大寶積經

12. CHAPTER: THE PROPHECY FOR THE DEITIES WHO TRAVEL THROUGH SPACE

At that time, there were also eighty thousand Deities Who Travel Through Space. Seeing the asuras, garudas, dragon maidens, dragon kings, kumbhandas, gandharvas, yakshas, and kinnaras make offerings to the Buddha and receive prophecies, they all rejoiced immeasurably, their bodies and minds filled with devotion to the Buddhadharma. In order to make offerings to the Buddha, they aroused courageous resolve. Throughout an area extending eighty-six thousand yojanas around the city of Kapilavastu, those Deities Who Travel Through Space caused a great rain of mandarava flowers to fall, covering the earth knee-deep. They made offerings to the Buddha, circumambulated him three times, and spoke verses in praise of the Buddha:

“His faculties are peaceful, his face bears a smile;
He rescues and protects all living beings.
The Well-Gone One, replete with great loving-kindness and compassion,
Is rightly the World-Honored One, the Teacher of Devas and Humans.

As on the full-moon night the orb of the moon shines round and bright,
And people in the world bow to the moon amid the stars,
So too all the assemblies of devas,
Seeing the Buddha’s smiling face, bow down before him.

He has amassed an immeasurable accumulation of merit
And has also accomplished the body of wisdom.
Replete with immeasurable and majestic virtue,
He is the Savior of the World before whom I bow.

A mountain of merit, endowed with the ten powers,
The three truths and fearlessness, freed from the three impurities,
He has accomplished the eighteen unique qualities;
The Guide sees clearly and is free from doubt.

Endowed with the thirty-two excellent marks
And adorned with the eighty subsidiary characteristics,
The Buddha’s mind is supreme, like an imperial banner;
Therefore I bow to the Unsurpassed One.

He has reached the other shore through the power of wisdom
And trains the shravakas without reluctance.
The Buddha’s mind is peaceful throughout the ten directions;
He liberates all assemblies of humans and devas.

The World-Honored One is the Teacher of Devas and Humans,
Who has attained the unsurpassed Dharma of peaceful cessation.
We respectfully entreat you, World-Honored One: may we
Also attain that excellent and wondrous Dharma.

May we too, among humans and devas,
Be sought after, loved, and revered by all worlds.
May we, no different from the World-Honored One,
Clearly know the inclinations and aspirations of living beings.

May we, within the dwelling place of devas and humans,
Become unsurpassed Great Guides.
We shall liberate from the realm of birth and death
Those living beings afflicted by a hundred kinds of suffering.”

The World-Honored One knew that the Deities Who Travel Through Space possessed profound and vast faith and aspiration, and so he smiled.

The bhikshu Ashvajit spoke verses and asked:

“The Muni Buddha never smiles without a cause;
Illuminating the three realms, he now reveals a smile.
We look up to the One of Ten Powers and pray that he explain:
For which living beings does he smile?

Seeing the supremely excellent face of the Tathagata
Reveal the sign of a smile brings joy to the assembly.
Yet the entire great assembly harbors doubt;
May the Buddha clearly explain the cause of his smile.

The World-Honored One replied in verse to the Venerable Ashvajit:

“Today Ashvajit has asked the Buddha
About the prophecy for the Deities Who Travel Through Space.
Your question to the Buddha brings great benefit
To immeasurable devas and humans throughout the world.

These Deities Who Travel Through Space
Have joyfully made offerings to the Buddha.
After passing through incalculable asamkhya kalpas,
They will end their afflictions and become Buddhas.

When their lives in these bodies come to an end,
They will immediately be born in excellent celestial abodes.
In the presence of immeasurable kotis of Tathagatas,
They will make offerings of incense and flowers.

In the presence of the Buddhas they will arouse the mind of the Way
And further advance their bodhi-mind.
By proclaiming immeasurable, excellent, and wondrous causes,
They will praise the Buddha’s spontaneous wisdom.

