Day 15 concludes Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma, and opens Chapter 11, Beholding the Stūpa of Treasures.
Having last month repeated in gāthās the lesson of a man on a plateau digging for water, we conclude today’s portion of Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma.
In this profound sūtra
The teachings for the Śrāvakas are criticized.
Those who hear
That this sūtra is the king of all the sūtras,
And think over this sūtra clearly after hearing it,
Know this, will approach the wisdom of the Buddha.
If you wish to expound this sūtra,
Enter the room of the Tathāgata,
Wear the robe of the Tathāgata,
Sit on the seat of the Tathāgata,
[And after doing these three things,]
Expound it to people without fear!To enter the room of the Tathāgata means to have great compassion.
To wear his robe means to be gentle and patient.
To sit on his seat means to see the voidness of all things.
Expound the Dharma only after you do these [three] things!If anyone speaks ill of you, or threatens you
With swords, sticks, tile-pieces or stones
While you are expounding this sūtra,
Think of me, and be patient!My body is pure and indestructible.
I will appear in any of many thousands of billions of worlds
During many hundreds of millions of kalpas,
And expound the Dharma to the living beings.If a teacher of the Dharma expounds this sūtra
After my extinction,
I will manifest the four kinds of devotees:
Bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, and men and women of pure faith,
And dispatch them to him
So that they may make offerings to him,
And that they may lead many living beings,
Collecting them to hear the Dharma [from him].If he is hated and threatened
With swords, sticks, tile-pieces or stones,
I will manifest men and dispatch them to him
In order to protect him.If an expounder of the Dharma
Reads and recites this sūtra
In a retired and quiet place,
Where no human voice is heard,
I will show my pure and radiant body to him.
If he forgets a sentence or a phrase of this sūtra,
I will tell it to him
For his complete understanding.Anyone who expounds this sūtra to the four kinds of devotees,
Or reads or recites this sūtra in a retired place,
After doing these [three] virtuous things,
Will be able to see me.If he lives in a retired place,
I will dispatch gods, dragon-kings, yakṣas,
Demigods, and others to him,
And have them hear the Dharma [from him].He will expound the Dharma with joy.
He will expound it without hindrance.
He will cause a great multitude to rejoice
Because he is protected by all the Buddhas.Those who come to this teacher of the Dharma
Will be able to complete the Way of Bodhisattvas quickly.
Those who follow him and study will be able to see
As many Buddhas as there are sands in the River Ganges.