佛說父母恩重經
The Sutra on the Profound Kindness of Parents
如是我聞。一時佛在王舍城耆闍崛山中。與大菩薩摩訶薩及聲眷屬俱。亦與比丘比丘尼優婆塞優婆夷。一切諸天人民及天龍鬼神。皆來集會。一心聽佛說法。瞻仰尊顏。目不暫捨。佛言。人生在世。父母為親。非父不生。非母不育。是以寄託母胎懷身十月。歲滿月充。母子俱顯生墮草上。父母養育。臥則蘭車。父母懷抱。和和弄聲。含笑未語。飢時須食。非母不哺。渴時須飲。非母不乳。母中飢時吞苦吐甘推乾就濕。非義不親。非母不養。慈母養兒。去離蘭車。十指甲中食子不淨。應各有八斛四㪷。計論母恩。昊天罔極。嗚呼慈母云何可報。阿難白佛言。世尊云何可報其恩。唯願說之。
Thus have I heard. At one time the Buddha was on Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa in Rājagṛha, together with a great assembly of Mahābodhisattvas and their retinues of disciples. Also present were bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, upāsikās, all the devas and humans, as well as dragons, spirits, and ghosts—all gathered together. With single-minded attention they listened to the Buddha’s teaching, gazing upon his venerable countenance without turning away.
The Buddha said: “When a person is born into this world, parents are the dearest. Without a father there is no birth; without a mother there is no nurturing. Therefore, relying on the mother’s womb, the body is carried for ten months. When the year is fulfilled and the months complete, mother and child together emerge, and the infant is laid upon the grass. The parents rear and nourish it: when it sleeps, a carriage is provided; the parents embrace it, soothing it with gentle sounds, smiling though it cannot yet speak. When hungry it needs food—none but the mother feeds it; when thirsty it needs drink—none but the mother nurses it. In her own hunger the mother swallows bitterness and offers sweetness; she takes the dry place and gives the damp. Without righteousness there is no closeness; without the mother there is no rearing.
A compassionate mother nurtures her child, leaving the carriage behind. From her ten fingernails she cleans away the child’s impurities, which would amount to eight hu and four dou. Considering a mother’s kindness, it is vast as the heavens, boundless and inexhaustible. Alas, how can such compassion ever be repaid?”
Ānanda addressed the Buddha, saying: “World-Honored One, how may such kindness be repaid? We earnestly pray you will explain this.”
佛告阿難。汝諦聽善思念之。吾當為汝分別解說。父母之恩昊天罔極。云何若有孝順慈孝之子。能為父母作福造經。或以七月十五日能造佛槃盂蘭盆。獻佛及僧得果無量。能報父母之恩。若復有人。書寫此經。流布世人。受持讀誦。當知此人報父母恩。父母云何可報。但父母至於行來。東西隣里井竈碓磨。不時還家。我兒家中啼哭。憶我即來還家。其兒遙見我來。或在蘭車。搖頭弄腦。或復曳腹隨行。嗚呼向母。母為其子曲身下就長。舒兩手拂拭塵土。嗚和其口開懷出乳。以乳與之。母見兒歡。兒見母喜。二情恩悲親愛。慈重莫復。二歲三歲弄意始行。於其食時非母不知父。母行來值他座席。或得餅肉。不噉輟味懷挾來歸。向其與子。十來九得恒常歡喜。一過不得憍啼佯哭。憍子不孝。必有五㰅。孝子不懷。必有慈順。遂至長大。朋友相隨。梳頭摩髮。欲得好衣。覆蓋身體。弊衣破故。父母自著新好綿帛。先與其子。至於行來。官私急疾。傾心南北。逐子東西。橫上其頭。既索妻婦得他子女。父母轉疏。私房屋室共相語樂。父母年高氣力衰老。終朝至暮不來借問。惑復父孤母寡。獨守空房。猶如客人。寄止他舍。常無恩愛。復無濡被寒。苦辛厄難遭之。甚年老色衰。多饒蟣虱。夙夜不臥。長呼歎息。何罪宿愆生此不孝之子。或時喚呼。瞋目驚怒。歸兒罵詈。低頭含笑。妻復不孝子。復五㰅夫妻和合同作五逆。彼時喚呼。急疾取使。十喚九違。盡不從順。罵詈瞋恚。不如早死。強在地上。父母聞之。悲哭懊惱。流淚雙下。啼哭目腫。汝初小時非吾不長。但吾生汝。不如本無。佛告阿難。若善男子善女人。能為父母受持讀誦書寫父母恩重大乘摩訶般若波羅蜜經一句一偈。一逕耳目者所有五逆重罪悉得消滅。永盡無餘。常得見佛聞法。速得解脫。阿難從座而起。偏袒右肩。長跪合掌。前白佛言。世尊此經云何名之。云何奉持。
The Buddha addressed Ānanda, “Listen attentively and reflect well. I shall now explain in detail for you. The kindness of parents is vast as the heavens, boundless and limitless. How then can a filial and compassionate child create merit for their parents, compose scriptures, or perhaps on the fifteenth day of the seventh month prepare the Ullambana offering of bowls for the Buddha and the Sangha, presenting it to the Buddha and the monks, thereby attaining immeasurable fruit and repaying the kindness of parents? If further there are those who copy this scripture, circulate it among people, uphold, recite, and study it, know that such persons repay their parents’ kindness.
