福蓋正行所集經

At that time, the Elder, having again praised the Buddha with verses, gave forth words of truth and a vast vow, saying: If I have accomplished even a little wholesome root of merit, then I vow that in a future life I may attain the path of Buddhahood. Furthermore, just like the World-Honored One, may I fully accomplish the thirty-two excellent marks together with the eighty fine features, the unobstructed power, and the supreme medicine of the Dharma.

May I be able to remove the diseases of greed, hatred, and delusion in sentient beings. For those who have no kin or acquaintance, may I become their lord. For places of darkness, may I make them bright.

For those not yet subdued, may I cause them to be subdued. For those who do not yet clearly believe, may I cause faith to arise in them. For those not yet at peace, may I bring them to peace.

For those who have not yet attained Nirvana, may I cause them to attain Nirvana. Ultimately may they escape birth, old age, sickness, death, grief, sorrow, suffering, and affliction. Or may I cause them to be born in the heavenly realms, receiving abundant supreme and wondrous joy.

Furthermore, may I be able to exhort people to cultivate the Eightfold Noble Path and reveal and expound the Dharma of the Four Noble Truths. When those people have heard it, their minds will be awakened; they will praise the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha with every kind of merit, immeasurable wisdom, a self-nature that is pure, and a majestic spiritual power so vast that none can surpass it. May I be able to bring them out of the suffering of the cycle of birth and death.

By skillful means I will guide them into the city of liberation, and gradually cause them to cultivate all the meritorious Dharmas: to uphold the pure precepts, to cultivate Śamatha and Vipaśyanā; the Four Fearlessnesses, the Four Bases of Spiritual Power, the Four Right Exertions, and so forth, in order to remedy indolence. Regarding the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, may they remember clearly and not forget. The Four Immeasurable Minds, may they cultivate with equanimity.

May they rely upon the Five Faculties and the Five Powers; cutting off the Five Obstacles of the realms of existence. May they understand the marks of the Five Aggregates; that self and others are alike. May they completely fulfill the Six Pāramitās.

Using the Seven Holy Riches, may they universally give to all. May they cultivate the pure precepts completely. May they tread upon the seven flowers of enlightenment; single-mindedly abiding in the seven contemplative skillful means.

May they discriminate and expound the various parts of the Eightfold Noble Path. May they diligently cultivate the nine successive concentrations. May they fully possess the Ten Powers.

Called the Ten Directions, may they attain the Ten Sovereignties, even unto the attainment of Buddhahood.

At that time the World-Honored One, seeing that the Elder in the great assembly had given forth such a vow, then praised him, saying: Excellent! Now you are truly a great dragon among humankind; a lion among humankind. The most exalted among the Great Sages, free from all defilement like a white lotus flower; able to carry all sentient beings, able to bear them to unsurpassed Bodhi. Then the Buddha, with the golden radiance shining from his hand, like a blooming lotus flower; the fingers marked with many truly beautiful lines, as a father consoles his child, placed it upon the head of the Elder, and with a Brahma voice like the thunder and lightning of spring, spoke these words:

In a future life you shall become a Buddha named Able-to-Fulfill-the-Aspirations-of-Sentient-Beings, the Tathāgata, the Worthy of Offerings, the Perfectly 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. Fully possessing the Ten Powers, you shall destroy the hordes of Māra, cause this land to be pure, vast, rich, and joyful. At that time in the open sky the Goddesses rained down beautiful flowers to make offerings to the Buddhas throughout the world together with all sentient beings. All gave rise to faith. They joyfully cultivated and made merit. At that time the World-Honored One then spoke a verse, saying:

You, in a future life,

Having accumulated wholesome merit,

There in that ocean of birth and death,

Will rescue the suffering ones who are drowning.

After passing through countless kalpas,

You shall attain the path of Buddhahood.

The eye of wisdom, pure and undefiled,

Will directly realize all dharmas.

Your excellent marks radiate light,

Like the sun of the world.

You will cause all sentient beings

To remove the darkness of the three poisons.

Among gods, humans, and the great assembly,

Supreme, with none above you,

You will skillfully subdue sentient beings,

Causing all to cultivate the holy life.

A Teacher who guides the way well,

Fully possessing all wisdom,

You will attain the supreme Bodhi,

Like a lotus flower emerging from the water.

At that time, when the World-Honored One had bestowed the prophecy upon that Elder in the midst of the great assembly, all the people in the realm of King Bimbisāra gave rise to faith and rejoiced as never before. Because of the Buddha they devotedly cultivated the practice of giving. Then among gods and humans they constantly became lords and sovereigns. They had great majestic power. They constantly used the mind of great compassion to bring benefit and peaceful joy to all sentient beings. Unsurpassed Bodhi they would surely attain. Therefore the Buddha taught: All you Bhikkhus, regarding this scripture you should always receive and uphold it, and for their sake proclaim it.

