佛說無常經

Thus have I heard. At one time the Buddha was dwelling in the city of Śrāvastī, in the Jeta Grove, in the garden of Anāthapiṇḍika. At that time, the Buddha addressed the bhikṣus, saying that in this world there are three things that are not endearing, not pleasant, not worthy of being thought upon, and not agreeable.

What are these three things? They are old age, sickness, and death. O bhikṣus!

These—old age, sickness, and death—are in this world truly not endearing, not pleasant, not worthy of being thought upon, and not agreeable. If in the world there were no old age, sickness, and death, then the Tathāgata, the Perfectly Enlightened One, would not have manifested in this realm to expound for sentient beings the Dharma that He had realized and the methods for taming the mind. Therefore, it should be known that these—old age, sickness, and death—are in this world truly not endearing, not pleasant, not worthy of being thought upon, and not agreeable.

It is on account of these three matters that the Tathāgata, the Perfectly Enlightened One, appears in the world to expound for sentient beings the Dharma that He has realized and the methods for taming the mind.

At that time, the World-Honored One spoke in verse to restate the meaning above:

“All outer realms shall come to ruin;

Within the body, decay is likewise so.

Only the supreme Dharma is never destroyed—

Whoever has wisdom contemplates it well.

Old age, sickness, and death are mutually loathsome;

The repulsive form is truly to be despised.

The countenance of youth abides but for a moment,

And before long it shall wither and run dry.

Even should one's lifespan span a hundred years,

One cannot escape the calamity of the demon of impermanence.

Old age, sickness, and death ever chase in pursuit,

Forever bringing harm and disadvantage to sentient beings.”

When the World-Honored One had finished speaking the verse, the bhikṣus, the devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, and the rest, all rejoiced with delight, believed deeply, and reverently put it into practice.

The Sūtra Spoken by the Buddha on Impermanence: The Important Matters to Be Attended to When One Is About to Pass Away

If a bhikṣu, bhikṣuṇī, layman, or laywoman knows that there is a person about to pass away, whose body and mind are in agony and suffering, then they should arouse a mind of loving-kindness, rescuing them and bestowing benefit and joy upon them; teach them to bathe and cleanse themselves with scented water and to put on new clothing; sit upright and properly, with right mindfulness contemplating that the sick person has no strength.

Others may sit cross-legged. Teach the sick person to lie down, reclining toward the right side, joining the palms together and with a wholehearted mind facing toward the west. Before the sick person, clear and clean the area; using only ox dung and fragrant powder, in such amount as the mind sees fit, smear it upon the ground; establish an altar platform at the four corners all around; scatter flowers upon the ground and burn various kinds of fine incense at the four corners of the dwelling.

Right within the altar platform, hang an image of the Buddha woven of silk, so that the sick person, mind after mind in unbroken succession, may contemplate the excellent marks of the Buddha clearly and in detail, helping them to arouse the mind of Bodhi; then teach in detail that the three realms are without peace, full of suffering and calamity, and are not a place to dwell. Only the fruit of Buddhahood and Bodhi is truly the place of refuge to be revered.

By taking refuge in the Triple Gem, one will certainly be born into the various Buddha-lands, dwelling together with the Bodhisattvas and receiving subtle and wondrous bliss. Ask the sick person: “Now into which Buddha-land do you wish to be born?” The sick person replies: “I wish to be born into that Buddha-land.” At that time, the one expounding the Dharma must, in accordance with the sick person's wish, teach the sixteen methods of contemplating a Buddha-land, and so forth—such as contemplating the Western Pure Land of the Buddha of Limitless Life, for instance.

When all of this has been taught, one should cause the sick person to arouse the wish to be born into the Buddha-land. When the expounding of the Dharma is done, teach them further to contemplate carefully the excellent marks of the Buddha, in accordance with whichever direction that Buddha-land lies. When the contemplation of the Buddha's excellent marks has been taught, teach further the manner of inviting the Buddha and the Bodhisattvas, as follows: “I bow my head and pay homage to the Tathāgata, the Worthy of Offerings, the Perfectly Enlightened One, together with the great Bodhisattvas.

I beg you to have compassion upon me, to rescue me and bestow benefit and joy. I now respectfully invite you to help me extinguish all the offenses of my karma; and I further wish to become a disciple, following the Buddha and the Bodhisattvas to be born across into the Buddha-land.”

