འཕགས་པ་རྒྱ་ཆར་རལ་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད 15
The Play in Full 15
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- English
15.2
All the worlds throughout the ten directions shook in six ways: they quivered, trembled, and quaked, wobbled, rocked, and swayed; they vibrated, shuddered, and reeled, rattled, shook, and convulsed; they clattered, rattled, and clanged, boomed, thundered, and roared.
All the buddhas offered congratulations to the Thus-Gone One for reaching perfect and complete awakening and conferred upon him religious gifts. With these religious gifts, this trichiliocosm became covered with a jewel parasol, and from that jewel parasol issued forth a network of light rays, which illuminated the immeasurable and innumerable worlds throughout the ten directions.
Then the bodhisattvas and gods throughout the ten directions uttered an expression of joy:
“An adept among beings, a lotus on the lake of wisdom, has appeared. Untainted by mundane concerns, he will cause a cloud of great compassion to mass, which will shower throughout the realm of phenomena. The gentle rain of Dharma, medicine to living beings, will cause all the seeds of the roots of virtue to sprout, bring growth to the saplings of faith, and yield the fruits of liberation.”
On this topic, it is said:
Since he defeated Māra, along with his hordes, he is indeed a lion among men.
When this teacher actualized the bliss of concentration
And attained the threefold knowledge by means of the tenfold power,
Many tens of millions of buddha realms throughout the ten directions trembled.
Those bodhisattvas who had previously come desiring the Dharma
Bowed before his feet and said, “Are you not tired?
We have witnessed the army, as terrifying it was,
Vanquished by the strength of your insight, merit, and diligence.”
Parasols were carried by the buddhas of one hundred billion realms,
15.3
Who said, “Well done, Great Being! You overpowered the demonic hordes
And attained the sublime state, deathless and free of anguish.
Swiftly shower down the rain of true Dharma throughout the three worlds.”
The best of beings throughout the ten directions extended their arms
And said in the voice of a cuckoo’s call,
“Just as we attained awakening, you too have reached the pristine state;
We are just like butter and clarified butter.”
Then the goddesses of the desire realm perceived that the Thus-Gone One on the seat of awakening had attained higher knowledge, fulfilled his purpose, and become victorious in battle. He had vanquished the demonic opponents, raised parasols, standards, and flags, and become a hero, a supreme victor, a man, a great man, a supreme physician, and a great remover of thorns. Like a lion, he was fearless and without worry. Like an elephant, he was gentle. Since he had relinquished the three stains, he was stainless. He was knowledgeable, since he had actualized the threefold knowledge. He had reached the other shore, since he had crossed the four rivers. He was of royal caste since he upheld the single jewel parasol, a priest of the three worlds since he had abandoned evil actions, a mendicant since he has cracked open the eggshell of ignorance, an ascetic since he had perfectly transcended all attachment, a gentleman since he had eradicated afflictions, a hero since he did not let the banner fall, a powerhouse since he was endowed with the ten powers, a jewel mine since he was replete with all the gems of the Dharma.
Knowing this, the goddesses approached the seat of awakening and praised the Thus-Gone One with these verses:
“Having defeated the demon hordes
At the trunk of the king of trees,
He sits there unshakable like Mount Meru,
Fearless and silent.
“Through practicing generosity, discipline, and restraint
For many tens of millions of eons,
He attained perfect sublime awakening
And therefore shines here today.
15.4
“Through practicing discipline, vows, and austerities
For many tens of millions of eons
While seeking awakening,
He outshines Śakra and Brahmā.
“Through wearing the strong armor of forbearance
For many tens of millions of eons,
He embraced suffering
And therefore shines like gold.
“Through the strength and intensity of his valor
Over many tens of millions of eons,
He drove away his opponents
And thus triumphed over Māra’s army.
“Through his concentration, higher knowledge, and wisdom
Enacted over many tens of millions of eons,
He revered the best of sages
And is therefore honored now himself.
“Through his insight, learning, and accumulations,
Developed over the course of tens of millions of eons,
He has benefited tens of millions of sentient beings
And thus swiftly attained awakening.
“He has triumphed over the demon of the aggregates
And likewise over the lord of death and the demon of afflictions.
He has also triumphed over the demon of the gods—
Thus he has no anguish.
“This god of gods,
Revered even by the gods,
Is worthy of reverence throughout the three worlds
As a field for those seeking merit.
“He yields the fruit of immortality;
He is a sublime object of veneration.
When a donation is given to him, the result is never-ending
Until the attainment of supreme awakening.
“The hair between his eyebrows radiates light,
Illuminating many tens of millions of locales.
Outshining even the sun and the moon,
He is a light unto all sentient beings.
“His form is handsome—
Sublime and well-proportioned.
Replete with the best of characteristics and poised to be of benefit,
It is worthy of reverence throughout the three worlds.
“His eyes are pristine:
They spontaneously see
The myriad insentient and sentient,
The locales and multitudes of beings.
