佛說大乘無量壽莊嚴經

At that time, Bhiksu Dharmakara said to the Blessed One:

“After I awaken and attain perfect enlightenment, all sentient beings who hear my name shall forever be freed from anguish and sorrow, attain coolness and ease, practice with right faith, and be born in my land. Seated beneath a jeweled tree, they shall realize the patience of non-arising and attain unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment.

“Blessed One! After I awaken and attain perfect enlightenment, when bodhisattvas in all Buddha lands throughout the ten directions hear my name, they shall immediately attain the concentration of tranquil quiescence. Having abided in that concentration, within a single thought they shall behold immeasurable, boundless, inconceivable Buddhas, Blessed Ones. Those bodhisattvas shall attend upon and make offerings to the Buddhas and attain unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment.

“Blessed One! After I awaken and attain perfect enlightenment, if sravakas or bodhisattvas in any Buddha land hear my name, they shall realize the patience of non-arising, accomplish all roots of goodness equally, abide in effortless practice, and before long attain unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment.

“Blessed One! After I awaken and attain perfect enlightenment, when bodhisattvas in all Buddha lands throughout the ten directions hear my name, they shall give rise to a rare and wondrous aspiration. These people shall immediately attain the Bodhisattva's All-pervading Concentration. Abiding in this concentration, within a single thought they shall reach immeasurable, innumerable, inconceivable Buddha lands, reverently honor and make offerings to the Buddhas, and attain unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment.

“Blessed One! After I awaken and attain perfect enlightenment, bodhisattvas in my land who delight in teaching the Dharma, hearing the Dharma, manifesting spiritual powers, or traveling to other regions may cultivate as they wish. They shall achieve perfect fulfillment and realize unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment.

“Blessed One! After I awaken and attain perfect enlightenment, when bodhisattvas in all Buddha lands throughout the ten directions hear my name, they shall immediately attain the first patience, the second patience, and ultimately the patience regarding the non-arising of dharmas, and shall attain unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment.”

At that time, after Bhiksu Dharmakara had made these vows before the Tathagata Lokesvararaja, he relied upon the Buddha's awe-inspiring spiritual power and spoke these verses:

“Today, before the Buddha,

I sincerely make these vows:

May I attain a Buddha's body of Ten Powers,

Whose majestic virtue is supremely lofty.

May I become a great sovereign king,

Wealthy, noble, and free,

And with abundant riches

Give universally to the poor,

Causing all those sentient beings

Forever to end sorrow and grief,

Develop many roots of goodness,

And attain the fruit of bodhi.

If I attain perfect enlightenment,

I shall establish the name Immeasurable Life.

Sentient beings who hear my name

Shall enter and be born in my land.

Their bodies shall be golden like the Buddha,

Their excellent marks beautiful and complete.

With minds of vast loving-kindness,

They shall benefit all living beings.

The light of my wisdom

Shall illuminate the lands of the ten directions;

The darkness of greed, anger, and affliction

Shall be extinguished in sentient beings.

Those in hell, among ghosts, and among animals

Shall abandon all suffering of the three evil paths,

Be born in my land,

And cultivate practices of purity.

Their bodies shall be filled with light,

Like the Buddha illuminating all directions;

The brilliance of devas, moon, and precious jewels

Shall be unable to compare.

I vow that in future lives

I shall always be the teacher of all beings;

Throughout myriad thousands of worlds,

I shall roar majestically like a lion.

Just as those Buddhas of the past

Practiced deeds of loving compassion

For immeasurable, boundless,

And innumerable sentient beings,

Perfectly fulfilling all their vows

So that all attained Buddhahood.

When this great vow was made,

The three-thousandfold great-thousand world-system

Quaked throughout the ten directions.

Devas and humans in the sky

Scattered many kinds of flowers,

Sandalwood and aloeswood,

And praised the great bhiksu:

‘The power of his vows is exceedingly rare;

He shall certainly attain Buddhahood

And benefit all living beings.’

