocked at such a strange occurrence.

This is like a Bhikshu who secretly breaks one precept and is afraid to repent. He keeps silent about it and hides his mistake, insisting to himself that he is pure. Then someone discovers his misdeed and says, 「Those who have left home should keep the precepts flawlessly like guarding precious pearls. Why do you now, having broken a precept, wish not to repent?」

The violator says, 「As long as I am going to repent, I might as well break some more precepts and then confess them all at once.」 Then he casually breaks the precepts and does many bad deeds. That Bhikshu is like the stupid man who, since one of his children had died, killed yet another.

譯文

從前有位愚人，養育了七個兒子，其中一個先死掉了。愚人這時見兒子已經死了，便想將他停置在家中，自己棄家到別處去。傍人見了，就對他說：「生與死的境地不同，應當速速入殮了，運至遠處去埋葬吧，怎麼能停放在家里，自己卻欲棄家而去?」愚人當時聽了這話，便想：倘若不可停放，定要葬掉的話，還須再殺掉一個兒子，擔子兩頭，各放一個，這樣才可穩順地擔到那兒去。于是便再殺了一個兒子，挑著，到遠處的林野之地葬掉了。當時人們見了，不禁愕然，竟有這般聞所未聞的事情，大大地嗤笑了他。

就譬如比丘私底下違犯了一條戒律，心內害怕改悔，便默然覆藏住了，自己騙說自己是清淨的。或有知情者對他說：「出家人守持禁戒，就如守護明珠一樣，不使它們有所缺漏。你現在違犯了所受的戒律，為什麼不想懺悔?」犯戒者答道：「倘若須懺悔的話，要再犯一戒，然後才表出罪過，以求改悔。」

于是便繼續破戒，多作不善的事情，這樣才一下子發露自己的罪過。如那愚人一樣，一子已死了，又殺一子。如今這比丘也是如此。

原典

昔有愚人，養育七子，一子先死。時此愚人見于既死，便欲停置于其家中，自欲棄去。傍人見已，而語之言：「生死道異，當速莊嚴，致于遠處而殯葬之。云何得留，自欲棄去?」爾時愚人聞此語已，即自思念：若不得留，要當葬者，須更殺一子，停擔兩頭，乃可勝致。于是便更殺其一子而擔負之，遠葬林野。時人見之，深生嗤笑，怪未曾有。

譬如比丘私犯一戒，情憚改悔，默然覆藏，自說清淨。或有知者，即語之言：「出家之人，守持禁戒，如護明珠，不使缺落。汝今云何違犯所受，欲不懺悔?」犯戒者言：「苟須懺者，更就犯之，然後當出。」

遂便破戒，多作不善，爾乃頓出。如彼愚人，一子既死，又殺一子。今此比丘，亦復如是。

解說

不善的事，不可一不做，二不休。