“His ears are pristine:
They hear infinite sounds,
Those of gods and humans
And those of the victorious ones’ Dharma.
“His tongue is long
And as melodious as a cuckoo’s voice.
Let us listen to him speak about the Dharma,
An ambrosia that brings great peace.
“Even witnessing Māra’s army,
His mind is unperturbed.
Even seeing the multitudes of gods,
His sensible mind is not ecstatic.
15.5
“It was not with knives and arrows
That he defeated Māra’s army.
Rather it was with truth, restraint, and austerity
That he overcame the villainous thugs.
“Without being displaced from his seat,
His body was unharmed.
On that occasion he was neither affectionate
Nor even angry.
“Those gods and humans
Who listen to the Dharma from you,
And strive to accomplish it,
Procure their desired acquisition.
“Through the merit of praising you,
O Victorious One, replete with the resplendence of merit,
May we all immediately become like you,
O Moon among Men!”
Once the guide, a bull among men, had awakened to buddhahood,
Hundreds of billions of realms trembled and Māra was vanquished.
Then, in the cadence of Brahmā and the melody of a cuckoo,
The Guide first spoke these verses:
“Merit, fully ripened, brings happiness and vanquishes all suffering.
The wishes of a person with merit will be accomplished;
They will overcome Māra, quickly reach awakening,
And attain nirvāṇa, the tranquil state of peace.
“Thus who could get their fill of making merit?
Who could be satiated with listening to ambrosia-like Dharma?
Who could get enough of dwelling in deserted forests?
Who could get enough of working for the welfare of beings?”
Extending his hand, he said to the bodhisattvas:
“Respect has been paid, thus return to your own places.”
All of them bowed to the feet of the Thus-Gone One
And returned to their own abodes, in magnificent arrays.
After witnessing the great demonic horde advancing
And the Well-Gone One toying auspiciously with them,
Beings, out of an unparalleled wish to reach awakening, said:
“May we vanquish Māra and his horde, and thus reach the deathless state.”
Monks, even while the Thus-Gone One reached perfect and complete awakening seated on his lion’s throne at the trunk of the tree of awakening, he simultaneously manifested such innumerable displays of awakened playful activity that they would not be easy to reveal even in an eon.
15.6
On this topic, it is said:
The earth became as even as the palm of a hand;
Hundred-petaled lotuses in full bloom arose in a flood of light.
Hundreds of thousands of gods bowed down to the seat of awakening
And witnessed there the One Who Was First Heralded by a Lion’s Roar.
Hundreds of trees in the trichiliocosm and also its mountains,
Along with Meru, king of mountains, bowed to the seat of awakening.
Approaching the one with the ten powers, Brahmā and Śakra paid homage.
Such was the play of the Lion among Men while at the seat of awakening.
Hundreds of thousands of light rays radiated from his body,
Pervading the perfect realms of the victorious ones and pacifying the three lower realms.
Through this, the unfortunate states were dried up in a mere fraction of an instant,
And hardness, conceit, and hatred were rendered harmless to any sentient being.
Such was the play of the Lion among Men while he sat in his seat.
The resplendent tuft of hair on his forehead
Outshone the radiance of the sun, moon, jewels, fire, lightning, and gods,
And the crown of the Teacher’s head was not beheld by any being whatsoever.
Such was the play of the Lion among Men while he sat in his seat.
By touching the earth with the palm of his hand, it trembled in six ways;
This shook Māra’s hordes as if they were tufts of cotton.
Māra, brandishing an arrow, etched images in the earth.
Such was the play of the Lion among Men while he sat in his seat.
Chapter 23
Exaltation
Then the gods from the pure realms circumambulated the Thus-Gone One, who sat at the seat of awakening. They showered him with a rain of divine sandalwood powder and praised him with these fitting verses:
“You are a light that has dawned upon this world!
Illuminating Lord of the World,
You have given eyes for abandoning afflictions
To this world gone blind!
“You are victorious in battle!
Through merit you have fulfilled your aim!
Replete with virtuous qualities,
You will satisfy beings!
“Sinless, you have crossed the mire
And stand on dry ground, O Gautama!
You will ferry across other sentient beings,
Who are carried away by the swift current!
“Your great insight exalts you!
You are without peer throughout the worlds!
15.7
You are untainted by mundane concerns,
Like a lotus floating on water!
“With the torch of your insight,
You can awaken
This long-slumbering world,
Shrouded in the fog of darkness!
“Into the world of the living,
Chronically troubled with the disease of afflictions,
You have come, O King of Physicians,
To cure the world of all illnesses!
“Now that you have appeared, O Lord,
The unfortunate states will become vacant!
Gods and humans
Will become filled with happiness!
“Those who seek to behold you,
O Gentle Bull among Men,
Will never go to the lower realms
For thousands of eons!
“Those who listen to the Dharma
Will become scholars and be free of illness.
They will be profound and bring an end to the aggregates,
And be free from fear!
