佛藏經

Chapter Five: Purity of Precepts (Continued)

Furthermore, Shariputra, when precept-breaking bhikshus hear such sutras spoken by the Buddha, their minds are not pure, trusting, joyful, or delighted. Knowing themselves to be at fault, they doubt this sutra, thinking, “This is spoken about us, not about others.” Why is this? It is because such bhikshus are implicated in this matter.

Shariputra, toward such an incomparable, subtle, and supreme Dharma, precept-breaking bhikshus instead give rise to hostility, and for the most part they distrust those who teach the Dharma. When they hear such a sutra spoken by the Buddha, they reject it and refuse to accept it, saying, “This was not spoken by the Buddha; it is the instruction of someone else.” Why is this? Precept-breaking bhikshus do not delight in cultivating the Way. Bhikshus who cultivate the Way do not go against the Buddha’s teachings. These are all foolish precept-breakers who follow evil dharmas. Their state is called a mind devoid of faith that rejects the Buddha’s teachings.

Such bhikshus know themselves to be at fault, yet they merely give rise to hostility, arrogance, and violence. With evil minds, distorted by conceit, they slander the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. Shariputra, accordingly, when such bhikshus hear these sutras, they reject them and do not believe. Their minds do not comprehend equal and perfect bodhi, and they say, “This is someone else’s instruction, not the Buddha’s teaching.”

Shariputra, the Buddha declares that such persons are certainly slanderers of the Dharma. Because they slander the Dharma, they are neither shramanas nor sons of the Shakya clan. Such bhikshus should be entirely cast out. Even if hundreds of thousands of myriads of kotis of Buddhas of the three times were to appear, they could not cause those holding such wrong understanding to attain the fruit of the Way. Why is this? Shariputra, such evil persons create their own obstructions to the Way within this Dharma. Their lot in future births cannot be reversed, for they have no mind of faith. They delight only in food and clothing and greedily crave worldly offerings and gain. I say that these persons will certainly fall into hell.

Shariputra, I now tell you clearly: those who reject such a precious Dharma will forever have no share in favorable rebirths. They will be born only in evil states, perpetually blind and without eyes.

Shariputra, those bhikshus, fiercely arrogant, speak without certainty and destroy my true Dharma. Such persons are unable to sustain themselves, and so, for the sake of offerings and gain, they wantonly destroy my Dharma. Shariputra, at that time this precious Dharma will be completely ruined. Why is this? Such a precious Dharma is revered by all Buddhas, and is likewise revered by all pratyekabuddhas and arhats.

Precept-breaking bhikshus, whose lofty conceit continually increases, teach the Dharma without certainty. At that time the bhikshus will all slight my Dharma and abandon one another. For the most part they will think only of greed and stinginess and devote themselves to seeking the means of livelihood. Bound by their attachment to wealth and profit, they will be jealous and hateful. They will constantly delight in disputes, increasing resentment and enmity. They will neither respect nor obey one another. Devoid of dignified conduct, hot-tempered and contemptuous, they will resemble young monkeys. Having lost dignified conduct, they will perform all manner of evil deeds. They will lose the Dharma of the shramana and become far removed from the noble sages.

Shariputra, such evil persons are like flawed jewels kept concealed. Full of desires and demands, they will sustain themselves through wealth and gain. Knowing their minds, evil Mara will devise expedient means, making them extraordinarily clever so that together they bring about division. The Sangha Jewel, originally of a single flavor, will be divided into five divisions. Once these five divisions exist, disputes will certainly arise. They will support one another in deceit and speak erroneous words.

Shariputra, bhikshus at present guide and teach one another, cause one another to be respectful, and, united in mind, cultivate in accordance with the Buddha’s teachings. But the bhikshus of that time will neither guide nor respect one another. When they see someone committing evil, they will fearfully forsake him and depart. They will be unable to admonish one another according to the Dharma. Although some may be learned and possess profound wisdom, because of doubt and arrogance they will despise others. Using what they have attained, they will each establish their own circle. They will not be pleased even to see one another, much less accept one another’s instruction.

Shariputra, while the Tathagata is in the world, the Three Jewels are of one flavor. After my passing, they will be divided into five divisions.

Shariputra, evil Mara presently remains concealed in bodily form, contriving means to disrupt my Sangha and Dharma. Because the Tathagata, endowed with great wisdom, is still in the world, the vile and evil Mara cannot yet accomplish his great evil. In a future age, evil Mara will transform his body, assume the form of a shramana, enter the Sangha, and proclaim all manner of errors. He will cause many beings to adopt wrong views by teaching them false Dharma. These are called the matters of Mi-lau, Da-la, and Ca-lau; the matter of contention and division into five factions; the matter of contemplating cessation; the matter that all things exist; the matter that there is a self and its possessions; and the matter of attainment.

At that time, the teachings spoken by evil Mara will all be erroneous matters of greed and dependence. Such matters were not spoken by the Buddhas or the Buddha’s disciples. At that time evil persons, deluded by Mara, will firmly cling to the view of a self or to the view that it does not exist.

Shariputra, the Tathagata foresees that in a future age there will be such destruction of the Dharma. Therefore, he teaches this profound sutra, which cuts off all the grasping and dependencies of evil Mara.

Shariputra, at that time, throughout Jambudvipa, most people will be consumed by overweening pride. Having performed only a few wholesome deeds, they will immediately believe that they have attained the Way. After relinquishing their lives, they will fall into evil destinies. Why is this? Throughout the long night, such persons consider themselves to have attained the Way. They also proclaim by name that others have attained the Way, impersonating noble ones in order to receive offerings. Toward the devas and humans of the world, such persons are great evil thieves.

When such foolish persons hear the meaning of the true nature, which is devoid of characteristics, they become alarmed, doubtful, and terrified, as though they had fallen into a deep pit.

Shariputra, there will be bhikshus who delight in such affairs. Gathering together, they will destroy the equal and perfect bodhi of the Buddhas. At that time, persons of overweening pride will cling to numerous erroneous and biased views. Moreover, evil Mara will delude the minds of both monastics and householders, causing them to cling to false Dharma. Those who teach the true Dharma will be as few as commanders. They will certainly be scattered and destroyed, unable to restore and reestablish it.

Shariputra, at that time the young bhikshus in the world will mostly possess sharp faculties. Why is this? Those monastics who still have various afflictions will be reborn among human beings and immediately leave the household life once again. Those bhikshus will joyfully delight in difficult questions and investigate the meaning of the true nature of the Buddha-Dharma.

Shariputra, at that time persons of overweening pride, deluded by Mara and seeking only to preserve their livelihood, will in truth be ordinary worldlings who claim to be arhats. They will tell the young bhikshus:

“Wholesome bodily, verbal, and mental karma is the meaning of the true nature of the Buddha-Dharma. Carefully uphold the pure precepts, recite the sutras and Dharma teachings, cultivate diligently, and become learned. These are called the causes and conditions of conforming patience. A pure mind that has faith in the Buddha is the meaning of the true nature.

“You should keep your minds fixed upon conditioned objects and concentrate on nirvana, extinguishing the three kinds of suffering. You will then certainly be able to become disenchanted with and abandon the five skandhas and enter the twelve links of dependent origination and the eighteen dhatus.

“You should remain in a quiet place, contemplate this dark world, and enter the Dharma. Everything is subject to change. You should personally contemplate the various impurities of your bodies. If you can contemplate in this way, you will attain the fruit of stream-entry.

“Furthermore, with regard to those five skandhas and their associated dharmas, contemplate deeply that they are changing, suffering, empty, without self, and without any solid prison. You will certainly attain the fruit of once-returning. Continuing to contemplate them deeply, you will attain the fruit of non-returning and then arhatship. This is the meaning of the true nature.”

The young bhikshus will then ask, “Within the Buddha-Dharma, is the fruit of arhatship regarded as the meaning of the true nature? We also know this matter: attaining arhatship is the meaning of the true nature. Now, as for these five skandhas, do they arise from thought, or do they arise without thought?”

He replied: “Those five skandhas arise when they are recollected; when they are not recollected, they do not arise.”

He was asked again: “Are recollection and the five skandhas different from each other?”

He replied: “The five skandhas and recollection are likewise the same.”

