大寶積經

7. CHAPTER ON THE PREDICTIONS OF THE DRAGON KINGS

At that time, the Dragon Kings Nanda and Upananda, together with nine hundred million dragons and others, saw the dragon maidens make offerings to the Buddha and receive predictions. They gave rise to a rare and unprecedented state of mind, thinking, “The Tathāgata, Worthy One, Perfectly Enlightened One, is truly rare and unprecedented. The Tathāgata knows the faculties and deep faith of beings.

There is not the slightest thing that the Tathāgata does not see, hear, or realize. The true Dharma of the Tathāgata has been skillfully proclaimed by the Buddha. It enables the great assembly, upon hearing it, to know directly for themselves.

It is timeless, bestows the Dharma according to each being’s capacity, definitively brings about attainment of the fruit, and enables the wise to realize and know it directly. Even women, who are restless and frivolous and whose wisdom is shallow and deficient, can understand the profound Dharma spoken by the Buddha; how much more can wise people who abide well in the Buddha’s Dharma as his disciples! Although these women are dominated by desire, anger, and delusion, they can still understand what the Tathāgata proclaims.” Reflecting in this way, the Dragon Kings Nanda, Upananda, and the others gave rise toward the Buddha to a rare and unprecedented state of mind.

To make offerings to the Buddha, the dragons produced clouds that covered the entire world and rained fragrant water, creating fragrant mud whose perfume filled the trichiliocosm. All beings who smelled this fragrance attained non-retrogression from unsurpassed bodhi. Throughout the city of Kapilavastu, which was sixty yojanas in breadth and length, red pearls rained down everywhere, and priceless precious objects completely surrounded the Nyagrodha Grove.

With dragon flowers they also conjured a beautiful mansion sixty yojanas wide, made entirely of the seven precious substances. Immeasurable musical instruments played together as an offering. Within that mansion of seven precious substances and dragon flowers, they conjured nine hundred million multicolored flower garlands and hung them everywhere.

Nets of beryl covered the jeweled pillars, and priceless jewels carpeted the ground before it. Those jewels were exceedingly soft, like pālāśaka stone in Trāyastriṃśa Heaven. That stone was the color of beryl and, when touched, was as soft as a celestial garment, wondrous and delightful.

Among those various maṇi jewels, some emitted rays of cool light; some produced blue, yellow, red, or white water; some produced multicolored water; some gave forth cool breezes; some produced whatever necessities beings desired; some produced fragrant oils; and some served as bright mirrors reflecting the entire great assembly. All the people who came from the city of Kapilavastu saw their images clearly reflected within them.

The entire great assembly saw the Buddha and the śrāvakas manifest many kinds of miraculous transformations. Through the spiritual power of those maṇi jewels, the terraces of the mansion produced multicolored jeweled parasols, banners, pennants, garlands, incense wreaths, jeweled wreaths, pearl wreaths, and jeweled nets hung with bells, as well as multicolored noble horses. Dragon King Nanda and the nine hundred million dragons led the noble horses on foot, circumambulated the Buddha clockwise three times, and scattered soft jewels upon the Blessed One.

All the precious objects that emerged from beneath the floor of that beautiful mansion rose into the sky and formed a canopy over the Buddha and the assembly of śrāvakas. The musical instruments in the sky spontaneously produced wondrous sounds as an offering to the Buddha.

After circumambulating the Buddha, the nine hundred million dragons joined their palms before him. Silently recollecting the Buddha’s merits, they gazed upon the Tathāgata without taking their eyes from him even for a moment. Delighting in the Buddha’s merits, they became even more firmly established in unsurpassed bodhi. After silently recollecting the Buddha’s merits for a short while, the dragons bowed together at his feet and praised him in unison with these verses:

“For long you cultivated dignified conduct and the marks born of a hundred merits;

Your compassionate mind, free from defilement, perfected every practice.

Abandoning inexhaustible lands filled with precious treasures,

The Blessed One departed from the city of Kapila.

For six long years you practiced austerities,

Yet the Tathāgata did not attain the path of ambrosia.

Still, the Blessed One’s mind never became discouraged,

For you had cultivated wisdom for a very long time.

