菩薩從兜術天降神母胎說廣普經 4

English (machine translation) 4

Language: English

4.1

Translated by the Śramaṇa Zhu Fonian from Liangzhou under the Yao Qin

At that time, in the assembly there was a bodhisattva named Mūrdharāja, who, leading twenty-five thousand people, came to the Buddha's place from the eastern world called Well-Established. Bowing his head and face to the [Buddha's] feet, he sat to one side. After a moment, he withdrew from his seat, stepped forward, and said to the Buddha: "I have heard that the Tathāgata, Arhat, Samyaksambuddha, Vidyācaraṇasampanna, Sugata, Lokavid, Anuttara, Puruṣadamyasārathi, Śāstādevamanuṣyāṇām, Buddha, Bhagavat, through immeasurable divine transformations, teaches and transforms while in the womb, where seven-jeweled palaces are accomplished of various jewels, and all Buddhas and Bhagavats revere and honor him. Past Buddhas and Bhagavats, as well as those of the future and present, have never before expounded this rare Dharma; the true reality and the marks of phenomena cannot be exhausted. Over immeasurable eons, one accumulates practices through diligence and hardship, and in the midst of this there is arising and ceasing. We wish to hear of the distinctions among the many lands transformed by the Tathāgata's divine virtue: all practices being equal, entering the unconditioned path, the eight liberations of the pure brahmacārya of youth, so that we may forever be free of doubt."

4.4

The Buddha said: "Excellent, excellent, Great Being Mūrdharāja! What you ask is profound and difficult to fathom, greatly beneficial, saving the foolish and confused, and its merit is inexhaustible." At that time, the Bhagavat, through the power of samādhi and dhyāna meditation, stretched forth his golden arm and reached down beyond twenty-two billion Buddha-realms, lifting up the seven-jeweled divine stūpa of Śikhin Tathāgata. It was eighteen thousand yojanas in breadth and length. An outer enclosure encircled the stūpa with balustrades of the seven jewels. The ponds, water, gardens, and fruit trees were all formed of the seven jewels, and the bath-ponds in the rear garden had steps and railings of gold and silver. In the waters of those ponds was naturally the nectar of eight flavors. By the water's edge were wild ducks, geese, mandarin ducks, and hundreds and thousands of marvelous varieties of birds; their chirping and singing made mutual delight, an ultimate bliss difficult to surpass.

4.5

At that time, the Bhagavat thereupon spoke verses to Mūrdharāja Bodhisattva, saying:

4.6

"In the past, the divine stūpa of Śikhin Buddha / Was formed of the seven jewels, / With flower trees of various colors, / Golden blossoms with silver stems. / The water of the bath-ponds possessed the eight flavors, / Satiating those who were hungry and thirsty. / Through the reward gained from the blessings of offerings, / The merit was accomplished while in the womb. / Next, another Buddha passed into parinirvāṇa, / In succession to Śikhin, the original honoured one; / That Buddha's seven-jeweled stūpas / Filled realms as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, / With various jewels interwoven, / Its joy also difficult to surpass. / Next, a Buddha took parinirvāṇa, / Most honoured, foremost, and supreme, / And also had seven-jeweled stūpas / Filling the realm of empty space. / People with clear eyes and discernment / Reverently offered worship with respectful minds, / Ridding pride and not haughty, / Not greedy for nor attached to gain. / With seven-jeweled ponds, waters, and fruits, / Thoughts severed, free of attachment, / He also manifested transformation while abiding in the womb, / Spreading it abroad for immeasurable eons. / Next, a Buddha entered parinirvāṇa, / Kanakamuni, / Whose divine virtue was greatly penetrating; / Those he delivered tripled the three Buddhas', / Teaching and transforming all disciples, / So that the three vehicles never ceased. / Going from here to the eastern realm, / In the womb he manifested transformations, / Encouraging and comforting those who came after, / Leading and guiding them to tranquil seclusion. / Next was the Buddha honoured Kāśyapa, / Who sat upright for hundreds of millions of eons, / With all the gods as his retinue, / Motionless in stillness. / He also has a seven-jeweled stūpa / In the vajra Buddha-realm, / Rescuing and protecting all who fall, / Not letting them fall into deviant paths. / I now, Śākyamuni, / Valiant and singularly preeminent, / Single-mindedly uphold my resolve, / Not attached to the path of birth and death. / Although the Buddha-land is defiled and bad, / Those delivered are immeasurable. / Now abiding in the mother's womb, / I sport in divine transformations. / Sentient beings of the desire realm / Fall into caldrons of boiling water; / I lead and guide them, causing them to emerge, / Like moths flying into flames."

4.7

At that time, the Bhagavat, through his divine power, transformed this great trichiliocosm into a dazzling golden color, causing the great assembly to see the World of Joy. Those bodhisattvas were all seated on seven-jeweled lotus blossoms; their disciples and retinues were all of a golden color; their food and drink were dhyāna meditation and liberation; and their precepts, rules, and deportment were never violated. [The Buddha said:] "What do you think, Mūrdharāja Bodhisattva? As for the lands and Buddha-realms manifested just now where the Buddhas wander and transform, if one makes offerings and attends upon them, would that merit be great or not?"

4.8

Mūrdharāja Bodhisattva said to the Buddha: "Very great, very great, Bhagavat! Why is that? The merit of making offerings to one Buddha-realm is already difficult to measure, how much more so to that many Buddha-realms!"

4.9

The Buddha said: "If there is a bodhisattva who has passed beyond non-retrogression and resides in the state of being bound to one more birth, causing him to manifest divine transformations in the womb, the merit of one who reveres this bodhisattva is the most supreme. Why is that? This bodhisattva performs Buddha-deeds that are inconceivable."

