仁王護國般若波羅蜜多經 2

English (machine translation) 2

Language: English

2.1

Translated upon imperial decree by the Tripiṭaka Śramaṇa Amoghavajra of Daxingshansi, Kai-fu-yi-tong-san-si, Te-jin, Probationary Honglusi-qing, Duke of the State of Su with a fief of three thousand households, bestowed the purple robe, posthumously granted the title of Sikong, posthumously named Dajian, and formally titled Da-guang-zhi

2.2

Chapter 5: Protecting the State

2.3

At that time the Bhagavat said to King Prasenajit and the other great kings: "Listen attentively, listen attentively! I will explain the Dharma of protecting the state for you. When any state is about to fall into disorder, there will be disasters, calamities, and bandits coming to ravage and destroy it. You kings should receive, uphold, read, and recite this Prajñāpāramitā, adorn the place of practice, place one hundred Buddha images, one hundred bodhisattva images, and one hundred lion seats, and invite one hundred Dharma masters to explain this sūtra. Before each seat, light various lamps, burn various incenses, scatter various flowers, and make vast offerings of clothing, bedding, food, drink, medicines, dwellings, beds, seats, and all requisites; explain and read this sūtra twice daily. If kings, ministers, bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, and upāsikās listen to, receive, read, recite, and cultivate it in accordance with the Dharma, the disasters and calamities will immediately be extinguished."

2.4

"Great King! Within all realms there are measureless ghosts and spirits, and each likewise has measureless retinues. If they hear this sūtra, they will protect your realm. If a realm is about to fall into chaos, the ghosts and spirits become chaotic first; because the ghosts and spirits are in chaos, the myriad people fall into chaos—rebels will arise, the common people will perish, and the king, the crown prince, the princes, and the hundred officials will find fault with one another. Anomalies and portents will appear in heaven and earth; the sun, moon, and stars will lose their times and courses; and great fires, great floods, and great winds will arise. When these various calamities arise, all should receive, uphold, and expound this Prajñāpāramitā. If one receives, upholds, reads, and recites this sūtra, all that is sought—official rank, wealth and abundance, sons and daughters, wise understanding, coming and going at will, and the karmic rewards of humans and devas—will all be fully attained; epidemics and distress will at once be cured and eliminated; cuffs, manacles, fetters, and locks binding the body will all be released; and the breaking of the four pārājika rules, the commission of the five heinous sins, and the measureless faults of transgressing the various precepts will all be extinguished."

2.5

"Great King! Long ago in the past, when King Māndhātṛ led a fourfold army up to the celestial palace intending to destroy Śakra Devānām Indra, at that time the lord of devas relied on the teaching of the past Buddhas: he arranged one hundred high seats and invited one hundred Dharma masters to explain and read the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra. Māndhātṛ at once retreated, and the celestial host was at peace and ease."

2.6

"Great King! Formerly, the king of the realm of Aśmaka had a crown prince named Kalmāṣapāda. When he ascended the royal throne, there was a non-Buddhist master named Sudatta who conferred abhiṣeka on the king and caused Kalmāṣapāda to take the heads of one thousand kings to sacrifice in the charnel ground to the great spirit Mahākāla. From the time he ascended the royal throne, he had already obtained nine hundred and ninety-nine kings, lacking only one king. Traveling ten thousand li to the north, he then captured a king named Samantaprabhāsa. That King Samantaprabhāsa addressed Kalmāṣapāda, saying: 'I pray you permit me one day to pay homage to the Three Jewels and provide meals to the śramaṇas.' Having heard this, Kalmāṣapāda immediately consented. That king then relied on the teaching spoken by the past Buddhas: he arranged one hundred high seats and invited one hundred Dharma masters to expound eight hundred billion verses of Prajñāpāramitā twice a day for one day. At that time, the foremost Dharma master in that assembly spoke a verse for King Samantaprabhāsa:

2.7

"'The kalpa-fire blazes fiercely, the great trichiliocosm is destroyed together;
Mount Sumeru and the vast oceans
are obliterated without remainder.
Brahmā, Śakra, devas, and nāgas, and all sentient beings,
are all destroyed still—how much more so this body!
Birth, old age, sickness, and death,
grief, sorrow, suffering, and distress,
the coercion of enemies and kin,
can act contrary to one's desires.
The fetters of craving and desire
are wounds and boils made by oneself;
the three realms have no peace,
what joy is there in a kingdom?
The conditioned is unreal,
arising from causes and conditions;
flourishing and decline turn like lightning,
existing for an instant, then gone.
The realms and destinies of existence
appear in accordance with conditions of karma;
like shadows and like echoes,
everything is completely empty.
Consciousness is drifted by karma,
arising dependent on the four great elements;
bound by ignorance and craving,
"I" and "mine" are produced.
Consciousness shifts with karma,
the body has no master;
one should know that lands and realms
are also like illusions and phantoms.'"

2.8

"At that time, after the Dharma master spoke this verse, King Samantaprabhāsa, upon hearing the Dharma, awakened and understood, realizing the śūnyatāsamādhi; the king's retinues attained the emptiness of the dharma-eye. That king then went to the realm of Aśmaka, and among the host of kings he spoke these words: 'Humane ones! Now the time for [offering] our lives has arrived. All of you should recite and uphold the Prajñāpāramitā verses spoken by the past Buddhas.' Having heard this, the kings also all awakened and understood, attained the śūnyatāsamādhi, and each recited and upheld them. At that time, King Kalmāṣapāda asked the kings: 'What Dharma are you all reciting now?'"

2.9

"At that time, Samantaprabhāsa answered King Kalmāṣapāda with the above verse. Hearing this Dharma, the king also realized the samādhi of emptiness. Leaping with great joy, he told the kings: 'I was led astray by a non-Buddhist false master; it was not your fault. Each of you return to your realm and invite Dharma masters to explain Prajñāpāramitā.' At that time King Kalmāṣapāda entrusted the realm to his younger brother, went forth to practice the path, and attained anutpattikadharmakṣānti."

2.10

"Great King! In the past there were also five thousand kings who constantly recited this sūtra and obtained recompense in their present lives. You sixteen great kings, in cultivating the method for protecting the state, should likewise receive, uphold, read, recite, and explain this sūtra. If the kings of various realms in future ages wish to protect their states and protect their own persons, they should also likewise receive, uphold, read, recite, and explain this sūtra."

2.11

When this Dharma was spoken, measureless multitudes attained the stage of non-retrogression; asuras and others attained rebirth in heaven; and measureless and countless devas of the desire and form realms attained anutpattikadharmakṣānti.

2.12

Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra for Humane Kings Protecting Their States, Chapter 6: Inconceivable

2.13

At that time, the sixteen kings and the great assembly, hearing the Buddha speak these profound phrases and meanings of Prajñāpāramitā, rejoiced and leaped with joy, and scattered a million billion multi-jeweled lotus flowers, which formed jeweled flower thrones in the sky. The Buddhas of the ten directions and measureless great assemblies sat together upon these thrones, speaking the Prajñāpāramitā. The great assembly held ten thousand golden lotus flowers and scattered them over Śākyamuni Buddha, coalescing into a canopy of floral wheels over the great assembly. Furthermore, they scattered eighty-four thousand puṇḍarīka flowers, which formed a white cloud terrace in the sky; upon the terrace, Prabha-rāja Buddha, together with the Buddhas of the ten directions and the measureless great assembly, expounded the Prajñāpāramitā. The great assembly took mandārava flowers and scattered them over Śākyamuni Buddha and the assemblies. Furthermore, they scattered mañjūṣaka flowers, which transformed in the sky into a vajra-jeweled city; within the city, Siṃhavikrīḍitarāja Buddha, together with the Buddhas of the ten directions and the assembly of great bodhisattvas, expounded paramārtha-prajñāpāramitā. Furthermore, they scattered measureless wondrous divine flowers, which formed a jeweled cloud canopy in the sky, completely covering the great trichiliocosm; from within this flower canopy rained flowers like the sands of the Ganges, descending from the sky.

2.14

At that time, King Prasenajit and the great assembly, having seen this, praised it as unprecedented, joined their palms toward the Buddha, and spoke these words: 'May the Buddhas of the past, present, and future constantly speak Prajñāpāramitā; may all sentient beings constantly be able to see and hear it, no different from me today.'

2.15

The Buddha said: 'Great King! It is just as you have said. This Prajñāpāramitā is the mother of the Buddhas, the mother of the bodhisattvas, the place from which unshared merits and supernormal powers are produced. Spoken in common by the Buddhas, it is able to bring great benefit. Therefore, you all should constantly receive and uphold it.'

2.16

At that time, the Bhagavat manifested inconceivable supernormal transformations for the great assembly: one flower entered into measureless flowers, and measureless flowers entered into one flower; one Buddha-land entered into measureless Buddha-lands, and measureless Buddha-lands entered into one Buddha-land; a land of one dust mote entered into measureless dust-mote lands, and measureless dust-mote lands entered into a land of one dust mote; measureless great oceans entered into a single pore; measureless Sumerus entered into a mustard seed; one Buddha-body entered into measureless sentient beings' bodies, and measureless sentient beings' bodies entered into one Buddha-body; the large manifested as small, and the small manifested as large; the pure manifested as defiled, and the defiled manifested as pure; the Buddha-body is inconceivable, the bodies of sentient beings are inconceivable, up to the worlds are inconceivable.

2.17

When the Buddha manifested these supernormal transformations, ten thousand women transformed their female bodies in their present lifetimes and attained the samādhi of supernormal powers; measureless devas and humans attained anutpattikadharmakṣānti; measureless asuras and others achieved the bodhisattva path; and bodhisattvas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges became Buddhas in their present bodies.

2.18

Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra for Humane Kings Protecting Their States, Chapter 7: Receiving and Upholding

2.19

At that time, King Prasenajit, beholding the Buddha's supernormal transformations—seeing the Vairocana Tathāgata upon the thousand-petaled terrace, a thousand transformation Buddhas on the thousand petals, and measureless Buddhas within the thousand petals, each speaking the Prajñāpāramitā—addressed the Buddha, saying: 'Bhagavat! Such measureless Prajñāpāramitā cannot be cognized by consciousness, cannot be known by wisdom. How can good sons clearly understand, awaken to, and expound this sūtra for others?'

