The Lotus Sūtra 2.6

2.6

爾時佛告舍利弗：「吾今於天、人、沙門、婆羅門等大眾中說，我昔曾於二萬億佛所，為無上道故，常教化汝，汝亦長夜隨我受學。我以方便引導汝故，生我法中。舍利弗！我昔教汝志願佛道，汝今悉忘，而便自謂已得滅度。我今還欲令汝憶念本願所行道故，為諸聲聞說是大乘經，名妙法蓮華，教菩薩法，佛所護念。

The Bhagavat teaches the real path,

But the Wicked One does not.

Therefore I know definitely

That it was not Māra acting like the Buddha.

Because I fell into a web of doubt,

I thought that Māra was impersonating the Buddha.

When I heard the voice of the Buddha,

Profound and very subtle,

Fluently explaining the pure Dharma,

I became full of great joy.

My doubts are completely and forever exhausted,

And I have achieved the true wisdom.

I will definitely become a buddha,

Honored by devas and humans.

I will turn the wheel of the highest Dharma

And lead and inspire the bodhisattvas.

At that time the Buddha said to Śāriputra: “I will now reveal to you before the great assembly of devas, humans, śrāmaṇas, and brahmans that in the past, in the presence of two hundred thousand koṭis of buddhas, I led and inspired you constantly for the sake of the highest path. You have followed my instructions for a long time. Because I led you with skillful means, you were born in my Dharma.

“O Śāriputra! In the past I inspired you to seek the buddha path. Yet just now you had completely forgotten this and considered yourself to have attained nirvana. Now, because I want you to remember the path that you practiced according to your original vow in the past, I will teach the śrāvakas the Mahayana sutra called the Lotus Sutra, the instruction for the bodhisattvas and treasured lore of the buddhas.’

“O Śāriputra! In the future after immeasurable, limitless, and inconceivable kalpas, you will have paid homage to thousands of myriads of koṭis of buddhas, preserved the True Dharma, and mastered the path practiced by the bodhisattvas. You will become a buddha called Padmaprabha, a Tathāgata, Arhat, Completely Enlightened, Perfect in Knowledge and Conduct, Well-Departed, Knower of the World, Unsurpassed, Tamer of Humans, Teacher of Devas and Humans, Buddha, Bhagavat.

“Your land will be called Viraja. Its earth will be level and pure, ornamented, peaceful, and rich. The devas and humans will prosper. The earth will be made of lapis lazuli with a well-planned network of roads like a chessboard bordered with golden cords. Rows of seven-jeweled trees, which are always full of flowers and fruits, will line the borders of these roads. The Tathāgata Padmaprabha will also lead and inspire sentient beings by means of the three vehicles.

“O Śāriputra! When that buddha appears, even though his will not be a troubled world, he will teach the three vehicles because of his original vow.

This kalpa will be called Mahāratnapratimaṇḍita, meaning ‘Adorned with

Great Jewels.’ Why will it be called Mahāratnapratimaṇḍita? Because in that

world the bodhisattvas will be like great jewels. The number of these bodhi-

sattvas will be immeasurable, limitless, inconceivable, and beyond all com-

parison, known only by those with the power of the Buddha’s wisdom.

“When they want to walk they will step on jeweled flowers. And these