Those Buddhas will be called Venerable Flower Banner;
Their renown will be heard everywhere and all will honor them.
The eighty thousand celestial spirits who travel through space
Will all become Buddhas within the same kalpa.

When the eighty thousand Traveling Deities become Buddhas,
All the people in those lands,
All living beings, will have immeasurable lifespans
And rewards like those of the devas of Trayastrimsha Heaven.

In those lands even the names of the evil destinies will not be heard;
How much less will anyone commit evil karma.
At that time living beings will all accord with the Dharma;
All will be well trained and subdued.

Those Buddhas will liberate immeasurable kotis of people,
More numerous than the sands of the Ganges.
They will proclaim the Dharma that is without dependence or attachment;
The Ones of Ten Powers will liberate living beings.

Their renown will not be vain; every part of their bodies
Will manifest transformations for those living beings.
Immeasurable kotis of living beings
Will all arouse the mind of unsurpassed bodhi.

Thus does the Guide, through wisdom and skillful means,
Bestow prophecies upon the Deities Who Travel Through Space.
When the entire great assembly heard the prophecy,
They all rejoiced and exulted greatly.”

13. CHAPTER: THE PROPHECY FOR THE DEITIES OF THE FOUR HEAVENLY KINGS

At that time, ninety thousand devas of the Heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings saw the asuras, garudas, dragon maidens, dragon kings, kumbhandas, gandharvas, yakshas, kinnaras, and Deities Who Travel Through Space make offerings to the Buddha and receive prophecies. They all rejoiced immeasurably and, with profound minds, had faith and delight in the Buddhadharma.

Suppose a person boarded an earthenware boat and entered a river, thinking, “Before long, this earthenware boat will crack and break apart. Before it sinks, I must quickly reach the shore so that I may escape the danger of drowning.” The ninety thousand devas of the Heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings were likewise. Seeing the Buddha’s majestic spiritual power, they aroused faith and delight. Wishing to attain the Buddhadharma, they brought forth courageous resolve and made offerings to the Tathagata.

The Four Heavenly Kings and the ninety thousand devas of their heaven conjured ninety thousand vast, magnificent canopies of the seven treasures, adorned with many wondrous and beautiful colors. Among them were canopies of red pearls, fire-gems, vaidurya, celestial pure gold, and diamond jewels. Those ninety thousand canopies of the seven treasures flew through the sky and circumambulated the Buddha three times.

They also conjured ninety thousand ensembles of celestial music, which circled the Buddha three times in the sky. They further conjured celestial mandarava, mahamandarava, manjushaka, mahamanjushaka, kakalava, and mahakakalava flowers. They scattered these celestial flowers over the Buddha, circumambulated him three times, then stood to one side with palms joined reverently and spoke verses in praise of the Buddha:

“Ninety thousand devas before the Buddha,
Single-mindedly delight in the Buddha’s virtues.
Neither elated nor depressed, neither greedy nor regretful,
Neither haughty nor abased, they bow to the World-Honored One.

He ends the lineage of birth and death rooted in ignorance,
Pulls out the thorns of affliction, and topples the mountain of pride.
Skilled at extracting poisoned arrows and healing sores,
He strives without indolence, his body perfectly complete.

He extinguishes afflictions and releases all bonds,
Exhausts the fetters and leaves turmoil behind.
Emptiness and signlessness are the Buddha’s practice;
His mind seeks nothing in any realm.

He removes the root of craving and abandons ignorance,
And utterly leaves behind the four inversions.
The Buddha knows ultimate reality, unknown to the world;
When ordinary beings hear of it, they fear it like a lion.

Living beings cling to the body, not knowing emptiness;
Shrouded in the darkness of ignorance, they crave the world.
Seeing suchness, they behold the world as empty;
Revealing true wisdom, they attain the pure eye.

He shows that the five skandhas are empty and that name-and-form are empty;
The dhatus do not truly exist, and so too the ayatanas.
This Dharma and other dharmas are merely names;
The Buddha teaches that nominal dharmas are empty.

