ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན་གྱི་རྒྱལ་པོའི་མདོ།
The King of Samādhis Sūtra
Samādhirājasūtra
འཕགས་པ་ཆོས་ཐམས་ཅད་ཀྱི་རང་བཞིན་མཉམ་པ་ཉིད་རྣམ་པར་སྤྲོས་པ་ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན་གྱི་རྒྱལ་པོ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ།
’phags pa chos thams cad kyi rang bzhin mnyam pa nyid rnam par spros pa ting nge ’dzin gyi rgyal po zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo
The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra “The King of Samādhis, the Revealed Equality of the Nature of All Phenomena”
Āryasarvadharmasvabhāvasamatāvipañcitasamādhirājanāmamahāyānasūtra
Toh 127
Degé Kangyur, vol. 55 (mdo sde, da), folios 1.b–170.b.
Translated by Peter Alan Roberts
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
First published 2018
Current version v 1.45.6 (2020)
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Summary
This sūtra, much quoted in later Buddhist writings for its profound statements especially on the nature of emptiness, relates a long teaching given by the Buddha mainly in response to questions put by a young layman, Candraprabha. The samādhi that is the subject of the sūtra, in spite of its name, primarily consists of various aspects of conduct, motivation, and the understanding of emptiness; it is also a way of referring to the sūtra itself. The teaching given in the sūtra is the instruction to be dedicated to the possession and promulgation of the samādhi, and to the necessary conduct of a bodhisattva, which is exemplified by a number of accounts from the Buddha’s previous lives. Most of the teaching takes place on Vulture Peak Mountain, with an interlude recounting the Buddha’s invitation and visit to Candraprabha’s home in Rājagṛha, where he continues to teach Candraprabha before returning to Vulture Peak Mountain. In one subsequent chapter the Buddha responds to a request by Ānanda, and the text concludes with a commitment by Ānanda to maintain this teaching in the future.
Acknowledgements
Translated from the Tibetan, with reference to Sanskrit editions, by Peter Alan Roberts. The Chinese consultant was Ling-Lung Chen. Edited by Emily Bower and Ben Gleason.
This translation has been completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The generous donation of an anonymous donor, which helped make the work on this translation possible, is most gratefully acknowledged.
Introduction
The Samādhirājasūtra, or King of Samādhis Sūtra, is one of the earlier Mahāyāna sūtras to appear in India. It contains teachings on emptiness, bodhisattva conduct, and mendicancy, as well as tales of previous lifetimes and prophecies for the future. Its teaching on emptiness is much quoted by such Mādhyamaka masters as Candrakīrti and Śāntideva, as well as in later Buddhist literature.
The samādhi of the title does not simply refer to meditation, but is used to designate both the sūtra itself and an entire range of Buddhist practices for conduct, meditation, motivation, and realization. The sūtra enumerates over three hundred of the samādhi’s qualities. One of the samādhi’s main descriptive epithets is given in the long form of the title itself as “the revealed1 equality of the nature of all phenomena.” However, far from being a systematic textbook on the features of any one practice or doctrine, the sūtra has a complex, convoluted structure and includes long narrative passages. These not only relate the Buddha’s interactions with Candraprabha, the main interlocutor, but also tell lengthy stories in mixed prose and verse from the Buddha’s past lives—in his own words—exemplifying the points he teaches. Interspersed in these narratives, often in the form of verse teachings given by past tathāgatas, are some of the profound statements on the nature of phenomena, and on the essential points of the path, for which the sūtra is justly celebrated.
History of the Sūtra
As is the case for most sūtras, it is impossible to be sure when this work first appeared in writing; indeed, the sūtra is very likely a compilation of earlier shorter works. None of the complete extant Sanskrit manuscripts can be dated to earlier than the sixth century. There is, however, a reference to it in the Sūtrasamuccaya, a work attributed to Nāgārjuna (second or third century) although the attribution is not universally accepted. There is even a claim that the King of Samādhis Sūtra was translated into Chinese in 148 ᴄᴇ, but this, too, is disputed. The mention of a Samādhirāja in Asaṅga’s fourth century Mahāyānasaṃgraha may be a reference to the sūtra.
At least two shorter independent works that may have existed earlier appear to have been incorporated into the King of Samādhis Sūtra. One is a text entitled Mahāprajñāsamādhisūtra (The Sūtra of the Samādhi of Great Wisdom) or Mañjuśrībodhisattvacāryā (The Bodhisattva Conduct of Mañjuśrī). It is a teaching on the six perfections that must have existed as early as the fifth century, as it was translated into Chinese by Shih Sien-kung (420–479). It corresponds to chapters 27–29 of the King of Samādhis Sūtra in the Tibetan version, except that the Mahāprajñāsamādhisūtra has Mañjuśrī as the recipient of the teaching instead of Candraprabha (both bodhisattvas have the title Kumārabhūta).
The other is chapter 36 of the Tibetan version of the King of Samādhis Sūtra, which also appears to have originally been an independent text; its interlocutor is Ānanda, whose name in this case was not changed to that of Candraprabha.
Candraprabha, the principal interlocutor in the sūtra, appears in a number of other sūtras, but particularly in the Raśmisamantamuktanirdeśasūtra, Toh 55 in the Heap of Jewels (Ratnakūṭa) section of the Kangyur, in which, as in the King of Samādhis Sūtra, he is depicted as inviting the Buddha to his home and making elaborate preparations for the visit. Most of the qualities of the samādhi described in the King of Samādhis Sūtra also appear within the list of the qualities of a samādhi in The Sūtra of the Samādhi of the Miraculous Ascertainment of Peace. 2
The entire sūtra was translated into Chinese by Narendrayaśas in 557. Narendrayaśas (517–589) was a much-traveled Indian monk from Orissa who arrived in China in 556. This Chinese version is widely known under an alternative title, Candrapradīpasamādhisūtra (The Sūtra of the Samādhi of the Lamp of the Moon, Taishō 639); this title is closely related to the alternative title used in some Indian commentaries (see below). Narendrayaśas’s translation is divided into ten chapters, in contrast to the forty of the Tibetan. There are fragments of three Sanskrit manuscripts from central Asia, dated to the fifth or sixth centuries, that correspond to this version, but no complete manuscript has survived.
The ninth century Tibetan translation of the sūtra in the Kangyur was made from a Sanskrit version no longer extant, but longer than the one translated into Chinese. The Tibetan was translated during the reign of King Ralpachen (815–838) by Śīlendrabodhi and Chönyi Tsultrim (who used the Sanskrit version of his name, Dharmatāśīla).
The earliest complete Indian manuscript to have survived is the one discovered in 1938 in the ruins of a library near Gilgit. It is dated, from the calligraphy of its Gupta script, to the sixth century. It has some additional verses that do not appear in the Chinese version, but is significantly shorter than the Tibetan translation, with fewer verses and prose passages. Much closer to the Tibetan is a group of twelve later Sanskrit manuscripts found in Nepal, including the one referred to here as the Hodgson manuscript; another group of Nepalese manuscripts contain additional material usually not found in the Tibetan, and includes the one referred to here as the Shastri manuscript.3
In the Sanskrit versions, much of the sūtra is composed of verse in a highly distinctive Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit (BHS). The prose is in what appears to be classical Sanskrit in terms of spelling and case endings, but the vocabulary includes words that are only found in BHS, or words that exist in classical Sanskrit but have a different meaning in BHS.
The number of chapters, as well as where the chapter breaks occur, varies in these different versions and manuscripts. The Chinese text is divided into only ten chapters. The Tibetan version is often referred to as having thirty-eight chapters, but a closer look reveals that there are two additional untitled final chapters. The Tibetan, unlike the Sanskrit versions, does not make a final chapter from the conclusion, and does not divide its chapter 39 on the restraint of the body, speech, and mind into three chapters, but it does make a short chapter 22 from what, in the Sanskrit, constitutes the end of chapter 21.
The sūtra is quoted in a number of Indian treatises as well as many Tibetan works. Indian authors such as Candrakīrti and Śāntideva referred to it by the title Candrapradīpasūtra (zla ba sgron ma’i mdo); other authors used the title Samādhirāja. The earliest known quotations from the sūtra were made by Candrakīrti in the seventh century; he quoted from it twenty times in his Prasannapadā (Clear Words), and also in his Madhyamakāvatāra (Entering the Middle Way). He also quoted verses that appear only in the longer version of the sūtra, and not in the manuscript that was translated into Tibetan in the early ninth century. It would therefore seem that variants of the sūtra already coexisted in India in the seventh century.
Candrakīrti is followed by Śāntideva in the late seventh to early eighth century, who quotes it twenty times in his Śikṣasamuccaya (Compendium of Training).
The sūtra, particularly its verses on emptiness, is quoted by other prominent Indian authors such as Prajñākaramati in his Bodhisattvacaryāvatārapañjikā (Commentary on Difficult Points in “Entering the Conduct of the Bodhisattvas”), which is a commentary on Śāntideva’s Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra (Entering the Conduct of the Bodhisattvas) and Kamalaśīla’s Bhāvanākrama (Stages of Meditation).
A passage from chapter 3 in which the Buddha summarizes for Candraprabha the qualities of a tathāgata (3.3) seems to have been the source for the short Kangyur sūtra Remembering the Buddha (Buddhānusmṛti, sangs rgyas rjes su dran pa, Toh 279), which reproduces verbatim the Tibetan translation of the passage and is therefore unlikely to be a parallel translation from an independent Sanskrit original (although that is not impossible). This widely known and much recited text is part of a set of three such works (Toh 279–281), one for each of the Three Jewels, and often reproduced as a single work with the title Remembering the Three Jewels. However, the passages on the Dharma and Saṅgha are not drawn from the King of Samādhis.
The King of Samādhis is also quoted in many treatises on tantras, and its recitation is prescribed in maṇḍala ritual texts. For example, the Maṇḍala Rite of Cakrasamvara says that four sūtras should be recited, one in each of the four main directions around the maṇḍala. The sūtras are the Prajñāparāmitā (Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Verses); Gaṇḍavyūha (Array of Trees), which is the last chapter of the Avataṃsaka; Laṅkāvātara (Entry into Laṅka); and Samādhirāja (King of Samādhis).4
These four sūtras are among the nine principal works that came to be considered the most important in Nepalese Buddhism; they are frequently recited, and offerings are made to them. The other five sūtras in this group are the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka (The White Lotus of the Good Dharma), Lalitavistara (The Play in Full), Tathāgataguhyaka (The Secret of the Tathāgatas), Suvarṇaprabha (The Golden Light), and Daśabhūmika (The Ten Bhūmis).
In China, the King of Samādhis—unlike the White Lotus of the Good Dharma—never gained any great prominence, and no commentary was translated.
In Tibet, although its existence was well known through its use as a source of quotations, the sūtra itself was not particularly studied, nor were its admonitions to dedicate oneself to its recitation and follow a life of extreme mendicancy followed. Nevertheless, more than two hundred years after it had been translated into Tibetan, the King of Samādhis Sūtra did gain a certain importance within the circle of students who followed Atiśa Dipaṃkaraśrījñāna (980–1054) and became the founders of the Kadampa tradition, which emphasized the bodhisattva path of the Mahāyāna sūtras. Atiśa’s translator and guide Nagtsho Lotsawa translated a commentary on the King of Samādhis Sūtra by the Indian master Mañjuśrīkīrti entitled Kīrtimālā (The Garland of Fame). Mañjuśrīkīrti may be the same person as the student of Candrakīrti with that name, although that would seem unlikely given the definite influence of the Yogacāra tradition in his work.5 Moreover, Nagtsho’s Tibetan translation of the commentary incorporates the earlier Tibetan translation of the sūtra itself—another indication that Mañjuśrīkīrti’s original commentary was written for the same version of the sūtra in Sanskrit that had been translated into Tibetan, and not the longer version that Candrakīrti quoted from.
Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelugpa tradition, which was based on the Kadampa tradition, quotes from the sūtra thirteen times in his Lamrim Chenmo (Great Graduated Path), and his student Khedrup Jé also relied upon it as a major source of quotations. The sūtra is also much quoted in the best known commentarial works of the great scholars of all traditions, including several of the early Sakya masters, Longchenpa, Minling Terchen, and Drikung Chökyi Trakpa, as well as those of later authors like Jamgön Kongtrul, Mipham, Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, and Jigme Tenpai Nyima.
Some of the quotations from the sūtra in the Tibetan commentarial literature are ascribed to it erroneously, such as the one-line quotation on buddha nature (an idea barely even mentioned in the sūtra), in the first few lines of Gampopa’s text on the graduated path, An Adornment for the Precious Path to Liberation. Similarly, an eight-line prophecy concerning the Karmapa incarnations is frequently ascribed to the sūtra even though it is not to be found in any extant version, even as a paraphrase.6 Among the other reasons why the sūtra is revered in the Kagyu tradition, the monastic lineage of which was founded by Gampopa, is perhaps that Gampopa’s Kadampa teacher Potowa is said to have identified him as the rebirth of Candraprabha, the interlocutor of the King of Samādhis. Gampopa used the name Da-ö Shönnu (zla ’od gzhon nu, the Tibetan for Candraprabha Kumāra) in his colophons, and later teachers sometimes referred to him by that name. Since Gampopa himself is nevertheless not known to have been a promulgator of the sūtra, in order to conform to the prophecy it has been claimed that it represents a sūtra version of Gampopa’s Mahāmudrā teaching—but not explicitly so, and indeed the reader will not find any such doctrinal elements that set its viewpoint particularly apart from that of the Perfection of Wisdom sūtras.
The Contents
The sūtra portrays a form of Buddhism that emphasized mendicancy, living at the foot of trees in forests, and so on, in opposition to less austere Buddhist ways of life. It considers nirvāṇa impossible to attain for householders, and likens nirvāṇa to a flame being extinguished, bringing any activity to an end. In it, the Buddha emphasizes again and again the vast number of eons during which he and other tathāgatas practiced before attaining enlightenment.
It contains prophecies describing the very time when the sūtra itself is being disseminated in India, saying it will be rejected and denounced by other monks. As well as its strong promotion of mendicancy, insisting that a bhikṣu should remain in the forest and have no possessions, it condemns the corruption of bhikṣus who accumulate possessions and visit laypeople’s homes to teach them there. Its strict adherence to the forest lifestyle, and its condemnation of bhikṣus who do not follow it, would not have found wide favor in some of the Buddhist establishments of that time. The sūtra also addresses the known problem of that time of destitute people who joined the ranks of Buddhist monks in order to receive material support for themselves, without having any genuine dedication to or understanding of the teaching.
This is one example of how the sūtra shows evidence of the conditions prevailing at the time and place it was promulgated. Another—one of its less appealing aspects for our present age, but one that is typical of many early Mahāyāna sūtras—is its attitude toward women: the bodhisattva is always male, as is explicit in the Sanskrit (although in this translation frequent use has been made of the plural to render bodhisattvas’ male gender less obvious). Women often appear as property that is given away, and the noble kings have harems as well as slaves, though the Tibetan did not have the term to translate antapuraḥ (harem) and used the more palatable “retinue of queens.” However, women are still seen as capable of being devotees of the path of the sūtra, and in particular there is the tale of Princess Jñānāvatī, who cuts off the flesh from her thigh so as to heal her sick bhikṣu teacher. But in every such case this means that the woman will gain a male rebirth so that she may be able to continue on the path to enlightenment.
The sūtra also mentions the sacrificial offering of burning a hand (which is, however, then miraculously reconstituted). This passage, along with similar accounts in other sūtras, has inspired the Tibetan tradition of burning a finger as an offering.
The sūtra has several references linking it with South India. It contains references to South Indian music, and the nominative -u ending is a characteristic of South India. More significantly, in the post-Gilgit additional verses there is a special emphasis given to Rishi Ananta, who was highly revered in the south.
There are several doctrinal indicators to the period in which it appeared. This being an early Mahāyāna sūtra, there is no mention in the King of Samādhis of the saṃbhogakāya or nirmāṇakāya, but only dharmakāya and rūpakāya; the doctrine of three kāyas came to prominence later. Nor is there any real mention of the tathāgatagarbha, or buddha nature, another notion developed in later works.
Although there is mention in both the Gilgit and Chinese versions of Buddha Amitābha and his realm Sukhāvatī, Amitābha’s accompanying bodhisattvas Avalokiteśvara and Mahāstāmaprapta are noticeable by their absence, indicating that the sūtra dates back to a time before their rise to prominence, and possibly to a time even before the appearance of the longer Sukhāvatīsūtra. However, as might be expected, both bodhisattvas do appear in the additional verses of the later Sanskrit versions, and therefore the Tibetan, too. As a pair, however, they still have equal status, as they frequently do in Mahāyāna sūtras before the rise of Avalokiteśvara to preeminence by the fourth or fifth century.
Some of the later additional verses, too, include references to the ten bodhisattva bhūmis that are unlikely to have been in the earliest version, as the Perfection of Wisdom tradition, as well as the early Yogacāra of Asaṅga, mention only seven bhūmis.
A particular feature that the sūtra shares with quite a large number of other Mahāyāna sūtras, such as the White Lotus of the Good Dharma Sūtra, is that it promotes itself as the core focus of a bodhisattva’s practice, stating that the bodhisattva should recite it, promulgate it, and so on.
The Translation
Given the significant differences between the versions of this sūtra in Sanskrit, Chinese, and Tibetan, an English translation could never represent all versions equally, and necessarily involves a selective approach based on stated principles. In this translation of the King of Samādhis, we have chosen to stay as close as possible to the Tibetan of the Kangyur, which has more content than both the Chinese translation and the Gilgit manuscript. However, we have compared the Tibetan closely to the Chinese and Gilgit versions, along with the two longer Nepalese Sanskrit manuscripts identified in this translation as Shastri and Hodgson (see above). Discrepancies between the versions are recorded in the notes.
Where there are significant discrepancies, the Tibetan has been favored in the translation wherever possible, as it probably represents a particular Sanskrit version that has not survived. In some instances, however, adhering to the Tibetan would have caused problems regarding the meaning of the text, and here the Sanskrit reading has been preferred. Consulting the other versions has also been indispensable in clearing up ambiguities, variations in the Tibetan between the different Kangyurs, and the occasional error in the Tibetan, the results of scribal corruption or adopting the wrong meaning of a word, such as the classical Sanskrit meaning instead of the BHS meaning. Also of great help has been clarification from the Chinese translation that Ling-Lung Chen has been able to provide. In one case, the Chinese preserves an uncorrupted version of a passage in which “nature” was later replaced by “past,” resulting in a peculiar set of verses with a peculiar meaning.
A particular difficulty was the list of qualities of the samādhi given in chapter 1. They are defined in order in chapter 40, and also in Mañjuśrīkīrti’s commentary on the sūtra, which itself was useful in ascertaining the intended meaning of these words. However, there are discrepancies between these three versions in Tibetan, as well as with the qualities as listed in the Sanskrit versions of the sūtra.
Much invaluable work has already been done on this sūtra by present-day Western scholars. Konstanty (also Constantin) Régamey planned an erudite translation of the entire sūtra based on Tibetan, Sanskrit, and Chinese, which was interrupted by the effects of World War II in Poland. However, we are fortunate that copies of his translation of chapters 8, 19, and 22 survived the destruction of his work.
Nalinaksha Dutt published an edition of the Gilgit manuscripts with comparison to two later Nepalese manuscripts in the 1940s and ’50s. Luis Gómez and Jonathan Silk published a translation of the first four chapters in 1989. John Rockwell translated chapters 4, 5, 7, and 9 in 1980. Christoph Cüppers translated the ninth chapter in 1990, and Mark Tatz translated the eleventh chapter in 1972. Finally, Andrew Skilton’s research into the various versions of the Samādhirāja Sūtra, in several publications from 1999 onwards, has been very illuminating and has been particularly useful for this introduction.
Outline
Chapter 1: The Introduction
The Buddha Śākyamuni is on Vulture Peak Mountain outside Rājagṛha with a great gathering of bhikṣus and bodhisattvas. Candraprabha asks him for instruction. The Buddha states that evenness of mind is the one quality that will bring enlightenment and the attainment of the samādhi called the revealed equality of the nature of all phenomena, which is described as having an array of qualities that covers all the various aspects of the path. On hearing this, a multitude of beings attain various stages of realization; the earth shakes, and a radiance illuminates the universe.
Chapter 2: Śālendrarāja
The Buddha tells Candraprabha in both prose and verse how in a past life he was a cakravartin named Bhīṣmottara who for quintillions of eons honored successive buddhas on Vulture Peak Mountain and received the teaching of this sūtra from all of them. The last of those buddhas was Śālendrarāja. The Buddha says that serving the buddhas in this way is necessary for the attainment of buddhahood. He says that those who uphold this sūtra in the future will be reborn in Sukhāvatī.
Chapter 3: Praise of the Buddha’s Qualities
The Buddha tells Candraprabha about the qualities of a tathāgata, and explains that they can be attained through this sūtra. Then, in verse, he describes his acts of generosity in past lives and his search for this sūtra. He describes the benefits of the sūtra and condemns those in the future who teach but do not practice. Candraprabha vows to uphold this teaching in the future.
Chapter 4: Samādhi
Candraprabha asks what is meant by samādhi. The Buddha explains that it means the attainment of realization, the elimination of the kleśas, correct conduct, renunciation, and other such qualities. Then the Buddha describes in verse the nature and result of practicing this samādhi.
Chapter 5: Ghoṣadatta
The Buddha tells Candraprabha that the practitioner should abandon all worldly ties and his home. He then describes how in the past there was a buddha named Ghoṣadatta. A king named Mahābala and his subjects make extensive offerings to him. However, the king realizes that his subjects have made the offerings with the hope for material benefits in future lives. Buddha Ghoṣadatta recites verses on how it is necessary to abandon one’s home and all material possessions. King Mahābala becomes a bhikṣu, and in subsequent lifetimes serves two hundred million buddhas and hears the teaching of this sūtra from them all. He eventually becomes a buddha named Jñānaśūra. Mahābala’s subjects, who also became bhikṣus, all become buddhas named Dṛḍhaśūra.
Chapter 6: Cultivating the Samādhi
The Buddha tells Candraprabha that many offerings should be made to the Buddha but without the concept of a giver or recipient and that the merit that ensues should be dedicated to attaining enlightenment. Then, knowing that there is no birth, death, or anyone who is a bodhisattva, they will be impervious to the attacks or persuasions of the māras.
Chapter 7: The Attainment of Patience
The Buddha tells Candraprabha that a bodhisattva needs to attain three kinds of patience. The first patience is to maintain the Dharma by not arguing, and so on; to know that everything is an illusion; to know the sūtras; to have no doubt; to have no anger toward tīrthikas; to speak truthfully; never to abandon the path to buddhahood; and to master worldly skills. The second patience is having undisturbed śamatha and vipaśyanā, being in meditation during all activity, attaining the five higher cognitions, having miraculous powers, and remembering every word that is taught. With the third patience the bodhisattva can see all other worlds, has a golden body, teaches millions of beings, receives the prophecy of his buddhahood, and being aware of emptiness he remains unaffected by praise or blame, loss or gain.
Chapter 8: Buddha Abhāvasamudgata
The Buddha tells Candraprabha that the bodhisattva has to attain the wisdom of the nonexistence of phenomena so that he will have no desire. He adds that in the past there was a buddha named Abhāvasamudgata, who at birth levitated and declared the nonexistence of all phenomena, following which all the sounds in the world made the same declaration. Later, a prince named Mahākaruṇācintin became one of his bhikṣus, received the teaching of this sūtra, and thereby after twenty eons became a buddha named Suvicintitārtha.
Chapter 9: The Patience of the Profound Dharma
The Buddha tells Candraprabha that all the buddhas have attained buddhahood as a result of practicing the teaching of this sūtra. He says that the patience of the Dharma is attained through realizing that everything is like a dream or an illusion, so that there is no desire, anger, or ignorance. He teaches that one should avoid association with fools, and with those who have become bhikṣus as a source of livelihood. He teaches that one should not only give the teachings but also practice and realize them.
Chapter 10: The Entry into the City
Candraprabha praises the teaching and aspires to it. The Buddha places his hand on Candraprabha’s head and Candraprabha instantly realizes quintillions of samādhis. Candraprabha praises the Buddha and invites him to come for his midday meal at his home. The Buddha assents by remaining silent. Candraprabha then has the road to his home cleaned and divinely adorned. Throughout the night, he prepares a sumptuous meal. He then adorns the city and his own home. Accompanied by bodhisattvas and citizens he goes to Vulture Peak Mountain to invite the Buddha to his home. The Buddha proceeds there accompanied by a multitude of deities. The ground shakes as he takes his first step into the city. Everyone in the world becomes happy and deities make vast offerings.
Chapter 11: Becoming a Keeper of the Sūtra
The Buddha and his saṅgha are served food at Candraprabha’s home. When the Buddha has finished eating, Candraprabha praises him, aspires to become a buddha, and requests teaching that will enable him to accomplish that. The Buddha states that only one quality is necessary, which is the knowledge of the insubstantial nature of phenomena. He also describes the vast merit and good results that come from knowing even one verse of this sūtra. Candraprabha aspires to be a keeper of this sūtra in the future. The Buddha prophesies to many millions of beings who are present that they will attain buddhahood after more than four million eons have passed.
Chapter 12: The Training According to the Samādhi
The Buddha teaches Candraprabha that the mind has no nature of its own, and that the nature of the mind is the nature of the buddhas. The bodhisattva who knows that teaching is free from all bondage and masters all the skills of words and teaching.
Chapter 13: The Teaching of the Samādhi
The Buddha teaches that a bodhisattva should be skilled in teaching this samādhi, which is nonconceptual. The bodhisattva should be free of illusion and have great compassion.
Chapter 14: The Buddha’s Smile
Candraprabha, inspired by the teaching, recites verses praising how the Buddha has practiced, how true and supreme his words are, and how many different kinds of beings have gathered to listen to him. The Buddha smiles and Maitreya asks him the reason why.
Chapter 15: The Elucidation of the Buddha’s Smile
The Buddha explains to Maitreya that Candraprabha has in previous lives seen ten thousand million buddhas in this very city of Rājagṛha, and has received this same teaching on samādhi. He will also teach this samādhi in the future. He will see many buddhas and will eventually become a buddha named Vimalaprabha. Candraprabha on hearing this levitates with joy and praises the Buddha and rejoices in his good fortune.
Chapter 16: The Past
The Buddha tells Candraprabha that the samādhi of this sūtra frees beings from all illness and lower rebirths. The Buddha adds in verse that in a past life he was a prince named Mati who had an incurable illness. A bhikṣu named Brahmadatta, who was a previous life of Buddha Dīpaṃkara, taught him the samādhi and he was cured. Then the Buddha prophesies that in the future there will be bhikṣus with worldly desires and conduct, and when they die they will be reborn in the lower existences.
Chapter 17: The Entranceway to the Samādhi That Is Taught by Many Buddhas
The bodhisattva Maitreya tells the Buddha he is going to Vulture Peak Mountain in order to prepare offerings to the Buddha. When he arrives there he transforms it into a flat, divinely adorned ground with a throne in its center. Then he returns to Candraprabha’s home and describes what he has created. The Buddha returns to the mountain and sits on the throne. Candraprabha and millions of others also come to the mountain and Candraprabha requests a teaching. The Buddha describes four qualities necessary for attaining the samādhi of this sūtra: the first is calmness and self-restraint, the second is correct conduct, the third is fear of the three realms, and the fourth is devotion to the Dharma and benefiting others. Then in verse the Buddha describes a succession of buddhas within two eons of the distant past. He states that whoever hears their names will quickly attain this samādhi. Then he recounts that they were followed by a buddha named Narendraghoṣa. At that time the Buddha was a king named Śirībala, who with five hundred sons received this samādhi teaching from Narendraghoṣa. He and his sons all became bhikṣus. Śirībala was then reborn as the son of King Dṛḍhabala. The prince, remembering millions of previous lives, asks if the Buddha Narendraghoṣa is still alive, and describes and praises his teaching of this samādhi. King Dṛḍhabala brings his son, along with millions of other people, to that buddha, hears the teaching, and becomes a bhikṣu. Sixty eons later King Dṛḍhabala becomes Buddha Padmottara, and all his subjects who became bhikṣus all eventually become buddhas who all have the same name: Anantajñānanottara. The five hundred sons became the five hundred students of Śākyamuni who would in future times teach this sūtra. King Dṛḍhabala and his queen also became the Buddha’s parents: Śuddhodana and Māyādevī.
Chapter 18: The Entrustment of the Samādhi
The Buddha tells Candraprabha that a bodhisattva who possesses this samādhi has four qualities: unsurpassable merit, being invincible to adversaries, unlimited wisdom, and an unending eloquence. Candraprabha asks the Buddha who will listen to this samādhi in the future. The Buddha says that only bhikṣus with pure mendicancy will have faith in it. Those who reject it will have incalculable bad karma. Candraprabha vows to promulgate the sūtra in a future life and endure the abuse of those with no faith in it. Eight hundred others also vow to uphold the sūtra and eight hundred million deities vow to protect them. The Buddha gives his blessing, the world shakes, and the Buddha prophesies the buddhahood of the millions of beings who have listened to the sūtra.
Chapter 19: The Teaching of the Inconceivable Dharma of the Buddha
The Buddha teaches Candraprabha that it is through this samādhi that the inconceivable Dharma is attained. Candraprabha, listening to the teaching, attains that samādhi. A thousand million worlds shake as a result. A multitude of devas rejoice that they have also heard this teaching. The gandharva Pañcaśikha with five hundred other gandharvas fly down to Vulture Peak Mountain and play music as an offering. The Buddha causes the teaching of the inconceivable Dharma to come from the sound of their music. The teaching describes the unreality of existence and the benefits of nonattachment and equanimity.
Chapter 20: Indraketudhvajarāja
In this short chapter the Buddha instructs Candraprabha on gaining great compassion and depending on a spiritual guide. There are also eleven verses on the teaching of emptiness by a buddha in the past named Indraketudhvajarāja.
Chapter 21: The Past
In the prose introduction, the Buddha instructs Candraprabha on accumulating merit and avoiding the influence of bad companions. The verses describe how in the distant past, a king came across two renunciants in the forest and was inspired by them. However, bhikṣus who disliked their ascetic lifestyle and views urged the king to kill or banish them. A goddess who looked after the king’s benefit countered their influence. They succeeded in influencing the king’s brother and he led an army to the forest. The deities of the forest massacred them and all involved in the plot were reborn in hell. The Buddha explains that the two monks were Buddha Dīpaṃkara and himself, the king was Maitreya, and Candraprabha was the goddess.
Chapter 22: The Teaching on the Body
In this very brief chapter, the Buddha instructs Candraprabha not to have attachment to body or life. Those who avoid such attachment will attain buddhahood. Those who do have these attachments will commit bad actions and go to hell after death.
Chapter 23: The Teaching on the Tathāgata’s Body
The Buddha teaches Candraprabha that a buddha should not be identified as his rūpakāya or form body, but as the dharmakāya, the “Dharma body,” which is indescribable and unquantifiable. Even though someone sees the physical presence of a buddha, that is a manifestation of the dharmakāya, and it is the dharmakāya that is the Buddha’s true body, which cannot be perceived as having any features or actions.
