The Lotus Sutra Part 18

These bodhisattvas who have practiced the way for immeasurable kalpas when they hear me describe my life span are able to believe and accept what I say.

These persons will gratefully accept this sutra, saying, "Our wish is that in future ages we may use our long lives to save living beings.

Just as today the World-Honored One, king of the Shakyas, roars like a lion in the place of practice, preaching the Law without fear, so may we too in ages to come, honored and revered by all, when we sit in the place of practice describe our life span in the same manner."

If there are those profound in mind, pure, honest and upright, who, hearing much, can retain it all, who follow principle in understanding the Buddha's words, then persons such as this will have no doubts [about my lives span].

"Furthermore, Ajita, if there is someone who, hearing of the long duration of the Buddha's life span, can understand the import of such words, the benefits that such a person acquires will be without limit or measure, able to awaken in him unsurpa.s.sed wisdom of the Thus Come One. How much more so, then, if far and wide a person listens to this sutra or cause others to listen to it, embraces it himself or causes others to embrace it, copies it himself or cause others to copy it, or presents flowers, incense, necklaces, streamers, banners, silken canopies, fragrant oil or lamps of b.u.t.ter oil as offerings to the sutra rolls.

The benefits of such a person will be immeasurable, boundless, able to inspire in him to wisdom that embraces all species.

"Ajita, if good men and good women, hearing me describe the great length of my life span, in the depths of their mind believe and understand, then they will see the Buddha constantly abiding on Mount Gridhrakuta, with the great bodhisattvas and mult.i.tude of voice-hearers surrounding him, preaching the Law. They will also see this saha world, its ground of lapis lazuli level and well ordered, the Jambunada gold bordering its eight highways, the rows of Jeweled trees, the terraces, towers and observatories all made of jewels, and all the mult.i.tude of bodhisattvas who live in their midst. If there are those who are able to see such things, you should known that it is a mark of their deep faith and understanding.

"Again, if after the Thus Come One has entered extinction there are those who hear this sutra and do not slander or speak ill of it but have already shown deep faith and understanding. How much more in the case of persons who read, recite and embrace this sutra! Such persons are in effect receiving the Thus Come One on the crown of their heads.

"Ajita, these good men and good women need not for my sake erect towers and temples or build monks quarters or make the four kinds of offerings to the community of monks. Why?

Because these good men and good women, in receiving, embracing, reading and reciting this sutra, have already erected towers, constructed monks quarters, and given alms to the community of monks. It should be considered that they have erected towers adorned with the seven treasures for the relics of the Buddha, broad at the base and tapering at the top, reaching to the Brahma heaven, hung with banners, canopies, and a mult.i.tude of jeweled bells, with flowers, incense, necklaces, powdered incense, paste incense, incense for burning, many kinds of drums, musical instruments, pipes, harps, and various types of dances and diversions, and with wonderful voices that sing and intone hymns of praise. It is as though they have already offered alms for immeasurable thousands, ten thousands, millions of kalpas.

"Ajita, if after I have entered extinction there are those who hear this sutra and can accept and uphold it, copy it themselves or cause others to copy it, then it may be considered that they have already erected monks quarters, or used red sandalwood to construct thirty-two halls, as tall as eight tala trees, lofty, s.p.a.cious and beautifully adorned to accommodate hundreds and thousands of monks. Gardens, groves, pools, lakes, exercise grounds, caves for meditation, clothing, food, drink, beds, matting, medicines, and all kinds of utensils for comfort fill them, and these monks quarters and halls number in the hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, millions, and indeed are immeasurable in number. All these are presented before me as alms for me in the community of monks.

"So I say, if after the Thus Come One enters extinction there are those who accept, uphold, read and recite the sutra or preach it to others, who copy it themselves or cause others to copy it, or who offer alms to the sutra rolls, then they need not erect towers or temples or build monks quarters or offer alms to the community of monks. And how much more is this true for those who are able to embrace this sutra and at the same time dispense alms, keep the precepts, practice forbearance, and display diligence, single-mindedness and wisdom! Their virtue will be uppermost, immeasurable and boundless, as the open sky, east, west, north and south, in the four intermediate directions and up and down, is immeasurable and boundless. The blessings of such persons will be as immeasurable and boundless as this, and such persons will quickly attain the wisdom embraces all species. immeasurable and boundless. The blessings of such persons will be as immeasurable and boundless as this, and such persons will quickly attain the wisdom embraces all species.

