The Lotus Sūtra 7.39

7.39

「無盡意！是觀世音菩薩成就如是功德，以種種形，遊諸國土，度脫眾生。是故汝等應當一心供養觀世音菩薩。是觀世音菩薩摩訶薩於怖畏急難之中能施無畏，是故此娑婆世界皆號之為施無畏者。」

form of Śakra. To those who are to be saved by the form of Īśvara, he teaches the Dharma by changing himself into the form of Īśvara. To those who are to be saved in the form of Maheśvara, he teaches the Dharma by changing himself into the form of Maheśvara. To those who are to be saved by the form of the great commander of the devas, he teaches the Dharma by changing himself into the form of the great commander of the devas. To those who are to be saved by the form of Vaiśravaṇa, he teaches the Dharma by changing himself into the form of Vaiśravaṇa. To those who are to be saved by the form of a minor king, he teaches the Dharma by changing himself into the form of a minor king. To those who are to be saved by the form of a wealthy man, he teaches the Dharma by changing himself into the form of

a wealthy man. To those who are to be saved by the form of a householder,

he teaches the Dharma by changing himself into the form of a householder.

To those who are to be saved by the form of a state official, he teaches the

Dharma by changing himself into the form of a state official. To those who

are to be saved by the form of a brahman, he teaches the Dharma by chang-

ing himself into the form of a brahman. To those who are to be saved by the

form of a monk, nun, layman, or laywoman, he teaches the Dharma by chang-

ing himself into the form of a monk, nun, layman, or laywoman. To those

who are to be saved by the form of a wife of either a wealthy man, a house-

holder, a state official, or a brahman, he teaches the Dharma by changing

himself into the form of such a wife. To those who are to be saved by the

form of a boy or a girl, he teaches the Dharma by changing himself into the

form of a boy or a girl. To those who are to be saved by the form of a human

or of a nonhuman such as a deva, nāga, yakṣa, gandharva, asura, garuḍa,

kiṃnara, or mahoraga, he teaches the Dharma by changing himself into any

of these forms. To those who are to be saved by the form of Vajrapāṇi, he

teaches the Dharma by changing himself into the form of Vajrapāṇi.

“O Akṣayamati! This Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara displays such quali-

ties, wanders through many lands in various forms, and saves sentient beings.

For this reason you should wholeheartedly pay homage to Bodhisattva Aval-

okiteśvara. This Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara bestows fearlessness in times of

fearful calamity. For this reason everybody in this sahā world calls him Abhayaṃ-

dada (Giver of Fearlessness).

The Bodhisattva Akṣayamati addressed the Buddha, saying: “O Bha-

gavat! I shall now pay homage to Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara.”

He then took from his neck a many-jeweled necklace worth hundreds

of thousands of gold coins, gave it to him, and said: “I entreat you to accept

this rare-jeweled necklace for the Dharma.”

At that time Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara did not dare to receive it. Akṣaya-

mati addressed Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, saying: “I entreat you to accept

this necklace out of pity for us.”