Ch.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27
CHAPTER X.
THE PREACHER.
The
Lord then addressed the eighty thousand Bodhisattvas
Mahasattvas by turning to Bhaishagyarâga as their
representative. Seest thou, Bhaishagyarâga, in this
assembly the many gods, Nâgas, goblins, Gandharvas,
demons, Garudas, Kinnaras, great serpents, men, and
beings not human, monks, nuns, male and female lay
devotees, votaries of the vehicle of disciples, votaries
of the vehicle of Pratyekabuddhas, and those of the
vehicle of Bodhisattvas, who have heard this
Dharmaparyâya from the mouth of the Tathâgata? 'I do,
Lord; I do, Sugata.' The Lord proceeded: Well,
Bhaishagyarâga, all those Bodhisattvas Mahâsattvas who in
this assembly have heard, were it but a single stanza, a
single verse (or word), or who even by a single rising
thought have joyfully accepted this Sûtra, to all of
them, Bhaishagyarâga, among the four classes of my
audience I predict their destiny to supreme and perfect
enlightenment. And all whosoever, Bhaishagyarâga, who,
after the complete extinction of the Tathâgata, shall
hear this Dharmaparyâya and after hearing, were it but a
single stanza, joyfully accept it, even with a single
rising thought, to those also, Bhaishagyarâga, be they
young men or young ladies of good family, I predict their
destiny to supreme and perfect enlightenment. Those young
men or ladies of good family, Bhaishagyarâga, shall be
worshippers of many hundred thousand myriads of kotis of
Buddhas. Those young men or ladies of good family,
Bhaishagyarâga, shall have made a vow under hundred
thousands of myriads of kotis of Buddhas. They must be
considered as being reborn amongst the people of
Gambudvîpa, out of compassion to all creatures. Those who
shall take, read, make known, recite, copy, and after
copying always keep in memory and from time to time
regard were it but a single stanza of this Dharmaparyâya;
who by that book shall feel veneration for the
Tathâgatas, treat them with the respect due to Masters,
honour, revere, worship them; who shall worship that book
with flowers, incense, perfumed garlands, ointment,
powder, clothes, umbrellas, flags, banners, music,
&c., and with acts of reverence such as bowing and
joining hands; in short, Bhaishagyarâga, any young men or
young ladies of good family who shall keep or joyfully
accept were it but a single stanza of this Dharmaparyâya,
to all of them, Bhaishagyarâga, I predict their being
destined to supreme and perfect enlightenment.
Should some man or woman, Bhaishagyarâga, happen to ask:
How now have those creatures to be who in future are to
become Tathâgatas, Arhats, &c.? then that man or
woman should be referred to the example of that young man
or young lady of good family. 'Whoever is able to keep,
recite, or teach, were it but a single stanza of four
lines, and whoever shows respect for this Dharmaparyâya,
that young man or young lady of good family shall in
future become' a Tathâgata, &c.; be persuaded of it.'
For, Bhaishagyarâga, such a young man or young lady of
good family must be considered to be a Tathâgata, and by
the whole world, including the gods, honour should be
done to such a Tathâgata who keeps were it but a single
stanza of this Dharmaparyâya, and far more, of course, to
one who grasps, keeps, comprehends, makes known, copies,
and after copying always retains in his memory this
Dharmaparyâya entirely and completely, and who honours
that book with flowers, incense, perfumed garlands,
ointment, powder, clothes, umbrellas, flags, banners,
music, joined hands, reverential bows and salutations.
Such a young man or young lady of good family,
Bhaishagyarâga, must be held to be accomplished in
supreme and perfect enlightenment; must be held to be the
like of a Tathâgata, who out of compassion and for the
benefit of the world, by virtue of a former vow, makes
his appearance here in Gambudvîpa, in order to make this
Dharmaparyâya generally known. Whosoever, after leaving
his own lofty conception of the law and the lofty
Buddha-field occupied by him, in order to make generally
known this Dharmaparyâya, after my complete Nirvâna, may
be deemed to have appeared in the predicament of a
Tathâgata, such a one, Bhaishagyarâga, be it a young man
or a young lady of good family, must be held to perform
the function of the Tathâgata, to be a deputy of the
Tathâgata. As such, Bhaishagyarâga, should be
acknowledged the young man or the young lady of good
family, who communicates this Dharmaparyâya, after the
complete Nirvâna of the Tathâgata, were it but in secret
or by stealth or to one single creature that he
communicated or told it.
