The Lotus Sutra Part 1

The Lotus Sutra.

by Burton Watson.

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION.

This is what I heard: At one time the Buddha was in Rajagriha, staying on Mount Gridhrakuta. Accompanying him were a mult.i.tude of leading monks numbering twelve thousand persons. All were arhats whose outflows had come to an end, who had no more earthly desires, who had attained what was to their advantage and had put an end to the bonds of existence, and whose minds had achieved a state of freedom.

Their names were Ajnata Kaundinya, Mahakashyapa, Uruvilvakashyapa, Gayakashyapa, Nadikashyapa, Shariputra, Great Maudgaly~yana, Mahakatyayana, Aniruddha, Kapphina, Gavampati, Revata, Pilindavatsa, Bakkula, Mahakaushthila, Nanda, Sundarananda, Purna Maitrayaniputra, Subhuti, Ananda, and Rahula. All were like these, great Arhats who were well known to others.

There were also two thousand persons, some of whom were still learning and some who had completed their learning.

There was the nun Mahapraj.a.pati with her six thousand followers. And there was Rahula's mother, the nun Yashodhara, with her followers.

There were bodhisattvas and mahasattvas, eighty thousand of them, none of them ever regressing in their search for anuttara-samyaksambodhi. All had gained dharanis, delighted in preaching, were eloquent, and turned the wheel of the Law that knows no regression.

They had made offerings to immeasurable hundreds and thousands of Buddhas, in the presence of various Buddhas had planted numerous roots of virtue, had been constantly praised by the Buddhas, had trained themselves in compa.s.sion, were good at entering the Buddha wisdom, and had fully penetrated the great wisdom and reached the farther sh.o.r.e.

Their fame had spread throughout immeasurable worlds and they were able to save countless hundreds of thousands of living beings.

Their names were Bodhisattva Manjushri, Bodhisattva Perceiver of the World's Sounds, Bodhisattva Gainer of Great Authority, Bodhisattva Constant Exertion, Bodhisattva Never Resting, Bodhisattva Jeweled Palm, Bodhisattva Medicine King, Bodhisattva Brave Donor, Bodhisattva Jeweled Moon, Bodhisattva Moonlight, Bodhisattva Full Moon, Bodhisattva Great Strength, Bodhisattva Immeasurable Strength, Bodhisattva Transcending the Threefold World, Bodhisattva Bhadrapala, Bodhisattva Maitreya, Bodhisattva Jeweled Acc.u.mulation, and Bodhisattva Guiding Leader. Bodhisattvas and mahasattvas such as these numbering eighty thousand were in attendance.

At that time Shakra Devanam Indra with his followers, twenty thousand sons of G.o.ds, also attended. There were also the sons of G.o.ds Rare Moon, Pervading Fragrance, Jeweled Glow, and the Four Great Heavenly Kings, along with their followers, ten thousand sons of G.o.ds.

Present were the sons of G.o.ds Freedom and Great Freedom and their followers, thirty thousand sons of G.o.ds, Present were King Brahma, lord of the saha world, the great Brahma s.h.i.+khin, and the great Brahma Light Bright, and their followers, twelve thousand sons of G.o.ds.

There were eight dragon kings, the dragon king Nanda, the dragon king Upananda, the dragon king Sagara, the dragon king Vasuki, the dragon king Takshaka, the dragon king Anavatapta, the dragon king Manasvin, the dragon king Utpalaka, each with several hundreds of thousands of followers.

There were four kimnara kings, the kimnara king Great Law, and the kimnara king Upholding the Law, each with several hundreds of thousands of followers.

There were four gandharva kings, and gandharva king Pleasant, the gandharva king Pleasant Sound, the gandharva Beautiful Sound, each with several hundreds of thousands of followers.

There were four asura kings, the asura king Balin, the asura king Kharaskandha, the asura king Vemachitrin, and the asura king Rahu, each with several hundreds of thousands of followers.

There were four garuda kings, the garuda king Great Majesty, the garuda king Great Body, the garuda king Great Fullness, and the garuda king As One Wishes, each with several hundreds of thousands of followers. And there was King Ajatashatru, the son of Vaidehi, with several hundreds of thousands of followers.

Each of these, after bowing in obeisance before the Buddha's feet, withdrew and took a seat to one side.

At that time the World-Honored One, surrounded by the four kinds of believers, received offerings and tokens of respect and was honored and praised. And for the sake of the bodhisattvas he preached the Great Vehicle sutra ent.i.tle Immeasurable Meanings, a Law to instruct the bodhisattvas, one that is guarded and kept in mind by the Buddhas.