Chapter 24: The Inconceivable Tathāgata
The Buddha teaches Candraprabha that through this sūtra a bodhisattva can gain four kinds of discernment: discernment of phenomena, of meaning, of definitions, and of confident speech. He then gives a long explanation of the discernment of phenomena, in which successive qualities are explained in relation to four aspects: the composite teaching, the composite, the kleśas, and purification. For each of these there is an inconceivable number of each quality. The second, third, and fourth discernments are explained in single brief sentences. The concluding verses state that the Buddha has innumerable qualities, and exhort the teaching of this sūtra.
Chapter 25: Engaging in Discernment
The Buddha teaches Candraprabha in greater depth on the discernment of phenomena, emphasizing that there is no difference between the nature of phenomena and enlightenment, and specifying that there is no difference between the nature of the skandhas and enlightenment. Then in verse he teaches the emptiness of phenomena and nirvāṇa, and that his true body is not his “form body,” the rūpakāya, but his dharmakāya, and therefore the only one who has truly seen a buddha is one who has seen the dharmakāya, who has seen emptiness. There follows a condemnation of bhikṣus of the future who will be concerned with gain and honors, and will teach and become involved with laypeople, and are destined for the hells. However, there should be no anger toward them; they should be treated with respect. There is also advice on humility and circumspection in giving teachings, as to who should be taught and what kind of teaching should be given. There is also an exhortation to make offerings, but also that the merit gained from this sūtra is far more vast than the most extensive offerings.
Chapter 26: Rejoicing
The Buddha teaches Candraprabha that a bodhisattva must be skillful in methods, which he defines as rejoicing in the merit of beings. Then in verse he describes rejoicing in various kinds of good actions and the benefits of mendicancy, and concludes by saying that being careful is the root of all of these.
Chapter 27: The Benefits of Generosity
In this brief chapter, the Buddha teaches Candraprabha that a careful bodhisattva practices the six perfections. Then he teaches the ten benefits that come from practicing the first of these: generosity.
Chapter 28: The Benefits of Correct Conduct
In this very brief chapter, the Buddha teaches ten benefits that come from practicing the second of the six perfections: correct conduct.
Chapter 29: Ten Benefits
The Buddha teaches the benefits that come from the remaining four perfections: patience, diligence, meditation, and wisdom. They are followed by the benefits of becoming very learned in the Dharma, giving the Dharma to others, maintaining the knowledge of emptiness, maintaining detachment in meditation, remaining in solitude, and following a mendicant lifestyle and begging for alms. The Buddha concludes by stating that such a bodhisattva will obtain, through the supernatural higher cognitions, the treasure of the buddhas because he will be able to see them all. And he will attain the treasure of the Dharma because he can hear the buddhas teaching. He will attain the treasure of wisdom because he remembers the teaching and knows how to give it to others. Finally, he will attain the treasure of knowing the past, present, and future of beings.
Chapter 30: Tejaguṇarāja
The Buddha tells Candraprabha that he should be dedicated to this sūtra and live alone in the forest. In the verse he tells how, in the distant past, there was a buddha named Tejaguṇarāja and at that time Buddha Śākyamuni was a world ruler named Dṛdhadatta. When he heard the teaching of the King of Samādhis Sūtra, he and the entire population of the world became bhikṣus and bhikṣuṇīs who were supported by the devas. The Buddha describes the nature of degenerate Dharma teachers in future times, who do not practice mendicancy. He prescribes making images of the Buddha, making offerings to him, and aspiring to the teaching of this sūtra. The Buddha then describes the various great qualities that those who possess this sūtra will have.
Chapter 31: Benefits
In this brief chapter, the Buddha teaches that the one who wishes to teach all beings in their various languages should be dedicated to this sūtra. In eleven verses, he describes various benefits, and particularly the qualities of speech, that will be gained.
Chapter 32: The Teaching on the Nature of All Phenomena
The Buddha teaches that a bodhisattva who wishes to know the nature of phenomena should be dedicated to this sūtra. He describes in verse the compassion, patience, ability to remember and teach, generosity, and diligence that is the nature of the bodhisattva who realizes the nature of phenomena, which is peace and emptiness. He states that this is the path he followed, and encourages all to follow his example. He states that those who reject the path to enlightenment spend eons in the hells, but those who teach and protect this sūtra in future times will quickly attain enlightenment.
Chapter 33: The Benefits of Possessing the Sūtra
The Buddha teaches that dedication to this sūtra will bring the higher cognitions of all phenomena. This is then explained through almost three hundred verses in the Tibetan version. He teaches that the higher cognitions are gained by having no attachment, either to samādhi or worldly things, and by having no pride. The higher cognitions are the realization that there is no substance to anything, even the Buddha’s words. This realization of emptiness brings buddhahood, which does not exist on the level of words. Buddhahood has no form; it is the dharmakāya. It transcends every kind of conceptual identification. Those without this understanding believe they have made spiritual progress but still have desire, particularly for women.
Those who have the realization manifest pure realms. While communicating with words, they transcend thought and concepts, have miraculous powers, and do not age. Ordinary humans who delight in this sūtra will proceed to enlightenment and will meet Buddha Maitreya. Maintaining this sūtra in the degenerate age is the greatest offering to the buddhas. Women who have faith in a single verse from it will never be reborn as women. The bodhisattvas who realize this samādhi will have inconceivable qualities and attain buddhahood at Bodhgaya.
Other bodhisattvas will come to hear them teaching and those bodhisattvas will adorn the world, transforming it into a pure realm. Lotuses and birds throughout countless realms will emit the words of the Dharma. The bodhisattva who practices this sūtra has immaculate conduct and at death will go to Sukhāvatī, and in the degenerate age will be the protector of the Dharma.
Chapter 34: Kṣemadatta
The Buddha teaches that the bodhisattva who wishes to attain this sūtra’s samādhi and enlightenment should make extensive offerings to a living buddha or to a stūpa containing his relics, and relates a story as an example. The story is about a king named Śrīghoṣa who made extensive offerings to millions of stūpas containing the relics of Buddha Ghoṣadatta—presumably the same buddha who appears in chapter 5. One night he offers millions of lamps to the stūpas. On seeing this, a young bodhisattva named Kṣemadatta makes a lamp out of his hand by wrapping it in cloth and dousing it in sesame oil. The light from this lamp eclipses all the other light offerings, and the hand is burned away. The king and his queens leap from their high palace roof to go and see this, but are not hurt thanks to intervention by deities. The king approaches Kṣemadatta, admires him, and expresses sorrow for the loss of his hand. Kṣemadatta recites a verse on emptiness, and because of the truth of his words, his hand grows back and there are other miracles. The Buddha then states that he was Kṣemadatta and that Maitreya was King Śrīghoṣa.
Chapter 35: Jñānāvatī
The Buddha instructs Candraprabha on four kinds of dedication of merit from acts of generosity. He then states that a bodhisattva should give even his own flesh to heal a teacher of the Dharma from illness. He then tells the story of how, eons ago, Princess Jñānāvatī followed the instructions given to her in a dream, which were to use her own flesh and blood to treat her sick Dharma teacher. He was miraculously cured, and she was miraculously unharmed, despite having cut off her own flesh. The Buddha states that he was that princess in a previous lifetime, her father the king was Maitreya, and the Dharma teacher became Buddha Dīpaṃkara.
Chapter 36: Supuṣpacandra
In this chapter, one of the longest in the sūtra, there is no mention of Candraprabha. Instead, Ānanda requests teaching from the Buddha, and the Buddha states that a bodhisattva must have equanimity and not cease in his progress to enlightenment, no matter what suffering he endures. The Buddha gives the example of Supuṣpacandra. In an eon long ago, Buddha Ratnapadmacandraviśuddhābhyudgatarāja attained enlightenment, liberated countless beings, and passed into nirvāṇa all in one day. During the last five hundred years of his teaching, all bodhisattvas had been exiled to Samantabhadra Forest. Supuṣpacandra was with them as their teacher, but saw that the time had come to teach other beings, even if it cost him his life. In the story, he leaves alone and eventually reaches the capital, where, in the course of a week, he establishes countless beings on the path to enlightenment, including King Śūradatta’s harem of eighty thousand queens, and all his thousand sons. On the seventh day, when the king is in a large procession heading to a park, he witnesses the devotion of the populace, and his own family, to a bhikṣu who is standing by the road. Consumed with jealousy, he orders his executioner to slay the bhikṣu. The executioner cuts him up into eight pieces. When the king is returning to his capital after a week he sees that the body parts have not decayed. Also the townspeople and the bodhisattvas of the forest have come and discovered the death. Filled with remorse, the king arranges a cremation and the building of a stūpa for the relics, and for thousands of years makes offerings, confesses his crime, and keeps perfect discipline. Nevertheless, he is reborn in hell and for millions of eons experiences various mutilations and sufferings as a result of his action. The Buddha then states that King Śūradatta was one of his own previous lives, and Supuṣpacandra subsequently became Buddha Padmottara.
Chapter 37: Teaching the Aggregate of Correct Conduct
The Buddha says to Candraprabha that a bodhisattva should also have correct conduct, and then recites verses, stating that possessing and reciting this sūtra, even one verse of it, has greater merit than eons of generosity, and that it contains an incalculable number of teachings. Then the qualities are described of the bhikṣu bodhisattva who has this sūtra, concluding by saying that many eons would not suffice to describe them all.
Chapter 38: Yaśaḥprabha
The Buddha says to Candraprabha that a bodhisattva should dedicate himself to ending the kleśas, gaining merit, and generating roots of goodness out of an aspiration for buddhahood. Then in verse he tells the story of how, many eons ago, there was a buddha named Gaṇeśvara. The king Varapuṣpasa listened to his teachings on emptiness and with his five hundred sons became ordained. In a later time, after Gaṇeśvara’s nirvāṇa, there was a prince named Puṇyamatin who was a student of a bhikṣu named Yaśaḥprabha, who had a great following. Other bhikṣus, who were jealous of him, tried to kill him. But because of the power of the truth of his teachings, their weapons changed to flowers. The Buddha explains that at that time, he was Yaśaḥprabha, Maitreya was Puṇyamatin, and King Varapuṣpasa later became Buddha Padmottara. The Buddha subsequently extols the virtues of patience. Then Śākyamuni gives teachings on how to practice the path to buddhahood.
Chapter 39: Restraint of the Body, Speech, and Mind
The Buddha teaches to Candraprabha all the various qualities, manners, and results of restraining the body. He tells the story of how, many eons ago, at the time of Buddha Jñānaprabhāsa, there lived King Viveśacintin, who received from him this teaching on physical restraint, given in verse form. The king became a bhikṣu, and the Buddha states that the king was one of his own previous lives. The Buddha then gives a description of the restraint of the speech and the mind—its conduct, wisdom, and results.
Chapter 40: [Untitled]
The Buddha gives definitions for all the qualities of the samādhi that were given in chapter 1. There are some variances, particularly of omission, but the qualities are said by the Buddha to number three hundred.
Then miraculous events mark the conclusion of the sūtra, and Ānanda asks for its name and promises to preserve it. The whole world including the devas in the form realm rejoice.
The Translation
The Mahāyāna Sūtra
The King of Samādhis, the Revealed Equality of the Nature of All Phenomena
Chapter 1
The Introduction
Thus have I heard at one time: The Bhagavān was residing at Vulture Peak Mountain in Rājagṛha together with a great bhikṣu saṅgha of a full hundred thousand bhikṣus, and together with eighty quintillion8 bodhisattvas,9 all of whom had one rebirth remaining, were renowned for their higher cognitions,10 and had gathered there from the worlds in the ten directions; they had complete mastery11 of the dhāraṇīs12 and sūtras; they satisfied all beings with the gift of the Dharma; they were skilled in speaking of the wisdom of the higher cognitions; they had attained the highest perfection of all the highest perfections; [F.2.a] they were skilled in the knowledge of remaining in all bodhisattva samādhis and samāpattis; they had been praised, extolled, and lauded by all the buddhas;13 they were skilled in miraculously going to all buddha realms; they were skilled in the knowledge of terrifying all māras;14 they were skilled in the correct knowledge of the nature of all phenomena; they were skilled in the knowledge of the higher and lower capabilities of all beings; they were skilled in the knowledge of accomplishing the activity of offering to all the buddhas; they were unstained by any of the worldly concerns; they had perfectly adorned bodies, speech, and minds;15 they wore the armor of great love and great compassion; they had great undiminishing diligence throughout countless eons; they roared the great lion’s roar; they could not be defeated by any opponent;16 they were sealed with nonregression; and they had received the consecration of the Dharma from all buddhas.17 They were the bodhisattva mahāsattvas Meru, Sumeru, Mahāmeru,18 Meruśikharadhara,19 Merupradīparāja, Merukūṭa, Merudhvaja, Merurāja,20 Meruśikharasaṁghaṭṭanarāja,21 Merusvara, Megharāja, Dundubhisvara, Ratnapāṇi,22 Ratnākara, Ratnaketu, Ratnaśikhara, Ratnasaṁbhava, Ratnaprabhāsa, Ratnayaṣṭi, Ratnamudrāhasta, Ratnavyūha, Ratnajāli, Ratnaprabha, Ratnadvīpa, [F.2.b] Ratiṁkara, Dharmavyūha, Vyūharāja, Lakṣaṇasamalaṁkṛta, Svaravyūha, Svaraviśuddhiprabha, Ratnakūṭa, Ratnacūḍa,23 Daśaśataraśmihutārci,24 Jyotirasa, Candrabhānu, Sahacittotpādadharmacakrapravartin, and Śubhakanakaviśuddhiprabha, the bodhisatta mahāsattva Satatamabhayaṁdad,25 and all the bodhisattva mahāsattvas of the Good Eon, such as the bodhisattva mahāsattva Ajita,26 and the sixty with incomparable minds,27 such as Mañjuśrī, and the sixteen good beings,28 such as Bhadrapāla,29 and the Four Mahārājas and the other Cāturmahārājakāyika devas, and so on30 up until Brahmā and the other Brahmakāyika devas. In addition there were also devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, humans, and nonhumans, who were all illustrious31 and renowned as being very powerful.32
They honored him,33 worshiped him,34 revered him,35 made offerings to him,36 praised him,37 and venerated him.38 The fourfold assembly and the worlds39 of devas also paid homage to him,40 made offerings to him, honored him, worshiped him, revered him, praised him, and venerated him.
Then the Bhagavān, encircled and esteemed by that assembly of many hundred thousands, taught the Dharma. He taught perfectly the spiritual conduct that is good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end, that has a good meaning, that has good words, and is unalloyed, complete, pure, and wholesome.
At that time, within that gathered assembly there was a youth41 named Candraprabha, who had honored the jinas in the past, had planted roots of merit, could remember his previous lives, had the confidence of speech, had correctly followed the Mahāyāna, and who was dedicated to great compassion.
The youth Candraprabha rose from his seat, removed his robe from one shoulder, [F.3.a] and, kneeling on his right knee, with palms placed together bowed toward the Bhagavān and made this request: “If the Bhagavān will give me an opportunity to seek answers to them, I have a few questions for the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha.”
The Bhagavān addressed the youth Candraprabha, saying, “Young man, ask whatever question you wish of the Tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha, and I shall gratify you with answers to each and every question you have asked.
“Young man, I am omniscient.42 I am all-seeing. I have attained preeminence because of my strengths and fearlessness concerning all Dharmas. I possess the unobscured wisdom of liberation.
“Young man, there is nothing in the endless, infinite worlds43 that the Tathāgata does not know, has not seen, has not heard, has not understood, has not directly perceived, and about which he has not become completely enlightened.
“Young man, may you always have the opportunity to ask questions of the Tathāgata, and I will gratify you with answers for each of the questions you ask.”