He was asked again: “If the five skandhas and recollection are the same, how are the five skandhas recollected?”

He replied: “If there were no recollection of the five skandhas, there certainly would be no nirvana. A true person recollects the five skandhas. Therefore, that person cultivates the true Noble Eightfold Path and enters nirvana.”

Sariputra! In the future, most bhiksus will attain this forbearance.

Sariputra! At that time, within the assembly, many devas will wish to hear the meaning of the true nature of the Buddha’s Dharma. When they hear the words of arrogant members of the Sangha, doubts and regrets will arise in their minds, as though they had fallen into a deep pit. They will all think: “Alas! The Dharma of Sakyamuni Buddha will now soon perish.”

Sariputra! Among them will be bhiksus who have perfected roots of goodness. The foolish, hollow, aged, arrogant ones who are called bhiksus will posit characteristics of the five skandhas and the twelve links of dependent origination within the characteristics of the eighteen dhatus. Those bhiksus with roots of goodness will not accept such words; they will neither rejoice nor become elated, but will rise from their seats and depart.

Sariputra! At that time, the devas will be greatly delighted and will cry aloud in the four directions: “Sakyamuni Buddha still has good disciples here. The roots of goodness of these people are not meager. On hearing those words, they did not rejoice, for those teachings were said without purity. They are called views of self and views of persons.”

When the devas hear this, they will all be greatly delighted. They will extol and praise those of keen faculties, who delight in asking the most difficult questions and will certainly attain the forbearance of the non-arising of dharmas. Such people will gather in one place as fellow students. Yet they will be few in strength and will also be weak.

Sariputra! At that time, even the paternal clans of My true disciples will not cherish their words, much less make offerings to them or appoint them to preside over monasteries and stupas.

Sariputra! You should contemplate this. At that time, the Tathagata will remain gentle. After My nirvana, My disciples who have perfected wholesome serenity, though they have not yet attained forbearance, will nevertheless be disparaged. Because of this matter, throughout innumerable kalpas I have driven back hostile enemies and taught all kings of the heavenly realms and kings of the human world, causing their minds to become pure. For this reason, I have enabled My disciples to dwell securely in the position of a father.

Sariputra! Today the Tathagata calls all devas and humans throughout the world to bear witness. The Tathagata teaches the Dharma of equality, the Dharma through which He attained anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. No sramana, heavenly Mara, or being of the Brahma realm is able to teach this Dharma.

Sariputra! Such is the situation now. After the Tathagata passes away, My disciples will wish to transmit and widely disseminate this anuttara-samyak-sambodhi of Mine. Those evil people will be unable to bear witness to it, nor will they be able to grant freedom from fear.

Sariputra! It is like a jar of honey placed at a crossroads, concerning which it is said: “If anyone can eat even a hair-tip’s amount of it, that person will forever be free from aging and death.” At that time, devas and worldly people guard that jar of honey with swords and staffs. Those guards say: “If anyone eats even a hair-tip’s amount, we must kill that person.”

Sariputra! Among them is a person who secretly reflects: “If one eats even a hair-tip’s amount of the honey in that jar, one will certainly be free from aging and death. Why should I now cling to my life and dare not eat it? If I succeed in eating it, I will certainly no longer fear the guards and will forever be free from aging, sickness, and death.” Having thus resolved and no longer cherishing his life, he goes directly to the place where the jar of honey is kept. The guards take up their swords and staffs, competing with one another to kill him.

Sariputra! If that person can avoid being struck by the swords and staffs and eat a single drop of honey, he will certainly escape decline and affliction and will never again undergo aging or death.

So it is, Sariputra! There will be many evil people, Maras, and Mara’s followers who wish to destroy My Dharma. After the Tathagata passes away, if anyone can accord with the Dharma of emptiness and penetrate it without doubt, that person’s mind will certainly attain the aforementioned forbearance with regard to all dharmas. At that time, although evil people disparage that person and obstruct the Path, that person will not cherish body or life but will diligently practice with vigor. Penetrating the fact that all dharmas neither arise nor are fabricated, that person will certainly be liberated from birth, aging, sickness, and death.

Sariputra! The jar of honey signifies the true nature of the Buddha’s Dharma. The devas and worldly people who guard the jar are evil people who delight in carrying out Mara’s deeds. They themselves lose the great benefit and, by obstructing others from cultivating the signless, cause them also to lose the great benefit.

Sariputra! Arrogant people are all members of Mara’s retinue, helping to accomplish Mara’s work. Together they denounce and ridicule the Dharma of non-arising, causing it to disappear.”

Moreover, Śāriputra! To expound the Dharma impurely is to hold views of self, persons, and sentient beings; to hold views concerning the five skandhas, the twelve links of dependent origination, the twelve ayatanas, and the eighteen dhatus; to regard what has not been attained as attained; and, through conceptual calculation, to claim attainment of the Path and attainment of nirvana. All such things revile and mock the true Dharma. Why is this? Such persons, because of their craving and attachment, take refuge in emptiness. They are also demons deluded by Māra, using my true Dharma to perform the works of Māra.

Śāriputra! If householders or monastics hear that there is no self, no person, no sentient being, and that all dharmas are ultimately empty, yet become alarmed, doubtful, and afraid, you should know that they have received Māra’s instruction. Though bearing the appearance of bhikshus, they are thieves of the Dharma, possessing evil deportment. Such persons certainly hold views of self, sentient beings, existence, nonexistence, permanence, and annihilation. They are all subjects of Māra, not disciples of the Buddha. Why is this? In the sutras I have taught that everything in the world is empty: there is no self, no attainment of self, no person, and no sentient being. All is changing, indeterminate, and subject to destruction.

Such evil persons nevertheless read and recite this sutra together and expound it to others, while their minds remain greedy and attached, holding views of self and persons. Such foolish persons are called creators of the causes of suffering. They are called those who conceal and oppose the two adornments; those who cause disputes and disrupt the Sangha; those who defile the Dharma of the Path; the evil and turbid among śramanas; foul and filthy evildoers; those whose teaching consists only of words; counterfeit śramanas; paupers among śramanas; bearers of a heavy burden; deceivers of the Buddhas; and those who incur the offense of opposing the Path.

Śāriputra! Such persons are called great evil brigands who rebel against the Path; evil spiritual friends; breakers of the precepts; holders of wrong views; followers of heterodox paths; practitioners of falsehood; evil companions; murderous ghosts; lepers; foul and filthy ones; and scorching conflagrations. They are called flatterers and deceivers; those who fall into darkness; those who enter a dense forest; those who fall into the current of birth and death; those who mutually expose and encourage evil; hell beings; animals; hungry ghosts; asuras; and those who do not enter the Path.

They are called deceivers of others; those who praise themselves; practitioners of physiognomy and divination; loud clamorous shouters; those who seek gain through gain; those who defile other households; those constantly given to jesting; and those whose minds are distracted. They are called those harmed by greed; those harmed by hatred; those harmed by delusion; those who deceive people with pleasing countenances; abodes of decline and affliction; those who are not liberated; those bound by the cords of sorrow and affliction; and those who bear the appearance of śramanas but are not śramanas.

They are śramanas who turn toward evil, foul-smelling śramanas, and śramanas who are mere dregs. They are called difficult to satisfy; difficult to nurture and instruct; destroyers of dignified deportment; shameless ones; those whose heads are severed; those whose bodies are shattered; and those who wear kāṣāya robes around their necks. They are called those who enter darkness of their own accord; those of abundant craving; those of abundant hatred and anger; those of abundant delusion; those bound and obscured by the five hindrances; those who sink and drift; the illusory; the empty; and the deluded.

Śāriputra! Why are they called empty? Because they have lost the praise accorded by all Buddhas to good persons, they are called empty. Because they have lost all the virtues of a śramana and all the Dharma practices of a śramana, they are called empty. Why are they called illusory? Because they remain outside the noble Dharma, they are called illusory. Because they have departed from emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness, they are called illusory.

Śāriputra! Such evil persons can bring joy to Māra. Because of craving and attachment, they firmly grasp false and illusory dharmas.