2.20

The Buddha said: 'Great King! Listen closely now! From the initial practice of kṣānti up to the vajrasamādhi, practicing the thirteen contemplation gates according to the Dharma, all are based upon and established by Dharma masters. You and the great assembly should make offerings to them as to the Buddha, presenting hundred thousands of myriads of koṭis of wondrous heavenly incense and flowers.'

2.21

'Good sons! That Dharma master is a bodhisattva of the lineage of practice. If a bhikṣu, bhikṣuṇī, upāsaka, or upāsikā cultivates the practices of the ten abodes, sees the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, produces the bodhicitta, and has compassion to benefit and bring joy to sentient beings; contemplates their own body's six elements and various faculties as all impermanent, suffering, empty, and non-self; thoroughly understands karmic action, saṃsāra, and nirvāṇa; is able to benefit self and others, bringing abundance, benefit, peace, and happiness; whose mind is steadfast and unshaken upon hearing the Buddha praised or defamed, and whose mind is steadfast and non-retrograde upon hearing that Buddhas exist or do not exist; who is faultless in the three actions, gives rise to the six harmonies and respects, skillfully tames sentient beings with expedient means, diligently trains in the ten knowledges and supernormal powers to transform and benefit them, and cultivates the eighty-four thousand pāramitās in the lower grade.'

2.22

'Good sons! Prior to the stage of practice-kṣānti, one passes through ten thousand kalpas practicing the ten good deeds with retrogression and progress, like a light feather drifting east and west with the wind. If one reaches the stage of kṣānti, one enters the group of the truly determined, does not commit the five heinous sins, does not slander the true Dharma, and because one knows that the marks of self and dharmas are all empty, one dwells in the stage of liberation. Cultivating this kṣānti for one asaṃkhyeya kalpa, one is able to give rise to superior practices.'

2.23

'Furthermore, a bodhisattva of the nature-lineage dwells in non-discrimination and cultivates the ten wisdom-contemplations, because of renouncing wealth and life, because of upholding pure precepts, because of a humble mind, because of benefiting self and others, because of being unperturbed in saṃsāra, because of the signlessness and profound depth, because of understanding that existence is like an illusion, because of not seeking karmic recompense, because of attaining unimpeded understanding, and because of demonstrating the Buddha's supernormal power in thought after thought; to counteract the four inversions, the three unwholesome roots, the delusions and karma of the three times, and the ten inversions; [knowing that] views of self and person are false in thought after thought, thoroughly understanding that designation of names, designation of reception, and designation of dharmas are all ungraspable, free of characteristics of self and other, and dwelling in the contemplation of reality. Cultivating the eighty-four thousand pāramitās in the middle grade, one performs various superior practices for two asaṃkhyeya kalpas and attains the stage of firm kṣānti.'

2.24

'Furthermore, a bodhisattva of the path-lineage dwells in firm kṣānti and contemplates the nature of all dharmas, attaining non-arising and non-ceasing; the four immeasurables are able to shatter all darkness; they constantly see Buddhas and extensively make offerings; they constantly train after the Buddhas and dwell in the mind of dedication; the wholesome roots they cultivate are all like the limit of reality; they are able to perform extensive Buddha-work in samādhi, manifesting various bodies and practicing the four means of embrace; dwelling in non-discrimination, they transform and benefit sentient beings; with clear wisdom and profound contemplation, they universally cultivate all practices and vows; they are able to be Dharma masters who tame sentient beings, skillfully contemplating the five aggregates, the three realms, and the two truths; free from characteristics of self and other, they attain the real nature. Although they constantly cultivate the paramārtha, they take birth in the three realms. Why is this? Because the karmic habit-energies and recompenses are not yet destroyed and exhausted, they take birth among humans and devas in accordance with the path. Cultivating the eighty-four thousand pāramitās in the upper grade, they cultivate the practice of dual benefit for three asaṃkhyeya kalpas, bringing vast benefit, attaining well-tamed samādhis, dwelling in superior contemplation, and cultivating the practice of departure, because they are able to realize the ground of the equal arya.'

2.25

"Furthermore, the bodhisattva mahāsattva of the Joyous Ground transcends the ground of foolish beings, is born into the household of the Tathāgata, and abides in equanimous patience. Initial signless wisdom illuminates the ultimate truth: single-character equanimity, neither characteristic nor signless. Severing all ignorance, it extinguishes the greed of the three realms, so that future immeasurable births and deaths will never arise again. With great compassion as the foremost, they give rise to great vows, and with expedient wisdom they cultivate immeasurable excellent practices in thought after thought—neither realizing nor not realizing, because they study everything comprehensively; neither abiding nor non-abiding, because they head toward omniscience; walking in birth and death, because Māra cannot move them; free from self and what belongs to self, because they have no fear; devoid of marks of self and other, because they constantly transform sentient beings; and by sovereign power of vows, being born in pure lands. Good sons! This wisdom of initial awakening is neither suchness nor wisdom, neither existent nor non-existent, without dual characteristics, possessing wonderful expedient function; neither inverted nor abiding, neither moving nor still, free in benefiting both self and others, like water and waves being neither one nor different. The wisdom that gives rise to the perfections is also neither one nor different. Over four asaṃkhyeya kalpas, fully cultivating a million vows of practice, the bodhisattva of this ground has no karmic habits of the three realms and creates no new karma, being born by virtue of vows in accord with the power of wisdom. In thought after thought, they constantly practice the dāna-pāramitā: giving, pleasant speech, beneficial action, and common cause. Vast and pure, they are well able to abide and benefit sentient beings.

