Mahāyāna — Northern Canon · Linh Sơn Vietnamese Mahāyāna Canon

合部金光明經

Chinese title:合部金光明經

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CHAPTER SEVEN: PRAISE

At that time, the Buddha said to the earth goddess Firm and Steadfast:

– Good goddess! In the past there was a king named Venerable Golden Dragon, who constantly praised and extolled the Buddhas of the past, future, and present, saying:

I now honor,Revere, worship, and praiseThe Buddhas of the ten directions,Past, future, and present.

The Buddhas are pure,Quiescent, wondrous in cessation;Supreme in form and color,They radiate golden light.

Among all sounds,The Buddha’s voice is supreme,Like that of Great Brahma,Profound, far-reaching, and thunderous.

The Buddha’s hair is blue-black;His radiant spiral curlsSurpass in colorBlue bees and peacocks.

His teeth are bright white,Like snow and precious jade;His golden countenance shines,Its features clear and well proportioned.

His eyes are long and broad,Immaculate, pure, and clear,Like blue lotus blossomsOpening upon limpid water.

His tongue is long and broad,Its form and color glowing red;Its radiant light shinesLike a newly opened flower.

The tuft between his browsIs white as moonlight,Moist, supple, and curling to the right,Pure and clear as vaidurya.

His brows are slender, long, and curved,Shaped like the crescent moon;Their lustrous black colorSurpasses the lord of bees.

His nose is high, rounded, and straight,Like a cast ingot of gold;Soft, subtle, and wondrous,It stands at the center of his face.

The Tathagata’s excellent marks,Arranged in supreme order,Possess true perfection;No one can equal him.

From each poreGrows one curling hair,Fine, soft, and blue-green,Like a peacock’s neck.

When he was newly born,His body emitted lightIlluminating throughout the ten directionsMeasureless lands.

Throughout the three realms it dispelledEvery kind of sufferingAnd caused all sentient beingsTo experience happiness.

The hell beings, animals,Hungry ghosts,And all humans and devasBecame peaceful and free from calamity.

All the countlessEvil destinies vanished.His wondrous form-bodyIs like a mass of molten gold.

His countenance is pure and clear,Like the full moon.The Buddha’s body shines brilliantly,Like the newly risen sun.

His dignified movement and reposeAre like those of the lion king.His long arms hang downBeyond his knees,

Like sal-tree branchesSwaying in the wind.His halo extends a fathom,Shining beyond measure,

Like the assembled radianceOf a hundred thousand suns and moons.The Buddha’s body is pure and wondrous,Entirely free from defilement.

Its light universally illuminatesAll the World-Honored One’s lands.The Buddha’s radiance is majestic,Blazing like a mighty fire,

Dimming the lightOf measureless suns and moons.The Buddha is a sun, lamp, and torch,Illuminating measureless lands,

Causing sentient beings everywhereTo follow the light and behold the Buddha.Through a hundred thousand practices and deedsCultivated in the past,

Accumulated merit nowAdorns the Buddha’s body.His arms are slender and round,Like the trunk of the king of elephants.

His hands and feet are pure and soft,Inspiring inexhaustible reverence and love.The Buddhas of the past and futureAre as numerous as dust motes;

The Buddhas of the presentAre likewise just as numerous.Before all such TathagatasI now bow in homage!

My body and speech are pure,And so too is my mind;With excellent flowers and fragrancesI reverently make offerings.

With a hundred thousand virtues,I praise them in melodious verse.Even if I possessed a hundred tonguesAnd praised throughout a thousand kalpas,

The Buddhas’ meritsCould never be exhausted!All the merit possessedBy the present World-Honored Ones

Is profound and steadfast in every way,Wondrous and foremost.Even if one had a thousand tonguesAnd wished to praise a single Buddha,

One could not finish describingEven a small portion of his merit!How much less could one extolThe merits of all Buddhas!

Suppose the great earth and the heavens aboveWere made into a vast ocean,Filled with waterUp to the Heaven of the Summit of Existence;

One might still use a hairTo count and know its drops,But could never knowThe virtue of one World-Honored One!

