The Lotus Sūtra 4.17

4.17

「我等聞無上，安隱授記聲，
歡喜未曾有，禮無量智佛。
今於世尊前，自悔諸過咎，
於無量佛寶，得少涅槃分，
如無智愚人，便自以為足。
譬如貧窮人，往至親友家，
其家甚大富，具設諸餚饍，
以無價寶珠，繫著內衣裏，
默與而捨去，時臥不覺知。
是人既已起，遊行詣他國，
求衣食自濟，資生甚艱難，
得少便為足，更不願好者。
不覺內衣裏，有無價寶珠。
與珠之親友，後見此貧人，
苦切責之已，示以所繫珠。
貧人見此珠，其心大歡喜，
富有諸財物，五欲而自恣。
我等亦如是，世尊於長夜，
常愍見教化，令種無上願。
我等無智故，不覺亦不知，
得少涅槃分，自足不求餘。
今佛覺悟我，言非實滅度，
得佛無上慧，爾乃為真滅。
我今從佛聞，授記莊嚴事，
及轉次受決，身心遍歡喜。」

"We, hearing the voice of supreme, / Tranquil vyākaraṇa, / Rejoice as never before, / Bowing to the Buddha of immeasurable wisdom. / Now before the Bhagavat, / We repent our faults: / In the immeasurable Buddha-treasure, / We obtained a small portion of nirvāṇa, / And like fools without wisdom, / We were immediately content with it. / It is like a destitute man / Going to the house of a close friend; / That house was extremely wealthy, / Fully setting out all kinds of delicacies. / Tying an invaluable jewel / Inside his inner garment, / He silently gave it and departed, / While the man, lying asleep, was unaware. / Having gotten up, / He wandered off to another country, / Seeking food and clothing to sustain himself, / Living in great hardship; / Obtaining a little, he was satisfied, / Wishing for nothing better, / Unaware that inside his inner garment / Was an invaluable jewel. / The friend who gave the jewel / Later saw this poor man, / And after bitterly reproaching him, / Showed him the jewel that had been tied there. / The poor man, seeing this jewel, / Rejoiced greatly in his heart; / Possessing wealth and property, / He indulged freely in the five desires. / We are also like this: / The Bhagavat, throughout the long night, / Always compassionately looked upon and taught us, / Causing us to plant the supreme aspiration. / Because of our lack of wisdom, / Unaware and uncomprehending, / We obtained a small portion of nirvāṇa / And, satisfied with ourselves, sought nothing else. / Now the Buddha has awakened us, / Saying this is not real nirvāṇa; / Attaining the Buddha's supreme wisdom, / Only then is there true extinction. / We have now heard from the Buddha / The vyākaraṇa and adornments, / And the conferring of predictions in turn; / Our bodies and minds are filled with joy."