佛說甚深大迴向經

Thus have I heard. At one time the Buddha, together with eight thousand bhikshus, was gathered at the grove of the Elder Anāthapiṇḍika and Prince Jeta (*) in the country of Śrāvastī. At that time the whole great assembly, ranged in tier upon tier, before and behind, surrounded the World-Honored One, listening to the World-Honored One expound the Dharma. Then there was a Bodhisattva named Bright Heaven (Mingtian) who, in the midst of the Dharma assembly, rose from his seat, bared his right shoulder, knelt with his right knee to the ground, and respectfully, with palms joined, addressed the Buddha, saying:

"Reverently I beseech the World-Honored One! I have one matter I wish to inquire about, and I pray the World-Honored One in his compassion will instruct me."

The Buddha said to the Bodhisattva Bright Heaven:

"Good son! Whatever matter you have, simply ask, and do not doubt that the Tathāgata will, as is fitting, answer it."

The Bodhisattva Bright Heaven then addressed the Buddha:

"By what means does a Bodhisattva, cultivating but a little wholesome Dharma, obtain great rewards of merit, and if he performs many deeds of merit and virtue, obtain immeasurable rewards of merit?"

The Buddha replied: "Excellent! Excellent! O Bright Heaven, you have made offerings to immeasurable Buddhas, planted very many deeds of merit and virtue, drawn near to the good and wise teachers, and for the sake of beings who delight in cultivating merit and virtue you have asked of such profound matters. Therefore listen, listen, and reflect well and carefully."

The Bodhisattva Bright Heaven addressed the Buddha, saying: "Reverently I beseech the World-Honored One, I will receive the teaching."

The Buddha said: "Bright Heaven! Toward the Buddhas of the past, present, and future, the great Bodhisattvas should cultivate the practice of loving-kindness in body, cultivate the practice of loving-kindness in speech, cultivate the practice of loving-kindness in mind, and single-mindedly call to mind the meritorious deeds that the Buddhas have performed.

"Furthermore, O Bright Heaven! A Bodhisattva should go to the monasteries, the stūpas, the shrines, the places where the Buddha is enshrined, there to make reverent obeisance and offerings, to circumambulate to the right, to kneel with joined palms, to offer flowers, to burn incense, to hang banners and jeweled canopies, and to make music in reverent offering. With wondrous and subtle sounds let him chant the verses of the scriptures whose meaning and principle are exceedingly profound. Let him praise the merit and virtue of the Buddhas. With sympathetic joy let him encourage and extol all that is wholesome.

"Bright Heaven! How is it that a Bodhisattva, toward the Buddhas of the past, present, and future, cultivates the practice of loving-kindness in body, cultivates the practice of loving-kindness in speech, cultivates the practice of loving-kindness in mind, and calls to mind the merit and virtue of the Buddhas?

"Good son! A Bodhisattva should think thus: The Tathāgata is the Unsurpassed One, the Most Honored One, the Most Victorious One, the Lion-King, valiant and without fear. He delivers himself and delivers all kinds of beings; he is at peace and brings peace to others; he extinguishes his own suffering and afflictions and extinguishes the suffering and afflictions of others; he expounds the true and ultimate Dharma and transforms beings; his moral discipline and virtue are pure, complete, and perfect; his power of eloquent debate is never afraid.

He has forever cut off the habitual tendencies that are obstructions. Sovereign and unobstructed before every circumstance and every thing, none can equal him. Single-mindedly calling to mind the merit and virtue of the Buddhas in this way, he then kneels to the ground, offering flowers and incense, banners and jeweled canopies, making music in offering.

This is the Bodhisattva cultivating the practice of loving-kindness in body.

"With wondrous and subtle sounds he chants the verses of the scriptures whose meaning and principle are exceedingly profound. He praises the immeasurable merit and virtue of the Tathāgata. This is the Bodhisattva cultivating the practice of loving-kindness in speech. With the wholesome roots of the cultivation and mindfulness in body and speech spoken of above, he is wholeheartedly sincere and reverent. This is the Bodhisattva cultivating the practice of loving-kindness in mind.

"Bright Heaven! This is the Bodhisattva, toward the Buddhas of the past, present, and future, with right mindfulness cultivating the practice of loving-kindness in body, speech, and mind."