“As they sever the bonds of affliction,
They will all be free of clinging
And swiftly become liberated,
And thus attain the fruition of supreme virtue!
“They will be objects of generosity in the world,
Worthy of receiving gifts!
Donations to them will not diminish,
But become causes for all beings to reach nirvāṇa!”
Monks, once the gods from the realm of the pure realms had praised the Thus-Gone One in this manner, they prostrated to the Thus-Gone One with palms joined and stood to one side.
Monks, then the luminous gods paid homage to the Thus-Gone One sitting at the seat of awakening with a plethora of flowers, incense, perfumes, garlands, unguents, parasols, standards, and flags. When the offerings had been made, they circumambulated him three times and then praised him with these verses:
“Your mind is profound, O Sage, and your voice is sweet;
O Supreme Sage, your song-like voice is melodious like Brahmā’s.
You have discovered the absolute awakening, most sublime!
Homage to you, who has reached the culmination of all melodious tunes!
“You are protection, an island, the highest goal!
You are the compassionate and loving lord of this world!
You are the supreme physician, remover of thorns!
You are the healer who brings sublime benefit!
“As soon as you saw Buddha Dīpaṃkara,
15.8
You attained the cloud masses of love and compassion.
Release a torrential downpour of ambrosia, O Lord!
Quell the torment of gods and humans!
“Like a lotus you are untainted by the three worlds!
Like Meru you are immovable and unshakable!
Like a vajra your pledge is unwavering!
Like the moon you are replete with the best of all qualities!”
Monks, once the luminous gods had praised the Thus-Gone One so, they bowed to him with palms joined and stood to one side.
Then the gods from the Brahma realm, led by the son of gods, Subrahman, covered the Thus-Gone One sitting at the seat of awakening with a jewel net studded with many trillions of gems. They circumambulated him three times, then praised him with these fitting verses:
“With your virtuous and stainless insight, you radiate and shine.
You are replete with the thirty-two most sublime characteristics;
Attentive and intelligent, you possess wisdom.
Tireless One, to you we bow down.
“Utterly devoid of the three stains, you are stainless and pure.
Renowned throughout the three worlds, discoverer of the threefold knowledge,
You bestow insight into the threefold liberation.
We bow to you who possesses the three stainless eyes.
“You have banished this foul dark eon, you of well-restrained mind;
Exalted in compassion and love, you work for the welfare of beings.
Sage Exalted in Joy, your mind is tranquil;
Deliverer from Doubt, you delight in impartiality.
“Exalted in discipline and austerity, you act for the welfare of beings;
Having purified your own conduct, you have reached the culmination of conduct.
As the teacher of the four truths, you delight in emancipation;
Being liberated yourself, you liberate other beings as well.
“When Māra, powerful and persistent, arrived,
You defeated him with your insight, diligence, and love,
And then you attained the deathless supreme state.
Vanquisher of the Villainous Hordes, to you we pay homage!”
Monks, once the gods of the Brahma realm, led by the god Subrahman, had praised the Thus-Gone One with these verses,
15.9
they bowed to him with palms joined and stood to one side.
Then those sons of Māra who were on the side of righteousness approached the Thus-Gone One and covered him with giant jewel parasols and canopies. Then with palms joined, they praised the Thus-Gone One with these fitting verses:
“When we, the dreadful army of Māra, appeared before you,
In your vast power, you vanquished instantaneously our terrifying demonic horde,
Without rising, moving, or saying a word.
Sage who accomplishes all aims and is honored in the three worlds, we pay homage to you!
“The trillions of demonesses, numerous as the grains of sand in the river Ganges,
Could not move or sway you from the trunk of the sublime Bodhi tree;
They made trillions of offerings to you, as many as the grains of sand in the Ganges.
That is why, O Lord, seated here today at the foot of the Bodhi tree, you shine!
“While pursuing the conduct of supreme awakening,
You gave up your dearest wives, beloved sons, servants, gardens, towns,
Your cities, kingdoms, harems, and elephants,
Your heads, eyes, tongues, and feet—that is why you shine today!
“ ‘As a buddha, wearing the armor of concentration, miraculous power, and intelligence,
I myself will ferry across trillions of beings, swept away in the ocean of suffering,
In the ship of the sublime Dharma.’ This aspiration that you repeatedly voiced
Is now fulfilled, and you will liberate all beings!
“By the merit of praising you, Most Eminent of Speakers, who gave eyes to the world,
May we all, rejoicing, aspire to omniscience!
As we attain the sublime and peerless awakening that all buddhas praise,
May we defeat the demon hordes and awaken to omniscience!”
15.10
Monks, once the sons of Māra had praised the Thus-Gone One in this manner, with palms joined they bowed to the Thus-Gone One and stood to one side.
Then a god from the Heaven of Making Use of Others’ Emanations, surrounded and escorted by millions of gods, sprinkled the Thus-Gone One with golden lotuses from the Jambū River. Then, in his presence, they praised him with these verses:
“Your speech is gentle, calm, and forthright;
Free of the stains of darkness, you have realized the immortal state.
