At one time the Buddha was in Rajagriha, staying on Mount
Gridhrakuta. Accompanying him were a multitude of leading monks numbering twelve
thousand persons. All were arhats whose outflows had come to an end, who had no
more earthly desires, who had attained what was to their advantage and had put
an end to the bonds of existence, and whose minds had achieved a state of
freedom.
Their names were Ajnata Kaundinya, Mahakashyapa,
Uruvilvakashyapa, Gayakashyapa, Nadikashyapa, Shariputra, Great Maudgaly~yana,
Mahakatyayana, Aniruddha, Kapphina, Gavampati, Revata, Pilindavatsa, Bakkula,
Mahakaushthila, Nanda, Sundarananda, Purna Maitrayaniputra, Subhuti, Ananda, and
Rahula. All were like these, great Arhats who were well known to
others.
There were also two thousand persons, some of whom were still
learning and some who had completed their learning.
There was the nun
Mahaprajapati with her six thousand followers. And there was Rahula's mother,
the nun Yashodhara, with her followers.
There were bodhisattvas and
mahasattvas, eighty thousand of them, none of them ever regressing in their
search for anuttara-samyaksambodhi. All had gained dharanis, delighted in
preaching, were eloquent, and turned the wheel of the Dharma that knows no
regression. They had made offerings to immeasurable hundreds and thousands of
Buddhas, in the presence of various Buddhas had planted numerous roots of
virtue, had been constantly praised by the Buddhas, had trained themselves in
compassion, were good at entering the Buddha wisdom, and had fully penetrated
the great wisdom and reached the farther shore. Their fame had spread throughout
immeasurable worlds and they were able to save countless hundreds of thousands
of living beings.
Their names were Bodhisattva Manjushri, Bodhisattva
Perceiver of the World's Sounds, Bodhisattva Gainer of Great Authority,
Bodhisattva Constant Exertion, Bodhisattva Never Resting, Bodhisattva Jeweled
Palm, Bodhisattva Medicine King, Bodhisattva Brave Donor, Bodhisattva Jeweled
Moon, Bodhisattva Moonlight, Bodhisattva Full Moon, Bodhisattva Great Strength,
Bodhisattva Immeasurable Strength, Bodhisattva Transcending the Threefold World,
Bodhisattva Bhadrapala, Bodhisattva Maitreya, Bodhisattva Jeweled Accumulation,
and Bodhisattva Guiding Leader. Bodhisattvas and mahasattvas such as these
numbering eighty thousand were in attendance.
At that time Shakra Devanam
Indra with his followers, twenty thousand sons of gods, also attended. There
were also the sons of gods Rare Moon, Pervading Fragrance, Jeweled Glow, and the
Four Great Heavenly Kings, along with their followers, ten thousand sons of
gods.
Present were the sons of gods Freedom and Great Freedom and their
followers, thirty thousand sons of gods, Present were King Brahma, lord of the
saha world, the great Brahma Shikhin, and the great Brahma Light Bright, and
their followers, twelve thousand sons of gods.
There were eight dragon
kings, the dragon king Nanda, the dragon king Upananda, the dragon king Sagara,
the dragon king Vasuki, the dragon king Takshaka, the dragon king Anavatapta,
the dragon king Manasvin, the dragon king Utpalaka, each with several hundreds
of thousands of followers.
There were four kimnara kings, the kimnara
king Great Dharma, and the kimnara king Upholding the Dharma, each with several
hundreds of thousands of followers.
There were four gandharva kings, and
gandharva king Pleasant, the gandharva king Pleasant Sound, the gandharva
Beautiful Sound, each with several hundreds of thousands of followers.
There were four asura kings, the asura king Balin, the asura king
Kharaskandha, the asura king Vemachitrin, and the asura king Rahu, each with
several hundreds of thousands of followers.
There were four garuda
kings, the garuda king Great Majesty, the garuda king Great Body, the garuda
king Great Fullness, and the garuda king As One Wishes, each with several
hundreds of thousands of followers. And there was King Ajatashatru, the son of
Vaidehi, with several hundreds of thousands of followers.
Each of these,
after bowing in obeisance before the Buddha's feet, withdrew and took a seat to
one side.
At that time the World-Honored One, surrounded by the four
kinds of believers, received offerings and tokens of respect and was honored and
praised. And for the sake of the bodhisattvas he preached the Great Vehicle
sutra entitle Immeasurable Meanings, a Dharma to instruct the bodhisattvas, one
that is guarded and kept in mind by the Buddhas.
When the Buddha had
finished preaching this Sutra, he sat with his legs crossed in lotus position
and entered into the samadhi of the place of immeasurable meanings, his body and
mind never moving. At that time heaven rained down mandarava flowers, great
mandarava flowers, manjushaka flowers, and great manjushaka flowers, scattering
them over the Buddha and over the great assembly, and everywhere the Buddha
world quaked and trembled in six different ways.
At that time the monks,
nuns, laymen, laywomen, heavenly beings, dragons, yakshas, gandharvas, asuras,
garudas, kimnaras, mahoragas, human and nonhuman beings in the assembly, as well
as the petty kings and wheel-turning sage kings - all those in the great
assembly, having gained what they had never had before, were filled with joy
and, pressing their palms together, gazed at the Buddha with a single mind.
At that time the Buddha emitted a ray of light from the tuft of white
hair between his eyebrows, one of his characteristic features, lighting up
eighteen thousand worlds in the eastern direction. There was no place that the
light did not penetrate, reaching downward as far as the Avichi hell and upward
to the Akanishtha heaven.
From this world one could see the living
beings in the six paths of existence in all of those other lands. One could
likewise see the Buddhas present at that time in those other lands and could
hear the sutra teachings which those Buddhas were expounding. At the same time
one could see the monks, nuns laymen, and laywomen who had carried out religious
practices and attained the way. One could also see the bodhisattvas and
mahasattvas who, through various causes and conditions and various types of
faith and understanding and in various forms and aspects were carrying out the
way of the bodhisattva. And one could also see the Buddhas who had entered
parinirvana, towers adorned with the seven treasures were erected for the Buddha
relics.
At that time the Bodhisattva Maitreya had this thought: Now the
World-Honored One has manifested these miraculous signs. But what is the cause
of these auspicious portents? Now the Buddha, the World Honored One, has entered
into samadhi. An unfathomable event such as this is seldom to be met with. Whom
shall I question about this? Who can give me an answer?
And again he had
this thought: this Manjushri, son of a Dharma King, has already personally
attended and given offerings to immeasurable numbers of Buddhas in the past.
Surely he must see these rare signs. I will now question him.
At this
time the monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen, as well as the heavenly beings,
dragons, spirits, and the others all had this thought: this beam of brightness
from the Buddha, these signs of transcendental powers - now whom shall we
question about them?
At that time Bodhisattva Maitreya wished to settle
his doubts concerning the matter. And in addition he could see what was in the
minds of the four kinds of believers, the monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen, as
well as the heavenly beings, dragons, spirits and the others who made up the
assembly. So he questioned Manjushri, saying, "What is the cause of these
auspicious portents, these signs of transcendental powers, this emitting of a
great beam of brightness that illumines the eighteen thousand lands in the
eastern direction so we can see all the adornments of the Buddha worlds there?"
Then Bodhisattva Maitreya, wishing to state his meaning once more, asked
the question in verse form:
Manjushri, Why from the white tuft
between the eyebrows of our leader and teacher does this great light shine
all around? Why do mandarava and manjushaka flowers rain down and
breezes scented with sandalwood delight the hearts of the
assembly? Because of these the earth is everywhere adorned and
purified and this world quakes and trembles in six different ways. At
this time the four kinds of believers are all filled with joy and
delight, they rejoice in body and mind, having gained what they never had
before. The beam of brightness from between the eyebrows illumines the
eastern direction and eighteen thousand lands are all the color of
gold. From the Avichi hell upward to the Summit of Being, throughout
the various worlds the living beings in the six paths, the realm to which
their births and deaths are tending, their good and bad deeds, and the
pleasing or ugly recompense they receive - all these can be seen from
here. We can also see Buddhas, those sage lords, lions, expounding and
preaching sutras that are subtle, wonderful and foremost. Their voices are
clear and pure, issuing in soft and gentle sounds, as they teach
bodhisattvas in numberless millions. Their Brahma sounds are profound and
wonderful, making people delight in hearing them. Each in his own
world preaches the correct Dharma, following various causes and
conditions and employing immeasurable similes, illuminating the Dharma of
the Buddha, guiding living beings to enlightenment. If a person should
encounter troubles, loathing old age, sickness and death, the Buddhas
preach to him on nirvana, explaining how he may put an end to all
troubles. If a person should have good fortune, having in the past made
offerings to the Buddhas, determined to seek a superior Dharma, the
Buddhas preach the way of the pratyekabuddha. If there should be Buddha
sons who carry out various religious practices, seeking to attain the
unsurpassed wisdom, the Buddhas preach the way of purity. Manjushri, I
have been dwelling here, seeing and hearing in this manner many things
numbering in the thousands of millions. Numerous as they are, I will now
speak of them in brief. I see in these lands bodhisattvas numerous as
Ganges sands, according with various causes and conditions and seeking the
way of the Buddha. Some of them give alms, gold, silver, coral, pears,
mani jewels, seashell, agate, diamonds and other rarities, men and
women servants, carriages, jeweled hand carriages and palanquins, gladly
presenting these donations. Such gifts they give to the Buddha
way, desiring to achieve the vehicle that is foremost in the threefold
world and praised by the Buddhas. There are some bodhisattvas who give
jeweled carriages drawn by teams of four, with railings and flowered
canopies adorning their top and sides. Again I see bodhisattvas who
give their own flesh, hands and feet, or their wives and children, seeking
the unsurpassed way. I also see bodhisattvas who happily give heads,
eyes, bodies and limbs in their search for the Buddha
wisdom. Manjushri, I see kings going to visit the place of the
Buddha to ask him about the unsurpassed way. They put aside their happy
lands, their palaces, their men and women attendants, shave their hair and
beard and don the clothes of the Dharma. Or I see bodhisattvas who
become monks, living alone in quietude, delighting in chanting the sutras.
Again I see bodhisattvas bravely and vigorously exerting
themselves, entering the deep mountains, their thoughts on the Buddha
way. And I see them removing themselves from desire, constantly dwelling
in emptiness and stillness, advancing deep into the practice of
mediation until they have gained the five transcendental powers. And I see
bodhisattvas resting in meditation, palms pressed together, with a
thousand, ten thousand verses praising the king of the doctrines. Again I
see bodhisattvas, profound in wisdom, firm in purpose, who know how to
question the Buddhas and accept and abide by all they hear. I see Buddha
sons proficient in both meditation and wisdom, who use immeasurable
numbers of similes to expound the Dharma to the assembly, delighting in
preaching the Dharma, converting the bodhisattvas, defeating the legions
of the devil and beating the Dharma drum. And I see
bodhisattvas profoundly still and silent, honored by heavenly beings and
dragons but not counting that a joy. And I see bodhisattvas living in
forests, emitting light, saving those who suffer in hell, causing them to
enter the Buddha way. And I see Buddha sons who have never once
slept, who keep circling through the forest diligently seeking the Buddha
way. And I see those who observe the precepts, no flaw in their
conduct,
pure as jewels and gems, and in that manner seeking the
Buddha way. And I see Buddha sons abiding in the strength of
fortitude, taking the abuse and blows of persons of overbearing
arrogance, willing to suffer all these, and in that manner seeking the
Buddha way. I see bodhisattvas removing themselves form frivolity and
laughter and from foolish companions, befriending persons of
wisdom, unifying their minds, dispelling confusion, ordering their
thoughts in mountain and forest for a million, a thousand, ten thousand
years in that manner seeking the Buddha way. Or I see bodhisattvas with
delicious things to eat and drink and a hundred kinds of medicinal
potions, offering them to the Buddha and his monks; fine robes and
superior garments costing in the thousands or ten thousands, or robes that
are beyond cast, offering them to the Buddha and his monks; a thousand,
ten thousand, a million kinds of jeweled dwellings made of sandalwood and
numerous wonderful articles of bedding, offering them to the Buddha and his
monks; immaculate gardens and groves where flowers and fruit
abound, flowing springs and bathing pools, offering them to the Buddha and
his monks; offerings of this kind, or many different wonderful
varieties presented gladly and without regret as they seek the unsurpassed
way. Or there are bodhisattvas who expound the Dharma of tranquil
extinction, giving different types of instruction to numberless living
beings. Or I see bodhisattvas viewing the nature of all phenomena as
having no dual characteristics, as being like empty space. And I see
Buddha sons whose minds have no attachments, who use this wonderful
wisdom to seek the unsurpassed way.
