佛為娑伽羅龍王所說大乘經

Thus have I heard:

At one time, the Buddha was dwelling at the Adorned Bodhimaṇḍa in the palace of the Nāga King Sāgara within the great ocean, together with a great assembly of Bhikṣus, seven thousand five hundred in number, and the Great Bodhisattvas who had attained great wisdom, who had gathered together from the worlds throughout the ten directions.

There were also hundreds, thousands, koṭis, and nayutas of Brahmā Kings, Śakra, and the world-protecting deities, the eightfold assembly of Devas, Nāgas, Yakṣas, Gandharvas, Asuras, Garuḍas, Kiṃnaras, Mahoragas, and others—all of them were likewise present at the Dharma assembly.

At that time, the World-Honored One, seeing that this entire great assembly had gathered in full at the Dharma assembly, then addressed the Nāga King Sāgara:

"O Nāga King! Behold how the manifold deeds and actions within this world all arise from that which is unreal and illusory, and how the countless varieties of mental phenomena will likewise call forth all manner of fruits and retributions. If one does not clearly understand these matters, one will be born into the countless destinies.

"O Lord of Nāgas! You should behold the multitudes within this great ocean, and observe how sentient beings create all manner of forms and appearances.

"O Lord of Nāgas! All those forms and appearances arise from all the wholesome and unwholesome karma of body, speech, mind, and thought of each and every kind of being, transforming into all manner of shapes.

"Although these mental phenomena are called forms and appearances, they are nonetheless like conjured illusions, and cannot be grasped.

"O Lord of Nāgas! Those forms and appearances of all dharmas have fundamentally no place of arising, no sovereign master, no self, and no obstruction. Sentient beings create all manner of karma in this way, yet the self-nature of all dharmas is like the marks of conjured illusion—inconceivable.

"O Lord of Nāgas! If any Bodhisattva recognizes that all dharmas are unborn and unceasing, without color and without form, and recognizes this truly as it is, then though he creates and cultivates all wholesome karma, this is yet without cultivating or creating. Wherever there are forms and appearances, and the aggregates, sense-bases, and elements—the arising of all dharmas is likewise without anything to be seen. If one is able to see that truly as it is, then one should contemplate the supreme and sublime forms and appearances.

"O Lord of Nāgas! How is one to contemplate these supreme and sublime forms and appearances? One should contemplate the bodily marks of the Tathāgata.

Those bodily marks of the Tathāgata all arise from hundreds, thousands, koṭis, and nayutas of merit and virtue. Furthermore, how is such a mark to be adorned and preserved, and how is one, through reverence and faith, to attain it? One also attains the mark of being free from aging and free from death among devas and humans.

One also attains ten, a hundred, a thousand bodies of the Devas of the Heaven of Mastery over Others' Creations, even up to the body of the Great Brahmā Heaven. Because this mind is not scattered, contemplating with focused concentration and gazing in reverence upon the supreme and sublime body of the Tathāgata, one recognizes truly as it is that all the supreme, sublime, and adorned forms and appearances of this body are attained through the gathering together of wholesome karma.

"O Lord of Nāgas! All the adornments and the merit and virtue that arise within the palace where you dwell, and on up to the realms of the Brahmā Kings, Śakra, and the world-protecting deities, and even among the Devas, Nāgas, Yakṣas, Gandharvas, Asuras, Garuḍas, Kiṃnaras, Mahoragas, humans and non-humans of like kind—all the adornments they possess arise from merit.

"O Lord of Nāgas! There are all manner of sentient beings within this great ocean; some beings appear large, others again are small, and others are exceedingly ugly. All those bodies are manifested by the mind in all their various forms.

"O Lord of Nāgas! For this reason, it is said that one attains in accordance with the karma of body, speech, and mind.

