Senart), p. 1, with the remarks of the editor, and p.g. 2 In his Buddhismus, p. 126. * In Lectures on the Origin and Growth of Religion, p. 254.
(21) c
XXxiV SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA.
early Buddhism.’ The Mah4y4na doctors said in effect: ‘We grant you all you say about the bliss of attaining Nirvaza in this life’. But it produces advantage only to yourselves; and according to your own theory there will be a necessity for Buddhas in the future as much as there has been for Buddhas in the past. Greater, better, nobler then, than the attainment of Arahatship must be the attainment of Bodisatship from a desire to save all living creatures in the ages that will come.’ The teaching of the Lotus, however, is different, and comes to this, that every one should try to become a Buddha. It admits that from a practical point of view one may distinguish three means, so-called Vehicles, yAnas, to attain the summum bonum, Nirvaza, although in a higher sense there is only one Vehicle. These means are, in plain language, piety, philosophy or rather Yogism, and striving for the enlightenment and weal of our fellow-creatures ; these means are designated by the terms of Vehicle of (obedient) hearers or disciples, of Pratyekabuddhas, and of Bodhisattvas. Higher than piety is true and self-acquired knowledge of the eternal laws; higher than knowledge is devoting oneself to the spiritual weal of others?. The higher unity embracing the three separate Vehicles is the Buddha-vehicle.
The title of Bodhisattva is not always used in the same acceptation. Apart from a broad distinction we can draw
1 It may be observed that there is nothing peculiarly Buddhistic in the searching for Nirvana in this life, except in the sound of the word. It is exactly the same as what other Indian enthusiasts or mystics called Givanmukti, the aim of Yogins in the fourth degree (answering to the Arhats of the Buddhists) and of the Brahmans or Dvigas in the fourth Asrama.
2 See chap. iii, p. 80. Something similar in Bhagavad-gita XII, 12: sreyo hi gianam abhyésig gianad dhyanam visishyate, dhyanat karmaphalatyagas tyagaé kAantir anantaram; and IV,5: labhante brahmanirvaaam rishayak kshfnakalmashak, khinnadvaidha yatatmanak sarvabhitahite ratahk. Neither in these passages of the Bhagavad-gita nor in the three Vehicles is there anything new; abhyAsa, study, denotes the period of one’s studying under a master, the Brahmasdriship, which the Lotus calls the Vehicle of Disciples ; the period of dhyana, alias the Vehicle of Pratyekabuddhas, coincides with the third Asrama, that of Vanaprastha; the ty4ga, alias Bodhisattvaship, is virtually the same with the life of a Sannyasin, Yati, or Mukta. Ga#ana characterises the second Asrama; in the Lotus it is merged in or combined with dhyana.
INTRODUCTION. XXXV
Ga#ana characterises the second Asrama; in the Lotus it is merged in or combined with dhyana.
INTRODUCTION. XXXV
between human and superhuman Bodhisattvas'—the latter are here left out of account—we find sometimes the word ‘applied to those persons who in the passage of our Sitra alluded to are styled Srdvakas, hearers, learners. This appears to be the case at least in Nep4l, as we know from the following passage*: ‘The Buddha is the adept in the wisdom of Buddhism (Bodhijndna), whose first duty, so long as he remains on earth, is to communicate his wisdom to those who are willing to receive it. These willing learners are the “Bodhisattvas,” so called from their hearts being inclined to the wisdom of Buddhism, and “ Sanghas,” from their companionship with one another, and with their Buddha or teacher, in the vihdras or ccenobitical establishments. The Bodhisattva or Sangha continues to be such until he has surmounted the very last grade of that vast and laborious ascent by which he is instructed that he can “scale the heavens,” and pluck immortal wisdom from its resplendent source: which achievement performed, he becomes a Buddha, that is, an Omniscient Being.’
Here the Bodhisattvas are plainly distinguished from the ceenobitical monks ; they are so likewise in the Lotus, in which we find them also in the function of learned or wise men (Pazditas), of preachers or ministers of religion. Wassiljew Lc. remarks about the Bodhisattva—the terrestrial one of course—that ‘from one side, he seems to be the substitute of the ancient Bhikshu ;’ from which we ought not to infer that the mendicant monks, as such, ceased to exist, for that is notoriously not the case, but that the Bodhisattvas were charged with the office of preaching. They are persons who deserve to be honoured both by mendicant monks and lay devotees‘, and formed, it would seem, a kind of learned clergy, not to be confounded, however, with the modern Vagra-A-#aryas or married clergymen in Nepal. There is reason to suppose that one of the
+
1 Cf. Wassiljew, Buddhismus, p. 124.
3 B. H. Hodgson, Essays, p. 62. Cf. Stanislas Julien, Voyages des Pélerins bouddhistes, II, p. 436 note.
3 See especially the whole of chapter x. * Lotus, chap. x, st. 27 seq.
c2
XXXVI SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA.
There is reason to suppose that one of the
+
1 Cf. Wassiljew, Buddhismus, p. 124.
3 B. H. Hodgson, Essays, p. 62. Cf. Stanislas Julien, Voyages des Pélerins bouddhistes, II, p. 436 note.
3 See especially the whole of chapter x. * Lotus, chap. x, st. 27 seq.
c2
XXXVI SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA.
honorific titles given to the preachers or interpreters of the law was ‘wise’ or ‘learned man,’ Pandita, for the word is so often applied to them that it looks more like a title than a common epithet!. Tdrandtha knows Pazdita to be a title’, and considers it to be the equivalent of the older Mahdabhadanta; he distinguishes ‘ Bodhisattvas’ from ‘common Panditas’ and ‘Arhats.’ How does this agree with the data in the Lotus? As it has been intimated in a foregoing note, the three Vehicles are imitations of three Asramas or stages in the model life of an Arya, in the first place of a Brahman. The stages are that of a student, of a hermit living in the forest, and of a Sanny4sin, Yati, or Mukta, who has wholly given up the world. The second stage, that of a householder, does not exist, of course, for those who vow themselves to a monastic life. Our Stra does not prescribe that the three stages must be gone through by the same persons, no more than the Bhagavadgita l.c. requires that one should pass the stages of study, knowledge, and meditation before resolving upon complete renunciation (ty4ga); what follows from the context is only this, that the Vehicle of Bodhisattvas, alias those who strive for the weal of all creatures, is superior to the two preceding Vehicles. The Vehicle of the Bodhisattvas being the loftiest of the three, they themselves must be considered as occupying the highest rank. Now T4ranatha places the Arhats above them, and with the Nepalese also the first class of the monastic order is that of Arhat®. The question is, how are we to judge of the relation between Arhats and Bodhisattvas in the Lotus? As far as I am able to see, the compiler* of the Sitra describes facts, or supposed facts, which he knew from oral or literary tradition, as having occurred in the past, whereas the actual state of things in his own time and shortly before is represented as that of the future. His Arhats are sages of the past, canonized gaints; his human Bodhisattvas are sages,
} E.g. Lotus, chap. x, st. 4, cf. 6; 23, 333 xiii, 13, 16, 24, 26, 30, 32, 39,44 3 Geschichte des Buddhismus, p. 60.
