འཕགས་པ་མ་ཏག་ག་ཚགས་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད 4

4

“To this he replied, ‘Blessed One, it will be for those who have embarked upon the Great Vehicle and who will hear the name of that thus-gone one. The proclaiming of the name and virtues of that blessed one in this world system, Blessed One, sickens¹⁶ and torments me. But in order to create obstacles for those listening to that name, I am taking up arms. Why? So that those who hear the name of that thus-gone one will fall under my control.’

“Then the Blessed One said to the evil Māra, ‘Evil one, do not take up arms. You cannot create obstacles for those sublime persons. Why is that? Because I have entrusted them to the thus-gone one Akṣobhya, and to other thus-gone ones as well, so the thus-gone one Akṣobhya will care for them and bless them.’ ”

Then, Venerable Śāriputra said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, when the evil Māra previously came before the Thus-Gone One, and with those words you sounded the lion’s roar, who were the people hearing the name of the thus-gone one Akṣobhya, to create obstacles for whom and bring them under his control the evil Māra then took up arms?”

The Blessed One replied to Venerable Śāriputra, “Śāriputra, it is like this: I saw that there are beings who have heard about proclaiming the thus-gone one Akṣobhya and his virtues, but presently have given up doing so and cling rigidly to a teaching that will lead them to the hells.”

Śāriputra replied, “Blessed One, please explain well: how many beings have given it up?”

The Blessed One replied, “Śāriputra, throughout the ten directions the name of that thus-gone one will be heard,