"If a person reads, recites, accepts and upholds this sutra or preaches it to others; if he copies it himself or causes others to copy it; and if he can erect towers, build monks quarters, offer alms and praise to the community of voice-hearers; if he can employ hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, millions of modes of praise to praise the merits of the bodhisattvas; and if for the sake of others he employs various causes and conditions and accords with principle in explaining and preaching this Lotus Sutra; and if he can observe the precepts with purity, keep company with those who are gentle and peaceful, be forbearing and without anger, firm in intent and thoughts, constantly prizing the practice of sitting and meditation, attaining various states of profound meditation, diligent and courageous, mastering all the good doctrines, keen in faculties and wisdom, good at answering difficult questions - Ajita, if after I have entered extinction there are good men and good women who accept, uphold, read and recite this sutra and have good merits such as these, you should know that they have already proceeded to the place of practice and are drawing near to anuttara-samyak-sambodhi as they sit beneath the tree of the way.

Ajita, wherever these good men and good women sit or stand or circle in exercise, there one should erect a tower, and all heavenly and human beings should offer alms to it as they would to the tower of the Buddha."

At that time the World-Honored One, wis.h.i.+ng to state his meaning once more, spoke in verse form, saying: If after I have entered extinction a person who can honor and uphold this sutra, his blessings will be immeasurable, as I have described above.

It is as though he had supplied all manner of alms, erecting a tower for the Buddha's relics adorned with the seven treasures and with a central pole very tall and wide that tapers gradually as it reaches the Brahma heaven.

Jeweled bells by the thousands, ten thousand, million, move in the wind, emitting a wonderful sound.

And for immeasurable kalpas he offers alms to this tower, flowers, incense, various kinds of necklaces, heavenly robes and a.s.sorted musical instruments, and burns fragrant oil and lamps of b.u.t.ter oil that constantly light up the area around.

In the evil age of the Latter Day of the Law if there is someone who can uphold this sutra, it will be as though he supplied all alms ascribed above.

If someone can uphold this sutra, it will be as though in the presence of the Buddha he should use ox-head sandalwood to build monks quarters as an offering, or thirty-two halls as high as eight tala trees, or supply all kinds of superior foods and wonderful clothes and bedding, residences for a.s.semblies of hundreds, thousands, gardens, groves, pools and lakes, exercise grounds and caves for meditation, all with various kinds of fine adornments.

If someone with a believing and understanding mind accepts, upholds, reads, recites and copies this sutra or causes others to copy it or offers alms to the sutra rolls, scattering flowers, and incense and powdered incense or constantly burning fragrant oil extracted from sumana, champaka or atimuktaka flowers, if he offers alms such as these he will gain immeasurable merits, boundless as the open air, and his blessings will also be like this.

How much more so if one upholds this sutra and at the same time dispense alms, keeps the precepts, is forbearing, delights in meditation, and never gives way to anger or evil speaking.

If one displays reverence toward memorial towers, humbles himself before monks, gives a wide berth to an arrogant mind, constantly ponders upon wisdom and is never angry when asked difficult questions but responds compliantly with an explanation - if one can carry out such practices, his merits will be beyond measure.

If you see a teacher of the Law who has cultivated virtues such as these, you should scatter heavenly flowers over him, clothe his body in heavenly robes, bow your head before his feet in salutation, and in your mind imagine you see the Buddha.

You should also think to yourself: before long he will proceed to the place of practice and attain a state of no outflows and no action, bringing wide benefits to heavenly and human beings!

In the place where such a person resides, where he walks, sits or lies down, or recites even one verse of scripture, there you should erect a tower adorned in a fitting and wonderful manner and offer alms of various kinds to it.

When a son of the Buddha dwells in such places the Buddha will accept and utilize them, and constantly in their midst will walk, sit or lie down.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: THE BENEFITS OF JOYFUL.

ACCEPTANCE.

At that time the bodhisattva and mahasattva Maitreya said to the Buddha: World-Honored One, if there are good men or good women who, hearing this Lotus Sutra, respond with joy, what amount of blessings do they acquire?"

Then he spoke in verse, saying: After the World-Honored One has pa.s.sed into extinction, if those who hear this sutra are able to respond with joy, what a mount of blessings will they acquire?

