Toh 67The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra “The Great Lion’s Roar of Maitreya”

Summary

In this sūtra, Mahākāśyapa poses a series of questions to the Buddha
about proper monastic conduct and practice, which the Buddha answers at length.
Mahākāśyapa then requests the Buddha to remain in the world in order to
safeguard the Dharma, but when the Buddha initially predicts that Mahākāśyapa
himself will do so in the future, Mahākāśyapa insists that for the Dharma to
remain for long, it must be entrusted to a bodhisattva rather than a śrāvaka.
The Buddha then anoints Maitreya and entrusts him with the responsibility of
protecting the Dharma in the future. There follows a teaching from the Buddha
about those in the future who will falsely claim to be bodhisattvas and about
the proper conduct and practice of bodhisattvas, as well as a description from
Maitreya of his own practice of the bodhisattva path. When Mahākāśyapa asks the
Buddha about those in the future who will be “sham bodhisattvas,” the Buddha
offers a series of teachings on the mistaken and blameworthy practice of
commercializing the worship of relics, stūpas, and images and seeking to make a
living thereby, contrasting this with a monastic’s proper practice of ascetic
conduct and meditative inquiry. In addition to the Buddha’s criticism, this
sūtra is notable for its memorable analogies, past life narratives, and emphasis
on the ascetic practice of the forest-dwelling monastic.

Acknowledgements

This sūtra was translated by Dr. Karen Liljenberg and Dr. Ulrich
Pagel.

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

The generous sponsorship of Ting Xie, Guowen Xie, Xiangzhi Yu, and Jiayu
Xie, which helped make the work on this translation possible, is most gratefully
acknowledged.

Introduction

The Great Lion’s Roar of Maitreya opens
amid an assembly of śrāvaka and bodhisattva disciples, where Venerable
Mahākāśyapa poses a series of questions to the Buddha about how men and
women who have gone forth into monastic life should train, act, and engage
in spiritual practice. In response, the Buddha describes at length the
proper conduct and practice of those who have gone forth, contrasting it
with various forms of potential misconduct and faulty practice and utilizing
a series of memorable analogies as illustrations.

Mahākāśyapa then requests that the Buddha remain in the world “for
an eon or longer” in order to safeguard the Dharma. The Buddha predicts that
in the future Mahākāśyapa himself will safeguard the Dharma, at which point
Mahākāśyapa objects that the Dharma cannot remain for long if it is
entrusted to a śrāvaka rather than a bodhisattva, and he supplicates the
Buddha to anoint Maitreya in his stead. The Buddha then commands Maitreya to
take responsibility for protecting the Dharma in the future, which he
accepts.

In response to Maitreya’s query, the Buddha describes at length the
blameworthy qualities of those in the future who will “falsely claim to be
bodhisattvas” and the proper conduct and practice of bodhisattvas, again
utilizing a series of analogies as well as a narrative of one of his past
lives. Maitreya roars his lion’s roar in response, describing his own
diligent and ascetic practice of the bodhisattva path. When a group of monks
rises to leave the assembly, thinking Maitreya’s description of ascetic
practice unrealistic, Maitreya reassures them and offers a teaching on how
they should practice.

Finally, Mahākāśyapa asks the Buddha how many “sham bodhisattvas”
there will be in the future, and the Buddha answers by predicting that sham
bodhisattvas will involve themselves in the worship of his relics rather
than in proper practice. He elaborates by narrating another of his past
lives, in which Maitreya in a former life also features, providing an
extended critique of those who involve themselves in devotional practices
focused on relics, stūpas, and images to the exclusion of ascetic practice
and meditation. In particular, the Buddha criticizes those who would
commercialize such devotional activities and seek to make a living thereby,
narrating another of his past lives by way of illustration. In this way, the
Buddha contrasts proper practice, focused on renunciation, moral discipline,
and meditative inquiry, with the improper practice of commercializing
devotional practices for mundane ends.

The Great Lion’s Roar of Maitreya is
one of the forty-nine sūtras that make up the Heap of Jewels (Ratnakūṭa; dkon
brtsegs) section of the Kangyur, an important compilation of
Mahāyāna scriptures that exists in both Chinese and Tibetan translation. No
Sanskrit original has survived. The Chinese translation of the sūtra, Mohe jiaye hui
摩訶迦葉會 (Taishō 310
[23]), was produced in 541 by *Upaśūnya (月婆首那) and later included as part of the Chinese Ratnakūṭa
compiled in the eighth century ce by Bodhiruci.
The Tibetan translation is attributed in the colophon to the Indian pandits
Jinamitra, Surendrabodhi, and Prajñāvarman and the Tibetan Yeshé Dé and
others, which dates it to the early ninth century at the latest. This is
confirmed by the text’s inclusion in both imperial-era translation catalogs,
the Denkarma (ca. 812) and the Phangthangma. The text was also found at Dunhuang (Pelliot tibétain 93), which suggests that it was widely
disseminated across the Tibetan-speaking world from the ninth to the early
eleventh centuries ce.

Indications of the text’s place in the Indian Buddhist landscape can
be found in the fact that it is quoted by name in A
Compendium of Sūtras (Sūtrasamuccaya, Toh 3934),
attributed to Nāgārjuna, as well as in An Explanation
of The Compendium of Sūtras: An Ornament Illuminating the Jewels
(Sūtrasamuccayabhāṣyaratnālokālaṃkāranāma, Toh 3935) attributed to Ratnākaraśānti (ca. 970–1045). The text
is also extensively quoted by the renowned Atiśa (982–1054) in The Great Compendium of Sūtras (Mahāsūtrasamuccaya, Toh 3961).
At least one citation by name appears also in A
Compendium of Sūtras on the Stages of Meditation (Toh 3933). At the very least, these citations demonstrate that
the sūtra was recopied and readily available to scholars in India over the
course of the first millennium ce.

As for the perspective of modern academic scholarship, Gregory
Schopen has shown that there are multiple instances in the sūtra of
vocabulary shared with the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, and Schopen’s analysis
of the sūtra’s polemics against the commercialization of relic and image
cults demonstrates either the direct influence of the Mūlasarvāstivāda
Vinaya or the fact that the present sūtra shared its milieu with the
Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya and the communities in which it was
transmitted. In that regard, it is perhaps of interest
that some of the sūtra’s criticism and instruction is aimed at śrāvaka as
well as bodhisattva monastics, not to mention the sūtra’s promotion of the
ideal of the forest-dwelling monastic and, in general, its view of the
merits of monastic life in comparison to the life of lay householders. For
example, the sūtra refers with approval to a supposed previous age in which
literally everyone left their homes to take up the religious life, so that
not even one householder remained.

The sūtra’s polemics against the commercialization of relic, stūpa,
and image cults might be usefully contrasted with other sūtras in which such
devotional practices are endorsed and promoted. In the case of devotional
practices focused on stūpas (and by implication relics), the present sūtra
might be contrasted with The Avalokinī Sūtra
(Toh 195) as well as The Verses on
Circumambulating Shrines (Caityapradakṣiṇagāthā, Toh 321). In the case of
devotional practices focused on images, it might be contrasted with Describing the Benefits of Producing Representations of
the Thus-Gone One (Tathāgatapratibimbapratiṣṭhānuśaṃsasaṃvarṇana, Toh
320).

The central place accorded to Maitreya in this sūtra means that it
is fruitfully read together with the other sūtras in the Kangyur that
feature or focus on the figure of Maitreya: The
Question of Maitreya (Maitreyaparipṛcchā, Toh 85) and The Question
of Maitreya on the Eight Qualities (Maitreyaparipṛcchādharmāṣṭa, Toh 86), which are
also found in the Heap of Jewels section, and The
Question of Maitreya (Maitreyaparipṛcchā, Toh 149),
Maitreya’s Setting Out (Maitreyaprasthāna, Toh 198), and The Sūtra on
Maitreya’s Birth in the Heaven of Joy (Toh 199). As the present sūtra
describes the Buddha commanding Maitreya to take responsibility for
safeguarding the Dharma in the future, of particular comparative interest
are Maitreya’s Setting Out, in which the Buddha
describes the past life in which Maitreya first gave rise to bodhicitta, and
The Sūtra on Maitreya’s Birth in the Heaven of
Joy, in which the Buddha describes Maitreya’s birth in the
Heaven of Joy, from which he will eventually descend into this world to be
fully awakened.

Though not alluded to in the present sūtra, the presence of both
Mahākāśyapa and Maitreya, as well as the reference to who will assume
responsibility for propagating the Dharma in a distant future, evokes the
ancient Mūlasarvāstivāda tradition that links the two figures in terms of
Maitreya’s eventual succession of the Buddha Śākyamuni. According to that
tradition, the Buddha Śākyamuni bestowed his own robe on Mahākāśyapa, who
succeeded the Buddha at the head of the monastic saṅgha. At the end of his
own lifespan, Mahākāśyapa, wearing the Buddha’s robe, entered into Mount
Kukkuṭapāda, where both the robe and his body will remain uncorrupted until
the advent of Maitreya, who will proceed to the mountain and, depending on
the source, remove Mahākāśyapa’s body in the presence of his own disciples
or receive the Buddha Śākyamuni’s robe from him.

This is the first publication of a complete English translation of
The Great Lion’s Roar of Maitreya. Selected
passages from the second half of the sūtra were translated into French by
Paul Demiéville in the 1930s, and several more were more recently translated
into English by Erik Zürcher. The several passages translated by Schopen
have also been a useful reference for us.

Our translation is based on the version found in the Degé Kangyur.
We have compared its readings with those of the versions found in the other
Kangyurs included in the Comparative Edition (dpe
bsdur ma), as well as that found in the Stok Palace
Kangyur.

The Translation

The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra

The Great Lion’s Roar of Maitreya

Homage to all the buddhas and
bodhisattvas.

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling in
Śrāvastī, in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park, together with a great
saṅgha of about five thousand monks and eight thousand bodhisattva great
beings, including Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta, Avalokiteśvara, Mahāsthāmaprāpta,
Śrīgarbha, and Maitreya.

Then the Blessed One, surrounded and revered by a retinue of many
hundreds of thousands, taught the Dharma.

At that time, Venerable Mahākāśyapa was seated among the retinue.
Venerable Mahākāśyapa rose from his seat, draped his upper shawl over one
shoulder, set his right knee on the ground, and with palms joined paid
homage to the Blessed One.

Then he asked the Blessed One, “If the Blessed One will allow me the
opportunity, may I ask the Blessed One, the Tathāgata, to answer certain
questions that I would like to pose?”

The Blessed One replied to Venerable Mahākāśyapa, “Kāśyapa, ask the
Blessed One whatever you wish, and my answers to your questions will delight
you.”

Venerable Mahākāśyapa asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, how
does a son or daughter of noble family who wishes for parinirvāṇa train once
they have gone forth in the well-spoken Dharma and Vinaya? How do they act?
How do they engage in spiritual practice?”

The Blessed One replied to Venerable Mahākāśyapa, “Excellent,
Kāśyapa! You have asked such a question for the benefit of many beings, for
the happiness of many beings, out of love for the world, and for the
welfare, benefit, and happiness of the great mass of beings, gods and
humans. Your intention to ask the Tathāgata a question on such a subject is
excellent. So, Kāśyapa, listen well and remember what I shall explain to
you.”

Venerable Mahākāśyapa gave his assent to the Blessed One and
listened attentively to the Blessed One as he said, “Kāśyapa, a son or
daughter of noble family who wishes for parinirvāṇa, once they have gone
forth in the well-spoken Dharma and Vinaya, should train themselves in moral
discipline, in restraint by the prātimokṣa vows, and in excellence in their
conduct and associations. They should see danger in even the slightest
misdeed and properly keep the fundamental precepts. They should be without
craving and free from hypocrisy, flattery, solicitation, extortion, and
greed for profit. They should be conscientious, modest, and restrained. They
should be fearful of saṃsāra and adept and assiduous in its renunciation.
They
should always be sorrowful about saṃsāra and see the advantages of nirvāṇa.

“Whether they live under trees, on a mountain, in a hut, or in a
cave, they should reflect on the features of the Tathāgata: ‘Thus, the
Blessed One is a tathāgata, an arhat, a fully awakened buddha, endowed with
perfect knowledge and conduct, a sugata, a knower of the world, a guide of
beings to be tamed, unsurpassable, a teacher of gods and humans, a buddha, a
blessed one. His lineage is excellent, his family is excellent, and his
virtuous roots are excellent. He is immeasurable by virtue of his moral
discipline and immeasurable by virtue of his samādhi, wisdom, liberation,
and knowledge and vision of liberation. He is immeasurable by virtue of all
his buddha qualities. He is endowed with unimaginable, immeasurable, and
boundless positive attributes. His speech is truthful and accurate, and he
acts in accordance with his words. His actions are unfailing. He is sublime,
the great healer who removes the arrows of suffering, acting as a spiritual
friend without even being asked. He is compassionate, the great guide.

“ ‘He perfectly teaches the Dharma that is nirvāṇa, which profoundly
manifests its profundity and peacefully shows its peace; which is empty,
without living beings, without confusion, and without characteristics; and
which is the eradication of characteristics. It is wishless and free of
wishes. It is without complexity and free from complexity. It is difficult
to see and difficult to realize. It leads onward to the goal. It is free of
substantiality. It is isolated and free from isolation. It is without
substantiality and unsullied by substantiality. It is motionless and the
eradication of motion. It is free of movement. It is inexpressible and free
of expression. It is without arrogance. It reveals itself. It
is unsullied and free from being sullied. It is without acceptance or rejection. It
is the pacification of suffering and the eradication of craving.’ These are
the features on which they should reflect.

“In this regard, Kāśyapa, a monk should go alone to a solitary
place, and then, settling inward, he should reflect on the features of the
Tathāgata in this way. He should think, ‘I have obtained a human birth, and
I have gone forth, obtaining ordination into monkhood. Although I have
pleased the Tathāgata, I am lazy and spoiled by the distractions of various
kinds of activity, such that I do not know stability. Why is that? It is
because I remain in a state in which I will die without ever attaining
fruition,
and although the blessed buddhas appear in the world as rarely as an
udumbara flower, I will not have pleased the blessed buddhas of the present
and future.’ That is how a monk should reflect on the features of the
Tathāgata.

“In this regard, Kāśyapa, monks should emulate you and the elder
Subhūti. That is because of the way that, without seeing me or hearing me,
you went forth as a renunciant in emulation of the arhats, the perfectly awakened buddhas,
who dwell in this world, Kāśyapa, and became an adornment to this Dharma and
Vinaya. For those who have seen the Tathāgata directly, and having
seen him approach him to make the request to go forth as renunciants and
take full ordination as monks, their going forth is also authorized by the Tathāgata
afterwards.

“A son or daughter of noble family should make the commitment to go forth in this
well-proclaimed Dharma and Vinaya by seeing its two objectives. What are the
two? They are to attain fruition in this very life and to become in future
lives the cause of others seeing the Buddhadharma.

“In this regard, Kāśyapa, some foolish individuals put on saffron
robes in the presence of the Tathāgata and make the commitment to go forth and be
ordained into monkhood. Undertaking the trainings, they enter a hut or a
cave, close the door, and then engage in thoughts of desire, thoughts of
malice or harm, thoughts of their begging bowl and their monastic robes, and
thoughts of the households of friends and of alms-giving households. They
think to themselves, ‘The Tathāgata does not know us. He is not aware of us
and does not think of us.’

“Kāśyapa, whether a monk is in a hut, in a cave, or on a walking
path, whenever he engages in thoughts of desire, thoughts of malice,
thoughts of harm, or different kinds of nonvirtuous thoughts, the deities
who dwell in that hut, in that cave, or on that walking path know the monk’s
mind, and they think, ‘Why is this monk, who has gone forth in the
well-proclaimed Dharma and Vinaya, engaging in thoughts of nonvirtuous and
sinful actions? It is inappropriate.’ They will then be displeased,
anguished, and unhappy.

“Kāśyapa, some of those deities will encourage him, but others,
aware that the monk is not worth teaching, will settle into an attitude of
contempt. Look, Kāśyapa, if those deities who possess just a modicum of
virtuous roots and knowledge know the minds of others, I need hardly mention that
the Tathāgata, who has engaged in good actions for countless quintillion
eons, also does so! Kāśyapa, there is nothing whatsoever that is not known,
seen, comprehended, or realized by the Tathāgata. Kāśyapa, the Tathāgata
possesses unobstructed wisdom with regard to the five types of objects of
knowledge—those that are past, present, future, freed from time, and
inexpressible. He is free of uncertainty.

