The Related Discourses
1. The Aggregates
| （二六三） 應說 | 46 (263). Should Be Taught |
|---|---|
| 如是我聞：一時，佛住拘留國雜色牧牛聚落。 | 1. Thus I have heard:1 One time, the Buddha was staying at Citra the cowherd’s village in Kuru.2 |
| 爾時，佛告諸比丘：「我以知見故，得諸漏盡，非不知見。云何以知見故，得諸漏盡，非不知見？謂『此色、此色集、此色滅；此受、想、行、識，此識集、此識滅。』 | 2. It was then that the Buddha addressed the monks, “It was because of knowing and seeing that I reached the end of the contaminants, not because of not knowing or seeing. How was it because of knowing and seeing that I reached the end of the contaminants and not because of not knowing or seeing? I mean: ‘This is form, this is the formation of form, and this is the cessation of form. This is feeling … conception … volition … awareness, this is the formation of awareness, and this is the cessation of awareness.’ |
| 不修方便隨順成就，而用心求：『[8]令我諸漏盡，心得解脫。』當知彼比丘終不能得漏盡解脫。所以者何？不修習故，不修[9]習何等？謂不修習念處、正勤、如意足、根、力、覺、道。 | 3. “[Suppose] one doesn’t cultivate this method or follow through with it, and they apply their mind to this goal: ‘Let my contaminants come to an end and my mind be liberated.’ You should know that that monk will never be able to reach the end of the contaminants or be liberated. Why is that? Because he doesn’t train himself. What doesn’t he train himself in? He doesn’t train in the abodes of mindfulness, right effort, spiritual abilities, faculties, powers, factors of awakening, or the path. |
| 「譬如伏鷄，生子眾多，不能隨時蔭[10]餾，消息冷暖，而欲令子以觜、以爪啄卵自生，安隱出㲉，當知彼子無有自力，堪能方便以觜、以爪安隱出㲉。所以者何？以彼雞母不能隨時蔭[＊]餾，冷暖長養子故。 | 4. “He’s like a brooding hen that lays a clutch of eggs3 but can’t keep them warm at the proper times. She takes breaks when it’s too cold or hot, but she wants her chicks to use their beaks and claws to hatch themselves by pecking at their eggshells. You should know that her chicks won’t have the strength to break out of their shells with their beaks and claws. Why is that? Because that mother hen wasn’t able to keep them warm at the proper times when it was too cold or hot.” |
| 「如是，比丘不勤修習隨順成就，而欲令得漏盡解脫，無有是處。所以者何？不修習故。不修何等？謂不修念處、正勤、如意足、根、力、覺、道。 | 5. “Thus, it isn’t possible for a monk who wants to reach the end of the contaminants and be liberated if he isn’t diligent in his training or following through with it. Why is that? Because he doesn’t train himself. What doesn’t he train in? He doesn’t train in the abodes of mindfulness, right effort, spiritual abilities, faculties, powers, factors of awakening, or the path. |
| 「若比丘修習隨順成就者，雖不欲令漏盡解脫，而彼比丘自然漏盡，心得解脫。所以者何？以修習故。何所修習？謂修念處、正勤、如意足、根、力、覺、道。 | 6. “If a monk trains himself and follows through with it, then that monk’s contaminants will end naturally and his mind will become liberated, even if he doesn’t want that. Why is that? Because he trains himself. What does he train in? He trains in the abodes of mindfulness, right effort, spiritual abilities, faculties, powers, factors of awakening, and the path. |
| 「如彼伏雞善養其子，隨時蔭[＊]餾，冷暖得所，[11]正復不欲令子方便自啄卵出，然其諸子自能方便安隱出㲉。所以者何？以彼伏雞隨時蔭餾，冷暖得所故。 | 7. “He’s like a brooding hen who is good at taking care of her chicks and keeps them warm at the appropriate times when it’s too cold or hot. Even if she doesn’t want her chicks to use their own beaks to hatch from their eggs, her chicks are still able to safely hatch themselves. Why is that? Because that brooding hen kept them warm at the appropriate times and did so when it was too cold or hot. |
| 「如是，比丘善修方便，[＊]正復不欲漏盡解脫，而彼比丘自然漏盡，心得解脫。所以者何？以勤修習故。何所修習？謂修念處、正勤、如意足、根、力、覺、道。 | 8. “Thus, a monk who is good at cultivating this method will naturally end the contaminants and his mind will become liberated even if he doesn’t want that. Why is that? Because he diligently trained himself. What did he train in? He trained in the abodes of mindfulness, right effort, spiritual abilities, faculties, powers, factors of awakening, and the path. |
