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Aside from Suparikīrtitanāmadheyaśrīrāja, who appears in the Śikṣāsamuccaya, and Bhaiṣajyaguru, the other five names of these thus-gone ones are sourced from Davidson 2015, who relies upon Chandra 1999. Chandra cites Lohia 1994, where we also find back-translations that are not attested in any Sanskrit source. I have consulted both Chandra 1999 and Lohia 1994, and neither source contains any information on the Sanskrit names for these thus-gone ones’ buddhafields. In some cases there are relatively obvious options for the back-translation of a given buddhafield, and in others the options are too varied to present a clear and preferable Sanskrit equivalent.
See Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans, The Detailed Account of the Previous Aspirations of the Blessed Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha, Toh 504.
Foshuo guanding jing (佛說灌頂經, “The Sūtra on Empowerments,” Taishō 1331), whose twelfth fascicle has the subtitle Foshuo guanding ba chu guo zuisheng si de du jing juan dishi er (佛說灌頂拔除過罪生死得度經卷第十二, “Section 12, The Sūtra on the Empowerment that Uproots Misdeeds and Achieves Liberation from Life and Death”).
Yaoshi liuli guang qi fo benyuan gongde jing (藥師琉璃光七佛本願功德經). This Chinese translation has been translated into English in Raoul Birnbaum’s study of the traditions associated with Bhaiṣajyaguru in China, The Healing Buddha (see Birnbaum 1979, pp. 173–220).
Zwilling 1980, 417. Zwilling also argues that The Detailed Account of the Previous Aspirations of the Seven Thus-Gone Ones represents a “tantrification” of the Bhaiṣajyaguru cult by arguing that the “appending” of a series of dhāraṇīs to the core text (the Bhaiṣajyagurusūtra) was likely a later development that reflected the incursion of tantric ritual techniques into a Mahāyāna text. This claim is dubious, as the use of dhāraṇīs, though indicative of the emergence of an esoteric Buddhist ritual culture, is wholly appropriate to Mahāyāna Buddhism.
The three treatises by Śāntarakṣita are Toh 3132, 3133, and 3134. See van der Kuijp 2004, 5, and Zwilling 1980, 417.
See van der Kuijp, 4–8, on the early history of this ritual tradition in Tibet and its place in the Mongol Yuan court.
This fact has been discussed by van der Kuijp, and we can now add to his comments that the sūtra itself was definitely among the Tibetan texts printed at the court of the Yuan—a reprint of this Yuan edition is contained in the Qianlong Dazangjing, or the Dragon edition of the Chinese Buddhist Canon.
Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha’s name is of course attested in the Sanskrit manuscripts of the Bhaiṣajyagurusūtra from Gilgit, and Suparikīrtitanāmadheyaśrīrājā’s name is attested in Śāntideva’s Śikṣāsamuccaya (169.13).
Davidson 2015, 156–57. It should be noted that Davidson himself follows Chandra, with some minor adjustments. This translation prefers Davidson’s reading of mkhas pa gzi brjid kyi sgra dbyangs kyi rgyal po as Kuśalatejonirghoṣarāja over Chandra’s reading paṇḍitatejaḥsvaraghoṣarāja.
Tib. de'i smon lam chen po drug pa ni gang gi tshe bdag ma 'ongs pa'i dus na bla na med pa yang dag par rdzogs pa'i byang chub mngon par rdzogs par sangs rgyas pa de na sems can gang dag mgon med par gyur pa/ lus la gdung ba'i me 'bar ba dang / seng ge dang / stag dang / dom dang / dred dang / sbrul gdug pa'i nang du chud de/ srog la bab ste 'jigs skrag nas mgon med de/ smre sngags sna tshogs 'don pa de dag bdag gi mthus/ bdag gi ming yid la gnas shing / bdag gi ming lan bdun yid kyis brjod pas de dag byang chub kyi mthar thug gi bar du lus la gdung ba'i me thams cad zhi bar gyur cig /seng ge dang / stag dang / dom dang / dred dang / sbrul gdug pa de dag kyang byams pa la gnas par gyur cig /'jigs pa med pa dang / zhi ba'i gnas la gnas par gyur cig ces btab bo/ The agentive construction bdag gi mthus (lit. “by my power”) in this particular aspiration prayer is particularly challenging to render in English translation without some slight modifications in the way that it is distributed throughout the passage. I have added the English phrases as “[m]ay it render” and “may it lead them” to the translation in this passage in order to distribute the Tibetan phrase bdag gi mthus, which is performing three different verbal actions.
The phrase containing the adornments of this thus-gone one is actually a part of his name, but it has been rendered as a description here in keeping with the convention established in this translation and other research on this textual tradition for the Sanskrit back-translations of the names of the seven thus-gone ones.
Tib. bsil ba’i dngos po thob par gyur cig lit. “May they attain the cool state.” The English translation here adopts an idiomatic, rather than literal, translation of bsil ba’i dngos po (Skt. *śītībhāva) over a literal translation. This phrase appears to refer to both the physical “cooling” of individuals caught up in the fires that consume the world at the end of an eon and the psychological or mental “cooling” of the fires of mental anguish and suffering brought on by one’s previous karmic deeds.
Tib. phan tshun pha ma ltar byams pa la gnas par gyur cig. The phrase “love a child” is added here for clarity.
This is the point where the current text’s overlap with Toh 504 begins (See The Detailed Account of the Previous Aspirations of the Blessed Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha, 1.6).
C: ka gzhu; D: ka zhu; N, H: sa gzhi; S: gzhi; U: gzhu. The Choné preserves what is likely the most accurate reading here of ka gzhu, which is defined as a part of a pillar and interpreted here to mean the capital of a pillar. The reading sa gzhi (“earth” or “ground”) in the Narthang and Lhasa Kangyurs may also be accurate, but because this is a list of qualities of the central structure in Bhaiṣajyaguru’s buddhafield, not a description of its natural environment, the Choné reading is likely more accurate. In the Degé reading of Toh 504, the equivalent term here is pu shu, “parapet” (see The Detailed Account of the Previous Aspirations of the Blessed Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha, 1.21). This section is unfortunately quite different in the Sanskrit versions of the text.
D, S: sems can de dag ni bdag nyid kyang du ma yongs su mi spyod na/; N, H: sems can de dag ni bdag nyid kyang du ma yongs su mi spyod na/; V: aneke ca sattvāḥ ye svayameva na paribhuñjanti; G: aneke ca sattvā ye svayameva na paribhuñjanti; SC: aneke ca te satttvā ye svayam evātmana na paribhuṃjanti. The Sanskrit suggests that the Tibetan term du ma (Skt. aneke) modifies sems can de dag (Skt. sattvāḥ).
D: mi’i rnyed pa rnyed pa na; S, J: mi’i rnyed pa rnyed na; V, G: manuṣyajanmapratilābhaṃ pratilapsyante; SC: manuṣyapratilābhaṃ lapsyanti. The Sanskrit editions from Vaidya and Dutt suggest that the Tibetan mi’i rnyed pa should read mi’i skyes pa, while Schopen’s edition matches the Tibetan and does not mark any variants. Notably, Toh 504 reads mi’i skye ba rnyed na (Toh 504, 278.a). This translation follows the Vaidya and Dutt editions.
Tib. gsal ba; Skt. vyakta. The Sanskrit vyakta comes from vyañj, which means “to make evident.” Thus vyakta carries the sense of “clear,” “apparent,” “evident,” which is close to what we mean in English when we say that someone is “bright,” meaning that for them things are clear and evident and that they have the ability to make other things apparent or evident, just as a light makes things clear and evident.
The three paragraphs ending with this one are quoted in the Śikṣāsamuccaya; see Bendall 1902, p. 175.
V, G: amaṅgalaśataṃ; SC: śataṃ alakṣmīṇām; N, H, S: bkra mi shis pa brgya; D: bkra mi shis pa brgyad.
D: rkang lag brgyad pa; S: rkang lag brgya pa; V, G: śatapada; SC: śatapāda. The Stok Palace Kangyur and both Sanskrit witnesses read “centipedes” here instead of “spiders.” Toh 504 also reads “centipedes” (Toh 504, 279.b).
V, G, SC: idaṃ buddhagocaraṃ śrutvā; D: sangs rgyas rnams kyi sangs rgyas kyi spyod yul ’di thos na; S, Y, K: sangs rgyas rnams kyi sangs rgyas kyis spyod yul ’di thos na. The translation follows the Sanskrit editions of the Bhaiṣajyagurusūtra in this instance.
V, G, SC: tathāgatasyaiṣo ’nubhāvo draṣṭavyaḥ; D: de bzhin gshegs pa’i mthu yin par blta’o.
The three paragraphs ending with this one are quoted in the Śikṣāsamuccaya; see Bendall 1902, pp. 174–5.
Tib: mi de dang lhan cig skyes pa’i lha; SC: puruṣasya sahajā pṛṣṭ[h]ānubaddha devatā; G, V: sattvasya sahajānubaddham eva.
V, G: tatra ye te mitrajnātisālohitāḥ; SC: ye tasya. The Tibetan does not provide the subject here, so the translation supplies it from the Vaidya and Dutt Sanskrit editions.
This passage has been taken as referring to revival after actual death or, alternatively, to recovery from coma or near-death. The paradox of designating as having actually died someone who is subsequently revived is no doubt part of what underlies Ānanda’s question below, in Toh 504, 1.51, and in the passage on untimely death that follows. For a discussion of different interpretations see Schopen 1978, pp. 354–7.
Both the Sanskrit and the Tibetan texts switch here to “kṣatriya king” in the singular. The English translation reads this in the plural to maintain proper subject agreement in number throughout this section.
Some of the names for these yakṣa generals that are provided in the Sanskrit editions of the text do not seem to be standard Sanskrit, and may reflect the preservation of local, vernacular yakṣa traditions in the text. The Tibetan renderings for these names, which may in fact offer the proper translation of these nonstandard Sanskrit names, are provided in the glossary entries.
Here, and in the next four names, we see that the suffix la is translated as ’dzin in Tibetan.
V, G: kṛtajñatām anusmaramāṇānāṃ sarvasattvānāṃ; SC: kṛtajñatām anusmaramāṇaḥ sarvasatvānāṃ; D: byas pa g.zo zhing rjes su dran la sems can thams cad la; S: byas pa g.zo zhing rjes su dran la /sems can thams cad la. The reader should note that this is the point where the current text’s (Toh 503) overlap with the Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabharājaṃ sūtraṃ (Toh 504) ends.
D, S: gzungs de bzung ngam/; Y, K, N, H, gzungs de gzung ngam /. In this case the term bzung (alt. gzung) might refer to physically holding the text instead of (or in addition to?) the more common understanding of this term as “bearing in mind.”
D, S:’dri ba de la. Here the Tibetan ’dri ba is substituted for the long form yi ger ’dri ba, which translates the Sanskrit lekhana. When the term ’dri ba appears on its own, it more commonly translates forms of the Sanskrit verbal root √pṛc or “to ask, question.”
The buddhafield of the Thus-Gone One Kuśalatejonirghoṣarāja.
In a general sense, samādhi can describe a number of different meditative states. In the Mahāyāna literature, in particular in the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras, we find extensive lists of different samādhis, numbering over one hundred.
In a more restricted sense, and when understood as a mental state, samādhi is defined as the one-pointedness of the mind (cittaikāgratā), the ability to remain on the same object over long periods of time. The Drajor Bamponyipa (sgra sbyor bam po gnyis pa) commentary on the Mahāvyutpatti explains the term samādhi as referring to the instrument through which mind and mental states “get collected,” i.e., it is by the force of samādhi that the continuum of mind and mental states becomes collected on a single point of reference without getting distracted.
The buddha of the western buddhafield of Sukhāvatī, where fortunate beings are reborn to make further progress toward spiritual maturity. Amitābha made his great vows to create such a realm when he was a bodhisattva called Dharmākara. In the Pure Land Buddhist tradition, popular in East Asia, aspiring to be reborn in his buddha realm is the main emphasis; in other Mahāyāna traditions, too, it is a widespread practice. For a detailed description of the realm, see The Display of the Pure Land of Sukhāvatī, Toh 115. In some tantras that make reference to the five families he is the tathāgata associated with the lotus family.
Amitābha, “Infinite Light,” is also known in many Indian Buddhist works as Amitāyus, “Infinite Life.” In both East Asian and Tibetan Buddhist traditions he is often conflated with another buddha named “Infinite Life,” Aparimitāyus, or “Infinite Life and Wisdom,”Aparimitāyurjñāna, the shorter version of whose name has also been back-translated from Tibetan into Sanskrit as Amitāyus but who presides over a realm in the zenith. For details on the relation between these buddhas and their names, see The Aparimitāyurjñāna Sūtra (1) Toh 674, i.9.
The buddha who presides over the buddhafield Sukhāvatī; also known as Amitābha.
A bodhisattva.
The Buddha Śākyamuni's attendant who is celebrated for having recited all the Buddha's teachings by memory at the first council of the Buddhist saṅgha, thus preserving the Buddha’s teachings after his parinirvāṇa.
One of the twelve great yakṣa generals who protect and serve those who bear, read, recite, copy, or commission a copy of the Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabharājasūtra.
One of the twelve great yakṣa generals who protect and serve those who bear, read, recite, copy, or commission a copy of the Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabharājasūtra.
An ascetic belonging to any order.
The thus-gone one residing in the buddhafield Without Anguish.
A type of nonhuman being whose precise status is subject to different views, but is included as one of the six classes of beings in the sixfold classification of realms of rebirth. In the Buddhist context, asuras are powerful beings said to be dominated by envy, ambition, and hostility. They are also known in the pre-Buddhist and pre-Vedic mythologies of India and Iran, and feature prominently in Vedic and post-Vedic Brahmanical mythology, as well as in the Buddhist tradition. In these traditions, asuras are often described as being engaged in interminable conflict with the devas (gods).
One of the “eight close sons of the Buddha,” he is also known as the bodhisattva who embodies compassion. In certain tantras, he is also the lord of the three families, where he embodies the compassion of the buddhas. In Tibet, he attained great significance as a special protector of Tibet, and in China, in female form, as Guanyin, the most important bodhisattva in all of East Asia.
Yeshé Dé (late eighth to early ninth century) was the most prolific translator of sūtras into Tibetan. Altogether he is credited with the translation of more than one hundred sixty sūtra translations and more than one hundred additional translations, mostly on tantric topics. In spite of Yeshé Dé’s great importance for the propagation of Buddhism in Tibet during the imperial era, only a few biographical details about this figure are known. Later sources describe him as a student of the Indian teacher Padmasambhava, and he is also credited with teaching both sūtra and tantra widely to students of his own. He was also known as Nanam Yeshé Dé, from the Nanam (sna nam) clan.
The Medicine Buddha, the thus-gone one residing in the buddhafield Vaiḍūryanirbhāsa.
The Medicine Buddha, the thus-gone one residing in the buddhafield Vaiḍūryanirbhāsa.
This term in its broadest sense can refer to any being, whether human, animal, or nonhuman. However, it is often used to refer to a specific class of nonhuman beings, especially when bhūtas are mentioned alongside rākṣasas, piśācas, or pretas. In common with these other kinds of nonhumans, bhūtas are usually depicted with unattractive and misshapen bodies. Like several other classes of nonhuman beings, bhūtas take spontaneous birth. As their leader is traditionally regarded to be Rudra-Śiva (also known by the name Bhūta), with whom they haunt dangerous and wild places, bhūtas are especially prominent in Śaivism, where large sections of certain tantras concentrate on them.
In Buddhist literature, this is an epithet applied to buddhas, most often to Śākyamuni. The Sanskrit term generally means “possessing fortune,” but in specifically Buddhist contexts it implies that a buddha is in possession of six auspicious qualities (bhaga) associated with complete awakening. The Tibetan term—where bcom is said to refer to “subduing” the four māras, ldan to “possessing” the great qualities of buddhahood, and ’das to “going beyond” saṃsāra and nirvāṇa—possibly reflects the commentarial tradition where the Sanskrit bhagavat is interpreted, in addition, as “one who destroys the four māras.” This is achieved either by reading bhagavat as bhagnavat (“one who broke”), or by tracing the word bhaga to the root √bhañj (“to break”).
Although vaiḍūrya—particularly in the context of Bhaiṣajyaguru—has often been translated as lapis lazuli, blue beryl is overall a better match to the descriptions and references in the Sanskrit and Tibetan literature. The equivalent Pāli form of vaiḍūrya is veḷuriya. The Prākrit form verulia is the source for the English word “beryl.” There are white, yellow, and green beryls (green beryl is generally called “emerald”), but in this case blue beryl needs to be specified to match traditional descriptions. Vaiḍūrya may nevertheless have been taken to designate different gems at different times and places and no single equivalent in English is entirely satisfactory.
