Distinguishing Phenomena and What Is Meaningful

[F.42.b] Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was staying in the Jeta Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s park in Śrāvastī. He was there together with a great saṅgha of monks, as well as a great saṅgha of bodhisattvas.

At that time, the Blessed One recounted the following to the bodhisattva great being [F.43.a] Delighted by Victory:

“Noble son, at a past time countless, limitless, immeasurably many eons ago, there was a world called Flower Origin. It was abundantly prosperous and happy, had good crops, and was delightful. It was filled with many people, and was as even as the palm of a hand. Noble son, in the world Flower Origin dwelled the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Arisen from Flowers. He still abides there, alive and well, teaching the Dharma to the fourfold assembly, as well as to gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, demigods, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, humans, and non-humans.

“Noble son, in the world Flower Origin lived the ruler Attainment of Victory. He was a universal emperor, who had as his dominion the entire trichiliocosm. Noble son, under the king’s rule8 beings had found happiness and well-being, followed the path of the ten virtuous deeds, and were satisfied with their spouses. Everyone there had entered but a single vehicle: they had entered the Great Vehicle. They had entered the supreme vehicle. They had entered the main vehicle. They had entered the true vehicle. They had entered the foremost vehicle—the best, the finest, and the highest vehicle. The vehicle they had entered was higher than the highest: the unsurpassed vehicle. They had entered the unequaled vehicle. They had entered the matchless vehicle. They had entered the inconceivable vehicle. They had entered the unfathomable vehicle. [F.43.b] Noble son, under the rule of that king Attainment of Victory, vehicles other than the Great Vehicle were unheard of.

“Noble son, in his retinue of queens King Attainment of Victory had ninety-nine thousand wives, none of whom had entered any other vehicle. They all belonged solely to the Great Vehicle, longed for the Dharma day and night, and took delight in the Dharma. Noble son, that king’s primary wife Ratnaśrī, who was a beloved9 bodhisattva, followed the Buddha, the Dharma,10 and the Saṅgha. She belonged to the Great Vehicle, longed for the Dharma at all times, and found delight only in the joy of the Dharma.

“Noble son, once, while Ratnaśrī was seated upon a splendid lion throne, her son Ratnākara got down from her lap where he had been sitting in the cross-legged posture. He was adorned with divine ornaments, attired with divine fabrics, and his body was adorned with the excellent major and minor marks. As soon as he got down, the child asked his mother, ‘Mother, is the thus-gone Arisen from Flowers still alive?’

“The queen Ratnaśrī answered the young child:

“The prince Ratnākara then said to his parents, ‘Father and Mother, come here! We must go to the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Arisen from Flowers in order to behold him, to pay homage and make offerings, to serve him, and to receive Dharma teachings from him. If you wonder why we need to do so, Father and Mother, it is because the Thus-Gone One performs hardships in the world of gods and humans.

“King Attainment of Victory and Queen Ratnaśrī then brought their son and the retinue of queens and servants and went before that blessed one. They circumambulated that blessed one seven times and offered him extremely valuable pearl necklaces, after which they all sat down among the assembly. Noble son, the prince then rose up into the sky to the height of seven palm trees by means of his miraculous ability, and showered upon the blessed Arisen from Flowers a rain of jewels, flowers, and incense. He then proclaimed to that blessed one:

“The young prince praised that blessed one in this manner, then circumambulated him and sat before him.

“The Blessed One looked in all directions with his broad eyes, which resembled the petals of a lotus flower. Knowing the minds and mental states of the fourfold assembly, he said to King Attainment of Victory:

“ ‘Great King, although the five aggregates are insubstantial, childish ordinary beings think of them as being substantial. [F.44.b] Great King, the aggregates look awful; they smell terrible; they ooze pus and blood; they are like wood, clods of dirt, or roads; and they are insubstantial, inert, and interlinked with joy and sorrow. They are linked to each other by chains of craving, are full of affliction, and are vile. Still, ordinary beings think that such insubstantial things are substantial; they think that impermanent things are permanent, repulsive things are beautiful, unclean things are clean, and unreal things are real. Great King, the five aggregates are “painted” by one’s own karma. As an analogy, O Great King, there is no painter who paints the peacock’s five-colored tail, and neither is there any paint involved. Rather, it is painted by the peacock’s own karma. Great King, in the same way, childish ordinary beings arise from reciprocal conditions, painted by their own karma.’