As a skilled painter depicts a white elephant,
Its height, depth, color, and form all perfectly lifelike,
It merely deceives the eyes of the foolish; in truth there is no elephant.
The Dharma-realm is equal, yet fools delude themselves.

The Buddha explains it clearly, like a fruit held in the palm.
The wise are not deluded, but skillfully study under the Buddha.
The Buddha’s great wisdom illuminates the world;
He turns the wondrous Dharma-wheel and liberates living beings.

I vow to awaken to great bodhi
And turn the wondrous Dharma-wheel as the Buddha does.
For worldly people who are deluded and have lost their way,
I shall liberate them as the Buddha liberates them.”

The World-Honored One knew the profound faith and delight of the ninety thousand devas of the Heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings and of the Four Heavenly Kings themselves. He therefore revealed the sign of a smile, and many rays of five-colored light streamed from his mouth.

The Venerable Bhikshu Ashvajit spoke verses and asked the Buddha:

“The Buddha does not smile without a cause;
May the Buddha clearly explain the reason for his smile.
Seeing the Buddha smile, the great assembly is filled with doubt;
We look up to the World-Honored One and pray that he explain it clearly.

Who has defeated Mara’s army? Who has ended all doubt?
Who is resolute in the Dharma? May the Buddha tell us.
Who has served the Buddha? Who has made offerings to him?
The great assembly is doubtful; may the Buddha speak.

When the Buddha proclaims their prophecy and the assembly hears it,
Their doubts will be ended; may the Buddha speak.
So that living beings, relying upon the Buddha’s wisdom,
May quickly attain bodhi, bestow the prophecy.”

The World-Honored One replied in verse to Bhikshu Ashvajit:

“Excellent, Ashvajit! You have aptly asked the Buddha
The reason for his smile; now listen well.
Out of compassion for the world, listen carefully.
The ninety thousand devas before the Buddha

Have made offerings with pure faith
And spoken verses praising the Buddha, knowing the emptiness of dharmas.
Resolute in the Dharma, they abide in the Buddha’s path.
They have previously made offerings to eight kotis of Buddhas.

In the future, before immeasurable kotis of Buddhas,
They will make offerings and seek the unsurpassed Way.
Without making offerings to immeasurable Buddhas,
They could not sit upon the bodhi-seat and realize awakening.

In future ages they will all become Buddhas,
Each alike called Buddha Great Upholder, the World-Honored One.
Those Buddhas will have assemblies of shravakas,
Eighty kotis who uphold unobstructed vision.

After those Buddhas pass into cessation, through their merit
Immeasurable magnificent and beautifully adorned stupas will be built.
Immeasurable thousands of hundreds of nayutas of beings
Will make offerings at the monasteries and stupas, benefiting the world.

Some will arouse the great mind; others will realize cessation.
The true Dharma will remain in the world for a long time,
For as many as eight kotis of years, because immeasurable
Nayutas of bodhisattvas will uphold the true Dharma.

The assembly of the Four Heavenly Kings has received its prophecy
So that it may benefit the world and bring living beings to maturity.
Hearing it, the great assembly rejoiced greatly,
Exulting immeasurably and accepting the Buddha’s words.”

14. CHAPTER: THE PROPHECY FOR THE DEITIES OF THE HEAVEN OF THE THIRTY-THREE

At that time there were eight kotis of devas from Trayastrimsha Heaven, with Shakra, Lord of the Devas, as their foremost leader. They saw the asuras, garudas, dragon maidens, dragon kings, kumbhandas, gandharvas, yakshas, kinnaras, Deities Who Travel Through Space, and devas of the Heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings make offerings to the Buddha and receive prophecies. They all rejoiced immeasurably. With profound minds they had faith and delight in the Buddhadharma, and they aroused courageous resolve to make offerings to the Tathagata.

