Dialogues of the Buddha, Part II — trans. T. W. and C. A. F. Rhys Davids (1910)

cannot bring myself to renounce this evil set of opinions. King Pasenadi the Kosalan knows me, and so do foreign kings, as holding to the creed and the opinion [347] that there is neither another world, nor rebirth other than of parents by human parentage, nor fruit or result of deeds well and ill-done. If I, master Kassapa, renounce these opinions people will say of me : " How silly is prince Payasi, how unintelligent, how badly he grasps anything !" In wrath thereat will I keep to it. In guile will I keep to it. In self-respect will I keep to it ! '

25. 'Well then, Prince, I will give you a simile, for it is by way of a simile that some intelligent men discern the meaning of what has been said. Once upon a time, Prince, a certain swineherd was going from his own village to another village. There he saw a heap of dry dung thrown away. Seeing it he thought : — " That's a lot of dry dung thrown away which will feed my pigs. What if I were to carry it away ? " So he spread out his cloak and collecting the dry dung tied it into a bundle and lifting it on to his head went on. In the after-part of his journey there fell a heavy shower of rain out of season. He, splashed with muck to his nailtips, bearing his oozing, dripping dung-burden, went on his way. And men seeing him said : — " Gramercy, you must be mad, you must be out of your senses ! How can you tote along that oozing, dripping load of dung, splashed with muck to your nail-tips ? ' " It's you that are mad, you that are out of your senses ; by this my pigs will get food." [348] Even so, methinks, Prince, do you talk, like this dung-carrying simile. Renounce, Prince, this evil set of opinions, renounce them, I say ! Let them not be long a cause of bale and sorrow to you.'

26. 'Even though Master Kassapa says this, I cannot bring myself to renounce this evil set of opinions. King Pasenadi the Kosalan knows me, and so do foreign kings, as holding to the creed and the opinion that there is neither another world, nor rebirth other than of parents by human parentage, nor fruit or result of deeds well or ill-done. If I, Master Kassapa, renounce these opinions, people will say of me: — " How silly is Prince Payasi,howp. 368 unintelligent, how bad is his grasp of things ! " In anger thereat will I keep to it. In guile will I keep to it. In self-respect will I keep to it ! '

27. ' Well then, Prince, I will give you a simile, for it is by way of a simile that some intelligent men discern the meaning of what is said. Once upon a time, Prince, two gamesters were playing with dice. One gamester swallowed as it came each adverse die. The other gamester saw him do this and said: — "Look here, friend, you've won outright ; give me the dice ; I will make a votive offering of them." " Good, friend," said the other, and handed over the dice. Then the second gamester smeared over the dice with poison, and proposed to the former : — " Come along, friend, let's play." " Good, friend," replied the other. Again, therefore, they played, and again that gamester swallowed each adverse die. [349] The second gamester saw him doing so and said : —

The man knows not the swallowed die
With sharpest burning is smeared o'er.