“Now, Śāriputra, what is the bodhisatvas’ perfection of vigor like, the perfection of vigor by means of which bodhisatvas, great beings, practice the way of the bodhisatva and that makes bodhisatvas, great beings, invulnerable to attacks by Māra and his retinue, the gods, and all other opponents?

“Śāriputra, the vigor of the bodhisatva, the great being, is unyielding and involves no concern for his body or his life. When he has cultivated this powerful vigor, he will seek out the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva. He will study it conscientiously, learn it, memorize it, recite it, absorb it, clarify it for others, teach it in great detail, commit it to writing, and preserve it.

“In what sense does he not have any concern for his body or his life? Śāriputra, even if he is threatened, the bodhisatva will continue his studies of these teachings. He will continue to memorize them, recite them, and absorb them, clarify them for others, teach them in great detail, commit them to writing, and preserve them. He will continue in these pursuits with diligence, even if someone says to him, ‘We are going to ravage your body with a hundred arrows, swords, and spears and rob you of your life.’ Even then, the bodhisatva will not become afraid, alarmed, frightened, or intimidated at all but will bring forth firm vigor, and with strong conviction, he will never damage, sabotage, or abandon the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva. His resolve is firm. His patience is firm. His vigor is firm.

“I will give you an example, Śāriputra, to help you understand the firmness of his patience and the firmness of his vigor. So firm is his patience, so firm is his vigor, that the bodhisatva has no concern for his body or his life. Śāriputra, no matter how many sentient beings there may be in the threefold thousand great thousand worlds—those born from an egg, those born from a womb, those born from moisture, those born spontaneously, those with form, those without form, those with perception, those without perception, those with neither perception nor nonperception, the visible and the invisible—however many sentient beings there may be, imagine that they all at some moment, at some point, at some time, sooner or later, were to attain a human existence. Imagine then that, having obtained a human form, they all became his enemies, carrying sharp swords, and saying to him, ‘We will catch anyone who studies these texts with diligence, who memorizes them, recites them, clarifies them to others, and teaches them in great detail. When we catch him, we will take his life.’ Even then, Śāriputra, the bodhisatva would not be afraid even for a moment but would continue to uphold the true teachings [MS.85.b] and pursue the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva.

“Śāriputra, it is said that the bodhisatva’s vigor is unyielding, that the power of his vigor is unending, that he is a hero of vigor, a hero of commitment, a hero of morality, a hero of patience, a hero of concentration, a hero of wisdom. It is said that his knowledge of excellent conduct is like that of a hero. Śāriputra, when the bodhisatva is faced with hostile enemies carrying sharp weapons, he will not entertain the idea of retaliating, even for an instant. Therefore, Śāriputra, it is said that the bodhisatva is like Brahmā, like Indra, like Mount Meru. He has unyielding compassion and maintains his loving resolve to assist all sentient beings according to their needs. He has an unyielding sphere of influence and a mind that is like the earth, a mind that is like water, a mind that is like fire, a mind that is like the wind, a mind that is like space. He has succeeded in removing the evils of attachment, aversion, and confusion.

“Śāriputra, take a bodhisatva, a great being, who fills as many worlds as there are grains of sand in the river Ganges with the seven precious substances and offers this to the tathāgatas, the arhats, the fully accomplished buddhas. Contrast that with a bodhisatva, a great being, who listens to the cycle of teachings contained within The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva and is filled with one-pointed determination, thinking, ‘I must train according to these teachings.’ Even if he does not undertake this training, Śāriputra, the bodhisatva who wishes to undertake it gathers much more merit because of this wish than the one who makes the kind of offering I have described. Why is this? It is because, Śāriputra, this is what ensures the attainment of unsurpassed perfect awakening. Therefore, Śāriputra, the bodhisatva, the great being, vigorously pursues the study, memorization, writing, recitation, preservation, and elucidation of the cycle of teachings contained within The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva.

“Śāriputra, having embarked on the path of vigor, the bodhisatva journeys on a voyage that is a non-voyage. What is the voyage that is a non-voyage? It is nirvāṇa. The evils of Māra cannot journey there, and that is why it is called the voyage that is a non-voyage. Those who journey there are those who have perseverance, good men, buddhas, pratyekabuddhas, and śrāvakas. Why is this? It is because it is proper engagement with the path of vigorous conduct that makes one an honorable man, a buddha.

“Sentient beings take three courses. What are these three courses? They are a slope that leads toward the lower realms of existence, a hill that leads toward the lower realms of existence, or an abyss that opens into the lower realms of existence. This is the case for anyone who lives in a corrupt way. The only way to avoid these three courses is morality, patience, and learning. Oh, how lost they are, these sentient beings who go about their business thinking, ‘I’! Oh, how lazy they are, these sentient beings who vigorously pursue things thinking, ‘I’! The learned ones, Śāriputra, the bodhisatvas, do not make friends with or rely upon lazy sentient beings who are engaged in useless business. Instead, they will rely upon bodhisatvas who vigorously pursue an appropriate path of conduct. Why do they do this? Śāriputra, there is no nirvāṇa that is higher than the final nirvāṇa of a buddha. Śāriputra, the bodhisatva who has the motivation to become purified and who vigorously pursues this does not do so only to attain peace for himself, but he works with vigor for the benefit and happiness of all sentient beings. In order to be able to do this, he gains understanding, teaches them, encourages them, inspires them, and helps them onto the noble path. This is the kind of honorable man we call a bodhisatva.”

The Lord then spoke these verses:

“With unrestrained vigor, He always follows the sublime. The learned always uphold The collected teachings on the bodhisatvas.

“The meaning of these teachings Is something the intellect cannot fathom. [MS.86.a] Those who search for purification Are called bodhisatvas.

“They exert themselves in great wisdom, Taking their seat beneath the tree of excellence, And so, through the application of vigor and wisdom, They scare away the evil māras.

“They all teach morality From the perspective of worldly convention. For the benefit of all sentient beings, They never let their vigor wane.

“Śāriputra, there will be a time, an occasion, after both you and I have passed away, five hundred years into the future, when this sūtra will delight and inspire a great many people. It will bring them wisdom, and it will bring them merit. It will bring them an abundance of possessions, it will lead them to heaven, and it will bring them all kinds of prosperity. It will bring them the powers, the four kinds of confidence, the analytical abilities, the great love, the great compassion, the great empathetic joy, the great equanimity, and the unique buddha qualities of a tathāgata. In short, it will bring them the teachings of the Buddha. It will chase off māras. It will purify their minds. It will put an end to birth. It will put an end to suffering. It will bring them closer to nirvāṇa. When this time comes, they will forsake the world, they will be without desires, and they will practice renunciation.

“Śāriputra, the sentient beings who will appear at that time will apply themselves; they will make an effort, they will strive. They will be interested in supreme, perfect, complete awakening. They will be interested in morality, in learning, in meditative concentration, in wisdom, in liberation, and in insight into the knowledge of liberation. They will be interested in the teachings of the Buddha. They will be interested in bringing benefit and happiness to all sentient beings. They will be unimpressed with wrong views. They will be interested in cultivating right views. They will want to relinquish cyclic existence. They will be interested in cultivating the noble path. They will want to teach the Dharma. They will want to rout the māras. They will want to quench desire. They will want to pacify anger. They will want to crush confusion. They will want to crush ignorance. They will wish to give rise to understanding. Śāriputra, having heard this type of teaching, they will apply themselves with vigor because they desire the qualities associated with the roots of virtue.

“As they have heard these kinds of teachings, There will be no obstacles To any of the Buddha’s qualities— Of this I have no doubt.

“Śāriputra, the sentient beings who will appear at that time will be strongly supported by the power of their merit, and they will set out toward unsurpassed perfect awakening with the utmost resolve. They will listen to sūtras like this one, and when they hear them they will be greatly delighted and inspired. They will absorb this cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva to an exemplary degree. Because of their diligence, they will come to master it.

“Those who practice the Dharma by listening to the instructions of the Tathāgata will not be swayed by any kinds of circumstances, by any kinds of experiences, as they listen. When they have heard the instructions of the Tathāgata they will be greatly delighted and inspired, and because of their delight and inspiration, their vigor will grow stronger. However, they will receive only a small fraction of this jewel of the Dharma that is The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva.

“Śāriputra, say that, for example, various different kinds of ripe fruit that looked, smelled, and tasted delicious were carried around on the great ocean. A certain person, who had developed exceptional vigor and courage, might then plunge into the great ocean, struggling with arms and legs to get hold of a piece of fruit, or two or three pieces of fruit, from the great ocean, [MS.86.b] and then come out of the great ocean again. He might settle down and enjoy the fruit, comparing the taste of the fruit to the taste of fruit that he has had in the past. He might think to himself, ‘I have never had fruit this good, this sweet smelling, or this tasty before. Perhaps, if I apply myself with even greater vigor, working diligently with my arms and legs, I will be able to get more fruit like this.’ If he then goes and searches the great ocean again but does not find any more fruit, he will be upset and disappointed, and he will complain, ‘This fruit was ripe and had many good qualities. It looked, smelled, and tasted delicious. It is such a pity that I was not able to get hold of any more of this fruit.’

“In the same way, Śāriputra, in a future time, on a future occasion, in five hundred years time, at the time of the disappearance of the true Dharma, there will be little faith, little renunciation, little wisdom, and little vigor. Even though some people might hear a precious sūtra like this in a discourse and grasp a little bit of what they hear, even just one four-line verse, they will still be terrorized by the evil Māra. There will not be many who have respect for the true Dharma. There will not be many who worship it. There will not be many who praise it. If it is not respected, worshiped, and praised, it will be lost to oblivion. Those who do study it and understand it will be very few and far between. There will be few who will dwell in solitude in order to investigate their minds, to meditate. Those who do so will not be filled with joy but will constantly complain, ‘Oh, what a pity! The excellent instructions of the Tathāgata are fading, and I will not be able to hear any more of them. I will not be able to study any more of them.’ This is how they will remember the tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished Buddha for some time.

“Moreover, Śāriputra, at that time there will be mendicants who will be under the sway of Māra, and who, when they hear this discourse, will publicly contest its authenticity, saying that this discourse is not the word of the Buddha. Śāriputra, at that time there will even be mendicants who will not want to hear anything of it.”

The Lord then spoke these verses:

“As they have heard these kinds of teachings, There will be no obstacles To any of the Buddha’s teachings— Of this I have no doubt.

“There will be those who have little merit Who will not listen to something like this. There will be those who have little merit Who will not develop faith in it when they hear it.

“There will be those who possess merit Who will hear it and preserve it with faith.

“There will be those who have little merit Who will claim that it is not the Teaching. They will go to the lower realms of existence [MS.87.a] And will be like blind people crawling on the ground.

“Those who have merit Will hear it and be overjoyed. They will go to pleasurable states of existence, Which are like the essence of clarified butter.

“There will be those who have little merit Who will become depressed when they hear it. They will suffer for a long time, And, being ignorant, they will not be liberated.

“There will be a few who will be Terrorized by māras when they hear it. They will abandon the awakening of the Buddha; They soon end up in hell.

“Śāriputra, the knowledge of the Tathāgata is completely pure. Śāriputra, the Tathāgata knows of everyone who will hear sūtras like this one at the time of the disappearance of the Dharma of the buddhas. He knows whether they will belong to one of the four assemblies, whether they will be a monk, a nun, a layman, or a laywoman. He knows who will practice it and gain a good grasp of it when they hear it, and who will disregard it and want to hear nothing of it. Those who practice it and gain a good grasp of it when they hear it will gain four things that will free them from obstructions and purify them. What are these four things? They will gain morality, which will free them from obstructions and purify them. They will gain freedom and riches and the opportunities these things bring, which will free them from obstructions and purify them. They will gain the opportunity to meet and listen to a buddha, and this will free them from obstructions and purify them. They will see the Buddha Maitreya, and when they see him they will be freed from obstructions and be purified. Śāriputra, these are the four things they will gain that will free them from obstructions and purify them. They will each experience these things in accordance with the roots of virtue that they have planted.

“Also, Śāriputra, at that time of the disappearance of the true Dharma there will be followers of the Mahāyāna who will apply themselves to sūtras like this one. They will exert themselves with great vigor, and they will learn them, memorize them, recite them, absorb them, explain them, clarify them to others, and teach them in great detail. They will, though, encounter ten obstacles, and because of these obstacles, they will not be influenced by the understanding of the learned ones, even though this understanding will be available to them, and even if they apply themselves with vigor. What are these ten obstacles that will mean that the understanding of learned ones will not have any effect, even when it is available?

“Śāriputra, the mendicants will be interested in studying the sūtras, but the evil Māra will destroy the words. This is the first obstacle that will mean that the understanding of the learned ones will not have any effect.

“Furthermore, Śāriputra, the mendicants will be interested in studying the sūtras, but their eyesight will become impaired. This is the second obstacle that will mean that the understanding of the learned ones will not have any effect.

“Furthermore, Śāriputra, the mendicants will be interested in studying the sūtras, but they will have some sort of physical disability. This is the third obstacle that will mean that the understanding of the learned ones will not have any effect.

“Furthermore, Śāriputra, the mendicants will be interested in studying the sūtras, but they will not be satisfied with the place where they are staying, and they will want to move. This is the fourth obstacle that will mean that the understanding of the learned ones will not have any effect.

“Furthermore, Śāriputra, the mendicants will be interested in studying the sūtras, but they will be angry with one another, and because they are overcome by anger, there will be animosity among them, and they will not remain loyal to sūtras like this one. This is the fifth obstacle that will mean that the understanding of the learned ones will not have any effect.

“Furthermore, Śāriputra, the mendicants will be interested in studying the sūtras, but they will engage in disputes, they will quarrel, they will make accusations against one another, and they will attack one another with animosity, trying to hurt one another with hundreds of different verbal weapons. [MS.87.b] These disputes, quarrels, and accusations, this animosity, and these attempts to attack and hurt one another with hundreds of different verbal weapons will create obstacles for them. Because they end up in conflict with one another in these ways, they will be eager that these sorts of teachings not be propagated. This is the sixth obstacle that will mean that the understanding of the learned ones will not have any effect.

“Furthermore, Śāriputra, the mendicants will be interested in studying the sūtras, but the evil Māra will appear to the householders and the renunciants, and when the evil Māra appears, they will not apply themselves to sūtras like this one but will reject them and eagerly engage in conflict. This is the seventh obstacle that will mean that the understanding of the learned ones will not have any effect.

