大寶積經
Chinese title:大寶積經
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XXXII. THE THIRTY-SECOND ASSEMBLY: THE BODHISATTVA FEARLESS VIRTUE
Thus have I heard. At one time the Bhagavan was dwelling in the city of Rajagriha, on Mount Gridhrakuta, together with an assembly of five hundred bhiksus and immeasurable, boundless numbers of great bodhisattvas. Eight thousand great bodhisattvas were foremost among them.
They had all attained samadhis and dharanis, had skillfully entered the three gates of liberation—emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness—were skilled in the various supernormal powers, and had attained the patient acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas. Their names included Bodhisattva Meru, Bodhisattva Great Meru, Bodhisattva Constantly Absorbed in Samadhi, Bodhisattva Constantly Vigorous, Bodhisattva Jeweled Hand, Bodhisattva Ever-Joyful Faculty, Bodhisattva Bhadrapala, Bodhisattva Jeweled Appearance, Bodhisattva Rahu, Bodhisattva Sakra Deva, Bodhisattva Water Deva, Bodhisattva Superior Intention, Bodhisattva Victorious Intention, and Bodhisattva Increasing Superior Intention.
Such were the foremost among the eight thousand great bodhisattvas.
In the city of Rajagriha, the World-Honored One was honored, praised, and supported with offerings by the king, princes, brahmins, elders, and householders. The World-Honored One, surrounded reverently by immeasurable hundreds of thousands of myriads of beings, expounded the Dharma to them.
At that time, the venerable Sariputra, Mahamaudgalyayana, Mahakasyapa, Subhuti, Purna Maitrayaniputra, Revata, Asvaka, Upali, Rahula, Ananda, and immeasurable other great sravakas adjusted their robes in the morning, took up their bowls, and entered Rajagriha. Going from house to house, they begged for alms in accordance with the Dharma and for no other purpose. Gradually they came before the palace of King Ajatasatru, where they stood together in silence, saying neither that they sought alms nor that they did not.
King Ajatasatru had a daughter named Fearless Virtue. She was upright and beautiful beyond compare, endowed with supremely excellent and wondrous merit. Though only twelve years old, she wore jeweled golden sandals and was seated in a palace pavilion. When she saw the sravakas, she did not rise but remained silently seated where she was.
Seeing this, King Ajatasatru said, “Do you not see that these venerable ones are the foremost disciples of the Sakya Tathagata? They have accomplished the great Dharma and are fields of merit for the world. Out of compassion for sentient beings, they go forth to seek alms. Now that you see them, why do you not rise, go forward to welcome them, bow to them, inquire after them, or offer them your seat? What have you perceived that causes you not to rise and receive them?”
Fearless Virtue said to her royal father, “Royal Father, have you ever seen or heard of a wheel-turning sage-king rising to welcome lesser kings?”
King Ajatasatru replied, “He does not rise to welcome them.”
Fearless Virtue again said, “Royal Father, have you ever seen or heard of the lion, king of beasts, rising to welcome jackals when he sees them?”
King Ajatasatru replied, “There is no such thing.”
Fearless Virtue again said, “Royal Father, have you ever seen or heard of Sakra, king of the devas, welcoming the sons of the devas, or the great Brahma king bowing reverently to the hosts of devas?”
King Ajatasatru replied, “There is no such thing.”
Fearless Virtue again said, “Royal Father, have you ever seen or heard of the spirit of the great ocean bowing reverently to the spirits of rivers and ponds?”
King Ajatasatru replied, “There is no such thing.”
Fearless Virtue again said, “Royal Father, have you ever seen or heard of Mount Sumeru, king of mountains, bowing reverently to other mountain kings?”
King Ajatasatru replied, “There is no such thing.”
Fearless Virtue again said, “Royal Father, have you ever seen or heard of the spirits of the sun and moon bowing reverently to fireflies?”
King Ajatasatru replied, “There is no such thing.”
Fearless Virtue said, “Royal Father, you should know that a bodhisattva who has aroused the resolve and is progressing toward unsurpassed bodhi, practicing great loving-kindness and compassion, would never bow reverently to sravakas who have abandoned the mind of great compassion! How could a bodhisattva, a lion king seeking the path of unsurpassed, perfect, and complete enlightenment, bow to the jackals of the Lesser Vehicle?
