In the first of the two parts of The Benefits of the Five Precepts, a man and woman who have been married since they were very young and have never been unfaithful to each other ask the Buddha how they can remain together in future lives. The Buddha replies that this is possible for couples such as them who are equal in faith, ethical discipline, generosity, and wisdom, and who practice the Dharma together. In the second, longer part of the sūtra, the Buddha gives a teaching on the five precepts, by which one renounces the five negative deeds—killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, speaking falsehoods, and consuming intoxicants. The sufferings in various hells that are the consequence of those five negative deeds are described, as are the benefits experienced by those who renounce them.
This publication was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The text was translated from Tibetan and Pali (where Pali is available) by Bruno Galasek-Hul. Professor emeritus Stephen Jenkins served as academic consultant, offering many valuable suggestions and improvements. George FitzHerbert edited the translation and the introduction, and Laura Goetz copyedited the text. Martina Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process.
The Sūtra on the Benefits of the Five Precepts, or, as it is also called, The Sūtra That Teaches the Benefits of the Five Disciplines,1 is among the few texts in the Tibetan Kangyur that also belong to the Theravāda tradition. It is the seventh of the so-called “thirteen late-translated sūtras.”2 These were translated into Tibetan from Pali in the first decade of the fourteenth century at Tharpaling by Tharpa Lotsawa Nyima Gyaltsen Palsangpo and the visiting Sinhalese monk Ānandaśrī, at the request of Drakpa Gyaltsen, the local ruler of Zhalu.
This sūtra is, however, unique within this group of thirteen texts in that part of its content has no closely matching parallel in the Pali literature.
As observed by Peter Skilling,3 the first part of the sūtra is almost identical in content to a short sutta extant in the Pali canon, the Samajīvīsutta, and may be considered a direct translation of it.4 In this sutta, the householder Nakulapitā and his wife Nakulamātā,5 who have been together since they were very young without even the thought of infidelity, ask the Buddha how they can ensure that they will remain together in future lives. The Buddha replies that when both partners share the wish to remain together, and when both are “equal in faith, ethical discipline, generosity,6 and wisdom,” their continuing association can be achieved. This short discourse with the couple then concludes with three verses in which the Buddha again affirms that when a husband and wife are loving toward each other, practice the Dharma together, and are equal in ethical discipline, they will be reborn together in a heavenly realm where they will enjoy all the sense pleasures.
The Tibetan text of Benefits of the Five Precepts continues with a further teaching given by the Buddha to some monks on the topic of the five “precepts” or “trainings” (Tib. bslab pa, Pali sikkhā, Skt. śikṣā), also called “ethical disciplines” (Tib. tshul khrims, Pali sīla, Skt. śīla). This longer section of the text has no direct parallel in the Pali canon, nor is it attested in any other Buddhist canonical language. The subject matter, however, is familiar to all Buddhist traditions, namely the five precepts, which are resolutions to abandon the five negative deeds of (1) killing, (2) stealing or taking what has not been given, (3) adultery or sexual misconduct, (4) lying and slander, and (5) consuming intoxicants. These are the five basic precepts undertaken by all committed Buddhists, whether lay or monastic, that are to be cultivated so as to become second nature (the core sense of the Sanskrit word śīla, meaning “character,” “nature,” or “habit”).
In this sūtra, the presentation of the five precepts follows a general pattern: First, the negative karmic results of committing the negative deed are described—first during rebirth in a particular hell and then as a human—and then, conversely, the positive karmic results of refraining from the negative deed are described—first during rebirth as a human and then in a heaven.
Thus, the five negative deeds are each associated here with a particular great hell. For killing, it is the hell called Reviving; for stealing, the hell called Wailing; and for sexual misconduct, the hell called Loud Wailing; and, for each of these three, secondary or neighboring hells are also mentioned.7 Lying or slander leads to the hell called Black Thread, and, finally, the misuse of alcohol leads to the hell called Burning. Fuller descriptions of each of these hells can be found elsewhere in the Kangyur, in particular chapter 2 of The Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma (Saddharmasmṛtyupasthāna).8
Whether this second part of the sūtra also formed part of an original Pali source text translated by Tharpa Lotsawa and Ānandaśrī, or whether it was based on Ānandaśrī’s oral testimony, remains a matter of conjecture. It can be observed that the sūtra’s title in Tibetan matches the contents of the second part better than it does the contents of the first, since the narrative concerning the married couple mentions only four, rather than five, doctrinal virtues. Accordingly, the Samajīvīsutta is located within The Book of the Fours (Catukkanipāta) of the Aṅguttaranikāya in the Pali canon. With regard to the second part of the Tibetan sūtra, although there are texts in the Pali canon whose contents match those of our text in general terms—for example, a very short sutta in The Book of the Fives (Pañcakanipāta) of the Aṅguttaranikāya9 enumerates the five negative deeds that lead to rebirth in the hells and the respective renunciations that lead to rebirth in the heavens—none reflects the Tibetan text precisely. If a composite text matching the Tibetan did indeed exist in Pali, then, according to the logic of what Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi has called “composite numerical suttas,”10 it may have been an example of those texts now found in The Book of the Nines (Navakanipāta). However, The Book of the Nines, as presently constituted in the Aṅguttaranikāya, does not contain any sutta that combines the four qualities and the five precepts in this way.11
These considerations suggest two possible conclusions. One is that the fourteenth-century Tibetan translation of The Benefits of the Five Precepts is based on a no-longer-extant, or perhaps paracanonical, Pali original. The other is that the second part of this text, whose first part is a translation of a canonical version of The Benefits of the Five Precepts, is an augmented or commentarial section added, perhaps from an oral tradition, by Ānandaśrī.
It is in this regard that mention should be made of a short passage12 within the second part that is (as far as we can determine) unique to this text, and that many readers—even those fortified with a strong dose of historical and cultural relativism—will find strikingly discordant with present-day values. It is an extra description, seemingly interposed as a supplement to the section on sexual misconduct, that places a woman’s lack of subservience and obedience to her husband in a stark moral light with descriptions of its own specific fruition in the experience of the hell realms. None of the other descriptions in this text of negative actions and the violent sufferings experienced by hell beings as their fruition make pleasant reading; nor indeed do comparable passages in a number of other canonical works and in the later literature. But this particular passage stands out as an outlier, and it would seem justifiable that its canonical status might at least be questioned.
To our knowledge, this is the first full English translation of the sūtra to be published. A full translation into French was published by Léon Henri Feer in 1881, and partial English translations can be found in Cabezón 2017.13
This English translation was prepared from the Tibetan and compared with the Pali witnesses when they were available. The first part of the sūtra concerning the married couple was translated in close consultation with the Pali Samajīvīsutta as found in the Pali Text Society’s edition of the Aṅguttaranikāya14 and with Bhikkhu Bodhi’s English translation.15 Comparison with the Pali was very helpful, since, as observed by Skilling, there are some difficulties with the Tibetan of the “thirteen late-translated sūtras.”16 Where the Tibetan translation diverges in any significant way from the Pali it has been recorded in notes, as have significant variants in the Pali text across the major lineages of the Pali canon. The second part of The Benefits of the Five Precepts was translated from the Tibetan alone, as found in the Degé Kangyur, in consultation with the variant readings noted in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) and the Stok Palace Kangyur. Variant readings that have been preferred over the Degé version or that offer plausible alternatives have also been recorded in notes.
[F.271.a]Homage, with devotion, to the noble Three Jewels.17
Thus did I hear at one time.18 The Bhagavān was staying in the Bhesakalā grove deer park19 at Suṃsumāragiri20 in the country of the Bhaggas.21 Early one morning, the Bhagavān, having donned his outer robe and taken up his bowl,22 went to the dwelling of the householder23 Nakulapitā and, having approached, sat down on a prepared seat. Then the householders Nakulapitā and Nakulamātā24 approached the Bhagavān, greeted him reverently, and sat down to one side.
Sitting to one side, the householder Nakulapitā addressed the Bhagavān: “Ever since, Venerable Bhagavān, the householder Nakulamātā was brought to me as a young girl when I was still a child, not even the thought of being unfaithful to Nakulamātā has occurred to me, and there has been no physical wrongdoing. Bhagavān, this is our mutual experience in this life, and we wish to share this experience in other lives, too.”25
Then the householder Nakulamātā addressed the Bhagavān: “Ever since, Venerable Bhagavān, I was brought as a girl to householder Nakulapitā when he was still young, not even the thought of being unfaithful to Nakulapitā has occurred to me, and there has been no physical wrongdoing. Bhagavān, this is our mutual experience in this life, and we wish to share this experience in other lives, too.”26
Then the Bhagavān said,27 “When a husband and wife both have that wish and have had this mutual experience in this life, they will share this experience in other lives, too. By being equal in faith,[F.271.b] equal in ethical discipline, equal in generosity, and equal in wisdom, both of you have had this mutual experience in this life, and you will share this experience in other lives, too.”28
Then he spoke the following verses:29
“Therefore, one should guard the five precepts.33
“These are (1) refraining from killing, (2) refraining from taking what has not been given, (3) refraining from sexual misconduct, (4) refraining from lying, and (5) refraining from drinking alcohol that leads to intoxication. These are the five precepts that one should guard.”
The monks then inquired about the benefits of the five disciplines: “How else, Venerable Bhagavān, should the karmic fruition of refraining from killing be understood? How should the karmic fruition of refraining from taking what has not been given be understood? How should the karmic fruition of refraining from sexual misconduct be understood? How should the karmic fruition of refraining from lying be understood? And how should the karmic fruition of refraining from drinking alcohol that leads to intoxication be understood?”
The Bhagavān responded to their questions so as to be well understood: “Monks, you should regard killing as being like a venomous snake. It is accompanied by many wrongdoings and leads to rebirth in the realm of ghosts, the animal realm, and the hell realms. After the destruction of the body, after death,34 one will be born in the Reviving Hell. There, the guardians of the Reviving Hell[F.272.a] will thoroughly roast one’s body, and then cut it to pieces with a variety of blades and gouge holes in it. Forced to undergo the so-called “fivefold ordeal,”35 the denizens of this hell repeatedly die and are repeatedly revived and reborn in the Reviving Hell.
“The karmic fruition for those who weightily take life is to be overwhelmed again and again by all these terrible, harsh, and intense sufferings of the Reviving Hell.36 Even if they are reborn as a human, their lives will be short, their sense faculties defective. They will be ugly, lacking insight, always fearful, and always angry. They will be disease ridden, full of sorrow, and devoid of joy. They will have nothing, and they will have nothing for a very long time.”
For that reason, the Bhagavān has said:37
This is the karmic fruition of killing.
“After the destruction of the body, after death,[F.272.b] they will be reborn in a happy rebirth-destiny, in heaven, in a deva world.
“Stealing means robbing another’s possessions, which have not been given, from their house or room and so on, whether consciously or unconsciously. Those who take from others by deception in order to make a living likewise eventually take what has not been given and will, after the destruction of the body, after death, be reborn in the Wailing hells.
“There are two hells called Wailing: the Wailing Hell of Flames and the Wailing Hell of Smoke.42 In the Wailing Hell of Flames, life lasts for one cosmic age. At intervals, the entire hell is filled with a blazing fire. In the Wailing Hell of Smoke, fumes billow. In both, the denizens of the Wailing hells are cooked by flames. Fire comes out of their nine orifices and scorches their bodies. In the Wailing Hell of Smoke, beings are cooked as denizens of hell. Fumes come billowing from their nine orifices, and their bodies are cooked like food.43 The beings in both scream in torment. There they experience terrible, harsh, and intense sufferings.44
“Stealing, monks, should be regarded as being like a venomous snake. It leads to rebirth in the hells, in the realm of ghosts, and as animals. The karmic fruition for anyone who steals is very grave. Even if reborn as a human, their resources will be depleted, and those who have taken what has not been given will be unable to hold on to even the smallest things. It will be difficult for them to obtain food, drink, clothing, a mat, and so forth. They will be in constant discomfort and will be hateful and hostile toward others. Whatever they do manage to obtain they will lose again, and others will enjoy it instead. What they desire will be difficult to obtain, and things they already possess will not be productive. They will be devoid of happiness.”
For that reason, the Bhagavān has said:
This is the karmic fruition of stealing.
“After the destruction of the body, after death, they will be reborn in a happy rebirth-destiny, in heaven, in a deva world.
“Those who are lustful and commit acts of sexual misconduct in this world, after the destruction of the body, after death, will fall and be reborn in the Loud Wailing Hell.45 Outside, on both banks of the unfordable Vaitaraṇī River, is the Forest of Silk Cotton Trees, equally high, extending upward for eighty yojanas, with thorns sixteen finger-widths in length and downward-hanging branches. Bodies the size of twelve earshots, with flames climbing up their bodies,46 ascend sixty yojanas, and there they perpetually kill one another with various weapons, which are the leaves of the Forest of Silk Cotton Trees.47 For many thousands of years they will climb on the thorns of those trees. Moreover, they will be struck with weapons by the guardians of this hell. Crying out, they will fall headlong, and when they land they will be impaled on sharpened stakes set into a ground of burning iron, so that the stakes emerge from their anuses,[F.273.b] causing extreme pain. Constantly wailing, they will stay for an eon in an iron pot sixteen yojanas wide and completely filled with burning coals, which the guardians of hell48 shove into their mouths.”49
For that reason, the Bhagavān has said:
For that reason, the Bhagavān has said, “Monks, sexual misconduct toward what you desire should be regarded as being like a venomous snake. It leads to rebirth in the hells, in the realm of ghosts, and as animals. The karmic fruition for anyone who commits sexual misconduct is very grave. Even if reborn as a human, they will experience great suffering.”
For that reason, the Bhagavān has said:
“They will experience misfortune over many lifetimes. They will have many enemies and will always be among hostile people. Whether sleeping or rising, they will be uncomfortable. They will be constantly angry. They will be disturbed by people. Their bodies will always be hunched. From rebirth to rebirth they will be born deaf and blind and so on. Change for the worse will be certain.54 They will always be dissatisfied. They will delight in mutual conflict. They will be bereft of faith.55
“After the destruction of the body, after death, they will fall and be reborn in the Loud Wailing Hell. There, they will experience terrible, harsh, and intense suffering.”
This is the karmic fruition of sexual misconduct.
“After the destruction of the body, after death, they will be reborn in a happy rebirth-destiny, in heaven, in a deva world.
“Any woman who59 does not fully serve her parents-in-law and does not fully serve her husband, who does not care for her husband, who is not respectful toward her husband’s elder brother, who causes trouble for her husband’s sisters, and who moreover does not put her arms, legs, and back into her work60 and does not give them the food and drink they want, is not modest and humble toward them, and criticizes her husband and recites texts at him61 will be reborn in hell. There she will sleep on a floor of burning iron. A flaming iron hook will be inserted into her mouth, as if hooking a fish, and the tip of her tongue will be drawn forth, tied with a rope, and pulled out. After it is pulled it out like that, a big worm, born in the lips at the place where the weapon struck the tip of the tongue, will eat the tongue. Even after it eats only a little, she will be unable to speak. Similarly, she will be cooked there for many thousands of years,[F.274.b] and after being cooked there she will fall again into a great hell.”62
For that reason, the Bhagavān has said:
“Lying, in turn, leads to rebirth in the Black Thread Hell. There, the guardians of that hell, shouting and bellowing and bearing a variety of blazing weapons, drag hell beings one by one onto a floor of burning iron and mark them with burning black thread. Then, holding blazing weapons, they thoroughly transform them as if separating grain from chaff with a winnowing basket, but using hatchets and axes, leaving them screaming and wailing. It is in this Black Thread Hell, drinking one’s own blood, that one is reborn because of telling lies.63 Here, one will experience terrible, harsh, and intense suffering.
“Monks, you should keep in mind that lying is like a venomous snake. It produces great suffering and leads to rebirth in the hells, in the realm of ghosts, and as animals. The karmic fruition for anyone who lies is grave. Even if reborn as a human, they will be without compassion. They will have a voice like a crow. They will be poor at speaking. They will have tooth decay,64 bad breath, and crooked teeth. Their words will be rough and their voice hoarse. They will have bad lips. They will be jealous and have insatiable cravings. And after the destruction of their body, after death, they will be reborn in the Black Thread Hell.”65
For that reason, the Bhagavān has said:
This is the karmic fruition of lying.
“After the destruction of the body, after death, they will be reborn in a happy rebirth-destiny, in a deva world, in heaven.
“That which is called lying is reprehensible. Sons of good family should refrain from pursuing the objects of their desire. Instead they should extract the essence of that which is true and good. That which is called speaking falsehoods serves no purpose. It deceives the world and leads to rebirth in the Hell of Incessant Torture for many future lives.72 Therefore, one should not lie for the sake of one’s livelihood.73 Even at such times as when the omniscient one, the Buddha, the Bodhisattva, is concealed, divisive speech, like the color of turmeric, does not last long; like a dagger planted in a heap of chaff, it does not last long; and like a round fruit placed74 on the back of a horse,75 it does not last long. So, too, when a word spoken is cut short by a sword, two words will not be uttered.76 But, by speaking the truth over a long period of time, ascetics and brahmins reach liberation after they die.
“Drinking alcohol leads to falling into and being reborn in the Burning Hell.77 Beings who have fallen into this hell will be cooked for many thousands of years. After that, they are discarded on the bank of Vaitaraṇī River. With no way across, they try again and again to swim, whereupon the guards of that hell will pull them out with hooks, like fish, and toss them down on the ground of burning iron and bellow, ‘Oi, what do you want?’ ‘Lord, I am parched,’ the beings will reply, and the guardians of that hell will rip open their mouths with red-hot iron hooks and pour molten iron into their gaping mouths. First, their[F.275.b] lips and throats will be scorched. Next their chests burn, then their bowels, and their hearts will burn, too, until the molten iron forces its way out through the anus. Such are the torments they are made to experience, weeping and rolling78 on the floor in pain. However, even then they will not die. They will experience these sensations, the karmic ripening of their actions, for as long as the fruits of their negative actions last.”