Having now clearly understood the practice of giving; do not be anxious or fearful nor cease, for the merit of upholding the precepts shall now be clearly explained. After giving, what comes next? — It is precisely the upholding of precepts. Here, relying on the various scriptures, it will be explained in turn.

Furthermore, those sentient beings who are constantly indulgent and given to pleasure, mostly because of mistaken inward reflection, then follow along with it in their actions to the point of carrying them out. Through bodily form or through speech, they break the prohibitive precepts. Here, wishing to give rise to the antidote for sentient beings; therefore after giving, the marks of upholding the precepts are explained.

If one is a disciple of the Buddha, even among the laity in white robes, who firmly upholds the prohibitive precepts without transgression, this is called the pure upholding of precepts. If any sentient beings give rise to perverse thoughts, and through the deeds of body, speech, and mind create many offenses such as: slaying living beings; killing human life. Taking what is not given of the possessions of others.

Being attached to the defilement of desire, with a mind that will not let go. Speaking untruthful words, flattering speech, harsh speech, double-tongued speech; giving rise to great wrong views, abandoning cause and effect, killing one's father, harming one's mother, killing an Arhat. Using a malicious mind to draw blood from the body of a Buddha, splitting the harmonious Sangha, destroying stupas and harming temples, stealing the property of the Sangha, defiling the pure conduct of the community of nuns.

Toward good people they delight in inflicting humiliation; they constantly delight in gathering together, speaking meaningless talk, slighting the Dharma and mocking words of admonition and instruction, coveting the wealth of the world. For the sake of wrongful affairs they may lose their lives, creating evil karma, becoming the chief among prison-guards; slaughtering pigs and butchering fish, digging through walls and boring through partitions, even to coveting from others their small goods and possessions, and committing acts of plunder and seizure.

Together with those who take poison to harm sentient beings. Elephants, horses, oxen, and so forth, they delight in making them gore one another, destroying villages and hamlets, felling and cutting down trees; uttering coarse words; slandering the worthy, deceitfully appearing as a good person; yet their mind is truly deceitful. The good they call not good.

The praiseworthy they do not praise. Having created such offenses, then when the time of death arrives, all the marks of suffering appear before their eyes. When consciousness undergoes its transformation, evil karma pursues them, and they fall into the hells, undergoing extreme torments and suffering.

There are four kinds of hells. The first is called the hell of burning fire; the second is called the hell of urine and excrement; the third is called the forest of swords; the fourth is called the river of charcoal. These are the four hells.

They are called the neighboring hells. There are also eight other fundamental hells of scorching heat. The first is called the Burning; the second is the Intense Burning; the third is the Crushing Together of all things; the fourth is the Wailing; the fifth is the Great Wailing; the sixth is the Fiery Pit; the seventh is the Great Roasting; the eighth is the one with No Interval of time.

While in those hells there are prison-guards, ugly in form, foul-smelling and malevolent, terrifying and cruel. Some have ox heads; some take the form of elephant heads; their forms truly huge, stout and powerful; their skin and flesh dark, their hair colored red and yellow, their faces full of wrath. From the nostrils to the lips, their two hands hard and firm, all holding knives and clubs; or holding sharp axes used for stabbing and cutting.

Rings of swords turn round and round, with every kind of instrument for inflicting torment. All of them are heated red-hot. Then those fierce and violent prison-guards come up to the sinners, without a mind of compassion; either burning or roasting; either breaking or stabbing, doing whatever causes them to die; then they come back to life, and are again confined in the hell of scorching heat.

In that hell of urine and foul excrement, their two feet are burned. If they should awaken, they are then cast into the forest of knives and swords. When they run back and forth and arrive beneath the branches of the trees, then the blades of the knives descend from on high, and at once slice their bodies; and then birds and beasts, tigers and leopards, lions, and Makara fish and so forth, open their mouths very wide and spew forth fire; their teeth sharp and pointed, ceaselessly menacing.

For those sentient beings who have done evil, there is a tree of tin, named Śālmalī, upon which there are hundreds of thousands of sharp blades; each of tin and pointed, sixteen finger-joints in length. At that time those prison-guards lead the sinners up, in order from top to bottom; then hang them upside down. The malevolent birds vie with one another to perch upon them, and using their very sharp talons; either tear or peck.

The prison-guards take a hot iron ball and place it into the mouth of the sinner. Having pressed and oppressed them thus, they further pour molten boiling copper and pour it into the mouth. From the throat downward all is set ablaze.

