[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Buddhist Sanskrit literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit) › [Mahāyāna sūtras](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra) › [Sūtras of the Ratnakūṭa (Heap of Jewels) collection](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta) › [Maitreyamahāsiṃhanāda](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada) › [འཕགས་པ་བྱམས་པའི་སེང་གེའི་སྒྲ་ཆེན་པོ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo) › The Great Lion’s Roar of Maitreya # The Great Lion’s Roar of Maitreya Translation of [འཕགས་པ་བྱམས་པའ་སང་གའ་སྒྲ་ཆན་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད (འཕགས་པ་བྱམས་པའི་སེང་གེའི་སྒྲ་ཆེན་པོ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo) - **Language:** English - **Translator:** [Ulrich Pagel](https://indike.org/pramana/person/ulrich-pagel) - **Extent:** 161 passages, 26,615 words - **Text:** complete digital text - **Source:** 84000 · Translated by Karen Liljenberg and Ulrich Pagelunder the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the… · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha). Shown whole and unaltered, with its notes, on a… ## Contents - [intro 84000's introduction](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.intro) — 13 parts - [1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.1) — 25 parts - [2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.2) — 25 parts - [3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.3) — 23 parts - [4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.4) — 21 parts - [notes Notes](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.notes) — 54 parts ## Text ### 84000's introduction ### [intro.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.intro.1) In this sūtra, Mahākāśyapa poses a series of questions to the Buddha about proper monastic conduct and practice, which the Buddha answers at length. Mahākāśyapa then requests the Buddha to remain in the world in order to safeguard the Dharma, but when the Buddha initially predicts that Mahākāśyapa himself will do so in the future, Mahākāśyapa insists that for the Dharma to remain for long, it must be entrusted to a bodhisattva rather than a śrāvaka. The Buddha then anoints Maitreya and entrusts him with the responsibility of protecting the Dharma in the future. There follows a teaching from the Buddha about those in the future who will falsely claim to be bodhisattvas and about the proper conduct and practice of bodhisattvas, as well as a description from Maitreya of his own practice of the bodhisattva path. When Mahākāśyapa asks the Buddha about those in the future who will be “sham bodhisattvas,” the Buddha offers a series of teachings on the mistaken and blameworthy practice of commercializing the worship of relics, stūpas, and images and seeking to make a living thereby, contrasting this with a monastic’s proper practice of ascetic conduct and meditative inquiry. In addition to the Buddha’s criticism, this sūtra is notable for its memorable analogies, past life narratives, and emphasis on the ascetic practice of the forest-dwelling monastic. ### [intro.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.intro.2) The Great Lion’s Roar of Maitreya opens amid an assembly of śrāvaka and bodhisattva disciples, where Venerable Mahākāśyapa poses a series of questions to the Buddha about how men and women who have gone forth into monastic life should train, act, and engage in spiritual practice. In response, the Buddha describes at length the proper conduct and practice of those who have gone forth, contrasting it with various forms of potential misconduct and faulty practice and utilizing a series of memorable analogies as illustrations. ### [intro.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.intro.3) Mahākāśyapa then requests that the Buddha remain in the world “for an eon or longer” in order to safeguard the Dharma. The Buddha predicts that in the future Mahākāśyapa himself will safeguard the Dharma, at which point Mahākāśyapa objects that the Dharma cannot remain for long if it is entrusted to a śrāvaka rather than a bodhisattva, and he supplicates the Buddha to anoint Maitreya in his stead. The Buddha then commands Maitreya to take responsibility for protecting the Dharma in the future, which he accepts. ### [intro.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.intro.4) In response to Maitreya’s query, the Buddha describes at length the blameworthy qualities of those in the future who will “falsely claim to be bodhisattvas” and the proper conduct and practice of bodhisattvas, again utilizing a series of analogies as well as a narrative of one of his past lives. Maitreya roars his lion’s roar in response, describing his own diligent and ascetic practice of the bodhisattva path. When a group of monks rises to leave the assembly, thinking Maitreya’s description of ascetic practice unrealistic, Maitreya reassures them and offers a teaching on how they should practice. ### [intro.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.intro.5) Finally, Mahākāśyapa asks the Buddha how many “sham bodhisattvas” there will be in the future, and the Buddha answers by predicting that sham bodhisattvas will involve themselves in the worship of his relics rather than in proper practice. He elaborates by narrating another of his past lives, in which Maitreya in a former life also features, providing an extended critique of those who involve themselves in devotional practices focused on relics, stūpas, and images to the exclusion of ascetic practice and meditation. In particular, the Buddha criticizes those who would commercialize such devotional activities and seek to make a living thereby, narrating another of his past lives by way of illustration. In this way, the Buddha contrasts proper practice, focused on renunciation, moral discipline, and meditative inquiry, with the improper practice of commercializing devotional practices for mundane ends. ### [intro.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.intro.6) The Great Lion’s Roar of Maitreya is one of the forty-nine sūtras that make up the Heap of Jewels (Ratnakūṭa; dkon brtsegs) section of the Kangyur, an important compilation of Mahāyāna scriptures that exists in both Chinese and Tibetan translation. No Sanskrit original has survived. The Chinese translation of the sūtra, Mohe jiaye hui 摩訶迦葉會 (), was produced in 541 by \*Upaśūnya (月婆首那) and later included as part of the Chinese Ratnakūṭa compiled in the eighth century ce by Bodhiruci. The Tibetan translation is attributed in the colophon to the Indian pandits Jinamitra, Surendrabodhi, and Prajñāvarman and the Tibetan Yeshé Dé and others, which dates it to the early ninth century at the latest. This is confirmed by the text’s inclusion in both imperial-era translation catalogs, the Denkarma (ca. 812) and the Phangthangma.