大方廣總持寶光明經

At that time, the Venerable Sariputra addressed the youth Manjusri: “Good man, how long will this wondrous Dharma abide in the world?”

Manjusri replied: “Sariputra, it is just like the three poisons of greed, anger, and delusion.”

Sariputra asked: “Good man, how long do greed, anger, and delusion abide?”

Manjusri replied: “Sariputra, these three poisons are just like the world.”

Sariputra asked: “Good man, how long does this world endure?”

Manjusri said: “Sariputra, the three poisons of the earth element are like ignorance.”

Sariputra asked: “Good man, how long do ignorance and the three poisons abide?”

Manjusri replied: “Sariputra, they are like the realm of space.”

Sariputra asked: “Good man, how long do the three poisons of the realm of space abide?”

Manjusri replied: “Sariputra, they are like the Dharma whose intrinsic nature is non-nature.”

At that time, Sariputra spoke to the youth Manjusri in this manner: “Good man, we clearly understand this, but how could I possess the understanding needed to make comparisons? Moreover, good man, it is as though all the cats and foxes upon Mount Sumeru could never be exhausted. So it is! So it is! Good man, the same is true of us. Why are we like cats and foxes? It is as though all the sravakas were to discuss the meaning together with a single bodhisattva: ultimately they could not overcome that bodhisattva, much less the youth Manjusri.”

Just then, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva Mahasattva said to the youth Manjusri: “Good man, I now wish to address the Tathagata: World-Honored One, in the future, five hundred years hence, how should this Dharma treasure, the Jeweled Radiance Dharani, be protected and upheld? How may a Dharma teacher who upholds this sutra become steadfast?”

Thereupon the youth Manjusri rose from his Dharma seat and addressed the Buddha: “World-Honored One, if a Dharma teacher receives, upholds, reads, recites, and explains this true Dharma, what merit will he obtain?”

The Buddha said: “Manjusri, if a bhiksu upholds this Dharma, in the future he will be born into the pure Dharma-body and will attain the ultimate fruit of awakening and become a Buddha. Until then, his mind will always remain irreversible within the Buddha-Dharma. None of the heavenly maras or their retinues will be able to afflict him.

If a good man, relying upon such a Dharma teacher, gives rise to a loving mind for even the snap of a finger, that person will immediately leave samsara far behind and will ultimately attain awakening and become a Buddha. Moreover, Manjusri, if anyone gives rise to contempt and slanders one who upholds this Jeweled Radiance Dharma King, then life after life that person will have coarse teeth, a flat nose, no tongue, deformed hands and feet, a body often afflicted by grave illness, a dejected spirit, blindness, indolence, and laziness.”

The Buddha told Manjusri: “There are many deluded beings such as these; I have spoken only in brief. Good man, after death those beings will undergo innumerable hells, as numerous as fine hairs, and many kinds of suffering will arise from those hells. If they are born as humans, they will often be blind, mute, and unable to speak. Moreover, Manjusri, if anyone sees this sutra of true Dharma and disparages it, that person will acquire a crooked, false, and ugly body, covered with dark sores and skin lesions like a hungry ghost.”

Manjusri addressed the Buddha: “I know that the Tathagata possesses immeasurable, inconceivable wisdom. World-Honored One, where will such deluded beings be born? I beseech you to explain this for us.”

The Buddha said: “Manjusri, stop! Ask no more. If I were to tell where those foolish and deluded beings who slander this Dharma will be born, anyone in this world who heard it would become frightened. They will all be born in places from which there is no escape.”

Manjusri said: “I beseech the World-Honored One to open his compassionate heart and expound these distinctions. If beings hear this, they will not give rise to arrogance toward this wondrous Dharma-gate of non-arising and non-ceasing.”

The Buddha told Manjusri: “Beneath this earth are many hells with different names: the Blazing Heat Hell, the Extreme Blazing Heat Hell, the Black Rope Hell, the Fiery Hell, the Extremely Fiery Hell, the Utterly Evil Hell, the Clamped-Mouth Hell, the Iron Pellet Hell, the Iron Club Hell, the Ice-Plum Hell, the Suspended-Head Hell, the Inverted Suspension Hell, the Monkey-Faced Hell, the Constant Blazing Flame Hell, the Pus and Blood Hell, the Constant Stench Hell, the Binding Hell, the Constant Slaughter Hell, and the Hell of the Arising of Extremely Great Freezing Pain.” The Buddha told Manjusri: “Such are the hells into which beings who slander this Dharma are born.”

