大寶積經

The Buddha further said to the Bodhisattva Protector of the Nation: “Good man! I recall that innumerable kalpas in the past—beyond immeasurable, inconceivable, incomparable, incalculable, and ineffable kalpas—there appeared in the world a Buddha named Accomplished Beneficial Wisdom Tathagata, Worthy One, Perfectly Enlightened One.

At that time there was a king named Blazing Mind. Protector of the Nation! During the reign of King Blazing Mind, this Jambudvipa measured sixteen thousand yojanas across and contained twenty thousand cities, each with a thousand kotis of households.

The city in which King Blazing Mind resided was named Radiance of Precious Light. It measured twelve yojanas from east to west and seven yojanas from north to south. It was made of the seven treasures and encircled by seven tiers of jeweled walls, each separated from the next by seven paces, solid and difficult to breach.

“Protector of the Nation! The people of that land had lifespans of ten kotis of nayutas of years.

“Protector of the Nation! King Blazing Mind’s firstborn son was named Blazing Merit. He was handsome and beautiful, endowed with all the excellent marks, unequaled in the world, and those who gazed upon him never tired of doing so.

On the day Blazing Merit was born, a treasury of the seven treasures spontaneously appeared at his birthplace, rising to the height of seven men. At the birth of that prince, all beings in Jambudvipa rejoiced and exulted beyond measure. If anyone was imprisoned, fettered, or bound, their restraints opened of themselves.

“Protector of the Nation! Within seven days, Prince Blazing Merit mastered all worldly crafts and arts.

“One night, in the stillness of the late hours, a deva from the Pure Abodes came and said to Prince Blazing Merit: ‘Young Prince, do not be heedless; you should carefully contemplate impermanence. Young Prince, life does not remain for long before passing into a future existence. Time passes swiftly, so you must constantly observe this, give rise to profound fear, and understand that whatever karma is created will inevitably bring its result, just as a shadow follows its form.’

“The deva from the Pure Abodes then spoke these verses for the prince:

‘Young Prince, take care and do not be heedless;

Nor should you follow those who are heedless.

Abandoning heedlessness is praised by the Buddhas;

Embracing heedlessness is reproved by the Buddhas.

Always disciplined and never heedless,

Giving everything without envy,

With loving-kindness and compassion for all beings—

Such a person will soon attain Buddhahood.

The immeasurable Buddhas of the past,

Those of the present and the future,

All arose from wholesome qualities

And abided upon the path of diligence.

Food and drink and clothing,

Gold, silver, and jeweled ornaments—

Give them all away throughout the kalpas

To seek the unsurpassed path.

Hands and feet, eyes and nose—

Joyfully give them to whoever asks.

With a true heart seek merit and virtue,

And before long you will attain Buddhahood.

The royal throne with its great might,

Wife and children and retinue—

Conditioned things are like illusions;

Relinquish them swiftly, without regret.

Life does not remain for long;

Like an earthen vessel, it is easily broken.

This transient life is only borrowed briefly;

It is neither permanent nor pure.

Parents and relatives

Cannot save one from the lower realms.

The wholesome and unwholesome deeds beings create

Follow them always, like a shadow following its form.

Seeking endlessly in the sea of desire,

They harm one another and bring no benefit;

Yet there is no one to rescue them,

And they endure suffering and weariness in vain.

If you now wish to benefit others,

Seek the unsurpassed path of quiescence.

Though your bones and flesh should waste away,

You must not regard it as suffering.

The appearance of Buddhas in the world is rare;

The Dharma of quiescent cessation is difficult to hear.

Diligently attend upon spiritual friends,

For thus you can vanquish the hosts of Mara.

Forsake and leave evil companions,

And you will be able to abide on the right path

And obstruct the roads of evil and deviation.

Excellent indeed—strive diligently!

Do not begrudge your body or life;

Keep your resolve as firm as vajra.

Properly inquire of teachers concerning the path;

Never relinquish right intention.

All Buddhas of the past

Always delighted in aranyas.

You should follow their example in your training

And delight in dwelling alone in quiet places.

Cast aside places of affection and attachment,

Wife and children and retinue,

Your own body and your lifespan,

To seek vast and great wisdom.’

“Protector of the Nation! After Prince Blazing Merit heard the verses spoken by the devas, for ten years he never slept or rested, never amused himself or laughed, never sang or danced, never indulged in pleasure or exultation, and was never heedless. He did not enter pleasure gardens, did not delight in his retinue, did not covet the royal throne, and felt no fond attachment to wealth, cities, or settlements.

He cast aside all possessions associated with his person and devoted himself solely to meditative concentration. Dwelling in an empty and secluded house, he reflected: ‘All dharmas are impermanent, neither durable nor stable; they exist temporarily and then perish. The royal throne is without savor and affords no true sovereignty.

Those who love must part, while those who hate must meet. These things are unworthy of craving or delight, yet deluded attachment to them arises. All this comes from ignorance and is false and deceptive, without the slightest reality.

Only liberation and quiescent cessation are bliss. Yet ordinary beings, intoxicated by ignorance, constantly delight in such things and groundlessly conceive distinctions of superior and inferior. Now, among these foolish ordinary beings, I should dwell in serenity, contemplate, and remain free from heedlessness.’

“Protector of the Nation! At that time King Blazing Mind established another city for Prince Blazing Merit, named Supreme Joy and Delight. It was encircled by seven tiers of jeweled walls.

From north to south, the city had seven hundred streets, whose walls were made of the seven treasures and draped with golden bells and jeweled nets; above these were spread nets of pearls. At the end of every street stood eighty-four thousand jeweled pillars. Upon those jeweled pillars were fastened sixty thousand jeweled cords linked together.

Between the cords stood fourteen kotis of jeweled tala trees. When stirred by a gentle breeze, they produced sublime sounds like hundreds of thousands of musical instruments sounding by themselves without being played. At the end of each street were stationed five hundred young maidens, youthful and strong, skilled in song and dance, and beloved by everyone.

King Blazing Mind commanded those maidens: ‘From this day onward, sing and dance continually by day and night, bringing joy to everyone. When people from the four quarters come to the city, you must cause them all to rejoice and take delight. You must not utter even a single harsh word.’

“To gladden Prince Blazing Merit further, the king arranged all kinds of gifts at the entrance to each street: clothing, food and drink, comforts, beds and cushions, carriages, elephants, horses, cattle, sheep, gold, silver, the seven treasures, and various kinds of incense and flowers. Whatever those who came seeking required was given to them. The king also placed many heaps of jewels in various locations so that everyone could use them as they wished.

“Within the city of Supreme Joy and Delight, many palaces were built for the prince’s recreation, their floors paved with various kinds of intermingled jewels. Upon the city walls were built tall and immense towers adorned with precious gems. At the center of the city stood a great hall, within which were arranged tens of millions of beds and cushions.

On all four sides of the hall were many gardens filled with flowers and fruit. In the gardens were ponds made of the seven treasures. On the four sides of each pond were stairways made of four treasures: gold, silver, vaidurya, and crystal.

On each side of the pond stood two lions made of a hundred kinds of jewels, continually spouting fragrant water into the pond; and on each side there were also two jeweled lions through which water flowed out. Four kinds of lotuses always grew in the ponds: blue lotuses, yellow lotuses, red lotuses, and white lotuses. Jeweled trees encircled the four banks, together with many flowering and fruit-bearing trees.

There were also eight hundred jeweled trees linked together by jeweled cords from which hung banners of colored silk. In addition, there were hundreds of millions of jeweled tala trees, with jeweled cords stretched across the spaces between them and hung with precious golden bells. Stirred by a gentle breeze, they produced sublime sounds like hundreds of thousands of musical instruments sounding by themselves without being struck.

For fear of dust, immense jeweled nets were spread above the ponds.

“Within that great hall were arranged tens of millions of beds made of the seven treasures, and upon each bed were spread five hundred kinds of cushions. In the center of the great hall stood a high seat made of the seven treasures, as tall as seven standing men. Upon that jeweled seat were spread eighty thousand kotis of exquisite garments. Before the seat stood a jeweled incense burner in which aloeswood incense was burned. Beautiful flowers were scattered three times each night and three times each day.

“A canopy of golden netting was spread above the jeweled hall, with golden lotuses suspended from its sides. Above the golden canopy was spread another canopy of pearls. Eighty thousand bright and immaculate precious jewels provided illumination.

“In the gardens were also placed nine million masses of jewels, each one yojana high, illuminating the entire realm.”

Within the gardens were many kinds of birds, such as parrots, mynas, wild geese, helā pigeons, peacocks, swans, mandarin ducks, kunālas, kalaviṅkas, and jīvajīvakas. Whenever they wished to call, they all spoke in subtle, harmonious human voices, like the birds in the gods’ Garden of Delight. All these birds sang solely to bring joy to the Prince.

The king also built a dining hall for the Prince and prepared five hundred kinds of food each day to provide for him.

The king further summoned the young men of the realm, numbering as many as eighty koṭis. Whether twenty years old or older, they were all skilled in every craft and art, and were handsomely and impeccably attired. All were admitted into the City of Supreme Joy.

The parents of these young men sent thousands upon thousands of koṭis of maidens to attend them. Their relatives likewise offered thousands upon thousands of koṭis of maidens as attendants. The elders and people also sent thousands upon thousands of koṭis of female attendants to serve them.

These women were only sixteen years old, beautiful and comely beyond compare in the world. They were all accomplished in music, song, dance, and entertainment. Their speech was gentle, their expressions cheerful, and they could comfort both old and young.

They were proficient in every refined art. Their mouths emitted a fragrance like blue lotuses, and every pore of their bodies exuded the scent of sandalwood. They were exquisite and pure, like celestial maidens.

Prince Puṇyajvāla dwelt in that palace, where the female attendants constantly performed various kinds of music as offerings.

On hearing that music, the Prince thought, “All these things are my enemies, robbing me of my wholesome Dharma. I must quickly abandon them.”

At that time, although the Prince beheld all those pleasures, his heart took no delight in them, like a man about to be put to death. Though he saw objects of sensual desire, his heart felt no craving. He found no pleasure among the female attendants, nor did he delight in gathering with his retinue in the city. For ten full years he did not grasp at the characteristics of sights, sounds, fragrances, flavors, or tactile objects. He thought only, “When shall I escape from this realm of enemies? When shall I practice heedfulness and attain liberation?”

The female attendants reported the matter to King Jvālacitta. The king, accompanied by eighty thousand minor kings, went to the Prince. Weeping and lamenting in sorrow, he fainted and fell to the ground. Upon regaining consciousness, King Jvālacitta addressed Prince Puṇyajvāla in verse:

You possess the most sublime and abundant merit;

Has anyone treated you unkindly,

Causing you not to enjoy these supreme pleasures?

Because you do not enjoy them, your father grieves.

I pray that you will enjoy them and make your father rejoice.

If anyone has harassed you, tell your father;

I shall punish that person most severely.

Look at the beautiful lotuses here,

Which your father thoughtfully provided for you.

If you lack anything, quickly tell me;

Your father will cause it to appear, just like Śakra.

Your face and eyes are now like lotuses;

Why do you knit your brows and take no delight?

These female attendants are exceptionally beautiful,

Exquisite and pure, equal to celestial maidens.

They are all skilled in the various arts,

And proficient in song, dance, and music.

You should rejoice together with these women;

Why do you grieve as though pierced by an arrow?

You should now quickly enjoy happiness;

This is not the time for you to grieve and suffer.

The gardens, forests, streams, and ponds flourish luxuriantly;

Their flowers, fruits, branches, and leaves abound.

They are vast, no different from gardens in the heavenly realms.

Now, while you are still in your youth,

Your countenance has grown haggard like a withered flower.

You should only enjoy pleasure and should not suffer.

The flowing streams and bathing ponds resemble those of heaven;

Their exquisite fragrant waters bathe the body.

All the flowers vie in blooming, surrounded by swarms of bees;

Why, then, do you take no delight in pleasure?

Swans, parrots, and red-crowned cranes,

Jīvajīvakas and kunālas sing with wondrous voices,

No different from those on Fragrant Mountain and Snow Mountain;

Who could hear and see them without delight?

The supreme palace is made of the seven treasures, with nets of pearls;

Adorned and purified with vaiḍūrya, it resembles a celestial palace.

Jeweled seats are adorned and covered with wondrous fabrics;

Golden bells and jeweled nets ring with melodious sounds.

All the various sounds are exceptionally sublime.

Along the roads, streets, and at every lane’s entrance,

Thousands of female attendants perform music,

Like celestial maidens in the Garden of Delight.

Why are you confused and unwilling to enjoy these pleasures?

Young men and female attendants, like gods,

Have assembled because they wish to bring you joy.

Your parents weep and shed tears because of you;

How immeasurable are their anxious lamentations and suffering!

Prince Puṇyajvāla replied to his royal father in verse:

Like that One fully endowed with merit,

Who contemplates the suffering of conditioned birth and death,

I am disenchanted with afflictions and wish to seek release,

Casting away every sensual pleasure.

Seeing sentient beings enter the net of death,

I constantly seek liberation, far removed from sensual pleasures,

And contemplate the unsurpassed excellence of bodhi.

I humbly pray that my father and mother will hear my words.

No one has done any evil to me;

I myself take no joy in sensual pleasures.

All affection and attachment are like enemies;

They increase afflictions and cause descent into the lower realms.

Fools delight in these female attendants,

Increasing the karma of Māra and becoming bound.

They depart far from virtue and increase what is unwholesome,

Causing themselves in future lives to fall into the lower realms.

The noble ones rebuke these five sensual pleasures;

Why, then, should I delight in the root of suffering?

These female attendants possess only a false outward beauty;

They are merely bags of skin containing sinews and bones,

Filled within with blood, flesh, feces, and filthy urine.

Why delight in corpses that will rot and stink?

Song, dance, music, and all the arts

Are like illusions and dreams that deceive the deluded.

Fools make discriminations and lose the true path;

How could I comply with them and create the karma of attachment?

When winter comes, the flowers and fruits of gardens and forests

Wither, turn yellow, and all fall away.

Impermanent, they decay and cannot long remain;

Life is uncertain, yet the deluded remain heedless.

The mind, like the great ocean, knows no contentment;

Affection and attachment increase, seeking without satiety.

Constantly defiled by desire, people harm one another;

But I am like Mount Sumeru, unmoved by the wind.

Parents, brothers, and sisters,

Wives, children, friends, and all relatives,

The royal throne, the hundred officials, and worldly power—

If one falls into the lower realms, none can offer rescue.

Today we are like drops of dew,

And also like flashes of lightning that do not remain even briefly.

Our thoughts are scattered and find no place of stability;

Seeing this clearly, one should diligently cultivate.

Alas, youth will not last long!

Alas, life is like a cascading waterfall!

Alas, conditioned things are like floating clouds!

Alas, seeking royal dominion within the three realms!

The wise come and teach us not to be heedless;

No bodhisattva is attached to the world.

If one wishes to become a Buddha and rescue beings,

O royal father, one cannot become a Buddha while heedless.

If people follow sensual pleasures and become slaves of craving,

They lose their virtue and have no path to a wholesome destination.

If, while possessing this body, one craves and kills living beings,

One is like a bird caught in a net, struggling to survive.

Sense objects resemble fierce venomous snakes;

The five skandhas are no different from hostile bandits.

The human mind’s attachment to existence brings no benefit;

Like a deserted village, it offers no refuge.

My father’s gardens and forests are like poisonous trees;

Swept away by the waters of impermanence, all will be submerged.

How, then, could I take joy and delight in them?

I see that the world does not follow right conduct,

Like the time at the end of a kalpa when everything is consumed by fire.

Sentient beings therein undergo immense suffering.

To liberate sentient beings from suffering,

I must quickly complete the Dharma-vessel of the path.

Sentient beings sleep in intoxication, unaware of themselves;

Long afflicted by illness, they are the ones I wish to heal.

I shall extract their poisoned arrows so that they may recover,

And lead them away from wrong paths onto the true path.

Tightly bound within the three realms, they cannot escape;

I shall teach them the Dharma so that they may emerge.

Sentient beings are destitute, lacking the wealth of Dharma;

I shall bestow wholesome Dharma and make them rich.

Those who are deluded and submerged in the lower realms,

I shall teach the various paths leading to wholesome destinations.

I wish to uproot every attachment and appropriation,

Practice loving-kindness and compassion, and light the lamp of wisdom,

Causing beings to see that the three realms are a burning house.

I shall further arouse compassion and gather dense clouds,

With all the pāramitās spreading everywhere as their canopy.

Benefiting sentient beings like flashes of lightning,

I shall use the factors of the path and dharanis as rain,

Cool and refreshing, able to extinguish the fires of affliction.

For these reasons I was born in a royal palace;

I take no delight in conditioned existence.

Because I wish to benefit all sentient beings,

I was born into the world to seek bodhi.

Never shall I crave sensual pleasures.

Father, I dwell amid enemies;

How could the wise delight in such a path?

Those with eyes do not fall from perilous cliffs;

To seek bodhi, one must abandon heedlessness.

The entire world follows the six paths;

Today I alone wish to go against that current.

Father, my words are certainly not false;

I humbly beg you to return to your own palace.

I vow to relinquish the worldly throne;

Whatever anyone desires, let them freely take.

If one acts heedlessly, coveting royal power,

I would not desire even a thousand koṭis of thrones.

If I cannot attain the Way within the inner palace,

I should dwell only in a secluded, fearless place.

If delighting in the five desires brings no accomplishment,

I shall go to the mountains and forests and abide in tranquility.

Dwelling in such a place, I shall seek bodhi;

The Buddhas of the three times dwell in araṇyas.

Perfect enlightenment and bodhi are not found in desire.

After Prince Puṇyajvāla had spoken these verses, he took leave of his royal father and led the palace women out for walking meditation. Yet his mind was not at ease, and he maintained only three postures: walking, standing, or sitting, never lying down to sleep. While on the eighth story of a lofty tower, in the middle of the night he saw devas of the Pure Abodes traveling through the sky, praising the virtues of the Buddhas and the virtues of the Dharma and Sangha. Hearing the devas praise the Buddha’s virtues, Prince Puṇyajvāla’s entire body broke out in gooseflesh and trembled. He immediately joined his palms and spoke these verses to the devas:

Excellent, O sons of the devas!

Take pity on our suffering.

Do not become weary;

There are questions I wish to ask.

As you devas travel through the sky,

Whose virtues do you praise?

Hearing those words of praise,

My heart is filled with joy.

The devas of the Pure Abodes spoke these verses to Prince Puṇyajvāla:

Young Prince, have you not heard

That a Buddha has appeared in the world?

That Buddha is named Auspicious Intention,

A refuge for everyone.

The Buddha knows the minds of sentient beings;

His merit and wisdom are both complete.

The noble ones who have attained meditative concentration

Number hundreds of thousands of nayutas.

The prince again spoke in verse, asking the devas:

I have not yet seen that Buddha;

Please tell me the marks of the Buddha.

If I may see and hear him,

I shall ask the Buddha about the path to bodhi:

How are sentient beings delivered?

How, in future lives,

May one become honored among sentient beings?

Please explain this for me.

