Also, at that time, there dwelled in the great city of Rājagṛha a bodhisattva mahāsattva by the name of Ruciraketu. He had served past jinas, had developed roots of merit, and had attended upon many hundreds of thousands of quintillions of buddhas. He thought, “Through what causes and what conditions does the Bhagavat Śākyamuni have such a short lifespan of eighty years?”

Then he thought, “The Bhagavat has said, ‘There are two causes and two conditions for a long life. What are those two? Forsaking killing and giving food.’ The Bhagavat Śākyamuni has forsaken killing and has correctly adopted the path of the ten good actions for countless hundreds of thousands of quintillions of eons. He has given external and internal substances as food to beings, even to the extent of satisfying hungry beings with his own body, blood, bones, and limbs, to say nothing of every other kind of food.”

When that sublime being’s mind had thought this, with his attention focused upon the Buddha, his house became immense, vast, and made of blue beryl. It was adorned by many divine jewels, its color transformed by the Tathāgata, and it was pervaded by a perfume that transcended the divine.

In the four directions of that house there appeared four thrones made of divine jewels. The thrones were overspread with layers of precious, divine cloth decorated with divine jewels.

Upon those thrones appeared divine lotus flowers, their colors transformed by the Tathāgata, and adorned by many jewels. Upon those lotuses there appeared the four buddha bhagavats. To the east appeared the Tathāgata Akṣobhya. To the south appeared the Tathāgata Ratnaketu. To the west appeared the Tathāgata Amitāyus. To the north appeared the Tathāgata Dundubhisvara. At the moment when those buddha bhagavats appeared upon those lion thrones, the great city of Rājagṛha was filled by a great illuminating light that spread throughout the trichiliocosm world realm, throughout as many world realms in the ten directions as there are grains of sand in the Ganges River. A rain of flowers fell. There came the sound of divine music. Through the power of the Buddha, all beings in this trichiliocosm world realm gained divine happiness. The blind saw forms with their eyes; the deaf heard sounds with their ears; the insane gained their sanity; those with distracted minds became undistracted; the naked became clothed; the hungry had their stomachs filled; the thirsty had their thirst quenched; beings afflicted by illness were healed; and those with impaired physical faculties became possessed of complete faculties. In those worlds there appeared vast, astonishing, wonderful qualities.

The bodhisattva Ruciraketu was amazed to see those buddha bhagavats, and, filled with joy, delighted, elated, pleased, and happy, with his palms together in homage, he bowed toward those buddha bhagavats. Mindful of those buddha bhagavats and mindful of the qualities of the Buddha Bhagavat Śākyamuni, he had doubts concerning the lifespan of the Bhagavat Śākyamuni. In his mind was the thought, “Why is it that the Bhagavat Śākyamuni has this short lifespan of eighty years?”

Those buddha bhagavats were aware of and understood these thoughts and said to the bodhisattva Ruciraketu, “Noble son, do not think, ‘The Bhagavat Śākyamuni has such a short lifespan.’ Why is that? Noble son, except for the tathāgata arhat samyak­saṃbuddhas, we do not see anyone in the world with its devas, with its Māra, with its Brahmā, with its many beings who are mendicants and brahmins, and with its devas, humans, and asuras who has the ability to know the length of the Bhagavat Tathāgata Śākyamuni’s lifespan to its future limit.”

As soon as those buddha bhagavats described the Tathāgata’s lifespan, at that moment, through the power of the buddhas, the devas in the desire realm, the devas in the form realm, the nāgas, the yakṣas, the gandharvas, the asuras, the garuḍas, the kinnaras, the mahoragas, and the many hundreds of thousands of quintillions of assembled bodhisattvas arrived in the house of the bodhisattva Ruciraketu.

Those tathāgatas then recited verses that taught in brief the lifespan of the Bhagavat Śākyamuni to that complete assembly:

“The drops of water in all The oceans can be calculated, But no one can calculate The lifespan of Śākyamuni.

“The number of atoms in all Sumerus can be calculated, But no one can calculate The lifespan of Śākyamuni.

“Someone might calculate The number of atoms in the earth, But no one can calculate The entire lifespan of the Jina.

“Someone might calculate The extent of space, But no one can calculate The lifespan of Śākyamuni.

“One cannot reach a number By saying that the perfect Buddha Will remain for this number of eons Or for a hundred million eons.

“This is because of two causes And because of two conditions: He has forsaken violence toward others, And he has given food numerous times.

“Therefore, the length of the great being’s Lifespan cannot be calculated By saying it is a certain number of eons, Or likewise by saying it is countless eons.

“Therefore, do not doubt, do not have any doubt whatsoever. No one can conceive of the final extent of a jina’s lifespan.”

At that time, in that assembly, there was the Kauṇḍinya brahmin, the Dharma master Vyākaraṇa, who, together with countless thousands of brahmins, had made offerings to the Bhagavat. On hearing these words concerning the great nirvāṇa of the Tathāgata, he immediately wept, bowed down to the feet of the Bhagavat, and said to the Bhagavat, “If you have love for all beings, if you have great compassion, if you wish to benefit all beings, if you are a mother and father for all beings, if you are unequaled, if you are like the moon radiating light, if you are like a risen sun of great wisdom and knowledge, and if you look upon all beings as you do upon Rāhula, then I pray that you grant me something sacred.”

