Mahāyāna — Northern Canon · Linh Sơn Vietnamese Mahāyāna Canon

寶授菩薩菩提行經

Chinese title:寶授菩薩菩提行經

📖5,137 words · ~21 min read

Interpreted by Inti AI (English)

🪷 AI interpretation

Thus have I truly heard: At one time the Buddha, together with one thousand two hundred and fifty great bhikṣus, was gathered in the storied pavilion of the Great Forest, in the city of Vaiśālī.

These ones were all great arhats whose contaminations had been exhausted, who were free from afflictions, who had attained self-benefit, who no longer had the fetters of existence, who had laid down the heavy burden, and whose cultivation was complete. They were like great dragon-kings, their minds well liberated, their wisdom well liberated, having entered deeply into the realm of liberation; their minds had attained the right path, their faculties were subdued, and their deportment was serene. Among them there was only one pudgala, the venerable Ānanda, who had received the Buddha's prophecy to reverently uphold the treasury of the Dharma.

There was also gathered an assembly of one thousand great bodhisattvas. These ones had all attained the stage of non-retrogression, had gathered and held all the Dharma-gates, and possessed the equanimous forbearance of the Dharma. They were all of great wisdom, endowed with firm faith, their words and deeds in accord, all their doubts and confusions ended; their features were perfect, and without frowning they were always very joyful, possessing the power of diligence.

They were also Dharma-princes who knew the self-nature of all dharmas and who taught the Dharma without weariness. The Dharma they spoke was free of all frivolous discourse; they liberated sentient beings and aroused in them the wisdom of a Buddha; their meritorious benefit guided sentient beings without being in vain. They had attained the great forbearance of patience, had left behind all inverted realms, had accomplished the Ten Grounds, knew well the three times, clearly understood that the self-nature is neither arising nor ceasing, had cut off bondage, were complete in deportment, and had realized the Emptiness samādhi, the Signless samādhi, and the Wishless samādhi.

Although they had escaped birth and death, they constantly roamed within saṃsāra. They did not delight in the practices of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, but solely because they had aroused the vast mind of bodhi, they taught the Dharma in accord with the capacities of sentient beings. Among them were these foremost great bodhisattvas: the bodhisattva Maitreya, the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, the bodhisattva Pratibhānakūṭa, the bodhisattva Ratnapāṇi, the bodhisattva Gandhaprabha, the bodhisattva Anantaprabha, the bodhisattva Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin, the bodhisattva Paramārthacitta, the bodhisattva Prāptaprabharāja, the bodhisattva Sarvaśokatamonirghātana, the bodhisattva Sarvaviṣama, the bodhisattva Antaścara, the bodhisattva Anantamati, the bodhisattva Mahāvīryaprasthitamati,

the bodhisattva Jayamati, the bodhisattva Samantapūrṇa, the bodhisattva Anāvaraṇanirdeśa, the bodhisattva Nityamudita, the bodhisattva Uttamasuvarṇaprabha, the bodhisattva Sarvadharmadarśanamati, the bodhisattva Acyutendharakusumita, the bodhisattva Hastacihna, the bodhisattva Aśokaśrī, the bodhisattva Sumerugarbha, the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva Gandheśvararāja, the bodhisattva Pramuditarāja, the bodhisattva Anantajñānagarbha, the bodhisattva Sarvasaddharmadharanigarbha, and the bodhisattva Siṃhanādasvara.

At that time, when the hour for taking food had arrived, the World-Honored One together with the assembly of two thousand bhikṣus put on their robes, took up their bowls, and entered the city of Vaiśālī to beg for alms. When they reached the city gate, the World-Honored One, with a mind of great loving-kindness and compassion, manifested the power of his spiritual penetrations and emitted a great radiance that illuminated all things.

He transformed the city of Vaiśālī into lapis lazuli, and all the crossroads became clean and pure. Wherever that radiance reached, the blind gained sight, the deaf gained hearing, the mute were all able to speak, and the deluded all regained right mindfulness. Heavenly flowers fell like rain and filled the city.

Heavenly music sounded of itself, its tones clear and exceedingly beautiful, resounding down to the Avīci hell and up to the Akaniṣṭha heaven. The sentient beings therein experienced only great joy.

