Thus have I heard:

At one time, the Buddha was staying under a tree of music in Rājagṛha, together with a great assembly of one thousand two hundred and fifty bhikṣus. The Buddha’s fame was renowned in the ten directions; all his defilements were eradicated, and he was liberated. The eight classes of spirits and other beings wished to hear the essentials of the Dharma.

Śāriputra stood up from his seat, came forward, and addressed the Buddha, saying: "O Bhagavān! The Buddha is the King of the Dharma. He teaches the Dharma according to the dispositions of sentient beings, so that devas and humans respectfully accept and bear it, whether hearing it directly or through transmission, and whether practising or not practising. What is referred to by 'Dharma practice' and what is referred to by 'non-Dharma practice?'"

The Buddha said: "Sādhu! Sādhu! You can ask such a question for the sake of sentient beings. Listen carefully, listen carefully! I will explain it to you. A practitioner of the Dharma is one who has 'heard' and upholds it, and one who has 'heard what has been transmitted' and upholds it, and they are all called the 'saṅgha.' For example, the bhikṣu Ratnākara, who heard the Buddha say that all conditioned things are impermanent, then contemplated their arising and passing away and cut off all effluents. He is truly my disciple. He is a practitioner of the Dharma. 'Hearing what has been transmitted' is like the bhikṣu Kāyānupaśya, who heard you and Kalodayin say that drinking alcohol opens the door to negligence and creates great difficulties for practitioners on the Path. He then entered the samādhi of non-contention and attained vision of the path that cuts off origination. One who practises my Dharma is not practising non-Dharma. One who practises non-Dharma is called 'not practising.' Such a one is not a practitioner of the Dharma, they are not my disciple, and they have entered the dense forest of wrong views."

Śāriputra addressed the Buddha, saying: "Why did the Bhagavān teach the precepts to the bhikṣus, sometimes being permissive and sometimes being restrictive? For example, when a householder suddenly rose to set out alms, the bhikṣus were stopped from eating breakfast. But when a villager invited them, they were again permitted to eat his rice, fish, and meat. When the villagers of Binpu invited them, they were again prohibited from eating rice and only allowed to eat thin gruel. When King Bimbisāra invited them, they were again permitted to eat his food, including rice. When Chandaśrī invited them, they were again permitted to eat from many households, but they were still not satisfied. Regarding all of these words, in later generations, how will the bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, and upāsikās sincerely uphold them?"

The Buddha said: "What I have said is called ‘according to the occasion.’ At this time, you should practice this saying, and at another time, you should practice that saying. Because it is beneficial to practice, you should sincerely uphold it all. After my nirvāṇa, Mahākāśyapa and the others should collect and organise it, and make it a great reliance for the bhikṣus and bhikṣuṇīs, not differing from me. Kāśyapa will pass it on to Ānanda, Ānanda will pass it on to Madhyāntika, Madhyāntika will pass it on to Śāṇakavāsa, and Śāṇakavāsa will pass it on to Upagupta. After Upagupta, there will be a king named Mauryāśoka who will propagate the sūtras and the Vinaya. His successor, named Puṣyamitra, will inherit the throne and ask his ministers: 'How can I make my fame undiminishing?' One of the ministers will say: 'There are only two things. What are the two? Act just as the previous king [Aśoka], who built eighty-four thousand stūpas and offered all the riches of the kingdom as offerings to the Triple Gem. This is one thing. If not that, then you should do the opposite: destroy the stūpas, destroy the Dharma, and oppress the fourfold saṅgha of those who had calmed their minds. This is the second. Even though the fame of each is good or bad, respectively, it will not perish.' The king will say: ‘I do not have the majesty and merits of the former king. I should carry out the latter deeds to generate fame.' So he will command the four divisions of his army to attack Kukkuṭārāma Monastery. In the monastery, there will be two stone lions that will roar back and shake the earth. The king will be greatly alarmed and flee back into the city. The people who see this will weep and fill the roads. The king will wax even more wroth, but will not dare to enter. He will order his soldiers to kill everyone at once. He will order the officials to be diligent in their duties and to gather the sevenfold saṅgha of bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, śrāmaṇeras, śrāmaṇerīs, śikṣamāṇās, anāgārikas, and anāgārikās into one spot. He will ask them: 'Is destroying the stūpas good or not? Is destroying the cloister good or not?' They will answer: 'We do not want them to be destroyed. But if it is inevitable, we can destroy just the cloisters.' The king, greatly wroth, will speak coarsely, saying: 'Why can't you?' And he will cause them to attack them, regardless of their age, and blood will flow like rivers. More than eight hundred temples and stūpas will be destroyed. Disciples of pure faith will cry out in grief and distress, and the king will arrest them and have them flogged. Five hundred arhats will climb the southern mountains and escape, and hidden in the mountains and valleys, the army will not be able to reach them. The king will become greatly worried about his impurity, as he has offered a reward to all other kingdoms: anyone who captures one of them will be awarded three thousand gold coins. The arhat Kundapadhaṇiyaka, having been entrusted by the Buddha to propagate the Dharma, will transform himself into innumerable people, appearing as though they are holding innumerable bhikṣu and bhikṣuṇīs' heads, and here and there collect gold coins [as a reward]. Consequently, the king's treasuries will all become empty. The king will wax even more wroth, and the manifested bodies of Kundapadhaṇiyaka will enter into the absorption of total cessation; the king then will try to kill himself, but the power of those absorptions will prevent him from causing himself any harm. Next, he will burn the sūtra repositories. As the fire starts, the inferno will reach the sūtras, and then, by his supernormal power, Maitreya Bodhisattva will lift the sūtras and vinayas himself into Tuṣita Heaven. Next, regarding the stūpa enshrining the tooth relic, the deva protecting the stūpa will say: 'There is a [nāga] deva called Kṛmi. Formerly, he sought my daughter, but I did not give her to him. Now, causing him to vow to protect the Dharma, I give him my daughter.' He will single-mindedly pacify the deva Kṛmi, who will rejoice, take up a massive mountain in his hands, and crush the king and his fourfold army, instantly killing them. The king, his household, and descendants will be completely wiped out.

