The Entry into the City

10.1The Bhagavān then said to the youth Candraprabha, “Therefore, young man, you should be someone who makes practice essential, and always trains in that way. Why is that? Young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who make practice essential will not even find it difficult to attain the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood, not to mention attaining this samādhi.”

10.2Then the youth Candraprabha rose from his seat, removed his robe from one shoulder, and, kneeling on his right knee, [F.29.a] with palms placed together, bowed toward the Bhagavān and exclaimed, “Bhagavān, that teaching and instruction that the bhagavāns have taught well, presented well, and explained well to the bodhisattva mahāsattvas, the entire bodhisattva training that they have explained well and presented well is marvelous.

10.3“Bhagavān, this is the scope of activity of the tathāgatas, not of the śrāvakas or pratyekabuddhas, let alone the tīrthikas.

10.4“Bhagavān, I, too, will make practice essential, and without care for life or body I shall train as the tathāgatas have. Why is that? Bhagavān, I wish to train as the tathāgatas have. Bhagavān, I wish to attain the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood. Bhagavān, I wish to eliminate the evil māras. Bhagavān, I wish to free all beings from all fear and all suffering. I pray that the Bhagavān will place his right hand upon my head.”

He said to the Bhagavān:

10.6The Bhagavān placed upon Candraprabha’s head his right hand, which was adorned with many characteristics that were the result of many roots of merit, and which was of the color of divine gold.

10.7As soon as the Bhagavān placed his right hand upon Candraprabha’s head, in that very instant, more indescribable than indescribably many hundred thousand quintillions of samādhi entranceways that arise from the perfection of wisdom were revealed to Candraprabha, such as the heroic, the treasury of space, the vajra-like, the speed of the mind, the revealing of all forms, [F.29.b] the ultimate absence of obscurations , the revealing of all tathāgatas , the consecration of all emptiness , and so on. Many entranceways to dhāraṇīs and liberations were revealed. He attained the knowledge of the joy and happiness that is described by the noble ones, of the countless vast number of beings in the deva realms, and the scope of experience of the buddhas and bodhisattvas.

It was said:

10.9Then Candraprabha, full of joy and happiness and the knowledge of the countless, vast number of beings in the deva realms, and the scope of experience of the buddhas and bodhisattvas, rose from his seat, removed his robe from one shoulder, and, kneeling on his right knee, with palms placed together, he bowed toward the Bhagavān and recited these appropriate verses of praise:

10.13When the youth Candraprabha had recited these appropriate verses of praise to the Bhagavān, he said to him, “Bhagavān, so that you may show me your compassion I pray that you, with your saṅgha of bodhisattvas and saṅgha of bhikṣus, will assent to eat your meal tomorrow at my home.

10.15The Bhagavān, because of his compassion, by remaining silent assented to eat a meal together with his saṅgha of bodhisattvas and saṅgha of bhikṣus at the home of the youth Candraprabha.

10.16The youth Candraprabha, knowing that the Bhagavān had assented by his silence, rose from his seat, removed his robe from one shoulder, bowed his head to the Bhagavān’s feet, circumambulated the Bhagavān three times, and departed from the Bhagavān’s presence.

10.17The youth Candraprabha then went down from Vulture Peak Mountain, and at that time he perfectly adorned the entire road in between Vulture Peak Mountain and the great city of Rājagṛha.

10.18As an offering to the Bhagavān he cleared a great, wide roadway so that it was free of grass, tree stumps, thorns, stones, pebbles, and gravel, and spread pure sand over it, so that it was as soft and pleasant to the touch as down, and made a pleasant sound. He covered it with flowers from all seasons, such as divine blue lotuses, red lotuses, night lotuses, white lotuses, water lilies, kachnar flowers, sambac jasmines , magnolias, bignonias, star jasmines, sesame flowers, ironwood flowers, and aśoka flowers. Parasols, banners, flags, flags of victory, precious arches, and canopies were set up along the road. [F.30.b] There were precious censers from which flowed the smoke of black agarwood. Arranged in different places were dancers and performers skilled in performing divine songs, dance, and music. Beautifully adorned men, women, boys, and girls were arranged holding paṇava drums, one-stringed lutes, lutes, flutes, mṛdaṅga drums, mukunda drums, and muraja drums. On both sides of the road tall palm trees were adorned with various divine jewels and a jingling network of bells made from Jambu River gold. There were many hundred thousand quintillions of pillars made of precious materials, and different kinds of trees of various heights and thicknesses made from the seven jewels, and on which were arranged the leaves, flowers, and fruits of all seasons.

