大寶積經

XXXVI. THE THIRTY-SIXTH ASSEMBLY: THE DEVAPUTRA SUSTRITAMATI

1. THE ORIGIN CHAPTER

Thus have I heard. At one time the Blessed One was dwelling at Rajagriha on Mount Grdhrakuta, together with an assembly of sixty-two thousand bhiksus, all great virtuous ones endowed with spiritual powers, with the great sravakas as their leaders.

There were also forty-two thousand bodhisattva-mahasattvas, whose names were: Bodhisattva Manjusri, Bodhisattva Lion Banner, Bodhisattva Maitreya, Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta, Bodhisattva Great Eloquence Treasury King, Bodhisattva Dharani Sovereign King, Bodhisattva Good Man, Bodhisattva Sumeru Peak, Bodhisattva Sumeru Banner, Bodhisattva Immovable, Bodhisattva Good Reflection upon Meaning, Bodhisattva Good Reflection upon Intention, Bodhisattva Good Contemplation, Bodhisattva Contemplative Mind, Bodhisattva Courageous Resolve, Bodhisattva Good Thought, Bodhisattva Jeweled Topknot, Bodhisattva Mountain-Marked Conquering King, Bodhisattva Jeweled Hand, Bodhisattva Jeweled Intention, Bodhisattva Jeweled Seal Hand, Bodhisattva Ever-Raised Hand,

Bodhisattva Ever-Lowered Hand, Bodhisattva Ever-Diligent, Bodhisattva Liberator of Sentient Beings, Bodhisattva Supreme Diligence, Bodhisattva Acting According to His Word, Bodhisattva Supreme Vow, Bodhisattva Lamp Hand, Bodhisattva Impartial Mind, Bodhisattva Dispeller of Evil Destinies, Bodhisattva Dispeller of All Sorrow and Darkness, Bodhisattva Never Abandoning the Heavy Burden, Bodhisattva Sun Treasury, Bodhisattva Moon Treasury, Bodhisattva Vajra Step, Bodhisattva Boundless Step, Bodhisattva Immeasurable Step, Bodhisattva Immovably Proceeding Step, Bodhisattva Akasagarbha, Bodhisattva Victorious Resolve, Bodhisattva Beneficial Resolve, Bodhisattva Superior Resolve, Bodhisattva Accomplished Practice, Bodhisattva Earth Holder, Bodhisattva Moonlight, Bodhisattva Moon Banner,

Bodhisattva Luminous Virtue, Bodhisattva Radiant Illumination, Bodhisattva Courageous Step, Bodhisattva Lion’s Vigorous Roaring Voice, Bodhisattva Unobstructed Eloquence, Bodhisattva Concordant Eloquence, Bodhisattva Swift Eloquence, Bodhisattva Supreme Victory, Bodhisattva Eclipsing the Light of Sun and Moon, Bodhisattva Free from Conditions, Bodhisattva Unattached Resolve, Bodhisattva Ever Smiling, Bodhisattva Root of Joy, Bodhisattva Dispeller of All Obstructive Hindrances, Bodhisattva Transforming the Female Body, Bodhisattva Mani Jewel, Bodhisattva Radiant Lamp, Bodhisattva Vairocana, Bodhisattva Blazing Flame, Bodhisattva Realizing the Victorious King, and Bodhisattva Profound Expositor.

Such great bodhisattvas were their leaders.

There were also the Four Great Heavenly Kings, the heavenly king of the Trayastrimsa Heaven, and Great Brahma, lord of the Saha world, together with sixty thousand devas.

There were also the Devaputra Sustrutamati, the Devaputra Good Virtue, and the Devaputra Mahesvara, together with thirty thousand devaputras. These devaputras had long abided on the bodhisattva path.

There were also twenty thousand asura kings, led by Rahu, king of the asuras, and Sumeru, king of the asuras, who likewise had long abided on the bodhisattva path.

