འཕགས་པ་ཤན་ཏ་རྒྱས་པ་ཆན་པའ་སྡ་ཉ་མའ་སྙང་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བའ་མད 11
The Quintessence of the Sun 11
- Language
- English
11.2
And you are worthy to be worshiped by the humans.
“Most glorious of all beings,
Please quickly liberate the nāgas
And all those groups of gods, nāgas, and yakṣas
Who attend upon you!”
With a wish to induce strong faith in the Three Jewels, the sage Jyotīrasa then uttered these appropriate and sweet-sounding words to all those groups of nāgas:
“I do not possess such qualities!
I am not the sage Uṣṭra.
I do not have the power
To liberate you from this place.
“You should look for the other sage,
Who for many eons
Has undergone austerities and hardships.
He will be able to liberate you.
“That sage has always been diligent and practiced generosity.
He is wise and has benefited sentient beings
Through offerings of elephants, horses,
Chariots, sons, wives, and wealth.
“In the past, he has often given away
His limbs, head, ears, eyes, skin, blood,
Sons, male and female servants,
Food, beverages, bedding, and meals.
“He will liberate you through his love and compassion.
He is unmatched in the three realms,
And he revels in concentration.
That sage is named Uṣṭra.
“He is loving and has given rise to the mind set on awakening.
He has mastered the Vedas⁶² in the past,
And he has liberated many sentient beings
Tormented by suffering.
“For the sake of even a single being,
He has patiently endured the destinies
Of hell beings and pretas during eons in past lives.
He is a buddha who has appeared in the world.
“The one who has liberated all those tormented beings
From their sufferings is Uṣṭra.
Due to his firm diligence and compassion,
When Uṣṭra was born within saṃsāra
“To benefit sentient beings,
He was born as a prince, the son of Śuddhodana,
In the family of Ikṣvāku.
As soon as he was born,
“Happiness was felt in the three realms,
The world became splendorous,
And beings were filled with happiness.
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All the kings of the gods, nāgas, bhūtas, and yakṣas
“Arrived from all directions to worship the prince.
He walked seven steps,
And this entire earth with its mountains and oceans started to shake.
The son of the Śākyas said,
“ ‘I will liberate beings from the torments
Caused by old age, sickness, suffering, and death,
And I will establish them on the dry shore,
Where they will experience peace and happiness and be free from sorrow.’
“The gods and nāgas tossed
Flowers, perfumed substances, and precious gems,
And the different groups of bhūtas
Praised the prince in these words:
“ ‘For many eons in the past,
You have joyfully engaged
In discipline, generosity, and concentration,
And you have patiently endured suffering for the sake of all beings.
“ ‘Among all your lives,
This birth is your last one.
Since you have pacified all suffering,
You will soon awaken to buddhahood.’
“He donned the saffron robes
And became peerless.
After renouncing sixty thousand women,
He practiced intense austerities for six years.
“Alone, he overcame
The cunning Māra and his army,
Reached the boundless, supreme peace of awakening,
And realized the ultimate path devoid of sorrow.
“His love, wisdom, and compassion
Are unmatched among all sentient beings,
And his impartial love
Extends to all beings.
“He does not harm anyone
But liberates everyone
From their suffering.
He frees them from the bondage of their prisons.
“He resides in Magadha,
Where he teaches the Dharma among beings.
Supplicate him
And behold him with love!
“Go meet this supreme sage—
He will liberate you
From all the sufferings of migration.
I will also go there myself.
“Those among you who wish
For supreme joy and happiness
Will no longer be afraid of the garuḍas
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But will enjoy permanent happiness and freedom from suffering!
“The cunning Māra is harming you
Within this prison.
Remember everything
That I have told you!”
At that moment, all the male, female, boy, and girl nāgas and great nāgas who had gathered at the sacred site of wise sages joined their palms and exclaimed, “We prostrate to the one who is more exalted than the entire world, who has mastered all phenomena, who clears away the suffering of all sentient beings, who bestows all forms of happiness, who generates all kinds of joy, who has perfected all types of insight, who is always loving and filled with compassion, who accomplishes all activities, who reveals all the paths, who teaches the genuine vision, and who is worshiped by the gods and the nāgas! Worthy One of the three realms who deserves everyone’s worship, we have all been thrown into this prison of suffering—please liberate us from this place! We must stay together with those nāgas.”
