仁王護國般若波羅蜜多經

At that time, the Blessed One said to the kings of the great kingdoms, King Prasenajit and the others:

“Listen clearly and most attentively. For your sake, I shall expound the Dharma for the protection of the nation. If any kingdom is on the verge of disorder, is afflicted by calamities, or is invaded and ravaged by bandits, you should uphold and recite this Prajnaparamita, adorn a place of practice, enshrine one hundred images of Buddhas and one hundred images of bodhisattvas, arrange one hundred lion seats, and invite one hundred Dharma masters to expound this sutra.

Before the seats, light lamps of every kind, burn all varieties of fragrant incense, scatter flowers of every kind, and make abundant offerings of garments, bedding, food and drink, medicines, houses, beds, and all other articles. This sutra should be expounded and recited twice each day. If kings, great ministers, bhikshus, bhikshunis, upasakas, or upasikas hear, receive, uphold, and recite it and cultivate in accordance with the Dharma, calamities will immediately be eliminated.

Within the kingdoms of you great kings are innumerable ghosts and spirits, each of whom in turn has innumerable retinues. If they hear this sutra, they will come to guard your kingdoms. When a country is about to fall into disorder, its ghosts and spirits are the first to become disordered.

Because the ghosts and spirits are in disorder, the myriad people become disordered; bandits then arise, causing the common people to lose their lives. The king, crown prince, royal princes, and officials oppose and envy one another, while strange changes occur in heaven and earth. The sun, moon, and stars move at improper times and without due measure, and there are great fires, great floods, great winds, and other disasters.

When such calamities occur, you must uphold and expound this Prajnaparamita. If you uphold and recite this sutra, all that you seek—official rank, wealth and honor, children, wisdom, freedom to come and go as you wish, and the karmic rewards of gods and humans—will be completely fulfilled. Illnesses and tribulations will all be eliminated, and stocks, fetters, chains, and bonds placed upon the body will all be removed.

Innumerable transgressions, such as violating the four grave precepts, committing the five heinous offenses, and reviling the precepts, will all be extinguished.

“O great king! In the distant past, Shakra Devendra was King Murdhaja. Commanding the four divisions of his army, he ascended to the heavenly palace intending to destroy Indra. At that time, because the heavenly king of that heaven had heard the teachings of the Buddhas of the past, he arranged one hundred high seats and invited one hundred Dharma masters to expound the Prajnaparamita Sutra. King Murdhaja immediately withdrew, and the hosts of gods dwelt in peace and joy.

“O great king! In ancient times, the kingdom of Tianluo had a crown prince named Spotted Feet. When the prince ascended the throne, a non-Buddhist teacher named Good Giving performed the consecration ceremony for him. He instructed King Spotted Feet to obtain the heads of one thousand kings and place them in a charnel ground as a sacrifice to the great dark deity Mahakala. From the time he ascended the throne, King Spotted Feet obtained nine hundred and ninety-nine kings’ heads, lacking only one more. After traveling ten thousand li northward, he encountered a king named Universal Radiance. King Universal Radiance said to King Spotted Feet:

“‘Please grant me one day in which to reverence the Three Jewels and offer food and drink to shramanas.’

“On hearing this, King Spotted Feet consented. Relying upon the teachings spoken by the Buddhas of the past, King Universal Radiance then arranged one hundred high seats and invited one hundred Dharma masters to expound twice daily the eight hundred billion verses of the Prajnaparamita Sutra. At that time, the foremost among those Dharma masters spoke these verses for Universal Radiance:

“‘When the fire of the kalpa arises,

All thousand worlds are destroyed;

Mount Sumeru and the great oceans

Are shattered and remain no more.

Brahma, Shakra, gods, and dragons,

And every kind of sentient being

Must themselves perish;

How much more so this body?

Birth, aging, sickness, and death,

Sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress,

The oppression of resentment and hatred,

And wishes being thwarted;

Craving and the fetters

Themselves produce festering sores.

The three realms are not secure;

What joy can there be in a kingdom?

Conditioned things have no reality,

For they arise through causes and conditions.

Prosperity and decline flash by like lightning;

Present for a moment, they immediately vanish.

Birth throughout the various realms

Appears according to karmic conditions.

Like shadows and echoes,

All is empty.

Consciousness drifts according to karma,

Arising in dependence upon the four great elements.

The cords of craving and ignorance

Give rise to self and what belongs to self.

Consciousness changes according to karma,

While the body has no master.

Know, therefore, that kingdoms

Are likewise illusory transformations.’

“After the Dharma master had finished speaking these verses, King Universal Radiance heard the Dharma, awakened, and realized the samadhi of emptiness. The retinues of the kings attained the Dharma eye of emptiness. King Universal Radiance then went to the kingdom of Tianluo and, standing among the kings, said:

“‘Your Majesties, when you are about to die, you should recite and uphold the Prajnaparamita verses spoken by the Buddhas of the past.’

“On hearing this, all the kings awakened and attained the samadhi of emptiness. They all recited, received, and upheld the verses.

“At that time, King Spotted Feet asked the kings:

“‘What teaching are you reciting today?’

“King Universal Radiance replied to King Spotted Feet with the preceding verses. On hearing this Dharma, King Spotted Feet also realized the samadhi of emptiness. Filled with joy and delight, he said to the kings:

“‘I was deluded by a false non-Buddhist teacher; this was not your fault. You should return to your kingdoms and invite Dharma masters to explain and expound the Prajnaparamita.’

