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 XV.
DURATION OF LIFE OF THE TATHÂGATA.
Thereupon
the Lord addressed the entire host of Bodhisattvas: Trust
me, young men of good family, believe in the Tathâgata
speaking a veracious word. A second time the Lord
addressed the Bodhisattvas: Trust me, young gentlemen of
good family, believe in the Tathâgata speaking a
veracious word. A third and last time the Lord addressed
the Bodhisattvas: Trust me, young men of good family,
believe in the Tathâgata speaking a veracious word. Then
the entire host of Bodhisattvas with Maitreya, the
Bodhisattva Mahasattva at their head, stretched out the
joined hands and said to the Lord: Expound this matter, O
Lord; expound it, O Sugata; we will believe in the word
of the Tathâgata. A second time the entire host, &c.
&c. A third time the entire host, &c. &c.
The Lord, considering that the Bodhisattvas repeated
their prayer up to three times, addressed them thus:
Listen then, young men of good family. The force of a
strong resolve which I assumed is such, young men of good
family, that this world, including gods, men, and demons,
acknowledges: Now has the Lord Sakyamuni, after going out
from the home of the Sakyas, arrived at supreme, perfect
enlightenment, on the summit of the terrace of
enlightenment at the town of Gaya. But, young men of good
family, the truth is that many hundred thousand myriads
of kotis of Æons ago I have arrived at supreme, perfect
enlightenment. By way of example, young men of good
family, let there be the atoms of earth of fifty hundred
thousand myriads of kotis of worlds; let there exist some
man who takes one of those atoms of dust and then goes in
an eastern direction fifty hundred thousand myriads of
kotis of worlds further on, there to deposit that atom of
dust; let in this manner the man carry away from all
those worlds the whole mass of earth, and in the same
manner, and by the same act as supposed, deposit all
those atoms in an eastern direction. Now, would you
think, young men of good family, that any one should be
able to imagine, weigh, count, or determine (the number
of) those worlds? The Lord having thus spoken, the
Bodhisattva Mahasattva Maitreya and the entire host of
Bodhisattvas replied: They are incalculable, O Lord,
those worlds, countless, beyond the range of thought. Not
even all the disciples and Pratyekabuddhas, O Lord, with
their Ârya-knowledge, will be able to imagine, weigh,
count, or determine them. For us also, O Lord, who are
Bodhisattvas standing on the place from whence there is
no turning back, this point lies beyond the sphere of our
comprehension; so innumerable, O Lord, are those worlds.
This said, the Lord spoke to those Bodhisattvas
Mahâsattvas as follows: I announce to you, young men of
good family, I declare to you: However numerous be those
worlds where that man deposits those atoms of dust and
where he does not, there are not, young men of good
family, in all those hundred thousands of myriads of
kolis of worlds so many dust atoms as there are hundred
thousands of myriads of kotis of Æons since I have
arrived at supreme, perfect enlightenment. From the
moment, young men of good family, when I began preaching
the law to creatures in this Saha-world and in hundred
thousands of myriads of kotis of other worlds, and (when)
the other Tathâgatas, Arhats, &c., such as the
Tathâgata Dîpankara and the rest whom I have mentioned in
the lapse of time (preached), (from that moment) have I,
young men of good family, for the complete Nirvâna of
those Tathâgatas, &c., created all that with the
express view to skilfully preach the law. Again, young
men of good family, the Tathâgata, considering the
different degrees of faculty and strength of succeeding
generations, reveals at each (generation) his own name,
reveals a state in which Nirvâna has not yet been
reached, and in different ways he satisfies the wants of
(different) creatures through various Dharmaparyâyas .
This being the case, young men of good family, the
Tathâgata declares to the creatures, whose dispositions
are so various and who possess so few roots of goodness,
so many evil propensities: I am young of age, monks;
having left my father's home, monks, I have lately
arrived at supreme, perfect enlightenment. When, however,
the Tathâgata, who so long ago arrived at perfect
enlightenment, declares himself to have but lately
arrived at perfect enlightenment, he does so in order to
lead creatures to full ripeness and make them go in.
Therefore have these Dharmaparyâyas been revealed; and it
is for the education of creatures, young men of good
family, that the Tathâgata has revealed all
Dharmaparyâyas. And, young men of good family, the word
that the Tathâgata delivers on behalf of the education of
creatures, either under his own appearance or under
another's, either on his own authority or under the mask
of another, all that the Tathâgata declares, all those
Dharmaparyâyas spoken by the Tathâgata are true. There
can be no question of untruth from the part of the
Tathâgata in this respect. For the Tathâgata sees the
triple world as it really is: it is not born, it dies
not; it is not conceived, it springs not into existence;
it moves not in a whirl, it becomes not extinct; it is
not real, nor unreal; it is not existing, nor
non-existing; it is not such, nor otherwise, nor false.
