往昔之世，有富愚人痴无所知，到余富家见三重楼，高广严丽轩敞踈朗，心生渴仰即作是念：「我有财钱不减于彼，云何顷来而不造作如是之楼？」
In a period of the past, there was a rich and foolish person, ignorant without that known, who reached another rich person’s home, and saw his three-layered storeyed building, which was tall and vast, majestic and beautiful, spacious and bright. His mind gave rise to reverence as he looked up, then having this thought, ‘As I have wealth and money not less than that person, why did I, all along then, not build such a storeyed building?’
即唤木匠而问言曰：「解作彼家端正舍不？」
He immediately called the carpenter, then asking, saying, ‘Can you make that upright abode or not?’
木匠答言：「是我所作。」
The carpenter replied, saying, ‘This is by me, that made.’
即便语言：「今可为我造楼如彼。」
He immediately spoke, saying, ‘Now, you can for me build a storeyed building like that.’
是时木匠即便经地垒墼作楼。
At this moment, the carpenter then measured the ground, piled at the base and laid bricks to make the storeyed building.
愚人见其垒墼作舍，犹怀疑惑不能了知，而问之言：「欲作何等？」
The foolish person, seeing him piling at the base and laying bricks to make the abode, yet having doubts and confusion in mind, not able to understand this clearly, then asked him, saying, ‘What kind of building do you desire to make?’
木匠答言：「作三重屋。」
The carpenter replied, saying, ‘I am making a three-layered house.’
愚人复言：「我不欲下二重之屋，先可为我作最上屋。」
The foolish person again said, ‘As I do not desire a house that has two lower layers, you can first for me make the most high layer of the house.’
木匠答言：「无有是事，何有不作最下重屋而得造彼第二之屋？不造第二云何得造第三重屋？」
The carpenter replied, saying, ‘It is without this matter. How can there be not making the most low layer of the house, then getting to build that second layer of the house? Not building the second layer, how can you get to build that third layer of the house?’
愚人固言：「我今不用下二重屋，必可为我作最上者。」
The foolish person stubbornly said, ‘As I now have no need for the two lower layers of the house, you must for me make that most high layer of the house.’
时人闻已便生怪笑，咸作此言：「何有不造下第一屋而得上者？」
The people at that time, having heard this already, then gave rise to sneering at him, all making this statement, ‘How can there be not building the lowest first layer of the house, then attaining that highest one?’
譬如世尊四辈弟子，不能精勤修敬三宝，懒惰懈怠欲求道果，而作是言：「我今不用余下三果，唯求得彼阿罗汉果。」
For example, the World-Honoured One’s four groups of disciples [i.e. monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen], who are not able to be with concentrated diligence cultivating reverence of the Triple Gem, idly and lazily desiring to seek the path’s fruit, then make this statement, ‘I now have no need for the other lower three [Srotāpanna (须陀洹), Sakṛdāgāmi (斯陀含果) and Anāgāmin (阿那含)] fruits, only seeking to attain that Arhat fruit.’
亦为时人之所嗤笑，如彼愚者等无有异。
Likewise by the people of that time sneered at, they are like that foolish person equally, without having differences.
[Note: It is with having a solid spiritual foundation by learning the Dharma first, that there can be step by step further practising and realising of it. As another analogy, the three storeys can stand for the Three Wisdoms (三慧) of Hearing’s Wisdom (闻慧), Contemplating’s Wisdom (思慧) and Cultivating’s Wisdom (修慧) too, as sequential steps for ‘inputting’, ‘digesting’ (i.e. internalising) and ‘outputting’ of the Dharma.]
全百喻
All Hundred Parables:
https://purelanders.com/baiyu