For that reason, the Bhagavān has said:
“For someone to drink alcohol is not a small misdeed. Even if they are reborn as a human, they will always be absent-minded and as dull, stupid, and unaware as a sheep. Constantly falling asleep, they will be of low intelligence and very ignorant. They will be scared and fearful, doubtful,81 divisive, untrustworthy, miserly, envious, and without renunciation. They will be without shame, with no sense of decency, and will have poor discernment. They will be unaware of virtuous qualities, and for five hundred lives they will be reborn as yakṣas, for another five hundred as dogs, and they will forever thereafter be reborn as lunatics. These are the harms that ensue from having consumed alcohol.
This is the karmic fruition of drinking alcohol that leads to intoxication.
“After the destruction of the body, after death, they will be reborn in the happy rebirth-destinies of the higher realms, in a deva world, in heaven.
“These disciplines should be guarded. Any person, whether a man or a woman, who does not guard84 and cultivate these disciplines will, after the destruction of the body, after death, fall and be reborn in bad or unfortunate rebirth-destinies, in the lower realms.85 Those who guard and cultivate these disciplines will, after the destruction of the body, after death, be reborn in the happy rebirth-destinies of the higher realms, in a deva world.”
This is what the Bhagavān said, and the monks rejoiced at what the Bhagavān had taught.
This concludes “The Sūtra That Teaches the Benefits of the Five Disciplines.”
This sūtra was translated, edited, and finalized by the learned translator, the Śākya monk Nyima Gyaltsen Palsangpo, in the presence of the great scholar Ānandaśrī at the translation center of the great monastery Pal Tharpaling. May it become like sun and moon ornaments crowning the earth!86
In the first of the two parts of The Benefits of the Five Precepts, a man and woman who have been married since they were very young and have never been unfaithful to each other ask the Buddha how they can remain together in future lives. The Buddha replies that this is possible for couples such as them who are equal in faith, ethical discipline, generosity, and wisdom, and who practice the Dharma together. In the second, longer part of the sūtra, the Buddha gives a teaching on the five precepts, by which one renounces the five negative deeds—killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, speaking falsehoods, and consuming intoxicants. The sufferings in various hells that are the consequence of those five negative deeds are described, as are the benefits experienced by those who renounce them.
This publication was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The text was translated from Tibetan and Pali (where Pali is available) by Bruno Galasek-Hul. Professor emeritus Stephen Jenkins served as academic consultant, offering many valuable suggestions and improvements. George FitzHerbert edited the translation and the introduction, and Laura Goetz copyedited the text. Martina Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process.
The Sūtra on the Benefits of the Five Precepts, or, as it is also called, The Sūtra That Teaches the Benefits of the Five Disciplines,1 is among the few texts in the Tibetan Kangyur that also belong to the Theravāda tradition. It is the seventh of the so-called “thirteen late-translated sūtras.”2 These were translated into Tibetan from Pali in the first decade of the fourteenth century at Tharpaling by Tharpa Lotsawa Nyima Gyaltsen Palsangpo and the visiting Sinhalese monk Ānandaśrī, at the request of Drakpa Gyaltsen, the local ruler of Zhalu.
This sūtra is, however, unique within this group of thirteen texts in that part of its content has no closely matching parallel in the Pali literature.
As observed by Peter Skilling,3 the first part of the sūtra is almost identical in content to a short sutta extant in the Pali canon, the Samajīvīsutta, and may be considered a direct translation of it.4 In this sutta, the householder Nakulapitā and his wife Nakulamātā,5 who have been together since they were very young without even the thought of infidelity, ask the Buddha how they can ensure that they will remain together in future lives. The Buddha replies that when both partners share the wish to remain together, and when both are “equal in faith, ethical discipline, generosity,6 and wisdom,” their continuing association can be achieved. This short discourse with the couple then concludes with three verses in which the Buddha again affirms that when a husband and wife are loving toward each other, practice the Dharma together, and are equal in ethical discipline, they will be reborn together in a heavenly realm where they will enjoy all the sense pleasures.
The Tibetan text of Benefits of the Five Precepts continues with a further teaching given by the Buddha to some monks on the topic of the five “precepts” or “trainings” (Tib. bslab pa, Pali sikkhā, Skt. śikṣā), also called “ethical disciplines” (Tib. tshul khrims, Pali sīla, Skt. śīla). This longer section of the text has no direct parallel in the Pali canon, nor is it attested in any other Buddhist canonical language. The subject matter, however, is familiar to all Buddhist traditions, namely the five precepts, which are resolutions to abandon the five negative deeds of (1) killing, (2) stealing or taking what has not been given, (3) adultery or sexual misconduct, (4) lying and slander, and (5) consuming intoxicants. These are the five basic precepts undertaken by all committed Buddhists, whether lay or monastic, that are to be cultivated so as to become second nature (the core sense of the Sanskrit word śīla, meaning “character,” “nature,” or “habit”).
In this sūtra, the presentation of the five precepts follows a general pattern: First, the negative karmic results of committing the negative deed are described—first during rebirth in a particular hell and then as a human—and then, conversely, the positive karmic results of refraining from the negative deed are described—first during rebirth as a human and then in a heaven.
Thus, the five negative deeds are each associated here with a particular great hell. For killing, it is the hell called Reviving; for stealing, the hell called Wailing; and for sexual misconduct, the hell called Loud Wailing; and, for each of these three, secondary or neighboring hells are also mentioned.7 Lying or slander leads to the hell called Black Thread, and, finally, the misuse of alcohol leads to the hell called Burning. Fuller descriptions of each of these hells can be found elsewhere in the Kangyur, in particular chapter 2 of The Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma (Saddharmasmṛtyupasthāna).8
Whether this second part of the sūtra also formed part of an original Pali source text translated by Tharpa Lotsawa and Ānandaśrī, or whether it was based on Ānandaśrī’s oral testimony, remains a matter of conjecture. It can be observed that the sūtra’s title in Tibetan matches the contents of the second part better than it does the contents of the first, since the narrative concerning the married couple mentions only four, rather than five, doctrinal virtues. Accordingly, the Samajīvīsutta is located within The Book of the Fours (Catukkanipāta) of the Aṅguttaranikāya in the Pali canon. With regard to the second part of the Tibetan sūtra, although there are texts in the Pali canon whose contents match those of our text in general terms—for example, a very short sutta in The Book of the Fives (Pañcakanipāta) of the Aṅguttaranikāya9 enumerates the five negative deeds that lead to rebirth in the hells and the respective renunciations that lead to rebirth in the heavens—none reflects the Tibetan text precisely. If a composite text matching the Tibetan did indeed exist in Pali, then, according to the logic of what Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi has called “composite numerical suttas,”10 it may have been an example of those texts now found in The Book of the Nines (Navakanipāta). However, The Book of the Nines, as presently constituted in the Aṅguttaranikāya, does not contain any sutta that combines the four qualities and the five precepts in this way.11
These considerations suggest two possible conclusions. One is that the fourteenth-century Tibetan translation of The Benefits of the Five Precepts is based on a no-longer-extant, or perhaps paracanonical, Pali original. The other is that the second part of this text, whose first part is a translation of a canonical version of The Benefits of the Five Precepts, is an augmented or commentarial section added, perhaps from an oral tradition, by Ānandaśrī.
It is in this regard that mention should be made of a short passage12 within the second part that is (as far as we can determine) unique to this text, and that many readers—even those fortified with a strong dose of historical and cultural relativism—will find strikingly discordant with present-day values. It is an extra description, seemingly interposed as a supplement to the section on sexual misconduct, that places a woman’s lack of subservience and obedience to her husband in a stark moral light with descriptions of its own specific fruition in the experience of the hell realms. None of the other descriptions in this text of negative actions and the violent sufferings experienced by hell beings as their fruition make pleasant reading; nor indeed do comparable passages in a number of other canonical works and in the later literature. But this particular passage stands out as an outlier, and it would seem justifiable that its canonical status might at least be questioned.
To our knowledge, this is the first full English translation of the sūtra to be published. A full translation into French was published by Léon Henri Feer in 1881, and partial English translations can be found in Cabezón 2017.13
This English translation was prepared from the Tibetan and compared with the Pali witnesses when they were available. The first part of the sūtra concerning the married couple was translated in close consultation with the Pali Samajīvīsutta as found in the Pali Text Society’s edition of the Aṅguttaranikāya14 and with Bhikkhu Bodhi’s English translation.15 Comparison with the Pali was very helpful, since, as observed by Skilling, there are some difficulties with the Tibetan of the “thirteen late-translated sūtras.”16 Where the Tibetan translation diverges in any significant way from the Pali it has been recorded in notes, as have significant variants in the Pali text across the major lineages of the Pali canon. The second part of The Benefits of the Five Precepts was translated from the Tibetan alone, as found in the Degé Kangyur, in consultation with the variant readings noted in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) and the Stok Palace Kangyur. Variant readings that have been preferred over the Degé version or that offer plausible alternatives have also been recorded in notes.
