Parable of the Burning House.
Project Gutenberg EPUB edition
Soothill, William Edward and Kumārajīva
Listen to my declaration on the
Recompense of their sin:
‘Whether during the Buddha’s lifetime,
Or after his extinction,
If there be any who slander
A Sutra such as this,
Who, seeing those who read, recite,
Write or hold this Sutra,
Despise, scorn, hate, or envy them
And cherish tenacious grudge;
To the ill reward of such,
Listen now again;
After their lifetime’s end,
They will enter the Avici-hell,
For a complete kalpa;
Reborn at each kalpa’s end,
They thus go on revolving
Unto innumerable kalpas;
When they come out of hell,
They will degrade into animals,
Such as dogs or jackals,
With lean-cheeked forms,
Blue-black with scabs and sores,
The sport of men;
Moreover by men
Hated and scorned,
Ever suffering hunger and thirst,
Bones and flesh withered up.
Alive, beaten with thorns,
Dead, with shards and stones;
By cutting themselves off from the Buddha-seed,
They receive such recompense.
Perhaps they become camels,
Or are born amongst asses,
Always carrying burdens,
Beaten and driven with sticks,
Thinking only of water and grass,
Knowing nothing else;
For slandering this Sutra,
Such is their punishment.