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Denkarma, folio 296.a (’phags pa byams pa seng ge’i sgra). See also Herrmann-Pfandt 2008, pp. 28–29; Phangthangma 2003, p. 5 (’phags pa byams pa’i seng ge sgra). The Phangthangma dates to the ninth century but likely postdates the Denkarma.
Schopen 2005. The same source also provides a useful summary of the relatively limited modern academic scholarship on the present sūtra. It might also be noted that Schopen suggests that the fact that the sūtra never uses the term Mahāyāna but only Bodhisattvayāna (“vehicle of the bodhisattvas”) might indicate a relatively early date for this sūtra’s first appearance vis-à-vis the spread of Mahāyāna traditions in India.
Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans., The Avalokinī Sūtra (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021).
84000 Translation Team, trans., The Verses on Circumambulating Shrines (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024).
Alexander Csoma de Kőrös Translation Group, trans., Describing the Benefits of Producing Representations of the Thus-Gone One (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021).
Karen Liljenberg, trans., The Question of Maitreya (1) (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2016).
Karen Liljenberg, trans., The Question of Maitreya (2) on the Eight Qualities (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2016).
Kīrtimukha Translation Group, trans., The Question of Maitreya (3) (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021).
Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans., Maitreya’s Setting Out (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021).
Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans., The Sūtra on Maitreya’s Birth in the Heaven of Joy (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021).
There are two versions of this narrative found in the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya. The first is found in The Chapter on Medicines (Bhaiṣajyavastu, Toh 1-6, Bhaiṣajyavastu Translation Team, trans. [84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021], 3.172–3.174) of The Chapters on Monastic Discipline (Vinayavastu). The second is found in The Finer Points of Discipline (Vinayakṣudrakavastu, Toh 6), folio 317.b. For an English translation of another version of this narrative found in the Divyāvadāna, an anthology of narratives that is almost certainly related to the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, see Rotman 2008, p. 126.
The Tibetan here is bdag la ’bras bu ma thob pa kho nar ’chi ba’i dus byed par ’gyur ba gang yin pa’i gnas de lta bu yang yod la. This passage presents some challenges to interpretation that we have so far not satisfactorily resolved.
Here “Buddhadharma” renders the Tibetan sangs rgyas kyi chos, which might also be read to mean “a buddha’s qualities.”
Translation tentative. The Tibetan here is ’od srung de lta bas na gang stong gi ’jig rten gyi khams kyi sems can thams cad kyi bde ba’i yo byad thams cad ’phrogs par spro ba de ni sdig can gyi ’dod pa de lta bu des dad pas byin pa yongs su longs spyod par byed de/ ’od srung ngas ni sdig pa can gyi ’dod pa de las gzhan pa rab tu byung ba’i chos shin tu tha chad cig shos gzhan ma mthong ngo. The sense appears to be that such behavior of one gone forth is more despicable than stealing everything from every being in a thousandfold universe.
Translation tentative. The Tibetan here is dge slong dag nga ni cher na phung po’i lhag ma dang bcas pa’i mya ngan las ’das pa yang rung ste/ skad cig tsam skye ba la yang bsngags pa mi brjod do.
There is an interesting resonance here with the famous episode recorded in the Nikāyas/Āgamas in which Ānanda failed to request the Buddha to remain for an eon or longer. For the version of this episode in Pali, see Dīgha Nikāya 16 and Aṅguttara Nikāya 8.70.
The Tibetan here is phrag pa’am/spyi bo la (“on my shoulders and the top of my head”), indicating a posture of supplication.
Translation tentative. The Tibetan here is bcom ldan ’das bdag gling chen po bzhi pa’i ’jig rten gyi khams grong dang / grong khyer dang / grong rdal dang bcas pa/ brag dang / ri bo’i zom dang bcas pa/ rgya mtsho dang / chu klung dang / nags tshal dang bcas pa ’di bskal pa’am/ bskal pa las lhag par phrag pa’am/ spyi bo la ’tshal bar ni spro lags kyi/ bcom ldan ’das bdag skyes bu dam pa ma lags pa de dag gi log par smra ba’i sug las de dag nyan par ni mi spro lags so.
Here and in the previous instance, we follow the reading dge slong ma che ge mo found in Yongle, Narthang, Lhasa, and Stok.
Adopting the reading le lan in the Stok, Narthang, and Lhasa Kangyurs in place of the Degé reading la lan.
We take the Degé reading here to be don shes par bya ba’i phyir, which also appears to be the reading in Stok.
This refers to the well-known confessional rite practiced in order to purify transgressions of the precepts by those who have undertaken the bodhisattva’s discipline. For more on this practice and its canonical sources, see the introduction to Ascertaining the Vinaya: Upāli’s Questions (Vinayaviniścayopāliparipṛcchā, Toh 68), UCSB Buddhist Studies Translation Group, trans. (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021), i.5.
Our translation of the phrases cha khyer and, below, cha blangs is tentative. cha khyer occurs in The Testament of Ba (sba bzhed), in the king’s instruction to invite Śāntarakṣita to Tibet, as cha khyer la shog cig, which Wangdu and Diemberger (2000), p. 43, translate as “bring me the [positive] reply.” The phrase does not otherwise appear to occur in the Kangyur.
The Tibetan here is sangs rgyas kyi chos, which could also be read to mean “the Buddha’s qualities.”
Perhaps the sense here is that the monk can move the earth and so forth, but he cannot move the two boys, even as they are standing on the earth.
That is, they gave that much and created that much virtue in each instant, one after the other, for as many eons as there are grains of sand in the Ganges.
The Tibetan here is sangs rgyas kyi gnas pa bla na med pas gnas pa ’thob par ’gyur ba. Translation tentative.
Yongle, Kangxi, Narthang, Lhasa, and Stok Palace here have the reading stong la mi gnas (“to not abide in emptiness”), as opposed to Degé’s gtong la mi gnas.
The Tibetan here is bla na med pa yang dag par rdzogs pa’i byang chub tu sems bskyed cing sems kyi rang bzhin gyis byang chub kyi rang bzhin rjes su rtogs par yang bgyid lags te.
The Tibetan here is ’o na tshul khrims dang / ting nge ’dzin dang / shes rab dang / rnam par grol ba dang / rnam par grol ba’i ye shes mthong ba dag nyid mchod pa’i ’os yin gyi/ sku gdung dag ni mchod par ’os par mi ’gyur ma yin nam.
Here, too, we read ’dri ba as a mistake for ’bri ba. The latter reading is found in Narthang.
Here we follow the reading found in Narthang, Lhasa, and Stok, ’di las, in preference to ’di la in Degé.
Literally a “heap” or “pile,” the term usually refers to the five aggregates of form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness. On the individual level the five aggregates refer to the basis upon which the mistaken idea of a self is projected.
The eighth and highest level of the Realm of Form (rūpadhātu), the last of the five pure abodes (śuddhāvāsa); it is only accessible as the result of specific states of dhyāna. According to some texts this is where non-returners (anāgāmin) dwell in their last lives. In other texts it is the realm of the enjoyment body (saṃbhogakāya) and is a buddhafield associated with the Buddha Vairocana; it is accessible only to bodhisattvas on the tenth level.
According to Buddhist tradition, one who is worthy of worship (pūjām arhati), or one who has conquered the enemies, the mental afflictions (kleśa-ari-hata-vat), and reached liberation from the cycle of rebirth and suffering. It is the fourth and highest of the four fruits attainable by śrāvakas. Also used as an epithet of the Buddha.
See “arhat.”
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 most popular bodhisattvas in the Mahāyāna Buddhist pantheon and one of the eight “close sons” of the Buddha, he is the embodiment of compassion.
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 sons of the king Nimi.
A bodhisattva-monk who was a previous incarnation of the Buddha.
An attendant of the Buddha Myriad Flowers.
In the context of Buddhist philosophy, one way to describe experience in terms of eighteen elements (eye, form, and eye consciousness; ear, sound, and ear consciousness; nose, smell, and nose consciousness; tongue, taste, and tongue consciousness; body, touch, and body consciousness; and mind, mental phenomena, and mind consciousness).
This also refers to the elements of the world, which can be enumerated as four, five, or six. The four elements are earth, water, fire, and air. A fifth, space, is often added, and the sixth is consciousness.
The five supernatural abilities attained through realization and yogic accomplishment: divine sight, divine hearing, knowing how to manifest miracles, remembering previous lives, and knowing the minds of others. (Provisional 84000 definition. New definition forthcoming.)
The ancient Indian army was composed of four branches (caturaṅga)—infantry, cavalry, chariots, and elephants.
Giving whatever is necessary, speaking pleasantly, cooperation, and consistency between words and deeds.
Walking, standing, sitting, and lying down.
To be content with simple clothing, food, dwelling, and possessions.
The four qualities that are said to result in rebirth in the Brahmā World. They are limitless loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity. (Provisional 84000 definition. New definition forthcoming.)
These basic precepts are five in number for the laity: (1) not killing, (2) not stealing, (3) chastity, (4) not lying, and (5) avoiding intoxicants. For monks, there are three or five more; avoidance of such things as perfumes, makeup, ointments, garlands, high beds, and afternoon meals. (Provisional 84000 definition. New definition forthcoming.)
A class of generally benevolent nonhuman beings who inhabit the skies, sometimes said to inhabit fantastic cities in the clouds, and more specifically to dwell on the eastern slopes of Mount Meru, where they are ruled by the Great King Dhṛtarāṣṭra. They are most renowned as celestial musicians who serve the gods. In the Abhidharma, the term is also used to refer to the mental body assumed by sentient beings during the intermediate state between death and rebirth. Gandharvas are said to live on fragrances (gandha) in the desire realm, hence the Tibetan translation dri za, meaning “scent eater.”
The Gaṅgā, or Ganges in English, is considered to be the most sacred river of India, particularly within the Hindu tradition. It starts in the Himalayas, flows through the northern plains of India, bathing the holy city of Vārāṇasī, and meets the sea at the Bay of Bengal, in Bangladesh. In the sūtras, however, this river is mostly mentioned not for its sacredness but for its abundant sands—noticeable still today on its many sandy banks and at its delta—which serve as a common metaphor for infinitely large numbers.
According to Buddhist cosmology, as explained in the Abhidharmakośa, it is one of the four rivers that flow from Lake Anavatapta and cross the southern continent of Jambudvīpa—the known human world or more specifically the Indian subcontinent.
In Indian mythology, the garuḍa is an eagle-like bird that is regarded as the king of all birds, normally depicted with a sharp, owl-like beak, often holding a snake, and with large and powerful wings. They are traditionally enemies of the nāgas. In the Vedas, they are said to have brought nectar from the heavens to earth. Garuḍa can also be used as a proper name for a king of such creatures.
A bodhisattva and previous incarnation of the Buddha.
Tuṣita (or sometimes Saṃtuṣita), literally “Joyous” or “Contented,” is one of the six heavens of the desire realm (kāmadhātu). In standard classifications, such as the one in the Abhidharmakośa, it is ranked as the fourth of the six counting from below. This god realm is where all future buddhas are said to dwell before taking on their final rebirth prior to awakening. There, the Buddha Śākyamuni lived his preceding life as the bodhisattva Śvetaketu. When departing to take birth in this world, he appointed the bodhisattva Maitreya, who will be the next buddha of this eon, as his Dharma regent in Tuṣita. For an account of the Buddha’s previous life in Tuṣita, see The Play in Full (Toh 95), \1\22.12, and for an account of Maitreya’s birth in Tuṣita and a description of this realm, see \1\2The Sūtra on Maitreya’s Birth in the Heaven of Joy, (Toh 199).
A previous buddha.
One of the five or six classes of sentient beings, into which beings are born as the karmic fruition of past miserliness. As the term in Sanskrit means “the departed,” they are analogous to the ancestral spirits of Vedic tradition, the pitṛs, who starve without the offerings of descendants. It is also commonly translated as “hungry ghost” or “starving spirit,” as in the Chinese 餓鬼 e gui.
They are sometimes said to reside in the realm of Yama, but are also frequently described as roaming charnel grounds and other inhospitable or frightening places along with piśācas and other such beings. They are particularly known to suffer from great hunger and thirst and the inability to acquire sustenance. Detailed descriptions of their realm and experience, including a list of the thirty-six classes of pretas, can be found in The Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma, Toh 287, \1\22.1281– \1\22.1482.
The name of the southern continent in Buddhist cosmology, which can signify either the known human world, or more specifically the Indian subcontinent, literally “the jambu island/continent.” Jambu is the name used for a range of plum-like fruits from trees belonging to the genus Szygium, particularly Szygium jambos and Szygium cumini, and it has commonly been rendered “rose apple,” although “black plum” may be a less misleading term. Among various explanations given for the continent being so named, one (in the Abhidharmakośa) is that a jambu tree grows in its northern mountains beside Lake Anavatapta, mythically considered the source of the four great rivers of India, and that the continent is therefore named from the tree or the fruit. Jambudvīpa has the Vajrāsana at its center and is the only continent upon which buddhas attain awakening.
One of the first Buddhist monasteries, located in a park outside Śrāvastī, the capital of the ancient kingdom of Kośala in northern India. This park was originally owned by Prince Jeta, hence the name Jetavana, meaning Jeta’s grove. The wealthy merchant Anāthapiṇḍada, wishing to offer it to the Buddha, sought to buy it from him, but the prince, not wishing to sell, said he would only do so if Anāthapiṇḍada covered the entire property with gold coins. Anāthapiṇḍada agreed, and managed to cover all of the park except the entrance, hence the name Anāthapiṇḍadasyārāmaḥ, meaning Anāthapiṇḍada’s park. The place is usually referred to in the sūtras as “Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s park,” and according to the Saṃghabhedavastu the Buddha used Prince Jeta’s name in first place because that was Prince Jeta’s own unspoken wish while Anāthapiṇḍada was offering the park. Inspired by the occasion and the Buddha’s use of his name, Prince Jeta then offered the rest of the property and had an entrance gate built. The Buddha specifically instructed those who recite the sūtras to use Prince Jeta’s name in first place to commemorate the mutual effort of both benefactors.
Anāthapiṇḍada built residences for the monks, to house them during the monsoon season, thus creating the first Buddhist monastery. It was one of the Buddha’s main residences, where he spent around nineteen rainy season retreats, and it was therefore the setting for many of the Buddha’s discourses and events. According to the travel accounts of Chinese monks, it was still in use as a Buddhist monastery in the early fifth century ᴄᴇ, but by the sixth century it had been reduced to ruins.
A previous buddha.
One of the principal disciples of the Buddha, known for his ascetic practice. He is the main interlocutor in The Great Lion’s Roar of Maitreya. Also known as Kāśyapa.
One of the principal disciples of the Buddha, known for his ascetic practice. He is the main interlocutor in The Great Lion’s Roar of Maitreya. Also known as Mahākāśyapa.
A class of nonhuman beings that resemble humans to the degree that their very name—which means “is that human?”—suggests some confusion as to their divine status. Kinnaras are mythological beings found in both Buddhist and Brahmanical literature, where they are portrayed as creatures half human, half animal. They are often depicted as highly skilled celestial musicians.
A vast legendary lake on the other side of the Himalayas. Only those with miraculous powers can go there. It is said to be the source of the world’s four great rivers. (Provisional 84000 definition. New definition forthcoming.)
Also called the Cārvāka school, it was an ancient Indian school with a materialistic viewpoint accepting only the evidence of the senses and rejecting the existence of a creator deity or other lifetimes. Their teachings now survive only in quotations by opponents. (Provisional 84000 definition. New definition forthcoming.)
One of the principal disciples of the Buddha, known for his ascetic practice. He is the main interlocutor in The Great Lion’s Roar of Maitreya. Also known as Kāśyapa.
One of the principal disciples of the Buddha, known for his ascetic practice. He is the main interlocutor in The Great Lion’s Roar of Maitreya. Also known as Mahākāśyapa.
A bodhisattva who serves alongside Avalokiteśvara as Amitābha’s attendant in the buddhafield of Sukhāvatī. As his name suggests, he is renowned for possessing great strength (Skt. prāpta; Tib. thob pa) and power (Skt. mahāsthāma; Tib. mthu chen).