The name of a dhāraṇī.
One of the fourfold classification of ways in which beings are born.
One of the fourfold classification of ways in which beings are born.
One of the fourfold classification of ways in which beings are born.
A high-ranking deity presiding over a divine world; he is also considered to be the lord of the Sahā world (our universe). Though not considered a creator god in Buddhism, Brahmā occupies an important place as one of two gods (the other being Indra/Śakra) said to have first exhorted the Buddha Śākyamuni to teach the Dharma. The particular heavens found in the form realm over which Brahmā rules are often some of the most sought-after realms of higher rebirth in Buddhist literature. Since there are many universes or world systems, there are also multiple Brahmās presiding over them. His most frequent epithets are “Lord of the Sahā World” (sahāṃpati) and Great Brahmā (mahābrahman).
One of the two primary bodhisattvas who accompany Thus-Gone One Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabharāja in the buddhafield Vaiḍūryanirbhāsa.
One of the twelve great yakṣa generals who protect and serve those who bear, read, recite, copy, or commission a copy of the Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabharājasūtra.
One of the twelve great yakṣa generals who protect and serve those who bear, read, recite, copy, or commission a copy of the Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabharājasūtra.
The Indian cuckoo.
An Indian preceptor and translator who lived in the ninth century.
One of the three root afflictions that bind beings to cyclic existence.
Secondary afflictive states that are derived from the six primary afflictions.
One of the three root afflictions that bind beings to cyclic existence.
The thus-gone one residing in the buddhafield Standing in an Ocean of Jewels.
The thus-gone one residing the buddhafield Victory Banner of the Dharma.
To refrain from (1) killing, (2) stealing, (3) sexual activity, (4) false speech, (5) intoxication, (6) singing, dancing, music, and beautifying oneself with adornments or cosmetics, (7) using a high or large bed, and (8) eating at improper times. Typically, this observance is maintained by lay people for twenty-four hours on new moon and full moon days, as well as other special days in the lunar calendar.
A class of demonic spirit being.
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’phags pa de bzhin gshegs pa bdun gyi sngon gyi smon lam gyi khyad par rgyas pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Āryasaptatathāgatapūrvapraṇidhānaviśeṣavistāranāma mahāyānasūtra). Toh 503, Degé Kangyur, vol. 87 (rgyud ’bum, da), folios 248.b–273.b.
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C Choné
D Degé
H Lhasa (Zhol)
J Lithang
K Kangxi
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U Urga
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The Detailed Account of the Previous Aspirations of the Seven Thus-Gone Ones opens in Vaiśālī, where the Buddha Śākyamuni is seated with a saṅgha of eight thousand monks, thirty-six thousand bodhisattvas, and a large gathering of gods, spirit beings, and humans. As Śākyamuni concludes his teaching, the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī rises from his seat and requests that the Buddha give a Dharma teaching that will benefit all the human and nonhuman beings who are present in the assembly. Specifically, he asks Śākyamuni to teach them about the previous aspirations of seven buddhas, their buddhafields, and the benefits that those buddhas can bring to beings who live in the final five hundred years, when the holy Dharma is on the verge of disappearing. Śākyamuni agrees to this request and proceeds to give a detailed account of the previous aspirations of those seven buddhas to benefit beings who are veiled by karmic obscurations, tormented by illnesses, and plagued by mental anguish and suffering.
This text was translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the supervision of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. The translation was produced by Adam Krug and checked against the Tibetan and edited by Andreas Doctor and the 84000 editorial team. Benjamin Nourse contributed to the introduction with his research on the popularity of the Tibetan textual traditions devoted to the seven thus-gone ones in Tibet and China.
The generous sponsorship of May, George, Likai and Lillian Gu, which helped make the work on this translation possible, is most gratefully acknowledged.
The Detailed Account of the Previous Aspirations of the Seven Thus-Gone Ones opens in Vaiśālī, where the Buddha Śākyamuni is seated with a saṅgha of eight thousand monks, thirty-six thousand bodhisattvas, and a large gathering of gods, spirit beings, and humans. As Śākyamuni concludes his teaching, the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī rises from his seat and requests that the Buddha give a Dharma teaching that will benefit all the human and nonhuman beings who are present in the assembly, and he asks Śākyamuni to teach them about the previous aspirations of the seven thus-gone ones, their buddhafields, and the benefits that they can bring to beings who live in the final five hundred years, when the holy Dharma is nearly gone. Śākyamuni then declares that he will give a detailed account of the previous aspirations of those seven thus-gone ones to benefit beings who are veiled by karmic obscurations, tormented by illnesses, and plagued by mental anguish and suffering. The medical applications of the text are thus made explicit in its introduction, though of course the ends to which the text may be used surpass its medical applications in curing illness and protecting devotees from demonic possession.
Each of the seven thus-gone ones is said to dwell in the East in his own buddhafield, where each one lives and teaches the Dharma. The names of the seven thus-gone ones and their buddhafields are as follows:
1. Suparikīrtitanāmadheyaśrīrāja; Unconquered
2. Kuśalatejonirghoṣarāja; Abounding in Jewels
3. Suvarṇabhadravimalaratnaprabhāsavratasiddhi; Heaped with Jewels and Full of Perfume
4. Aśokottamaśrī; Without Anguish
5. Dharmakīrtisāgaraghoṣa; Victory Banner of the Dharma
6. Dharmasāgarāgramativikrīḍitābhijñārāja; Standing in an Ocean of Jewels
7. Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha; Vaiḍūryanirbhāsa
In response to Mañjuśrī’s request, Śākyamuni proceeds to enumerate the aspirations that each of these thus-gone ones made when they first generated the mind of awakening and the qualities of the buddhafield that each of them generated upon attaining perfect buddhahood. The material in the first section (Tib. bam po) of the text contains the previous aspirations of the first six thus-gone ones, while the material in the second section of the text opens with a discourse on the previous aspirations of the Thus-Gone One Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha, commonly known as the “Medicine Buddha” (Tib. sangs rgyas sman bla) that is nearly identical to the shorter sūtra that bears his name and that follows in the Kangyur, Toh 504.
When Śākyamuni’s detailed account of the previous aspirations of the seven thus-gone ones is complete, Mañjuśrī responds by vowing to proclaim the text in the future and provides a short set of instructions on how to worship the text. Śākyamuni then turns to his disciple Ānanda and asks if he has any doubts or reservations about the skillful means of the seven thus-gone ones. Ānanda assures Śākyamuni that he does not doubt what he has heard, but then suggests that other beings might. The Buddha then assures Ānanda, and by extension anyone who might read this sūtra, that it is impossible for anyone who has heard the name Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha to be reborn in the lower realms.
The text continues with material also found in the shorter sūtra, Toh 504, where we find a set of instructions from the bodhisattva Trāṇamukta on how making offerings to Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha can interrupt the death process and call a dying person’s consciousness back to their body. Trāṇamukta outlines a ritual that is performed over a forty-nine-day period that begins with observing the eightfold purification vows, providing support for the offering rite to the monastic saṅgha, and contemplating Bhaiṣajyaguru’s name three times each day and three times each night. Then, presumably, the monastic saṅgha members that one has supplied with provisions for the offering rite recite the text forty-nine times and offer oil lamps to seven statues of Bhaiṣajyaguru for a forty-nine-day period. Trāṇamukta notes that kings can also perform this rite to avert disaster and ensure the happiness of the kingdom. He concludes his instructions with a brief enumeration of nine types of untimely death, assuring Ānanda that the problem of untimely death is precisely the reason that Śākyamuni has taught the use of mantras and medicines. This part of the text concludes with the vow of the twelve great yakṣa generals, who make a commitment to protect anyone who bears the name of Bhaiṣajyaguru or supports his worship. The vow of the twelve yakṣa generals marks the end of the portion of this text that corresponds to the material found in the shorter sūtra, Toh 504.
A number of gods in the assembly then begin to wonder how simply hearing the names of these buddhas, who, after all, live in buddhafields that are inconceivably far away from our own Sahā world, could really allow beings to develop such good qualities. In response to their skepticism, Śākyamuni enters into a state of absorption that summons the seven thus-gone ones before the assembly. Amazed, the gods make offerings to the seven thus-gone ones and set forth their aspiration that all beings might attain this absorption and be able to actually see them, just as they have. Mañjuśrī then asks the seven thus-gone ones to teach a dhāraṇī that can overcome illnesses and protect beings from those with ill intentions, planetary influences, lunar asterisms, death, enemies, and wild animals, and that can fulfill all beings’ wishes. The seven thus-gone ones recite their dhāraṇī and provide a description of the recitation ritual and the benefits of performing it. This is followed by a dhāraṇī given by Vajrapāṇi, Śakra, and the Four Great Kings, as well as another dhāraṇī pronounced by Vajrapāṇi alone.
Finally, the text concludes with Ānanda asking Śākyamuni what title this discourse should bear. Śākyamuni responds by providing the following four titles:
1. The Detailed Account of the Previous Aspirations of the Seven Thus-Gone, Worthy, and Perfect Buddhas
2. The Bodhisattva Vajrapāṇi’s Vow
3. Purifying All Karmic Obscurations and Fulfilling All Hopes
4. The Vows of the Twelve Great Yakṣa Generals
There is no known Sanskrit edition or manuscript of this version of the sūtra, but a large portion of the text is almost identical with the shorter sūtra, Toh 504, which survives in three Sanskrit editions edited and compiled from the cache of Buddhist Sanskrit manuscripts excavated from a stūpa in Gilgit in the early twentieth century. Gregory Schopen notes that at least five manuscripts of this text were found among the Gilgit collection, and that there were at least two distinct recensions of the text circulating in Gilgit during the fifth and sixth centuries. Even earlier evidence of the existence of the shorter sūtra comes in the form of a Chinese translation very similar to the later versions of the shorter text, included as the twelfth and final fascicle of a longer work (Taishō 1331) translated by Śrīmitra in the early fourth century ᴄᴇ. A Chinese translation of the present, seven tathāgata form of the sūtra (Taishō 451) was made in 707 CE by Yijing.
Some substantial passages from the Bhaiṣajyagurusūtra in Sanskrit have also survived as several citations in Śāntideva’s (685–783
The exact relationship between Toh 503 and Toh 504 remains unclear. In his brief study of traditions associated with Bhaiṣajyaguru, Leonard Zwilling argues that Toh 504 was enlarged into Toh 503, stating that the vows of the other six thus-gone ones “by and large, duplicate those of Bhaiṣajyaguru, and their Buddha-fields are merely named [and] lack any sufficiently distinctive individuating characteristics.” As readers can see for themselves in this translation, this does not seem to be the case, at least with respect to the Tibetan translation of the text. The aspirations of each of the seven thus-gone ones differ in both number and content, the descriptions of each of the buddhafields contain notable differences, and none of the aspirations and buddhafields of the six buddhas that precede Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha appear to duplicate his aspirations and the description of his buddhafield. In addition, the role of hearing and reciting the names of these buddhas receives far greater emphasis in the aspirations of the first six buddhas than it does in the account of Bhaiṣajyaguru’s twelve aspirations. Judging from the syntax, word choices, and organization of the presentation of Bhaiṣajyaguru’s aspirations, it is quite possible that Toh 504 was an independent text that was at some point incorporated into Toh 503. However, analyzing the first section of the text using these same criteria also suggests the possibility that the aspirations of the first six buddhas in Toh 503 represent a compilation of several independent texts containing bodhisattva “aspirations.” The text itself hints at its own eclectic origins in its conclusion, where Śākyamuni provides four separate titles for the work that each refer to separate sections of the text.
The translators’ colophon to the Tibetan translation of Toh 503 tells us that the text was translated by three ninth-century Indian preceptors—Jinamitra, Dānaśīla, and Śīlendrabodhi—in conjunction with Bandé Yeshé Dé (mid-eighth to early ninth century), placing the date for its initial translation into Tibetan in the early ninth century. This date is confirmed by the text’s appearance in both the Denkarma and Phangthangma royal Tibetan catalogs of translated works. Although both royal Tibetan catalogs indicate that this text was originally classified as a sūtra, Butön lists it in different works as both a sūtra and a tantra, and in all Kangyurs it is placed with the tantras of the Action (kriyā) class. In the Degé Kangyur the cycle of four works related to the Buddha Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha, with this as the first, is presented among the Action Tantras related to the principal figure of the tathāgata family (de bzhin gshegs pa’i rigs kyi gtso bo).
Inspired by certain passages in the sūtra that describe the worship of the seven thus-gone ones, as well as by the sūtra as a whole, a number of commentaries have detailed how one might actually perform the rites they contain. The earliest examples of these liturgical commentaries in Tibet are now found in the Tengyur, where they are attributed to one “Bodhisattva,” commonly taken as the famous Indian abbot and scholar Śāntarakṣita (Tib. zhi ba ’tsho, eighth century), who composed them for the Tibetan emperor Tri Songdetsen (Tib. khri srong lde btsan, 742–97). Since that time, rituals associated with the sūtra have been especially esteemed by political leaders not only in Tibet but in Mongolia and China as well, probably due to the promises within the text that whoever offers worship to the seven thus-gone ones will have an abundance of prosperity and health.
The sūtra and the rituals surrounding it became popular at the Yuan court, and members of the court sponsored the sūtra’s publication in a wood-block edition. Śāntarakṣita’s liturgical adaptations of the sūtra were translated into Chinese by a disciple of Chögyal Pakpa (Pakpa Lodrö Gyaltsen, ’phags pa blo gros rgyal mtshan, 1235–80), the Sakya hierarch who served as national preceptor to Qublai Khan. Rituals of worship based on the sūtra were performed regularly in the Yuan capital Dadu (present-day Beijing). In the same period, Chim Namkha Drak (Tib. mchims nam mkha’ grags, 1210–85) wrote a short liturgy for the sūtra titled A Method for Accomplishing the Worship of the Seven Thus-Gone Ones (de bzhin gshegs pa bdun gyi mchod pa ji ltar bsgrub pa’i tshul). These liturgies continued to be popular over the ensuing centuries, and liturgies were written by prominent figures within every major school of Tibetan Buddhism.
Two seventeenth-century liturgies based on the sūtra were written by Panchen Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen (Tib. blo bzang chos kyi rgyal mtshan, 1570–1662) and the Fifth Dalai Lama Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (Tib. ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho, 1617–82). Both were used in the liturgical practices of a number of the new and expanding Gelukpa (Tib. dge lugs pa) institutions that sprang up in the wake of the Gelukpa rise to political prominence with the founding of the Dalai Lama’s Ganden Podrang government in 1642. They also became popular among the Qing dynasty elite. Prince Yunli (1697–1738, known in Tibetan as Kengsé Chinwang), one of the sons of the Kangxi emperor (1654–1722), published the sūtra in Tibetan and in Mongolian translation in Beijing. The Panchen Lama’s and Dalai Lama’s liturgies were published in several editions in Beijing and were performed at temples throughout the capital, a practice that continued through the early twentieth century.
This translation is based on the Tibetan translation from the Tantra Section in the Degé Kangyur, in consultation with the Tibetan translations in the Stok Palace Kangyur and the Comparative Kangyur (Tib. dpe bsdur ma). The section of the text that includes the Tibetan translation of the Bhaiṣajyagurusūtra was also checked against the Sanskrit editions of the Gilgit manuscripts prepared by Dutt, Vaidya, and Schopen. The names of the seven thus-gone ones are critical to many of the practices outlined in this work, but unfortunately Sanskrit equivalents are only attested for two of them: Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha and Suparikīrtitanāmadheyaśrīrāja. The Sanskrit names provided in this translation for the other five thus-gone ones follow the back-translations provided by Ronald M. Davidson, Lokesh Candra, and Sushama Lohia.
[B1] Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was wandering through the provinces and came to Vaiśālī. There in Vaiśālī, at the base of the musical tree, he was accompanied by a great saṅgha of eight thousand monks and thirty-six thousand bodhisattvas, including the bodhisattva great being Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva great being Mahāmati, the bodhisattva great being Maitreya, the bodhisattva great being Pratibhākūṭa, the bodhisattva great being Amoghavikrāmin, the bodhisattva great being Sudarśana, the bodhisattva great being Sarvatamondhakāravidhamanamati, the bodhisattva great being Well-Intentioned Thought, the bodhisattva great being Merukūṭa, the bodhisattva great being Gadgadasvara, the bodhisattva great being King Who Holds Great Meru’s Peak, and the bodhisattva great being Vajrapāṇi. He was surrounded and accompanied by all manner of gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, kings, ministers, brahmins, kṣatriyas, and householders.