The Tathāgata is truly the Teacher of Gods and Humans;

For the sake of the world, you practiced austerities.

The world can scarcely bear even to hear of them,

How much less could it endure to behold them!

In the past, the Blessed One gave away his head and eyes,

Like a sage safeguarding the precious casket of bodhi-mind.

Hearing these accounts gives us no joy,

For we reflect upon the Buddha’s excessive hardships.

When formerly the Buddha was the Patient Sage,

King Kali severed his hands and feet,

Cut off his ears, and mutilated his nose, yet he felt no anger;

Hearing of this, we cannot bear it.

When the Buddha placed his body upon the scales

To save the bird that had sought refuge, unwilling to abandon it,

Hearing of this gives us no joy,

For the Tathāgata suffered such hardship in the past.

Why do our hearts find no joy?

Because the Blessed One endured such suffering.

Though evil people harmed the Tathāgata

And fell into evil destinies, the Buddha still pitied them.

Great Guide, replete with noble wisdom,

How did you cultivate such a harmless mind?

You cultivated the path without error;

We beseech the Buddha to teach the practice of peace and bliss.

Now these dragons have given rise to the resolve

And seek from the Tathāgata the conduct leading to bodhi.

We will practice all that the Buddha proclaims;

We beseech the Buddha to teach the path of bodhi.

This assembly of dragons ardently yearns

Only for the deathless and unborn state.

We pray you to teach the Tathāgata’s peaceful conduct

And make beings easy to instruct.”

The Buddha saw the dragons’ offerings and vows. Knowing that their faith had become profound, he smiled. It is the nature of all Buddhas that when they manifest a smile, immeasurable multicolored rays of light issue from their mouths, shine as far as the Brahmā heavens, then return and enter the crowns of their heads.

The venerable Bhikṣu Aśvajit addressed the Buddha in verse:

“Excellent, Great Sage among śramaṇas!

You do not smile without a cause.

Compassionate Blessed One, please explain clearly:

Why does the Unsurpassed Perfectly Enlightened One smile?

The great assembly gazes upward, wishing to hear

Of the Blessed One’s immeasurable meritorious conduct.

Seeing you smile, they become doubtful and uneasy;

We beseech the Dharma King to dispel their doubts.

Who today, within Śākyamuni’s Dharma,

Has given rise to reverence, faith, and joy?

Who has today caused Māra Pāpīyān

To become confused, distracted, and distressed?

Who today has been able to attend upon

The benevolent father, the meritorious Great Guide?

Who has presented the most supreme offering?

We pray the Unsurpassed Tathāgata to tell us.

This entire great assembly joins its palms

And stands gazing toward the Buddha.

We beseech the Guide to remove the net of doubt

And tell the assembly the reason for your smile.

Having heard it, the assembly will rejoice

And understand the true Dharma taught by the Blessed One.

May the greatly wise Blessed One gladden the assembly

And establish them well in accordance with the true teaching.”

The Blessed One replied to the venerable Aśvajit in verse:

“The Great Guide possesses vast and profound wisdom;

When he speaks, his Brahmā voice is endowed with eight qualities.

The Buddha’s mind is pure and free from defilement;

Listen attentively as I explain the cause of my smile.

These Dragon Kings possess reverence and faith

And have made offerings to the Buddha surpassing all others.

They seek the Buddha’s bodhi

In order to benefit the entire world.

With compassion ascendant, they contemplate the world:

‘Without a guide, how could beings find happiness?

How may I attain great bodhi

And tirelessly bring beings to maturity?’

Delighting greatly in tranquility and endowed with wisdom,

They cultivate the vehicle of peace with purified minds.

They have long cultivated, for immeasurable kalpas,

Emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness.

The Buddha’s mind contemplates the world with equality;

Just as the Buddha has attained the marks of wisdom,

So loving-kindness, compassion, and sympathetic joy are all impartial,

That the world may be peaceful and secure.

With supreme compassion and hearts of pity,

They will attain buddhahood according to their wish.

After contemplating all beings,

They will become Guides named Free from Enmity.