4.10

The Buddha further said to Mūrdharāja Bodhisattva: "I now explain to you the eightfold noble path that removes the eight inversions. If the Buddha-realms in the ten directions, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, were filled with seven-jeweled stūpas, it would not equal offering to a bodhisattva of the eightfold noble path robes, food and drink, bedding, mattresses, medicines for the sick and emaciated, pounded incense, mixed incense, sandalwood, powdered incense, silk fabrics, flower canopies, and utensils for bodily comfort—the merit [of the latter] is greatest. If there is a bodhisattva-mahāsattva who, in the realms of womb-born, transformational, moisture-born, and egg-born beings, can discern the four smṛtyupasthānas for one day, two days, up to seven days; one month, two months, up to seven months; one year, two years, up to seven years; one eon, two eons, up to seven eons—if there are sentient beings who serve and make offerings to the aforementioned seven-jeweled stūpas up to the bodhisattvas of the eightfold noble path, it would not equal the merit of this person making offerings to a bodhisattva of the four smṛtyupasthānas, which is the greatest. If an ekajātipratibaddha bodhisattva turns the unsurpassed wheel of the Dharma in his mother's womb, embracing all things and undergoing countless transformations, a great being of divine virtue circulating back and forth without hindrance, and reuniting into one without anyone being aware of it; if there are sentient beings who make offerings, attend upon him, and provide utensils for bodily comfort without begrudging anything—just as I today, having cut off and eliminated ideations of extinction across three asaṃkhyeya eons, now in this final body enter the womb chamber once to teach and transform, causing all to attain liberation through fruits, realizations, and divine powers, just as ripening fruit transforms without remaining fixed. The Buddha's body is empty, devoid of precepts, concentration, wisdom, or liberation, yet naturally perfumed by the deportment of the virtues of the Path, not forsaking the practice of the twelve dhūtas—this single portion of suffering is my realm."

4.11

At that time, Mūrdharāja Bodhisattva, before the Tathāgata, spoke praise in verse, saying:

4.12

"Consciousness is the root of birth and death, / And also the path to nirvāṇa. / Resting midway in the womb, / It roams playfully in immeasurable realms. / Taking birth through the four forms of life in the Buddha-land, / Subduing through the sixteen divine powers; / The path originally without a single mark, / The vows [of the Buddhas] are each the same. / Because sentient beings are bound and attached, / They appear as superior or inferior persons; / Formless and invisible, / It can only now be observed. / The bodies of past Buddhas / Have bequeathed teachings that are boundless; / The unsurpassed Dharma of the eightfold path / Single-mindedly delivers all beings. / The forms of the scriptural Dharma and śarīras, / Their divine powers are spread abroad through the world. / What I now lead and bring along / Has heard what is inconceivable. / The divine, treasured stūpas of the six Buddhas, / The treasure storehouses and seven-jeweled terraces: / Discerning each and every one deeply, / The flavors of their meaning are immeasurable. / The path originally traversed by the Buddhas / Is like empty space, without attachment; / Now abiding in the divine mother's womb, / Those receiving transformation are not just of one kind. / Attaining the Buddha's nature of tathatā, / They also abide in accordance with dharmatā. / Dispelling minds of pride, / I now pay homage to the nature of emptiness. / The light of each and every śarīra / Universally illuminates all Buddha-realms; / Those receiving transformation are like the sands of the Ganges: / This is the evocative power of the Buddha's divine virtue. / The realm is far from here; / Having received the Buddha's path of nectar, / I now wish to return to my original country / To proclaim and propagate the Tathāgata's Dharma."

4.13

At that time, Mūrdharāja Bodhisattva, having spoken these verses in praise of the Buddha, circumambulated him three times to the right, paid homage to the Buddha, and departed.

4.14

Bodhisattva Garbhastha Sūtra, Chapter 12: Tracing Consciousness in the Five Destinies

4.15

At that time, the Bhagavat, wishing to demonstrate the destinies to which consciousness goes—consciousness oriented toward the Path, mundane consciousness, conditioned consciousness, unconditioned consciousness, defiled consciousness, undefiled consciousness, flower-consciousness, fruit-consciousness, retributive consciousness, non-retributive consciousness; consciousness of devas and nāgas; consciousness of ghosts, spirits, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, humans, and non-humans; reaching upward to the consciousness of the twenty-eight heavens and downward to the consciousness of the Hell of No Rescue. At that time, the Bhagavat, right within the womb, manifested interlinked fetal skeleton bones, filling the great trichiliocosm. The Buddha said to Asita: "Can you discern the consciousness of these skeleton bones?"

4.16

He replied: "I cannot discern it. Why is that? I have not attained full penetration, and the power of my practice has not yet reached it."

4.17

The Buddha asked Maitreya Bodhisattva: "In this heaven, have you not attained divine powers?"

4.18

Maitreya said to the Buddha: "Some are accomplished, and some are not accomplished."

4.19

The Buddha told Maitreya: "Examine these interlinked skeleton bones, and cause all sentient beings to know the destinies of their consciousness, discerning and resolving it clearly so that they have no doubt or hesitation."

