..续本文上一页 worships Him , then all troubles will vanish."

　　Furthermore, Manjushri, in case there is a pious man or woman who does not care for other gods during his or her whole life and whose only thought is to become a Buddhist disciple, and who observes either five or ten of the Commandments, or the four hundred commandments of the Bodhisattva, the two hundred and fifty of the monk, or the five hundred of the nun, and who fears he may relapse into sin and fall into evil destinies; if he or she can only recite the name of the Buddha, worships Him and makes offerings to Him, he and she will certainly not suffer from the three paths of transmigration - the hells, hungry ghost and animals."

　　"A woman may suffer from great pain while giving birth. If she can whole-heartedly worship the Buddha of Medicine and to invoke the name Tathagata, worship Him and make offerings to Him, all pain will vanish, the newly born baby will have a sound and healthy body; whoever sees him will rejoice at his being so clever, so strong and healthy; and no demon comes to rob him of his vitality."

　　Then the Buddha spoke to Ananda: "If I praise the virtues of the Buddha of Medicine and let you know that the actions of the Buddha have an occult meaning that it is difficult to understand. Can you believe me

　　"

　　Ananda said: "Virtuous World honoured One, I have no doubt in my belief about the Sutras of Tathagata. My reason for this belief is that the karma of Tathagatas, formed through deeds, words and thoughts, is perfectly pure. World-honoured, the disc of this sun and moon may be torn down, the inconceivable high Sumeru mountain may be shaken, but the words of the Buddhas will never change. World-honoured, the beings whose faith is as yet insufficient may question the occult meaning of the Buddha”s acts. They think: How is it possible that, by only remembering the name of the Master of Healing, Azure Radiance Tathagata, we can reap so many blessings

　　 Then they do not believe, nay, they challenge. Such people forfeit their blessing and joy over one long night, they fall into evil existences and drift eternally in the stream of miserable life."

　　Then Buddha told Ananda: "When all these beings hear the name of the World-honoured Master of Healing, Azure Radiance Tathagata and cherish it whole-heartedly, and have no more doubts, then it is impossible for them to fall into evil destinies again. Those who have fallen into evil destinies, they have done no good deeds. Ananda, this is the occult meaning of the acts of the Tathagatas; it is hard to believe! You can conceive of it now, and so you know that all that I have told you has its root in the power of the Tathagatas. Ananda, all Shramanas and Pratyekabuddhas, and the Bodhisattvas who have not yet reached the ten stages, are unable to believe the full truth and to expound it, only the Bodhisattva who has only one life that binds him can do it. Ananda, it is difficult to get a human body. It is also difficult to have faith in the Triple Gems, to believe and to revere them. But it is still more difficult to hear the name of the Master of Healing, Azure Radiance Tathagata. Ananda, the Bodhisattva deeds of the Buddha of Medicine, his skilful means to convert the beings, and his far reaching vows are innumerable. If I should expound them in great detail, I could speak kalpa after kalpa and even longer, the kalpas would soon be exhausted, but the deeds, the vows, and the skilful means of the Buddha would not be exhausted."

　　There was, at that time, a great Bodhisattva in the community. His name was Seeker of Salvation. He stood up from his seat, bared his right shoulder, touched the earth with his right knee, bowed with the palms of his hands joined together, and said to the Buddha: "Virtuous World honoured, in the dec…

《药师经 The Sutra of the Master of Healing translated by Prof· Chow Su-Chia》全文未完，请进入下页继续阅读…