大方廣如來祕密藏經

Good man! There are four obstructive dharmas that a bodhisattva should clearly understand:

1. Slandering the true Dharma.

2. Being miserly with the teachings.

3. Harboring overweening pride.

4. Cultivating formless meditative concentrations.

These are the four. The Buddha spoke in verse:

Good man! A bodhisattva has four dharmas that should quickly be put into practice:

1. One should act with understanding and not with an arrogant mind.

2. When one possesses roots of goodness, one should dedicate them to the path of bodhi and not direct them toward an inferior vehicle.

3. One should not give rise to attachment toward any realm of existence. If attachment does arise, one should single-mindedly resolve to liberate the beings there.

4. During the three periods of both day and night, one should constantly cultivate the threefold practice: eliminate past transgressions and refrain from committing unwholesome karma that has not yet arisen.

These are the four. The Buddha spoke in verse:

Act with wisdom and not with pride;
Dedicate merit to the unsurpassed, not to an inferior vehicle.
The wise place no trust in the states of existence,
But arouse the resolve to benefit sentient beings.

Throughout the three periods of both day and night,
Through the threefold practice, repent and dispel evil defilements;
Commit no evil and cultivate good—
The wise should cultivate this wholesome karma.

Good man! A bodhisattva has four most excellent dharmas:

1. Not praising oneself.

2. Not disparaging others.

3. Keeping far from evil.

4. Eliminating every kind of pride.

These are the four. The Buddha spoke in verse:

Do not praise yourself or disparage others;
Repent of every evil deed you have done.
Give rise to neither arrogance nor perverse pride;
Keep the mind upright and cultivate wholesome conduct.

Good man! A bodhisattva has two dharmas that swiftly establish perfect uprightness:

1. When anyone asks a question, answer in accordance with reality.

2. Do not conceal anything that you have previously seen.

These are the two. The Buddha spoke in verse:

Good man! A bodhisattva has two dharmas free from flattery and deceit:

1. Even when receiving abundant offerings, one does not seek to praise one’s own merit and virtue.

2. When receiving no offerings, one should not exalt oneself.

These are the two. The Buddha spoke in verse:

Good man! A bodhisattva has two dharmas by which one seeks no recompense from others:

1. I should benefit sentient beings and never make sentient beings labor for my benefit.

2. I must attain understanding solely for the sake of awakening.

These are the two. The Buddha spoke in verse:

Good man! A bodhisattva has two dharmas whereby what ordinarily would not be done should nevertheless be done:

1. One should constantly assist even those who do not recognize kindness or gratitude.

2. For those who recognize kindness and gratitude, one should bear still greater responsibilities.

These are the two. The Buddha spoke in verse:

Good man! A bodhisattva has two places to which one should go:

1. One should frequently behold the Buddhas.

2. One should frequently meet bodhisattvas.

These are the two. The Buddha spoke in verse:

Good man! A bodhisattva has two things that should not be cultivated:

1. One should not dwell together with practitioners of the shravaka path.

2. One should not fear dangerous places if they are peaceful and secluded.

These are the two. The Buddha spoke in verse:

Good man! This is called the initial entry into the fundamental Dharma of the Tathagata’s Secret Treasury. Any bodhisattva who enters this initial fundamental Dharma will accomplish the Dharma of the Tathagata’s Secret Treasury.

When the Blessed One taught this initial entry into the fundamental Dharma of the Tathagata’s Secret Treasury, sixty thousand devas and humans aroused the resolve for unsurpassed, right, and perfect awakening; ten thousand bodhisattvas attained the patient acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas; and five hundred bhikshus, no longer defiled by grasping at any dharma, forever extinguished all outflows and attained liberation of mind.

At that time, the great trichiliocosm shook in six ways, radiant light shone everywhere, and celestial music sounded without being played. Devas, humans, asuras, and others proclaimed together three times: “Sentient beings who hear the Dharma of the Tathagata’s Secret Treasury will certainly obtain benefit and happiness. Those who copy, receive and uphold, read and recite, and practice it in accordance with what has been taught will never lose the Dharma of the Tathagata’s Secret Treasury.”

At that time, having heard this Dharma of the Tathagata’s Secret Treasury, the bodhisattva King Adorned with Immeasurable Resolve thought: “With what dharma should I make an offering to the Tathagata, the Worthy One, the Perfectly Enlightened One?” He then thought further: “External possessions are easy to relinquish, but what is within is difficult to give up. I should offer my body to the Tathagata, the Blessed One.” He immediately rose into the air and spoke in verse:

I make this offering to the Unequaled One,
Presenting my body to the One with Compassionate Eyes.
For the sake of devas and humans I make this offering,
Like the Lion of Great Wisdom.

The bodhisattva King Adorned with Immeasurable Resolve then cast his body toward the Tathagata. Through the Buddha’s spiritual power, wondrous flowers appeared, of exceptional colors unlike anything ever seen. Exceedingly beautiful, radiant, adorned, and pure, they were scattered over the Tathagata.

The bodhisattva’s body neither fell to the ground nor appeared in the air. These flowers flew above the Buddha’s body and then immediately returned to abide in the air, transforming into a great floral canopy that covered the four continents. Within this canopy, some flowers hung pendant while others were strung into garlands, and all emitted great light.

Within this radiance, beautiful fresh lotus flowers appeared. Upon the lotuses sat bodhisattvas resembling the bodhisattva King Adorned with Immeasurable Resolve. These bodhisattvas descended from the flowers, bowed with their heads at the Buddha’s feet, and with one voice entreated him: “May the Blessed One teach the Dharma of the Tathagata’s Secret Treasury, so that the true Dharma will not be cut off and the retinue of the Tathagata’s Secret Treasury will be protected.”

At that time, the Venerable Kashyapa rejoiced and praised this unprecedented event, saying to the Buddha:

“Blessed One! The bodhisattva King Adorned with Immeasurable Resolve has adorned his body and offered it to the Tathagata. Having offered his body to the Tathagata, the bodhisattva has further manifested all these adornments. Blessed One! May you enable all sentient beings to obtain such an adorned body. May the Tathagata long abide in the world. Blessed One! We are exceedingly joyful and have obtained great benefit, for only now have we beheld the Great Man and heard the Dharma taught.”

The Buddha said to Mahakashyapa:

“Do you see the bodhisattva King Adorned with Immeasurable Resolve?”

“Blessed One, I have seen him!”

The Buddha said:

“Kashyapa! In the presence of Buddhas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, this good man has constantly requested and discussed the Dharma of the Tathagata’s Secret Treasury. In the presence of the Buddhas of the Auspicious Kalpa, he will likewise inquire about the Dharma of the Tathagata’s Secret Treasury.”

Mahakashyapa said to the Buddha:

“Blessed One, excellent indeed! Blessed One, may you expound and proclaim the Dharma of the Tathagata’s Secret Treasury as this bodhisattva has requested.”

The Buddha said to Mahakashyapa:

“Listen attentively to a small portion of the teachings of the Tathagata’s Secret Treasury. Why? Even if this Dharma were taught throughout an entire kalpa, it could not be exhausted.”

Kashyapa said to the Buddha:

“Blessed One, it is so.”

Kashyapa and the great assembly reverently accepted the instruction and listened. The Buddha said:

“Kashyapa! What do you think? When I practiced the bodhisattva path, I relinquished my hands, feet, head, eyes, nose, tongue, skin, flesh, bones, marrow, blood, pus, wife, children, and even all my wealth.

Wherever the bodhisattva went, he was afflicted and tormented. Yet the sentient beings who did this did not fall into the hells, the animal realm, the realm of hungry ghosts, or other evil destinies. Why?

Because the bodhisattva’s resolve was originally pure, his great vows were pure, and his embodiment of morality was complete. Toward sentient beings, he possessed only great compassion and patient endurance. With great loving-kindness and immense merit, he steadfastly and diligently proceeded toward the Mahayana.

His own mind was pure, his great vows were vast, and he did not seek merely his own happiness. Therefore, sentient beings who afflicted and humiliated the bodhisattva still did not fall into evil destinies, owing to the bodhisattva’s gracious virtue.

“Kashyapa! I shall give an analogy so that you may clearly understand this meaning. Suppose a sick person went to a skilled physician, who gave him medicine, but the sick person reviled both the medicine and the physician. After first reviling the medicine, he later took it. Kashyapa! What do you think? Because the medicine was reviled, did it cease to be medicine? Could it no longer cure the illness?”

