法苑珠林 31.45

31.45

‘I am neither god, yakṣa, nor demon,
nor an asura or garuḍa.
To dispel delusion and darkness for my mother,
I skillfully took birth in my parents’ house.
The son born before without hands or feet
was also this body of mine.
The one born at dawn and dead by dusk
was the Supreme Honoured One of the eighth stage.
Now I have assumed this bodily form
with three heads, eight hands, and legs.
Why do you abandon me and leave,
heading straight toward the gates of hell?
Burning away the roots of goodness,
your quest for cessation will also become difficult.
Now I will return to my true body,
manifesting my original, handsome form.
Guarding the precepts without failing my vows,
I entrusted my birth to my parents’ home.
Surrendering body and life throughout past and future,
the times I have done so are like specks of dust.
The diseases of sentient beings are manifold;
I bestow the medicine of nectar
to lead them onto the path and remove their ills,
preventing them from straying into crooked paths.
The heavenly beings enjoy the bliss of merit;
the medicine of nectar dispels disease;
the medicine that conforms to the holy teachings
brings the bliss of liberation and nirvāṇa.’