115. （一一五）蜜丸喻经

I have heard thus:

At one time, the Buddha was traveling in the Śākya country, staying in Kapilavastu.

At that time, the World-Honored One, having passed the night, put on his robe and took his alms bowl in the morning to enter Kapilavastu for alms. After eating, in the middle of the day, he put away his robe and bowl, washed his hands and feet, put his sitting mat on his shoulder, went to the Śākya monastery in the bamboo grove, entered the great forest, went to the foot of a tree, spread out his sitting mat, and sat cross-legged.

Then, the Śākya with the staff walked with his staff in the middle of the day, leisurely approached the Buddha, exchanged greetings, stood with his staff in front of the Buddha, and asked the World-Honored One, "Śramaṇa Gautama! What do you take as the basis? What kind of Dharma do you teach?"

The World-Honored One replied, "Śākya! If the entire world, including gods, Māra, Brahmā, śramaṇas, brāhmaṇas, from humans to gods, were to be made to be without disputes, to cultivate detachment and purity, to be free from deceit and hypocrisy, to eliminate regret, to be without attachment to existence or non-existence, and to be without thought, that would be my basis; the teaching would be the same as this."

Then, the Śākya with the staff, having heard what the Buddha said, did not approve or disapprove, and the Śākya with the staff left with his head bowed.

Then, not long after the Śākya with the staff left, in the afternoon, the World-Honored One rose from his seat, went to the lecture hall, sat down on the prepared seat in front of the assembly of monks, and said to the monks, "This morning, I put on my robe, took my bowl, and entered Kapilavastu for alms. After eating, in the middle of the day, I put away my robe and bowl, washed my hands and feet, put my sitting mat on my shoulder, went to the Śākya monastery in the bamboo grove, entered the great forest, went to the foot of a tree, spread out my sitting mat, and sat down cross-legged. Then, the Śākya with the staff, walking with his staff, came to me in the middle of the day, paid his respects, stood in front of me with his staff, and asked me, 'śramaṇa Gautama! What is your basis? What do you teach?' I replied, 'Śākya! If the entire world, including gods, Māra, Brahmā, śramaṇas, brāhmaṇas, from humans to gods, were to be made to be without disputes, to cultivate detachment and purity, to be free from deceit and hypocrisy, to eliminate regret, to be without attachment to existence or non-existence, and to be without thought, that would be my basis; the teaching would be the same as this.' The Śākya with the staff, having heard what I said, did not approve or disapprove, and the Śākya with the staff left with his head bowed."

Then, a certain monk rose from his seat, bared his right shoulder, put his palms together toward the Buddha, and said, "World-Honored One! How can the entire world, including gods, Māra, Brahmā, śramaṇas, brāhmaṇas, from humans to gods, be made to be without disputes? How does one cultivate detachment and attain pure brāhmanhood? How does one abandon deceit and hypocrisy, eliminate regret, and be without attachment to existence or non-existence, and also without thought?"

The World-Honored One said, "Monk! If one relies on thoughts to renounce the world and study the path, and cultivates thoughts of past, future, and present dharmas, without loving, delighting in, being attached to, or dwelling in them, this is said to be the edge of suffering. The afflictions of desire, anger, existence, pride, ignorance, views, and doubt, as well as disputes, hatred, flattery, deceit, false speech, divisive speech, and countless evil and unwholesome dharmas, are said to be the edge of suffering."

The Buddha spoke thus, then rose from his seat and entered the room to sit in meditation.

Then the monks thought, "Venerable friends! Know that the World-Honored One has briefly explained this meaning without elaborating, and then rose from his seat and entered the room to sit in meditation. 'If one relies on thoughts to renounce the world and study the path, and cultivates thoughts of past, future, and present dharmas, without loving, delighting in, being attached to, or dwelling in them, this is said to be the edge of suffering. The afflictions of desire, anger, existence, pride, ignorance, views, and doubt, as well as disputes, hatred, flattery, deceit, false speech, divisive speech, and countless evil and unwholesome dharmas, are said to be the edge of suffering.'" They further thought, "Venerable friends! Who can elaborate on the meaning briefly explained by the World-Honored One?" They further thought, "Venerable Mahākātyāyana is always praised by the World-Honored One and the wise practitioners of the holy life. Venerable Mahākātyāyana can elaborate on the meaning briefly explained by the World-Honored One. Venerable friends! Let us go together to Venerable Mahākātyāyana and request him to explain this meaning. If Venerable Mahākātyāyana explains it, we shall uphold it well."