[F.271.a]Homage, with devotion, to the noble Three Jewels.17
Thus did I hear at one time.18 The Bhagavān was staying in the Bhesakalā grove deer park19 at Suṃsumāragiri20 in the country of the Bhaggas.21 Early one morning, the Bhagavān, having donned his outer robe and taken up his bowl,22 went to the dwelling of the householder23 Nakulapitā and, having approached, sat down on a prepared seat. Then the householders Nakulapitā and Nakulamātā24 approached the Bhagavān, greeted him reverently, and sat down to one side.
Sitting to one side, the householder Nakulapitā addressed the Bhagavān: “Ever since, Venerable Bhagavān, the householder Nakulamātā was brought to me as a young girl when I was still a child, not even the thought of being unfaithful to Nakulamātā has occurred to me, and there has been no physical wrongdoing. Bhagavān, this is our mutual experience in this life, and we wish to share this experience in other lives, too.”25
Then the householder Nakulamātā addressed the Bhagavān: “Ever since, Venerable Bhagavān, I was brought as a girl to householder Nakulapitā when he was still young, not even the thought of being unfaithful to Nakulapitā has occurred to me, and there has been no physical wrongdoing. Bhagavān, this is our mutual experience in this life, and we wish to share this experience in other lives, too.”26
Then the Bhagavān said,27 “When a husband and wife both have that wish and have had this mutual experience in this life, they will share this experience in other lives, too. By being equal in faith,[F.271.b] equal in ethical discipline, equal in generosity, and equal in wisdom, both of you have had this mutual experience in this life, and you will share this experience in other lives, too.”28
Then he spoke the following verses:29
“Therefore, one should guard the five precepts.33
“These are (1) refraining from killing, (2) refraining from taking what has not been given, (3) refraining from sexual misconduct, (4) refraining from lying, and (5) refraining from drinking alcohol that leads to intoxication. These are the five precepts that one should guard.”
The monks then inquired about the benefits of the five disciplines: “How else, Venerable Bhagavān, should the karmic fruition of refraining from killing be understood? How should the karmic fruition of refraining from taking what has not been given be understood? How should the karmic fruition of refraining from sexual misconduct be understood? How should the karmic fruition of refraining from lying be understood? And how should the karmic fruition of refraining from drinking alcohol that leads to intoxication be understood?”
The Bhagavān responded to their questions so as to be well understood: “Monks, you should regard killing as being like a venomous snake. It is accompanied by many wrongdoings and leads to rebirth in the realm of ghosts, the animal realm, and the hell realms. After the destruction of the body, after death,34 one will be born in the Reviving Hell. There, the guardians of the Reviving Hell[F.272.a] will thoroughly roast one’s body, and then cut it to pieces with a variety of blades and gouge holes in it. Forced to undergo the so-called “fivefold ordeal,”35 the denizens of this hell repeatedly die and are repeatedly revived and reborn in the Reviving Hell.
“The karmic fruition for those who weightily take life is to be overwhelmed again and again by all these terrible, harsh, and intense sufferings of the Reviving Hell.36 Even if they are reborn as a human, their lives will be short, their sense faculties defective. They will be ugly, lacking insight, always fearful, and always angry. They will be disease ridden, full of sorrow, and devoid of joy. They will have nothing, and they will have nothing for a very long time.”
For that reason, the Bhagavān has said:37
This is the karmic fruition of killing.
“After the destruction of the body, after death,[F.272.b] they will be reborn in a happy rebirth-destiny, in heaven, in a deva world.
“Stealing means robbing another’s possessions, which have not been given, from their house or room and so on, whether consciously or unconsciously. Those who take from others by deception in order to make a living likewise eventually take what has not been given and will, after the destruction of the body, after death, be reborn in the Wailing hells.
“There are two hells called Wailing: the Wailing Hell of Flames and the Wailing Hell of Smoke.42 In the Wailing Hell of Flames, life lasts for one cosmic age. At intervals, the entire hell is filled with a blazing fire. In the Wailing Hell of Smoke, fumes billow. In both, the denizens of the Wailing hells are cooked by flames. Fire comes out of their nine orifices and scorches their bodies. In the Wailing Hell of Smoke, beings are cooked as denizens of hell. Fumes come billowing from their nine orifices, and their bodies are cooked like food.43 The beings in both scream in torment. There they experience terrible, harsh, and intense sufferings.44
“Stealing, monks, should be regarded as being like a venomous snake. It leads to rebirth in the hells, in the realm of ghosts, and as animals. The karmic fruition for anyone who steals is very grave. Even if reborn as a human, their resources will be depleted, and those who have taken what has not been given will be unable to hold on to even the smallest things. It will be difficult for them to obtain food, drink, clothing, a mat, and so forth. They will be in constant discomfort and will be hateful and hostile toward others. Whatever they do manage to obtain they will lose again, and others will enjoy it instead. What they desire will be difficult to obtain, and things they already possess will not be productive. They will be devoid of happiness.”
For that reason, the Bhagavān has said:
This is the karmic fruition of stealing.
“After the destruction of the body, after death, they will be reborn in a happy rebirth-destiny, in heaven, in a deva world.
“Those who are lustful and commit acts of sexual misconduct in this world, after the destruction of the body, after death, will fall and be reborn in the Loud Wailing Hell.45 Outside, on both banks of the unfordable Vaitaraṇī River, is the Forest of Silk Cotton Trees, equally high, extending upward for eighty yojanas, with thorns sixteen finger-widths in length and downward-hanging branches. Bodies the size of twelve earshots, with flames climbing up their bodies,46 ascend sixty yojanas, and there they perpetually kill one another with various weapons, which are the leaves of the Forest of Silk Cotton Trees.47 For many thousands of years they will climb on the thorns of those trees. Moreover, they will be struck with weapons by the guardians of this hell. Crying out, they will fall headlong, and when they land they will be impaled on sharpened stakes set into a ground of burning iron, so that the stakes emerge from their anuses,[F.273.b] causing extreme pain. Constantly wailing, they will stay for an eon in an iron pot sixteen yojanas wide and completely filled with burning coals, which the guardians of hell48 shove into their mouths.”49
For that reason, the Bhagavān has said:
For that reason, the Bhagavān has said, “Monks, sexual misconduct toward what you desire should be regarded as being like a venomous snake. It leads to rebirth in the hells, in the realm of ghosts, and as animals. The karmic fruition for anyone who commits sexual misconduct is very grave. Even if reborn as a human, they will experience great suffering.”
For that reason, the Bhagavān has said:
“They will experience misfortune over many lifetimes. They will have many enemies and will always be among hostile people. Whether sleeping or rising, they will be uncomfortable. They will be constantly angry. They will be disturbed by people. Their bodies will always be hunched. From rebirth to rebirth they will be born deaf and blind and so on. Change for the worse will be certain.54 They will always be dissatisfied. They will delight in mutual conflict. They will be bereft of faith.55
“After the destruction of the body, after death, they will fall and be reborn in the Loud Wailing Hell. There, they will experience terrible, harsh, and intense suffering.”
This is the karmic fruition of sexual misconduct.
“After the destruction of the body, after death, they will be reborn in a happy rebirth-destiny, in heaven, in a deva world.
“Any woman who59 does not fully serve her parents-in-law and does not fully serve her husband, who does not care for her husband, who is not respectful toward her husband’s elder brother, who causes trouble for her husband’s sisters, and who moreover does not put her arms, legs, and back into her work60 and does not give them the food and drink they want, is not modest and humble toward them, and criticizes her husband and recites texts at him61 will be reborn in hell. There she will sleep on a floor of burning iron. A flaming iron hook will be inserted into her mouth, as if hooking a fish, and the tip of her tongue will be drawn forth, tied with a rope, and pulled out. After it is pulled it out like that, a big worm, born in the lips at the place where the weapon struck the tip of the tongue, will eat the tongue. Even after it eats only a little, she will be unable to speak. Similarly, she will be cooked there for many thousands of years,[F.274.b] and after being cooked there she will fall again into a great hell.”62
For that reason, the Bhagavān has said:
“Lying, in turn, leads to rebirth in the Black Thread Hell. There, the guardians of that hell, shouting and bellowing and bearing a variety of blazing weapons, drag hell beings one by one onto a floor of burning iron and mark them with burning black thread. Then, holding blazing weapons, they thoroughly transform them as if separating grain from chaff with a winnowing basket, but using hatchets and axes, leaving them screaming and wailing. It is in this Black Thread Hell, drinking one’s own blood, that one is reborn because of telling lies.63 Here, one will experience terrible, harsh, and intense suffering.
“Monks, you should keep in mind that lying is like a venomous snake. It produces great suffering and leads to rebirth in the hells, in the realm of ghosts, and as animals. The karmic fruition for anyone who lies is grave. Even if reborn as a human, they will be without compassion. They will have a voice like a crow. They will be poor at speaking. They will have tooth decay,64 bad breath, and crooked teeth. Their words will be rough and their voice hoarse. They will have bad lips. They will be jealous and have insatiable cravings. And after the destruction of their body, after death, they will be reborn in the Black Thread Hell.”65
For that reason, the Bhagavān has said:
This is the karmic fruition of lying.
