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Mahāyāna — Northern Canon · Linh Sơn Vietnamese Mahāyāna Canon
法集要頌經
Chinese title:法集要頌經
📖5,965 words · ~24 min read
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Interpreted by Inti AI (English)
🪷 AI interpretation
CHAPTER 24: EXTENSIVE EXPOSITION
[1]Though one recites a hundred verses,What use if one understands them not?To comprehend but a single line,And hearing it, attain the Way.
[2]Though one recites a thousand verses,What use if one understands them not?Better to understand a single line,And hearing it, the mind grows still.
[3]Though one understands a thousand verses,What use if one practices them not?Better to hold to a single line,And practicing it, attain the Way.
[4]Though one should live a hundred years,Breaking the precepts, mind unsettled,Better to live a single dayMaking offerings to one who keeps the precepts.
[5]Though one should live a hundred years,Slothful and without diligence,Better to live a single dayCourageously practicing with effort.
[6]Though one should live a hundred years,Not knowing the law of arising and ceasing,Better to live a single dayClearly understanding the law of arising and ceasing.
[7]Though one should live a hundred years,Not knowing the matter of success and failure,Better to live a single daySeeing the cause and knowing the fruit.
[8]Though one should live a hundred years,Not seeing the taintless Way,Better to live a single daySeeing the taintless Way.
[9]Though one should live a hundred years,Not seeing the unshakable Way,Better to live a single daySeeing the unshakable Way.
[10]Though one should live a hundred years,Not seeing the subtle and sublime Way,Better to live a single daySeeing the subtle and sublime Way.
[11]Though one should live a hundred years,Not seeing the unborn Way,Better to live a single daySeeing the unborn Way.
[12]Though one should live a hundred years,Not seeing the actionless Way,Better to live a single daySeeing the actionless Way.
[13]Though one should live a hundred years,Not seeing the supreme Way,Better to live a single daySeeing the supreme Way.
[14]Though one should live a hundred years,Not seeing the Way of quiescent cessation,Better to live a single daySeeing the Way of quiescent cessation.
[15]Though one should live a hundred years,Not seeing the ambrosial Way,Better to live a single dayDrinking of the ambrosial Way.
[16]Though one should live a hundred years,Not seeing the undefiled Way,Better to live a single daySeeing the undefiled Way.
[17]Though one should live a hundred years,Not seeing the Way that parts from defilement,Better to live a single dayParting from defilement and gaining liberation.
[18]Though one should live a hundred years,In mountains and forests worshiping the fire-god,Better in a single momentTo contemplate the body and practice the Way.
[19]Though one should live a hundred years,In mountains and forests worshiping the fire-god,Better in a single momentThrough right view to gain liberation.
[20]Month after monthThe fool partakes of food and drink,Yet he has no faith in the Buddha—Not one sixteenth part is his.
[21]If one prays at a spirit-shrine,For many years hoping for blessings,Of those blessings, in four parts,Not even one part shall he have.
[22]Month after monthThe fool partakes of food and drink,Yet gives rise to no heart of compassion—Not one sixteenth part is his.
[23]Month after monthThe fool partakes of food and drink,Yet that one knows not the Dharma—Not one sixteenth part is his.
[24]Month after monthHe ever attends the Dharma assembly,Yet that one has no faith in the Buddha—Not one sixteenth part is his.
[25]Month after monthHe ever attends the Dharma assembly,Yet that one has no faith in the Dharma—Not one sixteenth part is his.
[26]Month after monthHe ever attends the Dharma assembly,Yet that one has no faith in the Sangha—Not one sixteenth part is his.
[27]Each month he goes to the temple-shrines,Giving alms ever with equanimity,Yet his heart holds no compassion—Not one sixteenth part is his.
[28]Each month he goes to the temple-shrines,Giving alms ever with equanimity,Yet for insects and worms he has no love—Not one sixteenth part is his.
