佛說婦人遇辜經
The Buddha Speaks the Sutra on Women's Retribution
乞伏秦沙門聖堅譯
Translated by the Kucha Monk Sheng Jian
聞如是：
Thus have I heard:
一時，佛在舍衛國祇樹給孤獨精舍，與大比丘眾千二百五十人俱。
Once, the Buddha was staying in the Jeta Grove, in the Garden of the Benefactor of the Orphans and the Solitary, near the city of Shravasti. With him was a community of one thousand two hundred and fifty fully ordained monks.
時有一人無婦，往詣舍衛國，娶婦本國，自有兩子，大子七歲，次子孩抱，母復懷軀，欲向在產。天竺禮俗，婦人臨月，歸父母國。時夫婦乘車載二子，當詣舍衛，中路食息并牧牛。時有毒蛇，纏繞牛脚，牛遂離圈。其夫取牛，欲得嚴發，見牛為毒蛇所殺，蛇復捨牛，復纏夫殺。婦遙見之，怖懼戰慄，啼哭呼天，無救護者。日遂欲冥，去道不遠，有流河水，水碓有家居。婦迫日冥，懼為賊所劫，棄車將二子到水畔，留大子著水邊，抱小子渡水。適到水半，狼食其子，子叫呼母，母時還顧見子為狼所噉，驚惶怖懼，失抱中子，墮水隨流。母益懊惱，迷惑失志頓躓水中，墮所懷子。遂便渡水，問道行人：「我家父母為安隱不？」
Once there was a man who had no wife. He went to the country of Shravasti to marry, and his wife was from his own land. They had two sons: the elder was seven years old, and the younger was still a baby in arms. The mother was pregnant again and nearing childbirth.
According to the customs of India, when a woman was close to giving birth, she would return to her parents' home. So the husband and wife, riding in a carriage with their two sons, set out for Shravasti. Halfway there, they stopped to eat, rest, and let the cattle graze.
At that time, a venomous snake coiled around the ox's leg, and the ox broke free from its tether. The husband went to fetch the ox, wanting to hurry on their way, but found the ox had been killed by the snake. The snake then released the ox, coiled around the husband, and killed him too.
From a distance, the wife saw all this. She trembled with terror, wept and cried out to heaven, but there was no one to save her. As the sun began to set, she noticed that not far from the road flowed a river, and by the river stood a watermill with a house nearby. Fearing that bandits might attack her as night fell, she abandoned the carriage and led her two sons to the riverbank. She left the elder son on the shore and carried the younger son across the water.
Just as she reached the middle of the river, a wolf attacked and devoured her son. The child screamed for his mother, and she turned back to see her son being eaten by the wolf. Stricken with horror and panic, she lost hold of the baby in her arms, who fell into the water and was swept away by the current. Overwhelmed with grief and confusion, she stumbled and fell in the water, losing the child she carried in her womb.
Finally, she made it across the river and asked a traveler on the road, "Are my parents at home safe and well?"
行人答曰：「昨家失火，皆燒父母，悉盡無餘。」
The traveler replied, "Yesterday my house caught fire, and both my parents were burned—nothing was left."
又問行人：「我夫家姑妐為安隱不？」
Then she asked the traveler, "Are my husband's family and my in-laws safe and sound?"
行人答曰：「昨有劇賊傷害其家，姑妐皆死，無完在者。」
The traveler replied, "Yesterday a violent robber attacked their home, and the parents were all killed—no one survived."
其母聞之，愁憂怖懼，心迷意惑，不識東西，脫衣裸形，迷惑狂走。道中行人見，大怪之，謂得邪病，鬼神所嬈乎；或謂愁憂迷惑失志，或有唾賤捨避之走，或有憐傷愍念哀之。
When his mother heard this, she was overwhelmed with worry, fear, and dread. Her mind became confused and disoriented—she could no longer tell east from west. She threw off her clothes, wandered naked in a daze, and ran about frantically as if possessed. People on the road saw her and were greatly astonished, thinking she had fallen under some evil spell or been tormented by ghosts and spirits. Some said she was lost in grief and confusion, having lost her senses. Some spat at her in contempt and hurried away, while others, moved by pity and compassion, grieved for her.
時，佛在舍衛祇樹給孤獨精舍。時，婦馳走而往趣之，過祇樹園。爾時，世尊大會說法，四輩弟子、諸天龍神、十方一切皆悉聽經。諸佛之法，盲者見佛，皆得眼目，聾者得聽，啞者能言，疾病除愈，尫劣強健，被毒不行，心亂得定。
At that time, the Buddha was staying at the Jetavana Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s monastery in Śrāvastī. Meanwhile, a woman came running swiftly, passing through the Jetavana Grove. At that moment, the World-Honored One was giving a great teaching to an assembly, with disciples of the four groups, gods, dragons, and spirits, and all beings from the ten directions gathered to hear the Dharma. Such is the power of the Buddhas’ teachings: the blind who saw the Buddha regained their sight, the deaf regained their hearing, the mute found their voice, illnesses were cured, the frail and weak became strong, poison had no effect, and troubled minds found peace and concentration.
時婦見佛，意即得定，不復愁憂，自視裸形，慚愧伏地。佛呼阿難：「取衣與婦。」即時受教，則取衣與婦。著衣竟，稽首佛足，却坐一面。佛即說經，為現罪福：「人命無常，合會有別，生者有死，無生不終，一切本空，自作起滅，展轉五道，譬如車輪，已解本無，不復起分。」婦聞佛言，心開意解，即發無上正真道意，即時得立不退轉地，愁憂除愈，如日無雲。
When the woman saw the Buddha, her mind immediately became calm and concentrated. She stopped grieving and, realizing she was naked, felt ashamed and knelt down, covering herself. The Buddha called to Ananda, “Bring a robe for this woman.” Ananda obeyed and gave her a robe. After she had dressed, she bowed her head at the Buddha’s feet and sat to one side. The Buddha then taught her the Dharma, explaining the causes of fortune and misfortune: “Human life is impermanent; meetings must end in parting. All who are born must die, and nothing that is born escapes its end. Everything is fundamentally empty—arising and ceasing through our own actions. Life revolves through the five realms like a turning wheel. Once you see that all things are originally without substance, you will no longer create attachments.” Hearing the Buddha’s words, her mind opened and her understanding cleared. She instantly awakened the supreme, true intention and at once reached the stage of no retreat. Her sorrow was completely healed, like the sun shining through a cloudless sky.
佛說如是，四輩歡喜，諸天龍神，稽首而退。
The Buddha spoke thus, and the four assemblies rejoiced. The devas, dragons, and spirits paid their respects and withdrew.
佛說婦人遇辜經
The Buddha Speaks the Sutra on Women's Retribution