The Awakening of Mahāvairocana 3.20

3.20

爾時毘盧遮那世尊復觀一切大會，告執金剛祕密主言：「金剛手！有諸如來意生，作業戲行舞，廣演品類，攝持四界安住心王等同虛空，成就廣大見非見果，出生一切聲聞及辟支佛、諸菩薩位，令真言門修行諸菩薩一切希願皆悉滿足，具種種業，利益無量眾生。汝當諦聽，善思念之，吾今演說。祕密主！云何行舞而作一切廣大成壞果？持真言者一切親證耶？」爾時世尊而說偈言：

to further explain this state of the Perfectly and Fully Awakened One, the

state of the accomplishment of siddhi. Men of good [family] and women of

good [family] who see this Dharma obtain joy in their hearts, experience a

state of happiness, and do not violate the Dharma realm. Why? World-hon-

ored One, all the Tathāgatas, worthy [of worship] and perfectly and fully

awakened, have explained that the Dharma realm is called the ‘inconceiv-

able realm.’ Therefore, World-honored One, bodhisattvas cultivating bodhi-

sattva practices via the gateway of mantras gain the understanding that the

Dharma realm cannot be divided or destroyed.”

When the vajradhara Lord of Mysteries had finished speaking thus, the

World-honored One addressed him, saying, “Excellent, excellent, Lord of

Mysteries! It is indeed excellent that you have asked the Tathāgata about this

matter. You should listen attentively and consider it carefully as I now explain.”

The Lord of Mysteries said, “So be it, World-honored One. I am eager

to listen.”

The Buddha addressed the Lord of Mysteries, [saying,] “One achieves

accomplishment by means of the letter-gateway A. Either in a place inhab-

ited by monks, or inside a mountain cave, or in a clean chamber one places

the letter A on all one’s limbs and recites three lakṣa [times]. Then at the full

of the moon one uses everything one has to make offerings until the bodhi-

sattva Samantabhadra, Mañjuśrī, Vajradhara (i.e., Vajrapāṇi), and so on or

other holy divinities appear before one and caress one’s head, exclaiming, ‘Excellent, practitioner!’ One should [then] bow down, make obeisance, and offer up argha water, whereupon one will achieve the samādhi of not forgetting the bodhi-mind. Again, if one repeatedly recites it with such lightness of body and mind, one will obtain purity of mind and purity of body wherever one is born. If one places [the letter A] on one’s ear and recites it, one will obtain purity of the organ of hearing. If one perfoms exhalation and inhalation with the letter-gateway A, meditating three times [daily], and if the practitioner is then able to maintain this, he will be longevous and live in the world for long eons. If he wishes to be loved and respected by a rāja (king) and so on, then he makes the person who is to be won over into the letter-gateway Ha, and giving him a padma flower and himself holding a śaṅkha, they look at each other, whereupon they will engender joy.”

Then the World-honored One Vairocana again gazed upon the entire great assembly and addressed the vajradhara Lord of Mysteries, saying, “Vajrapāṇi, there are born of the minds of Tathāgatas the play of activity and dance of practice which display a wide variety of forms; encompass the four elements [of earth, water, fire, and wind]; abide in the mind-king; are commensurate with empty space; accomplish vast results visible and invisible; give birth to the stages of all śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas; cause all the wishes of bodhisattvas cultivating [bodhisattva] practices via the gateway of mantras to be completely fulfilled; are endowed with various actions; and bring benefit to immeasurable beings. You should listen attentively and consider it carefully as I now explain.

“Lord of Mysteries, what is the dance of practice that produces all the vast results of becoming and decay and which the mantrin realizes for himself in its entirety?”

Thereupon the World-honored One spoke these verses: