受歲經

Thus have I heard: At one time the Bhagavān was dwelling in the Kalandaka Bamboo Grove in the country of Rājagṛha, together with a great assembly of bhikṣus, for the receiving of the rains-retreat year.

At that time the venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana said to the bhikṣus: "Virtuous ones! The bhikṣu who is receiving the year-end makes this request: 'May the venerable ones speak to me, instruct me, admonish me, and be mindful of me with compassion.' This is the first reason. Why is this so? Virtuous ones, there may be a person who is stubborn and hard to teach, who keeps company with evil dharmas; such a one the practitioner of the holy life cannot speak to, cannot instruct, cannot admonish, and cannot regard with loving thought. This is the first kind of person.

"Virtuous ones, what is the stubborn one, hard to teach, who—though he keeps company with the practitioners of the holy life—is still not spoken to by the practitioners of the holy life, still not instructed, not admonished, and not regarded with loving thought? This is the first kind of person. Virtuous ones, there may be a person who seeks after evil and keeps company with evil.

Virtuous ones, I declare that such a one, keeping company with evil, follows the dharma of being stubborn and hard to teach. In the same way: being defiled by desire, by anger, by stinginess, by jealousy, by ungenerosity, by deceit, by flattery, by guile, by shamelessness, by lack of conscience; harboring resentment, speaking words of bitter resentment; reviling in turn the bhikṣu who reproves him; telling everyone that the bhikṣu has criticized him; disparaging the words of the bhikṣu who criticizes him.

All his words stray from the point in order to evade; harboring a wrathful heart, he keeps wide company with evil acquaintances and evil friends; he is ungrateful, and does not requite or repay kindness. Virtuous ones, those who are ungrateful and do not requite kindness are the unruly ones, hard to teach. Therefore, virtuous ones, the person who is by nature unruly and hard to teach—even though he keeps company with the practitioners of the holy life—those ones will not speak to him, will not instruct him, will not reprove him, and will not be mindful of him with compassion.

This is the first kind of person.

"Virtuous ones, a bhikṣu should reflect within himself thus: 'Virtuous ones, if anyone seeks after evil (desire) and keeps company with evil (desire), I do not hold that person dear. And if I have evil desire and keep company with evil desire, that person too will not hold me dear.' A bhikṣu should contemplate in this way: 'Let me have no evil desire'—thus should he train. In the same way, whoever is defiled by desire, by anger, by stinginess, by jealousy, by ungenerosity, by deceit, by flattery, by guile, by shamelessness, by lack of conscience; harboring a heart of anger, speaking with the mouth words of angry resentment; reviling in turn the bhikṣu who reproves him; disparaging the words of the bhikṣu who reproves him—all his words stray from the point in order to evade;

harboring a heart of anger, he keeps wide company with evil acquaintances and evil friends; ungrateful, he does not requite kindness.

Virtuous ones, if anyone is forgetful of kindness and does not repay kindness, I do not hold that person dear; and if I am forgetful of kindness and do not repay kindness, that person too will not hold me dear. A bhikṣu should contemplate in this way: 'Let me not be one who does not requite kindness'—thus should he train.

"Virtuous ones, if a bhikṣu does not request the bhikṣus, saying: 'May the venerable ones speak to me, instruct me, reprove me, and be mindful of me with compassion'—that is one kind of person. Why is this so? Virtuous ones, there may be a person who is easy to teach, who keeps company with the Dharma, and so the fellow practitioners of the holy life speak to him, instruct him, reprove him, and are mindful of him with compassion.

Such a person is foremost. Why is this so? Virtuous ones, the person who is easy to teach, who keeps company with the Dharma, and is therefore spoken to, instructed, reproved, and loved by his fellow practitioners of the holy life—that person is foremost.

Virtuous ones, there may be a person who does not seek after evil (desire) and does not keep company with evil. Virtuous ones, such a one, because he has no evil desire and does not keep company with evil desire, follows the dharma of being easy to teach. In the same way: not defiled by desire, without anger, without stinginess, without jealousy, without deceit, without flattery, without guile; possessing conscience, possessing a sense of shame; not harboring a heart of anger, his mouth not speaking words of resentment; not reviling in turn the bhikṣu who reproves him; not telling everyone about the bhikṣu who reproves him; not slandering the words of the bhikṣu who criticizes him; not speaking off the point in order to evade; not angry but at ease;

not dwelling with evil acquaintances and evil friends; not ungrateful but mindful of kindness.

Virtuous ones, because that person is in accord with the Dharma—this, virtuous ones, is the one who is easy to teach and in accord with the Dharma. Therefore he is spoken to, instructed, reproved, and held dear by his fellow practitioners of the holy life. Such a one is the foremost person.

"Virtuous ones, a bhikṣu should reflect within himself thus: 'Virtuous ones, if anyone has no evil desire and does not keep company with evil desire, I hold that person dear; and if I have no evil desire and do not keep company with evil desire, that person too holds me dear.' A bhikṣu should contemplate in this way: 'Let me have no evil desire'—thus should he train. 'Let me have no evil desire'—thus should he train. In the same way: not defiled by desire, without anger, without stinginess, without jealousy, not ungenerous, without deceit and flattery; possessing conscience, possessing a sense of shame; without angry resentment, his mouth not speaking words of angry resentment; not reviling in turn the bhikṣu who reproves him; not telling everyone of the bhikṣu who reproves him;

not slandering the words of the bhikṣu who reproves him.

All his words do not stray from the point to evade; not angry but at ease; not keeping company with evil acquaintances and evil friends; not forgetful of kindness but mindful to repay it. Virtuous ones, if anyone is not forgetful of kindness but is mindful to repay it, I hold that person dear; and if I am not forgetful of kindness but mindful to repay it, that person too holds me dear. A bhikṣu should contemplate in this way: 'Let me not be forgetful of kindness, but mindful to repay it'—thus should he train.

"Virtuous ones, if a bhikṣu contemplates in this way: 'Am I now possessed of desires, in accord with evil desire, or am I without evil desire, not in accord with evil desire?'—this is surely of great benefit. Virtuous ones, if a bhikṣu, on contemplating, knows that he has evil desire and is in accord with evil desire, then that one will not be glad. Therefore that one will seek to cut off and abandon desire. Virtuous ones, if a bhikṣu, on contemplating, knows that he is now without evil desire and not in accord with evil desire, then that one will rejoice, seeing himself pure and clean, acting within the realm of the Buddha. Having seen this, he rejoices and practices.

"Virtuous ones, it is like a person with eyes who takes up a bright mirror and looks upon his own face. Virtuous ones, that person with eyes, if he sees that his face is soiled, will be displeased at heart, and that one will wish to wash away the filth. Virtuous ones, if that person with eyes does not see any stain upon his face, that one will rejoice, seeing himself pure.

Having seen this for himself, that one rejoices and practices. Virtuous ones, in the very same way, a bhikṣu who contemplates and knows that he has evil desire and keeps company with evil desire—that one will seek to cut off and abandon desire. Virtuous ones, a bhikṣu who contemplates and knows that he has no evil desire and does not keep company with evil desire—that one will rejoice, seeing himself clean and pure, dwelling within the realm of the Buddha.

Having seen this, he rejoices and practices.

"In the same way, with being defiled by desire or not defiled by desire; likewise with having anger or not having anger; likewise with having stinginess, jealousy, and ungenerosity, or not having stinginess, jealousy, and ungenerosity; likewise with having flattery and deceit or not having flattery and deceit; likewise with having shamelessness and lack of conscience, or possessing conscience and a sense of shame; likewise with having resentment that lets the mouth speak words of resentment, or not having resentment that lets the mouth speak words of resentment.

Does he revile in turn the bhikṣu who reproves him, or does he not revile in turn the bhikṣu who reproves him? Does he tell everyone of the bhikṣu who reproves him, or does he not tell everyone of the bhikṣu who reproves him? Does he slander the words of the bhikṣu who reproves him, or does he not slander the bhikṣu who criticizes him?

Do all his words stray off the point in order to evade, or does he not use words that stray off the point to evade? Does he have anger, or does he not have anger? Does he bind himself to evil acquaintances and evil friends, or does he not bind himself to evil acquaintances and evil friends?

Is he ungrateful and unrequiting of kindness, or grateful and requiting of kindness? Virtuous ones, a bhikṣu who contemplates and knows: 'I am one who is ungrateful, who does not know how to repay kindness'—that one is not glad at heart, and at once wishes to cut it off and abandon it.

"Virtuous ones, if a bhikṣu contemplates and knows: 'I am one who is not forgetful of kindness but knows how to repay kindness'—that one at once rejoices, seeing himself clean and pure, walking within the realm of the Buddha, the World-Honored One; and having seen this, he at once delights and practices.

"Virtuous ones, just as a person with eyes sees for himself that his face has dust and filth upon it, that one is at once displeased and wishes to wash it clean. Virtuous ones, if that person does not see any dust or filth upon his face, he at once rejoices that he is pure. Seeing this for himself, he delights and practices.

In the same way, virtuous ones, a bhikṣu who contemplates and knows himself to be one who is ungrateful and does not repay kindness—that one is at once not joyful, and at once has the intention to cast it away. Virtuous ones, if a bhikṣu contemplates and knows that he is not one who is ungrateful and does not repay kindness, that one at once rejoices, holding himself to be clean and pure, walking within the realm of the Buddha, the World-Honored One.

Because he sees this for himself, he delights and practices; because he delights and practices, he attains gladness; because of gladness, the body is at peace and faith is practiced; because the body is at peace and faith is practiced, he knows ease and joy; because of ease and joy, the mind is concentrated; because the mind is concentrated, he knows things as they truly are and sees things as they truly are; because he knows and sees as they truly are, he attains disenchantment and detachment; through disenchantment and detachment he attains freedom from defilement; through freedom from defilement he attains liberation;

through liberation he attains the knowledge and vision of liberation, knowing as it truly is: 'Birth is exhausted, the holy life has been established, what was to be done has been done, there is no more rebirth.'"

The venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana spoke thus. When the bhikṣus had heard what the venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana said, they were glad and rejoiced.

THE BUDDHA SPEAKS THE SŪTRA OF RECEIVING THE RAINS-RETREAT YEAR