¹ The text was also found at Dunhuang (), which suggests that it was widely disseminated across the Tibetan-speaking world from the ninth to the early eleventh centuries ce. ### [intro.7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.intro.7) Indications of the text’s place in the Indian Buddhist landscape can be found in the fact that it is quoted by name in A Compendium of Sūtras (Sūtrasamuccaya, ), attributed to Nāgārjuna, as well as in An Explanation of The Compendium of Sūtras: An Ornament Illuminating the Jewels (Sūtra­samuccaya­bhāṣya­ratnā­lokālaṃkāra­nāma, ) attributed to Ratnākaraśānti (ca. 970–1045). The text is also extensively quoted by the renowned Atiśa (982–1054) in The Great Compendium of Sūtras (Mahā­sūtra­samuccaya, ). At least one citation by name appears also in A Compendium of Sūtras on the Stages of Meditation (). At the very least, these citations demonstrate that the sūtra was recopied and readily available to scholars in India over the course of the first millennium ce. ### [intro.8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.intro.8) As for the perspective of modern academic scholarship, Gregory Schopen has shown that there are multiple instances in the sūtra of vocabulary shared with the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, and Schopen’s analysis of the sūtra’s polemics against the commercialization of relic and image cults demonstrates either the direct influence of the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya or the fact that the present sūtra shared its milieu with the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya and the communities in which it was transmitted.² In that regard, it is perhaps of interest that some of the sūtra’s criticism and instruction is aimed at śrāvaka as well as bodhisattva monastics, not to mention the sūtra’s promotion of the ideal of the forest-dwelling monastic and, in general, its view of the merits of monastic life in comparison to the life of lay householders. For example, the sūtra refers with approval to a supposed previous age in which literally everyone left their homes to take up the religious life, so that not even one householder remained. ### [intro.9](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.intro.9) The sūtra’s polemics against the commercialization of relic, stūpa, and image cults might be usefully contrasted with other sūtras in which such devotional practices are endorsed and promoted. In the case of devotional practices focused on stūpas (and by implication relics), the present sūtra might be contrasted with The Avalokinī Sūtra (Toh 195)³ as well as The Verses on Circumambulating Shrines (Caitya­pradakṣiṇa­gāthā, Toh 321).⁴ In the case of devotional practices focused on images, it might be contrasted with Describing the Benefits of Producing Representations of the Thus-Gone One (Tathāgata­prati­bimba­prati­ṣṭhānu­śaṃsasaṃvarṇana, Toh 320).⁵ ### [intro.10](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.intro.10) The central place accorded to Maitreya in this sūtra means that it is fruitfully read together with the other sūtras in the Kangyur that feature or focus on the figure of Maitreya: The Question of Maitreya (Maitreya­paripṛcchā, Toh 85)⁶ and The Question of Maitreya on the Eight Qualities (Maitreya­pari­pṛcchādharmāṣṭa, Toh 86),⁷ which are also found in the Heap of Jewels section, and The Question of Maitreya (Maitreya­paripṛcchā, Toh 149),⁸ Maitreya’s Setting Out (Maitreya­prasthāna, Toh 198),⁹ and The Sūtra on Maitreya’s Birth in the Heaven of Joy (Toh 199).¹⁰ As the present sūtra describes the Buddha commanding Maitreya to take responsibility for safeguarding the Dharma in the future, of particular comparative interest are Maitreya’s Setting Out, in which the Buddha describes the past life in which Maitreya first gave rise to bodhicitta, and The Sūtra on Maitreya’s Birth in the Heaven of Joy, in which the Buddha describes Maitreya’s birth in the Heaven of Joy, from which he will eventually descend into this world to be fully awakened. ### [intro.11](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.intro.11) Though not alluded to in the present sūtra, the presence of both Mahākāśyapa and Maitreya, as well as the reference to who will assume responsibility for propagating the Dharma in a distant future, evokes the ancient Mūlasarvāstivāda tradition that links the two figures in terms of Maitreya’s eventual succession of the Buddha Śākyamuni. According to that tradition, the Buddha Śākyamuni bestowed his own robe on Mahākāśyapa, who succeeded the Buddha at the head of the monastic saṅgha. At the end of his own lifespan, Mahākāśyapa, wearing the Buddha’s robe, entered into Mount Kukkuṭapāda, where both the robe and his body will remain uncorrupted until the advent of Maitreya, who will proceed to the mountain and, depending on the source, remove Mahākāśyapa’s body in the presence of his own disciples or receive the Buddha Śākyamuni’s robe from him.¹¹ ### [intro.12](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.intro.12) This is the first publication of a complete English translation of The Great Lion’s Roar of Maitreya. Selected passages from the second half of the sūtra were translated into French by Paul Demiéville in the 1930s, and several more were more recently translated into English by Erik Zürcher. The several passages translated by Schopen have also been a useful reference for us.¹² ### [intro.13](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.intro.13) Our translation is based on the version found in the Degé Kangyur. We have compared its readings with those of the versions found in the other Kangyurs included in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma), as well as that found in the Stok Palace Kangyur. ### [1.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.1.1) Homage to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas. Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling in Śrāvastī, in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park, together with a great saṅgha of about five thousand monks and eight thousand bodhisattva great beings, including Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta, Avalokiteśvara, Mahāsthāmaprāpta, Śrīgarbha, and Maitreya. Then the Blessed One, surrounded and revered by a retinue of many hundreds of thousands, taught the Dharma. At that time, Venerable Mahākāśyapa was seated among the retinue. Venerable Mahākāśyapa rose from his seat, draped his upper shawl over one shoulder, set his right knee on the ground, and with palms joined paid homage to the Blessed One. Then he asked the Blessed One, “If the Blessed One will allow me the opportunity, may I ask the Blessed One, the Tathāgata, to answer certain questions that I would like to pose?” The Blessed One replied to Venerable Mahākāśyapa, “Kāśyapa, ask the Blessed One whatever you wish, and my answers to your questions will delight you.” Venerable Mahākāśyapa ### [1.