The Tathâgata sees the triple world, not as the ignorant,
common people, he seeing things always present to him;
indeed, to the Tathâgata, in his position, no laws are
concealed. In that respect any word that the Tathâgata
speaks is true, not false. But in order to produce the
roots of goodness in the creatures, who follow different
pursuits and behave according to different notions, he
reveals various Dharmaparyâyas with various fundamental
principles. The Tathâgata then, young men of good family,
does what he has to do. The Tathâgata who so long ago was
perfectly enlightened is unlimited in the duration of his
life, he is everlasting. Without being extinct, the
Tathâgata makes a show of extinction, on behalf of those
who have to be educated. And even now, young gentlemen of
good family, I have not accomplished my ancient
Bodhisattvacourse, and the measure of my lifetime is not
full. Nay, young men of good family, I shall yet have
twice as many hundred thousand myriads of kotis of Æons
before the measure of my lifetime be full. I announce
final extinction, young men of good family, though myself
I do not become finally extinct. For in this way, young
men of good family, I bring (all) creatures to maturity,
lest creatures in whom goodness is not firmly rooted, who
are unholy, miserable, eager of sensual pleasures, blind
and obscured by the film of wrong views, should, by too
often seeing me, take to thinking: 'The Tathâgata is
staying' and fancy that all is a child's play; (lest
they) by thinking 'we are near that Tathâgata' should
fail to exert themselves in order to escape the triple
world and not conceive how precious the Tathâgata is.
Hence, young men of good family, the Tathdgata skilfully
utters. these words: The apparition of the Tathâgatas,
monks, is precious (and rare). For in the course of many
hundred thousand myriads of kotis of Æons creatures may
happen to see a Tathâgata or not to see him,. Therefore
and upon that ground, young men of good family, I say:
The apparition of the Tathâgatas, monks, is precious (and
rare). By being more and more convinced of the apparition
of the Tathâgatas being precious (or rare) they will feel
surprised and sorry, and whilst not seeing the Tathâgata
they will get a longing to see him. The good roots
developing from their earnest thought relating to the
Tathâgata will lastingly tend to their weal, benefit, and
happiness; in consideration of which the Tathâgata
announces final extinction, though he himself does not
become finally extinct, on behalf of the creatures who
have to be educated. Such, young men of good family, is
the Tathâgata's manner of teaching; when the Tathâgata
speaks in this way, there is from his part no falsehood.
Let us suppose an analogous case, young men of good
family. There is some physician, learned, intelligent,
prudent, clever in allaying all sorts of diseases. That
man has many sons, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, or
a hundred. The physician once being abroad, all his
children incur a disease from poison or venom. Overcome
with the grievous pains caused by that poison or venom
which burns them they lie rolling on the ground. Their
father, the physician, comes home from his journey at the
time when his sons are suffering from that poison or
venom. Some of them have perverted notions, others have
right notions, but all suffer the same pain. On seeing
their father they cheerfully greet him and say: Hail,
dear father, that thou art come back in safety and
welfare! Now deliver us from our evil, be it poison or
venom; let us live, dear father. And the physician,
seeing his sons befallen with disease, overcome with pain
and rolling on the ground, prepares a great remedy,
having the required colour, smell, and taste, pounds it
on a stone and gives it as a potion to his sons, with
these words: Take this great remedy, my sons, which has
the required colour, smell, and taste. For by taking this
great remedy, my sons, you shall soon be rid of this
poison or venom; you shall recover and be healthy. Those
amongst the children of the physician that have right
notions, after seeing the colour of the remedy, after
smelling the smell and tasting the flavour, quickly take
it, and in consequence of it are soon totally delivered
from their disease. But the sons who have perverted
notions cheerfully greet their father and say: Hail, dear
father, that thou art come back in safety and welfare; do
heal us. So they speak, but they do not take the remedy
offered, and that because, owing to the perverseness of
their notions, that remedy does not please them, in
colour, smell, nor taste. Then the physician reflects
thus: These sons of mine must have become perverted in
their notions owing to this poison or venom, as they do
not take the remedy nor hail me. Therefore will I by some
able device induce these sons to take this remedy.