The Blessed One was giving a Dharma teaching that was virtuous at the beginning, virtuous in the middle, and virtuous at the end, excellent in meaning, and beautiful in expression. His Dharma talk satisfied beings, made them perfectly happy, and established them in the awakening of a buddha.
Then the bodhisattva great being and Dharma prince Mañjuśrī rose from his seat, adjusted his upper robe on one shoulder, knelt with his right knee on the ground, bowed to the Blessed One with his palms together, and made this request to the Blessed One:
“Blessed One, since many gods, nāgas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, ascetics, brahmins, kings, ministers, householders, human, and nonhuman beings have gathered and are present to hear the Dharma, may the Blessed One have mercy on us. Please teach the names of those thus-gone ones who, simply by hearing them, cause all beings to no longer regress on the path to unsurpassed and perfect awakening, who purify and utterly exhaust all their misdeeds and karmic obscurations, and that cause them to no longer be crushed by Māra, the wicked one. Please teach the detailed account of the previous aspirations they made and describe the abodes of their buddhafields with their arrays of good qualities.
“Blessed One, since there is nothing that the thus-gone ones do not see, hear, or know, they comprehend as many billions of eons as there are grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river just like the events of today or tomorrow. Since that is the case, and since you explain and correctly teach how these thus-gone ones first generated the mind of awakening, what their previous aspirations were, and what the arrays of good qualities are in the buddhafields related to these thus-gone ones are, Blessed One, in order to support all beings in the future during the final five hundred years when the counterfeit holy Dharma has appeared, will the Blessed One please explain the great skillful means of the thus-gone ones and give a detailed account of their previous aspirations?”
With a voice as melodious as the cuckoo’s song, the blessed Thus-Gone One complimented Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta, saying, “Very good, Mañjuśrī, very good. Mañjuśrī, you are a compassionate being. Mañjuśrī, it is good that the boundless compassion you have generated has led you to make this request to benefit all beings, and so that those gods and humans who are veiled by the various karmic obscurations, whose bodies are tormented by various illnesses, and who are oppressed by various types of mental anguish and suffering might be benefited, helped, and comforted. Mañjuśrī, the Thus-Gone One’s blessing has engendered this eloquent request of yours. So listen well and keep in mind what I say, Mañjuśrī, and I shall explain.”
“Yes, Blessed One,” replied Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta.
“Mañjuśrī,” the Blessed One said, “to the east of this buddhafield, past as many buddhafields as there are grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river, the thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Suparikīrtitanāmadheyaśrīrāja lives in the world Unconquered, accompanied by billions of bodhisattva attendants. There he lives, resides, and teaches the Dharma.
“Mañjuśrī, the buddhafield of the thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Suparikīrtitanāmadheyaśrīrāja is utterly pure. It measures many hundreds of thousands of leagues across. It is flat like the palm of one’s hand. There are no lower realms of rebirth or cries of suffering. There is no such thing as the female gender. There are no thorny plants and no steep cliffs. There are no mountains, boulders, rocks, or pebbles. The ground is soft and pleasing to the touch. It has a divine fragrance, and its divine jeweled trees are decorated with flowers and fruit. It is adorned with a jeweled lion throne. The bodhisattvas there have attained the stage of nonregression. It is beautified by pools ornamented with gold from the Jambū river, gems, and pearls. Mañjuśrī, all the bodhisattvas in that world take a miraculous birth in which they emerge from a lotus made of the seven precious substances. Thus, a faithful son or daughter of good family should aspire to be born in that buddhafield.
“Mañjuśrī, from the moment that the thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Suparikīrtitanāmadheyaśrīrāja first generated the mind of awakening and while he was practicing bodhisattva conduct, he continually proclaimed the following eight great aspirations:
“His first great aspiration was, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may my power cause any beings whose bodies are tormented by various illnesses and who are oppressed by fevers, kṛtyas, kākhordas, vetālas, and other terrors to have all their illnesses pacified when they bear my name in mind and recite my name seven times. May they be free from fevers and the demonic influences of wicked beings for as long as it takes them to attain awakening, and may all these things be pacified.’
“For his second great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may my power cause any beings who are blind, deaf, mentally ill, leprous, and affected by acute illness to have fully functional sense faculties for as long as it takes them to attain awakening when they bear my name in mind and recite my name seven times. May all their suffering and illnesses cease.’
“For his third great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may my power cause any beings who are veiled by desire, hatred, and delusion—who commit the five inexpiable acts, abound in improper behavior, forsake the holy Dharma, commit various sinful and nonvirtuous actions, and then proceed to the three lower realms and the hell realms where they are born in the Great Hell and experience intense pain—to purify and exhaust all their obscurations brought on by actions such as the five inexpiable acts and the like when they bear my name in mind and mentally recite my name seven times. May they not be reborn in the hell realms and in the lower realms for as long as it takes them to become perfect buddhas who have manifested unsurpassed and perfect awakening. May they experience the divine happiness of the god realms and the happiness of the human realm.’
“For his fourth great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may my power cause any beings who are impoverished and who do not have food, drink, clothes, money, grain, bedding, incense, garlands, ornaments, and belongings to have an abundance of riches, clothes, money, grain, bedding, incense, garlands, ornaments, and belongings for as long as it takes them to attain awakening when they bear my name in mind and mentally recite my name seven times.’
“For his fifth great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may my power free any beings who are bound, beaten, or tortured, and whose bodies are tormented by various types of weapons from all manner of bondage and beatings for as long as it takes them to attain awakening when they bear my name in mind and mentally recite my name seven times.’
“For his sixth great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may my power cause any beings who are vulnerable, whose bodies are burned by a blazing fire, who encounter lions, tigers, bears, hyenas, and poisonous snakes, whose lives are endangered, who are rendered defenseless by terror, and who weep and wail, to have any fire that might burn their bodies extinguished. May it render those lions, tigers, bears, hyenas, and poisonous snakes benevolent, and may it lead those beings to live in peaceful places without fear for as long as it takes them to attain awakening when they bear my name in mind and mentally recite my name seven times.’
“For his seventh great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may my power cause any beings who fight quarrel, argue, and dispute with one another and who are terrified and anxious, to cease all fighting, quarreling, arguing, and disputing one another and be loving toward one another for as long as it takes them to attain awakening when they bear my name in mind and mentally recite my name seven times.’
“For his eighth great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may my power comfort any beings who have embarked on a sea voyage, boarded a ship, and traveled out of sight of land, who value their lives, who have ended up in the middle of a great river or an ocean, and who weep and wail as they cross great rivers, and may they have nothing to fear as they complete their journeys for as long as it takes them to attain awakening when they bear my name in mind and mentally recite my name seven times.’
“Mañjuśrī, those are the eight great aspirations that were proclaimed by the blessed Thus-Gone One Suparikīrtitanāmadheyaśrīrāja. That is why, Mañjuśrī, even in one hundred years, no one but the thus-gone, worthy, and perfect buddhas and the bodhisattvas dwelling on the ten levels—not even the hearers and solitary buddhas—could describe the aspirations, powerful states of absorption, actions to ripen beings, bodhisattva conduct, worship and service to the thus-gone ones, emanations, purification of buddhafields, and bodhisattva attendants that the blessed Thus-Gone One Suparikīrtitanāmadheyaśrīrāja has brought forth ever since he first generated the mind of awakening.
“Mañjuśrī, that is why faithful sons and daughters of good family, kings, ministers, and householders who pursue good qualities should bear the name of that thus-gone one in mind and recite it in order to be free from all manner of hatred and afflictions. If they are devout and make offerings to that thus-gone one, all their misdeeds, all their karmic obscurations, and all their illnesses will be completely pacified. All their hopes will be fulfilled, and they will not regress on the path to the awakening of a buddha.
“Mañjuśrī, to the east of this buddhafield, past as many buddhafields as there are grains of sand in seven Gaṅgā rivers, the thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Kuśalatejonirghoṣarāja, who is adorned with a precious jewel, a moon, and a lotus, lives in the world Abounding in Jewels. There he lives, resides, and teaches the Dharma, teaching only the instructions of the Great Vehicle to bodhisattvas.
“Mañjuśrī, long ago, when that thus-gone, worthy, and perfect buddha was practicing bodhisattva conduct, he made the following eight great aspirations:
“For his first great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, when beings bear in mind and mentally recite my name, may my power cause any who delight in agricultural work and commerce, who deviate from virtuous qualities due to their many distractions, who lose their focus on the mind of awakening, who do not attain freedom from the sufferings of cyclic existence, and who each experience their own particular saṃsāric sufferings—growing old, getting sick, dying, experiencing mental anguish, wailing, suffering, and being unhappy and disturbed—to obtain an abundance of clothing, food, drink, wealth, property, money, grain, riches, and gold, as soon as they wish for as long as it takes them to become perfect buddhas who have manifested unsurpassed and perfect awakening. May these virtuous qualities allow them to prosper. May their thoughts never stray from the mind of awakening. May they be liberated from all the suffering of the three lower rebirths and the hell realms.’
“For that blessed one’s second great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may my power cause any beings in this great trichiliocosm that are born from an egg, born from a womb, born from heat and moisture, or miraculously born, whose bodies are tormented by cold, heat, hunger, and thirst and afflicted by pain, to hear my name. When they recollect and recite my name, may they purify the karmic obscurations from their previous lives. May that be their final rebirth. May they be free from all manner of painful rebirth for as long as it takes to become perfect buddhas who have manifested unsurpassed and perfect awakening. May they experience the joy of a god in the god realms.’
“For his third great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may my power cause any women in this great trichiliocosm whose bodies are full of all sorts of miserable afflictions, who dislike the condition of being a woman, and who suffer pain when they give birth, to hear my name. When they recollect and recite my name, may they bring an end to all these agonies and all their suffering. May that be their final rebirth. May they be reborn as men for as long as it takes them to attain awakening.’
“For his fourth great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may my power cause any beings who are threatened by death, enemies, and the wilderness; whose parents, sisters, friends, and kin each also experience mental anguish; and whose bodies are pierced by the thorn of suffering and mental anguish, to hear my name. When they hear and recite my name, may all threats related to death, enemies, and the wilderness be pacified, and may they be free from mental anguish and suffering for as long as it takes them to attain awakening.’
“For his fifth great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may my power cause any beings who wander in the thick darkness of night engaged in various tasks who are tormented by various types of evil spirits and who cry out in fear, to no longer experience any such darkness for as long as it takes them to attain awakening when they bear my name in mind and mentally recite my name. May all the evil spirits become benevolent, and may they redirect their efforts toward various forms of worship and service.’
“For his sixth great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may my power cause any beings who have inferior aspirations and who are of little intelligence, have dull memories, and have lost all recollection of the virtuous qualities, powers, aspects of awakening, absorptions, and methods of retention, as well as of the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, to actualize the absorptions, mindfulnesses, powers, aspects of awakening, and methods of retention for as long as it takes them to attain awakening when they bear my name in mind and mentally recite my name. May they pursue great insight.’
“For his seventh great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, when beings bear my name in mind and mentally recite my name, may my power cause any who have inferior aspirations, who develop interest in the vehicle of hearers and solitary buddhas and remain in one of those vehicles, and who thus turn their backs on unsurpassed and perfect awakening, to not regress on the path to unsurpassed and perfect awakening for as long as it takes them to become perfect buddhas who have manifested unsurpassed and perfect awakening. May they turn their backs on the vehicles of the hearers and solitary buddhas, and may their thoughts never stray from the mind of awakening.’
“For his eighth great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, when Jambudvīpa is set ablaze at the dissolution of the great eon and is engulfed in ravenous flames, may my power cause any beings who weep, experience mental anguish, and experience the suffering caused by their previous nonvirtuous actions, and who have no refuge or protector, to be free from all suffering and mental anguish. May they be cooled, and when they pass away, may they take miraculous rebirth in my buddhafield upon a lion throne in the center of a lotus by bearing my name in mind and mentally reciting my name.’
“Mañjuśrī, those are the eight great aspirations that the Blessed One made long ago, when he was practicing bodhisattva conduct. Mañjuśrī, the buddhafield of the thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Kuśalatejonirghoṣarāja, who is adorned with a precious jewel, a moon, and a lotus, is even, wide, spacious, and flat like the palm of a hand. It is ornamented with divinely scented trees. It has a pure and flawless fragrance and is adorned with divinely scented flowers. The music of celestial instruments and melodious songs fills the air. It is adorned with webs of tinkling bells made of divine jewels and decorated with a divine jeweled lion throne. It is ornamented with divine jeweled pools. The ground is soft and smooth, and there are no mountains, stones, pebbles, or thorns. There is no such thing as the female gender. There are no derivative afflictions, and everyone is at the level of a nonregressing bodhisattva. All the bodhisattvas there are miraculously born on a lion throne in the center of a lotus, and their bodies are all perfectly adorned with divine jeweled clothing and ornaments. In that buddhafield, all clothing, food, drink, bedding, fragrances, flowers, and garlands, all the pleasures of a bodhisattva, all the necessities of a living being, and all the wealth consisting of divine jewels appear as soon as they think of them. That is why that world is called Abounding in Jewels.
“Mañjuśrī, that is why faithful sons and daughters of good family as well as kings and princes should focus on the name of the blessed Thus-Gone One Kuśalatejonirghoṣarāja, who is adorned with a precious jewel, a moon, and a lotus, three times each day and three times each night. They should bear it in mind with the highest devotion and have faith in it. They should commission a statue of that thus-gone one and make offerings to it with flowers, incense, perfumes, garlands, ointments, music, and oil lamps. They should maintain the eightfold precepts and purify themselves for seven days. Then they should sit in a spot that has been purified, pronounce the aspiration to be born in that buddhafield, and generate an attitude of love and compassion toward all beings.
“If they do this, the Thus-Gone One will turn their attention toward them and the bodhisattva great beings will think of them. All their misdeeds and all their karmic obscurations will be purified. Their thoughts will never stray from the mind of awakening, and desire, hatred, and delusion will vanish. They will have long lives and be free from illness. Anything upon which they set their intention will come to pass, and all fighting, quarreling, arguing, and disputes will cease. When they pass away, all their misdeeds will have been eliminated, and they will take miraculous rebirth in that buddhafield upon a lion throne in the center of a lotus. As soon as they are born, they will manifest the absorptions and methods of retention. Mañjuśrī, such are the many good qualities that incur to one who retains the name of that blessed thus-gone one.
“Mañjuśrī, to the east of this buddhafield, past as many buddhafields as there are grains of sand in five Gaṅgā rivers the thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Suvarṇabhadravimalaratnaprabhāsavratasiddhi lives in the world Heaped with Jewels and Full of Perfume. There he lives, resides, and teaches the Dharma accompanied by billions of bodhisattva attendants.
“Mañjuśrī, long ago, when he was practicing bodhisattva conduct, that blessed, thus-gone, worthy, and perfect buddha proclaimed the following four great aspirations:
“For his first great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may any beings who commit murder, who perform various nonvirtuous acts of killing, who kill various types of living beings, and who, because they have killed, will have short lifespans, many illnesses, and suffer untimely deaths by drowning, poison, weaponry, fire, and various diseases hear my name. By retaining it and making offerings, may they purify those karmic obscurations, may they have long lives and be free of illness, and may anyone who might have suffered an untimely death not suffer an untimely death.’
“For his second great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may any beings who have committed various misdeeds and nonvirtuous actions, who have been born in poor households because they stole another person’s wealth, who are destitute, whose bodies are tormented by hunger and thirst, and who experience suffering hear my name. By retaining it, may all their misdeeds be purified for as long as it takes them to become perfect buddhas who have manifested unsurpassed and perfect awakening. May they be powerful and prosperous, and may they lack nothing.’
“For his third great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may any beings who harbor thoughts of harming one another and who kill and fight one another hear my name and thereby come to love one another like parents love a child for as long as it takes them to become perfect buddhas who have manifested unsurpassed and perfect awakening.’
“For his fourth great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, after hearing my name, may my power cause any beings who are veiled by desire, hatred, and delusion—who have faulty ethics and commit misdeeds, violate the trainings of the thus-gone ones, fall into the three lower realms, and proceed to the hell realms—to have all their karmic obscurations purified for as long as it takes them to become perfect buddhas who have manifested unsurpassed and perfect awakening. May they be free from the derivative afflictions, and may they maintain perfect discipline. May they maintain their vows in body, speech, and mind, and may their thoughts never stray from the mind of awakening.’ Those, Mañjuśrī, are the four aspirations that the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Suvarṇabhadravimalaratnaprabhāsavratasiddhi proclaimed long ago, when he was practicing bodhisattva conduct.