There were also sixty thousand great naga kings, led by the naga kings Anavatapta and Victorious Moon, who likewise had abided on the bodhisattva path.

In addition, immeasurable devas, nagas, yaksas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kimnaras, mahoragas, and hundreds of thousands of kotis of beings, as well as innumerable bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas, and upasikas, all came and assembled.

At that time, while the Blessed One, surrounded by such immeasurable hundreds of thousands in the great assembly, was teaching the Dharma, Bodhisattva Manjusri entered in his chamber a samadhi called Freedom from Contention, his mind silent and unmoving. Single-minded and serene, Manjusri emerged from that samadhi, whereupon immeasurable and boundless worlds quaked in six ways.

After emerging from samadhi, Manjusri reflected: “Only rarely does a Buddha, a Tathagata, appear in any of those immeasurable and boundless worlds, as rarely as an udumbara flower appears. Such Tathagatas, Worthy Ones, Perfectly Enlightened Ones, are exceedingly rare and difficult to encounter. The Dharma they teach ends birth and death and is the quiescence of nirvana; it is inconceivable, free from discrimination, exceedingly profound, beyond analogy, difficult to understand, and difficult to know.

Yet if Buddhas do not appear in the world, it cannot be heard. Because the Dharma is not heard, the sufferings of sentient beings are difficult to bring to an end. I should now go to the Tathagata and inquire into this meaning.

Through this inquiry, sentient beings will perfect their roots of goodness, and all who practice the bodhisattva path will be freed from doubt concerning this profound, inconceivable meaning of the Buddha-Dharma and will fully accomplish the work of a Buddha’s bodhi. Yet the sentient beings of this Saha world are rife with greed, anger, and delusion. They have cut off wholesome qualities, are stubborn and dull, deceitful and shameless, proud and arrogant, estranged from the Buddhas, opposed to the Dharma, and hostile to the Sangha.

They should be enabled to hear such profound and wondrous Dharma so that their wisdom-eyes may become pure. I should also gather the bodhisattvas of the ten directions so that all may hear the Tathagata teach this subtle Dharma gateway and realize profound patience concerning dharmas.”

Having reflected thus, Bodhisattva Manjusri immediately entered a samadhi called Universal Light, Stainless Adornment, and emitted a great radiance that illuminated Buddha lands as numerous as the sands of the Ganges in the east. It likewise illuminated Buddha lands as numerous as the sands of the Ganges in the south, west, north, the four intermediate directions, above, and below. Within them, every dark and hidden place, every mountain crag, forest, and tree, and all great and small mountains—including Mount Mucilinda, Great Mount Mucilinda, the Iron Encircling Mountains, the Great Iron Encircling Mountains, the Black Mountains, Mount Sumeru, and Great Mount Sumeru—were penetrated by that light without obstruction.

In those Ganges-sands worlds throughout the ten directions where Buddhas were then teaching the Dharma, their attendant disciples asked their respective Buddhas about the cause and condition of that great light: “Blessed One, for what cause and condition has such a great and wondrous radiance appeared in the world? Blessed One, never before have we heard of or seen such pure and sublime light. Blessed One, what radiance is this that fills us with great joy, purifies our minds, and also frees sentient beings from greed, anger, delusion, and all evil afflictions? Who produced this light, and who empowered it to shine as far as this place?”

Those Buddhas of the ten directions remained silent and gave no reply.

At that time, every sound in the worlds of the ten directions—the voices of devas and nagas, the voices of the eight classes of beings, the voices of humans and nonhumans, and the cries of elephants, horses, beasts, birds, and other creatures—fell silent. Through the Buddha’s spiritual power, all sounds of wind, fire, waves, music, songs, and chants likewise ceased.

The attendant disciples again addressed their respective Buddhas: “Blessed One, we beseech you, out of great loving-kindness and compassion for all devas and humans, for the happiness of all devas and humans, and for the benefit of all devas and humans, to tell us whence this radiance has come to illuminate all Buddha lands.”