How can parents’ kindness be repaid? When parents go out, east or west, to the neighbors, the well, the stove, the mortar and mill, and do not return home in time, their child weeps at home, longing for them, and they soon come back. The child sees them from afar, perhaps in a carriage, shaking its head and moving about, or dragging its belly along, calling out toward its mother. The mother bends down to the child, stretches out both hands to wipe away the dust, softly speaks to soothe it, opens her robe and offers her breast, giving milk to the child. The mother rejoices seeing the child; the child delights seeing the mother. The mutual affection, tender and profound, is beyond compare.
At two or three years old, the child begins to play and walk. At mealtime, it knows only its mother, not its father. When parents go out and happen upon another’s feast, if they obtain cakes or meat, they do not eat them but save the flavor, carrying them back to give to their child. Nine times out of ten they succeed, and there is constant joy; the one time they fail, the child cries and feigns weeping. A spoiled child grows unfilial, inevitably showing five faults. A filial child, without harboring such faults, is sure to be gentle and obedient.
As the child grows up, it joins with friends, combs its hair and smoothes it, desires fine clothes to cover its body. Worn and torn garments the parents wear themselves, while the newest and best silks and cloth they first give to their child. In their comings and goings, whether for public or private urgent matters, their hearts are wholly given, north and south, chasing after their child east and west, bearing it upon their shoulders.
When the child seeks a spouse and obtains another’s daughter or son, the parents become increasingly distant. In private rooms, the couple talks and enjoys themselves together. The parents grow old, their strength declines; from morning till night no one comes to inquire after them. Perhaps the father is left alone, the mother widowed, dwelling in empty rooms like guests lodging in another’s house, often without affection, without warm coverings, suffering cold, hardship, bitterness, and adversity. Encountering such difficulties, their aging appearance fades, they are plagued by lice, day and night they cannot sleep, long calling out and sighing: ‘What past wrongdoing, what karmic offense produced this unfilial child?’
Sometimes they call out, but the child glares in anger, startled and furious, returning to curse them, yet bowing its head and smiling at its spouse. The wife too is unfilial; the child again shows the five faults. Husband and wife in harmony together commit the five rebellious acts. When called upon then, urgently summoned and sent on errands, ten calls are met with nine refusals, entirely without compliance. They curse in wrath, saying, ‘Better you die early, stubbornly clinging to this earth.’ Hearing this, the parents weep in sorrow, distressed and anguished, tears streaming down, crying until their eyes are swollen: ‘When you were small, without us you would not have grown. But having borne you, it would have been better never to have done so.’
The Buddha told Ānanda, ‘If good sons and good daughters can, for the sake of their parents, uphold, recite, and copy the Mahāyāna Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra on the Great Kindness of Parents, even one phrase, one verse, once passing through their ears and eyes, then all grave offenses of the five rebellious acts will be completely eradicated, forever exhausted without remainder. They will constantly behold the Buddha, hear the Dharma, and swiftly attain liberation.’
Ānanda rose from his seat, bared his right shoulder, knelt on his right knee, joined his palms, and addressed the Buddha, saying, ‘World-Honored One, by what name is this scripture to be known, and how should it be upheld?’
佛告阿難。此經名父母恩重經。若有一切眾生。能為父母作福造經燒香請佛禮拜供養三寶。或飲食眾僧。當知是人能報父母其恩。帝釋梵王諸天人民一切眾生聞經歡喜。發菩薩心。㘁哭動地。淚下如雨五體投地。信受頂禮佛足。歡喜奉行。
The Buddha spoke to Ānanda, saying, "This scripture is named the Sutra on the Profound Kindness of Parents. If there are any beings who can create merit for their parents by copying scriptures, burning incense, inviting Buddhas, making prostrations, making offerings to the Three Jewels, or providing food and drink to the Sangha, you should know that such a person is able to repay the kindness of their parents. Śakra, Brahmā, the devas, humans, and all beings, hearing this sutra, rejoiced. They aroused the mind of a Bodhisattva. Wailing shook the earth, and tears fell like rain. They prostrated themselves with the five limbs touching the ground. With faith they received it, and with the crown of their heads they bowed at the Buddha's feet. Rejoicing, they undertook to practice accordingly.
佛說父母恩重經
The Sutra on the Profound Kindness of Parents