Suryagarbha 1: Bam po 1

Chapter One

Protection of the Sacred Dharma

Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was residing in the Veṇuvana at the Kalandakanivāpa near Rājagṛha, surrounded and attended by an innumerable, limitless, and indescribable number of bodhisattva great beings who had arrived from countless other buddha realms of the ten directions. He was also surrounded and attended by an innumerable, limitless, and indescribable number of great hearers who had gathered there from different buddha realms of the ten directions. In the same way, an innumerable, limitless, and indescribable number of other beings who had arrived there from the various buddha realms of the ten directions—Śakra, Lord Brahmā, the rulers of the gods, the rulers of the nāgas, the rulers of the yakṣas, the rulers of the gandharvas, the rulers of the asuras, the rulers of the garuḍas, the rulers of the kinnaras, and the rulers of the mahoragas—filled all the pathways on the ground and in the sky throughout the entire buddha realm of Sahā. There also arrived an innumerable and limitless number of different gods from the desire and form realms, of nāgas, yakṣas, and rākṣasas, and of asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas. Sitting in silence, they looked up at the Blessed One as he revealed how bodhisattva conduct quickly brings perfection and manifests like space and as he gave teachings on the mindfulness of breathing, which is the gateway to immortality, and the sublime states.

They filled all the pathways on the ground and in the sky throughout the entire buddha realm of Sahā.

Still not satisfied by the teachings of the Blessed One’s Dharma rain, they remained with their palms joined together, staring at the Blessed One. They beheld him like sick persons seeing the doctor, or like beings engulfed in darkness seeing a source of light, or like beings carried off by a river looking at the riverbank, or like afflicted beings looking at a refuge from their suffering. In that way, filling all the pathways on the ground and in the sky throughout the entire buddha realm of Sahā, the bodhisattva great beings and the hearers as well as Lord Śakra and everyone else up to the lords of the mahoragas, the different gods from the desire and form realms, and the various humans and nonhuman beings were sitting silently with their palms joined together, looking at the Blessed One, the righteous King of the Dharma.

Present at that time was a mahābrahmā named Glorious Blazing Lotus. He had generated roots of virtue under many buddhas and would no longer regress on the path to unsurpassed and perfect awakening. He had also thoroughly trained in love by observing phenomena. This mahābrahmā Glorious Blazing Lotus then stood up, draped his shawl over one shoulder, and knelt on his right knee. Bowing down with his palms joined together in the direction of the Blessed One, with these verses he supplicated him to expound the Dharma:

“You have reached far and possess a swift course.
Dedicated to exhaustion, you are immutable and luminous.
You generate all forms of realization, your speech is utterly peaceful,
And you are an expert in the ways of the stars.

“You master the mindfulness of breathing,
You are endowed with the four sublime states,
And you cause sentient beings to abandon the destinies of rebirth
In a way that purifies the three realms.

“You possess the knowledge of the single mode,
You eliminate the doubts of tens of thousands of gods and humans,
You have attained goodness, you have crossed the flood,
And you are endowed with the swift knowledge that leads to happiness.

“Your awakened conduct and buddha qualities are manifest,
And you have conquered the entirety of the suffering of those beings with agitated minds
Who are blind, engulfed in darkness,
And carried away by the river of desire.

“Lord of humankind, you manifest compassion for those who have not studied
And for those who are bereft of virtue and separated from skilled teachers.
Please let us hear about the Dharma of sameness;
Explain how to pass beyond birth and sever saṃsāra!

“Great sage, you have crossed the river of birth; please speak with compassion!
Due to their distorted minds, beings will wander for many lifetimes
On those paths that are webs of craving and contain the roots of afflictions;
Please sever them all!

“Victor, please tell us about the defects of craving,
So that our suffering is pacified along with our six senses and our minds.
Great sage, in order for beings to be free from craving and its causes
And from the abundance of their torments,

“Please expound to us, out of your affection,
The Dharma that dries up the river of craving,
Swiftly leads to happiness and immortality,
And eliminates craving!”

The Blessed One replied to the mahābrahmā Glorious Blazing Lotus:

“Those who have practiced the perfections in the past
And will practice them in the future
Should never delight
In the teachings of the hearers.

“There is no other downfall besides that,
To corrupt the teaching of the buddhas.
Yet the mind engages repeatedly,
Again and again, in such duality.

“By abandoning the three types of teachings—
Those associated with aggression,
The teaching of the hearers, and conditioned awakening²¹—
One will perfect the qualities of the buddhas.

“Those beings, born in one of the four ways,
Who have arrived in this buddha realm
Are all free from indulging in desire,
And all of them have attained insight into repulsiveness.

“The wise beings present here

Who follow the path to supreme awakening,
Who exert themselves and are well trained
In retention and patience,

“Whose six sense doors are restrained,
And who have mastered their senses
By applying mindfulness cross-legged
Will be the future thus-gone ones.

“They will also perfect the seven riches.
If I explain the way of repulsiveness here,
Then the basis for all, the constant that binds beings,
Will be severed.

“I have relinquished miserliness regarding the Dharma,
Yet, in order to protect beings, I have not explained this.
Still, for the sake of awakening,
Bodhisattvas will never give up this attitude.

“The buddhas of the ten directions
Have subsisted on this earth and blessed it
As they declared,
‘This Dharma must remain for a long time!’

“Likewise, you should frolic in this realm
And revel in the acceptances.
With restraint you should also
Remain here for a long time!

“I shall expound the vehicle of the hearers;
I shall explain that beings must be liberated from attachment
And that the aggregates, the elements,
And the sense sources are empty.

“I shall expound the thirteen aspects of tranquility
As well as special insight,
So that sentient beings bound by the tight fetters of desire
May become pure.

“I shall explain the four truths of the hearers
Out of affection for sentient beings,
To ensure that the Dharma teachings
Endure forever and remain undefiled.

“The hearers are tamed by the truths;
I shall free them from the ocean of saṃsāra.
Only at a later point shall I teach you
All the practices of the bodhisattvas.”

At that moment, all the beings present throughout the entire buddha realm of Sahā thought, “Alas, the Thus-Gone One will now give a hearers’ discourse. He will not give a discourse related to the Great Vehicle!”

All the bodhisattvas thought to themselves,

“O, the Thus-Gone One wishes us to withdraw into meditative seclusion, to ensure that we subsist on the earth in this buddha realm; to ensure that the way of the Dharma remains for a long time into the future; to ensure that the lineage of the Three Jewels remains uninterrupted in this buddha realm; to ensure that in the future the gods, nāgas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans, and nonhumans who lack faith generate faith; to ensure that those among them who have faith develop it further and further; to ensure that those beings who strive for the Dharma, who abide by the Dharma, who possess a wealth of qualities, and who are endowed with the scent of discipline gain happiness, remain free from harm, and perfect the happiness of emancipation; to ensure that, by all means, this buddha realm becomes saturated with qualities; to ensure that all the other buddha realms of the ten directions are also worthy of such a saturation; and to ensure that the masters receive reverence and respect. O, we must now fulfill the wish of the Thus-Gone One! We must ensure that we all sit cross-legged upon this earth and abide by our various individual acceptances, dhāraṇīs, absorptions, and practices replete with the most excellent aspects!”

Then all the bodhisattva great beings who had reached emancipation over the course of a hundred eons, who had reached the ten levels, who abided by the acceptance of the unborn nature of phenomena, who were endowed with the eighteen unique qualities of the buddhas and were skilled in the wisdom that does not depend upon anything else, and who had reached fearlessness sat cross-legged upon the earth, and thus they settled within their individual acceptances,

dhāraṇīs, and absorptions replete with the most excellent aspects.

At that moment, in accordance with the strength of that merit and through the power of that concordant cause, light started to radiate from the bodies of those great bodhisattvas who were settled in equipoise and from the bodies of those great bodhisattvas who were absorbed in concentration. Those lights were like the light of lamps. Some of those lights were equal to the light emitted by shooting stars; some were equal to the light emitted by Śakra, some were equal to the light emitted by Brahmā, the lord of the Sahā world, and some were equal to the light emitted by the moon. Some were equal to the light emitted by the sun, some were equal to the light emitted by two suns, some were equal to the light emitted by three suns, some were equal to the light emitted by five suns, and some were equal to the light emitted by a thousand suns. From the bodies of some of those bodhisattvas radiated light equal to the light emitted by a trillion suns. This far-reaching, brilliant light, which had never been seen or heard of before anywhere in this entire buddha realm of Sahā, pervaded the world. From their bodies radiated a light that brought the most supreme form of bliss to the bodies and minds of sentient beings and provided delight and satisfaction. This light completely pacified all diseases, completely pacified all unwholesome views, completely pacified all kinds of physical depravity, completely pacified all types of hunger and thirst, completely pacified all desires, and completely pacified all forms of aggression, fear, affliction, and bondage. In this buddha realm, this light completely pacified all the fears associated with the suffering experienced in the prison of the three realms.