"Thereafter, there will be a king of extremely good nature. Maitreya Bodhisattva will transform himself into three hundred youths who will seek the Buddha's Path as humans; they will follow the five hundred arhats, and listen to and take up the Dharma they teach. Then, the men and women of that country will again go forth from home together with them. In this way, the bhikṣus and bhikṣuṇīs will again increase in number. The arhats will then go up to [Tuṣita] heaven and receive the sūtras and the vinaya and return to the human world. At that time, there will be a bhikṣu called Bahuśruta who will consult the arhats and the king, and he will distribute my sūtras and the Vinaya and establish them in many monasteries for the sake of the convenience of those who come to study.

"At that time, there will be a certain elder bhikṣu who will be fond of fame and will frequently engage in disputational debate. He will redact and edit my Vinaya, open it up and expand it beyond what had been established by Kāśyapa, which is termed the Mahāsaṅghika Vinaya, and take extraneous selections and arrange them in the original, deceiving many beginning practitioners and forming a separate assembly that mutually debates what is right and wrong. At that time, a bhikṣu will ask the king to make a ruling, and the king will assemble the two groups and prepare black and white voting sticks. He will proclaim to the assembly: 'Those who are in favour of the old vinaya, cast the black voting sticks. Those who are in favour of the new vinaya cast the white voting sticks.' Then, ten thousand will cast the black voting sticks while only one hundred will cast the white voting sticks. The king will then consult the Buddha's words for them all, and since their preferences will differ, it will not be possible for them to share a common dwelling. The practitioners of the old way will be the majority, and therefore they will take the name Mahāsaṅghika. The practitioners of the new way will be fewer and will be elders, so they will be called the elders, that is, Sthavira. Within the Sthavira group, over the three hundred years after my parinirvāṇa, prompted by disputes, the Sarvāstivāda and Vātsīputrīyā groups will arise. From the Vātsīputrīyā group, there will again arise the Dharmaguptaka group, the Bhadrayāniyā group, the Saṃmitīya group, and the Ṣaṇṇagarika group. That Sarvāstivāda group will further give rise to the Mahīśāsaka group. Moggaliputtatissa will give rise to the Dharmaguptaka and Suvarṣaka groups. Within the Sthavira group, the Kāśyapīya and Sautrāntika groups will further arise. Within four hundred years, there will arise the Samkrāntivādi group from the Mahāsāṅghika group. During the two hundred years after my parinirvāṇa, caused by disputes over doctrines, there will arise the Ekavyāvahārika group, the Lokottara group, the Kukkuṭa group, the Bāhuśrutīya group, and the Prajñaptivādin group. Within three hundred years, due to differences over training, these five groups will also give rise to the Mahādeva, Caitika, and Uttaraśaila groups. Thus, there will be many after a long time of transmission, whether it is a correct or incorrect [transmission]. Only five groups will be able to maintain their specialities, each distinct in their colour of robes. The Mahāsāṅghika group will diligently study the sūtras and transmit their true meaning. Because they will abide in the original location [of Dharma propagation], they will wear ochre robes. The Dharmaguptaka group will penetrate the taste of the principles [of the Dharma], and will disclose, guide, and be of benefit. To represent that they will give rise to excellence, they will wear red robes. The Sarvāstivāda group will be characterised by penetrating intelligence, and because they guide with Dharma teachings, they will wear black robes. The Kāśyapīya group will endeavour with vigour to protect sentient beings, and so they will wear yellow robes. The Mahīśāsaka group will meditate, concentrate on the subtle, and express fully what is obscure, so they will wear blue robes. In this way, just as Rāhula, when collecting alms as a bhikṣu, could not obtain food, later, the [saṅghas] will change their robes according to the five kinds of vinaya, and they will obtain much food. Why is it so? This is because [Rāhula] in his previous life was of a grasping character and was very stingy. When he saw a śramaṇa coming, he hastened to close his gate, saying: 'The master of the house is not home!' Then, he saw another person giving, which made him feel joyful and gave rise to mindfulness. He then aroused the aspiration to become a śramaṇa. For this reason, although in his present life he went forth from home, he receives meagre [alms] like this. Those who go forth into my Dharma should wear simple and inferior rags and the coverings for the dead. But because of situations like that of Rāhula, many different kinds of robes will proliferate."