The Bhagavān having given him this opportunity, the young man Candraprabha44 recited these verses to the Bhagavān:
The Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, “Young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas will attain all those qualities and quickly attain the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood if they have one quality.52 What is that one quality? Young man, it is the bodhisattva mahāsattvas’ evenness of mind toward all beings. They wish to benefit them, have no anger, and have no partiality. Young man, if bodhisattva mahāsattvas have that one quality [F.4.a] they will attain all those qualities and quickly attain the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood.”
The Bhagavān then recited these verses to the youth Candraprabha:
“Young man, in that way the bodhisattva mahāsattva who has evenness of mind toward all beings, wishes to benefit them, and has no anger or partiality will attain the samādhi known as the revealed equality of the nature of all phenomena.
“Young man, what is the samādhi called the revealed equality of the nature of all phenomena?
“It is restraint of the body.55 It is restraint of the speech. It is restraint of the mind. It is purity of action. It is the transcendence of the mind’s perceptions.56 It is knowledge of the skandhas. It is the equality of the dhātus. It is the elimination of the āyatanas.
“It is the renunciation of craving. It is having the direct perception of birthlessness. It is engagement in activity.57 It is the illumination of causes.58 It is the non-dissipation of the results of karma. It is insight into phenomena. It is the meditation of the path. It is meeting the tathāgatas.
“It is sharp wisdom. It is penetrating into beings.59 It is knowledge of phenomena.60 [F.4.b] It is the knowledge of engaging in discernment. It is the knowledge of the different kinds of letters and words. It is the transcendence of matter. It is the understanding of sounds. It is the attainment of joy. It is experiencing the joy of the Dharma. It is sincerity.61 It is tolerance.62 It is to be without deception.63
“It is to be without frowns. It is to be pleasant.64 It is to have correct conduct.65 It is to be friendly.66 It is to be gentle.67 It is having a smiling face.68 It is being courteous.69 It is to be welcoming.70
“It is to be without laziness.71 It is having veneration72 for the guru.73 It is respect74 for the guru. It is being content with occurrences. It is never being satisfied with the good actions one has done. It is having a pure livelihood. It is not forsaking the solitary life.
“It is the knowledge of successive levels. It is always maintaining mindfulness. It is being wise concerning the skandhas. It is being wise concerning the dhātus. It is being wise concerning the āyatanas. It is making one’s higher cognitions manifest to others.
“It is the elimination of kleśas. It is ceasing engagement with propensities.75 It is having specific attainments.76 It is the natural result of meditation.77
“It is skillfulness in eliminating transgressions.78 It is the prevention of the arising of bad actions. It is the elimination of attachment.79
“It is transcending the existences. It is the memory of previous rebirths. It is being free from doubt concerning the ripening of karma.
“It is the contemplation of phenomena. It is seeking to hear the Dharma. It is having sharp knowledge. It is craving for wisdom. It is the realization of wisdom.
“It is the level of a noble being.80 It is having a mind like a mountain. It is being unshakable. It is being immovable. It is the knowledge of the nature of the level of irreversibility.
“It is having the natural result of good qualities.81 It is the abhorrence of bad qualities. It is being free of behavior caused by the kleśas. It is never abandoning the training.
“It is being established in samādhi. It is the knowledge of the thoughts of beings. It is the knowledge of the various rebirths of beings. It is knowledge of the infinite.82 It is the knowledge of the intended meaning of words.83
“It is the rejection of living in a home. It is finding no joy in the three realms. It is having a motivation that is not discouraged. It is having no attachment to phenomena.
“It is having possession of the sacred Dharma. It is protecting the Dharma. It is conviction in the ripening of karma. It is skill in the vinaya. [F.5.a]
“It is the pacification of disputes. It is the absence of discord and the absence of quarrels. It is having reached the level of patience. It is maintaining patience.
“It is the equality of the different kinds of beings.84 It is skill in examining phenomena.85 It is skill in gaining certainty concerning phenomena.
“It is the knowledge of distinguishing between the words for phenomena.86 It is skill in the presentation of the words for phenomena. It is the knowledge of the skill of presenting the distinction between words that have meaning and those that do not have meaning.87
“It is knowledge of the past. It is knowledge of the future. It is knowledge of the present.88 It is the knowledge of the equality of the three times. It is the knowledge of the purity of the three aspects of actions.
“It is the knowledge of the body’s condition. It is the knowledge of the mind’s condition. It is guarding conduct. It is having unshakable89 conduct. It is uncontrived conduct.90 It is engaging in conduct that is attractive.91
“It is the knowledge of skill in what is beneficial and what is not beneficial.92 It is rational speech.93 It is knowledge of the world.
“It is unrestrained generosity. It is being openhanded.94 It is having a nongrasping mind.
“It is having a sense of modesty and self-respect. It is an abhorrence of negative aspirations. It is not forsaking the qualities of purification. It is maintaining correct conduct. It is joyful conduct.
“It is standing up to welcome gurus and presenting them with a seat. It is the elimination of pride. It is controlling the mind. It is the knowledge of generating enthusiasm.
“It is the knowledge of discernment. It is the realization of wisdom. It is being without ignorance. It is knowledge of the processes of the mind. It is the knowledge that realizes the nature of the mind.95
“It is the knowledge of accomplishment and definite accomplishment.96 It is the knowledge of all language. It is the knowledge of presenting definitions.97 It is the knowledge of attaining certainty in meaning.
“It is abandoning that which is harmful. It is attending upon excellent beings.98 It is being together with excellent beings. It is avoiding bad beings.
“It is the utilization101 of the higher cognitions. It is the knowledge that comprehends the nature of assigned names and designations. It is overcoming designations. It is disillusionment with saṃsāra.102
“It is the absence of yearning for respect.103 It is indifference to lack of respect.104 It is not being motivated by material gain. It is not being disheartened when there is no gain. It is the absence of interest in honor. It is the absence of anger at dishonor. [F.5.b] It is the absence of attachment to praise. It is the absence of displeasure in response to criticism. It is the absence of attachment to happiness. It is the absence of aversion to suffering. It is not being acquisitive of composite things. It is having no attachment to renown. It is accepting the lack of renown.105
“It is not associating with householders and mendicants.106 It is avoiding that which is outside the scope of correct conduct. It is acting within the scope of correct conduct. It is a perfection of correct conduct. It is rejecting incorrect conduct.107 It is not dishonoring your family.108
“It is preserving the teaching. It is speaking little. It is speaking softly.109 It is speaking slowly.110 It is skillfulness in answers. It is defeating opposition. It is arriving at the right time. It is not relying on ordinary people.
“It is not having contempt for those in suffering. It is giving them charity. It is not rebuking111 the poor. It is having compassion for those with wrong conduct. It is having that which will bring benefit to others.112 It is having a compassionate mind. It is benefiting others through the Dharma. It is giving away material things. It is the absence of hoarding.
“It is praising correct conduct. It is condemning incorrect conduct. It is unwaveringly113 attending upon those who have correct conduct. It is giving up all possessions. It is welcoming others114 with a higher motivation. It is doing exactly what one has said one will do. It is perpetual application. It is experiencing joy through veneration.
“It is the knowledge of using examples. It is being skilled in terms of past lifetimes. It is putting roots of merit first. It is skill in methods.
“It is the negation of attributes. It is rejecting identification. It is knowledge of the characteristics of things.115
“It is the accomplishment of the sūtras. It is skill in the vinaya.116 It is certainty in the truth. It is the direct experience of liberation. It is the single teaching. It is not abandoning correct knowing and seeing.117 It is speech free of doubt.118
“It is remaining in emptiness.119 It is remaining in the absence of attributes.120 It is understanding121 the nature of the absence of aspiration.122 It is the attainment of fearlessness.
“It is illumination by wisdom.123 It is excellent124 correct conduct. It is entering into samāpatti. It is the attainment of wisdom.125
“It is delighting in solitude. It is knowledge of oneself.126 [F.6.a] It is contentment with having no high reputation.127
“It is the absence of pollution in the mind. It is rejecting incorrect views.128 It is the attainment of mental retention.
“It is the entrance into knowledge.129 It is the knowledge of the basis, the ground, the foundation, and the practice.130
It is the cause,131 the method,132 the way,133 the creation,134 the doorway,135 the path,136 the practice,137 the guidance,138 the explication,139 and the conduct of the instruction.140
“It is appropriate patience.141 It is the level of patience.142 It is being free of impatience.143 It is the level of knowledge. It is the elimination of ignorance. It is being established in knowledge.
“It is attending upon wise beings. It is rejecting those who are not wise beings. It is the knowledge that analyzes and realizes the nature of all phenomena.145
“It is the level of buddhahood taught by the tathāgatas.146 The wise rejoice in it. The foolish reject it. It is difficult for the śrāvakas to know. The pratyekabuddhas do not know it. It is not the level of the tīrthikas. The bodhisattvas possess it. It is realized by those who have the ten strengths. The devas make offerings to it. Brahmā praises147 it. The Śakras148 value it above all else.149 The nāgas pay homage to it. The yakṣas rejoice in it. The kiṃnaras praise it in song. The mahoragas laud it. The bodhisattvas meditate on it. The wise comprehend it.
“It is the highest wealth. It is immaterial generosity. It is a medicine for the sick. It is a treasure of wisdom. It is unceasing eloquence.
“It is the way of the sūtras.150 It is the domain151 of heroes.152 It is the comprehension of the entire three realms. It is a raft153 for crossing to the other shore. It is like a boat for those in the middle of a river.
“It is fame for those who wish for renown. The buddhas praise it. [F.6.b] The tathāgatas laud it. Those who have the ten strengths praise it.
“It is the quality of the bodhisattvas. It is the equanimity of those with compassion. It is the love that brings anger154 to an end.
“It is the delight of those with peaceful minds.155 It provides relief for those who follow the Mahāyāna.
“It is the diligent practice of those with a lion’s roar. It is the path of the wisdom of the buddhas.156
“It is the seal upon all phenomena. It is the accomplishment of omniscient wisdom.157
“It is the pleasure grove of bodhisattvas. It is that which terrifies the māras.
“It is the knowledge of those who have reached happiness. It is the benefit of those who accomplish benefit.
“It is the refuge for those among enemies. It is the subjugation of adversaries by those who have the Dharma.
“It is the expression of truth for those who have fearlessness. It is the correct search for the strengths. It is the omen for the eighteen unique qualities of a buddha. It is the adornment of the Dharma body.158 It is the natural result of bodhisattva conduct.159 It is the adornment of the bodhisattvas.160 It is the delight of those who desire liberation. It is the joy of the eldest sons.161
“It is the completion of buddha wisdom. It is not the level of śrāvakas or pratyekabuddhas.
“It is the purity of the mind. It is the purity of the body. It is the completion of the doorways to liberation.
“It is the wisdom of buddhahood’s freedom from the kleśas.162 It is the nonarising of desire.163 It is devoid of anger.
“It is not the level of ignorance. It is the arising of wisdom. It is the birth of knowledge. It is the elimination of ignorance.
“It is the contentment of those dedicated to liberation. It is the satisfaction of those dedicated to samādhi. It is eyes for those who wish for the view. It is higher knowledge for those who wish to perform miracles. It is miraculous power for those who wish for accomplishment. It is retentive memory for those dedicated to listening to the Dharma.164
“It is unceasing mindfulness. It is the blessing of the buddhas. [F.7.a] It is the skillful method of the guides.
“It is subtle and difficult to know for those without dedication.165 Those who are not liberated cannot know it.166 It is beyond words and difficult to know through speech.
“It is known by wise beings. It is the knowledge of gentle beings.167 Those with few desires realize it. Those who have unceasing diligence possess it. Those who are mindful maintain it.
“It is the cessation of suffering. It is the birthlessness of all phenomena. It is the single teaching on all existing beings and lifetimes.
“Young man, this is the samādhi called the revealed equality of the nature of all phenomena.”
When the Bhagavān gave this teaching of the samādhi, the revealed equality of the nature of all phenomena, in the past, eighty times a hundred thousand million168 devas and humans, who had previously generated the necessary karma, attained the patience of the birthlessness of phenomena, ninety-six times a hundred thousand million attained the corresponding patience, ninety-three times a hundred thousand million obtained the transmission of the teaching of that patience, and the entirety of the hundred thousand169 bhikṣus attained liberation of mind through the defilements not arising. Sixty times a hundred thousand devas and human beings became free of desire, without stains, and gained the pure Dharma sight of the Dharmas. Eighty thousand bhikṣuṇīs170 attained liberation of mind through the nonarising of defilements. Five hundred upāsakas attained the result of nonreturners. Six thousand upāsikās attained the result of once-returners. This universe of a thousand million worlds shook in six ways: it trembled, it trembled strongly, and it trembled intensely; it quivered, it quivered strongly, and it quivered intensely; it shook, it shook strongly, and it shook intensely; it shuddered, it shuddered strongly, and it shuddered intensely; it quaked, it quaked strongly, and it quaked intensely. The east sank and the west rose, [F.7.b] the west sank and the east rose, the north sank and the south rose, the south sank and the north rose, the perimeter sank and the center rose, and the center sank and the perimeter rose. An immeasurable radiance shone in the universe so that whatever darkness there was between the worlds was illuminated by it. The beings who were born there could see each other and they cried, “Ah! Other beings have been born here too!” This occurred even as far down as the great Avīci hell.
Conclusion of the first chapter: “The Introduction.”
Chapter 2
Śālendrarāja
Then the Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, “Young man, I remember that in the past, when I was practicing the conduct of a bodhisattva, I became a cakravartin. I desired this samādhi and I desired to attain quickly the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood. For many hundred thousand quintillions171 of eons on this Vulture Peak Mountain I served, venerated, revered, honored, worshiped, and made offerings to many countless, innumerable tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas with the presentation of many hundred thousand quintillions of every kind of jewel, and various kinds of beautiful flowers, incense, perfume, garlands, ointments, powders, parasols, banners, flags, music, musical instruments, flags of victory, and precious monasteries.172
“Young man, I heard from those tathāgatas extensively the samādhi, the revealed equality of the nature of all phenomena. I obtained it, asked questions about it, preserved it, recited it to others, promoted it, meditated on it with an unadulterated meditation, promulgated it, and made it widely known to others.
“Young man, the last of all those tathāgatas was the Tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha Śālendrarāja. [F.8.a] Young man, that Tathāgata Śālendrarāja had a saṅgha of a thousand trillion173 śrāvakas and bodhisattvas. Their lifespans were seven million, six hundred thousand174 years. I served and made offerings to the Tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha Śālendrarāja for a hundred and eighty thousand million175 years and I built ten million monasteries made of sandalwood and precious materials. The Tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha Śālendrarāja’s lifespan was seven hundred and sixty thousand million176 years. I entered homelessness in the presence of the Tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha Śālendrarāja and for a hundred and forty thousand million177 years I listened to the samādhi, the revealed equality of the nature of all phenomena. I obtained it, asked questions about it, preserved it, recited it to others, promoted it, meditated on it with an unadulterated meditation, promulgated it, and made it widely known to others.”178
Then the Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, “Young man, if in that way you wish for this samādhi and wish to attain quickly the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood, then you too should dedicate yourself to making offerings to, serving, and being an attendant to all tathāgatas as I have done.
“Young man, why is that? The natural result of making offerings to, serving, and being an attendant to all tathāgatas is that it will not be difficult for the bodhisattva mahāsattvas to attain the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood, let alone this samādhi, as their natural result.
“Young man, in that way you should never weary of making offerings to, serving, and being an attendant to all tathāgatas.” [F.8.b]
Then the Bhagavān taught extensively, as a praise in chanted verses, this chapter on the past lives of the youth Candraprabha:
Conclusion of the second chapter, “Śālendrarāja.”
