The basic materials of Buddha teachings

The Sutra In Forty-Two Sections

Said By Buddha

EditorCHIANG CHAN-KAI
CHIANG YUNG-CHANG


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The Sutra in Forty-Two Sections said by Buddha

contents
Preface.............................................................................................................5
Guidance.................................................................................................................6
Leaving Home and Becoming a body of Arhat.......................7
Eliminating Desire and Ending Seeking.....................................10
Severing Love and Renouncing Greed...................................12
Clarifying Good and Evil.......................................................13
Reducing the Severity of Offenses.........................................15
Tolerating Evil-doers and Avoiding Hatred............................16
Evil Returns to the Doer.........................................................17
Abusing Others Defiles Oneself.............................................19
By Returning to the Source, and You can Find the Way........20
Joyful Charity Brings Blessings.............................................20
The Increase in Merit Gained by Bestowing Food..................22
A List of Difficulties and an Exhortation to
Cultivate............................................................................24
Questions about the Way and Past Lives...........................27
Asking about Goodness and Greatness..............................28
Asking about Strength and Brilliance................................29
Casting Aside Love and Attaining the Way.......................31
While Light Arrives, Darkness Departs.............................32
Thoughts and So Forth Are Basically Empty.....................33
Contemplating Both the False and the True......................35
Realize that the Ego Is Truly Empty..................................36
Fame Destroys Life Roots............................................36
Wealth and Sex Cause Suffering...................................38
A Family Is Worse than a Prison...................................38
Sexual Desire Obstructs the Way.................................40

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 The Fire of Desire Burns.............................................41
Demons from the Heavens Try to Tempt Buddha.......41
One Attains the Way after Letting Go of
Attachments..................................................................42
Dont Indulge the Wild Mind.......................................44
Proper Meditation Counteracts Sexual Desire.............45
Stay Far Away from the Fire of Desire.............................46
When the Mind Is Still, Desire Is Dispelled................47
Emptying out the ego Quells Fear...............................49
Wisdom and Clarity Defeat the Demons.....................50
By Staying in the Middle, One Attains the Way..........51
When One Is Purified of Defilements,
the Brilliance Remains.................................................55
The Sequence that Leads to Success............................55
Staying mindful of moral precepts
Brings Us Close to the Way.........................................57
Birth Leads to Death....................................................58
The Instructions of Buddha Are Not Biased.................59
The Way Is Practiced in the Mind....................................60
A Straight Mind Can Get Rid of Desire.......................61
Understanding that the World Is Illusory.....................62
.....................................................................................................................................66

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Preface

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The Sutra in Forty-Two Sections said by Buddha

Guidance

When
the World Honored One had attained the Way, he
thought as this, It is the most excellent way to leave desire
behind and to gain calmness. He abided in deep meditation and
conquered many demons and externalists.

World Honored One: attain: calmness: abide:

meditation: conquer: demon: externalist:

In the Deer Park he turned the Dharma-wheel of the

Four Noble Truths and took across Ajnata-kaundinya and the
other four disciples, who all had proved and got the fruition of the
Way.

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Dharma-wheel: Four Noble Truths: take across:
Ajnata-kaundinya: disciple: fruition:

Moreover there were other bodies of Bhikshu
expressing their doubts and asked Buddha how to solve them. The
World Honored One taught and advised them, until one by one all
of them awakened and gained enlightenment. After that, each of
them put his two palms together respectfully, and gave his
promise to follow the Buddha's instructions.

express: solve: awaken: enlightenment: instruction:

Section 1Leaving Home and becoming a body of Arhat

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Buddha
said, "Those people who have took their leaves
of their families and gone forth from the householder life,
knowing their minds and getting through its origin. They
understand the unconditioned Dharma. These persons are called
bodies of Shramana. They constantly observe the 250 precepts,
and they value purity in all that they have to do. By practicing the
Four True Paths, they can become bodies of Arhat."

take leave of: go forth: householder: unconditioned:

Shramana: observe: precept:
value: purity: Arhat:

Then
what is so called ArhatThat is to say he can
freely fly to any place where he wants to go and transforms
himself into many different forms. He has a life span of vast
eternity, and wherever he lives he can shake both the heaven and

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the earth."

transform: span: vast: eternity:

Inferior
to Arhat, that is called Anagamin. At the end of
his life, a body of Anagamin his vital spirit will rise above the
nineteenth heaven, and where he will become and prove a body of
Arhat.
Inferior to the Anagamin, that is called Sakridagamin. He
ascends up once to the heaven, and once again returns to the earth
to continue cultivating, and thereafter he becomes and gets the
fruit of the body of Arhat.

inferior: Anagamin: vital: Sakridagamin:

ascend:

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Inferior
to the Sakridagamin, that is called Srotaapanna.
It is Srotaapanna that he has seven deaths and seven births
remaining, and then he becomes and proves a body of Arhat.
Being severed love and desire, as if he were severed his four
limbs by others; he never uses them again."

Srotaapanna: remain: sever:

Section 2Eliminating Desire and Ending Seeking

Buddha
said, "Those who have left the home-life and
become one body of Shramana, have to cut off many kinds of
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desires, renounce loves, and recognize the source of their minds.
They have penetrated and reached the profound principles of
Buddha, and have awakened the unconditioned Dharma.
Internally they have nothing to attain, and externally they also
seek nothing.

eliminate: renounce: recognize: penetrate:

profound: principle: awaken:
unconditioned Dharma: internally: externally:

They
are not mentally bound to the Way, nor are they
tied to karma. They are free of thought and action; they neither
cultivate nor attain certification; they need not pass through the
various stages, and yet they are highly revered. This is the
meaning of the Way.

mentally: bind: karma: certification:

revere:

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Section 3Severing Love and Renouncing Greed

Buddha
said, "Shaving ones hair and beards, he
becomes one of the groups of Shramana, who accepts the
Dharmas of the Way. He renounces his worldly wealth and riches.
In receiving alms, he only accepts what is enough. He only eats
one meal every day at noon, and passes the nights by sleeping
beneath trees, and is very careful not to seek more than that.
Craving and desire are what cause people to be stupid and dull."

sever: renounce: shave: beard: worldly: alms:

craving: dull:

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Section 4Clarifying Good and Evil

Buddha
said, "Those living beings/ human beings /
human race / mankindmay perform/ doTen Good Deeds and
also may do Ten Evil Deeds. What are called the tenThere are
three done by the body, four done by the mouth, and three done
by the mind. The three done by the body are called killing,
stealing, and lust."

clarify: perform: deed: lust:

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The four done by the mouth are called duplicity, harsh

speech, lies, and frivolous speech. The three done by the mind are
called jealousy, hatred, and stupidity. Thus these ten are not in
accord with the Way of Sages, and they are called the Ten Evil
Deeds. If it is to put a stop of these evils that it is to perform the
Ten Good Deeds.

duplicity: harsh: frivolous:

jealousy: hatred: stupidity: in accord with:

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Section 5Reducing the Severity of Offenses

Buddha
said, "If a person has many offenses or errors,
he does not repent and remedy or repair/ mendthem, but not
instantly cuts off all his thought of doing bad deeds, then the
offenses or sins and crimes will engulf him. It is just like the
current of waters returning to the sea, and it will gradually
become deeper and deeper, wider and wider seas.

reduce: severity: offense: repent:

remedy: repentance: engulf:

If a person has made many offenses and mistakes, he

realizes and understands that they are all wrong, and he reforms
and mends those evil ones and does good deeds. Then the
offenses or sins he had made will dissolve and disappear by

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themselves. It is just like a sick person, who begins to perspire
and sweat, then he will be cured and recovered gradually from his
sickness."

offense: reform: realize: dissolve: perspire:

Section 6Tolerating Evil-doers and Avoiding Hatred

Buddha
said, "When an evil person hears about your
doing good things, he intentionally comes to cause your trouble.
You should restrain yourself and do not become angry or blame to
him. Then the one who has come to do evil to you will do evil
back to him."

