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 XIX.
SADÂPARIBHÛTA.
The Lord
then addressed the Bodhisattva Mahisattva Mahâsthâmaprâpta.
In a similar way, Mahâsthâmaprâpta, one may infer from what
has been said that he who rejects such a Dharmaparyâya as
this, who abuses monks, nuns, lay devotees male or female,
keeping this Sûtra, insults them, treats them with false
and harsh words, shall experience dire results, to such an
extent as is impossible to express in words. But those that
keep, read, comprehend, teach, amply expound it to others,
shall experience happy results, such as I have already
mentioned: they shall attain such a perfection of the eye,
ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind as just described.
In the days of yore, Mahâsthâmaprâpta, at a past period,
before incalculable Æons, nay, more than incalculable,
immense, inconceivable, and even long before, there
appeared in the world a Tathâgata, &c., named
Bhîshmagargitasvararâga, endowed with science and conduct,
a Sugata, &c. &c., in the Æon Vinirbhoga, in the
world Mahâsambhava. Now, Mahâsthâmaprâpta, that Lord
Bhîshmagargitasvararâga, the Tathâgata, &c., in that
world Vinirbhoga, showed the law in the presence of the
world, including gods, men, and demons; the law containing
the four noble truths and starting from the chain of causes
and efferts, tending to overcome birth, decrepitude,
sickness, death, sorrow, lamentation, woe, grief,
despondency, and finally leading to Nirvâna, he showed to
the disciples; the law connected with the six Perfections
of virtue and terminating in the knowledge of the
Omniscient, after the attainment of supreme, perfect
enlightenment, he showed to the Bodhisattvas. The lifetime
of that Lord Bhîshmagargitasvararâga, the Tathâgata,
&c., lasted forty hundred thousand myriads of kotis of
Æons equal to the sands of the river Ganges. After his
complete extinction his true law remained hundred thousands
of myriads of kotis of Æons equal to the atoms (contained)
in Gambudvîpa, and the counterfeit of the true law
continued hundred thousands of myriads of kotis of Æons
equal to the dust-atoms in the four continents. When the
counterfeit of the true law of the Lord
Bhîshmagargitasvararâga, the Tathâgata, &c., after his
complete extinction, had disappeared in the world
Mahâsambhava, Mahâsthâmaprâpta, another Tathâgata
Bhîshmagargitasvararâga, Arhat, &c., appeared, endowed
with science and conduct. So in succession,
Mahâsthâmaprâpta, there arose in that world Mahâsambhava
twenty hundred thousand myriads of kotis of Tathâgatas,
&c., called Bhîshmagargitasvararâga. At the time,
Mahâsthâmaprâpta, after the complete extinction of the
first Tathâgata amongst all those of the name of
Bhîshmagargitasvararâga, Tathâgata, &c., endowed with
science and conduct, &c. &c., when his true law had
disappeared and the counterfeit of the true law was fading;
when the reign (of the law) was being oppressed by proud
monks, there was a monk, a Bodhisattva Mahâsattva, called
Sadâparibhûta. For what reason, Mahâsthâmaprâpta, was that
Bodhisattva Mahâsattva called Sadâparibhûta? It was,
Mahâsthâmaprâpta, because that Bodhisattva Mahâsattva was
in the habit of exclaiming to every monk or nun, male or
female lay devotee, while approaching them: I do not
contemn you, worthies. You deserve no contempt, for you all
observe the course of duty of Bodhisattvas and are to
become Tath.âgatas, &c. In this way, Mahâsthâmaprâpta,
that Bodhisattva Mahâsattva, when a monk, did not teach nor
study; the only thing he did was, whenever he descried from
afar a monk or nun, a male or female lay devotee, to
approach them and exclaim: I do not contemn you, sisters.
You deserve no contempt, for you all observe the course of
duty of Bodhisattvas and are to become Tathâgatas, &c.
