佛說四天王經
The Sutra of the Four Heavenly Kings Spoken by the Buddha
宋涼州沙門智嚴共寶雲譯
Translated by Zhiyan of Liangzhou and Baoyun
聞如是：
This is what I heard:
一時佛在舍衛國祇樹給孤獨園。
At one time, the Buddha was staying in the Jeta Grove of Anathapindika's Park, in the city of Shravasti.
佛告諸弟子：「慎爾心念，無愛六欲；漱情去垢，無求為首；內以清淨，外當盡孝；以四等心奉養所生；晨入尊廟，稽首悔過，朝稟暮誦，思經妙義；以佛重戒治心穢病；齋肅靜處，數息禪定；反流盡源，以求道真；壽命猶電，恍惚即滅。
The Buddha told his disciples: "Guard your thoughts carefully, do not cling to the six desires. Wash away attachments and impurities, making non-attachment your foremost practice. Within, maintain purity; without, fulfill filial duties. Serve your parents with a heart of boundless kindness. Each morning, enter the temple, bow, and repent your faults. Recite the scriptures morning and evening, contemplating their profound meaning. Use the Buddha's precepts to cure the sickness of the mind. In a quiet place of purity, practice mindful breathing and meditation. Turn back the flow to its source, seeking the true way. Life is like a flash of lightning—in a moment of distraction, it vanishes."
「齋日責心、慎身、守口，諸天齋日伺人善惡。須彌山上即第二忉利天，天帝名因，福德巍巍，典主四天。四天神王即因四鎮王也，各理一方，常以月八日遣使者下，案行天下，伺察帝王、臣民、龍鬼、蜎蜚、蚑行、蠕動之類心念、口言、身行善惡；十四日遣太子下；十五日四天王自下；二十三日使者復下；二十九日太子復下；三十日四王復自下。
On days of observance, one must examine the mind, guard the body, and watch the speech. On these days, the heavenly beings observe the good and evil deeds of humans. On Mount Sumeru, in the second heaven of the Thirty-Three, resides the Heavenly Emperor named Śakra, whose virtue and merit are vast and majestic. He governs the Four Heavenly Kings. These Four Heavenly Kings are the guardians of the four directions. Regularly, on the eighth day of each month, they send envoys down to inspect the world, observing the thoughts, words, and deeds—whether good or evil—of emperors, officials, common people, dragons, spirits, insects, and all living beings that move and crawl. On the fourteenth day, they send their crown princes down. On the fifteenth day, the Four Heavenly Kings themselves descend. On the twenty-third day, the envoys descend again. On the twenty-ninth day, the crown princes descend again. On the thirtieth day, the Four Heavenly Kings themselves descend once more.
「四王下者，日、月、五星、二十八宿，其中諸天僉然俱下。四王命曰：『勤伺眾生，施行吉凶。若於斯日歸佛、歸法、歸比丘僧；清心守齋，布施貧乏；持戒，忍辱，精進，禪定；翫經散說，開化盲冥；孝順二親，奉事三尊；稽首受法，行四等心，慈育眾生者，具分別之以啟帝釋。』若多修德，精進不怠，釋及輔臣三十三人，僉然俱喜。
The Four Heavenly Kings descend, accompanied by the sun, moon, five planets, and twenty-eight constellations, with all the celestial beings following them. The Four Kings command: "Diligently observe all living beings, noting their good and bad deeds. On this day, if they take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha; purify their minds and observe fasting; give to the poor; uphold precepts, practice patience, diligence, meditation; study and expound the scriptures, enlightening the ignorant; honor their parents, serve the Three Jewels; bow respectfully to receive the Dharma, and cultivate the four immeasurable minds, compassionately nurturing all beings—record these in detail and report them to Indra." If many cultivate virtue and practice diligently without laziness, Indra and his thirty-three ministers will all rejoice together.
「釋勅伺命，增壽益算；遣諸善神，營護其身。隨戒多少，若持一戒，令五神護之；五戒具者，令二十五神營衛門戶，殃疫、眾邪、陰謀消滅，夜無惡夢；縣官、盜賊、水火、災變終而不害；禳禍滅怪。唯斯四等、五戒、六齋猶如大水而滅小火，豈有不滅者乎？臨其壽終，迎其魂神上生天上七寶宮殿，無願不得。
The Buddha decreed to the spirits who oversee life and death: "Increase their lifespan and extend their years. Send forth all benevolent deities to protect their bodies. According to the number of precepts they uphold—if they observe one precept, let five deities guard them; if they fully uphold all five precepts, let twenty-five deities protect their homes and gateways. Calamities, plagues, evil spirits, and hidden schemes will all be dispelled. They will have no nightmares at night. Government officials, thieves, floods, fires, and disasters will ultimately cause them no harm. Misfortunes will be averted, and strange phenomena will vanish. These four offerings, five precepts, and six fasting days are like a great flood extinguishing a small flame—how could they not be extinguished? When their life approaches its end, welcome their souls to ascend to the heavens, to the palaces of the seven treasures, where no wish remains unfulfilled."
