佛說無畏授所問大乘經

The semblance of things is like an illusion,

Like the magnificent city of the gandharvas.

So too the fool who craves for wealth,

Not knowing it is false, gives rise to infatuation.

Seeking riches, he suffers a hundred kinds of woe;

Having gained them, he is oppressed and tormented in body.

Kings, officials, water, and fire bring them to ruin—

How could the wise give rise to greed and attachment?

Loving wife and children and one's kindred,

He commits offenses, yet they will be parted.

The fault is exceedingly grave, beyond comprehension;

The wise toward the body cling not, nor are defiled.

The miser, when he seeks for riches,

Holds in his heart no reverence even for his parents;

Wife, children, and kindred he comes to envy and resent,

Single-mindedly and ever craving wealth and gain.

The greedy man knows nothing of kindness or duty;

He thinks only of not losing his possessions.

Forsaking the right, turning to the wrong, he longs for wealth—

In him the wise give rise to no trust.

The greedy man's thoughts differ from his words;

What is worthy of trust he yet does not believe.

Though he beholds another and seems to cherish him as a son,

This is the flatterer born of greed and deceit.

The miser, dwelling in this world,

Though he has studied and grasped the teachings,

Runs about, is scattered and distracted, and speaks evil words;

His heart is without compassion and exceedingly fierce.

The greedy man in this world has no refuge,

Nor does he have friends or kindred;

If he relies on others, it is only to seek wealth—

He gains not the trust of those possessed of wisdom.

The greedy man, because he longs for riches,

Ever ponders deeds that are most evil.

Therefore the wise contemplate rightly and truly

Those things in which the foolish give rise to delight.

Gold, silver, jewels, coral in abundance,

And wholesome karma arise like bubbles upon the water.

Within greed and attachment, contention arises;

Thus they comprehend not the illusory nature.

In the Fortunate Aeon a Buddha will appear in the world,

Whose honored name is Maitreya;

Yellow gold is strewn across the whole earth—

Whence does he come, and by what cause?

Outside, he chases after the five realms of desire;

The fool, scattered and deluded, is deluded as to the Dharma,

Like the sun in mid-month of the summer season,

When the thirsty take the heat-mirage for water.

After an aeon of emptiness, the world is formed;

Empty space too becomes empty of its own nature.

Burned and destroyed, it is once more completed—

Whence does it come and whither does it go?

Channels, ditches, streams, ponds, and the great sea,

Drying up and falling to ruin, are all alike.

False and unreal—so too is greed.

What wise one would give rise to greed and attachment?

The one whose strength of wisdom and form are complete,

Toward the body ever measures his own power.

Herein there is no savor—from what could defilement arise?

House and home, possessions, ought to be relinquished.

Chasing after the five desires, he creates evil karma;

He rears wife and children and kindred.

At the time of death, wife, children, and kinfolk—

Who among them can rescue one from suffering and distress?

At the time of death, the kindred do not follow along;

Only the deeds of conduct one has wrought go with one.

Suffering and affliction press and pursue us;

At that hour, who is there to bear even a small part?

In the three realms one suffers, with none who is dear;

Wife, children, and kindred feign closeness.

The fool takes this to be delight,

But it only adds to suffering, affliction, and sorrow.

Parents, wife, children, and kindred—

For the sake of seeking wealth and gain, they come together.

When death comes, they do not follow along with us;

Only the karma we have wrought goes along.

All things follow the karma that is wrought;

All things too come into being according to karma.

Know therefore that this body is formed of karma;

The wise should cultivate all wholesome deeds.

Parents, wife, children, and kindred,

Through lack of understanding, give rise to craving.

The fool brings about and creates manifold offenses;

The wise fall not into the Avīci hell.

Even should the karmic retribution come to its end,

The torments of Avīci still cannot be escaped.

Therefore, fearing the cause of the evil destinies,

The wise diligently depart from all suffering.

When King Yama metes out punishment for offenses,

There are no friends to come to one's rescue,

Nor are there parents or kinfolk;

According to the karma one has wrought, one bears it oneself.

King Yama declares: "You have gained a human body;

Having gained it, why did you not depart from the offenses?

Now you must endure torment and beating—

All because you, the doer, wrought karma that was not good."

One's own mind has wrought unwholesome karma,

Yet one does not believe there is karmic retribution.

In accord with the Dharma, King Yama declares:

"You suffer punishment; it is no fault of mine.

Of yourself you wrought evil karma and created offenses;

Because you created offenses, you have come here.

Therefore you must willingly endure the torment—

Through karma wrought before, not by my pleasure."

When death comes, the manifold sufferings press and oppress;

The kindred are unable to rescue one.

If you wish to long for liberation,

Then you must keep far away from offenses and evil.

Beatings, interrogation, and fetters—

If you wish to escape from such things,

You should dread house, home, and kinfolk,

And in the Buddha's teaching cultivate right conduct.

The household is the root of suffering, a savage fire;

The flames forever scorch this heart.

The wise give rise to no heart of greed and attachment,

As toward a great fire, exceedingly to be feared.

House, gain and support, and kinfolk are a constant worry;

Wealth and joy, grief and sorrow are likewise.

One's own faults and others' are no different;

Therefore keep far away from offenses and evil.

The wise trust and delight in the Buddha's Dharma;

Sowing no evil deeds, they attain the wholesome roots.

The fool gives rise to no heart of delight;

He craves only house and home, the roots of suffering.

A woman's body, sinew, flesh, and bone joined together,

Falsely and deludedly he craves to make his wife.

Those without wisdom give rise to defiling craving,

Not knowing the woman's body is like an illusion.

The wise understand the manifold pleasures of desire

And toward house and home give rise to weariness and disgust.

The medicine of the true Dharma cures the disease of greed—

Make haste to come forth from all the bonds.

At that time Abhayadatta and the five hundred elders, having heard this true Dharma, all attained the patient acceptance that dharmas are unborn. Having attained the patient acceptance of dharmas, they were all filled with joy and exultation, and forthwith spoke this verse:

– Excellent is this day of ours!

We have gained a great benefit.

Among all benefits,

This benefit is supreme.

We ought to give rise

To the vast mind of bodhi.

In the true Dharma of the Buddha,

Purely we give rise to ardent yearning.

Delighting in the surpassing Dharma,

The unsurpassed mind of bodhi,

For the sake of all sentient beings,

We bring about their peace and bliss.

We, from this day forward,

Will guard with care this body and life;

We make the vow that toward this sūtra

We give rise to a heart of deep delight.

Through the delight that has arisen,

May all sentient beings

In ages yet to come,

Beholding us, give rise to joy.

May all those sentient beings,

Those who give rise to a heart of craving and desire,

All give rise to the unsurpassed,

Vast mind of bodhi.

If all sentient beings

Delight in the mind of bodhi,

They shall attain the surpassing fruit—

A body of golden hue, supreme,

Adorned with auspicious marks,

All surpassing and sublime,

And attain a great radiance

That illumines all the world.

The unsurpassed mind of bodhi—

This is the vast and expansive mind,

Surpassing all minds,

Supreme and pure.

All those merits

Are made complete by this mind,

Which moreover possesses surpassing power

That can heal all diseases.

Sentient beings of scant merit

Delight not in the mind of bodhi;

This mind, by the cause of indolence,

Is unable to contemplate birth and death.

The wisdom of bodhi, the spiritual powers,

Attain the most surpassing power of merit,

Accumulated to fill the empty void,

Bestowed in charity upon all sentient beings.

Whoever, toward Buddha-realms

As numberless as the sands of the Ganges,

Takes the seven kinds of precious treasures

And makes offering to the Perfectly Enlightened—

Whoever merely joins his palms

And turns toward the mind of bodhi,

This surpassing offering

Excels all other offerings.

This offering is supreme of all,

And is called the mind of bodhi;

Surpassing utterly all things,

It is the most excellent, the supreme.

The merit of the mind of bodhi

Is a sublime, divine medicine,

Healing all diseases,

Bringing sentient beings to peace and joy.