“Mañjuśrī, the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha Suvarṇabhadravimalaratnaprabhāsavratasiddhi’s buddhafield is a place where the ground contains various precious fragrances and has the sweet smell of snake’s delight sandalwood. It is even, spacious, wide, and beautified by fragrant snake’s delight sandalwood trees hung with divine jewels, decorative pearl garlands, and precious jewels. There are pools made of divine, precious gems and that are filled with perfumed water. The trees are festooned and adorned with silk streamers, and precious threads form webs between them. There are no derivative afflictions and no suffering or unhappiness. There is no such thing as the female gender. The sound of music, instruments, and songs of bodhisattvas are heard without anyone playing them. The melody of nature devoid of substance and the melody of the teachings of the Great Vehicle resound from those instruments, and anyone who hears this no longer regresses on the path to the awakening of a buddha. Mañjuśrī, such are the skillful means of that blessed one’s previous aspirations and the fantastic array of good qualities of his buddhafield.
“The power of the aspirations that the blessed thus-gone Suvarṇabhadravimalaratnaprabhāsavratasiddhi made before becoming a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening led him to sit at the foot of the Bodhi tree and see that all beings are veiled by desire, hatred, and delusion. He saw that all beings have bodies tormented by various diseases, that they are harmed by death, enemies, and the wilderness, and that they are on the way to becoming hell beings whose lifespans last an entire eon. So, for their benefit and to set them on the path to the awakening of a buddha, he taught the following dhāraṇī mantra verses that eliminate all karmic obscurations:
“tadyathā siddhe siddhe susiddhe mocani mokṣaṇi mukte vimukte amale vimale māṅgalye hiranyagarbhe ratnagarbhe sarvārthasādhani paramārthasādhani manase mahāmanase adbhute atyadbhute vītabhaye suvarṇe brahmaghoṣe brahmādhyuṣite sarvārtheṣu aparājite sarvatrāpratihate catuḥṣaṣṭhibhūtakoṭibhāṣite namaḥ sarvatathāgatānāṃ svāhā.”
When the Blessed One spoke this dhāraṇī mantra, the entire gathering of bodhisattvas, Śakra, Brahmā, and all the guardians of the world praised the Blessed One saying, “Wonderful! Blessed One, it is wonderful that you have proclaimed this dhāraṇī mantra verse to show love to all beings, to clear away all their misdeeds, pacify all their illnesses, and fulfill all their hopes.”
“My friends,” the Blessed One replied, “If any son or daughter of good family or any king, prince, or male or female layperson who seeks such good qualities retains these dhāraṇī verses, recites them, masters them, cultivates faith in them, reflects on an attitude of compassion toward all beings three times each day and three times each night, makes a pure offering with flowers, incense, and perfume, and acts according to the eightfold path of noble beings, all their misdeeds including the five inexpiable acts and the rest will be purified. When they pass away, they will be born in that world, where they will take miraculous birth upon a lion throne in the middle of a lotus. All their illnesses and all manner of threats related to death, enemies, and the wilderness will be pacified. When they die, the Thus-Gone One will turn their attention toward them, and all their hopes and wishes will be fulfilled.
“Mañjuśrī, to the east of this buddhafield, past as many buddhafields as there are grains of sand in seven Gaṅgā rivers, the thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Aśokottamaśrī lives in the world Without Anguish. There he lives, resides, and teaches the Dharma. Mañjuśrī, the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Aśokottamaśrī’s buddhafield is even like the palm of one’s hand, wide, and spacious. There is no mental anguish and there are no lower realms or cries of suffering. There is no such thing as the female gender. The ground is soft and very smooth. The scent of divine perfume fills the air, and it is beautified by trees made of divine precious jewels. There are divine pools made of gold from the Jambū river that are filled with perfumed water. The trees are made of the seven precious substances and covered with flowers and fruit. This buddhafield is filled with divine music and the sound of instruments. In short, Mañjuśrī, it is just like the thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Amitābha’s buddhafield Sukhāvatī. Mañjuśrī, such is the array of good qualities of the thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Aśokottamaśrī’s buddhafield.
“Mañjuśrī, the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Aśokottamaśrī proclaimed the following four great aspirations long ago, when he was practicing bodhisattva conduct:
“For his first great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may any beings who are anguished, who suffer, who are unhappy, and who experience a great deal of conflict and various kinds of suffering hear my name. After they hear and think about my name, may my power quell all of their mental anguish, suffering, unhappiness, and conflict. May none of them ever experience the suffering of being separated from what they hold dear, and may they have long lives.’
“For his second great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may my power cause the light that radiates from my body to shine on any beings who commit various misdeeds and nonvirtuous actions and who are thus reborn in the great hells, or in the Great Avīci Hell where they are shrouded in thick darkness. May the light touch those hell beings and purify all their misdeeds as soon as they see it. May they be liberated from the sufferings of the great hells, and may it bring an end to all their pain. May they experience the joy of the divine and human realms for as long as it takes them to become perfect buddhas who have manifested unsurpassed and perfect awakening.’
“For his third great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may any beings who have committed misdeeds and nonvirtuous actions in a previous life, who were born into a poor household of low standing because they stole another person’s property, and who thus do not have clothing, food, drink, bedding, or jewelry, those who suffer from both cold and heat, those whose bodies are tormented by hunger and thirst, and those who have poor complexions hear and recite my name. As a result, may they possess clothing, food, drink, and bedding for as long as it takes them to become perfect buddhas who have manifested unsurpassed and perfect awakening, and may their bodies take on beautiful, divine complexions.’
“For his fourth great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may any beings who are tormented and have their vital energy stolen by yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, and piśācas and thus suffer from the various types of suffering related to illness hear my name. May my power cause all the yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, and piśācas who steal beings’ vital energy to be pacified and benevolent toward those people for as long as it takes them to become perfect buddhas who have manifested unsurpassed and perfect awakening. May they be liberated from the various types of suffering related to illness.’ Mañjuśrī, those are the four great aspirations that this blessed one proclaimed.
“Mañjuśrī, those who hear the name of the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Aśokottamaśrī should recite it three times each day and three times each night and cultivate benevolence toward all beings. All the karmic obscurations of those who make offerings to that thus-gone one will be purified. They will be free from mental anguish, suffering, unhappiness, and conflict. They will always be healthy, they will have long lives, and they will be free from all manner of illnesses. They will never fall into lower rebirths for as long as it takes them to attain awakening, and they will remember their former rebirths. They will take miraculous rebirth in that thus-gone one’s buddhafield on a lion throne bedecked with the seven precious substances in the middle of a lotus, and all the gods will protect them. Mañjuśrī, such are the many good qualities related to reciting the name of that thus-gone one.
“Mañjuśrī, that blessed one’s buddhafield possesses such an abundant array of good qualities and his previous bodhisattva aspirations were so vast that except for the thus-gone, worthy, and perfect buddhas, no one, not even the hearers and solitary buddhas, can express them.
“Mañjuśrī, to the east of this buddhafield, past as many buddhafields as there are grains of sand in eight Gaṅgā rivers, the thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Dharmakīrtisāgaraghoṣa lives in the world Victory Banner of the Dharma. There he lives, resides, and teaches the Dharma. Mañjuśrī, the thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Dharmakīrtisāgaraghoṣa’s buddhafield is utterly pure. It is even, stainless, luminous, and like blue sapphire. The outer walls, fences, windows, archways, latticework, and turrets are made of crystal. The ground is adorned with trees made of divine jewels and covered with golden threads in a checkered pattern. All the jeweled trees are decorated and draped with lattices of tinkling bells and beautified with divine silk tassels, divine flowers, and perfumes. There are pools made of the seven precious substances and filled with perfumed water. When the lattices of tinkling bells stir and shake in the breeze, their pleasant, divine melody brings joy to all beings. The Dharma sound of the nature devoid of substance fills the air, and the Dharma sound of the Great Vehicle resounds from the music of divine instruments. The beings who hear this sound of the Dharma become free from desire, hatred, and delusion and attain the absorption called not forgetting the mind of awakening. Mañjuśrī, in that world there are no lower realms, no cries of suffering, and no derivative afflictions, and there is no such thing as the female gender.
“That Blessed One proclaimed the following four great aspirations long ago, when he was practicing bodhisattva conduct:
“For his first great aspiration, he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may any beings who are born into a house that maintains wrong views, who have no faith in the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, and who are far from focusing on the mind of awakening hear my name. By my power, may their karmic obscurations be eliminated, and may they adopt the correct view for as long as it takes them to attain awakening. May they possess unbreakable faith in the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, and may they never regress from focusing on the mind of awakening.’
“For his second great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may my power cause any beings who have been born in border countries where they have not heard the terms Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, who engage in unwholesome actions because of the nonvirtuous company they keep, and who fall into the three lower realms after they pass away and lose all their virtuous qualities to hear my name. When they do, may the sound of the Dharma fill the air like clouds of Dharma or crashing waves. Upon hearing this, may all the karma of their previous lives be eliminated, and may their thoughts never stray from the mind of awakening for as long as it takes them to attain awakening.’
“For his third great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may my power cause any beings who lack clothing, jewelry, perfumes, garlands, ointments, bedding, and medicine, who suffer because of what they lack, and who perform misdeeds to have clothing, jewelry, perfumes, garlands, ointments, bedding, medicines, material possessions, and wealth as soon as they think about them, and may they lack nothing. May none of them lack anything in any way whatsoever for as long as it takes them to attain liberation.’
“For his fourth great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may any beings who quarrel, fight, argue, and dispute with one another due to the ripening of their karma from a previous life, who are trained to harm and kill one another, and who strike one another with blades, arrows, and clubs hear my name and keep it in mind. By my power, when they mentally recite my name, may the arrows, blades, clubs and the like be repelled and turned back. May all their enemies become friends, and may no one lose their life. May they be content with their own material possessions, wealth, and power for as long as it takes them to attain awakening.’ Mañjuśrī, such were the four great aspirations that the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Dharmakīrtisāgaraghoṣa made long ago, when he was practicing bodhisattva conduct.
“Mañjuśrī, all who hear the name of the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Dharmakīrtisāgaraghoṣa, bear it in mind, cultivate faith in it, and make offerings with utter devotion will purify all their misdeeds. They will not regress on the path to the awakening of a buddha, in all their future lifetimes they will remember their past lives, and their thoughts will never stray from the mind of awakening. They will meet with the thus-gone ones in all their rebirths, and they will always be healthy and live long lives. When they pass away, they will be born in that world, and they will never again fall to the lower realms. Wherever they are born, they will possess clothing, jewelry, perfumes, garlands, ointments, bedding, medicines, necessities, material possessions, and power as soon as they think of them. Mañjuśrī, such are the many good qualities associated with bearing in mind and hearing the name of the thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Dharmakīrtisāgaraghoṣa.
“Mañjuśrī, to the east of this buddhafield, past as many buddhafields as there are grains of sand in nine Gaṅgā rivers, the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Dharmasāgarāgramativikrīḍitābhijñārāja lives in the world Standing in an Ocean of Jewels. There he lives, resides, and teaches the Dharma.
“Mañjuśrī, long ago, when he was practicing bodhisattva conduct, that blessed one proclaimed the following four great aspirations:
“For his first great aspiration, he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I attain awakening as a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, wherever there are beings who work the fields, sow seeds, trade in goods, fight battles, delight in arguing, and perform misdeeds, may they hear my name. By my power, may they gain an abundance of all manner of goods as soon as they think of them. May they have no ill intent and may their behavior always be virtuous.’
“For his second great aspiration, he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I attain awakening as a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may any beings who have taken the path of the ten nonvirtues and will thus proceed to the hell realms hear my name. By my power, may they take the path of the ten virtues, and may they not proceed to the hell realms.’
“For his third great aspiration, he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have attained awakening as a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may any beings who have come under another person’s control, who are arrested, beaten, imprisoned, and sentenced to death, hear my name, and may my light prevent them from being bound and beaten for as long as it takes them to attain awakening.’
“For the fourth great aspiration when he was practicing bodhisattva conduct, he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have attained awakening as a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may any beings who have committed various types of unvirtuous misdeeds that shorten one’s lifespan hear my name at the moment of death. After hearing my name, may they take rebirth in the joyful, heavenly realms. May they experience the happiness of divine and human births for as long as it takes them to attain awakening, and may all the karma of their misdeeds be purified.’ Mañjuśrī, those are the four great aspirations that the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Dharmasāgarāgramativikrīḍitābhijñārāja proclaimed long ago, when he was practicing bodhisattva conduct.
“Mañjuśrī, the array of good qualities of his buddhafield—the world Standing in an Ocean of Jewels—is just like that in the world Abounding in Jewels. Mañjuśrī, any son or daughter of good family who hears the names of the seven perfect buddhas, and after hearing them bears them in mind, reflects upon them after waking in the morning, cultivates faith in them, makes offerings to them with flowers, incense, perfumes, garlands, ointments, music, instruments, and drums, writes them in a book and carries it, copies this Dharma discourse, commissions it to be written, reveres it, hears it from someone else, and performs offerings to those Dharma teachers using all manner of implements and articles, shall be blessed by all the buddhas and pursue the path of becoming a perfect buddha for as long as it takes to attain the awakening of a buddha.” [B2]
“Mañjuśrī, to the east of this buddhafield, past as many buddhafields as there are grains of sand in ten Gaṅgā rivers, lives the blessed Buddha Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha in the world Vaiḍūryanirbhāsa. He is a thus-gone, worthy, and perfect buddha, someone endowed with knowledge and good conduct, a well-gone one, a knower of the world, a charioteer who tames people, an unsurpassed being, and a teacher of gods and humans.
“Mañjuśrī, long ago, when he was practicing bodhisattva conduct, the blessed Thus-Gone One Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha proclaimed the following twelve great aspirations:
“For his first great aspiration, he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have attained awakening as a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may my body’s radiance illuminate innumerable, limitless, and immeasurable worlds, warm them, and make them shine. May all beings be adorned with the thirty-two marks of a great person and the eighty minor marks, just as I am.’
“For his second great aspiration, he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have attained awakening as a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may my body be like a precious blue beryl gem—pure inside and out, and radiating a stainless light. May I manifest a broad and tall body that stands firm, is ablaze with glory and splendor, and is adorned with a halo of light so bright that it outshines the sun and moon. May my light allow any beings who are born in the dark spaces between worlds, and those here in the human world who travel to various places during the dark of night, to proceed joyfully, and may they perform virtuous deeds.’
“For his third great aspiration, he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have attained awakening as a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may my boundless wisdom and skillful means furnish immeasurable realms of beings with inexhaustible wealth, and may no one lack anything.’
“For his fourth great aspiration, he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have attained awakening as a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may any beings who have set out on the wrong path be set upon the path to awakening. May all those who have entered the path of the hearers and who have entered the path of the solitary buddhas be led to the Great Vehicle.’
“For his fifth great aspiration, he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have attained awakening as a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may any beings who are close to me practice pure conduct. Likewise, may a limitless and boundless number of other beings hear my name, and may my power cause them to be bound by the three vows and have uncorrupted discipline. May no one engage in incorrect discipline and proceed to the lower realms.’
“For his sixth great aspiration, he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have attained awakening as a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may beings who have weak constitutions, impaired faculties, or poor complexions; who are dumb, lame, hunchbacked, or have vitiligo; who have only one eye, are blind, deaf, or mentally ill; and whose bodies are otherwise affected by illness hear my name. When they do, may all their faculties become whole and their bodies intact.’
“For his seventh great aspiration, he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have attained awakening as a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may beings whose bodies are afflicted by various types of illnesses, who are vulnerable, who are defenseless, who lack necessities and medicines, who have no one to care for them, who are poor, and who suffer hear my name, and may all their illnesses be quelled. May they be healthy and live free from harm for as long as it takes them to attain awakening.’
“For his eighth great aspiration, he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have attained awakening as a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may any women who are afflicted by the hundreds of disadvantages of being a woman, who dislike being of the female gender, and who want to be free from the condition of being a woman, leave behind their female gender and be born as a man for as long as it takes them to attain awakening.’
“For his ninth great aspiration, he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have attained awakening as a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may I release all beings from Māra’s bonds. May I establish in the correct view those who are in opposition due to their divergent, contrasting, and disturbed views. In due order, may I teach them the conduct of a bodhisattva.’