The devas of the Pure Abodes spoke these verses to the prince:

The Buddha’s hair is lustrous and smooth,

Dark blue and curling to the right.

His crown rises high like the Snow Mountain;

The white tuft between his brows is like the sun,

Pure as lapis lazuli,

Marvelously colored and curling to the right.

His ears and eyes are exceedingly long and broad,

The color of blue lotus flowers.

His cheeks are square like a lion’s;

His lips are red like bimba fruit.

His teeth are perfectly even and close-set,

Pure and translucent like snowy jewels.

Their full number is forty,

And his four canine teeth are exceedingly sharp.

His broad, long tongue can cover his face;

His majestic virtue is greatly sovereign.

For the sake of all classes of sentient beings,

He emits koṭis of rays of light

That pervade the great trichiliocosm

And dry up all the evil destinies.

Supreme, Most Honored, and Victorious,

His voice is wondrous, true, and genuine,

Causing those who hear it to rejoice

And fulfilling the wishes of sentient beings,

Surpassing even the wish-fulfilling jewel.

His virtues are never deficient;

He accords with all factors of the Path

And adorns the banner of the true Dharma.

His voice has hundreds of thousands of tones,

Proclaiming the teaching without falsity or deficiency.

It surpasses the voices of all devas

And exceeds the voice of Brahmā.

Those who hear it give rise to joy.

It surpasses the voices of the kiṃnaras,

The kalaviṅka birds,

Mandarin ducks and wild geese,

And the pure tones of the kuṇāla bird.

All its tones blend in harmony;

Its compassionate sound is neither confused nor discordant.

It can make meanings clearly manifest,

Wondrously pure like lapis lazuli,

And can cause the wise to delight.

It teaches them to awaken the mind of the Path,

Their minds purified and their hearts joyful.

In accordance with his wisdom that knows others’ minds,

He can resolve the doubts of those who question him.

That Honored One is the Dharma King,

The greatly sovereign World-Honored One,

Possessing a supremely excellent Dharma voice.

His neck is straight and his shoulders rounded and full;

He compassionately raises his beautiful hand

To comfort all sentient beings.

The Buddha’s body is the color of true gold;

Every hair curls to the right.

His navel is deep and concealed;

His male organ is hidden like that of a stallion.

His calves are shapely like those of the king of deer;

Beneath his feet are lotus patterns

And wheels complete with a thousand spokes.

He turns to look like the king of elephants

And walks with the stride of a lion.

His entire body is perfectly proportioned,

Like the staff of Śakra.

From the sky, celestial flowers rain down

And transform into a canopy above him;

Whether walking or standing, it always follows and shades him.

Such is the rare wonder of the Dharma King.

Whether gaining advantage or losing it,

Whether experiencing pleasure or pain,

Whether gaining fame or losing fame,

Whether praised or disparaged,

He remains unattached to all,

Like a lotus flower in water,

And also like the lion king.

The Tathagata, the Perfectly Enlightened One,

Has no equal among sentient beings.

After Prince Puṇyajvāla heard the devas of the Pure Abodes praise the virtues of the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, he was filled with such immense joy and delight that he could not contain himself. He thought: “The Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, possess such accomplished assemblies, have awakened to and realized such a wondrous Dharma, and have such assemblies of noble disciples, yet I have not been able to see them.

“Now I encounter all the evil sufferings and afflictions of samsara. This samsara has no meaning or benefit. Ordinary beings cling to the view of self.

Household life has many faults, calamities, and dangers, and its craving desires are never satisfied. Heedlessness is reproached by the wise. It is concealed by the darkness of ignorance.

Such formations are difficult to penetrate. Such consciousness is exceedingly difficult to subdue. Such name-and-form is exceedingly profound and difficult to awaken to.

Such six sense entrances have no sovereignty. Such unwholesome contact is maintained by karmic retribution. Such delusion has many faults and dangers.

Such craving binds tightly and will not release its hold. Such graspings are exceedingly difficult to abandon. Such states of existence are devoid of the noble path.

Such birth is exceedingly difficult to escape. Such aging destroys youth. Such illness diminishes strength and health.

Such death is without vitality. Such birth entails much decline and affliction. Such coming and going has no benefit.

The Tathagata’s wondrous true teaching is worthy of the greatest delight. Why, then, should I become a slave to craving and allow the afflictions to delude my mind; allow evil, discursive thoughts to make it turbid, disordered, and impure; let my mind remain constantly heedless; continually befriend fools; fail to contemplate skillfully; keep my heart defiled by and attached to the afflictions of samsara; delight in unwholesome companions; and forever associate with such many evils?

In this way, I would never accomplish even the pure and wholesome deeds of the world, much less be able to attain unsurpassed bodhi.

“I must now cast myself down from this eastern window of the tower and depart. If I leave through the gateway, I fear my relatives and attendants will obstruct me.”

Wishing to go before the Buddha Auspicious Intention, Prince Puṇyajvāla immediately faced in the Buddha’s direction and cast himself down, while thinking: “If that Tathagata possesses omniscient knowledge and vision, he must surely be aware of me.”

At that moment, the Buddha Auspicious Intention, the Tathagata, the Perfectly Enlightened One, immediately extended his right hand and emitted a great ray of light that illuminated Prince Puṇyajvāla. Within that light appeared a great lotus flower as large as a wheel, with hundreds of thousands of petals, emitting hundreds of thousands of rays that together illuminated the prince’s body. Prince Puṇyajvāla saw himself seated upon that lotus flower. Once seated securely, the prince joined his palms, bowed toward the Buddha Auspicious Intention, and proclaimed loudly three times: “Namo Buddhāya.”

The Buddha Auspicious Intention withdrew the ray of light, and the prince followed that light until he arrived before the Buddha. He cast himself to the ground like a great falling tree, bowed to the Buddha a full one thousand times, and then addressed the Buddha in verse:

For a long time I have borne a grave illness;

Now I have encountered the King of Physicians.

Amid all hardships and sufferings,

World-Honored One, please rescue me.

I pray that the Buddha will explain to me

How, within the Dharma,

I may obtain great merit and benefit.

May the Tathagata clearly proclaim it.

World-Honored One, earlier,

In the middle of the night, devas came

And told me not to be heedless.

After hearing the devas’ instruction,

I became fearful and came here.

Now I ask the World-Honored One:

How may I be free from heedlessness?

May the Buddha compassionately explain it clearly.

I have now lost the right path;

May the Buddha be my caravan leader.

I am now like one born blind;

May the Buddha become my eyes.

My eyes are now caught in peril;

May the Buddha rescue and deliver me.

I reverently beseech your great compassion

To cause right faith to arise within me.

Like a person in dire distress,

I pray that the Buddha will quickly heal me.

I am now like an impoverished man;

May the Buddha compassionately accept me.

I am now bound in fetters;

May the Buddha compassionately untie them.

My heart is filled with many doubts;

Please unravel the net of delusion.

Teach me what I should practice

And how I may attain bodhi.

I am now sinking in the great ocean;

May the Buddha compassionately rescue me.

I dwell amid profound darkness;

May the Buddha kindle the torch of Dharma.

My body bears a great abscess;

Please heal it swiftly.

My body has been struck by a poisoned arrow;

May the Buddha draw out that arrow.

Ever falling into evil destinies,

I beseech the Buddha, in compassion, to rescue me.

Those who harbor attachments

Should abandon the false and return to the true path.

I am submerged in the river of sorrow;

Please bring me to the other shore,

That I may abide in the Noble Eightfold Path.

My life is brief,

And many obstacles hinder my quest for goodness.

I pray that from this time onward

I may attain the life of true thusness.

Now my body is tranquil and pure,

And I have escaped all adversities.

Those who perform merits will surely receive their fruits;

Please resolve my doubts.

The World-Honored One taught me

That bodhisattvas, never heedless,

Proceed toward the unsurpassed path

And in the future attain bodhi.

They can open the way of deliverance from all realms,

Save all sentient beings,

And liberate them from birth and death.

Knowing the mind of Prince Phước Diệm, the Tathagata Cát Lợi Ý expounded the bodhisattva practices at length.

Upon hearing this Dharma, Prince Phước Diệm immediately attained a dharani and thereby gained liberation. He also attained the five superknowledges, rose into the air, magically produced many kinds of flowers, and scattered them over the Buddha.

After scattering the flowers, Prince Phước Diệm descended from the air and spoke these verses in praise of the Buddha Cát Lợi Ý:

I bow before the Golden-Hued One,

Whose radiant face resembles the full moon.

Homage to the Incomparable One,

The honored one of the three realms, free from defilement.

His pure hair is lustrous and glossy;

His crown rises high like Mount Sumeru.

Those who behold him never weary of the sight,

And joy arises in their hearts.

Between his brows is the white urna mark,

Pure, beautiful, and brilliantly radiant.

His eyes resemble blue lotus blossoms,

Subtle, wondrous, and supremely distinguished.

With a loving and compassionate heart,

He looks upon all the worlds.

Sentient beings rejoice when they behold him,

As infants cherish their mother.

The Tathagata’s tongue is long and broad,

Soft and copper-red.

When extended, it covers his entire face;

He teaches the Dharma to the great assembly.

His teeth are white as snowy jade,

Hard and firm as vajra.

Forty in number, even and closely set,

They appear when he smiles joyfully.

He teaches and transforms immeasurable beings,

Liberating them so that they attain bodhi.

Homage to his wondrous voice;

Homage to his truthful and beautiful words.

The Buddha’s body is unequaled in the world;

It emits light illuminating all realms.

The radiance of Brahma and the World-Protectors

Can no longer be seen beside it.

His calves are shapely like those of the king of deer;

He walks like the king of elephants,

And also like a lion;

The entire earth trembles.

The World-Honored One possesses all the excellent marks;

His skin is soft, lustrous, beautiful, and smooth.

His body resembles a mountain of purple gold;

None can equal his majestic radiance.

Through ascetic practices for countless kalpas,

He delighted tirelessly in giving.

With loving-kindness he regards sentient beings;

Homage to the Father of Great Compassion.

The Buddha always delights in giving and moral discipline,

And steadfastly practices patience and diligence,

Meditative concentration and prajna,

Dharani, and incomparable wisdom.

When the World-Honored One expounds the Dharma,

He subdues all adherents of other paths.

Amid the assembly he is like a lion,

Fearless and supremely sovereign.

The King of Physicians removes the three poisons

And proclaims the pure Dharma.

All who hear it rejoice;

Therefore, I now bow before him.

His body, speech, and mind are pure,

Undefiled by attachment to the three realms.

Like a lotus growing in water,

He is ever fragrant, pure, and radiant.

The Buddha’s voice is like that of Brahma,

And like the song of the kalavinka bird.

He has crossed beyond the shores of the three realms;

Therefore, I pay him homage.

The Buddha beholds all worlds

As illusions and as dreams,

And also as the house of a conjurer.

He teaches that all dharmas are without self,

Without sentient beings, life-principle, or person;

All are devoid of anything possessed,

Like the moon reflected in water,

Empty, quiescent, and without a place of arising.

Having known the world to be thus,

He employs skillful means for its sake:

Hundreds of thousands of Dharma gates,

Compassionately embracing and instructing beings.

Sentient beings suffer many calamities;

The poisons constantly blaze within them.

Having observed their burning afflictions,

He treats them like the King of Physicians.

He constantly journeys throughout the worlds,

Rescuing countless beings

From the sufferings of birth, old age, illness, and death,

Separation from what is loved and meeting with what is hated,

Grief, lamentation, and every affliction,

Which burn them without respite.

Having seen the world’s suffering and distress,

He compassionately delivers beings.

The worlds revolve like a wheel:

Gods, humans, and animals,

Those in the hells and hungry ghosts,

Are deluded and without a guiding teacher.

For the sake of these five classes of beings,

The World-Honored One manifests as the Supremely Honored One.

In the past there were Buddhas,

Dharma Kings who departed from the world;

They too taught this noble path,

Just as the Buddha now teaches it.

Pure and free from impurity,

His voice surpasses that of the Great Brahma King;

It also surpasses the gandharvas

And all the celestial maidens.

Among all such sounds,

The Buddha’s voice is supreme.

He explains the Dharma for the worlds,

Benefiting them with true wisdom.

He teaches many kinds of skillful means,

Perfectly endowed with every virtue.

Hundreds of thousands of nayutas

Attain nirvana through the Three Vehicles.

Those who make offerings to them

Receive the fruit of supreme happiness.

Immeasurable gods and humans

Will attain the true and right path.

Some will become human kings,

Elders, immensely wealthy men, and others;

Some will rule over one continent,

Or two, three, or four continents,

Becoming holy wheel-turning monarchs

Who teach their people the ten wholesome deeds.

The seven treasures will all appear in abundance;

All this comes from making offerings to the Buddha.

Some will become kings of the Shakras or Brahmas,

Or kings of the Four Heavenly Kings;

Some will rule in Tushita or the Heaven of Delight in Transformations,

Or in the Heaven of Mastery over Others’ Creations or the Yama Heaven.

All this comes from making offerings to the Buddha;

In future lives, they will attain perfect enlightenment.

Those who make offerings to the Buddha in this way,

Whether they see him or merely hear his voice,

Will all receive benefit.

Their manifold sufferings will be removed,

And they will attain the nectar of the Dharma,

Supremely wondrous, beyond aging and illness.

The World-Honored One knows the true path

And skillfully teaches the Dharma of the true path.

He can put an end to the evil destinies

And establish beings upon the fearless path,

The undefiled, great noble path,

Which can serve as a refuge for all.

Those who seek merit

Should plant its seeds before the Buddha.

Through these causes and conditions,

They will attain an inexhaustible treasury.

For innumerable kotis of kalpas,

That merit cannot be exhausted.

Until they attain Buddhahood,

They will obtain a pure land,

Wondrous like the Heaven of Mastery over Others’ Creations;

Having attained it, they will greatly rejoice.

All the sentient beings

Within that pure land

Will be pure in body, speech, and mind;

This merit comes from offerings to the Buddha.

If those sentient beings

Seek birth among the gods, nirvana,

Or happiness among humans,

They will attain immeasurable blessings;

Their merit cannot be exhausted

Until they attain Buddhahood.

Furthermore, throughout a hundred realms,

Before immeasurable hundreds of thousands of beings,

One should proclaim the virtues of the Buddha

So that everyone may revere him.

The Tathagata removes burning afflictions

And causes beings to attain liberation.

Compassionately beholding them, he rejoices;

His faculties are serene and pure.

The Supreme One among humans,

An immeasurable accumulation of virtues,

Is the refuge of sentient beings;

Therefore, I bow before him.

I have attained the five superknowledges

And can fly through the air.

Having heard the Buddha’s wondrous voice,

If I become a Buddha in the future,

I will proclaim the wondrous Dharma to beings

And deliver immeasurable multitudes.

I praise this accumulation of virtues,

These undefiled and pure blessings.

May gods, humans, dragons, asuras,

Yakshas, gandharvas,

And all the various kinds of sentient beings

Attain Buddhahood in future lives.

At that time, after the night had passed, Great King Diệm Ý heard the weeping of the youths. He hurried to the city of Thắng Hỉ Lạc and asked the youths and palace maidens why they were crying. They reported that Prince Phước Diệm had suddenly disappeared during the night. Upon hearing this, the great king fainted and fell to the ground. After a moment he arose, wailed bitterly, and circled the city hundreds of thousands of times.

The deity guarding the city told King Diệm Ý, “East of here is a Buddha named Cát Lợi Ý. Prince Phước Diệm is presently there, bowing before him and making offerings.”

After hearing the deity’s report, King Diệm Ý took the youths, palace maidens, and a retinue of eighty-four thousand kotis, together with hundreds of thousands of nayutas of people in the great assembly, and traveled eastward to the dwelling place of the Buddha Cát Lợi Ý, the Tathagata, the Perfectly and Completely Enlightened One. Upon arriving, the king bowed at the Buddha’s feet, withdrew to one side, and spoke these verses in praise of the Buddha:

Homage to the ocean of virtue and wisdom,

The great being whom none can equal,

Supreme throughout all realms, without peer,

To whom the heavenly kings Shakra and Brahma make offerings.

The uniquely Supreme One amid the assembly—

No one ever tires of beholding the Buddha’s form.

His body is adorned with the thirty-two marks,

Like a pure jeweled throne upon Mount Sumeru.

The Buddha’s wondrous body is purple-gold in hue;

Those who see it never weary, and so I bow before him.

Throughout immeasurable hundreds of thousands of kotis of kalpas,

The Tathagata practiced austerities without weariness.

For immeasurable kalpas he made offerings to Buddhas,

Hundreds of thousands of kotis beyond all reckoning.

His giving in former times was inconceivable;

Therefore, his physical form is supremely adorned and pure.

Giving, moral discipline, meditative concentration, and wisdom

Patience, vigor, and skillful means.

The Buddha’s physical body is exceedingly pure,

Its radiance surpassing the sun, moon, and mani jewel;

The light of Shakra and Brahma is concealed and no longer appears.

For the sake of the world, the Buddha manifests his countenance and form.

At times he appears to dwell in Tushita Heaven;

At times he manifests the intention to descend and take birth;

At times he appears as a pure white elephant king,

Entering his mother’s right side in a dream to enter the womb.

The Buddha’s body appears like empty space,

Like the moon’s reflection, a dream, an illusion, or a magical transformation;

The Buddha’s responsive manifestations are likewise.

He also manifests the time of his first birth;

At times he takes seven steps, displaying the marks of a great man,

And loudly proclaims, “Among gods and humans, I am supreme.

I shall deliver sentient beings from suffering.”

Regarding all dharmas, he is free from doubt,

Yet for the assembly he manifests first learning letters.

Having perfected meditative concentration in tranquil seclusion,

He manifests dwelling among the women of the palace,

Then leaves behind his father, mother, wife, and children,

While his kin and honored relatives weep in longing.

Leaving home, he dwells in the forest and always walks alone,

While kotis of gods constantly surround him

And praise him ceaselessly, never growing weary.

Long ago he subdued the four kinds of mara,

Yet in this realm he manifests subduing them anew.

Long ago he turned the pure Dharma wheel,

Yet now, out of compassion, he manifests its first turning.

Seeing worldly people cling to permanence,

He proclaims before the assembly, “I shall enter nirvana.”

Seeing worldly people delight in samsara,

The Blessed One teaches them the Dharma of quiescent cessation.

His merit, wisdom, and skillful means are beyond compare;

His body emits light illuminating many realms.

Bodhisattvas from every direction come before the Buddha

And bow their heads to the inconceivable Blessed One.

The Dharma King expounds the wondrous Dharma for them,

And the pure assembly gives rise to joyful minds.

For the assembly he manifests a body like those of the world,

Yet the Buddha’s body neither comes nor goes.

The Tathagata abides in the Dharma and is no illusory transformation;

Therefore, I bow my head to the Great Man.

Excellent, Blessed One, who expounds the wondrous path

And reveals to beings the road to perfect awakening.

You taught me this supreme Dharma gate;

Therefore, I have now realized this Dharma.

The Blessed One manifested it for my sake;

Whatever I realize, I expound for sentient beings.

The Buddha’s wisdom is untroubled and utterly unsurpassed;

I now praise all the Buddha’s virtues.

May I, together with all sentient beings in the world,

Swiftly realize the unsurpassed path of quiescent cessation.

At that time, the Tathagata Auspicious Intention knew the profound faith in King Blazing Intention’s mind. Teaching the king according to what was appropriate, the Buddha enabled him to attain irreversibility from the path to unsurpassed bodhi.

Prince Merit-Blaze said to the Buddha Auspicious Intention, “I now wish to invite the Buddha into my city. I pray that the Buddha, out of compassion, will accept.”

Out of compassion, the Buddha Auspicious Intention silently accepted the invitation.

Knowing that the Buddha had consented, Prince Merit-Blaze addressed his royal father, royal mother, and retinue, saying, “I now offer the city of Victorious Joy and Delight, together with all its adornments, entirely to the Buddha and the Sangha of bhikshus, without the slightest regret. May my parents and retinue give rise to joyful minds.”

The king, his father, and the entire retinue proclaimed with one voice, “Excellent, excellent! We all rejoice in accord.”

Prince Merit-Blaze returned and adorned the city of Victorious Joy and Delight with even greater beauty, then offered it to the Buddha and the Sangha of bhikshus. Each day the prince prepared five hundred kinds of food and drink to offer to the Buddha and the Sangha. For the Sangha he also constructed monasteries, all adorned with the seven treasures. In each room he spread five thousand layers of multicolored brocade and silk cushions. He also had new, clean robes made for the bhikshus according to their preferences. He further constructed walking-meditation grounds, all adorned with various treasures and covered above with jeweled nets; on both sides he planted many kinds of fragrant and beautiful flowering and fruit-bearing trees.

He made offerings to the Buddha and the Sangha in this manner for three hundred million koti years. Prince Merit-Blaze never slept or rested. He did not cherish his body or life, but devoted himself solely to making offerings.

He had no lustful desire and no thoughts of anger or harm. He had no fondness for the royal throne. Wherever he might be, he was able to relinquish even his body and life, much less any other possession.

Moreover, he accepted and retained every Dharma teaching proclaimed by the Tathagata, never forgetting any of them, and never once asked the Buddha to repeat even a single sentence. Throughout those three hundred million koti years, the prince neither bathed nor anointed himself with oil, nor washed his feet. He neither sat nor lay down, except when eating or relieving himself, yet he never entertained any thought of weariness.

When the Tathagata Auspicious Intention entered nirvana, the prince piled up red sandalwood and cremated the Tathagata’s body. At that cremation ground, he then honored the relics with every kind of supremely wondrous offering. Throughout Jambudvipa, he likewise established offerings to the relics.

He also separately erected ninety-nine kotis of stupas made of the seven treasures, draped above with curtains and nets of pearls and assorted jewels. Each stupa had five hundred canopies of the seven treasures and a hundred thousand kinds of music. Around the stupas he planted beautiful flowering trees.

Before each stupa he lit a hundred thousand lamps, each containing a thousand hu of oil, and he continually offered every kind of incense and flower.

After making offerings in this manner for many koti years, Prince Merit-Blaze left home and entered monastic life. After going forth, he possessed only the three robes, always went on alms rounds, and delighted in the dhutanga practices. He always sat and never lay down, never slept or rested, and asked nothing of others. He gave everything away without hoping for recompense and constantly expounded the Dharma to everyone. He continued in this manner for four koti years, to the extent that he would not even accept a kind word or praise, much less accept material gains and offerings from others. Whenever he listened to the Dharma, he never entertained any thought of weariness. Gods constantly came to attend upon him and make offerings.

In that kingdom, the royal father, royal mother, great ministers, palace women, citizens, and the entire retinue all followed the prince’s example, leaving home and cultivating the path.

At that time, the gods of the Pure Abodes saw what had occurred and thought, “Now all the people in that kingdom have followed Prince Merit-Blaze in leaving home and cultivating the path. That entire kingdom consists wholly of the Three Jewels. We should now become their donors and make offerings to them for the benefit of the world.”

After the Tathagata Auspicious Intention entered nirvana, the true Dharma remained in the world for sixty-four thousand koti years, entirely through the sustaining power of the bhikshu Merit-Blaze.

From that time onward, the bhikshu Merit-Blaze continually made offerings in this manner, successively making offerings to ninety-four kotis of Buddhas.

“O Protector of the Nation! King Blazing Intention at that time is none other than the present Tathagata Amitayus. Prince Merit-Blaze is none other than I, the Tathagata Shakyamuni. The heavenly spirit who guarded the city is none other than the present Tathagata Akshobhya.

“O Protector of the Nation! For this reason, bodhisattvas who wish to attain unsurpassed bodhi should emulate Prince Merit-Blaze, cultivating all practices with profound sincerity and abandoning every feeling of affection and aversion.

“Because in the past I constantly and diligently cultivated ascetic practices in this manner, I attained unsurpassed bodhi.

“In future ages there will be bhikshus who cherish fame and gain and are attached to their retinues. Their wholesome qualities will naturally diminish, and they will constantly be harmed by the hostile bandit of conceit. They will indeed be greatly pitiable.

Because they crave gain, they will depart far from the true Dharma. Although they have gone forth, they will only defile the practices of a shramana. Their mouths alone will declare, ‘I am a bodhisattva,’ while inwardly their minds will be entirely deceitful and crooked.

Their bodies and minds will be clouded and turbid, immersed in the mire of afflictions. They will possess only the outward appearance while opposing the true path. Abandoning their former vows, they will cling to robes, food and drink, dwellings, bedding, and medicines.

They will be shameless, know no disgrace, lack dignified deportment, and remain far removed from the Buddha’s domain. These are evil spiritual friends who seek fame and crave gain; one should not associate with them.”

The Blessed One, wishing to restate this meaning, spoke these verses:

“Indulging greatly in heedlessness,

They stray far from the state of the Ten Powers;

Their minds constantly crave material gain

And the company of their retinues.

They cast aside the Buddha’s bodhi

And its thousands upon myriads of virtues;

They deceive the noble ones, seeking fame and gain.”

Evil by nature, they know no shame,

Deceitful and flattering, they cultivate no sense of disgrace.

They are wholly devoted to gain and fame,

And for these enter the Buddha’s Dharma.

Following their afflictions,

They swiftly fall into the evil destinies.

With their mouths they say, “I am greatly virtuous,

Surpassing those who dwell in aranyas,”

Yet in their hearts they think of villages and settlements.

Because such people are filled with craving and attachment,

Their minds teem with conceptual thought and examination.

They are far removed from liberation,

As the heavens are far from the earth.

Practitioners should keep far away from them,

As though fearing vicious, venomous snakes.

They take no delight in the Buddha’s Dharma,

Nor in the virtues of the Sangha.

Casting away and abandoning the wholesome path,

They constantly walk upon deviant ways.

They lose immeasurable goodness,

And are obscured by the various realms of existence.

Hearing of the deeds I performed in the past,

With sincere hearts give rise to faith.

You should train in accordance with my practices,

Throughout many kotis of kalpas.

Such a Dharma is difficult to encounter;

You should arouse a mind of great patience.

Whatever I have taught,

You should diligently strive to practice.

If you wish to attain Buddhahood

Within the wondrous and supreme Mahayana,

You should recollect the Prince’s practices

And his immeasurable virtues.

Having reflected upon them truthfully,

You should abide therein.

The path to bodhi is thus;

You will see it to be as the Buddha has taught.

Carefully contemplate the virtues

That are the abode of the noble sages.

You should act exactly as instructed.

If you abandon this teaching,

You will lose the savor of virtue

And be born in the evil destinies,

Deluded and gaining no benefit.

Once born in an evil destiny, you will regret it.

I exhort those who practice in mountains and forests:

Take care never to praise yourselves,

Nor disparage others.

You should constantly reproach yourselves:

“In the past, before kotis of Buddhas,

I transgressed because of an arrogant mind.”

Do not cherish your own bodies and lives;

Abandon every object of affection and attachment.

As the Buddha has taught in this sutra,

Give rise to reverence for the true Dharma.

If you practice in accordance with the Dharma,

Attaining bodhi will not be difficult.

This vehicle was taught by the Buddha;

Having heard it, do not give rise to doubt.

Therefore, within the Buddha’s Dharma,

You should act as the Buddha instructed.

Diligently relinquish even body and life;

Do not transgress what has been taught.

If you do not believe this Dharma,

Later regret will be of no avail.

“O Protector of the Nation! Suppose a bodhisattva constantly practices the five paramitas without rest. Suppose another bodhisattva, with regard to this sutra, is able to practice in accordance with the Dharma and abide in accordance with the Dharma, and also personally proclaims, ‘I am able to practice and abide in accordance with this Dharma.’ If one wished to compare the merit from the former’s cultivation of the five paramitas with this merit, it would not equal even one hundredth part, one hundred-thousandth part, or one part in a hundred thousand kotis. It would not equal even a fraction expressible through calculation or analogy, nor even one upanishad fraction.”

When the Buddha taught this sutra, thirty nayutas of devas, humans, asuras, and others who had never before aroused the aspiration for unsurpassed bodhi all aroused that aspiration and attained non-retrogression. Moreover, seven thousand bhiksus, having exhausted the outflows, attained liberation of mind.

The bodhisattva Protector of the Nation addressed the Buddha, saying, “World-Honored One! What is the name of this Dharma, and how should we uphold it?”

The Buddha said, “Good man! This Dharma was originally called The Pure Practice of the Unfailing Vow; thus should you receive and uphold it. It is also called The Definitive Vinaya of the Bodhisattva Practice in Which Good Men Sport; thus should you receive and uphold it. It is also called Complete Endowment with the True Meaning; thus should you receive and uphold it. It is also called The Past Fundamental Practices of the Great Bodhisattva Hero Blazing Merit; thus should you receive and uphold it.”

After the Buddha had taught this sutra, the elder bodhisattva Protector of the Nation and the devas, humans, asuras, gandharvas, and others, having heard the Buddha’s teaching, rejoiced and faithfully practiced it.

VOLUME 05

XVIII. THE EIGHTEENTH ASSEMBLY: THE BODHISATTVA PROTECTOR OF THE NATION

Translated into Chinese during the Sui dynasty by the Tripitaka Master Jnanagupta of India

Translated into Vietnamese by the Vietnamese Bhiksu Thich Tri Tinh

Thus have I heard. At one time, the Bhagavat was dwelling in the city of Rajagrha, on Mount Grdhrakuta, together in assembly with a community of two hundred and fifty great bhiksus.

There were also five thousand great bodhisattvas, all of whom had attained unobstructed eloquence, accomplished great wisdom and patience, subdued the hostile maras, and drawn near to the wisdom of a Buddha. As those destined for only one more birth, they had all attained the power of dharani, boundless eloquence, fearlessness, and mastery of spiritual powers, and were fully endowed with every virtue. Their names were: the bodhisattva Samantabhadra, the bodhisattva Universal Radiance, the bodhisattva Universal Light, the bodhisattva Perfect Light, the bodhisattva Supreme Intention, the bodhisattva Boundless Intention, the bodhisattva Vast Intention, the bodhisattva Inexhaustible Intention, the bodhisattva Upholder of the Earth, the bodhisattva Upholder of the World,

the bodhisattva Beneficial Intention, the bodhisattva Abiding Foremost, Manjusri and sixty inconceivable bodhisattvas, and Bhadrapala and sixteen bodhisattvas.

These five thousand great bodhisattvas had all gathered together in the assembly.

There were also the Great Brahma, sovereign of the Saha world; Sakra Devendra; the Four Heavenly Kings, guardians of the world; the deva-son Meritorious Virtue; the deva-son Right Intention; all the deva kings, all the naga kings, all the kinnara kings, all the gandharva kings, all the yaksa kings, all the asura kings, and all the garuda kings. Each of these kings came to the assembly together with hundreds of thousands of attendants.

At that time, the World-Honored One was seated upon the lion throne known as the Treasury of Merit. Amid the great assembly, the color and form of the Buddha’s body appeared like Mount Sumeru. He illuminated the entire world like a heavenly king; gathered all within his majestic virtue like Sakra, Lord of the Devas; and was fully endowed with the seven factors of bodhi like a wheel-turning king.

He proclaimed the Dharma of emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness without fear, like the lion king. The light from his body blazed like a great mass of fire. He also emitted rays like the unsurpassed and supremely excellent mani jewel of the heavens, illuminating the entire trichiliocosm.

With a mighty Brahma voice, he caused all sentient beings to rejoice. Clearly comprehending the profound meaning of all dharmas, he taught the Dharma to the great assembly, excellent in the beginning, excellent in the middle, and excellent in the end. Its meaning was subtle, wondrous, complete, and unmixed, and it revealed the pure holy life.

At that time, a great bodhisattva named King of Joy, seated within the great assembly, saw the Tathagata seated upon the lion throne amid the assembly, emitting a great radiance like hundreds of thousands of suns that illuminated everything, eclipsing the light of the human and heavenly realms so that it could no longer be seen. Having witnessed this, the great bodhisattva King of Joy was filled throughout body and mind with irrepressible gladness and delight. He immediately rose, joined his palms toward the Buddha, and spoke these verses of praise:

“The World-Honored One outshines this great assembly—

Devas, nagas, asuras, and gandharvas;

Bodhisattvas and sravakas lose their splendor,

As he illuminates all like a mountain of gold.

Like Mount Sumeru among the devas,

Standing in the midst of the great ocean, so is the Buddha.

The World-Honored One stands within the ocean of compassion,

Emitting hundreds of thousands of kinds of great light.

Abiding in the holy life like the Brahma King,

His radiant majestic virtue surpasses that of the devas.

Securely abiding in meditative concentration and liberation,

He illumines the world, surpassing all sentient beings.

Like Sakra, Lord of the Devas, among the heavenly hosts,

Whose bodily radiance surpasses them all,

The Buddha likewise surpasses the world,

Adorned with the marks and fully endowed with virtue.

Like a wheel-turning king governing the four continents,

He illuminates the world when teaching the Dharma,

Causing all sentient beings to enter the noble path.

The World-Honored One reveals his compassionate mind.

His light outshines the radiance of mani jewels.

Like the sun in the midst of a cloudless sky,

Even beside a thousand suns, the Buddha still surpasses them.

The Buddha-sun shines throughout all worlds.

Like the bright full moon in the clear night,

The Buddha’s radiance is likewise pure,

His face perfectly full like the moon.

He eclipses every light of devas and humans.

Like a great mass of fire upon a mountain peak,

His pure light illumines boundless realms

And can dispel all darkness of ignorance.

The World-Honored One’s wisdom shines everywhere.

The Buddha’s voice fills all the mountain valleys.

Like a lion, he can subdue the followers of other paths,

Proclaiming no-self, emptiness, and wishlessness,

Causing all followers of other paths to be terrified.

His majestic radiance resembles the king of mani jewels,

Its brilliance eclipsing every other mani jewel.

The Tathagata’s body is the color of gold,

Illuminating the world and surpassing all.

No one in the world is equal to the Buddha;

How much less could anyone surpass him?

In merit, wisdom, diligence, and skillful means,

In every virtue, none surpasses him.

O Great Man who rescues and protects the world,

I now behold the ocean of your virtues.”

Now I rejoice and give rise to reverence;

Therefore I bow at the feet of the World-Honored One.

I have praised the Tamer,

The radiant lamp of the world, perfect in merit.

Whatever merit I have gained,

May it enable all beings to attain Perfect Enlightenment."

After Bodhisattva Mahasattva King of Joy had spoken these verses in praise of the Buddha, he joined his palms and gazed intently upon the Buddha’s body, never taking his eyes from it even for a moment. He contemplated the Dharma realm, profound, difficult to understand, difficult to practice, and difficult to enter; a subtle, quiescent Dharma, difficult to know, inconceivable and immeasurable—the domain of the Buddhas.

Within his mind, he contemplated the Dharma realm in its entirety and contemplated the wisdom of the Tathagata, the domain of the World-Honored One, unequaled by any. Having contemplated thus, he entered the skillful practices within the inconceivable domain of the Tathagata’s wisdom. The Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, are entirely free from attachment, like empty space.

As he contemplated in this way, he realized and entered suchness, the Dharma-nature; the nature of all dharmas is likewise. He gave rise to such faith and delighted in the unobstructed gateways of liberation of the Buddha-Tathagatas. He understood the four virtues of permanence, bliss, self, and purity; understood the Buddha’s body; and reflected that the Tathagata’s body appears before beings throughout all lands.

Even if the Buddha’s merits were spoken of for immeasurable kalpas, they could never be exhausted.

Having reflected in this way, Bodhisattva Mahasattva King of Joy sat silently, contemplating the Dharma realm.

At that time there was a venerable bodhisattva-bhikshu named Protector of the Realm. After completing the three months of the rains retreat in the city of Shravasti, he took up his robe and alms bowl and traveled through various lands together with young bhikshus who were beginning their training. Eventually he arrived at Rajagriha, at Mount Gridhrakuta. Coming before the World-Honored One, he bowed at the Buddha’s feet, circumambulated him three times to the right, then stood to one side. Joining his palms and facing the Buddha, he spoke these verses of praise:

"Homage to the Supremely Victorious One who radiates light;

Homage to the One whose mind is like empty space;

Homage to the One who can resolve the doubts of others;

Homage to the One who transcends the three realms.

Throughout the countless lands of the ten directions,

When praise of the Buddha’s merits is heard,

However many bodhisattvas dwell in those lands

All come joyfully to make offerings to the Buddha.

Having made offerings in accordance with the Dharma,

The bodhisattvas single-mindedly hear the Dharma taught by the Buddha.

Having heard the Dharma, they joyfully return to their native lands

And praise the merits of the Tathagata.

In the past, the Buddha cultivated practices for the sake of beings

Throughout immeasurable and boundless kalpas.

When the Buddha sought bodhi for the sake of others,

His mind never grew weary.

The World-Honored One practiced giving, firmly upheld the precepts,

Cultivated patience and diligence, and entered meditative concentration;

His wisdom and skillful means were all perfected.

Therefore I bow to the Great Sage.

The Tathagata fully possesses the four bases of spiritual power,

The faculties, the powers, and the liberations.

The Buddha clearly knows the minds, thoughts, and consciousnesses of beings;

Therefore I bow to the ocean of great wisdom.

The Buddha knows the thoughts and intentions of beings,

And the wholesome and unwholesome karma created by their bodies and speech;

He also clearly knows the skillful means of liberation.

Knowing these, the Buddha teaches them the Dharma.

Greed, anger, and delusion bewilder beings,

Causing them to fall into the three evil destinies.

Knowing this, the Buddha instructs them to eradicate these defilements,

Causing those beings to be born in wholesome realms.

All the World-Honored Ones of the past,

Revered by devas, humans, maras, and Brahmas,

And those of the future who will be perfect in merit—

The World-Honored One knows them all with perfect clarity.

The pure Buddha lands where they will be born,

The bodhisattvas, shravakas, and pratyekabuddhas,

Their retinues of devas and humans, and their lineages,

And whether their lifespans will be long or short—the Buddha knows them all.

How long the true Dharma will abide after their nirvana,

The offerings made to their relics and the stupas and shrines erected,

And the various kinds of people who will receive the treasury of Dharma—

The Tamer of Beings knows them all clearly.

