佛說大乘大方廣佛冠經

Furthermore, O Kāśyapa! In the southern direction, beyond more than thirty thousand worlds from this Buddha-realm, there is a world named Pleasing Pure Sound, and in that realm there is a Buddha named Boundless Striding Footprint, the Tathāgata, the Worthy of Offerings, the Perfectly and Completely Enlightened One, who is at present dwelling there teaching, transforming, and bringing benefit.

O Kāśyapa! If there be any good sons or good daughters who abide in the Bodhisattva Vehicle, and who, having heard the name of Boundless Striding Footprint, the Tathāgata, the Worthy of Offerings, the Perfectly and Completely Enlightened One, are able to recite it and to receive and uphold it, then such a person in a future life shall attain the knowledge of former lives, and shall attain the Bodhisattva's samādhi called Pure Moon-Disc.

Having dwelt in this samādhi, such a person shall behold by himself, in the eastern direction, Buddhas, World-Honored Ones, as many as the sands of the Gaṅgā River, and so forth. In the same way, in the southern, western, and northern directions, in the four intermediate quarters, above and below, throughout all the ten directions, in each and every one of those directions there are Buddhas, World-Honored Ones, as many as the sands of the Gaṅgā River, and so forth — all of whom such a person shall behold; and in the presence of those Buddhas, World-Honored Ones, he shall attentively listen to the expounding of the Dharma, and shall be able to understand it all clearly.

He shall constantly meet with Buddhas appearing in the world, and at all times shall never even for a moment be apart from the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, until he attains the utmost and ultimate realization of Bodhi, and with respect to Supreme Perfect Enlightenment shall forever be in a state of non-retrogression. For thirty-five thousand kalpas he shall turn his back upon birth and death, and shall be able to receive immeasurable merit.

Furthermore, O Kāśyapa! In the southern direction, beyond more than thirty-five worlds from this Buddha-realm, there is a world named Supreme Fragrance of Wondrous Fragrance, and in that realm there is a Buddha named Boundless Fragrance Supreme King, the Tathāgata, the Worthy of Offerings, the Perfectly and Completely Enlightened One, who is at present dwelling there teaching, transforming, and bringing benefit.

O Kāśyapa! That Tathāgata Boundless Fragrance Supreme King, of old, when he was cultivating the Bodhisattva path, made this great vow: "May it be that in a future life, when I have attained Buddhahood, if there be any good sons or good daughters who abide in the Bodhisattva Vehicle and who, having heard my name, are able to recite it and to receive and uphold it, then such a person shall obtain manifold kinds of merit; that is to say, in all the places wherein they are born they shall attain the knowledge of former lives, their pure conduct shall be perfect and complete, and they shall be fully endowed with the thirty-two marks of a Great Man adorning their bodies.

Furthermore, throughout the other Buddha-realms, by the shining of my radiance reaching them, all shall come, and the beings shall gather together, and for their sake I shall cause them to perfect all the supreme practices of Bodhi. Moreover, if it be thus, then the great earth and a great fire shall fill everywhere, burning throughout. When the fire has finished burning, the great earth shall reveal all manner of precious jewels, and those who come to beg shall all be fully provided for, yet for all those people there shall not be even the slightest degree of disparity among them.

With respect to Supreme Perfect Enlightenment they shall attain non-retrogression; for thirty thousand kalpas they shall turn their backs upon birth and death, and shall be able to gather in immeasurable merit."

Furthermore, O Kāśyapa! In the southern direction, beyond more worlds than the sands of one Gaṅgā River from this Buddha-realm, in that realm there is a Buddha named Jewel-Supreme, the Tathāgata, the Worthy of Offerings, the Perfectly and Completely Enlightened One, who at present is dwelling there teaching, transforming, and bringing benefit.

O Kāśyapa! If there be any good sons or good daughters who abide in the Bodhisattva Vehicle, and who, having heard the name of that Jewel-Supreme Tathāgata, the Worthy of Offerings, the Perfectly and Completely Enlightened One, are able to recite it and to receive and uphold it, then such a person in a future life shall attain the knowledge of former lives. Moreover, in this very life, while still in the mother's womb, such a person shall straightaway behold the Buddha. That Buddha shall exhort and praise him, saying thus: "O good son! You shall ripen unto Supreme Perfect Enlightenment; therefore quickly come forth from the mother's womb. For a thousand kalpas you shall turn your back upon birth and death, and shall be able to gather in immeasurable merit."

