[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) › [Suvarṇaprabhāsottamasūtra](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.suvarnaprabhasa) › [འཕགས་པ་གསེར་འོད་དམ་པ་མདོ་སྡེའི་དབང་པོའི་རྒྱལ་པོ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.suvarnaprabhasa*bo-d557) › [The Sutra of the Sublime Golden Light (3)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.suvarnaprabhasa*bo-d557~en-84000) › 2 # འཕགས་པ་གསར་འད་དམ་པ་མད་སྡའ་དབང་པའ་རྒྱལ་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད 2 The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light (3) 2 - **Language:** English ### [2.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.suvarnaprabhasa*bo-d557~en-84000.2.2) The Muni’s body¹⁰⁷ has a navel as vivid as a carpenter bee.¹⁰⁸ “ ‘He has a prominent nose that is always gleaming¹⁰⁹ And is soft and an excellent color, like bright gold. He always, continuously, has the perfect nose¹¹⁰ of all the jinas, Which is soft, sublime, supreme, and noble. “ ‘From each and every pore there Rises a hair that curls to the right, A dark blue, shining, gleaming curl, Blue and beautiful like a peacock’s neck. “ ‘As soon as he was born, his body shone, Filling¹¹¹ all worlds in the ten directions with light, Ending the endless sufferings in the three worlds, And satisfying beings with every happiness. “ ‘He satisfied with happiness The beings in the hells, animals, Pretas, devas,¹¹² and human beings, And brought to an end all lower existences. “ ‘His light was the excellent color of gold; His body shone like purified gold. His perfectly stainless face is a sugata moon,¹¹³ His stainless mouth smiling beautifully. “ ‘His body and limbs are soft like a young boy’s. He has a perfect, powerful stride like a lion’s. He has long hands and very long arms Like vines on a sal tree moved by the breeze. “ ‘He has a fathom-wide aura that radiates light; He is as bright as a thousand suns. The stainless, supreme body of the lord of munis Illuminates all of the infinite realms. “ ‘A multitude of night-bringing¹¹⁴ moons and suns, In endless hundreds of thousands of realms, All become eclipsed by The brilliant light of the Buddha. “ ‘In endless hundreds of thousands of realms, May beings see¹¹⁵ the tathāgata suns— The suns of the buddhas, the lamps of worlds— As a hundred thousand buddha suns.¹¹⁶ “ ‘His body is endowed with a hundred thousand merits. His body is adorned by all good qualities. The Jina’s arms are like the trunk of the king of elephants. His hands and feet are beautiful with stainless light.¹¹⁷ ### [2.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.suvarnaprabhasa*bo-d557~en-84000.2.3) “ ‘The buddhas who have been, who are as numerous as atoms; Who are as numerous as the dust on the surface of the earth; Those who are appearing, who are as numerous as atoms; Those who are present, who are as numerous as atoms— “ ‘To those jinas I pay homage In pure faith, with body and speech, Offering flowers and offering perfumes, And with a hundred praises and a virtuous mind. “ ‘The good qualities that the jinas have Are a manifold multitude of the very best. I could not describe those qualities of the jinas¹¹⁸ In a thousand eons with a hundred tongues. “ ‘With a thousand tongues I could not describe Even a fraction of the qualities of a single jina, So how could I describe with a thousand tongues The qualities of all the jinas? “ ‘If the world and its paradises became an ocean, And up to the summit of existence became filled with water, It would be possible to measure it with the tip of a hair. But one cannot measure a single quality of the sugatas. “ ‘With faith and with body, speech, and mind I praise and eulogize all the jinas. Through my accumulated perfect results of merit, May beings reach the state of buddhahood.’¹¹⁹ “When the king had praised the Buddha in that way, The king prayed in this way: ‘Wherever I am born, In endless future eons, “ ‘May I see such a drum¹²⁰ in a dream. There, may I hear this kind of confession. May I encounter in every lifetime A praise such as this Source of Lotuses.¹²¹ “ ‘May I hear in a dream of those Infinite, unequaled qualities of the buddhas, Which are difficult to acquire even in a thousand eons, And may I teach them when I am awake. “ ‘May I free beings from the ocean of suffering. May I complete the six perfections And afterward attain the highest enlightenment, And may my realm be without an equal.¹²² “ ‘Through the ripened result of offering a drum, And through the cause that is praising the buddhas, May I directly see the Śākya lord of munis, And may I attain there the prophecy of my buddhahood. ### [2.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.suvarnaprabhasa*bo-d557~en-84000.2.4) “ ‘May these two youths, my two sons, Kanaka­bhujendra and Kanaka­prabhāsvara, Attain there the prophecy Of attaining the highest enlightenment. “ ‘May those beings who have no protector or savior, Who are without a refuge and are in distress, May they all in the future Have saviors, protectors, and refuges. “ ‘May the source of all suffering come to an end. May there be the source of all happiness.¹²³ May I have the conduct of enlightenment in future eons, Which are as numerous as the eons of the past. “ ‘Through the confession of The Sublime Golden Light, May my ocean of bad actions dry up, May my ocean of karma come to an end, And may my ocean of kleśas cease to exist. “ ‘May my ocean of merit become complete. Through¹²⁴ the power of the light of stainless wisdom, May the ocean of my wisdom become complete, And may there be an ocean of all qualities.¹²⁵ “ ‘May the precious qualities of enlightenment be complete.¹²⁶ Through the power of The Sublime Golden Light confession. May my merit become radiant.¹²⁷ May the light of my enlightenment be purified. “ ‘Through¹²⁸ the sublime light of stainless wisdom,¹²⁹ May my body shine with light. In order that the light of merit be bright, May I become preeminent within the three worlds. “ ‘May I always have the power of merit.¹³⁰ May I be liberated from the ocean of suffering And practice enlightened conduct in future eons With every happiness that is like an ocean. “ ‘In future times, may my realm Have the same infinite qualities As the superior, infinite qualities Of all the jinas in the realms That have been in the three worlds in the past.’ ” Chapter 6: Emptiness ### [2.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.suvarnaprabhasa*bo-d557~en-84000.2.5) Then the Bhagavat recited these verses: “I have taught the Dharmas of emptiness Very extensively in countless other sūtras. Therefore, in this supreme sūtra I will teach the Dharmas of emptiness briefly. “Unknowing beings with little intelligence Are not able to know all the Dharmas. Therefore, in this supreme sūtra I will teach the Dharmas of emptiness briefly. “I teach this lord of supreme sūtras Through other methods, ways, and causes, And through compassion, so that all beings will understand And so that it will arise in beings.¹³¹ “This body is like an empty village. The senses are like six village¹³² thieves, Who, although they are in the same village, Are not aware of one another. “The sense of sight runs toward forms; The sense of hearing moves after sounds; The sense of smell steals various aromas; The sense of taste runs after flavors; “The sense of touch pursues tactility; The mental sense investigates phenomena. These six senses in relation to one another Are each engaging with their own objects of perception. “The mind is unstable, like an illusion. The six senses experience their fields of perception. The six village¹³³ thieves present there, Are like a man running around in an empty village. “Just as the mind and the six present senses Know the range of sensory perception— Forms, sounds, and likewise smells, Flavors, tactility, and the range of mental phenomena— “The mind enters the senses, moving like a bird Throughout all six of them. In whatever sense it is present, It has the nature of that sense’s perception.¹³⁴ “The body is unmoving and has no activity. It has no essence and arises from conditions. It has no real existence but arises from concepts. ### [2.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.suvarnaprabhasa*bo-d557~en-84000.2.6) It is an empty village; it is like a working machine. “Earth, fire, water, and air Dwell here and there outside the village.¹³⁵ They are like poisonous snakes in one location That are always in conflict with one another. “Of those four snakes of the elements, Two move upward and two go downward; They go in twos to the main and intermediate directions, And all those element snakes are destroyed. “The earth snake and the water snake— These two come to an end below. The fire snake and the air snake— They go upward into the sky. “The mind and the consciousnesses remain, And they go according to previous karma. According to the karma created in the past, they are reborn Into an existence among devas, humans, or the three lower realms. “When the phlegm, air, and bile come to an end, The body becomes covered with urine and vomit.¹³⁶ It becomes a disgusting mass of worms And is cast into the charnel ground as if it were wood. “Goddess, look at these phenomena, At whatever being or individual is here; All of these phenomena are empty, But they occur through the factor of ignorance. “All these great elements¹³⁷ are not ‘great occurrences.’ They occur through nonoccurrence and so do not occur. Because the occurring elements are nonoccurring, For that reason I call them ‘great elements.’¹³⁸ “They are not existent and never¹³⁹ were existent. They come to be because of ignorance. This ignorance, too, is not existent.¹⁴⁰ Therefore, I teach that this is ignorance. “Formations, consciousness, and name and form; The six āyatanas, contact, and sensation; Craving, grasping, and likewise becoming; And the misfortunes of birth, aging and death, and misery— “Those inconceivable sufferings in saṃsāra That are present in the wheel of saṃsāra Have happened without happening and have no origination. The distinctions made by an erroneous mind, “And the view that there is a self, should be cut through. Cut through the net of the kleśas with the sword of wisdom. ### [2.7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.suvarnaprabhasa*bo-d557~en-84000.2.7) See that the basis of the skandhas is empty. Reach the vast qualities of the buddhas. “I have opened the gate of the city of amṛta. I have shown everyone the vessel of amṛta liquid. I have entered the place that is the city¹⁴¹ of amṛta, And I have been satiated by the amṛta liquid. “I have beaten the sublime great drum¹⁴² of the Dharma. I have blown the sublime conch of the Dharma. I have lit the sublime lamp of the Dharma, And I have sent down a sublime rain of Dharma. “I have defeated the supreme enemy, the kleśas. I have raised the sublime banner of the Dharma. I have brought beings across the ocean of existence. I have blocked the road to the three lower existences. “There are beings who are tormented by the fire of the kleśas, Who have no support or protector. I have extinguished the fire of the kleśas in those beings And brought them relief with the cooling liquid of amṛta.¹⁴³ “For that reason, through many past eons I made offerings to innumerable guides,¹⁴⁴ And in seeking for the Dharma body I practiced resolute discipline for the sake of enlightenment. “I gave away my arms, eyes, and legs; My head,¹⁴⁵ beloved sons and daughters, Wealth, treasures, ornamentations of jewels and pearls, Gold, beryl, and various kinds of jewels. “If all the trees in the trichiliocosm, And all the grasses, the plants, And the forests—everything that Grows from the ground—were to be cut down,¹⁴⁶ “And they were all ground down And made into the smallest atoms And were formed into a heap of powder That reached the domain of the sky, “It would not be possible to divide that into portions.¹⁴⁷ There are the particles that exist in the earth— The countless elemental particles In all the trichiliocosm worlds— “And if the knowledge of all beings Could become that of a single being, Such that with that knowledge All those particles could be counted, “Then the humans with that perfect wisdom,¹⁴⁸ Who would be superior to all other beings, Could possibly count all those particles, But still they would not be able to calculate a jina’s wisdom. ### [2.8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.suvarnaprabhasa*bo-d557~en-84000.2.8) “If they were to engage with a single instant Of the wisdom of the great Muni, For many millions of eons, They would still be unable to calculate it.” Chapter 7: The Four Mahārājas Then Mahārāja Vaiśravaṇa, Mahārāja Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Mahārāja Virūḍhaka, and Mahārāja Virūpākṣa rose from their seats, and with their upper robe over one shoulder, knelt on their right knee and, with palms together in homage, bowed toward the Bhagavat and said, “Venerable¹⁴⁹ Bhagavat, this Lord King of Sūtras, The Sublime Golden Light, is taught by all the tathāgatas; it is viewed by all the tathāgatas; it is thought of¹⁵⁰ by all the tathāgatas; it is possessed by all the assemblies of bodhisattvas; it is paid homage to by all the hosts of devas; it is offered to by all the hosts of devas; it is praised by all the hosts of the lords of devas; it is offered to, praised, and honored by all the protectors of the world; it illuminates all the divine mansions; it brings supreme happiness to all beings; it extinguishes all the suffering in the hells, in the lives of animals, and in the realm of Yama; it brings fears to an end; it repels all the armies of enemies; it brings the calamity¹⁵¹ of famines to an end; it brings the calamity¹⁵² of disease to an end; it dispels all planetary influences;¹⁵³ it brings perfect peace; it ends misery and troubles; and it brings to an end various kinds of calamities—it overcomes a hundred thousand calamities. “Venerable Bhagavat, if you extensively elucidate this Lord King of Sūtras, The Sublime Golden Light, ### [2.9](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.suvarnaprabhasa*bo-d557~en-84000.2.9) through hearing the Dharma, through the liquid of the amṛta of the Dharma, then the divine bodies of we Four Mahārājas and our armies and attendants will increase in their great magnificence; diligence, strength, and power will arise in our bodies; and magnificence, splendor, and good fortune will enter our bodies. “Venerable Bhagavat, we Four Mahārājas possess the Dharma, teach the Dharma, and are Dharma kings. “Venerable Bhagavat, through the Dharma we are the kings of devas, nāgas, asuras, garuḍas, gandharvas, kinnaras, and mahoragas. We repel the terrible hosts of cruel bhūtas who steal the vitality of others.¹⁵⁴ “Venerable Bhagavat, we Four Mahārājas, and the twenty-eight great generals of the yakṣas and many hundreds of thousands of yakṣas, are continually looking at all of Jambudvīpa with our pure divine vision, which transcends that of humans, and we defend it and protect it. “Venerable Bhagavat, for that reason we Four Mahārājas are given the name world protectors. “Venerable Bhagavat, wherever in this Jambudvīpa a country is defeated by an enemy army—or is stricken by the calamity of famine, or the calamity of disease, or a hundred various calamities, a thousand calamities, or a hundred thousand calamities—then, venerable Bhagavat, we Four Mahārājas will inspire the bhikṣus who possess this Lord King of Sūtras, The Sublime Golden Light. “Venerable Bhagavat, when we Four Mahārājas inspire dharmabhāṇaka bhikṣus through miracles and blessings, they will teach this Lord King of Sūtras, The Sublime Golden Light, in whatever land they are in, and all the various calamities—a hundred calamities, a thousand calamities—that have appeared in that land will cease. ### [2.10](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.suvarnaprabhasa*bo-d557~en-84000.2.10) “Venerable Bhagavat, in whatever lands there are dharmabhāṇaka bhikṣus who possess this Lord King of Sūtras, The Sublime Golden Light then in those lands The Lord King of Sūtras, The Sublime Golden Light will be heard. “Venerable Bhagavat, when a human king listens to and hears this Lord King of Sūtras, The Sublime Golden Light, he will guard those bhikṣus who possess this lord of sūtras from all adversaries; he will defend them, keep them in his care, and protect them. “Venerable Bhagavat, we Four Mahārājas will guard all the beings who dwell in the domain of that human king; we will guard them, defend them, keep them in our care, protect them, and bring them peace and well-being.