tolerate: intentionally: restrain:

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Section 7Evil Returns to the Doer

Buddha
said, "Once upon a time there is a person who
have heard that I observe the Way and practice the great humane
kindness, he intentionally comes to berate and scold at Buddha.
At the time Buddha keep silent and do not reply him. When he
finishes abusing me, I ask him, If you are courteous/ kindto
anyone, you give him some gift but he does not accept it. Then
the gift which you give, whether it will return to you or not It
will be returned to me naturally. the man replied.

humane: berate: abuse: courteous:

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Buddha
said, "Now you are scolding at me, but I do not
accept it, so the misfortune will return to you and it must remain
with you. It is inevitable just like an echo that always follows
after a sound, or like a shadow that always follows after a form. In
the end/ Finallyyou cannot avoid it. Therefore, be careful not to
do evil deeds."

remain: inevitable: echo: shadow:

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Section 8Abusing Others Defiles Oneself

Buddha
said, "An evil person wants to harm or tries to
injure a sage or a saint. It is just like one who raises his own head
up and wants to spit at the heaven. Instead of reaching or touching
the heaven, the spittle which he has spit will fall down back upon
him. It is just like the same way as someone who picks up the
earth or dust with his hands and wants to throw it against the wind.
Instead of its going somewhere else, the dust is blown to fly back
by the wind and returns to defile him. The sage or the saint can
not be harmed or injured. It is inevitable the doer will be
destroyed or spoiled by his misdeeds which he has done
eventually."

defile:

abuse: spit: spittle: misdeed:

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Section 9By Returning to the Source, and You can Find the Way

Buddha
said, "It must be difficult to attain the great way
by learning widely and loving the Way deeply. When you guard
your mind and revere the Way, the Way itself is truly great"

Section 10Joyful Charity Brings Blessings

Buddha said, "When you see someone who is practicing

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benefits and alms, you help him with a joyful way in your mind,
and then you will obtain the same vast and greatest blessings as
he." One of a body of Shramana with a suspicious way asked
Buddha, "Then is there an end to those blessings"

charity: blessing:

Buddha
said, "It is just like the flame of a single torch.
Though there come hundreds and thousands of people to light
their own torches from it, so that they can cook and boil their food
and ward off the darkness from their rooms. The first torch still
remains the same flame as before. Blessings are just also like this
way."

flame: torch: ward off:

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Section 11The Increase in Merit Gained by Bestowing Food

Buddha
said, "Giving food to a hundred bad people to
eat is not as good as giving food to a single good person to eat.
Giving food to a thousand good people to eat is not as good as
giving food to one person who holds the Five Precepts to eat.
Giving food to ten thousand people to eat who hold the Five
Precepts is not as good as giving food to a single Srotaapanna to
eat. Giving food to a million bodies of Srotaapanna to eat is not as
good as giving food to a single body of Sakridagamin to eat.
Giving food to ten million bodies of Sakridagamin to eat is not as
good as giving food to a single Anagamin to eat.

bestow: Five Precepts: hold: precept:

Srotaapanna: Sakridagamin: Anagamin:

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Giving
food to a hundred million bodies of Anagamin
to eat is not as good as giving food to a single body of Arhat to eat.
Giving food to one billion bodies of Arhat to eat is not as good as
giving food to a single Pratyekabuddha to eat. Giving food to ten
billion bodies of Pratyekabuddha to eat is not as good as giving
food to a body of Buddha of the three periods of times to eat.
Giving food to a hundred billion bodies of Buddha of the three
periods of times to eat is not as good as giving food to a single
person who has no thoughts in his mind, no dwellingor/ holding/
persistingin his behavior, no cultivation in his practice, and no
accomplishment in his proof/ certification."

