The Lotus
Sutra
Translated by Burton Watson
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Chapter
Twenty-four:
Bodhisattva Myozon
At that time Shakyamuni Buddha emitted a
beam of bright light from the knob of flesh [on top of his head], one of the features of a
great man, and also emitted a beam of light from the tuft of white hair between his
eyebrows, illuminating the Buddha worlds in the eastern direction equal in number to the
sands of one hundred eighty thousand million nayutas of Ganges. Beyond these numerous
worlds was a world called Adorned with Pure Light. In this realm there was a Buddha named
Pure Flower Constellation King Wisdom 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. An immeasurably and boundlessly great multitude of bodhisattvas
surrounded him and paid reverence, and for these he preached the Law. The beam of bright
light from the white tuft of Shakyamuni Buddha illuminated the whole land.
At that time in the land Adorned with Pure
Light there was a bodhisattva named Wonderful Sound, who long ago had planted numerous
roots of virtue, offering alms to and waiting upon immeasurable hundreds, thousands, ten
thousands, millions of Buddhas. He had succeeded in acquiring all kinds of profound
wisdom, gaining the samadhi of the wonderful banner mark, the Dharma flower samadhi, the
pure virtue samadhi, the samadhi of the Constellation King's sport, the condition-less
samadhi, the seal of wisdom samadhi, the samadhi that allows one to understand the words
of all living beings, the samadhi that gathers together all benefits, the pure samadhi,
with the samadhi of the sport of transcendental powers, the wisdom torch samadhi, the
adorned king samadhi, the pure light glow samadhi, the pure storehouse samadhi, the
unshared samadhi, and the samadhi of the suns revolving. He has gained all these great
samadhis equal in number to the sands of a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, a million
Ganges.
When the light emitted by Shakyamuni
Buddha illuminated his body, he immediately spoke to the Buddha Pure Flower Constellation
King Wisdom, saying: "World-Honored One, I must journey to the saha world to do
obeisance, wait on, and offer alms to Shakyamuni Buddha, and to see Bodhisattva Manjushri,
Prince of the Dharma, Bodhisattva Medicine King, Bodhisattva Brave donor, Bodhisattva
Constellation King Flower, Bodhisattva Superior Practices Intent, Bodhisattva Adorned
King, and Bodhisattva Medicine Superior."
At that time the Buddha Pure Flower
Constellation King Wisdom said to Bodhisattva Wonderful Sound: "You must not look
with contempt on the land or come to think of it as a means and inferior. Good man, that
saha world is uneven, high in places, low in others, and full of dirt, stones, mountains,
foulness, and impurity. The Buddha is puny in stature and the numerous bodhisattvas are
likewise small in form, whereas your body is forty-two thousand yojanas in height and mine
is six million eight hundred thousand yojanas. Your body is foremost in shapeliness, with
hundreds, thousands, ten thousands of blessings and a radiance that is particularly
wonderful. Therefore when you journey there, you must not look with contempt on that land
or come to think of the Buddha and bodhisattvas or the land itself as mean and
inferior!"
Bodhisattva Wonderful Sound said to the
Buddha: "World-Honored One, my journey now to the saha world is in all respects due
to the power of the Thus Come One, a sport carried out by the Thus Come One's
transcendental powers, an adornment to the Thus Come One's blessings and wisdom."
Thereupon the Bodhisattva Wonderful Sound,
without raising from his seat or swaying his body, entered into the samadhi, and through
the power of the samadhi, in a place not far removed from the Dharma seat on Mount
Gridhrakuta, created a jeweled mass of eighty-four thousand lotus blossoms. Their stems
were made of Jambunada gold, their leaves were of silver, their stamens of diamond, and
their calyxes of kimshuka jewels.
At that time the Dharma Prince Manjushri,
spying the lotus flowers, spoke to the Buddha, saying: "World-Honored One, what
causes have brought about the appearance of this auspicious sign? Here are many ten
thousands of lotus blossoms, their stems made of Jambunada gold, their stamens of diamond
and their calyxes of kimshuka jewels!"
At that time Shakyamuni Buddha said to
Manjushri: "This bodhisattva and mahasattva Wonderful Sound wishes to leave the land
of the Buddha Pure Flower Constellation King Wisdom and, surrounded by eighty-four
thousand bodhisattvas, to come to this saha world to offer alms, wait on, and pay
obeisance to me. He also wishes to offer alms to and hear the Lotus Sutra."
