“Good men! Innumerable, inconceivable, asamkya kalpas ago, there lived a Buddha called Sun-Moon-Light, the Tathagata, the Deserver of Offerings, the Perfectly Enlightened One, the Man of Wisdom and Practice, the Well-Gone, the Knower of the World, the Unsurpassed Man, the Controller of Men, the Teacher of Gods and Men, the Buddha, the World-Honored One.

What will be plainly spoken of from now on is simply what happened in the remote past, [Mañjuśrī] is going to describe what really happened. It is the story of the Buddha Sun-and-Moon Glow.

The Thus Come One (Tathāgata) preached freely in accordance with his aims; thus it is referred to as Immeasurable. But here just “ten” attributes are mentioned. Why [ten]? Ten represents the full and ultimate number (or infinity), with the implication that the li of the Thus Come One is perfect and faultless and that the Tao is omnipresent; hence, [the word] ten is employed.

What does [the title] “Thus Come One” (Tathāgata) mean? Although the myriad dharmas are different from each other, they are one and in a [mysterious] way the same. [Why did] the coming of the Sagely body [take place]? He has come [in incarnated form] to transform the myriad creatures; hence, the title Thus Come One.

[Deserver of Offerings] The fertile fields of ‘the utmost Tao’ can produce wonderful fruits. With both external marks (laḳṣaṇa) and ties (saṁyojana?) dispelled, he can be called [worthy of] offerings.

[Perfectly Enlightened One] There is no place that knowledge does not permeate: it is “universal.” This knowledge is not depraved; it is “right” (or correct).

[Man of Wisdom and Practice] When the actions (karman) of body, mouth, and mind are in conformity with knowledge, there is what can be called enlightenment and conduct. [The word] perfect means that as his wisdom is universal, his knowledge and conduct, too, must be complete and perfect.

[Well-Gone ] [The Buddha’s] existence and disappearance provided beings with immeasurable benefits. His trace was exhausted under ‘the twin trees.’ He was then “gone” for [the good of] beings, and beings benefited from this. How can it not be “well”?

[Knower of the World] What does [the title] [the one who] understands the world (lokavid) mean? The five aggregates (pañcaskanda) are what make up the World. The Thus Come One came to the world and untied the bonds and knots.

[Unsurpassed Man] The man is lofty; the path [to him] is cut off (or [his] Tao is absolute). No one can stand equal with him.

[Controller of Men] It is hard to regulate evils, and the immature and woeful [deeds caused by] body and mouth. The Buddha can suppress them and regulate beings. He thus can be called regulator.

[Teacher of Gods and Men] Having completely mastered the wondrous technique of regulation, he can be the teacher of gods (devas) and men.

[Buddha, the World-Honored One] Buddha refers to awakening. He was awakened and enlightened to [the truth of] birth and death. Armed with the previous ten virtues, his general title [representing all his virtues] is Buddha, World-Honored One.

“Good men! I met many Buddhas in my previous existence. At that time I saw the same good omen as this. Those Buddhas emitted the same ray of light as this, and then expounded a great teaching. Therefore, know this! I think that this Buddha also is emitting this ray of light, and showing this good omen, wishing to cause all living beings to hear and understand the most difficult teaching in the world to believe.

The second segment. [What happened in] the past is cited to explain [what happens in] the present. Even though the past and the present are distinguished, their Tao is not different. The past portents as such pointed to the fact that [the Buddha] would preach the great Dharma; [likewise] “it should be understood” that the present portents of Śākyamuni clearly signal that he is certain to preach the Dharma Blossom.

Thereupon Mañjuśrī said to Maitreya Bodhisattva-mahasattva and the other great men:

“Good men! I think that the Buddha, the World-Honored One, wishes to expound a great teaching, to send the rain of a great teaching, to blow the conch-shell horn of a great teaching, to beat the drum of a great teaching, and to explain the meaning of a great teaching.

The profound li is dark and deep beyond measurement. Not having realized for himself the deep li, how can [Maitreya] dare to explicate it? He has to rely on Mañjuśrī [as explicator, a role that requires expertise equal to that of] the famous artisan [Shih] of Ying (the capital of Ch’iu). The phrase I surmise that indicates that comprehension must lie in the Buddha [himself], in whom all have their faith deepened.

The subsequent part consisting of four sections in all serves as an indication that the [Buddha’s] preaching of the Dharma Blossom is imminent. [In] “the first segment,” Mañjuśrī, knowing that li is subtle and sublime, dare not pinpoint, substantiate, or explain it. Therefore, he says: “I surmise that [the Buddha] wishes to preach the great Dharma.”

Thereupon Maitreya Bodhisattva, wishing to repeat what he had said, asked him in gāthās:

Mañjuśrī!
Why is the Leading Teacher
Emitting a great ray of light
From the white curl between his eyebrows?

The composition of the gāthās is dictated generally by the following four aims: first, for the sake of those who will come later; second, for the sake of those who have not yet been enlightened (through the prose section); third, to expand in the gāthās what has been briefly touched on (or left out) in the long lines (of prose); fourth, to chant and dance in tune with intense emotion. Maitreya has asked only the essentials. Now he speaks about them in full detail. The appearance of Mañjuśrī’s name at the start is for the sake of drawing the congregation’s attention; they regarded him highly and when they were to hear him speak later their affection for him would be very intense.

Because what he has seen and heard is so vast, it will be difficult for him to tell them in complete detail.

Many lines that follow this chant are [the recounting of] what has appeared earlier [in prose], [including] “the various background causes and conditions [of the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas], and their various degrees of belief and understanding (adhimukti). [The word] various can refer to morality (śīla) or almsgiving (dāna). What it refers to is not limited to one kind. Listed next are various practices of the six perfections (pāramitās). But there is no set order for them. [The sequential order] can be arranged high or low (or early or late) as [the Buddha] wishes. Why then are they put together here on this occasion and why are the good and the bad [practitioners] of them shown here? Because it is [the Buddha’s] wish that [beings] are led to discard evil and cultivate good. Also illustrated there is the fact that there is no place the light of knowledge does not illuminate.

He thought again:

“This Mañjuśrī, the son of the King of the Dharma, has already met innumerable Buddhas and made offerings to them in his previous existence. He must have seen this rare thing before. Now I will ask him.”

The reason why earlier, when [the Buddha] first entered the samādhi, [the phenomena of] the raining flowers and shaking earth appeared, was that he was going to expound the One Vehicle. This indicates that the transformative teaching of the One Vehicle would follow later. However, [to preach] the One Vehicle was [the Buddha’s] original purpose for convening the meeting. Therefore, Maitreya now first questions the emission of the ray. The order in which [the questioners] are arranged represents some meaning and intention in each case. It seems proper that the question about the rain flowers and the shaking of the earth follow next. [Yet], it is omitted and not mentioned [in the prose section]. That question then must be included in the gāthās.

Thereupon Maitreya Bodhisattva thought:

“The World-Honored One is now displaying a wonder [, that is, a good omen]. Why is he displaying this good omen? The Buddha, the World-Honored One, has entered into a samadhi. Whom shall I ask why he is displaying this inconceivable, rare thing? Who can answer my question?”

Now that the congregation had been mired so long, emotionally at a standstill, it held hard on to the idea. When it saw all of a sudden the strange mark it had never seen before, it was at a loss, doubts arising within [each member]. Maitreya, who was in rank to become the next Buddha, saw that his mind was becoming inquisitive like those of the others. Sharing this [doubting] thought with the rest of the congregation, he availed himself of the opportunity (chi) (or the subtle triggering force in him) and became puzzled. As the doubts piled up inside to a great degree, enlightenment also could be incited quickly. Maitreya was the principal questioner because the one who sought to resolve these doubts would duly attain illumination.

The congregation saw from this world the living beings of the six regions of those worlds. They also saw the present Buddhas of those worlds. They also heard the Dharma expounded by those Buddhas. They also saw the bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās and upāsikās of those worlds who had already attained [the various fruits of] enlightenment by their various practices. They also saw the Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas [of those worlds] who were practicing the Way of Bodhisattvas [in various ways] according to the variety of their karmas which they had done in their previous existence, and also according to the variety of their ways of understanding [the Dharma] by faith. They also saw the past Buddhas [of those worlds] who had already entered into Parinirvana. They also saw the stupas of the seven treasures which had been erected to enshrine the śarīras of those Buddhas after their Parinirvana.

“Those” and “these” [lands] were [made] mutually visible, expressing the fact that the right path penetrates formlessly, without obstacle and without obstruction.

The six “courses” illustrate that they were in such a state of existence because of their delusion (moha).

Because the deluded conditions of the six kinds of living beings was shown, it seems necessary [to cite] also those who reversed the course of delusion. Those who reversed the course of delusion were none other than the Buddhas.

Those who wanted the know-how (or knowledge) for reversing the deluded state are required to hear the Dharma [preached]. What is said next (or as well) is that they heard the sūtra preached.

All of them are those who turned around from the course of delusion.

It is illustrated here that the spiritual capacities of living beings are not equal. The ways for attaining enlightenment are myriad: [beings achieve it] sometimes by means of almsgiving (dāna) and morality (fila), or sometimes through spiritual transformation; hence, the word various.