“Ananda! At that time, Bhiksu Dharmakara made these vows before the Tathagata Lokesvararaja and the devas, humans, maras, brahmas, renunciants, brahmins, asuras, and others. The bodhisattva abided in true wisdom, practiced with heroic vigor, and cultivated immeasurable virtues to adorn his Buddha land.

He entered meditative concentration for innumerable kalpas and cultivated the bodhisattva practices. He gave rise to no greed, anger, or ignorance, and entertained no perceptions of desire, anger, or delusion, nor perceptions of forms, sounds, fragrances, flavors, or tangible objects. His mind was not confused, his speech was not faltering, and his body was not indolent.

He delighted only in mindfulness of cultivating roots of goodness and in practicing the tranquil conduct of the Buddhas of the past. He forever abandoned falsehood, steadfastly upheld the disciplinary rules, always used affectionate speech, and brought benefit to sentient beings. He possessed profound faith in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha; honored and revered them; and was harmonious and gentle.

In accordance with the Dharma gateway of ultimate truth, he planted every root of virtue. He comprehended emptiness, signlessness, wishlessness, non-arising, and non-ceasing. He carefully guarded the karma of speech and did not speak of the faults of others.

He carefully guarded bodily karma and did not transgress the disciplinary rules. He carefully guarded pure mental karma and remained undefiled. Villages, marketplaces, kingdoms, relatives, male and female servants, gold, silver, and jewels, and even forms, sounds, fragrances, flavors, and tangible objects—he was wholly unattached to any of these.

Instead, he constantly benefited sentient beings through the six paramitas: giving, morality, patience, vigor, meditative concentration, and wisdom. His deportment was perfect and his roots of goodness complete. Wherever Bhiksu Dharmakara dwelt, immeasurable and innumerable hundreds of thousands of kotis of nayutas of treasuries filled with precious jewels sprang from the earth.

The bhiksu taught and transformed immeasurable and innumerable hundreds of thousands of kotis of nayutas of sentient beings, causing them to arouse the aspiration for unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment. Such immeasurable and boundless bodhisattva practices cannot all be described.

“Ananda! At that time, while Bhiksu Dharmakara practiced the bodhisattva path, he continually revered, honored, attended upon, and made offerings to all Buddhas without interruption. Sometimes he became one of the Four Great Heavenly Kings and continually went before the Buddhas to bow reverently, attend upon them, and make offerings. He became a king of the Yama Heaven, the Tusita Heaven, the Heaven of Delight in Creation, the Heaven of Mastery over Others' Creations, and even a Great Brahma King, and continually went before the Buddhas to bow reverently, attend upon them, and make offerings.

“Ananda! In Jambudvipa, Bhiksu Dharmakara became an anointed wheel-turning king, a great minister, and an official of noble lineage, and continually went before the Buddhas to bow reverently, attend upon them, and make offerings. He became a ksatriya, brahmin, and so forth, and went before the Buddhas to bow reverently, attend upon them, and make offerings. Thus, throughout immeasurable and innumerable hundreds of thousands of myriads of kotis of kalpas, he drew near to all Buddhas, planted many roots of virtue, and accumulated unsurpassed awakening wisdom.

“Ananda! When Bhiksu Dharmakara practiced the bodhisattva path, the fragrance of sandalwood continually issued from his mouth, while the fragrance of utpala flowers issued from every pore of his body. These fragrances pervaded immeasurable, boundless, inconceivable hundreds of thousands of nayutas of yojanas. All sentient beings who smelled these fragrances aroused the aspiration for unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment.

“Ananda! When Bhiksu Dharmakara practiced the bodhisattva path, his appearance was dignified and handsome, endowed with the thirty-two excellent marks and eighty minor characteristics. He also adorned both hands with every kind of jewel. From his hands continually came all kinds of garments, foods, banners, canopies, music, and even every supreme necessity. With them he brought peace, joy, and benefit to all sentient beings and caused them to arouse the aspiration for unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment.”