“Furthermore, Śāriputra, at that time, on that occasion, at the time of the destruction of the true Dharma, there will be young and inexperienced mendicants who will apply themselves to sūtras like this one and to the discipline of the Dharma. They will have conviction, faith, and a firm resolve to advance toward unsurpassed perfect awakening. They will listen to sūtras like this one, and when they hear them, they will be thrilled and exhilarated. Their preceptors, however, will create obstacles to the beneficial Dharma, claiming that ‘This is not the word of the Buddha. This does not represent the awakening of the Buddha. This is not the discipline. These are not the instructions of the Teacher.’ The mendicants will believe these claims and think, ‘What we profess as the truth is what is genuine.’ If they believe this, they will be disregarding the awakening of the Buddha, and these new mendicants will then completely destroy their previous virtue and cut themselves off from it. If they cut off their roots of virtue in this way, evil māras will dominate their practice, and they will act in ways that will lead them to become cut off from Dharma. When they die, they will experience a violent death. They will meet with a horrible death. They will act in ways that will lead them to end up in hell. Śāriputra, the Tathāgata knows these sentient beings. He knows those sentient beings who will come to reject sūtras like this one. He knows each and every sentient being who will reject them—those who will reject them on arrival and those who will reject it when they leave. The Tathāgata knows them all.

“Then, Śāriputra, those followers of the Mahāyāna, those bodhisatvas, who apply themselves with vigor will cultivate four kinds of intention. What are these four kinds of intention? They will cultivate the intention to tame themselves. They will cultivate the intention to reflect on how they themselves act and not how others act. They will have compassion for other sentient beings. They will remain in isolated forest monasteries, guarding their own minds and guarding the minds of others. These are the four kinds of intention they will cultivate.

“Moreover, Śāriputra, at that time there will be many beings who will hold wrong views. There will only be a few mendicants who will teach the Dharma, and they will be reviled. They will not be honored, venerated, respected, worshiped, relied upon, revered, or served. At that time, too, there will be many who will rely upon those who teach non-Dharma. They will be honored, venerated, respected, worshiped, and smiled at, and they will be very powerful. Sūtras like this will be ridiculed and reviled. Śāriputra, those who are not attracted to them will continue to not be attracted to them. Those who are attracted to them will continue to be attracted to them. There will be those [MS.88.a] who will have access to sūtras like this one, but they will not teach them to large gatherings of people. This is the eighth obstacle that will mean that the understanding of the learned ones will not have any effect.

“Furthermore, Śāriputra, at that time the mendicants will be overwhelmed by desire, and they will act very deceitfully. They will strive to obtain three things. What three things will they strive to obtain? They will strive to obtain bowls and robes, they will strive greedily to obtain food and drink, and they will strive to follow the materialists. This is the ninth obstacle that will mean that the understanding of the learned ones will not have any effect.

“Furthermore, Śāriputra, at that time, on that occasion, there will be followers of the Mahāyāna who will apply themselves to sūtras like this one. They will exert themselves with great vigor, and they will memorize them, write them down, preserve them, recite them, absorb them, clarify them to others, and teach them in great detail. But they will be under the influence of Māra, and they will be restricted by the restraints of their previous actions. They will be restricted by the restraints of the vices. They will be fond of activities. They will delight in activities and will engage in pleasant activities with enthusiasm. They will be fond of talking. They will delight in talking and engage in pleasant talk with enthusiasm. They will be fond of sleeping. They will delight in sleeping and engage in pleasant sleep with enthusiasm. They will be fond of associating with others. They will delight in associating with others and will associate with others with enthusiasm. Because of this, they will not study sūtras like this one. They will not memorize them, recite them, absorb them, clarify them to others, or teach them in great detail to others. Śāriputra, there is nobody who will do more to bring about the disappearance of the instructions of the Tathāgata, or who will do more damage to the instructions of the Tathāgata, than these wicked mendicants. This, Śāriputra, is the tenth obstacle that will occur at that time.

“Śāriputra, even though learned ones will possess understanding, it will not have any effect.”

The Lord then spoke these verses:

“They will encounter many obstacles Caused by māras. They will abandon beneficial practices And have no interest in a life of seclusion.

“They will have little wisdom and poor understanding. They will not follow the true Dharma. They will act in non-Dharmic ways And end up in lower states of existence.

“When the time of death arrives And protection and refuge is provided By gurus, preceptors, and teachers, They will go to the lower states of existence all the same.

“For a billion eons their conduct has brought only suffering, As they have only had worldly goals. Oh, how will I be able to rescue sentient beings Who are burned by the three fires?

“When I have attained supreme awakening And set the holy wheel in motion, None in the world will be my equal, Not even the gods, and certainly none will be superior.

“The kind of complete equanimity I have attained Is exceptionally rare in this world. Those who rely on other things Will experience a great deal of suffering.

“They will not be able to obtain this gift That provides a path to awakening. Even if they cling to the instructions of the Buddha, They will stray from the path in confusion.

“When they hear this kind of Dharma That praises emptiness, They will do their best to build on it as an established truth, But this will only create obstacles.

“They will say, ‘This is the best. This is the truth,’ But they will believe that what is false is true. Nothing will stop them from Reviling the true Dharma.

“Those who will appreciate the Buddha And whose respect for him is solid Will rejoice when they hear this kind of Dharma. They are the fortunate ones.

“When he discovers that they are rejoicing, Māra will become upset, And he will create obstacles To terrify them.

“Taking on the guise of a mendicant, He will create uncertainty: ‘What are you running around like this for? This is not the path to awakening.’

“These sūtras genuinely provide A solid foundation for what is most important. [MS.88.b] When they create this discord, It will then be lost.

“Under the influence of Māra, They will stick to what is pleasurable. They will not speak in accordance with the Dharma, And they will abandon nirvāṇa.

“They will leave their teacher And lose interest in the Dharma. Indulging in selfish desires, They will quickly end up in hell.

“They will become small minded And have no interest in the teachings on emptiness. Wherever they may dwell, They spread their inconsistencies.

“Although this Dharma is excellent, They will criticize it when they hear it. They will be scared by it, frightened by it, and they will flee. This is what will happen in the future.

“There will be no one to teach, But there will be no shortage of others. The few who will be capable of teaching Will be indifferent to doing so.

“The obstacles to this kind of Dharma, The obstacles to the instructions Of the protector of the world, will be many. They will spread like wildfire.

“The gentle ones who abandon concern for this life And go to live in the wilderness, Where they cultivate these teachings, Will swiftly reach the state of happiness.

“Śāriputra, when the followers of the Mahāyāna see this kind of dreadful, awful destruction of the true Dharma, they will experience a great rush of vigor and strength: ‘I will do my best to properly study this sūtra, the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva, to memorize it, commit it to writing, preserve it, elucidate it for others, and teach it in great detail.’

“This vigor will come in the form of four thoughts. What are these four thoughts? ‘Our precious family inheritance is being destroyed. The Lord Śākyamuni, the tathāgata, the arhat, the fully accomplished Buddha, persevered in his arduous practice for uncountable hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of eons. This precious inheritance is being destroyed, so we need to maintain it, preserve it, and not let it be lost. We must apply ourselves to this task with great vigor.’

“Śāriputra, take the example of a man who has only one son, a kind, gentle, pleasant son with no undesirable traits. Imagine that this man’s son is about to fall into an abyss, and so he grabs him and holds on to him in order to keep him safe, as if it were the abyss of hell he was about to fall into. In the same way, Śāriputra, good men who have faith in me, who have not given up the incomparable jewel of the Dharma, and who wish to reach nirvāṇa should uphold the true Dharma at that time, thinking, ‘I will lead others to supreme awakening.’

“Śāriputra, take the example of a great battle. A few people will be sent to face the army to protect the population as a whole. These few, Śāriputra, will be capable, seasoned fighters who will be able to win the battle. When the dreadful battle commences, they will stand and face the opposing army to protect the population as a whole. In the same way, Śāriputra, when the time of the destruction of the true Dharma is upon them, there will be those whose intentions are noble, heroes whose vigor will be firm and who will be intent on nirvāṇa, who will don the armor of firmness. With great vigor and strength, they will be victorious over the forces of Māra. They will preserve the very essence of this kind of precious teaching.

“How will they do this? Śāriputra, he will not be pleased if even a single four-line verse is treated carelessly, and he will object to this careless treatment. He will explain that ‘These are the authentic words of the Buddha’ and try to get people to understand. He takes delight in the eloquent words of the lords, the buddhas, of the past, the future, and the present.

“Śāriputra, I am not talking about the kind of people in whom little merit has matured. The people I am talking about will have a great deal of merit, as vast as the sky. Why is this? Śāriputra, honorable men like this are very hard to come by. I call them excellent men. [MS.89.a] I call them supreme men. I call them heroic men. I call them great men. They practice the Dharma of the Tathāgata. They do not take sides and do not cause fights. They apply themselves at the very core of their being. Śāriputra, they will apply themselves at the very core of their being until they die. They will apply themselves to the preservation of the true Dharma until they die. They will apply themselves with confidence in emptiness until they die.

“Śāriputra, those who possess these four qualities will master the three times, placate the authorities, and work so that the awakening of the Buddha remains available, even at the penultimate time in the future, the time when the true Dharma is destroyed, the time when the true Dharma disappears, the time immoral practices become commonplace, the time when the mantras of the materialists become commonplace, the time of the age of degeneration, the time of degenerate sentient beings, the time of degenerate lifespans, the time of degenerate vices, the time of degenerate views. Śāriputra, they will master the three times.”

The Lord then spoke these verses:

“They do not lack the supreme Dharma. They have access to that which can undo aging and death. None among them are ever in doubt about what their goal is, And they are intent upon helping everyone.

“Those who hear this Dharma that I teach Do not only relate to it superficially. I am their instructor, And they are my hearers.

“However, those who only relate to this Dharma Superficially when they hear it Will go to the lower realms of existence, Like a cart rolling into the ocean.

“Even in the course of a billion eons It is incredibly difficult to meet a buddha, So if they displease a buddha when they meet him They must certainly be under the sway of māras.

“A long time ago, Śāriputra, ninety-one eons in the past, there was a time, an occasion, when a tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished buddha by the name of Vipaśyin appeared in the world. He was perfect in wisdom and conduct, he was a sugata, a knower of the world, an unsurpassable guide for those who wished to train, and he was a teacher of gods and men, awakened, a lord.

“The story goes that there were six wicked mendicants named Sudarśana, Sulabha, Nandaka, Kalyāṇaka, Yaśa, and Agnidatta. They believed in the self, in the person, in annihilation, and in permanence. They joined forces, and they worked together to make the following plan: ‘We should each take responsibility for one hundred households, and we should argue our case in these one hundred households. We should each argue our case in twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, if not a full hundred households.’ They plotted in this way and then traveled to different villages, towns, cities, countries, kingdoms, and royal courts and visited individual households. In each household they visited, the first thing they would do was to make disparaging remarks about the Buddha. What sort of disparaging remarks did they make about the Buddha? When they entered the houses they would say, ‘A self exists. A being exists. A life force exists. A person exists. If there were no self, what would come [MS.89.b] and what would go? What would stand, what would sit, and what would lie down? What would speak, and what would be silent? What would give a gift, and who would receive it? What would eat? What would feel the sensations of happiness and suffering? Whoever has told you that there is no self, no being, no life force, and no person is not a suitable spiritual guide for you. He is not a spiritual friend.’ So, Śāriputra, women and men, boys and girls, would say, ‘Someone like this is not a spiritual friend. He is evil. An evil friend is not a spiritual friend. The people who have explained this to you are learned, and so you should believe them when they say that someone who is an evil friend is not a spiritual friend. Therefore, if someone tells you that there is no self, no being, no life force, and no person, do not rely on him, do not associate with him, and do not serve him.’ In this way, these mendicants each influenced five hundred households in the space of two weeks.

“Then, Śāriputra, there were mendicants and arhats of the Lord, the tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished Buddha Vipaśyin, who were free of any impurities or vices. These śrāvakas went to the households that had been influenced by the wicked mendicants. When they arrived there, the women and men, the boys and girls, insulted them and abused them with harsh and vulgar words. They spoke the following verse:

“ ‘This path of yours is foolish. You do not understand the Dharma. You have strayed from the Dharma, And you will all end up in hell.’

“The mendicants who had been abused in verse in this way then replied with verses in praise of the Buddha:

“ ‘The Dharma the Buddha teaches Is that all conditioned things are impermanent, That all phenomena are without a self, That they do not last, that they are transient.

“ ‘They are hollow, ephemeral, and empty. They always mislead the immature. All conditioned things are insubstantial. It is easy to be fooled by these deceptive phenomena.’

“The Dharma taught by the Tathāgata is that there is no self, no being, no life force, and no person. Those mendicants have spoken the following verse:

“ ‘Those who give, who enjoy, who receive, Who feel, and who have all kinds of experiences But claim that there is no self Will go to the lower states of existence.’

“When they died, Śāriputra, the women and men, boys and girls, who had been led astray by these wicked men were reborn in the great Incessant Hell for sixty-eight thousand lifetimes. They would be reborn in a particular kind of body, which was that of a fish. Their heads would have a particular form, which was that of a human being. Their tongue would have a particular form, which was, to take an example, that of a brewery filter made of cloth, and their tongues would be shredded by numerous plows made of iron. Their bodies would all be struck by a hundred weapons. A great many burning balls of iron would fall from the sky and incinerate them, engulf them, a single mass of fire as they hit their bodies.”

The Lord then spoke these verses:

“Hundreds and thousands Of burning arrows and tongues of lightning Will constantly rain down upon their bodies— This is what they will experience in hell.

“Their bodies will all be ablaze, In an intolerable inferno. [MS.90.a] For a full hundred eons Their bodies will burn.

“Their tongues will each Will be shredded by plows. As their tongues are mangled, They will experience nothing but pain.

“This is what will happen If one relies upon evil friends. If one rejects those who uphold morality, One will quickly end up in the lower realms of existence.

“Śāriputra, when these six wicked men died, they were reborn in the great Incessant Hell, and each took on a body a hundred yojanas in size. Their bodies each had a thousand mouths. There were two tongues in each of their mouths, each of which measured four yojanas. Five hundred plows appeared on each of their tongues. The plow blades were made of iron, and their tongues were shredded. They were not even able to cry ‘Haaaa….’ There were a billion henchmen of hell at each of their heads, torturing them with sharp blades. Each of the lives they had there lasted ten billion years. They underwent many other kinds of horrible experiences in the other great hells too. Why? It was because they spoke disparagingly about the teachings of the Buddha.

