德光太子經

Thus have I heard:

At one time, the Buddha was dwelling on Vulture Peak near the city of Rajagriha, together with a great assembly of one thousand two hundred and fifty bhiksus and five hundred bodhisattvas.

At that time, the Venerable Rastrapala had just completed the three-month summer retreat in the kingdom of Sravasti. After having a complete set of three new robes made, the Venerable put on his robes, took up his bowl, and traveled through various lands teaching and transforming beings, accompanied by one hundred newly ordained bhiksus. The bhiksus together arrived at Vulture Peak in the great city of Rajagriha. The Venerable Rastrapala then approached the Buddha, bowed his head and paid homage at the Buddha’s feet, and stood to one side. Rastrapala asked the Blessed One:

“What practices do great bodhisattva beings undertake so that they attain all the wondrous merits of the Dharma, even unsurpassed wisdom that is fearless and unwavering; bring forth luminous eloquence that illuminates and penetrates all things; enter all-knowledge in order to teach sentient beings, enabling them to attain liberation and put an end to their doubts; skillfully employ expedient means to manifest all-knowledge; make their words and deeds accord with one another; and always inquire with skillful methods that accord with the intentions of the Buddhas, so that all who hear the teachings can retain them and swiftly attain all-knowledge?”

The Venerable Rastrapala then praised the Buddha and questioned him in verse:

How does a bodhisattva fulfill his practices?

How may his actions accord with truth?

How are vows, wisdom, and merit perfected?

May the Honored One explain this to us.

Your body, the color of pure gold, is wondrously beautiful;

You are the Honored One among humans, replete with lofty virtue,

Protecting and rescuing all beings everywhere.

May the Buddha explain the unsurpassed practices.

How does one attain inexhaustible wisdom

And immeasurable dharanis of the supreme Buddha-path?

How does one attain the practice of equality

And resolve the doubts of sentient beings?

For countless kotis of kalpas, they delight in samsara,

Their minds never wishing to become weary of it.

Having seen the myriad sufferings of human existence,

How does one skillfully employ expedient means to reveal and disclose the truth,

Purifying Buddha-lands and bringing their retinues to perfection?

So too with radiance and lifespan;

All regard these as quiescent and silent.

I bow and beseech the Buddha to teach these practices:

Subduing Mara and his retinue and severing all views;

Escaping the round of craving and transcending perception and formations.

How should the meaning of the Dharma scriptures be expounded?

May the Buddha explain all true practices.

The One of eloquence, adorned with excellent marks,

Proclaims wondrous sounds for sentient beings,

Pervading the entire world like nourishing rain.

May the Buddha explain all practices of awakening.

Your wondrous speech is like the kalavinka bird;

Your Brahma-voice is free from doubt, and the sound of wisdom is clear.

The assembled multitude thirsts to hear the Dharma scriptures.

You shower all beings with amrita.

Whoever wishes to train in the noble Buddha-path

Must resolve to practice the Dharma diligently and vigorously.

All Dharma taught by the Tathagata is impartial.

I bow and beseech the Dharma King to teach at the proper time.

I long to hear the true and right path.

The Buddha, God of Gods, knows my intention.

Now I dare not disturb you;

I only beseech the Buddha to expound the unsurpassed practices.

The Buddha said to Rastrapala:

“Excellent! Excellent! You alone are able to question the Tathagata about these meanings, because you are mindful of and wish to bring peace and security to many people, because you compassionately care for the devas and humans of the world, and also because you wish to proclaim these teachings so that bodhisattvas in future ages may practice them. Rastrapala, listen attentively and bear this well in mind. I shall explain it to you.”

Rastrapala replied:

“Yes, Blessed One. I wish to receive and understand the teaching.”

“Rastrapala, a bodhisattva has four dharmas through which he attains purity of practice. What are the four?

1. Practicing with an impartial mind, free from flattery.

2. Maintaining an impartial mind toward all sentient beings.

3. Thoroughly understanding the Dharma of emptiness.

4. Making one’s words and actions accord with each other.

“These are the four dharmas which a bodhisattva cultivates to swiftly attain purity of practice.”

The Buddha said to Rastrapala:

“A bodhisattva also has four dharmas through which he attains peace, security, and diligence. What are the four?

1. Attaining dharanis.

2. Encountering spiritual friends.

3. Attaining patience with regard to dharmas.

4. Acting impartially and maintaining pure precepts.”

The Buddha said to Rastrapala:

“A bodhisattva also has four dharmas through which he enters the realm of worldly defilements yet remains at ease amid the dharmas of birth and death. What are the four?

1. A bodhisattva manifests the body of a Buddha and enters samsara, encouraging sentient beings always to attain joy with regard to the dharmas of arising and cessation.

2. He expounds the gentle and accommodating Dharma for sentient beings.

3. He does not cherish or begrudge any of his possessions.

4. He constantly attains patience regarding the non-arising of dharmas.”

The Buddha said to Rastrapala:

“A bodhisattva also has four dharmas of non-attachment. What are the four?

1. A bodhisattva should not be attached to lands or dwellings.

2. A bodhisattva who has renounced the household life should not crave wealth or gain.

3. A bodhisattva should not seek the rewards of merit.

4. A bodhisattva should not cherish his body or life.”

“Rastrapala, a bodhisattva also has four dharmas through which he never becomes weary of the Dharma. What are the four?

1. His observance of the precepts suffers no deficiency.

2. He constantly dwells in secluded and tranquil places.

3. He practices the four practices of the noble sages.

4. He becomes learned and hears much.”

“Rastrapala, a bodhisattva also has four dharmas through which he attains non-conceptual awareness present everywhere. What are the four?

1. He is born in a fortunate realm and often encounters a Buddha appearing in the world.

2. He hears the instructions of venerable elders without behaving flatteringly.

3. He gladly accepts instruction, and his mind is not attached to wealth or gain.

4. He attains eloquence that penetrates the essentials of the Dharma.”

“Rastrapala, a bodhisattva has four dharmas through which he attains purity of practice. What are the four?

1. A bodhisattva lives without any intention to harm others.

2. He abandons all false, deceitful, and fraudulent conduct and delights in dwelling in secluded places.

3. He gives away all his possessions without craving or begrudging them and without seeking any reward.

4. Day and night, he constantly resolves to seek the teachings; when he sees one who expounds the Dharma, he does not look for that person’s shortcomings.

“These are the four dharmas through which a great bodhisattva attains purity of practice.”

At that time, the Buddha spoke in verse:

One whose mind is not attached to defiled worldly dharmas

Will likewise no longer despise faults and offenses.

With resolve unwearied in teaching the Dharma,

One can attain the unsurpassed path.

Even when encountering misfortune, the mind remains composed;

Though entering places filled with wrong practices, the roots of evil destinies,

Having renounced the household life to train in the path, one has no regrets,

And dwells in mountains and forests, aspiring to liberation.

Dwelling in seclusion, one gives rise to nothing;

The mind is not intoxicated by forms, gain, or wealth.

One relinquishes one’s own body without craving or regret;

Practicing like a lion, whom could one fear?

The mind is peaceful, joyful, and content,

Like a bird in flight, fearing nothing.

Nothing in all the world abides forever;

Resolve to seek the Buddha-path and practice great wisdom.

Delight in dwelling alone like a rhinoceros;

Be fearless like a lion.

With a mind free from anxiety and a resolve that never strays,

Even when receiving offerings, remain at ease.

Eliminate wrongful speech and evil views;

With clear wisdom, practice greatly and resolve to understand the path.

For the sake of the world, I protect all beings,

Skillfully employing expedient means without negligence.

With single-minded intent, uphold the precepts to liberate beings;

Let the mind not be confused or attached amid affection and desire.

Carefully maintain right conduct as though extinguishing a fire;

Constantly seek the wondrous practices of the Blessed One.

Having been freed through emptiness, there are no marks;

Each and every quality is complete, tranquil, and serene.

Wisdom shines brilliantly in calm awareness;

Attaining the flavor of amrita, one is always joyful.

If one awakens to and understands the Buddha’s intent,

One is ever pure and free from doubt.

With dharanis and eloquence, the mind is single-pointed;

One endures every suffering without concern for recompense.

If a bodhisattva hears these practices

And wishes to seek the Buddha-path, he should rejoice.

His resolve should always be diligent and never weary;

Understanding defilement and ignorance, his mind does no harm.

The Buddha said to Rastrapala:

“A bodhisattva has four dharmas that cause him to fall by his own doing. What are the four?

1. A bodhisattva who is arrogant and disrespectful causes his own downfall.”

2. A bodhisattva who does not repay kindness and habitually acts with flattery brings about his own downfall.

3. A bodhisattva who covets material gain and seeks offerings brings about his own downfall.

4. A bodhisattva who engages in wrong conduct and flatteringly seeks offerings brings about his own downfall.

Rāṣṭrapāla, a bodhisattva has four qualities that cause him to fall into the pit of wrong conduct. What are the four?

1. Laziness is a quality that causes one to fall into the pit of wrong conduct.

2. Lacking pure faith.

3. Giving rise to deluded thoughts.

4. Becoming jealous upon seeing others receive offerings.

Rāṣṭrapāla, a bodhisattva should not cultivate four things. What are the four?

1. A bodhisattva should not associate with those who hold wrong views.

2. A bodhisattva should not associate with those who slander the true Dharma.

3. A bodhisattva should not associate with evil spiritual companions.

4. A bodhisattva should not associate with those who greedily crave clothing, food, and drink.

Rāṣṭrapāla, a bodhisattva has four qualities whose offenses lead to suffering. What are the four?

1. Relying on his wisdom, he becomes arrogant and harbors jealousy.

2. His mind is joyless, and he lacks pure conduct.

3. He is unable to practice patience and merely covets the possessions of others.

4. He clings to the notions of a self and a person in relation to dharmas.

Rāṣṭrapāla, a bodhisattva also has four qualities by which he binds himself. What are the four?

1. A bodhisattva who delights in treating others with contempt thereby binds himself.

2. A bodhisattva who lives in the world, engaging in commerce and politics and thereby giving rise to deceitful thoughts, binds himself.

3. A bodhisattva who refuses the Dharma of wisdom in his thoughts and lives heedlessly thereby binds himself.

4. A bodhisattva whose mind remains dependent upon lineage thereby binds himself.

Rāṣṭrapāla, in a future age, among those studying the bodhisattva path there will be corrupt people devoid of virtuous conduct. Offerings will be made to those devoid of conduct, who are flatterers. Offerings will be made to those flatterers, who are devoid of wisdom.

Offerings will be made to those devoid of wisdom, who greedily seek clothing and food, whose minds are not upright, and who harbor only wickedness and jealousy concerning flattering lineages. They will lack simple honesty and will be skilled at deceiving elders and members of households. After accepting and using offerings, they will in return revile others, their thoughts consumed by greed for wealth and gain.

When traveling through towns and districts, they will not remember to teach the Dharma and instruct people through skillful means. Though devoid of wisdom, they will consider themselves wise; when they see others who possess wisdom and are accomplished teachers, they will treat them with contempt. If there is someone devoid of conduct, a vessel of destruction, he will instead seek out the strengths and weaknesses of others, abandon diligent practice, and become ignorant and lazy.

He will give little thought to wisdom, but will instead destroy the Teaching, depart from the assembly, form factions that injure others, and bring about mutual disputes. He will furthermore claim that others lack conduct and that he alone serves the Teaching, though he neither upholds the precepts nor wishes to hear the Dharma, nor practices diligently.... Such a person will certainly be born among the lowly, into poor, wretched, and afflicted families.

If he becomes a śramaṇa and concerns himself only with seeking wealth and gain, he will be unable to find peace wherever he dwells. How much less could he do so when his resolve is disordered? Although single-mindedly practicing the Buddha’s merit, he will continue to crave the benefits of houses and property, and then proclaim himself a śramaṇa.

The Buddha taught:

—I do not call such a person one who practices the bodhisattva Dharma. Even in hundreds of thousands of kalpas, such a person could not attain the patient acceptance of concordance with the Dharma, much less attain the practice of Perfect Awakening through the wisdom of a Buddha.

Rāṣṭrapāla, I say not only that such people fall into the deep pit of the three evil destinies, but also that they must fall into eight evil circumstances. What are the eight?

1. Being born in a borderland.

2. Being born into an impoverished family.

3. Wherever they are born, having an ugly countenance and bodily form.

4. Being born into a wicked and violent family.

5. Habitually encountering evil spiritual companions throughout life.

6. Suffering many illnesses.

7. Wherever they are born, having a short lifespan.

8. Dying an untimely death.

These are the eight evil circumstances into which a bodhisattva who falls into the crooked pit must descend. Why is this?

