Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling in Veṇuvana, at the Kalandakanivāpa, near the city of Rājagṛha, with a great saṅgha of a thousand monks, all of whom were noble ones. They had all exhausted defilements, were free from the afflictions, were powerful, had liberated minds, had liberated insight, were of noble birth, were great elephants, had done what needed to be done, had completed their mission, had cast off the burden, had achieved their own welfare, had severed the bonds that tied them to existence, had liberated their minds with genuine knowledge, and had perfected all mental powers. There was also a great saṅgha of ten thousand bodhisattvas, including the princely youth Holder of Meru’s Peak, the princely youth Varuṇamati, the princely youth Sumati, the princely youth Jayamati, the princely youth Jinamati, the princely youth Intelligent Light, the princely youth Intelligent Sky, the princely youth Intelligent Lightning, the princely youth Mañjuśrī, the princely youth Durdharṣa, the princely youth Varuṇa, the princely youth Vimala, the bodhisattva great being Maitreya, and others. Each of these ten thousand bodhisattvas had achieved acceptance, retention, and absorption. Each possessed the wisdom that is unobscured by any phenomenon, had equal concern for all beings, had transcended all the domains of Māra, and had entered the domain of all the thus-gone ones. Each was knowledgeable, possessed great love and compassion, and was skilled in means.

At the same time, there were two wandering mendicants in the city of Rājagṛha who were learned, lucid, and intelligent, had perfected the eighteen branches of knowledge, and had five hundred servants. One was named Upatiṣya and the other Kaulita. These two were heads of their retinues and leaders of pupils. They made each other the promise that “whoever first attains the nectar shall let the other know.”

Early the next morning, Venerable Aśvajit donned his lower and upper Dharma robes. Carrying his alms bowl, he went to the city of Rājagṛha to collect alms. The wandering mendicant Upatiṣya happened to come across Venerable Aśvajit and saw that he had entered the city of Rājagṛha to collect alms. He thought, “How is it that I have never before seen such beautiful deportment in any other mendicant, brahmin, or person as in this mendicant? I shall go before him and ask, ‘Venerable One, who is your teacher? With whom did you go forth? Whose doctrine are you devoted to?’”

So the wandering mendicant Upatiṣya went to where Venerable Aśvajit was and engaged in a good deal of friendly conversation. They then sat down to one side. Sitting there, the wandering mendicant Upatiṣya asked Venerable Aśvajit, “Venerable One, who is your teacher? With whom did you go forth? Whose doctrine are you devoted to?”

Then Venerable Aśvajit answered the wandering mendicant Upatiṣya:

“The son of the Śākyas has mastery over all disciplines and great austerities. Having crossed the ocean of saṃsāra he is now free, and so liberates others. Known as ‘Buddha,’ being unequaled in his capacity to awaken, he dries up the ocean of suffering, and now exists here in this world. I have taken refuge in this Immaculate One and am devoted to his Dharma.”

“What does your teacher preach? What does he teach?” asked Upatiṣya.

Venerable Aśvajit responded, “I will answer you. Venerable, listen well and bear what I say in mind. I will answer you.

“The Guide professed how the world arises caused by action and afflictions, And he also professed the remedies for reversing such action and afflictions. This Lord of Orators taught from his own knowledge the supreme liberation, Where the sufferings of birth, aging, and decline are definitely not present.”

When the wandering mendicant Upatiṣya heard this teaching, he purified the stainless and immaculate Dharma eye that sees phenomena. A state free from the afflictions arose, and he attained the fruit of stream entry. He then said:

“The Buddha teaches the ambrosial Dharma, a treasure to hear, that is so difficult to find. It penetrates the truth, drying up the perpetual torrent of rebirth. It quells the suffering of all beings. This sublime path consists in the peerless cultivation of qualities of insight.”

The wandering mendicant Upatiṣya then asked Venerable Aśvajit, “Venerable, where is the thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha right now?”

Venerable Aśvajit answered, “Venerable, the Blessed One is now staying in Veṇuvana, at the Kalandakanivāpa, near Rājagṛha. He is residing there with the great monastic saṅgha of one thousand monks who have gone forth and who used to have matted hair.”