Arhat: Pratyekabuddha: dwell: cultivation:

accomplishment:

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Section 12A List of Difficulties and an Exhortation to Cultivate

Buddha
said, "People will encounter/ meettwenty
different kinds of difficulty to practice. It is difficult to give some
things as gifts to others, when one is poor. It is difficult to study
the Way when one has much wealth and he possesses noble status.
It is difficult to abandon ones life to live and need to face the
certainty of death approaching. It is difficult to encounter and see
the Buddhist sutras. It is difficult to be born at the time of Buddha
to live on earth. It is difficult to tolerate the lust and desire to seek.
It is difficult to see the fine things and do not want to seek after
them. It is difficult to be insulted by anyone and do not become
angry and hateful. It is difficult to have strong power and healthy
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body and do not abuse it. It is difficult to come in contact with
things and have no thought of using them.

exhortation: cultivate: encounter:

status: abandon: sutra: lust: insult:
abuse:

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It is difficult to vastly and widely learn and well-read

about many books. It is difficult to get rid of ones proud habits or
customs. It is difficult not to slight or look down upon those who
have not yet studied. It is difficult to practice equality in mind to
everybody. It is difficult not to gossip or talk about others
mistakes with some people. It is difficult to meet/ encountera
Good and Wise Advisor to consult. It is difficult to see ones own
nature and study the Way. It is difficult to cross and save people
from the suffering conditions according to their potentials. It is
difficult to see a state and not to be moved by it. It is difficult to
have a good understanding of skill-in-means."

contact: get rid of: slight: equanimity:

gossip: potential: state:
skill-in-means:

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Section 13Questions about the Way and Past Lives

One
of a body of Shramana asked Buddha, "By what
causes and conditions can I know my past and future lives and
understand the ultimate Way" Buddha said, "Just purifying your
mind and preserving your decision/ resolutionin belief, then
you can understand and meet the ultimate Way. It is just as you
polish a dirty mirror; the dust on the mirror will vanish and
disappear. The brightness will remain naturally. So as is it too, if
you cut off your desires and do not seek them actively, then you
can know and understand those your past lives."

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causes and conditions: ultimate: purify:
preserve: resolution: vanish:

Section 14Asking about Goodness and Greatness

One
of a body of Shramana asked Buddha, "What is the
goodness What is the foremost greatness" Buddha said, "It
is the goodness just to practice the Way and uphold the truth. It is

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the foremost greatness to unite your will in the mind in accord
with the Way."

foremost: uphold:

Section 15Asking about Strength and Brilliance

One
of a body of Shramana in the group/ assembly
asked Buddha, "What is it to have the greatest strength among
people What is it to have the utmost brilliance and wisdom
among people "Buddha answered him, "A person who just has
patience under being insulted possesses the greatest strength
among people. It is because he has patience in his mind to others
and he does not harbor/ conceal / hideany his hatred in his deep
mind, and then he gradually grows more peaceful in his mind and

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this makes him more stronger and healthier in his body. Those
people who have patient mind will surely gain the respect of
others since they are not evil.

utmost: brilliance: harbor:

hatred:

Then
there is not any defilement in his mind; it
disappears and extinguishes completely, so that it becomes pure
and untainted. And under those conditions it is may be called that
he has the utmost brilliance. When there is nothing in the world,
even from before the beginning of the heavens and the earth being
formed into several shapes until now, and even in any of the ten
directions, you can not see anything, no any things you can know,
or no any things you can hear; and you have attained omniscience
or all wisdom in your mind, then you may be called a man of
brilliance. "

defilement: untainted: formation: omniscience:

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Section 16Casting Aside Love and Attaining the Way

Buddha
said, "Anyone who cherishes his loves and
desires can not see the Way. It is just as you stir the clear water
with your hands; so that those people who stand beside you
cannot see their own reflections in the water. So is it, too; anyone
who is entangled by loves and desires has turbidity in his mind,
and therefore he cannot see the Way. Being bodies of Shramana as

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you are, you should cast aside the loves and desires. Till the time
when the stains of loves and desires lying in your mind will all
disappear automatically and completely, then you will be able to
see the Way. "

cast: cherish: stir: reflection: entangle:

turbidity: stain:

Section 17While Light Arrives, Darkness Departs

Buddha
said, "Those people who see the Way are just
like someone holding or bringing a torch. When he enters a dark
room, the darkness in the room is to be dispelled immediately and
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the light is to remain only. When they study the Way and see the
truth, their ignorance/ idiot / foolishnesswill be all vanished
/ disappeared. Then the light/ brilliancein their minds will
remain and exist for ever and ever."

depart: dispel: ignorance: forever:

Section 18Thoughts and So Forth Are Basically Empty

Buddha
said, "My Dharma is the mindfulness that is
both mindfulness and non-mindfulness. It is the practice that is
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both practice and non-practice. It is words/ speechthat are both
words/ speech, and non-words/ no-speech, and cultivation
that is both cultivation and non-cultivation. Those who understand
these reasons are near to Dharma; those who are confused/
dazzledby these are far away from it. Indeed, it is not accessible
beyond the way of language. It is not to be hindered by any
physical object or material. If you leave away from it just a little
hairbreadth, maybe you will lose it just in an instant or a little
moment."

and so forth: basically: empty: mindfulness:

non-mindfulness: confuse: accessible:
hinder: hairsbreadth: instant:

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Section 19Contemplating Both the False and the True

Buddha
said, "You just contemplate the heaven and the
earth, and be mindful of its impermanence. You just contemplate
the world, and be mindful of its impermanence, too. You just
contemplate yourself efficacious senses, and the nature can be
enlightened. It is the Bodhi nature of itself. With this awareness,
you can quickly attain the Way."

contemplate: mindful:
impermanence:/ efficacious: enlighten:
awareness:

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Section 20Realize that the Ego Is Truly Empty

Buddha
said, "We should be mindful of the four
elements within our bodies. Though each of them has their own
names, none of them is the ego. Since they are not the ego, they
are just like an illusion."

element: ego: illusion:

Section 21Fame Destroys Life Roots

Buddha
said, "There are many people who always
follow and seek after their emotion and desires. They want to seek
to be famous. By the time when they have got them and
established their reputation, they are already dead. Those who are
greedy for worldly fame, and do not study the Way simply just
waste their efforts and wear themselves out.
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emotion: reputation: establish:
waste: wear out:

By
the way of an analogy, although we light and burn
incenses, they can give off much fragrance and they can send very
good smell to our noses. When they have burned down, the
remaining of those embers can bring the danger of a fire which
can burn us up."

analogy: incense: give off: fragrance: ember:

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Section 22Wealth and Sex Cause Suffering

Buddha said, "Those people who are unable to throw

away their wealth/ richesand sex are just like a little child who
cannot resist the honey on the blade of a knife. Even though the
amount of the honey is not enough just to satisfy for serving a
single meal, he will lick it and risk cutting his tongue in the
process."

resist: blade: lick: risk:

Section 23The wife and sons are worse than a Prison

Buddha
said, "It is not a better thing that those people
who are bound by their wives and children in their homes to such
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an extent than those people who are put in a prison. Eventually
one has a chance to be released from the prison one day when a
term of imprisonment of his crime is finished, but it is hard not to
miss his family when people leave far away from their homes
even only a single day.

bind: extent: eventually: release:

prison: imprisonment:

Dont
fear to be controlled by that emotion, love, and
sex which would have driven us. Although they are just like being
put into a tigers jaw, their hearts are blissfully oblivious. Because
they throw themselves into a swamp and drown, they are known
as the ordinary persons. If you can pass through the gateway and
get out of the defilement then you can become a body of Arhat

blissfully: oblivious: swamp: drown: gateway:

defilement:

//

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Section 24Sexual Desire Obstructs the Way

Buddha
said, "It is a miserable thing that people fall
into longings and desires. There is no thing as strong and firm as
the sex. There is no thing equal to sexual desire. It is fortunate
that there is only one. If these two things are alike, then no one in
the entire world could cultivate the Way."

sexual: obstruct: sex: longing:

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Section 25The Fire of Desire Burns body

Buddha said, "A person with love and desire in his mind
is just like one who carries a torch with him while walking against
the wind. He should worry about being burned his own hands by
the fire."

