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 XXV.ANCIENT DEVOTION.
Thereupon
the Lord addressed the entire assemblage of Bodhisattvas:
Of yore, young men of good family, at a past epoch,
incalculable, more than incalculable Æons ago, at that
time there appeared in the world a Tathâgata named
Galadharagargitaghoshasusvaranakshatrarâgasankusumitâbhigña,
an Arhat, &c., endowed with science and conduct,
&c. &c., in the Æon Priyadarsana, in the world
Vairokanarasmipratimandita. Now, there was, young men of
good family, under the spiritual rule of the Tatbâgata
Galadharagargitaghoshasusvaranakshatrarâgasankusumitâbhigña
a king called Subhavyaha. That king Subhavyûha, young men
of good family, had a wife called Vimaladatta, and two
sons, one called Vimalagarbha, the other Vimalanetra.
These two boys, who possessed magical power and wisdom,
applied themselves to the course of duty of Bodhisattvas,
viz. to the perfect virtues (Pâramitâs) of alms-giving,
morality, forbearance, energy, meditation, wisdom, and
skilfulness; they were accomplished in benevolence,
compassion, joyful sympathy and indifference, and in all
the thirty-seven constituents of true knowledge. They had
perfectly mastered the meditation Vimala (i.e. spotless),
the meditation Nakshatraragâditya, the meditation
Vimalanirbhâsa, the meditation Vimalâbhasa, the
meditation Alankârasûra, the meditation Mahâtegogarbha.
Now at that time, that period the said Lord preached the
Dharmaparyâya of the Lotus of the True Law out of
compassion for the beings then living and for the king
Subhavyfiha. Then, young men of good family, the two
young princes Vimala,crarbha and Vimalanetra went to
their mother, to whom they said, after stretching their
joined hands: We should like to go, mother, to the Lord
Galadharagargitaghoshasusvaranakshatrarâgasankusumitâbhigña,
the Tathâgata, &c., and that, mother, because the
Lord
Galadharagargitaghoshasusvaranakshatrarâgasankusumitâbhigña,
the Tathagata, &c., expounds, in great extension,
before the world, including the gods, the Dharmaparvâya
of the Lotus of the True Law. We should like to hear it.
Whereupon the queen Vinialadattâ said to the two young
princes Vimalagarbha and Vimalanetra: Your father, young
gentlemen, the king Subhavyûha, favours the Brahmans.
Therefore you will not obtain the permission to go and
see the Tathâgata. Then the two young princes
Vimalagarbha and Vimalanetra, stretching their joined
hands, said to their mother: Though born in a family that
adheres, to a false doctrine, we feel as sons to the king
of the law. Then, young men of good family, the queen
Vimaladattâ said to the young princes: Well, young
gentlemen, out of compassion for your father, the king
Subhavyûha, display some miracle, that he may become
favourably inclined to you, and on that account grant you
the permission of going to the Lord
Galadharagargitaghoshasusvaranakshatrarâgasankusumitâbhigña,
the Tathâgata, &c.
Immediately the young princes Vimalagarbha and
Vimalanetra rose into the atmosphere to a height of seven
Tâl trees and performed miracles such as are allowed by
the Buddha, out of compassion for their father, the king,
Subhavyûha. They prepared in the sky a couch and raised
dust; there they also emitted from the lower part of
their body a shower of rain, and from the upper part a
mass of fire; then again they emitted from the upper part
of their body a shower of rain, and from the lower part a
mass of fire. While in the firmament they became now big,
then small; and now small, then big. Then they vanished
from the sky to come up again from the earth and reappear
in the air. Such, young men of good family, were the
miracles produced by the magical power of the two young
princes, whereby their father, the king Subhavyûha, was
converted. At the sight of the miracle produced by the
magical power of the two young princes, the king
Subhavyûha was content, in high spirits, ravished,
rejoiced, joyful, and happy, and, the joined hands
raised, he said to the boys: Who is your master, young
gentlemen? whose pupils are you? And the two young
princes answered the king Subhavyûha: There is, noble
king, there exists and lives a Lord
Galadharagargitaghoshasusvaranakshatrarâgasankusumitâbhigña,
a Tathagata, &c.; seated on the stool of law at the
foot of the tree of enlightenment; he extensively reveals
the Dharmaparyâya of the Lotus of the True Law to the
world, including the gods. That Lord is our Master, O
noble king; we are his pupils. Then, young gentlemen of
good family, the king Subhavyûha said to the young
princes: I will see your Master, young gentlemen; I am to
go myself to the presence of that Lord.
