English (machine translation)
Translation of 佛說五無反復經
- Language
- English
- Extent
- 30 passages, 1,195 words
- Text
- complete digital text
- Source
- pramana-mt · Machine translation by Gemini 3.8 Flash (2026-10-21) of in.bauddha.taisho.751a · Machine output without human authorship: no copyright is claimed (CC0 1.0). The original text keeps its own…
Contents
- 1 — 30 parts
Text
1.1
Translated by the Song lay devotee Juqu Jingsheng
1.2
Thus have I heard:
1.3
At one time, the Buddha was staying in the country of Śrāvastī together with 1,250 monks. At that time, there was a brahmacārin who came from the realm of Rājagṛha. Having heard that the people of Śrāvastī were kind and filial, upheld the scriptures, cultivated the Way, and reverently served the Three Venerable Ones, he arrived in the realm of Śrāvastī. He saw two men, a father and a son, ploughing the earth. A poisonous snake bit and killed the son. The father kept ploughing, did not look at his son, nor did he weep.
1.4
The brahmacārin asked, “Whose child is this?”
1.5
The ploughman replied, “He is my son.”
1.6
The brahmacārin asked, “If he is your son, why do you not weep and instead plough on as before?”
1.7
The man replied, “For born beings there is death; when things are formed there is decay. The good have recompense, and the wicked have retribution. What benefit to the dead are sorrow and distress, weeping and despair? Since you are entering the city now, my home is at a certain place—please stop by and tell them: ‘My son has died; bring only food for one person!’”
1.8
The brahmacārin thought to himself, “What kind of person is this, who has no regard for reciprocal affection? His son lies dead upon the ground, yet his heart feels no sorrow; instead, he merely asks for food! The unkindness of this man has no parallel!”
1.9
The brahmacārin entered the city, went to the ploughman's house, and saw the dead boy's mother. He then said to her, “Your son has died. His father sent a message to bring only food for one person. Why do you feel no sorrow for your son?”
1.10
The boy's mother spoke a parable for the brahmacārin: “When the boy came to take birth, I did not call him; now that the boy departs on his own, it is not in my power to keep him. It is just like a traveler who visits a host; when the guest leaves on his own, how could he be kept? It is just the same with me and my son: departures and stays, going and coming, are not within my power. He follows his own former actions and cannot be detained. What benefit to the dead are sorrow and weeping?”
1.11
He also spoke to his sister: “Your brother has died; why do you not weep?”
1.12
The sister spoke a parable for the brahmacārin: “My brother and I are like a skilled craftsman who enters the mountains, cuts timber, and binds it into a great raft. When it is launched on the water, a great storm suddenly blows, scattering and breaking the raft apart so that the logs drift downstream, divided before and behind, never looking back to one another. So it is with my brother: brought together by cause and conditions, we were born in the same family. Following the span of our lives, life and death are impermanent, and union must bring separation. My brother's life has run its course; following his former actions, he cannot be detained. What benefit to the dead are sorrow and weeping?”
1.13
He also spoke to his wife: “Your husband has died; why do you not weep?”
1.14
The wife spoke a parable for the brahmacārin: “My husband and I were like flying birds roosting in a tall tree at dusk, resting together for a brief moment; when morning arrives and they awaken early, each flies away seeking food and drink. Meeting when there are conditions, they part when conditions end. So it is with my husband and me: departures and stays, going and coming, are not within my power. He follows his own former actions and cannot be detained. What benefit to the dead are sorrow and weeping?”
1.15
He also spoke to his servant: “Your master has died; why do you not weep?”
1.16
The servant spoke a parable for the brahmacārin: “My master and I were joined by causes and conditions. I was like a calf following an ox: when someone slaughters the ox while the calf stands beside it, the calf cannot preserve the ox's life. What benefit to the dead are sorrow and dejection, weeping and despair?”
1.17
Hearing this, the brahmacārin became bewildered and clouded in mind, not knowing east from west: “I heard that this country was filial and compliant, reverently serving the Three Jewels, and so I came from afar wishing to study. Now that I have arrived here, it is entirely of no use!”
1.18
He then asked a passerby, “Where is the Buddha? I wish to go and question him.”
1.19
The passerby replied, “He is nearby in the Jetavana Monastery.”
1.20
The brahmacārin then went to where the Buddha was, bowed his head in homage, and stood to one side, bowing his head in sorrow, silent and saying nothing. The Buddha knew his mind and said to the brahmacārin, “Why do you lower your head in sorrow and displeasure?”
1.21
The brahmacārin said to the Buddha, “My hopes have not been fulfilled; things have run contrary to my original wish. For that reason I am displeased!”
1.22
The Buddha asked the brahmacārin, “What have you lost that makes you sorrowful and displeased?”
1.23
The brahmacārin said, “I came from the realm of Rājagṛha wishing to study. Having arrived here, I saw five instances of lacking reciprocal affection.”
1.24
The Buddha said, “What are the five instances of lacking reciprocal affection?”
1.25
The brahmacārin said, “I saw two men, father and son, ploughing the earth and planting seeds. The son died upon the ground, yet the father felt no sorrow in his heart and instead merely asked for food; the elders and young throughout the household also felt no grief. This is great perversity.”
1.26
The Buddha said, “Not so! It is not as you say. These five persons possess the greatest understanding of reciprocal affection. Knowing that the body is impermanent and that possessions do not belong to oneself, even the sages of antiquity could not escape this calamity, so how much less ordinary mortals? What benefit to the dead is loud wailing and weeping? For countless eons, worldly people have been wandering in birth and death; their transmigrating consciousness is not extinguished, and they die only to be reborn again, turning like a cartwheel without rest. To turn from death toward life is not something that sorrow can alter.”
1.27
Hearing this, the brahmacārin's heart opened and his mind was illuminated, freed from any sorrow or affliction: “Hearing the Buddha's teaching, I am like the sick restored to health, like the blind regaining sight, like one in darkness encountering light.” Thereupon the brahmacārin attained the stage of entering the stream.
1.28
“All deaths are not worth weeping over. If one wishes to help the deceased, inviting the Buddha and the Saṅgha, burning incense, making offerings, and reciting the scriptures—being able to make prostrations daily and offering to the Three Jewels with a dedicated mind—this is what is most essential.”
1.29
Thereupon the brahmacārin bowed his head in reverence, received the teaching, and departed.
1.30
Sūtra on the Five Things Without Return, Spoken by the Buddha