At that time, after the Venerable Ananda had heard the Buddha teach about the bodhisattva practices of Bhiksu Dharmakara, he asked:

“Blessed One! Was Bhiksu Dharmakara a Buddha of the past, a Buddha of the future, or a Buddha of the present?”

The Blessed One replied:

“That Buddha-Tathagata comes from nowhere and goes nowhere. He is neither born nor extinguished and belongs neither to the past, present, nor future. He manifests solely to fulfill his vows and liberate sentient beings.

“At present, in the western direction, a hundred thousand kotis of nayutas of lands beyond Jambudvipa, there is a world named Sukhavati. Its Buddha is named Immeasurable Life. More than ten kalpas have passed since he attained Buddhahood, and he is now teaching the Dharma to immeasurable and innumerable great bodhisattvas and immeasurable and innumerable sravakas, who reverently surround him. That Buddha's light universally illuminates immeasurable Buddha lands in the eastern direction, numbering as many as the sands of the Ganges multiplied by hundreds of thousands of kotis of nayutas. It is likewise in the south, west, north, the four intermediate directions, above, and below.

“Ananda! Buddha Immeasurable Life manifests perfect halos of light extending one yojana, two yojanas, three yojanas, a hundred yojanas, a thousand yojanas, a hundred thousand yojanas, or hundreds of thousands of kotis of nayutas of yojanas, until their brilliance fills immeasurable, boundless, innumerable Buddha lands.

“Ananda! This light is named Immeasurable Light, Unobstructed Light, Ever-Illuminating Light, Unfailing Light, Beneficial Light, Delightful Light, Peaceful Light, Liberating Light, Unequaled Light, Inconceivable Light, Light Beheld for a Month, Light That Severs All Worlds, and Stainless Pure Light. Such light universally illuminates all worlds throughout the ten directions. Devas, nagas, yaksas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kimnaras, mahoragas, humans, nonhumans, and others who see this light arouse the aspiration for bodhi and attain benefit, peace, and joy.”

The Buddha said to Ananda:

“If I were to describe the virtues and benefits of this light throughout an entire kalpa, I could not exhaust them.

“Ananda! Tathagata Immeasurable Life has hundreds of thousands, myriads, a hundred thousand, a million, one koti, a hundred kotis, a thousand kotis, numbers of kankara, numbers of bimbara, numbers of nayuta, numbers of ayuta, numbers of vivaha, numbers of vevana, numbers of nanga, numbers of asamkhyeya, ten asamkhyeyas, a hundred asamkhyeyas, a thousand asamkhyeyas, a hundred thousand asamkhyeyas, numbers of amaneya, and inconceivable numbers. Thus, his immeasurable and innumerable assembly of sravakas cannot be calculated by analogy or mathematical reckoning.

“Ananda! Mahamaudgalyayana is foremost in spiritual powers and can know in one day and one night how many people inhabit a three-thousandfold great-thousand world-system. Suppose the spiritual powers of hundreds of thousands of kotis of sravakas were all equal to Maudgalyayana's and every one of those sravakas lived for hundreds of thousands of kotis of nayutas of years. Even the combined years of all those sravakas would not suffice to count one hundredth of the sravakas in that Buddha land.

“Ananda! Suppose the great ocean were eighty-four thousand yojanas deep and boundless in breadth. Suppose someone divided a single hair into a hundred koti parts, each as minute as a mote of dust, then dipped one dust-fine portion of that hair into the water, so that a corresponding amount of water adhered to it. If that hair were thus dipped into the water, which would be greater: the water adhering to the hair or the water in the ocean?”

The Venerable Ananda said to the Buddha:

“Blessed One! The water adhering to the hair would not equal even half the smallest possible unit, whereas the water in the ocean is immeasurable.”

The Buddha said to Ananda:

“If all those sravakas, each equal to Maudgalyayana, spent their entire lifespans counting, those they could enumerate would be like the water on the tip of that dust-fine hair, while those remaining unknown would be like the water in the great ocean. Thus, Buddha Immeasurable Life has an immeasurable assembly of sravaka disciples that cannot be calculated. His land is infinitely prosperous, and its people experience only happiness, never suffering. There are no realms of hell-beings, hungry ghosts, or animals, no Yamaraja, and none of the retributions of the eight adversities. There are only pure sravakas, bodhisattvas, and great bodhisattvas.