2.26

"Furthermore, for the bodhisattva mahāsattva of the Ground of Freedom from Defilement, the four immeasurables are most supremely tranquil and extinguished. Severing habits such as anger, they cultivate all practices, namely: abstaining from killing; abstaining from taking what is not given; being free of defiled desire in mind; attaining truthful speech, concordant speech, gentle speech, and pacifying speech; constantly practicing a mind of equanimity; constantly giving rise to a mind of benevolence; and abiding in an upright mind. Quiet and purely wholesome, free from the defilement of broken precepts, the contemplation of great benevolence appears before them in thought after thought. Over five asaṃkhyeya kalpas, they are fully endowed with the pure śīla-pāramitā, their resolve valiant, forever separated from all defilements.

2.27

"Furthermore, the bodhisattva mahāsattva of the Luminous Ground abides in non-conceptualization and extinguishes the darkness of ignorance. In signless patience they attain the three knowledges, completely knowing that the three times have neither coming nor going. Relying on the four dhyānas and the four formless concentrations, non-conceptual wisdom progressively conforms, fully possessing supreme concentration and attaining the five supernormal knowledges: manifesting bodies large or small, hidden or visible at will; with pure divine eye completely seeing all destinies; with pure divine ear completely hearing all sounds; with knowledge of others' minds knowing the minds of sentient beings; and through past-life knowledge being able to know immeasurable distinctions. Over six asaṃkhyeya kalpas, they practice all kṣānti-pāramitā, attaining great dhāraṇī for benefit and well-being.

2.28

"Furthermore, the bodhisattva mahāsattva of the Radiant Ground practices conforming patience, grasping nothing, because they permanently sever the subtle views of personal identity and extremes. Cultivating the boundless bodhipakṣadharmas—the stations of mindfulness, correct exertions, bases of spiritual power, faculties, powers, and branches of awakening are fully complete—in order to accomplish the powers, fearlessnesses, and unshared Buddha-dharmas. Over seven asaṃkhyeya kalpas, they cultivate immeasurable vīrya-pāramitā, staying far away from indolence and universally benefiting sentient beings.

2.29

"Furthermore, the bodhisattva mahāsattva of the Ground Difficult to Conquer conforms to suchness through the four fearlessnesses: pure, equal, and devoid of differentiated characteristics. Severing the desire to pursue nirvāṇa in accord with the Lesser Vehicle, they accumulate all virtues and completely contemplate all truths—the noble truth of suffering, and the truths of origination, cessation, and the path; conventional and ultimate, contemplating immeasurable truths. To benefit sentient beings, they practice all arts and skills: script, medicine, hymns, drama, craftsmanship, incantations, non-Buddhist doctrines, and divining auspicious and inauspicious signs without the slightest error; yet never causing harm or distress to sentient beings, they fully explain them for their benefit, gradually causing them to abide in unexcelled bodhi, knowing the paths of emergence and the paths of obstruction among the grounds. Over eight asaṃkhyeya kalpas, they constantly cultivate samādhis and unfold all practices.

2.30

"Furthermore, the bodhisattva mahāsattva of the Manifest Ground attains supreme conforming patience and abides in the three doors of liberation. They are able to exhaust the coarse manifest aspects of accumulated causes and accumulated karma of the three realms. With great compassion intensified, they contemplate all births and deaths: shrouded in the darkness of ignorance, accumulated karma, the seed of consciousness, name-and-form, the six sense bases, contact, feeling, craving, grasping, becoming, birth, and old age and death all arise from attachment to self. The fruits of karma rooted in ignorance are neither existent nor non-existent; single-characteristic and signless, they are not dual. Over nine asaṃkhyeya kalpas, they practice a million samādhis of emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness, attaining the boundless illumination of all Prajñāpāramitā.

2.31

"Furthermore, the bodhisattva mahāsattva of the Far-Reaching Ground cultivates the patience of non-arising and realizes the non-differentiation of phenomena. Severing the subtle manifest aspects of karmic fruits, they abide in the concentration of cessation and generate extraordinary practices. Although constantly tranquil, they broadly transform sentient beings: appearing to enter the ranks of śrāvakas, yet constantly following the Buddha's wisdom; appearing identical to non-Buddhists, appearing as demon kings, conforming to the mundane world yet constantly supramundane. Over ten asaṃkhyeya kalpas, they practice a million samādhis, skillfully and with expedients broadly proclaiming the treasury of Dharma, bringing all adornments to perfection.

2.32

"Furthermore, the bodhisattva mahāsattva of the Immovable Ground abides in the patience of non-arising, their essence neither increasing nor decreasing. Severing all effort, thought after thought is extinguished in tranquility, without marks of body or mind, just like empty space. For this bodhisattva, the mind of a Buddha, the mind of bodhi, and the mind of nirvāṇa do not arise at all. Due to their original vows and through the empowerment of all Buddhas, in a single thought-moment they can generate wise activities that illuminate both equally, and through the wisdom of the ten powers pervade ineffable chiliocosms, universally benefiting and gladdening sentient beings according to their needs. Over a thousand asaṃkhyeya kalpas, they fulfill a million great vows, thought after thought entering into all modes and all-knowledge wisdom.