Upatiṣya said, “Once I have seen my best friend and disciples, I will vow to go forth before the Blessed One.”

The wandering mendicant Upatiṣya then bowed his head to the feet of Venerable Aśvajit and circumambulated him three times. He once again departed and went to meet the wandering mendicant Kaulita. The wandering mendicant Kaulita saw the wandering mendicant Upatiṣya coming from far off and exclaimed, “Venerable, given that your faculties look so clear, that your facial complexion looks so pure, and that the tone of your skin looks so light—Venerable, you must have found the nectar!”

“So it is, Venerable One!” Upatiṣya responded. “I have found the nectar! Therefore, Venerable, listen well and bear what I say in mind. I will tell you of what I have found.”

The wandering mendicant Kaulita then rose from his seat, draped his shawl over one shoulder, and knelt on his right knee. With palms together he bowed toward Upatiṣya and said:

“Tell me of the path to peace and the end of anguish, Which swiftly takes one across the ocean of the three realms of existence While destroying the great enemy of the aggregates. I will then set forth on the path that eliminates further origination.”

The wandering mendicant Upatiṣya then said:

“The Guide professed how the world arises caused by action and afflictions, And he also professed the remedies for reversing such action and afflictions. This Lord of Orators taught from his own knowledge the supreme liberation wherein sufferings of birth, aging, and decline are definitely not present.”

Kaulita responded:

“That sage teaches the immaculate and peaceful Dharma that serves to quell all suffering. It quells all afflictions, negative views, and faults, and it cuts through unknowing. He teaches that conditioned things are false and thus empty and deceptive. Hearing this brings one to peace, so please repeat these immaculate words that he spoke.”

Upatiṣya said:

“The Guide professed how the world arises caused by action and afflictions, And he also professed the remedies for reversing such action and afflictions. This Lord of Orators taught from his own knowledge the supreme liberation Wherein sufferings of birth, aging, and decline are definitely not present.”

The wandering mendicant Kaulita then purified the stainless and immaculate Dharma eye that sees phenomena. As he was thus purified and his afflictions were eliminated, he attained the fruit of stream entry. Then he proclaimed:

“This genuine conduct is a boat that liberates from, quells, and swiftly crosses the river. This supreme wisdom pacifies the three types of suffering and crosses over saṃsāra. If one realizes this, one will defeat the afflictions and aggregates and tame the māras. This emancipation clears away enemies and struggles and dries up the ocean of suffering.”

Kaulita asked, “Where is the thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha right now?”

“Venerable,” Upatiṣya answered, “I have heard that the Blessed One is now staying in Veṇuvana, at the Kalandakanivāpa, near Rājagṛha, with a great saṅgha of monks and a great saṅgha of bodhisattvas. What if we go forth in the presence of the Blessed One?”

“Venerable One,” replied Kaulita, “we should do so. With our followers in mind, let us go forth.”

The wandering mendicants Upatiṣya and Kaulita then went to their followers.

Just then in the land of Aṅga-Magadha, Māra the evil one heard that the learned, well-spoken, eloquent, and renowned good men Upatiṣya and Kaulita, along with their followers, were on their way to take ordination under the teachings of the monk Gautama. He thought, “Alas! If those two become students of the monk Gautama, they will empty my māra realm. So I must go there and dissuade those two good men from going forth. I must make them embrace the view of the evil one.”

At the same moment, Māra, the evil one, disappeared from his abode and took on the apparel, attributes, and behavior of Venerable Aśvajit. He stood in the road before the two good men, and declared:

“What I said before about causation, using cause similes, is wrong. I said it in order to definitively test your way of thinking. All that I said before is nonsense, as there are no karmic causes. How could bad or good actions possibly produce results?

“You should promptly pursue sensual delights and seek amusements. There is no death, nor is there birth, suffering, aging, or the hereafter, And there are no good or bad results generated by action, given that there are no causes or actions. The scion of the Śākyas teaches this for his own gain, so do not put your faith in him.”

Upatiṣya and Kaulita then thought, “It must be Māra, the evil one, who has approached us in order to dissuade us from entering the religious life.”