Manjushri said to the Buddha:
"World-Honored One, what good roots has this bodhisattva planted, what benefits has
he cultivated, that he can exercise such great transcendental powers as this? What samadhi
does he carry out? I beg you to explain for us the name of this samadhi, for we too would
look like to apply ourselves diligently to its practice. If we carry out this samadhi,
then we will be able to observe the aspect and size of this bodhisattva and his bearing
and conduct. We beg the World-Honored One to employ his transcendental powers to bring
this bodhisattva here and enable us to see him!"
At that time Shakyamuni Buddha said to
Manjushri, "Many Treasures Thus Come One, who entered extinction so long ago, will
manifest his form for you.
Then the Buddha Many Treasures said to the
bodhisattva [Wonderful Sound], "Come, good man. The Dharma Prince Manjushri wishes to
see your body."
With that, Bodhisattva Wonderful Sound
vanished from his own land and, accompanied by eight-four thousand bodhisattvas, appeared
here [in this saha world]. The lands that he passed through on his way quaked and trembled
in six different ways, and in all of them seven jeweled lotus flowers rained down and
instruments of hundreds and thousands of the musicians sounded of themselves without
having been struck.
This bodhisattva's eyes were as big and
broad an the leaves of the blue Lotus, and a hundred, thousand, ten thousand moons put
together could not surpass the perfection of this face. His body was pure gold in color,
adorned with immeasurable hundreds and thousands of blessings. His dignity and virtue were
splendid, his light shone brightly, he was endowed with many special marks and as stalwart
in body as Narayana.
Taking his place on the dais made of seven
treasures, he had risen up into the air until he was raised above the earth the height of
seven tala trees. Then with a host of bodhisattvas surrounding him and paying reverence,
he had journeyed to Mount Gridhrakuta in this saha world. When he arrived there he
descended from the dais of seven of seven pressures. Bearing a necklace worth hundreds and
thousands, he proceeded to the place where Shakyamuni Buddha was, bowed his head to the
ground, made obeisance to the Buddha's feet, and presented the necklace, addressing the
Buddha in these words: "World-Honored One, the Buddha Pure Flower Constellation King
Wisdom wishes to inquire about the World-Honored One. Are your illnesses few, are your
worries few? Can you come and go easily and conveniently, can you move about in comfort?
Are the four elements properly harmonized in you? Can you endure the worlds affairs? Are
the living beings easy to the rescue? Are they not excessive in their greed, anger,
stupidity, jealousy, stinginess, and arrogance? Are they not lacking in filial conduct
toward their parents? Are they not disrespectful toward shramanas and given to heterodox
views and other evil? Do they not fail to control their five emotions? World-Honored One,
are the living beings able to conquer and overcome the enmity of the devils? Has Many
Treasures Thus Come One, who entered extinction so long ago, come in his tower of seven
treasures to listen to the Law? The Buddha also wishes to inquire about Many Treasures
Thus Come One, whether he is tranquil and at ease, with few worries, patient and long
abiding. World-Honored One, I would like to see the body of the Buddha Many Treasures. I
beg the World-Honored One to allow me to see him!"
At the time Shakyamuni Buddha said to Many
Treasures Buddha, "This bodhisattva Wonderful Sound wishes to see you."
Then Many Treasures Buddha addressed
Wonderful Sound, saying, "Excellent, excellent! You have come here in order to be
able to offer alms to a Shakyamuni Buddha and to listen to the Lotus Sutra and see
Manjushri and the others."
At that time the Bodhisattva Flower Virtue
said to the Buddha, "World-Honored One, this bodhisattva Wonderful Sound - what good
roots has he planted, what benefits has he cultivated, that he possesses these
supernatural powers?"
The Buddha replied to Bodhisattva flower
Virtual: "In ages past there was a Buddha named cloud Thunder Sound King, tathagata,
arhats, samyak-sambuddha. His land was called Manifesting All Worlds and his kalpa was
called Gladly Seen. For twelve thousand years the Bodhisattva Wonderful Sound employed a
hundred thousand types of musical instruments to provide an offering to the Buddha Cloud
Thunder Sound King, and e also presented to him eighty-four thousand alms bowls made of
the seven treasures. In recompense for these actions he has now been born in the land of
the Buddha Pure Flower Constellation King Wisdom and possesses these supernatural powers.
"Flower Virtue, what is your opinion?
The bodhisattva Wonderful Sound who at that time made musical offerings to the Buddha
Cloud Thunder Sound King and presented him with jeweled vessels - was he someone unknown
to you? In fact is none other than the bodhisattva and mahasattva Wonderful Sound who is
here now!
"Flower Virtue, this bodhisattva
Wonderful Sound has already made offerings to and waited on an immeasurable number of
Buddhas. Long ago he planted the roots of virtue and encountered hundreds, thousands, ten
thousands, millions of nayutas of Buddhist equal in number to the sands of the Ganges.
