Translating Classical Buddhism to Modern English

The Related Discourses

4. Truth

（三八三）四聖諦 5 (383). The Four Noble Truths (4)
如是我聞： 一時，佛住波羅㮈、仙人住處、鹿野苑中。 1. Thus I have heard:1 One time, the Buddha was staying at the Residence of Sages in the Deer Preserve of Bārāṇasī.
爾時，世尊告諸比丘： 「有四聖諦。 何等為四？ 謂苦聖諦、苦集聖諦、苦滅聖諦、苦滅道跡聖諦。 2. It was then that the Bhagavān addressed the monks, “There are four noble truths. What are the four? They are the noble truth of suffering, the noble truth of suffering’s formation, the noble truth of suffering’s cessation, and the noble truth of the path to suffering’s cessation.
「若比丘於苦聖諦已知，已解⋯ 於苦集聖諦已知，已斷⋯ 於苦滅聖諦已知，已證⋯ 於苦滅道跡聖諦已知，已修。 如是比丘則斷愛欲，轉去諸結。 於慢無明等，究竟苦邊。」 3. “If a monk has known the noble truth of suffering, then he has understood [suffering] … has known the noble truth of suffering’s formation, then he has ended [its formation] … has known the noble truth of suffering’s cessation, then he has realized [its cessation] … has known the noble truth of the path to suffering’s cessation, then he has cultivated [that path]. In this way, a monk then ends craving and turns away from the bonds. Immediately understanding, he reaches the final end of suffering.”2
佛說此經已，諸比丘聞佛所說歡喜，奉行。 4. After the Buddha spoke this sūtra, the monks who heard what the Buddha taught rejoiced and approved.

Notes

  1. This is sūtra no. 383 in the Taisho edition and no. 546 in Yinshun (T99.2.104b20-8). [back]
  2. Immediately understanding. C. 於慢無明等. I’ve followed Yinshun’s suggestion to adopt the alternate reading that converts 無明等 to 無間等. 無間等 was the translation of P. abhisamaya, which appears to mean an epiphany or sudden realization. The C. trans. lit. means “immediacy,” which seems inadequate, so I’ve added “understanding” to that reading. It’s also questionable to me that 慢 belongs in the passage because it breaks the pattern of four characters per clause that classical Chinese generally follows, so I have left it out of my translation.
    Uncorrected, the Taisho reads: “In this way, a monk ends craving, turns away from the bonds such as pride and ignorance, and reaches the final end of suffering.” [back]

Translator: Charles Patton

Last Revised: 27 May 2024

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