Then the Blessed One said to Śakra, mighty lord of the gods, “Kauśika, it is so, it is so! The merit of those sons or daughters of good families will increase greatly. The increase in the merit of those sons or daughters of good families who commit this perfection of wisdom to writing, make it into a book, take it up, uphold it, recite it, master it, and focus their attention correctly on it, and in addition serve, respect, honor, and worship it with flowers, garlands, perfumes, unguents, powders, robes, parasols, victory banners, flags, and various musical instruments, is, because of that, immeasurable, incalculable, inconceivable, incomparable, and inestimable.

“If you ask why, Kauśika, it is because the all-aspect omniscience of the tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly complete buddhas has originated from the perfection of wisdom; the perfection of meditative concentration has originated from the perfection of wisdom, the perfection of perseverance has originated from the perfection of wisdom, the perfection of tolerance has originated from the perfection of wisdom, the perfection of ethical discipline has originated from the perfection of wisdom, and the perfection of generosity has originated from the perfection of wisdom; the emptiness of internal phenomena has originated from the perfection of wisdom, the emptiness of external phenomena has originated from the perfection of wisdom, the emptiness of external and internal phenomena has originated from the perfection of wisdom, the emptiness of emptiness has originated from the perfection of wisdom, the emptiness of great extent has originated from the perfection of wisdom, the emptiness of ultimate reality has originated from the perfection of wisdom, the emptiness of conditioned phenomena has originated from the perfection of wisdom, the emptiness of unconditioned phenomena has originated from the perfection of wisdom, the emptiness of the unlimited has originated from the perfection of wisdom, the emptiness of that which has neither beginning nor end has originated from the perfection of wisdom, the emptiness of nonexclusion has originated from the perfection of wisdom, the emptiness of inherent nature has originated from the perfection of wisdom, the emptiness of all phenomena has originated from the perfection of wisdom, the emptiness of intrinsic defining characteristics has originated from the perfection of wisdom, the emptiness of that which cannot be apprehended has originated from the perfection of wisdom, the emptiness of nonentities has originated from the perfection of wisdom, the emptiness of essential nature has originated from the perfection of wisdom, and the emptiness of an essential nature of nonentities has originated from the perfection of wisdom; the applications of mindfulness have originated from the perfection of wisdom, the correct exertions have originated from the perfection of wisdom, the supports for miraculous ability have originated from the perfection of wisdom, the faculties have originated from the perfection of wisdom, the powers have originated from the perfection of wisdom, the branches of enlightenment have originated from the perfection of wisdom, and the noble eightfold path has originated from the perfection of wisdom; the truths of the noble ones have originated from the perfection of wisdom, the meditative concentrations have originated from the perfection of wisdom, the immeasurable attitudes have originated from the perfection of wisdom, the formless absorptions have originated from the perfection of wisdom, the liberations have originated from the perfection of wisdom, the serial steps of meditative absorption have originated from the perfection of wisdom, the emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness gateways to liberation have originated from the perfection of wisdom, the extrasensory powers have originated from the perfection of wisdom, the meditative stabilities have originated from the perfection of wisdom, and the dhāraṇī gateways have originated from the perfection of wisdom; the powers of the tathāgatas have originated from the perfection of wisdom, the fearlessnesses have originated from the perfection of wisdom, the kinds of exact knowledge have originated from the perfection of wisdom, great loving kindness has originated from the perfection of wisdom, great compassion has originated from the perfection of wisdom, and the distinct qualities of the buddhas have originated from the perfection of wisdom; and the five eyes of the tathāgatas have originated from the perfection of wisdom, the maturation of beings has originated from the perfection of wisdom, and the refinement of a buddhafield has originated from the perfection of wisdom. Kauśika, knowledge of all the dharmas has originated from the perfection of wisdom, the knowledge of the aspects of the path has originated from the perfection of wisdom, and all-aspect omniscience has originated from the perfection of wisdom. Kauśika, the vehicle of the śrāvakas has originated from the perfection of wisdom, the vehicle of the pratyekabuddhas has originated from the perfection of wisdom, and the Great Vehicle has originated from the perfection of wisdom. Kauśika, unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment has originated from the perfection of wisdom.