I have now worshipedAnd praised the World-Honored Ones;May the karma of body, speech, and mindAll become pure.

May all the boundlessWholesome karma I have cultivatedEnable me and all sentient beingsTo realize the unsurpassed path.

Having thus praised the Buddhas,That human kingFurther made immeasurable vowsIn this manner:

If, throughout measureless, boundlessAsamkhyeya kalpas in lives to come,Wherever I may be born,I constantly behold in dreams

A golden drumAnd hear its profound soundProclaiming the deep and wondrousTeaching of repentance;

Then, as I have now praisedThe Buddhas’ pure countenances,I vow that in future livesI shall also obtain such a countenance.

The World-Honored One’s meritIs inconceivable;Even in a hundred thousand kalpas,He is exceedingly difficult to encounter.

Throughout measurelessLives to come,May I behold this in dreams at nightAnd speak of it truthfully by day.

I shall cultivateThe Six Paramitas to perfection,Rescue sentient beings,And carry them across the ocean of suffering.

Thereafter, I myselfShall attain the unsurpassed pathAnd make my worldWithout an equal.

Through the causes and conditionsOf offering the golden drum and praising the Buddhas,May I in future livesEncounter the Buddha Shakyamuni

And receive a prediction of buddhahood.May my two sons,Golden Dragon and Golden Light,Always be born into my family

And likewise receive predictions.If there are sentient beingsWithout anyone to protect them,Oppressed by every suffering,

With nowhere to rely or abide,Then in the future I shallBecome their great protectorAnd their place of refuge.

I shall remove their suffering,Bring it completely to an end,And bestow upon sentient beingsEvery wholesome happiness.

In future lives, I shallPractice the path of bodhiFor kalpas beyond reckoning,Until the world itself comes to an end.

Through the causes and conditionsOf repentance in the Golden Light,May the ocean of my evil,The ocean of my karma,

And the ocean of my afflictionsAll dry up and disappear;May the ocean of my merit and vowsBe completely fulfilled,

And the great ocean of wisdomBecome full, pure, and clear.May measureless merit,Supporting the path of bodhi,

Be like the boundless ocean,Replete with precious treasures.Through the power of repentanceWithin the golden light,

May the merit of bodhi,Its unobstructed radiance,And undefiled light of wisdomShine through in purity.

In future lives, may the light of my bodyShine universally.May the radiance of spiritual powerAnd the brilliance of merit

Be uniquely supremeThroughout the three realms,With none of these virtuous powersEver diminished.

I shall liberate sentient beings,Carrying them across the ocean of suffering,And establish them all securelyIn the great ocean of merit.

For many kalpas in future lives,I shall practice the path of bodhi,Just as the Buddhas of oldPracticed the path of bodhi.

May my pure and wondrous landAmong the Buddha lands of the three times,And my measureless meritAmong the supremely honored Buddhas,

Become in future livesDistinctive and excellent—A pure land of meritLike those of the Buddha, the World-Honored One!

Faith-Banner, you should know!The king of that time,The Venerable Golden Dragon,Was none other than you!

His two sons at that time,Golden Dragon and Golden Light,Were your sons,Silver Banner and the others....

CHAPTER EIGHT: EMPTINESS

Translated from Chinese by the Tripitaka Master Dharmakshema of India, during the Northern Liang dynasty.

Countless other sutrasHave extensively explained emptiness;Therefore, this sutraExplains it only briefly.

Sentient beings of dull facultiesPossess little wisdomAnd cannot broadly comprehendThe measureless meaning of emptiness;

Therefore, this sutraSpeaks only briefly of “emptiness,”Using wondrous skillful meansAnd various causes and conditions.

For those of dull faculties,I bring forth great compassion;I shall now expoundThis wondrous scripture.

According to my understandingOf sentient beings’ intentions,This body is false and unreal,Like an empty aggregation.

The six entrances are like a villageWhere the bandits of the fetters dwell;Each abides by itself,Unaware of the others.

The eye faculty receives forms;The ear distinguishes sounds;The nose smells fragrances;The tongue tastes flavors;

The body facultyCraves and receives tangible objects;The mind faculty distinguishesAll objects of Dharma.

The faculties of the six sensesEach engage their particular objects;None operates uponAnother faculty’s objects.

The mind, like a magical illusion,Runs after the six senses,Constantly giving rise to deluded thoughtsAnd discriminating among dharmas,

Like a worldly personRunning in pursuit of empty space.The foolish do not guard againstThe harm of the six bandits.

The mind constantly dependsUpon the objects of the six faculties;Each knows by itselfThe place where it lies in ambush.

Following forms, sounds,Fragrances, flavors, touch, and dharmas,The mind amid the six sensesIs like a bird caught in a net.

That mind is everywhere,Constantly abiding in the faculties,Pursuing sensory objectsWithout even temporarily letting go.

The false body is emptyAnd cannot be nurtured forever;There is no contention within it,Nor is there a sovereign master.

It exists through the conjunctionOf causes and conditions;It is neither real nor enduring,But arises from deluded thought—

A mechanism driven by karmic power,A false and perilous empty aggregation.Earth, water, fire, and windGather together to establish it.

Though they diminish and increase,They mutually injure one another,Like four snakesConfined together in one basket.

The natures of these four great-element snakesAre clearly different:Two move upward and two downward;In each direction there are also two.

Thus these great-element snakesWill all perish and disappear.The two snakes, earth and water,Are by nature heavy and sink;

The two snakes, wind and fire,Are by nature light and rise.The mind and consciousnessAre restless and never still.

According to karma, beings receive retributionIn the human and heavenly destinies;According to the karma they have created,They fall within the three modes of existence.

When earth, water, fire, and windDecay, dissolve, and disperse,Urine and excrementFlow outward from the body.

Worms arise from the body,Which can no longer be cherished;It is cast into the charnel groundLike a rotten tree.

Good goddess, you should contemplate—Goddess of the Ganges River—If all dharmas are thus,Where is there a person,

Or even a sentient being?Their original nature is quiescent and empty;They appear only because of ignorance.Each of the great elements described above is unreal.

Originally they do not arise by themselves;Their natures cannot truly combine.Because of the foregoing causes and conditions,I teach that the great elements,

Originally neither real nor true,Exist through conjunction.The essential nature of ignoranceOriginally has no existence of its own;

Through the causes and conditions of deluded thought,It arises from conjunction.Since it possesses nothing,“Ignorance” is merely a provisional name.

Therefore, I speak of itAnd call it ignorance.Formations, consciousness, name-and-form,The six entrances, contact, and feeling;

Craving, grasping, existence, and birth;Old age and death, sorrow and distress—The karmic activities of sufferingAre inconceivable.

Birth and death have no beginning;The cycle turns without ceasing.Originally there is no birth,Nor any true conjunction.

Unwholesome thoughtCreates mental formations.I sever allBinding views,

Using the sword of wisdomTo cut through the net of afflictions.I contemplate the house of the five skandhasAs entirely quiescent and empty,

And realize the unsurpassed path,The subtle and wondrous perfection of virtue.I open the gate of amrita,Display the vessel of amrita,

Enter the city of amrita,And dwell in the chamber of amrita,Causing sentient beingsTo taste the flavor of amrita.

I blow the great Dharma conch,Beat the great Dharma drum,Kindle the great Dharma lamp,And rain down the supreme Dharma rain.

I now destroyAll hostile fettersAnd raise the Dharma banner,Wondrous and foremost.

I deliver sentient beingsFrom the ocean of birth and deathAnd put an end to the three evil destiniesAnd their measureless sufferings.

The blazing fire of afflictionBurns sentient beings;They have no one to protect themAnd nowhere to rely or abide.

I use the delicious,Cooling flavor of amritaTo fill and satisfy them,Immediately relieving their burning heat.

Throughout measureless kalpas,I cultivated every practice,Making offerings and showing reverenceTo the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones.

I steadfastly and constantly cultivatedThe path of bodhi,Seeking to attain the trueDharma-body of the Tathagata.

I relinquished all I cherished:My limbs, hands, and feet;My head, eyes, brain, and marrow;The love of women and men;

Money, wealth, and precious treasures;Pearls, gold, and silver;Vaidurya, necklaces,And every extraordinary object.

Suppose all the treesIn the three-thousand-great-thousand worldWere cut down and made into counting slips,And the great earth of those three thousand worlds ground into dust;

Suppose those dust motes filled all space,And every sentient being possessing wisdomGave that wisdom to a single learned person,With such learned persons as numerous as those motes.

Though they might calculate those particlesAnd know their full number,The Tathagata’s wisdom cannot be calculated.Even a single thought of the World-Honored One’s wisdom

Could not be fully calculated
Throughout incalculable kalpas.

CHAPTER NINE: RELYING UPON EMPTINESS TO FULFILL VOWS

Translated from Chinese by Tripitaka Dharma Master Paramartha during the Liang dynasty.

At that time, the good goddess Wondrous Radiance of the Wish-Fulfilling Jewel arose from among the assembly, bared her right shoulder, knelt on her right knee, respectfully joined her palms, and addressed the Buddha in verse:

I ask the Honored One of Twofold Perfection,The Supreme One who illuminates the world:What is the bodhisattva’s right practice?I pray that you permit me to ask!

The Buddha said: Good goddess,If you have any doubts,Ask whatever you wish;I shall explain them distinctly!

– How do bodhisattvas cultivate

The true practice of bodhi,Transcending birth and death and nirvana,Benefiting themselves and others?

The Buddha said:

– Good goddess! One practices the Dharma of bodhi in reliance upon the dharmadhatu and cultivates the practice of equality. Good goddess, what is meant by practicing the Dharma of bodhi and cultivating the practice of equality in reliance upon the dharmadhatu? Good goddess, the five skandhas can manifest the dharmadhatu, and the dharmadhatu is precisely the five skandhas. Yet the five skandhas cannot be spoken of, and neither can what is not the five skandhas be spoken of. Why is this? If the five skandhas were the dharmadhatu, that would be the view of annihilation. If the dharmadhatu were apart from the five skandhas, that would be the view of permanence. Free from both extremes, one does not cling to either extreme and cannot perceive any error. The vision that is nameless and markless is called speaking of the dharmadhatu.

Good goddess, how can the five skandhas manifest the dharmadhatu? Good goddess, the five skandhas do not arise from causes and conditions. Why? If they arose from causes and conditions, either what has already arisen would arise, or what has not yet arisen would arise. If what has already arisen were to arise, through what causes and conditions would it arise? What has already arisen does not arise from causes and conditions; and while something has not yet arisen, it cannot be made to arise. Why? Dharmas that have not arisen are nonexistent, nameless, and markless, beyond the capacity of calculation or analogy to know. Thus, their arising is not caused by conditions.

Good goddess, it is like the sound of a drum, which issues forth in dependence upon wood, hide, a drumstick, human effort, and so forth. That drum sound is empty: it does not exist in the past, the future, or the present. Why? The sound of the drum is not produced from the wood, the hide, the drumstick, or human effort. Since this sound is not produced in any of the three times, it is unarisen. If its arising cannot be apprehended, its cessation cannot be apprehended. If its cessation cannot be apprehended, there is no place from which it comes. If there is no place from which it comes, there is also no place to which it goes. If there is nowhere it goes, it is neither permanent nor annihilated. If it is neither permanent nor annihilated, it is neither one nor different.

Why? If it were neither one nor different without qualification, it would itself be the dharmadhatu. If that were so, ordinary beings could perceive the Ultimate Truth and attain the unsurpassed bliss of nirvana. This meaning is incorrect; therefore, it is not one. If one says that its arising is different, then all practices and characteristics of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas would constitute attachment, and those not yet liberated from the bonds of affliction could not attain unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment. Why? All noble beings, within practiced dharmas and non-practiced dharmas, accord with the activity of wisdom. Therefore, they are not different.

Thus, the five skandhas neither exist nor arise from causes and conditions; yet neither are there no five skandhas. They are nothing other than the realm of the noble ones, beyond the reach of language: nameless, markless, without cause or condition, without an objective realm or analogy, quiescent from beginning to end, and originally empty in themselves. Therefore, the five skandhas can manifest the dharmadhatu.

Good goddess! If a good man or good woman wishes to seek unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment, the ultimate and the conventional are distinct in this manner. This is difficult to conceive! Regarding the realm of the noble ones, one should not conceive the ordinary and the noble as different, nor abandon the conventional or the ultimate, but should practice bodhi in reliance upon the dharmadhatu.

When the World-Honored One had spoken these words, the good goddess rejoiced. She immediately rose, bared her right shoulder, knelt on her right knee, respectfully joined her palms, single-mindedly bowed, and addressed the Buddha:

– World-Honored One! I shall now train in the right practice of bodhi that you have taught!

At that time, Great Brahma, heavenly king and lord of the Saha world, asked the good goddess Wondrous Radiance of the Wish-Fulfilling Jewel before the great assembly:

– This practice of bodhi is difficult to cultivate. How can the mind attain mastery with respect to this practice?

The good goddess replied to the Brahma king:

– Great Brahma King! If the Buddha’s words are most profound and true, then ordinary beings cannot savor them. This realm of the noble ones is subtle, wondrous, and difficult to know! If it is true that my mind has attained peaceful abiding in reliance upon this Dharma, I vow that the measureless, boundless sentient beings in all evil worlds of the five turbidities shall acquire golden bodies adorned with the thirty-two marks. They shall be neither male nor female, shall sit upon jeweled lotus flowers and experience measureless happiness. Beautiful celestial flowers shall rain down, celestial music shall sound without being played, and every offering shall be complete.

When the good goddess had spoken, all sentient beings in every evil world of the five turbidities acquired golden bodies complete with the thirty-two marks. They were neither male nor female, sat upon jeweled lotus flowers, and experienced measureless happiness like that of the Heaven of Enjoyment of Others’ Emanations. There were no evil destinies; rows of jeweled trees stood everywhere; seven-jeweled lotus flowers filled the worlds; supremely wondrous flowers of the seven jewels rained from the heavens; and celestial music sounded. Wondrous Radiance of the Wish-Fulfilling Jewel immediately transformed her female form into the body of a Brahma deity.

Great Brahma, the heavenly king, asked the bodhisattva Wondrous Radiance of the Wish-Fulfilling Jewel:

– In the past, through what activity did you practice the practice of bodhi?

The bodhisattva replied:

– Brahma King! If the moon reflected in water can practice the practice of bodhi, then I too have practiced the practice of bodhi! If one who acts in a dream practices the practice of bodhi, then I too practice the practice of bodhi! If a mirage amid fiery light practices the practice of bodhi, then I too practice the practice of bodhi! If the echo of a sound practices the practice of bodhi, then I too practice the practice of bodhi!

After hearing this, Great Brahma said to the bodhisattva:

– On what basis do you say these words?

She replied:

– Brahma King! There is not a single dharma that possesses a real characteristic. Its appearance is established through cause and effect!

The Brahma King again said to the bodhisattva:

– If this is so, then all ordinary beings should attain unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment!

The bodhisattva replied:

– What conception caused you to say this? Brahma King, are deluded people different, wise people different, bodhi different, non-bodhi different, liberation different, and non-liberation different? Brahma King, all dharmas are equal and undifferentiated. Within this dharmadhatu, suchness is not different; there is no intermediate thing that can be grasped or maintained, and there is neither increase nor decrease.

Brahma King! It is like a magician skilled in magical arts and his apprentice standing at a crossroads. They gather earth, sand, trees, leaves, and other things into one place, then perform various illusions, causing people to see elephants, horses, chariots, armies, heaps of the seven jewels, and all kinds of granaries and storehouses.

If foolish, ignorant sentient beings incapable of reflection neither understand the source of the illusion nor recognize what they see or hear, they think: “The elephants, horses, and so forth are exactly as I see them.” They regard these as real. According to what they see and hear, they cling to their perceptions to the extent of their ability, declare them true even though they are not true for others, and do not subsequently reconsider.

A wise person, however, can clearly reflect upon the source of the illusion. Whatever that person sees or hears, he thinks: “The elephants, horses, and so forth that I see are not real. They are merely magical illusions that deceive people’s eyes. These so-called elephants, horses, granaries, and storehouses possess only names and have no real substance.” According to what such people have seen and heard, they do not cling to their perceptions or declare them true when they are not true for others, nor do they subsequently give rise to repeated conceptualization. In accordance with worldly speech, these wise people speak only because they wish to enable others to understand the true meaning. Yet reality is not as it appears or sounds.

Brahma King! Likewise, foolish ordinary beings who have not attained transcendent noble wisdom and do not know that the suchness of all dharmas is ineffable may see or hear of practiced dharmas or non-practiced dharmas and think: “These dharmas truly exist exactly as I see and hear them!” According to what they see and hear, such ordinary people cling to their perceptions to the extent of their ability, declare them true even though they are not true for others, and do not subsequently reconsider.

But sentient beings who are no longer ordinary, who have perceived the truth of ultimate meaning, attained transcendent noble wisdom, and know that the suchness of all dharmas is ineffable, may see or hear of practiced dharmas or non-practiced dharmas without clinging to their perceptions to the extent of their ability. They do not declare as true what is not true for others, nor do they subsequently give rise to repeated conceptualization.

There is no real practiced dharma and no real non-practiced dharma. What is heard and seen consists merely of false conceptions of practiced and non-practiced characteristics that deceive human wisdom. What are called practiced dharmas and non-practiced dharmas possess only names and no real substance.

According to what they see and hear, these noble beings do not cling to their perceptions or declare as true what is not true for others, nor do they subsequently give rise to repeated conceptualization.

In accordance with worldly speech, these noble beings follow its expressions because they wish to enable others to understand the true meaning. Thus, Brahma King, the noble wisdom and vision of these noble beings cannot be said to apprehend practiced dharmas or non-practiced dharmas within the suchness of Dharma. Since this suchness of Dharma is wisdom personally realized, it is expressed through various names.

Great Brahma, the heavenly king, asked the bodhisattva Wondrous Radiance of the Wish-Fulfilling Jewel:

– How many sentient beings can understand and penetrate such a most profound and wondrous true Dharma?

The bodhisattva replied:

– Brahma King! However many illusory minds there are, that many sentient beings can understand and penetrate this profound Dharma.

The Brahma King asked again:

– Since these illusory persons do not exist, whence can such a number of minds be obtained?

The bodhisattva replied:

– Brahma King! The dharmadhatu is neither existent nor nonexistent. That sentient beings can understand and penetrate it is likewise a profound meaning!

The Brahma King then addressed the Buddha:

– World-Honored One! This bodhisattva Wondrous Radiance of the Wish-Fulfilling Jewel has penetrated such inconceivably profound meaning!

The Buddha said:

– So it is! So it is, Brahma King! It is exactly as you say. Why? This bodhisattva Wondrous Radiance of the Wish-Fulfilling Jewel has taught you to train in contemplating the patient acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas!

Thereupon, Great Brahma, the heavenly king, and the Brahma assembly rose, bared their right shoulders, knelt on their right knees, respectfully joined their palms, bowed at the feet of the bodhisattva Wondrous Radiance of the Wish-Fulfilling Jewel, and said:

– Rare indeed! Rare indeed! Today we have beheld a great teacher and heard the true Dharma!

At that time, the World-Honored One, whose penetration of all dharmas is unobstructed, said to the Brahma King:

– In a future life, this bodhisattva Wondrous Radiance of the Wish-Fulfilling Jewel shall become a Buddha named Auspicious Treasury of Jeweled Flames, Tathagata, Worthy One, Perfectly Enlightened One.

When this wondrous Scripture of Golden Light was taught, three hundred billion bodhisattvas attained non-retrogression from unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment. Eight hundred billion devas attained Stainless Purity and, with respect to Dharma, accomplished the pure Dharma-eye. Measureless and countless kings and subjects attained the pure Dharma-eye.

Five billion bhiksus practicing bodhi who had been inclined to retreat from the mind of bodhi heard the bodhisattva Wondrous Radiance of the Wish-Fulfilling Jewel teach the Dharma. They attained inconceivable fulfillment and steadfastness of their vows, brought forth the mind of bodhi anew, and each removed his robe as an offering to the bodhisattva. Once again they brought forth the mind of unsurpassed advancement. Having done so, they vowed: “May our roots of virtue and merit never regress, and may we dedicate them to unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment.”

Relying upon this merit in their cultivation, those bhiksus would attain accomplishment after ninety great kalpas. When they had escaped birth and death, the Buddha predicted that after thirty asamkhyeya kalpas, in the Buddha land of the King Difficult-to-Surpass Light, a land called Stainless Light, they would simultaneously attain unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment. All would bear the same name: Buddha King of Lofty Banners Adorned by Vows.

At that time, the Buddha said to the Brahma King:

– This Scripture of Golden Light, when correctly recited and correctly heard, possesses great power. Brahma King! Suppose you cultivated the Six Paramitas without skillful means for hundreds of thousands of great kalpas. If a good man or good woman hears this Scripture of Golden Light, copies it, and devotedly reads and recites it once every half month, then the accumulation of wholesome merit from this would be so great that even one part in a hundred thousand of the former merit could not equal it; indeed, no calculation or analogy could compare with it.

Brahma King! Therefore, I now command people to study, receive, and uphold it and to explain it extensively to others. Why? When I practiced the path of bodhi, I was like one entering battle who did not cherish his own life. Thus I came to comprehend this sutra, receive and uphold it, read and recite it, and explain it to others.

Brahma King! It is like a wheel-turning sage-king: while the king remains in the world, his seven treasures do not disappear; but when the king dies, all seven treasures naturally vanish. Brahma King! If this wondrous Scripture of Golden Light remains present in the world, the great treasure of the true Dharma will not disappear. Therefore, one should rely upon the Scripture of Golden Light, listen to it, read and recite it, receive and uphold it, explain it to others, and copy it, practicing the Perfection of Diligence without cherishing one’s life or fearing weariness. My disciples must diligently train in this way!

At that time, Great Brahma, lord and heavenly king, together with measureless Brahma beings, Shakra, the Four Heavenly Kings, and the assembly of yakshas, all rose, bared their right shoulders, knelt on their right knees, respectfully joined their palms, and addressed the Buddha:

– All of us shall protect the true Dharma and ensure the circulation of this wondrous Scripture of Golden Light! If Dharma masters teaching it encounter any calamity, we shall remove it. We shall cause them to be endowed with wholesome appearance, full strength and vitality, unobstructed eloquence, and open, joyful bodies and minds! We shall cause everyone in the Dharma assembly to be happy. If the country where this Dharma is taught suffers famine, enemy raiders, terror from nonhuman beings, or other calamities, we shall expel them all. If the people of that country become wealthy, prosperous, joyful, and at ease, it will all be through the gracious favor of us Four Heavenly Kings and the others. If anyone makes offerings to this scripture, we shall give that person great protection just as we would protect the Buddha himself.

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Translation source: Linh Sơn Pháp Bảo Đại Tạng KinhLicense: Linh Sơn Pháp Bảo Đại Tạng Kinh (Việt dịch) · nguồn: rongmotamhon.net (Liên Phật Hội) · EN: AI translation from Vietnamese source, awaiting source English🪷 Ask Inti Sage about this sūtra →

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