Just then, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva Mahasattva addressed the Buddha: “World-Honored One, after the Dharma teachers who uphold this sutra die, in what land will they be born?”

“Furthermore, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, if any good man or good woman joins the Dharma teachers in upholding and reciting this sutra, then after death that person will immediately be reborn in the world called Jeweled Adornment.” The Buddha said: “That world has many Buddhas and so many joys that they cannot all be described. There are Tathagatas endowed with great eloquence, and there are also innumerable bodhisattvas whose majestic forms are exceptionally beautiful.

Good man, when these beings die, sixty-two kotis—each koti being one hundred million—will appear before them simultaneously in that world. Good man, I have now spoken only in brief. Even if the immeasurable and innumerable merits of this sutra were explained at length for hundreds of thousands of kalpas, they could not be exhausted.” Samantabhadra Bodhisattva then addressed the Buddha:

“World-Honored One, in the future, what will become of beings who hear this true Dharma and do not give rise to slander?”

The Buddha told Samantabhadra Bodhisattva: “If any among the four assemblies of disciples, upon hearing this sutra, speak words contrary to the Dharma, saying, ‘This is a false teaching, not spoken by the Tathagata; it is not a genuine sutra,’ or say, ‘I have heard this sutra before, and it does not accord with the true Dharma,’ and thus give rise to contempt and slander, that person will forever be unable to hear the Dharma and will become separated from the Three Jewels.

After death, such foolish beings will fall into the Hell of Darkness. In that hell are many iron rings with needle-sharp points that pierce their heads. After piercing them once, they pierce them again, and this continues for immeasurable hundreds of thousands of kalpas.

When they emerge from that hell and are reborn as humans, for immeasurable hundreds of thousands of myriads of kalpas they will always be without both eyes. Thereafter, for hundreds of thousands of kalpas, they will not obtain a human body. If they are born human anywhere, they will be blind and tongueless, with misshapen heads and faces, large bellies, weak legs, voices perpetually strained, rampant hunger and thirst, withered complexions, foul-smelling mouths, and utterly ugly bodies.

Whenever beings see them, they will feel anger and wish to keep far away.”

At that time, everyone in the assembly spoke with one voice, saying: “Today the Tathagata has taught us this Dharma, and we have heard this true Dharma. We will follow the words of the World-Honored One, the Sugata, and will ensure that people in future generations who see others receiving and upholding this scripture do not give rise to denigration or contempt. We are deluded like little children, knowing nothing, understanding nothing, and possessing no wisdom.

World-Honored One!” When the Buddha had finished teaching this sutra, the great sravakas, Sakra, the great Brahma kings, the guardian devas, bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas, and upasikas each said: “World-Honored One, having heard of the bodily retributions suffered by those who slander this Dharma, we are filled with great anxiety and fear.”

The Buddha said: “So it is! So it is! It is just as I have said. Do not be anxious. When I attained this noble wisdom, it also arose from that very fear. How much more so for my disciples! Good men who rely upon Dharma teachers give rise to such reverence that they cannot restrain themselves. No deva, naga, yaksa, gandharva, human, or nonhuman can harm them. Good man, if any sramana or brahmana sees this Dharma King as though seeing a Buddha-stupa, then this sutra, this precious treasure, will likewise be honored by devas and humans.”

At that time, Manjusri again addressed the Buddha: “World-Honored One, if any among the four assemblies of disciples has profound faith in and upholds this sutra, how much merit will that person obtain?”

The Buddha told Manjusri: “If a person or Dharma teacher receives and upholds this wondrous Dharma, or even hears the title of this sutra, and for one day or merely the snap of a finger gives rise to a compassionate mind, I will immediately know it. If at that very moment the person resolves to offer food and drink, or donates gardens and land for Sangha dwellings, or makes various other offerings, that is exceedingly precious.”

At that time, the Venerable Sariputra addressed the World-Honored One: “Then are such people no longer subject to the five heinous offenses?”