You deserve an unparalleled treatment in heaven and on earth;
Your intelligence is blazing—to you we bow!
“You bring joy and have abandoned afflictions and removed stains and blemishes;
With your joyous speech, you delight gods and humans!
With the light rays from your stainless and effulgent sublime body,
You triumph over this world, like the master of gods and humans!
“Vanquisher of Foes, you are knowledgeable in the conduct of others;
Beloved in the world of gods and humans, you overturn the thoughts of others;
Brilliant and Wise One, you illuminate the conduct of others.
Walk here on this path traversed by those with the ten powers!
“Having relinquished the ubiquitous clinging to existence, suffering falsely construed,
May you train gods and humans by training their minds.
May you course in the sky throughout the four directions like the moon,
And so be a sublime eye and a final refuge in these three worlds!
“Though beloved in the world of gods and humans, you do not gravitate toward sense objects;
Without indulging in desire, you take pleasure in virtue.
Proclaimed far and wide, you are without equal in the three worlds;
You are the protector, the refuge, the only resort of beings here!”
Monks, once the gods from the Heaven of Making Use of Others’ Emanations, led by the god in charge, had praised the Thus-Gone One, with palms joined they bowed to him and stood to one side.
15.11
Next the god Sunirmita, surrounded and escorted by an assembly of gods from the Heaven of Delighting in Emanations, covered the Thus-Gone One with ribbons of silk studded with various gemstones, and in his presence praised him with these verses:
“You are the light of Dharma that has arisen from relinquishing the three stains;
You destroy delusion, beliefs, and ignorance, and unfold brilliance and glory!
You place in the deathless state those who indulge in the wrong path!
You are an object of veneration here in the world, honored in heaven and earth!
“You are a physician skilled in healing, who dispenses the elixir of happiness.
Through the path of the previous victorious ones, you eradicate all illnesses of beings,
The lingering symptoms of false belief, affliction, and ignorance that has accumulated.
For this reason, you are the sublime physician and guide who courses upon the earth.
“Sunlight, moonlight, stars, firelight, and the luster of jewels,
The luster of Śakra and Brahmā—none of it shines in the presence of your splendor!
With your brilliance and illuminating insight, you are replete with radiance and glory!
To you whose extraordinary wisdom has directly manifested, we bow down!
“Consummate Guide, whose melodious speech relates what is true and untrue,
Whose mind is gentle, composed, with subdued sense faculties, and great calmness,
A teacher who can instruct the audiences of gods and humans in need of instruction,
To you, Sage of the Śākyas, bull among men, honored by gods and humans, we pay homage!
“In your intelligence, you hold wisdom instructions to be supreme and convey them throughout the three existences;
You remove the three stains and teach the threefold knowledge and the threefold liberation.
O Sage, you understand, according to intellect, who is a fitting vessel and who is not!
To you, unique in the trichiliocosm and honored in heavens and on earth, we pay homage!”
Monks, once the god Sunirmita and his entourage had praised the Thus-Gone One, with palms joined they bowed down to the Thus-Gone One and sat to one side.
Next the god Santuṣita, along with other gods from the Heaven of Joy, approached the Thus-Gone One as he sat at the seat of awakening and draped him with a vast patchwork of divine garments.
15.12
Then he praised the Thus-Gone One in his presence with these verses:
“When you were dwelling in the Heaven of Joy, you taught the Dharma liberally.
That teaching of yours continues unabated; even today the gods practice the Dharma.
We cannot get enough of looking at you, nor can we get enough of listening to the Dharma;
Ocean of Good Qualities, Lamp of the World, to you we bow with head and heart.
“When you departed from the Heaven of Joy, you exhausted all unfortunate states;
Then, while seated at the Bodhi tree, you quelled the afflictions of all beings.
To those for whom you discovered vast awakening and defeated Māra,
With your aspiration now fulfilled, quick, turn the wheel of Dharma in detail!
“There are many thousands of beings throughout the ten directions;
Let the Dharma be heard by those who seek it!
May you make haste to turn the wheel in detail!
May you liberate those thousands of creatures from existence!”
Monks, once the god Santuṣita and his entourage had praised the Thus-Gone One, with palms joined they bowed to him and sat to one side.
Then the gods from the Heaven Free from Strife, led by the god Suyāma, went to where the Thus-Gone One was seated. When they arrived, they worshiped the Thus-Gone One sitting at the seat of awakening with a plethora of flowers, incense, garlands, perfumes, and unguents, and in his presence they praised him with these fitting verses:
“Who is superior to you, you who are without equal
In discipline, absorption, and insight?
To you, Thus-Gone One, adept in inclinations and liberation,
We pay homage with our heads bowed!
“We witness at the seat of awakening
The magnificent displays performed by the gods.
How you are worshiped by gods and humans!
No one else deserves this at all!
“It is not in vain that you have come,
Enduring great hardship in the process.