Upatiṣya turned around and addressed his followers. “Listen, my pupils, and remember the shortcomings of saṃsāra:

“The world is afflicted by old age and surrounded by death. To eliminate them both, you must fully embrace the wandering mendicant’s life.”

Kaulita, for his part, spoke to Māra:

“Known as the best, the Dharma captivates the minds of the wise and ends the three sufferings. There is no one anywhere who could shake us from this knowledge. We constantly exert ourselves with the resolute intention to quell our craving. How could the words of a jackal in a lion’s guise sway our minds?”

Those gods who were able to behold truth hovered in the sky and applauded these two good men: “Good, good it is, O good men! This path whereby one leaves home to embrace the life of a wandering mendicant is eminent throughout the entire world. It quells all suffering. It is the path leading into the domain of all the thus-gone ones. It has been explained and praised by all the blessed buddhas as the path that leads from home to the life of a wandering mendicant.”

Māra, the evil one, unhappy, dejected, and sullen, disappeared then from that very spot.

The two wandering mendicants, Upatiṣya and Kaulita, directed their gaze at their followers and said, “You ought to know, pupils, that owing to the Thus-Gone One the two of us are setting forth into the wandering mendicant’s life in order to reach the far shore of the ocean of aging, sickness, and death. Any of you who do not wish to go forth in line with the teachings of the Blessed One should turn back here and now.”

Then the five hundred pupils all said, “Whatever we know is through your authority. If the two of you are embracing the wandering mendicant’s life on account of someone great, we too shall become wandering mendicants on account of the same person.”

The two wandering mendicants Upatiṣya and Kaulita, together with their retinue of five hundred, then set out to go forth under the Blessed One. Māra, the evil one, knew this, and so he conjured up a huge chasm outside of the great city of Rājagṛha one hundred leagues deep so that the two would be unable to go before Gautama the monk. The Blessed One, however, performed a miraculous feat whereby the wandering mendicants Upatiṣya and Kaulita did not see that great chasm and could travel by the most direct route.

Māra, the evil one, further conjured a mountain range in front of them—stable, solid, unbreakable, without valleys, singularly thick, hard, and one thousand leagues tall. In addition, he conjured one thousand fierce lions, vicious and terrible, making a great din. But the two good men, thanks to the force of the Blessed One’s splendor and miraculous powers, did not see that mountain. Nor did they see the lions or hear their roaring. Instead, they arrived where the Blessed One was by the straightest possible route.

The Blessed One, attended upon by a congregation of many hundreds of thousands of followers, was expounding the Dharma. “Look, O monks, at these two good men, surrounded by followers, who are the heads of their assembly!”

“We see them, O Blessed One,” they replied.

The Blessed One foresaw, “Of these two good men who are here, along with their retinues, to enter the wandering mendicant’s life by my side, one will become the best of those endowed with insight among all the hearers, and the other will become the best of those endowed with miraculous powers.”

One of the monks recited on that occasion the following stanza:

“These two learned men, along with their retinues, Are prophesied to be benefited by the best of men And to acquire miraculous powers and fearless insight. I welcome them both with a feeling of growing admiration.”

The monk then got up from his seat and, together with many other monks, householders, and wandering mendicants, welcomed the two good men and honored them. The two men, for their part, moved near to the Blessed One, bowed their heads to his feet, circumambulated him clockwise three times, and, standing before him, said, “Please allow us to go forth and bestow the monk’s ordination upon us. Close to you, let us practice celibacy.”

“What are your names, O noble sons?” asked the Blessed One.

Upatiṣya replied, “I am the son of the brahmin Tiṣya, and so I am called Upatiṣya. My mother’s name is Śārikā. As I was born of her, my given name is Śāriputra. I already have my parents’ permission to go forth.”

Kaulita replied, “My father’s name is Kauṇḍinya, and so I am called Kaulita. My mother’s name is Mudgalā, so the common name given to me is Maudgalyāyana. Some people know me as Kaulita, while others as Maudgalyāyana. I already have my parents’ permission to go forth.”

“Śāriputra, Maudgalyāyana, and your retinues, you may live the holy life by my side,” said the Blessed One.