"O Lord of Nāgas! Such results all take karma as their cause and karma as their sovereign master. You should cause sentient beings to give rise to the mind of wisdom. In accordance with what they create and what wholesome karma they cultivate and learn, regarding all wrong views they neither create nor abide, recognizing that those wrong views are not ultimate. Having recognized this, all sentient beings will seek to make him their teacher, will come together to make offerings, and he will be honored, trusted, and revered with offerings by the devas and humans of the world.

"O Lord of Nāgas! There is one dharma that can enable sentient beings to bring to a definitive end their karma within all the evil destinies. What is that dharma?

"It is the contemplation of wholesome dharmas. But how is that wholesome dharma to be contemplated? One should contemplate one's own body. Throughout the day and night, in walking, standing, lying, and sitting, the mind and thoughts that arise are all faults. Contemplating and recognizing this clearly in this way will cause the evil dharmas within the four deportments not to arise. Bringing to an end such unwholesome dharmas will cause wholesome dharmas to be complete. It will further cause all sentient beings together to attain wholesome dharmas, all of them attaining the fruits of the Śrāvaka, the Pratyekabuddha, the Bodhisattva, and even up to the fruit of Supreme Perfect Enlightenment.

"O Lord of Nāgas! What are wholesome dharmas?

"Now I expound the wholesome dharma, which is to say the ten wholesome courses of action. These are the foundational abode for all; the foundational abode for being born among the devas and humans of the world; the foundational abode of the supreme wholesome dharmas of the worldly and the transcendent; the foundational abode of the Supremely Perfectly Enlightened One. What is this foundational abode? It is the ten wholesome courses of action. If one is able to keep far from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, false speech, frivolous speech, harsh speech, divisive speech, and on up to greed, anger, and wrong views, then these are the ten wholesome courses of action—indeed the foundational abode of the worldly and the transcendent.

"O Lord of Nāgas! If any sentient being keeps far from killing, he attains ten kinds of wholesome dharmas. What are the ten?

"They are: attaining the gift of fearlessness, causing all other sentient beings to abide in the mind of loving-kindness; attaining right conduct; not dwelling upon the faults of all sentient beings; attaining few illnesses and ease; attaining long life; being protected by countless non-human beings; being at peace whether asleep or awake; furthermore being guarded by the noble sages who do not weary of him or abandon him; while in dreams not seeing himself create evil karma or afflictions; himself attaining freedom from fear toward all the evil destinies; and after the end of his life being born up into the heavens.

"O Lord of Nāgas! If sentient beings attain such ten kinds of wholesome dharmas, practice the path of the Bodhisattva, have their minds at peace in wholesome dharmas, and accomplish in full the roots of goodness, then they will attain the unsurpassed fruit of Bodhi.

"O Lord of Nāgas! If any sentient being keeps far from stealing, he will attain ten dharmas to rely upon. What are the ten dharmas? They are:

1. Attaining great wealth and sovereign ease.

2. Avoiding the calamities of kings, water, fire, robbers and bandits, and enemies.

3. Attaining many kinsfolk who are compliant and harmonious.

4. Being loved by many, who cause him no suffering or distress; and whatever he says, all listen and accept it with faith.

5. Attaining the full possession of immeasurable precious treasures.

6. Being praised by everyone everywhere.

7. Being without fear or dread wherever he goes.

8. Being praised by others as one of wisdom.

9. Attaining beauty, strength, long life, and fluent eloquence, with a mind that does not discriminate between the close and the distant, and free from afflictions.

10. After the end of his life, being born up into the heavens.

"O Lord of Nāgas! Any sentient being who keeps far from stealing will attain such ten dharmas to rely upon; and by dedicating those roots of goodness toward the unsurpassed fruit of Bodhi, he will attain the fruit of Supreme Perfect Enlightenment.

"O Lord of Nāgas! Any sentient being who keeps far from sexual misconduct will attain four dharmas of wholesome wisdom. What are the four dharmas? They are:

1. Restraining the sense faculties.

2. Keeping far from scatteredness.

3. Being praised by all the world.

4. Furthermore attaining immeasurable wealth and nobility.

"By such four dharmas of wholesome wisdom, through these roots of goodness, he attains the fruit of Supreme Perfect Enlightenment, realizing the mark of the concealed sheathed organ of the Great Man.

"O Lord of Nāgas! Any sentient being who keeps far from false speech will attain eight kinds of wholesome dharmas of devas and humans. What are the eight? They are:

1. His mouth is fragrant and pure like the scent of the blue lotus.

2. Furthermore he attains all the right views of the world.

3. He attains the delight of all devas and humans.

4. He attains purity of body, speech, and mind.

5. He liberates all sentient beings, causing their three kinds of karma to abide in pure conduct.

6. Having attained purity, all are joyful.

7. He attains speech that is true, faithful, and certain.

8. He attains eloquence surpassing others, and the words he utters all possess skillful means, keeping far from all the faults of devas and humans.

"O Lord of Nāgas! Any sentient being who keeps far from false speech will attain such eight kinds of wholesome dharmas of devas and humans. Through these roots of goodness, his verbal karma being pure and his conduct truly upright and honest, he will attain the fruit of Supreme Perfect Enlightenment.

"O Lord of Nāgas! Any sentient being who keeps far from frivolous speech will attain three kinds of single-directed dharmas. They are: attaining understanding ever directed toward what is delightful, ever directed toward what is true, ever directed toward the path that gives rise to wisdom—becoming a teacher of devas and humans, delighted in and trusted by all devas and humans.

"O Lord of Nāgas! Any sentient being who keeps far from frivolous speech will attain such three kinds of single-directed dharmas; and if he dedicates these roots of goodness toward the fruit of Bodhi, he will receive the prediction from all the Tathāgatas, and will realize the fruit of the path of Supreme Perfect Enlightenment.

"O Lord of Nāgas! Any sentient being who keeps far from harsh speech will attain eight kinds of pure and wholesome dharmas. They are: speech that is true, speech that is gentle and harmonious, speech that is meaningful, speech that is soft, speech free from grasping, speech that all delight in, speech that is virtuous and good, and speech that is beneficial.

"O Lord of Nāgas! Any sentient being who keeps far from harsh speech will attain such eight kinds of pure verbal karma; and by dedicating these roots of goodness toward the fruit of Bodhi, he will realize the fruit of Supreme Perfect Enlightenment and attain the supreme purity of the Brahmā voice.

"O Lord of Nāgas! Any sentient being who keeps far from divisive speech will attain five kinds of firmness. They are: attaining a firm body, keeping far from all fear; attaining kinsfolk who are not sundered apart and cannot be seized away by others; attaining firm faith, the meritorious reward of faithful karma; attaining firm dharma, realizing the non-retrogressing fruit; attaining firm good friends, ever following and accepting gentle and harmonious words.

"O Lord of Nāgas! Any sentient being who keeps far from divisive speech will attain such five kinds of firmness; and by dedicating those roots of goodness toward the fruit of Bodhi, he will realize the fruit of Supreme Perfect Enlightenment, such that all the heretics, Māra kings, and others are unable to destroy him.

"O Lord of Nāgas! Any sentient being who keeps far from the poison of greed will attain eight kinds of wholesome dharmas. They are: the mind of greed being dissolved; the mind of killing not arising; the mind of jealousy not arising; gladly giving rise to the mind of the noble lineage; being honored by the noble ones; using the wholesome karma of the mind of loving-kindness to benefit all sentient beings; attaining a fresh and beautiful body; being honored by many; and being born in the Brahmā Heaven.

"O Lord of Nāgas! Any sentient being who keeps far from the poison of greed will attain such eight kinds of wholesome dharmas; and by dedicating these wholesome dharmas toward the fruit of Bodhi with a non-retrogressing mind, he will realize the fruit of Supreme Perfect Enlightenment.