The Buddha’s ten powers of wisdom are unobstructed;

He can thoroughly comprehend the affairs of the three times

And enter the wisdom of all dharmas.

Therefore I bow to the ocean of great wisdom.

No one equals the Buddha, much less surpasses him;

The marks adorn the Tathagata’s body

Like stars adorning empty space.

Therefore I bow to the Supremely Victorious One.

The wondrous form of the Buddha’s body is beyond compare;

Its radiance outshines the entire great assembly.

The majestic splendor of Shakra and Brahma beside the Buddha

Is completely eclipsed and no longer visible.

His body is like a golden mountain, free from dust and impurity;

His blue-black hair is fine and soft, curling to the right.

The Buddha’s crown rises distinctly like Mount Sumeru,

A mass of light formed by immeasurable merits.

The white curl between his brows radiates great light,

Immeasurable, boundless, and countless.

The Buddha’s eyes are broad and long like blue lotuses,

Gazing upon beings with great loving-kindness and compassion.

Like the full autumn moon in the midst of the sky,

So too is the countenance of the Buddha.

Beings never tire of gazing upon it;

Therefore I bow to the King of Beautiful Countenance.

Like a lion, a peacock, or the king of geese,

He walks slowly, steadily, like the king of elephants.

As he walks or stands, heaven and earth tremble;

Homage to the One of the Ten Powers who practiced the most arduous austerities.

His fingers are rounded and tapering, beloved by all;

The webbing of skin between them is the color of red coral and copper.

His arms are straight and long, extending below his knees;

I bow to the Tathagata whose body shines like gold.

The wheel marks beneath his feet and the webbing are complete;

When he walks, his footprints appear like painted images.

If anyone bows to the World-Honored One,

Illuminated by the Buddha’s light, that person will be born in the heavens.

The Dharma King fully possesses the seven noble treasures

And constantly uses the gift of Dharma to tame the mind.

He teaches beings through the practice of Dharma;

Now I bow to the Dharma King.

Loving-kindness and compassion are his armor, mindfulness his strength;

Moral discipline is his mighty bow, and wisdom his arrow.

With these he can defeat the bandits of affliction,

Destroy craving and samsara, and increase the lineage of the Buddhas.

He liberates himself and also liberates hundreds of millions of beings,

Freeing them from every fetter.

He clearly reveals the peaceful and fearless path,

Leading them to the path of everlasting peace and bliss.

Practicing this vehicle, they end birth and death;

There is no suffering from separation from those they love.

They attain the supremely subtle and wondrous state;

With a loving mind, he teaches the Dharma for the sake of beings.

Having extolled the supremely victorious World-Honored One,

The One who is sovereign over all dharmas,

By these praises and supreme roots of goodness,

May all beings attain bodhi."

After Bodhisattva Protector of the Realm had spoken these verses in praise of the Buddha, he joined his palms and addressed the Buddha: "World-Honored One! There is a matter of doubt in my mind that I wish to ask about. I pray that the Tathagata will grant me permission."

The Buddha said to the bodhisattva-bhikshu Protector of the Realm: "You have permission to ask. The Tathagata will dispel your doubts and cause you to rejoice."

Bodhisattva Protector of the Realm said: "World-Honored One! What practices does a bodhisattva mahasattva cultivate so that, in relation to all dharmas, his merits increase until he ultimately attains mastery; quickly realizes wisdom and acquires definitive wisdom; thoroughly understands all dharmas and enters omniscience; teaches and transforms beings, skillfully removing the net of their doubts; understands all things and uses skillful means to liberate beings; practices in accordance with his words and always proclaims the truth; attains the samadhi of mindfulness of the Buddha; skillfully inquires into all profound meanings; and, after hearing them, can uphold them and swiftly attain the wisdom of all modes?"

Wishing to restate this meaning, Bodhisattva Protector of the Realm spoke these verses:

"A bodhisattva’s practice is always definitive;

From where does true certainty arise?

Concerning the discernment found in the great ocean of wisdom,

I pray that the World-Honored One will instruct us.

The Buddha’s wondrous body is like pure gold;

His great accumulation of merit surpasses devas and humans.

Have compassion for us, our great refuge,

And instruct us in the practices of purity.

How may inexhaustible benefit be attained,

And the path of awakening and the nectar of dharani arise?

What is the pure ocean of wisdom

That can sever the doubts and delusions of beings?

Though dwelling in samsara for immeasurable hundreds of millions of kalpas,

How may one’s mind never become weary, exhausted, or regretful,

But, seeing beings oppressed by suffering,

Constantly work for the benefit of beings?

The purity of the land and the Buddha’s retinue,

The supreme land and the lifespan,

And all those wondrous matters—

Please teach the pure practice of bodhi.

Subduing all maras and destroying wrong views,

Drying up the ocean of craving and attaining liberation,

Continuing the practice of Dharma without interruption—

O Supremely Unsurpassed One, please instruct us.

Physical beauty, strength, wealth, treasures, and the four unobstructed eloquences;

Gentle and loving words that bring joy to others;

The rain of loving-kindness and compassion that moistens all—

Please instruct us in the domain of the Buddhas.

Please utter the voice of the kalavinka,
The great Brahma-thunder that destroys wrong views;

The assembly thirsts with longing, and for the Dharma has come

Please bestow the nectar-water of liberation.

Now I aspire to attain the wondrous path;

Because I delight in the Dharma, I make this request.

Having come to hear the Dharma, I reverently await;

May the Buddha teach the great treasure of Dharma.

O Buddha! I aspire to attain bodhi;

The Tathagata clearly knows my resolve and aspiration.

Earnestly seeking the Dharma, I question the Buddha;

Excellent indeed! Please proclaim the supreme practice.”

The Buddha said: “Excellent, Protector of the Nation! You are now able to ask the Tathagata about such profound meaning, bringing benefit and happiness to many people and also greatly benefiting future practitioners of the Mahayana. Listen attentively, and the Buddha will instruct you.”

Protector of the Nation Bodhisattva said: “Excellent, O Blessed One! Please instruct me.”

The Buddha taught: “Protector of the Nation! A bodhisattva has four dharmas by which all the foregoing forms of purity may be perfected:

First, a truthful and sincere mind, free from flattery and crookedness.

Second, genuine conduct that treats all sentient beings equally.

Third, a mind whose thoughts enter emptiness.

Fourth, practicing in accordance with one’s words.

Protector of the Nation, you should know that these four enable one to attain the pure qualities of a bodhisattva.”

Wishing to restate this meaning, the Blessed One spoke these verses:

“If a bodhisattva’s heart is not crooked,

And never retreats from the path of bodhi,

Harboring neither contrary thoughts nor arrogance,

This is called boundless wisdom.

Seeing that sentient beings have no one to save them,

And are oppressed by birth, aging, illness, and death,

One resolves to cross the ocean of birth and death,

And can become a Dharma-vessel for them all.

Impartially one trains and subdues all sentient beings,

Regarding every being as one’s only child;

Desiring to save and liberate them all,

The supreme person gives rise to this resolve.

Whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, one contemplates emptiness;

The notions of a living being and a self are all absent.

Everything in the world is like an illusion,

Yet foolish sentient beings are deluded by it.

Whatever a greatly wise bodhisattva declares,

They practice accordingly, without error or failure;

Trained and quiescent, free from every fault,

Those who seek bodhi are called children of the Buddha.”

After speaking these verses, the Buddha told Protector of the Nation Bodhisattva: “Good man! A great bodhisattva also possesses four kinds of fearlessness:

First, attaining dharani. Second, encountering good spiritual friends. Third, attaining profound patience regarding the Dharma. Fourth, purity in the observance of precepts.”

Wishing to restate this meaning, the Blessed One spoke these verses:

“A bodhisattva of great renown,

Because they have attained complete retention,

Receives and upholds the most wondrous Dharma

Proclaimed by all the Buddhas.

Never forgetting it,

They increase in wisdom;

The bodhisattva’s wisdom is unobstructed

And surpasses all dharmas.

They always encounter good spiritual friends

And increase the factors that aid the path;

They constantly expound great bodhi,

The course followed by all the Buddhas.

Bad spiritual friends are like fire;

Fearing that they may be burned, they keep far away.

If they hear the Dharma of signlessness,

They courageously make their minds steadfast.

The bodhisattva abandons self and person,

Together with all views and attachments;

Upholding the precepts without breach or defect,

Their mind is entirely quiescent.

They teach and transform all sentient beings,

Establishing them within the Buddha realm.”

After speaking these verses, the Buddha told Protector of the Nation Bodhisattva: “Good man! When the practices of bodhisattvas are perfected and reach their ultimate consummation, there are four virtues that bring forth joy:

First, a bodhisattva gives rise to joy upon seeing a Buddha.

Second, a bodhisattva gives rise to joy upon hearing the true Dharma.

Third, a bodhisattva gives rise to joy upon relinquishing everything.

Fourth, a bodhisattva gives rise to joy through patience in accord with the Dharma.”

Wishing to restate this meaning, the Blessed One spoke these verses:

“Wherever a bodhisattva is born,

They always behold the Supremely Victorious One,

Whose majestic radiance pervades everything

And illuminates the entire world.

Having seen him, their heart is filled with faith and reverence,

As the devas venerate Shakra;

For the sake of liberating all sentient beings,

They seek the path of bodhi.

Following the Buddha, they hear the true Dharma,

And, without fear, rejoice.

With single-minded reverence and faith,

They follow the Buddha’s teachings.

Hearing and conforming to the Dharma,

They attain patience, their hearts free from doubt.

Within all dharmas there is no sentient being,

Nor is there any conception of self.

Having constantly contemplated in this way,

They relinquish appearances and give rise to joy.

Since they no longer cling to the appearance of self,

They rejoice as soon as they see someone asking for alms.

Cities and towns, together with fields and lands,

Wives, children, and even their own lives—

They give them all away,

Without the slightest regret.”

After speaking these verses, the Buddha told Protector of the Nation Bodhisattva: “Good man! There are four things that must be cast aside:

First, a bodhisattva casts aside the household life.

Second, after leaving home, a bodhisattva does not covet gain or support.

Third, a bodhisattva refrains from close association with donors.

Fourth, a bodhisattva does not cherish body or life.”

The Blessed One then spoke these verses:

“A bodhisattva sees the faults of household life,

And therefore abandons it and leaves home,

Going to dwell among mountains and forests,

In secluded places where no people reside.

Far removed from men and women,

Far from relatives and crowds,

Alone and without companions,

Like a single-horned rhinoceros,

They concentrate upon seeking the pure path;

Whether gaining or losing, their heart is untroubled.

With few desires and knowing contentment,

They abandon flattery and dispel arrogance.

Diligent for the sake of sentient beings,

They give and subdue the mind;

Practicing austerities and cultivating meditative concentration,

They single-mindedly seek the Buddha’s wisdom.

They do not cherish body or life,

And abandon attachment to relatives;

With a steadfast mind they seek bodhi,

Their resolve like vajra.

Even if someone hacks and cuts them,

Their heart bears no anger or hatred;

Their courageous resolve grows ever stronger

As they seek to attain omniscience.”

After speaking these verses, the Buddha told Protector of the Nation Bodhisattva: “Good man!

A bodhisattva has four dharmas that leave no cause for regret:

First, not violating the prohibitory precepts; second, dwelling in an aranya; third, practicing the four noble lineages; and fourth, being learned in the Dharma. These are the four dharmas that leave no cause for regret.”

The Blessed One then spoke these verses:

“Upholding the precepts, pure and stainless,

Like a mani jewel,

They do not give rise to an arrogant heart

And boast, ‘I am skilled in keeping the precepts.’

Moreover, with these true precepts,

They instruct many others.

Always cherishing this aspiration,

They bring the Buddha realm to fulfillment.

The bodhisattva dwells in solitude,

In a pure aranya,

And does not entertain the conception of a self;

The conception of a living being is also absent.

They regard the forms of men and women

As being like grasses and trees;

They give rise to no conceptions of male or female,

Nor any conception of an ego or self.

Established in the four noble lineages,

They are neither indolent nor crooked and flattering;

With utmost sincerity they constantly cultivate the path,

Remaining far removed from heedlessness.

Seeking the virtue of great learning,

They always cultivate diligently,

Vowing to attain omniscience,

The place of supreme merit and virtue.

Sentient beings dwell in prison,

With no one to rescue or protect them;

They continually revolve through birth and death,

Seeking wealth merely to sustain themselves.

I shall seek the vessel of Dharma

And carry them out of birth and death,

Across the afflictive ocean of suffering,

Bringing them to the farther shore.

Sentient beings have no refuge,

Nor anyone to rescue and protect them;

Sentient beings remain within the conditioned,

With no one to lead them out.

I shall become their Guide,

Rescuing them so that they attain liberation.

Therefore, I give rise to the resolve

To seek realization of the path of bodhi.”

After speaking these verses, the Buddha told Protector of the Nation Bodhisattva: “Good man! A bodhisattva has four disciplinary practices that must be undertaken:

First, aspiring to be born in a wholesome place where one will always encounter all the Buddhas.

Second, making offerings to teachers and elders without seeking recompense.

Third, always delighting in seclusion and casting aside gain and support.

Fourth, attaining unobstructed eloquence, practicing dhuta austerities, and patience regarding the Dharma.”

The Blessed One then spoke these verses:

“A courageous bodhisattva delights in mountains and forests,

And never follows others in pursuit of gain and support.

They constantly attain profound wisdom and unobstructed eloquence,

Skillfully comprehending the characteristics of all dharmas.

They should always make offerings to teachers and elders,

Following their teachers’ words without opposition.

Wherever they are born, they encounter all the Buddhas,

Make offerings with reverence, and seek bodhi.

They are always born in excellent places and enjoy great renown;

Among the devas, they are honored among devas.

Moreover, they attain the path of bodhi

And teach sentient beings to practice the ten wholesome deeds.

Recollecting the Buddha’s merit and virtue, they always rejoice:

‘Before long, I too shall attain Buddhahood.

Having attained perfect awakening and complete merit and virtue,

I shall save sentient beings from birth and death.’”

After speaking these verses, the Buddha told Protector of the Nation Bodhisattva: “Good man! A bodhisattva has four dharmas that purify the practice of bodhi:

First, while practicing for bodhi, having no anger or hatred in the mind.

Second, casting aside relatives, palaces, wealth, and treasures; delighting in dwelling among mountains and forests; and not boasting of one’s own merit and virtue.

Third, although giving alms, not seeking karmic reward.

Fourth, diligently delighting in the Dharma and not seeing the faults of one’s teacher.”

The Blessed One then spoke this verse:

“The bodhisattva’s mind is pure, free from resentment,

And does not seek the faults of others.

He himself is neither deceitful nor attached,

But practices the Mahayana path in quest of bodhi.

He clearly sees that household life is the root of suffering,

And that drawing near evil friends deprives one of right mindfulness.

Therefore, he renounces it and goes forth,

Seeking liberation in mountains and forests.

He always dwells joyfully in secluded, tranquil places,

Forever severing affectionate thoughts toward family and kin.

He cherishes neither body nor life,

But travels alone and fearless like a lion.

Begging for food to sustain his body, he is always content,

Like a bird in flight that stores nothing away.

He does not desire birth among gods or humans,

But seeks only the path to unsurpassed bodhi.

Traveling alone, without companions and by himself,

He is ever fearless like a lion.

He fears the afflictions as though they were savage beasts;

If he receives offerings, his heart does not rejoice.

Seeing that sentient beings are always heedless,

He compassionately vows to destroy that fault.

‘Because I shall rescue and protect all sentient beings,’

He is always ardent and diligently vigorous.

Whenever he speaks, his words are always loving;

Toward those who hate or love him, he always smiles.

Unattached to anything, like a passing wind,

He seeks only the conduct of a great person.

He always delights in cultivating emptiness and signlessness,

And regards conditioned dharmas as illusions.

He disciplines his faculties, his aspiration vast,

And whether walking or standing, always delights in the ambrosial Dharma.

Always relying upon the Buddha’s teaching, he follows the great path,

Forever maintaining purity within his mind.

He seeks dharanis and eloquence,

And bears every suffering in quest of bodhi.

The bodhisattva constantly contemplates these practices;

Seeing their present benefits, he gives rise to joy.

If one does not delight in the path to bodhi,

There is no evil that such a person will not commit.”

After speaking this verse, the Buddha told the Bodhisattva Protector of the Nation: “There are four dharmas through which a bodhisattva falls into degeneration:

First, failing to respect others.

Second, repaying kindness with betrayal and deceit.

Third, craving offerings and fame.

Fourth, falsely displaying virtuous conduct and boasting of one’s excellence.”

The Blessed One then spoke this verse:

“Toward their parents, teachers, and elders,

They are always arrogant and show no respect.

They betray and forget nurturing kindness, their hearts deceitful;

Their faculties are distracted, and their delusion is great.

They constantly think of offerings without ever ceasing,

Deceitfully displaying the appearance of diligence.

They proclaim that they observe the precepts and practice austerities,

And that no one can equal them.

Harsh-mouthed and coarse in speech, they delight in contention,

And constantly seek the faults of others without ever stopping.

They remain ever far removed from the conduct of a sramana,

Engaging in farming, cultivation, and trade.

The bhiksus of the future age

Will cast aside merit and moral discipline.

Through jealousy and contention,

They will damage and destroy the Buddha’s true Dharma.

They will be very far from bodhi,

And also far removed from the seven noble treasures.

They will turn against the Eightfold Path of right liberation

And wander through the five realms within samsara.”

After speaking this verse, the Buddha told the Bodhisattva Protector of the Nation: “Good man! There are four dharmas that obstruct the path: lack of faith, indolence, self-conceit, and anger.”

The Blessed One then spoke this verse:

“Faithless and indolent, their minds are dark and dull;

Their hearts are always filled with self-conceit and anger.

When they see bhiksus practicing patience,

They drive them out of monasteries and stupas.

If they receive offerings, their hearts rejoice,

And they all declare, ‘I am a permanent resident here.’

They constantly seek every means to expose the faults of others:

‘Whoever has committed an offense, I shall punish.’

People such as these remain far from the true Dharma;

Jealous of merit, they fall into the three evil destinies.

Detesting the wondrous Dharma of the Buddhas,

Such people will enter the great fire.

They commit evil without ever ceasing

And will certainly endure every suffering within suffering.

Therefore, bodhisattvas who seek bodhi

Must not bring themselves to remorse and fall into evil destinies.

Only after immeasurable koṭis of kalpas does a Buddha appear

To bring benefit to sentient beings.

Having attained a body in a fortunate realm,

Bodhisattvas must abandon heedlessness and seek liberation.”

After speaking this verse, the Buddha told the Bodhisattva Protector of the Nation: “Good man! You must abandon four kinds of people and must not draw near them:

First, you must not draw near evil spiritual friends.

Second, you must not draw near those attached to views.

Third, you must not draw near those who slander the Dharma.

Fourth, you must not draw near those who crave offerings.”

The Blessed One then spoke this verse:

“Being able to stay far from evil spiritual friends

And draw near good spiritual friends,

The path to bodhi will grow

As the moon gradually becomes full.

Stay far away from those attached to views,

Who cling to a self and to a recipient of experience.

