正法華經

Chapter 1: THE AUSPICIOUS LIGHT

Thus have I heard:

At one time, the Buddha was dwelling at Mount Vulture Peak near the city of Rajagriha, together with a great assembly of twelve hundred bhiksus. They were all free from attachment; their afflictions had been entirely extinguished; they were no longer subject to worldly desires and were completely liberated. They had accomplished their own benefit, brought birth and death to an end, severed all bonds of worldly existence, transcended everything, attained liberation, and fully realized liberation of mind and liberation through wisdom.

Their names were Venerable Knower of the Ultimate Limit, Venerable Mahakasyapa, Venerable Uruvilva Kasyapa, Venerable Gaya Kasyapa, Venerable Nadi Kasyapa, Venerable Sariputra, Venerable Mahamaudgalyayana, Venerable Katyayana, Venerable Aniruddha, Venerable Kapphina, Venerable Gavampati, Venerable Revata, Venerable Pilindavatsa, Venerable Bakkula, Venerable Kaushthila, Venerable Nanda, Venerable Subhuti, Venerable Purnamaitrayaniputra, Venerable Subhuti, Venerable Ananda, Venerable Rahula, and others.

There were eighty thousand bodhisattvas, all irreversible from unsurpassed, right, and true enlightenment. They had attained the dharanis and the gifts of eloquence, constantly praised the turning of the irreversible Dharma wheel, and had made offerings to immeasurable hundreds of thousands of Buddhas. These bodhisattvas had planted roots of merit in the presence of immeasurable Buddhas and were constantly praised by them.

They continually practiced loving-kindness and compassion, entered into the wisdom of the Tathagata, were skilled in expedient means, and possessed penetrating wisdom reaching the infinite. For countless kalpas they had learned widely and heard much; their renown extended throughout the ten directions; and they aided immeasurable hundreds of thousands of sentient beings. They journeyed throughout the three realms like sunlight shining everywhere.

Knowing clearly that all dharmas are like illusions, magical transformations, mirages, shimmering heat, and echoes, their minds did not abide anywhere, nor did they regard beings as possessions. Although they manifested bodies with beginnings and ends, they neither came nor went; although they manifested forms and appearances, they were originally without form; although they manifested birth, they forever remained beyond arising and cessation.

They guided and benefited all beings without becoming attached to the three realms. They discerned the wisdom of emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness; transcended the three gates of liberation; and attained the three penetrating knowledges. They understood that thoughts in the present neither come nor go and revealed to all beings that dharmas are fundamentally empty.

Their names were Bodhisattva Boshou, Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta, Bodhisattva Constant Diligence, Bodhisattva Never Far from Wisdom, Bodhisattva Jeweled Palm, Bodhisattva Seal Hand, Bodhisattva Medicine King, Bodhisattva Wondrous Valor, Bodhisattva Jeweled Moon, Bodhisattva Moonlight, Bodhisattva Full Moon, Bodhisattva Great Deliverance, Bodhisattva Transcending the Immeasurable, Bodhisattva Surpassing the World, Bodhisattva Liberation from Bonds, Bodhisattva Jeweled Deeds, Bodhisattva Gracious Giving, Bodhisattva Heroic Giving, Bodhisattva Water Deva, Bodhisattva Sakra Devanam Indra, Bodhisattva Great Guide, Bodhisattva Wondrous Intention, Bodhisattva Maitreya, and others—eighty thousand such foremost bodhisattva mahasattvas.

At that time, Sakra, Lord of the Devas, was present with twenty thousand devas; the Sun Deva was present with countless attendants; the Moon Deva illuminated everywhere with precious light; and there were the Deva Precious Light, the Deva Radiant Splendor, the Four Great Heavenly Kings with ten thousand devas, the sovereign Deva Blazing Radiance of the Great Brahma Heaven with thirty thousand devas, the Deva Brahma Forbearance Accumulation with thirty-two thousand devas, Powerful Great Brahma with countless devas, and also the Brahma Deva Blazing Light with an innumerable great assembly. They all came to the Buddha, bowed their heads in homage, and sat to one side.

There were eight dragon kings, each accompanied by hundreds of thousands of countless attendants; four kinnara kings—Kinnara King Conforming to the Dharma, Kinnara King Great Dharma, Kinnara King Human Harmony, and Kinnara King Upholding the Dharma—and the gandharvas, each with their own retinues. They likewise came to the Buddha, bowed their heads in homage, and sat to one side.

Four devas of pure bodies—the Deva Soft and Gentle, the Deva Harmonious Sound, the Deva Beautiful Gentleness, and the Deva Delightful Resonance—also came to the Buddha, bowed their heads in homage, and sat to one side.

Four asura kings—the Asura Supreme Victor, the Asura Desiring Brocade, the Asura Dwelling in Repose, and the Asura Absorbing Breath—together with countless hundreds of thousands of asuras, also came to the Buddha, bowed their heads in homage, and sat to one side.

Four garuda kings—King Great Body, King Great Endowment, King Who Attained Spiritual Powers, and King Immovable—also came to the Buddha, bowed their heads in homage, and sat to one side.

King Ajatasatru of Magadha, together with his ten sons and countless attendants, also came to the Buddha, bowed his head in homage, and sat to one side.

The assemblies of devas, dragons, spirits, humans, and others all reverently took refuge and sat attending upon the Blessed One.

At that time, the Blessed One taught the sutra to the fourfold assembly and their gathered retinues surrounding him. He expounded for the bodhisattvas a Vaipulya Mahayana sutra transmitted through the pure deeds of the Buddhas. After teaching that sutra, the Blessed One ascended the lion throne, sat cross-legged, and serenely entered a state of meditative concentration and right absorption called Establishing Immeasurable Verses.

His body and mind remained utterly still. At the place where the Buddha sat, auspicious signs immediately appeared: flowers called Intention, Great Intention, Soft and Gentle Sound, and Great Soft and Gentle Sound rained down from the heavens and were scattered over the Blessed One and the fourfold assembly in the great gathering. The entire Buddha realm quaked in six ways.

At that time, the great assembly of bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas, upasikas, devas, dragons, ghosts, spirits, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans and nonhumans, kings, wheel-turning sage kings, and others all gazed single-mindedly upon the Blessed One. Their bodies and minds were filled with joy, and they marveled at this unprecedented event.

Then the Blessed One emitted a ray of light from between his eyebrows, illuminating eighteen thousand Buddha realms in the eastern direction. That light shone throughout those Buddha realms, reaching every place without exception, downward as far as the Avici Hell and upward as far as the Heaven of the Thirty-Three. It enabled everyone in the assembly of this world to see all the sentient beings of the six destinies and the Buddhas presently abiding in those worlds.

The assembly in this world likewise saw clearly every sentient being in those worlds. They heard the Buddhas of the ten directions teaching the Dharma of the sutras and saw bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas, and upasikas dwelling alone in secluded places, cultivating the path and attaining its fruits. They also saw bodhisattvas whose minds were tranquil and liberated, who had gone forth in quest of enlightenment. They further saw Buddhas in various worlds entering nirvana and holy disciples constructing jeweled stupas in their honor.

At that moment, Bodhisattva Maitreya thought: “Today the Tathagata, the Worthy One, the Perfectly and Completely Awakened One, has entered samadhi and right absorption and manifested a scene of miraculous transformation, enabling the many people in the assembly to behold what they have never seen before. Throughout the heavens, the human realm, and all places where the Buddhas are honored, everything has appeared with perfect clarity. What is the Blessed One about to do that he manifests this auspicious sign, the like of which has never been seen from ancient times until now? Whom should I ask? Who can resolve this doubt?”

Maitreya further thought: “Bodhisattva Boshou has completed all that was to be done, thoroughly comprehends all dharmas, has made offerings to countless Buddhas of the past, and has formerly attended upon Tathagatas, Worthy Ones, Perfectly and Completely Awakened Ones. Today I should ask him about these rare and auspicious manifestations.”

At that time, all those in the fourfold assembly—bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas, and upasikas—together with devas, dragons, spirits, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, mahoragas, and others, were filled with unprecedented uncertainty upon beholding the transformations wrought by the multicolored, resplendent light of the Great Sage’s spiritual powers. Each wished to question the Blessed One so that the net of doubt might be dispelled.

Maitreya, perceiving the thoughts of the assembly, asked Bodhisattva Bạc Thủ:

“Venerable One! For what reason has this auspicious sign appeared today? The Blessed One has emitted a great light illuminating eighteen thousand Buddha lands in the east, enabling the entire assembly to see and hear the Buddhas in those worlds expounding the sutras and Dharma.”

Maitreya then addressed Bodhisattva Manjushri in verse:

Bodhisattva Manjushri,

For what cause today

Does the Guiding Teacher

Emit a great light,

Multicolored and radiant,

Appearing between his brows?

Its wondrous transforming sign shines forth,

Illuminating all ten directions.

The heavens rain down flowers,

Filling every place:

Flowers of Intention and Great Intention,

Flowers of Soft and Gentle Sound,

Of countless varieties

And wondrous hues.

Fragrant sandalwood

Delights all beings;

Everywhere it renders all

Lofty, pure, and adorned.

Today the fourfold assembly

Rejoices in exultation.

This Buddha land

And the worlds of the ten directions

All quake and tremble

In all six ways.

That radiant light

Illuminates throughout the east,

Eighteen thousand lands

Penetrated and made resplendent.

The worlds of the Buddhas,

Golden in hue,

Magnificent and dazzling,

Are illuminated everywhere.

All beings in every place

Receive its beneficent grace,

From the Realm of Form above

Down into Avici Hell.

All sentient beings,

Through conditions of ignorance,

Are submerged and fallen,

Revolving through the six destinies.

Those in this assembly

Behold the causes and conditions

Of transmigration through every path,

Now appearing pure and adorned.

The wise and good, the fierce and cruel,

Among the various kinds of beings—

From where I stand,

I see them all distinctly.

I also see the Buddhas

Raise their majestic voices,

Expounding the sutras and Dharma,

Revealing the gates of Dharma,

Eliminating immeasurable evils

For sentient beings.

They extol the sacred teaching

With gentle words

And profound, wondrous voices,

Causing people to rejoice

And of themselves depart entirely

From the realms they have inhabited.

They teach by means of parables,

Employing countless methods,

Clearly distinguishing

The Buddha-Dharma.

All sentient beings

Create manifold suffering and calamity;

Through skillful means,

They remedy aging, sickness, and death.

For all the multitude of beings,

They teach the Dharma of quiescent cessation.

Bhiksus, you should know:

All the people here,

Afflicted and impoverished,

Attain peace and joyful ease;

Only after accumulating merit

Do they encounter the Holy Venerable One,

Resolutely seeking to attain

The pratyekabuddha path and the One Vehicle.

They enable everyone,

Through this work of the path,

To behold the supreme Buddha

And the scriptural texts.

Some aspire to seek

Unsurpassed wisdom.

All throughout the world,

Whatever forms are seen,

The myriad sentient beings

Praise the Buddha’s virtues.

Venerable Manjushri,

The things of which I have spoken

And set forth here

I now both hear and see.

Beyond these are countless

Thousands, myriads, and kotis of beings

Coming and going there;

I see them all distinctly.

I also see Buddha lands

Beyond all reckoning,

And bodhisattvas

As numerous as the sands of the Ganges,

In thousands, hundreds, and kotis,

Without the least diminution,

Resolutely striving onward

And developing the mind of the path.

Some relinquish

Their wealth and possessions,

Practicing generosity with

Gold, silver, and jewels,

Precious mani gems,

Mother-of-pearl and agate,

Servants, horses, and carriages,

Beds, seats, and stools,

Priceless objects,

And necklaces of coral.

Possessing all such things,

They give them all away

So as to encourage others toward

The supreme Buddha path.

All beings and I

Hear that sound,

Abide firmly, and praise

The great vehicle of Perfect Awakening,

Which courses throughout the three realms

Without obstruction.

Everyone swiftly

Fulfills the aspiration of the mind.

Some bring forth vehicles

And offer them in generosity,

Together with flowers and music,

And ornamented railings;

Flutes and pipes

Make delightful melodies.

These four kinds of things

They joyfully give away.

In making these gifts,

Their minds are free of miserliness.

Wives, concubines, grandchildren, and children,

Carts for riding and wagons for hauling—

Some, with extraordinary resolve,

Give their hands, feet, and lives,

Without attachment or regret;

They offer them all,

Resolutely aspiring to seek

The unsurpassed Buddha path.

Giving away and relinquishing their bodies,

They offer everything—

Heads, eyes, and bodily limbs—

Without the slightest regret.

The purpose of their giving

Is the hope of realizing the Buddha path,

Fulfilling their aspiration for

The Tathagata’s awakened wisdom.

Bodhisattva Manjushri,

I see kings and rulers,

Together with their retinues,

Departing to enter the monastic life.

Queens and consorts within the palace,

Nobles and palace maidens,

Those of peaceful noble lineages,

All come together to worship the Buddha.

Listen to Dharma Teacher Minh-Quang Nguyễn Lê Đức’s lecture at Hải-Đức Temple at 11:00 a.m. on October 11, 2009. Right-click to download.

Relatives and close friends

All approach the Teacher of the Path

To inquire about the scriptures

From the Dharma King.

They cast aside worldly garments,

Shave off their hair and beards,

And don the kasaya,

Wearing it as their Dharma robe.

I see a great multitude

Of bodhisattvas

Appearing as bhiksus,

Dwelling upon mountain peaks

In tranquil solitude.

Penetrating the meaning of emptiness,

Some preserve the sutras,

Reciting and praising them.

I also behold

Assemblies of bodhisattvas,

Vigorous and courageous,

Entering deep into the mountains.

With single-minded contemplation,

They observe all characteristics,

Expound and distinguish them,

And elucidate the Buddha Vehicle.

They cast off craving and desire,

Never to possess them again,

Constantly cultivating themselves

And seeking right conduct.

Abiding there,

Never leaving secluded places,

They bring to fulfillment

The five spiritual powers.

I also see bodhisattvas

Whose resolve is firm,

Facing toward the Buddhas

With palms joined in reverence.

Their minds are ever joyful

As they praise the Buddha’s virtues,

Using myriads of thousands of verses

To extol the Dharma King.

With hearts free from fear,

Courageous resolve, and harmonious bearing,

They clearly distinguish

The work of renunciation.

They inquire into the teachings

From the Honored One, Perfect in Both Wisdom and Conduct;

Having heard, they receive them,

Remember, preserve, and uphold them.

First they cultivate them themselves,

Then teach everyone else.

Now I further see

Disciples of the Buddhas

Expounding the wondrous Dharma

For beings everywhere.

The good results now appearing

Are innumerable beyond reckoning;

With joyful minds,

They take refuge in the true Dharma.

They encourage, advance, enlighten, and transform

Countless bodhisattvas,

Vanquishing the maras

And all their kindred retinues.

Resoundingly they beat

The drum of the true Dharma,

Proclaiming the words of the Sugata.

I now also see

Devas, spirits, and humans

Offering wholehearted reverence

And abiding there.

Their minds rely upon nothing

And become ever more tranquil and empty.

In meditation and walking contemplation,

They are without attachment.

Like lions,

They teach and transform sentient beings,

Causing them to arouse the mind of the path.

The sentient beings here

Join their palms and make offerings,

Their minds constantly joyful,

Gathering freely together.

I also see children of the Buddha

Living lives of diligent striving,

Renouncing sensual defilements

And ever dwelling at ease.

With steadfast resolve they practice walking meditation

Amid secluded forests;

Aspiring to advance in cultivation,

They diligently seek the Buddha path.

Guarding body and speech,

They constantly practice purity,

Abiding in the precepts of Dharma

And fearing neither birth nor death.

Mastering their own minds,

They perfect all practices.

Through these precepts and prohibitions,

They awaken those who are unaware.

The children of the Supreme Victor

Abide in the strength of patience;

Before the arrogant,

They humble themselves and bow low.

Though others strike them,

Revile, curse, and despise them,

For the sake of seeking awakened wisdom,

They remain silent and do not contend.

I now also see

Assemblies of bodhisattvas

Renouncing all

Games, songs, and music,

Together with influence,

Relatives, and friends.

They keep their minds steadfast,

Still as empty space,

Casting off defilements

And disturbances of body and mind.

They unify their minds and thoughts,

Entirely cutting off the skandhas and hindrances,

Practicing meditative contemplation

For hundreds of thousands of kotis of years.

They resolve to practice generosity

In order to seek the Buddha path.

Some voluntarily distance themselves

From places of abundant gain and support,

Eliminating greed and envy

So that they no longer entertain such thoughts.

They offer food and drink,

Providing them fully

For countless people;

They offer medicines for treating illness,

Giving everything they possess.

Fine garments

They offer entirely,

Keeping none in storage.

Countless are the offerings

They make to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.

Above these, they conjure forth

Hundreds of thousands of myriads of kotis

Of rare and precious treasures,

Fragrant sandalwood,

Numerous couches and seats,

And stores of luminous jewels,

Manifesting before their eyes—

The value of those jewels

Truly beyond measure,

They offered them all as gifts.

Again, he saw gardens and groves,

With trees, leaves, fruits, and flowers,

Lush, fresh, and flourishing,

Delighting everyone’s heart;

Cultivating morning and evening,

They offered them all as gifts.

They presented them to the Buddhas

And to the shravakas,

So that wisdom might increase.

Offerings such as these,

Complete in every variety,

They joyfully presented,

Establishing the practice of the Way

From the devotion of their own hearts.

By giving alms in this manner,

They aspired to attain awakened wisdom.

Or he saw some persons,

Utterly serene and still,

Contemplating the manifold consequences

Of many myriads of millions of deeds,

Admonishing countless beings

And causing them to repent,

So that they might relinquish their treasures

And resolve to seek the Buddha Way.

Contemplating with perfect clarity,

They were not miserly with the Dharma;

Accomplishing the three matters [1],

They were tranquil as empty space.

Again, he saw children of the Buddha,

Their minds attached to nothing,

Their wisdom impartial,

And their voices loving and compassionate,

Seeking the unsurpassed Way.

I now also behold

Buddhas who have entered nirvana,

While those whom they established and transformed

Remain in their present places.

Assemblies of great bodhisattvas

Reverently honor and serve

The supremely excellent relics,

Which are beyond all reckoning.

Again, I behold Buddha temples,

Countless hundreds of millions of thousands,

As numerous as the sands of the Ganges,

Throughout innumerable lands,

Lofty, magnificent, and splendid,

With magically manifested objects

Of unsurpassed excellence.

The seven treasures naturally

Appear there in purity,

Altogether numbering

Two hundred and fifty thousand.

Banners, streamers, and canopies,

A thousand of every kind,

Extend widely on every side,

Each for two thousand miles.

Those canopies are beautiful,

Exquisitely adorned,

Diffusing many fragrances;

Precious jewels spontaneously appear,

Myriad flowers breathe forth sweet perfume,

And music resounds in harmony.

Rakshasas and spirits

Reverently honor the World-Honored One;

The Buddha’s children of right faith,

With the utmost devotion,

Employ these things as offerings

To the Buddha’s relics.

Those temples and stupas,

Splendid, lofty, and magnificent,

Are strewn everywhere with incense and flowers,

Like the trees of Sudatta.

All the people present here,

Countless hundreds of millions of thousands,

Behold them all,

In their myriad colors and forms.

Utter astonishment

Spreads among everyone.

Desiring to reveal the supreme,

He emits radiant light,

A wonder rare in the human realm.

The light envelops all,

Marvelously illuminating the world,

Free from defilement and outflows;

Its power manifests

Such magnificence as this,

Revealing Buddha lands

In countless myriads of thousands.

Today’s auspicious signs

Have never before appeared,

With such manifold forms

And boundless transformations.

I beseech you, Manjushri,

To explain them fully.

I now wish to hear,

As do the Buddha’s children

Within the fourfold assembly;

Their innermost hearts are filled with joy,

Awaiting the Worthy One,

And they look toward me.

For what reason today,

In this very place,

Does the Buddha emit light

From between his eyebrows?

Dispel their doubts

And cause them to rejoice.

Why does the Buddha manifest

Measureless radiance

And transformations such as these?

There must surely be a response.

The assembly gathered here

Entreats you to explain

The subtle and wondrous True Dharma

Realized by the Great Sage

At the place of enlightenment.

For what reason does

The supreme Guide

Expound the True Dharma?

We pray that you distinguish and explain it

For these bodhisattvas,

Countless hundreds of thousands,

And for the other assemblies

Who wish to behold the Buddha lands,

Purely and splendidly adorned with jewels,

And the Buddhas manifesting themselves,

Their radiant eyes immeasurable.

All those newly entered upon the path

Harbor no hesitation.

The children of the Most Excellent One

Together make this inquiry,

To bring joy to everyone.

Deities, rakshasas,

And this fourfold assembly

All look up expectantly

To Bodhisattva Manjushri.

We humbly beseech you to explain clearly.

At that time, Bodhisattva Manjushri addressed Maitreya and the other Great Beings in the assembly, together with the good men and faithful women:

“According to my reflection, the Tathagata is now about to proclaim the great True Dharma, pour down the great rain of Dharma, beat the great drum of the True Dharma, blow the great conch of the True Dharma, and expound the immeasurable Dharma. Throughout immeasurable past kalpas, when I attended upon the Buddhas, I also witnessed this auspicious sign. Those Tathagatas likewise emitted such light to herald their proclamation of the great True Dharma.

Therefore, you should know that the Tathagatas, Worthy Ones, Perfectly Enlightened Ones, wishing to enable sentient beings to hear the great True Dharma, now manifest this auspicious sign. Why is this? Because the World-Honored One wishes all species of beings everywhere to cleanse themselves of mundane defilements and gain faith in and understanding of the Buddha-Dharma.

He therefore reveals his great spiritual power and manifests this sign of vast radiance.

“I recall an inconceivably distant past, immeasurable kalpas ago. At that time there was a Tathagata named Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiance, the Worthy One, the Perfectly Enlightened One, Perfect in Knowledge and Conduct, Well-Gone One, Knower of the World, Unsurpassed One, Tamer in Accordance with the Dharma, Teacher of Gods and Humans, Buddha, World-Honored One. That Buddha expounded the sutras and Dharma, good at the beginning, good in the middle, and good at the end.

He clearly distinguished their profound and wondrous meanings and principles and taught the practice of the ultimately pure holy life. For the shravakas, that Buddha clearly expounded the Four Noble Truths, enabling them to transcend the calamities of birth, aging, illness, death, grief, and sorrow and to enter the unconditioned nirvana. For the assembly of great bodhisattva beings, that Buddha elucidated and distinguished the six paramitas, enabling them to attain unsurpassed awakened wisdom.

“Good men! After the Buddha Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiance entered nirvana, another Buddha appeared who was also named Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiance. After this Buddha Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiance entered nirvana, yet another Buddha appeared, likewise bearing the name Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiance.

In this way, there were eighty Buddhas, all bearing the same name, Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiance, and all belonging to the same clan. Reckoned in this manner, there were as many as twenty thousand Tathagatas, and the teachings of all those Buddhas were supreme. Of those twenty thousand Tathagatas, the first to appear was named Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiance, and the last Buddha was also named Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiance, the Tathagata, the Worthy One, the Perfectly Enlightened One.

When these Buddhas expounded the sutras, their teachings were good at the beginning, good in the middle, and good at the end. They clearly distinguished the profound and wondrous meanings and principles and taught the practice of the holy life. For the shravakas, the Buddhas expounded the Four Truths, the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination, and the calamities of birth, aging, illness, death, grief, and sorrow, enabling them to attain cessation and the ultimate nirvana.

For the bodhisattvas, the Buddhas expounded the six paramitas, enabling them to attain awakened wisdom and realize the unsurpassed true and perfect Way.

“Before the last Buddha Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiance renounced the household life, he had eight sons. The first was named Possessing Resolve, the second Good Intention, the third Encouraging Excellence, the fourth Precious Resolve, the fifth Maintaining Intention, the sixth Eliminating Pride, the seventh Resounding Intention, and the eighth Dharma Intention. Those eight princes, sons of the Tathagata, were fully endowed with the ability to guide sentient beings toward the Way.

At that time, each ruled over four continents. Their lands were fertile and abundantly cultivated, and because they governed according to the True Dharma, their realms were free from war. When they saw their royal father relinquish his kingdom, leave the household life, cultivate the path, and attain supreme perfect enlightenment, the sons also relinquished their thrones and followed him into the homeless life.

They came before the World-Honored One, all became shramanas, and resolutely aspired to seek the unsurpassed true and perfect Way. They all became Dharma teachers, constantly cultivated the holy life, and had formerly planted roots of merit in the presence of thousands of myriads of millions of Buddhas.

“Ajita! At that time, the Buddha Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiance, wishing to inspire the bodhisattvas to preserve and uphold the Buddha’s teaching, expounded a Vaipulya Mahayana sutra for the assembly. After finishing the sutra, the Buddha remained amid the assembly, sitting silently as he entered the samadhi of Immeasurable Right Absorption, his body and mind utterly unmoving.”

When the World-Honored One entered samadhi, the heavens rained down various kinds of flowers: Mind flowers, Great Mind flowers, Soft flowers, and Great Soft flowers, scattering them upon the Buddha and the entire assembly. Everywhere the earth trembled in six ways, and the people of the land scattered heavenly flowers upon the Buddha. The fourfold assembly of disciples, the devas, and the other congregations were exceedingly astonished and perplexed by this unprecedented event.

Not long after the Buddha entered meditation, a ray of light issued from His countenance, majestic with spiritual power and merit. That light illuminated eighteen thousand Buddha lands in the eastern direction, and there was no land that was not made bright. The realms within the lands of the Buddhas all appeared naturally, just like the realms of the Buddhas visible at present.

At that time, the Buddha Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiance was among the assembly, expounding the sutra Dharma to two billion bodhisattvas. These bodhisattva-mahasattvas all saw the light illuminating the entire world. Among them was a bodhisattva named Transcendent Light, who had eighteen disciples.

Among those disciples was a bodhisattva who delighted in indolence, named Renown. The Buddha Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiance entered samadhi with single-minded concentration. After emerging from samadhi, He expounded the Mahayana Sutra of the Lotus of the True Dharma for the Bodhisattva Transcendent Light.

All the bodhisattvas followed and supported the Buddha as He taught the Dharma. Seated in one place, He expounded that sutra for sixty kalpas. Throughout the assembly, no one’s body moved, nor did anyone’s mind give rise to deluded thoughts.

The World-Honored One taught the Dharma to the assembly for sixty kalpas, and all those in the assembly listened without bodily weariness or mental distress. After the Buddha Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiance had explained the Vaipulya Lotus of the Dharma Sutra to the bodhisattvas for sixty kalpas, He declared before the great assembly—the Brahma kings, Mara kings, sramanas, brahmins, devas, brahmacarins, asuras, ghosts, spirits, bhiksus, and others: “At midnight tonight, the Tathagata will enter nirvana without remainder.” Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiance then bestowed a prediction upon the Bodhisattva Treasury Bearer.

He told the bhiksus: “After my passing, the Bodhisattva Treasury Bearer will attain the unsurpassed, right, and true Way and become a Buddha named Stainless Embodiment Tathagata, Worthy One, Perfectly Enlightened One.”

After bestowing this prediction, the Buddha entered nirvana at midnight that very night. All eight sons of the World-Honored One Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiance revered the Bodhisattva Transcendent Light as their teacher. By faithfully following their teacher’s instructions, they became firmly established in the path of unsurpassed awakening. They encountered immeasurable and innumerable Buddhas, whom they revered, attended, and made offerings to, and thus they all attained perfect enlightenment. The last of them to become a Buddha was named Dharma Deeds.

Among the eighteen disciples of the Bodhisattva Transcendent Light was a bodhisattva who was infatuated with fame and gain, insatiably sought offerings, and was deeply attached in many places to the three maladies. He did not comprehend the sutra Dharma and often forgot it. He also delighted in leisure and neglected cultivation; therefore, this disciple was named Renown. Yet this bodhisattva had planted roots of merit before immeasurable hundreds of thousands of myriads of kotis of Buddhas. Through his vows, he was able to encounter the Buddhas and make offerings to them.

Mahasattva Maitreya! The bhiksu Dharma Master Transcendent Light of that time was none other than I myself, while the indolent Bodhisattva Renown was none other than you, Mahasattva. Therefore, you should know that, upon seeing the World-Honored One manifest this auspicious sign and emit this light, I thought: “Today the World-Honored One will expound for us the Vaipulya Sutra of the Lotus of the True Dharma.”

Heard from a lecture by Venerable Minh-Quang Nguyễn Lê Đức at Hải-Đức Temple at 11:00 a.m. on October 18, 2009. Right-click to download.

At that time, Bodhisattva Manjusri, wishing to restate the meaning above, spoke these verses:

I now recall

The distant past,

In innumerable kalpas

Beyond conception.

There was a Most Excellent One

Of unsurpassed wisdom,

Whose name was

Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiance.

That Buddha taught the Dharma,

Accomplishing immeasurable deeds,

And transforming living beings

Beyond all reckoning.