At that time, all those sentient beings—who were inclined toward the Buddha and the Dharma and skilled in delighting in the qualities of the Saṅgha—were seated in this buddha realm.

At the same time, this buddha realm became visible, in a radiant, clear, and brilliant manner, from as many buddha realms in the ten directions as there are grains of sand in the Ganges—whether those realms were empty of buddhas or not, whether they were pure or impure. This buddha realm had the radiance, clarity, and brilliance of a hundred thousand moons rising in the darkness of the night. In that way, this buddha realm of Sahā appeared in the most radiant, clear, and brilliant manner in buddha realms of the ten directions as numerous as the grains of sand in the Ganges—whether those realms were empty of buddhas or not, whether they were pure or impure.

Then, through the power of the Buddha, all bodhisattva great beings present in those different buddha realms who had reached emancipation over the course of a hundred eons, who were endowed with the eighteen unique qualities of the buddhas and skilled in the wisdom that does not depend on anything else, and who had reached fearlessness departed from those places, entered this buddha realm in a single instant of thought, and sat cross-legged upon the earth in their respective ways of abiding. The exact same lights radiated from the bodies of each of those beings who exerted themselves in virtuous endeavors, who had developed the power of virtue, and who were endowed with the causes and conditions of fearlessness.

Surrounded by his saṅgha of monks, the Blessed One then said to the great hearers, “Look at the power of the domain of concentration! Having used their blessings to overpower the domains of all the māras and nāgas, all the thus-gone ones of the past engaged with this entire buddha realm of Sahā to ensure that the way of the Dharma and the lineage of the Three Jewels remain uninterrupted and illuminated here.

Similarly, a countless and limitless number of bodhisattva great beings—as numerous as the grains of sand in the Ganges—who revel in the domains of concentration and higher perception are now engaging with this great earth in this buddha realm of Sahā to ensure that the Dharma way remains for a long time and is illuminated; to ensure that the gods, nāgas, yakṣas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans, and nonhumans who lack faith develop faith; to ensure that those among them who have faith develop it further and further; to ensure that sentient beings who strive for the Dharma, abide by the Dharma, possess a wealth of qualities, and have developed control over their minds experience happiness and remain free from harm; to ensure that my teachings do not vanish; and to perfect the happiness of emancipation. The bodhisattva great beings are thus reveling in the domains of concentration to bless those goals. In the places where these bodhisattva great beings revel in the domains of concentration, sentient beings who are afraid of saṃsāra’s suffering and wish for nirvāṇa will, now and after I pass away in the future, order the construction of stūpas and build buddha shrines, buddha statues, or repositories for the Dharma. Alternatively, in those places they will write down my teachings in books and carry this Dharma body of mine. In those places they will also engage in different forms of worship and offer a variety of precious substances such as gold, silver, beryl, crystals,

red pearls, emeralds, white corals, jewels, pearls, gemstones, conch shells, moonstones, corals, silken clothes, bells, silk brocades, high-quality cotton fabrics, fine cloths from Vārāṇasī, padded cushions, carpets, parasols, banners, flags, Dharma robes, necklaces, bracelets, perfumes, flowers, incense, and music, and they will express intense veneration, respect, devotion, and reverence.”

At that moment, the Blessed One joined his palms and his ten fingers together and continued: “I will then accept their offerings. In accordance with their inclinations, all those sentient beings will practice the three vehicles in order to reach the level of nonregression. In some lands, they will arrange temples, dwelling places, walking paths, hermitages, parks, and monastic compounds. Alternatively, they will perform or cause others to perform various acts of worship and veneration toward the followers of the hearers’ Dharma by offering Dharma robes, alms, bedding, seats, medicine, and tools. In those temples, walking paths, and hermitages, they will respectfully listen to the Dharma, engage in exegetical discussions about it, and read the scriptures. In those temples, walking paths, and other such places, they will also offer various types of gifts such as offerings stemming from the fields, households, and monastic compounds as well as male and female servants, elephants, horses, camels, oxen, buffaloes, donkeys, and other types of cattle and a variety of containers.

They will dedicate various bedding and seat articles for the use of my hearers who abide by the Dharma, so that they may attain mental ornaments, mental tools, an assembly of practices, and the supreme happiness of emancipation. They will, now and in the future, offer various types of gifts to benefit my teachings. I will rejoice in and accept all those meritorious deeds manifested through the generosity of those sentient beings, to ensure that they are certain to experience a great result. All those beings will then avoid falling into error and will certainly abandon the three lower realms. Then, in accordance with their inclinations, they will reach the level of nonregression by practicing the three vehicles. As long as they continue in cyclic existence, those beings will never be separated from the two types of enjoyments—the enjoyment of the Dharma and material enjoyment.

“Now and in the future, whether in mountains, in jungles, under great trees, in the wilderness, or in the woods, there will be monks, nuns, and male and female lay practitioners who strive for liberation, abide by the Dharma, speak few words, observe silence, withdraw into meditative seclusion, engage in proper mental activity, and act in wholesome ways. There will also be gods, nāgas, and yakṣas. For the sake of discipline, monks, look at the power of the domain of concentration! Having overpowered the domains of all the māras and nāgas, the thus-gone ones of the past who resided, thrived, and lived well engaged with this buddha realm of Sahā to ensure that the way of the Dharma remains for a long time

and that the lineage of the Three Jewels remains uninterrupted. Now, a countless and limitless number of bodhisattva great beings have arrived in my buddha realm from other buddha realms of the ten directions as numerous as the grains of sand in the Ganges in order to ask questions, behold me, pay homage to me, worship me, honor me, and hear about the practices of the bodhisattvas who abide by the Dharma and who are endowed with the eye of space and the four correct knowledges. Since they are close to my heart, those bodhisattva great beings are sitting on this earth in states of concentration in order to ensure that the way of the Dharma remains for a long time and that the lineage of the Three Jewels remains uninterrupted; they are engaging with this buddha realm in order to subjugate the domains of the māras out of affection for those sentient beings who are afraid of cyclic existence and exert themselves in generosity.

“Now and in the future, as long as my teaching and the sacred Dharma, or even a reflection of the sacred Dharma, remain, should immoral monks who engage in negative actions make use of things that have been dedicated to monks who abide by the Dharma—even just a single leaf, fruit, or flower coming from any house, monastic compound, or field or, likewise, any male or female servant—such fools will encounter misfortune and trouble.

“They will experience four types of harm. What are the four? (1) Great infamy related to them will spread in the ten directions. (2) They will soon be separated from their dear and beloved friends, relatives, kin, preceptors, teachers, and attendants. (3) They will suffer from severe and long-lasting diseases.

(4) Their Dharma robes and alms bowls will be taken away from them by the five great dangers. What are the five? They are (1) kings, (2) thieves, (3) fire, (4) water, and (5) the hostile confiscation of one’s property.

In their next lives, four undesirable consequences will quickly manifest for such beings. What are the four? (1) After their bodies disintegrate, they will be born within the terrible great hells. (2) When, in a rare combination of circumstances and after a long time has passed, they finally pass away and leave the hell realms, they will be born in a dry and barren wilderness as blind animals or pretas without arms and legs, and for many hundreds of thousands of years they will experience the suffering of the intense torments caused by hunger and thirst. (3) When, in a rare combination of circumstances and after a long time has passed, they then pass away and transmigrate, they will be born for many hundreds of thousands of years as blind poisonous snakes that feed on dust. (4) When, in a rare combination of circumstances and after a long time has passed, they finally pass away and are born among humans, they will achieve the human condition within empty buddha realms ripe with the five degenerations. They will be stupid and ugly, their eyes, arms, and legs will be impaired, and they will crave dog food and feed on excrement. They will sleep in filthy swamps and rubbish heaps and spend their lives in the wilderness, in barren lands, and on highways. Then, after they pass away, they will again be born within the hell realms.

“Why will they experience such severe undesirable consequences? Because those monks who engage in negative actions steal and use for their own personal enjoyment the houses, fields, monastic compounds, male and female servants, and cattle that have been dedicated to those who abide by the Dharma.

By doing so, those monks who engage in negative actions are exerting themselves to eliminate, destroy, interrupt, and weaken the amazing and marvelous Dharma way of all the blessed buddhas who have appeared. Similarly, they put effort into eliminating, destroying, interrupting, and weakening the lineage of the Three Jewels. Why is it so? Because there are many on the side of virtue and because the Dharma way, as well as the lineage of the Three Jewels, blossoms due to the side of virtue. This is the reason why such severe ripening of undesirable circumstances will manifest to them.”

At that moment, the elder Gayākāśyapa started to shed tears and said, “Respected Blessed One, it would be permissible to remain unchanged even after achieving a human birth, but that is not the case if one engages in evil behavior for the sake of food and drink after becoming a renunciate!”

