Mahāyāna — Northern Canon · Kangyur — General Sūtras

Toh 555The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra “The Supremely Victorious King of Sūtras, The Sublime Golden Light”

Pāli / Sanskrit:Suvarṇaprabhāsottamasūtra

📖32,156 words · ~129 min read

Summary

Summary The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light has held great importance in Buddhism for its instructions on the purification of karma. In particular, much of the sūtra is specifically addressed to monarchs and thus has been significant for rulers—not only in India but also in China, Japan, Mongolia, and elsewhere—who wished to ensure the well-being of their nations through such purification. Reciting and internalizing this sūtra is understood to be efficacious for personal purification and also for the welfare of a state and the world. In this sūtra, the bodhisattva Ruciraketu has a dream in which a prayer of confession emanates from a shining golden drum. He relates the prayer to the Buddha, and a number of deities then vow to protect it and its adherents. The ruler’s devotion to the sūtra is emphasized as important if the nation is to benefit. Toward the end of the sūtra are two well-known narratives of the Buddha’s previous lives: the account of the physician Jalavāhana, who saves and blesses numerous fish, and that of Prince Mahāsattva , who gives his body to a hungry tigress and her cubs. This is the longest version of The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light preserved in the Kangyur. It comprises thirty-one chapters and was translated into Tibetan primarily from Yijing’s Chinese translation in the early ninth century.

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Full translation (English)

Summary

The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light has held great importance in Buddhism for its
instructions on the purification of karma. In particular, much of the sūtra is specifically addressed to monarchs and thus has
been significant for rulers—not only in India but also in China, Japan, Mongolia, and elsewhere—who wished to ensure the
well-being of their nations through such purification. Reciting and internalizing this sūtra is understood to be efficacious for
personal purification and also for the welfare of a state and the world.

In this sūtra, the bodhisattva Ruciraketu has a dream in which a prayer of confession emanates from a shining golden drum.
He relates the prayer to the Buddha, and a number of deities then vow to protect it and its adherents. The ruler’s devotion to the
sūtra is emphasized as important if the nation is to benefit. Toward the end of the sūtra are two well-known narratives of the
Buddha’s previous lives: the account of the physician Jalavāhana, who saves and blesses numerous fish, and that of Prince
Mahāsattva, who gives his body to a hungry tigress and her cubs.

This is the longest version of The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light preserved in the Kangyur. It comprises thirty-one chapters and
was translated into Tibetan primarily from Yijing’s Chinese translation in the early ninth century.

Acknowledgements

This sūtra was translated into English by Peter Alan Roberts. Ling Lung Chen, Wang Chipan, Xiaolong Diao, Ting Lee Ling,
and H. S. Sum Cheuk Shing were consultants for the Chinese versions of the sūtra. Emily Bower was the project manager and editor.
Tracy Davis was the copyeditor. With thanks to Michael Radich for sharing his research on the sūtra.

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

The translation of this text has been made possible through the generous sponsorship of Zhang Da Da.

Introduction

The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light has held great importance in Buddhism for its
instructions on the purification of karma. In particular, much of the sūtra is specifically addressed to monarchs, and
therefore it has been significant for rulers—not only in India but also in China, Japan, Mongolia, and elsewhere—who wished to
ensure the well-being of their nations. It is understood to be efficacious for personal purification and beneficial for the
welfare of a state and of the world.

The work translated here is the Tibetan translation of the thirty-one-chapter version (Toh 555) of this sūtra. In the
Tibetan canon, there are also the twenty-one-chapter (Toh 557) and
twenty-nine-chapter (Toh 556) versions.

This sūtra’s principal chapter is the fourth, which describes the lay bodhisattva Ruciraketu having a dream in which
he sees a brightly shining golden drum, hence the title of the sūtra. When a brahmin beats the drum, Ruciraketu hears in the
drumbeats a hundred-verse prayer, and he subsequently recites that prayer to the Buddha.

Most of the following chapters are concerned with encouraging the recitation of this prayer and of the sūtra itself.
They describe how various divine beings in this world revere the sūtra and promise to protect it and its adherents. These
include the Four Mahārājas; Sthāvarā, who is the goddess of the earth; Sarasvatī, the goddess of wisdom, learning, and music;
Śrī, the goddess of good fortune, better known in the present time as Lakṣmī; and the yakṣa general Saṃjñeya.

This sūtra emphasizes its importance for kings. It states that if they honor the reciters of this sūtra and arrange
for its recitation and teaching, then their reign and their kingdom will prosper. They will avoid such calamities as invasion,
famine, and so on. The sūtra also warns that if they fail to show such devotion, there will be disastrous results for both
them and their kingdoms. Chapter 20 is dedicated to the subject of how to be a good king.

There are also chapters that deal with doctrine. Chapter 2 presents the view that a buddha never dies and so never
passes into nirvāṇa. Therefore, there is no body and no physical relics of his body after his cremation, and so the Dharma
never ceases to be taught. The passing of a buddha and the extinction of the Dharma are solely illusory manifestations,
skillful methods to inspire beings to practice and to provide them with relics as objects for their devotion. The longer
versions of the sūtra also contain chapter 3 (not present in Toh 557), which describes the nature of the three kāyas, and
chapter 6 (also not present in Toh 557), which describes the ten bodhisattva bhūmis. Chapters 9 and 10 teach the view of
emptiness.

Toward the end there are two narratives describing previous lives of the Buddha. Chapters 24 and 25 describe the
physician Jalavāhana, who, as a result of performing Dharma recitations while standing in a lake, ensured the rebirth of ten
thousand fish into the paradise of Trāyastriṃśa. In the preceding chapter, these same ten thousand devas receive the prophecy
of their buddhahood. When the goddess of the Bodhi tree objects that they have not accomplished the necessary bodhisattva
conduct in past lives to receive such a prophecy, the Buddha explains that this was unnecessary because they had devotion to
this Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light.

The other past-life narrative, which is given in chapter 26, is one of the most famous in Buddhist literature—that of
the prince who gives his body to a hungry tigress and her cubs. An interesting feature of the story in this sūtra is that much
of the narrative is dedicated to an evocative description of the intense grief of parents who have lost their child,
emphasizing the sorrow that the prince’s action has brought them.

Tantric Rituals

As with other late Mahāyāna sūtras in which there is an emphasis on ritual, this text is classified in the Kangyur as
a tantra, specifically as a Kriyā tantra, a class of tantras in which there is an emphasis on external ritual. The sūtra
contains a description of how such rituals should be performed, and there are also passages that include lists of ingredients
to place in a bath along with mantras to recite while bathing in order to achieve purification. This and the
twenty-nine-chapter version also supply a number of dhāraṇīs to be recited in order to gain specific results.

One can also see that the seed of the later maṇḍalas of the five buddha families is in this sūtra, for in chapters 2
and 3, buddhas of the four directions appear to a layman who has a visionary dream. They include Akṣobhya from the east and
Amitābha from the west, both buddhas and their realms already established in the Buddhist tradition with specific sūtras
dedicated to them. There also appear the buddhas Ratnaketu from the south and Dundubhisvara from the north, who in later
tantras are usually named Ratnasaṃbhava and Amoghasiddhi. In this sūtra, the central buddha in terms of these directions would
be Śākyamuni himself. In the Buddhāvatamsaka Sūtra he is referred to as Vairocana, as the
Buddha Vairocana is the buddha who manifests as all the buddhas throughout this trichiliocosm.

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The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light in India

A version of The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light existed in India by the early fifth
century ce, when it was translated into Chinese by Dharmakṣema (385–433) in 420, in a form that
corresponds to the fragments of its translation into old Khotanese. The author of Precious Lamp of the
Middle Way mentions in his commentary on the philosophy of the Middle Way that The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light contains profound teachings in the section on the absence of
relics, this passage being within the chapter on the lifespan of the Buddha. The sūtra’s significance in Indian Buddhism is
evident from the three tantras and ten commentaries that
specify that it should be the text recited in one of the four directions when performing a maṇḍala rite. There are also five
other texts in the Tengyur that emphasize the importance and status of The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden
Light and its recitation, including
Śāntideva’s eighth-century Compendium of Training in which he provides two extracts from the
sūtra that should be recited. There are also two recitation texts composed of extracts from the sūtra.