After the two young princes had descended from the sky,
young gentlemen, they went to their mother and with
joined hands stretched forward said to her: Mother, we
have converted our father to supreme and perfect
knowledge; we have performed the office of masters
towards him; therefore let us go now; we wish to enter
upon the ecclesiastical life in the face of the Lord. And
on that occasion, young men of good family, the young
princes Vimalagarbha and Vimalanetra addressed their
mother in the following two stanzas:
1. Allow us, O mother, to go forth from home and to
embrace the houseless life; ay, we will become ascetics,
for rare to be met with (or precious) is a Tathâgata.
2. As the blossom of the glomerated fig-tree, nay, more
rare is the Gina. Let us depart; we will renounce the
world; the favourable moment is precious (or not often to
be met with).
Vimaladattâ said:
Now I grant you leave; go, my children, I give my
consent. I myself will likewise renounce the world, for
rare to be met with (or precious) is a Tathâgata.
Having uttered these stanzas, young men of good family,
the two young princes said to their parents: Pray, father
and mother, you also go together with us to the Lord
Galadharagargitaghoshasusvaranakshatrarâgasankusumitâbhigña,
the Tathâgata, &c., in order to see, humbly salute
and wait upon him, and to hear the law. For, father and
mother, the appearance of a Buddha is rare to be met with
as the blossom of the glomerated fig-tree, as the
entering of the tortoise's neck into the hole of the yoke
formed by the great ocean. The appearance of Lords
Buddhas, father and mother, is rare. Hence, father and
mother, it is a happy lot we have been blessed with, to
have been born at the time of such a prophet. Therefore,
father and mother, give us leave; we would go and become
ascetics in presence of the Lord
Galadharagargitaghoshasusvaranakshatrarâgasankusumitâbhigña,
the Tathagata, &c., for the seeing of a Tathâgata is
something rare. Such a king of the law is rarely met
with; such a favourable occasion is rarely met with.
Now at that juncture, young men of good family, the
eighty-four thousand women of the harem of the king
Subhavyûha became worthy of being receptacles of this
Dharmaparyaya of the Lotus of the True Law. The young
prince Vimalanetra exercised himself in this
Dharmaparyâya, whereas the young prince Vimalagarbha for
many hundred thousand myriads of kotis of Æons practised
the meditation Sarvasattvapapagahana, with the object
that all beings should abandon all evils. And the mother
of the two young princes, the queen Vimaladattâ,
acknowledged the harmony between all Buddhas and all
topics treated by them. Then, young men of good family,
the king Subhavyûha, having been converted to the law of
the Tathâgata by the instrumentality of the two young
princes, having been initiated and brought to full
maturity in it, along with all his relations and retinue;
the queen Vimaladattâ with the whole crowd of women in
her suite, and the two young princes, the sons of the
king Subhavyûha, accompanied by forty-two thousand living
beings, along with the women of the harem and the
ministers, went all together and unanimously to the Lord
Galadharagargitaghoshasusvaranakshatrarâgasankusumitâbhigña,
the Tathâgatha, &c. On arriving at the place where
the Lord was, they humbly saluted his feet,
circumarnbulated him three times from left to right and
took their stand at some distance.
