The Lotus of the Wonderful Law (W. E. Soothill, 1930)第 16 品 · Soothill 英译节本

In reply to these questions Śakyamuni now makes his great revelation. This chapter is the climax. It contains the author’s declaration that the Buddha is Eternal, beyond all limits of time and space. It is the Eternal Buddha who is in Śakyamuni. His is the voice that speaks, His the vast host, His the Eternal Life which gives its name to this chapter.In reply to these questions Śakyamuni now makes his great revelation. This chapter is the climax. It contains the author’s declaration that the Buddha is Eternal, beyond all limits of time and space. It is the Eternal Buddha who is in Śakyamuni. His is the voice that speaks, His the vast host, His the Eternal Life which gives its name to this chapter.Then says the Buddha to the Bodhisattvas and the vast assembly:Then says the Buddha to the Bodhisattvas and the vast assembly:

“Believe and discern, all you good sons, the Tathagata’s word of Truth.”“Believe and discern, all you good sons, the Tathagata’s word of Truth.”Thrice he repeats it.Thrice he repeats it.Maitreya, with folded hands, implores the Buddha, and all the disciples cry with him three times,Maitreya, with folded hands, implores the Buddha, and all the disciples cry with him three times,

“We beseech thee explain; we will believe the Buddha’s word.”“We beseech thee explain; we will believe the Buddha’s word.”“Then the World-honoured, perceiving that the bodhisattvas thrice without ceasing repeated their request, addressed them saying:“Then the World-honoured, perceiving that the bodhisattvas thrice without ceasing repeated their request, addressed them saying:“‘Listen then each of you attentively to the secret, mysterious and supernatural power of Tathagata. All the worlds of gods, men and asuras declare: “Now has Śakyamuni-Buddha, coming forth from the palace of the Sakya-clan, and seated at the place of enlightenment, not far from the city of Gaya, attained to Perfect Enlightenment.” But, good sons, since I veritably became Buddha, there have passed infinite, boundless, hundreds, thousands, myriads, kotis, nayutas of kalpas. For instance, suppose there were five hundred thousand myriad kotis, nayutas of numberless Three-Thousand-Great-Thousandfold-Worlds; let some one grind them to atoms, pass eastward through five hundred thousands, myriads, kotis, nayutas of numberless countries, and then drop one of those atoms; suppose he thus proceeded eastward till he had finished those atoms,—what do you think, good sons, is it possible to imagine and calculate all those worlds so as to know their number?’“‘Listen then each of you attentively to the secret, mysterious and supernatural power of Tathagata. All the worlds of gods, men and asuras declare: “Now has Śakyamuni-Buddha, coming forth from the palace of the Sakya-clan, and seated at the place of enlightenment, not far from the city of Gaya, attained to Perfect Enlightenment.” But, good sons, since I veritably became Buddha, there have passed infinite, boundless, hundreds, thousands, myriads, kotis, nayutas of kalpas. For instance, suppose there were five hundred thousand myriad kotis, nayutas of numberless Three-Thousand-Great-Thousandfold-Worlds; let some one grind them to atoms, pass eastward through five hundred thousands, myriads, kotis, nayutas of numberless countries, and then drop one of those atoms; suppose he thus proceeded eastward till he had finished those atoms,—what do you think, good sons, is it possible to imagine and calculate all those worlds so as to know their number?’