The Blessed One then restored the body of all those nāgas to their previous condition, but they were still unable to leave that place. They all said to the sage Jyotīrasa, “That thus-gone one is genuine—he always seeks the happiness of all beings, and he does not want to harm anyone! We want to take refuge in him and stay close to him. Please enable us to leave this place quickly! Please liberate us from this bondage of the māras!”
The sage Jyotīrasa replied,
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“In order to reverse the wheel of saṃsāra for the bodhisattva great beings, to purify the path of awakening, to teach the principle of cause and effect to sentient beings, […] and to cause them to achieve the buddha eye, the Thus-Gone One—the omniscient sage who is the outcome of great compassion aimed at providing welfare and happiness to all beings—has revealed the supreme abodes that focus on what has only rarely occurred⁶³ and that, in common with the hearers, focus on sentient beings. For the bodhisattva great beings who attend to teachers, he also taught the sublime states that focus on that which arises from causes and on intellectual analysis. Right now, in countless buddha realms as numerous as all the smallest grains of sand in the Ganges, the Thus-Gone One is using the water of the Dharma to cleanse those bodhisattva great beings who master the six perfections of the unsurpassed vehicle as well as all other beings. He does this in order to free them from the ocean of saṃsāra, to subjugate the four māras, and to ensure that the lineage of the Three Jewels remains uninterrupted. The Thus-Gone One does not observe the realm of sentient beings who are afflicted by a multitude of conceptual afflictions. He is devoid of arising, movement, basis, characteristics, marks, attachment, determination, substance, darkness, light, apprehension, illumination, activity, and distinction. […] He is devoid of wishes with respect to all the aggregates, the elements, the sense sources, and the great elements, as well as craving with respect to the nature of the eye that is devoid of a subject of experience up to craving with respect to the nature of the mind that is devoid of a subject of experience. He is devoid of formation and engagement. He liberates beings through the realm of phenomena, the limit of reality, the absence of cessation, the unadulterated suchness,
11.6
the realm of phenomena devoid of engagement, the ultimate emptiness, and the nonregressing sameness of all phenomena.⁶⁴ He is endowed with the conduct of perpetual wisdom, and he apprehends what is genuine. Right now, this thus-gone one teaches the sublime states devoid of reference point to the bodhisattva great beings who have fully trained in the practices of the six perfections, whose minds are equal to space, who have reached the sameness of unattached wisdom, and who have truly overcome the afflictions associated with the latent tendencies of all views.”
Oh! As this teaching was being given by the sage Jyotīrasa, the nāga king Sāgara and the nāga kings Body-Piercing Needle, Harsh to the Moon, and Precious Protector remembered the roots of virtue and aspirations related to the bodhisattva conduct they had accumulated in the past, and they achieved recall endowed with insight and composure.
At that time, eighty-four other nāgas also remembered the roots of virtue and aspirations related to the bodhisattva conduct they had accumulated in the past, and they achieved the absorption that does not forget the mind of awakening. They said to the bodhisattva Jyotīrasa, “Please take our message to supplicate the compassionate Thus-Gone One, who has developed great compassion such that he can free us from the bondages of the māras in this place!”
“I shall do so!” replied the bodhisattva great being Jyotīrasa, and he miraculously left that place in the appearance of a sage and with a retinue of many thousands of sages.
Chapter Nine
The Recollection of the Buddha
When the evil Māra saw that all the nāgas had taken refuge in the Blessed One,
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he became exceedingly distressed and scared, and his body began to shake like the leaves of a jujube tree. Sweating, he raised his two hands and lamented:
“The nāgas have gone for refuge.
All beings have become deluded
And placed on the path of immortality.
Look at this endless deceit!”
The daughter of Māra named Free of Darkness said:
“Sentient beings go for refuge in that spiritual practitioner
Just by hearing about him.
They do so by merely hearing such words,
Not to mention seeing him!
“You have observed him for a long time
While applying all kinds of effort,
And you have given us a lot of advice,
But have you not learned about his magic?”
Māra replied:
“The sage Gautama is clever.
He naturally has great skills,
And he has penetrated the meaning of empty phenomena.
Having crossed over, he is now freeing beings.”
Free of Darkness said:
“Someone who has penetrated the meaning of emptiness
Cannot be shaken by ten million māras.
I go for refuge
In the one who bestows the happiness of emancipation!
“I go for refuge
In the one who indulges in suchness
Devoid of characteristics
And has mastered wisdom!
“I will learn his magic
And liberate all beings!