At that time, King Suprabuddha-prthivī had a son named Ratnadatta, who was just three years old and was being carried in the arms of his nurse up to the palace hall. At that moment Ratnadatta suddenly beheld these rare and auspicious signs of radiance and also heard all the marvelous events within the city. He stepped down to the ground, stood upright before his nurse, and spoke this verse:

Who possesses such majestic powerAs to manifest these rare signs—Like the light of koṭis of sunsIlluminating the three-thousandfold realms?

The evil destinies within themAre all made pure and clean.Such is this power of spiritual penetration—Quickly explain it to me!

Heaven pours down beautiful flowersThroughout all the buddha-lands;They transform into fine, lovely canopiesThat spread across the open sky.

In the ten directions are wondrous birdsThat circle, sing, and gather together;Men and women are all rejoicing,Adorned in most extraordinary fashion.

The blind now regain their sight,The deaf now regain their hearing,The mute now are able to speak,The deluded regain right mindfulness.

All coarse and evil featuresAre transformed into fine forms;All unwholesome peopleArouse minds of loving-kindness and compassion.

What being there is within the worldWho has aroused this power of spiritual penetration?This is the most supreme of matters—Mother, quickly tell it to me.

The nurse also answered the youth Ratnadatta with a verse:

The Jewel of Merit has appeared,Pure and beyond conception,His pure conduct most supreme,Without defilement, neither increasing nor decreasing.

The eyes of the World-Honored OneGaze upon people as upon kin,Teaching and transforming throughout the world,Making no distinction of near or far.

He appears, coming to beg for alms,Yet abides not in worldly signs,Untainted by worldly dharmas,Like a lotus flower amid the water.

He resolves the doubts of sentient beings,His compassion ever benefiting beings;The many sufferings of sentient beingsOnly a Buddha can extinguish.

Praised, he feels no joy;Slandered, he feels no anger;Without hindrance and without obstruction,He roams the world like a cool breeze.

The Tathāgata, teacher within the world,Supreme Great Dharma-King,Skillfully understands the profound DharmaAnd fully comprehends the Ultimate Meaning.

He always teaches the Dharma of the Middle Way,His words free of grasping and rejecting;His Dharma-phrases are most tranquil and still,Far removed from all dwelling-places.

His wisdom is without the sign of self,His store of merit lofty and supreme;The Well-Gone One, the Knower of the World,The Tathāgata of boundless marks.

The Buddha's body is like Sumeru,Towering, with none his equal,Like the nyagrodha tree,Above and below in proportion.

His form is like pure gold,His radiance truly brilliant,Clear and translucent as lapis lazuli,Like the full bright autumn moon.

The crown of his head is round as a canopy,His hair the color of reddish-purple,His topknot coiled like a conch,Each strand curling to the right.

His face is like the full moon,Serene and pure,The white tuft between his browsSpiraling round to the right.

His eyes are like blue lotus flowers,Bright, clear, and skilled in observing;His beautiful lips are like the bimba fruit,His teeth white, even, and close-set.

The sign of his tongue is like a lotus petal,Broad and long, covering his whole face;His nose is high, straight, and upright,His forehead broad and level.

His brows are reddish-purple in color,Stretching out to the edges of his ears;His ears are most upright,Their lobes hanging down to his shoulders.

The Brahma-voice of the TathāgataIs clear as the kalaviṅka's call,Most beautiful and gentle,So that sentient beings rejoice to hear it.

The sounds of the kiṃnara,The peacock, the goose, the parrot,The mynah, the kokila,The kuṇāla, the mandarin duck,The nirmuda, and the jīvaṃjīvaka—Such sounds as these,Together with that heavenly music,Are all utterly excellent.

Yet compared with the Tathāgata,They do not equal even a single part—Among sixteen parts, not one;His neck slender yet rounded and full.

His shoulders level and well-filled,His hands slender and tapering,Complete with all the round and spiraling marks,Soft as tūla cotton.

His nails fine, the color of red copper,His chest broad and level,The whorl of his navel deep and concealed,His male organ withdrawn like a horse-king's.

Hidden and not manifest,And as for the soles of his feet,Their color like a pink lotus,Level and also soft.