Furthermore, O Kāśyapa! In the western direction, beyond more worlds than three times the sands of the Gaṅgā River from this Buddha-realm, there is a world named Unknowing Yet All-Knowing, and in that realm there is a Buddha named Great Radiant Illumination, the Tathāgata, the Worthy of Offerings, the Perfectly and Completely Enlightened One, who is at present there teaching, transforming, and bringing benefit.

O Kāśyapa! If there be any good sons or good daughters who abide in the Bodhisattva Vehicle, and who, having heard the name of that Great Radiant Illumination, the Tathāgata, the Worthy of Offerings, the Perfectly and Completely Enlightened One, constantly recite it and receive and uphold it, then such a person in a future life shall attain the knowledge of former lives, and shall attain the samādhi called Supreme Radiance of the Sun-Disc. Having dwelt in this samādhi, such a person shall behold Buddhas, World-Honored Ones, as many as the sands of the Gaṅgā River, such as the Invincible One, and so forth; and the great Bodhisattvas who have attained merit shall likewise praise the merit of this person.

Furthermore, O Kāśyapa! If there be any woman who, while in the mother's womb, comes to hear the name of that Tathāgata, then such a one in a future life shall no longer return to the form of a woman, and when the karmic recompense is exhausted she shall become a man. Why is this? Because, having been able to hear and to receive and uphold the name of this Tathāgata of great supernatural power and great majestic virtue, it is so.

At that time, the World-Honored One then spoke these verses in praise:

If there be a woman who, in the mother's womb,
Hears the honored and venerable name of the Buddha, the Great Sage,
This person, having transformed this female body,
Shall become a wise man,

Furthermore, O Kāśyapa! If there be any good sons or good daughters who abide in the Bodhisattva Vehicle, and who, having heard the name of that Tathāgata, are able to recite it and to receive and uphold it, then such a person for asaṃkhyeya kalpas shall turn his back upon birth and death, and shall be able to gather in immeasurable merit, and shall realize the fruit of Supreme Perfect Bodhi.

Furthermore, O Kāśyapa! In the northern direction, beyond more than forty thousand worlds from this Buddha-realm, there is a world named Possessing Jewels, and in that realm there is a Buddha named Auspicious Universal Splendor of Jewel-Blossoming Flowers, the Tathāgata, the Worthy of Offerings, the Perfectly and Completely Enlightened One, who is at present dwelling there teaching, transforming, and bringing benefit.

O Kāśyapa! If there be any good sons or good daughters who abide in the Bodhisattva Vehicle, and who, having heard the name of that Auspicious Universal Splendor of Jewel-Blossoming Flowers, the Tathāgata, the Worthy of Offerings, the Perfectly and Completely Enlightened One, constantly recite it and receive and uphold it, then such a person in a future life shall attain the knowledge of former lives, and shall attain the samādhi called Jewel-Moon Bodhisattva.

Having dwelt in this samādhi, such a person shall be able to understand clearly all the speech and sounds of beings; sustained by the Buddha's grace, he shall accomplish unobstructed eloquence of speech. If there be any being who delights in seeking to see him expound the various Dharmas in the midst of empty space, then that person at that very moment shall be able to manifest himself as he wishes. Moreover, all the beings within this Jambudvīpa, according to whatever they delight in and wish to seek, give forth their sounds, and this person shall be able to know each and every one of them clearly.

Furthermore, if all the beings within the great trichiliocosm of three-thousand worlds, according to whatever they delight in and wish to seek, give forth their various speech and sounds, and so forth, then this person shall know them all clearly, and in accordance with the faith and understanding of each, he shall expound the Dharma for their sake; with respect to Supreme Perfect Enlightenment he shall cause them to attain non-retrogression, and for sixty thousand kalpas they shall turn their backs upon birth and death.

Furthermore, O Kāśyapa! In the eastern direction, beyond more than sixty thousand worlds from this Buddha-realm, there is a world named Multitude of Jewels, and in that realm there is a Buddha named Jewel-Storehouse, the Tathāgata, the Worthy of Offerings, the Perfectly and Completely Enlightened One, who is at present there teaching, transforming, and bringing benefit.