May everyone achieve unsurpassed buddhahood
In which all phenomena are mastered!”
All the five hundred daughters of Māra then assembled in that abode of Māra and made aspirations to reach awakening. The evil Māra became exceedingly distressed, frightened, and confused. With great energy, he began to walk away. However, not long after the sage Jyotīrasa had left, Māra, through his demonic magical powers, produced a rain of burning stones that fell from his demonic abode in the sky onto that sacred site of wise sages.
11.8
He did so with the wish to crush all the nāgas. Nevertheless, through the power of the Blessed One, it turned into a rain of flowers instead, which only brought great delight to all the nāgas.
Filled with Joy then said, “O daughters of Māra, look! Even those nāgas who have gone for refuge in the spiritual practitioner Gautama in Jambudvīpa are harmed by many miseries, so there is no need to mention you, girls, who stay here and go for refuge in him!”
The daughters of Māra replied:
“Even ten million māras are unable to kill
Those who take refuge in the Buddha.
Even if their discipline is corrupt and their minds are disturbed,
They will definitely transcend birth.
“Even a multitude of māras are unable to kill
Those who toss a single flower to the Teacher
While making the firm aspiration to reach awakening.
Without doubt, they will become buddhas within the world.
“Those who take up a single fundamental precept,
Contemplate the meaning of even just one of his words,
And give rise to the mind set on awakening
Will definitely become leaders of sentient beings.
“Father, when the Buddha saw this group of nāgas,
He caused various rains of flowers to fall on their place.
With his single Buddha domain, he has dedicated this to you.
There is nothing that could have been done there!⁶⁵
“In that place, the Teacher revealed
A teaching that, when heard a single time,
Will exhaust the negative deeds of those beings
And purify our karmic obscurations.”⁶⁶
Strongly distressed and criticized, the evil Māra felt miserable and hurt, and so he retired alone to his house to mourn.
At that moment, the bodhisattva great being Jyotīrasa arrived where the Blessed One was residing, just as his discourse on the sublime states devoid of reference point was coming to an end.
11.9
He sat down, joined his palms together in the direction of the Blessed One, […] and said to him, “Respected Blessed One, please expound to us the dhāraṇī mantra that focuses attention on the four highest abodes!⁶⁷ Concerning this dhāraṇī mantra, in the past, when we were both sons of brāhmaṇas, we committed physical crimes against the king Victorious God and so were sentenced to death. We were thrown into prison, and for a fortnight we were chained by five shackles and had nothing to eat. We supplicated the thus-gone Mandāravagandha without thinking about anyone else. Then, out of affection for us, the thus-gone Mandāravagandha appeared through a narrow opening in our cell. Through this manifestation of the magical powers of the buddhas’ domains, he taught us the dhāraṇī mantra that focuses the attention on the four highest abodes. Through the power of the Buddha, we heard this mantra from inside our cells—both the words and their meaning. By focusing our attention on this mantra, joy and faith arose in our minds. At that moment, all the karmic actions that otherwise would have ripened in our present existence, our next life, and our many subsequent lives was exhausted, as were all our karmic obscurations and our obscurations related to afflictions, phenomena, sentient beings, the perfections from generosity to insight, possessions, enjoyments, the exhaustion of life energy, intentional rebirth in saṃsāra, and going to the pure buddha realms.
11.10
As soon as we heard this dhāraṇī mantra that focuses the attention on the four highest abodes, our necks were released from the five shackles, and we miraculously escaped from our prison. We then flew in the sky and arrived in the presence of the thus-gone Mandāravagandha. After we passed away, we were born in the buddha realm called Mountain Light. We became renunciates in front of the blessed thus-gone Cloud Complexion, and for countless eons thereafter we were not born in empty buddha realms.
“Similarly, in this buddha realm of Sahā, everywhere from this place all the way up to the Highest Heaven is now filled with innumerable humans and nonhumans who are afflicted by various types of karmic obscurations and by obscurations related to afflictions, phenomena, and sentient beings. They are obscured by impure actions within pure buddha realms, and so they are unable to escape from their condition. As soon as they hear the dhāraṇī mantra for the karmic actions of sentient beings, all their karmic actions that would otherwise ripen in their present existence and in their subsequent lives will be exhausted, as will all their karmic obscurations and obscurations related to affliction, phenomena, sentient beings, the perfections from generosity to insight, possessions, enjoyments, the paths of the ten virtuous actions, rebirth, and going to the pure buddha realms.