* Hodgson, Essays, p. §2 ; cf. p. 30.
* The reader should not lay stress upon this singolar,
INTRODUCTION. XXXVIi
Lotus, chap. x, st. 4, cf. 6; 23, 333 xiii, 13, 16, 24, 26, 30, 32, 39,44 3 Geschichte des Buddhismus, p. 60.
* Hodgson, Essays, p. §2 ; cf. p. 30.
* The reader should not lay stress upon this singolar,
INTRODUCTION. XXXVIi
wise men of the present, most reverend worthies who should live a saintly life and generally do so, but who, however sanctimonious, are not acknowledged saints. Of an antagonism between Arhats and Bodhisattvas there is no trace in the book; the Arhats being dead, they cannot be active ; \the Bodhisattvas as living persons, can’. In a certain respect, then, the remark of Professor Rhys Davids holds good; the Bodhisattvas represent the ideal of spiritual activity, the Arhats of inactivity. It must be admitted that the Lotus, as a whole, breathes a less monastic and ascetic? spirit ; it does not go the length to speak of ascetism and mortification in such scornful terms as the Bhagavadgita® does, but at the same time it never extols it. There are in the book many indications that the art of preaching was made much of and highly developed, and it may be supposed that a greater proficiency in hermeneutics combined with superior mental activity has enabled the Mahayana to supplant its rival, the Hinay4na, and to extend its spiritual conquests once from the snows of Siberia to the luxuriant islands of the Indian Archipelago.
After having touched upon such points in the text of the Saddharma-puxdarika as seemed to require more special notice, it behoves me to say a few words about the translation and its resources. In the first place, I must declare that I cannot speak in too warm terms of the benefit I have derived from the French translation by the illustrious Burnouf. I have taken that work throughout for my model, without having been able to reach its excellency. The material discrepancies between his translation are partly due to my having followed other MSS., partly to another interpretation, especially of frequently corrupt and difficult Gath4s. If some reader not acquainted
* Something of contempt for the Arhats is shown in the story communicated by Hiouen Thsang in Voyages des Pélerins bouddhistes, II, p. 176, where the editor inadvertently writes Vasubandhu instead of Vasumitra ; his index affords the means of correcting the mistake; cf. Wassiljew in Taranatha, p. 298.
? See chap. xiii, 28, where the eighth commandment of the Dasasfla, forbidding the use of ointment, is slighted.
® See there xvii, § seqq., and cf. 14 seqq., where we are taught what the true tapas should be.
XXXVili SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA.
Wassiljew in Taranatha, p. 298.
? See chap. xiii, 28, where the eighth commandment of the Dasasfla, forbidding the use of ointment, is slighted.
® See there xvii, § seqq., and cf. 14 seqq., where we are taught what the true tapas should be.
XXXVili SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA.
with the peculiar difficulties of those Gathas should wonder at the occurrence of numerous discrepancies, I would repeat the words of the preface to the Chinese version from A.D. 601, and request him ‘not to have any suspicion about these differences.’ Let him compare the fragment from Kumfragiva’s rendering on page xl with the corresponding passages in the French and English translations, and he will observe that the difference between the work of the learned Buddhist of the fourth century and the two European versions is far more considerable than between the latter.
The base of my translation has been an old manuscript on palm leaves, belonging to Dr. D. Wright’s collection, in the University Library of Cambridge. The manuscript is dated Newar, era 159 (=A.D. 1039), and was written in the reign of the king KAmadeva/(?), in the bright half of the month Vaisékha, on a Thursday!. It is one of the most ancient Sanskrit MSS. existing in Europe, and therefore I thought that it was advisable to follow its readings as much as possible, except in such passages as were evidently corrupt. A second MS., unfortunately incomplete, from the same collection, is of unknown date, since the latter part of the codex is lost; from the form of the characters it may be inferred that it is not much more modern than the other codex*. The difference between both is not very great; yet there can be no doubt that the second MS. belongs to another family. The varietas lectionis is strikingly similar in kind to what we find in the different texts of the Vagrakkhedika, edited by Professor Max Miller.
The former manuscript has much in common with the London codices, from which Burnouf in the notes on his translation has derived numerous various readings; it stands farther off from the Paris MS. that has formed the base of Burnouf’s version, but not so far as the second
1 Samvat 159 Vaisikhasukle (illegible the Tithi) Gurudine, Kamadevasya vigayaragye likhitam iti. There seem to be wanting two syllables before kama.
? The two Cambridge MSS. are marked Add. 1682 and 1683.
°
INTRODUCTION. XXXIX
Cambridge MS., which shows the greatest number of peculiar readings. The text of chapter iv in Professor Foucaux’s edition of the Parabole de l’enfant égaré is comparatively modern and bad. In general it may be said that all the known copies of the Saddharma-pumdarika are written with a want of care little in harmony with the holy character of the book.
The text of chapter iv in Professor Foucaux’s edition of the Parabole de l’enfant égaré is comparatively modern and bad. In general it may be said that all the known copies of the Saddharma-pumdarika are written with a want of care little in harmony with the holy character of the book.
Before closing this preface I beg to offer my sincere thanks to Professors William Wright and E. B. Cowell, at Cambridge, for the generous way in which they have enabled me to use the MSS. I wanted for my translation. My thanks are due also to the Council of Cambridge University and Mr. H. Bradshaw, for their readily complying with my wishes. To Professor Max Miiller I owe a debt of gratitude for his kindly assisting me in my task in more than one respect, a debt which I am glad here openly to acknowledge.
H. KERN.
LeErpen.
xl SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA.
KumAractiva’s TRANSLATION OF SADDHARMA-PUNDA- RfkA III, STANZAS I-22, RENDERED INTO FRENCH BY STANISLAS JULIEN.
J'ai entendu le son de cette loi
J’ai obtenu ce que je n’avais pas encore eu
Dans mon cceur, j’en ai congu une grande joie.
Les filets des doutes ont tous disparu
Jadis, j’ai recu les instructions du Buddha
Je n’ai pas perdu le grand véhicule.
Le son (la voix) du Buddha existe (s’entend) trés rarement.—
Elle peut détruire les tourments d’esprit de tous les mortels.—
Moi, j'ai obtenu I’épuisement (la délivrance compléte) de mes fautes.
L’ayant entendue, j’ai été délivré des chagrins et des tourments d’esprit
Moi, lorsque je demeure sur les montagnes (ou dans) les vallées,
Ou bien au bas des arbres des foréts
Soit que je sois assis ou que je marche
Constamment, je pense & cette chose
Hélas, je m’adresse de sevéres reproches
Je dis: pourquoi me trompé-je moi-méme ?