10.30Young Candraprabha adorned the road with many different precious arrangements. Then young Candraprabha descended from Vulture Peak and went to the great city of Rājagṛha, to his tall, vast, great, divine home. He reached there and he entered his home. He spent that night preparing a great amount of excellent, delicious food and drink, and creating food that had a hundred flavors. Then he sprinkled well the ground in the great city of Rājagṛha and swept it clean, scattered flower petals, perfumed it with incense, put up canopies, hung ribbons and wreaths of silk, and set up parasols, banners, and flags.

10.31In that way he made the main road of Rājagṛha up to the town free of stones, pebbles, and gravel, scattered it with various flowers, and sprinkled it with sandalwood powder. He adorned the windows, porticoes, doors, roofs, lattices, and the crescent moons, and perfumed them with sandalwood. In that way he adorned the city of Rājagṛha with countless displays [F.31.b] and adorned his own house, too, with a variety of many adornments. He hung it with many precious strings of beads. He adorned it with the raiment of the Tuṣita deities and also beautified the grounds. He had many kinds of garlands and wreaths put up as adornments. He arranged a hundred thousand precious seats. In order to make offerings to the Bhagavān he placed in their center a lion throne of divine materials that surpassed the work of devas and humans. In the four directions he hung censers made of various precious materials, from which flowed the smoke of black agarwood. In that way the youth Candraprabha arranged his excellent home so that for the enjoyment of the Bhagavān there was the sound of divine songs, performances, and music; pure parasols and banners were erected; an audience of a hundred thousand devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans, and nonhumans thronged it; and it was filled with many various kinds of precious flowers.

10.38The young man Candraprabha, having adorned the great city of Rājagṛha and having perfectly beautified his own home, after the night was over, in the early morning, departed, accompanied by the music of hundreds of various kinds of instruments, with many millions of parasols, banners, and flags held high, and with an encircling vanguard of a great assembly of eight million quintillion bodhisattvas, their cupped hands filled with divine coral tree flowers. Among them were bodhisattvas with one life remaining, such as Avalokiteśvara, Mahā­sthāma­prāpta, Gandhahasti, Ratnaketu, Dundubhisvara, Durabhisambhava, Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta, Vīrasena, Subāhu, Ratnakusuma, Amoghadarśin, Maitreya, and others, accompanied by many adorned horses and elephants without riders that were being led along, with an assembly of countless people of the country, his own cupped hands filled with divine coral tree flowers; and they were accompanied by the enchanting, beautiful, harmonious sound of the laughter of the deities as they cried, “Oh, the bodhisattva’s great power! The bodhisattva’s great miracles! The bodhisattva’s great manifestations! The bodhisattva’s‍—a la la!”

10.39He came out through the hot springs gateway of the great city of Rājagṛha and went toward Vulture Peak Mountain, and to the Bhagavān.

10.40When he arrived, he bowed his head to the Bhagavān’s feet, circumambulated the Bhagavān three times, sprinkled the divine coral tree flowers that filled his cupped hands over the Bhagavān, and went to sit down to one side.

10.41Maitreya and the other [F.32.b] bodhisattva mahāsattvas bowed their heads to the Bhagavān’s feet, circumambulated the Bhagavān three times, sprinkled the divine coral tree flowers that filled their cupped hands over the Bhagavān, and also sat down to one side.

10.42Then the youth, who had sat to one side, rose from his seat, removed his robe from one shoulder, and, kneeling on his right knee, with palms placed together bowed toward the Bhagavān and said, “It is midday, Bhagavān, the time to eat. If the Bhagavān considers the time has come, then together with the saṅgha of bodhisattvas, the saṅgha of bhikṣus, and the devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, rishis, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, kumbhāṇḍas, pretas, pūtanas, humans, and nonhumans who have great power, who are widely renowned for their great power and have great influence, come to the great city of Rājagṛha, as the time has come to eat the midday meal in my garden. Sugata, it is midday.