“Kauśika, so it is that the merit accrued earlier would come nowhere near even a hundredth part of the merit accrued if sons or daughters of good families commit this perfection of wisdom to writing, make it into a book, take it up, uphold it, recite it, master it, and focus their attention correctly on it, and serve, respect, honor, and worship it with flowers, garlands, perfumes, unguents, powders, robes, parasols, victory banners, flags, and various musical instruments. It would come nowhere near even a thousandth part, a hundred thousandth part, a ten millionth part, a hundred ten millionth part, a thousand ten millionth part, or a hundred thousand ten millionth part—or any other number, fraction, calculation, or example. It would come nowhere near to any comparison.

“If you ask why, Kauśika, it is because for as long as this perfection of wisdom remains in Jambudvīpa, the precious jewel of the Buddha will not disappear, the precious jewel of the Dharma will not disappear, and the precious jewel of the Saṅgha will not disappear. For that long the path of the ten virtuous actions will appear in the world, the four meditative concentrations will appear in the world, the four immeasurable attitudes will appear in the world, the four formless absorptions will appear in the world, and the five extrasensory powers will appear in the world; the perfection of generosity will appear in the world, the perfection of ethical discipline will appear in the world, the perfection of tolerance will appear in the world, the perfection of perseverance will appear in the world, the perfection of meditative concentration will appear in the world, and the perfection of wisdom will appear in the world; the emptiness of internal phenomena will appear in the world, the emptiness of external phenomena will appear in the world, the emptiness of external and internal phenomena will appear in the world, the emptiness of emptiness will appear in the world, the emptiness of great extent will appear in the world, the emptiness of ultimate reality will appear in the world, the emptiness of conditioned phenomena will appear in the world, the emptiness of unconditioned phenomena will appear in the world, the emptiness of the unlimited will appear in the world, the emptiness of that which has neither beginning nor end will appear in the world, the emptiness of nonexclusion will appear in the world, the emptiness of inherent nature will appear in the world, the emptiness of all phenomena will appear in the world, the emptiness of intrinsic defining characteristics will appear in the world, the emptiness of that which cannot be apprehended will appear in the world, the emptiness of nonentities will appear in the world, the emptiness of essential nature will appear in the world, and the emptiness of an essential nature of nonentities will appear in the world; the applications of mindfulness will appear in the world, the correct exertions will appear in the world, the supports for miraculous ability will appear in the world, the faculties will appear in the world, the powers will appear in the world, the branches of enlightenment will appear in the world, and the noble eightfold path will appear in the world; the truths of the noble ones will appear in the world, the meditative concentrations will appear in the world, the immeasurable attitudes will appear in the world, the formless absorptions will appear in the world, the liberations will appear in the world, the nine serial steps of meditative absorption will appear in the world, the emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness gateways to liberation will appear in the world, the extrasensory powers will appear in the world, the meditative stabilities will appear in the world, the dhāraṇī gateways will appear in the world, the powers of the tathāgatas will appear in the world, the fearlessnesses will appear in the world, the kinds of exact knowledge will appear in the world, great loving kindness will appear in the world, great compassion will appear in the world, and the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas will appear in the world; and knowledge of all the dharmas will appear in the world, the knowledge of the aspects of the path will appear in the world, and all-aspect omniscience will appear in the world. For that long great and lofty royal families will appear in the world, great and lofty priestly families will appear in the world, and great and lofty householder families will appear in the world; the gods of the Cāturmahārājika realm will appear in the world, the gods of the Trayastriṃśa realm will appear in the world, the gods of the Yāma realm will appear in the world, the gods of the Tuṣita realm will appear in the world, the gods of the Nirmāṇarati realm will appear in the world, and the gods of the Paranirmitavaśavartin realm will appear in the world; the gods of the Brahmakāyika realm will appear in the world, the gods of the Brahmapurohita realm will appear in the world, the gods of the Brahma­pārṣadya realm will appear in the world, and the gods of the Mahābrahmā realm will appear in the world; the gods of the Ābha realm will appear in the world, the gods of the Parīttābha realm will appear in the world, the gods of the Apramāṇābha realm will appear in the world, and the gods of the Ābhāsvara realm will appear in the world; the gods of the Śubha realm will appear in the world, the gods of the Parīttaśubha realm will appear in the world, the gods of the Apramāṇaśubha realm will appear in the world, and the gods of the Śubhakṛtsna realm will appear in the world; the gods of the Vṛha realm will appear in the world, the gods of the Parīttavṛha realm will appear in the world, the gods of the Apramāṇavṛha realm will appear in the world, and the gods of the Vṛhatphala realm will appear in the world; the gods of the Avṛha realm will appear in the world, the gods of the Atapa realm will appear in the world, the gods of the Sudṛśa realm will appear in the world, the gods of the Sudarśana realm will appear in the world, and the gods of the Akaniṣṭha realm will appear in the world; and those who have entered the stream will appear in the world, once-returners will appear in the world, non-returners will appear in the world, arhats will appear in the world, pratyekabuddhas will appear in the world, perfectly complete buddhas will appear in the world, and bodhisattva great beings will appear in the world. The transcendental knowledge of the unsurpassed buddhas happens, the turning of the wheel of the Dharma happens, the maturation of beings happens, and the refinement of a buddhafield happens.”