Again, Bhaishagyarâga, if some creature vicious, wicked,
and cruel-minded should in the (current) Age speak
something injurious in the face of the Tathâgata, and if
some should utter a single harsh word, founded or
unfounded, to those irreproachable preachers of the law
and keepers of this Sûtrânta, whether lay devotees or
clergymen, I declare that the latter sin is the graver.
For, Bhaishagyarâga, such a young man or young lady of
good family must be held to be adorned with the apparel
of the Tathâgata. He carries the Tathâgata on his
shoulder, Bhaishagyarâga, who after having copied this
Dharmaparyâya and made a volume of it, carries it on his
shoulder. Such a one, wherever he goes, must be saluted
by all beings with joined hands, must be honoured,
respected, worshipped, venerated, revered by gods and men
with flowers, incense, perfumed garlands, ointment,
powder, clothes, umbrellas, flags, banners, musical
instruments, with food, soft and hard, with nourishment
and drink, with vehicles, with heaps of choice and
gorgeous jewels. That preacher of the law must be
honoured by heaps of gorgeous jewels being presented to
that preacher of the law. For it may be that by his
expounding this Dharmaparyâya, were it only once,
innumerable, incalculable beings who hear it shall soon
become accomplished in supreme and perfect enlightenment.
And on that occasion the Lord uttered the following
stanzas:
1. He who wishes to be established in Buddhahood and
aspires to the knowledge of the Self-born must honour
those who keep this doctrine.
2. And he who is desirous of omniscience and thinks: How
shall I soonest reach it? must try to know this Sûtra by
heart, or at least honour one who knows it.
3. He has been sent by the Lord of the world to convert
(or catechise) men, he who out of compassion for mankind
recites this Sûtra.
4. After giving up a good position, that great man has
come hither, he who out of compassion for mankind keeps
this Sûtra (in memory).
5. It is by force of his position, that in the last times
he is seen preaching this unsurpassed Sûtra.
6. That preacher of the law must be honoured with divine
and human flowers and all sorts of perfumes; be decked
with divine cloth and strewed with jewels.
7. One should always reverentially salute him with joined
hands, as if he were the Chief of Ginas or the Self-born,
he who in these most dreadful, last days keeps this Sûtra
of the Extinct (Buddha).
8. One should give food, hard and soft, nourishment and
drink, lodging in a convent, kotis of robes to honour the
son of Gina, when he has propounded, be it but once, this
Sûtra.
9. He performs the task of the Tathâgatas and has been
sent by me to the world of men, he who in the last days
shall copy, keep, or hear this Sûtra.
10. The man who in wickedness of heart or with frowning
brow should at any time of a whole Æon utter something
injurious in my presence, commits a great sin.
11. But one who reviles and abuses those guardians of
this Sûtrânta, when they are expounding this Sûtra, I say
that he commits a still greater sin.
12. The man who, striving for superior enlightenment,
shall in a complete Æon praise me in my face with joined
hands, with many myriads of kotis of stanzas,
13. Shall thence derive a great merit, since he has
glorified me in gladness of heart. But a still greater
merit shall he acquire who pronounces the praise of those
(preachers).
14. One who shall during eighteen thousand kotis of Æons
pay worship to those objects of veneration, with words,
visible things, flavours, with divine scents and divine
kinds of touch,
15. If such a one, by his paying that worship to the
objects of veneration during eighteen thousand kotis of
Æons, happens to hear this Sûtra, were it only once, he
shall obtain an amazingly great advantage.
I announce to thee, Bhaishagyarâga, I declare to thee,
that many are the Dharmaparyâyas which I have propounded,
am propounding, and shall propound. And among all those
Dharmaparyâyas, Bhaishagyarâga, it is this which is apt
to meet with no acceptance with everybody, to find no
belief with everybody. This, indeed, Bhaishagyarâga, is
the transcendent spiritual esoteric lore of the law,
preserved by the power of the Tathâgatas, but never
divulged; it is an article (of creed) not yet made known.