In addition to its importance for rites and recitations, the text is quoted on doctrinal points in Indian
commentaries. Passages indicating that the Buddha never dies, that he leaves no relics, and that the Dharma never ceases are
quoted in six texts, two of which cite the
delightful verse that describes the impossibility of there being buddha relics, stating that there will be a buddha relic only
when a ladder to the moon is built from rabbit horns.

The descriptions of buddha nature and the nature of the kāyas, which are only in the twenty-nine-chapter and this
version of the sūtra, are quoted in two texts in the Tengyur, one written in Tibetan and one translated from Sanskrit by
Rinchen Zangpo, although nothing is known about
the author.

In Newar Buddhism this sūtra became and remains one of the nine principal sūtras called “the nine Dharmas,”
which are considered the most important lengthy sūtras to be recited and offered to.

Sanskrit manuscripts of this sūtra survived as fragments discovered in Chinese Central Asia (Xinjiang) and as entire
texts in Nepal, where the title is Suvarṇabhāsottama, with bhāsa being a synonym for prabhāsa, both meaning
“light.”

The Sanskrit text of the sūtra was first edited in 1898, in Calcutta, India, by S. C. Das and S. C. Shastri. That was
followed by the edition by B. Nanjio and H. Idzumi in Japan in 1931, and by the edition by Johannes Nobel (1887–1960) in 1937.
This translation refers to the 1967 S. Bagchi edition.

The Sūtra outside India

The widespread popularity of this sūtra outside India is also evident from its translation not only into Tibetan and
Chinese but also from Sanskrit into Khotanese; from Chinese into Tibetan, Sogdian, Uighur, Tangut, and Manchu; and from
Tibetan into Mongolian. Its importance continues in recent times as is evident from new translations directly from Sanskrit
into Mongolian, Oirat, and Japanese.

There are three surviving translations of The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light in
Chinese. The earliest of these was translated by Dharmakṣema (385–433). He was an Indian who came to China in 414, living
first in Dunhuang. Then in 420 he went to Guzang, the capital of Northern Liang, one of the sixteen independent states of that
time, situated in what is now the Gansu region in China’s northwest. There he studied Chinese and engaged in translation under
the patronage of Juqu Mengxun (368–433), the ruler of Northern Liang. He also had the reputation of being “a master of
spells,” and as a result of that reputation, toward the end of his reign, Juqu Mengxun became afraid that Dharmakṣema might be
used against him by his adversaries and so he had him assassinated. Nobel believed that the Sanskrit in its
present form is not earlier than the mid-fifth century and that Dharmakṣema translated from an earlier version. This opinion
appears to be supported by the Sanskrit manuscript fragments discovered in Khotan.

The second surviving translation into Chinese is that by Bao Gui in 597. It is an amalgam of earlier translations that
no longer exist and four chapters that were translated by Paramārtha (499–569). As there is no surviving Sanskrit for the
additional chapters in the Chinese and Tibetan, Michael Radich has examined the evidence as to whether they are Indian or
Chinese in origin.

The third translation was by Yijing (635–713), which was published in 703. Because of its clarity and literary style,
this version became popular in China and was itself translated into Tibetan in the early ninth century. Yijing’s translation,
compared to the Sanskrit and the Tibetan translation from Sanskrit, is freer, to the extent that Emmerick has stated it could
not be used to reconstruct the original Sanskrit.
Yijing spent thirty years in India and Sumatra and returned to China in 695. He brought with him four hundred Sanskrit texts,
including The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light, and spent the first decade of the seventh
century translating them.

The Mogao caves of Dunhuang, which were sealed from the eleventh century, contained a great number of manuscripts of
the sūtra, particularly those of Yijing’s translation into Chinese. The sūtra became popular for its teachings on freeing
oneself from the effects of bad karma. For example, Yijing’s Chinese translation (and the Uighur and Tangut versions derived
from it) has a preface that states how the sūtra saved Zhang Judao, ruler of Tangut, from going to hell because he had
slaughtered cattle for a big feast. This narrative is illustrated in a twelfth-century Tangut woodcut that is preserved in St.
Petersburg.

The sūtra was of particular importance to monarchs, and starting in seventh-century Japan, the ritual of reciting this
sūtra was considered important to perform for the benefit of the state.

The Sūtra in Tibet

The twenty-one-chapter version does not list its translators in the colophon. The twenty-nine-chapter version was
translated by Jinamitra, Śilendrabodhi, and Yeshé Dé in the early ninth century. Almost the entirety of the shorter version is
present word for word in the twenty-nine-chapter version, so they either incorporated an earlier translation or extracted the
shorter version from the longer.

This thirty-one-chapter version is a translation of Yijing’s Chinese version made by Gö Chödrup in the early ninth
century. The Tibetan is clearer and more readable than in the other two versions, perhaps because it is less constrained by
conforming to the Sanskrit, but also because the Chinese was a freer translation from the Sanskrit, which was done purposely
to enhance its readability.

There are some Tibetan texts in the Tengyur that were authored by Tibetan translators active in the ninth century. The
translator Kawa Paltsek quotes from the passages describing the Dharma body and the Buddha not leaving any relics because he
has no body with bones and blood. Yeshé Dé wrote a text that has a
number of references to this sūtra’s teachings on the kāyas and buddha nature, and to its description of the bhūmis.

Dīpaṁkaraśrījñāna, also known as Atiśa, whose pupils founded the influential Kadampa tradition in Tibet, is the author
of three of the texts in the Tengyur that refer to this sūtra, including his most famous work, A Lamp for
the Path to Enlightenment, which contains an encouragement to use the sūtra’s prayer both for purification and as
a dedication prayer.

The commentary in the Tengyur that quotes from the sūtra more than any other—twenty times in all—is the translation by
Gö Chödrup of An Extensive Commentary on the Sūtra that Elucidates the Profound Intention by the
Korean monk Wŏnch’ŭk
(613–96), who had migrated to China. This commentary by Wŏnch’ŭk in Tibetan translation became a particular influence on the
thought of Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelukpa school. The sūtra has been quoted by great
masters in all the schools of Tibetan Buddhism and extracts from it were published in Tibet as numerous standalone texts—not
only the confession prayer but also other chapters, such as the treatise on kingship. Its continuing significance is indicated
by Pema Karpo (1527–92), the hierarch of the Drukpa Kagyü school, composing a confession prayer extracted from The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light at the request of Döndrup Dorjé, the ruler of Shigatsé.

An example of the way the sūtra was recited in Tibet is found in a version compiled by Ngawang Lobsang Chöden
(1642–1714), the second Changkya Rinpoché.

Comparing the Versions

The twenty-one-chapter version (Toh 557) and the twenty-nine-chapter version (Toh 556) were both translated into Tibetan from Sanskrit, so that almost the entirety of
the shorter version is present as an identical translation in the longer. In the version translated here (Toh 555), chapter 4
is the equivalent of chapters 3 and 4 in Toh 557. Chapters 9 and 10 are the equivalent of chapter 6, and chapters 11 and 12
are the equivalent of chapter 12. There are additional chapters in this version not found in Toh 557: chapters 3, 5, 6, 7, 13,
14, 17, 19, 20, 28, 29, and 30.

Chapter 5 is almost entirely composed of the contents of Putting an End to Karmic
Obscurations (Toh 219), differing only in its introduction and
conclusion. The twenty-nine-chapter version’s chapter 5 is identical in its translation to the sūtra as it appears in the
Kangyur. Even where there are some minor differences between that chapter 5 and the sūtra in the Degé Kangyur version, those
discrepancies do not exist in earlier Kangyurs. The translators of The Sūtra of Putting an End to Karmic
Obscurations were Jinamitra, Dānaśīla, and Yeshé Dé, and that translation appears to have been incorporated by
Jinamitra, Nalendrabodhi, and Yeshé Dé into their translation of the twenty-nine-chapter Sūtra of the
Sublime Golden Light. Chapter 6 primarily comprises The Sūtra of Akṣayamati’s
Questions (Toh 89), without the introductory
setting and with additional verses and an extra conclusion. That sūtra was translated by Silendrabodhi and Yeshé Dé, and their
translation has been incorporated word-for-word into the translation of The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden
Light by Jinamitra, Nalendrabodhi, and Yeshé Dé.

