འཕགས་པ་ལགས་ཉས་ཀྱ་རྒྱ་དང་འབྲས་བ་བསྟན་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད 1

1

Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.⁵

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was residing in Prince Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park. At that time, the Blessed One was teaching the Dharma surrounded by innumerable bodhisattvas and many divine and human followers, who were listening to the Dharma one-pointedly.

It was then that, for the benefit of beings, Venerable Ānanda said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, currently in this world, among those who are similar in being born as humans, some are attractive while others are ugly; some are strong while others are weak; some are poor while others are rich; some suffer while others are happy; and some are noble while others are ignoble.

“Their voices are dissimilar and their languages distinct. Some make it one hundred years without dying, while others perish before thirty. Some suddenly die at fifteen, while others die right in their mother’s womb. Some are good looking and have lovely faces, while others are destitute, ignoble, and ugly. Some are born rich and noble.⁶ Some are strong though lowly, while others are weak though born of high class.⁷ Some suffer yet have long lives, while others are happy yet have short lives.

“There are those who practice virtue yet end up in the wrong, while others commit misdeeds yet obtain meritorious benefits. Some are fat and fair but cross-eyed and hard of seeing,⁸ while others are dark in complexion yet endowed with inborn beauty.⁹ Some are short and small yet quick-witted,¹⁰