Cast them aside as though they were poison,

So that you may attain the path to Buddhahood.

Those who malign the Buddha’s true Dharma,

The tranquil flavor of ambrosia—

If you wish to seek bodhi,

You must avoid them like filthy excrement.

Stay far from those who crave offerings,

And also abandon people of evil conduct.

Such people should not be approached,

Just as one avoids a great fiery pit.

If you wish to subdue Mara

And turn the unsurpassed Dharma wheel,

If you wish to seek the foremost benefit,

Quickly distance yourself from evil spiritual friends.

Abandon attachment, hatred, and aversion,

And also stay far from gain and fame.

If you wish to seek the unsurpassed path,

Always cultivate the wisdom of the Buddha.”

After speaking this verse, the Blessed One further told the Bodhisattva Protector of the Nation that there are four dharmas that cause one to undergo suffering in future lives:

First, treating the wise with contempt.

Second, constantly harboring jealousy.

Third, having no faith in any Dharma.

Fourth, constantly doubting the Dharma of pure wisdom, refusing to accept it patiently, and seeking offerings.”

The Blessed One spoke this verse:

“Those wise ones who attend closely upon the Buddha

Should receive offerings from all gods and humans,

Yet some are haughty and arrogant toward them;

Because of this, they will undergo boundless suffering.

They neither believe nor accept the Dharma of pure wisdom,

And all the offerings they seek are obtained contrary to the Dharma.

They constantly harbor arrogance and haughtiness,

And show no respect when they see the wise.

They have neither faith nor understanding in the Buddha-Dharma,

And also lack faith in the assembly of sages and noble ones.

Such people constantly travel through the evil destinies;

Even when born in human form, they are deeply deluded.

After relinquishing their human lives,

They undergo great suffering in the great hells.

When the kalpa there ends, they are born in another region;

The same is true of birth as animals and hungry ghosts.

If one wishes to seek and attain Buddhahood,

To become a supreme person and end all suffering,

One must always stay far from the karma leading to the three evil destinies

And cultivate every merit to attain perfect enlightenment.”

After speaking this verse, the Buddha further told the Bodhisattva Protector of the Nation: “There are four kinds of fetters that bind bodhisattvas:

First, treating others with contempt and arrogance.

Second, delighting in worldly meditative concentrations and not seeking the ultimate.

Third, failing to guard one’s own mind and acting heedlessly before wisdom has been perfected.

Fourth, entering the homes of others in pursuit of offerings.

These are the four kinds of fetters that bind bodhisattvas.

The Blessed One then spoke this verse:

“Always treating others with contempt,

Delighting in worldly virtues,

And clinging to the fetters of various views,

They are like an elephant mired in deep mud.

They delight in entering the homes of laypeople

And constantly harbor heedlessness.

Utterly deluded and without wisdom—

Such conduct is called bondage.

Those who wish to end the suffering of samsara

And forever transcend the three realms

Must abandon arrogance

And constantly practice the bodhisattva path.

They must bear boundless suffering,

Cast aside every pleasure,

And also separate themselves from love and hatred,

Thus attaining Buddhahood without attachment.

Bodhisattvas must always cultivate the six paramitas,

The stages, the wisdoms, the six superknowledges, and all the rest.

If they perfect every merit,

They will escape the net of samsara.

In immeasurably distant kalpas past, the Buddha,

For the sake of sentient beings, sought bodhi.

He constantly practiced giving in order to discipline himself,

Abandoned affection and attachment, and cultivated the true path.

Never departing from secluded places,

He practiced austerities until he became emaciated, seeking bodhi.

He roused vigorous effort without indolence,

Seeking the supreme wisdom of a great person.

Seeing sentient beings within the three realms

Revolving through the five destinies and undergoing samsara,

He pitied them all and gave rise to great compassion;

For this reason, he sought the path to bodhi.

He abandoned beloved children and wives and concubines,

And also relinquished wealth, the seven treasures, and all else—

His life, kingdoms, and the great earth—

To seek bodhi and the wisdom of the Buddha.

Long ago, in a beautiful mountain forest,

The Buddha was a cultivating sage named Patience.

King Kali sliced off his ears and nose,

Yet his blood turned into milk, and he felt no resentment.

Long ago, he was once a filial son,

Lovingly making offerings to his father and mother.

An evil man struck him with a poisoned arrow,

Yet even then, he harbored no resentment.

Cherishing not his life, he leapt from the high cliff

To seek the wholesome teachings spoken by the Buddhas,

At that time I did not regard even body or life,

But sought only to accomplish the great work of bodhi.

Long ago, taking pity on starving beasts,

I gave the flesh of my own body to eight tigers.

Then the devas in the sky

Praised me, saying, “Excellent, great man!”

Long ago, delighting in being a great donor,

I once lived the pure life of a brahmin.

Out of compassion for beings suffering poverty and hunger,

I entered the sea in search of a wish-fulfilling jewel.

Then the sea deity seized it and took it away,

So I resolutely began to empty the great ocean.

At once I recovered the precious jewel and returned to Jambudvipa,

Using it to aid beings in poverty and want.

I was also once a king named Suma,

Who would not speak falsely even at the cost of his life.

Through me, the other kings attained liberation,

And my renown resounded throughout the ten directions.

Long ago, I once saw a destitute man;

While reigning as king, I gave him my own body,

Causing him to become immensely wealthy and possess many treasures.

Thus I received the name Giver of All.

Long ago, I was King Sivi.

A terrified dove alighted against my breast;

I offered my own body in exchange for the bird’s life,

Freeing the dove from fear.

Long ago, I was a king named Lion.

When my body was gravely ill, a physician gave me medicine.

Another sick person came asking for that medicine;

Without cherishing my own body, I gave it to him first.

Long ago, cultivating the path for the sake of beings,

I was Prince Sudana.

When someone came asking for my children and wife,

I felt no attachment and gave them all away.

I was once a bodhisattva named Blazing Adornment.

To transform a king endowed with wealth and virtue,

I persevered diligently for eighty-four thousand years

Before I finally succeeded in transforming him.

I was also a prince named Pure Majesty,

Who burned his own body as an offering to a Buddha’s stupa,

Reverently making offerings to the One Possessing the Ten Powers,

The Unsurpassed, Supremely Victorious, Honored One Among Two-Legged Beings.

I was once a king named Moonlight.

There was a brahmacarin named Fearsome,

Who came to me and asked for my entire head;

I promptly and gladly gave him my head.

I was also a king named Merit and Virtue.

Throughout villages, towns, and marketplaces,

I stored abundant medicines and food

To distribute to all beings.

I was once a king named Sun Purity,

Who had a thousand beautiful courtesans,

Their heads adorned with strings of seven-jeweled gems

And embellished with lovely, fragrant flowers and incense;

I gave them all away to others.

I was also a king named Contentment.

My hands and feet were soft and delicate as silk floss,

And my complexion was pure and beautiful as a lotus;

These too I gave to beings.

I was also a merchant leader named Pure Eyes,

Who led five hundred men in search of the seven treasures.

Rakshasas appeared in the forms of beautiful women,

But the merchant leader rescued the entire company.

I was once a prince named Merit Flame,

Who had wives, concubines, and courtesans numbering in the hundreds of millions,

Their bodies as beautiful as celestial maidens;

Yet I renounced them, left home, and felt no attachment.

I was also a merchant leader named Golden Complexion.

At that time there was a Buddha named Stainless.

Before that Buddha, Golden Complexion burned his ten fingers

As an offering to the Supremely Victorious, Honored One Among Two-Legged Beings.

I was also a king named Flower Eyes,

Whom people never tired of beholding.

I gave away my beautiful pair of eyes,

For the king’s heart was compassionate toward beings.

I was also a bodhisattva named Abundant Hair.

I saw a woman whose husband had just died;

Day and night she longed for him without respite,

Remaining naked in her obsessive grief, her mind deranged.

The bodhisattva Abundant Hair took pity on her

And manifested in the form of her dead husband to instruct the maddened wife.

Gradually he guided and transformed that woman,

Causing her madness to cease and her mind to awaken.

I was also a bodhisattva named Universal Beholding.

Seeing a sick man, emaciated and suffering,

Universal Beholding then gave rise to compassion

And offered his own blood and flesh to the sick man.

I was also a king named Flower Husband.

Seeing a man stricken with grievous illness,

The bodhisattva Flower Husband gave rise to loving-kindness

And split open his own bones, using the marrow to cure that illness.

I was also a king named Accomplished Benefit.

Seeing a man in utter poverty,

I gave him all my possessions,

And relinquished even my body and life without regret.

I was a king named Banner of Faith.

My two soft and delicate hands bore the marks of wheels.

When someone came asking for those two hands,

I gave them at once for the sake of attaining bodhi.

I was also a king named Universal Manifestation,

Who possessed the wealth and treasures of the four continents.

The realm was rich and joyful, and its people were numerous;

Yet for the sake of attaining bodhi, I gave it all away.

I was also a princess named Wisdom Intention.

My body was fair, pure, and exceedingly soft.

With compassion and joy, I cut flesh from my thigh

And gave my blood as well, without regret.

I was also a woman named Silver Complexion.

In the city of Golden Complexion there was a woman

Who, having just given birth and being tormented by hunger and thirst, wished to eat her child.

Silver Complexion cut off her breast and gave it to the starving woman.

I was also a king named Literary Virtue,

Exceedingly rich in money and adorned with many necklaces,

Possessing gold, silver, the seven treasures, and many carriages.

All that worldly people find difficult to relinquish, the king gave away.

I was also a prince named Gratitude.

There was a man named Ingrate who had fallen into the sea.

For the sake of treasure, Ingrate stabbed me in the eyes,

Yet at that time my heart bore him no resentment.

I also recall that in the past I was a soldier.

Amid a great battle, I had no thought of killing.

I would rather have died myself than harmed another;

I harbored no thought of killing even ants or mosquitoes.

I also recall that in the past I was a pheasant.

I reverently made offerings to the venerable elders

And provided for all my kind, both old and young.

At that time I had no arrogance whatsoever.

I also recall that in the past I was an ape.

In the mountains I encountered a hunter.

The entire troop of apes and monkeys came to me for refuge,

And, cherishing their lives, I immediately rescued them.

I also recall that in the past I was an elephant king,

Captured, bound, and tethered by a king.

Remembering that both my parents were blind,

I would rather have starved to death than take any food.

I also recall that in the past I had the body of a bear.

A traveler lost his way, and I rescued and sustained him.

He led hunters back and treacherously harmed me,

Yet even though betrayed and harmed, I did not become angry.

I also recall that in the past I was an elephant king

Struck by a hunter’s arrow.

Aspiring to bodhi and all its virtues,

I presented my tusks to that hunter.

I also recall that in the past I was a pheasant,

Living in the countryside beside a forest.

When fire spread and began to consume that forest,

I tried to extinguish it, and the heavens rained down flowers.

Long ago, I was once a nine-colored deer,

Grazing and drinking beside a riverbank.

The river was deep and wide, and its current swift.

When a man fell into the river, I rescued him.

Coveting wealth, that man accepted the king’s command

And brought many soldiers to kill me.

As I sought bodhi, I practiced loving-kindness and compassion,

And bore that man no resentment.

I also recall that in the past I was a great turtle,

Who carried merchants safely across the sea.

Five hundred merchants ate my flesh,

Yet my heart remained compassionate, and I was not angry with them.

I recall that while practicing for bodhi in the past,

I once took birth as a fish swimming in the water.

Out of compassion for all beings, I relinquished my body,

And hundreds of thousands of beings ate my flesh.

Seeing hundreds of thousands of beings afflicted by illness,

I manifested a medicinal body as vast as a mountain.

Wishing to free beings from the suffering of illness,

I transformed into an insect whose name was Moon.

I also recall that in the past I was a lion king,

Great in body and mighty in strength, yet compassionate at heart.

I also recall that in the past I was a horse king,

My body pure white like snowy jade.

I always dwelt on a high mountain peak in the great ocean,

Rescuing travelers from the peril of rakshasas.

I also recall that, while seeking bodhi in the past,

I was once a king named Dwelling House.

Seeing the many faults and calamities of sensual pleasures,

I did not follow a lustful woman and was subjected to her false accusations.

I also recall that in the past I was once a hare.

I constantly taught the other hares to perform wholesome deeds.

Dwelling together with a hermit, I practiced mindfulness alongside him,

And relinquished my body, burning myself to save the starving hermit.

I also recall that in the past I was a parrot,

Who always dwelt in a grove abundant with flowers and fruits.

To repay the kindness of a withered tree, I would not abandon it;

The king of the devas transformed the dead tree and caused it to bear fruit.

I also recall that I was once a monkey king.

Seeing the troop of apes and monkeys endangered by a dragon,

I taught them to drink through bamboo tubes,

And all the apes and monkeys escaped the dragon’s peril.

I also recall that long ago I was a parrot

Who took another’s grain to support my parents.

The owner of the grain caught me and angrily rebuked me, saying,

“How dare you steal another person’s grain?”

I replied, “When you sowed and planted this grain,

You promised to let all beings eat it.

Now I have taken it home to support my parents;

This cannot be called stealing.”

The owner of the grain immediately rejoiced and said,

“I am a beast, while this bird is truly a human being!

Excellent, wise parrot,

Who knows filial devotion to parents and knows how to make offerings.

From this day onward, I give you this grain,

So that you may carry it home and present it to your parents.”

Such were the immeasurable deeds of the past;

There was no austerity that I did not undertake.

Never did I give rise to weariness or fatigue

In seeking the unsurpassed, pure path.

Of all possessions, inward and outward,

There was not one I did not resolve to relinquish.

Moral discipline, patience, diligence, and meditation,

Immeasurable skillful means and wisdom—

My skin, flesh, bones, marrow, and blood

I gave entirely to sentient beings.

Long ago, while dwelling in mountains and forests,

I practiced with heroic diligence until my body withered,

Seeking the Buddha’s teachings of the Great and Lesser Vehicles,

Then transmitting them to sentient beings and leading them onto the path.

I always delighted in dwelling where dhutanga practices were observed,

Constantly cultivating them without ever abandoning them.

All such difficult ascetic practices

I performed from the distant past.

The Buddha said that sentient beings in the future,

Hearing me recount this, would scornfully laugh.

They would not accept or practice even a single verse,

But instead would slander such Dharma.

Because they crave food, clothing, and the like,

Their minds constantly dwell on sleep and excessive rest.

Deceitful, they malign the Dharma, without shame or remorse,

Destroying the true Dharma and possessing no merit.

On hearing this subtle, wondrous, quiescent Dharma,

They will claim that it was not taught by the Buddha:

“Our teacher is as learned as the ocean,

Supreme in eloquent exposition and skillful speech.

Yet even he does not practice such a Dharma;

You should not pursue this false and empty teaching.

Within it there is no self and no living principle,

Nor does it speak of the characteristic of a sentient being.

You merely weary yourselves, gaining no merit,

And practice ascetic disciplines entirely in vain.

Since a Dharma called the Great Vehicle has been proclaimed,

Why does it further speak of emptiness and non-self?

Since there are no sentient beings and no agents,

There is therefore no need to seek anything in the Dharma.

These passages were fabricated,

Like doctrines conceived by heretics with wrong views.

The Tathagata did not teach such things.”

They rebuke and insult the bhikshus.

That unwholesome rabble are no renunciants;

Treacherous, fraudulent, and deceitful, they commit every evil.

In future ages, within the Buddha’s Dharma,

They will merely assume the appearance of bhikshus.

Their hearts will be filled with jealousy, arrogance, and hypocrisy;

Their hands and feet will move restlessly, bereft of dignified conduct.

Both ends of their kasayas will always hang loose,

And, wearing Dharma robes, they will constantly frequent marketplaces.

Entering laypeople’s homes, they will habitually become intoxicated;

Though wearing Dharma robes, they will consort with laypeople.

They will discard the true Dharma, that treasury of merit,

And delight in serving as messengers for householders.

They will keep cattle, horses, goats, pigs, and chickens,

Male and female servants, and impure possessions.

Farming fields and tending gardens, their minds will remain distracted;

Their hearts will delight in evil and possess no wholesome conduct.

Nor will they associate with good spiritual friends;

Their mouths will speak without choosing or weighing their words.

With their bodies they will commit every evil deed,

Coveting the possessions of the Sangha and of the Buddha’s stupas—

How much less would they give away their own possessions?

Seeing bhikshus who maintain pure moral discipline,

They will revile them as not truly practicing the holy life.

They themselves will not observe the precepts and will possess no dignity;

Delighting in lay households, they will violate others’ wives.

A married layman still feels shame,

But those evil bhikshus will be even more lustful.

They will maintain wives and children, seeking without ever being satisfied,

And will differ in no way from ordinary laypeople.

If a donor invites them to receive offerings

And gives clothing, food, medicine, and the like,

They will accept the faithful donor’s gifts without pure mindfulness,

Only increasing their lust and violating others’ wives.

Their minds will constantly fantasize about women’s beauty;

Following their afflictions, they will possess no noble conduct.

By various means they will entice and deceive women,

While teaching laypeople to cut off desire.

They will say that those consumed by desire fall into the evil realms,

Descending into hell or becoming hungry ghosts or animals.

Yet they themselves will not follow their own teachings—

How then can they transmit the Dharma and guide others?

The three kinds of karma of such people will not accord with the Dharma,

And all their followers will be the same.

Day and night they will gather and converse without rest,

Discussing only the five desires and worldly affairs.

They will accept and maintain disciples only to command them,

Never instructing them in wholesome paths.

They will gather numerous disciples around themselves,

Displaying their supposed great virtue in pursuit of fame and gain.

Outwardly they will assume unusual appearances, feigning compassion,

Claiming to gather followers without seeking profit.

Many among their disciples and retinues will suffer illness—

Emaciation, leprosy, scabies, sores, and the like.

They will merely be a motley collection of lowly people,

Never instructed in the wholesome Buddha-Dharma.

Moral discipline, learning, concentration, and wisdom will all be discarded;

They will not perform the duties of bhikshus.

Neither monastics nor laypeople, they will have no proper designation,

And will resemble pieces of rotten, decaying wood.

In their hearts they will despise the disciplinary rules,

And likewise scorn the bodhisattva precepts.

Roaming freely in violation of the Buddha’s words,

They will behave recklessly, like intoxicated elephants let loose.

At times they will falsely appear to dwell in mountains and forests,

While their minds constantly contemplate affairs in cities.

The afflictions of the three poisons will continually arise,

And their minds will not be tranquil even for a moment.

They will forget the admonitions taught by the Buddha,

Together with the dhutanga practices and their merits.

Pride and haughtiness will fill their bodies,

And they will fall into the dreadful Avici hell.

Day and night they will constantly discuss affairs of kingdoms,

And frequently speak about bandits and thieves.

Body and mind will be wholly occupied with relatives and personal affairs,

While they abandon meditation and wisdom.

Even when they cultivate something, they will delight in coarse activities;

Concerned for their own comfort, they will undertake construction.

Even if they build a sangharama,

They will greedily delight in its rooms and buildings, their brows always furrowed.

Their own body, speech, and mind will not be gentle or disciplined,

And the followers who imitate them will be the same.