They immediately conjured eight kotis of multicolored towers of the seven treasures, wondrously and beautifully adorned. Everywhere hung necklaces of red pearls, vaidurya, fire-gems, and assorted jewels. Each tower had one hundred tiers of magnificent gateways. Within each tier were four smaller towers adorned with doors and lion thrones; their banners, pennants, jeweled canopies, curtains, and screens were all made of the seven treasures. Supremely beautiful celestial maidens attended the towers and lion thrones and played celestial music.

They also conjured eight kotis of chariots made of the seven treasures, adorned with celestial banners, pennants, jeweled canopies, and celestial music. Throughout the city of Kapilavastu, sixty yojanas in breadth and length, they scattered celestial mandarava, mahamandarava, manjushaka, mahamanjushaka, kakalava, mahakakalava, parushaka, and mahaparushaka flowers. The flowers lay knee-deep.

Shakra, Lord of the Devas, further conjured eight kotis of Airavana dragon-elephants. Each elephant had eight kotis of heads, every head had six tusks, and upon each tusk were seven flower pools. In each pool were seven thousand-petaled lotuses, and within every lotus petal were seven celestial maidens, each accompanied by seven attendants and adorned in many ways. The dragon-elephants were stationed between the towers, with the jeweled chariots following behind, and all these towers were offered to the Tathagata.

They also purchased various celestial incenses, celestial flowers, and flowers of the seven treasures to offer to the Buddha. The celestial maidens either played music, sang, danced, or moved their bodies and scattered flowers and incense with their hands as offerings. They further conjured eight kotis of horse-kings, adorned them in many ways, mounted them, and scattered celestial treasures over the Buddha. Eight kotis of celestial musical ensembles also played spontaneously in the sky. Upon each of the eight kotis of chariots of the seven treasures was a magically created celestial maiden. These eight kotis of celestial maidens sang, danced, played music, or moved their bodies and scattered flowers and incense with their hands as offerings to the Buddha.

At that time, the eight kotis of devas of Trayastrimsha Heaven thought, “These magically created celestial maidens make offerings to the Tathagata. All dharmas are likewise magical creations, just as the Tathagata has previously taught.” Having known that all dharmas are like illusions, they no longer doubted any dharma. They circumambulated the Buddha three times, bowed their heads at his feet, and stood to one side.

Knowing that all dharmas were like illusions, they also knew that their own bodies were magical creations, that their offerings to the Tathagata were magical creations, and that the Dharma taught by the Buddha was likewise. Having become free from doubt regarding illusory dharmas, they spoke verses in praise of the Buddha:

The Tathagata, the Guide, is also like an illusion;
The assembly of shravakas is born through transformation from the Dharma.
We have no doubt regarding anything the Buddha teaches
And understand the prophecies spoken by the Buddha.

The Dharma proclaimed by the Tathagata, the World-Honored One,
Cannot be understood by foolish ordinary beings.
The Dharma transmitted and taught by the Tathagata—
All of it is entirely like magical illusion.

Those who practice the Buddha’s conduct and bodhisattva conduct,
Benefiting living beings without negligence,
They are bodhisattvas, children of the Tathagata;
All are entirely like magical illusions.

The Well-Gone Guide possesses spontaneous wisdom,
The ten powers, great compassion, and immeasurable wisdom.
The World-Honored One is sovereign in wisdom;
Even such a Buddha is like an illusion.

The Well-Gone One accords with dharmas that have no real existence;
All appear to possess the nature of magical illusion.
Regarding this Buddhadharma and its wisdom,
We are free from all doubt.

The World-Honored One knew the profound faith and delight of the eight kotis of devas of Trayastrimsha Heaven, and so he smiled.

The Venerable Bhikshu Ashvajit spoke verses and asked the Buddha:

“The One of unequaled renown, replete with virtue—
The Tathagata does not smile without a cause.
Why does the Tathagata smile today?
We look up to him and pray that he explain, removing our doubt.