Manjushri, there are also
bodhisattvas who after the Buddha has passed into extinction make
offerings to his relics. I see Buddha sons building memorial towers as
numberless as Ganges sands, ornamenting each land with them, jeweled
towers lofty and wonderful, five thousand yojanas high, their width and
depth exactly two thousand yojanas, each of these memorial towers with
its thousand banners and streamers, with curtains laced with gems like
dewdrops and jeweled bells chiming harmoniously. There heavenly beings,
dragons, spirits, human and nonhuman beings, with incense, flowers and
music constantly making offerings. Manjushri, these Buddha sons in
order to make offerings to the relics adorn the memorial towers so that
each land, just as it is, is as outstandingly wonderful and lovely as the
heavenly king of trees when its flowers open and unfold. When the Buddha
emits a beam of light I and the other members of the assembly can see
these lands in all their various outstanding wonders. The supernatural
powers of the Buddhas and their wisdom are rare indeed; by emitting one
pure beam of light, the Buddhas illuminate countless lands. I and the
others have seen this, have gained something never known before. Buddha
son, Manjushri, I beg you to settle the doubts of the assembly. The four
kinds of believers look up in happy anticipation, gazing at you and
me. Why does the World-Honored One emit this beam of brightness? Buddha
son, give a timely answer, settle these doubts and occasion joy! What rich
benefits will come from the projecting of this beam of brightness? It must
be that the Buddha wishes to expound the wonderful Dharma he gained when
he sat in the place of practice. He must have prophecies to bestow. He has
showed us Buddha lands with their adornment and purity of manifold
treasures, and we have seen their Buddhas - this is not done for petty
reasons. Manjushri, you must know. The four kinds of believers, the
dragons and spirits gaze at you in surmise, wondering what explanation you
will give.
At that time Manjushri said to the bodhisattva and mahasattva
Maitreya and the other great men: "Good men, I suppose that the Buddha, the
World Honored One, wishes now to expound the great Dharma, to rain down the rain
of the great Dharma, to blow the conch of the great Dharma, to beat the drum of
the great Dharma, to elucidate the meaning of the great Dharma. Good men, in the
past I have seen this auspicious portent among the Buddhas. They emitted a beam
of light like this, and after that they expounded the great Dharma. Therefore we
should know that now, when the present Buddha manifests this light, we will do
likewise. He wishes to cause all living beings to hear and understand the
Dharma, which is difficult for all the world to believe. Therefore he has
manifested this auspicious portent.
"Good men, once, at a time that was
an immeasurable, boundless, inconceivable number of asamkhya kalpas in the past,
there was a Buddha named Sun Moon Bright, Tathagata, worthy of offerings, of
right and universal knowledge, perfect clarity and conduct, well gone,
understanding the world, unexcelled worthy, trainer of people, teacher of
heavenly and human beings, Buddha, World-Honored One, who expounded the correct
Dharma. His exposition was good at the beginning, good in the middle, good at
the end. The meaning was profound and far-reaching, the words were skillful and
wondrous. It was pure and without alloy, complete, clean and spotless, and bore
the marks of Brahma practice."
"For the sake of those seeking to become
voice-hearers he responded by expounding the Dharma of the four noble truths, so
that they could transcend birth, old age, sickness and death and attain nirvana.
For the sake of those seeking to become pratyekabuddhas he responded by
expounding the Dharma of the twelve-linked chain of causation. For the sake of
the bodhisattvas he responded by expounding the six paramitas, causing them to
gain anuttara-samyak-sambodhi and to acquire the wisdom that embraces all
species."
"Then there was another Buddha who was also named Sun Moon
Bright, and then another Buddha also named Sun Moon Bright. There were twenty
thousand Buddhas like this, all with the same appellation, all named Sun Moon
Bright. And all had the same surname, the surname Bharadvaja. Maitreya, you
should understand that from the first Buddha to the last, all had the same
appellation, all were named Sun Moon Bright. They were worthy of all the ten
epithets and the Dharma they expounded was good at the beginning, in the middle,
and at the end."
"The last Buddha, when he had not yet left family life,
had eight princely sons. The first was named Having Intention, the second Good
Intention, the third Immeasurable intention, the fourth jeweled intention, the
fifth Increased Intention, the sixth Cleansed of Doubt Intention, the seventh
Echoing Intention, and the eighth Dharma Intention. Dignity and virtue came
easily to them, and each presided over a four-continent realm."
"When
these princes heard that their father had left family life and had gained
anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, they all cast aside their princely positions and
followed him by leaving family life. Conceiving a desire for the Great Vehicle,
the constantly carried out Brahma practices, and all became teachers of the
Dharma. They had already planted good roots in the company of a thousand, ten
thousand Buddhas."
"At that time the Buddha Sun Moon Bright preached the
Great Vehicle sutra entitled Immeasurable Meanings, a Dharma to instruct the
Bodhisattvas, one that is guarded and kept in mind by the Buddhas. When he had
finished preaching the sutra, he sat cross-legged in the midst of the great
assembly and entered into the samadhi of the place of immeasurable meanings, his
body and mind never moving. At this time heaven rained down mandarava flowers,
great mandarava flowers, manjushaka flowers, and great manjushaka flowers,
scattering them over the Buddha and the great assembly, and everywhere the
Buddha world quaked and trembled in six different ways."
"At that time
the monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen , heavenly beings, dragons, yakshas,
gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kimnaras, and mahoragas, the human and nonhuman
beings in the assembly, as well as the petty kings and wheel-turning sage kings
- all those in this great assembly gained what they had never had before and,
filled with joy, pressed their palms together and gazed at the Buddha with a
single mind.
"At that time the Tathagata emitted a ray of light from the
tuft of white hair between his eyebrows, one of his characteristic features,
lighting up eighteen thousand Buddha lands in the eastern direction. There was
no place that the light did not penetrate, just as you have seen it light up
these Buddha lands now."
"Maitreya, you should understand this. At that
time in the assembly there were twenty million bodhisattvas who were happy and
eager to hear the Dharma. When these bodhisattvas saw this beam of light that
illuminated the Buddha lands everywhere, they gained what they had never had
before. They wished to know the causes and conditions that had occasioned this
light."
"At that time there was a bodhisattva named Wonderfully Bright
who had eight hundred disciples. At this time the Buddha Sun Moon Bright arose
from his samadhi and, because of the bodhisattva Wonderfully Bright, preached
the Great Vehicle sutra called the Lotus of the Wonderful Dharma, a Dharma to
instruct the bodhisattvas, one that is guarded and kept in mind by the Buddhas.
For sixty small kalpas the Buddha remained in his seat without rising, and the
listeners in the assembly at that time also remained seated there for sixty
small kalpas, their bodies and minds never moving. And yet it seemed to them
that they had been listening to the Buddha peach for no more than the space of a
meal. At this time in the assembly there was not a single person who in body or
mind had the least feeling of weariness."
"When the Buddha Sun Moon
Bright had finished preaching this sutra over a period of sixty small kalpas, he
spoke these words to the Brahmas, devils, shramanas and Brahmans, as well as to
the heavenly and human beings and asuras in the assembly, saying, 'tonight at
midnight the Tathagata will enter the nirvana of no remainder."
"At this
time there was a bodhisattva named Virtue Storehouse. The Buddha Sun Moon Bright
bestowed a prophecy on him, announcing to the monks, "This bodhisattva Virtue
Storehouse will be the next to become a Buddha. He will be called Pure Body,
tathagata, arhat, samyak-sambuddha."
"After the Buddha had finished
bestowing this prophecy, at midnight he entered the nirvana of no
remainder."
"After the Buddha had passed away, Bodhisattva Wonderfully
Bright upheld the Sutra of the Lotus of the Wonderful Dharma, for a period of
fully eighty small kalpas expounding it for others. The eight sons of the Buddha
Sun Moon Bright all acknowledged Wonderfully Bright as their teacher.
Wonderfully Bright taught and converted them and roused in them a firm
determination to gain anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. Those princely sons gave
offerings to immeasurable hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, millions of
Buddhas, and after that all were able to achieve the Buddha way. The last to
become a Buddha was named Burning Torch."
"Among the eight hundred
disciples of Wonderfully Bright was one named Seeker of Fame. He was greedy for
gain and support, and though he read and recited numerous sutras, he could not
understand them, but for the most part forgot them. Hence he was called Seeker
of Fame. Because this man had in addition planted various good roots, however,
he was able to encounter immeasurable hundreds, thousands, ten thousands,
millions of Buddhas, to make offerings to them, revere, honor and praise
them."
"Maitreya, you should understand this. Bodhisattva Wonderfully
Bright who lived then-could he be known to you? He was no other than I myself.
And Bodhisattva Seeker of Fame was you."
"Now when I see this auspicious
portent, it is no different from what I saw before. Therefore I suppose that now
the Tathagata is about to preach the Great Vehicle sutra called the Lotus of the
Wonderful Dharma, a Dharma to instruct the bodhisattvas, one that is guarded and
kept in mind by the Buddhas."
At that time Manjushri, wishing in the
presence of the great assembly to state his meaning once more, spoke in verse
form, saying:
I recall that in a past age immeasurable, innumerable
kalpas ago there was a Buddha, most honored of men, named Sun Moon
Bright. This World-Honored One expounded the Dharma, saving immeasurable
living beings and numberless millions of bodhisattvas, causing them to
enter the Buddha wisdom. The eight princely sons whom this Buddha
sired before taking leave of family life, when they saw that the great
sage had left his family did likewise, carrying out brahma practices. At
that time the Buddha preached the Great Vehicle, a sutra named Immeasurable
Meanings, and in the midst of a great assembly for the sake of the people
established broad distinctions. When the Buddha had finished preaching this
sutra he sat in the seat of the Dharma, sitting cross-legged in the
samadhi called the place of immeasurable meanings. The heavens rained
mandarava flowers, heavenly drums sounded of themselves, and the heavenly
beings, dragons and spirits made offerings to the most honored of men. All
the Buddha lands immediately quaked and trembled greatly. The Buddha
emitted a light from between his eyebrows, manifesting signs that are rarely
seen. This light illumined the eastern direction, eighteen thousand Buddha
lands, showing how all the living beings there were recompensed in birth
and death for their past deed. That one could see how these Buddha
lands, adorned with numerous jewels, shone with hues of lapis lazuli and
crystal was due to the illumination of the Buddha's light. One could also
see the heavenly and human beings, dragons, spirits, many
yakshas, gandharvas and kimnaras, each making offerings to his respective
Buddha. One could also see Tathagatas naturally attaining the Buddha
way, their bodies the color of golden mountains, upright, imposing, very
subtle and wonderful. It was as though in the midst of pure lapis
lazuli there should appear statues of real gold. In the midst of the great
assembly the World-Honored Ones expounded the principles of the profound
Dharma. In one after another of the Buddha lands the voice-hearers in
countless multitudes through the illumination of the Buddha's light all
became visible with their great assemblies. There were also monks residing
in the midst of forests, exerting themselves and keeping the pure
precepts as though they were guarding a bright jewel. One could also see
bodhisattvas carrying out almsgiving, forbearances, and so forth, their
number like Ganges sands, due to the illumination of the Buddha's
light. One could also see bodhisattvas entering deep into meditation
practices, their bodies and minds still and unmoving, in that manner
seeking the unsurpassed way. One could also see bodhisattvas who knew that
phenomena are marked by tranquility and extinction, each in his respective
land preaching the Dharma and seeking the Buddha way. At that time the
four kinds of believers seeing the Buddha Sun Moon Bright manifest his
great transcendental powers, all rejoiced in their hearts, and each one
asked his neighbor what had caused these events. The one honored by
heavenly and human beings just then arose from his samadhi and praised
Bodhisattva Wonderfully Bright, saying, "You are the eyes of the
world, one whom all can take faith in and believe, able to honor and
uphold the storehouse of the Dharma. The law that I preach- you alone know
how to testify to it." The World-Honored One, having bestowed this
praise, causing Wonderfully Bright to rejoice, preached the Lotus
Sutra for fully sixty small kalpas. He never rose from this seat, and
the supreme and wonderful Dharma that he preached was accepted and upheld in
its entirety by the Dharma teacher Wonderfully Bright. After the Buddha
had preached the Lotus, causing all the assembly to rejoice, on that very
same day he announced to the assembly of heavenly and human beings, "I
have already expounded for you the meaning of the true entity of all
phenomena. Now when midnight comes I will enter nirvana. You must
strive with all your hearts and remove yourselves from indulgence and
laxity, it is very difficult to encounter a Buddha- you meet one once in a
million kalpas." When the children of the World-Honored One heard that the
Buddha was to enter nirvana, each one was filled with sorrow and
distress, wondering why the Buddha should so quickly seek extinction. The
sage lord, king of the Dharma, comforted and reassured the countless
multitude, saying, "When I enter extinction you must not be concerned or
fearful! This bodhisattva Virtue Storehouse has already fully understood
in his mind the true entity that is without outflows. He will be next to
become a Buddha, bearing the name Pure Body, and he too will save
immeasurable multitudes." That night the Buddha entered extinction, as a
fire dies out when the firewood is exhausted. They divided and apportioned
his relics and built immeasurable numbers of towers, and the monks and
nuns whose number was like Ganges sands redoubled their
exertions, thereby seeking the unsurpassed way. This Dharma teacher
Wonderfully Bright honored and upheld the Buddha's storehouse of the
Dharma throughout eighty small kalpas, broadly propagating the Lotus
Sutra. These eight princely sons whom Wonderfully Bright converted held
firmly to the unsurpassed way and were thus able to encounter innumerable
Buddhas. And after they had made offerings to these Buddhas they followed
them in practicing the great way and one after the other succeeded in
becoming a Buddha, each in turn bestowing a prophecy on his successor. The
last to become a heavenly being among heavenly beings was named the Buddha
Burning Torch. As leader and teacher of seers he saved immeasurable
multitudes. This Dharma teacher Wonderfully Bright at that time had a
disciple whose mind was forever occupied with laziness and sloth, who was
greedy for fame and profit. He sought fame and profit insatiably, often
amusing himself among clansmen and those of other surnames. He threw away
what he had studied and memorized, neglected and forgot it, failed to
understand it. Because of this he was named Seeker of Fame. But he had
also carried out many good actions and thus was able to meet with innumerable
Buddhas. He made offerings to the Buddhas and followed them in practicing
the great way, carrying out all the six paramitas, and now he has met the
lion of the Shakyas. Hereafter he will become a Buddha whose name will be
Maitreya, who will save living beings extensively in numbers beyond
calculation. After that Buddha passed into extinction, that lazy and
slothful one-he was you, and the Dharma teacher Wonderfully Bright- that
was the person who is now I myself. I saw how the Buddha Torch Bright (Sun
Moon Bright) earlier manifested an auspicious portent like this. And so I
know that now this present Buddha is about to preach the Lotus Sutra. The
signs now are like those of the earlier auspicious portent, this is an
expedient means used by the Buddhas. Now when the Buddha emits this beam of
brightness he is helping to reveal the meaning of the true entity
of phenomena. Human beings now will come to know it. Let us press our
palms together and wait with a single mind. The Buddha will rain down the
rain of the Dharma to fully satisfy all seekers of the way. You who seek
the three vehicles, if you have doubts and regrets, the Buddha will
resolve them for you, bringing them to an end so that nothing
remains.
The Lotus Sutra Translated by Burton Watson
Chapter Two: Expedient Means
At
that time the World-Honored One calmly arose from his samadhi and addressed
Shariputra, saying: "The wisdom of the Buddhas is infinitely profound and
immeasurable. The door to this wisdom is difficult to understand and difficult
to enter. Not one of the voice-hearers or pratyekabuddhas is able to comprehend
it.
"What is the reason for this? A Buddha has personally attended a
hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, a million, a countless number of Buddhas and
has fully carried out an immeasurable number of religious practices. He has
exerted himself bravely and vigorously, and his name is universally known. He
has realized the Dharma that is profound and never known before, and preaches it
in accordance with what is appropriate, yet his intention is difficult to
understand.
"Shariputra, ever since I attained Buddhahood I have through
various causes and various similes widely expounded my teachings and have used
countless expedient means to guide living beings and cause them to renounce
attachments. Why is this? Because the Tathagata is fully possessed by both
expedient means and the paramita of wisdom.
"Shariputra, the wisdom of
the Tathagata is expansive and profound. He has immeasurable [mercy], unlimited
[eloquence], power, fearlessness, concentration, emancipation, and samadhis, and
has deeply entered the boundless and awakened to the Dharma never before
attained.
"Shariputra, the Tathagata knows how to make various kinds of
distinctions and to expound the teachings skillfully. His words are soft and
gentle and delight the hearts of the assembly.
"Shariputra, to sum it
up: the Buddha has fully realized the Dharma that is limitless, boundless, never
attained before.
"But stop, Shariputra, I will say no more. Why? Because
what the Buddha has achieved is the rarest and most difficult-to-understand
Dharma. The true entity of all phenomena can only be understood and shared
between Buddhas. This reality consists of the appearance, nature, entity, power,
influence, inherent cause, relation, latent effect, manifest effect, and their
consistency from beginning to end."
At that time the World-Honored One,
wishing to state his meaning once more, spoke in verse form, saying:
The
hero of the world is unfathomable. Among heavenly beings or the people of the
world, among all living beings, none can understand the Buddha. The
Buddha's power, fearlessness, emancipation and samadhis and the Buddha's
other attributes no one can reckon or fathom. Earlier, under the guidance
of countless Buddhas he fully acquired and practiced various
ways, profound, subtle and wonderful doctrines that are hard to see and
hard to understand. For immeasurable millions of kalpas he has been
practicing these ways until in the place of practice he achieved the
goal. I have already come to see and know completely this great goal and
recompense, the meaning of these various natures and characteristics. I
and the other Buddhas of the ten directions can now understand these
things. This Dharma cannot be described, words fall silent before
it. Among the other kinds of living beings there are none who can
comprehend it, except the many bodhisattvas who are firm in the power of
faith. The many disciples of the Buddhas in the past have given offerings
to the Buddhas, have already cut off all outflows and now are dwelling in
their last incarnation. But even such persons as they have not the power
needed. Even if the whole world were filled with men like
Shariputra, though they exhausted their thoughts and pooled there
capacities, they could not fathom the Buddha's knowledge. Even if ten
directions were all filled with men like Shariputra or like the other
disciples, though they filled the lands in the ten directions and
exhausted their thoughts and pooled their capacities, still they could not
understand it. If pratyekabuddhas, acute in understanding, without
outflows, in their last incarnation, should fill the worlds in the ten
directions, as numerous as bamboos in a grove, though they should join
together with one mind for a million or for countless kalpas, hoping to
conceive of the Buddha's true wisdom, they could not understand the smallest
part of it. If bodhisattvas newly embarked on their course should give
offerings to numberless Buddhas, completely mastering the intent of the
various doctrines and also able to preach the Dharma effectively, like so
many rice and hemp plants, bamboos or reeds, filling the lands in the ten
directions, with a single mind, with their wonderful knowledge, for kalpas
numerous as Ganges sands should all together pool their thoughts and
capacities, they could not understand the Buddha's knowledge. If
bodhisattvas who never regress, their number like Ganges sands, with a
single mind should join in pondering and seeking, they could not understand
it either. I also announce to you, Shariputra, that this profound subtle
and wonderful Dharma without outflows, incomprehensible, I have now
attained in full. Only I understand its characteristics, and the Buddhas
of the ten directions do likewise. Shariputra, you should know that the
words of the various Buddhas never differ. Toward the Dharma preached by the
Buddhas you must cultivate a great power of faith. The world-honored One
has long expounded his doctrines and now must reveal the truth. I announce
this to the assembly of voice-hearers and to those who seek the vehicle of
the pratyekabuddha; I have enabled people to escape the bonds of
suffering and to attain nirvana. The Buddha, through the power of
expedient means, has shown them the teachings of the three vehicles prying
living beings loose from this or that attachment and allowing them to attain
release.
At that time among the great assembly there were voice-hearers,
Arhats whose outflows had come to an end, Ajnata Kuandinya and the others,
twelve hundred persons. And there were monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen who had
conceived a desire to become voice-hearers or pratyekabuddhas. Each of these had
this thought: Now for what reason does the World-Honored One so earnestly praise
expedient means and state that the Dharma attained by the Buddha is profound and
difficult to understand, that it is very difficult to comprehend the meaning of
the words he preaches, that not one of the voice-hearers or pratyekabuddhas can
do so? If the Buddha preaches but one doctrine of emancipation, then we too
should be able to attain this Dharma and reach the state of Nirvana. We cannot
follow the gist of what he is saying now.
At that time Shariputra
understood the doubts that were in the minds of the four kinds of believers, and
he himself had not fully comprehended. So he addressed the Buddha, saying,
"World-Honored One, what causes and conditions lead you to earnestly praise
expedient means, the foremost device of the Buddhas, the profound, subtle and
wonderful Dharma that is difficult to understand? From times past I have never
heard this kind of preaching from the Buddha. Now the four kinds of believers
all have doubts. We beg that the World-Honored One earnestly praise this Dharma
that is profound, subtle and wonderful, difficult to understand?"
At
that time Shariputra, wishing to state his meaning once more, spoke in verse
from, saying:
Sun of wisdom, great sage and venerable one, at long
last you preach this Dharma. You yourself declare you have attained power,
fearlessness, samadhis, concentration, emancipation, and these other
attributes, and the Dharma that is beyond comprehension. This Dharma
attained in the place of practice no one is capable of questioning you
about. 'My intention is hard to fathom, and no one can question me." No
one questions, yet you yourself preach, praising the path you walk
on. Your wisdom is very subtle and wonderful, that which all the Buddhas
attain. The arhats who are without outflows and those who seek
nirvana now have all fallen into the net of doubt, wondering for what
reason the Buddha preaches this. Those who seek to become
pratyekabuddhas, monks and nuns, heavenly beings, dragons and
spirits, along with the gandharvas and others, look at one another, filled
with perplexity, gazing upward at the most honored of two-legged
beings. What is the meaning of all this? I beg the Buddha to explain it
for us. Among the assembly of voice-hearers the Buddha has said I am
foremost, yet now I lack the wisdom to solve these doubts and
perplexities. Have I in fact grasped the ultimate Dharma, or am I still on
the path of practice? The sons born from the Buddha's mouth press palms
together, gaze upward and wait. We beg you to put forth subtle and wonderful
sounds and at this time explain to us how it really is. The heavenly
beings, dragons, spirits, and the others, their numbers like Ganges
sands, the bodhisattvas seeking to be Buddhas in a great force of eighty
thousand, as well as the wheel-turning sage kings come from ten thousands
of millions of lands, all press their palms and with reverent minds wish
to hear the teaching of perfect endowment.
At that time the Buddha
addressed Shariputra, saying, "Stop, stop! There is no need to speak further. If
I speak of this matter, then the heavenly and human beings throughout the worlds
will all be astonished and doubtful."
Shariputra once more spoke to the
Buddha, saying, "World-Honored One, we beg you to preach! We beg you to preach!
