樂邦文類 1.129

1.129

In the past, past asaṃkhyeya kalpas numerous as the sands of the Ganges, there was a world named Śāntā, and the kalpa was named Subhāra. There was a wheel-turning king named Araṇemin who ruled over the four continents. He had a great minister named Samudrareṇu, who was of the brahmin lineage. At that time, a son was born [to the minister] endowed with the thirty-two marks and eighty minor signs, with a permanent aura of light one fathom across. When he was born, hundreds of thousands of devas came together to make offerings to him, and they therefore gave him the name Ratnagarbha. Later he went forth from the household life, shaved his hair and beard, and attained the path of bodhi, being likewise titled Ratnagarbha Tathāgata. He extensively expounded the true Dharma for the sacred king, and the king invited the Tathāgata and the assembled sages to receive offerings for three months. The king had one thousand sons; the king and his thousand sons thus made offerings for a full two hundred and fifty years, each confessing to the Buddha and the saṅgha of monks where they had fallen short. At that time, the Tathāgata entered samādhi and emitted a great brilliant light, manifesting the worlds of the ten directions—some worlds corrupt and vile with the five turbidities, and some worlds pure and wondrously subtle. The king addressed the Buddha, saying: 'Bodhisattvas, by what karma do they adopt a pure world? By what karma do they adopt an impure world?' The Buddha said: 'Bodhisattvas, by the power of vows, adopt a pure land and depart from the evils of the five turbidities. There are other bodhisattvas who, by the power of vows, seek the evils of the five turbidities.' The king said: 'I now truly wish to attain bodhi and do not wish to adopt an impure buddha land. I have already previously sat upright for ten years contemplating the adornment of a pure buddha land. I now make this vow: I vow that when I attain the path, there will be no hells, animals, or hungry ghosts within the world; all sentient beings will be of a golden colour, with no distinction between humans and devas; there will be no women; all will equally be apparitionally born, with measureless lifespans. The world will be pure and free of foul reek, and all its palaces will be diversely adorned like those of the sixth heaven. If there are sentient beings in other buddha worlds who hear my name, cultivate roots of goodness, and wish to be born in my realm, I vow that at the end of their lives they are certain to attain rebirth, excluding only those who commit the five heinous acts, slander the noble ones, or destroy the true Dharma (the *Anyang ji* says: 'The *Karuṇāpuṇḍarīka Sūtra* contains twenty-four vows, but the text is only summarized here').' After the wheel-turning king had made his profound vows, the Buddha told him: 'Great King! In the western direction, past hundreds of thousands of koṭis of buddha lands, you see there is the Dharmaghoṣarāja Tathāgata, whose world is pure and adorned entirely as the Great King has vowed. After four such Buddhas appear and enter extinction, passing one asaṃkhyeya of kalpas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges and entering a second asaṃkhyeya of kalpas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, that world will then change its name to Sukhāvatī. You shall at that time attain buddhahood, with the title Amitāyus Tathāgata and so forth.' At that time, Ratnagarbha Tathāgata soon conferred a prophecy upon the first prince, Animiṣa, saying: 'You contemplate all the sentient beings among devas, humans, and the three evil destinies, generate a mind of great compassion, wish to sever all the suffering and distress of sentient beings, and wish to cause sentient beings to dwell in peace and bliss; I now confer upon you the name Avalokiteśvara.' After Amitāyus Buddha enters parinirvāṇa, that land will change its name to the World Accomplished of All Rare Jewels, whose various adornments the world of Sukhāvatī cannot match. When you attain the path of bodhi, your title will be Guṇaparvatarāja Tathāgata. He also told the second prince, Nimi: 'What you now vow is to adopt a great world. In accordance with your vow, you shall attain the path of bodhi, with the title Supratiṣṭhitamaṇiparvatarāja Tathāgata. Because you adopted a great world, you are therefore given the name Mahāsthāmaprāpta (The causal vows, prophecies, kalpas, lands, and names of the three sages span the second and third [fascicles] of the sūtra; the above is merely a brief record).'