Summary
s.1Surata’s Questions follows Surata, a seemingly poor vagabond endowed with a wealth of ethical virtue. The juxtaposition of Surata’s poverty with the abundance of his moral merits forms a central theme of the sūtra. After being tested by the god Śakra, Surata finds a precious gem that he decides to give to the poorest person in the city. The narrative’s irony ensues when Surata decides that King Prasenajit should receive the gem, since his ethical depravity vitiates his material wealth. The shock of Surata’s decision occasions a valuable lesson on true wealth lying in moral integrity, to which the Buddha himself attests upon his arrival midway through the sūtra. The sūtra concludes with King Prasenajit’s recognition of the error of his ways and the Buddha’s prophecy of Surata’s coming awakening.
s.1《善順所問經》講述了善順的故事，他是一位看似貧窮的流浪者，卻擁有豐富的倫理品德。善順的貧困與他道德福德的豐足形成了本經的中心主題。在釋提桓因的考驗後，善順發現了一顆珍貴的寶石，他決定將其贈與城中最貧窮的人。敍事的諷刺之處在於，善順決定將寶石獻給波斯匿王，因為王的倫理敗壞使他的物質財富貶值。善順決定的驚人之舉引出了一堂寶貴的課程，說明真正的財富在於道德廉潔，佛陀本人在經中途到來時為此作證。本經以波斯匿王認識到自己行為的錯誤以及佛陀對善順未來覺悟的預言作為結尾。