Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1370 SADDIHARMA-PUNDARIKA. XVII. towers. In this way, Agita, that master of munificence, that great master of munificence continues spending his gifts for fully eighty years. Then, Agita, that master of munificence, that great master of munificence reflects thus: All these beings have I allowed to sport and enjoy themselves, but now they are covered with wrinkles and grey-haired, old, decrepit, eighty years of age, and near the term of their life. Let me therefore initiate them in the discipline of the law revealed by the Tathdgata, and instruct them. Thereupon, Agita, the man exhorts all those beings, thereafter initiates them in the discipline of the law revealed by the Tathagata, and makes them adopt it. Those beings learn the law from him, and in one moment, one instant, one bit of time, all become Srotadpannas, obtain the fruit of the rank of Sakvzd4gA4min and of Anagémin, until they become Arhats, free from all imperfections, adepts in meditation, adepts in great meditation and in the meditation with eight emancipations. Now, what is thine opinion, Agita, will that master of munificence, that great master of munificence, on account of his doings, produce great merit, immense, incalculable merit? Whereupon the Bodhisattva Mahasattva Maitreya said in reply to the Lord : Certainly, Lord; certainly, Sugata; that person, Lord, will already produce much merit on that account, because he gives to the beings all that is necessary for happiness ; how much more then if he establishes them in Arhatship! This said, the Lord spoke to the Bodhisattva Mahdsattva Maitreya as follows: I announce to thee, Agita, I declare to thee; (take) on one side the master of munificence, the great master of munificence, XVII. MERITORIOUSNESS OF JOYFUL ACCEPTANCE. 331 who produces merit by supplying all beings in the four hundred thousand Asankhyeyas of worlds with all the necessaries for happiness and by establishing them in Arhatship; (take) on the other side the person who, ranking the fiftieth in the series of the oral tradition of the law, hears, were it but a single stanza, a single word, from this Dharmaparyaya and joyfully accepts it ; if (we compare) the mass of merit connected with the joyful acceptance and the mass of merit connected with the charity of the master of munificence, the great master of munificence, then the greater merit will be his who, ranking the fiftieth in the series of the oral tradition of the law, after hearing were it but a single stanza, a single word, from this Dharmapary4ya, joyfully accepts it. Against this accumulation of merit, Agita, this accumulation of roots of goodness connected with that joyful acceptance, the former accumulation of merit connected with the charity of that master of munificence, that great master of munificence, and connected with the confirmation in Arhatship, does not fetch the im part, not the mo not the joo, not the jmowss, not the
21066 10,000,000 not the 0000 167500060» not the soa BOOT TOON 10 TO part; it admits of no calculation, no counting, no reckoning, no comparison, no approximation, no secret teaching. So immense, incalculable, Avita, is the merit which a person, ranking the fiftieth in the series of the tradition of the law, produces by joyfully accepting, were it but a single stanza, a single word, from this Dharmaparydya ; how much more then (will) he (produce), Agita, who hears this Dharmapary4ya in my presence and then joyfully accepts it? I declare, Agita, that his 332 SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. XVII. accumulation of mierit shall be even more immense, more incalculable. And further, Agita, if a young man of good family or a young lady, with the design to hear this discourse on the law, goes from home to a monastery, and there hears this Dharmaparydya for a single moment, either standing or sitting, then that person, merely by the mass of merit resulting from that action, will after the termination of his (present) life, and at. the time of his second existence when he receives (another) body, become a possessor of carriages yoked with bullocks, horses, or elephants, of litters, vehicles yoked with bulls', and of celestial aerial cars. If further that same person at that preaching sits down, were it but a single moment, to hear this Dharmapary4ya, or persuades another to sit down or shares with him his seat, he will by the store of merit resulting from that action gain seats of Indra, seats of Brahma, thrones of a Xakravartin. And, Agita, if some one, a young man of good family or a young lady, says to another person: Come, friend, and hear the Dharmaparyaya of the Lotus of the True Law, and if that other person owing to that exhortation is persuaded to listen, were it but a single moment, then the former will by virtue of that root of goodness, consisting in that exhortation, obtain the advantage of a connection with Bodhisattvas who have acquired Dharami. He will become the reverse of dull, will get keen faculties, and have wisdom; in the course of a hundred thousand existences he will never have a fetid mouth, nor an offensive one; he will have no 1 Rishabhayanaz4m. XVII. MERITORIOUSNESS OF JOYFUL ACCEPTANCE. 333
3He will become the reverse of dull, will get keen faculties, and have wisdom; in the course of a hundred thousand existences he will never have a fetid mouth, nor an offensive one; he will have no 1 Rishabhayanaz4m. XVII. MERITORIOUSNESS OF JOYFUL ACCEPTANCE. 333 diseases of the tongue, nor of the mouth; he will have no black teeth, no unequal, no yellow, no illranged, no broken teeth, no teeth fallen out; his lips will not be pendulous, not turned inward, not gaping, not mutilated, not loathsome'; his nose will not be flat, nor wry; his face will not be long, nor wry, nor unpleasant. On the contrary, Agita, his tongue, teeth, and lips will be delicate and wellshaped; his nose long; his face perfectly round?; the eyebrows well-shaped ; the forehead well-formed. He will receive a very complete organ of manhood. He will have the advantage that the Tathagata renders sermons intelligible* to him and soon come in connection with Lords, Buddhas. Mark, Agita, how much good is produced by one’s inciting were it but a single creature ; how much more then by him who reverentially hears, reverentially reads, reverentially preaches, reverentially promulgates the law! And on that occasion the Lord uttered the following stanzas : ‘ 2. Listen how great the merit is of one who, the fiftieth in the series (of tradition), hears a single stanza from this Sdtra and with placid mind joyfully adopts it. 3. Suppose there is a man in the habit of giving 1 Burnouf has some terms wanting in my text; they have been added by a later hand in the margin, but the characters are indistinct. * Pranitamukhamandala; a marginal reading has prinamukha’. ® Tathagataz kavavidanubhasakam pratilabhate. I am not sure of the real meaning of anubh4saka; it may as well be ‘ suggesting.’ Burnouf has, ‘c’est de la bouche du Tathagata qu’il reeevra les avis et lenseignement.’ - 334 SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. XVII. alms to myriads of ko¢is of beings, whom I have herebefore indicated by way of comparison}; all of them he satisfies during eighty years. 4. Then seeing that old age has approached for them, that their brow is wrinkled and their head grey (he thinks): Alas, how all beings come to decay! Let me therefore admonish them by (speaking of) the law. 5. He teaches them the law here on earth and points to the state of Nirvava hereafter. ‘Atl existences’ (he says) ‘are like a mirage; hasten to become disgusted with all existence.’ 6. All creatures, by hearing the law from that charitable person, become at once Arhats, free from imperfections, and living their last life. 7. Much more merit than by that person will be acquired by him who through unbroken tradition shall hear were it but a single stanza and joyfully receive it. The mass of merit of the former is not even so much as a small particle of the latter’s.
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.
1370 SADDIHARMA-PUNDARIKA. XVII. towers. In this way, Agita, that master of munificence, that great master of munificence continues spending his gifts for fully eighty years. Then, Agita, that master of munificence, that great master of munificence reflects thus: All these beings have I allowed to sport and enjoy themselves, but now they are covered with wrinkles and grey-haired, old, decrepit, eighty years of age, and near the term of their life. Let me therefore initiate them in the discipline of the law revealed by the Tathdgata, and instruct them. Thereupon, Agita, the man exhorts all those beings, thereafter initiates them in the discipline of the law revealed by the Tathagata, and makes them adopt it. Those beings learn the law from him, and in one moment, one instant, one bit of time, all become Srotadpannas, obtain the fruit of the rank of Sakvzd4gA4min and of Anagémin, until they become Arhats, free from all imperfections, adepts in meditation, adepts in great meditation and in the meditation with eight emancipations. Now, what is thine opinion, Agita, will that master of munificence, that great master of munificence, on account of his doings, produce great merit, immense, incalculable merit? Whereupon the Bodhisattva Mahasattva Maitreya said in reply to the Lord : Certainly, Lord; certainly, Sugata; that person, Lord, will already produce much merit on that account, because he gives to the beings all that is necessary for happiness ; how much more then if he establishes them in Arhatship! This said, the Lord spoke to the Bodhisattva Mahdsattva Maitreya as follows: I announce to thee, Agita, I declare to thee; (take) on one side the master of munificence, the great master of munificence, XVII. MERITORIOUSNESS OF JOYFUL ACCEPTANCE. 331 who produces merit by supplying all beings in the four hundred thousand Asankhyeyas of worlds with all the necessaries for happiness and by establishing them in Arhatship; (take) on the other side the person who, ranking the fiftieth in the series of the oral tradition of the law, hears, were it but a single stanza, a single word, from this Dharmaparyaya and joyfully accepts it ; if (we compare) the mass of merit connected with the joyful acceptance and the mass of merit connected with the charity of the master of munificence, the great master of munificence, then the greater merit will be his who, ranking the fiftieth in the series of the oral tradition of the law, after hearing were it but a single stanza, a single word, from this Dharmapary4ya, joyfully accepts it. Against this accumulation of merit, Agita, this accumulation of roots of goodness connected with that joyful acceptance, the former accumulation of merit connected with the charity of that master of munificence, that great master of munificence, and connected with the confirmation in Arhatship, does not fetch the im part, not the mo not the joo, not the jmowss, not the
21066 10,000,000 not the 0000 167500060» not the soa BOOT TOON 10 TO part; it admits of no calculation, no counting, no reckoning, no comparison, no approximation, no secret teaching. So immense, incalculable, Avita, is the merit which a person, ranking the fiftieth in the series of the tradition of the law, produces by joyfully accepting, were it but a single stanza, a single word, from this Dharmaparydya ; how much more then (will) he (produce), Agita, who hears this Dharmapary4ya in my presence and then joyfully accepts it? I declare, Agita, that his 332 SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. XVII. accumulation of mierit shall be even more immense, more incalculable. And further, Agita, if a young man of good family or a young lady, with the design to hear this discourse on the law, goes from home to a monastery, and there hears this Dharmaparydya for a single moment, either standing or sitting, then that person, merely by the mass of merit resulting from that action, will after the termination of his (present) life, and at. the time of his second existence when he receives (another) body, become a possessor of carriages yoked with bullocks, horses, or elephants, of litters, vehicles yoked with bulls', and of celestial aerial cars. If further that same person at that preaching sits down, were it but a single moment, to hear this Dharmapary4ya, or persuades another to sit down or shares with him his seat, he will by the store of merit resulting from that action gain seats of Indra, seats of Brahma, thrones of a Xakravartin. And, Agita, if some one, a young man of good family or a young lady, says to another person: Come, friend, and hear the Dharmaparyaya of the Lotus of the True Law, and if that other person owing to that exhortation is persuaded to listen, were it but a single moment, then the former will by virtue of that root of goodness, consisting in that exhortation, obtain the advantage of a connection with Bodhisattvas who have acquired Dharami. He will become the reverse of dull, will get keen faculties, and have wisdom; in the course of a hundred thousand existences he will never have a fetid mouth, nor an offensive one; he will have no 1 Rishabhayanaz4m. XVII. MERITORIOUSNESS OF JOYFUL ACCEPTANCE. 333
3He will become the reverse of dull, will get keen faculties, and have wisdom; in the course of a hundred thousand existences he will never have a fetid mouth, nor an offensive one; he will have no 1 Rishabhayanaz4m. XVII. MERITORIOUSNESS OF JOYFUL ACCEPTANCE. 333 diseases of the tongue, nor of the mouth; he will have no black teeth, no unequal, no yellow, no illranged, no broken teeth, no teeth fallen out; his lips will not be pendulous, not turned inward, not gaping, not mutilated, not loathsome'; his nose will not be flat, nor wry; his face will not be long, nor wry, nor unpleasant. On the contrary, Agita, his tongue, teeth, and lips will be delicate and wellshaped; his nose long; his face perfectly round?; the eyebrows well-shaped ; the forehead well-formed. He will receive a very complete organ of manhood. He will have the advantage that the Tathagata renders sermons intelligible* to him and soon come in connection with Lords, Buddhas. Mark, Agita, how much good is produced by one’s inciting were it but a single creature ; how much more then by him who reverentially hears, reverentially reads, reverentially preaches, reverentially promulgates the law! And on that occasion the Lord uttered the following stanzas : ‘ 2. Listen how great the merit is of one who, the fiftieth in the series (of tradition), hears a single stanza from this Sdtra and with placid mind joyfully adopts it. 3. Suppose there is a man in the habit of giving 1 Burnouf has some terms wanting in my text; they have been added by a later hand in the margin, but the characters are indistinct. * Pranitamukhamandala; a marginal reading has prinamukha’. ® Tathagataz kavavidanubhasakam pratilabhate. I am not sure of the real meaning of anubh4saka; it may as well be ‘ suggesting.’ Burnouf has, ‘c’est de la bouche du Tathagata qu’il reeevra les avis et lenseignement.’ - 334 SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. XVII. alms to myriads of ko¢is of beings, whom I have herebefore indicated by way of comparison}; all of them he satisfies during eighty years. 4. Then seeing that old age has approached for them, that their brow is wrinkled and their head grey (he thinks): Alas, how all beings come to decay! Let me therefore admonish them by (speaking of) the law. 5. He teaches them the law here on earth and points to the state of Nirvava hereafter. ‘Atl existences’ (he says) ‘are like a mirage; hasten to become disgusted with all existence.’ 6. All creatures, by hearing the law from that charitable person, become at once Arhats, free from imperfections, and living their last life. 7. Much more merit than by that person will be acquired by him who through unbroken tradition shall hear were it but a single stanza and joyfully receive it. The mass of merit of the former is not even so much as a small particle of the latter’s.
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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