“Therefore, Kāśyapa, a son or daughter of noble family, knowing that
because they have gone forth in the well-proclaimed Dharma and Vinaya they
are self-reliant, should train with the thought, ‘The Tathāgata knows my
mind, and because all the blessed buddhas who dwell and flourish in the
limitless, infinite worlds in the ten directions also know my mind, I should
not, after I have gone forth in the teaching of the Tathāgata, be a
swindler-ascetic.’

“Now, Kāśyapa, what is a swindler-ascetic? There are four types of
swindler-ascetics. What are the four? Kāśyapa, a monk who has the
appearance, distinguishing marks, and figure of an ascetic but whose moral
discipline is deficient and who is an evildoer is the first type of
swindler-ascetic. One who goes to a secluded spot and engages in nonvirtuous
thoughts while dwelling there is the second type of swindler-ascetic. One
who knows himself to be an ordinary person who has not attained fruition
but, overcome by desire for gain, reverence, and praise, falsely claims in
the presence of others to be an arhat is the third type of swindler-ascetic.
One who praises himself and denigrates others is the fourth type of
swindler-ascetic. Those, Kāśyapa, are the four types of
swindler-ascetics.

“Kāśyapa, imagine there came along a fierce, coarse, ferocious man
who was physically powerful and endowed with great strength. That man
bludgeoned every person in Jambudvīpa, or stabbed them or punched them, and
after subduing them robbed them and made off with all their useful goods:
cowry shells, gold, precious stones, pearls, beryl, conches, crystals,
coral, gold dust, silver, and different kinds of jewels, as well as their
house, vehicle, clothes, food, drink, bedding, and furniture to be used or
enjoyed, and every possession that could provide pleasure or leisure. What
do you think, Kāśyapa? Would that man create a great deal of nonmerit on
that basis?”

Kāśyapa replied, “Yes, Blessed One, he would create a great deal.
Sugata, he would create a great deal.”

The Blessed One said, “Kāśyapa, believe this and take it to heart:
when someone who knows themselves to be an ordinary person who has not
attained fruition, overcome by desire for gain, reverence, and praise,
falsely claims in the presence of others to be a stream enterer and then
enjoys so much as a single meal of alms food, that creates an even greater
amount of nonmerit. That creates an inexhaustibly greater amount of
nonmerit.”

Then the elder Mahākāśyapa said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One,
how wonderful is the response of the Tathāgata, the precepts taught through
analogies.
Hearing such a precious analogy taught by the Tathāgata, what person who has
not attained fruition would accept so much as a drink of water given by the
faithful?”

The Blessed One replied, “That is right, Kāśyapa. What you say is
right. One should live as if one’s head and clothes were ablaze, and until
one has attained fruition, one should not accept so much as a drink of water
given by the faithful.

“Kāśyapa, imagine there came along a second man, fiercer, coarser,
and more ferocious, who was physically more powerful and endowed with
greater strength. That man bludgeoned every person in a four-continent
universe, or stabbed them or punched them, and after subduing them robbed
them and made off with all their useful goods: cowry shells, gold, precious
stones, pearls, beryl, conches, crystals, coral, gold dust, silver, and
different kinds of jewels, as well as their house, vehicle, clothes, food,
drink, bedding, and furniture to be used or enjoyed, and every possession
that could provide pleasure or leisure. What do you think, Kāśyapa? Would
that man create a great deal of nonmerit on that basis?”

Kāśyapa replied, “Yes, Blessed One, he would create a great deal.
Sugata, he would create a great deal.”

The Blessed One said, “Kāśyapa, believe this and take it to heart:
when someone who knows themselves to be an ordinary person who has not
attained fruition, overcome by desire for gain, reverence, and praise,
falsely claims in the presence of others to be a once-returner and then
enjoys so much as a single meal of alms food, that creates an even greater
amount of nonmerit. That creates an inexhaustibly greater amount of
nonmerit.

“But, Kāśyapa, never mind the useful goods of all the people in a
four-continent universe. Imagine there came along a third man, much fiercer,
much coarser, and even more ferocious, who was physically much more powerful
and endowed with much greater strength, and that man bludgeoned every person
born in a small thousandfold universe, or stabbed them or punched them, and
after subduing them robbed them and made off with all of their useful goods:
cowry shells, gold, precious stones, pearls, beryl, conches, crystals,
coral, gold dust, silver, and different kinds of jewels, as well as their
house, vehicle, clothes, food, drink, bedding, and furniture to be used or
enjoyed, and every possession that could provide pleasure or leisure. What
do you think, Kāśyapa? Would that man create a great deal of nonmerit on
that basis?”

Kāśyapa replied, “Yes, Blessed One, he would create a great deal.
Sugata, he would create a great deal.”

The Blessed One said, “Kāśyapa, believe this and take it to heart:
when someone who knows themselves to be an ordinary person who has not
attained fruition, overcome by desire for gain, reverence, and praise,
falsely claims in the presence of others to be a non-returner and then
enjoys so much as a single meal of alms food, that creates an even greater
amount of nonmerit. That creates an inexhaustibly greater amount of
nonmerit.

“Kāśyapa, never mind the useful goods of all the people in a small
thousandfold universe. Imagine there came along a fourth man, supremely
fierce, supremely coarse, and supremely ferocious, who was physically
supremely powerful and endowed with supreme strength, and that man
bludgeoned every god, nāga, yakṣa, gandharva, asura, garuḍa, kinnara,
mahoraga, human, and nonhuman in a thousandfold universe, or stabbed them or
punched them, and after subduing them robbed them and made off with all of
their useful goods: cowry shells, gold, precious stones, pearls, beryl,
conches, crystals, coral, gold dust, silver, and different kinds of jewels,
as well as their house, vehicle, clothes, food, drink, bedding, and
furniture to be used or enjoyed, and every possession that could provide
pleasure or leisure. What do you think, Kāśyapa? Would that man create a
great deal of nonmerit on that basis?”

Kāśyapa replied, “Yes, Blessed One, he would create a great deal.
Sugata, he would create a great deal.”

The Blessed One said, “Kāśyapa, believe this and take it to heart:
when someone who knows themselves to be an ordinary person who has not
attained fruition, overcome by desire for gain, reverence, and praise, falsely claims
in the presence of others to be an arhat while thinking that others should
recognize them as an arhat, exalts themselves in the way that an arhat is
exalted, exhibits signs like those an arhat exhibits, and, possessing
such sinful desires, enjoys so much as a single meal of alms food given by
the faithful, that creates an even greater amount of nonmerit. That creates
an inexhaustibly greater amount of nonmerit.

“Therefore, Kāśyapa, compared to someone inclined to steal every
pleasing possession of all the beings in a thousandfold universe, I do not
see any more despicable behavior of one gone forth than to enjoy what is
given by the faithful with such sinful desires.

“Kāśyapa, these are the four sinful desires of one who has gone
forth in the Śrāvaka Vehicle. What are the four? They are the desire to see
the buddhas of the future, the desire for the sovereignty of a universal
monarch, the desire for royal lineage, and the desire for a brahmanical
lineage. Those are the four sinful desires of one who has gone forth in the
Śrāvaka Vehicle.

“When they aspire to something, even when they aspire to nirvāṇa,
that is itself a sinful desire of theirs. With that in mind, the Tathāgata
taught, ‘Monks, I do not in fact commend nirvāṇa with a remainder of the
aggregates, nor do I commend birth even for so much as an instant.’

“Kāśyapa, these are the four stains of ascetics; one who has gone
forth should never give rise to any of them. What are the four? They are
clinging to the transitory collection, conceiving of it as a person,
transgressing the training, and desiring to see the buddhas of the
future. Those are the four stains of ascetics; one who has gone forth should
never give rise to any of them.

“Kāśyapa, it was for the sake of ascetics and brahmins whose
livelihoods are pure, who are free of sinful desires, who are morally
disciplined, upright by nature, honest, and free of hypocrisy and arrogance,
and who desire parinirvāṇa that I attained unsurpassed, perfect awakening
and became a buddha. Therefore, Kāśyapa, you should speak words of
encouragement to them so that, on hearing them, those yogis who engage in
spiritual practice will be pleased and
happy.

“Kāśyapa, suppose some son or daughter of noble family has paid
homage to all the beings in a four-continent universe for an eon or more
with every pleasing possession and revered them, honored them, and made
offerings to them. In comparison, when someone who has practiced properly,
whose moral discipline is pure, and whose livelihood is pure accepts so much
as a drink of water given in faith by a donor, that will create for them an
enormous amount of merit. But that is not the case for the one who has paid
homage to all the beings in the four-continent universe for an eon or more
with every pleasing possession and revered them, honored them, and made
offerings to them.

“Kāśyapa, a fool with sinful desires harms the welfare of the person
from whom he receives monastic robes or alms in a way that even a foe, a
murderer, an opponent, or an enemy could not.

“Kāśyapa, these are the four subtle defilements of one who has gone
forth, and if one who has gone forth has these subtle defilements, it should be
declared that they will go to the hell realms just like an arrow that has
been shot. What are the four? They are to be envious of another’s gain, to
commit offenses against moral discipline after studying the sūtras connected
with the precepts, to violate the Tathagata’s teachings or the training and
then arrogantly conceal it while neither discerning nor confessing it, and
to then knowingly enjoy gifts from the faithful.

“Kāśyapa, those are the four subtle defilements of one who has gone
forth, and if one who has gone forth has these subtle defilements, it should
be declared that they will go to the hell realms just like an arrow that has
been shot.

“Kāśyapa, these are the four types of bogus ascetic. What are the
four? They are one whose moral discipline is corrupted, one who believes in
a self, one who abandons the authentic Dharma, and one who is a Lokāyata.
Those are the four types of bogus ascetic.

“Kāśyapa, these are the four ways in which one who has gone forth is
puffed-up and careless, and if one who has gone forth is puffed-up and
careless in these ways, it should be declared that they will go to the hell
realms. What are the four? They are to be puffed-up with great learning,
becoming careless because of it, to be puffed-up and overcome by gain,
reverence, and praise, becoming careless because of it, to be puffed-up by
the households of friends and those who give alms, becoming careless because
of the food given by the households of friends and those who give alms, and
to be puffed-up with ascetic practices and having few possessions, praising
themselves and denigrating others because of being puffed-up with ascetic
practices and having few possessions. That is what is known as carelessness.

“Kāśyapa, those are the four ways in which one who has gone forth is
puffed-up and careless, and if one who has gone forth is puffed-up and
careless in those ways, it should be declared that they will go to the hell
realms.”

Then the elder Mahākāśyapa said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, in
the future, in the final five-hundred-year period, the bogus ascetics who
want saffron robes and who will cause the disappearance of the unsurpassed,
perfect awakening that the tathāgatas have accomplished for countless
millions of eons—what will they be like?”

The Blessed One replied to Venerable Mahākāśyapa, “Kāśyapa, what is
the point of you asking the Tathāgata for an account of this? Let it go,
Kāśyapa, because if the Tathāgata actually described and explained all the
faults of those foolish peoples’ sinful desires, false conceptions, deceits,
frauds, errors, malign flaws, and malign forces, after you heard of the
sinful behavior of those unholy individuals, even though it is incorrect, it
would not appear so to you.”

Then the elder Mahākāśyapa said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, I
beg the Blessed One, the Tathāgata, to give his blessing so that this Dharma
and Vinaya may remain for a long time, come what may.”

Then the Blessed One replied to Venerable Mahākāśyapa, “Kāśyapa,
before long the Tathāgata will pass into parinirvāṇa.”

Kāśyapa said, “Blessed One, in order to protect the authentic
Dharma, I beg
the Blessed One, the Tathāgata, to remain for an eon or longer.”

The Blessed One replied to Venerable Mahākāśyapa, “Kāśyapa, even if,
say, a thousand buddhas had taught the Dharma, with miracles, to those
foolish people, those unholy individuals would not let go of or turn away
from their sinful desires and sinful conceptions. Besides, Kāśyapa, in the
future, in the final five-hundred-year period, you will be inspired to
preserve the authentic Dharma, and beings with virtuous minds who will
listen respectfully to your explanations will be born.”

Then the elder Mahākāśyapa said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, I,
along with the four-continent universe with its hamlets, towns, and
villages, its crags and mountain peaks, and its oceans, rivers, and woods,
would gladly plead for this on my knees for an eon or longer. But,
Blessed One, I would not be glad to hear about the acts of propounding
falsehood of those unholy individuals. Blessed One, I would be happy to live on a
single juniper berry or sesame seed or grain of rice for an eon or longer.
But, Blessed One, I would not be glad to hear about the acts of propounding
falsehood of those unholy individuals. Blessed One, I would be glad to live
for as long as ten million years in the four postures in a great billionfold
universe burning, blazing, and raging throughout with an eon-ending fire.
But, Blessed One, I would not be glad to hear about the acts of propounding
falsehood of those unholy individuals. Blessed One, I would be glad to patiently
accept anger, insults, denigration, degradation, intimidation, and beatings
from all beings. But, Blessed One, I would not be glad to hear about the
acts of propounding falsehood of those thieves and swindlers of the Dharma,
those who speak nonsense about the Dharma, and teachers of counterfeit
Dharma. Because my practice and knowledge are limited, I am not capable of
bearing such a responsibility. But, Blessed One, a bodhisattva is capable of
bearing such a responsibility.

“Furthermore, Blessed One, I venture to draw this analogy: I would
compare it, Blessed One, to a certain man, old and infirm, about one hundred
and twenty years of age. Afflicted with an illness, the man takes to his bed
to lie down after experiencing chest pain. At that point, a certain confused
man who is rich, with ample wealth and possessions, arrives and says to the
bed-ridden man, ‘Fellow, I entrust you with this treasure of mine, but when
I return in ten or twenty years’ time from another region, return this
treasure to me.’ He hands over the treasure, and after entrusting it in this
way, he goes off to another region.

“The bed-ridden man has neither sons nor daughters nor attendants,
and before long, after the man has gone off to another region, the
bed-ridden man dies. After that whole mass of wealth has been lost, when the
man returns, no matter what the man says to anyone, there is nothing to be
done.

“In the same way, Blessed One, if the treasure of the authentic
Dharma is entrusted to a śrāvaka, whose practice and knowledge are limited,
who is
without a companion, and who will not remain for long, it will also not
remain for long.”

The Blessed One replied, “Yes, indeed, Kāśyapa. I, too, am aware of
this. However, I knowingly asked this of you because if they hear your
eloquent analogy, those unholy individuals will develop remorse.”

Then the elder Mahākāśyapa said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, I
venture to draw a second analogy here. I would compare it, Blessed One, to
this: there is a certain person whose constitution is healthy and free of
illness, who will live for many hundreds of thousands of years, and who is
youthful, a young man. He has plenty of attendants and plenty of resources,
an excellent lineage and family, and a virtuous disposition. He is loving
and greatly compassionate, cheerful, and equanimous towards the faults of
beings and the faults of the defilements. He acts for the benefit of many
beings, for the happiness of many beings, out of love for the world, and for
the welfare, benefit, and happiness of the great mass of beings, gods and
humans. He is steadfast in his endeavors. A certain man comes into the
presence of that holy individual and says, ‘Fellow, I entrust you with this
treasure of mine, so hide and protect it well. When I return in ten- or
twenty-years’ time from another region, return this treasure to me.’ When he
hands the treasure over, the man accepts it and hides and protects it well,
and when the other man returns, he gives it back to him.

“In the same way, Blessed One, if someone entrusts the
treasure of the authentic Dharma to a bodhisattva, it will not be lost for
many billions of eons but will be beneficial to many beings, and the lineage
of the Buddha, of the Dharma, and of the Saṅgha will remain unbroken.

“Blessed One, I am not capable of the actions that a bodhisattva
accomplishes or of the goals that they accomplish. But, since the
bodhisattva great being Maitreya is present in this very retinue, Blessed
One, please command him. In the future, in the final five-hundred-year
period when the authentic Dharma disappears, he will uphold and spread
widely the unsurpassed, perfect awakening that the tathāgatas have
accomplished for countless millions of eons.

“The reason, Blessed One, is that the bodhisattva great being
Maitreya will fully awaken to unsurpassed, perfect buddhahood after the
Tathāgata. Blessed One, I would compare it to the son and heir who receives
the royal anointment of a king. Because he will be bestowed with sovereignty
after the king, even while he receives the royal anointment, he takes
delight in it and also becomes righteous. He thinks to himself, ‘After I
have received this royal anointment, I shall act as king.’ He is encouraged
by this thought and so becomes deeply involved in all royal activities. In
the same way, when the Blessed One, the Tathāgata, passes away, this
bodhisattva great being Maitreya will be bestowed with the great
sovereignty of the kingdom of the authentic Dharma; therefore I beg him to
deeply involve himself in protecting the authentic Dharma.”

The Blessed One replied to the elder Mahākāśyapa, “Good, good,
Kāśyapa! What you say is right.”

Then the Blessed One extended his golden-colored right hand, his
gentle, supremely supple hand acquired through virtuous roots over countless
millions of eons, its touch pleasing like the finest silk, and poured liquid
the color of red lac dye onto the head of the bodhisattva great being
Maitreya, anointing him.

He then said, “Maitreya, in the future, in the final
five-hundred-year period, when the time has arrived for the authentic Dharma
to disappear, take delight in protecting the authentic Dharma, causing it to
last for a long while, upholding it, and causing the lineage of the Buddha,
the Dharma, and the Saṅgha to remain unbroken.”

As soon as the Blessed One laid his gold-colored right hand on the
crown of the bodhisattva great being Maitreya’s head, at that very moment
this whole great billionfold universe shook violently three times. It shook,
shook violently, and shook all over; it trembled, trembled violently, and
trembled all over; it quaked, quaked violently, and quaked all over. A great
radiance appeared in the world.

The gods of the earth and those who live in space, up to those of
Akaniṣṭha, joined their palms together and said to the bodhisattva great
being Maitreya, “Noble Maitreya, please take delight in protecting the
authentic Dharma, causing it to last for a long while and upholding it for
the benefit of many beings, for the happiness of many beings, out of love
for the world, and for the welfare, benefit, and happiness of the great mass of
beings, gods and humans.”

Then the bodhisattva great being Maitreya rose from his seat, draped
his upper shawl over one shoulder, set his right knee on the ground, and
with palms joined paid homage to the Blessed One. Then he said to the
Blessed One, “Blessed One, if I am happy to remain in saṃsāra until the end
of time for the sake of even a single being, there is no need to say that I
shall do so in order to uphold the authentic Dharma. Blessed One, I shall
protect and spread widely the unsurpassed, perfect awakening that the
tathāgatas have accomplished for countless millions of eons.”

As soon as the bodhisattva great being Maitreya set his right knee
on the ground, this whole great billionfold universe shook violently in six
ways.

Then the bodhisattva great being Maitreya said to the Blessed One,
“Blessed One, I am no one’s rival, and I am arrogant toward no one. Why is
that? Blessed One, it is because these upholders of the authentic Dharma do
the work of holy individuals. The burden that bodhisattvas carry, Blessed
One, is a burden the likes of which śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas are
incapable of carrying.”

Then the Blessed One commended the bodhisattva great being Maitreya,
“Good, good, Maitreya! Just as you have uttered such a lion’s roar in my
presence in order to uphold the authentic Dharma, in the same way,
bodhisattvas also utter lions’ roars in the presence of all the blessed
buddhas of the ten directions, as many as the grains of sand in the Ganges,
and act
to uphold the authentic Dharma.”

The bodhisattva great being Maitreya said to the Blessed One,
“Blessed One, may the Blessed One, the Tathāgata, please instruct me on the
subject of the flaws of those unholy individuals who profess to be
bodhisattvas, who profess to be ascetics, who are idiots and fools, who seek
gain and reverence and are attached to gain and reverence, and who are
attached to the households of friends and those who give alms, exerting
themselves for alms food. This is so that once I have learned of those
causes in this way, Blessed One, I will understand them and so will abandon
them all the faster and protect myself from those flaws. In addition, it is
so that some of those unholy individuals will say, ‘The Tathāgata knows me,
and the Tathāgata understands me; he understands me perfectly,’ and will
develop faith in the Tathāgata.”

The Blessed One replied to the bodhisattva great being Maitreya,
“Listen well and remember, then, Maitreya, and I shall teach you just a
little about the flaws of those unholy individuals. So, Maitreya, in the
future, in the final five-hundred-year period, there will be many who
falsely claim to be bodhisattvas. I shall explain what their sinful desires
will be.

“Maitreya, if bodhisattvas possess four qualities, one should
recognize that they falsely claim to be bodhisattvas. What are the four?
They are desire for gain, desire for reverence, dishonesty, and sustaining
themselves through an unsuitable livelihood.

“Maitreya, if bodhisattvas possess those four qualities, one should
recognize that they falsely claim to be bodhisattvas.”

“Maitreya, in the future, in the final five-hundred-year period,
there will be many falsely claiming to be bodhisattvas who behave like dogs.
By way of analogy, Maitreya, if a dog sees another dog coming from a
distance toward someone’s house that it has visited several times before, it
thinks ‘This is my house!’ and barks and howls possessively, with angry
looks. Hostility leads to wrongdoing, and it gets the idea of claiming the
other’s house and that it belongs to it.

“In the same way, Maitreya, in the future, in the final
five-hundred-year period, the many falsely claiming to be bodhisattvas who
behave like dogs will get the idea that other peoples’ houses and hamlets
belong to them. Once they have the idea that they belong to them, they will
appropriate them. If one monastic sees another monastic coming toward a
house that they have visited before, they will think ‘This is my house!’
They will then give the other angry looks and become hostile, fighting,
quarreling, arguing, and contending over it. The monastics will engage each
other in verbal disputes and speak harshly to each other. One will say of
the other, ‘The monk so-and-so possesses such-and-such flaws’ and ‘The nun
so-and-so possesses such-and-such flaws.’

“Speaking unpleasantly, they will also say to householders, ‘If you
want to follow me, you must not follow the monk so-and-so, and do not follow
the nun so-and-so.’

“Merely for the sake of disgusting, perishable, execrable food,
they will create a great deal of nonmerit. Behaving like hungry ghosts,
poverty stricken, mean and avaricious, they will feed themselves. They will
call themselves bodhisattvas and falsely claim to be bodhisattvas. While
they break their vows of moral discipline, harbor sinful desires, and behave in
sinful ways, they will utter praise of the buddhas, praise of the buddhas’
wisdom, and praise of the perfect attitudes of other bodhisattvas. Their
accomplishments will be food and clothing!

“Maitreya, this is how the type of persons who should roar and act
like a lion will cry out and act like a fox. While they utter praise of
renouncing everything they own, they will not renounce fleeting worldly
trifles; avarice will overcome them, the stain of possessions will soil
them, and they will have alienated themselves from renunciation. While they
utter praise of what is beneficial, they will engage in much malicious,
unyielding, and angry wrongdoing. While they utter praise of patience, they
will harbor nothing but malice. While they utter praise of the four means of
gathering disciples, they will not give anything to anyone, will not speak
pleasantly, will not help, and will be inconsistent in their words and
deeds, gathering no one—look at how intolerable they will be!

“They will not train themselves in emulation of the bodhisattvas’
diligence through conduct steeped in the good qualities to which they have
pledged themselves—they will only pay lip service.

“Maitreya, countless eons ago in the past—exceedingly countless,
totally countless, numerous, immeasurable, unimaginable, incalculable eons
ago—there arose in the world a tathāgata, an arhat, a perfectly awakened
buddha called Highest Wisdom, endowed with perfect knowledge and conduct, a
sugata, a knower of the world, an unsurpassed guide of beings to be tamed, a
teacher of gods and humans, a buddha, a blessed one. That tathāgata,
Maitreya, came into the world when it possessed the five degenerations, as
it does now.

“At that time, Maitreya, there was a monk named Diligent
Aspiration who was mindful, realized, and intelligent. He had little desire;
he was content with what he had. He practiced the teachings of the
tathāgatas. He visited hamlets, towns, villages, royal palaces, and the
surrounding regions. When, on his arrival there, he taught the Dharma, the
kings, important ministers, and most of the rest of the population would
honor him, make offerings to him, pay homage to him, and show him reverence.
They recognized him and knew him well.

“He never thought to go a second time to any house where he had
stayed and been spoken to pleasantly, where he was listened to respectfully,
and where he obtained food and drink. It was other houses that he went
to—those of misers, people without faith, and those with wrong views—and
when he arrived there, they gave him no welcome. Not only did they not speak
pleasantly to him, they got angry and abused him. But he, by donning the
armor of patience and remaining greatly compassionate, was not distressed on
going to those houses, and he felt no unhappiness.

“Maitreya, the houses where the bodhisattva Diligent Aspiration had
aroused faith supported other monks with monastic robes, alms food, bedding,
seats, medicines to cure illness, and implements. What do you think,
Maitreya? Do you think that he neither went to those houses nor even thought
to go to them but, even so, gave rise to thoughts of jealousy and avarice
toward those other monks?”

Maitreya replied, “No, Blessed One. No, Sugata.”

The Blessed One said, “See, Maitreya, that is how the bodhisattva
Diligent Aspiration aroused faith in the houses where he was spoken to
pleasantly, where he was listened to respectfully, and where he found food
and drink,
and where other monks were supported. After that he did not enter them a
second time. He aroused faith in the houses of misers, people without faith,
and those with wrong views, and even when they got angry and abused him, he
was not distressed and felt no unhappiness. Rather, he was really a benefit,
with a noble intention, with little desire, content with what he had,
gentle, and compassionate.

“Maitreya, that is how previous bodhisattvas aroused faith in
householders and supported others, but they did not do this for the sake of
monastic robes or alms food for themselves. Maitreya, if you are of two
minds or doubtful as to whether, at that particular time, the bodhisattva
named Diligent Aspiration was someone else, do not view it that way. For I
myself was, at that particular time, the bodhisattva named Diligent
Aspiration.

“Therefore, Maitreya, bodhisattvas who wish to visit houses should
emulate the bodhisattva Diligent Aspiration. Apart from him, they should
emulate other bodhisattvas’ perfect noble intention and behave just as those
bodhisattvas do.

“Furthermore, Maitreya, in the future, in the final
five-hundred-year period, there will be some monks falsely claiming to be
bodhisattvas who act as follows: they will visit houses for the sake of
gain, monastic robes, and alms food, but not in order to establish
householders in faith. They will express criticism of one another and be
divisive and quarrelsome. They will be glad because others lose, not because
they themselves gain; and they will be unhappy because others gain, not
because they themselves lose.

“Maitreya, if a bodhisattva should, without any regard, give all
their own pleasing possessions to others, consider how far these monks will
go astray! Because, Maitreya, a bodhisattva first develops an attitude of
great compassion, thinking, ‘I must make all beings happy!’

“Maitreya, as an analogy, if a merchant or householder had an only
son who was dear, beloved, and handsome, and whom a king imprisoned because
of certain transgressions, what do you think, Maitreya—with what
intention would the merchant or householder enter the king’s prison?”

The bodhisattva great being Maitreya replied to the Blessed One,
“Blessed One, resolved to free their only son, they would think, ‘I shall
quickly free my only son from this prison!’ They would enter the prison
focused solely on their only son. They would enter the prison and, focused
on freeing him, bring about his release.”

The Blessed One replied, “Maitreya, I have used this analogy so
that the meaning will be understood. What is that meaning? It is as
follows. You should consider the king’s prison to be just like the prison of
saṃsāra. By analogy, Maitreya, you should consider the merchant or
householder to be just like a bodhisattva. Maitreya, as for the analogy of
the only son, consider that a bodhisattva should think of every being as
like their only son.

“It is like this, Maitreya—just as the merchant or householder
would not enter the prison for any other reason or purpose than to benefit
their only son, in the same way, Maitreya, a bodhisattva should not go into houses in
order to get monastic robes or alms food. Thus, they should view it as their
duty to go into houses in order to free from saṃsāra those who live in
them.

“Furthermore, Maitreya, in the future, in the final
five-hundred-year period, there will be some monks who have not cultivated
their bodies or their minds, who have not cultivated moral discipline or
wisdom. In order to get monastic robes and alms food, these monks will go to
houses taking presents of flowers, fruit, foliage, and implements and
presents of recompense for favors done. Maitreya, monks should not behave
like garlands of flowers or like servants
and laborers. Maitreya, a monk who wishes to go to houses should go with no
present apart from the Dharma, not bringing any other present; he should be
learned, versed in the scriptures, fearless, free from craving, free from
hypocrisy, not a flatterer, and not possessive. He should go to houses out
of love for the Dharma. Having arrived at the house, he should utter praise
of the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, and he should utter praise of generosity,
moral discipline, patience, diligence, concentration, and wisdom. Apart from
the gift of a Dharma discourse, he should offer no talk about the household,
farming, business, matters of pleasure, the king, bandits, hamlets, towns,
the countryside, sons, or daughters or any other talk.

“Maitreya, suppose someone filled this great billionfold universe
with the seven kinds of precious substances and then offered them to a son
or daughter of noble family. If they gathered all the pleasing
possessions of the beings contained within the great billionfold universe
and then gave them to that son or daughter of noble family, that mass of
wealth and those many pleasing possessions would not be a kindness or bring
benefit to the son or daughter of noble family.

“But if they caused them to listen to merely a single four-line
verse of Dharma, just causing them to hear it resound, even if they do not
acquire faith at that point, would be extremely enriching and beneficial
for, and kind to, the son or daughter of noble family.

“Maitreya, when those monks have entered a house, they set aside
the teachings of the Buddha and conduct worldly conversations—what an
enormously pointless domestic endeavor! Why is that? Because, Maitreya,
gold, silver, precious stones, jewels, pearls, beryl, conches, crystals,
coral, and other pleasing possessions do not liberate from birth beings
whose nature it is to be born. They do not liberate from sickness beings
whose nature it is to become ill. They do not liberate from old age, death,
anguish, weeping, suffering, unhappiness, and being upset beings whose
nature it is to grow old, die, feel anguish, weep, suffer, become unhappy,
and be upset.

“But hearing the Dharma liberates beings whose nature it is to be
born from birth. It liberates beings whose nature it is to become ill from
sickness, and it liberates beings whose nature it is to grow old, die, feel
anguish, weep, suffer, become unhappy, and be upset by what afflicts them.

“With this in mind, the Tathāgata teaches that:

“To give someone this great billionfold universe

Filled with gold would benefit them less

Than uttering a single four-line verse of Dharma.

If they recite a single four-line verse of the Buddha’s way,

Someone who wants to be of benefit

Will be of supremely great benefit—

More than giving a single being all the pleasures

Of every being in the three realms of existence—

For it will free them from suffering.”

“Maitreya, if, out of great compassion, a bodhisattva recites a
single four-line verse of Dharma to a single being, that creates much more
merit than if they fill the limitless, infinite universes with the seven
kinds of precious substances and then present them as an offering to the
blessed buddhas.

“In this respect, it is said:

“Someone fills with supremely precious gems

As many universes as the Ganges’ sands

And offers them with supreme joy to the victorious ones,

And someone offers a single verse of Dharma to one being—

That enormous gift of precious gems

Cannot compare to the compassionate act

Of the gift of one verse of Dharma;

It is incalculable. And if that is so,

How can one conceive of the value of two or three verses?”

Then the Blessed One said to the bodhisattva great being Maitreya,
“Maitreya, in the center of the Tathāgata’s right hand are manifest the rays
of light known as adorned with the natural result of the
accomplishment of every merit. If the Tathāgata so wished, he
might cover this whole great billionfold universe with his right hand and
then bring to every being every pleasing possession: food for those who desire
food, drink for those who desire drink, clothes for those who desire
clothes, and jewels for those who desire jewels, giving everyone whatever
they desire. However, just that would not liberate those beings from their
great, monstrous suffering in the beginningless and endless ocean of saṃsāra.
Therefore, Maitreya, I have put aside such worldly pleasing possessions in
order to teach the precious Dharma of happiness that transcends the world,
which always pacifies the suffering of the beings who hear it.

“Therefore, Maitreya, you should follow my example—do not involve
yourself with trifles; involve yourself with the Dharma.

“Furthermore, Maitreya, in the future, in the final
five-hundred-year period, when the time has arrived for the authentic Dharma
to disappear, there will be some falsely claiming to be bodhisattvas who
will wholly transgress their vows. When they have committed sinful acts by
not restraining their body, speech, or mind, they will think that faults are
purified merely by confession, but they will not exercise restraint
thereafter and will make no vow to exercise restraint thereafter. Since I
have taught the Dharma discourse of the Three Sections in order to exhaust previously committed sinful
acts, those foolish people will think that once they have engaged in wholly
transgressing their vows, faults will be purified merely by confession and
cleansing, and they will not control themselves thereafter.

“Furthermore, Maitreya, because I have dispelled the karma of sons
and daughters of noble family who are followers of the Bodhisattva Vehicle,
a bodhisattva cannot fall into the hells, the animal realms, the world of
the Lord of Death, or any other kind of rebirth into poverty due to a minor
act of nonvirtue. Even so, a bodhisattva should quickly eliminate it, feel ashamed of it, wish to train, and see danger in
their next life, continually worried and afraid of all the
realms of rebirth within cyclic existence.

“The reason for that, Maitreya, is that a bodhisattva, in order to
take care of all beings, makes the vow, ‘After I have crossed over I shall
deliver all of you; after I am free I shall liberate you; after I am
comforted I shall comfort you; after I attain parinirvāṇa I shall cause you
to attain parinirvāṇa.’

