The daughters and sons of Māra, accompanied by their retinues, said to the Blessed One, “The extent to which the Thus-Gone One is endowed with means and wisdom is incredible! We seek, O Blessed One, the same sort of Dharma vehicle, wisdom, magical powers, compassion, means, and eloquence. What are the qualities, O Blessed One, that a person should have in order to not fall into the hands of evil companions, but instead swiftly realize unsurpassed and perfect awakening?”

“O noble sons and daughters,” replied the Blessed One, “should any person in this world be endowed with four qualities, they will not fall into the hands of evil companions, but instead swiftly realize unsurpassed and perfect awakening. What are these four?

1. “My friends, a noble son or daughter must not be attached to any phenomenon. They must never grasp, hold on to, dwell upon, conceptualize, or falsely identify any phenomenon, so that when they are training in the perfection of generosity, they neither reject nor grasp at the fruit of generosity, hold on to it, dwell upon it, conceptualize it, nor falsely identify it. [And so this continues] up to not conceptualizing or falsely identifying when practicing the perfection of insight.

2. “Another quality, my friends, is that a noble son or daughter must not profess the independent existence of beings, the vital principle, an individual soul, or personhood, must not be attached in their minds… and must not conceptualize or falsely identify the realm of beings.

3. “Another quality, my friends, is that a noble son or daughter must not be attached to… and must not conceptualize or falsely identify forms, sounds, smells, flavors, or tactile perceptions.

4. “Another quality, my friends, is that a noble son or daughter must not be attached to… and must not conceptualize or falsely identify the arising of the body based on the ripening of results dependent on causes, which happens throughout the three times and the threefold universe wherever there are the aggregates and the organs and objects of the senses.

“And why is that? It is because omniscient wisdom, devoid of all dualistic concepts and speculation with regard to the domain of conduct, is developed by means of the yoga of non-observation. Neither phenomena nor omniscience, my friends, have any existence as separate entities. They make no sound, are signless, are not imperishable, are wishless, are not subject to arising or cessation, and have no characteristics. They are unobstructed, imperceptible, and cannot be shown. They are void, without self, and without characteristics. They are momentary, calm, neither dark nor light, and without location, and they are neither sense objects nor faculties. They are neither friendly nor hostile, are inconceivable, and cannot be taken away. They are free from selfishness or mental elaboration, are stainless, and have no component parts. They are not anything in particular, not agents, devoid of sensations, and without support. They are ungraspable, cannot be cognized, do not appear discretely, and are not momentary. Omniscience, my friends, is sky-like and empty. Being emptiness, it should be engaged in by applying nonperception, nondwelling, nonattachment, nonconceptuality, and nonspeculation.

“Endowed with these four qualities, my friends, a person will not fall into the hands of evil companions but instead swiftly realize unsurpassed and perfect awakening. Anyone who seeks omniscient wisdom by treating sense objects as specifically located and characterized by being objects of attachment becomes bogged down in duality. A mind bogged down in duality is conceptual and contradicts omniscience. What is this duality?

“When one dwells upon the aggregates, elements, and sense bases, by analyzing them according to their characteristics and becoming attached to them, this is duality and it runs counter to omniscience.

“Duality is conceptualizing the nexus of one’s conduct and its fruits. Duality is conceptualizing the nexus of appropriation, becoming, and birth of beings. Duality is conceptualizing the nexus of instruction, elucidation, discourse, terminology, and language. Duality is conceptualizing the nexus of knowledge consisting in eternalistic and nihilistic views, and subjects of knowledge. Duality is conceptualizing the nexus of notions that postulate a being, a vital principle, an individual soul, a person, an agent, or an instigator of action. Also, if somebody dwells upon and conceptualizes the nexus of this shore and the other, and of thoughts and delimitations, this is duality.

“My friends, if any person who seeks omniscience dwells upon, conceptualizes, speculates about, or gets attached to the analysis of the arising and cessation of the thoughts ‘I’ and ‘my’ throughout the three times, this is duality pertaining to omniscience.

“It is as if somebody would get hold of soil when they need fire, would get hold of fire when in need of drink, would get hold of a stone when in need of food, would get hold of garments when in need of flowers, would get hold of a corpse when in need of perfume, would get hold of rocks when in need of clothes, and would get hold of space when in need of scented oils. In this way, my friends, if anybody seeks omniscient wisdom while steeped in duality arising through the analysis of and attachment to the mastery of conduct, their endeavors will be fruitless.”