At that time the Buddha said to the bodhisattva Maitreya: "Ajita, after the Thus Come One has entered extinction, suppose there are monks, nuns, laymen, laywomen, or other persons of wisdom, whether old or young, who, hearing the sutra, respond with joy and, leaving the Dharma a.s.sembly, go to some other place, perhaps a monks quarters, a spot that is deserted and quiet, a city, a community, the settlement or a village, and there in accordance with what they have heard they put forth effort and preaching in expounding for the sake of their parents and relatives, their good friends and acquaintances. These persons, after hearing, respond with joy and they too set about spreading the teachings.

One person, having heard, responds with joy and spreads the teachings, and the teachings in this way continue to be handed along from one to another until they reach a fiftieth person.

"Ajita, the benefits received by this fiftieth good man or good woman who responds with joy I will now describe to you - he must listen carefully. Imagine all the beings in the six paths of existence of four hundred ten thousand million asamkhya worlds, all the four kinds of living beings, those born from the egg, those born from the womb, those born from dampness, and those born by transformation, those with form, those without form, those with thought, those without thought, those who are not with thought, those who are not without thought, those without legs, those with two legs, four legs or many legs. And imagine that, among all of this vast number of living beings, a person should come who is seeking blessings and, responding to their various desires, dispenses objects of amazement and playthings to all these living beings. Each one of these living beings is given gold, silver, lapis lazuli, sheash.e.l.l, agate, coral, amber, and other wonderful and precious gems, as well as elephants, horses, carriages, and palaces and towers made of the seven treasures, enough to fill a whole Jambudvipa. This great dispenser of charity, having handed out gifts in this manner for a full eighty years, then thinks to himself: I have already doled out objects of amus.e.m.e.nt and playthings to these living beings, responding to various desires. But these living beings are now old and decrepit, their years over eighty, their hair white, their faces wrinkled, before long they will die. I now should employ the law of the Buddha to instruct and guide them.

"Immediately he gathers all the living beings together and propagates the Law among them, teaching, benefiting and delighting them. In one moment all are able to attain the way of the srota-apanna, the way of the sakridagamin, the way of the anagamin, and the way of arhat, to exhaust all outflows and enter deeply into meditation. All attain freedom and become endowed with eight emanc.i.p.ations. Now what is your opinion? Are the benefits gained by this great dispenser of charity many are not?"

Maitreya said to the Buddha: "World-Honored One, this man's benefits are very many indeed, immeasurable and boundless. Even if this dispenser of charity had merely given all those playthings to living beings, his benefits would still be immeasurable. And how much more so when he has enabled them to attain the fruits of arhats.h.i.+p!"

The Buddhas said to Maitreya: "I will now state the matter clearly for you. This man gave all these objects of amus.e.m.e.nt to living beings in the six paths of existence of four hundred ten thousand million asamkhya worlds and also made it possible for them to attain the fruits of arhats.h.i.+p. But the benefits that he gains do not match the benefits of the fiftieth person who hears just one verse of and responds with joy. They are not equal to one hundredth, one thousandth, one part in a hundred, thousand, ten thousand, a million.

Indeed it is beyond the power of calculation, simile or parable to express the comparison.

"Ajita, the benefits gained by even the fiftieth person who hears as it is handed along to him responds with joy. His blessings are greater by an immeasurable, boundless asamkhya number, and are in fact incomparable.

"Moreover, Ajita, suppose a person for the sake of this sutra visits a monks quarters and, sitting or standing, even for a moment listens to it and accepts it. As a result of the benefits so obtained, when he is reborn in his next existence he will enjoy the finest, most superior and wonderful elephants, horses and carriages, and palanquins decked with rare treasures, and will mount up to the heavenly palaces. Or suppose there is a person who is sitting in the place where the Law is expounded, and when another person appears, the first person urges them to sit down and listen, or offers to share his seat and so persuades him to sit down. The benefits gained by this person will be such that when he is reborn he will be in a place where lord Shakra is seated, where the heavenly king Brahma is seated, or were a wheel-turning sage king is seated.

"Ajita, suppose there is a person who speaks to another person, saying, 'There is a sutra called the Lotus. Let us go together and listen to it.' And suppose, having been urged, the other person goes and even for an instant listens to the sutra. The benefits of the first person will be such that when he is reborn he will be born in the same place as dharani bodhisattvas. He will have keen faculties and wisdom. For a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand ages he will never be struck dumb. His mouth will not emit a foul odor. His tongue will never been afflicted, nor will his mouth be afflicted. His teeth will not be stained or black, nor will they be yellow or widely s.p.a.ced, nor will they be missing or fall out or be at an angle or crooked. His lips will not droop down or curl back or be rough or chapped or afflicted with sores or misshapen or twisted or too thick or too big or black or discolored or unsightly in any way. His nose will not be too broad or flat or crooked or too highly arched.

