大寶積經

Vajra-Guhyaka said: “Venerable Tranquil Resolve! A bodhisattva’s mouth never utters defiled words, inhumane words, words of anger or delusion, nor words of flattery, enmity, jest, or ridicule. When speaking, a bodhisattva does not laugh immoderately or utter sarcastic or harsh words.

A bodhisattva’s mind never entertains thoughts of harming, attachment, contention, irritation, presumption, arrogance, heedlessness, or opposition to reason. At no time does a bodhisattva lose proper decorum or act inopportunely, nor is he lustful or malicious. A bodhisattva’s body is whole and his voice perfectly wondrous.

His mind is neither partisan nor secretive; he bears no resentment, holds no wrong views, does not cling to self or ego, and does not disturb others. A bodhisattva does not publicize the faults of others, break his word, or act unlawfully; he is always patient and harmonious, does not disparage the true Dharma, does not praise his own people, and does not disrupt the friendships of others. When he himself obtains something good or excellent, he does not delight in it.

When he sees others praised, he does not become jealous. He does not slander the wise, despise the virtuous, accuse others, or seek out their shortcomings, but diligently instructs those resolved to seek the unsurpassed Way.

Venerable Tranquil Resolve! Such is a bodhisattva whose words and deeds accord with one another, whose spirit is courageous and vigorous, whose deeds bring certain meritorious recompense, whose speech is utterly sincere, and whose conduct conforms to his words.

Suppose someone came beneath a great tree, stood observing it, and asked another person, ‘Do you know how many leaves this tree has?’ A person of great wisdom, without looking at the tree or counting, could state the exact number of leaves, just as one who had counted them. With regard to virtues, the wise person knows their number without calculation and clearly proclaims it before the great assembly. This person’s statement would be no different from that of the former person of great wisdom.

If someone were to ask how many grains of sand are in a great river or how many measures of water it contains, only a great sage could know. Devas, Dragon Spirits, the eight classes of beings, humans, and even shravakas and pratyekabuddhas could not know this clearly. Only the Buddha, the Blessed One, could know it clearly.

Contemplating in this way, one understands that the wisdom of the Tathagata, the Most True, the Perfectly and Completely Awakened One, is incalculable. Though he proclaims myriads of millions of sounds, all beings can hear and understand them.

Venerable Tranquil Resolve! In the past there was a seer named Louyi who always dwelt beneath a benevolent tree. For twelve full years he observed and counted its leaves. Later, a brahmin named Tranquil came beneath that benevolent tree and saw the great seer observing and counting its leaves day and night. The brahmin asked him why. The great seer replied, ‘I am counting the leaves of this tree to learn how many there are.’

At that time the brahmin Tranquil, without looking at the tree or counting its leaves, spoke this verse:

There are eight thousand cai,

Eight thousand kotis of leaves,

Nine thousand six hundred,

And twenty sections besides.

The roots number two hundred

And fifty-five;

The buds number six thousand

Six hundred and sixty.

According to my clear knowledge,

Such is this tree.

If the great seer has doubts,

Please count them once again.

The great seer Louyi praised him, saying, ‘Excellent! Excellent! What you have said is exactly correct. Without calculating or counting, you knew the precise number of the tree’s leaves, just as I learned it through twelve years of counting. Would the brahmin please tell me why, without looking or counting, you knew what I learned by counting?’

The brahmin said, ‘Great seer! Neither humans nor devas helped me. It was because I sincerely cultivated right conduct in accordance with the true principle of truth, without discrimination or contention.’

Venerable Tranquil Resolve! The seer Louyi of that former time was none other than the Venerable Shariputra. The brahmin Tranquil was Shakyamuni Buddha, the present Blessed One.

Venerable Tranquil Resolve! A bodhisattva’s karmic conduct is exceedingly subtle and secret, and his wisdom is boundless, immeasurable, and limitless. His manifestations accord with what is timely and appropriate and are beyond description and conception.

Venerable Tranquil Resolve! What is the secret of the mind? With pure thoughts, a bodhisattva never loses his superknowledges.