The thousand-spoked wheel-sign,Together with the netted and hooked marks—All are completely present,Adorned with a hundredfold merit.

Endowed with the strength of a Great Man,Teacher of all within the world,He ever roars the lion's roar,Expounding the non-dual Dharma.

The words that he speaksAre true and without error,Harmonious, loving, and gentle,So that sentient beings rejoice to hear them.

Awakening all sentient beings,Responding to their capacities to open and reveal,He has merit and benefit of meaning—He is the foremost and most supreme.

Endowed with such adornments,He is called the Buddha, the World-Honored One;Throughout the worlds of the ten directions,None among ordinary beings or sages is his equal.

After the nurse had spoken this verse praising the Buddha, Ratnadatta then said:

"Mother! How may I be helped to behold the Buddha in person?"

The Buddha knew the intention of the youth, and so he immediately manifested his body, standing right at the palace gate. The nurse pointed and said, "This one is indeed the Buddha." The youth Ratnadatta, upon the palace hall, gazed at the World-Honored One from afar, joined his palms, and bowed his head in reverence. Then he reflected: "If there be any sentient being who sees the Tathāgata fully endowed with such marks of merit and yet does not arouse the vast mind of bodhi, it would truly be difficult for him to gain his own benefit." Ratnadatta further reflected: "Through a hundred thousand koṭis of kalpas it is difficult to encounter a Buddha;

now that I have been able to meet him, this is truly rare, so I should renounce this body to make offering to the Buddha." Having thought this, the youth took up a golden lotus flower of a thousand petals and from the high palace cast himself down toward the ground.

At that very moment, sustained by the majestic power of the Buddha, this youth came to abide in the open sky and offered up the golden lotus flower to the Buddha. Immediately this golden flower left the youth's hand and flew up to come to rest in the sky above the Buddha, where it transformed into a flower-canopy adorned with very many precious things, exquisitely beautiful.

At that time, the youth Ratnadatta, there in the midst of the sky, joined his palms toward the Buddha and spoke this verse:

I offer you this lotus flowerNot in order to cut off afflictions,Nor for the sake of all dharmas,But solely for the bodhi of a Buddha.

Just as bodhi is unarisen,Neither existent nor non-existent,Neither grasped nor rejected,I follow the Buddha in manifesting,Without deluded attachmentTo signs or to the signless.

I leave behind all signsAnd make offering to the Buddha, the World-Honored One;The merit thereby attainedLikewise leaves behind all signs.

Now in offering this flowerI do not hope to realize the Two Vehicles;With that Foremost VehicleI will ever turn the wheel in the buddha-lands.

At that time, the venerable Maudgalyāyana, standing in attendance at the Buddha's right, saw these events and then spoke a verse to question the youth Ratnadatta:

Such a one as Buddha ŚākyaYou faithfully revere and make offerings to—Why then is your mind inverted,Saying that bodhi is unarisen?

Ratnadatta replied with a verse:

All dharmas are originally unarisen;What is given is "empty," unconditioned.The nature of dharmas is originally thus—How could there be any place of arising?

With round-shaven head and clad in the kāṣāya,You abide in the sign of an arhat;If you do not understand the Dharma of emptiness,How can you know the wisdom of a Buddha?

If you still hold deluded conceptionsWhile making offerings to koṭis of Buddhas,Though you make such offerings to the Buddhas,It is truly not making offering at all.

Venerable one, even to this very dayYou have not yet cut off deluded conceptions;Why then does your mindSpeak of the signless as having signs?

The venerable Maudgalyāyana again questioned the youth:

"Does the Tathāgata then not realize Unsurpassed Perfect Enlightenment, nor teach the Dharma?"

The youth Ratnadatta answered:

"The one of great wisdom abides neither in the sign of bodhi nor in the sign of the Tathāgata. The nature of dharmas is unconditioned, and dharmas are originally unarisen. If one knows this rightly, then one understands the nature of dharmas [1], is without fear, leaves behind near and far, neither comes nor goes, is without action and without sign, abiding neither in the Dharma of the Buddhas, nor in the Dharma of the pratyekabuddhas, nor in the Dharma of the śrāvakas; nor abiding in the dharma of greed, the dharma of anger, or the dharma of delusion; and even not abiding in the dharmas of the deluded sentient beings, of ignorance and affliction;

nor abiding in form or formlessness, in perception or non-perception, in purity or impurity, in body, speech, or mind, in equality or inequality.

He abides in none of all dharmas."

The venerable Maudgalyāyana again questioned the youth:

"Does the Tathāgata then realize anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi?"

The youth answered:

"He does not!

If there were something realized, that would be abiding in the sign of the Tathāgata, abiding in the sign of bodhi, abiding in the sign of liberation. If one still abides in signs, that is delusion."

Mahāmaudgalyāyana said:

"Youth! I too am signless, yet you take me to have signs. Moreover, the things I asked before all belong to the conventional truth."

The youth answered:

"Mahāmaudgalyāyana! All sentient beings, through deluded falsity, give rise to faculties that are not in harmony."

Mahāmaudgalyāyana asked:

"If all beings are wholly false, then dharmas too are false. If they are false, then how do you teach the Dharma?"

The youth answered:

"Mahāmaudgalyāyana! Teaching the Dharma while being signless—only this is called teaching the Dharma. One who teaches the Dharma in this way has no place of arrival, no place of realization, no place of knowing, and no place of seeing."

Mahāmaudgalyāyana said:

"Youth! If it is indeed so, then why do you today make offering to the Tathāgata?"

The youth answered:

"Mahāmaudgalyāyana! If you see the sign of the Tathāgata in this way, that is to see the sign of the giver."

When Mahāmaudgalyāyana had heard the youth's words, he fell silent and questioned no further.

At that time, the youth spoke again:

"Mahāmaudgalyāyana! If there be any sentient being who sees that these signs exist, he cannot attain liberation, has no benefit for himself, departs far from the quiescent nirvāṇa of the Tathāgata, and will surely incline toward the Śrāvaka Vehicle."

Mahāmaudgalyāyana again spoke a verse:

Though the youth is small in years,His wisdom is like the great ocean;In no long timeHe will accomplish the Dharma of non-arising.

The youth also spoke a verse:

What is learned is, in truth, no learning;To learn that all things are without nature—Thus does the one of great wisdom learn,And I too learn in this way.

The things you have asked of meCling to the signs of sentient beings;But sentient beings are originally signless,And all dharmas are unobtainable.

To say that bodhi has signsIs delusion, not right view.Venerable one, how is it nowThat you too abide in the various views [2]?

The wise one, regarding the various views,Sees all of them as pure;The Dharma of the Buddhas, the dharmas of delusion,And all other kinds of dharmas—Contemplating all of them as "empty" in this wayIs to know the nature of dharmas.

If one abides in the signs of existence and non-existence
While seeking to realize bodhi—
Yet dharmas are originally neither existent nor non-existent—
How could bodhi be attained?

The teaching of the Dharma is without bounds,And sentient beings are likewise so.Not abiding in differentiated signs—This indeed is nirvāṇa.Practicing within saṃsāra in this way,Teacher and disciple are without possession.

Within this signless DharmaThe wise one is not deluded;The deluded speak of there being realization,And all of them abide in saṃsāra.

Their ignorance grows ever greater—This is to be possessed by Māra.He sits at peace upon the bodhi-seat [3]Only in order to reveal the conventional truth.

What is realized by all the BuddhasIs neither conventional nor quiescent;Bodhi cannot be spoken,Far removed from view and non-view.If one sees it truly as it is,Then one penetrates the wondrous Dharma.

At that time, the venerable Śāriputra said to the Buddha: "World-Honored One! Since when has this youth Ratnadatta cultivated this Dharma?"

The Buddha said: "Śāriputra! When I had just aroused the mind of anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi, this youth Ratnadatta had already, more than three hundred thousand kalpas before, realized the forbearance of the non-arising of dharmas.

Furthermore, Śāriputra! In the past, when I had just realized the forbearance of the non-arising of dharmas upon receiving the prophecy from Dīpaṃkara, at that time the youth Ratnadatta was already, in the Dharma of that Buddha, a great bodhisattva foremost in the understanding of emptiness."