Defeating the wicked one and his army
You attained unexcelled awakening.
15.13
“You have illuminated the ten directions,
Lit up the three worlds with the lamp of your insight.
It is you who will remove the world’s cataracts,
Bestowing upon it unexcelled eyes!
“Praising you for an eon
Will not even cover the pores of your body.
Ocean of Good Qualities, renowned throughout the world,
To you, Thus-Gone One, we pay homage with our heads bowed!”
Once the gods from the Heaven Free from Strife, led by the god Suyāma, had praised the Thus-Gone One, with palms joined they bowed to the Thus-Gone One and then stood to one side.
Then Śakra, lord of the gods, together with the gods from the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, paid homage to the Thus-Gone One with a display of flowers, incense, garlands, unguents, parasols, standards, and flags, then praised him with these verses:
“O Sage, you are unflappable, faultless, and ever stable, like Mount Meru!
With merit and splendor, your wisdom light is renowned throughout the ten directions!
O Sage, you previously paid homage to hundreds of thousands of buddhas,
And in their place, you have overcome the demon horde at the Bodhi tree!
“Source of discipline, learning, absorption, and insight, you are the banner of wisdom!
Destroyer of old age and death, you are the supreme physician, who gives eyes to the world!
O Sage, having cast off the three defilements and defects, your sense faculties are restrained, your mind composed!
To you, O Bull among Śākyas, Dharma King of Beings, we go for refuge!
“Your work to achieve awakening, exalted by the force of your perseverance, was infinite!
Your powers—the powers of your insight, skillful means, love, and great merit—
Were already infinite, O Blessed One, when you set out for the state of awakening!
Thus you have the strength of the ten powers today on the seat of awakening!
“Seeing the infinite hordes of armies, the gods became anxious and frightened,
Lest the King of Mendicants in repose at the seat of awakening should be troubled.
15.14
But the spirits did not frighten you, nor could they move your body;
Rather your hand struck hard, shaking them, and you defeated Māra’s army.
“Just as the previous ones attained sublime awakening on the lion throne,
You have followed in their footsteps; you awakened and became the same as them.
Identical in heart and mind, you have attained omniscience.
Thus, Sublime Being in the World, Self-Arisen One, you are a field of merit for beings.”
Monks, once Śakra, lord of the gods, together with the gods from the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, had praised the Thus-Gone One, with palms joined they bowed to the Thus-Gone One and sat to one side.
Next the Four Great Kings, together with the gods from the Heaven of the Four Great Kings, went to the place where the Thus-Gone One was. When they arrived, they paid homage to him. Hundreds of thousands of gods surrounded him, holding garlands and bouquets of abhimuktaka flowers, campaka flowers, jasmine flowers, nutmeg blossoms, and dhānuṣkāri flowers. Hundreds of thousands of celestial maidens surrounded him, singing divine songs. Thereafter they all praised the Thus-Gone One with these fitting verses:
“You whose speech is exceedingly melodious and whose cadence is captivating,
Who is soothing and clear minded like the moon,
Whose face is smiling and whose tongue is long,
To you, Supreme Enrapturing Sage, we pay homage!
“When your melodious speech,
A voice so sweet and beloved among gods and humans,
Resounds throughout all the worlds,
It surpasses the voice of all who can speak!
“It quells the afflictions of attachment, anger, and delusion;
It engenders pristine joy within nonhumans.
Upon hearing the Dharma with a stainless heart,
They all attain exalted liberation.
“You do not disparage the ignorant,
Nor are you ever drunk with conceit about your knowledge.
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You are neither pompous nor timid,
Like a firm mountain in the middle of a sea.
“People here have profited well
Since such a being has appeared in the world!
Like the goddess of wealth who is the giver of riches,
You will bestow your Dharma throughout the whole world!”
Once the gods of the Heaven of the Four Great Kings, led foremost by the Four Great Kings themselves, had praised the Thus-Gone One in repose at the seat of awakening, they joined palms and bowed to the Thus-Gone One and stood to one side.
Then the gods of the sky approached the Thus-Gone One. As a way of paying homage to the Perfect and Completely Awakened One, the gods adorned the whole sky with a net of jewels and small bells. They offered him jewel parasols, jewel banners, jewel and silk brocade wreaths, ornate jewel earrings, flower wreaths, and pearl strands of various types held by gods who revealed the upper half of their bodies, as well as crescent moons. Upon making these offerings, in his presence they praised him with these verses:
“Dwelling constantly in the sky, O Sage,
We clearly see all the activities of beings as they are.
Looking at your conduct, O Pristine Sentient Being,
We do not see confusion in your focused mind.
“The sky is filled with the guides of humans,
Bodhisattvas who have come to pay tribute.
Since in this way they are bodies of space,
No harm is caused to the celestial mansions.
“Even though rains of flowers,
Enough to fill a world system to the brim,
Descend onto your body from the sky,
They are like rivers flowing into an ocean.