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.1.2) asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, how does a son or daughter of noble family who wishes for parinirvāṇa train once they have gone forth in the well-spoken Dharma and Vinaya? How do they act? How do they engage in spiritual practice?”¹³ The Blessed One replied to Venerable Mahākāśyapa, “Excellent, Kāśyapa! You have asked such a question for the benefit of many beings, for the happiness of many beings, out of love for the world, and for the welfare, benefit, and happiness of the great mass of beings, gods and humans. Your intention to ask the Tathāgata a question on such a subject is excellent. So, Kāśyapa, listen well and remember what I shall explain to you.” Venerable Mahākāśyapa gave his assent to the Blessed One and listened attentively to the Blessed One as he said, “Kāśyapa, a son or daughter of noble family who wishes for parinirvāṇa, once they have gone forth in the well-spoken Dharma and Vinaya, should train themselves in moral discipline, in restraint by the prātimokṣa vows, and in excellence in their conduct and associations. They should see danger in even the slightest misdeed and properly keep the fundamental precepts. They should be without craving and free from hypocrisy, flattery, solicitation, extortion, and greed for profit. They should be conscientious, modest, and restrained. They should be fearful of saṃsāra and adept and assiduous in its renunciation. ### [1.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.1.3) They should always be sorrowful about saṃsāra and see the advantages of nirvāṇa. “Whether they live under trees, on a mountain, in a hut, or in a cave, they should reflect on the features of the Tathāgata: ‘Thus, the Blessed One is a tathāgata, an arhat, a fully awakened buddha, endowed with perfect knowledge and conduct, a sugata, a knower of the world, a guide of beings to be tamed, unsurpassable, a teacher of gods and humans, a buddha, a blessed one. His lineage is excellent, his family is excellent, and his virtuous roots are excellent. He is immeasurable by virtue of his moral discipline and immeasurable by virtue of his samādhi, wisdom, liberation, and knowledge and vision of liberation. He is immeasurable by virtue of all his buddha qualities. He is endowed with unimaginable, immeasurable, and boundless positive attributes. His speech is truthful and accurate, and he acts in accordance with his words. His actions are unfailing. He is sublime, the great healer who removes the arrows of suffering, acting as a spiritual friend without even being asked. He is compassionate, the great guide. “ ‘He perfectly teaches the Dharma that is nirvāṇa, which profoundly manifests its profundity and peacefully shows its peace; which is empty, without living beings, without confusion, and without characteristics; and which is the eradication of characteristics. It is wishless and free of wishes. It is without complexity and free from complexity. It is difficult to see and difficult to realize. It leads onward to the goal. It is free of substantiality. It is isolated and free from isolation. It is without substantiality and unsullied by substantiality. It is motionless and the eradication of motion. It is free of movement. It is inexpressible and free of expression. It is without arrogance. It reveals itself.¹⁴ It is unsullied and free from being sullied. ### [1.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.1.4) It is without acceptance or rejection. It is the pacification of suffering and the eradication of craving.’ These are the features on which they should reflect. “In this regard, Kāśyapa, a monk should go alone to a solitary place, and then, settling inward, he should reflect on the features of the Tathāgata in this way. He should think, ‘I have obtained a human birth, and I have gone forth, obtaining ordination into monkhood. Although I have pleased the Tathāgata, I am lazy and spoiled by the distractions of various kinds of activity, such that I do not know stability. Why is that? It is because I remain in a state in which I will die without ever attaining fruition,¹⁵ and although the blessed buddhas appear in the world as rarely as an udumbara flower, I will not have pleased the blessed buddhas of the present and future.’ That is how a monk should reflect on the features of the Tathāgata. “In this regard, Kāśyapa, monks should emulate you and the elder Subhūti. That is because of the way that, without seeing me or hearing me, you went forth as a renunciant in emulation of the arhats, the perfectly awakened buddhas, who dwell in this world, Kāśyapa, and became an adornment to this Dharma and Vinaya. For those who have seen the Tathāgata directly, and having seen him approach him to make the request to go forth as renunciants and take full ordination as monks, their going forth is also authorized by the Tathāgata afterwards. “A son or daughter of noble family should make the commitment to go forth in this well-proclaimed Dharma and Vinaya by seeing its two objectives. What are the two? They are to attain fruition in this very life ### [1.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.1.5) and to become in future lives the cause of others seeing the Buddhadharma.¹⁶ “In this regard, Kāśyapa, some foolish individuals put on saffron robes in the presence of the Tathāgata and make the commitment to go forth and be ordained into monkhood. Undertaking the trainings, they enter a hut or a cave, close the door, and then engage in thoughts of desire, thoughts of malice or harm, thoughts of their begging bowl and their monastic robes, and thoughts of the households of friends and of alms-giving households. They think to themselves, ‘The Tathāgata does not know us. He is not aware of us and does not think of us.’ “Kāśyapa, whether a monk is in a hut, in a cave, or on a walking path, whenever he engages in thoughts of desire, thoughts of malice, thoughts of harm, or different kinds of nonvirtuous thoughts, the deities who dwell in that hut, in that cave, or on that walking path know the monk’s mind, and they think, ‘Why is this monk, who has gone forth in the well-proclaimed Dharma and Vinaya, engaging in thoughts of nonvirtuous and sinful actions? It is inappropriate.’ They will then be displeased, anguished, and unhappy. “Kāśyapa, some of those deities will encourage him, but others, aware that the monk is not worth teaching, will settle into an attitude of contempt. Look, Kāśyapa, if those deities who possess just a modicum of virtuous roots and knowledge know the minds of others, ### [1.