What is the reason? Because this assembly of countless hundreds, thousands, ten
thousands, millions of asamkhyas of living beings in the past have seen the
Buddhas; their faculties are vigorous and acute and their wisdom is bright. If
they hear the Buddha preach, they will be capable of reverent belief."
At that time Shariputra, wishing to state his meaning once more, spoke
in verse form, saying:
Dharma King, none more highly honored, speak,
we beg you, without reserve! In this assembly of numberless beings are
those capable of reverent belief.
The Buddha repeated, "Stop,
Shariputra! If I speak of this matter, the heavenly and human beings and asuras
throughout the worlds will all be astonished and doubtful. The monks who are
overbearingly arrogant will fall into a great pit."
At that time the
World-Honored One repeated what he had said in verse form:
Stop, stop,
no need to speak! My Dharma is wonderful and difficult to ponder. Those
who are overbearingly arrogant when they hear it will never show reverent
belief.
At that time Shariputra once more spoke to the Buddha, saying,
"World-Honored One, we beg you to preach! We beg you to preach! In this assembly
at present the persons like myself number in the hundreds, thousands, ten
thousands, millions. In age after age we have already attended the Buddhas and
received instruction. People of this kind are certain to be capable of reverent
belief. Throughout the long night they will gain peace and rest and will enjoy
many benefits."
At that time Shariputra, wishing to state his meaning
once more, spoke in verse form, saying:
Supremely honored among
two-legged beings, we beg you to preach this foremost Dharma. I who am
regarded as the Buddha's eldest son ask you to favor us by preaching
distinctions. The countless members of this assembly are capable of
according reverent belief to this Dharma The Buddhas have already in age
after age taught and converted them in this manner. All with a single mind
and palms pressed together desire to hear and receive the Buddha's
words. I and the other twelve hundred of our group, as well as the others
who seek to become Buddhas, beg that for the sake of this assembly you
will favor us by preaching distinctions. When we hear this Dharma we will
be filled with great joy.
At that time the World-Honored One said to
Shariputra, "Three times you have stated your earnest request. How can I do
other than preach? Now you must listen attentively and carefully ponder. For
your sake I will now analyze and explain the matter."
When he had spoken
these words, there were some five thousand monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen in
the assembly who immediately rose from their seats, bowed to the Buddha, and
withdrew. What was the reason for this? These persons had roots of guilt that
were deep and manifold, and in addition they were overbearingly arrogant. What
they had not attained they supposed they had attained, what they had not
understood they supposed they had understood. And because they had this failing,
they did not remain where they were.
The World-Honored One was silent
and did not try to detain them.
At this time the Buddha said to
Shariputra, "Now this assembly of mine is free of branches and leaves, made up
solely of the steadfast and truthful. Shariputra, it is well that these persons
of overbearing arrogance have withdrawn. Now listen carefully and I will preach
for you."
Shariputra said, "So be it, World-Honored One. We are eager to
listen!"
The Buddha said to Shariputra, "A wonderful Dharma such as this
is preached by the Buddhas, the Tathagatas, at certain times. But like the
blooming of the udumbara, such times come very seldom. Shariputra, you and the
others must believe me. The words that the Buddhas preach are not empty or
false.
"Shariputra, the Buddhas preach the Dharma in accordance with
what is appropriate, but the meaning is difficult to understand. Why is this?
Because we employ countless expedient means, discussing causes and conditions
and using words of simile and parable to expound the teachings. This Dharma is
not something that can be understood through pondering or analysis. Only those
who are Buddhas can understand it. Why is this? Because the Buddhas, the
World-Honored Ones, appear in the world for one great reason alone. Shariputra,
what does it mean to say that the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, appear in the
world for one great reason alone?
"The Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones ,
wish to open the door of Buddha wisdom to all living beings, to allow them to
attain purity. That is why they appear in the world. They wish to show the
Buddha wisdom to living beings, and therefore they appear in the world. They
wish to cause living beings to awaken to the Buddha wisdom, and therefore they
appear in the world. They wish to induce living beings to enter the path of
Buddha wisdom, and therefore they appear in the world. Shariputra, this is the
one great reason for which the Buddhas appear in the world."
The Buddha
said to Shariputra, "The Buddhas, the Tathagatas, simply teach and convert the
Bodhisattvas. All the things they do are at all times done for this one purpose.
They simply wish to show the Buddha wisdom to living beings and enlighten them
to it.
"Shariputra, the Tathagatas have only a single Buddha vehicle
which they employ in order to preach the Dharma to living beings. They do not
have any other vehicle a second one or a third one 1. Shariputra, the Dharma
preached by all the Buddhas of the ten directions is the same as this.
"Shariputra, the Buddhas of the past used countless numbers of expedient
means, various causes and conditions, and words of simile and parable in order
to expound the doctrines for the sake of living beings. These doctrines are all
for the sake of the one Buddha vehicle. These living beings, by listening to the
doctrines of the Buddhas, are all eventually able to attain wisdom embracing all
species.
Shariputra, when the Buddhas of the future make their
appearance in the world, they too will use countless numbers of expedient means,
various causes and conditions, and words of simile and parable in order to
expound the doctrines for the sake of living beings. These doctrines will all be
for the sake of the one Buddha vehicle. And these living beings, by listening to
the doctrines of the Buddhas, will all eventually be able to attain wisdom
embracing all species.
"Shariputra, the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones,
who exist at present in the countless hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, and
millions of Buddha lands in the ten directions, benefit and bring peace and
happiness to living beings in large measure, these Buddhas too use countless
numbers of expedient means, various causes and conditions, and words of simile
and parable in order to expound the doctrines for the sake of living beings.
These doctrines are all for the sake of the one Buddha vehicle. And these living
beings, by listening to the doctrines of the Buddhas, are all eventually able to
attain wisdom embracing all species.
"Shariputra, these Buddhas simply
teach and convert the Bodhisattvas. They do it because they wish to show the
Buddha wisdom to living beings. They do it because they wish to use the Buddha
wisdom to enlighten living beings. They do it because they wish to cause living
beings to enter the path of Buddha wisdom.
"Shariputra, I too will now
do the same, I know that living beings have various desires. Attachments that
are deeply implanted in their minds. Taking cognizance of this basic nature of
theirs, I will therefore use various causes and conditions, words of simile and
parable, and the power of expedient means and expound the Dharma for them.
Shariputra, I do this so that all of them may attain the one Buddha vehicle and
wisdom embracing all species.
"Shariputra, when the age is impure and
the times are chaotic, then the defilements of living beings are grave, they are
greedy and jealous and put down roots that are not good. Because of this, the
Buddhas, utilizing the power of expedient means, apply distinctions to the one
Buddha vehicle and preach as though it were three.
"Shariputra, if any
of my disciples should claim to be an arhat or a pratyekabuddha and yet does not
heed or understand that the Buddhas, the Tathagatas, simply teach and convert
the bodhisattvas, then he is no disciple of mine, he is no arhat or
pratyekabuddha.
"Again, Shariputra, if there should be monks or nuns who
claim that they already have attained the status of arhat, that this is their
last incarnation, that they have reached the final nirvana, and that therefore
they have no further intention of seeking anuttara-samyaksambodhi, then you
should understand that such as these are all persons of overbearing arrogance.
Why do I say this? Because if they are monks who have truly attained the status
of arhat, then it would be unthinkable that they should fail to believe this
Dharma. The only exception would be in a time after the Buddha had passed away,
when there was no Buddha present in the world. Why is this? Because after the
Buddha has passed away it will be difficult to find anyone who can embrace,
recite, and understand the meaning of sutras such as this. But if persons at
that time encounter another Buddha, then they will attain decisive understanding
with regard to this Dharma.
"Shariputra, you and the others should with
a single mind believe and accept the words of the Buddha. The words of the
Buddhas, the Tathagatas, are not empty or false. There is no other vehicle,
there is only the one Buddha vehicle.
"At that time the World-Honored
One, wishing to state his meaning once more, spoke in verse form, saying:
There are monks and nuns who behave with overbearing
arrogance, laymen full of self-esteem, laywomen who are lacking in
faith. Among the four kinds of believers, the likes of these number five
thousand. They fail to see their own errors, are heedless and remiss with
regard to the precepts, clinging to their shortcomings, unwilling to
change. But these persons of small wisdom have already left; the chaff
among this assembly has departed in the face of the Buddha's
authority. These persons were of paltry merit and virtue, incapable of
receiving this Dharma. This assembly is now free of branches and
leaves, made up only of those steadfast and truthful. Shariputra, listen
carefully, for the Dharma which the Buddhas have attained, through the
power of countless expedient means they preach for the benefit of living
beings. The thoughts that are in the minds of living beings, the different
types of paths they follow, their various desires and natures, the good
and bad deeds they have done in previous existences-- all these the Buddha
takes cognizance of, and then he employs causes, similes and
parables, words that embody the power of expedient means, in order to
gladden and please them all. Sometimes he preaches sutras, verses, stories
of the previous lives of disciples, stories of the previous lives of the
Buddha, of unheard-of things. At other times he preaches regarding causes and
conditions, uses similes, parables, passages of poetry or
discourses. For those of dull capacities who delight in a little
Dharma, who greedily cling to birth and death, who, despite the
innumerable Buddhas, fail to practice the profound and wonderful way but
are perplexed and confused by a host of troubles-- for these I preach
nirvana. I devise these expedient means and so cause them to enter into
the Buddha wisdom. Up to now I have never told you that you were certain
to attain the Buddha way. The reason I never preached in that manner was
that the time to preach so had not yet come. But now is the very time when
I must decisively preach the Great Vehicle. I use these nine
devices, adapting them to the living beings when I preach my basic aim
being to lead them into the Great Vehicle, and that is why I preach this
sutra. There are sons of the Buddha who minds are pure, who are gentle and
of acute capacities, who under innumerable Buddhas have practiced the
profound and wonderful way. For these sons of the Buddha I preach this
sutra of the Great Vehicle. And I predict that these persons in a future
existence will attain the Buddha way. Because deep in their minds they think
of the Buddha and practice and uphold the pure percepts, they are assured
they will attain Buddhahood, and hearing this, their whole bodies are filled
with great joy. The Buddha knows their minds and their practices and
therefore preaches for them the Great Vehicle. When the voice-hearers and
bodhisattvas hear this Dharma that I preach, as soon as they have heard
one verse they will all without doubt be certain of attaining
Buddhahood. In the Buddha lands of the ten directions there is only the
Dharma of the one vehicle, there are not two, there are not three, except
when the Buddha preaches so as an expedient means, merely employing
provisional names and terms in order to conduct and guide living
beings and preach to them the Buddha wisdom. The Buddhas appear in the
world solely for this one reason, which is true; the other two are not the
truth. Never do they use a lesser vehicle to save living beings and ferry
them across. The Buddha himself dwells in this Great Vehicle, and adorned
with the power of meditation and wisdom that go with the Dharma he has
attained, he uses it to save living beings. He himself testifies to the
unsurpassed way, the Great Vehicle, the Dharma in which all things are
equal. If I used a lesser vehicle to convert even one person, I would
be guilty of stinginess and greed, but such a thing would be
impossible. If a person will believe and take refuge in the Buddha, the
Tathagata will never deceive him, nor will he ever show geed or
jealousy, for he has rooted out evil from among the phenomena. Therefore
throughout the ten directions the Buddha alone is without fear. I adorn my
body with the special characteristics and shine my light upon the world. I
am honored by numberless multitudes and for them I preach the emblem of the
reality of things. Shariputra, you should know that at the start I took a
vow, hoping to make all persons equal to me, without any distinction
between us, and what I long ago hoped for has now been fulfilled. I
have converted all living beings and caused them all to enter the Buddha
way. If when I encounter living beings I were in all cases to teach them
the Buddha way, those without wisdom would become confused and in their
bewilderment would fail to accept my teachings. I know that such living