4.20

At that time, Maitreya Bodhisattva immediately arose from his seat, held a diamond, seven-jeweled divine staff in his hand, tapped the interlinked skeleton bones, and listened to the sound of those bones. He then said to the Buddha: "When this person's life ended, his bonds of anger were abundant; his consciousness fell among the nāgas." Next he tapped another bone: "This person in his former life was fully equipped with the practice of the ten paths of action; he was reborn in heaven." Next he tapped another bone: "This person in his former life broke the precepts and violated the monastic rules; he was born in hell." Tapping the bones in this manner, whether defiled or undefiled, conditioned or unconditioned, from the twenty-eight heavens above down to the Hell of No Rescue below, he knew the destinies of their consciousness, their good and bad karmic fruits, and the retributions of their black and white deeds. There was an intact complete-body śarīra with nothing lacking or diminished. At that time, Maitreya tapped it with his staff and investigated, but could not know where this consciousness was at all. Having tapped it three times like this, he stepped forward and said to the Buddha: "This person's spiritual consciousness cannot be known at all. Could it be that the Tathāgata has entered nirvāṇa?"

4.21

The Buddha said to Maitreya: "You will inherit the Buddha's position in a future age and shall attain Buddhahood and accomplish the unsurpassed path. Why did you tap the śarīra and not know where the consciousness is?"

4.22

Maitreya said to the Buddha: "The Buddha is inconceivable and immeasurable, beyond what can be fathomed by our realm. Now I have doubts; I only pray that the Bhagavat will explain it. The spiritual consciousnesses of the five destinies can all be known as to their good or bad destinations, and I dare not have doubts concerning the Tathāgata. Now as for this śarīra without any diminution, I pray you will speak of this consciousness so that we may know."

4.23

The Buddha told Maitreya: "The dissemination of the śarīras of the Buddhas of the past, future, and present is not something that can be discerned by your realm. Why is that? This śarīra is my very own śarīra; how could one trace the Tathāgata's spiritual consciousness? I shall now distinguish for you the superior, middling, and inferior consciousnesses of the Tathāgata, up to the sarvajña, which are each different. Bodhisattvas of the first dwelling have not yet established their roots, virtues, and powers; although they attain divine powers, bodhisattvas of the second dwelling, viewing with the divine eye, know the destinies of consciousnesses and whether they are in the retreating or non-retreating ground, and also observe those in the desire realm, form realm, and formless realm, or observe those born in immeasurable realms as numerous as the sands of the Ganges in the east who make offerings to the Buddhas and uphold the monastic rules without hindrance, and also know the eons of their receiving prophecy, from one eon up to hundreds of thousands of billions of eons. There are bodhisattvas on the ground of the third dwelling who observe śarīras and know the destinies of consciousnesses in nirvāṇa with remainder and nirvāṇa without remainder, yet they do not see where the consciousness practiced by those in the fourth dwelling goes. Bodhisattvas of the fourth dwelling see the dharmas of consciousness of the first, second, and third dwellings, yet they do not see where the dharmas of consciousness of the śarīras of the fifth dwelling go."

4.24

The Buddha told Maitreya, "A bodhisattva on the fifth ground discerns lower levels, and with regard to the stage of the sixth abode, sometimes sees and sometimes does not see where the mental phenomena tend. From an avaivartika bodhisattva up to an ekajātipratibaddha, none sees the direction of the mental consciousness of the Tathāgata as he raises or lowers his foot. A bodhisattva of progressive stages sees the eighth, seventh, and sixth, yet still does not see an ekajātipratibaddha raising or lowering his foot—how much less could one strike and examine the interlocked skeletal bones, desiring to discern them? That cannot be so."

4.25

The Buddha told Maitreya, "You should know this! Of the ten epithets—Tathāgata, Arhat, Samyaksambuddha, Vidyācaraṇasaṃpanna, Sugata, Lokavid, Anuttara, Puruṣadamyasārathi, Śāstādevamanuṣyāṇām, Buddha, Bhagavat—only a Buddha knows the thoughts of a Buddha's consciousness."

4.26

At that time, the Bhagavat, together with the great assembly, spoke in verse, saying:

4.27

"Revolving in the abyss of the five destinies, / in vain one exhausts one's consciousness; / the defilements of ear, nose, body, and mind / cannot be removed on their own. / Consciousness and conceptions tie heavy defilements, / to be shaved away with the sword of wisdom; / wisdom can illuminate the darkness of ignorance / and bring one to the place of fearlessness. / The Buddha's consciousness sees all universally; / even if the interlocked bones of the śarīra / were ground into dust, / so subtle and fine as to be invisible, / the Tathāgata discerns them one by one, / with retribution for good and evil phenomena. / The Buddha's consciousness is exceedingly subtle and wonderful, / neither acting nor not acting; / with a single teaching he delivers tens of billions / of asaṃkhyeyas of sentient beings. / When Maitreya becomes a Buddha in turn, / he will also relinquish his śarīra; / in the mother of his original birth, / the manner of his womb will also be just as it is now."

4.28

At that time, Maitreya Bodhisattva, having heard what the Buddha said, circumambulated the Buddha seven times, bowed his head to the Buddha's feet, and returned to his original seat.

4.29

Bodhisattva Garbhastha Sūtra, Chapter Thirteen: The Equal and Indistinguishable Practices of All Buddhas

4.30

At that time, the Bhagavat again manifested an extraordinary image, transforming all the bodhisattvas entirely into Buddha bodies, complete with radiance and marks. All of them, with different mouths but a single voice, expounded the Dharma, distinguishing that impermanence and life after life return to cessation. Their virtue was immeasurable, and they paid homage to one another. In their deportment and etiquette, though they expounded the subtle Dharma, there was no bowing, yielding, bending, extending, lowering, or raising; each sat upon an extremely wondrous high seat of seven treasures with a canopy of gauze and silk. At the first expounding of Dharma, countless men alone, without women, were delivered; at the second expounding of Dharma, women alone, without men; at the third expounding of Dharma, only persons of right view were delivered; at the fourth expounding of Dharma, only persons of wrong view; at the fifth expounding of Dharma, men and women were equally delivered; at the sixth expounding of Dharma, wrong and right were also equally delivered. At that very time, phenomenon after phenomenon was accomplished, and without self or mine, the fruits of the path matured. The constant rule of all Buddhas is the exposition of Dharma and doctrinal discussion, with psychic powers being the third: eighty-four thousand Dharma gates of the practice of emptiness, eighty-four thousand Dharma gates of signlessness, and eighty-four thousand Dharma gates of wishlessness, with each single Dharma gate having immeasurable meanings. It is as if an intelligent person had a thousand heads on his body, a thousand tongues on each head, and a thousand meanings on each tongue; if he wished to exhaust the meanings of these three Dharma gates, he would not obtain one part in a hundred thousand. This is the secret essential treasury of all Buddhas, all accomplished through the past training of previous lives.

