The Filial Piety Sutra
The Buddha Speaks about the Deep Kindness
of Parents and the Difficulty in Repaying it.
Thus
I have heard, at one time, the Buddha dwelt at Shravasti, in the
Jeta Grove, in the Garden of the Benefactor of Orphans and the
Solitary, together with a gathering of great Bhikshus, twelve
hundred fifty in all and with all of the Bodhisattvas, thirty-eight
thousand in all.
At
that time, the World Honoured One led the great assembly on a walk
toward the south. Suddenly they came upon a pile of bones beside
the road. The World Honoured One turned to face them, placed his
five limbs on the ground, and bowed respectfully.
Ananda
put his palms together and asked the World Honoured One, "The
Tathagata is the GreatTeacher of the Triple Realm and the
compassionate father of beings of the four kinds of births. He has
the respect and reverence of the entire assembly. What is the
reason that he now bows to a pile of dried bones?
The
Buddha told Ananda, "Although all of you are my foremost disciples
and have been members of the Sangha for a long time, you still have
not achieved far-reaching understanding. This pile of bones could
have belonged to my ancestors from former lives. They could have
been my parents in many past lives. That is the reason I now bow to
them." The Buddha continued speaking to Ananda, "These bones we are
looking at can be divided into two groups. One group is composed of
the bones of men, which are heavy and white in color. The other
group is composed of the bones of women, which are light and black
in color."
Ananda
said to the Buddha, "World Honoured One, when men are alive in the world, they
adorn their bodies with robes, belts, shoes, hats and other fine
attire, so that they clearly assume a male appearance. When women
are alive, they put on cosmetics, perfumes, powders, and elegant
fragrances to adorn their bodies, so that they clearly assume a
female appearance. Yet, once man and women die, all
that is left are their bones. How does one tell them apart? Please
teach us how you are able to distinguish them."
The
Buddha answered Ananda, "If when
men are in the world, they enter temples, listen to explanations of
Sutras and Vinaya texts, make obeisance to the Triple Gem, and
recite the Buddha's names, then when they die, their bones will be
heavy and white in colour. Most women in the world have
little wisdom and are saturated with emotion. They give birth to
and raise children, feeling that this is their duty. Each child
relies on its mother's milk for life and nourishment, and that milk
is a transformation of the mother's blood. Each child can drink up
to one thousand two hundred gallons of its mother's milk. Because
of this drain on the mother's body whereby the child takes milk for
its nourishment, the mother becomes worn and haggard and so her
bones turn black in colour and are light in weight."
When
Ananda heard these words, he felt a pain in his heart as if he had
been stabbled and wept silently. He said to the World Honoured
One, "How can one repay one's
mother's kindness and virtue?"
The
Buddha told Ananda, "Listen well, and I will explain it for you in
detail. The fetus grows in its mother's womb for ten lunar months.
What bitterness she goes though while it dwells there! In the first
month of pregnancy, the life of the fetus is as precarious as a
dewdrop on grass: how likely that it will not last from morning to
evening but will evaporate by midday!"
"During
the second lunar month, the embryo congeals like curds. In the
third month it is like coagulated blood. During the fourth month of
pregnancy, the fetus begins to assume a slightly human form. During
the fifth month in the womb, the child's five limbs- two legs, two
arms, and a head- start to take shape. In the sixth lunar month of
pregnancy, the child begins to develop the essences of the six
sense faculties: the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind.
During the seventh month, the three hundred sixty bones and joints
are formed, and the eighty-four thousand hair pores are also
complete. In the eight lunar month of the pregnancy, the intellect
and the nine apertures are formed. By the ninth month the fetus has
learned to assimilate the different nutrients of the foods it eats.
For example, it can assimilate the essence of peaches, pears,
certain plant roots and the five kinds of grains."
"Inside
the mother's body, the solid internal organs used for storing hang
downward, while the hollow internal organs used for processing,
spiral upward. These can be likened to three mountains, which arise
from the face of the earth. We can call these mountains Mount
Sumeru, Karma Mountain, and Blood Mountain. These analogous
mountains come together and form a single range in a pattern of
upward peaks and downward valleys. So too, the coagulation of the
mother's blood from her internal organs forms a single substance,
which becomes the child's food."
