優陂夷墮舍迦經

Thus have I heard. At one time the Buddha was dwelling in the country of Śrāvastī. Going eastward from that city, there was a woman named Vu Gia Lâu, whom people commonly called Mother of Vu Gia Lâu.

When the Buddha was seated upon the hall in the house of the Mother of Vu Gia Lâu, there was a daughter named Viśākhā (Đê Tú), who upheld the Admonitory Precepts. On the fifteenth day of the month, she rose early and bathed, and she also had her seven daughters-in-law bathe, put on fine and beautiful garments, and only ate their meal when the hour of Mùi had come. When the meal was finished, they washed their hands, and then together with the seven daughters-in-law she came before the Buddha and paid homage.

The Buddha said: "Come and take a seat."

They all withdrew to their own seats.

The Buddha asked: "O Upāsikā (lay female disciple, female lay devotee) Viśākhā! Why is it that today you have bathed and put on fine and beautiful garments and come together with your daughters-in-law to the Buddha's place?"

Viśākhā said: "Today is the fifteenth day, and I am practicing the Fasting Precepts. I have heard it said that there are six Fasting days in a month, and so I, together with my daughters-in-law, uphold the Fast (Upoṣadha) together, not daring to be lazy or to treat it lightly."

The Buddha told Viśākhā: "The Buddha's Dharma of the Right Fast has eight Precepts, which enable a person to cross beyond the ways of the World, and furthermore not to fall into the three evil destinies (the Hells, the hungry ghosts, the animals); the place where one is born will always have the support and aid of merit (the blessing of merit). Likewise, from these eight Precepts come the very causes and conditions that lead to the attainment of Buddhahood.

"What constitutes the Buddha's Dharma of the Right Fast? During this period of time there are the wholesome and good ones who uphold and keep the Precepts (Śīla). In one month there are six Fasting days, namely: the eighth day, the fourteenth day, the fifteenth day, the twenty-third day, the twenty-ninth day, and the thirtieth day.

"_ On the Fasting day, one rises early and tells the people of the household, saying: 'Today I keep the Fasting Precepts. For this one day, in the household let there temporarily be no drinking of wine, no quarreling, no talking about wealth and property. As for household affairs, if the Mind has thought of them and the mouth has spoken of them, then one should be like an Arhat.

The Arhat has no Mind of killing (slaughter), so on the Fasting day, in keeping the Precepts, one should likewise be like an Arhat: having no Mind of killing, having no Mind of using clubs and rods to beat and strike. Thinking even of the animals and the insects, one should always give rise to a Mind like that of an Arhat. This is the first Precept.

Today, throughout the day and the night, guard against the Mind of killing, so that no killing is done. To guard the Mind in this way is the first Precept of the Buddha.'"

"_ The Buddha said: 'On the Fasting day, one should guard the Mind like an Arhat, having no Mind of greed, having nothing to which one is greedily attached or fondly loves in the World, having no Mind of greed even for a single strand of hair or a stalk of vegetable. On the Fasting day, thus one guards the Mind like an Arhat. Those who are wealthy should remember to give alms; those who are poor and destitute and have nothing should each one be mindful of giving (Tyāgānusmṛti: to think upon giving alms, to think upon the act of relinquishment). This is the second Precept.'"

"_ The Buddha said: 'On the Fasting day, one should guard the Mind like an Arhat. The Arhat keeps no women, neither desires women, nor has any Mind of sexual lust. On the Fasting day, thus one guards the Mind like an Arhat. This is the third Precept.'"

"_ The Buddha said: 'On the Fasting day, one should guard the Mind like an Arhat. One does not speak falsehood, has no Mind to harm others. When speaking, one then speaks the Sūtras of the Buddha; when not speaking, one only remembers the good and wholesome things. On the Fasting day, thus one guards the Mind like an Arhat. This is the fourth Precept.'"

"_ The Buddha said: 'On the Fasting day, one should guard the Mind like an Arhat. The Arhat does not drink wine, does not remember wine, does not think of wine, nor uses wine to do evil and wicked deeds. On the Fasting day, thus one guards the Mind like an Arhat. This is the fifth Precept.'"

"_ The Buddha said: 'On the Fasting day, one should guard the Mind like an Arhat. The Mind of the Arhat is not set upon places of singing and dancing; even if he hears it, he does not delight in the sounds of music, nor is his Mind set upon the fragrance of flowers. On the Fasting day, thus one guards the Mind like an Arhat. This is the sixth Precept.'"

"_ The Buddha said: 'On the Fasting day, one should guard the Mind like an Arhat. The Arhat does not lie upon a high and beautiful bed, and his Mind does not remember or think of lying upon a high and beautiful bed. On the Fasting day, thus one guards the Mind like an Arhat. This is the seventh Precept.'"

