雙峯山曹侯溪寶林傳（殘卷）
The Baolin Biographies of Cao Hou Creek, Shuangfeng Mountain (Fragments)
（以上缺三紙）
(Three sheets are missing above.)
王子從德號能仁瞿曇之而改立梵語釋迦文唐言能仁者𠛴有利益諡之𠛴利王復案普曜經云佛初生𠛴利王家放大智之光明照十方之𠀍界地湧金蓮花自然捧足東西及南北各行於七步分手指天地作師子吼聲上下及四維無能尊我者後至昭王四十二年涒灘之歲二月八日太子年登十九欲求出家而自念言當復何遇即於四門游觀見四等事心有悲喜而作思惟此老病死終可猒離唯有迦葉波羅提佛末教弟子是真歸處既思念已而作是言我求於出家必應有所契父王大慈造必應聽許我尒時太子志求出家父王愛念而當不許是時父王勑諸伎樂悅樂太子太子不樂復於分子時有一天人名曰淨居於牎牖中义手白太子言出家當至時可去矣時可去矣太子聞此語已心生歡喜即念命車匿索馬四神捧足踰城而去尒時太子當自念言夫出家者心行哀慜具大慈悲當行敬順不損於物若不留一馬跡王必罪於門者即於城西北角留一馬跡知騰空而去尒時太子後往擅持山中修道此山有其五峯名字復各有異中心㝡高之者號曰彌樓寶山此山出其皓玉譯名那爛雪陀復名中象頭矣此山四面上各有一大峯南面名香山西面名檀特北面名班吒拏東面名茶那山中於
The prince changed his title from "Nengren" to "Gautama," and later established the Sanskrit name Shakyamuni. In Chinese, "Nengren" means "able to benefit." His posthumous title was "Prince of Benefit." Furthermore, according to the Sutra of Universal Radiance, when the Buddha was first born into the royal family of the Shakya clan, he emitted a great light of wisdom that illuminated the worlds in all ten directions. The earth surged forth with golden lotus flowers that naturally supported his feet. He walked seven steps in each of the four directions—east, west, south, and north. Pointing one hand to the sky and one hand to the earth, he let out a lion's roar, saying, "Throughout the heights and depths and the four quarters, there is no one who can surpass me."
Later, in the forty-second year of King Zhao's reign, in the year of the Water Monkey, on the eighth day of the second month, when the prince reached the age of nineteen and wished to leave home to seek the monastic life, he thought to himself, "What encounter should I seek?" So he went out through the four gates to observe the world, and saw four sights that stirred both sorrow and joy in his heart. He reflected, "Old age, sickness, and death can ultimately be renounced and transcended. Only the disciples of the Buddha, the last teachers of the lineage of Kashyapa and Bharati, are truly worthy of taking refuge in." Having pondered this, he said, "I seek to leave home, and surely there should be some sign. My father the king is greatly compassionate and will surely grant his permission."
At that time, the prince was determined to leave home, but his father the king, out of love and concern, would not permit it. Then the king ordered all manner of musicians and performers to delight the prince, but the prince took no pleasure in them. Later, at midnight, a celestial being named Pure Abode appeared at the window, joined his palms, and said to the prince, "The time has come for you to leave home. The time has come. You may go now. You may go now." When the prince heard these words, joy arose in his heart. He immediately called for Chandaka and asked for his horse, Kanthaka. Four spirits supported the horse's feet as he leaped over the city wall and departed.
Then the prince thought to himself, "One who leaves home should have a heart of compassion, embody great loving-kindness, and act with respect, never harming living beings. If I do not leave even a single hoofprint of my horse, the king will surely punish the gatekeeper." So at the northwest corner of the city wall, he left a single hoofprint, making it known that he had soared through the air and departed. Afterward, the prince went to practice the Way in the Shanzhi Mountains. This mountain had five peaks, each with a different name. The tallest one in the center was called Mount Sumeru, the Treasure Mountain. This mountain produces brilliant white jade. It is also called Nalanda, and also called Central Elephant Head. On each of the four sides of this mountain there was a great peak. The southern one was named Fragrant Mountain, the western one Dandaka, the northern one Panchala, and the eastern one Chana. Within the mountain...
（以下缺一紙半）
(One and a half sheets are missing below.)
身三者煞盜婬口四者兩舌惡口忘言綺語意三者嫉妒恚此十事不順聖道而名十惡太業若解悔之而歸至理十善行耳佛言人有眾過而不自悔頓息威容諸惡生已罪來赴身如水歸海自成深廣何能免離若人有惡自解知非改過得善罪自消滅如病得汗漸有痊損耳佛言愚人聞善者善之故惡來撓亂汝自禁息當無嗔責彼自惡者而惡之有人聞吾守道行大慈悲惡者來往故致罵佛佛默不對慜之癡冥罵止問曰子以禮從人其人不納禮歸子乎今子罵我我亦不納子自持禍歸子身矣猶響應聲影之追形終無免離慎勿為惡也
A person who commits the three bodily wrongs—killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct—the four verbal wrongs—divisive speech, harsh speech, false speech, and idle chatter—and the three mental wrongs—jealousy, hatred, and delusion—these ten actions go against the noble path and are called the ten unwholesome deeds, great karma. If one understands and repents of them, returning to the true principle, they become the practice of the ten wholesome deeds.