Rāṣṭrapāla, I do not say that the bodhisattva’s vows and conduct can be accomplished through empty words alone. I do not regard human deception as pure conduct, nor flattering speech as bodhisattva conduct. I do not regard craving clothing and food as making offerings to the Buddha.

I do not call the arrogant pure in wisdom, nor do I say that merely possessing intellectual knowledge eradicates defiled doubts. I do not say that the jealous possess pure intentions, or that those with many cravings attain dharani. I do not say that those who fail to perceive true virtue and are always obstructed will be born in a wholesome realm, or that those attached to lineage and sensual beauty will obtain a pure body.

I do not say that those with confused thoughts will attain meditative concentration like that of a Buddha, that those who practice without sincerity will obtain a pure mind, that the proud will attain lofty conduct, or that those who know no contentment will obtain excellent qualities. I do not say that those who begrudge their bodies and lives possess the resolve to seek the Dharma.

The Buddha spoke these verses:

The ignorant recklessly indulge their consciousness,

Full of craving, irreverent, and contemptuous;

Their defiled minds give rise to sensual thoughts—

Such people are very far from the path.

Craving offerings, their indolence increases;

They lack diligence, and pure faith disappears.

They ruin pure conduct and lose right morality;

Transgressing the prohibitions, they utterly lose the wholesome path.

Born in poverty, they become śramaṇas;

In destitution, they seek provisions and support.

Like paupers utterly bereft of treasure,

They wander afar in search of wealth.

Those who crave offerings in secluded places

There gratify their sensual desires.

Though gaining superknowledges, wisdom, and eloquence,

They abandon home yet accept possessions.

Failing to see the path, they follow evil ways

And are born into lowly, impoverished homes.

Their faces are ugly and without dignity;

They fall into arrogance and abundant delusion.

They become lowly people without renown or virtue,

Their heedless minds coveting wealth and gain.

In future lives they are born in exceedingly evil places;

For millions of kalpas they cannot find a wholesome path.

Suppose one practices without craving gain:

Among gods and humans, one will surely become a Buddha.

Neither wind nor tempest can move one,

For one seeks to make offerings, not personal gain.

One devoid of merit who expects it from others,

Whose resolve lacks diligence, loses wholesome conduct;

Destroying and disobeying the precepts,

His mind cannot attain the path of wisdom.

One who is utterly sincere in the Buddha’s Dharma

Will never finally lose the resolve to practice the path.

With steadfast vows, one remains ever pure;

To uphold it thus is itself the path.

In seeking Buddhahood, I had no regrets;

I gave even my own body to seek the scriptural Dharma.

Those who abandon the Dharma and lack diligence

Cause the Dharma-path to lose its meaning.

Though there is a great radiant lamp, they cannot see it;

From the beginning, I sought to expound its wholesome meaning.

Delighting in hearing the Teaching and then practicing it,

One severs and removes all craving and desire.

However much of the Buddha’s Dharma they have heard,

They cannot fully realize even a single phrase.

How could those practicing contrary to the Dharma attain the path?

It is like a blind man showing someone a shortcut.

The Buddha told Rāṣṭrapāla:

—In the distant past, inconceivably many incalculable kalpas ago, there was a Buddha named Auspicious Meaning Tathagata, Unattached One, Perfectly Awakened One. That Buddha, the God Above Gods, taught and transformed beings throughout the world. At that time, there was a king named Āt Chân Vô.

O Rāṣṭrapāla, King Át Chân Vô ruled foremost over the entire realm of Jambudvīpa, which measured six hundred and forty thousand miles in length and breadth. In Jambudvīpa there were twenty thousand great cities and hundreds of thousands of millions of households. King Át Chân Vô resided in the great city of Radiant Jewel Light. That city was four hundred and eighty miles long and two hundred and eighty miles wide, and was constructed of the seven precious substances. It had eight thoroughfares running north and south, from which all activities could be fully observed. At that time, the lifespan of the people was one billion nayutas of years.

O Rāṣṭrapāla, King Át Chân Vô had a son named Đức Quang, who was handsome and noble in appearance and possessed extraordinary spiritual majesty. When the prince was born, a thousand treasuries filled with the seven precious substances spontaneously appeared. Within each treasury, all manner of national treasures appeared naturally, and the treasuries of the seven precious substances stood eighty feet high.

When Prince Đức Quang was born, all the people of Jambudvīpa rejoiced greatly. All those confined in prisons were released. Within only seven days of his birth, Prince Đức Quang possessed penetrating wisdom and understood all matters, both spiritual and worldly.

O Rāṣṭrapāla, at that time, devas from the Pure Abodes came at midnight to Prince Đức Quang and said to him:

“Prince, you must not live heedlessly.”

From that time onward, throughout ten thousand years, Prince Đức Quang never indulged in sleep or rest, nor did he engage in amusements. He never delighted in singing, dancing, or music, nor did he go to watch or listen to them. He never cherished his own life, nor did he think about instrumental music, singing, or dancing. He did not covet wealth or profit and gave no thought to family life. He was not attached to royal authority and harbored no desire for it. He did not cherish any of his possessions, but constantly established vows with a single-minded resolve. He always remained in secluded places, using tranquility to dispel every difficulty, and attained contentment with few desires.

The prince reflected: “In this life, all who are born must die; the life of the body cannot be preserved. What is there in life worthy of attachment? Affection and love unite and then disperse. With no teacher to guide them, people commit offenses contrary to the Dharma and thereby give rise to sorrow and fear. Yet ordinary beings never grow weary of this; driven by the power of ignorance, they continually delight in contention. I have now fallen into a course in which I do not know what should be done; I wish only to remain silent.”

At that time, the prince dwelt alone in a quiet and secluded place. His mind was never heedless; he remained far removed from every kind of sensual desire and practiced impartial contemplation.

O Rāṣṭrapāla, at that time, in another region of King Át Chân Vô’s realm, there was a great city named Delight in Giving Wealth. The king built for the prince a thoroughfare running north and south, with eight tiers and eight hundred intersections, all fashioned from the seven precious substances. Within the seven tiers of walls, canopies were also fashioned from the seven precious substances, and strings of white jade were woven together.

Amid all the rows of balustrades stood eighty thousand precious pillars, and each such precious pillar was linked to sixty thousand precious cords. Each of all those precious cords was bound together with one hundred and forty billion strands. Whenever the wind blew, the cords moved one after another, producing hundreds of thousands of harmonious musical sounds.

