The Five Evils

"As for the first evil: among all the gods, humans, and every crawling, moving creature, there is none who does not wish to do evil of some kind. The strong overpower the weak, each preying upon the other in turn; they injure, kill, and slaughter one another, devouring each other by turns. Not knowing how to cultivate goodness, they do evil, going against all order and reason, and afterward receive calamity and punishment, drawn naturally toward it. The spirits record and remember it, and no offender is pardoned. And so there is poverty, low and humble station, begging, solitude, deafness, blindness, muteness, stupidity, and wickedness; there are even the crippled, the mad, and those otherwise incapable. And there is also honor, wealth, lofty talent, and understanding — all of this, too, comes from kindness and filial devotion, cultivating goodness and accumulating virtue, in a past life. There exists, in this world, the constant way of royal law and the prison — and yet people still refuse to fear or take care, do evil, fall into crime, and receive their calamity and punishment; and seeking release from it, they find it hard to obtain or escape. This is a plain matter, visible before one's own eyes in this present world. But when life ends and one passes into the next, the consequence is deeper and more severe still, entering into a dim and hidden realm, and taking on a new body there. It is like the law of a king, whose penalties reach the harshest punishment; and so there naturally exist the three lower paths, and their immeasurable suffering, in which one's very body is exchanged, one's form and destiny changed, the lifespan one then receives long or short according to it, and one's soul and consciousness carried, of itself, toward it. Each must go there alone and face it alone, yet those bound together are born together again, taking their revenge on one another in turn without end; while the calamity of their wrongdoing is not yet exhausted, they cannot be released from one another, turning within it again and again, with no time set for their release — hard indeed to gain freedom from it, a suffering beyond what words can say. Between heaven and earth, this exists of itself; though it may not come at once, it is bound, sooner or later, to arrive without warning, and the path of good and evil must, in the end, come home to roost. This is the first great evil, the first pain, the first burning, and the hardship is just as I have described — like a great fire burning a person's body. If a person can, in the midst of this, hold their mind to a single point, keep their body upright and their conduct correct, and alone do good, not joining in the many evils, then they alone are delivered, and obtain their own blessing and merit, the path beyond this world, up to the heavens, and to nirvāṇa. This is the first great good."

"As for the second evil: among the people of this world — parents and children, brothers, members of one household, husbands and wives — there is no sense of right conduct at all, and no compliance with any proper measure. Extravagant, lascivious, arrogant, and unrestrained, each wants only their own pleasure, following their own mind self-indulgently, deceiving one another in turn. Their heart and their mouth say different things, and their words carry no truth; they are flattering and disloyal, glib and ingratiating, envious of the worthy and slanderous of the good, entrapping others in false accusation. A ruler who is not perceptive entrusts his ministers, and those ministers, left to their own devices, scheme in every possible way; they take the measure of what they can get away with, judge the true situation, and, when their lord holds his position without integrity, deceive him at will, wrongfully harming the loyal and the good, out of keeping with the true heart of heaven. Ministers deceive their lord; children deceive their parents; brothers, husbands and wives, relatives and associates near and far, all deceive one another in turn, each harboring greed, anger, and delusion, wanting only to enrich themselves, wanting only to possess more — honored and lowly, high and low, their hearts all just the same in this. They destroy their households and lose their own lives over it, giving no thought to what comes before or after, and their relatives, both near and distant, are brought down with them, their whole clan destroyed because of it. And sometimes members of a household, their associates, the people of a village or a marketplace, foolish commoners and rustic folk, all engage together in this same way, exploiting and harming one another in turn, until resentment knots itself into lasting enmity. Those who are rich are stingy and begrudging, unwilling to give anything away, clinging to what they love and hoarding what they prize, their mind wearied and their body worn out by it. And when it all comes, in the end, to nothing, there is nothing left to rely upon; a person comes alone and goes alone, with not a single thing to accompany them, while good and evil, calamity and blessing, pursue the life that gave rise to them, leading now to a place of joy, now to one of bitter suffering — and only then does regret come, and by then, what use is it? The people of this world, foolish at heart and lacking in wisdom, see goodness and meet it with envy and slander, giving it no thought or admiration, wanting only to do evil, recklessly acting against the law; they constantly harbor a thief's intent, coveting what belongs to another, and when what they have is spent and exhausted, they go seeking more again, their crooked mind never set right, fearful whenever another shows displeasure, never planning ahead, and only regretting it once the matter is already upon them. In this present world there exists royal law and the prison, and, according to the crime, its calamity and punishment are received; and this, too, follows from a person's failure, in a former life, to trust in virtue and the path, and their failure to cultivate roots of goodness. Now, doing evil once more, the spirits of heaven mark and record their name in the register, and when their life ends, their spirit departs and descends into an evil destiny. And so there naturally exist the three lower paths and their immeasurable suffering, turning within them, lifetime after lifetime, for aeons on end, with no time set for release — hard indeed to gain freedom from it, a suffering beyond what words can say. This is the second great evil, the second pain, the second burning, and the hardship is just as I have described — like a great fire burning a person's body. If a person can, in the midst of this, hold their mind to a single point, keep their body upright and their conduct correct, and alone do good, not joining in the many evils, then they alone are delivered, and obtain their own blessing and merit, the path beyond this world, up to the heavens, and to nirvāṇa. This is the second great good."

