The White Lotus Of The Good Dharma 2

Then the Bhagavān said to the bodhisattva Bhaiṣajyarāja and eighty thousand other bodhisattvas, �Bhaiṣajyarāja, do you see this assembly�s numerous devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans and nonhumans, bhikṣus and bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas and upāsikās, and followers of the Śrāvakayāna and the Bodhisattva�yāna who have heard this Dharma teaching directly from the Tathāgata?� [F.84.a]

�I see them, Bhagavān,� he answered. �I see them, Sugata.�

10.�2

�Bhaiṣajyarāja,� said the Bhagavān, �these are all bodhisattvas, mahāsattvas. Whoever among them has heard even one verse, or heard one line of a verse, or with just one aspiration has rejoiced in this sūtra, for all those in the fourfold assembly, Bhaiṣajyarāja, I prophesy that they will attain the highest, complete enlightenment.

�Bhaiṣajyarāja, if anyone after my nirvāṇa hears this Dharma teaching, or hears just one verse of it, or with just one aspiration rejoices in it, I prophesy that those noble men or noble women will attain the highest, complete enlightenment.

10.�3

�Bhaiṣajyarāja, those noble men or noble women will have served a full hundred thousand quintillion buddhas.

�Bhaiṣajyarāja, those noble men or noble women will have prayed to many hundreds of thousands of quintillions of buddhas.

�Bhaiṣajyarāja, know that those noble men or noble women will have taken birth as humans in this Jambudvīpa out of compassion for beings.

10.�4

�Whoever retains even just one verse from this Dharma teaching, or reads it, or teaches it, or recites it,346 or writes it, or having written it remembers it, or from time to time looks at it; and whoever has the same veneration for the text as one would have for the Tathāgata, and honors, venerates, and makes offerings to it, venerating it as if it were the Teacher; and whoever offers flowers, incense, perfume, garlands, ointments, powders, clothing, parasols, banners, divine flags, [F.84.b] the sound of music, and so on, to the text, while bowing down and putting hands together in homage; and those noble men or noble women, Bhaiṣajyarāja, who rejoice in just one verse from this Dharma teaching, Bhaiṣajyarāja, I prophesy that all of them will attain the highest, complete enlightenment.

10.�5

�Bhaiṣajyarāja, if any man or woman asks, �What kind of beings are these who will become tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas in the future?� Bhaiṣajyarāja, those men or women, those noble men or noble women should be taught in this way: �Behold! Whoever possesses or hears even one four-line verse from this Dharma teaching, or teaches it, or honors this Dharma teaching, it is that noble man or noble woman who in the future will come into the world as a tathāgata, arhat, perfectly enlightened buddha.�

10.�6

�Why is that? Bhaiṣajyarāja, any noble man or noble woman who retains just one verse from this Dharma teaching should be seen by the world and its devas as tathāgatas and be honored by them as if they were tathāgatas, let alone someone who obtains the entirety of this Dharma teaching and retains it, teaches it, recites it, writes it, or having written it remembers it, and honors it by making offerings of flowers, incense, perfume, garlands, ointments, powders, clothing, parasols, banners, divine flags, the sound of music, and so on, to the text, and with hands together in homage bows down to it.

10.�7

�Bhaiṣajyarāja, that noble son or noble woman should be known to have attained the highest, complete enlightenment. [F.85.a] They should be known to have seen the tathāgatas. They have, out of compassion, in order to benefit the world, been born as humans in this Jambudvīpa through the power of prayer in order to teach this Dharma teaching. Know that they will leave behind vast Dharma activity and rebirth in buddha realms, in order to perfectly teach this Dharma teaching, and after my nirvāṇa they will be born here out of compassion for beings and in order to benefit them.

10.�8

�Bhaiṣajyarāja, after the Tathāgata�s passing into nirvāṇa, the one who teaches this Dharma teaching, even someone who secretly and deviously teaches it to just one being, Bhaiṣajyarāja, that noble man or noble woman should be known to be the Tathāgata�s messenger. That noble man or noble woman should be known to have been sent to do the Tathāgata�s work.

10.�9

�Bhaiṣajyarāja, I state that if someone speaks badly to dharmabhāṇakas who hold this sūtra, be they laypeople or renunciants, and whether what is said be true or not, the bad karma will be much more dreadful than if a being with an angry mind, an evil mind, and a wrathful mind were to speak badly to the Tathāgata to his face for an entire eon. Why is that? Bhaiṣajyarāja, it is because that noble man or noble woman should be known to be an adornment that adorns the Tathāgata.

10.�10

�Bhaiṣajyarāja, those who write out this Dharma teaching to create a text and carry it on their shoulder carry the Tathāgata on their shoulder. Wherever they go, there beings should honor, venerate, and make offerings to them, and with hands together in homage, they should honor those dharmabhāṇakas by making offerings to them of flowers, incense, perfume, garlands, ointments, powders, clothing, parasols, [F.85.b] banners, divine flags, the sound of music, food and drink‍�hard food and soft food‍�carriages, and supreme, divine heaps of jewels. They should offer heaps of divine jewels to those dharmabhāṇakas. Why is that? It is because through this Dharma teaching being taught just once, through hearing it, countless, innumerable beings will quickly attain the highest, complete enlightenment.�

10.�11

Thereupon the Bhagavān recited these verses:

�Those who wish for the state of buddhahood,

Those who long for self-arising wisdom,

Those who keep to this way:

Those beings should be honored. {1}

10.�12

�Those who wish for omniscience,

Who wonder how to attain it quickly,

Those who have obtained this sūtra,

Those who possess it, should be honored. {2}

10.�13

�The ones who will read this sūtra

Because of their compassion for beings

Will have been sent by the Lord of the World

In order that beings may be guided. {3}

10.�14

�Those who will possess this sūtra

Because of their compassion for beings

Will have forsaken a good rebirth,

And those courageous ones will come here. {4}

10.�15

�Teaching in the later times

This unsurpassable sūtra,

Those ones who will appear

Will have power over rebirth. {5}

10.�16

�Scatter jewels on those dharmabhāṇakas;

Make offerings to them of divine flowers

And all the perfumes of human beings,

And cover them with divine clothing. {6}

10.�17

�Always place your hands together in homage,

As you would for the Lord of Jinas, the Self-Arisen One,

To the ones who possess this sūtra after my nirvāṇa

In these later, extremely dreadful times. {7}

10.�18

�In order to make offerings to the bodhisattvas

Who recite this sūtra just one time,

Give them food and drink‍�hard food and soft food‍�

And millions of residences, beds and seats, and clothing. {8}

10.�19

�The ones who in the later times write out

This sūtra, possess it, and listen to it,

I will have sent to that human existence

In order to accomplish the tasks of the Tathāgata. {9}

10.�20

�If there were a man who stood before me

And with a frowning face and with malice [F.86.a]

Spoke unpleasant things to me for an entire eon,

Then that man would create vast bad karma. {10}

10.�21

�I declare that even greater bad karma will be created

By those who speak unpleasantly and abusively

To those who possess this sūtra

And who are teaching this sūtra. {11}

10.�22

�If a man were to stand before me and praise me

With his hands together in homage for an entire eon,

With many quintillions347 of verses

While seeking for this supreme enlightenment, {12}

10.�23

�He would obtain great merit

Through praising me while feeling great joy.

The one who praises those dharmabhāṇakas

Will obtain a supremely greater amount of merit.348 {13}

10.�24

�If someone were to make offerings

Of forms, sounds, tastes, divine textures,

And divine perfumes to images of the Buddha

For a hundred and eighty billion eons, {14}

10.�25

�And if the one who offered to those images

For a hundred and eighty billion eons

Were to hear this sūtra just one time,

That one would obtain a greater wonder.349 {15}

10.�26

�Bhaiṣajyarāja, I declare to you, I proclaim to you350 that I, Bhaiṣajyarāja, have given, am giving, and will give many Dharma teachings, but from among all those many Dharma teachings, Bhaiṣajyarāja, it is this Dharma teaching that is unacceptable to the entire world, and which will not be believed by the entire world.

�Bhaiṣajyarāja, this is the great secret from the higher knowledge351 of the Tathāgata that has been kept through the power of the Tathāgata and has not previously been revealed, has not previously been told. Bhaiṣajyarāja, many beings will reject this Dharma teaching while the Tathāgata lives, let alone after the Tathāgata has passed into nirvāṇa.

10.�27

�Bhaiṣajyarāja, the noble men or noble women who, after I have passed into nirvāṇa, have faith in this Dharma teaching, read it, write it, honor it, and make others hear it, should be known to be wearing the Tathāgata�s Dharma robes. The tathāgatas who are present in other world realms will see them and bless them. [F.86.b] They will have the power of their faith, the power of their roots of merit, and the power of their prayers.

�Bhaiṣajyarāja, those noble men and noble women dwell in the same temple as the Tathāgata. The Tathāgata places his hand upon their heads.

10.�28

�Bhaiṣajyarāja, wherever this Dharma teaching is spoken, or taught, or written, or recited for oneself, or chanted for others, in that place, Bhaiṣajyarāja, one should build a great caitya of the Tathāgata that is made from precious materials. However, it is not necessary to place the relics of the Tathāgata within it. Why is that? It is because the relics of the Tathāgata have all been combined into one within it. The stūpa that is in352 that place where this Dharma teaching has been spoken, taught, recited for oneself, chanted for others, or written out and made into a text that is kept there, should be honored, venerated, shown respect, and offerings made to it. One should make offerings of all flowers, incense, perfume, garlands, ointments, powders, cloths, parasols, banners, flags, banners of victory, songs, music, dance, and the sounds of musical instruments, and of percussion instruments.

10.�29

�Bhaiṣajyarāja, the beings who come to that caitya of the Tathāgata in order to pay homage to it, or to see it, should all be known, Bhaiṣajyarāja, to be close to the highest, complete enlightenment. Why is that? Bhaiṣajyarāja, many bodhisattvas, both householders and renunciants, even though they have practiced bodhisattva conduct, have never encountered listening to, writing, or making offerings to this kind of Dharma teaching.

�Bhaiṣajyarāja, as long as they have not heard this Dharma teaching they are not skilled in bodhisattva conduct. [F.87.a] When they listen to and hear this Dharma teaching, and aspire to it, engage in it, understand it, and possess it, then at that time they have come near to the highest, complete enlightenment‍�they are close to it.

10.�30

�Bhaiṣajyarāja, it is like this: There is a man who wants water and is searching for it. In order to find water, he digs a well in an arid land. While he is digging, but sees that the soil being dug out is dry and pale, he will know, �The water is still farther down than this.� But when, at another time, that man digs out wet earth and mud dripping with water, and sees that the bodies of men digging the well are covered in mud, that man, Bhaiṣajyarāja, will take those sights as a sign, and without any uncertainty or doubt he will think, �The water is near.�

10.�31

�Bhaiṣajyarāja, in that way, while bodhisattva mahāsattvas do not hear, do not possess, do not comprehend, do not practice, and do not contemplate this Dharma teaching, those bodhisattva mahāsattvas are far from the highest, complete enlightenment.

�Bhaiṣajyarāja, when the bodhisattva mahāsattvas hear, possess, comprehend, practice, recite, contemplate, and meditate on this Dharma teaching, at that time they are near to the highest, complete enlightenment. Why is that? It is because this Dharma teaching is the supreme elucidation of the teachings that have an implied meaning of the secret aspect of the Dharma taught by the tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas so that the bodhisattva mahāsattvas may attain complete accomplishment.

10.�32

�Bhaiṣajyarāja, if a bodhisattva is frightened of this Dharma teaching, is afraid and terrified of it, then you should know that bodhisattva to be new to the Bodhisattva�yāna. [F.87.b] Also, if a follower of the Śrāvakayāna is frightened of this Dharma teaching, is afraid and terrified of it, then, Bhaiṣajyarāja, you should know that this individual who is following the Śrāvakayāna is conceited.

10.�33

�Bhaiṣajyarāja, if in the later times, after the Tathāgata has passed into nirvāṇa, a bodhisattva mahāsattva teaches this Dharma teaching to the fourfold assembly, then, Bhaiṣajyarāja, that bodhisattva has entered the residence of the Tathāgata, wears the Dharma robe of the Tathāgata, sits upon the seat of the Tathāgata, and then teaches this Dharma teaching to the fourfold assembly.

10.�34

�Bhaiṣajyarāja, what is the residence of the Tathāgata? Bhaiṣajyarāja, it is the vihāra of love for all beings.

�Bhaiṣajyarāja, what is the Dharma robe of the Tathāgata? Bhaiṣajyarāja, the Tathāgata�s Dharma robe is great patience and gentleness.

�Bhaiṣajyarāja, what is the Dharma seat of the Tathāgata? Bhaiṣajyarāja, it is entering the emptiness of all phenomena.

10.�35

�Bhaiṣajyarāja, that noble man will sit upon the Dharma seat of the Tathāgata. Having sat there he will teach this Dharma teaching to the fourfold assembly. The bodhisattva without any lack of confidence will teach before the fourfold assembly, which is a gathering of bodhisattvas who have entered the Bodhisattva�yāna.

10.�36

�Bhaiṣajyarāja, I will be residing in another world realm but I will emanate to be that noble man�s assembly. I shall send emanations as bhikṣus and bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas and upāsikās to listen to the Dharma. [F.88.a] They will not turn away or reject that dharmabhāṇaka�s teaching. If he is in the forest, I will emanate as many devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas to listen to the Dharma.

10.�37

�Bhaiṣajyarāja, although I reside in another world realm I will reveal my face353 to that noble man. Whatever sentences and syllables of this Dharma teaching that are taught I will myself repeat and recite them.�

10.�38

Then the Bhagavān recited these verses:

�Cast aside all hesitation

And listen to a sūtra such as this.

It is very difficult to hear it.

It is difficult to aspire to it. {16}

10.�39

�It is like someone who wants water

And digs a well in arid land,

Who upon seeing dry soil

Keeps on digging deeper: {17}

10.�40

�On seeing that, he thinks

The water is still far down.

The earth he sees dug out

Is a sign that the water is still far. {18}

10.�41

�When he sees repeatedly

Earth that is wet and muddy,

When it is in that condition,

It means the water is not far. {19}

10.�42

�The wisdom of buddhahood

Is similarly far away

When this sūtra has not been heard

Or meditated on repeatedly. {20}

10.�43

�When this profound,

Definitive king of the sūtras

Of the śrāvakas is heard

And contemplated repeatedly, {21}

10.�44

�Then those wise ones are near

To the wisdom of buddhahood,

Just like earth that is wet

Means that water is near. {22}

10.�45

�Enter the residence of the Jina

And wear my Dharma robe.354

Be seated upon my seat

And teach this sūtra fearlessly.355 {23}

10.�46

�The power of love is the residence.

Patience and gentleness is the robe.

Emptiness is my seat.

Sit upon it and teach. {24}

10.�47

�If while teaching one is attacked

With clods of earth, sticks, knives,356

Or with abuse and threats, [F.88.b]

It will be endured by remembering me. {25}

10.�48

�In an enduring body

In billions of realms

I teach the Dharma to beings

For countless millions of eons. {26}

10.�49

�After I have passed into nirvāṇa

When there is a hero

Who will give the teaching of this sūtra

I will send there many emanations. {27}

10.�50

�Those bhikṣus and bhikṣuṇīs,

Upāsakas and upāsikās

Will make offerings to him

And the assembly will rejoice.357 {28}

10.�51

�Those who come with clods and sticks,

And likewise abuse and threats,

Whatever it is that they try to do

They will be prevented by my emanations. {29}

10.�52

�If one is staying alone,

Chanting this by himself

In an uninhabited place

In the forest or the mountains, {30}

10.�53

�I will manifest there

My shining body

And I will correct

Any error in his recitation. {31}

10.�54

�When one stays alone,

Living in the forest,

I shall send devas and yakṣas

In great numbers to be his companions. {32}

10.�55

�He who teaches the fourfold assembly

Will have such qualities as these.

I will see him performing his recitation

As he stays alone in the forest and mountains. {33}

10.�56

�He will have unimpeded eloquence

And will know many Dharma definitions.

He will satisfy billions of beings

Through the blessing of the Buddha. {34}

10.�57

�Those beings who rely upon him

Will all quickly become bodhisattvas.

All who depend upon associating with him

Will see buddhas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges.� {35}

10.�58

This concludes �The Dharmabhāṇakas,� the tenth chapter of the Dharma teaching of �The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.� [B8]

Chapter 11: THE APPEARANCE OF THE STŪPA

11.�1

Then a stūpa made of the seven precious materials arose from the center of the assembly, directly in front of the Bhagavān. It was five hundred yojanas tall and of a corresponding circumference. Having risen up, it remained suspended in the air, bright and beautiful, adorned with five thousand encircling railings358 covered in flowers, and beautified by many thousands of toraṇas, hung with thousands of sacred flags and banners of victory, [F.89.a] hung with thousands of strings of jewels, hung with thousands of streamers and bells, and emitting the aroma of bay leaves and sandalwood. That aroma spread throughout the entire all-containing world. Its crowning parasol reached as high as the palaces in the paradises of the Four Mahārājas. It was made of the seven precious materials, which are gold, silver, beryl, white coral, emerald, red pearl, and chrysoberyl. At the stūpa, devas of the Trāyastriṃśa paradise scattered coral tree and great coral tree flowers on the precious stūpa, bestrewing it with them, and covering it with them.

11.�2

These words came from the precious stūpa:359 �The tathāgatas have no thinking, no thoughts, and manifest all modes of conducts. The tathāgatas do not originate from skandhas, dhātus, and āyatanas. They do not come into being from karma, kleśas, parents, and the primary elements. They have no connection with flesh, blood, and veins.

11.�3

They have no inhalation, no exhalation, and no connection with life. The tathāgatas are the same as space; they are not permanent and not impermanent. However, the tathāgata Prabhūtaratna, who passed into nirvāṇa many hundreds of thousands of quintillions of eons ago, who is free of thoughts and ideas, is seen for the sake of beings, through the power of his previous prayers, in order that the Dharma be heard and in order to ripen beings, but the body of the Tathāgata is without the slightest thought. The tathāgatas do not speak even a single syllable. The beings who are guided360 hear the teaching of the Dharma from the tathāgatas in accord with their individual natures and their individual aspirations. A tathāgata is the true nature, [F.89.b] and that true nature is the limit of reality. That limit of reality is the essence of phenomena. That true nature, limit of reality, and essence of phenomena is the Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma. When the completely pure tathāgatas come, are seen, and speak, through the power of their previous prayers they teach the great skillful method of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma to completely pure beings.�

11.�4

Then the precious stūpa also said:361 �It is excellent, excellent, Bhagavān Śākyamuni, that you have taught well the Dharma teaching The White Lotus of the Good Dharma. It is thus, Bhagavān. It is thus, Sugata!� Those are the words that were emitted.

11.�5

The fourfold assembly became happy, delighted, joyful, and overjoyed on seeing that precious stūpa that remained suspended in the air. At that time they rose from their seats and stood with palms together in homage.

11.�6

At that time, the bodhisattva mahāsattva named Mahāpratibhāna, seeing that the world with its devas, humans, and asuras was astonished, asked the Bhagavān, �Bhagavān, what is the cause of the appearance of such a great precious stūpa as this? What are the conditions for its appearance? Bhagavān, who uttered the words that came from this great precious stūpa?�

The Bhagavān said to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Mahāpratibhāna, �Mahāpratibhāna, inside this great precious stūpa there is the complete body of a tathāgata. This is his stūpa. He uttered those words.

11.�7

�Mahāpratibhāna, in the eastern direction, beyond countless thousands362 of worlds, [F.90.a] there is a world named Ratnaviśuddhā. In that realm there appeared the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna. That bhagavān made a prayer. He said, �In the past when I was practicing bodhisattva conduct, the highest, complete enlightenment did not arise while I had not heard the instruction to bodhisattvas, the Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma. After I had heard this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma, I attained the highest, complete enlightenment.�363 Mahāpratibhāna, when the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna was about to pass into nirvāṇa, he said to the world and its devas who were before him, �Bhikṣus, when I have passed into nirvāṇa, a great precious stūpa that contains my body should be made.� Mahāpratibhāna, then the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna made this resolution:364 �This stūpa that is mine, the stūpa that contains my body, may it appear within the buddha realms in world realms in the ten directions wherever this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma will be taught. When those buddha bhagavāns are giving this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma, may it be suspended in the air above the circle of the assembly. May the stūpa that contains my body congratulate the Buddha Bhagavān who is giving this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.� [F.90.b]

11.�8

�Therefore, Mahāpratibhāna, this is the stūpa that contains the body of the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna, which on my giving this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma in this world realm, Sahā, has appeared from the middle of the circle of the assembly, remained suspended in the air, and congratulated me.�

11.�9

Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Mahāpratibhāna said to the Bhagavān, �Bhagavān, through your365 power let us see the body of the tathāgata.�

11.�10

The Bhagavān replied to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Mahāpratibhāna, �Mahāpratibhāna, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna made a momentous366 prayer. This was his prayer: �When buddha bhagavāns in other realms are giving this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma, may the stūpa that contains my body come into the presence of those tathāgatas in order to listen to this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma. When those buddha bhagavāns wish to expose my body and reveal it to the fourfold assembly, then may those tathāgatas assemble together all the emanations from their own bodies that are in the form of tathāgatas in the ten directions, each in their own buddha realm, each with their own name, and teaching the Dharma in those buddha realms. Then afterward, together with those emanations from their own bodies in the forms of tathāgatas, may they open the stūpa that contains my body and reveal it to the fourfold assembly.�

11.�11

�Therefore, Mahāpratibhāna, I shall gather here all my many emanations in the form of tathāgatas teaching the Dharma to beings in other buddha realms in thousands of other world realms.� [F.91.a]

Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Mahāpratibhāna said to the Bhagavān, �Bhagavān, we shall pay homage to all those tathāgatas that are emanations from the Tathāgata�s own body.�

11.�12

Thereupon the Bhagavān emitted a ray of light from his ūrṇā hair. The instant that ray of light shone forth, all those buddha bhagavāns that resided in the eastern direction in hundreds of thousands of quintillions of world realms as numerous as the grains of sand in fifty Ganges Rivers were revealed. The buddha realms with their grounds made of crystal, beautified by trees made of precious materials, adorned by wreaths of calico and silk, filled with many hundred thousands of bodhisattvas, overspread with canopies, and covered with a network of gold and the seven precious materials were revealed. The bhagavāns teaching the Dharma with their mellifluous and gentle voices to beings in those realms were revealed. The hundreds of thousands of bodhisattvas who filled those realms were revealed.

11.�13

In the same way in the southeast, in the same way in the south, in the same way in the southwest, in the same way in the west, in the same way in the northwest, in the same way in the north, in the same way in the northeast, in the same way above, in the same way below‍�in each of the ten directions‍�all of those many hundreds of thousands of quintillions of buddha bhagavāns as numerous as the grains of sand in fifty Ganges Rivers, who were in many hundreds of thousands of quintillions of world realms as numerous as the grains of sand in fifty Ganges Rivers, were revealed.

11.�14

Those tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas in the ten directions each instructed their own multitude of bodhisattvas, [F.91.b] �Noble youths, I should go to the Sahā world realm, into the presence of the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni, so that I may pay homage to the stūpa that contains the body of the tathāgata Prabhūtaratna!�

So those buddha bhagavāns, accompanied by either one or two367 of their own attendants, came to this Sahā world realm.

11.�15

At that time this all-containing Sahā world realm became adorned by precious trees. Its ground became made of beryl and was covered with a network of the seven precious materials and of gold. It became perfumed by very precious incense and perfumes. It became strewn with coral tree and great coral tree flowers. It became adorned with strings of little bells. It became divided eightfold like a checkerboard by golden cords.368 There were no longer any villages, towns, market towns, districts, countries, or capitals. There were no Kāla mountain ranges. There were no Mucilinda or Mahāmucilinda Mountains. There were no Cakravāla or Mahācakravāla mountain ranges. There were no Sumerus, which are the kings of mountains. There were no other great mountains or mountains. There were no great oceans. There were no rivers or great rivers that were present there. There were no devas, asuras, or humans. There were no hells, animals, or realm of Yama. At that time, apart from those who were in that assembly, all beings that had been born into the six classes of existence in this Sahā world realm were transferred to other world realms.

11.�16

The buddha bhagavāns with their one or two attendants then arrived in this Sahā world realm. Having arrived, the tathāgatas approached the bases of precious trees and stayed there. [F.92.a] Each of those precious trees was five hundred yojanas high, with branches, leaves, and petals in succession at their extremities.369 They were perfectly adorned with flowers and fruit. A lion throne had been arranged at the foot of each precious tree. They were five hundred yojanas in height and adorned with huge jewels. Each of the tathāgatas sat cross-legged upon one. In that way, tathāgatas sat cross-legged at the foot of all the precious trees in all the worlds in this world realm of a billion worlds.

11.�17

At that time all the worlds in this world realm of a billion worlds were filled with tathāgatas, but all the emanations of the body of the bhagavān tathāgata Śākyamuni had not yet come even from just one direction.

11.�18

The tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni now manifested places for the bodies of the tathāgatas who were coming and arriving. In all ten directions there were two hundred thousand million buddha realms made of beryl, covered with a network made of the seven precious materials and of gold, adorned with strings of little bells, strewn with coral tree and great coral tree flowers, overspread with canopies, hung with divine flower garlands, and perfumed by divine incense and perfume.

11.�19

In those two hundred thousand million buddha realms there were no villages, towns, market towns, districts, countries, or capitals. There were no Kāla mountain ranges. There were no Mucilinda or Mahāmucilinda Mountains. There were no Cakravāla or Mahācakravāla mountain ranges. There were no Sumerus, the kings of mountains. There were no other great mountains or mountains. There were no great oceans. [F.92.b] There were no rivers or great rivers. There were no devas, asuras, or humans. There were no hells, animals, or realm of Yama.

11.�20

All those buddha realms were created as if they were one buddha realm, as if they were one land,370 which was flat, delightful, and adorned by trees made of the seven precious materials. Those trees were five hundred yojanas high, with branches, leaves, flowers, and fruit in succession at their extremities. Arranged at the foot of all those precious trees there were magnificent, beautiful lion thrones that were five hundred yojanas in height and were made from divine jewels. The tathāgatas who came and arrived sat cross-legged on the lion thrones in front of those trees. In this way, moreover, Śākyamuni purified371 two hundred thousand million buddha realms in each direction in order to create space for the tathāgatas who were coming and arriving.

11.�21

In those two hundred thousand million world realms in each direction there were no villages, towns, market towns, districts, countries, or capitals. There were no Kāla mountain ranges. There were no Mucilinda or Mahāmucilinda Mountains. There were no Cakravāla or Mahācakravāla mountain ranges. There were no Sumerus, the kings of mountains. There were no other great mountains or mountains. There were no great oceans. There were no rivers or great rivers. There were no devas, asuras, or humans. There were no hells, animals, or realm of Yama. [F.93.a] Those beings had been transferred to other world realms.

11.�22

Those buddha realms were made of beryl, covered with a network made of the seven precious materials and of gold, adorned with strings of little bells, completely bestrewn with coral tree and great coral tree flowers, overspread with divine canopies, hung with divine flower garlands, perfumed by divine incense and perfume, and adorned by trees made of the seven precious materials. Those trees were five hundred yojanas high, and lion thrones that were five hundred yojanas in height were also manifested. The tathāgatas sat cross-legged on those lion thrones in front of those precious trees.

11.�23

It was then that the tathāgatas emanated by Bhagavān Śākyamuni who had been in the eastern direction, teaching the Dharma in hundreds of thousands of quintillions of buddha realms as numerous as the grains of sand in ten million Ganges Rivers, arrived. In the same way they came and arrived from the ten directions and were seated in the eight directions.

11.�24

At that time those tathāgatas in each of the eight directions arrived in three hundred million world realms. Then those tathāgatas each sat on their own lion throne and sent their own attendants carrying a basket of precious flowers to Bhagavān Śākyamuni. They said to them, �Noble men, go to the Vulture Peak in Rājagṛha. Pay homage to the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni and with my words ask him and his host of bodhisattvas, and host of śrāvakas, �Are you untroubled? Are you well? Are you strong? Are you constantly happy?� [F.93.b] Then scatter upon him this heap of jewels and say, �The Bhagavān expresses his wish that the Tathāgata�s372 precious stūpa be opened.� �

11.�25

All the tathāgatas sent their attendants in that way. Then the bhagavān tathāgata Śākyamuni, knowing that the entirety of his emanations was assembled, knowing that they were seated on their lion thrones, knowing that the attendants of the tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas had all arrived, and knowing that those tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas had expressed their wish, rose up from his Dharma seat and remained floating up in the air. The entire fourfold assembly also rose from their seats and stood with hands together in homage, gazing upon the Bhagavān.

11.�26

Then the Bhagavān, with the fingers of his right hand, opened the center of the great precious stūpa that was floating in the air. He opened it and separated two parts of the wall panels, as when the two great doors of a great city�s gate separate after the bolt has been removed.

In that way, the Bhagavān, with the fingers of his right hand, opened the center of the great precious stūpa and revealed its interior. As soon as the great precious stūpa of the Tathāgata was opened the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna could be seen, his whole body withered,373 seated cross-legged and upright on a lion throne as if he was in meditation. [F.94.a] He said, �It is excellent, excellent, Bhagavān Śākyamuni, that you have taught well the Dharma teaching The White Lotus of the Good Dharma. It is excellent, Bhagavān Śākyamuni, that you are giving the Dharma teaching The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.374 Bhagavān, I have come here to listen to the Dharma teaching The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.�

11.�27

The fourfold assembly was amazed and astonished on seeing375 the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna, who had passed into nirvāṇa many hundreds of thousands of quintillions of eons before, speaking.

At that time, heaps of human and divine jewels were tossed toward the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna and the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni. Then the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna offered half the lion throne seat to the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni and from within the great precious stūpa said, �Sit here, Bhagavān Tathāgata Śākyamuni.�

11.�28

So the bhagavān tathāgata Śākyamuni sat on that half of the lion throne together with that tathāgata.376 Both tathāgatas could be seen seated in the center of the great precious stūpa that remained suspended in the air.

The fourfold assembly now thought, �We are far from these tathāgatas; may we also rise up into the air through the power of the tathāgatas!� [F.94.b]

At this, the Bhagavān, knowing the thoughts in the minds of the fourfold assembly, at that time, through his miraculous power, suspended the fourfold assembly up in the air.

11.�29

The bhagavān tathāgata Śākyamuni then asked the fourfold assembly, �Bhikṣus, who among you in this Sahā world realm has the enthusiasm to give the Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma? This is the moment. This is the time. You are in the presence of the Buddha. Having bestowed the Dharma teaching The White Lotus of the Good Dharma, the Tathāgata wishes to enter nirvāṇa.�

11.�30

Then the Bhagavān recited these verses:

�Bhikṣus, this great rishi, who is in nirvāṇa,

The Guide who entered this precious stūpa,

Has come in order to listen to this Dharma.

Who would not have diligence for the Dharma? {1}

11.�31

�He entered nirvāṇa millions of eons ago

But still he listens to the Dharma.

He goes here and there for the Dharma;

This kind of Dharma is very difficult to find. {2}

11.�32

�It was the prayer of this Guide,

While he practiced in his previous lives,

That even after nirvāṇa he would seek the Dharma

Throughout all ten directions in all these worlds. {3}

11.�33

�All of these who are from my own body,

As numerous as the sands of ten billion Ganges,

Have come in order to accomplish service for the Dharma

And to see this Lord who has passed into nirvāṇa. {4}

11.�34

�They all left behind their own realms,

And likewise all their śrāvakas, humans, and maruts,

In order that they may preserve this good Dharma,

For this way of Dharma to remain for a long time. {5}

11.�35

�Through my miraculous power I purified

Many thousands of millions of world realms

And transferred the beings there elsewhere,

In order that these buddhas could be seated. {6} [F.95.a]

11.�36

�I acted with such dedication so that

This way of the Dharma may be taught.

These countless buddhas are now seated

At the foot of trees like a multitude of lotuses. {7}

11.�37

�The guides are seated upon lion thrones

At the foot of no fewer than millions of trees.

Very beautiful, they sit there constantly,

Like a fire in a great darkness. {8}

11.�38

�The beautiful aroma of the guides of the world

Spreads throughout the ten directions

So that as the breeze blows

It pervades these beings here.377 {9}

11.�39

�Those who wish to hold this Dharma teaching

After I have passed into nirvāṇa

Should quickly state their intention

In the presence of the lords of the world. {10}

11.�40

�The buddha who has entered nirvāṇa,

The muni Prabhūtaratna,378 also

Is someone who is dedicated

To listening to this lion�s roar. {11}

11.�41

�Secondly I, and the many millions

Of these guides who have come here,

Will with dedication listen to a child of the jinas

Who with enthusiasm teaches this Dharma. {12}

11.�42

�It is because of this that offerings are always being made

To me and Prabhūtaratna, the self-arisen Jina.

He is one who is constantly going in every direction

In order to listen to such a Dharma as this. {13}

11.�43

�The lords of the world who have arrived here,

Who have made brilliant and beautiful the land,

Will receive vast and not little offerings

Through their teaching of the sūtra. {14}

11.�44

�This bhagavān residing inside the stūpa,

And I who am upon this seat,

And these many other lords of the world,

Arrived from many hundreds of realms, are seen. {15}

11.�45

�Noble ones, I ask you to contemplate,

Out of compassion for all beings,

This extremely difficult task

That the guides have enthusiasm for. {16} [F.95.b]

11.�46

�If someone had to give the teaching

Of many thousands of sūtras

As numerous as the sands of the Ganges,

That would not be a very difficult task. {17}

11.�47

�If someone had to grasp

Mount Sumeru in their hand

And throw it into millions of realms,

That would not be a very difficult task. {18}

11.�48

�If someone had to dislodge

This realm of a billion worlds with their big toe,

And kick it into millions of realms,

That would not be a very difficult task. {19}

11.�49

�If someone had to teach the Dharma

Through thousands of other sūtras

While residing at the summit of existence,

That would not be a very difficult task. {20}

11.�50

�If someone upholds this sūtra

In the dreadful future times

After the Lord of the World�s nirvāṇa,

That will be a very difficult task. {21}

11.�51

�If someone had to grasp in their hand

The entire element of space,

And having grasped it, go away,

That would not be a very difficult task. {22}

11.�52

�If someone writes out a sūtra like this

In the dreadful future times

When I have passed into nirvāṇa,

That will be a very difficult task. {23}

11.�53

�If someone had to insert into their fingernail

The entire element of earth,

And having done so, go away

And climb up to the world of Brahmā, {24}

11.�54

�And does that difficult task

In front of the entire world,

That would not be a very difficult task,

And would not take such great dedication. {25}

11.�55

�Far more difficult than that

Would be if someone were to recite379

This sūtra in the future times

When I have passed into nirvāṇa. {26}

11.�56

�It would not be difficult in this world

For someone in the inferno of the eon�s end

To go into its center, carrying a load

Of straw, without its burning.380 {27}

11.�57

�Far more difficult will be

If someone after my nirvāṇa

Is a holder of this sūtra

And makes one being hear it. {28}

11.�58

�If someone were a holder of the collection

Of eighty-four thousand dharmas

And were to teach them to millions of beings

Together with the transmission of instructions, {29} [F.96.a]

11.�59

And were at that time to guide

The bhikṣus who are my śrāvakas

And establish them in the higher knowledges,381

Then that would not be difficult. {30}

11.�60

�It will be far more difficult

For someone to uphold this sūtra,

To have faith in and aspiration for it,

And teach it again and again. {31}

11.�61

�If someone were to establish in arhathood

Many thousands of millions

Of those with great good fortune, who have the six higher knowledges,

As numerous as the grains of sand in the Ganges, {32}

11.�62

�The one who after my nirvāṇa

Upholds this excellent sūtra

Will be a supreme human

Who accomplishes a far greater activity. {33}

11.�63

�I have taught many dharmas

Within thousands of world realms,

And I am teaching again now

For the sake of the wisdom of buddhahood. {34}

11.�64

�From among all sūtras,

This is said to be the supreme sūtra.

The one who upholds this sūtra

Is holding the body of the Jina. {35}

11.�65

�Noble ones, whoever among you

Aspires to uphold this sūtra

In the later times, say so

In the presence of the Tathāgata. {36}

11.�66

�If someone upholds, even for a moment,

This sūtra which is so difficult to uphold,

They will have completely brought

Great pleasure382 to all the lords of the world. {37}

11.�67

�They will be highly praised

By all the lords of the world.

Those heroes, those mighty ones, will soon

Attain higher knowledge and enlightenment. {38}

11.�68

�Whoever upholds this sūtra,

Will be a true child of the lords of the worlds.

That one will be the carrier of their burden,

And will have attained the state of pacification. {39}

11.�69

�The one who teaches this sūtra

After the nirvāṇa of the chief of humans383

Will become the eyes for the world

With its humans and maruts. {40}

11.�70

�The one who in the later times

Teaches this sūtra for just a moment,

That wise one will be worthy

Of homage by all beings.� {41}

11.�71

Then the Bhagavān instructed the entire host of bodhisattvas, [F.96.b] and the world with its devas and asuras, saying, �Bhikṣus, in the past, in a time gone by, I sought The Sūtra of the White Lotus of the Good Dharma, without weariness, without fatigue, for countless, innumerable eons. In the past, for many hundreds of thousands of eons I was a king who prayed for the highest, complete enlightenment and my mind never wavered from that. I was dedicated to fulfilling the six perfections. I performed immeasurable acts of generosity, giving away gold, jewels, pearls, beryls, conch, crystal, corals, refined gold, silver, emeralds, white coral, red pearls, village towns, market towns, districts, lands, capitals, wives, sons, daughters, male slaves, female slaves, elephants, horses, chariots, and so on, up to my own body‍�my hands, feet, head, limbs, smaller body parts‍�and my life. I never had any clinging arise in my mind.

11.�72

�At that time, life in this world was long. One lived for many hundreds of thousands of years. During that time I was a king for the sake of the Dharma and not for the sake of dominion. I consecrated my oldest son to be king and dedicated myself to searching in the four directions for the highest Dharma.

�I rang a bell and announced, �I will become the slave of anyone who will give me the highest Dharma and teach me its meaning!�

11.�73

�At that time there was a rishi who said to me, �Great King, I have the Dharma teaching of the supreme sūtra called The White Lotus of the Good Dharma. [F.97.a] If you promise to be my slave I will enable you to hear it.�

�When I heard the words of the rishi I was happy, content, delighted, and overjoyed, and I approached that rishi and said to him, �I will do whatever work a slave would do for you!�

11.�74

�In that way I promised to be that rishi�s slave and then I did the work of collecting straw, wood, water, roots, tubers, fruit, and so on. I was even the guard at his door. I did that kind of work during the day and at night I grasped the feet of his bed.384 However, I never had any physical fatigue and I never had any mental fatigue.�

11.�75

Thereupon, in order to make this clear, the Bhagavān recited these verses:

�I remember how in past eons

I was a Dharma king for the sake of the Dharma.

I became a king for the sake of the Dharma,

Not for pleasures but for the supreme Dharma. {42}

11.�76

�I made this declaration in the four directions:

�I shall be the slave of whoever teaches me the Dharma.�

At that time there was a wise rishi

Who taught the sūtra called The Good Dharma. {43}

11.�77

�He said to me, �If you wish for the Dharma,

Promise to be my slave and I will teach you the Dharma.�

When I heard those words, I was overjoyed

And I worked for him as his slave. {44}

11.�78

�When I worked as his slave for the Dharma

My body and mind were untouched by fatigue.

At that time my prayers were for beings

And not for myself nor for my desires. {45}

11.�79

�That king had that degree of dedication,

That for a full thousand eons, without weariness,

He did no other work in the ten directions

Until he obtained that which was called the Dharma. {46}

11.�80

�Bhikṣus, what do you think? If you have the thought that at that time, on that occasion, [F.97.b] the king was someone else, do not see it in that way. Why is that? At that time, on that occasion, I was that king. Bhikṣus, if you have the thought that at that time, on that occasion, the rishi was someone else, do not see it in that way. Why is that? Bhikṣus, at that time, on that occasion, this Devadatta was that rishi.

11.�81

�Bhikṣus, Devadatta was my kalyāṇamitra, and relying on that kalyāṇamitra I fulfilled the six perfections. It was through relying upon Devadatta that I perfected great love, great compassion, great rejoicing, great equanimity, the thirty-two signs and eighty features of a great being, a fathom-wide aura, a golden color, the ten strengths, the four fearlessnesses, the four methods of attracting disciples, the eighteen unique qualities of a buddha, the great miraculous powers, and the liberating of beings in the ten directions.

11.�82

�Bhikṣus, I declare to you,385 I make it known to you, this Devadatta, bhikṣus, will in a future time, after countless innumerable eons, in a world realm named Devasopānāyā be the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha386 Devarāja.

�Bhikṣus, the lifespan of Tathāgata Devarāja will be twenty intermediate eons long and he will teach the Dharma extensively. Beings as numerous as the grains of sand in the Ganges will eliminate the kleśas and manifest arhathood. Many beings will develop the aspiration to enlightenment. Beings as numerous as the grains of sand in the Ganges will develop the aspiration to the highest, complete enlightenment and attain irreversible patience. [F.98.a]

11.�83

�Bhikṣus, after Tathāgata Devarāja has passed into nirvāṇa, the Dharma will remain for twenty intermediate eons. The relic of his body will not be divided but remain as one whole that will be placed inside a stūpa made of the seven precious materials. That stūpa will be sixty387 yojanas high and forty yojanas wide. All devas and humans will make offerings to it of incense, perfume, flowers, garlands, ointments, powders, cloths, parasols, banners, flags, banners of victory, and so on, and they will praise it in song.

�Whoever will circumambulate that stūpa or bow down to it will manifest the supreme result of arhathood, some will attain pratyeka�buddhahood, and countless, innumerable devas and humans will develop an irreversible aspiration to the highest, supreme enlightenment.�

11.�84

The Bhagavān then said to the bhikṣus, �Bhikṣus, in future times, noble men or noble women who listen to this chapter from The Sūtra of the White Lotus of the Good Dharma, and having heard it have no doubt,388 and with pure minds are dedicated to it, will close the doorway to the lower existences. They will not be reborn in the hells, as an animal, or in the realm of Yama. They will be reborn in the buddha realms in the ten directions and in lifetime after lifetime will hear this sūtra. If they are reborn in a deva or human world they will have a superior status. Whatever buddha realm they are born into, they will be born miraculously in front of the Tathāgata from within a lotus made of the seven precious materials.� [F.98.b]

11.�85

At that time the bodhisattva mahāsattva Praj�ākūṭa, who had come from the buddha realm of Tathāgata Prabhūtaratna that was in the downward direction,389 said to Tathāgata Prabhūtaratna, �Bhagavān, let us return to our own buddha realm.�

But the bhagavān tathāgata Śākyamuni said to the bodhisattva Praj�ākūṭa, �Noble one, stay a little while, gain some ascertainment of the Dharma with my bodhisattva mahāsattva Ma�juśrī Kumārabhūta, and then after that return to your buddha realm.�

11.�86

At that time, Ma�juśrī Kumārabhūta, who was seated upon a lotus that had a thousand petals and was the size of a cartwheel, and who was encircled by many bodhisattvas, rose from the palace of the nāga king Sāgara within the ocean high into the sky and floated through the sky to Vulture Peak Mountain, into the presence of the Bhagavān.

Ma�juśrī Kumārabhūta descended from the lotus and bowed his head to the feet of Bhagavān Śākyamuni and Tathāgata Prabhūtaratna. He then approached the bodhisattva Praj�ākūṭa, spoke with the bodhisattva Praj�ākūṭa about many pleasant and joyful things, and then sat down to one side.

11.�87

The bodhisattva Praj�ākūṭa then asked Ma�juśrī Kumārabhūta, �Ma�juśrī, how many beings have you guided since you entered the ocean?� [F.99.a]

�I have guided countless, innumerable beings of a number that it is not possible to describe in words or to conceive of in the mind,� answered Ma�juśrī. �Noble one, stay a little while until you see an omen.�

11.�88

As soon as Ma�juśrī Kumārabhūta said those words, many thousands of lotuses rose up into the sky from within the oceans. Many thousands of bodhisattvas were seated upon those lotuses. Then those bodhisattvas came through the sky to Vulture Peak and remained suspended in the sky above it. Ma�juśrī Kumārabhūta had guided all of them toward the highest, complete enlightenment. Those bodhisattvas who had previously entered the Mahāyāna praised the six perfections and the qualities of the Mahāyāna, while the bodhisattvas who had previously been śrāvakas praised the Śrāvakayāna. All of them knew the qualities of the Mahāyāna and the emptiness of all phenomena.

Ma�juśrī Kumārabhūta said to the bodhisattva Praj�ākūṭa, �Noble one, since I entered the ocean I have guided all these beings390 that have appeared here.�

11.�89

Then the bodhisattva Praj�ākūṭa asked Ma�juśrī Kumārabhūta questions by chanting these verses:

�Great excellent one, who describes wisdom through parables,391

You who are the god of humans, I ask you to tell me

Through whose power have you become

Someone who today has guided countless beings? {47}

11.�90

�What sūtra teaches the path to enlightenment?

What is the Dharma that you have taught,

That by hearing it they developed the aspiration for enlightenment

And have definitely392 attained profundity within omniscience?� {48}

11.�91

Ma�juśrī answered, �In the ocean I taught The Sūtra of the White Lotus of the Good Dharma and nothing else.� [F.99.b]

11.�92

�This sūtra is profound, subtle, and difficult to see,� said Praj�ākūṭa. �There is no other sūtra that is its equal. Is there a being who is able to comprehend this sūtra jewel and attain the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood?�

11.�93

�Noble one,� answered Ma�juśrī, �there is the daughter of Sāgara, king of the nāgas, who was born eight years ago. She has great wisdom, sharp faculties. The actions of her body, speech, and mind are preceded by wisdom. She has attained the retention by which she remembers the words and meaning of the teachings of all tathāgatas. She has attained in an instant a thousand samādhis of meditation on all phenomena and all beings. She has irreversible aspiration for enlightenment. She has made vast prayers. She cares for all beings as she would for herself. She can develop qualities and never lose them. She has a smiling face. She has a perfect, magnificent complexion. She has a loving mind. She speaks with compassion. She is able to attain the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood.�

11.�94

Praj�ākūṭa said, �I have seen that when the bhagavān tathāgata Śākyamuni had become a bodhisattva dedicated to attaining enlightenment, he generated much merit, and his diligence never weakened throughout thousands of eons. There is nowhere throughout the worlds of the realm of a billion worlds, not even a place the size of a mustard seed, where he has not given up his own body for the sake of beings. Only after all that did he attain the enlightenment of buddhahood. Who can believe that the daughter of Sāgara could attain the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood in an instant?�

11.�95

Then at that time the daughter of Sāgara, the king of the nāgas, appeared before them. She bowed her head to the feet of the Bhagavān, sat down on one side, and recited these verses:

�His merit, that merit393 is profound,

And pervades every direction. [F.100.a]

His subtle body is adorned

By the thirty-two signs. {49}

11.�96

�He has the excellent features.

All beings pay homage to him.

All beings come to him

Like they do to a market town. {50}

11.�97

�The Tathāgata is my witness

That my wish is for enlightenment.

I will teach extensively

The Dharma that liberates from suffering.� {51}

11.�98

At that time Śāriputra said to the daughter of Sāgara, king of the nāgas, �Noble lady, although you have an irreversible aspiration for enlightenment and immeasurable wisdom, it will be difficult for you to attain enlightenment. Noble lady, a woman may maintain diligence, create merit for many thousands of eons, and complete the six perfections, but still she will not attain buddhahood. Why is that? It is because a woman has still not attained five states. What are these five? The first is the state of being a Brahmā, the second is the state of being a Śakra, the third is the state of being one of the four mahārājas, the fourth is the state of being a cakravartin, and the fifth is the state of being an irreversible bodhisattva.�

11.�99

At that time, the daughter of Sāgara, king of the nāgas, had a jewel of the value of an entire realm of a billion worlds. The daughter of the nāga king offered it to the Bhagavān, and the Bhagavān accepted it out of compassion.

11.�100

The daughter of Sāgara, king of the nāgas, then asked Praj�ākūṭa and Sthavira Śāriputra, �Did the Bhagavān quickly accept the jewel that I offered to the Bhagavān, or not?�

�You offered it quickly and the Bhagavān accepted it quickly,� the sthavira answered.

The daughter of Sāgara, king of the nāgas, said, �Venerable Śāriputra, if I have great miraculous power, I will attain the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood even more quickly than that jewel was accepted.� [F.100.b]

11.�101

Thereupon, in front of the entire world, and in front of Sthavira Śāriputra, the daughter of Sāgara, king of the nāgas, manifested the vanishing of her female genitalia, the appearance of male genitalia, and her transformation into a bodhisattva.

11.�102

That bodhisattva now went to the south and, in a southern world realm named Vimalā, manifested the attainment of perfect buddhahood while seated at the foot of a tree made of the seven precious materials.

11.�103

That buddha had a body that possessed all thirty-two signs and the excellent features, and shone with a light that pervaded the ten directions as he gave the teaching of the Dharma. All beings in this Sahā world realm saw all the devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans, and nonhumans paying homage to that tathāgata and saw him teaching them the Dharma. All those beings who listened to that tathāgata�s Dharma teaching attained irreversible progress toward the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood.

11.�104

That Vimalā world realm and this Sahā world realm both shook in six ways. Three thousand beings within the circle of Bhagavān Śākyamuni�s assembly attained receptivity to the birthlessness of phenomena, and three thousand received the prophecies of their attainment of the highest, complete enlightenment.

At this, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Praj�ākūṭa and Sthavira Śāriputra fell silent.

11.�105

This concludes �The Appearance of the Stūpa,� the eleventh chapter of the Dharma teaching of �The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.� [F.101.a]

Chapter 12: RESOLUTIONS

12.�1

Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Bhaiṣajyarāja and the bodhisattva mahāsattva Mahāpratibhāna, together with a following of two hundred thousand bodhisattvas, facing the Bhagavān, said, �Bhagavān, have no concern over this matter. Bhagavān, we will teach, we will expound this Dharma teaching to beings after the nirvāṇa of the Tathāgata.

�Bhagavān, in that time beings will be wicked, have few roots of merit, be arrogant, be devoted to gain and honor, engage in roots of demerit, be difficult to guide, have no interest, and be filled with disinterest, but, Bhagavān, we will demonstrate the power of patience and in that time we will teach this sūtra, we will uphold it, we will expound it, we will write it out, we will honor it, we will venerate it, and we will make offerings to it. Bhagavān, we will cast aside body and life and teach this sūtra. Therefore, Bhagavān, have no concern.�

12.�2

That assembly�s bhikṣus, both those in training and those who had passed beyond training, and the five hundred bhikṣus, then said to the Bhagavān, �Bhagavān, we too are resolved to teach this Dharma teaching and will do so in other world realms.�

Thereupon the Bhagavān gave prophecies of the highest, complete enlightenment to all the Bhagavān�s śrāvakas, both those in training and those who had passed beyond training. All the eight thousand bhikṣus, with their hands together in homage, bowed toward the Bhagavān and said to the Bhagavān, �Bhagavān, do not be concerned. In the later times, in the later era, after the Tathāgata has passed into nirvāṇa, we also will expound this Dharma teaching in other world realms. [F.101.b] Why is that? Bhagavān, the beings in this Sahā world realm will be arrogant, with few roots of merit, constantly malicious, deceitful, and dishonest.�

12.�3

The Bhagavān�s maternal aunt Mahāprajāpatī Gautamī and six thousand bhikṣuṇīs, both bhikṣuṇīs in training and those who had passed beyond training, now arose from their seats at the same time, with their hands together in homage, bowed toward the Bhagavān, and stood there gazing at the Bhagavān.

The Bhagavān said to Mahāprajāpatī Gautamī, �Gautamī, do not stand394 gazing at the Tathāgata, unhappily thinking, �The Tathāgata has not spoken to me, has not prophesied the highest, complete enlightenment for me.� For when I gave a prophecy to the entire assembly, you too, Gautamī, received a prophecy accordingly.

12.�4

�Gautamī, from now on you will be a bodhisattva mahāsattva dharmabhāṇaka under thirty-eight hundred thousand quintillion buddhas. These six thousand bhikṣuṇīs, both bhikṣuṇīs in training and those who have passed beyond training, will be bodhisattva dharmabhāṇakas with you under those tathāgatas.

12.�5

�Beyond that and even further beyond that, you will complete your bodhisattva practice and appear in the world as the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha, the one with perfect wisdom and conduct, the sugata, the knower of the world, the unsurpassable guide who tames beings, the teacher of gods and humans, the buddha, the bhagavān named Sarva�sattva�priya�darśana.

�Gautamī, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Sarva�sattva�priya�darśana will give a prophecy to those six thousand bodhisattvas [F.102.a] of their successive attainment of the highest, complete enlightenment.�

12.�6

Then the bhikṣuṇī Yaśodharā, the mother of Rāhula, thought, �The Bhagavān has not said my name.�

The Bhagavān, knowing the thoughts that were in the mind of Bhikṣuṇī Yaśodharā, said to Bhikṣuṇī Yaśodharā, �Yaśodharā, I declare to you, I make it known to you,395 that you will be a bodhisattva dharmabhāṇaka under a hundred thousand million buddhas. You will eventually complete your bodhisattva practice and in the world realm named Bhadrā you will appear in the world as the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha, the one with perfect wisdom and conduct, the sugata, the knower of the world, the unsurpassable guide who tames beings, the teacher of gods and humans, the buddha, the bhagavān named Raśmi�śata�sahasra�paripūrṇa�dhvaja. The lifespan of the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Raśmi�śata�sahasra�paripūrṇa�dhvaja will be immeasurable.�

12.�7

At this, Bhikṣuṇī Mahāprajāpatī Gautamī and her following of six thousand bhikṣuṇīs, and Bhikṣuṇī Yaśodharā and her following of four thousand bhikṣuṇīs, were astonished and amazed by obtaining from the Bhagavān the prophecy of their highest, complete enlightenment.

12.�8

At that time they recited this verse:

�Bhagavān, you are the Instructor, the Guide,

The Teacher of the world and its devas.

You bring relief and devas and humans make offerings to you.

And today we also, Lord, have been made content.� {1}

12.�9

Having recited that verse, the bhikṣuṇīs said to the Bhagavān, [F.102.b] �Bhagavān, we too are resolved to teach this Dharma teaching in a future time, in a future era, in other world realms.�

12.�10

The Bhagavān now looked toward the eighty thousand396 bodhisattvas who had attained retention and had turned the irreversible Dharma wheel.

12.�11

As soon as the Bhagavān looked at them, those bodhisattva mahāsattvas rose from their seats. With their hands placed together in homage they bowed toward the Bhagavān and thought, �The Bhagavān is going to exhort us to teach this Dharma teaching.� At that thought, they all trembled and said to each other, �Noble ones, if the Bhagavān exhorts us to teach this Dharma teaching in the future times, how shall we respond?�

12.�12

Then those noble ones, because of their veneration for the Bhagavān and because of their past practice and prayers, roared the lion�s roar in the presence of the Bhagavān. �Bhagavān, in the future time when the Tathāgata has passed into nirvāṇa, we will go into the ten directions, and through the power of the Bhagavān we will have beings write out this Dharma teaching, recite it, contemplate it, and teach it. And the Bhagavān, who will be residing in other world realms, will guard us, protect us, and hide us.�

12.�13

Thereupon those bodhisattva mahāsattvas together spoke these verses to the Bhagavān:

�Do not be concerned, Bhagavān!

After you have passed into nirvāṇa,

In the very dreadful later era

We will teach this supreme sūtra. {2}

12.�14

�Guide, we will endure it,

We will bear it

When fools brandishing sticks

Abuse us and threaten us. {3}

12.�15

�In the dreadful future era,

The fools will be deceitful, [F.103.a]

Will lack understanding, will be dishonest and arrogant,

And will believe they have attainment when they do not. {4}

12.�16

�With evil minds they will say,

�We dwell in solitude,

Wear clothing made of patches,

And we practice renunciation.� {5}

12.�17

�Eager for tastes, and having attachment,

They will teach the Dharma to laypeople,

And they will be venerated

As if they had the six higher knowledges. {6}

12.�18

�They will have anger and they will have hate.

Their thoughts will be on homes and wealth.

They will remain in solitude in the forest

And they will be maligning us. {7}

12.�19

�They who are focused on gain and honor

Will speak in this way concerning us:

�These bhikṣus are tīrthikas

Who teach what they have made up.� {8}

12.�20

�They will strongly malign us, saying,

�They have created their own sūtra

In order to obtain gain and honor,

And teach it in the middle of assemblies.� {9}

12.�21

�In front of kings and princes,

And likewise the king�s ministers,

And brahmins and householders,

And also in front of other bhikṣus {10}

12.�22

�They will speak ill of us,

Saying that we are tīrthikas.

We will endure it all

Through our veneration for the great Rishi. {11}

12.�23

�Those who have evil minds

Will at that time mock us,

Saying, �They will become buddhas.�

But we will endure it all. {12}

12.�24

�In the disturbed era of destruction,

The dreadful time of great fear,

Many bhikṣus in the form of yakṣas

Will condemn us. {13}

12.�25

�Because of our veneration for the Lord of the World

We will be resolved to do that which is so difficult.397

We will put on the armor of patience

And we will teach this sūtra. {14}

12.�26

�Guide, we will have no concern

For our bodies or even our lives.

We will be dedicated to enlightenment

And preserving what you have bestowed on us. {15}

12.�27

�The Bhagavān knows the nature

Of those wicked bhikṣus

Who will appear in the future times

And who will not understand the teaching with implied meaning. {16}

12.�28

�We will endure all the frowns,

Being repeatedly abused,

Being expelled from temples,

Being bound, and many beatings. {17} [F.103.b]

12.�29

�We will remember in the later times

The instructions given by the Lord of the World,

And we will fearlessly teach this sūtra

In the middle of the assembly. {18}

12.�30

�Guide, we shall go to the towns

And go to the villages

Where there are those who seek this,

And bestow on them what you have taught. {19}

12.�31

�Lord of the World, great Muni,

We will be your emissaries.

You who have attained peace, excellent nirvāṇa,

You have no need to be concerned. {20}

12.�32

�All who are lamps for the world

Come from the ten directions;

We are speaking words of truth

And you know our aspiration.� {21}

12.�33

This concludes �Resolutions,� the twelfth chapter of the Dharma teaching of �The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.� [B9]

Chapter 13: DWELLING IN HAPPINESS

13.�1

Then Ma�juśrī Kumārabhūta said to the Bhagavān, �Bhagavān, what these bodhisattva mahāsattvas are resolved to do because of their reverence for the Bhagavān is a difficult task, extremely difficult. Bhagavān, how should these bodhisattva mahāsattvas expound this Dharma teaching in the later times, in a later era?�

The Bhagavān said to Ma�juśrī Kumārabhūta, �Ma�juśrī, bodhisattva mahāsattvas should expound this Dharma teaching in the later times, in a later era, by maintaining four qualities. What are these four?

13.�2

�Ma�juśrī, bodhisattva mahāsattvas should expound this Dharma teaching in the later times, in a later era, by maintaining their practice and field of activity.

�Ma�juśrī, in what way do bodhisattva mahāsattvas maintain their practice and field of activity?

�Ma�juśrī, bodhisattva mahāsattvas are patient, self-controlled, have attained the level of self-control, and their minds are without anger or envy. [F.104.a]

13.�3

�Ma�juśrī, bodhisattva mahāsattvas do not practice within any phenomenon whatsoever. They see correctly the specific characteristics of those phenomena. They have no analysis or examination of those phenomena. That, Ma�juśrī, is what is called the practice of bodhisattva mahāsattvas.

13.�4

�Ma�juśrī, what is the bodhisattva mahāsattvas� field of activity? Ma�juśrī, bodhisattva mahāsattvas do not associate with a king, do not associate with, revere, serve, or visit princes, the king�s ministers, or the king�s courtiers. They do not associate with, revere, or serve those other practitioners, mendicants, beggars, and naked ones who are tīrthikas,398 nor those who teach poetry. They do not associate with, revere, serve, or become familiar with those who possess worldly mantras, nor with Lokāyatas. They do not frequent the company of caṇḍālas, swindlers, pig sellers, chicken sellers, deer hunters, fishermen, singers and dancers, musicians,399 or wrestlers. They do not frequent places of entertainment for others. They do not associate with them. Other than that, they teach the Dharma freely to them at those times when they approach them. They do not associate with, revere, serve, or become familiar with the bhikṣus and bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas and upāsikās who follow the Śrāvakayāna. They do not mingle with them either on their walkways or in their temples. Other than that, they teach the Dharma freely to them at those times when they approach them.

�Ma�juśrī, that is the bodhisattva mahāsattvas� field of activity.

13.�5

�Moreover, Ma�juśrī, the bodhisattva [F.104.b] mahāsattva does not constantly teach the Dharma to women while possessing one or another sign of attachment to them. He does not constantly desire to be looking at women. He does not approach families constantly thinking of teaching the Dharma to the women, the girls, and the wives, and does not delight in doing so. He does not teach the Dharma to paṇḍakas and does not become familiar with them, nor delight in them. He does not enter homes alone to procure alms, unless he is recollecting the Tathāgata.

13.�6

�If he does teach the Dharma to a woman, he does not even teach the Dharma with desire for the Dharma, let alone with desire for the woman. He teaches the Dharma without even revealing his teeth, let alone any obvious facial expression.

13.�7

�He does not associate with śrāmaṇeras or śrāmaṇerīs, bhikṣus or bhikṣuṇīs, young men or young women, and does not converse with them.400 He is someone who reveres isolation and always remains in isolation.

�Ma�juśrī, that is the first field of activity of bodhisattva mahāsattvas.

13.�8

�Moreover, Ma�juśrī, bodhisattva mahāsattvas see the emptiness of all phenomena‍�phenomena as they are, not as they are not‍�as they truly are, unwavering, unshakeable, immutable, unchanging, always as they truly are, having the nature of space, beyond definition and terminology, unborn, neither existing nor not existing, not composite, not continuous, spoken of through the word nonexistence, in an unimpeded state, and manifested from erroneous conceptualization.

13.�9

�Ma�juśrī, bodhisattva mahāsattvas are always seeing phenomena in that way, and by remaining in that state, they maintain the bodhisattva mahāsattvas� field of activity.

�Ma�juśrī, that is the second field of activity of bodhisattva mahāsattvas.� [F.105.a]

13.�10

Thereupon the Bhagavān taught on this topic in detail, speaking these verses:

�The bodhisattvas who wish

To give the teaching of this sūtra

With confidence and courage

In the later, terrifying times, {1}

13.�11

�Should maintain their practice and field of activity:

They should be isolated and pure.

They should always abstain

From association with kings and princes. {2}

13.�12

�They should have no association either

With those who are the king�s courtiers,

Nor at all with caṇḍālas, swindlers,

Or those who are tīrthikas.401 {3}

13.�13

�They should not associate with arrogant bhikṣus,

Who follow vinaya and scripture

And conceive of themselves as arhats.

They should avoid those with poor conduct.

13.�14

�They should always avoid bhikṣuṇīs

Whose behavior is talking and laughing.

They should also avoid the upāsikās402

Who are evidently dissolute. {5}

13.�15

�They should avoid association with

Those upāsikās who are seeking

For nirvāṇa within this lifetime.

This is what is called the practice. {6}

13.�16

�The brave one should always teach

Confidently and freely

Those who come asking for the Dharma

For the sake of supreme enlightenment. {7}

13.�17

�He should avoid association with

Beings who are women, or paṇḍakas.

He should also avoid families

That have brides and young women. {8}

13.�18

�He should not delight those women,403

Laughingly asking after their welfare.404

He should avoid association

With pig farmers and shepherds.405 {9}

13.�19

�He should avoid association

With those who will kill various creatures

For the sake of pleasure,

And those who sell flesh to eat. {10}

13.�20

�He should avoid association

With those beings who are keepers of women,

Dancers, wrestlers, musicians,406

And other people of that kind. {11}

13.�21

�He should not frequent courtesans

Or others who provide pleasures;

He should completely avoid

The enjoyments that they provide. {12}

13.�22

�When the wise one is teaching

The Dharma to a woman,

He should not be alone with her,

Nor should it be an occasion for laughter. {13}

13.�23

�If he has to enter a village

Repeatedly to obtain alms, [F.105.b]

He should find a companion bhikṣu

Or otherwise should recollect the Buddha. {14}

13.�24

�I have here taught

The first practice and field of activity

That should be maintained by the wise ones

Who uphold this kind of sūtra. {15}

13.�25

�When they are not engaged in any phenomenon,

Whether inferior, superior, or middling,

Whether composite or noncomposite,

Whether existent or nonexistent, {16}

13.�26

�When the stable ones do not entertain the notion of �woman,�

And do not have the concept of �man,�

Then, because all phenomena are unborn,

Upon seeking them they do not see them. {17}

13.�27

�This practice that I have described

Is completely that of the bodhisattvas.

Listen to the explanation

Of that which is their field of activity. {18}

13.�28

�These phenomena are declared nonexistent;

They are all unproduced and unborn.

They remain empty and motionless at all times:

That is what is called the field of activity of the wise. {19}

13.�29

�Being and not being, existing and not existing:

These are fabrications of erroneous conceptualization.

Unborn phenomena that are also unoriginated

Are misconstrued to be born407 and existing. {20}

13.�30

�With a one-pointed mind, always in meditation,

As completely stable as Mount Sumeru,

Stable in this way, they should view

All these phenomena as being like space. {21}

13.�31

�They are always the same as space, without an essence,

Motionless and devoid of illusory thoughts.408

This is the way phenomena are throughout time.

This is what is called the field of activity of the wise. {22}

13.�32

�The bhikṣus who after my nirvāṇa

Maintain my way of mendicancy

Should teach this sūtra in the world

And be free of any apprehension. {23}

13.�33

�The wise ones should at times contemplate,

Enter their room, close the door,

View the nature of phenomena,

Rise up, and teach without apprehension. {24}

13.�34

�They will be given protection by the kings

And those princes who listen to the Dharma.

Moreover, householders and brahmins

Will all be present as their followers. {25}

13.�35

�Moreover, Ma�juśrī, [F.106.a] after I have passed into nirvāṇa, in the later times, in a later era, when the Dharma is being destroyed, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who wish to teach this Dharma teaching will be established in happiness. Thus established in happiness, they will teach the Dharma. When they teach it to others, whether it is from memory or based on a book, they will not be those who are seeking for faults in others, they will not speak ill of other bhikṣu dharmabhāṇakas, they will not say unpleasant things about them, they will not state unpleasant things about them. They will not say unpleasant things about them while mentioning by name bhikṣus of the Śrāvakayāna. They will not speak unpleasant things about them, nor will they have the concept of being their opponent. Why is that? It is because they will be remaining in a state of happiness. They will teach the Dharma to those who come to listen to them beneficially and without envy. They will not quarrel and will not answer questions with an answer from the Śrāvakayāna, but instead they will answer as one would who has attained the enlightenment of the wisdom of buddhahood.�

13.�36

Thereupon the Bhagavān recited these verses:

�The wise ones will always remain happy.

Being so, they will teach the Dharma.

In a pure and pleasant place

They will spread out a wide seat. {26}

13.�37

�They will wear a clean Dharma robe

That has been dyed an excellent color.

They will wrap themselves in a dark monastic cloak

And wear a large, excellent lower robe. {27}

13.�38

�They will sit upon a seat, with a footstool,

That is covered with various pieces of calico.

They will wash their feet well and then go up onto it,

Having oiled their head and their face. {28}

13.�39

�Seated upon that Dharma throne,

They will give a variety of teachings

To the single-minded beings who have assembled,

And to the bhikṣus and bhikṣuṇīs. {29}

13.�40

�Those wise ones who are without envy

Will speak pleasantly on various subjects

To the upāsakas and upāsikās,

And similarly to the kings and princes. {30} [F.106.b]

13.�41

�At that time when they ask them questions

They will again teach with the appropriate meaning.

Whoever hears the meaning that is taught

In this way will attain enlightenment. {31}

13.�42

�They will free themselves from all laziness

And they will not give rise to thoughts of fatigue.

The wise ones will dispel all unhappiness

And contemplate their followers with love. {32}

13.�43

�Day and night, they will meditate on the supreme Dharma

And those wise ones, using a quintillion parables,

Will delight the assembly and make them happy,

And they will never have even the slightest desire. {33}

13.�44

�They will not think of food and drink,

Eating and drinking, clothes, bed and seat,

Dharma robes, or medicine when ill,

And they will not request anything from their followers. {34}

13.�45

�Moreover, the wise ones will always think,

�May I and these beings attain buddhahood!

This Dharma that I teach in order to benefit the world

Has all the requisites for bringing happiness.� {35}

13.�46

�The bhikṣus who after my nirvāṇa

Teach this without envy

Will have no suffering, no obstacles,

Will have no misery or be disturbed. {36}

13.�47

�They will never be afraid,

Will not be beaten or abused;

They will never be chased away

And will be established in the power of patience. {37}

13.�48

�The wise ones always remain in happiness.

They remain just as I have taught.

They will have many billions of qualities

That could not be described in a hundred eons. {38}

13.�49

�Moreover, Ma�juśrī, when the Tathāgata has passed into nirvāṇa, in the final age when the Dharma will vanish, the bodhisattva mahāsattvas who possess this sūtra will be without envy, or deceit, or fraud. They will speak no ill of other individuals of the Bodhisattva�yāna. They will not malign them and will not criticize them. They will not inspire regret in the bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, and upāsikās who follow the Śrāvakayāna, the Pratyeka�buddha�yāna, or the Bodhisattva�yāna. [F.107.a]

13.�50

�They will not inspire regret in those who follow the Bodhisattva�yāna by saying, �Noble ones, you are far from the highest, complete enlightenment; it will not appear to you. You should remain utterly inattentive, and do not have the power to attain the Tathāgata�s wisdom in complete buddhahood.�

13.�51

�They will not delight in disputes concerning the Dharma. They will not engage in Dharma disputes. They will not abandon409 the power of love for all beings. They will perceive all the tathāgatas as their father. They will perceive all bodhisattvas as teachers. Continuously, with a higher motivation, they will pay reverential homage to the bodhisattva mahāsattvas who are in the worlds in the ten directions. When they teach the Dharma, they will teach the Dharma without omission or addition. When teaching this Dharma teaching, they will teach the Dharma with an equal joy in all the Dharma. Even their slightest joy will be joy in the Dharma through which they bring great benefit.

13.�52

�Ma�juśrī, the bodhisattva mahāsattvas who have this third quality,410 who teach this Dharma teaching after the Tathāgata has passed into nirvāṇa, in the final times when the Dharma is coming to an end, will teach this Dharma teaching while remaining in contact with happiness and being free of harm, and will have companions with whom to chant411 the Dharma.

�There will also appear those who listen to this Dharma teaching, and those who listen to this Dharma teaching will have faith in it, have conviction in it, possess it, comprehend it, write it out, cause it to be written out, and, having made it into a text, honor it, revere it, respect it, and make offerings to it.�

13.�53

That is what the Bhagavān said, and when the Tathāgata had spoken these words, the Teacher added the following verses: [F.107.b]

�The dharmabhāṇakas who wish to teach this sūtra

Should completely eliminate

All deception, arrogance, and similarly calumny,

And also the wise ones should harbor no envy. {39}

13.�54

�They will never say anything unpleasant to anyone.

They will never engage in disputes over view.

They will never create a cause for doubt, saying,

�You will not attain the highest wisdom.� {40}

13.�55

�They will always be mindful and gentle

And have the patience of a sugata�s child.

They will teach this Dharma again and again

And they will not have the slightest weariness in doing so. {41}

13.�56

�The bodhisattvas who are in the ten directions

Are active in the world with compassion for beings.

The wise ones will think, �They are all my teachers,�

And they will have toward them the respect one has for a guru. {42}

13.�57

�They will think of the buddhas, the supreme human beings,

And always conceive of the jinas as their father.

They will eliminate all ideas of pride

And at that time there will arise no obstacles. {43}

13.�58

�Having heard such Dharma as this,

The wise ones will at that time protect it well.

Because they will remain in happiness and meditation

They will be protected by millions of beings. {44}

13.�59

�Moreover, Ma�juśrī, when the Tathāgata has passed into nirvāṇa, at the time when the Dharma is abandoned, the bodhisattva mahāsattva bhikṣus who wish to possess this Dharma teaching should dwell farther than far away from householders and renunciants. They should dwell there through dwelling in love. They should have compassion for all those beings who are not yet412 dedicated to enlightenment. They should think, �Oh! Those beings who do not listen to the Tathāgata�s skillful method, to his teaching with an implied meaning, and do not know it, do not understand it, do not ask questions about it, have no faith in it, and have no aspiration for it‍�those beings have extremely corrupt knowledge . Moreover, those beings are not following and have not understood this Dharma teaching. [F.108.a] I shall attain the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood, and then, wherever they are, through my miraculous power I will cause them to be attracted to it, have conviction in it, follow it, and I will completely ripen them.�

13.�60

�Ma�juśrī, the bodhisattva mahāsattvas who have this fourth quality413 and teach this Dharma teaching after the Tathāgata has passed into nirvāṇa will not be harmed. Bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, upāsikās, kings, princes, the king�s prime ministers, the king�s counselors, the people of the city, the people of the country, the brahmins, and the householders will honor them, respect them, revere them, and make offerings to them. The devas who live in the air and have faith will follow them in order to hear the Dharma. The devas will constantly follow them in order to protect them. Whether they are in a village or in a temple there will come to them day and night those who wish to ask them about the Dharma and they will delight and please them with their answers.

�Why is that? Ma�juśrī, it is because this Dharma teaching has been blessed by all the buddhas. Ma�juśrī, it is because this Dharma teaching is constantly blessed by the past, future, and present tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas.

13.�61

�Ma�juśrī, it is difficult in many worlds to be able to hear the words, the sound, or the name of this Dharma teaching.

�Ma�juśrī, it is like this: A bala�cakra�vartin king obtains his kingdom through his might. The allied kings who are his adversaries go to battle with him. [F.108.b] The bala�cakra�vartin king has numerous warriors. They go into battle with his enemies. When the king sees his warriors battling, he is delighted, pleased, and overjoyed because of those warriors. Being delighted, pleased, and overjoyed, he gives various gifts to those warriors. He gives them villages and the land of the villages, towns and the land of the towns, clothing, turbans, bracelets, anklets,414 short necklaces, cords of gold, earrings, medium-length necklaces, long necklaces, cowries, gold, silver, jewels, pearls, beryls, conch, crystal, and corals. He gives them elephants, cavalry, chariots, infantry, male slaves, and female slaves. He gives them carriages and palanquins. However, he does not give his crest jewel to anyone. Why is that? It is because there is only the one jewel that is affixed on his topknot. Ma�juśrī, if the king were to give away his crest jewel, all four divisions415 of the king�s army would be astonished and amazed.

13.�62

�Ma�juśrī, it is likewise that the Tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha creates through the might of his arms and his merit the three realms of a Dharma king within the three realms, which is trampled on by evil Māra. Then the ārya warriors of the Tathāgata battle with Māra.

�Ma�juśrī, the Tathāgata, the Arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha, the King of the Dharma, the Lord of the Dharma, teaches hundreds of thousands of sūtras to those battling ārya warriors. In order to make happy the fourfold assembly he gives them the gift of the town of nirvāṇa and the great city of the Dharma, teaching them through nirvāṇa,416 but not teaching them this kind of Dharma teaching. [F.109.a]

13.�63

�Ma�juśrī, the bala�cakra�vartin king is amazed by the great strength of the men when the warriors are fighting, and subsequently he does give them his crest jewel, the supreme of all his possessions,417 which the world does not believe in, and which is amazing.

�Ma�juśrī, just as that king keeps the crest jewel fixed upon his topknot for a long time, in the same way, Ma�juśrī, the Tathāgata, the Arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha, who is the great King of the Dharma, while he is the King of the Dharma sees the śrāvakas and bodhisattvas battling with the Māra of the skandhas or the Māra of the kleśas. When they battle with them, desire, anger, and ignorance cease, they escape from all three realms, and have the great strength of a great being who defeats all the māras. This pleases the Tathāgata, the Arhat, the perfectly awakened Buddha, who then teaches those ārya warriors this kind of Dharma teaching, which is contrary to the world, which is not believed in by the world, which has previously not been expounded, which has previously not been taught. The Tathāgata gives to the śrāvakas that which causes all to attain omniscience, which is like the great crest jewel.

13.�64

�Ma�juśrī, this is the supreme Dharma taught by the tathāgatas. This is the final418 Dharma teaching of the tathāgatas. Among all Dharma teachings this is the most profound Dharma teaching. It does not accord with the world.

�Ma�juśrī, just as the bala�cakra�vartin king unties the crest jewel he had kept for a long time and gives it to the supreme warriors, likewise today the Tathāgata teaches the secret Dharma teaching of the Tathāgata that has been kept for a long time, which is at the crest of all Dharma teachings, and which is known by the Tathāgata.� [F.109.b]

13.�65

Thereupon the Bhagavān taught this topic in detail in verse:

�Demonstrating the power of kindness,

Always having compassion for beings,

They should teach this kind of Dharma:

The supreme sūtra praised by the sugatas. {45}

13.�66

�To those who are householders or renunciants,

And those who are not419 bodhisattvas in the later age,

He should manifest the power of kindness to them all,

Thinking, �Having heard the Dharma they may denounce it.420 {46}

13.�67

� �I will gain the attainment of enlightenment

And when I am established in buddhahood,421

Established in method, I will guide them422

And make known this supreme enlightenment.� {47}

13.�68

�A bala�cakra�vartin king, when pleased,

Gives to his warriors many cowries,423

And gives them towns and villages,

And elephants, horses, chariots, and infantry. {48}

13.�69

�Delighted, to some he gives bracelets

And cords of silver and of gold.

He gives to them all kinds of gifts

Such as pearls, jewels, corals, and crystals. {49}

13.�70

�At a time when there is someone present

Who is astonishing because of his supreme heroism,

Knowing that he has accomplished such wonders,

He removes his topknot jewel and gives it to him. {50}

13.�71

�In the same way, I, the Buddha, the Dharma King

Have the strength of patience and many treasures of wisdom,

And I teach the Dharma to the entire world

Through caring to benefit and having compassion. {51}

13.�72

�Seeing those who are in distress,424

I teach thousands of millions of sūtras;

Knowing the heroism425 of those individuals,

Pure beings who have defeated the kleśas, {52}

13.�73

�The King of Dharma, the great physician,

Gives thousands of millions of teachings.

Knowing beings to have the strength and wisdom,

He teaches this sūtra that is like a crest jewel. {53}

13.�74

�This is the highest of all my sūtras.

It is the last sūtra that I teach in the world.

I have never taught it, but kept it secret.

Today I will expound it, so listen everyone! {54} [F.110.a]

13.�75

�When I have passed into nirvāṇa,

Those who rely upon such four qualities as these,

Who aim for the highest, supreme enlightenment

And carry out for me the work that has to be done, {55}

13.�76

�Will have no misery and no obstacles,

And will not have an ugly color or illness;

They will not be black in color,426

And they will not live in an inferior town. {56}

13.�77

�Those great rishis will always be pleasant to see

And offerings wil be made to them as if they were tathāgatas.

Even the young devas

Will always be serving as their attendants. {57}

13.�78

�They will never be harmed by poison or weapons.

Their bodies will not be struck by clods, stones, or sticks.

Whoever speaks ill of them

Will become silent, their mouths closed. {58}

13.�79

�Whoever possesses this sūtra after my nirvāṇa

Will become a friend for beings.

They will shine with light and travel the earth,

Dispelling darkness for many millions of beings. {59}

13.�80

�They will see good things in their dreams:

They will see bhikṣus and bhikṣuṇīs

And likewise myself upon a lion throne

Teaching many kinds of Dharma. {60}

13.�81

�They will also in their dreams teach many kinds

Of Dharma to devas, nāgas, yakṣas, and asuras427

As numerous as the Ganges sands,

All with hands placed together in homage. {61}

13.�82

�In their dreams they will see the Tathāgata,

The Lord with a beautiful voice and the color of gold,

Teaching the Dharma to many millions of beings,

Radiating thousands of light rays. {62}

13.�83

�There they will place their hands together in homage

And they will praise the Muni, the supreme human.

And the Jina, the great physician, will teach

The supreme Dharma to the fourfold assembly. {63}

13.�84

�Hearing that, they will be overjoyed,

And delighted, they will make offerings.

They will quickly reach irreversible wisdom

And attain the power of retention in their dreams. {64}

13.�85

�The Lord of the World will know their thoughts

And give them the prophecy of becoming a supreme being,

Saying, �Noble one, here, in a future time [F.110.b]

You will reach the highest peace and wisdom. {65}

13.�86

� �Your realm will be extremely vast.

Your fourfold assembly will be like mine.

Its members will be reverential with hands together in homage,

And they will listen to the immaculate Dharma.� {66}

13.�87

�They will also see my body while

Meditating on the Dharma in the mountains.

By meditating on the Dharma they will reach the true nature.

They will attain samādhi and will see the Jina. {67}

13.�88

�In their dreams they will see the body

With the color of gold, possessing the signs of hundreds of merits,

Will listen to the Dharma, and, having heard it, teach an assembly.

Those are the kinds of dreams that they will dream. {68}

13.�89

�In their dreams they will forsake a kingdom,

And their harem, and likewise crowds of kinsmen;

Forsaking all desires they will enter homelessness

And they will go to where the Bodhimaṇḍa is. {69}

13.�90

�Wishing to attain enlightenment, they will sit

On a lion throne at the foot of a tree.

And when seven days have passed in that way

They will attain the wisdom of the tathāgatas. {70}

13.�91

�Having attained enlightenment they will stand up

And they will turn the immaculate wheel

And teach the Dharma to the fourfold assembly

For countless billions of eons. {71}

13.�92

�Through teaching there the immaculate Dharma,

Many millions of beings will attain nirvāṇa,

The nirvāṇa that is the end of causes, like an extinguished lamp.

They will dream those kinds of dreams. {72}

13.�93

�Whoever in the future times teaches

The supreme sūtra that I have taught well

Will have many, endless benefits.

Ma�jughoṣa, it will always be like that for them.� {73}

13.�94

This concludes �Dwelling in Happiness,� the thirteenth chapter of the Dharma teaching of �The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.�

Chapter 14: THE BODHISATTVAS EMERGING OUT OF THE GROUND

14.�1

Then the bodhisattvas who had arrived from other world realms, who were as numerous as the grains of sand in eight Ganges Rivers, stood up in the circle of the assembly, bowed to the Bhagavān with hands together in homage, and said these words:

�Bhagavān, if the Bhagavān will permit us, [F.111.a] after the Tathāgata has passed into nirvāṇa, we too will teach this Dharma teaching in the Sahā world realm. We will read it, write it, and make offerings to it. We shall be dedicated to this Dharma teaching. Bhagavān, teach well this Dharma teaching to us.�

14.�2

The Bhagavān then asked all those bodhisattvas, �Noble ones, why would you need to do this? In this Sahā world realm there are my thousands of bodhisattvas who are as numerous as the grains of sand in sixty Ganges Rivers. Each one of those bodhisattvas has, as followers, thousands of bodhisattvas who are themselves as numerous as the grains of sand in sixty Ganges Rivers, and each of those bodhisattvas has that many followers, too. In the future times, after I have passed into nirvāṇa, they will possess this Dharma teaching and they will teach it.�

14.�3

As soon as the Bhagavān had uttered those words, this entire Sahā world realm cracked apart completely, was rent with fissures, and there came out from within those fissures the bodhisattvas who lived in the Sahā world realm, the many hundreds of thousands of quintillions of bodhisattvas, with their golden bodies and their thirty-two signs of a great being, who dwelled in the element of space beneath the great earth. They had heard the Bhagavān�s words, and came out from under the ground. Each one of these bodhisattvas had a following of bodhisattvas as numerous as the grains of sand in sixty Ganges Rivers, in groups, great groups, along with the teachers of those groups.

14.�4

Thus it was that there appeared from out of the ground of this Sahā world realm bodhisattva mahāsattvas in groups, great groups, along with the teachers of those groups‍�hundreds of thousands of quintillions of bodhisattvas as numerous as the grains of sand in sixty Ganges Rivers, [F.111.b] let alone bodhisattva mahāsattvas with bodhisattva followers as numerous as the grains of sand in fifty Ganges Rivers, let alone bodhisattva mahāsattvas with bodhisattva followers as numerous as the grains of sand in forty Ganges Rivers, let alone bodhisattva mahāsattvas with bodhisattva followers as numerous as the grains of sand in thirty Ganges Rivers, let alone bodhisattva mahāsattvas with bodhisattva followers as numerous as the grains of sand in twenty Ganges Rivers, let alone bodhisattva mahāsattvas with bodhisattva followers as numerous as the grains of sand in ten Ganges Rivers, let alone bodhisattva mahāsattvas with bodhisattva followers as numerous as the grains of sand in five Ganges Rivers, let alone bodhisattva mahāsattvas with bodhisattva followers as numerous as the grains of sand in one Ganges River, let alone bodhisattva mahāsattvas with bodhisattva followers as numerous as the grains of sand in half a Ganges River, let alone bodhisattva mahāsattvas with bodhisattva followers as numerous as the grains of sand in a quarter of a Ganges River, or in a sixth, or in an eighth, or in a twentieth, or in a fiftieth, or in a hundredth, or in a thousandth, or in a ten millionth, or in a billionth, or in a trillionth, or in a quintillionth, let alone bodhisattva mahāsattvas with many quintillions of bodhisattva followers, let alone bodhisattva mahāsattvas with ten million bodhisattva followers, let alone bodhisattva mahāsattvas with a hundred thousand bodhisattva followers, let alone bodhisattva mahāsattvas with a thousand bodhisattva followers, let alone bodhisattva mahāsattvas with five hundred bodhisattva followers, let alone bodhisattva mahāsattvas [F.112.a] with four hundred or three hundred or two hundred bodhisattva followers, let alone bodhisattva mahāsattvas with a hundred bodhisattva followers, let alone bodhisattva mahāsattvas with fifty bodhisattva followers, and likewise, let alone bodhisattva mahāsattvas with forty bodhisattva followers, or thirty, or twenty, or ten, or five, or four, or three, or two, and let alone bodhisattva mahāsattvas with one bodhisattva follower.

14.�5

Those bodhisattva mahāsattvas who were beyond number, calculation, simile, or comparison emerged from the ground of the Sahā world realm. When they had emerged they went toward the precious stūpa suspended in the air within which the bhagavān tathāgata Prabhūtaratna, who had passed into nirvāṇa, and the bhagavān tathāgata Śākyamuni were sitting together upon a lion throne. When they arrived there, they bowed their heads to the feet of both tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas.

They bowed down and paid homage to the emanations of the bhagavān tathāgata Śākyamuni, the bodies of the tathāgatas who had gathered from the other world realms in the ten directions, the bhagavāns who were seated on lion thrones at the foot of trees made of various precious materials.

14.�6

They circumambulated those tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas hundreds of thousands of times and they praised them with many kinds of bodhisattva praises, and then they stood to one side with their hands together in homage and they paid homage to the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni [F.112.b] and the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna.

14.�7

At that time those bodhisattva mahāsattvas who had emerged from the ground paid homage to the tathāgatas and praised them with various bodhisattva praises for fifty intermediate eons. During those fifty intermediate eons Bhagavān Śākyamuni remained silent, and the fourfold assembly also remained silent for those fifty intermediate eons.

14.�8

The Bhagavān now brought about a miracle, such that through that miracle the fourfold assembly thought those eons were just one afternoon. They saw this Sahā world realm became the size of a hundred thousand world realms and filled with bodhisattvas.

14.�9

There were four bodhisattva mahāsattvas who were the principal ones among that great gathering of bodhisattvas, that great aggregation of bodhisattvas. They were the bodhisattva mahāsattva named Vi�śiṣṭa�cāritra, the bodhisattva mahāsattva named Anantacāritra, the bodhisattva mahāsattva named Vi�śuddha�cāritra, and the bodhisattva mahāsattva named Su�pratiṣṭhita�cāritra. Those four bodhisattva mahāsattvas were the principal figures among that great gathering of bodhisattvas, that great aggregation of bodhisattvas.

14.�10

Those four bodhisattva mahāsattvas now stood before that great gathering of bodhisattvas, that great aggregation of bodhisattvas, and in front of the Bhagavān, with hands placed together in homage, they inquired of the Bhagavān, �Bhagavān, do you have few troubles, do you have little illness, are you happy? Bhagavān, are the beings in your care of good character? [F.113.a] Do they have good understanding? Are they easy to guide? Are they easy to purify? Are they not a cause of sadness for the Bhagavān?�

14.�11

Those four bodhisattvas then spoke these verses to the Bhagavān:

�Lord of the World, who shines with light,

Are you dwelling in happiness?

Are you free from illness?428

Is your sinless body well? {1}

14.�12

�Are the beings in your care of good character?

Are they easy to guide and easy to purify?

Do they not cause you sadness

When the Lord of the World teaches?� {2}

14.�13

In reply, the Bhagavān answered those four bodhisattva mahāsattvas who were the principal figures among that great gathering of bodhisattvas, that great aggregation of bodhisattvas, �Noble ones, it is like this: I dwell in happiness; I have little harm, little illness. The beings in my care are of good character, have good understanding, are easily guided, and are easily purified. They do not cause me sadness while they are being purified. Why is that? Noble ones, it is because these beings of mine have trained during the time of previous perfectly enlightened buddhas. Noble ones, they become devoted just on seeing me and hearing me, and they enter and remain in the wisdom of the buddhas, except for those who are engaged in the practice of the level of the śrāvakas.429 But I have also now brought them into the wisdom of the buddhas, and caused them to hear the ultimate truth.�

14.�14

At this those bodhisattva mahāsattvas responded with these verses:

�Excellent! Excellent, great hero!

We are overjoyed

That the beings430 under your care have good character,

Are easy to guide, easy to purify, {3}

14.�15

�And, Guide, that those who listen

To this your profound wisdom,

Give rise to devotion on hearing it

And become those who are guided.� {4}

14.�16

The Bhagavān said to those four bodhisattva mahāsattvas who were the principal figures among that great gathering of bodhisattvas, that great aggregation of bodhisattvas, [F.113.b] �Excellent, noble ones, excellent! Noble ones, your praise of the Tathāgata is excellent, excellent!�

14.�17

At that moment, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya and hundreds of thousands of quintillions of other bodhisattvas, as numerous as the grains of sand in eight Ganges Rivers, thought, �A great gathering of bodhisattvas, a great aggregation of bodhisattvas has emerged from the ground, and standing before the Bhagavān has honored, revered, and pleased the Bhagavān.431 This is something we have never seen and never heard of before. Where did these bodhisattva mahāsattvas come from?�

14.�18

The bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya was aware of his own doubt and uncertainty and knew in his own mind the thoughts that were in the minds of hundreds of thousands of quintillions of other bodhisattvas, as numerous as the grains of sand in eight Ganges Rivers. He placed his hands together in homage, and to the Bhagavān he expressed these thoughts in verses:

14.�19

�Supreme human, tell us

About these many hundreds of thousands

Of quintillions of infinite bodhisattvas

Who have never appeared before. {5}

14.�20

�They who have great miraculous powers,

From where did they come, and how?

They who have massive bodies,

Where did they come from? {6}

14.�21

�All of these steadfast ones,

Great rishis who have mindfulness

And have extremely beautiful bodies,

Where did they come from? {7}

14.�22

�Lord of the World, there have arrived

These wise bodhisattvas, each of whom

Has an incalculable following

As numerous as the sands of the Ganges. {8}

14.�23

�The followers of the bodhisattvas,

Who are renowned and are as numerous

As the sands of sixty complete Ganges Rivers,

Have all become fixed upon enlightenment. {9}

14.�24

�The number of such heroes as these,

These protectors and their followers, [F.114.a]

Is the number of sand grains

In sixty Ganges Rivers. {10}

14.�25

�And there are even more than that:

Others with endless followers

As numerous as the grains of sand

in fifty, in forty, in thirty, {11}

14.�26

�And in twenty Ganges Rivers.

There are such numbers of assemblies of followers,

And there are even more than that,

As numerous as sands in ten and five Ganges Rivers. {12}

14.�27

�The assemblies of each of those protectors

Those sons of the buddhas‍�

Guide, assemblies such as these,

Where have they come from? {13}

14.�28

�In the assemblies of the bodhisattvas

There are accompanying students

Who are as numerous as the sands

In four, three, or two Ganges, {14}

14.�29

�And there are others far more numerous.

There is no end to their numbers.

It would not be possible to count them

Even in ten thousand million eons. {15}

14.�30

�There are also retinues

Of the bodhisattvas, heroes, protectors,

That equal a half, a third, a tenth,

Or a twentieth of the Ganges sands. {16}

14.�31

�And there are others far more numerous,

And if one were to count them one by one

One would not be able to calculate the number of them

Even in a thousand million eons. {17}

14.�32

�And there are others far more numerous,

With assemblies that are numerous:

A hundred trillion, and ten million,

And also those that are five million. {18}

14.�33

�There are also great rishis

Who are bodhisattvas with great wisdom.

They are beyond number,

And all are present showing reverence. {19}

14.�34

�Their followers number a thousand,

Or similarly a hundred, or fifty‍�

One could not count them all

Even in a thousand million eons. {20}

14.�35

�The followers of those heroes

Also number twenty, or ten, or five,

Or similarly four, or three, or two‍�

One cannot count them all. {21}

14.�36

�There are those who travel alone,

Who find peace on their own.

They who have come here on this day,

They also are beyond enumeration. {22}

14.�37

�If someone were to count them for eons

As numerous as the Ganges sands

Using a stick held in their hand, [F.114.b]

They would still not come to an end. {23}

14.�38

�All of these great beings,

Protectors with dedication,

These bodhisattva heroes,

Where did they come from? {24}

14.�39

�Who has taught them the Dharma?

Who has brought them to enlightenment?

Whose teaching do they delight in?

Whose432 teachings do they hold? {25}

14.�40

�This entire ground having broken open,

Throughout all the four directions

There have emerged those with great wisdom

Who are sagacious, and have miraculous powers. {26}

14.�41

�Muni, this world realm

Has been completely broken apart

And in that way have emerged

These fearless bodhisattvas. {27}

14.�42

�What has occurred here

We have never seen before.

Guide of the World, tell us

The name of that realm. {28}

14.�43

�We have been again and again

Throughout the ten directions,

But we have never seen

Such bodhisattvas as these. {29}

14.�44

�We have never before seen

A single one of these offspring of yours.

But today we have suddenly seen them.

Muni, tell us of their activities. {30}

14.�45

�Tens of thousands

Of trillions of bodhisattvas,

All filled with astonishment,

Are looking at the supreme human. {31}

14.�46

�Immeasurable one, devoid of the skandhas,433

Great hero, we ask you to reveal to us,

Courageous one, from where have come

These bodhisattvas who have no fear?� {32}

14.�47

At that time, the bhagavān tathāgata Śākyamuni�s emanations as other tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas who had arrived from a hundred thousand quintillion world realms were teaching beings in other worlds.434 They were sitting cross-legged on lion thrones made of precious materials at the foot of trees made of precious materials in all eight directions from the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni. The followers of those tathāgatas also saw a great gathering of bodhisattva mahāsattvas, [F.115.a] a great aggregation of bodhisattvas emerge from the ground, and remain suspended in the sky. They were astonished and amazed. They asked their own tathāgatas, �Bhagavān, from where did these countless, innumerable bodhisattva mahāsattvas come?�

14.�48

Each of those tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas said to their own followers, �Noble ones, wait a little while, because the bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya, whose highest, complete enlightenment has been prophesied by Bhagavān Śākyamuni, has asked Bhagavān Śākyamuni that same question. Buddha Śākyamuni is going to answer, so you should listen to him.�

14.�49

The Bhagavān then said to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya, �Ajita, this question you have asked me concerning this vast subject is excellent, Ajita, excellent!�

14.�50

The Bhagavān now turned to the entire assembly of bodhisattvas and announced to them, �Noble ones, the Tathāgata, the Arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha is going to teach the Tathāgata�s wisdom insight, the Tathāgata�s leadership, the Tathāgata�s activity, the Tathāgata�s displays, the Tathāgata�s expanding power, and the Tathāgata�s heroism.435 Therefore, noble ones, this entire assembly of bodhisattvas should be attentive, focused, and stable.�

14.�51

Thereupon the Bhagavān pronounced these verses:

�All you noble ones, be attentive:

I am going to speak infallible436 words.

Wise ones, do not become disheartened.

The wisdom of the tathāgatas is inconceivable. {33} [F.115.b]

14.�52

�You should all be stable and mindful.

You should all remain in a state of concentration.

Listen to a Dharma that has not appeared before

And which is a marvel of the tathāgatas. {34}

14.�53

�I shall establish you well in this.

None of you should have any doubt.

I, the Guide, speak infallibly.437

My wisdom remains forever incalculable. {35}

14.�54

�The Sugata has realized profound dharmas,

Which are unexaminable and unquantifiable.

I am going to teach438 those dharmas;

Listen to me as to what they are and how they are.� {36}

14.�55

Having pronounced those verses, Bhagavān said to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya, �Ajita, I declare to you, I proclaim to you,439 Ajita, as for these innumerable, numberless, inconceivable, unequaled, uncountable bodhisattvas whom you have never seen before, who emerged from the ground, after I had attained the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood in this Sahā world realm, Ajita, I inspired and developed440 all these bodhisattva mahāsattvas toward the highest, complete enlightenment. Noble ones, I ripened them for this bodhisattva Dharma, established them in it, and caused them to follow it, remain in it, and understand it.

14.�56

�Ajita, these bodhisattva mahāsattvas live in this Sahā world realm by occupying the realm of space below, where they are engaged in reciting and receiving the teachings, and correctly contemplating them.

�These noble ones do not delight in the activities of society, they delight in the absence of society. Their diligence does not weaken, they apply themselves with diligence. Ajita, these noble ones delight in solitude and find pleasure in solitude. These noble ones do not live by relying upon either devas or humans. These noble ones delight in activities that are devoid of worldly gatherings, delight in the pleasure of the Dharma, and are dedicated to the wisdom of buddhahood.�

14.�57

The Bhagavān then spoke these verses: [F.116.a]

�These bodhisattvas are innumerable.

They are countless and beyond measure.

They possess miracles, wisdom, and learning,

And for many millions of eons have practiced with knowledge. {37}

14.�58

�I have ripened them all for enlightenment

And they dwell within my own realm.

All of these I have ripened‍�

These bodhisattvas are my offspring. {38}

14.�59

�They all are dedicated to solitude

And reject the level of worldly gatherings.

They follow the example of my supreme conduct;

These children of mine practice free from worldly gatherings. {39}

14.�60

�They dwell in space as their habitation.

These heroes live below this realm.

They perfect this supreme enlightenment,

Attentively dedicated day and night. {40}

14.�61

�They are all mindful and practice diligently,

And established in the immeasurable strength of wisdom.

All of these luminous offspring of mine

Are teaching the Dharma fearlessly. {41}

14.�62

�After I attained this highest enlightenment

At the foot of a tree by the city of Gayā,441

I turned the unsurpassable wheel of the Dharma

And I ripened all to this supreme enlightenment. {42}

14.�63

�You should all have faith when you hear

These immaculate words of mine.

I have, in that way, ripened all of these

Since I attained supreme enlightenment.� {43}

14.�64

The bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya and the many hundred thousands of quintillions of bodhisattvas were then astonished and amazed. How could the Buddha in a moment‍�in such a short time‍�inspire and ripen for the highest, complete enlightenment all these countless bodhisattvas?

14.�65

So the bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya inquired of the Bhagavān, �Bhagavān, when the Tathāgata was a young man, you left the Śākya town of Kapilavastu for homelessness. You went to the supreme Bodhimaṇḍa that is not very far from the city of Gayā. You attained the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood. [F.116.b] Bhagavān, since that time until today more than forty years have passed. Bhagavān, how could the Tathāgata in such a short time as this accomplish such countless tathāgata activities as these? How did you attain the preeminence of a tathāgata, and the heroism of a tathāgata?442 Bhagavān, you have inspired and ripened for the highest, complete enlightenment this great gathering of bodhisattva mahāsattvas, this great aggregation of bodhisattvas, in just that amount of time. Bhagavān, one would not be able to count this great gathering of bodhisattva mahāsattvas, this great aggregation of bodhisattvas, even in a hundred thousand quintillion eons. Bhagavān, such innumerable, countless bodhisattvas have practiced celibacy for a long time, creating roots of merit under many hundreds of thousands of buddhas, and perfecting themselves over many hundreds of thousands of eons.

14.�66

�Bhagavān, it is as if there were a young man, a lad of twenty-five years of age, with black hair, in the first phase of his adulthood, who revealed that he has sons that are a hundred years old. He says, �These noble ones are my sons; they are my sons,� and they say, �This man is our father.� Bhagavān, what they say would not be believed. It would be difficult for the world to believe them.

�Bhagavān, similarly, it is not very long since you, Tathāgata, attained the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood. These countless, innumerable bodhisattva mahāsattvas have practiced celibacy for many hundreds of thousands of eons; they have gained certainty in the wisdom of buddhahood during a long period of time; they are skilled in resting in hundreds of thousands of samādhis; [F.117.a] they have developed the great higher knowledges; they are wise in the level of buddhahood; they are skilled in teaching the dharmas of the Tathāgata; they are an amazement and wonder in this world; and they have attained great diligence, strength, and might.

14.�67

�The Bhagavān has said of them, �I am the one who first established them on the level of being a bodhisattva; I am the one who has ripened and developed them. It is through my attainment of the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood that I have accomplished all this diligence and heroism.�

�Bhagavān, we will have faith in whatever the Tathāgata says, thinking, �The Tathāgata speaks infallibly. The Tathāgata knows the truth.� However, Bhagavān, those newly following in the Bodhisattva�yāna will have doubts. After the Tathāgata has passed into nirvāṇa, they will hear this Dharma teaching and they will not believe it, will not have faith in it, and will not be attracted to it. Therefore, Bhagavān, they will accrue the karma of rejecting the Dharma.

14.�68

�Therefore, Bhagavān, explain the meaning of this well, so that we will not have any kind of doubt in this Dharma, and so that in the future time, when noble men and noble women who are on the Bodhisattva�yāna hear it, they will not doubt it.�

14.�69

The bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya then addressed these verses to the Bhagavān:

�You were born in Kapilāhvaya,

But then you renounced the residence of the Śākyas,

And attained enlightenment by the city of Gayā.

Lord of the World, it has not been long since then. {44}

14.�70

�These fearless ones and many others in this great crowd

Have practiced for millions of eons.

They are unwaveringly established in miraculous powers.

Excellently learned, they have realized the power of wisdom. {45}

14.�71

�Like lotuses on water that are unstained, [F.117.b]

Today they have arrived when the earth split apart.

They all stand respectfully with hands together in homage,

These mindful offspring of the Lord of the World. {46}

14.�72

�How can the bodhisattvas believe

In such a marvel of yours as this?

Tell us so that doubts will be overcome.

Teach the meaning of this exactly as it is. {47}

14.�73

�It is as if there were a person,

A youth, a young lad with black hair

Who was born just over twenty years before,

Who introduces hundred-year-old men as his sons. {48}

14.�74

�They are wrinkled, with white hair, and they say,

�This is the one who has fathered us.�

Lord of the World, it would be difficult to believe

That such men as those could be the youth�s sons. {49}

14.�75

�In the same way, the Bhagavān is like that young man,

While these numerous bodhisattvas who have knowledge,

And are mindful, fearless, and endowed with wisdom,

Have trained excellently for billions of eons. {50}

14.�76

�They have stability, skill in wisdom,

Are all good looking and beautiful,

Have certainty in the Dharma, are fearless,

And are praised443 by the guides of the worlds. {51}

14.�77

�They travel around unimpeded like the wind.

They dwell constantly in the realm of space.

These progeny of the Sugata are diligent

In seeking this enlightenment of buddhahood. {52}

14.�78

�We do not give rise to any doubts whatsoever,

We who hear these words directly from the Lord of the World,

But after the Guide of the World has entered nirvāṇa

How will beings be able to believe in this? {53}

14.�79

�Bodhisattvas will go to the lower realms

Through having doubts about this matter.

Bhagavān, elucidate for us

In what way you ripened these bodhisattvas.� {54}

14.�80

This concludes �The Bodhisattvas Emerging Out of the Ground,� the fourteenth chapter of the Dharma teaching of �The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.� [B10] [F.118.a]

Chapter 15: THE LIFESPAN OF THE TATHĀGATA

15.�1

Then the Bhagavān said to the complete assembly of bodhisattvas, �Noble ones, have faith and certainty in the true words that I, the Tathāgata, will speak.�

The Bhagavān said a second time, and a third time, to those bodhisattvas, �Noble ones, have faith and certainty in the true words that I, the Tathāgata, will speak. Noble ones, have faith and certainty in the true words that I, the Tathāgata, will speak.�

15.�2

At this, the complete assembly of bodhisattvas, with bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya standing in front to them, with hands together in homage, requested, �Bhagavān, explain the meaning to us. Sugata, explain it to us. We will believe what the Tathāgata says.� A second time, the complete assembly of bodhisattvas requested the Bhagavān, �Bhagavān, explain the meaning to us. Sugata, explain it to us. We will believe what the Tathāgata says.� A third time, the complete assembly of bodhisattvas requested the Bhagavān, �Bhagavān, explain the meaning to us. Sugata, explain it to us. We will believe what the Tathāgata says.�

Then the Bhagavān, knowing that the bodhisattvas had made their request three times, said to those bodhisattvas, �And so, noble ones, listen to what has arisen because of the power of my samādhi.444

15.�3

�Noble ones, the world with its devas, humans, and asuras thinks and believes, �Bhagavān Śākyamuni departed from his Śākya clan into mendicancy, went to the preeminent, supreme Bodhimaṇḍa, and attained the highest, complete enlightenment of buddhahood by the city of Gayā.� [F.118.b] However, noble ones, I attained the highest, complete enlightenment of buddhahood many hundreds of thousands of quintillions of eons ago.

15.�4

�Noble sons, it is like this: If there were a man who picked up one atom from among the atoms of the element of earth in countless445 fifty hundred thousand quintillion world realms, and he were to carry it in an eastern direction until he had passed countless, fifty hundred thousand quintillion world realms, and were then to deposit that atom there; and if he were to continue on further in that way446 until the entire element of earth in all those world realms was gone, depositing the atoms in that manner, in that way, into world realms in an eastern direction, then, noble ones, do you think that anyone could conceive of, or calculate, count, or determine the number of those world realms?�

15.�5

The bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya and the complete assembly of bodhisattvas said to the Bhagavān, �Bhagavān, those world realms are numberless, are innumerable, and are beyond the capacity of the mind. Bhagavān, even all the śrāvakas and pratyeka�buddhas with their higher wisdom could not conceive of, calculate, or determine their number. Bhagavān, even for us bodhisattvas on the level of irreversibility this subject is beyond the scope of our thoughts. Bhagavān, the number of those world realms would be incalculable.�

15.�6

The Bhagavān said to those bodhisattva mahāsattvas, �Noble ones, I declare to you, I proclaim to you,447 [F.119.a] noble ones, in those world realms in which that man would deposit atoms, and, noble sons, those in which he did not deposit them, there are not, in all those hundreds of thousands of quintillions of world realms, noble sons, as many atoms as there are hundreds of thousands of quintillions of eons since I attained the highest complete enlightenment of buddhahood. Since I began teaching the Dharma to beings in this Sahā world realm and in another hundred thousand quintillion world realms, noble ones, those other tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas whom I have previously mentioned, beginning with Tathāgata Dīpaṃkara, and the passing into nirvāṇa of those tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas, were my emanations, noble ones, in order to accomplish the teaching of the Dharma through skillful methods. Moreover, noble ones, the Tathāgata, on seeing the extent of the faculties and diligence of the successive beings of future times, states what will be his name in those times, and states when his passing into nirvāṇa will occur, and in that way he will satisfy beings with various kinds of Dharma teachings.448

15.�7

�Noble ones, the Tathāgata says to beings with various aspirations, few roots of merit, and many kleśas, �Bhikṣus, I am young; I renounced my family and it has not been long, bhikṣus, since I have attained the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood.�

�Noble ones, even though it has thus been a long time since the Tathāgata attained the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood, he says, �It has not been long since I attained the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood.� [F.119.b] That kind of Dharma was taught solely for the purpose of ripening beings and bringing them into the teaching.

15.�8

�Noble ones, all those Dharma teachings were taught by the Tathāgata in order to guide beings.

�Noble ones, the words the Tathāgata speaks in order to guide beings, whether spoken by myself or spoken by someone else, whether concerning myself or concerning anyone else‍�whatever Dharma teachings the Tathāgata has taught, all are the truth that is spoken by the Tathāgata. The Tathāgata does not lie.

15.�9

�Why is that? The Tathāgata has seen the three realms exactly as they are:449 there is no birth, no death, no transmigration, no becoming, no saṃsāra, no nirvāṇa, no being, no nonbeing, no existence, no nonexistence, no �like this,� no �not like this,� no �untrue,� and no �not untrue.� The Tathāgata does not see the three realms in the way that ordinary, foolish beings see them. Concerning this, the Tathāgata has the direct perception of phenomena, and there is no phenomenon of which he is oblivious. Therefore, whatever the Tathāgata says is all the truth, without any lies. However, as beings have different kinds of conduct, different kinds of aspirations, and different kinds of perception and conception, in order that they may develop roots of merit, the Tathāgata teaches many kinds of Dharma teachings, with many kinds of goals.

15.�10

�Noble ones, whatever the Tathāgata has to do, that is what the Tathāgata does. The Tathāgata, who has attained perfect buddhahood a long time ago, has an immeasurable lifespan. [F.120.a] He always remains and does not pass into nirvāṇa, but creates the appearance of passing into nirvāṇa in order to benefit his students.

�Noble ones, I still have an entire lifespan of twice times a hundred thousand quintillion eons. Although I will not pass into nirvāṇa, I state that I am going to pass into nirvāṇa. Why is that? Noble ones, it is in order to ripen beings through this Dharma teaching. If I were not to pass into nirvāṇa and were to remain for a long time, because I would be constantly seen, beings would not create roots of merit. They would become destitute, devoid of merit, indulging in desires, blind, and caught in the net of wrong views. Thinking, �The Tathāgata remains,� they would perceive him as easy to meet450 and would not perceive him as difficult to meet. They would think, �The Tathāgata is with us,� and would not be diligently dedicated to escaping from the three realms. They would not view a tathāgata as being rare.

15.�11

�Therefore, noble ones, the Tathāgata, using skillful method, states, �Bhikṣus, it is very difficult to find the appearance of the tathāgatas.� Why is that? For those beings, it is possible that they may see a tathāgata after many hundred thousands of quintillions of eons, and it is possible that they will not.

�Noble ones, considering this, I say, �Bhikṣus, the appearance of a tathāgata is difficult to find,� so that conceiving that the appearance of a tathāgata is difficult to find they perceive it as a wonder, and they have the understanding that a tathāgata passes into nirvāṇa. When they do not see the Tathāgata,451 [F.120.b] they will thirst for the sight of him. The roots of merit from the mind being focused upon the Tathāgata will bring good results, benefits, and happiness for a long time. Knowing this, for the sake of those to be guided, the Tathāgata announces that he will pass into nirvāṇa even though he does not pass into nirvāṇa.

15.�12

�Noble ones, that which the Tathāgata states is a Dharma teaching; he does not speak lies.

�Noble ones, it is as if there were a man who is a physician who is wise, eminent, learned, intelligent, very skilled,452 and could cure all illnesses, and that man has many sons‍�ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, a hundred, or a thousand. That physician goes away to somewhere else, and all his sons take a poisonous drink, or a venomous drink. As a result of that poison or venom, they are tormented and tortured by the sensations of suffering and roll around on the ground. Then their father, the physician, returns from his journey. His sons are in distress from the suffering caused by that poison or venom. Some have deluded perceptions and some do not have deluded perception but all are in distress from suffering. They are happy to see their father and say to him, �Father, you have returned happily and safely. Free us from this poison or venom that is destroying our bodies. Save our lives!�

15.�13

�Their father sees that they are distressed by suffering, that they are tormented and tortured by illness and are rolling around on the ground. He gathers together great herbs with excellent color, aroma, and taste and grinds them on a stone. He tells his sons to drink this mixture, saying, �Sons, drink this great medicine that is colorful, aromatic, and tasty [F.121.a] Noble ones, if you drink this excellent medicine you will quickly be freed from the poison or venom, and will be happy and healthy.�

15.�14

�Then the physician�s sons who do not have deluded perception see the color of the medicine, smell its aroma, taste its flavor, and quickly drink it. They become completely free from all illness. His sons who have deluded perception praise their father, saying, �Father, you have returned happily and safely. Heal us!� but they do not drink the medicine. Why is that? Because their perception is deluded, they did not like the color of the medicine, did not like its smell, and did not like its taste. Then the physician thinks, �These sons of mine have deluded perception because of the poison or venom and so will not drink the medicine, but they are praising me. I will use a skillful method to make them drink this medicine.�

15.�15

�Then the physician, wishing to use a skillful method to make his sons drink the medicine, says to them, �Noble ones, I am old, advanced in years, and aged. The time of my death is close. Sons, do not be sad. Do not be unhappy. If you need great medicine, take this medicine.� Having instructed them in this way as a skillful method he goes to another land, and having gone there, sends news to his sick sons that he is dying. Then they become very sad, wail and weep, thinking, �Our only father, protector, progenitor, who had compassion for us has died, and so now we have no protector!� They see that they are without a protector; they see that they have no refuge, and are overcome by sorrow.

15.�16

�Through becoming overcome by sorrow, those whose perceptions are deluded gain undeluded perception. Then they can perceive the color, aroma, and taste of the medicine�s color, aroma, and taste, and at that time they drink it. [F.121.b] Once they have drunk it they become free from their illness. When the physician knows that his sons have been cured he then reveals himself to them.

15.�17

�Noble ones, what do you think? Should someone who has used such a skillful method be called a liar?�

�No, Bhagavān,� they answered. �No, Sugata.�

�Noble ones,� he continued, �in the same way, although I attained the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood countless, innumerable hundreds of thousands of quintillions of eons ago, I sometimes teach as a skillful method such as this in order to guide beings. In this matter, I am not in any way a liar.�

15.�18

Then the Bhagavān taught the meaning of this extensively in verses:

�Countless thousands of millions of eons ago,

A length of time that is inconceivable,

I attained the highest enlightenment

And I am always teaching the Dharma. {1}

15.�19

�I inspired453 these numerous bodhisattvas

And directed them toward the wisdom of buddhahood.

Throughout millions of eons I have ripened

Endless quintillions of beings. {2}

15.�20

�I speak skillfully in order to guide beings:

I teach them the level of nirvāṇa.

In this time I do not pass into nirvāṇa,

But will continue to teach the Dharma here. {3}

15.�21

�In that time I empower myself,

And I similarly empower all beings.

Foolish humans, whose understanding is false,

Do not see me, even though I am present there. {4}

15.�22

�They see me physically pass into nirvāṇa

And they make offerings to my remains.

Because they do not see me, they yearn for me

And therefore their minds become corrected. {5}

15.�23

�When they have become gentle, kind, and honest

And they forsake even their own bodies,454

Then they become my saṅgha of śrāvakas

And I will reveal myself to them on Vulture Peak. {6}

15.�24

�There I will say this to my followers:

�I did not pass into nirvāṇa here;

Bhikṣus, that was my skillful method. [F.122.a]

I appear again and again in the world of the living. {7}

15.�25

� �I have been before other beings

And taught them this highest enlightenment.

You could not hear those words of mine,

But other than that I did not pass into nirvāṇa. {8}

15.�26

� �I see the beings who undergo destruction,

But I do not reveal my form to them.

When they aspire to see me,

Then I teach the Dharma to those thirsty ones.� {9}

15.�27

�I always have that kind of blessing

Throughout countless billions of eons.

I do not depart from Vulture Peak,

And yet I have millions of other seats.455 {10}

15.�28

�While beings see and think

That this world realm is burning,

At that time this buddha realm of mine

Is filled with maruts and humans. {11}

15.�29

�They have various kinds of delights and joys there,

With millions of gardens, mansions, and airborne palaces.

It is adorned by mountains made of jewels

And by trees covered with blossoms and fruits. {12}

15.�30

�Above, the devas are beating their great drums

And sending down a rain of coral tree flowers.

They scatter them over myself and the śrāvakas

And other wise ones who are fixed upon enlightenment. {13}

15.�31

�This realm of mine remains constantly like this

While others conceive that it is burning.

They see the world as being terrifying456

And filled with calamities and hundreds of miseries. {14}

15.�32

�For many millions of years

They never hear even the name of the tathāgatas

Or the Dharma or my followers.

That is the result of their bad karma. {15}

15.�33

�When gentle and kind beings

Are born in this human world,

As soon as they are born, through good karma,

They will see me teaching the Dharma. {16}

15.�34

�I never say anything to them

Of these my endless activities.

It is a long time since they have seen me,

And I say it is rare to find the jinas. {17}

15.�35

�I have the power of wisdom in this way;

It is a brilliance that is infinite.

My lifespan is that of infinite eons,

Which I have gained through my past conduct. {18}

15.�36

�Wise ones, do not have any doubt about this. [F.122.b]

You should dismiss every kind of uncertainty.

The words that I am speaking are the truth.

In my speech there are never any lies. {19}

15.�37

�Like a physician who is skilled in methods

Who, because his sons have deluded perception,

While he is alive says that he has died,

The wise know that this would not be proclaimed a lie. {20}

15.�38

�In that way, I am the self-arisen father of the world,

The Lord who is a physician for all beings.

Knowing that the ignorant fools are deluded,

I who have not passed into nirvāṇa manifest passing. {21}

15.�39

�For what reason? Through constantly seeing me

The unwise and ignorant will become lazy.457

They will be fearlessly careless in following their desires

And their recklessness will cause them to fall into lower existences. {22}

15.�40

�At all times I know their various modes of conduct

And I say to them that I am like this or that

Because somehow I must bring them to enlightenment,

And somehow they must obtain the Buddha�s Dharma.� {23}

15.�41

This concludes �The Lifespan of the Tathāgata,� the fifteenth chapter of the Dharma teaching of �The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.�

Chapter 16: THE EXTENT OF THE MERIT

16.�1

When the teaching of the Tathāgata�s lifespan was taught it benefited innumerable, countless beings. The Bhagavān said at that time to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya, �Ajita, when the Dharma teaching that teaches the Tathāgata�s lifespan was given, a hundred thousand quintillion bodhisattvas, as numerous as the grains of sand in sixty-eight Ganges Rivers, developed receptivity to the birthlessness of phenomena.

16.�2

�A thousand times more bodhisattva mahāsattvas than that attained the power of retention.

�Other bodhisattva mahāsattvas, as numerous as the atoms in a world realm of a thousand458 worlds, heard this Dharma teaching and attained unimpeded eloquence.

�Other bodhisattva mahāsattvas, as numerous as the atoms in a world realm of a million worlds,459 heard this Dharma teaching and attained a hundred thousandfold power of retention.460

16.�3

�Other bodhisattva mahāsattvas, as numerous as the atoms in a world realm of a billion worlds,461 [F.123.a] heard this Dharma teaching and turned the irreversible wheel.

�Other bodhisattva mahāsattvas, as numerous as the atoms in the intermediate thousandfold world realm,462 heard this Dharma teaching and turned the Dharma wheel called stainless light.

�Other bodhisattva mahāsattvas, as numerous as the atoms in the lesser thousandfold world realm,463 heard this Dharma teaching and developed the aspiration to the highest, complete enlightenment after eight lifetimes.

16.�4

�Other bodhisattva mahāsattvas, as numerous as the atoms in four four-continent world realms, heard this Dharma teaching and developed the aspiration to the highest, complete enlightenment after four lifetimes.

�Other bodhisattva mahāsattvas, as numerous as the atoms in three four-continent world realms, heard this Dharma teaching and developed the aspiration to the highest, complete enlightenment after three lifetimes.

16.�5

�Other bodhisattva mahāsattvas, as numerous as the atoms in two four-continent world realms, heard this Dharma teaching and developed the aspiration to the highest, complete enlightenment after two lifetimes.

�Other bodhisattva mahāsattvas, as numerous as the atoms in one four-continent world realm, heard this Dharma teaching and developed the aspiration to the highest, complete enlightenment in one lifetime.

16.�6

�Bodhisattva mahāsattvas as numerous as the atoms in eight world realms of a thousand million worlds heard this Dharma teaching and developed the aspiration to the highest, complete enlightenment.�

16.�7

As soon as the Bhagavān had taught this foundation, this understanding of the Dharma, to those bodhisattvas, in that moment, from the sky above [F.123.b] there descended a great rainfall of coral tree flowers and great coral tree flowers. They were sprinkled and scattered over a hundred thousand quintillion buddhas seated on lion thrones at the foot of precious trees in a hundred thousand quintillion world realms.

16.�8

They were sprinkled and scattered over the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni and the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna, who had passed into nirvāṇa, who were both seated on lion thrones. They were sprinkled and scattered over the complete gathering of bodhisattvas. They were sprinkled and scattered over the fourfold assembly. Divine sandalwood and agarwood powders fell from the sky. There resounded from the sky above the beautiful, melodious, and gentle sounds of drums, without their being beaten. Hundreds of thousands of pairs of divine calico cloths fell from above. Short necklaces, long necklaces, flower garlands, precious jewels, and huge precious jewels were hung in every direction. Hundreds of thousands of censers made from precious materials and containing priceless incense moved around by themselves. Above each tathāgata, bodhisattva mahāsattvas in the sky held a tier of precious parasols that reached up to the realm of Brahmā. In this way, above all those hundred thousand quintillion buddhas, bodhisattva mahāsattvas in the sky held tiers of precious parasols, reaching as high as the realm of Brahmā. Each of them praised those tathāgatas with praises of the buddhas rendered into verse.

16.�9

At that time the bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya spoke these verses: [F.124.a]

�The Tathāgata has proclaimed a wonderful Dharma

That we have never heard before:

The nature of the great power of the guides,

And the way in which their lifespans are infinite. {1}

16.�10

�Having heard on this day such a Dharma

Being imparted directly from the Sugata,

Thousands of millions of beings,

The Guide of the World�s own progeny, are filled with joy. {2}

16.�11

�Some are irreversibly fixed upon the highest enlightenment,

Some are established in the supreme retention,

Some are established in unimpeded eloquence,

And some in thousands of millions of retentions. {3}

16.�12

�There are others, as numerous as the atoms in the world,

Who are established in the highest wisdom of buddhahood.

Some will, after eight lifetimes,

Become jinas with infinite vision. {4}

16.�13

�Having heard this Dharma of the Guide,

Some, after four lives have passed,

Some others after two or three,

Will attain enlightenment and see the ultimate truth. {5}

16.�14

�Some, after living one lifetime,

Will in another existence become omniscient.

Having heard the length of the Guide�s lifespan,

They will attain such an immaculate result. {6}

16.�15

�The millions of beings who have heard the Dharma,

As numerous as the atoms in eight realms,

Whose numbers are incalculable,

Have developed the aspiration for supreme enlightenment.464 {7}

16.�16

�By teaching this enlightenment of buddhahood

The great Rishi has accomplished an action

That is infinite, and that is immeasurable‍�

As immeasurable as the element of space. {8}

16.�17

�A rain of coral tree flowers has fallen.

Many thousands of millions of devas,

Śakras, and Brahmās as numerous as the Ganges sands

Have come from thousands of millions of realms. {9}

16.�18

�They sprinkle powder of sandalwood,

Of the best incenses, and the powder of agarwood.

While moving like birds through the sky,

They have appropriately sprinkled them on the Lords of Jinas. {10}

16.�19

�From the sky above there has resounded

The beautiful sound of drums without their being beaten. [F.124.b]

Thousands of millions of divine calico cloths

Encircle and are tossed upon the guides. {11}

16.�20

�Incense of a priceless value,

In billions of precious censers,

As offerings to the Protector, the Lord of the World,

Move around everywhere by themselves. {12}

16.�21

�Endless quintillions of parasols,

Tall, vast, and made of precious materials,

In great numbers reaching as high as Brahmā�s realm,

Are held by wise bodhisattvas. {13}

16.�22

�Beautiful banners of victory

Are hoisted as the banners of the guides.

The offspring of the Sugata, filled with joy,

Praise him with thousands of verses. {14}

16.�23

�Today, Guide, these various kinds

Of wondrous and superior marvels have occurred.

Through teaching the extent of your lifespan

All these beings have attained perfect joy. {15}

16.�24

�Today there has been in the ten directions

A vast meaning, the superior words of the guides,

Bringing contentment to billions of beings,

Possessing virtue for the sake of enlightenment.� {16}

16.�25

The Bhagavān said to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya, �Ajita, those beings who have just once developed aspiration, developed motivation, or gained faith when this Dharma teaching that teaches the extent of the lifespan of the Tathāgata was taught, how much merit have such noble men or noble women created? Listen well and remember, for I shall explain how much merit they have created.

16.�26

�Ajita, it is like this: If a noble man or noble woman, wishing for the highest, complete enlightenment, were to practice, for eight hundred thousand quintillion eons, the five perfections, which are the perfection of generosity, the perfection of correct conduct, the perfection of patience, [F.125.a] the perfection of diligence, and the perfection of meditation, without the perfection of wisdom, and, Ajita, if there were a noble man or noble woman who had one time developed aspiration, developed motivation, or gained faith when this Dharma teaching that teaches the extent of the lifespan of the Tathāgata was taught, then that former accumulation of the roots of merit‍�the merit accumulated by completing the five perfections during eight hundred thousand quintillion eons‍�would not equal a hundredth part, not a thousandth, not a hundred thousandth, not a ten millionth, not a thousand millionth, not ten thousand millionth, not a million millionth, and not even a hundred thousand quintillionth part. The merit could not be calculated; even a fraction of it could not be calculated‍�there is no suitable analogy for it, and there is no suitable simile for it.

16.�27

�Ajita, it is impossible for the progress toward the highest, complete enlightenment made by a noble man or noble woman who possesses such an accumulation of merit to be reversible.�

16.�28

Thereupon the Bhagavān spoke these verses:

�If a person were to make the commitment

To practicing the five perfections

In order to seek this wisdom,

Buddhahood�s unsurpassable wisdom, {17}

16.�29

�And were even to practice them

For an entire eighty billion eons,

Repeatedly making gifts

To the buddhas and śrāvakas, {18}

16.�30

�Pleasing pratyeka�buddhas

And millions of bodhisattvas

With food and drinks to eat and drink,

And also clothing and bedding and seats, {19}

16.�31

�Building dwellings and temples

That were made from sandalwood,

And delightful gardens

And beautiful walking areas, {20}

16.�32

�Giving these kinds of gifts

That are of many different kinds

For thousands of millions of eons,

Giving them in dedication to enlightenment; {21} [F.125.b]

16.�33

�And also, for the sake of buddhahood�s wisdom,

Maintaining correct conduct

And praising indefatigably

The buddhas with pure praises; {22}

16.�34

�And also meditating on patience,

Being established on the level of discipline,

Being stable, and having mindfulness,

And being patient with criticism; {23}

16.�35

�And for the sake of buddhahood�s wisdom

Enduring abuse from those

Beings who believe in objective reality

And who are fixed in their arrogance; {24}

16.�36

�And also being always diligently dedicated,

Having stable mindfulness and application,

Without having a thought about anything else

For millions of eons; {25}

16.�37

�And remaining in the forests,

Walking upon the walkways,

Practicing for ten million eons,

Forsaking sleep and sloth; {26}

16.�38

�And having meditation, great meditation,

Delighting in meditation, and being concentrated,

Practicing meditation for no less

Than eighty thousand million eons‍� {27}

16.�39

�That person who is a hero with that meditation,

And aspires for the highest enlightenment,

Thinking, �May I become omniscient!�

And reaches the perfection of meditation‍� {28}

16.�40

�I have previously described

The merit that person will have

By maintaining that activity

For ten thousand million eons. {29}

16.�41

�Yet a person, whether male or female,

Who has heard of this my lifespan

And has faith in it for even an instant

Will have merit that is limitless. {30}

16.�42

�Rejecting doubts,

Deceit, and arrogance,

And aspiring for a moment,

Will have this kind of result. {31}

16.�43

�When the bodhisattvas who have practiced

For ten million eons

Hear of my inconceivable lifespan,

They do not reject it.465 {32}

16.�44

�They bow down their heads and say,

�May I too in a future time

Become like this

And liberate millions of beings. {33}

16.�45

� �Just as Lord Śākyamuni,

The great Muni, the Śākya Lion,

Sat upon the Bodhimaṇḍa

And roared his lion�s roar, {34} [F.126.a]

16.�46

� �May I too in a future time

Be honored by all beings466

And, having sat on the Bodhimaṇḍa,

May I teach this kind of Dharma. {35}

16.�47

� �May those humans who hear and possess it

With a perfect, superior motivation

Know that the teaching has implied meaning,

And may they be free of any doubt.� {36}

16.�48

�Moreover, Ajita, if someone who hears, enters, follows, and comprehends this Dharma teaching that teaches the lifespan of the Tathāgata will generate a supremely incalculable accumulation of merit that leads to the wisdom of buddhahood, it goes without saying that someone who hears this kind of Dharma teaching, proclaims it, maintains it, writes it, has it written, and honors the text or has others honor it with flowers, incense, perfume, garlands, ointments, powders, clothing, parasols, banners, flags, sesame oil lamps, ghee lamps, and perfumed oil lamps will generate a far greater accumulation of merit that leads to the wisdom of buddhahood.

16.�49

�Ajita, when a noble man or noble woman hears this Dharma teaching that teaches the lifespan of the Tathāgata and aspires to it with a superior motivation, know that their superior motivation has these characteristics: They see me at Vulture Peak, encircled and honored by an assembly of bodhisattvas, teaching the Dharma at the center of the saṅgha of śrāvakas. They see my buddha realm, this Sahā world realm, to have a ground made of beryl that is level, divided like a checkerboard with golden cords, and to be adorned by trees made of precious materials. They see bodhisattvas residing in perfectly enjoyable kūṭāgāras. [F.126.b]

16.�50

�Ajita, know these to be the characteristics of the superior motivation of the noble men or noble women who have aspiration with a superior motivation.

16.�51

�Moreover, Ajita, I say that those noble ones who have a superior motivation are those who hear this Dharma teaching after the Tathāgata has passed into nirvāṇa and do not reject it, but rejoice in it, let alone those who maintain it and read it.

16.�52

�Ajita, the noble man or noble woman who makes a text of this Dharma teaching and carries it on their shoulder is carrying the Tathāgata on their shoulder.467

16.�53

�Ajita, that noble man or noble woman does not need to build a stūpa for me, does not need to build a temple, nor do they need to give utensils to the saṅgha of bhikṣus, or medicine when they are ill.

16.�54

�Why is that? Ajita, that noble man or noble woman will have made an offering to my body, having created a stūpa made of the seven precious materials that is as high as the realm of Brahmā, encircled by a circumambulatory walkway, with parasols upon it, with flags and ringing bells. They will have honored it in many ways with divine and human flowers, perfume, incense, garlands, ointments, powders, cloth, parasols, banners, flags, and flags of victory. For many countless hundreds of thousands of quintillions of eons, they will have honored it with beautiful, melodious, clear sounds of many kinds of kettledrums,468 and large kettledrums; the sound of musical instruments and percussion; different kinds of song, dance, and amusements; and countless different kinds of music.

16.�55

�Ajita, the one who after my passing into nirvāṇa possesses this Dharma teaching and reads it, writes it out, and teaches it, [F.127.a] will for my sake have created a high, vast temple made of red sandalwood, with thirty-two mansions that have eight floors, as a residence for a thousand bhikṣus, with gardens beautified by flowers, with groves that have walkways, with beds and seats, filled with food and drink‍�hard food and soft food‍�and medicine for when there is illness, and adorned with things that bring happiness. They will have offered many of these, countless numbers of these‍�a hundred, a thousand, a hundred thousand, ten million, a thousand million, a trillion, a hundred thousand quintillion‍�in my presence, to the saṅgha of śrāvakas, and it should be known that I will have enjoyed them.

16.�56

�Ajita, I say that if someone possesses this Dharma teaching after the Tathāgata has passed into nirvāṇa, and reads it, teaches it, writes it, or has someone write it, then because of this Dharma teaching there is no need for them to build a stūpa for my relics after I have passed into nirvāṇa, and no need to make an offering to the saṅgha, let alone, Ajita, someone who while possessing this Dharma teaching accomplishes generosity, correct conduct, patience, diligence, meditation, and wisdom. That noble man or noble woman will generate an infinite, countless, innumerable aggregation of merit, Ajita, in the same way that the directions of east, south, west, north, above and below, and the intermediate directions in the element of space have no end.

16.�57

�That noble man or noble woman who possesses this Dharma teaching, and reads it, teaches it, writes it, or has someone write it, accumulates an infinite, countless, innumerable aggregation of merit for the wisdom of buddhahood. They will be dedicated to honoring the caitya of the Tathāgata. [F.127.b] They will recite the praises of the Tathāgata�s śrāvakas. They will describe the hundred thousand quintillion qualities of the bodhisattva mahāsattvas and teach them to others again and again.

16.�58

�They will accomplish patience, possess correct conduct, and will delight in the company of those with virtuous qualities; they will be patient, self-controlled, without envy, free of anger, without malicious intentions, mindful, strong, diligent, and constantly dedicated to seeking the Buddha�s Dharma; they will be meditators, will be devoted to solitary meditation, will frequently be in solitary meditation, and be skilled in questions and discrimination, and able to answer a hundred thousand quintillion questions.

16.�59

�Ajita, I have described the qualities of the bodhisattva mahāsattvas who will maintain this Dharma teaching after I have passed into nirvāṇa, and that is what they will be like.

16.�60

�Ajita, this is what a noble man or noble woman should know: That noble man or noble woman will be seated at the Bodhimaṇḍa. They will go to the foot of the Bodhi tree in order to attain the enlightenment of buddhahood.

16.�61

�Ajita, wherever that noble man or noble woman stands, sits, or walks, there should be built a caitya for the Tathāgata. The world and its devas should say, �This is a caitya of the Tathāgata.� �

16.�62

Thereupon the Bhagavān spoke these verses:

�I praise again and again

The limitless aggregation of merit

Of those who maintain this sūtra

When the Protector of Humans is in nirvāṇa. {37}

16.�63

�Through that they make offerings to me, [F.128.a]

And they create a lovely, beautiful

Variety of stūpas for my relics,

Which are made from precious materials. {38}

16.�64

�They reach as high as the realms of Brahmā

And they are endowed with parasols and garlands.

They have glorious circumambulatory walkways

And they possess banners of victory. {39}

16.�65

�The relics of the Jina are beautified

By the clear sound of bells,

The beauty of silken streamers,

And bells shaken by the breeze. {40}

16.�66

�To them are made vast offerings

Of perfume, flowers, and garlands;

Cloths and the sound of music;

And by the sound of drums over and over. {41}

16.�67

�The sweet sound of musical instruments

Is played for those relics.

Lamps of perfume, sesame oil, and ghee

Are completely offered to them all around. {42}

16.�68

�The one who possesses this sūtra

And teaches it in the era of decline

Will, by so doing, have made

Such infinite and diverse offerings to me: {43}

16.�69

�Numerous millions of temples

That are made from sandalwood,

With thirty-two mansions

That are eight floors high; {44}

16.�70

�Thousands of residences

Provided with beds and seats,

An accumulation of food and drink,

And hung with excellent curtains; {45}

16.�71

�And gardens and walkways are given,

Beautified by delightful flowers.

There are many awnings there

In a variety of different forms. {46}

16.�72

�The one who possesses this sūtra

After the Guide has passed into nirvāṇa

Will have, in my presence,

Made many offerings to the saṅgha. {47}

16.�73

�The one who reads this sūtra,

Or one who writes it out

While filled with aspiration,

Will attain even greater merit. {48}

16.�74

�The person who has it written out

In a volume with correct words,

And makes offerings to the text

With perfumes, garlands, and ointments, {49}

16.�75

�Who continually makes offerings of lamps

That are filled with perfumed sesame oil

And scatters upon it the petals of

Royal jasmine,469 blue lotuses, and magnolias‍� {50}

16.�76

�That person who makes offerings

In that manner to those texts

Will generate much merit,

Which will be beyond measure. {51} [F.128.b]

16.�77

�Just as the extent of space

Can never be discovered

Throughout all the ten directions,

So will be this accumulation of merit. {52}

16.�78

�And it goes without saying that it will be so

For those who also have patience, self-control,

Concentration, correct conduct, meditation,

And practice solitary contemplation. {53}

16.�79

�Without anger, without slander,

They remain in veneration to the caitya,

Always bowing to the bhikṣus

Without pride and without laziness. {54}

16.�80

�Endowed with wisdom and likewise470 stable,

They ask questions and do not become angry.

They have compassion for beings

And teach them in an appropriate manner. {55}

16.�81

�For those who will be like that

And who possess this sūtra,

There will be an aggregation of merit

The extent of which can never be measured. {56}

16.�82

�If someone were to see

Such dharmabhāṇakas

Who possess this sūtra

They will treat them with reverence. {57}

16.�83

�They will scatter divine flowers upon them.

They will wrap them in divine cloth.

They will bow their heads to their feet,

And will perceive them to be a tathāgata. {58}

16.�84

�Seeing them they will at that time think,

�That one will go to the foot of a tree

And in order to benefit the world and its devas

Will attain the highest enlightenment of buddhahood.� {59}

16.�85

�Someone who recites one verse from this sūtra

Where those kinds of wise people walk,

Wherever they stand, or wherever they sit,

Or wherever those heroes makes their bed, {60}

16.�86

�In those places there should be built

Various beautiful stūpas of the highest being,

For the Guide, the Buddha, the Bhagavān,

And a variety of offerings should be made to it. {61}

16.�87

�I also will have enjoyed that place

Where those bodhisattvas471 resided.

I myself will have walked there,

And I myself will have sat there.� {62}

16.�88

This concludes �The Extent of the Merit,� the sixteenth chapter of the Dharma teaching of �The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.�

Chapter 17: TEACHING THE MERIT OF REJOICING

17.�1

Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya asked the Bhagavān, [F.129.a] �Bhagavān, if a noble man or noble woman rejoices after hearing this Dharma teaching explained, how much merit, Bhagavān, does that noble man or noble woman create?� And at that time the bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya also addressed to him this verse:

17.�2

�After the nirvāṇa of the great Hero,

How much merit will there be

For someone who listens to this kind of sūtra,

And having heard it, rejoices?� {1}

17.�3

The Bhagavān then answered the bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya, �Ajita, when the Tathāgata has passed into nirvāṇa, suppose there are noble men or noble women, bhikṣus or bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas or upāsikās, wise adults, boys or girls who listen to this Dharma teaching being given, and having heard it, rejoice. And having listened to the Dharma they get up and leave, and whether they go to a temple, a house, a forest, a street, a town, or the countryside, they explain those causes, those causal factors, that Dharma, to other beings just as they have heard it, just as they remember it, to the extent of their ability, whether it be to their father, mother, or relative, and to anyone else who will be pleased, with whom they are acquainted. Then suppose those other beings rejoice on having heard it, and having rejoiced they tell it to others who will rejoice on hearing it, and then those tell it to others, so that this Dharma teaching is passed on from one to another until it reaches a fiftieth person.

17.�4

�Ajita, thus suppose there is a person who is the fiftieth to hear it and rejoice after it has been passed on from one to another. Ajita, I shall describe the merit that is accumulated through such a noble man or noble woman�s rejoicing, so listen well and remember. [F.129.b]

17.�5

�Ajita, it is like this: Suppose there are four hundred thousand innumerable world realms in which there are beings that have been born into the six kinds of existence: that have been born from eggs, born from wombs, born from warm moisture, or born miraculously; beings with form and without form; beings with perception, without perception, and neither with nor without perception; beings with no legs, with two legs, with four legs, or with many legs‍�an entire multitude of beings that are included within that realm of beings, that have entered that realm of beings. Then a man appears there who wishes to create merit, who wishes to benefit others, and who gives to that multitude of beings lovely, beautiful, cherished, desired pleasures and enjoyments of happiness. In order that each of the beings that fill Jambudvīpa might enjoy what they desire, what they delight in, and what they take pleasure in, he gives them cowries, gold, silver, jewels, pearls, beryls, conch, crystal, corals, horse-drawn carriages, ox-drawn carriages, elephant-drawn carriages, palaces, and kūṭāgāras.

17.�6

�Ajita, this man, this lord of generosity, this lord of great generosity, gives these gifts in that way for eighty years. Then, Ajita, this man, this lord of generosity, this lord of great generosity thinks, �I have brought all these beings delights, pleasures, and happiness. These beings have now become old. They have white hair, are covered with wrinkles, are eighty years old and they are close to the time of their deaths. I shall introduce them to the Dharma�s guidance that has been taught by the Tathāgata and teach it to them.�

17.�7

�Then, Ajita, that man introduces those beings to the Dharma�s guidance that has been taught by the Tathāgata, [F.130.a] and when they have been introduced to the Dharma they listen to it, and having heard it for just one moment, just one instant, briefly, they attain the results of becoming stream entrants, once-returners, and nonreturners, up to becoming arhats, who have brought the defilements to cessation, become meditators, great meditators, and meditate on the eight liberations.

17.�8

�What do you think, Ajita? Would this man, this lord of generosity, this lord of great generosity, have generated vast countless immeasurable merit through that as a cause?�

17.�9

The bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya replied to the Bhagavān, �It is so, Bhagavān. It is so, Sugata. That man, that lord of generosity, that lord of great generosity, would have generated vast merit through that causal factor, through giving to those beings the things that bring happiness‍�not to speak, Bhagavān, of establishing them in the higher state of arhathood.�

17.�10

Then the Bhagavān said to bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya, �Ajita, I declare this to you,472 I make this known to you. There is the merit generated by that man, that lord of generosity, that lord of great generosity through providing the things that brought happiness to all the beings in four hundred thousand countless world realms, and establishing them in arhathood. There is also the amount of merit generated by the fiftieth person who heard and rejoiced in just one verse from this Dharma teaching, or rejoiced in just one line, after it had been passed from one to another. The amount of merit possessed by that person who rejoiced‍�who rejoiced in just one verse from this Dharma teaching or rejoiced in just one line‍�after it had been passed from one to another fifty times, would be far greater than the amount of merit gained by that man, that lord of generosity, that lord of great generosity through his generosity and establishing beings in arhathood. [F.130.b]

17.�11

�Ajita, the accumulation of merit through generosity and establishing beings in arhathood that was previously described does not equal a hundredth of the merit, of the good karma, accumulated from that rejoicing. It does not equal a thousandth, a hundred thousandth, a ten millionth, a thousand millionth, a ten thousand millionth, a million millionth, or even a hundred thousand quintillionth. That merit cannot be calculated‍�even a fraction of it cannot be calculated; there is no suitable analogy for it, and there is no suitable simile for it.

17.�12

�Ajita, that is the amount of merit generated by rejoicing in one verse or one line from this Dharma teaching by that fiftieth person, Ajita, not to mention someone who in my presence hears and rejoices in this Dharma teaching. Ajita, I teach that the accumulation of such merit is immeasurable, unquantifiable.

17.�13

�Ajita, the noble man or noble woman who, in order to listen to this Dharma teaching, leaves their home and goes to a temple, and having arrived there, whether standing or sitting, listens briefly to this Dharma teaching will create and accumulate such an accumulation of merit. Then when they depart from that life, in their next lifetime, they will have a life in which they acquire ox-drawn carriages, horse-drawn carriages, elephant-drawn carriages, palanquins, boats,473 bull-drawn carriages, and the airborne palaces of a deity.

17.�14

�If they sit down for just a moment where the Dharma of the sūtra is being taught and listen to this Dharma teaching, or make another person sit down, or share their seat with another being, through that merit they accumulate they will attain the throne of Śakra, the throne of Brahmā, and the lion throne of a cakravartin. [F.131.a]

17.�15

�Ajita, if a noble man or noble woman says to another person, �Hey, come here! Listen to this Dharma teaching called The White Lotus of the Good Dharma!� and if that person is inspired and comes, and if they listen for just a moment, through the roots of merit that are accumulated through having inspired that being, the noble man or woman will be among the company of bodhisattva mahāsattvas who have attained retention. They will not be stupid. They will have sharp faculties and be wise. For a hundred thousand lifetimes they will not have a foul-smelling mouth, bad breath, illness of the tongue, illness of the mouth, blackened teeth, uneven teeth, yellow teeth, disarranged teeth, broken teeth,474 lost teeth, crooked teeth, a prominent lower lip, thin lips, too wide lips, a cleft lip, crooked lips, dark lips, ugly lips, a flat nose, a crooked nose, a long face, a crooked face, a black face, or an ugly face.

17.�16

�Ajita, in that way they will have delicate and well-formed tongues, teeth, and lips, a prominent nose, a beautifully shaped face, lovely eyebrows, a well-formed forehead, and they will attain the complete features of a superior being. They will find the Tathāgata and the instructions he teaches, and will quickly be among the company of the buddha bhagavāns.

�Ajita, see the amount of merit that is generated by inspiring just one being, let alone by one who respectfully listens to, respectfully reads, respectfully teaches, and respectfully elucidates this Dharma teaching.� [F.131.b]

17.�17

Thereupon the Bhagavān spoke these verses:

�Listen to the extent of merit that arises

When someone hears one verse of this sūtra

And is the fiftieth in its transmission from one to another,

And having heard it appreciates it and rejoices. {2}

17.�18

�As in the parable that I have previously narrated,

There appears a person who is a lord of generosity

Who for eighty years, continually,

Brings satisfaction to a quintillion beings. {3}

17.�19

�Then, when he sees that they have become old,

Covered in wrinkles, and their hair has turned white

He thinks, �Oh, I shall teach the Dharma

To all of these afflicted beings!� {4}

17.�20

�He subsequently teaches them the Dharma,

Telling them of the state of nirvāṇa:

�All existences are like foam and mirages.

Quickly turn your minds away from all existences!� {5}

17.�21

�All those beings, having heard the Dharma

Directly from that man of generosity,

Cease their defilements and in that last life of theirs

They all simultaneously attain arhathood. {6}

17.�22

�The amount of merit that comes from rejoicing

On hearing a single verse that has been passed on from one to another,

That amount of merit is far greater than the merit previously described,

Which does not equal even a fraction of it. {7}

17.�23

�In that way there is a vast amount of merit

That is limitless, that is beyond measure,

For one who hears one verse that has been passed on,

Let alone someone who has heard it directly from me. {8}

17.�24

�If someone inspires just one being

By saying, �This sūtra is very hard to find,

Even in many quintillions of eons,

So come and listen to the Dharma!� {9}

17.�25

�And if that being, having been inspired,

Listens for a moment to this sūtra,

Then hear what are the results of that action:475 {10}

They will never have a malady of the mouth,

17.�26

�Their tongue will never be affected by illness,

They will never lose their teeth,

Which will not be black, yellow, uneven, or crooked,

And they will never have ugly lips. {11}

17.�27

�Their face will not be crooked, thin, or long,

And they will never have a flat nose. [F.132.a]

Their nose, forehead, teeth, lips, and face

Will all be perfectly formed. {12}

17.�28

�People will see them as attractive.

There will be no rotten smell from their mouth,

But always a pleasant scent like a blue lotus‍�

That is the aroma that will come from their mouth. {13}

17.�29

�If heroes go from their home to the temple,

Arriving there in order to listen to the sūtra,

And having arrived there, listen to the Dharma briefly,

The result of having such faith is as follows: {14}

17.�30

�They will have a body that will be very white.

Those constant ones will travel by horse-drawn carriage.

They will travel seated in an elephant-drawn carriage

That is adorned by jewels. {15}

17.�31

�They will obtain an adorned palanquin

That will be carried by many men.

This is the kind of result of good karma

That comes from going to listen to the Dharma. {16}

17.�32

�Through the good karma that is created

By being seated in the midst of the assembly,

They will attain the throne of Brahmā,

The throne of a king, and the throne of Śakra.� {17}

17.�33

This concludes �Teaching the Merit of Rejoicing,� the seventeenth chapter of the Dharma teaching of �The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.� [B11]

Chapter 18: THE BENEFITS OF THE PURITY OF THE SIX ĀYATANAS

18.�1

Then the Bhagavān said to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Satata�samitābhiyukta, �If any noble man or noble woman possesses, reads, teaches, or asks questions about this Dharma teaching, that noble man or noble woman will gain eight hundred qualities of the eyes, will gain twelve hundred qualities of the nose, will gain eight hundred qualities of the ears, will gain twelve hundred qualities of the tongue, will gain eight hundred qualities of the body, and will gain twelve hundred qualities of mind.

18.�2

�Through those many hundreds of qualities the combination476 of the six sensory faculties will be purified, completely purified. The purified faculty of the eye, the ordinary physical eyes that have come from the father and mother, [F.132.b] will see the outside and inside of the world realm of a thousand million worlds, with its mountains477 and forests, seeing all as far down as the Avīci hell and as far upward as the summit of existence. With ordinary eyes of flesh they will see all the birthplaces of beings, and know the ripening of their karma.�

18.�3

Thereupon the Bhagavān spoke these verses:

�Hear from me what are the qualities in store

For those who fearlessly teach this sūtra

In the middle of an assembly,

Teaching it without idleness. {1}

18.�4

�Their eyes will be beautified

By eight hundred qualities.

Therefore those eyes will be stainless,

Unpolluted, and pure. {2}

18.�5

�With the physical eyes

That have come from their parents

They will see the entire world realm,

From the outside and from the inside. {3}

18.�6

�They will see all of the Merus,

Sumerus, and Cakravālas;

So, too, will they also see

The other well-known mountains,478 and the oceans. {4}

18.�7

�Those wise ones will see everything,

From as far down as the Avīci hell

To as high up as the summit of existence;

That is what their physical eyes will be like. {5}

18.�8

�They will still not have divine eyes

And so they will not have that knowledge.

But that is the way it will be

For the field of vision of their physical eyes. {6}

18.�9

�Moreover, Satata�samitābhiyukta, the noble man or noble woman who teaches and explains to others this Dharma teaching will have those twelve hundred qualities of the ears. They will hear all the outer and inner sounds that arise in the world realm of a thousand million worlds, from as far down as the Avīci hell to as high up as the summit of existence, such as the sounds of elephants, the sounds of horses, the sounds of camels, the sounds of oxen, the sounds of goats, the sounds of carts, the sounds of weeping, the sounds of misery, the sounds of fear, [F.133.a] the sounds of conches, the sounds of bells, the sounds of drums, the sounds of play, the sounds of song, the sounds of music, the sounds of men, the sounds of women, the sounds of boys, the sounds of girls, the sounds of the Dharma, the sounds of that which is not the Dharma, the sounds of happiness, the sounds of suffering, the sounds of fools, the sounds of the āryas, the sounds that are pleasant, the sounds that are unpleasant, the sounds of devas, the sounds of nāgas, the sounds of yakṣas, the sounds of gandharvas, the sounds of asuras, the sounds of garuḍas, the sounds of kinnaras, the sounds of fire, the sounds of water, the sounds of the air, the sounds of villages, the sounds of towns, the sounds of bhikṣus, the sounds of śrāvakas, the sounds of pratyeka�buddhas, the sounds of bodhisattvas, and the sounds of tathāgatas‍�all the sounds that arise outside and inside within a world realm of a thousand million worlds.

18.�10

�Although they will not yet have accomplished divine hearing, they will understand the sounds of each and every being and be able to differentiate them and understand them by listening with that ordinary faculty of the ears. That faculty of the ears will hear the sounds that the various beings make but the faculty of hearing will not be overwhelmed by all those sounds. Satata�samitābhiyukta, the bodhisattva mahāsattvas will acquire that kind of sense of hearing, but will not yet at that time have attained divine hearing.�

18.�11

As soon as the Tathāgata had said these words, the Teacher added these verses:

�Their ordinary faculty of hearing

Will becomes unpolluted and purified

And they will hear without exception

The many different sounds in this world realm. {7}

18.�12

�They will hear the sounds of elephants and horses,

And of carriages, oxen, goats, and sheep,

Of bherī drums and mṛdaṅga drums,

Vīṇas, flutes, and vallakīs. [F.133.b] {8}

18.�13

�They will hear sweet, melodious song,

But the constant ones will have no attachment.

They will hear the millions of voices of humans,

Whatever479 they say and wherever they say it. {9}

18.�14

�They will continually hear the voices of the devas

And their sweet and melodious songs.480

They will hear the voices of men and women,

And also the voices of boys and girls. {10}

18.�15

�They will hear where they are the beautiful songs

Of cuckoos, peacocks, and avadavats,

Partridges and other birds

Living in the mountains or in caves. {11}

18.�16

�They will hear the dreadful cries

Of beings who are suffering in the hells

And the sounds that are made by pretas

Tormented by the suffering of no food. {12}

18.�17

�They will hear the voices of the asuras,

Those who dwell in the ocean, and others.

Those dharmabhāṇakas, while staying where they are,

Will hear all those sounds without being overwhelmed. {13}

18.�18

�While staying where they are they will hear

The multitude of different sounds

That those born as animals make

When they communicate with each other. {14}

18.�19

�They will hear, without exception,

All that is said between the devas

In the realm of Brahmā,

In Akaniṣṭha, and Ābhāsvara. {15}

18.�20

�They will continually hear the voices

Of those bhikṣus who are mendicants in the Sugata�s teaching

And are performing their daily recitation,

And those who are teaching the Dharma to assemblies. {16}

18.�21

�They will hear separately all the voices

Of bodhisattvas in this world realm

Doing daily recitations or speaking with each other,

And whatever it is they say about the Dharma. {17}

18.�22

�The bodhisattvas who possess this sūtra

Will also hear at the very same time

A buddha bhagavān, a trainer and leader of beings,

Teaching the highest Dharma to his assembly. {18}

18.�23

�The multitude of sounds that beings emit

Throughout all these thousand million worlds, [F.134.a]

Whether they are inside somewhere or outside,

As far down as Avīci and up to the summit of existence, {19}

18.�24

�They will hear all those sounds made by beings

Without their hearing being obstructed.

Their faculty will be clear and they will know each place of origin,

And that will be the nature of their ordinary hearing faculty. {20}

18.�25

�They will not yet have the divine hearing;

Their ordinary hearing faculty will be like this.

The ones who fearlessly possess this sūtra

Will acquire such qualities as these. {21}

18.�26

�Moreover, Satata�samitābhiyukta, the bodhisattva mahāsattvas who possess this Dharma teaching, teach it, recite it, or write it will have the eight hundred qualities of the nose; the sensory faculty of their nose will be completely purified.

�That completely pure nasal faculty will sense the multitude of different smells, both inside and outside in the world realm of a thousand million worlds, such as rotten smells, pleasant smells, and unpleasant smells.

�They will smell the scents of different flowers, namely, the scents of royal jasmine, jasmine, magnolias, and bignonia flowers.

18.�27

�They will smell the scent of water-borne flowers, namely, the scents of blue lotuses, red lotuses, night lotuses, and white lotuses.

�They will smell the scent of the flowers of various fruit- and flower-bearing trees, and the scent of fruits, namely, the scents of sandalwood, bay leaves, valerian, and agarwood.

�If there are a hundred thousand aromas in one place they will smell them all and know them all.

18.�28

�They will also smell the many different scents of animals, namely, the scents of elephants, horses, oxen, goats, sheep, and cattle.

�They will smell the scents of the bodies of many different kinds of creatures reborn as animals.

�They will smell the scents of the bodies of men and of women. They will smell the scents of the bodies of boys and girls. They will smell the scents of grasses, bushes, [F.134.b] herbs, and forests that are far away. They will smell them correctly and know what they are, but they will not be fascinated by those smells; they will not be intoxicated by them.

18.�29

�While being here in this world, they will smell the scents of the devas, namely, the scents of the divine night-flowering jasmine, orchid tree, coral tree, great coral tree, spider lily, and great spider lily flowers. They will smell the scents of a hundred thousand different kinds of divine flowers and know their names.

�They will smell the scents of the bodies of the devas; namely, they will smell the scent of the body of Śakra, lord of devas, and know if he is enjoying amusements and pleasures in Vaijayanta, his palace; if he is teaching the Dharma to the devas of Trāyastriṃśa in Sudharma, the assembly hall of the devas; or if he has come into the park there for pleasure. They will also smell the scents of the bodies of other devas. They will also smell the scents of the bodies of the deva maidens and the deva wives. They will also smell the scents of the bodies of the deva boys. They will also smell the scents of the bodies of the deva girls. They will not be fascinated by those smells, or intoxicated by them.

18.�30

�In that way they will smell the scents of the bodies of beings up to the summit of existence. They will smell the scents of bodies of the Brahmakāyika devas and of the Mahābrahmās. In that way they will smell the scents of the bodies of all classes of devas.

�They will smell the scents of the bodies of śrāvakas, pratyeka�buddhas, bodhisattvas, and tathāgatas. They will smell the scents of the thrones of the tathāgatas. They will know where the tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas are seated. Their nasal faculty will not be overwhelmed, impaired, or damaged by those multitudes of smells.� [F.135.a]

18.�31

Thereupon the Bhagavān spoke these verses:

�The nasal faculty will be purified

And they will smell the many kinds of smells,

The pleasant and unpleasant smells that there are

In this entire realm of worlds, {22}

18.�32

�The scent of jasmine and royal jasmine,

Sandalwood and bay leaves,

Valerian and agarwood,

And many kinds of flowers and fruits. {23}

18.�33

�In that way they will know the smells of beings,

Those of men and of women who are far away.

And by the smells of boys and of girls

They will know where they are located. {24}

18.�34

�They will know the smells of cakravartin kings,

Bala�cakra�vartin kings, and rulers of regions.

In the same way they will know the smells of

The princes, the princesses, and the harems. {25}

18.�35

�The bodhisattvas will know through their smells

The many kinds of jewels that are enjoyed:

Those that have been deposited under the ground

And those that are owned by women. {26}

18.�36

�The bodhisattvas will know through their smells

Whatever are used as adornments,

The different materials that are worn on the body:

Clothing, garlands, ointments, and perfumes. {27}

18.�37

�The ones who possess this supreme sūtra,

Those resolute ones will know through the power of smell

All481 who are standing, sitting, or lying down,

Enjoying pleasures, or in possession of miraculous powers.482 {28}

18.�38

�Similarly, they will instantly smell

The aroma of perfumed sesame oil

And the various aromas of fruits and flowers,

And know the particular places those aromas are. {29}

18.�39

�The wise ones will know from their scents

The multitudes of blossomed sandalwood trees

In the various declivities of mountains,

And the various beings that dwell among them. {30}

18.�40

�The wise ones will know from their scents

Those beings who dwell on the Cakravāla mountains,

Those who dwell in the middle of the ocean,

And those who dwell in the center of the earth. {31} [F.135.b]

18.�41

�In that way, through the power of their nose

They will know the devas and asuras,

And they will know the asura maidens,

And know the delights of the asuras. {32}

18.�42

�Through their sense of smell they will know the dwellings

Of the four-legged animals in the forests:

The lions, tigers, and likewise, supreme elephants,

Wild water buffalo, oxen, and gaurs. {33}

18.�43

�They will know through their smells

Those women who are pregnant

And whether it is a boy or a girl

Carried inside their weary bodies. {34}

18.�44

�They will know that a being has entered the womb.

They will know if that being is going to be destroyed.

They will know if the woman is going to be free of suffering

And will give birth to a meritorious boy. {35}

18.�45

�In that way they will smell the aromas of wishes483

And know the many wishes of people.

They will also smell the aromas of desire,

Anger, hypocrisy, and peaceful minds. {36}

18.�46

�The bodhisattvas will know from their aromas

Whatever treasures there are in the earth:

Chests of iron that are filled with wealth‍�

With gold, with silver, and with cowries. {37}

18.�47

�They will know through their aromas

All pearls, jewels, short and long necklaces,

Priceless jewels of many kinds,

And their names and lusters. {38}

18.�48

�In the same way, the heroes, while in this world,

Will smell the divine flowers that are above,

Which are the coral tree, the spider lily,

And the night-flowering jasmine flowers. {39}

18.�49

�While in this world, through their nasal faculty

They will smell the aromas of the airborne palaces,

The greater, the medium, and the lesser,

And whatever kinds of forms they have. {40}

18.�50

�They will know also where the devas are‍�

The park, Sudharma, or Vaijayanta‍�

And in that way know the excellent palaces

In which the devas are enjoying delights. {41}

18.�51

�While in this world, through smelling aromas

They will know through those aromas

Where the devas are and what they are doing,

Whether they are sitting, walking, or lying down. {42} [F.136.a]

18.�52

�The bodhisattvas will know through their smells

The bodies of deva maidens beautified by many flowers,

Wherever they go, wherever they enjoy themselves,

Adorned and beautified by constantly worn garlands. {43}

18.�53

�And they will also know through their aromas

The devas above, up to the summit of existence;

Brahmās and Mahābrahmās traveling in their airborne palaces;

And those resting in dhyāna and those who have arisen from it. {44}

18.�54

�They will know the devas of Ābhāsvara,

Their deaths and rebirth, and those there for the first time.

That is what the sense of smell will be like

For bodhisattvas who possess this sūtra. {45}

18.�55

�Those bodhisattvas will know every one

Of the bhikṣus who, whether walking or sitting,

Are dedicated to the Sugata�s teaching,

The bhikṣus who delight in reciting the scripture. {46}

18.�56

�The wise ones will know by their aroma

All śrāvakas, the sons of the jinas‍�

Some of whom stay always at the foot of a tree‍�

Thinking, �That bhikṣu is in that place.� {47}

18.�57

�The bodhisattvas will know by their aromas

The bodhisattvas with mindfulness and dhyāna

Who are constantly reciting the scriptures

And teaching the Dharma in the assemblies. {48}

18.�58

�They will know a lord of the world through his aroma:

A sugata, a great muni, who in whatever direction

Is teaching the Dharma with compassionate altruism

In the midst of a śrāvaka saṅgha that is looking at him. {49}

18.�59

�The bodhisattvas while in this world will know

Also all of the followers of a jina,

Those beings who listen to his Dharma,

And having heard it are overjoyed. {50}

18.�60

�That is the power of smell that they will acquire,

But they still will not have the divine sense of smell.

They will have that which is the forerunner

Of the immaculate divine sense of smell. {51}

18.�61

�Moreover, Satata�samitābhiyukta, the noble man or noble woman who possesses this Dharma teaching, teaches it, explains it, and has it written out [F.136.b] will attain twelve hundred qualities of the sensory faculty of the tongue.

18.�62

�With that sense of the tongue, whatever taste is experienced, whatever taste is perceived, and any taste with which the sensory organ of the tongue comes into contact, will all become an excellent divine taste. Any delightful taste that has not been experienced before will be experienced. Whatever taste is unpleasant will be transformed, when it comes in contact with the tongue, into a divine flavor.

18.�63

�When they teach the Dharma in the midst of an assembly, they will bring pleasure to the senses of those beings. They will be satisfied, completely satisfied and overjoyed. The words they hear will be beautiful, delightful, and profound. They will touch the heart and be beloved. They will make those beings happy and they will rejoice.

18.�64

�Whenever they teach the Dharma to anyone, the devas, hearing the beautiful, delightful sound, will come to them so as to see them, pay homage to them, honor them, and listen to the Dharma. Male and female devas will wish to come to them so as to see them, pay homage to them, honor them, and listen to the Dharma. Śakras, Brahmās, and Brahmakāyika devas will wish to come to them so as to see them, pay homage to them, honor them, and listen to the Dharma. Male and female nāgas will wish to come to them so as to see them, pay homage to them, honor them, and listen to the Dharma. Male and female garuḍas will wish to come to them so as to see them, pay homage to them, honor them, and listen to the Dharma. Male and female kinnaras, male and female mahoragas,484 male and female yakṣas, and male and female piśācas will wish to come to them so as to see them, pay homage to them, honor them, and listen to the Dharma. They will revere them, venerate them, admire them, make offerings to them, praise485 them, and show them respect.

18.�65

�They will also wish to see the bhikṣus and bhikṣuṇīs, and the upāsakas and upāsikās. [F.137.a] They will wish to see the kings, the princes, and the king�s ministers. They will wish to see and to revere the bala�cakra�vartin king, the cakravartin who possesses the seven jewels, with his princes, his ministers, his harem, and his attendants.

�Those dharmabhāṇakas will teach the beautiful Dharma exactly as it was spoken by the Tathāgata. Brahmins, householders, and other people of the towns486 and the land will always, continuously be their followers, and attendants of the dharmabhāṇakas, until the end of their lives.

18.�66

�The Tathāgata�s śrāvakas will also wish to see them. The pratyeka�buddhas will also wish to see them. The buddha bhagavāns will also wish to see them.

�Wherever that noble man or noble woman is, they will be teaching the Dharma in the presence487 of the Tathāgata. They will have become vessels for the Buddha�s Dharma. They will emit the profound, beautiful words of the Dharma.�

18.�67

Thereupon the Bhagavān spoke these verses:

�The faculty of their tongue will be excellent:

They will never experience an inferior taste,

For as soon as there is contact with it, food will become divine

And acquire a divine flavor. {52}

18.�68

�They will speak with a voice that is gentle and pleasant,

Beautiful and pleasing to the ear.

In the midst of the assembly they will always teach

With profound words that bring delight, {53}

18.�69

�Whoever hears the Dharma that they teach, [F.137.b]

By means of many quintillions of parables,

Will experience there the greatest joy

And make countless offerings. {54}

18.�70

�Devas, nāgas, asuras, and guhyakas

Will wish to always look upon them

And they will listen to the Dharma with great reverence:

They will have all those qualities. {55}

18.�71

�If they wish it, in this world realm

Everyone will hear their voice.

Their pleasant, sweet, profound,

And beautiful words will bring them joy. {56}

18.�72

�The cakravartin sovereign kings

Will come before them to make offerings.

With their children and wives, hands together in homage,

They will constantly listen to the Dharma. {57}

18.�73

�Crowds of yakṣas, nāgas, and gandharvas

Will constantly be honoring them.

Male and female piśācas will honor them,

Revere them, and make offerings to them. {58}

18.�74

�Even Brahmā will be obedient to them.

Maheśvara, the deva Īśvara,

Śakra, and similarly other devas‍�

A multitude of devas will come to them. {59}

18.�75

�The buddhas, the compassionate benefiters of the world,

And their śrāvakas will hear their voices,

Reveal their faces to them, protect them,

And be pleased with their teaching of the Dharma. {60}

18.�76

�Moreover, Satata�samitābhiyukta, the bodhisattva mahāsattvas who possess this Dharma, read it, teach it, explain it, or write it out, will attain eight hundred qualities of the body. Their bodies will be purified. Their skin will be the pure color of beryl, and will bring happiness to those beings who see it.

18.�77

�They will see the world realm of a thousand million worlds within their purified bodies. They will see in their bodies all the beings in the world realm of a thousand million worlds, whether they are dying or being born, good or bad, of a good color or a bad color, in the higher existences or the lower existences, dwelling on the Cakravāla or Mahācakravāla Mountains, [F.138.a] on the kings of mountains, Meru or Sumeru, or who live as far down below as the Avīci hell or as high above as the summit of existence.

18.�78

�They will see in their own bodies the bodies that have been attained by the śrāvakas, pratyeka�buddhas, bodhisattvas, and tathāgatas who are present in the world realm of a thousand million worlds, and of those to whom the tathāgatas are teaching the Dharma, and the beings who are honoring those tathāgatas. Why is that? It is because their bodies will have become completely purified.�

18.�79

Thereupon the Bhagavān spoke these verses:

�The ones who possess this vast sūtra

Will have bodies that are completely purified,

As pure as if they were made of beryl

And will always bring joy to the beings who see them. {61}

18.�80

�Just as a reflection appears in a clean488 mirror,

In that way they will see the worlds appear in their bodies.

They, the self-arisen ones, will see that and no other being;

That is what these purified bodies will be like. {62}

18.�81

�They will see within their bodies the images of

Whatever beings there are in this world realm:

Humans, devas, asuras, and guhyakas,

Hell beings, pretas, and those born as animals. {63}

18.�82

�In that way they will see in their bodies

All the airborne palaces of devas up to the summit of existence,

The mountains of rock, the Cakravāla mountains,

The Himalayas, Sumeru, and the great Meru. {64}

18.�83

�In that way they will see the buddhas in their bodies,

With their śrāvakas and other offspring of the buddhas,

The bodhisattvas who are dwelling alone,

And those teaching the Dharma among crowds. {65}

18.�84

�They will acquire that kind of pure body,

In which appears the entire world realm. [F.138.b]

They will still not have acquired the divine body;

Such will be their natural body. {66}

18.�85

�Moreover, Satata�samitābhiyukta, the bodhisattva mahāsattvas who possess this Dharma, read it, teach it, explain it, or write it out will attain twelve hundred qualities of mental activity, and their mental faculty will be purified. Those who have a purified mental faculty will understand many meanings from hearing just one verse. And, comprehending that, they will be able to teach it for a month, for four months, or for a year. They will never forget any Dharma that they have been taught. They will be able to apply to the Dharma all of the world�s languages, incantations, and mundane terminology. They will know all the movement and activity in the minds of all those beings born in the six classes of existence in the world realm of a thousand million worlds.

18.�86

�Even though they will not yet have attained the wisdom of the āryas, they will still have acquired that kind of purified mental faculty. Whatever Dharma definition they have contemplated, they will teach, and they will teach all of that correctly. They will teach all that the Tathāgata has taught. They will teach all the Dharma teachings taught by the jinas of the past.�

18.�87

Thereupon the Bhagavān spoke these verses:

�Their mental faculty will become pure,

Clear, bright, and unobscured.

They will know the many kinds of phenomena:

The good, the bad, and the neutral. {67}

18.�88

�When the resolute ones hear one verse

They will know many meanings within it.

They will be able to teach that correctly and consistently,

Continually for four months or a year. [F.139.a] {68}

18.�89

�The devas, humans, asuras, and guhyakas,

The nāgas and those born as animals,

The beings dwelling in this world realm,

Whether they are outside or inside‍� {69}

18.�90

�All those beings who dwell in the six existences‍�

Whatever kinds of thoughts they have,

The wise ones will know them all in one instant.

These are the benefits from possessing this sūtra. {70}

18.�91

�The Dharma that is taught in all worlds by

The Buddha who has the signs of hundreds of merits,

They will hear even those completely pure words,

And they will remember everything that has been taught. {71}

18.�92

�They will contemplate many supreme dharmas.

They will always teach many dharmas,

And they will never have any confusion.

These are the benefits from possessing this sūtra. {72}

18.�93

�They will know the major and minor connections

And the differing qualities within all the dharmas.

They will know the meanings and the definitions,

And they will teach exactly what it is they know. {73}

18.�94

�Without being timorous, in the center of the assembly

They will always give the teaching of the Dharma

That is the sūtra that has been taught in this world

For a long time by previous masters of the world. {74}

18.�95

�Their mental faculty will become like that

Through possessing and reading this sūtra.

They will still not have attained unimpeded wisdom,

But this is what will presage it. {75}

18.�96

�The holders of this sūtra of the Sugata

Will reach the level of an ācārya,

Teach the Dharma to all beings,

And be skilled in millions of definitions.� {76}

18.�97

This concludes �The Benefits of the Purity of the Six Āyatanas,� the eighteenth chapter of the Dharma teaching of �The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.�

Chapter 19: SADĀPARIBHŪTA

19.�1

Then the Bhagavān said to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Mahā�sthāma�prāpta, �Mahā�sthāma�prāpta, you should know that this Dharma teaching is like this: Whoever rejects this Dharma teaching, and scolds, rebukes, and speaks crudely489 and harshly to the bhikṣus, [F.139.b] bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, and upāsikās who possess such a sūtra as this, will experience the undesirable result ripening from that, which is that they will be unable to speak words. Whoever possesses such a sūtra as this, reads it, studies it, teaches it, and teaches it extensively to others will have the desirable result ripening from that, which is, as I have said before, that they will attain purified eyes, nose, ears, tongue, body, and mind.

19.�2

�Mahā�sthāma�prāpta, in the past, in a time gone by, countless, innumerable, incalculable, vast asaṃkhyeya eons ago, at that time, in that era, in the Vinirbhoga eon, in the world realm Mahāsaṃbhavā, there appeared in the world the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha, the one with perfect wisdom and conduct, the sugata, the knower of the world, the unsurpassable guide who tamed beings, the teacher of gods and humans, the buddha, the bhagavān named Bhīṣma�garjita�svara�rāja.

19.�3

�Mahā�sthāma�prāpta, the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Bhīṣma�garjita�svara�rāja, in that world realm Mahāsaṃbhavā, taught the Dharma before the world with its devas, humans, and asuras in this way: To the śrāvakas he taught the Dharma conjoined with the four truths of the āryas, and nirvāṇa as the ultimate goal, as well as the process of dependent origination, in order that they might transcend birth, aging, sickness, death, misery, lamentation, suffering, unhappiness, and distress.490 To the bodhisattva mahāsattvas he taught the Dharma that commences with the highest, complete enlightenment conjoined with the six perfections, and concludes with omniscient wisdom. [F.140.a]

19.�4

�Mahā�sthāma�prāpta, the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Bhīṣma�garjita�svara�rāja�s lifespan was a hundred thousand quintillion eons, as numerous as the grains of sand in four Ganges Rivers. After he passed into nirvāṇa, his Dharma remained for hundreds of thousands of quintillions of eons, as numerous as the atoms in Jambudvīpa. The outer form of his Dharma remained for hundreds of thousands of quintillions of eons, as numerous as the atoms in four continents.

19.�5

�Then, Mahā�sthāma�prāpta, after both the Dharma and the outer form of the Dharma of the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Bhīṣma�garjita�svara�rāja, who had passed into nirvāṇa, had ceased to exist, another tathāgata, arhat, perfectly enlightened buddha Bhīṣma�garjita�svara�rāja appeared in the world realm Mahāsaṃbhavā.

�Mahā�sthāma�prāpta, in that way, one after another, there appeared two million quintillion tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas named Bhīṣma�garjita�svara�rāja in the world realm Mahāsaṃbhavā.

19.�6

�Mahā�sthāma�prāpta, in the Vinirbhoga eon, in the world realm Mahāsaṃbhavā, when the bhagavān who was the first tathāgata, arhat, perfectly enlightened buddha, one with perfect wisdom and conduct, sugata, knower of the world, unsurpassable guide who tamed beings, teacher of gods and humans, buddha, bhagavān named Bhīṣma�garjita�svara�rāja had passed into nirvāṇa, [F.140.b] his Dharma had ceased to exist, and the outer form of his Dharma was coming to an end; his teachings were being trodden down by arrogant bhikṣus. Then there appeared a bodhisattva mahāsattva bhikṣu named Sadāparibhūta.

19.�7

�Mahā�sthāma�prāpta, why was that bodhisattva mahāsattva named Sadāparibhūta?

�Mahā�sthāma�prāpta, whenever that bodhisattva mahāsattva saw a bhikṣu or bhikṣuṇī, an upāsaka or upasikā, he would come before them and say, �I do not ridicule you, brothers and sisters. You are not ridiculous. Why is that? It is because you have all been practicing bodhisattva conduct and you will all become tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas.�

19.�8

�Mahā�sthāma�prāpta, in this way, whenever that bodhisattva mahāsattva bhikṣu saw a being, even if he was far away, he would come before them and make that proclamation. He did not recite scripture or a daily recitation, but would come before a bhikṣu or bhikṣuṇī, an upāsaka or upasikā and say, �I do not ridicule you, brothers and sisters. You are not ridiculous. Why is that? It is because you have all been practicing bodhisattva conduct and you will all become tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas.�

19.�9

�Mahā�sthāma�prāpta, when that bodhisattva mahāsattva bhikṣu made that proclamation before a bhikṣu or bhikṣuṇī, an upāsaka or upasikā, or anyone, most of them became angry, malicious, and disbelieving. They abused and scolded him, thinking, �Why does this bhikṣu, without our asking, [F.141.a] say that he does not intend to ridicule us? And yet he does ridicule us, because he gives us a prophecy of our highest, complete enlightenment, without our having thought of it or wished for it.�

19.�10

�Mahāsthāmaprāpta, that bodhisattva mahāsattva spent many years being scolded and abused in that way, but he never had any anger or malice toward anyone. When he made such a proclamation and they threw clods and and sticks at him, he would call to them with a loud voice from a distance, saying, �I do not ridicule you!� Therefore the arrogant bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, and upāsikās to whom he constantly made his proclamations gave him the name Sadāparibhūta.

19.�11

�Mahā�sthāma�prāpta, when the bodhisattva mahāsattva Sadāparibhūta was near death, when he was dying, he heard this Dharma teaching The White Lotus of the Good Dharma. The tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Bhīṣma�garjita�svara�rāja had taught this Dharma teaching in twenty hundred thousand quintillion times a hundred thousand trillion491 verses. The bodhisattva mahāsattva Sadāparibhūta, when he was dying, when he was near death, heard from the air the words of this Dharma teaching. Without anyone speaking, he heard these words from the air. He remembered this Dharma teaching and attained pure eyes, a pure nose, pure ears, a pure tongue, a pure body, and a pure mind. As soon as he had attained those purities, he empowered his composite life to continue for a further twenty hundred thousand quintillion years and proclaimed widely this Dharma teaching.

19.�12

�Those arrogant bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, and upāsikās [F.141.b] to whom he had previously said, �I am not ridiculing you,� and who gave him the name Sadāparibhūta, when they saw the might of the power of his miracles, the might of the power of his commitment, the might of the power of his eloquence, and the great might of the power of his wisdom, they became his followers in order to listen to the Dharma.

�He also taught many hundreds of thousands of quintillions of other beings, and they were all introduced to the highest, complete enlightenment.

19.�13

�Mahā�sthāma�prāpta, that bodhisattva mahāsattva, having passed away from that life, then pleased twenty thousand million tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas who were all named Bhīṣma�garjita�svara�rāja, and in all those times he taught this Dharma teaching. Through that previous root of merit he eventually pleased twenty thousand million tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas who were all named Meghasvararāja, and in all those times he possessed this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma and taught it to the fourfold assemblies. In all those times he possessed pure eyes. He also possessed a pure nose, pure ears, a pure tongue, a pure body, and a pure mind.

19.�14

�Mahā�sthāma�prāpta, that bodhisattva mahāsattva Sadāparibhūta revered, venerated, worshiped, made offerings to, praised,492 and showed respect to many hundreds of thousands of quintillions of tathāgatas. [F.142.a] He revered, venerated, worshiped, made offerings to, and praised493 many hundreds of thousands of quintillions of buddhas. In all those times he possessed this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma. Through the ripening of his previous root of merit, he attained the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood.

19.�15

�Mahā�sthāma�prāpta, the one known by the fourfold assemblies as Sadāparibhūta at the time, on that occasion of the teaching of the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Bhīṣma�garjita�svara�rāja, pleased that number of tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas. If you doubt, are uncertain, are unsure, or are wondering if the bodhisattva mahāsattva Sadāparibhūta was someone else, then, Mahā�sthāma�prāpta, do not have such a view. Why not? Because at that time, on that occasion, I was the bodhisattva mahāsattva Sadāparibhūta.

19.�16

�Mahā�sthāma�prāpta, if I had not previously obtained and possessed this Dharma teaching I would not have quickly attained the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood in this way.

19.�17

�Mahā�sthāma�prāpta, in that way I obtained this Dharma teaching directly from the tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas of the past, and read it and taught it. That is why I quickly attained the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood.

19.�18

�Mahā�sthāma�prāpta, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Sadāparibhūta proclaimed this Dharma teaching, which had been taught by the Bhagavān, to many hundreds of bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, and upāsikās, saying, �I do not ridicule you. [F.142.b] You have all been practicing bodhisattva conduct and you will all become tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas.�

19.�19

�Those who felt malice toward that bodhisattva did not see a tathāgata, nor hear the word Dharma, nor hear the word saṅgha for twenty thousand million eons. They experienced the unendurable suffering of the great Avīci hell for ten thousand eons. When they were all freed from that obscuration of karma, that bodhisattva mahāsattva ripened them for the highest, complete enlightenment.

19.�20

�Mahā�sthāma�prāpta, if you doubt, are uncertain, are unsure, or are wondering who at that time, on that occasion, were the beings who disparaged and censured that bodhisattva mahāsattva, Mahā�sthāma�prāpta, they are the five hundred bodhisattvas such as Bhadrapāla, and the five hundred bhikṣuṇīs, such as Siṃhacandrā, and the five hundred upāsikās, such as Sugatacetanā, who are in this assembly, who are all irreversibly progressing to the highest, complete enlightenment.

19.�21

�Mahā�sthāma�prāpta, there is that kind of great benefit from the aggregation of merit acquired by those who possess and teach this Dharma teaching. It causes the bodhisattva mahāsattvas to attain the highest, complete enlightenment.

�Therefore, Mahā�sthāma�prāpta, when I, the Tathāgata, have passed into nirvāṇa, the bodhisattva mahāsattvas should continuously possess this Dharma teaching, teach it, read it, and explain it.�

19.�22

Thereupon the Bhagavān spoke these verses:

�I remember a time in the past [F.143.a]

When there appeared Bhīṣma�garjita�svara�rāja,

The guide of devas, humans, yakṣas, and rākṣasas.

Devas and humans made offerings to that great muni. {1}

19.�23

�When that jina had passed into nirvāṇa,

In the final stage of the disarray of the Dharma

There appeared a bodhisattva bhikṣu,

And his name was Sadāparibhūta. {2}

19.�24

�He came before other bhikṣus, and similarly

Those who believed in objective truth,

Saying, �I would never ridicule you.

You are practicing for the highest enlightenment.� {3}

19.�25

�He made this proclamation,

Always enduring abuse and condemnation.

When he was dying,

He heard this sūtra. {4}

19.�26

�Then the wise one did not die at that time

And his life was empowered to be extremely long,

And within the teaching of that Guide,

In that time he taught this sūtra. {5}

19.�27

�He even ripened for enlightenment

All those who had the view of objective truth.

Then, after that bodhisattva passed away,

He pleased thousands of millions of buddhas. {6}

19.�28

�Through that merit he created

He always taught this sūtra, and finally

That bodhisattva attained enlightenment,

And he was me, Śākyamuni. {7}

19.�29

�In that time the wise one proclaimed enlightenment

To the bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas,

And upāsikās who were there at that time,

And who held the view of objective reality. {8}

19.�30

�They saw many millions of buddhas;

Those who numbered no fewer than five hundred,

Are the bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs,

and upāsakas present before me now. {9}

19.�31

�They all heard from me the highest Dharma

And it was I who ripened them all.

When I am in nirvāṇa, all these heroes

Will be holders in this world of this highest sūtra. {10}

19.�32

�For many millions of endless eons

This kind of Dharma will never be heard.

Even though billions of buddhas appear

This sūtra will not be taught by them. {11} [F.143.b]

19.�33

�Therefore, when you have heard this kind of

Dharma taught by a self-arisen one,

You should obtain it again and again,

And when I am in nirvāṇa teach this sūtra.� {12}

19.�34

This concludes �Sadāparibhūta,� the nineteenth chapter of the Dharma teaching of �The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.�

Chapter 20: THE TATHĀGATA�S MIRACLES

20.�1

Then those hundreds of millions of quintillions of bodhisattvas who had emerged from the ground, as numerous as the atoms in a world realm, placed their hands together in homage and said to the Bhagavān, �Bhagavān, we will teach this Dharma teaching in all the buddha realms where the Tathāgata has passed into nirvāṇa, and in the buddha realms where the Bhagavān will pass into nirvāṇa.

�Bhagavān, we will possess this vast Dharma teaching, and read it, teach it, explain it, and write it out.�

20.�2

At this, many hundred thousands of quintillions of bodhisattvas, such as Ma�juśrī, who dwelled in the world realm Sahā, as well as bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, upāsikās, devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans, nonhumans, and bodhisattva mahāsattvas as numerous as the grains of sand in the Ganges River, said to the Bhagavān, �Bhagavān, when the Tathāgata has passed into nirvāṇa, we shall teach this Dharma teaching. Bhagavān, without a body we will reside in the air and we will proclaim it with our voices. We will make beings who are without roots of merit create roots of merit.� [F.144.a]

20.�3

Then the Bhagavān said to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Vi�śiṣṭa�cāritra‍�the one who was foremost among the previously described multitudes, great multitudes, and masters of the multitudes of bodhisattva mahāsattvas‍�and said to the multitudes, great multitudes, and masters of the multitudes of bodhisattva mahāsattvas, �Excellent, Vi�śiṣṭa�cāritra, excellent! Do so! The Tathāgata ripened you for the sake of this Dharma teaching.�494

20.�4

At that moment both the bhagavān, tathāgata Śākyamuni and the bhagavān who had passed into nirvāṇa, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna, who were seated on a lion throne inside the stūpa, smiled. From the mouths of both, the organs of their tongues emerged. Those tongues extended as far as the realm of Brahmā, and from both those tongues many hundreds of thousands of quintillions of light rays radiated. From those light rays, from each light ray, there emanated many hundreds of thousands of quintillions of bodhisattvas whose bodies were the color of gold, who possessed the thirty-two signs of a great being, and were seated upon lion thrones in the center of lotuses. Those bodhisattvas went to hundreds of thousands of world realms in the main and intermediate directions. In those main and intermediate directions they taught the Dharma while remaining in midair.

20.�5

Just as the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni and the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna performed this miracle with their tongues, tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas in other hundreds of thousands of quintillions of world realms, [F.144.b] who were seated on their individual lion thrones at the foot of precious trees, also performed this miracle with their tongues.

20.�6

The Bhagavān Śākyamuni, Tathāgata Prabhūtaratna, and all those tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas performed this miracle for a hundred thousand years. Then, after a hundred thousand years had passed, the tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas concluded their miracle, and simultaneously, in the same instant, the same moment, the same second, made the great sound of clearing their throats and the sound of snapping their fingers once. That great sound of clearing their throats and the great sound of their finger snaps shook all the hundreds of thousands of quintillions of buddha realms in the ten directions. They shook, shook strongly, shook intensely; shuddered, shuddered strongly, shuddered intensely; and quaked, quaked strongly, and quaked intensely. All the devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans, and nonhumans who were in those buddha realms, while remaining there, through the power of the buddhas saw this Sahā world realm. They saw the hundreds of thousands of quintillions of tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas seated on their individual lion thrones at the foot of precious trees, the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni and the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna seated upon a lion throne in the center of the stūpa, and the fourfold assembly. [F.145.a] Seeing them they were astonished, amazed, and overjoyed, and they heard these words that came from the air: �Oh friends, beyond countless, innumerable hundreds of thousands of quintillions of world realms the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni is teaching to bodhisattva mahāsattvas the Dharma teaching, the extensive sūtra called The White Lotus of the Good Dharma, which is an instruction for bodhisattvas that is possessed by all buddhas. You should, with a superior motivation, rejoice in this! Pay homage to the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni! Make offerings to him!�

20.�7

All those beings, having heard those words from the air, while remaining in their worlds now said, �We pay homage to the bhagavān tathāgata Śākyamuni!� In order to make offerings to the bhagavān tathāgata Śākyamuni and this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma, they placed their hands together in homage and scattered in the direction of this Sahā world realm many flowers, incenses, perfumes, garlands, ointments, powders, monastic robes,495 parasols, banners, divine flags, and banners of victory. They also scattered jewelry, clothing, long necklaces, short necklaces, jewels, and many kinds of precious materials. All those flowers, incenses, perfumes, garlands, ointments, powders, robes, parasols, banners, divine flags, banners of victory, long necklaces, short necklaces, jewels, and precious materials came to this Sahā world realm. [F.145.b] All those flowers, incenses, perfumes, garlands, ointments, powders, robes, parasols, banners, divine flags, banners of victory, long necklaces, short necklaces, jewels, and precious materials covered the all-inclusive Sahā world realm. At the same time they also covered those other hundred thousand quintillion world realms. In those hundred thousand world realms where those tathāgatas were present, the skies above them were each completely covered by a vast canopy of flowers.

20.�8

Then the Bhagavān said to Vi�śiṣṭa�cāritra and the other bodhisattva mahāsattvas, �Noble ones, the tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas have inconceivable power. Noble ones, in order to bestow upon you this Dharma teaching, I could teach the many kinds of benefits through many aspects of the Dharma for many hundreds of thousands of quintillions of eons; but even if I were to teach these benefits, I would not have finished describing the many kinds of benefits of this Dharma teaching.

�Noble ones, in brief, all the dharmas of the Buddha, all that is preeminent from the Buddha, all the great secrets of the Buddha, all the profundities of the Buddha, I teach within this Dharma teaching.

20.�9

�Therefore, noble ones, after the Tathāgata has passed into nirvāṇa you should be in possession of this Dharma teaching. You should teach it, write it out, read it, explain it, meditate upon it, and make offerings to it.

�Noble ones, wherever this Dharma teaching is read, taught, explained, [F.146.a] written out, contemplated, spoken about, chanted, or made into texts, whether it is a park, a temple, a palace, the foot of a tree, a house, or a cave, a caitya for the Tathāgata should be erected in that place. Why is that? It is because that place should be perceived as being the Bodhimaṇḍa of all the tathāgatas. It should be perceived as the place where all the tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas attain the highest, complete enlightenment of complete buddhahood. It should be perceived as the place where all the tathāgatas turn the wheel of the Dharma, and the place where all the tathāgatas pass into nirvāṇa.

20.�10

Thereupon the Bhagavān spoke these verses:

�Those who are established in the wisdom of higher knowledge,

Those who have the inconceivable nature496 of benefiting the world,

Those who have infinite vision demonstrate miracles

For the sake of bringing joy to all beings. {1}

20.�11

�Their tongues reach the realm of Brahmā

And they radiate thousands of light rays.

They demonstrate those amazing miracles

In order to lead beings to the highest enlightenment. {2}

20.�12

�The buddhas make the sound of clearing their throats

And they make the sound of a single finger snap.

Those sounds are heard in all world realms,

As many worlds as there are in the ten directions. {3}

20.�13

�Those compassionate and benefiting ones

Demonstrate those and other miracles, those qualities,

So that beings become overjoyed and in later times,

After the Sugata�s nirvāṇa, they will uphold this sūtra. {4}

20.�14

�Though I were for many billions of eons

To praise those who are the offspring of the Sugata,

Who are upholders of this highest sūtra

When the Guide of the World has passed into nirvāṇa, {5}

20.�15

�There would still be no end to their qualities, [F.146.b]

Just as it is with directions and space.

Those who constantly uphold this sūtra

Have qualities beyond conception. {6}

20.�16

�The one who sees me here and all these guides,

As well as this Guide of the World who has entered nirvāṇa,

And sees all this multitude of bodhisattvas

And this fourfold assembly, {7}

20.�17

�That is someone who on this day pleases me

And this lord of jinas who has entered nirvāṇa,

And he pleases all those other guides

Who are present in the ten directions. {8}

20.�18

�The one who upholds this sūtra

Will see and make offerings

To the buddhas of the past, present, and future,

And all those in the ten directions. {9}

20.�19

�Whoever upholds this true Dharma, this sūtra,

Will be contemplating the Bodhimaṇḍa.

They will know the great secret of the supreme beings497

And they will soon be in meditation upon it. {10}

20.�20

�Whoever is an upholder of this sūtra

Will have eloquence that is endless.

Just as the wind has no impediment

They will know the Dharma, meanings, and definitions. {11}

20.�21

�They will always know the interconnection of the sūtras,

And the intention of the guides when they taught.

They will know the true meaning of the sūtras

Of the Guide who has passed into nirvāṇa. {12}

20.�22

�They will bring radiance and light,

As do the sun and the moon.

They will travel on the earth, here and there,

And will establish many bodhisattvas. {13}

20.�23

�Therefore, the wise bodhisattvas

Who have heard these kinds of benefits

Should uphold this sūtra after my nirvāṇa

And there is no doubt that they will attain enlightenment.� {14}

20.�24

This concludes �The Tathāgata�s Miracles,� the twentieth chapter of the Dharma teaching of �The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.� [B12]

Chapter 21: DHĀRAṆĪS

21.�1

498Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Bhaiṣajyarāja rose from his seat, removed his upper robe from one shoulder, knelt on his right knee, [F.147.a] and with his hands together in homage bowed toward the Bhagavān and said to the Bhagavān, �Bhagavān, how much merit will a noble man or noble woman generate by carrying this Dharma teaching The White Lotus of the Good Dharma on their body or making a text of it?�

21.�2

The Bhagavān answered the bodhisattva mahāsattva Bhaiṣajyarāja, �Bhaiṣajyarāja, if a noble man or noble woman were to honor, venerate, worship, and make offerings to hundreds of thousands of quintillions of tathāgatas, as numerous as the grains of sand in eighty Ganges River, what do you think, would that noble man or noble woman generate much merit as a result of that?�

�Much merit, Bhagavān,� he answered. �Much merit, Sugata.�

21.�3

�Bhaiṣajyarāja,� the Bhagavān continued, �I declare to you, I proclaim to you,499 Bhaiṣajyarāja, that the noble man or noble woman who possesses just one verse, or one line from this Dharma teaching The White Lotus of the Good Dharma and reads it, studies it, and assiduously practices it, that noble man or noble woman, Bhaiṣajyarāja, will have even greater merit as a result of that.�

21.�4

Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Bhaiṣajyarāja said to the Bhagavān, �Bhagavān, we give these dhāraṇī-mantra words to a noble man or noble woman who carries on their body or makes a text of this Dharma teaching and upholds it, so that they may be protected, guarded, and hidden:

21.�5

�Tadyathā:500 anye manye mane501 mamane502 citte503 carite504 śame505 śamayitā viśānte506 mukte507 muktatame508 same avisame509 samasame510 jaye kṣaye akṣaye akṣīṇe511 śānte512 śamite513 dhāraṇi514 āloka�bhāṣe pratyavekṣaṇi515 viviru516 abhyantaraniviṣṭe517 abhyantarapāriśuddhi518 utkule519 mutkule520 arḍe521 parḍe522 sukāṅkṣi523 asama�same buddha�vilokite524 dharma�parīkṣite525 saṃgha�nirghoṣaṇi526 nirghoṣaṇi527 bhayābhaya�śodhani528 mantre529 mantrākṣayate530 rutakauśalye531 akṣaye532 akṣayavanatāye533 vakkule valoḍa534 amanyanatāya.535 [F.147.b]

21.�6

�Bhagavān, these dhāraṇī-mantra words have been taught by buddha bhagavāns as numerous as the grains of sand in sixty536 Ganges Rivers. If anyone opposes that kind of dharmabhāṇaka, someone who upholds this sūtra, they will offend all those buddha bhagavāns.�

21.�7

At this, the Bhagavān congratulated the bodhisattva mahāsattva Bhaiṣajyarāja, saying, �Bhaiṣajyarāja, through your reciting these dhāraṇī-mantra words you have benefited many beings. It is excellent, Bhaiṣajyarāja, excellent that you protect, guard, and conceal through your compassion for beings.�

21.�8

Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Pradānaśūra said to the Bhagavān, �Bhagavān, I537 too shall provide the words of a dhāraṇī-mantra for this kind of dharmabhāṇaka. If someone is seeking an opportunity to harm this kind of dharmabhāṇaka, such as a yakṣa, a rākṣasa, a pūtana, a kṛtya, a kumbhāṇḍa, or a preta, through this they will not find an opportunity to do so.�

21.�9

The bodhisattva mahāsattva Pradānaśūra then recited the words of the dhāraṇī-mantra:

�Tadyathā:538 jvale mahājvale539 ukke mukke540 aḍe541 aḍāvati542 nṛtye nṛtyāvati543 iṭṭini544 viṭṭini545 ciṭṭini546 nṛtyani547 nṛtyāvati548 svāhā.

21.�10

�Bhagavān, these dhāraṇī-mantra words [F.148.a] have been taught and rejoiced in by tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas as numerous as the grains of sand in the Ganges River. If anyone opposes that kind of dharmabhāṇaka, they will offend all those tathāgatas.�

21.�11

Next, the mahārāja Vaiśravaṇa said to the Bhagavān, �Bhagavān, I also shall recite the words of a dhāraṇī-mantra in order to compassionately benefit, bring happiness to, guard, protect, and conceal this kind of dharmabhāṇaka:

21.�12

�Tadyathā:549 aṭṭe550 naṭṭe551 tanaṭṭe552 anate553 nāti554 kunaṭi555 svāhā.

21.�13

�Bhagavān, these dhāraṇī-mantra words will protect those dharmabhāṇakas for a hundred yojanas. It will protect those dharmabhāṇakas, the noble men or noble women who uphold such a sūtra, and will bring them good fortune.�

21.�14

Now the mahārāja Virūḍhaka, leading a following of a hundred thousand quintillion kumbhāṇḍas,556 joined that assembly. He then rose from his seat, removed his upper robe from one shoulder, knelt on his right knee, and with his hands together in homage bowed toward the Bhagavān and said to the Bhagavān, �Bhagavān, I too will recite the words of a dhāraṇī-mantra for the guarding, protection, and concealment of that kind of dharmabhāṇaka who upholds a sūtra such as this:

21.�15

�Tadyathā:557 agaṇe gaṇe558 gauri559 gāndhāri560 cāṇḍāli561 mātaṅgi562 pukkasi563 saṃkule564 vrūśali565 svāhā.

21.�16

�Bhagavān, these dhāraṇī-mantra words have been taught by four hundred and twenty million buddhas. If anyone opposes that kind of dharmabhāṇaka, they will offend all those tathāgatas.�

21.�17

Then the rākṣasī named Lambā, the rākṣasī named Vilambā, the rākṣasī named Kūṭadantī, [F.148.b] the rākṣasī named Puṣpadantī, the rākṣasī named Makuṭadantī, the rākṣasī named Keśinī, the rākṣasī named Acalā, the rākṣasī named Mālādhārī, the rākṣasī named Kuntī, the rākṣasī named Sarva�sattvojohārī, and the rākṣasī named Hārītī, with her children and servants‍�all those rākṣasīs came to where the Bhagavān was, and having arrived they all said in one voice to the Bhagavān, �Bhagavān, we too will guard, protect, and conceal that kind of dharmabhāṇaka who upholds a sūtra such as this, so that if someone is seeking an opportunity to harm those dharmabhāṇakas they will not find an opportunity to do so.�

21.�18

Then those rākṣasīs in one voice, with the same words, offered these dhāraṇī-mantra words to the Bhagavān:

�Tadyathā:566 itime itime itime itime itime567 nime nime nime nime nime ruhe ruhe568 ruhe ruhe ruhe569 stuhe stuhe stuhe stuhe stuhe570 svāhā.571

21.�19

�If this is placed upon the head, there is no one who will be able to injure the dharmabhāṇakas. A yakṣa, rākṣasa, preta, piśāca, pūtana, kṛtya, vetāla, kumbhāṇḍa, stabdha, ostāraka,572 or apasmāraka; a kṛtya that is a yakṣa, a kṛtya that is nonhuman, or a kṛtya that is a human; those that cause illness for a day, for two days, for three days, for four days, or permanently; and those who appear in dreams in the form of a woman, the form of a man, or the form of a boy, or the form of a girl so as to cause harm, will not be able to do so.�

21.�20

Then those rākṣasīs in one voice, with the same words, recited these verses to the Bhagavān:

�If someone attacks a dharmabhāṇaka

And they hear this mantra [F.149.a]

Their head will burst into seven pieces

Like the foliage of a basil plant.573 {1}

21.�21

�Those who attack the dharmabhāṇaka,

The way that they are following

Is the way of those who kill their mothers;

It is the way of those who kill their fathers. {2}

21.�22

�Those who attack the dharmabhāṇaka,

The way that they are following

Is the way of the crushers of sesame;

It is the way of those with the sesame pestle. {3}

21.�23

�Those who attack the dharmabhāṇaka,

The way that they are following

Is the way of those who are fraudulent in weights,

The way of those who are fraudulent in measures.� {4}

21.�24

Kuntī and the other rākṣasīs said to the Bhagavān, �In this way we will protect the dharmabhāṇakas. We will bring them good fortune, prevent punishments, and counter poisons.�

The Bhagavān said to the rākṣasīs, �Excellent, O rākṣasīs, excellent! Protect, guard, and conceal those dharmabhāṇakas! You, Kuntī, and your followers should protect even those who only possess the name of this Dharma teaching, let alone those who have learned the entirety of this Dharma teaching, have made texts of it, have honored them, and offered to those texts flowers, incense, perfume, garlands, ointments, powders, clothing, parasols, banners, divine flags, lamps of sesame oil, lamps of ghee, lamps of perfumed oil, lamps of magnolia oil, lamps of gardenia oil, lamps of blue lotus oil, and lamps of royal jasmine oil, honoring them with hundreds of thousands of many kinds of offering such as those. You, Kuntī, and your followers should protect them!�

21.�25

This concludes �Dhāraṇīs,� the twenty-first chapter of the Dharma teaching of �The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.� [F.149.b]

Chapter 22: THE PAST OF BHAIṢAJYARĀJA

22.�1

Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a said to the Bhagavān, �Bhagavān, through what cause is the bodhisattva mahāsattva Bhaiṣajyarāja active in this Sahā world realm? Bhagavān, he must have undergone many hundred thousands of quintillions of hardships. I request the Tathāgata, the Arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha to speak of just a fraction of what the bodhisattva mahāsattva Bhaiṣajyarāja has practiced, so that those who have heard the Bhagavān‍�the devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans and nonhumans, and the bodhisattva mahāsattvas who have arrived here from other world realms and these great śrāvakas‍�will all be pleased, delighted, and happy.�

22.�2

The Bhagavān, knowing the request made by the bodhisattva mahāsattva Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, then said to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, �Noble one, in the past, in a time gone by, as many eons ago as there are grains of sand in the Ganges River, at that time there appeared in the world the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha, the one with perfect wisdom and conduct, the sugata, the knower of the world, the unsurpassable guide who tamed beings, the teacher of gods and humans, the buddha, the bhagavān named Candra�sūrya�vimala�prabhāsa�śrī.

22.�3

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, the tathāgata, the arhat [F.150.a], perfectly enlightened buddha Candra�sūrya�vimala�prabhāsa�śrī had a great following of eighty million bodhisattvas. He had a following of as many śrāvakas as there are grains of sand in seventy-two Ganges Rivers. In the time of his teaching there were no women, there were no beings in hell, there were no births as animals, there were no pretas, and no asuras. His buddha realm was delightful, as flat as the palm of a hand, its ground made of divine beryl, which was adorned by precious sandalwood trees. It was beautified by nets of jewels, hung with silk streamers, and perfumed by incense from precious censers. At an arrow-shot distance from the foot of all the precious trees there were precious high platforms. Upon each of those precious high platforms there were billions of devas playing musical instruments and cymbals, and singing songs in order to make offerings to the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Candra�sūrya�vimala�prabhāsa�śrī.

22.�4

�The Bhagavān taught those śrāvakas and bodhisattva mahāsattvas extensively this Dharma teaching, The White Lotus of the Good Dharma, commencing with the bodhisattva mahāsattva Sarva�sattva�priya�darśana.

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Candra�sūrya�vimala�prabhāsa�śrī�s lifespan was forty-two thousand eons. The lifespans of those bodhisattva mahāsattvas and those śrāvakas were the same. The bodhisattva mahāsattva Sarva�sattva�priya�darśana was dedicated to hardship in following the teaching of that Bhagavān. For twelve thousand years he progressed574 [F.150.b] with great diligence in his practice. After twelve thousand years had passed he attained the samādhi called manifestation of all forms. As soon as he attained that samādhi, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Sarva�sattva�priya�darśana was pleased and delighted, joyous and happy.

22.�5

�At that time, he thought, �I have attained the samādhi called manifestation of all forms through this Dharma teaching, The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.� Also at that time, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Sarva�sattva�priya�darśana thought, �In this way, I shall make an offering to the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Candra�sūrya�vimala�prabhāsa�śrī and to this Dharma teaching, The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.�

22.�6

�He then entered that samādhi, and as soon as the bodhisattva mahāsattva Sarva�sattva�priya�darśana entered that samādhi, at that moment, there fell from the sky above a great rain of divine coral tree flowers and great coral tree flowers. Clouds of benzoin resin and sandalwood formed, and there fell a great rain of uragasāra sandalwood.

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, this entire Sahā world realm would not be enough for the price of two karṣa of that kind of perfume.575

22.�7

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Sarva�sattva�priya�darśana mindfully and knowingly arose from that samādhi. After arising from that samādhi, he thought, �This manifestation of miraculous events cannot serve as an offering to the Bhagavān in the way that giving my own body would be.� [F.151.a]

�Then at that time, Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Sarva�sattva�priya�darśana ate agarwood, frankincense, and mastic resin, and drank magnolia oil.

22.�8

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, in this way the bodhisattva mahāsattva Sarva�sattva�priya�darśana continually ate incenses and drank magnolia oil for twelve years.

�Then, Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, after twelve years had passed, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Sarva�sattva�priya�darśana wrapped his body in divine cotton and soaked it with sesame oil, and, having made his firm resolve,576 he burned his own body as an offering to the Tathāgata and to this Dharma teaching, The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.

22.�9

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, the light from the burning body of the bodhisattva mahāsattva Sarva�sattva�priya�darśana shone throughout as many world realms as there are grains of sand in eighty Ganges Rivers. The buddha bhagavāns, as numerous as the grains of sand in eighty Ganges Rivers, who were in those world realms exclaimed, �Excellent, noble one! Excellent! This is the true application of the diligence of the bodhisattva mahāsattvas. This is the true offering to a tathāgata and to the Dharma. The offering of flowers, incense, perfume, garlands, ointments, powders, clothing, parasols, banners, and divine flags, and the offering of other material gifts, and the offering of uragasāra sandalwood does not compare. Noble one, this is the supreme gift. [F.151.b] Giving away one�s kingdom does not compare. Giving away one�s beloved children and spouses does not compare. Noble one, this Dharma offering of giving away your own body is the preeminent, the highest offering‍�the best, the most excellent offering.�

22.�10

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, those buddha bhagavāns spoke those words and then were silent.

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Sarva�sattva�priya�darśana�s body burned without going out for twelve years. Afterward, when twelve years had passed, the fire went out.

22.�11

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Sarva�sattva�priya�darśana made that kind of offering to the Tathāgata and to the Dharma. Then after he had died, during the time of the teaching of the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Candra�sūrya�vimala�prabhāsa�śrī, he was reborn into the family of King Vimaladatta. He was miraculously born sitting cross-legged on his mother�s lap. As soon as the bodhisattva mahāsattva Sarva�sattva�priya�darśana was born, at that time he recited this verse to his parents:

22.�12

� �Supreme King, I have practiced in this world,

And living here I attained samādhi.

I had resolute diligence and great discipline

And I gave away my cherished body.� {1}

22.�13

�After the bodhisattva mahāsattva Sarva�sattva�priya�darśana had recited that verse, he said to his parents, �Father and Mother, the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Candra�sūrya�vimala�prabhāsa�śrī is now alive, present, and continues to remain in this world. He is the Bhagavān to whom I made this offering and attained the power of retention that is skill in all words. He is the Bhagavān from whom I heard this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma [F.152.a] taught in eighty times577 a hundred thousand quintillion verses, a thousand trillion verses,578 a hundred thousand trillion579 verses, and ten quintillion580 verses. Therefore, Father, Mother, it would be excellent for me to go before the Bhagavān. Then when I am there I will make offerings to the Bhagavān.�

22.�14

�Then, Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, at that time the bodhisattva mahāsattva Sarva�sattva�priya�darśana rose into the air to the height of seven palm trees and, sitting cross-legged in a kūṭāgāra made of the seven precious materials, he went into the presence of the Bhagavān. Having arrived there he bowed his head to the Bhagavān�s feet, circumambulated the Bhagavān seven times, and with his hands together in homage he bowed toward the Bhagavān and, paying homage to the Bhagavān, he praised him by reciting this verse:

22.�15

� �Hero, Lord of Humans, with a stainless face,

Your light rays beautify the ten directions in this world.

Sugata, I have made the supreme offering to you,

And, Lord, I have come here so that I might see you.� {2}

22.�16

�Then he said to the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Candra�sūrya�vimala�prabhāsa�śrī, �Bhagavān, will you continue to remain?�

�Then, Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Candra�sūrya�vimala�prabhāsa�śrī [F.152.b] replied to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Sarva��sattv�a�priy�a�darśana, �Noble one, the time for me to pass into nirvāṇa has come. Noble one, the time when my life is to end has come. Noble one, go and prepare my dais, for I will pass into nirvāṇa.�

22.�17

�Then, Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Candra�sūrya�vimala�prabhāsa�śrī said to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Sarva�sattva�priya��darśana, �Noble one, I entrust this teaching to you. I entrust to you these bodhisattva mahāsattvas, these great śrāvakas, this enlightenment of buddhahood, this world realm, these precious platforms, these precious trees, and these devas who are honoring me. Noble one, I also entrust to you whatever relics there will be from my passing into nirvāṇa. Noble one, make vast offerings to my relics, distribute my relics widely, and construct many thousands of stūpas.�

22.�18

�Then, Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Candra�sūrya�vimala�prabhāsa�śrī having thus instructed the bodhisattva mahāsattva Sarva�sattva�priya�darśana, in the last division of that night he passed into nirvāṇa, into the realm of nirvāṇa that has no remainder.

�Then, Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, when the bodhisattva mahāsattva Sarva�sattva�priya�darśana saw that the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Candra�sūrya�vimala�prabhāsa�śrī had passed into nirvāṇa, [F.153.a] he made a heap of uragasāra sandalwood and cremated the body of the Tathāgata. When he saw that the cremation fire of the Tathāgata had gone out, he collected the relics, weeping, wailing, and lamenting.

22.�19

�Then, Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Sarva�sattva�priya�darśana, weeping, wailing, and lamenting, had eighty-four thousand vases made of the seven precious materials, and he placed the relics of the Tathāgata inside them. He had eighty-four thousand stūpas constructed that were also made of the seven precious materials and were so high they reached the realm of Brahmā. They were adorned by a tier of parasols and were hung with streamers and bells. Having had these stūpas constructed he thought, �I have made an offering to the relics of Bhagavān Candra�sūrya�vimala�prabhāsa�śrī, of the Tathāgata, but I shall make a far greater and higher offering than that to the relics of the Tathāgata.�

22.�20

�Then, Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Sarva�sattva�priya�darśana said to the all-inclusive assembly of bodhisattvas, and the assembly of the great śrāvakas, and the devas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans, and nonhumans, �Noble ones, think of making offerings to the relics of the Bhagavān!�

�Then, Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, at that time the bodhisattva mahāsattva Sarva�sattva�priya�darśana, in front of the eighty-four thousand stūpas, burned his arm that was adorned by a hundred merits. Burning his arm, he made an offering to those stūpas of the Tathāgata for seventy-two thousand years. [F.153.b] Through making that offering, he guided countless hundred thousands of quintillions of śrāvakas. Also all the bodhisattvas attained the samādhi called manifestation of all forms.

22.�21

�Then, Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, the all-inclusive assembly of bodhisattvas, and the great śrāvakas, seeing that the bodhisattva mahāsattva Sarva�sattva�priya�darśana had lost a limb, wept, wailed, lamented, and cried out to each other, �Our master and teacher, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Sarva�sattva�priya�darśana, does not now have all his limbs; he has lost an arm!�

�Then, Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Sarva�sattva�priya�darśana said to those bodhisattva mahāsattvas, great śrāvakas, and devas, �Noble ones, do not weep on seeing that I have lost a limb. Do not wail! Do not lament! Noble ones, I take as my witness all the buddha bhagavāns that live, are present, and remain in the endless infinite world realms in the ten directions, and before them I make this resolution of the truth. Through the truth, through true words, through having given up my arm as an offering to the Tathāgata, may my body become golden. Through the truth, the true words of that, may my arm be restored as it was before. May this great earth shake six times, and may a great rain of flowers be cast down by the devas who dwell in the sky.� [F.154.a]

22.�22

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, as soon as the bodhisattva mahāsattva Sarva�sattva�priya�darśana had made that resolution of the truth, the world realm of a thousand million worlds shook in six ways, a rain of flowers fell from the sky, and the bodhisattva mahāsattva Sarva�sattva�priya�darśana�s arm was restored as it was before, which was due to the bodhisattva mahāsattva�s having gained the power of wisdom and having gained the power of merit.

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, are you uncertain, unsure, undecided, thinking that the bodhisattva mahāsattva Sarva�sattva�priya�darśana at that time, on that occasion, was anyone else? Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, do not have that view. Why is that? Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, this bodhisattva mahāsattva Bhaiṣajyarāja was at that time, on that occasion, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Sarva�sattva�priya�darśana.

22.�23

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Bhaiṣajyarāja accomplished those hundred thousand quintillion hardships, and he gave up his body.

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, the noble man or noble woman who enters the Bodhisattva�yāna, through wishing for this highest, complete enlightenment, should burn the big toe of a foot for the caityas of the Tathāgata‍�they should burn a finger or a toe or a limb or an arm. That noble man or noble woman who has entered the Bodhisattva�yāna [F.154.b] will thus create a much greater amount of merit. Giving up a kingdom is not comparable. Giving up a beloved spouse, son, or daughter is not comparable. Giving up a world realm of a billion worlds with its forests, oceans, mountains, rivers, lakes, ponds, wells, and parks is not comparable.

22.�24

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, if a noble man or noble woman who has entered the Bodhisattva�yāna were to give this world realm of a billion worlds filled with the seven precious materials to all the buddhas, bodhisattvas, śrāvakas, and pratyeka�buddhas, Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, that noble man or noble woman would not create as much merit as that created by the noble man or noble woman who possesses just one four-line verse from this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma. It is taught that their merit would be much greater. Giving this world realm of a billion worlds filled with the seven precious materials to all the buddhas, bodhisattvas, śrāvakas, and pratyeka�buddhas is not comparable.

22.�25

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, it is like the way that the ocean is supreme over all rivers, lakes, and ponds.

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, in that same way, this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma is supreme over all the sūtras taught by all the tathāgatas.

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, [F.155.a] it is like the way that Sumeru, the king of mountains, is supreme over the Kāla, Cakravāla, and Mahācakravāla mountains.

22.�26

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, in that same way, this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma is supreme over all the sūtras taught by all the tathāgatas.

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, it is like the way that the moon is supreme in brightness over the stars.

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, in that same way, the bright light of this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma is supreme over that of a hundred thousand quintillion moons.

22.�27

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, it is like the way that the disk of the sun eliminates all darkness.

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, in that same way, this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma eliminates all the darkness of bad actions.

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, it is like the way that Śakra is the lord of devas among the devas of Trāyastriṃśa.

22.�28

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, in that same way, this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma is the lord of all the sūtras taught by the tathāgatas.

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, it is like the way that Brahmā, lord of Sahā, is the king over all the Brahmakāyika devas and acts as their father in the Brahmā paradise.

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, in that same way, this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma is the father of all beings, both those in training and those who have transcended training, and all who have entered the Śrāvakayāna, Pratyeka�buddha�yāna,581 or Bodhisattva�yāna. [F.155.b]

22.�29

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, it is like the way that the stream entrants, the once-returners, the nonreturners, the arhats, and pratyeka�buddhas have transcended all ordinary, foolish beings.

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, in that same way, this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma has transcended all the other sūtras taught by the tathāgatas, is superior to them, and is supreme among them.

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, know that those who possess this king of the sūtras are supreme among all beings.

22.�30

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, it is like the way that the bodhisattva is supreme over all the śrāvakas and pratyeka�buddhas.

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, in that same way, this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma is supreme over all the sūtras taught by the tathāgatas.

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, it is like the way that the Tathāgata is crowned King of the Dharma among all the śrāvakas, pratyeka�buddhas, and bodhisattvas.

22.�31

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, in the same way, this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma is like the Tathāgata for all those who have entered the Bodhisattva�yāna.

22.�32

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma protects beings from all fear, and frees them from all suffering. It is like a pond for those who are thirsty. It is like clothing for the naked. [F.156.a] It is like a caravan leader for merchants. It is like a mother for children. It is like a boat for those crossing to the opposite shore. It is like medicine for the sick. It is like a lamp for those in the obscuration of darkness. It is like jewels for those wishing for wealth. It is like a cakravartin for all minor kings. It is like the ocean for rivers. It is like a torch for dispelling all darkness.

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, in the same way, this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma frees from all suffering. It ends all illness. It frees from all the distress of the bondage of saṃsāra.

22.�33

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, for the person who hears this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma, writes it down, or has someone write it, and who, Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, possesses this Dharma teaching, or teaches it, hears it, writes it down or has someone write it, makes a volume of it, honors it, venerates it, worships it, and makes offerings to it‍�makes many kinds of offerings to it, such as flowers, incense, perfume, garlands, ointments, powders, cloth, parasols, banners, flags, music, clothing, the act of placing hands together in homage, lamps of ghee, lamps of sesame oil, lamps of perfumed sesame oil, lamps of magnolia oil, and lamps of royal jasmine, bignonia, gardenia, and shrubby jasmine oils‍�even the wisdom of the buddhas is unable to know the limits of the merit created by such honoring, venerating, worshiping, and offering. [F.156.b]

22.�34

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, the noble man or noble woman who has entered the Bodhisattva�yāna and possesses this chapter, �The Past of Bhaiṣajyarāja,� teaches it, or listens to it will generate much merit. If a woman hears and possesses this Dharma teaching, that will be her last life as a woman.

22.�35

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, a woman who, in the final five hundred years, hears and practices this chapter, �The Past of Bhaiṣajyarāja,� when she dies will be reborn in the world realm Sukhāvatī. There he582 will be born upon a lion throne in the center of a lotus where the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Amitāyus, encircled by an assembly of bodhisattvas, lives, is present, and remains. There he will not be afflicted by desire, anger, ignorance, pride, envy, rage, or malice. As soon as he is born there he will possess the five higher knowledges. He will also attain receptivity to the birthlessness of phenomena.

22.�36

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, that bodhisattva mahāsattva, having attained receptivity to the birthlessness of phenomena, will see tathāgatas as numerous as the grains of sand in seventy-two Ganges Rivers. With his purified eyes he will see those buddha bhagavāns. In that way the faculty of his eyes will be purified. Also those buddha bhagavāns will congratulate him, saying, �Noble one, it is excellent that you have heard this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma, [F.157.a] and had bestowed upon you, recited, meditated on, and contemplated the words of Buddha Śākyamuni. Noble one, the merit you have created cannot be burned by fire or swept away by water. Noble one, the merit you have created cannot be described even by a hundred thousand buddhas. Noble one, you have defeated the opposing forces of the māras, you have crossed the ocean of existence, you have crushed the assault of the enemy. You have been empowered by a hundred thousand buddhas. Noble one, there is no one like you in the world with its devas. Other than the Tathāgata, no śrāvaka, pratyeka�buddha, or bodhisattva can outshine your merit, knowledge, wisdom, or samādhi.�

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, that bodhisattva mahāsattva will attain that kind of development of knowledge.

22.�37

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, if someone hears the teaching of this chapter, �The Past of Bhaiṣajyarāja,� and says, �It is excellent! Excellent!� the scent of the blue lotus will come from their mouth, and their body will have the aroma of sandalwood. One who, when this Dharma teaching is being taught, says, �This is excellent!� gains these kinds of evident qualities that I have taught.

22.�38

�Therefore, Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, I entrust you with this chapter on the history of the bodhisattva mahāsattva Sarva�sattva�priya�darśana so that in the future, in the later times, during the final five hundred years, it will be practiced in Jambudvīpa and will not vanish; so that Māra, the evil one, will find no opportunity to attack it; and so that the devas, nāgas, [F.157.b] yakṣas, gandharvas, and mahoragas who belong to the class of māras will find no opportunity to attack it.

22.�39

�Therefore, Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, this Dharma teaching is blessed to be like medicine for those beings in Jambudvīpa who are sick, who are afflicted by illness. When one has heard this Dharma teaching, the body will not be afflicted by illness, and there will no aging or premature death.

22.�40

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, if someone who has entered the Bodhisattva�yāna sees a bhikṣu who possesses this sūtra, they should sprinkle him with sandalwood powder and with blue lotuses. And having scattered those, they should have the thought, �This noble man is going to the Bodhimaṇḍa, he will obtain grass, he will lay out the grass at the Bodhimaṇḍa, he will defeat the māras, he will blow the conch of the Dharma, he will beat the drum of the Dharma, and he will cross the ocean of saṃsāra.�

�Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, a noble man or noble woman who has entered the Bodhisattva�yāna should develop that thought when they see a bhikṣu who possesses this kind of sūtra. In that way there will be those qualities that are the qualities that have been described by the Tathāgata.�

22.�41

When the chapter �The Past of Bhaiṣajyarāja� was taught, eighty-four thousand bodhisattvas attained the power of retention that possesses skill in words.

The bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna also commended Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, saying, �It is excellent, excellent that you have asked the Tathāgata about the Dharma that has inconceivable qualities.� [F.158.a]

22.�42

This concludes �The Past of Bhaiṣajyarāja,� the twenty-second chapter of the Dharma teaching of �The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.�

Chapter 23: GADGADASVARA

23.�1

Then at that time the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni emitted light from the ūrṇā hair between his eyebrows, which was a sign of a great being. That light shone throughout hundreds of thousands of quintillions of buddha realms in the east, which were as numerous as the grains of sand in eighteen Ganges Rivers. Beyond those hundreds of thousands of quintillions of buddha realms, which were as numerous as the grains of sand in eighteen Ganges Rivers, there was the world realm named Vairocana�raśmi�prati�maṇḍitā, in which there lived, was present, and remained the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha named Kamala�dala�vimala�nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a. He was accompanied and revered by an immeasurably great saṅgha of bodhisattvas. Then the ray of light emitted by the bhagavān tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni from his ūrṇā hair shone at that time throughout the world realm Vairocana�raśmi�prati�maṇḍitā.

23.�2

In that Vairocana�raśmi�prati�maṇḍitā world realm there was the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara, who had through his past roots of merit seen such light rays from many tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas. The bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara had attained many samādhis: the samādhi of the crest adornment of the victory banner, the samādhi of the white lotus of the good Dharma, the samādhi of the stainless gift, the samādhi of the play of the king of stars, the samādhi like-the-wind, the samādhi of the seal of knowledge, the samādhi of the lamp of the moon, [F.158.b] the samādhi of skill in all sounds, the samādhi of the accumulation of all merit, the samādhi of possessing faith, the samādhi of the display of miraculous powers, the samādhi of the torch of knowledge, the samādhi of the king of arrays, the samādhi of stainless light, the samādhi of stainless essence, the samādhi of completion through water,583 the samādhi of the disk of the sun, and so on, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara having attained hundreds of thousands of quintillions of samādhis, as numerous as the grains of sand in the Ganges River.

23.�3

The light struck the body of the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara, and then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara said to the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Kamala�dala�vimala�nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, �Bhagavān, I am going to the Sahā world realm in order to see, pay homage to, and honor the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni, and to see the bodhisattva Ma�juśrī Kumārabhūta, to see the bodhisattva Bhaiṣajyarāja, to see the bodhisattva Pradānaśūra, to see the bodhisattva Nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, to see the bodhisattva Vi�śiṣṭa�cāritra, to see the bodhisattva Vyūharāja, and to see the bodhisattva Bhaiṣajya�samudgata.�

23.�4

Then the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Kamala�dala�vimala�nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a [F.159.a] said to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara, �Noble one, when you go to the world realm Sahā and have arrived there, do not perceive it as inferior. Noble one, the world realm Sahā is uphill and downhill, made of earth, crowded with dark mountains, and filled with cesspools.584 The bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni has a short body; the bodhisattva mahāsattvas have short bodies also. Noble one, the body you have gained is forty-two thousand yojanas high. Noble one, my body is sixty-eight hundred thousand yojanas high. Noble one, you are handsome, attractive, with an excellent body that has an excellent color and is perfectly developed. You have exceptional splendor from a hundred thousand merits. Therefore, noble one, when you go to the Sahā world realm, do not perceive that tathāgata, those bodhisattvas, or that buddha realm as inferior.�

23.�5

The bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara said to the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Kamala�dala�vimala�nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, �Bhagavān,585 I go to the Sahā world realm through the Tathāgata�s blessing, through the Tathāgata�s development of power, the Tathāgata�s display, the Tathāgata�s arrays, and the Tathāgata�s superior wisdom.�

23.�6

Then at that time the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara, without departing from that buddha realm, without rising up from his seat, entered samādhi in this way. [F.159.b] As soon as the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara entered samādhi, at that moment, in front of the Dharma seat of the Tathāgata on Vulture Peak in the Sahā world realm there appeared eighty-four hundred thousand quintillion lotuses with gold stems, silver petals, and pericarps the color of flame of the forest flowers.586

23.�7

When Ma�juśrī Kumārabhūta saw that array of lotuses he asked the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni, �Bhagavān, of whose coming are these eighty-four hundred thousand quintillion lotuses with gold stems, silver petals, and pericarps the color of flame of the forest flowers an omen?�

The Bhagavān answered Ma�juśrī Kumārabhūta, �Ma�juśrī, these are an omen that the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara, accompanied by a hundred thousand quintillion bodhisattvas, will come to this Sahā world realm from the east from the world realm Vairocana�raśmi�prati�maṇḍitā, which is the buddha realm of the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Kamala�dala�vimala�nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, in order to see me, to pay homage to me, to honor me, and to listen to this Dharma teaching The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.�

23.�8

Then Ma�juśrī Kumārabhūta asked the Bhagavān, �Bhagavān, what accumulation of good karma has that noble one created such that through that creation of an accumulation of good karma he has attained this excellence? Bhagavān, what samādhi has that bodhisattva practiced? Bhagavān, we should587 listen to what that samādhi is. Bhagavān, we should practice that samādhi. [F.160.a] What is that bodhisattva mahāsattva like? What is his color? What is his form? What kind of characteristics588 does he have? What kind of shape does he have? What kind of practice does he have? We should see what this bodhisattva is like. Bhagavān, what cause will inspire this bodhisattva mahāsattva to come to the Sahā world realm? I request that the Tathāgata create that cause.�

23.�9

Then at that time the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni requested of the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna, who had passed into nirvāṇa, �Bhagavān, create a cause to inspire the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara to come to this Sahā world realm.�

Then at that time the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna created this cause to invoke the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara: �Come, noble one, to this Sahā world realm! This Ma�juśrī Kumārabhūta will delight in seeing you!�

23.�10

Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara bowed his head to the feet of the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Kamala�dala�vimala�nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, circumambulated him three times and, leading a retinue of a hundred thousand quintillion bodhisattvas, they all at the same time vanished from the Vairocana�raśmi�prati�maṇḍitā world realm and came to this Sahā world realm. The worlds shook. [F.160.b] A rain of lotuses fell. A hundred thousand quintillion musical instruments played. Gadgadasvara arrived in the sky at the height of seven palm trees, leading a retinue of bodhisattvas, residing in a kūṭāgāra made of the seven precious materials, with eyes that were like the petals of a blue lotus; with a face that was superior to a hundred thousand quintillion moons;589 with a body the color of gold; with a body adorned by a hundred thousand merits, shining with splendor, with an exceptional brilliance; with a body adorned by the signs of a superior being; and with a body as indestructible as Nārāyaṇa�s.

He came to where Vulture Peak is in the Sahā world realm, and having arrived he descended from the kūṭāgāra and, holding a string of pearls worth a hundred thousand silver coins, he approached the Bhagavān and bowed his head down to the Bhagavān�s feet, circumambulated him seven times, and gave the string of pearls to the Bhagavān as an offering.

23.�11

When Gadgadasvara had given the string of pearls to the Bhagavān he said to him, �Bhagavān, the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Kamala�dala�vimala�nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a asks after your welfare, saying, �Are you free from harm, free from distress, and in good health?590 Do you remain strong and happy?� The bhagavān asks, �Bhagavān, do you have that which you must be patient with? That you have to wait for? Are your elements in harmony? Are the beings who follow you able to understand easily? Are they easy to guide? Are they easy to nurture? Do they wish for purity? Do they avoid the conduct of very strong desire? Do they avoid the conduct of very strong anger? Do they avoid the conduct of very strong ignorance? Bhagavān, are your beings without strong envy? Are they without greed? Do they have no disrespect for their mothers? Do they have no disrespect for their fathers? Do they have no disrespect for bhikṣus? Do they have no disrespect for brahmins? [F.161.a] Do they have no wrong views? Do they not have untamed minds? Do they not have uncontrolled senses? Bhagavān, have your beings banished the adversary who is Māra? Has the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna, who has passed into nirvāṇa, and who resides in a stūpa made of the seven precious materials, come to the Sahā world realm in order to listen to the Dharma?�

23.�12

�The bhagavān also asked the bhagavān, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna, �Bhagavān, Tathāgata591 Prabhūtaratna, do you have that which you must be patient with? That you have to wait for? Bhagavān Tathāgata Prabhūtaratna, are you going to remain long? We also wish to see the body that is the relic of the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna, and therefore may the Tathāgata reveal well the body that is the relic of the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna.� �

23.�13

Then the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni said to the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna, who had passed into nirvāṇa, �Bhagavān, this bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara has come wishing to see the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna, who has passed into nirvāṇa.�

Then the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna said to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara, �Noble one, [F.161.b] it is excellent that you have come because you wish to see the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni and myself, to listen to The White Lotus of the Good Dharma, and to see Ma�juśrī Kumārabhūta.�

23.�14

Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Padmaśrī asked the Bhagavān, �Bhagavān, what kind of roots of merit has the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara created in the past, and in the presence of which tathāgata?�

Then the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni replied to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Padmaśrī, �Noble one, in the past, in a time gone by,592 in an eon called Priyadarśa, in the world realm Sarva�rūpa�saṃdarśanā, there appeared in the world the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha, the one with perfect wisdom and conduct, the sugata, the knower of the world, the unsurpassable guide who tamed beings, the teacher of gods and humans, the buddha, the bhagavān named Megha�dundubhi�svara�rāja.

23.�15

�Noble one, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara, for eighty-four thousand years, made an offering with a hundred thousand musical instruments to the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Megha�dundubhi�svara�rāja, and gave him eighty-four thousand bowls made of the seven precious materials.

�Noble one, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara attained that kind of faith593 in the teaching of Tathāgata Megha�dundubhi�svara�rāja. If you are you uncertain, unsure, or undecided, thinking that it was someone else who at that time, on that occasion, made an offering to the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Megha�dundubhi�svara�rāja, [F.162.a] and gave him those eighty-four thousand bowls, noble one, do not have such a view. Why is that? Noble one, the one who made the offering to the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Megha�dundubhi�svara�rāja, and gave him those eighty-four thousand bowls, was this bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara.

23.�16

�Noble one, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara honored many buddhas, generated roots of merit, and trained under many hundreds of thousands of buddhas. This bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara has seen as many buddha bhagavāns in the past as there are grains of sand in the Ganges River.

23.�17

�Padmaśrī, do you see the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara?�

�Bhagavān, I see him,� replied Padmaśrī. �Sugata, I see him.�

�Padmaśrī,� said the Bhagavān, �this bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara teaches this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma in many forms: He teaches this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma sometimes in the form of Brahmā, sometimes in the form of Śakra, sometimes in the form of Īśvara, sometimes in the form of Maheśvara,594 sometimes in the form of a general, sometimes in the form of Vaiśravaṇa,595 sometimes in the form of a cakravartin, sometimes in the form of a king of a region, sometimes in the form of a head merchant, sometimes in the form of a householder, sometimes in the form of a townsman, and sometimes in the form of a brahmin.

23.�18

�The bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara teaches beings this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma [F.162.b] sometimes in the form of a bhikṣu, sometimes in the form of a bhikṣuṇī, sometimes in the form of an upāsaka, sometimes in the form of an upāsikā, sometimes in the form of the wife of a head merchant, sometimes in the form of the wife of a householder, sometimes in the form of the wife of a townsman, sometimes in the form of a boy, and sometimes in the form of a girl.

�Noble one, through teaching in these numerous forms, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara teaches beings this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.

23.�19

�The bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara teaches this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma to beings, teaching some in the form of an asura, some in the form of a garuḍa, some in the form of a kinnara, and to some in the form of a mahoraga.

�The bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara is even the protector of beings in the unfortunate existences of the hells, rebirths as animals, and the realm of Yama.

23.�20

�The bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara even teaches this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma to the beings in the royal harems by manifesting in the form of a woman.

�The bodhisattva mahāsattva Gagdadasvara teaches the Dharma to beings in this Sahā world realm by teaching this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.

�Padmaśrī, the bodhisattva [F.163.a] mahāsattva Gadgadasvara is a protector of the beings who have been born into the Sahā world realm. The bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara has emanated in such numerous forms in this Sahā world realm and taught beings this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.

23.�21

�The miraculous powers of this excellent being do not decline. His wisdom does not decline. Noble one, the lights of the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara�s wisdom illuminate this Sahā world realm. And in other world realms as numerous as the sand grains in the Ganges River, he has taught the Dharma in the form of a bodhisattva for the beings who are to be guided by a bodhisattva. He has taught the Dharma as a śrāvaka for the beings who are to be guided by a śrāvaka. He has taught the Dharma as a pratyeka�buddha for the beings who are to be guided by a pratyeka�buddha. He has taught the Dharma as a tathāgata for the beings who are to be guided by a tathāgata. And so on up to manifesting the relics of a tathāgata for beings who are to be guided by the relics of a tathāgata. And so on up to passing into nirvāṇa for beings who are to be guided by his passing into nirvāṇa.

23.�22

�Padmaśrī, in that way the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara has attained the development of the power of wisdom.�

23.�23

Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Padmaśrī asked the Bhagavān, �Bhagavān, what samādhi does the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara remain in for this creation of roots of merit? What is the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara�s samādhi for guiding this many beings?� [F.163.b]

The bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni replied to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Padmaśrī, �Noble one, the samādhi that the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara remains in so as to benefit in that way countless beings is this samādhi called manifestation of all forms.�

23.�24

When this �Gadgadasvara� chapter was taught, the eighty-four hundred thousand quintillion bodhisattvas who had come with the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara into this Sahā world realm all attained the samādhi called manifestation of all forms. Also, the countless bodhisattva mahāsattvas who dwelled in this Sahā world realm attained the samādhi called manifestation of all forms.

23.�25

The bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara made vast, extensive offerings to the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni and to the stūpa of the relics of the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna. Then he entered his kūṭāgāra made of the seven precious materials. The realm shook, a rain of lotuses fell, and there was the music of a hundred thousand quintillion musical instruments. Leading his retinue of a hundred thousand quintillion bodhisattvas, they returned together to their own buddha realm.

23.�26

When they had arrived there, he said to [F.164.a] the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Kamala�dala�vimala�nakṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a, �Bhagavān, I have benefited beings in the Sahā world realm. I also saw the stūpa of the relics of the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna, and paid homage to it. I also saw and paid homage to the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni. I also saw Ma�juśrī Kumārabhūta. I also saw the bodhisattva mahāsattva Bhaiṣajyarāja, who has attained the might of the power of diligence, and the bodhisattva mahāsattva Pradānaśūra. All those eighty-four hundred thousand quintillion bodhisattvas attained the samādhi called manifestation of all forms.�

23.�27

When the chapter of the coming and going of the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara was being taught, forty-two thousand bodhisattvas attained receptivity to the nonarising of phenomena, and the bodhisattva mahāsattva Padmaśrī attained the white lotus of the good Dharma samādhi.

23.�28

This concludes �Gadgadasvara,� the twenty-third chapter of the Dharma teaching of �The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.� [B13]

Chapter 24: FACING EVERYWHERE: THE TEACHING OF THE MIRACLES OF AVALOKITEŚVARA

24.�1

596Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Akṣayamati rose from his seat, removed his upper robe from one shoulder, knelt on his right knee, and with his hands together in homage bowed toward the Bhagavān and asked the Bhagavān, �Bhagavān, why is the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara called Avalokiteśvara?� [F.164.b]

24.�2

The Bhagavān said to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Akṣayamati, �Noble one, if the hundred thousand quintillion beings in this world who are experiencing suffering were to hear the name of the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara they would all become freed from that mass of suffering.

�Noble one, if those who possess the name of the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara were to fall into a great mass of flames, they would all, through the splendor of the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara, be freed from that burning great mass of flames.

24.�3

�Noble one, if they call out to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara when they are swept away by rivers, those rivers will bring them to shallow waters.

�Noble one, if a hundred thousand quintillion beings were to set out to sea in a ship, sailing to find cowries, gold, jewels, pearls, beryl, conch, crystal, emeralds, coral, white coral, red pearls, and so on, and if a tempest blew them to the island of the rākṣasīs, and if among them one being would call on Avalokiteśvara, they would all become freed from that island of the rākṣasīs.

24.�4

�Noble one, if someone being led to execution were to call on Avalokiteśvara, the weapons of the executioners would break into pieces and be scattered around.

�Noble one, if this world realm of a thousand million worlds [F.165.a] were to be filled with yakṣas and rākṣasas, none of them would even be able to look angrily at someone who possesses the name of the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara.

�Noble one, if there were beings who were bound in iron fetters or were placed in wooden stocks, whether they were guilty or not guilty, through calling out the name of the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara those iron fetters and those wooden stocks would open. Noble one, that is the kind of power that the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara has.

24.�5

�Noble one, if this world realm of a thousand million worlds were to be filled with rogues, bandits, and foes who were holding weapons in their hands, and if a caravan leader was leading a great caravan of merchants who had obtained a great wealth in jewels, and those travelers saw the rogues, bandits, and foes holding weapons in their hands, and seeing them were frightened and terrified, knowing that they had no protection, and the caravan leader said to the caravan, �Do not be afraid! Noble ones, do not be afraid! Through calling out in one voice to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara, who brings freedom from fear, he will free you from this fear of bandits and the fear of foes,� and then the entire great caravan called out in one voice to Avalokiteśvara, saying, �We pay homage, we pay homage to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara, who brings freedom from fear,� the instant they called out his name, that entire great caravan would be freed from fear. Noble one, that is the kind of power that the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara has.

24.�6

�Noble one, if those beings who engage in the conduct of desire pay homage to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara, [F.165.b] they will become free from desire. If those beings who engage in the conduct of anger pay homage to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara, they will become free from anger. If those beings who engage in the conduct of ignorance pay homage to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara, they will become free from ignorance. Noble one, that is the kind of great miraculous power that the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara has.

24.�7

�Noble one, if a woman wishes to have a son and she pays homage to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara, she will give birth to a boy who has the qualities of having a good body, being good looking, and being attractive. He will be dear and pleasing to many people and will generate roots of merit. A woman who wishes to have a girl will give birth to a girl, a girl who has the qualities of having a good body, being good looking, and being attractive. She will be dear and pleasing to many people and will generate roots of merit. Noble one, that is the kind of power that the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara has.

�Those who pay homage to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara and possess his name597 will obtain fruitful results.

24.�8

�If we compare‍�to those who pay homage to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara and possess his name‍�those who pay homage to and possess the names of buddha bhagavāns as numerous as the grains of sand in sixty-two Ganges Rivers, or those who offer clothing, alms, [F.166.a] beds, medicine at times of illness, and necessary utensils to living, present, and remaining buddha bhagavāns as numerous as the grains of sand in sixty-two Ganges Rivers, then, noble son, what do you think? How much merit has such a noble man or noble woman created?�

24.�9

�Bhagavān, it will be great!� replied the bodhisattva mahāsattva Akṣayamati. �Sugata, the merit that those noble men and noble women will have created on that basis will be great.�

�Noble one,� continued the Bhagavān, �the merit created by honoring those buddha bhagavāns will be the same, not more and not higher, as the merit created by paying homage just once to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara and possessing his name.

24.�10

�The accumulation of merit from paying homage to and possessing the names of buddha bhagavāns as numerous as the grains of sand in sixty-two Ganges Rivers, and that created by paying homage just once to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara and possessing his name, will not easily be exhausted even in a hundred thousand quintillion eons.

�Noble one, in that way the merit from possessing the name of the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara is immeasurable.�

24.�11

Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Akṣayamati inquired of the Bhagavān, �Bhagavān, how does the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara move around in this Sahā world realm? How does he teach the Dharma to beings? [F.166.b] What is the scope of the skillful methods of the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara like?�

24.�12

The Bhagavān said to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Akṣayamati, �Noble one, there are world realms where the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara teaches the Dharma to beings in the form of buddhas. There are world realms where the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara teaches the Dharma to beings in the form of bodhisattva mahāsattvas. The bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara teaches the Dharma to some beings in the form of a pratyeka�buddha, to some in the form of a śrāvaka, to some in the form of Brahmā, and to some in the form of Śakra. The bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara teaches the Dharma to some beings in the form of a gandharva. He teaches the Dharma in the form of a yakṣa to those beings who are to be guided by a yakṣa. He teaches the Dharma in the form of Īśvara to those beings who are to be guided by Īśvara. He teaches the Dharma in the form of Maheśvara to those beings who are to be guided by Maheśvara. He teaches the Dharma in the form of a cakravartin to those beings who are to be guided by a cakravartin. He teaches the Dharma in the form of piśāca to those beings who are to be guided by a piśāca. He teaches the Dharma in the form of Vaiśravaṇa to those beings who are to be guided by Vaiśravaṇa. He teaches the Dharma in the form of a general to those beings who are to be guided by a general. He teaches the Dharma in the form of a brahmin to those beings who are to be guided by a brahmin. He teaches the Dharma in the form of Vajrapāṇi to those beings who are to be guided by Vajrapāṇi.598 [F.167.a]

24.�13

�Noble one, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara possesses such inconceivable qualities. Therefore, make offerings to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara!

�Noble one, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara gives freedom from fear to beings who are afraid. Therefore in this Sahā world realm he is known as �He Who Gives Freedom From Fear.��

24.�14

Then Akṣayamati said to the Bhagavān, �Bhagavān, we will give a Dharma gift to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara.�

�Noble one,� said the Bhagavān, �know that it is the time, and give it.�

24.�15

Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Akṣayamati took from around his own neck a long necklace of pearls of the value of a hundred thousand silver coins and gave it as a Dharma gift to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara, saying, �Superior being, accept from me this Dharma gift.� When he did not take it, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Akṣayamati implored the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara, �Noble one, accept this string of pearls out of compassion for me!�

24.�16

Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara, with compassion for the bodhisattva mahāsattva Akṣayamati, and through compassion for devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans, and nonhumans, [F.167.b] accepted the string of pearls from the bodhisattva mahāsattva Akṣayamati. When he had accepted it he divided it into two. One half he offered to Bhagavān Śākyamuni and one half he offered to the precious stūpa of the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna.

24.�17

�Noble son, this is the manner in which the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara miraculously moves around in this Sahā world realm.�

24.�18

Then his nature was described:599

The multicolored banner,600 Akṣayamati,601

Asked for the cause of this name�s meaning:

�For what reason is this son of the jinas

Called Avalokiteśvara?� {1}

24.�19

Then he gazed into the directions

And spoke these words to that ocean of prayers,

That multicolored banner, Akṣayamati:602

�Listen to the conduct of Avalokiteśvara. {2}

24.�20

�For many countless billion eons,

Just as he had prayed, he purified himself

Under many thousands of millions of buddhas.

I shall describe this, so listen to me! {3}

24.�21

�Hearing, seeing, and thus

Subsequently remembering this603

Will be fruitful for beings in this world,

Eliminating all the suffering and misery of existence. {4}

24.�22

�If someone were thrown by a murderer

Into a pit of fire in order to be killed,

If they were thinking of Avalokiteśvara

The fire would be extinguished as if by water. {5}

24.�23

�If someone is crossing a perilous ocean604

Where nāgas, makaras,605 asuras, and bhūtas reside,

If they are thinking of Avalokiteśvara

They will never sink in the water.606 {6}

24.�24

�If someone were thrown by a murderer

Off the summit of Meru, in order to be killed,

If they were thinking of Avalokiteśvara

They would stay in the sky like the sun. {7}

24.�25

�If a mountain made of vajra were thrown

Onto someone�s head to kill them, [F.168.a]

If they were thinking of Avalokiteśvara

Not even a pore would be harmed. {8}

24.�26

�If a crowd of enemies surrounded someone,

Holding weapons, intending to kill them,

If they were thinking of Avalokiteśvara

In that instant they would become friends. {9}

24.�27

�If someone is under the power of an executioner

And is approaching the place of execution,

If they are thinking of Avalokiteśvara

The executioner�s sword will disintegrate. {10}

24.�28

�If someone is chained in iron fetters

Or imprisoned in wooden stocks,

If they are thinking of Avalokiteśvara

Their bonds will quickly break apart. {11}

24.�29

�Spirits and vetālas, who destroy the body,

From the power of mantras, spells, and herbs

Return to the place from where they were sent,

If they are thinking of Avalokiteśvara. {12}

24.�30

�If someone were surrounded by nāgas, yakṣas, asuras,

Bhūtas, and rākṣasas, who steal the vitality of beings,

If they were thinking of Avalokiteśvara

Not even a pore would be harmed. {13}

24.�31

�If someone were surrounded

By terrifying, malevolent wild beasts with sharp fangs,

If they were thinking of Avalokiteśvara

They would quickly scatter in all directions. {14}

24.�32

�If someone were surrounded by snakes607

Whose terrifying eyes emit light that is like fire,608

If they were thinking of Avalokiteśvara

They would quickly cease to be poisonous. {15}

24.�33

�If thunderbolts and hail fall from dense clouds

Along with thunder609 and lightning,

If they are thinking of Avalokiteśvara

They will quickly cease in that instant. {16}

24.�34

�He sees beings tormented by many sufferings,

Oppressed by many hundreds of sufferings.

He looks610 at them with the power of excellent wisdom

And thus he is the protector of the world and its devas. {17}

24.�35

�He has attained the perfection of miraculous power;

He is skilled in vast wisdom and methods. [F.168.b]

He sees the worlds everywhere in the ten directions

And all the realms without exception. {18}

24.�36

�He ends the terrors of beings in the lower realms,

In unfortunate existences, and in the hells,

Who are animals, or under the command of Yama,611

And the agonies of birth, aging, sickness, and death.612 {19}

24.�37

�I strongly wish to see the beautiful eyes and face

Of the one who has virtuous eyes, loving eyes,

Who has the eyes that have special method and wisdom,613

And has compassionate eyes and loving614 eyes. {20}

24.�38

�He is an immaculate light, free of stains,

The sunlight of wisdom free of darkness,

A light that is not obscured by clouds,

Beautifully illuminating the world, {21}

24.�39

�With the roar of conduct that comes from compassion,615

And the good qualities of the great clouds of kindness.

You send down the nectar of the rain of the Dharma

That extinguishes the fire of the kleśas of beings. {22}

24.�40

�If someone is in the midst of fighting and battle,

In the great terror of humans at war,

If they are thinking of Avalokiteśvara

Immediately the enemies will be pacified.616 {23}

24.�41

�The thunder from clouds, the beat of a drum,

Thunderclaps617 and the voice of Brahmā

Should make one think of Avalokiteśvara,

Who has reached the perfection of the scope of the voice. {24}

24.�42

�Free of doubt, think and think again

Of that pure being, Avalokiteśvara.

When dying or tormented by pain

He will be your protector, refuge, and defender. {25}

24.�43

�He has reached the perfection of all good qualities.

He has eyes of kindness and compassion for all beings.

He has true qualities, a great ocean of qualities.

One should pay homage to Avalokiteśvara.618 {26}

24.�44

�He thus has compassion for beings,

And in a future time will become a buddha

Who will eliminate all fear and misery.619

You should think of Avalokiteśvara.620 {27}

24.�45

�He is the chief king, the lord of the world.621

The world makes offerings to him, the source of the bhikṣus� Dharma.

Having practiced for many hundreds of eons,

He has attained the stainless, highest enlightenment. {28} [F.169.a]

24.�46

�On the left or right of the guide Amitābha

He holds a fan and he fans him.

And through the samādhi similar to an illusion

He goes to all realms and makes offerings to the jinas. {29}

24.�47

�In the western direction, in the source of happiness,

There is the stainless realm of Sukhāvatī.

There dwells the guide Amitāyus,622

The one who is the leader of beings. {30}

24.�48

�There are no females appearing there,

And there are absolutely no qualities of deception.

The sons of the jinas are born there miraculously,

Sitting on the center of stainless lotuses. {31}

24.�49

�That guide Amitāyus623

Is seated upon a lion throne

On the center of a delightful, stainless lotus,

And he is as beautiful as a sal tree. {32}

24.�50

�There is no one in the three existences

That is similar to this guide of the world.

Whoever hears the name Avalokiteśvara,

Their merit will be inexhaustible.� {33}

24.�51

Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Dharaṇīṃdhara rose from his seat, removed his upper robe from one shoulder, knelt on his right knee, and with his hands together in homage bowed toward the Bhagavān and said to the Bhagavān, �Bhagavān, the beings who hear the chapter on the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara, who hear of his miraculous power, who hear the chapter called �Facing Everywhere: The Teaching of the Miracles of the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara,� will not have inferior roots of merit.�

24.�52

When the Bhagavān was teaching this teaching of this chapter �Facing Everywhere,� eighty-four thousand beings within that assembly developed the aspiration to attain the unequaled,624 highest, complete enlightenment.

24.�53

This concludes �Facing Everywhere: The Teaching of the Miracles of Avalokiteśvara,� the twenty-fourth chapter of the Dharma teaching of �The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.� [F.169.b]

Chapter 25: THE PAST OF KING ŚUBHAVYŪHA

25.�1

Then the Bhagavān said to the all-inclusive assembly of bodhisattvas, �Noble ones, in the past, in a time gone by, countless eons ago, at that time, in that era, in an eon named Priyadarśana, in a world named Vairocana�raśmi�prati�maṇḍitā, there appeared in that world the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha, the one with perfect wisdom and conduct, the sugata, the one who knows the world�s beings, the unsurpassable guide who tamed beings, the teacher of devas and humans, the buddha, the bhagavān named Jala�dhara�garjita�ghoṣa�susvarana�kṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a�.

�During the time of the teaching of Tathāgata Jala�dhara�garjita�ghoṣa�susvarana�kṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a�, there was a King Śubhavyūha.

25.�2

�Noble ones, King Śubhavyūha had a wife named Vimaladattā.

�Noble ones, King Śubhavyūha had two sons. One was named Vimalagarbha and one was named Vimalanetra. Those two boys had miraculous power, wisdom, merit, and knowledge. They were dedicated to the practices of a bodhisattva, which means they were dedicated to the perfection of generosity, the perfection of good conduct, the perfection of patience, the perfection of diligence, the perfection of meditation, the perfection of wisdom, and the perfection of skillful method, love, compassion, rejoicing, equanimity, and the thirty-seven factors for enlightenment. They had perfected them all. They had perfected the samādhi stainless. [F.170.a] They had perfected the samādhi of the constellations, stars, and the sun. They had perfected the samādhi of stainless light. They had perfected the samādhi of bright, stainless light. They had perfected the samādhi of glorious625 adornment. They had perfected the samādhi of the essence of great brilliance.

25.�3

�At that time, during that period, the Bhagavān, with compassion for beings and with compassion for King Śubhavyūha, taught this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.

25.�4

�Then, noble ones, the boy Vimalagarbha and the boy Vimalanetra went to their birth mother and, with their ten fingers and palms placed together in homage, they said to their birth mother, �Mother, please come into the presence of the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Jala�dhara�garjita�ghoṣa�susvarana�kṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a�, so as to see, pay homage to, and honor the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Jala�dhara�garjita�ghoṣa�susvarana�kṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a�. For what reason? Mother, it is because the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Jala�dhara�garjita�ghoṣa�susvarana�kṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a� is teaching extensively the Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma to the world and its devas, and we are going to listen to it.�

25.�5

�Noble sons, when they had said that, Queen Vimaladattā replied to Vimalagarbha and Vimalanetra, �Noble ones, your father, King Śubhavyūha, has faith in the brahmins; therefore you will not be given permission to see the Tathāgata.�

�Then, noble ones, the boy Vimalagarbha and the boy Vimalanetra, [F.170.b] with their ten fingers and palms placed together in homage, said, �We have been born into a family that holds the wrong view; we are not sons of a Dharma king.�

25.�6

� �Then, noble ones,� Queen Vimaladattā said to the boys, �perform some miracle, so that your father, King Śubhavyūha, will be sympathetic toward you. It is possible that he will be favorably inclined626 toward you. If he is favorably inclined, he will give us permission to go to the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Jala�dhara�garjita�ghoṣa�susvarana�kṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a�.�

25.�7

�Then, noble ones, at that time the boy Vimalagarbha and the boy Vimalanetra rose into the air to the height of seven palm trees, and so that King Śubhavyūha would be sympathetic toward them they together performed miracles that are permitted by the Buddha. Having gone up into the air, they lay down there, they walked in the air, they shook themselves free of dust in the air, and then while in the air, the lower half of their bodies emitted streams of water, and the upper half of their bodies blazed with fire, and then the lower half of their bodies blazed with fire, and the upper half of their bodies emitted streams of water. Up in the air they became huge and then became small; they became small and then became huge. Up in the air they vanished and appeared down on the ground. After appearing on the ground they rose up into the air.

25.�8

�Noble ones, those two boys, through performing those miracles, guided their father, King Śubhavyūha.

�Noble ones, when King Śubhavyūha saw the miracles that those two boys performed, he was pleased, delighted, overjoyed, joyful, and experienced happiness and pleasure. He placed his ten fingers and palms together in homage and asked those boys, [F.171.a] �Noble ones, who is your teacher? Whose students are you?�

25.�9

�Then, noble ones, those two boys said to King Śubhavyūha, �Great King, the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Jala�dhara�garjita�ghoṣa�susvarana�kṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a� is alive, present, and remaining in this world. He sits upon a Dharma seat at the foot of a precious Bodhi tree. Before the world with its devas, Māra, and Brahmā,627 he is teaching extensively the Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma. That Bhagavān is our teacher. Great King, we are his students.�

25.�10

�Then, noble ones, King Śubhavyūha said to the two boys, �Noble ones, I also shall go before the Bhagavān and see your teacher.�

25.�11

�Then, noble ones, the two boys descended from the sky, and went to where their birth mother was, and having arrived, placed their ten fingers and palms together in homage, and they said to their birth mother, �Mother, we have guided our father toward the highest, complete enlightenment. We have performed the role of teacher for our father. Therefore, Mother,628 it is now appropriate for you to let us go. We shall become renunciants under the Bhagavān.

25.�12

�Then, noble ones, at that time the boy Vimalagarbha and the boy Vimalanetra recited these verses to their birth mother:

� �Mother, give us the permission

To become homeless renunciants.

It is difficult to find a tathāgata.

We shall become renunciants! {1}

25.�13

� �Like the flower of the fig tree,

It is extremely difficult to find a jina.

It is difficult to become endowed with opportunity.

Allow us to leave to become renunciants!� {2}

25.�14

�Queen Vimaladattā replied: [F.171.b]

� �Today I shall release you both.

Children, depart excellently!

As it is difficult to find a tathāgata,

I also will become a renunciant.� {3}

25.�15

�Noble sons, when those boys had recited those verses, they said to their father and mother, �Father, Mother, this is excellent. Come, and together with you we shall go into the presence of the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Jala�dhara�garjita�ghoṣa�susvarana�kṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a�, in order to see the Bhagavān, pay homage to him, and honor him. For what reason? Because, Father, Mother, it is as difficult to find the appearance of a buddha as a flower on a fig tree, or for a turtle to put its neck through the hole of a yoke. Father, Mother, it is difficult to find the appearance of a buddha bhagavān and therefore, Father, Mother, based upon the highest merit, we have been born in the time of this teaching. Father, Mother, it is excellent that you let us go. We shall leave, we shall become renunciants under the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Jala�dhara�garjita�ghoṣa�susvarana�kṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a�. For what reason? It is difficult to obtain the sight of a tathāgata, it is difficult to find a king of the Dharma such as this in the present time, and because it is extremely difficult to attain being endowed with this kind of opportunity.�

25.�16

�Noble ones, at that time King Śubhavyūha, together with his harem numbering eighty-four thousand, became recipients for the Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.

�The boys Vimalagarbha and Vimalanetra practiced this Dharma teaching for a hundred thousand quintillion eons, thinking,629 �How can we eliminate the lower existences?� [F.172.a] They practiced the samādhi of eliminating the lower existences of all beings.

25.�17

�Queen Vimaladattā, the mother of those boys, understood what is taught by all the buddhas, and the secret parts of the Dharma of all the buddhas.

25.�18

�Then, noble ones, those two boys guided King Śubhavyūha into the teaching of the Tathāgata, and caused him to follow it, and become completely ripened together with all his court.630 Together with Queen Vimaladattā and her courtiers, the two sons of King Śubhavyūha, forty-two thousand people, the harem, and the ministers, they all went into the presence of the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Jala�dhara�garjita�ghoṣa�susvarana�kṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a�. When they had arrived, they bowed their head to the Bhagavān�s feet, circumambulated the Bhagavān seven times, and sat down to one side.

25.�19

�Then, noble ones, the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Jala�dhara�garjita�ghoṣa�susvarana�kṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a�, knowing that King Śubhavyūha had arrived, taught them through speaking excellently about the Dharma, causing them to engage in it, encouraging them, and delighting them.

25.�20

�Then, noble ones, when the Bhagavān taught King Śubhavyūha by speaking excellently about the Dharma, causing him to engage in it, encouraging him, and delighting him, the king became pleased, delighted, and overjoyed; he became joyful, and felt happiness and pleasure. He bound his turban on his younger brother�s head and made him king. [F.172.b] Then together with his court, Queen Vimaladattā, the entire retinue of a crowd of women,631 and the two boys, accompanied by eighty-four thousand other beings, they became renunciants, leaving home for homelessness within the teaching of the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Jala�dhara�garjita�ghoṣa�susvarana�kṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a�.

25.�21

After becoming renunciants, King Śubhavyūha and his followers diligently contemplated, meditated on, and studied the Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma for eighty-four thousand years.

25.�22

�Then, noble ones, after eighty-four thousand years had passed, King Śubhavyūha attained the samādhi called the array of all adorning good qualities. As soon as he attained that samādhi, King Śubhavyūha rose in the air up to the height of seven palm trees.

25.�23

�Then, noble ones, in the middle of the sky King Śubhavyūha said these words to the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Jala�dhara�garjita�ghoṣa�susvarana�kṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a�: �Bhagavān, my two sons are teachers. Through their miracles they turned me away from severe false doctrines and brought me into the Tathāgata�s teaching. They ripened me and caused me to practice. They inspired me to come see and pay homage to the Bhagavān. Bhagavān, these two boys are my kalyāṇamitras, who in order to make me remember my past roots of merit were born in my family in the form of boys.�

25.�24

�The bhagavān tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Jala�dhara�garjita�ghoṣa�susvarana�kṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a� [F.173.a] said to King Śubhavyūha, �Great King, it is so. It is as you have said. The noble men or noble women who have planted roots of merit, even though they are born in all the states where they come into existence and die and pass away, they will easily find a kalyāṇamitra, they will be near someone who will act as a teacher, and they will be given a prophecy of the highest, complete enlightenment, be guided toward it and ripened for it. In that way, Great King, it is a great occasion for someone to be cared for by a kalyāṇamitra and guided to see a tathāgata. Great King, do you see these two boys?�

� �I see them, Bhagavān,� the king replied. �I see them, Tathāgata.�

25.�25

� �Great King,� said the Bhagavān, �these two boys have made offerings to as many tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas as there are grains of sand in sixty-five Ganges Rivers. Because of their compassion for beings, and in order to cause beings who have wrong views to be dedicated to the true view, they will be holders of this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.�

25.�26

�Then, noble ones, King Śubhavyūha descended from the sky, and with his ten fingers and palms placed together in homage, he said to the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Jala�dhara�garjita�ghoṣa�susvarana�kṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a�, �Bhagavān, what kind of wisdom does the Tathāgata possess, by which the Bhagavān, the Tathāgata, the Arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha has a beautiful uṣṇīṣa, stainless eyes, a beautiful ūrṇā hair between the eyebrows that is as white and beautiful as the moon or a conch, the beautiful rows of teeth in his mouth that are even and perfectly aligned, [F.173.b] the Sugata�s lips that are as red as the bimbā fruit,632 and the Sugata�s beautiful eyes? I request the Tathāgata to teach this.�

25.�27

�Noble ones, King Śubhavyūha, having praised the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Jala�dhara�garjita�ghoṣa�susvarana�kṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a� through describing those qualities, then praised the Bhagavān through describing another hundred thousand quintillion qualities. At that time, he said to the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Jala�dhara�garjita�ghoṣa�susvarana�kṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a�, �Bhagavān, it is marvelous how much great benefit there is in the teaching of the Tathāgata, how the guidance of the Dharma taught by the Bhagavān is endowed with inconceivable qualities, and how excellent is the training of the Tathāgata. Bhagavān, from today onward, I will never again fall under the power of my mind. I will never again fall under the power of wrong views. I will never again fall under the power of anger. I will never again fall under the power of the arising of wicked thoughts. Bhagavān, if I again possess these bad qualities, I will not seek to come before the Bhagavān.�633

25.�28

�Then he bowed his head to the feet of the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Jala�dhara�garjita�ghoṣa�susvarana�kṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a� and rose up into the air and remained there.

�Then King Śubhavyūha and Queen Vimaladattā cast into the air above the Bhagavān a string of pearls worth a hundred thousand silver coins. As soon as they threw that string of pearls, it transformed into a kūṭāgāra in the air above the Bhagavān, [F.174.a] which was made of strings of pearls, was quadrangular, with four pillars, well proportioned, symmetrical, and beautiful. In that kūṭāgāra appeared a throne spread with many hundreds of thousands of calico cloths. The Tathāgata appeared sitting cross-legged upon that throne.

25.�29

�Then King Śubhavyūha thought, �This wisdom of buddhahood is very powerful. The Tathāgata has inconceivable qualities so that in this way the Tathāgata�s body is within the kūṭāgāra and is resplendent, beautiful, and has the perfect color.�

�Then the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Jala�dhara�garjita�ghoṣa�susvarana�kṣatra�rāja�saṃkusumitābhi�j�a� asked that fourfold assembly, �Bhikṣus, do you see King Śubhavyūha roaring the lion�s roar in the middle of the sky?�

� �We see him,� they answered.

25.�30

� �Bhikṣus,� said the Bhagavān, �King Śubhavyūha, having become a bhikṣu within my teaching, will appear in the world as the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha, the one with perfect wisdom and conduct, the sugata, the one who knows the world, the unsurpassable guide who tames beings, the teacher of devas and humans, the buddha, the bhagavān named Śālendrarāja, in an eon named Abhyudgatarāja, in the world realm Vistīrṇavatī.

� �Bhikṣus, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śālendrarāja will have an innumerable saṅgha of bodhisattvas and an innumerable saṅgha of śrāvakas. The world realm Vistīrṇavatī will be as level as the palm of a hand. In that way, that tathāgata, arhat, perfectly enlightened buddha will have inconceivable qualities.� [F.174.b]

25.�31

�Noble ones,634 if you are uncertain, unsure, or undecided, thinking that King Śubhavyūha at that time, on that occasion was someone else, do not have such a view. Why is that? This bodhisattva mahāsattva Padmaśrī was at that time, on that occasion, King Śubhavyūha.

25.�32

�Noble ones, if you are uncertain, unsure, or undecided, thinking that Queen Vimaladattā at that time, on that occasion was someone else, do not have such a view. Why is that? This bodhisattva mahāsattva Vairocana�raśmi�prati�maṇḍita�dhvaja�rāja was at that time, on that occasion, Queen Vimaladattā, who out of compassion for King Śubhavyūha and those beings had made a commitment to become the wife of King Śubhavyūha.

25.�33

�Noble ones, if you are uncertain, unsure, or undecided, thinking that the two boys at that time, on that occasion were someone else, do not have such a view. Why is that? It is635 Bhaiṣajyarāja and Bhaiṣajya�samudgata who at that time, on that occasion, were the sons of King Śubhavyūha.

25.�34

�Therefore, noble ones, both Bhaiṣajyarāja and Bhaiṣajya�samudgata possess inconceivable qualities. They have planted roots of merit under many hundred thousand quintillions of buddhas. These higher beings are both truly superior through their inconceivable qualities. The world and its devas will pay homage to those who possess the names of these two high beings.�

25.�35

When this chapter on the past was taught, [F.175.a] eighty-four thousand beings gained pure, immaculate, stainless Dharma eyes.

25.�36

This concludes �The Past of King Śubhavyūha,� the twenty-fifth chapter of the Dharma teaching of �The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.�

Chapter 26: SAMANTABHADRA�S ENCOURAGEMENT

26.�1

The bodhisattva mahāsattva Samantabhadra, leading a following of countless bodhisattva mahāsattvas, and leading a following of countless devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas, humans, and nonhumans, came from the east, and the realms shook, a rain of lotuses fell, and a hundred thousand quintillion musical instruments played. With the great power of a bodhisattva, with the great manifestations of a bodhisattva, with the great miraculous power of a bodhisattva, with the great majesty636 of a bodhisattva, with the great brilliant magnificence of a bodhisattva, with the great way637 of a bodhisattva, with the great miracles of a bodhisattva, and with the great miraculous manifestation of leading a following638 of devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans, and nonhumans‍�it was with such an inconceivable miraculous manifestation that the bodhisattva mahāsattva Samantabhadra came to this Sahā world realm.

26.�2

He came to Vulture Peak, to the Bhagavān, bowed his head to the Bhagavān�s feet, circumambulated the Bhagavān seven times, and said to the Bhagavān, �Bhagavān, I have come here from the buddha realm of the bhagavān tathāgata Ratna�tejobhyudgata�rāja. Bhagavān, [F.175.b] I have come before the bhagavān tathāgata Śākyamuni in order to listen to this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma in this Sahā world realm. Bhagavān, these hundred thousand bodhisattvas have also come to listen to this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma. Therefore, Bhagavān, Tathāgata, Arhat, perfectly enlightened Buddha, teach extensively this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma to these bodhisattva mahāsattvas.�

26.�3

The Bhagavān said to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Samantabhadra, �Noble one, these bodhisattva mahāsattvas all have instant comprehension. This639 Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma is like this: it is inseparable from the true nature, the limit of reality, and the essence of phenomena.�640

�Bhagavān it is so!� exclaimed those bodhisattvas. �Sugata, it is so!�

26.�4

Then in order to establish the bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, and upāsikās who had gathered in that assembly in this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma, the Bhagavān said to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Samantabhadra, �Noble one, a woman who has four qualities will obtain The White Lotus of the Good Dharma in her hands. What are these four? She will have the blessing of the buddha bhagavāns, she will have planted the roots of merit, [F.176.a] she will be among the class of those who are determined,641 and she will have developed the aspiration to attain the highest, complete enlightenment in order to protect all beings.

26.�5

�Noble son, a woman who has those four qualities will obtain this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma in her hands.�

Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Samantabhadra declared, �Bhagavān in the later times, during the later times, in the last five hundred years of the Dharma, I will protect the bhikṣus who are upholding such a sūtra as this. I will bring them happiness. I will cause them to avoid punishment, and I will neutralize poison. Bhagavān, I will continually guard and protect those dharmabhāṇakas so that whoever seeks to harm them and seeks such an opportunity will not be able to find such an opportunity.

26.�6

�The evil Māra, Māra�s sons, and the Mārakāyika devas, Māra�s maidens, and Mara�s retinue who seek to harm them and seek such an opportunity will not be able to find such an opportunity. No deva, yakṣa, rākṣasa, preta, pūtana, kṛtya, or vetāla that seeks to harm those dharmabhāṇakas and seeks for such an opportunity, will be able to find such an opportunity.

�Bhagavān, when the dharmabhāṇakas are walking while dedicated to the practice of contemplating this Dharma teaching, at that time, in order to protect this Dharma teaching, I will mount a white, six-tusked king of elephants and, accompanied by an entourage of bodhisattvas, I shall come before those dharmabhāṇakas in the place where the dharmabhāṇakas are walking.

26.�7

�When the dharmabhāṇakas [F.176.b] who are dedicated to the practice of contemplating this Dharma teaching make a mistake in even one word or one letter of this Dharma teaching, at that time I will mount a white, six-tusked king of elephants and reveal myself to them and I will repeat the Dharma teaching correctly. Those dharmabhāṇakas will see my body and hear from me this Dharma teaching correctly and they will be pleased, delighted, and overjoyed‍�they will be joyful, and experience happiness and pleasure‍�and they will be dedicated to this Dharma teaching. As soon as they see me they will attain samādhi. They will attain the power of mental retention that is called the convergence of retentions. They will attain the power of mental retention that is called a trillion convergences. They will attain the power of mental retention that is called expertise in all sounds.

26.�8

�Bhagavān, in the later times, during the later times, in the last five hundred years of the Dharma, I will reveal my body, the sight of which brings happiness to all beings, to the bhikṣus or bhikṣuṇīs, the upāsakas or upāsikās who possess such a sūtra as this, who write out such a sūtra as this, who seek for such a sūtra as this, who read such a sūtra as this, and who in the later times, during the later times, in the last five hundred years of the Dharma, are dedicated to walking, for the sake of this Dharma teaching, for three weeks‍�twenty-one days. I will mount a white, six-tusked king of elephants and, accompanied by an entourage of bodhisattvas, I shall come before those dharmabhāṇakas in the place where those dharmabhāṇakas are walking for twenty-one days. When I have arrived there I will reveal myself to those dharmabhāṇakas, inspire them to uphold it, encourage them, and bring them joy. I shall give them a dhāraṇī so that no one will be able to harm those dharmabhāṇakas, [F.177.a] no human or nonhuman will find such an opportunity and no woman will beguile them. I shall protect them. I shall save them from punishment. I shall counteract poison. Bhagavān, I shall give the dharmabhāṇakas these dhāraṇī words:

26.�9

�Tadyathā:642 adaṇḍe643 daṇḍapati644 daṇḍāvartani645 daṇḍakuśale646 daṇḍasudhāri647 sudhārapati648 buddhapaśyane649 sarvadhāraṇi650 āvartani651 saṃvartani652 saṃgha�parīkṣite653 saṃgha�nirghātani654 dharma�parīkṣite655 sarva�sattva�ruta�kauśalye kauśalyānugate656 siṃhavikrīḍite657 anuvarte658 vartani vartāli659 svāhā.660

26.�10

�Bhagavān, the bodhisattvas, to whose faculty of hearing comes the sound of these dhāraṇī words, should know that they are the blessing of Samantabhadra.

26.�11

�Bhagavān, while this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma is existing in this Jambudvīpa, the bodhisattvas into whose hands it comes, those dharmabhāṇakas, Bhagavān, should know that this Dharma teaching has come into their hands through the power of the bodhisattva mahāsattva Samantabhadra, and through the magnificence of the bodhisattva mahāsattva Samantabhadra.

26.�12

�Bhagavān, the beings who write out this sūtra and who uphold it have obtained the activity of the bodhisattva Samantabhadra. Those beings will be those who have planted roots of merit under many buddhas.

�Bhagavān, those beings will have their heads stroked by the hand of the Tathāgata.

26.�13

�Bhagavān, those beings who write out this sūtra and who uphold it661 will please me. [F.177.b]

�Bhagavān, those beings who write out this sūtra, and those who study it after having written it out, Bhagavān, when they pass away they will be reborn as one of the devas of Trāyastriṃśa. The moment they are reborn there, in front of them will be eighty-four thousand deva maidens, and as devas with crowns the size of bherī drums they will dwell among those deva maidens.662

26.�14

�Bhagavān, the accumulation of merit of those beings who write out this Dharma teaching is like that, let alone that of those who transmit it, chant it, contemplate it, and keep it in mind.

26.�15

�Therefore, Bhagavān, this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma should be contemplated in the mind663 and written out. If someone keeps it in mind without distraction and writes it out, a hundred thousand buddhas will extend their hands toward them. When they die they will see a thousand buddhas. They will not fall into the lower existences at death. When they pass away from this world they will be reborn among the devas of Tuṣita. They will be reborn where the bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya, possessing the thirty-two signs of a superior being, is teaching the Dharma accompanied by an entourage of bodhisattvas and attended upon by a hundred thousand quintillion deva maidens.

26.�16

�Therefore, a wise noble man or noble woman should respectfully write out this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma. They should respectfully transmit it. They should respectfully read it aloud. They should respectfully keep it in mind.

�Bhagavān, someone who writes out this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma, transmits it, reads it aloud, meditates on it, and keeps it in mind will have countless qualities.

26.�17

�Therefore, Bhagavān, a wise noble man or noble woman should possess this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma and they will have the benefit of that great number of qualities. [F.178.a]

�Therefore, Bhagavān, I will give my blessing to this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma so that through my blessing this Dharma teaching will continue to exist in Jambudvīpa.�

26.�18

Then the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni said to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Samantabhadra, �It is excellent, Samantabhadra, excellent that for the benefit of many beings664 you, who are thus endowed with inconceivable qualities, with a superior motivation of compassion, and with an inconceivable aspiration, are blessing this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.

�The noble men or noble women who possess the name of the bodhisattva mahāsattva Samantabhadra should be known to be those who have seen the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni and have heard this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma directly from Tathāgata Śākyamuni, have made offerings to Tathāgata Śākyamuni, have lauded Tathāgata Śākyamuni�s teaching of the Dharma, and have rejoiced in this Dharma teaching. Tathāgata Śākyamuni will have placed his hand upon their heads. They will have dressed Śākyamuni in Dharma robes.

26.�19

�Samantabhadra, those noble men or noble women should be known to be the holders of the Tathāgata�s teaching. They will not delight in the Lokāyatas. [F.178.b] They will not delight in those who recite poetry. They will not delight in dancing, music, wrestling, meat sellers, butchers, chicken sellers, pig sellers, or pimps. Those who have heard, have written out, possess, and read such a sūtra as this will have no craving for anything else. Those beings will possess the essence of the Dharma. They will have their own correct attention. They will possess the power of their own merit. Beings will be happy to see them.

�The bhikṣus who possess such a sūtra as this will not be tormented by desire. They will be without anger, ignorance, envy,665 miserliness, hypocrisy, pride, arrogance, and mistaken pride.

26.�20

�Samantabhadra, those dharmabhāṇakas will be satisfied with whatever they obtain.

�Samantabhadra, in the later times, during the later times of the last five hundred years of the Dharma, if someone sees a bhikṣu who is a holder of this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma, they should think, �This noble man is going to go to the Bodhimaṇḍa. This noble man is going to be victorious over Māra�s army.666 This noble man is going to turn the wheel of the Dharma. He is going to beat the drum of the Dharma. He is going to blow the conch of the Dharma. He is going to send down a rain of the Dharma. He is going to sit upon the lion throne of the Dharma.� Those are the thoughts that should arise in their minds.

26.�21

�In the later times, during the later times of the last five hundred years of the Dharma, the bhikṣus who are holders of this Dharma teaching will not have cravings, [F.179.a] will have no attachment to Dharma robes, and will have no attachment to their alms bowls. Those dharmabhāṇakas will be honest. Those dharmabhāṇakas will have attained the three liberations.667 They will have turned away from this life.

26.�22

�Those who criticize bhikṣus who are holders of such a sūtra as this will become blind. Those who speak unpleasantly to bhikṣus who are holders of such a sūtra as this will in that life have a discolored body. Those who ridicule and mock those who write out such a sūtra as this will have broken teeth, blackened teeth, ugly lips, flat noses, disfigured legs and arms, defective eyes, and a bad body odor. Their bodies will be covered with blisters, rashes, sores, abscesses, and itching spots.

26.�23

�If someone says something unpleasant, whether it is true or not, to someone who upholds such a sūtra as this, who writes out such a sūtra as this, who reads aloud such a sūtra as this, who teaches such a sūtra as this, they should be known to have extremely heavy, bad karma.

26.�24

�Therefore, Samantabhadra, one should stand up for bhikṣus who hold this Dharma teaching, even when they are far away. One should respect those bhikṣus who hold such a sūtra as this just as one would respect the Tathāgata.�

26.�25

When this chapter on �Samantabhadra�s Encouragement� was being taught, bodhisattva mahāsattavas as numerous as the grains of sand in the Ganges River attained the power of mental retention called a trillion convergences.

26.�26

This concludes �Samantabhadra�s Encouragement,� the twenty-sixth chapter of the Dharma teaching of �The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.�

Chapter 27: THE ENTRUSTING

27.�1

Then the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni [F.179.b] rose from his Dharma seat and manifested the miracle of his right hand taking hold of the right hands of those in the entire gathering of bodhisattvas. At that time he said, �Noble ones, this highest, complete enlightenment that I accomplished after a hundred thousand quintillion asaṃkhyeya eons I place in your hands: I entrust it to you, I present it to you, and I pass it on to you. Noble ones, you should do whatever will make it extensively widespread.�

27.�2

A second time and a third time the Bhagavān with his right hand took hold of the right hands of those in the entire gathering of bodhisattvas and said, �Noble ones, this highest, complete enlightenment that I accomplished after a hundred thousand quintillion asaṃkhyeya eons I place in your hands: I entrust it to you, I present it to you, and I pass it on to you.

�Noble ones, you should receive this and possess it, read it, study it, teach it, explain it, and make it known to all beings.

27.�3

�Noble ones, I am without avarice, I have no clinging, and I fearlessly give to you the wisdom of buddhahood. I give you the wisdom of the tathāgatas and the self-arisen wisdom.

�Noble ones, you should practice as I have. Be without avarice and make known to the noble men and noble women who come to you this Dharma teaching that is a great skillful method for seeing the wisdom of the tathāgatas. Lead into this Dharma teaching the noble men or noble women who have faith, and also those beings who do not have faith. [F.180.a]

�Noble ones, if you do that, then you will have repaid the Tathāgata.�

27.�4

When the bhagavān tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni had said that, the bodhisattva mahāsattvas were overjoyed and filled with happiness. With great veneration they bowed, bowed down, bowed deeply toward the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni, and with their heads bowed down and their hands placed together in homage they spoke in one voice to the bhagavān tathāgata Śākyamuni: �Bhagavān, we shall accomplish all that the Tathāgata has instructed us to do. We shall fulfill all the instructions that the Tathāgata has given. Bhagavān, be at ease and be content.� That entire gathering of bodhisattvas declared a second time and a third time in one voice, �Bhagavān, be at ease and be content. We shall accomplish all that the Tathāgata has instructed us to do. We shall fulfill all the instructions that the Tathāgata has given.�

27.�5

Then the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni gave leave to the tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas who had come from other world realms to depart, telling those tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas to dwell happily by saying, �Tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas, dwell happily!�

The stūpa of the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna was remaining in the same place, [F.180.b] and he also said, �Dwell happily,� to that tathāgata, arhat, perfectly enlightened buddha.

27.�6

When the Bhagavān had said those words, the countless, innumerable tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas who had come from other world realms and were seated on lion thrones at the foot of precious trees, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna, the entire gathering of countless, innumerable bodhisattva mahāsattvas, the great śrāvakas, the fourfold assembly, and the world with its devas, asuras, and gandharvas rejoiced, and praised the words of the Bhagavān.

27.�7

This concludes �The Entrusting,� the twenty-seventh chapter of the Dharma teaching of �The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.�

27.�8

Noble ones should go

Wherever this sūtra is present,

Even if they have to breach a pit of burning embers

Or scale a pile of razorblades to get there.

27.�9

This concludes the glorious Dharma teaching of �The White Lotus of the Good Dharma,� the great extensive sūtra, the instruction for bodhisattvas that is possessed by all the buddhas, which is the great secret of the buddhas, which is concealed by all the buddhas, which is the family of all the buddhas, which is the secret subject of all the buddhas, which is the essence of enlightenment of all the buddhas, which is the Dharma wheel turned by all the buddhas, which is the union of all the buddhas in one body, which is the great skillful method taught as one yāna, and which is the sūtra that teaches the ultimate accomplishment.

The White Lotus of the Good Dharma

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