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 XXVI.
ENCOURAGEMENT OF SAMANTABHADRA.
Thereupon
the Bodhisattva Mahâsattva Samantabhadra, in the east,
surrounded and followed by Bodhisattvas Mahâsattvas
surpassing all calculation, amid the stirring of fields, a
rain of lotuses, the playing of hundred thousands of
myriads of kotis of musical instruments, proceeded with the
great pomp of a Bodhisattva, the great display of
transformations proper to a Bodhisattva, the great
magnificence of a Bodhisattva, the great power of a
Bodhisattva, the great lustre of a glorious Bodhisattva,
the great stately march of a Bodhisattva, the great
miraculous display of a Bodhisattva, a great
phantasmagorical sight of gods, Nâgas, goblins, Gandharvas,
demons, Garudas, Kinnaras, great serpents, men, and beings
not human, who, produced by his magic, surrounded and
followed him; Samantabhadra, then, the Bodhisattva, amid
such inconceivable miracles worked by magic, arrived at
this Saha-world. He went up to the place of the Lord on the
Gridhrakûta, the king of mountains, and on approaching he
humbly saluted the Lord's feet, made seven
circumambulations from left to right, and said to the Lord:
I have come hither, O Lord, from the field of the Lord
Ratnategobhyudgata, the Tathâgata, &c., as I am aware,
Lord, that here in the Saha-world is taught the
Dharmaparyâya of the Lotus of the True Law, to hear which
from the mouth of the Lord Sâkyamuni I have come
accompanied by these hundred thousands of Bodhisattvas
Mahâsattvas. May the Lord deign to expound, in extension,
this Dharmaparyâya of the Lotus of the True Law to these
Bodhisattvas Mahâsattvas. So addressed, the Lord said to
the Bodhisattva Mahâsattva Samantabhadra: These
Bodhisattvas, young man of good family, are, indeed, quick
of understanding, but this is the Dharmaparyâya of the
Lotus of the True Law, that is to say, an unmixed truth.
The Bodhisattvas exclaimed: Indeed Lord; indeed, Sugata.
Then in order to confirm, in the Dharmaparyâya of the Lotus
of the True Law, the females among the monks, nuns, and lay
devotees assembled at the gathering, the Lord again spoke
to the Bodhisattva Mahâsattva Samantabhadra: This
Dharmaparyâya of the Lotus of the True Law, young man of
good family, shall be entrusted to a female if she be
possessed of four requisites, to wit: she shall stand under
the superintendence of the Lords Buddhas; she shall have
planted good roots; she shall keep steadily to the mass of
disciplinary regulations; she shall, in order to save
creatures, have the thoughts fixed on supreme and perfect
enlightenment. These are the four requisites, young man of
good family, a female must be possessed of, to whom this
Dharmaparyâya of the Lotus of the True Law is to be
entrusted.
Then the Bodhisattva Mahâsattva Samantabhadra said to the
Lord: At the end of time, at the end of the period, in the
second half of the millennium, I will protect the monks who
keep this Satrânta; I will take care of their safety, avert
blows [or punishment], and destroy poison, so that no one
laying snares for those preachers may surprise them,
neither Mâra the Evil One, nor the sons of Mâra, the angels
called Mârakâyikas, the daughters of Mâra, the followers of
Mâra, and all other servitors to Mâra; that no gods,
goblins, ghosts, imps, wizards, spectres laying snares for
those preachers may surprise them. Incessantly and
constantly, O Lord, will I protect such a preacher. And
when a preacher who applies himself to this Dharmaparyâya
shall take a walk, then, O Lord, will I mount a white
elephant with six tusks, and with a train of Bodhisattvas
betake myself to the place where that preacher is walking,
in order to protect this Dharmaparyâya. And when that
preacher, applying himself to this Dharmaparyâya, forgets,
be it but a single word or syllable, then will I mount the
white elephant with six tusks, show my face to that
preacher, and repeat this entire Dharmaparyâya. And when
the preacher has seen my proper body and heard from me this
entire Dharmaparyâya, he, content, in high spirits,
ravished, rejoiced, joyful, and delighted, will the more do
his utmost to study this Dharmaparyâya, and immediately
after beholding me he will acquire meditation and obtain
spells, termed the talisman of preservation, the talisman
of hundred thousand kotis, and the talisman of skill in all
sounds.
Again, Lord, the monks, nuns, male or female lay devotees,
who at the end of time, at the end of the period, in the
second half of the millennium, shall study this
Dharmaparyâya, when walking for three weeks, (or)
twenty-one days, to them will I show my body, at the sight
of which all beings rejoice. Mounted on that same white
elephant with six tusks, and surrounded by a troop of
Bodhisattvas, I shall on the twenty-first day betake myself
to the place where the preachers are walking; there I shall
rouse, excite, and stimulate them, and give them spells
whereby those preachers shall become inviolable, so that no
being, either human or not human, shall be able to surprise
them, and no women able to beguile them. I will protect
them, take care of their safety, avert blows, and destroy
poison. I will, besides, O Lord, give those preachers words
of talismanic spells, such as, Adande dandapati,
dandâvartani dandakusale dandasudhâri dhâri sudhârapati,
buddhapasyani dhârani, âvartani samvartani sanghaparîkshite
sanghanirghâtani dharmaparîkshite
sarvasattvarutakausalyânugate simhavikrîdite. The
Bodhisattva Mahâsattva, whose organ of hearing is struck by
these talismanic words, Lord, shall be aware that the
Bodhisattva Mahâsattva Samantabhadra is their ruling power.
