佛為海龍王說法印經

Thus have I heard. At one time the Blessed One was dwelling in the palace of the dragon king of the sea, together with a great assembly of bhikṣus numbering one thousand two hundred and fifty persons, and a great multitude of bodhisattvas. At that time, the dragon king of the sea, Sāgara, rose from his seat, made obeisance at the feet of the Buddha, and spoke thus:

"Blessed One, is there a teaching whereby, by upholding but few dharmas, one may obtain great merit?"

The Buddha said to the dragon king of the sea:

"There are four supreme dharmas. If a person upholds, recites, and clearly understands their meaning, though the effort is little, the merit obtained is very great—equal, indeed, to the merit of one who recites the eighty-four thousand collections of the Dharma, with no difference whatsoever. What are the four? They are the recitation of: all conditioned phenomena are impermanent; all existence is suffering; all dharmas are without self; nirvana is peace and bliss. O Dragon King, you should know that these are called the four supreme dharmas. By them, bodhisattvas of inexhaustible Dharma-wisdom swiftly realize the unborn and quickly attain complete nirvana. Therefore, you and all others should constantly recite them."

At that time, when the Blessed One had spoken these four verses of the Sūtra of the Dharma Seal, the śrāvakas, the great assembly of bodhisattvas, and the gods, dragons, the eightfold assembly, asuras, gandharvas, and others, upon hearing the words of the Buddha, were all filled with great joy, received them with faith, and reverently put them into practice.