諸經要集 18.63

18.63

爾時一切諸受罪眾生。聞佛作如是說。悲號動地。淚下如雨。而白佛言。唯願世尊。久住說法。令我等輩而得解脫。佛言。若我久住。薄德之人不種善根。謂我常在。不念無常。善男子譬如孩兒母常在側。不生難遭之想。若母去者。便生渴仰思戀之心。母方還來乃至歡喜。善男子。我今亦復如是。知諸眾生。善惡業緣受報好醜。故般涅槃。爾時世尊即為此諸受罪眾生而說偈言。

At that time, all the sinful sentient beings, hearing the Buddha speak in this way, wailed so sorrowfully that the earth shook, their tears falling like rain. They addressed the Buddha, saying: "We only pray that the World-Honoured One will remain long to teach the Dharma, so that beings such as us may attain liberation." The Buddha said: "If I were to remain long, people of slight merit would not plant wholesome roots; they would think that I am always present and would not contemplate impermanence. Good men, just as a young child whose mother is constantly at its side does not think of her as rare to encounter, but when the mother goes away, the child gives rise to yearning and longing, and when the mother then returns, the child rejoices; good men, I am just the same. Knowing the wholesome and unwholesome karmic conditions of sentient beings and their retribution, good or bad, I therefore enter parinirvāṇa." At that time, the World-Honoured One spoke a verse for these sinful sentient beings: