And the disciples, both such as were still under training and such as were not, on hearing from the Lord, face to face, the prediction concerning each of them, were pleased, exultant, ravished, joyous, filled with cheerfulness and delight, and addressed the Lord with the following stanzas: 17. We are satisfied, O Light of the world, to hear this prediction; we are pleased, O Tathigata, as if sprinkled with nectar.
18. We have no doubt, no uncertainty that we shall become supreme amongst men; to-day we have obtained felicity, because we have heard that prediction.
1 Ketumala, apparently ‘cluster of Ketus,’ is the appellation of the western region; Ketumat is a ruler of the western quarter, i. e. the personification of the west. The phrase rendered by ‘standing in their last bodily existence ’ (pajf’ime samuMAraye), in stanza 13, also means ‘ standing in their elevation in the west.’
2 MSS. have sadapi, but this is obviously a clerical error for sahdpi.
X.
THE PREACHER.
CHAPTER X.
THE PREACHER.
The Lord then addressed the eighty thousand Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas by turning to Bhaisha- gyax&ga. as their representative. Seest thou, Bhai- sha/yara^a, in this assembly the many gods, N agas, goblins, Gandharvas, demons, Garu</as, Kinnaras, great serpents, men, and beings not human, monks, nuns, male and female lay devotees, votaries of the vehicle of disciples, votaries of the vehicle of Pratye- kabuddhas, and those of the vehicle of Bodhi¬ sattvas, who have heard this Dharmaparyaya from the mouth of the Tathigata? ‘ I do, Lord; I do, Sugata.’ The Lord proceeded: Well, Bhaisha- ^yardfa, all those Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas who in this assembly have heard, were it but a single stanza, a single verse (or word), or who even by a single rising thought have joyfully accepted this Sfttra, to all of them, Bhaisha^yara^a, among the four classes of my audience I predict their destiny to supreme and perfect enlightenment. And all whosoever, Bhai- sha^yarafa, who, after the complete extinction of the Tathagata, shall hear this Dharmaparyaya and after hearing, were it but a single stanza, joyfully accept it, even with a single rising thought, to those also, Bhaishafyar%a, be they young men or young ladies of good family, I predict their destiny to supreme and perfect enlightenment. Those young men or ladies X.
of good family, Bhaisha^yara^a, shall be worship¬ pers of many hundred thousand myriads of kods of Buddhas. Those young men or ladies of good family, Bhaisha^yarafa, shall have made a vow under hundred thousands of myriads of ko/is of Buddhas. They must be considered as being reborn amongst the people of (Pambudvlpa 1, out of compassion to all creatures. Those who shall take, read, make known, recite, copy, and after copying always keep in memory and from time to time regard were it but a single stanza of this Dharma- pary&ya; who by that book 2 shall feel veneration for the Tath&gatas, treat them with the respect due to Masters 3, honour, revere, worship them; who shall worship that book with flowers, incense, per¬ fumed garlands, ointment, powder, clothes, umbrellas, flags, banners, music, &c., and with acts of reverence such as bowing and joining hands; in short, Bhai- sha^yarlfa, any young men or young ladies of good family who shall keep or joyfully accept were it but a single stanza of this Dharmaparyiya, to all of them, Bhaisha^yarafa, I predict their being destined to supreme and perfect enlightenment.
Should some man or woman, Bhaisha^yara/a, happen to ask: How now have those creatures to be who in future are to become Tathagatas, Arhats, &c.? then that man or woman should be referred to the example of that young man or young lady of good family. ‘ Whoever is able to keep, recite, or teach, 1 I. e. India.
1 I. e. India.
2 Tasmin pustake, literally ‘at that book,’i.e. when that book is being read, written, heard, &c.
3.Sastrfgaurave»a satkarishyanti. I take the instrumental case here to be the instrumental of manner.
X.
THE PREACHER.
were it but a single stanza of four lines, and who¬ ever shows respect for this Dharmaparyaya, that young man or young lady of good family shall in future become a Tathdgata, &c.; be persuaded of it.’ For, Bhaisha^yarafa, such a young man or young lady of good family must be considered to be a Tathdgata, and by the whole world, including the gods, honour should be done to such a Tathd- gata who keeps were it but a single stanza of this Dharmaparyaya, and far more, of course, to one who grasps, keeps, comprehends, makes known, copies, and after copying always retains in his memory this Dharmaparydya entirely and completely, and who honours that book with flowers, incense, perfumed garlands, ointment, powder, clothes, umbrellas, flags, banners, music, joined hands, reverential bows and salutations. Such a young man or young lady of good family, Bhaisha^yard^a, must be held to be accomplished in supreme and perfect enlightenment; must be held to be the like of a Tathdgata, who out of compassion and for the benefit of the world, by virtue of a former vow, makes his appearance here in Gambudvlpa, in order to make this Dharmapar- ydya generally known. Whosoever, after leaving 1 his own lofty conception of the law 2 and the lofty Buddha-field occupied by him, in order to make generally known this Dharmaparyaya, after my 1 Sthapayitva, which commonly means ‘apart from, barring.’
2 Ya h sva m (var. lect. yas ta m) —dharm&bhisazraskaraw. If we follow the former reading, sthapayitva can hardly be taken in the sense of ‘ apart from in the other case it would be possible, though I should be at a loss to guess the purport of the phrase. The real meaning of dharmabhisawskara is, probably, ‘ position in life ’ or ‘ religion.’ Cf. stanza 4 below.
SA DDH ARM A-PU JVDAr! KA.
X.
complete Nirvd^a, may be deemed to have ap¬ peared 1 in the predicament of a Tathagata 2, such a one, Bhaisha/yara^a, be it a young man or a young lady of good family, must be held to perform the function of the Tathagata, to be a deputy of the Tathagata. As such, Bhaisha/yara^a, should be acknowledged the young man or the young lady of good family, who communicates this Dharma- paryaya, after the complete Nirvana of the Tatha¬ gata, were it but in secret or by stealth or to one single creature that he communicated or told it.
Again, Bhaisha^yarh^a, if some creature vicious, wicked, and cruel-minded should in the (current) Age speak something injurious in the face of the Tathagata, and if some should utter a single harsh word, founded or unfounded, to those irreproachable preachers of the law and keepers of this Shtranta, whether lay devotees or clergymen, I declare that the latter sin is the graver. For, Bhaisha/yarh^a, such a young man or young lady of good family must be held to be adorned with the apparel of the Tathagata. He carries the Tathagata on his shoulder, Bhaisha^yara^a, who after having copied this Dharmaparyaya and made a volume of it, carries it on his shoulder. Such a one, wherever he goes, must be saluted by all beings with joined hands, must be honoured, respected, worshipped, venerated, revered by gods and men with flowers, incense, perfumed garlands, ointment, powder, clothes, umbrellas, flags, banners, musical instruments, with 1 Upapanna, an ambiguous term; it may also mean ‘ fit.’
X.
THE PREACHER.
food, soft and hard, with nourishment and drink, with vehicles, with heaps of choice and gorgeous jewels. That preacher of the law must be honoured by heaps of gorgeous jewels being presented to that preacher of the law. For it may be that by his expounding this Dharmaparyaya, were it only once, innumerable, incalculable beings who hear it shall soon become accomplished in supreme and perfect enlightenment.
And on that occasion the Lord uttered the fol¬ lowing stanzas: 1. He who wishes to be established in Buddha- hood and aspires to the knowledge of the Self-born 1, must honour those who keep this doctrine.
2. And he who is desirous of omniscience and thinks: How shall I soonest reach it? must try to know this Sutra by heart, or at least honour one who knows it.
3. He has been sent by the Lord of the world to convert (or catechise) men, he who out of compas¬ sion for mankind recites this Sutra 2.
4. After giving up a good position, that great man 3 has come hither, he who out of compassion for mankind keeps this Sfttra (in memory).
5. It is by force of his position, that in the last times he is seen preaching this unsurpassed Sfttra.
6. That preacher of the law must be honoured 1 Svayambh%Mna, which, to my apprehension, is an altera¬ tion of brahmavidya.
2 From such a passage as this one might be tempted to believe that it had been the intention of the author of this verse to repre¬ sent Buddha as eternal; cf. Burnouf s remarks in his Introduction, 8 I. e. the preacher or catechiser.
X.
with divine and human flowers and all sorts of per¬ fumes; be decked with divine cloth and strewed with jewels.
7. One should always reverentially salute him with joined hands, as if he were the Chief of £finas or the Self-born, he who in these most dreadful, last days keeps this Sfttra of the Extinct (Buddha).
8. One should give food, hard and soft, nourish¬ ment and drink, lodging in a convent, koris of robes to honour the son of Cfina, when he has propounded, be it but once, this Sfttra.
9. He performs the task of the Tathagatas and has been sent by me to the world of men, he who in the last days shall copy, keep, or hear this Sutra.
xo. The man who in wickedness of heart or with frowning brow should at any time of a whole JEon utter something injurious in my presence, commits a great sin.
xi. But one who reviles and abuses those guar¬ dians of this Sutr&nta, when they are expounding this Sfttra, I say that he commits a still greater sin.
12. The man who, striving for superior enlighten¬ ment, shall in a complete AIon praise me in my face with joined hands, with many myriads of kods of stanzas, 13. Shall thence derive a great merit, since he has glorified me in gladness of heart. But a still greater merit shall he acquire who pronounces the praise of those (preachers).
14. One who shall during eighteen thousand ko/is of yEons pay worship to those objects of veneration 1, with words, visible things, flavours, with divine scents and divine kinds of touch, 1 Pusteshu. I think that these pustas, models, images, denote X.
THE PREACHER.
15. If such a one, by his paying that worship to the objects of veneration during eighteen thousand kods of Aions, happens to hear this Sfitra, were it only once, he shall obtain an amazingly great advantage.
I announce to thee, Bhaisha^yarct^a, I declare to thee, that many are the Dharmaparyayas which I have propounded, am propounding, and shall propound. And among all those Dharmaparyayas, Bhaisha^ya- ragm, it is this which is apt to meet with no acceptance with everybody, to find no belief with everybody. This, indeed, Bhaisha/yara^a, is the transcendent spiritual esoteric lore of the law, preserved by the power of the TatMgatas, but never divulged; it is an article (of creed) 1 not yet made known. By the majority of people, Bhaisha < £yardj r a, this Dharmapar- y&ya is rejected during the lifetime of the Tathagata; in far higher degree such will be the case after his complete extinction.
Nevertheless, Bhaishagyaraga, one has to consider those young men or young ladies of good family to be invested with the robes of the Tathagata; to be regarded and blessed by the Tathagatas living in other worlds, that they shall have the force of indi¬ vidual persuasion, the force that is rooted in virtue, the exemplary preachers who are likened to the Tathagata, and sent by him (TathSgata-bhuta and Tathagata-duta), spoken of in the preceding verses as well as in the prose passages above. Instead of models, I have used the phrase, objects of veneration, for clearness sake. Burnouf s original rendering ‘ images ’ is, so far as I can see, preferable to his correction of it into ‘ books.’ There is no question of books, only of a single work, the Lotus; and it is clear that we must try to make the contents of the last two stanzas agree with the final part of the preceding prose.
1 Or point of view, standpoint.
X.
and the force of a pious vow. They shall dwell apart in the convents of the Tathagata, Bhaisha- j>yari^a, and shall have their heads stroked by the hand of the Tathagata, those young men and young ladies of good family, who after the complete extinc¬ tion of the Tathagata shall believe, read, write, honour this Dharmaparyaya and recite it to others.
Again, Bhaisha/yar&jya, on any spot of the earth where this Dharmaparyaya is expounded, preached, written, studied, or recited in chorus, on that spot, Bhaisha/yara^a, one should build a Tathagata- shrine, magnificent, consisting of precious substances, high, and spacious; but it is not necessary to depose in it relics of the Tathagata. For the body of the Tatha¬ gata is, so to say, collectively deposited there. Any spot of the earth where this Dharmaparyaya is ex¬ pounded or taught or recited or rehearsed in chorus or written or kept in a volume, must be honoured, respected, revered, worshipped as if it were a Stupa, with all sorts of flowers, incense, perfumes, garlands, ointment, powder, clothes, umbrellas, flags, banners, triumphal streamers, with all kinds of song, music, dancing, musical instruments, castanets x, and shouts in chorus. And those, Bhaisha^yara^a, who approach a Tathagata-shrine to salute or see it, must be held to be near supreme and perfect enlightenment. For, Bhaisha^yarsyfa, there are many laymen as well as priests who observe the course of a Bodhisattva without, however, coming so far as to see, hear, write or worship this Dharmaparyaya. So long as they do not hear this Dharmaparyaya, they are not yet proficient in the course of a Bodhisattva. But 1 Td<Mva£ara.
X.
THE PREACHER.
those who hear this Dharmaparyaya and thereupon accept, penetrate, understand, comprehend it, are at the time near supreme, perfect enlightenment, so to say, immediately near it.
It is a case, Bhaishayyariya, similar to that of a certain man, who in need and in quest of water, in order to get water, causes a well to be dug in an arid tract of land. So long as he sees that the sand being dug out is dry and white, he thinks: the water is still far off. After some time he sees that the sand being dug out is moist, mixed with water, muddy, with trickling drops, and that the working men who are engaged in digging the well are bespattered with mire and mud. On seeing that foretoken, Bhaishayyaraya, the man will be convinced and certain that water is near. In the same manner, Bhaishayyaraya, will these Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas be far away from supreme and perfect enlightenment so long as they do not hear, nor catch, nor penetrate, nor fathom, nor mind this Dharmaparyaya. But when the Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas shall hear, catch, penetrate, study, and mind this Dharmapar¬ yaya, then, Bhaishayyaraya, they will be, so to say, immediately near supreme, perfect enlightenment. From this Dharmaparyiya, Bhaishayyaraya, will ac¬ crue to creatures supreme and perfect enlightenment. For this Dharmaparyiya contains an explanation of the highest mystery, the secret article 1 of the law which the Tathagatas, &c., have revealed for the perfecting of the Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas. Any Bodhisattva, Bhaishayyaraya, who is startled, feels anxiety, gets frightened at this Dharmaparyaya, 1 Or point.
X.
may be held, Bhaishayyard/a, to have (but) newly entered the vehicle \ If, however, a votary of the vehicle of the disciples is startled, feels anxiety, gets frightened at this Dharmaparyaya, such a person, de¬ voted to the vehicle of the disciples, Bhaishayyaraya, may be deemed a conceited man.
Any Bodhisattva Mahasattva, Bhaisha/yardfa, who after the complete extinction of the Tathagata, in the last times, the last period shall set forth this Dharmapary&ya to the four classes of hearers, should do so, Bhaishayyar&g'a, after having entered the abode 1 2 of the TatMgata, after having put on the robe of the Tath&gata, and occupied the pulpit of the TatMgata. And what is the abode of the TatMgata, Bhaisha^yari/a? It is the abiding 3 in charity (or kindness) to all beings; that is the abode of the Tathagata, Bhaishafyard^a, which the young man of good family has to enter. And what is the robe of the TatMgata, Bhaishagyaraya? It is the apparel of sublime forbearance; that is the robe of the Tatha¬ gata, Bhaishayyaraya, which the young man of good family has to put on. What is the pulpit of the TatMgata, Bhaishayyaraya? It is the entering into the voidness (or complete abstraction) of all laws (or things); that is the pulpit, Bhaishayyaraya, on which the young man of good family has to sit in order to set forth this Dharmaparyaya to the four classes of hearers. A Bodhisattva ought to propound this Dharmaparyaya with unshrinking mind, before the face of the congregated Bodhisattvas, the four classes 1 The Mahayana, apparently.
2 Layana, recess, retreat, refuge, cell, lair, stronghold, asylum, abode.
3 Vihara, both walk and abode, and further, monastery.
X.
THE PREACHER.
of hearers, who are striving for the vehicle of Bodhi- sattvas, and I, staying in another world, Bhaishafya- ra/a, will by means of fictious creatures 1 make the minds of the whole congregation favourably disposed to that young man of good family, and I will send fictious monks, nuns, male and female lay devotees in order to hear the sermon of the preacher, who are unable to gainsay or contradict him 2. If after¬ wards he shall have retired to the forest, I will send thither many gods, Nagas, goblins, Gandharvas, demons, Garuahs, Kinnaras, and great serpents to hear him preach, while I, staying in another world, Bhaishagyari^a, will show my face to that young man of good family, and the words and syllables of this Dharmaparyaya which he happens to have forgotten will I again suggest to him 3 when he repeats his lesson.
And on that occasion the Lord uttered the fol¬ lowing stanzas: 16. Let one listen to this exalted Sfttra, avoiding all distractedness; for rare is the occasion (given) for hearing it, and rare also the belief in it.
1 NirmitaiA; the word is masculine, as appears from the sequel.
2 I cannot tell what real phenomena are underlying these crea¬ tions of the Buddha after his Nirvawa; but this much seems clear, that we have in this piece a description of the practical course a young preacher has to go through in order to become fit for his task.
3 PratyuMaray ishyami, literally, I will cause him to re-utter. The real purport, unless I am much mistaken, is: on a following day (Buddha) will restore what the student has forgotten from his lesson, provided he reads the passage again; or, if we take the words in a spiritual sense, the mental light of the student will again supply what he has forgotten of his lesson. Cf. stanza 31.
X.
17. It is a case similar to that of a certain man who in want of water goes to dig a well in an arid tract of land, and sees how again and again only dry sand is being dug up.
18. On seeing which he thinks: the water is far off; a token of its being far off is the dry white sand which appears in digging.
19. But when he (afterwards) sees again and again the sand moist and smooth, he gets the conviction that water cannot be very far off.
20. So, too, are those men far from Buddha- knowledge who have not heard this Sutra and have failed to repeatedly meditate on it.
21. But those who have heard and oft meditated on this profound king amongst Sutras, this authorita¬ tive book 1 for disciples, 22. Are wise and near Buddha-knowledge, even as from the moisture of sand may be inferred that water is near.
2 3. After entering the abode of the Aina, putting on his robe and sitting down on my seat, the preacher should, undaunted, expound this Sfttra.
24. The strength of charity (or kindness) is my abode; the apparel of forbearence is my robe; and voidness (or complete abstraction) is my seat; let (the preacher) take his stand on this and preach.
25. Where clods, sticks, pikes, or abusive words and threats fall to the lot of the preacher, let him be patient, thinking of me.
26. My body has existed entire in thousands of 1 Vinij^aya, decision, here hardly differing from tantra or siddhanta. After the model of the latter has been framed the term SCitranta; and the Lotus, as we know, is a Sutranta.
X.
THE PREACHER.
ko/is of regions; during a number of ko/is of ^Eons beyond comprehension I teach the law to creatures.
27. To that courageous man who shall proclaim this Sfttra after my complete extinction I will also send many creations *.
28. Monks, nuns, lay devotees, male and female, will honour him as well as the classes of the audience.
29. And should there be some to attack him with clods, sticks, injurious words, threats, taunts, then the creations shall defend him.
30. And when he shall stay alone, engaged in study, in a lonely place, in the forest or the hills, 31. Then will I show him my luminous body and enable him to remember the lesson he forgot 1 2.
32. While he is living lonely in the wilderness, I will send him gods and goblins in great number to keep him company.
33. Such are the advantages he is to enjoy; whether he is preaching to the four classes, or living, a solitary, in mountain caverns and studying his lesson, he will see me.
34. His readiness of speech knows no impedi¬ ment; he understands the manifold requisites of exegesis; he satisfies thousands of kods of beings because he is, so to say, inspired (or blessed) by the Buddha 3.
1 Bahunirmitan. As a class of angels is called Parinirmita Vajavartin, it may be that the idea the word nirmita was intended to convey to the simple-minded is that of angels.
2 Here the Buddha seems to be the personification of the faculty of memory, of mental light.
3 Buddhena. Burnouf seems to have read Buddhai^, the plural.
X.
35. And the creatures who are entrusted to his care shall very soon all become Bodhisattvas, and by cultivating his intimacy they shall behold Bud¬ dhas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges.
XI.
APPARITION OF A St6pA.
CHAPTER XI.
APPARITION OF A STUPA.
Then there arose a Stfipa, consisting of seven precious substances, from the place of the earth op¬ posite the Lord, the assembly being in the middle \ a Stfipa five hundred yo^anas in height and pro¬ portionate in circumference. After its rising, the Stfipa, a meteoric phenomenon 1 2 *, stood in the sky sparkling, beautiful, nicely decorated with five thou¬ sand 8 successive terraces of flowers 4 *, adorned with many thousands of arches, embellished by thousands of banners and triumphal streamers, hung with thousands of jewel-garlands and with hour- plates and bells, and emitting the scent of Xan- thochymus and sandal, which scent filled this whole world. Its row of umbrellas rose so far on high as to touch the abodes of the four guardians of the 1 Between the Lord (i. e. the Sun) and the Stupa of seven Ratnas, i. e. here, it would seem, the rainbow of seven colours. We shall see that the Stupa has also another function, that of symbolising the celestial dhishwya in which sun and moon are standing. Cf. E. Senart, Essai sur la Idgende du Buddha, p. 436.
