No. 2887
佛說父母恩重經 The Buddha Speaks the Sutra on the Profound Kindness of Parents
如是我聞。一時佛在王舍城耆闍崛山中。與大菩薩摩訶薩及聲眷屬俱。亦與比丘比丘尼優婆塞優婆夷。一切諸天人民及天龍鬼神。皆來集會。一心聽佛說法。瞻仰尊顏。目不暫捨。 Thus have I heard. One time the Buddha was staying at Gṛdhrakūṭa Mountain in Rājagṛha, together with great bodhisattvas (mahāsattva) and śrāvaka disciples, as well as bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakas, and upāsikās. All devas, humans, and also heavenly dragons and spirits gathered together, wholeheartedly listening to the Buddha’s teaching of the Dharma, gazing upon his revered countenance without averting their eyes for even a moment.
佛言。人生在世。父母為親。非父不生。非母不育。 The Buddha said: In human life, one’s parents are the dearest. Without a father, one would not be born; without a mother, one would not be raised.
是以寄託母胎懷身十月。歲滿月充。母子俱顯生墮草上。 Thus one is entrusted to the mother’s womb and carried for ten months. When the term is complete and the moon full, both mother and child appear in the world, the child falling onto the grass.
父母養育。臥則蘭車。父母懷抱。和和弄聲。含笑未語。 The parents nourish and raise the child. When lying down, it is on fragrant bedding. The parents hold the child in their arms, cooing harmoniously, smiling before speaking.
飢時須食。非母不哺。渴時須飲。非母不乳。 When hungry, the child needs food—none but the mother can feed it. When thirsty, the child needs drink—none but the mother can nurse it.
母中飢時吞苦吐甘推乾就濕。非義不親。非母不養。 When the mother is hungry, she swallows bitterness and spits out sweetness, giving the dry to herself and the wet to the child. Without deep affection there is no intimacy; without a mother there is no nourishment.
慈母養兒。去離蘭車。十指甲中食子不淨。應各有八斛四㪷。 A compassionate mother raising her child leaves the fragrant bedding behind. From beneath her ten fingernails, she removes the child’s filth. Altogether this amounts to eighty-four measures.
計論母恩。昊天罔極。嗚呼慈母云何可報。 If one reckons the mother’s kindness, it is as vast as the great heavens, boundless. Alas! How can one repay the compassionate mother?
阿難白佛言。世尊云何可報其恩。唯願說之。 Ānanda said to the Buddha: World-Honored One, how can one repay such kindness? I only pray that you will explain it.
佛告阿難。汝諦聽善思念之。吾當為汝分別解說。父母之恩昊天罔極。 The Buddha said to Ānanda: Carefully listen and reflect well. I shall now explain it clearly to you. The kindness of one’s parents is as vast and boundless as the great heavens.
云何若有孝順慈孝之子。能為父母作福造經。或以七月十五日能造佛槃盂蘭盆。獻佛及僧得果無量。能報父母之恩。 Suppose there is a filial and loving child who is able to create merit on behalf of their parents, write scriptures, or on the fifteenth day of the seventh month prepare a Buddha’s bowl and Ullambana basin, offering it to the Buddha and the Saṅgha—such deeds yield immeasurable results and can repay the kindness of one’s parents.
若復有人。書寫此經。流布世人。受持讀誦。當知此人報父母恩。 If there is someone who copies this sūtra, spreads it among people, receives, holds, recites, and studies it, know that this person is repaying the kindness of their parents.
父母云何可報。但父母至於行來。東西隣里井竈碓磨。不時還家。我兒家中啼哭。憶我即來還家。 How is it that parents are repaid? When parents go out—to the east or west, to the neighbors, the well, the stove, the mortar and mill—and do not return home promptly, their child at home cries, and recalling this, they return home at once.
其兒遙見我來。或在蘭車。搖頭弄腦。或復曳腹隨行。 When the child sees me coming from afar, whether lying in fragrant bedding, shaking its head and flailing, or crawling along dragging its belly,
嗚呼向母。母為其子曲身下就長。舒兩手拂拭塵土。 It calls out “mother!” The mother bends her body down to meet her long-bodied child, stretches out both hands to wipe away the dust and dirt.
嗚和其口開懷出乳。以乳與之。 She softly opens her chest and produces milk, offering it to the child.
母見兒歡。兒見母喜。二情恩悲親愛。慈重莫復。 The mother sees the child happy; the child sees the mother joyful. Their mutual love and affection are deep and tender, with compassion so heavy, it is unmatched.
二歲三歲弄意始行。於其食時非母不知父。 At two or three years old, the child begins to play and take its first steps. At mealtime, none but the mother knows what it wants; even the father does not.
母行來值他座席。或得餅肉。不噉輟味懷挾來歸。向其與子。 When the mother goes out and comes across a table with food—perhaps cakes or meat—she does not eat, but interrupts her appetite, carries it home and gives it to the child.
