..续本文上一页may be rubbed; sagely predictions given.

　　Those determined to cultivate unsurpassed Bodhi

　　And escape the suffering here in the Triple World

　　Should let their greatly compassionate hearts unfold,

　　As they first behold and bow to this Great Being.

　　Then every vow they make will soon be fulfilled

　　And no bad karma will ever hinder or stop them.

　　Some people may resolve to read the Sutra texts

　　Hoping to help confused beings reach the other shore.

　　Although the vows they make are quite remarkable,

　　Try as they may, they cannot remember what they read.

　　Because of their karmic obstacles and delusions,

　　Those people cannot memorize the Mahayana Sutras.

　　But they can offer scents and flowers to Earth Store,

　　And give him clothes, food, and other special things.

　　They can set pure water on the Bodhisattva”s altar,

　　Leaving it there a day and night before they drink it.

　　They should rigorously abstain from pungent plants,

　　Alcohol, meat, improper sex, and false speech.

　　For three weeks they should not kill any creature,

　　While being mindful of the name of that Great Being.

　　Then, in a dream, their vision may become boundless.

　　Awakening, they may find that they now have keen ears.

　　After that, when they hear the teachings of the Sutras,

　　They will never forget them for thousands of lives.

　　How inconceivable is this Bodhisattva

　　In helping people like that gain such wisdom!

　　Beings may be impoverished or plagued with disease,

　　Their homes may be troubled, their relatives scattered.

　　They may find no peace even in sleep or dreams.

　　Their efforts may be totally thwarted.

　　But beholding and bowing to Earth Store”s image

　　Can cause all those evils to simply disappear.

　　Dreams will become entirely peaceful,

　　Food and clothes ample; spirits and ghosts now guardians.

　　When people need to pass through mountain forests, cross the seas,

　　Or go among evil birds and beasts, evil people,

　　Evil spirits, evil ghosts, and even evil winds

　　Or to put themselves in other difficult situations,

　　They need only gaze in worship and make offerings

　　To an image of the mighty Earth Store Bodhisattva.

　　In response, all the evils in those mountain forests

　　And on those vast seas will simply disappear.

　　Contemplator of Sounds, listen well to what I say.

　　Earth Store Bodhisattva is an unending wonder!

　　Hundreds of millions of eons is time too brief

　　To fully describe the powers of this Great Being.

　　If people can but hear the name “Earth Store,”

　　Bow to his image, revere and worship him;

　　Offer incense, flowers, clothes, food, and drink;

　　Such acts will bring them thousands of joys.

　　If they can dedicate such merit to the Dharma Realm,

　　They will become Buddhas, ending birth and death.

　　Contemplator of Sounds, know this well

　　And tell everyone everywhere in lands as many as Ganges sands.

　　Chapter XIII

　　The Entrustment of People and Gods

　　At that time, the World Honored One extended his gold-colored arm, and again rubbed the crown of the head of Earth Store Bodhisattva Mahasattva, saying, “Earth Store, Earth Store, your spiritual powers, compassion, wisdom, and eloquence are inconceivable. Even if all the Buddhas of the Ten Directions were to proclaim their praises of your inconceivable deeds, they could not finish in thousands of millions of eons.

　　“Earth Store, Earth Store, remember this entrustment that I am again making here in the Trayastrimsha Heaven in this great assembly of uncountable millions of billions of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, gods, dragons, and the rest of the Eightfold Division. I again entrust to you the gods, people, and others who are still in the burning house and have not yet left the Triple World. Do not allow those beings to fall into the evil destinies even for a single day and night, much less fall into the Fivefold Relentless Hell or the Avici…

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