Summary
s.1At Prince Jeta’s Grove in Śrāvastī, the Buddha teaches his saṅgha about the benefits of having moral discipline and the importance of guarding it. It is difficult, he says, to obtain a human life and encounter the teachings of a buddha, let alone to then take monastic vows and maintain moral discipline. But unlike just losing that one human life, which comes and then inevitably is gone, the consequences of failing in moral discipline are grave and experienced over billions of lifetimes. The Buddha continues in verse, praising moral discipline and its necessity as a foundation for engaging in the Dharma and attaining nirvāṇa. He concludes his discourse with a reflection on the folly of pursuing fleeting worldly enjoyments.
s.1在祇樹給孤獨園的舍衛城，佛陀向僧伽教導具備戒的利益和守護戒的重要性。他說，獲得人身和遇見佛陀的教法是困難的，更何況隨後受持出家戒並維護戒律。但與只失去那一次人身不同——人身來臨後必然消逝——違犯戒的後果是嚴重的，會在數十億生中經歷。佛陀繼而以偈頌的形式進行，讚嘆戒及其作為修習法和證得涅槃的基礎的必要性。他以對追求短暫世俗享樂之愚蠢的省思來總結他的開示。