Chapter 3
Praise of the Buddha’s Qualities
Then the Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, “Young man, therefore, if bodhisattva mahāsattvas wish to teach the buddha qualities as described by the Tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha, without any loss of meaning or words, and for all their words to come forth as those of the Buddha, then those bodhisattva mahāsattvas, young man, [F.10.a] should, for the sake of all beings, obtain196 this samādhi, understand197 it, preserve it,198 recite it to others,199 promote it,200 proclaim it,201 chant it,202 meditate on it with unadulterated203 meditation, promulgate it,204 and make it widely known to others.205
“Young man, what are the buddha qualities of a tathāgata?
“Young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas, whether in solitude, at the foot of a tree, in the open air, or in an empty building, should learn well the following.
“The Bhagavān is thus: a tathāgata, an arhat, a fully enlightened buddha, one with perfect wisdom and conduct,206 a sugata, one who knows the world’s beings, an unsurpassable guide who tames beings, a teacher of devas and humans, a buddha, a bhagavān.
“The Tathāgata is the natural result of merit. He is the inevitable result of roots of merit. He is adorned by patience. He is the manifestation207 of a treasure of merit. He is beautified by the excellent primary signs of a great being. He has the blossomed208 flowers of the secondary signs of a great being. He is exemplary in his conduct. His appearance is never disagreeable. He brings joy to those motivated by faith. He is invincible in his wisdom. He has the invulnerability of the strengths. He is the teacher of all beings. He is the father of all bodhisattvas. He is the king of all noble individuals. He is the caravan leader for those beginning on their journey. He is immeasurable in his wisdom. He is inconceivable209 in his eloquence. He is pure in his voice. He is delightful in his speech. He is lovely in his physical form. He is unequaled in body. He is unstained by the desire realm. He is unsullied by the form realm. He is unadulterated by the formless realm. He is free from suffering.210 He is liberated from the skandhas. He is separated from the dhātus. He has restrained211 the āyatanas. He has cut through the knots.212 He is free from torment.213 [F.10.b] He is released from craving.214 He has crossed over the great river. He is complete in his wisdom. He is established in the wisdom of the buddha bhagavāns of the past, future, and present. He does not remain in nirvāṇa. He resides at the summit of existence. He is on the level of seeing all beings. Young man, those are the buddha qualities of a tathāgata. 215
“If bodhisattva mahāsattvas who possess these buddha qualities and their praise,216 and who have continuous confidence of speech based upon this samādhi, teach correctly the buddha qualities and praises of the Tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha, there will be no loss of meaning or words and all their words will come forth as those of the Buddha.”
Then at that time the Bhagavān, in order to make the meaning clear, gave a detailed teaching by chanting the following extensive verses to the youth Candraprabha.217
Chapter 4
Samādhi
Then the youth Candraprabha [F.12.b] rose from his seat, removed his robe from one shoulder, and, kneeling on his right knee with palms placed together, he bowed toward the Bhagavān and made this request: “If the Bhagavān will give me an opportunity to seek answers to them, I have a few questions for the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha.”
The Bhagavān addressed the youth Candraprabha, saying, “Young man, the Tathāgata will always give you that opportunity. Ask whatever question you wish of the Tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha.”
As the Bhagavān had given him the opportunity, the young man Candraprabha asked the Bhagavān,249 “The Bhagavān says, ‘samādhi, samādhi.’ What kind of Dharma does this word designate?”
The Bhagavān replied to Candraprabha, “Young man, when I say ‘samādhi, samādhi,’ it means the profound realization of the mind.
“[1] It is the absence of arising.250 [2] It is the absence of continuation.251 [3] It is the knowledge of continuation.252 [4] It is putting down253 the burden.254 [5] It is the wisdom of the tathāgatas. [6] It is having the preeminence of a buddha. [7] It is the healing of desire, the pacifying of anger,255 and the elimination of ignorance. 256
“[8] It is engaging in what should be engaged in. [9] It is rejecting that which should not be engaged in. [10] It is the aspiration to good qualities.257 [11] It is the wish to be free from saṃsāra.
“[12] It is practicing with a higher motivation. [13] It is remaining awake.258 [14] It is not abandoning renunciation.259 [15] It is maintaining good qualities.
“[16] It is not relying on rebirth.260 [17] It is not accumulating karma. [18] It is not paying attention to the internal āyatanas.261 [19] It is not engaging with the external āyatanas.
“[20] It is not praising oneself. [21] It is not criticizing others. [22] It is having no attachment to family. [23] It is not placing one’s trust in ordinary people. 262
“[24] It is the natural result of correct conduct. [F.13.a] [25] It is that which is difficult to approach. [26] It is great majesty.263 [27] It is self-knowledge.
“[28] It is the absence of inconstancy. [29] It is maintaining perfect behavior. [30] It is the absence of malice. [31] It is the absence of aggression. [32] It is not harming others. [33] It is taking care of companions. 264 [34] It is guarding secret mantras.
“[35] It is being nonviolent.265 [36] It is not being harmful to those with correct conduct. [37] It is speaking gently.
“[38] It is not remaining anywhere in the three realms. [39] It is the patience that accords with the emptiness of all phenomena.266 [40] It is the aspiration to omniscient wisdom.267
“That, young man, is what is meant by ‘samādhi.’ Young man, practicing those qualities and not practicing their opposite is what is meant by ‘samādhi.’ ”
Then the Bhagavān taught the samādhi, the revealed equality of the nature of all phenomena, and at that time gave a detailed teaching by chanting the following extensive verses to the youth Candraprabha.268
Chapter 5
Ghoṣadatta
Then the Bhagavān again addressed the youth Candraprabha, saying, “Therefore, young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who wish for this samādhi, and wish to attain quickly the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood, should think that they are like someone whose hair and clothes are on fire, and they should cast off father, mother, [F.14.b] son, daughter, family, kinsmen, relatives, kindred, wife, and so on, as if they were fire, throw away all the pleasures of a kingdom as if they were a lump of phlegm, turn toward solitude, and depart from home.
“Why is that? Young man, attaining the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood will not be difficult for a bodhisattva mahāsattva who turns toward solitude and departs from home, let alone one who has this samādhi.
“Therefore, young man, you should always train in having this thought: ‘I shall cast off friends, children, family, kinsmen, relatives, kindred, wife, and so on, as if they were fire, throw away all the pleasures of a kingdom as if they were a lump of phlegm, turn toward solitude, and depart from home.’
“Young man, in the past, countless, vast, immeasurable, inconceivable, innumerable, asaṃkhyeya eons ago,285 at that time and in those days,286 there appeared in the world the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha Ghoṣadatta, who was perfect in wisdom and conduct, a sugata, a knower of the world, an unsurpassable guide who tamed beings, a teacher of devas and humans, a buddha, and a bhagavān.
“Young man, at that time and in those days, in the first assembly of the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha Ghoṣadatta’s śrāvakas, there were eight hundred million who were arhats. In the second assembly there were seven hundred million arhats. In the third assembly of śrāvakas there were six hundred million arhats. [F.15.a] There were also countless bodhisattva mahāsattvas who possessed the Dharma.
“Young man, at that time and in those days, during the time of the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha Ghoṣadatta, the lifespan was forty thousand years. This Jambudvīpa continent had wealth, increase, happiness, excellent harvests, joy, and was filled with a great multitude of human beings.
“In this Jambudvīpa there were two kings named Dṛḍhabala and Mahābala. One ruled the half of Jambudvīpa that had wealth, increase, happiness, excellent harvests, joy, and was filled with a great multitude of human beings. The other ruled the other half.
“Young man, at that time, the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha Ghoṣadatta appeared in the kingdom of King Mahābala.
“Young man, for a hundred thousand years King Mahābala provided the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha Ghoṣadatta, the saṅgha of bodhisattvas, and the saṅgha of bhikṣus with faultless, proper clothing, alms, medicine if they were ill, and monastic utensils for their use.
“Young man, at that time, the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha Ghoṣadatta, the saṅgha of bodhisattvas, and the saṅgha of bhikṣus received greatly renowned gifts and honors.
“Brahmins and householders who had faith also bestowed great gifts and honors on the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha Ghoṣadatta, the saṅgha of bodhisattvas, and the saṅgha of bhikṣus.
“Those brahmins and householders did this by following the example of King Mahābala, [F.15.b] dedicating themselves to bestowing great gifts and honors by making offerings of worldly material goods to the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha Ghoṣadatta, the saṅgha of bodhisattvas, and the saṅgha of bhikṣus.
“Young man, the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha Ghoṣadatta thought, ‘Alas! These beings who have adopted correct conduct and the poṣadha vows have come before the Tathāgata, have honored the Tathāgata, practice celibacy, have entered the homeless life, and have become fully ordained bhikṣus—they will go into decline. They are concerned about the happiness of their future lives.
“ ‘Why is that? It is because in their future lives their happiness will be from these offerings of worldly material things. The realms of the higher existences are the goal of these beings. They are concerned with this life. They are concerned with their 287 next life. They do not accumulate288 roots of merit for the final ultimate goal.’289
“Young man, what are the roots of merit for the ultimate goal? They are pure conduct and celibacy going toward the ultimate goal and reaching the ultimate goal.
“Bhagavān Ghoṣadatta thought, ‘I must teach those beings the Dharma so that they will make the unsurpassable offering of the Dharma and the practice of the Dharma as their offering to the Tathāgata.’290
“Then, young man, at that time the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha Ghoṣadatta, with the intention of creating revulsion toward saṃsāra,291 recited these verses to King Mahābala, the brahmins, and the laypeople:
“Young man, King Mahābala heard what the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha Ghoṣadatta said about leaving one’s home. Having heard this, he thought, ‘I have understood the Bhagavān’s teaching to mean that he does not praise the perfection of generosity, [F.16.b] but gives the highest, ultimate praise to the perfection of conduct.292 The Bhagavān has praised perfect purity, perfect celibacy, and perfect nirvāṇa.’
“He thought, ‘It is not easy to practice the unsurpassable Dharma and attain its goal while living in a home. I would decline in my practice of the unsurpassable Dharma. I shall cut off my hair and beard, wear the orange robes, and leave home for homelessness.’
“Then, young man, King Mahābala, accompanied by eighty thousand293 brahmins and laypeople, came before the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha Ghoṣadatta, bowed down to his feet, circumambulated the Bhagavān three times, and sat to one side.
“Young man, the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha, knowing the higher motivation of King Mahābala, taught this samādhi, the revealed equality of the nature of all phenomena.
“Young man, on hearing this, King Mahābala was pleased, delighted, joyful, inspired, and happy. He shaved off his hair and beard, put on the orange robes, and with faith left home for homelessness. Having entered homelessness he learned this samādhi, and having learned it he understood it. He dedicated himself to the practice of keeping it, reading it, and meditating on it. Through that root of merit, he did not fall into the lower existences for a hundred million eons. He served two hundred million buddhas and heard this samādhi from all those tathāgatas. He learned this samādhi, and having learned it he understood it. [F.17.a] He dedicated himself to the practice of keeping it, reading it, and meditating on it.
“Subsequently, through those roots of merit, after a hundred million eons had passed, and then another hundred thousand eons, he attained the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood. He became the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha named Jñānaśūra.294 He benefited countless beings, and afterward he passed away into perfect nirvāṇa.
“Young man, the eighty thousand people who with King Mahābala came into the presence of the Bhagavān, the Tathāgata Ghoṣadatta all heard this samādhi also and were delighted, rejoicing, and joyful. Happy and joyful, they cut off their hair and beards, wore the orange robes, and with genuine faith they left home for homelessness. Having entered homelessness they learned this samādhi, and having learned it they understood it. They dedicated themselves to the practice of keeping it, reading it, and meditating on it. Through that root of merit, they did not fall into the lower existences for a hundred million eons. During all those eons, they served ten million buddhas and heard this samādhi from all those tathāgatas. They maintained this samādhi and comprehended it. They dedicated themselves to the practice of keeping it, reading it, and meditating on it.
“Through their previous roots of merit, after two hundred million eons had passed and a further hundred thousand eons, they attained the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood. They all became bhagavāns, tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas named Dṛḍhaśūra. They benefited countless beings, and afterward they passed away into perfect nirvāṇa. [F.17.b]
“Therefore, young man, because of this teaching, the bodhisattva mahāsattvas cherish in this way this samādhi. They know that it is composed of the unsurpassable wisdom of omniscience.”
Then, at that time, the Bhagavān gave a detailed teaching by chanting the following extensive verses to the youth Candraprabha.
Conclusion of the fifth chapter, “Ghoṣadatta.”
Chapter 6
Cultivating the Samādhi
The Bhagavān now said to the youth Candraprabha,299 “Therefore, young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who wish for this samādhi, and wish to attain quickly the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood, should cultivate this samādhi.
“Young man, what is the cultivation of this samādhi? [F.18.b] Young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas with a compassionate mind are dedicated to making offerings to the tathāgatas, whether living or passed into nirvāṇa, of Dharma robes, alms, seat and bedding, medicines for when ill, and of monastic utensils, and of flowers, incense, perfume, garlands, ointments, aromatic powders, clothing, parasols, banners, and flags, and of music and musical instruments. They dedicate that root of merit to the attainment of samādhi. They do not make offerings to a tathāgata with the hope for anything at all—not with the hope for anything they desire, nor with the hope for any enjoyment, nor with the hope for a higher existence, nor with the hope for followers—but do so with the Dharma in mind. They do not even, with that wish, perceive the Tathāgata as the dharmakāya, let alone perceiving him as the rūpakāya.
“Young man, it is in that way that an offering is made to the tathāgatas. It is done without seeing the tathāgatas, without focusing on the self, and without any desire for the ripening of karma. Young man, if an offering made to a tathāgata is purified of those three aspects of the action, this samādhi will be attained and the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood will be quickly reached.”
At this point the Bhagavān gave a detailed teaching on the cultivation of the samādhi by chanting the following extensive verses to the youth Candraprabha.
Conclusion of the sixth chapter, “Cultivation of the Samādhi.”
Chapter 7
The Attainment of Patience
Then the Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, “Therefore, young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who wish for this samādhi, and wish to attain quickly the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood, should become skilled in the wisdoms of the three kinds of patience. They should know the first patience. They should know the second patience. They should know the third patience. They should become skilled in the differences between the three kinds of patience and skilled in the differences between the wisdoms of the three kinds of patience.
“Why is that? Young man, when bodhisattva mahāsattvas become skilled in the differences between the three kinds of patience and become skilled in the differences between the wisdoms of the three kinds of patience, then at that time, young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas will quickly attain this samādhi, and will quickly attain the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood.
“Therefore, young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who wish to attain the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood should learn this Dharma teaching on gaining the three kinds of patience. When they have learned it they should teach it widely to others. That will be of benefit to many beings, it will bring happiness to many beings, it will be a kindness to the world, it will bring fulfillment to a multitude of beings, and bring benefit and happiness to humans and devas.”309
Then the Bhagavān taught this Dharma discourse on gaining the three kinds of patience by chanting the following verses to the youth Candraprabha.
Conclusion of seventh chapter, “The Attainment of Patience.”
Chapter 8
Buddha Abhāvasamudgata
Then the Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, “Young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who wish for this samādhi, and wish to attain quickly the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood, should become skilled in the wisdom of the nonexistent nature of all phenomena.
“Young man, what is being skilled in the wisdom of the nonexistent nature of all phenomena? Bodhisattva mahāsattvas know that all phenomena have no existence, have no essence, have no attributes, have no characteristics, have no origin, have no cessation, have no words, are empty, are primordial peace, and are pure by nature.
“Young man, when bodhisattva mahāsattvas [F.22.b] know that all phenomena have no existence, have no essence, have no attributes, have no characteristics, have no birth, have no cessation, have no words, are empty, are primordial peace, and are pure by nature, then at that time, young man, those bodhisattva mahāsattvas have become skilled in the wisdom of the nonexistent nature of all phenomena.