He instructed them to awaken the aspiration—

Innumerable bodhisattvas,

Beyond conception,

Hundreds of thousands of kotis in number.

At that time, the Tathagata

Had eight sons,

All still young in years.

Seeing the Buddha attain the Way,

They followed Him into homelessness

And together became sramanas,

Casting off sensual desire

And all possessions.

The Great Guide

Taught the Dharma for them.

The sutra He expounded

Was called Immeasurable Verses,

Also named the Supreme,

Its meaning being just so.

He instructed and transformed everyone,

Thousands of myriads of kotis in number.

When the Buddha had finished expounding

That sutra,

The Supremely Honored Sage,

There upon the Dharma seat,

At once sat cross-legged

And entered meditative samadhi

Called Immeasurable Verses.

Then auspicious signs appeared:

At that time, the heavens rained down

Fragrant Great Mind flowers;

Flashes of light also appeared,

And mighty thunder resounded.

Devas, ghosts, and spirits,

Dwelling in empty space,

Single-mindedly revered

The Honored One Among Humans.

The Buddha lands

Immediately trembled,

And from between His brows

A ray of light streamed forth,

Brilliant and radiant,

Truly boundless in measure.

Everyone was astonished,

Regarding it as unprecedented.

The light shone throughout

The Buddha lands of the East—

Eighteen thousand,

Myriads of kotis of worlds.

At that very moment,

The Buddha clearly distinguished them,

Showing living beings

Their origins and their ends.

Some Buddha lands

Were adorned with jeweled canopies,

With the radiance of lapis lazuli,

Or appearing like crystal,

Illuminated by the Buddha,

Resplendent with majestic power,

Displaying manifold forms,

Beautiful and magnificent.

Devas and humans,

Dragons, ghosts, and spirits,

And hosts of gandharvas

Rejoiced as never before.

With single-minded sincerity and reverence,

Together they paid homage.

All those worlds

Appeared naturally.

They also saw the Buddhas,

All perfectly sovereign,

Supremely magnificent,

Their bodies purple-gold in hue,

Like lapis lazuli

Set amid precious jewels.

The Buddhas within their assemblies

Poured down the rain of Dharma.

Their sravaka congregations

Were too numerous to count,

Praising without end

The disciples of right faith.

All the Guides,

In every world

Illuminated by the Buddhas,

Were wholly radiant.

Constantly practicing diligence,

They upheld the precepts without transgression;

Their merit of patience

Was also like a shining jewel.

They further saw bodhisattvas,

Manifesting in countless numbers,

Roaming through secluded places,

Mountains, forests, and open wilderness,

Entering concentration and practicing meditation,

Their bodies and minds serene.

Even if harmed,

They gave rise to no anger or hatred.

The hosts of bodhisattvas,

Numerous as the sands of the Ganges,

Abided within the light

In profound contemplation.

Mindful of impermanence,

They did not live heedlessly;

Delighting in meditation and patience,

They never abandoned one-pointedness.

There were good men

Who at all times

Tamed body and mind

And followed the Buddha Way.

Inwardly contemplating true reality,

Their minds were silent and still;

Through skillful means suited to conditions,

They instructed and transformed myriad beings.

Throughout innumerable Buddha lands,

They extensively proclaimed the sutra Dharma.

Such were the spiritual responses

Of the Buddha, the World-Honored One.

They also saw the Great Sage,

Like a master navigator,

Sending forth light

That outshone the sun and moon.

All living beings

Rejoiced exceedingly;

Devas and humans made offerings

And asked one another:

“What sign is this?”

Before long,

He emerged from meditation.

The Guide praised

That bodhisattva,

Whose name was Transcendent Light,

A Dharma master

Who followed the Buddha to liberation,

The eye of the world,

To whom everyone turned.

“The Buddha joyfully trusts me

And reveals these signs,

Distinguishing them for my sake

And speaking this sutra Dharma.

The Buddha has compassion for living beings

And therefore teaches and transforms them,

Firmly establishing and encouraging

The hosts of bodhisattvas.”

Hearing the Buddha’s revelation,

They praised it and rejoiced.

At that time, the World-Honored One

Spoke the great sutra Dharma,

Expounding it fully

For sixty kalpas.

Then, upon the Dharma seat,

He sat cross-legged and entered samadhi,

Having proclaimed

The supreme Dharma teaching.

Those Buddhas

Had all entered nirvana.

That Dharma master,

Bodhisattva Transcendent Light,

Proclaimed the supreme Dharma

And expounded the scriptures,

Causing all the assemblies

To give rise to joy.

We humbly beseech the Great Sage

To distinguish and explain it,

From the heavenly realms above

Down to the human world.

Expounding the scriptures

Discoursing with mastery

Teaching the assembly

Concerning the Lotus Sutra.

The Buddha told the bhiksus:

My time has come;

In the middle of this night

I shall enter

Into extinction.

Diligently cultivate,

Keeping your minds steadfast.

I have explained

And taught the Dharma of the sutras.

The Great Sage of spiritual powers

Is difficult to encounter

Throughout countless hundreds of millions

Of nayutas of kalpas;

You should always make offerings.

Immeasurable children of the Buddha

Were stricken with sorrow,

Their anguish reaching the utmost,

When they heard the World-Honored One

Reveal these passages.

Contemplating the unconditioned,

They practiced according to his teaching

And beheld the Honored One among Humans.

Countless sentient beings,

Too numerous to recall completely,

Were comforted by the Buddha:

“Bhiksus, do not be afraid

Because I enter nirvana;

After my extinction,

You will not see me again.”

The second bodhisattva

Was named Treasury Keeper.

With no more outflows

And no further birth and death,

He reached the ultimate,

The unsurpassed awakening,

And became a Buddha

Named Stainless.

There, too,

At midnight,

That Buddha entered extinction,

And his radiance was no more.

The Buddha’s relics

Were distributed everywhere;

Stupas and shrines were built,

Numbering many myriads of millions.

The bhiksus

And bhiksunis

Wholeheartedly sought

Unsurpassed awakening.

Their number was countless,

Like the sands of the Ganges.

They constantly practiced diligently,

Cultivating in accordance with the Dharma.

At that time, the bhiksu

Bodhisattva Supernal Light

Served as Dharma master,

Preserving the Dharma of the sutra.

For what seemed a brief time,

He expounded the true Dharma,

Yet the full duration

Was eighty kalpas.

The eighteen princes

Followed him into homelessness.

All were taught and transformed,

Firmly believing in the true Dharma.

These princes

Encountered countless Buddhas,

Wholeheartedly making offerings

To the Buddhas, the Holy Honored Ones,

Reverently serving and honoring

The wondrous and sublime Dharma.

All attained Buddhahood

In various realms,

Becoming Sovereign Ones.

They received and upheld immeasurable teachings

And, one after another, received predictions

That enabled them to attain perfect awakening.

In the presence of the Buddhas,

They all attained liberation.

The World-Honored One Dipamkara

Was the last to become a Buddha,

The Great Sage Sun-Moon,

The guiding Teacher,

Who instructed and transformed the holy assembly,

Hundreds of thousands beyond number,

Establishing them in liberation

And possessing perfect majestic virtue.

The Dharma master Supernal Light

Was none other than I.

At that time there was one

Whose nature was habitually indolent.

He coveted gain and support,

Associated closely with friends,

And constantly longed

Only for praise.

He often frequented

The houses of eminent families,

Neglected his studies,

And neither read nor recited the sutras.

At that time he refused

To study and contemplate.

For this reason,

He came to bear that name.

Within the Buddha’s teaching,

He desired to be praised.

Nevertheless, this person

Had created merit

In the times of past Buddhas.

Although he had faults,

He encountered countless

Buddhas, World-Honored Ones,

Accumulated merit

With the Great Sages,

Diligently cultivated right conduct,

And attained the supreme concordant patience.

He again encountered the Sage of the Sakyas

And cultivated in this manner.

Therefore, in the future,

In the final age,

He shall attain the path

Of unsurpassed, true, and perfect awakening,

Becoming a Buddha

Named Maitreya.

He shall teach and transform sentient beings,

Countless hundreds of millions of thousands,

Whose minds are ever courageous and vigorous,

Who attain sovereign liberation

And peacefully enter extinction.

Such shall be

His work of teaching and transformation

In the future.

In that former age, I myself

Was that Dharma master.

Therefore,

The auspicious signs described above,

Which I saw in a former life,

Are like the present scene.

The World-Honored One abides

And manifests transformations in this manner.

I now carefully contemplate

These present auspicious signs.

The Buddha, the World-Honored One,

King of the Sakya clan,

Whose wisdom-eye is immeasurable,

Displays these most excellent portents.

Today he intends to preach

The Lotus Sutra of the True Dharma.

In the past,

I saw and heard

Such manifestations,

Complete with all

The skillful expedient means

Of the World-Honored Ones.

Now the Sakya Honored One

Establishes and sets forth

The teaching of the sutra,

Naturally teaching and transforming.

Those whose minds are set upon the path

Join their palms and gaze up reverently.

The Guide who aids the world

Will now explain distinctly,

Pouring down the rain of the true Dharma.

The sublime and wondrous teaching

Moistens all beings

And shelters every kind.

If there are devas

Who wish to attain liberation,

Yet still harbor doubts

And remain hesitant;

If there are bodhisattvas

Whose minds seek the path,

The Buddha shall dispel their doubts

So that they attain the Buddha’s wisdom.

Chapter 2: SKILLFUL MEANS

At that time, the World-Honored One emerged from meditation and said to the Venerable Sariputra:

“The Buddha-path is profound, far-reaching, and inexhaustible. The Tathagata’s unsurpassed awakening is difficult to understand, difficult to know, and difficult to enter. Although the sravakas and pratyekabuddhas, throughout distant myriads of millions of kalpas, have taken refuge, paid homage, and made offerings, have for countless kalpas planted roots of goodness and merit, have honored and upheld the Buddha-Dharma, and have earnestly endured hardship and diligently cultivated, they still cannot penetrate the sublime principle of the path.