There was, seated among this assembly, a bodhisattva by the name Dhāraṇamati. Folding his hands in the direction of the Blessed One, he bowed and asked, “Is it possible to realize that which is inexpressible?”

“Only one who knows the inexpressible is realized,” said the Blessed One. “Therefore, O noble son, I will ask you something. Answer according to your degree of acceptance. If you are able to explain this, please do. Is there a substance, characteristic, or entity that is called ‘omniscience’?”

“If I were to say that there is,” replied Dhāraṇamati, “this would be an eternalist view. If I were to say that there isn’t, this would be a nihilist view. In the middle way nothing can be apprehended: omniscience neither exists nor does not exist. Perfect realization is the understanding of the nature that is unobstructed, unarisen, unceasing, immeasurable, incalculable, without darkness, and without light.”

“Perfect awakening, O Blessed One,” said the bodhisattva Vidyunmati, “is the ability to gain realization where there is neither coming nor going.”

“Perfect awakening, O Blessed One,” said the bodhisattva Vairocana, “is the state that is characterized neither by attainment nor nonattainment. It is not an intuitive grasp or an intuitive perception, nor is it tranquility or complete tranquility. Neither is it the three times, the three vehicles, aspiration, civility, or conceitedness.”

“Perfect awakening, O Blessed One,” said Dhāraṇamati, “is the state where one does not conceptualize or speculate about the threefold universe, the three fetters, the three types of knowledge, the three vehicles, the five aggregates, the elements, or the sense bases. It is a state where there is no increase or decrease and that is not subject to deterioration.”

“Perfect awakening,” said the bodhisattva Vajramati, “is the state where one does not conceptualize, speculate about, or defer to the teachings, whether those of ordinary people, the noble ones, the students, the adepts, the hearers, or those of the solitary buddhas.”

“Perfect awakening,” said the bodhisattva Dṛḍhamati, “is the state where, in the mode of disengagement, one does not analyze suchness.”

“Perfect awakening,” said the bodhisattva Ratnapāṇi, “is the state where, for the sake of accomplishing or realizing the unborn characteristic of all phenomena, one does not conceptualize.”

“Perfect awakening,” said the bodhisattva Acintyamati, “is the state where one does not try to apprehend, through mental analysis, the two minds—the one that ponders the threefold universe and the one that ponders the analyzing mind.”

“Perfect awakening,” said the bodhisattva Arivijaya, “is the state where one does not cling to, does not become seduced by, indifferent to, angry at, desirous of, or deluded by, and does not grasp at or reject any phenomenon.”

“Perfect awakening,” said the bodhisattva Padmagarbha, “is the state where one is not attached to either virtue or vice and, through entering profound acceptance, does not conceptualize ‘I’ or ‘my.’ ”

“Perfect awakening,” said the princely youth Candraprabha, “is the state where one realizes all phenomena to be the same as the reflection of the moon in water and perceives the nature of phenomena as neither increasing nor decreasing.”

“Perfect awakening,” said the princely youth Khagamati, “is when there is no darkness, light, arising, decay, increase, or decrease within mind and mental states.”

“Perfect awakening,” said the bodhisattva Maitreya, “is the state where one neither apprehends nor attempts to become equal to the Brahmās that abide in the three realms of existence, wherever or whether they abide.”

“Perfect awakening,” said the bodhisattva Akṣayamati, “is the state where, by purifying the three spheres, one cultivates the perfections while knowing that there is no reality to them, and one is therefore neither attracted to nor indifferent to them.”

“Perfect awakening, O Blessed One,” said the princely youth Mañjuśrī, “is the state where one is neither attracted to nor indifferent to phenomena and knows the profound doctrine of the Dharma. One neither exerts oneself nor remains inert with regard to that which one cognizes. Nor does one accept or reject it. One does not accumulate, lose, generate knowledge of, relinquish, destroy, diminish, or increase any phenomena. By not conceptualizing things, one stops the afflictions. It is by this single principle that one realizes omniscient wisdom.”