“Therefore, Maitreya, on the face of the earth with its gods, Māra,
Brahmā, ascetics, and brahmins, there is no being whatsoever who has seen
all the actions of the bodhisattvas or all their burdens, obligations, aims,
or duties.

“Maitreya, by way of analogy, imagine someone placed this great
billionfold universe with its crags, mountains, oceans, rivers, and forests
on top of someone’s head or shoulders and then commanded him, ‘Hey fellow,
you must carry this great billionfold universe along with its crags,
mountains, oceans, rivers, and forests for an eon or longer, or for a
hundred, a thousand, or a hundred thousand eons, without setting it down or
taking a rest.’ What do you think, Maitreya? Would that man’s burden be
great, and would his perseverance, strength, and diligence be powerful?”

Maitreya replied, “Yes, Blessed One, they would be powerful.
Indeed, Sugata, they would be powerful.”

The Blessed One said, “Maitreya, believe this and take it to heart.
Consider that even more powerful than that is the burden, perseverance,
strength, and diligence of a bodhisattva who takes care of all beings,
vowing, ‘O beings, I shall establish you in the happiness of nirvāṇa.’

“By way of analogy, Maitreya, suppose a certain person transformed
the extent of their actions into the extent of the actions of all the beings
contained in the great billionfold universe, accomplishing all those actions
of all those beings in the time it took to snap his fingers just once,
without at all impairing the efficacy of those actions. What do you think,
Maitreya? Would the actions of that person be powerful?”

Maitreya replied, “Yes, Blessed One. Indeed so, Sugata. They would
be powerful, Blessed One. Sugata, they would be powerful.”

The Blessed One said, “Maitreya, believe this and take it to heart:
the actions of a bodhisattva who has declared ‘I shall liberate all beings
from the suffering of saṃsāra’ are more powerful than that.

“By way of analogy, Maitreya, suppose a certain householder has an
only son who is dear, beloved, handsome, and agreeable in appearance.
Because of certain transgressions, the householder is summoned to the king’s
palace along with his only son, his wife, his servants and laborers, and all
his wealth, riches, and possessions.

“Then the king orders the householder, ‘Householder, go on this
errand to the town called such-and-such situated a hundred thousand leagues
from here, arriving within seven days. Return to my presence within seven
days, carrying a receipt. Then I will return to you this only son
of yours, this wife of yours, and all your attendants, wealth, riches, and
possessions. Furthermore, I will even give you the gift of half my kingdom.
If you go
and do not return within seven days, having gotten a receipt from the town,
not only will I not give you the slightest thing, I will sentence you to
death and execute you together with your only son, your wife, and your
attendants.’

“Maitreya, do you think the householder, as soon as he is given
that order, will think, ‘Since I love myself, my son and wife, and my
attendants and wealth, I will go to that town with strong determination and speed’?”

Maitreya replied, “Yes, Blessed One. Indeed so, Sugata. As I
understand the meaning of what the Tathāgata has said, until he has
accomplished that objective, he will not be distracted from it; he will have
no thought of food or inclination toward sloth or sleep. Blessed One, that
is because, setting aside other external things, it would be for the sake of
what is dear to him.”

The Blessed One said, “Maitreya, even if all beings were endowed
with such great diligence, the great diligence of those beings would not
come close to even a hundredth part of the great diligence of a bodhisattva,
or a thousandth, a hundred thousandth, a ten millionth, a billionth, a ten
billionth, a trillionth, or a hundred billion trillionth part of it. It
would not come close to any analogy or comparison at all. Why is that?
Because this is how a bodhisattva causes beings swept up in the current of
saṃsāra to stand against the current, unwavering, in the sphere of nirvāṇa.

“Maitreya, by way of analogy, suppose someone was born who was so
powerful, mighty, strong, and diligent that he reversed the
currents of water that flow into the great oceans from the great rivers, the
entire mass of water in the four great oceans. Having done so, with the same
means by which he reversed the currents, he caused them to pour into Lake
Anavatapta.

“Maitreya, do you think that man is one who accomplishes
difficulties, is a great marvel, and is very diligent?”

Maitreya replied, “Yes, Blessed One. Indeed so, Sugata.”

The Blessed One said, “Maitreya, believe this and take it to heart:
those who, with a noble intention and for the benefit of all beings, develop
great compassion and then beautify with persistence the development of the
intention to attain unsurpassable, perfect awakening accomplish far greater
difficulties and are an even greater marvel than that.

“Those who affirm the Buddha, the Dharma, the Saṅgha, and the
maturation of the results of positive and negative actions accomplish far
greater difficulties and are an even greater marvel than that.

“Those who dispel thoughts of desire, anger, and ignorance that
have arisen accomplish far greater difficulties and are an even greater
marvel than that.

“Those who, without regard, relinquish their friends, family,
relatives, and elders, renounce their collections of possessions, small or
large, and then with faith and
the intention to go forth in the well-spoken Dharma and Vinaya abandon their
home and take seven steps away from it accomplish far greater difficulties and
are an even greater marvel than that.

“Those who put on saffron robes and, out of faith in the
well-spoken Dharma and Vinaya, properly go forth from their homes into
homelessness accomplish far greater difficulties and are an even greater
marvel than that.

“Those who, after going forth in that way, beautify the
instructions with persistence and train themselves in the fundamental
precepts accomplish far greater difficulties and are an even greater marvel
than that.

“Those who see danger in busy chatter and, out of a desire for
seclusion, take seven steps in the direction of the forest accomplish far
greater difficulties and are an even greater marvel than that.

“Those who are intent upon the fact that all dharmas are empty
accomplish far greater difficulties and are an even greater marvel than
that.

“Those who attain acceptance in accord with the profound Dharma
teachings accomplish far greater difficulties and are an even greater marvel
than that.

“Those who have realized the three gates to liberation and attained
the fruitions from stream entry up to the attainment of arhatship accomplish
far greater difficulties and are an even greater marvel than that.

“Why is this? The reason, Maitreya, is that it is extremely
difficult to go forth with faith and confidence in the noble Dharma and
Vinaya, obtain ordination into monkhood, and attain fruition.

“In that regard, Maitreya, in the future, in the final
five-hundred-year period, when the time has arrived for the authentic Dharma
to disappear, there will be some followers of the Bodhisattva Vehicle who go
forth in this well-spoken Dharma and Vinaya and then abandon bodhisattva
actions and devote themselves to foolish actions.

“What, Maitreya, are bodhisattva actions? These are the twenty
actions of bodhisattvas, and unless they are perfected, a bodhisattva cannot
reach the seat of awakening. The twenty are as follows: to put an end
to thoughts of avarice, to develop great generosity, to renounce lax moral
discipline, to perfect the components of moral discipline, to renounce the
faults of malice and rigidity, to exercise the power of patience, to
suppress laziness, to apply great diligence, to renounce forgetfulness, to
use mindfulness and intelligence to practice meditative concentration
without settling in states of meditative concentration, to cultivate
acceptance of the profound, to realize the perfection of wisdom, to renounce
all conceptual thoughts, to remain in a state of signlessness, to be free of
wishes, to perfect the domain of wishlessness, to never abandon any being,
to remain greatly compassionate, to not delight in the vehicles of the
śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, and to aspire, with unhesitating conviction,
toward the wisdom of the Buddha.

“These, Maitreya, are the twenty actions of bodhisattvas. Unless
these actions are perfected, a bodhisattva cannot reach the seat of
awakening.

“Maitreya, these are the four proper promises of bodhisattvas. What
are the four? They are the proper promises to renounce their own happiness,
to be insatiable for the Dharma, and, by seeking the Dharma, to become
buddhas themselves; to turn the wheel of the Dharma; to liberate beings from
saṃsāra, which is without beginning or end; and to establish the limitless
worlds of beings in unsurpassed, perfect awakening.

“Those, Maitreya, are the four proper promises of bodhisattvas.

“By way of analogy, suppose there are two physicians who are both
skilled in mantras and skilled in poisons and medicinal herbs. One of the
two men takes poison in order to amaze a crowd of people, and after
swallowing it he suffers pain from the shaking of his body from head to
foot. But, he takes medicine accompanied by mantras, and due to the
appropriate mantras and the medicine he is freed from the ill effects of the
poison. Then the man, at another time, does not obtain the medicine; not
obtaining the antidote, the poison kills him. The other man then says,
‘Although I can neutralize poison with medicine, there is no need for me to
be considered amazing or for my body to shake from head to foot, so I
neither drink poison nor take medicine.’

“Similarly, Maitreya, in the future, in the final five-hundred-year
period, some householder bodhisattvas and bodhisattvas who have gone forth
will say, ‘By making a confession of faults, sinful action is entirely
extinguished.’ They will root out transgressions, saying, “I will confess
the performance of sinful actions,” and afterwards they will not uphold
their vows. I say that they are doomed to die. How will they die? As they
are like the man in the analogy who drank poison, at the time of death they
will fall into the lower realms.

“Maitreya, those bodhisattvas of the present who are endowed with
the perfect noble intention will declare, ‘We need neither poison nor
medicine. Apart from the sinful actions performed in the past that need to
be extinguished and that are not to be performed now or in the future, we
will not confess negative actions that we will not perform or transgressions
that will not occur.’

“Maitreya, ‘poison’ in this noble Dharma and Vinaya means straying
from whatever fundamental precepts you keep; therefore, none of you should
drink poison.

“Maitreya, these four things obstruct the omniscience of
bodhisattvas. Not even śrāvakas should engage in these, let alone
bodhisattvas! What are the four? They are ingratitude, dishonesty, lying,
and straying from the training. Those
four things obstruct the omniscience of bodhisattvas. Not even śrāvakas
should engage in these, let alone bodhisattvas!

“Maitreya, bodhisattvas should stay far away from these four things. What are
the four? They are gain, reverence, and praise; falling into the hands of
sinful friends; and living in a busy place. Wherever
bodhisattvas live, if another person who is a follower of the Bodhisattva
Vehicle lives there, and if they live together contentedly, happily, and
joyfully, without quarreling and arguing, then they should remain there. But
if they should conceive even a single obstinate or angry thought toward the
other, they should stay far away from there. A bodhisattva should not
conceive an obstinate or angry thought toward a bodhisattva.

“Maitreya, suppose a bodhisattva insulted, ridiculed, bludgeoned,
or stabbed all the beings that make up the number of beings in the great
billionfold universe. What do you think, Maitreya—if that bodhisattva
insulted, ridiculed, bludgeoned, or stabbed that many beings, on that basis
would they create much sin, injury, and corruption?”

Maitreya replied, “Blessed One, if they insulted, ridiculed,
bludgeoned, or stabbed even a single being it would create a great deal of
nonmerit, so, needless to say, that would apply for all the beings in the
great billionfold universe. That is because, Blessed One, it is the
bodhisattva’s goal not to be obstinate, angry, or malicious toward any being
at all.”

The Blessed One said to the bodhisattva great being Maitreya,
“Maitreya, if a bodhisattva who insulted, ridiculed, bludgeoned, or stabbed
all the beings included in the great billionfold universe conceived even a
single obstinate or angry thought toward another bodhisattva, they would not
thereby injure or corrupt the other bodhisattva. But, Maitreya, if the
bodhisattva conceived an obstinate or angry thought toward the other
bodhisattva, and that bodhisattva was one who does not give up on awakening,
they will have to put on the armor for the sake of awakening for as many
eons as the number of thoughts they conceived.

“Maitreya, by way of analogy, iron can only be cut by iron itself,
not by earth, wood, or grass. In the same way, Maitreya, the virtuous roots
of the bodhisattva are only extinguished if they conceive an obstinate or
angry thought toward the other bodhisattva; they are not extinguished
otherwise.

“Therefore, Maitreya, you should treat one another with courtesy
and respect. That is how you should train yourselves, and you should conceive of a
bodhisattva who has aroused the initial thought of awakening as your
teacher.”

Then the bodhisattva great being Maitreya said to the Blessed One,
“Blessed One, since I treat all beings with courtesy and respect, it is
needless to say that I also do the same for bodhisattvas. The reason,
Blessed One, is this: my valor is not in malice—I exercise the power and
strength of patience in perfect abundance. Blessed One, I do not resort to
dishonesty but exercise the noble intention in perfect abundance.

“Blessed One, I have no strong attachment toward another’s home; I
do not apprehend it as mine or fixate on it. Blessed One, I am intent not on
trifles but on the Dharma. Blessed One, I am not intent on food and
clothing, but I seek my patrimony. Blessed One, I am not entangled in
jealousy or avarice—I rejoice at others’ fortune and exercise generosity in
perfect abundance.

“Blessed One, I am intent not on the title of an ascetic but on
training in the good qualities of an ascetic. Blessed One, I am not intent
on talk; I perform the essential practice. Blessed One, I do not crave gain
and reverence. I have few aims and few activities; I seek the good qualities
of a buddha. Blessed One, I do not enter villages and towns with a
mindstream tainted by trifles; I enter villages and towns with my mind
assiduously engaged with the state of omniscience.

“Blessed One, I do not pretend to be virtuous for the sake of
monastic robes or alms food; I harbor no hypocrisy but am content with the
four preferences of the noble ones. Blessed One, I do not train myself in
the conduct of the immature; I train myself in the conduct of the buddhas.
Blessed One, I do not judge what is done or not done by others but
assiduously discipline and calm myself. Blessed One, I do not speak about
others’ transgressions but control my speaking. Blessed One, I do not
distance myself from training but train in the Prātimokṣa.

“Blessed One, it is not my intent to make a living by praising the
Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha; I utter the Buddha’s praises, and I take delight
in doing so. I utter the Dharma’s praises while practicing in accord with
it, and I utter the Saṅgha’s praises while relying on the Saṅgha of those
who are irreversible from progress toward full awakening.

“Blessed One, I do not pretend to shed tears in order to be seen by
others; I shed tears because of the might of the Dharma. Blessed One, I am
not tainted by the distractions of various kinds of business—I assiduously
seek the Dharma. Blessed One, I do not delight in worldly deeds. I delight
in seeking the Dharma that transcends the world.

“Blessed One, I do not possess hoarded foodstuffs; I conduct myself
without hypocrisy. Blessed One, I am not fixated on a single place or region
but
wander like a wild animal. Blessed One, I exert myself not in begging for
alms but in seeking the good qualities of a buddha. Blessed One, I do not
lie around in sloth and sleepiness but exert myself in practice without
lying down to sleep, both late at night and in the early hours. Blessed One,
I do not exert myself in busyness but delight in seclusion.

“Blessed One, I am not satisfied with just a few good qualities but
insatiably seek good qualities. Blessed One, I do not behave like a dog but
roar like a lion.

“Blessed One, I make not just slight acquaintances but very firm
friendships. Blessed One, I am not ungrateful but grateful and thankful.
Blessed One, I do not make friends as repayment for gifts; I make friends
with a noble intention. Blessed One, I do not feign the noble intention, but
I am steadfast in it.

“Blessed One, I have no interest in lesser goals; my interest is in
the vast intent to accomplish the form of a buddha. Blessed One, I do not
behave disrespectfully toward the Tathāgata or toward the training; rather,
I show respect for the Tathāgata and for the training. Blessed One, I am not
two faced, thinking one thing but saying another; I do as
I say. Blessed One, I do not pretend to be a bodhisattva, but I am richly endowed with
the noble intention, and I assiduously discipline and calm myself. Blessed
One, I do not act arrogantly and proudly but subdue my pride like the child
of an outcast. Blessed One, I enjoy alms food not with attachment but with
pure moral discipline; I consider the offerings of the faithful a grave
matter.

“Blessed One, I do not, as soon as the day is done, succumb to
lying down, sloth, or sleepiness because of having engaged in inappropriate
thoughts prior to that; rather, I constantly exert and apply myself to the
accomplishment of the Buddha’s teachings.

“Blessed One, I do not hold a view of the person but remain in the
state of emptiness. Blessed One, I do not expound concepts or confusion but
remain in the state of signlessness.

“Blessed One, I am not ostentatious; rather, I perform my physical, verbal, and mental actions purely.

“Blessed One, I do not teach the Dharma with a mindstream tainted
by trifles; I teach the Dharma with no concern for trifles.

“Blessed One, I do not make friends with gifts of trifles but make
friends with the gift of the Dharma.

“Blessed One, I do not cause anguish to myself or others but
practice in order to benefit myself and others.

“Blessed One, I do not make a pretense of living as a hermit, of
collecting alms, or of wearing cast-off rags. That is because I adopt the
twelve ascetic practices for the sake of not relying on any gain, reverence,
or praise.”

Then the Blessed One commended the bodhisattva great being
Maitreya, “Well said! Excellent, Maitreya! You roar this lion’s roar just as
you are diligent in seeking the good qualities of a buddha; you have carried
out your duties toward the victors of the past, created roots of virtue, and
not relied on others for those attributes and qualities. Well done, well
done!”