Nous autres, nous sommes aussi les fils du Bouddha
Nous sommes entrés ensemble dans la loi exempts d’imperfections.
Nous ne pourrons dans I’avenir
Expliquer cette loi sans supérieure (anuttaradharma).
Les trente deux couleur d’or (signes qui ont la couleur de I’or),
Les dix forces, les moyens de délivrance,
Se trouvent ensemble au sein de la loi unique
Et cependant je n’ai pu obtenir ces choses ;
Les quatre vingt signes de beauté,
Les dix huit lois non-communes (a tous),
Les mérites et les vertus de cette sorte
Moi, je les ai tous perdus.
Moi, lorsque je me promenais seul
J'ai vu le Bouddha au milieu de la grande multitude
Son nom, sa réputation remplissaient les dix contrées
Il comblait d’avantages toutes les créatures
INTRODUCTION. xli
Je pense en moi-méme que jai perdu ce profit
Moi, parce que je me suis trompé moi-méme,
Constamment, jour et nuit
Chaque fois, je songe 4 cette chose
J'ai voulu demander & l’honorable du siécle
Louant et glorifiant les bédhisattvas
C’est pourquoi jour et nuit
Jexamine mrement une telle chose
Exempte d’imperfections et difficile 4 concevoir
Qui fait arriver la multitude a l’estrade de |'Intelligence (B6 dhimanda)
Moi, dans lorigine, j’étais attaché aux vues perverses (8 l’hérésie)
J’‘étais un mattre de Brahmatcharis
L’honorable du siécle connaissait mon coeur
Me tira de l’hérésie et me parla du Nirvana
Je me débarrassai complétement des vues perverses (de l’hérésie);
Dans la loi du vide, j’obtins des témoignages, des preuves (J’obtins la preuve que je comprenais la loi du vide)
Alors, je me dis 4 moi-méme
Que j’avais obtenu d’arriver au Nirvana.
Mais maintenant je m’apercois
Que ce n’est pas le vrai Nirvana
Si, un jour, j’obtiens de devenir Bouddha
Et que je sois pourvu des trente deux signes de beauté
Les Dévas, les Yakchas
Les dragons, les esprits etc.
M’honoreront et me vénéreront
Dans ce temps [a, je pourrai dire
Que pour toujours j'ai obtenu le Nirvaaa complet.
Le Bouddha, dans la grande assemblée
M’a dit que je devais devenir Bouddha
Quand j’eus entendu le son de cette loi
Mes doutes, mes regrets, complétement disparurent.
Au commencement, lorsque j’eus entendu ce que disait le Bouddha,
Au fond de mon cceur, je fus remplis d’étonnement et de doutes.
(Je me dis) Le démon n’aurait pas pris la figure du Bouddha
Pour troubler mon coeur?
Le Bouddha ayant employé toute sorte de moyens
De comparaisons, de paroles et de discours habiles
Mon cceur devint calme comme la mer.
Quand je l’eus entendu, le filet de mes doutes se déchira
Le Bouddha dit que dans les siécles pass¢s
C3
xlii SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA.
Des bouddhas sans nombre, qui ont obtenu le Nirvana
Reposaient en paix au milieu des moyens habiles
Et que tous avaient expliqué cette loi
Que des bouddhas présents et futurs
Dont le nombre est infini
A l’aide de toute sorte de moyens habiles
Avaient expliqué et développé une telle loi
Maintenant, Honorable du sitcle ‘
Depuis que tu es né et que tu es sorti de la famille
Tu as obtenu de tourner la roue de la loi
Et de l’expliquer par des moyens habiles
L’Honorable du siécle a exposé la vraie voie.
Le MAra n’a pas fait cette chose (n’a pas pris la figure du Bouddha)
C’est pourquoi je sais fermement
Que le Mara ne s'est pas déguisé en Bouddha (litt. ne s'est pas fait Bouddha).
Moi, 4 cause du filet des doutes auxquels je m’étais abandonné
Je m’étais dit que c’était une chose faite par le Mara (c. 4. d. que le M4ra avait pris la figure du Bouddha)
Mais quand j’eus entendu sa voix douce et souple
Profonde, éloignée, extrémement déliée
Expliquant la loi pure
Mon coeur a été grandement rejoui.
Mes doutes ont pour toujours disparu
Je réside en paix au sein de la vraie science
Décidément, je dois devenir Bouddha.
Je serai respecté des Dévas
Je tournerai la roue de la Joi sans-supérieure
J’instruirai et je convertirai les Bodhisattvas.
UN r Ogi oc) e:
MPisipy
SADDHARMA-PUNVDARIKA
OR
THE LOTUS OF THE TRUE LAW.
HOMAGE TO ALL THE BUDDHAS AND BODHISATTVAS.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY.
Je serai respecté des Dévas
Je tournerai la roue de la Joi sans-supérieure
J’instruirai et je convertirai les Bodhisattvas.
UN r Ogi oc) e:
MPisipy
SADDHARMA-PUNVDARIKA
OR
THE LOTUS OF THE TRUE LAW.
HOMAGE TO ALL THE BUDDHAS AND BODHISATTVAS.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY.
Thus have I heard. Once upon a time the Lord was staying at Ragagvzha, on the Gvzdhrakiéa! mountain, with a numerous assemblage of monks, twelve hundred monks, all of them Arhats, stainless, free from depravity, self-controlled?, thoroughly emancipated in thought and knowledge, of noble breed, (like unto) great elephants, having done their task, done their duty, acquitted their charge, reached the goal ; in whom the ties which bound them to existence were wholly destroyed, whose minds were thoroughly emancipated by perfect knowledge, who had reached the utmost perfection in subduing all their thoughts; who were possessed of the transcendent faculties®;
1 T.e. Vulture Peak.
* Vasibhata. Like vasin, it likewise means, ‘having subdued othets or the world.’
* The five Abhigiias, viz. the magical powers, the divine ear,
[21] Bp. 2 eminent disciples, such as the venerable Ag#ata- Kaumdinya, the venerable Asvagit, the venerable VAshpa, the venerable Mah4n4man, the venerable Bhadrika?, the venerable Mah4-K4syapa, the venerable Kasyapa of Uruvilv4, the venerable K4syapa of Nadi, the venerable K4syapa of Gay4?, the venerable S4riputra, the venerable Mah4-Maudgalydyana’, the venerable Maha-K4ty4yana ‘, the venerable Aniruddha 5, the venerable Revata, the venerable Kapphiza*, the venerable Gavdmpati, the venerable Pilindavatsa, the venerable Vakula, the venerable Bhéradvaga 7, the venerable Mah4-Kaush/éfila °, the venerable Nanda (alias Mah4nanda), the venerable knowledge of the thoughts of others, knowledge of former existences, the divine eye. Sometimes a sixth Abhigf& is added, viz. the knowledge which causes the destruction of human passion; Burnouf, Lotus, p. 820 sqq.; Spence Hardy, Eastern Monachism, p. 284.