Flower Virtue, you see only the body of
Bodhisattva Wonderful Sound which is here. But this bodhisattva manifests himself in
various different bodies and preaches this sutra for the sake of living beings in various
different places. At times he appears as King Brahma, at times as Lord Shakra, at times as
the heavenly Being Freedom, at times as a great general of heaven, at times as the
heavenly King Vaishravana, at times as a wheel-turning sage king, at times as one of the
petty kings, at times as rich man, at times as a householder, to times the chief minister,
at times as a Brahman, at times as a monk, a nun, a layman believer, or laywomen believer,
at times as the wife of a rich man or a householder, at times as a wife of a chief
minister, a times as a wife of a Brahman, at times as a young boy or a young girl, at
times as a heavenly being, a dragon, a yaksha, a gandharva, an asura, a garuda, a kimnara,
a mahoraga, a human or a nonhuman being, so preaches this sutra. The hell dwellers, hungry
spirits, beasts, and the numerous others who are in difficult circumstances are thus are
able to be saved. And for the sake of those who are in women's quarters of the royal
palace, he changes himself into a woman's form and preaches this sutra.
"Flower Virtue, this bodhisattva
Wonderful Sound can save and protect the various living beings of the saha world. This
bodhisattva Wonderful Sound performs various transformations, manifesting himself in
different forms in this saha land and preaches this sutra for the sake of living beings,
and yet his transcendental powers, his transformations, and his Wisdom suffer no injury or
diminution thereby. This bodhisattva employs various types of wisdom to illuminate the
saha world, causing each one among all the living beings to acquire the appropriate
understanding, and does the same in all the other worlds of the ten directions which are
numerous as Ganges sands.
"If the form of a voice-hearer is
what is needed to bring salvation, he manifests himself in the form of a voice-hearer and
proceeds to preach the Law. If the form of a pratyekabuddha will bring salvation, he
manifests himself in the form of a pratyekabuddha and preaches the Law. If the form of a
bodhisattva will bring salvation, he manifests a bodhisattva form and preaches the Law. If
the form of a Buddha will bring salvation, he immediately manifests a Buddha form and
preaches the Law. Thus he manifests himself in various different forms, depending upon
what is appropriate for salvation. And if it is appropriate to enter extinction in order
to bring salvation, he manifests himself as entering extinction.
"Flower virtue, the bodhisattva
mahasattvas Wonderful Sound has acquired great transcendental powers and the power of
wisdom that enable him to do all this!"
At that time the bodhisattva Flower Virtue
said to the Buddha, "World-Honored One, this bodhisattva Wonderful Sound as planted
the roots of goodness very deeply. World-Honored One, samadhi does this bodhisattva dwell
in, that he is able to carry out all these transformations and manifestations to save
living beings?"
The Buddha said to Bodhisattva Flower
Virtue, "Good man, this samadhi is called Manifesting All Kinds of bodies. The
bodhisattva Wonderful Sound, dwelling in this samadhi, is able in this manner to enrich
and benefit immeasurable living beings."
When [the Buddha] preached this chapter on
Bodhisattva Wonderful Sound, the eighty-four thousand persons who had come with
bodhisattva Wonderful Sound all acquired the samadhi enabling them to manifest all kinds
of bodies, and the immeasurable bodhisattvas in this saha world also acquired this samadhi
and dharani.
At that time the bodhisattva and
mahasattva Wonderful Sound, having finished offering alms to Shakyamuni Buddha and to the
tower of Many Treasures Buddha, returned to his original land. The lands that he passed
through on his way quaked and trembled in six different ways, jeweled lotus flowers rained
down, and hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, millions of different kinds of music played.
After he had arrived in his original land
and was surrounded by his eighty-four thousand bodhisattvas, he proceeded to the place of
the Buddha Pure Flower Constellation King Wisdom and addressed the Buddha saying,
"World-Honored One, I have visited the saha world, enriched and benefited the living
beings, saw Shakyamuni Buddha and the tower of Many Treasures Buddha, and offered
obeisance and alms to them. I also saw bodhisattva Manjushri, prince of the Dharma, as
well as Bodhisattva Medicine King, Bodhisattva Gaining Diligent Exertion Power,
Bodhisattva Brave Donor, and others. And I made it possible for these eighty-four thousand
bodhisattvas to gain the samadhi enabling them to manifest all kinds of bodies."
When [the Buddha] preached this chapter on
the comings and goings of Bodhisattva Wonderful Sound, forty-two thousand sons of gods
gained the truth of the birthless-ness of all phenomena, and Bodhisattva Flower Virtue
gained the Dharma flower samadhi.
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| Content
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Update: 01-12-2001
