18th Imperishable, Remembrance of Former Lives.

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

What then is the bodhisattvas’ supernormal knowledge which consists in realizing the knowledge of the remembrance of former lives?

[1. By what he remembers (yena smarati):] He remembers his former lives with that remembrance; that remembrance is sustained by [that is, born from as a cause (hetu), or has the same essence (svabhāva) as] the sphere of all moments of existence, it is steadfast through [correctly (aviparīta) ] making known [all moments of existence], not agitated since it is well prepared through knowledge, beyond harm since it is established in peaceful meditation, beyond deception through attaining expanded vision [that is, insight (prajñā) ], not dependent on any other because of immediate knowledge, to be remembered through having the quality of recollection and not forgetting, the accumulation of merit through knowing the great way, the accumulation of knowledge since it is not contingent on anything else [in thriply purified (trimaṇḍalapariśuddha) meditation (dhyāna) ], the accumulation of all the perfections through transcending everything.

[2. What he remembers (yat smarati):] He remembers his former lives with that remembrance, he remembers one birth, two, three, four, five, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, he remembers even a hundred births, a thousand births, a hundred thousand births, several hundred births, several thousand births, several hundred thousand births, a world-age of manifestation, a world-age of destruction, several world-ages of manifestation, several world-ages of destruction, he remembers even several world-ages of manifestation and destruction, a hundred world-ages, a thousand world-ages, a hundred thousand world-ages, several hundred world-ages, several thousand world-ages, he remembers even several hundred thousand world-ages:

[3. How he remembers (yathā smarati):] “Those beings there had such and such a name, there I also existed with such a name, in such a social class, in such a family, with such a complexion, eating such food, having such a long life, staying for so long a time, experiencing such pleasure and pain, dying there, being born yonder, dying there, being born here.”

Thus he remembers different former lives with their forms, characteristics and places. He remembers his own as well as (p. 103) other beings’ former lives from the beginning.

[4. The great purpose when he has remembered (smṛtvā mahârthikatā):] He remembers his own roots of good and the roots of good of other beings with their causes in the past, and having remembered his own roots of good he transforms them into awakening, having remembered the roots of good of other beings he inspires them to produce the thought of awakening. He relies on the impermanence, suffering, emptiness and egolessness in suffering caused by past formative factors. He does not, however, get conceited because of his reliance on impermanence, suffering, emptiness and selflessness, nor conceited by complexion, nor conceited by health, nor conceited by youth, nor conceited by his way of living, nor conceited by his pleasures, nor conceited by followers, nor conceited by lordliness, not seeking to be the king of the gods, nor seeking to be the lord of the world, nor seeking to be a protector of the world, nor seeking to be a universal king, nor wishing any kind of birth. He does not seek pleasures, kingship, lordship or power for his own pleasure, quite the opposite, he seeks birth in existence intentionally for the sake of maturing living beings. By reliance on impermanence, suffering, emptiness and selflessness he feels ashamed of his former impure actions, he rejects and despises them. In the present he does not do anything which ought not to be done even for the sake of his life, and he transforms and expands the former roots of good for the sake of awakening. He transforms the roots of good in the present for the sake of all beings collectively, he gives up transformation contrary to this [namely to be born as a disciple, an isolated buddha, a god or a man] and transforms them for the sake of the continuity of the lineage of the Buddhas, the lineage of religion and the lineage of the community, and for the sake of omniscience.

This is called the bodhisattvas’ supernormal knowledge which consists in realizing the knowledge of the remembrance of former lives.