1 These are known as the Five Bhadravargiyas, or, in PAli, Pavikavaggiyas; they were the first five disciples.
* The conversion of KAsyapa of Uruvilva and the two following is told in Buddhist Birth Stories (translated by Rhys Davids), I, 114; Mah4vagga (ed. Oldenberg) I, 15.
5 Sariputra and Maudgalyayana are termed the foremost or chief disciples (agrasravaka) of the Lord. About their conversion, see Birth Stories, I, 118 ; Mahavagga I, 23.
* About him, see Mahavagga V, 13.
5 In Pali, Anuruddha ; the story of his conversion is told Kullavagga (ed. Oldenberg) I, 8.
® The name is variously spelt Kapphiza, Kasphina, Kashphiza, Kapphilla, Kamphilla. The Tibetan form Kapina (in Lotus, p. 294) agrees with Mah4-Kappina in P4li writings; Mahavagga II, 5; X, 5. I cannot help guessing that the name is identical with Sivns, the proper name of Kalanos, in Plutarch’s Alexander, chap. 65; one would expect Kacgins.
The Tibetan form Kapina (in Lotus, p. 294) agrees with Mah4-Kappina in P4li writings; Mahavagga II, 5; X, 5. I cannot help guessing that the name is identical with Sivns, the proper name of Kalanos, in Plutarch’s Alexander, chap. 65; one would expect Kacgins.
7 The same with Pizdola-Bharadvaga, Kullavagga V, 8.
® In Pali Maha-Ko/sshita ; Mahavagga X, 5.
p. 3
Upananda’, the venerable Sundara- Nanda’, the venerable Pirza Maitrayamtputra, the venerable Subhati, the venerable R4hula ; with them yet other great disciples, as the venerable Ananda, still under training, and two thousand other monks, some of whom still under training, the others masters ; with six thousand nuns having at their head Mah4prag4patt’, and the nun Yasodhard, the mother of Rahula, along with her train; (further) with eighty thousand Bodhisattvas, all unable to slide back *, endowed with the spells of supreme, perfect enlightenment, firmly standing in wisdom; who moved onward the never deviating ® wheel of the law; who had propitiated many hundred thousands of Buddhas; who under many hundred thousands of Buddhas had planted the roots of goodness, had been intimate with many hundred thousands of Buddhas, were in body and mind fully penetrated with the feeling of charity; able in communicating the wisdom of the Tathdgatas; very wise, having reached the perfection of wisdom; renowned in many hundred thousands of worlds; having saved many hundred thousand myriads ® of kofis™ of beings; such as the Bodhisattva Maha-
1 Surnamed Sakyaputra; Mahavagga I, 52.
? Known from Lalita-vistara, p. 164; Burnouf has Sunanda.
> Gautami, the aunt of Gautama Buddha,
* Or, to swerve from their course.
® Or, never rolling back.
* I have followed Burnouf in translating nay uta by ten thousand; this being the value of the Sanskrit term ayuta. According to the Petersburg Dictionary the Northern Buddhists attach to nay uta the value of 100,000 millions. The P4li nahuta is said to be a vast number, one followed by twenty-eight ciphers; but in Spence Hardy’s Manual of Buddhism, p. 193, its worth is put down at a myriad.
7 T.e. ten millions.
4 SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. I.
sattva! Maggusri, as prince royal?; the Bodhisattvas Mahfsattvas A valokitesvara, Mah4sthamaprdpta, Sarvarthanaman, Nityodyukta, Anikshiptadhura, Ratnapai, ‘Bhaishagyaraéga, Pradanasira, Ratnaéandra, Ratnaprabha, Pfirzagandra, Mahavikramin, Trailokavikramin, Anantavikr4min, Mah4pratibh4na, Satatasamitabhiyukta, Dharaztdhara*, Akshayamati, Padmasri, Nakshatrara4ga, the Bodhisattva MahAsattva Maitreya, the Bodhisattva Mahdsattva Simha.
With them were also the sixteen virtuous men to begin with Bhadrap4la, to wit, Bhadrap4la, Ratnékara, Susarthavaha, Naradatta*, Guhagupta, Varunadatta, Indradatta, Uttaramati, Viseshamati, Vardham4namati, Amoghadarsin, Susamsthita, Suvikrantavikramin, Anupamamati, Sdryagarbha, and Dharanidhara; besides eighty thousand Bodhisattvas, among whom the fore-mentioned were the chiefs; further Sakra, the ruler of the celestials, with twenty thousand gods, his followers, such as the god ‘andra (the.Moon), the god Sarya (the Sun), the god Samantagandha (the Wind), the god Ratnaprabha, the god Avabhdsaprabha, and others; further, the four great rulers of the cardinal points with thirty thousand gods in their train, viz. the great ruler VirddZaka, the great ruler Virdp4ksha, the great ruler DhvztarAsh¢ra, and the great ruler Vaisravana; the god fsvara and the god Mahesvara®, each followed bythirty thousand gods; further,
1 Tie. a great being.
2 Or, ‘still a youth” kum4rabhiata.
* In chap. XXIV he occurs as Bodhisattva Mahdsattva Dharanindhara.
* Burnouf has Ratnadatta. 5 The distinction between fsvara and Mahesvara, both mere
p. 5
Brahma Sah4mpati! and his twelve thousand followers, the Brahmakdyika gods, amongst whom Brahma Sikhin? and Brahma Gyotishprabha, with the other twelve thousand Brahmak4yika gods$; together with the eight Naga kings and many hundred thousand myriads of kofis of Nagas in their train, viz. the Naga king Nanda, the Naga king Upananda, Sagara, Vasuki, Takshaka, Manasvin, Anavatapta, and Utpalaka ,/further, the four Kinnara kings with many hundred thousand myriads of kofis of followers, viz. the Kinnara king Druma, the Kinnara king Mahadharma, the Kinnara king Sudharma, and the Kinnara king Dharmadhara ; besides, the four divine beings (called) Gandharvakayikas with many hundred thousand Gandharvas in their suite, viz. the Gandharva Manogzia, the Gandharva Manogéasvara, the Gandharva Madhura, and the Gandharva Madhurasvara; further, the four chiefs of the demons epithets of Siva, has its counterpart in the equally fanciful difference between Tishya and Pushya, Meru and Sumeru, which occurs in Buddhist writings. In Mah4vastu, p. 355 (ed. Senart), we even find Maya distinguished from Mahamayé.