The bodhisattva Kautūhalika then asked, “How, O Mañjuśrī, should one apply the practices whereby one actualizes this single principle and subsequently acquires omniscient wisdom by cultivating profound emptiness?”

Mañjuśrī replied, “The following, noble children, are twenty methods for attaining omniscient wisdom.

“One should (1) abandon wrong views and adopt right views, (2) adopt honesty and sincerity, (3) respect the teacher without being tainted by negativity, (4) be receptive to good advice, (5) adopt right livelihood, (6) cast off the fetters that bind one to saṃsāra, (7) have the same anger-free compassion for all beings, (8) take up the threefold restraint, (9) sincerely adopt undeceptive wholesome mental states, (10) avoid what is not peaceful, (11) guard the sacred Dharma, (12) never abandon any sentient being, (13) renounce all wealth, (14) give strength to the weak, (15) offer refuge and fearlessness to the frightened, (16) establish those who follow the wrong path in good behavior, (17) be gentle and patient, (18) adopt all the characteristics that curb grasping, (19) avoid the accumulation of any impurities and darkness, and (20) give up the expectation of the personal ripening of any fruits that have been dedicated.

“Omniscient wisdom is applied through fathoming the knowledge of the nature of the divisions of all letters, languages, sounds, speech, and descriptive words. One has mastered the method of omniscience when one gains knowledge through fathoming the nature of the doctrine of all the thus-gone ones and of other religious doctrines; the nature of all conduct; the nature of applying all the merit and the perfection of insight; the nature of clinging, arising, and cessation; and the nature of the three emancipations, the abodes, the causes, action, and all phenomena.”

“It is so, Mañjuśrī!” exclaimed the bodhisattva Kautūhalika. “When one fully understands this profound Dharma principle, one does not see anyone who teaches the Dharma, anywhere it is taught, any meanings, words, and letters by means of which it is taught, or any Dharma that is taught. Nor does one consider which Dharma one should abandon, which to practice, or which to understand thoroughly. The one who can fathom the true nature of things as being inexpressible will realize omniscient wisdom.”

“Good! Good it is, O noble son!” said the Blessed One. “You have eloquently shown that the attainment of omniscient wisdom can only happen through this single principle. Why is that? It is because all phenomena, when they are not mere imputations, have an ultimate reality of neither arising nor decaying. Their ultimate reality is the nonarising of either ignorance or nirvāṇa and the nonarising of either space or nirvāṇa. Ultimately all phenomena are inexpressible. The same is true for all beings. Ultimately all phenomena are insubstantial and all are explained in terms of things coming together. Ultimately the three times, the threefold universe, and all the aggregates are nothing whatsoever. Ultimately, the three formations are empty. In their ultimate reality, the congeries of phenomena, ripening fruits of actions, accumulations, and dissolutions are insubstantial. Bodhisattva great beings attain omniscience when they are fully endowed with the understanding that all phenomena are ultimately empty and their meaning is inexpressible.”

At this time, while this explanatory discourse on acquiring omniscient wisdom was being presented, Māra’s twenty thousand daughters and sons, along with their retinues, gained acceptance that phenomena are unborn. Accordingly, having renounced their gross physical forms, they attained mental bodies. Another twenty-eight thousand beings also gained acceptance that phenomena are unborn. Eighteen trillion gods and humans of many different types obtained the bodhisattva’s acceptance, absorption, and various dhāraṇīs.

Subsequently, these twenty thousand bodhisattva great beings, who gained acceptance that phenomena are unborn, sprinkled celestial flowers toward and upon the Blessed One and, bowing their heads to his feet, said, “You see, O Blessed One, how beings attach no importance to the roots of virtue that lead to the accumulation of merit because of associating with nonvirtuous companions.”

“This indeed ought to be understood as the karmic precondition,” the Blessed One agreed. And in order to remove the doubts of these astonished beings, he shared the following episode from one of his previous lives:

“In the distant past, O noble children, many immeasurable eons ago, in this world sphere consisting of the four continents, during the great eon called Glorious, when people lived sixty-eight thousand years, there was a thus-gone one by the name Splendorous with the Gentle Glow of Light and Fragrance. He was a blessed buddha who was learned and virtuous, a well-gone one, a knower of the world, an unsurpassed being, a charioteer who guides beings, and a teacher of gods and humans. In the world of that time, afflicted with the five degenerations, he taught to a fourfold assembly the Dharma that comprises the three vehicles.

