The Translation

[F.17.b]

1.1Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.

1.2Thus did I hear at one time. The Bhagavān was dwelling in Śrāvastī, in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park with a great saṅgha of 1,250 monks. They were all worthy ones. Their contaminations were exhausted, they were without afflictions, they were endowed with power, their minds were thoroughly liberated, and their insight was thoroughly liberated. They were of noble lineage. They were great elephants who had completed their work and accomplished their tasks. They had put down their burdens, attained their own aims, and destroyed the bonds of existence, and their minds were liberated through perfect knowledge. They had perfected the best of all the powers of the mind. They were all this way‍—with the exception of one person, Venerable Ānanda.

1.3On that occasion, Venerable Śāriputra had joined the assembly and was in attendance. At that moment all the worlds of the trichiliocosm [F.18.a] shook in six ways. The sounds of quintillions of cymbals, without their being played, rang through the atmosphere. There rained down a shower of divine flowers‍—mandārava, mahāmandārava, mañjūṣaka, and mahāmañjūṣaka flowers. The entire Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park became blanketed with precious flowers. At that moment, all the worlds in the trichiliocosm became suffused with a brilliant golden-colored light.

1.4Then, at that very moment, from the eastern direction there appeared eight lotuses with golden stalks, silver petals, beryl anthers, and centers formed from emeralds. On top of each lotus center stood a square lion throne. The thrones rested on four bases and were radiant, lovely to behold, fragrant, and delightful. They were fringed with silk tassels, permeated with the aroma of incense from a censer, well adorned with various precious jewels, ringing with many lattices of small bells, and covered by canopies of myriad precious gems.

1.5On every lion throne appeared the body of a seated thus-gone one. All these thus-gone ones were beautiful and delightful to behold. They had calm senses and calm minds. They had attained supreme self-discipline and tranquility. They had attained true self-discipline and tranquility. Their faculties were guarded and restrained, just like a well-tamed elephant. They were pure, unclouded, and clear, just like a lake. Their bodies were adorned by the thirty-two marks of a great being. Their golden-hued bodies outshone the brilliance of the sun and the moon. They displayed many hundreds of thousands of ways of conduct. They had a complexion that one’s gaze can never tire of.

1.6Then, through the power of the Buddha, Venerable Śāriputra [F.18.b] rose from his seat. He draped his upper robe over one shoulder and placed his right knee on the ground. Next, having bowed with palms pressed together in the direction of the Bhagavān, he addressed the Bhagavān with these words:

1.7“Bhagavān, from the eastern direction there have arisen eight lotuses with golden stalks, silver petals, beryl anthers, and centers formed from emeralds. On top of every lotus center is a square throne raised by lions. The thrones rest on four bases and they are radiant, lovely to behold, fragrant, and delightful. They are fringed with silk tassels, permeated with the aroma of incense from a censer, well adorned with various precious jewels, ringing with many lattices of small bells, and covered by canopies of myriad precious gems.

1.8“On every lion throne appears the body of a seated thus-gone one. All these thus-gone ones are beautiful, delightful to behold, having calm senses and calm minds. They have attained supreme self-discipline and tranquility. They have attained true self-discipline and tranquility. Their faculties are guarded and restrained, just like a well-tamed elephant. They are pure, unclouded, and clear, just like a lake. Their bodies are adorned by the thirty-two marks of a great being. Their golden-hued bodies outshine the brilliance of the sun and the moon. They display many hundreds of thousands of ways of conduct. They have a complexion that one’s gaze can never tire of. What are the causes and what are the conditions for this?”

1.9The Bhagavān replied to Venerable Śāriputra: “Śāriputra, listen very well and keep this in mind. I will explain.”

Venerable Śāriputra said, “Bhagavān, I shall do so.” Then he listened to the Bhagavān.

1.10The Bhagavān said, “Śāriputra, [F.19.a] to the east of this buddha realm, past buddha realms as numerous as the grains of sand in a single river Ganges, there is a world system called Unsubdued by Others. The thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Exceedingly Widely Renowned Glory presently lives and thrives there, teaching the Dharma.

1.11“Śāriputra, to the east of this buddha realm, past buddha realms as numerous as the grains of sand in two river Ganges, there is a world system called Exquisitely Joyful. The thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha King of the Summit of Power of the Victory Banner presently lives and thrives there, teaching the Dharma.