Before the rows of balustrades were five hundred palace maidens who beat drums, played music, sang, and danced, producing melodious sounds and performing the finest dances. They could delight everyone, from the king and officials to the entire populace, and they performed for Prince Đức Quang.

The king commanded the palace maidens:

“Abandon all other duties and devote yourselves entirely, throughout day and night, to singing and dancing in order to delight the prince. Do not allow the prince to see anything displeasing.”

The prince’s royal father had all manner of articles for giving placed and stored along the corridors. Those who were hungry were given food, and those who were thirsty were given drink. Those who needed carts or horses were given carts and horses. Those who needed clothing, flowers, incense, sitting mats, houses, lamps, and other things were fully provided with whatever they sought. Gold, silver, moon-bright jewels, vaiḍūrya, crystal, elephants, horses, all the seven precious substances, and jeweled necklaces were supplied to everyone.

In the very center of this city, the king built a palace of the seven precious substances, with eight tiers arranged closely together. Within it was an assembly hall containing four hundred million beds and seats for the prince’s use. In the city was a flower garden containing innumerable fruit trees, whose foliage continually formed a covering like great parasols.

O Rāṣṭrapāla, in the very center of that garden was a bathing pool made of the seven precious substances, with balustrades of gold, silver, crystal, and vaiḍūrya. Within it were eight hundred lion heads from which water flowed into the bathing pool, and there were another eight hundred lion heads from which the water flowed out. Four kinds of flowers continually grew in the pool: blue lotuses, red lotuses, white lotuses, and yellow lotuses.

Rows of precious trees surrounded the pool, and all those trees bore flowers and fruit. Beside the pool were also eight hundred precious trees serving as adornments. In the spaces among the precious trees were twelve precious trees, and each tree was hung with eighty-eight kinds of precious cords linked together.

When the wind blew, those cords moved together and produced hundreds of thousands of different sounds. Above each bathing pool, curtains of the seven precious substances were suspended in rows. Prince Đức Quang frequently came to bathe in this pool.

In the assembly hall were four billion beds and seats made of the seven precious substances, each spread with five hundred sitting mats. In the very center of the assembly hall was erected a great throne made of the seven precious substances, spread with eight billion beautiful robes as sitting mats. The throne stood fifty-six feet high, and Prince Đức Quang frequently sat upon it.

Beneath all the beds, seats, and thrones were incense burners in which fragrant incense was burned three times each day and night. Beautiful flowers were scattered, and everything was covered with lotuses the color of precious gold. In the palace hung a canopy of moon-bright jewels, from which eighty thousand moon-bright jewels were suspended.

The light of those jewels shone throughout the ten directions. Banners, streamers, and precious parasols were hung from all the branches of the trees. Throughout all the gardens there were ninety thousand moon-bright jewels, each of which emitted light for forty miles, illuminating the entire Buddha-land.

O Rāṣṭrapāla, the garden also contained many species of birds, such as parrots, Lô tư birds, Câu kỳ birds, peacocks, geese, mandarin ducks, Cưu-na-la birds, and red-crested pheasants. Together they produced myriad wondrous sounds to delight Prince Đức Quang. The king regularly ordered five hundred dishes to be prepared and presented to the prince.

At that time, five hundred young men lived throughout all the chambers. They were between sixteen and twenty years of age and had been selected from various kingdoms and brought to this city. All possessed consummate skill and artistry, and there was nothing they could not accomplish. They understood every occupation under heaven.

There were also eight billion young women in this city. These maidens were exceedingly graceful and beautiful, between sixteen and twenty years of age, and highly accomplished in singing and dancing. They could delight men, and their speech was gentle, skillful, and timely. They were neither tall nor short, neither stout nor thin, neither pale nor dark. Their mouths continually carried the fragrance of utpala flowers, and their bodies exuded the scent of sandalwood. They all resembled celestial jeweled maidens and constantly surrounded Prince Đức Quang in the garden, beating drums, playing instruments, singing, and dancing.

At that time, Prince Virtuous Radiance thought to himself: “Now, without cause, I seem to have encountered great enemies; they have disturbed my pure and unsullied Dharma. I must practice the conduct of non-attachment.” The prince became sorrowful and joyless. He was like a person held in confinement whose heart is unhappy; Prince Virtuous Radiance was likewise.

He saw the palace women dancing and singing, yet his mind was never heedless. He did not regard these things as marvelous, nor was he attached to cities, fortresses, or carriages. For more than a thousand years, he had never craved sensual beauty or even entertained thoughts of it.

He had also eliminated all perceptions of sounds, fragrances, flavors, and tactile objects, and single-mindedly concentrated on this thought: “These are enemies that bind me. How can I escape them, attain liberation, and live in diligence?”

Then the palace women went and reported to King Át Chân Vô:

“The prince neither listens to nor watches music and dancing, but is continually sorrowful and joyless.”

O Rāṣṭrapāla, King Át Chân Vô then went with eighty thousand lesser kings to Prince Virtuous Radiance. Overcome with compassion, shedding tears, sorrowful and joyless, he collapsed to the ground. His attendants immediately helped him to his feet. The king spoke these verses to the prince:

Look upon all my precious jewels;

They appeared spontaneously when you were born.

Tell me who has troubled you,

And I shall punish the culprit as is fitting.

Look upon this place, which resembles a heavenly realm;

I shall fulfill whatever you desire.

Whatever the prince may lack today,

I shall bestow it all upon you.

Behold these sensual delights pleasing to your eyes;

All the palace women are playing music.

Let them bring you joy and dispel all sorrow;

The lively drums continually inspire delight.

You shall savor their exquisite sounds,

As drums, strings, and songs blend in rhythm.

Today is truly a time for your rejoicing;

In that lake, precious lotuses vie in bloom.

The garden’s flowers and fruits are beautiful beyond measure;

Everything is lovely, without the slightest blemish.

Regard this as the foremost wisdom and repose,

Capable of bringing us boundless joy.

Enter the lake, bathe, and delight to your heart’s content;

White, yellow, red, and blue lotuses,

And every kind of pink lotus shine radiantly.

Why do you behold them yet feel no joy?

Lô-tư birds, parrots, Câu-kỳ-hạc,

And Ca-na-kỳ-ca sing melodiously.

White lotuses, snowy white, spread their fragrance;

Why do these resounding notes bring you no joy?

Moon-bright jewels illuminate the entire hall;

Lapis lazuli and dragon-gold form the balustrades.

Rare and precious jewels of surpassing beauty abound;

The trees and leaves resound for miles.

For your sake, gifts are arrayed beside the veranda;

Thousands of palace women perform their songs.

They sound like heavenly maidens playing myriad melodies;

What occupies your thoughts and keeps you from joy?

Now, amid so many beautiful words,

Does hearing me speak bring gladness to your heart?

Your parents stand here, their eyes overflowing with tears;

Have you no compassion for us?

Prince Virtuous Radiance then replied to the king in verse:

Those who preserve merit and virtue

Abandon every word born of wrong views.

Because I have grown weary of suffering and pleasure,

I do not crave fruitless sensual desire.

I see that throughout the five destinies,

All beings are subject to death and birth.

Now I must speak of liberation;

I pray, royal father, listen:

Please do not disturb me.

How can I make this understood?

I do not crave sensual pleasure;

How could song and dance bring me joy?

All sensual desires

I regard as enemies.

The defilements of craving and attachment

Follow those immersed in the five destinies.

These palace women here,

Unaware, become infatuated and attached.

These are all the works of Māra,

Great bonds that follow human beings.

Noble sages and practitioners of the Way

Never offer them praise.

Those perpetually intoxicated by sensual desire

Make it the root of every cause.

The bodies of these palace women

Are like bags of human skin,

With sinews and bones woven together—

Fragile and of no benefit.

They are no different from beautiful vessels

Filled within with impurities,

And resemble charnel grounds;

How could I delight in them?

The sounds of drums and music

Are neither received nor possessed.

All are illusory combinations, O King;

Understanding this, one is not deluded.

If one continually keeps them in mind,

One immediately loses one-pointed concentration.

Those who pursue the sounds of defilement

Are like senile and confused people.

All trees and plants,

When overtaken by a great fire,

Cannot continue to exist.

At times their fruits may be displeasing;

They too are impermanent,

So one should not remain attached to trees.

I have understood it thus:

How could one trifle with this brief life?

Parents cannot preserve it,

Nor can brothers, sisters, wife, or children.

At the end of life, one has no autonomy.

All possessions

Are like dew upon the tips of grass;

One should not allow the mind to become heedless.

Indulging freely in heedlessness,

The mind can never be satisfied.

Sensual affection is likewise

As boundless as the great ocean.

Having obtained one thing, people desire another;

Because of sensual craving,

Everyone lives without restraint,

Like Mount Sumeru.

People take the mind as their basis,

Yet the life of the body swiftly passes,

Like the current of a flowing river;

No sooner joined than it quickly disperses.

It disintegrates and does not endure,

Like a flash of lightning amid thunder.

Through attachment to the desires of the three realms,

Wisdom fails to penetrate.

The devas came and instructed me

Not to live in heedlessness.

Because I follow the bodhisattva conduct,

I am not attached to any possession.

Aspiring to accomplish the Buddha Way

And cherishing compassion for all sentient beings,

I do not engage in sexual conduct;

Thus may I reach the shore of awakening.

If, for the sake of pleasure, one craves sensual desire,

The mind becomes enslaved.

One thereby destroys one’s own life;

How could there be merit and virtue?

I have severed sensual craving

And do not give rise to anger or delusion.

Like a bird fallen into a net,

How could one have freedom?

Giving rise to evil thoughts,

One binds oneself in return.

The mind loses its freedom;

It is fruitless and empty.

Craving causes the body to live in fear,

Like a tree bearing poisonous flowers.

What is there for anyone to desire in it?

It is like crossing a violent torrent.

I contemplate all sentient beings

Drifting indolently through the evil destinies.

Because of futile disputes,

They give rise to wrong views.

Royal father, understand my intention:

I wish to deliver these beings.

Without accumulating arrogance,

I shall skillfully cure their maladies,

Eliminate their many sorrows and afflictions,

And establish them upon the path of joy.

Those wishing to escape the trichiliocosm

Should not become intoxicated by sounds.

By skillfully expounding the meaning of the sutras,

I shall satisfy those who are destitute,

Guide imperfect beings step by step

Out of the paths of evil destinies,

Help the blind regain their sight,

Enable the deaf to hear,

Kindle the lamp of liberation,

And establish wisdom and spiritual powers.

I shall enable beings in the three realms

To attain equally the three kinds of patient acceptance,

And pour down showers

Of loving-kindness, passing beyond the realm of clouds and mist.

For the sake of all sentient beings,

I shall manifest radiant light,

That they may immediately attain wholesome awakened minds

And escape the cycle of darkness.

I shall rain down medicines and remedies,

Bringing peace and security everywhere.

Royal father, when I contemplate thus,

I immediately attain one-pointed concentration.

For all objects of desire,

I have no longing whatsoever.

I seek only the Buddha Way,

Out of compassion for sentient beings

Submerged in sensual craving.

Whoever possesses firm resolve—

How could such a person still indulge in these desires?

Why violate the precepts

And cause the mind to become deluded and confused?

If one craves and clings to physical beauty,

One will fall into the great evil destinies.

Whoever practices the Buddha Way—

How could such a person abandon self-restraint?

Others follow the current;

I shall live against the current.

One cannot, through words alone,

Attain the Buddha Way.

I shall radiate the light of loving-kindness

To illuminate all beings everywhere.

I do not crave sensual desire,

Nor am I attached to wealth or possessions.

Today I implore you, royal father:

I shall not return to dwell among them.

I wish to leave the assembly

And all the towns and marketplaces.

Those who seek many things as they please

Thereby give rise to illness.

Restrain the mind and do not be heedless;

Beyond tens of thousands of millions of towns and marketplaces,

Not abiding amid sensual desire,

One attains the Buddha Way.

If one wishes to attain the unsurpassed

Joy and peace,

One should enter the great mountains

And sit beneath a tree.

Apart from all sensual desires,

Train in a life of solitude,

And one shall attain the unsurpassed Way.

O Rāṣṭrapāla, at that time Prince Virtuous Radiance was in the hall together with those whose minds were heedless. After they had grown weary of impurity, the prince manifested three forms of conduct. What were the three?

