佛本行經卷第一(一名佛本行讚傳)
Buddha's Chronicle, Volume 1(Also known as the Buddha's Chronicle of Praise and Transmission)
宋涼州沙門釋寶雲譯
因緣品第一
今粗頒宣法， 慈心專聽受；
佛眾經要義， 聖師之言辭。
傳佛之典籍， 最利益於世；
受者蒙大慶， 潤及一切生。
普一切諸佛， 仙聖明王智；
慈心稱名者， 獲福不可量。
今故演吉祥， 憂苦永滅亡；
所至之方域， 莫不得安隱。
撿情專守心， 各各靜意聽；
其有奉持者， 雪除諸垢穢。
以清淨法水， 勤加浣濯心；
入滅度深池， 受色甚鮮明。
五欲猶奔馬， 普世隨之迷；
迴旋無出要， 勞欲所欺誤。
或馳於盲冥， 獨周旋五道；
以智慧之勒， 善御迴愚心。
當以無常策， 捶制情欲馬；
挫折饕餮意， 令志捨諛諂。
六欲江河流， 趣惡甚速疾；
當以智慧力， 設牢厚堤塘。
樂生死勤苦， 未曾得休息；
以無厭足意， 迷醉於五欲。
八種之湯藥， 和合甚神良；
順服甘露味， 迷醉尋醒悟。
三界眾生類， 倒見手所指；
顛倒於五道， 猶如拍毱跳。
垂脫盡苦際， 還復墮生死；
今聞聖明教， 宜息迷惑心。
慈悲之光明， 普照耀於世；
愚覩熱時焰， 癡心自迷惑。
生死猶廣澤， 孤麑迷於中；
宜服飲法乳， 除久飢虛渴。
眾生從久來， 為老死所吸；
不喜見良藥， 逆罵謗醫師。
醫合三十七， 雜藥神良膏；
宜以方便求， 勤服以除患。
塵勞之長夜， 眾生甚安眠；
宜辦甘露鼓， 寤令莫睡眠。
佛日出於世， 照曜法豐秋；
宜以智慧眼， 勤心普遍觀。
眾生心如水， 躁擾濁不明；
以法渟使清， 猶如秋時水。
眾生善御心， 定意不躁濁；
速疾得歸趣， 入于泥洹海。
種種變形體， 於生死長遠；
天人三惡趣， 地獄鬼畜生。
今宜捨嶮欺， 諂偽𫣅𠐞形；
入滅琉璃城， 合為一種色。
有王名阿育， 無憂厚國土；
能使怨憂恐， 歸附者喜敬。
普於此地立， 八萬四千塔；
天龍鬼神喜， 聲震於天下。
時金剛力士， 聞是震動聲；
佛法更盛明， 因是追念佛。
低頭拄頰悶， 惟佛在世時；
諸天有問曰： 「唯仁何為愁？」
諦視良久間， 然後乃長歎；
懷悲聲戰悵， 發言報之曰：
「佛天中天師， 施善教天人；
追憶佛聖尊， 是以愁悶耳！」
是諸天人等， 後生不見佛；
佛去世之後， 乃生於天上。
始聞佛名號， 衣毛皆起竪，
因以慈敬心， 問於金剛神：
「唯仁佛是誰？ 有何善妙德？
有何智慧力？ 有何律禁法？
其形貌何類？ 以何自嚴飾？
唯仁垂顧屈， 為吾等具說。」
以是光明言， 勸進金剛神；
發言猶花敷， 含笑和顏曰：
「所問深妙法， 難可倉卒說；
諸聖不能究， 獨我安能陳。
若能以手指， 舉拂世界地；
四海諸淵池， 一吸能令盡。
若能都渾吞， 鐵圍金剛山；
以蓮花根絲， 繫懸須彌山。
若欲圍纏裹， 窮盡虛空表；
若復欲計知， 十方眾生數。
是事猶易致， 學之或可得；
欲歎佛功德， 無能盡具者。
願承佛威神， 令意不謬誤；
能少少頒宣， 歎佛之德善。
今我之所說， 猶如鸚鵡言；
以歡悅仁等， 可專意諦聽。」
Now I will briefly proclaim the Dharma, Listen with kindness and focus your heart.
These are the core meanings of the Buddha's teachings, The words of the holy teacher.
The scriptures transmitted by the Buddha, Bring the greatest benefit to the world; Those who receive them gain great blessing, Moistening and benefiting all living beings.
All the Buddhas universally, Immortal sages, and wise enlightened kings— Those who call their name with compassion Gain blessings that cannot be measured.
Therefore I now proclaim auspiciousness, Sorrow and suffering will be forever destroyed; Wherever one goes, in every region, Nothing fails to attain peace and security.
Restrain your emotions and hold firmly to your mind, Each of you listen quietly with attention; Those who uphold and practice this Will wash away all defilements and stains.