Although those evil bhikshus may build monasteries,

They will do so solely for themselves and their retinues.

If any bhikshu submits to them,

They will immediately arrange to receive and accommodate him.

But if there are venerable bhikshus who maintain moral discipline,

Who are skilled in means and able to expound the true Dharma,

Who discipline themselves and discipline others,

They will never receive those venerable ones.

They will say, “I am presently occupying this room;

The other rooms belong to my disciples.

All the rest have already been assigned to our fellow students.

Go elsewhere; there is no room here.

All the beds and seats presently available

Have been entrusted to people and belong to them.

No space remains to accommodate you,

And there is no clothing or food for you, so you should leave.”

They will not even lend temporary utensils,

Much less provide rooms, buildings, or other things.

They will not observe the Sangha’s rules of seniority;

Those evil bhikshus will behave like laypeople.

Amassing much wealth and surrounded by numerous followers,

They will constantly drive away the Buddha’s disciples who live according to the Dharma,

Refusing to let them remain.

At times those disciples will recall the Buddha’s teachings,

And with sorrowful hearts enter the mountains and forests, lamenting:

“Alas, the wondrous Dharma taught by the Buddha

Will soon perish and no longer appear.”

There will also be bhikshus who seek abundant gain,

Whose lives lack Dharma practice and who hate the virtuous.

Even those who maintain moral discipline and possess merit

Will be despised by them and receive no support.

Grieving, they will all leave the towns and settlements

And dwell constantly in secluded mountains and desolate forests.

Those foolish, arrogant, haughty, and evil people

Will constantly quarrel, speaking harshly and divisively.

Deceiving worldly people to obtain offerings,

They will consider themselves no different from the noble ones.

The treasury of merit that is the true Dharma of the Buddha’s teaching,

Perfectly replete with every wondrous virtue,

Will be ruined and cease to appear in future ages

Because of arrogance and failure to observe moral discipline.

Just as a treasury of jewels is plundered,

As a lotus pond dries up,

Or as a precious carriage is shattered and ruined,

So too will the Buddha-Dharma be in future ages.

Those evil bhikshus will be difficult to discipline;

They will extinguish the Buddha’s true Dharma without remainder.

In the evil age of the future,

Their dreadful destruction of the Buddha-Dharma will occur.

Those who delight in such evil deeds

Will depart far from devas, humans, and wholesome conduct.

When they relinquish their lives in these bodies,

They will fall into hell or become hungry ghosts or animals.

There, for immeasurable hundreds of millions of thousands of years,

They will undergo every kind of suffering and torment.

Later, even if they obtain human bodies,

They will endure much suffering, be foul and evil, and remain ever impure.

They will be blind, deaf, mute, or unable to speak clearly,

And their bodies will constantly suffer many illnesses.

Their appearance will be ugly and repellent, pleasing to no one;

They will always live in fear and serve others.

They will find it difficult to please anyone or gain affection,

And whatever they say will not be believed.

Those who engage in such evil conduct

Will be rebuked and driven away wherever they go.

Burdened by many painful illnesses,

They will constantly be beaten and chased away with sticks.

Hunger and thirst will continually torment their bodies,

And everyone who sees them will despise them.

If you hear of such manifold suffering and affliction,

You must abandon evil, discipline your minds,

And perform wholesome deeds for sentient beings;

Do not leave yourselves remorseful in days to come.

If you cherish and revere the Buddha, the World-Honored One,

The noble Sangha, moral discipline, and the dhutanga practices,

You must diligently seek to practice such conduct

And distance yourselves from retinues, profit, and fame.

Fame and gain are delusive and illusory;

You must regard conditioned things as dreams.

Affectionate unions must all end in separation.

All conditioned things do not endure for long.

Do not forsake right diligence, the faculties, the powers, and all the rest;

Strive to seek the various paramitas.

While you have not yet realized wondrous bodhi,

You must constantly cultivate all practices.”

The Buddha further said to the Bodhisattva Protector of the Realm: “Good man! In future ages, those who cultivate the practices of the Mahayana bodhisattva, if they possess such faults, must distance themselves from them and keep far away from those who possess such evil faults.

Those who do not diligently cultivate themselves but habitually associate with people possessing such evil faults; who do not diligently preserve right conduct, who themselves behave deceitfully and associate with deceitful people; who themselves lack wisdom and follow those without wisdom; who greedily seek worldly gain, never knowing contentment, and are attached to lay households; who envy those superior to themselves; who are devious, fraudulent, and without shame or remorse; who falsely display the appearance of sages and exalt and esteem themselves; who each praise their own retinues in pursuit of fame and gain; who, seeking material support, constantly enter cities and towns;

who neither cherish all sentient beings nor go forth to teach and transform all sentient beings, but constantly say of themselves, ‘I possess equanimity and always maintain this thought, though who could know it?

I am the true spiritual friend of sentient beings. I am greatly learned’—yet in truth they have no reverence for the Buddha-Dharma and no aspiration to seek the Dharma, like a shattered vessel that can no longer be used, or like an indolent person who completes no task; who search for one another’s faults, employ various unwise and indolent expedients, entertain wrong and evil thoughts, and discuss among themselves matters that destroy the Dharma; who obstinately cling to evil intentions and do not relinquish them even until death; and who greedily and miserly amass many possessions—their dependents, supported by them, likewise learn such conduct, and together they gather within the Buddha-Dharma.

Practitioners such as these, whatever they may undertake, do not consult the wise and do not seek the Buddha-Dharma. Because they lack diligence, they are born into impoverished families. From such impoverished families they go forth into homelessness, and upon obtaining a little material support within the Buddha’s teaching, they rejoice without any sense of shame. Such people do not even possess a mind of repentance; how, then, could they attain the supreme wisdom of self-awakening? They themselves forsake the merit of the Buddhas and grasp instead at present fame and gain. Because they obtain present fame and gain, they call themselves śramaṇas.

Protector of the Realm! Concerning people such as these, the Buddha does not even say that they possess conforming receptive patience, much less that they can attain the great wisdom of the Buddhas. Such people remain far from the human realm and the heavenly realm; how much more distant are they from accomplishing the path to Buddhahood!

Protector of the Realm! The Buddha teaches that such people possess eight qualities that obstruct bodhi:

One, they will be born in the three evil destinies.

Two, they will be born into impoverished families.

Four, their features will not be comely.

Five, they will be foolish and without wisdom.

Six, they will constantly associate with evil spiritual friends.

Seven, they will suffer from many illnesses.

Eight, they will be afflicted by grave diseases that lead to death.

Protector of the Realm! These eight things obstruct bodhi.

Protector of the Realm! The Buddha does not say that bodhi is attained through words alone. The Buddha does not say that one who falsely displays the appearance of a sage possesses pure conduct.

The Buddha does not say that a deceitful person possesses the practice of bodhi. The Buddha does not say that one who greedily seeks abundant material support possesses the practice of making offerings to the Buddha. The Buddha does not say that an arrogant person possesses the pure practice of prajna.

The Buddha does not say that one without wisdom can resolve the doubts of others. The Buddha does not say that an envious person possesses the practice of diligence. The Buddha does not say that one who lacks diligence possesses the practices of dharani.

The Buddha does not say that one who takes no delight in merit attains the practices leading to good destinies. The Buddha does not say that one attached to the household life possesses purity of body and mind. The Buddha does not say that one who falsely displays dignified deportment will encounter an assembly of the Buddha.

The Buddha does not say that one who delights in the household life possesses purity of verbal karma. The Buddha does not say that one who is irreverent possesses purity of mind. The Buddha does not say that one who knows no contentment possesses the practice of delighting in the Dharma.

The Buddha does not say that one who clings to body and life possesses the practice of seeking the true Dharma.

Protector of the Realm! Although the Buddha rebuked the six teachers, those non-Buddhist teachers stood outside the Buddha-Dharma. But one who enters the Buddha-Dharma and then commits evil karma and transgressions is worthy of rebuke many times greater than those six teachers. Why is this? Because such a person merely declares, ‘I am a bhikshu,’ while using his lack of conduct to deceive all devas and humans in the world.”

Wishing to restate this meaning, the Blessed One spoke these verses:

“Defiled and disorderly in deportment, devoid of reverence,

They only increase their arrogance and craving for renown.

Afflictions conceal their deluded, intoxicated minds;

Such people remain far from wondrous bodhi.

Attached to fame and gain and given to indolence,

They increase their indolence and lose right mindfulness.

Without right mindfulness, they lose moral discipline;

Without moral discipline, they lose the good destinies.

Such people are born into impoverished families;

After going forth, they crave material support.

They are like people who cast away precious gold

And carry filthy grass, believing it to be treasure.

Seeking fame and gain, they dwell in mountain forests;

Once there, they again seek out companions.

They cast away supernormal powers, wisdom, and eloquence,

And seek present fame, gain, and retinues.

At life’s end, such people fall into evil destinies,

Or are born into poor and lowly families.

Indolent and base, without dignity or virtue—

They undergo all this because of arrogance.

They have distanced themselves from all wholesome practices,

Also because heedlessness has deprived them of right mindfulness.

They remain forever within the great evil destinies,

Unable to escape for billions of thousands of kalpas.

If bodhi could be sought through fame and gain,

Then Devadatta ought to have become a Buddha.

The fierce vairambha wind shatters all things;

Indolence and lack of moral discipline do likewise.

Without wholesome conduct themselves, they crave women’s beauty;

Lacking pure moral discipline, they lose all merit.

They are of no use within the Buddha’s Dharma;

Those without wisdom are like rotten wood.

If one seeks the Buddha-Dharma for the sake of bodhi,

How could one fail to rely on the practices of liberation?

As sticky resin binds apes and monkeys,

So too does arrogance bind those who seek the path.

In the past, to seek a single phrase of Dharma,

I relinquished body and life for the sake of bodhi.

Those people, indolent, abandon the Buddha’s teaching

And gain not the slightest benefit from the Buddha-Dharma.

In the past, seeking the nectar of the good teaching,

I leapt from high cliffs and plunged into fire.

Having heard the Dharma, I practiced in accordance with it,

Casting away all love, hatred, and the rest.

Those people hear of the Buddha’s merit,

Yet have never delighted in even one phrase of Dharma.

Without the Dharma, how could they attain bodhi?

It is like a blind man describing roads he traveled before.”

The Buddha further said to the Bodhisattva Protector of the Realm: “Good man! I recall that innumerable kalpas ago—beyond innumerable, immeasurable, inconceivable, incomparable, incalculable, and inexpressible kalpas—a Buddha appeared in the world named Accomplished Beneficial Wisdom Tathagata, Worthy One, Perfectly Enlightened One.

At that time, there was a king named Blazing Mind. Protector of the Realm! During the reign of King Blazing Mind, this Jambudvipa measured sixteen thousand yojanas across and contained twenty thousand cities, each city having a thousand koṭis of households.

The city in which King Blazing Mind resided was named Jeweled Radiance. It measured twelve yojanas from east to west and seven yojanas from north to south. It was made of the seven precious substances and encircled by seven tiers of jeweled walls. Each wall stood seven paces from the next and was solid and difficult to breach.

Protector of the Realm! The people of that land lived for ten koṭis of nayutas of years.

Protector of the Realm! King Blazing Mind had a firstborn son named Blazing Merit. He was handsome and beautiful, endowed with excellent marks, without equal in the world, and those who beheld him never tired of looking upon him.

On the day Blazing Merit was born, a treasury of the seven precious substances naturally appeared at his birthplace, rising to the height of seven men. At the birth of that prince, all sentient beings throughout Jambudvipa rejoiced and exulted beyond measure. Anyone who was imprisoned, fettered, or bound was naturally released.

Protector of the Realm! Within seven days, Prince Blazing Merit mastered all worldly crafts and arts.

One night, in the stillness of the late hours, a deity from the Pure Abodes came and said to Prince Merit-Blaze, “Young Prince, do not be heedless; you should carefully contemplate impermanence. Young Prince, life does not long endure before one passes into the next existence. Time passes swiftly, so you must constantly observe this and give rise to profound apprehension. Whatever karma is created will certainly bring its corresponding result, just as a shadow follows the body.”

The deity from the Pure Abodes then spoke these verses for the Prince:

“Young Prince, be vigilant and do not be heedless;

Nor should you follow those who are heedless.

Abandoning heedlessness is praised by the Buddha;

Indulging in heedlessness is reproved by the Buddha.

Always discipline yourself and remain heedful;

Be generous to all and free from envy.

With loving-kindness and compassion, cherish all sentient beings;

Before long, such a person will attain Buddhahood.

The immeasurable Buddhas of the past,

Those of the present and the future,

All arose from wholesome qualities

And abided upon the path of heedfulness.

Food and drink, clothing,

Gold, silver, necklaces, and all else—

Give them all away throughout an entire kalpa

In quest of the unsurpassed path.

Your hands, feet, eyes, and nose—

If anyone asks for them, gladly give them.

With a sincere heart, seek merit and virtue;

Before long, you will attain Buddhahood.

The royal throne with its great power and majesty,

Wives, children, and relatives—

All conditioned things are like magical illusions;

Quickly relinquish them without regret or attachment.

Life does not long endure;

It is like an earthen vessel, easily broken.

This life is only temporarily borrowed and does not last;

Nor is it permanent or pure.

Parents and relatives

Cannot rescue you from the evil destinies.

The good and evil created by sentient beings

Always follow them like a shadow following the body.

Seeking endlessly within the ocean of desire,

People harm one another and bring no benefit;

Yet there is no one to rescue them,

And they suffer hardship and weariness in vain.

If you now wish to benefit others

And seek the unsurpassed path of quiescence,

Even should your bones and flesh become emaciated,

You must not regard it as suffering.

It is difficult for Buddhas to appear in the world,

And difficult to hear the Dharma of quiescent extinction.

Diligently serve spiritual friends,

For they can vanquish all maras.

Abandon and depart from evil companions,

And you will be able to abide upon the right path,

Blocking the roads of evil and wrong.

Excellent indeed—diligently practice with vigor!

Do not cherish your body or life;

Keep your resolve as firm as vajra.

Properly inquire of your teacher about the path,

And never abandon right mindfulness and right intention.

All Buddhas of the past

Always delighted in the aranya.

You should follow them and train accordingly;

You should delight in dwelling in secluded places.

Cast aside places of affection and attachment,

Wives, children, and relatives,

Your own body and life,

In quest of vast, great wisdom.”

Protector of the Realm! After Prince Merit-Blaze heard the verses spoken by the devas, for ten years he never slept or rested, never amused himself or laughed, never sang or danced, never indulged in merriment, never became elated, and never acted heedlessly. He did not enter pleasure gardens, took no delight in his retinue, did not covet the royal throne, and harbored no fondness or attachment toward wealth, cities, or settlements.

He relinquished everything pertaining to his person and devoted himself solely to meditative concentration. Dwelling in a secluded chamber, he reflected: “All dharmas are impermanent, neither enduring nor stable; they exist only briefly and then perish. The royal throne is without savor and affords no true freedom.

Those who love one another must part, while those who hate one another must meet. None of this deserves craving or delight, yet deluded attachment falsely arises. All of it results from ignorance and is empty, deceptive, and fraudulent, without the slightest reality.

Only liberation and quiescent extinction are bliss. Yet ordinary beings, intoxicated by ignorance, constantly delight in such things and arbitrarily conceive distinctions of superiority and inferiority. Now, while among these foolish ordinary beings, I must dwell quietly in contemplation and remain heedful.”

Protector of the Realm! At that time, King Blaze-Mind built another city for Prince Merit-Blaze, naming it Supreme Joy and Delight. It was encircled by seven rings of jeweled walls.

From north to south, the city had seven hundred streets, whose walls were made of the seven treasures and draped with golden bells and jeweled nets. Above these were spread nets of pearls. At each end of every street stood eighty-four thousand jeweled pillars.

From these jeweled pillars were fastened sixty thousand jeweled cords linked together by hooks. Between the cords stood fourteen kotis of jeweled tala trees. When a gentle breeze stirred them, they produced exquisite sounds like hundreds of thousands of musical instruments sounding without being played.

At each end of every street were stationed five hundred young maidens, youthful and strong, skilled in song and dance, and beloved by everyone. King Blaze-Mind commanded these maidens: “From this day onward, constantly sing and dance by day and night so that everyone may rejoice. When people from the four directions come to the city, you must delight them all.

You must not utter even a single harsh word.”

Furthermore, wishing to please Prince Merit-Blaze, the King arranged every kind of gift at the entrance to each street: clothing, food and drink, comforts, beds and bedding, carriages, elephants, horses, cattle, sheep, gold, silver, the seven treasures, and various kinds of incense and flowers. Whatever a petitioner required, that was given. The King also placed great heaps of jewels in many locations so that everyone could use them as they pleased.

Within that city of Supreme Joy and Delight, many palaces were built for the Prince’s recreation, their floors paved with various treasures laid in alternating patterns. Upon the city walls were built tall, magnificent towers adorned with jewels. At the center of the city stood a great hall containing tens of millions of beds and couches.

On all four sides of the hall were many gardens filled with flowers and fruit. Within the gardens were ponds made of the seven treasures. On the four sides of each pond were stairways made of four treasures: gold, silver, vaidurya, and crystal.

On each side of a pond stood two lions made of a hundred kinds of jewels, continually spouting fragrant water into the pond, and two other jeweled lions on each side drawing water out. Four kinds of lotus always grew in the ponds: blue lotuses, yellow lotuses, red lotuses, and white lotuses. Jeweled trees encircled the four banks, together with many flowering and fruit-bearing trees.

There were also eight hundred jeweled trees linked together by jeweled cords from which multicolored silk banners hung. There were also hundreds of millions of jeweled tala trees, with jeweled cords stretched between them and golden jeweled bells suspended therefrom. When stirred by a gentle breeze, they produced exquisite sounds like hundreds of thousands of musical instruments sounding without being played.

To keep out the dust, great jeweled nets were spread above the ponds.

Within the great hall were arranged tens of millions of beds made of the seven treasures, each spread with five hundred kinds of bedding. At the center of the great hall stood a high throne made of the seven treasures, as tall as seven men standing upright. Upon that jeweled throne were spread eighty thousand kotis of exquisite garments. Before the throne stood a jeweled incense burner in which aloeswood incense was burned. Beautiful flowers were scattered three times by night and three times by day.

A canopy of golden netting was spread above the jeweled hall, with golden lotus flowers hanging along its edges. Above the golden canopy was spread another canopy of pearls. Eighty thousand pure, radiant precious gems provided illumination.

Within the gardens were also placed nine million masses of jewels, each one yojana high, illuminating that entire realm.

The gardens contained various kinds of birds, including parrots, mynas, wild geese, hela doves, peacocks, swans, mandarin ducks, kunala birds, kalavinkas, and jivajivaka birds. Whenever they wished to call, they spoke in exquisitely gentle and harmonious human voices, like the birds in the devas’ Garden of Delight. All these birds sang to please the Prince.

The King also built a dining hall for the Prince, where five hundred kinds of food were prepared each day for his sustenance.

The King further summoned young men from throughout the kingdom, numbering as many as eighty kotis. These youths, some twenty years old and some older, were all skilled in every craft and art. Clad in splendid, immaculate garments, they were all admitted into the city of Supreme Joy and Delight.