[29]Each month he goes to the temple-shrines,Giving alms ever with equanimity,Yet if his heart has no loving-kindness—Not one sixteenth part is his.
[30]Each month he goes to the temple-shrines,Giving alms ever with equanimity,Yet that one harbors hatred and resentment—Not one sixteenth part is his.
[31]Each month he goes to the temple-shrines,Giving alms ever with equanimity,Yet he sees not the Dharma of cessation through discernment—Not one sixteenth part is his.
[32]Each month he goes to the temple-shrines,All his life without ceasing to rest,Yet this cannot match, in a fleeting moment,Single-mindedly recollecting the True Dharma.The blessing of one thought upon the WaySurpasses one who worships a whole life long.
[33]Though throughout a full hundred yearsOne serves and worships the fire-god's shrine,This cannot match, in a single moment,Making offerings to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.The merit of one act of cultivationSurpasses one who worships a hundred years.
CHAPTER 25: GOOD FRIENDS
[1]The faithless harbor jealousy and hate,That one delights in strife and contention.The wise cast off enmity and resentment,While the foolish herd take it for joy.
[2]With faithful heart, free of jealousy and hate,Diligent, faithful, and widely learned—The wise ever hold such a one in honor,And the sages and worthy call it joy.
[3]Draw not near the wicked and evil,Go not to places contrary to the Dharma.Keep close to good and wise spiritual friends,And ever go to places of the True Dharma.
[4]On the road, remember to weigh and reflect;Keep the precepts, become widely learned;Ponder upon boundless realms,And heeding those excellent teachings,Know all matters with clarity.
[5]Near the wicked, one sinks of oneself;Cultivating goodness, one gains good repute.The sages and worthy are ever wondrous,By reason of an upright person.
[6]The good person ever does what is wholesome,By reason of keeping near good friends.Wisdom is the supreme thing;Keeping the precepts is eternal quiescent cessation.
[7]As fish gather in foul-smelling stench,The greedy strive and snatch and seize.With defiled mind, they know not the filth—The habit of evil is just like this.
[8]The fragrant tree, leaves of the eaglewood—Living beings come and pluck them off;The fragrant leaves spread their scent afar—Doing good is just like this.
[9]Keeping close to the wicked and evil,The karma of transgression daily increases.Like a pig living in filth and squalor,It fouls itself and fouls others too.
[10]Though one does no evil oneself,Keeping close to those who do evil,One shall be mocked and derided by others,And one's ill repute daily increases.
[11]By repeated habit, it becomes one's nature;Knowing it is evil, yet keeping close to it—A poisoned arrow is lodged therein,Causing a person to become defiled.The true man skillfully roots it out,Casting off evil, making no friend of it.
[12]Therefore, knowing the retribution of fruits,The wise must surely discriminate:With evil one should never form the habit,But rather keep close to the sages and worthy.The bhikkhu who practices the Way,Enduring suffering, purges all the taints.
[13]Though the fool, throughout his whole life,Attends upon one of bright wisdom,He still knows not the True Dharma—Like a ladle that scoops up food.
[14]Yet the wise one, in but a fleeting moment,Attending upon a sage and worthy person,Knows the True Dharma clearly and fully—As the tongue tastes a flavor.
[15]The wise, with but a single line,Expound boundless meanings;The fool recites a thousand lines,Yet understands the meaning of none.
[16]Accomplishing the meaning of a single line,The wise delight to cultivate and learn;The fool loves to shun and turn awayFrom the true words of the Buddha's teaching.
[17]The wise overcome enmity and hatred,Following not the bonds of affection;The foolish, following what is contrary to the Dharma,Advance step by step into hell.
[18]The fool who deems himself a fool—Know that he yet has some wisdom;The fool who deems himself clever—That is to be a fool beyond all measure.
[19]If, moreover, one praises the foolAnd the wise one slanders,Slandering the wise as though it were a triumph,Praising the fool is no lofty thing.