The Buddha further said to the Bodhisattva Bright Heaven:

"Furthermore, toward the beings of the past, present, and future, the Bodhisattva should likewise cultivate the practice of loving-kindness in body, cultivate the practice of loving-kindness in speech, cultivate the practice of loving-kindness in mind, and hold an outlook of equality toward beings.

"Bright Heaven! How is it that a Bodhisattva, toward beings throughout the three periods of time, should cultivate the practice of loving-kindness in body, speech, and mind, and hold an outlook of equality?

"It is thus, Bright Heaven! The Bodhisattva does not kill beings, does not steal what belongs to others, does not engage in sexual misconduct, does not speak falsely, does not speak in an embellished manner, does not speak with a double tongue, does not speak harshly, is not covetous, is not angry, and is not deluded by wrong views.

"How is it that a Bodhisattva does not harm beings?

"Toward all beings he is loving, kind, and compassionate, and he gives rise to a heart of shame and sorrow before any act of killing; he casts away both knife and staff, those implements for beating, stabbing, slashing, shooting, and slaying.

"Not stealing means that, seeing things fallen in the marketplace, the hamlet, on the road, or anywhere where no one is present, if they are not his own possessions he never picks them up. Whatever belongs to anyone, if it is not given, he does not take.

"Not engaging in sexual misconduct (this is spoken of with regard to the lay Bodhisattva; for the Bodhisattva who has left home, it is the cutting off of sexual conduct) means that men and women who already have husbands or wives must not commit adultery; even toward those still dependent within a household, if there is not yet the proper and lawful ceremony, one must not transgress against them; and even should one of the opposite sex hand over some object, one should not give rise to thoughts of lust.

"Not speaking falsely means that one always speaks straightforwardly and truthfully, never saying that what is so is not so or that what is not so is so; when in the presence of neighbors and villages, or standing before officials and the court of law to testify in any matter, one should sincerely declare and speak in accord with the truth—even should one have to face death, one is willing to do so, rather than speak falsely.

"Not speaking in an embellished manner means that one speaks at the proper time, speaks truthfully, speaks only when one clearly understands the meaning and principle, speaks for the benefit of others; as the mind thinks, so the mouth speaks; one does not speak erroneously and at variance, one does not speak with addition or subtraction.

"Not speaking with a double tongue means that, between this person and that, between this side and that, one always hopes for mutual harmony; one does not carry the words of one person to distort them before another, and does not provoke suspicion and discord between the two sides.

"Not speaking harshly means that one always sets forth one's words with gentleness and softness, guiding and leading others, greeting them warmly, and never at all using bitter, cruel, or abusive words that harm beings.

"Not being covetous means that toward the wealth and gain of others one does not give rise to greedy desire, and seeing one who comes to beg, one's heart is not grudging or miserly.

"Not being angry means that toward all beings one cuts off all anger, hatred, and vexation, and one gives rise to thoughts of loving-kindness and compassion, thoughts of bringing benefit, thoughts of bringing peace and joy to beings, skillfully according with and gathering in and transforming all.

"Not holding wrong views means that one must hold right understanding: that in life there should be giving, there should be relief and charity, there should be education and guidance, there is the way of mother and father, there is this life and the life to come, there is suffering and there is joy, there are all the deeds and karmic retributions of the world; there are the Arhats who, cultivating the path that transcends the world, realize the fruit in their own person, who have ended birth and death, accomplished the pure conduct, completed all that is to be done, and who themselves know that they will not receive a body in a future life again.

"Bright Heaven should know that: not killing, not stealing, and not engaging in sexual misconduct are the cultivation of the practice of loving-kindness in body. Not speaking falsely, not speaking in an embellished manner, not speaking with a double tongue, and not speaking harshly are the Bodhisattva's cultivation of the practice of loving-kindness in speech. Not being covetous, not being angry, and not being deluded by wrong views are the Bodhisattva's cultivation of the practice of loving-kindness in mind. Thus does the Bodhisattva hold an outlook of equality toward all beings.

"Bright Heaven! Whatever rewards of merit and virtue the Bodhisattva obtains—by cultivating the practice of loving-kindness in body, cultivating the practice of loving-kindness in speech, cultivating the practice of loving-kindness in mind toward the Buddhas of the past, present, and future, as well as by cultivating the practice of loving-kindness in body, cultivating the practice of loving-kindness in speech, cultivating the practice of loving-kindness in mind toward all beings of the past, present, and future—he takes all of that merit and virtue and dedicates it so that all beings may together attain Perfect, Complete Enlightenment (Anuttarā Samyak-Saṃbodhi).

