Sutra in Forty-Two Sections

後漢西域沙門迦葉摩騰共法蘭譯

Translated jointly in the Later Han dynasty by the shramanas Kashyapa Matanga and Zhu Falan, who came from the Western Regions.

昔漢孝明皇帝夜夢見神人，身體有金色，項有日光，飛在殿前，意中欣然，甚悅之。明日問群臣：「此為何神也？」

Long ago, Emperor Ming of Han dreamed one night of a divine being whose body was golden and who had a halo like the sun behind his neck, flying before the palace hall. The emperor was delighted and greatly pleased. The next day he asked his ministers, "What spirit is this?"

有通人傅毅曰：「臣聞天竺有得道者，號曰佛，輕舉能飛，殆將其神也。」

Fu Yi, who was learned in matters ancient and modern, replied, "Your servant has heard that in India (ancient Tianzhu) there is one who has attained the Way, called the Buddha. His body is light and can fly. This may well be the spirit Your Majesty saw in your dream."

於是上悟，即遣使者張騫、羽林中郎將秦景博士弟子王遵等十二人，至大月支國寫取佛經四十二章。在第十四石函中登起立塔寺，於是道法流佈，處處修立佛寺。遠人伏化願為臣妾者，不可稱數，國內清寧，含識之類蒙恩受賴於今不絕也。

Thereupon the emperor understood, and at once sent envoys, Zhang Qian, the Yulin Palace Guard Commander Qin Jing, the Erudite's disciple Wang Zun, and twelve others in all, to the country of the Greater Yuezhi, where they copied out the Forty-Two Sections of the Buddhist sutra and kept them in the fourteenth stone chest, and built pagodas and temples. From then on the Buddha's teaching spread, and temples were built everywhere. Countless people from distant lands submitted to his civilizing influence and wished to become his subjects; the country was at peace and tranquil, and all sentient beings received his kindness, which has not ceased to this day. (The base text reads "Zhang Qian," which does not accord with history: Zhang Qian lived under Emperor Wu of the Western Han, about two hundred years before Emperor Ming, so this is probably an error of later retelling; it is reproduced as it stands. The phrase "in the fourteenth stone chest raised and set up pagodas and temples" also reads awkwardly and may contain corruption or omission.)

佛言：「辭親出家為道，名曰沙門，常行二百五十戒，為四真道行，進志清淨，成阿羅漢。阿羅漢者，能飛行變化，住壽命，動天地；次為阿那含，阿那含者，壽終魂靈上十九天，於彼得阿羅漢；次為斯陀含，斯陀含者，一上一還，即得阿羅漢；次為須陀洹，須陀洹者，七死七生，便得阿羅漢；愛欲斷者，譬如四支斷，不復用之。」

The Buddha said: "Those who take leave of their parents, leave home, and cultivate the Way are called shramanas. They constantly keep the two hundred and fifty precepts, practice the Four Truths of the path, advance in purity of purpose, and finally attain arhatship (the state of a saint who has ended all afflictions and will not be reborn). An arhat can fly and transform, has mastery over the length of his life, and can move heaven and earth. Next below is the anagamin; when an anagamin's life ends, his spirit ascends to the nineteenth heaven, where he attains arhatship. Next is the sakridagamin, who needs only one ascent to the heavens and one return to the human world to attain arhatship. Next is the srotapanna, who must pass through seven deaths and seven births before attaining arhatship. One who has cut off love and desire is like a person whose four limbs have been severed, who will never use them again."

佛言：「除鬚髮，為沙門，受道法，去世資財，乞求取足，日中一食，樹下一宿，慎不再矣！使人愚弊者，愛與欲也。」

The Buddha said: "One who shaves off hair and beard, becomes a shramana, receives the methods of the Way, gives up worldly possessions and wealth, and begs for food, taking only what is enough; who eats only one meal a day at noon, stays only one night under a tree, and takes care not to stay a second night in the same place. What makes people foolish and ruined is precisely love and desire."

佛言：「眾生以十事為善，亦以十事為惡。身三、口四、意三。身三者：殺、盜、婬；口四者：兩舌、惡罵、妄言、綺語；意三者：嫉、恚、痴，不信三尊，以邪為真。優婆塞行五事，不懈退，至十事，必得道也。」

The Buddha said: "Living beings do good through ten things, and also do evil through these same ten. These ten are divided into three of the body, four of the mouth, and three of the mind. The three done by the body are killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct; the four done by the mouth are double-tongued speech (sowing discord), harsh abuse, lying, and idle talk (flowery, empty speech); the three of the mind are jealousy, anger, and ignorance, along with disbelief in the Three Honored Ones (the Three Jewels of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha) and taking the false for the true. If a lay man keeps the five precepts without slackening or backsliding, and goes on to do these ten, he will surely attain the Way."

佛言：「人有眾過，而不自悔，頓止其心，罪來歸身，猶水歸海，自成深廣矣；有惡知非，改過得善，罪日消滅，後會得道也。」

The Buddha said: "If a person has various faults yet does not repent and reform, and merely fails to restrain his own thoughts, the karma of his offenses will return to him, just as all the waters return to the sea and naturally grow ever deeper and wider. But if one has done evil and knows it was wrong, corrects the fault and turns to doing good, then the karma of his offenses dwindles day by day, and in the end he will attain the Way."

佛言：「人愚吾以為不善，吾以四等慈護濟之；重以惡來者，吾重以善往，福德之氣，常在此也；害氣重殃，反在於彼。」

The Buddha said: "If someone is foolish and does what is unkind to me, I protect and help him with the four immeasurable minds (the four equal attitudes toward all beings: kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity). The more often he returns evil, the more often I return goodness; the energy of blessing and virtue constantly gathers on my side, while the energy of harm and the weight of misfortune fall back upon him instead."

有人聞佛道守大仁慈，以惡來，以善往，故來罵。佛默然不答，愍之痴冥狂愚使然。罵止，問曰：「子以禮從人，其人不納，實禮如之乎？」曰：「持歸。」「今子罵我，我亦不納，子自持歸，禍子身矣！猶響應聲，影之追形，終無免離，慎為惡也。」

There was a man who heard that the Buddha upheld the Way of great benevolence and great kindness, and that when others did him evil the Buddha returned good, so he came especially to curse and abuse him. The Buddha was silent and did not answer, pitying him as one driven by ignorance, darkness, and madness. When the man had finished cursing, the Buddha asked him, "If you offer a gift to someone and that person does not accept it, does the gift return to you or not?" The man said, "It returns to me; I take it back myself." The Buddha said, "Now you curse me, and I do not accept it. You must take it back yourself, and so misfortune will fall on you. It is like an echo answering a sound, or a shadow following a form; in the end you cannot escape it. Be careful, and do no evil."

佛言：「惡人害賢者，猶仰天而唾，唾不汙天，還汙己身；逆風坋人，塵不汙彼，還坋於身。賢者不可毀，禍必滅己也。」

The Buddha said: "When an evil person harms a worthy one, it is like raising one's head to spit at the sky: the spittle does not defile the sky but falls back on oneself. It is also like throwing dust at another person against the wind: the dust does not soil the other but flies back onto oneself. A worthy person cannot be destroyed, and the harm will surely turn back and destroy oneself."

佛言：「夫人為道務博愛，博哀施德莫大施。守志奉道，其福甚大；覩人施道，助之歡喜，亦得福報。」

The Buddha said: "In cultivating the Way, a person should devote himself to widely practicing benevolence and giving compassion everywhere, and among all kinds of giving none is greater than giving the Buddha's teaching. Holding to one's resolve and practicing the right path brings great blessing; and if one sees another give the teaching and rejoices and helps from the side, one likewise obtains blessing."

質曰：「彼福不當減乎？」

Someone questioned, "Then would the original giver's blessing not be reduced by this?"

佛言：「猶若炬火，數千百人，各以炬來，取其火去，熟食、除冥；彼火如故，福亦如之。」

The Buddha said: "It is like one torch. A hundred or a thousand people each come with their own torches to light them from it, and take the flame away to cook food and to light up the darkness; yet the original torch is not diminished. Blessing is just like this."

佛言：「飯凡人百不如飯一善人，飯善人千不如飯持五戒者一人，飯持五戒者萬人不如飯一須陀洹，飯須陀洹百萬不如飯一斯陀含，飯斯陀含千萬不如飯一阿那含，飯阿那含一億不如飯一阿羅漢，飯阿羅漢十億不如飯辟支佛一人，飯辟支佛百億不如以三尊之教度其一世二親，教親千億不如飯一佛——學願求佛，欲濟眾生也。飯善人福最深重，凡人事天地鬼神，不如孝其親矣，二親最神也。」

The Buddha said: "To make offerings to a hundred ordinary people is not as good as making offerings to one good person; to a thousand good people, not as good as to one person who keeps the five precepts; to ten thousand people who keep the five precepts, not as good as to one srotapanna; to a million srotapannas, not as good as to one sakridagamin; to ten million sakridagamins, not as good as to one anagamin; to a hundred million anagamins, not as good as to one arhat; to a billion arhats, not as good as to one pratyekabuddha (a sage who awakens by himself without a teacher); to ten billion pratyekabuddhas, not as good as using the teaching of the Three Jewels to guide one's own parents in this life; to teach the parents of a hundred billion people is again not as good as making offerings to one Buddha, because a Buddha has vowed to seek awakening and aims to save all living beings. The blessing gained from making offerings to a good person is the deepest. For ordinary people to sacrifice to heaven, earth, ghosts, and spirits is not as good as to be dutiful to their own parents, for parents are the spirits most deserving of reverence."

佛言：「天下有五難：貧窮佈施難、豪貴學道難、制命不死難、得覩佛經難、生值佛世難。」

The Buddha said: "There are five hard things in the world: for a poor person to practice giving is hard; for the wealthy and high-ranking to study the Way is hard; to take control of one's life span so as not to die is hard; to get to see the Buddhist scriptures is hard; and to be born in an age when a Buddha appears is hard."

有沙門問佛：「以何緣得道？奈何知宿命？」

A shramana asked the Buddha, "By what causes and conditions can one attain the Way? And how can one know the causes and conditions of one's past lives?"

佛言：「道無形，知之無益，要當守志行；譬如磨鏡，垢去明存，即自見形，斷欲守空，即見道真，知宿命矣。」

The Buddha said: "The Way has no form, and merely understanding it intellectually is of no use; what matters is holding to one's resolve and practicing in earnest. It is like polishing a mirror: when the dirt is removed the brightness appears, and one naturally sees one's own face. Cut off desire and keep to emptiness, and you will see the truth of the Way, and will also know your past-life causes and conditions."

佛言：「何者為善？唯行道善。何者最大？志與道合大。何者多力？忍辱最健，忍者無怨，必為人尊。何者最明？心垢除、惡行滅，內清淨無瑕；未有天地，逮於今日，十方所有，未見之萌，得無不知、無不見、無不聞，得一切智，可謂明乎。」

The Buddha said: "What counts as good? Only practicing the right path counts as good. What counts as great? A will in accord with the Way counts as great. What counts as strong? Patience under insult is the strongest; one who can endure holds no resentment and is sure to be respected. What counts as clear? When the dirt of the mind has been wholly removed and evil deeds are exhausted, one is pure and flawless within; from before heaven and earth came to be until today, everything in the ten directions, even sprouts that have not yet appeared, is known, seen, and heard without exception, and one attains omniscience. Only this may be called clarity."

佛言：「人懷愛欲不見道，譬如濁水，以五彩投其中，致力攪之，眾人共臨水上，無能覩其影者；愛欲交錯，心中為濁，故不見道；水澄穢除，清淨無垢，即自見形。猛火著釜下，中水踴躍，以布覆上，眾生照臨，亦無覩其影者；心中本有三毒湧沸在內，五蓋覆外，終不見道；要心垢盡，乃知魂靈所從來，生死所趣向，諸佛國土、道德所在耳。」

The Buddha said: "A person who harbors love and desire cannot see the Way. It is like a pool of muddy water into which the five colors of pigment are thrown and stirred hard; when everyone leans over the surface to look, no one can see his own reflection. Love and desire cross and tangle, and the mind becomes muddied by them, so the Way cannot be seen. When the water settles and the filth is removed, it is clear and unstained, and one naturally sees one's own form. It is also like a fierce fire burning beneath a pot: the water in the pot boils and leaps, and with a cloth laid over the top, when people lean over to look, again no one can see his reflection. In the hearts of living beings the three poisons of greed, anger, and ignorance are seething within, and outside they are covered by the five hindrances (the five obstructions that cover the nature of mind: desire, anger, torpor, restlessness and remorse, and doubt), so they never see the Way. Only when the dirt of the mind is wholly gone can one know where the spirit comes from and where it goes at death and birth, and where the lands of the Buddhas and their virtue and the Way are found."

佛言：「夫為道者，譬如持炬火入冥室中，其冥即滅而明猶在，學道見諦，愚痴都滅，得無不見。」

The Buddha said: "One who cultivates the Way is like a person who enters a dark room holding a torch: the darkness is gone at once and the light remains. When one studies the Way and sees the truth, ignorance is completely extinguished, and there is nothing one fails to see."

佛言：「吾何念念道？吾何行行道？吾何言言道？吾念諦道，不忽須臾也。」

The Buddha said: "What do I think of? I think of the Way. What do I practice? I practice the Way. What do I speak of? I speak of the Way. My mind dwells on the true Way, and not for an instant do I neglect it."

佛言：「覩天地念非常，覩山川念非常，覩萬物形體豐熾念非常；執心如此，得道疾矣。」

The Buddha said: "When you see heaven and earth, think that they are not permanent; when you see mountains and rivers, think that they are not permanent; when you see the myriad things in their flourishing and blazing forms, think too that they are not permanent. If you keep your mind contemplating in this way, you will attain the Way soon."

佛言：「一日行，常念道、行道，遂得信根，其福無量。」

The Buddha said: "Even if one practices for only a single day, as long as one constantly thinks of the Way and practices the Way, one will give rise to the root of faith, and one's blessing will be immeasurable."

佛言：「熟自念身中四大，名自有名都為無，吾我者寄生，生亦不久，其事如幻耳。」

The Buddha said: "Consider carefully the four elements (earth, water, fire, and wind) within your own body. Each has its own name, yet beneath the name there is actually nothing. What is called 'I' is only a temporary lodging here, and the lodging does not last long; the whole matter is like an illusion."

佛言：「人隨情慾求華名，譬如燒香，眾人聞其香，然香以燻自燒；愚者貪流俗之名譽，不守道真，華名危己之禍，其悔在後時。」

The Buddha said: "A person who follows his passions and chases after empty fame is like burning incense: everyone smells the fragrance, yet the incense burns itself up as it gives off its scent. A fool who craves worldly reputation and does not guard the truth of the Way finds that empty fame is the root of harm to oneself, and regret always comes afterward."

佛言：「財色之於人，譬如小兒貪刀刃之蜜，甜不足一食之美，然有截舌之患也。」

The Buddha said: "The temptation that wealth and sex hold for people is like a child greedily licking honey off the edge of a knife: the sweetness is not enough for a single meal's pleasure, yet there is the harm of cutting off the tongue."

佛言：「人繫於妻子、寶宅之患，甚於牢獄、桎梏、鋃鐺。牢獄有原赦，妻子情慾雖有虎口之禍，己猶甘心投焉，其罪無赦。」

The Buddha said: "The harm of being bound by wife and children, treasures and houses is worse than prison, shackles, handcuffs, and chains. Prison at least allows the possibility of pardon; but as for wife and desire, though they are as dangerous as a tiger's mouth, people willingly throw themselves into it, and such a crime cannot be pardoned."

佛言：「愛欲莫甚於色，色之為欲，其大無外。賴有一矣，假其二，普天之民，無能為道者。」

The Buddha said: "Among all loves and desires, none is greater than sexual desire. As a desire, sex is so great that nothing goes beyond it. Fortunately there is only one such thing; if there were a second, then no one in the whole world would be able to practice the Way."

佛言：「愛欲之於人，猶執炬火逆風而行。愚者不釋炬，必有燒手之患。貪婬、恚怒、愚痴之毒，處在人身，不早以道除斯禍者，必有危殃，猶愚貪執炬，自燒其手也。」

The Buddha said: "Love and desire are to a person like holding a torch while walking against the wind. A fool who will not put down the torch will surely suffer the harm of burning his hand. The three poisons of lust, anger, and ignorance lie hidden in a person's body; if one does not use the Way to remove this root of misfortune early, one will surely bring on danger and hardship, just as the fool who clings to the torch burns his own hand."

天神獻玉女於佛，欲以試佛意、觀佛道。佛言：「革囊眾穢，爾來何為？以可斯俗，難動六通。去！吾不用爾。」天神踰敬佛，因問道意；佛為解釋，即得須陀洹。

A deva offered a beautiful woman to the Buddha, hoping to test the Buddha's mind and observe his practice of the Way. The Buddha said, "A leather bag full of filth: what have you come for? This may move worldly people, but it is hard to shake one who has the six supernatural powers. Go away! I do not need you." The deva respected the Buddha all the more because of this and asked about the essentials of the Way; the Buddha explained them to him, and on the spot he attained the fruit of srotapanna.

佛言：「夫為道者，猶木在水，尋流而行，不左觸岸，亦不右觸岸；不為人所取，不為鬼神所遮，不為洄流所住，亦不腐敗，吾保其入海矣。人為道，不為情慾所惑，不為眾邪所誑，精進無疑，吾保其得道矣。」

The Buddha said: "One who cultivates the Way is like a piece of wood floating with the current: it touches neither the left bank nor the right; it is not fished out by people, not blocked by ghosts and spirits, not trapped by whirlpools, and does not rot. I guarantee that it will finally flow into the sea. A person who cultivates the Way, if he is not deluded by passions, not deceived by all sorts of wrong views, and advances diligently without doubt, I guarantee that he will finally attain the Way."

佛告沙門：「慎無信汝意，意終不可信。慎無與色會，與色會即禍生。得阿羅漢道，乃可信汝意耳。」

The Buddha told the shramanas: "Be careful, and do not trust your own mind; your mind can never be relied on. Be careful, and do not come into contact with sexual desire; the moment you contact it, trouble arises. Only when you have reached the fruit of arhatship may you trust your own mind."

佛告諸沙門：「慎無視女人，若見無視。慎無與言，若與言者，勅心正行，曰：『吾為沙門，處於濁世，當如蓮花不為泥所汙。老者以為母，長者以為姊，少者為妹，幼者子，敬之以禮。』意殊當諦惟觀，自頭至足自視內，彼身何有，唯盛惡露諸不淨種，以釋其意矣。」

The Buddha told the shramanas: "Be careful, and do not look at women; if you do see one, act as if you had not seen her. Be careful, and do not talk with her; if you must speak, then admonish your own mind and correct your conduct, saying: 'I am a shramana, living in a defiled world, and I should be like a lotus flower that is not stained by the mud.' Regard an elder woman as your mother, a somewhat older one as your elder sister, a younger one as your younger sister, and a very young one as your daughter, and treat them with respect. If your mind is still especially hard to control, you should examine carefully and observe: looking back from head to foot at the inside of your own body, and asking what is in that other person's body, it is nothing but a container full of pus, blood, filth, and all sorts of impure things. Use this to dissolve your own thoughts."

佛言：「人為道去情慾，當如草見火，火來已卻。道人見愛欲，必當遠之。」

The Buddha said: "One who cultivates the Way and wishes to remove passion should be like dry grass meeting fire: as soon as the fire comes, he hurries away. A practitioner of the Way who sees love and desire must likewise stay far away from them."

佛言：「人有患婬，情不止，踞斧刃上，以自除其陰。佛謂之曰：『若斷陰不如斷心，心為功曹，若止功曹，從者都息；邪心不止，斷陰何益？斯須即死？』」佛言：「世俗倒見，如斯痴人。」

The Buddha said: "There was a man troubled by lustful desire whose thoughts would not stop; he crouched over the blade of an axe, meaning to cut off his own genitals. The Buddha said to him: 'Rather than cutting off the organ, you would do better to cut off your own mind. The mind is like the clerk in charge; once the clerk stops, his subordinates all rest as well. If the wicked mind does not stop, what use is it to cut off the organ? Done like this, you would die within moments.'" The Buddha said: "Worldly people, with their upside-down views, are just like this fool." (In the base text the phrase after "die within moments" ends with a question mark, and the punctuation seems mistaken; it is here read straight on as the Buddha's words.)

有婬童女與彼男誓，至期不來而自悔曰：「欲吾知爾本，意以思想生，吾不思想爾，即爾而不生。」佛行道聞之，謂沙門曰：「記之！此迦葉佛偈，流在俗間。」

There was a lewd woman who had arranged to meet a certain man, but when the time came the man did not come; she reflected on herself and repented, saying, "Desire, I know your root: you are born from thought and discrimination. If I do not think of you, you will not arise." The Buddha, walking on the road, heard these words and said to the shramanas, "Remember this! It is a verse of Kashyapa Buddha, passed down among the people."

佛言：「人從愛欲生憂，從憂生畏。無愛即無憂，不憂即無畏。」

The Buddha said: "From love and desire arises sorrow, and from sorrow arises fear. Without love and desire there is no sorrow, and without sorrow there is no fear."

佛言：「人為道，譬如一人與萬人戰，被鉀、操兵、出門欲戰，意怯膽弱乃自退走，或半道還，或格鬪而死，或得大勝還國高遷。夫人能牢持其心，精銳進行，不惑於流俗狂愚之言者，欲滅惡盡，必得道矣。」

The Buddha said: "A person who cultivates the Way is like a man who must fight ten thousand men. He puts on armor, takes up weapons, and goes out to battle. Some are timid in will and faint in courage, and retreat on their own; some go halfway and turn back; some die fighting; and some win a great victory, return to their country, and are promoted. If a person can hold fast to his own mind, advance with keen diligence, and not be led astray by the wild and foolish talk of the world, then desire will be extinguished, evil karma will be removed, and he will surely attain the Way."

有沙門夜誦經甚悲，意有悔疑，欲生思歸。佛呼沙門問之：「汝處於家將何修為？」

There was a shramana who recited the sutras at night in a very sorrowful tone, and he began to feel regret and doubt, wanting to return to lay life and go home. The Buddha called him over and asked, "What did you do when you were at home?"

對曰：「恆彈琴。」佛言：「絃緩何如？」曰：「不鳴矣。」「絃急何如？」曰：「聲絕矣。」「急緩得中何如？」「諸音普悲。」佛告沙門：「學道猶然，執心調適，道可得矣。」

He answered, "I often played the zither." The Buddha asked, "What happens if the strings are loose?" He answered, "They will not sound." "What if the strings are strung too tight?" He answered, "The sound breaks off." "And if they are neither too loose nor too tight?" He answered, "Every note can be played beautifully." The Buddha told him, "Studying the Way is the same: when the mind is tuned to the middle, the Way can be attained."

佛言：「夫人為道，猶所鍛鐵漸深，棄去垢，成器必好。學道以漸深，去心垢，精進就道。暴即身疲，身疲即意惱，意惱即行退，行退即修罪。」

The Buddha said: "One who cultivates the Way is like one forging iron: hammering over and over, going deeper little by little, removing the impurities and dross, the vessel made will surely be fine. Studying the Way must also proceed step by step and deeper, removing the dirt of the mind and advancing diligently toward the Way. If one is too hasty, the body is exhausted; when the body is exhausted, the mind is troubled; when the mind is troubled, practice declines; and when practice declines, one again creates bad karma."