Śāriputra again said to the Buddha: "World-Honored One! By what causes and conditions has the bodhisattva Ratnadatta passed through such a length of time and yet not realized anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi?"

The Buddha said: "Śāriputra! Concerning this, you should ask the bodhisattva Ratnadatta, and he will surely explain it."

Śāriputra received the Buddha's instruction and then went to ask the bodhisattva Ratnadatta:

"Why is it that to this day you have not yet become a Buddha?"

The bodhisattva Ratnadatta answered:

"Venerable one! Because anuttarā-samādhi-saṃbodhi is unobtainable, therefore I do not become a Buddha."

Śāriputra asked the bodhisattva Ratnadatta:

"What is your meaning? Is it that the Tathāgata's becoming a Buddha has no sign?"

The bodhisattva Ratnadatta answered:

"Tathāgata! If with respect to bodhi there be some place of realization, that is grasping at signs. If one grasps at signs, that is deluded conception."

Śāriputra asked:

"Bodhisattva Ratnadatta! From where have you come, in what forbearance of dharmas do you abide, and in what practice? And by what Dharma do you liberate impartially?"

The bodhisattva Ratnadatta answered:

"With respect to even a single dharma I do not abide—how much less in four dharmas. Śāriputra! Do not say that I have any Dharma to teach! Or that I realize bodhi! Or that I am a Tathāgata! Or that I have attained liberation!"

Śāriputra said: "How rare indeed, good man! If you are able thus clearly to know the Dharma, then you should go to the Buddha and request to leave the household life."

At that time, the bodhisattva Ratnadatta spoke this verse:

All who leave the household lifeGrasp at the sign of leaving the household life;With minds of deluded conception and confusionThey take it that there is something attained.

Grasping at views and at the matter of dharmas,Cultivating the cause through giving,They wish to seek the unconditioned fruit,Yet what they realize is conditioned.

Not awakening to the realm of the signless,They see arising and non-arising,The sign of attainment and of non-attainment,And take it to be the flavor of ambrosia.Such a person, with respect to the Buddha-Dharma,Is precisely one who destroys the Dharma.

The Tathāgata, the Śākya Lion [4],Teaches the Dharma quiescent and signless,Abiding neither in mind nor in non-mind,Abiding neither in nature nor in non-nature.If one sees this teaching in this way,That is to see what the Buddha teaches.

If a person sees that signs exist,That person's eyes are not pure;The view of self is not liberated—The wise one should not act thus.

The view of self is precisely delusion,Grasping that signs are permanent;Seeing from the standpoint of signs,He takes it that nirvāṇa is attained.

Not knowing the nature of illusion and dreams,And contradicting "emptiness" and the signless—The Buddha says that such a personTruly has no wisdom.

Furthermore, harmonizing the faculties,Upholding precepts, grasping at meditative concentration,Arousing minds of deluded conception,Abiding in signs, deludedly seeking the fruit—This is a thief within the Dharma;The wise one must understand this.On account of these various dharmas,What use is leaving the household life?

Not discriminating among dharmas,Which are like an echo in the mountains,The wise one does not see signs.One should abide in suchness,Without any other nature or sign.If one understands the Dharma in this way,Why abide in the sign of leaving the household life?

The bodhisattva Mañjuśrī said to the bodhisattva Ratnadatta:

"What is called bodhi?"

The bodhisattva Ratnadatta answered:

"To leave behind all language is called bodhi."

Mañjuśrī asked:

"Why do you say this?"

The bodhisattva Ratnadatta answered:

"Dharma is originally wordless, and so I say this."

Mañjuśrī asked:

"For bodhisattvas of the First Ground, what Dharma should one teach? What Dharma should one tell them to learn?"

The bodhisattva Ratnadatta answered:

"Do not cut off greed and anger, do not cast away delusion, do not cut off the afflictions, and even do not leave behind the five hindrances, the six sense-bases, and so forth. Furthermore, with respect to wisdom and delusion, give rise to no doubt; do not let the mind dwell on recollecting the Buddha; do not contemplate the Dharma; do not make offerings to the Saṅgha; nor uphold the precepts; do not seek the Dharma of quiescence from a good spiritual friend; and even do not pass beyond the various calamities.

