decorated with a network of little bells \ showing a checker board divided by gold threads into eight compartments, devoid of villages, towns, boroughs, provinces, kingdoms, and royal capitals, without Kala-mountain, without the mountains Muiilinda and great Mu&linda, without a mount Sumeru, without a iTakravala (i. e. horizon) and great Kakra- Vclla (i. e. extended horizon), without other principal mountains, without great oceans, without rivers and great rivers, without bodies of gods, men, and demons, without hells, without brute creation, with¬ out a kingdom of Yama. For it must be understood that at that period all beings in any of the six states of existence in this world had been removed to other worlds, with the exception of those who were assembled at that congregation 1 2. Then it was that those Lords, those Buddhas, attended by one or two satellites, arrived at this Saha-world and went one after the other to occupy their place close to the foot of a jewel tree. Each of the jewel trees was five hundred yo^anas in height, had boughs, leaves, foliage, and circumference in proportion 3, and was provided with blossoms and fruits. At the foot of each jewel tree stood prepared a throne, five yo^anas in height, and adorned with magnificent jewels. Each Tathagata went to occupy his throne and sat on it cross-legged. And so all the Tathagatas of the whole sphere sat cross-legged at the foot of the jewel trees.
2 The hells at least, which are places of darkness, could not be present when the stars are shining brightly.
s My MSS. read pafifeyog-anaratany u^-aistvenabhut, anuphrva- fakhapatrapalarapari«aha^. In the sequel we meet with another reading agreeing with Burnouf s.
At that moment the whole sphere was replete with Tathagatas, but the beings produced from the proper body of the Lord 6hkyamuni had not yet arrived, not even from a single point of the horizon. Then the Lord Aakyamuni, the Tathagata, &c., pro¬ ceeded to make room for those Tathagata-frames that were arriving one after the other. On every side in the eight directions of space (appeared) twenty hundred thousand myriads of kods of Bud- dha-fields of lapis lazuli, decked with a network of seven precious substances and gold, decorated with a fringe of little bells, strewn with Mandarava and great Mandarava flowers, covered with heavenly awnings, hung with wreaths of heavenly flowers, smoking with heavenly odorous incense. All those twenty hundred thousand myriads of kods of Bud- dha-fields were without villages, towns, boroughs, &c.; without Kala-mountain, &c.; without great oceans, &c.; without bodies of gods, &c. All those Buddha-fields were so arranged by him as to form one Buddha-field, one soil, even, lovely, set off with trees of seven precious substances, trees five hun¬ dred yo^anas in height and circumference, provided with boughs, flowers, and fruits in proportion 1. At the foot of each tree stood prepared a throne, five yo^anas in height and width, consisting of celestial gems, glittering and beautiful. The Tathagatas arriving one after the other occupied the throne near the foot of each tree, and sat cross-legged. In like manner the Tathigata.Sakyamuni prepared twenty hundred thousand myriads of kods of other 1 The reading is somewhat doubtful: arohapari«ahonupftrva- (var. lect. °ha h, anupfirva-)jakhapatrapushpaphalopeta(^).
XI.
APPARITION OF A StOpA.
worlds, in every direction of space, in order to give room to the Tathagatas who were arriving one after the other. Those twenty hundred thousand myriads of kods of worlds in every direction of space were likewise so made by him as to be without villages, towns, &c. [as above]. They were without bodies of gods, &c. [as above]; all those beings had been removed to other worlds. These Buddha-fields also were of lapis lazuli, &c. [as above]. All those jewel trees measured five hundred yqvanas, and near them were thrones, artificially made and measuring five yo^anas. Then those Tathagatas sat down cross-legged, each on a throne at the foot of a jewel tree.
