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World Honoured One, future generations will gradually move farther

away from the Buddha and (will meet) heretics as many as the sand
grains in the Ganges. In order to control their minds for entry into
Samdhi, what should they do to set u! seats of study and learning
("odhimandala)
to #ee! the demon away and avoid failure (in their cultivation) of the
mind set on enlightenment$
%he Buddha !raised &nanda and said' ()cellent, &nanda, e)cellent, (it
is good that) you as# a"out the setting u! of "odhimandalas for the
!rotection of living "eings against failure in the *harma ending age.
+isten attentively to what I now tell you..
&nanda and the assem"ly reverently awaited the (holy) teaching.
Discipline & its Three Decisive Steps:
Precepts, Dhyna, & Prajna
%he Buddha said' &nanda, you have always heard me teach a"out
disci!line (vinaya) which consists in the !ractice of three decisive
ste!s, the control of mind, called !rece!ts which leads to stillness
(dhyna) and thence to wisdom (!ra,n). %his is called the threefold
study of the su!ramundane way.
Prohibition against carnality
&nanda, why is control of mind called !rece!ts$ If all living "eings in
the si) worlds of e)istence a"stain from se)ual desire, they will not "e
su",ect to the continual round of "irths and deaths. -our !ractice of
Samdhi should free you from de.lements "ut they cannot "e
eliminated if your lustful mind is not wi!ed out. (ven after you have
ac/uired such wisdom, if you fail to #ill sensuality, then when dhyna
manifests, you will fall into the way of demons in which their #ing ta#es
the high, his male su",ects the middle and his female su",ects the low
ran#. %hese demons have their following and "oast of having attained
the Su!reme 0ath. &fter my nirvna, in the *harma ending age, these
su",ects of 1ra will "e found
everywhere, will encourage sensuality and will disguise themselves as
men of good counsel (#alynamitras) and cause living "eings to fall
into the !it of lust there"y missing the Bodhi !ath.
-ou should teach worldly men who !ractise Samdhi to cut o2 their
lustful minds at the very start. %his is called the Buddha3s !rofound
teaching of the .rst decisive deed. %herefore, &nanda, if carnality is not
wi!ed out, the !ractice of dhyna is li#e coo#ing gravel to ma#e rice4
even if it is
"oiled for hundreds and thousands of aeons, it will "e only hot gravel.
Why$ Because instead of rice grains it contains only stones. If you set
your lustful mind on see#ing the !rofound fruit of Buddhahood,
whatever you may reali5e will "e carnal "y nature. If your root is
lustful, you will have to transmigrate through three unha!!y ways (to
the hells of .re, "lood and swords) from which you will not esca!e. How
then can you .nd the way to cultivate the %athgata3s nirvna$ -ou
should cut o2 "oth the sensual "ody and mind until even the very idea
of doing so ceases4 only then can you ho!e to see# the Buddha3s
(nlightenment. %his teaching of mine is that of the Buddha whereas
any other one is that of evil demons (!!iyn).
Prohibition against killing
&nanda, if living "eings in the si) worlds of e)istence cease to #ill they
will not "e su",ect to the continual round of "irths and deaths. -our
!ractice of Samdhi should free you from de.lernents "ut if your
murderous mind is not cut o2, they cannot "e eliminated. -ou may
ac/uire much wisdom "ut if you fail to sto! #illing, when dhyna
manifests, you will fall into the way of s!irits, in which the high ran# is
attained "y the mighty ghost (!reta), the middle one "y 6ying ya#sas
and chief ghosts, and the low one "y earth7"ound r#sasas. %hese
have followers and "oast that they have attained the Su!reme 0ath.
&fter my nirvna, in the *harma ending age, these ghosts will "e found
throughout in the world, and will
"oast of how they feed on 6esh which leads them to reali5e Bodhi.