“At that time there also lived a king by the name Utpalavaktra, a universal monarch ruling over the four continents. On one occasion, accompanied by his harem and army, he came to the place where the thus-gone Splendorous with the Gentle Glow of Light and Fragrance stayed. Having bowed his head to the feet of the Blessed One, he besprinkled him with flowers and worshiped him further with the sounds of various instruments, fragrances, and incense. He circumambulated him clockwise thrice, bowed his head to the feet of the assembly of his monks, and praised the Blessed One with these two stanzas:

“ ‘O remover of many faults, you are praised By the exceedingly virtuous gods, nāgas, and others! O benefactor of beings with the aid of the seven spiritual treasures, Please explain how one attains a subtle mind!

“ ‘O remover of the world’s darkness and bringer of the light of peace, Destroyer of transmigration and birth, and pacifier of the suffering of death, You who turn beings back from the path of the less fortunate realms, Please explain how to be released in this world from Māra’s ways!’

“In reply, O noble children, the thus-gone Splendorous with the Gentle Glow of Light and Fragrance said this to King Utpalavaktra:

“ ‘A person becomes a bodhisattva with a subtle mind when endowed with three qualities. What are these three? (1) Out of a pure motivation, one feels compassion for all beings. (2) Like a mother, one strives to remove their suffering. (3) One equally views all phenomena as being without self, the vital principle, or individuality and as being nondifferentiable and uncaused. Endowed with these three qualities, a good person will become a bodhisattva with a subtle mind.

“ ‘When endowed with another three qualities, O King, one will not become trapped in the snares of Māra. What are these three? (1) One does not get angry with any sentient being and does not look for an opportunity to attack. (2) One sees all beings as equally worthy of generosity. (3) One examines all phenomena according to the single principle, and consequently views them as being the same as space—unfabricated, nondifferentiable, unborn, nonarising, and unceasing—and realizes them, without apprehending them, to be just like space in being devoid of any characteristics of substantiality. With these three qualities, O King, a good person will not get entrapped in the snares of Māra and will be released from his ways.’

“Now the chief queen of King Utpalavaktra, Surasundarī by name, served by a retinue of eighty-four thousand women, approached the blessed, thus-gone Splendorous with the Gentle Glow of Light and Fragrance and, sprinkling him with various flowers, uttered the following stanzas:

“ ‘O unequaled one, remover of darkness endowed with unique qualities, Destroyer of transmigration! Please explain how a young woman may, In this world, become a man, once purged of her less fortunate birth. O bringer of sublime benefits, gentle and disciplined in mind!

“ ‘O well-gone one who follows the highest course! He who pacifies and delights, Blessed One! How does a young woman give up her inferior birth and become a man in this world? Please explain this, O gentle and disciplined one who benefits others. Remove my mental darkness, right here and now.

“ ‘O monk, unequaled in this world, Supreme receptacle of many renowned qualities, mindfulness, and discipline, Promptly explain, O dispeller of darkness, the way in this world Whereby I could obtain a male birth—the elixir of happy migrations.’

“Thus addressed, O noble children, the thus-gone Splendorous with the Gentle Glow of Light and Fragrance addressed Surasundarī, the chief queen:

“ ‘There is, O sister, a method whereby a woman may easily change her female sex. Her previously acquired female sex will promptly disappear without a trace, and until the final nirvāṇa, she will not obtain a female form again, unless she aspires otherwise. So, sister, what is this method through which a woman may swiftly become a man and that causes her female sex to promptly disappear? For this, O sister, there is a dhāraṇī called Ratnaketu. It has great magical power, is highly beneficial, and is very powerful. It completely dispels the condition of being a woman and removes, without residue, all depravities of the body, speech, and mind that ripen as suffering.

