Then the Blessed One replied to Śakra, mighty lord of the gods, “Kauśika, it is so! It is so! The merit of those noble sons or noble daughters will increase manifold. If any of them were to commit this perfection of wisdom to writing, making it into a book, and then take up, uphold, recite, master, and focus their attention correctly on it, and in addition were then to serve, respect, honor, and worship it with flowers, garlands, perfumes, unguents, powders, robes, parasols, victory banners, ribbons, and various musical sounds, the merit of those noble sons or noble daughters would be immeasurable, uncountable, inconceivable, incomparable, and it would increase inestimably. If you ask why, Kauśika, the all-aspect omniscience of the tathāgatas, arhats, completely awakened buddhas has originated from the perfection of wisdom. The other five perfections, the emptiness of internal phenomena, [the other aspects of emptiness] up to and including the emptiness of the essential nature of nonentities, the applications of mindfulness, the correct exertions, the supports for miraculous ability, the faculties, the powers, the branches of enlightenment, the noble eightfold path, the truths of the noble ones, the meditative concentrations, the immeasurable attitudes, the formless absorptions, the eight aspects of liberation, the nine serial steps of meditative absorption, the gateways to liberation—emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness—the extrasensory powers, the meditative stabilities, the dhāraṇī gateways, the powers of the tathāgatas, the fearlessnesses, the kinds of exact knowledge, great loving kindness, great compassion, the distinct qualities of the buddhas, the five eyes of the tathāgatas, the maturation of beings, and the refinement of the buddhafields have all originated from the perfection of wisdom.

“Kauśika, knowledge of all the dharmas, knowledge of the path, and all-aspect omniscience have all originated from the perfection of wisdom. Kauśika, the vehicle of the śrāvakas, the vehicle of the pratyekabuddhas, and the Great Vehicle have all originated from the perfection of wisdom. Kauśika, unsurpassed, complete enlightenment has originated from the perfection of wisdom.

“Kauśika, so it is that if any noble sons or noble daughters were to commit this perfection of wisdom to writing, making it into a book, and then take up, uphold, recite, master, and focus their attention correctly on it, and in addition were then to serve, respect, honor, and worship it with flowers, garlands, perfumes, unguents, powders, robes, parasols, victory banners, ribbons, and various musical sounds, the merit accrued by the former [acts of building stūpas] would come nowhere near even a hundredth part of this merit that is now accrued. It would come nowhere near even a thousandth part of it, or a hundred thousandth part, a billionth part, a ten billionth part, a trillionth part, or any number, fraction, calculation, or exemplar. It would stand no comparison. If you ask why, Kauśika, as long as this perfection of wisdom dwells 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.

“[As long this perfection of wisdom dwells in Jambudvīpa], the paths of the ten virtuous actions, the four meditative concentrations, the four immeasurable attitudes, the four formless absorptions, the five extrasensory powers, the perfection of generosity, the perfection of ethical discipline, the perfection of tolerance, the perfection of perseverance, the perfection of meditative concentration, the perfection of wisdom, the emptiness of internal phenomena, [the other aspects of emptiness], up to and including the emptiness of the essential nature of nonentities, the applications of mindfulness, the correct exertions, the supports for miraculous ability, the faculties, the powers, the branches of enlightenment, the noble eightfold path, the truths of the noble ones, the meditative concentrations, the immeasurable attitudes, the formless absorptions, the aspects of liberation, the nine serial steps of meditative absorption, the gateways to liberation—emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness—the extrasensory powers, the meditative stabilities, the dhāraṇī gateways, the powers of the tathāgatas, the fearlessnesses, the kinds of exact knowledge, great loving kindness, great compassion, the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas, and [all the fruits and realizations], up to and including all-aspect omniscience, will appear in the world.

“[As long this perfection of wisdom dwells in Jambudvīpa], the great and lofty royal families, the great and lofty priestly families, the great and lofty householder families, the gods of the Caturmahā­rāja­kāyika realm, and the gods of the Trayastriṃśa, Yāma, Tuṣita, Nirmāṇarata, and Para­nirmita­vaśa­vartin realms, and [of all other realms], up to and including Akaniṣṭha, will appear in the world.