“We see parasols, flowers, earrings, and garlands,
Wreaths of campaka flowers,
Necklaces, moons, and crescent moons.
The gods bestrew you with them, yet they are not mixed together.
“There is no room here for even a hair—
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The whole sky is filled with gods.
They pay homage to you, Supreme Biped,
But you are neither proud nor overwhelmed.”
Once the gods of the sky had so praised the Thus-Gone One in repose at the seat of awakening, they joined palms and bowed to him and stood to one side.
Then the terrestrial gods, in order to pay homage to the Thus-Gone One, cleansed and anointed the entire surface of the earth, sprinkled it with perfumed water, strewed it with flowers, covered it with canopies of various dyed fabrics, and then offered it to the Thus-Gone One. Thereafter they praised him with these verses:
“The trichiliocosm has become as indestructible and firm as a vajra.
You sat on the seat of awakening by virtue of your vajra-hard position when you said:
‘Even should my skin, flesh, bones, and marrow shrivel up right here,
I will not rise from this place without reaching awakening.’
“If you, Lion among Men, do not consecrate the entire trichiliocosm,
Then the whole thing will collapse
With the violent shock of the arrival of bodhisattvas,
The soles of whose feet will cause ten million realms to quake.
“An illustrious gift is gained by the terrestrial gods
Wherever the most sublime being happens to walk.
You illuminate darkness everywhere in the world;
Now that the trichiliocosm is a basis for worship, how much more so is your body?
“Should we take hold of all the lands of the trichiliocosm—
All the myriad hundreds of thousands of subterranean bodies of water,
And all the myriad livelihoods of beings in those places—
We would offer it all to you. May you use it according to your wishes!
“Wherever you shall sit, travel, or rest,
And wherever the hearers, who are the children of the Well-Gone Gautama,
Shall preach or listen to the Dharma,
We dedicate all the roots of virtue for the sake of awakening!”
Once the terrestrial gods had praised in this manner the Thus-Gone One sitting in repose at the seat of awakening, they bowed to him with palms joined and stood to one side.
15.17
Chapter 24
Trapuṣa and Bhallika
Monks, while the Thus-Gone One was being praised by the gods after he had reached perfect and complete awakening, he stared at the king of trees without blinking and without getting out of his cross-legged position. Seven days passed in this way while he was at the foot of the Bodhi tree experiencing bliss from the sustenance of concentration and joy.
Then, once the seven days had passed, the gods from the desire realm approached the Thus-Gone One, carrying tens of thousands of vases containing scented water. The gods from the form realm also approached the Thus-Gone One, carrying tens of thousands of vases containing scented water. When they arrived, they bathed the Bodhi tree and the Thus-Gone One with the scented water. Innumerable gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, demigods, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas anointed their own bodies with the scented water that had come into contact with the body of the Thus-Gone One. This engendered among them the intention set on unexcelled, perfect, and complete awakening. Even after the gods and the others had returned to their respective realms, they did not part from the scented water and desired no other scent. Through the joy and the supreme joy that are born from respectfully taking to heart the Thus-Gone One, they became irreversible from unexcelled, perfect, and complete awakening.
Monks, then a god named Samantakusuma, who had joined in that very audience, bowed down to the feet of the Thus-Gone One, and with palms joined said to him, “What, O Blessed One, is the name of the absorption in which the Thus-Gone One remained for seven days without moving from the cross-legged position?”
Monks, thus addressed, the Thus-Gone One answered the god, “Array of the food of joy, O divine son, is the name of the meditative absorption in which the Thus-Gone One remained for seven days without moving from the cross-legged position.”
15.18
Monks, the god Samantakusuma then praised the Thus-Gone One with these verses:
“Your feet are covered with wheels
And shine with the brilliance of stainless, thousand-petaled lotuses.
The crowns of gods brush your feet;
To your feet, replete with splendor, I bow down!”
When he bowed to the feet of the Well-Gone One,
The god became delighted.
He said this, which was soothing to gods and humans,
And removed their doubt:
“You give joy to the Śākya clan;
You bring an end to attachment, anger, and delusion.
You bring the culmination of all wishes;
Please dispel the doubts of gods and humans.
“You have gained immeasurable omniscience,
A buddha with the ten powers.
So, Victorious One, why do you remain at the center of the earth
In the cross-legged pose for seven days?
“What are you staring at for seven days,
With your eyes that are like blooming hundred-petaled lotuses
As you gaze, O Lion among Men,
With your unblinking and pristine eyes?
“Is it your aspiration
That makes you remain cross-legged
For seven days at the king of trees?
Or is it common to all the lions of speech?
“With teeth so even and pure,
And with the supremely fragrant breath of one with the ten powers,
Please speak words of unadulterated truth,
And thus bring joy to gods and humans!”
The Moon-Faced One replied:
“Listen, divine son, to what I say!
I will briefly offer
A response to these questions.