How could a bodhisattva who seeks the pure path of great Brahma and advances toward unsurpassed bodhi associate with sravakas whose roots of goodness are meager? How could one wishing to reach the great ocean of great wisdom and skillfully comprehend the great treasury of Dharma still seek a mere ox’s hoofprint, since sravakas gain understanding only by hearing sounds from others? How could one wishing to ascend Mount Sumeru of buddhahood to seek the Tathagata’s boundless form-body instead seek the sravakas’ power of the emptiness-samadhi contained within a mustard seed and bow to them?
How could one who has heard of the merit and wisdom of the buddhas, radiant like the sun and moon, bow reverently to sravakas and seek the light of fireflies? Sravakas can benefit and illuminate only themselves, for they gain understanding by hearing sounds from others.
“Royal Father! Even after the buddhas enter nirvana, one should not bow reverently to sravakas, much less now, while the World-Honored One still abides in the world. Why? Whoever associates with sravakas will certainly arouse the resolve for the Sravaka Vehicle; whoever associates with pratyekabuddhas will certainly arouse the resolve for the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle; and whoever draws near to a perfectly and completely enlightened one will certainly arouse the resolve for unsurpassed bodhi.”
Having said this, Fearless Virtue addressed her royal father, Ajatasatru, in verse:
The sravaka is like a donkey cart;
The bodhisattva is like a mighty elephant.
Seated beneath the tree of enlightenment, subduing Mara,
The bodhisattva delivers immeasurable sentient beings.
King Ajatasatru said to Fearless Virtue, “You are greatly arrogant. Why, on seeing these great sravakas, did you not go forward to welcome them?”
Fearless Virtue replied, “Royal Father, do not speak thus. Royal Father is also arrogant; why do you not go forward to welcome the poor and destitute people of this city of Rajagriha?”
The king said, “They are not of the same rank as I. Why should I welcome them?”
Fearless Virtue said, “The same is true of a bodhisattva who has first aroused the resolve: all sravakas and pratyekabuddhas are not of the same rank.”
The king said, “Have you not seen bodhisattvas bow reverently to all sentient beings?”
Fearless Virtue said, “To deliver arrogant and angry sentient beings and cause them to arouse a mind dedicated to the great path, bodhisattvas bow reverently to all beings. Bodhisattvas bow in order to increase sentient beings’ roots of goodness. But these sravakas now harbor no anger, nor can their roots of goodness be increased.
Even if hundreds of thousands of buddhas expounded the wondrous Dharma to them, the morality, samadhi, and wisdom they have attained would not increase. Sravakas are like a solid block of vaidurya, while bodhisattvas are like a great jeweled vessel. Once a vessel is full, when rain falls it cannot contain another drop.
Likewise, even if hundreds of thousands of buddhas expounded the wondrous Dharma to sravakas, they would gain no further benefit, nor would their morality, samadhi, and wisdom increase. They cannot cause sentient beings to arouse the resolve to attain all-knowing wisdom.
“By contrast, the great ocean can receive the waters of all rivers and all the rain from clouds. Why? Because the great ocean is an immeasurable vessel. When bodhisattvas expound the Dharma, those who hear it each gain great merit and benefit according to their circumstances, and all their roots of goodness increase. Why? Because bodhisattvas are vessels of boundless eloquence.”
Hearing these words from Fearless Virtue, King Ajatasatru remained seated in silence.
The venerable Sariputra then thought, “This Fearless Virtue has attained great eloquence and can speak inexhaustibly in this manner. I shall now approach and ask her a few questions to see whether she has attained patient acceptance.” He went to Fearless Virtue and asked, “Do you now abide in the Sravaka Vehicle?”
She replied, “No.”
He asked, “Do you now abide in the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle?”
She replied, “No.”
He asked, “If so, in which vehicle do you abide that enables you to utter such a lion’s roar?”
She replied, “If I were able to abide anywhere, I certainly could not utter a lion’s roar. Because I abide nowhere, I can utter a lion’s roar. Yet, Sariputra, you ask in which vehicle I abide. In the Dharma that you have realized, are there distinctions among vehicles—the Sravaka Vehicle, the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle, and the Great Vehicle?”
The venerable Sariputra said, “Listen to me. The Dharma I have realized bears no characteristic of a vehicle and is not differentiated into distinct vehicles, for it has a single characteristic—namely, signlessness.”
Fearless Virtue said, “If the Dharma is signless, how can it be sought and attained?”
The venerable Sariputra asked, “What distinction of superiority or inferiority is there between the dharmas of the buddhas and the dharmas of ordinary beings?”
Fearless Virtue asked, “What distinction is there between emptiness and quiescence?”
The venerable Sariputra replied, “There is no distinction.”