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.1.6) I need hardly mention that the Tathāgata, who has engaged in good actions for countless quintillion eons, also does so! Kāśyapa, there is nothing whatsoever that is not known, seen, comprehended, or realized by the Tathāgata. Kāśyapa, the Tathāgata possesses unobstructed wisdom with regard to the five types of objects of knowledge—those that are past, present, future, freed from time, and inexpressible. He is free of uncertainty. “Therefore, Kāśyapa, a son or daughter of noble family, knowing that because they have gone forth in the well-proclaimed Dharma and Vinaya they are self-reliant, should train with the thought, ‘The Tathāgata knows my mind, and because all the blessed buddhas who dwell and flourish in the limitless, infinite worlds in the ten directions also know my mind, I should not, after I have gone forth in the teaching of the Tathāgata, be a swindler-ascetic.’ “Now, Kāśyapa, what is a swindler-ascetic? There are four types of swindler-ascetics. What are the four? Kāśyapa, a monk who has the appearance, distinguishing marks, and figure of an ascetic but whose moral discipline is deficient and who is an evildoer is the first type of swindler-ascetic. One who goes to a secluded spot and engages in nonvirtuous thoughts while dwelling there is the second type of swindler-ascetic. One who knows himself to be an ordinary person who has not attained fruition but, overcome by desire for gain, reverence, and praise, falsely claims in the presence of others to be an arhat is the third type of swindler-ascetic. One who praises himself and denigrates others is the fourth type of swindler-ascetic. ### [1.7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.1.7) Those, Kāśyapa, are the four types of swindler-ascetics. “Kāśyapa, imagine there came along a fierce, coarse, ferocious man who was physically powerful and endowed with great strength. That man bludgeoned every person in Jambudvīpa, or stabbed them or punched them, and after subduing them robbed them and made off with all their useful goods: cowry shells, gold, precious stones, pearls, beryl, conches, crystals, coral, gold dust, silver, and different kinds of jewels, as well as their house, vehicle, clothes, food, drink, bedding, and furniture to be used or enjoyed, and every possession that could provide pleasure or leisure. What do you think, Kāśyapa? Would that man create a great deal of nonmerit on that basis?” Kāśyapa replied, “Yes, Blessed One, he would create a great deal. Sugata, he would create a great deal.” The Blessed One said, “Kāśyapa, believe this and take it to heart: when someone who knows themselves to be an ordinary person who has not attained fruition, overcome by desire for gain, reverence, and praise, falsely claims in the presence of others to be a stream enterer and then enjoys so much as a single meal of alms food, that creates an even greater amount of nonmerit. That creates an inexhaustibly greater amount of nonmerit.” Then the elder Mahākāśyapa said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, how wonderful is the response of the Tathāgata, the precepts¹⁷ taught through analogies. ### [1.8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.1.8) Hearing such a precious analogy taught by the Tathāgata, what person who has not attained fruition would accept so much as a drink of water given by the faithful?” The Blessed One replied, “That is right, Kāśyapa. What you say is right. One should live as if one’s head and clothes were ablaze, and until one has attained fruition, one should not accept so much as a drink of water given by the faithful. “Kāśyapa, imagine there came along a second man, fiercer, coarser, and more ferocious, who was physically more powerful and endowed with greater strength. That man bludgeoned every person in a four-continent universe, or stabbed them or punched them, and after subduing them robbed them and made off with all their useful goods: cowry shells, gold, precious stones, pearls, beryl, conches, crystals, coral, gold dust, silver, and different kinds of jewels, as well as their house, vehicle, clothes, food, drink, bedding, and furniture to be used or enjoyed, and every possession that could provide pleasure or leisure. What do you think, Kāśyapa? Would that man create a great deal of nonmerit on that basis?” Kāśyapa replied, “Yes, Blessed One, he would create a great deal. Sugata, he would create a great deal.” The Blessed One said, “Kāśyapa, believe this and take it to heart: when someone who knows themselves to be an ordinary person who has not attained fruition, overcome by desire for gain, reverence, and praise, falsely claims in the presence of others to be a once-returner ### [1.9](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.1.9) and then enjoys so much as a single meal of alms food, that creates an even greater amount of nonmerit. That creates an inexhaustibly greater amount of nonmerit. “But, Kāśyapa, never mind the useful goods of all the people in a four-continent universe. Imagine there came along a third man, much fiercer, much coarser, and even more ferocious, who was physically much more powerful and endowed with much greater strength, and that man bludgeoned every person born in a small thousandfold universe, or stabbed them or punched them, and after subduing them robbed them and made off with all of their useful goods: cowry shells, gold, precious stones, pearls, beryl, conches, crystals, coral, gold dust, silver, and different kinds of jewels, as well as their house, vehicle, clothes, food, drink, bedding, and furniture to be used or enjoyed, and every possession that could provide pleasure or leisure. What do you think, Kāśyapa? Would that man create a great deal of nonmerit on that basis?” Kāśyapa replied, “Yes, Blessed One, he would create a great deal. Sugata, he would create a great deal.” The Blessed One said, “Kāśyapa, believe this and take it to heart: when someone who knows themselves to be an ordinary person who has not attained fruition, overcome by desire for gain, reverence, and praise, falsely claims in the presence of others to be a non-returner and then enjoys so much as a single meal of alms food, ### [1.10](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.1.10) that creates an even greater amount of nonmerit. That creates an inexhaustibly greater amount of nonmerit. “Kāśyapa, never mind the useful goods of all the people in a small thousandfold universe. Imagine there came along a fourth man, supremely fierce, supremely coarse, and supremely ferocious, who was physically supremely powerful and endowed with supreme strength, and that man bludgeoned every god, nāga, yakṣa, gandharva, asura, garuḍa, kinnara, mahoraga, human, and nonhuman in a thousandfold universe, or stabbed them or punched them, and after subduing them robbed them and made off with all of their useful goods: cowry shells, gold, precious stones, pearls, beryl, conches, crystals, coral, gold dust, silver, and different kinds of jewels, as well as their