Śāriputra said: "Regarding the Tathāgata's True Dharma, why will it split like this in such a short span of time? While it will lose its original flavour, how will it be sincerely borne?"

The Buddha said: "The Mahāsāṅghika will maintain its true flavour, while the other groups will add to its nectar. When the devas drink, they only drink nectar, and they discard water. When humans drink, they drink nectar mixed with water: sometimes it cures disease, and other times it causes sickness. Those who read and recite [the Dharma] are also like this; there are those of great wisdom who can accept and can reject, but the foolish cannot distinguish"

Śāriputra said: "Formerly, the Tathāgata said that if one is in a cold land, then the śrāvaka bhikṣus could wear secular clothes and head coverings. The bhikṣu Kaṇāda was walking in a large forest village when suddenly there was a great frost that killed birds and beasts. The villagers gave him secular robes, but the Bhagavān made him repent. Why?"

The Buddha said: "A śrāvaka may wear dyed colours or place clothing with the hems hidden underneath their robes."

Śāriputra said: "Why does the Bhagavān always say that bhikṣus should not place their alms bowl on the ground, but that they should place it on a pure object, and if there is no pure object, then they should place it on grass or leaves? The bhikṣu Kunyuka, together with his retinue, was invited by the king, and they put their bowls on a cleaned board. Why did the Bhagavān rebuke them, saying: 'This is a deed of Māra, this is not the practice of the Dharma?'"

"I said that using a pure object, one should not receive that which is impure. If you do not have that which is pure, then you can use grass or leaves, but after using them once, discard them. You should not use tree bark or heartwood because there was originally sap within them. Whether it is sap or varnish, it absorbs and retains dirt particles. Even if it has been dried, because it is still there, when they are heated, it flows again."

Śāriputra addressed the Buddha, saying: "O Bhagavān! Why do you allow the bhikṣus to receive food at the invitation of an almsgiver and eat regularly in the saṅgha? Why, when the bhikṣu Araṇyati received an invitation to eat from the householder Abhaya, did the Tathāgata scold him for saying: 'That is a crude man. It is not proper to eat his food?'"

The Buddha said: "Because he violated proper deportment. When he went to eat, he only looked with his eyes but did not receive with his hands. Even tīrthikas and brahmāṇas know that one should receive and take. How much more so for my disciples who should not accept [improper] food?  How much more so when eating, nothing can be refused, except for living things, treasures, and women. If one practises the Dharma, just as one should put on robes to cover one's body, even if it is offered from a gold vessel, it should be accepted as a distinguished alms."

