佛說彌勒下生經

Thus have I heard:

At one time, the Buddha was dwelling in the Jeta Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika's Park, in the country of Śrāvastī, together with a great assembly of 1,500 bhikṣus. At that time the Venerable Ānanda arranged his robe over his right shoulder, knelt with his right knee touching the ground, and addressed the World-Honored One:

— The Tathāgata's contemplation is truly profound, deep, and subtle; there is nothing that He does not examine. The past, the future, and the present—all three periods—He knows clearly. The titles and names of the Buddhas, together with the assemblies of Bodhisattvas and Śrāvakas of the past, and whether their followers were many or few, He knows them all clearly.

Whether it be one kalpa, a hundred kalpas, or innumerable kalpas, He contemplates and knows them all in this way. He distinguishes clearly the names of each king, official, and citizen; even in this present land, however many people there are, He knows them all clearly. Reverently, O Tathāgata, the Perfectly Truthful One, the Fully Enlightened One, we wish to hear of the teaching and the appearance of the Buddha Maitreya in the distant future, and of the disciples who follow the Buddha to a land that is peaceful, joyful, and abundant—and for how long a time it will endure.

The Buddha said to Ānanda:

— You should return to your seat, listen attentively as I speak, and reflect well, bearing in mind the appearance of the Buddha Maitreya, the wealth and peaceful joy of that land, and whether his disciples will be many or few.

The Venerable Ānanda, receiving the Buddha's instruction, returned to his seat. The Buddha said to Ānanda:

— In the distant future, in this land there will be a walled city named Sīrṣa, twelve yojanas from East to West, seven yojanas from North to South. Its soil will be fertile, its people powerful and wealthy, and its roads numerous. Within the city there will be a Dragon King named Water-Light (Śuiguang), who by night will pour forth fragrant substances to moisten the ground, and by day will make it mild, cool, and refreshing.

Within the city of Sīrṣa there will be a rākṣasa demon named Leaf-Flower (Diệp Hoa), whose actions accord with the true Dharma and do not oppose the right teaching. After everyone has fallen deeply asleep, this one will go about removing all that is filthy, impure, and unclean, and will sprinkle the ground with fragrant water, making it utterly clean and sweet-smelling.

Ānanda, you should know! The land of Jambudvīpa at that time, in the directions of East, West, South, and North, will extend ten thousand yojanas. The mountains, rivers, and cliffs will all dissolve of themselves.

The waters of the four great oceans will each occupy a single quarter. The surface of the earth in Jambudvīpa will be utterly level, like a bright, clean mirror. Throughout Jambudvīpa there will be food, with the five grains abundant, rich, and flourishing.

The people will be prosperous, jewels and treasures will be plentiful, and villages and hamlets will be close to one another, so that all may hear the crowing of the cocks. All the flowers, fruits, withered trees, and foul, ugly things will dissolve of themselves. The most delicious trees, the sweetest, most fragrant, and most flourishing fruits will grow forth across the whole earth.

The climate will be mild, the seasons fitting and timely. People will not suffer the 108 diseases; there will be no greed, no hatred, no delusion, and no need for worry or anxious care. The hearts of the people will be balanced, all of one mind together; meeting one another joyfully, they will speak gentle and virtuous words, all of one and the same language, just like the people of Uttarakuru, no different.

The people of Jambudvīpa, great and small alike, will all have the same tone of voice, with no difference among them. When the men or women of this land wish to relieve themselves, the earth will naturally split open, and after they are finished, the earth will close again as before.

At that time the soil of Jambudvīpa will naturally produce rice that is exceedingly fragrant and delicious, without husk, which when eaten causes no sickness or suffering. Gold, silver, precious jewels, giant clam-shell, agate, true pearls, and amber will be scattered across the surface of the earth, yet no one will pay them any heed. Sometimes they will take up these jewels and treasures and say to one another: "In ancient times, people, on account of these jewels and treasures, harmed and ruined one another, were imprisoned and exiled, and endured countless sufferings and afflictions.

Yet today these jewels and treasures are like tiles and bricks; no one keeps them." At that time a king of the Dharma will appear, named Śaṅkha (Nhương Khứ), who will rule the country with the true Dharma and possess in full the seven treasures. The seven treasures are: the golden-wheel treasure, the elephant treasure, the horse treasure, the jewel treasure, the jade-maiden treasure, the treasure of the army-commander, and the treasure of the steward.

He will hold sway over Jambudvīpa without recourse to sword or staff, governing it naturally with ease.

O Ānanda! The four storehouses of precious treasures are:

1. The country of Gandhāra has the treasure-storehouse of Erāvaṇa (Y-la-bát), with very many precious treasures and rare and valuable things beyond all telling.

