The Lotus Sūtra 7.4

7.4

爾時淨華宿王智佛告妙音菩薩：「汝莫輕彼國，生下劣想。善男子！彼娑婆世界，高下不平，土石諸山，穢惡充滿，佛身卑小，諸菩薩眾其形亦小。而汝身四萬二千由旬，我身六百八十萬由旬，汝身第一端正，百千萬福，光明殊妙，是故汝往，莫輕彼國——若佛、菩薩及國土，生下劣想。」

puṇyasamuccaya, prasādavatī, ṛddhivikrīḍita, jñānolkā, vyūharāja, vimalaprabhāsa, vimalagarbha, apkṛtsna, and sūryāvarta. He thus attained great samādhis equal in number to the sands of hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭis of Ganges Rivers. As the light of the Buddha Śākyamuni illuminated his body, he addressed the Buddha Kamaladalavimalanakṣatrarājasaṃkusumitābhijña, saying: “O Bhagavat! I shall go to the sahā world, approach the Buddha Śākyamuni in homage and reverence, and see Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, the Prince of the Dharma, as well as Bodhisattva Bhaiṣajyarāja, Bodhisattva

Pradānaśūra, Bodhisattva Nakṣatrarājasaṃkusumitābhijña, Bodhisattva

Viśiṣṭacāritra, Bodhisattva Vyūharāja, and Bodhisattva Bhaiṣajyasamudgata.”

Then the Buddha Kamaladalavimalanakṣatrarājasaṃkusumitābhijña

addressed Bodhisattva Gadgadasvara, saying: “You must not despise that

world nor think it inferior. O son of a virtuous family! The land of that sahā

world is uneven and irregular and is filled with mud, stones, mountains, and

filth. The Buddha is short of body, as are the bodhisattvas. By contrast, your

body is forty-two thousand yojanas tall, and my body is six million eight

hundred thousand yojanas tall. Your body is perfect in its bearing and illu-

minated most beautifully with hundreds of millions of merits. Yet, when you

go there you must not despise that country nor think the Buddha, bodhi-

sattvas, or the world itself inferior.”

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

gavat! I am now going to the sahā world through the power of the Tathā-

gata, the carefree play of the transcendent powers of the Tathāgata, and the

adornment of the qualities and wisdom of the Tathāgata.”

At that time Bodhisattva Gadgadasvara, without rising from his seat or

moving his body, entered samādhi. Through the power of the samādhi he

caused eighty-four thousand jeweled lotus flowers to appear on Mount

Gṛdhrakūṭa, not far from the seat of the Dharma. The stems were made of

Jambūnāda gold, the leaves of silver, the pistils of diamond, and the calyces

of ruby.

On seeing these lotus flowers, Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, the Prince of the

Dharma, addressed the Buddha, saying: “O Bhagavat! Why has this marvel

appeared? There are a great many millions of lotus flowers, whose stems are

made of Jambūnāda gold, leaves of silver, pistils of diamond, and calyces

of ruby.”

The Buddha Śākyamuni answered Mañjuśrī, saying: “The Bodhisattva

Gadgadasvara wishes to come to this sahā world from the buddha world

called Kamaladalavimalanakṣatrarājasaṃkusumitābhijña, together with

eighty-four thousand bodhisattvas as his retinue. He approaches me in hom-

age and reverence, wishing to make offerings and to hear the Lotus Sutra.”

Mañjuśrī asked the Buddha, saying: “O Bhagavat! What roots of good

merit has he planted, and what merits has he practiced to attain his great tran-