佛說盂蘭盆經 1.7

1.7

爾時目連復白佛言：「弟子所生父母，得蒙三寶功德之力、眾僧威神之力。故，若未來世一切佛弟子行孝順者，亦應奉此盂蘭盆，救度現在父母乃至七世父母，為可爾不？」

fering in the realm of hungry ghosts [in which she had been living] for a kalpa.

Then Mahāmaudgalyāyana again addressed the Buddha, “My parents

who raised me have received the power of the virtues of the Three Jewels

(i.e, Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha), thanks to the spiritual power of the

monks. If all future disciples of the Buddha are filial to their parents and

uphold this Ullambana Sutra, then they will be able to deliver their present

parents and their parents of the past seven generations. Is this not so?”

The Buddha replied, “Very well, that is a good question. I will certainly

speak on this, since you have now asked the question. O son of good fam-

ily, if there are bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, kings, crown princes, ministers, prime

ministers, head officials, various civil servants, or tens of thousands of com-

moners who are filial to their present parents and their parents of the past

seven generations, they should, on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, a

The Ullambana Sutra

joyous day for the Buddha and a day after the retreat, offer a meal of various tastes on a tray to the monks who participated in the retreat. They should then ask [the monks] to pray that their present parents will have a lifespan of one hundred years, free of illness and all kinds of suffering, and that their parents of the past seven generations may be free from the suffering of the realm of hungry ghosts and be born in the realm of heavenly beings (devas) which is accompanied by infinite happiness and pleasure.”

The Buddha enjoined men and women of good families, “Disciples of the Buddha who practice filial piety should constantly think of their parents and make offerings to their parents of the past seven generations. Every fifteenth day of the seventh month, out of filial piety recall your parents of the past seven generations and prepare a tray of offerings for the Buddha and the monks in order to repay your debt to your parents. All disciples of the Buddha should uphold this teaching.”

Upon hearing this discourse of the Buddha, Bhikṣu Mahāmaudgalyāyana and the four groups of followers (monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen) were delighted and paid reverence to him.

The Sutra of Forty-two Sections (Sishierzhangjing) is considered the first sutra to have been translated into Chinese. According to tradition it was brought to China and translated by two monks from the Western Region (present-day India or Central Asia), Kāśyapa Mātaṅga and Gobharana, during the reign of Emperor Xiaoming of the Later Han dynasty (58–75 C.E.). According to the Collection of Notes Concerning the Translation of the Tripiṭaka (Chusancangzhiji), the sutra was translated at White Horse Monastery (Baimasi) in Luoyang, the first Buddhist monastery established in China.

Some modern scholars, however, such as Liang Qichao, Yin Shun, and Donald S. Lopez, have argued that the text is apocryphal in nature, pointing out that it is imbued with Mahayana and Daoist doctrines. And the resemblance between the Sutra of Forty-two Sections and the Book of Filial Piety (Xiangjing) have led other scholars to question whether it is a translation of a Sanskrit original or a Chinese compilation. However, according to the noted historian Tang Yongtong, a careful study of the history of the various editions of the text show that the oldest edition does not contain Mahayana concepts or traces of Daoist thought. Since the text has undergone rewriting and revision at the hands of later copyists, compilers, and annotators who may have added their personal points of view, it is only natural that there exist variations among editions. Further scholarly evidence is needed to definitively prove that this text is apocryphal.

The various editions of the Sutra of Forty-two Sections can be divided into three categories. The first includes the Korean, Song, and Yuan editions, which are nearly identical. The second is the edition with a commentary by Zhenzong of the Song dynasty (r. 998–1023). This edition was adopted by Nancang of the Ming dynasty. The third is the edition with a commentary by Shousui, a Chan monk of the Caodong sect, which flourished in the early twelfth century. The Korean edition, an old text translated during the Han period, was used as the basis for this English translation. The Song edition by Zhenzong contains a few additions not found in the Korean edition, most obviously the completion of