The Buddha said: "People may have many faults and yet not repent. If they abruptly halt their dignified conduct, once the wrongs have arisen, the resulting negative karma comes rushing upon them like water flowing into the sea, naturally becoming deep and vast. How could they escape?"
If people have done wrong and yet understand and recognize their mistake, correct their ways and cultivate goodness, the negative karma will naturally dissolve, like a sick person who sweats and gradually recovers.
The Buddha said: "When foolish people hear goodness spoken, they respond with goodness at first, but then evil comes to disturb them. If you restrain yourself and remain still, you should not blame others with anger. As for those who are themselves unwholesome and respond with evil—there was once a person who heard that I uphold the path and practice great compassion, and so came and reviled the Buddha. The Buddha remained silent and did not respond, pitying his delusion and blindness. When the reviling stopped, the Buddha asked: 'If you offer a gift of courtesy to someone and that person does not accept it, does the courtesy return to you?' 'Yes, it returns to me.' 'Now you have reviled me, and I also do not accept it. You yourself hold the misfortune, and it returns to your own body—just as an echo responds to a sound, or a shadow follows a form. In the end, there is no escape. Be careful not to do evil.'"
佛言惡人害賢者猶如仰天唾唾不至天公還從己身墯逆風揚惡不能汙上人賢者不可毀禍必降凶身
The Buddha said: When a wicked person harms a virtuous one, it is like spitting at the sky. The spit never reaches the sky; it falls back on the spitter. It is like throwing dust into the wind—it cannot soil the one above. The virtuous cannot be defamed; disaster will surely fall back upon the wicked themselves.
佛言夫人為博愛道必難會守志奉道其道甚大覩人施道助之歡喜重加福報人天善利
The Buddha said: "For a person, to broadly love the Path to Cessation is inevitably hard to meet with; to keep one's resolve and honor the Path — that Path is very great. Seeing others give to the Path, rejoicing and aiding them adds further blessings — the good benefit of humans and celestial beings."
佛言猶如炬火數千百輝洞見諸像道亦如之佛言飯惡人百不如飯一善人飯善人千不如飯一持五戒者飯持五戒者萬不如飯一須陀洹飯百萬須陀洹不如飯一斯陀含飯千萬斯陀含不如飯一阿那含飯一億阿那含不如飯一阿羅漢飯十億阿羅漢不如飯一辟支佛飯百億辟支佛不如飯一三𠀍諸佛飯千億三𠀍諸佛不如飯無念無住無修無證之者
The Buddha said: Just as a torch can have hundreds of thousands of rays of light that clearly reveal all forms, the Path is likewise.
The Buddha said: To feed one hundred wicked people is not as good as feeding one virtuous person. To feed one thousand virtuous people is not as good as feeding one person who upholds the Five Precepts. To feed ten thousand who uphold the Five Precepts is not as good as feeding one Stream-Enterer. To feed one million Stream-Enterers is not as good as feeding one Once-Returner. To feed ten million Once-Returners is not as good as feeding one Non-Returner. To feed one hundred million Non-Returners is not as good as feeding one Arhat. To feed one billion Arhats is not as good as feeding one Pratyekabuddha. To feed ten billion Pratyekabuddhas is not as good as feeding one Buddha of the three thousand great thousand worlds. To feed one hundred billion Buddhas of the three thousand great thousand worlds is not as good as feeding one who has no thought, no dwelling, no cultivation, and no realization.
佛言天下有二十難貧窮布施難豪貴學道難判命不死難得覩佛經難生值佛𠀍難忍色忍欲難見好不求難被辱不嗔難有勢不臨難觸事無心難廣學博究難除人滅我難不輕未學難心行平等難不說是非難會善知識難見性學道難覩境不動難善解方便難隨化度人難有一沙門問佛以何因緣得知宿命會其志道明見諸有佛言道無形相知之何益要當守志如摩鏡師精心用意而得塵盡垢去明存即自見形如覩諸有斷欲無求當得宿命有比丘問佛何者為善何者㝡大佛言行道守真者善志與道合者大有沙門問佛何者多力何者㝡明佛言忍辱多力不壞惡故兼加安健忍者無惡必為人尊欲㝡明者心垢除滅盡清淨無瑕穢未有天地逮于今日十方所有未甞不見無有不明無有不知無有不聞得一切智可謂明乎佛言人懷愛欲不見道者譬如濁水致力攪之眾共臨水上無能覩見形影者為愛欲交錯心中興濁故不見道若人漸解懺悔來近知識水澄穢除清淨無垢即自見性耳佛言夫為道者譬如持炬入冥室中其冥即滅而明猶存學道見諦無不明矣佛言吾法念無念念行無行行言無言言修無修修會者近尔迷者遠乎言語道斷非物所拘差之豪𣯛倐忽須臾佛言覩天地念非常覩𠀍界念非常覩靈覺即菩提如是心識得道疾矣佛言熟自念身中四大各自有名都為我故我既不起其如幻耳佛言人之隨情欲求聲名名之顯照身之故耳身雖故已而受諸惡名之顯己𠀍之常名而不學道抂用功勞譬如燒香雖人聞香香自燼矣危身之火悔之在後佛言財色於人人之不捨譬刀刃有蜜不足一食之飡小兒[尤-尢+舐]之有害舌之患也
The Buddha said: “There are twenty difficult things in the world. It is difficult to be generous when poor. It is difficult to study the Path when wealthy and noble. It is difficult to sacrifice one’s life and not die. It is difficult to encounter the Buddha’s scriptures. It is difficult to be born when a Buddha is in the world. It is difficult to endure beauty and restrain desire. It is difficult to see something desirable and not seek it. It is difficult to be insulted and not become angry. It is difficult to have power and not use it. It is difficult to meet circumstances with no mind. It is difficult to study widely and thoroughly investigate. It is difficult to eliminate others’ faults and one’s own. It is difficult not to slight the unlearned. It is difficult to practice with an impartial mind. It is difficult not to speak of others’ right and wrong. It is difficult to meet a good spiritual friend. It is difficult to see one’s own nature and study the Path. It is difficult to encounter circumstances and remain unmoved. It is difficult to skillfully understand expedient means. It is difficult to transform and save beings according to their capacities.”
A monk asked the Buddha: “By what causes and conditions can one know past lives and understand one’s purpose in the Path, clearly seeing all existences?” The Buddha said: “The Path has no form or mark. What benefit is there in knowing it? What matters is to hold to your purpose, like a mirror polisher who applies wholehearted attention. When the dust is gone and the grime removed, clarity remains, and one sees one’s own form. In the same way, seeing all existences, cutting off desire and seeking nothing, one will attain knowledge of past lives.”
A monk asked the Buddha: “What is good? What is greatest?” The Buddha said: “Practicing the Path and maintaining truth is good. Uniting one’s purpose with the Path is greatest.”
A monk asked the Buddha: “What has the most power? What is most illuminating?” The Buddha said: “Patience has the most power, for it does not destroy goodness; it brings peace and strength. One who is patient has no evil and will surely be honored by people. As for what is most illuminating: when the mind’s defilements are removed and utterly purified, without stain or impurity—from before heaven and earth came to be up to today, nothing in the ten directions has ever been unseen by such a one; nothing is unilluminated, nothing unknown, nothing unheard. To attain all-knowledge—can this not be called illumination?”
The Buddha said: “People who harbor craving and desire do not see the Path. It is like muddy water: if you stir it vigorously, and people all look into it, no one can see their own reflection. Because craving and desire are tangled, and the mind is stirred into muddiness, one does not see the Path. If a person gradually understands, repents, and draws near a good spiritual friend, the water clears, the filth is removed, and it becomes pure and undefiled—then one sees one’s own nature.”
The Buddha said: “Those who practice the Path are like someone carrying a torch into a dark room: the darkness immediately vanishes, and the light remains. When one studies the Path and sees the truth, there is nothing that is not illuminated.”
The Buddha said: “In my Dharma, one thinks without thinking, practices without practicing, speaks without speaking, cultivates without cultivating. Those who understand are close to it; those who are deluded are far from it. The path of words is cut off; it is not confined by things. A hair’s breadth of difference, and in an instant it is gone.”
The Buddha said: “Observe heaven and earth and reflect on impermanence. Observe the world and reflect on impermanence. Observe spiritual awareness, and that is Enlightenment. With such mind and consciousness, one attains the Path quickly.”
The Buddha said: “Carefully reflect on the four great elements within your body: each has its own name, yet all are taken as ‘I.’ Since ‘I’ does not arise, they are like an illusion.”
The Buddha said: “People follow their feelings and desires, seeking fame and reputation. Reputation shines outwardly, but it is only for the sake of the body. Though the body may later perish, one receives all kinds of evil. Reputation reveals oneself, but worldly fame is impermanent, and if one does not study the Path, one wastes one’s efforts. It is like burning incense: though people smell the fragrance, the incense itself is reduced to ashes. The fire that endangers the body—regret comes afterward.”
The Buddha said: “Wealth and beauty—people will not let them go. It is like honey on a knife’s edge: not enough for even a single meal. A child licks it and suffers harm to the tongue.”
佛言人繫於妻子士寶舍宅之患其甚牢獄牢獄有𢿱適之文妻子無合[ㄊ/鬼]之理情欲所愛於色豈憚驅驅雖有虎口之禍心存甘伏投泥自溺故曰凡夫透得此門出塵羅漢
The Buddha said: People are bound by their wives, children, and material possessions—this bondage is far worse than prison. In prison, there is at least the possibility of release, but there is no principle by which wives and children can be parted from. When desire is attached to sensual pleasures, who fears being driven along? Even with the calamity of a tiger's mouth before them, their heart is content and willingly submits, casting themselves into the mud and drowning. Therefore, it is said: ordinary beings—if you can pass through this gate, you become a transcendent Arhat free of worldly dust.
佛言愛欲莫同色若二同者孰為道人
The Buddha said: Do not equate craving with form. If the two were the same, who could be a practitioner of the Path?
佛言愛欲人猶如執炬逆風而行貪色興欲而有損乎不順天道而必燒手也天神獻玉女於佛欲以試佛觀佛道意而定遐邇佛𮧓囊眾穢尔來何為以可斯俗難動六情去吾不用汝天神踰敬內問道意佛為解說即得須陀洹果
The Buddha said: "Those who are caught up in craving and desire are like someone carrying a torch against the wind. They lust for beauty and stir up desire—how could this not bring harm? Going against the way of heaven, they will surely burn their hands."
A celestial being offered jade maidens to the Buddha, wishing to test him and to see how firmly his mind was set on the Path, and to determine whether he was near or far from it. The Buddha said: "Take this bag of filth away. What use do I have for it? These vulgar things cannot shake my six senses. Be gone—I have no use for you."
The celestial being, filled with even greater reverence, inwardly asked about the meaning of the Path. The Buddha explained it for him, and he immediately attained the fruit of Stream-Entry.
佛言夫為道者猶若木在於水尋流而行不觸兩岸不為人取不令鬼神所遮不為波浪所住亦不腐敗吾保其此木決定入海矣人為道者不為欲情所惑不為眾邪所撓精進無疑吾保此人得其道矣
The Buddha said: Those who walk the Path are like a log drifting in water, flowing along with the current, not touching either shore, not seized by people, not blocked by spirits or ghosts, not held back by waves, and not rotting away. I guarantee that this log will surely reach the ocean. Those who walk the Path, if not deluded by desires, not disturbed by various false views, and advancing with diligence and without doubt—I guarantee that such a person will attain the Path.
佛告學道者慎無信汝意意終不可信慎勿與色會色會即禍生當得阿羅漢乃不可信汝意
The Buddha told those who study the Path: Be careful not to trust your own mind—your mind ultimately cannot be trusted. Be careful not to come together with forms—coming together with forms immediately gives rise to misfortune. Only when you attain Arhatship should you no longer trust your mind.
佛告諸弟子慎勿視女人亦莫共言語身得無上乘視語都無污視色無色想對欲無欲意蓮花不著水清淨超於彼老者父母想中屬如親屬稚者如子孫幼者如兄姊妹一度一切眾見世得出世若依如是解無錢亦富貴
The Buddha told his disciples: Be careful not to gaze at women, and do not speak with them either. If your body attains the Supreme Vehicle, then seeing and speaking are both without defilement. Seeing form with no thought of form, facing desire with no mind for desire—like a lotus unstained by water, pure and surpassing all that. Regard the elderly as your parents, the middle-aged as your relatives, the young as your sons and daughters, the little ones as your brothers and sisters. Once you see all beings this way, you transcend the world. If you understand it like this, even without money you are rich and noble.
佛言人為道故當捨情欲如彼乾草火來須避道人見欲必當遠之佛言有人患婬不止踞斧刃上以自除其陰佛謂之曰若斷其陰不如斷心心為功曹若止功曹從者都息邪心不止斷陰何益斯須即死佛言世俗倒見不善吾理如此癡人殘形損質斷聖味故未可會道佛為偈曰欲生知汝意意以思想生二心各寂靜非色亦非行佛言此偈是迦葉佛說流在世間
The Buddha said: "People who follow the Path should let go of desires and passions, the way dry grass must be avoided when fire comes. Those who follow the Path, when they encounter desire, must keep well away from it."
The Buddha said: "There once was a person who could not stop his lust, so he sat on the blade of an axe to cut off his male organ. The Buddha told him: 'If you cut off the organ, it is not as good as cutting off the mind. The mind is the chief official; if you stop the chief official, all his followers will also come to rest. If the mind of desire does not stop, what good does cutting off the organ do? You will die in an instant.'"
The Buddha said: "Worldly people hold things upside down, do not understand goodness, and have no grasp of the truth. Such foolish people mutilate their bodies and cut away the sacred faculty of feeling, but they still cannot meet the Path."
The Buddha spoke this verse:
"Desire arises — I know your mind. The mind arises from thought and reflection. When both minds are still and quiet, it is neither form nor action."
The Buddha said: "This verse was spoken by Kashyapa Buddha and has flowed through the world."
佛言人從愛生愛從憂生憂從怖生若離於愛何憂何怖
The Buddha said: People give rise to love, and from love arises worry. From worry arises fear. If you let go of love, what worry is there? What fear?
佛言人為修道譬如一人與萬人戰挂鎧排兵出門欲戰意復怯弱畏生死魔乃自怕怖或半路而還或格[門@(亞*斤)]而死或得大勝負還國高遷若人能堅持其心精進勇銳不或前境滅盡陰魔不久得道矣
The Buddha said: People who cultivate the Path are like a single person fighting ten thousand enemies. Strapping on armor and arraying weapons, they go out to do battle, but their resolve weakens, they fear the demon of birth and death, and become frightened. Some turn back halfway; some are struck down and die on the field; others win a great victory and return home to high honors. If a person can firmly hold their resolve, advance with Diligence and courage, and not waver, the conditions before them will be completely exhausted, the demon of the aggregates will soon be gone, and they will attain the Path.
有沙門夜誦迦葉遺教經其聲悲緊欲悔思反佛勑問之汝處于家昔為何業對曰愛彈琴佛言絃緩如何對曰不鳴矣絃急如何對曰聲絕矣急緩得中如何對曰諸音普矣佛告沙門學道亦然心須調適道可得矣佛言夫人為道者猶如鍛鐵去𡱁成精器必好也學道之人先去垢染行自精細於道若暴暴即身疲其身若疲意即生惱其意生惱行即𨓤矣其行既𨓤罪必加矣但清淨安樂不失道矣
There was a monk who recited the Sutra of Mahakashyapa's Bequeathed Teaching at night. His voice was sorrowful and tense, and he was on the verge of regret and turning back. The Buddha asked him, "When you were a householder, what was your profession?" He replied, "I loved playing the lute." The Buddha said, "What happens when the strings are loose?" He replied, "They do not sound." "What happens when the strings are tight?" He replied, "The sound breaks off." "What happens when they are neither too tight nor too loose, but just right?" He replied, "Then all the notes ring out fully."
The Buddha told the monk, "Learning the Path is the same. The mind must be tuned just right, and then the Path can be attained."
The Buddha said, "A person who cultivates the Path is like a blacksmith forging iron: removing the dross makes a fine vessel — it is certain to be good. Those who learn the Path must first remove the stains of defilement and make their conduct refined. If they are too intense, the body becomes exhausted. Once the body is exhausted, the mind gives rise to affliction. Once the mind gives rise to affliction, the practice falls away. Once the practice has fallen away, wrongdoing is sure to follow. Only through purity and ease will one not lose the Path."
佛言夫人離三惡道得為人難既得為人去女即男難既得為男六情皃具難六情既具生中國難既處中國值諸佛難既值佛已遇道者難既遇道者興信心難既興信心發菩提難既發菩提無修證難
The Buddha said: It is rare for a woman to be free from the three lower realms and attain human birth. Having attained human birth, it is rare to become male. Having become male, it is rare to have all six senses complete. Having complete senses, it is rare to be born in a central land. Having been born in a central land, it is rare to encounter the Buddhas. Having encountered the Buddhas, it is rare to meet a teacher of the Path. Having met a teacher of the Path, it is rare to arouse faith. Having aroused faith, it is rare to bring forth the aspiration for Enlightenment. Having brought forth the aspiration for Enlightenment, it is rare to attain non-cultivation and non-attainment.
佛問諸沙門人命在幾間對曰在數日間佛言子未能為道復問一沙門人命在幾間對曰在飯食間佛言子未能為道復問一沙門人命在幾間對曰呼噏間佛言善哉善哉可謂道者矣
The Buddha asked one monk, "How long is a human life?" He replied, "A few days." The Buddha said, "You have not yet understood the Path." He asked another monk, "How long is a human life?" He replied, "The time it takes to eat a meal." The Buddha said, "You have not yet understood the Path." He asked yet another monk, "How long is a human life?" He replied, "The span of a single breath." The Buddha said, "Excellent, excellent! You may truly be called one who walks the Path."
佛言佛子去離吾數千里憶念吾戒必得道果在吾左右目常覩見心無思慕終不得道如不䟽敬仰及無懈怠即得聖位當坐道場佛言若有人得道猶如食蜜中邊皆甜吾經亦爾佛言為道人者佛所言說皆信順故能伏愛欲之根不起三業當行佛道示三昧果決得勝處佛言諸沙門行道當如磨牛無有休息身雖行道心道不行心道若行何用行道佛言吾視王候之位如過富客視金玉之寶如覩瓦礫視紈素之服如覩弊帛視大千界如一訶子視四耨水如塗足油視方便門如伐寶聚視無上乘如夢金日視求佛道如眼前花視求禪定如須彌柱視求涅槃如晝夕寤視倒正者如六龍舞視平等如真一地視興化者如四時木如上四十二章經至此土時當後漢第二主孝明帝永平七年乙丑之歲正月十五日夜夢金人身長丈六紫磨金色項有圓光赫奕如日來詣殿前帝乃驚異詔群臣問曰此為何瑞是何神人也時有通人蘇攸傅[(彖-(彖-豕)+(┐@一))*(口/又)]及扈多與蔡愔等對曰天竺有得道者號之曰佛不言而自信不治而不亂也巍巍乎獨出三界之外飛行自在無人能名焉此聖者滅後一千年外有教當被此土陛下所夢將必是乎帝乃上寤即遣羽林中郎秦景博士王遵等一十四人𨒦佛教至大月氏國躡遇摩騰笁法蘭二菩[薩-產+(辛/工)]僧以白褺畫釋迦像并四十二章經載以白馬及修多羅等教至永平十年戊辰之嵗十二月三十日摩騰達于雒陽明晨笁法蘭至自茲已降龕塔相望神人接踵道法流布處處崇立遠人伏化願為臣妾者不可稱數遂得國雒清休含靈該潤皆賴蒙恩聖澤代代不絕矣此經梵書一十九葉即竺法蘭飜會梵音覽者細披詳之而定參省也
The Buddha said: "A son of the Buddha may be thousands of miles away from me, but if he remembers and observes my precepts, he will surely attain the fruit of the Path. Though one may be at my side, constantly seeing me with his eyes, yet if his heart feels no longing or devotion, he will never attain the Path. But if one is reverent and free from laziness, he will attain the sacred rank and sit in the place of enlightenment."
The Buddha said: "If a person attains the Path, it is like eating honey—sweet from the middle to the edges. My teachings are likewise."
The Buddha said: "For those who practice the Path, because they have faith and compliance in all that the Buddha teaches, they can subdue the root of craving and desire, not give rise to the three kinds of karma, and walk the Buddha's Path, manifesting the fruit of samadhi and decidedly attaining the supreme state."
The Buddha said: "Monks practicing the Path should be like an ox turning a millstone—never resting. Though the body practices the Path, if the mind does not practice the Path, what use is practicing the Path? If the mind practices the Path, what need is there for [mere] practice of the Path?"
The Buddha said: "I look upon the rank of kings and nobles as passing guests. I look upon gold and jade treasures as seeing tiles and pebbles. I look upon fine silk garments as seeing worn-out cloth. I look upon the great thousandfold world as a single myrobalan fruit. I look upon the four oceans' water as oil for anointing the feet. I look upon skillful means as a heap of treasures. I look upon the Supreme Vehicle as a golden sun in a dream. I look upon seeking the Buddha's Path as a flower before the eyes. I look upon seeking meditation as a pillar of Mount Sumeru. I look upon seeking nirvana as awakening from a day's sleep. I look upon those who are upside-down as six dragons dancing. I look upon equality as the true single ground. I look upon those who promote transformation as trees of the four seasons."
When the above Sutra of Forty-Two Chapters came to this land, it was in the seventh year of Yongping, the yichou year, during the reign of Emperor Xiaoming, the second sovereign of the Later Han. On the night of the fifteenth day of the first month, he dreamed of a golden man, sixteen feet tall, of purplish burnished gold color, with a circular halo on his neck, radiant as the sun, who came to the front of the palace hall. The emperor was astonished and amazed, and questioned his ministers, saying: "What auspicious sign is this? What deity is this?" At that time there was a man of broad learning, Su You, along with Hu Duo and Cai Yin and others, who replied: "In Tianzhu there is one who has attained the Path, called the Buddha. Without speaking, he is naturally trusted; without governing, all is naturally ordered. Majestic indeed—he alone emerges beyond the three realms, flying freely, and no one can name him. A thousand years after this sage's passing, his teaching shall surely reach this land. What Your Majesty has dreamed must surely be he." The emperor then awoke, and immediately sent the imperial guard Zhonglang Qin Jing, the Erudite Wang Zun, and others—fourteen men in all—to journey west in search of the Buddha's teaching. In the country of Greater Yuezhi they encountered the two bodhisattva monks Moteng and Zhu Falan, and with white fine silk they painted the image of Shakyamuni, along with the Sutra of Forty-Two Chapters, and carried them on a white horse, together with the sutras and other teachings. They arrived in the tenth year of Yongping, the wuchen year. On the thirtieth day of the twelfth month, Moteng reached Luoyang, and the next morning Zhu Falan arrived. From that time onward, shrines and stupas stood in sight of one another, holy figures came one after another, the way and its teaching spread abroad, and everywhere they were revered and established. Countless were the distant peoples who submitted and were transformed, willing to become vassals. Thus the land of Luoyang enjoyed peace and prosperity, and all living beings were moistened and enriched. All relied on and received this grace; the sage's bounty continued unbroken through generation after generation. This sutra in Sanskrit is nineteen leaves. Zhu Falan translated and rendered the Sanskrit sounds. Let readers carefully peruse and examine it in detail, and thus determine and reflect upon it.
度眾付法章涅槃品第三
Chapter on Nirvana, Part 3: Converting Beings and Entrusting the Dharma
尒時世尊說此經已復度諸眾而為說法時阿難白佛請度波闍波提毗舍佉母等出家佛告阿難我正法住𠀍滿足千祀汝今請我度諸女人令我正法當滅五百佛告阿難波闍波提等能行八敬不波闍波提請為白𠀍尊聽我出家依佛教勑當行八敬阿難如上白佛佛告阿難及諸大眾夫女人出家能行八敬無有缺犯於我正法而得千載既受佛勑即令出家須臾女眾而出家者有千二百人俱合掌瞻佛而讚偈曰𠀍尊大慈造度我等出家女人五障身得遇佛解脫說此偈已生歡喜心佛放眉間白豪照于𢉰前諸菩[薩-產+(辛/工)]眾咸皆欣慶瞻仰尊顏而說偈曰金色兩足尊德大至無畏眉閒玉豪相能照於大千尒時如來說五乘法而能濟度一切眾生宣三解脫而救諸有道德高遠非十翼之所詮心行處滅覺觀莫能究其終始永絕名言之外非稱量讚詠者哉大之則無邊法界小之則本覺一心內則包乎六合外則無壃遐域故經云法廣大方啟而小域一心本覺苞乎大千濟拔有無潤澤含識故我牟尼從本原性海演大教化人靡不周徧廣而無大微而非小興事法則引諸子出於火宅談理教則非言像之內一統一乘性極八周洞明十界說法住𠀍四十九年開般若之妙門灌覺道於群友五天一化大備三明得六神通及八解脫每告弟子摩訶迦葉吾以清淨法眼涅槃妙心實相無相微妙正法將付於汝汝當護持并勑阿難副二傳化無令斷絕佛為迦葉重說偈言法本法無法無法法亦法今付無法時法法何曾法
At that time, after the World-Honored One had finished teaching this sutra, he again delivered numerous beings and taught the Dharma to them. Then Ananda addressed the Buddha, requesting permission for Mahaprajapati and Vishakha and others to go forth from home. The Buddha told Ananda, "My true Dharma would remain in the world for a full thousand years. Now you ask me to allow women to go forth, which will cause my true Dharma to decline by five hundred years."
The Buddha told Ananda, "Can Mahaprajapati and the others observe the Eight Reverent Precepts?" Mahaprajapati requested Ananda to speak on her behalf to the World-Honored One: "Please permit me to go forth. In accordance with the Buddha's teaching, I will observe the Eight Reverent Precepts." Ananda, as before, reported this to the Buddha. The Buddha told Ananda and the great assembly, "If women who go forth from home can observe the Eight Reverent Precepts without any breach, then my true Dharma will indeed remain for a thousand years." Having received the Buddha's command, they were immediately permitted to go forth.
The assembly of women who went forth numbered one thousand two hundred. Together they joined their palms, gazed at the Buddha, and spoke in verse:
"World-Honored One of Great Compassion, you have delivered us women who go forth, though our bodies bear the five obstacles. Having met the Buddha, we attain liberation."
After speaking this verse, they gave rise to joyful hearts. The Buddha emitted a white curly light from between his eyebrows, illuminating the entire assembly. All the Bodhisattvas and the assembled multitude rejoiced together, gazed up at the honored countenance, and spoke in verse:
"Golden-hued One, Honored Among Two-Legged Beings, your virtue is great, reaching to fearlessness. The jade-like curly mark between your eyebrows can illuminate the great thousandfold world."
At that time, the Tathagata taught the Five Vehicles Dharma and was able to save all living beings. He proclaimed the Three Liberations and rescued all beings in existence. His virtue is high and far-reaching, beyond what the ten wings can expound. The realm where mind and action cease, where perception and observation cannot fathom its beginning or end, forever cut off beyond words—how could it be praised or measured? In its greatness, it is boundless as the Dharma realm; in its smallness, it is the original enlightenment of one mind. Within, it encompasses the six directions; without, there are no boundaries or distant lands. Therefore the sutra says: the Dharma is vast and great, opening wide yet small as a single mind. Original enlightenment embraces the great thousandfold world, saving beings in existence and non-existence, moistening all sentient beings.
Thus I, the Muni, from the original nature-sea, unfold the great teaching, reaching all without exception. Vast yet not great, subtle yet not small. In engaging with phenomena, he leads the children out of the burning house. In discussing principle and teaching, it is not within words and images—unified into the One Vehicle, its nature perfectly complete in the eight directions, clearly penetrating the ten realms.
Teaching the Dharma in the world for forty-nine years, he opened the wondrous gate of Prajna, pouring the path of enlightenment upon the assembled friends. In the five days of one teaching, the great perfection was complete: the Three Knowledges, the Six Supernatural Powers, and the Eight Liberations.
Each time he addressed his disciple Mahakashyapa: "I entrust to you the pure Dharma-eye, the wondrous mind of Nirvana, the subtle and wondrous true Dharma of ultimate reality without marks. You should protect and uphold it." And he commanded Ananda to assist in the transmission of the teaching, not permitting it to be cut off.
The Buddha spoke again in verse for Mahakashyapa:
"The Dharma is fundamentally no Dharma, yet no-Dharma is also Dharma. When I entrust this no-Dharma, how can any Dharma be Dharma?"
尒時𠀍尊說此偈已復告迦葉吾將金縷僧伽梨衣轉付於汝傳授補處至五十七俱胝六十百千歲慈氏佛出𠀍勿令其朽壞尒時迦葉聞佛偈已頭面禮足頂出真光照二足尊如金山聚尒時迦葉躬諾歎曰善哉善哉願為勿慮我當依勑敬順佛故
At that time, after the World-Honored One spoke these verses, he again addressed Mahakashyapa: "I now entrust to you the golden-thread sandghati robe, to be passed on to the One Who Will Become the Buddha, until after fifty-seven kotis, sixty hundred thousand years, when Maitreya Buddha appears in the world. Do not let it decay."
At that time, Mahakashyapa, having heard the Buddha's verses, bowed his head to the ground in reverence at the Buddha's feet and sent forth true light from the crown of his head to the Two-Footed Honored One, like a mountain of gold.
At that time, Mahakashyapa personally assented, praising: "Excellent, excellent! Please have no concern. I will follow your command and, out of reverence for the Buddha, comply."
尒時𠀍尊至拘尸那城告諸大眾吾今背痛欲入涅槃即往熙連河側娑羅雙樹下右脇壘足泊然宴寂瞿那慟哭八部傷情再從棺起為母說法大地及日月時至皆歸盡未曾有一事不被無常吞假使妙高山刧盡皆𢿱壞譬如群宿鳥夜聚旦隨飛死去別親知怪離亦如是特現雙足化示婆耆并說無常以偈報曰諸行無常是生滅法生滅滅已寂滅為樂說此偈已放大光明照曜天地降下金身處涅槃樂時諸弟子即以香薪𥪰茶毗之此火燼後金棺如故尒時大眾即於佛前以偈讚曰凡俗諸猛熾何能致火𤑔請尊三昧火闍維金色身
At that time, the World-Honored One arrived at the city of Kushinagara and announced to the great assembly, "My back now aches. I wish to enter Nirvana." He then went to the bank of the Hiranyavati River, and beneath the twin sal trees, lying on his right side with his feet stacked together, he peacefully and calmly entered meditative stillness. Gudana wept bitterly, and the eight classes of beings were stricken with grief. Once more, he rose from his coffin to teach the Dharma for his mother. The earth, the sun, and the moon — when their time comes, all return to exhaustion. There has never been a single thing that was not swallowed by impermanence. Even the wondrous Mount Sumeru, when its kalpa ends, will entirely scatter and disintegrate. Like a flock of roosting birds that gather at night and scatter in flight at dawn — when the dead part from kin and loved ones, the pain of separation is just like this. He specially manifested his twin feet to convert and teach Vatsagotra, and further spoke on impermanence, replying in verse: "All compounded things are impermanent; this is the Dharma of arising and ceasing. When arising and ceasing are both ceased, that stillness is bliss." Having spoken this verse, he emitted a great radiance that illuminated the heavens and earth. His golden body descended to abide in the bliss of Nirvana. Then his disciples vied to cremate him with fragrant firewood, but after the flames had died down, the golden coffin remained as before. At that time, the great assembly, before the Buddha, spoke in verse in praise: "How could the fierce blaze of ordinary mortals ever kindle fire? We entreat the Honored One to use the fire of samadhi to cremate this golden body."
尒時金棺從座而舉高七多羅樹徃返空中化火三昧須臾食頃灰生四樹收得舍利八斛四斗帝釋告請而得一牙海神興伐天使而失盜牙而起寶塔以三十二相全身建八萬四千之窣堵自𠀍尊滅時即當此土周穆王五十二年壬申之歲二月十五日自𠀍尊滅度後一千一十七年方至此漢土即永平十年戊辰歲矣賴我皇王覇善國界永清遂得天人戴仰神龍恭敬矣
At that time, the golden casket rose from its seat and lifted up seven tāla trees in height, traveling back and forth through the air. Through the fire-samādhi, in the time it takes for a meal, ash was produced. From four trees, relics were collected—eight hu and four dou in measure. Indra requested and obtained one tooth. The sea deity launched an attack, and a heavenly envoy lost the stolen tooth. Then he built a jeweled stūpa. With the thirty-two major marks, a stūpa of eighty-four thousand was erected for the whole body. When the World-Honored One passed into cessation, it was in this land in the fifty-second year of King Mu of Zhou, the ren-shen year, on the fifteenth day of the second month. One thousand and seventeen years after the World-Honored One's passing into cessation, [the teaching] finally reached this land of Han—that is, the tenth year of Yongping, the wu-chen year. Relying on our emperor and king, who are good and support the realm of the nation, it has remained eternally pure, and thus both celestial beings and humans bow in reverence, and divine dragons pay respect.