9 Vaihayasam, in the neuter gender, whereas stupa is masculine.
s The number of colours is now five, then seven. Moreover there ought to be a parallelism between the five colours and the five planets, and, on the other hand, between the seven ratnas, or colours, and the g rah as, including sun and moon. In Rig- veda we find saptara-rmi and para£ararmi.
4 Pushpagrahawivedikfi.
XI.
horizon and the gods. It consisted of seven precious substances, viz. gold, silver, lapis lazuli, Musaragalva, emerald, red coral, and Karketana-stone 1. This Stftpa of precious substances once formed, the gods of paradise strewed and covered it with Mandarava and great Mandara flowers 2. And from that Stfipa of precious substances there issued this voice: Ex¬ cellent, excellent, Lord.Sakyamuni! thou hast well expounded this Dharmaparyaya of the Lotus of the True Law. So it is, Lord; so it is, Sugata.
At the sight of that great Stupa of precious sub¬ stances, that meteoric phenomenon in the sky, the four classes of hearers were filled with gladness, delight, satisfaction and joy. Instantly they rose from their seats, stretched out their joined hands, and remained standing in that position. Then the Bodhi- sattva Mahasattva Mahapratibhana, perceiving the world, including gods, men, and demons, filled with curiosity, said to the Lord: O Lord, what is the cause, what is the reason of so magnificent a Stfipa of precious substances appearing in the world? Who is it, O Lord, who causes that sound to go out from the magnificent Stftpa of precious substances? Thus asked, the Lord spake to Mahapratibhana, the Bodhi- sattva Mahasattva, as follows: In this great Stftpa of precious substances, Mahapratibhana, the proper body 3 of the Tathagata is contained condensed; his is the Stftpa; it is he who causes this sound to go out.
1 The raising of a seven-jewelled Stupa is also narrated in the Vinaya Pi/aka of the Mahasanghika school, according to Beal in the Indian Antiquary, vol. xi, p. 47. The particulars of the description in that narrative bear little resemblance to those found in our text.
2 There fell smaller and bigger drops of rain.
3 Atmabhava, also the very nature, the essential being.
XI.
APPARITION OF A StC’PA.
In the point of space below, Mahapratibhana, there are innumerable thousands of worlds 1. Further on is the world called Ratnavisuddha 2, there is the Tathagata named Prabhfttaratna, the Arhat, &c. This Lord of yore made this vow: Formerly, when following the course of a Bodhisattva, I have not arrived at supreme, perfect enlightenment before I had heard this Dharmaparyaya of the Lotus of the True Law, serving for the instruction of Bodhi- sattvas. But from the moment that I had heard this Dharmaparyaya of the Lotus of the True Law, I have become fully ripe for supreme, perfect enlightenment. Now, Mahapratibhana, that Lord Prabh&taratna, the Tath&gata, &c., at the juncture of time when his complete extinction was to take place, announced in presence of the world, including the gods: After my complete extinction, monks, one Stupa must be made of precious substances of this frame (or form) of the proper body of the Tatha¬ gata 3; the other Stupas, again, should be made in dedication (or in reference) to me. Thereupon, Mahapratibhana, the Lord Prabhhtaratna, the Tatha¬ gata, &c., pronounced this blessing: Let my Stupa here, this Stftpa of my proper bodily frame (or form), arise wherever in any Buddha-field in the ten direc¬ tions of space, in all worlds, the Dharmaparyaya of the Lotus of the True Law is propounded, and let 1 Var. lect. innumerable hundred thousand myriads of ko/is of worlds.
2 I. e. clear by jewels (stars), or, quite the reverse, cleared from jewels. Most probably, however, we have to take it in the former sense. The world so called is, apparently, the starry vault, beyond the atmosphere where the rainbow is glittering.
3 Asya TathSgatdtmabhivavigrahasya.
XL it stand in the sky above the assembled congrega¬ tion when this Dharmapary&ya of the Lotus of the True Law is being preached by some Lord Buddha or another, and let this Stftpa of the frame (or form) of my proper body give a shout of applause to those Buddhas while preaching this Dharmaparyfiya of the Lotus of the True Law 1. It is that Stftpa, Mahapratibhana, of the relics of the Lord Prabhft- taratna, the Tathigata, &c., which, while I was preaching this Dharmaparyaya of the Lotus of the True Law in this Saha-world, arose above this assembled congregation and, standing as a meteor in the sky, gave its applause.