“Furthermore, Sariputra, the Tathagata observes the causes and conditions that give rise to the actions of sentient beings and therefore skillfully employs expedient means, guiding, training, and subduing them according to what is appropriate. The Tathagata uses wisdom to discern all dharmas, employing countless expedient means to save the multitude of beings. He possesses the power of great wisdom, fearlessness, one-pointed concentration, liberation, and samadhis without limit.

The teachings expounded by the Tathagata are too numerous to calculate, yet the Tathagata has spoken of them only in brief. The Dharma realized by the Tathagata is rare, supreme, and difficult to fathom. The Tathagata has thoroughly understood the causes of all dharmas, personally awakened to whence all dharmas arise, discerned the characteristics of all dharmas, and clearly known their origin.”

At that time, the World-Honored One, wishing to proclaim this meaning again, spoke in verse:

The Hero of the World is unfathomable;

Among devas and humans in the world,

Among all kinds of sentient beings,

No one understands the Guide.

Purely he teaches liberation,

Tranquil and fearless;

The modes and characteristics of all dharmas

No one can comprehend.

Originally, before countless Buddhas,

Through reliance upon cultivation,

He entered the subtle and wondrous meaning,

Which in the present world is beyond discrimination.

Throughout countless kalpas,

He studied and practiced the Buddha’s conduct,

Bringing its fruit to fulfillment at the place of enlightenment,

And likewise practicing loving-kindness and compassion.

Thus I attained this wisdom,

As did the Buddhas of the ten directions,

Complete in all excellent marks,

Whose beauty is likewise so.

The Dharma-body cannot be displayed,

Nor can it be expressed in words.

Surveying all sentient beings,

None in the world can equal it.

If the Dharma of the sutras is expounded

So that it may be clearly understood,

Only the bodhisattvas

Always believe, understand, rejoice, and practice it.

Even if the Buddhas’

Disciples,

Whose tasks have been completed

And who abide in the teaching,

Have skillfully subdued their minds

And eradicated afflictions,

They still have not attained

Immeasurable wisdom.

Suppose that here,

Throughout the realms of the Buddhas,

The seven treasures were brought

To fill every place,

And were presented as offerings

To the supremely honored Buddhas;

Those wishing to understand this wisdom

Could never comprehend it.

Suppose that throughout the ten directions,

In the worlds of the Buddhas,

The wise ones

Filled every land,

And that, in the present,

The assemblies of sravakas,

Complete in every respect,

Likewise filled them now.

If those assemblies

Together tried to fathom

The Tathagata’s wisdom,

They still could not know it.

The Buddha’s wisdom

Is immeasurable and boundless;

Those wishing to know its limits

Could never do so.

The pratyekabuddhas,

Whose outflows have ended,

Who thoroughly understand the faculties

And gather and sustain their thoughts—

Suppose that throughout the ten directions

Such persons crowded every place,

As numerous as sugarcane and reeds,

Grasses and bamboo;

If they joined together

And contemplated as one,

Wishing to know the Buddha’s wisdom

And discussing all dharmas,

Throughout countless kalpas

Pondering and measuring,

They still could not know

The true meaning of the Dharma.

Those bodhisattvas

Who have newly brought forth the aspiration,

Even if they have made offerings

To countless hundreds of millions of Buddhas,

Expounded the Dharma of the sutras,

And distinguished their principles and meanings,

Filling completely

The lands of the ten directions;

Even if their number were like

Rice plants, sesame plants, and forest trees

Throughout all worlds,

Countless beyond reckoning;

And if they joined together

To contemplate as one

The Tathagata’s awakening,

Which beholds the nature of all dharmas,

It would remain inconceivable.

Throughout countless hundreds of millions of kalpas,

As numerous as the sands of the Ganges,

It could not be measured or bounded.

Their minds never changing,

Their wisdom transcendent,

They wish to know that Dharma.

Countless bodhisattvas,

All irreversible,

Not merely those of this realm,

Throughout immeasurable kalpas

As numerous as the sands of the Ganges

Single-minded and wholly intent,

Together they ponder;

Yet none among them

Could fathom it.

The wisdom of all Buddhas

Is inconceivable;

They have ended all outflows,

And cannot be measured by thought.

Only the Buddhas

Can understand it completely,

Discerning throughout the ten directions

The worlds of all Buddhas.

O Sariputra!

The words taught by the Tathagata

Are without omission,

Fully penetrating that Dharma,

The most excellent beneficial Dharma,

Completely comprehending it,

He expounds the unsurpassed meaning

After a long time.

Today the Tathagata

Addresses the assembly of sravakas

And those of the pratyekabuddha vehicle,

According to what has been established:

Freed from the bondage of craving,

They have attained nirvana;

They shall be guided and transformed,

And all shall be delivered.

My supreme Buddha-Dharma

Skillfully employs expedient means,

Proclaiming and expounding it

To teach and transform the world.

I always journey alone,

Liberating all beings;

Through such manifestations,

I proclaim the true Dharma.

At that time, within the great assembly were altogether one thousand two hundred arhats of the sravaka order who had ended all afflictions and clearly knew the path of cultivation leading to awakening. There were also disciples still under training—bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas, and upasikas—belonging to the sravaka assembly. Each of them thought: “Why does the Blessed One today so earnestly praise skillful means and extol the Buddha’s practices and profound, subtle Dharma, which even those of the highest wisdom cannot understand, much less the sravakas and pratyekabuddhas? If the Dharma is as the Blessed One has just taught, then it does not lead to nirvana. Although the Blessed One expounds this sutra, we do not fully understand what its ultimate meaning may be.”

Venerable Sariputra knew the doubts in the minds of the fourfold assembly and wished to break through his own net of doubt. He adjusted his robes and respectfully addressed the Buddha:

“O Blessed One! Why does the Blessed One today so earnestly extol his skillful means as the foremost, profound, and subtle Dharma, and his lofty virtue as boundless?”

Venerable Sariputra then asked in verse:

Supreme in noble wisdom,

Only after a long time do you teach

Liberation and meditative concentration,

Upholding and practicing countless teachings.

You praise the Buddha’s merits;

None dares to question you.

You extol the true Dharma—

Who can understand its wondrous intent?

You reveal the noble Dharma

And praise the Buddha’s practices;

Your wisdom cannot be measured.

I pray that the Buddha expound the Dharma.

Now the assembly harbors doubts;

Hearing the Dharma, they end affliction

And seek liberation.

Those seeking pratyekabuddhahood,

Hearing the Buddha’s praises,

The male and female monastics,

Devas, nagas, ghosts, and spirits,

Gandharvas and Huu-lac,

All these kinds of beings

Are likewise perplexed

And wish to question the Buddha.

I pray that the Buddha explain it

For the assembly of sravakas,

Teaching their minds to abide in peace.

Praised by the Buddha

As foremost among your disciples,

My mind is now bewildered,

Unable to understand by itself.

I have reached nirvana,

Yet now I hear this teaching.

I pray that you explain and distinguish it,

Proclaiming it with a majestic voice.

The words declared by the Buddha

Are like a lion’s roar.

The Buddha’s disciples

Join their palms in reverence,

Wishing to hear the true Dharma;

I humbly pray that you elucidate it.

The eight classes of devas and nagas,

Ghosts, spirits, and Chan-da,

In countless hundreds of thousands,

As numerous as the sands of the Ganges,

All join their palms

And make offerings to the Blessed One.

They all wish to inquire

Of the Awakened One endowed with wisdom.

The heavenly king Sakra

And wheel-turning holy kings,

All single-mindedly,

In hundreds of thousands of millions,

Stand waiting with palms joined,

All reverently

Hoping to hear

The perfect path.

At that time, the Blessed One said to Venerable Sariputra:

“Enough, enough! You should not ask about this matter. Why? Because if I were to speak of this Dharma, the entire world—devas and human beings alike—would become alarmed and afraid.”

Venerable Sariputra again said:

“I humbly pray that the Blessed One teach us the meaning of the true Dharma. Why? Because within this assembly are countless hundreds of thousands of millions of every kind of sentient being, including worms, mosquitoes, gnats, tiny insects, and others, who in past kalpas encountered Buddhas and learned to plant roots of merit. Upon hearing the Blessed One’s teaching, all will rejoice, respectfully believe, receive, uphold, and practice it.”

Venerable Sariputra spoke in verse:

May the King of Benevolence

Compassionately bestow this teaching.

The renunciants assembled here,

In hundreds of thousands of millions,

Abide reverently

And trust in awakened wisdom.

All kinds of beings

Will rejoice together.

Thereupon, the Blessed One restrained Venerable Sariputra three times in this manner, telling him not to repeat his request, because if the Tathagata spoke of this Dharma, the entire world—devas and human beings alike—would harbor arrogance and doubt, and the bhiksus and bhiksunis would fall into great distress.

The Blessed One addressed Venerable Sariputra in verse:

Enough, enough! Ask no more

About the Tathagata’s Dharma,

So profound and subtle.

Those who do not understand,

If I were to speak of it,

Would readily give rise to doubt;

Dull-witted and ignorant,

They harbor arrogance.

Venerable Sariputra again said:

“O Blessed One! I humbly pray that the Blessed One compassionately instruct us. Countless beings here, in the distant past, heard the Buddhas teach. Therefore, if today they are able to hear and contemplate the noble sound of the Dharma, they will surely be able to believe with reverence, attain lasting peace and security, and be free from doubt and arrogance.”

Venerable Sariputra spoke in verse:

I, the Buddha’s eldest son,

Now wish to make this request:

May the Honored One, Perfect in Both Wisdom and Merit,

Compassionately instruct us.