At that moment the Tathagatas produced by the Lord Aakyamuni, who in the east were preaching the law to creatures in hundred thousands of myriads of ko/is of Buddha-fields, similar to the sands of the river Ganges, all arrived from the ten points of space and sat down in the eight quarters. Thereupon thirty kods of worlds in each direction were occupied 1 by those Tathagatas from all the eight quarters. Then, seated on their thrones, those Tathagatas deputed their satellites into the presence of the Lord Sakya- muni, and after giving them bags with jewel flowers enjoined them thus: Go, young men of good family, to the Grz'dhrakd/a mountain, where the Lord Aa- kyamuni, the Tathigata, &c., is; salute him reveren¬ tially and ask, in our name, after the state of health, well-being, lustiness, and comfort both of himself and the crowd of Bodhisattvas and disciples. Strew 1 Burnouf seems to have read atikranta, for his translation has ‘ franchirent,’ whereas my MSS. have akranta. One of the MSS. has lokadhatuko/ibhyo instead of °ko/yo.
him with this heap of jewels and speak thus: Would the Lord Tathagata deign to open this great Stftpa of jewels? It was in this manner that all those Tathagatas deputed their satellites.
And when the Lord.Slkyamuni, the Tathagata, perceived that his creations, none wanting, had arrived; perceived that they were severally seated on their thrones, and perceived that the satellites of those Tathagatas, &c., were present, he, in considera¬ tion of the wish expressed by those Tathagatas, &c., rose from his seat and stood in the sky, as a meteor. And all the four classes of the assembly rose from their seats, stretched out their joined hands, and stood gazing up to the face of the Lord. The Lord then, with the right fore-finger 1, unlocked the middle of the great Stftpa of jewels, which showed like a meteor, and so severed the two parts. Even as the double doors of a great city gate separate when the bolt is removed, so the Lord opened the great Sthpa, which showed like a meteor, by un¬ locking it in the middle with the right fore-finger. The great Stupa of jewels had no sooner been opened than the Lord Prabhhtaratna, the TatMgata, &c., was seen sitting cross-legged on his throne, with emaciated 2 limbs and faint body, as if absorbed in abstract meditation, and he pronounced these words: Excellent, excellent, Lord.Sakyamuni; thou hast well expounded this Dharmaparyaya of the Lotus of the True Law. I repeat, thou hast well expounded this Dharmaparyaya of the Lotus of the True Law, 1 DakshiwayS hastangulyi.
2 Pari.fushkaga.tra, var. lect. parijuddha 0, with thoroughly pure or correct limbs. Burnouf had committed no mistake in reading paruushka 0, though he accuses himself of having done so.
XI.
APPARITION OF A StOpA.
Lord Aakyamuni, to the (four) classes of the assembly. I myself, Lord, have come hither to hear the Dharmaparyaya of the Lotus of the True Law.
Now the four classes of the assembly, on per¬ ceiving the Lord Prabhhtaratna, the Tathagata, &c., who had been extinct for many hundred thousand myriads of ko/is of /Eons, speaking in this way, were filled with wonder and amazement. Instantly they covered the Lord Prabhhtaratna, the Tatha¬ gata, &c., and the Lord.SSkyamuni, the Tath&gata, &c., with heaps of divine and human flowers. And then the Lord Prabhhtaratna, the Tathagata, &c., ceded to the Lord.Sakyamuni, the TatMgata, &c., the half of the seat on that very throne within that same great Sthpa of jewels and said: Let the Lord •Selkyamuni, the Tathagata, &c., sit down here. Whereon the Lord Aakyamuni, the Tathagata, &c., sat down upon that half-seat together with the other Tathagata, so that both Tathagatas were seen as meteors in the sky, sitting on the throne in the middle of the great Stfipa of jewels.
And in the minds of those four classes of the assembly rose this thought: We are far off from the two Tathagatas; therefore let us also, through the power of the Tathagata, rise up to the sky. As the Lord apprehended in his mind what was going on in the minds of those four classes of the as¬ sembly, he instantly, by magic power, established the four classes as meteors in the sky. Thereupon the Lord Aakyamuni, the Tathagata, addressed the four classes: Who amongst you, monks, will en¬ deavour to expound this Dharmaparyaya of the Lotus of the True Law in this Saha-world? The fatal term, the time (of death), is now at hand; the Tathagata longs for complete extinction, monks, after entrusting to you this Dharmaparyaya of the Lotus of the True Law.
And on that occasion the Lord uttered the fol¬ lowing stanzas: 1. Here you see, monks, the great Seer, the ex¬ tinct Chief, within the Sttipa of jewels, who now has come to hear the law. Who would not call up his energy for the law’s sake?
