[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [經律異相](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2121) › [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2121~en-mt) › 23.14 # 經律異相 23.14 English (machine translation) 23.14 - **Language:** English ### [23.14](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2121~en-mt.23.14) In the southeast sea of the kingdom of Śrāvastī there was a terrace, upon which were pure, fragrant flower trees. There were five hundred brāhmaṇa women who worshipped heterodox ways with great diligence, not knowing there was a Buddha. At that time the women said among themselves, "We have received physical form and been born as women. From youth to old age we are constrained by three things and cannot be free. Our lives are short, our forms like illusions, and we must again face death. It would be better for us to go together to the fragrant flower terrace, gather fragrant flowers, and diligently observe the fast, entreating the god Brahmā to descend, and make our vow to him: we vow to be born in the Brahma heaven, with long life and no death, and to attain independence without constraint or taboo, freed from all retribution for offenses and having no more sorrow or suffering." They took offerings, went to the terrace, gathered flowers and incense, and served Brahmā, observing the fast with single-mindedness, wishing for the descent of the honored spirit. The Buddha saw that their minds were ripe for conversion, and so together with the great assembly he flew up into empty space, arrived at the terrace, and sat beneath a tree. The women joyfully said, "This is Brahmā!" and congratulated one another, saying, "We have attained our wish!" At that time a deva said to the women, "This is not Brahmā. He is the most honored in the three realms, called the Buddha, who delivers boundless people." The women said to the Buddha, "We have many defilements and are now women; we seek to be free of constraint and wish to be born in the Brahma heaven." The Buddha said, "It is good and beneficial for you women to make this vow. In the world there are two things whose retributions are clear and distinct: doing good receives blessing, and doing evil receives calamity. The suffering of the world and the joy of heaven; the vexation of the conditioned and the serenity of the unconditioned—who can choose and seek the true one? Excellent, women, that you have a clear aspiration!" Thereupon the Bhagavat spoke in verse: - [Previous: 23.13](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2121~en-mt.23.13) - [Next: 23.15](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2121~en-mt.23.15) - [Up: 23](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2121~en-mt.23) ## Linked texts (1) - [經律異相](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2121.23.14) — Classical Chinese --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2121~en-mt.23.14](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2121~en-mt.23.14) · Pramāṇa