Only the Sanskrit that is equivalent to the twenty-one-chapter version survives. It divides the equivalent of chapter
10 in the Tibetan version into two, separating the homage to buddhas and bodhisattvas into its own small chapter. However, its
final chapter is divided into two in the Tibetan, resulting in both having twenty-one chapters. There is no surviving Sanskrit
for additional passages within the chapters or for the new chapters included in this thirty-one-chapter version.

In Tibetan, the twenty-nine-chapter version and this thirty-one-chapter version do appear to preserve passages that
were lost from the twenty-one-chapter version (Toh 557). For example, chapter 12 in Toh 557, “The Treatise on Kingship,”
begins abruptly: “At that time …,” having evidently lost the introductory narrative—present in the equivalent chapter (chapter
20) in the longer versions—that sets the action in a distant past.

This thirty-one-chapter version was translated into Tibetan from Chinese. The
source text was Yijing’s seventh-century translation from Sanskrit into Chinese, and therefore the translation differs
throughout, even though the content is essentially the same. There are many passages that are actually shorter versions of
those in the translations from Sanskrit. Its greater length compared to the twenty-nine-chapter version (Toh 556) is primarily
due to the addition of two chapters (29 and 30).

Translations into Western Languages

In 1958, Nobel published a German translation based on Yijing’s Chinese text. In 1970, Ronald Emmerick produced an
English translation of the Sanskrit. In 2007, Zopa Rinpoche’s FPMT (Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition)
produced a translation of the twenty-one-chapter version in Tibetan.

Detailed Summary of The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light

Chapter 1: The Introduction

The Buddha is on Vulture Peak Mountain at Rājagṛha with a great assembly of bhikṣus, bodhisattvas, and deities. He
states that he will teach a sūtra that will free beings from various worldly sufferings through its being recited and
listened to.

Chapter 2: The Teaching of the Lifespan of the Tathāgata

In the town of Rājagṛha, the bodhisattva Ruciraketu wonders why the Buddha has only an eighty-year lifespan if he
has no bad karma. His house miraculously transforms, and the buddhas of the four directions appear and tell him that the
Buddha’s lifespan is, in fact, inconceivably long. Ruciraketu goes to Vulture Peak and tells the Buddha what occurred. The
buddhas of the four directions appear on Vulture Peak and request the Buddha to teach The Sūtra of
the Sublime Golden Light. The Buddha states that he continues to teach on Vulture Peak and only appears to
pass into nirvāṇa.

A brahmin of the Kauṇḍinya family named Vyākaraṇa asks to be given a relic when the Buddha passes away so that he
might make offerings to it. A young man says to Vyākaraṇa that the Buddha will not pass away and there will never be
relics. The Vyākaraṇa states that he knew this but made his request so that this truth would be revealed, and that the
appearance of passing away and leaving relics is simply a skillful method to benefit beings.

Ruciraketu then asks why it is taught that buddhas pass away and leave relics. The Buddha states that this is a
teaching with an implied meaning, and he then teaches on four sets of the true nirvāṇa’s ten qualities.

Then the four buddhas vanish, and Ruciraketu returns to his seat in the assembly.

Chapter 3: The Differentiation of the Three Kāyas

This chapter is not present in the shorter twenty-one-chapter version of the sūtra. In response to a question from
the bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha, the Buddha describes the three kāyas or “bodies” that complete buddhahood comprises—the
dharmakāya, saṃbhogakāya, and nirmāṇakāya. The nirmāṇakāya, or emanation body, is the manifestation of various kinds of
bodies of individuals in accordance with the various situations of beings. The saṃbhogakāya, or enjoyment body, is the
manifestation of perfect bodies that teach the ultimate truth to bodhisattvas. Neither of these kāyas, however, has
ultimate reality, whereas the dharmakāya, or Dharma body, is the ultimate, featureless, true nature that is the basis of
the other two kāyas, which appear spontaneously without thought and can be described as having both permanent and
impermanent qualities. The Buddha gives various analogies to describe them. He also describes the progress to buddhahood
through the ten bhūmis and the ten perfections.

Then Ākāśagarbha and others in the assembly describe four benefits that come to a land where The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light is taught.

Chapter 4: The Vision in a Dream of Purification Through Regret

This chapter corresponds to chapters 3 and 4 in the shorter twenty-one-chapter version of the sūtra.

In his home in Rājagṛha, the bodhisattva Ruciraketu dreams of a brahmin beating a golden drum from which come a
number of verses that he is able to remember. He goes to the Buddha on Vulture Peak to repeat those verses to him.

He begins by describing the dream in verse and then repeats the verses he heard, which begin with a prayer for the
verses to benefit all beings. Then there are verses for the confession of past bad actions followed by a praise of the
Buddha, a prayer that beings be freed from suffering, and finally the dedication of merit so that the reciter will attain
enlightenment.

Chapter 5: The Purification of the Obscurations from Karma

This chapter is not present in the shorter twenty-one-chapter version of the sūtra. Light rays radiate from the
Buddha, bringing happiness to all beings in the lower existences. On seeing that light, Śakra and other deities come to
the Buddha. When the deities are gathered, Śakra asks the Buddha how to confess previous bad actions. The Buddha gives a
recitation that should be done three times over the course of the day and three times at night in order for the deities to
free themselves of karmic obscurations and to attain whatever is aspired to—from rebirth in a good human family or various
paradises to the attainment of ultimate wisdom. The Buddha explains that they should also recite the words of rejoicing in
the good actions of others, requesting the buddhas in all worlds to teach the Dharma, and requesting them to not pass
away. The Buddha states that this creates greater merit than any other kind of Dharma practice and that they should recite
a dedication of their merit to the enlightenment of all beings.

Then the assembly promises to promulgate this sūtra, and Śakra states that this sūtra can bring an end to the
obscurations of karma. In response, the Buddha describes a buddha in the distant past named Great Precious King
Illuminator and a woman named Precious Merit Radiance. The Buddha goes on to detail the four benefits to a king, four
benefits to his ministers, four benefits to mendicants, and four benefits to brahmins that result from this sūtra being
taught in their land.

Then Śakra and the others state that the Dharma will last in the world only as long as this sūtra does, and the
Buddha concurs and encourages its reading and practice.

Chapter 6: The Dhāraṇīs of Complete Purification

This chapter is not present in the shorter twenty-one-chapter version of the sūtra, and in the twenty-nine-chapter
version the corresponding chapter is called “The Purification of the Bhūmis.”

Blazing Light Rays of Unhindered Traits of Lions asks the Buddha what is meant by the term bodhicitta, “the enlightenment mind,” because the mind is not said to be an
object of perception in enlightenment.

The Buddha states that there is no reality to such designations but there are the ten stages of the development of
bodhicitta through the ten perfections. The Buddha then describes ten qualities that each of these perfections possesses,
and he describes what is meant by the term perfection.

He then describes the omens that precede each of the ten bhūmis, the reason for the names of each of those bhūmis,
the two kinds of ignorance that obscure each of the ten bhūmis, the perfection attained on each bhūmi, and the samādhi
that causes the development of each of the ten developments of bodhicitta.

The Buddha next gives the dhāraṇī mantra that is obtained on each bhūmi and explains what it protects against.

After this, the great Brahmarāja praises The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light, and
the Buddha states that only those with great merit can hear it and that those who hear it will obtain the dhāraṇīs and
gain the ultimate result. The assembly promises to gather where this sūtra is taught and to aid its teacher.

Chapter 7: A Praise Using the Analogy of a Lotus

This is the equivalent of chapter 5 in the shorter twenty-one-chapter version of the sūtra.

Speaking to a goddess, the Buddha repeats a praise of the buddhas in thirty-seven verses that was made by a king
in the distant past who has now been reborn as that goddess.

Chapter 8: The Dhāraṇī of Golden Victory

This chapter is not present in the shorter twenty-one-chapter version of the sūtra.

The Buddha tells the bodhisattva Sukhavihāra that in order to make offerings to the buddhas of the past, present,
and future, one should have the dhāraṇī called golden victory. Its practitioner should first recite a
specific homage to certain buddhas and bodhisattvas. Then the dhāraṇī, which is the mother of all buddhas, will fulfill
all wishes and bring protection. Fifteen days of practice in isolation should accomplish one’s wishes; otherwise, one
should continue until one’s wishes are fulfilled.

Chapter 9: The Teaching on the Nature of Emptiness

This is the equivalent of chapter 6 in the shorter twenty-one-chapter version of the sūtra.

