Translating Classical Buddhism to Modern English

The Medium Discourses

Chapter 8: Defilement

（九二）中阿含 穢品 青白蓮華喻經 第六 (第二小土城誦) 92. The Analogy of the Blue and White Lotus Flowers
我聞如是： 一時，佛遊舍衛國，在勝林、給孤獨園。 1. Thus I have heard:1 One time, the Buddha traveled to the country of Śrāvastī and stayed at Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park in Jeta’s Grove.
爾時，世尊告諸比丘： 「或有法從身滅，不從口滅。 或有法從口滅，不從身滅。 或有法不從身、口滅，但以慧見滅。 2. It was then that the Bhagavān addressed the monks, “Some things are ceased physically but not verbally. Some things are ceased verbally but not physically. Some things are not ceased physically or verbally but only by seeing wisely.
「云何法從身滅，不從口滅？ 比丘者有不善身行充滿，具足受持，著身。 諸比丘見已，訶彼比丘： 『賢者不善身行充滿，具足受持。 何為著身？ 賢者可捨不善身行，修習善身行。』 彼於後時，捨不善身行，修習善身行。 是謂法從身滅，不從口滅。 3. “What is something that’s ceased physically but not verbally? [Suppose] a monk has consummated some unskillful physical conduct and fully accepts it. He is attached to this physicality. The monks who see this rebuke that monk: ‘Venerable, you’ve consummated unskillful physical conduct and fully accept it. How can you be attached to this physicality? Venerable, you can abandon that unskillful physical conduct and train in skillful physical conduct.’ Some time later, he abandons his unskillful physical conduct and trains in skillful physical conduct. This is said to be something that’s ceased physically but not verbally.
「云何法從口滅，不從身滅？ 比丘者，不善口行充滿，具足受持，著口。 諸比丘見已呵彼比丘： 『賢者，不善口行充滿，具足受持。 何為著口？ 賢者，可捨不善口行，修習善口行。』 彼於後時，捨不善口行，修習善口行。 是謂法從口滅，不從身滅。 4. “What is something that’s ceased verbally but not physically? [Suppose] a monk has consummated unskillful verbal conduct and fully accepts it. He is attached to that speech. The monks who see this rebuke that monk: ‘Venerable, you’ve consummated unskillful verbal conduct and fully accept it. How can you be attached to this speech? Venerable, you can abandon this unskillful verbal conduct and train in skillful verbal conduct.’ Some time later, he abandons his unskillful verbal conduct and trains in skillful verbal conduct. This is said to be something that’s ceased verbally but not physically.
「云何法不從身、口滅，但以慧見滅？ 增伺不從身、口滅，但以慧見滅。 如是，諍訟⋯恚恨⋯瞋纏⋯不語結⋯慳⋯嫉⋯欺誑⋯諛諂⋯無慙⋯無愧⋯惡欲⋯惡見⋯不從身、口滅，但以慧見滅。 是謂法不從身、口滅，但以慧見滅。 5. “What is something that’s not ceased physically or verbally but only by seeing wisely? Longing is not ceased physically or verbally but only by seeing wisely. Thus, contentiousness … malice … fits of rage … not admitting [other’s virtues] … fixation … stinginess … jealousy … deception … fraud … lack of modesty … lack of conscience … bad desires … bad views2 aren’t ceased physically or verbally but only by seeing wisely. This is said to be something that isn’t ceased physically or verbally but only by seeing wisely.