“For his tenth great aspiration, he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have attained awakening as a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may the power of my merit free from all manner of harm any beings who are terrified because they fear their king, and who are bound, beaten, tortured, sentenced to death, persecuted due to many false accusations, dishonored, and who are pained by bodily, verbal, or mental suffering.’
“For his eleventh great aspiration, he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have attained awakening as a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may I provide food that is vibrant, aromatic, and savory to satiate the bodies of any beings who are scorched by the fire of hunger and thirst, who expend great effort searching for food, and who commit sinful actions. Then, may I make them even happier with the taste of the Dharma.’
“That Thus-gone One’s twelfth great aspiration was, ‘In the future, when I have attained awakening as a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may I provide those sentient beings who are naked, have no clothes, are poor, suffering, and who are miserable day and night due to cold, heat, flies, and biting insects, with clothes that suit their needs and are dyed in bright colors. May I fulfill all the wishes of beings with whatever types of jewelry, ornaments, garlands, perfumes, ointments, music, instruments, and drums they desire.’ Mañjuśrī, those are the twelve great aspirations that the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha proclaimed long ago, when he was practicing bodhisattva conduct.
“Mañjuśrī, the aspirations of the Thus-Gone One Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabharāja and the array of good qualities of his buddhafield cannot be exhausted over the course of an eon or even more than an eon. His buddhafield is utterly pure. There are no stones, pebbles, or gravel; there are no faults related to desire; there are no cries of suffering and the lower realms; and there is no such thing as the female gender. The foundation, walls, fences, archways, latticework windows, and turrets are made of blue beryl, and the pillar capitals are made of the seven precious substances. The array of good qualities of the world Vaiḍūryanirbhāsa is equal to that of the world Sukhāvatī.
“There are two bodhisattva great beings who are foremost among the immeasurable and innumerable bodhisattvas in that world. The first is named Sūryavairocana and the second is named Candravairocana. These two maintain the treasury of the holy Dharma of the blessed Thus-Gone One Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha. Mañjuśrī, that is why a faithful son or daughter of good family should make the aspiration to be born in that buddhafield.”
The Blessed One continued to address Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta saying, “Mañjuśrī, there are ordinary beings who do not know about virtue and nonvirtue. They are overcome by greed and do not understand how generosity and the ripened result of generosity. They are childish and foolish, lacking the capacity for faith. As they strive to accumulate and maintain wealth, their minds are not disposed toward generosity and sharing. When it is time to give a gift, they become dejected as if they were cutting the flesh from their own bodies. Many of those beings do not even allow themselves to enjoy material wealth, let alone provide for their parents, wives, sons, and daughters, their male and female servants and employees, and for beggars.
“When such beings pass away, they are reborn in the hungry ghost realm or as animals. For those among them who have heard the name of the blessed Thus-Gone One Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha in their previous lives as humans—whether they find themselves in the world of Yama or in the animal realm—that Thus-gone One’s name will appear there before them. Simply be recollecting it, after they eventually pass away, they will once again be born in the human realm. They will remember their former lifetimes, grow anxious out of fear of the lower realms, and no longer concern themselves with sense pleasures. They will delight in generosity, promote generosity, and give away everything that they own. Eventually, they will even give their own head, hands, feet, eyes, flesh, and blood to anyone who asks, let alone other things like accumulated wealth.
“Moreover, Mañjuśrī, there are beings who hold the precepts of the thus-gone ones, yet violate discipline and engage in wrong views. Those who maintain discipline but do not seek erudition do not understand the profound meaning of the discourses that the Thus-Gone One has taught. Those who do become erudite develop excessive pride, and because they are overcome by their pride, they act with jealousy toward others, and misuse and forsake the holy Dharma. Such foolish people who side with Māra pursue a bad path themselves and cause many billions of other beings to fall into the great abyss. Those beings are reborn amidst the horrors of hell.
“For those who have heard the name of the blessed Thus-Gone One Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha in a previous life as a human being, even for those who live in the hell realms, the power of the Buddha will cause the name of that thus-gone one to appear before them. Then, when they pass away, they will be reborn in the human realm. They will maintain the correct view, be diligent, and their minds will be predisposed toward virtue. They will leave home, go forth in the teaching of the Thus-Gone One, and will finally practice bodhisattva conduct.
“Moreover, Mañjuśrī, there are beings who praise themselves and denigrate others out of jealousy. Beings who sing their own praises and denigrate others will suffer in the three lower realms for many thousands of years. After many thousands of years have passed, they will pass away and be reborn in the animal realm as cows, horses, camels, donkeys, and so forth. They will be beaten with whips and rods, their bodies will be afflicted by hunger and thirst, and they will have to carry great loads as they move along the road. Even if they do attain a human birth, they will always be born into families of low standing, be servants, and be under another person’s control.
“Those who have heard the name of the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha in a previous life as a human being will be liberated from all manner of suffering due to that root of virtue. They will be intelligent, learned, bright, prudent, focused on pursuing virtue, and will always find company with a spiritual teacher. They will cut Māra’s bonds, crush the eggshell of ignorance, and dry up the river of the afflictions. They will be liberated from birth, old age, death, anguish, lamentation, suffering, unhappiness, and conflict.
“Mañjuśrī, there are also those beings who delight in slander and beings who instigate fights, arguments, and disputes with one another. Such contentious beings commit various types of nonvirtuous actions with their body, speech, and mind. They do not wish to benefit one another and constantly try to harm one another. They summon a forest deity, tree deity, or mountain deity, or they summon the various spirits in the charnel grounds. They kill beings who have taken birth as animals and offer them to the yakṣas and rākṣasas who eat flesh and blood. They utter the name of their enemy or create an effigy, cast a violent spell at them, and enlist a kākhorda or vetāla to create obstacles in their life with the hope that they will destroy their enemy’s body. However, no one can create obstacles for those who have heard the name of the blessed Thus-Gone One Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha. Such people are loving to one another, beneficent, free from ill will, and satisfied with their own possessions.
“Moreover, Mañjuśrī, among the fourfold assembly of monks, nuns, male lay practitioners, and female lay practitioners, as well as among other faithful sons or daughters of good family who observe the eightfold precepts, there are some who maintain the precepts for one year or three months. If they develop an aspiration, saying, ‘Due to my root of virtue, may I be reborn in the west in Sukhāvatī, the world where the Thus-Gone One Amitāyus resides,’ they will hear the name of the blessed Thus-Gone One Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha. Then, at the moment of death, the eight bodhisattvas will miraculously appear, show them the way, and they will take miraculous birth there upon brightly colored lotuses.
“Some will be born in the god realms, and after they are born there, their previous roots of virtue will never be exhausted, and they will not proceed to the lower realms. After they pass away, they will become universal emperors with dominion over the four continents in this human realm, and they will establish many billions of beings on the path of the ten virtuous actions.
“Others will be born in great kṣatriya households, born in great brahmin households, born in great landowning households, and born in households whose treasuries and storehouses contain and abundance of riches and grain. They will have excellent physiques, be powerful, have attendants, be courageous and heroic, and have the strength of a great champion. Any woman who should hear the Thus-Gone One’s name and bear it in mind should know that it is the last time she will be of the female gender.”
At that point Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta told the Blessed One, “Blessed One, in the future I will proclaim the name of the blessed Thus-Gone One Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha in various ways to those faithful sons and daughters of good family who hold this discourse, recite it, explain it, teach it correctly and in detail to others, copy it, commission it to be copied, write it in a book, and venerate it with flowers, incense, garlands, ointments, parasols, and victory banners. I will proclaim it so that they will even hear that buddha’s name in their dreams.
“They will wrap this discourse with cloths of the five different colors and place it in a clean area. The Four Great Kings with their retinues and billions of deities will gather wherever this discourse is located. Those who retain the name of the blessed Thus-Gone One Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha and this discourse on the detailed account of his previous aspirations will not suffer untimely deaths. No one will be able to steal their vital energy, and if it has been stolen, they will take it back.”
The Blessed One replied, “It is so, Mañjuśrī. What you say is true. Mañjuśrī, a faithful son or daughter of good family who makes offerings to that thus-gone one should make a statue of that thus-gone one and observe the fast associated with the noble eightfold precepts for seven days and seven nights. They should eat pure food and thoroughly wash their body. They should wear fine, clean clothes. Then, in a clean area, they should scatter the petals of various flowers and perfume the area with various fragrances. They should then decorate the place with various cloths, parasols, and banners. There, they should then cultivate a stainless mind, an untainted mind, a mind free from ill intent, a benevolent mind, an impartial mind, and an equanimous mind. They should then play music, instruments, and sing songs as they circumambulate the statue of that thus-gone one.
“If they contemplate his previous aspirations and teach this discourse, all their wishes and aspirations will be fulfilled. If they aspire to a long life, they will have a long life. If they pray for wealth, they will have wealth. If they pray to become a powerful ruler, they will achieve that with little trouble. If they wish for a son, they will have a son.
“If someone has a bad dream, sees a crow or a bad omen somewhere, or dwells in a location where the one hundred inauspicious things are present and venerates the blessed Thus-Gone Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha with the various types of offerings, then the bad dreams, bad omens, and inauspicious things will no longer appear.
“If those who face dangers from fire, dangers from water, dangers from weapons, dangers from poison, dangers from steep cliffs, dangers from raging elephants, dangers from lions, dangers from tigers, dangers from bears, hyenas, and poisonous snakes, and dangers from snakes, scorpions, and spiders have made offerings to that thus-gone one, they will be freed from all manner of dangers. Those who face dangers from enemy armies, dangers from thieves, and dangers from bandits should also make offerings to that thus-gone one.
The Detailed Account of the Previous Aspirations of the Seven Thus-Gone Ones opens in Vaiśālī, where the Buddha Śākyamuni is seated with a saṅgha of eight thousand monks, thirty-six thousand bodhisattvas, and a large gathering of gods, spirit beings, and humans. As Śākyamuni concludes his teaching, the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī rises from his seat and requests that the Buddha give a Dharma teaching that will benefit all the human and nonhuman beings who are present in the assembly. Specifically, he asks Śākyamuni to teach them about the previous aspirations of seven buddhas, their buddhafields, and the benefits that those buddhas can bring to beings who live in the final five hundred years, when the holy Dharma is on the verge of disappearing. Śākyamuni agrees to this request and proceeds to give a detailed account of the previous aspirations of those seven buddhas to benefit beings who are veiled by karmic obscurations, tormented by illnesses, and plagued by mental anguish and suffering.
This text was translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the supervision of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. The translation was produced by Adam Krug and checked against the Tibetan and edited by Andreas Doctor and the 84000 editorial team. Benjamin Nourse contributed to the introduction with his research on the popularity of the Tibetan textual traditions devoted to the seven thus-gone ones in Tibet and China.
The generous sponsorship of May, George, Likai and Lillian Gu, which helped make the work on this translation possible, is most gratefully acknowledged.
The Detailed Account of the Previous Aspirations of the Seven Thus-Gone Ones opens in Vaiśālī, where the Buddha Śākyamuni is seated with a saṅgha of eight thousand monks, thirty-six thousand bodhisattvas, and a large gathering of gods, spirit beings, and humans. As Śākyamuni concludes his teaching, the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī rises from his seat and requests that the Buddha give a Dharma teaching that will benefit all the human and nonhuman beings who are present in the assembly, and he asks Śākyamuni to teach them about the previous aspirations of the seven thus-gone ones, their buddhafields, and the benefits that they can bring to beings who live in the final five hundred years, when the holy Dharma is nearly gone. Śākyamuni then declares that he will give a detailed account of the previous aspirations of those seven thus-gone ones to benefit beings who are veiled by karmic obscurations, tormented by illnesses, and plagued by mental anguish and suffering. The medical applications of the text are thus made explicit in its introduction, though of course the ends to which the text may be used surpass its medical applications in curing illness and protecting devotees from demonic possession.
Each of the seven thus-gone ones is said to dwell in the East in his own buddhafield, where each one lives and teaches the Dharma. The names of the seven thus-gone ones and their buddhafields are as follows:
1. Suparikīrtitanāmadheyaśrīrāja; Unconquered
2. Kuśalatejonirghoṣarāja; Abounding in Jewels
3. Suvarṇabhadravimalaratnaprabhāsavratasiddhi; Heaped with Jewels and Full of Perfume
4. Aśokottamaśrī; Without Anguish
5. Dharmakīrtisāgaraghoṣa; Victory Banner of the Dharma
6. Dharmasāgarāgramativikrīḍitābhijñārāja; Standing in an Ocean of Jewels
7. Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha; Vaiḍūryanirbhāsa
In response to Mañjuśrī’s request, Śākyamuni proceeds to enumerate the aspirations that each of these thus-gone ones made when they first generated the mind of awakening and the qualities of the buddhafield that each of them generated upon attaining perfect buddhahood. The material in the first section (Tib. bam po) of the text contains the previous aspirations of the first six thus-gone ones, while the material in the second section of the text opens with a discourse on the previous aspirations of the Thus-Gone One Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha, commonly known as the “Medicine Buddha” (Tib. sangs rgyas sman bla) that is nearly identical to the shorter sūtra that bears his name and that follows in the Kangyur, Toh 504.
When Śākyamuni’s detailed account of the previous aspirations of the seven thus-gone ones is complete, Mañjuśrī responds by vowing to proclaim the text in the future and provides a short set of instructions on how to worship the text. Śākyamuni then turns to his disciple Ānanda and asks if he has any doubts or reservations about the skillful means of the seven thus-gone ones. Ānanda assures Śākyamuni that he does not doubt what he has heard, but then suggests that other beings might. The Buddha then assures Ānanda, and by extension anyone who might read this sūtra, that it is impossible for anyone who has heard the name Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha to be reborn in the lower realms.
The text continues with material also found in the shorter sūtra, Toh 504, where we find a set of instructions from the bodhisattva Trāṇamukta on how making offerings to Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha can interrupt the death process and call a dying person’s consciousness back to their body. Trāṇamukta outlines a ritual that is performed over a forty-nine-day period that begins with observing the eightfold purification vows, providing support for the offering rite to the monastic saṅgha, and contemplating Bhaiṣajyaguru’s name three times each day and three times each night. Then, presumably, the monastic saṅgha members that one has supplied with provisions for the offering rite recite the text forty-nine times and offer oil lamps to seven statues of Bhaiṣajyaguru for a forty-nine-day period. Trāṇamukta notes that kings can also perform this rite to avert disaster and ensure the happiness of the kingdom. He concludes his instructions with a brief enumeration of nine types of untimely death, assuring Ānanda that the problem of untimely death is precisely the reason that Śākyamuni has taught the use of mantras and medicines. This part of the text concludes with the vow of the twelve great yakṣa generals, who make a commitment to protect anyone who bears the name of Bhaiṣajyaguru or supports his worship. The vow of the twelve yakṣa generals marks the end of the portion of this text that corresponds to the material found in the shorter sūtra, Toh 504.
A number of gods in the assembly then begin to wonder how simply hearing the names of these buddhas, who, after all, live in buddhafields that are inconceivably far away from our own Sahā world, could really allow beings to develop such good qualities. In response to their skepticism, Śākyamuni enters into a state of absorption that summons the seven thus-gone ones before the assembly. Amazed, the gods make offerings to the seven thus-gone ones and set forth their aspiration that all beings might attain this absorption and be able to actually see them, just as they have. Mañjuśrī then asks the seven thus-gone ones to teach a dhāraṇī that can overcome illnesses and protect beings from those with ill intentions, planetary influences, lunar asterisms, death, enemies, and wild animals, and that can fulfill all beings’ wishes. The seven thus-gone ones recite their dhāraṇī and provide a description of the recitation ritual and the benefits of performing it. This is followed by a dhāraṇī given by Vajrapāṇi, Śakra, and the Four Great Kings, as well as another dhāraṇī pronounced by Vajrapāṇi alone.
Finally, the text concludes with Ānanda asking Śākyamuni what title this discourse should bear. Śākyamuni responds by providing the following four titles:
1. The Detailed Account of the Previous Aspirations of the Seven Thus-Gone, Worthy, and Perfect Buddhas
2. The Bodhisattva Vajrapāṇi’s Vow
3. Purifying All Karmic Obscurations and Fulfilling All Hopes
4. The Vows of the Twelve Great Yakṣa Generals
There is no known Sanskrit edition or manuscript of this version of the sūtra, but a large portion of the text is almost identical with the shorter sūtra, Toh 504, which survives in three Sanskrit editions edited and compiled from the cache of Buddhist Sanskrit manuscripts excavated from a stūpa in Gilgit in the early twentieth century. Gregory Schopen notes that at least five manuscripts of this text were found among the Gilgit collection, and that there were at least two distinct recensions of the text circulating in Gilgit during the fifth and sixth centuries. Even earlier evidence of the existence of the shorter sūtra comes in the form of a Chinese translation very similar to the later versions of the shorter text, included as the twelfth and final fascicle of a longer work (Taishō 1331) translated by Śrīmitra in the early fourth century ᴄᴇ. A Chinese translation of the present, seven tathāgata form of the sūtra (Taishō 451) was made in 707 CE by Yijing.
Some substantial passages from the Bhaiṣajyagurusūtra in Sanskrit have also survived as several citations in Śāntideva’s (685–783
The exact relationship between Toh 503 and Toh 504 remains unclear. In his brief study of traditions associated with Bhaiṣajyaguru, Leonard Zwilling argues that Toh 504 was enlarged into Toh 503, stating that the vows of the other six thus-gone ones “by and large, duplicate those of Bhaiṣajyaguru, and their Buddha-fields are merely named [and] lack any sufficiently distinctive individuating characteristics.” As readers can see for themselves in this translation, this does not seem to be the case, at least with respect to the Tibetan translation of the text. The aspirations of each of the seven thus-gone ones differ in both number and content, the descriptions of each of the buddhafields contain notable differences, and none of the aspirations and buddhafields of the six buddhas that precede Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha appear to duplicate his aspirations and the description of his buddhafield. In addition, the role of hearing and reciting the names of these buddhas receives far greater emphasis in the aspirations of the first six buddhas than it does in the account of Bhaiṣajyaguru’s twelve aspirations. Judging from the syntax, word choices, and organization of the presentation of Bhaiṣajyaguru’s aspirations, it is quite possible that Toh 504 was an independent text that was at some point incorporated into Toh 503. However, analyzing the first section of the text using these same criteria also suggests the possibility that the aspirations of the first six buddhas in Toh 503 represent a compilation of several independent texts containing bodhisattva “aspirations.” The text itself hints at its own eclectic origins in its conclusion, where Śākyamuni provides four separate titles for the work that each refer to separate sections of the text.
The translators’ colophon to the Tibetan translation of Toh 503 tells us that the text was translated by three ninth-century Indian preceptors—Jinamitra, Dānaśīla, and Śīlendrabodhi—in conjunction with Bandé Yeshé Dé (mid-eighth to early ninth century), placing the date for its initial translation into Tibetan in the early ninth century. This date is confirmed by the text’s appearance in both the Denkarma and Phangthangma royal Tibetan catalogs of translated works. Although both royal Tibetan catalogs indicate that this text was originally classified as a sūtra, Butön lists it in different works as both a sūtra and a tantra, and in all Kangyurs it is placed with the tantras of the Action (kriyā) class. In the Degé Kangyur the cycle of four works related to the Buddha Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha, with this as the first, is presented among the Action Tantras related to the principal figure of the tathāgata family (de bzhin gshegs pa’i rigs kyi gtso bo).
Inspired by certain passages in the sūtra that describe the worship of the seven thus-gone ones, as well as by the sūtra as a whole, a number of commentaries have detailed how one might actually perform the rites they contain. The earliest examples of these liturgical commentaries in Tibet are now found in the Tengyur, where they are attributed to one “Bodhisattva,” commonly taken as the famous Indian abbot and scholar Śāntarakṣita (Tib. zhi ba ’tsho, eighth century), who composed them for the Tibetan emperor Tri Songdetsen (Tib. khri srong lde btsan, 742–97). Since that time, rituals associated with the sūtra have been especially esteemed by political leaders not only in Tibet but in Mongolia and China as well, probably due to the promises within the text that whoever offers worship to the seven thus-gone ones will have an abundance of prosperity and health.
The sūtra and the rituals surrounding it became popular at the Yuan court, and members of the court sponsored the sūtra’s publication in a wood-block edition. Śāntarakṣita’s liturgical adaptations of the sūtra were translated into Chinese by a disciple of Chögyal Pakpa (Pakpa Lodrö Gyaltsen, ’phags pa blo gros rgyal mtshan, 1235–80), the Sakya hierarch who served as national preceptor to Qublai Khan. Rituals of worship based on the sūtra were performed regularly in the Yuan capital Dadu (present-day Beijing). In the same period, Chim Namkha Drak (Tib. mchims nam mkha’ grags, 1210–85) wrote a short liturgy for the sūtra titled A Method for Accomplishing the Worship of the Seven Thus-Gone Ones (de bzhin gshegs pa bdun gyi mchod pa ji ltar bsgrub pa’i tshul). These liturgies continued to be popular over the ensuing centuries, and liturgies were written by prominent figures within every major school of Tibetan Buddhism.
Two seventeenth-century liturgies based on the sūtra were written by Panchen Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen (Tib. blo bzang chos kyi rgyal mtshan, 1570–1662) and the Fifth Dalai Lama Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (Tib. ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho, 1617–82). Both were used in the liturgical practices of a number of the new and expanding Gelukpa (Tib. dge lugs pa) institutions that sprang up in the wake of the Gelukpa rise to political prominence with the founding of the Dalai Lama’s Ganden Podrang government in 1642. They also became popular among the Qing dynasty elite. Prince Yunli (1697–1738, known in Tibetan as Kengsé Chinwang), one of the sons of the Kangxi emperor (1654–1722), published the sūtra in Tibetan and in Mongolian translation in Beijing. The Panchen Lama’s and Dalai Lama’s liturgies were published in several editions in Beijing and were performed at temples throughout the capital, a practice that continued through the early twentieth century.
This translation is based on the Tibetan translation from the Tantra Section in the Degé Kangyur, in consultation with the Tibetan translations in the Stok Palace Kangyur and the Comparative Kangyur (Tib. dpe bsdur ma). The section of the text that includes the Tibetan translation of the Bhaiṣajyagurusūtra was also checked against the Sanskrit editions of the Gilgit manuscripts prepared by Dutt, Vaidya, and Schopen. The names of the seven thus-gone ones are critical to many of the practices outlined in this work, but unfortunately Sanskrit equivalents are only attested for two of them: Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha and Suparikīrtitanāmadheyaśrīrāja. The Sanskrit names provided in this translation for the other five thus-gone ones follow the back-translations provided by Ronald M. Davidson, Lokesh Candra, and Sushama Lohia.
[B1] Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was wandering through the provinces and came to Vaiśālī. There in Vaiśālī, at the base of the musical tree, he was accompanied by a great saṅgha of eight thousand monks and thirty-six thousand bodhisattvas, including the bodhisattva great being Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva great being Mahāmati, the bodhisattva great being Maitreya, the bodhisattva great being Pratibhākūṭa, the bodhisattva great being Amoghavikrāmin, the bodhisattva great being Sudarśana, the bodhisattva great being Sarvatamondhakāravidhamanamati, the bodhisattva great being Well-Intentioned Thought, the bodhisattva great being Merukūṭa, the bodhisattva great being Gadgadasvara, the bodhisattva great being King Who Holds Great Meru’s Peak, and the bodhisattva great being Vajrapāṇi. He was surrounded and accompanied by all manner of gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, kings, ministers, brahmins, kṣatriyas, and householders.
The Blessed One was giving a Dharma teaching that was virtuous at the beginning, virtuous in the middle, and virtuous at the end, excellent in meaning, and beautiful in expression. His Dharma talk satisfied beings, made them perfectly happy, and established them in the awakening of a buddha.
Then the bodhisattva great being and Dharma prince Mañjuśrī rose from his seat, adjusted his upper robe on one shoulder, knelt with his right knee on the ground, bowed to the Blessed One with his palms together, and made this request to the Blessed One:
“Blessed One, since many gods, nāgas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, ascetics, brahmins, kings, ministers, householders, human, and nonhuman beings have gathered and are present to hear the Dharma, may the Blessed One have mercy on us. Please teach the names of those thus-gone ones who, simply by hearing them, cause all beings to no longer regress on the path to unsurpassed and perfect awakening, who purify and utterly exhaust all their misdeeds and karmic obscurations, and that cause them to no longer be crushed by Māra, the wicked one. Please teach the detailed account of the previous aspirations they made and describe the abodes of their buddhafields with their arrays of good qualities.
“Blessed One, since there is nothing that the thus-gone ones do not see, hear, or know, they comprehend as many billions of eons as there are grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river just like the events of today or tomorrow. Since that is the case, and since you explain and correctly teach how these thus-gone ones first generated the mind of awakening, what their previous aspirations were, and what the arrays of good qualities are in the buddhafields related to these thus-gone ones are, Blessed One, in order to support all beings in the future during the final five hundred years when the counterfeit holy Dharma has appeared, will the Blessed One please explain the great skillful means of the thus-gone ones and give a detailed account of their previous aspirations?”
With a voice as melodious as the cuckoo’s song, the blessed Thus-Gone One complimented Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta, saying, “Very good, Mañjuśrī, very good. Mañjuśrī, you are a compassionate being. Mañjuśrī, it is good that the boundless compassion you have generated has led you to make this request to benefit all beings, and so that those gods and humans who are veiled by the various karmic obscurations, whose bodies are tormented by various illnesses, and who are oppressed by various types of mental anguish and suffering might be benefited, helped, and comforted. Mañjuśrī, the Thus-Gone One’s blessing has engendered this eloquent request of yours. So listen well and keep in mind what I say, Mañjuśrī, and I shall explain.”
“Yes, Blessed One,” replied Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta.
“Mañjuśrī,” the Blessed One said, “to the east of this buddhafield, past as many buddhafields as there are grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river, the thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Suparikīrtitanāmadheyaśrīrāja lives in the world Unconquered, accompanied by billions of bodhisattva attendants. There he lives, resides, and teaches the Dharma.
“Mañjuśrī, the buddhafield of the thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Suparikīrtitanāmadheyaśrīrāja is utterly pure. It measures many hundreds of thousands of leagues across. It is flat like the palm of one’s hand. There are no lower realms of rebirth or cries of suffering. There is no such thing as the female gender. There are no thorny plants and no steep cliffs. There are no mountains, boulders, rocks, or pebbles. The ground is soft and pleasing to the touch. It has a divine fragrance, and its divine jeweled trees are decorated with flowers and fruit. It is adorned with a jeweled lion throne. The bodhisattvas there have attained the stage of nonregression. It is beautified by pools ornamented with gold from the Jambū river, gems, and pearls. Mañjuśrī, all the bodhisattvas in that world take a miraculous birth in which they emerge from a lotus made of the seven precious substances. Thus, a faithful son or daughter of good family should aspire to be born in that buddhafield.
“Mañjuśrī, from the moment that the thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Suparikīrtitanāmadheyaśrīrāja first generated the mind of awakening and while he was practicing bodhisattva conduct, he continually proclaimed the following eight great aspirations:
“His first great aspiration was, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may my power cause any beings whose bodies are tormented by various illnesses and who are oppressed by fevers, kṛtyas, kākhordas, vetālas, and other terrors to have all their illnesses pacified when they bear my name in mind and recite my name seven times. May they be free from fevers and the demonic influences of wicked beings for as long as it takes them to attain awakening, and may all these things be pacified.’
“For his second great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may my power cause any beings who are blind, deaf, mentally ill, leprous, and affected by acute illness to have fully functional sense faculties for as long as it takes them to attain awakening when they bear my name in mind and recite my name seven times. May all their suffering and illnesses cease.’
“For his third great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may my power cause any beings who are veiled by desire, hatred, and delusion—who commit the five inexpiable acts, abound in improper behavior, forsake the holy Dharma, commit various sinful and nonvirtuous actions, and then proceed to the three lower realms and the hell realms where they are born in the Great Hell and experience intense pain—to purify and exhaust all their obscurations brought on by actions such as the five inexpiable acts and the like when they bear my name in mind and mentally recite my name seven times. May they not be reborn in the hell realms and in the lower realms for as long as it takes them to become perfect buddhas who have manifested unsurpassed and perfect awakening. May they experience the divine happiness of the god realms and the happiness of the human realm.’
“For his fourth great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may my power cause any beings who are impoverished and who do not have food, drink, clothes, money, grain, bedding, incense, garlands, ornaments, and belongings to have an abundance of riches, clothes, money, grain, bedding, incense, garlands, ornaments, and belongings for as long as it takes them to attain awakening when they bear my name in mind and mentally recite my name seven times.’
“For his fifth great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may my power free any beings who are bound, beaten, or tortured, and whose bodies are tormented by various types of weapons from all manner of bondage and beatings for as long as it takes them to attain awakening when they bear my name in mind and mentally recite my name seven times.’
“For his sixth great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may my power cause any beings who are vulnerable, whose bodies are burned by a blazing fire, who encounter lions, tigers, bears, hyenas, and poisonous snakes, whose lives are endangered, who are rendered defenseless by terror, and who weep and wail, to have any fire that might burn their bodies extinguished. May it render those lions, tigers, bears, hyenas, and poisonous snakes benevolent, and may it lead those beings to live in peaceful places without fear for as long as it takes them to attain awakening when they bear my name in mind and mentally recite my name seven times.’
“For his seventh great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may my power cause any beings who fight quarrel, argue, and dispute with one another and who are terrified and anxious, to cease all fighting, quarreling, arguing, and disputing one another and be loving toward one another for as long as it takes them to attain awakening when they bear my name in mind and mentally recite my name seven times.’
“For his eighth great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may my power comfort any beings who have embarked on a sea voyage, boarded a ship, and traveled out of sight of land, who value their lives, who have ended up in the middle of a great river or an ocean, and who weep and wail as they cross great rivers, and may they have nothing to fear as they complete their journeys for as long as it takes them to attain awakening when they bear my name in mind and mentally recite my name seven times.’
“Mañjuśrī, those are the eight great aspirations that were proclaimed by the blessed Thus-Gone One Suparikīrtitanāmadheyaśrīrāja. That is why, Mañjuśrī, even in one hundred years, no one but the thus-gone, worthy, and perfect buddhas and the bodhisattvas dwelling on the ten levels—not even the hearers and solitary buddhas—could describe the aspirations, powerful states of absorption, actions to ripen beings, bodhisattva conduct, worship and service to the thus-gone ones, emanations, purification of buddhafields, and bodhisattva attendants that the blessed Thus-Gone One Suparikīrtitanāmadheyaśrīrāja has brought forth ever since he first generated the mind of awakening.
“Mañjuśrī, that is why faithful sons and daughters of good family, kings, ministers, and householders who pursue good qualities should bear the name of that thus-gone one in mind and recite it in order to be free from all manner of hatred and afflictions. If they are devout and make offerings to that thus-gone one, all their misdeeds, all their karmic obscurations, and all their illnesses will be completely pacified. All their hopes will be fulfilled, and they will not regress on the path to the awakening of a buddha.
“Mañjuśrī, to the east of this buddhafield, past as many buddhafields as there are grains of sand in seven Gaṅgā rivers, the thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Kuśalatejonirghoṣarāja, who is adorned with a precious jewel, a moon, and a lotus, lives in the world Abounding in Jewels. There he lives, resides, and teaches the Dharma, teaching only the instructions of the Great Vehicle to bodhisattvas.
“Mañjuśrī, long ago, when that thus-gone, worthy, and perfect buddha was practicing bodhisattva conduct, he made the following eight great aspirations:
“For his first great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, when beings bear in mind and mentally recite my name, may my power cause any who delight in agricultural work and commerce, who deviate from virtuous qualities due to their many distractions, who lose their focus on the mind of awakening, who do not attain freedom from the sufferings of cyclic existence, and who each experience their own particular saṃsāric sufferings—growing old, getting sick, dying, experiencing mental anguish, wailing, suffering, and being unhappy and disturbed—to obtain an abundance of clothing, food, drink, wealth, property, money, grain, riches, and gold, as soon as they wish for as long as it takes them to become perfect buddhas who have manifested unsurpassed and perfect awakening. May these virtuous qualities allow them to prosper. May their thoughts never stray from the mind of awakening. May they be liberated from all the suffering of the three lower rebirths and the hell realms.’
“For that blessed one’s second great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may my power cause any beings in this great trichiliocosm that are born from an egg, born from a womb, born from heat and moisture, or miraculously born, whose bodies are tormented by cold, heat, hunger, and thirst and afflicted by pain, to hear my name. When they recollect and recite my name, may they purify the karmic obscurations from their previous lives. May that be their final rebirth. May they be free from all manner of painful rebirth for as long as it takes to become perfect buddhas who have manifested unsurpassed and perfect awakening. May they experience the joy of a god in the god realms.’