Thereupon the Buddhas of the ten directions brought all other Buddha-voices throughout Ganges-sands worlds to rest and, in a single Brahma voice, as though spoken from the mouth of one Tathagata, proclaimed the same words without difference, each informing his attendants. As the Buddhas raised their voices to speak, all worlds quaked in six ways; hundreds of thousands of musical instruments sounded at once, and all the music of the devas, nagas, and eight classes resounded without being played.

From all those musical sounds issued voices of Dharma: voices proclaiming impermanence, suffering, non-self, emptiness, signlessness, wishlessness, freedom from desire, liberation, the dharmadhatu, suchness, ultimate reality, dana-paramita, sila-paramita, ksanti-paramita, virya-paramita, dhyana-paramita, prajnaparamita, great loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity, harmony, benefit, and emancipation.

Thus they emitted voices proclaiming hundreds of thousands of Buddha-dharmas. When those Dharma voices arose, immeasurable asamkhyeyas of kotis of nayutas of hundreds of thousands of sentient beings all generated the aspiration for unsurpassed bodhi and came to abide in non-retrogression. Some attained the state of pratyekabuddhas, sravakas, Brahma kings, Sakra, or wheel-turning kings.

The Buddhas of the ten directions all told their disciples: “Good man, do not ask about this matter. Why? Because the cause and condition of this radiance are beyond the sphere of sravakas and pratyekabuddhas.

If we were to explain it now, the devas, humans, and eight classes of beings throughout the world would become bewildered. Therefore, do not ask about it. If the Buddha-Blessed Ones were to explain the cause and condition of this radiance, it could produce and perfect inconceivable, supreme roots of goodness.

From those inconceivable, supreme roots of goodness arise the paramita practices of generosity, morality, patience, diligence, meditation, and wisdom. Such practices are indeed produced and perfected through this radiance. Even if we Buddhas were to extol the merit of this radiance for a kalpa or somewhat less than a kalpa, we could not exhaust it.

Moreover, when such powers of wholesome roots—loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity—are cultivated together, they enable this radiance to give rise to joy.”

The attendant disciples of the Buddhas of the ten directions earnestly repeated their request two and three times: “We beseech the Blessed One, out of compassion for devas and humans, for the happiness of devas and humans, for the benefit of devas and humans, and to bring the bodhisattvas’ roots of goodness to maturity, to explain to us the cause and condition of this radiance.” The Buddhas of the ten directions all told their attendants: “Good man, listen attentively, and we shall explain it to you.”

“Yes, Blessed One. We joyfully wish to hear.”

The Buddhas of the ten directions all told their respective attendants: “Good man, there is a world called Saha, where a Buddha named Sakyamuni Tathagata, Worthy One, Perfectly Enlightened One, has appeared during the five turbidities. Most sentient beings in that realm are afflicted and tormented by greed, anger, and delusion. They are disrespectful and shameless and commit many unwholesome deeds.

Yet that Buddha was able, in such an age of five turbidities, to attain unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment and is presently teaching the Dharma to a great assembly there. Buddha Sakyamuni has a great disciple, a bodhisattva-mahasattva named Manjusri, who possesses great merit, great wisdom, courageous diligence, and immense spiritual majesty. He can gladden bodhisattvas, enable bodhisattvas to perfect their practice, increase their majestic power, and inspire them to courageous diligence.

He can skillfully distinguish all Dharma expressions, attain the paramita of unobstructed wisdom, possess unobstructed eloquence, and exercise mastery over all dharanis. He has completely perfected all the inconceivable merits of a bodhisattva. That bodhisattva is now preparing to ask Sakyamuni Tathagata about a most profound Dharma gateway, so that bodhisattvas’ roots of goodness may mature and those who practice the bodhisattva vehicle may perfect these inconceivable Buddha-dharmas.

