Day 6 continues Chapter 3, A Parable

Day 6 Text with annotations

Having last month considered the gift the rich man gives all of his children, we consider how the Buddha is like the father saving his children from the burning house and complete today’s portion of Chapter 3, A Parable.

(The Buddha said to Śāriputra:)
I am like the father.
I am the Saint of Saints.
I am the father of the world.

All living beings are my children.
They are deeply attached
To the pleasures of the world.
They have no wisdom.

The triple world is not peaceful.
It is like the burning house.
It is full of sufferings.
It is dreadful.

There are always the sufferings
Of birth, old age, disease and death.
They are like flames
Raging endlessly.

I have already left
The burning house of the triple world.
I am tranquil and peaceful
In a bower in a forest.

Continuing with tales of the Hoke-kyō (Lotus Sūtra) from Miraculous Stories from the Japanese Buddhist Tradition (Nihon ryōiki), we consider On Receiving the Immediate Penalty Violent Death for Collecting Debts by Force and with High Interest.