These [Buddhas] are here shown to be contrasted with the present [Buddha]. They were supposed to realize that the Buddha’s nirvāṇa was not long away, but were in such a state of mind that they were far from realizing it; they were urged to seek for the Dharma diligently.

The great multitude of the congregation, which included bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās, upāsikās, gods, dragons, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, men, nonhuman beings, the kings of small countries, and the wheel-turning-holy-kings, were astonished. They rejoiced, joined their hands together [towards the Buddha], and looked up at him with one mind.

Thereupon the Buddha emitted a ray of light from the white curls between his eyebrows, and illumined all the corners of eighteen thousand worlds in the east, down to the Avchi Hell of each world, and up to the Akanistha Heaven of each world.

Knowing for certain that there will be an extraordinary preaching, they wait to hear the unusual speech.

[The ray of light] is intended to illustrate the right middle-path of the One Vehicle and the nonexistence of the two vehicles that are an illusion and hindrance. Its presence in the forehead signifies the mark of “impartiality.” When it shines, the [noble] knowledge will certainly become manifest.

The East is the cardinal of all directions. This is to show [analogically] the mystery that the One Vehicle is [identical with] the three vehicles. Also expressed here is that one who becomes enlightened to [the meaning of] the Greater [Vehicle] is [no less than the one who has been] so darkly merged [with the ultimate foundation] that he cannot
exhaust his illumination.

Although it illuminated in one direction, [the Buddha] intended to show that there was no place that such light could not illuminate. Thus by [the expression] eighteen thousand he meant to demonstrate that his illumination was not limited to one [direction]. That it illuminated throughout the regions above and below implies that ‘there is no place where the Tao is not present.’

Thereupon the gods rained mandārava-flowers, mahā-mandārava-flowers, mañjūṣaka-flowers, and mahā-mañjūṣaka-flowers upon the Buddha and the great multitude. The world of the Buddha quaked in the six ways.

As [the Buddha] entered and reached the samādhi, his spirit moved heaven and earth. In heaven appear flowers of rain; on earth there is shaking (earthquake). As heaven and earth move, how can men remain silent? Now that good omens have appeared there certainly will be an extraordinary preaching. The general mood at the time is full of speculation, and their doubts deepen. As deep doubts pile up, awakening, [if it happens] would necessarily be deep, too. The four kinds of mandārava flowers poured from heaven are designed to show the unreality of the four kinds of fruition. The trembling of the earth is meant to demonstrate the nonabidingness (or transitoriness) of the four kinds of fruition. Also shown is the fact that the six kinds of living beings are all endowed with [the capacity for] great enlightenment. It shows also [the truth of] impermanence (anitya).

The World-Honored One expounded a sūtra of the Great Vehicle called the “Innumerable Teachings, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.” Having expounded this sūtra, the Buddha sat cross-legged [facing the east], and entered into the samadhi for the purport of the innumerable teachings. His body and mind became motionless.

The three vehicles are [traces, which are used provisionally] in compliance with external [conditions]. [However], traces are diametrically opposed to li. Holding on to the words and deviating from the import, how could they not be startled [by] the doctrine of the One Vehicle? [The Buddha] is about to preach the Dharma Blossom. Therefore, first he [attempts to] reach out to their psychological makeups by preaching “the Immeasurable Doctrine” (Ananta-nirdeséa). Because they have remained among traces (chi) so long, when they suddenly hear that there are [in reality] no three [vehicles], they will not suddenly deviate from what they have been found of so far. If they deviated from what they have been found of so far, then they would turn back while they gaze at [the other] shore. Turning back while gazing at the [other] shore means that the Great Path (Tao) is abandoned. Therefore, [the preaching of One] should be done gradually. What is “the Immeasurable Doctrine”? It refers to something for which there is no external mark (laḳṣaṇa) at all. There is nothing like “many or little” and “deep or shallow.” It precisely speaks of the conduct of the Buddha. The import of his words contains something [ultimately] real; we call it the Doctrine Immeasurable. li is [so] broad that it liberates [one who gets in it] from the long passage of suffering; it is none other than the Greater Vehicle. Only the bodhisattvas can learn it. [Thus] he preached it for them.

The bodhisattvas are those who have not consummated li yet. [Hence], he must teach them about it.

The Buddha has consummated li: he “keeps it ever.” He has never forgotten or lost it: he [keeps it ever] “in mind.”

‘Movement and quiescence’ apply only to beings, but certainly not to the Sage. ‘The tracing of li to the end and the consummate realization of their nature (hsing) is referred to as the samādhi of the Immeasurable Doctrine. All that he will say after he rises from this samādhi should not allow any error. Thus, he has to verify it.