“‘Good sons! Now I must clearly announce and declare to you. Suppose you take as atomized all those worlds, everywhere that an atom has been deposited, and everywhere that it has not been deposited, and count an atom as a kalpa, the time since I became the Buddha still surpasses these by hundreds, thousands, myriads, kotis, nayutas of numberless kalpas. From that time forward I have constantly been preaching and teaching in this Saha-world, and also leading and benefitting the living in other places in hundreds, thousands, myriads, kotis, nayutas of numberless domains. Good sons! During this time, I have spoken of the Buddha “Burning Light” and other Buddhas, and also have told of their entering Nirvana. Thus have I tactfully described them all. Good sons! Whenever living beings came to me, I beheld with a Buddha’s eyes all the faculties, keen or dull, of their faith, and so forth; and I explained to them, in stage after stage, according to their capacity and degree of salvation, my different names and the length of my lives, and moreover plainly stated that I must enter Nirvana. I also, with various expedients, preached the Wonderful Law which is able to cause the living to beget a joyful heart. Good sons! Beholding the propensities of all the living towards lower things, so that they have little virtue and much vileness, to these the Tathagata declares: ‘I, in my youth, left home and attained to Perfect Enlightenment.’ But since I veritably became Buddha, thus have I ever been, only by my expedient methods teaching and transforming all the living, so that they may enter into Buddhahood, and thus have I made declaration.“‘Good sons! Now I must clearly announce and declare to you. Suppose you take as atomized all those worlds, everywhere that an atom has been deposited, and everywhere that it has not been deposited, and count an atom as a kalpa, the time since I became the Buddha still surpasses these by hundreds, thousands, myriads, kotis, nayutas of numberless kalpas. From that time forward I have constantly been preaching and teaching in this Saha-world, and also leading and benefitting the living in other places in hundreds, thousands, myriads, kotis, nayutas of numberless domains. Good sons! During this time, I have spoken of the Buddha “Burning Light” and other Buddhas, and also have told of their entering Nirvana. Thus have I tactfully described them all. Good sons! Whenever living beings came to me, I beheld with a Buddha’s eyes all the faculties, keen or dull, of their faith, and so forth; and I explained to them, in stage after stage, according to their capacity and degree of salvation, my different names and the length of my lives, and moreover plainly stated that I must enter Nirvana. I also, with various expedients, preached the Wonderful Law which is able to cause the living to beget a joyful heart. Good sons! Beholding the propensities of all the living towards lower things, so that they have little virtue and much vileness, to these the Tathagata declares: ‘I, in my youth, left home and attained to Perfect Enlightenment.’ But since I veritably became Buddha, thus have I ever been, only by my expedient methods teaching and transforming all the living, so that they may enter into Buddhahood, and thus have I made declaration.

“Good sons! All the sutras which the Tathagata preaches are for the deliverance of the living—whether they speak of himself or speak of others, whether they indicate himself or others, and whether they indicate his own affairs or those of others; whatever they say is all real, and not empty air. Wherefore? Because the Tathagata knows and sees the character of the triple world as it really is; to him there is neither birth nor death, neither going away nor coming forth; neither existence in the world nor cessation of existence; neither reality nor unreality; neither thus nor otherwise. Unlike the way the triple world beholds the triple world, the Tathagata sees clearly such things as these without mistake. Because all the living have various natures, various desires, various activities, various ideas and reasonings, so, desiring to cause them to produce the roots of goodness, the Tathagata by so many reasonings, parables, and discourses has preached his various Truths. The Buddha-deeds which he performs never fail for a moment. Thus it is, since I became Buddha in the far distant past, that my lifetime is of numberless kalpas, forever existing and immortal.“Good sons! All the sutras which the Tathagata preaches are for the deliverance of the living—whether they speak of himself or speak of others, whether they indicate himself or others, and whether they indicate his own affairs or those of others; whatever they say is all real, and not empty air. Wherefore? Because the Tathagata knows and sees the character of the triple world as it really is; to him there is neither birth nor death, neither going away nor coming forth; neither existence in the world nor cessation of existence; neither reality nor unreality; neither thus nor otherwise. Unlike the way the triple world beholds the triple world, the Tathagata sees clearly such things as these without mistake. Because all the living have various natures, various desires, various activities, various ideas and reasonings, so, desiring to cause them to produce the roots of goodness, the Tathagata by so many reasonings, parables, and discourses has preached his various Truths. The Buddha-deeds which he performs never fail for a moment. Thus it is, since I became Buddha in the far distant past, that my lifetime is of numberless kalpas, forever existing and immortal.