Fearless Virtue said, “Just as emptiness and quiescence bear no marks of distinction, the dharmas of the buddhas and the dharmas of ordinary beings bear no marks of superiority, inferiority, or distinction. Furthermore, just as space accommodates all forms without distinction, the dharmas of the buddhas and the dharmas of ordinary beings bear neither marks of distinction nor marks of difference.”
The venerable Mahamaudgalyayana said to Fearless Virtue, “What difference do you perceive between the Buddha-Dharma and the dharmas of the sravakas, such that today, on seeing the great sravakas, you did not rise to receive them or offer them a couch or seat?”
Fearless Virtue replied, “Even if stars filled the sky, they still could not illuminate the world. The sravakas are likewise: only when they enter samadhi do they possess the wisdom to see and know; when they are not in samadhi, they do not know.”
The venerable Mahamaudgalyayana said, “Without entering samadhi, one cannot know the minds of sentient beings.”
Fearless Virtue said, “Without entering samadhi, the Buddha can, throughout worlds as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, expound the Dharma to sentient beings according to their needs and deliver them, because he skillfully knows their minds. This is a supreme quality of the buddhas, the Tathagatas. The sravakas are like stars whose light is weak and feeble; how could they be compared?
“Furthermore, Mahamaudgalyayana, does any sravaka know how many worlds are coming into being and how many worlds are being destroyed?”
He replied, “They do not know.”
She asked, “Does any sravaka know how many buddhas have entered nirvana, how many future buddhas will enter nirvana, and how many buddhas are now entering nirvana in the present?”
He replied, “They do not know.”
She asked, “Does any sravaka know how many sentient beings have abundant desire, how many have abundant anger, how many have abundant delusion, and how many possess these in equal measure?”
He replied, “They do not know.”
She asked, “Does any sravaka know how many sentient beings accept the Sravaka Vehicle, how many accept the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle, and how many accept the Buddha Vehicle?”
He replied, “They do not know.”
She asked, “Does anyone in the Sravaka Vehicle know how many sentient beings are delivered by sravakas, how many by pratyekabuddhas, and how many by the buddhas?”
He replied, “They do not know.”
She asked, “Does any sravaka know how many sentient beings belong to the group fixed in right concentration and right view, and how many belong to the group fixed in wrong concentration?”
He replied, “They do not know.”
Fearless Virtue said, “Mahamaudgalyayana! Only the Tathagata, the perfectly and completely enlightened one, skillfully knows the realm of sentient beings as it truly is and expounds the Dharma to them. Such matters are not within the sphere of sravakas and pratyekabuddhas, much less that of other sentient beings. Know that this is a supreme quality of the Tathagata, for the Tathagata is perfectly endowed with all-knowing wisdom. No sravaka or pratyekabuddha possesses it.
“Venerable Mahamaudgalyayana! The World-Honored One has declared you foremost in supernormal powers. Can your supernormal powers reach the world Fragrant Elephant and enable you to know that all the trees in that world produce the most sublime sandalwood fragrance?”
The venerable one replied, “I have only now heard the name of that world, so how could I reach it? What is the name of the Buddha who dwells there?”
Fearless Virtue said, “That Buddha is named Tathagata Emanating Fragrant Radiance, Worthy One, Perfectly Enlightened One, and he abides in that world expounding the Dharma.”
The venerable one asked, “How may that Buddha be seen?”
Without leaving her seat or altering her deportment, Fearless Virtue made this vow: “If a bodhisattva, upon first arousing the resolve, can surpass the spheres of the sravakas and pratyekabuddhas, may Tathagata Emanating Fragrant Radiance manifest his body here, and may the sravakas and pratyekabuddhas also see the world Fragrant Elephant and smell the fragrance of its most sublime sandalwood trees.”
When Fearless Virtue had made this vow, Tathagata Emanating Fragrant Radiance emitted light from his body. Because that Buddha emitted this light, all the sravakas present saw the world Fragrant Elephant and the Buddha surrounded by an assembly of bodhisattvas beneath a canopy of jeweled nets, expounding the Dharma to the assembly. The entire great assembly here heard the sound of that Dharma teaching. Through the supernormal power of that Buddha, the assembly also smelled the most sublime sandalwood fragrance of the trees in that world.
At that time, Buddha Emanating Fragrant Radiance said, “It is exactly so, just as Fearless Virtue has said: upon first arousing the resolve, a bodhisattva already surpasses the spheres of the sravakas and pratyekabuddhas.”
