正法華經

Chapter 3: TIMELINESS

At that time, after the Venerable Shariputra heard the Buddha deliver this Dharma discourse, he rejoiced and was uplifted. He immediately rose, joined his palms, and addressed the Blessed One:

“Today, having heard the Blessed One expound this essential Dharma, my heart rejoices, for I have attained what I never had before. Why is this? Formerly, I often followed the Buddha and listened as he taught the bodhisattva vehicle.

I saw bodhisattvas follow the Buddha’s teaching and attain perfect enlightenment, while we were unable to take part; therefore, I felt profound regret, and my heart was wounded, for I believed myself incapable of comprehending it. I had lost the Tathagata’s wisdom. When walking in meditation alone—whether amid high mountains and dense forests, beneath a tree in a secluded place, or in a small, quiet chamber—I restrained my body and mind according to the Buddha’s teaching, yet my sorrow only deepened.

I believed that I had already attained the fruit. The Blessed One had spoken so many words to instruct and guide me, yet I still held fast to the resolve of the Lesser Vehicle. This was my fault, not the Tathagata’s.

The Blessed One expounded for me the Dharma of the Great Sage with impartiality, causing us to praise, revere, and uphold it. We believed that we had received the supreme teaching of the Tathagata and had even accomplished unsurpassed wisdom. We followed it, donned the Dharma robe, and established our vows of practice countless times.

“O Blessed One! Nevertheless, until now I have constantly reproached myself, reflecting day and night that, although I was born from the Dharma, I had not attained freedom, and that it was entirely through the Buddha’s grace that I escaped the evil destinies. Only now have I heard this Dharma.”

The Venerable Shariputra then spoke verses of praise:

Having heard the Buddha Vehicle,

The meaning of but one phrase,

I have transcended delusion—

Truly unprecedented.

The Dharma I have received

Is inconceivable.

Beholding the Most Honored One,

My heart rejoices all the more.

Suppose there are people

Who in the past have heard

The Dharma of peace and security

And delighted in it;

The dust of affliction,

Evil karma, and defilements—

Through faith in this Dharma,

All are likewise extinguished.

Day and night, I often,

While walking in meditation,

Or beneath a tree,

Sat calmly with one-pointed mind;

Or in a deep forest,

Amid the lofty mountains,

I sat absorbed in contemplation,

Thinking in this way:

Alas! Reproaching myself,

My heart obscured by evil,

Through the impartial Dharma

I attained the undefiled,

No longer bound to the three realms,

Reverently following the teaching,

Examining the faults of the past

And guarding against the future.

The Buddha’s golden body,

Adorned with the thirty-two marks—

I had strayed far from them

And did not adorn myself;

The eighty excellent characteristics,

Perfect and supremely wondrous,

Possessing every noble mark,

Requiring no ornament;

The faculties, powers, and liberations,

And the eight kinds of voice—

Within the impartial Dharma,

I deprived myself of them.

The Dharma of all Buddhas

Has eighteen distinctive qualities;

Such meanings of the Dharma

I had lost.

The voice that I heard

Resounded throughout the ten directions.

I heard and perceived

The Buddha’s compassion for the world.

Often dwelling alone,

Walking in meditation day and night,

I again reproached myself,

My mind continually reflecting.

Day and night I recollected,

Deeply deliberating within myself,

Thinking it over again and again,

Wishing to deliver myself.

I had to ask the Blessed One

The meaning of this:

Where had I gone astray

And thus lost the benefit of the Dharma,

When the Buddha’s wisdom

Was present before my eyes?

At every moment,

Pondering day and night,

I saw bodhisattvas,

Countless and numerous.

The Teacher of the world

Converted each according to what was fitting.

They heard

The Blessed One’s teaching,

As he expounded the power of the Dharma

For beings everywhere.

Regarding the immeasurable Dharma,

Their outflows were extinguished,

And all attained awakening

To wondrous wisdom.

I saw so many

Places of sacrifice,

Brahman ascetics and non-Buddhist practitioners,

And their false and deviant teachings.

Through these matters,

I understood the Buddha’s teaching,

Saw the gateway to liberation,

And proclaimed the Dharma of nirvana.

I understood completely

What was seen and practiced,

And at the same time thoroughly penetrated

Emptiness and impermanence.

Therefore, I believed

That I had attained cessation.

Only now do I know

That it was not true nirvana.

When one beholds the Buddhas,

Teachers of gods and humans,

The Supremely Victorious Ones,

Surrounded by assemblies,

With their thirty-two excellent marks

And radiant light,

One thereby clearly understands

Nirvana without remainder.

I heard the Buddha say

That all suffering and affliction are removed,

And without relying upon sound,

Liberation is attained.

As I now understand it,

The Lion of Perfect Enlightenment

Is reverently attended

By gods and humans alike.

Through his awesome spiritual power,

The Buddha ever abides thus.

When I first heard

The Blessed One’s teaching,

I imagined that Mara Papiyan

Had assumed the Buddha’s form.

Yet the Buddha was not Mara

Come to inflict disturbance and harm.

Through causes and conditions,

The Buddha taught the Dharma and skillfully guided us.

Countless hundreds of millions of thousands

Displayed manifestations without number,

Skillfully establishing the farther shore

Beyond the ocean of the mind’s path.

Having heard this Dharma,

I cast off all doubts.

Countless myriads of thousands,

Hundreds of millions of Buddhas,

I have seen them all,

Though they have entered nirvana.

Like those Buddhas,

Who expounded the sutras and Dharma,

They skillfully used expedient means

To teach beings in accordance with their needs.

Suppose there are people

Who now practice the ultimate path;

The Buddhas of the future,

Myriads of millions of hundreds of thousands,

Will employ expedient means

To teach everyone skillfully,

Expounding the sutras and Dharma

And encouraging them toward nirvana.

According to their capacities,

They will teach and transform them with wisdom,

Making every distinction fully

And in proper sequence.

The Dharma of all Buddhas

Will thus be explained.

Immediately following the Buddha,

I heard the turning of the Dharma wheel.

The Great and Valiant Guide

Taught the Dharma of true wisdom.

I too am thus:

Relying upon this Dharma,

All the hosts of Mara

Dare not arise.

My mind is free

From hindering, deviant doubts;

It gives rise to gentleness and peace

Toward the exceedingly profound path.

Through the Buddha’s voice,

My heart rejoices.

Today, having heard it,

All my many doubts

Have been utterly extinguished,

And I abide in the wisdom of the sages.