Further, Lord, the Bodhisattvas Mahâsattvas to whom this
Dharmaparyâya of the Lotus of the True Law shall be
entrusted, as long as it continues having course in
Gambudvîpa, those preachers, Lord, should take this view:
It is owing to the power and grandeur of the Bodhisattva
Mahâsattva Samantabhadra that this Dharmaparyâya has been
entrusted to us. Those creatures who shall write and keep
this Sûtra, O Lord, are to partake of the course of duty of
the Bodhisattva Mahâsattva Samantabhadra; they will belong
to those who have planted good roots under many Buddhas, O
Lord, and whose heads are caressed by the hands of the
Tathâgata. Those who shall write and keep this Sûtra, O
Lord, will afford me pleasure. Those who shall write this
Sûtra, O Lord, and comprehend it, shall, when they
disappear from this world, after having written it, be
reborn in the company of the gods of paradise, and at that
birth shall eighty-four thousand heavenly nymphs
immediately come near them. Adorned with a high crown, they
shall as angels dwell amongst those nymphs. Such is the
mass of merit resulting from writing this Dharmaparyâya;
how much greater will be the mass of merit reaped by those
who recite, study, meditate, remember it! Therefore, young
men of good family, one ought to honour this Dharmaparyâya
of the Lotus of the True Law, and write it with the utmost
attention. He who writes it with undistracted attention
shall be supported by the hands of a thousand Buddhas, and
at the moment of his death he shall see another thousand of
Buddhas from face to face. He shall not sink down into a
state of wretchedness, and after disappearing from this
world he shall enter the company of the Tushita-gods, where
the Bodhisattva Mahâsattva Maitreya is residing, and where,
marked by the thirty-two sublime characteristics,
surrounded by a host of Bodhisattvas, and waited upon by
hundred thousands of myriads of kolis of heavenly nymphs he
is preaching the law. Therefore, then, young men of good
family, a wise young man or young lady of good family
should respectfully write this Dharmaparyâya of the Lotus
of the True Law, respectfully recite it, respectfully study
it, respectfully treasure it up in his (or her) mind. By
writing, reciting, studying this Dharmaparyâya, and by
treasuring it up in one's mind, young men of good family,
one is to acquire innumerable good qualities. Hence a wise
young man or young lady of good family ought to keep this
Dharmaparyâya of the Lotus of the True Law. I myself, O
Lord, will superintend this Dharmaparyâya, that through my
superintendence it may here spread in Gambudvîpa.
Then the Lord Sâkyamuni, the Tathâgata, &c., expressed
his approval to the Bodhisattva Mahâsattva Samantabhadra:
Very well, very well, Samantabhadra. It is happy that thou
art so well disposed to promote the weal and happiness of
the people at large, out of compassion for the people, for
the benefit, weal, and happiness of the great body of men;
that thou art endowed with such inconceivable qualities,
with a mind so full of compassion, with intentions so
inconceivably kind, so that of thine own accord thou wilt
take those preachers under thy protection. The young men of
good family who shall cherish the name of the Bodhisattva
Mahâsattva Samantabhadra may be convinced that they have
seen Sâkyamuni, the Tathâgata, &c.; that they have
heard this Dharmaparyâya of the Lotus of the True Law from
the Lord Sâkyamuni; that they have paid homage to the
Tathâgata Sâkyamuni; that they have applauded the preaching
of the Tathâgata Sâkyamuni. They will have joyfully
accepted this Dharmaparyâya; the Tathâgata Sâkyamuni will
have laid his hand upon their head, and they will have
decked the Lord Sâkyamuni with their robes. Those young men
or young ladies of good family, Samantabhadra, must be held
to have accepted the command of the Tathâgata. They will
have no pleasure in worldly philosophy; no persons fondly
addicted to poetry will please them; no dancers, athletes,
vendors of meat, mutton butchers, poulterers, pork
butchers, or profligates will please them. After having
heard, written, kept, or read such Stitrantas as this, they
will find no delight in those persons. They must be held to
be possessed of natural righteousness; they will be
right-minded from themselves, possess a power to do good of
their own accord, and make an agreeable impression on
others. Such will be the monks who keep this Sûtrânta. No
passionate attachment will hinder them, no hatred, no
infatuation, no jealousy, no envy, no hypocrisy, no pride,
no conceitedness, no mendaciousness. Those preachers,
Samantabhadra, will be content with what they receive. He,
Samantabhadra, who at the end of time, at the end of the
period, in the second half of the millennium, sees a monk
keeping this Dharmaparyâya of the Lotus of the True Law,
must think thus: This young man of good family will reach
the terrace of enlightenment; this young man will conquer
the troop of the wicked Mâra, move forward the wheel of the
law, strike the drum of the law, blow the conch trumpet of
the law, spread the rain of the law, and ascend the royal
throne of the law. The monks who at the end of time, at the
end of the period, in the second half of the millennium,
keep this Dharmaparyâya, will not be covetous, nor greedy
of robes or vehicles. Those preachers will be honest, and
possessed of three emancipations; they will refrain from
worldly business. Such persons as lead into error monks who
know this Satranta, shall be born blind; and such as openly
defame them, shall have a spotted body in this very world.
Those who scoff and hoot at the monks who copy this
Sûtrânta, shall have the teeth broken and separated far
from each other; disgusting lips, a flat nose, contorted
hands and feet, squinting eyes; a putrid body, a body
covered with stinking boils, eruptions, scabs, and itch. If
one speaks an unkind word, true or not true, to such
writers, readers, and keepers of this Sûtranta, it must be
considered a very heinous sin. Therefore then,
Samantabhadra, people should, even from afar, rise from
their seats before the monks who keep this Dharmaparyâya
and show them the same reverence as to the Tathâgata.
While this chapter of the Encouragement of Samantabhadra
was being expounded, hundred thousands of kotis of
Bodhisattvas Mahâsattvas, equal to the sands of the river
Ganges, acquired the talismanic spell Âvarta.