法苑珠林 21.38

21.38

Furthermore, the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra states that the Buddha praised Kāśyapa: 'Only if there are sentient beings who have aroused the bodhicitta before Buddhas as numerous as the sands of the Hiraṇyavatī River will they be able to uphold such a sūtra in an evil age without slandering it. Good son, only if there are those who have been able to arouse the bodhicitta before Buddhas, World-Honoured Ones, as numerous as the sands of one Ganges River will they afterwards be able, in an evil age, not to slander this sūtra and to cherish this scripture; yet they cannot analyze and explain it extensively for others. Only if there are sentient beings who have aroused the bodhicitta before Buddhas as numerous as the sands of two Ganges Rivers will they afterwards be able, in an evil age, not to slander this Dharma, but to correctly understand it, have faith and joy in it, and uphold, read, and recite it; yet they cannot explain it extensively for others. Only if there are sentient beings who have aroused the bodhicitta before Buddhas as numerous as the sands of three Ganges Rivers will they afterwards be able, in an evil age, not to slander this Dharma, but to uphold, read, recite, and copy the scrolls of the scripture; though they explain it to others, they have not yet understood its profound meaning. Only if there are sentient beings who have aroused the bodhicitta before Buddhas as numerous as the sands of four Ganges Rivers will they afterwards be able, in an evil age, not to slander this Dharma, but to uphold, read, recite, and copy the scrolls of the scripture, and explain extensively to others one sixteenth part of its meaning; though they proclaim it, they do not do so completely. Only if there are sentient beings who have aroused the bodhicitta before Buddhas as numerous as the sands of five Ganges Rivers will they afterwards be able, in an evil age, not to slander this sūtra, but to uphold, read, and recite it, and explain extensively to others eight parts out of sixteen. Only if there are those who have aroused the bodhicitta before Buddhas as numerous as the sands of six Ganges Rivers will they afterwards be able, in an evil age, not to slander this sūtra, but to uphold, read, and recite it, and explain extensively to others twelve parts out of sixteen. Only if there are those who have aroused the bodhicitta before Buddhas as numerous as the sands of seven Ganges Rivers will they afterwards be able, in an evil age, not to slander this Dharma, but to uphold, read, and recite it, and explain extensively to others fourteen parts out of sixteen. Only if there are those who have aroused the bodhicitta before Buddhas as numerous as the sands of eight Ganges Rivers will they afterwards be able, in an evil age, not to slander this Dharma, but to uphold, read, and recite it, and also encourage others to copy it, listen to and receive it themselves, and further encourage others to listen to and receive it.' Furthermore, the Mahākaruṇā-sūtra says: 'The Buddha told Ānanda: "If there are sentient beings who arouse even once a faithful mind toward the Buddhas, such roots of good will never be destroyed or perish; how much less other roots of good! For example, suppose a person split a single hair into a hundred parts, dipped one part of the hair to pick up a drop of water, and brought it to me, saying: 'I entrust this water to Gautama; do not allow this water to increase or decrease, nor allow the wind and sun to blow upon it or scorch it dry, nor allow birds or beasts to drink it up, nor let other waters mix with it; keep it in a vessel and do not place it on the ground.' If the Tathāgata then accepted that entrustment, placed it in the Ganges River, preventing it from entering whirlpools, and also preventing other things from crashing into it, that drop of water in the great river would go along with the current, prevented from entering whirlpools and free from obstructions; nor would birds or beasts drink it up. In this way, that drop of water would neither increase nor decrease, remaining entirely as before, and together with the great mass of water gradually enter the great ocean. If, when the vairaṃbhaka winds arise to destroy the world, that person were to abide in the world for an entire kalpa, I too would likewise be able to abide for a kalpa. When that person came to me at the end of the kalpa, saying: 'Gautama, the water I originally entrusted, does it exist now or not?' the Tathāgata would at that time know that the drop of water was in the great ocean, seeing and knowing its location, unmixed with other waters, neither increased nor decreased, equal and unchanged as before, and return it to that person. Ānanda, thus the Tathāgata, the Arhat, the Samyaksambuddha, possesses great spiritual powers and boundless knowledge and vision, lucid and unobstructed. Among trustees, he is the most exalted and supreme. If such a minute drop of water entrusted to the Buddha does not diminish even over a long period, this principle should be known: Ānanda, the tip of that fine hair is an analogy for the mind, intellect, and consciousness; the Ganges River is an analogy for the flow of saṃsāra; the single drop of water is an analogy for the minute root of good from a single arousal of the mind; the great ocean is an analogy for the Buddha, the Tathāgata, the Arhat, the Samyaksambuddha; the person entrusting it is an analogy for those pure-faith brāhmaṇas, elders, householders, and the like; and abiding for a kalpa is an analogy for the Tathāgata's receiving that entrusted water without it ever diminishing, just as that person entrusting that drop of water suffered not a hair's diminution over a long time. In this way, Ānanda, if one arouses a faithful mind toward the Buddha even once, the root of good is not lost; how much less other superior and wondrous roots of good! I say that all such persons are headed toward the fruit of nirvāṇa. Even if, due to remaining unwholesome deeds, they fall into the three evil destinies, the Buddha, knowing their original roots of good, will pull them out from there and place them on the shore of fearlessness, causing them to remember the roots of good they planted, putting an end to all suffering and attaining all bliss."'