The Lotus
Sutra
Translated by Burton Watson
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Chapter
Thirteen :
Admonition to Embrace the Sutra
At that time the Bodhisattva and
mahasattva Medicine King, along with the bodhisattva and mahasattva Great Joy of Preaching
and twenty thousand bodhisattva followers who were accompanying them, all in the presence
of the Buddha took this vow, saying: "We beg the World-Honored One to have no further
worry. After the Buddha has entered extinction we will honor, embrace, read, recite and
preach this sutra. Living beings in the evil age to come will have fewer and fewer good
roots. Many will be overbearingly arrogant and greedy for offerings and other forms of
gain, increasing the roots that are not good and moving farther away than ever from
emancipation. But although it will be difficult to teach and convert them, we will summon
up the power of great patience and will read and recite this sutra, embrace, preach, and
copy it, offering it many kinds of alms and never begrudging our bodies or lives.
At that time in the assembly there were
five hundred arhats who received a prophecy of enlightenment. They said to the Buddha,
"World-Honored One, we too make a vow. In lands other than this one we will broadly
preach this sutra."
Also there were eight thousand persons,
some still learning, others with nothing more to learn, who received a prophecy of
enlightenment. They rose from their seats, pressed their palms together and, turning
toward the Buddha, made this vow: "World-Honored One, we too in other lands will
broadly preach this sutra. Why? Because in this saha world the people are given to
corruption and evil, beset by overbearing arrogance, shallow in blessings, irascible,
muddled, fawning and devious, and their hearts are not sincere."
At that time the Buddha maternal aunt, the
nun Mahaprajapati, and the six thousand nuns who accompanied her, some still learning,
others with nothing more to learn, rose from their seats, pressed their palms together
with a single mind and gazed up at the face of the honored one, their eyes never leaving
him for instance.
At that time the World-Honored One said to
Gautami 3, "Why do you look at the Thus Come One in that perplexed manner? In your
heart are you perhaps worrying that I have failed to mention your name among those of
received a prophecy of the attainment of anuttara-samyak-sambodhi? But Gautami, I earlier
made a general statement saying that all the voice-hearers had received such a prophecy.
Now if you would like to know the prophecy for you, I will say that in ages to come, amid
the Law of sixty-eight thousands of millions of Buddhas, you will be a great teacher of
Law, and the six thousand nuns, some still learning, some already sufficiently learned,
will accompany you as teachers of the Law. In this manner you will bit by bit fulfill the
way of the bodhisattva until you are able to become a Buddha with the name Gladly Seen by
All Living Beings Thus Come One, worthy of offerings, of right and universal knowledge,
perfect clarity and conduct, well gone, understanding the world, unexcelled worthy,
trainer of people, teacher of heavenly and human beings, Buddha, World-Honored One.
Gautami, this Gladly Seen by All Living Beings Buddha will confer a prophecy upon the six
thousand bodhisattvas, to be passed from one to another, that they will attain
anuttara-samyak-sambodhi."At that time the mother of Rahula, the nun Yashodhara,
thought to herself, the World-Honored One in his bestowal of prophecies has failed to
mention my name alone!
The Buddha said to Yashodhara, "In
future ages, amid the Law of hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, millions of Buddhas, you
will practice the deeds of a bodhisattva, will be a great teacher of the Law, and will
gradually fulfill the Buddha way. Then in a good land you will become a Buddha named
Endowed with a Thousand Ten Thousand Glowing Marks Thus Come One, worthy of offerings, of
right and universal knowledge, perfect clarity and conduct, well gone, understanding the
world, unexcelled worthy, trainer of people, teacher of heavenly and human beings, Buddha,
World-Honored One. The life span of this Buddha will be immeasurable asamkhya
kalpas."
At that time the nun Mahaprajapati, the
nun Yashodhara, and their followers were all filled with great joy, having gained what
they had never had before. Immediately in the presence of the Buddha they spoke in verse
form, saying:
World-Honored One, leader and teacher,
you bring tranquility to heavenly and
human beings.
We have heard these prophecies
and our minds are peaceful and satisfied.
The nuns, having recited these
verses, said to the Buddha, "World-Honored One, we too will be able to go to lands in
other regions and broadly propagate this sutra.
At that time the World-Honored One looked
at the eight hundred thousand million nayutas of bodhisattvas and mahasattvas. These
bodhisattvas had all reached the level of avivartika, turned the unregressing wheel of the
Law, and had gained dharanis. They rose from their seats, advanced before the Buddha and,
pressing their palms together with a single mind, thought to themselves, if the
World-Honored One should order us to embrace and preach this sutra, we would do as the
Buddha instructed and broadly propagate this Law. And then they thought to themselves, But
the Buddha now is silent and gives us no such order. What shall we do?
At that time the bodhisattvas,
respectfully complying with the Buddha's will and at the same time wishing to fulfill
their own original vows, proceeded in the presence of the Buddha to roar the Lion's roar
and to make a vow, saying: "World-Honored One, after the Thus Come One has entered
extinction we will travel here and there, back and forth through the worlds in the ten
directions so as to enable living beings to copy this sutra, receive, embrace, read and
recite it, understand and preach its principles, practice it in accordance with the Law,
and properly keep it in their thoughts. All this will be done through the Buddha's power
and authority. We beg that the World-Honored One, though in another region, will look on
from afar and guard and protect us.
At that time the bodhisattvas joined their
voices together and spoke in verse form, saying:
We beg you not to worry.
After the Buddha has passed into
extinction,
in an age of fear and evil
we will preach far and wide.
There will be many ignorant people
who will curse and speak ill of us
and will attack us with swords and staves,
but we will endure all these things.
In that evil age there will be monks
with perverse wisdom and hearts that are
fawning and crooked
who will suppose they have attained what
they have not attained,
being proud and boastful in heart.
Or there will be forest-dwelling monks
wearing clothing of patched rags and
living in retirement,
who will claim they are practicing the
true way,
despising and looking down on all
humankind.
Greedy for profit and support,
they will preach the law to white-robed
laymen
and will be respected and revered by the
world
as though they were arhats who possess the
six
transcendental powers.
These men with evil in their hearts,
constantly thinking of worldly affairs,
will borrow the name of forest-dwelling
monks
and take delight in proclaiming our
faults,
saying things like this:
"These monks are greedy
for profit and support
and therefore they preach non-Buddhist
doctrines
and fabricate their own scriptures
to delude the people of the world.
Because they hope to gain fame and renown
thereby
they make distinctions when preaching this
sutra."
Because in the midst of the great assembly
they constantly try to defame us,
they will address the rulers, high
ministers,
Brahmans and householders,
as well as other monks,
slandering and speaking evil of us,
saying, "These are men of perverted
views
who preach non-Buddhist doctrines!"
But because we revere the Buddha
we will bear all these evils.
Though they treat us with contempt,
saying,
"You are all no doubt Buddhas!"
All such words of arrogance and contempt
we will endure and accept.
In a muddied kalpa, in an evil age
there will be many things to fear.
Evil demons will take possession of others
and through them curse, revile and heap
shame on us.
But we, reverently trusting in the Buddha,
will put on the armor of perseverance.
In order to preach this sutra
we will bear these difficult things.
We care nothing for our bodies or lives
but are anxious only for the unsurpassed
way.
In ages to come we will protect and uphold
what the Buddha has entrusted to us.
This the World-Honored One must know.
The evil monks of that muddied age,
failing to understand the Buddha's
expedient means,
how he preaches the Law in accordance with
what is appropriate,
will confront us with foul language and
angry frowns;
again and again we will be banished
to a place far removed from towers and
temples.
All these various evils,
because they keep in mind the Buddha's
orders,
we will endure.
If in the settlements and towns
of those who seek the Law,
we will go to wherever they are
and preach the Law entrusted by the
Buddha.
We will be envoys of the World-Honored
One,
facing the assembly without fear.
We will preach the law with skill,
for we desire the Buddha to rest in
tranquility.
In the presence of the World-Honored One
and of the Buddhas who have gathered from
the ten directions
to proclaim this vow.
The Buddha must know what is in our
hearts.
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| Content
| | Chapter 14 |
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Update: 01-12-2001