Section 26Demons from the Heavens Try to Tempt Buddha

Once
upon a time there was a God from the heaven
coming down to the earth, offering/ contributingmany beautiful
maidens to Buddha, hoping to destroy his resolution. Buddha said
to him, Those things which you have given me, inside their
bodies just like skin-bags full of filth/ dirt.What reason do you
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come here forGo away; I've got no use of you."
Then the heaven spirit/ devilbecame very respectful to
Buddha, and asked him about the meaning of the Way. Buddha
explained it for him, and he immediately attained the first fruition
of Srotaapanna.

demon: tempt: spirit: offer:

maiden: skin-bag: filth: fruition:

Section 27One Attains the Way after Letting Go of Attachments

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Buddha
said, "A person who are following/ observing
/ practicingthe Way is just like a piece of floating wood which
courses along the current of the banks. If it does not touch either
shore, nor be pulled out by people, nor be intercepted/ hindered
by ghosts and spirits, nor be trapped in whirlpools, nor be rotten
itself, I guarantee that this piece of floating wood will reach the
seashore and arrive into the seas sooner or later.

attachment: course: current: pull: intercept:

trap: whirlpool: rot: guarantee:

A
person who has learned and studied the Great Way as
a student for a long time is not deluded/ indulgedby the
emotion and desire, and he is not caught up and hindered by many
crooked views, yet is vigorous in his cultivation of the
Unconditioned Way. I guarantee that this man will certainly attain
the Way sooner or later."

delude: crooked: view: vigorous:

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Section 28Dont Indulge the Wild Mind

Buddha
said, "To be a cultivating person you are, be
careful not to believe in your own mind; your mind is not
valuable to be believed in. Be careful not to get involved with
sexthe feeling of occupying desires between men and women.
If you involve with the sex, you will be led to disaster. After you
have attained the stage of Arhat, then you can believe in your own
mind. "

indulge: involve: disaster:

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Section 29Proper Meditation Counteracts Sexual Desire

Buddha
said, "To be a cultivating person you are, be
careful not to look at/ watch / beholdany woman directly, and
also do not speak/ talkwith her. If you have something
important words needing to say, you should keep a long distance
away from her. You must be properly mindful and think that I am
a body of Shramana living in a turbid and dirty world, and I
should be like the lotus flowers in the mud, which are not stained
by the mud in the earth.

meditation: counteract: mindful:

turbid: lotus: stain:
mud:

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Think
of those elderly women as my mothers, of those
who are older than I as my elder sisters, of those who are younger
than I as my younger sisters, and of those immature girls as my
daughters. Bring forth/ producethoughts to rescue/ savethem
from the dirty world, and cease/ stop / put an end, extinguish
/ put out/ destroythose bad thoughts.

bring forth: rescue:

Section 30Stay Far Away from the Fire of Desire

Buddha
said, "To say how to cultivate the Way, it is just
like one person dressing himself in clothes made of dry grass. It is
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essential to keep it away from an oncoming fire. Those People
who are cultivating the Way should look upon those desires as
something that they must stay far away from it."

essential: oncoming:

Section 31When the Mind Is Still, Desire Is Dispelled

Buddha
said, "Once upon a time there was a person
who was plagued/ troubledby his ceaseless sexual desire and
wanted to cut off and castrate/ geld his own organ which can
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give birth to future generations/ off-springs . Buddha had heard
the story and said to him," If you want to cut off your sexual
organ, it is better of you to remove your mind than to cut off it.
Your mind is just like a supervisor/ a master, if the supervisor
/ masterstops, then his employees/ servantwill also quit and
stop. If the deviant mind is not to stop, what does it good/
helpfulto cut off the organ

dispel: plague: sexual desire: castrate:

sexual organ: supervisor: employee:
quit: deviant:

Buddha
spoke a verse for him; Desire is born from
your intentions. Intentions are born from your thoughts. When
both aspects of them are still, there is neither form nor activity.
Buddha said, This verse was spoken by the Buddha of
Kashyapa."

