The Noble Great Vehicle Sūtra “Siṃha’s Questions”

At the opening of this sūtra, King Ajātaśatru’s son Siṃha and his five hundred attendants approach the Buddha, who is on Vulture Peak. After paying homage and offering golden parasols, Siṃha asks the Buddha a series of questions about the conduct of bodhisattvas. The Buddha answers each of Siṃha’s questions with a series of verses describing the various karmic causes that result in the qualities and attributes of bodhisattvas. Afterward, when Siṃha and his attendants promise to train in this teaching, the Buddha smiles, causing the three-thousandfold world system to quake. When the bodhisattva Ajita asks the Buddha why he smiled, the Buddha explains that Siṃha and all of his companions will become buddhas and establish buddhafields similar to that of Amitābha.