The Buddha told the Elder Sariputra: “Stop speaking in this way. Why? If beings receive and uphold this true Dharma, the five heinous offenses will immediately be eradicated.”

The Buddha told Sariputra: “When those guilty of the five heinous offenses hear this sutra of great majestic power, the karma of those five heinous offenses will be eradicated, and they will regain a human body. Life after life they will be born within the Buddha-Dharma and will never fall into the three evil destinies.”

Just then, the Venerable Sariputra wept like rain and addressed the Buddha: “World-Honored One, those who speak in slander of this sutra do not understand the profound weight of karmic retribution. Since ancient times, such things have never been seen; even in dreams, such painful retribution has never been witnessed.”

At that time, the World-Honored One told the Elder Sariputra: “Stop, Sariputra! Think of it no more. Furthermore, Sariputra, I will teach you this unobstructed Dharma-gate.

Sariputra, beings incur many offenses through the power of their own karma. They themselves act and themselves receive the result; no one else is responsible. Every being undergoes the pain of illness through the power of karma that each has personally created; it does not come without a cause.

Sariputra, I have often said that all beings are good friends. All seek peace and happiness, wish to leave fear behind, and aspire to reach nirvana and partake of the nectar of immortality. I have often taught that bodhi is the true path.

Therefore I now teach again that indulgent beings, through greed and anger, create bodily, verbal, and mental karma. Their minds give rise to wrong views; they cannot understand correctly, commit many offenses, draw near to many perversities, and through bodily discrimination create evil karma. Consequently, they fall into hell and undergo many kinds of suffering.

Beings create these things themselves; it is not that the Tathagata failed to explain them. Furthermore, Sariputra, with great compassion for beings I have always been thus: until every single being reaches the final kalpa, I vow to take their place in hell so that their suffering may be completely exhausted, without abandoning even one being.”

“Sariputra, the Tathagata’s compassionate mind is always thus. Suppose parents in this world have only one child, beautiful in form and endowed with perfect marks of merit beyond compare. One day the child suddenly dies. Because of that child, the parents become anguished; anxiety and sorrow give rise to illness and suffering. So it is, Sariputra! The Tathagata, the Perfectly Awakened One, is likewise. He cherishes beings as his only child. The Tathagata is concerned, wondering when they will finally be able to leave attachment behind. Why is this?

“Sariputra, it is like the great ocean, which does not retain a corpse.

“Sariputra, the Tathagata does not cling to afflictions. Furthermore, Sariputra, the body is like an illusion or a dream and also like an echo. The four great elements come together and are provisionally called a person, but within them nothing is real.

Seeing that all forms never remain, that they have no location yet are not without location, one does not fear being defiled by others. Sariputra, the Tathagata is likewise: he contemplates all forms and transforms beings without attachment or reluctance. There is only one kind of form, which cannot be pointed out or displayed.

It is like space, free from all doubt and conceptual proliferation. The Tathagata is likewise free from doubt and conceptual proliferation; yet beings merely incline toward delusion without changing. Because the Tathagata has loving-kindness, he always accommodates them.

Some beings wish to approach the Buddha, while other beings fall and then fall yet again. Why is this?

“It is because of the original vows of the Tathagatas. Furthermore, Sariputra, the Tathagata, the Perfectly Awakened One, is without error. The Tathagata is free from ignorance, and the Tathagata’s wisdom is not deluded. Sariputra, among devas and humans I am now supreme and most honored; in the ultimate meaning I am incomparable and cannot be measured. Sariputra, these are not false or erroneous words.” The Buddha said: “If any householder or monastic gives rise to slander against this true Dharma, that person must undergo all the evil characteristics and the sufferings of the many kinds of hells previously described.”

At that time, the Venerable Subhuti respectfully joined his palms and addressed the Buddha: “This wondrous Dharma is truly difficult to hear. World-Honored One, what retribution will beings receive if they give rise to slander against this Dharma?”