Literally “great serpents,” mahoragas are supernatural beings depicted as large, subterranean beings with human torsos and heads and the lower bodies of serpents. Their movements are said to cause earthquakes, and they make up a class of subterranean geomantic spirits whose movement through the seasons and months of the year is deemed significant for construction projects.
The bodhisattva Maitreya is an important figure in many Buddhist traditions, where he is unanimously regarded as the buddha of the future era. He is said to currently reside in the heaven of Tuṣita, as Śākyamuni’s regent, where he awaits the proper time to take his final rebirth and become the fifth buddha in the Fortunate Eon, reestablishing the Dharma in this world after the teachings of the current buddha have disappeared. Within the Mahāyāna sūtras, Maitreya is elevated to the same status as other central bodhisattvas such as Mañjuśrī and Avalokiteśvara, and his name appears frequently in sūtras, either as the Buddha’s interlocutor or as a teacher of the Dharma. Maitreya literally means “Loving One.” He is also known as Ajita, meaning “Invincible.”
For more information on Maitreya, see, for example, the introduction to Maitreya’s Setting Out (Toh 198).
The bodhisattva who is considered the embodiment of wisdom, with the additional honorific title for a young man, since he is perennially youthful.
Māra, literally “death” or “maker of death,” is the name of the deva who tried to prevent the Buddha from achieving awakening, the name given to the class of beings he leads, and also an impersonal term for the destructive forces that keep beings imprisoned in saṃsāra:
(1) As a deva, Māra is said to be the principal deity in the Heaven of Making Use of Others’ Emanations (paranirmitavaśavartin), the highest paradise in the desire realm. He famously attempted to prevent the Buddha’s awakening under the Bodhi tree—see The Play in Full (Toh 95), \1\221.1—and later sought many times to thwart the Buddha’s activity. In the sūtras, he often also creates obstacles to the progress of śrāvakas and bodhisattvas. (2) The devas ruled over by Māra are collectively called mārakāyika or mārakāyikadevatā, the “deities of Māra’s family or class.” In general, these māras too do not wish any being to escape from saṃsāra, but can also change their ways and even end up developing faith in the Buddha, as exemplified by Sārthavāha; see The Play in Full (Toh 95), \1\221.14 and \1\221.43. (3) The term māra can also be understood as personifying four defects that prevent awakening, called (i) the divine māra (devaputramāra), which is the distraction of pleasures; (ii) the māra of Death (mṛtyumāra), which is having one’s life interrupted; (iii) the māra of the aggregates (skandhamāra), which is identifying with the five aggregates; and (iv) the māra of the afflictions (kleśamāra), which is being under the sway of the negative emotions of desire, hatred, and ignorance.
According to ancient Buddhist cosmology, this is the great mountain forming the axis of the universe. At its summit is Sudarśana, home of Śakra and his thirty-two gods, and on its flanks live the asuras. The mount has four sides facing the cardinal directions, each of which is made of a different precious stone. Surrounding it are several mountain ranges and the great ocean where the four principal island continents lie: in the south, Jambudvīpa (our world); in the west, Godānīya; in the north, Uttarakuru; and in the east, Pūrvavideha. Above it are the abodes of the desire realm gods. It is variously referred to as Meru, Mount Meru, Sumeru, and Mount Sumeru.
According to ancient Buddhist cosmology, this is the great mountain forming the axis of the universe. At its summit is Sudarśana, home of Śakra and his thirty-two gods, and on its flanks live the asuras. The mount has four sides facing the cardinal directions, each of which is made of a different precious stone. Surrounding it are several mountain ranges and the great ocean where the four principal island continents lie: in the south, Jambudvīpa (our world); in the west, Godānīya; in the north, Uttarakuru; and in the east, Pūrvavideha. Above it are the abodes of the desire realm gods. It is variously referred to as Meru, Mount Meru, Sumeru, and Mount Sumeru.
A past buddha to whom the Buddha Śākyamuni was devoted in his previous life as King Nimi.
A class of nonhuman beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments, where they guard wealth and sometimes also teachings. Nāgas are associated with serpents and have a snakelike appearance. In Buddhist art and in written accounts, they are regularly portrayed as half human and half snake, and they are also said to have the ability to change into human form. Some nāgas are Dharma protectors, but they can also bring retribution if they are disturbed. They may likewise fight one another, wage war, and destroy the lands of others by causing lightning, hail, and flooding.
A śrāvaka in the retinue of the Buddha.
A previous incarnation of the Buddha, a devotee of the Buddha Myriad Flowers and father of the monks Dharma and Sudharma.
One who will attain the liberation of an arhat after death, without another rebirth in cyclic existence.
One who has achieved the second of the four levels of attainment on the śrāvaka path and who will attain liberation after only one more birth. (Provisional 84000 definition. New definition forthcoming.)
This refers to what occurs at the end of an arhat’s or a buddha’s life. When nirvāṇa is attained at awakening, whether as an arhat or buddha, all suffering, afflicted mental states (kleśa), and causal processes (karman) that lead to rebirth and suffering in cyclic existence have ceased, but due to previously accumulated karma, the aggregates of that life remain and must still exhaust themselves. It is only at the end of life that these cease, and since no new aggregates arise, the arhat or buddha is said to attain parinirvāṇa, meaning “complete” or “final” nirvāṇa. This is synonymous with the attainment of nirvāṇa without remainder (anupadhiśeṣanirvāṇa).
According to the Mahāyāna view of a single vehicle (ekayāna), the arhat’s parinirvāṇa at death, despite being so called, is not final. The arhat must still enter the bodhisattva path and reach buddhahood (see Unraveling the Intent, Toh 106, \1\27.14.) On the other hand, the parinirvāṇa of a buddha, ultimately speaking, should be understood as a display manifested for the benefit of beings; see The Teaching on the Extraordinary Transformation That Is the Miracle of Attaining the Buddha’s Powers (Toh 186), \1\21.32.
The term parinirvāṇa is also associated specifically with the passing away of the Buddha Śākyamuni, in Kuśinagara, in northern India.
A king of Kośala.
byams pa’i seng ge’i sgra chen po (Maitreyamahāsiṃhanāda). Toh 67, Degé Kangyur vol. 43 (dkon brtsegs, ca), folios 68.a–114.b.
byams pa’i seng ge’i sgra chen po. Stok Palace Kangyur vol. 39 (dkon brtsegs, ca), folios 148.b–218.b.
byams pa’i seng ge’i sgra chen po. bka’ ’gyur (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006–9, vol. 43, pp. 191–323.
mchod rten bskor ba’i tshigs bcad (Caityapradakṣiṇagāthā) [Verses on Circumambulating Reliquaries]. Toh 321, Degé Kangyur vol. 72 (mdo sde, sa), folios 198.b–201.a. English translation in 84000 Translation Team 2024.
de bzhin gshegs pa’i gzugs brnyan bzhag pa’i phan yon yang dag par brjod pa (Tathāgatapratibimbapratiṣṭhānuśaṃsasaṃvarṇana) [Describing the Benefits of Producing Representations of the Thus-Gone One]. Toh 320, Degé Kangyur vol. 72 (mdo sde, sa), folios 197.a–198.b. English translation in Alexander Csoma de Kőrös Translation Group 2021.
’dul ba rnam par gtan la dbab pa nye bar ’khor gyis zhus pa (Vinayaviniścayopāliparipṛcchā) [Ascertaining the Vinaya: Upāli’s Questions]. Toh 68, Degé Kangyur vol. 68 (dkon brtsegs, ca), folios 115.a–131.a. English translation in UCSB Buddhist Studies Translation Group 2021.
’dul ba phran tshegs kyi gzhi (Vinayakṣudrakavastu) [The Finer Points of Discipline]. Toh 6, Degé Kangyur vol. 11 (’dul ba, da), folios 1.b–333.a.
spyan ras gzigs kyi mdo (Avalokinīsūtra) [The Avalokinī Sūtra]. Toh 195, Degé Kangyur vol. 61 (mdo sde, tsa), folios 251.a–266.a. English translation in Dharmachakra Translation Committee 2021a.
byams pa dga’ ldan gnam du skye ba blangs pa’i mdo [The Sūtra on Maitreya’s Birth in the Heaven of Joy]. Toh 199, Degé Kangyur vol. 61 (mdo sde, tsa), folios 294.b–303.a. English translation in Dharmachakra Translation Committee 2021c.
byams pa ’jug pa (Maitreyaprasthāna) [Maitreya’s Setting Out]. Toh 198, Degé Kangyur vol. 61 (mdo sde, tsa), folios 274.b–296.a. English translation in Dharmachakra Translation Committee 2021b.
byams pas chos brgyad zhus pa (Maitreyaparipṛcchādharmāṣṭa) [The Question of Maitreya on the Eight Qualities]. Toh 86, Degé Kangyur vol. 44 (dkon brtsegs, cha), folios 116.b–119.b. English translation in Liljenberg 2016b.
byams pas zhus pa (Maitreyaparipṛcchā) [The Question of Maitreya]. Toh 85, Degé Kangyur vol. 44 (dkon brtsegs, cha), folios 104.b–116.b. English translation in Liljenberg 2016a.
byams pas zhus pa (Maitreyaparipṛcchā) [The Question of Maitreya]. Toh 149, Degé Kangyur vol. 57 (mdo sde, pa), folios 330.b–331.a. English translation in Kīrtimukha Translation Group 2021.
sman gyi gzhi (Bhaiṣajyavastu) [The Chapter on Medicines]. Toh 1-6, Degé Kangyur vol. 1 (’dul ba, ka), folios 277.b–311.a; vol. 2 (’dul ba, kha), folios 1.a–317.a; vol. 3 (’dul ba, ga), folios 1.a–50.a. English translation in Bhaiṣajyavastu Translation Team 2021.
Atiśa Dīpaṅkaraśrījñāna. mdo kun las btus pa chen po (Mahāsūtrasamuccaya) [The Great Compendium of Sūtras]. Toh 3961, Degé Tengyur vol. 112 (dbu ma, gi), folios 1.b–198.a.
Bhaṭṭāraka Karo. bsgom pa’i rim pa mdo kun las btus pa [A Compendium of Sūtras on the Stages of Meditation]. Toh 3933, Degé Tengyur vol. 110 (dbu ma, ki), folios 125.b–148.a.
Nāgārjuna. mdo kun las btus pa (Sūtrasamuccaya) [A Compendium of Sūtras]. Toh 3934, Degé Tengyur vol. 110 (dbu ma, ki), folios 148.b–215.a.
Ratnākaraśānti. mdo kun las btus pa’i bshad pa rin po che snang ba’i rgyan zhes bya ba (Sūtrasamuccayabhāṣyaratnālokālaṃkāranāma) [An Explanation of The Compendium of Sūtras: An Ornament Illuminating the Jewels]. Toh 3935, Degé Tengyur vol. 110 (dbu ma, ki), folios 215.a–334.a.
Denkarma (pho brang stod thang ldan dkar gyi chos kyi ’gyur ro cog gi dkar chag). Toh 4364, Degé Tengyur vol. 206 (sna tshogs, jo), folios 294.b–310.a.
Phangthangma (dkar chag ’phang thang ma). Beijing: mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2003.
84000 Translation Team, trans. The Verses on Circumambulating Shrines (Caityapradakṣiṇagāthā, Toh 321). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024.
Alexander Csoma de Kőrös Translation Group, trans. Describing the Benefits of Producing Representations of the Thus-Gone One (Tathāgatapratibimbapratiṣṭhānuśaṃsasaṃvarṇana, Toh 195). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021.
Bhaiṣajyavastu Translation Team, trans. The Chapter on Medicines (Bhaiṣajyavastu, Toh 1-6). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021.
Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. (2021a). The Avalokinī Sūtra (Toh 195). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021.
Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. (2021b). Maitreya’s Setting Out (Maitreyaprasthāna, Toh 198). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021.
Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. (2021c). The Sūtra on Maitreya’s Birth in the Heaven of Joy (Toh 199). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021.
Demiéville, Paul. “Butsuzo.” In Hōbōgirin: Dictionnaire encyclopédique du bouddhisme d’après les sources chinoises et japonaises, edited by Sylvain Lévi et al., 3:210–215. Paris: Librairie d’Amérique et d’Orient, 1937.
Herrmann-Pfandt, Adelheid. Die lHan kar ma: ein früher Katalog der ins Tibetische übersetzten buddhistischen Texte. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2008.
Kīrtimukha Translation Group, trans. The Question of Maitreya (3) (Maitreyaparipṛcchā, Toh 149). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021.
Liljenberg, Karen, trans. (2016a). The Question of Maitreya (1) (Maitreyaparipṛcchā, Toh 85). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2016.
Liljenberg, Karen, trans. (2016b). The Question of Maitreya (2) on the Eight Qualities (Maitreyaparipṛcchādharmāṣṭa, Toh 86). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2016.
Rotman, Andy, trans. Divine Stories: Divyāvadāna Part 1. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2008.
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Silk, Jonathan. “Dressed for Success: The Monk Kāśyapa and Strategies of Legitimation in Earlier Mahāyāna Buddhist Scriptures.” Journal Asiatique 291, no. 1–2 (2003), pp. 173–219.
UCSB Buddhist Studies Translation Group, trans. Ascertaining the Vinaya: Upāli’s Questions (Vinayaviniścayopāliparipṛcchā, Toh 68). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021.
Wangdu, Pasang, and Hildegard Diemberger, ed. dBa’ bzhed: The Royal Narrative Concerning the Bringing of Buddha’s Doctrine to Tibet. Beiträge zur Kultur- und Geistesgeschichte Asiens 37. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2000.
Zürcher, Erik. “Buddhist Art in Medieval China: The Ecclesiastical View.” In Function and Meaning in Buddhist Art: Proceedings of a Seminar Held at Leiden University 21–24 October 1991, edited by K. R. Van Kooij and H. van der Veere, 1–20. Groningen: Brill, 1996.
In this sūtra, Mahākāśyapa poses a series of questions to the Buddha about proper monastic conduct and practice, which the Buddha answers at length. Mahākāśyapa then requests the Buddha to remain in the world in order to safeguard the Dharma, but when the Buddha initially predicts that Mahākāśyapa himself will do so in the future, Mahākāśyapa insists that for the Dharma to remain for long, it must be entrusted to a bodhisattva rather than a śrāvaka. The Buddha then anoints Maitreya and entrusts him with the responsibility of protecting the Dharma in the future. There follows a teaching from the Buddha about those in the future who will falsely claim to be bodhisattvas and about the proper conduct and practice of bodhisattvas, as well as a description from Maitreya of his own practice of the bodhisattva path. When Mahākāśyapa asks the Buddha about those in the future who will be “sham bodhisattvas,” the Buddha offers a series of teachings on the mistaken and blameworthy practice of commercializing the worship of relics, stūpas, and images and seeking to make a living thereby, contrasting this with a monastic’s proper practice of ascetic conduct and meditative inquiry. In addition to the Buddha’s criticism, this sūtra is notable for its memorable analogies, past life narratives, and emphasis on the ascetic practice of the forest-dwelling monastic.
This sūtra was translated by Dr. Karen Liljenberg and Dr. Ulrich Pagel.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The generous sponsorship of Ting Xie, Guowen Xie, Xiangzhi Yu, and Jiayu Xie, which helped make the work on this translation possible, is most gratefully acknowledged.
The Great Lion’s Roar of Maitreya opens amid an assembly of śrāvaka and bodhisattva disciples, where Venerable Mahākāśyapa poses a series of questions to the Buddha about how men and women who have gone forth into monastic life should train, act, and engage in spiritual practice. In response, the Buddha describes at length the proper conduct and practice of those who have gone forth, contrasting it with various forms of potential misconduct and faulty practice and utilizing a series of memorable analogies as illustrations.
Mahākāśyapa then requests that the Buddha remain in the world “for an eon or longer” in order to safeguard the Dharma. The Buddha predicts that in the future Mahākāśyapa himself will safeguard the Dharma, at which point Mahākāśyapa objects that the Dharma cannot remain for long if it is entrusted to a śrāvaka rather than a bodhisattva, and he supplicates the Buddha to anoint Maitreya in his stead. The Buddha then commands Maitreya to take responsibility for protecting the Dharma in the future, which he accepts.