“Blessed One, no. Though it was reviled, the medicinal properties were not lost, and it could still cure the illness.”

“Thus it is, Kashyapa! A bodhisattva is like that medicine and skilled physician. Although he is not treated with respect and is instead afflicted, this bodhisattva remains wholly pure, and his resolve is not diminished. He is like a precious jewel perfected because its nature has been refined and cleansed, leaving it without blemish. Someone may revile and disrespect this jewel. Kashyapa! What do you think? Because the jewel is reviled, does it lose its precious power?”

“Blessed One, no.”

The Buddha said:

“Kashyapa! This pure jewel is like the pure resolve of that bodhisattva. Although all sentient beings may fail to respect him, his merit and virtue are not diminished. It is also like a great oil lamp: if someone damages it, does it become completely dark?”

“Blessed One, no!”

“Kashyapa! The pure resolve of a bodhisattva is likewise. Though afflicted, it does not lose its essential quality. Kashyapa! Therefore, you should know that although sentient beings may trouble a bodhisattva, they do not thereby fall into evil destinies. Why? Because the bodhisattva’s original vows are pure, and therefore his aspirations are fulfilled.”

“Blessed One! As I understand the meaning of the Buddha’s teaching, even if someone produces unwholesome karma toward the Tathagata, that sentient being need not fear falling into an evil destiny.”

“Thus it is, Kashyapa! Suppose sentient beings, with regard to the Tathagata’s great compassion, give rise to faith and reverence and diligently enter deeply into it. Whether while the Buddha is present or after his nirvana, they may make offerings to the Tathagata or his stupa of banners, lamps, garlands, incense, precious objects, clothing, food, and drink. According to the circumstances of each place, they may take or consume such articles, whether taking them themselves or telling others to do so. Kashyapa! I say that such persons commit no offense.

“Kashyapa! Poverty is the most painful of all conditions. Because poor people do not understand reverence, they seize things without knowing fear.

Lacking faith and reverence, they understand nothing of karma and do not fear its results. Driven by craving, they are difficult to tame. Filled with greed, anger, and delusion, devoid of shame and moral dread, fierce, obstinate, and malicious, they do not consider that the Tathagata possesses great loving-kindness and compassion, nor do they believe that the Tathagata brings immense benefit to sentient beings.

Therefore, they take objects from the Tathagata’s stupa, employing all manner of schemes, whether taking them themselves or telling others to take them. I say that such persons do not commit even the slightest offense. I say that they will not fall into an evil destiny.

“Kashyapa! If sentient beings personally take, or instruct others to take, articles belonging to the Tathagata or offerings made to a Buddha’s stupa, the Tathagata certainly knows and sees that they would otherwise fall into an evil realm. Yet, through this very circumstance, their fetters will be severed. Why? Because the course of their minds has brought them into connection with the Buddha.

“Kashyapa! If, with regard to the Tathagata or a stupa of the Tathagata, they give rise to mindfulness, even to the slightest thought of remorse, their minds will naturally repent. Because they give rise to repentance before the Tathagata, they leave behind all the transgressions of birth and death, and their fetters are worn away.

“Kashyapa! It is like a person who falls to the ground and, having fallen, then relies upon that very ground to stand up again. So it is, Kashyapa! Sentient beings who give rise to an unwholesome thought toward the Tathagata immediately fall into an evil destiny. Yet after falling into an evil destiny, through the gracious virtue of the Tathagata they quickly escape that calamity. Why is this said to occur through the gracious virtue of the Tathagata? Because they have formed a profound karmic connection with the Tathagata.”

At that time, Mahakashyapa said to the Buddha:

“Blessed One! Even though this person possesses such a wicked mind, by giving rise to mindfulness of the Tathagata he can obtain great benefit. How much more, then, one whose mind is pure!”

The Buddha said:

“Kashyapa! It is just as you say. Any sentient beings who bring the Tathagata to mind, recollect the Tathagata, or contemplate the Tathagata will all eventually realize the fruit of nirvana.”

“Blessed One! As I understand the Buddha’s teaching, it would be better to produce unwholesome karma toward the Tathagata than to make offerings according to the misguided generosity of non-Buddhist adherents of wrong views. Why? Because one who produces unwholesome karma toward the Tathagata can still repent and will ultimately and certainly reach nirvana, whereas one who follows the wrong views of non-Buddhist adherents will fall into the hells or the realms of hungry ghosts and animals.”

“Kashyapa! It is just as you say. Suppose someone, wishing contemptuously to destroy a piece of sandalwood, scratches and strikes it with his hand and knocks it to the ground. Kashyapa! What do you think? Would any fragrance still remain upon that person?”

“Blessed One! That person would still bear the fragrance of sandalwood.”

“Thus it is, Kashyapa! If sentient beings see the Tathagata with their eyes, hear of him with their ears, or praise him with their mouths, you should know that they possess the fragrance of liberation. Kashyapa! Suppose someone holds filthy excrement and then offers music of various kinds, incense, and flowers to the Tathagata. What kind of odor would such a person possess?”

“Blessed One! That person would possess only the foul stench of filthy excrement.”

“Thus it is, Kashyapa! A person who draws near to and makes offerings to non-Buddhist adherents is likewise. You should know that such a person will behold the terrors of the hells and the realms of animals and hungry ghosts.

“Suppose good men or good women believe that the Tathagata possesses vast loving-kindness and compassion. They are earnest and respectful, possess faith and reverence, eliminate arrogance, and are free from greed, anger, and delusion. Their resolve is firm; they clearly understand karmic retribution; they are truthful, without falsehood or deceit; and their faith in the Tathagata’s pure realization is unwavering. Their faculties are without deceit, their resolve is undamaged, and they have accomplished purity. They believe that the Buddha possesses great compassion and brings immense benefit to sentient beings. They believe in the Buddha’s original practices and believe that the Tathagata never abandons any sentient being. Such are their minds and such are their intentions.

“Suppose they lack necessities such as food, water, and medicine, and therefore have not attained the fruit of the path or entered the stage of certainty; but if they obtained these necessities, they would attain the fruit of the path and enter the stage of certainty. Or suppose someone is hungry, thirsty, emaciated, and ill, and thus cannot cultivate goodness or attain the fruit of the path. If that person takes the Buddha’s necessities—clothing, food, drink, or medicine—and uses them for food and clothing, Kashyapa, I say that this person will not undergo an evil result.

“Kashyapa! This is called the Dharma of the Tathagata’s Secret Treasury. You should know that it must be skillfully preserved in secrecy, protected and upheld. It should not be explained before those attached to appearances, lest their wrong views increase.”

“Kashyapa! What is called understanding? It means clearly understanding all the dharmas taught by the Tathagata. What is called bondage? Kashyapa! Bondage arises from attachment. What is called release? It means being unattached and making no discrimination between the two extremes. Kashyapa! I do not say that such nonattachment constitutes an offense. Why? Kashyapa! Because the feeble afflictions arise from empty space. Kashyapa! If something is unreal and unborn, that is called reality.

“Kashyapa! I shall present an analogy to illustrate unreality and deluded conception. Kashyapa! Suppose someone takes a spark as small as a mustard seed and blows upon it, causing it gradually to grow until it consumes a mass of objects and becomes a great fire. So it is, Kashyapa! Ignorant ordinary beings merely give rise to a slight improper thought of delusion, become attached to their fixed views in accordance with their deluded conceptions, and thereby cause their fetters to increase.

“Kashyapa! Suppose there were a fire as great as Mount Sumeru but it had nothing upon which to depend. Kashyapa! What do you think? Would such a fire spread or would it go out?”

“Blessed One! That fire would be extinguished and could not spread.”

“Kashyapa! The afflictions and deluded conceptions are unreal. If one does not give rise to them, does not become attached, does not entertain deluded conceptions, does not delight in them, and does not discriminate, they will gradually be extinguished and will not increase. Kashyapa! Therefore, you should know that the feeble and unreal afflictions and deluded conceptions are not true.

“Kashyapa! Suppose someone enters a house containing many poisonous substances but is not poisoned. Nevertheless, the person becomes frightened, suffers anguish, and cries aloud: ‘I have been poisoned! I have been poisoned!’ Skilled physicians then bring unreal medicine to treat this person’s unreal illness, thereby freeing him from suffering. Kashyapa! What do you think? If the skilled physician gave this person real medicine, would he survive?”

“Blessed One, no. Because this person did not truly ingest poison but merely formed the conception of being poisoned, only unreal medicine is needed to treat the illness.”

“Thus it is, Kashyapa! Because ordinary beings suffer from unreal afflictions, the Tathagata teaches unreal dharmas.”

“Blessed One! Does the Tathagata teach dharmas that are not true?”

“Kashyapa! According to your understanding, is this reality not itself unreal?”

“Blessed One! As I understand it, there is no reality. Why? Blessed One! Because contemplation of impurity is used to counteract sensual desire; loving-kindness is used to counteract anger; and dependent origination is used to counteract delusion. Blessed One! If impurity were real, it could not eliminate unreal sensual desire, nor would sensual desire give rise to the contemplation of impurity. If delusion were real, then after a deluded mind arose, dependent origination could not counteract it, nor could dependent origination eliminate delusion.

“Blessed One! Therefore, all fetters and the dharmas that eliminate the fetters are both unreal. There is no entity, no loss of concentration, and no accomplishment. Thus, all afflictions are unreal. When approached with what is unreal, they are immediately eliminated.

“Blessed One! The fetters do not go anywhere. Why? Because if there were elimination, there would be departure; and if there were departure, there would consequently be arrival. Therefore, Blessed One, all fetters neither go nor come. One should know that all conditioned dharmas neither come nor go; this is called freedom from affliction.”

“Kashyapa! This Secret Treasury of the Tathagata teaches that the nature of all dharmas is originally pure.”

“Blessed One! According to the Tathagata’s teaching, are the ten evil courses of action undefiled in nature and pure in their original nature?”

“Thus it is! Thus it is, Kashyapa! Why?

Killing is committed when one lacks authority; stealing is committed against one who is not an intimate; sexual misconduct is committed with one who belongs to or is protected by another; false speech is committed when it is not spoken to protect others; harsh speech is committed when it is not used for taming; divisive speech is committed when it is not used to destroy the arrogance and terrifying wrong views of non-Buddhist adherents; frivolous speech is committed when it is not spoken for the sake of obtaining food; anger is committed when one does not teach against falsehood and wickedness; covetousness is so called when there is no aspiration to increase roots of goodness;

and wrong view is committed when, having little intention of drawing near to those with authority, one speaks improper words.

“Kashyapa! If one does not cling to these ten evil courses of action, I say that person is without fault. Kashyapa! If one does not cling to these ten evil courses of action, it is called not transgressing. Likewise, Kashyapa, if one does not cling to any affliction, I say that one does not transgress. Kashyapa! One who is unattached is called free from views.”

“Blessed One! Which of the ten evil karmas is the gravest?”

“Kashyapa! Among these ten evil karmas, killing and wrong view are the gravest. Kashyapa! Wherever evil and unwholesome things occur, if one does not abide firmly in them, maintain them firmly, or grasp them firmly, I say that all such acts are called non-transgressions.

“Kashyapa! With regard to the five heinous offenses, if one does not abide firmly in them, deliberately maintain them, or deliberately grasp them, but then produces a mind that abides in views, I say that person transgresses. How much more is this true of lesser evil and unwholesome karma!

“Kashyapa! I did not attain bodhi by means of unwholesome dharmas, nor did I attain bodhi by means of wholesome dharmas. Kashyapa! If bodhi were attained by means of unwholesome dharmas, ordinary beings would also attain bodhi. If bodhi were attained by means of wholesome dharmas, all the grasses and trees of a forest, after being burned, would grow again. Kashyapa! I ask you: by what did the Tathagata realize bodhi?”

“Blessed One! The Buddha is the fundamental source of the Dharma; the Blessed One is our eye. The Blessed One is our refuge. We shall practice together in accordance with the Blessed One’s words.”

The Buddha said:

“Kashyapa! Clearly understanding that the afflictions arise from causes and conditions is called bodhi. Kashyapa! What does it mean to clearly understand that afflictions arise from causes and conditions? It means clearly understanding that dharmas which arise have no intrinsic nature and are therefore unborn. Understanding in this way is called attaining bodhi.