“At that time, King Spotted Feet entrusted the kingdom to his younger brother, renounced the household life to study the Way, and attained the patience of the non-arising of dharmas.

“O great king! In the past, five thousand kings constantly recited this sutra and obtained blessed rewards in their present lives. You great kings of the sixteen kingdoms should practice the Dharma for the protection of the nation in this manner, and should receive, uphold, recite, explain, and expound this sutra. Kings in future ages who wish to protect their kingdoms and preserve themselves should likewise receive, uphold, recite, and expound this sutra.”

When the Buddha spoke this Dharma, innumerable people attained non-retrogression; the asuras were reborn in the heavenly realms; and immeasurable, countless gods of the Desire Realm and Form Realm attained the patience of the non-arising of dharmas.

CHAPTER SIX: THE INCONCEIVABLE

At that time, the sixteen kings and the great assembly heard the Buddha explain the profound meanings of the phrases of the Prajnaparamita. They rejoiced greatly and scattered hundreds of trillions of precious lotus flowers. In midair, those flowers joined together to form a precious flower seat, upon which the Buddhas and innumerable assemblies from the ten directions all sat and expounded the Prajnaparamita.

Those great assemblies scattered ten thousand pure-gold lotus flowers above Shakyamuni Buddha. The flowers then joined together to form a flower wheel that sheltered the great assemblies.

There were also eighty-four thousand pundarika flowers, which joined together in midair to form a platform of white clouds. Upon that platform, the Buddha Radiant King, together with innumerable assemblies of Buddhas from the ten directions, expounded the Prajnaparamita. Those great assemblies scattered mandara flowers as offerings to Shakyamuni Buddha and all those gathered in the assembly.

They also scattered manjushaka flowers, which formed a precious vajra city in midair. Within that city, the Buddha Lion’s Majestic Advance King, together with Buddhas and great bodhisattvas from the ten directions, expounded the supreme meaning of the Prajnaparamita. They also scattered innumerable kinds of heavenly flowers, which transformed in midair into a canopy of precious clouds covering the entire three-thousand-great-thousand world system.

From within the flower canopy, flowers as numerous as the sands of the Ganges rained down from the sky.

At that time, King Prasenajit and the great assembly saw these events, praised them as unprecedented, joined their palms, faced the Buddha, and said:

“May the Buddhas of the past, present, and future always expound the Prajnaparamita. May sentient beings always be able to see and hear it, just as we do today, without any difference.”

The Buddha said:

“It is exactly as the great king has said. This Prajnaparamita is the mother of all Buddhas, the mother of all bodhisattvas, and the source from which extraordinary merit and supernormal powers are born. All Buddhas expound it so that it may bring abundant benefit. Therefore, you should always receive and uphold it.”

At that time, for the sake of the great assembly, the Blessed One manifested inconceivable spiritual powers: he transformed one flower so that it appeared to enter immeasurable flowers, and immeasurable flowers entered one flower. One Buddha-land entered immeasurable Buddha-lands, and immeasurable Buddha-lands entered one Buddha-land. One land, as numerous as dust motes, entered immeasurable lands as numerous as dust motes, and immeasurable lands as numerous as dust motes entered one land as numerous as dust motes.

Immeasurable oceans entered a single pore. Immeasurable Mount Sumerus entered a mustard seed. One Buddha-body entered immeasurable bodies of sentient beings, and immeasurable bodies of sentient beings entered one Buddha-body.

What was great appeared small, and what was small appeared great. What was pure appeared defiled, and what was defiled appeared pure. The Buddha-body was inconceivable, the bodies of sentient beings were inconceivable, and even the worlds were inconceivable.

While the Buddha was manifesting these spiritual transformations, ten thousand women relinquished their female bodies and attained the samadhi of spiritual powers; immeasurable devas and humans attained the non-arising patience of dharmas; immeasurable asuras and others realized the bodhisattva path; and bodhisattvas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges attained Buddhahood.

CHAPTER SEVEN: UPHOLDING AND PRACTICING

At that time, upon seeing the Buddha’s transformations through spiritual powers, King Prasenajit manifested a thousand lotus platforms as a canopy above the Tathagata. Each lotus had a thousand petals, upon which were a thousand transformation bodies of Buddhas. Within the thousand lotus petals were immeasurable Buddhas, all expounding prajnaparamita.

King Prasenajit said:

“Blessed One! Immeasurable prajnaparamita cannot be apprehended by consciousness or known by discriminating knowledge. How should good men clearly understand this sutra and expound it to others?”

The Buddha said:

“Great King! Listen carefully. From the initial cultivation of patience up to the Vajra Samadhi, those who cultivate the thirteen contemplative Dharma gates in accordance with the Dharma are all Dharma masters and serve as firm foundations. All of you in this assembly should make offerings to them in accordance with reality, presenting hundreds of thousands of myriads of kotis of beautiful, fragrant flowers.

“Good man! Such a Dharma master is a bodhisattva cultivating at the stage of the lineage-nature. If bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas, and upasikas cultivate the Ten Abodes, encounter the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, arouse the mind of bodhi, and bring benefit and loving care to sentient beings, they contemplate their own bodies and discern that all the faculties within the six elements are impermanent, suffering, empty, and without self.

They clearly understand karmic activity, samsara, and nirvana, benefiting themselves and others and bringing welfare and peace. Whether they hear the Buddha praised or slandered, their minds remain concentrated, peaceful, and unmoved. Whether they hear that a Buddha exists or that no Buddha exists, their minds remain calm and do not regress.