Then, on Mount Gridhrakuta, Bodhisattva Maitreya asked the Buddha, “World-Honored One! From where does this wondrous fragrance come?”
The Buddha replied, “Maitreya! Fearless Virtue has been holding a Dharma discussion with the sravakas and has made a vow. Through his supernormal power, Buddha Emanating Fragrant Radiance has manifested his body, the world Fragrant Elephant, and the fragrance of its sandalwood trees. Therefore, this most sublime fragrance pervades this entire trichiliocosm.”
Fearless Virtue said to the venerable Mahamaudgalyayana, “If, after seeing such inconceivable and supreme qualities, one can still arouse the narrow, inferior resolve of the Lesser Vehicle of the sravakas, seeking only one’s own deliverance, one should know that such a person’s roots of goodness are exceedingly meager. Who, having seen that bodhisattvas accomplish immeasurable merit, would fail to arouse the resolve for unsurpassed bodhi? Do you know how far from here the world Fragrant Elephant lies?”
The venerable one replied, “I do not know.”
Fearless Virtue said, “Even if, relying on your supernormal powers, you traveled for hundreds of thousands of kalpas, you would be unable to know or see that world. If all the bamboo, reeds, thickets, and forests in this realm were used as units of calculation, their number could not be reckoned. Only after passing buddha-worlds equal to that number would one reach the world Fragrant Elephant.”
At that time, the Buddha withdrew his light, and the world Fragrant Elephant, that Buddha, and the assembly of bodhisattvas suddenly disappeared from view.
The venerable Mahakasyapa said to Fearless Virtue, “Have you previously seen the world Fragrant Elephant and Tathagata Emanating Fragrant Radiance?”
Fearless Virtue replied, “Venerable Kasyapa! Can the Tathagata be seen? As the Buddha taught: ‘Those who see me through form or seek me through sound all practice a deviant path and cannot see the Tathagata.’ The body of every Tathagata is the Dharma-body. Since Dharma cannot be seen or heard, how could it be seen or heard? The Buddha manifests for sentient beings in whatever skillful manner suits them. The Buddha’s body is unobstructed because it abides in skillful means. Yet, Venerable Mahakasyapa, you ask whether I have seen that Buddha and that world.
“Venerable Mahakasyapa! My seeing of that Buddha was not seeing with the fleshly eye, because he is not form visible to the fleshly eye; it was not seeing with the divine eye, because there is no sensation; it was not seeing with the wisdom eye, because it is free from perception and characteristics; it was not seeing with the Dharma eye, because it is free from all formations; and it was not seeing with the Buddha eye, because it is free from discriminating consciousness.
“I see the Tathagata just as Mahakasyapa sees, because the mind of ignorance, craving, and views has been extinguished.
“Venerable Mahakasyapa! I see that Buddha just as the venerable Mahakasyapa sees. Yet I also still see self, what belongs to self, and so forth.”
The venerable one asked, “If dharmas definitely do not exist, why do ignorance, craving, and the characteristics of self and what belongs to self arise, since all sentient beings fail to see this?”
Fearless Virtue said, “Venerable Mahakasyapa, if all dharmas definitely do not exist, how could they be seen?”
The venerable one said, “If ultimately all Buddha-Dharmas do not exist, how could they be seen?”
Fearless Virtue asked, “Venerable Mahakasyapa! Do you perceive an increasing meaning in the Buddha-Dharma?”
The venerable one replied, “I do not even know the dharmas of ordinary beings, much less the Buddha-Dharma.”
Fearless Virtue said, “Therefore, Venerable Mahakasyapa, since this Dharma is not established, how could there be severance or continuity for one who has not realized it to perceive? Venerable Mahakasyapa!
“Dharmas definitely do not exist and cannot be displayed; therefore, all dharmas are empty. If the fundamental dharma does not exist, how could that pure dharma-dhatu be seen? Venerable Mahakasyapa, if anyone wishes to see the Tathagata in purity, that good man or good woman must purify his or her own mind.”
The venerable one asked Fearless Virtue, “How does one skillfully purify one’s own mind?”
Fearless Virtue replied, “The suchness of one’s own body and the suchness of all dharmas are alike. If one has faith in this, neither fabricates nor loses sight of it, and sees in this way, one’s own mind is purified.”
The venerable one asked, “What constitutes the essence of one’s own mind?”
Fearless Virtue replied, “Emptiness constitutes its essence. If one realizes this emptiness, one has faith that one’s own body is empty. Because one has faith that one’s own body is empty, one has faith that suchness is empty, for all dharmas are quiescent.”