I shall become a Buddha,

Freed from the net of doubt.

Gods and humans,

Together with their retinues,

Today behold

The Tathagata’s eye of the path,

Which helps me teach and transform

All sentient beings everywhere.”

The Blessed One said to the Venerable Shariputra:

“Today, amid this assembly of gods, humans, shramanas, Brahmans, and asuras, I proclaim throughout the heavenly and human realms that I know Shariputra formerly made offerings to three trillion two hundred billion Buddhas and was taught and transformed by those Buddhas so that he would attain the unsurpassed, true, and perfect path. I myself have constantly guided you by means of the expedient teachings of the bodhisattva path. Through these conditions, you practiced and attained accomplishment within my teaching. The Tathagata established you through his awesome spiritual power and also taught you to form the bodhisattva aspiration. Although you had not attained nirvana, you believed that you had.

“Shariputra! If you wish to recollect your former deeds in the presence of countless Buddhas, you should accept and uphold this Sutra of the Lotus of the True Dharma, which all Buddhas protect and keep in mind, and analyze and explain it for all the shravakas.

“Shariputra! In the future, after immeasurable, boundless, incalculable kalpas, you will make offerings to hundreds of thousands of myriads of millions of Buddhas, accept and uphold the true teaching, and reverently preserve and practice this Vaipulya sutra. Having fully accomplished all practices, you will become a Buddha named Lotus Light Tathagata, the Most True, the Perfectly Enlightened One, Perfect in Knowledge and Conduct, the Well-Gone One, Knower of the World, Unsurpassed One, Guide Who Tames Beings by the Dharma, Teacher of Gods and Humans.

That land will be called Free from Defilement. It will be level, peaceful, and joyful, brilliantly illuminated, pure in its way of life, secure in its dwellings, abundant in food, and densely populated. All the men and women of that land will be joyful and prosperous.

The land will have canopies of lapis lazuli and pure gold, with silken streamers suspended along both sides of its roads. At every crossroads will stand eight rows of trees made of the seven treasures, whose branches, leaves, flowers, and fruits will remain ever verdant and beautiful.

The Buddha Lotus Light likewise continued to teach and transform sentient beings through the Dharma of the Three Vehicles. He expounded the Dharma for an entire kalpa, and all the teachings he gave guided sentient beings toward the aspiration for the Great Vehicle. The age of the Buddha Lotus Light will be called Great Jeweled Adornment.

Why will it be called Great Jeweled Adornment? Because in that Buddha’s land, the bodhisattvas will be immeasurably and boundlessly numerous, inconceivable and beyond all reckoning; only the Tathagata will be able to know them all. The great bodhisattva beings in that Buddha-land will all possess luminous wisdom and precious virtues like lotus flowers.

They will not be newly awakened to the aspiration, but will have planted roots of merit for ages past, long cultivated pure conduct, drawn near to the Tathagata, constantly cultivated the wisdom of the Buddha, fully possessed great supernormal powers, abided securely in the True Dharma, and remained courageous and diligent. The bodhisattvas will always be present in full number, without diminishing. Therefore, that age will be called Great Jeweled Adornment.

The Buddha Lotus Light will have a lifespan of twelve intermediate kalpas, not counting the time when he is a prince. The people in his land will have lifespans of eight kalpas. After completing twelve intermediate kalpas, the Buddha Lotus Light will confer a prediction upon the bodhisattva Firm Fulfillment. He will tell the bhiksus:

– After my nirvana, this bodhisattva Firm Fulfillment will attain unsurpassed, true, complete awakening and will be called the Tathagata Who Crosses the Realm of Lotuses, the Perfectly Awakened One.

Sariputra! After the Buddha Lotus Light enters nirvana, the ages of the True Dharma and the Semblance Dharma will each abide in the world for twenty intermediate kalpas. The land of the succeeding Buddha will be exactly like the land of the preceding Buddha, without any difference. The Tathagata Who Crosses the Realm of Lotuses will likewise have a lifespan of twenty-two intermediate kalpas before entering nirvana. After that Buddha’s nirvana, his True Dharma and Semblance Dharma will each abide in the world for twenty-two intermediate kalpas.

At that time, the Blessed One spoke these verses:

O Sariputra!

In an age to come,

You will become a Buddha,

A Supremely Victorious Tathagata,

Called Lotus Light,

With the impartial eye of wisdom,

Teaching and transforming

Countless sentient beings.

You will serve

Immeasurable Buddhas,

Diligently cultivating

All practices to perfection,

Encouraging and transforming all beings,

Fully possessing the Ten Powers;

Thus you will accomplish

The supremely wondrous fruit of Buddhahood.

Inconceivable,

That kalpa will be truly immeasurable;

That kalpa will be called

Great Jeweled Adornment.

The world will bear the name

Land Free from Defilement.

That Buddha-land

Will be supremely pure,

With blue vaidurya

Spread across its level ground,

And gleaming golden cords

Stretched along the roads.

Countless kinds of trees

Will all be made of the seven treasures;

The flowers and fruits upon the trees

Will all be made of pure gold.

The bodhisattvas of that land

Will have steadfast resolve,

Accomplished in speech and conduct,

Possessing sagely wisdom and keen intelligence.

Those skilled in learning the Buddha Way

Will number myriads of kotis, hundreds of thousands;

All will already have attained

The supremely victorious teaching.

That Buddha, unobstructed,

While still a youth,

Will be free from indulgence,

Depart far from sensual desire,

Renounce the household life,

And accomplish awakened wisdom,

The unsurpassed Buddha Way.

That Supremely Victorious One

Will always attain sovereign mastery.

His lifespan

Will be twelve intermediate kalpas;

His teaching will abide

In the world for eight kalpas.

Such will be

The number of kalpas of that Buddha’s lifespan.

After the Buddha Lotus Light

Has entered nirvana,

For a full and complete

Twenty intermediate kalpas,

The Dharma will then abide,

Benefiting immeasurable, countless beings,

Out of compassion for devas, humans,

And all species everywhere.

When the Buddha’s True Dharma

Has come to an end,

The Semblance Dharma will abide

For twenty intermediate kalpas.

His relics

Will be widely distributed everywhere;

Devas, humans, ghosts, and spirits

Will make supreme offerings to them.

The virtue of that Blessed One

Will likewise be such.

O Sariputra!

Rejoice within yourself;

Your land

Will be adorned in this manner,

And in merit and wisdom you will be honored,

Without anyone your equal.

At that time, the fourfold assembly of bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas, and upasikas, together with devas, dragons, ghosts, spirits, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kimnaras, mahoragas, and others, heard the Blessed One predict that the Venerable Sariputra would attain unsurpassed, true, complete awakening. Their hearts were filled with such joy and exhilaration that it could not be expressed. Each removed his or her own robe and offered it to the Blessed One.

Sakra, king of the devas, Brahma, king of the heavens, and countless divine princes also offered celestial robes to the Blessed One, then scattered celestial flowers and fragrances, such as Mind flowers and Great Mind flowers, as offerings to the Buddha. The robes and flowers cast by the devas filled the whole sky and remained suspended there. Celestial music played of itself; thunder naturally resounded throughout the heavens, and flowers rained down everywhere.

The devas raised their voices together in praise:

– Blessed One! Today we have heard a Dharma never heard since ancient times. Formerly, in the Deer Park in the land of Varanasi, the Blessed One first turned the ineffable Dharma wheel. Today, the Blessed One once again expounds the unsurpassed wheel of the True Dharma.

At that time, the divine princes praised him in verse:

O Peerless One in the world,

Now you turn the Dharma wheel,

Expounding for all beings

The arising and cessation of the five skandhas,

Proclaiming the ultimate truth

And the sequence of the twelve links of dependent origination.

The Guiding Teacher expounds it,

Yet few wish to believe and understand.

O Great Sage in the world,

We have heard many true teachings,

But from ancient times until now

We have never heard this Dharma.

At the words taught by the Guiding Teacher,

We reverently rejoice in accord.

Sariputra of great wisdom

Has just received the Buddha’s prediction.

In the past we awakened the aspiration

And made offerings to countless Buddhas.

We hope, through their gracious aid,

To become supreme Buddhas.

Through all the meritorious benefit

And pure practices we have performed,

Serving the Buddhas of the past,

May we attain the Buddha Way.

Then the Venerable Sariputra addressed the Blessed One:

– Today I no longer have any uncertainty or doubt. Now, in the presence of the Blessed One, I have received the Buddha’s prediction that I will accomplish unsurpassed, true, complete awakening.

Blessed One! Have these twelve hundred who have attained mastery and liberation not always remained among those still in training? Has the Blessed One taught that they too will attain the fruit of Buddhahood as I shall?

These bhiksus have steadied their minds and conduct, observed the Dharma and discipline, escaped birth, aging, sickness, and death, and reached ultimate nirvana. These bhiksus have made offerings to countless myriads of thousands of Buddhas, studied the various Dharma gates, feared attachment to self throughout the three times, destroyed erroneous views, and established the practice leading to cessation, believing that they had attained nirvana.

Until now, they have never heard this teaching, so their minds are greatly perplexed and doubtful. Excellent, Blessed One! Please explain the essential meaning so that these bhiksus may cast off the net of doubt.

Now the entire fourfold assembly harbors sorrow. Please explain it so that they may be freed from thoughts of doubt and regret.

The Buddha told the Venerable Sariputra:

– Did the Tathagata not just expound this teaching? Through many skillful and expedient means, I have manifested teachings according to each person’s causes and conditions. All the teachings distinguished and expounded by the Tathagata, the Perfectly and Completely Awakened One, are for the sake of unsurpassed, true, complete awakening. You should know that whatever I praise is precisely for the bodhisattva path. Sariputra, the Tathagata will now give a parable to clarify this meaning further. Those possessed of wisdom will understand it more clearly through this parable.

Suppose that in a village of a certain land there lived a great elder, advanced in years and frail, who had difficulty standing and sitting. This elder was immensely wealthy and possessed a large house enclosed by high walls and tightly barred gates. The house was extremely old and dilapidated, yet hundreds of thousands of people lived within it. The house had only a single door and one gatekeeper. Its rooms were leaning and unstable; its pillars and beams were rotten; and its eaves, windows, and other parts were thickly overgrown with moss. Suddenly, a great fire broke out on one side and began consuming the house.

The elder had ten or twenty children. He wished them to leave that house, but the children remained absorbed in their play, eating, and drinking. At last, when they saw the flames rising, they all ran about, asking one another what to do, yet none knew the way out. The father thought: “Now this house is being consumed everywhere by a fierce fire. What means should I devise to save my children from this house?”

Knowing the preferences of each child, the father immediately set out various vehicles for their amusement, such as elephant carts and horse carts, placing them just outside the gate so that the children would quickly come out. He also beat drums and played wondrous music, and arranged delightful amusements to help his children escape the danger of the fire, promising to give them elephant carts, horse carts, goat carts, and handcarts. The elder said:

– I have prepared everything and placed it outside the gate. Children, quickly flee this burning house. You may enjoy yourselves freely according to your wishes.

Hearing their father’s words and his promise to give them elephant carts, horse carts, and music, all the children eagerly sought ways to use sand and water to extinguish the fire, and, jostling one another, hurriedly ran out of the burning house. When the elder saw that his children had safely escaped the burning house and were seated in an open space at the crossroads, his heart was relieved, and he no longer had any fear.

Each child said to his father:

– Father, please give me the elephant cart, horse cart, and delightful musical instruments that you promised.

O Sariputra! The great elder then gave each of his children an equally magnificent cart made of the seven treasures. The cart was very lofty and spacious, adorned with jeweled curtains all around and with exceedingly rare and precious treasures, as well as garlands strung upon cords of jewels and emitting a pure fragrance. It was spread with silk and furnished with soft cushions and pillows of beautiful colors. The animals drawing the cart were strong and handsome, gleaming white like flashes of lightning. Its canopy was covered with an exceedingly rare brocade. Every child received such a cart.

The elder thought: “I shall give all my children equally these excellent playthings. Why? Because these children are all my children, and I love them equally, without partiality. Therefore, I shall give them equally magnificent carts.”

O Sariputra! The Tathagata is also like this. The Tathagata is the father of all beings, and his treasuries are filled with precious things, lacking nothing. The Tathagata employs skillful means to teach and guide sentient beings, enabling them to develop wisdom and advance toward the Great Vehicle. When the elder’s children obtained the magnificent and beautiful carts, they regarded this as gaining something precious never possessed before, and rode them everywhere for pleasure. What do you think? Was the elder deceptive in giving his children such magnificent and precious carts?

