SA 497（四九七） 举罪

Thus have I heard:

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

At that time, Venerable Śāriputra went to where the Buddha was, bowed his head at the Buddha’s feet, sat to one side, and said to the Buddha, “World-Honored One! If a bhikṣu who is accusing wants to accuse another, how many dharmas should he have in order to accuse another?”

The Buddha told Śāriputra, “If a bhikṣu has his mind well-established, he can accuse another with five dharmas. What are the five? Truth, not falsehood; time, not not time; beneficial meaning, not not beneficial meaning; gentleness, not harshness; compassion, not anger. Śāriputra! If a bhikṣu who is accusing has these five dharmas, he can accuse another.”

Śāriputra said to the Buddha, “World-Honored One! If a bhikṣu who is being accused, how many dharmas should he have in order to settle his mind?”

The Buddha told Śāriputra, “If a bhikṣu who is being accused, he should have five dharmas to settle his mind. He should think, 'Where did he get it? Let it be true, not false. Let it be timely, not untimely. Let it be beneficial, not not beneficial. Let it be gentle, not harsh. Let it be compassionate, not angry.' Śāriputra! If a bhikṣu who is being accused has these five dharmas, he can settle his mind.

Śāriputra said to the Buddha, "World-Honored One! I see those who accuse others of faults, who are not true, not true, not timely, not timely, not beneficial, not beneficial, harsh, not gentle, angry, not compassionate. World-Honored One! For those bhikṣus who accuse others of faults, how many dharmas should be used to benefit them and make them repent?"

The Buddha told Śāriputra, "If a bhikṣu who accuses others of faults is not true, he should be benefited with five dharmas to make him repent. He should be told, 'Elder! Your accusation is not true, not true. You should repent. It is not timely, not timely, not beneficial, not beneficial, harsh, not gentle, angry, not compassionate. You should repent.' Śāriputra! If a bhikṣu who accuses others of faults is not true, he should be benefited with these five dharmas to make him repent. It will also prevent bhikṣus in the future from falsely accusing others of faults."

Śāriputra said to the Buddha, "World-Honored One! If a bhikṣu who is accused of faults is not true, how many dharmas should he use to prevent repentance?"

The Buddha told Śāriputra, "If a bhikṣu who is accused of faults is not true, he should use five dharmas to stabilize his mind and not repent. He should think, 'That bhikṣu accused me of faults, but it is not true, not true. It is not timely, not timely. It is not beneficial, not beneficial. It is harsh, not gentle. It is angry, not compassionate. I am truly not repenting.' If a bhikṣu who is accused of faults is not true, he should use these five dharmas to stabilize his mind and not repent."

Śāriputra said to the Buddha, "World-Honored One! If a bhikṣu accuses another bhikṣu of faults, and it is true, not false, timely, not untimely, beneficial, not unbeneficial, gentle, not harsh, compassionate, not angry, how many dharmas should the bhikṣu who accuses the other bhikṣu of faults use to benefit him and prevent him from changing?"

The Buddha told Śāriputra, "If a bhikṣu who accuses another bhikṣu of faults is true, he should use five dharmas to benefit him and prevent him from changing. He should say, 'Elder! You accused me of faults, and it is true, not false. It is timely, not untimely. It is beneficial, not unbeneficial. It is gentle, not harsh. It is compassionate, not angry.' Śāriputra! If a bhikṣu who accuses another bhikṣu of faults is true, he should use these five dharmas to benefit him and prevent him from changing. It will also prevent bhikṣus who accuse others of faults in the future from changing."

Śāriputra said to the Buddha, "World-Honored One! If a bhikṣu is accused of faults by another bhikṣu, and it is true, how many dharmas should he use to benefit himself and prevent himself from changing?"

The Buddha told Śāriputra, "If a bhikṣu is accused of faults by another bhikṣu, and it is true, he should use five dharmas to benefit himself and prevent himself from changing. He should say, 'That bhikṣu accused me of faults, and it is true, not false. You should not change. It is timely, not untimely. It is beneficial, not unbeneficial. It is gentle, not harsh. It is compassionate, not angry. You should not change.'"

Śāriputra said to the Buddha, "World-Honored One! I see bhikṣus who are accused of faults by others, and it is true, but they are angry. World-Honored One! How many dharmas should a bhikṣu who is accused of faults by others, and it is true, but is angry, use to awaken himself from his anger and hatred?"