The assembly sees the Tathagata reveal a smile;
Having seen it, they all harbor doubt.
We look up to you and pray that you dispel their doubt,
So that they no longer remain caught in the net of uncertainty.

Pure in virtue like the full moon,
Worthy of offerings, please explain it clearly.
If they hear the words pronounced by the Buddha,
Those beings will rejoice and attain Buddhahood.

The great assembly of devas attending this gathering
Knows all dharmas to be like illusions.
The devas cultivate without obstruction;
We look up to the One of Ten Powers and pray that he speak of this.

If the entire great assembly is freed from doubt,
They will joyfully cultivate the tenfold path.
They will arouse superior aspirations, never inferior ones;
Upon hearing, the assembly will immediately bring forth courageous resolve.”

The World-Honored One replied in verse to Bhikshu Ashvajit:

“Ashvajit, your present question to the Tathagata
Is well suited to the occasion and brings great benefit.
The Buddha knows that the devas have rejoiced;
He will now explain the reason for his smile.

For the sake of the devas you ask the reason for the smile;
With a pure mind, listen well.
The great assembly of devas attending this gathering
Knows all dharmas to be like illusions.

Endowed with immeasurable, unobstructed knowledge, vision, and wisdom,
In a future age, freed from darkness, they will become Buddhas.
Throughout their past wandering in birth and death,
They made offerings to Buddhas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges.

In the presence of those Buddhas they constantly cultivated
The understanding that all dharmas are like illusions.
Now in my presence they too present offerings,
Which, like all dharmas, are magical illusions.

After the devas have made offerings to me,
They also know all dharmas to be like illusions.
In the future, during the Kalpa of the Power of Balance,
They will attain supreme, unsurpassed awakening.

Those Tathagatas will all bear the same name:
Buddha Indra-Banner King.
Those Buddhas will proclaim the Dharma as illusory
And liberate immeasurable kotis of living beings.

Therefore, abandon negligence
And cultivate the understanding that all dharmas are like illusions.
Those who are not negligent will be liberated by me
And fully endowed with the factors of bodhi.

Strive as though extinguishing a fire upon your head;
Quickly seek peaceful cessation and great bodhi.”

15. CHAPTER: THE PROPHECY FOR THE DEITIES OF YAMA HEAVEN

At that time, there were also four kotis of devas from Yama Heaven. They saw the asuras, garudas, dragon maidens, dragon kings, kumbhandas, gandharvas, yakshas, kinnaras, Deities Who Travel Through Space, devas of the Heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings, and devas of Trayastrimsha Heaven make offerings to the Buddha and receive prophecies. They rejoiced and exulted immeasurably. They aroused faith and delight in the Buddhadharma and thought:

“The Buddhadharma is indeed exceedingly rare and wondrous. Whoever realizes this Buddhadharma knows everything, sees everything, discerns everything, and penetrates everything. Whatever has arisen, has not yet arisen, or is presently arising; whatever has ceased, will cease, or is presently ceasing; whether karma or its recompense—all is known in accordance with reality.

“How extraordinary that the Tathagata can know conventional truth and ultimate truth, skillfully knowing these two truths beyond which there is nothing else. Regarding the Dharma of emptiness, the Buddha, the World-Honored One, skillfully knows and sees, skillfully discerns, and skillfully realizes correspondence with it; he is therefore called the Omniscient One.

“What is called conventional truth? It comprises all conventional processes of birth and death; all such dharmas are clearly and completely known.

“Ultimate truth admits of no verbal expression and no knower. It is not an object of mental activity. Because it is without cognition, there is no one able to speak of it, no one who reveals it, no one who teaches it, and no one who hears it. Because it is unspoken, there is also no one who knows it. It is unborn and undisclosed, with no one who sees it or arranges it. There is no grasping and no cognition, no one who arrives and nothing at which to arrive. It cannot be approached or measured. There is no establishment and no rejection, no object of action and no actor, no praise and no blame, no gain and no loss, no honor and no disgrace, no suffering and no happiness.

