Summary
s.1In this sūtra, Mahākāśyapa poses a series of questions to the Buddha about proper monastic conduct and practice, which the Buddha answers at length. Mahākāśyapa then requests the Buddha to remain in the world in order to safeguard the Dharma, but when the Buddha initially predicts that Mahākāśyapa himself will do so in the future, Mahākāśyapa insists that for the Dharma to remain for long, it must be entrusted to a bodhisattva rather than a śrāvaka. The Buddha then anoints Maitreya and entrusts him with the responsibility of protecting the Dharma in the future. There follows a teaching from the Buddha about those in the future who will falsely claim to be bodhisattvas and about the proper conduct and practice of bodhisattvas, as well as a description from Maitreya of his own practice of the bodhisattva path. When Mahākāśyapa asks the Buddha about those in the future who will be “sham bodhisattvas,” the Buddha offers a series of teachings on the mistaken and blameworthy practice of commercializing the worship of relics, stūpas, and images and seeking to make a living thereby, contrasting this with a monastic’s proper practice of ascetic conduct and meditative inquiry. In addition to the Buddha’s criticism, this sūtra is notable for its memorable analogies, past life narratives, and emphasis on the ascetic practice of the forest-dwelling monastic.
s.1在這部經中，摩訶迦葉向佛陀提出一系列關於適當的出家人修持與實踐的問題，佛陀詳盡地進行了回答。隨後摩訶迦葉請求佛陀留在世間以保護法，但當佛陀最初預言摩訶迦葉本人將來會這樣做時，摩訶迦葉堅持認為要使法長久流傳，必須將其委託給菩薩而非聲聞。於是佛陀冊封彌勒並將保護未來法的責任委託給他。接著是佛陀關於未來那些虛偽宣稱為菩薩者的教導，以及關於菩薩應有的適當修持與實踐的教導，以及彌勒自己對菩薩道實踐的描述。當摩訶迦葉詢問佛陀關於未來那些「虛偽的菩薩」時，佛陀提供了一系列教導，指出了將舍利、塔和形像的供養商業化並藉此謀生的錯誤且應受譴責的做法，將此與出家人應有的苦行修持和禪修相對比。除了佛陀的批評外，這部經因其難忘的比喻、過去生事跡敘述，以及對阿蘭若森林出家人苦行實踐的強調而值得注目。