Then Śakra, mighty lord of the gods, said to the gods of the Cāturmahārājika realm, the gods of the Trayastriṃśa realm, the gods of the Yāma realm, the gods of the Tuṣita realm, the gods of the Nirmāṇarati realm, and the gods of the Paranirmitavaśavartin realm; the gods of the Brahmakāyika realm, the gods of the Brahmapurohita realm, the gods of the Brahma­pārṣadya realm, and the gods of the Mahābrahmā realm; the gods of the Ābha realm, the gods of the Parīttābha realm, the gods of the Apramāṇābha realm, and the gods of the Ābhāsvara realm; the gods of the Śubha realm, the gods of the Parīttaśubha realm, the gods of the Apramāṇaśubha realm, and the gods of the Śubhakṛtsna realm; the gods of the Vṛha realm, the gods of the Parīttavṛha realm, the gods of the Apramāṇavṛha realm, and the gods of the Vṛhatphala realm; the gods of the Avṛha realm, the gods of the Atapa realm, the gods of the Sudṛśa realm, the gods of the Sudarśana realm, and the gods of the Akaniṣṭha realm, as many as there were in this great billionfold world system, “Friends, you should take up this perfection of wisdom. Friends, you should uphold this perfection of wisdom. Friends, you should recite this perfection of wisdom. Friends, you should master this perfection of wisdom. Friends, you should focus your attention correctly on this perfection of wisdom.

“Friends, through taking up, upholding, reciting, mastering, and focusing attention correctly on this perfection of wisdom, the continuum of the way of the Buddha will not be cut, the continuum of the way of the Dharma will not be cut, and the continuum of the way of the Saṅgha will not be cut. Friends, when the continuum of the way of the Buddha is not cut, the continuum of the way of the Dharma is not cut, and the continuum of the way of the Saṅgha is not cut, the perfection of generosity will appear in the world, the perfection of ethical discipline will appear in the world, the perfection of tolerance will appear in the world, the perfection of perseverance will appear in the world, the perfection of meditative concentration will appear in the world, and the perfection of wisdom will appear in the world; the emptiness of internal phenomena will appear in the world, the emptiness of external phenomena will appear in the world, the emptiness of external and internal phenomena will appear in the world, the emptiness of emptiness will appear in the world, the emptiness of great extent will appear in the world, the emptiness of ultimate reality will appear in the world, the emptiness of conditioned phenomena will appear in the world, the emptiness of unconditioned phenomena will appear in the world, the emptiness of the unlimited will appear in the world, the emptiness of that which has neither beginning nor end will appear in the world, the emptiness of nonexclusion will appear in the world, the emptiness of inherent nature will appear in the world, the emptiness of all phenomena will appear in the world, the emptiness of intrinsic defining characteristics will appear in the world, the emptiness of that which cannot be apprehended will appear in the world, the emptiness of nonentities will appear in the world, the emptiness of essential nature will appear in the world, and the emptiness of an essential nature of nonentities will appear in the world; the applications of mindfulness will appear in the world, the correct exertions will appear in the world, the supports for miraculous ability will appear in the world, the faculties will appear in the world, the powers will appear in the world, the branches of enlightenment will appear in the world, and the noble eightfold path will appear in the world; the truths of the noble ones will appear in the world, the meditative concentrations will appear in the world, the immeasurable attitudes will appear in the world, the formless absorptions will appear in the world, the liberations will appear in the world, the serial steps of meditative absorption will appear in the world, the emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness gateways to liberation will appear in the world, the extrasensory powers will appear in the world, the meditative stabilities will appear in the world, the dhāraṇī gateways will appear in the world, the powers of the tathāgatas will appear in the world, the fearlessnesses will appear in the world, the kinds of exact knowledge will appear in the world, great loving kindness will appear in the world, great compassion will appear in the world, and the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas will appear in the world; and the conduct of the bodhisattvas will appear in the world, the fruit of having entered the stream will appear in the world, the fruit of once-returner will appear in the world, the fruit of non-returner will appear in the world, arhatship will appear in the world, individual enlightenment will appear in the world, and unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment will appear in the world.”

Then the Blessed One said to Śakra, mighty lord of the gods, “Kauśika, take up this perfection of wisdom, uphold it, recite it, and master it. Kauśika, focus your attention correctly on this perfection of wisdom. If you ask why, Kauśika, it is because when it occurs, as it habitually does, to the asuras to think, ‘We will fight the gods of the Trayastriṃśa. We will drive the gods of the Trayastriṃśa away from the border,’ at that time you must contemplate this perfection of wisdom in your mind, and you must chant it by heart. You must focus your attention correctly on it and afterward, on account of that, those habitual thoughts of the asuras will fade and the arising of those minds will not recur or flourish.

“You, Kauśika, should chant by heart this perfection of wisdom even in the presence of those gods and goddesses who, at the time of death, see themselves being reborn in the lower realms. They will then be reborn in this same god realm owing to the root of the virtuous action of hearing the perfection of wisdom and owing to their belief in the perfection of wisdom. If you ask why, Kauśika, it is because such is the advantage of hearing this perfection of wisdom. All those sons and daughters of good families, whoever they are, who hear this perfection of wisdom will, through that root of virtue, finally fully awaken to unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment. If you ask why, Kauśika, it is because however many tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly complete buddhas of the past there were, along with their communities of śrāvakas, they all attained final nirvāṇa in the expanse of nirvāṇa where no aggregates are left behind, having trained in this perfection of wisdom; however many tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly complete buddhas of the future there will be, along with their communities of śrāvakas, they will all fully awaken to unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment, having trained in this perfection of wisdom; and however many tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly complete buddhas at present there are residing and maintaining themselves in the world systems of the ten directions, along with their communities of śrāvakas, they all fully awaken to unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment, having trained in this perfection of wisdom. If you ask why, Kauśika, it is because all the attributes on the side of enlightenment are gathered within the perfection of wisdom, whether they are the attributes of the śrāvakas, the attributes of the pratyekabuddhas, the attributes of the bodhisattvas, or the attributes of the buddhas.”

Śakra then said, “Blessed Lord, this, the perfection of wisdom, is the great knowledge incantation. Blessed Lord, this, the perfection of wisdom, is the unsurpassed knowledge incantation. Blessed Lord, this, the perfection of wisdom, is the knowledge incantation equal to the unequaled. If you ask why, it is because, Blessed Lord, the perfection of wisdom is the eliminator of all nonvirtuous phenomena and the establisher of all virtuous phenomena.”

“Kauśika, it is so, it is so!” said the Blessed One. “Kauśika, it is because this perfection of wisdom is the great knowledge incantation. Kauśika, this, the perfection of wisdom, is the unsurpassed knowledge incantation. Kauśika, this, the perfection of wisdom, is the knowledge incantation equal to the unequaled.