He delights in the wisdom of superknowledge, always abides in superknowledge when manifesting, and practices great compassion, using supernormal transformations to display countless and immeasurable manifestations everywhere. Dwelling within the house of wisdom, he abides in the true principle of superknowledge, and his eyes clearly behold all dharmas. This is the bodhisattva’s boundless, right, and true wisdom of superknowledge, which universally manifests everything.

This wisdom of superknowledge displays various images and physical forms while remaining devoid of form. Through the wisdom of superknowledge, the bodhisattva manifests various sounds. He can observe all the thoughts and ideas in the minds of all beings and, in accordance with their roots of goodness, teach and transform them whenever appropriate, never forgetting or overlooking anyone.

Without conceiving of past or future, the bodhisattva manifests unhindered supernormal powers, travels throughout the three realms without obstruction or impediment, neither grasps nor establishes anything. The bodhisattva’s wisdom of superknowledge ends all outflows. His vision and knowledge are profound and wondrous, yet he manifests entry into samsara to deliver the world.

The bodhisattva’s wisdom of superknowledge surpasses that of all shravakas and pratyekabuddhas. Seated beneath the Bodhi tree, he subdues Mara’s armies, fully comprehends all Buddha-Dharmas, turns the wheel of the true Dharma according to what is timely and appropriate, teaches and transforms all beings, and guides them into the Dharma discipline until they attain the stage of being bound to one more birth.

Venerable Tranquil Resolve! This is the bodhisattva’s secret, pure conduct of mind.

When the mind is true and pure, it ultimately abides nowhere and returns nowhere; it is always joyful, peaceful, harmonious, and ultimately wholesome. It enters the samadhi of universal wisdom, does not enter final cessation, and does not become weary of the desire realm. Even if a bodhisattva is born in the desire realm, he remains unattached, unbound, and free of fetters.

This is because the bodhisattva has utterly escaped all deluded conceptions, cleansed himself of defilement, is free of inversion and attachment, and has transcended birth, aging, sickness, and death. Although the bodhisattva manifests birth, he is nevertheless unborn. He abides in the Mahayana to perfect all Buddha-Dharmas and thereby rescues and protects all beings, yet beings remain ungraspable, and there is neither rescue nor protection.

He clearly knows that all dharmas are all Buddha-Dharmas and that all Buddha-Dharmas are all dharmas. They are neither dharmas nor non-dharmas, because all dharmas have originally been ungraspable, without location, number, or measure. He clearly knows that all dharmas are originally devoid of all dharmas, with nothing sought and nothing attained.

Even when the bodhisattva perceives attainment, his mind has neither joy nor sorrow. Because it has neither joy nor sorrow, it is unobstructed and does not abide in attachment. Because it does not abide in attachment, there is no non-self; because there is no non-self, there is no reception; because there is no reception, there is no dispute; because there is no dispute, there is no agitation.

Freedom from agitation is the Dharma of a shramana. The bodhisattva’s mind is impartial like empty space: it does not fall into the desire realm, remain in the form realm, or abide in the formless realm. It abides nowhere, neither praising nor disparaging, because all dharmas are ungraspable.

This is the secret of the bodhisattva’s mind.

Venerable Tranquil Resolve! The secret mind of a bodhisattva practices great loving-kindness because it does not cling to self or ego; practices great compassion because there are no beings; practices sympathetic joy because there is no living entity; and, because it delivers beings, clearly understands that there is no life span. It practices the four kinds of giving because the mind is free of stinginess; observes the precepts because the mind is harmonious; practices patience because the mind is unmoving; cultivates diligence because thought is tranquil; enters single-minded right concentration because the mind abides nowhere; knows the noble mind clearly because there is nothing to be done; cultivates the four establishments of mindfulness because there is neither intention nor thought;

practices the four right efforts because the mind clearly understands non-arising and non-cessation; travels by supernormal power because the mind is vast and boundless; devotes itself to right faith because the mind is unobstructed; and, when cultivating diligence, its mental activity is quiescent.

