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.