Then, young men of good family, the Lord
Galadharagargitaghoshasusvaranakshatrarâgasankusumitâbhigña,
the Tathâgata, &c., perceiving the king Subhavyu'ha,
who had arrived with his retinue, instructed, roused,
excited, and comforted him with a sermon. And the king
Subhavyûha, young men of good family, after he had been
well and duly instructed, roused, excited, and comforted
by the sermon of the Lord, was so content, glad,
ravished, joyful, rejoiced, and delighted, that he put
his diadem on the head of his younger brother and
established him in the government, whereafter he himself
with his sons, kinsmen, and retinue, as well as the queen
Vimaladatta and her numerous train of women, the two
young princes accompanied by forty-two thousand living
beings went all together and unanimously forth from home
to embrace the houseless life, prompted as they were by
their faith in the preaching of the Lord
Galadharagargitaghoshasusvaranakshatrarâgasankusumitâbhigña,
the Tathâgata, &c. Having become an ascetic, the king
Subhavyûha, with his retinue, remained for eighty-four
thousand years applying himself to studying, meditating,
and thoroughly penetrating this Dharmaparyâya of the
Lotus of the True Law. At the end of those eighty four
thousand years, young men of good family, the king
Subhavyûha acquired the meditation termed
Sarvagunâlankâravyûha. No sooner had he acquired that
meditation, than he rose seven Tâls up to the sky, and
while staying in the air, young men of good family, the
king Subhavyûha said to the Lord
Galadharagargitaghoshasusvaranakshatrarâgasankusumitâbhigña,
the Tathagata, &c.: My two sons, O Lord, are my
masters, since it is owing to the miracle produced by
their magical power that I have been diverted from that
great heap of false doctrines, been established in the
command of the Lord, brought to full ripeness in it,
introduced to it, and exhorted to see the Lord. They have
acted as true friends to me, O Lord, those two young
princes who as sons were born in my house, certainly to
remind me of my former roots of goodness.
At these words the Lord
Galadharagargitaghoshasusvaranakshatrarâgasankusumitâbhigña,
the Tathâgata, &c., spoke to the king Subhavyûha: It
is as thou sayest, noble king. Indeed, noble king, such
young men or young ladies of good family as possess roots
of goodness, will in any existence, state, descent,
rebirth or place I easily find true friends, who with
them shall perform the task of a master , who shall
admonish, introduce, fully prepare them to obtain supreme
and perfect enlightenment. It is an exalted position,
noble king, the office of a true friend who rouses
(another) to see the Tathâgata. Dost thou see these two
young princes, noble king? I do, Lord; I do, Sugata, said
the king. The Lord proceeded: Now, these two young
gentlemen, noble king, will pay worship to sixty-five
(times the number of) Tathâgatas, &c., equal to the
sands of the Ganges; they will keep this Dharmaparyâya of
the Lotus of the True Law, out of compassion for beings
who hold false doctrines, and with the aim to produce in
those beings an earnest striving after the right
doctrine.
Thereupon, young men of good family, the king Subhavyûha
came down from the sky, and, having raised his joined
hands, said to the Lord
Galadharagargitaghoshasusvaranakshatrarâgasankusumitâbhigña,
the Tathâgata, &c.: Please, Lord, deign to tell me,
what knowledge the Tathagata is possessed of, so that the
protuberance on his head is shining; that the Lord's eyes
are so clear; that between his brows the Ûrnâ (circle of
hair) is shining, resembling in whiteness the moon; that
in his mouth a row of equal and close-standing teeth is
glittering; that the Lord has lips red as the Bimba and
such beautiful eyes.