When these beings attain ambrosia,

No māra or enemy will remain.

They will always proclaim the Dharma of no-self,

Without ever teaching merely conventional doctrines.

Those Tathāgatas will possess great compassion

And cause beings to enter the Buddha’s wisdom.

When those Tathāgatas teach the Dharma,

All beings will believe and understand.

Throughout their lifetime after lifetime of practice,

Bringing beings to maturity will not be difficult.

Mature beings, having heard the Dharma,

Will attain liberation and realize ambrosia.

All who hear the Dharma will be liberated,

And those beings will all be dignified.

Every being will know and understand

The true Dharma taught by those Buddhas.

Among all ghosts, spirits, and animals,

Not one will fail to understand those Buddhas’ words.

All will attain mindfulness of Dharma

And understand the Tathāgata’s Dharma of ambrosia.

No being who hears the Buddha’s teaching

Will fail to give rise to delight.

Having delighted in the true Dharma taught by the Buddha,

All will attain ambrosia.

Those taught and transformed in that age

Will be liberated from the sickness of birth and death,

And freed from the sufferings of death, sorrow, and grief;

After hearing the Buddha, their minds will be undefiled.

Thus Śākyamuni Buddha

Explains the dragons’ intentions in reply to the Buddha’s disciple.

Because the dragons’ resolve is steadfast

And directed toward unsurpassed bodhi,

The Tathāgata bestows predictions upon them.

Hearing this, the great assembly all rejoices;

Rejoicing, they take refuge in the Buddha,

And the minds of all become tranquil.”

8. CHAPTER ON THE PREDICTIONS OF THE KUMBHĀṆḌAS

At that time, there were also one billion eighty million kumbhāṇḍas. Seeing the asuras, garuḍas, dragon maidens, and Dragon Kings make offerings to the Buddha and receive predictions,

they were delighted, elated, and joyful. They gave rise to a rare and unprecedented state of mind, thinking, “The Tathāgata, the Blessed One, possesses wondrous and supreme merit and wisdom. Although he receives such rare offerings, he is neither elated nor astonished, for the Buddha’s wisdom is the most honored and supreme of all forms of wisdom. The great ocean neither increases nor decreases. Why? Because it is deep and vast. Although the Blessed One receives supreme offerings, his mind neither increases nor decreases. Why? Because he has no doubt regarding any dharma.”

At that time, as an offering, the one billion eighty million kumbhāṇḍas conjured one billion eighty million parasols of the seven precious substances, hung with wreaths of the seven precious substances.

They also conjured one billion eighty million chariots of the seven precious substances, and above each chariot they conjured one billion eighty million jeweled parasols. The chariots were arranged one after another, and from the jeweled parasols hung bags of jewels, covered above with nets of red pearls. They also conjured kumbhāṇḍa music, played together as an offering to the Buddha.

They further conjured one billion eighty million multicolored, precious, and well-trained horses to draw those chariots. All the kumbhāṇḍas sat in the chariots of the seven precious substances and circumambulated the Buddha clockwise three times. They scattered flowers of the seven precious substances upon him, descended from their chariots, approached and bowed at his feet, circumambulated him three times, joined their palms, stood to one side, and praised him in verse:

“Neither increasing nor decreasing, O Great Sage,

You are like Sumeru, king of mountains.

You receive these unsurpassed offerings

Because the Tathāgata has attained fearlessness.

You contemplate beings as mere names

And mere functions, without grasping them.

Because the Guide cultivated the practice of quiescence,

The wise one is therefore free from pride.

The Blessed One knows the world to be like illusion and dream,

And that pleasures are experienced within illusion and dream.

It is also like the moon in water and a mirage;

Contemplating it thus, nothing remains.

Like a gandharva city, it has no reality;

Though sought throughout the ten directions, it cannot be found.

That city is unreal and exists only in name;

The Buddha sees all worldly dharmas in the same way.

All gods and humans make offerings to the Buddha—

Jeweled chariots, jeweled parasols, and music,

Garlands, tassels, and joined palms—

Yet the Blessed One sees and knows them as echoes and reflections.

Having arranged these offerings,

We vow that in the future we shall become Buddhas.