“If you ask why, Kauśika, it is because however many tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly complete buddhas of the past there were, they fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment relying on this same knowledge incantation; however many tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly complete buddhas of the future there will be, they will fully awaken to unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment relying on this same knowledge incantation; and however many tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly complete buddhas of the present there are residing and maintaining themselves in the world systems of the ten directions, they are fully awakening to unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment relying on this same knowledge incantation.

“If you ask why, Kauśika, it is because when this knowledge incantation exists, the path of the ten virtuous actions exists in the world, the four meditative concentrations exist in the world, the four immeasurable attitudes exist in the world, the formless absorptions exist in the world, and the five extrasensory powers exist in the world; the perfection of generosity exists in the world, the perfection of ethical discipline exists in the world, the perfection of tolerance exists in the world, the perfection of perseverance exists in the world, the perfection of meditative concentration exists in the world, and the perfection of wisdom exists in the world; the emptiness of internal phenomena exists in the world, the emptiness of external phenomena exists in the world, the emptiness of external and internal phenomena exists in the world, the emptiness of emptiness exists in the world, the emptiness of great extent exists in the world, the emptiness of ultimate reality exists in the world, the emptiness of conditioned phenomena exists in the world, the emptiness of unconditioned phenomena exists in the world, the emptiness of the unlimited exists in the world, the emptiness of that which has neither beginning nor end exists in the world, the emptiness of nonexclusion exists in the world, the emptiness of inherent nature exists in the world, the emptiness of all phenomena exists in the world, the emptiness of intrinsic defining characteristics exists in the world, the emptiness of that which cannot be apprehended exists in the world, the emptiness of nonentities exists in the world, the emptiness of essential nature exists in the world, and the emptiness of an essential nature of nonentities exists in the world; the applications of mindfulness exist in the world, the correct exertions exist in the world, the supports for miraculous ability exist in the world, the faculties exist in the world, the powers exist in the world, the branches of enlightenment exist in the world, and the noble eightfold path exists in the world; the truths of the noble ones exist in the world, the liberations exist in the world, the serial steps of meditative absorption exist in the world, the emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness gateways to liberation exist in the world, the extrasensory powers exist in the world, the meditative stabilities exist in the world, the dhāraṇī gateways exist in the world, the powers of the tathāgatas exist in the world, the fearlessnesses exist in the world, the kinds of exact knowledge exist in the world, great loving kindness exists in the world, great compassion exists in the world, and the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas exist in the world; the realm of phenomena exists in the world, the very limit of reality exists in the world, the real nature exists in the world, the unmistaken real nature exists in the world, the one and only real nature exists in the world, the reality of phenomena exists in the world, the abiding nature of reality exists in the world, the maturity of phenomena exists in the world, the five eyes exist in the world, the fruit of having entered the stream exists in the world, the fruit of once-returner exists in the world, the fruit of non-returner exists in the world, arhatship exists in the world, and individual enlightenment exists in the world; and knowledge of all the dharmas exists in the world, the knowledge of the aspects of the path exists in the world, and all-aspect omniscience exists in the world.