They do not transgress through the three kinds of karma, they give rise to the six principles of harmonious respect, and they employ skillful means to gather in sentient beings. They diligently study the ten knowledges and manifest transformations through spiritual powers to bring benefit.

“Those of the lesser grade cultivate eighty-four thousand paramitas.

“Good man! Before attaining the cultivation of patience, they pass through ten thousand kalpas practicing the ten wholesome deeds, sometimes regressing and sometimes advancing, like a light feather blown in every direction by the wind. If they reach the stage of patience, they enter the group established in right concentration. They do not commit the five rebellious offenses or slander the true Dharma, and they know that the characteristics of both self and dharmas are empty. Throughout one asamkhyeya kalpa, they abide in the stage of liberation. If they cultivate this patience, they can give rise to excellent practices.

“Furthermore, bodhisattvas at the lineage-nature stage abide without discrimination. Because they cultivate the ten contemplations of wisdom, they relinquish wealth and life itself. Because they maintain pure precepts, their minds are humble.

Because they benefit themselves and others, they remain undisturbed amid samsara. Because of the profundity of the signless, they penetrate the illusory nature of existence. Because they seek no recompense, they attain unobstructed understanding.

In every thought, they manifest the Buddha’s spiritual power and counteract the four inversions and the three unwholesome roots. They understand that karma and its effects throughout the three periods, the ten inversions, and views concerning self and person are false in each and every thought. They thoroughly penetrate that names are provisional, sensations are provisional, and dharmas are provisional.

All are unobtainable and devoid of the characteristics of self and other; thus they constantly contemplate them in accordance with reality.

“Those of the middle grade cultivate eighty-four thousand paramitas. Throughout two asamkhyeya kalpas, they cultivate excellent practices and attain the stage of steadfast patience.

“Furthermore, bodhisattvas at the stage of the nature of the path abide in steadfast patience and contemplate the nature of all dharmas as neither arising nor ceasing. With the four immeasurable minds, they completely dispel all dark obstructions. They constantly encounter Buddhas and extensively practice the paramita of giving.

They always train in accordance with the Buddhas and abide with a mind of dedication, so that all the roots of goodness they have cultivated accord with the ultimate reality. Through samadhi, they perform many Buddha-works, manifest various bodies, practice the four means of gathering beings, and abide with a non-discriminating mind while teaching and benefiting sentient beings. With luminous wisdom, they contemplate profoundly and cultivate all practices and vows.

They can serve as Dharma masters who tame sentient beings. They perfectly contemplate the five skandhas, the three realms, and the two truths, no longer perceive the characteristics of self and other, and attain the nature of reality. Although they constantly cultivate ultimate truth, they still undergo birth within the three realms.

Why? Because the karmic effects produced by perfuming have not yet been eradicated at the root; therefore, they take birth among devas and humans in accordance with the path.

“Those of the higher grade cultivate eighty-four thousand paramitas. Throughout three asamkhyeya kalpas, they cultivate the twofold benefit, perform a great many beneficial deeds, fully master all samadhis, abide in excellent contemplation, cultivate the practice of liberation, and realize the equal stage of the noble ones.

“Furthermore, great bodhisattvas at the Ground of Joy transcend the ground of ordinary beings and are born into the family of the Tathagata. They abide in the Patience of Equality, where the initial signless wisdom illuminates the ultimate truth: the single characteristic of equality is no characteristic and signless. They sever all ignorance and utterly extinguish all craving within the three realms.

For immeasurable lives in the future, they will never again return to the stream of samsara. Taking great compassion as foremost, they give rise to great vows and, with wisdom and skillful means, cultivate immeasurable excellent practices in every thought. Because there is neither realization nor non-realization, they study everything completely.

Because there is neither abiding nor non-abiding, they advance toward all-knowledge. Although they journey through samsara, the armies of Mara cannot disturb them. They abandon self and possessions of self, are free from fear, and perceive no characteristics of self or other.

They constantly teach sentient beings and, through the mastery of the power of vows, take birth in pure lands.

“Good man! This initial wisdom of awakening is neither suchness nor wisdom, neither existence nor nonexistence, and has no dual characteristics. Its wondrous functioning through skillful means is not inverted; it neither abides nor moves, and is neither still nor impure.

It freely accomplishes the twofold benefit. It is like water and waves, which are neither one nor different. The wisdom that gives rise to the paramitas is likewise neither one nor different.

Throughout four asamkhyeya kalpas, they fully cultivate a million practices and vows. Bodhisattvas on this ground no longer retain karmic habits of the three realms and create no new karma. Through the power of wisdom, they take birth according to their vows.

In every thought, they constantly practice dana-paramita, giving, kind speech, beneficial conduct, and cooperation. Their purity is vast, and they abide completely in benefiting sentient beings.”

Furthermore, a great bodhisattva dwelling on the Stage of Stainlessness attains the four immeasurable minds, supreme and quiescent, and eliminates the habitual tendencies of greed and the like. Such a bodhisattva cultivates all wholesome practices, namely: refraining from taking life; not taking what is not given; keeping the mind undefiled by sensual desire; speaking truthful words, harmonious words, gentle words, and words that bring discipline; constantly practicing equanimity; continually giving rise to loving-kindness; and abiding in an upright mind, tranquil and wholly wholesome.

