Parable of the Burning House.
Project Gutenberg EPUB edition
Soothill, William Edward and Kumārajīva
Also there are demons,
Of stature tall and large,
Naked, black, and lean,
Who always dwell therein,
Emitting horrible sounds,
Bellowing in search of food.
Again there are demons
With throats narrow as a needle.
And there are also demons,
With heads like a bullock’s;
Some which eat human flesh,
Others which devour dogs,
Their locks are dishevelled,
They are cruel and fiendish,
Oppressed by hunger and thirst,
They rush about crying and calling.
Yakshas and hungry ghosts,
Evil birds and beasts
Hungrily hurry in all directions,
Peeping through window and lattice.
Such are its plagues,
Fearful beyond measure.”
The author further defends the Buddha for his method of expediency in the following lines:
“Though Buddhas, the World-honoured,
Convert by expedient methods,
Yet the living they convert
Are indeed all bodhisattvas.
To such as are of little wit,
Deeply attached to desire and passion,
The Buddha, for their sake,
Preaches the Truth about Suffering,
And all the living joyfully
Attain the unprecedented.
The Buddha’s Truth about Suffering,
Is real without distinction.
Those living beings who
Know not the root of suffering,
Cling to the cause of suffering,
Unable to leave it a moment.
Again, for the sake of these,