2.33

"Furthermore, the bodhisattva mahāsattva of the Ground of Good Intelligence abides in the supreme patience of non-arising. Extinguishing the characteristics of mind and mental states, they realize sovereignty of wisdom, sever the hindrance to unimpededness, possess great supernormal powers, cultivate the powers and fearlessnesses, and are well able to protect the Dharma treasuries of all Buddhas. Attaining unimpeded understanding—of phenomena, meaning, expression, and eloquence—they expound the true Dharma without interruption or exhaustion. In a single instant, across ineffable worlds, in response to whatever difficult questions sentient beings have, with a single sound they explain and resolve them, universally causing them to rejoice. Over ten thousand asaṃkhyeya kalpas, they can manifest the divine powers of Buddhas equal to a million Ganges sands, their inexhaustible treasury of Dharma benefiting all completely.

2.34

"Furthermore, the bodhisattva mahāsattva of the Dharma Cloud Ground, with immeasurable wisdom, contemplates and investigates. From the initial generation of faithful mind, passing through a million asaṃkhyeya kalpas, they have broadly gathered immeasurable dharmas auxiliary to the path, increased boundless great merit and wisdom, realized sovereignty of karma, and severed hindrances to supernormal powers. In a single thought-moment they can pervade lands as numerous as the dust motes of a million myriad kotis of asaṃkhyeya worlds throughout the ten directions, completely knowing the mental activities and the superior, middling, or inferior faculties of all sentient beings. They teach the three vehicles for them, universally causing them to cultivate the pāramitās. Entering the domain of the Buddha's practice, the powers, and the fearlessnesses, they accord with the Tathāgata's tranquil transformation of basis.

2.35

"Good sons! From initial practice of patience up to the vajra-concentration, all is named subduing all defilements. The patience of faith in signlessness illuminates the ultimate truth, extinguishes all defilements, and generates the wisdom of liberation. Gradually subduing and extinguishing, by means of the mind of arising and cessation one attains non-arising and non-cessation. When this mind is extinguished, ignorance is extinguished. All knowledge and vision prior to the vajra-concentration are not yet called true vision. Only the Buddha's sudden understanding, endowed with omniscience, allows all knowledge and vision to be named true vision.

2.36

"Good sons! When the vajrasamādhi manifests before them, they are still not yet equal to the unequalled. It is like someone climbing a grand high tower, gazing out at everything with nothing unclear. When at the stage of liberation, single-characteristic and signless, non-arising and non-ceasing, identical with the true limit, equal to the dharmatā, the treasury of merit fulfilled, they abide in the stage of the Tathāgata.

2.37

"Good sons! Such bodhisattva mahāsattvas receive, uphold, and explain, all going to the Buddha-lands of the ten directions to benefit and pacify sentient beings, completely penetrating the dharmatā, just as I do today without any difference.

2.38

"Good sons! All Tathāgatas of the Dharma realms of the ten directions have attained Buddhahood relying on this gate. If someone says that one can attain Buddhahood bypassing this, that is taught by Māra, not taught by the Buddha. Therefore, you all should know it thus, see it thus, and faithfully understand it thus."

2.39

At that time, the Bhagavat, wishing to proclaim this meaning once again, spoke in verse:

2.40

"Those bodhisattvas of subduing patience nurture the Buddha-dharma;
Firm in the thirty minds, they are called non-retrogressing.
First realizing the nature of equality, they are born into the Buddhas' household;
Because of first attaining awakening, it is called the Joyous Ground.
Staying far away from defilement and various stains such as anger,
Endowed with pure virtues of precepts, it is called the Ground of Freedom from Defilement.
Extinguishing and destroying the darkness of ignorance, they attain the dhyāna concentrations;
Illuminating through the light of wisdom, it is called the Luminous Ground.
Purifying the branches of awakening, far removed from views of personal identity and extremes,
With wisdom blazing brightly, it is called the Radiant Ground.
Knowing the truths as they truly are, and all worldly arts,
Benefiting all kinds of living beings, it is called the Ground Difficult to Conquer.
Contemplating conditionally arisen phenomena, from ignorance to old age and death,
Able to realize that profound state, it is called the Manifest Ground.
Through samādhi of expedients, manifesting immeasurable bodies,
Skillfully responding to all living beings, it is called the Far-Reaching Ground.
Abiding in the ocean of signlessness, empowered by all Buddhas,
Sovereignly crushing Māra's hosts, it is called the Immovable Ground.
Attaining the four unimpeded knowledges, expounding all with a single voice,
All who hear it rejoice, so it is called the Ground of Good Intelligence.
Wisdom like a dense cloud pervades the Dharma realm,
Universally showering the amṛta-dharma, it is called the Dharma Cloud Ground.
Fulfilling the undefiled realm, eternally pure in the body of liberation,
Tranquil and inconceivable, it is called omniscience."