The venerable one said, “From which Buddha did you hear such a Dharma and thereby attain right view? As the Buddha once taught, a person arouses right view through two causes and conditions: first, hearing the Dharma from another; and second, inwardly reflecting upon it.”
Fearless Virtue said, “Hearing occurs because of external sounds, and after hearing external sounds one subsequently reflects inwardly. Venerable Mahakasyapa, a bodhisattva-mahasattva does not depend upon another’s speech or borrow external sounds, so why is this called abiding in inward reflection?”
The venerable one said, “Because you contemplate according to the Dharma you have heard, it is called contemplative practice.”
The venerable one again asked Fearless Virtue, “What is a bodhisattva’s inward reflection?”
Fearless Virtue replied, “Venerable Mahakasyapa! When one expounds the Dharma and acts together with other bodhisattvas without giving rise to the notion of sentient beings, such a bodhisattva’s inward contemplation is called the accomplishment of inward contemplation. Venerable Mahakasyapa! All dharmas are complete in their beginning, middle, and end, because all dharmas take suchness as their essence. All present dharmas are suchness precisely as they are. A bodhisattva who contemplates in this way is called one who has accomplished inward contemplation.”
The venerable one asked, “How do you abide in this Dharma?”
Fearless Virtue replied, “One should act thus: seeing suchness as neither bound nor liberated.”
The venerable one asked, “What manner of seeing is called right view?”
Fearless Virtue replied, “If one is free from the two extreme views, neither acts nor does not act, and sees while not seeing, this is called right view. Venerable Mahakasyapa! This Dharma is merely a name, yet it is free from names, for it is never ultimately realized as anything.”
The venerable one again asked, “How does one see oneself?”
Fearless Virtue replied, “Just as Mahakasyapa sees.”
The venerable one said, “I do not see my own body, a self, or what belongs to self.”
Fearless Virtue said, “One should see all dharmas in this way, for there is neither self nor what belongs to self.”
When Fearless Virtue expounded this Dharma, the venerable Subhuti rejoiced greatly and said to her, “You have gained excellent benefit and have accomplished such eloquence.”
Fearless Virtue replied, “Venerable Subhuti! Can a Dharma that is attained or not attained be sought? Why do you say that I have skillfully attained eloquence? This is my eloquent explanation: if I say that there is nothing apprehended or known, either inwardly or outwardly, then there is eloquence.”
The venerable one asked, “What have you realized, and what Dharma have you attained, that you possess such wondrous eloquence?”
Fearless Virtue replied, “It is because I do not know through myself or through others, and do not perceive distinguishing characteristics between wholesome and unwholesome dharmas. I know the Dharma thus: I do not perceive defilement or purity, with-outflows or without-outflows, conditioned or unconditioned, worldly or supramundane, or the dharmas of ordinary beings, because the essence of Dharma cannot be seen. This is the Dharma of the buddhas; yet, on attaining the Buddha-Dharma, one does not see the Buddha-Dharma. Venerable Subhuti! If there is no object of knowledge or vision in this way, there is such eloquence.”
The venerable one asked, “What is eloquence?”
Fearless Virtue replied, “Venerable Subhuti! It is like the quiescent extinction you have attained.”
Fearless Virtue said to the venerable Sariputra, “Although the essence of Dharma is neither heard nor attained, there is still speech about it.”
Fearless Virtue asked the venerable Subhuti, “Venerable Subhuti! Can the essence of Dharma abide? Can it increase or decrease, such that there is eloquence of this kind?”
The venerable one replied, “When the unconditioned without outflows is realized, Dharma is without distinctions and there is no eloquent exposition, for the essence of Dharma cannot be expressed.”
Fearless Virtue said, “Venerable Subhuti! With regard to all dharmas, why did you give rise to the thought that I had gained excellent benefit and attained such eloquence?”
The venerable Subhuti asked, “Do you speak because you have attained eloquence, or do you speak without having attained eloquence?”
Fearless Virtue asked, “Venerable Subhuti! Do you believe the Buddha’s teaching that all dharmas are like an echo?”
The venerable one replied, “I believe it.”
Fearless Virtue asked, “Does that echo possess eloquence or not?”
The venerable one replied, “An external echo occurs because of an internal sound.”
Fearless Virtue said, “Venerable Subhuti! Because there is a sound, that echo occurs. If the echo exists, what nature and characteristics does it possess? Yet that echo has neither nature nor characteristics. Why? Because if it arises through conditions, there is no true arising of that echo.”
The venerable one said, “All dharmas arise through conditions.”