“At this point the bodhisattva great being Invincible Lord11 stood up among the assembly, circumambulated the Blessed One, draped his shawl over one shoulder, knelt down on his right knee, and bowed with joined palms.

“He said to the Blessed One, ‘Blessed One, these aggregates do look awful and smell terrible; they ooze blood and pus; they are like wood, clods of dirt, walls, or roads; they are insubstantial and inert. Childish ordinary beings think that these things have substance, but these beings are like the mistaken, the blind, and the confused. They have fallen into bewilderment. They are completely enveloped in darkness, obscurity, and veils. They are lost in the dense thicket of all their wrong views. Blessed One, these four collections of the Dharma are all profound; they are like space. [F.45.a] Blessed One, will any beings ever come to understand correctly the statements that are spoken in discourses such as this?’

“The blessed Arisen from Flowers answered that bodhisattva great being, ‘Noble son, whenever bodhisattva great beings manifest, it will be in order to purify beings. They teach them the Dharma in accordance with their inclinations. They cut through the cravings of those who are tormented by craving. They clear away the suffering of those tormented by pain. Knowing all phenomena to be insubstantial and knowing them to be like space, they direct sentient beings to the nature of phenomena. Bodhisattvas are then known as purifiers of beings.’

“When that blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Arisen from Flowers had delivered this teaching concerning sentient beings, King Attainment of Victory cut off his hair and beard. His son, as well as Queen Ratnaśrī and the retinue of queens and servants, likewise all cut off their hair and they all took ordination with the Blessed One.

“The Blessed One now spoke to the assembly: ‘Noble children, look at the young prince. Noble children, this sublime being has produced roots of virtue in the company of ninety-nine trillion buddhas. On all of these occasions he has become a Dharma preacher. And this person here has always been the father of that sublime being. This sublime being has always ripened beings to unsurpassed and perfect awakening. Noble children, as soon as I pass into parinirvāṇa, the young prince Ratnākara will become a buddha. He will be seated in front of the tree of awakening, which will be bedecked with various precious stones. When he attains awakening, he will become a thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha. [F.45.b] He will be someone learned and virtuous, a blissful one, a knower of the world, a charioteer who guides beings, an unsurpassed being, a teacher of gods and humans, a blessed buddha known as Splendorous King of Shining Light. His world will be known as Painted with Many Jewels. He will have an immeasurable saṅgha of hearers. He will have a lifespan of ninety-six trillion eons. The appearance of his sacred Dharma will remain for seven million five hundred thousand years.’

“Noble son, at that time, when the prophecy concerning that bodhisattva great being was made, eighty-four thousand beings gained acceptance that phenomena are unborn. Noble son, should you wonder, question, or have doubts regarding the identity of the thus-gone one of that time, there is no need. Why so? Noble son, it is the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Amitābha who was known at that time as the thus-gone Arisen from Flowers and who taught the Dharma in that world. Noble son, should you wonder, question, or have doubts regarding the identity of the prince known as Ratnākara at that time, there is no need. Why so? Noble son, it is the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara who was at that time the son of King Attainment of Victory. That thus-gone one prophesied, ‘He will gain awakening from me.’ ”

The bodhisattva great being Delighted by Victory, who was among the retinue, now joined his palms and asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, will beings who have not produced roots of virtue ever even hear this Dharma teaching, [F.46.a] let alone commit it to writing, commission it to be written, retain it, recite it, or offer flowers, incense, and incense powder to it?”

The Blessed One replied to the bodhisattva great being Delighted by Victory, “Noble son, only those who have served as many buddhas as there are grains of sand in the Ganges River will come across this discourse. Noble son, those sentient beings who hear this Dharma teaching and do not doubt it will be reborn in the realm of Sukhāvatī after they die and pass from this world. Noble son, any place where this discourse is kept will become worthy of homage. Noble son, later, in the future, any woman who holds or reads aloud this Dharma teaching will exchange her female body and be reborn in the realm of Sukhāvatī. That will be her last birth as a female.12 She will, moreover, behold the thus-gone Amitābha at the moment of death.”

Once the Blessed One had spoken, the bodhisattva great being Delighted by Victory, the other bodhisattvas, the monks, and the rest of the assembly, along with the world with its gods, humans, demigods, and gandharvas, all rejoiced and praised what the Blessed One had said.