I. The Occasion

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

Thus I once heard:

a) [Qualities of the place (sthānasaṃpad):] The Lord was staying in Rājagṛha [House of the King, the great town of Rājagṛha, or, in the highest meaning (paramārthatas), the place of the Awakened Lord who is the king of religion (dharmarāja), namely the pure sphere of all moments of existence (viśuddhadharmadhātu) ], [that house (gṛha) has seven characteristics, namely 1. profoundness (gaṃbhīralakṣaṇa), in being] the place of the Tathāgatas [uninterrupted by objects and forms (ālambanākārāparicchinna) like the sphere of empty space (ākāśadhātu) ] a round citadel adorned with jewels [which are the qualities of a Buddha, or the outcome of his powers] [3. being adopted (parigṛhītalakṣaṇa), that is, blessed by the presence of the Tathāgatas, and thus] the dwelling place of all the Tathāgatas [and 4. the quality of cause (hetusaṃpallakṣaṇa) being] the great accumulation of the adornments of merit [and knowledge immeasurable, which is cause of the sphere of all moments of existence (dharmadhātu) ] [5. the quality of fruit (phalasaṃpallakṣaṇa) being] the outcome of great practice, and produced through maturation of all the qualities of a Buddha and [6. spaciousness (vistīrṇalakṣaṇa) as it is] the home of the great bodhisattvas [and 7. the quality of magic (ṛddhisaṃpallakṣaṇa) ] displaying infinitely the sphere of all moments of existence; [that magic being of nine kinds: (a) the magic of appearance and change (nirmāṇapariṇāmarddhi):] blessed with the presence of the magic of the Tathāgatas [thus making the inexistent exist, and changing base things like stone and wood into precious things like gold, silver and jewels) ]; [ (b) the magic of being the basis of no vices (niṣkleśāśrayarddhi):] the way into the field [namely the sphere of all moments of existence (dharmadhātu) ] through unattached knowledge; [ (c) the magic of splendour (prabhāsvararddhi):] the source of great happiness [producing joy in living beings]; [ (d) the magic of not being mistaken (aviparyāsarddhi):] the way into recollection, intelligence and understanding [of religion]; (e) the magic of beauty (śobhanarddhi) never to be derided [by anyone] [ (f) the magic of the intention to teach disciples according to their individual needs (prayojanarddhi):] consideration through wisdom; [and (g) the magic of enjoying the religion of the great way (mahāyānadharmaparibhogarddhi):] the way into understanding not attached to that [viz. the activity of the above-mentioned wisdom, nor to the activity of worldly knowledge (lokajñānavicāra) ]; [ (i) the magic of continuity (apratiprasrabdharddhi):] to be praised through future world-ages [never being bereft of that kind of magic]; [ (h) the magic accompanied by joy (sukhasaṃpannarddhi):] an immeasurable multitude of all good qualities [the worldly and unworldly qualities like recollection (smṛti), etc., the wings of awakening (bodhipakṣika), the powers and intrepidities (balavaiśāradya), etc., the qualities of the Buddhas].

b) [Qualities of the teacher (śāstṛsaṃpad):] The Lord had fully woken up to the fact that all moments of existence are of the same character, he had set the wheel of religion in motion (supravartitadharmacakro), training endless hosts of pupils (’nantaśiṣyagaṇasuvinītaḥ), having attained mastery over all moments of existence (sarvadharmavaśitāprāptaḥ), he had set the wheel of religion in motion, training endless hosts of pupils, having attained mastery over all moments of existence, knowing well all kinds of intentions in living beings, having obtained exquisite abilities of perception, etc., skilful in subduing the habits of vice which are connections [to new births] in all beings, never ceasing to perform his effortless Buddha-activities.

c) [Qualities of the congregation of monks (śrāvakaparṣatsaṃpad):] With him was a great congregation of six million monks, all of them with disciplined minds, free [from the obscurations of vices (kleśāvaraṇa) ] in thought because of right knowledge [of the four noble truths], making efforts to subdue all habits of vice which are connections [to new births], sons of the Tathāgata, the king of religion, skilled in behaving according to the deep religion of the Buddha, perfected in the moments of existence beyond objectification, perfected by their gracious behaviour, very worthy of gifts [as the fruit of giving to them will be great], punctilious in following the instructions of the Tathāgata.

d) [Qualities of the congregation of bodhisattvas (bodhisattvaparṣatsaṃpad):] With him was also a great congregation of bodhisattvas. The bodhisattvas, the great beings, had assembled from different Buddha-fields and they were innumerable, their number was infinite, immeasurable, unthinkable, beyond measure, unspeakable They were possessed of the power to pass through infinite Buddha-fields in an instant [to hear teachings in the presence of Tathāgatas], and thus skilled in coming and going, ready to pay homage to and serve all the Tathāgatas, untiring in the quest to hear the religion of the Buddha, constantly striving to bring all beings to spiritual maturity, having attained the highest in skill in means and insight, established in unobstructed liberation and wisdom, transcending all thought-constructions, fictions and discursive thinking, near the stage of omniscience [the fruit, the stage of a Buddha] They were the bodhisattva Vidyuddeva, the bodhisattva Yuddhajaya, the bodhisattva Vairocanagarbha, the bodhisattva Parākramavikrama, the bodhisattva Vimatisamudghātin, the bodhisattva Vighuṣṭaśabda, the bodhisattva Vyavalokanacakṣur, the bodhisattva Vigatatamas, the bodhisattvas Maitreya and Mañjuśrī and so on, with innumerable bodhisattvas, great beings whose number was immeasurable, beyond measure, unthinkable, unequalled, incomparable, peerless, infinite, unspeakable, again unspeakable.