In response to Maitreya’s query, the Buddha describes at length the blameworthy qualities of those in the future who will “falsely claim to be bodhisattvas” and the proper conduct and practice of bodhisattvas, again utilizing a series of analogies as well as a narrative of one of his past lives. Maitreya roars his lion’s roar in response, describing his own diligent and ascetic practice of the bodhisattva path. When a group of monks rises to leave the assembly, thinking Maitreya’s description of ascetic practice unrealistic, Maitreya reassures them and offers a teaching on how they should practice.
Finally, Mahākāśyapa asks the Buddha how many “sham bodhisattvas” there will be in the future, and the Buddha answers by predicting that sham bodhisattvas will involve themselves in the worship of his relics rather than in proper practice. He elaborates by narrating another of his past lives, in which Maitreya in a former life also features, providing an extended critique of those who involve themselves in devotional practices focused on relics, stūpas, and images to the exclusion of ascetic practice and meditation. In particular, the Buddha criticizes those who would commercialize such devotional activities and seek to make a living thereby, narrating another of his past lives by way of illustration. In this way, the Buddha contrasts proper practice, focused on renunciation, moral discipline, and meditative inquiry, with the improper practice of commercializing devotional practices for mundane ends.
The Great Lion’s Roar of Maitreya is one of the forty-nine sūtras that make up the Heap of Jewels (Ratnakūṭa; dkon brtsegs) section of the Kangyur, an important compilation of Mahāyāna scriptures that exists in both Chinese and Tibetan translation. No Sanskrit original has survived. The Chinese translation of the sūtra, Mohe jiaye hui 摩訶迦葉會 (Taishō 310 [23]), was produced in 541 by *Upaśūnya (月婆首那) and later included as part of the Chinese Ratnakūṭa compiled in the eighth century
Indications of the text’s place in the Indian Buddhist landscape can be found in the fact that it is quoted by name in A Compendium of Sūtras (Sūtrasamuccaya, Toh 3934), attributed to Nāgārjuna, as well as in An Explanation of The Compendium of Sūtras: An Ornament Illuminating the Jewels (Sūtrasamuccayabhāṣyaratnālokālaṃkāranāma, Toh 3935) attributed to Ratnākaraśānti (ca. 970–1045). The text is also extensively quoted by the renowned Atiśa (982–1054) in The Great Compendium of Sūtras (Mahāsūtrasamuccaya, Toh 3961). At least one citation by name appears also in A Compendium of Sūtras on the Stages of Meditation (Toh 3933). At the very least, these citations demonstrate that the sūtra was recopied and readily available to scholars in India over the course of the first millennium
As for the perspective of modern academic scholarship, Gregory Schopen has shown that there are multiple instances in the sūtra of vocabulary shared with the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, and Schopen’s analysis of the sūtra’s polemics against the commercialization of relic and image cults demonstrates either the direct influence of the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya or the fact that the present sūtra shared its milieu with the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya and the communities in which it was transmitted. In that regard, it is perhaps of interest that some of the sūtra’s criticism and instruction is aimed at śrāvaka as well as bodhisattva monastics, not to mention the sūtra’s promotion of the ideal of the forest-dwelling monastic and, in general, its view of the merits of monastic life in comparison to the life of lay householders. For example, the sūtra refers with approval to a supposed previous age in which literally everyone left their homes to take up the religious life, so that not even one householder remained.
The sūtra’s polemics against the commercialization of relic, stūpa, and image cults might be usefully contrasted with other sūtras in which such devotional practices are endorsed and promoted. In the case of devotional practices focused on stūpas (and by implication relics), the present sūtra might be contrasted with The Avalokinī Sūtra (Toh 195) as well as The Verses on Circumambulating Shrines (Caityapradakṣiṇagāthā, Toh 321). In the case of devotional practices focused on images, it might be contrasted with Describing the Benefits of Producing Representations of the Thus-Gone One (Tathāgatapratibimbapratiṣṭhānuśaṃsasaṃvarṇana, Toh 320).
The central place accorded to Maitreya in this sūtra means that it is fruitfully read together with the other sūtras in the Kangyur that feature or focus on the figure of Maitreya: The Question of Maitreya (Maitreyaparipṛcchā, Toh 85) and The Question of Maitreya on the Eight Qualities (Maitreyaparipṛcchādharmāṣṭa, Toh 86), which are also found in the Heap of Jewels section, and The Question of Maitreya (Maitreyaparipṛcchā, Toh 149), Maitreya’s Setting Out (Maitreyaprasthāna, Toh 198), and The Sūtra on Maitreya’s Birth in the Heaven of Joy (Toh 199). As the present sūtra describes the Buddha commanding Maitreya to take responsibility for safeguarding the Dharma in the future, of particular comparative interest are Maitreya’s Setting Out, in which the Buddha describes the past life in which Maitreya first gave rise to bodhicitta, and The Sūtra on Maitreya’s Birth in the Heaven of Joy, in which the Buddha describes Maitreya’s birth in the Heaven of Joy, from which he will eventually descend into this world to be fully awakened.
Though not alluded to in the present sūtra, the presence of both Mahākāśyapa and Maitreya, as well as the reference to who will assume responsibility for propagating the Dharma in a distant future, evokes the ancient Mūlasarvāstivāda tradition that links the two figures in terms of Maitreya’s eventual succession of the Buddha Śākyamuni. According to that tradition, the Buddha Śākyamuni bestowed his own robe on Mahākāśyapa, who succeeded the Buddha at the head of the monastic saṅgha. At the end of his own lifespan, Mahākāśyapa, wearing the Buddha’s robe, entered into Mount Kukkuṭapāda, where both the robe and his body will remain uncorrupted until the advent of Maitreya, who will proceed to the mountain and, depending on the source, remove Mahākāśyapa’s body in the presence of his own disciples or receive the Buddha Śākyamuni’s robe from him.
This is the first publication of a complete English translation of The Great Lion’s Roar of Maitreya. Selected passages from the second half of the sūtra were translated into French by Paul Demiéville in the 1930s, and several more were more recently translated into English by Erik Zürcher. The several passages translated by Schopen have also been a useful reference for us.
Our translation is based on the version found in the Degé Kangyur. We have compared its readings with those of the versions found in the other Kangyurs included in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma), as well as that found in the Stok Palace Kangyur.
[B1] Homage to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling in Śrāvastī, in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park, together with a great saṅgha of about five thousand monks and eight thousand bodhisattva great beings, including Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta, Avalokiteśvara, Mahāsthāmaprāpta, Śrīgarbha, and Maitreya.
Then the Blessed One, surrounded and revered by a retinue of many hundreds of thousands, taught the Dharma.
At that time, Venerable Mahākāśyapa was seated among the retinue. Venerable Mahākāśyapa rose from his seat, draped his upper shawl over one shoulder, set his right knee on the ground, and with palms joined paid homage to the Blessed One.
Then he asked the Blessed One, “If the Blessed One will allow me the opportunity, may I ask the Blessed One, the Tathāgata, to answer certain questions that I would like to pose?”
The Blessed One replied to Venerable Mahākāśyapa, “Kāśyapa, ask the Blessed One whatever you wish, and my answers to your questions will delight you.”
Venerable Mahākāśyapa asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, how does a son or daughter of noble family who wishes for parinirvāṇa train once they have gone forth in the well-spoken Dharma and Vinaya? How do they act? How do they engage in spiritual practice?”
The Blessed One replied to Venerable Mahākāśyapa, “Excellent, Kāśyapa! You have asked such a question for the benefit of many beings, for the happiness of many beings, out of love for the world, and for the welfare, benefit, and happiness of the great mass of beings, gods and humans. Your intention to ask the Tathāgata a question on such a subject is excellent. So, Kāśyapa, listen well and remember what I shall explain to you.”
Venerable Mahākāśyapa gave his assent to the Blessed One and listened attentively to the Blessed One as he said, “Kāśyapa, a son or daughter of noble family who wishes for parinirvāṇa, once they have gone forth in the well-spoken Dharma and Vinaya, should train themselves in moral discipline, in restraint by the prātimokṣa vows, and in excellence in their conduct and associations. They should see danger in even the slightest misdeed and properly keep the fundamental precepts. They should be without craving and free from hypocrisy, flattery, solicitation, extortion, and greed for profit. They should be conscientious, modest, and restrained. They should be fearful of saṃsāra and adept and assiduous in its renunciation. They should always be sorrowful about saṃsāra and see the advantages of nirvāṇa.
“Whether they live under trees, on a mountain, in a hut, or in a cave, they should reflect on the features of the Tathāgata: ‘Thus, the Blessed One is a tathāgata, an arhat, a fully awakened buddha, endowed with perfect knowledge and conduct, a sugata, a knower of the world, a guide of beings to be tamed, unsurpassable, a teacher of gods and humans, a buddha, a blessed one. His lineage is excellent, his family is excellent, and his virtuous roots are excellent. He is immeasurable by virtue of his moral discipline and immeasurable by virtue of his samādhi, wisdom, liberation, and knowledge and vision of liberation. He is immeasurable by virtue of all his buddha qualities. He is endowed with unimaginable, immeasurable, and boundless positive attributes. His speech is truthful and accurate, and he acts in accordance with his words. His actions are unfailing. He is sublime, the great healer who removes the arrows of suffering, acting as a spiritual friend without even being asked. He is compassionate, the great guide.
“ ‘He perfectly teaches the Dharma that is nirvāṇa, which profoundly manifests its profundity and peacefully shows its peace; which is empty, without living beings, without confusion, and without characteristics; and which is the eradication of characteristics. It is wishless and free of wishes. It is without complexity and free from complexity. It is difficult to see and difficult to realize. It leads onward to the goal. It is free of substantiality. It is isolated and free from isolation. It is without substantiality and unsullied by substantiality. It is motionless and the eradication of motion. It is free of movement. It is inexpressible and free of expression. It is without arrogance. It reveals itself. It is unsullied and free from being sullied. It is without acceptance or rejection. It is the pacification of suffering and the eradication of craving.’ These are the features on which they should reflect.
“In this regard, Kāśyapa, a monk should go alone to a solitary place, and then, settling inward, he should reflect on the features of the Tathāgata in this way. He should think, ‘I have obtained a human birth, and I have gone forth, obtaining ordination into monkhood. Although I have pleased the Tathāgata, I am lazy and spoiled by the distractions of various kinds of activity, such that I do not know stability. Why is that? It is because I remain in a state in which I will die without ever attaining fruition, and although the blessed buddhas appear in the world as rarely as an udumbara flower, I will not have pleased the blessed buddhas of the present and future.’ That is how a monk should reflect on the features of the Tathāgata.
“In this regard, Kāśyapa, monks should emulate you and the elder Subhūti. That is because of the way that, without seeing me or hearing me, you went forth as a renunciant in emulation of the arhats, the perfectly awakened buddhas, who dwell in this world, Kāśyapa, and became an adornment to this Dharma and Vinaya. For those who have seen the Tathāgata directly, and having seen him approach him to make the request to go forth as renunciants and take full ordination as monks, their going forth is also authorized by the Tathāgata afterwards.
“A son or daughter of noble family should make the commitment to go forth in this well-proclaimed Dharma and Vinaya by seeing its two objectives. What are the two? They are to attain fruition in this very life and to become in future lives the cause of others seeing the Buddhadharma.
“In this regard, Kāśyapa, some foolish individuals put on saffron robes in the presence of the Tathāgata and make the commitment to go forth and be ordained into monkhood. Undertaking the trainings, they enter a hut or a cave, close the door, and then engage in thoughts of desire, thoughts of malice or harm, thoughts of their begging bowl and their monastic robes, and thoughts of the households of friends and of alms-giving households. They think to themselves, ‘The Tathāgata does not know us. He is not aware of us and does not think of us.’
“Kāśyapa, whether a monk is in a hut, in a cave, or on a walking path, whenever he engages in thoughts of desire, thoughts of malice, thoughts of harm, or different kinds of nonvirtuous thoughts, the deities who dwell in that hut, in that cave, or on that walking path know the monk’s mind, and they think, ‘Why is this monk, who has gone forth in the well-proclaimed Dharma and Vinaya, engaging in thoughts of nonvirtuous and sinful actions? It is inappropriate.’ They will then be displeased, anguished, and unhappy.
“Kāśyapa, some of those deities will encourage him, but others, aware that the monk is not worth teaching, will settle into an attitude of contempt. Look, Kāśyapa, if those deities who possess just a modicum of virtuous roots and knowledge know the minds of others, I need hardly mention that the Tathāgata, who has engaged in good actions for countless quintillion eons, also does so! Kāśyapa, there is nothing whatsoever that is not known, seen, comprehended, or realized by the Tathāgata. Kāśyapa, the Tathāgata possesses unobstructed wisdom with regard to the five types of objects of knowledge—those that are past, present, future, freed from time, and inexpressible. He is free of uncertainty.
“Therefore, Kāśyapa, a son or daughter of noble family, knowing that because they have gone forth in the well-proclaimed Dharma and Vinaya they are self-reliant, should train with the thought, ‘The Tathāgata knows my mind, and because all the blessed buddhas who dwell and flourish in the limitless, infinite worlds in the ten directions also know my mind, I should not, after I have gone forth in the teaching of the Tathāgata, be a swindler-ascetic.’
“Now, Kāśyapa, what is a swindler-ascetic? There are four types of swindler-ascetics. What are the four? Kāśyapa, a monk who has the appearance, distinguishing marks, and figure of an ascetic but whose moral discipline is deficient and who is an evildoer is the first type of swindler-ascetic. One who goes to a secluded spot and engages in nonvirtuous thoughts while dwelling there is the second type of swindler-ascetic. One who knows himself to be an ordinary person who has not attained fruition but, overcome by desire for gain, reverence, and praise, falsely claims in the presence of others to be an arhat is the third type of swindler-ascetic. One who praises himself and denigrates others is the fourth type of swindler-ascetic. Those, Kāśyapa, are the four types of swindler-ascetics.
“Kāśyapa, imagine there came along a fierce, coarse, ferocious man who was physically powerful and endowed with great strength. That man bludgeoned every person in Jambudvīpa, or stabbed them or punched them, and after subduing them robbed them and made off with all their useful goods: cowry shells, gold, precious stones, pearls, beryl, conches, crystals, coral, gold dust, silver, and different kinds of jewels, as well as their house, vehicle, clothes, food, drink, bedding, and furniture to be used or enjoyed, and every possession that could provide pleasure or leisure. What do you think, Kāśyapa? Would that man create a great deal of nonmerit on that basis?”
Kāśyapa replied, “Yes, Blessed One, he would create a great deal. Sugata, he would create a great deal.”
The Blessed One said, “Kāśyapa, believe this and take it to heart: when someone who knows themselves to be an ordinary person who has not attained fruition, overcome by desire for gain, reverence, and praise, falsely claims in the presence of others to be a stream enterer and then enjoys so much as a single meal of alms food, that creates an even greater amount of nonmerit. That creates an inexhaustibly greater amount of nonmerit.”
Then the elder Mahākāśyapa said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, how wonderful is the response of the Tathāgata, the precepts taught through analogies. Hearing such a precious analogy taught by the Tathāgata, what person who has not attained fruition would accept so much as a drink of water given by the faithful?”
The Blessed One replied, “That is right, Kāśyapa. What you say is right. One should live as if one’s head and clothes were ablaze, and until one has attained fruition, one should not accept so much as a drink of water given by the faithful.
“Kāśyapa, imagine there came along a second man, fiercer, coarser, and more ferocious, who was physically more powerful and endowed with greater strength. That man bludgeoned every person in a four-continent universe, or stabbed them or punched them, and after subduing them robbed them and made off with all their useful goods: cowry shells, gold, precious stones, pearls, beryl, conches, crystals, coral, gold dust, silver, and different kinds of jewels, as well as their house, vehicle, clothes, food, drink, bedding, and furniture to be used or enjoyed, and every possession that could provide pleasure or leisure. What do you think, Kāśyapa? Would that man create a great deal of nonmerit on that basis?”
Kāśyapa replied, “Yes, Blessed One, he would create a great deal. Sugata, he would create a great deal.”
