佛說四未曾有法經
The Buddha Speaks the Sutra of Four Unprecedented Dharmas
西晉三藏竺法護譯
Translated by Dharmaraksha, Tripiṭaka Master of the Western Jin Dynasty
聞如是：
Thus have I heard:
一時，婆伽婆在舍衛城祇樹給孤獨園。爾時，世尊告諸比丘：「轉輪聖王有此四未曾有法。云何為四？於是，轉輪聖王為人民類皆悉愛念，未曾傷害，譬如父子；轉輪聖王亦復如是，愛敬人民未曾有瞋怒向之，譬如父有一子，是謂轉輪聖王初未曾有法。或復轉輪聖王遊人民間，見皆歡喜如子親父，是謂轉輪聖王二未曾有法。復次，轉輪聖王住不遊行，時人民類其有覩者皆得歡喜，彼轉輪聖王與人民說法，其有聞者皆悉歡喜，時人民聞轉輪聖王說法，無有厭足，是謂轉輪聖王三未曾有法。復次轉輪聖王，坐不遊行，時人民類其有覩者皆悉歡喜，彼轉輪聖王教勅人民，此事可為、此不可為，此可親、此不可親，若為此事者長夜獲福無窮極、若為此事長夜受苦亦無休息，彼人民類聞轉輪聖王如此教勅喜無厭足，是謂轉輪聖王有此未曾有法。
At one time, the Bhagavan was dwelling in Sāvatthī, in Jeta's Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika's Park. Then the World-Honored One addressed the monks: "The wheel-turning sage king possesses these four unprecedented qualities. What are the four? First, the wheel-turning sage king is loved by all his people, and he never harms them—like a father and his children. The wheel-turning sage king is likewise: he loves and respects his people and never shows anger toward them, like a father with an only child. This is the wheel-turning sage king's first unprecedented quality. Second, when the wheel-turning sage king travels among the people, all who see him are delighted, as a child is upon seeing its father. This is the wheel-turning sage king's second unprecedented quality. Third, when the wheel-turning sage king stays in one place without traveling, all among the people who see him become delighted. When the wheel-turning sage king teaches the Dharma to the people, all who hear it become delighted. When the people hear the wheel-turning sage king teach the Dharma, they never feel they have had enough. This is the wheel-turning sage king's third unprecedented quality. Fourth, when the wheel-turning sage king sits without traveling, all among the people who see him become delighted. The wheel-turning sage king instructs the people: 'This should be done; this should not be done. This should be embraced; this should not be embraced. If you do this, you will gain boundless merit through the long night. If you do this, you will suffer through the long night without rest.' When the people hear the wheel-turning sage king give such instruction, they are delighted without ever having enough. This is the wheel-turning sage king's possession of this unprecedented quality."
「如是，阿難比丘亦有四未曾有法。云何為四？於是，阿難比丘若至比丘眾中，諸比丘見皆悉歡喜，彼阿難比丘為說法，其聞法者皆悉歡喜，諸比丘聞阿難所說無厭足，是謂阿難比丘第一未曾有法。若阿難比丘默然至比丘尼眾中，其有見者皆悉歡喜，彼阿難比丘為說法，其聞法者皆得歡喜，時比丘尼眾，聞阿難說法不知厭足，是謂阿難比丘第二未曾有法。若復阿難默然至優婆塞處，時優婆塞見皆歡喜，彼阿難比丘為說法，時優婆塞眾聞阿難所說無有厭足，是謂阿難比丘第三未曾有法。復次阿難比丘默然至優婆夷眾中，彼眾見者皆悉歡喜，彼阿難比丘為說法，優婆夷聞者無有厭足，是謂阿難比丘四未曾有法。」爾時，諸比丘聞佛所說，歡喜奉行。
"Thus, the monk Ananda also has four extraordinary qualities. What are the four? When the monk Ananda approaches a gathering of monks, all the monks are delighted to see him. When he teaches them the Dharma, all who hear it are delighted. The monks never grow tired of hearing what Ananda teaches. This is the first extraordinary quality of the monk Ananda.
When Ananda silently approaches a gathering of nuns, all who see him are delighted. When he teaches them the Dharma, all who hear it are delighted. The nuns never grow tired of hearing Ananda teach. This is the second extraordinary quality of the monk Ananda.
When Ananda silently approaches the laymen, the laymen are all delighted to see him. When he teaches them the Dharma, the laymen never grow tired of hearing what Ananda teaches. This is the third extraordinary quality of the monk Ananda.
Furthermore, when Ananda silently approaches a gathering of laywomen, all who see him are delighted. When he teaches them the Dharma, the laywomen never grow tired of hearing it. This is the fourth extraordinary quality of the monk Ananda."
At that time, the monks, having heard what the Buddha said, joyfully put it into practice.
佛說四未曾有經
The Buddha Speaks the Sutra of Four Unprecedented Things
右一經，經名、譯主諸藏皆同，而國、宋兩本文義全同，始終唯說造塔功德，末雖結名未曾有法，然一經始末無四字之義，此丹本經，說轉輪聖王有四未曾有法，以喻阿難亦有四未曾有法。按《開元錄》「若」函中，有《四未曾有經》，云與《增一阿含．八難品》同本異譯。今撿之丹本，即是也；其國、宋本經，即前「毀」函中《未曾有經》，後漢失譯人名，出古舊錄者耳。意者宋藏於此「若」函中，失真《四未曾有經》，而得「毀」函中《未曾有經》，以為名脫四字，遂加四字重編於此，錯也。噫！此錯之失，凡有四焉：失真《四未曾有經》，一也；《未曾有經》一本重載，二也；又彼失譯而為法護譯，三也；彼是大乘而抑之編此小乘藏中，四也。故去宋經而取丹本，後賢欲知今所去經是何等者，請見「毀」函《未曾有經》，即是耳。
This sutra has the same title and translator attributed to it across all editions. However, the Guo edition and Song edition are completely identical in both wording and meaning, and from beginning to end they only discuss the merit of building stupas. At the end, though the title is concluded as "Never Before Has There Been," the entire sutra from start to finish contains nothing corresponding to the four characters of that title. The Dan edition, by contrast, teaches that a wheel-turning sage king possesses four unparalleled qualities, using this as an analogy that Ananda likewise possesses four unparalleled qualities. According to the Kaiyuan Catalog, in the "Ruo" fascicle there is a Four Unparalleled Qualities Sutra, which is described as a different translation of the same original text as the "Eight Difficulties" chapter of the Ekottara Agama. Examining the Dan edition now, it is precisely that text. The Guo and Song editions, on the other hand, are the Unparalleled Qualities Sutra found earlier in the "Hui" fascicle—a text from the Later Han period with no known translator, listed in the ancient catalog. Presumably, the Song edition in this "Ruo" fascicle lost the genuine Four Unparalleled Qualities Sutra but found the Unparalleled Qualities Sutra from the "Hui" fascicle, assumed the title had dropped the four characters, added them back, and recompiled it here. This was an error. Alas! This error has four consequences: the genuine Four Unparalleled Qualities Sutra was lost—that is the first. The Unparalleled Qualities Sutra is now redundantly included—that is the second. A text whose translator was unknown is now attributed to Dharmarakṣa—that is the third. And a Mahayana text has been demoted and placed in this Hinayana collection—that is the fourth. Therefore, I have removed the Song edition text and adopted the Dan edition. For those of later generations who wish to know what sutra has been removed here, please see the Unparalleled Qualities Sutra in the "Hui" fascicle—that is the one.