Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1And 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. 22 SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. I. 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- I. INTRODUCTORY. 23
2Amongst 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- I. INTRODUCTORY. 23 tion of Yasaskama'. He had propitiated many hundred thousand myriads of kof¢is of Buddhas by _ that root of goodness, and afterwards esteemed, honoured, respected, revered, venerated, worshipped them. Perhaps, Agita, thou feelest some doubt, perplexity or misgiving that in those days, at that time, there was another Bodhisvattva MahAsattva Varaprabha, preacher of the law. But do not think so. Why? because it is myself who in those days, at that time, was the Bodhisattva MahA4sattva Varaprabha, preacher of the law; and that Bodhisattva named YasaskAma, the lazy one, it is thyself, Agita, who in those days, at that time, wert the Bodhisattva named Yasaskama, the lazy one. And so, Agita, having once seen a similar foretoken of the Lord, I infer from a similar ray being emitted just now, that the Lord is about to expound the Dharmapary4ya called ‘the Lotus of the True Law.’ And on that occasion, in order to treat the subject more copiously, Mazigusri, the prince royal, uttered the following stanzas : 57. I remember a past period, inconceivable, illimited kalpas ago, when the highest of beings, the Gina of the name of Aandrasdryapradipa, was in existence. 58. He preached the true law, he, the leader of creatures; he educated an infinite number of ko/is of beings, and roused inconceivably many Bodhisattvas to acquiring supreme Buddha-knowledge. 59. And the eight sons born to him, the leader, when he was prince royal, no sooner saw that the 1 Le. desirous of glory. 24 SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. I. great sage had embraced ascetic life, than they resigned worldly pleasures and became monks. 60. And the Lord of the world proclaimed the law, and revealed to thousands of kofis of living beings the Sfitra, the development, which by name is called ‘the excellent Exposition of Infinity.’ 61. Immediately after delivering his speech, the leader crossed his legs and entered upon the meditation of ‘the excellent Exposition of the Infinite.’ There on his seat of the law the eminent seer continued absorbed in meditation. 62. And there fell a celestial rain of Mandaravas, while the drums (of heaven) resounded without being struck; the gods and elves in the sky paid honour to the highest of men. 63. And simultaneously all the fields (of Buddha) began trembling. A wonder it was, a great prodigy. Then the chief emitted from between his brows one extremely beautiful ray, 64. Which moving to the eastern quarter glittered, illuminating the world all over the extent of eighteen thousand fields. It manifested the ‘vanishing and appearing of beings.
3A wonder it was, a great prodigy. Then the chief emitted from between his brows one extremely beautiful ray, 64. Which moving to the eastern quarter glittered, illuminating the world all over the extent of eighteen thousand fields. It manifested the ‘vanishing and appearing of beings. 65. Some of the fields then seemed jewelled, others showed the hue of lapis lazuli, all splendid, extremely beautiful, owing to the radiance of the ray from the leader. 66. Gods and men, as well as Nagas, goblins, Gandharvas, nymphs, Kinnaras, and those occupied with serving the Sugata became visible in the spheres and paid their devotion. 67. The Buddhas also, those self-born beings, appeared of their own accord, resembling golden columns; like unto a golden disk (within lapis I. INTRODUCTORY. 25 lazuli), they revealed the law in the midst of the assembly. 68. The disciples, indeed, are not to be counted : the disciples of Sugata are numberless. Yet the lustre of the ray renders them all visible in every field. . 69. Energetic, without breach or flaw in their course, similar to gems and jewels, the sons of the leaders of men are visible in the mountain caves where they are dwelling. . 70. Numerous Bodhisattvas, like the sand of the . Ganges, who are spending all their wealth in giving alms, who have the strength of patience, are devoted to contemplation and wise, become all of them visible by that ray. 71. Immovable, unshaken, firm in patience, devoted to contemplation, and absorbed in meditation are seen the true sons of the Sugatas while they are striving for supreme enlightenment by dint of meditation. 72. They preach the law in many spheres, and point to the true, quiet, spotless state they know. Such is the effect produced by the power of the Sugata. 73. And all the four classes of hearers on seeing the power of the mighty! andrarka- 1 The text has tayin, a word frequently occurring in the Lotus. T assume that the form t4pin, given in the dictionaries as an epithet of Buddha, is but a misread t4yin, and further that this is radically the same with the Pali tadi (tadin). As tayana, Pazini I, 3, 38, is explained to have the meaning of thriving, prospering, it may be supposed that tayin on the strength of its derivation denotes thriving, prosperous, mighty, holy, as well as making prosperous, blessing, sanctifying. Burnouf derives it from a supposed Sanskrit trayin, and translates it by ‘protector.’ It is, indeed, by no means unlikely 26 SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. 1 dipa! were filled with joy and asked one another: How is this? 74. And soon afterwards, as the Leader of the world, worshipped by men, gods, and goblins, rose from his meditation, he addressed his son Varaprabha, the wise Bodhisattva and preacher of the law: 75. ‘Thou art wise, the eye and refuge of the world; thou art the trustworthy keeper of my law, and canst bear witness as to the treasure of laws which I am to lay bare to the weal of living beings.’