The Blessed One said, “Kāśyapa, believe this and take it to heart: when someone who knows themselves to be an ordinary person who has not attained fruition, overcome by desire for gain, reverence, and praise, falsely claims in the presence of others to be a once-returner and then enjoys so much as a single meal of alms food, that creates an even greater amount of nonmerit. That creates an inexhaustibly greater amount of nonmerit.
“But, Kāśyapa, never mind the useful goods of all the people in a four-continent universe. Imagine there came along a third man, much fiercer, much coarser, and even more ferocious, who was physically much more powerful and endowed with much greater strength, and that man bludgeoned every person born in a small thousandfold universe, or stabbed them or punched them, and after subduing them robbed them and made off with all of their useful goods: cowry shells, gold, precious stones, pearls, beryl, conches, crystals, coral, gold dust, silver, and different kinds of jewels, as well as their house, vehicle, clothes, food, drink, bedding, and furniture to be used or enjoyed, and every possession that could provide pleasure or leisure. What do you think, Kāśyapa? Would that man create a great deal of nonmerit on that basis?”
Kāśyapa replied, “Yes, Blessed One, he would create a great deal. Sugata, he would create a great deal.”
The Blessed One said, “Kāśyapa, believe this and take it to heart: when someone who knows themselves to be an ordinary person who has not attained fruition, overcome by desire for gain, reverence, and praise, falsely claims in the presence of others to be a non-returner and then enjoys so much as a single meal of alms food, that creates an even greater amount of nonmerit. That creates an inexhaustibly greater amount of nonmerit.
“Kāśyapa, never mind the useful goods of all the people in a small thousandfold universe. Imagine there came along a fourth man, supremely fierce, supremely coarse, and supremely ferocious, who was physically supremely powerful and endowed with supreme strength, and that man bludgeoned every god, nāga, yakṣa, gandharva, asura, garuḍa, kinnara, mahoraga, human, and nonhuman in a thousandfold universe, or stabbed them or punched them, and after subduing them robbed them and made off with all of their useful goods: cowry shells, gold, precious stones, pearls, beryl, conches, crystals, coral, gold dust, silver, and different kinds of jewels, as well as their house, vehicle, clothes, food, drink, bedding, and furniture to be used or enjoyed, and every possession that could provide pleasure or leisure. What do you think, Kāśyapa? Would that man create a great deal of nonmerit on that basis?”
Kāśyapa replied, “Yes, Blessed One, he would create a great deal. Sugata, he would create a great deal.”
The Blessed One said, “Kāśyapa, believe this and take it to heart: when someone who knows themselves to be an ordinary person who has not attained fruition, overcome by desire for gain, reverence, and praise, falsely claims in the presence of others to be an arhat while thinking that others should recognize them as an arhat, exalts themselves in the way that an arhat is exalted, exhibits signs like those an arhat exhibits, and, possessing such sinful desires, enjoys so much as a single meal of alms food given by the faithful, that creates an even greater amount of nonmerit. That creates an inexhaustibly greater amount of nonmerit.
“Therefore, Kāśyapa, compared to someone inclined to steal every pleasing possession of all the beings in a thousandfold universe, I do not see any more despicable behavior of one gone forth than to enjoy what is given by the faithful with such sinful desires.
“Kāśyapa, these are the four sinful desires of one who has gone forth in the Śrāvaka Vehicle. What are the four? They are the desire to see the buddhas of the future, the desire for the sovereignty of a universal monarch, the desire for royal lineage, and the desire for a brahmanical lineage. Those are the four sinful desires of one who has gone forth in the Śrāvaka Vehicle.
“When they aspire to something, even when they aspire to nirvāṇa, that is itself a sinful desire of theirs. With that in mind, the Tathāgata taught, ‘Monks, I do not in fact commend nirvāṇa with a remainder of the aggregates, nor do I commend birth even for so much as an instant.’
“Kāśyapa, these are the four stains of ascetics; one who has gone forth should never give rise to any of them. What are the four? They are clinging to the transitory collection, conceiving of it as a person, transgressing the training, and desiring to see the buddhas of the future. Those are the four stains of ascetics; one who has gone forth should never give rise to any of them.
“Kāśyapa, it was for the sake of ascetics and brahmins whose livelihoods are pure, who are free of sinful desires, who are morally disciplined, upright by nature, honest, and free of hypocrisy and arrogance, and who desire parinirvāṇa that I attained unsurpassed, perfect awakening and became a buddha. Therefore, Kāśyapa, you should speak words of encouragement to them so that, on hearing them, those yogis who engage in spiritual practice will be pleased and happy.
“Kāśyapa, suppose some son or daughter of noble family has paid homage to all the beings in a four-continent universe for an eon or more with every pleasing possession and revered them, honored them, and made offerings to them. In comparison, when someone who has practiced properly, whose moral discipline is pure, and whose livelihood is pure accepts so much as a drink of water given in faith by a donor, that will create for them an enormous amount of merit. But that is not the case for the one who has paid homage to all the beings in the four-continent universe for an eon or more with every pleasing possession and revered them, honored them, and made offerings to them.
“Kāśyapa, a fool with sinful desires harms the welfare of the person from whom he receives monastic robes or alms in a way that even a foe, a murderer, an opponent, or an enemy could not.
“Kāśyapa, these are the four subtle defilements of one who has gone forth, and if one who has gone forth has these subtle defilements, it should be declared that they will go to the hell realms just like an arrow that has been shot. What are the four? They are to be envious of another’s gain, to commit offenses against moral discipline after studying the sūtras connected with the precepts, to violate the Tathagata’s teachings or the training and then arrogantly conceal it while neither discerning nor confessing it, and to then knowingly enjoy gifts from the faithful.
“Kāśyapa, those are the four subtle defilements of one who has gone forth, and if one who has gone forth has these subtle defilements, it should be declared that they will go to the hell realms just like an arrow that has been shot.
“Kāśyapa, these are the four types of bogus ascetic. What are the four? They are one whose moral discipline is corrupted, one who believes in a self, one who abandons the authentic Dharma, and one who is a Lokāyata. Those are the four types of bogus ascetic.
“Kāśyapa, these are the four ways in which one who has gone forth is puffed-up and careless, and if one who has gone forth is puffed-up and careless in these ways, it should be declared that they will go to the hell realms. What are the four? They are to be puffed-up with great learning, becoming careless because of it, to be puffed-up and overcome by gain, reverence, and praise, becoming careless because of it, to be puffed-up by the households of friends and those who give alms, becoming careless because of the food given by the households of friends and those who give alms, and to be puffed-up with ascetic practices and having few possessions, praising themselves and denigrating others because of being puffed-up with ascetic practices and having few possessions. That is what is known as carelessness.
“Kāśyapa, those are the four ways in which one who has gone forth is puffed-up and careless, and if one who has gone forth is puffed-up and careless in those ways, it should be declared that they will go to the hell realms.”
Then the elder Mahākāśyapa said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, in the future, in the final five-hundred-year period, the bogus ascetics who want saffron robes and who will cause the disappearance of the unsurpassed, perfect awakening that the tathāgatas have accomplished for countless millions of eons—what will they be like?”
The Blessed One replied to Venerable Mahākāśyapa, “Kāśyapa, what is the point of you asking the Tathāgata for an account of this? Let it go, Kāśyapa, because if the Tathāgata actually described and explained all the faults of those foolish peoples’ sinful desires, false conceptions, deceits, frauds, errors, malign flaws, and malign forces, after you heard of the sinful behavior of those unholy individuals, even though it is incorrect, it would not appear so to you.”
Then the elder Mahākāśyapa said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, I beg the Blessed One, the Tathāgata, to give his blessing so that this Dharma and Vinaya may remain for a long time, come what may.”
Then the Blessed One replied to Venerable Mahākāśyapa, “Kāśyapa, before long the Tathāgata will pass into parinirvāṇa.”
Kāśyapa said, “Blessed One, in order to protect the authentic Dharma, I beg the Blessed One, the Tathāgata, to remain for an eon or longer.”
The Blessed One replied to Venerable Mahākāśyapa, “Kāśyapa, even if, say, a thousand buddhas had taught the Dharma, with miracles, to those foolish people, those unholy individuals would not let go of or turn away from their sinful desires and sinful conceptions. Besides, Kāśyapa, in the future, in the final five-hundred-year period, you will be inspired to preserve the authentic Dharma, and beings with virtuous minds who will listen respectfully to your explanations will be born.”
Then the elder Mahākāśyapa said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, I, along with the four-continent universe with its hamlets, towns, and villages, its crags and mountain peaks, and its oceans, rivers, and woods, would gladly plead for this on my knees for an eon or longer. But, Blessed One, I would not be glad to hear about the acts of propounding falsehood of those unholy individuals. Blessed One, I would be happy to live on a single juniper berry or sesame seed or grain of rice for an eon or longer. But, Blessed One, I would not be glad to hear about the acts of propounding falsehood of those unholy individuals. Blessed One, I would be glad to live for as long as ten million years in the four postures in a great billionfold universe burning, blazing, and raging throughout with an eon-ending fire. But, Blessed One, I would not be glad to hear about the acts of propounding falsehood of those unholy individuals. Blessed One, I would be glad to patiently accept anger, insults, denigration, degradation, intimidation, and beatings from all beings. But, Blessed One, I would not be glad to hear about the acts of propounding falsehood of those thieves and swindlers of the Dharma, those who speak nonsense about the Dharma, and teachers of counterfeit Dharma. Because my practice and knowledge are limited, I am not capable of bearing such a responsibility. But, Blessed One, a bodhisattva is capable of bearing such a responsibility.
“Furthermore, Blessed One, I venture to draw this analogy: I would compare it, Blessed One, to a certain man, old and infirm, about one hundred and twenty years of age. Afflicted with an illness, the man takes to his bed to lie down after experiencing chest pain. At that point, a certain confused man who is rich, with ample wealth and possessions, arrives and says to the bed-ridden man, ‘Fellow, I entrust you with this treasure of mine, but when I return in ten or twenty years’ time from another region, return this treasure to me.’ He hands over the treasure, and after entrusting it in this way, he goes off to another region.
“The bed-ridden man has neither sons nor daughters nor attendants, and before long, after the man has gone off to another region, the bed-ridden man dies. After that whole mass of wealth has been lost, when the man returns, no matter what the man says to anyone, there is nothing to be done.
“In the same way, Blessed One, if the treasure of the authentic Dharma is entrusted to a śrāvaka, whose practice and knowledge are limited, who is without a companion, and who will not remain for long, it will also not remain for long.”
The Blessed One replied, “Yes, indeed, Kāśyapa. I, too, am aware of this. However, I knowingly asked this of you because if they hear your eloquent analogy, those unholy individuals will develop remorse.”
Then the elder Mahākāśyapa said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, I venture to draw a second analogy here. I would compare it, Blessed One, to this: there is a certain person whose constitution is healthy and free of illness, who will live for many hundreds of thousands of years, and who is youthful, a young man. He has plenty of attendants and plenty of resources, an excellent lineage and family, and a virtuous disposition. He is loving and greatly compassionate, cheerful, and equanimous towards the faults of beings and the faults of the defilements. He acts for the benefit of many beings, for the happiness of many beings, out of love for the world, and for the welfare, benefit, and happiness of the great mass of beings, gods and humans. He is steadfast in his endeavors. A certain man comes into the presence of that holy individual and says, ‘Fellow, I entrust you with this treasure of mine, so hide and protect it well. When I return in ten- or twenty-years’ time from another region, return this treasure to me.’ When he hands the treasure over, the man accepts it and hides and protects it well, and when the other man returns, he gives it back to him.
“In the same way, Blessed One, if someone entrusts the treasure of the authentic Dharma to a bodhisattva, it will not be lost for many billions of eons but will be beneficial to many beings, and the lineage of the Buddha, of the Dharma, and of the Saṅgha will remain unbroken.
“Blessed One, I am not capable of the actions that a bodhisattva accomplishes or of the goals that they accomplish. But, since the bodhisattva great being Maitreya is present in this very retinue, Blessed One, please command him. In the future, in the final five-hundred-year period when the authentic Dharma disappears, he will uphold and spread widely the unsurpassed, perfect awakening that the tathāgatas have accomplished for countless millions of eons.
“The reason, Blessed One, is that the bodhisattva great being Maitreya will fully awaken to unsurpassed, perfect buddhahood after the Tathāgata. Blessed One, I would compare it to the son and heir who receives the royal anointment of a king. Because he will be bestowed with sovereignty after the king, even while he receives the royal anointment, he takes delight in it and also becomes righteous. He thinks to himself, ‘After I have received this royal anointment, I shall act as king.’ He is encouraged by this thought and so becomes deeply involved in all royal activities. In the same way, when the Blessed One, the Tathāgata, passes away, this bodhisattva great being Maitreya will be bestowed with the great sovereignty of the kingdom of the authentic Dharma; therefore I beg him to deeply involve himself in protecting the authentic Dharma.”
The Blessed One replied to the elder Mahākāśyapa, “Good, good, Kāśyapa! What you say is right.”
Then the Blessed One extended his golden-colored right hand, his gentle, supremely supple hand acquired through virtuous roots over countless millions of eons, its touch pleasing like the finest silk, and poured liquid the color of red lac dye onto the head of the bodhisattva great being Maitreya, anointing him.
He then said, “Maitreya, in the future, in the final five-hundred-year period, when the time has arrived for the authentic Dharma to disappear, take delight in protecting the authentic Dharma, causing it to last for a long while, upholding it, and causing the lineage of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha to remain unbroken.”
As soon as the Blessed One laid his gold-colored right hand on the crown of the bodhisattva great being Maitreya’s head, at that very moment this whole great billionfold universe shook violently three times. It shook, shook violently, and shook all over; it trembled, trembled violently, and trembled all over; it quaked, quaked violently, and quaked all over. A great radiance appeared in the world.
The gods of the earth and those who live in space, up to those of Akaniṣṭha, joined their palms together and said to the bodhisattva great being Maitreya, “Noble Maitreya, please take delight in protecting the authentic Dharma, causing it to last for a long while and upholding it for the benefit of many beings, for the happiness of many beings, out of love for the world, and for the welfare, benefit, and happiness of the great mass of beings, gods and humans.”
Then the bodhisattva great being Maitreya rose from his seat, draped his upper shawl over one shoulder, set his right knee on the ground, and with palms joined paid homage to the Blessed One. Then he said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, if I am happy to remain in saṃsāra until the end of time for the sake of even a single being, there is no need to say that I shall do so in order to uphold the authentic Dharma. Blessed One, I shall protect and spread widely the unsurpassed, perfect awakening that the tathāgatas have accomplished for countless millions of eons.”
As soon as the bodhisattva great being Maitreya set his right knee on the ground, this whole great billionfold universe shook violently in six ways.
Then the bodhisattva great being Maitreya said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, I am no one’s rival, and I am arrogant toward no one. Why is that? Blessed One, it is because these upholders of the authentic Dharma do the work of holy individuals. The burden that bodhisattvas carry, Blessed One, is a burden the likes of which śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas are incapable of carrying.”
Then the Blessed One commended the bodhisattva great being Maitreya, “Good, good, Maitreya! Just as you have uttered such a lion’s roar in my presence in order to uphold the authentic Dharma, in the same way, bodhisattvas also utter lions’ roars in the presence of all the blessed buddhas of the ten directions, as many as the grains of sand in the Ganges, and act to uphold the authentic Dharma.”
The bodhisattva great being Maitreya said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, may the Blessed One, the Tathāgata, please instruct me on the subject of the flaws of those unholy individuals who profess to be bodhisattvas, who profess to be ascetics, who are idiots and fools, who seek gain and reverence and are attached to gain and reverence, and who are attached to the households of friends and those who give alms, exerting themselves for alms food. This is so that once I have learned of those causes in this way, Blessed One, I will understand them and so will abandon them all the faster and protect myself from those flaws. In addition, it is so that some of those unholy individuals will say, ‘The Tathāgata knows me, and the Tathāgata understands me; he understands me perfectly,’ and will develop faith in the Tathāgata.”
The Blessed One replied to the bodhisattva great being Maitreya, “Listen well and remember, then, Maitreya, and I shall teach you just a little about the flaws of those unholy individuals. So, Maitreya, in the future, in the final five-hundred-year period, there will be many who falsely claim to be bodhisattvas. I shall explain what their sinful desires will be.