The Buddha recites verses describing emptiness, which, he states, he has taught extensively in other sūtras. He
describes how he has practiced the path for a long time and that it is impossible to calculate his wisdom.

Chapter 10: The Fulfillment of Prayers on the Basis of Emptiness

This chapter is not present in the shorter twenty-one-chapter version of the sūtra.

The goddess Wish-Fulfilling Radiating Light asks the Buddha about the equanimity of bodhisattva conduct. The
Buddha teaches that the dharmadhātu, or Dharma realm, is beyond the extremes of existence and nonexistence. He explains
that the five skandhas are neither separate from nor one with the dharmadhātu, otherwise everyone would already be
enlightened or never be able to attain enlightenment. Therefore, bodhisattva conduct does not eliminate the relative and
is never apart from the ultimate.

Then Brahmarāja asks Wish-Fulfilling Radiating Light how she could possibly attain this state of enlightenment.
She states that if she can do so, then all beings will become golden, and there will be a divine rain of flowers and
divine music. This instantly occurs, and Wish-Fulfilling Radiating Light’s body transforms, becoming identical to that of
Brahmarāja. Wish-Fulfilling Radiating Light describes to Brahmarāja how to practice bodhisattva conduct while knowing it
has no reality, like a magical illusion.

Following this, the Buddha tells Brahmarāja to practice as Wish-Fulfilling Radiating Light has. Brahmarāja and his
entourage bow down to the now-male bodhisattva Wish-Fulfilling Radiating Light. The Buddha prophesies that in the future
Wish-Fulfilling Radiating Light will be a buddha named Essence of the Glorious Blazing Jewel.

Five hundred thousand bhikṣus in the assembly attain the irreversible state, and the Buddha prophesies that in the
distant future they will all become buddhas at the same time, all having the name King Who Is Ornamented by the
Arrangement of Prayers.

The Buddha then tells Brahmarāja of the great power of The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden
Light and of how he himself had practiced and taught it in his previous lives, and that if it vanishes so will
all other sūtras.

All the devas promise to protect the sūtra, its teachers, and the land where it is taught.

Chapter 11: The Four Mahārājas Look Upon Devas and Humans

This and the following chapter are the equivalent of chapter 7 in the shorter twenty-one-chapter version of this
sūtra.

The Four Mahārājas, the protectors of the world, describe the sūtra as overcoming all calamities and how it
benefits them through its being taught. They describe themselves as protectors of the world and promise that they will
protect whoever teaches and recites this sūtra and will dispel problems for the king of that country and its population.

Chapter 12: The Four Mahārājas Protecting the Land

The Four Mahārājas and the Buddha describe the miraculous events that occur in the paradises when a king engages
in the ritual of venerating the sūtra, and how all buddhas will congratulate him and prophesy his buddhahood. The
Mahārājas describe how a king who wishes his realm to prosper and be happy should be devoted to the sūtra, and then they
praise the Buddha in verse, and the Buddha praises the sūtra in verse.

Chapter 13: The Dhāraṇī of Nonattachment

This chapter is not present in the shorter twenty-one-chapter version of the sūtra.

The Buddha says to the bhikṣu Śāriputra that the dhāraṇī of nonattachment is like a mother
to bodhisattvas and is practiced by them all. It has no location in any phenomenon or time and is without origination, but
its possession leads to the highest enlightenment. Offering to it is the same as offering to a buddha. At Śāriputra’s
request, the Buddha recites the dhāraṇī. He describes its great benefit and states that it is the mother of all
tathāgatas.

Chapter 14: The Precious Wish-Fulfilling Jewel Dhāraṇī

This chapter is not present in the shorter twenty-one-chapter version of the sūtra.

The Buddha teaches Ānanda the names of lightning in the four principal directions. Those who know the names and
write them down will be safe from lightning.

The Buddha then recites a Dravidian mantra. Avalokiteśvara recites another Dravidian mantra that protects from
premature death. Vajrapāṇi recites a dhāraṇī and promises to protect those who write it out. Mahābrahmā then recites a
mantra that will protect from premature death and end bad karma. Śakra recites a dhāraṇī vidyāmantra called vajraśani for freedom from danger and death. Then the Four Mahārājas recite a mantra that
will protect from danger and death. Nāga kings recite the dhāraṇī called the wish-fulfilling jewel
(which gives this chapter its name), which prevents all kinds of misfortune, and they recite another mantra that
safeguards against poisons. The Buddha congratulates them all and everyone praises him.

Chapter 15: The Great Goddess Sarasvatī

The goddess Sarasvatī promises to aid those who recite the sūtra with wisdom and skill. She also gives a recipe
for a cleansing liquid and a mantra that will prevent misfortune.

The Buddha praises her and teaches beneficial mantras. There then occurs a passage not present in the
twenty-one-chapter version, where Sarasvatī recites verses describing how to perform a ritual for the fulfillment of
wishes. The Kauṇḍinya brahmin Vyākaraṇa praises Sarasvatī in two sets of verses, the first of which is not present in the
twenty-one-chapter version. In another passage not present in the twenty-one-chapter version, Vyākaraṇa teaches a
supplication to Sarasvatī for the purpose of attaining wisdom and eloquence, and the chapter concludes with the Buddha
congratulating Vyākaraṇa and Sarasvatī.

Chapter 16: The Great Goddess Śrī

The goddess Śrī promises to aid those who recite the sūtra and its preservation so that beings will have good
fortune. She states she had been a follower of the Buddha Vaiḍūrya Golden Mountain Precious Flower Glorious Appearance’s
Ocean of Qualities and that she brings good fortune to beings wherever she goes and inspires them to make offerings to
that buddha. This chapter is equivalent to most of chapter 9 on Śrī in Toh 557, with the last part here made into a
separate chapter.

Chapter 17: The Increase of Wealth by the Great Goddess Śrī

This chapter comprises the latter part of chapter 9 in the twenty-one-chapter version. It describes Śrī’s
residence and teaches a mantra for her invocation with additional prayers not found in the twenty-one-chapter version. It
also provides instructions for making offerings to her.

Chapter 18: Sthāvarā, the Goddess of the Earth

This chapter does not have the homage to a series of buddhas and bodhisattvas that begins the equivalent chapter
(chapter 10) in the twenty-one-chapter version. Sthāvarā, the goddess of the earth, promises the Buddha that she will come
to wherever The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light is taught, and with her head she will
support the feet of the dharmabhāṇaka. Having heard the sūtra, she will make the earth fertile and make what is grown in
it nutritious and life enhancing, and the population will increase. She states that if someone who has heard the sūtra
returns home and repeats even a line of verse from it, that home will prosper. The Buddha states that anyone who has
listened to even one line of the sūtra, or makes offerings to it, will be reborn in a paradise after death, enjoy
happiness for countless eons, and eventually attain buddhahood. The twenty-one-chapter version concludes at this point. In
this version, the chapter continues with Sthāvarā teaching mantras and rites to invoke her protection.

Chapter 19: Saṃjñeya, the Great General of the Yakṣas

The yakṣa general Saṃjñeya promises to protect and defend whoever recites the sūtra. He describes his realization
and wisdom and promises to endow the teachers of the sūtra with eloquence and physical health. He states that those who
hear it will enjoy happiness in paradises for countless eons and eventually attain enlightenment.

Chapter 20: The Teaching of the King’s Treatise

This chapter begins with an introduction that is missing from the twenty-one-chapter version. Sthāvarā, the
goddess of the earth, requests the Buddha to teach a treatise on kingship. The Buddha tells her that in the past there was
a king named Balendraketu who told his son Ruciraketu that he had received a treatise on kingship called The Instructions of the Lord of Devas from his own father, King Foremost Power of Knowledge. For
twenty thousand years he had ruled following this treatise.

King Balendraketu then teaches, as in the twenty-one-chapter version, the treatise on kingship in verse called
The Instructions of the Lord of Devas. The treatise explains why a king is called a deva
even though he is a human: it is because he is a deva sent to the human world to govern it. A king should therefore
fulfill that duty, particularly by punishing the wicked. If he does not do so, calamities of all kinds will befall him and
his kingdom. A righteous king will cause all kinds of good fortune to occur.