His face will not be swarthy, nor will it be long and narrow, or sunken and distorted. He will not have a single unsightly feature. His lips, tongue and teeth will all be handsomely proportioned. His nose will be long and high, his face round and full, his eyebrows long and set high, his forehead broad, smooth, and well shaped, and he will be endowed with all the features proper to a human being. In each existence he is born into, he will see the Buddha, hear his Law, and have faith in his teachings.

"Ajita, just observe! The benefits gained merely by encouraging one person to go and listen to the Law are such as this! How much more, then, if one single-mindedly hears, preaches, reads, and recites the sutra and before the great a.s.sembly makes distinctions of the sake of people and practices it as the sutra instructs!"

At that time the World-Honored One, wis.h.i.+ng to state his meaning once more, spoke in verse form, saying: If someone in the Dharma a.s.sembly is able to hear this sutra, even just one verse, and responding with joy, preaches it to others, and in this way the teachings are handed along till they a reach the fiftieth person, the blessings gained by this last person are such as I will now define.

Suppose there is a great dispenser of charity who bestows goods on immeasurable mult.i.tudes, doing this for a full eighty years, responding to each person's desires.

Seeing the signs of decrepitude and old age, the white hair and wrinkled face, the missing teeth, the withered form, he thinks, "Their death is not far off; I must now teach them so they can gain the fruits of the way!"

Immediately for their sake he employs an expedient means, preaching the true Law of nirvana: "Nothing in this world is lasting or firm but all are like bubbles, foam, heat s.h.i.+mmer.

Therefore all of you must quickly learn to hate it and be gone!"

When the people here this Law, all are able to become arhats endowed with the six transcendental powers, the three understandings and eight emanc.i.p.ations.

But the fiftieth person who hears one verse [of ] and responds with joy gains blessings that are far greater, beyond description by simile or parable.

And if one who has had the teachings pa.s.sed along to him receives blessings that are immeasurable, how much more so one who in the Dharma a.s.sembly first hears the sutra and responds with joy.

Suppose someone encourages another person, urging him to go and listen to the Lotus, saying, "This sutra is profound and wonderful, hard to encounter in a thousand, ten thousand kalpas!"

And suppose, as urged, the person goes to listen, even though he listens for just a moment.

The blessings that the first person gets in reward I will now describe in detail: Age after age, no afflictions of the mouth, no teeth missing, yellow or blackened, lips that are not thick, curled or defective, no fateful features, a tongue not dry, black or too short; nose high, long and straight, forehead broad, smooth and well shaped, face and eyes ball properly aligned and impressive, the kind people delight to look at, breath free of foul odor, a fragrance of utpala flowers constantly emitted by the mouth.

Suppose one goes to the monks quarters expressly to listen and listens with joy for just a moment - I will now describe his blessings.

In existences to come among heavenly and human beings he will acquire wonderful elephants, horses, carriages, palanquins adorned with rare jewels, and will mount to the palaces of heaven.

If in the place where the law is expounded one encourages someone to sit and hear the sutra, the blessings he acquires will enable him to gain the seat of Shakra, Brahma and the wheel-turner.

How much more so if one listens single-mindedly, explains and expounds the meaning, and practices the sutra as the sutra instructs - that person's blessings know no bounds!

CHAPTER NINETEEN: THE BENEFITS OF THE TEACHER OF.

THE LAW.

At that time the Buddha said to the bodhisattva and mahasattva Constant Exertion: 'If good men or good women accept and uphold this Lotus Sutra, if they read it, recite it, explain and preach it, or transcribe it, such persons will obtain eight hundred eye benefits, twelve hundred ear benefits, eight hundred nose benefits, twelve hundred tongue benefits, eight hundred body benefits, and twelve hundred mind benefits. With these benefits they will be able to adorn their six sense organs, making all of them pure.