The Blessed One replied, “Thus it is, Mahāgayākāśyapa! Just as you have said, it would be better for beings to remain in the hell realms and exhaust their previous actions than for them to misbehave like that. Yet, there are some fools who have obtained a human birth, which is so hard to find, and received the vows, which are also so hard to obtain, pertaining to going forth and becoming fully ordained monks under the well-spoken Dharma and Vinaya. These are amazing and marvelous conditions that lead to the exhaustion of all suffering and bring an end to all defilements, yet those fools will entertain thoughts about nonvirtuous practices that will instead cause them to be disrespected and go without food and drink.

Due to the strength of their erudition or due to the influence of remaining in households, those monks who engage in negative actions will then steal and misappropriate the resources and possessions—houses, fields, monastic compounds, parks, male and female servants, and cattle—that have otherwise been dedicated to support the side of virtue by faithful members of the kṣatriya class, the brāhmaṇa class, the vaiśya class, and the śūdra class who have all donated this to be used by monks that abide by the Dharma and possess a wealth of qualities. Such will be the evil behavior of those fools.”

At this point King Bimbisāra asked the Blessed One, “Respected Blessed One, if such undesirable consequences are experienced by ordained monks who steal and use for themselves the resources and possessions that have been dedicated to monks who abide by the Dharma and possess a wealth of qualities, what analogy would illustrate the mass of nonvirtue generated by householders who steal and use for themselves the resources and possessions that have been dedicated to monks who abide by the Dharma?”

The Blessed One replied, “Tell me, Your Majesty, what is the point of your question?”

“Respected Blessed One, I²² donate resources and possessions to those monks who abide by the Dharma and who possess a wealth of qualities—I do not steal them. However, in the future, there will be members of the kṣatriya class, the brāhmaṇa class, the vaiśya class, and the śūdra class who lack faith and are not afraid of the afterlife. They will steal and use for themselves the resources and possessions that have been dedicated to monks who abide by the Dharma and possess a wealth of qualities. What troubles will they experience?”

“Your Majesty,” replied the Blessed One,

“If I were to describe the misfortunes that will be experienced by those oxen-like beings—whether from the kṣatriya class, the brāhmaṇa class, the vaiśya class, or the śūdra class—who steal and use for themselves the resources and possessions that have been dedicated to those who abide by the Dharma and possess a wealth of qualities, they would reject and disbelieve my words whenever they have the opportunity to hear my teachings. Those beings will experience two types of harm stemming from great terrors that cause ruin.”

King Bimbisāra requested the Blessed One a second time, “Blessed One, please instruct us! Well-Gone One, please instruct us! Respected Blessed One, there will be members of respectable family lineages—from members of the kṣatriya class to śūdras—who are afraid of the afterlife and genuinely uphold and consider the excellent teachings of the Blessed One’s well-spoken Dharma and Vinaya. Blessed One, upon hearing the teachings that stem from the activity of your speech, they will, with utmost strength and diligence, consider and protect the well-spoken teachings of the Victor. They will worship, look after, and protect those who correctly follow these teachings, who abide by the Dharma, and who possess a wealth of qualities. They will not steal from householders or from those who have gone forth. However, respected Blessed One, what troubles will be experienced by those householders who steal and use for themselves the resources and possessions of those who abide by the Dharma?”

“Your Majesty,” replied the Blessed One, “If I were to describe the misfortunes that will be experienced in the future by those oxen-like beings—

from members of the kṣatriya class to śūdras—who steal and use for themselves the resources and possessions that have been dedicated to those who abide by the Dharma and possess a wealth of qualities, they would reject and disbelieve my words whenever they have the opportunity to hear my teachings. Those beings will experience two types of harm stemming from great terrors that cause ruin.”

King Bimbisāra spoke a third time to the Blessed One: “Blessed One, please instruct us! Well-Gone One, please instruct us! Respected Blessed One, there will be members of respectable family lineages—from members of the kṣatriya class to śūdras—who are afraid of the afterlife and genuinely uphold and consider the excellent teachings of the Blessed One’s Dharma and Vinaya. Having heard the teachings that stem from the activity of the Blessed One’s speech, they will, with utmost strength and diligence, consider the well-spoken teachings of the Victor, and they will worship, look after, and protect those who correctly follow these teachings, abide by the Dharma, and possess a wealth of qualities. They will not steal from householders or from those who have gone forth, and they will not steal the resources and possessions of those who abide by the Dharma.”

The Blessed One exclaimed, “Excellent, Your Majesty, excellent! Your eloquence is excellent! Your Majesty, in the future, there will be members of the kṣatriya class, the brāhmaṇa class, the vaiśya class, and the śūdra class who steal and rob the offerings related to the houses, fields, monastic compounds, and parks as well as the male and female servants, the bedding,