“Just as a king does not leave the place
Where he was consecrated by his kinfolk
For a duration of seven days,
Since that is the duty of kings,
“So also victorious ones, even with the ten powers,
When consecrated, their aspirations fulfilled,
Remain in the cross-legged position
At the center of the earth for seven days.
“Just as a warrior stares
At vanquished enemy troops,
Buddhas too, at the seat of awakening,
Stare at the afflictions, now destroyed.
“Attachment and anger, born from delusion,
Are like the foes of beings.
Like thieves with their stolen goods,
I have destroyed them here.
15.19
“Here I destroyed manifold forms of pride
And arrogance too, so that they exist no more.
I relinquished all defilements,
And the highest wisdom has dawned in me.
“Here the ignorance that drives the thirst for existence
And induces inappropriate actions—
A network of roots including latent formations—
Was burned up by the intense fire of wisdom.
“Here the belief in ‘I’ and ‘mine’
And its tangle of faults,
With roots that extend far, knotted tight with obscurations,
Has been severed by the blade of wisdom.
“Here those enduring deceptions of mine
Have at long last ended in destruction.
The aggregates, along with the clinging to them,
I have discerned through my wisdom.
“The dualistic delusions, erroneous fixations,
Which eventually land one in hell,
I have removed here
So that they are certain never to arise again.
“Here the forest of obscurations
Has been burned away by the fire of my roots of virtue.
I have utterly burned up
The fourfold misconception, too.
“The harmful garland of thoughts
Strung on the thread of conceptions,
I have utterly reversed
With the rosaries of the branches of awakening.
“The sixty-five travails,
The thirty impure delusions,
And the forty misdeeds
I eliminated here at the center of the earth.
“The sixteen uncontrolled things,
The eighteen elements,
And the twenty-five pains
I eliminated while sitting at the center of the earth.
“The twenty streams of passion
And the twenty-eight fears of beings
I utterly transcended
Through the force and commitment of my perseverance.
“Likewise five hundred roars of buddhas
I perfectly comprehended here.
Phenomena, one hundred thousand strong,
I also perfectly comprehended.
“Here all the ninety-eight latent formations,
Down to the bottom of their roots
And all their sprouting shoots,
Were burned up by the fire of my wisdom.
“The reservoir of doubt and uncertainty,
Filled with the waters of views
From the river of craving—the fount of nonvirtue—
Is dried up by the sun of my wisdom.
“When I rid myself of pretense and guile,
Here I cut down the forest of afflictions
That is teeming with deception, stinginess, hatred, and jealousy,
15.20
And burned it up with the fire of my discipline.
“Here, through the medicine of wisdom most sublime,
I purged myself of the root of conflict
That induces the nausea of the lower realms—
Namely, disparaging remarks made toward noble ones.
“Here I reached the end of all crying,
Wailing, anguish, and lamentation,
Once I attained
The absorption and qualities born of wisdom.
“Here I triumphed over all the streams of tormenting anguish,
With their tributaries and bends
Of conceit and negligence,
Once I attained the absorption in harmony with truth.
“Here I cut down with the ax of mindfulness
The entire dense jungle of afflictions,
Teeming with the trees of existence and overgrown with the roots of concepts,
And burned it up with the fire of my wisdom.
“Just as Śakra did to the lord of the demigods,
Here I destroyed with the sword of wisdom
The deceptive one who, self-obsessed,
Was powerful enough to rule over the three realms.
“Here at the center of the earth,
I cut through the entire snare of thirty-six courses of action
With the powerful sword of insight,
Then burned it up with the fire of wisdom.
“Here with the plowshare of trenchant insight,
I uprooted all the root afflictions
Along with their latent formations,
Which yield suffering and anguish.
“Here I cleansed the eye of wisdom,
Naturally pure in all beings;
With the great balm of insight,
I removed the thick cataract of delusion.
“Here, with the sunlight of mindfulness and tranquility,
I dried up the ocean of existence,
An expanse of craving churned up
By the intoxicated crocodiles of the four physical elements.
“Here I extinguished, with the cool water of liberation,
The great fire of lust,
With its billowing smoke of thought
Raging through the timber of objects.
“Here, with the gusts of fierce determination,
I drove away and dispersed
The cloud of latent formations,
With its lightning of proclivities and its thunder of concepts.
“Here I attained the absorption of pristine mindfulness
And struck down with a strong blow of the sword of knowledge
The enemies of conceptual mind and actions,
And the hostile way they reinforce existence.
“Here, having acquired love, I vanquished
The armies of persistent demon hordes
With disfigured shapes, bearing the highest crests
On chariots mighty with elephants and horses.
15.21
“Here I fastened down
The horse of the six sense fields,
Engorged with the five sense objects and ever careless with intoxication,
Once I attained the absorption of repulsiveness.
“Here I reached the end
Of infatuation and aggression,
The travails of conflicts and disputes,
Once I attained the absorption of wishlessness.
“Here I exhausted all conceits,
Thoughts, and concepts,
Rooted inside of me and out,
Once I attained the absorption of emptiness.