"During
the tenth month of pregnancy, the body of the fetus is completed
and ready to be born. If the child is extremely filial, it will
emerge with palms joined together in respect and the birth will be
peaceful and auspicious. The mother will remain uninjured by the
birth and will not suffer pain. However, if the child is extremely
rebellious in nature, to the extent that it is capable of
committing the five rebellious acts*, then it will injure its
mother's womb, rip apart its mother's heart and liver, or get
entangled in its mother's bones. The birth will feel like the
slices of a thousand knives or like ten thousand sharp swords
stabbing her heart. Those are the agonies involved in the birth of
a defiant and rebellious child."
To
explain more clearly, there are ten types of kindnesses bestowed by
the mother on the child:
The first is the kindness of
providing protection and care while the child is in the
womb.
The second is the kindness of
bearing suffering during the birth.
The third is the kindness of forgetting all the pain once the child
has been born.
The fourth is the kindness of
eating the bitter herself and saving the sweet for the
child.
The fifth is the kindness of
moving the child to a dry place and lying in the wet
herself.
The sixth is the kindness of
suckling the child at her breast, nourishing and bringing up the
child.
The seventh is the kindness of
washing away the unclean.
The eight is the kindness of
always thinking of the child when it has traveled
far.
The ninth is the kindness of deep
care and devotion.
The tenth is the kindness of
ultimate pity and sympathy.
1. THE KINDNESS OF PROVIDING PROTECTION AND CARE WHILE THE CHILD IS
IN THE WOMB
The causes and conditions from accumulated kalpas grows
heavy,
Until in this life the child ends up in its Mother's womb.
As the months pass, the five vital organs develop;
Within seven weeks the six sense organs start to grow.
The mother's body becomes as heavy as a mountain;
The stillness and movements of the fetus are like a kalpic wind
disaster.
The mother's fine clothes no longer hang properly,
And so her mirror gathers dust.
2. THE KINDNESS OF BEARING SUFFERING DURING BIRTH
The pregnancy lasts for ten lunar months
And culminates in difficult labour at the approach of the
birth.
Meanwhile, each morning the mother is seriously ill
And during each day drowsy and sluggish.
Her fear and agitation are difficult to describe;
Grieving and tears fill her breast.
She painfully tells her family
That she is only afraid that death will overtake
her.
3. THE KINDNESS OF FORGETTING ALL THE PAIN ONCE THE CHILD HAS BEEN
BORN
On the day the compassionate mothers bears the child,
Her five organs all open wide,
Leaving her totally exhausted in body and mind.
The blood flows as from a slaughtered lamb;
Yet, upon hearing that the child is healthy,
She is overcome with redoubling joy,
But after the joy, the grief returns,
And the agony wrenches her very insides.
4. THE KINDNESS OF EATING THE BITTER HERSELF AND SAVING THE SWEET
FOR THE CHILD
The
kindness of both parents is profound and deep,
Their care and devotion never cease.
Never resting, the mother
saves the sweet for the child,
And without complain she swallows the bitter herself.
Her love is weighty and her emotion difficult to bear;
Her kindness is deep and so is her compassion.
Only wanting the child to get its fill,
The compassionate mother doesn't speak of her own
hunger.
5. THE
KINDNESS OF MOVING THE CHILD TO A DRY PLACE AND LYING IN THE WET
HERSELF
The mother is
willing to be wet
So that the child can be dry.
With her two breasts she
satisfies its hunger and thirst;
Covering it with her
sleeve, she protects it from the wind and cold.
In kindness, her head
rarely rests on the pillow,
And yet she does this happily,
So long as the child is comfortable,
The kind mother seeks no solace for herself.
6. THE KINDNESS OF SUCKLING THE CHILD AT HER BREAST, NOURISHING AND
BRINGING UP THE CHILD
The
kind mother is like the great earth.
The stern father is like the encompassing heaven:
One covers from above; the other supports from below.
The kindness of parents is such that
They know no hatred or anger toward their offspring,
And are not displeased, even if the child is born crippled.
After the mother carries the child in her womb and gives birth to
it,
The parents care for and protect it together until the end of their
days.
7. THE KINDNESS OF WASHING AWAY THE UNCLEAN
Originally,
she had a pretty face and a beautiful body,
Her spirit was strong and vibrant.
Her eyebrows were like fresh green willows,
And her complexion would have put a red rose to shame.
But her kindness is so deep she will forgo a beautiful face.
Although washing away the filth injures her constitution,
The kind mother acts
solely for the sake of her sons and daughters,
And willingly allows her beauty to fade.
8. THE
KINDNESS OF ALWAYS THINKING OF THE CHILD WHEN IT HAS TRAVELLED
FAR
The
death of loved ones is difficult to endure.
But separation is also painful.