Bodhisattva Manjusri has emitted this radiance because he wishes to gather asamkhyeyas of bodhisattva assemblies from the worlds of the ten directions so that the bodhisattvas may obtain the supreme Dharma. For this reason, that bodhisattva emitted a great radiance that illuminates all Buddha lands in this way.”

The attendants again asked their respective Buddhas: “In what samadhi does Bodhisattva Manjusri abide when emitting this great radiance?”

The Buddhas of the ten directions all told their attendants: “Bodhisattva Manjusri entered a samadhi called Universal Radiance, Stainless Adornment, and emitted this light.”

The attendants addressed their respective Buddhas: “Blessed One, never before have we seen such a radiance, so pure that it fills body and mind with joy!”

The Buddhas again told their attendants: “Perhaps that bodhisattva wishes to instruct bodhisattvas to initiate their practice; perhaps he wishes to gather an assembly of bodhisattvas; perhaps he wishes to gather the assembly of bodhisattvas to proclaim a sublime scripture such as this!”

At that time, in immeasurable, inconceivable worlds as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, immeasurable asamkhyeya assemblies of bodhisattvas in each world approached their respective Buddhas and inquired about the cause and condition of that radiance. They all wished to travel to the Saha world to bow reverently to Buddha Sakyamuni, hear the Buddha teach the Dharma, and see Bodhisattva Manjusri and the assembly of bodhisattvas. The Buddhas all told their bodhisattvas: “Good men, if you wish to go, you may do as you please. Now is the time.”

Immediately, immeasurable, innumerable, inconceivable, incalculable, inexpressible, and boundless kotis of nayutas of hundreds of thousands of bimbara great bodhisattvas from the ten directions disappeared from their own worlds. In the time it takes a strong man to bend and extend his arm, they appeared in the Saha world before Sakyamuni Tathagata. Some rained down various kinds of incense: powdered incense, fragrant powder, and garlands of incense.

Some rained down various sublime flowers: utpala, padma, kumuda, pundarika, campaka, patali, talokari, atimuktaka, sumanas, varsika, mandara, maha-mandara, parusa, maha-parusa, candala, maha-candala, sublime candala, cakra, maha-cakra, most sublime cakra flowers, and various garlands. Some produced hundreds of thousands of supremely sublime sounds. Some, with a single voice resounding throughout the great trichiliocosm, praised the Buddha’s merit.

Adorned in these many ways, the bodhisattvas of the ten directions came before Sakyamuni Tathagata.

When the bodhisattvas of the ten directions assembled in this Saha world, the sentient beings in the hells and those among animals and hungry ghosts all became peaceful; their bodies and minds were at ease, they were free from greed, anger, hostility, and delusion, and they all generated loving-kindness and became wholly joyful. Why? Because the spiritual power of the bodhisattvas of the ten directions caused this to happen.

The bodhisattvas of the ten directions arrived, bowed at the feet of Sakyamuni Tathagata, circumambulated him three times to the right, and, while remaining in the sky, entered a samadhi called the Bodhisattvas’ Concealment of the Body. After entering that samadhi, they freely produced immeasurable hundreds of thousands of immense lotus flowers of various exquisite colors, sat cross-legged upon them, and each concealed his body so that it was no longer visible.

The Venerable Mahakasyapa saw the rare and extraordinary auspicious signs displayed by this great spiritual power. He saw the great rain of incense and flowers, heard immeasurable music, saw the emission of great radiance, and saw sublime flowers raining throughout the great trichiliocosm until they reached knee-deep. He also saw that all the devas, nagas, eight classes of beings, bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas, and upasikas had acquired bodies the color of gold. He immediately rose, properly arranged his deportment, bared his right shoulder, knelt with his right knee upon the ground, joined his palms reverently, and spoke these verses in praise of the Buddha:

“Joyfully, compassionately bestowing happiness upon all,
Your perfect countenance is stainless and pure.
Heroic among great men, endowed with the ten powers,
You possess the vajra marks born of a hundred merits.