1. Standing upright.

2. Walking meditation.

3. Seated meditation.

The prince never slept or rested, but diligently practiced the foregoing conduct, and thus attained the Eighth Abode. At midnight that night, the prince heard voices in the sky—the devas of the Pure Abodes praising the Buddha’s complete and all-pervading merit and extolling the Dharma and the Sangha. When Prince Đức Quang heard them, his whole body trembled; he shed tears, became sorrowful and joyless, joined his palms, and asked the devas in verse:

I am caught in dire distress;

May the devas show me compassion.

Just now I heard it said,

And there is something I wish to ask:

Passing through the open sky,

Whose merit were you praising?

When I heard these voices,

My heart was filled with joy.

The Buddha said to Lại-tra-hòa-la:

—At that time, the devas spoke these verses to Prince Đức Quang:

Now a Buddha is in the world;

Has the prince not heard?

The Buddha is named Cát Nghĩa,

The savior and protector of living beings.

He upholds and practices every wholesome Dharma,

Teaching and transforming with exalted merit;

The members of the Sangha who come to learn from him

Number thousands of koṭis of millions.

Prince Đức Quang asked the devas in verse:

If I should behold the World-Honored One,

How shall I know that he is the Buddha?

Please describe the qualities of his loving-kindness;

I wish to recognize the Perfectly Awakened One.

If I were to meet the Buddha,

How should I ask him about the path?

What Dharma do bodhisattvas practice

So that they may save and protect all beings?

The devas answered Prince Đức Quang:

The hair upon the crown of his head is soft,

Curling to the right and radiant;

The majestic mark upon his crown

Is beautiful like the summit of a lofty mountain.

The mark between his brows shines brightly,

Brilliant as the sun;

Fine and curling to the right,

Its color is beautiful as pure white snow.

His awakened mind is pure;

His eyes are deep blue.

He is the king among humankind,

With a handsome and upright bearing.

His countenance is always serene and joyful,

Emitting tens of thousands of rays of light

That illuminate the entire trichiliocosm

And eradicate all evil destinies.

The teeth within the Buddha’s mouth

Are pure white and even,

Fresh and immaculate like lotus blossoms,

Beautiful as jewels upon a radiant tree.

Each jaw has twenty teeth,

All fitting closely together, making forty;

His mouth is finely formed, and his tongue is soft,

Able to cover his entire face.

His mouth constantly proclaims wondrous sounds,

Causing all who hear them to rejoice.

He never speaks flattering words;

His Brahmā voice is utterly pure.

The teachings proclaimed by the Buddha

Surpass a hundred thousand kinds of music;

They eliminate every doubt,

And those who hear them obtain benefit.

None of his virtues is lacking;

He skillfully determines the meaning of the path,

Clearly elucidating the radiant flower of the Dharma,

Like a hundred thousand jeweled necklaces.

The sounds of that realm

Resound like celestial music;

Just as heavenly melodies resound,

So too do the Buddha’s words.

The Chân-đà-la, pheasants,

Câu-kỳ birds and mandarin ducks,

Lô-tư birds and wild geese,

And Cưu-na-la birds ask:

What voice resembles the Brahmā voice,

So gentle, serene, and joyful,

Neither halting nor harsh,

And penetrating all meanings;

Clear and profound,

Delighting those who practice giving,

Free from slander and utterly pure,

Without any conceptual desires;

Bestowing the meaning of virtuous conduct,

In which nothing evil is ever heard?

The Perfectly Awakened One practices that Dharma;

Thus are his qualities proclaimed.

The body of the World-Honored One

Is endowed with every excellent mark;

His arms extend beyond his knees,

And seven places are full and rounded.

His fingers are long, slender, and beautiful,

Possessing countless wondrous marks.

His body is the color of purple-gold;

His mind is like a radiant moon-jewel.

The hairs upon his body are fine and beautiful,

Curling to the right and pointing upward;

They are even and rounded, as though coiled.

His horse-like hidden organ is not exposed.

The soles of his feet are flat,

Bearing the marks of perfect wheels.

The Buddha’s knees are beautiful and straight,

Their colors perfectly uniform.

He walks in meditation like a dragon king

And strides like a lion.

As he walks, he quietly lowers his head.

If people scatter flowers as offerings,

They turn into flower canopies

That forever neither increase nor diminish.

Such is the Buddha’s true Dharma:

Whether receiving gain or not,

He remains diligent, peaceful, and joyful;

Whether praised or reviled,

He remains like a lotus blossom.

Thus indeed is the Lion;

No one can equal him.

O Lại-tra-hòa-la, when Prince Đức Quang heard these verses praising the merit of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the bhikṣu Sangha, he rejoiced exceedingly. Just as a poor person suffering from hunger and cold would rejoice greatly upon obtaining a treasury of jewels; just as a blind person who regained sight, or a prisoner in confinement who was released, would experience boundless joy—so too did Prince Đức Quang rejoice when he heard the verses praising the merit of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the bhikṣu Sangha.

Prince Đức Quang then reflected: “I have now heard the scriptural Dharma attesting to the Buddha’s majestic spiritual power and to the Sangha’s complete fulfillment of all noble practices. Amid saṃsāra, they have turned away from crooked and deviant paths. Ordinary people, for the most part, do not know how to reflect.

They cling to the body, regard what is wrong as right, and, dwelling in household life, commit many defiled deeds. Those intoxicated by sensual desire must fall into paths of suffering. Those who live heedlessly are shunned by the wise and are therefore obscured by delusion.

In such places, I must become a lamp whose light shines equally upon all. The human mind is difficult to tame. Enamored of name and form, people never weary of pursuing sense faculties and their objects.

Because they do not eradicate their habitual tendencies, they must encounter much suffering. What they experience is unrest; affection and attachment are the root from which they are fettered and bound, making escape difficult. Together with painful karma, these form an unbroken chain of hostile adversaries.

The ceaseless course of birth and death entangles countless people, while sickness surrounds them, and the human body possesses not the slightest stability. When death draws near, there is much suffering and little joy; only the Buddha’s Dharma is the foremost peace and security. One cannot establish meritorious conduct through the practices of worldly defilement, a heedless mind, and sensual desire.

I am now immersed in delusion, unable to single-mindedly compose my thoughts. I cannot delight in thoughts of birth and death, nor can I live among evil people and still follow the wholesome path—how much less attain unsurpassed, true, and perfect awakening! I would rather cast myself to the ground from the eastern side of this high tower than allow the households and relatives dwelling within my gates to create obstacles that prevent me from escaping.”