“Kashyapa! ‘Attaining bodhi’ is merely a conventional expression, for this bodhi is not realized through written characters, language, or discourse. Where there are no written characters, no language, no exposition, and no attainment of bodhi, there is the ultimate meaning.

“Kashyapa! You asked which of the ten evil karmas is the gravest. Kashyapa!

Suppose a person’s father has attained the path of a pratyekabuddha. If the person kills his father, this is the gravest offense within killing. Taking property belonging to the Three Jewels is the gravest offense within stealing.

Suppose one’s mother has gone forth and attained arhatship; engaging in impure conduct with her is the gravest offense within sexual misconduct. Slandering the Tathagata with falsehoods is the gravest offense within false speech. Using divisive speech to harm the Sangha of sages and saints is the gravest offense within divisive speech.

Reviling a noble being is the gravest offense within harsh speech. Speaking words that disturb one who seeks the Dharma is the gravest offense within frivolous speech. Committing any of the five heinous offenses is the gravest offense within anger.

Seeking to seize the possessions of one who purely observes the precepts is the gravest offense within covetousness and the gravest offense within wrong view. This is called the extreme view.

“Kashyapa! These are the gravest forms of the ten evil courses. Kashyapa!

The Tathagata knows that these ten evil karmas are the gravest. Kashyapa! Suppose a person commits all ten of these evil karmas.

If this evil sentient being clearly understands the Dharma of causes and conditions taught by the Tathagata—that herein there is no recipient, no life principle, no sentient being, no person, no man, no self, no young person, no maker of karma, no experiencer, no one who gives rise to anything, no knower, no seer; that there is no arising and no cessation; that this is the exhaustion of dharmas, without defilement or attachment, neither wholesome nor unwholesome, and pure in original nature; and that all dharmas are eternally pure in their original nature—and if that being clearly understands, believes, and deeply enters this, Kashyapa, I do not say that such a person proceeds toward an evil destiny, nor do I teach that such a person will experience the result of an evil destiny.

“Why? Kashyapa! Because dharmas do not accumulate or assemble, nor do they cause affliction. Kashyapa! All dharmas arise and cease without abiding. They arise through the conjunction of causes and conditions and, having arisen, cease again. Kashyapa! If the mind arises and ceases, all the fetters likewise arise and then cease. If one understands in this way, there is no transgression and no locus of transgression. Kashyapa! There is no place where a transgression can abide.

“Kashyapa! Suppose there were an exceedingly dark house in which no lamp had been lit for hundreds of thousands of years. This dark house had no door, entrance, or window, not even an opening as small as the eye of a needle, and no trace of sunlight or moonlight could enter. Kashyapa! If a lamp or fire were kindled in that dark house, could the darkness say: ‘I have dwelt here for hundreds of thousands of years, and now I refuse to depart’?”

“Blessed One, it could not. When the lamp was lit, the darkness would disappear.”

“Thus it is, Kashyapa! Though one may have created karmic obstructions for hundreds of thousands of millions of kalpas, if one believes the Tathagata’s words, clearly understands the Dharma of causes and conditions, cultivates contemplative practice, diligently cultivates concentration and wisdom, and contemplates that there is no self, no life principle, no person, no man, and so forth, I say that such a person has no transgression, no locus of transgression, and no accumulation of transgression. Kashyapa! Therefore, you should know that the afflictions are feeble; when illuminated by wisdom, they cannot continue to exist.

“Kashyapa! The Tathagata’s teaching of this unsurpassed abiding place of the Secret Treasury is the great lion’s roar and the turning of the pure Dharma wheel, which devas, humans, maras, and Brahmas cannot turn. Kashyapa! If any sentient beings believe in this Dharma of the Tathagata’s Secret Treasury, uphold it in this way, and contemplate it in this way, they too will utter the same lion’s roar.”

At that time, the Venerable Ananda said to the Buddha:

“Blessed One! This bodhisattva King Adorned with Immeasurable Resolve offered his own body to the Tathagata. With what body, then, will he awaken to the path of bodhi?”

The bodhisattvas upon the floral platform then asked Ananda:

“What do you think? Can bodhi be awakened to by means of the body? Ananda! You should not reason in this way, thinking that bodhi must be awakened to by means of body and mind.”