「若有不濟眾生之命、穢濁盜竊、婬犯他妻、兩舌惡罵、妄言綺語、厭禱呪詛、嫉妬恚癡、逆道不孝、違佛違法、謗比丘僧、善惡反論，有斯行者，四王以聞，帝釋及諸天僉然不悅，善神不復營護之，即令日月無光，星宿失度，風雨違時。
If one fails to save the lives of beings, engages in defiling theft, commits adultery, spreads discord with malicious speech, utters lies and frivolous talk, practices sorcery and curses, is consumed by jealousy, anger, and delusion, rebels against the way and is unfilial, opposes the Buddha and the Dharma, slanders the monastic community, and perversely argues against what is good and evil—for those who commit such acts, the Four Heavenly Kings will report them. Indra and all the devas will unanimously disapprove, and the benevolent spirits will cease to protect them. Then the sun and moon will lose their light, the stars will stray from their courses, and wind and rain will come at the wrong times.
「以現世人欲其改往修來，洗心齋肅；首過三尊，四等養親；忠于帝王，慈心諫諍；盡誠無欺，反前修來；捐穢濁之操，就清淨之道。
In this present life, people desire to reform their past ways and cultivate a better future, cleansing their minds and practicing reverence. They begin by confessing their faults before the Three Jewels, and with the Four Immeasurables, they honor their parents. They are loyal to the ruler, advise with compassion, act with utmost sincerity and without deceit, turning from their former ways to cultivate anew. They abandon impure habits and embrace the path of purity.
「若有改邪行就正真者，帝釋及四王靡不歡喜。日月即清明，星宿有常；風雨順時，毒氣消歇；天降甘露，地出澤泉；水穀滋味，食之少病；華色奕奕，壽命益長；生不更牢獄，死得上生天上。福德所願，自然飛行；存亡自在，項有日光；食自消化，無有便利之患；身中香潔，口氣苾芬。今日、月、星宿即諸天宮宅也！七寶殿堂懸處虛空，在意所志。壽終下生侯王之家，顏容煒燁，見者心歡，逢佛值法、賢聖，相連力行，不與罪會，必得泥洹。斯皆五戒十善、撿情執欲、六齋使然！
If there are those who turn from wrong to right and walk the true path, the Emperor of Heaven and the Four Heavenly Kings will all rejoice. The sun and moon will shine clear and bright, the stars and constellations will keep their proper course; winds and rains will come in due season, and poisonous vapors will disperse. Heaven will send down sweet dew, and the earth will bring forth springs of pure water; the flavors of food and grain will be wholesome, and eating them will bring little illness. Complexions will glow with health, and lifespans will grow longer. In life, they will not see the inside of a prison; after death, they will be reborn in the heavens. Through the power of their virtue, their wishes will be fulfilled naturally; they will move freely, whether in life or after death, with a halo of light around their heads. Their food will digest completely, without the trouble of waste; their bodies will be fragrant and pure, their breath sweet and fresh.
For them, the sun, moon, and stars become celestial palaces and dwellings! Jeweled halls of the seven treasures hang suspended in empty space, appearing wherever their minds wish. When their heavenly life ends, they will be reborn in the households of nobles and kings, with radiant faces that gladden all who see them. They will encounter the Buddha, meet the Dharma, and join the company of sages and saints. Striving diligently, they will not meet with wrongdoing, and are certain to attain Nirvana.
All this comes from observing the five precepts and ten wholesome deeds, restraining the passions and desires, and keeping the six fasting days!
「拘留秦佛時，人壽六萬歲，民性無為，護彼猶養己，平等無二。彼佛去世，正教衰薄；民無正行，以漸為惡。其壽日減，至于百歲。吾善逝後，民違佛教，無復孝子；伺命減算，壽日有減。天神不祐，凶疫、惡鬼日來侵害；災怪首尾，願與意違，非禍縱橫。生罹王法之囹圄，死入地獄、餓鬼、畜生。若出為人，必為下賤。善惡追身，猶如五穀，隨其所種，獲其果實；亦如夜書，火滅字存。身死名滅，殃福不朽。慎護爾心、攝身、守口，五戒、十善可從得道。吾今得佛，積行所致！」
During the time of Krakucchanda Buddha, people lived for sixty thousand years. Their nature was tranquil, they protected others as they would themselves, and they treated all with equality, without distinction. After that Buddha passed away, the true teachings declined and grew weak; people lost their proper conduct and gradually turned toward evil. Their lifespan began to decrease, eventually reaching one hundred years.
After my own passing, people will turn away from the Buddha's teachings, and filial piety will vanish. The reckoning of life will shorten, and lifespans will continue to decline. Celestial beings will no longer offer protection; plagues and malevolent spirits will come daily to bring harm. Disasters will arise one after another, wishes will go unfulfilled, and misfortune will spread unchecked.
In life, they will face imprisonment under royal law; after death, they will fall into hell, the realm of hungry ghosts, or the animal realm. If they are reborn as humans, they will surely be of low status. Good and evil follow a person just as crops follow the seeds that are sown—each reaps the fruit of what they planted. It is like writing by torchlight: when the flame goes out, the words remain. Though the body dies and the name fades, the consequences of actions—whether blessings or misfortunes—do not perish.
Therefore, guard your mind carefully, restrain your body, and watch your speech. By upholding the five precepts and the ten wholesome deeds, one may attain the Way. My attainment of Buddhahood today is the result of accumulated practice.
諸比丘聞經，皆大歡喜，稽首禮佛而去。
The monks, having heard the sutra, were filled with great joy. They bowed their heads in reverence to the Buddha and then departed.
佛說四天王經
The Sutra Spoken by the Buddha to the Four Heavenly Kings