“Furthermore, at that time there was a householder by the name of Kṣema. He was wealthy, with great riches, a great many possessions, and much property. He had a great deal of money, gold, jewels, pearls, gems, shells, crystals, coral, silver, and precious metals. He had many male and female servants, workers, and laborers. He had storerooms filled with great wealth, treasure, and stocks of grain. He was a follower of the views of annihilation propounded by these wicked men. His wife’s name was Arcimati, and she was beautiful, delightful, and appealing and had a great many excellent qualities. She gave birth to a child who was beautiful, delightful, and appealing and had a great many excellent qualities. He possessed excellent roots of virtue that he had accumulated under many hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of buddhas. As soon as he was born, he laughed three times and said, ‘I have been born into a family of believers in annihilation!’ When she heard her son’s words the mother was frightened, shocked, and terrified. Her hair stood on end, and she put him down and ran away. The other women who were there with her fled as well. Then, Śāriputra, after a long time had passed, the women returned to look at the child, wondering what he could be—a god, a nāga, a yakṣa, a gandharva, an asura, a garuḍa, a kinnara, a mahoraga, a kumbhāṇḍa, a bhūta, a piśāca, a human being, or a nonhuman being?

“Śāriputra, the boy then thought, ‘Alas, these women are fleeing from ease,’ and he spoke these verses:

“ ‘I only wish you well. No harm will come to you. You need not be scared. I will liberate you From the wrong path you are following.

“ ‘It is Kṣema who you should fear, Like an enemy, not me. I will liberate you From falling into wrong views.’

“Then, Śāriputra, as the boy’s parents and the wider community heard about these verses that the boy had spoken, they went to where he was staying. The boy then spoke these verses to his parents:

“ ‘Take whatever stores of treasure and grain There are in this house And quickly make an offering to us— For we are śrāvakas of the Buddha. [MS.90.b]

“ ‘There is no one like him, The light of the world, Vipaśyin, In the sphere of all the three worlds— And we are his śrāvakas.

“ ‘The one who reveals the Dharma For the benefit of all who live Is the light of the world, Vipaśyin— And we are his śrāvakas.

“ ‘The one whose body is adorned With the thirty-two characteristics of a great being Is the light of the world, Vipaśyin— And we are his śrāvakas.

“ ‘It is incredibly rare to be able to hear him: It happens just once every ten billion eons, As rarely as the blossoming of the udumbara flower— And we are his śrāvakas.’

“Then, Śāriputra, the boy’s parents presented him with two hundred million gold coins, and said, ‘Son, this is the wealth of your parents. Please give it to the one whose mind is pure.’

“They then spoke these verses:

“ ‘This is the wealth of your mother, And this is the wealth of your father. Son, please make an offering of it To the one whose mind is pure.

“ ‘We have quickly brought you The treasure and gold That we had in the house— Please give it to the one whose mind is pure.

“ ‘With joy, we have brought you Our beds and our blankets, Our garlands, perfumes, and ointments— Please give it to the one whose mind is pure.

“ ‘The Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha Are unsurpassed fields of merit— Please make this offering to them For the benefit of all who live.’

“Then, Śāriputra, the boy spoke these verses to his parents:

“ ‘I will go to Vipaśyin, The protector of the world, And then I will make a great offering For the benefit of all who live.

“ ‘Let those who long for the happy state, Gods and humans alike, Join me on my journey. Come with me!’

“Then, Śāriputra, the boy looked thoughtfully in the four directions and said to his parents, ‘Father, mother, I am going to see the tathāgata, the arhat, the fully accomplished Buddha Vipaśyin.’

“When the crowd heard this they thought, ‘How can it be that this boy can speak to his parents, and that he is able to walk, on the same day he was born?’ The crowd of eighty-four thousand living beings that had gathered thought, ‘What kind of boy is this? A god, a nāga, a yakṣa, a gandharva, an asura, a garuḍa, a kinnara, a human being, or a nonhuman being?’

“The boy, together with these eighty-four thousand living beings, then went to the place where the tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished Buddha Vipaśyin was staying. On the way, the boy manifested ten thousand umbrellas in the sky in order to provide shade for his body, so that he would not be disturbed by the wind or the heat. Wherever the boy went, there would be a golden net suspended above him. Wherever the boy walked, a rain of flowers and perfume, surpassing even those of the divine realms, would fall about him. Wherever the boy walked, a cool breeze filled with divine scents would blow. Wherever the boy walked, perfumed water would be sprinkled on his path. Wherever the boy walked, golden tiles would cover his path. Wherever the boy walked, a knee-high carpet of divine flowers would be spread over his path. Wherever the boy walked, many thousands of ponds would appear, and in these ponds would be water that possesses eight qualities. [MS.91.a] They would be covered in blue, red, pink, and white lotuses, and the cries of wild geese would resound above. Wherever the boy walked, his path would be a platform covered by the seven precious substances. Wherever the boy walked, many thousands of instruments would be heard. Wherever the boy walked, his path would be ornamented by jewels to the left and right. Wherever the boy stepped, a row of flowers would appear for him to step on, and when he lifted his feet they would not leave any imprint.

“Then, after he had walked awhile, the boy looked up and spoke these verses:

“ ‘The consistent never accompany the inconsistent— My path is set apart; it is illustrious. You are inconsistent, I am consistent — I am seeking an audience with the consistent one, the Victorious One.

“ ‘On rare occasions one achieves a human existence, On rare occasions a buddha will appear, And on rare occasions one possesses faith and wisdom, But this only comes to pass once in a great many eons.’

“Śāriputra, the moment the boy had uttered these verses, eighty-four billion gods appeared in the sky and expressed their approval, saying:

“ ‘Excellent! Excellent! How incredibly wise! You speak with distinction And so these inconsistent people follow you. Lead them on as a true friend.’

“Śāriputra, the boy then offered this verse in reply to the gods:

“ ‘You speak of being consistent, And you speak of being inconsistent; But what does consistent mean, And what does inconsistent mean?’

“Then, Śāriputra, the gods replied to the boy with the following verses:

“ ‘For those who are stuck in the pleasures of the senses, There is no room for renunciation. They are inconsistent and confused. They are on the path to hell.

“ ‘Those who discard the pleasures of the senses And live the renunciant homeless life Are the consistent ones in this world. It is they who can be said to be consistent.’

“Śāriputra, the boy then replied to the gods with this verse:

“ ‘You do not have any understanding Of what the word consistent implies. I, however, understand Exactly what is meant by the word inconsistent.’

“So, Śāriputra, the boy went on his way to where the lord, the Tathāgata Vipaśyin, was staying. When he arrived there he honored him by placing his head at the Lord’s feet, circumambulating him three times, and then sitting to one side. He then sang the praises of the lord, the tathāgata Vipaśyin, with the following verses:

“ ‘Acting for the benefit of the world, Bestowing the nectar of the threefold knowledge, As great as an elephant, as great as a lion— May you always be worshiped.

“ ‘A light for the world such as him is hard to come by— A protector of the world, providing illumination, Just like an udumbara flower In his appearance and his excellent features.

“ ‘They put the world at risk Because they do not understand the noble path. Straying onto the wrong path, They are like blind people scrambling on the ground.

“ ‘May I become an awakened one in this world, Just like you, supreme one among men. I will free sentient beings from suffering, From the burning agony of the three fires.

“ ‘All these hundreds of living beings Have come here with me. Please illuminate the Dharma for them And spur them on toward supreme awakening.’ [MS.91.b]

“When he had spoken these verses, Śāriputra, the boy implored the Lord, the tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished Buddha Vipaśyin, to teach the Dharma. The eighty-four thousand beings who had accompanied him addressed the Lord, the tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished Buddha Vipaśyin, too, saying, ‘Lord, we, too, want to become tathāgatas in the future, arhats and fully accomplished buddhas who can teach the Dharma. We therefore hope that the Lord, the Tathāgata Vipaśyin, will teach us the Dharma.’ Then, when the Lord, the tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished Buddha Vipaśyin, saw the sincerity of these eighty-four thousand beings, he smiled.

“As is in the nature of the buddhas, the lords, when they smile, many-colored variegated light issued from his mouth. This light was blue, yellow, red, white, crimson, crystal, and silver, and it spread throughout the world, all the way up to the realm of the brahmā gods, outshining the light of the moon and sun. When it returned, it circled the Lord, the tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished Buddha Vipaśyin, many hundreds of thousands of times, and it then dissolved into the crown of the Lord’s head.

“Then, Śāriputra, the mendicant who was the attendant of the Lord, the Tathāgata Vipaśyin, saw that the Lord, the Tathāgata Vipaśyin, was smiling, and so he got up from his seat, placed his robe over his shoulder, knelt down on his right knee, and addressed the Lord, the Tathāgata Vipaśyin, with the following verses:

“ ‘If I may ask the Arhat, the supreme Buddha Vipaśyin, The graceful one, so difficult to encounter, What is the reason, O Protector of the World, for your smile? What is the cause, lord Sugata, of your smile?

“ ‘The one who is supreme among those who walk on two feet Does not smile without a cause, without a reason. Please tell me the reason why You smiled so lovingly, to help the world.

“ ‘There are hundreds of thousands of beings Present here in front of you, Great Sage. They are eager to hear, they wish to listen. Please speak, O Protector, out of empathy for them.

“ ‘The eyes of all beings are upon you. You are the refuge and ultimate sanctuary for those who need protection, You sever the doubts of all beings. You are a loving benefactor to the world.

“ ‘Your profound knowledge of the past is ever present. You have full knowledge of everything that is yet to come. You have no doubts about what is happening, Even about the smallest thing that occurs within this buddha field.

“ ‘The Tathāgata possesses knowledge of the three times. The speech of the Lord of the Dharma encompasses everything. Protector of the world, permit me to ask you, What is the cause of your smile? What is the reason for it?

“ ‘In this place you sever all doubts. You do not hesitate in any way when it comes to the Dharma. You eliminate the stings of pain for beings As your voice bestows that which is eightfold. [MS.92.a]

“ ‘In a state of joy, my mind elated, I ask you now, lord of the Dharma, As I bring my ten fingers together in a gesture of reverence, What is the cause of your smile? What is the reason for it?’

“Śāriputra, the Lord, the tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished Buddha Vipaśyin, then said this to his attendant mendicant, ‘Mendicant, do you see this boy?’

“ ‘I see him, Lord. I see him, Sugata,’ he replied.

“ ‘In the past, mendicant, this boy, seeking complete awakening, has honored, venerated, shown respect to, and made offerings of cloth, alms, bedding, healing medicine, and utensils to sixty-four thousand million billion trillion buddhas. Seeking complete awakening, this boy has lived the life of purity together with a trillion buddhas.

“ ‘Mendicant, do you see these eighty-four thousand beings?’

“ ‘I see them, Lord. I see them, Sugata,’ he replied.

“ ‘In the past, these eighty-four thousand beings were this boy’s parents, and, mendicant, this boy made this prayer: “May I establish those who become my parents, in any of the births I may take, in awakening. Likewise, may they not be born as female.” This was what motivated the boy to cultivate the mind of unsurpassed perfect awakening.’

“The lord, the Tathāgata Vipaśyin, spoke these verses to his attendant:

“ ‘Mendicant, do you see this boy in front of us And his following of thousands of beings, As he says with a joyful, elated mind, “I will become a lord of the Dharma”?

“ ‘Mendicant, in previous lives He performed sixty-four thousand million billion Acts of reverence to the guides of the world, For the benefit of the world with its gods.

“ ‘In the presence of ten billion buddhas, He became a renunciant, entered the discipline, And led the unsurpassed life of purity With the aspiration to attain supreme awakening.

“ ‘Do you see these eighty-four hundreds of thousands Of beings who are standing in front of me? They have all been his mothers Throughout the vast reaches of the past.

“ ‘He made this solemn aspiration: “May I establish all those who will be my mothers In lives to come, in supreme awakening, And may they never again be female.”

“ ‘With all these goals in mind, He turned toward the mind of awakening. I make this prophesy to you, That they will become unsurpassed among those who walk on two feet.

“ ‘This is the reason why I smile. I know what has happened in the past And what things will be like in the future. I know that they will become supreme among men.’

“When they heard this prophesy That Vipaśyin made openly, Billions of beings were overjoyed, Gods and nāgas as well as men. [MS.92.b]

“At this, Śāriputra, the boy was delighted and thrilled. His mind was transported with joy, and in this joyous and happy state he eagerly returned to his parents. When he arrived, he spoke this verse to them:

“ ‘All these hundreds of beings Who have been my mothers in the past Will be led to the state of awakening. What do you think of this?’

“Śāriputra, the boy’s parents then spoke these verses to him:

“ ‘I see things in the Same way as you do. I will become an omniscient one— There is no doubt in my mind about this.

“ ‘I make this request of you: That wherever you are born you will suckle at my breast. Then I will always bear in mind That I am to reach awakening.’

“Then, Śāriputra, the boy replied to his mother, who had given birth to him, with this verse:

“ ‘First they will become buddhas, Just as I have indicated. Then I will become a light for the world, A charioteer of men.’

“Śāriputra, there should be no doubt or uncertainty as to whether it was that boy and no other that the lord Vipaśyin was talking about at that time, on that occasion. There is no need to raise questions about this. Why should there be no doubt about this? The divine son Maheśvara witnessed the Lord, the tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished Buddha Vipaśyin, make these statements about the boy at that time, on that occasion. For a million billion eons he will not fall into the lower states of existence, and after a million billion eons have passed, he will be born into the family of a king of the entire world, and he will become a tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished buddha by the name of Kāruṇika. His father’s name will be Abhiyaśa, just as my father’s name was Śuddhodana. His mother’s name will be Vigatatamā, just as my mother’s name was Māyā. His son’s name will be Aśoka, just as my son’s name is Rāhula. He will leave everything behind and become an unsurpassed, fully accomplished buddha. When he has reached awakening, he will live for a hundred thousand million billion years. The radiance of his awakening will extend for over ten thousand yojanas, and his assembly will extend for a hundred yojanas. He will have three assemblies of śrāvakas: one of a billion śrāvakas, one of a hundred thousand trillion śrāvakas, and one of a hundred billion trillion śrāvakas. Ten million of them will be pure arhats who will have eliminated the defilements, who will be without vices, who will possess powers, who will dwell in the concentrations of the eight liberations, and who will possess the six superior abilities. Furthermore, Śāriputra, his saṅgha of bodhisatvas will be just as renowned as the arhats, who will have become part of the assembly belonging to the Three Jewels. As everyone has been his mother, he will teach the Dharma unfalteringly, benefitting uncountable innumerable sentient beings, and then pass into final nirvāṇa. After his final nirvāṇa, [MS.93.a] the true Dharma will remain for ten million years, and his ashes will be distributed far and wide, just as my ashes will be distributed far and wide after my final nirvāṇa.

“Śāriputra, honorable men should investigate, honorable men should observe, that it is through the unfailing, unyielding vigor of an honorable man that a bodhisatva, a great being, cultivates a mind filled with awareness. He applies himself with vigor to the attainment of unsurpassed perfect awakening to such a degree that he thinks, ‘We will wander in saṃsāra for more eons than can possibly be counted.’ He does not say, ‘We cannot wander in saṃsāra for that long,’ but instead, Śāriputra, he dons the armor of inconceivability and thinks to himself, ‘We will roam here until the very end of saṃsāra. We will not let our vigor falter, in order to attain awakening.’ His vigor is unfaltering and courageous.

“What is the bodhisatva’s unfaltering courageous vigor like? The bodhisatva’s unfaltering courageous vigor is such that if one imagines that the great thousand three-thousandfold worlds were filled with raging fires, he would happily plunge into them in order to be able to meet the tathāgatas, the arhats, the fully accomplished buddhas. The bodhisatva’s unfaltering courageous vigor is such that in order to be able to hear the true Dharma, he would happily plunge into fires that filled the three-thousandfold worlds. The bodhisatva’s unfaltering courageous vigor is such that for the purpose of cultivating roots of virtue, he would happily plunge into fires that filled the great thousand three-thousandfold worlds. This is what the bodhisatva’s unfaltering courageous vigor is like.

“Śāriputra, the bodhisatva’s unfaltering courageous vigor is also such that he is concerned for the welfare of others. Śāriputra, the bodhisatva’s unfaltering courageous vigor is also such that he courageously exerts himself in order to help others attain final nirvāṇa. Śāriputra, the bodhisatva’s unfaltering courageous vigor is also such that he does not relax, that he is stable, that he does not turn back, that his motivation is wholesome, and that he feels the sting of great compassion, so that he is constantly working to provide sentient beings with what they need. Śāriputra, the bodhisatva’s unfaltering courageous vigor is also such that he will never be parted from the mind of awakening, not even for a single step he takes. He will always be focused on the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha, and when he encounters sentient beings he will not let the vices take hold of him. Śāriputra, the bodhisatva’s unfaltering courageous vigor is also such that whenever any root of virtue appears in his mind he dedicates it to awakening, and in this way his roots of virtue become inexhaustible. Śāriputra, just as the rivers that run into the great ocean are never exhausted, virtue that is dedicated to awakening is never exhausted. This is what the bodhisatva’s unfaltering courageous vigor is like.

“Furthermore, Śāriputra, the bodhisatva who correctly applies himself with unfaltering courageous vigor accumulates roots of virtue. He accumulates roots of virtue that will enable him to attain mastery in the various different aspects of omniscience. This is what the bodhisatva’s unfaltering courageous vigor is like.

“Furthermore, Śāriputra, the bodhisatva trains himself in the following way. If one takes the entirety of the merit of all sentient beings, the entirety of the merit of all those who are in training and all those who require no more training, and the entirety of the merit of all pratyekabuddhas, this whole mass of merit, no matter how great it may be, would amount to only one pore on the body of the Tathāgata, [MS.93.b] and if one were to take the entirety of merit encompassed by all the pores on the Tathāgata’s body and perform an elaborate hundredfold Vedic offering, the merit gained in this way would be enough for one to attain one of the characteristics of a great being. By making offerings in this way, one can attain all the characteristics of a great being. The amount of merit required to obtain all the previous characteristics of a great being in this way is the same as the amount of merit required to obtain the ūrṇā curl between the eyebrows of a tathāgata. If one then takes the amount of merit required to obtain an ūrṇā curl and multiplies it by hundred thousand, then this is the amount of merit required to obtain the invisible crown protrusion on the head of a tathāgata, the final physical characteristic of a great being. If one then takes the amount of merit required to obtain an invisible crown protrusion and multiplies it by ten billion, then this is the amount of merit required to manifest a tathāgata’s great conch shell of the Dharma. If he so wishes, a tathāgata can use this conch shell of the Dharma to make his voice heard to the very ends of the earth, in a way that delights the sense faculties of all sentient beings, and that suits their inclinations and their needs in relation to the training. The bodhisatva therefore thinks, ‘Although attaining unsurpassed perfect awakening is very demanding, I must nonetheless attain unsurpassed perfect awakening by any means necessary, so that I can make the words of the Buddha known to the ends of the earth.’ With this courageous attitude, he does not allow his armor to fail. This is what the bodhisatva’s unfaltering courageous vigor is like.

“Furthermore, Śāriputra, a bodhisatva who applies himself with unfaltering courageous vigor might hear it said, ‘If the beings in this threefold thousand great thousandfold universe were all to attain knowledge that accords with purity, this would not amount to even a hundredth part of the knowledge of someone who had attained knowledge that accords with the Dharma. It would not amount to a thousandth or a hundred thousandth part. It would not amount to any fraction that can be calculated or expressed, and so forth. In the same way, if the beings in this threefold thousand great thousandfold universe were all to attain the knowledge of a stream enterer, the knowledge of a once-returner, the knowledge of a non-returner, the knowledge of an arhat, the knowledge of a pratyekabuddha, the knowledge of a bodhisatva who appears once every hundred eons, the knowledge of an irreversible bodhisatva, or the knowledge of a bodhisatva who has only one existence remaining, no matter how many sentient beings there might be in the universe, even if they were all to attain the knowledge of the bodhisatva who has only one existence remaining, this would not even amount to a hundredth part of the tathāgata’s power to know what is the case and what is not the case. It would be an incalculably, incomparably small fraction of a thousandth or a hundred thousandth of this power.’ When he hears about this way into knowledge, he does not become intimidated. He is not scared, he is not frightened, but he is motivated to gain access to this knowledge and applies himself to this task with vigor. Even if his physical body, with its sinews, muscles, bones, skin, flesh, and blood, were to dry up, he would not allow his vigor to falter if he had still not attained the powers of a tathāgata. This is what the bodhisatva’s unfaltering courageous vigor is like.

“Furthermore, Śāriputra, the bodhisatva trains himself by thinking in the following way: ‘However many thoughts sentient beings have had in the past, they can all be included within a single thought of a single sentient being. So, however incalculably many thoughts sentient beings may have had, however great the vices of attachment, aversion and confusion that afflict all sentient beings may be, they can all be reduced to a single thought of a single sentient being. I will take this approach and apply myself with vigor and perseverance in my quest to accumulate knowledge and wisdom, [MS.94.a] no matter how immeasurably great the vices may be. By applying vigor in this way, I will pacify all the attachment, aversion, and confusion that torment all sentient beings. I will remove these poisons. I will destroy them. I will unmask them. I will reduce them to ashes. I will establish these sentient beings on the path to nirvāṇa.’ Such is his courage. This is what the bodhisatva’s unfaltering courageous vigor is like.

“Furthermore, Śāriputra, the bodhisatva applies himself with unfaltering courageous vigor. He bases himself on wholesome physical actions, he bases himself on wholesome verbal actions, he bases himself on wholesome mental actions, and with all the physical, verbal, and mental vigor he possesses, he applies himself with body, speech, and mind. It is said that it is better to have mental vigor than physical or verbal vigor. What is mental vigor? It is to be mentally engaged and settled. In what way is he mentally engaged? He makes an effort to attain awakening. In what way is he mentally settled? He does not let the mind of awakening fade. In what way is he mentally engaged? He has great compassion for all sentient beings. In what way is he mentally settled? He accepts selflessness. In what way is he mentally engaged? He attracts sentient beings to him. In what way is he mentally settled? He will help any sentient being.

“He engages by not becoming disheartened by cyclic existence. He is settled in not reifying the three realms. He engages by abandoning any idea of ownership. He is settled in having no conceit when he is generous. He engages by maintaining his moral conduct. He is settled in having no conceit about his morality. He engages with patience by being able to endure suffering. He is settled in not allowing his mind to become disturbed. He engages by applying himself to all roots of virtue. He is settled in his mental disengagement. He engages by mastering meditation. He is settled in mental introspection. He engages by being keen to learn more. He is settled because his practice is not superficial. He engages by teaching what he has heard. He is settled in the ineffable nature of the teaching. He engages by seeking to accumulate knowledge. He is settled as he severs all conceptual elaboration. He engages in developing the pure states. He is settled in the equanimity of real knowledge. He engages in perfecting the five superior abilities. He is settled in his mastery of the elimination of defilements. He engages by training himself in the application of mindfulness. He is settled in the absence of mindfulness and mental activity. He engages by applying the perfect exertion of abandonment. He is settled in the absence of both virtue and nonvirtue. He engages in building the foundations of magical abilities. He is settled in his effortless engagement. He engages with the senses in a skillful manner. He is settled in his careful examination of sense phenomena. He engages by gaining mastery in the powers. He is settled in a state of unassailability. He engages in cultivating the factors of awakening. He is settled in the knowledge that investigates phenomena. He engages in the search for the requisites needed for the path. He is settled in not needing to travel anywhere. He engages in the search for calm abiding meditation. He is settled in a peacefully settled mind. He engages with the requirements for insight meditation. He is settled in his awareness of the true nature of phenomena. He engages in recognizing causes. He is settled in a true understanding of causes. He engages in paying attention to what others say. He is settled in his practice of the Dharma. He engages in the adornment of the body of Dharma. He is settled in the body of Dharma itself. He engages in the adornment of speech. He is settled in noble silence. He engages with confidence with the three doors of liberation. [MS.94.b] He is settled in inactivity. He engages in getting rid of the four māras. He is settled in his abandonment of the habitual vices. He engages with skillful means. He is settled in investigating things by means of wisdom. He engages in investigating objects as objects. He is settled in investigation that leads to liberation. He engages in investigating conventional designations. He is settled in investigating the meaning. This is what is meant by mental vigor. Applying oneself, exerting oneself, and working courageously with this kind of vigor is what is known as the bodhisatva’s unfaltering courageous vigor.

“Consequently, Śāriputra, the bodhisatva whose vigor is unfaltering and courageous excels in five ways, and so he quickly attains unsurpassed perfect awakening. What are these five ways in which he excels? He excels by serving the buddhas who appear. He excels by relying on his spiritual friends. He excels by having attained the fortunate situations. He excels by not wasting the wholesome qualities that he has developed. He excels by following the training that is upheld by bodhisatvas, great beings. In this way, he will quickly attain unsurpassed perfect awakening.”

The venerable Śāriputra then asked the Lord, “Lord, are there bodhisatvas who do not excel in these five ways?”

The Lord replied, “There are, Śāriputra.”

“What are they like, Lord? What are they like, Sugata?”

He said, “Śāriputra, there are five ways in which a bodhisatva can act that can prevent him from serving the buddhas who appear, relying on his spiritual friends, and taking advantage of the opportunities that arise. They can also make him waste the wholesome qualities that he has developed and not follow the training upheld by bodhisatvas, great beings, that would lead him to quickly attain unsurpassed perfect awakening. What are these five things? Śāriputra, a householder bodhisatva might be a warrior king whose subjects might say, ‘Please help us!’ when they are afraid. He might reply, ‘I will,’ but then not do what he has promised. What then? Such an approach, Śāriputra, destroys any possibility of attaining heavenly states of existence. Such an approach, Śāriputra, destroys one’s potential for taking advantage of the opportunities that arise. Śāriputra, a householder bodhisatva who acts in this first way, out of concern for his own physical well-being, will not please the buddhas who appear, and so forth, and he will fail to quickly attain unsurpassed perfect awakening.

“Then, Śāriputra, there might be a householder bodhisatva who is involved with the harmful influences of the city. What sort of harmful influences of the city might he be involved with? Śāriputra, when a tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished buddha appears in the world and teaches the Dharma, which is excellent in the beginning, excellent in the middle, and excellent in the end, accurate in meaning, and well expressed, and when he reveals the life of purity that is simple, complete, perfect, and pure, he has four assemblies. What are these four assemblies? They are monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen. If these monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen living in villages, towns, districts, counties, or countries abandon their morality, this is what is meant by the harmful influences of the city. [MS.95.a] A householder bodhisatva who is involved with the harmful influences of the city in this way will not please the buddhas who appear, and so forth, and he will fail to quickly attain unsurpassed perfect awakening.

“Then, Śāriputra, there might be a householder bodhisatva who keeps to the well-expressed discipline of the Dharma but creates obstacles to the Dharma for his parents, for his sons, daughters, wife, and sisters, for his friends, companions, and relatives, and for other sentient beings and who is responsible for creating long-lasting hindrances to the Dharma. Śāriputra, a householder bodhisatva who acts in this third way and is responsible for creating obstacles to the Dharma will not serve the buddhas who appear, and so forth, and he will fail to quickly attain unsurpassed perfect awakening.

“Then, Śāriputra, there might be a householder bodhisatva who hears a tathāgata teach sūtras like this one that emphasize having few desires and living an ascetic lifestyle but who does not develop faith in them and, moreover, makes others adopt his position. If he criticizes and disregards the doctrine of the tathāgata, he will end up having to go to awful states of existence. What sort of awful states of existence will he end up in? He will be reborn in hell, among animals, in the spirit world governed by Yama, or in remote border regions, with dysfunctional limbs, as a barbarian, or as a being who holds wrong views. Śāriputra, a householder bodhisatva who acts in this fourth way will not serve the buddhas who appear, and so forth, and he will fail to quickly attain unsurpassed perfect awakening.

“Then, Śāriputra, there might be a householder bodhisatva who has power over ministers and others in his employ, using his authority to scold and rebuke many people and using vulgar and harsh language to deride and disparage others. Because of these negative verbal actions, he will end up in the dreadful lower states of existence. Śāriputra, a householder bodhisatva who acts in this fifth way will not serve the buddhas who appear, rely on his spiritual friends, or take advantage of the opportunities that arise; he will waste the wholesome qualities he has generated, he will not follow the training upheld by bodhisatvas, great beings, and he will fail to quickly attain unsurpassed perfect awakening.”

The Lord then spoke these verses:

“Because he acts in these five ways, His wisdom will not develop, His intelligence will quickly deteriorate, And he will displease the supreme among men.

“As a soldier in the royal guard He breaks his promise to sentient beings, And through this root of unwholesomeness He will not see the protector of the world.

“He frightens sentient beings, saying, ‘Seize them! Beat them for me!’ Because of these evil deeds He will displease the supreme among men.

“Leading monks and nuns To abandon their morality, he will suffer. He will not serve the many buddhas, And it is difficult to obtain the opportunity to render such service.

“Creating obstacles to the practice of Dharma For his parents and his wife, He will not progress quickly in the Dharma But will be clouded by confusion.

“Creating obstacles For those who wish to take on the life of a renunciant, He will not please the many buddhas And will not make use of his opportunities.

“When he hears sūtras like this one In which the word emptiness is used, The poison of anger appears in him, And he claims that they are not in accord with Dharma.

“All these obstacles, however bad, Still do not amount to even a sixteenth part Of that which comes from rejecting the true Dharma— He will see the suffering of being born blind.

“He will not encounter the perfect buddhas, And if he does see them, he will have no faith in them. He will become a woman, a eunuch, Blind from birth, a dog, or a donkey. [MS.95.b]

“He who has devotion For the awakened Buddha and the bodhisatvas Will avoid obstacles And cultivate the path of goodness.

“If he urges his parents on In the Dharma, again and again, Sentient beings will readily Take up the renunciant life.

“If he urges his mother on in the Dharma, He will soon reach the states of good fortune. He will praise the renunciant life And quickly attain awakening.

“Śāriputra, a renunciant bodhisatva who acts in five ways will not serve the buddhas who appear, rely on his spiritual friends, or take advantage of the opportunities that arise. He will waste the wholesome qualities that have been generated, he will not follow the training upheld by bodhisatvas, great beings, and he will fail to quickly attain unsurpassed perfect awakening. What are these five ways? They are acting immorally; disparaging the true Dharma; being fond of profit, renown, and praise; being lost in ideas of the self; and being envious of other families and miserly toward them. These, Śāriputra, are the five ways in which a renunciant bodhisatva will not serve the buddhas who appear, not rely on his spiritual friends, and so forth, and fail to quickly attain unsurpassed perfect awakening.

“Śāriputra, take the example of a ravenous dog that has got hold of a fleshless skeleton smeared in blood. It is standing in a driveway drooling over it and is about to eat it, and then the ravenous dog sees a noble kṣatriya lord, a brahmin lord, a householder lord, approaching from afar, and it thinks, ‘He is going to deprive me of my delicious meal,’ and so it lets forth a deep growl, adopts an intimidating stance, bares its teeth, and barks. What do you think Śāriputra? Does the person have any interest in that fleshless, blood-smeared skeleton?”

“No, he does not, Lord. No, he does not, Sugata.”

The Lord said, “Then why does the dog let forth a deep growl, adopt an intimidating stance, bare its teeth, and bark?”

“Because it thinks that he is going to deprive it of its delicious meal. That is why it lets forth a deep growl, adopts an intimidating stance, bares its teeth, and barks.”

“Mendicants who are miserly in their relations with families are just like this, Śāriputra. It is as if they want to be covered in urine and feces. They squander the opportunities that have arisen. They are just like dogs, I tell you. The Tathāgata only speaks in such a way out of concern for their welfare. Śāriputra, bodhisatvas, great beings, strive for the knowledge of a buddha in order to help people, in order to make people happy, and they are prepared to sacrifice their own flesh for this purpose, so there is no question of them being concerned about their reputation or whether they receive praise, or of their becoming envious or miserly in their relations with families. On the other hand, Śāriputra, deluded individuals who are motivated by making a living are slaves to material things. They desire worldly, mundane things, and they think that food and survival are what is most important. They are concerned about their reputation or whether they receive praise, and they are envious and miserly in their relations with families.

“Śāriputra, a mendicant who has this kind of attitude will become envious and miserly, thinking, ‘I have been promised things before. How can I continue to receive them? I have been guaranteed things before. How can I continue to receive them?’ If householders promise him bowls, clothing, and food, [MS.96.a] bedding, medicine, and utensils, and he thinks, ‘Well, they promised me certain things, and now when I come to collect them they do not give them to me,’ he makes three mistakes. What are these three mistakes? He sees the place as bad, and thinks, ‘I will leave this place.’ He knows what is not worth knowing. He does not know what should be known. Whatever he concerns himself with, he cannot be trusted, and he develops bad habits in his relations with householders. The mendicant talks about three things. What three things does he talk about? He talks about the faults of the dwelling. He expresses his dissatisfaction and dismisses the house. He makes false excuses, saying, ‘They are deceitful, these wicked men,’ and he teaches the Dharma believing his own statements. This, Śāriputra, is how miserliness in one’s relations with families leads to good qualities becoming corrupted.

“In addition, Śāriputra, wicked men who are miserly in their relations with families abandon their vows; they do not keep to the vows of a bodhisatva. They do not follow the training in the vows of a bodhisatva and in keeping to the vows of a bodhisatva. These, Śāriputra, are points that should be taken to heart.

“Once in the past, Śāriputra, an uncountably many, vast, innumerable, inconceivable eons ago, a tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished buddha by the name of Abhyudgata appeared in the world. He was perfect in wisdom and conduct, he was a sugata, a knower of the world, an unsurpassable guide for those who wished to train, a teacher of gods and men, awakened, a lord. He remained for nine hundred million years, and he had a great following of ninety million trillion śrāvakas. They were all arhats who had eliminated the defilements, who were free from vices, who were powerful, and so forth, and who had reached the very highest level of complete mastery of the mind.

“At that time there was a householder by the name of Suvicaya. He was wealthy and prosperous, with great riches and many possessions, a great deal of property, many possessions and tools, an abundance of precious metal, gold, jewels, pearls, gems, shells, crystals, and coral, many male and female slaves, workers, and laborers, large stocks of elephants, horses, goats, cattle, and sheep, and storerooms filled with great wealth and stocks of grain. He had two sons who were handsome, beautiful, pleasant to behold, and endowed with an abundance of the most supreme features. Their names were Samvara and Samvarasthita.

“Once, Śāriputra, they were on the roof of the mansion when the Lord Abhyudgata, the tathāgata, the arhat, the fully accomplished Buddha, was on his morning visit to the town to collect alms, carrying his bowl and robes, and accompanied by the community of mendicants, at the head of the community of mendicants. He was graceful and elegant, with his senses composed and his mind at ease, supremely disciplined and tranquil, having attained the supreme form of discipline and meditative tranquility. His senses subdued, with the dignity of an elephant, [MS.96.b] he was clear and shining like a lake of still water. He was like a pillar made of gold, like a golden mountain, like an ocean filled with jewels, like Śakra flanked by his retinue of gods, like Brahmā with his tranquil mind. The two sons saw the Lord Abhyudgata, the tathāgata, the arhat, the fully accomplished Buddha, approaching from afar in this graceful and pleasant manner.

“Śāriputra, the boy named Samvarasthita was the first to spot the Lord Abhyudgata, the tathāgata, the arhat, the fully accomplished Buddha, and he said to his brother, ‘Hey, brother, have you ever seen anyone as elegant as the Lord of Beings?’

“He answered his brother, ‘No, brother, I have never before seen anyone quite as elegant as the Lord of Beings.’

“He then said, ‘Brother, I want to be like him.’

“Then, Śāriputra, Samvarasthita spoke in verse to Samvara:

“ ‘I will become like him, Just as disciplined as the one we have seen, And I will lead an even larger Community of mendicants than him.

“ ‘For the sake of the path to awakening, We will abstain from enjoying food and drink. Emulating the discipline of the Victorious One, I will not participate in the pleasures of the home.

“ ‘When they see him, supreme among sentient beings, Like the moon among all the stars, Who can help but develop faith? Who would not leave his home behind?’

“Then, Śāriputra, Samvara spoke in verse to Samvarasthita:

“ ‘You will not achieve this simply by talking about it. Do not let yourself be carried away by lofty words. I will not say it out loud— It will be clear soon enough who will attain awakening quickly.’

“Then, Śāriputra, Samvarasthita spoke these verses to Samvara:

“ ‘Dejection and miserliness Are not part of my path. I will speak words of goodness. I will become a buddha, supreme among men.

“ ‘I shall not think of these symbols Of miserliness as property. I cannot remain silent about this. When one has given up the self, how can there be property?

“ ‘I leave this house to you. I am setting out on the path to awakening. This house and these riches are yours— I will find my joys in awakening.

“ ‘Who can possibly do anything Other than going to seek the highest awakening When one has seen the one with the thirty-two characteristics? Only those whose vision is inferior.

“ ‘House and riches, Parents and relatives— I leave them all behind And set out toward awakening.

“ ‘It is rare to encounter the light of the world, The protector of the world, the illuminator. Even over the course of a billion eons, It is immensely difficult just to hear him speak.

“ ‘He is so beautiful, it is as if the moon Had descended to the earth And entered the royal palace Accompanied by the community of mendicants.

“ ‘When the Buddha appears upon the road, He shines as brilliantly As the thousandfold rays of the sun Radiating throughout space.

“ ‘Accompanied by his community of mendicants, The Buddha shines Like Sumeru, the king of mountains, Shines as if made of jewels.

“ ‘A body blazing like fire That lights up the world, A manifestation of fire— The supreme among men shines like this. [MS.97.a]

“ ‘Outclassing gods, nāgas, and men, With his prowess in magical abilities His mastery becomes apparent When he enters the royal palace.

“ ‘Who can continue following lesser vehicles When they see this lord of the Dharma With the thirty-two supreme characteristics of excellent merit? No one but unlearned immature people.

“ ‘Having seen the one who is supreme among men, Excellent and so incredibly difficult to encounter, I will go and meet the Sugata So that I can set out toward awakening.’

“Then, Śāriputra, Samvara spoke in verse to Samvarasthita:

“ ‘If I remain on the path of laziness, I will not get to meet the Buddha. We should leave the palace So that we can honor him in person.

“ ‘Abandoning any idea of self, And with no concern for this life, I will go and meet the Buddha, And seek out the highest knowledge.

“ ‘To long for one’s mother, to long for one’s father, And to long for one’s home is very hard. I will give up all these things. I will go and meet the Buddha.

“ ‘This kind of aspiration Is what pleases the Buddha. I will therefore give up all riches, Leave my home, and become a renunciant.’

“So it was, Śāriputra, that Samvarasthita descended the stairs to go and meet the Lord Abhyudgata, the tathāgata, the arhat, the fully accomplished Buddha. But, Śāriputra, Samvara jumped down from the roof of the mansion and reached the Lord, the Tathāgata Abhyudgata, first, before Samvarasthita got there. Then, Śāriputra, Samvarasthita offered the Lord a cloth that was worth ten million, and he spoke these verses:

“ ‘I am not giving the Buddha this cloth In order to look good, But in order to become Just like the supreme man.

“ ‘May I become like the supreme among those who walk on two feet, Mastering the totality of knowledge, Standing firm through the strength of my vigor, And in possession of the thirty-two characteristics.

“ ‘Furnished with the ten powers, With stable confidence, May I become just like him, Like the Tathāgata.

“ ‘The Dharma that you have discovered Lights up any place it is found. When I have reached supreme awakening, I will teach that Dharma.

“ ‘I do not offer this excellent cloth to the Buddha Because I want to look good. I want to attain the peace of supreme awakening So that I may benefit the world with its gods.

“ ‘When one dwells in the supreme nondual Dharma, One cannot be toppled by any opponent. With this Dharma as my goal, I offer the Buddha excellent supreme cloth.

“ ‘That which is not born, does not grow old, Does not get sick, and does not experience pain or sorrow— That is the Dharma of peace that I will teach For the benefit of the world with its gods.

“ ‘That which is free from attachment, anger, Confusion, and desire; Cool, immortal, and uncompounded— That is what I will teach when I have attained awakening.

“ ‘Wherever you remain you are honored by sentient beings, By gods, nāgas, and men, By the insentient as well as the sentient, I will teach the Dharma of peace.

“ ‘Wherever you shine forth in buddha fields, Manifesting throughout the four directions of space, Like a mass of light within great darkness, I will spread the cooling nectar.

“ ‘That which is never part of the realm of desire, Or the formless realm or the realm of form, That which is beyond any kind of likes or dislikes— This is the noble Dharma that I shall teach.’

“Then, Śāriputra, Samvara gave the Lord Abhyudgata, the tathāgata, the arhat, the fully accomplished Buddha, [MS.97.b] a pair of new shoes, and when he had made his offering, he spoke these verses:

“ ‘May I become a protector of beings, A shelter, support, and final refuge. May I not take the wrong roads But always keep teaching the path.

“ ‘May I never be led astray by desire Or conduct myself in an immature way. May I abandon conditioned things And always encounter buddhas.

“ ‘Having seen the light of the world, May I worship the supreme among those who walk on two feet And go in search of supreme awakening For the benefit of all who live.

“ ‘May I honor the great elephant With garlands of flowers, incense, Banners, and parasols For the benefit of all who live.

“ ‘May I offer worship to the buddhas With clothing, offerings of food, And beds and blankets For the benefit of all who live.

“ ‘May I worship the light of the world With the sounds of drums and conches And with melodious lutes For the benefit of all who live.

“ ‘May I offer food and drink As worship to the protectors of the world, The refuges— Nourishment to be enjoyed at the appropriate time.

“ ‘When I have performed this vast act of worship For the benefit of all who live, I will become a renunciant And live the life of purity.

“ ‘May I become a protector for all who live And never again take the wrong paths. I will follow the supreme eightfold path And give this same opportunity to millions of beings.

“ ‘May I never again be led astray by desire, The basest, the most ignoble, and the worst of states. Having abandoned all forms of inattentiveness, May I always be able to remain attentive.

“ ‘May I never be born in any of the states of bondage But always into families of faith: After my birth, may I encounter the supreme among men And develop faith in their presence.

“ ‘With a mind filled with devotion, I will honor them With garlands of flowers and with ointments, With drums of wood and clay, and with flutes, With their knowledge as my goal.

“ ‘When I have worshiped them In all these many different ways for many millions of eons, I will lay aside desire and become a renunciant without hesitation. May I always live the life of purity.’

“On the very spot where these sweet-sounding verses were sung to the Lord, the king Abhyudgata, the tathāgata, the arhat, the fully accomplished Buddha, they had a red sandalwood monastery built for the Tathāgata, four yojanas wide and half a yojana tall. They offered this monastery to the Tathāgata and then spoke these verses to the Lord Tathāgata, the king Abhyudgata:

“ ‘This place where you have come to stay Was praised by four different victorious ones in the past. We wish to establish a monastery here, And so we offer this monastery to the Sugata.

“ ‘May this always be a place where the millions of beings Who lack an understanding of the mind can stay, In the past, the present, and the future. This is what we want this monastery to be.

“ ‘The actions that you have perfected— True renunciation, the foundations of magical abilities, The four excellent things, and analytical abilities— This is what we want this monastery to be dedicated to.’

“They then honored, revered, praised, and worshiped the Lord Tathāgata, the king Abhyudgata, and his community of mendicants in that very monastery for two weeks. After they had honored, revered, praised, and worshiped the Tathāgata and his community of mendicants in that monastery, they had their hair and beards shaved, [MS.98.a] donned saffron robes, and, following their conviction, left ordinary household life behind and became renunciants searching untiringly for the wholesome Dharma.