“Ananda! The Buddha land of Immeasurable Life contains many kinds of jeweled pillars adorned with hundreds of thousands of precious substances: pillars of gold, silver, vaidurya, crystal, pearl, mother-of-pearl, and agate. Some pillars are composed of two precious substances, gold and silver; some of three—gold, silver, and vaidurya; some of four—gold, silver, vaidurya, and crystal; some of five—gold, silver, vaidurya, crystal, and pearl; some of six—gold, silver, vaidurya, crystal, pearl, and mother-of-pearl; and some of seven—gold, silver, vaidurya, crystal, pearl, mother-of-pearl, and agate.

“Ananda! The Buddha land of Immeasurable Life contains many kinds of jeweled trees:

“There are trees whose bases, roots, branches, and trunks are made of gold, while their flowers, leaves, fruits, and seeds are made of silver.

“There are jeweled trees whose bases, roots, branches, and trunks are made of silver, while their flowers, fruits, and seeds are made of vaidurya.

“There are jeweled trees whose bases, roots, branches, and trunks are made of vaidurya, while their flowers, fruits, and seeds are made of crystal.

“There are jeweled trees whose bases, roots, branches, and trunks are made of crystal, while their flowers, fruits, and seeds are made of pearl.

“There are jeweled trees whose bases, roots, branches, and trunks are made of pearl, while their flowers, fruits, and seeds are made of mother-of-pearl.

“There are jeweled trees whose bases, roots, branches, and trunks are made of mother-of-pearl, while their flowers, fruits, and seeds are made of vaidurya.

“There are jeweled trees whose bases, roots, branches, and trunks are made of agate, while their flowers, fruits, and seeds are made of gold.

“There are jeweled trees whose bases are gold, trunks silver, branches vaidurya, treetops crystal, leaves pearl, flowers mother-of-pearl, and fruits agate.

“There are jeweled trees whose bases are silver, trunks vaidurya, branches crystal, treetops pearl, leaves mother-of-pearl, flowers agate, and fruits gold.

“There are jeweled trees whose bases are vaidurya, trunks crystal, branches pearl, treetops mother-of-pearl, leaves agate, flowers gold, and fruits silver.

“There are jeweled trees whose bases are crystal, trunks pearl, branches mother-of-pearl, treetops agate, leaves gold, flowers silver, and fruits vaidurya.

“There are jeweled trees whose bases are pearl, trunks mother-of-pearl, branches agate, treetops gold, leaves silver, flowers vaidurya, and fruits crystal.

“There are jeweled trees whose bases are mother-of-pearl, trunks agate, branches gold, treetops silver, leaves vaidurya, flowers crystal, and fruits pearl.

“There are jeweled trees whose bases are agate, trunks gold, branches silver, treetops vaidurya, leaves crystal, flowers pearl, and fruits mother-of-pearl.

“In this Sukhavati world, every row of trees is fashioned from the seven precious substances.

“Ananda! The Buddha land of Immeasurable Life is pure, magnificent, spacious, level, and orderly. It has no hills, pits, thorns, sand, stones, soil, gravel, or such mountains as the Black Mountains, Snow Mountains, Jewel Mountains, Gold Mountains, Mount Sumeru, the Cakravada Mountains, or the Great Cakravada Mountains. Pure gold alone serves as its ground.”

Having heard the Buddha's teaching, the Venerable Ananda asked:

“Blessed One! The devas of the Four Great Kings and the Thirty-three rely upon Mount Sumeru, king of mountains. Upon what, then, do the Yama devas and others rely?”

The Buddha said to Ananda:

“The devas of the Yama and Tusita heavens, and even all devas of the form and formless realms, dwell supported by empty space.”

The Venerable Ananda said to the Buddha:

“The realm of empty space has no boundary. How can they dwell there? The causes and retributions of karma are inconceivable.”