The Buddha told Subhuti: “One who slanders this Dharma will be born with a tongue hundreds of thousands of yojanas long, and five hundred kotis of sharp blades will stab and cut that tongue. Extremely hot fire will also issue from the person’s mouth. The fierce flames will converge and burn the person, who will undergo such great and extreme torment for hundreds of thousands of kalpas. Subhuti, do you know why that person undergoes such karmic retribution? It is because foolish beings create karma through speech. Subhuti, because foolish beings slander this Dharma, they must undergo such retribution.”

Just then, through the Buddha’s majestic power, everyone in the assembly spoke together: “The Tathagata’s description of these grave evils is truly extraordinary.” At that time, Sakra, lord of the devas, addressed the Buddha: “World-Honored One, for the sake of the bhiksus and Dharma teachers who will uphold this sutra in the future, I will always honor them and make offerings of flowers, incense, food, drink, clothing, medicine, powdered incense, scented pastes, and many other things. Three times each day and night, I will reverently bow to, honor, and praise them, and will protect them with all my heart. World-Honored One, such a good man will be born into the Tathagata’s Dharma and even bear the same name as the Tathagata. Why is this?

“When a consecrated ksatriya king begets a child who is dignified, majestic, and fully endowed with the marks of royalty, he rejoices upon seeing him. The people of that land honor the child and inquire after his well-being. Likewise, upon seeing a Dharma teacher, they will bow to and honor him.”

At that time, the World-Honored One told Samantabhadra Bodhisattva: “Good man, Sakra, lord of the devas, always speaks in this manner. Toward bhiksus who uphold this sutra, he is compassionate and beneficial, praises and commends them, and protects them.”

Samantabhadra Bodhisattva said: “World-Honored One, I will do likewise. If in the future there is any good man or good woman, I too will compassionately protect and benefit that person, preventing calamities and bringing peace and happiness. Even when traveling hundreds of yojanas away, that person will have no fear of disturbance or harm.”

At that time, the World-Honored One praised Samantabhadra Bodhisattva: “Excellent! Excellent, good man! It is for your sake that I speak.” The World-Honored One then repeated his teaching in verse, using the Brahma voice:

Cause the minds of others to be secure;

Thus one can accord with all beings.

With the three karmas purified, one offers praise;

No merit compares with this precious Dharma.

At that time, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva Mahasattva addressed the Buddha: “World-Honored One, how can a bodhisattva mahasattva attain the Jeweled Radiance Dharani?”

The Buddha said: “Good man, a bodhisattva mahasattva practices one Dharma from within this Jeweled Radiance Dharani. What is that one Dharma? It is to entertain no thought of killing any being and to bring them peace and happiness.

Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, there are also two Dharmas. What are the two? They are to abandon anger and delusion and to speak wholesome and beautiful words.

Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, these are the two Dharmas. If one can act in this way, one will attain the Dharma of the Jeweled Radiance Dharani. Furthermore, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva Mahasattva, for the sake of all beings, keep the faculty of mind undisturbed and never abandon them.” Then he further said: “Good man, a bodhisattva mahasattva should abandon both affection and aversion toward all beings.” When a bodhisattva proclaims the merit of this Jeweled Radiance Dharani, he also extols and praises its supreme merit.

At that time, throughout the realms of devas and humans, innumerable beings attained this wholesome Dharma. Moreover, through praise of the Dharma teachers, the Jeweled Radiance Dharani acquired exalted merit.

At that time, Ananda rose from his seat, arranged his robe to bare his right shoulder, bowed with his head to the ground, respectfully joined his palms before the Buddha, and addressed him:

“World-Honored One, this wondrous true Dharma of the Jeweled Radiance Dharani is indeed exceedingly lofty and profound.”

The Buddha told Ananda: “So it is! So it is! Form is also profound; feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness are also profound. Emptiness is profound, as profound as space.”

Ananda addressed the Buddha: “Before the Tathagata I have now heard eighty-four thousand Dharma treasuries, yet I have never heard such a wondrous Dharma.”

The Buddha told Ananda: “This true Dharma of Jeweled Radiance is difficult to encounter and difficult to hear.”

Ananda said: “The Buddha has taught this true Dharma to be so wondrous. In the future, five hundred years hence, when the true Dharma disappears, upon which Dharma should beings who wish to perform Buddha-work rely?”