Ananda asked:

“Great beings! If bodhi is not awakened to by body or mind, then by what should bodhi be awakened to?”

The bodhisattvas replied:

“Venerable Ananda! The true nature of the body is the true nature of bodhi. The true nature of bodhi is the true nature of mind. The true nature of mind is itself the true nature of all dharmas. Clearly understanding all these true natures is called awakening to bodhi.”

At that time, the bodhisattvas upon the floral platform bowed with their heads at the Buddha’s feet and said:

“Blessed One! When we come to this earth, the bodhisattva King Adorned with Immeasurable Resolve will have just attained unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment.”

Ananda said to the Buddha:

“Blessed One! How long ago did these bodhisattvas upon the floral platform come to this realm?”

The Buddha said to Ananda:

“These bodhisattvas went into worlds below, through worlds as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, to the Buddhas, the Tathagatas, and requested this Dharma of the Tathagata’s Secret Treasury. Having heard it, they understood its meaning.”

Ananda said to the Buddha:

“Blessed One! How long will it be before the bodhisattva King Adorned with Immeasurable Resolve attains unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment?”

The Buddha said:

“Ananda! A thousand Buddhas have appeared or will appear during this Auspicious Kalpa. Ananda! The final Tathagata will be named Ruchi. Ananda! Ruchi Tathagata, the Worthy One, the Perfectly Enlightened One, will have an exceedingly numerous assembly of shravakas, greater than the shravaka assemblies of the preceding Buddhas.

“Ananda! This Ruchi Tathagata will confer upon the bodhisattva King Adorned with Immeasurable Resolve the prediction of unsurpassed awakening. After ninety-eight kalpas, the bodhisattva King Adorned with Immeasurable Resolve will become a Buddha named King of Adornment and will realize unsurpassed enlightenment in this very realm. When King of Adornment Tathagata is seated in this realm, the bodhisattvas upon the floral platform will come to this realm and again hear this Dharma of the Tathagata’s Secret Treasury.

“Ananda! At that time, the world of King of Adornment Tathagata will be called Adorned with Immeasurable Merit. Ananda! All the celestial palaces will be situated within the Desire Realm. In the Buddha-land of King of Adornment there will be a jeweled platform that is the Saha world, then called the Realm of Wondrous and Beautiful Form. Ananda! The lifespan of King of Adornment Tathagata will be one hundred kalpas. After that Buddha’s nirvana, the true Dharma will remain in the world for a full ten kalpas, and the Sangha will consist solely of bodhisattvas.”

When this prediction concerning King of Adornment Tathagata had been spoken, the floral canopy above the Buddha immediately vanished, and the bodhisattva King Adorned with Immeasurable Resolve stood before the Buddha.

At that time, Ananda said to the Buddha:

“Blessed One! How should this Dharma be protected and upheld so that it may long remain in Jambudvipa, increase and spread everywhere, enabling great beings to preserve the Dharma of the Tathagata’s Secret Treasury, accomplish merit and virtue, and realize this Dharma?”

The Blessed One then said to Ananda:

“Even if the nature of the four great elements were entirely transformed, and there were no great beings to hear this Dharma, still one should preserve and uphold it throughout one’s lifetime. Ananda! If someone copies, receives and upholds, reads and recites it, you should know that this person thereby receives and upholds the Dharma of the Tathagata.

“Ananda! Suppose someone held in his right hand the seven treasures filling Buddha-lands as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, and in his left hand also held the seven treasures filling Buddha-lands as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. During the three periods of the day and the three periods of the night, he gave these objects in generosity. Without indolence, this person continued doing so for kalpas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. Ananda! The merit and virtue of this person’s generosity would be exceedingly great. Yet if someone copies, receives and upholds, reads and recites this sutra, the merit and virtue thereby produced would far surpass that of the former person.

“Therefore, Ananda! You should receive and uphold, read and recite this sutra, causing vessels of the Dharma to become widespread. Those who do so receive and uphold the Dharma of the Tathagata’s Secret Treasury.”

After the Buddha had taught this sutra, the bodhisattva King Adorned with Immeasurable Resolve, the Venerable Ananda, the Venerable Kashyapa, and the entire great assembly of devas, humans, asuras, and others heard what the Buddha had taught and rejoiced exceedingly.