The Buddha said to Ananda:

“The retribution-body that you yourself possess is also inconceivable. The karmic retributions of sentient beings are also inconceivable. The sacred power of all Buddhas is inconceivable.

Although the Buddha land of Immeasurable Life has no great ocean, rivers and streams flow and intersect everywhere. These currents are ten yojanas, twenty yojanas, thirty yojanas, or even hundreds of thousands of yojanas wide. Their waters are twenty yojanas deep, limpid and endowed with the eight virtues.

They produce wondrous sounds like hundreds of thousands of myriads of kinds of music resounding throughout the Buddha lands. All sentient beings who hear these sounds feel great joy and satisfaction. On both banks of the streams grow innumerable fragrant sandalwood trees.

Their fruits are abundant and luxuriant, while flowers and grasses are perpetually fragrant and radiate sparkling light. If sentient beings in that land wade into these waters and wish the water to reach their feet, knees, or even their necks; if they wish it cold or warm, swift or slow, in every case the water accords with their wishes and gives them pleasure. From these waters issue many kinds of sounds: sounds of the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha; sounds of calm and insight; sounds of non-nature; sounds of the paramitas; sounds of the powers; sounds of fearlessness; sounds of complete penetration; sounds of non-activity; sounds of non-arising; sounds of non-ceasing; sounds of quiescence; sounds of great loving-kindness; sounds of great compassion; sounds of sympathetic joy and equanimity;

sounds of anointment; and many other wondrous sounds.

After hearing these sounds, sentient beings give rise to pure minds free from discrimination, upright and impartial. Their roots of goodness mature, and their minds never again retreat from unsurpassed awakening wisdom. Sentient beings dwelling in the Buddha land of Immeasurable Life never hear the sounds of hell-beings, hungry ghosts, animals, yaksas, contention, cruelty, divisive speech, killing, stealing, or any other evil.

Their appearances are beautiful, their merit and virtue immeasurable, their wisdom luminous, and their spiritual powers free and unimpeded. Their towers, palaces, parks, forests, ponds, garments, and bedding provide abundant and supreme pleasure, like those in the Heaven of Mastery over Others' Creations. Everything is rich, perfect, and complete.

“Ananda! When sentient beings in Sukhavati think of fragrant flowers and wish to offer them to the Buddhas, fragrant flowers, necklaces, powdered incense, anointing incense, banners, canopies, and music immediately appear according to their wishes and fill the Buddha land. If they think of food, medicines, garments, cushions, crowns, earrings, pearls, jeweled nets, or other things, those objects appear throughout the land in accordance with their thoughts. If they think of mani jewels and other treasures to adorn palaces, towers, houses, and rooms, whether large or small, high or low, then as soon as they think of them, all those objects appear before their eyes, complete and exactly as desired.

“Ananda! Suppose a person of little wealth were compared with the awesome majesty of an anointed ksatriya king; the former would be of no account. Yet an anointed ksatriya compared with the majesty of Sakra, Lord of the Devas, would be of no account. Sakra compared with the majesty of the Heaven of Mastery over Others' Creations would be of no account. All the majesty of the Heaven of Mastery over Others' Creations, and of the form and formless realms, compared with the Sukhavati land of Tathagata Immeasurable Life, would be of no account whatsoever. Therefore, the meritorious adornments of Sukhavati are inconceivable.

“Ananda! In Sukhavati, whenever it is time to eat, a fragrant wind spontaneously arises and stirs the jeweled trees. As the trees touch one another, they produce wondrous sounds that expound the paramitas, suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and non-self.

The wind also causes flowers to fall from the trees and cover the ground throughout the Buddha land to a height of seven persons. They lie level and orderly, magnificent, soft, bright, and pure. When people walk over them, they need only tread lightly and the ground sinks four finger-widths, as soft as kalinna cloth touching the body and bringing bliss.

After the meal, these jeweled flowers disappear into the earth and can no longer be seen. A short while later, the wind rises again, stirs the trees, and causes flowers to fall over the entire ground as before. It is likewise at the beginning and end of the night.