“ ‘Through merely hearing this dhāraṇī, the state of being a woman will disappear without leaving a trace. The female sex organs will disappear and male ones will appear. Also, the resulting male body will be beautiful in form and complete in every limb. He will be honest, skilled in subtle wisdom, and able to accomplish his tasks, whether they are physical, verbal, or mental. He will follow the right conduct and will defeat all his enemies. And whatever fruits of bad actions may have been ripened for him and would be experienced as suffering with respect to the body, speech, or mind, whether in this or future lives, all of them will be dispelled, unless he has committed any of the five acts of immediate retribution, opposed the sacred Dharma, or reviled a noble one. However, the female sex of such evildoers would disappear, too. With regard to the residual womanhood that has persisted throughout consecutive lives, reactivated by its latent seeds that ripen to be experienced as suffering—womanhood resulting from the physical, verbal, and mental depravities and arising out of the karmic obscurations thus acquired—even if this residual womanhood were as big as Mount Sumeru, it would all dissipate completely. Why is this?

“ ‘It is because this dhāraṇī, Ratnaketu by name, has been taught and blessed by all the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddhas of bygone times, thus bringing mutual joy to them and the reciters. It has been praised, extolled, and described in superlative terms as the means for eliminating action that would ripen as the suffering of beings, and for increasing their roots of virtue.

“ ‘Whatever thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddhas there are presently in the ten directions, dwelling in their respective buddha fields, all of them teach this Ratnaketu dhāraṇī while recommending it as the means for eliminating bad action and increasing the roots of virtue of the beings in their buddha fields. And whatever thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddhas will exist in the future in the ten directions, in their respective places they also will teach this Ratnaketu dhāraṇī while recommending it as the means for eliminating action that would ripen for beings as suffering, and of increasing their roots of virtue. I also will presently teach the Ratnaketu dhāraṇī. Rejoicing in its being taught by the thus-gone ones arisen in the ten directions, I will praise and extol this dhāraṇī.

“ ‘O sister, if any head-anointed kṣatriya king who has achieved power and dominion writes the Ratnaketu dhāraṇī and upholds it, stanzas of praise sung for such a king will spread far and wide throughout the ten directions, filling everywhere up to the realm of form with words of praise. Many thousands of millions of billions of gods, nāgas, yakṣas, and gandharvas will form a chain behind this kṣatriya king, standing abreast in order to guard and protect him. All the depravities, quarrels, famine, disease, invasions by foreign powers, untimely storms, torrential rains, and afflictions of heat and cold will completely cease in his kingdom. All the evil yakṣas, rākṣasas, lions, buffaloes, elephants, and wolves will become harmless. All the unpleasant problems experienced when coming into contact with poisonous, sharp, bitter, pungent, or tasteless substances, or the pain felt when touching rough objects, will completely cease. All wealth, on the other hand, will increase, and all crops, medicinal herbs, forest trees, fruits, and flowers will grow in abundance and thrive, succulent and delicious in taste.

“ ‘And if this head-anointed kṣatriya king should hoist a volume containing the Ratnaketu dhāraṇī on top of a banner when engaged in battle, he will defeat the hostile army. If two head-anointed kṣatriya kings should hoist a volume containing the Ratnaketu dhāraṇī on top of a banner when engaged in mutual war, they will come to a mutually satisfying settlement. Thus, the Ratnaketu dhāraṇī brings many benefits and advantages.

“ ‘If there is any village, town, or marketplace in which untimely death or harm breaks out for humans, nonhuman beings, or animals, a volume containing the Ratnaketu dhāraṇī should be brought there and worshiped with many offerings. When it is brought, a celibate ascetic who has bathed, dried his body, and put on new garments should sit on a lion throne adorned with various flowers, censed with fragrant incense, and covered in foodstuffs of many tastes, and he should read the text aloud.

“ ‘Consequently, all the killing and untimely death will cease, and the bad omens that bring on fear and goosebumps will disappear. If any woman wishes to give birth to a son, she should commission a celibate ascetic, bathed and dressed in clean garments, to worship this text with flowers, fragrances, garlands, and scented oils, while himself sitting on a throne that is adorned with various flowers, censed with fragrant incense, and covered in foodstuffs of many tastes. She should have him read the Ratnaketu dhāraṇī aloud. She will give birth to a son, and her present life will be the last one as a woman until she has attained final nirvāṇa, unless she herself wishes this to be otherwise for the sake of bringing sentient beings to maturity. O sister, even by just hearing the words of the Ratnaketu dhāraṇī recited once, anyone, even deer or birds, will never again turn back from unsurpassed and perfect awakening.’ ”

Then the blessed, thus-gone Śākyamuni said, “O noble children, when the big toe of thus-gone Splendorous with the Gentle Glow of Light and Fragrance’s right foot touched the ground, the earth trembled six times.”