“After the destruction of the body, after death, they will be reborn in a happy rebirth-destiny, in a deva world, in heaven.
“That which is called lying is reprehensible. Sons of good family should refrain from pursuing the objects of their desire. Instead they should extract the essence of that which is true and good. That which is called speaking falsehoods serves no purpose. It deceives the world and leads to rebirth in the Hell of Incessant Torture for many future lives.72 Therefore, one should not lie for the sake of one’s livelihood.73 Even at such times as when the omniscient one, the Buddha, the Bodhisattva, is concealed, divisive speech, like the color of turmeric, does not last long; like a dagger planted in a heap of chaff, it does not last long; and like a round fruit placed74 on the back of a horse,75 it does not last long. So, too, when a word spoken is cut short by a sword, two words will not be uttered.76 But, by speaking the truth over a long period of time, ascetics and brahmins reach liberation after they die.
“Drinking alcohol leads to falling into and being reborn in the Burning Hell.77 Beings who have fallen into this hell will be cooked for many thousands of years. After that, they are discarded on the bank of Vaitaraṇī River. With no way across, they try again and again to swim, whereupon the guards of that hell will pull them out with hooks, like fish, and toss them down on the ground of burning iron and bellow, ‘Oi, what do you want?’ ‘Lord, I am parched,’ the beings will reply, and the guardians of that hell will rip open their mouths with red-hot iron hooks and pour molten iron into their gaping mouths. First, their[F.275.b] lips and throats will be scorched. Next their chests burn, then their bowels, and their hearts will burn, too, until the molten iron forces its way out through the anus. Such are the torments they are made to experience, weeping and rolling78 on the floor in pain. However, even then they will not die. They will experience these sensations, the karmic ripening of their actions, for as long as the fruits of their negative actions last.”
For that reason, the Bhagavān has said:
“For someone to drink alcohol is not a small misdeed. Even if they are reborn as a human, they will always be absent-minded and as dull, stupid, and unaware as a sheep. Constantly falling asleep, they will be of low intelligence and very ignorant. They will be scared and fearful, doubtful,81 divisive, untrustworthy, miserly, envious, and without renunciation. They will be without shame, with no sense of decency, and will have poor discernment. They will be unaware of virtuous qualities, and for five hundred lives they will be reborn as yakṣas, for another five hundred as dogs, and they will forever thereafter be reborn as lunatics. These are the harms that ensue from having consumed alcohol.
This is the karmic fruition of drinking alcohol that leads to intoxication.
“After the destruction of the body, after death, they will be reborn in the happy rebirth-destinies of the higher realms, in a deva world, in heaven.
“These disciplines should be guarded. Any person, whether a man or a woman, who does not guard84 and cultivate these disciplines will, after the destruction of the body, after death, fall and be reborn in bad or unfortunate rebirth-destinies, in the lower realms.85 Those who guard and cultivate these disciplines will, after the destruction of the body, after death, be reborn in the happy rebirth-destinies of the higher realms, in a deva world.”
This is what the Bhagavān said, and the monks rejoiced at what the Bhagavān had taught.
This concludes “The Sūtra That Teaches the Benefits of the Five Disciplines.”
This sūtra was translated, edited, and finalized by the learned translator, the Śākya monk Nyima Gyaltsen Palsangpo, in the presence of the great scholar Ānandaśrī at the translation center of the great monastery Pal Tharpaling. May it become like sun and moon ornaments crowning the earth!86
While the title page reflects the title given at the beginning of the sūtra in most Kangyurs, this alternative title (tshul khrims lnga’i phan yon bstan pa’i mdo; Skt. *Pañcaśīlānuśaṃsasūtra) is given in the colophon in all Kangyur editions and is also found in the collective colophon that concludes the whole group of thirteen sūtras in the Tshalpa-lineage Kangyurs, as well as at the beginning of the collection in the Berlin and the Narthang Kangyurs.
In his groundbreaking article “Theravādin literature in Tibetan translation.” Skilling 1993, pp. 119–23.
The Samajīvīsutta, found in “The Book of the Fours” in the Aṅguttaranikāya (Numbered Discourses) of the Pali canon (AN II 61–62), has been translated into English with the title The Same Living by Bhikkhu Bodhi (2012, pp. 445–46).
This couple, whose names mean “father of Nakula” and “mother of Nakula” respectively, is also mentioned in “The Chapters on Foremost Persons” in The Book of the Ones of the Aṅguttaranikāya, in which Nakulapitā and Nakulamātā are described as the foremost in faithfulness (vissāsika) among the Buddha’s lay disciples. For an English translation, see Bhikkhu Bodhi 2012, pp. 112–13. For the Pali text and an alternative English translation by Bhikkhu Sujato, see “Chaṭṭhavagga,” SuttaCentral, 2018.
There is some ambiguity in the terminology used for this virtue in both Pali and Tibetan: Pali samacāga, Tib. gtong ba mnyam pa. Another possible interpretation would be “equal in renunciation.”
Technically, all the great hells are said to be surrounded by these neighboring hells. However, in this sūtra they are mentioned with regard to only three and are not described using the terms “secondary” or “neighboring.” For the names and descriptions of the hells as found in Theravāda tradition, see Hazlewood 1987, pp. 140–41, particularly verses 28–33.
Sutta no. 145 of the Tikaṇḍakivagga in the Pañcakanipāta, AN III 170,24–171,7; for an English translation, see Bhikkhu Bodhi 2012, p. 762.
There are other suttas in the Navakanipāta, however, that might also serve as points of comparison with the Tibetan translation, for example suttas 63, 73, and 83 of the Satipaṭṭhānavagga, the Sammappadhānavagga, and the Iddhipādavagga, respectively, in the Navakanipāta (AN IV 457,1–20; 462,1–26; and 463,23–464,7), where the “four establishments of mindfulness,” the “four right strivings,” and the four “bases for psychic potency” (translations by Bhikkhu Bodhi) are combined with “the five setbacks in the training” (as translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi; sikkhādubbalyāni literally means “weaknesses in the five trainings”). For English translations, see Bhikkhu Bodhi 2012, pp. 1326–27 and 1330–31.
Bhikkhu Bodhi 2012, pp. 445–46. Bhikkhu Bodhi’s translation is based on the Sinhalese Buddha Jayanti edition of the Pali canon, which was collated with the editions of the Chaṭṭhasaṅgāyana and the Pali Text Society edition. He notes in the preface to this volume that Woodward’s earlier English translation was “dated both in style and technical terminology” (ibid., p. 7).
Skilling (1993, p. 120) notes that “there are clearly problems with the Tibetan translation” in the thirteen texts and provides a short list (ibid., pp. 134–35). Several terms and expressions in the Tibetan of the first part of the sūtra would have remained obscure without recourse to the Pali text.
This line of homage is absent in the Pali and was presumably added to the Tibetan translation in conformity with standard practice.
The Pali omits “Thus did I hear” and simply reads, “At one time, the Bhagavān stayed in the country of the Bhaggas.”
Pali bhesakalāvane migadāye, Tib. sman gyi nags ri dags rgyu ba’i gnas (“the deer park [called] medicinal grove”). The Pali grammar is ambiguous as to whether the deer park is inside the Bhesakalā grove or the Bhesakalā grove is the deer park. According to the commentary on the Saṃyuttanikāya, the Sāratthappakāsinī, “[t]he grove received its name from the fact that its presiding spirit was a Yakkhinī called Bhesākalā (SA.ii.181)” (DPPN, vol. 2, pp. 392–93).
Pali Suṃsumāragire, Skt. Śuśumāragiri, Tib. chu srin byis pa gsod kyi ri (“makara/crocodile mountain/hill”). In the literal Tibetan translation of Pali susumāra (Skt. śiśumāra), meaning “child killing,” the word chu srin (Skt. makara) is tautological. A makara is a mythical sea creature, but the term may also mean crocodile (cf. Mvy. Sakaki 4832: śiśumāraḥ = chu srin byis pa gsod). The Pali has the variants susumāragiri in the Chaṭṭasaṅgāyana edition (which is the more regular development from Old Indo-Aryan śiśu; cf. Oberlies 2019, p. 97) and the Pali Text Society edition suṃsumāragiri. See DPPN vol. 2, p. 1173: “It is said […] that the city was so called because when it was being built a crocodile (suṃsumāra) made a noise in a lake nearby.” The Pali and Sanskrit giri means “hill” or “mountain.”
Pali bhaggesu, Tib. garga ra. Bharga is the Sanskrit form of the name of this people, mentioned in the Indian epic Mahābhārata.
Tib. chos gos gyon lhung bzed thogs te. The Pali reads nivāsetvā pattacīvaraṃ ādāya (“having dressed and taken up his bowl and outer robe”).
On the usage of the term householder in canonical Pali texts, see Freiberger 2019, p. 72, and Cone 2010, p. 40, s.v. “gahapati.”
The suffixes -pitā and -mātā mean “father” and “mother” respectively. In Tibetan, the names are also rendered with the prefixes pha (“father”) and ma (“mother”). A possible implication of these suffixes/prefixes is that the couple were already elderly at the time of this discourse with the Buddha.
Pali yato me bhante Nakulamātā gahapatānī daharass’eva daharā ānītā nābhijānāmi Nakulamātaraṃ gahapatāniṃ manasā pi aticaritā, kuto pana kāyena iccheyyāma mayaṃ bhante diṭṭh’eva dhamme aññamaññaṃ passituṃ abhisamparāyañ ca aññamaññaṃ passitun ti (“Venerable Sir, ever since the householder Nakulamātā was brought to me when we were still young, I cannot remember having ever been unfaithful to the householder Nakulamātā in thought, let alone in body. We wish to exist together in future lives just as we do in the present life”). Both the Pali and the Tibetan employ the verb “to see” (Pali passati; Tib. mthong) here in an extended meaning, i.e., in the sense of existence or experience.
Pali yatvāhaṃ bhante Nakulapituno gahapatissa daharass’eva daharā ānītānābhijānāmi Nakulapitaraṃ gahapatiṃ manasā pi aticaritā, kuto pana kāyena iccheyyāma mayaṃ bhante diṭṭh’eva dhamme aññamaññaṃ passituṃ abhisamparāyañ ca aññamaññaṃ passitun ti (“Since I was given to the young householder Nakulapitā as a young girl, I cannot remember having ever been unfaithful to the householder Nakulapitā in thought, let alone in body. We wish to exist together in future lives just as we do in the present life”).
Pali ākaṅkheyyuṃ ce gahapatayo ubho jānipatayo diṭṭh’eva dhamme aññamaññaṃ passituṃ abhisamparāyañ ca aññamaññaṃ passituṃ ubho ca assu samasaddhā samasīlā samacāgā samapaññā te diṭṭh’eva dhamme aññamaññaṃ passanti abhisamparāyañ ca aññamaññaṃ passantīti (“If both husband and wife wish to exist together in future lives just as they do in the present life, they should both have equal faith, equal ethical discipline, equal generosity, and equal wisdom. Then they will exist together in future lives just as they do in the present life”).
Here following the Pali ubho saddhā vadaññū ca saññatā. The Tibetan here reads gnyis ka dad dang chos tshig dang//mnyam dang “Who are equal in faith and Dharma terms.” The Tibetan appears to have interpreted vadaññū (Skt. vadānya) as chos =ññū?) tshig (=vāda) or “Dharma terms,” and interpreted saññatā (Skt. saṃyata, meaning “self-controlled,” “restrained,” or “disciplined”) as samatā (mnyam pa), meaning “equal.”
Following the Pali amittā dummanā honti. Tibetan dgra ni de la dga’ ba dang, “enemies will like them.”
Here translated in light of the Pali: idha dhammaṃ caritvāna samasīlabbatā ubho nandino devalokasmiṃ modanti kāmakāmino ti. The Tibetan reads ’di ltar chos ni spyad pa dang// gnyis ka tshul khrims ldan pa dang// ’dod cing ‘dod la yi rang bas// lha yi gnas su dga’ bar ’gyur.
Tib. de’i phyir bslab pa rnam pa lnga po bsrung bar bya’o. This sentence is not in the Pali Samajīvīsutta, which ends with the end of the verse. From here the translation is made from Tibetan alone.
The Tibetan shi ba’i pha rol du literally means “on the other side of death.” The possible corresponding phrase in Pali is kāyassa bhedā parammaraṇā sugatiṃ saggaṃ lokaṃ upapajjati (AN III 255 passim).
Tibetan rnam pa lnga yis bcing is likely a literal translation of Pali pañcavidhabandhana; cf. Stede 1914, p. 37. For an alternative list of these ordeals, see PED, p. 38, s.v. “pañca.”
Translation tentative: de rnams de la yang sos kyi sdug bsngal drag po rtsub pa tsha ba ’joms shing ’joms la gang zhig la thams cad lci zhing srog bcad pa’i rnam par smin pa de’o. This English translation infers an instrumental particle after the sufferings, so that they are the instrument of ’joms shing ’joms, and it interprets lci zhing srog pa bcad pa as referring to the “weighty” taking of life, in the sense of murder, or killing a being of merit. For a fuller description of Reviving Hell, see The Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma (Toh 287), 2.296.
de’i phyir bcom ldan ’das kyis bka’ stsal pa. This formulation is used repeatedly through the rest of the sūtra. Since this text appears to be a composite, we have chosen to translate it in such a way as to highlight that it is reported speech.
D and S read wa (“fox”), and K and Y read lug (“sheep”). What the animals in this list have in common is that they are all hunted or killed by humans for different reasons.
This is the first occurrence of a recurring verse that acts as a refrain throughout the sūtra. Here, however, the Tibetan deviates in including the word “body” (skye pa’am ni bud med lus), which is not found in the later iterations of the refrain.
Tib. byad stems ngan. The term byad stems (or simply byad) can translate the Sanskrit kākhorda, which itself is an Iranian loanword (see BHSD, s.v. “kākhorda”). For an informative discussion of kākhorda, see Schopen 1978, pp. 256–75, with further references on p. 261.
These two departments or divisions of Wailing Hell are also mentioned, for example, in the Mahāvastu (dvau ca rauravau) and the Mvy. For references, see BHSD, s.v. “raurava.” Their Pali names are attested in the commentary on the Pali Saṃkiccajātaka (Jātaka no. 530), where they are also described (see glossary entries). For a (different) description of the Raurava and the Mahāraurava hells in Purāṇic literature, see PE, s.v. “kāla,” and Zin 2014, p. 271.
The commentary on the Saṃkiccajātaka (Jātaka no. 530) describes the process in reverse, namely that fire or vapor enters their bodies and burns or cooks it from the inside (Tesu jālaroruve paccantānaṃ navahi vaṇṇamukhehi jālā pavisitvā sarīraṃ dahanti, dhūmaroruve paccantānaṃ navahi vaṇamukhehi khāradhūmo pavisitvā piṭṭhaṃ viya sarīraṃ sedeti).
Translation tentative: lus po rgyang grags bcu gnyis dang ldan zhing lus la me gyen du ’bar ba. There may be a sentence missing here. As it stands it is unclear whose bodies (lus po) are being referred to as “having twelve earshots distance” (rgyang grags). The Pali Pañcagatidīpanī (translated in Hazlewood 1987) mentions huge-bodied fearsome females in this hell, who torment beings there: “Metal-toothed, huge bodied, blazing fearsome females, embracing him, feed on the one who steals another’s wife” (ibid., p. 141, verse 31).
Translation tentative: de ni shal ma li’i shing gi nags la shon no. Other texts describe this hellish forest in which the leaves are sword-like and face downward as one tries to climb up, and upward when one tries to climb down. See the description in The Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma (Toh 287), 2.375. See also a reference to the Asipattavana, “the forest where the leaves are swords,” one of the secondary hells, in the Pañcagatidīpanī (Hazlewood 1987, p. 141, verse 32).
Cp., however, Feer’s differing French translation (Feer 1883, p. 267):
Vipariṇāma, the Pali word that likely underlies the Tibetan translation rnam par ’gyur ba, usually has a negative connotation: change (for the worse), reverse, vicissitude (see PED, s.v. “vipariṇāma”).
We interpret the phrase dga’ ba’i sems in dga’ ba’i sems dang ’bral bar ’gyur ro as rendering the Pali pasannacitta (Skt. prasannacitta); cf. PED, s.v. “pasanna”: “°citta: devotion in their heart.” We think that dga’ ba here renders pasanna, although this is not a standard translation equivalent. The Pali pasāda (Skt. prasāda) has two basic meanings: (1) “clarity” and (2) “faith,” “joy,” etc. “Unhappy” or “dissatisfied” has already been expressed two sentences prior: rtag tu sems mi dga’ bar ’gyur ba dang.
Reading spangs ba yis as in previous iterations of the refrain, though here D and S read spangs ba yi.
Or “the wives of others”; cf. Feer’s translation (1883, p. 238):
D gzhan yang lag pa dang / rkang pa dang / rgyab la las su bya ba mi byed pa dang. Cabezón (2017, p. 316) translates this as “who engages in inappropriate actions with her hands, her feet, and her back.”
Translation tentative khyo bo la klog par byed. Cabezón (2017, p. 316) translates this as “who reads/chants (klog) to her husband” and speculates in a footnote (n. 809) that this might refer to the brahmanical injunction against women reading/reciting the Veda.
Translating S kunda kha yi dri; D reads kun da kha yi dri, K reads kun da zhim pa’i dri, and H and N read kun nang kha yi dri.
chos rnams kun la mkhas pa dang. An alternative translation could be “They will be adept in all aspects of the Dharma.”
Translating D don dang tshig ’bru; S has the variant don dam (“ultimate/real meaning”), i.e., what the words refer to.
Translating D sems kyi rtog la zhum pa med; H and N read sems kyi rtog pa la zhum med, and S reads sems kyi rtog la zhus pa med.