So, Mahâsthâmaprâpta, the Bodhisattva Mahâsattva at that
time used to address every monk or nun, male or female
devotee. But all were extremely irritated and angry at it,
showed him their displeasure, abused and insulted him: Why
does he, unasked, declare that he feels no contempt for us?
just by so doing he shows a contempt for us. He renders
himself contemptible by predicting our future destiny to
supreme, perfect enlightenment; we do not care for what is
not true. Many years, Mahâsthâmaprâpta, went on during
which that Bodhisattva Mahâsattva was being abused, but he
was not angry at anybody, nor felt malignity, and to those
who, when he addressed them in the said manner, cast a clod
or stick at him, he loudly exclaimed from afar: I do not
contemn you. Those monks and nuns, male and female lay
devotees, being always and ever addressed by him in that
phrase gave him the (nick)name of Sadâparibhûta.
Under those circumstances, Mahâsthâmaprâpta, the
Bodhisattva Mahâsattva Sadâparibhûta happened to hear this
Dharmaparyâya of the Lotus of the True Law when the end of
his life was impending, and the moment of dying drawing
near. It was the Lord Bhîshmagargitasvararâga, the
Tathâgata, &c., who expounded this Dharmaparyâya in
twenty times twenty hundred thousand myriads of kotis of
stanzas, which the Bodhisattva Mahâsattva Sadâparibhûta
heard from a voice in the sky, when the time of his death
was near at hand. On hearing that voice from the sky,
without there appearing a person speaking, he grasped this
Dharmaparyâya and obtained the perfections already
mentioned: the perfection of sight, hearing, smell, taste,
body, and mind. With the attainment of these perfections he
at the same time made a vow to prolong his life for twenty
hundred thousand myriads of kotis of years, and promulgated
this Dharmaparyâya of the Lotus of the True Law. And all
those proud beings, monks, nuns, male and female lay
devotees to whom he had said: I do not contemn you, and who
had given him the name of Sadâparibhûta, became all his
followers to hear the law, after they had seen the power
and strength of his sublime magic faculties, of his vow, of
his readiness of wit, of his wisdom. All those and many
hundred thousand myriads of kotis of other beings were by
him roused to supreme, perfect enlightenment.
Afterwards, Mahâsthamaprâpta, that Bodhisattva Mahâsattva
disappeared from that place and propitiated twenty hundred
kotis of Tathâgatas, &c., all bearing the same name of
Kandraprabhâsvararâga, under all of whom he promulgated
this Dharmaparyâya. By virtue of his previous root of
goodness he, in course of time, propitiated twenty hundred
thousand myriads of kotis of Tathâgatas, &c., all
bearing the name of Dundubhisvararâga, and under all he
obtained this very Dharmaparyâya of the Lotus of the True
Law and promulgated it to the four classes. By virtue of
his previous root of goodness he again, in course of time,
propitiated twenty hundred thousand myriads of kotis of
Tathâgatas, &c., all bearing the name of
Meghasvararâga, and under all he obtained this very
Dharmaparyâya of the Lotus of the True Law and promulgated
it to the four classes. And under all of them he was
possessed of the afore-mentioned perfectness of sight,
hearing, smell, taste, body, and mind.
Now, Mahâsthâmaprâpta, that Bodhisattva Mahâsattva
Sadâparibhûta, after having honoured, respected, esteemed,
worshipped, venerated, revered so many hundred thousand
myriads of kotis of Tathâgatas, and after having acted in
the same way towards many hundred thousand myriads of kotis
of other Buddhas, obtained under all of them this very
Dharmaparyâya of the Lotus of the True Law, and owing to
his former root of goodness having come to full
development, gained supreme, perfect enlightenment.