[20]Listen not to what the fool says,Nor dwell together with the fool.To share with the fool is to suffer calamity,As though sharing a place with an enemy.Choose then a place to dwell together,As though meeting again a kindred kin.
[21]Therefore honor the widely learnedTogether with whoever keeps the precepts.Most venerable among the ranks of men,Like the moon amid the host of stars.
CHAPTER 26: QUIESCENT CESSATION
[1]As the tortoise draws in and hides itself,The bhikkhu gathers in his thoughts and notions—Relying on none, harming no one,In quiescent cessation, without words.
[2]Patient forbearance is foremost;Quiescent cessation is supreme.Harboring no afflictions in the heart,Harmless—such is the śramaṇa.
[3]Speak no coarse and evil words;Let your speech be eloquent and skillful.The poorly understanding are hard to debate with—On the contrary, they are made to yield.
[4]Ever giving rise to afflictions of oneself,Like that vessel shattered into pieces,One ever turns about in birth and death,Forever sinking, unable to escape.
[5]If one gives rise to no afflictions,Like a vessel that remains whole and intact,Thus does one come to quiescent cessation,Where dust and defilement never can cover.
[6]Freedom from sickness is the greatest gain;Knowing contentment is the greatest wealth;Kin of flesh and bone are the closest of all;Quiescent cessation is the greatest joy.
[7]Hunger and thirst are the greatest affliction;The constructed formations are the greatest suffering.Whoever knows this as it truly is—Quiescent cessation is the highest peace and joy.
[8]How sublime are the words of the Buddha!Passed down without end or limit,Spread abroad throughout the whole world,Never at any time outworn.
[9]The Buddha, whom none can equal,Expounds words true and wholesome.The body is oppressed and pressed by suffering—What suffering equals hunger and thirst?
[10]Few there are who reach the realms of bliss;The greater part go to the evil destinies.Whoever knows this as it truly is,Let him swiftly seek quiescent cessation.
[11]By conditions one is born in the realms of bliss;By conditions one is born in the evil destinies;By conditions one attains quiescent cessation—Thus all comes about through conditions.
[12]The deer dwell in the wilderness,The birds fly amid the open sky;The myriad dharmas are by causes and conditions,And the man of the Way returns to quiescent cessation.
[13]Not with a slothful mind,Nor with cowardice, can one arrive.Wishing to seek the Way of quiescent cessation,Burn away every bond and fetter.
[14]The bhikkhu rows his little boat;The empty boat skims lightly along.Destroying greed, hatred, and delusion,He shall then arrive at quiescent cessation.
[15]A self, an existence—from the first these are not;Of old there was a self, now there is none.Neither not-existing nor existing—As it now is, it cannot be grasped.
[16]The Ultimate Truth is most hard to see;With skillful contemplation one discriminates.Penetrating to the root of craving and desire,Suffering shall be utterly destroyed.
[17]Severing craving and removing desire,The river dries and flows no more.Skillfully discerning the root of craving and desire,Suffering shall be utterly destroyed.
[18]Without body, perception is destroyed,And anguish is rendered cool and calm.The formations are forever stilled at rest,Consciousness and perception arise no more.Whoever knows this as it truly is,Suffering shall be utterly destroyed.
[19]In a secluded place one becomes still;Keep not close to the joys that are tainted.Unshaken, one gains tranquil ease;Only in stillness does one gain quiescent cessation.
[20]Neither is it by coming or going;Coming and going cut off arising and ceasing.Aging, death, and affliction removed,Severing suffering, one gains quiescent cessation.
[21]I shall not return again;Neither going nor coming,Neither dying nor being born—This is the realm of quiescent cessation.
[22]Know the root and branches of birth;Know the conditioned and the unconditioned.Bound fast by birth and death,Whoever is bound is hard to subdue.
[23]
Thus this body of the four great elements,
The five aggregates, is a heap of suffering and affliction.
Abiding firm, contemplating it as truly suffering,
Ending suffering, one realizes quiescent cessation.