“Maitreya, if bodhisattvas possess four qualities, one should recognize that they falsely claim to be bodhisattvas. What are the four? They are desire for gain, desire for reverence, dishonesty, and sustaining themselves through an unsuitable livelihood.
“Maitreya, if bodhisattvas possess those four qualities, one should recognize that they falsely claim to be bodhisattvas.”
“Maitreya, in the future, in the final five-hundred-year period, there will be many falsely claiming to be bodhisattvas who behave like dogs. By way of analogy, Maitreya, if a dog sees another dog coming from a distance toward someone’s house that it has visited several times before, it thinks ‘This is my house!’ and barks and howls possessively, with angry looks. Hostility leads to wrongdoing, and it gets the idea of claiming the other’s house and that it belongs to it.
“In the same way, Maitreya, in the future, in the final five-hundred-year period, the many falsely claiming to be bodhisattvas who behave like dogs will get the idea that other peoples’ houses and hamlets belong to them. Once they have the idea that they belong to them, they will appropriate them. If one monastic sees another monastic coming toward a house that they have visited before, they will think ‘This is my house!’ They will then give the other angry looks and become hostile, fighting, quarreling, arguing, and contending over it. The monastics will engage each other in verbal disputes and speak harshly to each other. One will say of the other, ‘The monk so-and-so possesses such-and-such flaws’ and ‘The nun so-and-so possesses such-and-such flaws.’
“Speaking unpleasantly, they will also say to householders, ‘If you want to follow me, you must not follow the monk so-and-so, and do not follow the nun so-and-so.’
“Merely for the sake of disgusting, perishable, execrable food, they will create a great deal of nonmerit. Behaving like hungry ghosts, poverty stricken, mean and avaricious, they will feed themselves. They will call themselves bodhisattvas and falsely claim to be bodhisattvas. While they break their vows of moral discipline, harbor sinful desires, and behave in sinful ways, they will utter praise of the buddhas, praise of the buddhas’ wisdom, and praise of the perfect attitudes of other bodhisattvas. Their accomplishments will be food and clothing!
“Maitreya, this is how the type of persons who should roar and act like a lion will cry out and act like a fox. While they utter praise of renouncing everything they own, they will not renounce fleeting worldly trifles; avarice will overcome them, the stain of possessions will soil them, and they will have alienated themselves from renunciation. While they utter praise of what is beneficial, they will engage in much malicious, unyielding, and angry wrongdoing. While they utter praise of patience, they will harbor nothing but malice. While they utter praise of the four means of gathering disciples, they will not give anything to anyone, will not speak pleasantly, will not help, and will be inconsistent in their words and deeds, gathering no one—look at how intolerable they will be!
“They will not train themselves in emulation of the bodhisattvas’ diligence through conduct steeped in the good qualities to which they have pledged themselves—they will only pay lip service.
“Maitreya, countless eons ago in the past—exceedingly countless, totally countless, numerous, immeasurable, unimaginable, incalculable eons ago—there arose in the world a tathāgata, an arhat, a perfectly awakened buddha called Highest Wisdom, endowed with perfect knowledge and conduct, a sugata, a knower of the world, an unsurpassed guide of beings to be tamed, a teacher of gods and humans, a buddha, a blessed one. That tathāgata, Maitreya, came into the world when it possessed the five degenerations, as it does now.
“At that time, Maitreya, there was a monk named Diligent Aspiration who was mindful, realized, and intelligent. He had little desire; he was content with what he had. He practiced the teachings of the tathāgatas. He visited hamlets, towns, villages, royal palaces, and the surrounding regions. When, on his arrival there, he taught the Dharma, the kings, important ministers, and most of the rest of the population would honor him, make offerings to him, pay homage to him, and show him reverence. They recognized him and knew him well.
“He never thought to go a second time to any house where he had stayed and been spoken to pleasantly, where he was listened to respectfully, and where he obtained food and drink. It was other houses that he went to—those of misers, people without faith, and those with wrong views—and when he arrived there, they gave him no welcome. Not only did they not speak pleasantly to him, they got angry and abused him. But he, by donning the armor of patience and remaining greatly compassionate, was not distressed on going to those houses, and he felt no unhappiness.
“Maitreya, the houses where the bodhisattva Diligent Aspiration had aroused faith supported other monks with monastic robes, alms food, bedding, seats, medicines to cure illness, and implements. What do you think, Maitreya? Do you think that he neither went to those houses nor even thought to go to them but, even so, gave rise to thoughts of jealousy and avarice toward those other monks?”
Maitreya replied, “No, Blessed One. No, Sugata.”
The Blessed One said, “See, Maitreya, that is how the bodhisattva Diligent Aspiration aroused faith in the houses where he was spoken to pleasantly, where he was listened to respectfully, and where he found food and drink, and where other monks were supported. After that he did not enter them a second time. He aroused faith in the houses of misers, people without faith, and those with wrong views, and even when they got angry and abused him, he was not distressed and felt no unhappiness. Rather, he was really a benefit, with a noble intention, with little desire, content with what he had, gentle, and compassionate.
“Maitreya, that is how previous bodhisattvas aroused faith in householders and supported others, but they did not do this for the sake of monastic robes or alms food for themselves. Maitreya, if you are of two minds or doubtful as to whether, at that particular time, the bodhisattva named Diligent Aspiration was someone else, do not view it that way. For I myself was, at that particular time, the bodhisattva named Diligent Aspiration.
“Therefore, Maitreya, bodhisattvas who wish to visit houses should emulate the bodhisattva Diligent Aspiration. Apart from him, they should emulate other bodhisattvas’ perfect noble intention and behave just as those bodhisattvas do. [B2]
“Furthermore, Maitreya, in the future, in the final five-hundred-year period, there will be some monks falsely claiming to be bodhisattvas who act as follows: they will visit houses for the sake of gain, monastic robes, and alms food, but not in order to establish householders in faith. They will express criticism of one another and be divisive and quarrelsome. They will be glad because others lose, not because they themselves gain; and they will be unhappy because others gain, not because they themselves lose.
“Maitreya, if a bodhisattva should, without any regard, give all their own pleasing possessions to others, consider how far these monks will go astray! Because, Maitreya, a bodhisattva first develops an attitude of great compassion, thinking, ‘I must make all beings happy!’
“Maitreya, as an analogy, if a merchant or householder had an only son who was dear, beloved, and handsome, and whom a king imprisoned because of certain transgressions, what do you think, Maitreya—with what intention would the merchant or householder enter the king’s prison?”
The bodhisattva great being Maitreya replied to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, resolved to free their only son, they would think, ‘I shall quickly free my only son from this prison!’ They would enter the prison focused solely on their only son. They would enter the prison and, focused on freeing him, bring about his release.”
The Blessed One replied, “Maitreya, I have used this analogy so that the meaning will be understood. What is that meaning? It is as follows. You should consider the king’s prison to be just like the prison of saṃsāra. By analogy, Maitreya, you should consider the merchant or householder to be just like a bodhisattva. Maitreya, as for the analogy of the only son, consider that a bodhisattva should think of every being as like their only son.
“It is like this, Maitreya—just as the merchant or householder would not enter the prison for any other reason or purpose than to benefit their only son, in the same way, Maitreya, a bodhisattva should not go into houses in order to get monastic robes or alms food. Thus, they should view it as their duty to go into houses in order to free from saṃsāra those who live in them.
“Furthermore, Maitreya, in the future, in the final five-hundred-year period, there will be some monks who have not cultivated their bodies or their minds, who have not cultivated moral discipline or wisdom. In order to get monastic robes and alms food, these monks will go to houses taking presents of flowers, fruit, foliage, and implements and presents of recompense for favors done. Maitreya, monks should not behave like garlands of flowers or like servants and laborers. Maitreya, a monk who wishes to go to houses should go with no present apart from the Dharma, not bringing any other present; he should be learned, versed in the scriptures, fearless, free from craving, free from hypocrisy, not a flatterer, and not possessive. He should go to houses out of love for the Dharma. Having arrived at the house, he should utter praise of the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, and he should utter praise of generosity, moral discipline, patience, diligence, concentration, and wisdom. Apart from the gift of a Dharma discourse, he should offer no talk about the household, farming, business, matters of pleasure, the king, bandits, hamlets, towns, the countryside, sons, or daughters or any other talk.
“Maitreya, suppose someone filled this great billionfold universe with the seven kinds of precious substances and then offered them to a son or daughter of noble family. If they gathered all the pleasing possessions of the beings contained within the great billionfold universe and then gave them to that son or daughter of noble family, that mass of wealth and those many pleasing possessions would not be a kindness or bring benefit to the son or daughter of noble family.
“But if they caused them to listen to merely a single four-line verse of Dharma, just causing them to hear it resound, even if they do not acquire faith at that point, would be extremely enriching and beneficial for, and kind to, the son or daughter of noble family.
“Maitreya, when those monks have entered a house, they set aside the teachings of the Buddha and conduct worldly conversations—what an enormously pointless domestic endeavor! Why is that? Because, Maitreya, gold, silver, precious stones, jewels, pearls, beryl, conches, crystals, coral, and other pleasing possessions do not liberate from birth beings whose nature it is to be born. They do not liberate from sickness beings whose nature it is to become ill. They do not liberate from old age, death, anguish, weeping, suffering, unhappiness, and being upset beings whose nature it is to grow old, die, feel anguish, weep, suffer, become unhappy, and be upset.
“But hearing the Dharma liberates beings whose nature it is to be born from birth. It liberates beings whose nature it is to become ill from sickness, and it liberates beings whose nature it is to grow old, die, feel anguish, weep, suffer, become unhappy, and be upset by what afflicts them.
“With this in mind, the Tathāgata teaches that:
“Maitreya, if, out of great compassion, a bodhisattva recites a single four-line verse of Dharma to a single being, that creates much more merit than if they fill the limitless, infinite universes with the seven kinds of precious substances and then present them as an offering to the blessed buddhas.
“In this respect, it is said:
Then the Blessed One said to the bodhisattva great being Maitreya, “Maitreya, in the center of the Tathāgata’s right hand are manifest the rays of light known as adorned with the natural result of the accomplishment of every merit. If the Tathāgata so wished, he might cover this whole great billionfold universe with his right hand and then bring to every being every pleasing possession: food for those who desire food, drink for those who desire drink, clothes for those who desire clothes, and jewels for those who desire jewels, giving everyone whatever they desire. However, just that would not liberate those beings from their great, monstrous suffering in the beginningless and endless ocean of saṃsāra. Therefore, Maitreya, I have put aside such worldly pleasing possessions in order to teach the precious Dharma of happiness that transcends the world, which always pacifies the suffering of the beings who hear it.
“Therefore, Maitreya, you should follow my example—do not involve yourself with trifles; involve yourself with the Dharma.
“Furthermore, Maitreya, in the future, in the final five-hundred-year period, when the time has arrived for the authentic Dharma to disappear, there will be some falsely claiming to be bodhisattvas who will wholly transgress their vows. When they have committed sinful acts by not restraining their body, speech, or mind, they will think that faults are purified merely by confession, but they will not exercise restraint thereafter and will make no vow to exercise restraint thereafter. Since I have taught the Dharma discourse of the Three Sections in order to exhaust previously committed sinful acts, those foolish people will think that once they have engaged in wholly transgressing their vows, faults will be purified merely by confession and cleansing, and they will not control themselves thereafter.
“Furthermore, Maitreya, because I have dispelled the karma of sons and daughters of noble family who are followers of the Bodhisattva Vehicle, a bodhisattva cannot fall into the hells, the animal realms, the world of the Lord of Death, or any other kind of rebirth into poverty due to a minor act of nonvirtue. Even so, a bodhisattva should quickly eliminate it, feel ashamed of it, wish to train, and see danger in their next life, continually worried and afraid of all the realms of rebirth within cyclic existence.
“The reason for that, Maitreya, is that a bodhisattva, in order to take care of all beings, makes the vow, ‘After I have crossed over I shall deliver all of you; after I am free I shall liberate you; after I am comforted I shall comfort you; after I attain parinirvāṇa I shall cause you to attain parinirvāṇa.’
“Therefore, Maitreya, on the face of the earth with its gods, Māra, Brahmā, ascetics, and brahmins, there is no being whatsoever who has seen all the actions of the bodhisattvas or all their burdens, obligations, aims, or duties.
“Maitreya, by way of analogy, imagine someone placed this great billionfold universe with its crags, mountains, oceans, rivers, and forests on top of someone’s head or shoulders and then commanded him, ‘Hey fellow, you must carry this great billionfold universe along with its crags, mountains, oceans, rivers, and forests for an eon or longer, or for a hundred, a thousand, or a hundred thousand eons, without setting it down or taking a rest.’ What do you think, Maitreya? Would that man’s burden be great, and would his perseverance, strength, and diligence be powerful?”
Maitreya replied, “Yes, Blessed One, they would be powerful. Indeed, Sugata, they would be powerful.”
The Blessed One said, “Maitreya, believe this and take it to heart. Consider that even more powerful than that is the burden, perseverance, strength, and diligence of a bodhisattva who takes care of all beings, vowing, ‘O beings, I shall establish you in the happiness of nirvāṇa.’
“By way of analogy, Maitreya, suppose a certain person transformed the extent of their actions into the extent of the actions of all the beings contained in the great billionfold universe, accomplishing all those actions of all those beings in the time it took to snap his fingers just once, without at all impairing the efficacy of those actions. What do you think, Maitreya? Would the actions of that person be powerful?”
Maitreya replied, “Yes, Blessed One. Indeed so, Sugata. They would be powerful, Blessed One. Sugata, they would be powerful.”
The Blessed One said, “Maitreya, believe this and take it to heart: the actions of a bodhisattva who has declared ‘I shall liberate all beings from the suffering of saṃsāra’ are more powerful than that.
“By way of analogy, Maitreya, suppose a certain householder has an only son who is dear, beloved, handsome, and agreeable in appearance. Because of certain transgressions, the householder is summoned to the king’s palace along with his only son, his wife, his servants and laborers, and all his wealth, riches, and possessions.
“Then the king orders the householder, ‘Householder, go on this errand to the town called such-and-such situated a hundred thousand leagues from here, arriving within seven days. Return to my presence within seven days, carrying a receipt. Then I will return to you this only son of yours, this wife of yours, and all your attendants, wealth, riches, and possessions. Furthermore, I will even give you the gift of half my kingdom. If you go and do not return within seven days, having gotten a receipt from the town, not only will I not give you the slightest thing, I will sentence you to death and execute you together with your only son, your wife, and your attendants.’
“Maitreya, do you think the householder, as soon as he is given that order, will think, ‘Since I love myself, my son and wife, and my attendants and wealth, I will go to that town with strong determination and speed’?”
Maitreya replied, “Yes, Blessed One. Indeed so, Sugata. As I understand the meaning of what the Tathāgata has said, until he has accomplished that objective, he will not be distracted from it; he will have no thought of food or inclination toward sloth or sleep. Blessed One, that is because, setting aside other external things, it would be for the sake of what is dear to him.”
In this sūtra, Mahākāśyapa poses a series of questions to the Buddha about proper monastic conduct and practice, which the Buddha answers at length. Mahākāśyapa then requests the Buddha to remain in the world in order to safeguard the Dharma, but when the Buddha initially predicts that Mahākāśyapa himself will do so in the future, Mahākāśyapa insists that for the Dharma to remain for long, it must be entrusted to a bodhisattva rather than a śrāvaka. The Buddha then anoints Maitreya and entrusts him with the responsibility of protecting the Dharma in the future. There follows a teaching from the Buddha about those in the future who will falsely claim to be bodhisattvas and about the proper conduct and practice of bodhisattvas, as well as a description from Maitreya of his own practice of the bodhisattva path. When Mahākāśyapa asks the Buddha about those in the future who will be “sham bodhisattvas,” the Buddha offers a series of teachings on the mistaken and blameworthy practice of commercializing the worship of relics, stūpas, and images and seeking to make a living thereby, contrasting this with a monastic’s proper practice of ascetic conduct and meditative inquiry. In addition to the Buddha’s criticism, this sūtra is notable for its memorable analogies, past life narratives, and emphasis on the ascetic practice of the forest-dwelling monastic.