You journey throughout the three realms among humans and devas;
None among them all can equal the Buddha.
Inconceivable and difficult to measure,
I beseech you to dispel the doubts within my heart.

For more than hundreds of thousands of nayutas of kalpas,
You constantly practiced giving to embrace the world.
Free from attachment and without reliance,
You perfectly observed the precepts, beyond compare.

For hundreds of thousands of kalpas you cultivated all practices,
Because you saw sentient beings undergoing manifold suffering.
Courageous and diligent, you were never weary,
And constantly generated immeasurable joy.

You gave your head, eyes, brain, and marrow to others,
And relinquished your children and your wife.
You renounced kingdoms, cities, and possessions;
I beseech you to unravel the net of my doubts.

In former times, Blessed One, when practicing giving,
You gave countless elephants, horses, and vehicles,
And more than nayutas of fine garments,
Bestowing them upon the world with a joyful heart.

Formerly the Buddha cut away his body, nose, and ears,
His heart joyful and entirely free from resentment.
Whenever anyone asked for Dharma, he immediately proclaimed it,
And skillfully taught the power of patience.

Because you deeply realized the profound Dharma of emptiness,
Your subtle mind is difficult to fathom or measure.
Bestower of happiness, replete with merit,
Therefore I now ask about this purity.

Your afflictions long exhausted, all suffering removed,
You saw the many beings submerged in the ocean of suffering,
Foolish ones whose minds were shrouded in darkness,
Producing affliction and clinging to self and person.

The Buddha, pitying sentient beings, generated loving-kindness,
And diligently practiced for hundreds of thousands of kalpas.
You revealed the path of perfect enlightenment and bodhi;
I beseech you to dispel the doubts within my heart.

Skillfully entering and emerging through gateways of spiritual power,
You freely conceal and reveal yourself and move or remain with skill.
Having realized non-self, you shattered the mark of self;
You demolished all dharmas, yet they are not nonexistent.

In former times, while cultivating the path, the Blessed One
Never for a moment abandoned giving, morality, patience, or diligence.
You also constantly cultivated meditation and wisdom,
Benefiting all beings beyond compare.

Your accumulations of merit are difficult to conceive,
Profound and vast as the boundless sea.
Skillful in going and coming, and skillful in abiding,
I beseech you to become my refuge.

In former times the Buddha cultivated great loving-kindness;
He did not forsake the frightened dove seeking refuge.
He cut flesh from his body, not sparing himself,
And gave it to the hawk in exchange for the little bird.

He placed his whole body upon the scale, hoping to equal the bird,
Yet that dove still outweighed him.
Greatly enlightened one who practiced loving-kindness,
I beseech you to resolve my doubts.

Mount Sumeru may shake and the constellations fall;
The palaces of the devas may all collapse;
The waters of the four great seas may dry up in a day;
The palaces of the asuras may rise into the heavens.

The sun itself may fall upon the earth,
Yet the perfectly enlightened Buddhas, Honored Among Bipeds—
Though the bright moon in the sky may suddenly turn dark—
Teach the truth sincerely, without discrepancy.”

After speaking these verses in praise of the Buddha, the Venerable Mahakasyapa again addressed him:

“Blessed One, why has this sublime radiance appeared in the world, and for what reason have so many unprecedented auspicious signs suddenly manifested?”

The Buddha said: “Mahakasyapa, you should not question me about this matter now. Why? Because such a sphere is not known by sravakas or pratyekabuddhas. If I were now to explain to you the meaning of this radiance, all the devas and humans throughout the world would be startled, doubtful, and bewildered. Therefore, you should not ask.”

The Venerable Mahakasyapa again entreated him: “I beseech the Blessed One, out of great loving-kindness and compassion for devas and humans, for the benefit of all and the happiness of all, to explain the profound cause and condition of this radiance so that I may understand.”

The Buddha said: “Mahakasyapa, listen attentively and reflect well. I shall explain it to you.”