4.31

At that time, all the Buddhas, with different mouths but a single voice, spoke in verse, saying:

4.32

"Our original vows / are now brought to fruition; / golden bodies with gentle voices, / fully endowed with all the marks. / Seeking boundless wisdom, / we are definitively free of doubt; / excellent is the Lord of the Three Realms, / most supreme, whom none can surpass. / Formerly in Tuṣita Heaven, / I chose the place to take birth; / descending to enter my mother's womb, / I gathered all the Tathāgatas together. / Sentient beings outside without affinity / said that I had not attained the path; / through the womb I transformed sentient beings / twice as many as at the time of attaining Buddhahood. / The sūtras spoken previously and subsequently / would take eighty-four billion elephants; / the strength of elephants and the strength of men / could not bear the burden of carrying them. / I caused my joyful son / to memorize firmly without forgetting or losing anything; / leaving behind the Dharma without attaining the path, / to propagate the true Dharma of the womb. / The practices of Buddhas are without distinction, / equal and not diverse; / only a Buddha can know a Buddha's / quantity of merits and their meanings. / If one wishes to conceive of the Buddha's / extraordinary deeds that he has practiced, / through kalpas and countless kalpas, / one cannot attain even the slightest fraction."

4.33

When all the Buddhas had spoken this verse, those who at the first expounding of Dharma were men alone without women immediately stood in avaivartika upon their seats, their faithful resolve incapable of being ruined or destroyed.

4.34

At that time, Śākyamuni withdrew his majestic supernatural power as before without difference, and spoke in verse, saying:

4.35

"Attaining the fruits of the eightfold noble path, / without a teacher I naturally awakened; / solitary stride of the leader of the three realms, / I attained of myself the path of nirvāṇa. / Originally free of any conditioned single mark, / with swift eloquence and meaning; / I have now obtained the fruit, / free of love and free of taint. / In the fundamental nature of the five aggregates, / no good or evil is seen; / with supernatural power I rescue from suffering, / upon the serene path of peaceful cessation. / All of you who have gathered, / your wishes are already accomplished; / what was not yet attained is now attained— / how wonderful is this beneficial karma! / The hindrances of binding attachment to causes and conditions / are forever eliminated without a trace; / the netting dharmas of self and mine / naturally disintegrate. / The foolish and deluded do not see the truth, / falling on their own into the conditions of the four rūpas; / not yet having attained the subtle and secret contemplation, / they discern the origin of the marks of suffering. / As I have attained the path today, / the effort is not worth speaking of; / the future Buddha's lion's roar [will be in] / an age of blazing flames and evil swords. / Refining suffering sentient beings, / dyeing plain silk according to its colour; / enduring humilation and suffering injury, / when confronted with it, never retaliating, / holding the mind like empty space, / changing and not abiding long. / At that time in the world, / the suffering and afflictive sins of the five heinous deeds / will be difficult to transform and impossible to deliver, / unsaved by all the Buddhas; / yet soon, manifesting the root of conditions for them, / he will lead them and show them the unconditioned state, / breaking their stubborn and rigid minds, / so that with single-mindedness they attain liberation. / At first expounding the teaching of the single Dharma, / unarisen, without arising or cessation; / all will head towards the Buddha path, / not allowing any to be left behind."

4.36

At that time, when the Bhagavat had spoken this verse, the assembly of men, the assembly of women, the assembly of the upright, and the assembly of the deviant all attained full faith and attained the stage of non-retrogression. The Buddha further addressed the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas: "Do you wish to see the Tathāgata's supernatural power transforming the inconceivable path, where the nature of phenomena is fully matured without male or female, and through skillful means it is said that receiving a female body brings no prophecy of Buddhahood, and Māra, Śakra, and the Brahmā kings have no real marks? Do you wish to know whether these four assemblies receive prophecies to become Buddhas?"

4.37

At that time, there was a bodhisattva named Akṣayamati, who immediately rose from his seat, bared his right shoulder, touched his right knee to the ground, joined his palms with folded hands, stepped forward, and said to the Buddha: "Never before have we heard the Tathāgata preach that these four kinds of persons can attain Buddhahood; only today can you unfold this great meaning." He then asked the Buddha again: "Is it by relinquishing the body, receiving a body, or in this very body that they attain Buddhahood?"