10.49Then the Bhagavān, who had known what the youth Candraprabha would request, addressed these lines of verse to him:

10.51After speaking these lines, the Bhagavān arose from his seat. He put on his lower robe, picked up his Dharma robe and alms bowl, and with the great saṅgha of a hundred thousand bhikṣus, and accompanied by a multitude of bodhisattva mahāsattvas, he proceeded. Many hundreds of thousands of devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, rishis, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, kumbhāṇḍas, pretas, pūtanas, humans, and nonhumans made offerings to him and praised him. Through his great buddha powers, his great buddha miracles, his great buddha manifestations, and his buddha conduct he radiated many quintillions of light rays. He emanated flocks of melodious, soft, and beautiful birds of many different shapes and colors, such as geese, cranes, ruddy shelducks, swans, partridges, peacocks, rollers, parrots, mynas, cuckoos, avadavats, and snipe, so that like devas in the sky, each with its own song, they emitted the sound of music. [F.33.b]

10.52The yakṣa lords Surūpa, Indraketu, Vikaṭa, Bakula, Pāñcika, Śākyavardhana, and many quintillions of yakṣa lords holding pestles with both hands, offered many quintillions of huge, vast censers made of various divine precious materials, with handles of beryl, sapphire, crystal, and white coral, filled with uragasāra sandalwood, gośīrṣa sandalwood, vetiver, yellow sandalwood, Malaya sandalwood, red sandalwood, agarwood, and so on, and from which smoke flowed.

10.53There were the superior kings of great power, renowned as having great power, from their own regions, accompanied by many divisions of perfectly adorned horses and elephants being led without their riders, chariots, and infantry, in lines marching in front, holding in their hands many streamers and precious garlands. The horses and elephants, even though they were being led along without riders, were proceeding magnificently and emitting beautiful cries.

10.54The Bhagavān was accompanied on his right-hand side by Brahmā, who was making offerings to him and attending upon him, and on his left-hand side by Śakra, lord of the devas, and by countless devas with great power, who were renowned for their great power, who were mighty and illustrious, and whose bodies were adorned by excellent divine crowns, ornamented anklets, earrings, bracelets, flowers on their ears, bejeweled necklaces, and flower garlands. Their forms were made visible and they were holding coral tree flowers, asters, orchids, hibiscus, amaranths, magnolias, karnikara flowers, aśoka flowers, bignonias, kachnar flowers, blue lotuses, medlar flowers, sambac jasmine , star jasmine, ironwood flowers, red lotuses, night lotuses, white lotuses, water lilies, precious garlands, precious agarwood, and precious fruit. They were playing hundreds of thousands of different kinds of musical instruments, waving millions of pieces of cloth, crying out, “Ha! Ha! Ha!” and sending down a great rain of flowers. In order to make offerings to the Bhagavān they filled the entire sky without leaving any space [F.34.a] and sent down a great rain of flowers, incense, garlands, perfumes, powders, and jewels.

10.55The Bhagavān entered at midday the great city of Rājagṛha through the hot springs gateway. The nature of this is described in these verses:

10.70The moment the Bhagavān placed his right foot, adorned by a precious wheel from the accumulation of countless roots of merit, upon the threshold of the gate, this universe of a thousand million worlds shook in six ways. It trembled, trembled strongly, and trembled intensely; it quivered, quivered strongly, and quivered intensely; it shook, shook strongly, and shook intensely; it shuddered, shuddered strongly, and shuddered intensely; it quaked, quaked strongly, and quaked intensely; the east sank and the west rose, the west sank and the east rose, the north sank and the south rose, the south sank and the north rose, the perimeter sank and the center rose, and the center sank and the perimeter rose. A great radiance shone in the world, and countless, numberless other amazing, wonderful, miraculous manifestations appeared. [B4]

The nature of this is described in these verses:

10.169Conclusion of the tenth chapter, “The Entry into the City.”