丙五、念众生恩
C5: Mindfulness [Of] Sentient Beings’ Kindness
念众生恩
[5] Mindfulness [Of] Sentient Beings’ Kindness
云何念众生恩？谓我与众生从旷劫来，世世生生互为父母，彼此有恩。
Why [be] mindful [of] sentient beings’ kindness? Speaking of myself with sentient beings, from distant kalpas since, [in] life after life, [we have] mutually been one another’s fathers [and] mothers, having kindness [to] one another.
今虽隔世昏迷，互不相识，以理推之，宁无报效？
Now, although [with] separation [of] lives confused, not recognising one another, with reason deducing this, how [can there] not [be] repaying [of their] kindness?
今之披毛带角，安知非昔为其子乎？今之蠕动蜎飞，安知不曾为我父乎？
Now that [they] wear fur [and] carry horns, how can [we] know [they are] not [in the] past as our children? Now that [they are] wriggling larvae [and] flying [insects], how can [we] know [they] are not previously my fathers?
每见幼离父母，长而容貌都忘；何况宿世亲缘，今则张王宁记？
Often seen [are those] young leaving [their] fathers [and] mothers, [who] grow up and [their] countenances [are] all forgotten. Moreover, [of] past lives’ blood relatives now, then [as] Zhāngs [or] Wángs, how [can this be] remembered?
彼其号呼于地狱之下，宛转于饿鬼之中，苦痛谁知？饥虚安诉？
[Of] their anguished wailing in [the] hells below, tossing [and] turning among hungry ghosts, [of their] suffering [and] pain, who [will] know? [Of their] hunger [and] emptiness, [to] whom [can they] tell [this]?
我虽不见不闻，彼必求拯求济。非经不能陈此事，非佛不能道此言，彼邪见人何足以知此？
I, although not seeing [and] not hearing [them], they must [be] seeking rescue [and] seeking aid. [If] not [with the] sūtras, [we are] not able [to] state these matters. [If] not [for the] Buddha, [we are] not able [to] say these words. [Of] those persons [with] evil views, how [can they] know enough [about] this?
是故菩萨观于蝼蚁，皆是过去父母、未来诸佛，常思利益，念报其恩。
Therefore, Bodhisattvas contemplate mole crickets [and] ants, [to] all be [their] past fathers [and] mothers, [and] all future Buddhas. They constantly contemplate benefitting [them, to be] mindful [of] repaying their kindness.
是为发菩提心第五因缘也。
[This] is for giving rise [to the] Bodhi Mind, [the] fifth cause [and] condition.
净土宗十一祖省庵大师
Pure Land Tradition’s 11th Patriarch Great Master Xǐng’ān
《劝发菩提心文》
Essay [On] Exhortation [To] Give Rise [To The] Bodhi Mind
Namo Amituofo : Translation and notes by Shen Shi’an
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念施主恩
[4] Mindfulness Of Our Benefactors’ Kindness
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念生死苦
[6] Mindfulness Of The Suffering Of Birth And Death
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《劝发菩提心文》
Essay On Exhortation To Give Rise To The Bodhi Mind
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