[24]The dharmas neither come nor go;Coming and going are ever arising and ceasing.Aging, sickness, and death shift and change;Taintless, one attains quiescent cessation.
[25]Bhikkhu! Wherever there is birth,There surely will be doing and making.Where there is no birth, there is no more becoming;Where there is no doing, there is no place for action.
[26]Bhikkhu! I have already understood:No more do I enter the various Bases—Neither the Base of Boundless ConsciousnessNor the Base of Nothingness.
[27]I enter not the Base of Neither-Perception-Nor-Non-Perception,Neither this world nor the world to come,Nor any perception of sun and moon,Neither coming nor going.
[28]By food, the causes and conditions of birth arise;By food, there is joy and sorrow.Whoever removes and destroys this matter,All sufferings shall be utterly purged.
[29]Without food, life can hardly be sustained—Who is there that needs not to eat?Men regard food as foremost of all,And only after that comes the Way.
[30]Earth and water and fire—At that time the wind blows not,The bright fire shines and illumines not,Nor are any scenes or objects seen.
[31]Neither does the moon give light,Nor does the heaven shine and illumine.Whoever contemplates this thoroughlyShall then attain the Way of quiescent cessation.
[32]Upright, he lets go of form,And is freed from every suffering and bondage.Neither form nor formless,He is freed from the foremost suffering.
[33]At the ultimate, he is without fear;Self-mastered, he harbors no doubt.Not yet having severed the thorn of craving,How can one know the body to be affliction?
[34]He is called the one of the ultimate goal;Quiescent cessation is foremost.Having severed all clinging and attachment,His words and phrases are without error.
[35]The ordinary worldling does not reflect;The wise let go of the formations.With mind reflecting upon the practice of itself,It is as if emerging from the eggshell.
[36]The gift of the Dharma surpasses every gift;The joy of the Dharma surpasses every joy;The power of forbearance surpasses every power;The ending of craving ends all suffering.
CHAPTER 27: CONTEMPLATION
[1]Skillfully contemplate your own faults;One's own faults do not come to light,While the faults of others are most easy to see—Like dust drifting and floating in the air.
[2]If one declares oneself without fault,Sin and merit both come together;Seeing only the faults of others,One ever harbors a heart of harm.
[3]Knowing shame and modesty, one lives long—Why be led and bound by greed?The strong man fears nothing,But the worldling's lifespan grows short and brief.
[4]Knowing shame, he receives offerings,Ever seeking the practice of purity;His deportment is without flaw or lack—Behold the truly pure recipient.
[5]Dark and dim, it covers over the world;The eye of wisdom is most rare.The flock of birds fall into the net—How few are those born into the heavens.
[6]Contemplating worldly dharmas in their decline,One sees only that form transforms and changes.The fool binds and fetters himself,Hemmed in and bound by the dark.He does not even see the formations,Still less that which is utterly without existence.
[7]Living beings all hold to a self,And for that reason give rise to affliction.Each one sees not the other,Nor sees the thorn of false views.
[8]Contemplate this thorn of causes and conditions;Living beings are much defiled and attached.What I make is not another's;What that one makes is not mine.
[9]Living beings are bound fast by sloth,Defiled and attached to pride and conceit,Deluded and benighted by their views,Escaping not the suffering of birth and death.
[10]What has been gained and what shall be gained—Both bear the dust and defilement.Accumulation is the root of disease;Together understand all the points of training.
[11]Contemplate those who keep the precepts,The pure ones of pure conduct.Behold the sick and the emaciated—They shall come to the unconditioned.
[12]Contemplate the foam upon the water,And contemplate too the wild mirage.One who thus contemplates not the bodyWill not see death's coming either.
[13]Contemplate the foam upon the water,And contemplate too the wild mirage.One who thus contemplates not the worldWill not see the lord of death either.
[14]In this way contemplate the bodyAs the lovely chariot of a king.The fool is defiled and attached;Skillfully seek to part far from it.