Within this assembly

Are countless sentient beings;

They will all reverently believe

The Buddha’s teaching.

Long ago they planted roots of virtue

And severed all nets of doubt;

Throughout immeasurable kalpas,

They have received instruction.

Now they stand nearby,

Palms joined in reverence;

They will surely rejoice

In the meaning of this Dharma.

Those such as myself,

One thousand two hundred in number,

And all the other assemblies

Who seek the Buddha’s awakened wisdom—

If we are able to see and hear it

And believe in the teaching,

Our minds will rejoice

And give rise to the great resolve.

Then the Blessed One, seeing that Sariputra had earnestly made his request three times, said to him:

“Since you have now earnestly made your request for the third time, the Tathagata cannot refrain from speaking. Listen attentively, reflect well, and remember. I shall explain it.”

As soon as the Blessed One had spoken these words, five thousand bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas, and upasikas, harboring arrogance, immediately rose, left their seats, bowed at the feet of the Blessed One, and withdrew from the assembly. Why? Because those people did not believe in the Dharma of skillful means and harbored overweening pride, claiming to have attained what they had not attained and to have realized what they had not realized. They gathered their belongings, such as parasols, robes, and bedding, and departed of their own accord. The Blessed One remained silent and did not restrain them.

The Blessed One said to Venerable Sariputra:

– Those who were crippled and impaired secretly left the assembly and departed. Bound by sounds, scents, and flavors, they withdrew from the vast place of enlightenment. Shariputra, it is well that those of overweening pride have withdrawn. Why does the Tathagata proclaim this Dharma? Just as the udumbara flower appears only once after a very long time, so too is this rare Dharma, praised by all Buddhas, encountered only after a very long time. The assembly must believe the Tathagata's profound and truthful words of Dharma. The Tathagata expounds the profound and wondrous Dharma according to what is appropriate, without falsehood. All the sounds and expressions by which the Dharma is conveyed are each distinctive and beyond human conception. No one has ever conceived of this Dharma; only the Tathagata has realized and known it. Why? Because what the Tathagata praises and reveals to the world is none other than the one great purpose for which all Buddhas manifest in the world. The Buddhas appear in the world because they wish to exhort beings who dwell in deluded thought; they appear in the world because they wish to enable beings to end the delusions of ignorance and seek the Buddha's wisdom; they appear in the world because they wish to enable beings to cast off delusion and attain the precious wisdom of the Tathagata; they appear in the world because they wish to awaken deluded beings through the insight of the Tathagata; they appear in the world because they wish to reveal the Noble Eightfold Path, enabling beings to awaken accordingly and eradicate delusion. Therefore, one should know that the Perfectly Awakened Ones appear for a single purpose: to accomplish the great work through transcendent wisdom. That wisdom is like empty space. Moved by great compassion, they appear in the world; just as the Buddhas have practiced in order to transform, liberate, and benefit sentient beings, so too do they act. The Tathagata manifests true wisdom and expounds the Dharma to teach and transform the bodhisattvas. Through the Buddha's insight, he analyzes and explains it, enabling them to advance toward the single vehicle, the Buddha Vehicle. There is no second vehicle, much less a third. The Buddha-Blessed Ones throughout the worlds of the ten directions, past, present, and future, likewise employ countless expressions, skillful and expedient means, sounds, and differing words to enlighten all sentient beings. They expound the Dharma so that all may arouse the mind of the Mahayana, the vehicle leading to perfect awakening and the Buddha's all-illuminating wisdom.

Heard from Dharma Teacher Minh-Quang Nguyễn Lê Đức's lecture at Hải-Đức Temple at 11:00 a.m. on October 25, 2009. Right-click to download.

Shariputra! All these sentient beings have made offerings to the Buddhas of past ages and have also heard the Dharma. The Tathagata teaches them in accordance with their original practices. The Tathagata sees that the original practices of sentient beings are not alike, examines what their minds delight in, and skillfully employs expedient means, in accordance with the karmic results they have undergone, to explain the meaning of the Dharma. All of it is the Mahayana Dharma of impartial perfect awakening, leading to awakened wisdom and perfectly fulfilled virtue; there is no second vehicle. All Buddhas throughout the worlds of the ten directions are likewise; there are no three vehicles.

Shariputra! If the Tathagata were to speak of the defilements of sentient beings, he could not exhaust them even throughout an entire kalpa. I have now appeared in this evil age of the five turbidities, namely:

1. Defilement.

2. Violence.

3. Wrong views.

4. Short lifespans.

5. The present turbidity of the kalpa.

Because of these conditions, sentient beings possess little merit and virtue and are greedy, miserly, and deeply defiled. The Tathagata must employ expedient means and speak of three vehicles in order to exhort and transform the shravakas and pratyekabuddhas. If I were to teach the Buddha Vehicle, none of them would listen, understand, or penetrate it.

They would mistakenly think that only the paths of the shravakas and pratyekabuddhas are supreme and profound. If bhikshus or bhikshunis who have attained arhatship consider their work complete and have no aspiration to seek unsurpassed insight, they will certainly slander the Buddha Vehicle. Even though they harbor such thoughts, I still teach and transform them impartially.

Nevertheless, only after the Tathagata has entered nirvana will those of great overweening pride come to understand. Why? Because those bhikshus who are arhats and have ended all outflows, yet have no aspiration to seek further, hear this sutra but do not believe or accept it.

When the Tathagata has attained extinction and is no longer present before them, if, after the Great Sage's passing, no one expounds this sutra and enables them to uphold and recite the Vaipulya scriptures, then, when they encounter another Buddha, at first they will certainly harbor doubts; afterward, however, they will wholeheartedly believe that the Tathagata's words are true: there is only the Dharma of the One Vehicle and no second vehicle.

The Blessed One restated this meaning in verse:

Bhikshus and bhikshunis,

Their minds filled with overweening pride,

Laymen and laywomen—

Five thousand people did not believe.

They did not see their own blemishes,

Their faults and deficiencies in moral conduct;

Subject to many inversions,

They therefore gave rise to foolish thoughts.

Contrarily seeking defiled practices,

They were all devoid of skillful means.

The Buddhas' samadhi is supreme;

Those with affinities may hear the Dharma.

Making offerings to the One of Pure Wisdom,

Majestically abiding amid the solemn assembly,

All receive his benevolent grace;

Those of contrary resolve see only evil.

Shariputra, listen well!

The Buddha, Honored One among Humans,

Correctly knows and clearly comprehends all dharmas.

However many things he expounds,

He skillfully employs expedient means—

Hundreds of thousands of myriads of kotis—

According to people's mental practices,

In order to expound the Dharma.

Deeds of sin and merit

Differ among sentient beings,

Originating in former kalpas

And following their corresponding retribution.

These sentient beings

Each harbor different thoughts

And create countless

Binding fetters.

He sees all causes and conditions,

Hundreds of thousands of myriads of kotis,

All their various categories

And blemishes such as these.

The Great Sage, the Tathagata,

Expounds this Dharma sutra;

His utterly sincere teaching

Is never false.

From ancient times he has guided

Countless beings in innumerable ways.

Everything I have spoken

Was for the sake of discernment.

Some do not delight in

The words of the Perfectly Awakened One;

In the presence of countless Buddhas,

They established no practice.

In the ignorance of samsara,

They suffer many afflictions.

Therefore, for their sake,

I presently speak of nirvana.

The Great Sage turns the Dharma wheel,

Employing expedient means

To exhort and transform people,

Causing them to enter the Buddha's wisdom.

Following the Buddha's teaching,

They cause it to flourish in the world.

Never before

Did I reveal this to them.

Why, in their delusion and ignorance,

Though they met the Guiding Teacher,

Did they themselves become weary?

It was precisely because of distinctions.

Only now do they hear

The exposition of equality.

Therefore I now speak

Of the Buddha's awakened wisdom.

Within my Dharma,

For those who have newly begun their training,

The Buddha uses noble wisdom

And provisional, expedient means.

The Tathagata makes distinctions

Because he wishes to enlighten and transform

All sentient beings;

Therefore he teaches this meaning.

Those wishing to know the Buddha Way,

Ever and always pure,

Joyfully trust the sacred scriptures,

Which are truly wondrous and subtle.

In the presence of the Buddhas,

Their work has been accomplished;

For the sake of those persons,

He teaches the Vaipulya Dharma.

Their dispositions gentle and harmonious,

Their practices fully perfected,

They draw near to noble awakening;

Then, for their sake, he speaks.

They attain profound and vast virtue;

In the future,

With compassionate loving-kindness,

All who hear the Dharma

Will praise it and rejoice:

“When we attain Buddhahood,

We too shall be the same.”

Through these causes and conditions,

Life after life they shall be dignified and adorned

And shall always study

This Vaipulya Sutra.

Whoever delights in hearing

This sublime sacred teaching—

Persons such as these

Are disciples of the Buddha.

Even if they hear

But a single verse of the Buddha,

They shall all attain perfect awakening,

Without any doubt.

There is but one Buddha Way;

Never have there been two,

Much less could there be

Three vehicles in the world,

Except when the Tathagata

Proclaims them as expedient means.

I use the Buddha Vehicle

To enlighten beings and expound the Dharma,

Wishing to proclaim

The Buddha's profound wisdom.

Skillfully employing expedient means,

The Buddha's illuminating wisdom

Reveals only the One Vehicle;

How could there be two?

Those of lesser wisdom

Must seek the supreme Dharma.

The Tathagata's insight

Is ever and always thus.

To attain the fruit of Buddhahood—

No one would dare conceive it.

Through the Buddha’s power, single-mindedly

Opening the gate of liberation,

Establishing sentient beings securely

In the unsurpassed Dharma.

The Buddhas, supreme above all,

Are without the slightest blemish;

None can equal them,

And they reveal impartial wisdom.