“[As long this perfection of wisdom dwells in Jambudvīpa], those who have entered the stream to nirvāṇa, those who are destined for only one more rebirth, those who are no longer subject to rebirth, and those who are arhats, pratyekabuddhas, bodhisattvas, and completely awakened buddhas will appear in the world.

“[As long this perfection of wisdom dwells in Jambudvīpa], bodhisattva great beings will be discerned, and the wisdom of unsurpassed buddhahood, the turning of the wheel of the Dharma, the maturation of beings, and the refinement of the buddhafields will be discerned.”

Then, in this world system of the great trichiliocosm, Śakra, mighty lord of the gods, addressed the gods of the Caturmahā­rāja­kāyika realm and [all those of the other realms], up to and including Akaniṣṭha, saying, “Friends, you should take up this perfection of wisdom, uphold, recite, master, and focus your attention correctly on it. Friends, those who take up, uphold, recite, master, and focus their attention correctly on this perfection of wisdom will not interrupt the ways of the buddhas, they will not interrupt the ways of the Dharma, and they will not interrupt the ways of the saṅgha. Friends, when the ways of the Three Precious Jewels are not interrupted, all the perfections will appear in the world. The emptiness of internal phenomena, [the other aspects of emptiness], up to and including the emptiness of the essential nature of nonentities, the applications of mindfulness, the correct exertions, the supports for miraculous ability, the faculties, the powers, the branches of enlightenment, the noble eightfold path, the truths of the noble ones, the meditative concentrations, the immeasurable attitudes, the formless absorptions, the aspects of liberation, the serial steps of meditative absorption, the gateways to liberation—emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness—the extrasensory powers, the meditative stabilities, the dhāraṇī gateways, the powers of the tathāgatas, the fearlessnesses, the kinds of exact knowledge, great loving kindness, great compassion, the distinct qualities of the buddhas, the conduct of the bodhisattvas, the fruit of entering the stream to nirvāṇa, the fruit of being destined for only one more rebirth, the fruit of no longer being subject to rebirth, arhatship, individual enlightenment, and unsurpassed, complete enlightenment will appear in the world.”

Then the Blessed One said to Śakra, mighty lord of the gods, “Kauśika, you should take up this perfection of wisdom. Uphold it! Recite it! Master it! Kauśika, you should focus your attention correctly on this perfection of wisdom! If you ask why, Kauśika, whenever the asuras think they should fight with the gods of the Trayastriṃśa realm and breach their frontier, at that time, Kauśika, you should contemplate this perfection of wisdom, chant it, and focus your attention correctly on it. Thereby those intentions of the asuras will again fade away and their [bellicose] mindsets will be assuaged, and will not flourish.

“Whenever the gods and goddesses are about to die and transmigrate, even when they see that they will be reborn in the lower realms, you, Kauśika, should chant this perfection of wisdom in their presence and they will 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 devotion to the perfection of wisdom. If you ask why, Kauśika, it is advantageous to hear this perfection of wisdom in that manner. Whichever noble sons or noble daughters hear this perfection of wisdom, they will all through this root of virtue finally attain consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment. If you ask why, Kauśika, it is because however many tathāgatas, arhats, completely awakened 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, completely awakened buddhas of the future there will be, along with their communities of śrāvakas, they will all attain consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, having trained in this perfection of wisdom. However many tathāgatas, arhats, completely awakened buddhas are alive at present, residing in the world systems of the ten directions, along with their communities of śrāvakas, they all attain consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, having trained in this perfection of wisdom. If you ask why, Kauśika, it is because all the factors conducive to enlightenment are gathered within this perfection of wisdom, whether they are those of the śrāvakas, those of the pratyekabuddhas, those of the bodhisattvas, or those of the buddhas.”

Śakra then said, “Blessed Lord, this perfection of wisdom is the great knowledge. Blessed Lord, this perfection of wisdom is the unsurpassed knowledge. Blessed Lord, this perfection of wisdom is the knowledge that is equal to the unequaled. If one were to ask why, Blessed Lord, it is because the perfection of wisdom abandons all nonvirtuous attributes and attains all virtuous attributes.”