Fearless Virtue said, “Venerable Subhuti! The essential nature of all dharmas does not arise.”
The venerable one said, “If ultimately the essential nature of all dharmas does not exist in this way, why did the Tathagata teach that buddhas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges would attain perfect enlightenment?”
Fearless Virtue asked, “Venerable Subhuti! Can the dharma-dhatu be produced?”
The venerable one replied, “It cannot be produced.”
Fearless Virtue said, “All buddhas, the Tathagatas, have the nature and characteristics of the dharma-dhatu.”
The venerable one said, “The entire dharma-dhatu is unseen.”
Fearless Virtue said, “All spoken words and language lack intrinsic nature. What, then, is the meaning of saying that buddhas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges will attain perfect enlightenment? Why? Because the dharma-dhatu is neither born nor extinguished; therefore, every exposition is no exposition, since it is ultimately pure. That is not a thing that can be expressed in words, for it is free from the ultimate reality.”
The venerable Subhuti said, “How extraordinary! Though Fearless Virtue is a lay maiden, she can expound the Dharma with such skill and possesses such inexhaustible eloquence.”
Fearless Virtue replied, “Venerable Subhuti! Bodhisattvas neither grasp nor fail to grasp, neither hear nor fail to hear, and whether at home or gone forth, they possess eloquence. Why? Because their minds are pure. Because the mind is pure, wisdom becomes manifest; because wisdom becomes manifest, eloquence becomes manifest.”
Fearless Virtue said to the venerable Subhuti, “You should now skillfully explain the bodhisattva’s practice.”
The venerable one replied, “You explain it; I shall listen.”
Fearless Virtue said, “A bodhisattva who accomplishes eight kinds of Dharma practice cannot be described as either a householder or one gone forth. First, the bodhisattva attains a pure mind and resolute faith in bodhi. Second, the bodhisattva accomplishes great loving-kindness and great compassion and therefore never abandons sentient beings.
Third, because of accomplishing great loving-kindness and compassion, the bodhisattva is skilled in all worldly affairs. Fourth, the bodhisattva can relinquish body, life, and limbs and accomplish skillful means. Fifth, the bodhisattva is skilled in making immeasurable vows.
Sixth, the bodhisattva accomplishes the practice of prajnaparamita because of being free from all attachment to views. Seventh, the bodhisattva possesses great courage and vigor because of cultivating wholesome deeds without weariness or satisfaction. Eighth, the bodhisattva attains unobstructed wisdom through attaining the patient acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas.
“Venerable Subhuti! Because bodhisattvas accomplish these eight dharmas, they cannot be called householders or those gone forth. Whatever their deportment, they always abide in bodhi without obstruction.”
The venerable Rahula then said to Fearless Virtue, “Such speech is impure discourse. Wearing jeweled sandals, you sit upon a high seat and engage in debate with the great sravakas. Have you not heard the Buddha teach that an impure person must not expound the Dharma and that one must not expound the Dharma to a person seated upon a high seat?”
Fearless Virtue replied, “Venerable Rahula! Do you truly know purity and impurity? Venerable Rahula! Is this world pure?”
The venerable one replied, “It is neither pure nor impure.”
Fearless Virtue said, “When the Tathagata establishes a precept, one accepts and practices it accordingly. Violating that precept constitutes purity and impurity. If a person does not violate that precept, there is neither purity nor impurity.
“Venerable Rahula! Enough; do not speak thus. If someone practices in accordance with the Dharma as taught and the precepts as established, that person speaks of impurity. But because one who has realized the Dharma without outflows neither violates nor does not violate, for that person there is neither purity nor impurity. Why? The great sravakas have transcended all expositions of Dharma and all established precepts. The Tathagata expounds the Dharma and establishes precepts for sravakas who are still in training and remain within the three realms. These great sravakas have transcended the three realms. Therefore, one speaks in this way of transcending or not transcending the three realms.
“Because beings do not understand morality, purity and impurity are spoken of. Just as space is sustained merely by verbal designation and the power of perception, purity and impurity are therefore spoken of.”
The venerable Rahula asked, “What distinction is there between purity and impurity?”
Fearless Virtue replied, “Suppose genuine gold has been entirely freed from impurities. Whether it is made into ornaments or left unworked, is there any difference in the color of the genuine gold?”
The venerable one replied, “There is no difference.”
Fearless Virtue said, “Purity and impurity are distinguished merely through names and verbal designations; there is no other difference. Why? Because the nature of all dharmas is free from every impurity, undefiled and unattached.