O Kāśyapa! If there be any good sons or good daughters who abide in the Bodhisattva Vehicle, and who, having heard the name of that Jewel-Storehouse Tathāgata, the Worthy of Offerings, the Perfectly and Completely Enlightened One, constantly recite and chant it and receive and uphold it, then such a person in a future life shall attain the knowledge of former lives, and shall accomplish the Dharma of the Seven Factors of Enlightenment.

Furthermore, O Kāśyapa! In the eastern direction, beyond more than an asaṃkhyeya of worlds from this Buddha-realm, there is a world named Jewel-Wondrous, and in that realm there is a Buddha named Jewel-Victorious, the Tathāgata, the Worthy of Offerings, the Perfectly and Completely Enlightened One, who is at present there expounding the Dharma and bringing benefit.

O Kāśyapa! If there be any good sons or good daughters who abide in the Bodhisattva Vehicle, and who, having heard the name of Jewel-Victorious Tathāgata, the Worthy of Offerings, the Perfectly and Completely Enlightened One, constantly recite it and receive and uphold it, then such a person shall be able to bring forth manifold kinds of merit.

O Kāśyapa! Suppose there be good sons or good daughters who abide in the Bodhisattva Vehicle and who amass precious jewels, the quantity of that hoard being like Sumeru, the king of mountains, and who use such wealth to perform acts of giving, making vast and abundant offerings to the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, and who perform such acts of giving continuously, throughout myriads of koṭis of nayutas of hundreds of thousands of years, never once interrupted.

And again, if there be a person who, having heard the name of that Jewel-Victorious Tathāgata, the Worthy of Offerings, the Perfectly and Completely Enlightened One, is able constantly to recite it and to receive and uphold it, then the immeasurable merit of the giving described before, compared with this merit, does not amount to one hundredth part, does not amount to one thousandth part, does not amount to one hundred-thousandth part, nor to one part in an asaṃkhyeya — by calculation, by analogy, it does not amount to even one part.

At that time, the World-Honored One spoke these verses in praise:

There are Buddha-realms in the eastern direction,
In the southern, the western, and the northern,
In every direction there dwell World-Honored Ones,
Shining upon beings, bringing them benefit.

In timely season or out of season, one should know this:
Day and night ever giving rise to thoughts of reverence,
Joining the palms in homage and bringing forth a sincere heart,
With faith bow down to the Supreme One of the world.

Whoever clearly understands and knows the names,
Whose mind ever thinks to revere and serve the Most Honored Among Men —
That is to say, throughout a thousand kalpas
It is exceedingly hard to meet a Buddha appearing in the world.

If one wishes to revere all the Buddhas,
Because one seeks the unsurpassed Bodhi,
Hearing the Buddha expound the names of the Buddhas,
One should, right then and there, ever take refuge.

Whoever wishes to make offerings to the Buddhas
Should ever bring forth the thought: the Buddhas are inconceivable;
Having heard the names of those Buddhas,
He shall, for the sake of others, expound them widely.

Wishing that myriads of koṭis of kinds of beings
May escape the three realms and attain liberation —
Having heard the names of those Buddhas,
Let them receive and uphold them, and not be born again among men.

Wishing to cause myriads of koṭis of Buddha-realms
To be made to quake by a single toe —
Having heard the names of those Buddhas,
Let them receive and uphold them, and expound them widely for many people.

If one has formerly made offerings to the Buddhas,
Then upon hearing the Buddhas' names one shall receive and uphold them;
Not for one, not for ten, nor for twenty lifetimes —
This is having planted roots of goodness throughout many lifetimes.

If one hears the Buddhas' names and is able to receive and uphold them,
Or makes offerings of jewels as many as the sands of the Gaṅgā,
Compared with the one who receives and upholds the Buddhas' names,
The aggregate of merit does not amount to one hundredth part.

Whoever hears the Buddhas' names and receives and upholds them
Shall attain the bodily marks of the supreme among men,
Of beauty and majestic dignity within the world,
And going forth into homelessness shall receive the offerings of gods and men.

When the Buddha had finished expounding this sūtra, the assemblies of bhikṣus, the assemblies of great Bodhisattvas, and the rest, having heard the Buddha's exposition, were all greatly delighted, and in faith received it and reverently put it into practice.

THE SŪTRA SPOKEN BY THE BUDDHA OF THE GREAT VEHICLE,

THE GREAT VAIPULYA BUDDHA-RADIANCE

End of the Lower Scroll (the complete set)