Venerable Sariputra said to the Buddha:

– World-Honored One! There was no deception. That elder was entirely truthful. Why? Because he wished to save his children and prevent them from meeting the calamity of being consumed by fire. He promised to give them what each desired. After they had escaped from the burning house, he gave every child a magnificent and beautiful cart. Therefore, the elder was not false in the slightest. In the end, all the children obtained what they desired, for the elder had used skillful means to enable them to escape calamity. How much more so, since he knew that he possessed immeasurable treasuries of jewels and therefore gave equally magnificent carts to all his children. Truly, there was no falsehood.

The World-Honored One said:

– Excellent, Sariputra! It is exactly as you have said! The Tathagata is the Supremely True One, the Perfectly and Completely Enlightened One, whose light shines into every place of darkness throughout the ten directions. The Tathagata has attained liberation and completely severed the roots of affliction, fear, and sorrow. Through wisdom, the Tathagata clearly sees their branches, leaves, flowers, and fruits.

The Tathagata is the Dharma King endowed with spiritual power, the compassionate father of all beings, who skillfully employs expedient means and constantly thinks of saving sentient beings. He practices great and impartial compassion and the inexhaustible Way. Taking pity on the three realms, which are consumed by a fierce fire from which no being can escape, the Tathagata appears in the world to rescue sentient beings and enable them to transcend birth, aging, sickness, death, binding afflictions, and the frustration of their wishes.

The Tathagata also enables sentient beings to free themselves from craving, anger, and delusion. He guides them by teaching the Dharma of the Three Vehicles, encouraging them to cultivate gradually and leading them toward the unsurpassed, true, and right Way.

When the Tathagata appears in the world, he sees sentient beings consumed by deluded thoughts and insatiably craving wealth, fame, and pleasures; from sensual desire arise innumerable sufferings. At present they crave and pursue these things, and if they are not rescued, in the future they will fall into the hells or be born as hungry ghosts or animals, where they will endure unbearable burdens, burning, boiling, hunger, thirst, and pains beyond description.

Even if they are born in the heavens or among human beings, they suffer from separation from those they love, from being unable to meet them, and from immeasurable grief; therefore, they all wish to escape suffering. Yet sentient beings continue singing, dancing, and amusing themselves, unaware and unafraid of this calamity. Thus they cannot awaken by themselves, refuse to contemplate the source of suffering, and do not seek deliverance, but remain within that blazing conflagration.

Because beings in the three realms face such painful calamities, I must teach the Dharma and establish them in a place of utmost peace and security. This is the true wisdom of the immeasurable and inconceivable Buddhas. Sentient beings are filled with sensual pleasures and delusion.

To encourage them to realize fully the spiritual powers and wisdom of liberation, the Tathagata skillfully employs expedient means to teach them the wisdom of the Buddha and enables them to hear of the Buddha’s spiritual power and fearlessness. Yet sentient beings remain ignorant and refuse to believe or accept it. Because they are bound by causes and conditions, they cannot escape the calamities and sorrows of birth, aging, sickness, and death.

From time immemorial they have never escaped the burning of the three realms. If they do not clearly understand the Dharma in which to take refuge, how can they comprehend the Buddha’s enlightenment? It is like the elder whose wisdom and power were as mighty and steadfast as those of many strong men.

He first saved his children from the calamity of the burning house, using skillful means to exhort them and enable them to escape; only afterward did he give each child a magnificent, precious, and beautiful cart.

Likewise, O Sariputra! The Tathagata, the Perfectly Enlightened One, employs the power of fearlessness to establish virtues and skillfully uses expedient means. By cultivating courageous wisdom, he sees the three realms as a burning house.

Wishing to rescue sentient beings from suffering and calamity, the Tathagata manifests and teaches the paths of the shravaka, pratyekabuddha, and bodhisattva, using these Three Vehicles to exhort and transform them so that they may abandon sensual desire. The Tathagata teaches sentient beings to extinguish the fire within the three realms and free themselves from the bonds of lust, anger, and delusion, as well as from the inferior objects of form, sound, fragrance, taste, and touch.

Whoever clings to the five desires within the three realms will be scorched by the fire of those five desires. Those who do not rely upon the three realms will attain the Three Vehicles; by diligently cultivating these Three Vehicles, they will transcend the three realms. All Buddhas teach that one must diligently cultivate the Three Vehicles, and thus innumerable sentient beings gather upon the Way.

The World-Honored One has expediently taught these practices, enabling you to delight in cultivating the Faculties, Powers, Factors of Enlightenment, meditative concentration, Liberation, and the samadhis of right absorption. In future lives, you will attain immeasurable Dharma bliss, dwell in peace and freedom, and no longer be obstructed by anything.

Shariputra! If there are beings in whom faith has not yet arisen, the Tathagata appears in the world and brings them faith. They follow the Buddha, hear the Dharma, and diligently practice it; their ultimate aim is to attain nirvana. This is called the Shravaka Vehicle, whereby they seek the fruit of arhatship and transcend the three realms.

It is like the wealthy elder who, in accordance with his promise, bestowed carts upon his children after they had escaped the danger. If there is someone who, without encountering a teacher of the Dharma, leaves the household life on his own, seeks a secluded place, delights in solitary dwelling, awakens to the principle of dependent origination, and diligently cultivates according to the Tathagata’s Dharma, that person is said to follow the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle. It is also like the wealthy elder’s children: when they had left the burning house, he immediately fulfilled his promise and gave them horse-drawn carts.

If there is someone who seeks perfect wisdom, the Buddha’s wisdom and awakening, sovereign noble wisdom arising from one’s own mind, and wisdom attained without a teacher; who possesses great loving-kindness and compassion and wishes to bring peace and security to devas and human beings, to benefit devas and human beings, and to establish beings securely in the Buddha’s Dharma and bring them liberation—such a person diligently practices, seeks the fruit of Buddhahood, and possesses fearless wisdom that sees all things everywhere.

This is called the path of the Tathagata. Bodhisattva mahasattvas travel upon this path. It is like the wealthy elder who, to induce his children to escape the peril of the flames, promised them elephant-drawn carts so that they would run out of the burning house.

When the father saw that his children had safely escaped the burning house and reached a place free from fear, knowing that his wealth was immeasurable, he bestowed upon them equally magnificent great carts adorned with the seven treasures, without distinction. The Tathagata, the Perfectly Awakened One, is likewise. Seeing countless hundreds of thousands of myriads of kotis of beings, he wishes to save them from the three fearful and painful calamities.

Therefore, by virtue of the Buddha’s original vow, he opens the gate out of birth and death, enabling beings to escape terrifying dangers and attain the peace and bliss of nirvana.

Shariputra! At that time, from the house of the three realms, the Tathagata, employing immeasurable powers of wisdom and fearlessness, sees his children afflicted by suffering and distress. He therefore teaches and transforms them, causing them all to return to the Buddha Vehicle, without allowing each person to enter a separate nirvana according to his own inclination.

The Tathagata instructs them all and enables them to attain nirvana through the Tathagata’s own nirvana. If any beings escape the three realms, the Tathagata comforts and praises them with his wisdom, liberation, and meditative concentration, bestowing upon them the peaceful and joyful meaning of the Dharma, all of one character and one quality—the Buddha path. It is like that wealthy elder, who initially promised his children three kinds of carts but, after seeing that they had escaped the danger, bestowed upon each of them the same kind of great cart.

That wealthy elder was truly guilty of no falsehood. Each child, having received a cart, leapt and rejoiced beyond measure.

The Tathagata is likewise. At first he reveals the three vehicles, but afterward he teaches and transforms all beings, leading them all into the Great Vehicle. This is not falsehood. Why is this so? You should know that the Tathagata, the Equally Awakened One, possesses immeasurable precious treasuries and employs them with sovereign freedom. For all beings he reveals the great Dharma and teaches them spiritual powers, compassion, and wisdom. You should know and clearly understand this meaning: the Tathagata, the Perfectly and Equally Awakened One, skillfully employs the power of expedient means; through wisdom and words, he proclaims only the One Vehicle, namely, the Buddha Vehicle alone.

The Blessed One repeated this meaning in verse:

It is like a wealthy elder

Who had a great house,

Already exceedingly old,

Leaning and decayed.

Within the main hall,

Which was about to collapse,

The pillars, beams, rafters,

And purlins were rotten and broken.

All its eaves and doors,

Its windows and great gates,

And also its granaries,

Were made of wood and rammed earth.

Its high walls leaned and crumbled;

Its partitions were falling down.

The screens and roof coverings

Were exceedingly old and tattered.

At that very time within it

Were five hundred people,

All gathered together

And dwelling in that house.

Grass and trees grew everywhere,

Serving as sustenance

For countless domestic animals.

All the doors

Were kept tightly shut.

There were beautiful towers

And lotus flowers;

Countless fragrances

Spread their exquisite perfume.

So many kinds of birds

Gathered there with their own kind.

Insects and snakes,

And venomous bats flying and burrowing,

Were everywhere throughout the place.

There were vicious insects,

Many kinds of savage beasts,

Rats, centipedes, and scorpions,

Each known by a different name.

They shrieked and groaned

Everywhere upon the ground

Or in concealed places.

Feces and urine,

Filthy and foul, flowed everywhere;

Worms, maggots, and thorny growths

Filled the place in profusion.

Lions, wolves, and jackals

Bit and tore at one another,

Together chewing and gnawing

The corpses of the dead.

Anyone who heard them

Could not but be terrified.

Countless packs of dogs

Vied with one another to pounce;

They ran about frantically,

Struggling, scratching, and digging.

Everywhere, in every place,

Hungry ghosts then

Came to contend for food.

Exhausted by hunger and thirst,

They gnawed together.

When their voices arose,

The house became dreadful.

Such were its conditions.

There were spirits and demons

Whose hearts harbored venomous malice.

Flies, gnats, and fleas

Were also exceedingly numerous.

There were hundreds of kinds,

As well as goblins and specters,

Running about in all directions.

When creatures gave birth and suckled their young,

They came to snatch and devour them.

Goats and sheep of every kind

Were unable to escape

And return to their dwellings.

Although certain spirits and demons

Came to assist them

And keep them from harm,

They could not save them.

Those spirits and demons

Also devoured living beings.

Although already satiated,

Their hearts remained vicious.

Their classes were not the same,

And their lineages were diverse.

Some had died

And already been buried;

Their spirits emerged

And wandered about that place.

Kumbhandas and gandharvas,

Savage by nature,

Stretched forth both hands

And ran about everywhere.

No spell or incantation

Could drive them away.

They seized the dogs

By their two legs,

Forced them down,

And beat them.

They bound their legs,

Looped ropes around their necks,

Sat astride them in play,

And delighted in their hearts.

The black elephants,

Tall and immense in body,

Powerful in strength,

Roamed freely and boldly.

Daily afflicted by hunger and thirst,

They sought food and drink;

As soon as they saw grass or straw,

They hurried toward it.

There were insects with slender necks

And birds with iron beaks.

Amid the broad mounds,

Seeing human corpses,

Fierce and perilous evil ghosts

Tore their hair and cried aloud.

The ghosts filled the place,

Driven by hunger and thirst.

They lurked and searched,

Keeping watch in all four directions

Through the windows,

Unable to find any peace.

The wicked goblins and specters,

The hungry ghosts,

The savage birds, hawks, and beasts,

All searched for food and drink.

Such things as these

Filled the dreadful house.

It had a great garden

Whose partitions had collapsed;

Its rooms, doors, and buildings

Lay broken and fallen everywhere.

Only one person

Guarded the house;

That person remained within,

Staying there to watch over it.

One day the house

Suddenly caught fire;

All around on every side,

The flames blazed upward.

Countless thousands of people

Cried out in terror

As the fire burned ever more fiercely.

That wealthy elder,

Fearing his children would be burned,

Raised his voice in lamentation.

The house’s pillars toppled;

Its walls and partitions collapsed.

All the spirits and demons

Shrieked and called to one another.

The savage birds

Tried to fly away from the fire;

Countless owls,

Alarmed and bewildered,

And hundreds of thousands of goblins and specters

Fled in terror.

With their own eyes they saw

The flames roaring upward.

Immeasurable multitudes of creatures

Were reduced entirely to ashes.

Solely because their merit was meager,

They were consumed by the fire.

Everyone was horrified

To see the flames burning;

Nothing seemed to remain,

And blood and flesh flowed everywhere.

At that time, within this house,

All the fierce and powerful creatures

And every ghost and specter

Fought to seize and devour one another.

Foul smoke billowed upward;

They cheered and praised the savory taste.

Terrified, they fled wildly,

Circling about in bewilderment.

Snakes, centipedes, and scorpions,

Worms and insects filled the place.

The ghosts and specters freely

Seized and devoured them.

With fire burning above their heads,

They still wandered about in delight,

Driven by hunger and thirst to seek food.

Such was the deadly peril of the fire

Within that house,

So filled with terror.

So many people

Lay dead in heaps.

At that time the master of the house,

The powerful wealthy elder,

Seeing matters thus,

Quickly set aside all other affairs.

Hearing of the calamity of the fire,

He compassionately thought of his children.

They played music and sang,

Enticing them with precious carts.

Those foolish children

Neither understood nor knew;

They freely amused themselves,

Frolicking within.

When the elder heard this,

He hurried back inside.

The children did not understand

And gave no thought to escaping.

Now these children of mine

Are deluded and obstructed;

All are ignorant,

Neither seeing nor hearing.

Because they crave amusement,

They bind themselves.

The nature of these children

Is very difficult to change.

All living beings

Are of very many kinds.

Encountering the great conflagration,

They suffer anguish and pain.

Demons, spirits, and venomous serpents,

Harboring malice within;

Countless goblins and sprites

Leap about in delight.

Cobras, dogs, and wolves

Are too numerous to count;

Hungry and thirsty, they seek food,

Eating and drinking their fill.

These children of mine

Will die within.

Even without the danger of fire,

There would still be no joy:

Resentment, entanglement, and suspicion

Bring suffering such as this;

How much more so when all around

The flames blaze fiercely!

The foolish children

Willfully remain inside,

Absorbed in their games,

Frolicking without cease.

They refuse to reflect upon

Their father’s instructions;

Their own minds do not remember

To seek a way quickly to escape.

At that time the elder

Thought in this way:

‘These children were born to me,

And I endured hardships raising them.

Now fire has suddenly arisen,

Scorching and consuming everything.

How can I save my children

And free them from the danger of fire?’

Then he considered

And devised an expedient means:

‘Now my children

Are absorbed in singing;

Though disaster draws near,

They still continue to play.

How grievously ignorant they are!

They do not perceive suffering,

Nor recognize these evils

And the calamity before them.

My heart is filled with anxiety,

For the children are lost in play.

If they exert themselves,

They will escape the burning fire.’

He immediately devised a means.

Outside the house,

He carefully arranged music

And displayed every kind of plaything

That his children loved;

He bestowed them all.

He directed the musical measures,

And all were played at once.

When the children heard them,

They delighted in the music.

Everyone hurried forth,

Striving with all their strength.

All ran out

From the burning house,

Escaping their anguish.

The children gathered together

In a safe and joyful place,

No longer afraid.

At that time the elder,

Seeing his children emerge,

Felt relieved at heart,

And his mind became at ease.

He displayed all the playthings

And sat upon the lion throne.

Now his person

Was peaceful and secure;

Those painful calamities

Were forever gone.

Now these children of mine

Must summon the strength of diligence.

Deluded within the burning house,

They carelessly played,

As they had previously done,

Sleeping endlessly.

Where the fire blazed fiercely,

Those caught in this calamity

Were shrouded in delusion,

Their minds plunged in darkness.

Today they all

Have attained liberation

And reached a peaceful place,

In accordance with their wishes.

The father looked upon his children,

His heart truly at peace.

Then the children

Approached the elder and said:

‘Honored father, we beseech you

To bestow upon us,

As you promised before,

The various precious carts.

When we encountered the fire,

We were deluded and unaware.

Father, you instructed us:

“If you children obey,

I shall give you

Three kinds of precious carts.”

Now the time has come;

Please compassionately grant them to us.’

Then the elder

Ordered his treasuries opened:

Pure and precious gold,

Pearls, jewels, and jade,

Supremely wondrous treasures,

Exceptionally precious things,

Rarely found in the world.

He made great carts

Beyond compare,

Splendidly adorned,

With railings all around

And strands of jeweled necklaces;

Nets of silk brocade

Appeared exceedingly radiant.

Gold and silver interwoven

Covered the carts.

Garlands were suspended,

All fashioned from precious flowers.

On all four sides

Hung curtains cascading downward.

Layer upon layer upon the carts

Were spread sitting mats

Of every kind of brocade and silk,

Too many to enumerate.

Moreover, there were

Cushions made of soft silk,

Countless precious fabrics,

And rugs and mats covering the carts.

The adornments

Were worth hundreds of thousands,

Exceedingly rare,

And of immeasurable value.

Elephants of immense strength,

Pure white as blossoms,

With tall and massive bodies,

Majestic and powerful,

Were harnessed to the jeweled vehicles

To form the great carts.

When the elder

Had finished preparing the carts,

He gave them to his children, thinking:

‘These children

Are all my children;

I must bestow them equally.’

Then the children

Leapt about in joy,

Going everywhere,

Delighting in their play.

O Sariputra!

The Tathagata is likewise so:

He is the compassionate father

Who saves all living beings.

All the myriad kinds of beings

Are children of the Buddha.

Craving within the three realms,

They are bound by wrong views.

I see the three realms

As that burning house,

Filled with suffering and anguish,

With sorrow and distress unending.

This is to say that

All are afflicted by

Birth, aging, sickness, and death,

By pain, lamentation, and grief.

For the sake of the three realms,

The Buddha rescues the myriad beings.

Whether wandering in tranquil places

Or sitting within a forest,

He always, at the proper time,

Saves beings of the three realms.

Those scorched by the flames

Are all my children.

I awaken them all

And cause them to return of themselves.

With this intention,

I manifest those methods.

All living beings,

In their ignorance, do not believe or accept;

Attached to sensual desire,

They bind themselves.

I employ skillful means,

Acting as the great physician,

And distinguish the Three Vehicles

In order to teach living beings.

Throughout the three realms they hear

Of the many evils;

I teach them according to the occasion

And exhort them to transcend and escape.

Those bodhisattvas

Who come and take refuge in the Buddha attain

The three penetrations and six superknowledges,

And accomplish the great wisdom of the sages.

Some attain accomplishment

Through the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle,

Reach non-retrogression,

And realize the path to Buddhahood.

Those who presently

Follow the Buddha to liberation,

Through this parable,

No longer harbor regret.

Thereby they draw near

To the Buddha Vehicle,

Believe and accept all of it,

And become Supremely Victorious Ones.

Therefore, I proclaim

The teaching of impartial faith,

Subduing and eliminating defilements

For the entire world.

The wisdom of all Buddhas

And their distinctive virtue—

Bow your heads and take refuge in

The Most Honored One among Sages.

The faculties, powers, and liberations,

Single-mindedness such as this,

And right concentration in samadhi

Number in myriads of hundreds of thousands.

The children of the Buddhas

Always hold them in the highest reverence;

Therefore, this Dharma is called

The sublime and honored Great Vehicle.

Day and night they vow

To subdue the hosts of Mara;

Always diligent,

Their reverence and devotion never waver.

Throughout many years

And boundless kalpas,

They liberate living beings

In countless myriads of thousands.

The parable of the precious carts

Conveys this meaning:

By means of them they journey

To the Buddha’s place of enlightenment.

Countless children of the Buddha

Then rejoice;

Some listen attentively

And abide securely in cultivation.

O Sariputra!

Worthy one, you should know:

There is only One Vehicle,

And there is no second.

Go throughout the ten directions

And seek everywhere;

Know that the Tathagata

Skillfully employs expedient means,

Exhorting beings to cultivate gradually,

Proceeding from the lesser to the great.

First he reveals the sravaka path

And realization through the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle,

Whose virtue extends throughout the three realms,

Yet which merely abandons desire.

Afterward, he teaches

The great path of the bodhisattvas.

The Buddha’s grace permeates all,

Like fertile soil:

According to the seeds planted,

Different fruits are produced.

Though people plant different kinds of seed,

The earth neither increases nor diminishes.

The Buddha is likewise so:

For the sake of every kind of being,

He always teaches the great path,

Though practitioners receive it in differing measure.

Toward those beings,

The Buddha is the father of all.

The Buddha constantly observes

The suffering of living beings,

Who for countless hundreds of millions of kalpas

Have burned their own bodies.

Within the three realms,

Their dreadful suffering and calamities abound.

The Buddha acts as their guide

And enables them to attain nirvana.

O worthy ones!

Today you should know

To abandon birth and death

And escape the calamity of suffering.

Those bodhisattvas

Who abide in this Dharma,

Resolute and utterly sincere,

Comply with this parable.

All hear

Of the Buddha’s radiant wisdom.

The great Guides

Practice skillful means;

As bodhisattvas,

They must propagate the teaching.

Sensual desire is vile,

Evil, poisonous, and loathsome.

Those whose minds are darkened

Perceive only defilement.

Therefore, the Guide

Teaches them about suffering,

Teaching the Four Noble Truths

And distinguishing them clearly.

If people

Do not understand the various sufferings,

Remain attached to worldly defilements,

And have no wish to depart from them,

For the sake of such people

The Tathagata teaches

That the cause, the truth of accumulation,

Leads to suffering.

When sensual craving is eliminated

And one is never again attached,

Nirvana is attained.

Regarding these three teachings,

Those who understand clearly and without error

Attain liberation;

Or, by cultivating the Eightfold Path,

They immediately escape suffering.

O Sariputra!

Having transcended all such things,

They regard the absence of further appropriation

As liberation.

Yet in truth this is not

Complete liberation;

It is not yet final extinction.

They then encounter the Guide.

For what reason does the Buddha

Tell you that

You have not yet attained liberation,

That you shall certainly become Buddhas,

Shall become as I am,

Kings of all Dharmas?

Peacefully transmitting the Dharma,

The Buddha appears in the world.

O Shariputra!

My Dharma seal

Is the ultimate Dharma,

Skillfully proclaimed, subtle and wondrous,

Out of compassion for the devas

And the beings of the world.

Wherever one may be,

Should one propagate it alone,

If there is anyone

Who expounds this sutra,

Or anyone who encourages and assists,

Causing others joyfully

To hear this wondrous Dharma,

One should revere that person

And make ample offerings.

The Buddhas of the past

Received and upheld this Dharma

Until attaining non-retrogression.

If, furthermore, anyone

Joyfully believes in this sutra,

That person has, since former times, encountered

The Buddhas of the past,

Has also reverently followed

The Holy Honored Ones,

And has formerly heard

And revered this sutra.

Such people have all beheld

My dignified countenance,

And have also beheld

The assembly of bhikshus, the Sangha,

And have continually beheld

This assembly of bodhisattvas.

The virtue of one who believes in this sutra

Is likewise such.

All who behold

The bodhisattvas

And believe in this sutra

Are likewise so.

Those who are foolish and deluded

And do not wholeheartedly believe—

Were this sutra taught to them,

They would need spiritual powers to comprehend it.

Those who are shravakas

Cannot attain it,

And even pratyekabuddhas

Do not yet clearly understand it.

At present I have

Assemblies of shravakas,

Such as Shariputra,

Who firmly believe this Dharma.

Those shravakas

Believe in this great Dharma,

At present bringing all to an end,

Unbound by conditions.

If there is anyone

Who, toward this Dharma sutra,

Gives rise to slander against

The Supreme Buddha—

Such foolish and benighted people

Constantly harbor craving and desire

And have never clearly understood

The Dharma of the Unborn One.

For those who slander,

The Buddha, through skillful means,

Appears in the world.

The Buddha always clearly sees

Those who hear the Buddha's teaching

Expounding these offenses and blessings,

Yet whose minds are not joyful

And whose faces scowl.

Whether I still abide in the world

Or have entered parinirvana,

They do not assist bhikshus

In copying this sutra.

The Buddha teaches of their offense;

Everyone, listen well:

If anyone slanders

Such a Dharma sutra as this,

After losing the human body,

That person will fall into the Avici Hell.

Within this hell,

For an entire kalpa

Or for innumerable kalpas,

That person will remain; after this time,

Even when the offense is exhausted,

That person will still be habitually deluded.

If that person escapes

The realm of hell,

That person will again fall among

Animals and beasts,

Becoming a dog or jackal,

With an emaciated body,

Entering the homes of people

And constantly suffering harm.

If anyone hates

This Dharma sutra of the Buddha,

That person's complexion will continually change,

And the body will become dark.

Because of the offenses committed,

The face will be pallid,

The body thin and weak,

Never fresh or radiant.

For these causes,

That person will live in misery,

Pelted with tiles and stones,

Weeping and crying aloud.

That person will constantly be

Beaten, imprisoned, and bound,

Afflicted by hunger, thirst, and deprivation,

The body withered and ugly.

Falling among animals,

As a camel, mule, or donkey,

That person will constantly bear heavy loads

And again be beaten.

Tormented in heart,

That being will think only of grass and water.

For slandering this sutra,

Such is the punishment incurred.

Even if born as a human,

The entire body will be covered with scabs,

The countenance ugly,

And the body foul-smelling.

If that person enters

A hamlet, village, district, or settlement,

Children will scorn him,

Mocking and trampling upon him.

After that foolish person

Has died,

He will immediately be reborn

In poverty and degradation,

Or become a leech or worm,

Living upon blood and pus.