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1And 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. 22 SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. I. 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- I. INTRODUCTORY. 23
2Amongst 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- I. INTRODUCTORY. 23 tion of Yasaskama'. He had propitiated many hundred thousand myriads of kof¢is of Buddhas by _ that root of goodness, and afterwards esteemed, honoured, respected, revered, venerated, worshipped them. Perhaps, Agita, thou feelest some doubt, perplexity or misgiving that in those days, at that time, there was another Bodhisvattva MahAsattva Varaprabha, preacher of the law. But do not think so. Why? because it is myself who in those days, at that time, was the Bodhisattva MahA4sattva Varaprabha, preacher of the law; and that Bodhisattva named YasaskAma, the lazy one, it is thyself, Agita, who in those days, at that time, wert the Bodhisattva named Yasaskama, the lazy one. And so, Agita, having once seen a similar foretoken of the Lord, I infer from a similar ray being emitted just now, that the Lord is about to expound the Dharmapary4ya called ‘the Lotus of the True Law.’ And on that occasion, in order to treat the subject more copiously, Mazigusri, the prince royal, uttered the following stanzas : 57. I remember a past period, inconceivable, illimited kalpas ago, when the highest of beings, the Gina of the name of Aandrasdryapradipa, was in existence. 58. He preached the true law, he, the leader of creatures; he educated an infinite number of ko/is of beings, and roused inconceivably many Bodhisattvas to acquiring supreme Buddha-knowledge. 59. And the eight sons born to him, the leader, when he was prince royal, no sooner saw that the 1 Le. desirous of glory. 24 SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. I. great sage had embraced ascetic life, than they resigned worldly pleasures and became monks. 60. And the Lord of the world proclaimed the law, and revealed to thousands of kofis of living beings the Sfitra, the development, which by name is called ‘the excellent Exposition of Infinity.’ 61. Immediately after delivering his speech, the leader crossed his legs and entered upon the meditation of ‘the excellent Exposition of the Infinite.’ There on his seat of the law the eminent seer continued absorbed in meditation. 62. And there fell a celestial rain of Mandaravas, while the drums (of heaven) resounded without being struck; the gods and elves in the sky paid honour to the highest of men. 63. And simultaneously all the fields (of Buddha) began trembling. A wonder it was, a great prodigy. Then the chief emitted from between his brows one extremely beautiful ray, 64. Which moving to the eastern quarter glittered, illuminating the world all over the extent of eighteen thousand fields. It manifested the ‘vanishing and appearing of beings.
3A wonder it was, a great prodigy. Then the chief emitted from between his brows one extremely beautiful ray, 64. Which moving to the eastern quarter glittered, illuminating the world all over the extent of eighteen thousand fields. It manifested the ‘vanishing and appearing of beings. 65. Some of the fields then seemed jewelled, others showed the hue of lapis lazuli, all splendid, extremely beautiful, owing to the radiance of the ray from the leader. 66. Gods and men, as well as Nagas, goblins, Gandharvas, nymphs, Kinnaras, and those occupied with serving the Sugata became visible in the spheres and paid their devotion. 67. The Buddhas also, those self-born beings, appeared of their own accord, resembling golden columns; like unto a golden disk (within lapis I. INTRODUCTORY. 25 lazuli), they revealed the law in the midst of the assembly. 68. The disciples, indeed, are not to be counted : the disciples of Sugata are numberless. Yet the lustre of the ray renders them all visible in every field. . 69. Energetic, without breach or flaw in their course, similar to gems and jewels, the sons of the leaders of men are visible in the mountain caves where they are dwelling. . 70. Numerous Bodhisattvas, like the sand of the . Ganges, who are spending all their wealth in giving alms, who have the strength of patience, are devoted to contemplation and wise, become all of them visible by that ray. 71. Immovable, unshaken, firm in patience, devoted to contemplation, and absorbed in meditation are seen the true sons of the Sugatas while they are striving for supreme enlightenment by dint of meditation. 72. They preach the law in many spheres, and point to the true, quiet, spotless state they know. Such is the effect produced by the power of the Sugata. 73. And all the four classes of hearers on seeing the power of the mighty! andrarka- 1 The text has tayin, a word frequently occurring in the Lotus. T assume that the form t4pin, given in the dictionaries as an epithet of Buddha, is but a misread t4yin, and further that this is radically the same with the Pali tadi (tadin). As tayana, Pazini I, 3, 38, is explained to have the meaning of thriving, prospering, it may be supposed that tayin on the strength of its derivation denotes thriving, prosperous, mighty, holy, as well as making prosperous, blessing, sanctifying. Burnouf derives it from a supposed Sanskrit trayin, and translates it by ‘protector.’ It is, indeed, by no means unlikely 26 SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. 1 dipa! were filled with joy and asked one another: How is this? 74. And soon afterwards, as the Leader of the world, worshipped by men, gods, and goblins, rose from his meditation, he addressed his son Varaprabha, the wise Bodhisattva and preacher of the law: 75. ‘Thou art wise, the eye and refuge of the world; thou art the trustworthy keeper of my law, and canst bear witness as to the treasure of laws which I am to lay bare to the weal of living beings.’
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
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