THE SUTRA OF FORTY-TWO SECTIONS SPOKEN BY THE BUDDHA

Translated by Upasaka Chu Chan (John Blofeld)

Key'ed in from hardcopy by TY with permission from publisher

(Yan Boon Remembrance Commitee in Hong Kong)

Note: [] indicates comments by TY

THE SUTRA OF FORTY-TWO SECTIONS SPOKEN BY THE BUDDHA

Jointly translated in the Later Han Dynasty by the monks

Kasyapa Matanga and Gobharana from Central India.

When the World Honored had become Enlightened, he

reflected thus: "To abandon desire and rest in perfect

quietude is the greatest of victories. To remain in a

state of complete abstraction is to overcome the ways

of all the evil ones." In the Royal Deer Park, he

expounded the Doctrine of the Four Noble Truths, converting

Kaundinya and four others, and thus manifesting the fruit

of the Way. There were frequently monks who voiced their

doubts and asked the Buddha to resolve them, so the World

Honored taught and commanded them, until, one by one, they

became Enlightened and, bringing their hands together in

respectful agreement, prepared to follow the sacred commands.

1. The Buddha said: "Those who, taking leave of their

families and adopting the homeless life, know the nature

of their minds and reach to what is fundamental, thus

breaking away (from the phenomenal and attaining to)

the unphenomenal, are called Sramanas. They constantly

observe the two hundred and fifty precepts, entering into

and abiding in perfect quietude. By working their way

through the four stages of progress, they become Arhans, who

possess the powers of levitation and transformation, as

well as the ability to prolong their lives for many aeons

and to reside or move about anywhere in heaven or earth.

Below them come the Anagamins, who at the end of a long life,

ascend in spirit to the nineteen heavens and become Arhats.

Then come the Sakridagamins who must ascend one step and be

reborn once more before becoming Arhans. There are also the

Srota-apanas who cannot become Arhans until they have passed

through nine more rounds of birth and death [original Chinese

text states seven, not nine]. One who has put an end to his

longings and desires is like a man who, having no further

use for his limbs (literal: having cut off his limbs), never

uses them again."

2. The Sramana who, having left home, puts an end to his desires

and drives away his longings, knowing the source of his own mind,

penetrates to the profound principles of Buddhahood. He awakes

to the non-phenomenal, clinging to nothing within and seeking

for nothing from without. His mind is not shackled with dogmas,

nor is he enmeshed by karma. Pondering nothing and doing nothing,

practising nothing and manifesting nothing, without passing through

all the successive stages, he (nevertheless) reaches the loftiest

of all. This is what is meant by "The Way".

3. The Buddha said: "He who has shorn his locks and beard to

become a Sramana and has accepted the Doctrine of the Way,

abandons everything of worldly value and is satisfied by the

food he obtained by begging, eating but once a day. If there

is a tree under which to rest, he desires nothing else.

Longings and desires are what make men stupid and darken their

minds.

4. The Buddha said: "There are ten things by which beings do

good and ten by which they do evil. What are they? Three are

performed with the body, four with the mouth, and three with the

mind. The (evils) performed with the body are killing, stealing

and unchaste deeds; those with the mouth are duplicity,

slandering, lying, and idle talk; those with the mind are

covetousness, anger, and foolishness. These ten are not in

keeping with the holy Way and are called the ten evil practices.

Putting a stop to all of them is called performing the ten

virtuous practices."

5. The Buddha said: "If a man has all kinds of faults and does

not regret them, in the space of a single heartbeat retribution

will suddenly fall upon him and, as water returning to the sea,

will gradually become deeper and wider. (But), if a man has

faults and, becoming aware of them, changes for the better,

retribution will melt away into nothingness of its own accord,

as the danger of a fever gradually abates once perspiration

has set in.

6. The Buddha said: "If an evil man, on hearing of what is good,

comes and creates a disturbance, you should hold your peace.

You must not angrily unbraid him; then he who has come to curse

you will merely harm himself."

7. The Buddha said: "There was one who heard that I uphold the

Way and practise great benevolence and compassion. On this account,

he came to sold me, but I remained silent and did not retort.

When he had finished scolding me, I said: "Sir, if you treat

another with courtesy and he does not accept it, does not the

courtesy and he does not accept it, does not the courtesy rebound

to you?" He replied that it does and I continued: 'Now you have

just cursed me and I did not accept your curses, so the evil

which you yourself did has now returned and fallen upon you.

For a sound accords with the noise that produced it and the

reflection accords with the form. In the end there will be no

escape, so take care lest you do what is evil."

8. The Buddha said: "An evil man may wish to injure the

Virtuous Ones and, raising his head, spit towards heaven, but

the spittle, far from reaching heaven, will return and descend

upon himself. An unruly wind may raise the dust, but the

dust does not go elsewhere; it remains to contaminate the

wind. Virtue cannot be destroyed, while evil inevitably

destroys itself."