As he said this, the thus-gone Śākyamuni blessed the earth in this buddha field so that it likewise trembled six times. Countless gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, pretas, piśācas, kumbhāṇḍas, humans, and nonhuman beings were terrified. The buddha field of the Sahā world was totally pervaded with a great light. It became as even as the palm of the hand, and the mountains, forests, walls, Mount Sumeru, the world perimeter, and the great world perimeters all disappeared. The gods, nāgas, and yakṣas were also terrified by the trembling of the earth and the flash of light. Through the power of the Blessed One, looking into the four directions they noticed the Blessed One, the sage of the Śākyas, at about the distance of an arrow shot. They were astonished, and gazed upon the Thus-Gone One, the sage of the Śākyas, with their palms joined together. The thus-gone Śākyamuni then recited the Ratnaketu dhāraṇī:

jaloke jaloke moke jali jala jalini jalavrate jahile vara­puruṣa­lakṣaṇa­samāruhya amame vamame vamame navame mahāse jahame jahame jahame jahame varame varame vavave vavave vahave vaṅgave vajave vāra vāraśe jala­mekha parakha ala jahili jana tule jana tubhukhe vahara vahara siṃha vrate nana tilā nana tina dālā sūrya­vihaga candravihaga cakṣu rajyati śavihaga sarva­kṣaya­stritvasura­vihaga jakhaga jakhaga surakhaga vahama amrikha amrikha amrikha amrikha amrikha amrikha amrikha amrikha mrikha mrikha mrikha vyavadeta karma dune dune utpata vyavaccheda jñāna­kṛta anuda padākhaga neruka aṅgule bhaṅgule vibhaṅgule kulaha indra­parivibhaha vyavaccheda karabha vavrati vavrati ca prati ca prati amoha darśane parivarta bhaṣyu khasama krimajyoti­khaga jahi jahi jyoti niṣka bhirasa bhirasa bhirasa bhiraja mati­krama bhivakriva mahākriva hile hihile aruṇavarte samaya­niṣke damadāna­dhyāna aparāmṛśe phala­kuṇḍalalakhe nivarta istribhāva karma­kṣaya prādurbhava puruṣatvam asamasama samaya vidijña tathāgata svāhā!

As soon as the thus-gone Śākyamuni recited the Ratnaketu dhāraṇī, this great earth shook again. Through hearing the dhāraṇī, the five hundred daughters of Māra lost their female sex organs and grew the corresponding male organs. The same happened to infinite numbers of girls from the realms of the gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, pretas, piśācas, and kumbhāṇḍas. All of them became non-returners on the path to unsurpassed and perfect awakening. For all of them, the karmic obstacle that would cause their being reborn as women in the future was completely removed.

All these women saluted the thus-gone Śākyamuni with folded hands and, in a strong voice, exclaimed, “Homage, homage to Śākyamuni, the miracle worker, the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha! Please relate in full, O compassionate one, the episode from your past life that will explain how and why our womanhood has now disappeared and we have become men with complete male physiques. By the power of this miracle, this magical display, and our disenchantment, we have now engendered a wish to attain unsurpassed and perfect awakening. Narrate, O Blessed One, this episode from your past life, with these countless gods and humans as witnesses.”

The blessed, thus-gone Śākyamuni then continued with the narration of his past life:

“Listen, good people! Together with Her Majesty Surasundarī, the chief queen of King Utpalavaktra, eighty-four thousand women from her retinue heard the Ratnaketu dhāraṇī from the thus-gone Splendorous with the Gentle Glow of Light and Fragrance. As soon as they heard it, their female sex organs disappeared, and the corresponding male organs appeared. Simultaneously, the same happened to infinite numbers of girls—the celestial ones,… up to humans and nonhumans. For all of them, the karmic obstacle that would cause their being reborn as women in the future was completely removed.