“Venerable Rahula! One should not expound the Dharma to a person seated upon a lofty and spacious seat. Yet a bodhisattva seated upon a grass seat surpasses one seated upon a lofty seat and even surpasses a great sravaka dwelling in the Brahma heaven.”
The venerable one asked, “What is the meaning of your statement?”
Fearless Virtue replied, “Venerable Rahula! Have you seen upon what kind of seat a bodhisattva sits when attaining unsurpassed bodhi?”
The venerable one replied, “Upon a grass seat.”
Fearless Virtue said, “When the bodhisattva sits upon the grass seat, all Brahma devas, Sakra, the Four Heavenly Kings, the sons of the devas, and even the devas of Akanistha throughout the great trichiliocosm come, bow with palms joined, and pay homage at the bodhisattva’s feet.”
The venerable one said, “It is exactly so.”
Fearless Virtue said, “Because of accomplishing such a Dharma, the bodhisattva seated upon a grass seat surpasses one seated upon a lofty and spacious seat and surpasses a great sravaka dwelling in the Brahma heaven.”
King Ajatasatru said to Fearless Virtue, “Do you not know that the venerable Rahula is the son of the Sakya Tathagata and is foremost among those in training?”
Fearless Virtue replied, “Enough, Royal Father; do not speak thus. Have you ever seen or heard of a lion king giving birth to a jackal?”
The king replied, “I have never seen such a thing.”
Fearless Virtue asked, “Royal Father, have you ever seen or heard of a wheel-turning sage-king bowing reverently to lesser kings?”
The king replied, “No.”
Fearless Virtue said, “It is likewise so. The Tathagata is the Lion King who turns the great Dharma wheel, while the sravakas surround him reverently.
“If one relies upon the true Dharma and asks who the true children of the Tathagata are, one should reply that they are precisely the bodhisattvas. Therefore, one should not say either that the Tathagata has a child or that the Tathagata has no child.
“If one speaks of the Tathagata’s true children, one should say that whoever arouses the resolve for unsurpassed bodhi is a true child of the Tathagata.”
When this Dharma was expounded, twenty thousand women in King Ajatasatru’s palace aroused the resolve for bodhi. Twenty thousand sons of devas, fully endowed with that Dharma, heard Fearless Virtue’s lion’s roar and all aroused the resolve for bodhi.
King Ajatasatru again said, “This is a son of the buddhas of the past, future, and present, who has entirely abandoned afflictions and is foremost among sravakas in training. How could he not be a true son?”
To make offerings to Fearless Virtue, the devas scattered flowers over the Buddha throughout the city of Rajagriha.
Fearless Virtue then rose from her seat, approached and bowed reverently to the great sravakas, and offered them food in accordance with the Dharma. After making these offerings, Fearless Virtue said, “I do not know why the venerable great sravakas left the Buddha early this morning and came here. You should first have listened to the Buddha expound the Dharma and only afterward gone to seek alms. Venerable ones, please return. In a moment, I too shall go to the Buddha.”
Surrounded by her royal father, Ajatasatru, the queen mother, and immeasurable multitudes of people, Fearless Virtue left the city and went to the Buddha. Together they bowed at the Buddha’s feet and sat to one side.
Those sravakas also came, bowed at the Buddha’s feet, and sat to one side. The venerable Sariputra bowed and said, “World-Honored One! This young maiden Fearless Virtue is exceedingly extraordinary and has gained immense merit and benefit.”
The Buddha said, “Sariputra! In the presence of nine billion buddhas of the past, Fearless Virtue aroused the resolve for bodhi and planted roots of goodness in quest of the unsurpassed path to buddhahood.”
The venerable Sariputra asked, “World-Honored One! Can Fearless Virtue transform this female body?”
The Buddha replied, “Sariputra! Do you perceive Fearless Virtue as a woman? You should not see her in this way. Why? Through the power of her vows, this bodhisattva manifests a female body in order to deliver sentient beings.”
Fearless Virtue then made this vow: “If all dharmas are truly neither male nor female, may I now manifest the body of a man for the entire great assembly to see.”
As soon as she had made this vow, the female characteristics disappeared and a male body appeared. She ascended into the air to the height of seven tala trees and remained there without descending.
The Buddha said, “Sariputra! Do you see Bodhisattva Fearless Virtue abiding in the air without descending?”
The venerable one replied, “I see him, World-Honored One!”
