廬山蓮宗寶鑑 1.53

1.53

The Sūtra of the King of Drum Sound states: "In a past kalpa, there was a kingdom named Abhirati (Wonderful Joy). The king was named Kauśika; his grandfather was the king of the Pure and Peaceful Country; his father was the wheel-turning king Candrottara; and his mother was Varaprabhāvatī. She bore three sons: the eldest was named Candramukha, the second Kauśika, and the third Devagaṇa. At that time, a buddha appeared in the world, named Lokeśvararāja. The mind of Kauśika generated the resolve for the Way. He abandoned his kingdom's throne, took refuge in the Buddha, left the household life, and was named Monk Dharmākara." Furthermore, the Larger Amitābha Sūtra states: "Monk Dharmākara generated the unexcelled resolve in the presence of Lokeśvararāja Buddha, which none in all the worlds could match. At that time, the Buddha expounded the lands of twenty-one billion buddhas in response to his aspiration. Dharmākara bowed his head in reverence to the Buddha and expounded forty-eight vows at length, saying (recorded fully in the sūtra proper) that if they were not fulfilled, he swore not to attain buddhahood. At that time the great earth trembled, the heavens rained wondrous flowers, and a voice in the sky praised in unison: 'You will decisively attain buddhahood.'"