Śāriputra addressed the Buddha, saying: "Why, when the Bhagavān explained the obstructive dharmas, did he say, 'Do not drink alcohol, including the seeds of Draba nemerosa, for that would be to open the door to negligence'? Why is it that at Kalandaka Venuvana, when there was a certain bhikṣu who had been sick for many years and was about to die, at that time, Upāli asked: 'What medicine do you need? I will find it for you. Whether it is in the heavens or among humans in the ten directions, I shall bring it all for you.' And he answered: 'The medicine I need would violate the Vinaya. Because I did not seek it, I have come to this point. I would rather die than violate my precepts.' Then, Upāli said: 'What medicine do you need?' And he answered: 'The doctor said I need five measures of liquor.' And Upāli said: 'If it is to cure an illness, the Tathāgata permits it.' Then, after obtaining the liquor, he took it, and he was cured. But after he recovered, he harboured guilt, just as if he had broken the precepts. So, he went to the presence of the Buddha and repented it as a wrongdoing, and then the Buddha taught him the Dharma, and after hearing it, he rejoiced, and attained the path of arhatship."

The Buddha said: "Liquor is a great fault because it opens the door to negligence. Similarly, taking Draba nemerosa seeds constitutes a transgression. However, if it is to cure an illness, then that is not the case."

Śāriputra addressed the Buddha, saying: "Why is it that the Tathāgata always says one should not kill a sentient being, not even an ant, yet on the eighth day of the new moon on the banks of the river in Śrāvastī, he competed in his powers with a transforming tīrthika, and defeated him with his supernormal powers? But he, out of shame, threw himself into the waters to kill himself. Although [the Tathāgata] saw him sinking, he did not save him, so, isn't that killing? Thereupon, the Buddha said to the assembly: 'The transforming one held those wrong Dharma teachings and confused sentient beings, and his wholesome roots from a past life ripened and were exhausted in this unwholesome body, and now he is being reborn in the Sudarśana Heaven. Isn't that also pleasant? All my disciples should, on this day, wash themselves with pure water, washing their bodies of impurities and washing their minds of distorted views, for if one has a pure mind, one will also be pure.' Yet, to this afflicted person, you seemed to have no loving-kindness and compassion."

The Buddha said: "O Greatly Wise! It is good that you ask about the essentials of this matter for the sake of those who have not yet penetrated it. The transforming tīrthika had, for countless lives, repeatedly learned wrong views and had vowed to obstruct the True Dharma. Once, at the time of Dīpaṅkara Buddha, when I was practising the bodhisattva path, I passed through a village where many people were suffering from leprosy and the dead were scattered about. I collected various medicines to help them, and they all recovered from their illness. Among them was a man called Budai. This man had learned the arts of the brahmāṇas, was very proud of his ability, and lacked faith. When his death was approaching, he came again to see me. I said to him: 'Earlier, I could have cured you. I gave you medicine, but you did not take it; now, your strength is almost exhausted, and you came to seek it again, but at this point, I cannot cure you with medicine.' Budai said: 'Now, I cannot distinguish between the superior and inferior, but I wish that in a future life, we can have a match to decide who is superior and who inferior. If I lose, I will kill myself and will be reborn as your disciple. If you lose, then you will be my servant.' At that time, I said to him: 'Very well, very well.' Therefore, in this life, I met him at that place, and when the time of his death approached, his wholesome roots ripened in accord with his promise. He gave rise to words of shame, and he abandoned his retinue and threw himself into the river to kill himself. Even though his body had died, his mind developed skilfulness regarding my Dharma. Because he ended up in a superior position, I therefore did not save him."

Śāriputra said: "Why, in admonishing regarding the precepts, did you cause the disciples to bare their right shoulders? On the other hand, when teaching the Sūtra of the Simile of the City to the Kāśyapa villagers, you said: 'My disciples should wear their kāṣāyas properly, covering both shoulders so as not to show their skin, with the upper and lower garments level, showing the appearance of a field of merit, and walk in a dignified manner.' You also said: 'Do not bare your chest.' How can these two statements be sincerely upheld [together]?"

The Buddha said: "When you make offerings, you should bare one shoulder, so that you can perform the rite. When you are acting as the field of merit [i.e., receiving offerings], you should cover both shoulders and reveal the patterns of the field [in the stitching of the robe]. How should you practise the making of offerings? When you see the Buddha or inquire after a teacher monk, you should do so in accordance with the occasion. You should wipe the seat, sweep the floor, fold your robe [properly], arrange your seat correctly, put flowers on the ground, place a cushion high under the [teacher's] feet, sprinkle water on the ground, and make various offerings. How should you practise being a field of merit? The king may invite you to a meal, and you should [also] enter the village to beg for food, meditate, recite sūtras, and circumambulate a [sacred] tree. People will see that you are dignified and admirable."