This is how they went forth and received their ordination as monks.

Not long after Śāriputra, Maudgalyāyana, and their retinues had gone forth, Māra, the evil one, assuming the form of Maheśvara, stood in front of the Blessed One and said:

“Those who convey the meaning of systematic treatises and who have excelled in the fields of knowledge Will all bow to my feet, as I am their guide. You, Venerable Gautama, with your following of students, should promptly seek refuge in me today. I will teach you the wide and clear path to nirvāṇa.”

The Blessed One replied:

“Your path brings misfortune to beings and leads them to the ocean of suffering. My path dries up the ocean of suffering for both mobile and stationary beings. What more then will you say, O arrogant and garrulous one with the voice of a jackal? You are exposed! It is not in your power to play Māra’s tricks on me again.”

Māra, the evil one, then disappeared in his form of Maheśvara, and again reappeared in front of the Blessed One in the guise of Brahmā, saying:

“As you have crushed, by means of insight, action and afflictions, the sprouts of saṃsāra, Why, O Sage, do you still endure discomforts in this world for the sake of beings in this way? Master, nowhere in this world is there a qualified recipient for what you offer. Why do you not hurry to enter nirvāṇa, leaving all ailments behind? Now is the time!”

The Blessed One replied:

“I can see peerless beings as numerous as the sand grains in the Gaṅgā Who require my guidance and will be liberated by me through compassion. If people, be they of middling, superior, or the least capability, definitely need to be liberated, Then why, O wicked one, do you give me the hypocritical advice that I should enter nirvāṇa?”

Māra, the evil one, again became unhappy, dejected, and sullen. He vanished on the spot and went back to his abode. He sat there, sinking into despondency. Immediately, all the beings who inhabited Māra’s abode started asking one another, “What could be the reason that our great king just sits there, sinking into despondency? Nobody knows why.”

Then the five hundred daughters of Māra, wearing clothes and adornments most pleasing to the mind, brought flower garlands and unguents capable of giving supreme pleasure. They played celestial instruments with the most captivating sounds that totally thrill the mind, danced, and sang songs. With sounds of a great celestial orchestra composed of five types of instruments that amuse and delight, they stood in front of the evil Māra. But he, the evil one, stretched forth his arms and cried out, “Stop this noise! Stop this noise!”

At these words, the celestial nymphs fell silent for a moment, but then broke into song again, striking and strumming their instruments. At that, Māra, the evil one, once again threw up his arms and began to bellow. Seven times the nymphs began to sing, dance, and play instruments, in ways bound to give pleasure, and seven times Māra, the evil one, threw his arms in the air and hollered, “Stop this noise! Stop this noise!” Thus commanded, the nymphs fell silent. However, one nymph called Vidyudvalgusvarā bowed in the direction of the evil Māra and asked:

“O Lord, have you just seen an omen portending your death? Or has the world become engulfed in fire today? Or have you discovered an enemy stronger than you in this world? Why are you so sad? Why won’t you have fun?”

Māra replied:

“I have a powerful enemy who has tamed his mind. On earth, the son of the Śākyas is trained to recognize magical tricks. If he is not brought to ruin, then, one way or another, He will empty my realm of desires.”

The nymphs inquired:

“Lord, by what means, power, valor, and courage Can he be brought to final and complete ruin, here on this day? Who could possess the power to dry up the ocean of craving With its vast waters, the fetters of threefold existence?”

Māra replied:

“His lassos are generosity, yogic discipline, intention, compassion, and aspiration. His bow is armed with a supreme arrow aimed at the target of emptiness. He gives instructions on how to totally extinguish conditioned existence, Being predisposed to pacifying the pathways emerging from within saṃsāra.

“His pupils dwell in empty towns and villages, Deep in the forest, or in the mountain wilderness. With minds diligently engaged in meditation, they live in solitude And continually strive to eliminate their faults.

“Two of them, Upatiṣya and Kaulita, trained by the Sage, Have for companions their own miraculous abilities, powers, and compassion. His Dharma, skillfully presented in ways suited to everybody in the threefold universe, Will certainly empty my desire realm.”

