The Buddhas Make Effort (EA20.6)

Thus have I heard. At one time the Buddha was staying in Śrāvastī, at Jetṛ’s Grove, in Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park. Then the Exalted One said to the monks

“There are persons who are lazy, who do not embark on virtuous actions and who in their deeds meet with misfortune; on the other hand, there are those who are capable of not succumbing to laziness, who put effort into what is to be done and who are most accomplished in respect of all that is karmically wholesome so that there is an increase in what is truly advantageous.

“Thus with reference to the latter persons it will take the bodhisattva Maitreya thirty aeons until he becomes a Buddha by realising full and complete enlightenment. All on his own he will make use of the force of effort and utmost determination, so that in future he, Maitreya, will be my successor.

“Also in the past, innumerable beings, like the sands of the River Ganges, became foremost arhats, Fully and Completely Enlightened Ones. All of them succeeded in realising Buddhahood on account of their utmost determination. With the help of this ‘skill in means’ one should know that laziness is conducive to suffering, leads to miserable destinies and in one’s deeds one will meet with misfortune. If on the other hand one is capable of utmost determination and of putting forth effort, all that is karmically wholesome, all virtues will be accomplished so that there will be an increase in what is truly advantageous.

“Therefore, O monks, you should be mindful of putting forth effort and do not be negligent. Thus, monks, you should train.”

After listening to the Buddha’s words, the monks were pleased and respectfully applied themselves to practice.

Translated from Sanskrit to Chinese by Dharmanandi.

Originally published as Ekottarikāgama XXVIII, Buddhist Studies Review 18.2, 2001, pp. 219–228. Translated from the Chinese version by Thích Huyên-Vi in collaboration with Sara Boin-Webb and Bhikkhu Pāsādika. Used with kind permission of the Buddhist Studies Review and Bhikkhu Pāsādika.

Transcription by Nola Webb, 2014.

Prepared for SuttaCentral by Bhikkhu Sujato.