Śāriputra again addressed the Buddha, saying: "O Bhagavān! How is it that the eight kinds of spirits are reborn in unwholesome realms and yet always hear the True Dharma?"

The Buddha said: “It is because of two kinds of karma: the evil karma that causes one to be born in the unwholesome realms, and the good karma that causes one to experience much happiness."

He again asked: "Wholesome and unwholesome are two different things. How can one attain both?"

The Buddha said: "There is also such an attainment. Among the eight kinds of spirits are those called human-yet-not-human (manuṣyāmanuṣya). The devas are those who, in their previous lives, offered carriages, houses, food and drink as offerings to the Triple Gem, yet toward their parents and good and superior people, they harboured close-fisted avarice and jealousy, and so, they were born as devas, like those of universal light and the devas of superior purity, and so forth. The nāgas of the sky cultivated meritorious roots and widely practised the dāna pāramitā. Still, they did not rely on right mindfulness, and their impatient natures were prone to anger, so they received human-yet-not-human bodies, such as the Nāga King Maṇiprabha and others. The yakṣas are those who liked to make large donations, but sometimes they did harm only to help later, so they win or lose according to the benefits they conferred, and therefore they abide in the heavens, in the sky, and under the ground. Gandharvas are those who, in their previous lives, had little anger and always enjoyed giving; they adorned themselves with blue lotuses and rejoiced in making music, so they are such spirits, and they always play music for the devas. The asuras are those who were stubborn, did not get along with good friends, but made pure merit; they liked falsehood, and also made false merit; they followed false teachers, but profoundly liked giving; yet they also liked observing others dispute, and so they received their present bodies. Garuḍas are those who previously practised great giving, but they were always of a proud mind, and cheated others of their property, and so they received their present bodies. Kinnaras were those who liked to persuade people to arouse the aspiration for bodhi (bodhicitta). Still, they did not yet correct their own intentions, and they followed wrong practices, and so they attained their present bodies. Mahoragas are those who gave and protected the Dharma, but were naturally inclined to anger, and so they received their present bodies. These human-yet-not-humans all relied on false teachers, and so they proceeded to an unwholesome realm. Because they confuse the wrong with the right, it is said that their path is the product of their own making. The path of transcendence is not mixed with evil words of flattery; words of flattery do not lead to liberation from saṃsāra but lead to the unwholesome realms. Words that can flatter and deceive people may appear like the path, but they are subtle and distracting. You should rely on the True Dharma; those who practise the True Dharma always attain the power of the Buddha, Dharma, Saṅgha, liberation, and the unconditioned. If one relies on the semblance of the Dharma, one relies on the practice of a false guide; one will be bound to saṃsāra and will continue to transmigrate in the unfortunate realms. Such an ignorant person does not seek world transcendence but falls into a net of wrong views. A false guide, although he may have read many sūtras, will fabricate false rules with mistaken deeds, giving rise to false and flattering Dharma to deceive and confuse ordinary people. To gain respect, when he knows something beyond human knowledge, he says, 'I know.' When he attains something beyond human attainment, he says: 'I have attained.' Yet someone may object: 'What do you know? What have you attained?' And he may answer: 'The devas in the sky or the guhyakas in the earth have secretly told me.' Or he may say: 'In such and such a year and month, there will be certain benefits and harms. I will show you how to counteract them: "this should protect," or "this should save," "this will cease them," and "I will gain," or "you will lose."' In this way, they will deceive. Shallow and conventional people cannot think profoundly about the root of merit; they will follow wrong paths, lose their right view, and create evil karma. Giving rise to greed for money and cloth when alive, they go to an unwholesome realm after death: they will have their tongues pulled out and swallow molten copper for hundreds and thousands of koṭis of years; later, they will be born in an animal womb for innumerable years; then, being born as ghosts, whether in the mountains, forests, wildernesses, rivers, seas, and houses, they will continue to engage in deception without any rest. Some slander and mislead passers-by, leading them down the wrong path; some appear as sorcerers uttering evil spells, or as a dead person with their previous appearance and clothing, with extremely frightful movements; they will be extremely disgusting, and they will seek food and drink from people without end. If my disciples lose what is right, or their right mindfulness, I shall exonerate them, so that they do not dare repeat. If my disciples are weak-willed and forget their intentions, they will seek escape and excuse, and, ignoring my skilful means, they will seek out, without tiring, many worldly affairs. Such people lack the characteristics of a man and, after death, are swayed by the wrong; they will fall into the unfortunate realms. It is exceedingly pitiable."

