English (machine translation)

Language: English
Extent: 30 passages, 2,805 words
Text: complete digital text
Source: pramana-mt · Machine translation by Gemini 3.8 Flash (2026-10-21) of in.bauddha.taisho.742 · Machine output without human authorship: no copyright is claimed (CC0 1.0). The original text keeps its own…

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Text

1.1

Translated by the Indian Tripiṭaka Master Zhu Tanwulan during the Eastern Jin dynasty

At one time the Buddha was staying in Śrāvastī at the park of Prince Jeta and Anāthapiṇḍada. At that time, the king of the country went to the Buddha's dwelling. Seeing the vihāra from afar, he stepped down from his carriage, put away his canopy, unbuckled his sword, and took off his shoes. With joined hands he advanced directly, cast his five limbs to the ground, bowed his head at [the Buddha's] feet, and then knelt on both knees, saying: "I wish to invite the Buddha and the saṅgha to the crossroads tomorrow to provide a modest meal, so that the common people everywhere may know the supreme venerability of the Buddha, witness his deportment, and pass it on to future generations as a standard. May all sentient beings be kept far from demons, specters, and sorcery, and all uphold the five precepts so as to eliminate the afflictions of the state!"

1.4

The World-Honoured One said: "Excellent, excellent! As a ruler of a state, one ought to provide enlightened guidance, lead the people by means of the Dao, and seek future blessings. In the past, when I was a king, I also revered all the Buddhas, śramaṇas, and brahmins, and constantly practiced the four immeasurables and the six perfections, striving diligently until I attained Buddhahood, towering and unsurpassed."

1.5

The king said: "O Most True One! It is truly as the Buddha teaches: if one does not plant a seed, there is no way to reap its fruit. Having received the Buddha's grace, I was born into the world as a human being; shedding a female body, I became a man, endowed with all six sense faculties intact. In a meeting of great fortune, I have encountered the Buddha residing in the world, and the brilliant transformation of the Dharma is present in my realm, bringing an immeasurable accumulation of goodness. I beg leave to withdraw and make solemn preparations."

1.6

The World-Honoured One said: "Excellent, excellent!"

1.7

The king then returned to his palace and leveled the great thoroughfare, making the high and low parts entirely even. He broadly set up curtains and canopies, and erected banners and pennants. From the crossroads to the gate of the vihāra, railings flanked the road, lamps were laid out like stars, and incense burners stood at every step. Heavenly music and diverse performers sang of the supreme spiritual power of the Buddha and praised the pure, chaste virtue of the śramaṇas. Scattered flowers and varied jewels fell profusely like rain, scented water was sprinkled on the ground, and fine rugs were spread out. The king personally prepared the provisions throughout the night with his own hands. In person, he went to receive and welcome [the Buddha], bowed his head to the ground, knelt on both knees, and said: "May the World-Honoured One bestow great compassion; by projecting your presence, deliver all sentient beings!"

1.8

The Buddha arose, donned his Dharma robes, and went to the crossroads together with all the śramaṇas. The king and his ministers flanked him in attendance to the left and right. When the Buddha arrived, he took his seat. The queen and the crown prince all bowed their heads to the ground, rolled up their sleeves, and bared their feet. After presenting the washing water, they personally served the food and drink with their own hands. When the Buddha had finished eating, [the king] bowed his head and said: "Now that this modest meal has been offered, I vow that gods, humans, ghosts, dragons, and the crawling, flying, creeping, and wriggling kinds may meet the Buddha, meet the Dharma, and meet the assembly of śramaṇas life after life, cast away worldly defilements and impurities, and cherish the Buddha's true reality!"

1.9

The Buddha said: "Excellent! The king acts as a parent to the people, nourishing them with benevolence and guiding them with great illumination. What you wish will surely be attained!"

1.10

The king said: "Whenever the people throughout the land part ways, they all say, 'Love yourself!' Does this meaning of 'loving oneself' have an essential principle?"

1.11

The World-Honoured One praised him, saying: "Excellent indeed is your question! When people dwell in the world, if they harbor venomous thoughts in their minds, utter venomous words with their mouths, and perform venomous actions with their bodies, these three deeds arise from mind, body, and mouth, instigating and completing evil so as to inflict it upon sentient beings. Sentient beings afflicted by this venom immediately harbor enmity and resentment, vowing in their hearts to retaliate. Some receive it in the present life; or after bodily death, their spirits ascend to heaven and then descend to take retribution. Among humans, animals, ghosts, spirits, and Mt. Tai, they mutually destroy and harm one another, all due to past lives, not arising out of nothingness. The three [evils] of the body, the four of speech, and the three of thought are without good. The foolish indulge in them and are unfilial to their parents; they worship demons and specters, commit licentiousness and drunken rebelliousness, and plunge into base defilements, thereby bringing upon themselves the calamities of ruining their bodies and annihilating their clans. Upon death, they enter the cruelty of the boiling cauldrons and fire of Mt. Tai, long failing to obtain a human body. Separated far from the Buddha and rightness, not delighting in the pure precepts of śramaṇas, they always congregate with the foolish. This is called delighting in the calamity of peril and ruin; they are ones who do not love themselves!"