Having heard this description of the Blessed One’s virtues from the evil Māra, all of his five hundred daughters attained the bodhisattva absorption formless bolt of lightning. To offer worship to the Blessed One, they cast in his direction items such as celestial instruments, flowers, perfume, garlands, fragrant oils, adornments, and jewelry. They cast them in the direction of the Blessed One, by whose magical power these instruments and so forth rained down onto Veṇuvana, and the daughters themselves, along with their retinues, could see it raining. Seeing that such rain was falling upon Veṇuvana, they were delighted and delighted even more.

The monks, however, became suspicious and asked the Blessed One, “How is it, O Blessed One, that such a marvelous and extraordinary rain, never seen or heard before, is showering upon Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana along with their retinues? What could be the cause of it? What is the occasion?”

The Blessed One replied, “It is not by the will of these two noble sons that this great rain of flowers and so forth is falling. Rather, it was released from the abode of the evil Māra by his five hundred daughters along with their retinues, in order to worship me. Soon they will come here and receive from me the prophecy regarding their attainment of the unsurpassed and perfect awakening.”

The five hundred daughters of Māra, the evil one, heard the Blessed One’s discourse from his own mouth and were overjoyed. Through faith and intense joy, which they developed in his presence, they attained the absorption not losing the mind of awakening. Subsequently, right there in Māra’s abode, they each donned a robe of a single piece of material, and they placed their right knees on the ground, folded their hands, and, looking in the direction where the Blessed One was seated, said:

“The river of craving of the entire world has completely dried up. As the single eye, seeing the world that has defective eyes, You are presently the savior of the world with its humans and gods. How, O sage, can we swiftly become buddhas in this world?

“You are worshiped by gods and humans, O Blessed One, as you proclaim the absolute truth. Through your magical power, may each of us leave behind vile womanhood And swiftly come into your presence, O high-minded one! Then, we shall listen to the teachings of the lord of sages.

“You, O Blessed One, are a proponent of no-self who beholds the absolute truth. You are a lamp of immaculate speech who upholds the jewel of the limbs of awakening. Having defeated the forces of Māra, you are without equal. Please prophesy now our swift and collective attainment of buddhahood.”

The daughters then rose from their seats and, in one voice, said this to Māra, the evil one:

“How could you, O ill-willed one, be so wicked minded in the presence of the Blessed One, Having yourself attained only a fickle and worthless glory? Every living body is attended upon by the suffering of birth and so forth. Tainted by pride, you will fall into a terrible state of existence.

“Therefore, have faith in the Victorious One, abandon your anger, And pull yourself out of the mire of pride, the fault of saṃsāra. He knows the nature of all beings. Come, let us promptly go to the compassionate one and follow his way.”

But the evil Māra, his mind absolutely corrupted, thought this: “I must now think of such force, within the power of Māra, that these five hundred along with their retinues will each be snared and bound with five fetters and turned back at this very point, not being able to proceed any further.”

However, Māra was unable to bind them. Why was that? Because these five hundred with their retinues had been blessed by the Thus-Gone One. He was unable to stop them, and the five hundred, along with their retinues, went before Māra, the evil one, who became even more enraged. He thought, “I must now think of such force, within the power of Māra, that this entire area becomes covered in thick black clouds and pummeled by violent gusts of wind, so that they get lost wandering in all directions with their retinues and, unable to see the monk Gautama, will return to my abode.”

However, because of the power of the Buddha’s blessing, he was unable to raise sufficient wind to stir even a single hair tip, not to mention anything more. The evil Māra then became even more unhappy, dejected, and sullen. Crying, he bellowed in a forceful voice to the hosts of his sons along with their retinues, engulfing the entire abode of Māra with these words:

“Come here, dear children, along with your retinues! We are being banished from our domains and deprived of our strength and magical powers. Born in this world, with a nature like a poisonous tree, The son of the Śākyas is a sweet-talking deceiver.”