Together with ordinary worldlings, they fully prepare the conditions of existence and associate with evil and sinful persons. They are unlike those who have attained patience in the Dharma. Of the Dharma practices and virtues of a śramana, they do not possess even one part in a hundred thousand myriad. Śāriputra!

For this reason they are called empty, false, and illusory. They crave and cling only to the profound benefits and advantages of the world. Though not śramanas, they call themselves śramanas.

Though unworthy of offerings, they accept offerings. They are called brigands who continually erect the banners of brigand chiefs. They are called those who freely murder and rob people.

Whatever food such persons obtain is all impure. Only those who dedicate themselves to the Path and attain its fruit can rightly digest offerings, but these persons have not attained this. Therefore, they are called eaters of impure food. Śāriputra! For this reason they are called empty, unreal, false, and illusory.

What do you think? Suppose a person kills living beings, steals, engages in sexual misconduct, speaks falsely, engages in divisive speech, harsh speech, and frivolous speech, is greedy and jealous, and holds wrong views. Does such a person, because he frequently kills living beings, take life without interruption?

“No, World-Honored One! A householder who kills does not take life without interruption. The time during which he kills is brief, while the time during which he does not kill is long.”

“Śāriputra! What do you think? If a person steals, is the time during which he steals longer, or the time during which he does not steal longer?”

“World-Honored One! The time during which he does not steal is longer.”

“Śāriputra! What do you think? If a person engages in sexual misconduct, is the time during which he engages in sexual misconduct longer, or the time during which he does not engage in sexual misconduct longer?”

“World-Honored One! The time during which he does not engage in sexual misconduct is longer. Likewise, although there are times when he speaks falsely, harshly, divisively, and frivolously, or when he is greedy, jealous, hateful, and angry, the time during which he is not hateful and angry is longer.”

“World-Honored One! The time during which he is not hateful and angry is longer.”

“Śāriputra! Among these ten unwholesome paths, which offense is the gravest?”

“World-Honored One! Among the ten unwholesome deeds, holding wrong views is the gravest offense. Why is this? World-Honored One! The mind of a person who holds wrong views constantly clings to defilement and is not pure.”

“Śāriputra! I now tell you this: Suppose that in a single day a person kills hundreds of thousands of myriads of millions of sentient beings; in a single day steals hundreds of thousands of myriads of millions in gold, silver, and precious objects; engages in sexual misconduct ceaselessly by night and day; and constantly deceives others with falsehood. His verbal karma is impure, without a single truthful word.

Through divisive speech he constantly destroys harmony and also assists others in causing division. Through harsh speech his mouth continually utters cruel and defiant words, without so much as a single gentle word. Through frivolous speech, when questioned about something that never existed, he employs a profusion of other words and speaks incoherently.

Being greedy and jealous, he gives rise to thoughts contrary to the Dharma regarding the possessions of others. Being hateful and angry, he gives rise to hatred and anger without cause or consequence, his mind filled with resentment. Holding wrong views, he delights in practicing a false path.

“Śāriputra! What do you think? If a person fully commits such unwholesome deeds, are his offenses numerous?”

“Extremely numerous, World-Honored One!”

“Śāriputra! I now tell you this: Even if a person fully committed these ten unwholesome offenses for one hundred years, should a bhikshu who has broken the precepts accept that person’s offerings for a single day and night, the bhikshu’s offense would be greater than all the foregoing. Why is this? The killer is known and recognized by many as an evil and base person. Everyone knows that he kills and takes life. He is known as a sinful, defiled, turbid, evil, and polluted person, unwholesome and devoid of virtue, whom worldly people shun.”

Moreover, Shariputra! Those who kill living beings most often take the lives of others. At times they give rise to aversion and hatred; knowing themselves to be in the wrong, they consequently receive the retribution of their offenses. Everyone knows them to be evil, devoid of precepts, defiled, turbid, and wicked. No one expects to gain merit from such persons, not even as much as one hundredth of a split hair, much less regards them as fields of merit worthy of offerings.

Moreover, Shariputra! Even the wives, children, and families of those who kill living beings know all this and do not respect them. They will not even offer them a seat, much less make offerings to them.

Those who kill living beings use their wealth to support themselves and to instruct and provide for their wives and children. At times they make offerings to shramanas and brahmins, and through the karmic retribution of doing so, they encounter sages and worthies. Bhikshus or bhikshunis teach them the Dharma of the Way and instruct them to abandon killing and relinquish their karma of killing.

Within the Buddha-Dharma, they are then able to leave the household life without obstruction. Having left the household life, they draw near to good spiritual friends and attain the fruit of a shramana. In the present life, such persons receive the lighter retribution of their offenses.

They encounter no obstruction on the Noble Path and are delivered from the three evil destinies.

Shariputra! Within my Dharma there are bhikshus who are not shramanas yet claim to be shramanas, and who do not practice the holy life yet claim to practice the holy life. They cut off their roots of goodness, obstruct entry into nirvana, delude others, and cause the Way to be lost.

They destroy the causes and conditions of the Way and ruin all wholesome dharmas. They perform the deeds of non-Buddhist paths, enter the evil destinies, and for the most part are wicked thieves. Their birth and reception of life are without benefit, and they are like dead men.

Their appearance is ruined and haggard, and they have lost proper deportment. Within my Dharma, they are called defiled. They are called thieves of the Dharma, people who oppose the Way, and servants dispatched by Mara.

They are like those sitting in a privy and like dead dogs. They possess the appearance and robes of shramanas, yet have none of the conduct of shramanas.

Shariputra! They are like one dwelling among a pride of wild lions; like a child under three years of age dwelling among the assembly of a wheel-turning sage king; like a small monkey dwelling among the devas; like a donkey dwelling among elephants; like a blind person dwelling among beings endowed with the divine eye; and like a bat dwelling among garuda birds.

Shariputra! When a bhikshu who has broken the precepts sits within my assembly, hundreds of thousands of myriads of millions of members of the great celestial assemblies see that bhikshu seated within the assembly. They all become deeply troubled and distressed, saying, “By what right does that wicked person remain among the pure? He belongs to Mara’s retinue. He wishes to hear the impartial Buddha-Way preached for the sake of ordinary people.”

There are also nagas, ghosts, and spirits who have faith in and delight in the Buddha-Dharma. They cry aloud to that wicked bhikshu, “Why does he conceal himself in this place? He is like a vicious horse among well-trained horses, abiding amid such foolishness. This man regards himself as one who neither knows nor sees his own condition. Concealing his wickedness here, he deceives the devas. He is counted among all those devas and humans, yet even the thieves who see him all laugh loudly together.”

Shariputra! Such a sinful and wicked bhikshu is recognized by those devas as a vicious thief. No different from an ordinary person, he nevertheless receives offerings, welcomes and escorts others, and accepts reverential bows, joined palms, and respect. This deceitful fool is like a corpse. Every robe he obtains is stolen property, and every morsel of food in his bowl has been stolen. Even if no one assists him, the smallest amount of water he receives has also been stolen.

Wherever a bhikshu who has broken the precepts goes—whether east, south, west, or north—he walks upon stolen ground. Why is this? All the deportment by which such a person practices the Dharma is merely false conduct obtained through theft and robbery. Whether walking, standing, sitting, lying down, coming, going, looking, or gazing; whether holding his body upright, keeping his six faculties composed, raising his head, wearing his robe, or carrying his bowl—here I have spoken only briefly of the karma of body, speech, and mind. Everything he does is the deed of a thief. If his hair is shaved, it is a thief who has shaved his hair. In essence, it is said that everything done by a bhikshu who has broken the precepts is performed by a thief.

Shariputra! For a vile and wicked bhikshu, even urinating, defecating, bathing, and washing his hands are the practices of a thief. Why is this? Shariputra! Everything within Jambudvipa belongs to kings and their great ministers, who possess subjects and retinues of both human and nonhuman beings. That wicked bhikshu dwelling among them is a thief.

Shariputra! Kings and great ministers expect no merit from wicked thieves. Such thieves do not claim to be impartial or to have attained a superior station. Yet a bhikshu who has broken the precepts wears the Dharma-robes of the Noble Ones, causing those people to expect that they will gain merit from him. Therefore, they obey his requests and permit him to remain in their lands. If they knew of his wickedness, they would not permit him even to spit upon the ground.