9. The Buddha said: "Listen avidly to and cherish the Way. The

Way will certainly be hard to reach. Maintain your desire to

accept it humbly, for the Way is mighty indeed."

10. The Buddha said: "Observe those who bestow (knowledge of)

the Way. To help them is a great joy and many blessings can

thus be obtained." A Sramana asked: "Is there any limit to such

blessings?" The Buddha replied: "They are like the fire of a

torch from which hundreds and thousands of people light their

own torches. The (resulting) light eats up the darkness and that

torch is the origin of it all. Such is the nature of those

blessings."

11. The Buddha said: "To bestow food on a hundred bad men is not

equal to bestowing food on one good one. Bestowing food on a

thousand good men is not equal to bestowing food on one who

observes the five precepts. Bestowing food on ten thousand who

observe the five precepts is not equal to bestowing food on

one Srota-apana. Bestowing food on a million Srota-apanas is not

equal to bestowing food on one Sakrdagamin. Bestowing food on

ten million Sakrdagamins is not equal to bestowing food on one

Anagamin. Bestowing food on a hundred million Anagamins is not

equal to bestowing food on one Arhan. Bestowing food on a

thousand million Arhans is not equal to bestowing food on one

Pratyeka Buddha. Bestowing food on ten thousand million

Pratyeka Buddhas is not equal to bestowing food on one of the

Buddhas of the Triple World. Bestowing food on a hundred

thousand million Buddhas of the Triple World is not equal to

bestowing food on one who ponders nothing, does nothing,

practices nothing, and manifest nothing."

12. The Buddha said: "There are twenty things which are hard for

human beings:

"It is hard to practice charity when one is poor.

"It is hard to study the Way when occupying a position of great

authority.

"It is hard to surrender life at the approach of inevitable death.

"It is hard to get an opportunity of reading the sutras

"It is hard to be born directly into Buddhist surroundings

"It is hard to bear lust and desire (without yielding to them).

"It is hard to see something attractive without desiring it.

"It is hard to hard to bear insult without making an angry reply.

"It is hard to have power and not to pay regard to it.

"It is hard to come into contact with things and yet remain

unaffected by them

"It is hard to study widely and investigate everything thoroughly.

"It is hard to overcome selfishness and sloth.

"It is hard to avoid making light of not having studied (the Way)

enough.

"It is hard to keep the mind evenly balanced.

"It is hard to refrain from defining things as being something or

not being something.

"It is hard to come into contact with clear perception (of the Way).

"It is hard to perceive one's own nature and (through such perception)

to study the Way.

"It is hard to help others towards Enlightenment according to their

various deeds.

"It is hard to see the end (of the Way) without being moved.

"It is hard to discard successfully (the shackles that bind us to

the wheel of life and death) as opportunities present themselves.

13. A Sramana asked the Buddha: "By what method can we attain the knowledge

of how to put a stop to life (in the phenomental sphere) and come

in contact with the Way?" The Buddha answered: "By purifying the mind

preserving the will (to struggle onwards) you can come in contact

with the Way just as, when a mirror is wiped, the dust falls off and

the brightness remains. By eliminating desires and seeking for nothing

(else) you should be able to put a stop to life (in the phenomenal

sphere)".

14. A Sramana asked the Buddha: "What is goodness and what is

greatness?" The Buddha replied: "To follow the Way and hold to what

is true is good. When the will is in conformity with the Way, that

is greatness."

15. A Sramana asked the Buddha: "What is great power and what is

the acme of brilliance?" The Buddha answered: "To be able to bear

insult (without retort) implies great power. He that does not cherish

cause for resentment, but remains calm and firm equally (under all

circumstances), and who bears all things without indulging in abuse

will certainly be honored by men. The acme of brilliance is reached

when the mind is utterly purged of impurities and nothing false or

foul remains (to besmirch) its purity. When there is nothing, from

before the formation of heaven and earth until now or in any of the

ten quarters of the universe which you have not seen, heard and

understood; when you have attained to a knowledge of everything, that

may be called brilliance."

16. Men who cherish longings and desires are those who have not

perceived the Way. Just as, if clear water be stirred up with the

hand, none of those looking into it will perceive their reflections,

so men, in whose minds filth has been stirred up by longings and

desires will not perceive the Way. You Sramanas must abandon

longings and desires. When the filth of longing and desires has

been entirely cleared away, then only will you be able to perceive

the Way."

17. The Buddha said: "With those who have perceived the Way, it is

thus. Just as, when one enters a dark house with a torch, the

darkness is dissipated and only light remains, so, by studing the

Way and perceiving the truth, ignorance is dissipated and insight

remains forever."