Chapter 21: King Susaṃbhava

In this chapter, which is entirely in verse, the Buddha recounts a previous life as a cakravartin by the name of
Susaṃbhava, who lived while the teaching of a buddha named Ratnaśikhin was still present. In a dream, he saw the
dharmabhāṇaka Built of Jewels teaching The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light. He then sought
out that dharmabhāṇaka and asked him to teach the sūtra, arranging a throne and making many offerings to him. At the
conclusion of the teaching, Susaṃbhava, through his possession of a wish-fulfilling jewel, causes a rain of jewels and
requisites to fall on the four continents he ruled, and he makes an offering of it all to the Three Jewels. Śākyamuni
states that he was at that time Susaṃbhava, and that Built of Jewels became the Buddha Akṣobhya. He further states that it
is through the merit of hearing the sūtra that he has been a cakravartin king and a lord of devas countless times and has
finally attained enlightenment.

Chapter 22: Protection and Care from Devas and Yakṣas

The Buddha instructs the goddess Śrī, first in prose and then in verse, on how someone should teach the sūtra and
how someone should listen to it, and the benefits that will accrue from such activities. He adds that the throne upon
which the sūtra has been recited will subsequently become the setting for various miraculous manifestations. The devas
will praise those who teach and listen to the Dharma. In particular, the yakṣas will give their protection, as will nāgas,
asuras, Hārītī and her sons, and the various goddesses, including Sarasvatī, Śrī, and the goddesses of the earth,
harvests, and trees. This will bring bountiful harvests and a plenitude of fruits and flowers.

Chapter 23: The Prophecy

The goddess of the Bodhi tree asks the Buddha about the merit that had been accrued by the ten thousand devas
from Trāyastriṃśa who came to hear the teaching on hearing the prophecies given to three people.

She describes the prophecy of the bodhisattva Ruciraketu becoming the Buddha King of the Mountain of Gold and
Jewels in the distant future and how his son Rūpyaketu will become the Buddha Light of Golden Ornaments. After him, the
other son Rūpyaprabha will be the Buddha Suvarṇaprabha. The goddess of the Bodhi tree then states that
Jvalanāntaratejorāja and the other ten thousand Trāyastriṃśa devas have not in their past lives had such great bodhisattva
conduct as those three, and yet the Buddha has prophesied their becoming buddhas. The Buddha explains that they gained the
necessary merit simply through hearing and believing in The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden
Light. In a future time, all ten thousand will attain buddhahood in the same world, and each one will have the
name Prasannavadanotpalagandhakūṭa.

Chapter 24: Completely Curing Illness

The Buddha tells the goddess of the Bodhi tree that in a distant past, when the Dharma of a buddha named
Ratnaśikhin had disappeared, there was a virtuous king named Sureśvaraprabha. At that time, a head merchant by the name of
Jaladhara had a son named Jalavāhana who learned medicine from him and was able to cure the many illnesses prevalent in
the kingdom.

Chapter 25: Jalavāhana, the Head Merchant’s Son

The Buddha tells the goddess of the Bodhi tree that Jalavāhana had a wife, Jalāmbujagarbhā, and two sons,
Jalāmbara and Jalagarbha. He and his sons went into the wilderness where they discovered a lake that was drying up, and
the ten thousand fish in it were in danger of dying. A tree goddess appeared who told Jalavāhana that he should save the
fish, so he constructed a shade made from branches for the fish. Then he went to King Sureśvaraprabha and obtained twenty
elephants from him, and used them to carry water to replenish the lake. He then sent his son Jalāmbara home to obtain as
much food as possible, and he used that to feed the fish. Finally, he waded into the lake and recited the Dharma of
dependent origination and the name of the Buddha Ratnaśikhin. At another time, he became intoxicated with alcohol at a
feast and afterward fell asleep. The ten thousand fish had died, and because of Jalavāhana’s recitation, they had been
reborn in the Trāyastriṃśa paradise. They came to the sleeping Jalavāhana and made offerings of many pearls and caused
flowers to rain on his home, upon the lake, and in other places in the kingdom. The king summoned Jalavāhana, who believed
these omens occurred because of the death of the fish. His son Jalāmbara went to the lake and saw that they had all died.
The Buddha then reveals that he was Jalavāhana, the goddess of the Bodhi tree was King Sureśvaraprabha, and the ten
thousand fish were the aforementioned ten thousand devas.

Chapter 26: Giving Away the Body

The Buddha gives the goddess an account of when he went to the land of Pañcala with a large group of bhikṣus. He
asked Ānanda to prepare a seat at a particular spot, and when he stamped the ground with his foot, a stūpa emerged. Inside
were golden caskets containing bones. The Buddha tells the bhikṣus to pay homage to them, because these bones are from one
of his previous lives, and it was through the sacrifice of his life that he was able to attain buddhahood. He relates that
in the past, King Mahāratha had three sons, Mahāpraṇāda, Mahādeva, and Mahāsattva. The three princes wandered
into a forest and saw a tigress that had given birth to five cubs but was starving and might soon eat her cubs.
Mahāsattva decided to give his body to the tigress, and therefore, as they were leaving the forest, he
told his brothers he would follow them later and turned back. He then cut his throat in front of the tigress and fell
before her. The other two princes searched for their younger brother and discovered he had been eaten. The queen had
nightmares and was distressed, thinking that something had happened to her sons. The king and queen went in search of
their sons and found the two princes, who told them of Mahāsattva’s death. In great distress, they went to
his remains, gathered them up, and placed them in the stūpa. The Buddha states that he was Mahāsattva. The
story is then retold in verse, in which it is also stated that the Buddha’s father, Śuddhodana, was the king; his mother,
Māyā, was the queen; the two other princes were Maitreya and Mañjuśrī; the tigress was his stepmother, Mahāprajāpatī; and
the tiger cubs were his first five bhikṣus.

Chapter 27: The Praise from the Bodhisattvas in the Ten Directions

Hundreds of thousands of bodhisattvas come from the ten directions to Vulture Peak to praise Śākyamuni.

Chapter 28: The Praise by the Bodhisattva Ruciraketu

The bodhisattva Ruciraketu comes before the Buddha Śākyamuni and praises him in verse.

Chapter 29: The Praise by the Goddess of the Bodhi Tree

This chapter, in which the Bodhi tree goddess recites eleven verses of praise, is the equivalent of the first
part of the concluding chapter in the other two versions, where the goddess recites ten verses.

Chapter 30: The Praise by the Great Goddess Sarasvatī

This passage, in which Sarasvatī praises the Buddha in prose, is not included in the other two versions of the
sūtra.

Chapter 31: The Entrustment

A short concluding chapter in which the assembly is entrusted with the preservation and promulgation of the
sūtra, this passage is not found in the other two versions of the sūtra.

The Translation

The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra

The Sublime Golden Light, the Supremely Victorious King of Sūtras

Chapter 1: The Introduction

I pay homage to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas.

Thus did I hear at one time. The Bhagavat was within the
profound, completely pure realm of the Dharma that is the field of activity of all the buddhas, dwelling at Vulture Peak
Mountain at Rājagṛha together with a saṅgha of
ten thousand times ninety-eight thousand great bhikṣus who were all without exception arhats, all of whom were purified like the king of elephants, all of whose defilements had ceased, all of whom were without kleśas, all of
whom had liberated minds, all of whom had completely liberated wisdom, all of whom had done what had to be done, all of whom
had put down their burden, all of whom had attained the goal, all of whom had ended engagement with
existence, all of whom had attained supreme sublime power, all of whom maintained pure correct conduct, all of whom were adorned by skill in
method and wisdom, all of whom possessed the eight liberations, and all of whom had reached the farther shore.

Their names were Venerable Ājñātakauṇḍinya, Venerable Aśvajit, Venerable Vāṣpa, Venerable Mahānāman, Venerable
Bhadrika, Venerable Mahākāśyapa, Venerable Uruvilvakāśyapa, Venerable Gayākāśyapa, Venerable Nadīkāśyapa, Venerable Śāriputra,
Venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana, and so on, who were all, apart from Venerable Ānanda, a great saṅgha of śrāvakas, who had arisen from their afternoon samādhi and come
into the presence of the Bhagavat, bowed down their heads to the feet of the Bhagavat, circumambulated him three times,
keeping him to their right, and then sat to one side.