This sūtra was translated by Dr. Karen Liljenberg and Dr. Ulrich Pagel.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The generous sponsorship of Ting Xie, Guowen Xie, Xiangzhi Yu, and Jiayu Xie, which helped make the work on this translation possible, is most gratefully acknowledged.
The Great Lion’s Roar of Maitreya opens amid an assembly of śrāvaka and bodhisattva disciples, where Venerable Mahākāśyapa poses a series of questions to the Buddha about how men and women who have gone forth into monastic life should train, act, and engage in spiritual practice. In response, the Buddha describes at length the proper conduct and practice of those who have gone forth, contrasting it with various forms of potential misconduct and faulty practice and utilizing a series of memorable analogies as illustrations.
Mahākāśyapa then requests that the Buddha remain in the world “for an eon or longer” in order to safeguard the Dharma. The Buddha predicts that in the future Mahākāśyapa himself will safeguard the Dharma, at which point Mahākāśyapa objects that the Dharma cannot remain for long if it is entrusted to a śrāvaka rather than a bodhisattva, and he supplicates the Buddha to anoint Maitreya in his stead. The Buddha then commands Maitreya to take responsibility for protecting the Dharma in the future, which he accepts.
In response to Maitreya’s query, the Buddha describes at length the blameworthy qualities of those in the future who will “falsely claim to be bodhisattvas” and the proper conduct and practice of bodhisattvas, again utilizing a series of analogies as well as a narrative of one of his past lives. Maitreya roars his lion’s roar in response, describing his own diligent and ascetic practice of the bodhisattva path. When a group of monks rises to leave the assembly, thinking Maitreya’s description of ascetic practice unrealistic, Maitreya reassures them and offers a teaching on how they should practice.
Finally, Mahākāśyapa asks the Buddha how many “sham bodhisattvas” there will be in the future, and the Buddha answers by predicting that sham bodhisattvas will involve themselves in the worship of his relics rather than in proper practice. He elaborates by narrating another of his past lives, in which Maitreya in a former life also features, providing an extended critique of those who involve themselves in devotional practices focused on relics, stūpas, and images to the exclusion of ascetic practice and meditation. In particular, the Buddha criticizes those who would commercialize such devotional activities and seek to make a living thereby, narrating another of his past lives by way of illustration. In this way, the Buddha contrasts proper practice, focused on renunciation, moral discipline, and meditative inquiry, with the improper practice of commercializing devotional practices for mundane ends.
The Great Lion’s Roar of Maitreya is one of the forty-nine sūtras that make up the Heap of Jewels (Ratnakūṭa; dkon brtsegs) section of the Kangyur, an important compilation of Mahāyāna scriptures that exists in both Chinese and Tibetan translation. No Sanskrit original has survived. The Chinese translation of the sūtra, Mohe jiaye hui 摩訶迦葉會 (Taishō 310 [23]), was produced in 541 by *Upaśūnya (月婆首那) and later included as part of the Chinese Ratnakūṭa compiled in the eighth century
Indications of the text’s place in the Indian Buddhist landscape can be found in the fact that it is quoted by name in A Compendium of Sūtras (Sūtrasamuccaya, Toh 3934), attributed to Nāgārjuna, as well as in An Explanation of The Compendium of Sūtras: An Ornament Illuminating the Jewels (Sūtrasamuccayabhāṣyaratnālokālaṃkāranāma, Toh 3935) attributed to Ratnākaraśānti (ca. 970–1045). The text is also extensively quoted by the renowned Atiśa (982–1054) in The Great Compendium of Sūtras (Mahāsūtrasamuccaya, Toh 3961). At least one citation by name appears also in A Compendium of Sūtras on the Stages of Meditation (Toh 3933). At the very least, these citations demonstrate that the sūtra was recopied and readily available to scholars in India over the course of the first millennium
As for the perspective of modern academic scholarship, Gregory Schopen has shown that there are multiple instances in the sūtra of vocabulary shared with the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, and Schopen’s analysis of the sūtra’s polemics against the commercialization of relic and image cults demonstrates either the direct influence of the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya or the fact that the present sūtra shared its milieu with the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya and the communities in which it was transmitted. In that regard, it is perhaps of interest that some of the sūtra’s criticism and instruction is aimed at śrāvaka as well as bodhisattva monastics, not to mention the sūtra’s promotion of the ideal of the forest-dwelling monastic and, in general, its view of the merits of monastic life in comparison to the life of lay householders. For example, the sūtra refers with approval to a supposed previous age in which literally everyone left their homes to take up the religious life, so that not even one householder remained.
The sūtra’s polemics against the commercialization of relic, stūpa, and image cults might be usefully contrasted with other sūtras in which such devotional practices are endorsed and promoted. In the case of devotional practices focused on stūpas (and by implication relics), the present sūtra might be contrasted with The Avalokinī Sūtra (Toh 195) as well as The Verses on Circumambulating Shrines (Caityapradakṣiṇagāthā, Toh 321). In the case of devotional practices focused on images, it might be contrasted with Describing the Benefits of Producing Representations of the Thus-Gone One (Tathāgatapratibimbapratiṣṭhānuśaṃsasaṃvarṇana, Toh 320).
The central place accorded to Maitreya in this sūtra means that it is fruitfully read together with the other sūtras in the Kangyur that feature or focus on the figure of Maitreya: The Question of Maitreya (Maitreyaparipṛcchā, Toh 85) and The Question of Maitreya on the Eight Qualities (Maitreyaparipṛcchādharmāṣṭa, Toh 86), which are also found in the Heap of Jewels section, and The Question of Maitreya (Maitreyaparipṛcchā, Toh 149), Maitreya’s Setting Out (Maitreyaprasthāna, Toh 198), and The Sūtra on Maitreya’s Birth in the Heaven of Joy (Toh 199). As the present sūtra describes the Buddha commanding Maitreya to take responsibility for safeguarding the Dharma in the future, of particular comparative interest are Maitreya’s Setting Out, in which the Buddha describes the past life in which Maitreya first gave rise to bodhicitta, and The Sūtra on Maitreya’s Birth in the Heaven of Joy, in which the Buddha describes Maitreya’s birth in the Heaven of Joy, from which he will eventually descend into this world to be fully awakened.
Though not alluded to in the present sūtra, the presence of both Mahākāśyapa and Maitreya, as well as the reference to who will assume responsibility for propagating the Dharma in a distant future, evokes the ancient Mūlasarvāstivāda tradition that links the two figures in terms of Maitreya’s eventual succession of the Buddha Śākyamuni. According to that tradition, the Buddha Śākyamuni bestowed his own robe on Mahākāśyapa, who succeeded the Buddha at the head of the monastic saṅgha. At the end of his own lifespan, Mahākāśyapa, wearing the Buddha’s robe, entered into Mount Kukkuṭapāda, where both the robe and his body will remain uncorrupted until the advent of Maitreya, who will proceed to the mountain and, depending on the source, remove Mahākāśyapa’s body in the presence of his own disciples or receive the Buddha Śākyamuni’s robe from him.
This is the first publication of a complete English translation of The Great Lion’s Roar of Maitreya. Selected passages from the second half of the sūtra were translated into French by Paul Demiéville in the 1930s, and several more were more recently translated into English by Erik Zürcher. The several passages translated by Schopen have also been a useful reference for us.
Our translation is based on the version found in the Degé Kangyur. We have compared its readings with those of the versions found in the other Kangyurs included in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma), as well as that found in the Stok Palace Kangyur.
[B1] Homage to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling in Śrāvastī, in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park, together with a great saṅgha of about five thousand monks and eight thousand bodhisattva great beings, including Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta, Avalokiteśvara, Mahāsthāmaprāpta, Śrīgarbha, and Maitreya.
Then the Blessed One, surrounded and revered by a retinue of many hundreds of thousands, taught the Dharma.
At that time, Venerable Mahākāśyapa was seated among the retinue. Venerable Mahākāśyapa rose from his seat, draped his upper shawl over one shoulder, set his right knee on the ground, and with palms joined paid homage to the Blessed One.
Then he asked the Blessed One, “If the Blessed One will allow me the opportunity, may I ask the Blessed One, the Tathāgata, to answer certain questions that I would like to pose?”
The Blessed One replied to Venerable Mahākāśyapa, “Kāśyapa, ask the Blessed One whatever you wish, and my answers to your questions will delight you.”
Venerable Mahākāśyapa asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, how does a son or daughter of noble family who wishes for parinirvāṇa train once they have gone forth in the well-spoken Dharma and Vinaya? How do they act? How do they engage in spiritual practice?”
The Blessed One replied to Venerable Mahākāśyapa, “Excellent, Kāśyapa! You have asked such a question for the benefit of many beings, for the happiness of many beings, out of love for the world, and for the welfare, benefit, and happiness of the great mass of beings, gods and humans. Your intention to ask the Tathāgata a question on such a subject is excellent. So, Kāśyapa, listen well and remember what I shall explain to you.”
Venerable Mahākāśyapa gave his assent to the Blessed One and listened attentively to the Blessed One as he said, “Kāśyapa, a son or daughter of noble family who wishes for parinirvāṇa, once they have gone forth in the well-spoken Dharma and Vinaya, should train themselves in moral discipline, in restraint by the prātimokṣa vows, and in excellence in their conduct and associations. They should see danger in even the slightest misdeed and properly keep the fundamental precepts. They should be without craving and free from hypocrisy, flattery, solicitation, extortion, and greed for profit. They should be conscientious, modest, and restrained. They should be fearful of saṃsāra and adept and assiduous in its renunciation. They should always be sorrowful about saṃsāra and see the advantages of nirvāṇa.
“Whether they live under trees, on a mountain, in a hut, or in a cave, they should reflect on the features of the Tathāgata: ‘Thus, the Blessed One is a tathāgata, an arhat, a fully awakened buddha, endowed with perfect knowledge and conduct, a sugata, a knower of the world, a guide of beings to be tamed, unsurpassable, a teacher of gods and humans, a buddha, a blessed one. His lineage is excellent, his family is excellent, and his virtuous roots are excellent. He is immeasurable by virtue of his moral discipline and immeasurable by virtue of his samādhi, wisdom, liberation, and knowledge and vision of liberation. He is immeasurable by virtue of all his buddha qualities. He is endowed with unimaginable, immeasurable, and boundless positive attributes. His speech is truthful and accurate, and he acts in accordance with his words. His actions are unfailing. He is sublime, the great healer who removes the arrows of suffering, acting as a spiritual friend without even being asked. He is compassionate, the great guide.
“ ‘He perfectly teaches the Dharma that is nirvāṇa, which profoundly manifests its profundity and peacefully shows its peace; which is empty, without living beings, without confusion, and without characteristics; and which is the eradication of characteristics. It is wishless and free of wishes. It is without complexity and free from complexity. It is difficult to see and difficult to realize. It leads onward to the goal. It is free of substantiality. It is isolated and free from isolation. It is without substantiality and unsullied by substantiality. It is motionless and the eradication of motion. It is free of movement. It is inexpressible and free of expression. It is without arrogance. It reveals itself. It is unsullied and free from being sullied. It is without acceptance or rejection. It is the pacification of suffering and the eradication of craving.’ These are the features on which they should reflect.
“In this regard, Kāśyapa, a monk should go alone to a solitary place, and then, settling inward, he should reflect on the features of the Tathāgata in this way. He should think, ‘I have obtained a human birth, and I have gone forth, obtaining ordination into monkhood. Although I have pleased the Tathāgata, I am lazy and spoiled by the distractions of various kinds of activity, such that I do not know stability. Why is that? It is because I remain in a state in which I will die without ever attaining fruition, and although the blessed buddhas appear in the world as rarely as an udumbara flower, I will not have pleased the blessed buddhas of the present and future.’ That is how a monk should reflect on the features of the Tathāgata.
“In this regard, Kāśyapa, monks should emulate you and the elder Subhūti. That is because of the way that, without seeing me or hearing me, you went forth as a renunciant in emulation of the arhats, the perfectly awakened buddhas, who dwell in this world, Kāśyapa, and became an adornment to this Dharma and Vinaya. For those who have seen the Tathāgata directly, and having seen him approach him to make the request to go forth as renunciants and take full ordination as monks, their going forth is also authorized by the Tathāgata afterwards.
“A son or daughter of noble family should make the commitment to go forth in this well-proclaimed Dharma and Vinaya by seeing its two objectives. What are the two? They are to attain fruition in this very life and to become in future lives the cause of others seeing the Buddhadharma.
“In this regard, Kāśyapa, some foolish individuals put on saffron robes in the presence of the Tathāgata and make the commitment to go forth and be ordained into monkhood. Undertaking the trainings, they enter a hut or a cave, close the door, and then engage in thoughts of desire, thoughts of malice or harm, thoughts of their begging bowl and their monastic robes, and thoughts of the households of friends and of alms-giving households. They think to themselves, ‘The Tathāgata does not know us. He is not aware of us and does not think of us.’
“Kāśyapa, whether a monk is in a hut, in a cave, or on a walking path, whenever he engages in thoughts of desire, thoughts of malice, thoughts of harm, or different kinds of nonvirtuous thoughts, the deities who dwell in that hut, in that cave, or on that walking path know the monk’s mind, and they think, ‘Why is this monk, who has gone forth in the well-proclaimed Dharma and Vinaya, engaging in thoughts of nonvirtuous and sinful actions? It is inappropriate.’ They will then be displeased, anguished, and unhappy.
“Kāśyapa, some of those deities will encourage him, but others, aware that the monk is not worth teaching, will settle into an attitude of contempt. Look, Kāśyapa, if those deities who possess just a modicum of virtuous roots and knowledge know the minds of others, I need hardly mention that the Tathāgata, who has engaged in good actions for countless quintillion eons, also does so! Kāśyapa, there is nothing whatsoever that is not known, seen, comprehended, or realized by the Tathāgata. Kāśyapa, the Tathāgata possesses unobstructed wisdom with regard to the five types of objects of knowledge—those that are past, present, future, freed from time, and inexpressible. He is free of uncertainty.
“Therefore, Kāśyapa, a son or daughter of noble family, knowing that because they have gone forth in the well-proclaimed Dharma and Vinaya they are self-reliant, should train with the thought, ‘The Tathāgata knows my mind, and because all the blessed buddhas who dwell and flourish in the limitless, infinite worlds in the ten directions also know my mind, I should not, after I have gone forth in the teaching of the Tathāgata, be a swindler-ascetic.’
“Now, Kāśyapa, what is a swindler-ascetic? There are four types of swindler-ascetics. What are the four? Kāśyapa, a monk who has the appearance, distinguishing marks, and figure of an ascetic but whose moral discipline is deficient and who is an evildoer is the first type of swindler-ascetic. One who goes to a secluded spot and engages in nonvirtuous thoughts while dwelling there is the second type of swindler-ascetic. One who knows himself to be an ordinary person who has not attained fruition but, overcome by desire for gain, reverence, and praise, falsely claims in the presence of others to be an arhat is the third type of swindler-ascetic. One who praises himself and denigrates others is the fourth type of swindler-ascetic. Those, Kāśyapa, are the four types of swindler-ascetics.
“Kāśyapa, imagine there came along a fierce, coarse, ferocious man who was physically powerful and endowed with great strength. That man bludgeoned every person in Jambudvīpa, or stabbed them or punched them, and after subduing them robbed them and made off with all their useful goods: cowry shells, gold, precious stones, pearls, beryl, conches, crystals, coral, gold dust, silver, and different kinds of jewels, as well as their house, vehicle, clothes, food, drink, bedding, and furniture to be used or enjoyed, and every possession that could provide pleasure or leisure. What do you think, Kāśyapa? Would that man create a great deal of nonmerit on that basis?”
Kāśyapa replied, “Yes, Blessed One, he would create a great deal. Sugata, he would create a great deal.”
The Blessed One said, “Kāśyapa, believe this and take it to heart: when someone who knows themselves to be an ordinary person who has not attained fruition, overcome by desire for gain, reverence, and praise, falsely claims in the presence of others to be a stream enterer and then enjoys so much as a single meal of alms food, that creates an even greater amount of nonmerit. That creates an inexhaustibly greater amount of nonmerit.”