The Buddha said:

—O Lại-tra-hòa-la, Prince Đức Quang then turned toward the Tathagata Cát Nghĩa, the Unattached, the Perfectly Awakened One, and said to himself: “If the World-Honored One possesses omniscience, he can surely see all things everywhere. At this very moment, may the God among Gods deliver me.” Immediately, the Tathagata Cát Nghĩa, the Unattached, the Perfectly Awakened One, extended his right arm and emitted a ray of light that reached Prince Đức Quang.

Within that light there naturally appeared a thousand-petaled lotus as large as a chariot wheel, and from that lotus issued hundreds of thousands of koṭis of rays, illuminating every place. Prince Đức Quang immediately stood upon the lotus, wishing to go before the Tathagata Cát Nghĩa, the Unattached, the Perfectly Awakened One. From afar, the prince joined his palms, bowed in homage, and took refuge three times.

The Tathagata Cát Nghĩa gathered the light back into himself, and the prince followed the light until he reached the Buddha. Bowing his head, he paid homage at the Buddha’s feet. Seeing that the World-Honored One’s faculties were tranquil and composed, the prince praised the Tathagata Cát Nghĩa in verse:

I had just heard the voice of the King of Physicians;

Now at once I behold the Buddha’s countenance.

How can one establish practice amid defilement

And thereby attain all Dharmas?

At midnight during the night just past,

I heard from the devas of the inconceivable Buddha.

Having heard, I grew sorrowful and ceased to rejoice.

Where dwells the one who is free from heedlessness,

Who shows the true path to one who has lost the way,

As though enabling a blind person to see everything?

I pray that you reveal the entire path to me.

With loving-kindness, heal me and give rise to pure faith;

Cause the destitute to gain the wealth of joy,

And those confined in prison to be released at once.

Cut through my doubts and remove my fetters;

I bow and implore you to explain this path of practice.

Reveal the true teaching to me, apart from heterodox paths;

Be a radiant lamp within the darkness.

Remove the defilements that bring every harm;

May the great King of Physicians cut through my doubts.

Please rescue me from the path of birth and death

And utterly sever all my sensual cravings.

Enabling them to cross beyond the sea of sorrow,

And through the Eightfold Path enter the Great Vehicle.

Now the Dharma is coming to an end, and human lives are short;

Most people neglect the practice of meritorious deeds.

Those without merit often fail to obtain their wishes.

I now beseech you to reveal the vow and resolve my doubts.

Having heard the Guiding Master expound the essentials of the Dharma,

How can bodhisattvas amid heedlessness

Uphold the Buddha’s wondrous path

And liberate all beings from the suffering of birth and death?

The Buddha said to Rāṣṭrapāla:

“At that time, the Tathagata Auspicious Meaning knew the thoughts in Prince Virtuous Radiance’s mind and therefore extensively explained the bodhisattva practices. Upon hearing the Buddha’s teaching, Prince Virtuous Radiance immediately realized the Dharma gateway of the Inexhaustible Dhāraṇī and attained the five superknowledges. He then soared into the sky, manifested beautiful flowers, and scattered them over the Tathagata Auspicious Meaning.

“At daybreak, King Āt Chân Vô heard the cries of the palace women resounding from the prince’s palace and hurried there to ask the reason. The palace women reported to the king:

“‘We cannot find Prince Virtuous Radiance and do not know where he is.’

“Upon hearing this, King Āt Chân Vô collapsed to the ground, and he and many thousands of people wept bitterly. At that time, the deity who guarded the city entered the inner palace and said to King Āt Chân Vô:

“‘Great King, do not grieve. The prince has gone east to meet the Tathagata Auspicious Meaning. He is kneeling, paying homage, and reverently receiving the Tathagata’s teachings.’

“When King Āt Chân Vô heard the deity’s words, he went east together with his chief ministers, retinue, and the palace women of the inner court, as well as eight thousand four hundred quadrillion nayutas of people. They came before the Tathagata Auspicious Meaning, bowed at his feet, and stood to one side.

“O Rāṣṭrapāla, the Tathagata Auspicious Meaning knew the intentions of King Āt Chân Vô and taught the Dharma accordingly, enabling everyone in the assembly to attain non-retrogression from the path to unsurpassed, perfect, true enlightenment.

“Prince Virtuous Radiance addressed the Buddha Auspicious Meaning:

“‘I beseech you to accept the pure meal I offer.’

“The Buddha silently consented.

“Prince Virtuous Radiance said to his parents, relatives, and retinue:

“‘Please assist me by adorning the cities and palaces with jeweled necklaces as offerings to the Tathagata. You must not harbor attachment, regret, or stinginess.’

“At once, everyone wholeheartedly encouraged and assisted the prince in practicing extensive generosity.

“At that time, the king, Prince Virtuous Radiance, and their retinue adorned the palaces and cities with jeweled necklaces. Free from attachment and regret, they offered them together to the Tathagata Auspicious Meaning. Each day they prepared five hundred dishes as offerings to the Buddha and the Sangha of bhikshus.

They also built dwellings for the bhikshus from red sandalwood and the seven treasures. They made promenades for walking meditation from maṇi gems, and above them spread canopies made of precious jewels everywhere. Rows of flowering trees stood in every place, with bathing ponds on both sides.

Utpala flowers grew in the ponds, and both banks were clean and pure. Those utpala flowers had hundreds of thousands of petals, and hundreds of thousands of seats were arranged, so that every bhikshu had a complete seat.

“Prince Virtuous Radiance ensured that the bhikshus no longer worried about robes, nor did they think that other bhikshus alone had received robes.

“In this way, for hundreds of millions of years, the prince never desired sleep or rest, never thought of sensual desire, and did not cherish even his own body and life. With that same freedom from thought, he made offerings to the Buddha.

“At that time, Prince Virtuous Radiance never entertained thoughts of desire or any improper contention. He had no intention to harm, was not attached to his kingdom or royal position, and cherished nothing whatsoever. He clung neither to his inner body nor to external things. He listened to the Buddha teach the Dharma and received and retained all the Buddha’s words without needing to question the Tathagata again. From the outset, the prince neither bathed nor washed his feet, nor did he anoint his body with fragrances. He never felt weary and never sat down except when taking food.

“After the Tathagata Auspicious Meaning entered nirvana, the prince used red sandalwood to build monasteries and stupas, making offerings to them for hundreds of thousands of years. At the site of the Tathagata’s cremation, the prince offered the Buddha every kind of flower and incense in the world—including powdered and blended incense—together with all forms of music. He also built nine billion four hundred million stupas, all made from the seven treasures, and fashioned banners, streamers, and precious canopies from costly materials to adorn and cover them.