A quintillion
bodhisattva mahāsattvas had also gathered there. They all had great, brilliant, powerful might, like the great king of the
nāgas; had great fame; had nobility; had pure generosity and correct
conduct; gave pure offerings and service; had for countless kalpas practiced patience, diligence, and meditation that
transcended all; remained perfectly in mindfulness; had opened the door to wisdom; delighted
in yoga, methods, and powers; possessed the higher cognitions and the power of mental retention; possessed
unceasing eloquence; had eliminated all kleśas; had cut through the bondage of the kleśas; would soon possess omniscient
wisdom; had defeated Māra and Māra’s armies; beat the drum of the Dharma; defeated all tīrthikas and brought them to correct
thought; turned the wheel of the Dharma; liberated devas and humans; accomplished the adornment of the buddha realms in the
ten directions; benefited beings in the six existences; always had a mind of great love and great compassion; had great invincible strength; went to all buddha realms and made offerings; did
not pass into nirvāṇa; had made the great prayer of unceasing commitment until the end of all future kalpas; had
developed pure, very profound causes in the presence of many buddhas; had attained quiescence with regard to the birthlessness
of the phenomena of the three times; had transcended the field of activity of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas; were skilled
in engaging in benefiting the world; taught extensively the
array of the Dharma taught with implied meanings by the great teachers; were skilled in the profound, pure characteristics of
emptiness; and had completely eliminated doubts.

Among them were those named the bodhisattva Turning Wheel of Unobscured Dharma, the bodhisattva Wheel of Dharma
Thoroughly Encircling Mind Generation, the bodhisattva Nityodyukta, the bodhisattva Aparikheda, the bodhisattva Maitreya, the
bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva
Dharaṇīśvararāja, the bodhisattva Fearless Ornament King, the bodhisattva King of Mount Sumeru, the bodhisattva Profound Ocean
King, the bodhisattva
Ratnadhvaja, the bodhisattva Great Precious
Victory Banner, the bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha,
the bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha, the bodhisattva Precious Hand Blessing, the bodhisattva Vajrapāṇi, the bodhisattva Ratibala, the
bodhisattva Dharmabala, the bodhisattva
Great Brilliant Ornament, the bodhisattva Great Golden Radiance Ornament, the bodhisattva Viśuddhaśīla, the bodhisattva Always
Concentrated, the bodhisattva Viśuddhaprajñā, the bodhisattva Ascetic Effort, the bodhisattva Sky-Like Thought, the bodhisattva Great Prayer Completely Unending, the bodhisattva
Giving Medicine, the bodhisattva Dispeller of the Affliction’s Disease, the bodhisattva Bhaiṣajyarāja, the bodhisattva Noble
Joy,
the bodhisattva Previously Prophesized Attainment, the
bodhisattva Great Cloud Pure Light, the bodhisattva Great Cloud Dharma Protector, the bodhisattva Great Cloud Renowned Joy, the
bodhisattva Great Cloud Limitless Renown, the bodhisattva Great Cloud Lion’s Roar, the bodhisattva Great Cloud Expounder Great
King’s Sound, the bodhisattva Great Cloud Good Fortune, the bodhisattva Great Cloud Precious Qualities, the bodhisattva Great Cloud Solar Essence, the
bodhisattva Great Cloud Moon’s Essence, the bodhisattva Great Cloud Star Light, the bodhisattva Great Cloud Fire Light, the
bodhisattva Great Cloud Lightning Flash, the bodhisattva Great Cloud Thunder, the bodhisattva Great Cloud Wisdom Rain
Thoroughly Equal, the
bodhisattva King of Great Cloud’s Rain Thoroughly Purified, the bodhisattva Great Cloud Flower Tree King, the bodhisattva
Great Cloud Sweet Scent of Blue Lotus, the bodhisattva Precious Cloud Sandalwood Body Completely Cool, the bodhisattva Great
Cloud Eradicating Darkness, and the bodhisattva Great Cloud Eradicating Deceptive Views. That entourage of bodhisattva
mahāsattvas had in the afternoon arisen from their individual afternoon samādhis and
come into the presence of the Bhagavat, bowed down their heads to the feet of the Bhagavat, circumambulated him three times,
keeping him to their right, and then sat to one side.

Also gathered there were eight hundred thousand times a hundred thousand Licchavī youths. Among them were those named Kumāra
Lion’s Radiance, Kumāra Siṃhamati, Kumāra Dharmadatta, Kumāra Power Bestower, Kumāra Mahāprabha, Kumāra Great
Glorious One, Kumāra Protected by the Buddha, Kumāra Protected by the Dharma, Kumāra Protected by the Saṅgha, Kumāra Protected by Vajras, Kumāra Protected by the Sky,
Kumāra Sky Uttering Sound, Kumāra Ratnagarbha, and Kumāra Essence of Supreme Auspiciousness. They were supreme among all those
youths residing in the highest enlightenment, each having found faith in the Mahāyāna. In the afternoon they had come into the
presence of the Bhagavat, bowed down their heads to the feet of the Bhagavat, circumambulated him three times, keeping him to
their right, and sat to one side.

Also gathered there were 42,000 devas. The chief among these devas were named Deva Priyadarśana, Deva Pramudita, Deva
Sūryaprabha, Deva Moon’s Uṣṇīṣa, Deva Spatial Intellect Completely Pure, Deva Abandoned Affliction, and Deva Maṅgala. They had
made the prayer of great commitment to protect the Mahāyāna Dharma, and all those lineage holders who prevented the Dharma
from ceasing in the afternoon had come into the presence of
the Bhagavat, bowed down their heads to the feet of the Bhagavat, circumambulated him three times, keeping him to their right,
and then sat to one side.

Also gathered there were 28,000 nāga kings. The chief among these nāga kings were named Nāga King Padma, Nāga King
Elapatra, Nāga King Mahābala, Nāga King Mahāghoṣa, Nāga King Small Waves, Nāga King Holder of Water’s Cause, Nāga King Golden
Face, and Nāga King Wish-Fulfilling. They
delighted in protecting, holding, and receiving the Mahāyāna Dharma; they aspired to, rejoiced in, and protected and sustained
very profound contemplation. In the afternoon they had come into the presence of the Bhagavat, bowed down their heads to the
feet of the Bhagavat, circumambulated him three times, keeping him to their right, and then sat to one side.

Also gathered there were an entourage of 36,000 yakṣas. The principal ones among them, led by King Virūpākṣa, were Yakṣa Amra, Yakṣa Holder of Amra, Yakṣa Lotus Radiance, Yakṣa Lotus Face, Yakṣa Bhṛkuti, Yakṣa
Frightful Direct Teacher, Yakṣa Bhūmikampa, and Yakṣa Swallower of Foods, all of whom were the chief among those yakṣas. They
had developed a mind of faith in the Dharma of the Tathāgata; they had developed an unflagging motivation to protect and guard
the Dharma. In the afternoon they had come into the presence of the Bhagavat, bowed down their heads to the feet of the
Bhagavat, circumambulated him three times, keeping him to their right, and then sat to one side.

Also gathered there was an entourage of 49,000 garuḍas. The principal one among them was the garuḍa king
Gandhahastiprabhāvarāja. There was also an entourage of gandharvas; an entourage of asuras; an entourage of kinnaras; an
entourage of kumbhāṇḍas; an entourage of
mahoragas; the devas of mountains, forests, rivers, and seas; ṛṣis and the kings of all great lands; the royal courts,
queens,
attendants, boys, girls, devas, and other people who had
developed faith, and so on—all had gathered together and arrived there, and all had the commitment to read, recite, possess,
keep, write out, and promulgate, maintain, and protect this unsurpassable Mahāyāna Dharma. In the afternoon they had come into
the presence of the Bhagavat, bowed down their heads to the feet of the Bhagavat, circumambulated him three times, keeping him
to their right, and then sat to one side.

In that way, all those śrāvakas, bodhisattvas, devas, humans, nāgas, yakṣas, and so on had gathered, each having
developed the motivation to venerate and serve; with palms together in homage and with unblinking eyes, they gazed without wavering upon the Bhagavat and aspired to hear the Dharma.

Then the Bhagavat, during that afternoon, arose from samādhi, looked upon the assembly of followers, and recited
these verses:

“The Sublime Golden Light, the noble Dharma

That is the king of all the sūtras,

The field of activity of all the buddhas,

Is very difficult to hear and listen to.

“Through my teaching this sublime sūtra

Today to you, this assembly,

The buddhas in the four directions

Will bestow their blessing:

“The Buddha Akṣobhya in the east,

The Buddha Ratnaketu in the south,

The Buddha Amitābha in the west,

And the BuddhaDundubhisvarain the north.

