The Numerical Discourses
Chapter 16: The Fire Extinguished
| （八） 忍 | 8. Acceptance and Consideration |
|---|---|
| 聞如是： 一時，佛在舍衛國、祇樹、給孤獨園。 | 1. Thus I have heard:1 One time, the Buddha was staying at Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park in Jeta’s Grove of Śrāvastī. |
| 爾時，世尊告諸比丘： 「有此二力。 云何為二力？ 所謂忍力、思惟力。 設吾無此二力者，終不成無上、正真、等正覺。 又無此二力者，終不於優留毘處六年苦行。 亦復不能降伏魔怨，成無上、正真之道，坐於道場。 以我有忍力、思惟力故，便能降伏魔眾，成無上、正真之道，坐於道場。 | 2. It was then that the Bhagavān addressed the monks, “There are two powers. What are the two powers? They are the power of acceptance and the power of consideration. Supposing that I didn’t have these two powers, I would never have achieved the supreme, correct, and complete awakening. Moreover, without these two powers, I would never have practiced asceticism for six years in Uruvilva. Nor would I have been able to defeat the Māra foe and achieve the supreme and correct awakening while sitting at the site of awakening.2 I did have the power of acceptance and the power of consideration, and so I was able to defeat Māra’s host and achieve the supreme and correct awakening while sitting at the site of awakening. |
| 「是故，諸比丘，當求方便，修此二力，忍力、思惟力。 便成須陀洹道、斯陀含道、阿那含道、阿羅漢道。 於無餘涅槃界而般涅槃。 如是，諸比丘，當作是學。」 | 3. “Therefore, monks, you must pursue the methods to cultivate these two powers, which are the power of acceptance and power of consideration. Then, you’ll achieve the awakening of the stream-enterer, the once-returner, the non-returner, and the arhat. You’ll then parinirvāṇa in the realm of nirvāṇa without remainder. Thus, monks, you should train yourselves.” |
| 爾時，諸比丘聞佛所說歡喜，奉行。 | 4. When the monks heard what the Buddha taught, they rejoiced and approved. |
Notes
For the source text, cf. T125.2.580b26-c8. I’m not aware of a direct parallel for this sūtra, but AN 2.11-13 do speak of two powers, one of which is consideration (paṭisaṅkhāna). Here, consideration is intended to mean to consider, not to be considerate. More than likely, this sūtra is a variant on that same theme of two powers. [back]
supreme and correct awakening. C. 無上、正真之道. Or, perhaps “path” instead of “awakening.” 道 (as in the Dao) was used to translate bodhi, or it could be read as “path” (the ordinary meaning of 道). This makes for ambiguous passages at times in Buddhist translations when it isn’t clear which is intended. In this passage, the confusion is increased by the use of 覺 ("awakening") to translate bodhi in the previous sentence. All in all, it seems more likely to me that 覺 and 道 are being used interchangeably given that EĀ is full of these kinds of errors and inconsistencies. [back]
Translator: Charles Patton
Last Revised: 25 November 2024
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