Free from the defilement of violating the precepts, the bodhisattva practices the contemplation of great loving-kindness, making it present in every successive thought. Throughout five asamkhyeya kalpas, the bodhisattva preserves and completely purifies the perfection of morality. Resolute and courageous, the bodhisattva forever departs from all defilements.

Furthermore, a great bodhisattva dwelling on the Stage of Radiance abides in non-discrimination and extinguishes the darkness of delusion and ignorance. Within the Patience with Regard to the Signless, the bodhisattva realizes the three knowledges and clearly comprehends the three times, neither coming nor going. Relying upon the four dhyanas, the four formless concentrations, and non-discriminating wisdom, and following their proper sequence, the bodhisattva perfects supreme concentration and realizes the five superknowledges, freely manifesting bodies large or small, visible or invisible.

With the purified divine eye, the bodhisattva clearly sees all realms; with the purified divine ear, hears every kind of sound; with the knowledge of others’ minds, knows the minds of sentient beings; and through knowledge of past lives, knows their immeasurable distinctions. Throughout six asamkhyeya kalpas, the bodhisattva cultivates every aspect of the perfection of patience, attains great dharani, and brings benefit and happiness to sentient beings.

Furthermore, a bodhisattva dwelling on the Stage of Blazing Wisdom cultivates Conforming Patience and relinquishes everything in order to eradicate forever the subtle forms of the view of a self and extreme views. The bodhisattva cultivates the boundless factors of enlightenment—the foundations of mindfulness, right efforts, bases of spiritual power, faculties, powers, factors of enlightenment, and factors of the Path—in their entirety, wishing to accomplish the powers, fearlessnesses, and unique qualities of a Buddha. Throughout seven asamkhyeya kalpas, the bodhisattva cultivates the immeasurable perfection of diligence, leaves laziness far behind, and universally benefits sentient beings.

Furthermore, a great bodhisattva dwelling on the Stage Difficult to Conquer, by means of the four fearlessnesses, accords with true suchness, which is pure, equal, and without differentiated characteristics. The bodhisattva abandons adherence to the Lesser Vehicle and the delight in seeking nirvana, accumulates all merits, and perfectly contemplates the truths: this is the noble truth of suffering; these are the truths of its origin, cessation, and the Path.

In terms of conventional and ultimate truth, the bodhisattva contemplates immeasurable truths and brings benefit and happiness to sentient beings. The bodhisattva studies the various arts and crafts, literature, medicine, song and verse, entertainments, technical skills, spells, the heterodox doctrines of non-Buddhist paths, and the accurate discernment of auspicious and inauspicious signs, without error. Yet the bodhisattva causes no suffering or distress to sentient beings.

For their benefit, the bodhisattva instructs and reveals the teachings so that all may gradually come to abide in unsurpassed bodhi, and knows both the paths of liberation and the paths of obstruction on all the stages. Throughout eight asamkhyeya kalpas, the bodhisattva constantly cultivates samadhi and illuminates all practices.

Furthermore, a great bodhisattva dwelling on the Stage of Manifest Presence attains the higher Conforming Patience and abides in the three gates of liberation. The bodhisattva eliminates the habitual causes and habitual karma of the three realms that cause coarse characteristics to become manifest. With great compassion increasingly predominant, the bodhisattva contemplates the cycles of birth and death obscured by ignorance.

Karmic conditioning, the seeds of consciousness, name-and-form, the six ayatanas, contact, feeling, craving, grasping, birth, aging, and death all arise from the karma of attachment to self and from ignorance. They are neither existent nor nonexistent; they have a single characteristic, no characteristic, and yet are nondual. Throughout nine asamkhyeya kalpas, the bodhisattva cultivates a million samadhis of emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness, and attains the boundless radiance of all prajnaparamita.

Furthermore, a great bodhisattva dwelling on the Far-Going Stage cultivates the Patience of Non-Arising, realizes that dharmas are without distinction, and eliminates the subtle manifest characteristics of karmic results. Abiding in the concentration of cessation, the bodhisattva cultivates supreme practices. Although constantly abiding in quiescent cessation, the bodhisattva universally teaches and transforms all sentient beings, manifests entry among the sravakas while conforming to the Buddha’s wisdom, manifests in the semblance of non-Buddhist practitioners, and manifests as a mara king.

Although conforming to the world, the bodhisattva always transcends the world. Throughout ten asamkhyeya kalpas, the bodhisattva cultivates a million samadhis and, by skillful means, extensively expounds the treasury of the Dharma. All adornments are thereby perfected.

Furthermore, a great bodhisattva dwelling on the Immovable Stage abides in the Patience of Non-Arising. The bodhisattva’s essential nature neither increases nor decreases; all deliberate effort is relinquished; the mind constantly abides in quiescent cessation; and no characteristics of body or mind remain, like empty space. For these bodhisattvas, the mind of a Buddha, the mind of bodhi, and the mind of nirvana do not arise of themselves.

Rather, through the power of their original vows and the empowering protection of all Buddhas, they can, within a single thought, give rise to the activity of wisdom, illuminating everything equally. With the ten powers, their wisdom pervades ineffably many great trichiliocosms, and they bring benefit and happiness to all according to each kind of sentient being. Throughout ten thousand asamkhyeya kalpas, they fully cultivate a million great vows, their every thought always directed toward the Wisdom of All Modes and all-knowing wisdom.