2.41

The Buddha told King Prasenajit: "After my nirvāṇa, when the Dharma is about to perish, because all sentient beings create evil karma, all kinds of disasters will arise in every state. If kings, in order to protect themselves, their crown princes, princes, queens, consorts, retinues, hundred officials, common people, and their entire realms, will immediately receive and uphold this Prajñāpāramitā, they will all attain peace and happiness. I entrust this sūtra to kings; I do not entrust it to bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, or upāsikās. Why is that? Without a king's majestic power, it cannot be established. Therefore, you should constantly receive, uphold, read, recite, and explain it.

2.42

"Great King! In the chiliocosm I transform now, there are ten billion Sumerus and ten billion suns and moons, and every Sumeru has four continents. On this Jambudvīpa, there are sixteen great states, five hundred middling states, and one hundred thousand small states. If the seven calamities arise in these states, and all the kings, in order to eliminate the calamities, receive, uphold, and explain this Prajñāpāramitā, the seven calamities will instantly be extinguished, and the states will be peaceful and happy."

2.43

King Prasenajit asked: "What are the seven calamities?"

2.44

The Buddha said: "First is when the sun and moon lose their regular courses. The color of the sun changes—turning white, red, yellow, or black, or two, three, four, or five suns shine together; the color of the moon changes—turning red or yellow; the sun and moon suffer eclipses; or halos appear, with one, two, three, four, or five concentric halos becoming visible. Second is when the stars and planets lose their regular courses: comets, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, Mercury, Saturn, and other stars each undergo anomalies, or sometimes appear by day. Third is when dragon-fire, spirit-fire, human-fire, and tree-fire—great conflagrations—erupt on all sides, incinerating all things. Fourth is when the seasons change and cold and heat lose their constancy: thunder and lightning with rain in winter; frost, ice, and snow in summer; rain of dirt, boulders, and gravel; untimely falls of hail; rain of red and black water; and rivers overflowing, sweeping away boulders and floating hills. Fifth is when violent storms frequently arise, obscuring the sun and moon, tearing off roofs, uprooting trees, and sending sand flying and stones rolling. Sixth is when heaven and earth suffer extreme drought: ponds and marshes dry up completely, grasses and trees wither and die, and the hundred grains fail to ripen. Seventh is when bandits from the four directions invade from within and without the state, warfare breaks out in conflict, and the common people perish.

2.45

"Great King! I have now briefly spoken of such calamities. Furthermore, there are times when the sun does not appear by day and the moon does not appear by night; diverse heavenly disasters occur, such as rain and snow falling from a cloudless sky; diverse earthly disasters occur, such as ground collapsing, cracking, and trembling, or blood welling forth; ghosts and spirits appear openly; and birds and beasts exhibit bizarre abnormalities. Such calamities are boundless and infinite. Whenever any such disaster arises, you must in every case receive, uphold, read, recite, and explain this Prajñāpāramitā."

2.46

At that time, when the sixteen kings heard what the Buddha said, they were all terrified. King Prasenajit addressed the Buddha, saying: "Bhagavat! For what reason do heaven and earth have such calamities?"

2.47

The Buddha said: "Great King! Because all the people in the large and small states and cities of Jambudvīpa are unfilial to their parents and do not respect their teachers, elders, śramaṇas, and brāhmaṇas; and because kings and ministers do not practice the true Dharma—it is on account of these various evils that such calamities arise.

2.48

"Great King! Prajñāpāramitā can bring forth all the dharmas of all Buddhas, all the dharmas of liberation of all bodhisattvas, all the unsurpassed dharmas of all kings, and all the dharmas of transcendence for all sentient beings. Just as the substance of a mani jewel possesses manifold virtues—able to subdue poisonous dragons and evil ghosts and spirits, satisfy the desires of human hearts, serve a cakravartin under the name of the wish-fulfilling jewel, cause great dragon kings such as Nanda and Upananda to shower sweet rain to moisten grasses and trees, and when placed atop a high banner in the dark of night, shine its light over heaven and earth as bright as the rising sun—this Prajñāpāramitā is also like this. You kings should make jeweled banners and canopies, burn incense, scatter flowers, and make vast offerings. Enshrine the sūtra in a jeweled casket and place it upon a jeweled table; whenever you wish to travel, always have it led before you; wherever you dwell, construct a pavilion of the seven treasures, set up a seat of diverse jewels, and place the sūtra upon it, making various offerings just as you would serve your parents, or as the devas serve Śakra.

2.49

"Great King! I see that all the kings of men in all states have become sovereigns entirely because in the past they attended upon, revered, and made offerings to five hundred Buddhas. All the sages who have attained the fruits of the path come to be born in their states to bring great benefit. If a king's merit is exhausted and he is without the Way, the sages depart, and calamities arise in contention.

2.50

"Great King! If in future ages there are kings who establish the true Dharma and protect the Three Jewels, I will dispatch the assemblies of bodhisattva mahāsattvas of the five directions to go and protect their states.

2.51

"In the east, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Vajrapāṇi, holding a vajra pestle in his hand and radiating blue light, together with four koṭis of bodhisattvas, will go to protect their state.

2.52

"In the south, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Vajraratna, holding a vajra mani in his hand and radiating sunlight-colored light, together with four koṭis of bodhisattvas, will go to protect their state.

2.53

"In the west, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Vajratīkṣṇa, holding a vajra sword in his hand and radiating golden light, together with four koṭis of bodhisattvas, will go to protect their state.