2. The country of Mithilā has a great storehouse of the jeweled net and very many precious treasures.

3. The country of Surāṣṭra has a great treasure-storehouse and many precious treasures.

4. The country of Vārāṇasī of Śaṅkha has a great treasure-storehouse with very many precious treasures beyond all reckoning.

These four great treasure-storehouses will appear of themselves. The keepers of the storehouses will come and report to the king: "We humbly beg the Great King to take the things within these treasure-storehouses and bestow them upon the poor and destitute." Though King Śaṅkha obtains these treasure-storehouses, he will not so much as glance at them, for he has no thought of wealth, jewels, or treasures.

In the land of Jambudvīpa, garments exceedingly soft and fine will naturally grow upon the trees for everyone to wear, just as nowadays among the people of Uttarakuru garments naturally grow upon the trees. The Great King will have a chief minister named Subrahmā (Tu Phạm Ma), an official whom the king has deeply respected and cherished since his youth. This chief minister will be of handsome and dignified appearance—neither tall nor short, neither fat nor thin, neither pale nor dark, neither old nor young.

The wife of Subrahmā will be named Brahmāvatī (Phạm Ma Việt), the most surpassingly beautiful among all the jade-maidens, like a consort of the heavenly emperor. When she speaks, her mouth will give forth the fragrance of the lotus flower, and her body will be filled with the scent of sandalwood; she will possess eighty-four qualities that other women could never possess. She will also have no deluded thoughts or notions, nor any sickness.

At that time the Bodhisattva Maitreya, dwelling in the Tuṣita Heaven, will observe that his parents are neither old nor young, and descending in spirit he will manifest and be born from the right side of his mother—just as I, today, was likewise born from the right side. So too will it be with the Bodhisattva Maitreya. All the devas of the Tuṣita Heaven will sing in praise: "The Bodhisattva Maitreya has descended and been born!"

Subrahmā will give his son the name Maitreya. The Bodhisattva Maitreya will have the thirty-two marks and the eighty noble characteristics, his body the color of pure gold, exceedingly fine and beautiful. The people of this land will be free of all calamities, and their lifespan will be long. They will live to eighty-four thousand years, and the daughters will marry only at five hundred years of age.

Maitreya, having lived in the household for a short time, will go forth to leave the home life and study the Way. When he has gone out from the city of Sīrṣa, before he has traveled far he will come upon a tree of the Way named Nāga-flower (Dragon-Flower), one yojana in height and five hundred paces across. The Bodhisattva Maitreya will sit beneath this tree and accomplish the Supreme Way.

At midnight, when the Bodhisattva Maitreya went forth, he will at once attain the Supreme Way. The whole three-thousandfold great-thousandfold world will quake in six ways. The earth-spirits will all say to one another: "Today the Bodhisattva Maitreya has accomplished the Way of Buddhahood." Gradually, even the palace of the Four Heavenly Kings will hear, "The Bodhisattva Maitreya has accomplished the Way of Buddhahood," and it will spread gradually to the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, the Tuṣita Heaven, the Nirmāṇarati Heaven, the Paranirmita-vaśavartin Heaven, and even to the Brahmā Heaven, all resounding with the words "The Bodhisattva Maitreya has accomplished the Way of Buddhahood."

At that time there will be a Māra-king named Great General (Đại Tướng)—who teaches and rules the Māra-host by the true Dharma—who, on hearing the resounding fame and renown of the Tathāgata, will be exceedingly joyful and exhilarated, neither sleeping nor resting for seven days and nights. Thereafter the Māra-king will bring innumerable heavenly beings of the Realm of Desire to the place of the Buddha Maitreya, to reverently make obeisance. The Holy and Honored Maitreya, together with the heavenly beings, will gradually expound the discourse of the wondrous and subtle Dharma. Those discourses are: the discourse on giving, the discourse on the precepts, the discourse on rebirth in the heavens, and on how liberation from impure thoughts of desire is excellent.

When the Buddha Maitreya sees that everyone has joyfully given rise to the aspiration, he will then set forth those Dharmas which the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, always teach—namely: suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path—and will analyze the deep and broad meaning for the heavenly beings. At that time, upon the seats, eighty-four thousand devaputras will be cleansed of the dust and defilement and will attain the pure Dharma-eye. The Māra-king Great General will say to all in that realm: "Hasten, all of you, to go forth from the home life! Why is this? Because the Bodhisattva Maitreya has now reached the shore of awakening, and will deliver you, too, to the shore of awakening."

In the city of Sīrṣa there will be an elder named Good-Wealth (Thiện Tài, Sudhana). Hearing the command of the Māra-king, and hearing also the resounding renown of the Buddha, he will bring eighty-four thousand persons to the place of the Buddha Maitreya, reverently bowing their heads at the Buddha's feet, and then sit to one side. The Buddha Maitreya will gradually expound the wondrous and subtle Dharma-discourse for the great assembly. That Dharma-discourse is: the discourse on giving, the discourse on the precepts, the discourse on rebirth in the heavens, and on how liberation from impure thoughts of desire is excellent.

When the Buddha Maitreya sees that the hearts and minds of all have been opened in accord with the Dharma spoken by the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, he will expound on suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path, and will analyze the broad meaning of those Dharmas for everyone. At that time eighty-four thousand persons will be wholly cleansed of the dust and defilement and will attain the pure Dharma-eye. The elder Good-Wealth, together with the eighty-four thousand persons, will come before the Buddha and earnestly beg to go forth from the home life; cultivating well the holy life, they will all accomplish the fruit of Arhatship.

At the first assembly of the Buddha Maitreya, eighty-four thousand persons will attain the fruit of Arhatship. At that time King Śaṅkha, hearing that the Bodhisattva Maitreya had accomplished the Way of Buddhahood, and wishing to hear the Dharma, will hasten to the Buddha's place. The Dharma the Buddha speaks for the king will be good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end, and its meaning exceedingly profound.

Some time afterward, the Great King will establish the crown prince as king, give all his precious treasures over to the barbers, then take the various jewels and treasures and bestow them upon the brahmins, and lead eighty-four thousand persons to the Buddha's place to ask to become śramaṇas. In the end, they will accomplish the fruit of the Way and attain the Way of Arhatship.

The great elder Subrahmā, hearing that the Bodhisattva Maitreya had accomplished the Way of Buddhahood, will likewise bring eighty-four thousand brahmins to the Buddha's place to ask to become śramaṇas. All will attain Arhatship; Subrahmā alone will sever the three fetters and surely bring all suffering to an end.

The Buddha's mother, Brahmāvatī, will also bring eighty-four thousand attendant women to the Buddha's place to ask to become śramaṇas. The attendant women will all attain Arhatship; Brahmāvatī alone will sever the three fetters and attain the fruit of Stream-entry (Srotāpanna).

The women of the Kṣatriya clan, hearing that the Buddha Maitreya had appeared in the world and attained Perfect Enlightenment, will bring a thousand myriad persons to the Buddha's place, reverently bowing their heads at His feet, and then sit to one side. They will give rise to the aspiration, longing to go forth from the home life, to study the Way, and to become śramaṇas. Some will attain to the shore of awakening; some will not attain it.

At that time, O Ānanda! Those who have not yet surpassed their stage to attain realization are all those who reverently practice the Dharma teaching, who are weary of all the world, and who cultivate the contemplation of having no sensual pleasure. The Buddha Maitreya will expound the doctrine of the Three Vehicles, just as I do now.

Among my disciples there is Mahākāśyapa, who practices the twelve dhūta austerities; like the Buddhas of the past who well cultivated the holy life, this one will remain beside the Buddha Maitreya, exhorting and converting all people to cultivate and practice.

Kāśyapa, not far from the Tathāgata, will be sitting cross-legged, his body and mind in right mindfulness and clear awareness. The World-Honored One said to Kāśyapa:

— I am now eighty years old; my age has grown old and declining, and there are four great Śrāvakas able to bear the task of teaching and converting everywhere. They possess full merit and virtue and inexhaustible wisdom; they are: the bhikṣu Mahākāśyapa, the bhikṣu Kuṇḍadhāna (Quân-xa-bát-thán), the bhikṣu Piṇḍola, and the bhikṣu Rāhula. You four Śrāvakas are not to enter Nirvāṇa, but must wait until my Dharma teaching is no more, and only then may you enter Nirvāṇa.

Mahākāśyapa likewise should not enter Nirvāṇa, but must await the time when the Buddha Maitreya appears in the world. Why is this? Because the disciples of the Buddha Maitreya are all disciples of Śākyamuni, brought by my teaching to the ending of the outflows.

In the village of Vaideha (Tỳ Đề), in the country of Magadha, Mahākāśyapa will dwell within that mountain, and the Tathāgata Maitreya will bring innumerable thousands of people, one after another, together to this mountain. By the great grace of the Buddha, the spirits and demons will all open the doors so that they may behold Kāśyapa in meditative concentration within the cave. Then the Buddha Maitreya will raise his right arm, point to Kāśyapa, and say to everyone: "In the distant past, a disciple of Śākyamuni named Kāśyapa, who even now is cultivating the dhūta austerities, was the foremost of all in austere practice." Seeing such an event, everyone will praise it as something never before seen.