house, vehicle, clothes, food, drink, bedding, and furniture to be used or enjoyed, and every possession that could provide pleasure or leisure. What do you think, Kāśyapa? Would that man create a great deal of nonmerit on that basis?” Kāśyapa replied, “Yes, Blessed One, he would create a great deal. Sugata, he would create a great deal.” The Blessed One said, “Kāśyapa, believe this and take it to heart: when someone who knows themselves to be an ordinary person who has not attained fruition, overcome by desire for gain, reverence, and praise, ### [1.11](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.1.11) falsely claims in the presence of others to be an arhat while thinking that others should recognize them as an arhat, exalts themselves in the way that an arhat is exalted, exhibits signs¹⁸ like those an arhat exhibits, and, possessing such sinful desires, enjoys so much as a single meal of alms food given by the faithful, that creates an even greater amount of nonmerit. That creates an inexhaustibly greater amount of nonmerit. “Therefore, Kāśyapa, compared to someone inclined to steal every pleasing possession of all the beings in a thousandfold universe, I do not see any more despicable behavior of one gone forth than to enjoy what is given by the faithful with such sinful desires.¹⁹ “Kāśyapa, these are the four sinful desires of one who has gone forth in the Śrāvaka Vehicle. What are the four? They are the desire to see the buddhas of the future, the desire for the sovereignty of a universal monarch, the desire for royal lineage, and the desire for a brahmanical lineage. Those are the four sinful desires of one who has gone forth in the Śrāvaka Vehicle. “When they aspire to something, even when they aspire to nirvāṇa, that is itself a sinful desire of theirs. With that in mind, the Tathāgata taught, ‘Monks, I do not in fact commend nirvāṇa with a remainder of the aggregates, nor do I commend birth even for so much as an instant.’²⁰ “Kāśyapa, these are the four stains of ascetics; one who has gone forth should never give rise to any of them. What are the four? They are clinging to the transitory collection, conceiving of it as a person, transgressing the training, ### [1.12](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.1.12) and desiring to see the buddhas of the future. Those are the four stains of ascetics; one who has gone forth should never give rise to any of them. “Kāśyapa, it was for the sake of ascetics and brahmins whose livelihoods are pure, who are free of sinful desires, who are morally disciplined, upright by nature, honest, and free of hypocrisy and arrogance, and who desire parinirvāṇa that I attained unsurpassed, perfect awakening and became a buddha. Therefore, Kāśyapa, you should speak words of encouragement to them so that, on hearing them, those yogis who engage in spiritual practice²¹ will be pleased and happy. “Kāśyapa, suppose some son or daughter of noble family has paid homage to all the beings in a four-continent universe for an eon or more with every pleasing possession and revered them, honored them, and made offerings to them. In comparison, when someone who has practiced properly, whose moral discipline is pure, and whose livelihood is pure accepts so much as a drink of water given in faith by a donor, that will create for them an enormous amount of merit. But that is not the case for the one who has paid homage to all the beings in the four-continent universe for an eon or more with every pleasing possession and revered them, honored them, and made offerings to them. “Kāśyapa, a fool with sinful desires harms the welfare of the person from whom he receives monastic robes or alms in a way that even a foe, a murderer, an opponent, or an enemy could not. “Kāśyapa, these are the four subtle defilements of one who has gone forth, and if one who has gone forth has these subtle defilements, ### [1.13](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.1.13) it should be declared that they will go to the hell realms just like an arrow that has been shot. What are the four? They are to be envious of another’s gain, to commit offenses against moral discipline after studying the sūtras connected with the precepts, to violate the Tathagata’s teachings or the training and then arrogantly conceal it while neither discerning nor confessing it, and to then knowingly enjoy gifts from the faithful. “Kāśyapa, those are the four subtle defilements of one who has gone forth, and if one who has gone forth has these subtle defilements, it should be declared that they will go to the hell realms just like an arrow that has been shot. “Kāśyapa, these are the four types of bogus ascetic. What are the four? They are one whose moral discipline is corrupted, one who believes in a self, one who abandons the authentic Dharma, and one who is a Lokāyata. Those are the four types of bogus ascetic. “Kāśyapa, these are the four ways in which one who has gone forth is puffed-up and careless, and if one who has gone forth is puffed-up and careless in these ways, it should be declared that they will go to the hell realms. What are the four? They are to be puffed-up with great learning, becoming careless because of it, to be puffed-up and overcome by gain, reverence, and praise, becoming careless because of it, to be puffed-up by the households of friends and those who give alms, becoming careless because of the food given by the households of friends and those who give alms, and to be puffed-up with ascetic practices and having few possessions, praising themselves and denigrating others because of being puffed-up with ascetic practices and having few possessions. That is what is known as carelessness. ### [1.14](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.1.14) “Kāśyapa, those are the four ways in which one who has gone forth is puffed-up and careless, and if one who has gone forth is puffed-up and careless in those ways, it should be declared that they will go to the hell realms.” Then the elder Mahākāśyapa said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, in the future, in the final five-hundred-year period, the bogus ascetics who want saffron robes and who will cause the disappearance of the unsurpassed, perfect awakening that the tathāgatas have accomplished for countless millions of eons—what will they be like?” The Blessed One replied to Venerable Mahākāśyapa, “Kāśyapa, what is the point of you asking the Tathāgata for an account of this? Let it go, Kāśyapa, because if the Tathāgata actually described and explained all the faults of those foolish peoples’ sinful desires, false conceptions, deceits, frauds, errors, malign flaws, and malign forces, after you heard of the sinful behavior of those unholy individuals, even though it is incorrect, it would not appear so to you.” Then the elder Mahākāśyapa said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, I beg the Blessed One, the Tathāgata, to give his blessing so that this Dharma and Vinaya may remain for a long time, come what may.” Then the Blessed One replied to Venerable Mahākāśyapa, “Kāśyapa, before long the Tathāgata will pass into parinirvāṇa.” Kāśyapa said, “Blessed One, in order to protect the authentic Dharma, ### [1.15](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.1.15) I beg the Blessed One, the Tathāgata, to remain for an eon or longer.”