“When Surasundarī, the chief queen of King Utpalavaktra, along with her retinue attained the state of manhood, then Utpalavaktra, the universal monarch and the ruler of the four continents, consecrated his eldest son to kingship and, together with his remaining nine hundred and ninety-nine divinely beautiful august sons, eighty-four thousand other such men, and ninety-two thousand other individuals, renounced worldly life and, in the presence of the thus-gone Splendorous with the Gentle Glow of Light and Fragrance, they shaved off their hair and beards and donned monk’s robes, embracing, with complete faith, the life of an ascetic who goes forth from home to homelessness. Having thus become a wandering mendicant, he engaged in inward contemplation and took delight in reciting prayers.

“At that time many tens of millions of beings wondered why their king, the universal monarch, had become a wandering mendicant. They remarked to each other, ‘That thus-gone one is a rogue and a trickster who engages in the works of Māra. He preaches a doctrine that is linked to Māra’s activity. From some he removes their female sex organs, and from some the male. He shaves off the hair and beards of some. To some he gives dyed robes and to others white. To some he gives teaching so that they may obtain birth as a god; to some, birth as a human; to some, birth as an animal; to some, birth as a preta; to some, birth as a hell being; and to some, the ending of birth, death, and transmigration altogether. That monk Splendorous with the Gentle Glow of Light and Fragrance, engaged in the conduct of Māra, duplicitous in having contacts with women, is breaking his vows while assuming the appearance of a monk. For that reason we should now depart from this place so that we do not have to witness his stealing of sexual organs or hear his teachings.’

“Among those who were talking in this manner there was a soldier by the name of Kumārabhṛta. He said, ‘All my wives, daughters, and women of the harem had their female sex organs removed and male organs magically planted by that rotten monk. All of them had their heads shaven and were then given dyed robes by him. And I am left alone, lost in grief. Let us all gather together and go into the rugged wilderness where we will not hear the sound or talk of that fake and rotten monk who employs Māra’s snares. Let us reconnoiter first.’

“Enthusiastically, they all replied, ‘Let’s do so!’

“The soldier Kumārabhṛta then set forth together with those many tens of millions of individuals, who were full of doubt, to a place on the outer fringes of inhabited lands, deep in the rugged mountain wilderness. There, he lived the life of a sage, preaching the following doctrine to all those people:

“ ‘There is no liberation from saṃsāra and no ripening of the results of good or bad actions. There is, at this time, a monk who preaches nihilism—a vow breaker who indulges in the activities of Māra. Those who approach him for an audience, salute him, and listen to his teachings become mentally distracted. He shaves their heads, causes them to leave home, gives them dyed robes, and has them live in cemeteries. He forces them to beg and allows them to eat only once a day. Because of him their minds are warped by wrong views and they are continually upset. They are content to live in seclusion and make do without bedsteads. He also deprives them of sensory and erotic pleasures, dance, song, perfume, scented oils, ornaments, jewelry, and sexual relationships. He forbids them to drink liquor or wine and allows them to eat only a little. Doing such, he is an enemy of beings who preaches nihilism in the guise of a monk while engaging in the ways of Māra. I have exposed the acts of this monk, Gautama, which were previously unheard of and unseen.’

“Through this speech of Kumārabhṛta many hundreds of thousands of millions of beings fell for his evil views.

“Subsequent to this, the great monk Utpalavaktra heard that in a certain mountain wilderness there were people who not only were established on the wrong path themselves but also induced others to adopt the same distorted views and speak badly about the Three Jewels. He thought to himself, ‘If ultimately I don’t liberate those beings from the evil of their wrong views and don’t establish them in the right views, then my life as a monk will have become worthless. How in this blind world will I realize, in the future, the unsurpassed and perfect awakening? How will I teach and ultimately liberate miserable beings caught in the snares of the four māras?’

“The great monk Utpalavaktra, steadfast, courageous, and compassionate, having then requested the thus-gone Splendorous with the Gentle Glow of Light and Fragrance’s permission, set forth on his journey to all those towns, villages, hamlets, and marketplaces located in the rugged mountain wilderness in the frontier areas. Traveling through all these places in the company of hundreds of thousands, he taught the Dharma to all those misguided beings. He made those beings turn away from the evil of their wrong views, set them on the path of the right views, and established them on the path to unsurpassed and perfect awakening. Some he established in the aspiration toward the vehicle of the solitary buddhas, some toward the vehicle of the hearers, and some he established in the fruit itself. Some he induced to take up the life of renunciation. Some he established in the vows of a lay practitioner, some in the vows of fasting and abstinence, and some in the vows of the threefold refuge. To women he taught the Ratnaketu dhāraṇī, thus preventing them from becoming women again and establishing them in the state of manhood.