beings have never in the past cultivated good roots but have stubbornly clung
to the five desires, and their folly and craving have given rise to
affliction. Their desires are the cause whereby they fall into the three
evil paths, revolving wheel-like through the six realms of existence and
undergoing every sort of suffering and pain. Having received a tiny form in
the womb, in existence after existence they constantly grow to
maturity. Persons of meager virtue and small merit, they are troubled and
beset by manifold sufferings. They stray into the dense forest of mistaken
views, debating as to what exists and what does not, and in the end cling
to such views, embracing all sixty-two of them 2. They are profoundly
committed to false and empty doctrines, holding firmly to them, unable to set
them aside. Arrogant and puffed up with self-importance, fawning and
envious, insincere in mind, for a thousand, ten thousand, a million
kalpas they will not hear the Buddha's name, nor will they hear the
correct Dharma-- such people are difficult to save. For these reasons,
Shariputra, I have for their sake established expedient means, preaching
the way that ends all suffering. And showing them nirvana. But although I
preach nirvana, this is not a true extinction. All phenomena from the very
first have of themselves constantly borne the marks of tranquil
extinction. Once the sons of the Buddha have carried out this path, then
in a future existence they will be able to become Buddhas. I have employed
the power of expedient means to unfold and demonstrate this doctrine of three
vehicles, but the World-Honored Ones, every one of them, all preach the
single vehicle way. Now before this great assembly I must clear away all
doubts and perplexities. There is no discrepancy in the words of the
Buddhas, there is only the one vehicle, not two. For numberless kalpas in
the past countless Buddhas who have now entered extinction, a hundred,
thousand, ten thousand, million types in numbers incapable of
calculation- such World-Honored Ones, using different types of causes,
similes, and parables, the power of countless expedient means, have
expounded the characteristics of teachings. These World-Honored Ones have
all preached the doctrine of the single vehicle, converting countless living
beings and causing them to enter the Buddha way. And these great sage
lords, knowing what is desired deep in the minds of the heavenly and human
beings and the other living things throughout all the worlds, have
employed still other expedient means to help illuminate the highest
truth. If there are living beings who have encountered these past
Buddhas, and if they have listened to their Dharma, presented alms, or
kept the precepts, shown forbearance, been assiduous, practiced meditation
and wisdom, and so forth, cultivating various kinds of merit and
virtue, then persons such as these all have attained the Buddha
way. After the Buddhas have passed into extinction, if persons are of good
and gentle mind, then living beings such as these have all attained the
Buddha way. After the Buddhas have passed into extinction, if persons make
offerings to the relics, raising ten thousand or a million kinds of
towers, using gold, silver and crystal, seashell and agate, carnelian,
lapis lazuli, pearls to purify and adorn them extensively, in this way
erecting towers; or if they raise up stone mortuary temples or those of
sandalwood or aloes, hovenia or other kinds of timber, or of brick, tile
clay or earth; if in the midst of the broad fields they pile up earth to
make a mortuary temple for the Buddhas, or even if little boys at
play should collect sand to make a Buddha tower, then persons such as
these have all attained the Buddha way. If there are persons who for the
sake of the Buddha fashion and set up images, carving them with many
distinguishing characteristics, then all have attained the Buddha way. Or
if they make things out of the seven kinds of gems, of copper, red or white
copper, pewter, lead, tin iron wood, or clay, or use cloth soaked in
lacquer or resin to adorn and fashion Buddha images, then persons such as
these have all attained the Buddha way. If they employ pigments to paint
Buddha images, endowing them with the characteristics of hundredfold
merit, if they make them themselves or have other make them, then all have
attained the Buddha way. Even if little boys in play should use a piece of
grass or wood or a brush, or perhaps a fingernail to draw an image of the
Buddha, such persons as these bit by bit will pile up merit and will
become fully endowed with a mind of great compassion; they all have
attained the Buddha way. Merely by converting the bodhisattvas they bring
salvation and release to numberless multitudes. And if persons, in the
presence of such memorial towers, such jeweled images and painted
images, should with reverent minds make offerings of flowers, incense,
banners or canopies, or if they should employ persons to make
music, striking drums or blowing horns or conch shells, playing pipes,
flutes, zithers, harps, balloon guitars, cymbals and gongs, and if these
many kinds of wonderful notes are intended wholly as an offering; or if
one with a joyful mind sings a song in praise of the Buddha's virtue, even
if it is just one small note, then all who do these things have attained the
Buddha way. If someone with a confused and distracted mind should take
even one flower and offer it to a painted image, in time he would come to
see countless Buddhas. Or if a person should bow or perform obeisance, or
should merely press his palms together, or even should raise a single
hand, or give no more than a slight nod of the head, and if this were done
in offering to an image, then in time he would come to see countless
Buddhas. And if he himself attains the unsurpassed way and spreads
salvation abroad to countless multitudes, he will enter the nirvana of no
remainder as a fire dies out when the firewood is exhausted. If persons
with confused and distracted minds should enter a memorial tower and once
exclaim, "Hail to the Buddha!" Then all have attained the Buddha way. If
from past Buddhas when they were in the world or after their
extinction, they should be those who heard this Dharma, then all have
attained the Buddha way. The World-Honored Ones of the future, whose
numbers will be incalculable, these Tathagatas will also employ expedient
means to preach the Dharma, and all these Tathagatas through countless
expedient means will save and bring release to living beings so that they
enter the Buddha's wisdom which is free of outflows. If there are those
who hear the Dharma, then not one will fail to attain Buddhahood. The
original vow of the Buddhas was that the Buddha way, which they themselves
practice, should be shared universally among living beings so that they
too may attain this same way. The Buddhas of future ages, although they
preach hundreds, thousands, millions a countless number of doctrines, in
truth do so for the sake of the single vehicle. The Buddhas, most honored of
two-legged beings, know that phenomena have no constantly fixed
nature, that the seed of Buddhahood sprout through causation, and for this
reason they preach the single vehicle. But that these phenomena are part of
an abiding Dharma, that the characteristics of the world are constantly
abiding-- this they have come to know in the place of practice and as
leaders and teachers they preach expedient means. The presently existing
Buddhas of the ten directions, whom heavenly and human beings make offerings
to, who in number are like Ganges sands, they have appeared in the
world in order to bring peace and comfort to living beings, and they too
preach the Dharma in this way. They understand the foremost truth of tranquil
extinction and therefore employ the power of expedient means, and though
they point out various different paths, in truth they do so for the sake of
the Buddha vehicle. They understand the actions of living beings, the
thoughts that lie deep in their minds, the deeds they have carried out in the
past, their desires, their nature, the power of their exertions, and
whether their capacities are acute or dull, and so they employ various causes
and conditions, similes, parables, and other words and phrases, adapting
what expedient means are suitable to their preaching. Now I too am like
this; in order to bring peace and comfort to living beings I employ
various different doctrines to disseminate the Buddha way. Through the
power of my wisdom I know the nature and desires of living beings and
through expedient means I preach these doctrines, causing all living beings
to attain joy and gladness. Shariputra, you should understand that I view
things through the Buddha eye, I see the living beings in the six
paths, how poor and distressed they are, without merit or wisdom, how they
enter the perilous road of birth and death, their sufferings continuing with
never a break, how deeply they are attached to the five desires, like a
yak enamored of it's tail, blinding themselves with greed and
infatuation, their vision so impaired they can see nothing. They do not
seek the Buddha, with his great might, or the Dharma that can end their
sufferings, but enter deeply into erroneous views, hoping to shed
suffering through great suffering. For the sake of these living beings I
summon up a mind of great compassion. When I first sat in the place of
practice and gazed at the tree and walked around it, for the space of
three times seven days I pondered the matter in this way. The wisdom I
have attained, I thought, is subtle, wonderful, the foremost. But living
beings, dull incapacity, are addicted to pleasure and blinded by
stupidity. With persons such as this, what can I say, how can I save
them? At that time the Brahma kings, along with the heavenly king
Shakra, the Four Heavenly Kings who guard the world, and the heavenly king
Great Freedom, in company with other heavenly beings and their hundreds
and thousands of followers, reverently pressing their palms together and
bowed, begging me to turn the wheel of the Dharma. Immediately I thought
to myself that if I merely praised the Buddha vehicle, then the living
beings, sunk in their suffering, would be incapable of believing in this
Dharma. And because they rejected the Dharma and failed to believe
it, they would fall into the three evil paths. It would be better if I did
not preach the Dharma but quickly entered into nirvana. Then my thoughts
turned to the Buddhas of the past and the power of expedient means they had
employed, and I thought that the way I had now attained should likewise be
preached as three vehicles. When I thought in this manner, the Buddhas of
the ten directions all appeared and with Brahma sounds comforted and
instructed me. "Well done, Shakyamuni!" they said. "Foremost leader and
teacher, you have attained the unsurpassed Dharma. But following the
example of all other Buddhas, you will employ the power of expedient
means. We too have all attained the most wonderful, the foremost
Dharma, but for the sake of living beings we make distinctions and preach
the three vehicles. People of small wisdom delight in a small
Dharma, unable to believe that they themselves could becomes
Buddhas. Therefore we employ expedient means, making distinctions and
preaching various goals. But though we preach the three vehicles, we do it
merely in order to teach the bodhisattvas." Shariputra, you should understand
this. When I heard these saintly lions and their deep, pure subtle,
wonderful sounds, I rejoiced, crying "Hail to the Buddhas!" Then I thought
to myself, I have come into this impure and evil world, and as these
Buddhas have preached, I too must follow that example in my actions. After
I had thought of the matter in this way, I set out at once for
Varanasi. The marks of tranquil extinction borne by all phenomena cannot
be explained in words, and therefore I used the power of expedient
means to preach to the five ascetics. This I termed turning the wheel of
the Dharma, and also with regard to "the sound of nirvana," and "arhat,"
"Dharma" and Samgha," I used these terms to indicate distinctions. "From
infinite kalpas in the past I have extolled and taught the Dharma of
nirvana, ending the long sufferings of birth and death." This is how I
customarily preached. Shariputra, you should know this. When I looked at
the Buddha sons, I saw incalculable thousands, ten thousands, millions who
had determined to seek the way of the Buddha, everyone with a respectful and
reverent mind, all coming to the place of the Buddha, persons who in the
past had listened to other Buddhas and heard the Dharma preached through
expedient means. Immediately the thought came to me that the reason the
Tathagata has appeared is so he may preach the Buddha wisdom. Now is
precisely the time to do so. Shariputra, you should understand that
persons of dull capacity and small wisdom, who are attached to appearances,
proud and overbearing, are incapable of believing in this Dharma. Now I,
joyful and fearless, in the midst of the bodhisattvas, honestly discarding
expedient means, will preach only the unsurpassed Way. When the
bodhisattvas hear this Dharma, they will be released from all entanglements
of doubt. The twelve hundred Arhats, they too will all attain
Buddhahood. Following in the same fashion that the Buddhas of the three
existences employ in preaching the Dharma, I now will do
likewise, preaching a Dharma that is without distinctions. The times when
the Buddhas appear in the world are far apart and difficult to encounter. And
even when they appear in the world it is difficult for them to preach this
Dharma. Throughout incalculable, innumerable kalpas it is rare that one
may hear this Dharma, and a person capable of listening to this
Dharma, such a person is likewise rare. It is like the udumbara
flower which all the world loves and delights in, which heavenly and human
beings look on as something rare, but which appears only once in many
ages. If a person hears this Dharma, delights and praises it, even if he
utters just one word, then he has made offerings to all the Buddhas of the
three existences. But a person like this is very rarely found, rarer than
the udumbara flower. You should have no doubts. I being king of the
doctrines, make this announcement to the entire great assembly. I employ
only the single vehicle way to teach and convert the bodhisattvas, I have
no voice-hearer disciples. You, Shariputra, and the voice-hearers and
bodhisattvas, you should understand that this wonderful Dharma is the
secret crux of the Buddhas.