“Kauśika, when bodhisattvas exist, the path of the ten virtuous actions exists as a designation in the world, the four meditative concentrations exist as designations in the world, the four immeasurable attitudes exist as designations in the world, the four formless absorptions exist as designations in the world, and the five extrasensory powers exist as designations in the world; the perfection of generosity exists as a designation in the world, the perfection of ethical discipline exists as a designation in the world, the perfection of tolerance exists as a designation in the world, the perfection of perseverance exists as a designation in the world, the perfection of meditative concentration exists as a designation in the world, and the perfection of wisdom exists as a designation in the world; the emptiness of internal phenomena exists as a designation in the world, the emptiness of external phenomena exists as a designation in the world, the emptiness of external and internal phenomena exists as a designation in the world, the emptiness of emptiness exists as a designation in the world, the emptiness of great extent exists as a designation in the world, the emptiness of ultimate reality exists as a designation in the world, the emptiness of conditioned phenomena exists as a designation in the world, the emptiness of unconditioned phenomena exists as a designation in the world, the emptiness of the unlimited exists as a designation in the world, the emptiness of that which has neither beginning nor end exists as a designation in the world, the emptiness of nonexclusion exists as a designation in the world, the emptiness of inherent nature exists as a designation in the world, the emptiness of all phenomena exists as a designation in the world, the emptiness of intrinsic defining characteristics exists as a designation in the world, the emptiness of that which cannot be apprehended exists as a designation in the world, the emptiness of nonentities exists as a designation in the world, the emptiness of essential nature exists as a designation in the world, and the emptiness of an essential nature of nonentities exists as a designation in the world; the applications of mindfulness exist as designations in the world, the correct exertions exist as designations in the world, the supports for miraculous ability exist as designations in the world, the faculties exist as designations in the world, the powers exist as designations in the world, the branches of enlightenment exist as designations in the world, and the noble eightfold path exists as a designation in the world; the truths of the noble ones exist as designations in the world, the liberations exist as designations in the world, the serial steps of meditative absorption exist as designations in the world, the emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness gateways to liberation exist as designations in the world, the extrasensory powers exist as designations in the world, the meditative stabilities exist as designations in the world, the dhāraṇī gateways exist as designations in the world, the powers of the tathāgatas exist as designations in the world, the fearlessnesses exist as designations in the world, the kinds of exact knowledge exist as designations in the world, great compassion exists as a designation in the world, and the distinct qualities of the buddhas exist as designations in the world; knowledge of all the dharmas exists as a designation in the world, the knowledge of the aspects of the path exists as a designation in the world, and all-aspect omniscience exists as a designation in the world; those who have entered the stream exist as a designation in the world, once-returners exist as a designation in the world, non-returners exist as a designation in the world, arhatship exists as a designation in the world, individual enlightenment exists as a designation in the world, and tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly complete buddhas exist as a designation in the world.

“Kauśika, just as when the orb of the moon exists, all the medicinal plants, the constellations, and the stars exist as designations in the world, in the same way, Kauśika, when the orb of the moon-like bodhisattva exists, all the medicinal plants of virtuous conduct, perfect conduct, the path of the ten virtuous actions, the meditative concentrations, the immeasurable attitudes, the formless absorptions, the extrasensory powers, the perfections, the virtuous attributes on the side of enlightenment, emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness, the truths of the noble ones, the liberations, the serial steps of meditative absorption, the meditative stabilities, the dhāraṇī gateways, the ten powers, the fearlessnesses, the kinds of exact knowledge, and the distinct qualities of the buddhas exist as designations. All the constellations and stars that are the trainees, those with no more training, the śrāvakas, and the pratyekabuddhas exist as designations, and the tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly complete buddhas also exist as a designation in the world. It is the bodhisattva great beings who reveal the mundane and supramundane doctrines to beings even at the times when the lord buddhas do not appear in the world.

“If you ask why, it is because the vehicle of the śrāvakas, the vehicle of the pratyekabuddhas, and the Great Vehicle have originated from bodhisattvas, and that skillful means with which those bodhisattva great beings are endowed, on account of which they practice the perfection of generosity, practice the perfection of ethical discipline, practice the perfection of tolerance, practice the perfection of perseverance, practice the perfection of meditative concentration, and practice the perfection of wisdom; practice the emptiness of internal phenomena, practice the emptiness of external phenomena, practice the emptiness of external and internal phenomena, practice the emptiness of emptiness, practice the emptiness of great extent, practice the emptiness of ultimate reality, practice the emptiness of conditioned phenomena, practice the emptiness of unconditioned phenomena, practice the emptiness of the unlimited, practice the emptiness of that which has neither beginning nor end, practice the emptiness of nonexclusion, practice the emptiness of inherent nature, practice the emptiness of all phenomena, practice the emptiness of intrinsic defining characteristics, practice the emptiness of that which cannot be apprehended, practice the emptiness of nonentities, practice the emptiness of essential nature, and practice the emptiness of an essential nature of nonentities; practice the applications of mindfulness, practice the correct exertions, practice the supports for miraculous ability, practice the faculties, practice the powers, practice the branches of enlightenment, and practice the noble eightfold path; practice the truths of the noble ones, practice the eight liberations, practice the serial steps of meditative absorption, practice the emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness gateways to liberation, practice the extrasensory powers, practice the meditative stabilities, practice the dhāraṇī gateways, practice the powers of the tathāgatas, practice the fearlessnesses, practice the kinds of exact knowledge, practice great compassion, and practice the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas; do not fall to the level of the śrāvakas and do not actualize the level of the pratyekabuddhas; bring beings to maturation and refine a buddhafield; and embrace the perfect life, embrace being the perfect being, embrace having the perfect buddhafield, embrace being the perfect bodhisattva, and subsequently attain all-aspect omniscience––one should know that that skillful means, too, has originated from the perfection of wisdom.