"O Lord of Nāgas! Any sentient being who keeps far from the poison of anger will attain five kinds of supreme and perfect vows. They are: attaining the non-retrogressing cultivation of body, speech, and mind; attaining sense faculties that are not scattered; attaining all wealth and nobility, vast and perfect; attaining the submission of enemies and foes; attaining all merit and virtue, vast and perfect, with whatever the mind enjoys and desires being perfectly fulfilled—such that even if he makes hundreds of thousands of supreme vows desiring wealth and nobility, all are perfectly fulfilled in accordance with his wishes.

"O Lord of Nāgas! Any sentient being who keeps far from the poison of anger will attain such five kinds of perfect vows; and by dedicating those roots of goodness up toward the unsurpassed fruit of Bodhi, he will realize the fruit of the path of Supreme Perfect Enlightenment, and be revered by the sentient beings of the three realms.

"O Lord of Nāgas! Any sentient being who keeps far from wrong views will attain ten kinds of meritorious dharmas. They are:

1. Attaining a mind at peace within itself, traveling together with good friends, deeply believing in cause and effect.

2. Not committing karmic offenses for the sake of body and life.

3. Soon realizing the fruit of the noble sages.

4. Not being deludedly attached to wholesome dharmas.

5. Cultivating the conduct of devas and humans, not falling into the realm of Yama or among the beasts.

6. Practicing the path of the noble ones, attaining supreme merit.

7. Keeping far from all wrong dharmas.

8. Keeping far from views of attachment to the body.

9. Seeing that the nature of all offenses is empty.

10. Attaining the full possession of the right conduct of devas and humans.

"O Lord of Nāgas! Any sentient being who keeps far from wrong views will attain such ten kinds of merit and virtue; and by dedicating those roots of goodness up toward the fruit of Bodhi, he will soon penetrate all the Buddha-dharma and realize the fruit of the path of Supreme Perfect Enlightenment.

"Furthermore, O Lord of Nāgas! I see that sentient beings who create the ten subtle unwholesome dharmas for the most part fall into the hells, among the hungry ghosts, and among the animals.

"O Lord of Nāgas! If those sentient beings create the karma of killing, they will fall into the realms of the hells, hungry ghosts, animals, and Yama; and after being reborn among humans, because the old karma remains, they must bear two kinds of retribution:

1. A short lifespan.

2. Suffering and distress.

"If any sentient being steals, he will fall into the realms of the hells, animals, and Yama; and after being reborn among humans, because the old karma remains, he must bear two kinds of retribution:

1. Living in poverty and destitution.

2. Not being helped by others with money or goods.

"If any sentient being engages in sexual misconduct, he will fall into the realms of the hells, animals, and Yama; and after being reborn among humans, because the old karma remains, he must bear two kinds of retribution:

1. Foolishness.

2. A wife who is not chaste and pure.

"If any sentient being speaks false words, he will fall into the realms of the hells, animals, and Yama; and after being reborn among humans, because the old karma remains, he must bear two kinds of retribution:

1. Speaking words that are not honest.

2. Others do not believe and follow him.

"If any sentient being speaks frivolous words, he will fall into the realms of the hells, animals, and Yama; and after being reborn among humans, because the old karma remains, he must bear two kinds of retribution:

1. Speech that is not upright.

2. Always changing what has been said.

"If any sentient being speaks harsh and evil words, he will fall into the realms of the hells, animals, and Yama; and after being reborn among humans, because the old karma remains, he must bear two kinds of retribution:

1. Always delighting in quarrels.

2. Listeners do not respect him.

"If any sentient being speaks divisive words, he will fall into the realms of the hells, animals, and Yama; and after being reborn among humans, because the old karma remains, he must bear two kinds of retribution:

1. Kinsfolk who are all lowly.

2. Affections among kinsfolk being torn apart.

"If any sentient being is greedy, he will fall into the realms of the hells, animals, and Yama; and after being reborn among humans, because the old karma remains, he must bear two kinds of retribution:

1. Not gaining benefit as others do.

2. Being often seized upon and harmed by others.

"If any sentient being has much anger and hatred, he will fall into the realms of the hells, animals, and Yama; and after being reborn among humans, because the old karma remains, he must bear two kinds of retribution:

1. A mind that is often joyless.

2. Being satisfied with nothing at all.

"If any sentient being holds wrong views, he will fall into the realms of the hells, animals, and Yama; and after being reborn among humans, because the old karma remains, he must bear two kinds of retribution:

1. Wrong views.

2. Indolence.

"O Lord of Nāgas! If any sentient being creates such ten unwholesome deeds, he will certainly undergo such retributions and must also bear boundless other great sufferings.