The Buddha told Ananda: “They should rely upon the true Dharma of Sakyamuni Tathagata. If Dharma teachers write out, translate, receive, uphold, make offerings to, and revere this true Dharma, know that their eyes will not become diseased; neither will their noses, tongues, teeth, hands, feet, heads, or ears become diseased. All their faculties will be complete. Their bodies will not smell foul, nor will they die prematurely. They will enjoy long lives and will always be guarded by all devas and humans. When those Dharma teachers die, they will be reborn in a wholesome world, be born in the heavens, and leave all conceptual proliferation far behind.”

Ananda asked: “World-Honored One, for what cause and condition did you teach this true Dharma, which the malicious Mara King cannot obstruct?”

The Buddha told Ananda: “All Mara Kings depend upon this Dharma and do not obstruct it.”

After the Buddha had spoken these words, the malicious Mara King thought: “If this Dharma of the Jeweled Radiance Dharani exists, I will be obstructed.” At that time, because of the power of his own karma, the Mara King saw fierce fire approaching and burning his body. Filled with immeasurable fear, he fled in terror. “Ananda, this Dharma is profound, wondrous, incomparable, and inconceivable. Wherever this true Dharma may be found, that place is like a Buddha-stupa.”

Ananda said: “If the Tathagata abides in the place where this true Dharma is found, then there too I may see the Tathagata, meet the Tathagata, bow at the Tathagata’s crown, and afterward hear the Dharma. Is this so?”

The Buddha told Ananda: “You must not lose it. Why? Do not take this true Dharma lightly. Do you know why I am so supremely honored and revered among devas and humans? Furthermore, Ananda, in the distant past I first heard this Dharma and only afterward attained awakening.”

Ananda addressed the World-Honored One: “How did the World-Honored One reverently make offerings, and where did the Tathagata hear this Jeweled Radiance Samadhi Dharma taught?”

The Buddha told Ananda: “I was not in this human world, but among the gandharvas, where I reverently made offerings and sought to hear this Dharma. Long ago, when I was a bodhisattva, there was a Buddha, a World-Honored One, named Amogha Accumulation, who opened the Tathagata’s Treasury of Jeweled Radiance, and I went there to listen.” The Buddha told Ananda: “That Buddha bestowed a prediction upon me. From that time until now, throughout hundreds of thousands of kotis of kalpas, I practiced austerities, likewise because I wished to hear this Dharma.

Ananda, for this reason I first pay reverence to the teaching and afterward pay reverence to the Tathagata.” At that time, all the Brahma kings, Sakra, and the guardian devas spoke with one voice: “Excellent! No Dharma surpasses this Dharma. This is the supreme Dharma!

This is the incomparable Dharma, possessing such miraculous transformations. If one merely hears this true Dharma or hears the title of this sutra, one should face that direction and bow. Why?

If anyone receives, upholds, reads, recites, or explains it to others, that person is no different from one who sees the Tathagata.”

At that time, the World-Honored One praised the Brahma kings, Sakra, and the guardian devas: “Excellent! Excellent! The noble assembly has spoken well.” The World-Honored One then extended from his mouth his broad, long tongue, which covered the three-thousandfold world, and told Samantabhadra Bodhisattva Mahasattva: “Good man, listen! I now ask you to teach this Dharma for the sake of beings. Why do beings encounter this Dharma? It is not to be kept privately for one’s own benefit. One who does so is like a blind person who cannot see light, like a merchant without the means to purchase goods for himself, or like a poor person who makes no effort and merely watches others. The same is true of one who does not hear this Dharma. For the sake of beings, teach this analogy.”

At that time, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva Mahasattva rose from his seat, arranged his robe to bare his right shoulder, bowed with his head to the ground, respectfully joined his palms, and came before the Buddha. As Samantabhadra Bodhisattva Mahasattva calmly arose from his Dharma seat, the palaces of the devas throughout the three-thousandfold world trembled in six ways: universal trembling and equal universal trembling, universal quaking and equal universal quaking, universal shaking and equal universal shaking, universal roaring and equal universal roaring, universal surging and equal universal surging, and universal rising and equal universal rising. Wondrous light illuminated the whole world, and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva Mahasattva addressed the Buddha:

“World-Honored One, why does the World-Honored One question me? Why does the Sugata, the World-Honored One, question me? Is it not because the Omniscient One has compassion for all beings? I am merely a son of the World-Honored One. How could I possess the Tathagata’s wisdom? How could I possess the Tathagata’s power? Until now, I have relied upon the Buddha’s words and followed the Tathagata’s teaching, always taking refuge in it. It is like amrta. I dare not disobey your command and always accord with the World-Honored One.”