It abides in right concentration because the mind is impartial and free of discrimination; abides in wisdom because the mind is free of deluded conceptions; possesses sovereign power because it follows the source of mind; employs discerning awareness because it possesses discriminating wisdom; undertakes the work of the Way because the mind has no object of conception; and its mind and intention are utterly still because they are serene and free of discursive thought.

It contemplates the inner mind because its vision and knowledge are unattached; cultivates the path of sages because it understands the mind ultimately; constantly recollects the Buddha because lucid wisdom is free of deluded conceptions; reflects upon the great Way because its aspiration is immeasurable; constantly recollects the true Dharma because the mind is impartial; constantly recollects the noble Sangha because, with a mind abiding nowhere, it teaches beings; and keeps the mind constantly pure because it protects the true Dharma.

It accords with the dharma-dhatu because the mind is incorruptible; purifies Buddha-lands because the mind is like empty space; perfects the excellent marks because the mind does not discriminate forms; constantly abides in patience because the mind is not inverted; abides on the stage of non-retrogression because the mind does not retreat; adorns the place of awakening because, while dwelling in the three realms, the mind is undefiled; subdues the Mara of karma because the mind gathers in beings; transmits and teaches the Dharma of the Way because the impartial mind understands all dharmas; constantly turns the Dharma wheel because the Dharma does not turn; manifests great nirvana with a non-retrogressing mind; and explains the source of samsara because the mind is naturally impartial.

Venerable Tranquil Resolve! When a bodhisattva attains the patient acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas, his mind is exceedingly subtle, secret, and pure. Once his mind is pure, he understands and enters the pure minds of all beings. The minds of beings enter the mind of the Way and are illuminated by it. Just as empty space impartially enters all dharmas, whether formed or formless, so too does the mind of the Way universally enter the mental activities of all beings.”

When Vajra-Guhyaka proclaimed the inconceivable secrets of a bodhisattva’s body, speech, and mind, seventy-two thousand devas and humans generated the unsurpassed, right, and true resolve; thirty-two thousand bodhisattvas attained the patient acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas; fourteen thousand people became free from defilement and attained the pure Dharma eye; and the minds of eight thousand bhikshus became free of outflows.

At once the entire great trichiliocosm shook in six ways, a great radiance illuminated the ten directions, various flowers rained down from the sky, and various musical instruments played spontaneously in harmony. From the music came these words: “Those who hear the Dharma proclaimed by Vajra-Guhyaka and respond with joyful reverence and faith will receive a prediction. They will cherish the scriptures, uphold, read, and recite them, and explain them to others. They will not retreat from the mind of the Way but will cultivate wholesome merit. These people have previously made offerings to countless Buddhas and benefited beings.”

The Blessed One asked Bodhisattva Tranquil Resolve: “Did you hear the words proclaimed by that music?”

“Blessed One! I heard them clearly. Through whose awe-inspiring spiritual power did such music arise?”

“Tranquil Resolve! It was Bodhisattva Thunder Sound, who came from the Land of Rain Clan, the realm of Buddha King Thunder Sound, to this Saha world to behold and bow before me. Wishing to inquire about the essentials of the Dharma and hear the Tathagata’s secret teachings, he concealed his body in the sky, scattered flowers as offerings to the Buddha and the scriptures, and caused the music to utter those words.”

As soon as the Buddha finished speaking, Bodhisattva Thunder Sound appeared from the sky, descended, bowed his head at the Buddha’s feet, circumambulated the Buddha seven times, and said before him: “Blessed One! Tathagata King Thunder Sound respectfully sends boundless greetings and asks whether your walking and standing are peaceful and your sitting and lying down comfortable.”

The Buddha said to Bodhisattva Thunder Sound: “Excellent, true being! You have deliberately come to visit the Tathagata, wishing to hear the secret scriptures and Dharma. Vajra-Guhyaka is now relying upon the Buddha’s awe-inspiring spiritual power to proclaim the essentials of the Dharma.”

At that time bodhisattvas in the great assembly thought: “In what lifetime did Vajra-Guhyaka accumulate his merit? In the presence of which Buddha did he generate the mind of the Way? What vows did he make, that he now possesses such vast eloquence?”