The Bhagavat remained silent.

Then, through the power of the Buddha, there arose confident eloquence in a Licchavī youth in that assembly, whose name was Sarva­sattva­priyadarśana. He asked the Kauṇḍinya brahmin, the Dharma master Vyākaraṇa, “Great brahmin, why do you ask the Bhagavat for something sacred? I will give you something sacred.”

“Licchavī youth,” said the brahmin, “I wish for a relic of the Bhagavat the size of a mustard seed in order to make offerings to the Bhagavat. It is known that if one makes offerings to a relic the size of a mustard seed that one has received as a share of the ashes that are the relics of the Bhagavat, one will become the sole lord of the devas of Trāyastriṃśa.

“O Licchavī youth, it is difficult for śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas to know The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light. It is difficult for them to comprehend it. The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light, which has those characteristics and qualities, is going to be spoken, so listen!

“O Licchavī youth, The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light is thus difficult to know and difficult to understand. Therefore, it is appropriate that we brahmins from an outlying island should keep a relic the size of a mustard seed in a casket, for by possessing it, beings will soon become lords of Trāyastriṃśa.

“O Licchavī youth, don’t you want to request a relic the size of a mustard seed from the Tathāgata, place the relic in a casket, and possess it so that beings will become lords of Trāyastriṃśa?

“O Licchavī youth, that is the sublime thing that I have requested.”

Then Sarva­sattva­priyadarśana, the Licchavī youth, recited these verses to the Kauṇḍinya brahmin, the Dharma master Vyākaraṇa:

“When flowers grow On the Ganges River, Crows become red, And cuckoos become conch-colored;

“When palm-tree fruit grow on rose-apple trees; And when bunches of mangoes grow on date trees, That will be the time when a relic The size of a mustard seed will appear.

“When clothes made from The hair of turtles are worn, And they dispel the cold of winter, Then there will be a relic.

“When roofs are made From the legs of flies And are solid and stable, Then there will be a relic.

“When all the leeches Grow teeth that are Long, white, and sharp, Then there will be a relic.

“When a ladder is built From the horns of hares For climbing to the upper realms, Then there will be a relic.

“When a mouse climbs that ladder And then eats the moon And attacks Rāhu, Then there will be a relic.

“When a village-dwelling fly Drinks a pitcher of beer And lives in a house, Then there will be a relic.

“When a happy donkey Has lips as red as a bimba fruit And is expert in song and dance, Then there will be a relic.

“When owls and crows Cavort together in private And live together in harmony, Then there will be a relic.

“When the leaves of the palash tree Become a parasol of three kinds of jewels And provide shelter from the falling rain, Then there will be a relic.

“When a great oceangoing ship, With its instruments and sails, Comes onto and travels over dry land, Then there will be a relic.

“When an owl picks up Gandhamādana Mountain In its beak and flies away, Then there will be a relic.”

On hearing those verses, the Kauṇḍinya brahmin, the Dharma master Vyākaraṇa, replied to the Licchavī youth Sarva­sattva­priyadarśana with these verses:

“Good! Good! Best of youths, Son of the jinas, with great words, Skilled in methods, heroic, Who has received the highest prophecy,

“Young man, listen to me describe, In order, the inconceivable Greatness of the world’s lord, The protector, the Tathāgata.

“The scope of the buddhas is inconceivable. The tathāgatas are without any equal. All buddhas are always in peace. All buddhas appear perfectly.

“All buddhas have the same color; That is the intrinsic nature of the buddhas. The Bhagavat is not fabricated, And the Tathāgata is not produced.

“He has a body like a vajra. He manifests an illusory body. The great Ṛṣi does not have relics, Not even of the size of a mustard seed.

“How could there be relics From a body without bones or blood? Relics are left through skillful methods In order to bring benefit to beings.

“The perfect Buddha is a Dharma body. The Tathāgata is a Dharma realm. That is what the Bhagavat’s body is like. That is what teaching the Dharma is like.

“I made that request for the sacred object, Having already heard and understood that. I spoke in that way In order to reveal the truth.”

Then thirty-two thousand devas, having heard that profound teaching on the lifespan of the Tathāgata, all developed the aspiration for the highest, most complete enlightenment. With joyful mental thoughts and with one voice, they recited these verses:

“The Buddha does not pass away. The Dharma does not disappear. Passing into nirvāṇa is manifested In order to bring beings to maturity.

“The Bhagavat is inconceivable; The Tathāgata’s body is eternal. He demonstrates a variety of displays In order to bring benefit to beings.”

Then the bodhisattva Ruciraketu, having heard the teaching on the lifespan of the Bhagavat Śākyamuni from both those buddha bhagavats and those excellent individuals, was filled with joy, delighted, elated, pleased, and happy—he was pervaded by great happiness and delight.

When this teaching on the lifespan of the tathāgatas was taught, innumerable, countless beings developed the aspiration for the highest, most complete enlightenment, and those tathāgatas vanished.