In this evil world of the five
impurities those who merely delight in and are attached to the
desires, living beings such as this in the end will never seek the Buddha
way. When evil persons in ages to come hear the Buddha preach the single
vehicle, they will be confused, will not believe or accept it, will reject
the Dharma and fall into the evil paths. But when there are those with sense
of shame, persons of purity who have determined to seek the Buddha
way, then for the sake of such as these one should widely praise the way
of the single vehicle. Shariputra, you should understand this. The Dharma
of the Buddhas is like this. Employing ten thousand, a million expedient
means, they accord with what is appropriate in preaching the Dharma. Those
who are not versed in this matter cannot fully comprehend this. But you
and the others already know how the Buddhas, the teachers of the
world, accord with what is appropriate in employing expedient means. You
will have no more doubts or perplexities but, your minds filled with great
joy, will know that you yourselves will attain Buddhahood.
The Lotus
Sutra Translated by Burton Watson
Chapter
Three: Simile and Parable
At that time
Shariputra's mind danced with joy. Then he immediately stood up, pressed his
palms together, gazed up in reverence at the face of the Honored-One, and said
to the Buddha, "Just now, when I heard from the World-Honored One, this voice of
the Dharma, my mind seemed to dance and I gained what I had never had before.
Why do I say this? Because in the past when I heard a Dharma of this kind from
the Buddha and saw how the bodhisattvas received prophecies that in time they
would attain Buddhahood, I and the others felt that we had no part in the
affair. We were deeply grieved to think we would never gain the immeasurable
insight of the Tathagata.
"World-Honored One, I have constantly lived in
the mountain forest or alone under the trees, sometimes sitting, sometimes
walking around, and always I have thought to myself, since I and the others all
alike have entered into the nature of the Dharma, why does the Tathagata use the
Dharma of the Lesser Vehicle to bring us salvation?
"But the fault is
ours, not that of the World-Honored One. Why do I say this? If he had been
willing to wait until the true means for attaining anuttara-samyak-sambodhi was
preached, then we would surely have obtained release through the Great Vehicle.
But we failed to understand that the Buddha was employing expedient means and
preaching what was appropriate to the circumstances. So when we first heard the
Dharma of the Buddha, we immediately believed and accepted it, supposing that we
had gained understanding.
"World-Honored One, for a long time now, all
day and throughout the night, I have repeatedly taxed myself with this thought.
But now I have heard from the Buddha what I had never heard before, a Dharma
never known in the past, and it has ended all my doubts and regrets. My body and
mind are at ease and I have gained a wonderful feeling of peace and security.
Today at last I understand that truly I am the Buddha's son, born from the
Buddha's mouth, born through conversion to the Dharma, gaining my share of the
Buddha's Dharma!"
At that time Shariputra, wishing to state his meaning
once more, spoke in verse form, saying:
When I heard the sound of this
Dharma, I gained what I had never had before. My mind was filled with
great joy, I was released from all bonds of the net of doubt. From past
times I have received the Buddha's teachings and have not been denied the
Great Vehicle. The Buddha's sound is very rarely heard, but it can free
living beings from distress. Already I have put an end to outflows, and
hearing this, am freed from care and distress. I lived in the mountain
valleys or under the forest trees, sometimes sitting, sometimes walking
around, and constantly I thought of this matter-- how severely I taxed
myself!
"Why have I been deceived?" I said. "I and the others are sons
of the Buddha too, all alike have entered the Dharma that is without
outflows, yet in times to come we will never be able to expound the
unsurpassed way. The golden body, the thirty-two features, the ten powers,
the various emancipations-- though all alike share a single Dharma, these
we will never attain! The eighty types of wonderful characteristics, the
eighteen unshared properties-- merits such as these are all lost to
us!" When I was walking around alone, I saw the Buddha among the great
assembly, his fame filling the ten directions, bringing benefit far and
wide to living beings, and I thought to myself, I am deprived of such
benefits! How greatly have I been deceived! Constantly, day and
night, whenever I pondered over this, I wanted to ask the World-Honored
One whether I had indeed been deprived or not. Constantly, when I saw the
World-Honored One praising the bodhisattvas, then day and night I would
mull this matter over. But now as I listen to the voice of the Buddha, I
see he preaches the Dharma in accordance with what is appropriate, using
this hard-to-conceive doctrine of no outflows to lead people to the place of
practice. Formerly I was attached to erroneous views, acting as teacher to
the Brahmans. But the World-Honored One, knowing what was in my
mind, rooted out my errors and preached nirvana. I was freed of all my
errors and gained understanding of the Dharma of emptiness.
At that
time my mind told me I had reached the stage of extinction, but now I
realize that was not true extinction. If the time should come when I can
become a Buddha, then I will possess all the thirty-two features and
heavenly and human beings, the many yakshas, dragons, spirits and others will
hold me in reverence. When that time comes, then I can say that at last
all has been wiped out without residue. In the midst of the great assembly,
the Buddha declared that I will become a Buddha. When I heard the sound of
the this Dharma my doubts and regrets were all wiped away. At first, when
I heard the Buddha's preaching, there was great astonishment and doubt in my
mind. Is this not a devil pretending to be the Buddha, trying to vex and
confuse my mind? I thought. But the Buddha employed various
causes, similes, and parables, expounding eloquently. His mind was
peaceful as the sea, and as I listened, I was freed from the net of
doubt. The Buddha said that in past ages the countless Buddhas who have
passed into extinction rested and abided in the midst of expedient
means, and all likewise preached this Dharma. The Buddhas of the present
and future, whose numbers are beyond calculation, they too will use
expedient means in expounding this same Dharma. Thus the present
World-Honored One, being born and later leaving his family, attaining the
way and turning the wheel of the Dharma, likewise employs expedient means in
preaching. The World-Honored One preaches the true way. Papiyas would not
do that. Therefore I know for certain this is not a devil pretending to be
the Buddha. But because I fell into the net of doubt I supposed this to be
the devil's work. Now I hear the Buddha's soft and gentle sound, profound,
far-reaching, very subtle and wonderful, expounding and discoursing on the
pure Dharma, and my mind is filled with great joy. My doubts and regrets
are forever ended, I will rest and abide in true wisdom. I am certain I
will become a Buddha, to be revered by heavenly and human beings, turning
the wheel of the unsurpassed Dharma and teaching and converting the
bodhisattvas.
At that time the Buddha said to Shariputra, "Now, in the
midst of this great assembly of heavenly and human beings, shramanas, Brahmans
and so forth, I say this. In the past, under twenty thousand million Buddhas,
for the sake of the unsurpassed way I have constantly taught and converted you.
And you throughout the long night followed me and accepted my instruction.. Now
, because I want to make you recall to mind the way that you originally vowed to
follow, for the sake of the voice-hearers I am preaching this Great Vehicle
sutra called the Lotus of the Wonderful Dharma, a Dharma to instruct the
bodhisattvas, one that is guarded and kept in mind by the Buddhas.
"Shariputra, in ages to come, after a countless, boundless inconceivable
number of kalpas have passed, you will make offerings to some thousands, ten
thousands millions of Buddhas, and will honor and uphold the correct Dharma. You
will fulfill every aspect of the way of the bodhisattva and will be able to
become a Buddha with the name Flower Glow Tathagata, worthy of offerings, of
right and universal knowledge, perfect clarity and conduct, well gone,
understanding the world, unexcelled worthy, trainer of people, teacher of
heavenly and human beings, Buddha, World-Honored One.
"Your realm will
be called Free from Stain, the land will be level and smooth, pure and
beautifully adorned, peaceful, bountiful and happy. Heavenly and human beings
will flourish there. The ground will be of lapis lazuli, roads will crisscross
it in eight directions, and ropes of gold will mark their boundaries. Beside
each road will grow rows of seven-jeweled trees which will constantly flower and
bear fruit. And this Flower Glow Tathagata will employ the three vehicles to
teach and convert living beings.
"Shariputra, when this Buddha appears,
although it will not be an evil age, because of his original vow he will preach
the Dharma through the three vehicles. His kalpa will be called Great Treasure
Adornment. Why will it be called Great Treasure Adornment? Because in that land
bodhisattvas will be looked on as a great treasure. Those bodhisattvas will be
countless, boundless, inconceivable in number, beyond the reach of reckoning or
of simile and parable. Without the power of Buddha wisdom, one cannot understand
how many.. Whenever these bodhisattvas wish to walk anywhere, jeweled flowers
will uphold their feet.
'These bodhisattvas will not have just conceived
the desire for enlightenment, but all will have spent a long time planting the
roots of virtue. Under countless hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands,
millions of Buddhas they will have carried out Brahma practices in a flawless
manner, and will have been perpetually praised by the Buddhas. Constantly they
will have cultivated Buddha wisdom, acquiring great transcendental powers and
thoroughly understanding the gateways to all the doctrines. They will be upright
in character, without duplicity, firm in intent and thought. Bodhisattvas such
as this will abound in that land.
"Shariputra, the life span of the
Buddha Flower Glow will be twelve small kalpas, not counting the times when he
is still a prince and before he becomes a Buddha. The people of his land will
have a life span of eight small kalpas. When Flower Glow Tathagata has lived for
twelve small kalpas, he will prophesy that the bodhisattva Firm Full will attain
anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. He will announce to the monks, 'This bodhisattva Firm
Full will be the next to become a Buddha. He will be named Flower feet Safely
Walking, tathagata, arhat, samyak-sambuddha. His Buddha land will be like mine.'
"Shariputra, after the Buddha Flower Glow has passed into extinction,
the era of the Correct Dharma will last for thirty-two small kalpas, and the era
of the Counterfeit Dharma will last for another thirty-two small kalpas."
At that time the World-Honored One, wishing to state his meaning once
more, spoke in verse form, saying:
Shariputra, in ages to come you
will become a Buddha, of universal wisdom, venerable, bearing the name Flower
Glow, and you will save countless multitudes. You will make offerings to
numberless Buddhas, be endowed with all the Bodhisattva practices, the ten
powers and other blessings, and will realize the unsurpassed way. After
countless kalpas have passed, your kalpa will be named Great Treasure
Adornment. Your world will be called Free from Stain, pure, without flaw
or defilement. Its land will be made of lapis lazuli, its roads bounded by
ropes of gold, and seven-jeweled trees in a jumble of colors will
constantly bear blossoms and fruit. The bodhisattvas of that realm will
always be firm in intent and thought. Transcendental powers and
paramitas-- each will be endowed with all of these, and under numberless
Buddhas they will diligently study the bodhisattva way. Thus these great
men will be converted by the Buddha Flower Glow. When that Buddha was
still a prince, he gave up his country, abandoned worldly glory, and in
his final incarnation left his family and attained the Buddha way. Flower
Glow Buddha will continue in the world for a life span of twelve small
kalpas. The numerous people of his land will have a life span of eight
small kalpas. After that Buddha has passed into extinction, the Correct
Dharma will endure in the world for thirty-two small kalpas, saving living
beings far and wide. When the correct law has passed away, the Counterfeit
Dharma will endure for thirty-two kalpas. The Buddha's relics will circulate
widely; heavenly and human beings everywhere will make offerings to
them. The actions of Flower Glow Buddha will all be as I have
said. This most saintly and venerable of two-legged beings will be
foremost and without peer. And he will be none other than you-- you should
rejoice and count yourself fortunate!
At that time, when the four kinds
of believers, namely, monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen, and the heavenly beings,
dragons, yakshas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kimnaras, mahoragas, and others
in the great assembly saw how Shariputra received from the Buddha this prophecy
that he would attain anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, their hearts were filled with
great joy and danced without end. Each one removed the upper robe that he or she
was wearing and presented it a an offering to the Buddha. Shakra Devanam Indra,
King Brahma, and the countless sons of gods likewise took their wonderful
heavenly robes, heavenly mandarava flowers and great mandarava flowers and
offered them to the Buddha. The heavenly robes they had scattered remained
suspended in the air and turned round and round of themselves. Heavenly beings
made music, a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand varieties, all at the same time
in the midst of the air, raining down quantities of heavenly flowers and
speaking these words: "In the past at Varanasi the Buddha first turned the wheel
of the Dharma. Now he turns the wheel again, the wheel of the unsurpassed, the
greatest Dharma of all!"