1.12“Śāriputra, to the east of this buddha realm, past buddha realms as numerous as the grains of sand in three river Ganges, there is a world system called Joyous Delights. The thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Glorious Supremely Renowned Intense Subduer presently lives and thrives there, teaching the Dharma.

1.13“Śāriputra, to the east of this buddha realm, past buddha realms as numerous as the grains of sand in four river Ganges, there is a world system called Entering from All Doors. The thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Skill of the Completely Victorious in Battle presently lives and thrives there, teaching the Dharma.

1.14“Śāriputra, to the east of this buddha realm, past buddha realms as numerous as the grains of sand in five river Ganges, there is a world system called Tiers of Purification. The thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Thoroughly Illumined Glorious Array of Excellences presently lives and thrives there, [F.19.b] teaching the Dharma.

1.15“Śāriputra, to the east of this buddha realm, past buddha realms as numerous as the grains of sand in six river Ganges, there is a world system called Possessing Immutability. The thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Unobstructed Glorious King of Medicine presently lives and thrives there, teaching the Dharma.

1.16“Śāriputra, to the east of this buddha realm, past buddha realms as numerous as the grains of sand in seven river Ganges, there is a world system called Filled with Masses of Eloquence. The thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Forcefully Proceeding from the Precious Lotus presently lives and thrives there, teaching the Dharma.

1.17“Śāriputra, to the east of this buddha realm, past buddha realms as numerous as the grains of sand in eight river Ganges, there is a world system called Pleasant Melodious Sound. The thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha King of the Sāla Abiding in the Precious Lotus presently lives and thrives there, teaching the Dharma.

1.18“Śāriputra, the buddha realms of those blessed buddhas are thoroughly pure. Hence, they are devoid of the five degenerations and without any heretics. They are without pebbles and without gravel. They are without subsidiary afflictions. They are without women. They are without animals, and they are also beyond the realm of the Lord of Death. There, one does not come across any wasps, biting insects, or venomous vipers.

1.19“Śāriputra, those sons or daughters of good family who hear the names of those blessed buddhas and remember, carry, read, teach, properly chant, and master these names will not descend to the three lower realms. Such a possibility will simply not exist. [F.20.a] Hence, Śāriputra, for those beings, going to the hell realm, being reborn as animals, or going to the realm of the Lord of Death is impossible, except for those individuals who have committed acts of immediate retribution and those who have abandoned the holy Dharma, and even those beings will have those experiences only minimally, not greatly.

1.20“Śāriputra, whatever sons or daughters of good family hear the names of those blessed buddhas and remember, carry, read, teach, properly chant, and master these names will never be separated from the extraordinary knowledges right up to their arrival at the Essence of Awakening. They will never be without signs of realization. They will never be without dhāraṇī. They will never have defective faculties. They will never be without abundant melodious speech. They will never be without the resonance of drums. They will never be unworthy of gifts, and they will never regress. They will never be without the flowers of the branches of awakening. They will never be without the very extensive Mahāyāna discourses. Śāriputra, there is no basis for that and no possibility for that to occur.

1.21“Śāriputra, whenever a woman hears the names of those blessed buddhas and remembers, carries, reads, teaches, properly chants, and masters them, it will be impossible for such a woman to acquire female attributes again, unless she takes on such attributes due to her own prayers. Śāriputra, there is no basis for that and no possibility for that to occur.

1.22“Śāriputra, when sons or daughters of good family hear the names of those blessed buddhas and remember, carry, read, teach, properly chant, and master them, it will be impossible for those sons or daughters of good family to experience any terrors from kings, thieves, fire, water, evil forces, [F.20.b] nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, demigods, humans, nonhumans, or any other type of destruction, unless it is due to the forceful ripening of karma. Even then, they will have those experiences only minimally, not greatly.

1.23“In pursuing any kind of mundane or supramundane objective, one should aspire to make virtuous qualities proliferate and not diminish them.”

1.24Then the Bhagavān spoke these verses:

1.40When the Bhagavān had spoken these words, Venerable Śāriputra and the entire retinue, along with the world with its gods, humans, demigods, and gandharvas, rejoiced and praised what the Bhagavān had said.

1.41This concludes the noble Mahāyāna sūtra “The Eight Buddhas.”