11.11
Through this Dharma teaching, those sentient beings will achieve various degrees of acceptance and absorption. When they finally arrive at the time of death at the ends of their lives, they will be able to intentionally take rebirth in saṃsāra, and they will remember their past lives. They will constantly cultivate diligence and follow the paths of the ten virtuous actions. Without falling into mistaken views, they will exert themselves in the six perfections and in the four means of attracting disciples. They will listen to the Dharma, serve the Saṅgha, revel in the concentrations, develop the higher perceptions, and strive in the cultivation of the sublime states. Respected Blessed One, out of your affection for all sentient beings, please expound to us now the dhāraṇī mantra that focuses the attention on the four highest abodes, so that all those beings may never part from those qualities until they reach unsurpassed and perfect nirvāṇa!”
The Blessed One replied, “Noble son, your endeavor to benefit many beings is excellent! […] Faithful monks, nuns, and noble sons or daughters who wish to cross the ocean of saṃsāra through any of the three vehicles all want to quickly perfect their individual vehicle. They want to overcome all suffering, to retain everything they hear, to be fully liberated from their physical, verbal, and mental negativities, and to protect the teachings. They also want fame, gain, plenty to eat and drink, power,
11.12
good physique, strength, retinues, wealth and grain, and preeminent positions. They want to be worshiped by all humans and nonhumans. They always have desire for the body, and they always want to control themselves⁶⁸ through body, speech, and mind. They want to accomplish the absorptions, the formless attainments, the higher perceptions, the sublime states, the dhāraṇīs, and various types of acceptances. However, since they are mainly propelled by their various karmic and afflictive obscurations, and by all the obscurations up to the obscurations related to going to the pure buddha realms and taking intentional rebirth in saṃsāra, they are unable to accomplish the various roots of virtue quickly. This is because they are afflicted by those karmic obscurations.
“Those beings should wash themselves, wear clean clothes, and eat pure food. Then, on the auspicious eighth day of the month, whether they are sitting cross-legged on a clean bed or up walking, if they contemplate the physical form of the Buddha with no other thought or action and with no distraction, they will come to behold the Buddha in his own appearance if they can do this anywhere from one night up to seven nights. If they think of the Buddha’s body as being small, they will perceive it as being small in the exact same way, and if they think that it is limitless, they will perceive it as being limitless. During the whole night, they will see his thirty-two major marks. While visualizing a single mark from which blue color radiates, they should recite this mantra:
tadyathā: vijrimbha vijrimabha utpāda vyaya vijrimabha snava
11.13
vara anudatthātā bhūtakoṭi vijrimabha svāhā.
As that blue light radiates and spreads out, it is absorbed into the crowns of their own heads. They should then maintain this visualization undistractedly for one night while reciting those words without being scared or frightened. They should then perceive their bodies as fire. How should they do so? They should see that the dazzling blue light penetrates all the major and minor limbs of their bodies and that the whole of their bodies is consumed by blazing fire until it is reduced to ashes. They should then visualize the wind completely blowing the ashes away in the four directions, until everything becomes empty. When no physical forms appear anymore in any direction, the final accomplishment of that practice is reached. Noble son, if beings have thoroughly cultivated this recollection of the Buddha—the dhāraṇī mantra that focuses the attention on the four highest abodes—and properly performed and contemplated this act of worship, all their karmic obscurations, as well as their obscurations related to afflictions and phenomena and all their other obscurations, will be purified. This does not include acts with immediate retribution, the abandonment of the sacred Dharma, and the denigration of the noble ones.
“If they want, they will be able to memorize with certainty in a single day and night all the words of the Buddha, all the treatises of the non-Buddhists, the eighteen fields of knowledge, and all the poetic compositions. If they want to cultivate the four concentrations, the higher bases of miraculous displays, the four sublime states, the four correct knowledges, and the four formless attainments, they will be able to become fully trained in them in a single day and night. If they want, they will be able to clearly know in a single instant all the deaths, rebirths, and mental activities of all beings in the three times.
11.14
If they want, they will be able to fill the entirety of space in a single instant with their own bodies, with the bodies of buddhas, Śakra, Brahmā, Nārāyaṇa, Maheśvara, the Four Great Kings, or universal monarchs, or with water, fire, or earth. If they want, they will be able to fill the entirety of space in a single instant with all kinds of flowers, garlands of gems, perfumes, parasols, banners, flags, fine fabrics, Dharma robes, and ornaments. All the limitless karmic actions of those who have thoroughly cultivated, mingled their minds with, and contemplated this recollection of the Buddha that focuses the attention on the four highest abodes will be purified without exception. Their merit, power, diligence, absorption, retention, acceptance, miraculous displays, and higher perceptions will become limitless. All those who have perfected this practice in that way will quickly be liberated from saṃsāra—except for those who have committed the acts with immediate retribution, abandoned the sacred Dharma, or denigrated the noble ones. This being so, even if those who have committed the acts with immediate retribution, abandoned the sacred Dharma, or denigrated the noble ones cultivate for seven weeks, in accordance with the way it is taught here, this recollection of the Buddha that focuses the attention on the four highest abodes, when those seven weeks have passed, not only will a third of their karmic obscurations be exhausted—they will all be purified without remainder.
“The cultivation of this recollection of the Buddha that focuses the attention on the four highest abodes is therefore very meaningful.
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If this recollection of the Buddha that focuses the attention on the four highest abodes is merely overheard by humans or nonhumans, they will develop faith, joy, and intense delight upon investigating it further. They will be freed from the tight shackles of their prisons. All those who suffer will be freed from suffering. They will be freed from the sufferings related to possessions, punishments, beatings, precipices, fire, water, poison, enemies, and bhūtas and from the fears associated with diseases, places, kings, servants, and the lower realms. This will be the cause for them to be born within the happy destinies. If someone merely hears this recollection of the Buddha that focuses the attention on the four highest abodes, faith will arise in that person upon examination. This in itself is already highly meaningful and beneficial, let alone cultivating this practice in the way it is taught!”
As this Dharma teaching was being delivered, eighty-six quintillion beings who had purified themselves in the past attained the absorption of the Buddha’s recollection and developed the qualities that have been described above. At that time, eight billion four hundred million beings attained the acceptance of knowing the doctrine of suffering. Among the countless beings present, some settled within the practice of the successive attainments and the first fruition, while others achieved the other fruitions up to the level of a worthy one. At that time, countless beings gave rise to the mind set on unsurpassed and perfect awakening for the first time.
11.16
Through the power of the Buddha, the five hundred daughters of Māra, including Free of Darkness, heard this entire teaching on the Buddha’s recollection that purifies the mind even while one is present in the abode of Māra. When they heard it, their female properties disappeared, and they attained male properties. All those among them who had purified themselves in the past achieved the absorption of the Buddha’s recollection and developed the qualities that have been described above. They all assumed the appearance of mahābrahmās. Each of them was surrounded and attended by retinues of many trillions playing billions of instruments and drums as they flew away from the inconceivable arrays in the abode of Māra and landed in front of the Blessed One. They tossed and offered different kinds of divine flowers, garlands, perfumes, ointments, parasols, banners, flags, precious fabrics, and Dharma robes to the Blessed One. Then they circumambulated him three times, bowed down to his feet, and sat to one side.
Chapter Ten
The Travel to Mount Sumeru
Then, the Blessed One said to the bodhisattva great being Jyotīrasa, “Noble son, tell me the message of that group of nāgas.”
With a mind devoid of afflictions, Jyotīrasa replied, “Blessed One, it is time for you to come! Blessed One, please perform your deeds!”
The Blessed One replied, “Noble son,
11.17
it is time for the Thus-Gone One to reveal the inconceivable teaching on the nāgas’ karmic action—the teaching of purification.”
At that moment, everyone—from all the gods to all the kumbhāṇḍas—showered rains of flowers, perfumes, precious gems, fine fabrics, Dharma robes, ornaments, embroideries, parasols, banners, and flags and offered music by playing myriads of instruments, and all the humans and nonhumans praised his qualities. Amid all this, the Blessed One stood up and departed toward the north, in the direction of Mount Sumeru.
All the gods of the desire and the form realms understood that the Blessed One wanted to go to the summit of Mount Sumeru attended by his saṅgha of hearers and surrounded by his saṅgha of bodhisattvas. When he saw this, Brahmā, lord of the Sahā world, manifested a stairway for the Blessed One made of the seven precious substances and covered with various fine fabrics and divine precious flowers. He said, “Blessed One, please proceed on your way by using my stairway!”
The gods of the Heaven of Making Use of Others’ Emanations also manifested for the Blessed One a stairway made of gold from the Jambū River and covered with various powders of the most precious types of sandalwood. They said, “Blessed One, please proceed on your way by using our stairway!”