Then the elder Mahākāśyapa said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, how wonderful is the response of the Tathāgata, the precepts taught through analogies. Hearing such a precious analogy taught by the Tathāgata, what person who has not attained fruition would accept so much as a drink of water given by the faithful?”
The Blessed One replied, “That is right, Kāśyapa. What you say is right. One should live as if one’s head and clothes were ablaze, and until one has attained fruition, one should not accept so much as a drink of water given by the faithful.
“Kāśyapa, imagine there came along a second man, fiercer, coarser, and more ferocious, who was physically more powerful and endowed with greater strength. That man bludgeoned every person in a four-continent universe, or stabbed them or punched them, and after subduing them robbed them and made off with all their useful goods: cowry shells, gold, precious stones, pearls, beryl, conches, crystals, coral, gold dust, silver, and different kinds of jewels, as well as their house, vehicle, clothes, food, drink, bedding, and furniture to be used or enjoyed, and every possession that could provide pleasure or leisure. What do you think, Kāśyapa? Would that man create a great deal of nonmerit on that basis?”
Kāśyapa replied, “Yes, Blessed One, he would create a great deal. Sugata, he would create a great deal.”
The Blessed One said, “Kāśyapa, believe this and take it to heart: when someone who knows themselves to be an ordinary person who has not attained fruition, overcome by desire for gain, reverence, and praise, falsely claims in the presence of others to be a once-returner and then enjoys so much as a single meal of alms food, that creates an even greater amount of nonmerit. That creates an inexhaustibly greater amount of nonmerit.
“But, Kāśyapa, never mind the useful goods of all the people in a four-continent universe. Imagine there came along a third man, much fiercer, much coarser, and even more ferocious, who was physically much more powerful and endowed with much greater strength, and that man bludgeoned every person born in a small thousandfold universe, or stabbed them or punched them, and after subduing them robbed them and made off with all of their useful goods: cowry shells, gold, precious stones, pearls, beryl, conches, crystals, coral, gold dust, silver, and different kinds of jewels, as well as their house, vehicle, clothes, food, drink, bedding, and furniture to be used or enjoyed, and every possession that could provide pleasure or leisure. What do you think, Kāśyapa? Would that man create a great deal of nonmerit on that basis?”
Kāśyapa replied, “Yes, Blessed One, he would create a great deal. Sugata, he would create a great deal.”
The Blessed One said, “Kāśyapa, believe this and take it to heart: when someone who knows themselves to be an ordinary person who has not attained fruition, overcome by desire for gain, reverence, and praise, falsely claims in the presence of others to be a non-returner and then enjoys so much as a single meal of alms food, that creates an even greater amount of nonmerit. That creates an inexhaustibly greater amount of nonmerit.
“Kāśyapa, never mind the useful goods of all the people in a small thousandfold universe. Imagine there came along a fourth man, supremely fierce, supremely coarse, and supremely ferocious, who was physically supremely powerful and endowed with supreme strength, and that man bludgeoned every god, nāga, yakṣa, gandharva, asura, garuḍa, kinnara, mahoraga, human, and nonhuman in a thousandfold universe, or stabbed them or punched them, and after subduing them robbed them and made off with all of their useful goods: cowry shells, gold, precious stones, pearls, beryl, conches, crystals, coral, gold dust, silver, and different kinds of jewels, as well as their house, vehicle, clothes, food, drink, bedding, and furniture to be used or enjoyed, and every possession that could provide pleasure or leisure. What do you think, Kāśyapa? Would that man create a great deal of nonmerit on that basis?”
Kāśyapa replied, “Yes, Blessed One, he would create a great deal. Sugata, he would create a great deal.”
The Blessed One said, “Kāśyapa, believe this and take it to heart: when someone who knows themselves to be an ordinary person who has not attained fruition, overcome by desire for gain, reverence, and praise, falsely claims in the presence of others to be an arhat while thinking that others should recognize them as an arhat, exalts themselves in the way that an arhat is exalted, exhibits signs like those an arhat exhibits, and, possessing such sinful desires, enjoys so much as a single meal of alms food given by the faithful, that creates an even greater amount of nonmerit. That creates an inexhaustibly greater amount of nonmerit.
“Therefore, Kāśyapa, compared to someone inclined to steal every pleasing possession of all the beings in a thousandfold universe, I do not see any more despicable behavior of one gone forth than to enjoy what is given by the faithful with such sinful desires.
“Kāśyapa, these are the four sinful desires of one who has gone forth in the Śrāvaka Vehicle. What are the four? They are the desire to see the buddhas of the future, the desire for the sovereignty of a universal monarch, the desire for royal lineage, and the desire for a brahmanical lineage. Those are the four sinful desires of one who has gone forth in the Śrāvaka Vehicle.
“When they aspire to something, even when they aspire to nirvāṇa, that is itself a sinful desire of theirs. With that in mind, the Tathāgata taught, ‘Monks, I do not in fact commend nirvāṇa with a remainder of the aggregates, nor do I commend birth even for so much as an instant.’
“Kāśyapa, these are the four stains of ascetics; one who has gone forth should never give rise to any of them. What are the four? They are clinging to the transitory collection, conceiving of it as a person, transgressing the training, and desiring to see the buddhas of the future. Those are the four stains of ascetics; one who has gone forth should never give rise to any of them.
“Kāśyapa, it was for the sake of ascetics and brahmins whose livelihoods are pure, who are free of sinful desires, who are morally disciplined, upright by nature, honest, and free of hypocrisy and arrogance, and who desire parinirvāṇa that I attained unsurpassed, perfect awakening and became a buddha. Therefore, Kāśyapa, you should speak words of encouragement to them so that, on hearing them, those yogis who engage in spiritual practice will be pleased and happy.
“Kāśyapa, suppose some son or daughter of noble family has paid homage to all the beings in a four-continent universe for an eon or more with every pleasing possession and revered them, honored them, and made offerings to them. In comparison, when someone who has practiced properly, whose moral discipline is pure, and whose livelihood is pure accepts so much as a drink of water given in faith by a donor, that will create for them an enormous amount of merit. But that is not the case for the one who has paid homage to all the beings in the four-continent universe for an eon or more with every pleasing possession and revered them, honored them, and made offerings to them.
“Kāśyapa, a fool with sinful desires harms the welfare of the person from whom he receives monastic robes or alms in a way that even a foe, a murderer, an opponent, or an enemy could not.
“Kāśyapa, these are the four subtle defilements of one who has gone forth, and if one who has gone forth has these subtle defilements, it should be declared that they will go to the hell realms just like an arrow that has been shot. What are the four? They are to be envious of another’s gain, to commit offenses against moral discipline after studying the sūtras connected with the precepts, to violate the Tathagata’s teachings or the training and then arrogantly conceal it while neither discerning nor confessing it, and to then knowingly enjoy gifts from the faithful.
“Kāśyapa, those are the four subtle defilements of one who has gone forth, and if one who has gone forth has these subtle defilements, it should be declared that they will go to the hell realms just like an arrow that has been shot.
“Kāśyapa, these are the four types of bogus ascetic. What are the four? They are one whose moral discipline is corrupted, one who believes in a self, one who abandons the authentic Dharma, and one who is a Lokāyata. Those are the four types of bogus ascetic.
“Kāśyapa, these are the four ways in which one who has gone forth is puffed-up and careless, and if one who has gone forth is puffed-up and careless in these ways, it should be declared that they will go to the hell realms. What are the four? They are to be puffed-up with great learning, becoming careless because of it, to be puffed-up and overcome by gain, reverence, and praise, becoming careless because of it, to be puffed-up by the households of friends and those who give alms, becoming careless because of the food given by the households of friends and those who give alms, and to be puffed-up with ascetic practices and having few possessions, praising themselves and denigrating others because of being puffed-up with ascetic practices and having few possessions. That is what is known as carelessness.
“Kāśyapa, those are the four ways in which one who has gone forth is puffed-up and careless, and if one who has gone forth is puffed-up and careless in those ways, it should be declared that they will go to the hell realms.”
Then the elder Mahākāśyapa said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, in the future, in the final five-hundred-year period, the bogus ascetics who want saffron robes and who will cause the disappearance of the unsurpassed, perfect awakening that the tathāgatas have accomplished for countless millions of eons—what will they be like?”
The Blessed One replied to Venerable Mahākāśyapa, “Kāśyapa, what is the point of you asking the Tathāgata for an account of this? Let it go, Kāśyapa, because if the Tathāgata actually described and explained all the faults of those foolish peoples’ sinful desires, false conceptions, deceits, frauds, errors, malign flaws, and malign forces, after you heard of the sinful behavior of those unholy individuals, even though it is incorrect, it would not appear so to you.”
Then the elder Mahākāśyapa said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, I beg the Blessed One, the Tathāgata, to give his blessing so that this Dharma and Vinaya may remain for a long time, come what may.”
Then the Blessed One replied to Venerable Mahākāśyapa, “Kāśyapa, before long the Tathāgata will pass into parinirvāṇa.”
Kāśyapa said, “Blessed One, in order to protect the authentic Dharma, I beg the Blessed One, the Tathāgata, to remain for an eon or longer.”
The Blessed One replied to Venerable Mahākāśyapa, “Kāśyapa, even if, say, a thousand buddhas had taught the Dharma, with miracles, to those foolish people, those unholy individuals would not let go of or turn away from their sinful desires and sinful conceptions. Besides, Kāśyapa, in the future, in the final five-hundred-year period, you will be inspired to preserve the authentic Dharma, and beings with virtuous minds who will listen respectfully to your explanations will be born.”
Then the elder Mahākāśyapa said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, I, along with the four-continent universe with its hamlets, towns, and villages, its crags and mountain peaks, and its oceans, rivers, and woods, would gladly plead for this on my knees for an eon or longer. But, Blessed One, I would not be glad to hear about the acts of propounding falsehood of those unholy individuals. Blessed One, I would be happy to live on a single juniper berry or sesame seed or grain of rice for an eon or longer. But, Blessed One, I would not be glad to hear about the acts of propounding falsehood of those unholy individuals. Blessed One, I would be glad to live for as long as ten million years in the four postures in a great billionfold universe burning, blazing, and raging throughout with an eon-ending fire. But, Blessed One, I would not be glad to hear about the acts of propounding falsehood of those unholy individuals. Blessed One, I would be glad to patiently accept anger, insults, denigration, degradation, intimidation, and beatings from all beings. But, Blessed One, I would not be glad to hear about the acts of propounding falsehood of those thieves and swindlers of the Dharma, those who speak nonsense about the Dharma, and teachers of counterfeit Dharma. Because my practice and knowledge are limited, I am not capable of bearing such a responsibility. But, Blessed One, a bodhisattva is capable of bearing such a responsibility.
“Furthermore, Blessed One, I venture to draw this analogy: I would compare it, Blessed One, to a certain man, old and infirm, about one hundred and twenty years of age. Afflicted with an illness, the man takes to his bed to lie down after experiencing chest pain. At that point, a certain confused man who is rich, with ample wealth and possessions, arrives and says to the bed-ridden man, ‘Fellow, I entrust you with this treasure of mine, but when I return in ten or twenty years’ time from another region, return this treasure to me.’ He hands over the treasure, and after entrusting it in this way, he goes off to another region.
“The bed-ridden man has neither sons nor daughters nor attendants, and before long, after the man has gone off to another region, the bed-ridden man dies. After that whole mass of wealth has been lost, when the man returns, no matter what the man says to anyone, there is nothing to be done.
“In the same way, Blessed One, if the treasure of the authentic Dharma is entrusted to a śrāvaka, whose practice and knowledge are limited, who is without a companion, and who will not remain for long, it will also not remain for long.”
The Blessed One replied, “Yes, indeed, Kāśyapa. I, too, am aware of this. However, I knowingly asked this of you because if they hear your eloquent analogy, those unholy individuals will develop remorse.”
Then the elder Mahākāśyapa said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, I venture to draw a second analogy here. I would compare it, Blessed One, to this: there is a certain person whose constitution is healthy and free of illness, who will live for many hundreds of thousands of years, and who is youthful, a young man. He has plenty of attendants and plenty of resources, an excellent lineage and family, and a virtuous disposition. He is loving and greatly compassionate, cheerful, and equanimous towards the faults of beings and the faults of the defilements. He acts for the benefit of many beings, for the happiness of many beings, out of love for the world, and for the welfare, benefit, and happiness of the great mass of beings, gods and humans. He is steadfast in his endeavors. A certain man comes into the presence of that holy individual and says, ‘Fellow, I entrust you with this treasure of mine, so hide and protect it well. When I return in ten- or twenty-years’ time from another region, return this treasure to me.’ When he hands the treasure over, the man accepts it and hides and protects it well, and when the other man returns, he gives it back to him.
“In the same way, Blessed One, if someone entrusts the treasure of the authentic Dharma to a bodhisattva, it will not be lost for many billions of eons but will be beneficial to many beings, and the lineage of the Buddha, of the Dharma, and of the Saṅgha will remain unbroken.
“Blessed One, I am not capable of the actions that a bodhisattva accomplishes or of the goals that they accomplish. But, since the bodhisattva great being Maitreya is present in this very retinue, Blessed One, please command him. In the future, in the final five-hundred-year period when the authentic Dharma disappears, he will uphold and spread widely the unsurpassed, perfect awakening that the tathāgatas have accomplished for countless millions of eons.
“The reason, Blessed One, is that the bodhisattva great being Maitreya will fully awaken to unsurpassed, perfect buddhahood after the Tathāgata. Blessed One, I would compare it to the son and heir who receives the royal anointment of a king. Because he will be bestowed with sovereignty after the king, even while he receives the royal anointment, he takes delight in it and also becomes righteous. He thinks to himself, ‘After I have received this royal anointment, I shall act as king.’ He is encouraged by this thought and so becomes deeply involved in all royal activities. In the same way, when the Blessed One, the Tathāgata, passes away, this bodhisattva great being Maitreya will be bestowed with the great sovereignty of the kingdom of the authentic Dharma; therefore I beg him to deeply involve himself in protecting the authentic Dharma.”
The Blessed One replied to the elder Mahākāśyapa, “Good, good, Kāśyapa! What you say is right.”
Then the Blessed One extended his golden-colored right hand, his gentle, supremely supple hand acquired through virtuous roots over countless millions of eons, its touch pleasing like the finest silk, and poured liquid the color of red lac dye onto the head of the bodhisattva great being Maitreya, anointing him.
He then said, “Maitreya, in the future, in the final five-hundred-year period, when the time has arrived for the authentic Dharma to disappear, take delight in protecting the authentic Dharma, causing it to last for a long while, upholding it, and causing the lineage of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha to remain unbroken.”
As soon as the Blessed One laid his gold-colored right hand on the crown of the bodhisattva great being Maitreya’s head, at that very moment this whole great billionfold universe shook violently three times. It shook, shook violently, and shook all over; it trembled, trembled violently, and trembled all over; it quaked, quaked violently, and quaked all over. A great radiance appeared in the world.
The gods of the earth and those who live in space, up to those of Akaniṣṭha, joined their palms together and said to the bodhisattva great being Maitreya, “Noble Maitreya, please take delight in protecting the authentic Dharma, causing it to last for a long while and upholding it for the benefit of many beings, for the happiness of many beings, out of love for the world, and for the welfare, benefit, and happiness of the great mass of beings, gods and humans.”
Then the bodhisattva great being Maitreya rose from his seat, draped his upper shawl over one shoulder, set his right knee on the ground, and with palms joined paid homage to the Blessed One. Then he said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, if I am happy to remain in saṃsāra until the end of time for the sake of even a single being, there is no need to say that I shall do so in order to uphold the authentic Dharma. Blessed One, I shall protect and spread widely the unsurpassed, perfect awakening that the tathāgatas have accomplished for countless millions of eons.”
As soon as the bodhisattva great being Maitreya set his right knee on the ground, this whole great billionfold universe shook violently in six ways.
Then the bodhisattva great being Maitreya said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, I am no one’s rival, and I am arrogant toward no one. Why is that? Blessed One, it is because these upholders of the authentic Dharma do the work of holy individuals. The burden that bodhisattvas carry, Blessed One, is a burden the likes of which śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas are incapable of carrying.”