"These good men and good women, with the pure physical eyes they received from their parents at birth, will view all that exists in the inner and our parts of thousand-million-fold world, its mountains, forests, rivers and seas, down as far as the Avichi h.e.l.l and up to this Summit of Being. And in the midst they will see all the living beings, and also see and understand all the causes and conditions created by their deeds and the births that await them as result and recompense for those deeds."

At that time the World-Honored One, wis.h.i.+ng to state his meaning once more, spoke in verse form, saying: If in the midst of the great a.s.sembly someone with a fearless mind preaches this Lotus Sutra, listen to the benefits he will receive!

Such a person gains eight hundred benefits of superior eyes.

As a result of these adornments his eyes become extremely pure.

With the eyes received that birth from his parents he will view all the three thousand worlds, their inner and outer parts, their Mount Meru, their Sumeru, the Iron Encircling Mountains and all the other mountains and forests, the waters of their great seas, rivers and streams, down as far as the Avichi h.e.l.l, up to the Summit of Being heaven.

And he will see all the living beings in their midst.

Though he has not yet gained heavenly eyes, the power of his physical eyes will be such as this.

"Moreover, Constant Exertion, if good men or good women accept and uphold this sutra, if they read it, recite it, explain and preach it, or transcribe it, they will gain twelve hundred ear benefits with which to purify their ears so they can hear all the different varieties of words and sounds in the thousand-millionfold world, down as far as the Avichi h.e.l.l, up to the Summit of Being, have been in its inner and our parts. Elephant sounds, horse sounds, ox sounds, carriage sounds, weeping sounds, lamenting sounds, conch sounds, drum sounds, bell sounds, chime sounds, sounds of laughter, sounds of speaking, men's voices, women's voices, boys' voices, girls' voices, the voice that is not the Law, bitter voices, merry voices, voices of common mortals, voices of sages, happy voices, unhappy voices, voices of heavenly beings, dragon voices, yaksha voices, gandharva voices, asura voices, garuda voices, kimnara voices, mahoraga voices, the sound of fire, the sound of water, the sound of wind, voices of h.e.l.l dwellers, voices of beasts, voices of hungry spirits, monks' sounds, carriage sounds, weeping sounds, lamenting sounds, conch sounds, drum sounds, bell sounds, chime sounds, sounds of laughter, sounds of speaking, men's voices, women's voices, boys' voices, girls' voices, the voice that is not the Law, bitter voices, merry voices, voices of common mortals, voices of sages, happy voices, unhappy voices, voices of heavenly beings, dragon voices, yaksha voices, gandharva voices, asura voices, garuda voices, kimnara voices, mahoraga voices, the sound of fire, the sound of water, the sound of wind, voices of h.e.l.l dwellers, voices of beasts, voices of hungry spirits, monks'

voices, nuns' voices, voices of voice hearers, voices of pratyekabuddhas, voices of bodhisattvas and voices of Buddhas. In a word, although the person has not yet gained heavenly ears, with the pure and ordinary ears that he received at birth from his parents he will be able to hear and understand all the voices that exist in the inner and outer parts of thousand-millionfold world. And though in this manner he can distinguish all the various kinds of sounds and voices, this will not impair his hearing faculty."

At that time the World-Honored One, wis.h.i.+ng to state his meaning once more, spoke in verse form, saying: With the ears received at birth from one's parents, pure and without stain or defilement, with these ordinary ears one can hear the sounds of the three thousand worlds, elephant, horse, carriage, ox sounds, bell, chime, conch, drum sounds, lute and harp sounds, pipe and flute sounds; the sound of pure and beautiful singing one can hear without becoming attached to it.

The countless varieties of human voices - one can hear and understand all these.

Again one can hear the voices of heavenly beings, subtle and wonderful song sounds, and one can hear men and women's voices, the voices of young boys and young girls.

In the midst of hills, rivers and steep valleys the voice of the kalavinka, the jivakajivaka and other birds- all these sounds he will hear.

From the tormented mult.i.tudes of h.e.l.l the sounds of various kinds of suffering and distress, sounds of hungry spirits driven by famine and thirst as they search for food and drink, of the asuras who live on the sh.o.r.es of the great sea when they talk among themselves or emit loud cries.

Thus he who preaches the Law can dwell safely among all these, hearing these many voices from afar without ever impairing his faculties of hearing.

In the worlds of the ten directions when beasts and birds call to another this person who preaches the Law hears them all from where he is.

In the Brahma heaven and above, the Light Sound Heaven, All Pure heaven, and up to the Summit of Being heaven, the sounds of the voices talking there - the teacher of the Law, dwelling here, can hear them all.