We also vow to know the world as a dream

And, knowing it, teach the Dharma as does the Blessed One.

We see those who suffer,

Tormented without cease by birth, aging, sickness, and death.

We vow to realize the Buddha’s unsurpassed bodhi

And teach so that listeners may be liberated.

For beings devoid of wisdom,

We vow to attain bodhi and teach the Dharma,

Proclaiming the Dharma free from defilement,

And becoming Guides among those without a path.”

The Blessed One knew that the kumbhāṇḍas had given rise to profound faith, and so he smiled.

The venerable Bhikṣu Aśvajit addressed the Buddha in verse:

“The Buddha does not smile without a cause,

Nor does he regard everything as rare.

The Buddha does not smile in astonishment;

Now I wish to hear the cause.

All gods and humans harbor doubts

Upon seeing the Buddha’s mouth form a smile.

We beseech you to remove every net of doubt

And explain the Buddha’s smile.

Who has spoken the true Dharma and attained deep faith?

Who has beheld the compassionate father in accordance with Dharma?

Who has been praised by the Buddha for presenting offerings?

I wish to hear the Blessed One explain.

Who today has seen the faults

In conditioned practices and discarded them?

Who today abides in the reality-limit?

Whose mind is pure? I wish to hear.

Who has subdued Māra and his retinue?

Who has made the Buddha’s mind rejoice?

Who has reached the depths of conditioned existence?

I wish to hear this and end my doubts.

The entire great assembly stands with joined palms,

Seeking to hear the reason for the Buddha’s smile.

May the Blessed One end all beings’ doubts

And proclaim their predictions.”

The Blessed One replied to the venerable Aśvajit in verse:

“Excellent, Aśvajit, that you ask this question,

Bringing great benefit to the world.

Since you have asked the reason for my smile,

Aśvajit, listen as the Buddha now speaks.

The assembly of kumbhāṇḍas has made offerings to the Buddha

And established their minds in the Dharma of quiescence.

Seeing the Buddha, they were not alarmed,

But gave rise to a rare aspiration.

Today they have made offerings to the Buddha,

And their minds have chosen the Dharma of quiescence.

Through deep faith they have aroused great compassion

And will be Guides for those who have lost the path.

Out of pity for beings, they worship the Buddha;

For those who have lost the path, they arouse compassion.

Having acted thus, those wise and virtuous ones

Will abandon their ghostly bodies and be born in Trāyastriṃśa.

The heavenly king will constantly use loving-kindness and compassion

To instruct them continually in heaven.

They will attain freedom from doubt regarding all dharmas

And become relatives of Śakra, Lord of the Gods.

For immeasurable kalpas, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges,

They will practice the conduct of Buddhas in each land.

Clad in the exceedingly firm armor of their constant vows,

They will make offerings to the sovereign Dharma Kings.

In immeasurable lands,

Their tireless minds will attain purity.

Benefiting the great assembly, they will become Guides

And attain buddhahood under the name Unastonished.

While practicing in the various lands,

All the people of those lands will know that they will become Buddhas.

Through these skillful means, in the future,

Though liberating beings, they will remain unastonished.

Seeking the unsurpassed and peaceful path,

They will purify all lands without astonishment.

Their minds will not cling to the deeds they perform,

Nor will they cling even to great bodhi.

I have answered the question concerning the cause of my smile,

And all beings’ doubts have been dispelled.

Freed from doubt, the great assembly rejoices,

Knowing with certainty the meaning of their offerings.”

9. CHAPTER ON THE PREDICTIONS OF THE GANDHARVAS

At that time, there were also three billion sixty million gandharvas. Seeing the asuras, garuḍas, dragon maidens, Dragon Kings, and kumbhāṇḍas make offerings to the Buddha and receive predictions, they were delighted, satisfied, elated, and joyful. They gave rise to a rare and unprecedented state of mind, thinking, “The Tathāgata is truly rare and unprecedented.

