universes

Diamond Sutra – Blessings and Wisdom Beyond Compare – 金刚经 – 福智无比

How much will you contribute to support yourself?  How much more would you contribute to support your family?  How much more will you contribute for your community, country and the world?   If we contribute 10 dollars, we can buy someone a meal; if we contribute 10 million dollars,   we can perhaps build a school; if we contribute 10 billion dollars, maybe we can establish a fund which feeds an organization or a small country.  What if we contribute the wealth of the entire world, in all potential worlds and  universes?  We would imagine that a lot could be done, which leads to infinite merit… Yet, according to the all knowing Buddha (who possesses 5 eyes which penetrate all truths in this universe), the merit of contribute all wealth of all universes, is not even comparable to the merit of studying, following, practicing, and sharing this Sutra.  Do you know why?  Do you believe?

* * *

福智无比分第二十四

BLESSINGS AND WISDOM BEYOND COMPARE, TWENTY-FOUR

须菩提!若三千大千世界中所有诸须弥山王,如是等七宝聚,有人持用布施;若人以此《般若波罗蜜经》,乃至四句偈等,受持读诵、为他人说,于前福德百分不及一,百千万亿分,乃至算数譬喻所不能及。
“Subhuti, if (on the one hand) a man, in his practice of charity (dana) gives away the seven treasures piled up in a heap as great as all the Mounts Sumeru in the Universe put together, and (on the other hand) another man receives, holds (in mind) reads and recites even a four-line stanza of this Prajna-paramita Sutra, and expounds it to others, the merit resulting from the former’s dana will not be worth one-hundredth, one-thousandth, one-ten-thousandth and one-hundred thousandth part of that obtained by the latter, as no conceivable comparison can be made between the two.”你会为自己的生活付出多少? 又会为家人的生活付出多少?你更会为你的社区,国家和世界付出多少? 如果我们付出10块钱,我们可以帮人买到一顿饭吃,如果我们付出1000万块钱,我们或许可以建立一所学校,如果我们付出100个亿,也许我们可以设立一个基金,来支持一个慈善机构或者是一个小国家。 如果我们付出整个世界的财富,和所有潜在世界的财富呢? 可以想像,我们可以做很多,成就无量功德…   然而,根据全知的佛于这一章的描述,付出一切世间一切财富的功德,相比于修习和分享这部经典的福德,前者根本不及后者的百千万亿分之一,没有可比性。 为什么呢?你相信吗?

* * *

福智无比分第二十四

须菩提!若三千大千世界中所有诸须弥山王,如是等七宝聚,有人持用布施;若人以此《般若波罗蜜经》,乃至四句偈等,受持读诵、为他人说,于前福德百分不及一,百千万亿分,乃至算数譬喻所不能及。


Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *