Toh 153The Noble Great Vehicle Sūtra “The Questions of the Nāga King Sāgara”

Summary

The Questions of the Nāga King Sāgara begins with a miracle that
portends the coming of the Nāga King Sāgara to Vulture Peak Mountain in Rājagṛha. The nāga king
engages in a lengthy dialogue with the Buddha on various topics pertaining to the distinction
between relative and ultimate reality, all of which emphasize the primacy of insight into emptiness. The Buddha thereafter journeys to King Sāgara’s palace in the
ocean and reveals details of the king’s past lives in order to introduce the inexhaustible
casket dhāraṇī. In the nāga king’s palace in the ocean, he gives teachings on various
topics and acts as peacemaker, addressing the ongoing conflicts between the gods and asuras and
between the nāgas and garuḍas. Upon returning to Vulture Peak, the Buddha engages in dialogue with
King Ajātaśatru and provides Nāga King Sāgara’s prophecy.

《海龍王所問經》開篇的一片瑞相，預告着海龍王即將降臨在王舍城的靈鷲山上。在龍王和佛陀的長篇對話中，話題橫跨世俗和勝義諦的層面，強調了般若空觀之重要性。接著，為了引出寶篋藏陀羅尼，佛陀還來到海龍王大海深處的龍宮，闡述了龍王過去世的因緣。在海中，佛陀除了宣說其他善法，還化解了天神和阿修羅以及海龍族和大鵬金翅鳥之間的種種矛盾。回到靈鷲山後，佛陀又回答了阿闍世王的請問，并賜予海龍王授記。

Acknowledgements

Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the guidance of Chokyi Nyima
Rinpoche. The translation was produced by Timothy Hinkle, who also wrote the introduction. Andreas
Doctor checked the translation against the Tibetan and edited the text.

The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the
Words of the Buddha.

The generous sponsorship of Kelvin Lee, Doris Lim, Chang Chen Hsien, Lim Cheng Cheng, Ng Ah
Chon and family, Lee Hoi Lang and family, the late Lim Kim Heng, and the late Low Lily, which helped
make the work on this translation possible, is most gratefully acknowledged.

Introduction

Set at Vulture Peak Mountain and in the ocean realm of the Nāga King Sāgara, The Questions of the Nāga King Sāgara covers many topics of interest
to bodhisattvas, including karma and rebirth and the ultimate view of emptiness. The primary
interlocutor is the eponymous Nāga King Sāgara, whose arrival at Vulture Peak Mountain is
presaged by the appearance of a magical jeweled parasol covering the entire world. With the
Buddha’s consent, Sāgara asks a series of questions, which are answered in sequence. Replying to
a question about seeing with unobscured wisdom, the Buddha introduces a distinction between
ordinary seeing and wisdom seeing, indicating that seeing with unobscured wisdom allows the
bodhisattva greater perception that includes both relative and ultimate reality. At this point
the Buddha’s discourse is explicitly identified by the gods, who have been listening in the sky
above, as belonging to the second turning of the wheel of Dharma.

In a story recalling one of the Nāga King Sāgara’s past lives, the Buddha introduces the
jeweled casket dhāraṇī, also known as the inexhaustible
casket dhāraṇī. This dhāraṇī turns out to have had an impact on all Nāga King
Sāgara’s previous lives on the path to awakening. The Buddha explains that this dhāraṇī can be
used by bodhisattvas to recognize nonduality, allowing them to continue working for the benefit
of beings in saṃsāra without ever becoming contaminated. Asked about it by the king, the Buddha
mentions the growing population of nāgas present during the king’s reign, explaining that they
were disciples of the previous buddha Krakucchanda who let their vows of discipline lapse.
Later, the Buddha performs a miracle allowing the entire assembly to visit Nāga King Sāgara’s
realm on the seabed deep in the ocean. There the Buddha delivers a discourse on how the body is
formed by one’s previous actions, and he proceeds to explain the benefits that accrue from
abandoning nonvirtues.

At two points in the sūtra, the Buddha is asked to intervene in the conflicts between
the gods and asuras and between the nāgas and garuḍas. In the first case, at Śakra’s request the
Buddha teaches the asuras about the power of love to inspire them to get along with the gods.
Later, he blesses his shawl and gives it to the nāgas to protect them from the garuḍas. This
distresses the garuḍas, but they are consoled by the Buddha and inspired to abandon nonvirtue
after he gives them a teaching about cause and effect.

Like many Great Vehicle sūtras, this work contains prophecies about how various beings
who are present during this teaching will attain perfect awakening in a future lifetime. When
the Nāga King Sāgara receives the prophecy of his own awakening, he takes that opportunity to
question the existence of any phenomena that might provide a basis for that prophecy as well as
the existence of any being who might function as that prophecy's subject. He points out that it
is only by giving up such notions that one can receive the buddhas’ prophecy. This theme runs
throughout the text: advancement on the path of the Great Vehicle is made through the ultimate
insight that all phenomena are without intrinsic essence and thus
beyond subject and object, yet this realization of emptiness in no way runs counter to
engagement with dependently arisen relative phenomena.

In this vein, two instances in which the issue of gender and spiritual awakening is
addressed may be of particular interest to the modern reader. In chapter seven, after the Buddha
delivers a special teaching addressed to a throng of ten thousand wide-eyed nāga women, which
includes Nāga King Sāgara’s daughter, the Buddha’s attendant Mahākāśyapa interjects that it is
impossible for anyone with a female body to attain awakening. Sāgara’s daughter immediately
rejects Mahākāśyapa’s view on the grounds that anyone with pure motivation can attain awakening
and that it contradicts the doctrine of universal emptiness or nonessentiality. She explains
that male and female properties are essences wrongly attributed to otherwise empty mental and
physical phenomena, and that “awakening has neither female nor male attributes.” With this logic
of nonessentiality, she successfully undermines essentialized notions of gender and defends the
ability of women to cultivate the mind set on awakening. In the end, the Buddha prophesies her
awakening as the male buddha Samantavipaśyin.

As this discourse draws to a close, a myriad of bodhisattvas, gods, and women commit to
uphold the Buddha’s awakening. They at first seem doubtful that one may preserve the Buddha’s
awakening by emphasizing the ultimate view, but the Buddha reassures them that this can be done.
Śakra then expresses his amazement at the way in which the women in the gathering have been able
to express themselves in accord with the ultimate Dharma. The Buddha once again confirms the
women’s abilities as Dharma teachers, and subsequently entrusts Śakra with upholding the sūtra.
Both of these events indicate that while the Saṅgha may generally have been reluctant to
recognize women as fully qualified practitioners and teachers of the Dharma, the discourse on
ultimate reality provided a context for declaring the equality of male and female, both in terms
of the nonessentiality of gender constructs and the equal ability of both men and women to
cultivate the pure motivation of the mind set on awakening.

There are three consecutive sūtras of greater, middling, and shorter length in the Degé
Kangyur entitled The Questions of the Nāga King Sāgara (Toh 153,
Toh 154, Toh 155, respectively). These three texts deal with separate
topics and contain teachings that were delivered to the Nāga King Sāgara and the members of his
court deep in the ocean. The material in Toh 154 is also found in Toh 153, and the fact that Toh
154 is included here as a separate work suggests that it had gained some degree of importance as
an independent text prior to the Tibetan imperial period, when all three texts were translated
into Tibetan. The final work in this series, Toh 155, appears to be an independent work with
little relationship to the other two.

To our knowledge, there is currently no extant Sanskrit version of this sūtra, although
a few lines in Sanskrit (corresponding to folio 120.a.4–7 in the Degé block print) are preserved
in Śāntideva’s Śikṣāsamuccaya (see

). The sūtra was translated into Chinese (Taishō 598 ) in 285 ce by the Central Asian
monk Dharmarakṣa. Translation from Sanskrit into Tibetan came several centuries later; the
colophon of the version translated here states that it was the work of the Indian scholars
Jinamitra and Prajñāvarman and the Tibetan translator Yeshé Dé, making the translation datable
to the early ninth century. The text is also recorded in the Denkarma and Phangthangma inventories of Tibetan imperial translations, so we can
establish that the Tibetan translation was produced no later than the early ninth century, as
the Denkarma is dated to 812 ce. Versions of the sūtra are also found
among the Dunhuang manuscripts.

We find several references to The Questions of the Nāga King
Sāgara in the Tengyur, such as in a Madhyamaka treatise by the Indian master Atiśa
(982–1054), as well as in the works of
prominent later Tibetan masters, such as Karmapa III Rangjung Dorjé (1284–1339) and Gorampa
Sönam Sengé (1429–1489), who both refer to the sūtra in support of the doctrine that any being
who desires awakening (even nonhuman beings like nāgas) may take the vows of the mind set on
awakening. Apart from Diana Paul’s aforementioned excerpt, the sūtra has, to our knowledge, received no detailed scholarly treatment in
modern publications.

This translation was prepared from the Degé (sde
dge) block print in consultation with the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) and the Stok Palace manuscript.

The Translation

The Noble Great Vehicle Sūtra

The Questions of the Nāga King Sāgara

Chapter One: The Setting

Homage to all buddhas
and bodhisattvas.

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling in Rājagṛha at Vulture Peak
Mountain with a great saṅgha of eight thousand monks and with twelve thousand bodhisattvas with
higher knowledge that had gathered from the worlds of the ten directions by means of their
higher knowledge. Those bodhisattvas possessed all the greatest attributes. They knew the
dhāraṇīs and the discourses. They delighted all beings with their eloquence. They were skilled
in teaching the wisdom of the higher knowledges. They had traveled to the sublime far shore of
all the perfections. They were skilled in the knowledge of the bodhisattvas’ absorptions and
attainments. They were praised, commended, and lauded by all buddhas. They were skilled in the
knowledge of traveling to all buddha realms through their miraculous powers. They were skilled
in the knowledge of terrifying the māras. They were skilled in the knowledge of all phenomena
just as they are. They were skilled in the knowledge of beings’ supreme and ordinary faculties.
They were skilled in the knowledge of accomplishing the factors of awakening. They were skilled
in the knowledge of correctly accomplishing the acts of venerating all the buddhas. They were
unstained by any worldly phenomena and were adorned with all the ornaments of body, speech, and
mind. They had donned the armor consisting of delight in great love and compassion. They could
be diligent over the course of countless eons without becoming discouraged. They roared the
great lion’s roar. They were not overcome by any of the arguments of their adversaries. They had
been marked by the seal of the irreversible Dharma. They had been crowned with all the qualities
of buddhahood.

They included the bodhisattva great beings Meru, Sumeru, Mahāmeru, Scaling
the Peak of Meru, King of the Meru Lamp, Merukūṭa, Merudhvaja, Merurāja, King Who Rules the Peak
of Meru, Thunder, Drumbeat, Ratnākara, Ratnaketu, Jewel Peak,
Ratnaśrī, Ratnasambhava, Ratnaprabha, Jeweled Staff Holder, Jewel Peak, Holder of the Precious Seal, Ratnajāla, Ratnavyūha, Ratnaprabha, Ratnadvīpa, Ratnadīpa, Ratnapāṇi, Nanda, Inspiring Love for the Dharma, Vyūharāja, Adorned with a Mark, Light That
Creates Language, Pure Light of Language, Ratnacūḍa, Amassed Divinity, Ratnakūṭa, Sahasraraśmi,
Agnijihva, Star Lover, Candraprabha, Sahacittotpādadharmacakrapravartin, and Pure Golden
Light, and the bodhisattva great being Eternal Giver of Freedom from Fear. They also included
all the bodhisattva great beings of the Fortunate Eon such as Maitreya, sixty incomparable
bodhisattvas such as Mañjuśrī, and sixteen excellent men such as Bhadrapāla.

Also present there were classes of gods including the Four Great Kings, the gods of the
Thirty-Three such as the divine ruler Śakra, the gods of the Heaven Free from Strife such as the
divine king Suyāma, the gods of the Heaven of Joy such as the divine king Saṃtuṣita, the gods of
the Heaven of Delighting in Emanations such as the divine king Sunirmāṇarati, the gods of the
Heaven of Making Use of Others’ Emanations such as the divine king Vaśavartin, the māra gods
such as the god Sārthavāha, the
gods of the High Priests of the Brahmā Realm such as Subrahmā, the gods of the Great Brahmā
class such as Brahmā who is lord of the Sahā world, the gods of the Luminous Heaven such as the
divine king Ābhāsvara, the gods of the Heaven of Perfected Virtue such as the divine king
Śubhakṛtsna, the gods of the Heaven of Great Fruition such as the divine king Bṛhatphala, the
gods of the Pure Land such as the divine king Maheśvara, the gods of the Highest Heaven such as
the divine king Vimalaprabhāsa, sixty thousand lords of the asuras such as the lord of the
asuras Rāhu, forty-two thousand kinnaras such as the lord of the kinnaras Druma, thirty-two
thousand lords of the gandharvas such as the lord of the gandharvas Mālādhara, seventy-two
thousand nāga lords such as the king of the nāgas Anavatapta, and four thousand garuḍas who rule
the birds, as well as thousands of other majestic gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras,
garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas.

Surrounded and revered by these thousands of members of the assembly, the Blessed One
gazed straight ahead as he taught the Dharma. He sat upon a richly adorned lion throne, which
had been arranged by all the gods, in such a manner that he resembled Mount Meru, the king of
mountains rising above the ocean. Outshining the world and its gods, the Blessed One was
dazzling, radiant, and brilliant as he sat there surrounded by the assembly of monks.

Then a jeweled parasol set with all lustrous gems and richly adorned with all kinds of
jewels appeared in the sky above the Blessed One, who was seated amidst the gathered assembly.
The jeweled parasol covered the entirety of this four-continent world system. Hanging from it were hundreds of
thousands of strands of multicolored pearls including white, red, crystal, golden, moon-colored,
lotus-colored, and sky-colored pearls. As the strands of pearls glowed with light, a rain of
flowers fell from the light rays. The flowers had hundreds of thousands of hues and were
fragrant, beautiful, and captivating. They rained down over everyone in the assembly until they
covered their knees. Thunder cracked in the sky. A rain of powdered aloe, red sandalwood, and
yellow sandalwood also fell.

Then through the power of the Buddha, Venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana stood up, draped his
shawl over one shoulder, and knelt on his right knee. With his palms together, he bowed toward
the Blessed One and asked, “Blessed One, whose arrival does such a miracle—never seen or heard
of before—portend?”

The Blessed One answered Venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana, “Maudgalyāyana, this portends that
Nāga King Sāgara is coming to see the Thus-Gone One.”

Before long, Nāga King Sāgara arrived, surrounded and venerated by 840 million male and
720 million female nāgas. They came toward the Blessed One bearing flowers, fragrances, incense,
flower garlands, lotions, powders, clothing, parasols, banners, and pennants. They were playing
instruments, chanting, and singing thousands of melodies. They bowed to the feet of the Blessed One and venerated him
with their flowers, fragrances, incense, flower garlands, lotions, powders, clothing, parasols,
banners, pennants, instruments, and singing. At this point, he and his retinue
of queens and relatives praised the Blessed One with these fitting verses:

“You work to benefit the world, you are honored by the world, and you give sight to the
world.

Though born in this world, you are unsullied by it, like a lotus unsullied by water.

You see with your three eyes—Light of the World, you bring joy.

O Sun of the World, you understand conditions. Foremost in the world, today we honor you!

“Gentle and disciplined, you mastered the ten powers and perfected generosity and
discipline.

Guide, you burned all the dust, darkness, stains, and roughness of the afflictions,
incinerating their sprouts.

Compassionately, you bestow the seven highest riches, and your love for beings is
exalted.

To you, a field of merit, the world’s best friend, I bow my head.

“The shining ūrṇā hair by your eyebrows is white like jasmine flowers, the moon, or a
conch.

Even the gods from the abodes of Brahmā cannot see your uṣṇīṣa.

From your moon-like face, miraculous light shines, illuminating all beings without
exception.

Its touch has the capacity to bring bliss, even to beings who have committed inexpiable evil
deeds.

“Your speech is so captivating; like the moon your words satisfy the mind—

Outshining the speech of gods and humans, it is absolutely pure and pristine.

You clear the darkening dust of attachment and aggression and illuminate insight.

You please and delight, cause happiness, and are the true teacher of freedom.

“Your wisdom encompasses the three times—it is unimpeded and unstained.

You know all the actions of beings—be they humble, middling, or sublime.

You know all the different faculties, thoughts, destinations, and freedoms

In a single instant, and thus I prostrate to you!

“Trillions of persistent māras came to the tree of perfect awakening seeking to do you
harm.

Though they were right before you, you never wavered, and your heart was filled with
love.

O lord, you defeated them with truth, discipline, glory, qualities, and love.

Thus everyone here today has come to venerate you and pay homage.

“Lord, you have realized that all things are uncreated and hollow, like a moon reflected in
water,

Foam, lightning, a cloud, or a water bubble, like illusions or a mirage.

Your
qualities, causeless and inconceivable, are forever devoid of self.

You grant the five sense pleasures to beings, and so you, Lord, are able to liberate.

“Your amazing and great aspirations, O guide,

For the sake of which you showed such tenacity throughout trillions of eons,

For the sake of which you consistently benefit beings and venerate your guides,

For the sake of which you trained in giving, restraint, discipline, and patience, have been
fulfilled.”

Once Nāga King Sāgara had thus praised the Blessed One with these fitting verses, he
said to the Blessed One, “If, to clarify my questions, the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect
and complete Buddha would permit me, I would like to ask him about a few issues.”

The Blessed One replied to Nāga King Sāgara, “Nāga Lord, ask the Blessed One whatever you desire. May my
answers please you.”

Given the opportunity to have his questions answered by the Blessed One, Nāga King
Sāgara then asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, how do bodhisattvas eliminate rebirth in the
lower realms and painful transmigrations? How do they transcend the eight unfavorable
conditions? How do they take human and divine births? Blessed One, how do bodhisattvas attain an
unceasing vision of the buddhas? How do they continuously meet spiritual friends? How do they
always find agreeable places to stay? Blessed One, how do bodhisattvas have faith and abundant
joy? How do they rely on the
ripening of karma? How do they instruct by means of all virtuous qualities, having abandoned all
nonvirtuous qualities? Blessed One, how do bodhisattvas take interest in the Dharma, desire it,
and find great delight in it? How are they insatiable in the pursuit of learning? How are they exalted in their accomplishment of learning? Blessed One, how
are bodhisattvas inspired to go forth? How do they travel through jungles and forests? How are
they inspired by those of noble lineage, ascetic practices, and having few possessions? How do
they perfect the qualities of going forth? Blessed One, how do bodhisattvas adhere to the
profound Dharma? How do they eliminate the views of eternalism and nihilism? How do they engage
with causal and conditioned phenomena? How do they become free from all sorts of views? Blessed
One, how do bodhisattvas play by means of the wisdom of the higher knowledges and see with
unobscured wisdom? Blessed One,
how do bodhisattvas comprehend the conduct, intentions, and actions of beings? Blessed One, how
do bodhisattvas bring about ripening? How are they skilled in retention, recitation, and
explanation? Blessed One, how do bodhisattvas defeat opposition from māras? How do they live
free of fear and anxiety, and how do they live the bodhisattva way of life? How do bodhisattvas
genuinely pursue the irreversible Dharma? How do they reach acceptance and obtain prophecy?”

The Blessed One responded to Nāga King Sāgara, “Nāga Lord, excellent, excellent. It is
excellent that you, Nāga Lord, thought to ask the Thus-Gone One about these subjects. Nāga Lord,
listen well, bear what I say in mind, and I will answer.

“Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas possess four qualities, they genuinely eliminate rebirth in
the lower realms and painful transmigrations. What are these four? They are being free of anger
toward any being, taking up and carefully observing the path of the ten virtues, not criticizing
others or mentioning their faults, and focusing on their own errors rather than those of others.
Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas possess these four qualities, they will genuinely eliminate rebirth
in the lower realms and painful transmigrations.

“Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas possess four qualities, they will abandon all unfavorable
conditions. What are these four? They are to constantly sing the praises of the Three Jewels—the
Buddha Jewel, the Dharma
Jewel, and the Saṅgha Jewel, to never distract anyone dedicated to the Dharma, to never cause
others to feel regret, and to dispel the regret of beings mired in regret. Nāga Lord, if
bodhisattvas possess these four qualities, they will abandon all unfree states.

“Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas possess four qualities, they will take human and divine
births. What are these four? They are never giving up the mind set on awakening and proclaiming
it to others, never giving up genuine training in discipline or letting it decline, keeping the
intention concerning aspiration pure, and developing great compassion for beings in order to
ripen them. Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas possess these four qualities, they will take human and
divine births.

“Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas possess eight qualities, they will never lose their vision
of the buddhas. What are these eight? They are focusing on the recollection of the buddha,
serving and venerating the thus-gone ones, constantly singing the praises of the thus-gone ones,
commissioning images of the thus-gone ones, encouraging beings to see the thus-gone ones, making
the aspiration to be born in any buddha realm where one has heard that a thus-gone one lives,
being courageous and inspired toward vastness, and yearning for the wisdom of buddhahood. Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas possess
these eight qualities, they will never lose sight of the buddhas.

“Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas possess four qualities, they will meet spiritual friends.
What are these four? They are serving one’s spiritual friend without deceit or pretense; cherishing, respecting, and
serving the Dharma; being open to advice, easily satisfied, and gentle; and being humble and
deferential. Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas possess these four qualities, they will meet spiritual
friends.

“Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas possess three qualities, they will find agreeable places to
stay. What are these three? They are having a tender and honest mind, eliminating jealousy and
stinginess, and being pleased to support others’ gain, service, and happiness. Nāga Lord, if
bodhisattvas possess these three qualities, they will find agreeable places to stay.

“Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas possess five qualities, they will have faith. What are these
five? They are the strength of interest, the strength of the accumulation of merit, the strength
of understanding the ripening of karma, the strength of not giving up the mind set on awakening,
and the strength of being grounded in reality. Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas possess these five
qualities, they will have faith.

“Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas possess two qualities, they will become exceedingly joyful.
What are the two? They are the strength of causes and the strength of engagement. Nāga Lord, if
bodhisattvas possess these two qualities, they will become exceedingly joyful.

“Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas possess three qualities, they will be supported by the
ripening of karma. What are these three? They are aspiring to selflessness, the strength of
patience, and diligently pursuing proper action. Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas possess these three
qualities, they will be supported by the ripening of karma.

“Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas possess two qualities, they will be ripe with all virtuous qualities, having
abandoned all nonvirtuous qualities. What are these two? They are to offer a dedication that
comprises the three parts, and to
maintain carefulness. Alternatively, the two are having a virtuous nature and not hoping for a
particular ripening. Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas possess these two qualities, they will be ripe
with all virtuous qualities, having abandoned all nonvirtuous qualities.

“Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas possess five qualities, they will take interest in the
Dharma. What are these five? They are being disinterested in form, being disinterested in sound,
being disinterested in scent, being disinterested in taste, and being disinterested in touch.
Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas possess these five qualities, they will take interest in the Dharma.
Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas possess an alternate set of five qualities, they will take interest
in the Dharma. What are these five? They are being interested in the Dharma rather than in one’s
body, being interested in qualities rather than in one’s life, being interested in insight
rather than in touch, being interested in virtue rather than in feeling, and being interested in
protecting beings rather than in one’s own happiness. Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas possess these
qualities, they will take interest in the Dharma.

“Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas possess six qualities, they will desire the Dharma. What are
these six? They are desiring the qualities of renunciation rather than desiring to merely adopt
the token robes; desiring to hear the Dharma rather than desiring to listen to the persuasions
of the Lokāyatas; desiring Dharma teachings rather than desiring worldly goods; discerning the
Dharma rather than focusing on
inappropriate matters; desiring to accomplish the Dharma rather than desiring to study words,
etymologies, and definitions; and desiring to hear about the qualities of buddhahood rather than
desiring to hear about the qualities of the hearers and solitary buddhas. Nāga Lord, if
bodhisattvas possess these six qualities, they will desire the Dharma.

“Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas possess eight qualities, they will find great delight in the
Dharma. What are these eight? They are delighting in discussion of the mind set on awakening
rather than discussion of the Lesser Vehicle; delighting in discussion of the means of
attracting disciples rather than in discussion of what is mistaken; delighting in discussion of
the Dharma tradition rather than in materialistic discussions; delighting in discussion of the
Buddha’s greatness rather than in discussion of the end of saṃsāra; delighting in discussion of
the profound and difficult subject of dependent origination rather than in discussion of the
belief in the view of self; delighting in discussions of the selfless nature of phenomena and in
pure conditions rather than in discussion of the beliefs in nihilism, eternalism, self, being,
life force, person, or individuality; delighting in genuine and accurate discussion of
emptiness, the absence of marks, and the absence of wishes, rather than in discussion of views
involving reference points; and delighting in discussion concerned with renunciation and the
display of the ornaments in the buddha realms rather than in discussion that causes indifference
to peace. Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas possess these eight qualities, they will find great delight
in the Dharma.

“Nāga Lord, bodhisattvas must be insatiable in the pursuit of learning if they are to
see five essential points. What are these five? Bodhisattvas must be insatiable in the pursuit
of learning in order to see correctly with the genesis of insight through learning. Bodhisattvas must be insatiable
in the pursuit of learning in order to see correctly with the elimination of regret and doubt
through learning. Bodhisattvas must be insatiable in the pursuit of learning in order to see
correctly with the growth of the understanding of pollution and purification through learning.
Bodhisattvas must be insatiable in the pursuit of learning in order to see correctly with the
elimination of afflictions in all beings through learning and thereby the elimination of all
afflictions. Bodhisattvas must be insatiable in the pursuit of learning in order to see
correctly with the growth of fearlessness through learning and thereby the termination of all
beings’ anxieties. Moreover, bodhisattvas must be insatiable in the pursuit of learning in order
to see two essential points. What are these two? They are the dawning of the correct view of
noble beings and the attainment of unfettered recollection.

“Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas possess ten qualities, they will become exalted in terms of
their accomplishment of learning. What are these ten? They are having few desires for and being
content with gain and honor, having no concern for their body and life force in their pursuits,
being mindful and aware in their actions, thinking very carefully about exactly what they have
learned, minimizing activities by having no worldly diversions, not sleeping at the beginning or
end of the night through being diligent in their practice, respecting and serving their master,
relying on the spiritual teacher with humility and modesty, caring for beings with great
compassion, honoring noble beings in order to perfect positive qualities, and protecting with
knowledge the world and its gods. Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas possess these ten qualities, they will become exalted in
terms of their accomplishment of learning.

“Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas truly see these five benefits, they will be inspired to go
forth. What are these five? They are thinking that the actions one has committed will not go to
waste, that one is influenced by the habitual patterns one has formed, that everything that is
grasped for should be abandoned, that one will not be disparaged by the blessed buddhas, and
that—even after having become liberated—one will still teach the Dharma in order to release from
their shackles all beings who are fettered by the shackles of the afflictions. These are the
five.

“There is another set of five benefits. What are these five? They are knowing that going
forth accords with discipline because it ripens beings with impaired discipline, that it accords
with learning because it ripens beings without learning, that it accords with absorption because
it ripens distracted beings, that it accords with insight because it ripens beings with mistaken
insight, and that it accords with the wisdom of liberation because it establishes beings on the
path to the bliss of nirvāṇa. These are the five.

“There is another set of five benefits. What are these five? They are knowing that going
forth defeats pride because it enables one to understand the five aggregates; that it eliminates
the habitual tendency of craving because one can abandon origination; that it pacifies, fully
pacifies, and deeply pacifies because one can actualize cessation; that it is an entrance to the
path because one can cultivate the eightfold path of the noble ones; and that it penetrates the
truth because one can establish beings in the truths. These are the five.

“Nāga Lord, if
bodhisattvas possess four qualities, they will travel through jungles and forests and stay in
dwellings in the hinterlands. What are these four? They are not caring for their body and life
force, caring for all virtuous qualities, wishing to develop the higher knowledges, and pleasing
gods and humans with their gentle comportment. Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas possess these four
qualities, they will travel through jungles and forests and stay in dwellings in the
hinterlands.

“Alternatively, Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas see a different set of four essential points,
they will travel through jungles and forests and stay in dwellings in the hinterlands. What are
these four? The first is the thought, ‘The forest and jungle are praised by the buddhas and, if
one lives in the forest, one can focus with great compassion on freeing all beings. I have
previously been part of society, but now I will no longer live in just one place.’ The second is
the thought, ‘I am gathering the ornaments of the seat of awakening, rather than the
afflictions.’ The third is the thought, ‘I must study with myriad well-trained bodhisattvas.’
The fourth is the thought, ‘Once I have accomplished all manner of positive qualities through
living in the forest, I will travel to villages, towns, cities, lands, countries, and capitals
preaching the Dharma to beings.’ Nāga Lord, if they have these four, they will travel through
jungles and forests and stay in dwellings in the hinterlands.

“Nāga Lord, three things are the best and greatest qualities and comforts of
bodhisattvas who are of noble lineage, who observe ascetic practices, and who have few
possessions. What are these three? They are having no social activities due to being unconcerned
with friends and enemies; living a humble, independent, and simple life due to having a free
spirit and going wherever they please; and swiftly developing absorption due to considering all
beings to be the same. These are the three.

“There is an alternate set of three: not being hypocritical or pretentious toward
others, not getting attached to or angry toward others, and having no concern for household when
staying somewhere to practice. Nāga Lord, these three things are the best and greatest qualities
and comforts of bodhisattvas who are of noble lineage, who observe ascetic practices, and who
have few possessions.

“Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas have eight qualities, they will perfect their qualities of
renunciation. What are these eight? They are being satisfied with the noble lineage; observing
ascetic practices; having few possessions; learnedness; having a preference for deep
contemplation of one’s own thoughts; having no delusion about the bodhisattva attitude; being diligent in the practice of cultivating the applications of
mindfulness, absorption, and insight; and ensuring all one’s endeavors come down to the
essential practice. Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas have these eight qualities, they will perfect
their qualities of renunciation.

“Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas have ten qualities, they will adhere to the profound Dharma.
What are these ten? Through the intrinsic nature of the self, they are aligned with the
intrinsic nature of phenomena; through the purity of the self, they are connected with the
purity of all phenomena; through the absence of self, they are dedicated to the absence of self
in phenomena; through the emptiness of self, they are certain about the emptiness of all
phenomena; through the voidness of self, they enter the voidness of all phenomena; through the
quelling of self, they discern the quelling of all phenomena; through the actual nature of the
self, they fathom the actual nature of all phenomena; through the profundity of self, they reflect on the profundity
of all phenomena; through the materiality of the self, they consider the materiality of all
phenomena; and through the ungraspability of the self, they understand the ungraspability of all
phenomena. These are the ten.

“Nāga Lord, there is an alternate set of ten qualities through which bodhisattvas will
adhere to the profound Dharma. What are these ten? They know all phenomena to be like illusions
given that they are characterized by involvement with illusory creation. They know all phenomena
to be like dreams given that one sees them as arisen from error. They know all phenomena to be
like a mirage given that they are wrongly perceived. They know all phenomena to be like visual
distortions given that they are based in causes and conditions. They know all phenomena to be
like the moon in water because they never transfer from one state to another. They know all
phenomena to be like echoes given that they cannot be found in any location or direction and
thus do not have an essential nature. They know all phenomena to be like clouds and flashes of
lightning given that they do not last for even a moment. They know that all phenomena are like
rainbows given that they are not affected by attachment, aggression, and stupidity. They know
all phenomena to be naturally pure given that they are not affected by adventitious subsidiary
afflictions. They know all phenomena to be like space given that they are beyond birth,
destruction, or persisting. Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas have these ten qualities, they will
adhere to the profound Dharma.

“Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas have two qualities, they will not fall into the view of
nihilism. What are these two? They are knowledge of karma and knowledge of the way to accomplish
all the qualities of buddhahood. Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas have these two qualities, they will
not fall into the view of
nihilism.

“Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas have two qualities, they will not fall into the view of
eternalism. What are these two? They are knowledge of impermanent phenomena and knowledge that
discerns that once phenomena have arisen, they will dissolve and dissipate, and thus not
persist. Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas have these two qualities, they will not fall into the view
of eternalism.

“Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas have four qualities, they will be learned in dependent
origination. They understand the process that leads from the origination of ignorance to the
origination of aging and death. They understand the process that leads from the cessation of
ignorance to the cessation of aging and death. They do not fall into the view of nihilism. And
they do not subscribe to the view of eternalism. Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas have these four
qualities, they will be skilled in understanding dependent origination.

“Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas have four qualities, they will not harbor any metaphysical
views. What are these four? Knowing emptiness, they will not harbor views about self or beings.
Knowing the absence of marks, they will not harbor views about a life force and a person.
Knowing the absence of wishes, they will not harbor views about emergence and destruction.
Knowing dependent origination, they will not harbor views of nihilism or eternalism. Nāga Lord,
if bodhisattvas have these four qualities, they will not harbor metaphysical views.

“Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas have six qualities, they will display higher knowledge. What
are these six? Regarding all beings without anger brings about the purity of divine vision;
patiently accepting malicious words brings about the purity of divine hearing; eliminating the
mind’s pollutions brings about the purity of knowing the minds of others; giving the roots of virtue one has created in
the past to all beings brings about the purity of recollecting previous lives; being agreeable,
offering advice, and practicing what one preaches brings about the purity of knowing how to
perform miracles; and not being stingy with sharing the teachings brings about the purity of
knowing the exhaustion of the defilements. These are the six.

“Alternatively, Nāga Lord, offering lamps brings about the purity of divine vision;
playing cymbals and drums and singing songs brings about the purity of divine hearing;
generosity devoid of pollution brings about the purity of clairvoyance; helping others recollect
and aspire toward virtuous qualities brings about the purity of the recollection of past lives;
eliminating obscuration and regret brings about the purity of knowing how to perform miracles;
and giving the Dharma brings about the purity of knowing the exhaustion of the defilements.

“Alternatively, Nāga Lord, gazing at the Thus-Gone One brings about the purity of divine
vision; listening to the sublime Dharma brings about the purity of divine hearing; engaging the
mind in accurate analysis brings about the purity of clairvoyance; recollecting the Saṅgha
brings about the purity of the recollection of past lives; intense fervor brings about the
purity of knowing how to perform miracles; accomplishing the Dharma brings about the purity of
knowing the exhaustion of the defilements.

“In this context, how do they engage in play by means of these higher knowledges? Nāga
Lord, in this regard, the divine vision of bodhisattvas surpasses and is more clear, elevated,
great, and pure than the divine vision of the hearers and solitary buddhas, the divine vision of
the five higher knowledges of non-Buddhist sages, and the divine vision of gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras,
garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, and human and nonhuman beings. Other than the object of the
Thus-Gone One’s vision, there is no appearance of being, form, or phenomena that is not
realized, seen, or known by this divine eye of theirs.

“Nāga Lord, the divine hearing of bodhisattvas surpasses and is clearer, more elevated,
greater, and purer than the divine ear of the same list of beings from hearers and solitary
buddhas to human and nonhuman beings. Other than the Thus-Gone One’s field of hearing, there is
no sound whatsoever that is not heard by this divine ear. It is able to determine all the sounds
of the past and future.

“In this way, Nāga Lord, bodhisattvas truly and accurately know all the mental
movements, mental apprehending, mental marks, mental inquiries, mental causes, mental
perspectives, mental results, mental certainties, mental analyses, mental images, mental
attachments, mental aggressions, mental distractions, mental grasping, mental quietudes, mental
excitements, mental invigorations, and mental states of all beings, as well as their past,
future, and present states of mind and how their minds persist. In short, they know their every
state of mind and are thus able to engage in Dharma discussions with them. With their recollection of past lives, they are
capable of truly and accurately knowing and remembering the deaths and transmigrations of
themselves and others, extending into the most distant reaches of the past, and of accurately
describing the precise forms and venues for these lives. They display all kinds of actions
without being subject to the accumulation of karma, even with respect to miraculous actions.
Nāga Lord, such are bodhisattvas’ higher knowledges. The fulfillment of all aims through
exercising mastery over their own minds is their play. This is how buddhas make a display of
passing entirely beyond suffering, without passing entirely beyond suffering in such a way that
they pass entirely beyond suffering permanently.

“What then is the higher knowledge that engenders a bodhisattva’s ability to manifest
the knowledge of the exhaustion of the defilements? Without being attached to the liberation of
the hearers and solitary buddhas, they specifically focus on the liberation of the wisdom of
awakened wisdom and thereby know the natural exhaustion of the defilements. However, they do not
actualize that knowledge; instead, they remain in the stream of saṃsāra only to bring about the
exhaustion of the defilements for all beings. This is the bodhisattvas’ sixth higher knowledge.

“Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas have four qualities, they will see wisdom without
obscuration. What are these four? They should possess the five forms of higher knowledge that
are suffused by omniscient wisdom, the four correct discriminations that are suffused by great
love and great compassion, the four formless attainments that are suffused by means and insight,
and the thirty-seven factors of awakening that are suffused by emptiness, the absence of marks,
and the absence of wishes. Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas have these four qualities, they will see with unobscured
wisdom.

“Nāga Lord, what, in this context, does it mean to see with unobscured wisdom? It means
acknowledging all the afflictions while truly defeating all the afflictions and their attendant
habitual tendencies, acknowledging saṃsāra while attaining nirvāṇa, acknowledging the states of
hearers and solitary buddhas while attaining the seat of awakening, and emulating the behavior
of beings while knowing it to be void. This is what it means to see with unobscured wisdom.

“Alternatively, seeing with unobscured wisdom can mean conforming to all kinds of
conditioned actions while attaining the unconditioned, seeing the pacification of conditioned
phenomena while attaining the unconditioned. Nāga Lord, even when bodhisattvas operate within
the conditioned, they are not obstructed by their knowledge of the unconditioned. Even though
they attain the unconditioned, they are not obscured by unconditioned phenomena. Wisdom that is
not obscured in these ways is known as the bodhisattva’s seeing with unobscured wisdom.

“Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas have four qualities, they will understand the conduct,
intentions, and manner of all beings. What are these four? They are knowledge that accords with
the world, knowledge of being skilled in the meditative attainments, intention that is pliable
in knowledge and thought, and the means to master the mind. Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas have
these four qualities, they will understand the conduct, intentions, and manner of all
beings.

“Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas have five qualities, they will be capable of ripening
beings. What are these five? They are being unremitting by disregarding one’s own happiness,
giving happiness to beings
by being consistent in one’s endeavors, being deeply compassionate, acting in harmony with the
behavior of beings, and bringing out the highest qualities. Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas have
these five qualities, they will be capable of ripening beings.

“Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas have six qualities, they will be skilled in retention,
recitation, and explanation. What are these six? They are attaining recollection, practicing
with mindfulness and awareness, appropriately engaging with the truth, knowing the mind’s
pursuits, achieving unobstructed eloquence, and being skilled in the knowledge that teaches
intentional statements. Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas have these six qualities, they will be
skilled in retention, recitation, and explanation.

“Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas have eight qualities, they will defeat opposition from
māras. What are these eight? They are freedom from being afflicted by personalistic false views
through knowing the illusory nature of the five aggregates, the experience of emptiness, taking
rebirth intentionally in order to ripen beings while knowing all conditioned things to be
unborn, being eternally wary of the three realms while having a firm diligence that never gives
up the mind set on awakening, pursuing omniscient wisdom without lapsing into premeditated
performance, gathering the accumulation
of merit while considering beings, gathering the accumulation of wisdom while trusting in the
characteristic of impermanence, and avoiding attachment to the knowledge of the hearers and
solitary buddhas. Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas have these eight qualities, they will defeat opposition from
māras.

“Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas have ten qualities, they will give up fear and anxiety and
live the bodhisattva way of life. What are these ten? They are being consistently generous and
becoming beautifully adorned with marks; maintaining discipline and closing off the lower
realms; donning the armor of patience and not letting the faculties decline; being stable in
diligence and being insatiable in the accumulation of roots of virtue; practicing concentration
and having a refined mind; having insight and eliminating the afflictions; being skilled in
means and being knowledgeable about dedication; attaining the correct discriminations and thus
being skilled in meaning, qualities, expression, and eloquence; achieving recollection and thus
being skilled in cutting through the doubts of beings; and being blessed by the buddhas and
upholding the Dharma. Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas have these ten qualities, they will give up
fear and anxiety and live the bodhisattva way of life.

“Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas have eight qualities, they will apply themselves to the
irreversible Dharma. What are these eight? They are practicing what one preaches, analyzing
one’s own error and not being concerned with others’ confusion, not criticizing others even when
one’s life is at stake, not thinking of oneself as high even if one becomes rich and honored and
not thinking of oneself as lowly if one is not rich and honored, giving generously while
developing the intention to be the patron of all beings, not being tightfisted in teaching the
Dharma but instead having a spirit of sharing, delighting in happiness and avoiding jealousy and
stinginess, and giving up
everything—whether beautiful or ugly—without regret. Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas have these eight
qualities, they will genuinely pursue the irreversible Dharma.

“Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas have five qualities, they will never turn back from
unsurpassed and perfect awakening. What are these five? They are being skilled in means by
mastering all the perfections, being learned in the nature of all phenomena while adhering to
the profound Dharma, being unimpaired in the higher knowledges while having knowledge of the
workings of the faculties of all beings, acting without attachment while gaining true
understanding, and acting according to dependent origination and exhausting all defilements even though one has accomplished the state beyond
defilement. Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas have these five qualities, they will never turn back from
unsurpassed and perfect awakening.

“Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas have three qualities, they will attain acceptance. What are
these three? They are selflessness in order to purify sentient beings, disengagement in order to
purify phenomena, and nonattachment in order to purify wisdom. These are the three. Another
three are the fact of being unending so that the past may be purified, the fact of being unborn
so that the future may be purified, and the fact of persistence so that the phenomena of the
present may be purified. These are the three.

“Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas possess an alternate set of three qualities, they will reach
acceptance. What are they? They are stability in merit in order to purify the body, limitless
wisdom in order to purify the speech, and a focus on absorption in order to purify the mind.
Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas
have these three qualities, they will reach acceptance.

“Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas have four qualities, they will be prophesied by the blessed
buddhas. What are these four? They are mastering all qualities with pure motivation, mastering
conduct with an awareness of what is good, being able to arouse the strength of wisdom to
respond to the wishes of beings, and understanding that phenomena are innately unborn and
unarisen because they do not exist at all. Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas have these four qualities,
they will be prophesied by the blessed buddhas.”

When this teaching was given, one trillion two hundred billion gods, nāgas, yakṣas,
gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans, and nonhumans developed the mind set
on unsurpassed and perfect awakening. Seventy-two thousand bodhisattvas reached acceptance that
phenomena are unborn. Fourteen thousand monks purified the stainless and immaculate Dharma eye
that sees phenomena. The minds of eight thousand nuns were freed from defilements without any
further appropriation. Five thousand gods were freed from attachment. The worlds of the great
trichiliocosm quaked in six ways, and the world was filled with a bright light as flowers rained
from the sky.

Then in the sky above, the gods played hundreds of thousands of instruments and
proclaimed, “Amazing! The Thus-Gone One has turned the second turning of the Dharma wheel with
this Dharma teaching. The turning of this Dharma teaching is similar to the turning of the
Dharma wheel in the Deer Park at Ṛṣivadana near Vārāṇasī. Why is this? Because this Dharma teaching is given for the
benefit of countless beings. Moreover, since everyone who has simply heard this Dharma teaching
has attained considerable roots of virtue, what need is there to mention those who will also
recollect it? They will be fortunate enough to attain human rebirths. They will behold the
Thus-Gone One. They will hear this Dharma teaching. All those who have heard this expression of
the Dharma and developed the mind set on unsurpassed and perfect awakening have blocked all the
lower realms. They have opened the doorways to rebirth among the humans and gods. Let it be
known that they will inevitably pass beyond suffering.”

The Blessed One then expressed his agreement with these gods, saying, “Friends,
excellent, excellent. You have chosen your words well. Any being that appreciates the words
taught in this sūtra will be blessed by the buddhas and tamed by the Great Vehicle. Such beings will gain the
understanding of the wisdom of buddhahood and will be stamped with the seal of irreversibility.
If beings who delight in this Dharma teaching will attain nothing less than the wisdom of the
thus-gone ones, what need is there to speak of those who hear it praised, receive it, and
practice it authentically?

Chapter Two: Aspirations

When Nāga King Sāgara heard this, he was satisfied, elated, happy, delighted, joyful,
and at ease. As a shelter for the Dharma, he offered the Blessed One a large jewel called
the gem that purifies the ocean with bright light, whose value matched
that of the entire trichiliocosm. The light of this precious gem eclipsed even that of the sun and the moon. The entire
assembly was astonished and prostrated to the Blessed One, announcing, “The appearance of a
buddha is amazing. When a buddha appears, such amazing things as this are possible, and
marvelous Dharma teachings also appear.”

Once Nāga King Sāgara had covered the Blessed One, he said, “Blessed One, through this
root of virtue may I attain the immaculate light that radiates from a buddha’s body! May this
light illuminate all the buddha realms of the ten directions! May any being struck by this light
be no longer harmed by any afflictive emotion! May I also obtain an ūrṇā hair between the
eyebrows, just like the Thus-Gone One. May I attain unobscured understanding of the path to
awakening! Knowing the path, may I bring everyone who is on a mistaken path onto the true path!
Blessed One, moreover, just as bodhisattvas are free from the darkness of delusion, may I too
attain such an understanding of the path.”

The Blessed One responded to Nāga King Sāgara, “Nāga King, in this regard, bodhisattvas
appear by the power of insight. They bear the lamp of insight, have the knowledge of insight,
are inspired by insight, have the weapon of insight, and perform actions based on insight. While
grounded in insight, bodhisattvas practice giving, maintain discipline, cultivate patience,
engage in diligence, enter into concentration, see phenomena with special insight, and ripen beings.

“Nāga Lord, how then do bodhisattvas practice giving that is grounded in insight? Nāga
Lord, it is through the equality of giving that one arrives at the equality of self. Through the
equality of self, one arrives at the equality of beings. Through the equality of beings, one
arrives at the equality of phenomena. Through the equality of phenomena, one arrives at the
equality of awakening. They practice giving without losing these facets of equality. This giving
is not motivated by afflictions. It is only by comprehending this accurately that they are able
to give up all the afflictive emotions. So, giving up all afflictions, pacifying all views, and
casting aside all disputes are the highest forms of generosity. Nāga Lord, this is how a
bodhisattva practices giving that is grounded in insight.

“Nāga Lord, how then do bodhisattvas maintain discipline that is grounded in insight?
Perceiving body, speech, and mind in a void manner is maintaining discipline. They maintain
discipline without relying on body, speech, or mind; without relying on this world or a future
one; without relying on what is internal or external; without relying on the aggregates, the
elements, or the sense sources; without relying on awakening or nirvāṇa; and without relying on
any phenomena. Their discipline does not make them arrogant or haughty. This is how bodhisattvas
maintain discipline that is grounded in insight.

“What then is the bodhisattvas’ patience that is grounded in insight? The patience that
they cultivate is one that does not apprehend the self, being, life force, or a person. It is not grounded in clinging to
me and mine. It is patience that is cultivated
through inner purity, the purity of beings, and the purity of all phenomena. While cultivating
patience, they neither meditate on nor fail to meditate on any phenomena; they do not meditate
on phenomena in order to create or prevent any phenomena; and they do not meditate on phenomena
in order to exhaust or quell any phenomena. Given the fact that beings are selfless and void,
they are not scared or frightened and will not become so. Moreover, this patience is not
performed while observing body, speech, or mind. When the body is destroyed or their limbs and
digits are cut off, they will accept it and regard them as being like grass, trees, or walls. If
they hear another speaking ill, they will accept it knowing that speech itself is hollow, void,
empty, insubstantial, peaceful, and nonabiding. They practice patience by understanding that the
mind is not turbid, new, or old, is without connection, and does not exist because of perishing
momentarily. To see this absence of continuity is the bodhisattvas’ practice of patience that is
grounded in insight.

“Next, what is the bodhisattvas’ diligence that is grounded in insight? Bodhisattvas
engage in diligence in order to multiply their roots of virtue. Yet such increasing of diligence
does not cause them to perceive any increase or decrease with regard to the realm of phenomena.
Knowing all phenomena to be contained within the realm of phenomena, they do not perceive any phenomena whatsoever
to be truly existent. Rather, they perceive all phenomena of the world to be false and mistaken.
In this way, when bodhisattvas look to any phenomenon with pure insight, they know that
phenomena cannot be made to increase or decrease, that phenomena are not of an aggregated
nature, that they are not present in any place or direction, and that they do not come from
anywhere or go anywhere. Because their diligence has this quality, bodhisattvas diligently teach
the Dharma to all beings to make them understand what is mistaken and what is true. Yet they do
not truly apprehend any such beings. Not apprehending any beings, they also do not apprehend any
phenomena. Why is this? There are no phenomena separate from beings, nor are there any beings
separate from phenomena. Still, the essential nature of phenomena is also the essential nature
of the self. The essential nature of the self is the essential nature of all phenomena. The
essential nature of all phenomena is the essential nature of the qualities of buddhahood. All
the qualities of buddhahood are sought through this sameness of the essential nature, so even in
seeking them, no such qualities are apprehended, and nothing that is not a quality of buddhahood
is apprehended. Even when they seek, bodhisattvas do not apprehend any searching, anything being
sought, or anyone seeking. This is how the bodhisattvas’ diligence that is grounded in insight
is described.

“What is the bodhisattvas’ concentration that is grounded in insight? While settling
into concentrations, those concentrations do not decline from sameness, nor do they enhance it.
When bodhisattvas practice concentration, they do not generate or attenuate any phenomena. They concentrate without relying
on any reference point, and so they concentrate in a way that is neither in accord nor in
discord with any phenomena. They do not perfect the branches of concentration, the contemplation
of concentration, or the applications of concentration through either body or mind. When
bodhisattvas reach attainment, that attainment is similar to attainment reached through
thusness, the limit of reality, and the realm of phenomena. They reach attainment because of the
equality of all beings and the absence of superimposition about phenomena. As they exert
themselves in cultivating absorption, they dwell neither within nor without the body or mind.
The mind that does not dwell on any outer object is a consciousness that remains nowhere; it
surpasses all referential attainments. It surpasses the non-Buddhist sages who have the five
higher knowledges, all hearers and solitary buddhas, and all states of concentration and
attainments of concentration. Its roots of virtue and states of concentration are predominantly
characterized by insight and are devoid of all afflicted views. It is dedicated to awakening and
accomplishes the ripening of beings. In this way, through a single meditative attainment, a
thus-gone one accomplishes everything up to the finality of parinirvāṇa. This is the
bodhisattvas’ concentration that is grounded in insight.

“What is the bodhisattvas’ special insight into phenomena that is grounded in insight?
Any phenomena they see are clearly seen by the eye of insight alone. However, these phenomena
cannot be clearly seen by either the physical or divine eye. They are only clearly seen to be peace, and
never as anything other than peace. Likewise, phenomena are clearly seen to be still,
nonpersisting, void, and unreal. Such seeing is clearly seeing all phenomena. Given that they
clearly see all phenomena in this way, if they were to see any phenomenon, that would not be
special insight. Why is this? Because special insight does not arise from seeing phenomena, and
knowing them is ignorance. Not seeing them is special insight into phenomena. Not seeing the
self, being, life force, soul, person, or individual is special insight into phenomena.
Therefore, because bodhisattvas see such phenomena accurately and beings see them mistakenly,
bodhisattvas think, ‘Alas, beings are afflicted because they think phenomena are like this.’
They generate great compassion for such beings, and they develop great love for beings in order
to liberate them. Thus, knowing that even these beings have never existed is the bodhisattvas’
special insight into phenomena that is grounded in insight.

“How do bodhisattvas ripen beings while grounded in insight? Nāga Lord, regarding this,
bodhisattvas can ripen beings because beings do not exist. They can ripen beings because beings
are selfless, beings are not beings, beings are void, beings are by their nature merely
described as and imputed to be beings, beings are empty, beings are devoid of marks, beings are devoid of wishes,
beings are devoid of performance, beings are not consistent with reality, beings are unborn,
beings are unarisen, and beings are pure. Bodhisattvas do not ripen beings in order to destroy
the self, being, life principle, soul, personhood, individuality, existence, or substance.
Rather, Nāga Lord, they ripen beings only according to their essential nature.

“What is the essential nature of beings? Their essential nature is naturally selfless
and without essential nature. Having no essential nature is the essential nature of beings. The
essential nature that is the essential nature of beings is also the essential nature of all
phenomena. The essential nature of all phenomena is also the essential nature of all the
qualities of buddhahood. Therefore, all phenomena are said to be qualities of buddhahood. Nāga
Lord, what we call ‘all phenomena’ is just a name. That name cannot be observed as a name. Nāga
Lord, to refer to them as ‘all phenomena’ is to indicate that they are not phenomena. Why is
this? To whatever extent phenomena are differentiated, to that extent they are not phenomena.
Along these lines, any phenomenon that can be referred to cannot actually be a phenomenon. Nāga
Lord, the nature of phenomena and the realm of phenomena are such that one cannot describe or
speak of them. Just as the nature of the realm of phenomena is indescribable, all phenomena have
the nature of the realm of phenomena. Therefore, phenomena cannot be described. Nāga Lord, these
qualities of buddhahood are described with this explanation and in this manner. However, these
qualities of buddhahood cannot be communicated by such descriptive language. Nāga Lord, the
qualities of buddhahood cannot
be conveyed or labeled by means of conditioned and unconditioned phenomena. Why is this? Nāga
Lord, there are no phenomena whatsoever apart from those counted among the conditioned and
unconditioned.”

“If that is the case, Blessed One, are the qualities of buddhahood unconditioned? Are
the thus-gone ones also like this?”

The Blessed One answered, “Yes they are, Nāga Lord, yes they are. The qualities of
buddhahood are unconditioned. The thus-gone ones are also unconditioned. Nāga Lord, do you think
there is anything that can be labeled as unconditioned?”

“No, Blessed One, there is not.”

The Blessed One continued, “Nāga Lord, through this explanation you should understand
how the qualities of buddhahood defy communication and labeling. All phenomena are in this way
the same as the qualities of buddhahood. Still, Nāga Lord, consider how the Thus-Gone One
compassionately teaches beings by ascribing names and definitions to phenomena that defy
communication and labeling. Thus I will say, ‘these phenomena are defiling’ and ‘those phenomena
are undefiling.’ Likewise, reference is made to worldly things, transcendent things, evil
things, good things, conditioned things, unconditioned things, things that pertain to pollution,
things that pertain to purification, things that should be attended to, things that should be
abandoned, things that should be imputed, things that should be analyzed, qualities of ordinary
beings, qualities of learning,
qualities of no more learning, qualities of solitary buddhas, qualities of bodhisattvas, and
qualities of buddhas.

“Nāga Lord, this being so, while the Thus-Gone One gives teachings presenting phenomena
in this manner, no phenomena are genuinely seen anywhere in the form of marks. To give an
analogy, Nāga Lord, imagine a person were able to paint many colorful images upon formless and
indescribable space. That person could paint divine bodies, human bodies, horses, elephants,
chariots, foot soldiers, and mounts there. Now, tell me, Nāga Lord, has this person done
something difficult?”

“Blessed One, it would be difficult. Well-Gone One, it would be difficult indeed.”

The Blessed One continued, “Therefore, Nāga Lord, this Dharma that is formless,
indescribable, ungraspable, beyond language, and unutterable is illustrated for other beings and
individuals with communication and letters so that it is conveyed through various methods. In
doing so, the Thus-Gone One is doing something very difficult. Still, Nāga Lord, compared to
that, whoever is inspired by and takes up these teachings being described here is doing
something even more incredible. Nāga Lord, furthermore, any being that enters this profound way
has trained with previous thus-gone ones. The evil māras have found no opportunity to impact
them. Nāga Lord, I remember that previously I served countless blessed buddhas and venerated
them, went forth in their teachings, and practiced pure conduct with them. Yet those thus-gone
ones did not teach me this profound Dharma that eliminates movement. Rather, they taught the
minor preliminary subjects, generosity, restraint, vows, gentility, discipline, learning,
giving, patience, diligence, carefulness, pure conduct, ascetic practices, and voluntary
poverty. Why did they do this? Because I had not undergone prior training.

“However, Nāga Lord, once I had gone through prior training, I heard this profound
Dharma teaching from the Thus-Gone One Mahādīpaṃkara. Having heard it, I developed the
acceptance of phenomena concurring with reality. Therefore, Nāga Lord, you should understand
that those who trained with thus-gone ones of former times are those who now trust, believe in,
remember, and propagate such a teaching that is profound, free from the pride of thinking ‘me,’
and free from the belief in being, life force, a soul, and a person—which, due to being
produced by vain imaginings, derive from causes and conditions.
They will vastly multiply their merit.

“Nāga Lord, suppose bodhisattvas who are committed to the pursuit of the benefit and
happiness of beings were to give to each and every being all the resources for happiness
belonging to gods and humans present throughout the great trichiliocosm. Nāga Lord, what do you
think? Would that bodhisattva have given many resources for happiness to these beings?”

“Many indeed, Blessed One. Many indeed, Well-Gone One.”

The Blessed One continued, “Nāga Lord, compared to all the sense pleasures that those bodhisattvas
would have given to beings, if they were to teach but one word of impermanence, suffering,
selflessness, peace, emptiness, the absence of marks, the absence of wishes, the nonexistence of
a being, the nonexistence of a life force, the nonexistence of a soul, the nonexistence of a
person, non-birth, or nonarising, it would be a far greater gift than those resources for
happiness. It would cause his merit to increase much further. Why is this? Because, Nāga Lord,
beings have already experienced all the conditioned resources for happiness, while they have not
yet experienced unconditioned resources for happiness. Nāga Lord, these profound teachings that
they hear of will lead them to unconditioned pleasures. Therefore, Nāga Lord, bodhisattvas who
wish to perfect the benefit of both themselves and others should devote themselves to profound
teachings.

“Nāga Lord, if bodhisattvas join the assembly and obstruct the profound teachings, all
the things they say are devoted to making the sublime Dharma decline. Why
is this? As long as this profound teaching is heard here in Jambudvīpa, the sublime Dharma will
not disappear. Moreover, Nāga Lord, there are few human beings who yearn for and listen to
Dharma, whereas there are many nonhuman beings who listen to Dharma. So if preachers of the
profound Dharma conceal the profound teachings from them, discussing many other subjects
instead, the gods who are devoted to profundity will not be pleased. They will lament, ‘This
noble son is wholly engaged in worldly affliction. He is just sitting here spouting this worldly
chatter. How sad that the
Buddha’s speech is not being heard here!’ They will leave the assembly in dismay.”

Chapter Three: The Inexhaustible Casket Dhāraṇī

Then Nāga King Sāgara asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, how could it be that
discussions of worldly giving, restraint, vows, gentleness, going forth, emancipation, pure
conduct, discipline, learning, carefulness, ascetic practices, and voluntary poverty are not the
speech of the buddhas?”

The Blessed One answered, “Nāga Lord, any teaching that is not produced to give rise to
blessed buddhas and to bring about cessation and does not lead to renunciation of involvement
with the three realms is worldly. It is not buddha speech. Those that fall into that category
are the four concentrations, the four immeasurables, the four formless attainments, the five
types of higher knowledges, the ten courses of virtuous action, and knowledge of worldly giving,
discipline, patience, diligence, concentration, and insight. Also included here are knowledge of
language, numbers, counting, and palmistry; knowledge of origins; knowledge of spells, medicine,
and healing; and knowledge of crafts and manufacture. In this category are also those types of
knowledge that involve marks, administration, material things, employment, physics, the world,
and any other engagement with the three realms. All of these are not buddha speech.

“Nāga Lord, what then are those teachings that give rise to blessed buddhas and that
have not been heard of before?
They are the meaning of impermanence, suffering, selflessness, and peace; the knowledge of
suffering, the abandonment of its origin, the actualization of its cessation, and the
cultivation of the path; the cultivation of emptiness, crossing over due to the absence of
marks, and deliverance through the absence of wishes; the unconditioned, the unborn, and the
nonarising; the four applications of mindfulness, the correct abandonments, the bases of
miraculous absorption, the faculties, the strengths, and the branches of awakening;
the path; tranquility and special insight; how things are unborn by nature; the voidness of the
aggregates, the elements, and the sense sources; the indistinguishability of phenomena and
non-phenomena once phenomena are understood; the knowledge of how no phenomenon can be
positively identified; the unborn, the lack of interruption, and the lack of permanence; the
attainment of dependent origination; the attainment of natural freedom from attachment; the development of certainty by
seeing how things are unconditioned as previously described; understanding that certainty with
regard to phenomena is itself nonconceptual, free from imagination and conceptuality; the
absence of increase and decrease; the absence of darkness and light; the achievement of equality
with the nature of space; the lack of all characteristics of nature, characteristics of
sameness, absence of characteristics, non-absence of characteristics, the singular
characteristic of the absence of characteristics, and all notions; the absence of cognition; the
interruption of all feeling; and seeing the mistaken as sameness, which is known as attaining
the fruition by means of conventions.

“Still, they are not the ultimate. In this way, there is nothing to obtain and nothing that is
not obtained; there is nothing to adopt and nothing to discard. Nāga Lord, the teachings of
emancipation taught or explained in this way lead the hearers to attain the hearers’
understanding, the solitary buddhas to attain the solitary buddhas’ understanding, and the
bodhisattvas to reach the acceptance that phenomena are unborn and to fully awaken to the
unsurpassed and perfect awakening of the thus-gone ones. Such teachings are then called
buddha speech. Moreover, these teachings rest on the basis of the
relative, since on the ultimate level the convention buddha speech cannot
be applied, as on that level buddha speech is wordless. Buddha speech is voiceless, soundless,
inexpressible, unutterable, uncommunicative, undesignated, unnamable, unmarked, uncategorizable,
unconscious, inconceivable, and unfathomable. It cannot be classified, communicated, or taught.
Nāga Lord, buddha speech is like that.

“Why is this? Nāga Lord, I certainly do not teach the Dharma to beings who are fond of
words. Rather, I teach the Dharma so that words may be understood. Therefore, buddha speech is
without words. Nāga Lord, I certainly do not teach the Dharma to beings who are fond of
speaking. Rather, I teach the Dharma so that all speaking may be dispelled. Therefore, buddha speech is unutterable. Nāga Lord, I certainly do
not teach the Dharma in order to arouse an obsession with communication. Rather, I teach the
Dharma so that all communication and imagination can be pacified. Therefore, buddha speech is
not communication. Nāga Lord, I
certainly do not teach the Dharma so that phenomena may be grasped, so that phenomena may be
clung to, so that phenomena may be elaborated on, so that phenomena may be imagined, so that
phenomena may be produced, so that phenomena may be stopped, so that phenomena may be destroyed,
so that phenomena may abide, so that phenomena may be observed, so that phenomena can be
pondered, so that the essential nature of phenomena can be pointed out, so that phenomena may be
analyzed, so that phenomena may be made manifest, so that phenomena can be striven after, or so
that phenomena may be explained. Nāga Lord, I certainly do not teach the Dharma so that any
phenomena can be abandoned or halted. Rather, I teach the Dharma precisely because all phenomena
are naturally free from superimposition.

“Therefore Nāga Lord, the fact that all phenomena are naturally free from
superimposition can be called buddha speech. Why is this called
buddha speech? The nature of all words is buddhahood. Therefore, they
are called buddha speech. The delimitation of the past and future of all
words is buddhahood. Therefore, they are called buddha speech. The
revelation of the indirect intention of all words is buddhahood. Therefore, they are called
buddha speech. The knowledge of the response to all words is
buddhahood. Therefore, they are called buddha speech. The causes, aims, and
conventions of all words are buddhahood. Therefore, they are called buddha
speech. The knowledge that treats all words like echoes is buddhahood. Therefore,
they are called buddha speech.

“Nāga Lord, furthermore, there are no terms or words whatsoever that cannot be buddha
speech. Why is this? Because all those words have been spoken, are spoken, and will be spoken by
the blessed buddhas of the past, present, and future. Thus, all terms and words are buddha speech, and that which understands
the meaning of such words is a bodhisattva’s correct understanding of
meaning. All terms and words are buddha speech, and that which knows them as the
indivisibility and one taste of the realm of phenomena is a bodhisattva’s correct
understanding of phenomena. All terms and words are buddha speech, and that
knowledge of analyzing them in terms of the Dharma, as appropriate, is a bodhisattva’s
correct understanding of language. All terms and words are buddha speech, and
knowing how to teach without impediment based on the appropriate situation is a
bodhisattva’s correct understanding of eloquence. Therefore, Nāga Lord, there are
no phenomena that are not subsumed within these four correct discriminations. Bodhisattvas who
attain these correct discriminations can understand the fact that any term, word, or language
whatsoever is buddha speech. Thus they can teach and explain without any attachment or
obstruction for up to a thousand eons, and there will be no hindrance.

“Why is this? Nāga Lord, this is the dhāraṇī called the inexhaustible
casket. Bodhisattvas who attain this dhāraṇī eloquently form felicitous
statements in an inexhaustible flow of words and syllables. These statements do away with the
faults of both the past and future. They are unobstructed, logical, and adorned with relative
truth. They possess the
ultimate, possess the pure foundation, and continually know both the provisional and definitive
meaning. They accurately demonstrate the ground of pollution and purification. They explain the
teachings that allow one to understand the conduct of all beings. They accurately discern the
contributing conditions of the eighty-four thousand faculties. They
use words when they present the teachings. However, they are
inexhaustible when it comes to the use of terms and with regard to their Dharma lectures, usage
of analogy, teachings on time, teachings on cause and effect, measures, subjects, limits,
engagement of mind, initial syllables such as a, connecting syllables such as a (or applying
this similarly from pa to la), the presentations up to purification,
discussions of the etymologies of the Dharma, varied and profound discussions, explanations of
the connection between topics that are disordered, teachings that are in inverse order, discussions of the appropriate and the inappropriate, teachings devoid of etymologies, descriptions praising the qualities of
the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, discussions teaching the truths, discussions teaching the
factors of awakening, discussions describing the ripening of karma, and discussions teaching the
perfections.

“Therefore, Nāga Lord, the inexhaustibility in teaching any phoneme is the dhāraṇī
called the inexhaustible casket. Nāga Lord, the inexhaustible
casket dhāraṇī should be realized through the four inexhaustibilities. What are
these four? The four are inexhaustibility of correct understanding, inexhaustibility of wisdom, inexhaustibility of
insight, and inexhaustibility of eloquence in dhāraṇī.

“Nāga Lord, the inexhaustible casket dhāraṇī should be realized
through four unfathomables. What are these four? The four are unfathomable contemplation,
unfathomable mind, unfathomable engagement with phenomena, and unfathomable understanding of
beings’ conduct.

“Nāga Lord, the following four things should be understood as the essence and the word
of the inexhaustible casket dhāraṇī. What are these four? They are treating
insight as essential, taking practice to heart, taking the practice of patience to heart, and
taking mastery of one’s endeavors to heart.

“Nāga Lord, four factors penetrate the inexhaustible casket
dhāraṇī. What are these four? They are discerning the truths, discerning dependent origination,
discerning the conduct of all beings, and discerning all the vehicles.

“Nāga Lord, four factors are the light of the inexhaustible casket
dhāraṇī. What are these four? They are the light of all beings, the light of insight, the light
of the eye of wisdom, and the light of teaching the Dharma as suited to individuals.

“Nāga Lord, four factors are the effort of the inexhaustible
casket dhāraṇī. What are these four? They are the effort of diligence, the effort
of discipline, the effort of seeking the accumulation of merit, and the effort of seeking the
accumulation of wisdom.

“Nāga Lord, four factors show how there is no end to pursuing the Dharma of the
inexhaustible casket dhāraṇī. What are these four? There is no limit to
the pursuit of the perfections,
no limit to the pursuit of not being discouraged by saṃsāra, no limit to the pursuit of ripening
beings, and no limit to the pursuit of omniscient wisdom.

“Nāga Lord, there are four ways to be insatiable regarding the inexhaustible
casket dhāraṇī. What are these four? They are being insatiable about learning the
Dharma directly from blessed buddhas, being insatiable about teaching the Dharma to beings,
being insatiable in pursuing roots of virtue, and being insatiable in venerating and honoring
the thus-gone ones.

“Nāga Lord, there are four ways in which the inexhaustible casket
dhāraṇī is invulnerable. What are these four? It is invulnerable to any afflictions, it is
invulnerable to any māras, it is invulnerable to any opposing forces, and it is invulnerable to
the deeds of others.

“Nāga Lord, there are four ways in which the inexhaustible casket
dhāraṇī is unadulterated. What are these four? It is unadulterated by the hearers and solitary
buddhas; it is unadulterated by all forms of gain, honor, and praise; it is unadulterated by the
fetters of habitual tendency; and it is unadulterated by any of the faults of ordinary beings.
It is unadulterated in these four ways.

“Nāga Lord, there are four ways in which the inexhaustible casket
dhāraṇī cannot be slandered. What are these four? One’s birth cannot be slandered, its ability
to ripen beings with lapsed ethical discipline is irreproachable, it cannot be criticized for
being only prattle derived from Dharma teaching, and those who request it to liberate others
through the Great Vehicle cannot be criticized. These are the four respects in which it cannot
be slandered.

“Nāga Lord, there are four strengths of the inexhaustible casket
dhāraṇī. What are these four? They are the strength of patience in terms of accepting the
misdeeds of all beings, the strength of wisdom in terms of cutting through the doubts of all
beings, the strength of the higher knowledges in terms of how it knows the minds and deeds of
all beings, and the strength of means in terms of how it teaches the Dharma as suited to
individuals. These are its four strengths.

“Nāga Lord, the inexhaustible casket dhāraṇī is an inexhaustible
treasure in four respects. What are these four? It is an inexhaustible trove of the unbroken
lineage of the Three Jewels, it is an inexhaustible trove of immeasurable Dharma realization, it
is an inexhaustible trove of that which pleases all beings, and it is an inexhaustible trove of
wisdom equal to space. In these four respects it is an inexhaustible treasure.

“Nāga Lord, there are four ways in which the inexhaustible casket
dhāraṇī is immeasurable. What are these four? It consists in immeasurable learning, immeasurable
insight, immeasurable dedication, and immeasurable utterances for teachings on etymology.

“Nāga Lord, there are four ways in which the inexhaustible casket
dhāraṇī is meaningful. What are these four? It is meaningful Dharma teachings, it is meaningful
teaching of the words of truth, it is meaningful in distinguishing the approaches to the Dharma,
and it is meaningful in leading to the seat of awakening.

“Nāga Lord, there are four ways in which one achieves fearlessness in the
inexhaustible casket dhāraṇī. What are these four? They are achieving
fearlessness with regard to all lower realms, achieving fearlessness with regard to being bested
within the assembly, achieving fearlessness in cutting through all beings’ doubts, and achieving fearlessness with
regard to entering the stage of buddhahood. These four should be understood as the ways in which
one achieves fearlessness in the inexhaustible casket dhāraṇī.

“Nāga Lord, in this manner the descriptions of the qualities of the
inexhaustible casket dhāraṇī are limitless, and its engagement with
insight is limitless.

“Nāga Lord, to genuinely express the inexhaustible casket dhāraṇī
is to describe the entirety of the bodhisattvas’ conduct, the bodhisattvas’ wisdom, the
bodhisattvas’ playfulness, the bodhisattvas’ vast play, the bodhisattvas’ ornamental array of
qualities, the bodhisattvas’ paths, the bodhisattvas’ vessels, the bodhisattvas’ baskets and
their knowledge of them, the bodhisattvas’ entries through the seal of the dhāraṇī door, their
skill with regard to the fortunate and unfortunate, their ornamental arrangements of body and
speech and mind, their mastery of the array of qualities of the buddha realms, their amassing
the accumulations for the seat of awakening, their entry into the wisdom that purifies beings,
their receiving the sublime Dharma, their firm knowledge of all concordance and strength and
diligence and perfections, the array of the ornaments at the seat of awakening, and the
qualities of buddhahood.

“Nāga Lord, as for all the words that are applied to the terms for beings and
phenomena, bodhisattvas know the intention behind each and every one of those syllables by way
of applying the inexhaustible casket dhāraṇī. That is, it does not deceive
with regard to the nature of all phenomena, because the nature of all phenomena is originally
pure. It does not deceive with regard to the enjoyment of phenomena, because it enjoys all phenomena. It does not
deceive with regard to the definitive meaning of phenomena, because all phenomena are ultimate.
It does not deceive with regard to the appearance of all phenomena, because all phenomena are
eyes. It does not deceive with regard to the conventions of all phenomena, because all phenomena
are simply names. It does not deceive with regard to the application of all phenomena, because
all phenomena are attained. It does not deceive with regard to the nobility of all phenomena,
because all phenomena are tamed. It does not deceive with regard to the appearance of all
phenomena, because all phenomena are quelled. It does not deceive with regard to any phenomenon
lacking power, because all phenomena are devoid of power. It does not deceive with regard to
phenomena being unborn, because no phenomena are verbalized. It does not deceive with regard to
the aspiration for all phenomena, because all phenomena possess faith. It does not deceive with
regard to the description of all phenomena, because all phenomena constitute the path of words.
It does not deceive with regard to that which accords with the thusness of all phenomena,
because all phenomena are thusness. It does not deceive with regard to the sameness of all
phenomena throughout the three times, because all phenomena are just as they are. It does not
deceive with regard to the lack of movement of all phenomena, because all phenomena abide in
their places. It does not deceive with regard to all phenomena having functions, because all
phenomena lie in the palm of one’s hand. It does not deceive with regard to the sameness of all
phenomena, because all phenomena are the same.

“Because all phenomena are path, they teach the entrance to all phenomena. Because all
phenomena are space, they teach all phenomena to be like space. Because all phenomena are
produced with endurance, they teach all phenomena to be liberation itself. Because all phenomena
are ungraspable, they teach all phenomena to be ownerless. Because all phenomena are
recollected, they teach all phenomena to be unforgettable. Because all phenomena are recalled, they teach the
inexhaustibility of all phenomena. Because all phenomena are peace, they teach the peacefulness
of all phenomena. Because all phenomena are equal to space, they teach the genuine reality of
all phenomena. Because all phenomena are a gateway of exhaustion, they teach the gateway of the
limit of exhaustion of all phenomena. Because all phenomena abide in their places, they teach
the abiding reality of all phenomena. Because all phenomena are subsumed within wisdom, they
teach the absence of delusion in all phenomena. Because all phenomena are included, they teach
the disorder of all phenomena. Because all phenomena are devoid of existence, they teach the
nonexistence of all phenomena. Because all phenomena fluctuate, they teach the way that all
phenomena are inaccurately apprehended.

“Because all phenomena are recollected, they teach the recollection of the past abodes
of all phenomena. Because all phenomena are plentiful resources, they teach the potential of all
phenomena. Because all phenomena are subsumed within the syllable sa,
they teach the synonyms of the neuter words of all phenomena. Because all phenomena are subsumed
within the syllables ha and na, they teach the dissimilarity of all phenomena.
Because all phenomena are subsumed within the ocean, they teach the vast words of the intent of
all phenomena. Because all phenomena are massive and imposing, they teach the unshakable nature
of all phenomena. Because all phenomena abide in their own place, they teach the fact that all
phenomena abide in the realm of phenomena. Because all phenomena are guides, they teach the
genuine gentleness of all phenomena. Because all phenomena are the attainment of a result, they teach the absence of mental activity in all phenomena.
Because all phenomena are simply aggregations, they teach the full knowledge of the suffering
related to all phenomena. Because all phenomena are bandits, they teach the provisionally
afflictive nature of all phenomena. Because all phenomena have been relinquished, they teach the
lack of clinging related to all phenomena. Because all phenomena are the syllable da, they teach the discontinuous path of all
phenomena. Because all phenomena are the syllable dha, they teach the infinite and undisrupted nature of all phenomena.

“Nāga Lord, once bodhisattvas acquire retention with respect to this
inexhaustible casket dhāraṇī called that which applies to
linguistic designations, they will understand the intention behind the
etymologies of all words. Nāga Lord, just as words are inexhaustible, so too are the teachings
on all phenomena. By way of analogy, just as words do not arise at all from either body or mind,
so too do no phenomena arise from anything. They do not abide in body, nor do they abide in
mind. Words do not become polluted, yet they describe the polluted state. They do not become
purified, yet they describe the purified state. Likewise, bodhisattvas who have attained the
inexhaustible casket dhāraṇī describe pollution yet cannot become
polluted by any polluting phenomena. Though they describe purified phenomena, they cannot become
purified by purified phenomena, because they are already utterly pure.

“As an analogy, words can communicate without being transferred from anywhere.
Likewise, all phenomena can bring about understanding and even purify the minds of others
without being transferred from anywhere.

“As an analogy, spoken words do not travel throughout the cardinal and intermediate
directions, and unspoken words do not accumulate internally. Likewise, all the teachings of the
Dharma do not travel throughout the cardinal and intermediate directions, and what is not taught
does not accumulate internally.

“As an analogy, words occur without having form or being demonstrable. Likewise,
phenomena arise from the mind’s observations without having form or being demonstrable.

“As an analogy, words are momentary, meaningless, false, and deceptive, and they have
no creators whatsoever. Likewise, phenomena are momentary, meaningless, false, and deceptive,
and they have no creators whatsoever.

“As an analogy, while words cannot have attachment, aggression, or delusion, the
communication of words can cause childish beings to be attached, aggressive, and deluded.
Likewise, while all phenomena can be understood to be without attachment, aggression, or delusion, clinging generates
attachment, aggression, and delusion.

“As an analogy, while it is taught that a result can be attained through designations
composed of words, nothing is attained and actualized through words. Likewise, although it is
taught that a result is attained through the presentation of Dharma, there is no thing therein
that can be attained or actualized.

“As an analogy, just as there is nothing at all that is not encapsulated in words, so
there is nothing at all that is not encapsulated in awakening. Nāga Lord, this being so,
bodhisattvas who abide in the inexhaustible casket dhāraṇī seek awakening
purely through words. They teach awakening purely through words. They discuss awakening purely
through words. They reach awakening purely though words.

“Nāga Lord, bodhisattvas will attain the ten powers through attaining the
inexhaustible casket dhāraṇī. They will attain the fourfold
fearlessness, the eighteen unshared qualities, the qualities of buddhahood, the thirty-two marks
of a great being, the eighty minor marks, and unsurpassed insight. This insight liberates all
beings into the formless state,
burns all afflictions, ripens all beings, liberates them from the four rivers, defeats the four
māras, shows all beings a smiling countenance, pleases all beings, genuinely develops the mind
of precious insight, ensures that the lineage of the Three Jewels continues, defeats all false
teachers, pulverizes the fangs of the afflictions, is the dhāraṇī that protects with the mantras
of the threefold secret, sees all phenomena, liberates from the burden of the afflictions,
eliminates all fear and anxiety, sees the vast and profound Dharma, acts with the strength of a
lion, sustains all beings, traverses the path to nirvāṇa, spurns the left-hand path, and gets
beings on the right-hand path.

“Someone who has such precious wisdom knows the activities, thoughts, and actions of
all beings; masters the five higher knowledges; delights in single-pointed concentration; and
possesses the four noble truths. That person has the five excellent eyes; has a body of the
entire field of space; has a forehead equal to the realm of phenomena; has the throat of
thusness; has the unborn tongue; is of one taste with equality; possesses the learning of all
teachings; has a learning that understands all sounds; is not attached to scents; is not angry
toward scents; knows all scents; has the head of the four applications of mindfulness; has the
sweet-scented hair of the four abodes of Brahmā; has the crown of the three liberations; has the
expansive clavicles of the four correct abandonments; has the shoulders of the four bases of miraculous
absorption; has the wide chest of the five strengths; has the deep navel of the five faculties;
has the stomach of the seven branches of awakening; has the hips of the eight aspects of the
path; has the pores of infinite wisdom; has hands that guide the abundant roots of virtue; has
fingers that guard the path of the ten virtuous actions; has nails that see and cultivate the
reality of intrinsic purity; has ribs of no hesitation with respect to any phenomenon; has the
spine of the gradual attainment of the levels; has the
strength of teaching the Dharma in a timely manner; has the thighs of tranquility and special
insight from having excellently trained in all the concentrations, freedoms, absorptions, and
attainments; has the knees of entering into certainty about the Dharma; has the calves that
teach the Dharma just as it should be; has the mindfulness that stands on guard through
realizing the Dharma; has the ankles of achieving victory over the afflictions; has feet that
tread in the ten directions; and has the coming and going that is in sync with the teachings.
That person wears the clothes of modesty and moral shame; is adorned with the flower garland of
the factors of awakening; teaches the Dharma with proliferating words; is beyond the appropriate
and inappropriate; is infused with the scented powder of the profound knowledge, wisdom, and
higher knowledges of death and transmigration, becoming and birth; has the salve of infinitely
great discipline; has Brahmā’s retinue; and has the Brahmā path—the path to the transcendence of
suffering. That person teaches
the excellent path, is a guide to the path of liberation, is the finest and friendliest friend
and companion, is the kin of all beings, has great compassion, seeks the benefit of all beings,
is a supreme being, is a great being, is a sublime being, is a foremost being, is a leonine
being, is a pink-lotus-like being, is a white-lotus-like being, is a cherished being, is a chief
being, and is a being of noble birth. That person frees beings from poverty and misery, cares
for all beings, liberates all beings, eliminates the tendency for affliction in all beings,
teaches the supreme teaching among the nectar-like Dharma, genuinely upholds the bodhisattvas’
great vehicle, and achieves mastery over all things. That person is the lord of all beings, is a
parent and a relative, has truly transcended the eight worldly concerns, is in harmony with the
whole world, is a master of the Dharma, controls the mind, is the sublime perfection of all
sciences and scripts, and makes awakening and omniscience the mind’s companions.

“The perfection of generosity provides beings’ clothes, food, and drink. The perfection
of discipline provides their timely well-being. The perfection of patience provides their
complete fearlessness. The perfection of diligence provides for their engagement in positive
deeds. The perfection of concentration provides for their calmness and lack of regret. The
perfection of insight provides for their purification of all phenomena. The perfection of skill
in means provides for the benefit of both self and other. The perfection of aspiration provides for beings’ achieving
whatever they wish for. The perfection of strength provides for their defeat of all afflictions.
The perfection of wisdom provides for their wisdom being unobstructed throughout the three
times. Love provides for accomplishing what benefits all beings. Compassion provides for
dispelling the suffering of beings. Joy provides for their well-being and joy. Equanimity
provides for their abandonment of attachment and anger. True speech provides for nondeception in
all these beings’ worlds.

“Nāga Lord, these are the outer appearances related to the inexhaustible
casket dhāraṇī, and they constitute its body. Any bodhisattvas who find joy in
the Dharma through this dhāraṇī are like a king who is the harem’s center of attention, like
Śakra who is the lord on Mount Meru, like Brahmā in the Brahmā realm, like the lord of the
asuras Rāhu in his distinguished realm. They are like the ocean in being boundless and difficult
to fathom, like Mount Meru in being exalted by their merits. They are the sweetheart and
favorite of the gods. They are like a father and mother’s only child. They are pleasing to
behold like the full moon in the midst of the sky. Like the Teacher, they are an object of the
veneration of gods and humans. They are illuminating like the rising of the sun. Their voice is
pleasing like the peacock living in the forest. Their roar of Dharma resounds like a lion’s in a
mountain cave. They enjoy the food of the high born like the gentle-minded elephant. They
instruct the Dharma kingdom like a universal Dharma king. They spread clouds of Dharma like a
playful group of nāgas. They sound the thunder of Dharma like a nāga lord causing a rain shower.
They make the timely
Dharma-rain fall like Śakra. They terrify all extremists like a hero dealing with an opposing
army. They quell all afflictions like a torrent of water putting out a fire. They overwhelm all
nāgas like the wind blowing away a handful of straw. They take care of all beings like a mother
caring for a child. They are unmoved by pleasure or pain in the way the earth is unaffected by
things placed upon it. They rattle all false teachers like the wind rattling the leaves of a
tree. They appropriately distribute the wealth of Dharma like Vaiśravaṇa, who is rich with all
kinds of jewels. They fulfill all beings’ wishes like the wish-fulfilling jewel known as
heart of all beings. Therefore, Nāga Lord, it is said that a
bodhisattva who adheres to the inexhaustible casket dhāraṇī abides at the
seat of awakening.

“To give an analogy, Nāga Lord: a bodhisattva who abides in the inexhaustible
casket dhāraṇī is the source and repository of all qualities in the same way that
the ocean is the source and repository of all jewels. To give an analogy, Nāga Lord: a
bodhisattva who adheres to the inexhaustible casket dhāraṇī pleases all
beings with excellent speech the way a container filled with hundreds of different incenses
pleases the tastes of all beings for incense.

“Moreover, Nāga Lord, this dhāraṇī can be applied in any language. Thus, what is known
here as the mind set on awakening is known as
composure in the world called Inexhaustible, the buddha
realm of the single Thus-Gone
One Jeweled Parasol. What is known here as omniscience is
known as all endowed in the world called Combining Special Features, the
buddha realm of the Thus-Gone One Nārāyaṇa. What is known here as the perfection of
generosity is known as splendorous in the world called
Peace, the buddha realm of the Thus-Gone One Gone to Accomplishment. What is
known here as the perfection of discipline is known as the method
called “excellent” in the world called Without Misery, the buddha realm of the
Thus-Gone One Free from Misery. What is known here as the perfection of
patience is known as unending expansiveness in the world
called Immaculate, the buddha realm of the Thus-Gone One
Immaculate Visage. What is known here as the perfection of diligence is
known as liberating in the world called All-Illuminating, the buddha realm
of the Thus-Gone One Stainless Light. What is known here as the perfection of
concentration is known as peaceful conduct in the world
called Essential, the buddha realm of the Thus-Gone One Heart of the Doctrine. What
is known here as the perfection of insight is known as complete
purity in the world called Cloudy, the buddha realm of the Thus-Gone One Cloud
King. What is known here as skill in means is known as attuned to
the world in the world called True Eminence, the buddha realm of the Thus-Gone
One Immaculate Hand.

“What are known here as love, compassion, joy, and equanimity are
known as beneficial, pleasing,

enabling, and quelling dualism in the world called Excellent,
the buddha realm of the Thus-Gone One Siddhārtha. What are known here as suffering,
its origin, cessation, and the path are known as the root, the
appearance of the root, the dying off of the root, and destroying the root in the
world called Irreproachable, the buddha realm of the Thus-Gone One Protector of
Glory. What are known here as the applications of mindfulness are known
elsewhere as abodes. What are known here as correct
abandonments are known elsewhere as special liberations.
What are known here as the bases of miraculous absorption are known
elsewhere as directed movements. What are known here as
faculties are known elsewhere as comprehensions.
What are known here as strengths are known elsewhere as
teachings. What are known here as branches of
awakening are known elsewhere as progressions. What is known
here as path is known elsewhere as liberating. What
are known here as correct discriminations are known elsewhere as
doors of direct perception. What is known here as the gift of
Dharma is known elsewhere as well summarized. What are known
here as tranquility and special insight are known elsewhere as
calming and observing. What is known here as
liberation is known elsewhere as meaningful. What
is known here as merit is known elsewhere as
beneficial. What is known here as wisdom is known
elsewhere as yielding realization. What is known here as going
forth is known elsewhere as following the path. What is
known here as ordaining is known elsewhere as
nontransgressible. What is known here as nirvāṇa
is known elsewhere as
peacefulness. What is known here as blessed buddhas graced
with limitless praise is known in other worlds as blessed buddhas
characterized as having no impediments.

“Nāga Lord, these explanatory expressions and conventional expressions occur in other
buddha realms. In those buddha realms, they are called explanatory glosses
by bodhisattvas who abide in the inexhaustible casket dhāraṇī. Even if I
were to describe the explanatory expressions and conventional expressions that arise throughout
the ten directions for an eon or more, I would never reach the end of the description of such
explanatory expressions and conventional expressions, which are employed throughout the buddha
realms.”

When this teaching on the inexhaustible casket dhāraṇī was given,
sixty thousand bodhisattvas achieved dhāraṇī. Eight thousand bodhisattvas reached the acceptance
that phenomena are unborn. Thirty-two thousand people developed the mind set on unsurpassed and
perfect awakening. The Blessed One then said to Nāga King Sāgara, “Nāga Lord, bodhisattvas truly
accomplish omniscience through this path that eliminates darkness.”

Chapter Four: The Benefits of the Inexhaustible Casket Dhāraṇī

“Nāga Lord, at one point in the past, even longer than a countless eon ago, at a point
so long ago that it defies reckoning or fathoming, there was an eon called Action. At that time
there was a world called Constellation of Unique Attributes in which the Blessed Buddha Divine
King of Brahmā’s Splendor appeared. He was a thus-gone one, a worthy one, a perfect buddha,
someone learned and virtuous, a
well-gone one, a knower of the world, an unsurpassed charioteer who guides beings, and a teacher
of gods and humans. The world Constellation of Unique Attributes was at that time well-off,
vast, and happy, had abundant harvests, was delightful, had many inhabitants, and was filled
with gods and humans. It was a four-continent world as large as the billion four-continent
worlds in this buddha realm. Thus, one billion such four-continent worlds constituted the
Blessed Thus-Gone One Divine King of Brahmā’s Splendor’s world Constellation of Unique
Attributes. The extent of this world was immeasurable. In this world shone the light of precious
ever-luminous vajra jewels. This world was draped with a net of jewels, hung with many silken
banners, adorned with hoisted parasols, banners, and standards, and draped with great canopies.
At night the sound of thousands of instruments resounded from the firmament unplayed, unstruck.
The sounds of instruments and song could be heard clearly by the entire trichiliocosm. Such
instruments and song did not reinforce desire, nor did they inflame attachment, aggression,
delusion, and the afflictions. Rather peace, absolute peace, Dharma joy, and satisfaction issued
from these sounds. By simply hearing them, all gods and humans attained mindfulness, peace, joy,
and bliss, and they were no
longer harmed by the afflictions. Additionally, the world was flat like the palm of a hand, soft
and pleasing to the touch like fabric made from feathers of the kācilindi bird. The lower realms
and poor migrations were not to be found in that world. Rather, its gods and humans lived in
complete purity. For the most part, everyone was inspired toward vastness and had entered the
Great Vehicle. Practitioners of the vehicles of hearers and solitary buddhas were scarce. All
manner of enjoyments arose simply by being imagined in the mind. These gods and humans all
experienced pleasures and enjoyments—none suffered or was poor. The humans situated there were
similar to the gods of the Heaven of Joy in their enjoyments and pleasures. The lifespan of this
thus-gone one was counted as 67.2 million years. The lifespan of the humans
there was the same. Nobody failed to live out their lifespan. There were 7.2 billion
bodhisattvas in the assembly of this thus-gone one; his saṅgha of hearers was immeasurable.

“Nāga Lord, at that time there was a universal monarch, a powerful lord of the four
great continents named Inexhaustible Merit. King Inexhaustible Merit
had 840 trillion goddess-like queens and women at his disposal. Four among them were the most
sublime of his queens. They were named Vimalā, Vimalaprabhā, Purity, and Joyful
Maiden. They had eighty-four thousand sons that each had the strength of a mighty being. Their
bodies had twenty-eight marks. They had all entered the Great Vehicle. Nāga Lord, King
Inexhaustible Merit lived in a great city called Presence of Joy. The eastern,
western, northern, and southern
edges of the city measured sixty-four leagues each. The Blessed Thus-Gone One Divine King of
Brahmā’s Splendor was born in this great city Presence of Joy. King Inexhaustible Merit's palace
in this great city was built out of the seven precious substances. Within it were eight million
four hundred thousand avenues and city gates. Alongside each avenue and city gate were
eighty-four trillion households. The city was surrounded by seven rings of fences, railings,
palm trees, and nets of bells, large and small. It was also surrounded by ten thousand pleasure
gardens. Seven concentric moats encircled the city, each of which was filled with water with the
eight qualities and covered with the most fragrant blue, pink, red, and white lotuses. Swans
were constantly honking. This great city was in this manner replete with unfathomable ornate
qualities. The Blessed Thus-Gone One Divine King of Brahmā’s Splendor was staying in a monastery
built for him by King Inexhaustible Merit in the grove Supreme Incense Light. With
his retinue of children, queens, relatives, and dependents, King Inexhaustible
Merit served this thus-gone one with all manner of pleasing and pleasurable
substances and enjoyments for a hundred thousand eons.

“Nāga Lord, King Inexhaustible Merit and his retinue then went before the
Blessed Thus-Gone One Divine King of Brahmā’s Splendor, bowed their heads toward him, and sat
together. Acknowledging their arrival, the Blessed One said, ‘Great king, if one has four
qualities, one will become a Dharma lord, a kṣatriya who has been crowned king, and will excel
in virtuous qualities. What are these four? They are having faith such that one pursues virtues
and can humbly go before the noble ones; having passion for the Dharma such that one yearns for
the Dharma and is absolutely overjoyed about it; generating thoughts that constantly consider
the truth, discriminate the impermanent nature of phenomena, realize the defects of conditioned
phenomena, and are mindful of the fact that all possessions are subject to change; and being
conscientious so as to never abandon the intention of the mind set on awakening, cling to any
sense pleasure, or allow one’s roots of virtue to degenerate, but rather cause them to increase
further. Great king, if one has these four qualities one will become a Dharma lord, a kṣatriya
who has been crowned king, and will excel in virtuous qualities.’

“Then King Inexhaustible Merit asked the Thus-Gone One Divine King of
Brahmā’s Splendor, ‘Blessed One, what qualities do bodhisattvas require to achieve mastery over
the Dharma?’

“The Blessed One responded, ‘Great king, if they have eight qualities, bodhisattvas
will achieve mastery over the Dharma. What are these eight? They are possessing the five playful
and undefiled higher knowledges of beings; possessing unbounded, unimpeded, and unmoving
insight; subsuming all within wisdom, engaging in purification, and possessing the four
unconditioned bases of miraculous absorption; possessing insight, wisdom, view, and the four correct
discriminations devoid of all afflictive emotions; being blessed by a buddha and possessing the
strength of being blessed with such unimpeded blessings; possessing the inexhaustible merit of
the oceanic seal of absorption; pleasing all beings, exerting oneself for all the qualities of
buddhahood, and possessing the dhāraṇī of pure recollection; and proceeding exactly according to
the Dharma, following the Dharma of the single principle, abiding in the nondual limit of
reality, and attaining the acceptance that phenomena are unborn. Great king, if bodhisattvas
have these eight qualities, they will achieve mastery over the Dharma.

“ ‘Great king, additionally there is a dhāraṇī called the jeweled
casket. If bodhisattvas attain it, they will achieve mastery over the Dharma.’

“The Thus-Gone One then taught on the jeweled casket dhāraṇī,
making extensive classifications, for a hundred thousand years. King Inexhaustible
Merit gave up all his royal duties and listened to the Dharma, without distraction or
competing pursuits, alongside his supporters and retinue. For that period of one hundred
thousand years, they had no desirous, malicious, or violent thoughts, nor did they entertain any
thoughts about children, wives, political dominion, possessions, or lovely things. Rather, they
happily dwelled in trust in the Dharma and the intention of the mind set on awakening. With
great love, their minds viewed all beings the same way and, donning the armor of great compassion, they solely
concerned themselves with listening to the Dharma. Not only did they hear the sublime Dharma
from the Blessed One for a hundred thousand years, they also trained in the root of this very
jeweled casket dhāraṇī. For seven million eons they practiced in order
to exit saṃsāra. They purified the karmic obscurations amassed over ten thousand eons. A hundred
thousand buddhas appeared before their eyes. They took hold of enough roots of virtue to
directly see a trillion buddhas. They developed the roots of virtue to attain the dominion of a
universal monarch and become śakras, brahmās, and world protectors as many times as there are
grains of sand in the Ganges. They achieved the dhāraṇī of hearing called pure
recollection. With this dhāraṇī of hearing, they became the true holders of the
speech of hundreds of buddhas. The young ones and their mothers reached the acceptance of
phenomena concurring with reality. Eighty-four thousand of the queens developed the mind set on
awakening. Eighty-four thousand women reached acceptance. Nine trillion gods and men developed
the mind set on awakening. Three trillion two hundred billion practitioners of the hearer
vehicle purified the Dharma eye that beholds phenomena. Sixty million monks liberated their
minds from defilements without perpetuation. Abandoning his kingdom, with no interest in the
normal desires of gods and humans, King Inexhaustible Merit instead pursued
unsurpassed and perfect awakening. Motivated by his faith, he went forth into the homeless life.
Hearing that he had gone forth, all his princes also went forth. Hearing that they had gone
forth, the people of the realm
and the six hundred thousand members of his retinue also went forth. The four most sublime
queens of the king’s harem also went forth.

“Nāga King, these purified beings who had developed roots of virtue in this manner now
lived in constant enthusiasm for those teachings. Nāga Lord, if you are assuming that the
universal monarch Inexhaustible Merit of that time was someone else, if you are
skeptical, critical, or doubtful about this, do not be. Why? Because, Nāga King, you are the one
who was the universal monarch Inexhaustible Merit at that time. Nāga Lord, if you
are assuming that you do not know the people who were those princes and princesses, do not think
this way. Why? Because they were precisely these bodhisattva great beings gathered here in this
assembly. Nāga Lord, what do you think? If you think that the jeweled
casket dhāraṇī that the Thus-Gone One Divine King of Brahmā’s Splendor taught to
King Inexhaustible Merit is something unknown to you, do not think this way. Why?
Because the inexhaustible casket dhāraṇī was at that time known as
the jeweled casket.

“In this way, Nāga Lord, the Thus-Gone One sees with unobstructed buddha eyes, and thus
he teaches to beings a Dharma that arises from earlier causes. Nāga Lord, you have heard this
inexhaustible casket dhāraṇī from many thus-gone ones. You have
repeatedly heard the meaning of this dhāraṇī from many hundreds of thousands of buddhas. This is
why you presently have such recollection, intelligence, realization, abundant eloquence,
insight, and wisdom. Nāga Lord,
all who merely hear the name of this inexhaustible casket dhāraṇī or hear
it introduced will definitely attain inexhaustible eloquence. Why? Because it accords with the
cause that is this dhāraṇī.

“Nāga Lord, in future times, whenever anyone practices this dhāraṇī protection spell
for renunciation, it should be viewed solely as a result of the blessings of the Thus-Gone One.
Nāga Lord, this dhāraṇī is the doorway to eighty-four thousand collections of Dharma. It engages
in eighty-four thousand actions. It follows eighty-four thousand absorptions. This
inexhaustible casket dhāraṇī is the root of eighty-four thousand types
of dhāraṇī. Nāga Lord, the great rain of Dharma that the bodhisattvas shower without obstruction
or impediment throughout the ten directions by means of the four correct discriminations comes
from a cause that accords with the inexhaustible casket dhāraṇī. Nāga Lord,
I will now teach the words that engage and connect with the inexhaustible
casket dhāraṇī, the words of the protection spell of the gods, nāgas, yakṣas,
gandharvas, asuras, and garuḍas:

Tadyathā | hetumati
śāmamati prasādamati ujjumati uttāraṇamati akṣayamati anusandhi ulkamukhe prabhamukte
prabhaketu pracāraketu smṛtikaraṇe mativiśodhane gatipraveśe śūravale tamonute sandharaṇi
uttāraṇi śāntamukhe śāntaprabheśe śāntakleśa vāsanāpagate kuśalavāsani anusandhi visandhi
vigatesthite avasthite sthānānugate avasthānagate avisāre aśuprajñe prajñāmūle mūlavati
śaśiprabhe sūryavati jyotiṣprabhe suvimale amale sarvatamoviśodhani buddhādhiṣṭhite sarvadevatāparigṛhīte
sarvabuddhānāṃ sāstyayane anujñānabrahmaṇā praticchittaśakrena pālitalokapāle parigṛhīta
āryasaṃgṛhīta ṛṣivigautranayuktānāṃ mokṣabuddhānāṃ saṃgraho devamanuṣyāṇāṃ
nigrahakleśānāṃ nirghitānāṃ mārānāṃ hariṣāṇāṃ tirthikānāṃ nigraha sarvaparapravādīnāṃ
codanāvimānikānāṃ anupakramo dharmabhaṇakānāṃ avajrāṇāṃ pariṣada sarvasantoṣānāṃ
dharmakāmānāṃ varirakṣadharmakoṣasya anupacchedastriratnavidaśasya maitrīsarvasatvānāṃ
stutasarvaguṇārthikaiḥ.

“Nāga Lord, these words protect and guard the inexhaustible casket
dhāraṇī. If Dharma preachers recite them, they will achieve thirty-two kinds of fearlessness.
What are these thirty-two kinds of fearlessness? They are ⁽¹⁾ achieving fearless learning
because they genuinely delight others, ⁽²⁾ achieving fearless teaching because their words are
unconfused, ⁽³⁾ achieving fearless communication because their words are not repetitive, ⁽⁴⁾
achieving fearless inquiry because they understand language accurately, ⁽⁵⁾ achieving fearless
eloquence because they display blessings, ⁽⁶⁾ achieving fearless recollection because they
possess a mind that retains, ⁽⁷⁾ achieving fearless intelligence because they please others’
intelligence, ⁽⁸⁾ achieving fearless understanding because they swiftly put doubts to rest, ⁽⁹⁾
achieving fearless attitude because they do not consider others’ perspectives, ⁽¹⁰⁾ achieving
fearless lack of confusion because they use words correctly, ⁽¹¹⁾ achieving a fearless lack of
artifice because their discipline is pure, ⁽¹²⁾ achieving a fearlessly smiling face because
their patience is pure, ⁽¹³⁾
achieving a fearless steadfastness because their promises are unimpaired, ⁽¹⁴⁾ achieving
fearless words that are suitable to be heard because they do not seek dispute, ⁽¹⁵⁾ achieving
fearless and powerful words because they please the assembly, ⁽¹⁶⁾ achieving fearless insight
because they discuss the profound Dharma, ⁽¹⁷⁾ achieving fearless investigation because they are
not arrogant, ⁽¹⁸⁾ achieving a fearless lion’s roar because they defeat all opposing factions,
⁽¹⁹⁾ achieving fearless irreproachability because they teach Dharma without expecting financial
remuneration, ⁽²⁰⁾ achieving fearlessly virtuous teachings because they can discern what should
be practiced, ⁽²¹⁾ achieving fearless blamelessness because they are not reviled by the learned,
⁽²²⁾ achieving the fearless application of sources because they do not contradict the sūtras, ⁽²³⁾ achieving fearless and
proper exhortation because they exhort others in timely ways, ⁽²⁴⁾ achieving unmistaken
fearlessness because they practice what they preach, ⁽²⁵⁾ achieving fearless humility because
they bow toward all beings, ⁽²⁶⁾ achieving fearless and inexhaustible words and statements
because of retaining what they have heard before, ⁽²⁷⁾ achieving the fearless ability to answer
anyone’s questions because they have realized the immeasurable Dharma, ⁽²⁸⁾ achieving the
fearless ability to please the entire assembly because they have purified themselves, ⁽²⁹⁾
achieving the fearless defeat of māras and obstructors because they know all the afflictions,
⁽³⁰⁾ achieving fearless great love because they have no aggression in their minds, ⁽³¹⁾
achieving fearless great compassion because they protect all beings, and ⁽³²⁾ achieving fearless awakened wisdom
because they act as Dharma kings.

“Therefore, Nāga Lord, bodhisattva great beings that hear about, are inspired toward,
and accomplish the inexhaustible casket dhāraṇī will achieve these
thirty-two kinds of fearlessness. Because these thirty-two kinds of fearlessness are continuous,
they culminate in the attainment of the fourfold fearlessness of the
thus-gone ones. Because they have these types of fearlessness, they proclaim the lion’s roar of
the thus-gone ones to the world with its gods. Because they can predict all beings’ questions,
they can also discern their situations. No beings whatsoever of any class will be able to oppose
what accords with the Dharma of the Thus-Gone One or put an end to his teaching of the Dharma.
Therefore, Nāga Lord, bodhisattvas should apply themselves to the inexhaustible
casket dhāraṇī.

“Nāga Lord, what does it mean to apply oneself to the inexhaustible
casket dhāraṇī? To apply oneself to this dhāraṇī is to not apply oneself to eye,
form, or visual consciousness; to not apply oneself to ear, sound, or auditory consciousness; to
not apply oneself to nose, scent, or olfactory consciousness; to not apply oneself to tongue,
taste, or gustatory consciousness; to not apply oneself to body, tactile sensations, or
corporeal consciousness; and to not apply oneself to mind, mental phenomena, or mental
consciousness.

“Nāga Lord, moreover, to apply oneself to this dhāraṇī is to not apply oneself to form,
to not apply oneself to the arising of form, to not apply oneself to the abiding of form, and to not apply oneself to the
ceasing of form. Likewise, to apply oneself to this dhāraṇī is to not apply oneself in the same
way to sensation, ideation, and formations. Likewise, it is to not apply oneself to
consciousness, to not apply oneself to the arising of consciousness, to not apply oneself to the
abiding of consciousness, and to not apply oneself to the ceasing of consciousness.

“Moreover, Nāga Lord, to apply oneself to this dhāraṇī is to apply oneself to the
emptiness of form and to apply oneself to the emptiness of form without thought. Likewise, to
apply oneself to this dhāraṇī is to apply oneself to the emptiness of sensation, ideation,
formations, and consciousness and to apply oneself to the emptiness of these without thought.

“Moreover, Nāga Lord, to apply oneself to this dhāraṇī is to apply oneself to form’s
lack of marks and to apply oneself to form’s lack of marks without thought. Likewise, to apply
oneself to this dhāraṇī is to apply oneself to sensation, ideation, formations, and
consciousness’ lack of marks and to apply oneself to their absence of marks without thought.

“Moreover, Nāga Lord, to apply oneself to this dhāraṇī is to apply oneself to the
wishlessness of form and to apply oneself to the wishlessness of form without thought. Likewise,
to apply oneself to this dhāraṇī is to apply oneself to the wishlessness of sensation, ideation,
formations, and consciousness and to apply oneself to the wishlessness of these without thought.

“To apply oneself to this dhāraṇī is to apply oneself to unconditioned form and to
apply oneself to unconditioned form without thought. Likewise, it is to apply oneself to
unconditioned sensation, ideation, formations, and consciousness and to apply oneself to these
without thought.

“To apply oneself to this dhāraṇī is to apply oneself to unborn and nonoccurring form
and to apply oneself to unborn and nonoccurring form without thought. Likewise, it is to apply
oneself to unborn and nonoccurring sensation, ideation, formations, and consciousness and to
apply oneself to these as unborn and nonoccurring without thought.

“To apply oneself to this dhāraṇī is to apply oneself to void form and to apply oneself
to void form without thought. Likewise, it is to apply oneself to void sensation, ideation,
formations, and consciousness and to apply oneself to these as void without thought.

“To apply oneself to this dhāraṇī is to apply oneself to form’s inherent purity and to
apply oneself to form’s inherent purity without thought. Likewise, it is to apply oneself to the
inherent purity of sensation, ideation, formations, and consciousness and to apply oneself to
the inherent purity of these without thought.

“Moreover, Nāga Lord, to apply oneself to this dhāraṇī is to apply oneself to the
elements as the realm of phenomena and to apply oneself to the realm of phenomena without
thought, to apply oneself to the sense sources as being inherently emptiness and to apply
oneself to that inherent emptiness without thought. To apply oneself to this dhāraṇī is to apply
oneself to all phenomena as dependent origination and to apply oneself to imputed dependent
origination without thought, to apply oneself to all phenomena as being nonabiding and to apply
oneself without clinging to
that nonabiding, to apply oneself to all phenomena as thusness and to apply oneself without
clinging to thusness, to apply oneself to all phenomena as situated in the limit of reality and
to apply oneself to that limit of reality without thought.

“Moreover, Nāga Lord, to apply oneself to this dhāraṇī is to apply oneself to the
understanding of the attachment of beings who indulge in attachment and to apply oneself to the
realm of phenomena without attachment or binding ties. To apply oneself to this dhāraṇī is to
apply oneself to the understanding of the aggression of beings who indulge in aggression and to
apply oneself to the realm of phenomena without aggression or binding ties.

“Moreover, Nāga Lord, to apply oneself to this dhāraṇī is to apply oneself to the
understanding of the delusion of beings who indulge in delusion and to apply oneself to the
realm of phenomena without delusion or binding ties. Moreover, Nāga Lord, to apply oneself to
this dhāraṇī is to apply oneself to the understanding of the mixed afflictions of beings who
indulge in the afflictions equally and to apply oneself to the realm of phenomena without a
discontinuation of mixed afflictions. In summary, Nāga Lord, to apply oneself to this dhāraṇī is
to apply oneself to the understanding of the eighty-four thousand types of experience without
any application within the realm of phenomena.

“Moreover, Nāga Lord, this is neither applying oneself nor not applying oneself to any
phenomena, whether those phenomena entail applying oneself or not applying oneself. Why is this?
Because this application is not an appearance, not an imputation, and not something that has
marks. Therefore, this application is the application of reality. The application of reality
involves neither drawing forth nor not drawing forth, neither holding onto nor casting away, neither staying with
nor leaving any phenomena. Therefore, this application is termed the application of
reality. Nāga Lord, bodhisattvas that apply themselves in this way will attain
this inexhaustible casket dhāraṇī.”

The Blessed One then expressed this in verse:

“When one attains this dhāraṇī,

One will purify mindfulness and intelligence,

Come to the furthest reaches of understanding the sūtras,

And fathom the sounds and tongues of beings.

“One will understand the workings of the thoughts and deeds of beings—

Whether base, excellent, or middling.

Through simply knowing their deeds and minds,

One will teach them the words of Dharma appropriately.

“When one is learned in this dhāraṇī,

It follows that one is learned in causes, actions, and conditions.

One avoids the views of eternalism and nihilism

And abandons all clinging to extremes.

“When one attains this dhāraṇī,

One will be skilled in parsing syllables and words.

One will know many diverse languages

And become learned in their words and meaning.

“Such a one will cleanse the divine eye

And purify the divine ear.

With infinite insight, one clearly perceives others’ minds

And recalls past and future eons.

“Thus, having attained the bases of miraculous absorption,

In a moment one can travel to billions of buddha realms,

Where one will venerate the guides of the world.

Hearing this dhāraṇī, one will uphold the Dharma.

“None of the millions of māras

Will capture the domain of such beings.

Eliminating darkness, one will teach

Countless thousands of sūtras to unafflicted beings.

“Just as a lotus grows from the water yet remains unsullied,

So one will engage in worldly phenomena yet remain unsullied.

Constantly liberating attachment and anger,

All worlds will be equalized in one’s mind, like space.

“Possessing the pure body of sublime characteristics,

Beings will never tire of beholding one.

One will act according to the understanding of deportment and action,

Doing what is beneficial for beings and moving the world.

“When one attains this dhāraṇī,

Śakra, Brahmā, and other world protectors

Will bow respectfully at one’s feet.

Yet, one’s pride will not become at all inflated.

“One’s melodious voice will rival that of Brahmā

And be pleasing to beings.

Flawless, sonorous, pure, and timely,

One’s teachings will never be meaningless.

“When one attains this dhāraṇī,

No one in the assembly will be afraid.

Thundering with the fearless lion’s roar,

All opposing throngs will be defeated.

“Deceptive, recalcitrant, haughty,

Especially proud, and faulty beings

Who attain this learned Dharma

Will abandon such pride and bow to one’s feet.

“One will realize the truth that the realm of phenomena’s nature is peace

And gain conviction in reality.

Thus, in ascertaining the Dharma

And discerning syllables, one’s words are inexhaustible.

“Beings’ nature is purity—the realm of phenomena.

Pure beings understand this accordingly.

When beings likewise understand this truth,

The teachings they give will be unobstructed.

“What is exhaustible can never be exhausted.

What is inexhaustible will also never be exhausted.

By realizing this peaceful reality,

One can teach countless millions of sūtras.

“These words do not abide in the body,

Nor do they abide in the mind or arise from mind.

Still, in the same way that an echo can be heard,

The nature of these words is empty and void.

“This dhāraṇī exists neither in syllables nor in sounds,

Nor in the ways of words, nor in body or speech.

Because one realizes the reality of syllables in this way,

One can voice them, and one’s words will find no impediment.

“Though one teaches this, in one’s mind there are no concepts,

No thinking in the mind either.

However, because this Dharma must be realized,

One teaches a Dharma that accords with reality.

“When one achieves this dhāraṇī,

One realizes the four correct discriminations.

Training in the truth, one knows the activity of reality

And becomes learned in sound, language, and etymology.

“Thereby, one’s eloquence is unimpeded and has no limit,

And one realizes relative and ultimate truth.

Thereby, one understands various profound teachings

In their forward and reverse progression.

“Beings high and low will reach the far shore.

One will be skilled in supporting those with daunted minds,

And likewise skilled in defeating the haughty.

One knows the full scope of what teachings may be needed.

“An unimpeded knowledge penetrates

The actions of body, speech, and mind.

Confusion regarding words containing dhāraṇīs will disappear,

One will relinquish faults and become stable.

“Recollecting the dhāraṇī that guides beings

Is to enter the so-called Dharma.

Nothing whatsoever that one hears will go to waste.

Whatever one hears will be fully mastered accordingly.

“This dhāraṇī does not contradict reality.

It is not peace, even regarding the Dharma.

It is not like the Dharma, but unequaled.

Because it is connected with reality, it is primordial peace.”

When the Blessed One taught the application of the inexhaustible
casket dhāraṇī and this selection of verses, twelve thousand nāgas of the Nāga
King Sāgara’s retinue developed the mind set on unsurpassed and perfect awakening. They aspired,
“Blessed One, in the future, may we achieve the inexhaustible casket
dhāraṇī and teach the Dharma to all beings exactly and exclusively as the Thus-Gone One has
taught the Dharma here and now.”

Chapter Five: Prophecy

Venerable Śāriputra then said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, if even beings born into the nāga realms can
develop the mind set on unsurpassed and perfect awakening in this fashion, it is astounding that
some people are incapable of developing the mind set on awakening.”

The Blessed One responded, “Śāriputra, these twelve thousand nāgas went forth in the
Thus-Gone One Kāśyapa’s body of teachings. They heard the message on the mind set on awakening
from that thus-gone one. Not only did they hear it, but the Thus-Gone One gave them his
approval. The Great Vehicle is inconceivable, and yet he expressed his approval. Still, they
were distracted by nonvirtue in the following way: in order to keep a family household or a
household that gives to beggars, they failed to practice discipline. As they let their
discipline become impaired, once they died, they were reborn in the nāga realm. Through the
cause, contributing condition, and roots of virtue of them hearing the message of the Great
Vehicle and the Blessed One expressing his approval, they now hear the Great Vehicle message
from me. Having heard teachings on the inexhaustible casket dhāraṇī, they
are developing the mind set on unsurpassed and perfect awakening. Śāriputra, just consider this
difference of intention.

“I will now give them their prophecy of unsurpassed and perfect awakening: after
countless eons of serving countless thus-gone ones, they will truly accomplish the Dharma that
accords with awakening. Then, during the Joyful Eon in the world called Immaculate Heart, they
will fully awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood. They will all become thus-gone ones
with four appropriate names: Superior Wisdom, Superior Merit, Superior Dharma, and Superior Insight. They
will all appear during a single eon, just as now a thousand buddhas are set to appear during
this Fortunate Eon.”

Then Nāga King Sāgara said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, when I was living in the
ocean at the beginning of the eon, when the Blessed Thus-Gone One Krakucchanda appeared in the
world, there were only a few adult nāgas and young male and female nāgas in that ocean. Even I
had a meager retinue. Now, Blessed One,
the adult nāgas and young male and female nāgas in the ocean are limitless. Their limit cannot
be calculated numerically. Blessed One, what is the cause and contributing condition for
this?”

The Blessed One answered, “Nāga Lord, those who go forth in the well-spoken Dharma and
Vinaya and do not perfect their discipline—who do not perfect it but rather let their
activities, livelihood, and discipline degenerate, though they still have a morally upright
view—are not reborn as hell beings. Once they die, they will be reborn in the nāga realms. Nāga
Lord, 980 million householders and monastics let the activities, livelihood, and discipline
received from the Thus-Gone One Krakucchanda’s teachings degenerate. Once they died, they were
reborn in the nāga realms. Also, 640 million householders and monastics who went forth in the
Thus-Gone One Kanakamuni’s teachings subsequently let their discipline become corrupt. Thus,
when they died, they were reborn in the nāga realms. Likewise, 800 million householders and monastics let their
activities, livelihood, and discipline that they received from the Thus-Gone One Kāśyapa
degenerate. Thus, once they died, they were reborn in the nāga realms. Nāga King, presently 999
million householders and monastics who have gone forth in my teachings have subsequently gotten
involved in various debates, struggles, and distractions and let their activities, livelihood,
and discipline degenerate. When they die, they will also be reborn in the nāga realms.

“Nāga Lord, such are the causes. Such are the conditions. Therefore, the population of
adult nāgas and young male and female nāgas is presently limitless in this way. Still, Nāga
Lord, in the latter days after I have passed into parinirvāṇa, evil monks, nuns, laymen, and
laywomen will let their discipline degenerate and therefore be reborn in the nāga realms. Some
among them will fall to the state of hell beings.”

Nāga King Sāgara asked, “Blessed One, what is notable about the actions of those who
have gone forth who let their discipline degenerate and either have been or will be reborn in
the nāga realms?”

The Blessed One answered, “Nāga Lord, the behavior of those who have gone forth who let
their discipline degenerate and either have been or will be reborn in the nāga realms is
extremely impure. But, because they have trust in the Thus-Gone One’s teachings, they have the
motivation such that when they pass on from the nāga realm they will be reborn among the gods
and humans due to the power of that pure motivation. They will have the inclination to enter the
vehicles within the teachings of those thus-gone ones who become buddhas in this Fortunate Eon.
All of them, except for
those who have entered the Great Vehicle, will pass into parinirvāṇa during this Fortunate
Eon.

“Nāga Lord, consider thus the uniqueness of the cause, which is the greatness of the
Thus-Gone One’s teachings and the benefits of renunciation. Due to this cause, these beings will
abandon all nonvirtuous qualities and become extraordinary.”

Then Glorious Splendor, the son of the Nāga King Sāgara, said to the Blessed One,
“Blessed One, it is incredible how meaningful it is to see and hear the blessed buddhas. In this
way, if such worthy beings who have a karmic connection arouse the mind focused on the Buddha
even one time and do not let that thought spoil, it will become a cause for obtaining
parinirvāṇa. Blessed One, I will also seek unsurpassed and perfect awakening by arousing the
intention to see and hear in the same way. Until I reach the seat of awakening, may my
bodhisattva conduct be meaningful. May I not become deluded. May I not become deluded about
virtue or about great love and compassion. In all my lifetimes, may I never be separated from
seeing the buddhas, hearing the Dharma, serving the saṅgha of noble beings, and ripening
beings.”

The Blessed One then offered his approval to Glorious Splendor, the son of the Nāga
King Sāgara, “Good sir, it is excellent that you have developed an attitude of supporting all
beings. Even if the blessed ones were to describe them for seven years, seven months, and seven days, they would be
unable to describe the ripening of the roots of virtue of developing the mind set on awakening
with this kind of pure motivation and great compassion. So, the roots of virtue that you have
accumulated should be understood as being that limitless.”

The Blessed One smiled when he recognized the pure motivation of Glorious Splendor, the
son of the Nāga King Sāgara. It is in the nature of the blessed buddhas that whenever they
smile, in that very moment, blue, yellow, red, white, crimson, crystal, and silver-colored light
streams from the mouths of those blessed ones. This light pervades limitless worlds with bright
light, rising as high as the Brahmā world and eclipsing even the splendor and brightness of the
sun and moon. The light then returns and encircles the blessed ones three times before it
dissolves into a blessed one’s crown.

Then Venerable Ānanda stood up, draped his shawl over one shoulder, and knelt on his
right knee. With his palms together he bowed toward the Blessed One and asked the Blessed One
the meaning of his smile in verse:

“O Well-Gone One whose body is adorned with myriad merits

And possesses the thirty-two supreme marks—

Your face is pure and immaculate like the moon.

Why have you shown your smile?

“O Blessed One, you are immaculate, devoid of the three stains.

Without affliction, your lotus eyes are utterly pure.

You are venerated by gods, asuras, and nāgas.

Why have you shown your smile?

“O Blessed One, your teeth are even, straight, and brilliantly white.

You master the ten powers, and your mouth has the most pleasant breath.

O surmounter of aging and death,

Why have you shown your smile?

“O protector whose mind is immaculate like the sphere of space,

With your heart you see enemies in equality.

Your mind is unmoving like a mountain.

Blessed One, please elucidate the meaning of your smile!

“O Blessed One, you speak with Brahmā’s voice,

Which is pleasing and delightful like the sound

Of a kinnara, a cuckoo, or a drum.

Please speak to the means of your smile!

“O guide, possessing the unimpeded mind,

You know the actions, the hopes, and even the faculties of beings

Throughout the three times.

Why have you shown your smile?

“O Blessed One, king of physicians,

You heal the diseases of humans, gods, and nāgas.

O Blessed One, teacher of lasting bliss,

Why have you shown your smile?

“O qualified one, bestow your instruction upon me!

Billions of gods and humans are here, listening.

Hearing, their minds will be totally gladdened,

And the intention of the omniscient one will be enacted.”

The Blessed One asked Venerable Ānanda, “Ānanda, did you see Glorious Splendor, son of
the Nāga King, standing before me while through his pure motivation he developed the mind set on
unsurpassed and perfect awakening?”

“Yes, Blessed One, I did see it.”

The Blessed One said, “Ānanda, in eight hundred countless eons, during the eon Total
Vision, Glorious Splendor will become the Thus-Gone One Amoghadarśin, appearing in the world
Totally Pure and Stable. Ānanda, Glorious Splendor has engaged in the meaningful conduct of
bodhisattvas and pleased limitless blessed buddhas. Venerating them, he went forth and engaged
in pure conduct. He ripened limitless beings through the three vehicles. Ānanda, Totally Pure
and Stable, the world of the Thus-Gone One Amoghadarśin, will be wealthy, extensive, blissful, and pleasant, and it
will have good harvests. It will have a huge population and be filled with gods and humans. The
humans there will be similar to the gods of the Heaven Free from Strife in their provisions and
enjoyments. The lifespan of this thus-gone one will reach ten thousand years. His saṅgha of
hearers will be six hundred million strong. His saṅgha of bodhisattvas will number one million
two hundred thousand.

“Ānanda, as soon as the Thus-Gone One Amoghadarśin enters these beings’ field of
vision, they will achieve the meditative absorption features of love.
Ānanda, as soon as beings see the Thus-Gone One Amoghadarśin, they will be tamed. Regarding
this, anyone on the vehicle of hearers will, upon seeing him for the first time, become a stream
enterer. Upon seeing him for the second time, they will achieve the fruit of a once-returner.
Upon seeing him for the third time, they will achieve the fruit of a non-returner. Upon seeing
him for the fourth time, they will achieve the state of a worthy one. Anyone on the vehicle of
bodhisattvas will, upon purely seeing him for the first time, attain the acceptance that
phenomena are unborn.

“Ānanda, no beings in the world Totally Pure and Stable will ever let their discipline,
view, activity, or livelihood degenerate. They will all become certain about what is correct. No
beings who die will be reborn in the lower realms; instead they will all be reborn among the
humans and gods or into pure buddha realms.”

When Glorious Splendor, the son of the Nāga King Sāgara, heard this prophecy himself,
he was satisfied, happy, delighted, joyful, and at ease. Presenting a net of pearls adorned with
hundreds of thousands of precious gems to the body of the Thus-Gone One, he pressed his ten
fingers and palms together and praised the Blessed One directly with these fitting verses:

“Lord of Humans, your face shines like immaculate moonlight.

Infinite splendor, venerated by the gods and humans,

Incomparable strength, infinite power—

I bow my head to you, immeasurable wisdom!

“O immeasurable wisdom that benefits all,

Whose insight, likewise, is unfathomable,

With discipline immaculate, firm, and pure—

I prostrate to you, Lord of Humans, who are like the sphere of space!

“Engaging in practices for countless infinite eons,

You attained the wisdom of buddhahood.

Thereby, you know the behavior of beings

And likewise their faculties and thoughts.

“O Blessed One, your form is incomparable in the world,

And beings therefore never grow satisfied in beholding you.

Their afflictions are prevented from arising,

And in that moment all are quelled.

“The calls of the kalaviṅka and cuckoo, the music of the kinnaras,

And likewise the sounds of Brahmā and the asuras—

Any such pleasing sound heard in the ten directions

Is outclassed by the single voice of the Well-Gone One.

“It’s possible the moon could fall from the sky.

It’s possible the ocean could dry up and Mount Meru be reduced to dust.

It’s possible the sky could fall to the earth and shatter into a hundred pieces.

But nothing, on the other hand, could happen to the Victor’s voice.

“Observing the conduct of truth, the Teacher has

Granted me prophecy guided by awakened wisdom.

I have no doubt, hesitation, or skepticism about whether

I will become a self-arisen victor, the embodiment of qualities.

“One could finely decorate the ten directions with countless billions of jewels

And offer them to the guides.

But the merit of this would not equal even a fraction

Of that of arousing the mind set on awakening just once.

“Those who develop the supreme mind set on awakening

Elevate their veneration of the buddhas to the highest degree.

One who does not interrupt this mode of the guides

Will repay the kindness of the ten powers.”

When Glorious Splendor, son of the Nāga King Sāgara, spoke these consummate verses, ten
thousand beings developed the mind set on unsurpassed and perfect awakening. They announced,
“When the Blessed Thus-Gone One Amoghadarśin attains awakening, may we meet this blessed one and
be reborn in the world Totally Pure and Stable. May we uphold the sublime Dharma of that
thus-gone one, venerate him, and serve him. Following that blessed one, may we also fully
awaken.”

The Blessed One then gave the prophecy that all of them would be reborn in the buddha
realm of the Thus-Gone One Amoghadarśin.

Chapter Six: Being Supported by the Path of the Ten Virtues

Nāga King Sāgara then said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, out of care for us, to
benefit many beings, to bring many beings happiness, and out of love for the world, I beg you to
take tomorrow’s midday meal in the ocean. Blessed One, the ocean is home to limitless beings
such as gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, and other species of animals. If they see the
Thus-Gone One, they will develop roots of virtue. By hearing the sublime Dharma, they will
comprehend how there can be an end to beginningless saṃsāra. My royal nāga realm will flourish,
and the world and its gods
will be unable to defeat us. In this way, the Thus-Gone One could demonstrate the eminence of
the buddhas and explain the Dharma that describes the factors of awakening in relation to
me.”

The Blessed One accepted this request out of his love for Nāga King Sāgara and in order
to amplify the roots of virtue of limitless beings. Seeing that the Blessed One had approved his
request, Nāga King Sāgara was satisfied, pleased, delighted, overjoyed, and at ease. He bowed
his head to the Blessed One’s feet and circumambulated him three times. With his supporters and
retinue, he disappeared from before the Blessed One and returned to the ocean.

He addressed the mass of beings assembled in the ocean, “I have invited the Thus-Gone
One to take tomorrow’s midday meal here. Out of his love for me, he accepted. Thus, all of you
must harmoniously and joyfully endeavor to venerate and serve the Thus-Gone One.”

Nāga King Sāgara told the asura lords Rāhu, Supreme Bliss, Satisfier, and Vemacitrin:
“Friends, take notice! The Thus-Gone One plans to come to this ocean. I have created the
opportunity for you, along with all your retinues, to venerate the Blessed One. Come to my
abode!”

Nāga King Sāgara then addressed the nāga kings Takṣaka, Infinite Color, Immaculate, Light,
Playful, Array, Vajrapāṇi, Expressed, Displaying All
Colors, Varieties of
Sandalwood, and hundreds of thousands of other nāga kings, “Friends, you all must come to my
abode to behold, prostrate to, and serve the Thus-Gone One.”

Nāga King Sāgara then commanded the prince Glorious Splendor, “Your Highness, go forth.
Prostrate your head to the feet of the Nāga King Anavatapta and deliver my message. Tell him to
come here to this ocean, because at your father’s request, the Blessed One, the perfect Buddha,
is coming here to have his meal.”

“As you wish,” the prince said. And so Nāga King Sāgara’s son Glorious Splendor did
just as he was told.

Nāga King Sāgara then said to Nāga King Fierce Strength, “Fierce Strength, get going.
Go to the top of Mount Meru and call upon both Nāga King Nanda and Nāga King Upananda. Also tell Śakra, lord of the gods, to come to my abode
to venerate and serve the Thus-Gone One.” Nāga King Sāgara’s son Fierce Strength then did as he
was told and went before both Nāga King Nanda and Nāga
King Upananda and Śakra, lord of the gods. He called on them just as he was instructed.

Nāga King Sāgara then set up the courtyard in his abode with blue beryl and gold from
the Jambū river. He beautified it with various gems, covered it with a net of jewels, hung up a
net of tiny bells, attached many silken tassels, erected a canopy, planted banners and pennants,
fumigated the space with the ocean’s finest incense, and scattered various flowers. In the wide
and vast courtyard, he set up a lion throne twelve leagues in height, set with various jewels,
and laid with various fabrics of divine linen. Above this he erected a canopy and surrounded it with an
offering shrine made of the seven precious materials, decorating it by festooning it with a net
of jewels, suspending from it a network of tiny bells, and attaching to it silken tassels, thus
creating an arrangement that was the finest in all respects.

He set out appropriate seats for the monastic saṅgha and food of many flavors. Seeing
that everything was well prepared, with his sons, relatives, and retinue arrayed on the terraces
of Mount Meru, the king of mountains, he spoke these verses when the time had come for the
Blessed One’s midday meal:

“O Lord of Dharma, you have realized vast wisdom—

Infinite wisdom, a sky-like source of wisdom.

Being beyond the world, you have liberated eyes and eyes of purity.

O benefactor, the midday meal is set. Please come forth!

“Your pleasant voice is pure speech—the speech of Brahmā!

With beauty like the call of the kalaviṅka or a drum, you teach the ambrosial meaning.

It is the supreme medicine, dispelling the darkness of various afflictions.

O jewel of beings, your midday meal is set. Please come forth!

“Your mind is peaceful, utterly peaceful, and you always act calmly.

O liberated victor, you liberate gods and humans.

Having crossed the four rivers of suffering, you are the liberator.

Transcendent one who makes others happy, the time for your midday meal has come!

“You master generosity, gentleness, pure vows, joy, and pure discipline.

You have the power of patience and great diligence.

You are joyful with the concentrations and freedoms and have perfect insight.

O you with a moon-like visage, your midday meal is set. Please come forth!

“You know and master the path, having abandoned the paths that lead to ruin.

With the branches of awakening, faculties, and strengths, you teach the four
truths.

You master the correct abandonments, the four bases of miraculous absorption, and
mindfulness.

You who outshine everyone with the mastery of qualities—your midday meal is set.

“Possessing the thirty-two marks, with the crest of myriad merits,

Blessed One, you are a great merit field for those who desire merit.

You are the recipient of offerings, worthy to accept sublime gifts of worship.

Loving and joyful one, your midday meal is set. Please come forth.

“You are like Sumeru, like the earth, and you equalize all endeavors.

Like the essential nature of space, you hold neither anger nor love.

Lord of Humans, you are beyond both arrogance and lowliness.

O you who delight in emptiness and freedom, your midday meal is set.

“Omniscient, all-knowing one, you know the rites and their proper times,

You know the divisions of the teachings, your behavior is always properly disciplined,

You know the wishes of beings, and you know what benefits them.

Knower of the essential nature of phenomena, your midday meal is set.”

The Blessed One, knowing that Nāga King Sāgara had set the midday meal, addressed his
monks, “Monks, Nāga King Sāgara has set the midday meal. So take up your alms bowls and monastic
robes and come with me to the ocean in order to ripen beings and make use of the Nāga King
Sāgara’s abode.”

Then the Blessed One, surrounded by his assembly of bodhisattvas, venerated by the
saṅgha of hearers, honored by the assembly of gods, and praised by the assembly of asuras, rose
into the sky like the king of swans. As he traveled, rays of light radiated out, filling buddha
realms with light, causing a rain of lotuses, playing myriad instruments, and causing the
resounding of myriad songs. They traveled to the shores of the ocean to a magnolia forest called
Joyful, which was like a pleasure grove.

Nāga King Sāgara went to the Blessed One, bowed his head to the Blessed One’s feet, and
venerated him. Having paid his respects, he set the midday meal.

Nāga King Sāgara then thought, “I am not sure whether the Blessed One can come to my abode
through his magical powers. So in order to venerate the Blessed One, I will bless a set of
stairs to function just like the stairway the Blessed One used to come from the Heaven of the
Thirty-Three to Jambudvīpa. Certainly, the Blessed One can descend into the ocean down such
stairs.”

Nāga King Sāgara then set up a three-level staircase between the banks of the ocean and
his own abode. One level was made of gold, one of beryl, and one of red pearl. They were
decorated with all manner of jewels and were brilliant and beautiful to behold. The Blessed One
then blessed the mass of water in the ocean so that it became invisible and would not harm any
being. Next, light from the Blessed One’s body illuminated the ocean as when light spreads out
to illuminate the worlds of the great trichiliocosm. Every being in the ocean who was merely
touched by this light adopted a loving, altruistic, friendly, and happy attitude. Henceforth
none of them harbored malice or harmfulness toward one another. Instead they all had the
perception of one another as parents.

Gods of the desire and form realms followed behind the Blessed One because they yearned
to hear the Dharma and to witness the features of the Nāga King Sāgara’s abode. Then the Blessed
One, along with the bodhisattvas, the great hearers, Śakra, Brahmā, and other world protectors,
along with gods, nāgas,
yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans, and nonhumans left the
park-like magnolia forest and descended the staircase erected by Nāga King Sāgara. The Blessed
One stood in the center with the bodhisattvas arrayed on his right, the great hearers arrayed on
his left, and six hundred million śakras before him, pointing out the path with their right
hands. Six hundred million brahmās were arrayed in the sky above, shading the Blessed One with
jeweled parasols. Six hundred million gods were arrayed behind the Blessed One, tossing a rain
of flowers. Gods of the desire realm played six hundred million instruments in order to venerate
the Blessed One. Six hundred million goddesses anointed the Blessed One’s tracks with scented
water. Six hundred million female nāgas were arrayed in the sky with garlands of pearl draped
over their upper torsos. Six hundred million kinnaras uttered verses of praise to the Blessed
One. Six hundred million gandharvas draped flower garlands before the Blessed One. Six hundred
million asuras draped the Blessed One with fine linens of many colors. Nāga King Anavatapta was
also in the sky above with hundreds of millions of his retinue venerating the Blessed One with
flowers, incense, powders, ointments, garments, parasols, banners, pennants, instruments, songs,
cymbals, and divine adornments. Sixty thousand other nāga kings were engaged in venerating the
Blessed One.

The bodhisattvas Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta, along with hundreds of billions
of bodhisattvas in their retinue, also came from the Thus-Gone One Amitāyus’ buddha realm
Sukhāvatī to gladden Nāga King Sāgara and venerate the Blessed One. They even eclipsed the
previous array of offerings made to the Blessed One, venerating him such that the former
offerings seemed to disappear. Likewise, the two bodhisattvas, Crest of Light and Splendor of
Light, came from the Blessed Thus-Gone One Difficult to Bear’s buddha realm called Light
Rays. Next arrived the two bodhisattvas Gandhahastin and Giant Incense Elephant from
the Blessed Thus-Gone One Akṣobhya’s buddha realm called Abhirati. Next arrived the two
bodhisattvas Siṃha and Siṃhamati from the Blessed Thus-Gone One Candrasūrya’s buddha realm
called Fully Illuminating. Next arrived the two bodhisattvas Sārathi and Mastery over All
Phenomena from the Blessed Thus-Gone One Fine Eyes’ buddha realm called Unblinking Eye. Next
arrived the two bodhisattvas Jeweled Maṇḍala and Jeweled Palm Tree from the Blessed Thus-Gone
One Illuminator’s buddha realm called Light.
Next arrived the two bodhisattvas Amoghadarśin and Meaningful Subjugator from the
Blessed Thus-Gone One Ratnaśrī’s buddha realm called Heart of Joy. Next arrived the two
bodhisattvas Cloud King and Dharmarāja from the Blessed Thus-Gone One
Samantavipaśyin’s buddha realm called All-Seeing. Next arrived the two bodhisattvas
Mārapramardaka and Rock-Defeating King from the Blessed Thus-Gone One King of the
World’s buddha realm called Priyadarśana. Lastly arrived the two bodhisattvas
Grounded in Intelligence and Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin from the Blessed Thus-Gone One Ratnaketu’s
buddha realm called Ratnavatī. In this manner hundreds of billions of bodhisattvas came from the
ten directions to gladden Nāga King Sāgara and venerate the Thus-Gone One.

Then, through the tremendous power, magical ability, miraculous power, array,
greatness, display, veneration, and lion’s roar of the buddhas, the Blessed One flooded
countless buddha realms throughout the ten directions with light and made his buddha speech
heard. A hundred thousand gods played instruments, sang songs, and cast a rain of flowers. All
death and rebirth into the lower realms was quelled. All beings were established in happiness
and joy and entered into an awakened absorption called stability in great
compassion.

Amidst this unfathomable display, he then descended the jeweled staircases into the
ocean. After this kind of song
and his speech were heard throughout countless buddha realms throughout the ten directions,
bodhisattvas, śakras, brahmās, world protectors, gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras,
garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans, and nonhumans living in other worlds saw the Blessed
Thus-Gone One Śākyamuni enter the ocean through the power of the Buddha and the blessing of the
Thus-Gone One. Trillions of goddesses, nāgas, yakṣas, asuras, garuḍas, gandharvas, kinnaras, and
mahoragas played instruments and sang songs, inviting the Blessed One from on ahead. From the
sound of the strings arose these extraordinary verses in praise of the Blessed One:

“O you who have arisen from generosity, who are beautified by discipline,

You have cultivated love summoned from the strength of patience.

You are the true ocean arisen from diligence.

O concentration, liberation, and joy—to you we prostrate!

“Illuminated with insight, with purified intent,

Adorned with the glory of light and splendor,

Directly pointing out liberation,

O Sage, dispeller of affliction—to you we prostrate!

“You have perfect and supreme ascetic discipline;

You have completed austerity and mastered realization.

Having given away your eyes, they are purified.

O mendicant among beings, you are the greatest among them.

“Extraordinary teacher of the profound ultimate truth,

You who have mastered the incomparable benefit of others.

Revealing the meaning of words without obstruction,

You are an illuminator whose benefit for others has no analogy.

“O knower of time, you reveal all.

You defeat all throngs of evil opponents.

Perfect in ascetic discipline, with supreme ascetic discipline

You bestow bliss—the nectar of joyfulness.

“You whose intent is pure like space,

Ultimate guide who clears away all stains,

Ocean of qualities whose merit is inexhaustible,

As you enter the ocean, you possess an ocean of wisdom.

“O master of Dharma who dispels afflictions,

Patron of the Dharma who harbors no stinginess,

Jewel of Dharma who bestows supreme wealth,

Supreme Dharma, you are the teacher of the wisdom of thusness.

“O teacher of joy who makes bliss manifest,

Who shows how to remove latent flaws

And remains stable like the king of mountains,

We bow our heads to you, Thus-Gone One.

“The lords of the humans, gods, garuḍas, guhyakas,

Asuras, rākṣasas, and kinnaras,

The nāgas, kumbhāṇḍas, and yakṣas,

All bow their heads to your feet!

“Replete with the thirty-two supreme marks,

You display beauty for which no analogy is adequate.

Your complexion is appealing with its gloriously golden hue.

Your fingernails have a beautiful copper-like luster and your palms are even.

“Your speech is miraculous, melodious like the kalaviṅka.

It has the finest timbre of Brahmā, lord of the gods.

Your speech reaches the entire trichiliocosm.

O soft and gentle-voiced being—to you we prostrate!

“Your faculties are tame, and your mind gentle.

Your face is like the moon, and your eyes are exquisite.

You always speak the truth and remain in equilibrium.

Eternal upholder of the Dharma—to you we prostrate!

“O you who liberate from aging, disease, and suffering,

Who perform the benefit of beings and eliminate the afflictions—

How fitting that you have won, O Victor, destroyer of Māra,

O unstoppable being who reveals thusness itself.

“O worthy one who has defeated all assembled enemies,

You are beyond the gods yet venerated by many of them!

You are supreme—always suitable to be accepted.

You are an excellent guide—supreme among all types of beings.”

Once these goddesses, nāgas, asuras, kinnaras, garuḍas, mahoragas, and gandharvas
offered the Blessed One these verses of praise, they all together developed the mind set on
unsurpassed and perfect awakening, and each adorned the body of the Blessed One with their
respective ornaments. Finally, the Blessed One traveled to the depths of the ocean where the
courtyard of the Nāga King Sāgara had been made ready, taking his seat on the lion throne. The
saṅgha of monks and the bodhisattvas arranged themselves on the seats that had been prepared for
them.

Seeing that the Blessed One, his saṅgha of monks, and the bodhisattvas had taken their
seats, Nāga King Sāgara and his children, wives, relatives, and retinue themselves served a
feast of whatever they desired, satisfying them with many tastes and many excellent aspects.
When this delicious and satisfying food had been distributed, they took their meal. Once Nāga
King Sāgara saw that the Blessed One had cleaned his bowl and washed his hands, the king and the
gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, śakras, brahmās, world
protectors, and bodhisattva great beings who had gathered from the ten directions arranged
themselves before the Blessed One to hear him preach the Dharma.

When the Blessed One saw that the entire assembly had gathered, he emitted from his
body light rays called the blissful, pleasing, and supremely joyful hearing of
Dharma. These light rays allowed all the greater, lesser, and middling beings in the
ocean to behold the Blessed One seated before them, which aroused in them bliss, pleasure, and
supreme joy. They joined their hands respectfully, eager to hear the Dharma. Arrayed there, they
bowed before the Blessed One.

The Blessed One then addressed Nāga King Sāgara, “Nāga Lord, this world is moved by
myriad actions. These actions lead to myriad mental observations that again create myriad
actions, and the beings that result from them are also myriad. Nāga Lord, consider for instance
the diversity of life forms in this ocean and the diversity of ordinary beings. Nāga Lord, the
whole gamut of these is caused by their individual minds and their various physical, verbal, and
mental roots of virtue and nonvirtue. The mind is formless and cannot be pointed out. For this
reason, Nāga Lord, all phenomena are characterized as fictitious creations. As such, they are
unowned, unpossessed, and ungraspable. They only manifest in various ways according to
accumulated karma; there is no creator of them at all. In this way, such phenomena are
unfathomable and nothing more than illusions.

“Nāga Lord, becoming learned in this, one knows that all phenomena are characterized as
existing due to such production. Knowing this, one will go on to create nothing but virtue. The
resulting characteristics of the aggregates, elements, and sense sources that manifest due to
such virtuous actions are such that one gains a beautiful and fine appearance with a lovely
countenance.

“Nāga Lord, consider
how the body of the Thus-Gone One is adorned and displayed due to billions of merits, how the
world and its gods are overwhelmed by it and are under its control, how it eclipses even Brahmā,
who rules over billions, and how if one gazes at the body of the Thus-Gone One, one’s eyes will
be overwhelmed. Consider the ornaments of the bodies and physical marks of these bodhisattva
great beings. All of these are collected, adorned, and displayed due to the accumulation of
virtue.

“Nāga Lord, your array, too, has arisen from merit. The arrays of these śakras,
brahmās, world protectors, gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and
mahoragas have also arisen from merit. Nāga King, the various bodies in this ocean that are ugly
in form, poorly shaped, large and ungainly, or small and feeble are all fashioned in their
multiplicity by the individual minds of beings and their various physical, verbal, and mental
roots of virtue and nonvirtue. Therefore, Nāga Lord, you must learn to take responsibility for
your own actions and accept that hose actions will come to fruition. When you take
responsibility for your own actions and accept that those actions will come to fruition, your
mind will engage in the virtuous actions that should be accumulated. You will not squander your
view. You will not be stuck in either the view of eternalism or the view of nihilism. You must
please those who are worthy recipients of generosity; once you have pleased them, you must not
become discouraged. By
accumulating the roots of virtue that arise through veneration, you will become the object of
service for the world and its gods.

“Nāga Lord, through a single practice, bodhisattvas prevent themselves from falling
into the lower realms and painful destinies. What is this one practice? It is to assess their
virtuous qualities, wondering both day and night how they themselves are. By repeatedly
monitoring their virtuous qualities, they prevent nonvirtuous attitudes or mental states from
occurring. Thus they abandon nonvirtuous qualities and accrue virtuous qualities instead. That
is what allows such virtuous beings to encounter the buddhas and bodhisattvas.

“Nāga Lord, what are these virtuous qualities? Virtuous qualities are the roots that
nurture the excellence of human and divine births. They are the roots that nurture the awakening
of the hearers and solitary buddhas. They are the roots that nurture unsurpassed and perfect
awakening.

“What are these nurturing roots? They are the ways of the ten virtues. What are these
ten? They are abandoning taking life, abandoning stealing, abandoning sexual misconduct,
abandoning lying, abandoning divisive speech, abandoning harsh speech, abandoning idle chatter,
abandoning covetousness, abandoning malice, and abandoning wrong views. These are called
the nurturing roots.

“Nāga Lord, regarding this, people who abandon taking life acquire ten qualities that
bring about peace. What are these ten? They are as follows: Such people give all beings
fearlessness; they keep their minds focused on love; their habitual tendencies toward aggression
are terminated; they adhere to
the path of few illnesses; they plant the seed of longevity; they are guarded, protected, and
concealed by nonhuman beings; they sleep and rise well, and they do not have evil dreams; when
they have fallen asleep they are guarded by gods; there will be no hostility or even latent
hostility toward them; and they have no need to fear any of the lower realms, for when they die
they are reborn in the higher, more fortunate realms. These are the ten qualities that bring
about peace. If the roots of virtue of abandoning taking life are dedicated to unsurpassed and
perfect awakening, then when one attains awakening, one’s lifespan will be under the control of
one’s mind.

“Nāga Lord, a person who abandons stealing acquires five qualities that bring mental
stability. What are these five? They are as follows: Their wealth grows greater and their
possessions cannot be taken away by the government, thieves, water, fire, or rival kinsmen; they
will be liked, favored, and trusted by many beings; their praises will be sung in the cardinal
and intermediate directions; they will have no fear of harm by others; and their minds will be
engaged in the generous attitude of sharing. If the roots of virtue of abandoning stealing are
dedicated to unsurpassed and perfect awakening, one will realize the unafflicted wisdom of the
thus-gone ones, and thereby fully awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood.

“Nāga Lord, people who abandon sexual misconduct acquire four qualities that earn the praise of the
learned. What are these four? The four are as follows: Their senses will be restrained, they
will be impervious to criticism, they will be praised by the entire world, and their wives will
not be taken from them. If the roots of virtue of abandoning sexual misconduct are dedicated to
unsurpassed and perfect awakening, they will achieve the mark of a great being such that their
private parts are hidden in a sheath.

“Nāga Lord, people who abandon lying acquire eight qualities that earn praise from gods
and humans. What are these eight? The eight are acquiring the scent of blue lotuses and a pure
complexion; becoming trustworthy in the eyes of the whole world; becoming a reliable witness
favored by gods and humans; becoming fearless through having correct intention; becoming
purified in body, speech, and mind through abundant pure motivation; having one’s joy increase
to the utmost through using undeluded words; finding one’s speech is well heeded through using
words that are well worth recalling; and achieving insight that makes one a reliable witness in
spite of being born in the human and god realms. If the roots of virtue of abandoning lying are
dedicated to unsurpassed and perfect awakening, one’s words will be based on the truth.

“Nāga Lord, people who abandon divisive speech acquire five indivisible qualities. What
are these five? The five are acquiring an indivisible body because one is free from harm done by
others, acquiring an indivisible retinue of servants because one is not attached to the
belongings of others, acquiring indivisible faith because one can see the ripening of karma,
becoming indivisible from the Dharma because one engages in the essential practice, and
acquiring indivisible friends because one does not deceive anyone. If these roots of virtue are
dedicated to unsurpassed and perfect awakening, one will become a fully awakened buddha, a worthy one, a
thus-gone one with an inseparable retinue of followers. Neither māras nor the calumny of
adversaries will be able to divide this assembly.

“Nāga Lord, people who abandon harsh speech acquire eight aspects of pure speech and,
even when they die, will be reborn among gods and humans. What are these eight? The eight are
balanced words, beneficial words, sensible words, gentle words, apprehended words, heeded words,
words that many beings enjoy, and irreproachable words. If these roots of virtue are dedicated
to unsurpassed and perfect awakening, such people will become thus-gone ones with the voice of
Brahmā.

“Nāga Lord, people who abandon idle chatter acquire three absolute certainties. What
are these three? The three are that they will certainly be appreciated by the learned, their
minds will certainly adhere to the truth as they give good responses, and they will certainly
become great beings among gods and humans because of being free from falsity. If these roots of
virtue are dedicated to unsurpassed and perfect awakening, such people will become thus-gone
ones who always teach and who do not speak in other ways.

“Nāga Lord, people who abandon covetousness acquire five qualities of mastery. What are
these five? The five are mastery of body, speech, and mind through lacking no faculties; mastery
of wealth and vast power through being unconquerable by any enemies; gaining control of merit,
which delights the mind; mastery of royalty due to obtaining and maintaining great wealth; and attaining many thousand
times over what one aspires to due to having had no jealousy. If these roots of virtue are
dedicated to unsurpassed and perfect awakening, such people will become the singular teacher,
the thus-gone one venerated by the threefold world.

“Nāga Lord, people who abandon malice acquire eight qualities that make the mind
blissful. What are these eight? The eight are engaging the mind in doing no harm; engaging in
the pacification of malice; engaging in the absence of debate and strife; engaging in
gentleness, softness, and discipline; being served by noble beings on account of having a loving
mind; having an abundance of beneficial experiences on account of being pleased by the joys of
all beings; being beautiful on account of being served by many beings; and facing no difficulty
in being reborn in the Brahmā world on account of having a mind that is gentle and pliant. If
these roots of virtue are dedicated to unsurpassed and perfect awakening, such people will
become thus-gone ones whose minds are unobstructed, and whom no one will tire of beholding.

“Nāga Lord, people who abandon wrong views acquire ten positive qualities. What are
these ten? They are becoming virtuous in thought and finding virtuous companions; refraining
from evil deeds at the cost of one’s life because of trust in karmic ripening; counting the
buddhas as divine, but not others; having an honest view by having no clinging to positive and
auspicious signs; associating with gods and humans, but not with beings of the animal realms and
the realms of Yama; becoming distinguished by the expansion of merit; entering the path of noble
ones by abandoning all mistaken
pursuits; eliminating all evil views by shifting away from personalistic false views; entering
in the correct way by seeing without obscuration; and avoiding all the unfavorable situations
within the human and god realms. If such people dedicate the roots of virtue of abandoning wrong
views to unsurpassed and perfect awakening, then upon attaining awakening, all the qualities of
buddhahood will manifest, and they will become thus-gone ones who are swift in the higher
knowledges.

“Nāga Lord, regarding this, if bodhisattvas who abandon taking life practice giving,
their wealth will increase, and also their lifespan will extend. As they engage in bodhisattva
conduct, no harm done by others will impact them.

“If bodhisattvas who abandon stealing practice giving, their wealth will increase and
also become impossible to steal. As they engage in bodhisattva conduct, they will accomplish all
roots of virtue and thereby achieve the unsurpassed.

“If bodhisattvas who abandon sexual misconduct practice giving, their wealth will
increase, and also their partners will not cheat on them. As they engage in bodhisattva conduct,
anyone who would have a desirous attitude toward their mother, children, or partner will be
unable to actually see them.

“If bodhisattvas who abandon lying practice giving, their wealth will increase, their
possessions will be invulnerable to theft, and they will uphold the irreproachable path. As they
engage in bodhisattva conduct, they will practice exactly what they preach and be firm in their
promises.

“If bodhisattvas who abandon divisive speech practice giving, their wealth will
increase, and their retinue will be impervious to division. As they engage in bodhisattva conduct, they will achieve a
retinue of bodhisattvas through their accommodating attitude.

“If bodhisattvas who abandon harsh speech practice giving, their wealth will increase,
and their words will become gentle and never grating. As they engage in bodhisattva conduct, no
one in their retinue will become displeased.

“If bodhisattvas who abandon idle chatter practice giving, their wealth will increase,
and their words will become pleasing. As they engage in bodhisattva conduct, they will become
skilled in severing all doubts.

“If bodhisattvas who abandon covetousness practice giving, their wealth will increase,
and they will enter into the frame of mind where they can extensively enjoy and savor it. As
they engage in bodhisattva conduct, they will be inspired toward vastness and become renowned
for their might.

“If bodhisattvas who abandon malice practice giving, their wealth will increase, and
they will be beautiful, be liked by many people, and make an agreeable impression. As they
engage in bodhisattva conduct, their minds and cognition will be unimpeded, and their faculties
will all be complete.

“If bodhisattvas who abandon wrong views practice giving, their wealth will increase,
and they will be born into households that have faith in the Buddha and have correct views. As
they engage in bodhisattva conduct, they will never lose the opportunity to behold the Buddha,
hear the Dharma, serve the Saṅgha, and develop the mind set on awakening.

“Nāga Lord, if one adorns the path of the ten virtues with giving, one will thereby
become more powerful, helpful, generous, and open. If one adorns the path of the ten virtues
with discipline, one will fulfill one’s aspiration toward all the qualities of buddhahood. If
one adorns it with patience,
one will perfect the major and minor marks of excellence and the perfect speech of buddhahood.
If one adorns it with diligence, one will defeat all māras and obstructors and bring all the
qualities of buddhahood to completion. If one adorns it with concentration, one will become
wise, realized, conscientious, and stable. If one adorns it with insight, one will truly defeat
all views.

“If one adorns it with love, one will eliminate one’s aggression toward all beings. If
one adorns it with compassion, one will never abandon any being. If one adorns it with joy,
one’s mind will become dauntless. If one adorns it with equanimity, one will abandon attachment
and anger. If one adorns it with the means of attracting disciples, one will ripen all beings.
If one adorns it with the applications of mindfulness, one will become learned in body,
feelings, mind, and mental events. If one adorns it with the correct abandonments, one will
abandon all nonvirtuous qualities and perfect all virtuous qualities. If one adorns it with the
bases of miraculous absorption, one’s body and mind will become perfect. If one adorns it with
the five faculties, one’s faith and diligence will be firm, and one will abandon all delusion,
unworkable aspects of mind, and afflictions. If one adorns it with the strengths,
one will be inviolable and will overcome all enemies and disturbances. If one adorns it with the
branches of awakening, one will realize all phenomena genuinely and accurately. If one adorns it
with the path, one will be guided by authentic wisdom. If one adorns it with tranquility, one
will destroy all the afflictions. If one adorns it with special insight, one will come to
genuinely and accurately know all phenomena. If one adorns it with skillful means, one will perfect
conditioned and unconditioned happiness.

“In essence, Nāga Lord, it is solely through the path of the ten virtues that one can
perfect the ten powers of the thus-gone ones, the fourfold fearlessness, and the qualities of
buddhahood. Therefore, Nāga Lord, one should extensively discern these paths of the ten virtues
and endeavor to adorn oneself with each of them. Nāga Lord, to draw an analogy, all villages,
towns, cities, regions, countrysides, and royal palaces dwell upon the earth, as do all grasses,
trees, herbs, and bushes, all types of action, all collections of seeds, the germinating and
plowing of all crops, the harrowing of fields, and everything that grows upward. The earth is
their support. In a similar way, Nāga Lord, the path of the ten virtues is the support for
rebirth among the gods and humans, the attainment of the result
sought by monastics on the paths of training and no-more-training, the awakening of solitary
buddhas, the conduct of bodhisattvas, and the qualities of buddhahood.

Chapter Seven: The Protection of the Nāgas

Nāga King Sāgara then said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, through what Dharma door
should bodhisattvas enter such that not only do they abandon all the flaws of previous karmic
obscuration, but, having abandoned all karmic obscuration, they proceed to become distinguished
persons? What Dharma door should they enter?”

The Blessed One answered, “Nāga Lord, the continuity of all karmic obscuration is
severed by a single quality. What is this single quality? It is to abide by one’s vows and,
should a fault occur, to confess it. Nāga Lord, the continuity of karmic obscuration is severed
by two qualities. What are these two? They are to discriminate the Dharma accurately and to not
have preconceptions about what is presently arising. Nāga Lord, the continuity of karmic
obscuration is severed by three qualities. What are these three? They are the discrimination of
the consciousness that engages conditional phenomena, the discrimination of phenomena that are
neither new nor old, and the discrimination of phenomena that are naturally without affliction.
Nāga Lord, the continuity of karmic obscuration is severed by four qualities. What are these
four? They are certainty in emptiness, abiding in the absence of marks, freedom from wishing,
and unconditioned consciousness. Nāga Lord, the continuity of karmic obscuration is severed by
five qualities. What are these five? They are the nonexistence of self, the nonexistence of a
being, the nonexistence of a life principle, the nonexistence of personhood, and the
nonexistence of life. Nāga Lord, the continuity of karmic obscuration is severed by six
qualities. What are these six? They are aspiration, trust, certainty, confidence, discerning the
real, and engaging in actions motivated by the pure motivation. These six qualities sever the
continuity of karmic obscuration.”

The Blessed One said this, and Nāga King Sāgara further inquired of him, “Blessed One,
how does a bodhisattva become distinguished?”

The Blessed One answered, “Nāga Lord, bodhisattvas become distinguished if they have
ten qualities. What are these
ten? They are nonattachment, pure motivation, stable diligence informed by skillful means, being
considerate and compassionate toward beings, being insatiable in the pursuit of merit, being
insatiable in the pursuit of learning, conscientiousness, bringing the seat of awakening to
mind, actualizing the wisdom of buddhahood, and never abandoning the mind set on awakening. If
bodhisattvas possess these ten qualities, they will become distinguished.”

Rāhu, lord of the asuras, then asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, how can a
bodhisattva become ennobled with all virtuous qualities?”

The Blessed One answered, “Lord of the asuras, a bodhisattva will become ennobled with
all virtuous qualities if they have eight qualities. What are these eight? Rāhu, they are as
follows: bodhisattvas in this Great Vehicle must be without pride, bow and bend before all
beings, readily accept advice and be agreeable, practice what they preach, develop respect for
all masters, precede all practitioners of virtue, keep firm pledges with regard to virtuous
qualities, and be inspired toward vastness. In this way, they must perform many different kinds
of generosity, never upset others even at the cost of their lives, give freedom from fear to
fearful beings, never abandon beings who have come for refuge, and be insatiable in the pursuit
of all aspects of merit and wisdom. If bodhisattvas possess these eight qualities, they will
become ennobled with all kinds of virtuous qualities.”

Rāhu, lord of the asuras, then again asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, through what
qualities will a bodhisattva achieve greatness of body, appearance, retinue, and mind?”

The Blessed One answered, “Rāhu, a bodhisattva will achieve greatness of body through
four qualities. What are these four? They are to never belittle the behavior of others, to
commission perfect representations of the Thus-Gone One’s body, to reconcile and harmonize
millions of struggling beings and then establish them in unsurpassed and perfect awakening, and
to be without the power of anger toward any being. If bodhisattvas possess these four qualities,
they will achieve greatness of body.

“A bodhisattva will achieve greatness of appearance through four qualities. What are
these four? They are to give various kinds of jewelry, to give up all valuable things, to look
upon the Thus-Gone One with a loving gaze, and to not be jealous or miserly because of the fine
countenance of others. If bodhisattvas possess these four qualities, they will achieve greatness
of appearance.

“A bodhisattva will achieve greatness of retinue through four qualities. What are these
four? They are to abandon divisive speech and to never divide another’s retinue, to rejoice in
others’ retinues, to be stable in the mind set on awakening, and to establish others in
awakening. Lord of the asuras, if bodhisattvas possess these four qualities, they will achieve
greatness of retinue.

“A bodhisattva will achieve greatness of mind through four qualities. What are these four? They are to
have a pure motivation without deceit or pretense, to have a fierce resolve and to be unsaddened
along the way, to be inspired toward vastness and to never desire the lesser vehicle, and to
enter into the profound Dharma through understanding that all phenomena are inherently empty.
Rāhu, if bodhisattvas possess these four qualities, they will achieve greatness of mind.”

Rāhu, lord of the asuras, and thirty-two thousand of his followers were pleased and
delighted, overjoyed, and filled with bliss. They scattered a hundred jewel flowers set with all
kinds of gems weighing hundreds of pounds toward the Blessed One and developed the mind set on
unsurpassed and perfect awakening. At that moment, they spoke the following verses in praise of
the Blessed One:

“In the very same moment, point, and instant, the limitless worlds of beings

Throughout the ten directions are venerating the victors.

For as much as a hundred thousand eons, beings throughout the ten directions

Who exert themselves in venerating you also bring benefit.

“Such acts of veneration, drawn from love, compassion, and the nature of the noble ones,

In whatever way and quality they are performed, are due to you, O peerless one.

With that which is aroused by observing the branches of practice with unparalleled
intent,

They honor and venerate those who possess the ten powers.

“We thought we were nearing awakening, but we were deluded.

Yet we are without pretense and seek incomparable awakening.

Other than you, Lord of Humans,
there is no one in the three realms who can rule us,

Because the power of our intention is that it possesses the ten powers.

“May we have affection for all and dispel all pride,

Be possessed of giving, gentleness, discipline, and patience,

Abide in diligence, mindfulness, absorption, and pure insight,

Possess love and compassion, and practice the true Dharma.

“Even if the altruistic victors decline to provide us with prophecy,

O Lord of Humans, we will give prophesy ourselves.

We have no doubt about this, no worry that we cannot do this alone.

In this manner we are confident about awakening, from the depths of our hearts.”

The Lord of Humans smiled at him, and Candraketu said,

“Self-Manifest One, what is this act of smiling? Please explain!”

The Teacher then said to him, “Why am I revealing this pure light?

Candraketu, listen and I shall explain!”

“Asura Rāhu, great being, set forth toward supreme awakening.

Any of your thirty-two-thousand followers who do the same,

Practicing for awakening over thousands and thousands of eons,

Will thereafter achieve foremost awakening.

“After venerating victors as numerous as grains of sand in the Ganges

You will then establish many beings in awakening.

Thereafter, in the eon called Beautiful Array of Virtue,

You will achieve stainless and peaceful awakening free of anguish.

“Rāhu, this great being, will become a Dharma king

Endowed with diligence and the powers, called Banner of the Lord.

Your world will be called The Array That Brings Joy,

And it will be as rich and expansive as the Heaven of Joy, with fine harvests.

“Your lifespan with the ten powers will be seven hundred million years.

You will have a noble saṅgha of monks numbering six trillion.

The bodhisattva saṅgha will be one trillion eight hundred billion—

They will abide in learning, precepts, and dhāraṇī.

“In the age of the Beautiful Array of Virtue,

Having successfully established thousands in the mind set on awakening,

Those beings will all gradually awaken to supreme buddhahood.

So consider these unique qualities of the supreme mind set on awakening.”

Not only did the excellent Rāhu receive his prophecy, but four hundred thousand beings
set forth toward supreme awakening. The extraordinary intention of these beings with their
excellent qualities shook the trichiliocosm, and the gods cast down a rain of flowers.

Nāga King Anavatapta then asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, if all phenomena are
without self and without creator, what is a prophecy? What is a thus-gone one? What is awakening
fully to buddhahood?”