“It is neither form nor non-form, neither numerical nor non-numerical, neither luminous nor non-luminous. It is neither affliction nor apart from affliction, neither the world nor nirvana, neither investigation nor contemplation, neither advancement nor regression. It is unmoving and inactive, devoid of conceptual proliferation and beyond conceptual proliferation.

“The stated characteristic of form is unobtainable; the characteristics of feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness are likewise unobtainable. The characteristic of the eye is unobtainable; the characteristics of the ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind are also unobtainable. The characteristic of form is unobtainable; the characteristics of sound, odor, taste, touch, and dharmas are all unobtainable.

“The characteristic of eye-consciousness is unobtainable; the characteristics of ear-consciousness, nose-consciousness, tongue-consciousness, body-consciousness, and mind-consciousness are all unobtainable. The characteristic of eye-contact is unobtainable; the characteristics of ear-contact, nose-contact, tongue-contact, body-contact, and mind-contact are all unobtainable. Feeling born from eye-contact is unobtainable; feelings born from the contact of the ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind are all unobtainable.

“The characteristic of mental awareness of form is unobtainable; the characteristics of mental awareness of sound, odor, taste, touch, and dharmas are all unobtainable. The characteristic of space is unobtainable; the elements of earth, water, fire, wind, and consciousness are all unobtainable. The characteristic of the desire realm is unobtainable; the characteristic of the form realm is unobtainable; the characteristic of the formless realm is unobtainable. The characteristic of the conditioned is unobtainable, and the characteristic of the unconditioned is unobtainable.

“Regarding such characteristics: if these dharmas are proclaimed, there is no one capable of proclaiming them. Dharmas such as these are therefore called inexpressible dharmas. The Buddhadharma is supreme, but foolish, unlearned ordinary beings cannot know it; therefore, when they hear it, fear arises. Because they fear the Buddhadharma, they retreat from omniscience in all its modes. Devas and humans should have compassion for these living beings, who remain in birth and death and undergo manifold suffering and affliction.”

After the devas of Yama Heaven contemplated the suffering and affliction of living beings throughout the worlds, they aroused courageous and diligent resolve so that they might attain the Buddhadharma and make offerings to the Tathagata. They arranged offerings surpassing those of Trayastrimsha Heaven and presented them to the Buddha. Having completed their offerings, they bowed at the Buddha’s feet, circumambulated him three times, stood to one side, and spoke verses in praise of the Buddha:

“The Buddha sees that all skandhas are empty and peaceful;
So too are the dhatus and ayatanas.
The accumulated faculties are all free from characteristics;
The Tathagata knows them all in accordance with reality.

The Wise One of the World understands the true Dharma
Not by following what he heard from others, but spontaneously.
These are conventional truth and ultimate truth;
Apart from these, there is no third Dharma.

Slaves, servants, and attendants,
The various kinds of males, females, and those of both faculties—
The Buddha, the World-Honored One, has spoken of
All the six destinies found within the world.

Having contemplated conventional dharmas,
The Buddha proclaimed them for the sake of benefit.
Living beings delight in birth and death
And cannot leave behind the eight worldly concerns:

So it is with the other six worldly concerns;
The world pursues all eight.
Within conventional truth, the ultimate is taught;
Inverted understanding must be clearly recognized.

Within what is impure and painful, they speak of purity and happiness;
Where there is no self, they speak of a self.
Within impermanent dharmas, they speak of permanence;
They constantly grasp at these characteristics.

When they hear the teaching proclaimed by the Buddha,
They become afraid, malign it, and refuse to accept it.
For slandering the Tathagata’s true teaching,
They will fall into the hells and suffer extreme torment.

