Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1At that very moment appeared the daughter of Sagara, the N4ga-king, standing before their face. After reverentially saluting the feet of the Lord she stationed herself at some distance and uttered on that occasion the following stanzas: dhisahasraikakshavapratilabhin?. A marginal correction by a later hand adds sarva between dharma and satva. 1 The daughter of Sagara, the Ocean, is Lakshmf, the smiling goddess of Beauty and Fortune, but from some traits in the sequel it would seem that she is identified with T4ra, the wife of Brzhaspati and the Moon. 2 As Hercules performed his 44a. 5 As the sun shoots his rays everywhere, it is quite natural that his dhAtus, i.e. particles, relics, have been spread all over the surface of the earth, and it is no untruth that the footprints (the padas, rays) of the Lord Sdkyamuni are to be found in Laos, in Ceylon, &c. ’ 252 SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. XI. 49. Spotless, bright, and of unfathomable light is that ethereal body, adorned with the thirty-two characteristic signs, pervading space in all directions. 50. He is possessed of the secondary marks and praised by every being, and accessible to all, like an open market-place!. 51. I have obtained enlightenment according to my wish ; the Tathagata can bear witness to it; I will extensively reveal the law that releases from sufferance. Then the venerable S4riputra said to that daughter of Sagara, the Naga-king : Thou hast conceived the idea of enlightenment, young lady of good family, without sliding back, and art gifted with immense wisdom, but supreme, perfect enlightenment is not easily won, It may happen,. sister, that a woman displays an unflagging energy, performs good works for many thousands of AZons, and fulfils the six perfect virtues (Paramitds), but as yet there is no example of her having reached Buddhaship, and that because a woman cannot occupy the five ranks, viz. 1. the rank of Brahma; 2. the rank of Indra; 3. the rank of a chief guardian of the four quarters; 4. the rank of Xakravartin; 5. the rank of a Bodhisattva incapable of sliding back’. Now the daughter of Sagara, the N4ga-king, had at the time a gem which in value outweighed the whole universe. That gem the daughter of Sagara, the Naga-king, presented to the Lord, and the Lord graciously accepted it. Then the daughter of Sagara, 1 Antarfpamavad yatha. I am not certain of the correctness of my translation. Burnouf has ‘s’il était leur concitoyen.’ 2 All these beings are in Sanskrit of masculine gender; hence their rank cannot be taken by beings having feminine names, xI. APPARITION OF A STOPA. 253
2I am not certain of the correctness of my translation. Burnouf has ‘s’il était leur concitoyen.’ 2 All these beings are in Sanskrit of masculine gender; hence their rank cannot be taken by beings having feminine names, xI. APPARITION OF A STOPA. 253 the Na4ga-king, said to the Bodhisattva Prag#akata and the senior priest S4riputra: Has the Lord readily accepted! the gem I presented him or has he not? The senior priest answered: As soon as it was presented by thee, so soon it was accepted by the Lord. The daughter of Sagara, the Nagaking, replied: If I were endowed with magic power, brother Sdriputra, I should sooner have arrived at supreme, perfect enlightenment, and there would have been none to receive this gem. At the same instant, before the sight of the whole world and of the senior priest S4riputra, the female sex of the daughter of S4gara, the Naga-king, disappeared; the male sex appeared* and she manifested herself as a Bodhisattva, who immediately went to the South to sit down at the foot of a tree made of seven precious substances, in the world Vimala (i.e. spotless), where he showed himself enlightened and preaching the law, while filling all directions of space with the radiance of the thirtytwo characteristic signs and all secondary marks. All beings in the Saha-world beheld that Lord while he received the homage of all, gods, Nagas, goblins, Gandharvas, demons, Garudas, Kinnaras, great serpents, men, and beings not human, and was engaged 1 A marginal reading from a later hand adds: anukamp4m upAdaya, by grace, by mercy, graciously. * In ancient times such a change of sex is nothing strange. Sundry words for ‘star,’ e.g. tara, taraka, Latin stella, are feminine, whereas the names of some particular stars are masculine; so T4r4, the daughter of the Sea, Stella Marina, may have been identified with Tishya, or the Iranian Tishtrya, who equally rises from the sea; cf. Tishter Yasht (ed. Westergaard, p. 177). The daughter of the ocean seems to be identical with Ardvi Sfra, celebrated in Abin Yasht. 254 SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. Xl. in preaching the law. And the beings who heard the preaching of that Tathagata became incapable of sliding back in supreme, perfect enlightenment. And that world Vimala and this Saha-world shook in six different ways. Three thousand living beings from the congregational circle of the Lord Sakyamuni gained the acquiescence in the eternal law’, whereas three hundred thousand beings obtained the prediction of their future destiny to supreme, perfect enlightenment. Then the Bodhisattva Prag#4kQa and the senior priest S4riputra were silent. 1 AnutpattikadharmakshAnti. XII. EXERTION. 255 CHAPTER XII. EXERTION,