¹⁵⁵ “Venerable Bhagavat, if a human king¹⁵⁶ were to make happy, through whatever brings happiness, the bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, and upāsikās who possess this lord of sūtras,¹⁵⁷ then, venerable Bhagavat, we Four Mahārājas will, through the requisites for happiness, bring the perfection of happiness and requisites to the beings who dwell in all the dominions of those human kings. “Venerable Bhagavat, when human kings honor, revere, attend upon, and make offerings to the bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, and upāsikās who possess this lord of sūtras, then, venerable Bhagavat, we Four Mahārājas will cause all kings to greatly honor, revere, attend upon, and make offerings to those human kings, and they will be praised in all their dominions.” Then the Bhagavat congratulated the Four Mahārājas, saying, “Excellent, excellent, Mahārājas! Excellent, excellent, you Mahārājas! ### [2.11](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.suvarnaprabhasa*bo-d557~en-84000.2.11) “It is thus: you have served past jinas, have generated roots of merit, have honored many hundreds of thousands of quintillions of buddhas, have possessed the Dharma, have taught the Dharma, and have been kings of devas and humans through the Dharma. “It is thus: for a long time, you have had the motivation to benefit all beings; you have had the motivation of happiness and love; you have had the superior motivation of wishing to bring benefit and happiness to all beings; you have prevented that which is not beneficial; and you have been dedicated to accomplishing every happiness for all beings. “You Four Mahārājas have guarded the kings who have been dedicated to honoring and making offerings to The Lord King of Sūtras, The Sublime Golden Light, and defended them, kept them in your care, protected them, saved them from attack,¹⁵⁸ and brought them peace and well-being. “Therefore, you Four Mahārājas, with your army, attendants, and many hundreds of thousands of yakṣas, will guard the way of the Dharma of the buddha bhagavats of the past, future, and present. You will protect it and keep it in your care. “Therefore, you Four Mahārājas, with your army, attendants, and many hundreds of thousands of yakṣas, will be victorious in the battle between the devas and asuras. You will defeat the asuras. In this way, The Lord King of Sūtras, The Sublime Golden Light subjugates all opposing armies. For that reason, you should guard the bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, and upāsikās who possess this lord of sūtras. You should defend them, keep them in your care, protect them, and bring them peace and well-being.” Then Mahārāja Vaiśravaṇa, Mahārāja Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Mahārāja Virūḍhaka, and Mahārāja Virūpākṣa rose from their seats, ### [2.12](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.suvarnaprabhasa*bo-d557~en-84000.2.12) and with their upper robes over one shoulder, they knelt on their right knee and, with palms together in homage, bowed toward the Bhagavat and said, “Venerable Bhagavat, in the future, when this Lord King of Sūtras, The Sublime Golden Light is performed in any village, town, market town, district, kingdom, or royal capital; when it is performed in the domain of any human king; and when, venerable Bhagavat, any human king who acts as a king in accordance with the commitment of the lord of devas and with this treatise on kingship, and always listens to, worships, and makes offerings to this Lord King of Sūtras, The Sublime Golden Light, and honors, venerates, worships, and makes offerings to the bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, and upāsikās who possess this Lord King of Sūtras, and always listens to this Lord King of Sūtras, The Sublime Golden Light, then at that time, through the liquid amṛta of this Dharma, through the water of the river of listening to the Dharma, the divine bodies of we Four Mahārājas and our army, attendants, and many hundred thousands of yakṣas will increase in their great magnificence, and we will have great diligence, power, and strength. Our magnificence, splendor, and good fortune will also increase. “Venerable Bhagavat, we Four Mahārājas, with our army, attendants, and many hundreds of thousands of yakṣas, will now and in future times be present in these very bodies in any village, town, market town, district, kingdom, or royal capital where this Lord King of Sūtras, The Sublime Golden Light is performed. “We will guard the human kings who listen to, worship, and make offerings to this Lord King of Sūtras, the Sublime Golden Light. We will defend them, keep them in our care, protect them, save them from attack,¹⁵⁹ and bring them peace and