三歸五戒慈心厭離功德經

Thus have I heard. At one time the Buddha was dwelling in the Garden of Jeṭa, the Park of Anāthapiṇḍada (Jeṭavaṇe’nāthapiṇḍadasyārāma), in the land of Śrāvastī (Śrāvastya).

For the Elder Anāthapiṇḍada (Anāthapiṇḍada: Sudatta, the Elder who Feeds the Helpless and Solitary), the Buddha said: “In the distant past, there was a Brahmacārin named Velāma who possessed a great abundance of wealth and precious treasures. When he gave them away in charity, he used eighty-four thousand bowls of gold filled with fragments of silver, and eighty-four thousand bowls of silver filled with fragments of gold.

Again, he used eighty-four thousand water-vessels (vessels for holding water to wash the hands and face) made of gold and silver. Again, he brought forty-eight thousand oxen, each with its horns covered over with gold and silver. Again, he brought eighty-four thousand maidens of jade, fully adorned.

Again, he brought eighty-four thousand sets of bedding (śayanāsana: also called furnishings, referring to beds and couches, mattresses and mats, curtains and canopies, pillows, and the like)

with all manner of colored silks spread over them. Again, he brought eighty-four thousand garments (everyday robes). Again, he brought eighty-four thousand elephants and horses, each fitted with saddles and bridles of gold and silver. Again, he gave eighty-four thousand dwellings in charity. Again, at the four gates of the city he gave charity, bestowing upon each person according to their wishes whatsoever they desired. Again, he gave a dwelling to the Saṃgha of the Four Quarters (Cāturdiśa: a dwelling reserved for the monks of the four directions).

Such merit from the giving of charity above does not equal that of receiving the Three Refuges. The reason for this is that the one who receives the Three Refuges bestows upon all sentient beings the gift of fearlessness. For this very reason, taking refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṃgha brings merit that cannot be calculated or measured.

Such merit from the giving of charity together with receiving the Three Refuges above still does not equal the merit of receiving the Five Precepts. For the one who receives the Five Precepts possesses merit complete in virtue, a merit surpassing and supreme.

Such merit from the giving of charity together with receiving the Three Refuges and the Five Precepts still does not equal the merit of a single snap of the fingers’ span of loving remembrance (the loving thought of caring for and helping) toward sentient beings.

Such merit from the giving of charity together with receiving the Three Refuges, the Five Precepts, and loving remembrance of sentient beings still does not equal the merit of giving rise to the contemplation that all worldly things are not to be delighted in. The reason for this is that the merit of giving rise to the contemplation that all worldly things are not to be delighted in is able to enable the practitioner to extinguish the suffering of birth and death, and at last to accomplish the Path of Buddhahood. Therefore this merit is the most supreme.”

At that time, when the Elder heard what the Buddha had spoken, he rejoiced and reverently put it into practice.

THE SŪTRA SPOKEN BY THE BUDDHA ON THE MERIT OF THE THREE REFUGES, THE FIVE PRECEPTS, LOVING-KINDNESS, AND RENUNCIATION End