Therefore, Shariputra, every bodily movement and action of a vile and wicked bhikshu is the deed of a thief. He is called a habitual thief, a great thief, and a thief who has established himself as the leader of thieves. He attacks and harms all people in the world. Why is this? Because there is no evil deed he does not dare to commit. Therefore, Shariputra, that wicked bhikshu is a great thief to all devas and humans throughout the world.

Shariputra! If a person is a great thief to all devas and humans throughout the world, can he rightfully consume even a little water?”

“No, World-Honored One!”

“Shariputra! What do you think? Is that person not exceedingly wicked?”

“Indeed he is, World-Honored One!”

“Shariputra! A bhikshu who has broken the precepts commits grave offenses against all devas and humans throughout the world. For this reason, I speak this verse:

Shariputra! A bhikshu who has broken the precepts has no worthy physical bearing, no virtue, and no noble resolve. His body and mind burn with poisonous afflictions. He rejoices when he encounters evil dreams and does not delight in dwelling alone. When he is alone or travels by himself, he is certain to be afraid. Upon seeing a person whose precepts are pure, he avoids that person and turns away. His mind is fearful, and he feels ashamed; when they meet, he is not joyful. When receiving offerings, he is alarmed, suspicious, and afraid. His mind is continually unrestrained and filled with many distracting thoughts. He deeply covets wealth and profit and craves delicious food. After relinquishing his life, such a bhikshu will certainly enter hell.

Shariputra! This is called the seventh arrow of sorrow and affliction of a bhikshu who has broken the precepts: he will certainly enter hell.

Furthermore, Shariputra! A bhikshu who has broken the precepts delights in noisy places, speaks excessively, is distracted, and is prone to jealousy and envy. He befriends others who have broken the precepts.

He continually delights in disputes and in discussing the evil deeds arising from broken precepts. Taking joy and pleasure in them, he knows no shame. When confronted with profound sutras, his mind instead becomes doubtful and disbelieving.

Whenever he hears such sutras taught, he reacts in this way. Harboring doubts and opposing them, he argues and takes no pleasure in listening to or accepting them. He hopes to look about to the east and west; his mind is not attentive, and he covers his mouth with his hand while looking up into empty space.

Rising from his seat, he slanders the Buddha-Dharma, allows doubt and resentment to remain in his mind, and reviles the person teaching the Dharma. Through such deeds, he creates exceedingly evil causes and conditions. After relinquishing his life, he enters the depths of hell.

This is called the eighth arrow of sorrow of one who has broken the precepts: he will certainly enter hell.

Furthermore, a bhiksu who breaks the precepts delights only in honoring heterodox acaryas and praising their possessions. Seeking fame and gain, he claims to be a keeper of the precepts; because he relies on this for his livelihood and accepts commissions, he readily echoes them. He conforms and goes along with them, is deceitful and without shame, like a black crow.

Through circumstances involving the Sangha, he seeks abundant clothing. He gives free rein to his mouth in eating and drinking, making his body stout and swollen; shamelessly, he speaks incoherently. His hands and feet are coarse and feverish, and his complexion is haggard.

He delights in looking at women and does not assist men. Such an evil person is despised by everyone. Devas, nagas, ghosts, and spirits do not even mention his name in praise.

Even the Buddhas do not praise him. His temperament is hurried and impetuous, and he always delights in enmity, resentment, anger, and rancor. He abandons the affairs of the Sangha and forms alliances for the sake of power.

Sariputra! Such a precept-breaking bhiksu mostly seeks influence within the Sangha. He answers before being asked and constantly seeks to surpass others.

When he sees someone whose precepts are pure, he regards that person as deceitful. Those who diligently seek the Way do not accord with his doctrines. He delights in disputes over differences and joins in the commotion.

This is called the ninth arrow of anxiety and affliction of a precept-breaking bhiksu; he will certainly enter hell.

Furthermore, Sariputra! A precept-breaking bhiksu delights in other affairs and harbors such principles. When people contend, he takes delight in it.

He adorns the clothing upon his body and imitates the dignified deportment of others. He seeks fine bedding, material support, and bodily comfort, and craves the praise of others. He supports covetous bhiksus and is miserly regarding dwelling places.

He intimidates good bhiksus when he sees that they are about to surpass him. He hates those who keep the precepts and draws near to and assists those who break them. He constantly praises those who give alms.

He does not praise those who uphold the precepts, practice patience, vigor, meditation, and wisdom; nor does he praise tranquility, seclusion, and solitary places. He constantly delights in ridicule and criticism directed at those who keep the precepts. Nor does he mention by name and praise those who practice the dhutas; instead, he may criticize their conduct.

He may speak maliciously and increase calamities, or fabricate things and speak recklessly. Relying upon his lineage, he constantly inquires about family connections. Because of slight causes and conditions, and out of greed when expounding the Dharma, he constantly harbors devious thoughts, alarm, fear, and doubt.

Over a long period he accumulates much hatred and evil while benefiting the base; toward those who keep the precepts, he constantly delights in speaking mockingly. He does not wish to draw near to those who speak honest words. His mind takes no delight in hearing sutras such as these, nor in those who delight in preserving, reading, and reciting such sutras.

When he sees those whose minds rejoice upon hearing that sutra taught, he is likewise displeased. Moreover, when he hears the Dharma of precept observance praised, he does not rejoice, and he says that such sutras are not worth attending and receiving. If he does come to hear and receive them, he immediately turns back after only a moment.

For the most part, he befriends worldly people. He constantly delights in disputing and speaking about bhiksus who keep the precepts, and, acting without restraint, he scorns them and behaves violently and wickedly. Sariputra!

This is called the tenth arrow of anxiety and affliction of a precept-breaking bhiksu; he will certainly fall into the evil destinies. Sariputra! After I pass away, people such as these will fill Jambudvipa.

They will devote themselves solely to seeking gain for their livelihood.

Chapter Six of the Buddha Treasury Sutra: The Purity of the Dharma

The Buddha told Sariputra: In the past, Kasyapa Buddha bestowed a prediction upon me, saying: “Because Sakyamuni Buddha will receive many offerings and provisions, his Dharma will rapidly perish.” Sariputra! Indeed, because my Dharma receives many offerings and provisions, it will rapidly disappear in the future. Sariputra!

It is like a poor person who obtains a great treasure and is certain to rejoice greatly. So it is, Sariputra! In a future age, many bhiksus will draw near to worldly people and accept their offerings and provisions.

Gradually, they will learn pettiness and become preoccupied with trivial matters. Their minds will then rejoice and delight in this, just as a poor person delights upon obtaining a great treasure. Such fools prize material benefits and worldly pleasures and serve others for their sake.

If they see a bhiksu receiving offerings and provisions from many people, their minds immediately regard him as an arhat. If they see one with few acquaintances, they immediately deem him an evil person. Such bhiksus, because of material support, lose the Buddha’s Way of equality.

Following after pleasures, they immediately engage in such affairs. Sariputra! For the sake of those fools, the Tathagata now teaches various sutras such as this.

Why is that? Upon hearing this sutra taught, a precept-breaking bhiksu may give rise to remorse and return to keeping the precepts, no longer being a great thief who accepts their offerings and provisions. Sariputra!

If a bhiksu hears this sutra but his mind is not purified and he neither rejoices nor delights in it, he is certainly called a vile and evil bhiksu. Why is that? Sariputra!

A bhiksu whose precepts are pure delights in every Dharma teaching. Whether generosity is taught, or observance of the precepts, or patience; whether vigor is taught, or meditation, or wisdom; even when such fearsome sutra teachings are expounded, his mind delights in them all. Sariputra!

There are three kinds of people whose minds are certain to become anxious and afflicted upon hearing this sutra taught. What are the three? The first is a precept-breaking bhiksu; the second is a person of overweening pride; and the third is one who expounds the Dharma impurely.

There are also three kinds of people whose minds are certain to become anxious and afflicted upon hearing a sutra such as this. What are the three? The first holds the view of a person; the second holds the view of a life; and the third holds the view of a self.

Sariputra! I now tell you clearly: Like a good spiritual friend, with a mind of loving-kindness and compassion, I take pity on those who seek benefit, happiness, and peace. Listen single-mindedly to and accept my teaching; constantly seek wholesome benefit, and do not let your minds become heedless.

