般泥洹後灌臘經

Thus have I truly heard: At one time, the Buddha was expounding the Dharma to the great assembly of bhikṣus, and to gods and humans, in the Jeta Grove, the Garden of Anāthapiṇḍika, in the country of Śrāvastī.

At that time, Ānanda knelt before the World-Honored One, joined his palms together, and said:

"World-Honored One! We have something we wish to ask; may the Buddha instruct us! Namely, after the Buddha enters parinirvāṇa, how should the four assemblies of disciples—bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, and upāsikās—perform the rite of bathing the Buddha on the fifteenth day of the seventh month?"

The Buddha told Ānanda:

"Bathing the Buddha on the day the rains-retreat ends is the making of merit, in the hope that beings may be liberated. Therefore let each person set aside a little of their wealth and spare some precious thing, in order to seek the merit that transcends the world. Furthermore, one should make offerings to the monastery, to be used for incense and lamps, for the repair of Buddha-images, and for the printing of sūtras.

If one makes offerings to the assembly of monks, or gives alms to the poor, then one should establish a vegetarian feast. One must not, having promised to give, afterward refuse to give it out; to act thus is to be in debt to the Buddha in this present life. Because it arises from one's own mouth and mind, one thereby commits the offense of false speech. Why is this so?

Because the Buddha set up the basin for the performance of the rite, blending five kinds of fragrant water into it, and then with one's own hands one bathes the Buddha, while the master who receives the offerings recites the prayers for this rite. At that time the gods, dragons, and spirits all bear witness and know: This person took the wealth of the five households, cut into the portion meant for the use of his wife and children, in order to seek merit and benefit, yet refused to give it out; therefore he incurs five offenses and falls into the three evil paths.

The five offenses: 1. His wealth dwindles away day by day; 2. He loses his joy; 3. He suffers disadvantage in his business; 4. He is interrogated and tortured with unbearable pain in the hell of Mount Tai; 5. In a future life he will be born as a slave, an ox, a horse, a mule, a donkey, a camel, or else as a pig or a goat.

The three evil paths: 1. He falls into the realm of hungry ghosts; 2. He falls among the species of beasts and animals; 3. He falls into the hells, passing through the eighteen levels therein, where his offenses cannot be reckoned or counted.

On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, one should bring to mind one's parents of seven generations, and one's kindred of five clans, who are falling into the evil paths and undergoing much suffering. For this reason, the Buddha taught the performance of this rite to make merit, so as to help them escape from those states of suffering and affliction; therefore it is called the Avalambana.

The Buddha is the king within the three realms; he does not eat or drink as worldly people do. Those offerings should all be distributed among the assembly of monks, and one should not keep them for oneself. If one keeps them for oneself, one commits a grave offense. If there is no assembly of monks to distribute them to, then one should give them as alms to the poor and suffering, the solitary, and the aged and infirm. This indeed is the planting of wholesome roots."

When the disciples had finished hearing the sūtra, they joyfully paid homage to the Buddha and then withdrew.