[15]In this way contemplate the bodyAs the lovely chariot of a king.The fool is defiled and attached;Let the wise part far from it.
[16]In this way contemplate the body—The many diseases are its cause.When disease and folly gather together,How can it be safeguarded and protected?
[17]Contemplate the painted image,The maṇi-jewel and the dark blue-black hair.The fool makes of them a condition,Hoping not to cross to the other shore.
[18]Contemplate the painted image,The maṇi-jewel and the dark blue-black hair.The fool makes of them a condition;The wise grow weary of them and part early.
[19]Forcibly seizing the lovely painted image,Adorning the foul and stinking body—The fool makes of it a condition,And so hopes not to deliver himself.
[20]The hair and nails divided into eight parts,The earrings and the two eyes—The fool is defiled and attached,And so hopes not to deliver himself.
[21]With craving and desire, defiled and attached to desire,Heedless, he ties the bonds and fetters.Without giving rise to the bonds and fetters,Can one cross the flood of the taint of desire.
[22]Not in the garden, yet leaving the garden;Out of the garden, yet entering the garden again.One should contemplate such a person:Untying the bond, then bound once more.
[23]Now casting off the throne of a heavenly king,Making no root of birth and death,Seeking to part from the suffering of hell—Pray, speak of the joy of quiescent cessation.
[24]With a clean white robe covering the body,The driver of the one-wheeled chariot—Contemplate that one who has not yet severed defilement;Let him seek to end the bonds and fetters.
[25]
Many people go and take refuge
In tree-spirits and spirits of the rivers and hills,
Building shrines and offering sacrifice to spirits,
Hoping to be spared from suffering and calamity.
[26]Therein there is nothing supreme,Nor is there any benefit or gain.Whoever takes refuge in such a wayEscapes not from any suffering and bondage.
[27]If one takes refuge in the Buddha,Takes refuge in the Dharma and the Sangha,And cultivates the Four Noble Truths,He shall surely see the true wisdom.
[28]Suffering, and the causes whence suffering is born—Pass beyond this bondage of suffering.The sages' and worthies' Eightfold Right PathUtterly destroys it and realizes the ambrosia.
[29]Taking refuge in the Three JewelsIs the supreme and most auspicious of all.If anyone takes such refuge,He shall be freed from every suffering.
[30]Having contemplated, one shall contemplate;Not contemplating, one shall yet contemplate.Having contemplated, one contemplates again;Having contemplated, one contemplates no more.
[31]Having contemplated, one contemplates again,Discriminating the original nature thereof.Reckoning the day to be the night,Ere long this precious body decays.
[32]Having contemplated, one contemplates no more;Though seeing, one yet does not see.As though seeing, yet not seeing;Contemplating, yet also not seeing.
[33]Why does one see and not see?Why is it said, seeing and not seeing?By what cause does one see and not see?By what does seeing emerge as essential?
[34]If indeed one contemplates not suffering,Let one ever contemplate oneself clearly,Comprehending the root of suffering—This is the bright and subtle contemplation.
[35]Who causes the ordinary worldlingNot to contemplate the root of the formations?By that very means, through contemplation,One forsakes the dark and beholds the radiant light.
CHAPTER 28: SIN AND HINDRANCE
[1]Do not commit any of the evils;Reverently practice all that is good;Purify your own mind and intention—This is the teaching of all the Buddhas.
[2]Generosity gains the reward of blessings;Harbor not wrath and anger in the breast;With goodness, destroy and remove evil,And greed, hatred, and delusion are no more.
[3]Alone, do not follow the fool;Let the deluded follow the wise.The wise destroy what is evil,As the crane selects to drink the milk.
[4]Contemplate the world's myriad changes,And know the traces of arising and ceasing.The sages and worthy delight not in the world;The fool keeps far from the sages and worthy.
[5]Understanding the flavor of recollection,Reflecting upon the meaning of stilling and rest,Free of fever, one thinks not of hunger—Let one drink of the flavor of the Dharma.