The Venerable Mahakasyapa said: “Excellent, Blessed One! I joyfully wish to hear. May the Blessed One compassionately expound it.”

The Buddha said: “Mahakasyapa, my Manjusri has now entered the samadhi called Universal Radiance, Stainless Adornment. Through the power of that samadhi, he emitted such a radiance, illuminating throughout the ten directions Buddha lands exceeding the sands of the Ganges in number, in order to gather immeasurable, boundless, incalculable, innumerable great bodhisattvas into this Saha world. Those bodhisattvas have bowed their heads at my feet, circumambulated me three times to the right, and now remain in the sky at the height of one tala tree, each sitting cross-legged upon a great lotus seat that he manifested.”

The Venerable One again asked: “Blessed One, which great bodhisattvas are now using the power of their merit and spiritual majesty to rain down these various kinds of incense and sublime flowers and produce these hundreds of thousands of musical sounds?”

The Buddha said: “Mahakasyapa, this is the spiritual power of the assembly of great bodhisattvas who have gathered here from the ten directions. They rain down immeasurable sublime flowers and incense and produce hundreds of thousands of musical sounds throughout the sky.”

The Venerable One again said: “Blessed One, I do not now see even one person. Why does the Blessed One say that an assembly of great bodhisattvas from the ten directions has gathered and sits cross-legged upon great lotus seats in the sky?”

The Buddha said: “Mahakasyapa, no sravaka or pratyekabuddha can ever see those great bodhisattvas. Why? Mahakasyapa, great loving-kindness and compassion are not the abiding place of sravakas and pratyekabuddhas. One who can abide in great loving-kindness and compassion can perform deeds benefiting others and can practice the paramitas of generosity, morality, patience, diligence, meditation, and wisdom. Those who have entered the fixed stage can never perform the deeds performed by great bodhisattvas.

“Mahakasyapa, all these great bodhisattvas have entered the samadhi of concealing the body; therefore, no sravaka or pratyekabuddha can see them. Only Buddhas and great bodhisattvas abiding on that stage can see them. Even bodhisattvas newly abiding in the Mahayana cannot see them, much less sravakas and pratyekabuddhas.”

The Venerable One asked: “Blessed One, how many dharmas must a great bodhisattva possess, what roots of goodness must he cultivate, and what merit must he acquire to enter the samadhi of concealing the body?”

The Buddha said: “Mahakasyapa, when a great bodhisattva perfects ten dharmas, he can attain the samadhi of concealing the body.

“First, his disposition is gentle and harmonious, and he abides profoundly in right faith. Second, he never abandons any sentient being. Third, he ultimately perfects the mind of great loving-kindness and compassion.

Fourth, he awakens to and understands all things without clinging to their characteristics. Fifth, although he reflects upon and seeks all Buddha-dharmas, he does not falsely grasp them. Sixth, he does not entertain thoughts of the wisdom of sravakas or pratyekabuddhas.

Seventh, he can give away everything he possesses in the world; he does not begrudge even his body and life, much less refuse to give other things. Eighth, although he passes through immeasurable births and deaths and their afflictions, he does not become attached to conditioned practices. Ninth, he constantly cultivates immeasurable generosity, morality, patience, diligence, meditation, and wisdom, yet does not discriminate among the paramitas.

Tenth, he constantly generates this thought: ‘I shall establish all sentient beings in bodhi, and only afterward shall I sit beneath the bodhi tree’; yet he does not grasp the characteristic of bodhi or the characteristic of sentient beings.

“Mahakasyapa, these are the ten dharmas. When a great bodhisattva perfects them, he can attain the samadhi of concealing the body.”

The Venerable Mahakasyapa again said: “Rare indeed, Blessed One! What you have proclaimed is exceedingly excellent. Blessed One, no sravaka or pratyekabuddha has ever generated, even once, the thought: ‘I shall establish sentient beings on the stage of arhatship,’ much less on the stage of Buddhahood!”

