52.7 （七）

Thus have I heard:

At one time, the Buddha was at Anāthapiṇḍada's Park in the Jeta Grove near Śrāvastī.

At that time, King Prasenajit went to where the World-Honored One was, bowed his head at the Buddha's feet, and sat to one side. King Prasenajit then said to the World-Honored One, "For those who give, where should they give?"

The World-Honored One told the king, "Give wherever your heart delights."

The king then said to the Buddha, "Where should one give to obtain great merit?"

The Buddha told the king, "You asked where to give, and now you ask about the merit obtained."

The king said to the Buddha, "I now ask the Tathāgata where to give to obtain merit."

The Buddha told the king, "I now ask you in return. You can answer as you please. What do you think, great king? If a kṣatriya prince comes, or a brahmin prince comes, but they are foolish and ignorant, their minds confused and always uncertain, and they come to the king and ask, 'We will respectfully serve the sage king and provide for your needs at all times,' what do you think, great king? Do you need such people by your side?"

The king said to the Buddha, "No, World-Honored One! The reason is that those people are not wise, their minds are uncertain, and they are not suitable for dealing with external enemies."

The Buddha told the king, "What do you think, great king? If kṣatriyas and brahmins have many skillful means, are not afraid or fearful, and can eliminate external enemies, and they come to the king and say, 'We will serve the sage king at all times. We only hope for your gracious acceptance,' what do you think, great king? Would you accept such people?"

The king said to the Buddha, "Yes, World-Honored One! We should accept such people. The reason is that those people are capable of dealing with external enemies, are not afraid or fearful."

The Buddha told the king, "Now, bhikṣus are also like this. They have complete faculties, abandon five and accomplish six, protect one and subdue four. Giving to such people brings the greatest merit."

The king said to the Buddha, "How do bhikṣus abandon five and accomplish six, protect one and subdue four?"

The Buddha told the king, "In this way, bhikṣus abandon the hindrances of greed, anger, sleepiness, agitation, and doubt. This is called abandoning five. How do bhikṣus accomplish six? King, you should know that if bhikṣus see forms, they do not give rise to form-thoughts. Relying on this, they guard the eye faculty, removing evil and unwholesome thoughts to guard the eye faculty. If they hear sounds, smell fragrances, taste flavors, touch tangibles, or have mental consciousness, they do not give rise to mental consciousness-thoughts to guard the mental faculty. In this way, bhikṣus accomplish six. How do bhikṣus guard one? In this way, bhikṣus focus their attention in front. In this way, bhikṣus guard one. How do bhikṣus subdue four? In this way, bhikṣus subdue the demon of the body, the demon of desire, the demon of death, and the demon of the gods, all of which they subdue. In this way, bhikṣus subdue the four. In this way, great king! Abandoning five and accomplishing six, guarding one and subduing four, giving to such people brings immeasurable merit. Great king! Those with wrong views and extreme views, giving to such people is in vain."

At that time, the king said to the Buddha, "So it is, World-Honored One! Giving to such people brings immeasurable merit. If bhikṣus accomplish one Dharma, the merit is still immeasurable, let alone the others. What is the one Dharma? It is mindfulness of the body. The reason is that Nirgrantha Jñātiputra always considers bodily and mental actions, not verbal actions."

The Buddha told the king, "Nirgrantha Jñātiputra is foolish and deluded, his mind is always confused and his consciousness is unstable. This is because that is the teaching of his teacher. The retribution of his bodily actions is nothing to speak of, but mental actions are formless and invisible."

The king said to the Buddha, "Among these three actions, which is the heaviest? Bodily action, verbal action, or mental action?"

The Buddha told the king, "Among these three actions, mental action is the heaviest. Verbal and bodily actions are nothing to speak of."

The king said to the Buddha, "For what reason do you say that mindfulness is the foremost?"