Then the monks went to Venerable Mahākātyāyana, exchanged greetings, sat down to one side, and said, "Venerable Mahākātyāyana! Know that the World-Honored One has briefly explained this meaning without elaborating, and then rose from his seat and entered the room to sit in meditation. 'Monks! If one relies on thoughts to renounce the world and study the path, and cultivates thoughts of past, future, and present dharmas, without loving, delighting in, being attached to, or dwelling in them, this is said to be the edge of suffering. The afflictions of desire, anger, existence, pride, ignorance, views, and doubt, as well as disputes, hatred, flattery, deceit, false speech, divisive speech, and countless evil and unwholesome dharmas, are said to be the edge of suffering.' We then thought, 'Venerable friends! Who can elaborate on the meaning briefly explained by the World-Honored One?' We further thought, 'Venerable Mahākātyāyana is always praised by the World-Honored One and the wise practitioners of the holy life. Venerable Mahākātyāyana can elaborate on the meaning briefly explained by the World-Honored One.' We only wish that Venerable Mahākātyāyana would explain it out of compassion."

Then Venerable Mahākātyāyana said, "Venerable friends! Listen to my explanation of a parable. The wise understand the meaning through parables. Venerable friends! It is like a person who wants to obtain the fruit. In order to obtain the fruit, he carries an axe into the forest. He sees a big tree with roots, trunk, joints, branches, leaves, flowers, and fruit. He does not touch the roots, trunk, joints, and fruit, but only touches the branches and leaves. The meaning you speak of is also like this. The World-Honored One is present. You should go to him and ask about this meaning. Why is that? Venerable friends! Know that the World-Honored One is the eye, the wisdom, the meaning, the Dharma, the lord of the Dharma, the leader of the Dharma, who speaks the true meaning and manifests all meanings. Venerable friends! You should go to the World-Honored One and ask about this meaning: 'World-Honored One! What is this? What is the meaning of this?' As the World-Honored One explains it, you should uphold it well."

The monks replied, "Yes, Venerable Mahākātyāyana! The World-Honored One is the eye, the wisdom, the meaning, the Dharma, the lord of the Dharma, the leader of the Dharma, who speaks the true meaning and manifests all meanings. We should go to the World-Honored One and ask about this meaning: 'World-Honored One! What is this? What is the meaning of this?' As the World-Honored One explains it, we will uphold it well. However, Venerable Mahākātyāyana is always praised by the World-Honored One and the wise practitioners of the holy life. Venerable Mahākātyāyana can elaborate on the meaning briefly explained by the World-Honored One. We only wish that Venerable Mahākātyāyana would explain it out of compassion."

Venerable Mahākātyāyana said to the monks, "Venerable friends! Listen to what I say. Venerable friends! Due to the eye and forms, eye-consciousness arises. The coming together of these three things is contact. Due to contact, there is feeling. If there is feeling, there is perception. If there is perception, there is intention. If there is intention, there is memory. If there is memory, there is discrimination. A monk, due to this memory, leaves home to study the path, thinking and practicing. In this, past, future, and present dharmas are not loved, not enjoyed, not attached to, and not dwelled upon. This is said to be the end of suffering. The defilements of desire, anger, existence, pride, ignorance, views, doubt, disputes, hatred, flattery, deceit, lying, divisive speech, and countless other evil and unwholesome dharmas are said to be the end of suffering. In this way, the ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind, due to dharmas, give rise to mental consciousness. The coming together of these three things is contact. Due to contact, there is feeling. If there is feeling, there is perception. If there is perception, there is intention. If there is intention, there is memory. If there is memory, there is discrimination. A monk, due to this memory, leaves home to study the path, thinking and practicing. In this, past, future, and present dharmas are not loved, not enjoyed, not attached to, and not dwelled upon. This is said to be the end of suffering. The defilements of desire, anger, existence, pride, ignorance, views, doubt, disputes, hatred, flattery, deceit, lying, divisive speech, and countless other evil and unwholesome dharmas are said to be the end of suffering.