The parents of the youths sent tens of millions of kotis of maidens to attend them. The relatives of the youths likewise offered tens of millions of kotis of maidens to serve them. The elders and citizens also sent tens of millions of kotis of palace women to attend them.

These women were only sixteen years old, all beautiful and graceful, without peer in the world. They were skilled in music, song, dance, and theatrical entertainment. Their speech was gentle and harmonious, and their countenances pleasant and joyful.

They were able to comfort both the old and the young and were proficient in every craft. Their mouths emitted a fragrance like that of blue lotuses, while every pore of their bodies exuded the fragrance of sandalwood. They were exquisite and pure like celestial maidens.

Prince Merit-Blaze dwelt within that palace, while the palace women constantly performed harmonious music and made offerings of every kind.

Hearing that music, the Prince thought: “These things are my enemies; they rob me of my wholesome Dharma. I must quickly abandon them.”

At that time, although the Prince beheld every pleasure, his heart took no delight in them, like a man about to be devoured by a lion. Although he saw objects of sensual desire, his heart felt no craving. Amid the palace women he found no joy; nor did he delight in gathering with his retinue within the city. For ten full years he remained thus, grasping at none of the characteristics of sights, sounds, scents, tastes, or tactile objects. He thought only: “When shall I escape from this realm of enemies? When shall I practice vigilance and attain liberation?”

Those palace women reported the matter to King Blazing Intention. The King, together with eighty thousand lesser kings, went to the Prince. Weeping and lamenting in grief, he fainted and fell to the ground. Upon regaining consciousness, King Blazing Intention addressed Prince Blazing Merit in verse:

You possess the most wondrous, abundant merit;

Who has treated you unkindly,

Causing you not to enjoy the supreme pleasures?

When you take no pleasure, your father grieves.

I hope you will enjoy them and bring your father joy.

If anyone has harassed you, tell your father;

I shall punish that person most severely.

Look at the lovely lotus flowers here,

Which your father thoughtfully arranged for you.

If you lack anything, quickly tell me;

Your father can manifest it like Sakra.

Now your face and eyes resemble lotus flowers;

Why do you knit your brows and take no delight?

These palace women are exceptionally beautiful,

Wondrous and pure, equal to celestial maidens.

They are all accomplished in the various arts,

And thoroughly skilled in song, dance, and music.

You should rejoice together with these palace women;

Why do you grieve as though pierced by an arrow?

You should now quickly enjoy happiness;

This is no time for sorrow and suffering.

The gardens, forests, streams, and ponds flourish greatly;

Their flowers, fruits, branches, and leaves grow luxuriantly.

Vast and broad, they are no different from celestial gardens.

Now, while you are still in your youth,

Your countenance withers like a dried flower.

You should only enjoy pleasure, not suffer.

The flowing streams and bathing ponds resemble those of heaven;

Their wondrous fragrant waters bathe the body.

Every flower competes in blooming as swarms of bees gather;

Why do you now take no delight in them?

Geese, wild swans, parrots, and red-crowned cranes,

The mang-mang and kuna birds utter wondrous calls.

This place is no different from Fragrant Mountain and Snow Mountain;

Who, seeing and hearing it, would not delight?

The magnificent palace is made of the seven treasures and pearl nets,

Adorned and purified with vaidurya like a celestial palace.

Its jeweled seats are adorned and draped with wondrous fabrics;

Golden bells and jeweled nets resound beautifully.

All their various sounds are exceedingly sublime.

Along the roads, avenues, and entrances to the lanes,

Thousands of palace women perform music,

Like celestial maidens in the Garden of Delight.

Why are you confused and unwilling to enjoy yourself?

The youths and palace women resemble devas;

They have assembled because they wish to bring you joy.

Your father and mother shed tears because of you,

Grieving, lamenting, and suffering beyond measure.

Prince Blazing Merit replied to his father in verse:

Like that One replete with merit,

Who contemplated the suffering of conditioned birth and death,

Wearied of afflictions and wished to seek escape,

And cast away every sensual pleasure,

I see all beings entering the net of death

And constantly seek liberation, far from sensual pleasures.

I contemplate supreme and unsurpassed bodhi;

I humbly ask my father and mother to hear my words.

No one has done me any harm;

I myself take no delight in sensual pleasures.

All affection and attachment are like enemies;

They increase afflictions and cause descent into the lower realms.

Fools delight in these palace women,

Increasing the karma of Mara and becoming bound.

They depart far from merit and increase what is unwholesome,

Causing themselves to fall into the lower realms in lives to come.

The noble ones rebuke these five sensual desires;

Why, then, should I delight in the root of suffering?

These palace women possess only an outward semblance;

They are merely bags of skin containing sinews and bones,

Filled within with blood, flesh, feces, and filthy urine.

Why should one delight in corpses that become putrid and foul?

Songs, dances, music, and every art

Are like illusions and dreams, deceiving the ignorant.

Fools make discriminations and lose the right path;

How could I follow them and create the karma of craving?

When winter comes, the gardens, forests, flowers, and fruits

Wither, turn yellow, and all fall away.

Impermanent, they dissolve and perish, enduring no long time;

Life is uncertain, yet fools remain heedless.

The mind is like a great ocean, never knowing contentment;

Affection and attachment increase, seeking without satiety.

Ever defiled by desire, beings harm one another;

But I am like Mount Sumeru, unmoved by the wind.

Father, mother, elder and younger brothers, and sisters,

Wife, children, friends, and all relatives,

The royal throne, the hundred officials, and worldly power—

If one falls into the lower realms, none can offer rescue.

Today we are like drops of dew,

And also like flashes of lightning that do not remain even briefly.

Our minds and thoughts are scattered, with nowhere to settle;

Seeing and reflecting thus, one should diligently cultivate.

Alas! Youth does not remain for long.

Alas! Life is like a cascading waterfall.

Alas! Conditioned things are like floating clouds.

Alas! In the three realms, people seek the royal throne.

The wise come and teach us not to be heedless;

No bodhisattva craves the world.

If one wishes to become a Buddha and rescue beings,

A heedless royal father will not attain Buddhahood.

Those who pursue sensual pleasures become slaves of craving;

They lose merit and have no wholesome path.

If, in this body, one craves the taking of life,

One is like a bird caught in a net, wishing to survive.

Objects of the senses are like vicious venomous snakes;

How do the five skandhas differ from murderous enemy bandits?

The human mind’s attachment to existence brings no benefit;

It is like a deserted village in which no refuge can be found.

My father’s gardens and forests are like poisonous trees;

The flood of impermanence will sweep all away and drown them.

How, then, could I delight in them?

I see that the world does not practice rightly;

It is like the conflagration at the end of a kalpa,

In which beings undergo immense suffering.

To liberate beings from suffering,

I must quickly complete the Dharma-ship of the path.

Beings sleep in intoxication, unaware of themselves;

They have long borne illness, and I wish to cure them.

I shall extract the poisoned arrows and restore their health,

Leading them from deviant paths back to the right path.

They are tightly bound within the three realms and cannot escape;

I shall teach them the Dharma so that they may depart.

Beings are impoverished, possessing no wealth of Dharma;

I shall bestow wholesome Dharma and make them rich.

Those who, deluded, sink into the lower realms,

I shall instruct in all the wholesome paths.

I wish to uproot all craving and grasping,

Practice loving-kindness and compassion, and kindle the lamp of wisdom,

Causing beings to see the three realms as a burning house.

I shall again bring forth compassion, raising dense clouds;

The paramitas shall spread everywhere as their covering.

Benefits for beings shall flash like lightning;

The factors of the path and dharani shall pour down as rain,

Bringing coolness and extinguishing the fires of torment.

For these reasons I was born in the royal palace;

I take no delight in conditioned existence.

Because I wish to benefit all beings,

I was born into the world to seek bodhi.

Never shall I crave sensual pleasures.

Father, I dwell among enemies;

What wise person would delight in such a path?

One with eyes does not fall from a perilous high precipice;

Those who seek bodhi must abandon heedlessness.

The entire world follows the six paths;

Today I alone wish to go against their course.

Father, my words shall never prove false;

I humbly ask you to return to the principal palace.

I vow to relinquish the throne of this world;

Whoever desires anything may freely take it.

If ruling means practicing heedlessness and craving the throne,

I would not desire even a hundred billion thrones.

If I cannot attain the path within the inner palace,

I should dwell only in a secluded and fearless place.

If one delights in the five sensual desires, one cannot accomplish it;

I shall go into the mountains and forests and dwell in tranquility.

There I shall seek bodhi;

The Buddhas of the three times dwelt in aranyas.

Perfect enlightenment and bodhi are not found in sensual desire.

After Prince Blazing Merit had spoken these verses, he took leave of his father and led the palace women away to practice walking meditation. Yet his mind was not at ease, and he maintained only three postures: walking, standing, or sitting, without ever lying down to sleep. While on the eighth story of the high tower, in the middle of the night he saw devas of the Pure Abodes traveling through the sky, praising the merit of the Buddhas and the merit of the Dharma and Sangha. Hearing the devas praise the Buddha’s merit, Prince Blazing Merit’s hair stood on end and his body trembled. He immediately joined his palms and addressed the devas in verse:

Excellent, O sons of the devas!

Take pity upon our suffering.

Do not become weary at heart;

I wish to ask you something.

O devas traveling through the sky,

Whose merit do you praise?

Hearing those words of praise,

My heart rejoices greatly.

The devas of the Pure Abodes replied to the Prince in verse:

Young Prince, have you not heard

That a Buddha has appeared in the world?

That Buddha is named Auspicious Intention,

A refuge for all people.

The Buddha knows the minds of beings

And is complete in both merit and wisdom.

The noble ones who have attained meditative concentration

Number hundreds of thousands of nayutas.

The Prince again addressed the devas, asking in verse:

I have not yet seen that Buddha;

Please tell me the marks of the Buddha.

If I am able to see and hear,

I shall ask the Buddha about the path to bodhi:

How are sentient beings delivered?

How, in ages yet to come,

May one become honored among sentient beings?

I pray that you explain this for me.

The devas of the Pure Abodes spoke verses to the Prince in reply:

The Buddha’s hair is smooth and lustrous,

Dark blue and curling to the right.

His crown rises high like Snow Mountain;

His white urna is like the sun,

Pure as vaidurya,

Of wondrous hue and curling to the right.

His ears and eyes are exceedingly long and broad,

The color of blue lotus blossoms.

His cheeks are square like those of a lion;

His lips are red like bimba fruit.

His teeth are perfectly even and close-set,

Pure and translucent like snowy jade.

Complete in number, they are forty;

His four canine teeth are exceedingly sharp.

His tongue is broad and long, covering his face;

His awe-inspiring virtue is greatly sovereign.

For the sake of all classes of sentient beings,

He emits hundreds of millions of rays of light

That pervade the great trichiliocosm

And dry up all evil realms.

He is Unsurpassed, Supremely Honored, and Victorious;

His voice is wondrous, true, and genuine,

Causing those who hear it to rejoice

And fulfilling the aspirations of sentient beings.

He surpasses even a wish-fulfilling jewel

And is never deficient in virtue.

He accords with all factors of the path

And adorns the banner of the true Dharma.

With hundreds of thousands of kinds of voices,

He proclaims the teaching without error or deficiency.

His voice surpasses those of all devas

And exceeds the voice of Brahma.

Those who hear it give rise to joy.

It surpasses the voices of the kimnaras,

The kalavinka birds,

Mandarin ducks and wild geese,

And the pure voice of the kunala bird.

It harmoniously unites all sounds;

Its compassionate tones are never confused.

It can make meanings manifest,

Wondrously pure as vaidurya,

And can bring delight to the wise.

It teaches them to arouse the mind of the path,

Making their minds pure and their hearts joyful.

In accordance with his knowledge of others’ minds,

He can resolve the doubts of those who question him.

That One is the Dharma King,

The sovereign and great World-Honored One,

Possessed of a supremely excellent Dharma voice.

His neck is straight and his shoulders full and rounded;

Compassionately he raises his beautiful hand

To comfort all sentient beings.

The Buddha’s body is the color of true gold;

Every hair curls to the right.

His navel is deep and concealed;

His male organ is sheathed like that of the king of horses.

His calves are shapely like those of the king of deer;

Beneath his feet are lotus patterns

And complete wheels with a thousand spokes.

He turns to look like the king of elephants

And walks like a lion.

His entire body is perfectly proportioned,

Resembling Indra’s staff.

From the sky celestial flowers rain down

And transform into a parasol above him;

Whether walking or standing, it always follows and shades him.

Such are the rare qualities of the Dharma King.

Whether gaining advantage or losing it,

Whether experiencing pleasure or pain,

Whether gaining fame or losing fame,

Whether praised or disparaged,

He remains unattached to them all,

Like a lotus blossom in water,

And also like the lion king.

The Tathagata, the Perfectly Enlightened One,

Has no equal among sentient beings.

When Prince Flame of Merit heard the devas of the Pure Abodes praise the virtues of the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, he became so joyful and elated that he could not contain himself. He thought: “The Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, possess such an accomplished assembly, have awakened to and realized such a wondrous Dharma, and have such a community of noble disciples, yet I have not been able to behold them.

“Now I have encountered all the evil sufferings and afflictions of samsara. This samsara has no meaning or benefit. Ordinary beings cling to the view of self.

Household life has many faults, calamities, and dangers, and its desires can never be satisfied. The wise censure heedlessness. One is shrouded in the darkness of ignorance.

Such formations are difficult to penetrate. Such consciousness is exceedingly difficult to subdue. Such name-and-form is extremely profound and difficult to awaken to.

Such six sense bases possess no mastery. Such evil contact is sustained by resultant experience. Such delusion has many faults and dangers.

Such craving binds tightly and will not let go. Such kinds of clinging are extremely difficult to abandon. Such becoming is devoid of the noble path.

Such birth is extremely difficult to escape. Such aging ravages youth. Such illness diminishes health.

Such death is without freshness or vitality. Such birth entails much decline and affliction. Such coming and going has no benefit.

The Tathagata’s wondrous true teaching is exceedingly worthy of delight. Why, then, should I become a slave to craving, allowing the afflictions to delude my mind, allowing evil, discursive thoughts to make it turbid, disordered, and impure, with my mind constantly heedless, continually befriending fools, failing to contemplate skillfully, my heart perpetually defiled and attached to the afflictions of samsara, delighting in evil spiritual friends, and always consorting with such manifold evils?

In this way, I shall never accomplish even the pure and wholesome deeds of the world, much less attain unsurpassed bodhi.

“I must now cast myself down from this eastern tower gate and depart. If I leave through the gateway, I fear that my relatives and attendants will obstruct me.”

Wishing to go to the presence of the Buddha Auspicious Intention, Prince Flame of Merit immediately faced toward the Buddha and cast himself down, while thinking: “If that Tathagata possesses omniscient knowledge and vision, he must surely be thinking of and knowing me.”

At that time, the Buddha Auspicious Intention, the Tathagata, the Perfectly Enlightened One, immediately extended his right hand and emitted a great ray of light that shone upon Prince Flame of Merit. Within the ray appeared a great lotus blossom as large as a wheel, with hundreds of thousands of petals, emitting hundreds of thousands of rays that together illuminated the Prince’s body. Prince Flame of Merit saw himself seated upon that lotus blossom. Once he was seated securely, the Prince joined his palms, bowed toward the Buddha Auspicious Intention, and loudly proclaimed three times: “Namo Buddhaya.”

The Buddha Auspicious Intention withdrew the ray of light, and the Prince followed that ray until he came before the Buddha. He cast himself to the ground like a great tree falling, bowed to the Buddha a full one thousand times, and then addressed the Buddha in verse:

For long have I borne a grave illness;

Now I have encountered the King of Physicians.

Amid all hardships and sufferings,

World-Honored One, rescue me.

I pray that the Buddha explain to me

How, within the Dharma,

I may obtain great merit and benefit.

May the Tathagata make this clear.

World-Honored One, earlier,

In the middle of the night, devas came

And told me not to be heedless.

Having heard the devas’ instruction,

I became fearful and came here.

Now I ask the World-Honored One:

How may I be free of heedlessness?

May the Buddha compassionately teach me clearly.

I have now lost the right path;

May the Buddha be my caravan leader.

I am now like one blind from birth;

May the Buddha become my eyes.

I have now fallen into danger;

I pray that the Buddha rescue and deliver me.

I reverently beseech your great loving-kindness and compassion

To cause right faith to arise within me.

Like one in desperate straits,

I pray that the Buddha swiftly heal me.

I am now like an impoverished person;

May the Buddha compassionately accept me.

I am now bound in fetters;

May the Buddha compassionately untie them.

My heart is filled with doubts and perplexities;

Please unravel the net of delusion

And teach me what I should practice

And how bodhi may be attained.

I am now sinking in a great ocean;

May the Buddha compassionately rescue me.

I dwell in dense darkness;

May the Buddha light the torch of Dharma.

My body bears a great ulcer;

Please treat it so that it swiftly heals.

My body has been struck by a poisoned arrow;

May the Buddha extract the arrow for me.

I continually fall into the evil realms;

May the Buddha compassionately rescue me.

May all those who harbor attachments

Abandon what is wrong and return to the right path.

I am sinking in the river of sorrow;

Please convey me to the other shore,

That I may abide in the Noble Eightfold Path.

My lifespan is brief,

And many obstacles hinder my pursuit of goodness.

I pray that from this time onward,

I may attain the life of true suchness.

Now my body is at leisure and pure,

And I have escaped all difficulties.

The performance of merit will surely bring its recompense;

Please resolve my doubts.

World-Honored One, explain to me

How a bodhisattva, free of heedlessness,

Proceeds toward the unsurpassed path,

Will realize bodhi in the future,

Can open and liberate all realms,

Rescue and deliver all sentient beings,

And free them from every cycle of birth and death.

Knowing the mind of Prince Flame of Merit, the Tathagata Auspicious Intention extensively expounded the practices of the bodhisattva.

Upon hearing this Dharma, Prince Flame of Merit immediately attained the dharani called Skillful Liberation and also attained the five superknowledges. He then flew into the sky, magically produced various kinds of flowers, and scattered them over the Buddha.

After scattering the flowers, Prince Flame of Merit descended from the sky and spoke verses praising the Buddha Auspicious Intention:

I bow my head to the golden-hued One,

Whose face shines like the full moon.

I pay homage to the incomparable One,

The honored One of the three realms, free from defilement.

His pure hair shines, smooth and lustrous;

His crown rises high like Mount Sumeru.

Those who behold him never weary of the sight,

And joy arises in their hearts.

Between his brows is the mark of the white urna,

Pure, beautiful, and radiant.

His eyes are like blue lotus blossoms,

Wondrous and exceedingly sublime.

With a mind of loving-kindness and compassionate concern,

He gazes upon all worlds.

Sentient beings rejoice to encounter him,

As infants cherish their mother.

The Tathagata’s tongue is long and broad,

Soft and supple like red copper.