2 On comparing Lalita-vistara, p. 515, 1. 3, with the parallel passage Mahavagga I, 5, 4, it appears that Sah4mpati and Sikhin are synonymousterms. As Sikhin is a common term for Agni and as to the latter in Rig-veda I, 97,5; 127, 10; III, 14, 2, is applied the epithet of sahasvat, it may be inferred that Sahampati and the collateral form Sahapati answer to a Sanskrit sahasimpati or sahaspati.
2 Another instance of a fanciful distinction.
As Sikhin is a common term for Agni and as to the latter in Rig-veda I, 97,5; 127, 10; III, 14, 2, is applied the epithet of sahasvat, it may be inferred that Sahampati and the collateral form Sahapati answer to a Sanskrit sahasimpati or sahaspati.
2 Another instance of a fanciful distinction.
5 It may be remarked that in the enumeration of gods, between Siva and Brahma, Vishzu is wanting. Those who adopt the view that Saékyamuni is an Avatdra of Vishnu, consequently a mythical being, will readily account for that omission by saying that Vishzu and the Lord Buddha are identical, so that Vishzu is present in the gathering, under the disguise of Buddha.
6 SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. I.
followed by many hundred thousand myriads of kotis of demons, viz. the chief of the demons Bali, Kharaskandha?, Vemasitri?, and R4hu; along with the four Garuda chiefs followed by many hundred thousand myriads of ko/¢is of Garudas, viz. the Garuda chiefs Mahategas, Mahakd4ya, Mahapdraa, and Maharddhiprapta, and with Ag&tasatru, king of Magadha, the son of Vaidehi.
Now at that time it was that the Lord surrounded, attended, honoured, revered, venerated, worshipped by the four classes of hearers, after expounding the Dharmapary4ya* called ‘the Great Exposition, a text of great development, serving to instruct Bodhisattvas and proper to all Buddhas, sat cross-legged on the seat of the law and entered upon the meditation termed ‘the station of the exposition of Infinity;’ his body was motionless and his mind had reached. perfect tranquillity. And as soon as the Lord had entered upon his meditation, there fell a great rain of divine flowers, Mandaravas‘ and great Mandaravas, Madgishakas and great Mazg(shakas’, covering the Lord and the four classes of hearers, while the whole Buddha field shook in six ways: it moved,
! Burnouf has Suraskandha.
* This is a wrong Sanskritisation of a Prakrit Vemasitti, Pali Vepaitti; the proper Sanskrit equivalent is Viprafitti.
5 T.e. turn, period, or roll of the law; it may often be rendered by ‘a discourse on the law.’ In the sense of period, term, end, it is used as the title of the closing chapter of the whole work.
* Mand4rava, or rather M&ndfrava, derived from mandéru= mand§ra, Erythrina, is here a heavenly flower, or, as the Indians say, ‘a cloud-flower,’ meghapushpa, i.e. raindrop and _hailstone. Mafigfisha is a name of the Rubia Manjista; the word is also said to mean, ‘a stone;’ in this case perhaps a hailstone or dewdrop.
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removed, trembled, trembled from one end to the other, tossed, tossed along.
Then did those who were assembled and sitting together in that congregation, monks, nuns, male and female lay devotees, gods, Nagas, goblins, Gandharvas, demons, Garudas, Kinnaras, great serpents, men, and beings not human, as well as governors of a region, rulers of armies and rulers of four continents, all of them with their followers, gaze on the Lord in astonishment, in amazement, in ecstasy.
And at that moment there issued a ray from within the circle of hair between the eyebrows of the Lord’. It extended over eighteen hundred thousand Buddha-fields in the eastern quarter, so that all those Buddha-fields appeared wholly illuminated by its radiance, down to the great hell Avt&i and up to the limit of existence. And the beings in any of the six states * of existence became visible, all without exception. Likewise the Lords Buddhas staying, living, and existing in those Buddha-fields became all visible, and the law preached by them could be entirely heard by all beings. And the monks, nuns, lay devotees male and female, Yogins and students of Yoga, those who had obtained the fruition (of the Paths of sanctification) and those who had not, they, too, became visible. And the Bodhisattvas Mahdsattvas in those
1 This reminds one of Wordsworth’s lines : ‘Bright apparition suddenly put forth The Rainbow, smiling on the faded storm; The mild assemblage of the starry heavens ; And the great Sun, earth’s universal Lord.’ * Viz. hell, the brute creation, the world of ghosts, of demons, of men, and of gods or angels.
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Buddha-fields who plied the Bodhisattva-course with ability, due to their earnest belief in numerous and various lessons and the fundamental ideas, they, too, became all visible. Likewise the Lords Buddhas in those Buddha-fields who had reached final Nirvana became visible, all of them. And the Stipas made of jewels and containing the relics of the extinct Buddhas became all visible in those Buddha-fields'.
Then rose in the mind of the Bodhisattva Mahasattva Maitreya this thought:!O how great a wonder does the Tathagata display! What may be the cause, what the reason of the Lord producing so great a wonder as this? And such astonishing, prodigious, inconceivable, powerful miracles now appear, although the Lord is absorbed in meditation! Why, let me inquire about this matter; who would be able here to explain it to me ?; He then thought :! Here is Mazgusri, the prince royal, who has plied his office under former Ginas and planted the roots of goodness, while worshipping many Buddhas. This Mazgusri, the prince royal, must have witnessed before such signs of the former Tath4gatas, those Arhats, those perfectly enlightened Buddhas; of yore he must have enjoyed the grand conversations on the law. Therefore will I inquire about this matter with Mazgusri, the prince royal.
And the four classes of the audience, monks, nuns, male and female lay devotees, numerous gods, Nagas,
1 Tt is sufficiently clear, I think, that the Buddha-fields are the heavens, and that we have in the text a description of the aspect of heaven when the stars are twinkling at dawn, shortly after or before. A Stipa denotes the spot where a luminary, for the time being extinct, once stood; in more general acceptation it must have been synonymous with dhishmya, a fire-place, or with Boyds.
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A Stipa denotes the spot where a luminary, for the time being extinct, once stood; in more general acceptation it must have been synonymous with dhishmya, a fire-place, or with Boyds.
p. 9
goblins, Gandharvas, demons, Garudas, Kinnaras, great serpents, men, and beings not human, on seeing the magnificence of this great miracle of the Lord, were struck with astonishment, amazement and curiosity, and thought: Let us inquire why this magnifcent miracle has been produced by the great power of the Lord.
At the same moment, at that very instant, the Bodhisattva Mahdsattva Maitreya knew in his mind the thoughts arising in the minds of the four classes of hearers and he spoke to Mazgusrt, the prince royal :'What, O Mafgusrt, is the cause, what is the reason of this wonderful, prodigious, miraculous shine having been produced by the Lord? Look, how these eighteen thousand Buddha-fields appear variegated, extremely beautiful, directed by Tathagatas and superintended by Tathagatas.