Furthermore, a great bodhisattva dwelling on the Stage of Excellent Wisdom abides in the Patience of Non-Arising. At the highest level, the bodhisattva extinguishes the mental characteristics of mind, attains mastery of realizing wisdom, breaks through all obstructions to unobstructed knowledge, perfects the great superknowledges, cultivates the powers and fearlessnesses, and perfectly preserves the treasury of the Dharma of all Buddhas.

The bodhisattva attains the unobstructed understandings of Dharma, meaning, expression, and eloquence, and expounds the true Dharma without interruption, never allowing it to perish. Throughout ineffably many worlds, in the span of a single instant, the bodhisattva can use a single sound to resolve every difficult question posed by sentient beings, filling them with great joy. Throughout ten thousand asamkhyeya kalpas, the bodhisattva can manifest a million times as many divine powers of the Buddhas as there are sands in the Ganges, and through the inexhaustible treasury of the Dharma brings benefit to perfect fulfillment.

Furthermore, a great bodhisattva dwelling on the Stage of the Dharma Cloud possesses immeasurable wisdom with which to reflect and contemplate. From the first arising of faith, throughout a million asamkhyeya kalpas, the bodhisattva accumulates immeasurable aids to the Path, increases boundless great merit and wisdom, realizes mastery over karmic activity, and eliminates all obstructions to superknowledge. Within a single thought, the bodhisattva can travel throughout lands in the ten directions as numerous as the motes of dust in hundreds of millions of worlds, knows whether the capacities and mental activities of all sentient beings are superior, middling, or inferior, and expounds the Three Vehicles so that they may cultivate the paramitas, enter the domain of practice, powers,

and fearlessnesses of a Buddha, and accord with the Tathagata’s quiescent transformation of the basis.

Good man, from the beginning of the cultivation of patience until the attainment of vajra concentration, all is called conquering every affliction through the Signless Patience of Faith, comprehending ultimate truth, eliminating the afflictions, and giving rise to the wisdom of liberation. Through gradual subjugation and cessation, one attains non-arising and non-cessation by means of non-arising and non-cessation. When this mind ceases, ignorance ceases, and vajra concentration becomes manifest. None of what is seen or known is called seeing. Only a Buddha clearly comprehends it, for the Buddha fully possesses all-knowing wisdom. All that is seen and known is called knowledge.

Good man, even when vajra samadhi becomes manifest, one is still not equal to the Unequaled One who is equal only to the unequaled. It is like a person who ascends a very high terrace and, looking down, sees everything clearly. So too, at the stage of liberation, although there is one characteristic, no characteristic, neither arising nor cessation, because the Dharma-nature is equal to the true limit, one perfects the treasury of merit and abides in the stage of the Tathagata.

Good man, in this way, all great bodhisattvas who uphold and expound this sutra journey throughout the Buddha-realms of the ten directions, bringing benefit and happiness to sentient beings and penetrating the characteristic of reality, no differently from Me today.

Good man! All Tathagatas throughout the Dharma realms of the ten directions rely upon this gateway to attain Buddhahood. If anyone says, “One may attain Buddhahood apart from this gateway,” those are the words of Mara, not the words of the Buddha. Therefore, you should know thus, see thus, and faithfully understand thus.

At that time, wishing to restate the meaning above, the Blessed One spoke these verses:

– Bodhisattvas at the Stage of Patient Acceptance

Grow within the Buddha-Dharma;

Their thirty minds are steadfast,

Thus they are called non-retrogressing.

– First realizing the nature of equality,

They are born into the family of the Buddhas;

Because they have first attained awakening,

This is called the Ground of Joy.

– Far removed from all defilements,

From the impurities of anger and the like,

Endowed with the virtue of pure precepts,

This is called the Stainless Ground.

– Completely extinguishing the darkness of ignorance,

They attain all meditative concentrations;

Through the radiance of wisdom that shines forth,

This is called the Luminous Ground.

– The factors of bodhi are purified,

And views of self and extremes are left far behind;

The fire of wisdom blazes brightly,

This is called the Ground of Blazing Wisdom.

– Knowing the truths as they really are,

And the various worldly arts,

They bring benefit to all beings;

This is called the Difficult-to-Conquer Ground.

– Contemplating dharmas born through conditions,

From ignorance through aging and death,

They realize this profound truth;

This is called the Manifest Ground.

– Through skillful means and samadhi,

They manifest immeasurable bodies;

Skillfully adapting to all beings,

This is called the Far-Traveling Ground.

– Abiding in the ocean of signlessness,

They receive the aid and protection of the Buddhas;

With mastery, they vanquish the armies of Mara;

This is called the Immovable Ground.

– Attaining the four unobstructed understandings,

With one sound they expound all things;

All who hear them rejoice,

This is called the Ground of Excellent Wisdom.

– Their wisdom is like an enveloping cloud,

Covering the entire Dharma realm;

They shower everywhere the ambrosia of Dharma,

This is called the Dharma Cloud Ground.

– Fully endowed with uncontaminated precepts,

Their bodies are ever pure and liberated;

Their quiescent cessation is inconceivable,

This is called Omniscience.

The Buddha said to King Prasenajit:

– After my nirvana, when the Dharma is about to perish, all sentient beings who create evil karma will cause calamities to arise throughout the various lands. In order to protect themselves, their crown princes, royal sons, queens and consorts, retinues, the hundred officials, the common people, and all the territories of their kingdoms, all kings should receive and uphold the prajnaparamita, so that all may attain peace and happiness. I now entrust this sutra to the kings; I do not entrust it to bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas, or upasikas. Why? Because without the sovereign power of kings, it cannot remain securely established. Therefore, you should always receive, uphold, read, recite, explain, and expound this sutra.