Knowing the thoughts of the great assembly, the Buddha immediately told Bodhisattva Tranquil Resolve: “Countless inconceivable kalpas ago, there appeared in the Adorned World during the kalpa Excellent Vision a Buddha named Tathagata Immeasurable Perfumed Jeweled Brocade Pure King, Worthy of Offerings, Perfectly Awakened, Blessed One. That land was densely populated, prosperous, peaceful, and joyful. Its ground was level, without sand, stones, thorns, or brambles, and consisted entirely of precious substances: vaidurya, crystal, pearls, coral, amber, mother-of-pearl, and agate.

The ground was as soft as the garments of devas, richly fragrant, radiant, and beautifully colored. The flourishing grass was soft and supple; walking upon it was cool and comfortable, like treading on a celestial carpet. The climate was temperate, neither excessively cold nor excessively hot.

The people of that land were benevolent and gentle by nature. Their bodies, speech, and minds were tranquil, their afflictions slight, and they all possessed sovereign power. That Buddha’s Dharma assembly contained twelve cai great bhikshus and thirty-two kotis of great bodhisattvas.

That Buddha remained in the world for thirty-six kotis of years.

“In the Land of Adornment were four great cities named Pleasing to Behold. Each city was eight hundred thousand miles square, and the cities stood four hundred miles apart. Within each city were a thousand commanderies and districts.

The people were four miles tall. Within the great city Pleasing to Behold was an inner city named Purity, measuring two thousand five hundred and sixty miles across. In it dwelt a wheel-turning king named Valiant Commandery, who possessed the seven treasures: the golden wheel, the white elephant, the azure horse, the divine moon-bright jewel, the jewel-woman as his wife, the divine treasurer, and the great commander of armies.

The king ruled the four continents beneath heaven. He had previously made offerings to past Buddhas and generated the resolve for unsurpassed bodhi. His chief queen, the jewel-woman, and the seventy-six thousand palace women all generated the resolve for unsurpassed bodhi.

“The king had a thousand crown princes, all handsome, endowed with twenty-eight excellent marks, physically powerful, benevolent, and gentle by nature. They too all generated the mind of bodhi.

“At that time Buddha Immeasurable Perfumed Jeweled Brocade Pure King came to the city of Purity. King Valiant Commandery offered the Buddha and the great assembly of bodhisattvas and shravakas clothing, food and drink, medicines, bedding, houses, lecture halls, monasteries, gardens, springs, and ponds. For every bhikshu, the king appointed two attendants. The king made such offerings for a full koti of years.

“The thousand princes always made sincere offerings to the Buddha and delighted in hearing the scriptures and Dharma. They did not delight in sensual desire and abandoned amusement. Because they were sincere and heedful, they all soon attained the five superknowledges. Having attained them, the thousand princes soared freely and unhindered into the sky and flew throughout all the commanderies, districts, cities, and lands, and even throughout the four continents beneath heaven. Wherever they went, the princes proclaimed these verses to the assemblies:

The appearance of Buddhas in the world

Is difficult to encounter even after a very long time;

To be born as a human in the world

Is likewise exceedingly difficult.

Everyone should unite in resolve

And faithfully delight in hearing the scriptures;

Even throughout hundreds of thousands of kotis of kalpas,

They are still more difficult to encounter.

Now the Tathagata, the Blessed One,

Has appeared within the world;

Wishing everyone to attain deliverance,

He proclaims the scriptures and Dharma.

We have drawn near to the Buddha,

Requested instruction,

Sought luminous wisdom,

And practiced the Buddha’s teachings.

By upholding the scriptures and Dharma,

We escape all evil destinies,

Increase our roots of goodness,

And dwell in the most peaceful place.

Because we have heard the true Dharma,

All defiling afflictions are eliminated;

By attaining the wisdom of extensive learning,

We obtain the genuine Dharma.

Taking the Dharma we have heard,

We proclaim the flavor of amrita;

Thus auspicious signs appear,

And the earth shakes in six ways,

Announcing it to devas and humans.

The devas praise in unison

And simultaneously scatter celestial flowers,

Flowers of every kind.

