Translated in the Western Jin Dynasty by Śramaṇa Dharma Torch
The Buddha told Ānanda, “Some people study the Buddha’s teaching, they become wealthy and honored. Some people seem also to study the Buddha’s teaching, yet they decline, suffer loss, and encounter all kinds of adverse circumstances.”
Ānanda asked the Buddha, “Why is it that, although they all study the Buddha’s teaching, the results differ between wealth and honor on the one hand, and decline and ruin on the other? What is the reason?”
The Buddha said to Ānanda, “Some people study the Buddha’s teaching by seeking out renowned teachers and realized virtuous spiritual friends. They receive the precepts from them, remove their own various false thoughts, act according to the requirements of the scriptures, practice diligently, and do not forget what they have learned. With regard to the precepts they have received, they do not transgress even in something as fine as a hair. Because they do not violate the precepts, they are constantly attended and protected by the good spirits among the devas. Everything accords with their wishes, they obtain a hundredfold increase in wealth, and they are respected by the multitude. Moreover, in the future they will be able to become Buddhas, to say nothing of mere wealth, honor, and benefit. People who study the Buddha’s teaching in this way are true disciples of the Buddha.
“There are also people who believe in the Buddha and study the Buddha’s teaching, yet they have not encountered a true and enlightened teacher, nor do they have scriptures or Buddha images. They are also not reverent. They do not know or understand Buddhist principles, yet they insist that someone transmit the precepts to them, without having sincere faith. After receiving the precepts, they frequently violate all kinds of precepts. Their minds are obscured and uncertain. They refuse to read the scriptures, and they also do not practice the Way or perform meritorious deeds. At times they believe, and at times they do not believe. They do not remember the dates for fasting and observing the precepts, and they also do not remember to burn incense, offer lamps, or pay reverence. Moreover, they glare in great anger, curse, speak evil words, utter maledictions, and sow discord. In their minds they constantly harbor hatred and jealousy, and they also cause others to kill living beings. When they see scriptures and Buddha images, they have no reverent or devout mind. If they have scriptures, then with an attitude of contempt and frivolity they hang them on the wall or casually throw them on the bed or sleeping mat, or they toss them into a tattered box used for old clothing, or they cause their wives and children to handle the scriptures with unclean hands. Even when the scriptures are damaged by smoke or by rain leaking into the house, they do not inspect or care for them, nor do they burn incense or light lamps before the scriptures to repent. They treat them no differently from texts of heterodox paths or ordinary worldly books. In this way, the good spirits depart, while evil ghosts gain an opportunity. They pursue such a person closely and do not let him go, causing him to decline, waste away, and fall ill. When illness comes, he becomes frightened and doubtful, and says to himself, ‘I have only just begun to believe in the Buddha. Why have I become ill again?’ Then he becomes unable to trust. He calls shamans and physicians, but afterward finds that these shamans and physicians’ divinations, methods of resolving misfortune, and rites of suppression have no effect. He then begins to make sacrifices and pray to evil spirits. Because of this, all kinds of transgressions continue to increase. Demons and evil ghosts guard the gate of his house, and so he continues to decline, finally dying. Yet those evil ghosts still do not leave the gate of his house. His property continually declines and is exhausted, and the members of his household also begin to fall ill. Their illnesses become even more severe, and they cannot leave their beds. After his life comes to an end, because of the evil and karmic force from his former life, he is drawn down and falls into naraka, where he is beaten and tortured by all kinds of terrifying punishments for an extremely long time. This person’s fault lies in not being sincerely focused and single-minded. His resolve is uncertain, and he does not believe in the Buddha-Dharma. Therefore he receives such evil karma and calamity, declining and wasting away to such a state.
“Those people in the world who do not understand the Buddha-Dharma say everywhere that believing in the Buddha and studying the Buddha’s teaching brought him disaster and decline. They do not know that it was because that person’s own conduct was not upright, because he violated the Buddhist scriptures and precepts, and because in his mind he daily thought only of doing evil things, with all kinds of ugly behavior present. Therefore, this is what he himself brought about. It was not brought to him by anyone else.”
After Ānanda heard this, he placed his head and face upon the ground, bowed to the Buddha, and joyfully received and practiced.
Dharma Torch 