..续本文上一页s, the study of the path, samadhi and vimukti (liberation). Beings who heard it all attained joy in the Dharma. Their faith was made firm and they were forever freed from the realms of evil rebirth. Vajramati, because all the beings of the ten directions were instantly enveloped in light, at six o”clock every morning and evening they joined their palms together and offered worship. Vajramati, until the time he attained Buddhahood and Parinirvana, the place where that bodhisattva issued forth from the womb always shone with light. And after his parinirvana the stupa in which his ashes were kept also gleamed with light. Consequently, the inhabitants of the heavenly realms called him the Eternally Light-bestowing King. Vajramati, when Eternally Light-bestowing King Tathagata Arhat Samyaksambuddha first attained Buddhahood, among his Dharma shravakas there was a bodhisattva named Unending Light, as well as a group of two billion other bodhisattvas. The mahasattva Bodhisattva Unending Light turned toward the spot where the Buddha was and asked about the ”Tathagatagarbha Sutra”, and the Buddha expounded it. He was in his seat for fifty long kalpas. And because he protected the thoughts of all the bodhisattvas, his voice reached everywhere in the ten Buddha worlds, even down to the smallest atoms, and it spread to hundreds of thousands of Buddha kshetras. Because of the numberless different backgrounds of the bodhisattvas, he presented hundreds of thousands of metaphors. He called it the ”Mahayana Tathagatagarbha Sutra”. All the bodhisattvas who heard him preach this Sutra accepted it, recited it and practiced it just as it had been explained. All but four of the bodhisattvas attained buddhahood. Vajramati, you must not regard them as exceptional. How could Bodhisattva Unending Light be different from you
You are identical with him. The four bodhisattvas who had not yet attained buddhahood were Manjushri, Avalokiteshvara, Maha-sthama-prapta and you, Vajramati. Vajramati, the ”Tathagatagarbha Sutra” has an abundant capacity. Anyone who hears it can attain the Path of the Buddha."
Then the Buddha again expressed himself in gatha, saying:
"Countless kalpas ago
A Buddha named King of Light
Always shone forth great light
And illumined innumerable kshetras everywhere.
Bodhisattva Unending Light
First attained the way under that Buddha,
And requested this sutra.
The Buddha accordingly preached it.
All those who encountered it were Jinas,
And all those who heard it
Attained buddhahood,
Except for four bodhisattvas.
Manjushri, Avalokiteshvara,
Maha-sthama-prapta and Vajramati --
These four bodhisattvas
All formerly heard this Dharma.
Of them, Vajramati
Was the most gifted disciple.
At the time he was called Unending Light
And had already heard this sutra.
When I originally sought the way
At the Lion Throne marking Bodhi-manda,
I too once received this sutra
And practiced it as I had heard it.
Because of these kushala mulas (virtue-roots),
I quickly attained the Buddha path.
Therefore all bodhisattvas
Ought to uphold and preach this sutra.
After you have heard it
And practiced just as it has been explained,
You will become Buddhas just like I am now.
If a person upholds this sutra,
He will comport himself like the Bhagavan.
If a person obtains this sutra,
He will be called ”Protector of the Buddhadharma”,
And then, on behalf of the world, he will protect
What all the Buddhas proclaim.
If anyone upholds this sutra,
He will be called ”The Dharma King”,
And in the eyes of the world
He will deserve to be praised
Like the Bhagavan."
Then, when the Bhagavan had finished expounding this sutra, Vajramati, together with the four groups of bodhisattvas, the Devas, the Gandharvas, the Asuras and the rest, rejoiced at what they had heard the Buddha explain and they practiced it as they had been told.
(End of the Sutra)
(Translated by William H. Grosnick, published in "Buddhism In Practice" (Donald S. Lopez [ed.], Princeton University Press, 1995)
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