There will be innumerable hundreds of thousands of beings cleansed of the dust and defilement, who will attain the pure Dharma-eye. Some beings will be able to behold the body of Kāśyapa; this is called the first assembly. Ninety-six koṭis of people will all attain the fruit of Arhatship.

All these people are my disciples. Why is this? Because they were converted by my teaching that they attained this result; and by the four causes of giving and loving-kindness, bringing benefit and joy to all living beings.

O Ānanda! The Tathāgata Maitreya will hand the saṃghāṭī robe to Kāśyapa to put on. At that moment the body of Kāśyapa will suddenly shine like a falling star. The Buddha Maitreya will further take various kinds of incense and flowers to make offerings to Kāśyapa. Why is this? Because the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, hold a heart of reverence for the true Dharma; and the Bodhisattva Maitreya, too, once received from me the transmission and teaching of the true Dharma, by which he accomplished the Supreme, Right, and True Way.

Ānanda, you should know! At the second assembly of the Buddha Maitreya there will be ninety-four koṭis of people, all attaining the fruit of Arhatship—all of them disciples who once received my teaching and practiced the four kinds of offering, and so obtained such a result. At the third assembly of the Buddha Maitreya there will be ninety-two koṭis of people attaining the fruit of Arhatship, likewise disciples converted by my teaching.

At that time my disciple will be a bhikṣu named Maitreya (Từ Thị); just as today the Śrāvakas all call themselves disciples of Śākya. The Buddha Maitreya will expound the Dharma to his disciples: "O bhikṣus! Contemplate impermanence; the perception that pleasure entails suffering; the perception of self and of non-self; the perception of the existent and the non-existent; the perception of the transformation of form; the perception of oozing fluids; the perception of swelling and bloating; the perception of food not yet fully digested; the perception of blood and pus; the perception that all the world is without peace and joy.

Why is this? O bhikṣus! These are the ten perceptions that Śākyamuni taught you, causing all to eradicate the mind of outflows and to attain liberation.

Whoever among this assembly is a disciple of Śākyamuni has, in the past, cultivated and practiced purity, and so has come to my land. Some, in the time of Śākyamuni, made offerings to the Three Jewels and so were reborn here at my place. Some, in the time of Śākyamuni, cultivated wholesome roots for but the snap of a finger and so were reborn at my place.

Some, in the time of Śākyamuni, practiced the Four Immeasurable Minds and so were reborn here. Some, in the time of Śākyamuni, received and upheld the five precepts and the three takings of refuge, and so were reborn at my place. Some, in the time of Śākyamuni, built stūpas and shrines, and so were reborn at my place.

Some, in the time of Śākyamuni, repaired old monasteries, and so were reborn at my place. Some, in the time of Śākyamuni, kept the eight precepts of the fast day, and so were reborn at my place. Some, in the time of Śākyamuni, made offerings of incense and flowers, and so were reborn here.

Some, in the time of Śākyamuni, heard the Dharma and shed tears, and so were reborn at my place. Some, in the time of Śākyamuni, single-mindedly received and grasped the Dharma teaching, and so were reborn at my place. Some, all their lives, cultivated the holy life, and so were reborn at my place.

Some recorded, recited, and chanted, and so were reborn at my place. Some served and made offerings, and so were reborn at my place."

The Buddha Maitreya then spoke a verse:

Ānanda, you should know! When the Tathāgata Maitreya speaks this verse amid that assembly, and the devas and human beings within the great assembly contemplate these ten perceptions, eleven koṭis of people will be cleansed of the dust and defilement and will attain the pure Dharma-eye. For one thousand years the Saṃgha in the land of the Buddha Maitreya will be without fault, and he will constantly use a single verse to serve as the restraining precept:

After one thousand years have passed, there will be those who break the precepts, and the Buddha will establish the restraining precepts. The Tathāgata Maitreya will live eighty-four thousand years. After the Buddha enters Nirvāṇa, his Dharma teaching will endure for eighty-four thousand years.

The beings of that time will all be of sharp faculties. Any good man or good woman who wishes to meet the Buddha Maitreya, the three assemblies of Śrāvakas, and the city of Sīrṣa; who wishes to meet King Śaṅkha and the four great storehouses of precious treasures; who wishes to eat the naturally delicious rice and wear the natural garments, and after death to be reborn in the heavens—such good men and good women should not be slothful, but should strive with energy and diligence; they should make offerings and attend upon the Dharma teachers, offer the various kinds of necessities, flowers, incense, and the like, and let nothing be lacking.

O Ānanda! Study and practice in this way.

The Venerable Ānanda and the whole great assembly, hearing what the Buddha had taught, joyfully received it and put it into practice.

THE SŪTRA SPOKEN BY THE BUDDHA ON CONTEMPLATING THE BODHISATTVA

MAITREYA'S DESCENT AND BIRTH

The End