佛言：「人為道亦苦，不為道亦苦。惟人自生至老，自老至病，自病至死，其苦無量。心惱積罪，生死不息，其苦難說。」

The Buddha said: "Cultivating the Way is suffering, and not cultivating the Way is also suffering. From birth to old age, from old age to illness, and from illness to death, the suffering within it is endless. With troubles in the mind and offenses piling up, the cycle of birth and death never stops, and that suffering is hard to describe."

佛言：「夫人離三惡道得為人難；既得為人，去女即男難；既得為男，六情完具難；六情已具，生中國難；既處中國，值奉佛道難；既奉佛道，值有道之君難，生菩薩家難；既生菩薩家，以心信三尊、值佛世難。」

The Buddha said: "For a person to escape the three evil realms and be born human is hard; having been born human, to be born male rather than female is hard; having obtained a male body, to have the six sense organs complete is hard; having complete sense organs, to be born in the Middle Kingdom is hard (in the scriptures 'Middle Kingdom' means the central region where the Buddha's teaching flourishes, and does not mean China); being already in such a place, to meet and practice the Buddha's Way is hard; having already practiced the Buddha's Way, to meet a ruler who has the Way and to be born into a family that believes in the Buddha is hard; and having been born into a Buddhist family, to truly believe in the Three Jewels in one's heart and to arrive just when a Buddha is living in the world is harder still."

佛問諸沙門：「人命在幾間？」對曰：「在數日間。」佛言：「子未能為道。」

The Buddha asked the shramanas, "How long a time does a person's life last?" One answered, "A matter of a few days." The Buddha said, "You do not yet understand the Way."

復問一沙門：「人命在幾間？」對曰：「在飯食間。」佛言：「子未能為道。」

The Buddha asked another shramana, "How long a time does a person's life last?" He answered, "The span of a single meal." The Buddha said, "You do not yet understand the Way."

復問一沙門：「人命在幾間？」對曰：「呼吸之間。」佛言：「善哉！子可謂為道者矣。」

The Buddha asked yet another shramana, "How long a time does a person's life last?" He answered, "The span of one breath, out and in." The Buddha said, "Good! You may be called one who understands the Way."

佛言：「弟子去，離吾數千里，意念吾戒必得道。在吾左側，意在邪，終不得道。其實在行，近而不行，何益萬分耶！」

The Buddha said: "If a disciple is several thousand li away from me but keeps my precepts in mind, he will surely attain the Way. If he is right beside me but his thoughts fall into error, he will in the end not attain the Way. What matters is practice; what use is it to be near without practicing?"

佛言：「人為道，猶若食蜜，中邊皆甜。吾經亦爾，其義皆快，行者得道矣。」

The Buddha said: "A person who cultivates the Way is like one eating honey: it is sweet in the middle and sweet at the edge. The sutras I teach are just like this: their meaning is gratifying everywhere, and those who follow them can attain the Way."

佛言：「人為道，能拔愛欲之根，譬如摘懸珠，一一摘之，會有盡時。惡盡，得道也。」

The Buddha said: "A person who cultivates the Way and pulls out the root of love and desire is like one picking beads strung together: taking them one by one, there will come a time when they are all picked. When evil is exhausted, one attains the Way."

佛言：「諸沙門行道，當如牛負，行深泥中，疲極，不敢左右顧，趣欲離泥，以自蘇息。沙門視情慾，甚於彼泥，直心念道可免眾苦。」

The Buddha said: "Shramanas cultivating the Way should be like an ox carrying a heavy load through deep mud: though exhausted to the extreme, it dares not look left or right, thinking only of getting out of the mire quickly so as to catch its breath. A shramana should regard passion with more wariness than that mud; with a single mind on the Way, one can be free of all suffering."

佛言：「吾視諸侯之位如過客，視金玉之寶如礫石，視㲲素之好如弊帛。」

The Buddha said: "I regard the high rank of a feudal lord as a passing traveler, I regard gold, jade and treasures as tiles and gravel, and I regard the splendor of fine white cotton cloth as worn-out rags."