The Buddha said, “Sariputra! After a further seven thousand asamkhya kalpas, this Bodhisattva Fearless Virtue will attain perfect enlightenment and be named Tathagata Stainless, Worthy One, Perfectly and Completely Enlightened One. His world will be named Radiance.
That Buddha’s lifespan will be one hundred kalpas, and the true Dharma will remain in the world for ten kalpas. His Sangha will consist solely of bodhisattvas, including thirty thousand non-retrogressing bodhisattvas. The ground of that world will be made of pure vaidurya, and roads extending in eight directions will be adorned and covered with jeweled lotus flowers.
Even the names of the evil destinies will be unknown there. Devas and humans will be abundant and will enjoy wondrous bliss and the supreme flavor of Dharma, as do the devas of Tusita.”
Fearless Virtue’s mother, Queen Moonlight, joined her palms together with King Ajatasatru, faced the Buddha, and said, “World-Honored One! I have gained immense benefit. For nine months I bore this child in my womb, and now this great lion’s roar has been uttered. I now dedicate these roots of goodness to unsurpassed bodhi. In the future, in Buddha Stainless’s world Radiance, I shall attain unsurpassed, perfect, and complete enlightenment.”
The Buddha said to the venerable Sariputra, “Sariputra! After Queen Moonlight relinquishes her human body, she will be born as a son of the devas in the Trayastrimsa heaven, named Increasing Radiance. When Buddha Maitreya appears in the world, she will become the eldest son of the great king of that time.
After making offerings to Buddha Maitreya, she will go forth and will be able to remember and retain all the Dharma expounded by Buddha Maitreya. Thereafter, in succession, she will encounter all the buddhas of the Auspicious Kalpa and make offerings to them all. When Buddha Stainless appears in the world, she will manifest as a great king named Upholder of the Earth, possessing the seven treasures, and will make offerings to Tathagata Stainless.
Afterward, she will become a Buddha named Tathagata Universal Radiance, Worthy One, Perfectly and Completely Enlightened One. Her adorned world will be like Buddha Stainless’s world Radiance.”
On hearing the Buddha’s prediction, Queen Moonlight rejoiced and exulted. She immediately removed a jeweled necklace worth a hundred thousand measures of gold and presented it to the Buddha as an offering. Having obtained King Ajatasatru’s permission, she went forth, fully received the five hundred proper precepts, and cultivated the pure life.
Before the Buddha, Bodhisattva Fearless Virtue said, “Through the power of the causes, conditions, and vows I now establish, when I attain buddhahood in the future, may all the bodhisattvas in my assembly wear Dharma robes and be born entirely through transformation. If this vow is not false, may I now manifest the body of a young bhiksu of eight years’ standing.”
When this vow had been made, Bodhisattva Fearless Virtue immediately manifested a body clothed in Dharma robes, becoming a bhiksu complete in dignified deportment.
Bodhisattva Fearless Virtue said to his royal father, Ajatasatru, “Royal Father! All dharmas are likewise so: they suddenly arise through transformation, while their characteristics are free from all characteristics produced by discrimination and are devoid of all inverted views. Royal Father! I shall now immediately manifest a female body again. Do you see it?”
The king replied, “I see it. Yet I do not see through the characteristics of the physical form-body. I have now seen the manifested body of a bhiksu and then again seen the female body reappear.”
The Buddha asked the king, “Great King! Which body is real? Great King, you should train in this manner and abide in right view regarding all dharmas. Because sentient beings are scorched by afflictions, they do not comprehend the power of Dharma. Because they do not comprehend it, they give rise to doubt and regret concerning what should not be doubted. You should constantly draw near to the Tathagata and to Bodhisattva Manjusri, the Dharma Prince. Through the power and majestic virtue of that bodhisattva, the Great King will be enabled to receive repentance for his past transgressions.”
The Buddha said to the venerable Ananda, “Ananda! Accept and retain this Dharma-gate of the prediction of Bodhisattva Fearless Virtue. Read and recite it, and do not forget it.
“Ananda! Suppose a good man or good woman filled the entire trichiliocosm with the seven treasures and offered them to the buddhas, the Tathagatas. The merit gained would not equal that of a person able to accept and retain a single sentence or verse of this Dharma-gate. How much more so for one who accepts and retains it in full, reads or recites it, extensively explains it to others, and practices in accordance with the Dharma.”
When the Buddha, the World-Honored One, had expounded this sutra, Queen Moonlight, the mother of Fearless Virtue, the entire great assembly, and the devas, nagas, and the eight classes of beings heard the Buddha’s teaching. They all rejoiced greatly, accepted it in faith, and respectfully practiced it.
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