"Bright Heaven! When the Bodhisattva accomplishes immeasurable merit and virtue in this way, let him take that merit and virtue and dedicate it to immeasurable wisdom. And together with all beings, let him dedicate it toward the fruit of Perfect, Complete Enlightenment.

"This merit and virtue has three kinds:

– The past is empty.

– The present is empty.

– The future is empty.

There is no one who dedicates.

There is no Dharma that is dedicated.

There is no place toward which to dedicate.

"The Bodhisattva should dedicate in this way. When he dedicates in this way, the three places are all pure. He takes that pure merit and virtue and, together with all beings, dedicates it toward the fruit of Unsurpassed, Perfect, Complete Enlightenment.

For the one who dedicates in this way, there is no ordinary person and no dharma of the ordinary person; there is also no faith-practice, no dharma-practice, no eight forbearances (1); there is no one Bound for the Fruit of Srotāpanna and no Fruit of Srotāpanna, no one Bound for the Fruit of Sakṛdāgāmin and no Fruit of Sakṛdāgāmin, no one Bound for the Fruit of Anāgāmin and no Fruit of Anāgāmin, no one Bound for the Fruit of Arhat and no Fruit of Arhat, no one Bound for the Fruit of Pratyekabuddha and no Fruit of Pratyekabuddha.

There is also no one Bound for Buddhahood and no Fruit of Buddhahood.

"Why is this so?—Because the nature of dharmas is unattached, unborn, abiding nowhere, and undying.

"Therefore the Bodhisattva takes these three kinds of pure merit and virtue of these three modes of dedication and, together with all beings, dedicates them toward the fruit of Perfect, Complete Enlightenment.

"Dedicating in this way, the Bodhisattva further vows, saying: 'Wherever I may be born, may I always meet the Buddha, attain the exceedingly profound Dharma of right concentration (samādhi), behold immeasurable Buddhas, accomplish a vast and deep understanding and pure wisdom, and I vow never to forsake beings.'"

When the Buddha spoke this Dharma, a hundred thousand devas and humans all vowed to be reborn in the Buddha-land of Akṣobhya.

Then the Buddha said to the Venerable Ānanda: "When I had just spoken this exceedingly profound Dharma, a hundred thousand devas and humans all vowed to be reborn in the Buddha-land of Akṣobhya. Then, from this one Buddha-land to another Buddha-land, they will make offerings to the Buddhas, hear the Dharma, attain the dhāraṇī that retains all, and receive and uphold it, cultivating practice exactly in accord with the right Dharma. All those beings will accomplish inconceivable wisdom, and will become Buddhas in the world of the five turbidities, all bearing one and the same title, called Sweet-Dew-Sound King Tathāgata (Amṛta-Ghoṣa-Rāja Tathāgata), Worthy of Offerings, Perfectly and Completely Enlightened.

When he gave this prediction to those devas, a hundred thousand beings all gave rise to the mind of Unsurpassed, Perfect, Complete Enlightenment.

Then Śakra Devānām-Indra addressed the Buddha, saying:

"World-Honored One! According to the meaning the Buddha has spoken, I understand that this is to attain vast and great merit and virtue, immeasurable merit and virtue, boundless merit and virtue!"

The Buddha said: "Kauśika! This Dharma is utterly pure."

Kauśika asked: "World-Honored One, what is this sūtra named, and how should it be upheld and observed?"

The Buddha replied: "Śakra Devānām-Indra, Kauśika! This sūtra is named the Great Dedication, and is also called the Dedication of the Exceedingly Profound Nature of Dharmas. You should uphold and observe it exactly thus.

"Kauśika, if there is any good son or good daughter who cultivates and learns according to this Dharma of dedication, then know that such a person will surely attain the Forbearance of the Non-Arising of Dharmas (Anutpattika-Dharma-Kṣānti), is able to deliver all beings who have not yet been delivered, and brings to immeasurable beings peace and joy!"

When they heard the Buddha expound this Dharma, the bhikshus, Śakra, Brahmā, devas, humans, asuras, and the rest, all joyfully received and practiced it.