Gosho 念仏無間地獄抄 Nembutsu, Hell of Incessant Sufferings

念仏無間(むけん)地獄抄

Nembutsu, Hell of Incessant Sufferings

建長七年 三十七歳御作

1255　(Age;37)

三世諸仏の大怨敵(だいおんてき)と為り十方如来成仏の種子を失う大謗法(だいほうぼう)の科(とが)甚(はなはだ)重し、

He is a deadly enemy to all the Buddhas of the three existences. He has committed a grave offense, that of grossly slandering the Law, for he would destroy the seeds by which the Thus Come Ones of the ten directions attain Buddhahood.

He became the great deadly foe of the Buddha of the three existences, repeating a mistake of great slandering Buddha's teachings, and he would lose seeds of the attaining Buddhahood of the tathagatas of the ten direction.

大罪報の至り無間(むけん)大城(たいじょう)の業因(ごういん)なり、

He will suffer the direst punishment, for he has committed acts that condemn him to the great citadel of the hell of incessant suffering.

This is a cause to be the reward of the big crime, and to enter the great castle of the hell of incessant suffering.

之に依(よ)つて忽(たちまち)に物狂いにや成(なり)けん。所(しょ)居(ご)の寺の前の柳の木に登りて自ら頚(くび)をくくりて身を投げ死し畢(おわ)んぬ。

Because this was the case, Shan-tao suddenly went mad and, climbing a willow tree in front of the temple where he was residing, tied a rope around his neck and threw himself down, thus ending his life.

Therefore, he would go crazy immediately. He climbed the willow tree in front of Buddhist temple, hanged himself and threw the body and he have committed suicide.

邪法(じゃほう)のたたり踵(きびす)を回(めぐら)さず、冥罰(みょうばち)爰(ここ)に見(あらわれ)たり。

The curse of his erroneous teachings met with its destined and inescapable punishment in this form.

The curse of the evil doctrine does not turn a heel. We watch the invisible punishment to here.

　最後臨終(りんじゅう)の言に云く『此(こ)の身厭(いと)う可し、諸苦に責(せ)められ暫(しばら)くも休息(くそく)無し』と。

Just before he met his end, he said, “This body is hateful to me! I am tormented by pain and have not a moment of rest!”.

He said at the last; ‘I hate about body myself. I am tormented by various pains, and there is not rest for a while either'.

即(すなわ)ち所居の寺の前の柳の木に登り、西に向い願つて曰(いわ)く、仏の威(い)神(しん)以て我を取り、観音(かんのん)勢至(せいし)来(きた)つて又我を扶(たす)けたまえと唱え畢(おわ)つて青柳の上より身を投げて自(じ)絶(ぜっ)す云云。

And when he had climbed the willow in front of the temple where he resided, he faced to the west and said, “May the Buddha through his divine might receive me, and may Bodhisattva Perceiver of the World's Sounds and Bodhisattva Great Power come to aid me!”. And when he had finished reciting these words, he threw himself down and ended his life.

He climbed the tree of willow in front of the temple and he prayed toward the west and said in this way. 'Buddha, please give me a great might, please rescue me. The Bodhisattva of Kannon and Wisdom, please come and help me!'. He finished advocating it in this way and threw his body from the blue willow and committed suicide.

三月十七日くびをくくりて飛たりける程にくくり縄(なわ)や切れけん、柳の枝や折れけん、大(だい)旱魃(かんばつ)の堅(かた)土(つち)の上に落て腰骨を打折(くじき)て二十四日に至るまで七日七夜の間、悶絶(もんぜつ)躄(びゃく)地(ち)しておめきさけびて死し畢(おわん)ぬ。

It was the seventeenth day of the third month when he put the rope around his neck and jumped down. But, perhaps because the rope broke or the limb of the willow tree snapped, he fell down upon the ground, which was hardened from a severe drought, and shattered his hip bone. For seven days and seven nights, till the twenty-fourth day of the month, he remained in the utmost torment, dragging himself this way and that and crying out in pain, until at last he died.

He hanged himself on March 17 and flew, but he fell on the firm soil of the large drought and hit the backbone and broke it. It may be the rope which he bound was weak or the willow branch might be broken. For seven days until March 24, he has fainted in agony during day and night, crawled, yelled, cried and has died”.

本文 Original Text 　　目次 Table of Contents