"As for the third evil: the people of this world, dependent upon one another for their existence, dwell together between heaven and earth, their years and their lifespan never amounting to very much. Above are the worthy, the eminent, the honored, and the wealthy; below are the poor, the lowly, the weak, and the foolish. And in the midst of them are those not good at all, constantly harboring wicked and evil intent, thinking only of lust and excess, their chest filled with turmoil; craving and desire entangle and confuse them, restless whether sitting or rising, their mind greedy and grasping, wanting only to gain something for nothing. They cast furtive glances at another's beauty, their manner crooked and their conduct dissolute, growing weary and contemptuous of their own spouse, and secretly coming and going elsewhere, squandering the family's wealth, and taking up unlawful affairs. Gathering together in league with others, they raise armies and attack one another, assaulting, plundering, killing, and seizing without any regard for what is right; their evil intent is turned outward, and they do not cultivate their own proper work, stealing and seizing whatever they can get, wanting only to force the matter through. When threatened by fear or overpowering force, they turn and hand it all over to their own wife and children, indulging their heart's every whim, taking their pleasure to its utmost — and sometimes, even among their own relatives, they show no regard for who is senior or junior, so that the members of their own household, near and far, come to suffer and be troubled by them. Nor do they fear the laws and prohibitions of the king. Wrongdoing such as this becomes known to both the living and the spirits; the sun and moon shine upon it and see it, and the spirits mark and record it. And so there naturally exist the three lower paths and their immeasurable suffering, turning within them, lifetime after lifetime, for aeons on end, with no time set for release — hard indeed to gain freedom from it, a suffering beyond what words can say. This is the third great evil, the third pain, the third burning, and the hardship is just as I have described — like a great fire burning a person's body. If a person can, in the midst of this, hold their mind to a single point, keep their body upright and their conduct correct, and alone do good, not joining in the many evils, then they alone are delivered, and obtain their own blessing and merit, the path beyond this world, up to the heavens, and to nirvāṇa. This is the third great good."

"As for the fourth evil: the people of this world give no thought to cultivating goodness, and instead teach and incite one another to do every kind of evil together — speech that divides, harsh speech, lying speech, and idle speech; slander that harms and stirs up disorder, hatred and envy of good people, undermining and ruining the worthy and the wise while taking secret pleasure in it; disrespect toward their own parents, contempt toward their teachers and elders, no trust between friends, sincerity hard to find; arrogant and self-important, they consider themselves already possessed of the path, moving forward on sheer force and intimidation, encroaching upon and belittling others, unable even to see this in themselves, doing evil without any shame. Believing themselves strong and capable, they want others to hold them in fearful respect; they do not fear heaven and earth, the spirits, or the sun and moon, and refuse to do good, difficult indeed to subdue and transform, stubborn and self-assured, believing things can always remain just as they are, with no worry or fear at all, constantly harboring arrogance and conceit. Wrongdoing such as this the spirits of heaven mark and record. Depending on whatever merit they happened to accumulate in a former life, some small measure of goodness may still support, protect, and assist them for a time — but doing evil in this present life exhausts that merit entirely, and every good spirit and deity then departs and leaves them, until the person stands utterly alone, with nothing left to rely upon. When their life comes to its end, every evil converges upon them, pressing in naturally and swiftly, together seizing hold of them; and their name and record, already noted by the spirits, draw them onward by the calamity of their own guilt, toward the destiny they must enter — a retribution for wrongdoing from which there is naturally no escape. There is only the way forward, into the fiery cauldron, body and mind shattered, spirit in agony — and at that moment, what use is regret? The way of heaven follows its own course and never misses a step. And so there naturally exist the three lower paths and their immeasurable suffering, turning within them, lifetime after lifetime, for aeons on end, with no time set for release — hard indeed to gain freedom from it, a suffering beyond what words can say. This is the fourth great evil, the fourth pain, the fourth burning, and the hardship is just as I have described — like a great fire burning a person's body. If a person can, in the midst of this, hold their mind to a single point, keep their body upright and their conduct correct, and alone do good, not joining in the many evils, then they alone are delivered, and obtain their own blessing and merit, the path beyond this world, up to the heavens, and to nirvāṇa. This is the fourth great good."