well-being. ### [2.13](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.suvarnaprabhasa*bo-d557~en-84000.2.13) “We will guard the royal courts,¹⁶⁰ the kingdoms, and their dominions. We will defend them, keep them in our care, protect them, save them from attack, and bring them peace and well-being. We will free those dominions from all fear, harm, and disturbances, and we will repel the armies of enemies. “If a human king who listens to, worships, and makes offerings to this Lord King of Sūtras, The Sublime Golden Light has a neighboring enemy king, and if, venerable Bhagavat, that king thinks, ‘I will go with my fourfold army to that domain to destroy it,’ then, venerable Bhagavat, at that time, in that time, through the power of the magnificence of this Lord King of Sūtras, The Sublime Golden Light, that neighboring enemy king will enter into battle with other kings, who will enter his domain and bring ruin to his domain. They will bring dreadful ruin to that king. Bad planetary influences and diseases will also appear in his domain. There will be hundreds of various kinds of difficulties in his domain. “Venerable Bhagavat, if a neighboring enemy king goes to that king’s domain, there will be hundreds of various kinds of calamities and hundreds of various kinds of tribulations. “Venerable Bhagavat, if a neighboring enemy king gathers together his fourfold army and leaves his domain as an invading army and with those four divisions of his army enters another domain in order to destroy a domain where this Lord King of Sūtras, The Sublime Golden Light, is present, then, venerable Bhagavat, ### [2.14](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.suvarnaprabhasa*bo-d557~en-84000.2.14) we Four Mahārājas, with our army, attendants, and countless hundreds of thousands of yakṣas, in these very bodies, will go there, and we will drive back the enemy army that is en route.¹⁶¹ We will cause them hundreds of various calamities and create obstacles for them. In that way, the army of the enemy will not even be able to enter that domain, let alone cause its destruction.” Then the Bhagavat congratulated the Four Mahārājas, saying, “Excellent, excellent, Mahārājas! Excellent, excellent, you Mahārājas! You have accomplished this for many hundreds of thousands of quintillions of asaṃkhyeya eons, and for the sake of the highest, most complete enlightenment you should guard, defend, keep in your care, protect, save from attack, and bring peace and well-being to a human king who listens to, worships, and makes offerings¹⁶² to this Lord King of Sūtras, The Sublime Golden Light. “You should also guard, defend, keep in your care, protect, save from attack, and bring peace and well-being to their royal courts,¹⁶³ cities, kingdoms, and dominions. You should also free those dominions from all fear, harm, and disturbances. You should repel the armies of enemies. “You should be eager for there to be no fighting, no quarreling, no contention, and no disputes among the human kings who dwell throughout all of Jambudvīpa. “In this Jambudvīpa of yours, you Four Mahārājas and your army and attendants, may the eighty-four thousand kings in the eighty-four thousand cities each delight in their own domains. May they each delight in their own sovereignty. ### [2.15](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.suvarnaprabhasa*bo-d557~en-84000.2.15) May they not be harmful to each other’s aggregation of wealth. May they not attack each other. May the kings be happy with the sovereignty that they have obtained through their own accumulation of karma in the past. May they not destroy each other’s dominion. May they not cause harm to each other in order to destroy each other’s dominion. “When the eighty-four thousand kings in the eighty-four thousand cities in this Jambudvīpa are loving toward each other; when they have loving and altruistic minds; when they have no fighting, no quarreling, no contention, and no disputes among them and are each happy with their own domains, because of that, you Four Mahārājas, your army and attendants, and this Jambudvīpa will flourish. It will have good harvests. It will be delightful. It will be filled with many people. It will have fertile earth. The cycles of periods of time, months, fortnights, and years will be fortuitous. Both day and night, the planets, the lunar asterisms, the moon, and the sun will move harmoniously. The rain will fall on the earth at the appropriate times. The beings who dwell in Jambudvīpa will have all wealth and grain. They will have numerous possessions, without miserliness. They will be generous. They will follow the path of the ten good actions. Most will be reborn in the higher blissful realms. The mansions of the devas will be filled with devas and their children. “Mahārājas, where there is a human king who listens to, worships, and makes offerings to this Lord King of Sūtras, The Sublime Golden Light; and honors, venerates, worships, and makes offerings to the bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, and upāsikās who possess this Lord King of Sūtras, the Sublime Golden Light; and who, out of kindness to you Four Mahārājas, your army and attendants, and your many hundred thousands of yakṣas, always listens to this Lord King of Sūtras, The Sublime Golden Light, ### [2.16](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.suvarnaprabhasa*bo-d557~en-84000.2.16) then through the water of the river of listening to the Dharma, the liquid amṛta of this Dharma, your divine bodies will be refreshed, and your divine bodies will increase in their great magnificence, and you will develop diligence, power, and strength. Your magnificence, splendor, and good fortune will also increase. “Those human kings will have also made inconceivably vast offerings to me, the tathāgata arhat samyaksaṃbuddha Śākyamuni. Those human kings will also have made offerings of all inconceivably vast, immense requisites to many hundreds of thousands of quintillions of past, future, and present tathāgatas. Therefore, a great guardianship will be created for those human kings. Those human kings will be guarded, defended, cared for, protected, saved from attacks, and endowed with peace and well-being. There will be a great guardianship created for all their queens, their princes, their harems, and their entire court.¹⁶⁴ They will be guarded, defended, cared for, protected, saved from attacks, and endowed with peace and well-being. All the deities who dwell in the royal court will have greater magnificence, greater strength, and inconceivable bliss and happiness. They will experience various kinds of pleasure. The cities and the kingdom will also be guarded, defended, unharmed, without enemies, and not oppressed, harmed, or disturbed by enemy armies.” Then Mahārāja Vaiśravaṇa, Mahārāja Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Mahārāja Virūḍhaka, and Mahārāja Virūpākṣa said to the Bhagavat, ### [2.17](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.suvarnaprabhasa*bo-d557~en-84000.2.17) “Venerable Bhagavat,¹⁶⁵ the human king who wishes to listen to this Lord King of Sūtras, The Sublime Golden Light, and who wishes to have a great guardianship for himself; who wishes for a great guardianship for all his queens, their princes and princesses, and the harem; who wishes to bring the highest, superior, inconceivable great peace and well-being to his entire court;¹⁶⁶ who wishes to increase his great sovereignty inconceivably in his lifetime; who wishes to possess inconceivable kingship; who wishes to possess an incalculable accumulation of merit; who wishes for his entire domain to be completely guarded; who wishes for it to be protected; who wishes for there to be no harm to his domain; and who wishes for there to be no enemies, no oppression from enemy armies, no disease, and no disturbances—venerable Bhagavat, that human king, with an undistracted mind, with veneration and service, should listen respectfully to this Lord King of Sūtras, The Sublime Golden Light. “In order to listen to this Lord King of Sūtras, The Sublime Golden Light, that human king should enter a superior royal palace. Having entered, he should sprinkle perfume and scatter a variety of flower petals in the royal palace. Where the perfume has been sprinkled, he should set up a high Dharma throne, well adorned with a variety of adornments. He should adorn that place well with a variety of parasols, banners, and flags. That human king should wash his body. He should put on new, perfectly clean clothes and adorn himself with various kinds of jewelry. ### [2.18](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.suvarnaprabhasa*bo-d557~en-84000.2.18) He should set out for himself a low seat, and seated on that he should not have the arrogant conceit of a king. “He should have no attachment to the power of kingship. With a mind devoid of all arrogance, pride, and conceit, he should listen to this Lord King of Sūtras, The Sublime Golden Light. He should also perceive the dharmabhāṇaka bhikṣu as a teacher. “That human king, at that time, in that time, should regard his principal queen, princes, princesses, and harem in a pleasing and beneficial way. He should speak to his principal queen, princes, princesses, and harem with pleasant words. He should have various offerings assembled for listening to the Dharma. He should be delighted by inconceivable, unequaled joy. He should be blissful with inconceivable joy and happiness. He should have delighted senses. He should think he will attain a great benefit.¹⁶⁷ He should be delighted with a great delight. He should welcome the dharmabhāṇaka with great pleasure.” After they had spoken, the Bhagavat said to the Four Mahārājas, “Mahārājas, at that time, in that time, that human king should wear clothes that are all white, beautiful, and new. He should adorn himself well with various adornments and jewelry. He should hold a white parasol. With great royal power and a great royal display, he should hold various auspicious articles¹⁶⁸ and leave the royal palace to go to welcome the dharmabhāṇaka.