The Buddha said: “It is just as you say. Mahakasyapa, for this reason no sravaka or pratyekabuddha can attain a bodhisattva’s samadhi of concealing the body. They do not even know this samadhi, much less can they enter it.”

The Venerable Mahakasyapa said: “Blessed One, we now greatly wish to see those great bodhisattvas. Why? Because such great beings are exceedingly difficult to encounter.”

The Buddha said: “Mahakasyapa, remain here and wait until my Manjusri arrives. Those great bodhisattvas will then emerge from samadhi, and afterward you will be able to see them.

“Nevertheless, you too have attained immeasurable gateways of samadhi. You should now gather your mind and seek where those great bodhisattvas are, in what deportment they abide, and what work they are performing.”

Having received the Buddha’s instruction, the Venerable Mahakasyapa, through the Buddha’s spiritual majesty and his own spiritual powers, entered twenty thousand gateways of samadhi to search for those great bodhisattvas: where they were, in what deportment they abided, whether they were walking, standing, reclining, or sitting peacefully. Yet he could not see them. He did not even know what they were saying or doing, whence they had come, or where they would go.

Emerging from samadhi, the Venerable One addressed the Buddha: “Blessed One, most extraordinary, most extraordinary! I passed through twenty thousand gateways of right concentration in search of those great bodhisattvas, yet never saw them. Blessed One, those great bodhisattvas have not yet realized the state of sarvajna, yet they have already attained such a sublime samadhi.

How much more so when they realize unsurpassed bodhi!

“Blessed One, it can never be that good men or good women who see or hear of this spiritual transformation would fail swiftly to generate the aspiration for unsurpassed bodhi.

“Blessed One, great bodhisattvas who attain such a samadhi of concealing the body don the armor of diligence because they wish to liberate sentient beings, yet they never depart from this sublime right concentration.”

The Buddha said: “So it is. It is just as you say. This is not even within the sphere of sravakas and pratyekabuddhas, much less that of other sentient beings.”

At that time the Venerable Sariputra thought: “The Blessed One has praised me as foremost in wisdom among the sravakas. I should now search to see where those bodhisattvas are, in what deportment they abide, and what they are doing. Would it not be wonderful if I could see them?”

Having thought thus, the Venerable Sariputra, through the Buddha’s spiritual majesty and his own spiritual powers, immediately entered thirty thousand gateways of samadhi and searched everywhere, yet never saw them.

The Venerable Subhuti then thought: “I too shall search to see where those great bodhisattvas are and what they are doing. It would be wonderful if I could see them.” Having thought thus, the Venerable One immediately entered forty thousand gateways of samadhi and searched everywhere, yet never saw them. Emerging from samadhi, he approached the Buddha, bowed his head, and said: “Blessed One, the Tathagata has declared me foremost among the sravakas in the samadhi of non-contention.

Blessed One, when I enter that concentration, even if someone of immense spiritual power were to combine ten billion four-continent worlds into one great drum, fashion Mount Sumeru into a huge drumstick, and command a gigantic man to stand before me and beat that great drum unceasingly throughout an entire kalpa, even the sound of that drum could not enter my ears, much less disturb my mind and cause me to emerge from concentration.

Yet now, despite having attained such a vast right concentration of non-contention, I passed through forty thousand gateways of samadhi and searched everywhere, but never saw those great bodhisattvas. I did not see even one person passing to or fro for a moment.

“Blessed One, because the great bodhisattvas seek such inconceivable wisdom, they would, for the sake of each sentient being, be born in hell for kalpas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges and undergo every torment. Though they endure manifold suffering in seeking the bodhisattva path, they do not abandon that profound and inconceivable wisdom.

“Blessed One, if today my outflows have not yet ended, if I have not attained liberation, and if there is anything in the Buddha-Dharma I do not yet know, then may I in future lives remain in birth and death and never abandon this sublime and inconceivable Mahayana.”