He further offered at the stupas fifty billion precious canopies made from the seven treasures, hundreds of thousands of kinds of music, and all the finest flowers and precious trees in Jambudvīpa. Before each stupa, hundreds of thousands of lamps were continually kept burning, each fueled with precious oil. He also scattered every kind of fragrant flower.

Thus, fully furnished with all these precious objects, he made offerings for one hundred million years.

“Afterward, Prince Virtuous Radiance renounced his family, went forth to study the path, and became a śramaṇa. He wore the three Dharma robes and always went on almsround. He did not involve himself in worldly affairs, did not sleep or rest, and was no longer dependent upon food or clothing. Throughout four hundred million years, he constantly taught the Dharma. He never clung to the existence of a self or harbored doubts about others, much less sought offerings, and he did not speak of birth and death. The prince taught the Dharma to everyone but did not exhort them to practice for rebirth in the heavenly realms. Having trained in such conduct, he transmitted the Dharma to everyone, and caused his retinue within the palace to become śramaṇas.

“O Rāṣṭrapāla, at that time the devas of the Pure Abodes thought: ‘Prince Virtuous Radiance has taught and transformed everyone, causing them to become śramaṇas. We must now make offerings to the Three Jewels, so that through this the Three Jewels may continue to exist and not be cut off.’

“After the Tathagata Auspicious Meaning entered nirvana, his teaching remained in the world for six billion four hundred million years, entirely through the support of the bhikshu Virtuous Radiance. In this way, Prince Virtuous Radiance made offerings to ninety-four kotis of kotis of hundreds of thousands of Buddhas.

“O Rāṣṭrapāla, do you know who King Āt Chân Vô was at that time?”

“World-Honored One, I do not know.”

“He was none other than the Tathagata Amitāyus. Do you know who Prince Virtuous Radiance was at that time?”

“World-Honored One, I do not know.”

“He was none other than I myself. The deity in the city at that time is now the Tathagata Angerless Awakening.

“O Rāṣṭrapāla, therefore, bodhisattva-mahāsattvas who wish to attain the unsurpassed path of supreme, perfect, true enlightenment must learn the practice of Prince Virtuous Radiance, which teaches tranquility, relinquishment of emotional attachments, and freedom from heedlessness. When I sought the path of unsurpassed, perfect truth, I attained it only through diligently pursuing ascetic practices. Those devoid of practice know only to crave robes, food, and gain.

Their worries never cease. They consume offerings, remove themselves from the Buddha-Dharma, and render their studies fruitless. They disturb the śramaṇas, undermine the bodhisattva Dharma, and indulge their bodies, speech, and minds.

They falsely make vows, abandon their fundamental practice, and covet robes, beds, couches, cushions, and medicines for treating illness. They have no sense of shame, take no delight in right conduct or the Dharma of impermanence, fail to uphold the teaching, and depart far from the Buddha’s practice. As for the path, they willfully abandon it and take no delight in the practice of liberation.

“O Rāṣṭrapāla, therefore, having heard this teaching, one must study it to its ultimate completion, keep far from evil spiritual friends, not live according to those devoid of practice, and sever all craving and desire.”

The Buddha spoke in verse:

Those who study the path crave food and crave gain.

That is, they delight not in the practice of the ten powers,

But cast aside the hundred virtues taught by the Buddha.

For the sake of gain and offerings, they fall into the households of others;

Obstinate, corrupt, and wicked, they have no shame.

Indolent and fallen, they enter every realm of craving;

Thus, through afflictions, they fall into wrong conduct,

Yet immediately declare themselves virtuous.

At ease in idle dwelling, they wander throughout the city;

For gain and offerings, they commit wrong deeds,

Far removed from liberation and the gateway of emptiness.

Therefore, abandon all such karma.

Because they revere neither the Buddha nor the true Dharma,

And remain far from the greatly virtuous Sangha,

They lose the wholesome path and fall into the three evil realms,

Destroying the eight hundred exalted practices.

If you hear someone expounding the scriptures and Dharma,

Diligently listen with a concentrated mind.

Throughout countless kotis of kalpas, a Buddha is difficult to encounter;

You should therefore cultivate in accordance with the Dharma.

Whoever can proclaim the Buddha's Great Vehicle

Should recollect, contemplate, and reflect upon its virtues.

Having recollected them, engrave them firmly and abide with one-pointed mind;

You will attain the peaceful path and attain unobstructed wisdom.

Establish the practices of sages and cultivate contemplation of virtue;

Understanding disenchantment, discipline your own mind.

You must not abandon wholesome Dharma,

Lest you fall among the five destinies like foolish people.

Live in tranquility and always practice diligently;

Do not disparage yourselves, nor look down upon others.

Know how to reproach yourselves, and keep your minds ever peaceful.

I practice in accordance with the Buddha's countless teachings;

With an honest mind, I do not cherish even my own body.

This practice of Dharma is honored through reverence and diligence;

These are the teachings I constantly proclaim.

The wondrous path is easily encountered if one practices deeply.

Those who hear this Dharma delight in the Great Vehicle;

Those unable to be diligent do not delight in hearing it.

Those possessing wisdom delight in these words,

And afterward all bonds of enmity, evil, and wrong views are completely severed.

O Rāṣṭrapāla, if a bodhisattva practices the five paramitas, this cannot compare with studying, preserving, and reciting this scripture in accordance with its teachings. The merit of that bodhisattva does not equal even one hundredth part of the merit of one who studies this scripture.

When the Buddha expounded this scripture, three billion devas and human beings aroused the aspiration for unsurpassed, true, and perfect enlightenment, and all attained the stage of non-retrogression. Seven thousand bhikshus exhausted the outflows, attained liberation of mind, and realized the patient acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas.

The Venerable Rāṣṭrapāla addressed the Buddha:

“What is the title of this scripture? How should it be practiced?”

The Buddha told Rāṣṭrapāla:

“This scripture is entitled ‘Pure Aspirations and Practices Free from Delusion.’ Study, preserve, and recite it exactly as the bodhisattvas have practiced it; then you will assuredly fulfill all the meanings of bodhisattva practice.”

When the Buddha had given this teaching, Rāṣṭrapāla, the devas, the people, dragons, ghosts, spirits, and other beings throughout the world rejoiced greatly. They came before the Buddha, bowed reverently, and withdrew.