"As for the fifth evil: the people of this world drift along in idleness, unwilling to do good, to discipline themselves, or to attend to their own proper work, so that their household and family go hungry, cold, and in hardship. When their parents try to instruct and admonish them, they glare back in anger, their words harsh and discordant, contrary and rebellious, as though their own parents were enemies — it would be better had they no children at all. They take and give without any restraint, and everyone around them comes to be troubled and weary of them; they betray kindness and violate what is right, with no thought of ever repaying anyone. Poor and destitute, unable to obtain what they want, they seize and take by force whatever they can, indulging themselves recklessly, gaining things again and again without effort and using them up on themselves. Addicted to wine, craving fine food, they eat and drink without limit, their heart given over entirely to excess and dissipation, coarse and reckless, giving no heed to others' feelings, wanting only to force their own way. Seeing another's goodness, they meet it with envy and resentment; without any sense of right conduct or propriety, they give no thought or consideration to anyone, so set in their own ways that they cannot be reasoned with or advised at all. Toward their six kinds of close relatives, and whatever support they do or do not provide, they feel no concern; they give no thought to their parents' kindness, and hold no regard for the duty owed to a teacher or a friend. Their mind constantly dwells on evil, their mouth constantly speaks evil, their body constantly does evil, without a single good deed among it all. They place no faith in the scriptures and teachings of the sages and buddhas of the past; they do not believe that walking the path can bring deliverance beyond this world; they do not believe that, after death, the spirit is born again; they do not believe that doing good brings good, and doing evil brings evil. They wish to kill a true sage, and stir up disorder among the assembled monks; they wish to harm their own parents, brothers, and relatives, and their six kinds of close relatives, in turn, hate them and wish for their death. People of this world, in mind and intent, are exactly this way — foolish, benighted, and in the dark, and yet they consider themselves wise; they do not know where birth comes from, or where death leads to. Neither humane nor compliant, going against heaven and earth itself, and yet, in the midst of it all, they still hope for some lucky escape, wishing to live long — though in the end, they must return to death regardless. Taught with a compassionate mind, and led to think of goodness, shown clearly the destiny of birth and death and of good and evil, exactly as it naturally is — still they refuse to believe it. Speaking to them with a troubled and earnest heart brings no benefit to such a person; their mind remains closed and blocked, their intent unopened. And when their great span of life is about to end, regret and dread arrive together; not having cultivated goodness beforehand, only as death draws near do they finally come to regret it — but regret, at that point, what use is it? Between heaven and earth, the five destinies are clearly distinct, vast and hidden, boundless and immeasurable; good and evil bring their own response in turn, calamity and blessing following one after the other, and each person must bear it entirely themselves, with no one to stand in for them. This reckoning follows its own natural course, answering exactly to one's own conduct; calamity and fault pursue the life that incurred them, and there is no way to be let off or excused. A good person, doing good, goes from joy to joy, from brightness to brightness; an evil person, doing evil, goes from suffering to suffering, from darkness to darkness. Who can know this fully? Only a buddha knows it completely. Though taught and shown this clearly, few come to believe and follow it; birth and death never cease, and the evil destinies are never severed. People of this world are like this — it is hard to tell it all. And so there naturally exist the three lower paths and their immeasurable suffering, turning within them, lifetime after lifetime, for aeons on end, with no time set for release — hard indeed to gain freedom from it, a suffering beyond what words can say. This is the fifth great evil, the fifth pain, the fifth burning, and the hardship is just as I have described — like a great fire burning a person's body. If a person can, in the midst of this, hold their mind to a single point, their mindfulness correct, their words and conduct matching each other, all that they do utterly sincere, saying exactly what they mean, their mind and their mouth never turning from one another, and alone do good, not joining in the many evils, then they alone are delivered, and obtain their own blessing and merit, the path beyond this world, up to the heavens, and to nirvāṇa. This is the fifth great good."