「如來或有觀，觀他人心，知： 『此人不如是修身、修戒、修心、修慧如修身、修戒、修心、修慧，得滅增伺。 所以者何？ 以此人心生惡增伺而住。』 如是，諍訟⋯恚恨⋯瞋纏⋯不語結⋯慳⋯嫉⋯欺誑⋯諛諂⋯無慙⋯無愧⋯ 『得滅惡欲、惡見。 所以者何？ 以此人心生惡欲、惡見而住。』 6. “The Tathāgata might have an observation while examining another person’s mind and know, ‘This person hasn’t cultivated themselves, the precepts, their mind, or wisdom in such a way that they could cease their longing. Why is that? Because bad longings arise in this person’s mind and remain there.’ Thus … contentiousness … malice … fits of rage … not admitting [other’s virtues] … fixation … stinginess … jealousy … deception … fraud … lack of modesty … lack of conscience … ‘they could cease their bad desires and bad views. Why is that? Because bad desires and bad views arise in this person’s mind and remain there.’
「知：『此人如是修身、修戒、修心、修慧如修身、修戒、修心、修慧，得滅增伺。 所以者何？ 以此人心不生惡增伺而住。』 如是，諍訟⋯恚恨⋯瞋纏⋯不語⋯結⋯慳⋯嫉⋯欺誑⋯諛諂⋯無慙⋯無愧⋯ 『得滅惡欲、惡見。 所以者何？ 以此人心不生惡欲、惡見而住。』 7. “He might know, ‘This person has cultivated himself, the precepts, their mind, and their wisdom in such a way that they have ceased longing. Why is that? Because bad longings don’t arise in this person’s mind and remain there.’ Thus … contentiousness … malice … fits of rage … not admitting [other’s virtues] … fixation … stinginess … jealousy … deception … fraud … lack of modesty … lack of conscience … ‘they’ve ceased their bad desires and bad views. Why is that? Because bad desires and bad views don’t arise in this person’s mind and remain there.’
「猶如青蓮華⋯紅赤⋯白蓮花。 水生，水長，出水上，不著水。 如是，如來世間生，世間長，出世間行，不著世間法。 所以者何？ 如來、無所著、等正覺出一切世間。」 8. “Take the example of a blue, red, or white lotus flower. It sprouts from water, grows in water, and rises out of the water, but no water clings to it. In this way, the Tathāgata is born from the world, grows in the world, and his practice leaves the world, but worldly ways don’t cling to him.3 Why is that? The Tathāgata, the Arhat, and Completely Awakened One leaves the whole world.”
爾時，尊者阿難執拂侍佛。 於是，尊者阿難叉手向佛，白曰： 「世尊，此經當名何？ 云何受持？」 9. Venerable Ānanda was at the time attending to the Buddha with a fan. He then faced the Buddha with his palms together and said, “Bhagavān, what shall be this sūtra be called? How are we to maintain it?”
於是，世尊告曰： 「阿難，此經名為『青白蓮華喻』。 汝當如是善受持誦。」 10. The Bhagavān thereupon told him, “Ānanda, the name of this sūtra is ‘The Analogy of the Blue and White Lotus Flowers.’ You should maintain and recite it well in this way.”
爾時，世尊告諸比丘： 「汝等當共受此『青白蓮花喻經』，誦習，守持。 所以者何？ 此『青白蓮華喻經』如法有義。 是梵行本，致通，致覺，亦致涅槃。 若族姓子剃除鬚髮，著袈裟衣，至信，捨家，無家，學道者，應當受此『青白蓮花喻經』，善諷，誦持。」 11. The Bhagavān then told the monks, “All of you should together accept this Analogy of the Blue and White Lotus Flowers Sūtra, recite it, and preserve it. Why is that? This Analogy of the Blue and White Lotus Flowers Sūtra has a meaning that accords with the Dharma. As the origin of the religious life, it brings about penetration, awakening, and nirvāṇa. If a clansman shaves off his hair and beard, puts on the reddish-brown robes, becomes a believer, and leaves home to train on the path in homelessness, he should accept this Analogy of the Blue and White Lotus Flowers Sūtra, recite it, and preserve it well.”
佛說如是。 尊者阿難及諸比丘聞佛所說歡喜，奉行。 12. Thus did the Buddha speak. Venerable Ānanda and the monks who heard what the Buddha taught rejoiced and approved.
青白蓮華喻經 第六竟 (七百三字)