Teaching in this manner

The wholesome Dharma for sentient beings,

Therefore the World-Honored One

Commends and establishes that vehicle.

In a place of peace and security,

He exhorts them to strive and reverently aspire;

Throughout every realm,

They cultivate there,

Eliminating entirely

All doctrines of greed and cruelty;

Thus he is called the Buddha.

The Great and Valiant One

Has now manifested

Countless forms and features,

Surrounded by his retinue,

Radiating the light of Dharma.

For countless sentient beings,

Hundreds of thousands of millions,

He expounds the Dharma for them—

The naturally abiding Dharma seal.

O Shariputra!

Thus do I behold:

Here today,

For all living beings everywhere,

I manifest the thirty-two marks,

With a wondrous countenance;

Body and mind are self-mastered,

Obstructed by nothing.

I have contemplated

According to what I recollect;

Now, just as in the past,

All who possess earnest aspiration

Will attain complete fulfillment.

Profound and subtle,

I discern and expound it,

So that all alike attain Buddhahood.

O Shariputra!

The Buddha’s words are utterly sincere;

Everything he does is for

The awakening of sentient beings.

Suppose that when I speak,

They cannot clearly understand

And cannot accept

These sincere and wholesome words.

The Tathagata reflects:

Such people as these,

Throughout the past,

Have never cultivated.

Today the time has come

For ancient vows to be fulfilled,

For craving and desire to be severed,

And the dark, obscuring rain dispelled.

Sentient beings, immersed in desire,

Fall into evil destinies;

Amid defilement,

Their unwholesome thoughts

And the dharma of ignorance

Continually increase.

Those of meager merit

Are afflicted by suffering and calamity,

And by wrong views

They are oppressed and bound.

They cling to existence in one way

And to nonexistence in another,

Relying fully upon

The sixty-two views.

Ever dwelling among them,

They cling stubbornly and will not relinquish them;

Their strength is frail,

And their hearts are always fearful.

Never having heard

The Buddha’s Brahma voice,

They are continually destined to fall,

Unable to escape the three paths;

For hundreds of millions of thousands of lives,

They fail to understand the teaching.

For the sake of such people,

The Tathagata employs skillful means

Of incomparable subtlety,

Teaching them to extinguish suffering

And utterly sever the root

Of the afflictions and wrong views

Of sentient beings.

The Buddha instructs them,

Causing them to reach nirvana.

Therefore the Tathagata

Reveals cessation,

Causing all dharmas

To attain complete quiescence.

Moreover, in the past,

The disciples of the Buddhas

Were destined in the future

To become Supremely Victorious Ones.

I now employ

Such skillful means,

So that they should not think

That the Three Vehicles ought to be taught;

There is only one,

Not two or three.

Therefore the World-Honored One

Again proclaims the One Vehicle.

Countless people

Give rise to bewildered thoughts;

Their reflections become confused,

And they hesitate and doubt.

The teachings of the Tathagata

Never change;

There is solely the Buddha Vehicle,

And never have there been two.

From ages past until now,

The guides of the world—

Measureless Buddhas

Who have entered nirvana

In ages past,

Throughout countless kalpas—

Cannot all be reckoned

Or fully conceived.

All those World-Honored Ones,

Supreme among humankind,

Expounded the Dharma of the sutras,

Measureless and pure.

They employed countless

Accounts of karmic recompense and parables,

Applying skillful means

In hundreds of thousands of millions of ways.

For sentient beings everywhere,

They revealed the One Vehicle;

Therefore they taught the path,

Delivering those not yet delivered,

And constantly expounded to people

The wisdom of equality.

To teach and transform all beings,

They used hundreds of thousands of millions

Of different skillful means.

Countless Buddhas,

For their sake, expounded and distinguished

The highest truth,

Pure in its original nature,

So that they might come to believe and understand.

Whether in the heavens

Or likewise in the human world,

Whoever hears this sutra

And, having heard it, reflects upon it—

Those sentient beings

Attain peace and security.

They constantly practice generosity,

Are complete in moral conduct,

Lack nothing in patience,

And always practice impartiality.

Single-minded in diligence,

They valiantly cultivate goodness;

In regard to this scripture,

They uphold and follow wisdom.

Whatever quantity

Of merit they may establish,

Those people

Will attain the Buddha path.

When I enter cessation

At the Tathagata’s abode,

At that time,

All sentient beings

Who practice patience and meditative concentration

Will enjoy incomparable peace;

Those people

Will attain the Buddha path.

If anyone makes offerings

To the relics of the Buddhas,

Those supremely victorious sages,

After a Buddha has entered cessation,

Building shrines to the Buddha

In hundreds of thousands of millions,

Of pure gold and white silver,

Lapis lazuli and crystal,

Or using agate

To construct monasteries and stupas,

With mother-of-pearl, amber,

And mani jewels;

Or if they use clay

To fashion sacred images—

People such as these

Will all attain the Buddha path.

Suppose they use stone

To build a Buddha shrine,

Or use sandalwood

Or fragrant aloe wood

To construct monasteries and stupas

And erect honored images of the Buddha,

Carving and sculpting wood,

And painting flowers as adornments;

Or suppose observers of the precepts,

Earnest and utterly sincere,

Again construct

Lofty and beautiful monasteries and stupas;

Or, whether at home,

In the wilderness,

Or in a deep cavern,

They recite and read the scriptures,

Roaring the lion’s roar

For hundreds of millions of people;

Or young boys sing and dance

At Buddha stupas throughout the ten directions

Where relics are enshrined—

People such as these

Will attain the Buddha path.

Or if, for the Tathagata,

They fashion a jeweled image

With the thirty-two marks,

Supremely excellent and beautiful;

Or suppose someone

Recites the sutra and explains its meaning—

People such as these

Will attain the Buddha path.

Or if, for the Tathagata,

They fashion an image

Using the seven treasures,

With beautifully formed contours

And brilliant radiance

Illuminating all sentient beings—

People such as these

Will attain the Buddha path.

Or again, using bronze

Or jade, they engrave and paint,

Fashioning for the Great Sage and Honored One

An image of surpassing beauty;

Or they copy the sutra text

Upon white silk—

People such as these

Will attain the Buddha path.

Or they repair ruined monasteries

And restore their sacred images;

With the meritorious virtue of faithful hearts,

They acquire the marks of a hundred merits;

They leave home to study the Dharma

And copy the Buddha’s sutras—

People such as these

Will attain the Buddha path.

Suppose each person

Performs extraordinary deeds,

Relinquishing everything,

Singing and dancing in joy;

Young bodhisattvas,

Penetrating and explaining the meaning,

Speak no frivolous words

And utter no falsehoods;

They do everything in order

To manifest loving-kindness—

People such as these

Will attain the Buddha path.

They thereby enable the deliverance

Of hundreds of millions of living beings,

And countless bodhisattvas

Attain spiritual powers and samadhi.

Suppose all of them

Venerate and make offerings to relics,

Construct monasteries and stupas,

And paint sacred images;

They mold, repair, and adorn them,

Write sutras upon the walls,

Offer flowers and incense,

And scatter them over stupas and images.

Again, they perform music

And sing praises of the Buddha’s virtues;

With strings, drums, dance, and song,

In gentle, harmonious rhythms,

They joyfully offer praise

And express their reverence.

Or they undertake various works

Of restoration and offering;

With zithers and cymbals,

Monochords and pipas,

Flutes and pipes,

They joyfully produce wondrous sounds.

All is done single-mindedly,

Without affliction;

Through these causes and conditions,

All delight in peaceful serenity.

Or they sprinkle water

And sweep the monasteries and stupas clean,

Using clear, pure water,

Honey-water, and fruit juice,

Fragrant mixtures and clay;

They play various instruments,

Calm their minds, and take refuge,

Making offerings to the Supremely Victorious One.

Whatever objects they may use

To make offerings to the relics

After the Tathagata’s cessation,

Whether their reverence is slight or great,

Even if only once

They beat a drum or play music—

People such as these

Will all attain the Buddha path.

Suppose, with a purified mind,

They gaze reverently upon a painted image,

Holding a single flower

And offering it to a sculpted image,

Expressing reverence

And believing without doubt;

Gradually they will encounter

Countless millions of Buddhas.

There are also those

Who join their palms before a stupa,

Even if only once,

Circumambulate it while facing toward it,

Bow in homage to the Great Sage,

And lower their heads in praise.

Those who perform such deeds,

Their bodies free from defilement,

Will gradually encounter

Countless millions of Buddhas

And, together with the Tathagatas,

Accomplish many beneficial purposes.

Suppose someone

Makes offerings to relics

And merely recites the words:

“Namo Buddhaya.”

Even if one’s mind is distracted,

If one utters these words,

People such as these

Will attain the Buddha path.

Through the causes and conditions of cessation,

They extinguish the poisonous flames;

People such as these

Will attain the Buddha path.

Within the assembly,

They establish faith;

At that time, abiding securely,

They aid and rescue all beings.

Suppose someone

Hears the name of this Dharma—

People such as these

Will attain the Buddha path.

In future ages,

Countless millions of Buddhas

Beyond conception

Beyond all measure

The Supreme Buddhas,

Teachers of the world,

Will expound for them

Wisdom and skillful means.

These great beings,

Through skillful means,

Will attain Buddhahood.

The Guides of the world

Teach and transform

Myriads of kotis of living beings

Through meditation and wisdom,

So as to eliminate the defilements.

Upon hearing this Dharma,

There is not a single being—

Among all living creatures—

Who will not awaken.

The Dharma of the Great Sages

Accords with their former vows;

While practicing the Buddha Way,

They attained complete liberation.

Immeasurable Dharma gates,

Countless thousands of kotis,

Only at the final time

Do they expound.

The Most Honored Ones

Always proclaim the wondrous Dharma;

Thus one may encounter

The true teaching of the Buddhas.