3Then the Bodhisattva Prag#4kQa and the senior priest S4riputra were silent. 1 AnutpattikadharmakshAnti. XII. EXERTION. 255 CHAPTER XII. EXERTION, Thereafter the Bodhisattva Bhaishagyaraga and the Bodhisattva Mah4pratibhana, with a retinue of twenty hundred thousand Bodhisattvas, spoke before the face of the Lord the following words: Let the Lord be at ease in this respect ; we will after the extinction of the Tathagata expound this Parydya to (all) creatures!, though we are aware, O Lord, that at that period there shall be malign beings, having few roots of goodness, conceited, fond of gain and honour, rooted in unholiness, difficult to tame, deprived of good will, and full of unwillingness. Nevertheless, O Lord, we will at that period read, keep, preach, write, honour, respect, venerate, worship this Satra; with sacrifice of body and life, O Lord, we will divulge this Sdtra. Let the Lord be at ease. Thereupon five hundred monks of the assembly, both such as were under training and such as were not, said to the Lord: We also, O Lord, will exert ourselves to divulge this Dharmapary4ya, though in other worlds. Then all the disciples of the Lord, both such as were under training and such as were 1 One would expect that this speech immediately followed st. 41 in the foregoing chapter, but the rules of composition in Buddhistic writings are so peculiar that it is unsafe to apply criticism. 256 SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. XII. not, who had received from the Lord the prediction as to their (future) supreme enlightenment, all the eight thousand monks raised their joined hands towards the Lord and said: Let the Lord be at ease. We also will divulge this Dharmaparydya, after the complete extinction of the Lord, in the last days, the last period, though in other worlds. For in this Saha-world, O Lord, the creatures are conceited, possessed of few roots of goodness, always vicious in their thoughts, wicked, and naturally perverse. Then the noble matron Gautami, the sister of the Lord’s mother, along with six hundred! nuns, some of them being under training, some being not, rose from her seat, raised the joined hands towards the Lord and remained gazing up to him. Then the Lord addressed the noble matron Gautamt: Why dost thou stand so dejected, gazing up to the Tathagata? (She replied): Ihave not been mentioned by the Tathagata, nor have I received from him a prediction of my destiny to supreme, perfect enlightenment. (He said): But, Gautamt, thou hast received a prediction with the prediction regarding the whole assembly. Indeed, Gautami, thou shalt from henceforward, before the face of thirty-eight
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.
1At that very moment appeared the daughter of Sagara, the N4ga-king, standing before their face. After reverentially saluting the feet of the Lord she stationed herself at some distance and uttered on that occasion the following stanzas: dhisahasraikakshavapratilabhin?. A marginal correction by a later hand adds sarva between dharma and satva. 1 The daughter of Sagara, the Ocean, is Lakshmf, the smiling goddess of Beauty and Fortune, but from some traits in the sequel it would seem that she is identified with T4ra, the wife of Brzhaspati and the Moon. 2 As Hercules performed his 44a. 5 As the sun shoots his rays everywhere, it is quite natural that his dhAtus, i.e. particles, relics, have been spread all over the surface of the earth, and it is no untruth that the footprints (the padas, rays) of the Lord Sdkyamuni are to be found in Laos, in Ceylon, &c. ’ 252 SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. XI. 49. Spotless, bright, and of unfathomable light is that ethereal body, adorned with the thirty-two characteristic signs, pervading space in all directions. 50. He is possessed of the secondary marks and praised by every being, and accessible to all, like an open market-place!. 51. I have obtained enlightenment according to my wish ; the Tathagata can bear witness to it; I will extensively reveal the law that releases from sufferance. Then the venerable S4riputra said to that daughter of Sagara, the Naga-king : Thou hast conceived the idea of enlightenment, young lady of good family, without sliding back, and art gifted with immense wisdom, but supreme, perfect enlightenment is not easily won, It may happen,. sister, that a woman displays an unflagging energy, performs good works for many thousands of AZons, and fulfils the six perfect virtues (Paramitds), but as yet there is no example of her having reached Buddhaship, and that because a woman cannot occupy the five ranks, viz. 1. the rank of Brahma; 2. the rank of Indra; 3. the rank of a chief guardian of the four quarters; 4. the rank of Xakravartin; 5. the rank of a Bodhisattva incapable of sliding back’. Now the daughter of Sagara, the N4ga-king, had at the time a gem which in value outweighed the whole universe. That gem the daughter of Sagara, the Naga-king, presented to the Lord, and the Lord graciously accepted it. Then the daughter of Sagara, 1 Antarfpamavad yatha. I am not certain of the correctness of my translation. Burnouf has ‘s’il était leur concitoyen.’ 2 All these beings are in Sanskrit of masculine gender; hence their rank cannot be taken by beings having feminine names, xI. APPARITION OF A STOPA. 253