2.54

"In the north, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Vajrayakṣa, holding a vajra bell in his hand and radiating vaidūrya-colored light, together with four koṭis of yakṣas, will go to protect their state.

2.55

"In the center, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Vajrapāramitā, holding a vajra wheel in her hand and radiating five-colored light, together with four koṭis of bodhisattvas, will go to protect their state.

2.56

"These five bodhisattva mahāsattvas, each with such immeasurable multitudes, will bring great benefit to your states; you should erect images of them and make offerings to them."

2.57

At that time, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Vajrapāṇi and the others arose from their seats, prostrated at the Buddha's feet, stepped back to stand at one side, and said to the Buddha: "Bhagavat! In accordance with our original vows and by the Buddha's spiritual power, in all the realms of the worlds of the ten directions wherever this sūtra is received, upheld, read, recited, and explained, each of us, together with such retinue, will arrive there in a single thought-moment to protect the true Dharma and establish the true Dharma, causing those lands to be free from all calamities, with weapons, warfare, pestilence, and epidemics entirely eliminated.

2.58

"Bhagavat! I possess a dhāraṇī that can bestow empowerment and protection; it is the swift gate that all Buddhas originally practiced. If anyone hears it pass through their ears but once, all their sinful obstacles will be extinguished, how much more so if they recite and practice it until they are fluent! By the power of the Dharma, it will ensure that the land is forever free from manifold calamities."

2.59

Then, before the Buddha, they spoke the dhāraṇī with one voice, saying:

2.60

"namo ratnatrayāya / nama āryavairocanāya / tathāgatāyār hate / samyaksambuddhāya / nama ārya / samantabhadrāya / bodhisattvāya / mahāsattvāya / mahākāruṇikāya / tadyathā / jñānapradīpe / akṣayakośe / pratibhānavati / sarvabuddhāvalokite / yogapariniṣpanne / gambhīrānuravagāhe / tryadhva / pariniṣpanne / bodhicittasañjanane / sarvābhiṣekābhiṣikte / dharmasāgarasambhūte / amoghaśravaṇe / mahāsamantabhadradhūmi / niryāte / vyākaraṇa / pariprāpane / sarvasiddha / namaskṛte / sarvabodhisattva / sañjanane / bhagavati / buddhamāte / araṇikaraṇe / araṇakaraṇe / mahāprajñā / pāramite svāhā //"

2.61

At that time, having heard this utterance, the Bhagavat praised Vajrapāṇi and the other bodhisattvas, saying: "Excellent, excellent! If anyone recites and upholds this dhāraṇī, I and all the Buddhas of the ten directions will always grant them empowerment and protection; all evil spirits and ghosts will revere them as they do a Buddha; and before long they will attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.

2.62

"Great King! I entrust this sūtra to you all: the states of Vaiśālī, Kośala, Śrāvastī, Magadha, Vārāṇasī, Kapila, Kuśinagara, Kauśāmbī, Pāñcāla, Pāṭala, Mathurā, Uśīnara, Puṇḍravardhana, Devavardhana, Kāśī, and Campā—all such kings should receive and uphold Prajñāpāramitā."

2.63

Then the entire great assembly, the asuras, and the rest, hearing the various calamities described by the Buddha, had their hair stand on end, and called out in a loud voice, saying: "May we in the future not be born in such realms!"

2.64

Then the sixteen kings immediately renounced their royal thrones to cultivate the path of leaving home; they perfected the eight abhibhvāyatanas and the ten kṛtsnāyatanas, and attained subduing kṣānti, faithful kṣānti, and anutpattikadharmakṣānti.

2.65

At that time, the entire assembly of devas, humans, asuras, and others scattered māndārava flowers, mañjūṣaka flowers, vārṣika flowers, and sumana flowers to make offerings to the Buddha; and in accordance with their respective lineages, they attained the three gates of liberation, the emptiness of persons, the emptiness of dharmas, and the bodhipakṣadharmas. Immeasurable and countless bodhisattva mahāsattvas scattered kumuda flowers and padma flowers to make offerings to the Buddha; immeasurable samādhis all became manifest before them, and they attained abiding in compliant kṣānti and anutpattikadharmakṣānti. Immeasurable and countless bodhisattva mahāsattvas attained samādhi doors as numerous as the sands of the Ganges; realizing the equality of the ultimate and the conventional, and endowed with unimpeded knowledges, they constantly gave rise to great compassion, broadly benefiting sentient beings and manifesting bodies to achieve buddhahood in worlds as numerous as the dust motes in millions of billions of asaṃkhyeya Buddha-fields.

2.66

Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra for Humane Kings Protecting Their States, Chapter 8: Entrustment

2.67

The Buddha told King Prasenajit: "I now admonish you! After my nirvāṇa, when the true Dharma is on the verge of extinction—after fifty years, after five hundred years, after five thousand years—there will be no Buddha, Dharma, or Saṅgha. This sūtra and the Three Jewels are entrusted to the kings of states to establish and safeguard, so that my fourfold assembly of disciples may receive, uphold, read, recite, and understand their meanings, broadly proclaiming the essentials of the Dharma for sentient beings and causing them to practice and escape birth and death.