The gods of the Heaven of Delighting in Emanations also manifested for the Blessed One a stairway made of divine gold and covered with bright powders of white sandalwood. They said, “Blessed One, please proceed on your way by using our stairway!”
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The supreme god of the Heaven of Joy also manifested for the Blessed One a stairway made of divine beryl and covered with bright powders of yellow sandalwood. He said, “Blessed One, please proceed on your way by using my stairway!”
The supreme god of the Heaven Free from Strife also manifested for the Blessed One a stairway made of divine beryl and covered with bright divine powders. He said, “Blessed One, please proceed on your way by using my stairway!”
Śakra, lord of the gods, also manifested for the Blessed One a stairway made of red pearls and covered with bright powders of divine sandalwood and garlands of precious gems. He said, “Blessed One, please proceed on your way by using our stairway!”
The Four Great Kings also manifested for the Blessed One a stairway made of divine emeralds and covered with a variety of divine fabrics. They said, “Blessed One, please proceed to the summit of Mount Sumeru by using our stairway!”
The four rulers of the asuras and their retinues also manifested for the Blessed One a stairway made of divine white coral and covered with bright divine golden powders. They said, “Blessed One, please proceed to the summit of Mount Sumeru by using our stairway!”
Out of affection for them, the Blessed One agreed, and so he emanated six buddhas similar to himself. Then, through this great display of the Blessed One, those seven buddhas, attended by hearers and surrounded by saṅghas of bodhisattvas, arrived at the summit of Mount Sumeru in front of all the rulers of the gods and the asuras. Those seven buddhas sat on the summit of Mount Sumeru, shining through their sublime brilliance and radiance.
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From the bodies of each of those buddhas radiated light like the light emitted by ten billion suns and moons.
When they saw this, all the nāgas who had assembled at the sacred site of wise sages became curious and asked one another, “Where do those seven beings who dwell within that brilliant light on the summit of Mount Sumeru come from?”
Nanda and Upananda said, “Those who dwell on the summit of Mount Sumeru together with the gods come from the Priests of Brahmā. They are the most supreme divine lords and have perfected the knowledge of the wisest beings. They are dwelling there out of love for us, and they bring us delight through their glorious brilliance. They will liberate us from our bondages, so you should all pay homage to them!”
Anavatapta said, “It is not them! This is the evil Māra, the leader of beings, the lord of the desire realm gifted with magical powers. Out of affection for you, he is dwelling there surrounded by his sons and other beings. He will liberate all the sentient beings who are afraid⁶⁹ of the sufferings of the desire realm—hunger, thirst, and disease. He will quickly liberate you from your sufferings.”
Lord of the Earth said, “It is not him! These are the Great Kings, the rulers of the gods, and the gods of the Heaven Free from Strife, the Heaven of Joy, the Heaven of Delighting in Emanations, and the Heaven of Making Use of Others’ Emanations. They are dwelling on that mountain out of affection for you, and they look upon our group of nāgas. We should all call to them for help and shout with loud voices, ‘Please protect us!’ Since they are constantly blissful, they will liberate you from your prisons.”
Sāgara said, “It is not them! This is the majestic and resplendent Śakra, lord of the gods, together with his retinue. He looks lovingly upon all those within this four-continent world who are following the Dharma. All of you, generate love in your minds and quickly let go of anger!
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He will quickly liberate the nāgas—he will liberate you from this place and from all your fears.”
Supratiṣṭhita said, “It is not him! These are hosts of majestic gods from the form realms who are endowed with concentration and bliss. They have ascended this sacred site of wise sages for the sake of sentient beings, and they are now sitting here. Out of love, they will quickly pacify the suffering of beings in all directions and will shower down a rain of Dharma. All of you, pay homage to them with divine minds! They will liberate us from this place.”
The nāga Body-Piercing Needle said, “These are not the gods of the form realms! These are the four demon leaders—Kubera, Supreme Being, Nectar Drink, and Bound in Movement. Surrounded by groups of yakṣas, they protect the four directions and free sinful beings. When they see our weak⁷⁰ minds, they will quickly liberate us.”
The nāga Precious Protector said, “It is not them! They seem to be monks sitting there with shaved heads and saffron robes. All of you, look at them! They are sitting with their palms joined, like moons surrounded by stars. I⁷¹ see those seven as monks with shaved heads who have reached great accomplishments and are steady in their spiritual observances. I see those monks with saffron robes. They are adorned with the marks and worthy to be worshiped by all beings.”
