Chapter 30: The Praise by the Great Goddess Sarasvatī

30.1Then the great goddess Sarasvatī rose from her seat and with veneration placed her palms together and praised the Bhagavat with these pure words:

30.2“I pay homage to the tathāgata arhat samyaksaṃbuddha Śākyamuni, who has a pure body the color of gold‍—his throat has the shape of a conch; his face is like a full moon and his eyes are like blue lotuses; his lips are red and beautiful, like the color of a bimba; his nose is prominent and straight and like a carved piece of gold; his teeth are white, without gaps, and like white water lilies; he shines with light like a hundred thousand suns; his bright colors are vivid like the gold of Jambudvīpa; the words he speaks are free of mistakes and errors; he teaches the three gateways of liberation, opening the paths to the three enlightenments; his mind is always pure and so is his aspiration; the places where the Bhagavat resides and his field of activity are always pure; he has forsaken that which should not be the conduct, so that there is no error whether he is moving or stationary; he undertook asceticism for six years and then turned the Dharma wheel three times; he liberated beings who are suffering, bringing them over to the other shore; the signs of a great being on his body are complete, like a banyan tree; through his meditation on the six perfections, his three kinds of activity are faultless; he has omniscience and therefore accomplishes perfect benefit for himself and others; whatever it is that he says, [F.148.b] it will always benefit beings, so that he never says anything that is purposeless; he was a great lion from within the Śākya clan and therefore is unshakable and heroic; and he has the perfection of the eight liberations.

30.3“Today, simply according to my own experience, I have made this praise of just a few aspects of the qualities of the Tathāgata, like the water that a fly would obtain from a great ocean. Nevertheless, I pray that through the power of its merit all beings will completely abandon saṃsāra and accomplish the highest path.”

30.4Then the Bhagavat said to the great goddess Sarasvatī, “You have obtained this great eloquence through having meditated for a long time. Your extensive praise of my qualities today is excellent, excellent! Through its power you will quickly realize the gateway of the highest Dharma, have a perfection of the signs and features of a great being, and be of vast benefit to all.”

30.5This concludes “The Praise by the Great Goddess Sarasvatī,” the thirtieth chapter of “The Supremely Victorious King of Sūtras, the Sublime Golden Light.”