Great King! Today, within the great trichiliocosm, I have manifested ten billion Mount Sumerus and ten billion suns and moons, each Mount Sumeru having four continents. In this Jambudvipa there are sixteen great kingdoms, five hundred medium-sized kingdoms, and one hundred thousand small kingdoms. If any of these kingdoms should encounter the seven calamities, then, in order to eliminate those calamities, if all the kings receive, uphold, explain, and expound this prajnaparamita, the seven calamities will immediately disappear and their lands will again become peaceful and secure.

King Prasenajit asked the Buddha:

– What are these seven calamities?

The Buddha said:

1- The sun and moon do not move at their proper times, and the color of the sun changes to white, red, yellow, or black; or two, three, four, or five suns shine simultaneously. The color of the moon changes to yellow or red. The sun and moon eclipse one another, or multiple lunar discs overlap: one, two, three, four, or five overlapping discs appear.

2- The constellations do not move at their proper times. The stars and planets—comets, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, Mercury, Saturn, and others—undergo changes or sometimes rise during the daytime.

3- Dragon fire, spirit fire, human fire, and tree fire—these four raging fires flare up and consume the myriad things.

4- The weather changes, and cold and heat become abnormal. In winter there are rain, thunder, and lightning; in summer there are frost, ice, and snow. Earth, stones, gravel, and sand rain down; untimely hailstorms fall together with dark-red water, while rivers and seas overflow, sweeping away rocks and causing mountains to float.

5- Fierce winds arise continually, and darkness obscures the sun and moon. Roofs are torn from houses, trees are uprooted, sand flies, and stones hurtle through the air.

6- Heaven and earth suffer drought, causing the waters of dikes and ponds to dry up, trees and plants to wither and die, and the hundred kinds of grain and wheat to cease growing.

7- Bandits and invaders from other regions encroach upon the kingdom from within and without. Warfare and slaughter arise, causing the common people to lose their lives.

Great King! Today I have spoken only briefly about such calamities. There may be times when the sun does not appear by day and the moon does not appear by night; the sky is filled with all manner of calamities, such as the absence of clouds, rain, and snow. On the earth, too, there are calamities such as fissures, landslides, collapses, and earthquakes. Or blood may flow, ghosts and spirits may appear, and strange birds and beasts may manifest. Calamities such as these are immeasurable and boundless. Whenever any calamity occurs, one must receive, uphold, read, recite, explain, and expound this prajnaparamita.

When they heard the Buddha speak thus, the sixteen kings were all terrified. King Prasenajit said to the Buddha:

– Blessed One, why do such calamities occur in heaven and on earth?

The Buddha said:

– Great King! It is because the people of all the great and small kingdoms in Jambudvipa are unfilial toward their parents and show no reverence to teachers and elders, sramanas, or brahmins. Kings and great ministers do not act in accordance with the true Dharma. Because of these evils, such calamities occur.

Great King! Prajnaparamita can give rise to all the dharmas of the Buddhas, all the dharmas of liberation of bodhisattvas, all the unsurpassed dharmas of kings, and all the dharmas of deliverance of sentient beings. It is like a mani jewel whose essence is endowed with every virtue: it can subdue poisonous dragons and evil ghosts and spirits; it can fulfill people's wishes; and it can respond to the needs of a wheel-turning king.

It is therefore called the wish-fulfilling jewel. It can cause the great dragon kings, such as Nanda, Upananda, and others, to send down sweet rain that nourishes plants and trees. If, during the darkness of night, the wish-fulfilling jewel is affixed atop a high banner, its light illuminates all of heaven and earth as though the sun had risen.

This prajnaparamita is likewise. You kings should make pennants, banners, jeweled parasols, burn incense, scatter flowers, and make offerings with magnanimous hearts. You should make a jeweled casket in which to place this sutra and set it upon a jeweled table.

Whenever you wish to travel, this sutra should always go before you and lead the way. Wherever you stay, you should erect a banner adorned with the seven treasures, make a throne of precious jewels, and place this sutra upon it. Offer all things to it, just as you attend upon your parents and as the devas attend upon Sakra.

Great King! I see that all the people and kings of the various lands became sovereign rulers because, in the past, they attended upon five hundred Buddhas and reverently made offerings to them. All sages who have attained the fruits of the path are then born in those lands to bring immense benefit. But when a king's merit is exhausted and he no longer follows the path, the sages depart and calamities arise one after another.

Great King! If, in future ages, there are kings who establish the true Dharma and protect the Three Jewels, I shall command the assemblies of great bodhisattvas in the five directions to come and protect those kings' lands:

In the east is the great bodhisattva Vajrapani, who holds a vajra pestle in his hand and emits blue light. Together with four kotis of bodhisattvas, he will come to protect that king's land.

In the south is the great bodhisattva Vajraratna, who holds a vajra mani jewel in his hand and emits light the color of the sun. Together with four kotis of bodhisattvas, he will come to protect that king's land.

In the west is the great bodhisattva Vajratiksna, who holds a vajra sword in his hand and emits light the color of pure gold. Together with four kotis of bodhisattvas, he will come to protect those kings' lands.

In the north is the great bodhisattva Vajrayaksa, who holds a vajra bell in his hand and emits lapis-lazuli-colored light. Together with four kotis of bodhisattvas, he will come to protect those kings' lands.