Mañjuśrī! For bodhisattvas of the First Ground you should teach the Dharma in this way and tell them to learn the Dharma in this way. What do you think? With respect to these dharmas, one should likewise not abide in signs. If one abides in signs, that is precisely abiding in dharmas. Such a person is deluded, giving rise to the dharma of arising and ceasing. If one does not doubt this Dharma, then one knows the nature of the Dharma-realm. If any bodhisattva is able thus to understand clearly the nature of dharmas, that is called teaching bodhi.

Mañjuśrī! If there be any bodhisattva who hears this Dharma and is not at all afraid, that one has already attained non-retrogression."

At that time, eight bhikṣus in the assembly, upon suddenly hearing the Buddha teach this true signless Dharma, felt no delight in their hearts; so they left the Dharma-assembly, vomited blood, and died. All of them fell into the great Avīci hell.

At that time, the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī said to the Buddha:

"World-Honored One! Why is it that these eight bhikṣus, upon hearing this true Dharma, manifested such evil signs?"

The Buddha answered:

"Mañjuśrī! Do not speak thus. These bhikṣus, for ten thousand kalpas, did not get to hear the Dharma and did not draw near to good friends; and so today, hearing this true Dharma, they felt no delight in their hearts.

Mañjuśrī! These eight bhikṣus, in a future age while in the Avīci hell, will suddenly recall this true Dharma, and so they will die there and be reborn in the Tuṣita heaven as devaputras, or be reborn among humans as wheel-turning kings; passing through sixty-eight kalpas they will serve ten nayutas of Buddhas. In the final kalpa there will be a Buddha named Vimalaprabha Tathāgata, the Worthy One, the Perfectly Enlightened One, who will appear in the world.

The Buddha Vimalaprabha at that time will be just as I am today, teaching the Dharma and bestowing prophecies upon devas and humans in the city of Vaiśālī. At that time, those devaputras, with the heavenly ear, will hear from afar the Buddha Vimalaprabha teaching the Dharma and bestowing prophecies, and they will together with eighty thousand devaputras go to where the Buddha is. Arriving there, the devaputras will scatter all kinds of heavenly flowers throughout the city of Vaiśālī, and then, making offerings, gazing upon, and reverently bowing to the Buddha, they will withdraw and sit to one side, and say to the Buddha:

'World-Honored One! We rejoice in accord and delight to hear the true Dharma. We pray that you, for our sake, will teach the practice of bodhi.'

At that time, the Vimalaprabha Tathāgata, for their sake, will teach the true Dharma, causing all of them to arouse the mind of great bodhi. Those devaputras, as soon as they arouse the mind, will immediately all be non-retrogressing from anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi. At that time, in the city of Vaiśālī, there will be eighty-four thousand people who will likewise be non-retrogressing from anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi. There will also be one thousand two hundred people who will leave behind the dust of defilement and attain the pure Dharma-eye."

At that time, the World-Honored One said to Mañjuśrī: "Suppose a bodhisattva, throughout a hundred thousand kalpas, were to cultivate the six pāramitās yet lacked the wisdom of skillful means; this would not equal hearing this true Dharma for but a brief moment. Why? Because when one hears this Dharma one attains immeasurable merit—how much more so to delight in hearing and receiving it, and even to copy it out, uphold it, recite it, and expound it for others. Mañjuśrī! If there be a person who seeks the fruit of arhatship or of pratyekabuddhahood, he should not study this Dharma. If a person seeks the fruit of anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi, he should study this Dharma."

At that time, the bodhisattva Ratnadatta, knowing that the Buddha, the World-Honored One, and the bhikṣus had as yet no place from which to be offered food, said to the nurse: "Quickly bring food from the palace here to make offering to the Buddha and the Saṅgha!" The nurse at once took fragrant, delicious, and superb food and filled a bowl with it, handing it to the bodhisattva Ratnadatta. The bodhisattva then took the bowl of food before the Buddha and made this vow: "All the Dharma that the Tathāgata teaches is truly inexhaustible. If these words be true, then may this food, however much it is used, never run out, until all the bhikṣus have partaken and are fully satisfied!"