Sariputra! One who expounds the Dharma impurely has five faults. What are the five?

First, he himself claims to know all the Buddha’s Dharma. Second, when teaching the sutras, he errs by going beyond the scope of the sutras. Third, his mind doubts and disbelieves the Dharmas.

Fourth, he employs his own understanding, which is not found in the sutras, as another doctrine. Fifth, he expounds the Dharma to others for the sake of material support. Sariputra!

Of one who expounds the Dharma in this manner, I say that this person will fall into hell and will not reach nirvana.

Moreover, Śāriputra! When a bhikṣu expounds the Dharma before the great assembly, one who has faith in and delights in the Dharma is invited to take the high seat. Yet he abandons the true Dharma of the Buddha and instead teaches doctrines of non-Buddhist paths, adorning them with embellished and ornate phrases. The precious Dharma that I sought and attained through long and arduous diligence—this evil person does not teach it, but casts it aside. He merely follows the verbal meanings of the sutras, contradicting himself and failing to accord with the true Dharma. Within the noble Dharma, his mind is proud and arrogant, and he speaks as he pleases in pursuit of gain and support.

Śāriputra! If a bhikṣu expounds the Dharma while mixing it with the doctrines of non-Buddhist paths, those good people who diligently seek the Way should abandon that place and depart. Why is this? Śāriputra! If faithful laypeople have prepared a high seat, one should not expound from it the doctrines and expressions of non-Buddhist paths. Anyone who does not depart is not a good bhikṣu, nor can he be called one who follows the Buddha’s teaching.

Śāriputra! Expounding the Dharma is truly difficult. Of one who speaks in this manner, I say that he is a follower of a non-Buddhist path, a disciple of the path of wrong views, and not a disciple of the Buddha. After relinquishing his life, that expounder of Dharma will be reborn as a disciple of the path of wrong views.

What is the path of the Nirgranthas? Wrong view is the path of the Nirgranthas. What is wrong view? It is what is called the realms of hell beings, animals, and hungry ghosts. Why is this? Śāriputra! Although he has not personally realized the Dharma, he sits upon the high seat; although he himself does not yet know, he instructs others. He will certainly fall into hell.

Śāriputra! The Tathagata fully knows such causes and effects. My disciples, through various Dharma approaches, various doctrines of cause and effect, and various views, will destroy my true Dharma.

Śāriputra! If there are sentient beings who hear such a sutra teaching the empty meaning of true reality, in which no dharma can be apprehended, and their hearts rejoice, you should know that they are my true disciples.

Śāriputra! In former times, five hundred blind men were traveling along a road. They arrived at a great city and were extremely hungry and thirsty. They told one blind man to remain outside and guard their belongings, while the others entered the city to seek food by begging.

Before long, a swindler came to the one guarding the belongings and said, “Good sir! Why are you standing here alone?”

He replied, “I have many companions who have entered the city to beg for food.”

The swindler said, “Do you not know? At that place there is a great distribution of alms—clothing, food, jeweled necklaces, flowers, incense, and all kinds of articles. You may obtain whatever you wish. If you desire, I will go there with you.”

He replied, “Very well.”

The swindler quickly led the blind man away from his original place and stole all their belongings.

When the blind men had finished begging, they returned. The swindler then said to them, “Did you encounter the great almsgiving assembly?”

They replied, “We did not.”

The swindler said, “You may leave your belongings here. I will take you to the great almsgiving assembly.”

The blind men gathered all their possessions together in one place and followed the swindler. The swindler led all five hundred blind men toward a deep pit and said, “The ground here is very level and beautiful, and a great almsgiving assembly is being held here. Each of you may turn and proceed eastward to receive the gifts they are distributing.”

They immediately fell together into the pit and died.

Śāriputra! In the future, bhikṣus will delight in reading the scriptures of non-Buddhist paths. When they ought to expound the Dharma, they will polish and embellish their phrases so as to delight sentient beings. At that time, Māra the Evil One will assist them in deluding people and obstructing wholesome Dharma. If any are greedily attached to sounds, words, and deceptive rhetoric, or if there are those who delight in reading the scriptures of non-Buddhist paths, Māra will delude them all and make their minds feel secure. If there are bhikṣus studying the Buddha-Dharma, he will cause doubts to arise in them and induce all sentient beings no longer to make offerings to them.

If a bhikṣu has read only two or three Buddhist sutras, Māra will then cause him to seek the scriptures and teachings of non-Buddhist paths. After first examining them himself, he will praise them, saying that they are excellent. Such people, deluded by Māra and their wisdom obscured, become deeply greedy for gain and support and study non-Buddhist writings. They are like the group of blind men deceived by the swindler, who caused them all to fall into the deep pit and die.

Śāriputra! Those born blind represent the bhikṣus who abandon the impartial Way of the Buddha to seek the scriptures of non-Buddhist paths. The swindler represents Māra the Evil One, and the deep pit represents the wrong path.

Śāriputra! Just as the group of blind men abandoned the possessions they had obtained, wishing to reach the place of great almsgiving, but instead fell into the deep pit, so too are my disciples. They abandon coarse clothing and food and pursue great donations, seeking finer offerings and support. Because of worldly gain and support, they lose great wisdom and fall into the deep pit of the Avīci Hell.

Moreover, Śāriputra! An impure expounder of the Dharma does not understand the Tathagata’s intentions and skillful adaptation to circumstances. Though he himself does not clearly understand, he teaches others. In the present life, such a person incurs five faults. Others do not know them; only a bhikṣu who possesses knowledge of the heavenly realms and knows the devas can discern them.

What are the five?

1. When expounding the Dharma, his mind is anxious and fearful, dreading those who surpass him.
2. Inwardly he is anxious and fearful, yet outwardly he teaches others.
3. That ordinary person possesses no genuine wisdom.
4. His exposition is impure and consists only of words.
5. His exposition has no proper sequence but is copied and patched together from various places.

For these reasons, among sentient beings his mind is anxious and fearful. As an ordinary person without wisdom, his mind is irresolute. Merely through conceit and minor causes and conditions, he seeks to make his name heard. Though doubt, regret, and self-reproach fill his heart, he nevertheless teaches others. For a long time, that person remains in darkness, taking into himself the poisoned arrows of greed, craving, hatred, anger, and delusion.

Why is this? Śāriputra! That person cannot definitively comprehend the dharmas, yet he teaches others. His mind is not joyful, or any delight he feels quickly vanishes.

Śāriputra! I know that an impure expounder of the Dharma bears this former offense and cannot attain the true Way. None of the bhikṣus know this. The devas do not know it. Only I know it.

There is also another kind of impure exposition of the Dharma. A bhikṣu does not understand how the Tathagata expounds the Dharma in accordance with circumstances, yet he teaches others. The sutras declare that there is no self, no person, no sentient being, and no life span. But that person, employing contentious words of his own, says, “There is a self, there is a person, there is a sentient being, and there is a life span.” This is to slander the Buddha, slander the Dharma, and slander the Sangha. Neither devas nor humans in the world can know the offense of slandering the Three Jewels. Only the Buddha knows it.

Śāriputra! Such a person is also called an impure expounder of the Dharma. I know his offense. Even those possessing supernormal powers and all sentient beings in the heavenly realms cannot know it. Only the Buddha knows.

Śāriputra! I shall now explain this to you by means of an analogy. If a person does not understand the characteristics and meaning of the Buddha’s Way, yet impurely expounds the Dharma to others, how many unwholesome deeds does that person accomplish?

Śāriputra! What do you think? Are the sentient beings of Jambudvīpa certainly numerous?”

“Extremely numerous, World-Honored One!”

“Śāriputra! If an evil person were to take all their lives, would that person’s offenses certainly be numerous?”

“Extremely numerous, World-Honored One!”

So too, if that foolish person does not understand the Buddha’s Way, yet impurely expounds the Dharma to others, his offenses are just as numerous. Why is this? That person’s impure exposition of the Dharma destroys the impartial Way of the Buddha and also slanders the Buddhas of the past, present, and future.

Why is this? Śāriputra! All the Buddhas of the past taught that all dharmas are ultimately empty. There is no self, no person, no sentient being, no longevity, and no life.

Śāriputra! The future Buddhas, when teaching all dharmas, will likewise declare that they are ultimately empty: there is no self, no person, no sentient being, no life, and no lifespan. Śāriputra! At present, the Buddhas dwelling throughout the worlds of the ten directions, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, likewise declare that all dharmas are ultimately empty: there is no self, no person, no sentient being, no life, and no lifespan. Śāriputra!

This is called the equality of the dharmas of the Buddhas. It means that all dharmas are formless, without intrinsic nature, empty, and unobtainable. Originally quiescent, neither arising nor ceasing, without intrinsic nature or characteristics, they are equal in themselves and all are empty.

The Tathagata teaches only because discriminating conceptions and perceptions have not yet been eliminated; yet the bodhi of the Buddhas is free from discrimination. Śāriputra! What is discrimination? It is the discrimination that sees a self, sees a person, sees a sentient being, sees life, sees a lifespan, sees annihilation, and sees permanence.

Ordinary beings give rise to all these forms of discrimination. If a person is free from such discrimination, that person can understand clearly that all dharmas are empty, with no self, no person, no sentient being, no life, and no lifespan. When contemplating in this way, the mind becomes joyful.

Upon hearing the meaning of formlessness and emptiness, one is neither alarmed nor afraid. That person truly knows that the five skandhas are illusory and devoid of reality. That person knows that the twelve ayatanas and the eighteen dhatus are illusory and devoid of reality.

That person neither discriminates nirvana nor entertains thoughts of nirvana, and does not say, “I constantly contemplate nirvana.” Through the quiescence attained in the Dharma, that person makes no distinctions. Although this Dharma is quiescent, that person neither discriminates it nor apprehends it. Śāriputra! This is called Acquiescent Patience.

Regarding the meaning of the true characteristics of reality, that person does not apprehend even this Acquiescent Patience, for all things are equal in themselves. Śāriputra! What are the characteristics of this Acquiescent Patience? The absence of characteristics is the characteristic of Acquiescent Patience.

Śāriputra! What does this mean? If a person cannot apprehend even the characteristics of this Acquiescent Patience, there is no possibility that such a person would apprehend the characteristic of a self, the characteristic of a person, the characteristic of a sentient being, the characteristic of life, or the characteristic of a lifespan.

If a person has accomplished such wisdom, that person is worthy of receiving offerings, is called a disciple of the Buddha, and is said to have entered the concentration of non-abiding. Śāriputra! This is called the gateway to the meaning of the true characteristics of the Buddha-Dharma: there is no conceptual discrimination, neither this nor that. Yet foolish people erroneously teach the Dharma before the great assembly, using their own discriminating conceptions to instruct others, saying, “This is the Buddha-Dharma; this is the Noble Path.” Such fools certainly slander the Buddhas of the past, future, and present.

Such fools are called evil spiritual friends, not good spiritual friends. Śāriputra! Although an enemy may take one’s life, only a single body is lost. But such fools, by teaching an impure Dharma, cause sentient beings to undergo great ruin, affliction, and confusion for thousands of millions of kalpas.

Such people are foolish and benighted; their original aspiration for the Buddha’s bodhi is obscured. Their craving and attachment flare up intensely, continuously and without interruption. Because of craving and attachment, they revolve through the five destinies.

Lacking a wholesome guide, their cycle of birth and death continues without end. Therefore, Śāriputra, those who teach an impure Dharma incur exceedingly grave offenses. They also become evil spiritual friends to sentient beings and slander the Buddhas of the past, present, and future. Śāriputra!

Set aside all the sentient beings of Jambudvīpa. Suppose someone were to take the lives of all sentient beings throughout the three-thousand-great-thousand world system. The offense of teaching an impure Dharma is even graver than this.

Why is this? Such a person destroys the Buddhas’ anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi and assists the works of Māra. Such a person also causes sentient beings to undergo ruin, affliction, and confusion for hundreds of thousands of millions of lifetimes.

That person can only add further bonds and cannot aid liberation. Therefore, know that such a person is an evil spiritual friend to sentient beings. Through such false speech, that person slanders and reviles the Buddhas before the great assembly.

As the consequence of this karma, that person falls into the great hells. By teaching many sentient beings to adopt erroneous views, that person is therefore said to hold evil wrong views. Śāriputra! Those who hold views of a self, a person, and a sentient being mostly fall into wrong views.

Those who eliminate annihilationist views generally attain the Path swiftly. Why is this? Because such views are easy to relinquish.

Therefore, one should know that a person would certainly rather cut out their own tongue with a sharp blade than teach an impure Dharma before the Sangha.

Chapter Seven of the Buddha Treasury Sutra: Returning to Ancient Times.

The Buddha said to Sariputra: “In the immeasurably and boundlessly distant past, inconceivably many asamkhya kalpas ago, there was a Buddha named Great Adornment Tathagata, Arhat, Perfectly Enlightened One, Perfect in Knowledge and Conduct, Well-Gone One, Knower of the World, Unsurpassed One, Tamer of Men, Teacher of Devas and Humans, Buddha, Blessed One. That Buddha’s lifespan was sixty-eight hundred trillion years. He had sixty-eight hundred trillion great disciples. After that Buddha passed away, his relics were distributed and circulated, no differently from what will occur after I pass away. His True Dharma also remained in the world for five hundred years, no differently from what will occur after I pass away.

“After that Buddha passed away, among his great disciples, in a single day one hundred bhiksus would enter nirvana; two hundred, three hundred, four hundred, or five hundred would enter nirvana. In a single day, there were sometimes one hundred trillion people who entered nirvana. This continued and developed in succession. That Buddha had many knowledgeable and greatly learned beings possessed of great spiritual powers. Within three months, they all entered nirvana.

“Sariputra! The True Dharma of Great Adornment Buddha was proclaimed and circulated, and many devas and humans made offerings to it. Sariputra! After Great Adornment Buddha and his great disciples had passed away, there gradually appeared many people who knew the Dharma and became sramanas, peacefully and joyfully leaving home to study the Way, yet they were unable to understand the profound Dharma taught by the Buddha. The various sutras differed, and their meaning of emptiness was misunderstood. Most of them were deluded by evil Mara. When they taught the Dharma, their minds were irresolute, and the Dharma they taught was impure. They taught the existence of a self, a person, a being, and a lifespan. They did not teach that all dharmas are empty and quiescent.

“One hundred years after that Buddha passed away, the assemblies of disciples divided into five groups. The first was called Phổ-sự; the second, Khổ-ngạn; the third, Tát-hòa-đa; the fourth, Tương-khứ; and the fifth, Bạt-nan-đà. Sariputra! The bhiksu Phổ-sự, the bhiksu Khổ-ngạn, the bhiksu Tát-hòa-đa, the bhiksu Tương-khứ, and the bhiksu Bạt-nan-đà—these five bhiksus were teachers of the great assembly. Phổ-sự understood the true meaning of the Dharma taught by the Buddha: emptiness and the non-apprehension of any dharma. The other four bhiksus all followed erroneous paths. They frequently taught that there was a self and frequently taught that there was a person.

“Sariputra! The bhiksu Phổ-sự was despised by the other four groups. He had little influence, and many regarded him as evil and inferior. The four evil bhiksus mostly taught beings through a path of wrong views. Within the Buddha’s Dharma, they did not respect one another, and by opposing one another they destroyed the Buddha’s Dharma.

“Sariputra! If anyone understood the Dharma of emptiness taught by the bhiksu Phổ-sự, faithfully accepted it, and did not oppose it, I know that this person had made offerings to five thousand Buddhas in previous lives. Sixty-eight trillion nayutas of such people entered nirvana. Why was this? Sariputra! These people had planted roots of goodness in the presence of Buddhas of the past. They cultivated the Dharma of emptiness and non-apprehension and were destined to enter nirvana.

“Sariputra! The bhiksu Khổ-ngạn, the bhiksu Nhất-thiết-hữu, the bhiksu Tương-khứ, and the bhiksu Bạt-nan-đà all engaged in calculating apprehension. They taught the existence of a self, a person, a being, and a lifespan, and their assemblies of followers were extremely numerous. Those four evil men caused very many laypeople and monastics to abide in wrong views. They abandoned the ultimate Dharma of emptiness, signlessness, and non-apprehension. They greedily delighted in the doctrines and disputations of non-Buddhist adherents of wrong views.