Then the Blessed One commended the bodhisattva great being Maitreya, “Good, good, Maitreya! Just as you have uttered such a lion’s roar in my presence in order to uphold the authentic Dharma, in the same way, bodhisattvas also utter lions’ roars in the presence of all the blessed buddhas of the ten directions, as many as the grains of sand in the Ganges, and act to uphold the authentic Dharma.”
The bodhisattva great being Maitreya said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, may the Blessed One, the Tathāgata, please instruct me on the subject of the flaws of those unholy individuals who profess to be bodhisattvas, who profess to be ascetics, who are idiots and fools, who seek gain and reverence and are attached to gain and reverence, and who are attached to the households of friends and those who give alms, exerting themselves for alms food. This is so that once I have learned of those causes in this way, Blessed One, I will understand them and so will abandon them all the faster and protect myself from those flaws. In addition, it is so that some of those unholy individuals will say, ‘The Tathāgata knows me, and the Tathāgata understands me; he understands me perfectly,’ and will develop faith in the Tathāgata.”
The Blessed One replied to the bodhisattva great being Maitreya, “Listen well and remember, then, Maitreya, and I shall teach you just a little about the flaws of those unholy individuals. So, Maitreya, in the future, in the final five-hundred-year period, there will be many who falsely claim to be bodhisattvas. I shall explain what their sinful desires will be.
“Maitreya, if bodhisattvas possess four qualities, one should recognize that they falsely claim to be bodhisattvas. What are the four? They are desire for gain, desire for reverence, dishonesty, and sustaining themselves through an unsuitable livelihood.
“Maitreya, if bodhisattvas possess those four qualities, one should recognize that they falsely claim to be bodhisattvas.”
“Maitreya, in the future, in the final five-hundred-year period, there will be many falsely claiming to be bodhisattvas who behave like dogs. By way of analogy, Maitreya, if a dog sees another dog coming from a distance toward someone’s house that it has visited several times before, it thinks ‘This is my house!’ and barks and howls possessively, with angry looks. Hostility leads to wrongdoing, and it gets the idea of claiming the other’s house and that it belongs to it.
“In the same way, Maitreya, in the future, in the final five-hundred-year period, the many falsely claiming to be bodhisattvas who behave like dogs will get the idea that other peoples’ houses and hamlets belong to them. Once they have the idea that they belong to them, they will appropriate them. If one monastic sees another monastic coming toward a house that they have visited before, they will think ‘This is my house!’ They will then give the other angry looks and become hostile, fighting, quarreling, arguing, and contending over it. The monastics will engage each other in verbal disputes and speak harshly to each other. One will say of the other, ‘The monk so-and-so possesses such-and-such flaws’ and ‘The nun so-and-so possesses such-and-such flaws.’
“Speaking unpleasantly, they will also say to householders, ‘If you want to follow me, you must not follow the monk so-and-so, and do not follow the nun so-and-so.’
“Merely for the sake of disgusting, perishable, execrable food, they will create a great deal of nonmerit. Behaving like hungry ghosts, poverty stricken, mean and avaricious, they will feed themselves. They will call themselves bodhisattvas and falsely claim to be bodhisattvas. While they break their vows of moral discipline, harbor sinful desires, and behave in sinful ways, they will utter praise of the buddhas, praise of the buddhas’ wisdom, and praise of the perfect attitudes of other bodhisattvas. Their accomplishments will be food and clothing!
“Maitreya, this is how the type of persons who should roar and act like a lion will cry out and act like a fox. While they utter praise of renouncing everything they own, they will not renounce fleeting worldly trifles; avarice will overcome them, the stain of possessions will soil them, and they will have alienated themselves from renunciation. While they utter praise of what is beneficial, they will engage in much malicious, unyielding, and angry wrongdoing. While they utter praise of patience, they will harbor nothing but malice. While they utter praise of the four means of gathering disciples, they will not give anything to anyone, will not speak pleasantly, will not help, and will be inconsistent in their words and deeds, gathering no one—look at how intolerable they will be!
“They will not train themselves in emulation of the bodhisattvas’ diligence through conduct steeped in the good qualities to which they have pledged themselves—they will only pay lip service.
“Maitreya, countless eons ago in the past—exceedingly countless, totally countless, numerous, immeasurable, unimaginable, incalculable eons ago—there arose in the world a tathāgata, an arhat, a perfectly awakened buddha called Highest Wisdom, endowed with perfect knowledge and conduct, a sugata, a knower of the world, an unsurpassed guide of beings to be tamed, a teacher of gods and humans, a buddha, a blessed one. That tathāgata, Maitreya, came into the world when it possessed the five degenerations, as it does now.
“At that time, Maitreya, there was a monk named Diligent Aspiration who was mindful, realized, and intelligent. He had little desire; he was content with what he had. He practiced the teachings of the tathāgatas. He visited hamlets, towns, villages, royal palaces, and the surrounding regions. When, on his arrival there, he taught the Dharma, the kings, important ministers, and most of the rest of the population would honor him, make offerings to him, pay homage to him, and show him reverence. They recognized him and knew him well.
“He never thought to go a second time to any house where he had stayed and been spoken to pleasantly, where he was listened to respectfully, and where he obtained food and drink. It was other houses that he went to—those of misers, people without faith, and those with wrong views—and when he arrived there, they gave him no welcome. Not only did they not speak pleasantly to him, they got angry and abused him. But he, by donning the armor of patience and remaining greatly compassionate, was not distressed on going to those houses, and he felt no unhappiness.
“Maitreya, the houses where the bodhisattva Diligent Aspiration had aroused faith supported other monks with monastic robes, alms food, bedding, seats, medicines to cure illness, and implements. What do you think, Maitreya? Do you think that he neither went to those houses nor even thought to go to them but, even so, gave rise to thoughts of jealousy and avarice toward those other monks?”
Maitreya replied, “No, Blessed One. No, Sugata.”
The Blessed One said, “See, Maitreya, that is how the bodhisattva Diligent Aspiration aroused faith in the houses where he was spoken to pleasantly, where he was listened to respectfully, and where he found food and drink, and where other monks were supported. After that he did not enter them a second time. He aroused faith in the houses of misers, people without faith, and those with wrong views, and even when they got angry and abused him, he was not distressed and felt no unhappiness. Rather, he was really a benefit, with a noble intention, with little desire, content with what he had, gentle, and compassionate.
“Maitreya, that is how previous bodhisattvas aroused faith in householders and supported others, but they did not do this for the sake of monastic robes or alms food for themselves. Maitreya, if you are of two minds or doubtful as to whether, at that particular time, the bodhisattva named Diligent Aspiration was someone else, do not view it that way. For I myself was, at that particular time, the bodhisattva named Diligent Aspiration.
“Therefore, Maitreya, bodhisattvas who wish to visit houses should emulate the bodhisattva Diligent Aspiration. Apart from him, they should emulate other bodhisattvas’ perfect noble intention and behave just as those bodhisattvas do. [B2]
“Furthermore, Maitreya, in the future, in the final five-hundred-year period, there will be some monks falsely claiming to be bodhisattvas who act as follows: they will visit houses for the sake of gain, monastic robes, and alms food, but not in order to establish householders in faith. They will express criticism of one another and be divisive and quarrelsome. They will be glad because others lose, not because they themselves gain; and they will be unhappy because others gain, not because they themselves lose.
“Maitreya, if a bodhisattva should, without any regard, give all their own pleasing possessions to others, consider how far these monks will go astray! Because, Maitreya, a bodhisattva first develops an attitude of great compassion, thinking, ‘I must make all beings happy!’
“Maitreya, as an analogy, if a merchant or householder had an only son who was dear, beloved, and handsome, and whom a king imprisoned because of certain transgressions, what do you think, Maitreya—with what intention would the merchant or householder enter the king’s prison?”
The bodhisattva great being Maitreya replied to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, resolved to free their only son, they would think, ‘I shall quickly free my only son from this prison!’ They would enter the prison focused solely on their only son. They would enter the prison and, focused on freeing him, bring about his release.”
The Blessed One replied, “Maitreya, I have used this analogy so that the meaning will be understood. What is that meaning? It is as follows. You should consider the king’s prison to be just like the prison of saṃsāra. By analogy, Maitreya, you should consider the merchant or householder to be just like a bodhisattva. Maitreya, as for the analogy of the only son, consider that a bodhisattva should think of every being as like their only son.
“It is like this, Maitreya—just as the merchant or householder would not enter the prison for any other reason or purpose than to benefit their only son, in the same way, Maitreya, a bodhisattva should not go into houses in order to get monastic robes or alms food. Thus, they should view it as their duty to go into houses in order to free from saṃsāra those who live in them.
“Furthermore, Maitreya, in the future, in the final five-hundred-year period, there will be some monks who have not cultivated their bodies or their minds, who have not cultivated moral discipline or wisdom. In order to get monastic robes and alms food, these monks will go to houses taking presents of flowers, fruit, foliage, and implements and presents of recompense for favors done. Maitreya, monks should not behave like garlands of flowers or like servants and laborers. Maitreya, a monk who wishes to go to houses should go with no present apart from the Dharma, not bringing any other present; he should be learned, versed in the scriptures, fearless, free from craving, free from hypocrisy, not a flatterer, and not possessive. He should go to houses out of love for the Dharma. Having arrived at the house, he should utter praise of the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, and he should utter praise of generosity, moral discipline, patience, diligence, concentration, and wisdom. Apart from the gift of a Dharma discourse, he should offer no talk about the household, farming, business, matters of pleasure, the king, bandits, hamlets, towns, the countryside, sons, or daughters or any other talk.
“Maitreya, suppose someone filled this great billionfold universe with the seven kinds of precious substances and then offered them to a son or daughter of noble family. If they gathered all the pleasing possessions of the beings contained within the great billionfold universe and then gave them to that son or daughter of noble family, that mass of wealth and those many pleasing possessions would not be a kindness or bring benefit to the son or daughter of noble family.
“But if they caused them to listen to merely a single four-line verse of Dharma, just causing them to hear it resound, even if they do not acquire faith at that point, would be extremely enriching and beneficial for, and kind to, the son or daughter of noble family.
“Maitreya, when those monks have entered a house, they set aside the teachings of the Buddha and conduct worldly conversations—what an enormously pointless domestic endeavor! Why is that? Because, Maitreya, gold, silver, precious stones, jewels, pearls, beryl, conches, crystals, coral, and other pleasing possessions do not liberate from birth beings whose nature it is to be born. They do not liberate from sickness beings whose nature it is to become ill. They do not liberate from old age, death, anguish, weeping, suffering, unhappiness, and being upset beings whose nature it is to grow old, die, feel anguish, weep, suffer, become unhappy, and be upset.
“But hearing the Dharma liberates beings whose nature it is to be born from birth. It liberates beings whose nature it is to become ill from sickness, and it liberates beings whose nature it is to grow old, die, feel anguish, weep, suffer, become unhappy, and be upset by what afflicts them.
“With this in mind, the Tathāgata teaches that:
“Maitreya, if, out of great compassion, a bodhisattva recites a single four-line verse of Dharma to a single being, that creates much more merit than if they fill the limitless, infinite universes with the seven kinds of precious substances and then present them as an offering to the blessed buddhas.
“In this respect, it is said:
Then the Blessed One said to the bodhisattva great being Maitreya, “Maitreya, in the center of the Tathāgata’s right hand are manifest the rays of light known as adorned with the natural result of the accomplishment of every merit. If the Tathāgata so wished, he might cover this whole great billionfold universe with his right hand and then bring to every being every pleasing possession: food for those who desire food, drink for those who desire drink, clothes for those who desire clothes, and jewels for those who desire jewels, giving everyone whatever they desire. However, just that would not liberate those beings from their great, monstrous suffering in the beginningless and endless ocean of saṃsāra. Therefore, Maitreya, I have put aside such worldly pleasing possessions in order to teach the precious Dharma of happiness that transcends the world, which always pacifies the suffering of the beings who hear it.
“Therefore, Maitreya, you should follow my example—do not involve yourself with trifles; involve yourself with the Dharma.
“Furthermore, Maitreya, in the future, in the final five-hundred-year period, when the time has arrived for the authentic Dharma to disappear, there will be some falsely claiming to be bodhisattvas who will wholly transgress their vows. When they have committed sinful acts by not restraining their body, speech, or mind, they will think that faults are purified merely by confession, but they will not exercise restraint thereafter and will make no vow to exercise restraint thereafter. Since I have taught the Dharma discourse of the Three Sections in order to exhaust previously committed sinful acts, those foolish people will think that once they have engaged in wholly transgressing their vows, faults will be purified merely by confession and cleansing, and they will not control themselves thereafter.
“Furthermore, Maitreya, because I have dispelled the karma of sons and daughters of noble family who are followers of the Bodhisattva Vehicle, a bodhisattva cannot fall into the hells, the animal realms, the world of the Lord of Death, or any other kind of rebirth into poverty due to a minor act of nonvirtue. Even so, a bodhisattva should quickly eliminate it, feel ashamed of it, wish to train, and see danger in their next life, continually worried and afraid of all the realms of rebirth within cyclic existence.
“The reason for that, Maitreya, is that a bodhisattva, in order to take care of all beings, makes the vow, ‘After I have crossed over I shall deliver all of you; after I am free I shall liberate you; after I am comforted I shall comfort you; after I attain parinirvāṇa I shall cause you to attain parinirvāṇa.’
“Therefore, Maitreya, on the face of the earth with its gods, Māra, Brahmā, ascetics, and brahmins, there is no being whatsoever who has seen all the actions of the bodhisattvas or all their burdens, obligations, aims, or duties.
“Maitreya, by way of analogy, imagine someone placed this great billionfold universe with its crags, mountains, oceans, rivers, and forests on top of someone’s head or shoulders and then commanded him, ‘Hey fellow, you must carry this great billionfold universe along with its crags, mountains, oceans, rivers, and forests for an eon or longer, or for a hundred, a thousand, or a hundred thousand eons, without setting it down or taking a rest.’ What do you think, Maitreya? Would that man’s burden be great, and would his perseverance, strength, and diligence be powerful?”
Maitreya replied, “Yes, Blessed One, they would be powerful. Indeed, Sugata, they would be powerful.”
The Blessed One said, “Maitreya, believe this and take it to heart. Consider that even more powerful than that is the burden, perseverance, strength, and diligence of a bodhisattva who takes care of all beings, vowing, ‘O beings, I shall establish you in the happiness of nirvāṇa.’
“By way of analogy, Maitreya, suppose a certain person transformed the extent of their actions into the extent of the actions of all the beings contained in the great billionfold universe, accomplishing all those actions of all those beings in the time it took to snap his fingers just once, without at all impairing the efficacy of those actions. What do you think, Maitreya? Would the actions of that person be powerful?”
Maitreya replied, “Yes, Blessed One. Indeed so, Sugata. They would be powerful, Blessed One. Sugata, they would be powerful.”
The Blessed One said, “Maitreya, believe this and take it to heart: the actions of a bodhisattva who has declared ‘I shall liberate all beings from the suffering of saṃsāra’ are more powerful than that.
“By way of analogy, Maitreya, suppose a certain householder has an only son who is dear, beloved, handsome, and agreeable in appearance. Because of certain transgressions, the householder is summoned to the king’s palace along with his only son, his wife, his servants and laborers, and all his wealth, riches, and possessions.
“Then the king orders the householder, ‘Householder, go on this errand to the town called such-and-such situated a hundred thousand leagues from here, arriving within seven days. Return to my presence within seven days, carrying a receipt. Then I will return to you this only son of yours, this wife of yours, and all your attendants, wealth, riches, and possessions. Furthermore, I will even give you the gift of half my kingdom. If you go and do not return within seven days, having gotten a receipt from the town, not only will I not give you the slightest thing, I will sentence you to death and execute you together with your only son, your wife, and your attendants.’
“Maitreya, do you think the householder, as soon as he is given that order, will think, ‘Since I love myself, my son and wife, and my attendants and wealth, I will go to that town with strong determination and speed’?”
Maitreya replied, “Yes, Blessed One. Indeed so, Sugata. As I understand the meaning of what the Tathāgata has said, until he has accomplished that objective, he will not be distracted from it; he will have no thought of food or inclination toward sloth or sleep. Blessed One, that is because, setting aside other external things, it would be for the sake of what is dear to him.”