Or they take iron nails and drive them into the tongue. Again there are iron plowshares, with which they make oxen plow upon it. Or they cast the sinner into a hot iron furnace and then take a pole to skewer the sinner.

Or in that burning furnace they make this body, as well as the ears, nose, and mouth; from every place blood gushes forth. This entire body is destroyed and nothing remains. There is a great pit of fire, truly deep, with fire blazing within; they cast that sinner into it.

Burning for a long while, he turns entirely into fire. At that time the prison-guards revile and curse, saying: In days past you created untold amounts of evil karma, your mind doing no wholesome deeds, breaking and transgressing the prohibitive precepts; therefore now you receive this karmic retribution. From this you should know for yourself that here it is extremely painful, hard to bear and hard to endure.

After undergoing the offense for a period of time, only when the karma is exhausted does one come out. Therefore the Buddha taught:

You Bhikkhus! You should always, regarding this scripture, receive and uphold it, read and recite it, and for the sake of others expound it, causing them to practice giving and the precepts so as to accomplish the covering of merit.

The Buddha said that the breaking of precepts is due to evil thinking, formed by inward reflection; not giving rise to amendment; worry and oppression; therefore creating the various offenses; just like dry firewood placed into a furnace and set alight, it will surely be burned up; like a spoiled seed sown into a field. In the end it cannot sprout. The one who breaks the precepts, regarding the field of the Dharma, cannot give rise to wholesome sprouts.

And it is also like this: as in that forest of trees, when one comes and cuts away all the roots, branches, and leaves, then there is no more shade. The one who breaks the precepts cuts off the wholesome roots; destroying the meritorious Dharmas. It is also thus.

Like a withered tree beside the mouth of a well, lacking water, wishing to obtain water yet not obtaining it. The one who breaks the precepts, when all good people come to seek the Dharma, they likewise obtain nothing. Like a Caṇḍāla, who cannot become a king.

All the people no longer trust him. The one who breaks the precepts cannot expound the Dharma. All sentient beings cannot hear it and uphold it.

Like a person who, regarding rotten and spoiled goods, hopes to seek a fine and delicious flavor, in the end obtains nothing. Regarding his violations and transgressions, the one who breaks the precepts seeks to obtain merit, but in the end obtains nothing. Furthermore, the layman in white robes sees that Śramaṇa, solitary yet untiring, tranquil and at peace, and renounces this household to joyfully practice the conduct of a Śramaṇa.

But that other one has no true and proper cause, his mind not resolved; foolish, dull, and dim. Having become a Śramaṇa, he again delights in the secular enterprises of business, attached to the defilements of desire, breaking the prohibitive precepts; then among that community there are venerable elders of long virtue who revile and rebuke him. Concerning this it is said in verse:

A person who relies on the three treasures of the Buddha

Yet joyfully creates the non-Dharma,

Defiling the pure practices,

Is no different from a Caṇḍāla.

Within his mind he ponders the perverse,

The realms of the five desires,

Just like a young calf

That constantly thinks of grass and water.

He joyfully engages in worldly affairs,

Buying and selling precious goods,

Raising and lowering according to the price,

Speaking words that are not truthful.

That one is like an empty vase,

This mind is forever insufficient;

For the sake of seeking a little profit and gain,

He creates all manner of falsehood and deceit.

Just like the flower and the bee,

Ever dwelling in the lotus grove,

Going in and out of the dense thickets,

To receive all the sufferings.

My Buddha-Dharma is vast and deep,

In the end it does not tolerate the urine;

In that field of merit,

It will not give rise to the sprout of the seed.

When the disease of confinement binds him,

There is no way to heal it.

The one who creates evil karma,

Why does he not give rise to fear and worry?

Just like a boat that is leaking,

How can self and others be ferried across?

The Buddha said: The one who breaks the precepts has no shame because of his abundant greed and desire, his mind craving much. He encroaches upon the beauty of others, constantly anxious and fearful, losing his good repute, departing far from good friends. One should understand this is like that miserly person, who in the end has not the slightest merit.

The one who breaks the precepts is also like the greedy one who has no hands. Although he reaches a mountain of treasure; yet he can gather no wealth at all. Like a filthy vase, full of leaks and seepage.

The one who violates the precepts causes those who see him to depart at once. Like a snake in the room, of which people are constantly afraid. Like a beautiful garden that yet has tigers and leopards within.

Like a perilous and dangerous road, which people do not wish to travel back and forth. Like a cart that is broken, which cannot be made to transport anything. Like that evil person, whom everyone shuns.

Like that venomous snake, upon which the eye does not wish to gaze. Like the Khadira forest of which many people are afraid. Like that intoxicated elephant, controlled by an evil person.

Like a thief, whom the wealthy avoid. Just like the Campaka flower in the daytime, which has no fragrance. And also like this: within the Candana forest there is a Tinduka tree, foul of smell and ugly of form, which must quickly be cut away.

Even if within the mouth there were a hundred thousand tongues, one could not finish telling the faults of breaking the precepts. Wishing to state their number, one cannot finish telling them.

Because of breaking the precepts in this way, one cannot increase all the wholesome dharmas toward all sentient beings. As is said in the scriptures: There was a man who said to his wife: You should mount the cart and go into the forest to gather firewood. Because of gathering firewood, he lost the ox; and because he went to search for the ox, he had to make someone watch over the cart.

The ox he had not yet obtained, but the cart too was lost. This man searched everywhere and came upon a pond, saw a flock of birds, and at once took an axe and hurled it from afar. The birds he had not yet caught, but the axe had sunk into the pond.

He took off his clothes and laid them on the bank, and dove into the pond to search for the axe. The axe he could not find, his clothes were hidden by someone, and naked he returned home. At that time the sky was dark, and when he reached the head of the lane, it was so dark that he could not be seen clearly, and so the people of the household, thinking a robber had come, took up clubs and chased him, wounding one eye; the eye bled and dripped down upon the ground.

Just then an evil and malevolent worm dropped down from above, and smelling the scent of the blood; ate the one eye as well. He turned toward another place, abandoned his home, and departed. Clearly understanding this matter, it is truly astonishing.

As with the matter above, then for the sake of this wife it was spoken in verse:

Losing his clothes and ruining his eyes,

How then is the body of such a person?

He truly does not understand this matter,

And on account of it runs away and abandons all.

So too is a disciple of the Buddha:

Better to forgo wide learning,

For the precepts ought to be guarded;

Breaking the precepts is like being without eyes.

So one should understand: the one who breaks the precepts,

Falsely calling himself a Śramaṇa,

Ought not to receive offerings,

For he has lost the wholesome merit.

Herein it is again said: Just as an Elder who has many children constantly teaches and instructs them and keeps the children from being indulgent. This is like a storehouse fully stocked with precious treasures, with servants and maids in attendance; surely they remain subordinate. In this way one obtains peace and security for a long time.

Among those children there are some who are extravagant and delight in the beauty of women. When the Elder hears of it, he then gathers his kinsfolk together, and together they rebuke the child, and giving him a little wealth, send him out of the house, and then admonish him, saying: Do not be indulgent! Squandering your wealth, you will later undergo suffering.

Because that child forgot this, then that child, not knowing whence it came, and before long, his wealth was gone, his form gaunt and haggard, and he went begging for food and stealing and plundering from acquaintances. At that time the father, the Elder, having seen this, was filled with worry and grief, and his mind then renounced him. Before the crowd of people he said in a loud voice: This is not my son.

This is not my son. Saying this for that one to hear, grieving and ashamed.

The Buddha said: I too am like this. If any disciples of mine break and destroy the prohibitive precepts, having neither shame nor remorse, then they ought to be cast out from the Buddha-Dharma. Furthermore they shall not partake in enlightenment. The meritorious Dharmas, every kind of holy riches, and even gods and humans, Śramaṇas, Brāhmaṇas, and so forth, within the great assembly say in a loud voice: This is one who breaks the precepts, not a disciple of mine. Saying this for that one to hear, he is ashamed of the offenses he has committed.

Furthermore, those people in white robes, once they have left the household life, should rely upon being a Śramaṇa, dwelling in a place of purity, wearing the kaṣāya robe, carrying the alms-bowl in hand. Holding the lamp of diligence, cultivating and learning widely; not relying on the secular world to engage in wrongful livelihood. Mounting elephants and horses, the body clad in thick armor, drawing the bow to shoot.

Entering into the ranks of an army, such is the comparison. Within my Dharma, one who destroys the rules of discipline, the eye does not wish to gaze upon him, just like lighting a lamp in the daytime in the world. Even if there be many of them, they cannot dispel the darkness.

That foolish person cannot give rise to the undefiled holy wisdom, to be a lamp illuminating the world. And it is also like this: like an actor who wears beautiful robes and a beautiful cap and before everyone calls himself a king; but this only brings amusement to others and is not real. The one who breaks the precepts, although he wears the kaṣāya robe and has the marks of a Śramaṇa; yet he cannot purely bring joys into the world.

It is also like a greedy person who falsely claims to be wealthy. Before everyone he says in a loud voice that he himself is an Elder; but in truth that person does not in the least follow his own will and sovereignty. The one who breaks the precepts falsely calls himself a Śramaṇa, and thus cannot attain the subtle and wondrous fruit of liberation.

The Sūtra of the Collected Practices of the Right Conduct of the Covering of Merit

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