“Moreover, Kauśika, sons or daughters of good families who take up, uphold, recite, master, and focus their attention correctly on this perfection of wisdom will also be endowed with these good qualities of the present life and these good qualities of other lives.”

Śakra then asked, “Blessed Lord, what are the good qualities of the present life with which those sons or daughters of good families will be endowed, who take up, uphold, recite, master, and focus their attention correctly on this perfection of wisdom?”

“Kauśika,” said the Blessed One, “those sons or daughters of good families who take up, uphold, recite, master, and focus their attention correctly on this perfection of wisdom will not, unless it is the maturation of a past action, die from poisoning, will not die from weapons, will not die in fire, will not die in water, up to will not die from the one hundred and one diseases. In place of the afflictions that royalty and ministers might subject them to, if sons or daughters of good families go to the royal palace while chanting this perfection of wisdom by heart, those seeking an opportunity to inflict harm on them will find no opportunity to inflict harm. The princes and the king’s chief ministers will consider it is worth asking them to speak and worth conversing with them and will think they are worth pleasing. If you ask why, it is because they think that way on account of the brilliance and power of this very perfection of wisdom. If sons or daughters of good families go to the royal palace while chanting this perfection of wisdom by heart, those princes and the king’s chief ministers will think they should use pleasing words when asking them to speak and when conversing with them, and will think they should welcome them with pleasure. If you ask why, Kauśika, it is because those sons or daughters of good families have been attentive to the mind that feels loving kindness, the mind that feels compassion, the mind that feels empathetic joy, and the mind that has an equanimity toward all beings. Kauśika, these are the good qualities of the present life with which those sons or daughters of good families who take up, uphold, recite, master, and focus their attention correctly on this perfection of wisdom will be endowed.

“Kauśika, if you ask what are the good qualities of other lives with which they will be endowed, they are these: they will never be separated from the path of the ten virtuous actions, and they will never be separated from the four meditative concentrations, the four immeasurable attitudes, the four formless absorptions, the six perfections, the applications of mindfulness, the correct exertions, the supports for miraculous ability, the faculties, the powers, the branches of enlightenment, and the noble eightfold path, or the truths of the noble ones, the meditative concentrations, the immeasurable attitudes, the formless absorptions, the liberations, the serial steps of meditative absorption, the emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness gateways to liberation, the extrasensory powers, the meditative stabilities, the dhāraṇī gateways, the powers of the tathāgatas, the fearlessnesses, the kinds of exact knowledge, and the distinct qualities of the buddhas.

“Except when governed by the aspiration to bring beings to maturity, they will never be born in the hells, never be born in the animal realm, and never be born in the world of Yama. They will never have defective limbs, never be born in an impoverished family, and never be born in a family of reed-workers, or in a family of pulkasas, blacksmiths, sweepers, butchers, pig slaughterers, or outcastes. They will always and without interruption be endowed with the thirty-two major marks of a great person. They will be reborn miraculously in those world systems where the lord buddhas are residing and maintaining themselves, which is to say, they will never be separated from the extrasensory powers of the bodhisattvas. They will proceed from buddhafield to buddhafield at will to see the lord buddhas, pay homage to them, venerate them, and listen to the Dharma, which is to say, they will proceed from buddhafield to buddhafield, bringing beings to maturity and refining a buddhafield as well.

“Kauśika, so it is that those sons or daughters of good families who want these good qualities to be perfected should take up, should uphold, should recite, should master, and should focus their attention correctly on this perfection of wisdom and not be separated from the mind of all-aspect omniscience. Until they fully awaken to unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment, they will be endowed with the good qualities of this life and those good qualities of other lives.”