Prompted by this desire he speaks to those sons as
follows: I am old, young men of good family, decrepit,
advanced in years, and my term of life is near at hand;
but be not sorry, young men of good family, do not feel
dejected; here have I prepared a great remedy for you; if
you want it, you may take it. Having thus admonished
them, he skilfully betakes himself to another part of the
country and lets his sick sons know that he has departed
life. They are extremely sorry and bewail him extremely:
So then he is dead, our father and protector; he who
begat us; he, so full of bounty! now are we left without
a protector. Fully aware of their being orphans and of
having no refuge, they are continually plunged in sorrow,
by which their perverted notions make room for right
notions. They acknowledge that remedy possessed of the
required colour, smell, and taste to have the required
colour, smell, and taste, so that they instantly take it,
and by taking it are delivered from their evil. Then, on
knowing that these sons are delivered from evil, the
physician shows himself again. Now, young men of good
family, what is your opinion? Would any one charge that
physician with falsehood on account of his using that
device? No, certainly not, Lord; certainly not, Sugata.
He proceeded: In the same manner, young men of good
family, I have arrived at supreme, perfect enlightenment
since an immense, incalculable number of hundred
thousands of myriads of kotis of Æons, but from time to
time I display such able devices to the creatures, with
the view of educating them, without there being in that
respect any falsehood on my part.
In order to set forth this subject more extensively the
Lord on that occasion uttered the following stanzas:
1. An inconceivable number of thousands of kotis of Æons,
never to be measured, is it since I reached superior (or
first) enlightenment and never ceased to teach the law.
2. I roused many Bodhisattvas and established them in
Buddha-knowledge. I brought myriads of kotis of beings,
endless, to full ripeness in many kotis of Æons.
3. I show the place of extinction, I reveal to (all)
beings a device to educate them, albeit I do not become
extinct at the time, and in this very place continue
preaching the law.
4. There I rule myself as well as all beings, I. But men
of perverted minds, in their delusion, do not see me
standing there.
5. In the opinion that my body is completely extinct,
they pay worship, in many ways, to the relics, but me
they see not. They feel (however) a certain aspiration by
which their mind becomes right.
6. When such upright (or pious), mild, and gentle
creatures leave off their bodies, then I assemble the
crowd of disciples and show myself here on the
Gridhrakûta.
7. And then I speak thus to them, in this very place: I
was not completely extinct at that time; it was but a
device of mine, monks; repeatedly am I born in the world
of the living.
8. Honoured by other beings, I show them my superior
enlightenment, but you would not obey my word, unless the
Lord of the world enter Nirvâna.
9. I see how the creatures are afflicted, but I do not
show them my proper being. Let them first have an
aspiration to see me; then I will reveal to them the true
law.
10. Such has always been my firm resolve during an
inconceivable number of thousands of kotis of Æons, and I
have not left this Gridhrakûta for other abodes.
11. And when creatures behold this world and imagine that
it is burning, even then my Buddhafield is teeming with
gods and men.
12. They dispose of manifold amusements, kotis of
pleasure gardens, palaces, and aerial cars; (this field)
is embellished by hills of gems and by trees abounding
with blossoms and fruits.
13. And aloft gods are striking musical instruments and
pouring a rain of Mandâras by which they are covering me,
the disciples and other sages who are striving after
enlightenment.
14. So is my field here, everlasti.ngly; but others fancy
that it is burning; in their view this world is most
terrific, wretched, replete with number of woes.
15. Ay, many kotis of years they may pass without ever
having mentioned my name, the law, or my congregation.
That is the fruit of sinful deeds.
16. But when mild and gentle beings are born in this
world of men, they immediately see me revealing the law,
owing to their good works.
17. I never speak to them of the infinitude of my action.
Therefore, I am, properly, existing since long, and yet
declare: The Ginas are rare (or precious).
18. Such is the glorious power of my wisdom that knows no
limit, and the duration of my life is as long as an
endless period; I have acquired it after previously
following a due course.
19. Feel no doubt concerning it, O sages, and leave off
all uncertainty: the word I here pronounce is really
true; my word is never false.
20. For even as that physician skilled in devices, for
the sake of his sons whose notions were perverted, said
that he had died although he was still alive, and even as
no sensible man, would charge that physician with
falsehood;
21. So am I the father of the world, the Self born, the
Healer, the Protector of all creatures. Knowing them to
be perverted, infatuated, and ignorant I teach final
rest, myself not being at rest.
22. What reason should I have to continually manifest
myself? When men become unbelieving, unwise, ignorant,
careless, fond of sensual pleasures, and from
thoughtlessness run into misfortune,
23. Then I, who know the course of the world, declare: I
am so and so, (and consider): How can I incline them to
enlightenment? how can they become partakers of the
Buddha-laws?
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