Then it was that Maitreya, the Bodhisattva Mahisattva, addressed Mazigusri, the prince royal, in the following stanzas:
1. Why, Mazgusri, does this ray darted by the guide of men shine forth from between his brows? this single ray issuing from the circle of hair? and why this abundant rain of Mandaravas ?
2. The gods, overjoyed, let drop Mazgishakas and sandal powder, divine, fragrant, and delicious.
3. This earth is, on every side, replete with splendour, and all the four classes of the assembly are filled with delight, while the whole field shakes in six different ways, frightfully.
4. And that ray in the eastern quarter illuminates the whole of eighteen thousand Buddha-fields, simultaneously, so that those fields: appear as goldcoloured.
Io SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. I.
5. (The universe) as far as the (hell) Avi#i (and) the extreme limit of existence, with all beings of those fields living in any of the six states of existence, those who are leaving one state! to be born in another ;
6. Their various and different actions in those states have become visible; whether they are in a happy, unhappy, low, eminent, or intermediate position, all that I see from this place.
7. I see also the Buddhas, those lions of kings, revealing and showing the essence of the law, comforting? many ko/is of creatures and emitting sweetsounding voices.
8. They let go forth, each in his own field, a deep, sublime, wonderful voice, while proclaiming the Buddha-laws by means of myriads of kofis of illustrations and proofs.
9. And to the ignorant creatures who are oppressed with toils and distressed in mind by birth and old age, they announce the bliss of Rest, saying: This is the end of trouble, O monks.
1o. And to those who are possessed of strength and vigour and who have acquired merit by virtue or earnest belief in the Buddhas, they show the vehicle of the Pratyekabuddhas, by observing this rule of the law.
1o. And to those who are possessed of strength and vigour and who have acquired merit by virtue or earnest belief in the Buddhas, they show the vehicle of the Pratyekabuddhas, by observing this rule of the law.
11. And the other sons of the Sugata who, striving after superior knowledge, have constantly accom-
1 The word for state, gati, also means ‘the position, place,’ e. g. of a star.
* Prasvésam4n4n, var. lect. prakadsamanan; Burnouf must have followed the latter reading, his translation having ‘ instruisent.’
I. INTRODUCTORY. II plished their various tasks, them also they admonish to enlightenment.
12. From this place, O Mazgughosha, I see and hear such things and thousands of koféis of other particulars besides; I will only describe some of them.
13. I see in many fields Bodhisattvas by many thousands of kofis, like sands of the Ganges, who are producing enlightenment according to the different degree of their power.
14. There are some who charitably bestow wealth, gold, silver, gold money, pearls, jewels, conch shells, stones}, coral, male and female slaves, horses, and sheep ;
15. As well as litters adorned with jewels. They are spending gifts with glad hearts, developing themselves for superior enlightenment, in the hope of gaining the vehicle.
16. (Thus they think): ‘The best and most excellent vehicle in the whole of the threefold world is the Buddha-vehicle magnified by the Sugatas. May I, forsooth, soon gain it after my spending such gifts,’
17. Some give carriages yoked with four horses and furnished with benches, flowers, banners, and flags; others give objects made of precious substances.
18, Some, again, give their children and wives ;
1 The text has sankhasil&; according to the Tibetan version this would mean crystal, but that is impossible because sankha is well known to be a conch shell. Burnouf hesitatingly renders it by ‘des conques, du cristal ;’ see, however, Lotus, p. 314. I have been unable to find out what meaning the compound, be it a Dvandva or a Tatpurusha, is intended to convey.
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others their own flesh; (or) offer, when bidden, their hands and feet, striving to gain supreme enlightenment.
19. Some give their heads, others their eyes, others their dear own body, and after cheerfully bestowing their gifts they aspire to the knowledge of the Tathagatas.
20. Here and there, O Mazgusrt, I behold beings who have abandoned their flourishing kingdoms, harems, and continents, left all their counsellors and kinsmen,
21. And betaken themselves to the guides of the world to ask for the most excellent law, for the sake of bliss ; they put on reddish-yellow robes, and shave hair and beard.
22. I see also many Bodhisattvas like monks, living in the forest, and others inhabiting the empty wilderness, engaged in reciting and reading.
22. I see also many Bodhisattvas like monks, living in the forest, and others inhabiting the empty wilderness, engaged in reciting and reading.
23. And some Bodhisattvas I see, who, full of wisdom (or constancy), betake themselves to mountain caves, where by cultivating and meditating the Buddha-knowledge they arrive at its perception.
24. Others who have renounced all sensual desires, by purifying their own self, have cleared their sphere and obtained the five transcendent faculties, live in the wilderness, as (true) sons of the Sugata.
25. Some are standing firm, the feet put together and the hands joined in token of respect towards the leaders, and are praising joyfully the king of the leading Ginas in thousands of stanzas.
26. Some thoughtful, meek, and tranquil, who have mastered the niceties of the course of duty, question the highest of men about the law, and retain in their memory what they have learnt.
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27. And I see here and there some sons of the principal Gina who, after completely developing their own self, are preaching the law to many koféis of living beings with many myriads of illustrations and reasons.
28. Joyfully they proclaim the law, rousing many Bodhisattvas; after conquering the Evil One with his hosts and vehicles, they strike the drum of the law.
29. I see some sons of the Sugata, humble, calm, and quiet in conduct, living under the command of the Sugatas, and honoured by men, gods, goblins, and Titans.
30. Others, again, who have retired to woody thickets, are saving the creatures in the hells by emitting radiance from their body, and rouse them to enlightenment.
31. There are some sons of the Gina who dwell in the forest, abiding in vigour, completely renouncing sloth, and actively engaged in walking; it is by energy that they are striving for supreme enlightenment.
32. Others complete their course by keeping a constant purity and an unbroken morality like precious stones and jewels; by morality do these strive for supreme enlightenment.
33. Some sons of the Gina, whose strength consists in forbearance, patiently endure abuse, censure, and threats from proud monks. They try to attain enlightenment by dint of forbearance.
34. Further, I see Bodhisattvas, who have forsaken all wanton pleasures, shun unwise companions and delight in having intercourse with genteel men
(4ryas);
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35. Who, with avoidance of any distraction of thoughts and with attentive mind, during thousands of ko¢is of years have meditated in the caves of the wilderness; these strive for enlightenment by dint of meditation.
36. Some, again, offer in presence of the Ginas and the assemblage of disciples gifts (consisting) in food hard and soft, meat and drink, medicaments | for the sick, in plenty and abundance.
37. Others offer in presence of the Ginas and the assemblage of disciples hundreds of kofis of clothes, worth thousands of koéis, and garments of priceless value.
37. Others offer in presence of the Ginas and the assemblage of disciples hundreds of kofis of clothes, worth thousands of koéis, and garments of priceless value.