The Buddha told the king, "When a person acts, they first think in their mind, then speak with their mouth. After speaking, they may then commit killing, stealing, or sexual misconduct with their body. The tongue faculty is unstable and has no fixed course. Even if that person were to die, their body faculty and tongue faculty would remain. Great King! Why would that person's body and mouth not be able to act?"

The king said to the Buddha, "It is because that person lacks the mind faculty that this transformation occurs."

The Buddha told the king, "You should know that the mind faculty is the heaviest, while the other two are lighter."

At that time, the World-Honored One spoke this verse:

The mind is the root of phenomena, the mind
is supreme, the mind commands. If one thinks evil
with the mind, one will act and give rise
to it, and experience suffering, like being crushed by
a wheel. The mind is the root of phenomena
the mind is supreme, the mind commands. If one
thinks good with the mind, one will act and
accomplish it, and receive its good rewards, like a
shadow following a form.

At that time, King Prasenajit said to the World-Honored One, "So it is, Tathāgata! For those who do evil, their physical actions are evil, and they follow their actions to fall into evil destinies."

The Buddha said to the king, "What meaning are you observing that you come to ask me, 'For whom is the merit of giving greater?'"

The king said to the Buddha, "I once went to the Nigantha Nataputta and asked him, 'Where should I give alms?' When the Nigantha heard my question, he discussed other matters and did not answer. At that time, the Nigantha said to me, 'The śramaṇa Gautama says that giving to me brings great merit, while others have no merit. You should give to my disciples, not to others. If people give to my disciples, their merit is immeasurable.'"

The Buddha said to the king, "How did you answer him at that time?"

The king said to the Buddha, "At that time, I thought, 'Perhaps it is true that giving to the Tathāgata brings immeasurable merit.' I now ask the World-Honored One, 'Where is the merit immeasurable?' But now the World-Honored One does not praise himself or disparage others."

The Buddha said to the king, "I do not say that giving to me brings more merit than others. But what I say today is that the remaining food in the bowl given to others brings immeasurable merit. With a pure mind, placed in clean water, universally giving rise to this thought, the countless forms that benefit from it, not to mention human form. But, great king! What I say now is that giving to those who uphold the precepts brings immeasurable merit, while giving to those who violate the precepts is not worth mentioning.

"Great King, you should know that it is like a farmer who well cultivates his fields, removing impurities, and sows good seeds in good fields, reaping countless seeds; it is also like that farmer who does not cultivate the fields, does not remove impurities, and sows seeds, the harvest is not worth mentioning. Now the bhikṣus are also like this. If bhikṣus abandon the five and take the six, protect one and subdue four, such people, those who give to them, their merit is immeasurable; giving to those with wrong views is not worth mentioning. It is like, great king! The kṣatriya and brāhmaṇa castes, with no doubts or difficulties, can subdue external enemies, should be viewed as arhat people. Those brāhmaṇa castes with undistracted minds should be viewed as those with wrong views."

At that time, King Prasenajit said to the World-Honored One, "Giving to those who uphold the precepts brings immeasurable merit. From now on, if anyone comes to ask for something, I will never go against their wishes. If the four groups of followers come to ask for something, I will also not go against their wishes. I will provide them with clothing, food and drink, bedding and furnishings, and also give them to the practitioners of the Brahma-way."

The Buddha told him, "Do not say that. The reason is that giving to the animal realm brings immeasurable merit, let alone to a human body. But what I am saying today is that giving to those who uphold the precepts is immeasurable, not to those who violate the precepts."

King Prasenajit said to the Buddha, "I now take refuge in you again. But the World-Honored One is so earnest, even to the point of praising those heretics who slander the World-Honored One. And the World-Honored One always praises those people. The heretics are attached to material gain, and the Tathāgata is not attached to material gain. There are many affairs of state, and I wish to return to my abode."

The Buddha told the king, "It is time for you to know."

At that time, King Prasenajit, having heard the Buddha's teaching, joyfully received and practiced it.