Venerable friends! A monk, having eliminated the eye, forms, and eye-consciousness, if there is contact and the designation of contact, that is not so. If contact is not designated, if there is feeling and the designation of feeling, that is not so. If feeling is not designated, if there is memory, leaving home to study the path, thinking, and practicing, that is not so. In this way, the ear, nose, tongue, body, having eliminated the mind, dharmas, and mental consciousness, if there is contact and the designation of contact, that is not so. If contact is not designated, if there is feeling and the designation of feeling, that is not so. If feeling is not designated, if there is memory, leaving home to study the path, thinking, and practicing, that is not so.

"Venerable friends! A monk, due to the eye, forms, and eye-consciousness, if there is contact and the designation of contact, there is certainly such a place. Due to the designation of contact, if there is feeling and the designation of feeling, there is certainly such a place. Due to the designation of feeling, if there is memory, leaving home to study the path, thinking, and practicing, there is certainly such a place. In this way, the ear, nose, tongue, body, due to the mind, dharmas, and mental consciousness, if there is contact and the designation of contact, there is certainly such a place. Due to the designation of contact, if there is feeling and the designation of feeling, there is certainly such a place. Due to the designation of feeling, if there is memory, leaving home to study the path, thinking, and practicing, there is certainly such a place. Venerable friends! The World-Honored One briefly explained this meaning, without elaborating. He then rose from his seat, entered the room, and sat in meditation. 'Monks! If a person, due to memory, leaves home to study the path, thinks and practices, and past, future, and present dharmas are not loved, not enjoyed, not attached to, and not dwelled upon, this is said to be the end of suffering. The defilements of desire, anger, existence, pride, ignorance, views, doubt, disputes, hatred, flattery, deceit, lying, divisive speech, and countless other evil and unwholesome dharmas are said to be the end of suffering.' The World-Honored One briefly explained this meaning, without elaborating. I have explained it in this way using these phrases and these words. Venerable friends! You may go to the Buddha and ask him about it. If it is as the World-Honored One has said, you may then accept and uphold it."

Then the monks, having heard what Venerable Mahākātyāyana said, accepted and recited it well. They rose from their seats, circumambulated Venerable Mahākātyāyana three times to the right, and departed. They went to where the Buddha was, bowed their heads at his feet, sat to one side, and said: "World-Honored One! The World-Honored One briefly explained this meaning, without elaborating, and then rose from his seat and entered the room to sit in meditation. Venerable Mahākātyāyana explained it in this way using these phrases and these words.

The World-Honored One, having heard this, praised: "Excellent! Excellent! Among my disciples, there are those with eyes, wisdom, the Dharma, and meaning. Why is this? Because the teacher briefly explains this meaning to the disciples, without elaborating, and the disciples explain it in this way using these phrases and these words. As the monk Mahākātyāyana has said, you should accept and uphold it in this way. Why is this? Because the meaning of contemplation should be explained in this way. Monk! It is like a person who, while walking in a place without people, in a mountain forest, suddenly obtains a honey pill, and according to what they eat, they obtain its taste. In this way, a noble son in my true Dharma and Vinaya, according to what they contemplate, obtains its taste. Contemplating the eyes, they obtain the taste. Contemplating the ears, nose, tongue, body, and contemplating the mind, they obtain the taste."

At that time, Venerable Ānanda was holding a whisk and attending to the Buddha. Then Venerable Ānanda joined his palms towards the Buddha and said: "World-Honored One! What is the name of this teaching? How should I uphold it?"

The World-Honored One said: "Ānanda! This teaching is called the Honey Pill Parable. You should uphold it."

Then the World-Honored One told the monks: "You should receive and recite this Honey Pill Parable teaching. Why is that? Monks! This Honey Pill Parable has the Dharma and meaning, is the basis of the holy life, leads to the path, leads to enlightenment, and leads to nirvāṇa. If a noble son shaves off his hair and beard, puts on the monastic robe, with true faith leaves home for homelessness, and studies the path, he should uphold this Honey Pill Parable well."

The Buddha spoke thus. Venerable Ānanda and the monks, having heard the Buddha's words, rejoiced and received them respectfully.