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verse: intention: aspect: Kashyapa:

Section 32Emptying out the ego Quells Fear

Buddha
said, "People become worrisome from their
loves and desires. That worriment then leads them to feel fear. If
they can surpass and keep away from those loves and desires,
then what will your worriment happenWhat will your fear
happen"

quell: surpass:

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Section 33Wisdom and Clarity Defeat the Demons

Buddha
said, "To say how to cultivate the Way, it is like
a single soldier who goes into a battle alone fighting against ten
thousand enemies. He puts on his armor and goes out the gate. He
may prove to be a coward; he may go halfway to the battlefield
and retreat; he may be killed in the combat; or he maybe returns
with victory.

clarity: armor: coward: battlefield: retreat:

combat: victory:

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Section 34By Staying in the Middle, One Attains the Way

Those
groups of Shramana who want to study the Way
must make up their strong resolutions and be vigorous,
courageous, and brave. Not fearing what are lying ahead, they
should defeat the crowds of demons and obtain the victorious
fruition of the Way."

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resolution: vigorous: courageous: brave:
defeat: crowd: demon:

Once
upon a time on a certain evening, there was a
body of Shramana reciting the Sutra of the Teachings which was
bequeathed/ leftbehind by the Buddha of Kashyapa. The sound
of his playing organ appeared a little mournful and sorrowful, and
he seemed to have a thought wanting to stop his practicing the
way, and desired to withdraw from his cultivation. Buddha heard
the story and asked him, "In the past time when you are a
householder, what profession have you been done"He replied,
"I am fond of playing some kind of musical instrument like the
organ or the lute/ the piano / the violin / the guitar." Buddha
said, "What will it happen when the strings of the organ are slack
/ loosened"He replied, "They can't play any good tunes/
melodiesto listen. ""Then what will it happen when they are too
tight"He replied, "The sounds are to be cut short." "What will it
happen when they are tuned just right between the slack and the
tight"He replied, "The strings are carried to a good position and
they can be played all those good tunes/ melodiesto listen."

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recite: bequeath: mournful: reflect:
remorsefully: retreat: householder: lute:
string: slack: tight: tune:

Buddha
said, "It is the same way as a body of Shramana
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who wants to study the Way. If he is harmonious in his mind, he
can attain the Way. If he is impetuous/ impulsiveto the Way, his
impulsions will tire out his body. And if his body is tired, he will
become afflicted and painful in his mind. If he becomes afflicted
and painful in his mind, then he will retreat from his practice. If
he retreats from his practice, maybe he will commit many crimes
and makes or does many offenses and sins which will be certainly
increased. The only way he needs to do is to be pure, peaceful,
and happy, then he will not lose the Way."

harmonious: impetuous: afflict:

tire out: offense:

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Section 35When One Is Purified of Defilements, the Brilliance
Remains

Buddha
said, "It is like a person smelting iron or
another metal by means of burning the dross out of it in order to
make the high quality implements or other useful instruments. It
is just the same way as a person who wants to study the Way.
Firstly he must get rid of the defilements in his mind; then his
practicing the Way will become pure."

smelt: dross: implement:

Section 36The Sequence that Leads to Success

Buddha
said, "It is difficult/ hardfor one person to
leave his evil destinies in the three ways of devil which is called
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hells, hungry ghosts and animals/ beastsand becomes a man.
Even if he does become a man, it is still difficult/ hardto be
born as a man rather than as a woman. Even if he does become a
man, it is still difficult/ hardto have six sense organs which are
complete/ perfect. Even if he has six complete sense organs, it
is still difficult/ hardfor him to be born in a central country
which has the teachings of Buddha to spread.

sequence: destiny:

Even if he is born in a central country which has the

teachings of Buddha to spread, it is still difficult/hardto be born
at a time when there is a body of Buddha to be born in the world.
Even if one is born at a time when there is a body of Buddha to be
born in the world, it is still difficult/ hardto encounter the Way.
Even if he does encounter the Way, it is still difficult/ hardto
bring forth faith and believes in Buddhism. Even if he brings forth
faith and believes in Buddhism, it is still difficult/ hardto make
up his mind on the great Bodhi way. Even if he does make up his
mind on the great Bodhi way, it is still difficult/hardto be
beyond cultivation and without any attainment/ certification."