“For his third great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may my power cause any women in this great trichiliocosm whose bodies are full of all sorts of miserable afflictions, who dislike the condition of being a woman, and who suffer pain when they give birth, to hear my name. When they recollect and recite my name, may they bring an end to all these agonies and all their suffering. May that be their final rebirth. May they be reborn as men for as long as it takes them to attain awakening.’
“For his fourth great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may my power cause any beings who are threatened by death, enemies, and the wilderness; whose parents, sisters, friends, and kin each also experience mental anguish; and whose bodies are pierced by the thorn of suffering and mental anguish, to hear my name. When they hear and recite my name, may all threats related to death, enemies, and the wilderness be pacified, and may they be free from mental anguish and suffering for as long as it takes them to attain awakening.’
“For his fifth great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may my power cause any beings who wander in the thick darkness of night engaged in various tasks who are tormented by various types of evil spirits and who cry out in fear, to no longer experience any such darkness for as long as it takes them to attain awakening when they bear my name in mind and mentally recite my name. May all the evil spirits become benevolent, and may they redirect their efforts toward various forms of worship and service.’
“For his sixth great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may my power cause any beings who have inferior aspirations and who are of little intelligence, have dull memories, and have lost all recollection of the virtuous qualities, powers, aspects of awakening, absorptions, and methods of retention, as well as of the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, to actualize the absorptions, mindfulnesses, powers, aspects of awakening, and methods of retention for as long as it takes them to attain awakening when they bear my name in mind and mentally recite my name. May they pursue great insight.’
“For his seventh great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, when beings bear my name in mind and mentally recite my name, may my power cause any who have inferior aspirations, who develop interest in the vehicle of hearers and solitary buddhas and remain in one of those vehicles, and who thus turn their backs on unsurpassed and perfect awakening, to not regress on the path to unsurpassed and perfect awakening for as long as it takes them to become perfect buddhas who have manifested unsurpassed and perfect awakening. May they turn their backs on the vehicles of the hearers and solitary buddhas, and may their thoughts never stray from the mind of awakening.’
“For his eighth great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, when Jambudvīpa is set ablaze at the dissolution of the great eon and is engulfed in ravenous flames, may my power cause any beings who weep, experience mental anguish, and experience the suffering caused by their previous nonvirtuous actions, and who have no refuge or protector, to be free from all suffering and mental anguish. May they be cooled, and when they pass away, may they take miraculous rebirth in my buddhafield upon a lion throne in the center of a lotus by bearing my name in mind and mentally reciting my name.’
“Mañjuśrī, those are the eight great aspirations that the Blessed One made long ago, when he was practicing bodhisattva conduct. Mañjuśrī, the buddhafield of the thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Kuśalatejonirghoṣarāja, who is adorned with a precious jewel, a moon, and a lotus, is even, wide, spacious, and flat like the palm of a hand. It is ornamented with divinely scented trees. It has a pure and flawless fragrance and is adorned with divinely scented flowers. The music of celestial instruments and melodious songs fills the air. It is adorned with webs of tinkling bells made of divine jewels and decorated with a divine jeweled lion throne. It is ornamented with divine jeweled pools. The ground is soft and smooth, and there are no mountains, stones, pebbles, or thorns. There is no such thing as the female gender. There are no derivative afflictions, and everyone is at the level of a nonregressing bodhisattva. All the bodhisattvas there are miraculously born on a lion throne in the center of a lotus, and their bodies are all perfectly adorned with divine jeweled clothing and ornaments. In that buddhafield, all clothing, food, drink, bedding, fragrances, flowers, and garlands, all the pleasures of a bodhisattva, all the necessities of a living being, and all the wealth consisting of divine jewels appear as soon as they think of them. That is why that world is called Abounding in Jewels.
“Mañjuśrī, that is why faithful sons and daughters of good family as well as kings and princes should focus on the name of the blessed Thus-Gone One Kuśalatejonirghoṣarāja, who is adorned with a precious jewel, a moon, and a lotus, three times each day and three times each night. They should bear it in mind with the highest devotion and have faith in it. They should commission a statue of that thus-gone one and make offerings to it with flowers, incense, perfumes, garlands, ointments, music, and oil lamps. They should maintain the eightfold precepts and purify themselves for seven days. Then they should sit in a spot that has been purified, pronounce the aspiration to be born in that buddhafield, and generate an attitude of love and compassion toward all beings.
“If they do this, the Thus-Gone One will turn their attention toward them and the bodhisattva great beings will think of them. All their misdeeds and all their karmic obscurations will be purified. Their thoughts will never stray from the mind of awakening, and desire, hatred, and delusion will vanish. They will have long lives and be free from illness. Anything upon which they set their intention will come to pass, and all fighting, quarreling, arguing, and disputes will cease. When they pass away, all their misdeeds will have been eliminated, and they will take miraculous rebirth in that buddhafield upon a lion throne in the center of a lotus. As soon as they are born, they will manifest the absorptions and methods of retention. Mañjuśrī, such are the many good qualities that incur to one who retains the name of that blessed thus-gone one.
“Mañjuśrī, to the east of this buddhafield, past as many buddhafields as there are grains of sand in five Gaṅgā rivers the thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Suvarṇabhadravimalaratnaprabhāsavratasiddhi lives in the world Heaped with Jewels and Full of Perfume. There he lives, resides, and teaches the Dharma accompanied by billions of bodhisattva attendants.
“Mañjuśrī, long ago, when he was practicing bodhisattva conduct, that blessed, thus-gone, worthy, and perfect buddha proclaimed the following four great aspirations:
“For his first great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may any beings who commit murder, who perform various nonvirtuous acts of killing, who kill various types of living beings, and who, because they have killed, will have short lifespans, many illnesses, and suffer untimely deaths by drowning, poison, weaponry, fire, and various diseases hear my name. By retaining it and making offerings, may they purify those karmic obscurations, may they have long lives and be free of illness, and may anyone who might have suffered an untimely death not suffer an untimely death.’
“For his second great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may any beings who have committed various misdeeds and nonvirtuous actions, who have been born in poor households because they stole another person’s wealth, who are destitute, whose bodies are tormented by hunger and thirst, and who experience suffering hear my name. By retaining it, may all their misdeeds be purified for as long as it takes them to become perfect buddhas who have manifested unsurpassed and perfect awakening. May they be powerful and prosperous, and may they lack nothing.’
“For his third great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may any beings who harbor thoughts of harming one another and who kill and fight one another hear my name and thereby come to love one another like parents love a child for as long as it takes them to become perfect buddhas who have manifested unsurpassed and perfect awakening.’
“For his fourth great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, after hearing my name, may my power cause any beings who are veiled by desire, hatred, and delusion—who have faulty ethics and commit misdeeds, violate the trainings of the thus-gone ones, fall into the three lower realms, and proceed to the hell realms—to have all their karmic obscurations purified for as long as it takes them to become perfect buddhas who have manifested unsurpassed and perfect awakening. May they be free from the derivative afflictions, and may they maintain perfect discipline. May they maintain their vows in body, speech, and mind, and may their thoughts never stray from the mind of awakening.’ Those, Mañjuśrī, are the four aspirations that the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Suvarṇabhadravimalaratnaprabhāsavratasiddhi proclaimed long ago, when he was practicing bodhisattva conduct.
“Mañjuśrī, the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha Suvarṇabhadravimalaratnaprabhāsavratasiddhi’s buddhafield is a place where the ground contains various precious fragrances and has the sweet smell of snake’s delight sandalwood. It is even, spacious, wide, and beautified by fragrant snake’s delight sandalwood trees hung with divine jewels, decorative pearl garlands, and precious jewels. There are pools made of divine, precious gems and that are filled with perfumed water. The trees are festooned and adorned with silk streamers, and precious threads form webs between them. There are no derivative afflictions and no suffering or unhappiness. There is no such thing as the female gender. The sound of music, instruments, and songs of bodhisattvas are heard without anyone playing them. The melody of nature devoid of substance and the melody of the teachings of the Great Vehicle resound from those instruments, and anyone who hears this no longer regresses on the path to the awakening of a buddha. Mañjuśrī, such are the skillful means of that blessed one’s previous aspirations and the fantastic array of good qualities of his buddhafield.
“The power of the aspirations that the blessed thus-gone Suvarṇabhadravimalaratnaprabhāsavratasiddhi made before becoming a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening led him to sit at the foot of the Bodhi tree and see that all beings are veiled by desire, hatred, and delusion. He saw that all beings have bodies tormented by various diseases, that they are harmed by death, enemies, and the wilderness, and that they are on the way to becoming hell beings whose lifespans last an entire eon. So, for their benefit and to set them on the path to the awakening of a buddha, he taught the following dhāraṇī mantra verses that eliminate all karmic obscurations:
“tadyathā siddhe siddhe susiddhe mocani mokṣaṇi mukte vimukte amale vimale māṅgalye hiranyagarbhe ratnagarbhe sarvārthasādhani paramārthasādhani manase mahāmanase adbhute atyadbhute vītabhaye suvarṇe brahmaghoṣe brahmādhyuṣite sarvārtheṣu aparājite sarvatrāpratihate catuḥṣaṣṭhibhūtakoṭibhāṣite namaḥ sarvatathāgatānāṃ svāhā.”
When the Blessed One spoke this dhāraṇī mantra, the entire gathering of bodhisattvas, Śakra, Brahmā, and all the guardians of the world praised the Blessed One saying, “Wonderful! Blessed One, it is wonderful that you have proclaimed this dhāraṇī mantra verse to show love to all beings, to clear away all their misdeeds, pacify all their illnesses, and fulfill all their hopes.”
“My friends,” the Blessed One replied, “If any son or daughter of good family or any king, prince, or male or female layperson who seeks such good qualities retains these dhāraṇī verses, recites them, masters them, cultivates faith in them, reflects on an attitude of compassion toward all beings three times each day and three times each night, makes a pure offering with flowers, incense, and perfume, and acts according to the eightfold path of noble beings, all their misdeeds including the five inexpiable acts and the rest will be purified. When they pass away, they will be born in that world, where they will take miraculous birth upon a lion throne in the middle of a lotus. All their illnesses and all manner of threats related to death, enemies, and the wilderness will be pacified. When they die, the Thus-Gone One will turn their attention toward them, and all their hopes and wishes will be fulfilled.
“Mañjuśrī, to the east of this buddhafield, past as many buddhafields as there are grains of sand in seven Gaṅgā rivers, the thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Aśokottamaśrī lives in the world Without Anguish. There he lives, resides, and teaches the Dharma. Mañjuśrī, the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Aśokottamaśrī’s buddhafield is even like the palm of one’s hand, wide, and spacious. There is no mental anguish and there are no lower realms or cries of suffering. There is no such thing as the female gender. The ground is soft and very smooth. The scent of divine perfume fills the air, and it is beautified by trees made of divine precious jewels. There are divine pools made of gold from the Jambū river that are filled with perfumed water. The trees are made of the seven precious substances and covered with flowers and fruit. This buddhafield is filled with divine music and the sound of instruments. In short, Mañjuśrī, it is just like the thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Amitābha’s buddhafield Sukhāvatī. Mañjuśrī, such is the array of good qualities of the thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Aśokottamaśrī’s buddhafield.
“Mañjuśrī, the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Aśokottamaśrī proclaimed the following four great aspirations long ago, when he was practicing bodhisattva conduct:
“For his first great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may any beings who are anguished, who suffer, who are unhappy, and who experience a great deal of conflict and various kinds of suffering hear my name. After they hear and think about my name, may my power quell all of their mental anguish, suffering, unhappiness, and conflict. May none of them ever experience the suffering of being separated from what they hold dear, and may they have long lives.’
“For his second great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may my power cause the light that radiates from my body to shine on any beings who commit various misdeeds and nonvirtuous actions and who are thus reborn in the great hells, or in the Great Avīci Hell where they are shrouded in thick darkness. May the light touch those hell beings and purify all their misdeeds as soon as they see it. May they be liberated from the sufferings of the great hells, and may it bring an end to all their pain. May they experience the joy of the divine and human realms for as long as it takes them to become perfect buddhas who have manifested unsurpassed and perfect awakening.’
“For his third great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may any beings who have committed misdeeds and nonvirtuous actions in a previous life, who were born into a poor household of low standing because they stole another person’s property, and who thus do not have clothing, food, drink, bedding, or jewelry, those who suffer from both cold and heat, those whose bodies are tormented by hunger and thirst, and those who have poor complexions hear and recite my name. As a result, may they possess clothing, food, drink, and bedding for as long as it takes them to become perfect buddhas who have manifested unsurpassed and perfect awakening, and may their bodies take on beautiful, divine complexions.’
“For his fourth great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may any beings who are tormented and have their vital energy stolen by yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, and piśācas and thus suffer from the various types of suffering related to illness hear my name. May my power cause all the yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, and piśācas who steal beings’ vital energy to be pacified and benevolent toward those people for as long as it takes them to become perfect buddhas who have manifested unsurpassed and perfect awakening. May they be liberated from the various types of suffering related to illness.’ Mañjuśrī, those are the four great aspirations that this blessed one proclaimed.
“Mañjuśrī, those who hear the name of the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Aśokottamaśrī should recite it three times each day and three times each night and cultivate benevolence toward all beings. All the karmic obscurations of those who make offerings to that thus-gone one will be purified. They will be free from mental anguish, suffering, unhappiness, and conflict. They will always be healthy, they will have long lives, and they will be free from all manner of illnesses. They will never fall into lower rebirths for as long as it takes them to attain awakening, and they will remember their former rebirths. They will take miraculous rebirth in that thus-gone one’s buddhafield on a lion throne bedecked with the seven precious substances in the middle of a lotus, and all the gods will protect them. Mañjuśrī, such are the many good qualities related to reciting the name of that thus-gone one.
“Mañjuśrī, that blessed one’s buddhafield possesses such an abundant array of good qualities and his previous bodhisattva aspirations were so vast that except for the thus-gone, worthy, and perfect buddhas, no one, not even the hearers and solitary buddhas, can express them.
“Mañjuśrī, to the east of this buddhafield, past as many buddhafields as there are grains of sand in eight Gaṅgā rivers, the thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Dharmakīrtisāgaraghoṣa lives in the world Victory Banner of the Dharma. There he lives, resides, and teaches the Dharma. Mañjuśrī, the thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Dharmakīrtisāgaraghoṣa’s buddhafield is utterly pure. It is even, stainless, luminous, and like blue sapphire. The outer walls, fences, windows, archways, latticework, and turrets are made of crystal. The ground is adorned with trees made of divine jewels and covered with golden threads in a checkered pattern. All the jeweled trees are decorated and draped with lattices of tinkling bells and beautified with divine silk tassels, divine flowers, and perfumes. There are pools made of the seven precious substances and filled with perfumed water. When the lattices of tinkling bells stir and shake in the breeze, their pleasant, divine melody brings joy to all beings. The Dharma sound of the nature devoid of substance fills the air, and the Dharma sound of the Great Vehicle resounds from the music of divine instruments. The beings who hear this sound of the Dharma become free from desire, hatred, and delusion and attain the absorption called not forgetting the mind of awakening. Mañjuśrī, in that world there are no lower realms, no cries of suffering, and no derivative afflictions, and there is no such thing as the female gender.
“That Blessed One proclaimed the following four great aspirations long ago, when he was practicing bodhisattva conduct:
“For his first great aspiration, he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may any beings who are born into a house that maintains wrong views, who have no faith in the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, and who are far from focusing on the mind of awakening hear my name. By my power, may their karmic obscurations be eliminated, and may they adopt the correct view for as long as it takes them to attain awakening. May they possess unbreakable faith in the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, and may they never regress from focusing on the mind of awakening.’
“For his second great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may my power cause any beings who have been born in border countries where they have not heard the terms Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, who engage in unwholesome actions because of the nonvirtuous company they keep, and who fall into the three lower realms after they pass away and lose all their virtuous qualities to hear my name. When they do, may the sound of the Dharma fill the air like clouds of Dharma or crashing waves. Upon hearing this, may all the karma of their previous lives be eliminated, and may their thoughts never stray from the mind of awakening for as long as it takes them to attain awakening.’
“For his third great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may my power cause any beings who lack clothing, jewelry, perfumes, garlands, ointments, bedding, and medicine, who suffer because of what they lack, and who perform misdeeds to have clothing, jewelry, perfumes, garlands, ointments, bedding, medicines, material possessions, and wealth as soon as they think about them, and may they lack nothing. May none of them lack anything in any way whatsoever for as long as it takes them to attain liberation.’
