Section 11
Original Sanskrit
भगवानाह । तत्किं मन्यसे सुभूते यावत्यो गंगायां महानद्यां वालुकास्तावत्य एव गंगानद्यो भवेयुः तासु या वालुका अपि नु ता बह्व्यो भवेयुः । सुभूतिराह । ता एव तावद्भगवन्बह्व्यो गंगानद्यो भवेयुः प्रागेव यास्तासु गंगानदीषु वालुकाः । भगवानाह । आरोचयामि ते सुभूते प्रतिवेदयामि ते यावत्यस्तासु गंगानदीषु वालुका भवेयुस्तावतो लोकधातून्कश्चिदेव स्त्री वा पुरुषो वा सप्तरत्नपरिपूर्णं कृत्वा तथागतेभ्योऽर्हद्भ्यः सम्यक्सं बुद्धेभ्यो दानं दद्यात् । तत्किं मन्यसे सुभूते अपि नु सा स्त्री वा पुरुषो वा ततो निदानं बहु पुण्यस्कंधं प्रसुनुयात् । सुभूतिराह । बहु भगवन्बहु सुगत स्त्री वा पुरुषो वा ततो निदानं पुण्यस्कंधं प्रसुनुयादप्रमेयमसंख्येयं । भगवानाह । यश्च खलु पुनः सुभूते स्त्री वा पुरुषो वा तावतो लोकधातून्सप्तरत्नपरिपूर्णं कृत्वा तथागतेभ्योऽर्हद्भ्यः सम्यक्संबुद्धेभ्यो दानं दद्यात् । यश्च कुलपुत्रो वा कुलदुहिता वेतो धर्मपर्यायादंतशश्चतुष्पादिकामपि गाथामुद्गृह्य परेभ्यो देशयेत्संप्रकाशयेदयमेव ततो निदानं बहुतरं पुण्यस्कंधं प्रसुनुयादप्रमेयमसंख्येयं ॥११॥
Musean translation
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the Sanskrit of F. Max Müller’s 1881 Anecdota Oxoniensia edition, all 32 sections, with the printed section numbers kept.
The Blessed One said: "What do you think, Subhūti? Suppose there were as many Ganges rivers as there are grains of sand in the great Ganges. Would the sands of all those rivers be many?" "Many indeed, Blessed One. Those rivers alone would be many, let alone the sands in them." "I tell you, Subhūti, I make this known to you: if a woman or a man filled as many world-systems as there are sands in those rivers with the seven treasures, and gave them to the Tathāgatas, the Worthy, the Perfectly Awakened, would that woman or man gain much merit from this?" "Much, Blessed One, much, Sugata: it is immeasurable and incalculable." "Yet if a son or daughter of good family took up even four lines of this teaching and taught them to others, the merit of that one would be far greater, beyond all measure." [11]
Plain English translation
Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from the same Sanskrit, covering all 32 sections with the printed section numbers.
The Buddha said: "Subhūti, what do you think? Suppose there were as many Ganges rivers as there are grains of sand in the Ganges. Would there be many grains of sand in all of those rivers?" Subhūti said: "Yes, Blessed One. There would be many rivers, and even more grains of sand." The Buddha said: "I tell you truly, Subhūti. Suppose a man or a woman filled as many worlds as there are grains of sand in those rivers with the seven treasures, and gave them to the Tathāgatas, the Worthy, the Fully Awakened Ones. Would that person gain a great deal of merit?" "A great deal, Blessed One, a great deal, Sugata: it is immeasurable and incalculable." "But if someone took up even four lines of this teaching and taught them to others, that person's merit would be far greater than that, and it could not be counted." [11]
About this section
Section 11 is part of Diamond Sutra (Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra) by Unknown. This page sets the Sanskrit original beside 2 direct-source translations, so any line can be checked against the source. It is section 11 of 32 in the work, which is kept in the Buddhist tradition.
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