18. The Buddha said: "My Doctrine implies thinking of that which

is beyond thought, performing that which is beyond performance,

speaking of that which is beyond words and practising that which

is beyond practice. Those who can come up to this, progress, while

the stupid regress. The way which can be express in words stops

short; there is nothing which can be grasped. If you are wrong by

so much as the thousandth part of a hair, you will lose (the Way)

in a flash."

19. The Buddha said: "Regard heaven and earth and consider their

impermanence. Regard the world and consider its impermanence.

Regard the spiritual awakening as Bodhi. This sort of knowledge

leads to speedy Enlightenment."

20. The Buddha said: "You should ponder on the fact that, though

each of the four elements of which the body is made up has a name,

none of them (constitute any part of) the real self. In fact, the

self is non-existant, like a mirage."

21. The Buddha said: "There are people who, following the dictates of

their feelings and desires, seek to make a name or themselves, but,

by the time that name resounds, they are already dead. Those who

hunger for a name that shall long be remembered in the world and who

do not study the Way strive vainly and struggle for empty forms.

Just as burning incese, though others perceive its pleasant smell,

is itself being burnt up, so (desires) bring the danger of fire which

can burn up your bodies in their train.

22. The Buddha said: "Wealth and beauty, to a man who will not relinquish

them, are like a knife covered with honey which, even before he has

had the pleasure of eating the honey, cuts the tongue of the child that

licks it."

23. The Buddha said: "People who are tied to their wives, children, and

homes are worse off than prisoners. A prisoner will be released sooner

or later, but wives and children have no thought of betaking themselves

off. Why fear to rid yourselves immediately of the longing for

physical beauty? (Otherwise,) you are tamely submitting to the jaws

of a tiger and deliberately allowing yourselves to drown in the

quicksand into which you have fallen, thus meriting the name of 'simple

fellows'. If you can reach the point (of abandoning such things), you

will rise from the dust and become Arhans.

24. The Buddha said: "Of all longings and desires, there is none stronger

than sex. Sex as a desire has no equal. Rely on the (universal) Oneness.

No one under heaven is able to become a follower of the Way if he accepts

dualism.

25. The Buddha said: "Those who (permit themselves) longings and desires

are like a man who walks in the teeth of the wind carrying a torch.

Inevitably, his hands will be burnt.

26. The gods bestowed the jade girl upon me, hoping to shake my

determination. I said, 'O skin bag, full of every kind of filth!

For what have you come here? Go! I do not need you.' Then the gods

payed me profound reverence and, as they asked me to expound the Way,

I enlightened them and they became Srota-apanas as a result."

27. The Buddha said: "Those who follow the Way are like a piece of

wood in the water, which floats along, touching neither bank, and

which is neither picked up by men, intercepted by the gods, hindered

by floating scum, nor rots upon the way. I am prepared to undertake

that such a piece of wood will certainly reach the sea. If those

who study the Way are not misled by their feelings and desires, not

disburbed by any sort of depravity, and, if they earnestly advance

towards the unphenomenal, I am prepared to undertake that they will

certainly attain to the Way."

28. The Buddha said: "Be careful not to depend on your own intelligence--

it is not to be trusted. Take care not to come in contact with physical

attractions-- such contacts result in calamities. Only when you have

reached the stage of Arhan can you depend on your own intelligence."


29. The Buddha said: "Take care to avoid looking on the beauty of women and

do not converse with them. If you do (have occasion to) converse with

them, control the thoughts which run through your minds. When I was a

Sramana and came in contact with the impure world, I was like the lotus

which remains unsullied by the mud (from which it grows). Think of old

women as of you mothers, of those older than yourselves as of your elder

sisters, of those younger than yourselves as of your younger sisters, and

of very young ones as your daughters. Dwell on thoughts of Enlightenment

and banish all evil ones."

30. The Buddha said: "Those who follow the Way are like straw which must

be perserved from fire. A follower of the Way who experience desire must

put a distance between himself and (object of his) desire."

31. The Buddha said: "There was one who indulged his sexual passions

unceasingly but who wished, of his own accord, to put an end to his evil

actions, I said to him: "To put a stop to these evil actions will not be

so good as to put a stop to (the root of the evil) in your mind. The

mind is like Kung Ts'ao. If Kung Ts'ao desists, his followers will stop

also. If mental depravities continues, what is the use of putting an

end to evil actions?' I then repeated this verse for him: 'Desire

springs from your thoughts. Thought springs from discernment (of matter).

When the two minds are both stilled, there is neither form nor action.'

I added that this verse was first spoken by Kasyapa Buddha".

