佛說大藏正教血盆經
The Sutra of the Blood Bowl as Taught by the Buddha
爾時，目連尊者昔日往到羽州追陽縣，見一血盆池地獄，闊八萬四千由旬，池中有一百二十件事，鐵梁、鐵柱、鐵枷、鐵鎖。見南閻浮提女人許多，被頭散髮，長枷杻手，在地獄中受罪。獄卒鬼王一日三度將血勒教罪人喫，此時罪人不甘伏喫，遂被獄主將鐵棒打作呌聲。目連悲哀，問獄主：不見南閻浮提丈夫之人受此苦報，只見許多女人受其苦痛？獄主答師言：不干丈夫之事，只是女人產下血露，污觸地神。若穢污衣裳，將去溪河洗澤，水流污漫，誤諸善男女取水煎茶，供養諸聖，致令不淨。天大將軍劄下名字，附在善惡部中，候百年命終之後，受此苦報。目連悲哀，遂問獄主：將何報答產生阿娘之恩，出離血盆池地獄？獄主答師言：惟有小心孝順男女，敬重三寶，更為阿娘持血盆齋三年，仍結血盆勝會，請僧轉誦此經一藏，滿日懺散。便有般若船載過奈河江岸，看見血盆池中有五朵蓮華出現，罪人歡喜，心生慙愧，便得超生佛地。諸大菩薩及目連尊者啟告：來勸南閻浮提人信善男女，早覺修取，大辦前程，莫教失手，萬劫難復。佛告說女人血盆經：若有信心書寫受持，令得三世母親盡得生天，受諸快樂，衣食自然，長命富貴。爾時，天龍八部、人非人等，皆大歡喜，信受奉行，作禮而退。
At that time, the Venerable Maudgalyayana once traveled to the land of Yuzhou, to the county of Zhuiyang. There he saw a Blood-Bowl Pond Hell, spanning eighty-four thousand yojanas in breadth. Within the pond were one hundred and twenty kinds of torments: iron beams, iron pillars, iron cangues, and iron chains.
He saw many women from Jambudvīpa, with disheveled hair and bound hands by long cangues, suffering punishment in that hell. The demon jailers and ghost kings forced the sinners to drink blood three times a day. When the sinners refused to drink, the jailers would beat them with iron rods, making them cry out in agony.
Maudgalyayana, filled with sorrow, asked the jailer: "I do not see any men from Jambudvīpa suffering this bitter retribution. Why is it only these many women who endure such pain?"
The jailer answered the master: "It has nothing to do with men. It is solely because women, in childbirth, shed blood and filth, defiling the earth deities. If they then take soiled garments to wash in streams or rivers, the water flows polluted. Unwitting good men and women may fetch this water to boil tea for offering to the holy ones, resulting in impurity. The names of these women are recorded by the Great Heavenly General and entered into the Ledger of Good and Evil. Upon the end of their hundred-year lifespan, they must undergo this bitter retribution."
Maudgalyayana, deeply saddened, then asked the jailer: "How can one repay the kindness of one's birth mother and rescue her from this Blood-Bowl Pond Hell?"
The jailer answered the master: "Only by having devoted and filial sons and daughters, who revere the Three Jewels, and who furthermore observe the Blood-Bowl Fast on behalf of their mother for three years. They must also hold a Blood-Bowl Merit Assembly, inviting monks to recite this entire scripture. When the observance is completed and repentance made, a Prajñā boat will carry her across the River of No Liberation. She will then see five lotus blossoms appear in the Blood-Bowl Pond. The sinner will rejoice, a mind of shame will arise, and she will thereby attain rebirth in the Buddha-land."
All the great bodhisattvas and the Venerable Maudgalyayana proclaimed together, urging the people of Jambudvīpa, men and women of faith: "Awaken early and cultivate your path. Diligently prepare for the journey ahead. Do not let your grasp slip, for once lost in ten thousand kalpas, it is hard to recover."
The Buddha proclaimed the *Sūtra on the Blood-Bowl of Women*: "If anyone with faith copies, upholds, or receives this sutra, it will cause mothers for three generations to all be reborn in the heavens. There they will enjoy all happiness, with clothing, food, and necessities appearing spontaneously, and they will attain long life and prosperity."
At that time, the eight kinds of divine beings, dragons, humans, non-humans, and all others greatly rejoiced. Having faith, they received, upheld, and practiced these teachings. They made obeisance and withdrew.
佛說大藏正教血盆經
The Sutra of the Blood Bowl as Taught by the Buddha