The Buddha praised the Venerable Subhuti: “Excellent, excellent! It is truly as you say. Because you have spoken thus out of faith, your present body will not enter nirvana. Through this merit, after kalpas exceeding the sands of the Ganges, you will become a holy wheel-turning king, govern the world according to the true Dharma, and afterward attain unsurpassed bodhi.

“Moreover, Subhuti, are the various kinds of sentient beings in this great trichiliocosm numerous?”

“Blessed One, they are exceedingly numerous.”

“Subhuti, suppose all those sentient beings possessed wisdom like Sariputra, were foremost in understanding emptiness like Subhuti, and were unsurpassed in ascetic practices like Mahakasyapa. Even if, with their combined knowledge and vision, they searched for those great bodhisattvas for one kalpa, a hundred kalpas, a thousand kalpas, or even immeasurable kalpas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, they still could not see them. Why? Because the deeds of those great bodhisattvas are not within the sphere of practice of any sravaka or pratyekabuddha. Therefore, those of the two vehicles can never see them.”

When this Dharma was taught, eighty-four thousand devas and humans in the assembly generated the aspiration for unsurpassed bodhi. The great trichiliocosm quaked in six ways.

At that time, in his private chamber, Bodhisattva Manjusri thought: “Now that a hundred thousand kotis of hundreds of thousands of great bodhisattvas from the ten directions have all assembled, I shall also summon the great multitudes of devas and gather them here.”

Having thought thus, Bodhisattva Manjusri immediately used his sovereign spiritual power to create eighty-four thousand kotis of nayutas of exquisite jeweled lotus flowers, each as large as a chariot wheel. Their stems were made entirely of gold, their petals of silver, and they were covered with nets of superior treasury vaidurya jewels. Within each flower were transformation Buddhas and transformation bodhisattvas seated cross-legged upon lotus platforms.

Their bodies were the color of purple-gold, endowed with the thirty-two marks and eighty secondary characteristics. Their majestic virtue was lofty, and their radiance shone everywhere. Those jeweled lotus flowers flew upward to the Heaven of the Four Kings, the Trayastrimsa Heaven, the Yama Heaven, the Tusita Heaven, the Heaven of Delight in Transformations, the Heaven of Mastery over Others’ Transformations, all the Brahma heavens, and as far as the Peak of Existence.

There was no place throughout the great trichiliocosm to which those jeweled lotus flowers did not fly.

Those transformation Buddhas and transformation bodhisattvas raised great voices and proclaimed these verses throughout the great trichiliocosm:

Form, feeling, and perception,
Formations and consciousness are all like space.
Conventionally they are called the five skandhas,
But in truth no accumulation exists.

When the transformation Buddhas made this proclamation, it was heard throughout the great trichiliocosm. Nine billion six hundred million devas of the Desire Realm became free from dust and defilement and attained the pure Dharma-eye; twenty thousand devaputras grew disenchanted with sensual defilements; thirty-two thousand devaputras all generated the aspiration for unsurpassed bodhi; and ten thousand devaputras cultivating the bodhisattva vehicle attained patience concerning the non-arising of dharmas.

At that time, immeasurable, boundless asamkhyeyas of kotis of nayutas of hundreds of thousands of devas in the great assembly, summoned by the transformation Buddhas, all gathered in an instant before Sakyamuni Tathagata, Worthy One, Perfectly Enlightened One. They bowed at the Buddha’s feet, circumambulated him three times to the right, and withdrew to one side. Taking various heavenly flowers and incense—including utpala, padma, kumuda, pundarika, mandara, and maha-mandara flowers; various garlands; powdered incense; and fragrant paste—they scattered them over the Blessed One and the assembly as offerings. They also filled the sky with various kinds of heavenly music, songs, chants, and praises.

At this time, the great assembly that had gathered was so vast as to be beyond calculation. It completely filled the four-continent world, leaving not even a space the size of the tip of a staff. Those devas and humans possessed great majestic virtue, and the heavenly flowers they scattered filled the entire four-continent world knee-deep.