[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Buddhist Sanskrit literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit) › [Āgama sūtras of the mainstream schools](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.agama) › [Sūtras of the Connected Discourses transmitted singly](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.agama.samyukta) › [Pitṛmātṛsūtra](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.agama.samyukta.pitrmatrsutra) › [ཕ་མའི་མདོ](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.agama.samyukta.pitrmatrsutra*bo) › The Father and Mother Sūtra # The Father and Mother Sūtra Translation of [ཕ་མའ་མད (ཕ་མའི་མདོ)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.agama.samyukta.pitrmatrsutra*bo) - **Language:** English - **Translator:** [Chodrungma Kunga Chodron](https://indike.org/pramana/person/chodrungma-kunga-chodron) - **Extent:** 11 passages, 879 words - **Text:** complete digital text - **Source:** 84000 · Translated by the Sakya Pandita Translation Groupunder the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating… · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha). Shown whole and unaltered, with its notes, on a… ## Contents - [intro 84000's introduction](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.agama.samyukta.pitrmatrsutra*bo~en-84000.intro) — 5 parts - [1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.agama.samyukta.pitrmatrsutra*bo~en-84000.1) - [2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.agama.samyukta.pitrmatrsutra*bo~en-84000.2) - [notes Notes](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.agama.samyukta.pitrmatrsutra*bo~en-84000.notes) — 4 parts ## Text ### 84000's introduction ### [intro.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.agama.samyukta.pitrmatrsutra*bo~en-84000.intro.1) This short discourse was taught to an audience of monks in Jetavana in Śrāvastī. In it, the Buddha explains, by means of similes, the importance of venerating and attending to one’s father and mother. The Buddha concludes by stating that those who venerate their father and mother are wise, for in this life they will not be disparaged, and in the next life they will be reborn in the higher realms. ### [intro.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.agama.samyukta.pitrmatrsutra*bo~en-84000.intro.2) In this brief sūtra, the Buddha proclaims the importance of respect for and service to one’s parents. By making use of similes to explain to the assembly of monks how exalted a child’s service to their father and mother is, he proclaims one’s parents worthy of gifts and tender care. The Buddha concludes the sūtra by stating that those who venerate their father and mother are wise, for in this life they will not be disparaged, and after death they will be reborn in the higher realms. ### [intro.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.agama.samyukta.pitrmatrsutra*bo~en-84000.intro.3) There is no known Sanskrit version of this sūtra, and it survives only in Tibetan canonical translations. Since there is no colophon at the end of the sūtra, and as the text is not included in any of the early Tibetan inventories of translations produced during the eighth and ninth centuries, we also have no information concerning its original translation from Sanskrit into Tibetan. ### [intro.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.agama.samyukta.pitrmatrsutra*bo~en-84000.intro.4) The Chinese canon does not contain this sūtra,¹ though there are other popular sūtras in the Chinese canon that teach the importance of respecting and serving one’s parents and ancestors. Two such sūtras are yu lan pen jing (盂蘭盆經, Taishō 685)² and bao’en feng pen jing (報恩奉盆經, Taishō 686). As the textual basis for the “Ghost Festival” (yu lan pen), these two sūtras both describe the efforts of Maudgalyāyana, one of the two main disciples of the Buddha, to save his mother, who had been reborn in one of the lower realms. Though these two sūtras were almost certainly originally composed in China, a similar narrative of Maudgalyāyana locating his mother after her death in order to assist her is also found in The Chapter on Medicines in the Vinayavastu (Toh 1-6, –), which was composed in India. That account begins with Maudgalyāyana recalling a discourse of the Buddha about repaying the kindness of one’s parents.³ However, the contents of these sūtras in the Chinese canon and The Chapter on Medicines are quite different from that of this particular sūtra, which makes it a valuable addition to the Buddhist literature on what is often called “filial piety.” ### [intro.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.agama.samyukta.pitrmatrsutra*bo~en-84000.intro.5) This translation into English is based on the version in the Degé Kangyur, with reference to the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) and the Stok Palace manuscript. There were no variants that would alter the English translation. ### [1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.agama.samyukta.pitrmatrsutra*bo~en-84000.1) Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas! Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling with a saṅgha of hearers in Śrāvastī, in the Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park. At that time, the Blessed One proclaimed: “Monks, those householders who properly venerate and attend to both their father and mother dwell with Brahmā. Why is that? Monks, from the perspective of the family, the father and mother of a child of noble family are like Brahmā. “Monks, those householders who properly venerate, honor, and attend to both their father and mother ### [2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.agama.samyukta.pitrmatrsutra*bo~en-84000.2) dwell with teachers. Why is that? Monks, from the perspective of the family, the father and mother of a child of noble family are like teachers. “Monks, those householders who properly venerate, honor, and attend to both their father and mother dwell with those worthy of receiving offerings. Why is that? Monks, from the perspective of the family, the father and mother of a child of noble family are those worthy of receiving offerings. “Monks, those householders who properly venerate, honor, and attend to both their father and mother dwell with humans. Why is that? Monks, from the perspective of the family, the father and mother of a child of noble family are like humans. “Monks, those householders who properly venerate, honor, and attend to both their father and mother dwell with gods. Monks, from the perspective of the family, the father and mother of a child of noble family are like gods.” That is what the Blessed One proclaimed. The Well-Gone One having said that, the Teacher proclaimed this, too: “Father and mother—both are Brahmā And, likewise, one’s first teachers. Worthy of their children’s every gift, They are humans and they are gods. “Therefore, they are worthy of prostration. They are to be massaged⁴ and bathed, their feet anointed. The wise should also serve them with food and drink, With clothing, bedding, and cushions. “Those who serve their father and mother Are, for that reason, wise. In this life they will not be disparaged, And at death they will go to the higher realms.” The Blessed One having proclaimed thus, the monks rejoiced and praised what the Blessed One had said. ### Notes ### [notes.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.agama.samyukta.pitrmatrsutra*bo~en-84000.notes.1) 1. Ui et al. 1934, entry number 315. ### [notes.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.agama.samyukta.pitrmatrsutra*bo~en-84000.notes.2) 2. This sūtra is also known in English as the Ullambana Sūtra. ### [notes.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.agama.samyukta.pitrmatrsutra*bo~en-84000.notes.3) 3. This discourse has further parallels in the collections of The Numerical Discourses in both Pāli and in Chinese translation, as well as elsewhere in the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya. For references, see note 105 in The Chapter on Medicines. ### [notes.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.agama.samyukta.pitrmatrsutra*bo~en-84000.notes.4) 4. Translation tentative. The Tibetan is dril ba. --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.agama.samyukta.pitrmatrsutra*bo~en-84000](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.agama.samyukta.pitrmatrsutra*bo~en-84000) · Pramāṇa