Śāriputra again addressed the Buddha, saying: "Do the eight kinds of spirits become sky spirits if they rely on the sky and earth spirits if they rely on the earth?"

The Buddha said: "There are other earth spirits, such as those of pure lotus-like light, who liked to practise giving in their past lives, but were very angry and criticised. They enjoyed alcohol, singing, and dancing, and so they became earth spirits, wearing white robes, pure and without stain."

Śāriputra again addressed the Buddha, saying: "Why did the Tathāgata say to Śakra and the four great kings: 'I shall soon enter nirvāṇa. You should protect and preserve my Dharma in all ten directions. After I have passed away, Mahākāśyapa, Piṇḍola, Cūḍapanthaka, and Rāhula, these four bhikṣus will abide, and not enter nirvāṇa, but will spread my Dharma widely?'"

The Buddha said: "Starting in the age of the semblance of the teaching, roots of faith will be trifling and shallow. Even if one arouses faith, it cannot be firm and solid, and one will not be able to attain awakening. All the Buddha's disciples, even if they are devoted for many years, will not be as good as those who have a single wholesome thought while the Buddha was in the world. They will be very discouraged and will not again engage in the two kinds of dedication of merit. To make them realise faith, in accord with the depth or shallowness [of their doubt], you should manifest a buddha image and a saṅgha image, speak voices in the sky, and make lights, even appearing in their dreams, to cause their [faith] to be firm. If Maitreya descends, then he will permit those [four bhikṣus] to enter nirvāṇa."

Śāriputra again addressed the Buddha, saying: "Twenty years before the Tathāgata appeared in the world, all the renunciant disciples did not have constant gifts, but rather gifts in accord with convenience. After those twenty years, giving became more defined and specific. What is the meaning of this?"

The Buddha said: "There was a young householder named Puṇyatara who had wholesome roots from past lives, and who was born into a Brāhmaṇa family, desiring to renounce home and cultivate the highest path. He followed Maudgalyāyana to the Devarāja monastery in Pāṭaliputra, seeking the full precepts. Maudgalyāyana said to him: 'You should spend seven days and seven nights repenting your past faults, to purify them all. Then, if there are no obstacles, I shall request [the precepts] on your behalf from the saṅgha.' Then, Puṇyatara said: 'How will I know when my obstacles have been eliminated? How will I know if I can receive the precepts? I respectfully ask the Buddha to empower me with his authoritative power to cause my faults to be eliminated, and so that I can receive the precepts.' The Buddha said: 'You should just strive diligently; you will see for yourself.' Puṇyatara addressed the Buddha: 'I shall sincerely follow the Bhagavān's teachings.' After earnestly cultivating day and night, on the fifth night, various objects rained down in his room, including towels, mats, dusters, brooms, knives, axes, awls, and spades, which fell before his eyes in turn. Puṇyatara felt joy, and he attained the fruit [of the path]. After seven days, he reported this to Maudgalyāyana, and Maudgalyāyana asked me about it. I told him: 'These are symbols of cutting away and sweeping off worldly attachments. They should be regarded as gifts from the teacher, representing a connection with the teacher.' Thus, those who receive precepts should be given [requisites] according to ability, in accord with [the gift's] power to enable [attainment]; not limited to these and not necessarily including these items."

Śāriputra again addressed the Buddha, saying: "O Bhagavān! There are donors (dānapati) who build monasteries and generously provide supplies and offerings. In the future, there will be monks who appear to have left home [but have not]. They will eat food which was given to the saṅgha at the wrong time and season. The givers and the recipients of this food obtain what fault? What merit did the original donor gain?"

The Buddha said: "Those who eat at the wrong time are violators of the precepts and are guilty of theft. Those who give at the wrong time are also violators of the precepts and also guilty of theft, stealing the property of a [true] donor. Taking what is not given is not in accord with the donor's intention, so the donor does not accrue merit. However, because the [donor] has lost some property, there is still some benefit in the initial arousal of intention and carrying through [with the deed]."

Śāriputra said: "If one receives food at the proper time but does not finish eating it and they [finish] eating it at the wrong time or they receive it at the proper time and then eat it at the improper time, do the [donors] still receive merit?"