When the child travels
afar,
The mother worries in her village.
From morning until night, her heart is with her child,
And a thousand tears fall from her eyes.
Like the monkey weeping silently in love for her child,
Bit by bit her heart is broken.
9. THE KINDNESS OF DEEP CARE AND DEVOTION
How
heavy is parental kindness and emotional concern!
Their kindness is deep and difficult to repay.
Willingly they undergo suffering on their child's
behalf.
If the child toils, the parents are uncomfortable.
If they hear that he has traveled far,
They worry that at night he will have to lie in the cold.
Even a moment's pain suffered by their sons and daughters.
Will cause the parents sustained distress.
10. THE KINDNESS OF ULTIMATE COMPASSION AND
SYMPATHY
The
kindness of parents is profound and important.
Their tender concern never cease.
From the moment they awake each day, their thoughts are with their
children.
Whether the children are near or far away, the parents think of
them often.
Even if a mother lives for a hundred years,
She will constantly worry about her eighty year old child.
Do you wish to know when such kindness and love ends?
It doesn't even begin to dissipate until her life is
over!
The Buddha told Ananda, "When I contemplate living beings, I
see that although they are born as human beings, nonetheless, they
are ignorant and dull in their thoughts and actions. They don't
consider their parents' great kindness and virtue. They are
disrespectful and turn their backs on kindness and what is right.
They lack humaneness and are neither filial nor
compliant."
"For
ten months while the mother is with child, she feels discomfort
each time she rises, as if she were lifting a heavy burden. Like a
chronic invalid, she is unable to keep her food and drink down.
When the ten months have passed and the time comes for the birth,
she undergoes all kinds of pain and suffering so that the child can
be born. She is afraid of her own mortality, like a pig or lamb
waiting to be slaughtered. Then the blood flows all over the
ground. These are the sufferings she undergo."
"Once
the child is born, she saves what is sweet for him and swallows
what is bitter herself. She carries the child and nourishes it,
washing away its filth. There is no toil or difficulty that she
does not willingly undertake for the sake of her child. She endures
both cold and heat and never even mentions what she has gone
through. She gives the dry place to her child and sleeps in the
damp herself. For three years she nourishes the baby with milk,
which is transformed from the blood of her own
body."
"Parents
continually instruct and guide their children in the ways of
propriety and morality as the youngsters mature into adults.
They arrange marriages for them and provide them with property and
wealth or devise ways to get it for them. They take this
responsibility and trouble upon themselves with tremendous zeal and
toil, never speaking about their care and kindness."
"When
a son or daughter become ill, parents are worried and afraid to the
point that they may even grow ill themselves. They remain by the
child's side providing constant care, and only when the child gets
well are the parents happy once again. In this way,
they care for and raise their children with the sustained hope that
their offspring will soon grow to be mature adults."
"How
sad that all too often the children are unfilial in return! In
speaking with relatives whom they should honour, the children
display no compliance. When they ought to be polite, they have no
manners. They glare at those whom they should venerate, and insult
their uncles and aunts. They scold their siblings and
destroy any family feeling that might have existed among them.
Children like that have no respect of sense of
propriety."
"Children
may be well taught, but if they are unfilial, they will not heed
the instructions or obey the rules. Rarely will they rely upon the
guidance of their parents. They are contrary and rebellious when
interacting with their brothers. They come and go from home without
ever reporting to their parents. Their speech and actions are very
arrogant and they act on impulse without consulting
others. Such children ignore
the admonishments and punishments set down by their parents and pay
no regard to their uncles' warnings. Yet, at the same time, they
are immature and always need to be looked after and protected by
their elders."
"As
such children grow up, they become more and more obstinate and
uncontrollable. They are entirely ungrateful and totally contrary.
They are defiant and hateful, rejecting both family and
friends. They befriend evil people and under influence, soon
adopt the same kinds of bad habits. They come to take what is false
to be true."
"Such
children may be enticed by others to leave their families and run
away to live in others towns, thus denouncing their parents and
rejecting their native town. They may become businessmen or civil
servants who languish in comfort and luxury. They may marry in
haste, and that new bond provides yet another obstruction which
prevents them from returning home for long periods of
time."