2I am not certain of the correctness of my translation. Burnouf has ‘s’il était leur concitoyen.’ 2 All these beings are in Sanskrit of masculine gender; hence their rank cannot be taken by beings having feminine names, xI. APPARITION OF A STOPA. 253 the Na4ga-king, said to the Bodhisattva Prag#akata and the senior priest S4riputra: Has the Lord readily accepted! the gem I presented him or has he not? The senior priest answered: As soon as it was presented by thee, so soon it was accepted by the Lord. The daughter of Sagara, the Nagaking, replied: If I were endowed with magic power, brother Sdriputra, I should sooner have arrived at supreme, perfect enlightenment, and there would have been none to receive this gem. At the same instant, before the sight of the whole world and of the senior priest S4riputra, the female sex of the daughter of S4gara, the Naga-king, disappeared; the male sex appeared* and she manifested herself as a Bodhisattva, who immediately went to the South to sit down at the foot of a tree made of seven precious substances, in the world Vimala (i.e. spotless), where he showed himself enlightened and preaching the law, while filling all directions of space with the radiance of the thirtytwo characteristic signs and all secondary marks. All beings in the Saha-world beheld that Lord while he received the homage of all, gods, Nagas, goblins, Gandharvas, demons, Garudas, Kinnaras, great serpents, men, and beings not human, and was engaged 1 A marginal reading from a later hand adds: anukamp4m upAdaya, by grace, by mercy, graciously. * In ancient times such a change of sex is nothing strange. Sundry words for ‘star,’ e.g. tara, taraka, Latin stella, are feminine, whereas the names of some particular stars are masculine; so T4r4, the daughter of the Sea, Stella Marina, may have been identified with Tishya, or the Iranian Tishtrya, who equally rises from the sea; cf. Tishter Yasht (ed. Westergaard, p. 177). The daughter of the ocean seems to be identical with Ardvi Sfra, celebrated in Abin Yasht. 254 SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. Xl. in preaching the law. And the beings who heard the preaching of that Tathagata became incapable of sliding back in supreme, perfect enlightenment. And that world Vimala and this Saha-world shook in six different ways. Three thousand living beings from the congregational circle of the Lord Sakyamuni gained the acquiescence in the eternal law’, whereas three hundred thousand beings obtained the prediction of their future destiny to supreme, perfect enlightenment. Then the Bodhisattva Prag#4kQa and the senior priest S4riputra were silent. 1 AnutpattikadharmakshAnti. XII. EXERTION. 255 CHAPTER XII. EXERTION,
3Then the Bodhisattva Prag#4kQa and the senior priest S4riputra were silent. 1 AnutpattikadharmakshAnti. XII. EXERTION. 255 CHAPTER XII. EXERTION, Thereafter the Bodhisattva Bhaishagyaraga and the Bodhisattva Mah4pratibhana, with a retinue of twenty hundred thousand Bodhisattvas, spoke before the face of the Lord the following words: Let the Lord be at ease in this respect ; we will after the extinction of the Tathagata expound this Parydya to (all) creatures!, though we are aware, O Lord, that at that period there shall be malign beings, having few roots of goodness, conceited, fond of gain and honour, rooted in unholiness, difficult to tame, deprived of good will, and full of unwillingness. Nevertheless, O Lord, we will at that period read, keep, preach, write, honour, respect, venerate, worship this Satra; with sacrifice of body and life, O Lord, we will divulge this Sdtra. Let the Lord be at ease. Thereupon five hundred monks of the assembly, both such as were under training and such as were not, said to the Lord: We also, O Lord, will exert ourselves to divulge this Dharmapary4ya, though in other worlds. Then all the disciples of the Lord, both such as were under training and such as were 1 One would expect that this speech immediately followed st. 41 in the foregoing chapter, but the rules of composition in Buddhistic writings are so peculiar that it is unsafe to apply criticism. 256 SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. XII. not, who had received from the Lord the prediction as to their (future) supreme enlightenment, all the eight thousand monks raised their joined hands towards the Lord and said: Let the Lord be at ease. We also will divulge this Dharmaparydya, after the complete extinction of the Lord, in the last days, the last period, though in other worlds. For in this Saha-world, O Lord, the creatures are conceited, possessed of few roots of goodness, always vicious in their thoughts, wicked, and naturally perverse. Then the noble matron Gautami, the sister of the Lord’s mother, along with six hundred! nuns, some of them being under training, some being not, rose from her seat, raised the joined hands towards the Lord and remained gazing up to him. Then the Lord addressed the noble matron Gautamt: Why dost thou stand so dejected, gazing up to the Tathagata? (She replied): Ihave not been mentioned by the Tathagata, nor have I received from him a prediction of my destiny to supreme, perfect enlightenment. (He said): But, Gautamt, thou hast received a prediction with the prediction regarding the whole assembly. Indeed, Gautami, thou shalt from henceforward, before the face of thirty-eight
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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