The nāga Body-Piercing Needle then said, “This is the great leader of the world himself! This is how it seems to me. He is the universal friend of sentient beings, the protector of beings who clears away the ocean of suffering. The other sages that appear together with him are his emanations. He is dwelling there out of love for us, and he will liberate you from your sufferings.”
As soon as the Blessed One sat down on the summit of Mount Sumeru, a hundred thousand retinues took place along eighty-four leagues of that mountain. Above the Blessed One,
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the gods of the desire and form realms emanated a storied mansion made of the divine seven precious substances that stretched all the way up to the divine abode of the Highest Heaven. It was multicolored, delightful to behold, and adorned all along its many hundreds of thousands of leagues. To worship the Blessed One, they also manifested a variety of divine fabrics, ornaments, embroideries, parasols, banners, flags, perfumes, and flowers to adorn him.
Then, the Blessed One summoned Śakra, lord of the gods, and said to him, “Kauśika, I, buddhas, bodhisattva great beings, great hearers, sages, māras, gods renowned for their great power, nāgas, yakṣas, humans, and nonhumans have resided in the buddha realm of Sahā. Similarly, the Thus-Gone One himself now resides here on Mount Sumeru, as do those bodhisattva great beings who have come from all the buddha realms of the ten directions and those gods renowned for their great power. May the beings residing on the summit of Mount Sumeru bring you welfare and happiness!”
Śakra replied, “Respected Blessed One, since you act out of affection for us, and since all of us—māras, Śakra, Brahmā, lords of the gods, lords of the nāgas, lords of the yakṣas, lords of the gandharvas, lords of the asuras, lords of the garuḍas, lords of the kinnaras, lords of the mahoragas,
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sentient beings renowned for great power, divine sages, and human sages—have assembled here in this buddha realm of Sahā to pay homage to the Blessed One, revere him, and bring him enjoyment as he resides on Mount Sumeru, we will all meet with great welfare and happiness here!”
While sitting there, the Blessed One smiled, and various blue, yellow, red, white, violet, and crystalline light rays radiated from his mouth. Those light rays spread out and pervaded all the buddha realms of the billions of abodes of Māra, Śakra, Brahmā, and everyone else, including the rulers of the gods, the asuras, and the sages. In those abodes, all the beings renowned for their great power who were given the names Māra up to sages were touched by the light. They all left their abodes and instantly arrived at the summit of Mount Sumeru before the Blessed One and his six buddha emanations.
The Blessed One then ceased his emanations and declared, “Among all the billions of Mount Sumerus present in my buddha realm, I have explained that this Mount Sumeru is the most supreme and eminent. All the great assemblies reside on this Mount Sumeru—it is the king of all Mount Sumerus!”
When they heard this, Śakra (Kauśika) and everyone else including Brahmā, lord of the Sahā world, became elated and overjoyed.
Through the power of the Blessed One, the four great nāga kings then left the sacred site of wise sages. With his tail still resting in the great southern ocean,
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the nāga king Sāgara stretched his head up to the summit of Mount Sumeru, where he gazed one-pointedly at the Blessed One. Similarly, with their tails resting respectively in the great western, northern, and eastern oceans, the nāga kings Precious Protector, Body-Piercing Needle, and Harsh to the Moon stretched their heads up to the summit of Mount Sumeru, where they all gazed one-pointedly at the Blessed One. The remaining countless trillions of nāgas were unable to leave, and so they supplicated stealthily, “Please protect us and liberate us from this prison!”
The nāga kings Nanda and Upananda thought, “The Blessed One will descend to the ground from the summit of Mount Sumeru. He will then reside here and teach the Dharma to the nāgas.” With this in mind, they both stretched their own bodies from the ground all the way up to the summit of Mount Sumeru.
Śakra thought, “Oh! The bodies of those nāgas are rough and dangerous to touch. It would be terrible if they were to harm the soles of the Blessed One’s feet!” With this in mind, he then draped the bodies of the nāgas in divine fabrics, and their heads with powders made of the finest sandalwood and leaves of tamāla trees. He also tossed divine flowers onto them.
The Blessed One now expanded the size of the sacred site of wise sages to a width of eighty-four quintillion leagues, and in the middle of it Brahmā, lord of the Sahā world, spread cushions adorned with divine fabrics, ornaments, jewels, and precious gems.
