(77) TO MILK A DONKEY

Once upon a time, there was a group of frontiersmen who had never seen a monkey before. Thus they could not identify it. They were told that its milk was delicious. It happened that they found a male donkey and they tried to milk it. They began their wrangling about apprehending it.

One seized its head: another, its ears; the third, its tail; the fourth, its feet; and finally the fifth, its penis. All wanted to be the first to drink its milk. The one who grasped the donkey's penis called out that he could get milk there from. Then he began to extract. Finally, this group of people felt tired and bored, for they could not get what they had wanted. They got nothing in return, despite of their effort. They were all laughed at by the people at large.

This is also held to be true with the common heretics.

The heretics who learn their religious faith from some inadequate sources, might lead to illusions giving rise to all kinds of heterodox views such as to go naked, to fast, to jump into precipice or go through fire. With all these kinds of heterodox views, they fall to the evil paths, like those stupid men seeking in vain for milk from a male donkey.

77搆驢乳喻

昔邊國人不識於驢，聞他說言驢乳甚美，都無識者。爾時諸人得一父驢，欲搆其乳，諍共捉之，其中有捉頭者、有捉耳者、有捉尾者、有捉脚者，復有捉器者，各欲先得於前飲之。中捉驢根謂呼是乳，即便搆之望得其乳。眾人疲厭都無所得，徒自勞苦空無所獲，為一切世人之所嗤笑。外道凡夫亦復如是，聞說於道不應求處，妄生想念，起種種邪見，裸形自餓投巖赴火，以是邪見墮於惡道，如彼愚人妄求於乳。