“Good sons! The lifetime which I fulfil in following the Bodhisattva-Way is not even yet completed, but will be again twice the previous number of kalpas. But now in this unreal Nirvana, I announce that I must enter the real Nirvana. In this expedient way the Tathagata teaches all living. Wherefore? If the Buddha abides long in the world, men of little virtue—who do not cultivate the roots of goodness and are spiritually poor and mean, greedily attached to the five desires, and caught in the net of wrong reflection and false views—if they see the Tathagata constantly present and not extinct, will become puffed up and lazy, and unable to conceive the idea that it is difficult to meet a Buddha, and be unable to develop a mind of reverence for him. Therefore the Tathagata tactfully says: “Know, Bhikshus! The appearance of a Buddha in the world is a rare occurrence.” Wherefore? In the course of countless hundreds, thousands, myriads, kotis of kalpas, some men of little virtue may happen to see a Buddha, or none may see him. For this reason I say: “Bhikshus! A Tathagata may rarely be seen!” All these living beings, hearing such a statement, must indeed realize the thought of the difficulty of meeting a Buddha and cherish a longing and a thirst for him; thus will they cultivate the roots of goodness. Therefore the Tathagata, though he does not in reality become extinct, yet announces his extinction.’”“Good sons! The lifetime which I fulfil in following the Bodhisattva-Way is not even yet completed, but will be again twice the previous number of kalpas. But now in this unreal Nirvana, I announce that I must enter the real Nirvana. In this expedient way the Tathagata teaches all living. Wherefore? If the Buddha abides long in the world, men of little virtue—who do not cultivate the roots of goodness and are spiritually poor and mean, greedily attached to the five desires, and caught in the net of wrong reflection and false views—if they see the Tathagata constantly present and not extinct, will become puffed up and lazy, and unable to conceive the idea that it is difficult to meet a Buddha, and be unable to develop a mind of reverence for him. Therefore the Tathagata tactfully says: “Know, Bhikshus! The appearance of a Buddha in the world is a rare occurrence.” Wherefore? In the course of countless hundreds, thousands, myriads, kotis of kalpas, some men of little virtue may happen to see a Buddha, or none may see him. For this reason I say: “Bhikshus! A Tathagata may rarely be seen!” All these living beings, hearing such a statement, must indeed realize the thought of the difficulty of meeting a Buddha and cherish a longing and a thirst for him; thus will they cultivate the roots of goodness. Therefore the Tathagata, though he does not in reality become extinct, yet announces his extinction.’”

The Parable of the Physician.The Parable of the Physician.“Suppose, for instance, a good physician, who is wise and perspicacious, conversant with the medical art, and skilful in healing all sorts of diseases. He has many sons, say ten, twenty, even up to a hundred. Because of some matter he goes abroad to a distant country. After his departure his sons drink his poisonous medicines, which send them into a delirium and they lie rolling on the ground. At this moment their father comes back to his home. Of the sons who drank the poison, some have lost their senses, others are still sensible and, on seeing their father approaching in the distance, they are greatly delighted, and kneeling greet him:“Suppose, for instance, a good physician, who is wise and perspicacious, conversant with the medical art, and skilful in healing all sorts of diseases. He has many sons, say ten, twenty, even up to a hundred. Because of some matter he goes abroad to a distant country. After his departure his sons drink his poisonous medicines, which send them into a delirium and they lie rolling on the ground. At this moment their father comes back to his home. Of the sons who drank the poison, some have lost their senses, others are still sensible and, on seeing their father approaching in the distance, they are greatly delighted, and kneeling greet him:

‘“How good it is that you are returned in safety! We, in our foolishness, have mistakenly dosed ourselves with poison. We beg that you will heal us and give us back our lives.’‘“How good it is that you are returned in safety! We, in our foolishness, have mistakenly dosed ourselves with poison. We beg that you will heal us and give us back our lives.’“The father, seeing his sons in such distress, in accordance with his prescriptions, seeks for good herbs, perfect in colour, scent and fine flavour, and then pounds, sifts, and mixes them and gives them to his sons to take, saying thus:“The father, seeing his sons in such distress, in accordance with his prescriptions, seeks for good herbs, perfect in colour, scent and fine flavour, and then pounds, sifts, and mixes them and gives them to his sons to take, saying thus:

“‘This excellent medicine with colour, scent and fine flavour all perfect, do you take, and it will at once rid you of your distress so that you will have no more suffering.’“‘This excellent medicine with colour, scent and fine flavour all perfect, do you take, and it will at once rid you of your distress so that you will have no more suffering.’“Those amongst the sons who are sensible, seeing this excellent medicine with colour and scent both good, take it immediately and are wholly delivered from their illness. The others who have lost their senses, seeing their father come, though they are also delighted, salute him and ask him to heal their illness, yet when he offers them the medicine, they are unwilling to take it. Wherefore? Because the poison has entered deeply, they have lost their senses, and even in regard to this medicine of excellent colour and scent they say that it is not good. The father reflects thus:“Those amongst the sons who are sensible, seeing this excellent medicine with colour and scent both good, take it immediately and are wholly delivered from their illness. The others who have lost their senses, seeing their father come, though they are also delighted, salute him and ask him to heal their illness, yet when he offers them the medicine, they are unwilling to take it. Wherefore? Because the poison has entered deeply, they have lost their senses, and even in regard to this medicine of excellent colour and scent they say that it is not good. The father reflects thus:

“‘Alas! for these sons, afflicted by this poison, and their minds all unbalanced! Though they are glad to see me and implore for healing, yet they are unwilling to take such excellent medicine as this. Now I must arrange an expedient plan so that they will take this medicine.’“‘Alas! for these sons, afflicted by this poison, and their minds all unbalanced! Though they are glad to see me and implore for healing, yet they are unwilling to take such excellent medicine as this. Now I must arrange an expedient plan so that they will take this medicine.’“Then he says to them: ‘Know, all of you, that I am now worn out with old age and that the time of my death has arrived. This excellent medicine I now leave here. You may take it and have no fear of not being better.’ After thus admonishing them, he departs again for another country and sends a messenger back to inform them: ‘Your father is dead.’ And now, when these sons hear that their father is dead, their minds are greatly distressed and they thus reflect: ‘If our father were alive, he would have pity on us, and we should be saved and preserved. But now he has left us and died in a distant country.’“Then he says to them: ‘Know, all of you, that I am now worn out with old age and that the time of my death has arrived. This excellent medicine I now leave here. You may take it and have no fear of not being better.’ After thus admonishing them, he departs again for another country and sends a messenger back to inform them: ‘Your father is dead.’ And now, when these sons hear that their father is dead, their minds are greatly distressed and they thus reflect: ‘If our father were alive, he would have pity on us, and we should be saved and preserved. But now he has left us and died in a distant country.’

“Deeming themselves orphans with no one to rely on, continuous grief brings them to their senses; they recognize the colour, scent and excellent flavour of the medicine, and thereupon take it, when their poisoning is entirely relieved. Their father, hearing that the sons are recovered, seeks an opportunity and returns, showing himself to them all.“Deeming themselves orphans with no one to rely on, continuous grief brings them to their senses; they recognize the colour, scent and excellent flavour of the medicine, and thereupon take it, when their poisoning is entirely relieved. Their father, hearing that the sons are recovered, seeks an opportunity and returns, showing himself to them all.“‘Good sons! What is your opinion? Are there any who could say that this good physician has committed the sin of falsehood?’”“‘Good sons! What is your opinion? Are there any who could say that this good physician has committed the sin of falsehood?’”

