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Encouragement of Samantabhadra
Thereupon the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Samantabhadra, in the east, surrounded and followed by Bodhisattvas Mahāsattvas surpassing all calculation, amid the stirring of fields, a rain of lotuses, the playing of hundred thousands of myriads of koṭis of musical instruments, proceeded with the great pomp of a Bodhisattva, the great display of transformations proper to a Bodhisattva, the great magnificence of a Bodhisattva, the great power of a Bodhisattva, the great luster of a glorious Bodhisattva, the great stately march of a Bodhisattva, the great miraculous display of a Bodhisattva, a great phantasmagorical sight of gods, Nāgas, goblins, Gandharvas, demons, Garuḍas, Kinnaras, great serpents, men, and beings not human, who, produced by his magic, surrounded and followed him; Samantabhadra, then, the Bodhisattva, amid such inconceivable miracles worked by magic, arrived at this Sahā-world. He went up to the place of the Lord on the Gṛdhrakūṭa, the king of mountains, and on approaching he humbly saluted the Lord’s feet, made seven circumambulations from left to right, and said to the Lord: I have come hither, O Lord, from the field of the Lord Ratnategobhyudgata, the Tathāgata, &c., as I am aware, Lord, that here in the Sahā-world is taught the Dharmaparyāya of the Lotus of the True Law, to hear which from the mouth of the Lord Śākyamuni I have come accompanied by these hundred thousands of Bodhisattvas Mahāsattvas. May the Lord deign to expound, in extension, this Dharmaparyāya of the Lotus of the True Law to these Bodhisattvas Mahāsattvas. So addressed, the Lord said to the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Samantabhadra: These Bodhisattvas, young man of good family, are, indeed, quick of understanding, but this is the Dharmaparyāya of the Lotus of the True Law, that is to say, an unmixed truth. The Bodhisattvas exclaimed: Indeed Lord; indeed, Sugata. Then in order to confirm, in the Dharmaparyāya of the Lotus of the True Law, the females among the monks, nuns, and lay devotees assembled at the gathering, the Lord again spoke to the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Samantabhadra: This Dharmaparyāya of the Lotus of the True Law, young man of good family, shall be entrusted to a female if she be possessed of four requisites, to wit: she shall stand under the superintendence of the Lords Buddhas; she shall have planted good roots; she shall keep steadily to the mass of disciplinary regulations; she shall, in order to save creatures, have the thoughts fixed on supreme and perfect enlightenment. These are the four requisites, young man of good family, a female must be possessed of, to whom this Dharmaparyāya of the Lotus of the True Law is to be entrusted.
Then the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Samantabhadra said to the Lord: At the end of time, at the end of the period, in the second half of the millennium, I will protect the monks who keep this Sūtrānta; I will take care of their safety, avert blows, and destroy poison, so that no one laying snares for those preachers may surprise them, neither Māra the Evil One, nor the sons of Māra, the angels called Mārakāyikas, the daughters of Māra, the followers of Māra, and all other servitors to Māra; that no gods, goblins, ghosts, imps, wizards, specters laying snares for those preachers may surprise them. Incessantly and constantly, O Lord, will I protect such a preacher. And when a preacher who applies himself to this Dharmaparyāya shall take a. walk, then, O Lord, will I mount a white elephant with six tusks, and with a train of Bodhisattvas betake myself to the place where that preacher is walking, in order to protect this Dharmaparyāya. And when that preacher, applying himself to this Dharmaparyāya, forgets, be it but a single word or syllable, then will I mount the white elephant with six tusks, show my face to that preacher, and repeat this entire Dharmaparyāya. And when the preacher has seen my proper body and heard from me this entire Dharmaparyāya, he, content, in high spirits, ravished, rejoiced, joyful, and delighted, will the more do his utmost to study this Dharmaparyāya, and immediately after beholding me he will acquire meditation and obtain spells, termed the talisman of preservation, the talisman of hundred thousand koṭis, and the talisman of skill in all sounds.
Again, Lord, the monks, nuns, male or female lay devotees, who at the end of time, at the end of the period, in the second half of the millennium, shall study this Dharmaparyāya, when walking for three weeks, (or) twenty-one days, to them will I show my body, at the sight of which all beings rejoice. Mounted on that same white elephant with six tusks, and surrounded by a troop of Bodhisattvas, I shall on the twenty-first day betake myself to the place where the preachers are walking; there I shall rouse, excite, and stimulate them, and give them spells whereby those preachers shall become inviolable, so that no being, either human or not human, shall be able to surprise them, and no women able to beguile them. I will protect them, take care of their safety, avert blows, and destroy poison.’ I will, besides, O Lord, give those preachers words of talismanic spells, such as, Adande dandapati, dandāvartani dandakusale dandasudhåri dhāri sudhārapati, buddhapasyani dhārāṇi, āvartani samvartani saṅghapartkshite saṅghanirghātani dharmaparlkshite sarvasattvarutakausalyānugate simhavikridite. The Bodhisattva Mahāsattva, whose organ of hearing is struck by these talismanic words, Lord, shall be aware that the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Samantabhadra is their ruling power.