Ratnadatta then served out a full bowl of rice, offered it to the Buddha, and said to the bhikṣus: "I pray that you, venerable ones, will out of compassion for me each accept this food! What I offer is not given for the sake of the body, nor given for the sake of the mind; leaving behind the three karmas, I do not seek the fruit of merit; I abide neither in conditioned dharmas nor in unconditioned dharmas; I grasp not at worldly dharmas, nor do I abide in the śrāvaka, the pratyekabuddha, or the bodhi of a Buddha!" But at that time not a single bhikṣu held out his bowl to receive the food.

The bodhisattva Ratnadatta spoke again: "Venerable ones, please accept this food. You venerable ones delight in begging for alms, and I now also delight in making offerings. Both I and you venerable ones are without anything sought." The bodhisattva Ratnadatta again made a vow: "The Buddha's words are true!

Just as Mañjuśrī, together with a hundred thousand koṭis of bodhisattvas, will in a future age, in the buddha-land of King Guṇavyūha, all become Buddhas of one and the same name—if these words be true, then all the food in this bowl, even though it be served out to fill the bowls that the bhikṣus are holding, will still in there not run out." By the power of this vow, the bowls of the assembly of bhikṣus were naturally filled with food.

At that time, the bodhisattva Ratnadatta took the food remaining in his own bowl and gave it to all the people of the city of Vaiśālī, causing them all to be fully satisfied, and yet the food in the bowl still did not run out.

At that time, the World-Honored One said to the bodhisattva Ratnadatta: "There are five things most precious; if a bodhisattva practices giving in accord with them, he attains purity. First, to practice giving without seeking; second, not to grasp at the mind of giving; third, not to give rise to the sign of what is given; fourth, not to see the recompense of giving; fifth, not to hope for repayment from the recipient." The Buddha further said: "There are four things most precious that a bodhisattva practicing giving should keep in mind: First, to always recollect the samādhi of 'emptiness'; second, to always recollect the Buddha; third, to always recollect great compassion; fourth, to always reflect that one seeks no recompense.

If a bodhisattva practices giving in this way, it is called pure giving."

The Buddha said to Mañjuśrī: "This bodhisattva Ratnadatta, after passing through thirty future kalpas, will realize anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi, with the name Amoghabalavikrāmin Tathāgata, the Worthy One, the One of Right and Universal Knowledge, the One Perfect in Knowledge and Conduct, the Well-Gone One, the Knower of the World, the Unsurpassed One, the Tamer of Persons, the Teacher of Devas and Humans, the Buddha, the World-Honored One. When this Buddha appears in the world, his assembly will have boundless bodhisattvas. Those bodhisattvas will all abide in the stage of non-retrogression, with boundless majestic power, and their lifespans too will be immeasurable."

When the World-Honored One together with the great assembly of bhikṣus had finished receiving the food, they then returned to their own dwelling place.

At that time, the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī said to the Buddha:

"World-Honored One! What is this sūtra to be named? How should we uphold it?"

The Buddha said:

"This sūtra is named 'The Practice of Bodhi,' and is also called 'That Which Is Foremost Among All Dharmas.' You should uphold it just so."

When they had heard the Buddha teach this sūtra, the bodhisattva Ratnadatta and the great assembly, the devas, humans, asuras, gandharvas, and so forth, all rejoiced greatly, faithfully received it, and reverently put it into practice.

Notes:

[1] Nature of dharmas (法性, dharmatā): refers to the true essential nature of all dharmas—that is, the true and unchanging nature fully possessed by all phenomena in the universe.

[2] The various views (諸見): refers to all wrong views.

[3] The bodhi-seat (菩提場); also: the bodhimaṇḍa, the place of awakening: located in the country of Magadha, the place where the Buddha taught the Dharma.

[4] The Śākya Lion (釋師子) is an epithet of the Śākya-Honored One. Within the three realms the Buddha is fearless and sovereign, like the lion-king among beasts, and so he is called the Śākya Lion.

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Translation source: Linh Sơn Pháp Bảo Đại Tạng KinhLicense: Linh Sơn Pháp Bảo Đại Tạng Kinh (Việt dịch) · nguồn: rongmotamhon.net (Liên Phật Hội)

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