At these words, all of Māra’s daughters and servant girls, as well as all his sons with their retinues, making haste, swiftly approached and stood in front of Māra, the evil one. There was in that gathering a son by the name Jayamati. With folded hands he inquired:

“Why are you so sad, with your mind so dejected and infuriated? There is no fire here, like at the end of an eon, nor are you passing from here. You have no enemy that is rising to power. Why are you so confused? Why are you so preoccupied about someone else?”

Māra replied:

“Don’t you see the son of the Śākyas sitting in the shade of the commoners’ tree? Then why do you say here in front of me that I have no powerful enemy? That powerful rogue has misled everybody in various ways. Because of that we and our sons and legions are scorched by fire with flaming tongues.

“The most prominent people of this world, whose fame and glory are widely celebrated, Learned people who study and excel in sciences, poetry, and composition, Have readily taken refuge in the son of the Śākyas, pulled in by the Dharma hook he casts. Thus this enemy of mine, attractive in body but wicked in mind, has gained in prominence.

“Even my beloved retinue, having heartlessly abandoned me After being entrusted to me, have now taken refuge in that monk. That rogue will empty the entire threefold universe with his magic If we don’t reduce him to ashes here and now by using force and acting quickly.”

All the sons of Māra with their numerous retinues folded their hands and promised, “We will do it. What we can do is put on a display of our magical powers, strength, dominion, authority, and miracles. If we are able to turn the son of the Śākyas to ashes, that’s good. If we are unable to, we shall take refuge in him. You yourself, O Father, have witnessed that we, surrounded by our huge army, have previously been defeated by the son of the Śākyas acting alone, without a companion, using merely his magical powers. What then can we expect if he is surrounded by his followers?”

Māra, the evil one, replied, “You should go anyway, my good sons! If you manage to kill that monk Gautama, come back again. If you can’t manage this, you should still return, as we will have to defend our abode.”

Then Māra’s twelve trillion attendants, in a formation stretching upward for more than three hundred and twenty leagues and spreading over an area of thousands of leagues, displayed the magical power and speed of Māra’s army. They filled the entire space over the four continents with thick black clouds and struck the king of mountains, Sumeru, with their hands, releasing black tornadoes and lightning bolts and making all the four continents shake violently. They uttered the most terrifying cries. Subsequently, the nāgas, great nāgas, yakṣas, and great yakṣas assembled in the sky when they witnessed that the entire great earth with its rocks, mountains, and mountain ranges—including even Sumeru, the king of mountains—was quaking, and that the lakes, great lakes, rivers great and small, and the great oceans were churning. The great assembly of Māra’s followers stood on top of Mount Sumeru, conjured up rain pellets one league in size, and released them onto the country of Aṅga-Magadha. They also conjured up and released a great rain of swords, clubs, stones, lances, javelins, razor blades, razors mounted on objects, razor-like objects, adzes mounted on objects, adze blades, and terrible wheels armed with teeth—a downpour of solid, hard, rough objects.

At this time, the Blessed One entered the absorption grinding the hosts of Māra. Through its blessing power the whole rain of stones and weapons turned into a rain of celestial flowers, such as lotuses and water lilies in white, red, and blue varieties and flowers of the coral tree and the great coral tree. He also transformed through his blessing all the different yells and noises into melodious sounds, the sounds of the Buddha, the Dharma, the Saṅgha, the perfections, the superknowledges, the state of not turning back, consecration, victory over the four māras, going to the seat of awakening,… the state of clinging to existence, and the state without clinging. All the wind, darkness, and dust settled down. All the grasses, bushes, herbs, trees, soil, rocks, and mountains—whatever there were in the four continents—turned into the seven precious gems by the power of his blessing.

The Blessed One, endowed with an uṣṇīṣa that is not fully visible, extended his control by means of his body as far as the realm of Brahmā. From each of the Blessed One’s major marks a light issued forth of such a kind that the world spheres of the great trichiliocosm became clearly and distinctly visible, illuminated by their great radiance. And whatever gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, pretas, piśācas, kumbhāṇḍas, humans, nonhuman beings, animals, and denizens of the hells and the realms of Yama there were in the great trichiliocosm, all were able to see the Blessed One. Many hundreds of thousands of gods, nāgas, yakṣas, and human and nonhuman beings arrayed in the sky threw flowers, circumambulated the Blessed One clockwise, praised him, and bowed to him. Many hundreds of thousands of millions of hell beings, animals, and denizens of Yama’s realms attained recollection. Recollecting the roots of virtue planted in former lives, they chanted, “Homage to the Buddha!” Having died and transmigrated from the lower realms, they were reborn as gods.