2.68

"Great King! In future ages of the five defilements, all kings, princes, and ministers will rely on their own nobility to destroy my teachings, overtly making regulations to restrict my disciples. Bhikṣus and bhikṣuṇīs will not be permitted to leave home to cultivate the correct path, nor will they be permitted to build stūpas and images of the Buddha. White-robed laity will sit on high seats while bhikṣus stand on the ground, treated no differently from soldiers and slaves according to law. You should know that at that time, the extinction of the Dharma will not be far off."

2.69

"Great King! The causes and conditions for the destruction of the state are all of your own making. Relying on their own might, [rulers] restrict the fourfold assembly, not allowing them to cultivate merit. Evil bhikṣus accept individual invitations. Acquaintance bhikṣus unite with one mind, showing mutual favoritism, and seek merit through vegetarian banquets. These are the practices of non-Buddhists, entirely contrary to my teaching. The common people suffer epidemics and immeasurable distress. Know that at such a time the state will be ruined and destroyed.

2.70

"Great King! In the final age of the Dharma, kings, ministers, and the fourfold assembly of disciples will each commit unlawful acts, recklessly bringing diverse faults upon the Buddha's teaching, and binding bhikṣus contrary to the Dharma and the Vinaya as if they were prison convicts. Know that at such a time, the destruction of the Dharma will not be far off.

2.71

"Great King! After my parinirvāṇa, the fourfold assembly of disciples, all kings, princes, and the hundred officials are precisely those who should uphold and protect the Three Jewels; yet they will destroy them themselves, like worms within a lion's body feeding on the lion's own flesh, and not like non-Buddhists [doing so]. Those who destroy my Dharma will incur great blame: the true Dharma will decline and wane, the people will lack proper conduct, evil deeds will gradually increase, their lifespans will decrease day by day, there will no longer be filial sons, the six relations will be in discord, devas and nāgas will not grant protection, evil ghosts and evil dragons will come daily to inflict harm, and disasters and anomalies will follow one after another, running rampant. They will fall into the hells, the animal realm, and the hungry ghosts; and even if they gain human birth, they will be destitute, base, and defective in their faculties. Just as a shadow follows a form, just as an echo responds to a sound, or just as when someone writes at night and the fire goes out but the characters remain—such is the retribution for destroying the Dharma.

2.72

"Great King! In future ages, all kings, princes, and ministers will arbitrarily establish registers for my disciples, appoint officials and administrators to oversee major and minor monastic directors, and unrighteously subject them to corvée labor. Know that at such a time, the Buddha-Dharma will not last long.

2.73

"Great King! In future ages, all kings and the fourfold assembly of disciples should, in accordance with the path constantly practiced by all Buddhas of the ten directions, establish and disseminate [the teaching]. Yet evil bhikṣus, seeking fame and profit, will not rely on my Dharma, but will personally speak of faults before the king and create conditions for the destruction of the Dharma. The king will fail to discern [the truth], believe and accept their words, and arbitrarily institute regulations, not relying on the Buddha's precepts. Know that at such a time, the destruction of the Dharma will not be far off.

2.74

"Great King! In future ages, kings, ministers, and the fourfold assembly of disciples will themselves create the causes and conditions for destroying the Dharma and destroying the state, and will personally suffer the consequences; it is not the fault of the Buddha-Dharma. Devas and nāgas will abandon them and depart, and the five defilements will increasingly multiply. Were I to explain this in full, an entire kalpa would not suffice."

2.75

At that time, the kings of the sixteen great states, hearing these admonitions concerning the future, wept and wailed, their voices shaking the trichiliocosm. Heaven and earth became dark and gloomy, and no radiance appeared. Then all the kings wholeheartedly accepted and upheld the Buddha's words, resolved not to restrict the fourfold assembly from leaving household life and training in the path, acting in accordance with the Buddha's teaching.

2.76

At that time, the immeasurable great assembly, numerous as the sands of the Ganges, sighed together and said: "At such a time, the world will be desolate, an age without a Buddha."

2.77

Then King Prasenajit addressed the Buddha, saying: "Bhagavat! What shall this sūtra be named? How should we uphold it?"

2.78

The Buddha told the great king: "This sūtra is named 'Prajñāpāramitā for Humane Kings Protecting Their States', and it may also be named 'Amṛta-Dharma Medicine'; if anyone consumes and practices it, it can cure all ailments.

2.79

"Great King! All the merits of Prajñāpāramitā are immeasurable, like empty space. If anyone receives, upholds, reads, and recites it, the merit obtained will be able to protect humane kings and all sentient beings, just like an enclosing wall, or like a city rampart. Therefore, you should all receive and uphold it."

2.80

When the Buddha had spoken this sūtra, Maitreya, Siṃhanāda, and the other immeasurable bodhisattva mahāsattvas; Śāriputra, Subhūti, and the other immeasurable śrāvakas; immeasurable devas and humans of the desire and form realms; bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇī, upāsakas, upāsikās, asuras, and the entire great assembly, having heard what the Buddha said, rejoiced greatly, and believed, accepted, and practiced it.

2.81

Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra for Humane Kings Protecting Their States, Fascicle Two

Linked texts (1)

仁王護國般若波羅蜜多經 — Classical Chinese