“Through teaching today this supreme Dharma

All bad karma will come to an end,

Because this sublime auspicious confession

Overcomes all bad karma.

“It will defeat all suffering;

It will bestow every happiness.

It is adorned by the root of wisdom,

By omniscience, and by every splendor.

“Those beings who have impaired faculties,

Who have been seized by misfortune,

Who have been forsaken by the devas,

“Who are hated by family and friends,

Who are separated from family and companions,

Who are in conflict with others,

Who are harmed by loss of wealth,

“Who are harmed by the planets and constellations,

Who are attacked by dreadful sorcery,

Who are oppressed by extremely dreadful

Misery, kleśas, and karma,

“Who see bad omens in their dreams,

And are extremely disturbed by misery

Should wash their bodies clean

And wear new, clean clothes.

“This king of sublime sūtras

Is the profound field of the buddhas,

And they should listen with a mind of veneration

To the one who reads, recites, and possesses it.

“Then, through the blessing of the sūtra,

All bad dreams and bad omens will be defeated.

All suffering will be repelled

And come to a complete end.

“The Four Mahārājas who guard the world,

And their ministers and courts

And many millions of yakṣas,

Will respectfully come to their aid.

“The great goddess Sarasvatī

And Dweller of Nairañjana,

Hārītī, the mother of spirits,

And Dṛḍhā, the goddess of the earth;

“The lords of Brahmās, Śakra,

The nāga kings, the kinnaras,

And the kings of the garuḍas,

Together with an entourage of asuras —

“All of those who have great power,

Leading all their entourages,

Will be always present, day and night,

Guarding that individual.

“I am going to teach this sūtra,

Which is the profound field of the buddhas.

The intent of the buddhas, the teaching that is spoken,

Is difficult to encounter in a million eons.

“Anyone who hears this sūtra

And teaches it extensively to others,

Anyone who rejoices in this sūtra

And who sets out offerings to it,

“Such individuals as those

Will be continuously offered to

Throughout countless eons

By devas, nāgas, humans, and so on.

“Because of its immeasurable merit,

Greater than the amount of sand grains in the Ganges,

Whoever reads this sūtra

Will obtain those qualities.

“The bhagavats in the ten directions

And the bodhisattvas with profound activity

Will thoroughly protect holders of this sūtra

And free them from suffering and obstacles.

“Those who make offerings to this sūtra

Should, as before, wash their bodies

And offer food, flowers, and perfume

And have a loving, compassionate mind.

“Those who wish to listen to the sūtra

Should make their minds pure and stainless,

And if they constantly generate joy,

Many good qualities will arise.

“Those who listen to this sūtra

With veneration in their minds

Will have an excellent human rebirth

And will be free of suffering and obstacles.

“It is through the ripening of good roots

That they hear this sūtra,

Which is praised by the buddhas,

And hear the Dharma of purification through regret.”

This concludes “The Introduction,” the first chapter of “The Supremely Victorious King of
Sūtras, the Sublime Golden Light.”

Chapter 2: The Teaching of the Lifespan of the Tathāgata

At that time, there dwelled in the great city of Rājagṛha a bodhisattva mahāsattva by the name of Ruciraketu. He had planted good roots by serving and attending
upon countless hundreds of thousands of quintillions of buddhas.

The bodhisattva Ruciraketu was staying alone in solitude then, and he was thinking, “Through what causes and through
what conditions does the Bhagavat Śākyamuni have such a short lifespan of eighty years?”

He also thought, “The Bhagavat has said, ‘There are two causes and two conditions for a long life. What are those
two? Not killing beings and giving food and drink to others.’ The Bhagavat Śākyamuni has forsaken killing beings and has
practiced the path of the ten good actions for many countless hundreds of thousands of quintillions of eons. He has always given food and drink to all hungry beings, even
satisfying them with his own flesh, blood, bones, legs, and so on, not to mention any other kind of food and
drink.”

When that bodhisattva was thinking that about the Bhagavat, through the power of the blessing of the Bhagavat his
house became instantly vast and immense, decorated and clean, adorned by blue beryls and various jewels, so that it was like a buddha realm that was permeated by the wafting, sublime
scents of supreme perfumes that transcended the perfumes of the devas.

In the four directions there spontaneously
appeared perfect lion thrones made of the four sublime jewels, covered by divine precious cloth. On those thrones were sublime
lotuses adorned by various jewels, and their sizes were in proportion to those of the tathāgatas.

Upon those lotuses there were four tathāgatas: Akṣobhya of the east, Ratnaketu of the south, Amitāyus of the west,
and Dundubhisvara of the north. Those tathāgatas each sat cross-legged on their individual thrones and radiated light rays
that spread through and illuminated the great city of Rājagṛha, the trichiliocosm world realm, and throughout as many buddha
realms in the ten directions as there are grains of sand in the Ganges River. A rain of divine flowers fell, and the sound of
divine music played. At that time, through the power of the Bhagavat’s blessing, all beings in this trichiliocosm world realm
experienced perfect bliss and were free of all distress.
Those who did not have all their limbs became complete. The
blind saw; the deaf heard; the mute spoke; the stupid became wise; those who were disturbed regained their minds; the
unclothed became clothed; those who were inferior and derided became respected by others; those with dirty bodies became
clean; and extremely wonderful, beneficial things such as had never been seen before appeared in this world realm.

On seeing the four tathāgatas and those wonderful, amazing things, the bodhisattva Ruciraketu was delighted and overjoyed. He placed his palms together in homage and with a
one-pointed mind gazed upon the superior features of the tathāgatas.

He also wondered why the Tathāgata Śākyamuni, who possesses limitless qualities, has only the lifespan he has,
thinking, “Why does the Tathāgata Śākyamuni, even though he possesses limitless qualities, have such a short life of only
eighty years?”

The four bhagavats then said to the bodhisattva Ruciraketu, “Noble one, except for we who have unsurpassable omniscience, we do not
see any brahmās, māras, mendicants, brahmins, humans, or nonhumans in this world with its devas who can know or calculate the
end of the lifespan of the Tathāgata.”

When those bhagavats taught the lifespan of the Bhagavat Śākyamuni, through the power of the blessing of the
Bhagavat, the devas in the desire and form realms, the nāgas, the yakṣas, the gandharvas, the asuras, the garuḍas, the
kinnaras, the mahoragas, and the many hundreds of thousands of
quintillions of assembled bodhisattvas gathered and came to the bodhisattva Ruciraketu’s house.

Then those four bhagavats within that vast assembly recited these verses in order to teach the length of the lifespan
of the Tathāgata Śākyamuni:

“One could know the number of drops

In the water of all the oceans,

But still no one could calculate

The lifespan of Śākyamuni.

“If all Sumerus were broken down into particles

Like mustard seeds, their number could be known,

But still no one could calculate

The lifespan of Śākyamuni.

“If one could know the number of particles

That make up the entirety of the great earth,

Still no one would be able to calculate

The lifespan of Śākyamuni.

“Even if it were possible that someone

Could measure the entire extent of space,

Still no one would be able to measure

The lifespan of Śākyamuni.

“Even if someone kept counting

While living for ten million eons,

They would not be able to determine

The lifespan of the Bhagavat.

“This is because of two causes

And because of two conditions:

He has not taken the life of beings

And has made the gift of food and drink.

It is through those two causes

That he has attained a long life.

“Therefore, it is difficult to know

The lifespan of the great Muni.

The length of his lifespan is like

An eon that has no end.

“Ruciraketu, you should know this.

Do not have doubt or uncertainty.

The lifespan of the Jina is measureless;

The number of its years cannot be known.”

Then the bodhisattva Ruciraketu, having heard from those four tathāgatas the teaching on the lifespan of the Bhagavat
Śākyamuni, asked those bhagavats, “Why is it that the Bhagavat
Śākyamuni, the Tathāgata, manifests such a short lifespan?”