Make this entreaty thus a second time, and a third time. When the sick person has been taught to make the entreaty, teach them further to recite the name of that Buddha, so as to fully accomplish the ten recollections; then exhort them to receive the Dharma of the Threefold Refuge and, with a sincere mind, to repent of their karmic obstructions. When they have been taught to repent, teach them further to receive the Bodhisattva precepts.

If the sick person is in pain and unable to speak, one must teach another to receive the precepts and make repentance on their behalf, and so forth. Of course, the karmic obstructions will be exhausted and the Bodhisattva precepts attained—the only exception being if the mind is not wholehearted. When the precepts have been received, that sick person lies with the head turned toward the north and the face toward the west, opening and closing the eyes, contemplating carefully the thirty-two excellent marks and the eighty noble characteristics of the Buddha.

Contemplate the Buddhas of the ten directions likewise. Also, for the sake of the sick person, expound the Dharma of the Four Noble Truths, the Cause and Effect of the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination, ignorance, old age and death, suffering and emptiness, and so forth. If the sick person is about to pass away, those who care for the sick person must recite the name of the Buddha, the sound continuous and unbroken.

In accordance with the wish of the sick person, recite only one name of the Buddha, and do not recite many names of other Buddhas, for fear that the mind of the sick person may give rise to doubt. If it can be done thus, then when the life of the sick person is about to end, they shall behold an emanated Buddha and the Bodhisattvas bearing subtle and wondrous jeweled flowers, coming to receive and guide the practitioner.

As soon as they behold this, the practitioner arouses a mind of joy, the body feels no pain or ache, the mind is not scattered but gives rise to right view, as though entering meditative absorption; then they pass away forthwith, and will surely not fall into the realms of suffering—the hells, the hungry ghosts, the animals. Relying upon the teaching above, they are instantly born before the Buddha, like a strong man stretching out his arm.

O laymen and laywomen who dwell at home! After the sick person has passed away, you should gather up their new clothing and their personal belongings, divide them into three portions, and on their behalf make offerings to the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha. Thereby the karmic obstructions of the departed spirit are exhausted, and they obtain the surpassing merit of benefit and joy. Do not bury the new clothing and those belongings with the corpse. Why is this? Because there is no benefit in it whatsoever!

All robes and articles, or things that are not robes and articles, belonging to bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, and those who seek the Dharma of tranquil quiescence, must accord with the rules of the Vinaya teaching. As for other people, they are like the householders. When escorting the deceased to the grave, lay their body reclining on the right side downwind, with the face turned toward the light of the sun.

Set up a high seat upwind, adorned beautifully, and then respectfully invite a bhikṣu skilled in reciting the scriptures to ascend the Dharma seat and, for the sake of the deceased, recite the Sūtra on Impermanence. Let the filial children not grieve and weep, but rather, for the sake of the deceased, together with everyone, wholeheartedly burn incense and scatter flowers, making offerings to the Dharma seat, to the subtle and wondrous scripture, and to the bhikṣu upon the Dharma seat.

Afterward, return to their seats, join their palms respectfully, and with single-minded attention listen to the words of the sūtra. That bhikṣu must recite the sūtra slowly. Whoever listens to the recitation of the sūtra, each one must contemplate that their own body is impermanent and that before long it will come to ruin, and so arouse a mind that thinks upon departing far from the mundane world and entering into right concentration.

After that bhikṣu has finished reciting the sūtra, scatter incense and flowers as an offering, and then respectfully invite that one to recite the dhāraṇī scripture over a cup of clean water free of insects thirty-seven times, in order to sprinkle it upon the body of the deceased. Also, recite a blessing of purity over a handful of earth thirty-seven times, and then scatter it upon the body of the deceased. After that, as the family wishes, either bury, or cremate, or leave the corpse of the deceased in the forest.

By the power of the causes and conditions of this merit, all the karmic obstructions of the departed spirit over a hundred thousand myriad koṭis of kalpas—such as the ten evil deeds, the four grave offenses, the five great offenses of rebellion, the slander of the Mahāyāna scriptures, and so forth—all in a single moment are entirely dissolved. The consciousness of the practitioner is born before the Buddha, attains great merit, gives rise to wisdom, severs the delusion of ignorance, attains the six supernatural powers together with the three knowledges, advances into the First Ground, travels throughout the ten directions, makes offerings to the Buddhas, hears and receives the true Dharma, gradually cultivates boundless blessings and wisdom,

and ultimately realizes the unsurpassed path of Bodhi, turns the wheel of the Dharma, delivers countless sentient beings, ascends to the fruit of Great Perfect Quiescence, and becomes the Supreme One of Right Enlightenment.