As the king Subhavyûha, young men of good family, had
celebrated the Lord
Galadharagargitaghoshasusvaranakshatrarâgasankusumitâbhigña,
the Tathagata, &c., by enumerating so manygood
qualities and hundred thousands of myriads of kotis of
other good qualities besides, he said to the Lord
Galadharagargitaghoshasusvaranakshatrarâgasankusumitâbhigña,
the Tathâgata, &c.: It is wonderful, O Lord, how
valuable the Tathâgata's teaching is, and with how many
inconceivable virtues the religious discipline proclaimed
by the Tathagata is attended; how beneficial the moral
precepts proclaimed by the Tathdgata are. From
henceforward, O Lord, we will no more be slaves to our
own mind; no more be slaves to false doctrine; no more
slaves to rashness; no more slaves to the sinful thoughts
arising in us. Being possessed of so many good qualities,
O Lord, I do not wish to go away from the presence of the
Lord.
After humbly saluting the feet of the Lord
Galadharagargitaghoshasusvaranakshatrarâgasankusumitâbhigña,
the Tathâgata, &c., the king rose up to the sky and
there stood. Thereupon the king Subhavyûha and the queen
Vimaladattâ from the sky, threw a pearl necklace worth a
hundred thousand (gold pieces) upon the Lord; and that
pearl necklace no sooner came down upon the head of the
Lord than it assumed the shape of a tower with four
columns, regular, well-constructed, and beautiful. On the
summit of the tower appeared a couch covered with many
hundred thousand pieces of fine cloth, and on the couch
was seen the image of a Tathâgata sitting cross-legged.
Then the following thought presented itself to the
kingsubbavyûha: The Buddha- knowledge must be very
powerful, and the Tathagata endowed with inconceivable
good qualities that this Tath âgataimage shows itself on
the summit of the tower, (an image) so nice, beautiful,
possessed of an extreme abundance of good colours. Then
the Lord
Galadharagargitaghoshasusvaranakshatrarâgasankusumitâbhigña,
the Tathagata, &c., addressed the four classes (and
asked): Do you see, monks, the king Subliavyûha who,
standing in the sky, is emitting a lion's roar? They
answered: We do, Lord. The Lord proceeded: This king
Subhavyûha, monks, after having become a monk under my
rule shall become a Tathagata in the world, by the name
of Sâlendrarâga, endowed with science and conduct,
&c. &c., in the world Vistîritavati; his epoch
shall be called AbhyudgatarAga. That Tathâgata
Sâlendrarâga, monks, the Arhat, &c., shall have an
immense congregation of Bodhisattvas, an immense
congregation of disciples. The said world Vistîrnavatî
shall be level as the palm of the hand, and consist of
lapis lazuli. So he shall be an inconceivably great
Tathâgata, &c. Perhaps, young men of good family, you
will have some doubt, uncertainty or misgiving (and
think) that the king Subhavyûha at that time, that
juncture was another. But you must not think so;for it is
the very same Bodhisattva Mahâsattva Padmasrî here
present, who at that time, that juncture was the king
Subhavyûha. Perhaps, young men of good family, you will
have some doubt, uncertainty or misgiving (and think)
that the queen Vimaladattâ at that time, that juncture
was another. But you must not think so; for it is the
very same Bodhisattva Mahâsattva called
Vairokanarasmipratimanditarâga, who at that time, that
juncture was the queen Vimaladatta, and who out of
compassion for the king Subhavyûha and the creatures had
assumed the state of being the wife of king Subhavyûha.
Perhaps, young men of good family, you will have some
doubt, uncertainty or misgiving (and think) that the two
young princes were others. But you must not think so; for
it was Bhaishagyarâga and Bhaishagyarâgasamudgata, who at
that time, that juncture were sons to the king
Subhavyûha. With such inconceivable qualities, young men
of good family, were the Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas
Bhaishagyarâga and Bhaishagyarâgasamudgata endowed, they,
the two good men, having planted good roots under many
hundred thousand myriads of kotis of Buddhas. Those that
shall cherish the name of these two good men shall all
become worthy of receiving homage from the world,
including the gods.
While this chapter on Ancient Devotion was being
expounded, the spiritual insight of eighty-four thousand
living beings in respect to the law was purified so as to
become unclouded and spotless.