As soon as this lion’s roar by the bodhisattva great being Maitreya
was expounded, five hundred monks from the assembly rose from their seats to
depart. Then the elder Mahākāśyapa said to those five hundred monks, “Great
ascetics, where are you going, getting up from your seats when you hear this
talk of reducing possessions?”

The five hundred monks replied to the elder Mahākāśyapa, “Honorable
Mahākāśyapa, such talk of the bodhisattva great being Maitreya on the theme
of reducing possessions is unrealistic. So we thought that, since we
ourselves do not display those qualities of reducing possessions, we will
definitely return to our households. For it would be difficult for us to
touch what the faithful offer, and it would be difficult to purify it. That
is what we thought.”

Then Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta commended the monks, saying, “Sons of
noble family, that is excellent! Those who do not delight in enjoying the
offerings of the faithful should feel shame and regret in that way. It is
better to renounce one’s going forth a hundred times in a single day than
for those whose moral discipline is not pure to enjoy the offerings of the
faithful.”

Then Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, in
what way do you permit offerings by the faithful?”

The Blessed One replied, “Mañjuśrī, I permit offerings by the
faithful to those who are appropriate and those who are liberated.”

Then Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta said to the five hundred monks, “Venerable
ones, practice! Exert yourselves! Strive! It is rare for a buddha to appear,
so do not reject your going forth.”

Then the five hundred monks said to Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta, “Mañjuśrī,
how should we practice?”

Mañjuśrī said, “Monks, however you practice, strive, and exert
yourselves, do not practice anything at all, discern anything at all, create
anything at all, or put a stop to anything at all. Do not attain anything at
all or renounce anything at all; do not decrease anything at all or increase
anything at all. Practice like that. Any monk who practices like that does
not understand anything at all. Whoever does not understand anything at all
does not go anywhere at all and does not come from anywhere at all. For whom
there is no going there is also no coming at all. That is called a
monk who has no coming or going. He is neither sustained
anywhere nor not sustained anywhere.”

As soon as this teaching was expounded, the minds of the five
hundred monks were liberated from their defilements without further
appropriation.

Then the elder Mahākāśyapa said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One,
in the future, in the final five-hundred-year period, how many sham
bodhisattvas will there be?”

The Blessed One replied, “Kāśyapa, there will be many sham
bodhisattvas in the clutches of sinful friends, whose noble intention will
be weak and who will be intent only on food and clothing.”

Then the elder Mahākāśyapa said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One,
for the benefit of many beings and for the happiness of many beings, please
explain to us the state and the conduct that will cause bodhisattvas to be
of weak noble intention and a sham. Blessed One, this is so that when they
learn about those states in this way, even those bodhisattvas whose noble
intention is perfect will guard themselves.”

The Blessed One then said to the elder Mahākāśyapa, “Kāśyapa, in
the future, in the final five-hundred-year period, those bodhisattvas in the
clutches of sinful friends, whose noble intention is weak, will exert
themselves in the act of making offerings of flowers, incense, powders,
perfumes, garlands, ointments, parasols, victory banners, pennants, cymbals,
and lamps to the bodily relics of the Tathāgata. Kāśyapa, since I explained
the making of offerings in order for those who lack understanding to
accomplish roots of virtue, those foolish people exert themselves in
that.

“Kāśyapa, in the presence of the world with its gods, I have said,
‘I tell you, monks: assiduously discipline and calm yourselves. Since there
are brahmins and householders who have faith, it is they who will make
offerings to my bodily relics.’

“But look, Kāśyapa, how those foolish people have given up yoga and
renunciation, giving instructions and performing recitations, to exert
themselves in the act of making offerings to the bodily relics of the
Tathāgata, intending to use them to make a living for themselves!

“Kāśyapa, suppose a bodhisattva took this great billionfold
universe out of the ocean, filled it right up to the realm of Brahmā with
oil, placed in it a wick the size of Mount Meru, and then lit the lamp in
order to make an offering to the Tathāgata. Another bodhisattva whose noble
intention is perfect, who abides by the components of moral discipline, and
who receives the transmission of a single four-line verse of Dharma from a
preceptor or teacher and recites it while taking seven steps creates much
greater merit.

“Kāśyapa, suppose a bodhisattva fills this great billionfold
universe with flowers, incense, powders, and perfumes and presents it as an
offering to the Tathāgata three times a day and three times a night for a
hundred thousand years. Another bodhisattva is fearful and anxious of busy
chatter and fearful of the whole of the three realms. To accomplish the
benefit of beings, they turn toward a forest and take seven
steps in its direction—they create much greater merit.

“Kāśyapa, what do you think? If you think that maybe the Tathāgata
has declared this in jest, or for the sake of discussion, Kāśyapa, do not
view it like that. It is because I know it directly.

“Kāśyapa, countless eons ago in the past—exceedingly countless,
totally countless, numerous, immeasurable, unimaginable, incalculable eons
ago—there arose in the world a tathāgata, an arhat, a completely awakened
buddha called Myriad Flowers. He was endowed with perfect knowledge and
conduct, a sugata, a knower of the world, a guide of beings to be tamed,
unsurpassable, a teacher of gods and humans, a buddha, a blessed one.

“Kāśyapa, around the Buddha Myriad Flowers there was a great
assembly of ninety-six trillion śrāvakas. Then, at that time, Kāśyapa, there
appeared a righteous Dharma king named Nimi, a universal monarch who ruled
over the four continents. Kāśyapa, King Nimi had a thousand sons who were
brave and heroic, who had excellent well-built bodies, and who subdued
opposing armies. Kāśyapa, after the thousand sons of King Nimi, two boys
named Dharma and Sudharma were
miraculously born in his storehouse.

“Kāśyapa, King Nimi did nothing but honor the Blessed One, the
Tathāgata Myriad Flowers, along with his saṅgha of monks, for eighty-four
thousand years, giving up all attention to his household. He served him with clothing,
food, bedding, seats, medicines to cure illness, and implements. He also
offered different kinds of attractive monastic robes to the saṅgha of monks
every seven days. He also offered them whatever kinds of pleasing food they
desired. He had pleasant monasteries built for them in whatever ways they
wished. To each monk he offered walking paths, groves, a great many tokens of
respect, and foods of a hundred flavors.

“Kāśyapa, in this way King Nimi ordered the construction of
mansions eighty leagues in circumference, with splendid adjoining chambers
on all four sides, beautiful to behold, well made, excellently made, and
purified with the threads of a yantra. And when the Tathāgata, together with the
saṅgha of monks, entered those mansions, a rain of many kinds of colored
flowers fell from the tops of the mansions through the power of the threads
of the yantras. The mansions were filled knee-deep with the flowers.

“Kāśyapa, in that way King Nimi paid homage to the Tathāgata Myriad
Flowers, together with his saṅgha of monks, for eighty-four thousand years
with an unimaginable array of good qualities and every pleasing possession
and revered, honored, and made offerings to him.

“Then, Kāśyapa, the day those eighty-four thousand years had
passed, after the Tathāgata had eaten his meal, the two boys Dharma and Sudharma, along with all of
the four branches of the armed forces, bowed before the tathāgata, the arhat,
the completely awakened Buddha Myriad Flowers.

“They then asked the Tathāgata a question they had in their minds:
‘Blessed One, is there another gift, merit, resource, or root of virtue that
surpasses or reaches the end of the many kinds of roots of virtue that King
Nimi has produced for such a long time?’

“Kāśyapa, as soon as the two youths touched his feet, at that
instant the great billionfold universe shook violently, and a great
earthquake occurred here. Then, Kāśyapa, an attendant of the blessed
Tathāgata Myriad Flowers named Durdharṣa, who was present, rose from his
seat, draped his upper shawl over one shoulder, set his right knee on the
ground, and with palms joined paid homage to the blessed Tathāgata Myriad
Flowers. Then, Kāśyapa, he asked the Blessed One, ‘Blessed One, what is the
cause of this great earthquake? What brought it on? Why did these two youths
touch the feet of the Blessed One?’

“The Tathāgata Myriad Flowers replied to his attendant Durdharṣa,
‘Son of noble family, what is the point of you asking such questions? If the
Tathāgata explained the subject of the noble intention, the cultivation of
acceptance of the profound, and the great compassion with which the two
youths touched his feet, this world with its gods would be bewildered.’

“Then, Kāśyapa, the Tathāgata Myriad Flowers said to a great
śrāvaka named Nārāyaṇa, supreme among those who possessed miraculous powers,
‘Nārāyaṇa, take these two youths and show them the force of your miraculous
power.’

“Then, Kāśyapa, Nārāyaṇa the monk took hold of one of the youths
with his right hand and the other youth with his left hand, thinking that he
would toss them up, but he was unable to lift them. Again he demonstrated
great force, strength, exertion, enthusiasm, and miraculous power, thinking
that he would toss them up, but in the end he was unable to move or stir
them even as much as a fraction of a hair tip. Kāśyapa, if he had moved to
toss the two youths very high, the great billionfold universe, with its
crags, mountains, trees, vegetation, and rivers, would have shaken violently
and stirred above and below, but he was unable to lift the two youths.

“At that point, Kāśyapa, the Tathāgata Myriad Flowers took control
of the great śrāvaka’s mind and caused him to exercise the force of his
miraculous power. Exercising the force of his miraculous power, Nārāyaṇa the
monk stirred, shook, convulsed, and vibrated the buddha fields of the nadir,
as numerous as the grains of sand in the Ganges. But in the end, he was
unable to shake or stir the two youths even as much as a fraction of a hair
tip.

“Then, Kāśyapa, Nārāyaṇa the monk touched the feet of the Tathāgata
Myriad Flowers and said to him, ‘Blessed One, could it be that I am losing
the strength of my miraculous power, or that I do not possess it? Because,
Blessed One,
I am unable to lift these young boys, with their immature appearances and
slight bodies, even though they are touching the ground.’

“The blessed Tathāgata Myriad Flowers replied to Nārāyaṇa the monk,
‘Nārāyaṇa, although you have not lost the strength of your miraculous power,
because this resolute power of a bodhisattva is inconceivable, it is
confused by all śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, or it is not easy for them to
conceive. Nārāyaṇa, for example, if all the beings in the great billionfold
universe were endowed with the strength of miraculous power like that which
I just now displayed to you as the supreme of śrāvakas who possess great
miraculous power, and if they all had such great miraculous power and great
strength, even if they all manifested various types of miraculous displays
for ten million eons, they would be unable to lift or stir these two
youths.’

“Kāśyapa, as the Tathāgata Myriad Flowers spoke these words, four
million two hundred thousand living beings in the assembly generated the
thought of unsurpassed, perfect awakening, thinking, ‘It is amazing how even
bodhisattvas who have not realized omniscience, who have still not attained
omniscience, have vanquished these great śrāvakas with such a magical
display of their miraculous powers. We, too, should attain such resolute
power and the wisdom of the buddhas.’ In that manner those four million two
hundred thousand discerning living beings generated the thought of unsurpassed,
perfect awakening.

“Then, Kāśyapa, a bodhisattva great being named Sumati, who was
seated among the retinue, rose from his seat, draped his upper shawl over
one shoulder, set his right knee on the ground, and with palms joined paid
homage to the blessed Tathāgata Myriad Flowers. Then he asked the Blessed
One, ‘Blessed One, will you please lift these two youths and examine the
question that they asked?’

“Then, Kāśyapa, the Tathāgata Myriad Flowers snapped his fingers,
and that finger snap resounded in the buddha fields in the ten directions,
as many as the grains of sand in the Ganges. All the buddha fields in which
that finger snap resounded shook in six ways, and, shaking in six ways, they
were pervaded by a great light.

“When the two youths heard that sound, Kāśyapa, they were lifted up
in the presence of the Tathāgata. Kāśyapa, as the two youths were lifted up,
in the great billionfold universe every kind of human and divine musical
instrument sounded without being struck or played, while a rain of flowers
descended.

“Kāśyapa, after they were lifted, the two youths once more bowed at
the feet of the Tathāgata, circumambulated him, and, with their palms
joined, sat down to one side, gazing at him. Then the Tathāgata Myriad
Flowers summoned the bodhisattva Sumati and said to him, ‘Son of noble family, when
these two youths touched my feet, they asked me this question that they had
in mind, “Blessed One, is there any gift, renunciation, or root of virtue
that surpasses or reaches the end of the generosity of King Nimi in giving
whatever should be given, in his roots of virtue, and in his renunciation?”
After they asked me this question, the two youths touched the feet of the
Tathāgata.’

“Kāśyapa, then the bodhisattva Sumati made a request to the
Tathāgata Myriad Flowers, ‘Blessed One, for the benefit of many beings, for
the happiness of many beings, out of love for the world, and for the
welfare, benefit, and happiness of the great mass of beings, gods and
humans, please expound on the question that the two youths have asked.’

“Kāśyapa, in reply to the bodhisattva great being Sumati, the
Tathāgata Myriad Flowers said, ‘Well, then, son of noble family, listen and
I shall expound it. Son of noble family, you should understand that,
compared to the meritorious generosity of King Nimi, any bodhisattva who
lives in solitude, dwelling in forests and wildernesses, who merely for the
duration of a finger snap attains acceptance of the unborn nature of all
phenomena, amasses far greater merit. Son of noble family, never mind the
generosity of King Nimi—suppose each and every individual being, as many as
all the beings in the great billionfold universe, gave as much as was given by
King Nimi. Take whatever merit was amassed by all those beings contained in
the great billionfold universe—if a bodhisattva who lives in solitude, has
the correct intention, has entered the correct path, and exerts themselves
properly remains, merely for the duration of a finger snap, in the
acceptance that all phenomena are empty and without coming or going, the
merit amassed by all the aforementioned beings would not come close to even
a hundredth part of the merit amassed by remaining in that acceptance merely
for the duration of a finger snap. It would not come close to even a
thousandth, a hundred thousandth, a ten millionth, a billionth, a ten
billionth, or a trillionth, up to a hundred billion trillionth part of it.
It would not come close to any number, fraction, quantity, analogy, or
simile, up to any comparison.

“ ‘Son of noble family, never mind the merit amassed by all the
beings contained in the great billionfold universe—suppose each and every
individual being, as many as all the beings in as many universes as the
grains of sand in the Ganges, for one instant, one minute, or one moment
gave as much as King Nimi has given and created as much virtue as he has
created, and each of those beings gave that much and created that much
virtue merely for the duration of a single finger snap. Suppose all those
beings then gave as much and created as much virtue as that for as many eons
as the grains of sand in the Ganges.

“ ‘Son of noble family, what do you think? Would those roots of virtue
be many?’

“Kāśyapa, when the Tathāgata Myriad Flowers said this, the
bodhisattva Sumati replied, ‘Blessed One, such an analogy given by the
Tathāgata is amazing. Those roots of virtue are not easy to conceive, and
they are therefore inconceivable.’

“Then, Kāśyapa, the Tathāgata Myriad Flowers said to the
bodhisattva Sumati, ‘Son of noble family, believe this and take it to heart:
the wise and learned of the future who have acceptance of the profound will
believe this—the aforementioned roots of virtue of all those beings, created
over such a long time and so incalculable and inconceivable, would not
approach even a hundredth part of the noble intention with which these two
youths prostrated to and touched the feet of the Tathāgata. They would not
come close to even a thousandth, a hundred thousandth, a ten millionth, a
billionth, a ten billionth, or a trillionth, up to a hundred billion
trillionth part of it. It would not come close to any number, fraction,
quantity, analogy, or simile, up to any comparison.’

“Then, Kāśyapa, from the saṅgha of monks of the Tathāgata Myriad
Flowers, eighty-four thousand of them, after hearing this teaching, spoke
these words of joyful accord: ‘Blessed One, we rejoice in the roots of
virtue of those beings who develop acceptance of the profound teachings, who
believe that all phenomena are empty, who delight in solitude and take seven
steps in the direction of the forest, and who, in order to achieve such
wisdom,
generate the thought of unsurpassed, perfect awakening.’ Thus they expressed
their joy.

“Then, Kāśyapa, the Tathāgata Myriad Flowers commended those monks,
saying, ‘Sons of noble family, well done for expressing such joy on account
of such a noble intention. If your minds have not yet been liberated, by
this root of virtue you will be installed as universal monarchs in as many
kingdoms as the grains of sand in the Ganges, and you will then attain
unsurpassed and perfect awakening.’ ”

Then the elder Mahākāśyapa and everyone in the assembly declared
with one accord, “Blessed One, we rejoice in those beings whose minds are
set on awakening and who trust, accept, and believe that all phenomena are
empty, isolated, at peace, free from attachment, and without a
self-nature.”