Foolish ordinary beings greedily seek worldly pleasures
And thereby undergo still more boundless suffering of a hundred kinds.
Whoever, within the Buddhadharma,
Contemplates in this way without inversion,

Whoever hears the Dharma of emptiness and delights in it
Will certainly attain unsurpassed great bodhi.
The Tathagata teaches this Dharma in accordance with reality,
Removing doubt from the devas.

Having heard the supreme Buddhadharma,
This assembly of devas will all become Buddhas.”

The World-Honored One knew the profound faith and delight of the four kotis of devas from Yama Heaven, and so he revealed the sign of a smile.

The Venerable Bhikshu Ashvajit spoke verses and asked the Buddha:

“The Buddha smiles for the sake of the world;
All within this assembly have given rise to doubt.
We look up to the World-Honored One and pray that he explain,
Causing the entire assembly to rejoice.

Having heard the prophecies for the devas,
The entire great assembly exults.
Those endowed with wisdom arouse courageous resolve
And practice the Buddhadharma in accordance with his words.

The Tathagata’s excellent assembly
Is endowed with vessels for the Dharma and the Buddha’s virtues.
Excellent! Proclaim beautiful and wondrous words
To gather in the entire great assembly.

Hearing of the Buddha’s virtues, their hearts rejoice;
This great assembly will surely attain them.
After hearing the Tathagata bestow the prophecy,
They will diligently practice in accordance with the Dharma.

Excellent, World-Honored One, Teacher of Devas and Humans!
To remove doubt and uncertainty from the great assembly,
We look up to the World-Honored One and pray that he quickly explain;
The great assembly single-mindedly delights in listening.

The World-Honored One replied in verse to Bhikshu Ashvajit:

“For the benefit of the world I reveal the sign of a smile;
Ashvajit, at the proper time you have aptly asked the Buddha.
You benefit the immeasurable great assemblies,
For they will hear of the Tathagata’s virtues.

Living beings delight in greed and anger
And do not know how to delight in the Buddha’s virtues.
Their foolish minds are confused and deluded;
They will remain submerged in the sea of birth and death.

Those who have faith and delight in the Buddha’s true Dharma
And formerly asked questions in the presence of previous Buddhas,
Those whose minds accord with great compassion—
Such people will attain the Buddha’s virtues.

Seeing living beings afflicted by delusion,
The wise bring forth compassion for them.
When those living beings hear of the Buddha’s virtues,
They bear the Buddha’s teaching as though wearing a garland.

The Buddha’s assembly is exceedingly pure;
They cultivated merit in the presence of former Buddhas.
The virtues of the Tathagata
They bear as though wearing a garland of varshika flowers.

In the presence of former Buddhas, the devas of Yama Heaven
Cultivated moral discipline and eliminated greedy attachment.
Weary of afflictions, their minds became pure;
They brought forth compassion for suffering living beings.

Knowing that living beings are submerged in afflictions,
They brought forth compassion for suffering beings.
Before the Savior of the World, the Great Guide,
They asked about immeasurable wondrous Dharma-gates.

Now the Buddha, the Guide, teaches for their sake;
All who hear will accomplish the Buddha’s Way.
Knowing that living beings are caught by the hooks of affliction,
He teaches them excellent and wondrous wholesome Dharma.

The Tamer of Men, the Great Guide,
Teaches the Dharma of emptiness for living beings.
Having heard the Dharma taught by the Buddha,
They clearly understand all those empty dharmas.

This is the emptiness of dharmas and the emptiness of characteristics;
He teaches the emptiness of intrinsic nature and the signlessness of dharmas.
Clearly knowing the Buddhadharma in this way,
They all abide in the Buddha’s virtues.

This assembly has made offerings to the Tathagata
And, in accordance with the Dharma, has individually received its prophecy.
In the future, during the Kalpa of Constellations,
They will all attain the unsurpassed Way.

The Great Deva who ever subdues the hostile maras
Has answered the question asked by Ashvajit.
The assembly of devas from Yama Heaven has fulfilled its aspiration;
The great assembly of devas and humans all rejoices.”