Then said Mahapratibhana, the Bodhisattva Maha- sattva, to the Lord: Show us, O Lord, through thy power the frame of the afore-mentioned Tathagata. Whereon the Lord spake to the Bodhisattva Maha- sattva Mahapratibhana as follows: This Lord Pra- bhhtaratna, Mahapratibhana, has made a grave and pious vow. That vow consisted in this: When the Lords, the Buddhas, being in other Buddha-fields, shall preach this Dharmaparyiya of the Lotus of the 1 We shall see that the ‘ extinct Lord Prabhutaratna ’ is to sit in the middle of the Stupa along with the Buddha. The moon is ‘ completely extinct ’ when in conjunction with the sun, and it seems sufficiently clear that Prabhfttaratna, the Tathagata, the Arhat, &c., is the moon at the time of am & vasya, conjunction. The Stfipa, in the centre of which sun and moon are sitting together at that period, cannot be the rainbow, so that we have in the sequel again to take Stupa in the sense of dhishrcya, asterism; see note i, p. 227. The crescent surmounting the Stupa- symbols on coins (see Senart, 1. c.) is not exactly the representa¬ tion of the 1 extinct Lord ’—who is difficult to be represented—but of the same nature. The appearance of this symbol on those coins is by itself sufficient to show the high antiquity of a refined nature-worship in Buddhism.
XI.
APPARITION OF A STfjPA.
True Law, then let this Stfipa of the frame of my proper body be near the Tathagata 1 to hear from him this Dharmaparyaya of the Lotus of the True Law. And when those Lords, those Buddhas wish to uncover the frame of my proper body and show it to the four classes of hearers, let then the Tatha- gata-frames, made by the Tathagatas in all quarters, in different Buddha-fields, from their own proper body, and preaching the law to creatures, under different names in several Buddha-fields, let all those Tathagata-frames, made from the proper body, united together, along with this Sthpa containing the frame of my own body, be opened and shown to the four classes of hearers. Therefore, Mahapratibhana, have I made many Tathagata-frames 2 which in all quarters, in several Buddha-fields in thousands of worlds, preach the law to creatures. All those ought to be brought hither.
Thereupon the Bodhisattva Mahasattva Maha¬ pratibhana said to the Lord: Then, O Lord, shall we reverentially salute all those bodily emanations of the Tathagata and created by the Tathagata.
And instantly the Lord darted from the circle of hair on his brow a ray, which was no sooner darted than the Lords, the Buddhas stationed in the east in fifty hundred thousand myriads of ko/is of worlds, equal to the sands of the river Ganges, became all visi¬ ble, and the Buddha-fields there, consisting of crystal, became visible, variegated with jewel trees, decorated 1 The place of the moon just before entering Nirvana must of course be near the sun’s seat of the law.
2 It is hardly necessary to remark that by the luminous bodies, the attendants of Prabhutaratna, i. e. the stars, are meant.
XI.
with strings of fine cloth, replete with many hundred thousands of Bodhisattvas, covered with canopies, decked with a network of seven precious substances and gold \ And in those fields appeared the Lords, the Buddhas, teaching with sweet and gentle voice the law to creatures; and those Buddha-fields seemed replete with hundred thousands of Bodhisattvas. So, too, it was in the south-east; so in the south; so in the south-west; so in the west; so in the north-west; so in the north; so in the north-east; so in the nadir; so in the zenith; so in'the ten directions of space; in each direction were to be seen many hundred thousand myriads of ko/is of Buddha-fields, similar to the sands of the river Ganges, in many worlds similar to the sands of the river Ganges, Lords Buddhas in many hundred thousand myriads of ko/is of Buddha-fields.
Those Tathagatas, &c., in the ten directions of space then addressed each his own troop of Bodhi¬ sattvas: We shall have to go, young men of good family, to the Saha-world near the Lord.Sakyamuni, the Tathagata, &c., to humbly salute the Sthpa of the relics of Prabhfttaratna, the Tathagata, &c. Thereupon those Lords, those Buddhas resorted with their own satellites, each with one or two, to this Saha-world. At that period this all-embracing world was adorned with jewel trees; it consisted of lapis lazuli, was covered with a network of seven precious substances and gold, smoking with the odorous incense of magnificent jewels, everywhere strewn with Mandarava and great Mandarava flowers, 1 Here we see that gold does not belong to the seven ratnas. The whole list of the seven colours seems to have undergone some alterations.
XI.
APPARITION OF A ST<)PA.