The Blessed One again said to the elder Mahākāśyapa, “Then,
Kāśyapa, the two youths Dharma and
Sudharma asked the Tathāgata Myriad Flowers, ‘Blessed One, how many
qualities does a bodhisattva possess if they take no pleasure in gifts and
are neither avaricious nor acquisitive, if it does not please them when they
sees others bestowing worldly trifles, and if they have, in addition,
attained the state that is the unsurpassed state of a buddha, gained acceptance of the profound, and perfected
unsurpassed wisdom?’

“Kāśyapa, the Tathāgata Myriad Flowers replied to the two youths,
Dharma and Sudharma, ‘Sons of
noble family, if a bodhisattva possesses four qualities, they take no
pleasure in gifts and are neither avaricious nor acquisitive, it does not
please them when they see others bestowing worldly trifles, and they have,
in addition, attained the state that is the unsurpassed state of a buddha,
gained acceptance of the profound, and perfected unsurpassed wisdom. What
are the four? They are belief in emptiness, dwelling in solitude, acceptance
of the profound, and proper thinking. Sons of noble family, if a bodhisattva
possesses those four qualities, they take no pleasure in gifts and are
neither avaricious nor acquisitive, it does not please them when they see
others bestowing worldly trifles, and they have, in addition, attained the
state that is the unsurpassed state of a buddha, gained acceptance of the
profound, and perfected unsurpassed wisdom.

“ ‘Sons of noble family, if a bodhisattva further possesses four
qualities, they take no pleasure in gifts and are neither avaricious nor
acquisitive, it does not please them when they see others bestowing worldly
trifles, and they have, in addition, attained the state that is the
unsurpassed state of a buddha, gained acceptance of the profound, and
perfected unsurpassed wisdom. What are the four? Sons of noble family, (1) a
bodhisattva seeks great learning, and once they are greatly learned, they go
into the hamlets, towns, villages, royal palaces, and surrounding regions,
where they give the gift of the Dharma. (2) Without the slightest hope of
being commended by anyone, and with an untainted intention, they teach the
Dharma to others. (3) With this untainted intention, they feel joy—the
blessed buddhas have praised and extolled this gift of the Dharma, therefore
it is supreme. (4) Seeing that they adhere to this best and foremost
gift-giving, they feel joy, while not being pleased by others who exert
themselves in giving worldly trifles to beings.

“ ‘Why is this? Sons of noble family, compare a bodhisattva who
presents plentiful offerings for as long as they live to all the tathāgatas,
surrounded by their saṅghas of monks, who presently dwell and flourish in
the immeasurable, countless, incalculable universes of the ten directions,
with another bodhisattva who is endowed with the perfect noble intention,
with moral discipline, and with virtuous qualities and who has developed
great compassion. They practice recollection of the Buddha, the Blessed One,
and recite, with an untainted intention and with no desire for gain,
reverence, or renown, a single four-lined verse of Dharma to a single being.
They also, once the verse is explained, cause them to realize that the
sameness of letters means that just as these letters are empty by nature, so
too are all phenomena empty by nature. Sons of noble family, the amount of
merit of the former bodhisattva would not come close to even a hundredth
part of the amount of this bodhisattva’s merit. It would not come close to
even a thousandth, a hundred thousandth, a ten millionth, a billionth, a ten
billionth, a trillionth, or a hundred billion trillionth part of it. It
would not come close to any number, fraction, quantity, analogy, or simile,
up to any comparison. That is the reason.’

“Then, Kāśyapa, the Tathāgata Myriad Flowers said to the two
youths, ‘Sons of noble family, if a bodhisattva possesses four qualities,
they will attain the state that is the vast state of a buddha. What are the
four? They are to enter into the vast, to expound the vast Dharma, to give
vast gifts, and to be intent on the vast. Sons of noble family, if a
bodhisattva possesses those four qualities, they will attain the state that
is the vast state of a buddha.’

“Kāśyapa, thus the Tathāgata Myriad Flowers taught the Dharma in
that way to the two youths, and the two youths’ supreme joy in the Dharma
elevated them to the height of seven palm trees. When they had been placed
in midair, the pair spoke these verses to the Tathāgata with one accord:

“ ‘O sage, you understand all conduct,

And you are skilled in all conduct.

You teach beings giving,

And also to not abide in giving.

“ ‘In this, the gift of unsurpassed acceptance

Of the nonexistence of self, being,

Life force, or person

Is a great gift indeed.

“ ‘ “Cultivate profound acceptance

In which you engage in no thought whatsoever”—

Thus you proclaim.

Great hero, you are a marvel!

“ ‘Free of attachment and so on,

Strive for supreme awakening.

Having trained in great wisdom,

Do not be conceited about that!

“ ‘ “Cultivate empty liberation

In which you engage in no thought whatsoever.

Resort to forest dwellings;

Know dwelling
in solitude”—so you teach.

“ ‘Always give the gift

Of totally abandoning conceit.

Not entertaining concepts—

That is the ultimate, dust-free state.

“ ‘Train in the moral discipline

That never wavers from the state of calm.

Understanding the elegant mode of calm

Is the supreme moral discipline—so you teach.

“ ‘By always cultivating patience,

Do not engage in thoughts about beings.

To renounce all thought

Is what patience is—so you teach.

“ ‘Exercise firm diligence too.

Give up all compounded things.

To look toward solitude

Is the buddhas’ diligence—so you teach.

“ ‘Since things have no reality,

Burn everything up!

The absence of defilements

Is thought-free concentration.

“ ‘Rest neither on the near shore nor on the far shore,

Nor in between.

The view of the equality of the three times

Is the supreme wisdom.

“ ‘Cultivating a conception of the forest,

You will not view that conception.

From where does that conception arise?

Thus, “Conceptions do not exist.”

“ ‘You have taught the good qualities of the gift of Dharma,

And also the benefits.

Therefore, explain the Dharma as it is learned

By those without conceit.

“ ‘Letters are inexhaustible,

By nature incomplete.

So do not be conceited about the Dharma,

And do not render yourselves fruitless.

“ ‘The one in whom the conception

“I teach the Dharma” arises

Does not know reality—

They are bound by Māra’s noose.

“ ‘The one in whom the conception

“I see the buddhas” arises—

In that very instant

They drink poisoned nectar.

“ ‘Whoever wishes to realize

Perfect awakening, or the awakening

Of the śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha,

Should train in this manner:

“ ‘Although the wisdom of total liberation is incalculable,

Explain it as a unity.

Do not wish for lower aspirations,

But strive for supreme awakening.

“ ‘Whoever desires the body

Of a lord of the world,

Adorned by the marks,

Should resort to supreme awakening.

“ ‘ “All phenomena arise from causes,

But a creator cannot be apprehended.

Phenomena arise dependently,

But they do not really, by nature, emerge”—

“ ‘Thus you proclaim.

Great hero, you are a marvel!’

“Kāśyapa, when the two youths spoke those verses in that manner in
midair, eighty-four thousand living beings from among the inhabitants of
King Nimi’s city, his retinue of queens, his servants, and the gods in
midair who had gathered and were present generated the thought of
unsurpassed, perfect awakening. Immeasurably and countlessly many beings
developed the causes of accomplishing various roots of virtue.

“Then, Kāśyapa, the youths Dharma and Sudharma both descended from the air, touched the
feet of the blessed Tathāgata Myriad Flowers, and said, ‘Blessed One, we
both go for refuge to the blessed Buddha, to the sublime Dharma, and to the
Saṅgha of monks. We generate the thought of unsurpassed, perfect awakening,
while also understanding that the nature of the mind is the nature of
awakening. Blessed One, in this case, to generate the
thought of awakening means that all phenomena are without arising. In this
case, to
generate the thought of awakening means there is simply no clinging to any
phenomena. Why is that? It is because wherever there is clinging there is
arising, but wherever there is no clinging there is no arising. Since that
is so, Blessed One, arising itself has no arising. Why “no arising”? Because
there is nothing to serve as a basis for arising, there is, for that reason,
“no arising.” As for the absence of arising, that verbal expression is
itself inexpressible. Why is that? Because, to whatever extent verbal
expression exists, to that extent arising and ceasing exist. Thus, utterly
pure wisdom is without arising and without ceasing. That which has no
arising and no ceasing is inexhaustible since it is permanently
inexhaustible. Blessed One, since this is so, we both pray, on account of
the pinnacle of sameness, for supreme and perfect awakening, without
apprehending any qualities whatsoever, without attaining any qualities
whatsoever, and without seeking to attain any qualities whatsoever. We have
already understood just that which is sameness, but we do not understand any
phenomena whatsoever. Why is that? Because all phenomena are primordially
pure.’

“Kāśyapa, when the two youths had spoken thus, ten thousand
bodhisattvas attained acceptance that phenomena do not arise. King Nimi,
too, together with his thousand sons and five thousand kings, generated the
thought of unsurpassed, perfect awakening.

“Then, Kāśyapa, after the Tathāgata Myriad Flowers had
eaten lunch, set down his alms bowl, and covered his hands, he delivered a
Dharma discourse to King Nimi and those many people, causing them to
comprehend it, be inspired by it, and delight in it. When he had done that,
he rose from his seat and departed.

“Then, Kāśyapa, the two youths Dharma and Sudharma asked for their parents’ consent and
faithfully renounced and went forth from their home into homelessness, just
as is proper. When the pair renounced their own city, they spoke these
verses:

“ ‘The buddhas praise going forth;

The tathāgatas praise renunciation.

Household life is the abode of the afflictions,

The destroyer of virtuous qualities.

“ ‘If you want to increase, not spoil,

Your virtuous qualities,

Go quickly to the lord of the world

In order to go forth!

“ ‘Even if indulged for ten million eons,

Desires are insatiable.

Living at home, one dies

With one’s desires unsatisfied.

“ ‘Just as rivers are not quenched

By flowing into the ocean,

So the immature will never be satisfied

Through following their desires.

“ ‘Just as, by analogy, there is no satisfying fire

With grass and wood,

So the immature will not be satisfied

Through following their desires.

“ ‘The guides of the world

Teach that those desires are attachments.

So abandon attachments

And renounce them to go forth!

“ ‘Previous unsurpassed lords of the world

Never, for any reason,

Found unsurpassed awakening

While living at home.

“ ‘Past buddhas, lords of the world,

Who attained nirvāṇa

All found unsurpassed awakening

In the forest or wilderness.

“ ‘So, train in the forests

To which the buddhas resorted,

And give up craving your home.

That will bring you happiness.

“ ‘Suppose someone who lives at home

Fills the whole billionfold universe

With jewels and gives it as a gift

To the lords of the world;

“ ‘If a wise person gives up their home,

Averse to and aware of its drawbacks,

And emulates the buddhas,

Seeking to go forth,

“ ‘And after seeking to go forth

Unhesitatingly takes seven steps,

Paying no heed to desires

Or home,

“ ‘The former’s is not worth a fraction

Of the merit that person amasses.

Therefore, quickly proceed in going forth,

Which was praised by the buddhas!

“ ‘If one is never sated

By knowledge in which there is no attachment,

One will attain sublime buddhahood

That transcends all attachment.

“ ‘If one swiftly settles in the forest,

One abandons the craving of desire,

Becomes aware of one’s faults as they are,

And turns the mind away from them.

“ ‘Swiftly abandoning home

And dwelling in the forest,

The wise who see correctly

Emulate the buddhas.

“ ‘Those who strive for awakening

Keep to places of solitude,

Delighting in the forest,

Not delighting in homes.

“ ‘That is the state and conduct

That is the pure domain of the buddhas.

For whoever enters this path,

Awakening is not hard to find.

“ ‘Whoever wants to free beings

Who are tormented by attachment and so on

Is afraid to live at home,

Keeping entirely to the forest.

“ ‘Whoever wants victory over Māra,

Realization of the deathless state,

And to turn the wheel of the sublime,

Let them keep to the forest!’

“Kāśyapa, the two youths Dharma and Sudharma spoke those verses as they left the city.
Then, having set out and arrived at the place where the Blessed One Myriad
Flowers was, they prostrated at the feet of the Blessed One, and asked him,
‘Blessed One, please may we both obtain the going forth and ordination into
monkhood from the Blessed One?’

“Then, Kāśyapa, the Tathāgata Myriad Flowers, realizing the noble
intention of the two youths, conferred the going forth and ordination into
monkhood upon them. Kāśyapa, after King Nimi heard that the two youths had
gone forth, he placed his eldest son in charge of the kingdom. Then he and
all but one of his thousand sons, eighty-four thousand women, the five
thousand kings, and many other people, all of them paying no heed to their
households, faithfully renounced and went forth from their homes into
homelessness, just as is proper.

“At that time, ten million living beings went forth, and all set
out and arrived at the place where the Tathāgata Myriad Flowers was. On
arrival, they prostrated at the feet of the Blessed One and asked him,
‘Blessed One, please may we obtain the going forth and ordination into
monkhood from the Blessed One?’

“Then, Kāśyapa, the Tathāgata Myriad Flowers, realizing the noble
intention of those beings, conferred the going forth and ordination upon all
those assembled beings, establishing them in monkhood.

“Then, Kāśyapa, after seven days had passed, King Nimi’s eldest
son, who had been placed in charge of the kingdom, went by himself into
solitude, giving rise to conceptions and thoughts such as these: ‘What use
to me is a kingdom? And what use is dominion? As I am intent on desires and
bound by the fetter of desires, I shall not give up on unsurpassed, perfect
awakening.’ With this thought, he instantly developed the great intention to
go forth. At that time, on the fifteenth day, when the full moon was passing
over the four continents, he spoke these verses:

“ ‘Because my parents, brothers,

And relatives have renounced and gone forth,

And millions of living beings have

Renounced for the sake of the Dharma,

“ ‘What use to me is a home?

I shall also go away.

If you wish,

I shall lead you.

“ ‘For those who intend

To go forth,

It is very hard to find the leisure to do so,

So come along with me quickly!

“ ‘Those who do not intend to go forth

From home into homelessness

Should, by sustaining the true Dharma,

Protect their households well.’

“Kāśyapa, when the young prince spoke those verses, of all the
beings on the four continents there was not a single one who delighted in
living at home. They were all intent on going forth, determined to go forth,
and departed with an attitude of renunciation.

“Then, Kāśyapa, the Tathāgata Myriad Flowers, realizing the noble
intention of all those beings, created emanations of the Tathāgata, along
with his attendant saṅgha of monks, in all the hamlets, towns, villages,
surrounding regions, and royal palaces of all the four-continent universes.

“Then, Kāśyapa, not a single being in the four-continent universes
remained in their home; all of them faithfully went forth from their homes
into homelessness, just as is proper. That being so, grains of rice that had
been neither ploughed nor sown came forth for those who had gone forth.
Bejeweled, wish-fulfilling cotton robes appeared from wish-fulfilling trees,
while the gods attended on them and paid them honor.

“Kāśyapa, after the two monks Dharma and Sudharma had gone forth in that way, they applied
themselves diligently. For six hundred and thirty-three million years the
pair were never overcome with sloth or sleepiness and, except to eat, never
sat down. Whenever they came or went they generated the thought of
omniscience, without being conceited about the thought of omniscience. For
those six hundred and thirty-three million years they accomplished the
samādhis called all following and possessing
the adamantine state. Every place in which the pair sat
cross-legged came to be adamantine in nature. They heard and retained the
Dharma teachings of the hundred billion trillion buddhas in all the ten
directions. Having heard and retained them, they also taught them
extensively to others.

“Kāśyapa, out of the beings in the four-continent universes who
entered the Śrāvaka Vehicle, not a single one died as an ordinary person.
Among them all, even those who were lazy became non-returners who, after their
deaths, were reborn with equal status to the class of gods of the Pure
Abodes. Those who entered the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle, after their deaths,
were reborn in other empty buddha fields in which no buddha had arisen;
moreover, they were born there into large, rich households. Once reborn
there, their faculties developed and matured until they were aroused by
their previous roots of virtue, and they all faithfully went forth from
their homes into homelessness, just as is proper. Seven days after they went
forth, all of them attained the awakening of a pratyekabuddha and, after
benefiting immeasurable, countless beings, passed into final nirvāṇa.

“Those who were followers of the Bodhisattva Vehicle accomplished
the five extraordinary abilities and the four sublime states, and they also
attained inalienable eloquence and retention.

“Kāśyapa, if you are undecided or doubtful as to whether, at that
particular time, the king named Nimi was someone else, do not view it that
way. For I myself, at that particular time, was the King called Nimi, with
dominion over the four continents. The bodhisattva Maitreya was the eldest
young prince. Kāśyapa, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha was
the bodhisattva Sumati.