"O Lord of Nāgas! If any Bodhisattva keeps far from killing, cultivates the path of the Bodhisattva, and practices giving, he will attain wealth and nobility, long life, and immeasurable meritorious reward, and will no longer be seized upon by others or made to fear.

"O Lord of Nāgas! If any Bodhisattva keeps far from stealing, cultivates the path of the Bodhisattva, and practices giving, he will attain wealth and nobility and immeasurable meritorious reward, with a mind that is not miserly toward all people, and will realize the unsurpassed Dharma-meaning taught by the Buddhas through profound wisdom.

"O Lord of Nāgas! If any Bodhisattva keeps far from sexual misconduct, cultivates the path of the Bodhisattva, and practices giving, he will attain wealth and nobility and immeasurable meritorious reward, and will be loved by his father, mother, wife, children, and kinsfolk, and will be without evil views.

"O Lord of Nāgas! If any Bodhisattva keeps far from false speech, cultivates the path of the Bodhisattva, and practices giving, he will attain wealth and nobility and immeasurable meritorious reward, and will attain speech that is soft, virtuous, and good; and once he makes a sincere vow, it will be firm and unchanging.

"O Lord of Nāgas! If any Bodhisattva keeps far from frivolous speech, cultivates the path of the Bodhisattva, and practices giving, he will attain wealth and nobility and immeasurable meritorious reward, and the true words he speaks will be believed and accepted by those who hear them; and once he speaks any word, it will cut off the doubts of others.

"O Lord of Nāgas! If any Bodhisattva keeps far from harsh and evil speech, cultivates the path of the Bodhisattva, and practices giving, he will attain wealth and nobility and immeasurable meritorious reward, and whatever he says will be believed and accepted by everyone, without rejection, and without fault among the assemblies.

"O Lord of Nāgas! If any Bodhisattva keeps far from divisive speech, cultivates the path of the Bodhisattva, and practices giving, he will attain wealth and nobility and immeasurable meritorious reward, with a mind abiding in equality toward his kinsfolk, loving them all alike, so that they are not sundered apart.

"O Lord of Nāgas! If any Bodhisattva keeps far from the poison of greed, cultivates the path of the Bodhisattva, and practices giving, he will attain wealth and nobility and immeasurable meritorious reward, and will attain beautiful bodily marks with the sense faculties complete, so that all who see him love him without weariness.

"O Lord of Nāgas! If any Bodhisattva keeps far from the poison of anger, cultivates the path of the Bodhisattva, and practices giving, he will attain wealth and nobility and immeasurable meritorious reward, without the arising of a vengeful mind, and being able to hear the essential Dharma of the Buddha, he can give rise to profound faith.

"O Lord of Nāgas! If any Bodhisattva keeps far from wrong views, cultivates the path of the Bodhisattva, and practices giving, he will attain wealth and nobility and immeasurable meritorious reward, possessing right views fully toward the Three Jewels, ever drawing near to the Buddha, hearing the sublime Dharma, not indolently neglecting offerings to the Saṅgha, and teaching and transforming sentient beings so that they all give rise to the mind of Bodhi.

"O Lord of Nāgas! If anyone skillfully cultivates these ten wholesome karmas, practices the path of the Bodhisattva, and uses Giving to adorn himself, he will attain wealth, nobility, riches, and perfect meritorious reward.

"If he uses the upholding of Precepts to adorn himself, he will attain all the Buddha-dharma, the fulfillment of his aspirations, and perfect meritorious reward.