Contemplating and beholding sentient beings,

The three fires forever scorch them;

Eradicating them through measureless aeons,

The bodhisattva does not turn back.

Cultivating this conduct of bodhi,

He is a valiant King of Physicians,

Rescuing sentient beings from suffering,

Ever keeping far from weariness.

Coming and going amid the realms,

He forsakes not the mind of bodhi;

Diligently practicing the Buddha's Dharma,

He manifests marks rare and wondrous.

We have gained a great benefit,

Delighting in this mind of bodhi.

May we come to be

Disciples of the Greatly Enlightened.

At that time, the World-Honored One manifested a vast and great spiritual power. From his golden mouth he sent forth radiance of countless colors: blue, yellow, red, white, purple, and deep azure. This radiance shone throughout boundless worlds, reaching upward to the realm of Brahmā, eclipsing the light of the sun and moon. The radiance circled round, encircling the World-Honored One a hundred thousand times to the right, and then entered the crown of the World-Honored One's head.

At that time, the venerable Ānanda rose from his seat, bared his right shoulder, touched his right knee to the ground, faced the Buddha, joined his palms, bowed in homage, and said:

– World-Honored One! By what cause and condition do you manifest this radiance? If there were no cause and condition, the Tathāgata, the Worthy of Offerings, the Perfectly Enlightened One, would not send forth radiance.

Then the venerable Ānanda forthwith spoke this verse:

– The Buddha, the most excellent one, without cause and condition

Does not manifest and send forth the mark of radiance.

May you, out of compassion for the host of sentient beings,

Declare plainly the cause and condition of sending forth the radiance.

All sentient beings are poor and destitute;

We pray the Buddha to bestow in charity the great and holy wealth,

Shining upon the dark and gloomy world.

We pray that you would declare plainly the cause and condition.

At that time, the World-Honored One addressed the venerable Ānanda:

– Ānanda! Do you see these five hundred elders? They have all given rise to the mind of unsurpassed bodhi and have therefore come to meet me.

Ānanda said:

– World-Honored One! I do see them.

The Buddha said to Ānanda:

– These five hundred elders are present in the assembly. After hearing the true Dharma, they have all attained the patient acceptance that dharmas are unborn.

Ānanda! These elders, in the time of past Buddhas, served, drew near to, and made offerings to them, planting wholesome roots. Casting off this recompense-body, they will not again fall into the evil destinies, but will be born among the gods and humans, enjoying surpassing bliss.

In due course, when Maitreya, the Tathāgata, the Worthy of Offerings, the Perfectly Enlightened One, appears in the world, they will be born into that Buddha-realm, to draw near, make offerings, revere, and serve him.

Thereafter, in the Fortunate Aeon, as the Buddhas appear in the world, they will all draw near and make offerings to those Buddhas, hear the exposition of the true Dharma, recite and remember it, and expound it for others.

At last, throughout twenty-five aeons of appearing in the world, in the various Buddha-realms they will attain the fruit of unsurpassed perfect enlightenment, all bearing one and the same title: Padmaśrīgarbha, the Tathāgata, the Worthy of Offerings, the Perfectly Enlightened One.

At that time, the venerable Ānanda, before the Buddha, said:

– This true Dharma, so profound, vast, and great, is truly rare. World-Honored One, it is truly rare. O Well-Gone One, what is the name of this sūtra? How are we to uphold it?

The Buddha said to Ānanda:

– This sūtra is named The Dharma-Gate of the Bodhisattva's Yogācāra Stages,

and is also called The Questions Asked by Abhayadatta.

By such titles you should receive and uphold it.

When the Buddha had expounded this sūtra, the venerable Ānanda, the great śrāvakas, the host of great bodhisattvas, the five hundred elders, the gods, humans, asuras, and all the great assembly in the world, having heard the Buddha's exposition, were all greatly joyful; they believed, received, and reverently practiced it.

THE SŪTRA SPOKEN BY THE BUDDHA,

THE GREAT VEHICLE QUESTIONS ASKED BY ABHAYADATTA

End of the lower fascicle.