..续本文上一页a desert of 100 yojanas extent, taking with them only few provisions. Having traversed 50 yojanas, their provisions came to an end. Feeble from hunger and thirst, they sat down in a sparse patch of shade, and the man spoke to his wife: "My dear, for 50 yojanas from here, in any direction, there is not a single village or hamlet. Therefore I cannot do now what is a man”s work, like tilling a field or raising cattle, (for seeing to your needs). Hence, you had better kill me, eat half of the flesh, and taking the other half with you as provision, you can safely cross the desert, together with our child." But she said: "My lord, I too cannot do now a wife”s duty towards you, like weaving and other work. So please kill me, eat half of the flesh, and with the other half as provision you can safely get through the desert, together with our boy." He replied: "My dear, if the mother dies, it means death of two. This delicate little boy cannot live without his mother. But if we two remain alive, we may get another child. Hence let us kill the child, take the flesh and thus escape from the desert." Thereupon the wife told the child: "Go, my dear, to your father!" And the child went. But the father said: "To bring up this child, I took up on me the great suffering and fatigue of a farmer”s work. I cannot kill the child. You may kill it!" And he sent it back to the mother. But she said: "Longing for a son I went through much hardship by offering prayers and undertaking severe vows; to say nothing about the pains I suffered when bearing it in my womb. I cannot kill my son." And she told the child: "Go to your father, dear!" While thus being sent to and fro, the feeble child died. Seeing it dead, the parents took the flesh, ate of it and continued their trek through the desert.

　　This food of their son”s flesh, being loathsome for nine reasons, was not eaten by them for pleasure and enjoyment, nor for comeliness” sake and for the body”s embellishment, but solely to enable them to cross the desert. What are the nine reasons of its loathsomeness

　　 Its being flesh of the same — i.e., human — species; the flesh of a relative, their own son; the flesh of a beloved son; its being tender, raw, tasteless, unsalted, unsmoked. When partaking of their son”s flesh, so loathsome for those nine reasons, they did not eat it with gusto and full of greed for it, but ate it in a detached way, without lust and desire. When eating they did not leave aside what was attached to bone, sinew and skin, selecting only the choice, substantial pieces; but they ate just what came to their hands. They did not take their fill, gorging themselves, but they took only very little of it, just sufficient to sustain them for a day. They did not grudge or envy each other the food, but free from the stain of selfishness they ate it with a pure heart. They did not eat it with the illusion that it was deer”s meat or peacock”s meat, but they were well aware that it was the flesh of their beloved son. They did not eat it with longing, "Oh, may we again eat such flesh of our son!"; but they ate it without any such longing. They did not hoard a portion of it, thinking: "That much we shall eat in the desert, and the remainder we shall eat when we are out of the desert, adding to it salt and spices." But having reached the end of the desert and fearing that the town people would see it, they would have buried any remainder in the ground or burned it. They did not harbor any such pride and conceit as: "There is none like us who has the chance of eating such meat!"; but they rather ate it with quite the opposite of such pride (that is, with shame and humility). They did not eat it with disdain, "Oh that saltless, tasteless and evil-smelling thing!"; but they ate it without such disdain. They did…

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