"_ The Buddha said: 'On the Fasting day, one should guard the Mind like an Arhat. The Arhat eats only during the hour of Noon; after the hour of Noon until the following day he may not eat again, but may only drink honey and milk. On the Fasting day, thus one guards the Mind like an Arhat. This is the eighth Precept.'"

The Buddha again told the Upāsikā Viśākhā: "At that time, there was a person whose head and hair were filthy and unclean, who washed his own head. When the bathing was finished, that person then rejoiced and said: 'The filth upon my head is gone now.' There is one who keeps the eight Precepts for one day and one night, and on the following day then rejoices. The one who rejoices then remembers the Buddha's Sūtras and Precepts, and so it is thus. Furthermore, there is one in whose Mind there is an evil and wicked Mind that then departs, and the good and wholesome Mind then returns."

The Buddha said: "There is a person whose body is very filthy, who enters into the water and scrubs himself, and the filth upon the body all washes away. When he comes out of the water, he then rejoices and says: 'My filth has washed away, and so the body has become light and at ease.' Furthermore, there is one who keeps the Fasting Precepts for one day and one night, and on the following day then rejoices, remembering the right and correct teaching of the Buddha, and so thinks to himself: 'When shall I attain the Path? May my Mind no longer waver, no longer run and leap about; may my Mind single-heartedly turn toward (be of one resolve toward) the Path of the Unconditioned.'"

The Buddha said: "There is a person whose clothing is very filthy, who uses ashes to wash and rinse it and remove the stains, and that person then rejoices. Furthermore, there is one who keeps the Fasting Precepts for one day and one night, and on the following day then rejoices, remembering the Saṃgha of Bhikṣus (Bhikṣu-saṃgha: the assembly of Bhikṣus), and so says: 'Within the Saṃgha of Bhikṣus there is one who is a Srotāpanna, there is one who is a Sakṛdāgāmi, there is one who is an Anāgāmi, there is one who is an Arhat.' Thus one remembers the Saṃgha of Bhikṣus."

The Buddha said: "It is like a person who has a mirror, and that mirror is filthy; when it is wiped and polished and the stains are removed, the mirror then becomes bright and clear. Furthermore, there is one who keeps the Fasting Precepts for one day and one night, who has a Mind of Loving-kindness (Maitra-citta: a Mind that loves and helps) toward all under Heaven, and so the Mind opens and brightens like the mirror, no longer having any Mind of anger. Furthermore, there is one who keeps the Fasting Precepts for one day and one night, who cherishes all under Heaven, whose Mind is pure and clear, who reflects upon himself and carefully examines his own Mind, who thinks upon and remembers the evil ways within his body in this manner. A person such as this no longer has any wrath or rage."

The Buddha told the Upāsikā Viśākhā: "To uphold and keep the eight Fasting Precepts for one day and one night without losing them is far better than taking gold, silver, and precious jewels and giving them to the Saṃgha of Bhikṣus.

"In the world there are sixteen great countries (Ṣodaśa-mahājanapadā: the sixteen great countries of ancient India in the age of the Buddha), named:

1_ Aṅga

2_ Magadha

3_ Kāśi

4_ Kośala

5_ Kuru

6_ Vatsa

7_ Aśvaka

8_ Avanti

9_ Pañcāla

10_ Gandhāra

11_ Śūrasena

12_ Matsya

13_ Vṛji

14_ Malla

15_ Ceḍi

16_ Kambboja

"To take the precious things and the jewels and gems of these sixteen great countries and give them to the Saṃgha of Bhikṣus is not equal to keeping the Fasting Precepts for one day and one night. The Fasting Precepts enable a person to cross beyond the ways of the World. To take wealth and treasures and give them away cannot enable a person to attain the Path (Mārga). Now I have attained the Buddha-Path (Buddha-mārga), which originally arose from these eight Precepts."

The Buddha told Viśākhā: "The people in the world, for the most part, are anxious over household affairs. For this reason I have them uphold and keep the eight Precepts during the six Fasting days of the month. If there is a wholesome and good person who wishes to swiftly attain the Path of the Arhat, or who wishes to swiftly attain the Buddha-Path, or who wishes to be born up in the heavens of the gods—then he may carefully examine his own Mind and single-heartedly follow that resolve.

Within the month, to keep the Fasting Precepts for fifteen days is also good; to keep the Fasting Precepts for twenty days is also good. People, for the most part, are anxious over household affairs, and therefore six Fasting days within the month are given to them. The six Fasting days are like the water of the sea, which cannot be measured by the Hộc measure.

Moreover, for one who keeps the Fasting Precepts for one day and one night, that merit cannot be counted or reckoned."

The Buddha told Viśākhā: "Go back together with your daughters-in-law, and recite the eight Precepts of this Dharma of the Right Fast."

The Upāsikā Viśākhā (the female lay devotee Viśākhā), before the Buddha, paid homage and then withdrew.

THE SŪTRA OF THE UPĀSIKĀ VIŚĀKHĀ The End