The Translation
The Pavilion Sūtra
Homage to the Omniscient One.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was residing in Śrāvastī in Prince Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park. The venerable Ānanda went to where the Blessed One was, bowed his head to the Blessed One’s feet, and sat to one side.
The venerable Ānanda asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, what roots of virtue come from sweeping? What comes from offering a maṇḍala? What comes from the virtues of going for refuge and taking the basic precepts? What comes from the action of joining one’s palms together in homage to the thus-gone ones? Blessed One, what root of virtue will not be depleted or spent in saṃsāra but lead to the attainment of nirvāṇa, which knows no depletion? What comes from making physical likenesses of the thus-gone ones?”
“Ānanda,” replied the Blessed One, “five benefits come from sweeping. What are the five? It is like this, Ānanda: One’s mind will become clear, the minds of others will become clear, the gods will be delighted, actions with pleasing results will have been performed and accumulated, and, when the body perishes, one will take birth among the gods in the joyful states of the heavens.
“Ānanda, I say that if someone makes a square maṇḍala for the sake of the Thus-Gone One, that person will become the sovereign lord of the continent of Uttarakuru, and, when their body perishes, they will be born among the gods of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three.
“Ānanda, I say that if someone makes a round maṇḍala for the sake of the Thus-Gone One, that person will become the sovereign lord of the continent of Aparagodānīya, and, when their body perishes, they will be born among the gods of the Yāma Heaven.
“Ānanda, I say that if someone makes a maṇḍala shaped like a half-moon with a faithful mind toward the Blessed Buddha, that person will become the sovereign lord of the continent of Pūrvavideha, and, when their body perishes, they will be born among the gods of the Tuṣita Heaven.
“Ānanda, I say that if someone makes a maṇḍala in the shape of a chariot with a faithful mind toward the Blessed Buddha, that person will become the sovereign lord of Jambudvīpa, and, when their body perishes, they will be born among the gods of the Nirmāṇarati Heaven.
“Ānanda, if someone goes for refuge in the Buddha and goes for refuge in the Dharma and the Saṅgha, and having received the basic precepts guards them well, I say, Ānanda, that the merit from that root of virtue will be immeasurable and incalculable. I say that its limit cannot be comprehended by śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas up until the ultimate limit of nirvāṇa.”
Then, perceiving venerable Ānanda’s thoughts, the Blessed One fully extended his tongue—which was stainless like the petals of a red lotus and soft like its leaves, red like vermillion, fine like an aśoka tree shoot or a sheet of copper, and as wide as it was long—until it covered the whole of his face up to the hairline.
He asked Ānanda, “Ānanda, have you seen a tongue such as this possessed by those who speak falsely or who speak divisive words, harsh words, or meaningless words?”
“I have not, reverend one.”
“Ānanda, the thus-gone, worthy, completely awakened ones speak the truth.
“Ānanda, those beings who join their palms together and say, ‘Homage to the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, completely awakened one!’ will be embraced and emancipated by me. For those beings I worry very little. Why? Because, Ānanda, the dharma element of the Thus-Gone One is utterly stable. Because it is utterly stable, since even the act of joining the palms will not be wasted, what need to mention acts such as generosity.
“Look, Ānanda. Suppose a person takes the remains from rinsing their own spoon, bowl, or pot and discards it into a drainage ditch while thinking, ‘By this may all the creatures residing here be happy.’ I say that even that act, Ānanda, is a gateway to the generation of merit, not to mention an act for the sake of a human being.
“Ānanda, these three are the intermediate eons. What are the three? They are the intermediate eon of warfare, the intermediate eon of disease, and the intermediate eon of famine. In that regard, Ānanda, if someone takes up abstinence from killing and maintains it for just a single day, they will not be born in the intermediate eon of warfare. If someone offers just a single myrobalan fruit to the Saṅgha, they will not be born in the intermediate eon of disease. If someone offers just a single spoonful of food to the Saṅgha, they will not be born in the intermediate eon of famine.
“Ānanda, these three roots of virtue, once planted, will not be depleted or spent in saṃsāra but will bring about the attainment of nirvāṇa that knows no depletion. What are the three? Ānanda, a root of virtue directed toward the Buddha will not be depleted or spent in saṃsāra but will bring about the attainment of nirvāṇa that knows no depletion. A root of virtue directed toward the Dharma and one directed toward the Saṅgha will not be depleted or spent in saṃsāra but will bring about the attainment of nirvāṇa that knows no depletion.”
Then, to illustrate the qualities of the Thus-Gone One, the Blessed One asked Ānanda, “Have you seen the continent of the Jambudvīpa, Ānanda?”
“I have seen it, O reverend one.”
“Ānanda, the continent of the Jambudvīpa is seven thousand yojanas wide and seven thousand yojanas long. Its northern part is broad and its southern part is shaped like a chariot. Suppose a noble son or noble daughter endowed with faith were to fill it with the seven precious substances and offer it to the stream enterers, the once-returners, the non-returners, the arhats, the pratyekabuddhas, and the saṅgha of monks of the four directions. Suppose another person were to erect a stūpa for a thus-gone, worthy, completely awakened one who has passed into parinirvāṇa that is made out of clay and the size of a gooseberry, insert a central pillar the size of a needle, cover it with a parasol the size of a jujube leaf, make a statue the size of a barley grain, and insert a relic the size of a mustard seed—Ānanda, I say that this offering is much more meritorious than the former.