¹⁶⁹ “Why is that? It is because however many steps the human king takes, that number of hundreds of thousands of quintillions of eons in saṃsāra is eliminated, and he will become a cakravartin king that number of hundreds of thousands of quintillions of times. However many steps he takes, ### [2.19](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.suvarnaprabhasa*bo-d557~en-84000.2.19) in that lifetime his great sovereignty will increase inconceivably that number of times. He will attain as his abode for many hundreds of thousands of quintillions of eons a vast and immense divine aerial palace made of the seven precious materials. He will obtain hundreds of thousands of divinely human royal families with a vastness that is a divine vastness. In all his lifetimes, he will have great sovereignty; he will have a long life; he will live for a long time; he will have eloquence; he will be an excellent speaker; he will be famous; he will be widely renowned; he will be worthy of praise; he will benefit the world and its devas and asuras; he will attain the vast, vast happiness of devas and humans; he will have great might; he will possess the power of the strength of a great champion; he will be handsome and attractive; he will possess a perfectly developed, excellent color; in all his lifetimes he will meet a tathāgata; he will obtain a kalyāṇamitra; and he will possess an incalculable aggregation of merit. “Mahārājas, seeing the benefit of such qualities, the human king should go a yojana to greet the dharmabhāṇaka—he should go a hundred yojanas, a thousand yojanas, to greet him. He should conceive of that dharmabhāṇaka as the Teacher. He should think, ‘Today the tathāgata arhat samyaksaṃbuddha Śākyamuni will enter this my royal palace. Today the tathāgata arhat samyaksaṃbuddha Śākyamuni will take his meal in this my royal palace. Today I will hear the Dharma of the tathāgata arhat samyaksaṃbuddha Śākyamuni, which is contrary to all worlds. Today, through hearing the Dharma, I will progress irreversibly toward the highest, most complete enlightenment. Today I have pleased many hundreds of thousands of quintillions of tathāgatas. ### [2.20](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.suvarnaprabhasa*bo-d557~en-84000.2.20) Today I have made an immense, vast, inconceivably great offering to the buddha bhagavats of the past, the future, and the present. Today I have brought to an end all the suffering in the hells, in rebirth as animals, and in the land of Yama. Today I have planted the roots of merit that are the seed for attaining many hundreds of thousands of quintillions of the bodies of a king and a lord of the Brahmā devas. Today I have planted the roots of merit that are the seed for attaining many hundreds of thousands of quintillions of the bodies of a Śakra. Today I have planted the roots of merit that are the seed for attaining many hundreds of thousands of quintillions of the bodies of a cakravartin king. Today I have attained liberation¹⁷⁰ from saṃsāra for many hundreds of thousands of quintillions of eons. Today I have obtained an immense, vast, unsurpassable, inconceivable aggregation of merit. Today I have created a great guardianship for all in my harem. Today I have brought the highest, superior, perfect, inconceivable peace and well-being to this royal palace. Today I have guarded this entire domain. It will be defended, unharmed, without enemies, and without the oppression of invading armies, disease, and disturbances.’ “Mahārājas, if the king who with this reverence for the Dharma honors, venerates, worships, and makes offerings to the bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, and upāsikās who possess The Lord King of Sūtras, The Sublime Golden Light, and dedicates the best part to you Four Mahārājas, ### [2.21](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.suvarnaprabhasa*bo-d557~en-84000.2.21) your army, your attendants, the host of devas, and the many hundred thousands of yakṣas, then he will manifest the merit, he will manifest the good karma, and in that life his great sovereignty will increase incalculably. In that life he will possess the incalculable great magnificence of a king, and he will be adorned by splendor, good fortune, and magnificence. All his opponents will be eliminated, in accord with the Dharma, together with all his enemies.” When the Bhagavat had said that, the Four Mahārājas said to him, “Venerable Bhagavat, if there is a human king with such a reverence for the Dharma as that—one who honors, venerates, worships, and makes offerings to the bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, and upāsikās who possess The Lord King of Sūtras, The Sublime Golden Light, and who, for our sake, purifies and cleans the royal palace, and sprinkles it well with various perfumes—then he will be listening to the Dharma together with us, the Four Mahārājas. If he gives a little share of his roots of merit to us and all devas, then, venerable Bhagavat, as soon as the dharmabhāṇaka bhikṣu comes to his seat, that king, for the sake of us, the Four Mahārājas, should spread the aroma of various scents. “Venerable Bhagavat, as soon as he perfumes with various scents, in order to make an offering to The Lord King of Sūtras, the Sublime Golden Light, there will appear from the various aromas vines of various perfumes and incenses. In that instant, that moment, that fraction of a second, in the sky above each of our palaces, the palaces of the Four Mahārājas, there will be present a parasol composed of the vines of various perfumes and incenses, ### [2.22](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.suvarnaprabhasa*bo-d557~en-84000.2.22) and there will spread a vast aroma. There will appear a golden light that will illuminate our palaces. “Venerable Bhagavat, the vines of various perfumes and incenses, in that instant, that moment, that fraction of a second, will appear as parasols composed of vines of various perfumes and incenses present in the sky above the palaces of Brahmā, the lord of Sahā; of Śakra, the lord of the devas; of the great goddess Sarasvatī; of the great goddess Dṛḍhā; of the great yakṣa general Saṃjñeya¹⁷¹ and the other twenty-eight great yakṣa generals; of the great deity Maheśvara; of the great yakṣa general Vajrapāṇi; of the great yakṣa general Māṇibhadra; of Hārītī with her entourage of five hundred children; of the nāga king Anavatapta; and of the nāga king Sāgara.¹⁷² A vast aroma will spread and a golden light will appear inside those palaces, and that light will illuminate everything.” When the Four Mahārājas had said that, the Bhagavat said to them, “Mahārājas, parasols comprised of vines of various perfumes and incenses will be present not only in the sky above the palaces of each of you Four Mahārājas. Why is that? As soon as the human king perfumes with those aromas as an offering to The Lord King of Sūtras, the Sublime Golden Light, there will arise from the censer in his hands vines of perfumes and incense. In that instant, in that moment, in that fraction of a second, throughout all the world realms in the trichiliocosm, where there are a billion moons, a billion suns, a billion great oceans, a billion Sumeru kings of mountains, ### [2.23](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.suvarnaprabhasa*bo-d557~en-84000.2.23) a billion Cakravāḍa and Mahācakravāḍa kings of mountains, a billion four-continent world realms, a billion Mahārājakāyikas, a billion Trāyastriṃśas, and so on, up to a billion paradises of the state of neither perception nor nonperception; throughout all those world realms in the billion world realms, there will be parasols composed of those vines of incenses and perfumes in the sky above the palaces of the hosts of devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas. A vast aroma will spread, and a golden light will appear inside those divine palaces, and that light will illuminate everything. “Mahārājas, just as parasols composed of vines of incenses and perfumes are present above all the divine palaces in the world realms in these billion world realms, in the same way, as soon as the king makes an offering of perfuming with scent The Lord King of Sūtras, the Sublime Golden Light, then through the power of the magnificence of this Lord King of Sūtras, the Sublime Golden Light there will appear vines of perfume and incense. In that instant, in that moment, in that fraction of a second, parasols composed of vines of incenses and perfumes will be present in the sky above the many hundreds of thousands of quintillions of tathāgatas, as numerous as the sand grains of the Ganges River, who are in the many hundreds of thousands of quintillions of buddha realms, as numerous as the sand grains of the Ganges River, that are in the many world realms in the ten directions. They will perfume many hundreds of thousands of quintillions of buddhas with an extremely vast variety of perfumes and incenses. They will shine with a golden light that will illuminate many hundreds of thousands of quintillions of buddha realms as numerous as the sand grains of the Ganges River. ### [2.24](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.suvarnaprabhasa*bo-d557~en-84000.2.24) “Mahārājas, as soon as those miracles occur, many hundreds of thousands of quintillions of tathāgatas,¹⁷³ as numerous as the sand grains of the Ganges River will regard that dharmabhāṇaka, and they will congratulate him, saying, ‘Well done, well done, good man! It is excellent, excellent, that you, good man, wish to teach extensively the way of this Lord King of Sūtras, the Sublime Golden Light, which has such a profound meaning, which has such a profound illumination, and which possesses inconceivable qualities. Any being who merely listens to this Lord King of Sūtras, the Sublime Golden Light will have merit that is not insignificant, not to mention someone who obtains it, possesses it, explains it,¹⁷⁴ reads it, learns it, and teaches it extensively to an assembly. Why is that? Good man, it is because on hearing this Lord King of Sūtras, the Sublime Golden Light, many hundreds of thousands of quintillions of bodhisattvas, as soon as they hear it, become irreversible in their progress toward the highest, most complete enlightenment.’ “Then, at that time, in that time, the many hundreds of thousands of quintillions of tathāgatas in many hundreds of thousands of quintillions of buddha realms, as numerous as the sand grains of the Ganges River, in the same words, in one voice, as one speech, will say to the dharmabhāṇaka bhikṣu who is seated on the Dharma throne, ‘Good man, in a future time you will go to the Bodhimaṇḍa. “ ‘Good man, when you have gone to the supreme, sublime Bodhimaṇḍa, you will sit at the foot of the king of trees, and you will manifest performing with determination many hundreds of thousands of quintillions¹⁷⁵ of disciplines and ascetic practices that are superior to all the three worlds and transcend all beings. ## Linked texts (1) - [འཕགས་པ་གསེར་འོད་དམ་པ་མདོ་སྡེའི་དབང་པོའི་རྒྱལ་པོ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.suvarnaprabhasa*bo-d557.2.1-2) — Classical Tibetan --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.suvarnaprabhasa*bo-d557~en-84000.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.suvarnaprabhasa*bo-d557~en-84000.2) · Pramāṇa