1.12

The king said: "Good, good! I rely solely on the Buddha's instruction. May I hear what the standard for loving oneself is?"

1.13

The Buddha said: "As for the method of loving oneself: first take the three refuges; support one's parents according to the Dharma; love and care for humans and other beings; have pity on the foolish and deluded; rejoice and advance upon seeing the upright; protect all equally; bring peace and deliverance to sentient beings; bestow these four kinds of kindness, and give alms to the destitute and needy. Then sentient beings will harbor no resentment, all the gods will protect and nurture them, untoward disasters will not strike, prisons, sharp swords, and all poisons will abate, parents will be at peace and the clan will prosper, in life there will be no disasters or afflictions, at death one will ascend to heaven, and one will constantly meet with the enlightened. Such is called one who loves oneself!"

1.14

The king said: "Excellent! I rely solely on the Buddha's instruction!"

1.15

"Truly, those of high conduct and virtue remain pure, upright, and maintain truth; defiled gain and deviant pleasures do not taint their minds. The four [evils] of the mouth are not spoken, and the three misfortunes are kept far from the body. Even at the peril of life, they preserve their conduct, which is treasured by all Buddhas. Their parents are at peace and their clans prosper; in the end they ascend to heaven and constantly meet with blessed assemblies. Such is called one who loves oneself!"

1.16

The king said: "Excellent! I rely solely on the Buddha's true teaching!"

1.17

"When struck by untoward poisons, they endure silently without speaking; they feel pity and compassion for the other, delivering them from beginning to end. Energetic and unflagging, they carry on mindfulness of the Three Honoured Ones; outwardly still and inwardly tranquil, they cultivate mindfulness at the root of the Dao. They contemplate deeply the noble destinations and clearly transform through true words. Fulfilling filial duties to parents and delivering themselves, they guide the multitude to do the same, constantly meeting with blessed assemblies. Such is called one who loves oneself!"

1.18

The king said: "Excellent! I rely solely on the Buddha's true teaching!"

1.19

The onlookers were countless. At that time, there were two merchants. One person thought: 'The Buddha's body is sixteen feet tall, with the radiant colour of purple-gold, a fleshy usṇīṣa upon his crown, and a halo behind his neck, towering beyond description. The Buddha is like a sovereign ruler, and the śramaṇas are like loyal ministers. The Buddha expounds the luminous Dharma, and the śramaṇas recite and propagate it. This king is indeed enlightened, knowing that the Buddha is worthy of honour!' The Buddha knew his thought and looked intently at him; that man's heart was filled with joy, as joyful as if he had obtained a precious gem. The other person thought: 'This king is foolish and deluded. Being the ruler of a state, what more does he seek? The Buddha is like an ox, and the disciples are like a cart. That ox pulls the cart east, west, south, and north; the Buddha is also like that. What Dao does this fellow possess, that one should bend one's mind to worship him?' The Buddha knew that he harbored an evil thought and would inevitably reap its disaster, and felt sorrowful pity for him. That man's heart was seized with fear, as if he were about to encounter misfortune.

1.20

The two men left together. After traveling thirty li, they stopped for the night, bought wine and drank it, jointly settling their business affairs, arguing incessantly. For the one with good thoughts, the Four Heavenly Kings dispatched good spirits to protect him. For the one whose venomous mind slandered the Buddha, a ghost of Mt. Tai caused the wine entering his intestines to burn like fire through his body; he went out to rest by the road and lay down, rolling over into a carriage rut. In the morning, a caravan of five hundred merchant wagons ran over and killed him. His companion searched and found him in that state, saying: 'Misfortune has befallen me! If I return to our home country, I will be suspected of seizing his goods; to leave is unrighteous.' Thereupon, abandoning the wealth, he fled alone, wandering far away from place to place.

1.21

Tens of thousands of li away from Śrāvastī, there was a kingdom whose king had died without a crown prince. A book of prophecies stated: 'A person of low station from the central lands shall rule over this country.' The assembled ministers discussed it, saying: 'A state without a ruler is like a body without a head; it cannot long stand! The late king possessed a horse that always performed the royal courtesies. If there is one fit to be king, the horse will surely bend its knees!' All said: 'Splendid!' They immediately prepared the royal carriage and placed the royal seal and ribbons upon it. People and horses filled the road, and none among the onlookers did not wipe away tears.