Notes

  1. For the source text, cf. T26.1.574c1-5a18. Its direct parallels are AN 10.23 and SN 22.94. It shares the same initial sermon with AN 10.23 but then concludes with the metaphor of the lotus flower that concludes SN 22.94. The list of defilements is closer to that found in MN 40 and MĀ 183 than the one found in AN 10.23-24, but the two versions appear to be variants of the same list. See the notes below for more details on these points. [back]
  2. Longing … contentiousness … malice … fits of rage … not admitting [other’s virtues] … fixation … stinginess … jealousy … deception … fraud … lack of modesty … lack of conscience … bad desires … bad views. C. 增伺⋯諍訟⋯恚恨⋯瞋纏⋯不語⋯結⋯慳⋯嫉⋯欺誑⋯諛諂⋯無慙⋯無愧⋯惡欲⋯惡見. The separation of this list into fourteen items is based on the passages in MĀ 183 that treats each separately (see below).
    A similar list of ten defilements is found at AN 10.23-24 that reads lobha … dosa … moha … kodha … upanāha … makkha … paḷāsa … macchariya … pāpikā issā … pāpikā icchā. A parallel set of twelve defilements is also found in MN 40: abhijjhā … byāpāda … kodha … upanāha … makkha … paḷāsa … issā … macchariya … sāṭheyyā … māyā … pāpikā icchā … micchādiṭṭhi. A parallel to this list occurs in MĀ 183: 貪伺⋯恚⋯瞋⋯不語⋯結⋯慳⋯嫉⋯諛諂⋯欺誑⋯無慙⋯無愧⋯惡欲⋯邪見. We can surmise, then, that there were at least three versions of this list of defilements, with some minor discrepancies in their different witnesses.
    Many of the defilements in these lists were incorporated into the later Abhidharma rubric of “secondary afflictions” (S. upakleśa). These earlier sūtra lists don’t show much direct influence from this Abhidharma rubric, given that they include major afflictions as well as secondary ones. The most distinctive feature of these lists in MĀ 92 and AN 10.23-24 is that they end with defilements described as 惡 (P. pāpikā, “bad”).
    In MN 40 and MĀ 183, the last item was changed to wrong view (邪見, micchādiṭṭhi). MĀ 92 seems to represent an in-between stage of this change, having bad view (惡見, pāpikādiṭṭhi) as its last item. Its version of the list also begins the same as the MN version. Thus, MĀ 92 appears to be a hybrid of AN 10.23 and MN 40 that contains the sermon in AN and a variant of the list of defilements in MN.
    Deciphering the individual items in this list of defilements is helped by consulting MĀ 183 and MN 40, which represent two sectarian versions of the same. A few of the C. translations are overly literal or otherwise unclear. Below are notes about my translation of each:
    longing. C. 增伺, P. abhijjhā, S. abhidhyā. The C. here is typically understood as a lit. trans. of abhi- (增) and -dhyā (伺), meaning “excessive searching.” The term is translated as 貪伺 in MĀ 183, and this passage has a variant reading that amends 增 to 貪. 貪伺 lit. means “greedy searching.” In either case, the intended reading would seem to be “intense desire” or “longing.”
    contentiousness. C. 諍訟, P. paḷāsa, S. pradāsa. This defilement is otherwise missing from the other C. parallels. It seems likely to correspond to P. paḷāsa or one of its synonyms. The C. lit. means “fighting, quarrelling.”
    malice. C. 恚恨, P. byāpāda, S. vyāpāda. The C. lit. means “angry resentment.”
    fits of rage. C. 瞋纏, P. kodha, S. krodha. The C. lit. means “wrapped in anger.” It’s possible the term here was S. krodha paryavasthāna, which meant “possessed by rage” (i.e., an episode of demonic possession). The term paryavasthāna, however, was sometimes interpreted to mean “wrapped up” or “ensnared” by both Chinese and Tibetan translators, as was the case here. I’ve translated it colloquilly as “fits of rage.”
    not admitting [other’s virtues]. C. 不語, P. makkha?, S. mrakṣa?. This C. translation seems very strange, but there was apparently a reading of the S. verb mrakṣayati as “speaking indistinctly or incorrectly.” In the P. tradition, makkha has a lit. meaning of “smearing” or “dirtying” which is extended to refer to “disparaging” others, just as done in English. It was usu. a counterpart to pradāsa, meaning to “disparage” other people to minimize their good qualities. Pradāsa, on the other hand, is the concealment of one’s own faults. Together, they describe hypocrisy. My translation assumes the C. must refer to a reading like this, but it’s unclear.
    fixation. C. 結, P. upanāha, S. upanāha. In the context of these defilements, upanāha is understood to mean a binding enmity that someone is unable to relinquish for a long time. Upanāha had other unrelated uses, however, because its lit. meaning was “a tie” or “binding.” Here, the C. translation reflected this lit. meaning, where 結 means “a tie” or “bondage.” I’ve translated it here as “fixation,” intending the meaning of someone who has an unhealthy obsession.
    stinginess. C. 慳, P. macchariya, S. mātsarya. This and the next term are usually paired together to represent a type of selflish disregard or dislike of others. One is the unwillingness to be generous, and the other is dislike of another’s fortune.
    jealousy. C. 嫉, P. issā, S. īrṣyā.
    deception. C. 欺誑, P. sāṭheyyā, S. śāṭhya.
    fraud. C. 諛諂, P. māyā, S. māyā.
    lack of modesty. C. 無慙, P. ahiri, S. ahrī. There is very little difference in the meaning of this and next term in C., and it could be argued that there isn’t in the Indic terms, either. Traditionally, one is defined as the lack of a personal sense of morality, and the other is a disregard for social conventions of propriety. Essentially, they both mean “shamelessness.”
    lack of conscience. C. 無愧, P. anottappa, S. anapatrapa.
    bad wishes. C. 惡欲, P. pāpikā icchā, S. pāpika icchā. AN 10.23 gives us a gloss of this term, saying that it means a person who wants to be known as possessing a virtue that they know they do not.
    bad views. C. 惡見, P. pāpikā diṭṭhi, S. pāpika dṛṣṭi. The precise meaning intended here is not clear, but there are glosses in other contexts. For example, AN 10.104 glosses bad view as the viewpoint that results from following the wrong eightfold path, which in turn leads “to what is unlikable, undesirable, disagreeable, harmful, and suffering” (P. aniṭṭhāya akantāya amanāpāya ahitāya dukkhāya saṁvattanti). Thus, “bad” views are those that lead to the bad results of bad actions that they motivate. [back]
  3. Take for example … don’t cling to him.. C. 猶如青蓮華⋯紅赤⋯白蓮花，水生水長，出水上，不著水。如是，如來世間生、世間長，出世間行，不著世間法.
    Compare this passage with the conclusion of SN 22.94: “Suppose there was a blue water lily, or a pink or white lotus. Though it sprouted and grew in the water, it would rise up above the water and stand with no water clinging to it. In the same way, though I was born and grew up in the world, I live having mastered the world, unsullied by the world.” (Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, uppalaṁ vā padumaṁ vā puṇḍarīkaṁ vā udake jātaṁ udake saṁvaḍḍhaṁ udakā accuggamma ṭhāti anupalittaṁ udakena; evameva kho, bhikkhave, tathāgato loke jāto loke saṁvaḍḍho lokaṁ abhibhuyya viharati anupalitto lokenā”ti.) [back]

Translator: Charles Patton

Last Revised: 15 October 2024

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