At that time the sons of gods, wishing to state
their meaning once more, spoke in verse form, saying:
In the past at
Varanasi you turned the wheel of the Dharma of the four noble
truths, making distinctions, preaching that all things are born and become
extinct, bing made up of the five components. Now you turn the wheel of
the most wonderful, the unsurpassed great Dharma. This Dharma is very
profound and abstruse; there are few who can believe it. Since times past
often we have heard the World-Honored One's preaching, but we have never
heard this kind of profound, wonderful and superior Dharma. Since the
World-Honored One preaches this Dharma, we all welcome it with
joy. Shariputra with his great wisdom has now received this venerable
prophecy. We too in the same way will surely be able to attain
Buddhahood, throughout all the many worlds the most venerable, the
unsurpassed goal. The Buddha way is difficult to fathom, but you will
preach with expedient means, according to what is appropriate. The
meritorious deeds we have done in this existence or past existences, and
the blessings gained from seeing the Buddha-- all these we will apply to the
Buddha way.
At that time Shariputra said to the Buddha: "World-Honored
One, now I have no mere doubts or regrets. In person I have received from the
Buddha this prophecy that I will attain anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. These twelve
hundred persons here whose minds are free -- in the past they remained at the
level of learning, and the Buddha constantly taught and converted them, saying,
'My Dharma can free you from birth, old age, sickness and death and enable you
at last to achieve nirvana.' These persons, some of whom were still learning and
some who had completed their learning, each believed that, because he had shed
his views of 'self,' and also his views of 'existing' and 'not existing,' he had
attained nirvana. But now from the World-Honored One they hear what they had
never heard before, and all have fallen into doubt and perplexity.
"Very
well, World-Honored One. I beg that for the sake of the four kinds of believers
you will explain the causes and conditions and make it possible for them to shed
their doubts and regrets."
At that time the Buddha said so Shariputra,
"Did I not tell you earlier that when the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, cite
various causes and conditions and use similes, parables, and other expressions,
employing expedient means to preach the Dharma, it is all for the sake of
anuttara-samyak-sambodhi? Whatever is preached is all for the sake of converting
the bodhisattvas.
"Moreover, Shariputra, I too will now make use of
similes and parables to further clarify this doctrine. For through similes and
parables those who are wise can obtain understanding.
"Shariputra,
suppose that in a certain town in a certain country there was a very rich man.
He was far along in years and his wealth was beyond measure. He had many fields,
houses and menservants. His own house was big and rambling, but it had only one
gate. A great many people--a hundred, two hundred, perhaps as many as five
hundred--lived in the house. The halls and rooms were old and decaying, the
walls crumbling, the pillars rotten at their base, and the beams and rafters
crooked and aslant.
"At that time a fire suddenly broke out on all
sides, spreading through the rooms of the house. The sons of the rich man, ten,
twenty perhaps thirty, were inside the house. When the rich man saw the huge
flames leaping up on every side, he was greatly alarmed and fearful and thought
to himself, I can escape to safety through the flaming gate, but my sons are
inside the burning house enjoying themselves and playing games, unaware,
unknowing, without alarm or fear. The fire is closing in on them, suffering and
pain threaten them, yet their minds have no sense of loathing or peril and they
do not think of trying to escape!
"Shariputra, this rich man thought to
himself, I have strength in my body and arms. I can wrap them in a robe or place
them on a bench and carry them out of the house. And then again he thought, this
house has only one gate, and moreover it is narrow and small.
My sons
are very young, they have no understanding, and they love their games, being so
engrossed in them that they are likely to be burned in the fire. I must explain
to them why I am fearful and alarmed. The house is already in flames and I must
get them out quickly and not let them be burned up in the fire!
"Having
thought in this way, he followed his plan and called to all his sons, saying,
'You must come out at once!" But though the father was moved by pity and gave
good words of instruction, the sons were absorbed in their games and unwilling
to heed them. They had no alarm, no fright, and in the end no mind to leave the
house. Moreover, they did not understand what the fire was, what the house was,
what the danger was. They merely raced about this way and that in play and
looked at their father without heeding him.
"At that time the rich man
had this thought: the house is already in flames from this huge fire. If I and
my sons do not get out at once, we are certain to be burned. I must now invent
some expedient means that will make it possible for the children to escape harm.
"The father understood his sons and knew what various toys and curious
objects each child customarily liked and what would delight them. And so he said
to them, 'The kind of playthings you like are rare and hard to find. If you do
not take them when you can, you will surely regret it later. For example, things
like these goat-carts, deer-carts and ox-carts. They are outside the gate now
where you can play with them. So you must come out of this burning house at
once. Then whatever ones you want, I will give them all to you!'
"At
that time, when the sons heard their father telling them about these rare
playthings, because such things were just what they had wanted, each felt
emboldened in heart and, pushing and shoving one another, they all came wildly
dashing out of the burning house.
"At that time the rich man, seeing
that his sons had gotten out safely and all were seated on the open ground at
the crossroads and were no longer in danger, was greatly relieved and his mind
danced for joy. At that time each of the sons said to his father, "the
playthings you promised us earlier, the goat-carts and deer-carts and
ox-carts--please give them to us now!'
"Shariputra, at that time the
rich man gave to each of his sons a large carriage of uniform size and quality.
The carriages were tall and spacious and adorned with numerous jewels. A railing
ran all around them and bells hung from all four sides. A canopy was stretched
over the top, which was also decorated with an assortment of precious jewels.
Ropes of jewels twined around, a fringe of flowers hung down, and layers of
cushions were spread inside, on which were placed vermillion pillows. Each
carriage was drawn by a white ox, pure and clean in hide, handsome in form and
of great strength, capable of pulling the carriage smoothly and properly at a
pace fast as the wind. In addition, there were many grooms and servants to
attend and guard the carriage.
"What was the reason for this? This rich
man's wealth was limitless and he had many kinds of storehouses that were all
filled and overflowing. And he thought to himself, 'There is no end to my
possessions. It would not be right if I were to give my sons small carriages of
inferior make. These little boys are all my sons and I love them without
partiality. I have countless numbers of large carriages adorned with seven kinds
of gems. I should be fair-minded and give one to each of my sons. I should not
show any discrimination. Why? Because even if I distributed these possessions of
mine to every person in the whole country I would still not exhaust them, much
less could I do so by giving them to my sons!
"At that time each of the
sons mounted his large carriage, gaining something he had never had before,
something he had originally never expected. Shariputra, what do you think of
this? When this rich man impartially handed out to his sons these big carriages
adorned with rare jewels, was he guilty of falsehood or not?"
Shariputra
said, "No, World-Honored One. This rich man simply made it possible for his sons
to escape the peril of fire and preserve their lives. He did not commit a
falsehood. Why do I say this? Because if they were able to preserve their lives,
then they had already obtained a plaything of sorts. And how much more so when,
through an expedient means, they are rescued from that burning house!
World-Honored One, even if the rich man had not given them the tiniest carriage,
he would still not be guilty of falsehood. Why? Because this rich man had
earlier made up his mind that he would employ an expedient means to cause his
sons to escape. Using a device of this kind was no act of falsehood. How much
less so, then, when the rich man knew that his wealth was limitless and he
intended to enrich and benefit his sons by giving each of them a large
carriage."
The Buddha said to Shariputra, "Very good, very good. In is
just as you have said. And Shariputra, the Tathagata is like this. That is, he
is a father to all the world. His fears, cares and anxieties, ignorance and
misunderstanding, have long come to an end, leaving no residue. He has fully
succeeded in acquiring measureless insight, power and freedom from fear and
gaining great supernatural powers and the power of wisdom. He is endowed with
expedient means and the paramita of wisdom, his great pity and great compassion
are constant and unflagging; at all times he seeks what is good and will bring
benefit to all.
'He is born into the threefold world, a burning house,
rotten and old. In order to save living beings from the fires of birth, old age,
sickness and death, care suffering, stupidity, misunderstanding, and the three
poisons; to teach and convert them and enable them to attain
anuttara-samyak-sambodhi.
"He sees living beings seared and consumed by
birth, old age, sickness and death, care and suffering, sees them undergo many
kinds of pain because of their greed and attachment and striving they undergo
numerous pains in their present existence, and later they undergo the pain of
being reborn in hell or as beasts or hungry spirits. Even if they are reborn in
the heavenly realm or the realm of human beings, they undergo the pain of
poverty and want, the pain of parting from loved ones, the pain of encountering
those they detest--all these many different kinds of pain.
"Yet living
beings drowned in the midst of all this, delight and amuse themselves, unaware,
unknowing, without alarm or fear. They feel no sense of loathing and make no
attempt to escape. In this burning house which is the threefold world, they race
about to east and west, and though they encounter great pain, they are not
distressed by it.
Shariputra, when the Buddha sees this, then he thinks
to himself, I am the father of living beings and I should rescue them from their
sufferings and give them the joy of the measureless and boundless Buddha wisdom
so that they may find their enjoyment in that.
"Shariputra, the
Tathagata also has this thought: if I should merely employ supernatural powers
and the power of wisdom; if I should set aside expedient means and for the sake
of living beings should praise the Tathagata's insight, power and freedom from
fear, then living beings would not be able to gain salvation. Why? Because these
living beings have not yet escaped from birth, old age, sickness, death, care
and suffering, but are consumed by flames in the burning house that is the
threefold world. How could they be able to understand the Buddha's wisdom?
"Shariputra, that rich man, though he had strength in his body and arms,
did not use it. He merely employed a carefully contrived expedient means and
thus was able to rescue his sons from the peril of the burning house, and
afterward gave each of them a large carriage adorned with rare jewels. And the
Tathagata does the same. Though he possesses power and freedom from fear, he
does not use these. He merely employs wisdom and expedient means to rescue
living beings from the burning house of the threefold world, expounding to them
the three vehicles, the vehicle of the voice-hearer, that of pratyekabuddha, and
that of the Buddha.
"He says to them, 'You must not be content to stay
in this burning house of the threefold world! Do not be greedy for its coarse
and shoddy forms, sounds, scents, tastes and sensations! If you become attached
to them and learn to love them, you will be burned up! You must come out of this
threefold world at once so that you can acquire the three vehicles, the vehicles
of the voice-hearer, the pratyekabuddha and the Buddha. I promise you now that
you will get them, and that promise will never prove false. You have only to
apply yourselves with diligent effort!'
"The Tathagata employs this
expedient means to lure living beings into action. And then he says to them,
'You should understand that these doctrines of the three vehicles are all
praised by the sages. They are free, without entanglements, leaving nothing
further to depend upon or seek. Mount these three vehicles, gain roots that are
without outflows, gain powers, awareness, the way, meditation, emancipation,
samadhis, and then enjoy yourselves. You will gain the delight of immeasurable
peace and safety.'
"Shariputra, if there are living beings who are
inwardly wise in nature, and who attend the Buddha, the World-Honored One, hear
the Dharma, believe and accept it, and put forth diligent effort, desiring to
escape quickly from the threefold world and seeking to attain nirvana, they
shall be called [those who ride] the vehicle of the voice hearer.
They
are like those sons who left the burning house in the hope of acquiring
goat-carts.
"If there are living beings who attend the Buddha, the
World-Honored One, hear the Dharma, believe and accept it, and put forth
diligent effort, seeking wisdom that comes of itself, taking solitary delight in
goodness and tranquility, and profoundly understanding the causes and conditions
of all phenomena, they shall be called [those who ride] the vehicle of the
pratyekabuddha. They are like the sons who left the burning house in the hope of
acquiring deer-carts.
"If there are living beings who attend the Buddha,
the World-Honored One, hear the Dharma, believe and accept it, and put forth
diligent effort, seeking comprehensive wisdom, the insight of the Tathagata,
powers and freedom from fear, who pity and comfort countless living beings,
bring benefit to heavenly and human beings, and save them all, they shall be
called [those who ride] the Great Vehicle. Because the bodhisattvas seek this
vehicle, they are called mahasattvas. They are like the sons who left the
burning house in the hope of acquiring ox-carts.
