སྟང་ཆན་མ་རབ་ཏ་འཇམས་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བའ་མད 3

3

At that point, Brahmā, master of the world; the gods of the Brahma realm; Śakra, lord of the gods; the gods of the realm of the Thirty-Three; the four great kings and the gods of their realm; the twenty-eight yakṣa generals; the thirty-two great yakṣa warriors; and Hārītī with her sons, together with their retinues, all with sublime complexions, used their respective complexions and powers to bathe Vulture Peak Mountain in bright light, like a pristine dawn once the night has passed. Approaching the Blessed One, they bowed their heads to his feet, sat to one side, then praised the Blessed One in verses of unified phrasing, cadence, and meter:

“You shine with the luster of burnished gold,
Like the light of the full moon.
As stable as Vaiśravaṇa,
You are the source of all jewels.

Lion-Like One, with your elephant-like gait,
You advance like an elephant in rut.
You are like a golden mountain,
Or an ornament made of gold from the Jambu River.

Like the moon in a cloudless sky
Studded with stars,
You are adorned with sublime characteristics
In the midst of a śrāvaka assembly.

This world with its gods
Comes to the Sage for refuge.
The time for safeguarding
The welfare of humans has neared!

This sūtra, Destroyer of the Great Trichiliocosm,
Disclosed by the previous buddhas,
Is the supreme boundary that seals the area,
All the way to the ends of the surrounding mountains.

We pay homage to you, heroic being!
We pay homage to you, supreme being!
To the great Sage, king of Dharma,
We pay homage with palms joined!”

The Blessed One remained silent for a moment, then said to the four great kings, “Great Kings! It would be improper to think that your assembly could harm my assembly. That is because