雙語讀經典：百喻經引言
《百喻經》全文兩萬餘字，結構形式單一，每篇都採用兩步式，第一步是講故事，是引子，第二步是比喻，闡述一個佛學義理。它從梵文譯成漢文，距今已經有一千五百多年的歷史。下面，我們就通過這篇雙語閲讀重温一下它的引言吧。
聞如是：一時佛住王舍城，在鵲封竹園，與諸大比丘、菩薩摩訶薩及諸八部三萬六千人俱。
Thus have I heard. Once upon a time Sakyamuni, The Enlightened One, was staying in a park called Karanda Bamboo Grove, near Rajagriha City. He held a meeting with thirty six thousand men including great monks, Bodhisattvas, Mahasattvas and the eight groups of supernatural beings.
是時會中有異學梵志五百人俱，從座而起，白佛言“吾聞佛道洪深，無能及者，故來歸問。唯願説之。”
On that occasion, there were five hundred Brahmans in the assembly. One of them rose from his seat and said to Sakyamuni, the Buddha: "We have learned that Buddhism is so profound that there is no parallel to it. So we have come to ask you to explain it to us."
佛言：“善哉!”
Very well, The Enlightened One said.
問曰：“天下為有為無?”
Is the universe existent or non-existent? The Brahman asked.
答曰：“亦有亦無。”
It is both existent and non-existent, the Enlightened one replied.
梵志曰：“如今有者，云何言無?如今無者，云何言有?”
The Brahman said, "How can you say non-existent of what is now existent? How can you say existent of what is now non-existent?"
答曰：“生者言有，死者言無。故説‘或有或無’。”
The Enlightened One replied, "The living say it is existent, but the dead say it is non-existent. Consequently, I say it is both existent and non-existent."
問曰：“人從何生?”
He asked, "What does man live on?"
答曰：“人從谷而生。”
The Enlightened One replied, "Man lives on cereals."
問曰：“五穀從何而生?”
He asked, "Where do the five cereals come from?"
答曰：“五穀從四大火風而生。”
They come from the four elements, fire, wind, water and earth, The Enlightened One replied.
問曰：“四大火風從何而生?”
Where do the four elements come from? the Brahman asked.
答曰：“四大火風從空而生。”