[6]Whoever harms not their hearts,Nor injures their intentions,Using goodness to destroy all evil,Fears not falling into the evil paths.
[7]Whoever wishes to discipline the mindMust ever make careful selection.The wise are easy to carve and shape—This is what is called the world's heroic one.Whoever skillfully keeps near to themIs at peace and free of sorrow and grief.
[8]Quiescent, none surpasses him;Gentle and yielding, never reckless,He blows away all the evil dharmas,As the wind blows down the falling leaves.
[9]Deliberately terrorizing others,Slandering the pure ones,Doing evil, the force of karma pursues,Like clouds driven by the wind.
[10]The good and evil of each person,Each one knows clearly for himself.Doing good gains the fruit of good;Doing evil falls into the evil paths.
[11]Look to whether you yourself are pure—Why worry whether others are pure?The fool disciplines not himself,Like iron that bores rust into steel.
[12]If the eye sees nothing that is wrong,The bright-eyed seek skillful means;The wise skillfully live their lives,And likewise commit no evil deed.
[13]The merchant upon a perilous road,Deserted of men, yet laden with goods,Passing through places of peril and danger—With axle broken, he is surely beset with care.
[14]If the body has no ulcer or sore,It is not harmed by poison;As poison brings no pain to such a one,So there is no evil one will not do.
[15]Many people do deeds of evil;The body must bear the entanglement.To cultivate goodness and bestow kindness and virtue—This matter shall be very hard indeed.
[16]How fine is the one who cultivates goodness!Alas for the one who commits evil!It is very easy to do evil oneself;For the evil person, doing good is hard.
[17]The fool deems himself in the right,Because his evil has not yet ripened.But when the evil comes to ripeness,The sufferings too come crowding in.
[18]The worthy one, seeing what is evil,Is not harmed by that evil;While the evil has not yet ripened,The evil person thinks it is no matter.
[19]The worthy one contemplates what is evil,And forever commits no evil deed.When the evil of old comes to ripeness,The worthy one contemplates it for himself.
[20]Though one should commit evil deeds,Let one not do so again and again;Their intention finds no peace or joy,Knowing that evil is suffering.
[21]Whoever skillfully makes blessings and good,Let them too do so again and again;Their intention wills toward peace and joy,Skillfully receiving that reward of blessings.
[22]First, skillfully discipline the mind,Restraining and holding the root of evil;Then blessings shall grow and increase,For evil karma is made by the mind.
[23]Though the evil one does be very slight,In the life to come one bears much suffering;The retribution shall be without bound,Like poison entering into the heart.
[24]Though the blessing one makes be very slight,In the life to come one receives great blessings;One shall gain the great reward of blessings,By sowing the fruit that is true and real.
[25]Without fault, yet treated with contempt;Without anger, yet plundered and seized upon—Such a one must endure ten kinds of things,And shall come straightway to that place:
[26]The pain of coarse and evil words,The body wounded and injured,Disease and sickness, dire and grievous,A mind disordered and at no peace;
[27]Kindred and kin parted and dispersed,Wealth and property dwindled away,Plundered and seized by robbers and thieves,And aspirations unfulfilled and thwarted;
[28]Or beset by countless kinds of things,Burned and consumed by fire,And at death falling into hell—These are the ten calamities.
[29]Having done evil, say not it was naught;Having done it, say not it is without sin;Concealing it, claim not it is no sin—It has its retribution all the same.
[30]Doing evil with a voice of sorrow and woe,Having done it, one bears grief and gloom;Concealing it, one is again careworn;The retribution too is sorrow and grief.
[31]Sowing sorrow, in the life to come one sorrows;Making evil amid grief and gloom,Ever in fear and care and affliction—Seeing his sin, his heart is sorrowful.
[32]Sowing joy, in the life to come one rejoices;Practicing goodness amid gladness and delight,Joyous and ever cheerful and glad—Seeing his blessing, his heart is at peace.
