觀察諸法行經

CHAPTER TWO: DILIGENT CORRESPONDENCE WITH FORMER LIVES

At that time, the Blessed One again addressed the great bodhisattva Joyful King:

“Joyful King, furthermore, a bodhisattva knows that all dharmas are without reliance; he should know that all dharmas neither arise nor cease, are neither made nor born; that they are far removed from frivolous emptiness, are empty in themselves and not substantial, neither grasped nor abandoned. He should know all dharmas to be impermanent, suffering, non-self, and quiescent. He should know all dharmas to be empty, signless, and wishless.

He should know all dharmas to be without self, without sentient being, without life, and without pudgala. (20) He should know all dharmas to be uncombined, not to be fabricated, without self-nature, without characteristics, and without existence. He should know all dharmas to be free from defilement and non-operating, free from conceptual proliferation and non-operating, reaching the supreme without multiplicity. (30)

“They are without conceptual proliferation, removed from conceptual proliferation, ungraspable, unretainable, without dwelling place, neither coming nor going nor abiding, without letters, and inexpressible. (40) All dharmas are inexpressible and cannot be brought forth; they have neither karma nor retribution. He should know all dharmas to be undiscriminated, without manifold discrimination, with all discrimination utterly ended, and with all perceptions and thoughts eliminated.

He breaks through the heavens by means of the world, passes beyond the five destinies, transcends sentient beings, conquers all maras, passes beyond the mara of afflictions, escapes the mara of the aggregates, cuts off the mara of death, and becomes endowed with unattached wisdom. He gathers the supreme forms of the three times, becomes beloved by sentient beings, receives offerings from the wise, and can perceive within all dharmas their essential nature.

He obtains the purified physical eye, reaches the radiance of the divine eye, attains the wisdom eye, practices the unmoving Dharma eye, and becomes endowed with the Buddha eye, shining manifestly like the moon. He knows the minds of sentient beings; toward those who need diligent harmonizing, he exercises discerning knowledge, and relinquishes what has been grasped. (50)

“Within the trichiliocosm, he creates an embodiment for devas and humans; in accordance with the characteristics of truth, he attains the ground of pure conduct. He penetrates the realm of non-self and knows the realm from which beings emerge and the abodes of sentient beings. He should cultivate intimacy and reverence, abandon overweening pride, acquire the power of patience, and transcend the five hindrances. Regarding name-and-form, he can know its fundamental nature. He awakens in accordance with the words spoken by the Buddhas and accordingly realizes the thirty characteristics. (60)

“He has passed beyond every grasping of attainment and nonattainment. Transcending worldly gain, he acquires worldly dharmas without being defiled by them. For sentient beings he becomes a home, opens the gate of nirvana, enables sentient beings to enter the city of fearlessness, bestows the nectar of immortality, and expounds the Dharma. He awakens them from the sleep of affliction, dispels the fever of sentient beings, and cuts off their attachments, bondage to views, and so forth. His six faculties remain undefiled as he teaches the Dharma to sentient beings. He acquires the sixteen letters from which the gateways of dharani arise.

“What are these sixteen dharanis? They are: the letter A, meaning non-arising; the letter Pa, meaning supreme; the letter Ga, meaning the four realities; the letter Na, meaning knowledge of the arising of name-and-form; the letter Da, meaning subjugation; the letter Sa, meaning transcendence of attachment; the letter Ka, meaning that karmic retribution is never lost; the letter Ta, meaning the equality of all dharmas; the letter Dha, meaning profound; the letter Tha, meaning power; the letter Ja, meaning transcendence of birth, old age, and death; the letter Kṣa, meaning the complete severance of afflictions; the letter Tha (Sa), meaning lofty emergence; the letter Ṣa, meaning abiding;

and the letter Ṭa, meaning the instruction and transformation of mlecchas in borderlands. (The Sanskrit text also lacks one letter.)

“Good son, this is called acquiring the dharani that issues from the sixteen letters. To acquire dharani is to possess the skillful wisdom that understands all dharmas to be originally empty in themselves; to skillfully produce wisdom from their own sounds and letters and thereby understand emptiness; to delight in the Buddha’s liberation; and to abandon both love and aversion without regret. One subdues the differing doctrines of non-Buddhist paths in accordance with the Dharma, utters the lion’s roar, attains Buddha-wisdom, initiates the gift of Dharma, casts away all afflictions, destroys malicious doctrines, and has faith in the turning of the Dharma wheel by the Buddhas.

One penetrates suchness and even comes to know the Dharma, abandons anger and pride, remains unstained by the mire of desire, trains sentient beings, removes impurities, and can cleanse sentient beings with water. One leads the assembly, accordingly gains power, transcends old age and death, recollects thousands of kalpas, retains the treasury of Dharma, penetrates the realm of quiescence, attains unequaled wisdom, and accordingly awakens to all dharmas.

One receives the fitting praises of sentient beings and others, becomes filled with unobstructed wisdom, attains freedom from fever, cultivates concordant conduct, annihilates the armies of mara, and casts one’s protective shade over the trichiliocosm. One recollects former lives, gathers beings onto the ground of nirvana, provides a refuge toward which they may proceed, and protects all householders. One knows what is possible and impossible, does not abandon one’s former vows, pervades sentient beings with loving-kindness, knows and gathers the thoughts of beings, and, upon hearing their intentions, acts rightly and truly.

One acquires the sandalwood fragrance of morality, knows the path of samsara, accords with nirvana, and knows that all dharmas abide like the contact of the letter Na.

“Joyful King, from the letter Na onward there are no letters. There are likewise no names; they are inexpressible, without sound, not established under names, and not known by appellations. In the words and sounds, there is no past, future, or present. The Buddhas have not spoken them, do not now speak them, and will not speak them. They are unborn and unproduced. A bodhisattva should know the characteristics of all dharmas and so forth in this way.

“Joyful King, there are also sixteen letters that serve as gateways of entry into dharani. Awakening to the modes of practice represented by these letters means teaching the Dharma of ultimate meaning; crossing beyond the four currents; teaching the Dharma that has neither name nor form; skillfully practicing generosity; personally maintaining patience; not relying upon the six faculties; practicing the six paramitas; extinguishing the affliction of desire and teaching the Dharma to sentient beings; skillfully knowing the distinctions among dharmas; remaining free from profound doubt; explaining what is possible and impossible; knowing the conduct of sentient beings; patiently enduring harsh words; relinquishing skin, flesh, and marrow; knowing the conduct of mindfulness and intention;

abiding securely in the dharmadhatu; and understanding that the letter Na enters all dharmas.

“Joyful King, these are the sixteen letters that serve as gateways of entry into dharani. Joyful King, if a great bodhisattva rightly understands these sixteen letters that serve as gateways of entry into dharani—the letter A as meaning non-arising; Pa as meaning supreme; Ga as meaning crossing the four currents; Na as meaning the teaching of name-and-form; Da as meaning generosity and self-restraint in harmony; Sa as meaning knowledge of the six superknowledges; Ka as meaning not perceiving karmic retribution; Śa (?) as meaning the equality of all dharmas; Dha as meaning profound; Tha as meaning the manifestation of power; Ja as meaning the manifestation of birth and death; Kṣa as meaning the manifestation of the power of patience; Cha as meaning casting away extremely evil afflictions;

Ta Ma as meaning personal realization of great awakening; Ta Tha as meaning explaining what is possible and impossible; and Da as meaning explaining the utmost boundary—then those bodhisattvas attain what is called the Samadhi of Resolute Contemplation of the Practices of All Dharmas.

“Through these sixteen dharani letters, great bodhisattvas incur no reproach from the wise. They abandon greed, anger, and delusion; expound the path that reaches the other shore; acquire the four fearlessnesses; assume the body of a mighty champion; cut off the branches of desire; acquire the power of the ten powers; encounter wondrous sounds; eliminate fever; confer predictions upon shravakas and pratyekabuddhas; leave erroneous paths far behind; attain the ground of the Tathagata; speak as the Thus-Come One speaks; and immediately accomplish what the Thus-Come One accomplishes.

They enable proud sentient beings to attain liberation, perform the work of a Buddha, accordingly acquire the accumulation of wisdom, and remove the doubts of doubtful sentient beings. Through harmonious goodness, they dwell together in peace and joy. They become filled with great compassion, transcend the domain of mara, become filled with excellent speech, remove pride and heedlessness, and attain patience.

They excel in profound concentration, enable beings to cross beyond the destinies by teaching them the Dharma, and enable beings to attain the shallow place among all dharmas; by abiding on the farther shore, they cause them to reach the ground. They know the conduct of sentient beings, know skillful means in the practice of all dharmas, recollect innumerable kalpas, preserve the essential nature of dharmas, extinguish all evils, purify all doubts, attain unequaled wisdom, accordingly reach the extinction of afflictions, and swiftly tread the site of awakening.

Devas and nagas praise them. They accordingly awaken to all wisdoms, skillfully extinguish burning fever, explain the self-nature of sentient beings, consume the food of immortality, cut off the slumber of doubt, and relinquish attachment to all habitual tendencies they possess. With great compassion they shelter sentient beings, recollect previous former lives, perceive the virtues of nirvana, accordingly understand the conduct of ordinary beings, and acquire great secret wisdom that destroys divergent thoughts.

They sound the conch of Dharma, cause beings to abide in Buddha-wisdom, transcend the characteristics of classes, accordingly understand arising, know the abodes of sentient beings, and can cause Buddha lands to become abundant and free from conflagration. They escape old age and illness, can swiftly understand the secret language of skillful means, cut off the path of samsara, and accordingly reach the peace of nirvana.

They can swiftly subdue evil maras, behold Buddha-Bhagavats in immeasurable worlds, and, having abandoned desire, hear the Dharma without forgetting wisdom. In accordance with their aspirations, they adopt Buddha lands, skillfully understand spiritual play, and produce all samadhis.

“Joyful King, if a great bodhisattva attains this Samadhi Called the Teaching of Resolute Contemplation of the Practices of All Dharmas, you should know that he also attains omniscience. Why is this? At whatever time that bodhisattva wishes to realize unsurpassed, complete, perfect awakening—whether after one lifetime, two, three, four, five, ten, twenty, a hundred, a thousand, a hundred thousand lifetimes; or after one kalpa, a hundred, a thousand, a hundred thousand kalpas; or even if he wishes to enter realization only after a long time—that bodhisattva will realize awakening only after that long period. Through mastery of his vows, he remains within the cycle of existence until the final boundary of the last kalpa. Why? Because thereafter he has mastery over all dharmas.”

When the Buddha taught this chapter on the fundamental Dharma of the dharani gateways of letters, thirty-two thousand bodhisattvas attained patience. At that moment, the trichiliocosm shook in six ways. The Blessed One then spoke these verses:

Unmingled, unclouded, and free from impurity,
Removed from wrong destinies, they reach the nectar.
Worthy of offerings from devas and the earth, unequaled,
They retain this skillful means and practice the ten powers.

Delighting in separation from enmity, they extinguish the desolate dust;
Their faces are like blooming flowers, delighting devas and humans.
Supreme Worthies, virtuous beyond the current of existence,
Retain this skillful means and practice the ten powers.

They eliminate other assemblies and excel in other practices;
Loved and honored by devas and humans, divergent intentions dissolve.
Discerning other practices with skillful intelligence,
Upon this path they practice the conduct of the ten powers.

Existence, grasping, and conduct contrary to suchness are all abandoned;
They discern devas and humans, their resolve conforming to suchness.
Their conduct shines like the moon within the realm of space;
Those with vision practice the conduct of the wise.

Devas and humans cherish those of such intent;
They delight not in the domains of conditioned destinies and are unerring.
Amid the assembly they explain hundreds of practices;
The conduct of these wise ones illuminates every direction.

Attaining ten, twenty—and again two intervals—
Devas and humans revere their beautiful marks.
Attached neither to gain nor loss, they abandon both;
Those who attain this conduct illuminate every direction.

Benefactors of nectar, skillful in the practice of giving,
They constantly accompany the supreme world-upholding bull-king.
Great in the ten powers, they subdue all other powers;
Before long, they attain the conduct of the wise.

Discerning many virtues, their mindfulness and intent are supreme;
They pacify manifold suffering and manifold pleasure.
Revered by multitudes and skillfully honored,
Those who study this delight in the virtues of Buddha-wisdom.

Like a bull-king, before long they subdue all,
Extinguishing a hundred fevers and becoming free from every burning heat.
Flying the pathway of space, they cross a hundred realms;
Practicing this skillful means, they illuminate every direction.

Skillful in what the worlds believe, they inspire worldly faith;
With faithful and conscience-stricken minds, they abide in unequaled mindfulness.
Shaking off a hundred attachments to merit, they create the fragrance of the world;
Retaining this skillful means, they gather a hundred virtues.

Discerning many virtues, they remove the three impurities;
Their words are wondrously beautiful, smooth, and pure.
They speak skillfully in a hundred ways throughout heaven and earth;
Retaining this virtue, their supreme treasure is incomparable.

They ferry devas and humans and abide in the city of fearlessness;
Their words conform to suchness, and they cast away darkened dust.
Practicing suchness, unafflicted, they practice the conduct of suchness;
Retaining this skillful means, they practice the ten powers.

Hearing the supreme renown of the treasure of nectar,
They attain unequaled supreme virtue and practice in accordance with suchness.
Their intent is thus, among devas and humans, and their speech is thus;
The wise study this path of nectar.

Dustless, they illuminate the realms throughout the ten directions;
Freed from pride, sentient beings become upright and unbent.
They reach the city of fearlessness and abandon arrogant pride;
Retaining this skillful means, they practice the ten powers.

They harmonize and transform devas and humans through speech;
Delighting not in desire, they delight in the true Dharma.
They speak of deeds and doers, and teach a hundred activities;
Those of good intent study this skillful means.

They purify sentient beings through equal conduct and equal intent;
They speak wholesome harmony, wholesome beauty, and wholesome conduct.
Skillful in all dharmas, they always rejoice together;
Practicing this skillful means, they delight in the sweet hook of nectar.

Before long, they subdue the power of evil maras;
Casting off desolate impurity, they dissolve the three impurities.
Practicing upon this ground, their riches increase;
Retaining this skillful means, they practice the ten powers.

They travel the supreme destiny and cross beyond evil paths;
Lords of creatures, elephants and horses, the practitioners sport.
Praised for virtue, retaining virtue, replete with a hundred virtues,
Before long, they attain the conduct of the wise.

Skillful in conduct, they do not abide in existence;
Manifesting power, their decisive strength is supreme.
Reaching the ground, they abide in water where impurities dissolve;
Thus they study this conduct, the conduct of the ten powers.

They abandon cities, lands, villages, and hamlets;
They abandon love and aversion and domains that are not loved.
They abandon supreme enjoyment and abandon hostile people;
The wise who study this advance resolutely in strength.

They recollect many hundreds of past kalpas,
Remembering death and birth throughout their lives,
And remembering the Dharma heard in former times;
Retaining this quiescence, their concentrated intent is supreme.

The torch of Dharma blazes, continually illuminating existence;
Delighting in Dharma, they bestow the treasure of Dharma,
And preserve the practices of the ten powers;
Retaining this quiescence, their concentrated intent is supreme.

Abiding in shamatha, they possess a loving mind;
Their calmed intent is quiescent, and their faculties quiescent.
Their morality is pure, and the sound of their loving speech is sweet;
Those who retain this samadhi should possess these qualities.

Like a rhinoceros they wander, without self or possessions;
They reach places of leisure and the path of leisure.
Wherever they dwell, they are removed from the eight inopportune states;
Retaining this quiescence, their concentrated intent is supreme.

Through mindfulness and awakening, they know the self-nature of conduct;
They will also know the complete exhaustion of all dharmas.
The most excellent power of patient endurance appears;
Herein they study the practice of ultimate meaning.

They follow the path traced by birds in flight;
The medicine of quiescence cures every affliction.
Through that skillful means, maras can do nothing;
This purity is difficult to behold—diligently correspond with it.

Teaching decisive awakening and practicing as the Sugata,
They create nonexistence and uproot craving for existence.
They are constantly honored by people in the world;
Retaining this quiescence, their concentrated intent is supreme.

Those who have severed are united with that purity;
Having ended afflictions, they illuminate the three realms.
They create protective shade throughout every place;
Such is attained by those who retain this supreme samadhi.

They contemplate their own conduct and that of others;
Having contemplated it, they teach them in accordance with proper practice.
Their conduct is supreme in essence, and they act without pride;
Retaining this quiescence, their concentrated intent is supreme.

Having practiced giving and relinquishment, they discipline the mind;
Proceeding toward the Sugata, they swiftly arrive.
They teach fearlessness and bestow fearlessness;
Then they immediately attain this most excellent concentration.

Throughout their lives, they become intimate with others;
Freed from error, they again attain penetrating understanding.
When gathered together, they speak and deliberate with great skill;
Such are those who cultivate this samadhi.

Their bodies become united like vajra;
They swiftly shatter the armies of mara.
Pure white and stainless, they shine without blemish;
Retaining this quiescence, their concentrated intent is supreme.

They dwell where dwelling is appropriate, in accord with the place;
Where there is no dwelling, they attain a superior mind.
Concerning inappropriate places, they possess skillful wisdom;
Such are those able to preserve this concentrated intent.

Unattached, they eloquently teach the Buddha’s virtues;
They produce many kotis of phrases of awakened understanding.
They possess right intention and have no doubts;
They can preserve this supreme concentrated intent.

They can swiftly believe in that nectar
And always maintain faith together with joyful people.
Having attained the fruit, they protect future worlds;
They can preserve this supreme concentrated intent.

They will become far removed from old age, illness, and death;
Skillfully upright, they cannot be subdued by others.
Their minds uphold morality and remain joyful;
Such are those who preserve this concentrated intent.

They do not praise themselves or speak cunningly;
Above all virtues, their merit is renowned.
Entering the assembly, their upright beauty is clearly manifest,
Like the Pleiades, the heavens, and the pure, empty moon.

Their retinues and households possess worthy names and lineages;
Such persons draw near to the relatives of the Sugata.
Their eloquence is like the King of Waters;
Therefore this samadhi should be preserved.

The self-nature of dharmas and the modes of conduct are without self;
Having accordingly awakened to this throughout all lives,
They swiftly become mighty lords of the trichiliocosm.
The impartial practice taught in this sutra is rare.

Even throughout the forests of the trichiliocosm,
They know human lineages and the three kinds of conduct of sentient beings.
Regarding the supreme and highest, they attain the gateway of wisdom;
By diligently corresponding with this, they touch the nectar.

Their wealth is not lost, and their possessions are not dispersed;
There is no karmic retribution, illness, or anxiety.
They are neither mute nor one-eyed nor blind;
Thus should these four lines be retained.

Above the two feet are six billion three hundred million beings;
All contemplate this correspondence.
Where this is joined to the treasury of total retention,
This quiescence, difficult to behold, has been attained.

Having heard it, they experience wholesome joy and delight;
If one seeks bodhi therein
And diligently corresponds with it for four days,
One will attain the supreme concentration of quiescence.

Those who hear this goodness obtain benefit;
If, having heard it, they immediately possess faithful understanding,
They have no doubts concerning the Buddha’s virtues;
Thus proceeding toward bodhi, they preserve it.

Having heard this true practice proclaimed,
They do not delight in indolence devoid of virtue.
All blessings will certainly come into their hands
If they retain this sutra or copy it.

As numerous as grains of sand, he heard that sutra;
Having seen it, he saw it again, supreme and boundless.
After hearing this samadhi in many places,
Within three kalpas he realized supreme awakening.

He was called the Supreme Jewel-Flame One
And received a prediction from Dīpaṃkara Buddha.
Hearing this sutra brings such great benefit;
Therefore, once you have heard it, do not be indolent.

“Furthermore, Joyful King, in the distant past, an incalculable number of kalpas ago—at a distance incalculably vast, immeasurable, inconceivable, and unfathomable—there appeared in the world a Buddha named Tathagata Arhat Completely and Perfectly Awakened One, Cloud of Eloquence Adorned with Jeweled Necklaces, Resounding and Uttering a Roar, Revealing Sound, Perfect in Knowledge and Conduct, Sugata, Knower of the World, Unsurpassed Guide Who Tames Beings, Teacher of Devas and Humans, Buddha, Bhagavat. That Buddha’s land was named Adorned with Boundless Jeweled Virtues, the world was named Stainless, and the kalpa was named Beloved Vision.

“Furthermore, Joyful King, that Tathagata Arhat Completely and Perfectly Awakened One, Cloud of Eloquence Adorned with Jeweled Necklaces, Resounding and Uttering a Roar, Revealing Sound, had immeasurably many shravakas and seven billion two hundred million great bodhisattvas. All of them had attained patience and reached the ground of consecration.

“Furthermore, Joyful King, within that assembly of bodhisattvas was a Dharma teacher named Boundless Virtue, Banner of Eloquence, Sporting with Resonant Sound. That bodhisattva possessed mindfulness, practice, eloquence, conscience, and shame surpassing all measure. He had journeyed to the very end of dharani and acquired the wisdom of the five superknowledges. That bodhisattva addressed the Buddha, requesting him to observe the assembly and then extensively teach this Samadhi Called the Teaching of Resolute Contemplation of the Practices of All Dharmas to the fourfold assembly.

“Furthermore, Joyful King, at that time there was a prince named Pure Karmic Reward, First Beloved of Many, Radiant Sound, Mastery. The prince’s beautiful and upright appearance was indeed worthy of contemplation. His pure form was supreme, perfectly and fully accomplished. He had long before initiated the practice leading to unsurpassed, complete awakening.

“Joyful King, Prince Pure Karmic Reward, First Beloved of Many, Radiant Sound, Mastery heard the bodhisattva Boundless Virtue, Banner of Eloquence, Sporting with Resonant Sound teaching the Dharma. The Dharma taught was called the Samadhi of Resolute Contemplation of the Practices of All Dharmas. Whenever the bodhisattva entered a village, city, settlement, town, or royal capital to teach, that prince always remained beside the Dharma teacher to hear this samadhi.

Having heard it, the prince rejoiced and leapt with delight, cherished it, and was fully satisfied. A wholesome intention arose in him, and he approached the great bodhisattva who taught the Dharma. Upon arriving, the prince bowed at the feet of the Dharma teacher, honored and revered him, joined his palms, and abided in this samadhi.

The prince rejoiced even more and wished to hear this samadhi. Knowing that the prince’s pure faith had increased, the Dharma teacher then taught this samadhi extensively once again.

“Joyful King, in this way, after hearing this samadhi from that Dharma teacher, the prince was filled with extraordinary joy. He leapt with delight, cherished it, and was fully satisfied. A wholesome intention arose in him, and he took the robe he was wearing and draped it as an offering, saying, ‘Master, you enable sentient beings to obtain the jewel of this samadhi.’ Through the wholesome root of making this gift to that Dharma teacher, he attended upon Buddha-Bhagavats as numerous as the sands of eighty Ganges Rivers in that very life.

In the presence of those Buddha-Bhagavats, he heard this samadhi and made supreme offerings to every one of them. Within the teachings of those Buddha-Bhagavats, he went forth and embraced the true Dharma. Even in places where he had not heard hundreds of thousands of kotis of scriptures, he could eloquently expound them.

His mindfulness was always perfect and full. Through transformation birth he attained the wisdom of the five superknowledges, dharani, and unobstructed eloquence.

“The prince practiced the dharmas that assist awakening in their proper sequence. Having perfected them, he realized unsurpassed, complete, perfect awakening in the Buddha land Adorned with Boundless Virtuous Jewels. His lifespan was immeasurable, his assembly of shravakas immeasurable, his assembly of bodhisattvas immeasurable, his radiance immeasurable, and the adornments produced by his vows and virtues immeasurable.

“Furthermore, Joyful King, do not give rise to a different view concerning the Dharma teacher then named Boundless Virtue, Banner of Eloquence, Sporting with Resonant Sound. Why? Joyful King, he was the Tathagata Great Eye. He had received a prediction of bodhi from the Tathagata Akshobhya. As for the prince then named Pure Karmic Reward, First Beloved of Many, Radiant Sound, Mastery, he was none other than the Tathagata Amitayus.

“Furthermore, Joyful King, after hearing this samadhi, that prince’s karmic hindrances accumulated over seventy thousand kalpas were entirely extinguished. He immediately attained the dharani called Boundless Gate Emerging from the Chapter of Phrases Discerning All Dharmas, and he was never separated from samadhi until he reached the site of awakening.

“Joyful King, from these causes and conditions you should know that, for great bodhisattvas, this samadhi produces abundant purity, transforms karmic hindrances, adorns pure Buddha lands, increases virtues, and swiftly perfects the Buddha-Dharma.

“Furthermore, Joyful King, in the distant past, an incalculable number of kalpas ago—at a distance incalculably vast, immeasurable, inconceivable, and unfathomable—there appeared a Buddha named Tathagata Arhat Completely and Perfectly Awakened One, Pure-Faced, Stainless, Wondrous Moon, Treasury of Majestic Power, Perfect in Knowledge and Conduct, Sugata, Knower of the World, Unsurpassed One, Guide Who Tames Beings, Teacher of Devas and Humans, Buddha, Bhagavat.

“Furthermore, Joyful King, the Buddha land with its virtuous adornments possessed by that Tathagata Arhat Completely and Perfectly Awakened One, Pure-Faced, Stainless, Wondrous Moon, Treasury of Majestic Power, was such that even if I were to expound it extensively for an entire kalpa today, I could not exhaustively describe the immeasurable virtues gathered to adorn that pure Buddha land. All the great bodhisattvas had become entirely certain within the Buddha-Dharma.

“Joyful King, at that time there was the son of an elder named Manifest Wonder, Broad Praise. He went to the Tathagata Pure-Faced, Stainless, Wondrous Moon, Treasury of Majestic Power. Upon arriving, he bowed at the feet of the Blessed One. He then draped countless jeweled mani necklaces, interspersed in their hundreds of thousands, as an offering over that Buddha and stood before him wishing to obtain the Dharma. Knowing that he possessed pure faith, the Tathagata extensively taught him this samadhi, excellent in the beginning, middle, and end.

“Joyful King, after hearing this samadhi from the Buddha, the elder’s son rejoiced and leapt with delight, cherished it, and was fully satisfied. A wholesome intention arose, and he acquired the great power of Dharma. Having acquired that power, he did not use it to seek anything among devas or humans. He relinquished seventy thousand women, four great treasuries extending one yojana, eight hundred parks and groves, and all his personal possessions. Within the teaching assembly of that Blessed One, he shaved off his hair and beard, donned the kāṣāya robe, and, through faith, went forth from the household life into homelessness to cultivate the path.

“Furthermore, Joyful King, when that elder’s son formerly lived at home, he never set his feet upon ground not covered with cloth. After going forth, however, for ten thousand years he spread no cloth, did not tread upon the ground with his feet, did not sit, and did not lie down, except when taking a meal. During those ten thousand years, he slept only briefly. Not even for the time of a finger snap did he entertain a thought of desire, anger, or harm. For ten thousand years, no divergent thought arose in him; he applied himself solely to energetic cultivation corresponding with universal wisdom. He attained the dharani named All Loving Sounds Gathering the Words of All Buddhas and perfected the dharani named Universal Sound Gateway of Entry.

“Because he was endowed with such courageous diligence, sixty nayutas of devas diligently supplied and attended upon that bodhisattva and acted in correspondence with his practice, enabling his body and mind to remain peaceful and joyful and fully capable of diligence. After the elder’s son went forth and practiced with such courageous diligence, his hearing of this samadhi caused him to turn his back upon and abandon the cycle of existence lasting nine billion nine hundred million kotis of kalpas.

In that very life he encountered seventy thousand Buddhas. Wherever he went forth, he retained, recited, and contemplated this samadhi and expounded it extensively to others. He initiated diligent cultivation without heedlessness, perfected this samadhi, and within eight kalpas realized unsurpassed, complete, perfect awakening.

He attained and abided in the same virtuous characteristics and adornments of a Buddha land as those possessed by the Bhagavat, Tathagata Pure-Faced, Stainless, Wondrous Moon, Treasury of Majestic Power.

“I now see him in a region to the south, beyond forty-four hundred thousand Buddha lands from here, in a world named Great Adornment. In that realm he is a Buddha named Tathagata Wholesome Intention and Joyful Aspiration. He is presently teaching the Dharma to an immeasurable and incalculable gathering of great bodhisattvas.

“Joyful King, if those great bodhisattvas wish swiftly to attain mastery in accordance with all dharmas, they should hear, retain, teach, and contemplate this samadhi.”

At that time, wishing to praise still further the virtues of this samadhi, the Blessed One spoke these verses:

He immediately draped his own robe as an offering
And dedicated the merit to the supreme path of bodhi.
He later beheld boundlessly many guides
And attained the path, becoming known as Amitayus.