2. Albeit completely extinct for many ko/is of Aions, he yet now comes to hear the law; for the law’s sake he moves hither and thither; very rare (and very precious) is a law like this.
3. This Leader practised 1 a vow when he was in a former existence; even after his complete ex¬ tinction he wanders through this whole world in all ten points of space.
4. And all these (you here see) are my proper bodies, by thousands of ko/is, like 2 the sands of the Ganges; they have appeared that the law may be fulfilled 3 and in order to see this extinct Master.
5. After laying out 4 for each his peculiar field, as well as having (created) all disciples, men and gods, in order to preserve the true law, as long as the reign of the law shall last, 6. I have by magic power cleared many worlds, 1 Nishevita. 2 Yatha.
3 Dharmakrz'tyasya krz'tena, literally, for the sake of the task or office of the law.
* -S^oritvfl, Sansk. Muritva and Morayitva, to inlay, make inlaid work, cut figures, fashion. Yakyamuni is most distinctly represented as a creator—in the Indian sense, of course—in the same way as Brahma Hira«yagarbha is a creator.
XI. APPARITION OF A STtjPA. 239 destined as seats for those Buddhas, and transported all creatures.
7. It has (always) been my anxious care how this line of the law might be manifested. So (you see) Buddhas here in immense number staying at the foot of trees like a great multitude of lotuses.
8. Many ko/is of bases of trees are brightened by the Leaders sitting on the thrones which are per¬ petually occupied by them and brightened as dark¬ ness is by fire.
9. A delicious fragrance spreads from the Leaders of the world over all quarters, (a fragrance) by which, when the wind is blowing, all these creatures are intoxicated.
10. Let him who after my extinction shall keep this Dharmaparyaya quickly pronounce his declara¬ tion in the presence of the Lords of the world.
11. The Seer Prabhutaratna who, though com¬ pletely extinct, is awake, will hear the lion’s roar of him who shall take this resolution k 12. Myself, in the second place, as well as the many Chiefs who have flocked hither by ko/is, will hear that resolution from the son of Cana, who is to exert himself to expound this law.
13. And thereby shall I always be honoured as well as Prabhfitaratna, the self-born (Ana, who perpe¬ tually wanders through the quarters and intermediate quarters in order to hear such a law as this.
14. And these (other) Lords of the world here present, by whom this soil is so variegated and splendid, to them also will accrue ample and mani¬ fold honour from this Sutra being preached.
1 Vyavas&ya.
XL 15. Here on this seat you see me, together with the Lord next to me, in the middle of the Stupa; likewise many other Lords of the world here present, in many hundreds of fields.
16. Ye, young men of good family, mind, for mercy’s sake towards all beings, that it is a very difficult task to which the Chief urges you.
17. One might expound many thousands of Sutras, like to the sands of the Ganges, without overmuch difficulty.
18. One who after grasping the Sumeru in the fist were to hurl it a distance of ko/is of fields, would do nothing very difficult.
19. Nor would it be so very difficult if one could shake this whole universe by the thumb to hurl it a distance of ko/is of fields.
20. Nor would one who, after taking stand on the limit of the existing world, were to expound the law and thousands of other Sutras, do something so very difficult.
21. But to keep and preach this Sfitra in the dreadful period succeeding the extinction of the Chief of the world, that is difficult 1.
22. To throw down the totality of ether-element after compressing it in one fist, and to leave it behind after having thrown it away, is not difficult.
23. But to copy a Sfitra like this in the period after my extinction, that is difficult 2.
24. To collect the whole earth-element at a nail’s 1 Yet the stars perform that extremely difficult task apparently with the greatest ease.
* Nay, it is impossible, if one does not avail oneself of a lamp or other artificial light.
XI.
APPARITION OF A StOpA.
end, cast it away, and then walk off to the Brahma- world 1, 25. Is not difficult, nor would it require a strength surpassing everybody’s strength to do this work of difficulty.
26. Something more difficult than that will he do who in the last days after my extinction shall pro¬ nounce this Sutra, were it but a single moment.
