THE SUTRA OF FORTY-TWO SECTIONS SPOKEN BY THE BUDDHA no 4,5,6 and 12
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."
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.
- THE SUTRA OF FORTY-TWO SECTIONS SPOKEN BY THE BUDDHA
- http://www4.bayarea.net/~mtlee/42.txt
- wong chee tat :)