十來九得恒常歡喜。一過不得憍啼佯哭。 Of ten times, nine are met with constant joy. But if once the child doesn’t get it, it becomes arrogant, wails, and cries falsely.
憍子不孝。必有五㰅。孝子不懷。必有慈順。 An arrogant child is unfilial—it surely has the five wrongdoings. A filial child does not harbor resentment—it certainly has loving obedience.
遂至長大。朋友相隨。梳頭摩髮。欲得好衣。覆蓋身體。 When the child grows up, it follows friends, combs its hair and smooths it, wishing for fine clothing to cover its body.
弊衣破故。父母自著新好綿帛。先與其子。 If the old clothes are torn or ruined, the parents will wear them themselves and give the child the new and fine silk garments first.
至於行來。官私急疾。傾心南北。逐子東西。橫上其頭。 Even when they go out, whether for official or private affairs, in haste and anxiety, they turn their hearts north and south, chasing the child east and west, shielding it above with their heads.
既索妻婦得他子女。父母轉疏。 Once the child seeks a wife and gains another’s daughter, the parents gradually become estranged.
私房屋室共相語樂。父母年高氣力衰老。終朝至暮不來借問。 In their private room they converse and enjoy one another. But as the parents grow old and weak, from morning to night the child no longer comes to ask after them.
惑復父孤母寡。獨守空房。猶如客人。寄止他舍。 The father may be widowed, the mother alone, guarding an empty room—like a guest temporarily staying in another’s house.
常無恩愛。復無濡被寒。苦辛厄難遭之。 There is no longer any kindness or affection, nor are there warm covers for the cold. They meet with bitter suffering and distress.
甚年老色衰。多饒蟣虱。夙夜不臥。長呼歎息。 In extreme old age, their complexion withers, lice are many. Night and day they cannot sleep, constantly sighing and lamenting.
何罪宿愆生此不孝之子。 What offense or past karma gave rise to such an unfilial child?
或時喚呼。瞋目驚怒。歸兒罵詈。低頭含笑。 Sometimes when they call out, the child glares angrily, startled and enraged. Returning home, the child scolds and insults them, while they lower their heads and smile faintly.
妻復不孝子。復五㰅夫妻和合同作五逆。 The wife too is unfilial. The child again commits the five wrongs. Together in harmony, the couple commit the five heinous offenses.
彼時喚呼。急疾取使。十喚九違。盡不從順。 At that time, when called upon or asked for something in urgency, nine out of ten times they disobey and completely fail to follow instructions.
罵詈瞋恚。不如早死。強在地上。 They curse, insult, and become angry, saying: “Better if you had died earlier!” Yet the parents still lie forced upon the ground.
父母聞之。悲哭懊惱。流淚雙下。啼哭目腫。 Hearing this, the parents weep and grieve in despair. Tears flow from both eyes; crying swells their eyelids.
汝初小時非吾不長。但吾生汝。不如本無。 When you were small, without me, you would not have grown. That I gave birth to you—better had I never done so.
佛告阿難。若善男子善女人。能為父母受持讀誦書寫父母恩重大乘摩訶般若波羅蜜經一句一偈。 The Buddha said to Ānanda: If there are good sons or good daughters who can, on behalf of their parents, receive, hold, recite, and copy even a single sentence or verse from the Mahāyāna Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra on the Profound Kindness of Parents,
一逕耳目者所有五逆重罪悉得消滅。永盡無餘。 And allow it to enter their ears or eyes just once, then all the heavy sins of the five heinous offenses will be eradicated and forever extinguished without remainder.
常得見佛聞法。速得解脫。 They will always be able to see the Buddha, hear the Dharma, and swiftly attain liberation.
阿難從座而起。偏袒右肩。長跪合掌。前白佛言。世尊此經云何名之。云何奉持。 Ānanda rose from his seat, bared his right shoulder, knelt with joined palms, and addressed the Buddha: World-Honored One, what is the name of this sūtra? How should it be upheld?
佛告阿難。此經名父母恩重經。 The Buddha said to Ānanda: This sūtra is called “The Sutra on the Profound Kindness of Parents.”
若有一切眾生。能為父母作福造經燒香請佛禮拜供養三寶。或飲食眾僧。當知是人能報父母其恩。 If there are any beings who can, for the sake of their parents, create merit, write scriptures, burn incense, invite the Buddha, worship, make offerings to the Three Jewels, or offer food and drink to the monks, know that such a person can repay their parents’ kindness.
帝釋梵王諸天人民一切眾生聞經歡喜。發菩薩心。㘁哭動地。淚下如雨五體投地。信受頂禮佛足。歡喜奉行。 When Śakra, Brahmā, the various devas, humans, and all sentient beings heard this sūtra, they were filled with joy and aroused the mind of a bodhisattva. They wept so that the earth quaked, tears fell like rain, and they threw their bodies to the ground, believing, accepting, and bowing to the Buddha’s feet, rejoicing and vowing to uphold and practice it.
佛說父母恩重經 The Buddha has spoken the Sutra on the Profound Kindness of Parents.