27. It will not be difficult for him to walk in the midst of the conflagration at the (time of the) end of the world, even if he carries with him a load of hay.
28. More difficult it will be to keep this Sfttra after my extinction and teach it to a single creature.
29. One may keep the eighty-four thousand divi¬ sions of the law 2 and expound them, with the 1 Brahmaloka may mean either one of the twenty Brahma heavens, or all of them collectively. There are four arftpabrah- malokas, and sixteen rupabrahmalokas.
2 Dharmaskandha, Pdli Dhammakkhandha; see Burnouf, Introd. p. 34 seq.; B. H. Hodgson, Essays, p. 14; Childers, Pali Diet. p. 117, where the following definition is given: ‘ The Tipi/aka is divided into eighty-four thousand dhammakkhandhas, “ articles ” or “ sections of the Law.” They are divisions according to sub¬ ject. Buddhaghosa, as an illustration of the meaning of this term, says that a Sutta, or discourse, dealing with one subject forms one dh., while a Sutta embracing several subjects forms several.’ It is worth while to compare this number of divisions with the eighty- four thousand monasteries erected by king Aroka in the eighty-four (thousand) towns of India, as we know from the historical work Dipavawzsa VI, 95 seq., where we read (according to Dr.Oldenberg’s transl.): ‘Full and complete eighty-four thousand most precious sections of the Truth (dhammakkhandha) have been taught by the most excellent Buddha; I will build eighty-four thousand monasteries, honouring each single section of the Truth by one monastery.’
instructions and such as they have been set forth, to ko/is of living beings; 30. This is not so difficult; nor is it, to train at the present time monks, and confirm my disciples in the five parts of transcendent knowledge.
31. But more difficult is it to keep this Sfttra, believe in it, adhere to it, or expound it again and again.
32. Even he who confirms many thousands of ko/is of Arhats, blest with the possession of the six transcendent faculties (Abhy^&s), like sands of the Ganges 1, 33. Performs something not so difficult by far as the excellent man does who after my extinction shall keep my sublime law.
34. I have often, in thousands of vrorlds, preached the law, and to-day also I preach it with the view that Buddha-knowledge may be obtained.
35. This Sfttra is declared the principal of all Sfttras; he who keeps in his memory this Sfitra, keeps the body of the Gina.
36. Speak, O young men of good family, while the Tathagata is (still) in your presence, who amongst you is to exert himself 2 in later times to keep the Sutra.
37. Not only I myself shall be pleased, but the Lords of the world in general, if one would keep for a moment this Sfttra so difficult to keep.
38. Such a one shall ever be praised by all the Lords of the world, famed as an eminent hero, and quick in arriving at transcendent wisdom.
1 The latter half of the stanza runs thus: shaa'abhi^ftamaha- bhagan yatha Gangaya valika.
2 Or, shall be capable.
XI.
APPARITION OF A STfjPA.
39. He shall be entrusted with the leadership 1 amongst the sons of the Tathagatas, he who, after having reached the stage of meekness 2 3, shall keep this Sutra.
40. He shall be the eye of the world, including gods and men, who shall speak this Sfttra after the extinction of the Chief of men.
41. He is to be venerated by all beings, the wise man who in the last times shall preach this Sfttra (were it but) a single moment.
Thereupon the Lord addressed the whole company of Bodhisattvas and the world, including gods and demons, and said: Of yore, monks, in times past I have, unwearied and without repose, sought after the Sfttra of the Lotus of the True Law, during im¬ mense, immeasurable Hions; many yftons before I have been a king, during many thousands of yEons. Having once taken the strong resolution to arrive at supreme, perfect enlightenment, my mind did not swerve from its aim. I exerted myself to fulfil the six Perfections (Paramitas), bestowing immense alms: gold, money, gems, pearls, lapis lazuli, conch-shells, stones (?), coral, gold and silver, emerald, Musaragalva, red pearls; villages, towns, boroughs, provinces, kingdoms, royal capitals; wives, sons, daughters, slaves, male and female; elephants, horses, cars, up to the sacrifice of life and body, of limbs and members, hands, feet, head. And never did the thought of self-complacency® rise in me. In 1 Dhurav&ha.
