佛說大乘造像功德經

VOLUME TWO

At that time, the Buddha was seated upon the Lion Throne[35] at the place of practice in the country of Sāṅkāśya. The minds of the fourfold assembly all thought thus: "We long to hear the Tathāgata expound the merit of making images. If any sentient being makes one, how great is the blessing they obtain?"

Then the great Bodhisattva Maitreya, knowing this thought, rose from his seat, arranged his robe, bared his right shoulder, knelt upright with palms joined, and addressed the Buddha:

"Reverently, World-Honored One! King Udayana made an image of the Buddha. Whether the Buddha is present in the world or has already entered Nirvāṇa, a person who has faith may, according to their means, make an image of the Buddha. What merit does such a person reap? I humbly beseech the World-Honored One to explain that characteristic in full."

The Buddha said to the Bodhisattva Maitreya:

"Maitreya, listen attentively and remember well, for I shall speak for your sake.

"If there be any good man or good woman of pure faith, who single-mindedly fixes their mindfulness upon the merits of the Buddha, ever contemplating the Tathāgata's majestic virtue, sovereign and complete—the Ten Powers, the Four Fearlessnesses[36], the Eighteen Distinct Dharmas, Great Loving-kindness, Great Compassion, the All-Knowing Wisdom, the thirty-two marks of the Great Man, the eighty secondary marks. Each pore of his skin emits immeasurable rays of light of differing colors, adorned and formed by hundreds of thousands of millions of kinds of supremely surpassing merit, with immeasurable wisdom clear and penetrating, immeasurable samādhis, immeasurable spiritual powers... All such varieties of merit are without limit or measure, free from every fault, and unequaled by any.

"Whoever, having contemplated this, gives rise to deep faith and delight, and in accordance with those auspicious marks makes an image of the Buddha—the merit of that person is vast and boundless, beyond all reckoning.

"Maitreya! If there be anyone who, using silk threads, embroiders an image of the Buddha[37], or casts it by smelting gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, or zinc; or carves it from fragrant Candana wood, or sculpts it from pearls, conch shells, or brocade woven into form, red clay, cement, plaster, or earthen clay, or various kinds of wood... Using these materials, according to their own strength, they make an image of the Buddha[38], even one as small as a thumb, yet able to cause others who see it to recognize it as a sacred image—the blessed reward of such a person I shall now declare:

"Maitreya! Such people, though they still wander in birth and death, will never be born into a poor and destitute family, nor born into a household of low and base lineage, lonely and remote at the borders of the land. Nor will they be born into a house of wrong views, into the family of a trader or merchant, into a butcher's house, nor even born into a lowly caste, into impure courtesans, or into a household of heretics practicing wrong-view austerities—except by the power of a vow of loving-kindness and compassion; apart from that, they are not born into such houses.

"Such a person is constantly born into a family of the lineage of the Righteous Wheel-Turning King, possessed of great power. Or born into the lineage of a Brahmin of pure conduct, or into a wealthy and noble house that commits no grave offenses. Wherever they are born, they always meet the Buddha and reverently make offerings.

Or they become a king who upholds the true Dharma, teaching and transforming beings by the Dharma, never acting against the Way. Or they become a majestic Holy Wheel-Turning King, accomplished in the seven treasures, possessed of a thousand sons, flying through the air to teach and transform the four continents, sovereign, wealthy, and joyful throughout their whole life. Or they become Śakra, the king of the Yāma Heaven, the king of the Tuṣita Heaven, the king of the Nirmāṇarati Heaven, the king of the Paranirmita-vaśavartin Heaven—of the pleasures of gods and humans there is none they do not enjoy.

Blessed rewards such as these continue without interruption. Wherever they are born, they are always male, never receiving a female body, nor receiving the body of a eunuch or one of double form, which are base conditions. The body they receive is not ugly: the eyes are not blind or one-eyed, the ears not deaf, the nose not crooked or broken, the mouth not twisted, the lips not drooping nor puckered, the teeth not sparse, missing, blackened, nor yellowed, the tongue not short or shrunken, the neck without goiter or boil, the body not hunchbacked, the skin not blotchy, the hands not maimed, the legs not crooked or lame, neither too thin nor too fat, neither too tall nor too short...

All disagreeable characteristics are absent.

"The body of such a person is upright and dignified, the face full and complete. The hair is dark blue-black, soft and supple, bright and clean. The lips are red as vermilion, the eyes like blue lotuses, with the mark of a broad, long tongue. The teeth are white and evenly set; their speech is fine and skillful, causing all who hear it to be glad and delighted. The elbows are well-proportioned. The palms are level, the back and thighs full and round, the shoulders and chest broad, the hands and feet soft as cotton-down, all the marks complete without defect or diminishment, the sinews and strength surely vigorous, resembling the god Nārāyaṇa[39].

"Maitreya! It is like a person who has fallen into a cesspit, and is then brought out, scrapes off the filth, washes clean with water, anoints the body with fragrance, and puts on fresh, clean garments... Such a person, compared to one still in the pit who has not yet come out—the difference between filth and cleanliness, between foulness and fragrance, how great is it? Reverently, World-Honored One, the gap is so far apart it cannot be measured how many times over!

"Maitreya! If there be anyone still within birth and death who is able to give rise to faith and make an image of the Buddha, the difference between that person before and after making it is likewise just so. You should know that such a person, life after life, is born with their karmic obstructions purged away; the various arts and skills they understand without being taught.

Though born a human, their faculties are as those of the heavenly realm. If born in the heavens, they surpass the host of gods by far. Wherever they are born, they are without disability, not afflicted with leprosy, not stricken with ulcers or tumors, not possessed by ghosts and demons.

They do not contract madness, withering, jaundice, malarial fever, gallstones, virulent sores, deep scabs, immoderate vomiting and diarrhea, indigestion of food and drink, aching upon any movement, or paralysis of half the body... Of such illnesses, the four hundred and four kinds, every one is absent[40].

"Nor are they harmed by poisons of any kind, by weapons, clubs, or staves, by tigers, wolves, lions, water, fire, thieves, or robbers... Such sudden and unforeseen circumstances do them no injury. They are always without fear, and do not commit the various offenses.

"Maitreya! If there be a sentient being who has formerly created evil karma, and must endure every kind of suffering and affliction—such as being clamped and pressed, shackled and locked, fettered and chained, beaten and reviled, burned and pricked, having the skin flayed and the hair plucked out, hung upside down on high, or even being cut open and the entrails burned... if they give rise to faith and make an image of the Buddha, then all those bitter retributions they shall not have to undergo. They are not born in places where bandits stir up disorder, where city walls collapse, where baleful stars work strange disasters, where there is famine and plague... To such places they are never born; if one were to say they are born there, that would be false speech."

At that time, the great Bodhisattva Maitreya addressed the Buddha:

"Reverently, World-Honored One! The Tathāgata has always taught, 'Wholesome karma and unwholesome karma are never lost.'[41] If there be a sentient being who has created grave karma, and must be born into a household of low and base lineage, poor and disabled, with a short lifespan—if they afterward give rise to faith and make an image of the Buddha, must these retributions for their offenses still be undergone, or not undergone?"

The Buddha said to the Bodhisattva Maitreya:

"Listen now attentively, for I shall speak for your sake. If any sentient being, having created various offenses, gives rise to the resolve to make an image, seeking and praying for repentance, resolutely cutting it off themselves, vowing never to transgress again, then the offenses they created and the blessings they create shall both be extinguished. Now, for your sake, I shall explain this matter at length.

"Maitreya! It is like a person who in a former life was stingy and miserly, and by that cause endured the suffering of poverty, without possessions, lacking the things to use. Then suddenly they meet a bhikṣu who had previously entered meditative concentration and has just emerged from it; that person then takes food and drink and offers it up as a gift of alms. Having made this gift, they are freed from the suffering of poverty, and whatever they seek is all according to their wish. Maitreya! That poor person's evil karma of former lives and the retribution they incurred—do these now still remain or not?"

Maitreya replied:

"Reverently, World-Honored One! By offering food, the old evil karma is all extinguished entirely; they are forever freed from poverty and attain wealth, with possessions abundant."

The Buddha said:

"Bodhisattva Maitreya! It is just as you have said. You should know that such a person is likewise just so. By making the image, their old evil karma is entirely ended, leaving none, and the retributions they would have had to undergo are all no longer undergone.

"Maitreya! There are three kinds of karma[42]. First, retribution undergone in the present life. Second, retribution undergone in the next life. Third, retribution undergone only in many lives to come... Among these three kinds of karma just mentioned, each kind has both the fixed and the unfixed. A person of faith who makes an image of the Buddha undergoes only a small portion of the fixed karma in the present life; apart from that, they do not undergo the other kinds of karma."

Then the Bodhisattva Maitreya said:

"Reverently, World-Honored One! The Tathāgata has always taught: There are five kinds of karma that are most deep and grave, which decisively cause one to fall into the Avīci hell[43]. These are the offenses: killing one's father, harming one's mother, killing an Arhat, with malicious intent causing the body of the Buddha to bleed, and breaking the harmony of the Saṅgha. If there be a sentient being who has formerly created these offenses, and afterward gives rise to faith toward the Buddha and makes an image, will this person still fall into hell, or not fall?"

The Buddha said to the Bodhisattva Maitreya:

"Now I shall speak for your sake yet another parable: Suppose there be a person who, holding a strong bow in the midst of a forest of trees, aims upward and shoots through the leaves; the arrow passes straight through without obstruction. If there be a sentient being who has committed those offenses of treachery, and afterward makes an image of the Buddha, repenting with sincere mind, but whose faith is not yet very firm, and who imagines that their offense has become light and thin, then though they may fall into hell, they will straightaway come out of it—just as the shot arrow passes straight through without stopping; the case of this person is likewise just so...

Again, it is like a bhikṣu who has realized the spiritual power of magical movement, who from this shore to that crosses the ocean, encircling all four continents without any hindrance. That person too is just so: by the offenses formerly committed, they temporarily fall into hell, but the former karma cannot become an obstruction."

The Bodhisattva Maitreya again addressed and asked further:

"Reverently, World-Honored One! The Buddhas, the Tathāgatas, are the body of the Dharma-nature, not a body belonging to form and characteristics. If one were to take form and characteristics as the body of the Buddha, then the bhikṣu Nanda and the Wheel-Turning King ought to be Buddhas, since they too possess the auspicious marks in full. If there be a sentient being who destroys the Dharma-body of the Buddha[44], saying that the Dharma is non-Dharma and that non-Dharma is the Dharma, and afterward gives rise to faith and makes an image of the Buddha, then is this grave offense likewise extinguished, or is it not extinguished?"

The Buddha said to the Bodhisattva Maitreya:

"If any sentient being says that the Dharma is non-Dharma and that non-Dharma is the Dharma, merely speaking it with the mouth without destroying right view, and afterward gives rise to faith and delight and makes an image of the Buddha, then their former evil karma brings only a light retribution upon their present body; they do not fall into the evil paths, yet they are not at once liberated from birth and death."

The Bodhisattva Maitreya again inquired further:

"Reverently, World-Honored One! If there be anyone who steals the objects within the Buddha's jeweled stūpa, who steals objects of the permanent property, who steals objects of the Saṅgha of the four quarters, or objects of the Saṅgha present before them, using them for their own consumption, or giving them to others to use, treating them as their own—the World-Honored One has always taught, 'To use objects stolen from within the Buddha's stūpa or objects of the Saṅgha—that offense is most grave.'[45] So if a sentient being, having created this offense, then deeply reproaches themselves, gives rise to a mind of pure faith, and makes an image of the Buddha—is the offense of such a person extinguished or not?"

The Buddha said to the Bodhisattva Maitreya:

"If any sentient being who has formerly used such objects afterward reflects upon themselves, embracing a mind of shame and repentance, and according to the amount usually repays it, vowing never to transgress again—now I shall, for your sake, speak a parable: It is like a poor person who was formerly burdened with many debts, and suddenly comes upon a hidden hoard of countless gold and jewels; having repaid all their debts, there still remains a great surplus. The person who created that offense is likewise just so: having repaid those objects, they then make an image of the Buddha, and shall be freed from calamity and suffering, ever attaining peace and joy."

At that time the great Bodhisattva Maitreya again addressed and asked the Buddha:

"Reverently, World-Honored One! As the Buddha has formerly taught, 'One who within the Buddha's Dharma commits a pārājika offense[46] is not called living.' If again there be a person who, having committed that offense, gives rise to the resolve to remember and reflect upon the merits of the Buddhas and makes an image, then within the Buddha's teaching can they be 'living' again? And within this life, or the second, third, or fourth life, can they realize the Dharma?"

The Buddha said to the Bodhisattva Maitreya:

"It is like a person whose body is bound and fettered—hands, feet, and neck—and who, if released from their bonds, is like a bird freed from the net, flying away in freedom. As that matter is, so too is that person. If they give rise to faith, ponder upon the merits of the Buddha, and make an image of the Buddha, then all their karmic obstructions are eliminated; within birth and death they swiftly come out, without obstruction.

Maitreya, you should know that there are the Dharmas of the Three Vehicles[47]: the Śrāvaka Vehicle, the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle, and the Great Buddha Vehicle. Whoever makes an image of the Buddha—according to whichever Vehicle they give rise to a vow and aspiration, within that very Vehicle they attain liberation. But if one seeks only to accomplish the Buddha-Way, seeking no other reward, then though their obstructions be grave they are swiftly extinguished; though within birth and death, they have no calamity or suffering; and they shall ultimately realize Unsurpassed Bodhi, attain a pure land, possess all the auspicious marks in full, and be granted a lifespan, enduring and inexhaustible."

At that time within the assembly, those who had not yet given rise to the mind of the Great Vehicle all gave rise to doubt, thinking thus: "Did our Tathāgata in past ages make images of the Buddha, or did he not? If indeed he made them, why is his lifespan filled with such defilements, not attaining purity?"

King Prasenajit, relying on the majestic power of the Buddha[48], then rose from his seat, joined his palms, knelt upright, and addressed the Buddha:

"Reverently, World-Honored One! I see that the Tathāgata's faculties and auspicious marks, as well as his lineage, are all foremost; my mind is decisively without any place of doubt. Yet the Tathāgata once had a Khadira thorn pierce through his foot.

Again, on one occasion, Devadatta rolled down a stone, and a fragment flew off, causing the Buddha's foot to bleed. Formerly there was a time when he said he had an illness and summoned Jīvaka to compound fine medicine. Again on one occasion he had an ache in his back; he had the Venerable Mahākāśyapa recite the Seven Factors of Enlightenment, and the place of pain was thereby relieved.

Again on one occasion he had an ache, and he sent the Venerable Ānanda to a Brahmin's house to ask for cow's milk. Formerly there was a time when, at the village of Verañjā, during the three months of the rains retreat he ate only horse-fodder barley. And once he went on alms-round but received nothing, and returned with an empty bowl.[49]

"Reverently, World-Honored One! As the World-Honored One has said, 'If there be anyone who makes an image of the Buddha, then all their karmic obstructions are eliminated; they are freed from sufferings and afflictions, and have none of the various illnesses.' So did the World-Honored One in ages past make images, or did he not? If in the past he made images, then by what causes and conditions did these matters occur?"

The Buddha said to King Prasenajit:

"Listen attentively! Listen attentively and remember well, for I shall, for the Great King's sake, discriminate and explain. O Great King! In ages past, for the sake of seeking Bodhi, I used precious jewels and gems, fragrant Candana wood, and the work of painting and depicting to make images of the Buddha—more than the entire number of the hosts of gods and humans in this present assembly. By this blessing, although I was still within the round of wandering birth and death and not yet free of delusion, I obtained a body firm as a diamond, which could not be damaged or destroyed.

"Again, O Great King! I remember the past, immeasurable kalpas ago, when, still within birth and death, I made images of the Buddha. At that time I still had greed, anger, and delusion[50]... Immeasurable defilements were conjoined with my mind, yet I never once, within the space of a single thought, on account of evil karma, had my four elements out of balance, or was possessed by any ghosts and spirits, or suffered even the least of the various painful illnesses; and as for the things I needed, there was nothing not fully provided—how much more so now, when I have realized the Way of Bodhi, should there still be any matter 'not as I wished'?

"Great King! If I in former ages had made images of the Buddha, and now had residual karma to undergo such retribution, how could I make this 'fearless declaration,' saying, 'Making images decisively can eliminate all evil karma'?

"Great King! In ages past I supplied and gave immeasurable food and drink, wealth, and jewels[51]. How then, in this present life, would I go on alms-round and receive nothing, having to eat horse-fodder barley? If, supposing, in this present day such a thing were truly so, then how could I, within immeasurable sūtras, praise in many ways the pāramitā of giving, declaring that the blessing of giving is never false?

"Great King! I am one who speaks truly and speaks really, one who does not speak deceitfully. If I were to deceive, whom could I save?

"Great King! Long ago I cut off all evil karma entirely, relinquishing what is hard to relinquish, doing what is hard to do; this body and life I gave up hundreds of thousands of millions of times, made immeasurable images of the Buddhas, and repented of immeasurable evil karmas and offenses—how then could I incur such matters as injury, illness and suffering, eating horse-fodder, hunger and thirst? If I had once attained those surpassing rewards and now lost them again, then by what could I exhort beings to cultivate those wholesome blessings?

"O Great King! The Buddhas, the Tathāgatas, are the everlasting body, the body of the Dharma-nature[52]; for the sake of saving sentient beings they manifest the matters above—these are not truly so. Injuring the foot, the aching back, asking for milk, drinking medicine, and so on, even up to entering Great Nirvāṇa, dividing one's relics among the various places, building stūpas, and so on—all are the fine and skillful expedient means of the Buddha, causing sentient beings to see such characteristics.

"Great King! I, in the world, manifest such matters of illness as above, with the aim of causing sentient beings to know clearly that karmic retribution is never lost, causing them to know fear, so as to cut off offenses and faults and cultivate the various wholesome practices, that afterward they may know the everlasting body, know the body of the Dharma-nature, with limitless lifespan and a pure land.

"Great King! The Buddhas, the Tathāgatas, are never false or deceptive; they are purely great compassion and skillful wisdom, and therefore are able, in every manner, to manifest in this way."

Then King Prasenajit, having heard these words, was joyful and exultant, leaping with delight, and together with immeasurable hundreds of thousands of sentient beings, all gave rise to the mind set upon the Way of Unsurpassed Bodhi[53].

At that time, the great Bodhisattva Maitreya continued to ask the Buddha:

"Reverently, World-Honored One! There are women whose aspiration is petty and narrow, who harbor much jealousy, anger, frivolity, and flattering deceit, who hold their anger long without letting go, and who do not requite kindness. Though they seek Bodhi, few among them hold firm to their resolve; they constantly desire to delude all people, and yet they too are deceived in return[54].

"Reverently, World-Honored One! If such a woman makes an image of the Buddha, will such karma be eliminated? Will she become one who knows kindness and requites kindness? Will she be endowed with wisdom and great compassion? Will she be able to feel weariness and turn away from birth and death? Except by the power of a vow, will she ever again receive a female body? Will she become like Lady Gautamī and the Buddha's mother, Lady Māyā?"

The Buddha replied to the Bodhisattva Maitreya:

"If any woman is able to make an image of the Buddha, then she shall surely not receive a female body again. Supposing she does receive such a body, then it shall be that of a woman most honored and noble, foremost above all. But the women who make images shall obtain five kinds of virtue, surpassing all womankind. What are the five virtues?

"First: bearing children.

"Second: a noble and honored lineage.

"Third: a chaste and good nature.

"Fourth: a physique and features both beautiful.

"Fifth: a perfect and fulfilling appearance.

"Maitreya! All women, by eight causes and conditions, therefore constantly receive a female body life after life. What are the eight?

"First: cherishing the female body.

"Second: being attached to the carnal pleasures of women.

"Third: the mouth constantly praising the appearance and form of women.

"Fourth: a mind not upright, concealing one's deeds.

"Fifth: being weary of one's own husband.

"Sixth: a heart heavily burdened with longing for another.

"Seventh: knowing another to be kind, yet acting against them in betrayal.

"Eighth: adorning oneself with false pretense to make others infatuated.

"If one can entirely cut off these eight things and make an image of the Buddha, then ever after, up until attaining Buddhahood, one shall always be male. To receive a female body again would be without reason.

"Maitreya! There are four kinds of causes and conditions that cause a man to receive a female body. What are the four?[55]

"First: using a woman's tone to scoff and laugh at and address the Buddha, the Bodhisattvas, or the various sages.

"Second: toward those who keep the precepts, harboring a mind of slander, saying that they have broken the precepts.

"Third: delighting in flattery and the deceiving of others.

"Fourth: seeing one greater than oneself, giving rise in the mind to envy and hatred.

"If any man does these four things, then after death he must surely receive a female body, and must moreover pass through immeasurable sufferings within the evil paths. If he gives rise to deep and abundant faith, repents of his former deeds, and makes an image of the Buddha, then the offenses described above are all extinguished, and in the end he shall no longer receive the body of a woman.

"Maitreya! There are four kinds of causes and conditions that cause a man to receive the body of a eunuch[56]. What are the four?

"First: mutilating and harming the form of humans and animals.

"Second: toward śramaṇas who guard pure precepts, giving rise to anger and hatred, mocking and slandering them.

"Third: having a disposition of much greed and lust, deliberately violating the precepts.

"Fourth: associating with those who break the precepts, and moreover urging others to break them.

"If any man formerly did these things, and afterward gives rise to faith and makes an image of the Buddha, then ever after, up until attaining Buddhahood, he shall not undergo that retribution; he shall always be male, with all faculties complete.

"Maitreya! There are four kinds of karma that cause a man to receive the body of double form[57], the lowest and basest among all people. What are the four?

"First: licentious defilement within a place of reverence.

"Second: with the body of a man, wrongly being defiled by attachment.

"Third: oneself personally performing acts of lust.

"Fourth: trafficking in feminine charms for the sake of others.

"If any sentient being does these things, and deeply reproaches their own faults, repents of what they formerly committed, gives rise to a mind of pure faith, and makes an image of the Buddha, then ever after, up until attaining Buddhahood, they shall not receive that body.

"Maitreya! There are again four conditions that cause a man's mind constantly to give rise to a woman's lustful desire[58], delighting in others performing with him the acts of men. What are the four?

"First: with suspicion, or in jest, mocking and reviling others.

"Second: delighting in women's style of dress and adornment.

"Third: performing lewd and defiling acts with female kin.

"Fourth: truly without good virtue, falsely accepting the prostrations of others.

"By these causes and conditions, such men give rise to distinct defilements of this kind. If one repents of the faults already committed, creates no new faults, and gives rise in the mind to faith and delight, making an image of the Buddha, then those offenses are extinguished and that mind also ceases.

"Maitreya! There are five kinds of stinginess[59] that can ruin sentient beings. What are the five?

"First: stinginess over villages and the dwellings nearby. By this one is born in places desolate and lonely.

"Second: stinginess over houses and verandas in which to dwell; one shall become a dung-worm, ever dwelling in places of excrement, foul and filthy.

"Third: stinginess over beautiful and upright form; one shall obtain an ugly form, not as one wishes.

"Fourth: stinginess over the possessions one has; one shall be poor and destitute, lacking clothing and food.

"Fifth: stinginess over the teaching one has come to know; one shall incur the retribution of an animal, dull and stupid.

"If one repents of one's former karma and makes an image of the Buddha, then one shall be free from the former mind of stinginess, and shall not undergo the retributions described above!

"Maitreya! There are again five conditions that cause a sentient being to be born among barbarians, in the borderlands[60], or to be born in a time without the Buddha-Dharma. What are the five?

"First: not giving rise to pure faith toward the wholesome field of the Three Jewels.

"Second: contrary to the true principle, deviating from right reason, yet falsely setting forth admonitions and precepts.

"Third: not in accord with the true principle, yet teaching and imparting to others.

"Fourth: breaking the harmony of the Saṅgha, causing it to become two factions.

"Fifth: even at the least, causing two bhikṣus to break apart so that they are not in harmony.

"If one entirely ends the above karma and makes an image of the Buddha, one shall always meet the Buddha and always hear the essentials of the Dharma.

"Maitreya! Sentient beings have, moreover, five kinds of causes and conditions whereby they are constantly disliked and driven away by many people, so that even their own kin do not wish to meet them[61]. What are the five?

"First: speaking double-tongued words.

"Second: speaking harsh and evil words.

"Third: much contention and dispute.

"Fourth: much anger and resentment.

"Fifth: being skilled at speaking in veiled insinuations in order to slander others.

"If afterward one gives rise to the resolve to make an image of the Buddha, repenting of the old karma and vowing never to create it again, then the offenses of that person are all eliminated, and they are loved, respected, and drawn near by all. Why is this so? Because the Buddhas have immeasurable, boundless surpassing merit; immeasurable, boundless vast wisdom; immeasurable, boundless samādhi and liberation[62]; possessing those rare merits of the Dharma-nature.

"Good men! Suppose there be a person who takes one great-thousandfold world-system and grinds it into fine dust, and again grinds that dust, dividing each single mote into a number equal to the motes of fine dust in one great-thousand world—and the number of motes thus ground is increased by as many great-thousand realms of lands as there are; how immeasurable that number is. Suppose then there be a person who takes a single ground mote of dust and, by the power of spiritual penetration, travels to the Eastern direction, and in the space of one kṣaṇa crosses past lands as numerous as the motes of dust of one great-thousand realm that has been ground fine (which is but one billionth part); in the second kṣaṇa, and in the third kṣaṇa, likewise;

that person travels on for so long, for as many kalpas as the motes of ground dust, and in each and every kṣaṇa within each and every kalpa of each single kṣaṇa, they pass beyond lands as numerous as the motes of dust ground from a whole great-thousand realm; and when that number of lands is exhausted, they then set down a single mote of dust.

That person then takes another mote of dust, and again goes to the Eastern direction, surpassing that number of lands, and sets it down once more; reaching the third mote, again surpassing the previous time; and successively in this way, ever multiplying, until all the ground motes of dust are entirely used up.

"As the Eastern direction is thus, so the South, the West, and the North are likewise. In the places of the four directions through which that person passes, all the lands are ground entirely into dust. As for these motes of dust, all sentient beings together calculating and measuring could still come to know their number; but as for the merits of even a single fraction of a strand of hair upon the body of the Tathāgata, these cannot be known. Why is this so?

"The merits that the Buddhas possess are all limitless and immeasurable, beyond conceiving or discussing.

"Good men! Suppose there were people as numerous as the fine motes of dust just described above, all equal to Śāriputra; all the wisdom of those people would not equal a single thought of the Tathāgata's wisdom. Why is this so?

"Because the Tathāgata, within each and every thought, constantly brings forth right concentration, liberation, total retention (dhāraṇī), and so forth, more than the number of motes of dust in the parable above, and each of these possesses immeasurable surpassing merit.

"The surpassing merits of the Buddhas—all Śrāvakas and all Pratyekabuddhas still cannot even know their names so as to call them! Therefore, whoever, with pure faith, makes an image of the Buddha—all their karmic obstructions, every one, are extinguished; they obtain immeasurable, boundless merit, and shall even attain Unsurpassed Bodhi, forever pulling out the suffering and affliction of all sentient beings everywhere."

When the Buddha had spoken this sūtra, the Bodhisattva Maitreya and Śakra, Lord of the Gods, King Udayana, and all the world of gods, humans, asuras, and gandharva spirits, having heard the Buddha's teaching, were all delighted, believed, received, and reverently put it into practice.

END OF VOLUME TWO