འཕགས་པ་གསར་འད་དམ་པ་མད་སྡའ་དབང་པའ་རྒྱལ་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད 227

227

I pray that you be seated and speak the amṛta of the sublime instructions
That bring liberation so as to benefit⁵⁰³ beings.’⁵⁰⁴

“The Bhagavat then sat on the seat and said to the bhikṣus, ‘Bhikṣus, do you want to see the bones of a bodhisattva who did that which was difficult to do?’

“The bhikṣus said to the Bhagavat:

“ ‘Excellent Ṛṣi, tell us well, for the time has come for us to see
The bones of someone dedicated to the benefit of beings,⁵⁰⁵
Who had patience, great diligence, and delighted in peace and self-control,
Who delighted in wisdom and mindfulness and possessed immeasurable qualities.’

“The Bhagavat then stamped on the ground’s surface with the sole of his foot, which was as soft as a newly blossomed lotus flower and had marked upon it the design of a wheel with a thousand spokes. As soon as he had pressed down on the earth, it shook in six ways and a stūpa made of silver and gold emerged from it.

“The Bhagavat then said to Venerable Ānanda, ‘Ānanda, open this stūpa!’

“Venerable Ānanda, obeying the Bhagavat, opened the stūpa and saw inside some golden caskets covered with jewels and pearls that shone⁵⁰⁶ with a golden light. Having seen that, he told the Bhagavat, ‘Bhagavat, there are golden caskets.’

“ ‘Open all these seven caskets!’⁵⁰⁷ said the Bhagavat.

“He thus opened them all, and he saw in them bones that were the color of snow and white water lilies. Having seen them, he told the Bhagavat, ‘Bhagavat, there are bones.’

“ ‘Ānanda, bring the bones of the great being!’ said the Bhagavat.

“Venerable Ānanda picked up those bones and gave them to the Buddha Bhagavat. The Bhagavat took the bones, held them in front of the saṅgha, and said:⁵⁰⁸