Translating D and S brdzun du smra ba spangs pa yis [H and N yi]; Y omits spangs pa, and K reads brdzun du yang ni mi smra yis.
Usually, rebirth in this worst of the so-called major hot hells is the result of grave negative actions such as matricide, patricide, and showing disrespect toward holy beings (cf., e.g., Hazlewood 1987, p. 140, n. 20). Why it is mentioned here as the result of speaking falsehoods, although the sūtra itself has stated earlier that the result of speaking falsehoods is rebirth in the Black Thread Hell, is unclear.
Alternatively, this sentence may be interpreted to mean, “Not even for the sake of one’s life should one speak a lie,” but the sentence does not contain a concessive particle.
Translating D and S ril bu bzhag; Y reads ril bu gzhag, C and J read rol bu bzhag, and K reads rol bu gzhag.
Translation tentative: D reads smras pa’i tshig la ral gris ske ’breg pa’i tshe tshig gnyis mi smra ba bzhin no. S reads skye ’breg, and K and Y read ske ’brel.
The traditional imagery is as follows: the roughness of the river refers to the cutting waves, which are said to be like razors, and the water is full of unseen weapons that appear as lotuses.
The Pali formula underlying this is likely kāyassa bhedā param maraṇā apāyaṃ duggatiṃ vinipātaṃ nirayaṃ uppajjati. Bhikkhu Bodhi (2012, p. 467) translates as follows: “In consequence, with the breakup of the body, after death, he is reborn in the plane of misery, in a bad destination, in the lower world, in hell.” In the Tibetan, “in hell” (Pali niraya; Tib. sems can dmyal ba) is missing.
Skilling (1993, p. 132) translates this maṅgalam verse as “May the surface of the earth be like the sun and moon.”
A clouded state of mind in which one is forgetful and unaware of one’s surroundings. One of the twenty secondary or minor afflicted mental states (Skt. upakleśa; Tib. nye ba’i nyon mongs).
A Theravāda monk from Sri Lanka who visited Tibet during the fourteenth century ᴄᴇ. No details about his life are known.
One of the three lower realms of existence (Skt. durgati, apāya). Unlike the modern biological classification of life in which humans are classed along with animals, Buddhism in ancient Asia developed its own taxonomic system that divided forms of sentient life (plants excluded) into six (or sometimes five) realms of existence or rebirth destinies (Skt. gati): gods (Skt. deva), demigods (Skt. asura), humans (Skt. manuṣya), animals (Skt. tiryak), hell beings (Skt. naraka), and ghosts (Skt. preta).
A general term applied to spiritual practitioners who live as ascetic mendicants. In Buddhist texts, the term usually refers to Buddhist monastics, but it can also designate a practitioner from other ascetic/monastic spiritual traditions. In this context śramaṇa is often contrasted with the term brāhmaṇa (bram ze), which refers broadly to followers of the Vedic tradition. Any renunciate, not just a Buddhist, could be referred to as a śramaṇa if they were not within the Vedic fold. The epithet Great Śramaṇa is often applied to the Buddha.
A synonym for “unfortunate rebirth-destiny.” A name for any of the three lower realms of existence, i.e., the realms of animals, ghosts, and hell beings. Occurs often in a formula together with its synonym and its near synonyms “the lower worlds” and “hell” (Pali niraya/naraka; Tib. sems can dmyal ba).
In Buddhist literature, this is an epithet applied to buddhas, most often to Śākyamuni. The Sanskrit term generally means “possessing fortune,” but in specifically Buddhist contexts it implies that a buddha is in possession of six auspicious qualities (bhaga) associated with complete awakening. The Tibetan term—where bcom is said to refer to “subduing” the four māras, ldan to “possessing” the great qualities of buddhahood, and ’das to “going beyond” saṃsāra and nirvāṇa—possibly reflects the commentarial tradition where the Sanskrit bhagavat is interpreted, in addition, as “one who destroys the four māras.” This is achieved either by reading bhagavat as bhagnavat (“one who broke”), or by tracing the word bhaga to the root √bhañj (“to break”).
A small tribal oligarchy belonging to the Vṛji confederacy located between ancient Vaiśālī and Śrāvastī.
A deer park in the city of Suṃsumāragiri, the capital of the tribal oligarchy of the Bhaggas (Skt. Bhargas). The Tibetan translators interpreted this name as a compound where bhesakalā was rendered as sman (“medicine”) and vana as nags (“forest”). On the meaning of the Pali name, see n.19 in the translation.
Harmful sorcery, or a class of beings prone to perpetrating it. See also n.40.
Name of one of the great hells (Skt. mahānaraka). Elsewhere translated as “Black Line Hell.” It is so named because the beings reborn there have lines drawn on their bodies with a black thread and are then dismembered along these lines.
Name of one of the great (hot) hells (Skt. mahānaraka). Inhabitants of this hell are boiled in cauldrons, roasted in pans, beaten with hammers, and skewered with spears as their bodies burst into flames. The Sanskrit word for this hell, tapana or tāpana, can mean both burning and, by semantic extension, tormenting or distressing. Elsewhere translated as “Hell of Heat.”
A cosmic period of time, sometimes equivalent to the time when a world system appears, exists, and disappears. According to the traditional Abhidharma understanding of cyclical time, a great eon (mahākalpa) is divided into eighty lesser eons. In the course of one great eon, the universe takes form and later disappears. During the first twenty of the lesser eons, the universe is in the process of creation and expansion; during the next twenty it remains; during the third twenty, it is in the process of destruction; and during the last quarter of the cycle, it remains in a state of empty stasis. A fortunate, or good, eon (bhadrakalpa) refers to any eon in which more than one buddha appears.
In The Benefits of the Five Precepts, this seems to be a general term, rather than the name of a particular place (unlike the Deer Park outside of Varanasi, where the Buddha first taught the Dharma). Although “deer park” is a common English rendering, it may have referred to a stretch of wilderness or a forest, perhaps within a park, where wild animals roamed freely.
In the most general sense the devas—the term is cognate with the English divine—are a class of celestial beings who frequently appear in Buddhist texts, often at the head of the assemblies of nonhuman beings who attend and celebrate the teachings of the Buddha Śākyamuni and other buddhas and bodhisattvas. In Buddhist cosmology the devas occupy the highest of the five or six “destinies” (gati) of saṃsāra among which beings take rebirth. The devas reside in the devalokas, “heavens” that traditionally number between twenty-six and twenty-eight and are divided between the desire realm (kāmadhātu), form realm (rūpadhātu), and formless realm (ārūpyadhātu). A being attains rebirth among the devas either through meritorious deeds (in the desire realm) or the attainment of subtle meditative states (in the form and formless realms). While rebirth among the devas is considered favorable, it is ultimately a transitory state from which beings will fall when the conditions that lead to rebirth there are exhausted. Thus, rebirth in the god realms is regarded as a diversion from the spiritual path.
A heaven or paradise, the highest of the five or six realms of existence. See also “deva.”
Morally virtuous or disciplined conduct and the abandonment of morally undisciplined conduct of body, speech, and mind. In a general sense, moral discipline is the cause for rebirth in higher, more favorable states, but it is also foundational to Buddhist practice as one of the three trainings (triśikṣā) and one of the six perfections of a bodhisattva. Often rendered as “ethics,” “discipline,” and “morality.”
See “slander.”
The fourth ruler of the Zhalu myriarchy in Tsang. One of the titles he bore was sku zhang (literally “maternal uncle”), which was given to the nobles of Zhalu to indicate that they gave their daughters in marriage to important Sakya hierarchs. Together with his son, Kunga Döndrup (kun dga’ don grub), Drakpa Gyaltsen was an important patron of Butön Rinchen Drup (bu ston rin chen grub, 1290–1364) during the latter’s abbacy of Zhalu monastery. The exact dates for Drakpa Gyaltsen are unknown, but he must have lived during the thirteenth–fourteenth centuries ᴄᴇ. See Skilling 1993, pp. 84–86.
Fifth of the negative actions to be renounced under the five precepts. The Pali majja and Sanskrit madya simply mean “intoxicating [beverage].” The Tibetan chang likewise refers generally to all alcoholic drinks (fermented and distilled). The entire phrase could be interpreted as a “drinking binge” or “carousal.” In ancient South Asia, a fermented alcoholic drink called surā was known and produced for centuries. Surā was mostly made from grain, but other alcoholic drinks were made using fruit and honey (see McHugh 2021).
An ancient unit of measuring distance. Approximately two and a quarter English miles (if taken as a quarter of a yojana), but calculated differently in various systems. The Tibetan literally means “earshot.”
Five moral rules or precepts, observed by all lay Buddhists, that through diligent cultivation will become one’s second nature. The core meaning of the Sanskrit śīla in nonreligious literature is “nature,” “character,” or “habit.” The five are refraining from (1) killing, (2) stealing, (3) sexual misconduct, (4) speaking falsehood, and (5) consuming intoxicants (alcohol in particular). The five disciplines also form a subset of the ten kinds of ethical conduct (Skt. daśaśīla) that are followed by male and female Buddhist novices. The term is used synonymously with “the five precepts” in The Benefits of the Five Precepts.