By the majority of people, Bhaishagyarâga, this
Dharmaparyâya is rejected during the lifetime of the
Tathâgata; in far higher degree such will be the case
after his complete extinction.
Nevertheless, Bhaishagyarâga, one has to consider those
young men or young ladies of good family to be invested
with the robes of the Tathâgata; to be regarded and
blessed by the Tathâgatas living in other worlds, that
they shall have the force of individual persuasion, the
force that is rooted in virtue, and the force of a pious
vow. They shall dwell apart in the convents of the
Tathâgata, Bhaishagyarâga, and shall have their heads
stroked by the hand of the Tathâgata, those young men and
young ladies of good family, who after the complete
extinction of the Tathâgata shall believe, read, write,
honour this Dharmaparyâya and recite it to others.
Again, Bhaishagyarâga, on any spot of the earth where
this Dharmaparyâya is expounded, preached, written,
studied, or recited in chorus, on that spot,
Bhaishagyarâga, one should build a Tathâgata-shrine,
magnificent, consisting of precious substances, high, and
spacious; but it is not necessary to depose in it relics
of the Tathâgata. For the body of the Tathâgata is, so to
say, collectively deposited there. Any spot of the earth
where this Dharmaparyâya is expounded or taught or
recited or rehearsed in chorus or written or kept in a
volume, must be honoured, respected, revered, worshipped
as if it were a Stûpa, with all sorts of flowers,
incense, perfumes, garlands, ointment, powder, clothes,
umbrellas, flags, banners, triumphal streamers, with all
kinds of song, music, dancing, musical instruments,
castanets, and shouts in chorus. And those,
Bhaishagyarâga, who approach a Tathâgata-shrine to salute
or see it, must be held to be near supreme and perfect
enlightenment. For, Bhaishagyarâga, there are many laymen
as well as priests who observe the course of a
Bodhisattva without, however, coming so far as to see,
hear, write or worship this Dharmaparyâya. So long as
they do not hear this Dharmaparyâya, they are not yet
proficient in the course of a Bodhisattva. But those who
hear this Dharmaparyâya and thereupon accept, penetrate,
understand, comprehend it, are at the time near supreme,
perfect enlightenment, so to say, immediately near it.
It is a case, Bhaishagyarâga, similar to that of a
certain man, who in need and in quest of water, in order
to get water, causes a well to be dug in an and tract of
land. So long as he sees that the sand being dug out is
dry and white, he thinks: the water is still far off.
After some time he sees that the sand being dug out is
moist, mixed with water, muddy, with trickling drops, and
that the working men who are engaged in digging the well
are bespattered with mire and mud. On seeing that
foretoken, Bhaishagyarâga, the man will be convinced and
certain that water is near. In the same manner,
Bhaishagyarâga, will these Bodhisattvas Mahâsattvas be
far away from supreme and perfect enlightenment so long
as they do not hear, nor catch, nor penetrate, nor
fathom, nor mind this Dharmaparyâya. But when the
Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas shall hear, catch, penetrate,
study, and mind this Dharmaparyâya, then, Bhaishagyarâga,
they will be, so to say, immediately near supreme,
perfect enlightenment. From this Dharmaparyâya,
Bhaishagyarâga, will accrue to creatures supreme and
perfect enlightenment. For this Dharmaparyâya contains an
explanation of the highest mystery, the secret article of
the law which the Tathâgatas, &c., have revealed for
the perfecting of the Bodhisattvas Mahâsattvas. Any
Bodhisattva, Bhaishagyarâga, who is startled, feels
anxiety, gets frightened at this Dharmaparyâya, may be
held, Bhaishagyarâga, to have (but) newly entered the
vehicle. If, however, a votary of the vehicle of the
disciples is startled, feels anxiety, gets frightened at
this Dharmaparyâya, such a person, devoted to the vehicle
of the disciples, Bhaishagyarâga, may be deemed a
conceited man.