“One of them said, ‘I will be the first to become an illustrious protector of the world.’

“Another said, ‘I will be the first to become a caravan leader, supreme among men.’

“Then, Śāriputra, the bodhisatva, the great being called Samvara, stood in front of the Lord Tathāgata, the king Abhyudgata, and made this vow:

“ ‘I will not rest on seats, And I will not sleep in beds. I will search for the path to awakening For the sake of living beings.

“ ‘I will readily give up My body and my life And put laziness aside In my search for supreme awakening.

“ ‘I will let my flesh, as well as my blood, Skin, and sinews, dry up. I will ignore my health, And abandoning all forms of laziness, I will vigorously strive for the highest awakening.’

“Then, Śāriputra, the bodhisatva, the great being Samvarasthita, spoke these verses to the bodhisatva, the great being Samvara:

“ ‘The two of us, having studied together, Will practice the way to awakening And apply ourselves with supreme vigor For the benefit of all living beings.

“ ‘Giving up our bodies as well as our lives, And even letting our flesh and blood dry up, In the same way you have trained for a thousand lifetimes, We will vigorously strive for the highest awakening.

“ ‘Dwelling free from doubt in the forest, Applying ourselves with vigor in mountains and ravines, We will search for the highest form of knowledge Where the wonderful Lord of Dharma dwells.’

“And so, Śāriputra, for a thousand years the bodhisatvas Samvara and Samvarasthita were not overcome by sloth or indolence, even for a moment as brief as a snap of one’s fingers. Never in a thousand years did they feel inclined to rest, thinking, ‘Let’s sleep.’ Never in a thousand years did they wish to lie down, thinking, ‘Let’s relax.’ Never in a thousand years did they squat, except for when they had to urinate or defecate. They would eat and drink standing up, eating only three morsels of food and drinking only from the water bowl. Never in a thousand years did they have any longing for food, nor would they try to acquire food quickly when they were hungry. Never in a thousand years did they eat to excess. Never in a thousand years did they think that the food they were consuming was too sweet, too sour, too salty, too pungent, too bitter, or too astringent, even for a single moment. Never in a thousand years did they pay attention to the appearance of the person they were receiving offerings from, thinking, ‘Who is giving us these offerings? Is it a woman, a man, [MS.98.b] a boy, or a girl?’ Never in a thousand years did they look up at that tree they were sitting under. Never in a thousand years did they change into a second set of robes. Never in a thousand years did any thought of desire, of malice, or of harming others occur to them, even for a single moment. Never in a thousand years did their thoughts stray toward the moon or the sun, their mother or their father, their brothers, their sisters, or their relatives, even for a single moment. Never in a thousand years did they have any inclination at all to live in a house, even for a single moment. Never in a thousand years did they glance up at the moon, the sun, or the stars above. Never in a thousand years did they rely upon clay or wood. Never in a thousand years did they apply butter or oil to their bodies. Never in a thousand years did they have any thought for the delicacy of butter, even for a single moment. Never in a thousand years did they grow weary, even for a single moment. Never in a thousand years did they become discouraged, thinking, ‘We will never be able to attain unsurpassed perfect awakening,’ even for a single moment. Never in a thousand years did they become physically or mentally ill. Never in a thousand years did it occur to them that they should cut their hair. When the Four Great Kings appeared, they anointed their heads and took the hair with them, and with the hair they took they inaugurated a stūpa. Never in a thousand years did the two of them wonder about the appearance of the Great Kings, and whether they would come again in the future. Never in a thousand years did they wish for shade from the scorching sun, or for the sun when it was cloudy. Never in a thousand years were they concerned about covering their bodies during the cold season. Never in a thousand years did they ever say anything of a worldly nature.

“Śāriputra, a time came when the māra named Saṃmūḍhasmṛti appeared to them, in the same way evil māras have appeared to me in this life. Śāriputra, the māra Saṃmūḍhasmṛti transformed the path upon which the bodhisatva Samvara was treading into the edges of swords, and as he became aware of the presence of these sword edges, he uttered the words, ‘I am negligent as I go. I am negligent as I go.’ These words reverberated throughout the threefold thousand great thousand worlds. At that, [MS.99.a] a host of a billion mārakāyika gods appeared in the sky with the words, ‘Oh, this bodhisatva cannot perish. He cannot perish.’ Then, Śāriputra, the bodhisatva Samvara went on his way with his commitment unbroken. The mārakāyika gods, Śāriputra, spoke a second time, but the bodhisatva Samvara did not pay attention to what they said. The bodhisatva Samvarasthita heard neither the words of the mārakāyika gods nor the words of Samvara.

“Śāriputra, this was the sort of spiritual practice, the sort of conduct, the sort of development, the sort of great compassion, and the sort of application that these two noble individuals possessed, and for a thousand years they cultivated the recollection of awakening.

“Then, when the Lord Tathāgata, the king Abhyudgata, passed away, they were approached by a god who said to them, ‘Sons of good family, the Tathāgata has passed away.’ When they heard of the Tathāgata’s passing, they went to the place where the Lord had died, and standing upright, they joined their palms and watched for seven days without blinking, filled with love. They recollected that he was unmatched and worthy of respect. They remained standing without becoming dejected until the time of their own deaths arrived, and then they went to the brahmā world. When they returned, they built a stūpa for the tathāgata, the arhat, the fully accomplished Buddha, and they looked after it and maintained it for forty thousand years. Seeing that the Tathāgata’s stūpa was covered with parasols, they remained standing with their palms joined for seventy thousand years, honoring the Tathāgata’s stūpa. When their lives were over and they passed away, they were again reborn on the Jambu continent to a king of the entire world, conceived as twins in their mother’s womb. When they were born, they recognized each other instantly and reiterated their commitment to continue their training in attentiveness: ‘We will train in the supreme form of attentive presence.’

“They spoke these verses:

“ ‘We were born into a pleasant state of existence as royalty, Prosperous, thriving, and with unlimited access to resources, But we will leave drunken vanity behind And work toward the highest awakening.

“ ‘The pleasure of the senses, possessions, and royalty Cannot be trusted. They are fleeting. They do not last. They are not what the wise, Those who search for the highest awakening, wish for.

“ ‘The wise do not long for the pleasures of the senses and possessions. They approach awakening for the sake of all living beings. Abandoning their desires and quickly becoming renunciants, They live the excellent life of purity.

“ ‘The pleasures of the five senses have been dominant Throughout time, for a vast amount of time, But gods and human beings can never be satisfied, No matter how much of it they obtain.

“ ‘Therefore, we will put the pleasures of the senses aside, Along with possessions, royalty, affluence, and even our relatives. Growing up, we will quickly become renunciants And vigorously engage with the causes of awakening.’

“After they had been born, at the age of about sixteen, they had their hair shaved off, donned saffron robes, and, following their conviction, renounced ordinary household life and became renunciants, going on to live the life of purity for twenty thousand years. When they passed away, they were reborn in the brahmā world, and when they passed away from the brahmā world they were reborn once again on the Jambu continent.

“At that time, Śāriputra, a tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished buddha by the name of Varagandha appeared in the world. He was perfect in wisdom and conduct, and he was a sugata, a knower of the world, an unsurpassable guide for those who wished to train, a teacher of gods and men, [MS.99.b] awakened, a lord. The two of them served the Tathāgata, and in the Tathāgata’s presence they had their hair shaved off, donned saffron robes, and, following their conviction, renounced ordinary household life and became renunciants. As renunciants they lived the life of purity for ten million years.

“In this way, Śāriputra, serving ten thousand buddhas, the bodhisatva Samvara always lived the life of purity. The bodhisatva Samvarasthita lived the life of purity in the presence of a single buddha.

“The bodhisatva Samvara, Śāriputra, was the first to reach unsurpassed perfect awakening, and he appeared in the world as a tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished buddha by the name of Uttaptavīrya. He was perfect in wisdom and conduct, he was a sugata, a knower of the world, an unsurpassable guide for those who wished to train, a teacher of gods and men, awakened, a lord. He remained for ninety million years and had a great following of ninety million trillion śrāvakas.

“Śāriputra, when the Lord, the Tathāgata Uttaptavīrya reached awakening, the bodhisatva Samvarasthita became a king of the entire world, and for three months he honored, venerated, respected, and worshiped the Tathāgata, as well as his community of mendicants, with food, beds, seats, medicine for the sick, and utensils.

“Then, receiving the king, the Lord Uttaptavīrya, the tathāgata, the arhat, the fully accomplished Buddha, spoke these verses of encouragement to him:

“ ‘Vigor is the best way, the most excellent way To attain the qualities of a buddha, But it is exceedingly rare to be able to work for the benefit of beings While living among sentient beings who are infatuated with desire.

“ ‘When one is infatuated with desire, One is not interested in the way of the learned. If you are not interested in this, You will not attain the highest goal.

“ ‘You and I Were once siblings, And both of us vowed To quickly become fully awakened.

“ ‘Look! I have now reached awakening And am setting the holy wheel in motion, While you have women and a household That you constantly have to look after.

“ ‘The wise do not put their faith in such things. The victorious ones refer to the pleasure of the senses as ‘vile.’ Ordinary people go about things in an inattentive fashion. That is why I always stay away from these pointless activities.

“ ‘It is unintelligent to be carrying around a burden you do not need. What you are doing is pointless. Do you not see the suffering that sense pleasures bring about? The advice of the noble ones is that it is best to leave them behind.’

“Because of these verses of encouragement that the Lord had spoken to him, he lost his interest in children, he lost his interest in wives, and he lost his interest in businessmen, ministers, parents, vassal kings, marketplaces, districts, and everything related to government. He did not care about all his hoards of treasure, and he abandoned his throne. Standing before the Lord, he spoke these verses:

“ ‘I will let my flesh dry up, And I will abandon any dwelling. I will go into the wilderness and meet my death, In order to attain awakening.

“ ‘I will apply myself with vigor again and again For the sake of all living beings. I will lead the life of a homeless renunciant In a remote forest hermitage.

“ ‘Never again will I be driven by desire, Evils, or childish chatter. If I were to engage in these things, I would be heading backward.

“ ‘What intelligent person would rely upon conditioned things When he had set out on the journey to awakening? [MS.100.a] If I am driven by desire, then no matter how much vigor I apply, I will not reach awakening.

“ ‘Therefore, I will give up sense pleasures And discard material possessions and the possessions of royalty. Becoming a renunciant, I will turn to the teaching of the Victorious One, Applying vigor in order to attain the highest awakening.’

“When he had uttered these verses he had his hair shaved off, donned saffron robes in the presence of the Lord, and, following his conviction, he renounced ordinary household life and became a renunciant. When they saw the king leaving everything behind and becoming a renunciant, sixty thousand million trillion beings followed their conviction, left ordinary household life behind, and become renunciants.

“When the Lord passed away, he worshiped his remains, and when he died he was immediately reborn as the king of the gods in Tuṣita Heaven. When he left the heavenly Tuṣita realm, he attained unsurpassed perfect awakening in the very same eon, appearing in the world as a tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished buddha named Sucarita. He was perfect in wisdom and conduct, and so forth, awakened, a lord. He remained for a full ten million years and had a great following of no less than a million trillion śrāvakas who were all arhats, who had eliminated the defilements, and so forth, and who had reached the very highest level of complete mastery of the mind. He inspired a hundred thousand to become bodhisatvas who were certain not to turn back from the attainment of unsurpassed perfect awakening, and so forth. By teaching the Dharma, he benefitted an uncountable, incalculable number of sentient beings and then passed away. When he had passed away, the true Dharma remained until the end of the eon. His relics were distributed widely, just as my relics will be distributed widely when I pass away.

“Śāriputra, one should apply oneself in the perfection of vigor with the unfaltering vigor of the bodhisatva Samvara and the bodhisatva Samvarasthita, and one should not conduct oneself as sentient beings do, trapped in the cage of the skeleton or enmeshed in envy.

“Śāriputra, any bodhisatva who wishes to attain awakening but envies the houses of others will face three dangers. What are these three dangers? If, when receiving alms from a house belonging to someone else, or staying there to converse, he sees another noble mendicant and then experiences feelings of envy and miserliness, even if his aversion amounts to only a single aggressive thought, he is on the path to hell; he is planting the seed that will lead to him being born blind; he is ensuring that he will be born in a barbarous border country. Śāriputra, [MS.100.b] someone who is overcome by rage when he sees that mendicant and with a mind filled with anger refuses to talk to him and experiences feelings of miserliness, even if his aversion amounts to only a single aggressive thought, he is on the path to hell; he is planting the seed that will lead to him being born blind; he is ensuring that if born human he will be born in a barbarous border country. He will face much anger. He will be born blind. He will be ruled by others and abused. Śāriputra, when a bodhisatva becomes envious and miserly in relation to others’ property, that is when these three dangers arise.”

When he heard these words, the venerable Śāriputra said to the Lord, “This is excellent, Lord. Bodhisatvas, great beings, accomplish great things, and the Tathāgata has explained what consequences those who are envious of property will experience. Please, Lord, tell us śrāvakas how to avoid being envious of property. Lord, we want to be free from hell. We do not want to become blind from the time of birth. We do not want to experience unnecessary hostility. We do not want to be faced with baseless accusations. We do not want to end up in border regions. Lord, we do not want to lose the opportunity to live in a central region where there is a tathāgata and where we can hear the Dharma.”

When the venerable Śāriputra had said this, the Lord spoke to him, “Excellent, Śāriputra, excellent. You are sincere and honest, and it is excellent that you have thought to ask the Tathāgata about this. Therefore, Śāriputra, I will now give instructions for the sake of those in the world who wish to study the training of the Buddha. Why will I do so? The unlearned, Śāriputra, engage in arguments, which are the root of hostility. Bodhisatvas, Śāriputra, have faith, great faith, and will engage in investigation for a long time, will engage in investigation for extensive periods, in order to protect sentient beings. They will approach the Tathāgata and pose to him questions, and when they hear these kinds of teachings they will be very happy, joyful, and delighted, and they will pursue them with sincerity. Śāriputra, there are few sentient beings who hold the supreme aspiration of attaining final nirvāṇa. Most of them, though, are concerned with three things. What are these three things? They are interested in gain, in respect, and in praise. They are interested in finding friendly families and families that will provide them with food. They are interested in the power that comes from controlling land. These are the three things they are concerned with. Because they are concerned with these three things, [MS.101.a] they will not be liberated from the three lower states of existence. They have little inclination to be freed from hell, to be freed from the realm of animals, or to be freed from the spirit world governed by Yama. Their ambitions result in heaven being lost to them. They engage in discussions, quarrels, shouting, division, and disputes, and these things absorb their attention. They lack faith, they abandon a life of solitude, and they gather many acquaintances. Householders will tell them, ‘Venerable ones, you should come and stay close to our dwellings, so that we can provide you with clothing, food, bedding, seats, medicine for the sick, and utensils. If the venerable ones remain in remote dwellings, you will not see us, and we will not be able to see you.’ After many such encounters and discussions, they become fond of particular dwellings. They become attached to their dwellings. They remain in the same place for long periods of time. They become friendly with many families who provide them with food, and because they see them regularly, a mutual attachment develops. Then, when any unfamiliar mendicants arrive there, they will talk about them in unflattering terms, saying things such as, ‘They are not learned. They are not stream enterers. They are not once-returners. They are not non-returners. They are not arhats.’ They will repeatedly describe them in these and other unflattering terms. Then, Śāriputra, these householders will think, ‘Mendicants who just happen to come by should not stay with us for a long time, but we should develop a mutually beneficial relationship with those mendicants who remain here.’ Miserliness develops among them.

