འཕགས་པ་སྤབས་པའ་བླ་གྲས་ཀྱས་ཞས་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད 18

18

When beings in future times hear of this teaching, they will abandon non-virtue, do what is virtuous, and take up religious practice.

“Blessed One, please come together with your saṅgha of monks to my home. Please accept this invitation out of compassion for us.”

The Blessed One agreed out of compassion for the merchant Pratibhānamati. Knowing that the Blessed One had accepted his invitation, Pratibhānamati was satisfied and content. He rejoiced and was truly delighted. Happy and joyful, he bowed his head to the feet of the Blessed One, circumambulated him three times, and departed together with his retinue.

When he arrived home, he bowed to the feet of his parents and told them with joined palms, “Father, Mother, I have something to tell you. I have invited he who is rare and supreme in the world, the unsurpassed being, the king of Dharma, he who has transcended the three realms, the Blessed One himself, to come and take his midday meal here with his congregation of monks. Out of compassion for us, he has accepted!”

Pratibhānamati’s father and mother were delighted and praised him, “Son, that is excellent! You have done well!” They were excited to venerate the Thus-Gone One.

Pratibhānamati then instructed his wife Padma and her servants, “My dear, please prepare fine food and drink with many hundreds of flavors for the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha and his retinue. Once the food has been prepared, scatter water, sweep the house, set up the canopies, hang the silken tassels, scatter flower petals,