&nanda, I !ermit the "hi#sus to eat only the .ve #inds of !ure 6esh
which are the !roduct of my transcendental !ower of transformation
and not of animal slaughter. -ou, Brahman, live in a country where
vegeta"les do not
grow "ecause it is too dam! and hot and "ecause of all the gravel and
roc#. I use my s!iritual !ower of com!assion to !rovide you with
illusory meat to satisfy your a!!etite. How then, after my nirvna, can
you eat the 6esh of living "eings and so !retend to "e my disci!le$ -ou
should #now that those who eat meat, though their minds may o!en
and reali5ea sem"lance of Samdhi, are "ut great r#sasas who, after
this life, will sin# "ac# into the "itter ocean of samsra and cannot "e
my disci!les. %hey will #ill and devour one another ceaselessly4 how
then can they esca!e from the three worlds of e)istence$
In addition you should teach worldly men who !ractise Samdhi not to
#ill. %his is called the Buddha.s !rofound teaching of the second
decisive deed. %herefore, &nanda, if #illing is not sto!!ed, the !ractice
of dhyna7samdhi is li#e shutting one3s ears while crying in the ho!e
that !eo!le will not hear one3s voice, or li#e trying to hide something
that is already e)!osed to full view. &ll "hi#sus who live !urely and all
Bodhisattvas always refrain even from wal#ing on the grass4 how can
they agree to u!root it$ How then can those who !ractise great
com!assion feed on the 6esh and "lood of living "eings$ If "hi#sus do
not wear garments made of (8hinese) sil#, "oots of local leather and
furs, and refrain from consuming mil#, cream and "utter, they will
really "e li"erated from the worldly4 after !aying their former de"ts,
they will not transmigrate in the three realms of e)istence. Why$
Because "y using animal !roducts, one creates causes (which are
always followed "y e2ects), ,ust li#e a man who eats cereals grown in
the soil and whose feet cannot leave the ground. If a man can (control)
his "ody and mind and there"y refrains from eating animal 6esh and
wearing animal !roducts, I say he will really "e li"erated. %his teaching
of mine is that of the Buddha whereas any other is that of evil demons.
Prohibition against stealing
9urther, &nanda, if living "eings in the si) worlds of e)istence cease to
steal, they will not "e su",ect to the continual round of "irths and
deaths. -our !ractice of Samdhi should free you from de.lements, "ut
if your ro""er3s mind is not wi!ed out, they cannot "e eliminated. -ou
may ac/uire much wisdom "ut if you do not sto! stealing, when
dhyna manifests, you will fall into the way of devils in which the high
ran# is attained "y cunning s!irits, the intermediate one "y evil s!irits
and the low one "y "edevilled men. %hese devils have their following
and "oast that they attain Su!reme Bodhi. &fter my nirvna, in the
*harma ending age, these devils will "e found everywhere in the
world. %hey will hide their !er.dy, !ose as men of good counsel and
declare that they have won the Su!erior *harma to deceive the
ignorant who will thus lose their minds4 wherever they !ass, they will
cause untold miseries to their "elievers.
%his is why I teach the "hi#sus to "eg for food so that they can
overcome cu!idity and reali5e Bodhi. %hey do not coo# themselves and
!ass their remaining years as transitory travellers in the three realms
of e)istence to !rove their last transmigration without incarnating
again. How can thieves who wear the Sangha ro"e, act as %athgata7
mongers and commit #armic deeds, claim that they all !reach the
Buddha *harma$ %hey are not (true) leavers of home and are not
ordained H:nayna "hi#;us. %hey deceive an incalcula"le num"er of
living "eings causing them to fall into the realm of unintermittent hells.
&fter my nirvna, if there is a "hi#su who, in to#en of his determination
to !ractise Samdhi, lights in front of an image of the %athgata a torch
(!lanted in his "ody) or "urns a "one of his .nger or an incense stic#
inserted in his 6esh, I say he will thus re!ay all his #armic de"ts since
the time without "eginning, will leave the worldly way for ever and will
esca!e from the stream of transmigration, for although he has not yet
attained Su!reme Bodhi, his mind is already set decisively on the
*harma. However, without these small sacri.ces, even if he reali5es
something, he will "e re"orn as a human "eing and will have to re!ay
his former de"ts, as I did when I had to eat the grain fed to horses.