“Ananda! Sukhavati has no darkness, stars, sun, moon, day, or night. There is neither taking nor relinquishing, nor any discrimination. It is wholly pure, unmixed, and uniform, and there is only the experience of supreme, pure bliss. Any man or woman who has been born or will be born in Sukhavati is certain to realize unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment. Why? Because that land is free from three faults:

1. The mind is not false.

2. One's stage is irreversible.

3. Goodness is never lost.

“Ananda! In the eastern direction, Buddhas and Tathagatas in worlds as numerous as the sands of the Ganges are displaying their broad and long tongues, emitting immeasurable light, and speaking truthful words in praise of the inconceivable virtues of Buddha Immeasurable Life.

“In the southern direction as well, Buddhas and Tathagatas in worlds as numerous as the sands of the Ganges are displaying their broad and long tongues, emitting immeasurable light, and speaking truthful words in praise of the inconceivable virtues of Buddha Immeasurable Life.

“In the western direction as well, Buddhas and Tathagatas in worlds as numerous as the sands of the Ganges are displaying their broad and long tongues, emitting immeasurable light, and speaking truthful words in praise of the inconceivable virtues of Buddha Immeasurable Life.

“In the northern direction as well, Buddhas and Tathagatas in worlds as numerous as the sands of the Ganges are displaying their broad and long tongues, emitting immeasurable light, and speaking truthful words in praise of the inconceivable virtues of Buddha Immeasurable Life.

“Likewise, in the four intermediate directions, above, and below, Buddhas and Tathagatas in worlds as numerous as the sands of the Ganges are displaying their broad and long tongues, emitting immeasurable light, and speaking truthful words in praise of the inconceivable virtues of Buddha Immeasurable Life.

“Ananda! Why do all Buddhas manifest in this way? Because they wish to enable sentient beings to hear that Buddha's name, give rise to pure minds, remember and uphold it, take refuge, make offerings, and seek birth in Sukhavati. After death, all such people are born in the world of Sukhavati and become irreversible from unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment.

“Ananda! If a good man or good woman hears this sutra and wholeheartedly receives, upholds, reads, recites, copies, and makes offerings to it, continuously seeking birth in Sukhavati by day and night, then at the approach of death, Tathagata Immeasurable Life and the sacred assembly shall appear directly before that person. In but a moment, that person shall be born in the world of Sukhavati and become irreversible from unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment.

“Ananda! If a good man or good woman has aroused the aspiration for bodhi, firmly observes the precepts without transgression, and brings abundant benefit to sentient beings; dedicates all roots of goodness that have been created to all beings so that they may attain peace and joy; and remains mindful of Tathagata Immeasurable Life and Sukhavati in the western direction, then at death that person shall assume many magnificent marks like those of the Buddha, be born in that jeweled land surrounded by sages and noble ones, swiftly hear the Dharma, and forever remain irreversible from unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment.

“Ananda! If a good man or good woman gives rise to these ten kinds of mind:

1. Not stealing.

2. Not killing.

3. Not engaging in sexual misconduct.

4. Not speaking falsely.

5. Not speaking frivolously or ornately.

6. Not speaking harshly.

7. Not speaking divisively.

8. Not coveting.

9. Not harboring anger.

10. Not being deluded.

“And if, day and night, that person continually contemplates Buddha Immeasurable Life and the many meritorious adornments of the Sukhavati world, sincerely takes refuge, bows in homage, and makes offerings, then at the approach of death that person's mind shall be neither frightened nor confused. That person shall immediately be born in Sukhavati, where immeasurable and innumerable Buddhas, Blessed Ones, praise the virtues of the name of Buddha Immeasurable Life. Having heard this Dharma sound, that person shall forever remain irreversible from unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment.

THE BUDDHA'S DISCOURSE ON THE MAHAYANA SUTRA OF THE ADORNMENT OF IMMEASURABLE LIFE

End of the Middle Fascicle