| 「譬如巧師、巧師弟子，手執斧柯，捉之不已，漸漸微盡手指處現，然彼不覺斧柯微盡而盡處現。 | 9. “He’s like a mason or a mason’s apprentice4 whose axe handle gradually wears away where he grips it with his hand. He isn’t aware that it has worn away until it becomes obvious. |
| 「如是，比丘精勤修習隨順成就，不自知見今日爾所漏盡，明日爾所漏盡，然彼比丘知有漏盡。所以者何？以修習故，何所修習？謂修習念處、正勤、如意足、根、力、覺、道。 | 10. “Thus, a monk who diligently trains himself and follows through with it won’t know and see for himself that the contaminants will end today or tomorrow. Still, that monk will know that he has ended the contaminants. Why is that? Because he trains himself. What does he train in? He trains in the abodes of mindfulness, right effort, spiritual abilities, faculties, powers, factors of awakening, and the path. |
| 「譬如大舶，在於海邊，經夏六月，風飄日暴，藤綴漸斷。 | 11. “He’s like a large ship that travels along the coast of the ocean for six months during summer. Its rope lashings slowly break as it’s blown around violently each day. |
| 「如是，比丘精勤修習隨順成就，一切結縛、使、煩惱、纏，漸得解脫。所以者何？善修習故，何所修習？謂修習念處、正勤、如意足、根、力、覺、道。」 | 12. “Thus, the monk who diligently trains himself and follows through with it will slowly be freed from all the bonds, tendencies, afflictions, and hindrances. Why is that? Because he trains himself well. What does he train in? He trains in the abodes of mindfulness, right effort, spiritual abilities, faculties, powers, factors of awakening, and the path.” |
| 說是法時，六十比丘不起諸漏，心得解脫。 | 13. When he taught this Dharma, sixty monks stopped producing the contaminants, and their minds became liberated. |
| 佛說此經已，諸比丘聞佛所說，歡喜奉行。 | 14. After he spoke this sūtra, the monks who heard what the Buddha taught rejoiced and approved. |
Notes
- This is sūtra no. 263 in the Taisho edition and no. 46 in Yinshun (T99.2.67a22-c3). It’s remarkably similar to both SN 22.101 and AN 7.71. It contains the same lesson that liberation occurs naturally as a result of training and the same three illustrating similes of a brooding hen, a workman’s axe handle, and a seafaring ship. [back]
- Citra the cowherd’s village in Kuru. C. 拘留國雜色牧牛聚落. S./P. kuru is translit. as 拘留 (EMC. kɪu-lɪəu), and 國 indicates that it’s the name of a country. S. Citra (P. Citta) has been translated as 雜色 (lit. “variously colored”), who is identified as a cowherd (牧牛, lit. “pasturer of cattle”). Finally, 聚落 is the term for a village or hamlet. [back]
- a brooding hen that lays a clutch of eggs. C. 伏鷄生子眾多. 伏 has a contextual meaning when used with birds to mean brooding eggs (presumably because birds look like they are hiding their eggs when they sit on the nest). 生子 lit. means to give birth to offspring, but a chicken lays eggs rather than giving birth to live young. I’ve translated the expression assuming it means laying eggs. Otherwise, it might be intended to mean hatching her chicks from the eggs, which Buddhists considered to be a form of birth. [back]
- a mason. C. 巧師. S./P. palagaṇḍa. The C. translation 巧師 appears to be a corruption, or at least an obscure reading. Lit. 巧師 means only “skilled artisan,” if we read 師 to mean a professional of some kind. However, a similar C. word (圬) does mean a mason. I’ve translated the passage assuming that 巧 = 圬 here, given that it agrees with the parallel passage in SN 22.101.
Ordinarily, palagaṇḍa means a mason in both S. and P. The Theravāda commentary on the parallel passage claims that a carpenter is actually what is meant here, presumably to make sense of a mason using a woodworking tool. It’s possible that an ancient mason might have reason to cut wood in the course of his trade, so this re-interpretation may not be necessary; it’s just counterintuitive. [back]
Translator: Charles Patton
Last Revised: 9 March 2024
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