..續本文上一頁times in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three and will eternally avoid falling into the Evil Paths.

　　If their blessings in the heavens come to an end and they are born in the human realm, they will become national leaders who suffer no loss of benefits.

　　普廣，若有善男子、善女人，或彩畫行像，或土石膠漆，金銀銅鐵、作此菩薩，一瞻一禮者，是人百返生於叁十叁天，永不墮於惡道。假如天福盡故，下生人間，猶爲國王，不失大利。

　　"There may be women who dislike having female bodies. Suppose they whole-heartedly make offerings to images of Earth Store Bodhisattva that are paintings or are made using clay, stone, lacquer, copper, iron, or other materials.

　　If they continually make such offerings day after day without fail, using flowers, incense, food, drink, clothing, colored silks, banners, money, jewels, and other items as offerings, when those good women finish their current female retributions, then throughout hundreds of thousands of eons they will never again be born in worlds where there are women, much less be one, unless it be through the strength of their compassionate vows to liberate beings.

　　Based on the strength of their offerings to Earth Store Bodhisattva and the power of their meritorious virtues, they will not be born into female bodies throughout hundreds of thousands of eons.

　　複次普廣：『若有女人，厭是醜陋，多疾病者，但於地藏像前，志心瞻禮，食頃之間。是人千萬劫中所受生身，相貌圓滿。是醜陋女人，如不厭女身，即百千萬億生中，常爲女王，乃及王妃，宰輔大姓，大長者女，端正受生，諸相圓滿。由志心故，瞻禮地藏菩薩，獲福如是。』

　　"Moreover, Universally Expansive, women who are ugly or prone to sickness will dislike those problems. If they gaze at and bow to images of Earth Store Bodhisattva with sincere resolve for even just a few minutes, then throughout millions of eons, they will always be born with full and perfect features.

　　If those woman who are ugly do not dislike having female bodies, then throughout billions of lives they will always be born as women of royal lineage, or will marry into royalty, or will become daughters of prime ministers, prominent families, or great Elders.

　　They will be of upright birth and full-featured. They will receive such blessings from having sincerely beheld and worshipped Earth Store Bodhisattva.

　　複次普廣：『若有女人，厭是醜陋，多疾病者，但於地藏像前，志心瞻禮，食頃之間。是人千萬劫中所受生身，相貌圓滿。是醜陋女人，如不厭女身，即百千萬億生中，常爲女王，乃及王妃，宰輔大姓，大長者女，端正受生，諸相圓滿。由志心故，瞻禮地藏菩薩，獲福如是。』

　　"Moreover, Universally Expansive, there may be good men or good women who are able to play music, sing, or chant praises, and make offerings of incense and flowers before images of the Bodhisattva or who are able to exhort one or more others to do likewise.

　　Now and in the future, such people will be surrounded day and night by hundreds of thousands of ghosts and spirits who will even prevent bad news from reaching their ears, much less allow them to be personally involved in any accidents.

　　複次普廣：『若有善男子、善女人，能對菩薩像前，作諸伎樂，乃至勸於一人多人。如是等輩，現在世中及未來世，常得百千鬼神日夜衛護，不令惡事辄聞其耳，何況親受諸橫。』

　　"Moreover, Universally Expansive, in the future, evil people, evil spirits, or evil ghosts may see good men or good women taking refuge with, respectfully making offerings to, praising, beholding, and bowing to images of Earth Store Bodhisattva.

　　Those beings may make the mistake of ridiculing such acts of worship, saying that they are of no merit. They may sneer at those good people, condemn them behind their backs, or get a group or even one other person to have even as little as one thought of condemnation.

　　Such beings will fall into the Avichi Hell and the extreme misery they will undergo as retribution for their slander will not end even after the thousand Buddhas of the Worthy Eon have passed into tranquility.

　　Only after that eon will they be reborn among the hungry ghosts, where they will pass a thousand more eons before being reborn as animals. Only after another thousand eons will they obtain human bodies, but they will be poor and lowly with incomplete faculties, and their evil karma will cause…

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