All the mult.i.tude of monks and all the nuns, whether they are reading or reciting the scriptures or preaching them for the sake of others - the teacher of the Law dwells here, can hear them all.

And when there are bodhisattvas who read and recite the sutra teachings or preach them for the sake of others or select pa.s.sage and explain their meaning, the sounds of their voices - he can hear them all.

When the Buddhas, great sages and venerable ones, teach and convert living beings, in the midst of the great a.s.sembly expounding and preaching the subtle and wonderful Law, one who upholds can hear them all.

All the sounds in the inner and outer parts of the thousand-million-fold world, down to the Avichi h.e.l.l, up to the Summit of Being heaven - he can hear all these sounds and never impair his faculties of hearing.

Because the faculties of his ears or so keen he can distinguish and understand all the sounds.

One who upholds , though he has not yet gained heavenly ears, can do this simply through the ears he was born with - such are the benefits he gains.

"Moreover, Constant Exertion, if good men or good women accept and uphold this sutra, if they read it, recite it, explain and preach it, or transcribe it, they will succeed in gaining eight hundred nose benefits with which to purify their faculty of smell so they can detect all the different fragrances from top to bottom and in the inner and our parts of a thousand-million-fold world, the fragrance of sumana flowers, jatika flowers, mallika flowers, champaka flowers, patala flowers, red lotus flowers, blue lotus flowers, white lotus flowers, the fragrance of flowering trees, fruit trees, sandalwood, aloes, tamalapatra and tagara, as well as incense blended from thousand, ten thousand ingredients, powdered incense, pellet incense or paste incense. One who upholds this sutra while dwelling here, will be able to distinguish all these. the fragrance of flowering trees, fruit trees, sandalwood, aloes, tamalapatra and tagara, as well as incense blended from thousand, ten thousand ingredients, powdered incense, pellet incense or paste incense. One who upholds this sutra while dwelling here, will be able to distinguish all these.

"Moreover he will be able to distinguish and identify the odors of living beings, of elephants, horses, oxen, sheep and so forth, the odor of a man, a woman, a boy child, a girl child, and odors of plants, trees, thickets and forests. Whether they are near or far off, he will be able to detect all these odors and distinguish one from the other without error.

"One who upholds this sutra, though he dwells right here, will also be able to detect orders of the various heavens in the sky above. The scent of a parijataka and kovidara trees, of mandarava flowers, great mandarava flowers, great manjushaka flowers, sandalwood, aloes, various kinds of powdered incense, and incense made of an a.s.sortment of flowers - of heavenly scents from which they are derived or blended, there are non that he cannot detect and identify.

"He will also be able to detect the scent of the bodies of heavenly beings. The scent when Shakra Devanam Indra is in his superb palace amusing himself and satisfying the five desires, or the scent when he is in the Hall of the Wonderful Law preaching the Law for the heavenly beings of Trayastrimsha, or the scent when he is wondering at leisure in his gardens, as well as the scent of the bodies of the other male and female heavenly beings - all these he will be able to detect from a far.

"He will thus be able to extend his awareness up to the Brahma heaven and even higher to the Summit of Being heaven, detecting the scent of all bodies of the heavenly beings, who also detect the incense burned by the heavenly beings. Moreover the scent of the voice-hearer's, of pratyekabuddhas, of bodhisattvas and of the bodies of the Buddhas - all these he will detect from afar and will know where these beings are. And although he can detect all these scents, his faculty of smell will not be impaired or disordered. If he should wish to distinguish one scent from another and describe it for someone else, he will be able to recall it without error."

At that time the World-Honored One, wis.h.i.+ng to state his meaning once more, spoke in verse form, saying: The purity of such person's nose will be such that throughout this world he will be able to detect and identify all manner of odors, fragrant or foul, sumana and jatika flowers, tamalapatra and sandalwood, the scent of aloes and ca.s.sia, the scent of various flowers and fruits.

And he will know the scent of living beings, the scent of men and women.

Though this preacher of the Law dwells far off, he will detect the scents and know where the persons are.

Wheel-turning kings of great authority, Lesser wheel turners and their sons, their ministers and palace attendants - he will detect their scent and know where they are.

Precious treasures adorning the body, treasure storehouses in the earth, jewel ladies of wheel-turning kings - he will detect their scent where they are.