In the central direction was the great bodhisattva Vajrapāramitā, holding a vajra wheel in his hand and emitting five-colored light, who, together with four koṭis of bodhisattvas, came to protect the realms of those kings.

Those five great bodhisattvas, each accompanied by such immeasurable assemblies, will bring great benefit within your realms. You should erect images of them and make offerings to them.

At that time, the great bodhisattvas Vajrapāṇi and the others immediately rose from their seats, bowed their heads at the Buddha’s feet, withdrew to one side, and addressed the Buddha:

“World-Honored One! Our original vow is to rely upon the Buddha’s spiritual power. If, in any land throughout the worlds of the ten directions, this sutra is received and upheld, read and recited, explained and taught, we, together with all our retinues, shall in a single thought immediately arrive there to protect the true Dharma and establish the true Dharma, causing all calamities of warfare, epidemics, and the like in that land to be eliminated.

“World-Honored One! We possess a dhāraṇī capable of empowering and protecting beings. It is the swift gateway of practice of all Buddhas. If anyone merely hears it with their ears, all their karmic hindrances will be eliminated, how much more so if they recite, practice, and memorize it. Through the awe-inspiring power of this Dharma, all calamities in the realm will be brought to a complete end.”

Before the Buddha, the great bodhisattvas recited the dhāraṇī in unison:

“Na mô ra đát na, đát ra, dạ dã. Na mạc a rị dạ phệ lô giả na dã đát tha bà đa, dạ ra ha đế miệu một đà dã ma mạc a rị dã tam mãn đa bạt nại ra dã mạo địa tát đát phược dã ma ha tát đát phược dã ma hạ ca lỗ ni ca dã đát nhĩ dã tha chỉ nẳng na bát ra nhĩ bố ác khất xoa dã ác thế bát ra để bà na phược để tát phược một đà phược lộ chỉ đế du ngạ phả rị nhĩ sáp phả ninh nghiêm tích ra nổ ra phược ngạ hệ để rị dã đặc phược phả ri nhĩ sáp phả ninh mạo địa chất đa tán thứ na nhĩ tát phược tỳ thô ca tỳ sắc ngật đế đạt ma sa ngạ ra tam bộ đế a mộ già thất ra phược ninh ma hạ tam mãn đa bạt nại ra bộ nhĩ niết rị dã đế vĩ dã yết ra noa bạt rị bát ra phả nhĩ tát phược tất đà na ma tắt ngật rị đế tát phược mạo địa tát đát phược tán thứ na nhĩ bà ngạ phược để một đà ma đế a la nhĩ ca sa nhĩ a ra noa ca

ra na ma hạ bát la chỉ nẳng phan ra nhĩ đế ta phược.”

Upon hearing this, the World-Honored One praised Vajrapāṇi and the other bodhisattvas:

“Excellent! Excellent! If anyone reads, recites, upholds, and preserves this dhāraṇī, I and all the Buddhas of the ten directions will constantly protect that person, eliminate all malicious ghosts and spirits, and honor that person as we would a Buddha. Before long, that person will attain unsurpassed bodhi.

“Great King! I now entrust this sutra to you. All the kings of Vaiśālī, Kosala, Śrāvastī, Magadha, Vārāṇasī, Kapilavastu, Kuśinagara, Kauśāmbī, Pañcāla, Pāṭala, Mathurā, Ujjayinī, Puṇḍravardhana, Devadaha, Kāśī, Campā, and all other realms must receive and uphold the prajnaparamita.”

When they heard the Buddha describe such calamities, the entire assembly of asuras and others felt the hairs on their bodies stand on end, and they raised their voices, saying:

“We vow that in future lives we shall not be born in those lands.”

At that time, the sixteen kings all relinquished their thrones, entered the monastic life, and cultivated the Way. They fully realized the eight spheres of mastery and the ten spheres of totality, and attained the Acquiescence of Subjugation, the Acquiescence of the Word, and the Acquiescence in the Non-arising of Dharmas.

Then the entire assembly of devas, humans, asuras, and others scattered māndārava flowers, mañjūṣaka flowers, vārṣika flowers, and sumanā flowers as offerings to the Buddha. According to their faculties and dispositions, they attained the three gates of liberation and realized the emptiness of persons, the emptiness of dharmas, and the factors of bodhi.

Immeasurable and innumerable great bodhisattvas scattered kumuda flowers and padma flowers as offerings to the Buddha. Immeasurable samādhis manifested before them, and they attained abiding in the Acquiescence of Conformity and the Acquiescence in the Non-arising of Dharmas. Immeasurable and innumerable great bodhisattvas attained samādhi gateways as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. For them, ultimate and conventional truth were equal; they perfected unobstructed understanding and constantly gave rise to great compassion. Throughout worlds as numerous as the motes of dust in hundreds of thousands of koṭis of asaṃkhyeyas of Buddha lands, they brought vast benefit to sentient beings and manifested bodies that became Buddhas.

CHAPTER EIGHT: ENTRUSTMENT

The Buddha said to King Prasenajit:

“Today I instruct all of you: After I enter nirvana, when the true Dharma is about to perish—after fifty years, five hundred years, and five thousand years—there will no longer be the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. This sutra is the Three Jewels. I entrust it to all kings so that they may establish, preserve, and protect it, and so that the fourfold assembly of my disciples may receive and uphold it, read and recite it, understand its meaning and principles, and extensively teach the Dharma of liberation to sentient beings, enabling them to practice and escape birth and death.

“Great King! In the future age of the five defilements, all kings, princes, great ministers, and others, relying upon their own exalted status, will destroy my teachings. By means of their ostensibly enlightened legal codes, they will obstruct my disciples—the bhikṣus and bhikṣuṇīs—and forbid them to leave the household life and cultivate the true Way. Nor will they permit the construction of Buddha images and stupas. Laypeople will sit in elevated seats while bhikṣus stand below on the ground, treating them just like enslaved soldiers, without the slightest difference. You should know that, at such a time, the true Dharma will soon perish.

“Great King! The causes and conditions for the destruction of a realm are created by you yourselves when, relying upon your own power and authority, you obstruct the fourfold assembly and prevent them from cultivating merit and virtue. Corrupt bhikṣus will accept invitations extended to them individually, while learned bhikṣus, united in mind and closely associated in friendship, will establish vegetarian assemblies to seek blessings. This is the practice of non-Buddhist paths and is by no means my teaching. It will cause the common people to suffer sicknesses and immeasurable afflictions. You should know that, at such a time, the realm will be destroyed.

“Great King! In the Dharma-ending age, kings, great ministers, and the fourfold assembly will all commit unlawful acts contrary to the Buddha’s teaching. They will create offenses, acting neither in accordance with the Dharma nor with the Vinaya, and will bind bhikṣus as though they were convicted criminals. You should know that, at such a time, the true Dharma will soon perish.

“Great King! After I enter nirvana, the fourfold assembly of my disciples and all kings, princes, and civil and military officials are precisely those responsible for preserving and protecting the Three Jewels, yet they themselves will destroy them. They will be like worms within a lion’s body that devour the lion’s flesh, rather than creatures from outside.

Whoever destroys my true Dharma commits a grave offense, causing the true Dharma gradually to decline, the people to cease practicing righteousness, their unwholesome faculties gradually to increase, their lifespans to diminish day by day, children no longer to be filial, and the six kinds of kinfolk no longer to live in harmony and mutual respect. Devas and nāgas will offer no aid, while evil ghosts and evil nāgas will increasingly come to wreak destruction.

Monstrous calamities will occur continuously, and disasters will rage unchecked. Those who destroy the true Dharma will fall into the hells, the animal realm, or the realm of hungry ghosts. If they are reborn as humans, they will be poor, destitute, lowly, and deficient in their faculties.

Just as a shadow follows a form, as an echo follows a sound, or as writing traced in darkness becomes visible when a light is extinguished, so too are the karmic consequences of destroying the true Dharma.

“Great King! In the future, all kings, princes, and great ministers, together with my disciples, will draw up arbitrary records, appoint officials to supervise documents, administer bhikṣus of high and low rank, and subject them to unreasonable commands. You should know that, at such a time, the Buddhadharma will no longer endure.”

O great king! In the future age, all kings and the fourfold assembly of disciples must rely upon all the Buddhas of the ten directions, constantly cultivate the path, and establish the conditions for this teaching to circulate. Yet evil bhikshus, seeking fame and gain, will not rely upon my Dharma. In the presence of kings, they will themselves proclaim accusations of wrongdoing, thereby creating conditions for the destruction of the true Dharma. Those kings, unable to discern the truth, will believe the words of the evil bhikshus and establish erroneous laws and regulations that do not accord with the Buddha’s precepts. You should know that, at that time, the Dharma will soon become completely extinguished.

O great king! In the future age, kings, ministers, and the fourfold assembly of disciples will themselves destroy the true Dharma and undermine the causes and conditions sustaining their nations. They themselves will bear the consequences; this will not be the fault of the Buddhadharma. Devas and dragons will depart, and the five defilements will steadily increase. Even if one were to speak throughout an entire kalpa, one could not describe them all.

At that time, when the kings of the sixteen great kingdoms heard these admonitions concerning the future age, they grieved and wept, and their cries shook the three-thousandfold world. Heaven and earth became utterly dark, without any light. The kings then all resolved wholeheartedly to receive and uphold the Buddha’s teaching. They would not obstruct members of the fourfold assembly from leaving the household life to study the path, and they would practice precisely according to the Buddha’s instructions.

Then the immeasurable assembly, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, all lamented:

– When the world becomes empty, there will be no Buddha in the world.

King Prasenajit addressed the Buddha:

– World-Honored One! What name should be given to this sutra? How should we reverently practice it?

The Buddha said:

– O great king! This sutra shall be called the Prajnaparamita Sutra for Humane Kings Who Protect Their Nations. It is also called the Dharma Medicine of Amrita. Whoever drinks it will be freed from all illnesses.

O great king! All the merit of prajnaparamita is like empty space and cannot be measured. If anyone receives, upholds, reads, and recites this sutra, the merit thereby attained can safeguard humane kings and all sentient beings, like a protective wall or the ramparts of a city. Therefore, you must receive and uphold it.

When the Buddha had finished teaching this sutra, the immeasurable great bodhisattvas, including Maitreya and Lion’s Roar; the immeasurable shravakas, including Shariputra and Subhuti; the immeasurable devas and humans of the Desire Realm and the Form Realm; the bhikshus, bhikshunis, upasakas, upasikas, asuras, and the entire great assembly—all who heard what the Buddha had taught rejoiced greatly, faithfully received it, and reverently practiced it.