[33]Sowing suffering, in the life to come one suffers;Making sin amid anguish and pain,The retribution ever brings pain and hurt—Seeing his sin, his heart is sorrowful.
[34]Cultivating blessings and committing no evil—All this is by the karma one makes oneself.Forever, one fears not when death comes,Like a boat that skims across the river.
CHAPTER 29: CORRESPONDENCE
[1]The light of the moon shines in the darkWhile the sun has not yet shown itself;When the sun's light shines everywhere,The moon's light grows at once dim and faint.
[2]The heterodox shed their lightWhile the Buddha has not yet appeared in the world;When the Tathāgata casts forth his great brilliance,The heterodox grow at once dim and faint.
[3]Taking the real to be the false,Taking the false to be the real—This is the mind of wrong view,Gaining no wholesome benefit.
[4]Knowing the true and real to be real,Knowing the false and counterfeit to be false—This is the mind of right view,Surely gaining wholesome benefit.
[5]The fool grasps stubbornly and firmly,And must be bound by the nine fetters,Like a bird that falls into the net,All because of attachment to craving and desire.
[6]Whoever has doubts and misgivingsConcerning this world and the world to come,Through meditation skillfully destroys them clean;With pure conduct, there is no affliction or trouble.
[7]The poisonous nature not plucked out,Greed and desire racing through the heart,Not yet able to discipline oneself—One is unworthy to wear the Dharma robe.
[8]The poisonous nature skillfully plucked out,Keeping the precepts, mind at peace,That mind already disciplined—One is worthy to wear the Dharma robe.
[9]Not by gentle and yielding words,Nor by fame resounding everywhere,Though one's countenance be ever so fair,While the heart is full of guile and deceit—
[10]Whoever skillfully parts from evil deeds,Plucking them out to the very root,The wise one removing all defilement—This is what is called wholesome beauty.
[11]Take not the fair outward show;At a glance, one knows not the heart.In the world are many wicked onesRoaming carelessly throughout the world.
[12]Like that counterfeit gold,Within all brass and base metal,Loudly proclaiming itself everywhere—Within defiled, without impure.
[13]Greedy for food, knowing not to stop,All day long only lying idle,Like a sty for raising pigs,And so forever bearing the womb of rebirth.
[14]Whoever's mind is skillfully focused on one,Knowing measure in food and drink—For food is a branch of desire—Restraining it, he cultivates the Right Way.
[15]With wrong view, deeming the body pure,The faculties not restrained or subdued,Eating and drinking without measure—This is the way of the ordinary worldling.The intent on desire grows ever greater,Like a rotting house that leaks and drips.
[16]Contemplate the body as impure,The faculties not restrained or subdued—Yet eating and drinking, knowing measure,With faithful heart practicing diligence,The intent on desire is not let loose,Like the wind blowing upon Mount Tai.
[17]A secluded place is most peaceful and joyful,Yet people delight in it but little;The sages and worthy ever dwell there—It is the dwelling place of the men of the Way.
[18]Hard to move, hard to shake,Like the Snow Mountains, range upon range;Yet the unsaintly do not appear there,As night falls into a darkened house.
[19]The worthy ones, were they a thousand,The wise ones, in the forest groves—The meaning and principle utterly profound,The wise skillfully discriminate them.
[20]Living beings of myriad kinds,Cultivating not, they realize nothing.Now, contemplating this meaning and principle:Those who break the precepts are despised by men.
[21]Contemplating the taints, one knows fear—Changing and shifting, they are not constant.In the tainted one should not delight;Let one remember to part from the three realms.
[22]The faithless, knowing no shame,Bore through walls to rob and steal;Severing and removing such notions,This is the one of the highest character.
[23]First sever the heart of greed and craving,Pride and conceit and wrong view;Destroying clean all the fetters,Undefiled, cultivate pure conduct.
[24]Eating and drinking, knowing measure,Storing up no wealth or goods,Wishless, empty, and signless—Practicing the Way, delivering living beings.