"If he uses Patience to adorn himself, he will attain full and complete meritorious reward, attain the wisdom of a Buddha, attain the thirty-two excellent marks and the eighty noble features, and attain the perfect Brahmā voice.

"If he uses Vigor to adorn himself, he will attain perfect meritorious reward, with the ability to subdue the celestial Māras and the heretics, and then to use the Dharma of the Buddhas to save and liberate them.

"If he uses Meditative Concentration to adorn himself, he will attain perfect meritorious reward, complete right mindfulness, and purity of practice.

"If he uses Wisdom to adorn himself, he will attain perfect meritorious reward, sweeping away all wrong views.

"If he uses great Loving-kindness to adorn himself, he will attain perfect meritorious reward, with the ability to cause all sentient beings to subdue all subtle afflictions.

"If he uses great Compassion to adorn himself, he will attain perfect meritorious reward, with all sentient beings ever drawing near.

"If he uses the mind of great Joy to adorn himself, he will attain perfect meritorious reward, single-minded and not scattered.

"If he uses the mind of great Equanimity to adorn himself, he will attain perfect meritorious reward, with subtle afflictions all dissolved away.

"O Lord of Nāgas! And on up to using the four Means of Embracing to adorn himself, he will attain perfect meritorious reward, with all sentient beings following his teaching and transformation.

"If he uses the four Foundations of Mindfulness to adorn himself, he is able to understand clearly body, feeling, mind, and dharmas.

"If he uses the four Right Exertions to adorn himself, he has the ability to cause all unwholesome dharmas to be extinguished and to perfect all wholesome dharmas.

"If he uses the four Bases of Spiritual Power to adorn himself, he has the ability to cause both body and mind to become light and beneficial.

"If he uses the five Faculties to adorn himself, he will attain non-retrogressing faith and vigor, a mind without delusion, clear penetration of the causes of karma, and the definitive ending of afflictions.

"If he uses the five Powers to adorn himself, he will attain a clear understanding of all dharmas as they truly are.

"If he uses the eightfold Right Path to adorn himself, he will realize true and right wisdom.

"If he uses meditative concentration (śamatha) to adorn himself, he will cut off all afflictions.

"If he uses meditative insight (vipaśyanā) to adorn himself, he will attain the wisdom that clearly penetrates all dharmas.

"If he uses the right path to adorn himself, he will clearly know all dharmas of skillful means, conditioned and unconditioned.

"O Lord of Nāgas! Now I have expounded in brief upon the ten wholesome deeds for adornment, and on up to the ten Powers, the four Knowledges, the eighteen Distinctive Attributes, and all the categories of dharmas of the Tathāgata being perfectly fulfilled.

"O Lord of Nāgas! You should cultivate and study, and even expound broadly, the ten wholesome courses of karmic action and that work of adornment.

"O Lord of Nāgas! It is like the great earth, which has the ability to cause humankind, the world, together with all the lands, cities, towns, and villages, and on down to the grasses, trees, gardens, and forests, all to abide securely.

"Furthermore, all karmas possess seeds. The seeds become trees all in reliance upon the four great elements. It is like a grain of rice, which from the time it sprouts until the time it ripens relies upon the earth. O Lord of Nāgas! These ten wholesome courses of karmic action have the ability to cause the devas, humans, and all sentient beings to abide securely in a supreme and sublime place, to cause all the conditioned and unconditioned practices to attain the meritorious reward of wisdom, and to cause all the Śrāvakas, Pratyekabuddhas, and on up to the Bodhisattvas and the Supremely Perfectly Enlightened Ones, all to abide securely. To abide securely in this way is indeed to abide securely in all the Buddha-dharma.

"O Lord of Nāgas! These words that I now teach—you all should, with an upright mind, believe and understand them with all your heart."

At that time, within the assembly, the Nāga King Sāgara, together with the Great Bodhisattvas, all the Śrāvakas, the devas, humans, Asuras, Gandharvas, and others—the entire great assembly, having heard the Buddha's instruction, all rejoiced and respectfully put it into practice.