“With regard to the many tens of millions of beings who harbored doubts when being near the Thus-Gone One, he made all of them turn away from the evil of their wrong views, taught them the perils of vice, and established them on the path to unsurpassed and perfect awakening. He brought them into the presence of the thus-gone Splendorous with the Gentle Glow of Light and Fragrance where they all, except for the soldier Kumārabhṛta, took up the life of renunciation. Kumārabhṛta, for his part, made the following aspiration:

“ ‘As the monk Utpalavaktra is leading my followers astray, may I become a māra in the buddha field where he is to attain unsurpassed and perfect awakening so that I will be able to harm him from the moment he enters the womb. Later, after he is born, may I terrorize and create obstacles for him when he plays as a child, learns arts and crafts, learns to read, enjoys amorous pastimes in the harem… until he ascends to the seat of awakening. Should he attain awakening, may I sabotage his teachings.’

“The great monk Utpalavaktra, however, through his great courage full of effort and painful sacrifice, managed to instill faith in the soldier Kumārabhṛta, who had been so determined in his aspiration. He made him turn away from the evil of his wrong views, taught him the perils of vice, and planted in him the aspiration to attain unsurpassed and perfect awakening. Consequently, the soldier Kumārabhṛta, now tame and faithful, made the following wish:

“ ‘O most compassionate Utpalavaktra! At the time when you have attained unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may you provide me with the prophecy of my attaining unsurpassed and perfect awakening.’

“ O good people, should you have any doubts, uncertainties, or other such thoughts, then know that Utpalavaktra, on that occasion, attended upon the thus-gone Splendorous with the Gentle Glow of Light and Fragrance and his retinue with manifold offerings and then left the household life and became a wandering mendicant together with hundreds of thousands of millions of beings. He turned infinite hundreds of thousands of millions of beings away from the evil of their wrong views. He set infinite numbers of beings upon the three paths and established them in the fruits thereof. For infinite hundreds of thousands of millions of women, he enabled them to attain the state of manhood.

“This may not be immediately obvious to you, but at that time, during those events, I was the king Utpalavaktra, the universal monarch ruling over the four continents. It was I who discharged my duties as a man. And if again, O good people, you should have any doubts, uncertainties, or other such thoughts with regard to Surasundarī, the chief queen who went forth during the time those events occured, you should know that this was the great bodhisattva Maitreya during that particular time. O good people, you may have doubts, uncertainties, or other such thoughts with regard to the soldier Kumārabhṛta and his retinue of tens of millions of beings who took part in the events of that time, as it may not be immediately obvious to you that this was Māra, the evil one, during that particular time. Because I set his followers, at that time, upon the path of renunciation, he first took umbrage with me but then made a wish that once I myself had attained unsurpassed and perfect awakening, I would prophesy the same for him.

“You, O noble children, became disaffected when you were in the presence of the thus-gone Splendorous with the Gentle Glow of Light and Fragrance. You talked without self-control and harbored wrong views. Consequently, I released you from the evil of your wrong views and made you take up the life of renunciation. From then on you have attended upon many thousands of buddhas and worshiped them with offerings. Having learned the Dharma from them, you made aspirations and practiced the six perfections. However, because of the bad action previously accumulated by you with your body, speech, and mind, you have endured suffering for many eons in the three miserable realms. It is only because of this karmic obscuration that you were born, in your present life, in the abode of Māra, the evil one.”

While these past events concerning the Ratnaketu dhāraṇī were being narrated by the blessed, thus-gone Śākyamuni, the female characteristics of the five hundred daughters of Māra vanished, and male ones appeared. They gained acceptance that phenomena are unborn. Infinite hundreds of thousands of millions of beings beyond count, including gods, humans, and asuras, developed the wish to attain unsurpassed and perfect awakening and entered the path of no return. In this way, infinite hundreds of thousands of millions of beings entered the path of no return of both the hearer and solitary buddha vehicles. For infinite numbers of celestial and human girls, womanhood ceased, and each became a man.