4.38

The Buddha told Akṣayamati: "Listen attentively, and reflect on it well! Now I will distinguish it for you one by one. Ninety-one kalpas ago, there was a Brahmā king named Mahāpratibhāna. He discerned the past and the present, constantly took pleasure in leisure, and sat within his heavenly palace. [He thought:] 'Now, could I not transform these palace maidens and all the Brahmā devas, so that when I attain Buddhahood, the devas will attend me, shaving their beards and hair, donning the Dharma robes, and all together attaining the path at once—would that not be delightful?' Having had this thought, he went from the heavenly palace to the Pārijāta tree, sat upright and reflected with one mind and single focus, tying his mindfulness before him without any other thoughts, and immediately attained Buddhahood, complete with the thirty-two marks of a great man and the eighty secondary characteristics. His heavenly retinue practiced the true Dharma of monks and attained arhatship, all being of sharp faculties; among the heavenly women, some attained the stage of srotāpanna, sakṛdāgāmin, or anāgāmin, never to return here, entering parinirvāṇa right there. This is what is meant by a Brahmā king not relinquishing the body or receiving a body, but attaining the Buddha path in his present body."

4.39

The Buddha told Akṣayamati Bodhisattva: "Seventy-six kalpas ago, there was a king of the Sixth Heaven who ruled over the trichiliocosm, named Haie ('Malicious Harm'), who exercised unhindered sovereignty from the Sixth Heaven downward. In that heavenly palace, through countless [years], he pondered for a long time: 'I repent of what I originally did—slandering the Three Honoured Ones and obstructing the fruits of the path. If I receive retribution, I will fall into the three miserable paths and never leave the evil destinies. Now, could I not change my mind and evil conduct, and together with the devas and retinue of this heavenly palace, practice the brahma-conduct, seek the unsurpassed path, and advance to attain Buddhahood—would that not be joyful?' Again he thought to himself: 'The realm I govern is immeasurable and limitless; how could any pleasure surpass the entertainment of heavenly maidens? Even if I attain Buddhahood, it would be just the same as this realm.' Gradually he grew lax and arrogant, and more kalpas passed. Māra had a good spiritual friend whose practice had ascended to the ten abodes, who spoke of the Buddha's merits: leaving home, cultivating the path, and being fully endowed with all the marks. Māra's mind was opened and awakened; changing his mind, he entered samādhi, free of diverse thoughts, with sharp and swift faculties. Right there in the heavenly palace he achieved mastery of the three knowledges, adorned a Buddha land, and without receiving another body, became an unsurpassed, perfectly true, equally and fully enlightened one, emitting a great light that universally illuminated Māra's realm, so that there was none who did not see with their own eyes that Māra had become a Buddha. Three hundred million sons of devas thought to themselves: 'We think Māra is an illusion and not a real Buddha.' They all retreated back to their palace. Sixteen hundred million sons of devas all came to follow and attach themselves to him, serving and making offerings to him just as to a Buddha, and immediately upon their seats, they all attained the four fruits. This is what is meant by the great heavenly king Haie not relinquishing the body or receiving a body, but attaining the Buddha path."

4.40

The Buddha further told Akṣayamati Bodhisattva: "Sixty-one kalpas ago, in the east there was a Devaputra Śakra who cultivated the purity of the divine eye and whose mind took pleasure in dhyāna, constantly desiring to leave home and advance toward the Buddha path. By the law of those devas, there appeared signs of decline showing that his life would soon end: his heavenly attendants gradually diminished, he became greedy for sleep, his body accumulated dust and dirt, his flowers withered by themselves, he found no joy in his jewelled throne, and his food tasted unsavoury. He then went out to the back garden to bathe and wash, [thinking:] 'Now, my divine body's eyes can see clearly through: in which direction is there a Buddha, that I may go pay respects, serve, make offerings, and receive the Buddha's precepts, so that in this very body I may attain the Buddha path?' Having had this thought, he sat upright and contemplated. Looking with his divine eye, above there was a Buddha named Anantākāśacārin, whose realm was named Viśuddha, currently preaching the Dharma, good in the beginning, middle, and end. Thereupon, by supernatural power, in the time it takes a person to extend or bend an arm, he arrived at that Buddha's dwelling, bowed his head to the Buddha's feet, and stood to one side. He then praised the Buddha's merits with this verse:

4.41

"‘Your radiant marks illuminate the ten directions, / subduing the hosts of Māra's enemies; / for our sake you expound the path, / severing doubts so that no delusion remains forever. / Those who are pure in brahma-conduct / all receive the most supreme practice; / according with categories, you preach the true Dharma, / not contradicting the Dharma of original practice. / I am the lord of the devas, / desiring to cultivate the pure path; / may only the Buddha deign to look upon me with pity, / that I may reach the place of peace and security.’"

4.42

"At that time, the Bhagavat told Śakra: 'Excellent, excellent! You have given rise to a vast resolve, desiring to rescue sentient beings from their suffering: causing those who have not attained to attain, those who have not obtained to obtain, and those who have not accomplished to accomplish; desiring to cause the blind to see light, the deaf to hear sound, the hunched to straighten, and the handless and footless to obtain hands and feet. Return to your original palace, sit beneath the bodhi tree, and discern the accumulated and dispersed phenomena of all practices.' Having heard these words, Śakra stepped forward, bowed to the Buddha, disappeared from that place, and returned to his heavenly palace. All his heavenly retinue came to take refuge and attach themselves to him; his merits grew increasingly magnificent, the signs of decline and exhaustion were eradicated forever without remainder, and sitting upright with restrained body and unmoving mind, he attained unsurpassed, perfectly true, equal and full enlightenment. The ninety-three billion heavenly maidens he led attained the verification of the four fruits of the path. This is what is meant by Śakra Devānām Indra not relinquishing the body or receiving a body, but attaining the Buddha path."

4.43

The Buddha told Akṣayamati Bodhisattva: 'In the past, fifty-four billion Ganges-sands of kalpas ago, there was a world named Blaze. The Buddha was named Niṣkāma Tathāgata, Arhat, Samyaksambuddha, Vidyācaraṇasampanna, Sugata, Lokavid, Anuttara, Puruṣadamyasārathi, Śāstā Devamanuṣyāṇām, Buddha, Bhagavat. He expounded the Dharma to deliver people, skillfully cultivating the brahma-practice, bestowing the Dharma of the four truths upon all. The people of that land all received female bodies. They comprehended impermanence, suffering, emptiness, and non-self; distinguishing sensations and perceptions, they were without any defilements. Disgusted with bodily suffering, they made a great vow with one common aspiration, donning the armor of fearlessness, wishing to deliver sentient beings, purify the Buddha-land, eliminate defilement and evil, and firmly establish their resolve, rejoicing in non-retrogression. At that time there were seven hundred and two thousand billion women in a great wilderness, a place not frequented by men. With one common practice, comprehending the dharmas of emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness, in a single day and at a single hour they attained penetration of the three equalities and forthwith achieved the Buddha path, fully endowed with all marks, sovereign in preservation and cessation, taking the large with the small and entering the small with the large. On that very day, they delivered immeasurable asaṃkhyeyas of sentient beings, transforming and delivering sentient beings into parinirvāṇa without remainder. This is called achieving the Buddha path without casting off the body to receive another body.'

4.44

At that time the Bhagavat, wishing to proclaim this meaning again, spoke verses, saying:

4.45

'Dharmatā is like the great ocean; / It keeps no record of right and wrong. / Ordinary beings, worthies, and sages / Are equal, without high or low. / It depends only on the cessation of mental defilement; / Attaining realization is like turning one's palm. / Accomplishing the path, one reigns over the three realms, / Proclaiming and raising the lion's roar. / When distinguished, originally there are no dharmas; / There is neither male nor female practice. / Now in the world of five defilements, / Manifestly there are allotments of received bodies. / Those who hold to annihilation or permanence / Are obstructed through kalpas without number.'

4.46

When the Bhagavat spoke this gāthā, eighty-four billion sentient beings firmly established their resolve, all vowing to achieve buddhahood without passing through a future body.

4.47

Bodhisattva Garbhastha Sūtra, Chapter Fourteen: Fixed and Unfixed Practices

4.48

At that time, in the assembly there was a bodhisattva named Nityahasita, whose six superknowledges held profound insight, whose virtue and power were sovereign, whose eloquence was fearless, who had exhausted the allotment of birth and death, had the four non-attachments, whose words were trusted, and who understood that all dharmas are empty, like illusions, like dreams, like a mirage in the heat, like a red leaf in the water which foolish beasts take for meat but find nothing once the water is gone, and like an echo in the mountains; who understood that all dharmas neither arise nor cease, and who wished to sever all sentient beings' doubts. He arose from his seat, bared his right shoulder, knelt with his right knee on the ground, clasped his hands with palms together, and addressed the Buddha, saying: 'Indeed, Bhagavat, I have a slight doubt and obstruction; only if permitted will I dare speak. The Tathāgata, the Great Sage, has unimpeded spiritual wisdom: he knows in advance the past causes and conditions, the bonds, and the aggregation of diverse practices; he discerns in retrospect the future success and failure, destinies, and the union and dispersal of causes and conditions; the good and bad karmic actions, and the different arisings of aspiration. Now I hear that the Tathāgata's transformation of sentient beings through womb[-birth] has differences in practice: there is retribution and no retribution, karmic reward and no karmic reward, black and white practices and no black and white practices. Furthermore, there are sentient beings who, from their initial aspiration, pass through kalpas without achieving [the goal], while there are sentient beings who, having aroused the mind of the path in the morning, immediately achieve buddhahood. We wish and rejoice to hear this; may the Bhagavat alone explain it.'

4.49

At that time the Bhagavat told Nityahasita Bodhisattva: 'The meaning you have asked about is entirely evoked by the Tathāgata's spiritual power, wishing to bring all dharmas to completion, without severing the Tathāgata's true nature before and after. Why is this? The Tathāgata's dharmatā cannot be seized or held, nor is it known by arhats or pratyekabuddhas.'

4.50

At that time the Bhagavat, using his spiritual power, extended his broad and long tongue. The radiance of the tongue-mark illuminated boundless asaṃkhyeyas of buddha-kṣetras in the east, causing the sentient beings of the five destinies who saw the light to follow the light and arrive at the Tathāgata's place. At that time the Bhagavat again emitted light from the white curl between his brows, illuminating above the sentient beings of eighty-four billion Ganges-sands of lands, who came to the Tathāgata's place. At that time the Bhagavat then addressed Nityahasita Bodhisattva and spoke verses, saying:

