佛說父母恩難報經

Thus have I heard: At one time the Buddha was dwelling at the Jeta Grove, in Anāthapiṇḍika's Park, in the city of Śrāvastī. At that time, the World-Honored One addressed the bhikṣus:

"Bhikṣus! Parents have rendered very great merit toward their children: the labor of nursing and nurturing them, the labor of teaching and guiding them in due season until they reach adulthood. Even if one were to carry one's father upon the right shoulder and support one's mother upon the left for a thousand years, and even if one's parents were to relieve themselves upon one's back, yet without giving rise to any thought of resentment, this would still not be enough to repay that profound kindness.

If one's parents do not have faith in the Three Jewels, one must guide them to take faith, so that they may dwell in a place of peace and security. If one's parents have not received the precepts, one must help them to receive and uphold the precepts, so that they may dwell in a place of peace and security. If one's parents do not hear the Buddha's Dharma, one must exhort them to consent to hear and to receive the teaching, so that they may dwell in peace and security.

If one's parents are miserly and do not know how to give and make offerings, one must guide them to delight in giving and making offerings, that they may thereby gain merit and dwell in peace and security. If one's parents lack wisdom, one must persuade and induce them to delight in studying the teaching, so that, opening their wisdom, they may dwell in peace and security. Furthermore, one should exhort one's parents to have faith in the teaching of the Tathāgata, the Worthy of Offerings, the Perfectly and Completely Enlightened One, the One Perfect in Knowledge and Conduct, the Well-Gone One, the Knower of the World, the Unsurpassed One, the Tamer of Beings, the Teacher of Gods and Humans, the Buddha, the World-Honored One;

and to have faith in and follow the teaching they have received, so that they may dwell in peace and security.

Because the Dharmas are very profound, and the meaning of the Buddha's Dharma is also very subtle and wondrous, it can cause the present bodies of one's parents to obtain a peaceful and wholesome fruit of recompense. Only the wise can fully comprehend this deed, and further guide their parents to have faith in the holy assembly. The holy assembly of the Tathāgata is utterly pure; their minds are upright and free of crookedness; they always dwell in harmony, accomplished in the Dharmas, accomplished in the precepts, accomplished in samādhi, accomplished in wisdom, accomplished in liberation, and accomplished in the knowledge and vision of liberation.

The holy assembly is precisely the four Approaches and the four fruits of the Śrāvakas, which are also called the holy assembly of the Tathāgata. Since these ones are so supremely honored and noble, one must revere and respect them. This holy assembly is also the unsurpassed field of merit for the world.

Thus, bhikṣus! Children must know how to guide their parents to practice the conduct of loving-kindness and compassion. There are two kinds of children: the child born of one's parents, and the child whom one's parents have nurtured. Bhikṣus should learn to follow the conduct of a child born of one's parents, whose mouth at all times expounds the teaching of the Tathāgata. Thus should the bhikṣus train themselves in this conduct."

When the bhikṣus had heard what the Buddha taught, their hearts rejoiced and they reverently practiced accordingly.