"Shariputra, that rich
man, seeing that his sons had all gotten out of the burning house safely and
were no longer threatened, recalled that his wealth was immeasurable and
presented each of his sons with a large carriage. And the Tathagata does
likewise. He is the father of all living beings. When he sees that countless
thousands of millions of living beings, through the gateway of the Buddha's
teaching, can escape the pains of the threefold world, the fearful and perilous
road, and gain the delights of nirvana, the Tathagata at that time has this
thought: I possess measureless, boundless wisdom, power, fearlessness, the
storehouse of the Dharma of the Buddhas. These living beings are all my sons. I
will give the Great Vehicle to all of them equally so that there will not be
those who gain extinction by themselves, but that all may do so through the
extinction of the Tathagata.
"To all the living beings who have escaped
from the threefold world he then gives the delightful gifts of the meditation,
emancipation, and so forth, of the Buddhas. All these are uniform in
characteristics, uniform in type, praised by the sages, capable of producing
pure, wonderful, supreme delight.
"Shariputra, that rich man first used
three types of carriages to entice his sons, but later he gave them just the
large carriage adorned with jewels, the safest, most comfortable kind of all.
Despite this, that rich man was not guilty of falsehood. The Tathagata does the
same, and he is without falsehood. First he preaches the three vehicles to
attract and guide living beings, but later he employs just the Great Vehicle to
save them. Why? The Tathagata possesses measureless wisdom, power, freedom from
fear, the storehouse of the Dharma. He is capable of giving to all living beings
the Dharma of the Great Vehicle. But not all of them are capable of receiving
it.
"Shariputra, for this reason you should understand that the Buddhas
employ the power of expedient means. And because they do so, they make
distinctions in the one Buddha vehicle and preach it as three."
The
Buddha, wishing to state his meaning once more, spoke in verse form, saying:
Suppose there was a rich man who had a large house. This house was
very old, and decayed and dilapidated as well. The halls, though lofty,
were in dangerous condition beams and rafters were slating and
askew, foundations and steps were crumbling. Walls were cracked and
gaping and the plaster had fallen off of them. The roof thatch was in
disrepair or missing, the tips of the eaves had dropped off. The fences
surrounding it were crooked or collapsed and heaped rubbish was piled all
around. Some five hundred persons lived in the house. Kites, owls,
hawks, eagles, crows, magpies, doves, pigeons, lizards, snakes, vipers,
scorpions, centipedes and millipedes, newts and ground
beetles, weasels, raccoon dogs, mice, rats, hordes of evil
creatures scurried this way and that. Places that stank of
excrement overflowed in streams of filth where dung beetles and other
creatures gathered. Foxes, wolves and jackals gnawed and trampled in the
filth or tore apart dead bodies, scattering bones and flesh
about. Because of this, packs of dogs came racing to the spot to snatch
and tear, driven by hunger and fear, searching everywhere for
food, fighting, struggling and seizing, baring their teeth, snarling and
howling. That house was fearful, frightening, so altered was its
aspect. In every part of it there were goblins and trolls, yakshas and
evil spirits who feed on human flesh or on poisonous creatures. The
various evil birds and beasts bore offspring, hatched and nursed
them, each hiding and protecting its young, but the yakshas outdid one
another in their haste to seize and eat them. And when they had eaten
their fill, their evil hearts became fiercer than ever; the sound of their
wrangling and contention was terrifying indeed. Kumbhanda
demons crouched on clumps of earth or leaped one or two feet off the
ground, idling, wandering here and there, amusing themselves according to
their whims.
Sometimes they seized a dog by two of its legs and beat
it till it had lost its voice, or planted their feet on the dog's
neck, terrifying it for their own delight. Again there were demons with
large tall bodies, naked in form, black and emaciated constantly living
there, who would cry out in loud ugly voices, shouting and demanding
food. There were other demons whose throats were like needles, or still
other demons with heads like the head of an ox, some feeding on human
flesh, others devouring dogs. Their hair like tangled weeds, cruel,
baleful, ferocious, driven by hunger and thirst, they dashed about
shrieking and howling. The yakshas and starving spirits and the various
evil birds and beasts hungrily pressed forward in all directions, peering
out at the windows. Such were the perils of this house, threats and
terrors beyond measure. This house, old and rotting, belonged to a certain
man and that man had gone nearby and he had not been out for long when
a fire suddenly broke out in the house. In one moment from all four
sides the flames rose up in a mass. Ridgepoles, beams, rafters,
pillars exploded with a roar, quivering, splitting, broke in two and came
rumbling down as walls and partitions collapsed.
The various demons
and spirits lifted their voices in a great wail, the hawks, eagles and
other birds, the kumbhanda demons, were filled with panic and
terror, not knowing how to escape. The evil beasts and poisonous
creatures hid in their holes and dens, and the pishacha demons, who
were also living there, because they had done so little that was
good, were oppressed by the flames and attacked one another, drinking
blood and gobbling flesh. The jackals and their like were already dead by
this time and the larger of the evil beasts vied in devouring
them. Foul smoke swirled and billowed up, filling the house on every
side. The centipedes and millipedes, the poisonous snakes and their
kind, scorched by the flames, came scurrying out of their
lairs, whereupon the kumbhanda demons pounced on them and ate them. In
addition, the starving spirits, the fire raging about their heads, hungry,
thirsty, tormented by the heat, raced this way and that in terror and
confusion. Such was the state of that house, truly frightening and
fearful; malicious injury, the havoc of fire- many ills, not just one,
afflicted it. At this time the owner of the house was standing outside the
gate when he heard someone say, "A while ago your various sons, in
order to play their games, went inside the house. They are very young and
lack understanding and will be wrapped up in their amusements." When the
rich man heard this, he rushed in alarm into the burning house, determined
to rescue his sons and keep them from being burned by the flames. He urged
his sons to heed him, explaining the many dangers and perils, the evil
spirits and poisonous creatures, the flames spreading all around, the
multitude of sufferings that would follow one another without end, the
poisonous snakes, lizards and vipers, as well as the many yakshas and
kumbhanda demons, the jackals, foxes and dogs, hawks, eagles, kites,
owls, ground beetles and similar creatures driven and tormented by hunger
and thirst, truly things to be feared. His sons could not stay in such a
perilous place, much less when it was all on fire! But the sons had no
understanding and although they heard their father's warnings, they
continued engrossed in their amusements, never ceasing their games. At
that time the rich man thought to himself: My sons may behave in this
manner, adding to my grief and anguish. In this house at present there
is not a single joy, and yet my sons, wrapped up in their games, refuse
to heed my instructions and will be destroyed by the fire!
Then it
occurred to him to devise some expedient means, and he said to his
sons, "I have many kinds of rare and marvelous toys, wonderful jeweled
carriages, goat-carts, deer-carts, carts drawn by big oxen. They are
outside the gate right now you must come out and see them! I have
fashioned these carts explicitly for you. You may enjoy whichever you
choose, play with them as you like! When the sons heard this
description of the carts, at once they vied with one another in dashing
out of the house, till they reached the open ground, away from all peril
and danger. When the rich man saw that his sons had escaped from the
burning house and were standing in the crossroads, he seated himself on a
lion seat, congratulating himself in these words: "Now I am content and
happy. These sons of mine have been very difficult to raise. Ignorant,
youthful, without understanding, they entered that perilous house with its
many poisonous creatures and its goblins to be feared. The roaring flames
of the great fire rose up on all four sides, yet those sons of
mine still clung to their games. But now I have saved them, caused them
to escape from danger.
That is the reason, good people, I am content
and happy." At that time the sons, seeing their father comfortably
seated, all went to where he was and said to him: "Please give
us the three kinds of jeweled carriages you promised us earlier. You
said if we came out of the house you'd give us three kinds of carts and we
could choose whichever we wished. Now is the time to give them to
us!" The rich man was very wealthy and had many storehouses. With gold,
silver, lapis lazuli, seashells, agate, and other such precious
things he fashioned large carriages beautifully adorned and
decorated, with railings running around them and bells hanging from all
sides. Ropes of gold twisted and twined, nets of pearls stretched over
the top, and fringes of golden flowers hung down
everywhere. Multicolored decorations wound around and encircled the
carriages, soft silks and gauzes served for cushions, with fine felts
of most wonderful make valued at thousands or millions, gleaming white and
pure, to spread over them. There were large white oxen, sleek,
stalwart, of great strength, handsome in form, to draw the jeweled
carriages, and numerous grooms and attendants to accompany and guard
them. These wonderful carriages the man presented to each of his sons
alike. The sons at that time danced for joy, mounting the jeweled
carriages, driving off in all directions, delighting and amusing
themselves freely and without hindrance. I say this to you,
Shariputra- I am like this rich man. I, most venerable of the sages, am
the father of this world and all living beings are my children. But
they are deeply attached to worldly pleasures and lacking in minds of
wisdom. There is no safety in the threefold world; it is like a burning
house, replete with a multitude of sufferings, truly to be
feared, constantly beset with the griefs and pains of birth, old age,
sickness and death, which are like fires raging fiercely and without
cease. The Tathagata has already left the burning house of the threefold
world and dwells in tranquil quietude in the safety of forest and
plain. But now this threefold world is all my domain, and the living
beings in it are all my children. Now this place is beset by many pains
and trials.
I am the only person who can rescue and protect
others, but though I teach and instruct them, they do not believe or
accept my teachings, because, tainted by desires, they are deeply immersed
in greed and attachment. So, I employ an expedient means, describing to
them the three vehicles, causing all living beings to understand the pains
of the threefold world, and then I set forth and expound a way whereby
they can escape from the world. If these children of mine will only
determine in their minds to do so, they can acquire all the three
understandings and the six transcendental powers, can become
pratyekabuddhas or bodhisattvas who never regress. I say to you,
Shariputra, for the sake of living beings I employ these similes and
parables to preach the single Buddha vehicle. If you and the others are
capable of believing and accepting my words, then all of you are
certain to attain the Buddha way. This vehicle is subtle,
wonderful, foremost in purity; throughout all worlds it stands
unsurpassed. The Buddha delights in and approves it, and all living
beings should praise it, offer it alms and obeisance. There are
immeasurable thousands of millions of powers, emancipations, meditations,
wisdoms, and other attributes of the Buddha.
But if the children can
obtain this vehicle, it will allow them day and night for unnumbered
kalpas to find constant enjoyment, to join the bodhisattvas and the
multitude of voice-hearers in mounting this jeweled vehicle and proceeding
directly to the place of practice. For these reasons, though one should
seek diligently in the ten directions, he will find no other
vehicles except when the Buddha preaches them as an expedient means. I
tell you, Shariputra, you and the others are all my children, and I am
a father to you. For repeated kalpas you have burned in the flames of
manifold sufferings, but I will save you all and cause you to escape from
the threefold world. Although earlier I told you that you had attained
extinction, that was only the end of birth and death, it was not true
extinction. Now what is needed is simply that you acquire Buddha
wisdom. If there are bodhisattvas here in this assembly, let them with
a single mind listen to the true Dharma of the Buddhas. Though the
Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, employ expedient means, the living beings
converted by them are all bodhisattvas. If there are persons of little
wisdom who are deeply attached to love and desire, because they are that
way, the Buddha preaches for them the rule of suffering.
Then the
living beings will be glad in mind, having gained what they never had
before. The rule of suffering which the Buddha preaches is true and never
varies. If there are living beings who do not understand the root of
suffering, who are deeply attached to the causes of suffering and cannot
for a moment put them aside, because they are that way, the Buddha uses
expedient means to preach the way. As to the cause of all suffering, it
has its root in greed and desire. If greed and desire are wiped out, it
will have no place to dwell. To wipe out all suffering- this is called the
third rule. For the sake of this rule, the rule of extinction, one
practices the way. And when one escapes from the bonds of suffering this
is called attaining emancipation. By what means can a person attain
emancipation? Separating oneself from falsehood and delusion- this al