The Related Discourses
4. Truth
| （三八六）四聖諦 | 8 (386). The Four Noble Truths (7) |
|---|---|
| 如是我聞： 一時，佛住波羅㮈國、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。 如是比丘無有關鍵，平治城壍，度諸嶮難。 解脫結縛，名為賢聖，建立聖幢。」 | 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, that monk has no barred gate, has leveled off the city moat, and has crossed the dangerous heights.2 Liberated from bondage, he’s called a noble one who has planted the noble flag.” |
| 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
- This is sūtra no. 386 in the Taisho edition and no. 549 in Yinshun (T99.2.104c18-26). It’s partially parallel with AN 5.71, and the next sūtra, which provides an explanation of the analogies for an arhat found here. [back]
- no barred gate, has leveled off the city moat, and has crossed the dangerous heights. C. 無有關鍵，平治城壍，度諸嶮難. A similarly esoteric description of an arhat is found in AN 5.71. The next sūtra (SĀ 4.9) will provide us with a commentary on what these analogies meant to this text’s tradition. See the notes there for a comparison with AN 5.71. [back]
Translator: Charles Patton
Last Revised: 27 May 2024
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