佛說轉有經

Thus have I heard:

At one time, the Buddha was dwelling in the Kalandaka Bamboo Grove in the city of Rājagṛha, surrounded by a great assembly of monks numbering 1,250, together with great Bodhisattvas immeasurable and boundless in number.

At that time, King Bimbisāra of the country of Magadha went forth from the city of Rājagṛha and came to the Kalandaka Bamboo Grove. When he reached the place where the Buddha was, King Bimbisāra bowed his head to the Buddha's feet, circumambulated him three times, and then sat down to one side. When the Tathāgata knew that the king was seated, he asked:

"Great King! Suppose there were a man who, while asleep in a dream, engaged in sexual union with a jade maiden. When this man awakens and recalls that jade maiden—what does the Great King think? Did the jade maiden in the dream exist or not?"

"She did not, World-Honored One."

"What does the Great King think? If this man were to cling to the jade maiden in the dream as existing, would such a man possess wisdom or not?"

"He would not, World-Honored One! Why is this?"

"Because that woman in the dream was entirely nonexistent, how could there be any scene of engaging in sexual union? For this man to dwell upon such a matter is a waste of effort.

"Great King! In just this way, all foolish ordinary beings who have never heard the Buddha's true Dharma, when their eyes behold the various forms, take delight in their minds and cling to them as real. Because they cling, they become bound; being bound, there arises attachment and defilement; with attachment and defilement, there arise the karmas of greed, hatred, and delusion—these are the karmas of body, speech, and mind. Yet that karma of the body, once created, immediately perishes; and having perished, it does not abide in dependence upon the East or West. Likewise, it does not abide in dependence upon the South, West, North, above, or below. When life comes to an end, that existent consciousness shifts and the subsequent mind manifests.

"Great King! That consciousness does not perish in such a way that, when this karma is exhausted, that other karma manifests—just as in sleep one sees a jade maiden in a dream. In this way, in the end, the prior consciousness perishes and the subsequent consciousness arises.

One is born into the hells, or born as a hungry ghost, an animal, or a deva, a human, or an asura. In the end, that consciousness grasps and is certain to be reborn; the consciousness arises in accordance with the prior realm. Thus the mind-consciousness, in accordance with karma, undergoes its fruit, yet there is no dharma that passes from this world to that other world to take rebirth.

Great King! The perishing of the subsequent mind-consciousness is called perishing; the initial mind-consciousness entrusted to birth is the subsequent life. When the subsequent consciousness shifts, that dharma does not come from that place but from this place.

The initial consciousness, once arisen, likewise has no place to which it goes. Why is this? Because such is the characteristic of the nature of dharmas.

"Great King! The initial mind-consciousness and the subsequent mind-consciousness are both empty; karma is empty karma; birth is empty birth; the place of birth is an empty place of birth; yet the fruit of karma in that place is not lost. In the end, that consciousness of birth immediately perishes, and the subsequent mind is not cut off. The mind-consciousness, flowing in accordance with wherever it goes, immediately arrives to undergo the retribution of karma."

At that time the World-Honored One spoke a verse, saying:

At that time, King Bimbisāra, together with the great assemblies of devas, humans, dragon spirits, gandharvas, and others, having heard the Buddha expound this Dharma-gate, were all immeasurably joyful, and with faith they received it and reverently put it into practice.