4.51

'Thirty-one sounds; / Karmic rewards have clear and pure [fruits]. / Forty-eight dust defilements; / Heavenly practices are fifty-five; / The bodhisattva's seven-jeweled hair / Inspires the minds of sentient beings. / The four kinds of trees of the fruit of the path; / Mental consciousness is concentrated and undisturbed. / People of little wisdom and without merit / Reap many rewards from verbal karma. / Knowing contentment in food, / In walking and deportment there is order; / With an equal mind pitying all, / Only this is called the bodhisattva path. / The three existences and the world of five defilements / Are upside-down, adhering to Māra's realm; / Destroying the roots of good karma, / Like shadows they never separate. / Faculties are sharp or dull; / Advancing or retreating, thoughts are unfixed. / Making vows to deliver sentient beings, / Merit becomes fully perfected. / The body perfected with the ten powers / Belongs to worldly, conditioned dharmas; / Difficult to measure through reflection, / One perishes and another arises again. / Like fire burning a mountain forest, / Mental thoughts are a blazing dharma; / Extending widely to asaṃkhyeyas, / The body dons the saṃnāha armor. / Courageously subduing those hard to convert, / The human body has pores: / Six hundred and forty thousand; / Wisdom can discern and distinguish them. / Diverse hairs correspond to karmic retribution; / The people of Jambudvīpa / Receive forms that are extremely ugly, / With hairs growing from every single pore. / Coarse, leaking, and not dense. / The Tathāgata's vajra-body / Has thirty-seven pores and hairs, / Dense and without coarse leakage. / It is not burned by fire; / Māra, Māra's devas, and their like, / Śramaṇas, brāhmaṇas, / Brahmā devas, and the hosts of Śakra, / Spirits with magical powers, ghosts, and gods, / Wishing to sever the Buddha's hair— / This can never be done. / Space may become the earth element; / The sun and moon may fall; / But wishing to sever the Buddha's hair— / This can never happen. / This is the karma of worldly dharmas, / Not the unconditioned mark; / Receiving the fruits of practice and karmic retribution, / The diverse marks are each different. / The Buddha's body is a vajra-substance; / The external marks and karmic practices / Are also worldly retributions, / Far removed from the unconditioned. / The true and real dharma of the Buddha's marks / Never reveals itself externally; / If one wishes to know the Buddha's internal marks, / It is the movement and resonance of his spiritual power.'

4.52

At that time, having spoken this gāthā, the Bhagavat told Nityahasita Bodhisattva: 'Conditioned retribution, condition-of-conditions retribution, the unimpeded retribution of the ultimate path, the true-nature retribution of the Three Jewels, the retribution of practices tending toward nirvāṇa, the unattached worldly retribution, and the definitively ultimate retribution: these are called the supreme primary meaning of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva. Unstained and unattached, it cannot be seized or held; neither clinging to the desire realm nor apart from the desire realm; past existence, future existence, present existence, and non-past, non-future, non-present existence retribution, unarisen and unceasing. Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas penetrate it without obstruction throughout hundreds of thousands of kalpas, enabling sentient beings of equal allotment to understand the original retribution of emptiness, with verbal karma accomplished and sounds completely penetrating.

4.53

'Furthermore, a bodhisattva-mahāsattva in an instant can make the trichiliocosm become a water element, just like a bhikṣu who has attained dhyāna contemplating an immeasurable water element, wherein water-dwelling creatures, giant softshell turtles, iguanas, tortoises, and freshwater turtles suffer no harm or disturbance, accumulating merits across kalpas that neither decay nor rot. This is called the bodhisattva-mahāsattva entering the water-element samādhi. Or there are sentient beings who, seeing the bodhisattva enter concentration, think it is water, and throw tiles, stones, grass, and wood into the water at the concentrated bodhisattva; yet the bodhisattva's mind is like space, unaware of any disturbance. This is called the power of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva entering the water element.

4.54

'Furthermore, a bodhisattva-mahāsattva in dhyāna concentration, collecting his mind, enters the fire-element samādhi, causing this trichiliocosm to blaze into fire. Deluded sentient beings think the bodhisattva is burned by the fire kalpa and flee in all four directions, yet they are not separated from the fire's light, which is pure and free of heat. This is called the bodhisattva-mahāsattva entering the fire-light samādhi. The spiritual power of this samādhi is difficult to fathom, nor can arhats or pratyekabuddhas investigate it to the end.

4.55

'Furthermore, a bodhisattva-mahāsattva enters the steadfast concentration on the fivefold dharmakāya, and likewise causes all wriggling, crawling creatures down to ants throughout the trichiliocosm to be shielded by his spiritual power, freed from afflictions and at peace for seven days, and at the end of their lives to be born in heaven. Just as I today preach the Dharma everywhere and manifest transformations in every place, those who behold the Tathāgata's spiritual virtue have their dust and defilements exhausted, and are born in accordance with their vows, or born in other buddha-kṣetras. This is what is evoked by the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's concentration on the fivefold dharmakāya.

4.56

'Furthermore, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva enters the immovable siṃhavikrīḍita samādhi and can cause the trichiliocosm to shake in six ways, so that the sentient beings within it all take refuge, cultivate pure practice, wear the garment of shame and remorse, cast aside arrogance, and are guided to the eightfold noble path, eliminating the conception of self and mine and the seventy-seven minds, with dust, encumbrance, defilement, and stains cleared away all at once. This is what is moved and inspired by the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's fearless lion-like play.

4.57

'Furthermore, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva enters the concentration on the dispersal of the body, distinguishing whence the aggregate of consciousness comes and whither it goes, discerning one by one that it is empty, non-existent, and tranquil, with no beginning or trace in the past, future, or middle. This is what is moved and inspired by the bodhisattva-mahāsattva entering the concentration on the dispersal of the body.

4.58

'Furthermore, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva enters the kṣāntimūrdha samādhi and can cause this body to become a limbless creature filling the trichiliocosm. Sentient beings who see it cannot name it, calling it a mass of flesh. For those who take and eat it, the flavor is like ambrosia, fully satisfying the hunger and thirst of sentient beings. This is what is moved and inspired by the bodhisattva-mahāsattva entering the kṣāntimūrdha samādhi.

4.59

'Or there is a bodhisattva-mahāsattva who, through the power of samādhi, causes the mountains, rivers, stones, and walls of this trichiliocosm to transform into ambrosia resembling rock sugar, which can be eaten without satiety, causing the severe illnesses of the four drives of those sentient beings to be forever eliminated without remainder, and sentient beings make vows, wishing and rejoicing to be born in the inexhaustible world. This is what is moved and inspired by the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's spiritual power.

4.60

'Furthermore, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva enters the solitary-walking samādhi, causing all sentient beings in this trichiliocosm to see the bodhisattva's walking, lifting and lowering his feet. Those who encounter the bodhisattva and behold his footsteps can restrain transgressive people from entering the hells, hungry ghosts, or animals. This is all because the bodhisattva's body, speech, and mind are pure, and having made vows to deliver them, he will reach the ultimate end and never retrogress. This is what is evoked by the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's immeasurable good merit and mental vows.

4.61

'Furthermore, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, through supernatural concentration, enters the delight-in-dharma samādhi, causing all kinds of sentient beings in this trichiliocosm to come and take refuge, approaching the bodhisattva to request pravrajyā, cultivating the unsurpassed brahma-practice with unified resolve, shaving their hair and beards, donning the dharma robes, and receiving instructions according to the constant deportment and monastic precepts of all buddhas, whereby they can simultaneously abide on the stage of luminous wisdom. The stage of luminous wisdom is the practice of an eighth-abode bodhisattva, not something that can be cultivated by the two vehicles. This is what is evoked by the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's spiritual power.'

4.62

"Furthermore, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, by means of the Buddha's great benevolence, enters unimpeded concentration, and for all the multitude of beings in this trichiliocosm acts as father, mother, brother, friend, kinsman, and spiritual friend. To those without wealth, he gives wealth, supplying what they need, even up to kingdoms, wealth, wives, children, elephants, horses, gold, silver, rare gems, giant clamshell, agate, white pearls, amber, crystal, lapis lazuli, jasper, mixed jewels, clothing, food and drink, beds, bedding, medicine for the sick and emaciated, and sweet incense and flowers, causing all to be fully supplied. Therein he instructs and transforms them, causing each to find fulfillment, and arouses sentient beings to abide in the stage of delighting in the Dharma. What is the stage of delighting in the Dharma? Guiding those assemblies, for those who correspond to the path of the srotāpanna he expounds the true essentials of the teaching that severs the three views; for those who correspond to the sakṛdāgāmin he expounds that after seven births, through long practice, they will attain the path; for those who correspond to the anāgāmin he expounds the good teaching free from the obscuration of the five aggregates; for those who correspond to the arhat he expounds that nirvāṇa is attained and realized beyond doubt; for those who correspond to the bodhisattva path he expounds the six perfections and the teaching of the stage of supreme forbearance, so that they resolve their minds to advance; and for those who head toward the Buddha path he expounds the ultimate purity of all-knowledge. They adorn and cultivate Buddha-lands, instruct and transform sentient beings, go from one Buddha-land to another Buddha-land, make offerings and pay homage to all Buddha-Bhagavats, and attain the six supernormal powers: the eye can see through all, the ear can hear through all, they recognize their own past lives, they know the minds of others, their bodies can fly, their defilements are completely extinguished, and they no longer have any doubts about the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha. This is called that which is induced by the supernormal power of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva entering the samādhi of delighting in the Dharma.

4.63

"Furthermore, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva enters the vajrasamādhi, and is able to transform this trichiliocosm into the seven precious jewels to relieve the destitute and help those in lack: giving soup to those who seek soup, and food to those who seek food. Thereupon he expounds to them the retribution of stinginess and greed: 'If a person is greedy and attached, at death they fall into the evil destinies as hungry ghosts or animals, becoming poor, naked, and barefoot, with clothes that do not cover their forms, hated by others; or becoming slaves and servants driven by others; or falling among animals bearing heavy burdens.' Or at times the bodhisattva expounds for them the practice of non-licentiousness for being born in heaven: 'Licentiousness is vile and evil; at death one falls into the evil destinies—the Mountain of Knives, the Forest of Sword-Trees, the Fire-Cart, the Furnace of Embers, the Iron-Cauldron Hell, the Black-Rope Hell, the Boiling-Excrement Hell, the Ice-Mountain, and the Pestle-and-Mortar, where they suffer immeasurable pain. Or they enter the Lotus and Utpala Hells, where wind blows and fire scorches, their bones and joints separating.' Therein the bodhisattva expounds impermanence to them: 'The body does not abide for long, like striking a stone to see a spark, like thunder and lightning passing by, an illusion of manifold forms. Why endure suffering with your vital spirit rotting away, seeking escape without end?' In this way, the bodhisattva expounds the true essentials to them, causing those sinners to have all their suffering eradicated and to reach the stage free from suffering. This is called that which is moved and effected by the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's concentration of the Buddha's great benevolence."

4.64

At that time, the Bhagavat spoke verses, saying:

4.65

"Sentient beings wish to escape and leave behind
the hindrances of the three realms and five destinies;
let them be vigorous and not indolent,
and peacefully abide in the unconditioned path.
Just as when a person builds a house,
it is not accomplished by timber alone;
first one must prepare and level the ground,
and then erect walls and pillars.
The Buddha path is like great space:
it is not accomplished by a single practice.
Hold your resolve firmly;
release your mind, free from yearning and clinging.
Past Buddhas are like the sands of the Ganges;
those to come cannot be numbered.
Some attain [awakening] in succession,
and there are also those who leap over.
Now, whether you are awakened or not yet awakened,
I cause you to reach the eightfold noble path.
Upon hearing it, one will never be reborn again;
by whom was this Dharma created?
Formerly I gave up the thought of bodily self,
and did not consider the number of kalpas difficult;
having awakened by myself without a teacher,
I became the guide for all.
When a guide appears in the world,
he does not descend without conditions;
he must cross over those not yet crossed over,
and manifest the city of the unconditioned."

First 65 of 68 passages. Read on

Linked texts (1)

菩薩從兜術天降神母胎說廣普經 — Classical Chinese