“Young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who have become skilled in the wisdom of the nonexistent nature of all phenomena do not have desire for any form, sound, smell, taste, or touch. They do not become angry. They are never ignorant.
“Why is that? It is because they do not see phenomena; there is no object to perceive. They do not see the phenomena of desire, the desire, or the desirer; that which angers, the anger, or one who is angry; nor that of which one is ignorant, the ignorance, or the one who is ignorant, and therefore there is no such object to perceive.
“Because there is nothing to be seen and there is no object to perceive, they have no attachment to anything in the three realms and they will quickly attain this samādhi, and quickly attain the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood.
“On this topic, it has been said:
“Young man, in the past, countless, vast, immeasurable, inconceivable, unfathomable, asaṃkhyeya eons ago, at that time, in that time, there appeared in the world the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha Abhāvasamudgata, who was perfect in wisdom and conduct, a sugata, [F.23.a] a knower of the world, an unsurpassable guide who tamed beings, a teacher of devas and humans, a buddha, and a bhagavān.
“Young man, as soon as he was born he rose in the air up to the height of seven palm trees, took seven steps, and said these words: ‘All phenomena have arisen from nonexistence. From nonexistence have all phenomena arisen.’
“Young man, the sound of those words was heard in all the worlds in the trichiliocosm. It resounded and was heard by everyone from the devas on the earth up to those in Brahmā’s paradise. ‘Oh, as soon as this tathāgata was born, he rose in the air up to the height of seven palm trees, took seven steps and said the word nonexistence. Therefore he will be Abhāvasamudgata (Arisen from Nonexistence).’ Thus it was that the name Abhāvasamudgata arose, and that he was given the name Abhāvasamudgata.
“When that bhagavān attained enlightenment, the words ‘arisen from nonexistence’ sounded from the leaves of all the trees, from all the grass,318 bushes, and forests,319 and from the summits of all the mountains.
“Every sound in that world was heard as the words ‘arisen from nonexistence.’
“Young man, at the time, attending the teachings of the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha Abhāvasamudgata, there was a young prince by the name of Mahākaruṇācintin, who had an excellent body and was handsome and good-looking.
“Young man, the prince went to the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha Abhāvasamudgata and bowed his head to the Bhagavān’s feet. He circumambulated the Bhagavān three times and then sat down. [F.23.b] Then the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha Abhāvasamudgata, knowing the higher motivation of Prince Mahākaruṇācintin, taught him this samādhi. When he had heard this he had complete faith in it. With complete faith he shaved off his hair and beard, put on the orange robes, and with such faith left home for homelessness. Having entered homelessness he learned this samādhi. He learned it, kept it, read it, understood it, and dedicated himself to the practice of meditation on it. Through that root of merit, he did not fall into the lower existences for two hundred million eons. He served two hundred million buddhas, and he heard this samādhi from all those tathāgatas. Having heard it, he learned it and understood it. He kept it, read it, propagated it, and repeatedly meditated on it with unadulterated meditation, remaining dedicated to that practice of meditation.
“Through those roots of merit, after twenty eons had passed he appeared in the world as the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha Suvicintitārtha. He ripened countless beings and benefited countless beings, and afterward, like an extinguished flame, he passed away into perfect nirvāṇa.
“Therefore, young man, this samādhi of that Dharma teaching should be cherished by bodhisattva mahāsattvas. It should be known to cause the unsurpassable perfect wisdom of buddhahood.”
Then at that time the Bhagavān gave a detailed teaching on the preceding chapter by chanting the following extensive verses to the youth Candraprabha:
Chapter 9
The Patience of the Profound Dharma
Then the Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, [F.24.b] “Young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who wish to attain quickly the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood and liberate all beings from the ocean of existence should hear this king of samādhis, in which the equality of the nature of all phenomena is revealed, which is praised by all the buddhas and is the mother of the tathāgatas. They should obtain it, preserve it, understand it, recite it to others, promote it, proclaim it, chant it, meditate on it with unadulterated meditation, promulgate it, and make it widely known to others.
“Why is that? Young man, this king of samādhis, the revealed equality of the nature of all phenomena, has given birth to all the tathāgatas, the arhats, the perfectly enlightened buddhas; all tathāgatas, śrāvakas, and pratyekabuddhas have come from it.
“Therefore, young man, you also should obtain this king of samādhis, the revealed equality of the nature of all phenomena, which is praised by all the buddhas and is the mother of the tathāgatas.325 It has been said:
Then the Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, “Young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who wish327 to attain quickly the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood should become skilled328 in the patience of profound Dharma.329
“Young man, how do bodhisattva mahāsattvas become skilled in the patience of profound Dharma?
“Young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas should know that all phenomena are like illusions. [F.25.a] They should know that all phenomena are like dreams, like mirages, like echoes, like optical illusions, like the moon on water, like hallucinations,330 like reflections, and like space.
“Young man, when bodhisattva mahāsattvas know that all phenomena are like illusions,331 they are skilled in the patience of profound Dharma. Those who have the patience of profound Dharma have no desire for any phenomenon that causes desire, have no anger toward any phenomenon that causes anger, and have no ignorance regarding any phenomenon that causes ignorance. Why is that? It is because they do not see that phenomenon; they do not perceive that phenomenon. They do not see the phenomena and they do not perceive the phenomena of that which is desired, the desire, or the desirer; that which angers, the anger, or one who is angry; nor that of which one is ignorant, the ignorance, or the one who is ignorant. Because they do not see and do not perceive those phenomena they have no desire, they have no anger, they have no ignorance, their minds do not regress, and they rest in meditation. They are without conceptual elaboration. They have crossed over to the other side. They have reached dry land. They have reached safety. They have attained freedom from fear.332 They have correct conduct. They have knowledge. They have wisdom. They have merit. They have miraculous powers. They have memory.333 They have intelligence. They have realization.334 They have a sense of modesty. They have stability. They have bodhisattva conduct. They have the austerity of the disciplines of mendicancy. They are unblemished.335 [F.25.b] They have nothing. They are arhats. Their defilements have ceased. They have no kleśas. They have power. Their minds are liberated. Their wisdom is liberated. They are thoroughbred stallions.336 They are great elephants.337 They have done what had to be done. They have accomplished what had to be accomplished. They have put down their burden. They have reached their goals. They have ended engagement with existence. They have liberated their minds through true knowledge. They are mendicants who have attained all the perfect, highest, complete powers of the mind. They are brahmins.338 They are snātakas.339 They are masters of the Vedas.340 They know the Vedas.341 They are śrotriyas.342 They are children of the buddhas. They are children of the Śākya.343 They have crushed the thorns.344 They have not left the law behind.345 They have left the trench barrier behind.346 They have crossed over the trench barrier.347 They have extracted the splinters.348 They have no illness.349 They are bhikṣus. They are free from all bondage. They have been born as humans. They are good humans. They are supreme humans. They are great humans. They are human lions.350 They are human elephants.351 They are human stallions.352 They are human carthorses.353 They are human heroes.354 They are human strongmen.355 They are human flowers.356 They are human lotuses.357 They are human white lotuses.358 They are human tamers.359 They are human moons.360 They are extraordinary humans. They are stainless humans.”361
Then the Bhagavān, in order to give this Dharma teaching on entering the patience of profound Dharma, recited these verses:
Conclusion of the ninth chapter, “The Patience of the Profound Dharma.”
Chapter 10
The Entry into the City
The Bhagavān then said to the youth Candraprabha, “Therefore, young man, you should be someone who makes practice essential, and always trains in that way. Why is that? Young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who make practice essential will not even find it difficult to attain the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood, not to mention attaining this samādhi.”
Then the youth Candraprabha rose from his seat, removed his robe from one shoulder, and, kneeling on his right knee, [F.29.a] with palms placed together, bowed toward the Bhagavān and exclaimed, “Bhagavān, that teaching and instruction that the bhagavāns have taught well, presented well, and explained well to the bodhisattva mahāsattvas, the entire bodhisattva training that they have explained well and presented well is marvelous.
“Bhagavān, this is the scope of activity of the tathāgatas, not of the śrāvakas or pratyekabuddhas, let alone the tīrthikas.
“Bhagavān, I, too, will make practice essential, and without care for life or body I shall train as the tathāgatas have. Why is that? Bhagavān, I wish to train as the tathāgatas have. Bhagavān, I wish to attain the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood. Bhagavān, I wish to eliminate the evil māras. Bhagavān, I wish to free all beings from all fear and all suffering.382 I pray that the Bhagavān will place his right hand upon my head.”
He said to the Bhagavān:
The Bhagavān placed upon Candraprabha’s head his right hand, which was adorned with many characteristics that were the result of many roots of merit, and which was of the color of divine gold.
As soon as the Bhagavān placed his right hand upon Candraprabha’s head, in that very instant, more indescribable than indescribably many hundred thousand quintillions of samādhi entranceways that arise from the perfection of wisdom were revealed to Candraprabha, such as the heroic,384 the treasury of space,385 the vajra-like,386 the speed of the mind,387 the revealing of all forms,388 [F.29.b] the ultimate absence of obscurations, the revealing of all tathāgatas,389 the consecration of all emptiness,390 and so on. Many entranceways to dhāraṇīs and liberations391 were revealed. He attained the knowledge of the joy and happiness that is described by the noble ones, of the countless vast number of beings in the deva realms, and the scope of experience of the buddhas and bodhisattvas.
It was said:
Then Candraprabha, full of joy and happiness and the knowledge of the countless, vast number of beings in the deva realms, and the scope of experience of the buddhas and bodhisattvas, rose from his seat, removed his robe from one shoulder, and, kneeling on his right knee, with palms placed together, he bowed toward the Bhagavān and recited these appropriate verses of praise:
When the youth Candraprabha had recited these appropriate verses of praise to the Bhagavān, he said to him, “Bhagavān, so that you may show me your compassion I pray that you, with your saṅgha of bodhisattvas and saṅgha of bhikṣus, will assent to eat your meal tomorrow at my home.
The Bhagavān, because of his compassion, by remaining silent assented to eat a meal together with his saṅgha of bodhisattvas and saṅgha of bhikṣus at the home of the youth Candraprabha.
The youth Candraprabha, knowing that the Bhagavān had assented by his silence, rose from his seat, removed his robe from one shoulder, bowed his head to the Bhagavān’s feet, circumambulated the Bhagavān three times, and departed from the Bhagavān’s presence.
The youth Candraprabha then went down from Vulture Peak Mountain, and at that time he perfectly adorned the entire road in between Vulture Peak Mountain and the great city of Rājagṛha.
As an offering to the Bhagavān he cleared a great, wide roadway so that it was free of grass, tree stumps, thorns, stones, pebbles, and gravel, and spread pure sand over it, so that it was as soft and pleasant to the touch as down, and made a pleasant sound. He covered it with flowers from all seasons, such as divine blue lotuses, red lotuses, night lotuses, white lotuses, water lilies, kachnar flowers, sambac jasmines, magnolias, bignonias, star jasmines, sesame flowers, ironwood flowers, and aśoka flowers. Parasols, banners, flags, flags of victory, precious arches,394 and canopies were set up along the road. [F.30.b] There were precious censers from which flowed the smoke of black agarwood.395 Arranged in different places were dancers and performers skilled in performing divine songs, dance, and music. Beautifully adorned men, women, boys, and girls were arranged holding paṇava drums,396 one-stringed lutes,397 lutes, flutes, mṛdaṅga drums,398 mukunda drums,399 and muraja drums.400 On both sides of the road tall palm trees were adorned with various divine jewels and a jingling network of bells made from Jambu River gold.401 There were many hundred thousand quintillions of pillars made of precious materials, and different kinds of trees of various heights and thicknesses made from the seven jewels, and on which were arranged the leaves, flowers, and fruits of all seasons.
Young Candraprabha adorned the road with many different precious arrangements.402 Then young Candraprabha descended from Vulture Peak and went to the great city of Rājagṛha, to his tall, vast, great, divine home. He reached there and he entered his home. He spent that night preparing a great amount of excellent, delicious403 food and drink, and creating food that had a hundred flavors. Then he sprinkled well the ground in the great city of Rājagṛha and swept it clean, scattered flower petals, perfumed it with incense, put up canopies, hung ribbons and wreaths of silk, and set up parasols, banners, and flags.
In that way he made the main road of Rājagṛha up to the town free of stones, pebbles, and gravel, scattered it with various flowers, and sprinkled it with sandalwood powder. He adorned the windows, porticoes, doors,404 roofs,405 lattices,406 and the crescent moons,407 and perfumed them with sandalwood. In that way he adorned the city of Rājagṛha with countless displays [F.31.b] and adorned his own house, too, with a variety of many adornments. He hung it with many precious strings of beads. He adorned it with the raiment of the Tuṣita deities and also beautified the grounds. He had many kinds of garlands and wreaths put up as adornments. He arranged a hundred thousand precious seats. In order to make offerings to the Bhagavān he placed in their center a lion throne of divine materials that surpassed the work of devas and humans. In the four directions he hung censers made of various precious materials, from which flowed the smoke of black agarwood. In that way the youth Candraprabha arranged his excellent home so that for the enjoyment of the Bhagavān there was the sound of divine songs, performances, and music; pure parasols and banners were erected; an audience of a hundred thousand devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, humans, and nonhumans thronged it; and it was filled with many various kinds of precious flowers.
The young man Candraprabha, having adorned the great city of Rājagṛha and having perfectly beautified his own home, after the night was over, in the early morning, departed, accompanied by the music of hundreds of various kinds of instruments, with many millions of parasols, banners, and flags held high, and with an encircling vanguard of a great assembly of eight million quintillion bodhisattvas, their cupped hands filled with divine coral tree flowers. Among them were bodhisattvas with one life remaining, such as Avalokiteśvara, Mahāsthāmaprāpta, Gandhahasti, Ratnaketu, Dundubhisvara,409 Durabhisambhava, Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta, Vīrasena, Subāhu, Ratnakusuma, Amoghadarśin, Maitreya, and others, accompanied by many adorned horses and elephants without riders that were being led along, with an assembly of countless people of the country, his own cupped hands filled with divine coral tree flowers; and they were accompanied by the enchanting, beautiful, harmonious sound of the laughter of the deities as they cried, “Oh, the bodhisattva’s great power! The bodhisattva’s great miracles! The bodhisattva’s great manifestations! The bodhisattva’s—a la la!”
He came out through the hot springs gateway410 of the great city of Rājagṛha and went toward Vulture Peak Mountain, and to the Bhagavān.
When he arrived, he bowed his head to the Bhagavān’s feet, circumambulated the Bhagavān three times,411 sprinkled the divine coral tree flowers that filled his cupped hands over the Bhagavān, and went to sit down to one side.
Maitreya and the other [F.32.b] bodhisattva mahāsattvas bowed their heads to the Bhagavān’s feet, circumambulated the Bhagavān three times, sprinkled the divine coral tree flowers that filled their cupped hands over the Bhagavān, and also sat down to one side.