Further, Lord, the Bodhisattvas Mahāsattvas to whom this Dharmaparyāya of the Lotus of the True Law shall be entrusted, as long as it continues having course in Jambudvīpa, those preachers, Lord, should take this view: It is owing to the power and grandeur of the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Samantabhadra that this Dharmaparyāya has been entrusted to us. Those creatures who shall write and keep this Sūtra, O Lord, are to partake of the course of duty of the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Samantabhadra; they will belong to those who have planted good roots under many Buddhas, O Lord, and whose heads are caressed by the hands of the Tathāgata. Those who shall write and keep this Sūtra, O Lord, will afford me pleasure. Those who shall write this Sūtra, O Lord, and comprehend it, shall, when they disappear from this world, after having written it, be reborn in the company of the gods of paradise, and at that birth shall eighty-four thousand heavenly nymphs immediately come near them. Adorned with a high crown, they shall as angels dwell amongst those nymphs. Such is the mass of merit resulting from writing this Dharmaparyāya; how much greater will be the mass of merit reaped by those who recite, study, meditate, remember it ! Therefore, young men of good family l, one ought to honor this Dharmaparyāya of the Lotus of the True Law, and write it with the utmost attention. He who writes it with undistracted attention shall be supported by the hands of a thousand Buddhas, and at the moment of his death he shall see another thousand of Buddhas from face to face. He shall not sink down into a state of wretchedness, and after disappearing from this world he shall enter the company of the Tushita-gods, where the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Maitreya is residing, and where, marked by the thirty-two sublime characteristics, surrounded by a host of Bodhisattvas, and waited upon by hundred thousands of myriads of koṭis of heavenly nymphs he is preaching the law. Therefore, then, young men of good family, a wise young man or young lady of good family should respectfully write this Dharmaparyāya of the Lotus of the True Law, respectfully recite it, respectfully study it, respectfully treasure it up in his (or her) mind. By writing, reciting, studying this Dharmaparyāya, and by treasuring it up in one’s mind, young men of good family, one is to acquire innumerable good qualities. Hence a wise young man or young lady of good family ought to keep this Dharmaparyāya of the Lotus of the True Law. I myself, O Lord, will superintend this Dharmaparyāya, that through my superintendence it may here spread in Jambudvīpa.
Then the Lord Śākyamuni, the Tathāgata, &c., expressed his approval to the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Samantabhadra: Very well, very well, Samantabhadra. It is happy that thou art so well disposed to promote the weal and happiness of the people at large, out of compassion for the people, for the benefit, weal, and happiness of the great body of men; that thou art endowed with such inconceivable qualities, with a mind so full of compassion, with intentions so inconceivably kind, so that of thine own accord thou wilt take those preachers under thy protection. The young men of good family who shall cherish the name of the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Samantabhadra may be convinced that they have seen Śākyamuni, the Tathāgata, &c.; that they have heard this Dharmaparyāya of the Lotus of the True Law from the Lord Śākyamuni; that they have paid homage to the Tathāgata Śākyamuni; that they have applauded the preaching of the Tathāgata Śākyamuni. They will have joyfully accepted this Dharmaparyāya; the Tathāgata Śākyamuni will have laid his hand upon their head, and they will have decked the Lord Śākyamuni with their robes. Those young men or young ladies of good family, Samantabhadra, must be held to have accepted the command of the Tathāgata. They will have no pleasure in worldly philosophy; no persons fondly addicted to poetry will please them; no dancers, athletes, vendors of meat, mutton butchers, poulterers, pork butchers, or profligates will please them. After having heard, written, kept, or read such Sūtrāntas as this, they will find no delight in those persons. They must be held to be possessed of natural righteousness; they will be right-minded from themselves, possess a power to do good of their own accord, and make an agreeable impression on others. Such will be the monks who keep this Sūtrānta. No passionate attachment will hinder them, no hatred, no infatuation, no jealousy, no envy, no hypocrisy, no pride, no conceitedness, no mendaciousness. Those preachers, Samantabhadra, will be content with. what they receive. He, Samantabhadra, who at the end of time, at the end of the period, in the second half of the millennium, sees a monk keeping this Dharmaparyāya of the Lotus of the True Law, must think thus: This young man of good family will reach the terrace of enlightenment; this young man will conquer the troop of the wicked Māra, move forward the wheel of the law, strike the drum of the law, blow the conch trumpet of the law, spread the rain of the law, and ascend the royal throne of the law. The monks who at the end of time, at the end of the period, in the second half of the millennium, keep this Dharmaparyāya, will not be covetous, nor greedy of robes or vehicles. Those preachers will be honest, and possessed of three emancipations; they will refrain from worldly business. Such persons as lead into error monks who know this Sūtrānta, shall be born blind; and such as openly defame them, shall have a spotted body in this very world. Those who scoff and hoot at the monks who copy this Sūtrānta, shall have the teeth broken and separated far from each other; disgusting lips, a flat nose, contorted hands and feet, squinting eyes; a putrid body, a body covered with stinking boils, eruptions, scabs, and itch. If one speaks an unkind word, true or not true, to such writers, readers, and keepers of this Sūtrānta, it must be considered a very heinous sin. Therefore then, Samantabhadra, people should, even from afar, rise from their seats before the monks who keep this Dharmaparyāya and show them the same reverence as to the Tathāgata.
While this chapter of the Encouragement of Samantabhadra was being expounded, hundred thousands of koṭis of Bodhisattvas Mahāsattvas, equal to the sands of the river Ganges, acquired the talismanic spell Āvarta.
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