有一次，佛陀住在一個婆羅門村落外的樹林中。

村落附近有一個大農場，農場的主人是一位大家都稱他為耕田婆羅墮婆闍的婆羅門族人。

這天早上，耕田婆羅墮婆闍正在農場工作，指揮著工人們犁田與播種。這農場到底有多大呢？當他們工作完畢收工時，光整理犁田用的器具，就有五百具之多，由此可以想見了。

耕具收拾妥當後，耕田婆羅墮婆闍開始分派食物，給農場中的工人。這時，佛陀正好路過這個農場，要到村落裡乞食，佛陀看見他們正在分派食物，就停了下來。

耕田婆羅墮婆闍看到佛陀停了下來，知道佛陀準備向他乞食，但他心中不滿出家人不像他們一樣付出勞力工作，所以不打算布施食物給佛陀，就譏諷佛陀說：
「出家人！我們種田人，依耕種而有食物吃，從來不必向別人乞食，你也應當自己耕種。耕種就有食物吃，不必向別人乞食。」
「婆羅門！我也耕種，依耕種而有食物吃。」
「哦？是嗎？但是，我們沒看見你有耕作的農具，像犁啊、鋤頭啊，耕牛、牛軛、牛鞭之類的，你怎麼敢說自己也耕種，依耕種而有食物吃？ 沒有農具也能耕田？我倒要向你討教討教。」
這時，佛陀就說了：
「正法的信心，是我播種的種子；
所有的善法，是我耕種的良田；
精進的毅力，是我馴良的耕牛；
嚴謹的修持，是那甘美的雨水。
智慧是耕犁，慚愧之心是犁柄，
專注是韁繩，守護六根的正念，
就是操作這些犁田工具的高手。
戒護著自己的言行舉止，控制著自己的食量；
真理是拔除雜草的利器，解除束縛的休息處；
精進是最耐負荷的牛隻，帶著我快穩地前進；
帶我離開束縛到安全處，不再憂苦不再回頭。
我就是以這樣耕種，不死是這樣耕種的收成；
當完成這樣的耕種，所有的苦迫也就解除了。」

耕田婆羅墮婆闍一聽，竟有這種不一樣的耕作，而深受震撼，不由得讚歎起佛陀來，說佛陀才是最會耕田的人，也對佛陀生起了信心。於是，準備了豐富的食物，想要供養佛陀。

佛陀說法，一向是為了利益聽者，不是為了贏得食物供養，所以拒絕在這種情況下接受食物。耕田婆羅墮婆闍婆羅門只能再次地讚歎佛陀說：

「瞿曇是最殊勝的導師！尊者瞿曇所說的正法，引導失敗倒下的重新站起來；將隱蔽覆蓋的顯露出來；正如黑暗中的一盞明燈指引著迷路者。我現在就歸依世尊、正法與僧伽。但願尊者瞿曇，接納我從現在起終身為佛弟子。」

On one occasion, the Buddha was staying in a forest located outside of a Brahmin village.

Near the village was a huge farmland belong to a Brahmin farmer whom everybody called him Bradaradvaja the Ploughman.

On that particular day, Ploughman Braradvaja was working in the farmland, directing the farmhands to plow the field and sow seeds. How big was the farmland? One could only Cultivate a Different Type of Farmland

image that when the farmhands finished working and gathering the tillage implements, they had to collect 500 sets of ploughs.

After collecting the tillage implements, Ploughman Braradvaja began distributing foods to the farmhands. At that time, the Buddha happened to be passing through on his way to the village for alms food. The Buddha stopped upon seeing the food distribution was taking place.

Ploughman Braradvaja was aware that purpose of the Buddha’s stopping was for alms; he was resentful of the monastic who, unlike the framers, engage in no laborious work, therefore planning not to offer any foods to the Buddha and laughed at the Buddha: “Recluse, we the ploughmen relied upon farming to feed ourselves, we never beg for foods. You should engage in farming to grow instead of obtaining alms food.

“Brahmin, I also engage in farming and relied upon farming for foods.”

“Oh yeah? But we don’t see you have any tillage implements such as plows, hoes, cattle, yokes and whips? How dare you say that you also engage in farming and rely upon farming for food? I would like to ask you how could one engage in farming without tillage implements?”

At that time, the Buddha said:

“Faith in the Right Dharma is my seed,
All Wholesome Dharma is my fertile farmland,
Diligent willpower is my oxen,
serious study is the sweet rainfalls,
Wisdom is my plough, shamefulness is the handle of the plough, Mindfulness is the goad,
the Right Thought that guards the six sense organ is the skilled farmhands for handling the tillage implements,
regulates one’s words, deeds and behavior, controlled in my appetite for food.
I use Truth as my weeding-hook, and gentleness as my unyoking,
Energy is my beast of burden, carrying me forward in a steady pace,
carrying me to security from bondage, to where, having gone, one does not sorrow,
I am cultivating this way and Deathless is the fruit of this type of cultivation,
Having finished this work of ploughing, one is released from all suffering.”

Upon hearing such different means of cultivation, Braradvaja was in shock. He could not help but praise the Buddha as the one who possesses the best knowledge in cultivating the farmland, in the meantime he also developed faith in the Buddha. Therefore, prepared plenty of alms food for the Buddha.

Purpose of the Buddha’s preaching Dharma was always for the benefit of the audients instead of receiving the alms food; therefore he refused to take the alms food under such circumstance. Ploughman Braradvaja could only praised the Buddha again saying, “Gotama is a teacher of the most Superior Excellency. The True Dharma preached by the Venerable Gotama could guide those rise again from failure, expose those underneath cover and hindrance, just like a bright light guiding those lost their way in darkness, I would like to take refuge in The World’s Respected One, the True Dharma and the Sangha, wish the Venerable Gotama accepts me from now on as a Buddhist disciple for life.

一、本則故事取材自《雜阿含第九八經》、《相應部第七相應第一一經》、《別譯雜阿含第二六四經》。

二、這個故事，一方面破斥了一般人對修行者「不勞而獲」的誤解，另一方面也展現了佛陀「應機說教」技巧的高明：以修行比喻成耕種，將信心、一切善法、精進、智慧、慚愧、專注、正念等修行要項，作巧妙的解說，而將不死的解脫，比擬為耕作的收成，讓善於耕種的農人也容易理解與接受。

三、死亡，是一般人所不喜歡的，因此，故事中佛陀以「不死」為修行耕種的成果，可能對一般人有較強的吸引力。實則，依緣起來說，不死即是不生；不生也不死，就是指涅槃解脫。

1.  This story was derived from Samyuktagama 98th Sutra, Samyukta-nikaya 7th Samyukta 11th Sutra, and Other translation version of Samyuktagama 264th Sutra.

2. This story on the one hand rebuked the ordinary people’s misunderstanding of monastic is those who “reap without sowing’, on the other hand, illustrated Buddha’s brilliant skill of “Opportunistic Teaching”: Using practicing as metaphor for cultivating the farmland to explain such important practicing items as Faith, Total Beneficial Dharma, Diligence, Wisdom, Shamefulness, Concentration and Right Thought. Using Deathless Liberation as a simile for harvest, which facilitated the skilled Ploughmen to understand and accept the Dharma.

3. Nobody likes Death; therefore, the Buddha using “Deathless” as the fruit from practicing could be more attractive for the ordinary people. In fact, base on Causes and Conditions, Deathless is precisely Not Born; Not Born nor Deathless denote Nirvana and Liberation.