འཕགས་པ་རན་ཆན་དྲ་བ་ཅན་གྱས་ཞས་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད intro.5

intro.5

As for the events in the sūtra, the story begins in Vaiśālī with Ratnajālin, an eight-year-old boy of the Licchavi clan. Based on a dream, Ratnajālin leaves the city to invite the Buddha and the saṅgha to visit Vaiśālī for their daily alms round. The following day, the Buddha arrives in Vaiśālī as many miracles delight the people. At the proper time Ratnajālin asks the Buddha about the power inherent in the names of the buddhas, in particular whether there are buddhas whose names, simply upon being heard, have the efficacy to propel the listener forward on the path to awakening. In reply, the Buddha mentions six specific buddhas living in distant buddha realms in the four cardinal directions as well as in the directions above and below. He mentions them by name and declares that trust in their names and existence is the key factor that ensures a number of desired benefits, including the eventual attainment of awakening. Thus, as long as one trusts them, these buddha names have tremendous beneficial powers. Concluding his teaching, the Buddha describes the benefits that ensue from hearing this discourse—primarily that those who hear it will be able to attract many beings and propel them onto the path of awakening. Lastly, he advises the assembled community to uphold this discourse and offers Ratnajālin a prophecy of his future meeting with the Buddha Maitreya.