“Also, next, oh good man!
For example, a milking woman, intending to gain an exorbitant profit, adds 20% water to the milk and sells it to another
woman, who again adds 20% water and sells it to a woman who lives close to the castle
town. This
woman further adds 20% water and sells
it to a woman who lives in the castle. This woman buys the milk and takes it to
the market and sells it. At that time, there was a person who would get a woman
for the sake of his son. He wanted to use a good milk to serve it to his guest.
He went to the market and wanted to buy some (milk). The woman selling the milk
demanded the normal price. The man said: 'This milk contains a lot of water.
So, it is not worth the normal price. Today I have to treat a visitor. Then
I'll buy it’. Coming with this milk at home, he cooked some porridge, but it
did not have the taste of milk. Although it had no taste of milk, it was far
better than any bitter thing, it was a thousand times better. Why? Because of
all the tastes, milk is the best.
Oh good man! When I die, for 80 years when
the Wonderful Dharma has not yet expired, this sutra will be widely spread in
Jambudvipa. At that time, there will be many malicious bhiksus who will cut this sutra into
parts and simplify it, so that the color, flavor, taste and beauty of the
Wonderful Dharma will be lost. All these evil persons will read this sutra, despoil the deep and essential
meaning of the Tathagata, introduce words merely pretentious, decorative and
meaningless which belong to the
world. They will lop off the front part and add it to the back part of the
sutra, or they will lop off the back part and add it to the front, or will put
the front and back parts in the middle and the middle at the front and back.
Know that such bhiksus are
friends of Mara. They will keep and store all impure things and say that the
Tathagata gave them permission to do so. This is like the milking woman who added water to the milk.
It
will be the same with
these wicked bhiksus. They will add words of
worldly life, despoil the fixed and
right words of the sutras, and obstruct the access of the beings to right sermons, to the correct
copies, to right understanding, honoring, praising, making offerings to, and
respecting [the sutras].
Due to the pursuit of gain, such malicious bhiksus will not disseminate this sutra. The world where its benefits will be obtained will be so limited that does not deserve to be mentioned. This is as in the case of the poor milking woman who adds water to the milk and sells it, so that the porridge that will be done later will not have the taste of milk. The same is the case with this Mahayana Great Nirvana Sutra. Its taste will gradually diminish and [eventually] no flavor will remain. The spirit will depart, and yet it will still be 1,000 times better than the other sutras. It's like with the diluted milk, which is still 1,000 times better than any bitter thing. Why is that? Because this Mahayana Great Nirvana Sutra is the best among all the sutras of the Sravakas class. It's like with milk, which is the best of all tastes. For this reason, we say Great Nirvana.”
Due to the pursuit of gain, such malicious bhiksus will not disseminate this sutra. The world where its benefits will be obtained will be so limited that does not deserve to be mentioned. This is as in the case of the poor milking woman who adds water to the milk and sells it, so that the porridge that will be done later will not have the taste of milk. The same is the case with this Mahayana Great Nirvana Sutra. Its taste will gradually diminish and [eventually] no flavor will remain. The spirit will depart, and yet it will still be 1,000 times better than the other sutras. It's like with the diluted milk, which is still 1,000 times better than any bitter thing. Why is that? Because this Mahayana Great Nirvana Sutra is the best among all the sutras of the Sravakas class. It's like with milk, which is the best of all tastes. For this reason, we say Great Nirvana.”