“Ānanda, forget about the continent of Jambudvīpa—Ānanda, there is a continent known as Pūrvavideha that is eight thousand yojanas wide, eight thousand yojanas long, and shaped entirely like a half-moon. Suppose a noble son or noble daughter endowed with faith were to fill it with the seven precious substances and offer it to the stream enterers, the once-returners, the non-returners, the arhats, the pratyekabuddhas, and the saṅgha of monks of the four directions. Suppose another person were to erect a stūpa for a thus-gone, worthy, completely awakened one who has passed into parinirvāṇa that is made out of clay and the size of a gooseberry, insert a central pillar the size of a needle, cover it with a parasol the size of a jujube leaf, make a statue the size of a barley grain, and insert a relic the size of a mustard seed—Ānanda, I say that this offering is much more meritorious than the former.
“Ānanda, forget about the continent of Jambudvīpa, and forget about the continent of Pūrvavideha, too. Ānanda, there is a continent known as Aparagodānīya that is nine thousand yojanas wide, nine thousand yojanas long, and shaped entirely like a full moon. Suppose a noble son or noble daughter endowed with faith were to fill it with the seven precious substances and offer it to the stream enterers, the once-returners, the non-returners, the arhats, the pratyekabuddhas, and the saṅgha of monks of the four directions. Suppose another person were to erect a stūpa for a thus-gone, worthy, completely awakened one who has passed into parinirvāṇa that is made out of clay and the size of a gooseberry, insert a central pillar the size of a needle, cover it with a parasol the size of a jujube leaf, make a statue the size of a barley grain, and insert a relic the size of a mustard seed—Ānanda, I say that this offering is much more meritorious than the former.
“Ānanda, forget about the continent of the Jambudvīpa, forget about the continent of Pūrvavideha, and forget about the continent of Aparagodānīya—Ānanda, there is a continent known as Uttarakuru that is ten thousand yojanas wide, ten thousand yojanas long, and entirely square. Suppose a noble son or noble daughter endowed with faith were to fill it with the seven precious substances and offer it to the stream enterers, the once-returners, the non-returners, the arhats, the pratyekabuddhas, and the saṅgha of monks of the four directions. Suppose another person were to erect a stūpa for a thus-gone, worthy, completely awakened one who has passed into parinirvāṇa that is made out of clay and the size of a gooseberry, insert a central pillar the size of a needle, cover it with a parasol the size of a jujube leaf, make a statue the size of a barley grain, and insert a relic the size of a mustard seed—Ānanda, I say that this offering is much more meritorious than the former.
“Ānanda, forget about the continent of the Jambudvīpa, forget about the continent of Pūrvavideha, forget about the continent of Aparagodānīya, and forget about the continent of Uttarakuru—Ānanda, there is the palace of Śakra, lord of the gods, called Vaijayanta. Suppose a noble son or noble daughter endowed with faith were to fill this with the seven precious substances and offer it to the stream enterers, the once-returners, the non-returners, the arhats, the pratyekabuddhas, and the saṅgha of monks of the four directions. Suppose another person were to erect a stūpa for a thus-gone, worthy, completely awakened one who has passed into parinirvāṇa that is made out of clay and the size of a gooseberry, insert a central pillar the size of a needle, cover it with a parasol the size of a jujube leaf, make a statue the size of a barley grain, and insert a relic the size of a mustard seed—Ānanda, I say that this offering is much more meritorious than the former.
“Ānanda, forget about the continent of the Jambudvīpa, forget about the continent of Pūrvavideha, forget about the continent of Aparagodānīya, forget about the continent of Uttarakuru, and forget about the palace of Śakra, lord of the gods, called Vaijayanta—Ānanda, there is the trichiliocosm. Suppose a noble son or noble daughter endowed with faith were to fill it with the seven precious substances and offer it to the stream enterers, the once-returners, the non-returners, the arhats, the pratyekabuddhas, and the saṅgha of monks in the four directions. Suppose another person were to erect a stūpa for a thus-gone, worthy, completely awakened one who has passed into parinirvāṇa that is made out of clay and the size of a gooseberry, insert a central pillar the size of a needle, cover it with a parasol the size of a jujube leaf, make a statue the size of a barley grain, and insert a relic the size of a mustard seed—Ānanda, I say that this offering is much more meritorious than the former.
“Why is that? In this way, Ānanda, the thus-gone, worthy, completely awakened one is immeasurable in terms of generosity, immeasurable in terms of moral discipline, immeasurable in terms of diligence, immeasurable in terms of patience, immeasurable in terms of meditative absorption, immeasurable in terms of wisdom, and immeasurable in terms of loving-kindness up to equanimity, because, Ānanda, the thus-gone, worthy, completely awakened one is endowed with immeasurable qualities.”
When the Blessed One had spoken thus, the venerable Ānanda and the monks rejoiced in and praised the words of the Blessed One.
This concludes “The Pavilion Sūtra.”
Colophon
Translated, edited, and finalized by the great editor-translator Ratnarakṣita.