All beings assemble,

Their multitude beyond measure;

The Most Honored One teaches and transforms them,

And they all enter the noble Way.

The great assembly bows its head

At the feet of the Blessed One,

Then stands with palms joined,

Reverently attending upon the Buddha.

The Tathagata, Teacher of Devas and Humans,

Clearly perceives the minds of the assembly;

In accordance with the occasion and their capacities,

He instructs them with the scriptures and Dharma.

That entire great assembly,

Having heard the Dharma taught by the Buddha—

Thirty-six kotis of people—

Together generated the unsurpassed resolve.

There were also thirty billion

Who heard the sound of the true Dharma,

Clearly perceived all dharmas,

And attained the pure Dharma eye.

Those people all grew weary

Of household affairs and worldly ties;

Within that Dharma assembly,

They left home to cultivate the Way.

There were also countless multitudes,

Kotis, billions, millions, and myriads of people,

Who came to the Dharma assembly to hear the scriptures,

Took refuge, and became lay disciples.

After hearing the scriptures and Dharma,

They bowed their heads at the Buddha’s feet,

Joined their palms and took their leave,

Bowed to the Buddha, and returned home.

“Tranquil Resolve! Those princes and the wheel-turning king constructed a tower of sandalwood, with doors and entrances made entirely of jewels. Wishing to hear the Dharma from Buddha Immeasurable Perfumed Jeweled Brocade Pure King, King Valiant Commandery exhorted his palace retinue, great ministers, officials, and people, young and old: ‘Everyone should know that a human body is difficult to attain, and encountering a Buddha who has appeared in the world is even more difficult. We should now go pay homage to the Buddha so that we may hear the scriptures and Dharma.’

“The king, the princes, his consorts, palace women, officials, and people entered and sat within the fragrant tower. They played instruments and sang, bringing many kinds of flowers, incense, garments, banners, streamers, and jeweled canopies as offerings to the Buddha. Like a phoenix, the fragrant tower flew through the sky to the Buddha’s dwelling place. It circled the Buddha seven times and then stopped to one side.

“King Valiant Commandery and the assembly emerged from the fragrant tower, bowed at the feet of the Buddha and the Noble Sangha, circumambulated the Buddha seven times, and then said before him: ‘Blessed One! We have long heard of the Buddha’s renown, but because affairs of state were so numerous, we continued to delay and have only now entered the Dharma assembly and beheld the Buddha’s countenance. Our hearts are filled with shame and self-reproach. We humbly pray that your great loving-kindness will consider us with compassion.’

“Buddha Immeasurable Perfumed Jeweled Brocade Pure King saw that the king and his retinue sincerely wished to hear the Dharma. In accordance with the ailments of their minds, he proclaimed the true Dharma:

“‘Great King! One who wishes to study the Mahayana without opposing the noble Way must practice four things. First, wholeheartedly believe in the Three Jewels, serve the virtuous and noble ones, and stay far away from what should not be done. Second, sincerely listen to the scriptures and Dharma, then accept and retain what has been heard. Third, abandon pride and arrogance and single-mindedly revere the virtuous and noble ones. Fourth, diligently discipline body, speech, and mind and practice wholesome conduct. If the Great King follows these four things, he can study and practice the Mahayana without opposing the noble Way.

“‘Great King! There are also four things that must be guarded without heedlessness: guard the six faculties, seeing the harm of sensual desire; understand all feelings and perceptions; clearly know impermanence; and understand that the faculty of life exists because of karmic causes.

“‘Great King! A bodhisattva also has four practices from which the Dharma of the Way arises. First, never abandon the mind of the Way. Second, exhort others to generate that mind as well. Third, accumulate roots of merit to support the mind of the Way and thoroughly understand the meaning of the Dharma heard. Fourth, widely use the great Mahayana teaching to exhort and transform everyone, including all Shakras, Brahma Kings, Four Heavenly Kings, and even shravakas and pratyekabuddhas.