He proclaims that the dharma-dhātu is changeless, yet manifests the growth of roots of goodness. Although there is no agent, he manifests the performance of karma.” Having understood this Dharma in that way, the gandharvas developed reverence for the Tathāgata and gave rise to the resolve for unsurpassed bodhi. Rejoicing and wishing to make offerings to the Buddha, they conjured three billion sixty million great royal elephants, each with six tusks.

Upon each tusk were seven pools, and in each pool were seven lotus flowers. Each lotus had one thousand petals.

Upon each petal were seven celestial maidens, and in the space between each pair of petals were seven attendants. They were adorned with ornaments of celestial jewels and held celestial incense in their hands as offerings. Above each great royal elephant they further conjured three billion sixty million parasols of the seven precious substances and three billion sixty million canopies of celestial material.

The gandharvas all sat upon the royal elephants and played celestial music. Traveling through the sky, they circumambulated the Buddha thirty-six times and scattered celestial incense, celestial flowers, and flowers of the seven precious substances as offerings to him. The fragrance of these flowers spread throughout the ten directions.

They also rained celestial fragrant water over the city of Kapilavastu for sixty yojanas, making the entire city wet with fragrant mud. The perfume of that mud filled the trichiliocosm, and all beings who smelled it attained non-retrogression from unsurpassed bodhi. When they played their music, its sound resounded throughout the trichiliocosm, and all beings who heard it attained non-retrogression from unsurpassed bodhi.

Seated upon their royal elephants, the gandharvas arranged offerings to the Buddha and had the celestial maidens play music, sing, and dance. Other celestial maidens moved gracefully and scattered fragrant powder with their hands as an offering to the Buddha.

After the gandharvas, seated upon their royal elephants in the sky, had circumambulated the Buddha thirty-six times, they descended from the elephants, circumambulated the Buddha three times, bowed at his feet, joined their palms, stood to one side, and praised him in verse:

“The Blessed One’s wisdom transcends the three realms;

Having escaped himself, he liberates others.

In all the world, none equals the Buddha;

His marks are excellent, his body radiant and supremely dignified.

Most wondrous among gods and humans, of boundless renown,

He manifests in the world inconceivably.

Though he does not perceive even one dharma with a distinct characteristic,

He teaches beings to cultivate wholesome karma.

The Dharma of true suchness undergoes no alteration;

There is only verbal expression, without any fixed meaning.

There is neither function nor one who employs it,

Yet the Buddha nevertheless liberates multitudes of beings.

Neither coming nor going, neither being born,

The Buddha can expound the Dharma in this way.

Though he teaches that the essential nature of all dharmas is empty,

The Blessed One still exhorts beings to diligently cultivate the path.

Not a single dharma can act by itself,

Yet the world’s illuminator speaks of action.

No dharma can know itself,

Yet the Blessed One manifests the performance of everything.

Just as a chariot is assembled from many parts,

And no part knows how to act by itself,

Yet the function of the chariot can plainly be seen,

So too does the Buddha teach concerning all dharmas.

Individual dharmas do not instruct one another,

Nor do they change and direct one another.

All dharmas do not depend upon one another;

Dharmas are originally neither born nor destroyed.

For this reason, the Buddha teaches in this way.

On the conventional level, dharmas are not entirely nonexistent;

They abide in nature according to conventional truth.

Knowing this, the Buddha teaches beings.

The Blessed One teaches all dharmas in this way;

The workings of his great compassion are exceedingly wondrous.

The essential nature of dharmas cannot be seen,

Yet through skillful means the Tathāgata teaches how dharmas abide.

We vow to become ones of boundless renown,

Great Teachers endowed with marks born of a hundred merits.

With great joy we shall benefit the worlds;

We vow to become Blessed Ones just like the Buddha.

For those obscured by darkness,

For those who follow the current of sensual desire,

For those bound by craving and a hundred sufferings,

We vow to rescue and liberate them as does the Blessed One.

For those burdened by many sufferings,

For those bound because they cannot see the further shore,

For those who rush about like leaping apes,

We vow to rescue and liberate them as does the Blessed One.

For those who are like the blind,

For those who wearily wander among the six destinies,

For those who themselves destroy the fruits of their karma,

We vow to rescue and liberate them as does the Blessed One.”