Then the youth, who had sat to one side, rose from his seat, removed his robe from one shoulder, and, kneeling on his right knee, with palms placed together bowed toward the Bhagavān and said, “It is midday, Bhagavān, the time to eat. If the Bhagavān considers the time has come, then together with the saṅgha of bodhisattvas, the saṅgha of bhikṣus, and the devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, rishis, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, kumbhāṇḍas, pretas, pūtanas, humans, and nonhumans who have great power, who are widely renowned for their great power and have great influence, come to the great city of Rājagṛha, as the time has come to eat the midday meal in my garden. Sugata, it is midday.412
Then the Bhagavān, who had known what the youth Candraprabha would request, addressed these lines of verse to him:
After speaking these lines,415 the Bhagavān arose from his seat. He put on his lower robe, picked up his Dharma robe and alms bowl, and with the great saṅgha of a hundred thousand bhikṣus, and accompanied by a multitude of bodhisattva mahāsattvas, he proceeded. Many hundreds of thousands of devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, rishis, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, kumbhāṇḍas, pretas, pūtanas,416 humans, and nonhumans made offerings to him and praised him. Through his great buddha powers, his great buddha miracles, his great buddha manifestations, and his buddha conduct he radiated many quintillions417 of light rays. He emanated flocks of melodious, soft, and beautiful birds of many different shapes and colors, such as geese, cranes, ruddy shelducks, swans, partridges, peacocks, rollers,418 parrots,419 mynas, cuckoos, avadavats,420 and snipe, so that like devas in the sky, each with its own song, they emitted the sound of music.421 [F.33.b]
The yakṣa lords Surūpa, Indraketu, Vikaṭa, Bakula, Pāñcika, Śākyavardhana, and many quintillions of yakṣa lords holding pestles422 with both hands, offered many quintillions of huge, vast censers made of various divine precious materials, with handles of beryl, sapphire, crystal, and white coral, filled with uragasāra sandalwood, gośīrṣa sandalwood, vetiver, yellow sandalwood, Malaya sandalwood, red sandalwood, agarwood, and so on, and from which smoke flowed.
There were the superior kings of great power, renowned as having great power, from their own regions, accompanied by many divisions of perfectly adorned horses and elephants being led without their riders, chariots, and infantry,423 in lines marching in front, holding in their hands many streamers and precious garlands. The horses and elephants, even though they were being led along without riders, were proceeding magnificently and emitting beautiful cries.
The Bhagavān was accompanied on his right-hand side by Brahmā, who was making offerings to him and attending upon him, and on his left-hand side by Śakra, lord of the devas, and by countless devas with great power, who were renowned for their great power, who were mighty and illustrious, and whose bodies were adorned by excellent divine crowns, ornamented anklets, earrings, bracelets, flowers on their ears, bejeweled necklaces, and flower garlands. Their forms were made visible and they were holding coral tree flowers, asters, orchids, hibiscus, amaranths, magnolias, karnikara flowers, aśoka flowers,424 bignonias, kachnar flowers, blue lotuses, medlar flowers,425 sambac jasmine, star jasmine, ironwood flowers, red lotuses, night lotuses, white lotuses, water lilies, precious garlands, precious agarwood, and precious fruit. They were playing hundreds of thousands of different kinds of musical instruments, waving millions of pieces of cloth, crying out, “Ha! Ha! Ha!” and sending down a great rain of flowers. In order to make offerings to the Bhagavān they filled the entire sky without leaving any space [F.34.a] and sent down a great rain of flowers, incense, garlands, perfumes, powders, and jewels.
The Bhagavān entered at midday the great city of Rājagṛha through the hot springs gateway. The nature of this is described in these verses:426
The moment the Bhagavān placed his right foot, adorned by a precious wheel from the accumulation of countless roots of merit, upon the threshold of the gate, this universe of a thousand million worlds shook in six ways. It trembled, trembled strongly, and trembled intensely; it quivered, quivered strongly, and quivered intensely; it shook, shook strongly, and shook intensely; it shuddered, shuddered strongly, and shuddered intensely; it quaked, quaked strongly, and quaked intensely; the east sank and the west rose, the west sank and the east rose, the north sank and the south rose, the south sank and the north rose, the perimeter sank and the center rose, and the center sank and the perimeter rose. A great radiance shone in the world, and countless, numberless other amazing, wonderful, miraculous manifestations appeared.453 [B4]
The nature of this is described in these verses:
Conclusion of the tenth chapter, “The Entry into the City.”
Chapter 11
Becoming a Keeper of the Sūtra
The Bhagavān came to the street on which was the home of the youth Candraprabha, and soon arrived at the home of the youth Candraprabha. Once he had arrived, he sat on the seat prepared for him. The saṅgha of bodhisattvas and the saṅgha of bhikṣus also sat on the appropriate seats that had been arranged for each of them.
Then the youth Candraprabha, knowing that the Bhagavān, the saṅgha of bodhisattvas, and the saṅgha of bhikṣus were seated, [F.39.b] himself presented and served a series of great offerings: numerous excellent foods, with hundreds of flavors to savor as they chewed, licked, sucked, and drank.
When he saw that the Bhagavān had concluded his meal, which was signaled by his setting down his alms bowl,500 he offered for the Bhagavān’s body two lengths of cloth501 of the value of a trillion silver coins,502 and also to each of the bodhisattvas, and he offered three dharma robes to each one in the saṅgha of bhikṣus.
Then the youth Candraprabha rose from his seat, removed his robe from one shoulder and, casting toward the Bhagavān a divine coral tree flower, he made offerings and uttered praises. Then, his palms placed together, he bowed toward the Bhagavān and praised him with these appropriate verses:503
Thus did he praise the one unequaled Lord, and then the youth said, with a joyous mind, “Unequaled Buddha, who has an inconceivable body, you have consumed the meal. Through this may I also become a buddha like you, the god of gods!” [F.40.a]
In that way, therefore, the youth Candraprabha provided divine food with a hundred flavors to the Bhagavān. He offered divine coral tree flowers to the Bhagavān, and praised him with appropriate verses.
Now, placing his palms together in homage toward the Bhagavān, in his mind he addressed him with these verses:
The Bhagavān, knowing the thoughts that were in the mind of the youth Candraprabha, said to him, “Young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas will attain all these qualities, and they will quickly attain the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood, if they possess just one quality. What is that one quality? Young man, it is when the bodhisattva mahāsattvas know the nature of all phenomena.
“Young man, how do bodhisattva mahāsattvas know the nature of all phenomena? Young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas know that all phenomena are nameless; they have no names. They know that all phenomena have no vocalization, they have no expression in speech, they have no letters, they have no birth, they have no cessation, they have no characteristics of cause, they have no characteristics of conditions,507 they are devoid of characteristics, they have the one characteristic of having no characteristics, they are devoid of attributes, they cannot be conceived of, they have no thought, and they have no mentality.”
Then the Bhagavān taught this in the following verses:
Conclusion of the eleventh chapter, “Becoming a Keeper of the Sūtra.”
Chapter 12
The Training According to the Samādhi
“Young man, those are the qualities and benefits that bodhisattvas who know the nature of all phenomena will have. They will describe the true, excellent qualities of the tathāgatas. They will not falsely say that which is untrue about the tathāgatas. Why is that? It is because they know perfectly that nature, which is the nature through which a tathāgata comes to be.530 They know the infinite qualities of a buddha. Why is that? Young man, the qualities of a buddha are infinite, inconceivable, beyond thought. They cannot be conceived or measured. Why is that? The mind, young man, is taught to be without a nature of its own,531 to be without form.532 Young man, that nature of the mind is also the nature of the qualities of a buddha. That nature of the qualities of a buddha is also the nature of the tathāgatas, and that is the nature of all phenomena.
“Young man, the bodhisattva mahāsattvas who know correctly that teaching on the nature of all the qualities are, young man, called bodhisattva mahāsattvas with profound comprehension. They are skilled in emancipation. They know perfectly emancipation from the three realms. They have perfect knowledge, do not teach that which is erroneous, and do not say that which is anything other than true. [F.43.b] Their conduct is in line with what they teach. They have no attachment to the three realms. They have transcended the three realms. They have transcended the level of desire, the level of form, the level of formlessness, the level of the kleśas, the level of names, and the level of language. They are skilled in the way of letters and words. They know freedom from letters.533 They have mastered the inexpressible Dharma. They know letters. They are skilled in letters. They are skilled in the knowledge of the categories of letters and words. They are skilled in the knowledge of the detailed categories of letters and words. They are skilled in the knowledge of the categories of all the words534 of the Dharma. They are skilled in the knowledge of the detailed categories of all the words535 of the Dharma. They are skilled in the knowledge536 of the presentation of all the Dharma. They are endowed with the certainty of understanding, so that all the evil māras and all the devas in their entourages cannot overcome them.”
At that time, when this Dharma teaching was given, ninety-eight times a hundred thousand million devas and human beings who had created the karma in previous lifetimes,537 had accumulated538 a trillion retentions,539 were unobscured, and had insight into the Dharma, all attained patience.540 The Bhagavān prophesied to them all that after four million, eight hundred thousand countless eons they would attain the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood. He prophesied to each of them their separate names, their identical lifespans, and the individual buddha realms where they would attain the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood.
It was said:
Conclusion of the twelfth chapter, “The Training According to the Samādhi.”
Chapter 13
The Teaching of the Samādhi
Then the Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, “Therefore, young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who wish for this samādhi, and wish to attain quickly the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood, should be skilled in teaching this samādhi.
“Young man, what is the teaching of this samādhi? It is the true nature of all phenomena; it is equality; it is the absence of inequality; it is devoid of notions; it is devoid of concepts; it is devoid of creation; it is devoid of arising; it is devoid of production; it is devoid of cessation; it is the termination of notions, concepts, and assumptions; it is devoid of an object for the mind; it is devoid of a focus of the mind;546 it is the termination of designations; it is the termination of concepts from analysis; it is the termination of desire, anger, and ignorance; it is without a limited or limitless focus of the mind; it is the termination of any focus of the mind; it is the knowledge of the nature of the skandhas, dhātus, and āyatanas; it is the state of accomplishing the field of activity that is the performance of the conduct of mindfulness, understanding, comprehension, conscience, and stability; it is the level of freedom from corruptions;547 it is the level of peace; it is the termination of all conceptual elaboration; it is the training of all bodhisattvas; it is the field of activity of all tathāgatas; [F.45.a] and it is the perfection of all good qualities.
“Young man, that is what the teaching of samādhi is said to be. Bodhisattva mahāsattvas who are established in this teaching of samādhi become inseparable from samādhi—their minds become free of delusion, they become endowed with great compassion, and they accomplish the benefit of countless beings.”
Thereupon the Bhagavān spoke these verses:
Conclusion of the thirteenth chapter, “The Teaching of the Samādhi.” [B5]
Chapter 14
The Buddha’s Smile
Then the youth Candraprabha rose from his seat, removed his robe from one shoulder, and, kneeling on his right knee, [F.46.b] with palms placed together he bowed toward the Bhagavān and said to him,568 “Bhagavān, it is marvelous that the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha has taught the equality that is the nature of all phenomena, which is the samādhi that all bodhisattvas train in.
“Bhagavān, it was thus, in this training, that the Bhagavān trained for a long time, and accomplished the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood. Bhagavān, that gives me confidence to speak.569 Sugata, it gives me confidence to speak.”
The Bhagavān said, “Young man, if you think the time has come, be confident to speak.”
Since the Bhagavān had granted the youth Candraprabha this opportunity, Candraprabha spoke the following verses of praise directly to the Bhagavān.
Conclusion of the fourteenth chapter, “The Buddha’s Smile.”
Chapter 15
The Elucidation of the Buddha’s Smile
At that time the Bhagavān spoke these appropriate verses to Bodhisattva Maitreya:
Conclusion of the fifteenth chapter, “The Elucidation of the Buddha’s Smile.”
Chapter 16
The Past
The Bhagavān then said to the youth Candraprabha, “Young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas thus wish to liberate all beings from all the suffering of existence. They wish to establish beings in the noble, unsurpassable bliss and joy of samādhi. Therefore they should hear this king of samādhis, the revealed equality of the nature of all phenomena, obtain it, understand it, preserve it, recite it to others, promote it, proclaim it, chant it, meditate on it with unadulterated meditation, promulgate it, and make it widely known to others.
“Why is that? Young man, this king of samādhis, the revealed equality of the nature of all phenomena, causes one to transcend all lower existence and be freed from all illness.
“Young man, when bodhisattva mahāsattvas hear this king of samādhis, the revealed equality of the nature of all phenomena, obtain it, and meditate on it, then, young man, [F.52.b] those bodhisattva mahāsattvas liberate all beings from all the sufferings of existence. They will establish them in the noble, unsurpassable bliss and joy of samādhi, this samādhi will be quickly attained, and the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood will be quickly attained.”619
Thereupon the Bhagavān, in order to teach this meaning to Candraprabha, repeated what he had previously said by explaining it in the following verses.
Conclusion of the sixteenth chapter, “The Past.”
Chapter 17
The Entranceway to the Samādhi That Is Taught by Many Buddhas
When the Bhagavān had finished speaking, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya, who was seated there, in his mind recited this verse to the Bhagavān.636
The Bhagavān knew the thoughts that were in the bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya’s mind, and from his own mind sent this verse to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya:
So the bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya, having received in his mind that verse from the Bhagavān, paid homage to the Bhagavān in his mind and, again in his mind, circumambulated him three times. He then left the assembly and went to Gṛdhrakūṭa, the king of mountains, which has been the residence of countless buddhas, as numerous as the grains of sand in the ocean, and where there is a great caitya.
The moment he arrived there, for the enjoyment of the Bhagavān, he magically transformed the king of mountains to become level and vast, without any tree stumps, thorns, stones, pebbles, or gravel, and with a surrounding wall made of the seven jewels. The ground was composed of countless shining sapphire jewels and was adorned by divine adornments and jewels, all of them beyond compare, and beautified by an array of innumerable, different kinds of jewels. All the area was decorated by the clothing of Tuṣita devas, [F.54.b] pervaded by the aroma of incense from a variety of censers, adorned by garlands and wreaths, scattered with various flowers; it resounded with the sound of divine music, was filled with erect and fluttering banners and flags, and over it canopies were suspended.
In the center of this area a divine lion throne made from the seven jewels was emanated. It was draped in cloth that was not woven, and covered with divine clothing from Tuṣita that was as soft and pleasant to the touch as down. A central awning hung above, and there were two red cushions placed upon it. It was a yojana wide and a yojana high.
Its beautiful footstool, made of Jambu River gold, transcended that of humans and devas. It was covered with a net of strings of pearls, and it was draped in divine, precious cottons.
Strung upon the lion throne were strings of divine, precious bells from which came clear, beautiful, gentle sounds. In all directions there were great shining jewels. And there was emanated a precious, vast parasol, with a handle made of a great, precious jewel of stainless beryl.
The bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya now emanated an inconceivable, adorning array of various jewels on Gṛdhrakūṭa, the king of mountains, and in its entire environs. Then, in an instant, he returned to the home of the youth Candraprabha.
Once he was back there, in his mind he paid homage to the Bhagavān, and in his mind circumambulated him three times. He then sat on his seat.
It was said:
Then the Bhagavān taught the Dharma to the great assembly that was like an ocean. He inspired them, he filled them with joy, and he guided them. Then he rose from his seat and departed. And with the miraculous power of a buddha he emerged through Rājagṛha’s gate of the hot springs and proceeded toward Gṛdhrakūṭa, the king of mountains. When he arrived he went to the site created by Maitreya, and having arrived there he sat upon the great lion throne that Maitreya had manifested.641
He was encircled by the assembly of bhikṣus, and the saṅgha of bodhisattvas gazed upon him from the front. The devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, rishis, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, humans, and nonhumans paid homage to him. Within the ocean-like assembly, he taught the Dharma.
Then the youth Candraprabha arrived together with a hundred thousand quintillion beings, and many millions of bodhisattva mahāsattvas who had come from other worlds. They were holding flowers, incense, and garlands; playing musical instruments and percussion; holding parasols, banners, and divine flags; and holding great garlands as offerings.