When the Buddha had finished preaching this Sutra, he sat with his legs crossed in lotus position and entered into the samadhi of the place of immeasurable meanings, his body and mind never moving. At that time heaven rained down mandarava flowers, great mandarava flowers, manjushaka flowers, and great manjushaka flowers, scattering them over the Buddha and over the great a.s.sembly, and everywhere the Buddha world quaked and trembled in six different ways.

At that time the monks, nuns, laymen, laywomen, heavenly beings, dragons, yakshas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kimnaras, mahoragas, human and nonhuman beings in the a.s.sembly, as well as the petty kings and wheel-turning sage kings - all those in the great a.s.sembly, having gained what they had never had before, were filled with joy and, pressing their palms together, gazed at the Buddha with a single mind.

At that time the Buddha emitted a ray of light from the tuft of white hair between his eyebrows, one of his characteristic features, lighting up eighteen thousand worlds in the eastern direction. There was no place that the light did not penetrate, reaching downward as far as the Avichi h.e.l.l and upward to the Akanishtha heaven.

From this world one could see the living beings in the six paths of existence in all of those other lands. One could likewise see the Buddhas present at that time in those other lands and could hear the sutra teachings which those Buddhas were expounding. At the same time one could see the monks, nuns laymen, and laywomen who had carried out religious practices and attained the way. One could also see the bodhisattvas and mahasattvas who, through various causes and conditions and various types of faith and understanding and in various forms and aspects were carrying out the way of the bodhisattva. And one could also see the Buddhas who had entered parinirvana, towers adorned with the seven treasures were erected for the Buddha relics.

At that time the Bodhisattva Maitreya had this thought: Now the World-Honored One has manifested these miraculous signs. But what is the cause of these auspicious portents?

Now the Buddha, the World Honored One, has entered into samadhi. An unfathomable event such as this is seldom to be met with. Whom shall I question about this? Who can give me an answer?

And again he had this thought: this Manjushri, son of a Dharma King, has already personally attended and given offerings to immeasurable numbers of Buddhas in the past.

Surely he must see these rare signs. I will now question him.

At this time the monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen, as well as the heavenly beings, dragons, spirits, and the others all had this thought: this beam of brightness from the Buddha, these signs of transcendental powers - now whom shall we question about them?

At that time Bodhisattva Maitreya wished to settle his doubts concerning the matter. And in addition he could see what was in the minds of the four kinds of believers, the monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen, as well as the heavenly beings, dragons, spirits and the others who made up the a.s.sembly. So he questioned Manjushri, saying, "What is the cause of these auspicious portents, these signs of transcendental powers, this emitting of a great beam of brightness that illumines the eighteen thousand lands in the eastern direction so we can see all the adornments of the Buddha worlds there?"

Then Bodhisattva Maitreya, wis.h.i.+ng to state his meaning once more, asked the question in verse form: Manjushri, Why from the white tuft between the eyebrows of our leader and teacher does this great light s.h.i.+ne all around?

Why do mandarava and manjushaka flowers rain down and breezes scented with sandalwood delight the hearts of the a.s.sembly?

Because of these the earth is everywhere adorned and purified and this world quakes and trembles in six different ways.

At this time the four kinds of believers are all filled with joy and delight, they rejoice in body and mind, having gained what they never had before.

The beam of brightness from between the eyebrows illumines the eastern direction and eighteen thousand lands are all the color of gold.

From the Avichi h.e.l.l upward to the Summit of Being, throughout the various worlds the living beings in the six paths, the realm to which their births and deaths are tending, their good and bad deeds, and the pleasing or ugly recompense they receive - all these can be seen from here.

We can also see Buddhas, those sage lords, lions, expounding and preaching sutras that are subtle, wonderful and foremost.

Their voices are clear and pure, issuing in soft and gentle sounds, as they teach bodhisattvas in numberless millions.

Their Brahma sounds are profound and wonderful, making people delight in hearing them.

Each in his own world preaches the correct Law, following various causes and conditions and employing immeasurable similes, illuminating the Law of the Buddha, guiding living beings to enlightenment.

If a person should encounter troubles, loathing old age, sickness and death, the Buddhas preach to him on nirvana, explaining how he may put an end to all troubles.

If a person should have good fortune, having in the past made offerings to the Buddhas, determined to seek a superior Law, the Buddhas preach the way of the pratyekabuddha.

If there should be Buddha sons who carry out various religious practices, seeking to attain the unsurpa.s.sed wisdom, the Buddhas preach the way of purity.

Manjushri, I have been dwelling here, seeing and hearing in this manner many things numbering in the thousands of millions.

Numerous as they are, I will now speak of them in brief.

I see in these lands bodhisattvas numerous as Ganges sands, according with various causes and conditions and seeking the way of the Buddha.