“‘Great King! Therefore, you should always remain heedful, reverently believe in the Three Jewels, delight in the immeasurable Dharma of the Way, and rejoice in the true Dharma. If you diligently and faithfully seek the Dharma of the Way, Great King, you will no longer crave or delight in sensory objects. Great King, you should know that desire can never be satisfied, just as one who drinks salt water becomes thirstier the more he drinks. Only upon encountering virtuous and noble ones who reveal and instruct does one learn to restrain desire. Human life is very short, with little joy and much suffering. Where there is birth, there must be death; therefore, one must be mindful of the life to come.

“‘Now, Great King, by making offerings to the Tathagata, through this merit you will obtain four benefits: in life after life you will be wealthy and fully provided for; the meritorious rewards of your virtue will be inexhaustible; you will attain immeasurable luminous wisdom; and you will possess unhindered eloquence.

“‘You will also obtain four further benefits: bodily conduct that practices pure merit; pure speech that accords with the precepts; pure thoughts that never tire of extensive learning; and pure, luminous wisdom.

“‘There are four further benefits: you will perfect skillful means, cultivate pure conduct, and teach beings to enter wisdom; through pure karma you will subdue Mara’s armies; with pure vows, your actions will accord with your words; and by accumulating merit, you will encounter the Buddhas.’

“After King Valiant Commandery heard the Buddha reveal the meaning of the Dharma, his heart became joyful. He removed the jeweled necklace he was wearing and presented it as an offering to the Buddha. The king received the five precepts and cultivated pure conduct for the rest of his life.

“The consorts and palace women also became joyful and gentle in mind after hearing the Buddha teach the Dharma. Together they removed the jeweled necklaces adorning their bodies and offered them to the Buddha. The consorts and palace women asked the king for permission to leave home, become shramanas, and cultivate pure conduct. The king immediately permitted them.

“At that time King Valiant Commandery bowed at the Buddha’s feet, circumambulated him seven times, and then entered the fragrant tower together with the palace women and officials. In an instant they flew back to the Land of Purity.

“On the full-moon day of the fifteenth, the king and his palace retinue entered the flower garden, playing instruments and singing. The two chief consorts, one named Unmoving Step and the other named Free of Futile Loss, bathed, perfumed their garments with incense, and sat upon jeweled couches. Two children spontaneously appeared, each sitting in the full-lotus posture upon the lap of one consort. These two children were beautiful and endowed with twenty-eight excellent marks. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of devas in the sky praised them aloud, saying: ‘One of these two children is named Dharma Resolve, and the other Dharma Recollection. Both will cultivate the noble Dharma.’

“The child Dharma Recollection sat upon the lap of the consort Unmoving Step. The child Dharma Resolve sat upon the lap of the consort Free of Futile Loss. The two children spoke these verses together:

Those who guard themselves

And generate the mind of bodhi—

These learned ones

Create wholesome merit.

These people have encountered

The appearance of a Tathagata in the world;

Always filled with joy,

They single-mindedly make offerings to the Buddha.

For the work of superknowledge,

They soon receive the Buddha’s deliverance,

Exhaust the cycle of birth and death,

And realize unborn quiescent cessation.

Those who generate the mind of bodhi

And firmly preserve it without forgetting,

In order to deliver beings,

Destroy the cycle of birth and death.

In a world in the upper direction,

Immeasurable lands distant from here,

There is a Buddha in that world

Whose name is Season.

We have come here from that realm,

Wishing to hear the Dharma,

To behold Buddha Meritorious Perfume

And the Buddha’s land.

“At that time the two children left their mothers’ laps and went directly to the Buddha. They bowed their heads and faces at the Buddha’s feet, then joined their palms and stood to one side. The king, the crown princes, the consorts, and the palace women traveled through the sky to the Buddha, bowed before him, and then stood to one side with palms joined.

“At that time Dharma Resolve said: ‘We humbly pray that the Blessed One will expound the Dharma of the Way for us.’

“Buddha Meritorious Perfume clearly knew everyone’s thoughts and revealed the profound and wondrous meaning of the Dharma: ‘All dharmas arise through the conjunction of causes and conditions. Originally, they have no ruler, agent, or intrinsic nature, nor do they have causes and conditions. All dharmas are empty like empty space and cannot be grasped.’