The Buddha told Śāriputra, "If a bhikṣu is accused of faults by another bhikṣu, and it is true, but he is angry, he should use five dharmas to awaken himself from his anger and hatred. He should say to the other bhikṣu, 'Elder! That bhikṣu accused you of faults, and it is true, not false. You should not be angry and hateful. It is timely, not untimely. It is beneficial, not unbeneficial. It is gentle, not harsh. It is compassionate, not angry. You should not be angry and hateful.' Śāriputra! If a bhikṣu is accused of faults by another bhikṣu, and it is true, but he is angry, he should use these five dharmas to awaken himself from his anger and hatred."

Śāriputra said to the Buddha, "World-Honored One! If someone accuses me of faults, whether true or false, I will calm my mind towards those two people. If it is true, I will know it myself. If it is false, I will awaken myself and say, 'This is false. I now know for myself that I do not have this fault.' World-Honored One! I will do as the World-Honored One has said in the Sutra on the Simile of the Woodcutter, teaching the śramaṇas: 'If thieves come and saw your body apart, you should not give rise to evil thoughts and evil words towards the thieves, for that would create obstacles for yourselves. Therefore, bhikṣus! If your bodies are sawn apart, you should not give rise to evil thoughts or change your minds, or give rise to evil words, creating obstacles for yourselves. Towards those people, you should give rise to a mind of compassion, without resentment or hatred. You should fully abide in the right absorption of compassion towards the four directions. You should train accordingly.' Therefore, World-Honored One! I will do as the World-Honored One has said. I will calmly endure the suffering of having my body sawn apart, let alone small suffering and small slander that I cannot endure? The benefits and desires of a śramaṇa are to cut off unwholesome dharmas and cultivate wholesome dharmas. Here, one should diligently and skillfully cut off unwholesome dharmas and cultivate wholesome dharmas, guarding oneself well, focusing one's attention, and practicing without negligence. One should train accordingly."

Śāriputra said to the Buddha, "World-Honored One! If I accuse another bhikṣu of faults, whether true or false, timely or untimely, beneficial or unbeneficial, gentle or harsh, compassionate or angry, but that accused bhikṣu is angry and hateful.

The Buddha asked Śāriputra, "What kind of bhikṣu, when accused of faults, gives rise to anger and hatred?"

Śāriputra said to the Buddha, "World-Honored One! If that bhikṣu is deceitful, fraudulent, untrustworthy, shameless, lazy, forgetful, unfocused, of poor wisdom, slow, contrary to seclusion, disrespectful of the precepts, not caring for the monastic life, not diligent in practice, not self-reflective, having renounced for the sake of livelihood, not seeking nirvāṇa, then such a person, when I accuse them of faults, will give rise to anger and hatred."

The Buddha asked Śāriputra, "What kind of bhikṣu, when accused by you, does not become angry and hateful?"

Śāriputra said to the Buddha, "World-Honored One! If there is a bhikṣu who is not deceitful, not fraudulent, not deceptive, who has faith, shame, diligence, right mindfulness, right concentration, wisdom, not slow, not abandoning seclusion, deeply respecting the precepts, caring for the monastic practices, honoring nirvāṇa, having renounced for the sake of the Dharma, not for the sake of life. Such a bhikṣu, when I accuse them of faults, will joyfully accept it, like drinking sweet dew. It is like a kṣatriya or brāhman woman, having bathed and purified herself, obtaining a wonderful flower, loving it and wearing it on her head. In the same way, a bhikṣu who is not deceitful, not fraudulent, not deceptive, who has right faith, shame, diligence, right mindfulness, right concentration, wisdom, not slow, keeping in mind seclusion, deeply respecting the precepts, caring for the monastic practices, diligently practicing self-reflection, having renounced for the sake of the Dharma, aspiring for nirvāṇa. Such a bhikṣu, when I accuse them of faults, will joyfully accept it, like drinking sweet dew."

The Buddha told Śāriputra, "If that bhikṣu is deceitful, fraudulent, deceptive, without faith, without shame, lazy, forgetful, unfocused, of bad wisdom, slow, going against seclusion, not respecting the precepts, not caring for the monastic practices, not seeking nirvāṇa, having renounced for the sake of life. Such a bhikṣu should not be instructed or spoken to. Why? Because such bhikṣus destroy the holy life. If that bhikṣu is not deceitful, not fraudulent, not deceptive, has faith, shame, diligence, right mindfulness, right concentration, wisdom, not slow, keeping in mind seclusion, deeply respecting the precepts, caring for the monastic practices, aspiring for nirvāṇa, having renounced for the sake of the Dharma. Such a bhikṣu should be instructed. Why? Because such bhikṣus can cultivate the holy life and can establish themselves.

Having spoken this sūtra, the Venerable Śāriputra rejoiced and upheld it.