"Or,
in going to live in other towns, these children may be incautious
and find themselves plotted against or accused of doing evil. They
may be unfairly locked up in prison or they may meet with illness
and become enmeshed in disasters and hardships, subject to the
terrible pain of poverty, starvation, and emaciation. Yet no one
there will care for them. Being scorned and disliked by others,
they will be abandoned on the street. In such circumstances, their
lives may come to an end. No one bothers to try to save
them. Their bodies swell up, rot, decay, and are exposed to the sun
and blown away by the wind. The bones entirely disintegrate and
scatter as these children come to their final rest in the dirt of
some other town. These children will never again have a happy
reunion with their relatives and kin. Nor will they ever know how
their ageing parents mourn for and worry about them. The parents
may grow blind from weeping or become sick from extreme grief and
despair. Constantly dwelling on the memory of their children, they
may pass away, but even when they become ghosts, their souls still
cling to this attachment and are unable to get it go."
"Others
of these unfilial children may not aspire to learning, but instead
become interested in strange and bizarre doctrines. Such children
may be villainous, coarse and stubborn, delighting in practices
that are utterly devoid of benefit. They may become involved in
fights and thefts, setting themselves at odds with the town by
drinking and gambling. As if debauchery were not enough, they drag
their brothers into it as well, to the further distress of their
parents."
"If
such children do live at home, they leave early in the morning and
do not return until late at night. Never do they ask about the
welfare of their parents or make sure that they don't suffer from
heat or cold. They do not inquire after their parents' well being
in the morning or the evening, nor even on the first and fifteenth
of the lunar month. In fact, it never occurs to these
unfilial children to ever ask whether their parents have slept
comfortably or rested peacefully. Such children are simply not
concerned in the least about their parents' well being. When the
parents of such children grow old and their appearance becomes more
and more withered and emaciated, they are made to feel ashamed to
be seen in public and are subjected to abuse and
oppression."
"Such
unfilial children may end up with a father who is a widower or a
mother who is a widow. The solitary parents are left alone in empty
houses, feeling like guests in their own homes. They may endure
cold and hunger, but no one takes heed of their plight. They may
weep incessantly from morning to night, sighing and
lamenting. It is only right that children should
provide for ageing parents with food and drink of delicious
flavours, but irresponsible children are sure to overlook their
duties. If they ever do attempt to help their parents in any way,
they feel embarrassed and are afraid people will laugh at them.
Yet, such offspring may lavish wealth and food on their own wives
and children, disregarding the toil and weariness involved in doing
so. Other unfilial offspring may be so intimidated by their wives
that they go along with all of their wishes. But when appealed to
by their parents and elders, they ignore them and are totally
unfazed by their pleas."
"It
may be the case that daughters were quite filial to their parents
before their own marriages, but they may become progressively
rebellious after they marry. This situation may be so extreme that
if their parents show even the slightest signs of displeasure, the
daughters become hateful and vengeful toward them. Yet they bear
their husband's scolding and beatings with sweet tempers, even
though their spouses are outsiders with other surnames and family
ties. The emotional bonds between such couples are
deeply entangled, and yet these daughters hold their parents at a
distance. They may follow their husbands and move to other towns,
leaving their parents behind entirely. They do not long for them
and simply cut off all communication with them. When the parents
continue to hear no word from their daughters, they feel incessant
anxiety. They become so fraught with sorrow that it is as if they
were suspended upside down. Their every thought is of seeing their
children, just as one who is thirsty longs for something to drink.
Their kind thoughts for their offspring never cease."
"The
virtue of one's parents' kindness is boundless and limitless. If
one has made the mistake of being unfilial, how difficult it is to
repay that kindness!"
At
that time, upon hearing the Buddha speak about the depth of one's
parents kindness, everyone in the Great Assembly threw themselves
on the ground and began beating their breasts and striking
themselves until their hair pores flowed with blood. Some fell
unconscious to the ground, while others stamped their feet in
grief. It was a long time before they could control themselves.
With loud voices they lamented, "Such suffering! What suffering!
How painful! How painful! We are all offenders. We are criminals
who have never awakened, like those who travel in a dark night. We
have just now understood our offenses and our very insides are torn
to bits. We only hope that the World Honoured One will pity and
save us. Please tell us how we can repay the deep kindness of our
parents!"
At the time the Tathagata used eight kinds of profoundly deep and
pure sounds to speak to the assembly. "All of you should know this.
I will now explain for you the various aspects of this
matter."
At
that time, upon hearing the Buddha speak about the kindness and
virtue of parents, everyone in the Great Assembly wept silent tears
and felt searing pain in their hearts. They reflected deeply,
simultaneously brought forth shame and said to the Buddha, "World
Honoured One, how can we repay the deep kindness of our
parents?"