Any Bodhisattva Mahâsattva, Bhaishagyarâga, who after the
complete extinction of the Tathâgata, in the last times,
the last period shall set forth this Dharmaparyâya to the
four classes of hearers, should do so, Bhaishagyariga,
after having entered the abode of the Tathâgata, after
having put on the robe of the Tathâgata, and occupied the
pulpit of the Tathâgata. And what is the abode of the
Tathâgata, Bhaishagyarâga? It is the abiding in charity
(or kindness) to all beings; that is the abode of the
Tathâgata, Bhaishagyarâga, which the young man of good
family has to enter. And what is the robe of the
Tathâgata, Bhaishagyarâga? It is the apparel of sublime
forbearance; that is the robe of the Tathâgata,
Bhaishagyarâga, which the young man of good family has to
put on. What is the pulpit of the Tathâgata,
Bhaishagyarâga? It is the entering into the voidness (or
complete abstraction) of all laws (or things); that is
the pulpit, Bhaishagyarâga, on which the young man of
good family has to sit in order to set forth this
Dharmaparyâya to the four classes of hearers. A
Bodhisattva ought to propound this Dharmaparyâya with
unshrinking mind, before the face of the congregated
Bodhisattvas, the four classes of hearers, who are
striving for the vehicle of Bodhisattvas, and I, staying
in another world, Bhaishagyarâga, will by means of
fictious creatures make the minds of the whole
congregation favourably disposed to that young man of
good family, and I will send fictious monks, nuns, male
and female lay devotees in order to hear the sermon of
the preacher, who are unable to gainsay or contradict
him. If afterwards he shall have retired to the forest, I
will send thither many gods, Nâgas, goblins, Gandharvas,
demons, Garudas, Kinnaras, and great serpents to hear him
preach, while I, staying in another world,
Bhaishagyarâga, will show my face to that young man of
good family, and the words and syllables of this
Dharmaparyâya which he happens to have forgotten will I
again suggest to him when he repeats his lesson.
And on that occasion the Lord uttered the following
stanzas:
16. Let one listen to this exalted Sûtra, avoiding all
distractedness; for rare is the occasion (given) for
hearing it, and rare also the belief in it.
17. It is a case similar to that of a certain man who in
want of water goes to dig a well in an arid tract of
land, and sees how again and again only dry sand is being
dug up.
18. On seeing which he thinks: the water is far off; a
token of its being far off is the dry white sand which
appears in digging.
19. But when he (afterwards) sees again and again the
sand moist and smooth, he gets the conviction that water
cannot be very far off.
20. So, too, are those men far from Buddha-knowledge who
have not heard this Sûtra and have failed to repeatedly
meditate on it.
21. But those who have heard and oft meditated on this
profound king amongst Sûtras, this authoritative book for
disciples,
22. Are wise and near Buddha-knowledge, even as from the
moisture of sand may be inferred that water is near.
23. After entering the abode of the Gina, putting on his
robe and sitting down on my seat, the preacher should,
undaunted, expound this Sûtra.
24. The strength of charity (or kindness) is my abode;
the apparel of forbearence is my robe; and voidness (or
complete abstraction) is my seat; let (the preacher) take
his stand on this and preach.
25. Where clods, sticks, pikes, or abusive words and
threats fall to the lot of the preacher, let him be
patient, thinking of me.
26. My body has existed entire in thousands of kotis of
regions; during a number of kotis of.Æons beyond
comprehension I teach the law to creatures.
27. To that courageous man who shall proclaim this Sûtra
after my complete extinction I will also send many
creations.
28. Monks, nuns, lay devotees, male and female, will
honour him as well as the classes of the audience.
29. And should there be some to attack him with clods,
sticks, injurious words, threats, taunts, then the
creations shall defend him.
30. And when he shall stay alone, engaged in study, in a
lonely place, in the forest or the hills,
31. Then will I show him my luminous body and enable him
to remember the lesson he forgot.
32. While he is living lonely in the wilderness, I will
send him gods and goblins in great number to keep him
company.
33. Such are the advantages he is to enjoy; whether he is
preaching to the four classes, or living, a solitary, in
mountain caverns and studying his lesson, he will see me.
34. His readiness of speech knows no impediment; he
understands the manifold requisites of exegesis; he
satisfies thousands of kotis of beings because he is, so
to say, inspired (or blessed) by the Buddha.
35. And the creatures who are entrusted to his care shall
very soon all become Bodhisattvas, and by cultivating his
intimacy they shall behold Buddhas as numerous as the
sands of the Ganges.