འཕགས་པ་ལྷག་པའ་བསམ་པ་བསྐལ་བ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད 1.3

1.3

exchanged greetings with them with sincere joy and delight, and then asked those bodhisattvas, “Tell me, children of noble lineage, are you improving yourselves through the practice of virtue, or have you perhaps been negligent?”

They answered, “Venerable Maitreya, we have neglected and not increased our practice of virtue. Our minds are ensnared by doubt, as we wonder whether we can become thus-gone ones. Our minds are further ensnared by regret, as we worry that we might fall into lower realms; and so, we have no enthusiasm left for virtuous practice.”

The bodhisattva great being Maitreya then said to those bodhisattvas, “Children of noble lineage, come this way.¹¹ Let us proceed to where the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Śākyamuni is residing. Why? Because the Blessed One is omniscient and all-seeing, possesses unobscured wisdom, and is wise in the ways of all beings; and so, he will teach you the Dharma in a way that is well suited to your level of experience.”

Then those sixty bodhisattvas, together with the bodhisattva great being Maitreya, went to where the Blessed One was residing. They assembled before him and offered homage with their heads at his feet. They cried and offered homage to the Blessed One with their four limbs and heads, over and over again, with tears streaming down their faces, and without raising their heads. The bodhisattva great being Maitreya, too, prostrated with his head at the feet of the Blessed One,