Radiance spreads across His face

He teaches the Dharma to the great assembly

His white teeth are like snowy jade

Firm and strong as vajra

Forty in number, even and closely set

Whenever He joyfully smiles

He guides and transforms immeasurable beings

Liberating them to attain bodhi

Homage to His wondrous voice

Homage to His beautiful and truthful words

The Buddha’s body is unequaled in the world

Emitting light that illumines all realms

The radiance of Brahma and the World-Protectors

Can no longer be seen

His calves are shapely like those of the king of deer

His gait is like that of the king of elephants

And also like that of a lion

The entire great earth trembles

The Blessed One is endowed with excellent marks

His skin is lustrous, beautiful, and smooth

His body resembles a mountain of purple-gold

His majestic radiance is beyond compare

He practiced austerities for countless kalpas

Delighting tirelessly in giving

With loving-kindness He beholds sentient beings

Homage to the Father of Great Compassion

The Buddha always delights in giving and moral discipline

Steadfast in patience and diligence

In meditation and prajna

His dharani and wisdom are incomparable

When the Blessed One teaches the Dharma

He subdues all non-Buddhist teachers

Amid the assembly He is like a lion

Fearless and greatly sovereign

The King of Physicians removes the three poisons

And proclaims the pure Dharma

All who hear it rejoice

Therefore I now bow in homage

Pure in body, speech, and mind

Unstained by attachment to the three realms

Like a lotus growing in water

Fragrant, pure, and ever radiant

The Buddha’s voice is like that of Brahma

Like the song of the kalavinka bird

He has crossed beyond the shore of the three realms

Therefore I pay homage

The Buddha sees all worlds

As illusions and as dreams

And also as the house of a performer

He teaches that all dharmas are without self

Without sentient being or living soul

And that all things possess nothing whatsoever

Like the moon reflected in water

Empty, quiescent, and nowhere arising

Having understood the world in this way

He employs skillful means for its sake

Hundreds of thousands of Dharma gates

Compassionately embracing and teaching beings

Sentient beings suffer many calamities

The poisons constantly blaze fiercely

Having observed their burning afflictions

He treats them like the King of Physicians

He constantly journeys throughout the world

Rescuing countless beings

From the sufferings of birth, aging, illness, and death

Separation from the loved and meeting the hated

Grief, lamentation, and every affliction

Which burn without respite

Having seen the world’s suffering and affliction

Through compassion He can deliver and liberate it

The worlds turn like a wheel

With devas, humans, and animals

And those among hell beings and hungry ghosts

Deluded and without a Guiding Teacher

For these five classes of beings, the Blessed One

Manifests as the Supremely Honored One

In the past there were Buddhas

Dharma Kings who departed from the world

They too taught this noble path

Just as the Buddha now teaches it

Pure and free from defilement

Surpassing even the Great Brahma King

Surpassing also the gandharvas

And all celestial maidens

Among all such sounds

The Buddha’s voice is supreme

For the world He explains

The true wisdom that nourishes and benefits

Teaching many kinds of skillful means

Complete in every merit

Hundreds of thousands of nayutas

Attain nirvana through the Three Vehicles

Whoever makes offerings to them

Receives the supreme reward of happiness

Immeasurable devas and humans

Will attain the true and right path

Some may become human kings

Elders of immense wealth, and the like

Some may rule one continent

Or two, three, or four continents

As Wheel-Turning Holy Emperors

Teaching their people the ten wholesome deeds

With all seven treasures fully manifest

All this comes from making offerings to the Buddha

Some may become Sakra or a Brahma king

Or a king of the Four Heavenly Kings

Or dwell in Tusita or Nirmanarati Heaven

Or in Paranirmitavasavartin or Yama Heaven

All this comes from making offerings to the Buddha

In future lives they will attain Perfect Awakening

Those who thus make offerings to the Buddha

Whether they see Him or merely hear His voice

All receive benefit

Their manifold sufferings are removed

And they obtain the ambrosial Dharma

Most wondrous, beyond aging and illness

The Blessed One knows the right path

And skillfully teaches the Dharma of the right path

He can put an end to all evil destinies

And establish beings on the fearless path

The undefiled, great, noble path

He can serve as the refuge of beings

Whoever seeks merit and virtue

Should plant their roots beside the Buddha

Because of these causes and conditions

They will obtain an inexhaustible treasury

Throughout innumerable kotis of kalpas

That merit can never be exhausted

Even before they attain Buddhahood

They will obtain a pure land

Wondrous like Paranirmitavasavartin Heaven

And having obtained it, they will rejoice greatly

All the sentient beings

In that pure land

Will be pure in body, speech, and mind

This merit arises from offerings to the Buddha

If those sentient beings

Seek heavenly rebirth or nirvana

Or seek happiness among humans

They will obtain immeasurable blessings

Their merit will never be exhausted

Until they attain Buddhahood

Moreover, throughout a hundred realms

Before immeasurable hundreds of thousands of beings

One should proclaim the Buddha’s virtues

So that everyone may revere Him

The Tathagata removes burning afflictions

And causes beings to attain liberation

Beholding them with compassion, He rejoices

His faculties are serene and pure

The Supreme One among humans

An accumulation of immeasurable merit

The refuge of sentient beings

Therefore I bow in homage

I have attained the five superknowledges

And can fly through empty space

I hear the Buddha’s wondrous voice

If in the future I become a Buddha

I shall proclaim the wondrous Dharma to the assembly

And deliver immeasurable beings

I praise this accumulation of merit

These undefiled and pure blessings

May devas, humans, nagas, asuras

Yaksas and gandharvas

And all the various classes of sentient beings

Vow to attain Buddhahood in future lives.

At that time, after the night had passed, King Jvalamati heard the boys weeping and hurried to the city of Victorious Joy and Delight. He asked the boys and palace maidens why they were crying. Everyone reported that Prince Punyajvala had suddenly disappeared during the night. Upon hearing this, the Great King fainted and fell to the ground. After a short while he rose, weeping and lamenting bitterly, and circled the city hundreds of thousands of times.

The deity protecting the city told King Jvalamati, “East of here dwells a Buddha named Auspicious Intention. Prince Punyajvala is now there, bowing in homage and making offerings to Him.”

After King Jvalamati heard the deity’s report, he immediately took the boys, palace maidens, his retinue of eighty-four thousand kotis, and an assembly numbering hundreds of thousands of nayutas, and traveled eastward to the dwelling place of the Buddha Auspicious Intention, the Tathagata, the Perfectly and Completely Awakened One. Upon arriving, the king bowed at the Buddha’s feet, stood to one side, and praised the Buddha in verse:

Homage to the ocean of merit and wisdom

The Great Hero whom none can equal

Supreme throughout all realms, beyond compare

To whom the heavenly kings Sakra and Brahma make offerings

The unique and supreme One amid the assembly

One never tires of beholding the Buddha’s physical form

His body adorned with the thirty-two marks

Like a pure jeweled throne on Mount Sumeru

The Buddha’s wondrous body is purple-gold in hue

Those who see it never tire; therefore I bow

Throughout immeasurable hundreds of thousands of kotis of kalpas

The Tathagata practiced austerities without weariness

For immeasurable kalpas He made offerings to Buddhas

Hundreds of thousands of kotis beyond all reckoning

His giving in former times was inconceivable

Therefore His physical body is supremely adorned and pure

Giving, moral discipline, meditation, and wisdom

Patience, diligence, and wholesome skillful means

The Buddha’s physical body is utterly pure

Its radiance surpasses the sun, moon, and mani jewel

The light of Sakra and Brahma is hidden and no longer seen

The Buddha manifests the appearance of His countenance for the world

At times He appears in Tusita Heaven

At times He manifests the intention to descend and be born

At times He manifests as a pure white elephant king

Entering His mother’s right side in a dream to take birth

The Buddha’s body appears like empty space

Like the moon’s reflection, like a dream, an illusion, or a transformation

The Buddha’s responsive manifestation is likewise

He also manifests the time of His birth

At times He takes seven steps, displaying the Great Hero

And loudly proclaims, “Among devas and humans, I am supreme

I shall rescue sentient beings from suffering

Regarding all dharmas, I have no doubt”

For the assembly He manifests first learning letters

And attaining meditation in tranquil seclusion

He manifests dwelling amid palace maidens

Then leaving behind His parents, wife, and child

While relatives and honored kin grieve and weep in longing

Leaving home, He dwells in the forest and always walks alone

Kotis of devas constantly surround Him

Praising Him continually without weariness

Long ago He subdued the four kinds of mara

Yet in this realm He manifests first subduing them

Long ago He turned the pure Dharma wheel

Yet now, out of compassion, He manifests its first turning

Seeing worldly people cling to permanence

Amid the assembly He proclaims His nirvana

Seeing worldly people delight in samsara

The Blessed One teaches them the Dharma of quiescent cessation

His merit, wisdom, and skillful means are beyond comparison

His body emits light that illumines many realms

Bodhisattvas from every direction come seeking the Buddha

And bow to the inconceivable Blessed One

For them, the Dharma King teaches the wondrous Dharma

Giving rise to joy in the pure assembly,

For the assembly, he manifests a body like those of the world.

The Buddha’s body neither comes nor goes;

The Tathagata abides in the Dharma, free from illusion.

Therefore, I bow before the Great Man.

Excellent indeed! The Blessed One expounds the wondrous path,

Revealing to beings the way to perfect awakening,

Teaching me this supreme Dharma gate;

Thus, I have now realized this Dharma.

The Blessed One manifested it for my sake;

Whatever I realize, I proclaim for sentient beings.

The Buddha’s wisdom, free from affliction, is utterly unsurpassed.

I now praise all the Buddha’s virtues

And pray that all sentient beings throughout the world

May swiftly realize the unsurpassed path of quiescent cessation.

At that time, the Auspicious Mind Tathagata knew the depth of King Blazing Mind’s faith and, teaching him according to what was appropriate, expounded the Dharma so that the king attained irreversibility from unsurpassed bodhi.

Prince Blazing Merit said to the Auspicious Mind Buddha, “I now wish to invite the Buddha into my city. May the Buddha compassionately accept my invitation.”

Out of compassion, the Auspicious Mind Buddha silently accepted the invitation.

Knowing that the Buddha had accepted, Prince Blazing Merit addressed his royal father, royal mother, and retinue, saying, “I now offer the city of Supreme Joy, together with all its adornments, in its entirety to the Buddha and the Sangha of bhiksus, without ever regretting it. May my parents and retinue rejoice.”

The royal father and the entire retinue proclaimed in unison, “Excellent, excellent! We all rejoice in your merit.”

Prince Blazing Merit returned and further beautified and adorned the city of Supreme Joy, then offered it to the Buddha and the Sangha of bhiksus. Each day, the prince prepared five hundred kinds of food and drink as offerings to the Buddha and the Sangha. For the Sangha, the prince also built monasteries, all adorned with the seven treasures. In every chamber, he spread five thousand layers of multicolored brocade and silk cushions. He also had new, clean robes made for the bhiksus according to their preferences. He further constructed places for walking meditation, all adorned with various treasures and covered above with jeweled nets; on both sides, he planted many kinds of fragrant and beautiful flowering and fruit-bearing trees.

He made offerings to the Buddha and the Sangha in this way for three hundred million kotis of years. Prince Blazing Merit never slept or rested; caring nothing for his own body or life, he devoted himself solely to making offerings. He had no lustful desire and no thought of anger or harm.

He took no delight in royal sovereignty. Under any circumstances, he could relinquish even his body and life, much less any other possession. Moreover, he received and retained without exception every Dharma teaching proclaimed by the Tathagata, never forgetting any of it and never asking the Buddha to repeat even a single sentence.

During those three hundred million kotis of years, the prince neither bathed nor anointed himself with oil, nor washed his feet. He neither sat nor lay down, except while eating or relieving himself, and never conceived a thought of weariness. When the Auspicious Mind Tathagata entered nirvana, the prince piled up red sandalwood and cremated the Tathagata’s body.

Then, at the cremation site, he made offerings of every supremely wondrous kind to the relics. Throughout Jambudvipa, he likewise established offerings to the relics. He also separately constructed ninety-nine kotis of stupas made of the seven treasures, above which were hung curtains and nets of pearls and assorted jewels.

Each stupa had five hundred canopies made of the seven treasures and hundreds of thousands of kinds of music. Around the stupas, he planted beautiful flowering trees. Before each stupa, he lit hundreds of thousands of lamps, each containing a thousand hu of oil, and he constantly offered many kinds of incense and flowers.

After making such offerings for many kotis of years, Prince Blazing Merit went forth into homelessness. After going forth, he possessed only three robes, always went on almsround, delighted in the dhutanga practices, and continually sat without lying down. He never slept or rested, never made demands of others, and gave everything away without expecting any reward. He constantly expounded the Dharma to everyone. He continued in this way for four kotis of years, never accepting even a word of praise or commendation, much less material offerings from others. Whenever he listened to the Dharma, he never conceived a thought of weariness. Devas constantly came to attend upon him and make offerings.

In that kingdom, the royal father, royal mother, ministers, palace women, citizens, and all their retinues followed the prince’s example, went forth into homelessness, and practiced the path.

At that time, the devas of the Pure Abodes saw what had happened and thought, “Now all the people of that kingdom have followed Prince Blazing Merit in going forth and practicing the path. That entire kingdom consists wholly of the Three Jewels. We should now become their benefactors and make offerings to them for the benefit of the world.”

After the Auspicious Mind Tathagata entered nirvana, the true Dharma remained in the world for sixty-four thousand kotis of years, entirely through the sustaining power of Bhiksu Blazing Merit.

From that time onward, Bhiksu Blazing Merit continued making offerings in this way, successively making offerings to ninety-four kotis of Buddhas.

O Protector of the Nation! King Blazing Mind of that time is none other than the present Amitayus Tathagata. Prince Blazing Merit is none other than I, Sakyamuni Tathagata. The celestial spirit who guarded the city is none other than the present Aksobhya Tathagata.

O Protector of the Nation! For this reason, bodhisattvas who wish to attain unsurpassed bodhi should emulate Prince Blazing Merit, cultivating all meritorious practices with profound and sincere resolve and abandoning every thought of attachment and aversion.

Because in the past I constantly and diligently practiced austerities in this way, I attained unsurpassed bodhi.

In ages to come, there will be bhiksus who cherish fame and gain and cling covetously to their retinues. Their wholesome qualities will naturally diminish, and they will constantly be harmed by the hostile bandit of self-conceit. They are truly most pitiable.

Because they crave gain, they will depart far from the true Dharma. Though they have gone forth in vain, they will defile the practice of a sramana. With their mouths alone they will claim, ‘I am a bodhisattva,’ while inwardly they will be wholly deceitful and crooked.

Their bodies and minds will be turbid and confused, submerged in the mire of afflictions. They will possess only the outward appearance while opposing the true path. Abandoning the vows they once made, they will greedily cling to robes, food and drink, dwellings, bedding, and medicines.

They will have neither a sense of shame nor dread of wrongdoing, will not know disgrace, will lack dignified conduct, and will remain far removed from the Buddha’s realm. These are evil spiritual friends who seek fame and covet gain; they should not be approached.”

The Blessed One, wishing to restate this meaning, spoke these verses:

“Many are their acts of heedlessness;

They stray far from the state of the Ten Powers.

Their minds constantly crave offerings

And the company of their retinues.

They cast aside the Buddha’s bodhi

And its thousands and myriads of virtues.

They deceive the holy and seek fame and gain;

Evil by nature, they have no sense of shame.

Deceitful and flattering, they cultivate no dread of wrongdoing.

They enter the Buddha-Dharma

Solely for gain and fame.

Following their afflictions,

They swiftly fall into the lower realms.

Their mouths declare, ‘I possess great virtue

And surpass those in the aranya,’

Yet their minds dwell upon villages and settlements.

Because they cling covetously to these things,

Their minds abound in discursive thought.

They are as far from liberation

As the heavens are from the earth.

Practitioners should keep far away from them,

As though fearing a vicious, venomous snake.

They do not delight in the Buddha-Dharma,

Nor in the virtues of the Sangha.

They cast aside and depart from the wholesome path,

Constantly traveling upon deviant ways.

They lose immeasurable goodness

And are obscured by the various realms of existence.

Hearing of the deeds I performed in the past,

With minds sincere, true, and faithful,

You should emulate my practices

Throughout many kotis of kalpas.

Such a Dharma is difficult to encounter;

You should arouse a mind of great patience.

What I have realized and proclaimed,

You should diligently strive to practice.

If you wish to attain Buddhahood

Within the wondrous and supreme Mahayana,

You should remember the prince’s practices

And his immeasurable virtues.

Having reflected upon them truly,

You should abide within them.

The path to bodhi is like this;

You will see it just as the Buddha has taught.

Carefully contemplate the virtues

That are the abode of beings of noble nature.

You should practice exactly as instructed.

If you abandon this teaching,

You will lose the flavor of virtue

And be born in the lower realms,

Foolish and without benefit.

Born in the lower realms, you will regret it.

I exhort those who practice in mountains and forests:

Take care never to praise yourselves,

Nor disparage others.

You should constantly reproach yourselves

For having opposed kotis of Buddhas in the past

Because of your self-conceit.

Do not cherish your own body and life;

Abandon every object of affection and attachment.

As the Buddha teaches in this sutra,

Give rise to reverence for the true Dharma.”

If one practices in accord with the Dharma,

Attaining bodhi is not difficult.

This Vehicle was taught by the Buddha;

Having heard it, give rise to no doubt.

Therefore, within the Buddha-Dharma,

One should practice as the Buddha taught,

Diligently relinquishing body and life,

Never going against his instructions.

If one does not believe this Dharma,

Later regret will be of no avail.

“O Protector of the Realm! Suppose a bodhisattva constantly practices the five paramitas without rest, while another bodhisattva is able to practice this sutra in accord with the Dharma and abide in it in accord with the Dharma, and also personally declares, ‘I am able to practice and abide in this Dharma in accord with the Dharma.’ If the merit from the former’s practice of the five paramitas were compared with the merit of the latter, it would not equal even one hundredth part, one hundred-thousandth part, one hundred-thousand koti part, or any part expressible through calculation or analogy; it would not equal even one upanishad part.”

When the Buddha taught this sutra, thirty nayutas of devas, humans, asuras, and others who had never before generated the aspiration for unsurpassed bodhi all generated that aspiration and attained non-retrogression. Moreover, seven thousand bhikshus exhausted the outflows, and their minds attained liberation.

Bodhisattva Protector of the Realm addressed the Buddha, saying, “Blessed One, what is the name of this Dharma, and how should we uphold it?”

The Buddha said, “Good man, this Dharma is originally called ‘The Pure Conduct of the Unfailing Vow’; thus should you receive and uphold it. It is also called ‘The Definitive Vinaya of the Bodhisattva Conduct Practiced in Sport by a Good Man’; thus should you receive and uphold it. It is also called ‘Complete Fulfillment of the True Meaning’; thus should you receive and uphold it. It is also called ‘The Former Fundamental Practices of the Bodhisattva-Mahasattva Flame of Merit’; thus should you receive and uphold it.”

After the Buddha had taught this sutra, the Elder Bodhisattva Protector of the Realm and the devas, humans, asuras, gandharvas, and others heard the Buddha’s teaching, rejoiced, and reverently practiced it.

DHARMA ASSEMBLY OF BODHISATTVA PROTECTOR OF THE REALM — EIGHTE

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