“Śāriputra, the kinds of sentient beings who have not understood, do not understand, and will not understand this particular kind of Dharma, all those who have rejected, are rejecting, or will reject this particular kind of Dharma, and, Śāriputra, those who are not inclined to pay attention to these kinds of sūtras, these kinds of expressions of the Dharma given by the Tathāgata, will certainly discard them when they hear them. They are destined to end up in the lower realms of existence. Still, Śāriputra, when the bodhisatva whose vigor is unyielding hears about this sort of envy and miserliness that leads one to the lower states of existence, he harbors no miserliness in relation to families, he will not do so in the future, and if he has been miserly in relation to families in the past, he will freely admit it. This, Śāriputra, is the unyielding vigor with which the bodhisatva practices the perfection of vigor.

“Moreover, Śāriputra, the bodhisatva whose vigor is unyielding and who practices the perfection of vigor perceives all sentient beings as being sick, and he perceives all these sick sentient beings as always suffering from three kinds of affliction. What are these three kinds of affliction? They are the affliction of desire, the affliction of anger, and the affliction of confusion. He thinks, ‘I must master the administration of this medicine, the healing balm of the Dharma. By applying this medicine, this healing balm, I will relieve the desire of all sentient beings; I will relieve their anger, I will relieve their confusion.’ He masters the administration of this medicine, this healing balm of the Dharma, and by applying this medicine, this healing balm of the Dharma, he relieves the desire of all sentient beings, he relieves the anger of all sentient beings, and he relieves the confusion of all sentient beings. This is what is meant by the bodhisatva whose vigor is unyielding practicing the perfection of vigor.

“Why is this? Śāriputra, all sick sentient beings are always suffering from these three afflictions: the affliction of desire, the affliction of anger, and the affliction of confusion. [MS.101.b] Those beings who are born in the hells always suffer from these very same three afflictions: the affliction of desire, the affliction of anger, and the affliction of confusion. Those beings who are born as animals, in the spirit world governed by Yama, in the human realm, or among the gods always suffer from these very same three afflictions: the affliction of desire, the affliction of anger, and the affliction of confusion. Other than the Tathāgata, the unsurpassed great king of doctors, there is no available doctor, no medicine or healing balm, that can relieve the affliction of desire, the affliction of anger, and the affliction of confusion in all sentient beings. By mastering the Dharma body, the bodhisatva, the great being, can himself become a dispenser of medicine, able to relieve the affliction of desire, relieve the affliction of anger, and relieve the affliction of confusion in sentient beings. Therefore, take to heart, Śāriputra, that other than the Tathāgata, the unsurpassed great king of doctors, there is no doctor, no medicine or healing balm, that can relieve the affliction of desire, the affliction of anger, and the affliction of confusion in all sentient beings, and that by mastering the Dharma body, the bodhisatva, the great being, is able to relieve the affliction of desire, relieve the affliction of anger, and relieve the affliction of confusion in sentient beings.

“What do you think, Śāriputra? Is the element of sentient beings the largest?”

“According to what I have understood of what the Lord has said, the element of sentient beings is the largest, not the earth element, the water element, the fire element, or the wind element.”

“Exactly, Śāriputra, exactly. The largest element, Śāriputra, is the element of sentient beings, not the earth element, the water element, the fire element, or the wind element. Still, Śāriputra, the fortunate sentient beings cannot be perceived by the divine sight of seers of other traditions, or by that of the śrāvakas or pratyekabuddhas. Śāriputra, those sentient beings who are otherwise invisible can be seen by divine sight of the Tathāgata, and there are many more such invisible beings in an area the size of a cart wheel than there are gods and human beings in all the threefold thousand great thousand worlds. This is how incalculable the element of sentient beings is.

“Śāriputra, imagine all the sentient beings in the threefold thousand great thousand worlds, however many they may be—those born from eggs, those born from wombs, those born from moisture, those born spontaneously, those with form, those without form, those with perception, those without perception, those with neither perception nor nonperception, the visible, and the invisible. Imagine that they all at some moment, on some occasion, at some time, sooner or later, were to achieve a human state of existence and then become masters of medicine, expert doctors. Then, Śāriputra, imagine that, in an attempt to do the same as the present king of physicians, they all assembled and attempted to relieve the affliction of desire, to relieve the affliction of anger, and to relieve the affliction of confusion in a single sentient being. Imagine that each of the doctors mustered as much cooling medicine as the whole mass of Mount Sumeru, and that all this cooling medicine was prepared and applied to a single sentient being, in order to relieve the affliction of desire. [MS.102.a] Śāriputra, even if all these doctors were to apply themselves for enough lifetimes to fill an eon, they would become exhausted, and all their heaps of cooling medicine would be used up before they could relieve the affliction of desire, the affliction of anger, and the affliction of confusion in this one sentient being. But the Tathāgata, by means of the medicine of the Dharma, the healing balm of disgust, can relieve the affliction of desire in many sentient beings, many hundreds of sentient beings, many thousands of sentient beings, many hundreds of thousands of sentient beings, many hundreds of thousands of millions of trillions of sentient beings, many thousands of billions of trillions of sentient beings, so many sentient beings that it cannot be put into words. He does this by means of the medicine of the Dharma, the healing balm of disgust. He can, by means of the medicine of the Dharma, the healing balm of love, relieve the affliction of anger in many sentient beings. He can relieve the affliction of anger in so many sentient beings that it cannot be put into words. He can, by means of the medicine of the Dharma, the healing balm of dependent arising, relieve the affliction of confusion in many sentient beings. He can relieve the affliction of confusion in so many sentient beings that it cannot be put into words. Mastering the Dharma body, the bodhisatva, the great being, himself serves as a doctor of the Dharma, and he can relieve the affliction of desire, the affliction of anger, and the affliction of confusion in many sentient beings. He can relieve the afflictions of desire, anger, and confusion in so many sentient beings that it cannot be put into words.

“Śāriputra, one should take this explanation to heart. One should take to heart that the bodhisatva who bases himself upon the Dharma body can himself serve as a doctor of the Dharma and relieve the affliction of desire, the affliction of anger, and the affliction of confusion in many sentient beings, and so forth, so many that it cannot be put into words.

“Śāriputra, I can see clearly across incalculable eons, and much more than that, that a tathāgata by the name of Dīpaṅkara appeared in the world. He was perfect in wisdom and conduct, and so forth, awakened, a lord. The Lord Dīpaṅkara, the tathāgata, the arhat, the fully accomplished Buddha, made a prophesy concerning me, saying, ‘Young man, uncountable eons in the future, you will become a tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished buddha by the name of Śākyamuni.’ Śāriputra, when the Lord Dīpaṅkara, the tathāgata, the arhat, the fully accomplished Buddha, made this prophesy, I attained the Dharma body. Because I possessed the Dharma body, after encountering Dīpaṅkara I attained the position of Śakra. I was named Sunetra, and I was chief among the gods, the ruler of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, with great magical abilities and great powers, renowned as a great lord.

“At that time there were [MS.102.b] eighty-four thousand great cities on the Jambu continent. There were many thousands of towns, villages, and hamlets. All these many thousands of towns, villages, and hamlets were filled with many hundreds of thousands of millions of trillions of beings. Once, a great plague broke out, and these sentient beings suffered from a great many painful symptoms, with sores on their bodies, swellings, boils, inflammations, itches, rashes, and disorders of wind, bile, and phlegm. Many hundreds and thousands of physicians attempted to alleviate the sickness of these sentient beings. Then, Śāriputra, these sentient beings, who had no effective cure, who had no help and no protection, cried out:

“ ‘Are there no gods or nāgas, Yakṣas, gandharvas, or rākṣasas, Human beings or nonhuman beings, Who can free us from these diseases?

“ ‘We will give up our riches, We will follow their prescriptions. We will be truly grateful If anyone can free us from this suffering.’

“Śāriputra, by means of my pure divine sight, which is beyond anything human, I saw these sentient beings tormented by disease, suffering from a great many painful symptoms, with sores on their bodies, swellings, boils, inflammations, itches, rashes, and disorders of wind, bile, and phlegm. With my divine hearing, which is beyond anything human, I heard these sentient beings crying out loudly. When I saw them and heard them, great compassion for these sentient beings arose within me, and I thought to myself, ‘I will be a resting place for these sentient beings. I will be a protector for sentient beings who have no protection. I will be a refuge for sentient beings without a refuge. I will provide a cure for sentient beings who have no cure.’ Then, Śāriputra, concealing that I was the great Śakra, I came into existence spontaneously, not far from the great city of Kuru, as a being by the name of Saumya. From a seat in the sky I then encouraged all the beings on the Jambu continent with these verses:

“ ‘Not far from the city of Kuru There is a being by the name of Saumya, And those who eat his flesh Will all become free from disease.

“ ‘Do not be scared. Do not be frightened. Enjoy his flesh. Eat it as you wish. He will not be angry. He will not be furious. He is medicine for the Jambu continent.’

“Then, Śāriputra, when all the diseased sentient beings in the eighty-four thousand great cities, and in the thousands of other cities, towns, villages, and hamlets, heard this, they came to the great city of Kuru where the being Saumya was staying. They cut the flesh from his body and took it away, but his flesh was not depleted. Then this verse issued forth:

“ ‘Because I speak the truth, I will reach awakening, And this skandha of knowledge will not be exhausted. [MS.103.a] My undeceitful words are “May the flesh of my body not be depleted.” ’

“So it was, Śāriputra, that a host of sentient beings from all over the Jambu continent continued to cut the flesh from Saumya’s body and carry it away, yet his body showed no sign of either shrinking or growing. Even though they cut the flesh from it again and again, it remained the same. Śāriputra, those sentient beings who were sick ate Saumya’s flesh, and all their ailments were removed. They became free from illness and regained their health. In due course, all those on the Jambu continent who were suffering from various kinds of disease were healed. They became free from illness and regained their health.

“Then the men, women, boys, and girls of the Jambu continent thought to themselves, ‘How should we honor and worship this being Saumya, who has freed us from disease and restored us to health?’ They gathered together and went to the place where Saumya was staying. When they had arrived there, they gathered around Saumya and spoke this verse to him:

“ ‘You are a refuge. You are a protector. You are a doctor. You are medicine. Please tell us How we can repay you.’

“What a crowd it was that had gathered, Śāriputra. Acknowledging this, I made the massive body disappear, and standing there with the appearance of Śakra, I addressed the huge crowd: ‘My friends, I am not interested in cities, towns, villages, kingdoms, or royal courts. My friends, I am not interested in land, buildings, businesses, riches, gold, jewels, pearls, gems, shells, crystals, or coral. My friends, I am not interested in elephants, horses, camels, cows, donkeys, sheep, cocks, or pigs, in women, men, sons, daughters, servants, workers, or laborers, or in the pleasures of food, drink, bedding, seats, medicine for the sick, utensils, parks, or groves. Rather, my friends, you should avoid taking life. Turn away from the act of taking life. You should avoid taking what is not given. Turn away from the act of taking what is not given. You should avoid sexual misconduct. Turn away from the act of sexual misconduct. You should avoid lying. Turn away from the act of lying, and so forth. You should avoid harsh language, inane chatter, covetousness, malice, and wrong views. Turn away from the act of holding wrong views.’

“Then these verses were spoken to that great host of beings:

“ ‘I have no interest in wealth in the millions, In mountains of gold the size of Meru, In women who look like nymphs, Or in enjoying food and drink.

“ ‘If you wish to repay the being called Saumya, Follow the path of excellent conduct, These ten points that cover it all, And maintain minds filled with love for one another.

“ ‘Abide by the tenfold path of action, Which encompasses everything, in full. This is how you can honor me— Bodhisatvas have no interest in hoarding riches. [MS.103.b]

“ ‘I have no interest in wealth, Food or drink, money, riches, or grain, In horses, elephants, or chariots, Or in women of high standing or fine clothing.

“ ‘Keep to that which encompasses all— The perfectly pure ten wholesome forms of conduct— And cultivate a loving attitude for one another, An attitude of wanting to help.’

“These were the words they heard As Purandara exhorted the men To take up what is wholesome, The pure path of the ten wholesome forms of conduct.

“Then, Śāriputra, when I had instructed, encouraged, inspired, and delighted this great host of beings with this talk on the Dharma, I disappeared. Śāriputra, with my superior ability I see that not a single one of those human beings who had come from all over the Jambu continent—women and men, boys and girls—who had eaten the flesh of the being Saumya, Śāriputra, fell into the lower realms of existence when the time of their death came. When they died, they were all reborn in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, or in similar realms. Śāriputra, as I had instructed, encouraged, inspired, and delighted them with this talk on the Dharma, they were all firmly established in the three vehicles: the Śrāvakayāna, the Pratyekabuddhayāna, and the vehicle of unsurpassed omniscience. Some of them reached nirvāṇa, and some of them will reach nirvāṇa. Note, Śāriputra, that I was able to bring so many sentient beings to maturity in the three paths by giving up a single body. This is what the great magical abilities of a bodhisatva, a great being who masters the Dharma body, is like. This is what his great powers are like. This is what a renowned lord is like.”

The venerable Śāriputra then asked the Lord, “Lord, what is the bodhisatva’s Dharma body like?”