“Kauśika, it is so! It is so!” replied the Blessed One. “Kauśika, this perfection of wisdom is the great knowledge. Kauśika, this perfection of wisdom is the unsurpassed knowledge. Kauśika, this perfection of wisdom is the knowledge that is equal to the unequaled. If you ask why, Kauśika, it is because however many tathāgatas, arhats, completely awakened buddhas of the past and the future there were and will be, and however many are alive at the present, residing in the world systems of the ten directions, relying on this same knowledge they all attained consummate buddhahood, will attain consummate buddhahood, and are attaining consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment. If you ask why, Kauśika, when this knowledge is present, the paths of the ten virtuous actions will be discerned in the world. The four meditative concentrations, the four immeasurable attitudes, the four formless absorptions, and the five extrasensory powers will be discerned in the world. All the perfections, all the aspects of emptiness, the applications of mindfulness, the correct exertions, the supports for miraculous ability, the faculties, the powers, the branches of enlightenment, the noble eightfold path, the truths of the noble ones, the meditative concentrations, the immeasurable attitudes, the formless absorptions, the aspects of liberation, the serial steps of meditative absorption, the gateways to liberation—emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness—the extrasensory powers, the meditative stabilities, the dhāraṇī gateways, the powers of the tathāgatas, the fearlessnesses, the kinds of exact knowledge, great loving kindness, great compassion, and the distinct qualities of the buddhas will be discerned in the world. The realm of phenomena will be discerned in the world. The very limit of reality, the real nature, the unmistaken real nature, the one and only real nature, reality, the abiding nature of reality, and maturity with respect to all phenomena will be discerned in the world. The five eyes will be discerned in the world. The fruit of entering the stream to nirvāṇa will be discerned in the world. The fruit of being destined for only one more rebirth, the fruit of no longer being subject to rebirth, arhatship, and individual enlightenment will be discerned in the world. Knowledge of all the dharmas will be discerned in the world. Knowledge of the path and all-aspect omniscience will be discerned in the world.

“Kauśika, when bodhisattva great beings are present, the paths of the ten virtuous actions will be discerned in the world. [All the other attributes, fruits, and realizations], up to and including all-aspect omniscience, will be discerned in the world. Those entering the stream to nirvāṇa will be discerned in the world. Those destined for only one more rebirth, those no longer subject to rebirth, those who are arhats, and those who are pratyekabuddhas will be discerned in the world. Those who are tathāgatas, arhats, completely awakened buddhas will be discerned in the world.

“Kauśika, just as when the orb of the moon is present, herbs, constellations, and all the stars are discerned in the world, in the same way, Kauśika, when the orb of bodhisattvas is present, all the herbs of virtuous conduct, genuine conduct, the paths of the ten virtuous actions, all the perfections, all the aspects of emptiness, the applications of mindfulness, the correct exertions, the supports for miraculous ability, the faculties, the powers, the branches of enlightenment, the path, the truths of the noble ones, the meditative concentrations, the immeasurable attitudes, the formless absorptions, the eight aspects of liberation, the nine serial steps of meditative absorption, the gateways to liberation—emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness—the extrasensory powers, the meditative stabilities, the dhāraṇī gateways, the ten powers of the tathāgatas, the four fearlessnesses, the kinds of exact knowledge and the distinct qualities of the buddhas will be discerned. All the constellations and stars of learning, no-more-learning, the śrāvakas, and the pratyekabuddhas will also be discerned. And the tathāgatas, arhats, completely awakened buddhas will also be discerned in the world.

