佛說五無返復經 1

English (machine translation) 1

Language: English

1.1

Translated by the Song lay devotee Juqu Jingsheng.

At one time, the Buddha was staying in the Jetavana vihāra in the country of Śrāvastī, together with twelve hundred and fifty monks. At that time, there was a brahmacārin in the country of Rājagṛha who heard that the people of Śrāvastī were largely compassionate and filial, upheld the scriptures and cultivated the Way, and made offerings to and served the Three Honoured Ones; he therefore went to the country of Śrāvastī. There he saw a father and son plowing the land. A venomous snake bit and killed the son. The father went on plowing as before, neither looking at his son nor weeping.

1.4

The brahmacārin asked, "Whose son is this boy?"

1.5

The plowman replied, "He is my son."

1.6

The brahmacārin said, "If he is your son, why do you not weep, but continue plowing as before?"

1.7

The man replied, "Where there is human birth there is death; where things are formed there is decay. The good have their recompense, and the evil have their retribution. What can be overtaken by sorrowing, grieving, and weeping? Even if I were to forgo food and drink, what benefit would that bring the dead? You are now entering the city; my home is in such-and-such a place. Would you please stop by and tell them: 'My son is already dead. There is no need to bring food for two.'"

1.8

The brahmacārin thought to himself: "This person has no sense of mutual duty! His son lies dead upon the ground, yet his mind is without sorrow or grief, and instead he asks for food. This person is unfeeling beyond compare!"

1.9

The brahmacārin then walked into the city and went to the plowman's house. Seeing the dead boy's mother, he immediately told her, "Your son is already dead. His father said, 'Bring food for only one person.' Why do you not think of your son?" In response, the boy's mother spoke a parable for the brahmacārin, saying, "A child is like a guest who comes to stay relying upon someone. When he comes, one does not turn him away; when he leaves, one does not detain him. Originally, I did not call this child; he came of himself to be born to me, and in dying he has departed of himself. It is not within my power to bring about his coming or going; following his own past actions, he is born according as his destiny dictates."

1.10

He also spoke to his elder sister: "Your younger brother is already dead; why do you not weep?" The sister then spoke a parable to the brahmacārin, saying, "We brothers and sisters are like a carpenter going into the mountains, felling trees, binding them into a great raft, and setting it upon the water: suddenly encountering a great wind, the raft breaks apart and disperses, drifting away with the flow of the water, separating fore and aft without looking back to one another. My brother and I are also like this: by past karmic causes and conditions, we were brought together at one time to be born in the one family. Following the span of our lives, birth and death are impermanent; where there is gathering, there is parting. Now that my brother's life has reached its end, each of us must follow our own deeds. When the retribution of impermanence arrives, each follows their own past actions; we cannot save one another."

1.11

He also spoke to the dead man's wife: "Your husband is already dead; why do you not weep?" The wife also spoke a parable for the brahmacārin, saying, "We husband and wife came together through causes and conditions for only a brief moment. It is like flying birds that roost together on a tall tree in the evening to spend the night, and rising early toward dawn, each flies away on its own to seek food. When there is affinity, they gather; when the affinity ends, they separate. We husband and wife are just like this: his departing or staying, advancing or stopping, is not within my power. When the retribution of impermanence arrives, each follows their own destiny; we cannot save one another."

1.12

He also spoke to their servant: "Your master's son is dead; why do you not weep?"

1.13

The servant again spoke a parable: "My relationship with my master is a gathering brought about by causes and conditions. I am like a calf following behind a great cow. When someone slaughters the great cow, the calf stands beside it and cannot save the great cow. An impermanent life cannot be saved; what is the use of sorrowing, grieving, and weeping? It would be of no benefit at all."

1.14

Hearing this, the brahmacārin became bewildered in mind and darkened in sight, unable to tell east from west: "I heard that the people of this country were filial, followed the Way, and made offerings to and served the Three Honoured Ones; therefore I came from afar wishing to study and learn. Yet before receiving any good response, I have met five people who lack any sense of mutual duty! Having toiled in body and suffered in mind to come from afar to this place, it has been utterly of no benefit."

1.15

He then asked a passerby, "Where is the Buddha? I wish to go and question him."

1.16

The passerby replied, "Nearby, in the Jetavana vihāra."

1.17

The brahmacārin immediately went to the Buddha's presence, bowed his head at the Buddha's feet in reverence, and withdrew to sit to one side, hanging his head in sorrow and remaining silent without speaking. The Buddha, knowing his thoughts, said to the brahmacārin, "Why do you hang your head, sorrowful and displeased?"

1.18

The brahmacārin said to the Buddha, "What I wished for has not come to fruition, going against my original intent; for that reason, I am sorrowful."

1.19

The Buddha asked, "What loss have you suffered that you are sorrowful and displeased?"

1.20

The brahmacārin said to the Buddha, "I have come from the country of Rājagṛha. Hearing that the people of this country were filial, and revered and honoured the Three Honoured Ones, I came from afar wishing to study and learn. Having arrived here, I have seen five people who lack any sense of mutual duty; for that reason, I am sorrowful and displeased."

1.21

The Buddha said, "What do you mean by lacking any sense of mutual duty?"

1.22

The brahmacārin said to the Buddha, "I saw a father and son plowing the land and sowing seed. When the son died on the ground, the father felt no sorrow, but instead asked for food, and went on to speak to me about impermanence. The mother, the wife, the sister, and the servant were likewise completely without sorrow. This is a great transgression, lacking any sense of mutual duty!"

1.23

The Buddha said, "It is not so; it is not as you say. These five people possess the greatest sense of mutual duty. They understand that life is impermanent and cannot be overtaken by sorrow and grief. Even the ancient sages could not escape this affliction, how much less ordinary persons! What benefit does weeping loudly or crying softly bring to the dead? For countless eons, worldly people have been transmigrating through birth and death; the spirit moves on without perishing, dying and being reborn again, turning like a cartwheel without rest. Leaving behind death and turning toward birth cannot be overtaken by grief and sorrow."

1.24

Hearing this, the brahmacārin's heart opened and his mind was resolved, and he was no longer sorrowful: "Hearing what the Buddha has spoken is like being cured of an illness, like the blind gaining sight, like encountering light in the darkness!" Thereupon the brahmacārin attained the stage of entering the stream.

1.25

"For all who die, it is not worth weeping. If one wishes to benefit the deceased, one should invite the Buddha and the Saṅgha, burn incense and make offerings, and recite the scriptures. If one can make prostrations daily and further make offerings to the Three Jewels with a dedicated mind, this is the most essential."

1.26

Thereupon the brahmacārin bowed his head in reverence, received the teaching, and departed.

1.27

Sūtra on the Five Things Without Return, Spoken by the Buddha.

Linked texts (1)

佛說五無返復經 — Classical Chinese