In order to make this offering to the Bhagavān they left the great city of Rājagṛha through the gateway of peace,642 and went to Gṛdhrakūṭa, to the Bhagavān. They bowed down their heads to the Bhagavān’s feet, circumambulated him three times, made a great offering to him of flowers, incense, perfume, garlands, ointments, powders, clothes, food, parasols, banners, and flags, playing music and percussion, and then they sat down in one place. In order to ask about the Dharma they sat in that place with veneration and with respect while the youth Candraprabha, kneeling on his right knee, [F.55.b] with palms placed together, bowed toward the Bhagavān643 and said to him, “If the Bhagavān will give me an opportunity to seek answers to them, I have a few questions for the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha.”
The Bhagavān addressed the youth Candraprabha, saying, “Young man, the Bhagavān will always give you the opportunity. Ask whatever question you wish to the Tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha.”
The Bhagavān having given him this opportunity, the young man Candraprabha asked, “Bhagavān, it is through possessing what qualities that bodhisattva mahāsattvas attain the samādhi, the revealed equality of the nature of all phenomena?”
The Bhagavān replied to Candraprabha, “Young man, if bodhisattva mahāsattvas possess four qualities, they will attain the samādhi, the revealed equality of the nature of all phenomena.
“What are those four qualities? Young man, one is that bodhisattva mahāsattvas are calm, and pleasant company. They have self-restraint, and have attained a level of self-restraint such that when others abuse them or insult them, they will be patient with the abuse and the insults that are spoken, for it is their nature to have endurance; they have the view of karma, have overcome pride, and their desire is for the Dharma. Young man, if bodhisattva mahāsattvas have this first quality, they will attain this samādhi.644
“Another, young man, is that bodhisattva mahāsattvas have correct conduct. They have pure conduct, conduct that is not impaired, conduct that is free of faults, conduct that is unshakable, conduct that is unstained, conduct that has not declined, conduct that is unattached, [F.56.a] conduct that is inviolate, conduct that is beyond conceptualization, conduct that is praised by the āryas, and conduct that is praised by the wise. Young man, if bodhisattva mahāsattvas have these two qualities, they will attain this samādhi.645
“Another, young man, is that bodhisattva mahāsattvas are frightened of the three realms. They are terrified of them, saddened by them,646 do not value them, take no delight in them,647 and have no attachment or clinging to them.648 Because they are distressed by the three realms they are dedicated to the thought, ‘I shall deliver other beings from their suffering, to somewhere other than the three realms!’ and they thus proceed to the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood. Young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who have these three qualities will attain this samādhi.649
“Moreover, young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas have faith.650 They insatiably seek the Dharma. They listen to many teachings. They have confidence. They long for the Dharma. They are devoted to the Dharma. They are not devoted to obtaining material gain or honors. They are not devoted to attaining success through knowledge. They think first of what will benefit others, and they teach and explain extensively to others the Dharma that they have received. They have no desire for material gain through their reputation. They think, ‘If these beings can hear this Dharma then they will proceed irreversibly to the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood.’651 Young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who have these four qualities will attain this samādhi.
“Young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who have these four qualities will attain the samādhi, the revealed equality of the nature of all phenomena, and they will quickly attain the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood.
“Young man, the samādhi has been taught through this Dharma discourse by many buddhas, has been commended by many buddhas, [F.56.b] has been explained by many buddhas, and has been praised652 by many buddhas.
“Young man, I have entered homelessness in the presence of many buddha bhagavāns. I heard extensively from them this samādhi, the revealed equality of the nature of all phenomena. I obtained it, asked questions about it, preserved it, recited it to others, promoted it, meditated on it with unadulterated meditation, promulgated it,653 and made it widely known to others.”654
Thereupon the Bhagavān taught extensively in verse what he had previously said about the samādhi doorway taught by many buddhas.
Then the Bhagavān, through many verses, taught extensively to the youth Candraprabha the samādhi entranceway accomplished by many buddhas in the past.666
Chapter 18
The Entrustment of the Samādhi
The Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, “Young man, in that way know that there are four beneficial qualities possessed by bodhisattva mahāsattvas who obtain this samādhi, understand it, preserve it, recite it to others, promote it, proclaim it, chant it, and make it widely known to others.
“What are those four beneficial qualities? They will be unsurpassable in merit, they will be undefeatable by opponents, they will have unlimited wisdom, and they will have unending confidence of speech.
Young man, you should know719 that bodhisattva mahāsattvas [F.65.a] who obtain this samādhi, study it, keep it, read it out loud, disseminate it, teach it, chant it, and make it widely known to others will possess these four beneficial qualities.”
The Bhagavān then recited these verses:
Conclusion of the eighteenth chapter, “The Entrustment of the Samādhi.”
Chapter 19
The Teaching of the Inconceivable Dharma of the Buddha
The Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, “Young man, in that way bodhisattva mahāsattvas, having heard the inconceivable and measureless benefits of the qualities that come from the samādhi, the revealed equality of the nature of all phenomena, through wishing not to be fearful, wishing not to be terrified, and not to be gripped by terror, will become learned in the teaching of the inconceivable Dharma of the Buddha. Aspire to the inconceivable Dharma of the Buddha. Be wise in asking questions about the inconceivable Dharma of the Buddha. Be wise in seeking the inconceivable Dharma of the Buddha. Do not be fearful, do not be terrified, and do not be gripped by terror on hearing the inconceivable Dharma of the Buddha.” [F.67.b]
The youth Candraprabha placed his palms together, bowed toward the Bhagavān, and asked him, “Bhagavān, in this way how do bodhisattva mahāsattvas aspire to the inconceivable Dharma of the Buddha, become wise in asking questions about the inconceivable Dharma of the Buddha, become wise in seeking the inconceivable Dharma of the Buddha, and not be fearful, not be terrified, and not be gripped by terror on hearing the inconceivable Dharma of the Buddha?”
The Bhagavān replied to the youth Candraprabha, “Those bodhisattva mahāsattvas who listen to and hear this samādhi, the revealed equality of the nature of all phenomena, and obtain it, understand it, keep it, read it out loud, disseminate it, meditate on it with unadulterated meditation, promulgate it, and make it widely known to others, will become wise in the teaching of the inconceivable Dharma of the Buddha. They will aspire to the inconceivable Dharma of the Buddha, they will become wise in asking questions about the inconceivable Dharma of the Buddha, and will not be fearful, will not be terrified, and will not be gripped by terror on hearing the inconceivable Dharma of the Buddha.”732
“After the youth Candraprabha had been taught by the Bhagavān these words on accomplishing the benefits of the qualities that come from the samādhi, the revealed equality of the nature of all phenomena, he again heard from the Bhagavān countless, innumerable verses733 describing the benefits of the qualities that come from the samādhi, the revealed equality of the nature of all phenomena; and it was at that time that the youth Candraprabha attained this king of samādhis, the revealed equality of the nature of all phenomena.734
Innumerable, countless bodhisattva mahāsattvas attained the great, higher cognitions. [F.68.a] Countless beings also developed the motivation that is directed toward great compassion.
This universe of a thousand million worlds shook in six ways. It trembled, trembled strongly, and trembled intensely; it quivered, quivered strongly, and quivered intensely; it shook, shook strongly, and shook intensely; it shuddered, shuddered strongly, and shuddered intensely; it quaked, quaked strongly, and quaked intensely; the east sank and the west rose, the west sank and the east rose, the north sank and the south rose, the south sank and the north rose, the perimeter sank and the center rose, and the center sank and the perimeter rose. An immeasurable radiance shone in the universe. There fell a great rain of divine incense. Devas and their sons gathered in order to listen to the Dharma. High in the sky they heard the innumerable verses on the benefits of the qualities that come from the samādhi, the revealed equality of the nature of all phenomena. All the devas and their sons felt pleased, delighted, thrilled, joyous, happy, and glad, and they emitted cries of joy735 and laughter. They let fall a great rain of divine flowers of various kinds. They played many thousands of trillions of divine musical instruments. And they proclaimed the following words together as one voice:
“Aho!736 We have obtained something that is excellent to obtain. We have heard the innumerable verses on the benefits of the qualities from the Bhagavān. Bhagavān, just as the bodhisattva mahāsattva, the youth Candraprabha, attained this samādhi, the revealed equality of the nature of all phenomena, we also, Bhagavān, will all together at the same time attain this samādhi, the revealed equality of the nature of all phenomena.” [F.68.b]
At the time when the Bhagavān was teaching the Dharma on Vulture Peak Mountain to the assembly that was like an ocean, the gandharva737 Pañcaśikha, in order to honor and serve him, descended from the sky accompanied by the sound of five hundred musical instruments, and remained before the Bhagavān.
The gandharva Pañcaśikha thought, “Just as I738 render service and honor in Sudharma before the devas of Trāyastriṃśa and Śakra, the lord of the devas, by singing them songs, in that same way I shall sing in order to make an offering to the god of gods, the Tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha.”
Then the gandharva Pañcaśikha stood up before the Bhagavān holding a lute, the body of which was made of beryl. He was accompanied by the music739 of five hundred other gandharvas740 holding musical instruments.
The Bhagavān thought, “I shall perform a miracle so that the youth Candraprabha will attain skill in the realization of the inconceivable Dharma of the Buddha, so that he will not waver from the samādhi, the revealed equality of the nature of all phenomena, and so that I may manifest the gandharva Pañcaśikha’s skill in singing and playing the lute.”
Then the Bhagavān performed that miracle, and through the power of the Buddha the five hundred instruments were played excellently. From that excellent playing there came the sound of the inconceivable meaning, which was united741 with the true nature. And these verses of the realization of the inconceivable Dharma of the Buddha were sung:742
When these verses had been created through the sound of the lutes,752 the youth Candraprabha attained skill in the realization of the inconceivable Dharma of the Buddha; the gandharva Pañcaśikha attained the patience that was in accord with that sound; countless beings, both devas and humans, developed the aspiration to the highest, complete enlightenment; [F.70.a] and countless beings were benefitted.
Conclusion of the nineteenth chapter, “The Teaching of the Inconceivable Dharma of the Buddha.”
Chapter 20
Indraketudhvajarāja
Then the Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, “Young man, in that way bodhisattva mahāsattvas who wish for this Dharma teaching of entering great compassion and wish to attain the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood quickly should rely upon all roots of merit, training, qualities, and completely pure conduct.
“Bodhisattva mahāsattvas who have few involvements, avoid bad companions, rely on kalyāṇamitras, have an inquiring nature, unrelentingly seek the Dharma, have the Dharma as their goal, desire the Dharma, delight in the Dharma, obtain the Dharma, and practice the Dharma in accord with the Dharma will, young man, develop great compassion for beings and will develop the aspiration for the highest, complete enlightenment.
“Moreover, young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who wish for this Dharma teaching of entering great compassion and wish to attain the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood quickly should be diligent, without regard for life or body, and should continuously seek kalyāṇamitras who teach this Dharma teaching of entering great compassion, and unwaveringly serve them, rely upon them, and honor them.
“Young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who with a higher motivation seek kalyāṇamitras should hear from them the Dharma teaching of entering great compassion, and should obtain it, understand it, preserve it, recite it to others, promote it, proclaim it, chant it, meditate on it with unadulterated meditation, [F.70.b] promulgate it, and make it widely known to others. They should, with joy and veneration, perceive as the Teacher the person from whom they hear this Dharma teaching on entering great compassion.
“Young man, when bodhisattva mahāsattvas search for kalyāṇamitras, and respect them and serve them without weariness, at that time, young man, those bodhisattva mahāsattvas easily attain the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood and they obtain this Dharma teaching on easily entering great compassion.
“Young man, in that way bodhisattva mahāsattvas should constantly seek for kalyāṇamitras as if their head or clothing were on fire, and unwaveringly attend upon them, serve them, and venerate them.
“Why is that? Young man, for bodhisattva mahāsattvas the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood, not even to speak of this Dharma teaching on entering great compassion, depends upon kalyāṇamitras.
“Therefore, young man, you should always practice by thinking, ‘I will not weary of seeking kalyāṇamitras, venerating them, and serving them.’ ”
Thereupon the Bhagavān, in order to make clear this Dharma teaching on entering great compassion, gave the youth Candraprabha the teaching that had been given in the past in detail in the form of the following verses:753
Chapter 21
The Past
Then the Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, “Therefore, young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas should entertain no misgivings about all the teachings on the root of merits, the training, and the qualities.758 They should have few involvements, avoid bad companions, rely on kalyāṇamitras, have an inquiring nature, unrelentingly seek the Dharma, have the Dharma as their goal, desire the Dharma, delight in the Dharma, obtain the Dharma, and practice the Dharma in accord with the Dharma. They should perceive every buddha and bodhisattva as the teacher. They should with joy and veneration perceive as the teacher the person from whom they hear this Dharma teaching.
“Young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who adopt and follow this Dharma teaching of entertaining no misgivings about all the teachings on the root of merits, the training, and the qualities will quickly display unending confidence of speech. They will accomplish759 the inconceivable Dharma of the Buddha. They will realize the profound Dharma of the Buddha. They will be like a light that dispels the darkness of perplexity, uncertainty, and doubt of the people of the world and the devas.”
Then at that time, in order to relate this Dharma teaching of entertaining no misgivings about all the teachings on the root of merits, the training, and the qualities, he spoke to the youth Candraprabha these verses that told of the past.760
Conclusion of the twenty-first chapter, “The Past.”
Chapter 22
The Teaching on the Body
Then the Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, “Therefore, young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who wish for this samādhi, and wish to attain quickly the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood, should have no attachment to their life or body. Why is that? Because, young man, beings accomplish bad actions due to attachment to their lives and bodies.782
“Young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who have no attachment to their life and body will not even find it difficult to attain the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood, not to mention this samādhi. Therefore, young man, have no attachment to your life and body. That is how you should practice.”
It was said concerning this:
Chapter 23
The Teaching on the Tathāgata’s Body
Then the Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, “Therefore, young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who wish for this samādhi, and wish to attain quickly the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood, should not know the Tathāgata to be the rūpakāya.784 Why is that? It is because the Buddha Bhagavān manifests because of the dharmakāya and does not manifest because of the rūpakāya. [F.74.a]
“Young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas whose wish is to aspire to the body of the tathāgata, who wish to know the body of the tathāgata, should obtain this samādhi, understand it, preserve it, recite it to others, promote it, proclaim it, chant it, meditate on it with dedication to the practice of meditation, and make it widely known to others.
“Young man, the body of the tathāgata785 is taught to be one meaning,786 with the understanding that it arises from a hundred merits. It arises from the Dharma.787 It is without attributes. It is devoid of all attributes. It is profound.788 It is immeasurable. It is an immeasurable phenomenon.789 It has the nature of the absence of attributes.790 It is free of all attributes.791 It is unwavering.792 It has no location. It completely has the nature of space. It is invisible. It transcends the scope of the eye’s vision. That should be known as the dharmakāya.793
“It is inconceivable. It is beyond the level of thought. It is unaffected by bliss or suffering. It transcends all conceptual elaboration.794 It has no location,795 because it transcends the scope of the words of those who aspire to the wisdom of buddhahood. It is the quintessence796 because it transcends desire. It is indivisible because it transcends anger.797 It is stable because it transcends the scope of ignorance. It is taught through the teaching of emptiness. It is unborn because it transcends birth.798 It is ‘permanent’ in terms of words, and terminology is empty.799 It is undifferentiated because it is nirvāṇa.800 It is ‘nirvāṇa’801 because of a word. It is ‘peace’ because of speaking.802 There is equality in terms of conventional appellations.803 There are appellations in terms of ultimate truth. There is ultimate truth through correct speech.804
“It is calmness, the absence of anguish.805 It is groundless,806 and cannot be comprehended.807 There is no end to its description.808
“Young man, it arises from training in the great, higher cognitions, and it is known as the tathāgatakāya.”
Thereupon, the Bhagavān spoke these verses: [F.74.b]