大通方廣懺悔滅罪莊嚴成佛經 3.41

3.41

“Wrestlers, various ghosts and spirits, / animals, fierce elephant kings, / courtesans, and vicious dragons, / and countless wicked people; / Vasu, Ajātaśatru, / Devadatta, and Aṅgulimāla— / in body and mind they gave rise to rebellious sins / and deserved to fall into the Avīci Hell. / Yet they generated faith and bowed to the immeasurable Buddhas / of the three times and ten directions. / When Śākyamuni was about to enter nirvāṇa, / he remained for immeasurable kalpas for their sake. / The people of the kingdom of Magadha / all brought forth the bodhicitta; / this was entirely through reverently bowing / to the Buddhas of the ten directions and three times. / Ājñātakauṇḍinya / and the five hundred śrāvakas and others / will attain the Buddha Path in future ages, / all through reverently bowing / to the Buddhas of the ten directions and three times. / Non-Buddhist brāhmaṇas, / the ten ṛṣis, and great brahmacārins / now attain arhatship; / in past lives it was / all through reverently bowing / to the Buddhas of the ten directions and three times / that they awakened by themselves to the primary truth. / In the Buddha lands of the ten directions, / all assemblies of bodhisattvas / who attained rebirth in [the land of] Amitāyus / did so entirely through reverently bowing / to the Buddhas of the ten directions and three times. / Furthermore, King Kalyāṇadarśana, / when I was a king long ago / named Great Sage-Fame, / at a time before the sun of the Buddha had appeared, / I made offerings to renunciants— / five hundred brāhmaṇas— / of drink and food, clothing, / dwellings, and bedding, / fully for twenty years. / At that time I told them: / ‘May you masters bring forth bodhi[citta].’ / Although those brāhmaṇas / received my offerings, / in truth they did not believe in the Three Jewels. / The masters then answered me: / ‘In the world there is no bodhi, / nor is there any liberation.’ / When I heard these words, / in order truly to protect the vaipulya scriptures, / I severed the life-faculties / of those five hundred brāhmaṇas. / After those men died, / they immediately fell into the Avīci Hell. / Having fallen into hell, / they immediately gave rise to three mindful thoughts: / bowing to these Buddhas of the three times, / revering and trusting the vaipulya scriptures, / and [revering] the Great Being Bodhisattva Saṅgha. / Having generated these three mindful thoughts, / they immediately emerged from hell / and were reborn in [the world of] the Nectar Drum, / with a lifespan of ten minor kalpas, / all from having given rise to a faithful mind / and reverently bowing to the Buddhas of the ten directions. / Those brāhmaṇas / at first slandered and fell into hell, / but later gained faith and were able to emerge. / How much more so you great bodhisattvas, / fully endowed with shame and conscience, / who are originally devoid of sin! / For the sake of living beings / you perform kṣamā for the four grave prohibitions, / the five unpardonable offenses, / and even the icchantika sins. / If there is an ordinary person / whose body has committed such sins, / if they can perform kṣamā like this, / eradicating the four grave prohibitions, / the five unpardonables, and icchantika offenses, / they will surely attain the Buddha Path; / excluded only are those without faith. / If one has a mind of faith and understanding, / and reverently bows to the Buddhas, / that they would not attain it is impossible.” / At that time King Kalyāṇadarśana / and the three thousand people / with one voice addressed the Buddha: / “When we attain buddhahood, / we vow to cross over the stream of birth and death. / We pray only that the Honoured One of Devas and Humans / will explain and distinguish for us: / If someone upholds, / copies, and recites [this sūtra], / what will their merit be?” / The Buddha said: “King Kalyāṇadarśana, / listen closely now; / I shall explain it for you. / If a person, using the seven jewels, / made offerings to a thousand worlds / and gave them to all beings, / and could furthermore skillfully teach the Dharma, / transforming them to attain the fruit of an arhat, / it would not equal someone / hearing the names of these Buddhas / and having even a single thought of faith, / or even bowing once: / their blessing would exceed that other’s. / How much more so for one who recites and copies, / who reverently trusts and bows in homage— / their merit cannot be measured. / If someone can copy, / uphold, and recite it, / and give rise to the resolve to bow in homage at all times, / this surpasses building stūpas and monasteries / throughout a thousand worlds.” / At that time Mahākāśyapa, / Ānanda, Śāriputra, / the vajra warriors who protect stūpas, / Brahmā, Śakra, / the wheel-turning [kings], and the Four Heavenly Kings / bowed with their heads at the Buddha’s feet, / and with one voice addressed the Buddha: / “After the Tathāgata’s departure from the world, / we shall propagate this / to teach and transform living beings, / and protect and attend to those who bow in homage, / so that their minds are always at peace. / Or if someone has violated and broken the grave prohibitions, / the five unpardonables, or slandered the vaipulya scriptures, / we shall enable them to hear the Buddhas’ names, / and abide peacefully on the pure ground, / so that, like King Kalyāṇadarśana, / in a future age they will see the buddhadhātu.”