Or he will be deaf and mute,

Without freedom.

If anyone slanders

This sutra, the punishment incurred

Will be constant and numerous illnesses;

Maggots will arise in the body,

And many insects and vermin

Will burrow in and devour the flesh.

The mind will remain oppressed,

Never free from sickness and pain.

O Shariputra!

That man

Who does not believe this sutra

Is foolish and dull-witted,

Constantly living in stinginess,

His nature ever greedy.

He will be born blind

And forgotten by the world.

Obstinately refusing to believe

The Buddha's path of the Great Vehicle,

His mouth will always stink,

And his body will reek.

Demons, ghosts, and spirits

Will constantly dwell with him,

And whatever he says to others,

No one will believe.

If anyone takes no delight

In this teaching,

That person will constantly suffer poverty

And continual deprivation.

His body will never be clothed

In fine garments;

Even if his household possesses wealth,

He will not dare to eat or drink.

Whatever he undertakes

Will fail to accord with his wishes.

Suppose he seeks

Things that bring security and ease;

Even if he obtains them,

They will immediately be lost.

Those who perform evil deeds

Receive such retribution.

If a physician is summoned

To prescribe and prepare medicine,

Skillfully compounding it

And treating the illness according to proper methods,

The sickness will still not be cured.

The illness will grow more critical,

His maladies will persist,

And no cure will be found.

Suppose he intends

To establish some undertaking;

He will encounter disruption,

Conflict, and strife.

He will also suffer humiliation

And imprisonment.

One who transgresses against this sutra

Will suffer such calamities.

If anyone slanders

This Dharma sutra,

That person will not behold

The Teacher of the world,

The King among humankind,

Nor the Buddha's teaching.

In the end, that person will fall among

Ghosts, spirits, and asuras,

Constantly encountering calamities,

Deaf and unable to hear,

Foolish and deluded,

Never hearing the true Dharma.

If anyone

Slanders this sutra,

In future lives

That person will remain blind and benighted for an entire kalpa.

As the consequence of this offense,

He will encounter many calamities

Throughout innumerable periods,

For as many kalpas

As there are sands in the Ganges.

He will constantly be mute,

His mouth unable to speak

The Buddha's teaching,

Which is like the lion's roar.

The hell into which he falls

Will seem like a pleasure garden;

Falling throughout the evil destinies

Will seem like dwelling in his own home.

If one slanders this sutra,

So numerous are the offenses.

As a human, one will suffer many illnesses

And will constantly be mute.

While living in the world,

One will suffer this punishment;

Or, among other people,

One will speak lies and duplicity.

When about to pass away,

As life comes to an end,

One's body will constantly undergo

Countless sufferings—

Hundreds, thousands, myriads, and kotis

Of innumerable calamities.

The countenance will be dark,

And no one will wish to look upon it.

Afflicted with sores and leprosy,

One will accumulate foulness.

Clinging to a self,

With a dark complexion,

One will harbor remorse,

While malice continually increases.

Blazing with sensual desire,

Without any restraint,

One will also delight in perversity,

No different from an animal.

O Shariputra!

Today, even if the World-Honored One

Were to speak throughout an entire kalpa

Of the karmic retribution of those

Who slander and disbelieve

This Lotus Sutra,

Were one to reckon the time,

How could it ever be fully told?

Having understood this meaning,

One should carefully consider it.

Therefore, the Tathagata

Said to Shariputra:

Do not take this Dharma

And expound or analyze it

For foolish people

In the Age of the Semblance Dharma.

There are intelligent people

Who have heard much and learned broadly,

Whose resolve is firm and strong,

And who constantly cultivate the teachings;

Or there are those who have aroused the aspiration

And resolutely seek the Buddha's path.

Only to people such as these

May it be transmitted.

This unprecedented Dharma

May be taught to them because they have encountered

Hundreds of thousands of kotis of Buddhas

And planted innumerable

Meritorious virtues according to their aspirations.

The nature of such people's minds

Is luminous like the moon;

They are worthy to receive this teaching.

Such a scripture

May be taught to one who is diligent,

Who constantly abides in loving-kindness

Throughout both day and night,

Whose compassion shines brightly,

Who does not think of himself

And does not cherish his own life.

Only to such a person may it be spoken.

As for this provisional Dharma sutra,

One who always reveres it,

Who harbors no evil thoughts toward others,

Whose inner mind is single-pointed,

Who keeps far from ordinary people,

Who constantly dwells in secluded places

Or lives in concealment upon lofty mountains—

Only people such as these

May hear this Dharma.

One should befriend companions

Who lovingly assist one another,

And should know to keep far away

From evil friends.

When you see one such as this,

Know that person to be a child of the Buddha;

You should then approach that person

And teach this Dharma sutra.

One who does not violate the precepts,

Who is like a radiant precious jewel,

And whose resolve always accords with

The Great Vehicle scriptures—

Know that person

To be a child of the Buddha.

One who diligently cultivates this Dharma

And recites even one chapter of the sutra,

Though reviled

And humiliated,

Still cherishes loving-kindness

And compassion for sentient beings,

Sincerely revering

And practicing the Buddha's words—

Only to people such as these

Should this Dharma be taught.

If, amid the assembly,

A person recites this sutra,

Whose mind constantly accords with it

And who has understood much of it,

That person may employ even innumerable

Parables and expressions

To expound this sutra teaching

Widely for everyone.

Today the Tathagata

Expounds the factors of the path,

Leading to the ultimate destination,

And everyone rejoices.

If there is a bhikshu

Who wishes to seek the teaching,

Upon seeing this sutra,

He should joyfully and reverently receive it.

He upholds and practices

This Great Vehicle sutra,

His mind always diligent,

Taking no delight in other matters.

Upholding even a single verse,

His resolve never wavers.

Only then can they receive and uphold

This revered scripture.

If there is anyone

Who cherishes this sutra,

One should honor that person

As though honoring the Tathagata himself.

Or if someone reflects

And wishes to study this Dharma,

Once they have heard it,

They bow their head and reverently receive it.

That person no longer

Thinks of seeking other sutras,

Nor do they ever give thought

To worldly writings.

Practicing the Buddha Way,

With resolve grounded in the faculties and powers,

They relinquish all else

And devote themselves to expounding this sutra.

O Sariputra!

Even if, throughout an entire kalpa,

One were to present innumerable parables

And expound them with discerning detail,

Those who make the vow

To seek the Buddha’s awakened wisdom

Should take this sutra

And proclaim it widely everywhere.