“Buddha Meritorious Perfume used countless skillful means to proclaim the profound and wondrous meaning of the Dharma, enabling seventy-six cai and two hundred million people to attain the patient acceptance of compliance with the Dharma.

“At that time King Valiant Commandery, the crown princes, and their retinue circumambulated the Buddha and made offerings to him for seven full days and nights. After respectfully thanking the Buddha, they returned together to the palace.

“One day, as King Valiant Commandery sat quietly, he thought: ‘All my sons have generated the mind of bodhi. I should now determine which prince will be the first to realize the unsurpassed Way.’

“The king ordered craftsmen to make a vase of the seven treasures and place it upon a platform forty-nine feet high. He instructed each of the thousand princes to write his name upon a tablet made of the seven treasures and place it in the vase. For seven full days and nights, everyone made offerings of incense and flowers to the seven-jeweled vase. After seven days, the king placed the vase upon a golden table and told the thousand princes to draw the tablets.

“At that time Prince Pure Resolve drew the first tablet. At that very moment, the entire great trichiliocosm shook in six ways, and all musical instruments played spontaneously in harmony.”

Having related this, the Buddha told Bodhisattva Tranquil Resolve: “Good man! Prince Pure Resolve, son of King Valiant Commandery in the distant past, was none other than Tathagata Krakucchanda. The next prince, named Free from Name, was Tathagata Kanakamuni.

The third prince, named Tranquil Faculties, was Tathagata Kashyapa. The fourth prince, named Benefit in All Suffering, was my present body, Shakyamuni Buddha. The fifth prince, named Rain Chamber, will be Tathagata Maitreya.

The sixth prince, named Bright Moon Jewel Garment, will be Buddha Lion. The seventh prince will be Buddha Wondrous Excellence. Continuing successively in this manner, the prince who drew the nine hundred and ninety-ninth tablet will later become a Buddha named Immeasurable Virtue Jeweled Renown.

The prince named Immeasurable Resolve, who drew the final tablet, will become the thousandth of the thousand Buddhas in this Auspicious Kalpa, named Tathagata Louzhi.

“Tranquil Resolve! After drawing their tablets, the thousand princes joyfully laughed together and said, ‘In the future I shall become a Buddha, subdue Mara’s armies, turn the great Dharma wheel, and deliver immeasurable beings.’

“At that time Prince Immeasurable Resolve saw that he had drawn the last tablet and would become the final Buddha. Filled with sorrow, he cast himself upon the ground and made this vow: ‘The Dharma of the Buddhas is inconceivable, the realm of beings is limitless, and my aspiration is likewise inconceivable. I vow that when my elder brothers become Buddhas, however they teach and transform disciples, whatever the length of their lives, and whatever the number of their noble assemblies, when I become a Buddha mine shall likewise be the same.

If this vow of mine will indeed be fulfilled in the future, may the great trichiliocosm display an auspicious sign for me.’ As soon as Prince Immeasurable Resolve completed this vow, the great trichiliocosm shook in six ways, the sky rained down various flowers, and all musical instruments played spontaneously in harmony. A voice in the sky praised him, saying, ‘It shall be as you have vowed. In the future you will become a Buddha named Tathagata Louzhi, the Perfectly and Completely Awakened One.’

“After Prince Immeasurable Resolve made his vow, witnessed the auspicious signs, and heard the voice of praise in the sky, he spoke this verse:

The Dharma of the Buddhas

Is equal to empty space;

Discerning awareness is like an illusion,

And the realm of beings is endless.

My vow has manifested auspicious signs,

And the precepts have become pure.

All of you should listen attentively

To my solemn vow.

“Tranquil Resolve! Prince Immeasurable Resolve will be the final Buddha in the Auspicious Kalpa, named Tathagata Louzhi. Why will he be named Louzhi? When the prince drew the thousandth tablet, he felt sorrow, wept, cast himself upon the ground, and sincerely made his vow. Therefore, when he becomes a Buddha, he will be named Louzhi.

“Tranquil Resolve! Observe the bodhisattvas’ skillful means. Having perfected moral conduct and made vast vows, they journey throughout the three realms without ever resting. Tathagata Louzhi alone will teach and transform as many beings as all the thousand Buddhas appearing in the world together, without any difference.

“Tranquil Resolve! The two youngest princes among the thousand princes each made a solemn vow. Prince Dharma Resolve vowed: ‘When my royal elder brothers become Buddhas, I will serve as their Vajra Warrior and protect the Tathagatas’ secret essentials of the true Dharma.’

“Prince Dharma Recollection vowed: ‘When my royal elder brothers become Buddhas, I will be the one who invites and assists the Buddhas to turn the Dharma wheel.’

“Tranquil Resolve! King Valiant Commandery was a former life of Tathagata Dipankara. The thousand princes were former lives of the thousand Buddhas of the Auspicious Kalpa, from the first Buddha, Krakucchanda, to the thousandth Buddha, Louzhi.

“Prince Dharma Resolve was none other than the present Vajra-Guhyaka. Prince Dharma Recollection is now Brahma Shikhin.

“The consorts and palace women in the king’s palace in that former time are those attending today’s Dharma assembly.

“Those whom the princes formerly exhorted to leave home and become shramanas, together with those whom the princes taught and transformed, will successively receive predictions of Buddhahood during this Auspicious Kalpa.

“Tranquil Resolve! Observe how the merit of bodhisattvas who sincerely generate the resolve is never lost. Bodhisattvas will perfect the ten powers of wisdom and fulfill their vows. Therefore, any bodhisattva who wishes to attain Buddhahood swiftly should emulate the practices and vows of the thousand bodhisattva-princes and diligently practice the Buddha Way.

“What is the Buddha Way? One should not harbor a mind that harms beings, but should increase loving-kindness, practice the six paramitas, constantly cultivate pure conduct, cultivate the four ways of kindness, practice all factors that aid the Way, perfect the superknowledges, and employ skillful means to fulfill the roots of merit. These practices are the Buddha Way.

“Tranquil Resolve! On this Way, when the mind is pure, it penetrates the original nature. This Way is gentle, and its resolve is peaceful.

This Way is straightforward and free of flattery. This Way is universal and unobstructed. This Way is impartial, without factionalism or bias.

This Way is fearless and commits no evil. This Way is rich in the giving paramita. This Way is complete in the precepts paramita.

This Way is free of contention and attains the patience paramita. This Way abandons attachment and accomplishes the diligence paramita. This Way is free of distraction and is the dhyana paramita.

This Way skillfully discerns and is the prajna paramita. This Way returns to one’s own wisdom and practices great loving-kindness. This Way has no crooked intent and reaches great compassion.

This Way experiences joy and practices great sympathetic joy. This Way abides in subtle wonder and reaches great equanimity. This Way eliminates all suffering and extinguishes deluded thoughts of greed, harm, and anger.

This Way reaches peace and is free of harmful intent. This Way teaches and subdues those difficult to transform, eliminating attachment to form, sound, fragrance, taste, and touch. This Way subdues Mara and his retinue, causing them to abandon arrogance and defeating the hostile bandits.

This Way eliminates the skandhas and ayatanas and has no attachment. This Way abandons Mara’s deeds and attains sovereignty amid the defiling afflictions. This Way directs the mind toward the unsurpassed and abandons thoughts of the Two Vehicles.

This Way cultivates all practices and accomplishes the wisdom of impartial awakening. This Way sits upon the great jeweled throne and accords with all-knowledge. This Way constantly discerns with luminous, unhindered wisdom.

This Way proclaims wholesome conduct and gathers in good spiritual friends. This Way leaves behind pits and chasms and eliminates the fetters. This Way abandons defiling afflictions and transcends anger and contention.

This Way returns to peace and ends all wrongdoing and evil. This Way returns to auspiciousness and advances toward the karma of nirvana.

“These are the thirty-two aspects of the Buddha Way practiced by a bodhisattva. Abiding in this Buddha Way, a bodhisattva will swiftly attain unsurpassed bodhi.”