“Here I relinquished, without exception,
All the pleasures of gods and humans,
Up to the peak of existence,
Once I attained the absorption of signlessness.
“Here, once I attained the threefold liberation,
I completely released
All the fetters of existence
Through the power of my knowledge.
“Here, through witnessing causality,
I vanquished the three causal conceptions:
Conceptions of permanence and impermanence,
Self and lack of self, pleasure and pain.
“Here, at the trunk of the king of trees,
I severed with the blow of impermanence
The unfoldings of different karmas,
All rooted in the six sense fields.
“Here, with the sun of wisdom,
I dispelled the fog of delusion, debased with impurities,
Thick with views of arrogance and anger,
Thus illuminating what was darkened for so long.
“Here, with the boat of tenacity,
I crossed the great ocean of cyclic existence
With its crocodiles of passion and desire,
Its waves of craving, and its grasping at wrong views.
“Here I awakened to the realization
That scorches desire, anger, delusion,
And mental concepts,
Like grasshoppers fallen into a forest fire.
“Oppressed for so long—
For billions of countless eons—
On the road of cyclic existence,
Here I am revived, my torment now quelled.
“Here I have realized the nectar,
Undiscovered by any other exponent,
Which brings an end to old age, death, anguish, and pain
For the benefit of the world.
“Here I have reached the city of fearlessness,
Where suffering born of craving by means of sensory experience,
And suffering based on the aggregates,
Will arise no more.
15.22
“Here I have realized
The great enemies within, in all their multitudes.
Having bound and burned them up,
I have ensured that they can no longer appear.
“Here I have realized the nectar,
For the sake of which
I gave up my own flesh, my eyes, and many precious jewels
For billions of eons.
“Here I understood what was realized
By innumerable victorious ones in the past,
About which sweet and pleasing words
Are exclaimed throughout the world.
“Here I realized
The dependently arisen world to be empty,
Reoccurring in each moment of cognition
Like a mirage, or a city of gandharvas.
“Here I have purified the eye most sublime
By which I see all worlds,
Like fruit placed
In the palm of the hand.
“Here I recollected my former lives.
I attained the threefold knowledge,
Then remembered immeasurable myriad eons,
As if waking from sleep.
“What sets the errant gods and humans aflame
Are their misconceptions.
Yet here I drank the elixir of nectar,
Truly free of error.
“Here, after triumphing through the power of love,
I drank the elixir of nectar,
For the sake of which
Those with the ten powers had cultivated love for all beings.
“Here, having triumphed through the power of compassion,
I drank the elixir of nectar,
For the sake of which
Those with the ten powers cultivated compassion for all beings.
“Here, having triumphed through the power of joy,
I drank the elixir of nectar,
For the sake of which
Those with the ten powers cultivated joy for all beings.
“Here, having triumphed through the power of impartiality,
I drank the elixir of nectar,
For the sake of which
Those with the ten powers cultivated impartiality for myriad eons.
“Here I drank the elixir of nectar
That has been drunk by those with the ten powers,
The victorious lions of yore,
More numerous than the sand in the river Ganges.
“The words that I said
Before Māra and his army were:
‘I will not get out of the cross-legged position
Until I bring an end to old age and death.’
15.23
“I destroyed ignorance
With blazing, vajra-hard wisdom,
And attained the state of the ten powers.
That is why I now abandon the cross-legged posture.
“I attained the level of a worthy one,
Exhausted all of my defilements,
And destroyed the demon horde.
That is why I now get out of the cross-legged posture.
“Here I rent asunder
The closed doors of the five obstructions
And cut through the vines of craving.
Now I get out of the cross-legged posture.”
Then this moon among men
Rose slowly from his seat,
Accepted the ceremonial anointment,
And took his seat on a lion throne.
The assemblies of gods, using jewel pitchers
Filled with differently scented waters,
Washed the friend of the world,
Who reached the culmination of qualities and the ten powers.
Billions of gods,
Along with myriad goddesses,
Performed an immeasurable worship service,
With thousands of musical instruments all around.
Divine sons, it is thus
Reasonable, logical, and well grounded
Why victorious ones do not leave their cross-legged position
At the center of the earth for seven days.
Monks, the perfect and completely awakened Thus-Gone One thus sat for the first seven days on that very seat, thinking, “Here I have reached unexcelled, perfect, and complete awakening. Here I have brought an end to the sufferings of beginningless birth, old age, and death.” During the second week, the Thus-Gone One wandered far and wide throughout the entire trichiliocosm. During the third week, the Thus-Gone One gazed at the seat of awakening without blinking and thought, “Here I awakened to unsurpassable, perfect and complete buddhahood, bringing an end to the sufferings of beginningless birth, old age, and death.” Then, during the fourth week, the Thus-Gone One took a walk, but not as far, this time traveling from the eastern ocean to the western ocean.
Linked texts (1)
- འཕགས་པ་རྒྱ་ཆེར་རོལ་པ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ — Classical Tibetan