38. They bestow in presence of the Sugatas hundreds of kofis of monasteries which they have caused to be built of precious substances and sandal-wood, -and which are furnished with numerous lodgings (or couches).
39. Some present the leaders of men and their disciples with neat and lovely gardens abounding with fruits and beautiful flowers, to serve as places of daily recreation.
40. When they have, with joyful feelings, made such various and splendid donations, they rouse their energy in order to obtain enlightenment ; these are those who try to reach supreme enlightenment by means of charitableness.
41. Others set forth the law of quietness, by many myriads of illustrations and proofs; they preach it to thousands of kofis of living beings; these are tending to supreme enlightenment by science.
42. (There are) sons of the Sugata who try to reach enlightenment by wisdom; they understand the law of indifference and avoid acting at thep. 15 antinomy (of things), unattached like birds in the sky.
43. Further, I see,O Mazgughosha, many Bodhisattvas who have displayed steadiness under the ' rule of the departed Sugatas, and now are worshipping the relics of the Ginas.
44. I see thousands of kofis of StQpas, numerous as the sand of the Ganges, which have been raised by these sons of the Gina and now adorn kofis of grounds.
45. Those magnificent Stipas, made of seven precious substances, with their thousands of ko/is of umbrellas and banners, measure in height no less than 5000 yoganas and 2000 in circumference}.
46. They are always decorated with flags; a multitude of bells is constantly heard sounding; men, gods, goblins, and Titans pay their worship with flowers, perfumes, and music.
47. Such honour do the sons of the Sugata render to the relics of the Ginas, so that all directions of space are brightened as by the celestial coral trees in full blossom.
48. From this spot I behold all this; those nu- . merous kofis of creatures; both this world and heaven covered with flowers, owing to the single ray shot forth by the Gina.
49. O how powerful is the Leader of men! how extensive and bright is his knowledge! that a single beam darted by him over the world renders visible so many thousands of fields!
50. We are astonished at seeing this sign and
1 It is evident that there is no question of earthly StQpas, nor of hyperbolic phrases.
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this wonder, so great, so incomprehensible. Explain me the matter, O Mazgusvara! the sons of Buddha are anxious to know it.
51. The four classes of the congregation in joyful expectation gaze on thee, O hero, and on me; gladden (their hearts); remove their doubts; grant a revelation, O son of Sugata!
Explain me the matter, O Mazgusvara! the sons of Buddha are anxious to know it.
51. The four classes of the congregation in joyful expectation gaze on thee, O hero, and on me; gladden (their hearts); remove their doubts; grant a revelation, O son of Sugata!
52. Why is it that the Sugata has now emitted such a light? O how great is the power of the Leader of men! O how extensive and holy is his knowledge !
53. That one ray extending from him all over the world makes visible many thousands of fields. It must be for some purpose that this great ray has been emitted.
54. Is the Lord of men to show the primordial laws which he, the Highest of men, discovered on the terrace of enlightenment? Or is he to prophesy the Bodhisattvas their future destiny ?
55. There must be a weighty reason why so many thousands of fields have been rendered visible, variegated, splendid, and shining with gems, while Buddhas of infinite sight are appearing.
56. Maitreya asks the son of Gina; men, gods, goblins, and Titans, the four classes of the congrega- _ tion, are eagerly awaiting what answer Maggusvara shall give in explanation.
Whereupon Mazgusrt, the prince royal, addressed Maitreya, the Bodhisattva MahAsattva, and the whole assembly of Bodhisattvas (in these words): It is the intention of the Tathagata, young men of good family, to begin a grand discourse for the teaching of the law, to pour the great rain of the law, to make resound the great drum of the law, to raise the greatp. 17 banner of the law, to kindle the great torch of the law, to blow the great conch trumpet of the law, and to strike the great tymbal of the law. Again, it is the intention of the Tathagata, young men of good family, to make a grand exposition of the law this very day. Thus it appears to me, young men of good family, as I have witnessed a similar sign of the former Tathagatas}, the Arhats, the perfectly enlightened. Those former TathAgatas, &c., they, too, emitted a lustrous ray, and I am convinced that the Tathagata is about to deliver a grand discourse for the teaching of the law and make his grand speech on the law everywhere heard, he having shown such a foretoken. And because the Tathdgata, &c., wishes that this Dharmaparyd4ya meeting opposition in all the world? be heard everywhere, therefore does he display so great a miracle and this fore-token consisting in the lustre occasioned by the emission of a ray.
1 Hence it follows that Mafigusri is eternally young, like the rising sun, like Mithra, and like the Arhatém deva, the latest, or youngest, of the Arhats or Ginas.
1 Hence it follows that Mafigusri is eternally young, like the rising sun, like Mithra, and like the Arhatém deva, the latest, or youngest, of the Arhats or Ginas.
* The rendering of vipratyanika, var. lect. vipratyantyaka, is doubtful. Burnouf, who translates it by ‘avec laquelle (le monde entier) doit étre en désaccord,’remarks in his comment (Lotus, p. 323) that the Tibetan version assigns to pratyaniyaka the meaning of ‘accordance, concord.’ It is, however, extremely doubtful whether such a word as pratyantyaka exists at all, and if pratyantka should really be used in the sense of ‘concord,’ notwithstanding its generally occurring in the sense of ‘opposition,’ we must suppose that from the notion of ‘an opposite party’ has developed that of a party, paksha, in general. On that assumption we can account for vipratyanika being used in the sense of vipaksha, repugnant, contrary, belonging to a different party. As to vipratyantyaka, also Lalita-vistara, p. 513, this may be a wrongly Sanskritised vippa&kaniyaka, to which would answer a Sanskrit vipratyanikaka.
[21] c
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I remember, young men of good family, that in the days of yore, many immeasurable, inconceivable, immense, infinite, countless AZons, more than countless /Eons ago, nay, long and very long before, there was born a Tathagata called Xandrasfryapradipa!, an Arhat, &c., endowed with science and conduct?, a Sugata, knower of the world, an incomparable tamer of men, a teacher (and ruler) of gods and men, a Buddha and Lord. He showed the law; he revealed the duteous course which is holy at its commencement, holy in its middle, holy at the end, good in substance and form, complete and perfect, correct and pure. That is to say, to the disciples he preached the law containing the four Noble Truths, and starting from the chain of causes and effects, tending to overcome birth, decrepitude, sickness, death, sorrow, lamentation, woe, grief, despondency, and finally leading to Nirvaza; and to the Bodhisattvas he preached the law connected with the six Perfections*, and terminating in the knowledge of the Omniscient, after the attainment of supreme, perfect enlightenment.
[Now, young men of good family, long before the time of that Tathagata andrasdryapradipa, the Arhat, &c., there had appeared a Tathagata, &c., likewise called Aandrasfryapradipa, after whom, O Agita‘, there were twenty thousand Tathagatas,
? Tie. having the shine of moon and sun.