“Sariputra! Those four evil men acquired lay and monastic disciples who constantly followed them, even until the Dharma came to an end. Sariputra! Among them were people who recognized non-Dharma but adopted and practiced it as Dharma, diligently applying themselves to its cultivation. Yet they could not even attain receptive patience, much less the fruit of stream-entry. Such people could not even make proper use of offerings, much less give rise to receptive patience.

“Sariputra! At that time, most of their lay and monastic disciples fell into the evil paths and did not reach the good paths. Those evil people eradicated the Buddha’s correct Dharma and also caused many people great decline, distress, and confusion. Moreover, after those evil people relinquished their lives, they fell into the Avici Hell. They lay on their backs for nine hundred trillion years. They lay face down for nine hundred trillion years. They lay on their left sides for nine hundred trillion years. They lay on their right sides for nine hundred trillion years. Upon blazing, red-hot iron, they were burned and scorched; after dying there, they came back to life.

“In the Fire-Awl Hell, the Great Fire-Awl Hell, the Reviving Hell, and the Black-Rope Hell, they underwent all kinds of suffering for the same numbers of years stated above. From the Black-Rope Hell, they were again born in the great Avici Hell.

“Sariputra! Because they bore those karmic causes and effects, all the good spiritual friends among both laypeople and monastics who associated with them were implicated. There were six hundred and four trillion people who were born and died together with these four teachers, undergoing burning in the great hells.

“Thus, Sariputra, those people had families of good spiritual friends and families of bhiksus. Disciples followed their teachers in practice. All those among them were born from the hells. Sariputra! You cannot know how many of them there were. Only the Tathagata can know. There were six hundred and four trillion people who fell into the great hells together with these evil men, being born and dying together with them. Thus they revolved for one kalpa, undergoing suffering. When the great kalpa was consumed by fire, they burned in the hells.

“Why was this? Sariputra! They had destroyed the anuttara-samyak-sambodhi of the Tathagatas. Their offense was extremely grave and must not be regarded lightly. When the great kalpa was consumed by fire, those four evil men and the six hundred and four trillion people departed from this great Avici Hell and were reborn in great hells in another region. Why was this? Sariputra! The retribution for their grave offenses had to be fulfilled without deficiency. In another region, for innumerable hundreds of thousands of trillions of nayutas of years, they underwent great suffering.

“When they were born again in this world, those four offenders and the six hundred and four trillion people were all still offenders whose offenses had not been exhausted. Upon relinquishing their lives there, they were again born in the great hells of this world.

“Sariputra! After a very long time, those four offenders and the six hundred and four trillion beings escaped the sufferings of hell and were born as humans. For five hundred lifetimes, wherever they were born, they were blind. Afterward, they encountered the Buddha Nhất Thiết Minh, Tathagata, Arhat, Perfectly Enlightened One, Perfect in Knowledge and Conduct, Well-Gone One, Knower of the World, Unsurpassed One, Tamer of Men, Teacher of Devas and Humans, Buddha, Blessed One.

“Sariputra! The Buddha Nhất Thiết Minh had one trillion nayutas of sravaka disciples. At that time, the people were three hundred and ninety-six cubits tall. That Buddha’s body was twice as tall, and the halo behind his head constantly illuminated one hundred trillion yojanas.

“Sariputra! Those people left home within the Dharma of the Buddha Nhất Thiết Minh. For one hundred trillion years, they diligently cultivated with vigor, as though extinguishing a fire blazing upon their heads, yet they did not attain receptive patience, much less the fruit of the Path. Why was this? Sariputra! Such was the karmic cause and effect of the offenses arising from their destruction of the Dharma of anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. After relinquishing their lives, they were again born in the great Avici Hell because they bore the karmic causes and effects of the unwholesome deeds they had previously initiated and planted.

“Sariputra! Those people revolved in this way until the present, when I now dwell among them. They personally encountered ninety-nine trillion Buddhas, yet in the presence of those Buddhas they did not attain receptive patience. Why was this? When the Buddhas taught profound sutras, those people did not believe them. They disrupted, opposed, slandered, and reviled the noble sages and the bhiksus who upheld the precepts. Such was necessarily the Dharma governing the evil karmic causes and effects arising from their destruction of the Dharma.

“Sariputra! Consider this further: by slandering noble ones and disbelieving the words of the sages, they underwent such immeasurable and boundless suffering and could not attain liberation. Sariputra!”

There are beings who commit the sinful karma of destroying and opposing the Dharma through disbelief. Their number is immeasurable. Throughout asaṃkhyeya kalpas, even after encountering ninety-nine million Buddhas, not one among them will enter nirvana.

Śāriputra! Who are those who diligently destroy the teachings of the Buddhas, disbelieving and opposing them? They are only foolish ordinary beings, persons of overweening pride, evil bhikṣus, and all bhikṣus who preach the Dharma impurely. Why is this? Śāriputra! These three kinds of persons are not called practitioners, nor are they called those who have attained the Path. Because they do not believe the Tathagata’s Dharma, they slander and oppose it.

Śāriputra! If you see one such as the Bhikṣu Khổ Niết-bàn preaching the Dharma impurely, know that he is indeed deceiving foolish people. If you see a bhikṣu preaching every kind of impurity as Dharma, know that he is indeed the bhikṣu Kokālika. Śāriputra! If you see the bhikṣu Tương-khứ preaching the Dharma impurely, know that he is indeed the bhikṣu Kāla. If you see one such as the bhikṣu Bạt-nan-đà preaching the Dharma impurely, he merely displays the outward appearance of a śramaṇa. He is indeed Ba-lợi Ma-đà.

Śāriputra! At that time, you will see that what the Buddhas and bodhisattvas preach is pure and accords with reality, benefiting immeasurable beings. Thus the Venerable Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇīputra preached purely. Those who followed him in study directly encountered five thousand Buddhas, and sixty-eight million nayutas of people all attained liberation.

Śāriputra! If one were to ask, “Who is the speaker of truth, the supreme Dharma teacher who definitively and clearly expounds the meaning of the pure Dharma?” the answer would be Pūrṇa. Śāriputra! Pūrṇa’s mind is concentrated and resolute; he teaches decisively and without difficulty. Free from doubt, he gives rise to discourse.

Śāriputra! If one were to ask, “Who is the true speaker, the Dharma teacher who understands all causes and conditions?” the answer would be Pūrṇa. Śāriputra! In lifetime after lifetime, wherever Pūrṇa was born, he always performed the work of a Buddha for the sake of beings. Within the Dharma of ninety million Buddhas, he was always a Dharma teacher who preached the Dharma purely. In the presence of all those Buddhas, throughout his entire life, he constantly cultivated the pure conduct and preached the Dharma purely.

Śāriputra! Pūrṇa also served as a Dharma teacher within the Dharma of six Buddhas. Within my Dharma, he too became a great Dharma teacher, attained arhatship, and liberated his mind. If one were to ask, “Who is the true speaker who, lifetime after lifetime, made offerings to the Buddhas and planted roots of goodness?” the answer would be Pūrṇa.

Śāriputra! Within the Dharma of ninety million Buddhas, Pūrṇa applied his mind diligently to seeking and learning, attained certainty in discourse, and possessed profound wisdom. Therefore, the Tathagata declares him foremost among Dharma teachers.

Śāriputra! Even if I were to speak of Pūrṇa’s merits for one day and one night, I could not exhaust them. Even if I spoke for longer than a day and a night, I still could not exhaust them. Why is this? Pūrṇa’s gift of Dharma is free from worldly motives, and he does not covet gain or offerings. The Dharma teacher Pūrṇa has attained the four unobstructed wisdoms. Apart from the Tathagata, no one in all the worlds can surpass him in speech, meaning, or principle.

Śāriputra! I now tell you: if anyone, wishing to attain anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, preaches the Dharma to others, that person will certainly obtain immeasurable and boundless merit and will also be able to benefit immeasurable beings. Śāriputra! If anyone destroys, opposes, and disbelieves this Dharma, that person will certainly produce the causes and consequences of immeasurable grave offenses. Why is this? Śāriputra! Evil brings an evil recompense, and good brings a good recompense.

