佛說佛印三昧經

Thus at one time, the Buddha was dwelling on Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa, in the city of Rājagṛha, together with a great assembly of bhikṣus, twelve thousand in number, all of whom were Arhats.

At that time, there were four hundred koṭis of myriad Bodhisattvas, all of them noble ones such as Maitreya Bodhisattva, together with the Bodhisattvas of the ten directions, so many as to be beyond all counting. All of them came flying to the presence of the Buddha, bowed their heads and faces to the very feet of the Buddha, then rose and circumambulated the Buddha seven times, after which they withdrew and sat down in order of seniority, hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭis of rows, beyond all reckoning.

Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva was foremost in talent and brilliant in wisdom, surpassing all the other Bodhisattvas, with none who could equal him.

At that time, the Buddha sat and entered into Samādhi; the entire body of the Buddha, his inner and outer robes, were majestic, and his radiance shone forth resplendently; all the great assembly there could no longer see him, yet the countless Buddha-lands throughout the ten directions all became luminous. The sentient beings in those Buddha-lands spontaneously made offerings to the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Pratyekabuddhas, Arhats, and the assembly of bhikṣus.

The countless Buddhas of the ten directions all sent forth their Bodhisattvas, who came flying to the place of the Buddha and sat to one side; the Bodhisattvas arrived in full, as numerous as the grains of sand in the Ganges River; one grain of sand being one Bodhisattva, and so on up to the grains of sand of forty such Ganges Rivers; all of them, above and below, ranged one after another, each Bodhisattva seated spontaneously upon a great lotus flower.

The Buddha then transformed and caused the world to become vast and boundless, and the Bodhisattvas who had come were all seated within it in full.

Maitreya Bodhisattva… and Śāriputra then came before Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva, joined their palms, and asked:

"Venerable one! You are one of foremost talent. Just now the Buddha entered into Samādhi; now we do not see him, nor do we know where he has gone; we are filled with doubt—we beg the venerable one to explain it to us."

Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva said to Maitreya Bodhisattva:

"The venerable one is of foremost talent and, furthermore, will become a Buddha in the future; and Śāriputra, the venerable elder, is a disciple of the Buddha, who has realized the fruit of Arhatship and is foremost in wisdom. Why does each of you not single-mindedly sit in meditation and search to know where the body and mind of the Buddha have gone?"

The countless Bodhisattvas and Arhats… sat single-mindedly searching throughout the boundless and inexhaustible Buddha-lands of the ten directions, yet none among them was able to know in what place the body and mind of the Buddha were.

Maitreya Bodhisattva… and Śāriputra… again knelt, joined their palms, and asked Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva:

"We have single-mindedly searched for the body and mind of the Buddha, yet we are unable to know where he is! We wish to understand this matter—we beg the venerable one to explain it to us."

Mañjuśrī said:

"All of you, just sit quietly for a brief moment, and he will return; when you hear that the Buddha has returned to his seat, and the assembly sees that the Buddha has returned, then all will rejoice and rise to pay homage to the World-Honored One."

Maitreya Bodhisattva… and Śāriputra… came forward, knelt, joined their palms, and asked the Buddha:

"Just now, when the World-Honored One entered into Samādhi, we did not see the body, mind, or robes of the World-Honored One, nor did we know where they had gone! Together we single-mindedly entered into meditative concentration to search for the body and mind of the World-Honored One throughout all the ten directions, to the boundless and inexhaustible, yet still we did not know where the World-Honored One was! We wish to understand this."

The Buddha said:

"The place to which I went is exceedingly deep and far; it is not something you are able to know—only the Buddhas are able to know it."

The Buddha continued:

"This Samādhi is exceedingly difficult to encounter; if one is able to see, hear, and know this Samādhi, then the joy is so great it cannot be expressed. Why is this so? Because it is exceedingly difficult to understand."

The Buddha said:

"Bodhisattvas who seek the Way and practice in accordance with it, having completed the Pāramitās, even after a thousand koṭis of myriads of kalpas, are still unable to see the Buddha when he enters into this Samādhi, nor can they hear or know the name of this Buddha-Samādhi. If a Bodhisattva diligently practices the six Pāramitās, without slackening, for three thousand koṭis of myriads of kalpas and then hears and encounters the name of this Buddha-Samādhi, he still does not believe so as to turn toward it.

If a Bodhisattva practices the six Pāramitās without ruin, and for seven thousand koṭis of myriads of kalpas hears the name of this Buddha-Samādhi, he still does not believe so as to turn toward it. If a Bodhisattva practices the six Pāramitās without ruin, and for eight thousand koṭis of myriads of kalpas hears the name of this Buddha-Samādhi, only then does he believe and turn toward it; and once he believes in and turns toward this Samādhi, when he but once hears or sees this Samādhi, then his heart is overjoyed for one day and one night, surpassing the practice of the six Pāramitās for three thousand koṭis of myriads of kalpas.

Why is this so? Because, having heard this Samādhi, one thereafter seeks the Way and swiftly accomplishes Buddhahood. The name of this Buddha-Samādhi is the seal of wisdom within the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra.

A Bodhisattva who seeks the Way is able to hear this seal of wisdom of the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, while others are not able to hear it.

A Bodhisattva who seeks the Way and wishes to realize the fruit of Buddhahood must attain the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra. The Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra is the great father and mother of the Buddhas of the ten directions; only by attaining the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra can one become a Buddha. A Bodhisattva who seeks the Way must accumulate merit and cultivate virtue to completion, and only then can he attain the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra. A Bodhisattva who seeks the Way but does not attain the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra is unable to become a Buddha."

The Buddha said:

"If there be any good man or good woman who has faith in this 'Sūtra of the Buddha-Samādhi,' and who kneels before that Sūtra and, with a sincere and joyful heart, pays homage to it, then that person shall straightaway obtain blessings and rewards in this life and in lives to come. When they pass away, they are born above as a king of the heavens; when their lifespan is exhausted, they are born down into the human realm and again become a Wheel-Turning Sage King;

after passing away, they are born up into the heavenly realms, and when they pass away in the heavenly realms, they are born down into the house of kings and rulers, being born in turn within the heavenly and human realms, no longer falling into the hells, the animal realm, the realm of hungry ghosts, the realm of spirits, or the realm of dragons.

Thereafter, after passing through countless kalpas, they shall become a Buddha. If any person, hearing the name of this Samādhi, still harbors a trace of doubt and does not believe, even as much as a hair or a strand of hair, then that person, after passing away, shall fall into the eighteen hells, to be burned and scorched with never a time to come out. After they come out, that person, though seeking the Way, is unable to become a Buddha.

Why is this so? Because the 'Sūtra of the Buddha-Samādhi' is the certifying seal and attestation of the Buddhas of the ten directions."

The Buddha said:

"I have spoken thus; you should believe and not harbor doubt. Who shall bear witness to this? Only the Bodhisattvas, as numerous as the grains of sand of forty Ganges Rivers, who are my junior disciples, bear witness to this."

When the Buddha had finished speaking this sūtra, Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva, Maitreya Bodhisattva… Śāriputra, and the Arhats, the devas, and the people, having heard the sūtra, all rejoiced greatly and rose to pay homage to the Buddha.