At that moment, while sitting on the summit of Mount Sumeru, the Blessed One said to Ājñātakauṇḍinya,
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“I teach the Dharma through the magical and transformative power of the buddhas’ domain, so that everyone throughout the entire buddha realm of Sahā may hear it. Kauṇḍinya, clinging to the arising, continuation, origination, and appropriation of the eye is the arising of suffering. It is a disease and the perpetuation of the factors of existence. It is the manifestation of old age and death. Kauṇḍinya, clinging to the arising, continuation, origination, and appropriation of the ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind is the arising of suffering. It is a disease and the perpetuation of the factors of existence. It is the manifestation of old age and death. Kauṇḍinya, the cessation, pacification, disappearance, and pacification of the appropriation of the eye is the cessation of suffering. It is the pacification of the factors of existence and the disappearance of old age and death. Kauṇḍinya, the cessation, pacification, disappearance, and pacification of the appropriation of the ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind is the cessation of suffering. It is the pacification of the factors of existence and the disappearance of old age and death.
“Within the world with its gods, Brahmā, spiritual practitioners, brāhmaṇas, gods, and humans, I have presented the Dharma and so have become renowned as the most eminent being. Through my great love I have become renowned as the most supreme being. Through my great compassion I have become renowned as a holy being. By transcending saṃsāra I have become renowned as the unsurpassed one. Through my generosity, discipline, and restraint I have become renowned as the one who is impartial toward all beings. That Dharma is the outcome of the cultivation of such generosity, discipline, and restraint, as well as sublime states and the eightfold path of the noble ones.
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That Dharma I have taught and elucidated to all beings on a vast scale. Since the affectionate Teacher wishes to benefit others, I have performed my deeds toward the hearers. Now it is your turn to act! Make sure you do not have any regrets in the future! Therefore, in order to eradicate old age and death, you must practice and exert yourselves in the wilderness, under trees, in charnel grounds, in the mountains, in hermitages, and in secluded places! This is my teaching.”
When the Blessed One delivered this Dharma teaching, myriads of sentient beings in each of the four continents in all the billions of four-continent worlds in this buddha realm of Sahā generated a variety of roots of virtue. Some settled within states of absorption, retention, and acceptance. Likewise, some gave rise to the Dharma eye with respect to phenomena. In some the karmic obscurations that would have led them to the hell realms were purified. In others the karmic obscurations that would have led them to be born into the hell realms, as animals or destitute yakṣas, or as poor humans were purified. Those who were afflicted by diseases recovered their health, and sentient beings were liberated from their prisons.
The nāga king Sāgara then uttered these verses to the Blessed One:
“You are endowed with an abundance of virtue,
Pure golden conduct, and immaculate compassion.
Sublime among gods, humans, and nāgas,
You clear away the mud of their afflictions.
You fully establish all sentient beings
On the paths of discipline, erudition, and knowledge.
Please liberate those groups of nāgas!
With your firm compassion, remember your past commitments!
“For the sake of other beings’ minds,
You relinquish⁷² their suffering.
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Just so, the nāgas in this place are endlessly afflicted
By much suffering caused by delusion.
“Your enemies pay homage to you, your diligence is firm,
And you are free from the jungle of birth.
Please satisfy all the nāgas
With the water of wisdom!”
Chapter Eleven
The Going for Refuge of the Nāgas
While showering rains of flowers, precious gems, and Dharma robes, playing instruments and drums, and singing melodious songs, all the gods, nāgas, yakṣas, and asuras present there departed from the summit of Mount Sumeru together with the Blessed One. Attended by his saṅgha of hearers and surrounded by his saṅgha of bodhisattvas, the Blessed One then took a seat on the cushions that had been prepared for him at the center of the sacred site of wise sages. To worship the Blessed One, all the gods, nāgas, yakṣas, asuras, and kinnaras showered rains of various ornaments, powders, flowers, and precious gems from the sky. The nāgas also offered the Blessed One different kinds of flowers, perfumes, precious gems, silken clothes, fine fabrics, Dharma robes, and ornaments. They circumambulated him three times, prostrated to his feet, and sat in front of him to listen to the Dharma. The nāga king Sāgara then asked, “Respected Blessed One, what are the deeds through which sentient beings are born as nāgas?”
The Blessed One replied,
Linked texts (1)
- འཕགས་པ་ཤིན་ཏུ་རྒྱས་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་སྡེ་ཉི་མའི་སྙིང་པོ་ཞེས་བྱ་བའི་མདོ — Classical Tibetan