1.22

The merchant also went out to watch. The grand astrologer of the kingdom said: 'Over there is a canopy of yellow clouds; this is the aura [of a sovereign]!' The divine horse advanced directly, bent its knees, and licked the merchant's feet. The ministers rejoiced, bathed him in scented water, installed him as king, and all declared themselves his subjects. The king said: 'I was originally a merchant, without virtue toward the people, unfit for this heavenly position!' The assembled officials said: 'Heaven confers it upon the virtuous; the divine horse has bent its knees!' Thereupon he resided in the royal palace and attended to the affairs of state. He reflected deeply: 'I have done not the slightest good; by what cause have I obtained this? It must surely be the Buddha's grace that brought this about!' In the morning, seated upon the royal throne, he praised the Buddha's unsurpassed holiness. Leading his ministers, he bowed toward Śrāvastī, saying: 'A lowly person has received the World-Honoured One's grace and become a ruler of men. In this land through the generations, none have known of the Buddha; the common writings make no record of him either. I pray that with your great illumination you will open the eyes and ears of this country's people! Tomorrow, may you deign to come with the assembly of arhats and look upon us for a season of three months!'

1.23

The Buddha told Ānanda: 'Instruct all the monks! Tomorrow, at that king's invitation, all must gradually manifest spiritual transformations and display their noble virtue, so that all the people of that realm may witness them!' When the gods heard that the Buddha was going there to teach and transform, they led and followed one another, playing music and singing of his virtue. Jeweled canopies, banners, and pennants were erected, flowers fell in profusion, and the radiant colors dazzled the eye. The Buddha and the arhats all sat in the main hall. The king, following the luminous ritual of the King of Śrāvastī's offerings, personally served the food and drink with his own hands; after finishing, he sat before the Buddha on a small stool. The Buddha broadly expounded the Dharma.

1.24

The king said: 'I was originally a lowly person, possessing no notable virtue. By what cause have I obtained this?'

1.25

The Buddha told the king: 'In the past, when that king fed the Buddha, you thought in your heart: "The Buddha is like a king, and the śramaṇas are like ministers." You planted this seed, and today you have naturally reaped its fruit. That other person said: "The Buddha is like an ox, and the disciples are like a cart." He planted the seed of being run over by a cart, and now in Mt. Tai he is run over by fiery carts, naturally reaping his fruit. This is not something your valor could have brought about! For doing good, blessings follow; for walking in evil, calamity pursues—just as an echo responds to a sound, good and evil follow like tones. It is not done by gods, dragons, ghosts, or spirits, nor is it done by ancestral spirits; that which creates it is the mind, completed through body and mouth!'

1.26

The Buddha spoke in verse, saying:

1.27

"The mind is the root of all things;
The mind is supreme, the mind commands.
When evil is done within the mind,
Spoken in words and carried out in deeds,
Suffering and guilt will pursue of themselves,
Just as a cart wheel crushes the tracks.

The mind is the root of all things;
The mind is supreme, the mind commands.
When good is cherished within the mind,
Spoken in words and carried out in deeds,
Blessing and joy will pursue of themselves,
Just as a shadow follows the form."

1.28

The World-Honoured One further said to the king: "Among all evil transgressions, the five gravest are these: Being unfilial and disloyal, killing one's parents or sovereign, bringing ruin to the family and chaos to the state—this is the first grave offense. An arhat's practice attains the concentrations of emptiness, wishlessness, and signlessness, matching the Buddha's mind to save and deliver sentient beings, yet the foolish turn against them—this is the second grave offense. As for the Buddha, all his offenses are exhausted, grand blessings are fully gathered, he possesses the marks, signs, and ten powers, guides sentient beings with the Dharma, and with kindness, compassion, joy, and protection his heart exceeds that of a loving mother, yet the foolish malign him with evil—this is the third grave offense. Pure śramaṇas have pure aspirations and lofty conduct; embracing the scriptures and Dharma, they assist the Buddha in transforming the foolish. The Buddhas succeed one another, and sentient beings attain deliverance entirely through the saṅgha. Yet when flattering slander creates discord, disharmony ensues; when the saṅgha is in disharmony, governance and Dharma are ruined, and the people run amok. When governance and Dharma are ruined and the people run amok, the three evil paths flourish, and the bhikṣu saṅgha is harassed—this is the fourth grave offense. Sentient beings offer precious items, land, and water to the Buddha's revered temples and shrines with sincere devotion to the Three Honoured Ones, yet foolish people vandalize or steal them—this is the fifth grave offense. Whoever commits these five offenses finds no mercy for their guilt; it is called killing oneself, destroying one's clan, and casting oneself into the fires of Mt. Tai! The gravity of these five offenses is heavier than Mount Sumeru; take care never to commit them!"

1.29

When the Buddha finished preaching the sūtra, the king and his ministers all attained the stage of stream-enterer (srotāpanna) and received the five precepts to become lay devotees. Among the people of the state, some became śramaṇas while others upheld the precepts as lay devotees. They subsequently governed the state by means of the five precepts and the ten wholesome deeds; all the gods protected them, and the state flourished. The gods, dragons, spirits, king, ministers, and common people were all filled with joy.

1.30

Sūtra on Self-Love, Spoken by the Buddha

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