Day 3 covers the first half of Chapter 2, Expedients.
Having last month considered the reaction from the Śrāvakas and the four kinds of devotees, Śāriputra repeats what he had said in gāthās.
Thereupon Śāriputra, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:
Sun of Wisdom, Great Honorable Saint!
You expound the Dharma for the first time after a long time.
You say that you obtained
The powers, fearlessness, samādhis,
Dhyana-concentrations, emancipations,
And other inconceivable properties [of a Buddha].No one asks you about the Dharma you attained
At the place of enlightenment.
[The Dharma] is too difficult for me to measure.
[So it is for others; therefore,] no one asks you.Although you are not asked, you extol the teachings
[Of the past Buddhas] which you practiced.
Your wisdom is wonderful.
It is the same wisdom that the other Buddhas obtained.The Arhats-without-āsravas
And those who are seeking Nirvāṇa
Are now in the mesh of doubts, wondering:
“Why does the Buddha say all this?”Those who are seeking the vehicle of cause-knowers,
And the bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, gods, dragons,
Gandharvas, and other supernatural beings,
Are exchanging glances of perplexity.They are looking up at you, at the Honorable Biped
Thinking:
“What is this for?
Buddha! Explain all this!”You once said to me:
“You are the most excellent Śrāvaka.”
With all my wisdom, however, I now doubt.
I do not understand
Whether the Truth I attained is final or not,
Whether the teachings I practiced are true or not.Your sons born from your mouth are looking up at you
With their hands joined together, entreating:
“With your wonderful voice,
Explain all this as it really is!”As many gods and dragons
As there are sands in the River Ganges,
And the eighty thousand Bodhisattvas
Who are seeking Buddhahood,
And the wheel-turning-holy-kings
Of billions of worlds
Are joining their hands together respectfully,
Wishing to hear the Perfect Way.