For this reason, I now entrust this sutra to you. You must distinguish and extensively expound it for the four assemblies. Śāriputra! Those who hear this sutra and whose minds believe, rejoice, and delight will immediately obtain immeasurable and boundless merit. Those who hear it but do not believe, and whose minds neither rejoice nor delight, will immediately incur immeasurable and boundless grave offenses.

Śāriputra! You should know that such a person is called a bhikṣu who breaks the precepts, a person of overweening pride who preaches the Dharma impurely. Śāriputra! If anyone opposes teachings such as these, in lifetime after lifetime that person will always be born blind and without eyes.

Śāriputra! I now clearly know this and tell you. I do not speak as one searching among pottery and cherishing and protecting a broken vessel. I now clearly distinguish and extensively expound for the four assemblies the ultimate meaning of true reality—the emptiness of phenomena. What is firm will remain; what is not firm will be shattered.

Why is this? Śāriputra! The Buddha did not attain anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi in order to preach the Dharma according to the erroneous views of evil persons. The Dharma is not taught for the sake of the view of a self, the view of a person, the view of a being, or the view of a life span. Why is this? All objects upon which craving depends are called erroneous views.

Śāriputra! Those who thus hold the view of a self or the view of a person cannot attain true reality, which is signless; how much less could they attain the fruit of the Path? Śāriputra! That persons holding the view of a self, the view of a person, the view of a being, the view of a life span, the view of annihilation, or the view of permanence could attain acquiescence in the Dharma or the fruit of the Path is impossible.

Therefore, Śāriputra, if anyone has established such views, I certainly do not permit that person, within my Dharma, to receive offerings. Such a person is neither a practitioner nor one who has attained the fruit, but merely seeks a livelihood within my Dharma.

Śāriputra! I have said that followers of other paths who wish to enter the Buddha-Dharma must undergo a probation of four months. Why is this? Followers of other paths generally hold the view of a self, the view of a person, the view of a being, the view of a life span, the view of annihilation, and the view of permanence.

Śāriputra! My disciples do not hold the view of a self, the view of a person, the view of a being, the view of a life span, the view of annihilation, or the view of permanence. My disciples speak only of emptiness, signlessness, wishlessness, and the acquiescence that nothing is attained. They teach that the consciousnesses do not abide.

Śāriputra! If anyone has attained such acquiescence, I permit that person to leave the household life and receive the precepts, and to accept offerings of robes, food, bedding, and medicines for illness. If one has not attained this acquiescence, that person must first undergo probation and first be instructed to abide in the teaching that all phenomena are without self.

Śāriputra! If one’s mind does not rejoice in this acquiescence, but upon hearing the meaning of true reality and emptiness becomes terrified, doubtful, disparaging, and abusive, while upon hearing teachings concerning the view of a self one’s mind rejoices, you should know that person is under Māra’s direction or was formerly a follower of another path.

Śāriputra! The wise should not become distressed over this. Their minds should give rise only to compassion for such a person. Why is this? Śāriputra! If someone becomes established as such an evil person, the evil recompense that person will reap cannot be fully described. One should therefore give rise to a mind intent on benefiting that person, instructing them that all phenomena are without self, that all phenomena are empty and quiescent, and that all phenomena are unconditioned and without appropriation.

If that person cherishes the Buddha-Dharma, then upon hearing these teachings, the mind will readily rejoice. There is no other practice of emptiness for a bhikṣu. All should demonstrate this teaching, bringing benefit, joy, and comfort to their minds by teaching that all phenomena are empty and nonexistent.

If, upon hearing this, someone becomes alarmed and afraid, it should be declared before the Sangha that such a person’s preceptor is a teacher of another path. As stated in the sutras, one who cultivates the practice of emptiness can then clearly understand both the commonality and the distinctions among all phenomena, and can take one who accords with this as a teacher—not one who holds the view of a self, the view of a person, inverted views, erroneous views, or who clings dependently to a preceptor merely because he observes the precepts.

The Tathagata permits those endowed with right view to dwell together in purity. He does not permit those who break the precepts, hold wrong views, or abandon proper deportment to dwell together in purity. When elder disciples hear the Dharma of emptiness, quiescence, and nonexistence, yet their minds do not believe in or delight in it and their aspirations incline toward non-Buddhist paths, the Buddha does not permit them to dwell together in purity with those non-Buddhists.

If such a person still does not relinquish those views, he must not be permitted to participate in the affairs of the Sangha, nor should his wishes be accepted. Once this has been done, if he still deliberately refuses to relinquish them, know that this person must not remain in the Way but should be permanently expelled from it. Even if his upadhyaya and acarya speak on his behalf, their request should not be accepted.

Sariputra! If the Sangha acts in this way, it truly makes offerings to me and can readily refute the wrong views of non-Buddhist paths. This is called dwelling in purity and expounding the precepts in purity.

Sariputra! I now tell you clearly: If a person entertains views of a self, a person, a sentient being, existence, or nonexistence, that person cannot be said to make offerings to me, nor can he be said to have followed me into homelessness and received the precepts. He is said to have gone forth in pursuit of the six non-Buddhist teachers and to have taken those six non-Buddhist teachers as his masters.

Sariputra! If a person cannot attain acceptance regarding this pure, true Dharma, yet receives offerings, that person has certainly received them wrongly.

Sariputra! Although that person has gone forth within my Dharma and guards the precepts purely, regarding the meaning of the empty true nature, in which no dharma can be apprehended, his mind neither believes nor understands, but is frightened, doubtful, and remorseful. Know that this person merely esteems observance of the precepts, extensive learning, and meditative concentration.

Sariputra! Such a person cannot be said to revere, make offerings to, honor, or esteem me. Why is this? Sariputra! Since beginningless time, there has been no sentient being who has not attained the fourth dhyana. If merely attaining the fourth dhyana were called the benefit of a sramana, how could such a person be said to make offerings to me?

Therefore, Sariputra, I now tell you clearly: In future ages, people within my Dharma will harbor all kinds of craving and attachment and all kinds of wrong views, thereby destroying my Dharma.

Sariputra! If a person merely esteems observance of the precepts, extensive learning, and meditative concentration, know that this person cannot purely cultivate the dharmas of a sramana. I certainly do not call such a person a sramana or a brahmin.

Sariputra! If a person knows in accordance with reality that all dharmas are without self and without any intrinsic nature, and can know in accordance with reality that all dharmas are originally empty and nonexistent, then he certainly will not regard observance of the precepts as supreme, extensive learning as supreme, or meditative concentration as supreme. Why is this? Sariputra! All dharmas are without characteristics; they neither arise nor come forth. Within them, there is no dharma that can be supreme.

Sariputra! Within these dharmas, as they truly are, there is neither observance of the precepts nor violation of the precepts. How much less could craving and attachment be regarded as supreme?

Sariputra! This is called the Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi of all Buddhas: all dharmas are without characteristics; their intrinsic nature is empty; there is no self and no person. One who has attained acceptance of this is called a practitioner, is called one who has attained the Way, and is called one who, through faith, has gone forth into homelessness. Such a person is worthy to receive pure offerings among the pure. Such a person is indeed one who dwells among the devas.

Sariputra! The Dharma of the Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi of all Buddhas has this single meaning alone: relinquishment. What is relinquished? Desires and views are relinquished. Desire is ignorance, while views are conceptual thought. Why is this? All dharmas are based upon conceptual thought. Where there is conceptual thought, there is a view; and a view is erroneous.

Sariputra! Even views concerning wholesome dharmas I call wrong views. Why is this? Sariputra! Within the quiescence that is free from desire, there is no dharma apart from Dharma itself; there is neither good nor evil, and all such matters are empty. To remain far removed from all fetters and from every imagined conception and thought is therefore called relinquishment.

Sariputra! Within the Way of Equality, all desires cease forever. What are these desires? They are erroneous, unwholesome thoughts: the notion that there is a self or that something belongs to the self, together with the activities and deeds arising from them. This is called the everlasting cessation of all desires within Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi.

The Buddha Treasury Sutra

End of the middle fascicle