With the pure water of Dharma, Diligently wash and cleanse the heart; Enter the deep pool of nirvana, And receive a color that is most vivid and bright.
The five desires are like galloping horses, The whole world follows them into confusion; They turn in circles with no way out, Deceived and misled by the cravings of toil.
Some race through blind darkness, Wandering alone through the five realms; With the reins of wisdom, Skillfully control and turn back the foolish mind.
Use the whip of impermanence, To beat and tame the horse of desire; Break the greedy and gluttonous intention, Causing the will to abandon flattery and deceit.
The rivers of the six desires flow, Rushing toward evil very swiftly; With the power of wisdom, Build a sturdy and thick embankment.
Delighting in birth-and-death and its toilsome suffering, They have never obtained rest; With a mind that never feels satisfied, They become drunk on the five desires.
The eight kinds of medicine, Mixed together, are most miraculous and good; If one obediently takes the nectar’s flavor, The drunkenness will soon clear away.
All beings of the three realms, Are like points of inverted vision; Upside-down in the five paths, Like balls bouncing and leaping.
Just as they are about to escape the end of suffering, They fall back into birth-and-death; Now that you have heard the holy and bright teaching, You should put aside your confused mind.
The light of compassion, Shines universally throughout the world; The foolish see heat shimmer as water, Their deluded minds are deceived.
Birth-and-death is like a vast marsh, A lone fawn is lost within it; You should drink the milk of the Dharma, To remove long-standing hunger and thirst.
Living beings from ancient times, Have been swallowed by old age and death; They dislike seeing good medicine, And instead curse and slander the physician.
The physician mixed the thirty-seven remedies, A divine and excellent medicinal ointment; You should seek it with skillful means, And diligently take it to remove affliction.
The long night of defilements, Has put beings sound asleep; You should prepare the drum of nectar, Wake them so they do not slumber.
The sun of the Buddha has risen in the world, Illuminating the abundant autumn of Dharma; You should use the eye of wisdom, And diligently observe all around.
The minds of beings are like water, Agitated, turbid, and unclear; With the Dharma, make it settle and clear, Like the water in autumn.
If beings skillfully control their minds, With steady attention, not agitated or turbid, They will quickly reach their goal, And enter the ocean of nirvana.
After all kinds of transformations of the body, Over the long course of birth-and-death, In the realms of gods, humans, and the three evil paths— Hell, ghosts, and animals—
Now you should abandon dangerous deceit, Flattery, falseness, and all distorted forms; Enter the city of lapis lazuli, And become unified in one single color.
There was a king named Asoka, Who enjoyed vast lands without sorrow; He could make enemies sorrowful and fearful, While those who submitted rejoiced with respect.
Throughout this land he erected Eighty-four thousand stupas; Heavenly dragons and spirits rejoiced, Their sound shook the heavens.
At that time, the Diamond Power One, Hearing this shaking sound, Saw the Buddha’s Dharma flourish even brighter, And because of this, recalled the Buddha.
He lowered his head, leaned on his cheek, and was distressed, Thinking only of when the Buddha was in the world; The gods asked him: “Good sir, why are you so sad?”
He gazed silently for a long while, Then finally let out a long sigh; With compassion in his voice and a trembling sorrow, He spoke and replied:
“The Buddha, the teacher of gods and humans, Taught goodness and guided the celestial and worldly beings; Recalling the Buddha, the holy and revered one, This is why I am sad and distressed!”
These gods and humans, Were later born without seeing the Buddha; They were born in heaven only after the Buddha’s passing.
When they first heard the name of the Buddha, The hairs on their bodies stood on end, And with compassionate and respectful hearts, They asked the Diamond Power One:
“Good sir, who is the Buddha? What are his good and wonderful qualities? What power of wisdom does he have? What precepts and laws does he hold?
What is his form and appearance like? How does he adorn himself? Good sir, please bend down, And explain to us in full.”
With these brilliant words, They encouraged the Diamond Power One; His speech opened like a blooming flower, Smiling kindly, he replied:
“The profound and wonderful Dharma you ask about, Cannot be quickly spoken in haste; Even the sages cannot fully fathom it, How could I alone express it all?
If one could with a single finger, Brush away all the earth in the world, Or with one sip drink dry All the oceans and deep pools of the four seas;
If one could swallow whole The Iron Ring Mountains and Vajra Mountains, Or with a lotus root’s single fiber, Hang Mount Sumeru like a pendant;
If one could wrap up and enfold, The entire expanse of empty space; If one could count and know, The number of all beings in the ten directions—
Such things would still be easy, One might learn and possibly achieve them; But to praise the Buddha’s virtues, No one can fully express them all.
By the Buddha’s majestic power, I wish That my intention may not be mistaken; Let me speak a little, Praising the Buddha’s virtues and goodness.
What I now say Is but like the speech of a parrot; To bring you joy, Focus your attention and listen carefully.”