昔有一人，有二百五十头牛，常驱逐水草随时餧食。
In the past, there was a person, who had two hundred and fifty count of cows, constantly driving them to lands with water and grass, at all times for feeding food and drink.
时有一虎啖食一牛，尔时牛主即作念言：「已失一牛俱不全足，用是牛为？」
Then, there was a tiger, who devoured a cow. At that time, the owner of the cows had this thought and said, ‘As I have already lost one cow, they are together not complete and enough now. Because of this, what are the other cows for?’
即便驱至深坑高岸，排着坑底尽皆杀之。
He immediately then drove them to a deep pit over a high bank, lining them up for the pit’s bottom, completely killing them all.
凡夫愚人亦复如是，受持如来具足之戒，若犯一戒，不生惭愧清净忏悔，便作念言：「我已破一戒，既不具足，何用持为？」
Ordinary foolish persons are likewise thus, having received to uphold the Thus Come One’s Complete Precepts [i.e. Full Monastic Precepts], if having violated one precept, not giving rise to shame for pure repentance, then have this thought and say, ‘As I have already broken one precept, since they are not complete now, for what should I uphold the others for?’
[Note 1: The two hundred and fifty precepts represent the Bhikṣu Precepts (比丘戒). For laypersons, they should contemplate this in the context of any other set of precepts committed to, such as the Five Precepts (五戒), Eight Precepts (八戒) and the Bodhisattva Precepts (菩萨戒).]
一切都破无一在者，如彼愚人尽杀群牛无一在者。
Those with all precepts broken without one existing, are like that foolish person, who completely killed his herd of cows, to be without one existing.
[Note 2: When there is a precept broken, there should immediately be the 3R’s – sincere Repentance (忏悔) for the precept broken, Resolution to not break it again, and ‘Revival’ of the precept, by not letting it remain ‘dead’, and by not ‘killing’ the other precepts. Instead, there should be better observation of all precepts after. (True Repentance should already include Resolution and Revival as above, but they are at times forgotten.)]
[Note 3: As an example, if one has committed to observing the Eight Precepts for one day, just because there is breaking of one precept, or difficulty to observe one precept, such as being too hungry, thus ‘needing’ to take an extra meal, there should not be thinking that since this is so, all other seven precepts should immediately be renounced for the day too.
After renouncing only that one precept, if ‘needed’, there should still be observing of the other precepts best one can, not thinking that, ‘Since I am not “pure” enough already, I will give up further purification practice today.’
If giving up all Eight Precepts due to such misguided ‘perfectionism’, this would be a case of ‘self-wrecking and self-abandoning’ (自暴自弃), not doing what is right. It is exactly through practice best we can each time, that perfection is eventually attained. Perfection is not attained by giving up easily each time.]
全百喻
All Hundred Parables:
https://purelanders.com/baiyu