“Even at times when the lord buddhas do not appear in the world, bodhisattva great beings reveal the mundane and supramundane doctrines to beings. If you ask why, the vehicle of the śrāvakas, the vehicle of the pratyekabuddhas, and the Great Vehicle have originated from bodhisattvas. Bodhisattva great beings who are skilled in means practice the six perfections; practice all the aspects of emptiness; practice the thirty-seven factors conducive to enlightenment; practice the truths of the noble ones, the meditative concentrations, the immeasurable attitudes, the formless absorptions, the eight aspects of liberation, the nine serial steps of meditative absorption, and the three gateways to liberation; and they practice the six extrasensory powers, the ten powers [of the tathāgatas], the four fearlessnesses, the four kinds of exact knowledge, and the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas. They do not lapse into the level of the śrāvakas and they do not actualize the level of the pratyekabuddhas. They bring beings to maturation and they refine the buddhafields. They also bring about the perfect fulfillment of long life, they bring about the perfect fulfillment of beings, they bring about the perfect fulfillment of the buddhafields, they bring about the perfect fulfillment of the bodhisattvas, and they attain all-aspect omniscience. One should know that this skill in means has originated from the perfection of wisdom.

“Moreover, Kauśika, noble sons or noble daughters who take up, uphold, recite, master, and focus their attention correctly on this perfection of wisdom will possess these attributes that pertain to the present life and those that pertain to other lives.”

Śakra then asked, “Blessed Lord, what are the attributes pertaining to the present life that will be possessed by noble sons or noble daughters who take up, uphold, recite, master, and focus their attention correctly on this perfection of wisdom?”

“Kauśika,” replied the Blessed One, “the noble sons or noble daughters who take up, uphold, recite, master, and focus their attention correctly on this perfection of wisdom, other than dying due to the maturation of past actions, will not die due to poisoning, they will not die due to weapons, they will not die due to fire, and they will not die due to water. They will not die due to other causes, up to and including the one hundred and one diseases. In contrast to the afflictions that might be imposed upon them by kings and superiors, if the noble sons or noble daughters go to the royal palace, chanting this perfection of wisdom, those who seek to inflict harm upon them will have no opportunity to do so. Even the king’s son and the king’s chief minister will greet them, thinking they should be greeted and thinking they should be pleased. If you ask why, it is because they think in that manner through the brilliance and power of this very perfection of wisdom. If any noble sons or noble daughters should go to the royal palace, chanting this same perfection of wisdom, even the king’s son or the king’s chief minister would greet them with pleasing words, thinking they should be greeted, and thinking they should be pleased. If you ask why, Kauśika, it is because those noble sons or noble daughters have established thoughts of loving kindness toward all beings, and they have established thoughts of compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity toward them. Kauśika, any noble sons or noble daughters who take up, uphold, recite, master, and focus their attention correctly on this perfection of wisdom will possess those attributes pertaining to this life.

“Kauśika, if you ask what are the attributes they will possess pertaining to other lives, they are as follows: They will never be separated from the paths 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 thirty-seven factors conducive to enlightenment, the truths of the noble ones, the meditative concentrations, the immeasurable attitudes, the formless absorptions, the aspects of liberation, the serial steps of meditative absorption, the three gateways to liberation, the extrasensory powers, the meditative stabilities, the dhāraṇī gateways, the powers of the tathāgatas, the fearlessnesses, the kinds of exact knowledge, or the distinct qualities of the buddhas. Except through the power of their aspiration to bring beings to maturity, they will never [involuntarily] be reborn in the hells, in the animal realm, or in the world of Yama, and they will never be born crippled. They will never be born in an impoverished family, and they will never be reborn in the caste of reed-makers; the castes of garbage collectors, blacksmiths, sweepers, butchers, or pig slayers; or other castes of inferior class. They will always and without interruption be reborn with the thirty-two major marks of a great person. They will be reborn miraculously in those world systems where the lord buddhas are alive and residing at present. They will never be separated from the extrasensory powers of the bodhisattvas. At will they may travel from buddhafield to buddhafield in order to see the lord buddhas, pay homage to them, venerate them, and listen to their Dharmas. Journeying from buddhafield to buddhafield, they will bring beings to maturity and they will even refine the buddhafields.

“Kauśika, so it is that those noble sons or noble daughters who excellently seek these attributes should take up, uphold, recite, master, and focus their attention correctly on this perfection of wisdom. They should not be separated from the mind set on all-aspect omniscience. Until they attain consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, they will possess those attributes pertaining to this life and those attributes pertaining to other lives.”