Perhaps, Mahâsthâmaprâpta, thou wilt have some doubt,
uncertainty, or misgiving, and think that he who at that
time, at that juncture was the Bodhisattva Mahâsattva
called Sadâparibhûta was one, and he who under the rule of
that Lord Bhishmagargitasvararâga, the Tathâgata, &c.,
was generally called Sadâparibhûta by the four classes, by
whom so many Tathâgatas were propitiated, was another. But
thou shouldst not think so. For it is myself who at that
time, at that juncture was the Bodhisattva Mahâsattva
Sadâparibhûta. Had I not formerly grasped and kept this
Dharmaparyâya, Mahâsthâmaprâpta, I should not so soon have
arrived at supreme, perfect enlightenment. It is because I
have kept, read, preached this Dharmaparyâya (derived) from
the teaching of the ancient Tathâgatas, &c.,
Mahâsthâmaprâpta, that I have so soon arrived at supreme,
perfect enlightenment. As to the hundreds of monks, nuns,
male and female lay devotees, Mahâsthâmaprâpta, to whom
under that Lord the Bodhisattva Mahâsattva Sadâparibhûta
promulgated this Dharmaparyâya by saying: I do not contemn
you; you all observe the course of duty of Bodhisattvas;
you are to become Tathâgatas, &c., and in whom awoke a
feeling of malignity towards that Bodhisattva, they in
twenty hundred thousand myriads of kotis of .Æons never saw
a Tathâgata, nor heard the call of the law, nor the call of
the assembly, and for ten thousand Æons they suffered
terrible pain in the great hell Avîki. Thereafter released
from the ban, they by the instrumentality of that
Bodhisattva Mahâsattva were all brought to full ripeness
for supreme, perfect enlightenment. Perhaps,
Mahâsthâmaprâpta, thou wilt have some doubt, uncertainty,
or misgiving as to who at that time, at that juncture were
the persons hooting and laughing at the Bodhisattva
Mahâsattva. They are, in this very assembly, the five
hundred Bodhisattvas headed by Bhadrapâla, the five hundred
nuns following Simhakandrâ, the five hundred lay devotees
following Sugataketanâ,who all of them have been rendered
inflexible in supreme, perfect enlightenment. So greatly
useful it is to keep and preach this Dharmaparyâya, as it
tends to result for Bodhisattvas Mahâsattvas in supreme,
perfect enlightenment. Hence, Mahâsthâmaprapta, the
Bodhisattvas Mahâsattvas should, after the complete
extinction of the Tathâgata, constantly keep, read, and
promulgate this Dharmaparyâya.
And on that occasion the Lord uttered the following
stanzas:
1. I remember a past period, when king Bhîshmasvara, the
Gina, lived, very mighty, and revered by gods and men, the
leader of men, gods, goblins, and giants.
2. At the time succeeding the complete extinction of that
Gina, when the decay of the true law was far advanced,
there was a monk, a Bodhisattva, called by the name of
Sadâparibhûta.
3. Other monks and nuns who did not believe but in what
they saw, he would approach (and say): I never am to
contemn you, for you observe the course leading to supreme
enlightenment.
4. It was his wont always to utter those words, which
brought him but abuse and taunts from their part. At the
time when his death was impending he heard this Sûtra.
5. The sage, then, did not expire; he resolved upon a very
long life, and promulgated this Sûtra under the rule of
that leader.
6. And those many (persons) who only acknowledged the
evidence of sensual perception were by him brought to full
ripeness for enlightenment. Then, disappearing from that
place, he propitiated thousands of kotis of Buddhas.
7. Owing to the successive good actions performed by him,
and to his constantly promulgating this Sûtra, that son of
Gina reached enlightenment. That Bodhisattva then is
myself, Sâkyamuni.
8. And those persons who only believed in perception by the
senses, those monks, nuns, male and female lay devotees who
by the sage were admonished of enlightenment,
9. And who have seen many kotis of Buddhas, are the monks
here before me,-no less than five hundred,-nuns, and female
lay devotees.
10. All of them have been by me brought to complete
ripeness, and after my extinction they will all, full of
wisdom, keep this Sûtra.
11. Not once in many, inconceivably many kotis of Æons has
such a Sûtra as this been heard. There are, indeed,
hundreds of kotis of Buddhas, but they do not elucidate
this Sûtra.
12. Therefore let one who has heard this law exposed by the
Self-born himself, and who has repeatedly propitiated him,
promulgate this Sûtra after my extinction in this world.
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