Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
116. Grand is the matter now (occurring) in the ten points of space, and (great) the sound raised by the Leaders ; thousands of ko/is of living beings are refreshed and gifted with virtue for enlightenment. Thereupon the Lord addressed the Bodhisattva Mahdasattva Maitreya: Those beings, Agita, who during the exposition of this Dharmaparydya in which the duration of the Tath4gata’s life is revealed have entertained, were it but a single thought of trust, or have put belief in it, how great a merit are they to produce, be they young men and young ladies of good family? Listen then, and mind it well, how great the merit is they shall produce. Let us suppose the case, Agita, that some young man or young lady of good family, desirous of supreme, perfect enlightenment, for eight hundred thousand myriads of ko¢is of AZons practises the five perfections of virtue (Paramitds), to wit, perfect charity in alms, perfect morality, perfect forbearance, perfect energy, perfect meditation—perfect wisdom being excepted$; 1 Dhvag4gre; a marginal reading has dhvagAm ka (sic). 2 Etadrisdskarya visishfam adbhutaA (r. adbhutam), vititra darsent’ ima(m) adya Nayaka. * Virahitak pragwaparamitaya(h). The five specified virtues are identical with those enumerated in Lalita-vistara, p. 38, and slightly different from those as found in the P4li scriptures. ( ut of the five virtues, four, viz. sfla, ksh4nti, virya, dhy4na, answer to XVI. OF PIETY. 317 let us, on the other hand, suppose the case, Agita, that a young man or young lady of good family, on hearing this Dharmaparyaya containing the exposition of the duration of the Tathagata’s life, conceives were it but a single thought of trust or puts belief in it; then that former accumulation of merit?, that accumulation of good connected with the five perfections of virtue, (that accumulation) which has come to full accomplishment in eight hundred thousand myriads of koftis of AZons, does not equal one hundredth part of the accumulation of merit in the second case; it does not equal one thousandth part; it admits of no calculation, no counting, no reckoning, no comparison, no approximation, no secret teaching*. One who is possessed of such an accumulation of merit, Agita, be he a young man or a young lady of good family, will not miss supreme, perfect enlightenment ; no, that is not possible. dama, ksham4, dhriti, dhi in Manu VI, 92, where vidy4 is the equivalent to the Péramit4 of pragii4.
2One who is possessed of such an accumulation of merit, Agita, be he a young man or a young lady of good family, will not miss supreme, perfect enlightenment ; no, that is not possible. dama, ksham4, dhriti, dhi in Manu VI, 92, where vidy4 is the equivalent to the Péramit4 of pragii4. 1 Puny4bhisamsk4ra, which may be said to be the common Buddhistic equivalent of karm4saya, explained by Hindu scholastics to be the accumulation of moral merit and demerit. The term properly means ‘one’s moral disposition (at a given time as a necessary result of one’s previous acts).’ In a certain sense it may be contended that the sum of one’s previous actions determines one’s moral state at a given moment. As 4saya means disposition, character, and accumulation, we can understand how the Indian scholastics came to misunderstand the real purport of the word in karmasaya. As to abhisamsk4ra, it properly means ‘(mental or moral) disposition, character, impression, conception.’ 3 Upanisim api, upanishadam api na kshamate. Upanis4 is nothing else but the Prakrit form of Sansk. upanishad. In Pali it is explained by raho, mystery, secret lore, and k4raza; the latter may mean ‘mathematical operation.’ See, however, the Editor’s note on Sukh4vatf-vyQha, p. 31. 318 SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. XVI. And on that occasion the Lord uttered the following stanzas: 17. Let a man who is seeking after this knowledge, superior Buddha-knowledge, undertake to practise in this world the five perfect virtues ; 18. Let him, during eight thousand ko/is of complete AZons, continue giving repeated alms to Buddhas and disciples; 19. Regaling Pratyekabuddhas and kofis of Bodhisattvas by giving meat, food and drink, clothing and lodging? ; 20. Let him build on earth refuges and monasteries of sandal-wood, and pleasant convent gardens provided with walks ; 21. Let him after so bestowing gifts, various and diversified, during thousands of ko/¢is of AZons, direct his mind to enlightenment? ; 22. Let him then, for the sake of Buddhaknowledge, keep unbroken the pure moral precepts which have been recommended by the perfect Buddhas and acknowledged by the wise; 23. Let him further develop the virtue of forbearance, be steady in the stage of meekness®, be constant, of good memory, and patiently endure many censures ; 24. Let him, moreover, for the sake of Buddha- } These Pratyekabuddhas can hardly be other persons than hermits, and the Bodhisattvas must be the ministers of religion, who otherwise are called Panditas, and Vandyas, whence our Bonzes. * Le., if I rightly understand it, let him, after having lived in the world, retire from a busy life to take orders. ® I.e. of a monk under training. XVI. OF PIETY. 319 knowledge, bear the contemptuous words of unbelievers who are rooted in pride; . 25. Let him, always zealous, strenuous, studious, of good memory, without any other pre-occupation in his mind, practise meditation, during ko¢is of AZons ;
3® I.e. of a monk under training. XVI. OF PIETY. 319 knowledge, bear the contemptuous words of unbelievers who are rooted in pride; . 25. Let him, always zealous, strenuous, studious, of good memory, without any other pre-occupation in his mind, practise meditation, during ko¢is of AZons ; 26. Let him, whether living in the forest or entering upon a vagrant life’, go about, avoiding sloth and torpor?, for kofis of AEons ; 27. Let him asa philosopher, a great philosopher® who finds his delight in meditation, in concentration of mind, pass eight thousand ko/is of Eons ; 28. Let him energetically pursue enlightenment with the thought of his reaching all-knowingness, and so arrive at the highest degree of meditation ; 29. Then the merit accruing to those who practise the virtues oft described, during thousands of kofis of AZons, 30. (Is less than that of) a man or a woman who, on hearing the duration of my life, for a single moment believes in it; this merit is endless. 31. He who renouncing doubt, vacillation, and misgiving shall believe even for a short moment, shall obtain such a reward. 32. The Bodhisattvas also,who have practised those virtues during kof¢is of ons, will not be startled at hearing of this inconceivably long life of mine. 33. They will bow their heads (and think): ‘May I also in future become such a one and release koéis of living beings ! 1 Kankramam abhiruhya. ® StyAnamiddhanka vargitva. Middha, well known from Buddhistic writings, is a would-be Sanskrit form; it ought to be mriddha, from Vedic mr#dhyati. * T.e. a Yogin, a contemplative mystic. 320 SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. XVI. 34. ‘As the Lord Sakyamuni, the Lion of the Sakya race, after he had occupied his seat on the terrace of enlightenment, raised his lion’s roar ; 35. ‘So may I in future be sitting on the terrace of enlightenment, honoured by all mortals, to teach so long a life?!’ 36. Those who are possessed of firmness of intention? and have learnt the principles, will understand the mystery® and feel no uncertainty‘. Again, Agita, he who after hearing this Dharmaparydya, which contains an exposition of the duration of the Tath4gata’s life, apprehends it, penetrates and understands it, will produce a yet more immeasurable accumulation of merit conducive to Buddhaknowledge; unnecessary to add that he who hears such a Dharmapary4ya as this or makes others hear it; who keeps it in memory, reads, comprehends or makes others comprehend it; who writes or has it written, collects or has it collected into a volume, honours, respects, worships it with flowers, incense, perfumed garlands, ointments, powder, cloth, umbrellas, flags, streamers, (lighted) oil lamps, ghee lamps or lamps filled with scented oil, will produce a far greater accumulation of merit conducive to Buddha-knowledge. And, Agita, as a test whether that young man or young lady of good family who hears this exposition
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.
116. Grand is the matter now (occurring) in the ten points of space, and (great) the sound raised by the Leaders ; thousands of ko/is of living beings are refreshed and gifted with virtue for enlightenment. Thereupon the Lord addressed the Bodhisattva Mahdasattva Maitreya: Those beings, Agita, who during the exposition of this Dharmaparydya in which the duration of the Tath4gata’s life is revealed have entertained, were it but a single thought of trust, or have put belief in it, how great a merit are they to produce, be they young men and young ladies of good family? Listen then, and mind it well, how great the merit is they shall produce. Let us suppose the case, Agita, that some young man or young lady of good family, desirous of supreme, perfect enlightenment, for eight hundred thousand myriads of ko¢is of AZons practises the five perfections of virtue (Paramitds), to wit, perfect charity in alms, perfect morality, perfect forbearance, perfect energy, perfect meditation—perfect wisdom being excepted$; 1 Dhvag4gre; a marginal reading has dhvagAm ka (sic). 2 Etadrisdskarya visishfam adbhutaA (r. adbhutam), vititra darsent’ ima(m) adya Nayaka. * Virahitak pragwaparamitaya(h). The five specified virtues are identical with those enumerated in Lalita-vistara, p. 38, and slightly different from those as found in the P4li scriptures. ( ut of the five virtues, four, viz. sfla, ksh4nti, virya, dhy4na, answer to XVI. OF PIETY. 317 let us, on the other hand, suppose the case, Agita, that a young man or young lady of good family, on hearing this Dharmaparyaya containing the exposition of the duration of the Tathagata’s life, conceives were it but a single thought of trust or puts belief in it; then that former accumulation of merit?, that accumulation of good connected with the five perfections of virtue, (that accumulation) which has come to full accomplishment in eight hundred thousand myriads of koftis of AZons, does not equal one hundredth part of the accumulation of merit in the second case; it does not equal one thousandth part; it admits of no calculation, no counting, no reckoning, no comparison, no approximation, no secret teaching*. One who is possessed of such an accumulation of merit, Agita, be he a young man or a young lady of good family, will not miss supreme, perfect enlightenment ; no, that is not possible. dama, ksham4, dhriti, dhi in Manu VI, 92, where vidy4 is the equivalent to the Péramit4 of pragii4.
2One who is possessed of such an accumulation of merit, Agita, be he a young man or a young lady of good family, will not miss supreme, perfect enlightenment ; no, that is not possible. dama, ksham4, dhriti, dhi in Manu VI, 92, where vidy4 is the equivalent to the Péramit4 of pragii4. 1 Puny4bhisamsk4ra, which may be said to be the common Buddhistic equivalent of karm4saya, explained by Hindu scholastics to be the accumulation of moral merit and demerit. The term properly means ‘one’s moral disposition (at a given time as a necessary result of one’s previous acts).’ In a certain sense it may be contended that the sum of one’s previous actions determines one’s moral state at a given moment. As 4saya means disposition, character, and accumulation, we can understand how the Indian scholastics came to misunderstand the real purport of the word in karmasaya. As to abhisamsk4ra, it properly means ‘(mental or moral) disposition, character, impression, conception.’ 3 Upanisim api, upanishadam api na kshamate. Upanis4 is nothing else but the Prakrit form of Sansk. upanishad. In Pali it is explained by raho, mystery, secret lore, and k4raza; the latter may mean ‘mathematical operation.’ See, however, the Editor’s note on Sukh4vatf-vyQha, p. 31. 318 SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. XVI. And on that occasion the Lord uttered the following stanzas: 17. Let a man who is seeking after this knowledge, superior Buddha-knowledge, undertake to practise in this world the five perfect virtues ; 18. Let him, during eight thousand ko/is of complete AZons, continue giving repeated alms to Buddhas and disciples; 19. Regaling Pratyekabuddhas and kofis of Bodhisattvas by giving meat, food and drink, clothing and lodging? ; 20. Let him build on earth refuges and monasteries of sandal-wood, and pleasant convent gardens provided with walks ; 21. Let him after so bestowing gifts, various and diversified, during thousands of ko/¢is of AZons, direct his mind to enlightenment? ; 22. Let him then, for the sake of Buddhaknowledge, keep unbroken the pure moral precepts which have been recommended by the perfect Buddhas and acknowledged by the wise; 23. Let him further develop the virtue of forbearance, be steady in the stage of meekness®, be constant, of good memory, and patiently endure many censures ; 24. Let him, moreover, for the sake of Buddha- } These Pratyekabuddhas can hardly be other persons than hermits, and the Bodhisattvas must be the ministers of religion, who otherwise are called Panditas, and Vandyas, whence our Bonzes. * Le., if I rightly understand it, let him, after having lived in the world, retire from a busy life to take orders. ® I.e. of a monk under training. XVI. OF PIETY. 319 knowledge, bear the contemptuous words of unbelievers who are rooted in pride; . 25. Let him, always zealous, strenuous, studious, of good memory, without any other pre-occupation in his mind, practise meditation, during ko¢is of AZons ;
3® I.e. of a monk under training. XVI. OF PIETY. 319 knowledge, bear the contemptuous words of unbelievers who are rooted in pride; . 25. Let him, always zealous, strenuous, studious, of good memory, without any other pre-occupation in his mind, practise meditation, during ko¢is of AZons ; 26. Let him, whether living in the forest or entering upon a vagrant life’, go about, avoiding sloth and torpor?, for kofis of AEons ; 27. Let him asa philosopher, a great philosopher® who finds his delight in meditation, in concentration of mind, pass eight thousand ko/is of Eons ; 28. Let him energetically pursue enlightenment with the thought of his reaching all-knowingness, and so arrive at the highest degree of meditation ; 29. Then the merit accruing to those who practise the virtues oft described, during thousands of kofis of AZons, 30. (Is less than that of) a man or a woman who, on hearing the duration of my life, for a single moment believes in it; this merit is endless. 31. He who renouncing doubt, vacillation, and misgiving shall believe even for a short moment, shall obtain such a reward. 32. The Bodhisattvas also,who have practised those virtues during kof¢is of ons, will not be startled at hearing of this inconceivably long life of mine. 33. They will bow their heads (and think): ‘May I also in future become such a one and release koéis of living beings ! 1 Kankramam abhiruhya. ® StyAnamiddhanka vargitva. Middha, well known from Buddhistic writings, is a would-be Sanskrit form; it ought to be mriddha, from Vedic mr#dhyati. * T.e. a Yogin, a contemplative mystic. 320 SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. XVI. 34. ‘As the Lord Sakyamuni, the Lion of the Sakya race, after he had occupied his seat on the terrace of enlightenment, raised his lion’s roar ; 35. ‘So may I in future be sitting on the terrace of enlightenment, honoured by all mortals, to teach so long a life?!’ 36. Those who are possessed of firmness of intention? and have learnt the principles, will understand the mystery® and feel no uncertainty‘. Again, Agita, he who after hearing this Dharmaparydya, which contains an exposition of the duration of the Tath4gata’s life, apprehends it, penetrates and understands it, will produce a yet more immeasurable accumulation of merit conducive to Buddhaknowledge; unnecessary to add that he who hears such a Dharmapary4ya as this or makes others hear it; who keeps it in memory, reads, comprehends or makes others comprehend it; who writes or has it written, collects or has it collected into a volume, honours, respects, worships it with flowers, incense, perfumed garlands, ointments, powder, cloth, umbrellas, flags, streamers, (lighted) oil lamps, ghee lamps or lamps filled with scented oil, will produce a far greater accumulation of merit conducive to Buddha-knowledge. And, Agita, as a test whether that young man or young lady of good family who hears this exposition
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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