32. The Buddha said: "The sorrows of men comes from their longings and

desires. Fear comes from these sorrows. If freedom from desire is

attained, what (cause for) grief and fear will remain?

33. The Buddha said: "Those who follow the Way are like one who has to

fight ten thousand and who, putting on his armor, steps out of the gate.

His toughts may be timorous and his resolution weak, or he may (even) get

halfway to the battle-ground and then turn around and flee. Again, he

may join battle and be slain. On the other hand, he may gain the victory

and return. The Sramana who studies the Way must have a resolute mind

and zealously build up his courage, fearing nothing that lies before him

and destroying all demons (of temptation that stand in his way), that he

may obtain the fruit (of diligently studing) the Way."

34. One night, a Sramana was intoning "The Sutra of Teachings Bequeathed

by Kasyapa Buddha." The sound of his voice was mournful, for he though

repentantly of his back-slidings, born of desire. The Buddha asked him:

"What did you do before you became a monk?" "I used to like playing the

lute," he replied. "What happened," said the Buddha, "when you loosened

the strings?" "They made no sound." "And when you pulled them taut?"

"The sounds were brief." "And how was it when they were neither taut

nor loose?" "Then all the sounds were normal" replied the Sraman. To this

the Buddha said, "It is the same with a Sraman studing the Way. If his

mind is properly adjusted, he can attain to it, but if he forces himself

towards it, his mind will become weary and, on account of the weariness

of his mind, his thoughts will become irritable. With such irritable

thoughts, his actions will retrogress and, with such retrogression, evil

will enter his mind. But if he studies quietly and happily, he will not

lose the Way."

35. The Buddha said: "If a man smelts iron until all impurities have been

eliminated (before proceeding to) make implements with it, the implements

will be of fine quality. If one who studies the Way first purges his heart

of all foul influences, his actions will then become pure."

36. The Buddha said:

"It is hard for one to leave the grosser forms of incarnation and be born

a human being.

"It is hard for such a one to escape being a woman and be born a man.

"It is hard for such a one to be born with all his organs in perfect

condition.

"It is hard for such a one to be born in China.

"It is hard for such a one to be born directly into Buddhist surroundings.

"It is hard for such a one to come in contact with the Way.

"It is hard for such a one to cultivate faith in his mind.

"It is hard for such a one to attain to the Bodhi-heart.

"it is hard for such a one to attain to (the state where) nothing is

practised and nothing manifested."

37. The Buddha said: "A desciple living thousands of miles away from me

will, if he constantly cherishes and ponders on my precepts, attain the

fruit (of studying) the Way: but one who is in immediate contact with me,

though he sees me constantly, will ultimately fail to do so if he does not

follow my precepts."

38. The Buddha said to a Sramana: "How long is the span of a man's life?"

"It is but a few days," was the answer. The Buddha said: "You have not

understood," and asked another Sramana, who replied: "It is (like) the time

taken to eat(a single meal.") To this the Buddha replied in the same way

and asked a third: "How long is the span of a man's life?" "It is (like)

the time taken by (single) breath," was the reply. "Excellent," said the

Buddha, "You understand the Way."

39. The Buddha said: "Those who study the Way of the Buddha should believe

and follow all that is said by the Buddha. Just as, when you eat honey

(you find that), every drop of it sweet, so it is with my words."

40. The Buddha said: "A Sramana studying the Way should not be as an ox

turning the millstone which though it performs the necessary actions with

its body, does not concentrate on them with its mind. If the Way is followed

in the mind, of what use are actions?"

41. The Buddha said: "Those who follow the Way are like an ox bearing a

heavy load and walking through deep mud. It feels so weary that it does

not dare to look to left or right and, only on emerging from the mud, can it

revive itself by resting. A Sramana should regard feelings and desires

more seriously than (the ox regards) the mud. Only by controlling his

mind and thinking of the Way can he avoid sorrow."

42. The Buddha said: "I look upon the state of kings and princes as upon

the dust which blows through a crack. I look upon ornaments of gold and

jewels as upon rubble. I look upon garments of finest silk as upon worn-

out rags. I look upon a major chiliocosm as upon a small nut. I look upon

the Anavatapta as upon oil for smearing the feet. (On the other hand), I

look upon expedient methods (leading to the truth) as upon spending heaps of

jewels. I look upon the supreme vehicle as upon a dream of abundant wealth.

I look upon the Buddha's Way as upon all the splendors which confront the

eye. I look upon dhyana meditation as upon the pillar of Mount Sumeru. I

look upon Nirvana as upon waking at daybreak from a night's sleep. I look

upon heresy erected as upon six dragons dancing. I look upon the universal,

impartial attitude (of a Buddha) as upon the Absolute Reality. I look upon

conversion (to the Way) as upon the changes undergone by a tree (due to the

action of the) four seasons."