The Buddha praised Samantabhadra Bodhisattva Mahasattva: “Excellent! Excellent, son of the Buddha! You are the Tathagata’s supreme and foremost eldest son. I teach this Dharma for the sake of beings. Good man, relying upon me, you should always protect and honor this Dharma. Because it is precious, guard it like a precious jewel and never abandon it! In the future there will be bhiksus who break the precepts and give rise to neither reverence nor faith. Good man, do not rely upon them.”

Samantabhadra Bodhisattva said: “World-Honored One, you understand what practices I performed after leaving the household life.”

The Buddha said: “Good man, ask no more about this!”

Samantabhadra Bodhisattva said: “I beseech the World-Honored One to explain. If you do not explain, how can it be said to be for the sake of beings?”

The Buddha said: “Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, listen attentively! I now teach this Dharma, which is like the waters of the ocean. Manjusri, Avalokitesvara, and immeasurable, innumerable, and boundless bodhisattvas mahasattvas all listen single-mindedly. How should those who leave the household life in the future cultivate?”

At that time, the World-Honored One told Samantabhadra Bodhisattva Mahasattva: “Son of the Buddha, those monastics will treat this true Dharma with contempt, seek comfortable dwellings, crave gain and fame, accumulate wealth, construct beautiful houses, and desire an abundance of clothing, bedding, food, drink, and medicine. They will create evil karma and bring ruin and destruction upon themselves. Such are deluded beings. I now teach this sutra so that it may circulate widely, abide forever without disappearing, and thereby aid beings.”

At that time, all the devas, nagas, yaksas, gandharvas, and others from the ten directions came before the Buddha and said: “World-Honored One, we devas, humans, the eight classes of beings, and our retinues will protect this sutra throughout our lives, along with the Dharma teachers, all the bhiksus, and the Dharma treasuries, so that they will not be disturbed or harmed. We will always protect, honor, and revere them, using incense, flowers, clothing, and all kinds of precious things to safeguard them. We will also cause this Dharma to abide for a long time.”

At that time, for Samantabhadra and ninety-three kotis of bodhisattvas, the World-Honored One spoke these verses:

Listen attentively to every beautiful word,

To supreme merit that reaches the other shore.

All error and peril must be abandoned;

With single-minded joy, listen intently.

Hear of the Buddha in the land of Magadha,

Upon the lion throne beneath the great bodhi tree,

Abiding in the samadhi of great liberation,

There, like the lord among all trees.

Throughout the many lands of the ten directions,

The Tathagata’s true marks may be seen.

In the ten directions are countless ones equal to the Buddha;

All the Buddha’s children bear the name Auspicious.

Throughout all Buddha-realms in the ten directions,

The Buddha’s children constantly travel to and fro.

For the sake of this world, one may encounter

Manjusri, whose wisdom is boundless.

He asks all beings about the marks of auspiciousness:

“Why do the Buddha’s children possess merit?”

Yet in truth their merit is so great

That boundless beings may comprehend it.

He asks those beings who reveal auspiciousness;

Manjusri’s merit enables awakening.

If a Buddha’s child teaches this Dharma,

He will realize the purity of a Buddha’s merit.

Furthermore, Buddha’s children should know

That they will accomplish such merit.

Buddha’s children, listen to Auspicious Worthy One,

To this boundless and supremely excellent merit.

I now speak briefly of only a small part,

Like a single drop of water from the great ocean.

Until one attains awakening,

If any being first gives rise to the resolve,

His boundless merit is difficult to measure;

Each and every merit is fully praised.

The paramitas are merit.

Though the Tathagata passed through many kalpas,

He could not fully describe this merit.

Even all Buddhas throughout the ten directions

Could speak only a little of it by comparison.

It gives rise to a vast abundance of great merit,

As difficult to count as birds in the sky;

Even the dust upon the earth cannot compare.

It does not arise without a cause.

The merit of bodhi accords with the mind;

Give rise to faith directed toward the Buddha.

When the mind arises in harmony in this way,

One does not cherish that king of merit,

Does not seek personal peace or fame,

But eliminates the sufferings of the world

And arises for the sake of these beings.

That resolve is also for the sake of all beings,

For purifying lands and making offerings.

Cultivating this Dharma, one realizes bodhi;

From loving-kindness arises pure wisdom.

One constantly and reverently seeks liberation,

Honoring all beings with the thought that they are Buddhas.

All Dharmas and merits are alike;

Giving rise to such a mind, one can be reverent.

Resolve to take refuge in the Buddha and Dharma.

When a Buddha’s child gives rise to this resolve,

Boundless awakening immediately arises.

There arises the noble resolve of a great being,

The mighty resolve of a lord among humans.

Vast offerings are inconceivable;

The indestructible teaching is inconceivable.

When one gives rise to the resolve to make offerings,

Through that resolve one does not suffer in the womb.

The arduous labor of nurturing must be undertaken;

Joy arises in accordance with that resolve.

Thus one sees the place of peace and happiness again.

Give rise to a boundless mind of reverence;

Abandon all arrogance concerning self and others.

Giving rise to the resolve is itself exalted;

In this way, preserve peace and happiness.

Give rise to the resolve to relinquish for the sake of joy;

Give rise to the resolve to diligently perform Buddha-work.

Give rise to the resolve to seek the forest of merit,

And hear all the Dharma taught by the Buddha.

With courageous, keen faculties, light shines forth;

The steadfast resolve cannot be destroyed.

All afflictions are entirely eradicated.

Give rise to the resolve to proclaim the Buddha’s merit.

Whether things are harmonious or disharmonious,

In every ksana, remain far removed from them.

Give rise to the resolve to transcend Mara’s realm;

See this as great liberation.

The seeds of merit are never lost;

Giving rise to the resolve plants the root of awakening.

Supreme wisdom continually increases.

Giving rise to the resolve, one encounters all Buddhas

And hears the Buddhas clearly explain past lives.

Through a steadfast resolve, one attains liberation;

This Dharma is difficult to encounter in the world.

It is like the great ocean, the greatest king.

If one can give rise to the resolve to revere the Buddha,

One leaves behind all non-cultivation and non-action,

Abandons faults, dangers, and slander,

And can also extol that merit.

By observing precepts, one also guards the awakened mind;

Through skillful means, one cultivates all merits.

One can rely upon the precepts in cultivation

And can also receive the Buddha’s instruction.

If one can give rise to the resolve to revere the Buddha,

One can make vast offerings to the Buddha.

Having made vast offerings to the Buddha,

One can also cherish the inconceivable.

If one constantly gives rise to the resolve to honor the Dharma,

The mind does not grow weary upon hearing the Buddha-Dharma.

If the mind does not grow weary of the Buddha-Dharma,

The inconceivable Dharma becomes liberation.

If one can give rise to the resolve to revere the Sangha,

One’s mind does not retreat within the Sangha.

Giving rise to such a resolve, one does not retreat from the Sangha

And constantly acquires the power of an irreversible resolve.

If one acquires the power of an irreversible resolve,

Light manifests from one’s faculties and nature.

If keen faculties manifest radiant light,

One can also leave evil spiritual friends far behind.

Having left evil spiritual friends far behind,

One should seek the Dharma from good spiritual friends.

Having sought the Dharma from good spiritual friends,

One will receive their aid and attain great peace and happiness.

After attaining that great peace and happiness,

One must also relinquish reliance on one’s own power.

Having cast aside the mind of self-conceit,

One immediately realizes great liberation.

Having attained such vast liberation,

One is constantly illuminated by all Buddhas.

Having been illuminated by all Buddhas,

One immediately gives rise to the mind of awakening.

Having given rise to the mind of awakening,

One protects the great merit of liberation.

Having attained the merit of liberation,

One is born into the family of the Tathagata.

Having been born into the Tathagata’s family,

One immediately attains Wondrously Conjoined Liberation.

If one can attain Wondrously Conjoined Liberation,

Every arising of that resolve is pure.