The four bhagavats replied to the bodhisattva Ruciraketu, “Noble one, the Bhagavat Śākyamuni has come into the world
at the time of the five degenerations. Humans have a hundred-year lifespan, an inferior nature, few and feeble good roots, and
no aspiration. Therefore, most of those beings have the view that there is a self, the view that there is an individual, the
view that there is a being and a soul, and the view that there is a spirit; they hold erroneous views, the view that there is
‘me’ and ‘mine,’ the views of eternalism and nihilism, and so on. Therefore, the Tathāgata Śākyamuni manifests such a short
lifespan so as to benefit many beings and many tīrthikas, so that they will develop true knowledge and quickly attain the
highest, most complete enlightenment.

“Moreover, noble one, if those beings see the Tathāgata passing into nirvāṇa, that will cause them to perceive him as
being extremely difficult to see. They will perceive misery, suffering, and so on, and they will quickly obtain, possess, carry, read, chant, comprehend, and teach others the teachings
of the sūtras spoken by the Buddha Bhagavat and they will not criticize them. That is why the
Tathāgata manifests such a short lifespan.

“Why is that? If beings saw that the Tathāgata did not pass into nirvāṇa, they would not reverently attend upon
him. They would not
perceive him as extremely difficult to meet, and they would not obtain, possess, read, chant, comprehend, and teach
others the profound sūtras spoken by
the Tathāgata. Why is that? They would have no reverence
because they would always see the Buddha.

“As an analogy, noble one, if a man saw that his father had many jewels and increasing
wealth, he would not perceive that wealth as wonderful or a rare sight. Why is that? It is because he would perceive his
father’s wealth to be
permanent.

“Noble one, in the same way, if these many beings saw that the Bhagavat never passed into nirvāṇa, they would not
perceive him as wonderful and difficult to see. Why would that be? Because they would see him as permanent.

“As another analogy, noble one, if a man who had poor parents devoid of wealth went to a king’s palace or a great
minister’s mansion and saw it filled with various precious treasuries and wealth, he would perceive this as marvelous and
difficult to encounter. Then that poor man would commence on various methods in order to acquire wealth and would do so with
diligence and without idleness. Why would he do that? He would do so in order to leave behind poverty and
destitution and to experience the enjoyment of happiness.

“In the same way, noble one, if those many beings see that the Tathāgata passes into nirvāṇa, they will perceive him
as difficult to see, they will develop the perception of him as difficult to see, and so on, up to the perception of misery,
suffering, and so on. Moreover, they will think, ‘The tathāgatas appear in the world only after countless, measureless eons
have passed. Like fig tree flowers, they hardly ever appear, and then just one time.’ Thus those many beings will think of him as wonderful and perceive
him as difficult to see. Then if they see the Tathāgata, they
will have veneration and delight, and if they hear the true Dharma teaching, they will perceive it as being the true teaching
and they will correctly hold all the sūtras and not criticize them.

“Therefore, noble one, because of those causes and conditions, the Tathāgata does not remain long in the world but
passes into nirvāṇa.

“Noble one, the tathāgatas ripen beings through knowing such skillful methods.”

Then, having spoken, the four tathāgatas vanished.

The bodhisattva Ruciraketu
then went to Vulture Peak Mountain together with countless hundreds of thousands of bodhisattvas and the countless hundreds of
thousands of quintillions of other beings. They arrived before the omniscient Tathāgata Śākyamuni and bowed their heads
to the feet of the Bhagavat and sat to one side.

The bodhisattva Ruciraketu then described in detail what had occurred.

At that time, the four tathāgatas came to where the Bhagavat Śākyamuni was on
Vulture Peak Mountain, sat upon the thrones in their individual directions, and said to their bodhisattva attendants, “Noble
ones, go to the Bhagavat Śākyamuni and repeat to him these words of ours, asking after his health: ‘Are you not a little
unwell? Are you not in some pain? Whether you are standing or sitting, in all your activity, are you in good health?’ Also say
this to him: ‘If the Tathāgata Śākyamuni, in order to benefit beings, to dispel the obstacle of famine, and to bring
happiness, were to teach today The Sūtra of the Sublime
Golden Light, the meaning of the extremely profound Dharma, that would be excellent, excellent! And we also would rejoice in it.’ ”

Those attendants then approached the Bhagavat Śākyamuni from their different directions, bowed their heads to his
feet, arranged themselves in a particular place, and in unison made this request to the Bhagavat: “Those teachers of devas and
humans, with their limitless voices, inquired after your health, asking, ‘Are you not a little unwell? Are you not in some pain? Whether you are standing or
sitting, in all your activity, are you in good health?’ They also said, ‘If the Tathāgata Śākyamuni, in order to benefit
beings, to dispel the obstacle of famine, and to bring happiness, were to teach today The Sūtra of the
Sublime Golden Light, the meaning of the extremely profound Dharma, that would be excellent, excellent!’ ”

Then the tathāgata arhat
samyaksaṃbuddha Śākyamuni said to those bodhisattva attendants, “It is excellent, excellent that those four tathāgatas have
requested the true Dharma in order to bring benefit and happiness to all beings!”

At that time, the Bhagavat then spoke these verses:

“I am always present on Vulture Peak Mountain,

Where I am teaching this precious sūtra,

But in order to completely ripen beings,

I will manifest passing into nirvāṇa.

“Ordinary beings who have wrong views

Will not believe in my teachings;

In order to completely ripen them,

I will manifest passing into nirvāṇa.”

At that time, in that great assembly, there was a brahmin of the Kauṇḍinya family, the Dharma master Vyākaraṇa. Together with a retinue of countless hundreds of thousands of
brahmins, he had made offerings to the Bhagavat. On hearing
the Tathāgata speak the words “passing into nirvāṇa,” he shed tears.
Weeping, he bowed down to the Bhagavat’s feet and
said to the Bhagavat, “If the Tathāgata truly has love for and great compassion for beings, through your kindness benefit them
and bring them happiness. You are like our mother and father, and therefore there is no one else who is like that. You are a
protector and refuge for the whole world, and therefore you
are as bright and pure as the full moon. You bring illumination with your great wisdom, and therefore you are like the rising
sun. You look upon all beings equally, with an affection that is no
different from that for Rāhula. I pray that the Bhagavat will give me permission to make a prayer.”

Then the Bhagavat remained silent. Through the power of the blessing of the Bhagavat, a Licchavī youth who was present there, by the name of Seen as
Delightful by All Beings,
said to the Kauṇḍinya brahmin, “O great brahmin, what kind of prayer are you intent on receiving today from the Bhagavat? I
will give it to you.”

“O young man,” replied the brahmin, “I wish to make offerings to the unsurpassable Bhagavat, and
therefore today I am requesting from the Tathāgata a relic the size of a mustard seed. Why is that? I have heard that in the
past, when a noble man or noble woman had obtained a relic the size of a mustard seed and with veneration honored it and made
offerings to it, that individual was reborn in the Trāyastriṃśa paradise and became Śakra, the lord of the devas.”

The youth then said to the brahmin, “If you wish to be reborn in the Trāyastriṃśa paradise and enjoy the perfect
ripening of karma, then you should listen, with single-pointed mind, to The Supremely Victorious King of
Sūtras, the Sublime Golden Light. This sūtra is supreme among all sūtras, and therefore it is difficult to know
and to penetrate. Therefore, the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas are unable to comprehend it. This sūtra gives rise to the
limitless ripening of the results of merit and accomplishes that until the attainment of the highest enlightenment. Today I
have taught you just a little portion of that subject.”

“Well done, young man,” replied the brahmin. “This Supremely Victorious King of Sūtras, the
Sublime Golden Light is very profound and supreme. It is difficult to know, difficult to penetrate, and therefore
even the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas will not comprehend it. Therefore, it goes without saying that we, low-class people from the borderlands, with little, limited knowledge, will not understand it. That is why today I seek a relic of the Tathāgata that is the size of a mustard seed. I will take it to my
land, place it in a precious casket, and make offerings to it and honor it with veneration. Then, when
I have passed away, I will be Śakra, the lord of the devas, and will continually experience happiness. For my sake,
why don’t you make a prayer today to the one with wisdom and virtuous conduct?”

Just then, the youth spoke these verses to the brahmin:

“White lotuses growing from

The fierce waves of the Ganges River,

Nightingales
becoming like conches,

And crows becoming red;

“Palm-tree fruit coming

From rose-apple trees,

And mango leaves growing

On the branches of date trees—

“It’s possible these marvelous things

May happen alongside each other,

But a relic of the Bhagavat

Is something that will never be seen.

“When sublime, excellent clothes

That can be worn in the cold weather

Are woven from the hair of turtles,