? Otherwise, with light and motion.
* The six Paramitds, viz. of almsgiving, morality, patience, zeal or energy, meditation, and wisdorh.
‘ Te. invincible, invictus. The palpable connection between Maitreya Agita and Mithras Invictus is no proof of the Buddhists having borrowed the figure from the Persians; the coincidence
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of almsgiving, morality, patience, zeal or energy, meditation, and wisdorh.
‘ Te. invincible, invictus. The palpable connection between Maitreya Agita and Mithras Invictus is no proof of the Buddhists having borrowed the figure from the Persians; the coincidence
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&c., all of them bearing the name of Kandrasiryapradipa, of the same lineage and family name, to wit, of Bharadv4ga’. All those twenty thousand Tathagatas, O Agita, from the first to the last, showed the law, revealed the course which is holy at its commencement, holy in its middle, holy at the end, &c. &c.?]
The aforesaid Lord andrasdryapradipa, the Tathagata, &c., when a young prince and not yet having left home (to embrace the ascetic life), had eight sons, viz. the young princes Sumati, Anantamati, Ratnamati, Viseshamati, Vimatisamudghatin, Ghoshamati, and Dharmamati. These eight young princes, Agita, sons to the Lord Kandrasfryapradipa, the Tathagata, had an immense fortune*, Each of them was in possession of four great continents, where they exercised the kingly sway. When they saw that the Lord had left his home to become an ascetic, and heard that he had attained supreme, perfect enlightenment, they forsook all of them the pleasures of royalty and followed the example of the Lord by resigning the world; all of them strove to being perfectly explainable if we consider the narrow relationship of Indian and Iranian mythology. Maitreya is not strictly identical with Mitra, but a younger edition, so to speak, of him; he is the future saviour.
1 It is clear that Bharadvaga, a well-known progenitor of one of the Brahmanic families, existed long before the creation, i.e. of the last creation of the world. There can be no question of his being a man, at least in the system of the Lotus.
? The words in brackets are wanting in one of the MSS.
3 Riddhi is the word used in the text. As an ecclesiastical term it denotes ‘ magic power,’ but that artificial meaning does not suit here.
C2
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reach superior enlightenment and became preachers of the law. While constantly leading a holy life, those young princes planted roots of goodness under many thousands of Buddhas.
C2
p. 20
reach superior enlightenment and became preachers of the law. While constantly leading a holy life, those young princes planted roots of goodness under many thousands of Buddhas.
It was at that time, Agita, that the Lord Xandrasdryapradipa, the Tathagata, &c., after expounding the Dharmapary4ya called ‘the Great Exposition,’ a text of great extension, serving to instruct Bodhisattvas and proper to all Buddhas, at the same moment and instant, at the same gathering of the classes of hearers, sat cross-legged on the same seat of the law, and entered upon the meditation termed ‘the Station of the exposition of Infinity ;’ his body was motionless, and his mind had reached perfect tranquillity. And as soon as the Lord had entered upon meditation, there fell a great rain of divine flowers, Mandaravas and great Mandaravas, Mazgishakas and great Mazig(shakas, covering the Lord and the four classes of hearers, while the whole Buddha-field shook in six ways; it moved, removed, trembled, trembled from one end to the other, tossed, tossed along.
Then did those who were assembled and sitting tagether at that congregation, monks, nuns, male and female lay devotees, gods, Nagas, goblins, Gandharvas, demons, Garudas, Kinnaras, great serpents, men and beings not human, as well as governors of a region, rulers of armies and rulers of four continents, all of them with their followers gaze on the Lord in astonishment, in amazement, in ecstasy.
And at that moment there issued a ray from within the circle of hair between the eyebrows of the Lord. It extended over eighteen hundredp. 21 thousand Buddha-fields in the eastern quarter, so that all those Buddha-fields appeared wholly illuminated by its radiance, just like the Buddha-fields do now, O Agita.
[At that juncture, Agita, there were twenty kof/is of Bodhisattvas following the Lord. All hearers of the law in that assembly, on seeing how the world was illuminated by the lustre of that ray, felt astonishment, amazement, ecstasy, and curiosity 1]
Now it happened, Agita, that under the rule of* the aforesaid Lord there was a Bodhisattva called Varaprabha, who had eight hundred pupils. It was to this Bodhisattva Varaprabha that the Lord, on rising from his meditation, revealed the Dharmaparydya called ‘the Lotus of the True Law.’ He spoke during fully sixty intermediate kalpas, always sitting on the same seat, with immovable body and tranquil mind. And the whole assembly continued sitting on the same seats, listening to the preaching of the Lord for sixty intermediate kalpas, there being not a single creature in that assembly who felt fatigue of body or mind.
And the whole assembly continued sitting on the same seats, listening to the preaching of the Lord for sixty intermediate kalpas, there being not a single creature in that assembly who felt fatigue of body or mind.
As the Lord Kandrastiryapradipa, the Tathagata, &c., during sixty intermediate kalpas had been expounding the Dharmapary4ya called ‘the Lotus of the True Law,’ a text of great development, serving to instruct Bodhisattvas and proper to all Buddhas, he instantly announced his complete Nirvaza to the world, including the gods, Maras and Brahmas, to all creatures, including ascetics, Brahmans, gods, men and demons, saying: To-day, O monks, this very
1 The passage in brackets is wanting in one of the MSS.
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night, in the middle watch, will the Tathagata, by entering the element of absolute Nirvaza, become wholly extinct.
Thereupon, Agita, the Lord Xandrasfryapradipa, the Tathagata, &c., predestinated the Bodhisattva called Srigarbha to supreme, perfect enlightenment, and then spoke thus to the whole assembly: O monks, this Bodhisattva Srigarbha here shall immediately after me attain supreme, perfect enlightenment, and become Vimalanetra, the Tathagata, &c.
Thereafter, Agita, that very night, at that very watch, the Lord Xandrasiryapradipa, the Tathagata, &c., became extinct by entering the element of absolute Nirvava. And the afore-mentioned Dharmaparyaya, termed ‘the Lotus of the True Law,’ was kept in memory by the Bodhisattva Mahdsattva Varaprabha; during eighty intermediate kalpas did the Bodhisattva Varaprabha keep and reveal the commandment of the Lord who had entered Nirvama. Now it so happened, Agita, that the eight sons of the Lord Kandras(ryapradipa, Mati and the rest, were pupils to that very Bodhisattva Varaprabha. They were by him made ripe for supreme, perfect enlightenment, and in after times they saw and worshipped many hundred thousand myriads of ko/is of Buddhas, all of whom had attained supreme, perfect enlightenment, the last of them being Dipankara, the Tathagata, &c.
Amongst those eight pupils there was one Bodhisattva who attached an extreme value to gain, honour and praise, and was fond of glory, but all the words and letters one taught him faded (from his memory), did not stick. So he got the appella-