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encounter: bring forth faith:

Section 37Staying Mindful of Moral Precepts Brings Us Close to
the Way

Buddha
said, "My disciples maybe leave from me for
several thousands of miles away, but if they remember my moral
precepts and constantly practice them, they will certainly attain
the fruition of the Way sooner or later. If those who always follow
by my left or right all day long do not observe my moral precepts,
they may see me constantly every day, but in the end they will not
attain the Way."

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Section 38Birth Leads to Death

Once
upon a time on a certain day, Buddha asked one
group of a body of Shramana. He said, "Do you know how long it
is that a person can live in the world"Someone of them replied,
"It is just in a few days." Buddha said to him, "You have not yet
understood the Way." Buddha asked another body of Shramana,
"How long is it that a person can live in the world"The person
answered, "It is just only like a space of a single meal." Buddha
said, "You still have not yet understood the Way." Again Buddha
asked another body of Shramana, "How long is it that a person
can live in the world"He answered, It is just only the length of
a single space of breath." "Buddha said, "It is a very excellent
answer of your idea and opinion. Truly you have understood the
Way."

space: length:

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Section 39The Instructions of Buddha Are Not Biased

Buddha
said, "Those disciples who want to learn the
Buddha Way should believe in teachings and accord with
everything that Buddha has taught them. It is just like the time
when you are tasting honey. It is sweet on the surface and just the
same sweet as in the center or by the sides. My Sutra is just as the

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honey."

biased: accord:

Section 40The Way Is Practiced in the Mind

Buddha
said, "Those groups of Shramana who want to
practice the Way should not be like an ox turning a millstone.
Such a person practices the Way with his body, but his mind is not
on the Way. If his mind is concentrated on the Way, what further
need is he to practice"

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millstone: concentrate:

Section 41A Straight Mind Can Get Rid of Desire

Buddha
said, "One who practices the Way is just like an
ox pulling a heavy load on its neck going through the deep mud.
Though the ox is extremely exhausted, it dares not glance to the
left or the right. Only when it gets out of the mud can it take a
stop to have a rest. The body of Shramana should regard emotion
and desire as being worse than the deep mud; and with an
undeviating and straight mind, he should be mindful of the Way.
Then he can avoid any suffering and pains."

exhaust: glance: regard: undeviating:

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Section 42Understanding that the World Is Illusory

Buddha
said, "I look upon royalty and high positions as
the dust floating through a crack. I look upon treasures of gold
and jade just as broken bricks or tiles or pebbles. I look upon fine
silk clothing just as the cheap cotton clothes. I look upon the
Great Thousand-World universe as a small nut kernel. I look upon
the waters of the Anavatapta Lake as the oil used to anoint on the
feet."

illusory: royalty: crack: jade:

tile: universe: nut: kernel: Anavatapta:
anoint:

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I look upon the expedient means just as a cluster of

jewels created by transformation. I look upon the Unsurpassed
Vehicle just as a dream of glancing gold and riches. I look upon
the Buddha Way just as flowers blooming before my eyes. I look
upon Dhyana Samadhi just as the pillar of Mount Sumeru.

expedient: cluster: create:

transformation: unsurpassed:
vehicle: Dhyana Samadhi: pillar:

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I
look upon Nirvana just as being awake during the day
and night. I look upon inversion and uprightness just as six
dancing dragons. I look upon impartiality and equality just as the
only one true ground. I look upon the flourishing of the teachings
just as those trees blooming during four seasons."

awake: inversion: uprightness: impartiality:

flourish: bloom:

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All
bodies of great Bhikshu had heard what Buddha had
said, were full of great joy. They accepted and followed the
teachings faithfully; and they bowed and withdrew.

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....

2013/10/13
2015/11/16 2016/01/23

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mayawaz@gmail.com

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