%hen you should teach worldly men who !ractise Samdhi not to steal.
%his is called the Buddha3s !rofound teaching of the third decisive
deed. &nanda, if stealing is not sto!!ed, the !ractice of dhyna7
samdhi is li#e !ouring water into a vessel which will never hold it in
s!ite of the
!assing of aeons countless as dust. If this "hi#su does not #ee!
garments in e)cess of what he needs, gives to others all food in e)cess
of his re/uirement, ,oins his two !alms to salute the community and
regards as !raise a"use and "lows . that is if he is ready to give away
his own 6esh, "ones and "lood, and if he does not !ose as an e)!ert
inter!reter of the e)!edient incom!lete doctrine and does not teach it
to "eginners in order not to mislead them, the Buddha will seal his
reali5ation of Samdhi. %his teaching of mine is that of the Buddha,
whereas any other is that of evil demons.
Prohibition against lying
&nanda, if living "eings in the si) worlds of e)istence, after cleansing
their "odies and minds from #illing, stealing and carnality, continue to
lie, they will fail to reali5e Samdhi and will "ecome demons (.lled
with) !ride and !re,udice. &s a result, they will lose the %athgata seed
and, in their search for worldly fame, will claim that they have
achieved and reali5ed what really they have not. %hey "oast of their
reali5ation of the states of srota7!anna, sa#rdgmin, angmin,
arhat and !ratye#a7"uddha and the ten stages of Bodhisattva
develo!ment, in order to attract "elievers who will ma#e o2erings to
them for the atonement of sins. %hese un"elievers (icchanti#a) will
destroy the Buddha seed as easily as cutting into the trun# of a !alm
with a shar! cho!!er (to sto! it from growing). %he Buddha !redicts
that these !eo!le will destroy their e)cellent roots, will not regain
common sense, will sin# into the three oceans (realms) of su2ering and
will never achieve Samdhi.
I now command Bodhisattvas and &rhats to a!!ear, in the *harma
ending age after my nirvna, in all a!!ro!riate transformation "odies
to save those caught in the wheel of samsra. %hey should come as
mon#s, lay disci!les, !rinces, ministers, "oys, girls, and even as
!rostitutes, widows, rogues, thieves, "utchers, !edlars, etc., to #ee!
com!any with them and !raise the Buddha *harma in their !resence
so as to convert them and urge them to !ractise it. In so doing they
should not disclose that they are true Bodhisattvas and &rhats. %hey
will not reveal to "eginners the Buddha3s esoteric cause "ut when they
are a"out to die, they will secretly show some !roof of their
enlightenment (to increase their disci!les3 faith in the *harma). How
then can such !ersons deceive living "eings "y telling deli"erate lies$
-ou should teach worldly men who !ractise Samdhi not to lie. %his is
called the Buddha.s !rofound teaching of the fourth decisive deed.
&nanda, if lying is not sto!!ed, the !ractice of dhyna7samdhi is li#e
co!ying in e)crement a sandalwood statue and e)!ecting it to "e
fragrant, which is im!ossi"le. I teach the "hi#sus to develo! a
straightforward mind which is the tem!le of enlightenment
("odhimandala) and to "e righteous in their common acts of daily life,
while wal#ing, standing, sitting and reclining. How can a liar !retend
that he has reali5ed the Su!reme *harma$ %his is li#e a !oor man
!roclaiming himself a #ing4 he will only invite trou"le and misfortune.
Still less can he usur! the (throne of the) <ing of the +aw. If the causal
ground is false, its fruit will "e distorted, and the /uest of Buddha.s
(nlightenment will "ecome im!ossi"le.
If a "hi#su (develo!s) a mind as straight as a lute7string and is truthful
under all circumstances, he will avoid, in his !ractice of Samdhi, all
trou"les caused "y the demon. I will seal his reali5ation of the
Bodhisattva3s Su!reme Bodhi. %his teaching of mine is that of the
Buddha whereas any other one is that of evil demons..