The Buddha told Maitreya: "I have told you: the hardship of these five evils in this world is just as I have described. The five pains and the five burnings generate one another in turn; a person who does nothing but evil, and never cultivates any root of goodness, falls naturally into the evil destinies, every one of them. Some, even in this present life, are struck first by calamity and sickness, unable either to obtain death or to go on living, the consequence of their own wrongdoing shown openly for all to see; and when the body dies, it is carried along by that same conduct into the three evil paths, an immeasurable, bitter suffering that consumes them from within. And over a long time, such people form lasting enmities together, beginning from something small and trivial and growing, in the end, into a great evil — all of it arising from attachment to wealth and lust, and an inability to give freely with wisdom; driven by foolish desire, following wherever their own thoughts lead, they remain bound by affliction with no release. Enriching themselves, contending over gain, giving no thought or consideration to anything else, they take their pleasure for the moment in wealth, rank, and glory, unable to endure hardship, making no effort to cultivate goodness; and their power and influence, however great, in time wear away and are lost, their body left in toil and hardship, growing only more severe as time goes on. The way of heaven, laid out as it is, gathers up and calls each person to account of itself; its net and its ordering framework correspond exactly, above and below, and, utterly alone and afraid, a person must enter into it. This has been so since ancient times — how sorrowful, how truly to be pitied." The Buddha said to Maitreya: "This is how the world is, and the Buddha grieves for it entirely. By the power of his majestic authority, he crushes and dissolves every evil, and leads everyone toward goodness, setting aside their old ways of thinking; upholding the scriptures and precepts, receiving and practicing the teaching of the path, without transgressing it in any way, they at last attain deliverance beyond this world, the path to nirvāṇa." The Buddha said: "You who are here now — every god, every human, and everyone of later generations — on receiving the Buddha's own words in this scripture, should think them through with care, and, in the midst of them, keep your mind upright and your conduct correct. Let a ruler act well, and lead those beneath him by that same example; let each command be passed down and upheld in turn, each person keeping their own conduct correct, honoring the sage, revering the good, kind and broadly loving toward others. Never dare to fall short of the Buddha's own teaching and admonition. You should seek deliverance beyond this world, uprooting and severing the very source of birth, death, and every evil, forever leaving behind the three lower paths and their immeasurable path of dread and suffering. In this, plant broadly the roots of virtue, spread kindness and give wisdom freely, and do not transgress the path's own prohibitions. With patience and diligence, and a single-minded wisdom, teach and transform one another in turn, establish virtue and goodness, set your mind and intent aright — a single day and night of pure fasting and precepts, kept here, outweighs a hundred years of doing good in the land of Amitāyus. And why is this? Because that buddha-land is unconditioned and spontaneous, accumulating only goodness, without so much as a hair's breadth of evil in it. To cultivate goodness for ten days and ten nights here outweighs a thousand years of doing good in any other buddha-land elsewhere. And why is this? Because in other buddha-lands, those who do good are many and those who do evil are few, their blessing and merit arising spontaneously, with no ground there for evil to be created in the first place — only here, in this place, is evil so abundant, with nothing arising spontaneously at all, so that people toil and struggle after their desires, deceiving one another in turn, their mind wearied and their body worn out, drinking bitterness and eating poison, caught up in such busy, urgent affairs that they never once find rest. I grieve for all of you, gods and humans alike, and so, with a troubled and earnest heart, I teach and instruct you, leading you toward goodness, guiding each according to their own capacity, and giving you these scriptures and their teaching — and there is no one who, receiving them, fails to put them to use, each attaining the path exactly according to their own resolve. Wherever the Buddha himself has traveled, in every country, city, hill, and settlement, there is none that has not received this transforming influence; the whole world becomes harmonious and compliant, the sun and moon shine clear, wind and rain come in their proper season, no calamity or plague arises, the country is prosperous and the people at peace, weapons of war go unused, virtue is exalted and humaneness flourishes, and everyone attends to ritual courtesy and mutual deference." The Buddha said: "My grief and compassion for all of you, gods and humans, surpasses even a parent's love for a child. Now, in this present age, having become a buddha in this world, I subdue and transform the five evils, dissolve the five pains, and extinguish the five burnings; with goodness I attack evil, uproot the suffering of birth and death, and cause you to attain the five virtues, and to ascend to the peace of what is unconditioned. After I have left the world, the scriptures and the path will gradually fade away, and people, growing flattering and false again, will return to every evil, and the five burnings and five pains will return exactly as before. As time goes on further still, it will grow only more severe, more than I could ever tell in full — I have spoken of it for you here only in the briefest outline." The Buddha told Maitreya: "Each of you should reflect well upon this, and teach and admonish one another in turn, exactly according to the Buddha's own scripture and its teaching, never transgressing it." Then the bodhisattva Maitreya, with palms joined, said: "What the Buddha has spoken is excellent indeed, and the people of this world are truly as he has described. The Tathāgata, in his universal compassion and pity, brings deliverance to every one of them. Having received the Buddha's own solemn teaching, we shall not dare to transgress it."