²² The Blessed One replied to Venerable Mahākāśyapa, “Kāśyapa, even if, say, a thousand buddhas had taught the Dharma, with miracles, to those foolish people, those unholy individuals would not let go of or turn away from their sinful desires and sinful conceptions. Besides, Kāśyapa, in the future, in the final five-hundred-year period, you will be inspired to preserve the authentic Dharma, and beings with virtuous minds who will listen respectfully to your explanations will be born.” Then the elder Mahākāśyapa said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, I, along with the four-continent universe with its hamlets, towns, and villages, its crags and mountain peaks, and its oceans, rivers, and woods, would gladly plead for this on my knees²³ for an eon or longer. But, Blessed One, I would not be glad to hear about the acts of propounding falsehood of those unholy individuals.²⁴ Blessed One, I would be happy to live on a single juniper berry or sesame seed or grain of rice for an eon or longer. But, Blessed One, I would not be glad to hear about the acts of propounding falsehood of those unholy individuals. Blessed One, I would be glad to live for as long as ten million years in the four postures in a great billionfold universe burning, blazing, and raging throughout with an eon-ending fire. But, Blessed One, I would not be glad to hear about the acts of propounding falsehood of those unholy individuals. ### [1.16](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.1.16) Blessed One, I would be glad to patiently accept anger, insults, denigration, degradation, intimidation, and beatings from all beings. But, Blessed One, I would not be glad to hear about the acts of propounding falsehood of those thieves and swindlers of the Dharma, those who speak nonsense about the Dharma, and teachers of counterfeit Dharma. Because my practice and knowledge are limited, I am not capable of bearing such a responsibility. But, Blessed One, a bodhisattva is capable of bearing such a responsibility. “Furthermore, Blessed One, I venture to draw this analogy: I would compare it, Blessed One, to a certain man, old and infirm, about one hundred and twenty years of age. Afflicted with an illness, the man takes to his bed to lie down after experiencing chest pain. At that point, a certain confused man who is rich, with ample wealth and possessions, arrives and says to the bed-ridden man, ‘Fellow, I entrust you with this treasure of mine, but when I return in ten or twenty years’ time from another region, return this treasure to me.’ He hands over the treasure, and after entrusting it in this way, he goes off to another region. “The bed-ridden man has neither sons nor daughters nor attendants, and before long, after the man has gone off to another region, the bed-ridden man dies. After that whole mass of wealth has been lost, when the man returns, no matter what the man says to anyone, there is nothing to be done. “In the same way, Blessed One, if the treasure of the authentic Dharma is entrusted to a śrāvaka, whose practice and knowledge are limited, ### [1.17](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.1.17) who is without a companion, and who will not remain for long, it will also not remain for long.” The Blessed One replied, “Yes, indeed, Kāśyapa. I, too, am aware of this. However, I knowingly asked this of you because if they hear your eloquent analogy, those unholy individuals will develop remorse.” Then the elder Mahākāśyapa said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, I venture to draw a second analogy here. I would compare it, Blessed One, to this: there is a certain person whose constitution is healthy and free of illness, who will live for many hundreds of thousands of years, and who is youthful, a young man. He has plenty of attendants and plenty of resources, an excellent lineage and family, and a virtuous disposition. He is loving and greatly compassionate, cheerful, and equanimous towards the faults of beings and the faults of the defilements. He acts for the benefit of many beings, for the happiness of many beings, out of love for the world, and for the welfare, benefit, and happiness of the great mass of beings, gods and humans. He is steadfast in his endeavors. A certain man comes into the presence of that holy individual and says, ‘Fellow, I entrust you with this treasure of mine, so hide and protect it well. When I return in ten- or twenty-years’ time from another region, return this treasure to me.’ When he hands the treasure over, the man accepts it and hides and protects it well, and when the other man returns, he gives it back to him. “In the same way, ### [1.18](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.1.18) Blessed One, if someone entrusts the treasure of the authentic Dharma to a bodhisattva, it will not be lost for many billions of eons but will be beneficial to many beings, and the lineage of the Buddha, of the Dharma, and of the Saṅgha will remain unbroken. “Blessed One, I am not capable of the actions that a bodhisattva accomplishes or of the goals that they accomplish. But, since the bodhisattva great being Maitreya is present in this very retinue, Blessed One, please command him. In the future, in the final five-hundred-year period when the authentic Dharma disappears, he will uphold and spread widely the unsurpassed, perfect awakening that the tathāgatas have accomplished for countless millions of eons. “The reason, Blessed One, is that the bodhisattva great being Maitreya will fully awaken to unsurpassed, perfect buddhahood after the Tathāgata. Blessed One, I would compare it to the son and heir who receives the royal anointment of a king. Because he will be bestowed with sovereignty after the king, even while he receives the royal anointment, he takes delight in it and also becomes righteous. He thinks to himself, ‘After I have received this royal anointment, I shall act as king.’ He is encouraged by this thought and so becomes deeply involved in all royal activities. In the same way, when the Blessed One, the Tathāgata, passes away, this bodhisattva great being ### [1.19](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.1.19) Maitreya will be bestowed with the great sovereignty of the kingdom of the authentic Dharma; therefore I beg him to deeply involve himself in protecting the authentic Dharma.” The Blessed One replied to the elder Mahākāśyapa, “Good, good, Kāśyapa! What you say is right.” Then the Blessed One extended his golden-colored right hand, his gentle, supremely supple hand acquired through virtuous roots over countless millions of eons, its touch pleasing like the finest silk, and poured liquid the color of red lac dye onto the head of the bodhisattva great being Maitreya, anointing him. He then said, “Maitreya, in the future, in the final five-hundred-year period, when the time has arrived for the authentic Dharma to disappear, take delight in protecting the authentic Dharma, causing it to last for a long while, upholding it, and causing the lineage of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha to remain unbroken.” As soon as the Blessed One laid his gold-colored right hand on the crown of the bodhisattva great being Maitreya’s head, at that very moment this whole great billionfold universe shook violently three times. It shook, shook violently, and shook all over; it trembled, trembled violently, and trembled all over; it quaked, quaked violently, and quaked all over. A great radiance appeared in the world. The gods of the earth and those who live in space, up to those of Akaniṣṭha, joined their palms together and said to the bodhisattva great being Maitreya, “Noble Maitreya, please take delight in protecting the authentic Dharma, causing it to last for a long while and upholding it for the benefit of many beings, for the happiness of many beings, out of love for the world, and for the welfare, benefit, ### [1.20](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.1.20) and happiness of the great mass of beings, gods and humans.” Then the bodhisattva great being Maitreya rose from his seat, draped his upper shawl over one shoulder, set his right knee on the ground, and with palms joined paid homage to the Blessed One. Then he said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, if I am happy to remain in saṃsāra until the end of time for the sake of even a single being, there is no need to say that I shall do so in order to uphold the authentic Dharma. Blessed One, I shall protect and spread widely the unsurpassed, perfect awakening that the tathāgatas have accomplished for countless millions of eons.” As soon as the bodhisattva great being Maitreya set his right knee on the ground, this whole great billionfold universe shook violently in six ways. Then the bodhisattva great being Maitreya said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, I am no one’s rival, and I am arrogant toward no one. Why is that? Blessed One, it is because these upholders of the authentic Dharma do the work of holy individuals. The burden that bodhisattvas carry, Blessed One, is a burden the likes of which śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas are incapable of carrying.” Then the Blessed One commended the bodhisattva great being Maitreya, “Good, good, Maitreya! Just as you have uttered such a lion’s roar in my presence in order to uphold the authentic Dharma, in the same way, bodhisattvas also utter lions’ roars in the presence of all the blessed buddhas of the ten directions, as many as the grains of sand in the Ganges, ### [1.21](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.1.21) and act to uphold the authentic Dharma.” The bodhisattva great being Maitreya said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, may the Blessed One, the Tathāgata, please instruct me on the subject of the flaws of those unholy individuals who profess to be bodhisattvas, who profess to be ascetics, who are idiots and fools, who seek gain and reverence and are attached to gain and reverence, and who are attached to the households of friends and those who give alms, exerting themselves for alms food. This is so that once I have learned of those causes in this way, Blessed One, I will understand them and so will abandon them all the faster and protect myself from those flaws. In addition, it is so that some of those unholy individuals will say, ‘The Tathāgata knows me, and the Tathāgata understands me; he understands me perfectly,’ and will develop faith in the Tathāgata.” The Blessed One replied to the bodhisattva great being Maitreya, “Listen well and remember, then, Maitreya, and I shall teach you just a little about the flaws of those unholy individuals. So, Maitreya, in the future, in the final five-hundred-year period, there will be many who falsely claim to be bodhisattvas. I shall explain what their sinful desires will be. “Maitreya, if bodhisattvas possess four qualities, one should recognize that they falsely claim to be bodhisattvas. What are the four? They are desire for gain, desire for reverence, dishonesty, and sustaining themselves through an unsuitable livelihood. “Maitreya, if bodhisattvas possess those four qualities, one should recognize that they falsely claim to be bodhisattvas.” ### [1.22](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.1.22) “Maitreya, in the future, in the final five-hundred-year period, there will be many falsely claiming to be bodhisattvas who behave like dogs. By way of analogy, Maitreya, if a dog sees another dog coming from a distance toward someone’s house that it has visited several times before, it thinks ‘This is my house!’ and barks and howls possessively, with angry looks. Hostility leads to wrongdoing, and it gets the idea of claiming the other’s house and that it belongs to it. “In the same way, Maitreya, in the future, in the final five-hundred-year period, the many falsely claiming to be bodhisattvas who behave like dogs will get the idea that other peoples’ houses and hamlets belong to them. Once they have the idea that they belong to them, they will appropriate them. If one monastic sees another monastic coming toward a house that they have visited before, they will think ‘This is my house!’ They will then give the other angry looks and become hostile, fighting, quarreling, arguing, and contending over it. The monastics will engage each other in verbal disputes and speak harshly to each other. One will say of the other, ‘The monk so-and-so possesses such-and-such flaws’ and ‘The nun so-and-so possesses such-and-such flaws.’ “Speaking unpleasantly, they will also say to householders, ‘If you want to follow me, you must not follow the monk so-and-so, and do not follow the nun so-and-so.’²⁵ “Merely for the sake of disgusting, perishable, execrable food, they will create a great deal of nonmerit. Behaving like hungry ghosts, poverty stricken, mean and avaricious, they will feed themselves. They will call themselves bodhisattvas and falsely claim to be bodhisattvas. While they break their vows of moral discipline, harbor sinful desires, ### [1.23](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.1.23) and behave in sinful ways, they will utter praise of the buddhas, praise of the buddhas’ wisdom, and praise of the perfect attitudes of other bodhisattvas. Their accomplishments will be food and clothing! “Maitreya, this is how the type of persons who should roar and act like a lion will cry out and act like a fox. While they utter praise of renouncing everything they own, they will not renounce fleeting worldly trifles; avarice will overcome them, the stain of possessions will soil them, and they will have alienated themselves from renunciation. While they utter praise of what is beneficial, they will engage in much malicious, unyielding, and angry wrongdoing. While they utter praise of patience, they will harbor nothing but malice. While they utter praise of the four means of gathering disciples, they will not give anything to anyone, will not speak pleasantly, will not help, and will be inconsistent in their words and deeds, gathering no one—look at how intolerable they will be! “They will not train themselves in emulation of the bodhisattvas’ diligence through conduct steeped in the good qualities to which they have pledged themselves—they will only pay lip service. “Maitreya, countless eons ago in the past—exceedingly countless, totally countless, numerous, immeasurable, unimaginable, incalculable eons ago—there arose in the world a tathāgata, an arhat, a perfectly awakened buddha called Highest Wisdom, endowed with perfect knowledge and conduct, a sugata, a knower of the world, an unsurpassed guide of beings to be tamed, a teacher of gods and humans, a buddha, a blessed one. That tathāgata, Maitreya, came into the world when it possessed the five degenerations, as it does now. “At that time, Maitreya, ### [1.24](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.1.24) there was a monk named Diligent Aspiration who was mindful, realized, and intelligent. He had little desire; he was content with what he had. He practiced the teachings of the tathāgatas. He visited hamlets, towns, villages, royal palaces, and the surrounding regions. When, on his arrival there, he taught the Dharma, the kings, important ministers, and most of the rest of the population would honor him, make offerings to him, pay homage to him, and show him reverence. They recognized him and knew him well. “He never thought to go a second time to any house where he had stayed and been spoken to pleasantly, where he was listened to respectfully, and where he obtained food and drink. It was other houses that he went to—those of misers, people without faith, and those with wrong views—and when he arrived there, they gave him no welcome. Not only did they not speak pleasantly to him, they got angry and abused him. But he, by donning the armor of patience and remaining greatly compassionate, was not distressed on going to those houses, and he felt no unhappiness. “Maitreya, the houses where the bodhisattva Diligent Aspiration had aroused faith supported other monks with monastic robes, alms food, bedding, seats, medicines to cure illness, and implements. What do you think, Maitreya? Do you think that he neither went to those houses nor even thought to go to them but, even so, gave rise to thoughts of jealousy and avarice toward those other monks?” Maitreya replied, “No, Blessed One. No, Sugata.” The Blessed One said, “See, Maitreya, that is how the bodhisattva Diligent Aspiration aroused faith in the houses where he was spoken to pleasantly, where he was listened to respectfully, and where he found food and drink, ### [1.25](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.1.25) and where other monks were supported. After that he did not enter them a second time. He aroused faith in the houses of misers, people without faith, and those with wrong views, and even when they got angry and abused him, he was not distressed and felt no unhappiness. Rather, he was really a benefit, with a noble intention, with little desire, content with what he had, gentle, and compassionate. “Maitreya, that is how previous bodhisattvas aroused faith in householders and supported others, but they did not do this for the sake of monastic robes or alms food for themselves. Maitreya, if you are of two minds or doubtful as to whether, at that particular time, the bodhisattva named Diligent Aspiration was someone else, do not view it that way. For I myself was, at that particular time, the bodhisattva named Diligent Aspiration. “Therefore, Maitreya, bodhisattvas who wish to visit houses should emulate the bodhisattva Diligent Aspiration. Apart from him, they should emulate other bodhisattvas’ perfect noble intention and behave just as those bodhisattvas do. “Furthermore, Maitreya, in the future, in the final five-hundred-year period, there will be some monks falsely claiming to be bodhisattvas who act as follows: they will visit houses for the sake of gain, monastic robes, and alms food, but not in order to establish householders in faith. They will express criticism of one another and be divisive and quarrelsome. They will be glad because others lose, not because they themselves gain; and they will be unhappy because others gain, not because they themselves lose. ### [2.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000.2.2) “Maitreya, if a bodhisattva should, without any regard, give all their own pleasing possessions to others, consider how far these monks will go astray! Because, Maitreya, a bodhisattva first develops an attitude of great compassion, thinking, ‘I must make all beings happy!’ “Maitreya, as an analogy, if a merchant or householder had an only son who was dear, beloved, and handsome, and whom a king imprisoned because of certain transgressions,²⁶ what do you think, Maitreya—with what intention would the merchant or householder enter the king’s prison?” The bodhisattva great being Maitreya replied to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, resolved to free their only son, they would think, ‘I shall quickly free my only son from this prison!’ They would enter the prison focused solely on their only son. They would enter the prison and, focused on freeing him, bring about his release.” The Blessed One replied, “Maitreya, I have used this analogy so that the meaning²⁷ will be understood. What is that meaning? It is as follows. You should consider the king’s prison to be just like the prison of saṃsāra. By analogy, Maitreya, you should consider the merchant or householder to be just like a bodhisattva. Maitreya, as for the analogy of the only son, consider that a bodhisattva should think of every being as like their only son. “It is like this, Maitreya—just as the merchant or householder would not enter the prison for any other reason or purpose than to benefit their only son, in the same way, Maitreya, a bodhisattva _First 39 of 167 passages. [Read on](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000)_ --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.ratnakuta.maitreyamahasimhanada*bo~en-84000) · Pramāṇa