法苑珠林 9.128

9.128

As the *Sarvapuṇyasamuccaya-samādhi-sūtra* states: The Buddha told Maudgalyāyana: "The strength of all the devaputras among all the Four Heavenly Kings equals the strength of one heavenly king. The strength of ten heavenly kings equals the strength of one devaputra in the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven. The strength of all the devaputras in the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven equals the strength of one Śakra. The strength of ten Śakras equals the strength of one devaputra in the Yāma Heaven. The strength of all the devaputras in the Yāma Heaven equals the strength of one Yāma heavenly king. The strength of ten Yāma heavenly kings equals the strength of one devaputra in the Tuṣita Heaven. The strength of all the devaputras in the Tuṣita Heaven equals the strength of one Tuṣita heavenly king. The strength of ten Tuṣita heavenly kings equals the strength of one devaputra in the Nirmāṇarati Heaven. The strength of all the devaputras in the Nirmāṇarati Heaven equals the strength of one Nirmāṇarati heavenly king. The strength of ten Nirmāṇarati heavenly kings equals the strength of one devaputra in the Paranirmitavaśavartin Heaven. The strength of all the devaputras in the Paranirmitavaśavartin Heaven equals the strength of one Paranirmitavaśavartin heavenly king. The strength of ten Paranirmitavaśavartin heavenly kings equals the strength of one devaputra in the Māra Heaven. The strength of all the devaputras in the Māra Heaven equals the strength of one Māra king. The strength of ten Māra kings equals the strength of half a Nārāyaṇa. The strength of ten half-Nārāyaṇas equals the strength of one Nārāyaṇa. The strength of ten Nārāyaṇas equals the strength of one Great Nārāyaṇa. The strength of ten Great Nārāyaṇas equals the strength of a bodhisattva who has cultivated for one hundred kalpas. The strength of ten bodhisattvas who have cultivated for one hundred kalpas equals the strength of a bodhisattva who has cultivated for one thousand kalpas. Increasing successively tenfold in this manner, continuing up to the bodhisattvas cultivating for a thousand thousand myriad kalpas in the ten directions, their strength equals the strength of a bodhisattva who has attained the forbearance of the non-arising of phenomena (anutpattikadharmakṣānti). The strength of ten bodhisattvas with the forbearance of the non-arising of phenomena equals the strength of a bodhisattva on the tenth bhūmi. The strength of ten bodhisattvas on the tenth bhūmi equals the strength of a bodhisattva in his final body. / "Therefore, Maudgalyāyana, because the bodhisattva has accomplished such strength, as soon as he was born he was able to walk seven steps. If the Buddhas had not sustained this world, it would have been destroyed and could not have remained. Why is this? When the bodhisattva walked the seven steps upon being born, the great earth of this realm was sixty thousand yojanas in length and breadth. After the bodhisattva was born, whenever he brought his foot down, it would have entirely sunk to a depth of one hundred thousand yojanas; and whenever he raised his foot, it would have surged upward again by one hundred thousand yojanas. It was because the Buddhas sustained it that they made this realm unmoved and undestroyed, and caused sentient beings to suffer no affliction. A bodhisattva in his final body already possesses such strength when first born. / "Even if all sentient beings in all worlds were to completely attain the threshold of reaching bodhi, the strength of those bodhisattvas added together would not equal one hundred-thousand-myriad-kotīth part of the Tathāgata's power of knowledge of what is possible and impossible, nor could it be reached by calculation or metaphor. One who comes to possess such ten powers is called a Tathāgata, Arhat, Samyaksambuddha. / "This does not explain the bodhisattva's power of supernatural penetration. If he were to use the power of supernatural penetration, he could place worlds as numerous as the sands of the Ganges onto the tip of a single hair of his toe, and hurl them beyond boundless worlds as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, carrying them back and forth in this way without causing sentient beings to suffer affliction. Such divine power cannot be measured or known by calculation. If the Tathāgata were to fully manifest his supernatural powers, even you śrāvakas could not believe it, let alone other sentient beings!" / At that time, the wrestler Śuddhavīrya heard the explanation of the bodhisattva's physical strength born of his parents; having heard it, he was astounded and his body's hairs all stood on end. Producing a rare thought, his arrogance was entirely extinguished; he took refuge in the Three Jewels and gave rise to the unsurpassed aspiration.