2 Dantabhumi. Danta is tamed, subject, meek; and also a young tamed bullock.
3 Agrahaiittam.
XI.
those days the life of men lasted long, so that for a time of many hundred thousand years I was exer¬ cising the rule of a King of the Law for the sake of duty, not for the sake of enjoyment 1. After install¬ ing in government the eldest prince royal, I went in quest of the best law in the four quarters, and had promulgated with sound of bell the following pro¬ clamation: He who procures for me the best law 2 or points out what is useful, to him will I become a servant. At that time there lived a Seer; he told me: Noble king, there is a Sfttra, called the Lotus of the True Law, which is an exposition of the best law. If thou consent to become my servant, I will teach thee that law. And I, glad, content, exulting and ravished at the words I heard from the Seer, became his pupil 3, and said: I will do for thee the work of a servant. And so having agreed upon becoming the servant of the Seer, I performed the duties of a servitor, such as fetching grass, fuel, water, bulbs, roots, fruit, &c. I held also the office of a doorkeeper. When I had done such kind of work at day-time, I at night kept his feet while he 1 This golden age evidently coincided with the reign of king Yima in Iran, of king Fr68i in Denmark, of king Manu in India; in short, with the dawn of humanity.
2 Or, the best right.
s Upeyitav&n. The original must have had upeyivan. The whole story, so different in language, style, phraseology, choice of words and spirit from anything else in the Lotus, has been so profoundly altered that almost every word must be taken in another sense than what originally was attached to it. I am not sure that those who modified the ancient tale understood the meaning of upeyivan; even the grammatical form was a puzzle, if not to them, at least to the scribes.
XI.
APPARITION OF A STfjPA.
was lying on his couch 1, and never did I feel fatigue of body or mind. In such occupations I passed a full millennium.
And for the fuller elucidation of this matter the Lord on that occasion uttered the following stanzas: 42. I have a remembrance of past ages when I was Dharmika 2, the King of the Law, and exercised the royal sway for duty’s sake, not for love’s sake, in the interest of the best law 3.
43. I let go out in all directions this proclamation: I will become a servant to him who shall explain Dharma 4 *. At that time there was a far-seeing Sage, a revealer of the Sutra called the True Law 6.
44. He said to me: If thou wish to know Dharma, become my servant 6; then I will explain it to thee. As I heard these words I rejoiced and carefully per¬ formed such work as a servant ought to do.
45. I never felt any bodily nor mental weariness since I had become a servant for the sake of the true law. I did my best 7 for real truth’s sake 8, not with a view to win honour or enjoy pleasure.
1.Sayanasya manMe padan dharayamasa, which is sheer non¬ sense; we have to read sayanasya. The plural padan shows that not the feet are meant—for that is p&dau in the dual—but the lower end of the couch; the plural, if applied to one person, is always metaphorical.
2 The text of these verses is one mass of corruption, as is proved by the repeated offences against the metre.
3 Perhaps those who changed the original text intended to join the last sentence to the following.
4 In the intention of the original author: (what is) Right.
6 Sfttrasya saddharman&mna^; this term being prosodically inadmissible, the original must have had another word.
6 Rather absurd; the original must have had ‘ my pupil.’
7 Prawidhi, here synonymous with avadhana, prayatna.
8 Vastutvaheto^, which is nonsense; probably to read vas- XI.
46. That king meanwhile, strenuously and without engaging in other pursuits, roamed in every direction during thousands of ko?is of complete yf£ons without being able to obtain the Sfttra called Dharma 1.
Now, monks, what is your opinion? that it was another who at that time, at that juncture was the king? No, you must certainly not hold that view. For it was myself, who at that time, at that juncture was the king. What then, monks, is your opinion? that it was another who at that time, at that j unc¬ ture was the Seer? No, you must certainly not hold that view. For it was this Devadatta himself, the monk 2, who at that time, at that juncture was the Seer. Indeed, monks, Devadatta was my good friend. By the aid of Devadatta 3 have I accom¬ plished the six perfect virtues (P&ramit&s). Noble kindness, noble compassion, noble sympathy, noble indifference, the thirty-two signs of a great man, the eighty lesser marks 4, the gold-coloured tinge, the ten powers, the fourfold absence of hesitation 8, the four articles of sociability, the eighteen uncommon tutatvaheto^. A later hand has added a marginal reading sar- vasatva, obviously intended to give a Buddhistic tinge to the tale.