The Buddha said: "Those who eat at the proper time are pure, they are fields of merit, they are renunciates, they are the saṅgha, they are good friends to devas and humans and are guides to devas and humans. As for the impure, they are like those who violate the precepts; they are great thieves; they are hungry ghosts; they dwell in the abode of fault. Those who seek food at the wrong time, regarding the right time as the wrong time and the wrong time as the time for eating, regarding the regulations on food, are retrogressers from the path, they are unwholesome māras, belonging to the three unwholesome realms, they are broken vessels, they are like lepers, ruining wholesome fruits, living off stolen alms. Therefore, neither brāhmaṇas eat at the wrong time, nor do tīrthika ascetics eat wrongly. How much less should my disciples, who know and practise the Dharma, do so? Anyone who does this is not my disciple, but is a thief of my Dharma, attached to the non-Dharmic—thieves in name, thieves of food, and non-Dharmic people. Thieves in giving, thieves in receiving: even a clump, or a pinch of salt, or vinegar, after death, they will fall into the hell of burning intestines, [made to] swallow red-hot iron-balls. From hell, they are born as pigs or as dogs, eating that which is impure. Then, they are born as unwholesome birds, whose calls people abhor. Later, reborn as hungry ghosts, they return to the monasteries, dwelling in latrines, consuming excrement for hundreds of thousands of koṭīs of years. Reborn again among humans, they are poor and destitute, despised by people and their words are not trusted by people. It would be better to steal the goods of one person, for the fault would be lighter. Because of robbing many people of a good field of merit, they completely cut off the path for transcending this world."

Śāriputra again addressed the Buddha, saying: "Many of the Tathāgata's clansmen have gone forth from home. Did they arouse the aspiration to do this themselves, or was it by the Buddha's supernormal power?"

The Buddha said: "How could the Śākyas, who are haughty and arrogant, attached to pleasure, aspire for such a life? It was specifically because of my father, the King's, recommendation, that anyone among the clan who had two sons, one could follow me. Aniruddha, who had long accumulated wholesome roots and deeply delighted in the True Dharma, led Śākya-sons like Nandi, Kimbila, Nanda, Upananda, Ānanda, Devadatta, and Upāli, bathing them in purity and leading them to me, seeking to go forth from home. At that time, there was a senior monk called Belaṭṭhasīsa who had individually ordained Aniruddha and Ānanda. Another elder monk called Vasura, who had individually ordained Devadatta and Upananda. Only Ānanda, who had cultivated the meditation of non-forgetfulness and maintained the practice of dhāraṇī [retention], quickly achieved the Samādhi of Buddha-Awareness, and having gathered the waters of a koṭī of rivers, he used it to create rain, and this rainwater flowed into the great ocean. Ānanda then drew water from the ocean with his hand to analyse it, and its colour and taste were unmingled [from the rivers], and he returned it to their source without any loss."

Mañjuśrī addressed the Buddha, saying: "O Bhagavān! As for Śāriputra, the Tathāgata always says that he is the foremost in wisdom among the śrāvakas. It is not in vain that he enquires about the meanings of these important matters."

The Buddha said: "He has long had the seed of illumination, and promotes my Dharma, as he benefits sentient beings with various kinds of wisdom."

"Why does the Tathāgata say that the debt one owes to one's parents is so great that it cannot be repaid, and also say that gratitude owed to one's teachers is immeasurable? Which of these is the greatest?"

The Buddha said: "For those living at home, the service one owes one's parents for their nurturing is great, and cannot be equalled by repaying for a long time, for the grace of one's birth is declared to be greatly profound. However, if one learns and develops knowledge and vision from a teacher, that grace is also great. For those who go forth from home, forsaking their parents' home of birth and death, and entering the Dharma Gate of the Sublime Dharma, this is due to the teacher's power. To develop one's Dharma-body, bring forth wealth in merits, and nurture the life of wisdom—the merit of these is greatest, followed only by physical birth."

He again said: "What should this sūtra be named?"

The Buddha said: "It should be called 'The Bodhisattva's Questions and Similes' due to its expansiveness. It should also be called 'The Questions of Śāriputra.'"

Upon hearing this, the fourfold saṅgha, including fifty novice bhikṣus, were established in faith and the pure Dharma-eye. The venerable ones, the devas and humans, and those of the eight groups, all greatly rejoiced, paid homage, and departed.