Some of them give alms, gold, silver, coral, pears, mani jewels, seash.e.l.l, agate, diamonds and other rarities, men and women servants, carriages, jeweled hand carriages and palanquins, gladly presenting these donations.

Such gifts they give to the Buddha way, desiring to achieve the vehicle that is foremost in the threefold world and praised by the Buddhas.

There are some bodhisattvas who give jeweled carriages drawn by teams of four, with railings and flowered canopies adorning their top and sides.

Again I see bodhisattvas who give their own flesh, hands and feet, or their wives and children, seeking the unsurpa.s.sed way.

I also see bodhisattvas who happily give heads, eyes, bodies and limbs in their search for the Buddha wisdom.

Manjushri, I see kings going to visit the place of the Buddha to ask him about the unsurpa.s.sed way.

They put aside their happy lands, their palaces, their men and women attendants, shave their hair and beard and don the clothes of the Dharma.

Or I see bodhisattvas who become monks, living alone in quietude, delighting in chanting the sutras.

Again I see bodhisattvas bravely and vigorously exerting themselves, entering the deep mountains, their thoughts on the Buddha way.

And I see them removing themselves from desire, constantly dwelling in emptiness and stillness, advancing deep into the practice of mediation until they have gained the five transcendental powers.

And I see bodhisattvas resting in meditation, palms pressed together, with a thousand, ten thousand verses praising the king of the doctrines.

Again I see bodhisattvas, profound in wisdom, firm in purpose, who know how to question the Buddhas and accept and abide by all they hear.

I see Buddha sons proficient in both meditation and wisdom, who use immeasurable numbers of similes to expound the Law to the a.s.sembly, delighting in preaching the Law, converting the bodhisattvas, defeating the legions of the devil and beating the Dharma drum.

And I see bodhisattvas profoundly still and silent, honored by heavenly beings and dragons but not counting that a joy.

And I see bodhisattvas living in forests, emitting light, saving those who suffer in h.e.l.l, causing them to enter the Buddha way.

And I see Buddha sons who have never once slept, who keep circling through the forest diligently seeking the Buddha way.

And I see those who observe the precepts, no flaw in their conduct, pure as jewels and gems, and in that manner seeking the Buddha way.

And I see Buddha sons abiding in the strength of fort.i.tude, taking the abuse and blows of persons of overbearing arrogance, willing to suffer all these, and in that manner seeking the Buddha way.

I see bodhisattvas removing themselves form frivolity and laughter and from foolish companions, befriending persons of wisdom, unifying their minds, dispelling confusion, ordering their thoughts in mountain and forest for a million, a thousand, ten thousand years in that manner seeking the Buddha way.

Or I see bodhisattvas with delicious things to eat and drink and a hundred kinds of medicinal potions, offering them to the Buddha and his monks; fine robes and superior garments costing in the thousands or ten thousands, or robes that are beyond cast, offering them to the Buddha and his monks; a thousand, ten thousand, a million kinds of jeweled dwellings made of sandalwood and numerous wonderful articles of bedding, offering them to the Buddha and his monks; immaculate gardens and groves where flowers and fruit abound, flowing springs and bathing pools, offering them to the Buddha and his monks; offerings of this kind, or many different wonderful varieties presented gladly and without regret as they seek the unsurpa.s.sed way.

Or there are bodhisattvas who expound the Law of tranquil extinction, giving different types of instruction to numberless living beings.

Or I see bodhisattvas viewing the nature of all phenomena as having no dual characteristics, as being like empty s.p.a.ce.

And I see Buddha sons whose minds have no attachments, who use this wonderful wisdom to seek the unsurpa.s.sed way.

Manjushri, there are also bodhisattvas who after the Buddha has pa.s.sed into extinction make offerings to his relics.

I see Buddha sons building memorial towers as numberless as Ganges sands, ornamenting each land with them, jeweled towers lofty and wonderful, five thousand yojanas high, their width and depth exactly two thousand yojanas, each of these memorial towers with its thousand banners and streamers, with curtains laced with gems like dewdrops and jeweled bells chiming harmoniously.

There heavenly beings, dragons, spirits, human and nonhuman beings, with incense, flowers and music constantly making offerings.

Manjushri, these Buddha sons in order to make offerings to the relics adorn the memorial towers so that each land, just as it is, is as outstandingly wonderful and lovely as the heavenly king of trees when its flowers open and unfold.

When the Buddha emits a beam of light I and the other members of the a.s.sembly can see these lands in all their various outstanding wonders.

The supernatural powers of the Buddhas and their wisdom are rare indeed; by emitting one pure beam of light, the Buddhas illuminate countless lands.

I and the others have seen this, have gained something never known before.