The
Buddha replied, "Disciples of the Buddha, if you wish to repay your
parents' kindness, write out this Sutra on their behalf. Recite
this Sutra on their behalf. Repent of transgressions and offenses
on their behalf. For the sake of your parents, make offerings to
the Triple Gem. For the sake of your parents, hold the precept of
pure eating. For the sake of your parents, practise giving and
cultivate blessings. If you are able to do these things, you are
being a filial child. If you do not do these things, you are a
person destined for the hells."
The
Buddha told Ananda, "If a person
is not filial, when his life ends and his body decays, he will fall
into, the great Avici Hell. This great hell is eighty thousand
yojanas in circumference and is surrounded on all four sides by
iron walls. Above, it is covered over by nets, and the ground is
also made of iron. A mass of fire burns fiercely, while thunder
roars and bright bolts of lightning set things afire. Molten brass
and iron fluids are poured over the offenders' bodies. Brass dogs
and iron snakes constantly spew out fire and smoke which burns the
offenders and broils their flesh and fat to a
pulp."
"Oh,
such suffering! Difficult to take, difficult to bear! There are
poles, hooks, spears, and lances, iron halberds and iron chains,
iron hammers and iron awls. Wheels of iron knives rain down from
the air. The offender is chopped, hacked, or stabbed, and undergoes
these cruel punishments for kalpas without respite. Then they enter
the remaining hells, where their heads are capped with fiery
basins, while iron wheels roll over their bodies, passing both
horizontally and vertically until their guts are ripped open and
their bones and flesh are squashed to a pulp. Within a single day,
they experience myriad births and myriad deaths. Such sufferings
are a result of committing the five rebellious acts and of being
unfilial when one was alive."
At
that time, upon hearing the Buddha speak about the virtue of
parents' kindness, everyone in the Great Assembly wept sorrowfully
and addressed the Tathagata, "On this day, how can we repay the
deep kindness of our parents?"
The
Buddha said, "Disciples of the Buddha, if you wish to repay their
kindness, then for the sake of your parents, print this Sutra. This
is truly repaying their kindness. If one can print one copy, then
one will get to see one Buddha. If one can print ten copies, then
one will get to see ten Buddhas. If one can print one hundred
copies, then one will get to see one hundred Buddhas. If one can
print one thousand copies, then one will get to see one thousand
Buddhas. If one can print ten thousand copies, then one will get to
see ten thousand Buddhas. This is the power derived when good
people print Sutras. All Buddhas will forever protect such people
with their kindness and their parents can be reborn in the heavens
to enjoy all kinds of happiness, leaving behind the sufferings of
the hells."
At
that time, Ananda and the rest of the Great Assembly the asuras,
garudas, kinnaras, mahoragas, people, non-people, and others, as
well as the gods, dragons, yakshas, gandarvas, wheel-turning sage
kings, and all the lesser kings, felt all the hairs on their bodies
stand on their ends when they heard what the Buddha had said. They
wept grievously and were unable to stop themselves. Each one of
them made a vow saying, "All of us, from now until the exhaustion
of the bounds of the future, would rather that our bodies be
pulverised into normal particles of dust for a hundred thousand
kalpas, than to ever go against the Tathagata's sagely teachings.
We would rather that our tongues be plucked out, so that they would
extend for a full yojana, and that for a hundred thousand kalpas an
iron plough run over them; we would rather have a hundred thousand
bladed wheel roll freely over bodies, than to ever go against the
Tathagata's sagely teachings. We would rather that our bodies be
ensnared in an iron net for a hundred thousand kalpas, than to ever
go against the Tathagata's sagely teachings. We would rather that
for a hundred thousand kalpas our bodies be chopped, hacked,
mutilated, and chiseled into ten million pieces, so that our skin,
flesh, joints, and bones would be completely disintegrated, than to
ever go against the Tathagata's sagely teachings."
At
that time, Ananda, with a dignity and a sense of peace, rose from
his seat and asked the Buddha, "World Honoured One, what name shall
this Sutra have when we accord with it and uphold it?"
The
Buddha told Ananda, "This Sutra is called THE SUTRA ABOUT THE DEEP
KINDNESS OF PARENTS AND THE DIFFICULTY OF REPAYING IT. Use this
name when you accord with it and uphold it."
At
that time, the Great Assembly, the gods, humans, asuras, and the
others, hearing what the Buddha has said, were completely
delighted. They believed the Buddha's teaching, received it, and
offered up their conduct in accord with it. Then they bowed
respectfully to the Buddha, before withdrawing.
Buddhanet resource