[25]As the bird flies amid the sky,Its trace cannot be seen,So with that one who practices the Way—His wondrous words cannot be known.
[26]Whoever skillfully severs the root of the taints,Relying not on impermanent dharmas,Wishless, empty, and signless—Practicing the Way, delivering living beings.
[27]Few indeed are the living beings;The greater part conform not to the Way.Suppose there be even one person,Most hard is it to realize cessation and deliverance.
[28]The right and wrong of the human world—Contemplate all dharmas to the full;Remove clean all the fetters,And the fever of affliction forever is no more.
[29]Practicing the Way without sorrow and grief,On that day one shall gain liberation;Removing clean all the fetters,Afflictions arise no more.
[30]As the bird flies amid the sky,Nothing can cause it hindrance,So that one gains the taintless state—Wishless, empty, and signless.
[31]As the bird flies amid the sky,Nothing can cause it hindrance,So the practitioner crosses to the other shore—Wishless, empty, and signless.
[32]Evil deeds should not be done;Whoever does them bears affliction.Wrong deeds should not be done;Sorrowing before, one sorrows after too.
[33]Good deeds should indeed be done;Whoever does them has no sorrow or grief.Joyful deeds should indeed be done;Born in the heavens, one receives joy and bliss.
[34]Empty space leaves no trace;The śramaṇa has no defiled intention.The people of the world delight to do evil;The Buddha alone is pure and undefiled.
[35]Empty space leaves no trace;The śramaṇa has no defiled intention.The world is wholly impermanent;The Buddha is parted from self and what belongs to self.
[36]The gods together with the human world,Corresponding to all their deeds,Are freed from every suffering,Parted from craving, spared from the round of rebirth.
[37]The gods together with the human world,Corresponding to all their deeds,Skillfully keeping far from evil karma,Fall not into the three evil paths.
[38]Again, knowing not how to discourse,The wise and foolish are not distinguished;But if one knows how to discourse on meaning,One's words are without error or fault.
[39]Let one discourse upon the True Dharma;Let one raise the banner of the Buddha's Dharma.The Dharma-banner is the Great Sage;The Great Sage is the Dharma-banner.
[40]Some are blamed for their silence;Some are blamed for speaking much;Some are blamed for not yet speaking—There is none who is not blamed.
[41]Now praised, now slandered,All for the sake of gain and fame;Neither existing nor not existing—This too cannot be known.
[42]Praised by the wise,Whether for good or for ill,The wise one is without flaw or lack;Through concentration and wisdom he gains liberation,Like pure gold of violet hue,Within and without, pure and translucent through and through.
[43]Just as Mount Sumeru, the Wondrous and Lofty,Is not shaken by the wind,So too is the wise one:By blame or praise, he is not moved or stirred.
[44]Like a tree that has no root,No branches, much less leaves—The wise one loosens the bonds and fetters;Their virtue—who would dare to slander it?
[45]Undefiled, relying on nothing,The body's taints plant the cause of suffering;The most victorious one has craving no more—Gods and men cannot know him.
[46]Just as a net in the dense forest—Without craving, how much less anything remaining?The Buddha has boundless practices;Without a track—whose track does he tread?
[47]If existence gives rise to no desire,And with birth one receives no becoming—The Buddha has boundless practices;Without a track—whose track does he tread?
[48]If one wishes to destroy false imaginings,Within and without, there are no causes;Nor is one snared by the perception of form,And the four responses receive no birth.
[49]Casting off the before and casting off the after,Casting off the middle, one passes beyond the realms;All things alike are let go and released,And one receives no more birth and old age.
The Sūtra of the Collected Essential Verses of the Dharma ♦ End of Scroll Three
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Translation source: Linh Sơn Pháp Bảo Đại Tạng KinhLicense: Linh Sơn Pháp Bảo Đại Tạng Kinh (Việt dịch) · nguồn: rongmotamhon.net (Liên Phật Hội)
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