Buddha son, Manjushri, I beg you to settle the doubts of the a.s.sembly.

The four kinds of believers look up in happy antic.i.p.ation, gazing at you and me.

Why does the World-Honored One emit this beam of brightness?

Buddha son, give a timely answer, settle these doubts and occasion joy!

What rich benefits will come from the projecting of this beam of brightness?

It must be that the Buddha wishes to expound the wonderful Law he gained when he sat in the place of practice.

He must have prophecies to bestow.

He has showed us Buddha lands with their adornment and purity of manifold treasures, and we have seen their Buddhas - this is not done for petty reasons.

Manjushri, you must know.

The four kinds of believers, the dragons and spirits gaze at you in surmise, wondering what explanation you will give.

At that time Manjushri said to the bodhisattva and mahasattva Maitreya and the other great men: "Good men, I suppose that the Buddha, the World Honored One, wishes now to expound the great Law, to rain down the rain of the great Law, to blow the conch of the great Law, to beat the drum of the great Law, to elucidate the meaning of the great Law.

Good men, in the past I have seen this auspicious portent among the Buddhas. They emitted a beam of light like this, and after that they expounded the great Law. Therefore we should know that now, when the present Buddha manifests this light, we will do likewise.

He wishes to cause all living beings to hear and understand the Law, which is difficult for all the world to believe. Therefore he has manifested this auspicious portent.

"Good men, once, at a time that was an immeasurable, boundless, inconceivable number of asamkhya kalpas in the past, there was a Buddha named Sun Moon Bright, Thus Come One, worthy of offerings, of right and universal knowledge, perfect clarity and conduct, well gone, understanding the world, unexcelled worthy, trainer of people, teacher of heavenly and human beings, Buddha, World-Honored One, who expounded the correct Law. His exposition was good at the beginning, good in the middle, good at the end. The meaning was profound and far-reaching, the words were skillful and wondrous. It was pure and without alloy, complete, clean and spotless, and bore the marks of Brahma practice."

"For the sake of those seeking to become voice-hearers he responded by expounding the Law of the four n.o.ble truths, so that they could transcend birth, old age, sickness and death and attain nirvana. For the sake of those seeking to become pratyekabuddhas he responded by expounding the Law of the twelve-linked chain of causation. For the sake of the bodhisattvas he responded by expounding the six paramitas, causing them to gain anuttara-samyak-sambodhi and to acquire the wisdom that embraces all species."

"Then there was another Buddha who was also named Sun Moon Bright, and then another Buddha also named Sun Moon Bright. There were twenty thousand Buddhas like this, all with the same appellation, all named Sun Moon Bright. And all had the same surname, the surname Bharadvaja. Maitreya, you should understand that from the first Buddha to the last, all had the same appellation, all were named Sun Moon Bright. They were worthy of all the ten epithets and the Law they expounded was good at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end."

"The last Buddha, when he had not yet left family life, had eight princely sons. The first was named Having Intention, the second Good Intention, the third Immeasurable intention, the fourth jeweled intention, the fifth Increased Intention, the sixth Cleansed of Doubt Intention, the seventh Echoing Intention, and the eighth Law Intention. Dignity and virtue came easily to them, and each presided over a four-continent realm."

"When these princes heard that their father had left family life and had gained anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, they all cast aside their princely positions and followed him by leaving family life. Conceiving a desire for the Great Vehicle, the constantly carried out Brahma practices, and all became teachers of the Law. They had already planted good roots in the company of a thousand, ten thousand Buddhas."

"At that time the Buddha Sun Moon Bright preached the Great Vehicle sutra ent.i.tled Immeasurable Meanings, a Law to instruct the Bodhisattvas, one that is guarded and kept in mind by the Buddhas. When he had finished preaching the sutra, he sat cross-legged in the midst of the great a.s.sembly and entered into the samadhi of the place of immeasurable meanings, his body and mind never moving. At this time heaven rained down mandarava flowers, great mandarava flowers, manjushaka flowers, and great manjushaka flowers, scattering them over the Buddha and the great a.s.sembly, and everywhere the Buddha world quaked and trembled in six different ways."

"At that time the monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen , heavenly beings, dragons, yakshas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kimnaras, and mahoragas, the human and nonhuman beings in the a.s.sembly, as well as the petty kings and wheel-turning sage kings - all those in this great a.s.sembly gained what they had never had before and, filled with joy, pressed their palms together and gazed at the Buddha with a single mind.

"At that time the Thus Come One emitted a ray of light from the tuft of white hair between his eyebrows, one of his characteristic features, lighting up eighteen thousand Buddha lands in the eastern direction. There was no place that the light did not penetrate, just as you have seen it light up these Buddha lands now."