The verse portion is much briefer than the prose, and contains only a part of the teaching. The following is a selection from it.The verse portion is much briefer than the prose, and contains only a part of the teaching. The following is a selection from it.“In order to save all creatures, I expediently speak of Nirvana, Yet truly I am not extinct, But ever here preaching the Law. I ever remain in this world, In supernatural power, So that all perverted creatures Fail to see me, though near, Looking on me as extinct, Everywhere worshipping my relics, Cherishing desire for goodness And thirsting with aspiration. When all creatures have submitted, Are upright, and gentle in mind, Whole-heartedly looking for Buddha, Not caring for their own lives, Then I with all the Samgha On the Spirit Vulture-Peak appear, And then I tell all creatures That I exist here forever undying, By means of expedients revealing Myself as dead, yet not dead. If in other regions there are beings, Reverent and joying in faith, Again I am in their midst To preach the Supreme Law. You, not hearing of this, Only say I am extinct. I, beholding all living creatures Sunk in the sea of suffering, At first do not show myself, But set them expectant and thirsting, Then, when their hearts are longing, I appear to preach the Law. In supernatural power, Through kalpas numberless On the Spirit Vulture-Peak am I, And in other dwelling-places. While the living see, at the kalpa’s end, The conflagration in its burning, Tranquil remains this realm of mine, Ever full of gods and men, Parks and many palaces With every sort of gem adorned, Blooming and fruitful jewel trees, Where all creatures pleasure take; The gods strike up their heavenly drums And music make for evermore, Showering down celestial flowers On Buddha and His mighty host. My Pure Land is not destroyed, Though all view it as being burnt up, And grief and horror and distress Thus fill them to the full. Those creatures, full of sin By reason of their evil karma, Through kalpas numberless hear not The name of the most Precious Three. But those who virtuous deeds shall do, Are gentle and of upright nature, These will ever me behold Here expounding to all the Law. At times unto this eager throng I preach the Buddha’s eternal life.”“In order to save all creatures, I expediently speak of Nirvana, Yet truly I am not extinct, But ever here preaching the Law. I ever remain in this world, In supernatural power, So that all perverted creatures Fail to see me, though near, Looking on me as extinct, Everywhere worshipping my relics, Cherishing desire for goodness And thirsting with aspiration. When all creatures have submitted, Are upright, and gentle in mind, Whole-heartedly looking for Buddha, Not caring for their own lives, Then I with all the Samgha On the Spirit Vulture-Peak appear, And then I tell all creatures That I exist here forever undying, By means of expedients revealing Myself as dead, yet not dead. If in other regions there are beings, Reverent and joying in faith, Again I am in their midst To preach the Supreme Law. You, not hearing of this, Only say I am extinct. I, beholding all living creatures Sunk in the sea of suffering, At first do not show myself, But set them expectant and thirsting, Then, when their hearts are longing, I appear to preach the Law. In supernatural power, Through kalpas numberless On the Spirit Vulture-Peak am I, And in other dwelling-places. While the living see, at the kalpa’s end, The conflagration in its burning, Tranquil remains this realm of mine, Ever full of gods and men, Parks and many palaces With every sort of gem adorned, Blooming and fruitful jewel trees, Where all creatures pleasure take; The gods strike up their heavenly drums And music make for evermore, Showering down celestial flowers On Buddha and His mighty host. My Pure Land is not destroyed, Though all view it as being burnt up, And grief and horror and distress Thus fill them to the full. Those creatures, full of sin By reason of their evil karma, Through kalpas numberless hear not The name of the most Precious Three. But those who virtuous deeds shall do, Are gentle and of upright nature, These will ever me behold Here expounding to all the Law. At times unto this eager throng I preach the Buddha’s eternal life.”

And, lastly:And, lastly:“Like the physician who, with clever device In order to cure his demented sons, Though indeed alive, announces his death, Yet none is able to charge him with falsehood. I, too, being Father of this world, Who heal all misery and affliction, For the sake of the perverted people, Though truly alive, say I am extinct; Lest, because they always see me, They should arrogant minds beget, Be dissolute, set in their five desires, And fall into karma-paths of ill.”“Like the physician who, with clever device In order to cure his demented sons, Though indeed alive, announces his death, Yet none is able to charge him with falsehood. I, too, being Father of this world, Who heal all misery and affliction, For the sake of the perverted people, Though truly alive, say I am extinct; Lest, because they always see me, They should arrogant minds beget, Be dissolute, set in their five desires, And fall into karma-paths of ill.”