The Buddha knew that the gandharvas had given rise to profound faith, and so he smiled.

The venerable Bhikṣu Aśvajit addressed the Buddha in verse:

“Possessing boundless majesty, you now smile;

The Guide does not smile without a cause.

May the Buddha quickly explain that cause

And dispel all beings’ doubts.

Now that they have seen the Blessed One smile,

The whole great assembly has become doubtful.

All wish to hear the meaning of the smile;

We beseech the greatly compassionate one to end their doubts.

Who has given rise to reverence and faith in the Buddha’s Dharma?

Who has escaped from every net of doubt?

The Buddha knows that beings have attained profound faith;

Therefore the Sage among gods and humans smiles.

Who possesses wisdom and can accord with

The true suchness realized and taught by the Tathāgata?

Knowing their subtle wisdom, understanding, and conduct,

You have smiled before the great assembly.

The whole great assembly is of one mind,

Desiring only to delight in hearing the Blessed One speak.

They join their ten fingers and raise them above their heads,

Single-mindedly gazing upon the Tathāgata’s face.

Freed from defilement and without sorrow,

They rejoice that the Eye of the World remains among us.

To remove all doubts,

May the greatly compassionate one explain the cause of the smile.”

The Blessed One replied to the venerable Aśvajit in verse:

“The Buddha smiles for the sake of the world.

Excellent, Aśvajit, that you ask at the proper time.

The great assembly’s roots of goodness will increase,

For the Buddha’s smile concerns a prediction.

Aśvajit, listen to the Buddha’s words:

The Guide will now explain the cause of his smile.

The Buddha will clearly state its meaning;

You should rejoice and listen to the Buddha.

The Gandharva Kings revere and trust the Buddha;

Their minds are pure and filled with joy.

Relying upon true Dharma, they have entered the Dharma

And given rise to wondrous joy in the Buddha’s true Dharma.

All dharmas are quiescent, peaceful, and unmoving;

This great assembly proceeds toward the reality-limit.

Just as one enters a gandharva city,

They make offerings to the Buddha unequaled by any other.

Dharmas such as these are never born,

Nor are they ever utterly extinguished.

The great assembly contemplates dharmas as illusions,

Yet, not having understood them fully, they give rise to doubt.

What cannot be expressed as Dharma is taught through skillful means;

Because the Buddha accords with truth, it is so.

Having entered the Buddha’s true Dharma,

They sit upon great dragon-elephants and worship the Buddha.

Contemplating bodhi as neither born nor destroyed,

The Gandharva Kings make offerings to the Buddha.

Pitying foolish and deluded beings,

They therefore seek omniscience.

They have vowed to become Buddhas

And to lead those foolish beings who have lost wisdom

Into the true Dharma and establish them securely,

Causing them to seek the deathless quiescence.

After making such offerings,

They will joyfully abandon their ghostly bodies

And certainly be reborn in heavenly palaces,

Where they will always remain close to Śakra.

They will encounter many billions of nayutas

Of unsurpassed, perfectly enlightened Tathāgatas and make offerings to them.

Traveling from one Buddha-land to another,

They will hear the Dharma in the presence of the Buddhas.

Having cultivated the pure conduct of Buddhas,

The Buddha-lands they attain will also be pure.

They will transform immeasurable beings and inspire the resolve for the path,

Causing them to increase the seeds of buddhahood.

Knowing that the nature of all worlds is inseparable from emptiness,

They will teach others this Dharma as well,

Establishing beings in omniscience.

They will remain in the world for immeasurable nayutas of kalpas.

Those Buddhas will all bear the name Boundless Wisdom.

Each of those Buddhas will abide in the world

For immeasurable nayutas of kalpas,

Proclaiming the Buddha’s path for beings to hear.

Thus Śākyamuni Buddha

Explains the fruition of the gandharvas’ offerings,

Bestows predictions upon them, and enables them to hear

The cause of the smile about which Aśvajit asked.

Having heard this, the great assembly all rejoices,

Knowing that the Buddha’s predictions are exceedingly delightful.

Having heard the Buddha’s unsurpassed predictions,

They all joyfully rely upon Śākyamuni Buddha.”