Twenty-two hundred thousand of the soldiers of Māra, along with their numerous retinues, witnessed this display of miracles by the Blessed One and developed deep faith in his presence. They approached him accompanied by the five hundred daughters of Māra. Together they bowed their heads to the Blessed One’s feet and with folded hands uttered these stanzas for him:

“O you with a pure and supremely beautiful form, You are an ocean of wisdom, you are like a golden Mount Sumeru! Your shining fame spreads throughout the world. To you, our protector, we go for refuge.

“For those who have lost the way and whose eyes are closed, You brightly shine your guiding light, like the sun in this world. You are a unique kinsman, an unconquerable supporter of life. To you, our leader, we go for refuge.

“You have auspiciously gathered the accumulations and are a treasury rich with wisdom. Having the nature of space, your mind is originally free. Your heart is filled with compassion, and your lovely speech captivates the mind. To you, who accomplishes all purposes, we go for refuge.

“You deliver beings from the wasteland of saṃsāra, Showing them the causes and results of accumulated action. Knowing the supreme method, you live the life of loving kindness. To you, who lives the life of compassion, we go for refuge.

“In this existence, illusory as the moon reflected in water, With your senses unattached to objects, You destroy, O protector of the world, the disease of ignorance. To you, the king of physicians, we go for refuge.

“You serve as a bridge, saving beings from the midst of the four rivers By means of the seven spiritual treasures practiced by the noble ones. You show the right path, O kinsman of the world! We worship you, the compassionate one in this world.

“As we were nasty to you, a being of superior intelligence, We now ask your forgiveness. Receiving such insults like a hero, O protector, You are a unique kinsman, the best in the world.

“Having now repelled the faction of Māra, We give rise to the supreme mind of awakening. We invite all beings, as we pledge To attain supreme awakening for their sake.

“Please teach us the noble conduct Whereby we can practice the perfections, Since beings attain awakening when endowed With qualities taught by none other.

“May the flowers that we cast forth remain, as parasols, Above the heads of the best among the two-legged creatures In the buddha fields in all directions, So that these fields may be sources of pleasure in all seasons.”

All the sons and daughters of Māra, together with their numerous retinues, then sprinkled flowers over the Blessed One. Through the Blessed One’s magical power, however, the scattered flowers turned into many thousands of millions of billions of flower parasols, exceeding in number even the sand grains in the Gaṅgā. The flower parasols remained in midair above the crowns of the heads of all the living buddhas in the ten directions.

The daughters of Māra with their retinues beheld these flower parasols positioned above the crowns of the heads of the living blessed buddhas, who were expounding the Dharma, surrounded by their followers, in innumerable and infinitely vast buddha fields in every direction. They were all sitting down, resplendent with light. They all had the same color, attributes, form, and appearance. The only differences that the daughters could see were among the individual lion thrones of these blessed buddhas, their retinues, and the marvelous characteristics of their individual buddha fields. They also heard the stanzas recited by the blessed buddhas to the sound of lutes.

And so this retinue of Māra, having seen such a miraculous display through the power of the Blessed One, developed strong faith. They bowed their heads to his feet and sat down in front of him to listen to the Dharma.

However, from among Māra’s sons, along with their retinues, ten trillion returned back to Māra’s abode and relayed to Māra, the evil one, this detailed account: “We weren’t able to harm even a single pore of the skin of that monk Gautama, let alone kill him. And furthermore, twenty thousand of your children have taken refuge with him and are now sitting in front of him to hear the Dharma.”

The evil Māra, enraged, unhappy, dejected, and even more sullen, lamented:

“My good fortune has left me and will not return Until we bring ruin upon this son of the Śākyas. Silent we stand with this sole problem in our minds: ‘How can we kill the son of the Śākyas?’ ”

Then Māra, the evil one, sat down, sinking into despondency.