All dharmas are originally pure,

Ever functioning naturally.

These principles

Are revealed and taught by the Buddha;

Only the Fully Honored One

Can distinguish and explain them,

Proclaiming and teaching the Dharma,

The meaning of the One Vehicle.

The Dharma brings the mind to concentration,

The resolve firmly upholds the precepts;

Ever abiding in the world,

They chant and expound it,

Joining together in praise

Of skillful means.

The Supremely Victorious Buddhas,

Whose aspiration is vast,

Are worthy of offerings

And are revered by gods and humans.

The Buddhas of the present,

Numerous as the sands of the Ganges,

Wish to bring benefit and peace

To all multitudes.

The Perfectly Enlightened Ones,

Like all the Buddhas,

In all that they proclaim,

Employ skillful means.

However many teachings they give

To reveal and lead beings into the Way,

They all praise

That Way of the One Vehicle.

In the place of tranquil stillness,

There are not two vehicles.

The Buddha knows living beings,

The merits they have cultivated

Since lives in the past,

Their dispositions and aspirations,

Their diligent choices,

And the roots of their origins.

For those not yet liberated,

He explains distinctions.

The Guides,

Using many causes and conditions

And words of inducement,

Manifest solely

To observe living beings,

Help them attain peace and joy,

And employ many forms of speech

To teach and transform them.

Now I do likewise.

As the Honored One among humans,

I reveal to living beings

The Dharma’s benefit and peace.

Using sounds and voices

In hundreds of thousands of myriads of kotis,

I do so solely to reveal

The Buddha’s great Way.

The Tathagata expounds the Dharma

Through many skillful means,

Knowing living beings

And what delights their minds.

Through manifold forms and appearances,

He causes them to rejoice.

By virtue of that wisdom,

He accords with the power of the Way.

I am the Dharma King,

Ruling over all and seeing clearly

Those who are foolish and deluded,

Bereft of the virtue of wisdom,

Fallen into birth and death,

Plunged into a deep and perilous chasm,

Unable to attain liberation;

In later lives they endure hardship,

Bound by craving and desire,

Racing through death and birth,

Wearied by the dust of defilements.

Today, freely at ease,

The Great Sage of awe-inspiring spiritual power

Knows what they seek.

Unprecedented dharmas

Bring them suffering and calamity;

The multitudes of blind beings,

Submerged in the six realms,

Cling to wrong views,

Unable to escape,

Filled with suffering and affliction,

And straying onto perilous paths.

I brought forth great loving-kindness,

Taking pity on the foolish and ignorant.

I went to the place of enlightenment

And sat there in peace,

Spreading grass to make a seat.

Throughout seven days,

I contemplated and reflected:

“What Dharma should I seek

To bring an end to suffering

And the arrogance of the world?”

I gazed upon the great tree,

My eyes never blinking.

I also practiced walking meditation

Around that great tree.

Through supreme wisdom,

I attained the rare Way,

While living beings revolved

Within great ignorance.

At that time Brahma,

Knowing the Buddha’s intent,

Together with Shakra, the Four Heavenly Kings,

The guardian deities of the world,

Maheshvara,

And the virtuous hosts of gods,

In countless thousands of kotis,

All understood this together.

They all joined their palms

And bowed down in reverence.

The Tathagata reflected:

“What should I do?

If I praise

The virtues of the Buddha,

Those who are confused and obscured

Will refuse to believe and follow.

Those who are foolish

Will give rise to slander;

Having slandered it,

They will fall into what is contrary to the Dharma.

Never before have I

Spoken this wondrous Dharma.

They habitually delight in other things;

How, then, should I teach them?

I consider the deeds

Of the Buddhas of the past.

At that time, those Buddhas

Skillfully employed expedient means.

Now I too should

Divide that Buddha Way

Into three vehicles

And thereby teach and transform them.”

When I had first attained the Way,

I thought in this manner.

The Buddha World-Honored Ones

Throughout the ten directions

All manifested their bodies.

Those Sages

Praised me, saying, “Excellent!

We praise

And extol the Able and Benevolent One,

The Teacher of the world.

This is the true Dharma;

It should be reverently upheld,

And carefully contemplated.

Skillfully employ expedient means.

The great sacred scriptures

Also teach how to save the world.

We, the Buddhas,

Following the Tathagatas,

Divide the teaching into three vehicles

To teach and transform beings.

For those of little wisdom,

Inferior, frail, and weak,

Upon hearing the Buddhas’ teaching,

Cannot have confidence in themselves.

For this reason, we

Seek means to help them,

Using expedient means

To manifest for their sake,

Praising and extolling

The fruits they have realized,

And also encouraging

Countless bodhisattvas.”

At that time, the Tathagata,

Hearing these words of praise,

Immediately understood clearly

The words of the Buddhas.

The Most Honored Ones

Gave rise to joyful hearts.

The One of Great Spiritual Powers

Distinguished name and form.

Then everyone

Would practice the Way

In accordance with the teachings

Of the Guides.

Bhikshus, when I

Was born in the human realm,

Amid ordinary beings,

I also practiced that Dharma.

O Shariputra!

When I understood this,

I immediately went

To the land of Varanasi

And at once assembled

The bhikshus.

The gathered assembly wished to know

The Dharma skillfully employed by the Buddha.

At the proper time, the Tathagata

Turned the wheel of Dharma,

Initiating and proclaiming

Cessation and nirvana,

And the fruit of arhatship.

The voice of Dharma sounded in praise;

The Tathagata extolled

The virtues of the assembly of Sages.

In their midst,

I expounded this scripture.

All came

To take refuge in the World-Honored One,

Joined their palms together,

And stood in deep reverence.

The Tathagata, through skillful means,

Acted for the sake of all living beings.

At that time, the World-Honored One

Reflected thus:

“Now the proper time has come

For me to expound the honored Dharma.”

The reason the Tathagata

Appears in the world

Is to proclaim

The supreme Buddha Vehicle.

Because foolish beings

Give rise to many deluded thoughts,

If this Dharma were spoken,

Few would believe and follow it.

Arrogant and conceited,

They would refuse to accept it reverently.

Yet this Dharma

Will be heard by bodhisattvas,

Who rejoice in the Buddha’s words

And courageously cultivate and uphold it;

All their bonds

Will then be severed at the proper time.

Today I proclaim

The supreme great Dharma

Precisely to exhort beings

To enter the Buddha’s awakened wisdom.

The children of the Buddhas,

Encountering this Dharma,

Will thereby believe and understand,

And practice in accordance with the Dharma and discipline.

The one thousand two hundred

Arhats,

Whose defilements have ended,

Will all, here,

Accomplish the Buddha Way.

Just as in ancient times

The great and holy Buddhas taught,

And as the Buddhas of the future will teach,

This is the most excellent Dharma.

I too am the same:

First casting aside deluded thoughts,

Only afterward do I come

To expound the Dharma of the Buddha Vehicle.

Only after a very long time

Does there appear in the world

One of sublime wisdom

Who reveals the sacred Way.

The wisdom-eye of liberation

Has appeared in the world;

Its selection is exceedingly rare.

The Buddha expounds this Dharma

Only after hundreds of thousands of kotis

Of immeasurable kalpas;

Only now may it be encountered,

As in the age of the semblance Dharma.

Suppose bodhisattvas

Encounter this sutra,

Or come to hear

The honored Buddha Way;

It is like the udumbara flower,

Seen only after long intervals.

When that flower is seen,

Everyone delights in it.

Its color is exquisitely wondrous,

Joyous, beautiful, and rarely found.

In heaven and beneath it,

The unsurpassed Sage’s

Great and honored Dharma

Is truly precious and rare.

Suppose someone

Expounds this sutra,

Uttering even once

Words of joyful exhortation;

That person has thereby made offerings

To all the Buddhas.

That person’s mind

Is free from confusion and doubt.

I am the Dharma King,

Teaching and transforming everywhere.

Within my Dharma,

I encourage all shravakas

To follow

The Buddha Way.

O Shariputra!

And all the shravakas

Now present here

Are remaining silent.

Those bodhisattvas,

Whose minds are courageous,

Should secretly uphold this Dharma

And never speak of it carelessly.

Why is this so? In the world

There are the five defilements,

And there are living beings

Whose minds are evil and aspirations base,

Who are greedy, lustful, and ignorant,

And delight in slander.

Such people

Cannot attain the Way.

If, in the future,

They should hear this Dharma—

The sole Buddha Vehicle

Taught by the Tathagata—

And if anyone,

Upon hearing this supreme Dharma,

Should slander this sutra,

That person will immediately fall into hell.

Only those who possess

A sense of shame and purity,

Whose aspiration has given rise to the resolve

Following the Buddha’s teaching,

Awakening to the Mahayana Dharma,

Their merit and blessings are immeasurable.

The sacred wisdom of the Buddhas

Will at once appear before their eyes.

The Teacher of the world

Expounds the Dharma in this way,

Using skillful means as appropriate,

In myriad hundreds of thousands of millions,

Making innumerable distinctions,

Yet without conceptual thought.

Those who do not learn

Cannot fully comprehend.

Therefore, know that

Those who understand the true words,

When the Noble One appears in the world,

And cultivate in accord with luminous wisdom,

Severing all doubts,

Eliminating all hesitation,

Joyful and steadfast in resolve,

Will all attain Buddhahood.

Notes:

[1] The Three Matters 三事, also called the Three Powers or Three Powers of Mindfulness, comprise: 1. The power of fulfilling vows: the power to guide and transform sentient beings, bringing them to the fruit of Buddhahood. 2. The power of samadhi: the Buddha’s power of meditative concentration. 3. The power of fundamental merit: the power of merit accumulated through cultivation over innumerable kalpas (Fo Guang Dictionary of Buddhism, published by Fo Guang Shan, vol. 1, p. 563, 1989).