“For his fourth great aspiration he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have become a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may any beings who quarrel, fight, argue, and dispute with one another due to the ripening of their karma from a previous life, who are trained to harm and kill one another, and who strike one another with blades, arrows, and clubs hear my name and keep it in mind. By my power, when they mentally recite my name, may the arrows, blades, clubs and the like be repelled and turned back. May all their enemies become friends, and may no one lose their life. May they be content with their own material possessions, wealth, and power for as long as it takes them to attain awakening.’ Mañjuśrī, such were the four great aspirations that the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Dharmakīrtisāgaraghoṣa made long ago, when he was practicing bodhisattva conduct.
“Mañjuśrī, all who hear the name of the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Dharmakīrtisāgaraghoṣa, bear it in mind, cultivate faith in it, and make offerings with utter devotion will purify all their misdeeds. They will not regress on the path to the awakening of a buddha, in all their future lifetimes they will remember their past lives, and their thoughts will never stray from the mind of awakening. They will meet with the thus-gone ones in all their rebirths, and they will always be healthy and live long lives. When they pass away, they will be born in that world, and they will never again fall to the lower realms. Wherever they are born, they will possess clothing, jewelry, perfumes, garlands, ointments, bedding, medicines, necessities, material possessions, and power as soon as they think of them. Mañjuśrī, such are the many good qualities associated with bearing in mind and hearing the name of the thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Dharmakīrtisāgaraghoṣa.
“Mañjuśrī, to the east of this buddhafield, past as many buddhafields as there are grains of sand in nine Gaṅgā rivers, the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Dharmasāgarāgramativikrīḍitābhijñārāja lives in the world Standing in an Ocean of Jewels. There he lives, resides, and teaches the Dharma.
“Mañjuśrī, long ago, when he was practicing bodhisattva conduct, that blessed one proclaimed the following four great aspirations:
“For his first great aspiration, he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I attain awakening as a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, wherever there are beings who work the fields, sow seeds, trade in goods, fight battles, delight in arguing, and perform misdeeds, may they hear my name. By my power, may they gain an abundance of all manner of goods as soon as they think of them. May they have no ill intent and may their behavior always be virtuous.’
“For his second great aspiration, he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I attain awakening as a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may any beings who have taken the path of the ten nonvirtues and will thus proceed to the hell realms hear my name. By my power, may they take the path of the ten virtues, and may they not proceed to the hell realms.’
“For his third great aspiration, he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have attained awakening as a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may any beings who have come under another person’s control, who are arrested, beaten, imprisoned, and sentenced to death, hear my name, and may my light prevent them from being bound and beaten for as long as it takes them to attain awakening.’
“For the fourth great aspiration when he was practicing bodhisattva conduct, he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have attained awakening as a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may any beings who have committed various types of unvirtuous misdeeds that shorten one’s lifespan hear my name at the moment of death. After hearing my name, may they take rebirth in the joyful, heavenly realms. May they experience the happiness of divine and human births for as long as it takes them to attain awakening, and may all the karma of their misdeeds be purified.’ Mañjuśrī, those are the four great aspirations that the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Dharmasāgarāgramativikrīḍitābhijñārāja proclaimed long ago, when he was practicing bodhisattva conduct.
“Mañjuśrī, the array of good qualities of his buddhafield—the world Standing in an Ocean of Jewels—is just like that in the world Abounding in Jewels. Mañjuśrī, any son or daughter of good family who hears the names of the seven perfect buddhas, and after hearing them bears them in mind, reflects upon them after waking in the morning, cultivates faith in them, makes offerings to them with flowers, incense, perfumes, garlands, ointments, music, instruments, and drums, writes them in a book and carries it, copies this Dharma discourse, commissions it to be written, reveres it, hears it from someone else, and performs offerings to those Dharma teachers using all manner of implements and articles, shall be blessed by all the buddhas and pursue the path of becoming a perfect buddha for as long as it takes to attain the awakening of a buddha.” [B2]
“Mañjuśrī, to the east of this buddhafield, past as many buddhafields as there are grains of sand in ten Gaṅgā rivers, lives the blessed Buddha Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha in the world Vaiḍūryanirbhāsa. He is a thus-gone, worthy, and perfect buddha, someone endowed with knowledge and good conduct, a well-gone one, a knower of the world, a charioteer who tames people, an unsurpassed being, and a teacher of gods and humans.
“Mañjuśrī, long ago, when he was practicing bodhisattva conduct, the blessed Thus-Gone One Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha proclaimed the following twelve great aspirations:
“For his first great aspiration, he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have attained awakening as a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may my body’s radiance illuminate innumerable, limitless, and immeasurable worlds, warm them, and make them shine. May all beings be adorned with the thirty-two marks of a great person and the eighty minor marks, just as I am.’
“For his second great aspiration, he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have attained awakening as a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may my body be like a precious blue beryl gem—pure inside and out, and radiating a stainless light. May I manifest a broad and tall body that stands firm, is ablaze with glory and splendor, and is adorned with a halo of light so bright that it outshines the sun and moon. May my light allow any beings who are born in the dark spaces between worlds, and those here in the human world who travel to various places during the dark of night, to proceed joyfully, and may they perform virtuous deeds.’
“For his third great aspiration, he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have attained awakening as a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may my boundless wisdom and skillful means furnish immeasurable realms of beings with inexhaustible wealth, and may no one lack anything.’
“For his fourth great aspiration, he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have attained awakening as a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may any beings who have set out on the wrong path be set upon the path to awakening. May all those who have entered the path of the hearers and who have entered the path of the solitary buddhas be led to the Great Vehicle.’
“For his fifth great aspiration, he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have attained awakening as a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may any beings who are close to me practice pure conduct. Likewise, may a limitless and boundless number of other beings hear my name, and may my power cause them to be bound by the three vows and have uncorrupted discipline. May no one engage in incorrect discipline and proceed to the lower realms.’
“For his sixth great aspiration, he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have attained awakening as a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may beings who have weak constitutions, impaired faculties, or poor complexions; who are dumb, lame, hunchbacked, or have vitiligo; who have only one eye, are blind, deaf, or mentally ill; and whose bodies are otherwise affected by illness hear my name. When they do, may all their faculties become whole and their bodies intact.’
“For his seventh great aspiration, he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have attained awakening as a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may beings whose bodies are afflicted by various types of illnesses, who are vulnerable, who are defenseless, who lack necessities and medicines, who have no one to care for them, who are poor, and who suffer hear my name, and may all their illnesses be quelled. May they be healthy and live free from harm for as long as it takes them to attain awakening.’
“For his eighth great aspiration, he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have attained awakening as a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may any women who are afflicted by the hundreds of disadvantages of being a woman, who dislike being of the female gender, and who want to be free from the condition of being a woman, leave behind their female gender and be born as a man for as long as it takes them to attain awakening.’
“For his ninth great aspiration, he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have attained awakening as a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may I release all beings from Māra’s bonds. May I establish in the correct view those who are in opposition due to their divergent, contrasting, and disturbed views. In due order, may I teach them the conduct of a bodhisattva.’
“For his tenth great aspiration, he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have attained awakening as a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may the power of my merit free from all manner of harm any beings who are terrified because they fear their king, and who are bound, beaten, tortured, sentenced to death, persecuted due to many false accusations, dishonored, and who are pained by bodily, verbal, or mental suffering.’
“For his eleventh great aspiration, he proclaimed, ‘In the future, when I have attained awakening as a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may I provide food that is vibrant, aromatic, and savory to satiate the bodies of any beings who are scorched by the fire of hunger and thirst, who expend great effort searching for food, and who commit sinful actions. Then, may I make them even happier with the taste of the Dharma.’
“That Thus-gone One’s twelfth great aspiration was, ‘In the future, when I have attained awakening as a perfect buddha who has realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may I provide those sentient beings who are naked, have no clothes, are poor, suffering, and who are miserable day and night due to cold, heat, flies, and biting insects, with clothes that suit their needs and are dyed in bright colors. May I fulfill all the wishes of beings with whatever types of jewelry, ornaments, garlands, perfumes, ointments, music, instruments, and drums they desire.’ Mañjuśrī, those are the twelve great aspirations that the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha proclaimed long ago, when he was practicing bodhisattva conduct.
“Mañjuśrī, the aspirations of the Thus-Gone One Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabharāja and the array of good qualities of his buddhafield cannot be exhausted over the course of an eon or even more than an eon. His buddhafield is utterly pure. There are no stones, pebbles, or gravel; there are no faults related to desire; there are no cries of suffering and the lower realms; and there is no such thing as the female gender. The foundation, walls, fences, archways, latticework windows, and turrets are made of blue beryl, and the pillar capitals are made of the seven precious substances. The array of good qualities of the world Vaiḍūryanirbhāsa is equal to that of the world Sukhāvatī.
“There are two bodhisattva great beings who are foremost among the immeasurable and innumerable bodhisattvas in that world. The first is named Sūryavairocana and the second is named Candravairocana. These two maintain the treasury of the holy Dharma of the blessed Thus-Gone One Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha. Mañjuśrī, that is why a faithful son or daughter of good family should make the aspiration to be born in that buddhafield.”
The Blessed One continued to address Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta saying, “Mañjuśrī, there are ordinary beings who do not know about virtue and nonvirtue. They are overcome by greed and do not understand how generosity and the ripened result of generosity. They are childish and foolish, lacking the capacity for faith. As they strive to accumulate and maintain wealth, their minds are not disposed toward generosity and sharing. When it is time to give a gift, they become dejected as if they were cutting the flesh from their own bodies. Many of those beings do not even allow themselves to enjoy material wealth, let alone provide for their parents, wives, sons, and daughters, their male and female servants and employees, and for beggars.
“When such beings pass away, they are reborn in the hungry ghost realm or as animals. For those among them who have heard the name of the blessed Thus-Gone One Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha in their previous lives as humans—whether they find themselves in the world of Yama or in the animal realm—that Thus-gone One’s name will appear there before them. Simply be recollecting it, after they eventually pass away, they will once again be born in the human realm. They will remember their former lifetimes, grow anxious out of fear of the lower realms, and no longer concern themselves with sense pleasures. They will delight in generosity, promote generosity, and give away everything that they own. Eventually, they will even give their own head, hands, feet, eyes, flesh, and blood to anyone who asks, let alone other things like accumulated wealth.
“Moreover, Mañjuśrī, there are beings who hold the precepts of the thus-gone ones, yet violate discipline and engage in wrong views. Those who maintain discipline but do not seek erudition do not understand the profound meaning of the discourses that the Thus-Gone One has taught. Those who do become erudite develop excessive pride, and because they are overcome by their pride, they act with jealousy toward others, and misuse and forsake the holy Dharma. Such foolish people who side with Māra pursue a bad path themselves and cause many billions of other beings to fall into the great abyss. Those beings are reborn amidst the horrors of hell.
“For those who have heard the name of the blessed Thus-Gone One Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha in a previous life as a human being, even for those who live in the hell realms, the power of the Buddha will cause the name of that thus-gone one to appear before them. Then, when they pass away, they will be reborn in the human realm. They will maintain the correct view, be diligent, and their minds will be predisposed toward virtue. They will leave home, go forth in the teaching of the Thus-Gone One, and will finally practice bodhisattva conduct.
“Moreover, Mañjuśrī, there are beings who praise themselves and denigrate others out of jealousy. Beings who sing their own praises and denigrate others will suffer in the three lower realms for many thousands of years. After many thousands of years have passed, they will pass away and be reborn in the animal realm as cows, horses, camels, donkeys, and so forth. They will be beaten with whips and rods, their bodies will be afflicted by hunger and thirst, and they will have to carry great loads as they move along the road. Even if they do attain a human birth, they will always be born into families of low standing, be servants, and be under another person’s control.
“Those who have heard the name of the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha in a previous life as a human being will be liberated from all manner of suffering due to that root of virtue. They will be intelligent, learned, bright, prudent, focused on pursuing virtue, and will always find company with a spiritual teacher. They will cut Māra’s bonds, crush the eggshell of ignorance, and dry up the river of the afflictions. They will be liberated from birth, old age, death, anguish, lamentation, suffering, unhappiness, and conflict.
“Mañjuśrī, there are also those beings who delight in slander and beings who instigate fights, arguments, and disputes with one another. Such contentious beings commit various types of nonvirtuous actions with their body, speech, and mind. They do not wish to benefit one another and constantly try to harm one another. They summon a forest deity, tree deity, or mountain deity, or they summon the various spirits in the charnel grounds. They kill beings who have taken birth as animals and offer them to the yakṣas and rākṣasas who eat flesh and blood. They utter the name of their enemy or create an effigy, cast a violent spell at them, and enlist a kākhorda or vetāla to create obstacles in their life with the hope that they will destroy their enemy’s body. However, no one can create obstacles for those who have heard the name of the blessed Thus-Gone One Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha. Such people are loving to one another, beneficent, free from ill will, and satisfied with their own possessions.
“Moreover, Mañjuśrī, among the fourfold assembly of monks, nuns, male lay practitioners, and female lay practitioners, as well as among other faithful sons or daughters of good family who observe the eightfold precepts, there are some who maintain the precepts for one year or three months. If they develop an aspiration, saying, ‘Due to my root of virtue, may I be reborn in the west in Sukhāvatī, the world where the Thus-Gone One Amitāyus resides,’ they will hear the name of the blessed Thus-Gone One Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha. Then, at the moment of death, the eight bodhisattvas will miraculously appear, show them the way, and they will take miraculous birth there upon brightly colored lotuses.
“Some will be born in the god realms, and after they are born there, their previous roots of virtue will never be exhausted, and they will not proceed to the lower realms. After they pass away, they will become universal emperors with dominion over the four continents in this human realm, and they will establish many billions of beings on the path of the ten virtuous actions.
“Others will be born in great kṣatriya households, born in great brahmin households, born in great landowning households, and born in households whose treasuries and storehouses contain and abundance of riches and grain. They will have excellent physiques, be powerful, have attendants, be courageous and heroic, and have the strength of a great champion. Any woman who should hear the Thus-Gone One’s name and bear it in mind should know that it is the last time she will be of the female gender.”
At that point Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta told the Blessed One, “Blessed One, in the future I will proclaim the name of the blessed Thus-Gone One Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha in various ways to those faithful sons and daughters of good family who hold this discourse, recite it, explain it, teach it correctly and in detail to others, copy it, commission it to be copied, write it in a book, and venerate it with flowers, incense, garlands, ointments, parasols, and victory banners. I will proclaim it so that they will even hear that buddha’s name in their dreams.
“They will wrap this discourse with cloths of the five different colors and place it in a clean area. The Four Great Kings with their retinues and billions of deities will gather wherever this discourse is located. Those who retain the name of the blessed Thus-Gone One Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha and this discourse on the detailed account of his previous aspirations will not suffer untimely deaths. No one will be able to steal their vital energy, and if it has been stolen, they will take it back.”
The Blessed One replied, “It is so, Mañjuśrī. What you say is true. Mañjuśrī, a faithful son or daughter of good family who makes offerings to that thus-gone one should make a statue of that thus-gone one and observe the fast associated with the noble eightfold precepts for seven days and seven nights. They should eat pure food and thoroughly wash their body. They should wear fine, clean clothes. Then, in a clean area, they should scatter the petals of various flowers and perfume the area with various fragrances. They should then decorate the place with various cloths, parasols, and banners. There, they should then cultivate a stainless mind, an untainted mind, a mind free from ill intent, a benevolent mind, an impartial mind, and an equanimous mind. They should then play music, instruments, and sing songs as they circumambulate the statue of that thus-gone one.
“If they contemplate his previous aspirations and teach this discourse, all their wishes and aspirations will be fulfilled. If they aspire to a long life, they will have a long life. If they pray for wealth, they will have wealth. If they pray to become a powerful ruler, they will achieve that with little trouble. If they wish for a son, they will have a son.
“If someone has a bad dream, sees a crow or a bad omen somewhere, or dwells in a location where the one hundred inauspicious things are present and venerates the blessed Thus-Gone Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha with the various types of offerings, then the bad dreams, bad omens, and inauspicious things will no longer appear.
“If those who face dangers from fire, dangers from water, dangers from weapons, dangers from poison, dangers from steep cliffs, dangers from raging elephants, dangers from lions, dangers from tigers, dangers from bears, hyenas, and poisonous snakes, and dangers from snakes, scorpions, and spiders have made offerings to that thus-gone one, they will be freed from all manner of dangers. Those who face dangers from enemy armies, dangers from thieves, and dangers from bandits should also make offerings to that thus-gone one.