In The Benefits of the Five Precepts, bslab pa / śikṣā is used in its second main sense as it appears in the Vinaya (the first being “training”), namely, five kinds of right conduct that are observed by all lay Buddhists. They are refraining from (1) killing, (2) stealing, (3) sexual misconduct, (4) speaking falsehoods or lying, and (5) consuming intoxicants (alcohol in particular). The term is here used synonymously with the “five disciplines.”
A term in the Pali Buddhist tradition for five kinds of severe punishments in hell, which those who have committed gravely negative actions will have to endure: (1) tattalohasecana, becoming doused with molten copper; (2) aṅgārapabbatāropana, climbing a mountain of glowing coals; (3) lohakumbhipakkhepana, being thrown into a (hot?) copper cauldron; (4) asipattavanapavesana, entering the forest of blades; and (5) vetaraṇiyaṃ samotaraṇaṃ, swimming across the river Vaitaraṇī (see Stede 1914, p. 37). The fivefold ordeal seems to partially overlap with the ordeals of the four secondary hells. The relationship between these two, as well as between the different versions of the secondary hells in different text corpora, awaits systematic investigation.
Name of one of the sixteen realms that surround the Loud Wailing Hell, where the thorns of a silk cotton tree torture the denizens of that realm. The silk cotton tree (Skt. śālmalī; Pali simbali; scientific name Bombax ceiba) is a large tree native to South Asia as well as southern China, Southeast Asia, and Africa. Its trunk and branches are studded with large conical thorns, and its seed pods are filled with a soft flossy wool reminiscent of cotton, hence its English name. Also characteristic are its long roots that often grow above ground and can envelope entire buildings, as seen, for instance, in the stone ruins of Angkor Wat.
One of the five or six classes of sentient beings, into which beings are born as the karmic fruition of past miserliness. As the term in Sanskrit means “the departed,” they are analogous to the ancestral spirits of Vedic tradition, the pitṛs, who starve without the offerings of descendants. It is also commonly translated as “hungry ghost” or “starving spirit,” as in the Chinese 餓鬼 e gui.
They are sometimes said to reside in the realm of Yama, but are also frequently described as roaming charnel grounds and other inhospitable or frightening places along with piśācas and other such beings. They are particularly known to suffer from great hunger and thirst and the inability to acquire sustenance. Detailed descriptions of their realm and experience, including a list of the thirty-six classes of pretas, can be found in The Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma, Toh 287, 2.1281– 2.1482.
A female deva.
The great hells are also often called hot hells in secondary literature because beings there suffer from heat and being burned. The eight great hells are Wailing, Loud Wailing, Black Thread, Crushing, Reviving, Burning, Intense Heat, and Incessant Torture.
bde ’gro is the opposite of ngan ’gro (see “unfortunate rebirth-destiny”). The Sanskrit equivalent is sugati. The compounded term (bde gro mtho ris) is a collective name for the higher realms of existence of devas and humans.
The blissful realms of devas according to Buddhist cosmology.
One of the five or six classes of sentient beings. Birth in hell is considered to be the karmic fruition of past anger and harmful actions. According to Buddhist tradition there are eighteen different hells, namely eight hot hells and eight cold hells, as well as neighboring and ephemeral hells, all of them tormented by increasing levels of unimaginable suffering.
The lowest and worst of the major hot hells according to Buddhist cosmology. In The Benefits of the Five Precepts, rebirth in this hell is the full karmic result of speaking falsehood.
Term for a female non-monastic householder or married woman. See also n.23.
Term for a male non-monastic householder or married man. See also n.23.
Literally “black mountain.” According to traditional Buddhist cosmology, the Nine Black Mountains are found on the northern edge of the continent of Jambudvīpa. There are three sets of three peaks, and behind them lies the great snow mountain that is the source of the Ganges River. A description of this cosmology can be found in chapter three of the Abhidharmakośabhāṣya of Vasubandhu.
The complex process of the ripening or maturation of karma, i.e., the development of the karmic result (Tib. las kyi ’bras bu) of karmically relevant actions committed with body, speech, and mind, by virtue of the power of the action as cause and supporting conditions.
The first of the negative actions to be renounced under the five precepts.
Someone with leprosy (also known as Hansen’s disease). Longstanding leprosy may cause loss of the extremities due to nerve damage, as well as other unsightly signs, and throughout most of history has been associated with social stigma.
Name of one of the great hells (Skt. mahānaraka). Elsewhere translated as “Great Howling Hell.”
Literally “falling down” and hence metaphorically “loss,” “ruin,” “destruction,” or “calamity.” A collective name for the three lower realms of existence, i.e., the realms of animals, ghosts, and hell beings. It occurs often in a formula together with its near-synonyms “evil state,” “the lower worlds,” and “hell” (Pali niraya/naraka; Tib. sems can dmyal ba).
The fourth of the negative actions to be renounced under the five precepts.
Nakulamātā and her husband, Nakulapitā, were eminent lay disciples of the Buddha Śākyamuni and were his parents and near relations during five hundred of his previous lives as a bodhisattva. Their home was the city Suṃsumāragiri (Skt. Śuśumāragiri) in the country of the Bhaggas (Skt. Bhargas). According to Malalasekera, they lived a celibate married life as coreligionists devoted to Buddhist practice, and the Buddha regarded them as the most intimate among his disciples (see Malalasekera 1938, p. 3). Their celibacy does not appear to be supported by the Tibetan translation of The Benefits of the Five Precepts, nor by their names, which could be translated as “father of Nakula” and “mother of Nakula,” respectively.
Nakulapitā and his wife, Nakulamātā, were eminent lay disciples of the Buddha Śākyamuni and were his parents and near relations during five hundred of his previous lives as a bodhisattva. Their home was the city Suṃsumāragiri (Skt. Śuśumāragiri) in the country of the Bhaggas (Skt. Bhargas). According to Malalasekera, they lived a celibate married life as coreligionists devoted to Buddhist practice, and the Buddha regarded them as the most intimate among his disciples (see Malalasekera 1938, p. 3). Their celibacy does not appear to be supported by the Tibetan translation of The Benefits of the Five Precepts, nor by their names, which could be translated as “father of Nakula” and “mother of Nakula,” respectively.
Four secondary hells located on each of the four sides of the hot hells and through which beings have to go once they leave one of the hot hells. The names and descriptions of the sufferings and punishments in these hells vary in different textual corpora.
The Sanskrit ārya has the general meaning of a noble person, one of a higher class or caste. In Buddhist literature, depending on the context, it often means specifically one who has gained the realization of the path and is superior for that reason. In particular, it applies to stream enterers, once-returners, non-returners, and worthy ones (arhats) and is also used as an epithet of bodhisattvas. In the five-path system, it refers to someone who has achieved at least the path of seeing (darśanamārga).
A famous translator who lived during the fourteenth century ᴄᴇ. He is said to have spent fourteen years in Nepal and to have mastered the Sanskrit language to the degree that he was able to translate Indian works without the help of Indian paṇḍitas. He belonged to the Chel (dpyal) family, who owned Tharpaling (thar pa gling) monastery, a renowned translation center. Nyima Gyaltsen Palsangpo translated the “thirteen late-translated sūtras” with Ānandaśrī, as well as several tantras, tantra commentaries, hymns, and works on grammar and medicine. He was one of the most important teachers of Butön Rinchen Drup (bu ston rin chen grub, 1290–1364), the famous scholar and redactor of the Tibetan Buddhist canon.
One of the three robes of a monk or one the five robes of a nun. In Tibetan the term chos gos (“dharma robe”) can also be used for all the robes.
A wide collective term for people with various kinds of unclear gender status, including but not restricted to physical intersex conditions and hermaphroditism. It can, for example, also refer to a eunuch or, according to the Vinaya account of the expulsion of one paṇḍaka, a male who sought other males to have sex with. See also the glossary entry in The Chapter on Going Forth (Toh 1-1, g.281g.281) and Cabezón 2017, p. 44.
Often translated as “training,” here it has the meaning associated with the Vinaya, which is “right conduct,” “ethical behavior,” or “precept.”
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C Choné printed Kangyur
H Lhasa (lha sa / zhol) printed Kangyur
J Lithang (li thang / ’jang sa tham) printed Kangyur
K Kangxi printed Kangyur
N Narthang printed Kangyur
S Stok Palace manuscript Kangyur
U Urga Kangyur
Y Yongle printed Kangyur (1410)
D Degé printed Kangyur (par phud facsimile)
S Stok Palace manuscript Kangyur
AN Aṅguttaranikāya, Morris 1995
BHSD Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary, Edgerton 1953
DPPN Dictionary of Pāli Proper Names, Malalasekera 1938
Mvy. Mahāvyutpatti with sgra sbyor bam po gñis pa
PE Purāṇic Encyclopaedia, Mani 1975
PED The Pali Text Society’s Pali–English Dictionary, Rhys Davids and Stede 1925