“Kāśyapa, if you think that, at that particular time, the two
youths Dharma and Sudharma were
someone else, do not view it that way. That is because Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta
himself was, at that particular time, the youth named Dharma. It was the
bodhisattva great being Suryagarbha who was the youth named Sudharma.

“Kāśyapa, that buddha field was where pure beings who generated
roots of virtue dwelt; consider how beautiful it was!”

In reply to what the Blessed One had said, the elder Mahākāśyapa
asked, “Blessed One, how long was the life of the blessed Tathāgata Myriad
Flowers?”

The Blessed One answered, “Kāśyapa, the tathāgata, arhat,
completely awakened Buddha Myriad Flowers lived for eight eons. Kāśyapa,
after the Tathāgata Myriad Flowers had passed into final nirvāṇa, his Dharma
remained for one eon. His bodily relics were distributed and were worshiped
exclusively by gods. Then there were none who lived in households.

“Kāśyapa, the two monks Dharma and Sudharma had few activities then, and they
assiduously practiced for their own good; they did not make offerings to or
honor the relics of the Blessed One. Nor did they even go to the stūpa of
the Tathāgata. Then, Kāśyapa, many hundreds of thousands of gods and those
who were novice monks criticized the monks Dharma and Sudharma, saying, ‘These two do not worship the
relics of the Tathāgata! They do not circumambulate the Tathāgata’s stūpa.
They are therefore impious and disrespectful.’

“Then, Kāśyapa, the two monks Dharma and Sudharma said to the many retinues of gods and the
retinue of monks, the many hundreds of thousands of monks and gods,
‘Friends, what do you think? How does a tathāgata come to be worshiped,
and why do the relics of a tathāgata, which are inanimate, receive
worship?’

The monks and gods replied, ‘Because these relics are manifested by
moral discipline, samādhi, wisdom, liberation, and the knowledge and vision
of liberation, they are worthy of worship.’

The monks Dharma and
Sudharma said, ‘But, friends, is it not that moral discipline, samādhi,
wisdom, liberation, and the knowledge and vision of liberation are
themselves worthy of worship, but bodily relics are not?’

The monks and gods replied, ‘That is right; it is as you say.’

The monks Dharma and
Sudharma said, ‘Then, friends, what is the characteristic of moral
discipline? And what characterizes samādhi, wisdom, liberation, and the
knowledge and vision of liberation?’

The monks and gods replied, ‘The characteristic of moral discipline
is that it is not conditioned. Samādhi, wisdom, liberation, and the
knowledge and vision of liberation are also characterized as not
conditioned.’

“Then, Kāśyapa, the monks Dharma and Sudharma said to those monks and gods, ‘Then,
friends, can what is conditioned worship what is unconditioned?’ The monks
and gods replied, ‘No, it cannot.’

“The monks Dharma and
Sudharma said, ‘In that case, friends, do not fashion a self, and that will
be your worship. As for the perception of a buddha—if
there is not even a buddha to see, we need hardly say that the act of
worship is baseless. Furthermore, someone who wishes to make an offering to
the Tathāgata should offer themselves.’

“The monks and gods replied, ‘How should someone who wishes to make
an offering to the Tathāgata offer themselves?’

“The monks Dharma and
Sudharma said, ‘Friends, just as the tathāgata, arhat, perfectly awakened
Buddha makes offerings that render him worthy of the worship that all beings
offer, so should one offer oneself. One should train oneself just as the
Tathāgata trained, without becoming conceited about the training. One should
analyze phenomena in detail, and after analyzing them one should not
contemplate any phenomena at all. When you offer yourselves in that way, you
also offer worship to the Tathāgata. You, yourselves, will also become
worthy of worship. Someone who wishes to offer worship to the bodily relics
of the Tathāgata should offer themselves; one should offer worship just as
the Tathāgata offers himself, and one should accomplish oneself those good
qualities of the bodily relics of the Tathāgata, due to the possession of
which he receives worship. That is how the Tathāgata is worshiped.

“‘Not generating perceptions or signs is worship of the Tathāgata.
Not conceptualizing a self or engaging in thoughts is worship of the
Tathāgata. Not going to the next world, not coming into this world, and not
even remaining here or in the next world is worship of the Tathāgata. The
absence of annihilation and permanence and the absence of holding on and letting
go is worship of the Tathāgata. The absence of decreasing and increasing,
the absence of arising and ceasing, and the absence of extinguishing and
nonextinguishing is worship of the Tathāgata. The absence of mind and mental
events, the absence of thinking, the absence of possessiveness, the absence
of appropriation, the absence of sensation, the absence of quarreling, the
absence of argument, the absence of contradiction, the absence of
acceptance, the absence of rejection, and engagement with nonduality is
worship of the Tathāgata.

The absence of conditioning, the absence of enumeration, and the
absence of quantifying is worship of the Tathāgata. The absence of physical,
verbal, and mental conditioning, and the nonapprehension of body, speech,
and mind, is worship of the Tathāgata. The absence of engaging in
perceptions of the past, the present, and the future, not depending, not
clinging, and not signifying is worship of the Tathāgata. Not engaging with
the perception of a buddha and with what is not the Dharma, or the Saṅgha,
or a person, or self, or other is worship of the Tathāgata.

“ ‘Friends, because the body of the Tathāgata has the
characteristic of nonarising, it is not easy to worship with arising.
Friends, because the body of the Tathāgata has the characteristic of being
nonconditioning, it is not easy to worship with conditioning. Friends,
because the body of the Tathāgata has the characteristic of nonduality, it is not
easy to worship with duality. Friends, because the body of the Tathāgata has
the characteristic of being undefiled, it is not easy to worship by
fashioning defilement. Friends, because the body of the Tathāgata is
suffused with emptiness, it is not easy to worship with a view of self, or a
view of beings, or a view of life force, or a view of persons, or a view of
annihilation, or a view of permanence, or a view that holds to an ‘I,’ or a
view that holds to ‘mine,’ or a view of origination, or a view of
destruction. Friends, because the body of the Tathāgata has the
characteristic of signlessness, it is not easy to worship with the
experience of signs. Friends, because the body of the Tathāgata has the
characteristic of wishlessness, it is not easy to worship by continuing to
make wishes. Friends, because the body of the Tathāgata has the
characteristic of nonexistence, it is not easy to worship by continuing to
conceptualize existence. Friends, because the body of the Tathāgata has the
characteristic of immovability, it is not easy to worship with minds that
move or stir. Friends, because the body of the Tathāgata has the
characteristic of being unconditioned, it is not easy to worship by
continuing to be conditioned. Friends, because the body of the Tathāgata has
the characteristic of being free from desire, it is not easy to worship by
engaging in desire. Friends, because the body of the Tathāgata has the
characteristic of being freed from anger, it is not easy to worship by
continuing in the faults of malice and rigidity. Friends, because the body
of the Tathāgata has the characteristic of being free from ignorance, it is
not easy to worship with deficient wisdom, with delusion, and with lack of
knowledge. Friends, because the body of the Tathāgata is
suffused with moral discipline, samādhi, wisdom, liberation, and the
knowledge and vision of liberation, it is not easy to worship with deficient
moral discipline, forgetfulness, deficient wisdom, nonliberation, and the
nonknowledge and non–vision of liberation. Friends, because the body of the
Tathāgata is suffused with love, compassion, joy, and equanimity, it is not
easy to worship with a mind of malice, a lack of compassion, a lack of joy,
and distracted thinking. Friends, because the body of the Tathāgata is
suffused with generosity, moral discipline, patience, diligence,
concentration, and wisdom, it is not easy to worship with avarice, deficient
moral discipline, malice, the fault of rigidity, wrath, laziness,
forgetfulness, and deficient wisdom.’

“Kāśyapa, when the monks Dharma and Sudharma taught the Dharma in that way to those in
the assembly, forty-two thousand bodhisattvas from the assembly attained
acceptance that phenomena do not arise. Eighty-four thousand living beings
developed knowledge and vision. They then also attained freedom from desire
and became non-returners. Twenty-three thousand living beings who had not
previously done so generated the thought of unsurpassed, perfect
awakening.

“Kāśyapa, consider that the two monks Dharma and Sudharma came to possess
such a noble intention! Kāśyapa, one should train oneself in the acceptance
of the profound and the skillful means that such holy beings possess. Kāśyapa,
because those two holy beings caused the monks and gods to acquire
acceptance of the profound, all of them, from then on, assiduously practiced
for their own good and remained with few activities. And from then on, they
did not go to the stūpas of the Tathāgata or exert themselves in acts of
worshiping the relics of the Tathāgata. Why? Because their minds had entered
in that way into the authentic, unsurpassed, and profound Dharma.

“Then, Kāśyapa, after seven days had passed, all the stūpas of the
Tathāgata sank into the ground. At that moment, all the relics of the
Tathāgata, as if they were placed into a basket or poured into a container,
became invisible. Therefore, Kāśyapa, one should emulate holy beings such as
those.

“Furthermore, Kāśyapa, in the future there will be some monks who
belong to the Bodhisattva Vehicle and to the Śrāvaka Vehicle who have not
cultivated their bodies or their minds, who have not cultivated moral
discipline or wisdom. They will worship the relics of the Tathāgata with the
intention of making a living, not in order to attain nirvāṇa or to be free
from desire. While they themselves will have deficient moral discipline, be
forgetful, have deficient wisdom, be unliberated, and not have the knowledge
and vision of liberation, they will, merely for the sake of making a living,
think to pay homage to, honor, and make offerings to the relics of the
Tathāgata, which are suffused with moral discipline, samādhi, wisdom,
liberation, and the knowledge and vision of liberation. While they
themselves possess desire, anger, and ignorance, they will, merely for the
sake of making a living, think to pay homage to, honor, and make offerings
to the relics of the tathāgata, arhat, perfectly awakened Buddha who is free
from desire, anger, and ignorance.

“While they themselves are avaricious, miserly, malevolent, full of
the flaws of rigidity, lazy, forgetful, and lacking in introspection, they
will, merely for the sake of making a living, think to pay homage to, honor,
and make offerings to the relics of the Tathāgata, who is the great
benefactor and who is composed, in a state of perfect equipoise, and
one-pointed.

“Kāśyapa, I have blessed relics in order to bring faith to the
minds of those sons and daughters of noble family who are beginners. Those
who worship them will experience the wealth of gods and humans, and that
worship will be the cause for that until they attain final nirvāṇa. But
those foolish people, having gone forth in this teaching, abandon and reject
what I have taught as the activities of an ascetic. Their goals are to
nourish themselves, to cultivate the households of friends and those who
give alms, to seek alms bowls and monastic robes, and to attain gain,
reverence, repute, plaudits, and fame. For the sake of these they will pay
homage to the relics and stūpas of the Tathāgata through acts of worship and
honor of the relics and stūpas of the Tathāgata.

“Kāśyapa, what, then, are the activities of an ascetic? They are
the two activities that I have taught: concentration and recitation. But I
taught those two activities only for the purpose of entering the
path; they are not ultimate or final.

“Kāśyapa, the activity of an ascetic is activity that is engaged in
for the sake of extinguishing karma. The ‘activity of an ascetic’ is that
which lacks doing, is not the origin of flaws, does not perform misdeeds,
lacks mindfulness, lacks thinking, does not degenerate, does not arise,
actualizes the three gates to liberation, lacks continuity with the three
realms, and neither goes nor comes.

“Those foolish people abandon such activities of an ascetic and
pursue other activities. They do not even train in what I have taught as the
training of white-robed householders. While white-robed householders who
train themselves for a short time in whatever trainings of the Tathāgata
they possess attain the result of a non-returner, these foolish people, once
they have gone forth, do not engage in any cultivation that is in accord
with liberation. So how will they attain it? It is impossible.

“Furthermore, Kāśyapa, in the future, in the final
five-hundred-year period, there will be those who are impressively titled
and who are ascetics in appearance, distinguishing marks, and figure but not
by moral discipline, samādhi, or wisdom.

“Kāśyapa, I will give you an analogy: suppose a certain person sews
on mantras and applies medicines to some clothing. The body of whoever wears
that clothing for seven or eight days becomes a single flame, entirely
ablaze. That person gives those clothes on which mantras have been sewn and
to which medicines have been applied to an enemy under the guise of
friendship.
The enemy, thinking that the clothes are beautiful, accepts them and then
puts them on. For seven or eight days they take pleasure in the clothes.
Then, after seven or eight days have passed, when that person is going home,
or traveling the highway, the clothes burst into flames. This then causes
the person to feel unfortunate suffering as they burn to death.

“Kāśyapa, what do you think? How much enjoyment was there from
those clothes, and how much misfortune?”

Kāśyapa replied, “Blessed One, there was little enjoyment, but the
misfortune was incalculable.”

The Blessed One said, “Kāśyapa, in the same way, my saffron robes
suffused with moral discipline, samādhi, wisdom, liberation, and the
knowledge and vision of liberation have been acquired, over countless eons,
through practicing good actions. So, those foolish people who are sham
ascetics, draped with a sage’s victory banner, enter hamlets, towns,
villages, surrounding regions, and royal palaces. Then, faithful brahmins
and householders, thinking they are ascetics, pay homage to them, revere
them, honor them, and make offerings to them. Since they acquire offerings
on the basis of their saffron robes, they are pleased by that. After the
breakup of their bodies, they fall into the hell realms, where they wear
burning iron frames, eat lumps of iron, drink molten iron, and lie on
fiercely blazing beds.

“Kāśyapa, consider that it is due to nothing but their own actions
that they go to the hell realms after the breakup of their bodies, whereas such
splendid, glorious saffron robes are the source of many types of pleasurable
experience, even for those foolish people.

“Moreover, Kāśyapa, with this in mind I have said, ‘It is easier to
wear iron frames than it is for one whose moral discipline is deficient to
wear saffron robes. It is easier to eat lumps of iron than it is for one
whose moral discipline is deficient to enjoy alms food.’ Kāśyapa, consider
how much enjoyment and how much misfortune there is in this situation.

“Therefore, Kāśyapa, you must train yourself in that way to purify
your moral discipline and to confess your sinful deeds.

“What do you think, Kāśyapa? Can any god, nāga, yakṣa, gandharva,
asura, garuḍa, mahoraga, human, or nonhuman create the bodies of the
tathāgatas?”

Kāśyapa said, “No, Blessed One, they cannot. The Tathāgata is
peerless, and his body is inconceivable. For that reason it is not easy for
them to create his bodies.”

The Blessed One said, “Kāśyapa, in the future, in the final
five-hundred-year period, there will be some monks who have not cultivated
their bodies or their minds and who have not cultivated moral discipline or
wisdom. On the surfaces of cotton robes, walls, and fences, they will
draw images of the tathāgatas, thinking to make a
living out of them. That work will lead them to conceitedly praise
themselves and contemptuously disparage others.”

When the Blessed One said this, Venerable Mahākāśyapa asked him, “Well,
Blessed One, did you not tell King Prasenajit, ‘If you construct an image of
the Tathāgata, you will generate so much merit’?”

The Blessed One replied, “Yes, Kāśyapa. Because King Prasenajit is
a white-robed householder, if he causes an image of the Tathāgata to be
made, that will only be an offering to the Tathāgata. However, it is not a
basis for him to wish for monastic robes, or alms food, or the slightest
gain. Kāśyapa, those foolish people think they will make a living on that
basis. While they think they are doing something beneficial, it is just
pointless. Kāśyapa, sons or daughters of noble family who desire nothing but
merit will, if they commission images of the Tathāgata to be made, create
incalculable merit. But if it is not good to sell images of those born in
the animal realms, I hardly need to mention the sale of images of the
tathāgatas! Yet those foolish people, having commissioned images of the
Tathāgata to be made, sell them to householders, thinking to make a living
thereby.

“Kāśyapa, it is as if an immature person, by nature deficient in
wisdom, were to reject nectar and instead drink poison. Similarly, Kāśyapa, I
think that those foolish people who commission Tathāgata images for the sake
of trifles poison themselves.

“Kāśyapa, ‘poison’ in this well-spoken Dharma and Vinaya is when
there is gain, and foolish people are overcome by anger and quarrel with one
another,
arguing and exposing each other’s faults. While they say, ‘I must worship
the Tathāgata,’ they are sending themselves to the hell realms.

“Kāśyapa, it is as if an unskilled man were to enter a battle and
stab himself with his own weapon. Similarly, Kāśyapa, those foolish people
will go to the hell realms by means of the sublime Dharma.

“Kāśyapa, suppose some sons or daughters of noble family
commissioned images of the Tathāgata that were made of the seven kinds of
precious substances and that were refined, well polished, and as large as
Mount Meru. Suppose such images of the Tathāgata as these filled as many
buddha fields as there are grains of sand in the Ganges, like birds filling
a grove of sugar canes, reeds, fruit trees, or sesame trees. What do you
think, Kāśyapa? Would that be the basis for sons or daughters of noble
family to create a great deal of merit?”

Kāśyapa replied, “Blessed One, since having an image of the
Tathāgata made that is just the size of a finger creates a great deal of
merit, what need is there to mention having an image of the Tathāgata made
that is the size of Mount Meru?”

The Blessed One replied, “Kāśyapa, believe this and take it to
heart. In comparison, when a bodhisattva analyzes the image of the Tathāgata
and attains acceptance of the profound teachings merely for the duration of
a finger snap, they create even greater merit. Again, in comparison, someone
adhering to the components of moral discipline who retains a single
four-lined verse of Dharma and then, realizing the meaning of the verse,
teaches
it to just a single being creates even greater merit.

“Kāśyapa, you may ask how one should analyze the image of the
Tathāgata. Kāśyapa, a bodhisattva should emulate the bodhisattva Great Diligence.

“Kāśyapa, countless eons ago in the past—exceedingly countless,
totally countless, numerous, immeasurable, unimaginable, incalculable eons
ago, there arose in the world a tathāgata, an arhat, a completely awakened
buddha called Jyotiṣprabha. He was endowed with perfect knowledge and
conduct, a sugata, a knower of the world, a guide of beings to be tamed,
unsurpassable, a teacher of gods and humans, a buddha, a blessed one.

“Kāśyapa, when the Tathāgata Jyotiṣprabha attained final nirvāṇa, a
bodhisattva called Great Diligence
was born as the shapely, handsome, and dear-to-behold son of a great sāla
tree–like brahmin.

“Kāśyapa, at that time, among those who had gone forth as monks in
the teaching of that blessed one, most were tainted by various activities,
while there were few who practiced correctly.

“Kāśyapa, the monks commissioned various types of images of the
Tathāgata. They also commissioned pictures to be drawn on the surfaces of cotton robes,
silk, and the walls of buildings. At that time, a certain monk drew a
well-drawn, refined image of the Tathāgata on silk. He then took it to the
palace of the king, the father of the bodhisattva Great Diligence.

“Kāśyapa, when the bodhisattva Great Diligence saw the image of the Tathāgata, he thought,
‘If even an image of the Tathāgata is as dear to behold as this, what need
is there to mention a tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened buddha himself?
How I wish I possessed a body such as this!’ With that thought, he became
joyful, overjoyed, and full of faith. At that time, he lost all joy in his
household, thinking that by staying at home he would be unable to accomplish
such a body. So he decided to renounce his home.

“Kāśyapa, when the bodhisattva Great Diligence reached the age of sixteen, his faculties
reached full bloom and he attained maturity. Then he went to his parents,
and when he arrived in their presence, he prostrated at their feet, saying,
‘Father and mother, will you grant me permission to go forth from home into
homelessness in the teaching of the Tathāgata, just as is proper?’

“His parents replied, ‘Boy, do not say that—we two have no dear,
beloved, and handsome only-son but you! If we do not see you, it will be the
death of us.’

“The boy replied, ‘While I will certainly not harm the two of you,
I will still renounce my home.’

“His parents answered, ‘How will you do that, boy?’

“The boy replied, ‘Starting from today, for as long as I do not
renounce home, I will not ask for food, go to bed, rub myself with butter or
oil, or ask for a drink. Nor will I utter a single word, whether virtuous or
nonvirtuous.’

“Then, Kāśyapa, the bodhisattva Great Diligence sat down in an unswept place, fell silent, and ate no
food for one day. His parents brought him food of a hundred flavors, but he
did not speak. Although they pleaded with him all day and night, he did not
speak a single word.

“In this way, Kāśyapa, the bodhisattva Great Diligence fell silent for a
second day and ate no food. Then five hundred of his maternal relatives
brought food of a hundred flavors, but he did not speak. Although they
pleaded with him all day and night, he never even looked them in the face,
never mind speaking a word.

“In that way, Kāśyapa, the bodhisattva Great Diligence fell silent for a third
day and ate no food. Then five hundred of his paternal relatives brought him
food of a hundred flavors. But he did not speak. Although they pleaded with
him all day and night, he never even looked them in the face, and he did not
speak a word.

“In that way, Kāśyapa, the bodhisattva Great Diligence fell silent for a
fourth day and ate no food. Then five hundred of his own cohort brought him
food of a hundred flavors, but he did not speak. Although they pleaded with
him all day and night, he never even looked them in the face, never mind
speaking a word.

“In that way, Kāśyapa, the bodhisattva Great Diligence fell silent for a fifth
day and ate no food. Then his parents put to one side all the cowry shells,
gold, precious stones, pearls, beryl, conches, crystals, gold dust, silver,
and, furthermore, jewels, clothing, and various ornaments that could be
found in the king’s palace. They summoned eighty-four thousand young women
who were like goddesses, adorned them with all the ornaments, and stood them
to one side.

“In short, Kāśyapa, they set before him all the enjoyments to be
had in the king’s palace. His parents placed before the bodhisattva
Great Diligence his five hundred
maternal relatives, his five hundred paternal relatives, the five hundred of
his own cohort, the eighty-four thousand young women, and a crowd of people,
who then brought him food of a hundred flavors, but he did not speak. They
pleaded with him all day and night, saying, ‘Young man, get up and eat some
food! Give alms and perform acts of merit while staying here at home. Enjoy
yourself with these women; frolic and make love—do not abandon the king’s
palace like this!’

“Kāśyapa, the bodhisattva Great
Diligence never even looked at the crowd of people who had
assembled, and he did not speak again. He remained silent in that way for a
sixth day and ate no food. He was free of all other thoughts except for
thoughts connected with the Buddha jewel. He never even gave rise to the
concept of food.

“Then, Kāśyapa, the parents of the bodhisattva Great Diligence and those crowds of
people, those in his cohort, the great gathering of relatives, and the
eighty-four thousand women all wailed and cried out with tears streaming
down their faces. Even though they touched his feet in supplication, he
never even looked at them.

“Then, Kāśyapa, a deity who happened to live in the king’s palace
appeared, by a great miracle, in midair and spoke these verses to the crowds
of people:

“ ‘Those who strive for awakening

Are like Meru:

Powerful, firm, and immovable.

They do not forsake their vows.

“ ‘All the lands can shake,

And fire can turn into water,

But he, my friends, cannot be moved

From this place!

“ ‘From now on, do not be sad!

Commit no sinful actions!

Or henceforth, like a blind person,

You are sure to wander for ten million eons.

“ ‘In order to benefit all beings,

He has set out for awakening;

For those who strive in order to renounce,

Sublime awakening is not hard to find.

“ ‘Those beings who do not practice the conduct of a bodhisattva

For the sake of desires or for the sake of enjoyments—

How happy they are

To seek the wisdom of a buddha.

“ ‘Even if the billionfold universe

Were filled with jewels, garments,

And other objects and strewn with silk,

They could not become attached.

“ ‘You should confess any sinful acts

That you have committed out of ignorance.

A wise person, after confessing their faults,

Does not persist in those acts.’

“Kāśyapa, when the deity admonished them in this way, the
bodhisattva Great Diligence’s
parents, friends, confidants, relatives, and elders and those crowds of
people confessed their faults and then said to the young man, ‘Young man,
you should leave just as you intended and go forth! Eat some food! If you do
not eat you will certainly die.’

“Kāśyapa, even though the bodhisattva Great Diligence had stopped eating for
seven days, because his thoughts were connected with the buddhas, and
because for seven days the deities infused his body with vitality, his
faculties
were unaltered, and the splendor of his face had not faded.

“That is how, Kāśyapa, the bodhisattva Great Diligence stopped eating for
seven days and, without regard for his home, cast aside his great kingdom as
if spitting into the dirt. Then, while the eighty-four thousand women, his
parents, and the assembled relatives wept with tearful faces, he carried the
image of the Tathāgata out of his own city and went into an unpopulated
wilderness, a forest where wild animals lived.

“After he got there, he spread out the cotton canvas on which the
image of the Tathāgata had been drawn. Then, in front of that cotton canvas,
he sat down cross-legged on a mat of grass and in an upright posture and
analyzed that image of the Tathāgata. As he analyzed it, he thought,
‘Because even this image of the Tathāgata is so beautiful, it is needless to
say that the Blessed One himself is too. And because such a beautiful
blessed buddha is a marvel, whoever sees the Tathāgata is fortunate.’ And he
reflected on how one should visualize the Tathāgata.

“Then, a deity who lived in the forest, who was aware of the
thoughts of the bodhisattva, said to him, ‘Friend, with regard to the
thoughts you are engaged in about how to visualize the Tathāgata, you should
visualize him just like this image of the Tathāgata. The way this image of
the Tathāgata is seen is the way the Tathāgata should be
visualized. Seeing it this way, one sees the Tathāgata correctly.’

“Then the bodhisattva Great
Diligence wondered, ‘How should one visualize this image of the
Tathāgata so that one will see the Tathāgata?’ Then he thought, ‘Just as
this image of the Tathāgata does not think and is not conscious, so too do
no phenomena think nor are they conscious. The body of the Tathāgata is also
characterized in that way. Just as this image of the Tathāgata amounts to
nothing more than a label, so too all phenomena amount to nothing more than
labels, which are empty in essence and unmoving by nature. The body of the
Tathāgata is also characterized in that way. Just as this image of the
Tathāgata is without attainment, without realization, without knowledge,
without actualization, without fruition, without realization of fruition,
without a ground, without a basis, without going, without coming, without
arising, without ceasing, without pollution, without purification, without
sound, without what is proper, without what is improper, without the
extinguishing of desire, without the extinguishing of anger, without the
extinguishing of ignorance, without aggregates, without elements, without
sense fields, without what is prior, without what is later, and without what
is in between, so too are all phenomena. The body of the Tathāgata is also
characterized in that way. Just as this image of the Tathāgata is unmoving
and inactive, so are all phenomena. The body of the Tathāgata is
characterized in exactly the same way. Just as this image of the Tathāgata
does not look, does not listen, does not smell, does not taste, does not
touch, does not think, does not lie down, does not get up, does not exhale,
does not inhale, and is not conscious, so too all phenomena. Just like all
phenomena, the body of the Tathāgata is also characterized in that way. Just
as this image of the Tathāgata is not included in the desire realm, is not
included in the form realm, and is not included in the formless realm, so
too all phenomena. The body of the Tathāgata is also characterized in that
way. Just as this image of the Tathāgata has no near shore, has no far
shore, has no middle, has no beginning, has no destruction, has no movement,
has no activity, has no acceptance, has no rejection, has no action, has no
agent, has no transgression, has no truth, has no falsehood, has no
realization of truth, has no attraction, has no repulsion, has no saṃsāra,
and has no nirvāṇa, so too all phenomena. Just like all phenomena, the body
of the Tathāgata is also characterized in that way.’

“Kāśyapa, Great Diligence
engaged with and analyzed the body of the Tathāgata in this way for a day
and night, without moving from his cross-legged posture. In that day and night he
accomplished the five extraordinary abilities, the four sublime states, and
unimpeded eloquence. He also accomplished the
all-illuminating samādhi, after which luminosity
arose. Because of that luminosity, with the pure divine eye that transcends
human sight he saw the incalculable, countless blessed buddhas of the ten
directions. With his unimpeded divine ear he also heard all the Dharma
taught by those blessed buddhas. The Dharma taught by one tathāgata did not
impede the Dharma taught by a second tathāgata; it pleased everyone.

“Kāśyapa, the bodhisattva Great
Diligence walked and sat there for seven months, eating no food
other than the food of consciousness, while the deities, aware of his noble
intention, infused his body with vitality.

“Kāśyapa, the bodhisattva Great
Diligence did not even wear saffron robes. He did not actually
see the Tathāgata. He did not receive the fundamental precepts. Yet, even
so, consider his wish to train himself in order to attain the wisdom of
omniscience.

“Kāśyapa, this is how a bodhisattva discerns the body of the
Tathāgata. He certainly does not augment or diminish it—that is how he
discerns it.

“Kāśyapa, a bodhisattva should honor the body of the Tathāgata just
as the bodhisattva great being Great
Diligence honored the body of the Tathāgata. When he honored it
in that way, analyzing it as it really is, he also developed the trait of
great wisdom. By means of the trait of wisdom, he saw the immeasurable,
countless, incalculable blessed buddhas of the ten directions and heard
their teaching of the Dharma.

“Then, Kāśyapa the bodhisattva Great Diligence emerged from the forest and went into the
hamlets, towns, villages, surrounding regions, and royal palaces. There he
taught the Dharma to beings, establishing twenty thousand living beings in
the thought of unsurpassed, perfect awakening. He established immeasurable,
countless beings in the merits of the Śrāvaka and Pratyekabuddha Vehicles.
He securely established his parents, the retinue of queens, and everyone
else in his retinue in unsurpassed, perfect awakening.

“Kāśyapa, if you are uncertain, undecided, or doubtful as to
whether, at that particular time, the bodhisattva called Great Diligence was someone else, do
not view it that way. For I myself, at that particular time, was the
bodhisattva named Great
Diligence.

“Therefore, Kāśyapa, bodhisattvas should emulate the bodhisattva
great being Great Diligence and other
bodhisattvas besides him who are perfectly endowed with the noble
intention.

“Furthermore, Kāśyapa, in the future, in the final
five-hundred-year period, there will be some sons and daughters of noble
family, followers of the Bodhisattva Vehicle, who will not be skilled in
means. They will be overcome with craving and desire. Thinking to attain
accomplishments and magic powers, they will worship images of the Tathāgata
drawn on cotton robes or on walls, or other images. They will become
conceited, thinking, ‘We worship the Tathāgata, but others do not worship him.’
They will praise themselves for that slight act of virtue and disparage
others, while thinking to make their living on that basis.

“Kāśyapa, at that time there will be those who, apart from
commissioning images of the Tathāgata, assembling, and performing various
forms of worship of the Tathāgata, will thus not think to seek out
instruction, to perform recitation, to cultivate concentration, or to value
meditative seclusion. At that time, householders and those who have gone
forth will become knowledgeable and expert in making offerings and paying
homage. On that basis, they will acquire monastic robes, alms food, bedding,
seats, medicines to cure illness, and possessions.

“Kāśyapa, since I have taught that those who are followers of the
Bodhisattva Vehicle should abide by the components of moral discipline and
seek great learning, consider how at that time those people will live with
deficient moral discipline. Having abandoned their search for the Dharma,
they will exert themselves in acts of worship at the stūpas of the
Tathāgata, thinking to make their living on that basis.”

Then the elder Mahākāśyapa said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One,
it is wonderful, all that you have said about the deceit, dishonesty, and
crookedness of those unholy individuals. Sugata, it is wonderful! Blessed
One, after hearing such a sūtra as this, what son or daughter of noble
family would not practice the components of moral discipline? Moreover,
Blessed One, Tathāgata, please bless this Dharma discourse so that in a
later period of time sons and daughters of noble family who have heard this
Dharma discourse will say, ‘Since the Tathāgata knows us, since the
Tathāgata sees us, we must turn away from conduct in a domain such as this,’
and so that they will then feel great remorse and develop good conduct.”

When he said this, the Blessed One replied to the elder
Mahākāśyapa, “Kāśyapa, whatever the Tathāgata teaches about subjects such as
this, everything that he teaches is for the sake of those very sons and
daughters of noble family, so that they will hear this Dharma discourse and
thereafter abandon their faults.”

When the Blessed One had said this, the elder Mahākāśyapa, the
bodhisattva great being Maitreya, Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta, and the bodhisattvas
and monks, as well as the world with its gods, humans, asuras, and
gandharvas, rejoiced and praised the words of the Blessed One.

This concludes The Noble Great Lion’s
Roar of Maitreya, the twenty-third of the one hundred thousand
sections of the Dharma discourse known as The Noble Great Heap of
Jewels.

Colophon

Translated, edited, and finalized by the Indian preceptors
Jinamitra, Surendrabodhi, and Prajñāvarman and the chief editor and
translator Bandé Yeshé Dé and others.

Notes

Bibliography

Tibetan Sources

Secondary Sources

arhatship

dgra bcom pa nyid
དགྲ་བཅོམ་པ་ཉིད།

swindler-ascetic

dge sbyong gi chom rkun
དགེ་སྦྱོང་གི་ཆོམ་རྐུན།

bogus ascetic

dge sbyong ltar bcos pa
དགེ་སྦྱོང་ལྟར་བཅོས་པ།

Highest Wisdom

Diligent Aspiration

brtson ’grus mos
བརྩོན་འགྲུས་མོས།

Great Diligence

brtson ’grus chen po
བརྩོན་འགྲུས་ཆེན་པོ།

Myriad Flowers

Lake Anavatapta

mtsho chen po ma dros pa
མཚོ་ཆེན་པོ་མ་དྲོས་པ།