1 The traces of alteration are so clearly visible that it is not necessary to point them out.
2 Ayam-eva sa Devadatto bhikshus tena kalena tena samayena rz'shir abhut. Hence it follows that Devadatta is present at the gathering. His name not being mentioned before, he must be concealed under another name; I take him to be identical with Prabhbtaratna.
3 Devadattam agamy a, properly, having come to or reached D.
4 AnuvyaAgana; they have been thoroughly treated of by Burnouf in an Appendix to the Lotus, p. 583 seq.; cf. Hodgson’s Essays, p. 90, and S. Hardy's Manual, p. 369.
5 VaLaradya; Burnouf, Lotus, p. 396; S. Hardy, Eastern Monachism, p. 291.
XI. APPARITION OF A StOpA. 247 properties, magical power, ability to save beings in all directions of space,—all this (have I got) after having come to Devadatta. I announce to you, monks, I declare to you: This Devadatta, the monk, shall in an age to come, after immense, innumerable Hions, become a Tathagata named Devara^a (i. e. King of the gods), an Arhat, &c., in the world Devasopana (i. e. Stairs of the gods). The lifetime of that Tathi- gata Devara^a, monks, shall measure twenty inter¬ mediate kalpas. He shall preach the law in extension, and beings equal to the sands of the river Ganges shall through him forsake all evils and realise Arhat- ship. Several beings shall also elevate their minds to Pratyekabuddhaship, whereas beings equal to the sands of the river Ganges shall elevate their minds to supreme, perfect enlightenment, and become endowed with unflinching patience. Further, monks, after the complete extinction of the Tathigata Devard^a, his true law shall stay twenty intermediate kalpas. His body shall not be seen divided into different parts (and relics); it shall remain as one mass within a Sthpa of seven precious substances, which Sthpa is to be sixty hundred yo^anas in height and forty yo^anas in extension b All, gods and men, shall do worship to it with flowers, incense, perfumed garlands, un¬ guents, powder, clothes, umbrellas, banners, flags, and celebrate it with stanzas and songs. Those who shall turn round that Stftpa from left to right or humbly salute it, shall some of them realise Arhat- ship, others attain Pratyekabuddhaship; others, gods and men, in immense number, shall raise their minds to supreme, perfect enlightenment, never to return.
1 Ayamena, which also means length.
XI.
Thereafter the Lord again addressed the assembly of monks: Whosoever in future, monks, be he a young man or a young lady of good family, shall hear this chapter of the Sfttra of the Lotus of the True Law, and by doing so be relieved from doubt, become pure-minded, and put reliance on it, to such a one the door of the three states of misfortune shall be shut: he shall not fall so low as to be born in hell, among beasts, or in Yama’s kingdom. When born in the Buddha-fields in the ten points of space he shall at each repeated birth hear this very S&tra, and when born amongst gods or men he shall attain an eminent rank. And in the Buddha-held where he is to be born he shall appear by metamorphosis on a lotus of seven precious substances, face to face with the Tathagata.
At that moment a Bodhisattva of the name of Pra^Mkft/a, having come from beneath the Buddha- held of the Tathagata Prabhhtaratna, said to the Tathagata Prabhhtaratna: Lord, let us resort to our own Buddha-held. But the Lord Yakyamuni, the Tathagata, said to the Bodhisattva Pra^izaku/a: Wait a while, young man of good family, hrst have a discussion with my Bodhisattva Ma^usrl, the prince royal, to settle some point of the law. And at the same moment, lo, Ma%xm-1, the prince royal, rose seated on a centifolious lotus that was large as a carriage yoked with four horses, surrounded and attended by many Bodhisattvas, from the bosom of the sea, from the abode of the Naga-king Sagara (i. e. Ocean). Rising high into the sky he went through the air to the Grz'dhrakft/a mountain to the presence of the Lord. There Mangusvi, the prince royal, alighted from his lotus, reverentially saluted XI.
APPARITION OF A STlJPA.
the feet of the Lord.Sakyamuni and Prabhutaratna, the Tathagata, went up to the Bodhisattva Pra^la- kh/a and, after making the usual complimentary questions as to his health and welfare, seated him¬ self at some distance. The Bodhisattva Pra^waku/a then addressed to Ma^nsri, the prince royal, the following question: Maw^uyrl, how many beings hast thou educated 1 during thy stay in the sea? Ma.ngus’rt answered: Many, innumerable, incalcu¬ lable beings have I educated, so innumerable that words cannot express it, nor thought conceive it. Wait a while, young man of good family, thou shalt presently see a token. No sooner had Ma^uyri, the prince royal, spoken these words than instan¬ taneously many thousands of lotuses rose from the bosom of the sea up to the sky, and on those lotuses were seated many thousands of Bodhisattvas, who flocked through the air to the Grz’dhraku/a mountain, where they stayed, appearing as meteors. All of them had been educated by Mawgauri, the prince royal, to supreme, perfect enlightenment 2. The Bodhisattvas amongst them who had formerly striven after the great vehicle extolled the virtues of the great vehicle and the six perfect virtues (Paramitas). Such as had been disciples extolled the vehicle of disciples. But all acknowledged the voidness (or vanity) of all laws (or things), as well as the virtues of the great vehicle. Ma%nim, the prince royal, said to the Bodhisattva Pra^akft/a: Young man of good family, while I was staying in the bosom of the great ocean I have by all means 1 Properly, lead, lead out.
2 Here Ma%urn appears in the character of Hermes ■tyvxoirofnros.
XI.
educated creatures, and here thou seest the result. Whereupon the Bodhisattva Pra^ikft/a questioned Ma%u.rrl, the prince royal, in chanting the following stanzas: 47. O thou blessed one, who from thy wisdom art called the Sage 1, by whose power is it that thou to-day (or now) hast educated those innumerable beings? Tell it me upon my question, O thou god amongst men 2.
48. What law hast thou preached, or what Sfttra, in showing the path of enlightenment, so that those who are there with you have conceived the idea of enlight¬ enment? that, once having gained a safe ford 3, they have been decisively established in omniscience?
Ma^tisri answered: In the bosom of the sea I have expounded the Lotus of the True Law and no other Sfttra. Pra^w&kti/a said: That Sfttra is pro¬ found, subtle, difficult to seize; no other Sfttra equals it. Is there any creature able to understand this jewel of a Sutra or to arrive at supreme, perfect enlightenment? Ma^mri replied: There is, young man of good family, the daughter of Sagara, the Naga-king, eight years old, very intelligent, of keen faculties, endowed with prudence in acts of body, speech, and mind, who has caught and kept all the teachings, in substance and form, of the Tathagatas, who has acquired in one moment a thousand medi¬ tations and proofs of the essence of all laws 4. She 1 Mahabhadra pra^ftaya suranaman. I take s fir a in the sense of sfiri, though it is also possible that sfira stands for rura, a hero.
2 Naradeva.
3 Labdhagfithfi^; I think we have to read labdhagfidhfi^, and have translated accordingly.
* The reading is uncertain; sarvadharmasatvasamadhanasama- XI.
APPARITION OF A STtjPA.
does not swerve from the idea of enlightenment, has great aspirations, applies to other beings the same measure as to herself; she is apt to display all vir¬ tues and is never deficient in them. With a bland smile on the face and in the bloom of an extremely handsome appearance she speaks words of kindliness and compassion 1. She is fit to arrive at supreme, perfect enlightenment. The Bodhisattva Pra gn§r kfi/a said: I have seen how the Lord Sakyamuni, the Tathagata, when he was striving after enlighten¬ ment, in the state of a Bodhisattva, performed innu¬ merable good works 2, and during many zEons never slackened in his arduous task. In the whole universe there is not a single spot so small as a mustard-seed where he has not surrendered his body for the sake of creatures 3. Afterwards he arrived at enlighten¬ ment. Who then would believe that she should have been able to arrive at supreme, perfect knowledge in one moment?