The Lord answered, “Śāriputra, the bodhisatva’s Dharma body is firm, solid, and unbreakable, a vajra body, undying, and unborn. He may let it come into harm’s way when he is using it to train those sentient beings who are receptive to the training, but it can be neither burned by fire nor harmed by weapons. It is firm like a vajra and cannot be broken. In this way, Śāriputra, the bodhisatva whose vigor is unyielding and whose mastery of the Dharma body is effortless uses his body to bring sentient beings to maturity when he practices the perfection of vigor. He does so without deliberating about it, and without assumptions. He understands that the body is characterized by separateness. From the fact that the body is characterized by separateness, he understands that all phenomena are characterized by separateness. Because of this, he makes no distinction between the fact that the body is characterized by separateness and the fact that all phenomena are characterized by separateness. Whatever characterizes the fact that the body is characterized by separateness also characterizes the fact that all phenomena are characterized by separateness, and he takes these to be the very same characteristics of separateness. The fact that one’s own body is characterized by separateness is the very same as the fact that the bodies of all sentient beings are characterized by separateness. He understands the fact that the bodies of all sentient beings are characterized by separateness being the same as the fact that the totality of phenomena is characterized by separateness, and he trains in the fact that the totality of phenomena is characterized by separateness is the same as the fact that all phenomena are characterized by separateness. This is because there are no internal phenomena that can be established. He realizes that the suchness of his own body is the suchness of the bodies of sentient beings, and he realizes that the suchness of the body of all sentient beings is the suchness of his own body. He realizes that the suchness of his own body is the suchness of all the buddhas, and he realizes that the suchness of all the buddhas is the suchness of his own body. [MS.104.a] He realizes that the suchness of his own body is the suchness of the past, the future, and the present. He realizes that the suchness of the past, the future, and the present is the suchness of his own body. The suchness of the past is not at variance with the suchness of the future. The suchness of the past is not at variance with the suchness of the present. The suchness of the present is not at variance with the suchness of the past. The suchness of the future is not at variance with the suchness of the past. The suchness of the past is not at variance with the suchness of the future. The suchness of the future is not at variance with the suchness of the present. The suchness of the present is not at variance with the suchness of the future. The suchness of the future is not at variance with the suchness of the present, and the suchness of the present is not at variance with the suchness of the past. The suchness of the past is not at variance with the suchness of the present.

“What is true of the suchness of the past, the future, and the present is also true of the suchness of the skandhas, the elements, and the sense fields. What is true of the suchness of the skandhas, the elements, and the sense fields is also true of the suchness of the corruptions and their purification. What is true of the suchness of the corruptions and their purification is also true of the suchness of nirvāṇa and saṃsāra. What is true of the suchness of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa is also true of the suchness of constructions. The essence of the suchness of constructions is the same as that of all conditioned things.

“Śāriputra, suchness implies thatness and thusness, and being nothing other than what it is; it is inalienable and unembodied. Suchness is not in any way embodied—the unembodied is suchness. This is the embodiment of the tathāgata. Therefore, the very embodiment of suchness is what is meant by the embodiment of the tathāgata. Such an embodiment is an all-encompassing embodiment. The bodhisatva displays everything as being embodied, but he does not make the tathāgata into something that is embodied, and being unembodied and undisputed, he displays all embodied forms while not infringing upon the embodiment of the tathāgata. Through the knowledge of the tathāgata he discerns the embodiment of a tathāgata. Through the sameness of a tathāgata body he discerns the sameness of his own body. Through the sameness of his own body he discerns the sameness of all things embodied and all things not embodied. Through the sameness of all things embodied and not embodied he sees the final lack of any body. This is the understanding of the dependently originated nature of all bodies, and when he sees this, he attains the Dharma body. Having attained the Dharma body, he becomes the Dharma body himself, and he no longer has a body consisting of skandhas, elements, and sense fields. Someone who manifests the Dharma body can train sentient beings by means of sight. He can train sentient beings by means of sound. He can train sentient beings by means of physical contact. He can be of benefit to sentient beings.

“Take the example, Śāriputra, of Jīvaka, the king of physicians, who gathered together all kinds of medicinal substances, crushed them up, and mixed the medicinal herbs together [MS.104.b] to create a maiden who was delightful, pleasant, attractive, and in possession of many features of great beauty, fully perfected, and perfectly immaculate. She came and went, stood, sat, and slept, and although it was unbelievable and could not be fathomed, it nonetheless was apparent. A great many very sick people arrived: kings, princes, important ministers of the king, businessmen, householders, and local rulers. Jīvaka, the king of physicians, then joined them with his medicinal maiden, and as soon as they joined with her they overcame their illnesses and became well again, gaining long-lasting health. Thus, Śāriputra, the king of physicians, Jīvaka, possessed worldly knowledge of how to cure illness like that of no other doctor.

“In the same way, Śāriputra, when all the many sentient beings—women and men, boys and girls—who are afflicted by desire, anger, and confusion come into contact with the body of a bodhisatva who manifests the Dharma body, they will overcome all their illnesses and become free from afflictions as soon as they come into contact with it. This happens because of the completely pure aspirations the bodhisatva has made in the past.

“Śāriputra, the body of the bodhisatva who possesses a Dharma body does not need to be sustained by food and drink. Still, although he does not have to take nourishment to maintain his body, he knows how to do so, and so he will eat out of concern for all sentient beings. He eats and does not let anything go to waste. He eats, but the food does not enter his body. The powers of his Dharma body do not deteriorate. They do not diminish.

“Śāriputra, the bodhisatva who has a Dharma body knows no life, no death, and no birth. Still, he will manifest death and rebirth in order to bring sentient beings to maturity. Although he dies, he knows that all phenomena are undying and unconditioned. Although he is born, he knows that no phenomena are transferred. Although he is born, he knows that no phenomena are born. With a Dharma body, with the food of the Dharma, the power of the Dharma, and relying on the Dharma, he effortlessly practices the perfection of vigor with unyielding vigor in accordance with the vows he made in the past, in order to bring sentient beings to maturity.”

Then, in order to clarify this point, the Lord spoke these verses:

“Their bodies are unbreakable like vajras, [MS.105.a] But they will allow them to be broken if they see an opportunity to train others. They cannot be injured by weapons or burned by fire, But when they see beings to train they will let them be injured; they will let them be burned.

“They will be medicine if they see beings who are sick. They will be water and food for those who are hungry. But they do not engage in conceptualization within the realm of phenomena. Theirs is the unified approach of the Dharma body and the lack of a body.

“There is no man, no growth, and no human state When all phenomena are seen to be dependently arisen. Whatever exists in dependence upon conditions is accompanied by suffering. When conditions are undone the path of suffering is severed.

“This body is without substance, like froth. Feelings are like bubbles appearing in the mind. Perceptions are like floating mirages during the hot season. One should see mental conditioning as being like a plantain tree.

“A skillful magician can make various different kinds of forms Appear in an instant during his act. The deceptive creations that our consciousness experiences are just as illusory. The wise never put trust in them.

“Possessions are like a cascading waterfall. Like a flash of lightning in the sky, they amount to nothing. Seeing that fleeting possessions are like an arrow released from a bow, The wise never put trust in them.

“There are no sentient beings in the threefold realm Who do not enjoy the divine pleasures of the immortal realm. Nonetheless, when they see those who are experiencing the suffering of the hells, The sons of the Sugata will not depart for the heavenly realms.

“The mind is like space. It does not have any foundation. Where there is no foundation, no existence is possible. Things that have no existence cannot be born or die. Bodhisatvas, great beings, attain the ageless, undying state.

“Moreover, Śāriputra, the bodhisatva whose vigor is unyielding will train in the practice of the perfection of vigor in the following way: ‘Alas. Those who are entangled in the ways of the world have no other option than to rely upon unprofessional doctors. They have no other option than to rely upon ignorant doctors who do not understand the three major forms of disease. These doctors do not understand the great disease of desire. They do not understand the great disease of anger. They do not understand the great disease of confusion. They do not understand the three kinds of medicine that these three major diseases require. They do not understand that the great disease of desire requires the great medicine of disgust. They do not understand that the great disease of anger requires the great medicine of love. They do not understand that the great disease of confusion requires the great medicine of dependent arising. Alas, these doctors are able to treat one ailment after the other, but they are not able to treat all ailments. Alas. These doctors have medicines that can treat things temporarily, but they have no ultimate remedy. This is why we will not train as doctors. Instead, we will follow the training of the lords, the buddhas, those who are skilled in the entirety of the Dharma, the unsurpassed great kings of physicians who can cure all ailments. We will develop the ability to cure all ailments, not just to cure one ailment after the other as they occur. [MS.105.b] We will develop the ability to provide the ultimate cure, not just temporary treatment. We will develop the ability to gather the kind of medicine, the kind of healing balm of the Dharma, that will heal the great ailment of desire, the great ailment of anger, and the great ailment of confusion as soon as one hears it.’ This, Śāriputra, is how the bodhisatva, the great being, practices the perfection of vigor with unyielding vigor as he gathers this medicine, this healing balm of the Dharma, which is only possessed by the tathāgatas, the unsurpassed great kings of physicians who are skilled in the entirety of the Dharma, and which is not available to any śrāvakas or pratyekabuddhas. When one applies this medicine, this healing balm of the Dharma, to the great conch of the Dharma, it fills it up, and its sound will then resound throughout the threefold thousand great thousand worlds, alleviating the great diseases of desire, anger, and confusion in many sentient beings, in many hundreds of sentient beings, in many thousands of sentient beings, in many hundreds of thousands of sentient beings, in many hundreds of thousands of millions of trillions of sentient beings, in many thousands of billions of trillions of sentient beings, and so forth—in so many sentient beings that it cannot be put into words.

“Śāriputra, consider the example of the great king of medicine by the name of Vigama who resides on Himavat, the king of mountains, and whose fragrant substance can overcome any poison and decontaminate an area of up to one hundred yojanas. Now, Śāriputra, if Vigama, the great king of medicine, were to infuse a conch or a drum with his fragrant substance and then make a sound with it, any sentient being who consumes or comes into contact with poison would have the effects of the poison neutralized when they heard this sound. Śāriputra, no other doctor’s knowledge can compare to that of Vigama, the king of medical remedies, except for that of the great king of physicians Jīvaka.

“In the same way, Śāriputra, bodhisatvas, great beings, obtain a kind of medicine, a healing balm of the Dharma, that is not available to any śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha. It is the perfect skill in the Dharma of the tathāgatas, the great kings of physicians, and it removes all the ailments of all sentient beings. When one applies this medicine, this healing balm of the Dharma, to the great conch of the Dharma, it fills it up, and its melody resounds throughout the threefold thousand great thousand worlds, alleviating the great diseases of desire, anger, and confusion in the many sentient beings who hear its sound, [MS.106.a] alleviating the great diseases of desire, anger, and confusion in the sentient beings who happen to hear it, in many hundreds of sentient beings, in many thousands of sentient beings, in many hundreds of thousands of sentient beings, in many tens of millions of sentient beings, in many billions of sentient beings, in many tens of billions of sentient beings, in many trillions of sentient beings, in many millions of trillions of sentient beings, and so forth—in so many sentient beings that it cannot be put into words.

“Where does it come from? It comes from the place where the treasure of the bodhisatva has been deposited. Where has the treasure of the bodhisatva been deposited? It is only found within the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva. This cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva is what the bodhisatva, the great being, who practices the perfection of vigor will listen to intently. He will memorize it, preserve it, recite it, absorb it, elucidate it for others, and teach it in great detail. This, Śāriputra, is why the bodhisatva, the great being who practices the perfection of vigor, will listen intently to the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva and why he will memorize it, preserve it, recite it, absorb it, elucidate it for others, and teach it in great detail.

“Śāriputra, this point should be taken to heart, that the bodhisatva, the great being, who practices the perfection of vigor listens intently to the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva and memorizes it, preserves it, recites it, absorbs it, elucidates it to others, and teaches it in great detail.

“At one time in the past, Śāriputra, a great many uncountable, innumerable, vast, inconceivable eons ago, and much more than that, a tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished buddha by the name of Padmottara appeared in the world, and so forth. He was awakened, a lord. Śāriputra, the Lord Padmottara, the tathāgata, the arhat, the fully accomplished Buddha, had a great following of śrāvakas. They numbered eight hundred million, and they were all arhats who had eliminated the defilements, who were free from vices, who were powerful, and so forth, and who had reached the very highest level of complete mastery of the mind. Śāriputra, the Lord, the Tathāgata Padmottara lived until he was eighty years old, and then, after Padmottara passed away, his true Dharma remained for five hundred years. For another five hundred years a reflection of the true Dharma remained. Moreover, Śāriputra, after the tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished Buddha Padmottara passed away, his remains were distributed, just as my remains will be distributed when I pass away.

“Then, Śāriputra, a hundred years after the final nirvāṇa of the Lord, the Tathāgata Padmottara, a bodhisatva died in another world and was, as foretold, reborn in a royal family. Immediately after his birth, he proclaimed, ‘We have been reborn in an un-Dharmic family, so we must go in search of the Dharma.’ Because of this, he was given the name Dharmacārin.

“Śāriputra, when the prince Dharmacārin’s faculties had ripened and he had reached the age of twenty, he followed his conviction, left ordinary household life behind, and become a renunciant, retreating to forests and keeping to remote dwelling places. While he was in his secluded retreat, gods approached him and encouraged him, saying, ‘You, mendicant, will make the words of the tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished Buddha resound. You should pursue the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva, and as long as you have not found it [MS.106.b] you should not let your vigor wane.’ When he heard what these gods said, he was greatly delighted, pleased, and inspired, and he enthusiastically went in search of the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva. He passed through villages, towns, cities, countries, kingdoms, and royal courts, going from settlement to settlement, searching everywhere for the places where the Saṅgha was dwelling, approaching male and female mendicants and asking them, ‘Do you know of the cycle of teachings that is studied by the noble bodhisatvas, their resource for the qualities of the Buddha, that is called The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva?’

“They would answer, ‘Mendicant, we do not know of any cycle of teachings called The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva. Mendicant, today is the first time we have heard that there is a cycle of teachings that is called The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva.’

“He thought to himself, ‘The gods did not lie. As long as I have not heard the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva, I will not let my vigor wane.’

“He asked them, ‘Venerable ones, where was it that the Lord, the Tathāgata Padmottara, was cremated?’

“They pointed the spot out to him, saying, ‘Mendicant, this is the spot where the Lord, the Tathāgata Padmottara, was cremated.’

“He went there, and when he arrived at the spot he circumambulated it and then sat down to one side. Facing the Lord, the Tathāgata Padmottara, he then thought, ‘I will not leave this spot, I will not change my posture, until I have heard the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva directly from the Lord, the Tathāgata Padmottara, himself.’

“Śāriputra, so firm was the resolve of the royal sage who possessed unyielding vigor that he remained seated on that spot for seven days. When seven days had passed, the tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished buddha by the name of Ratnagarbha arrived from the tenth universe to the east to reveal key verses of the Dharma that contained eight syllables to a foot. Through these verses he was able to come to an understanding of the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva. These key verses of the Dharma that contained eight syllables to a foot brought him inconceivable, unsurpassably great learning. He then rose and left that place. He practiced the perfection of vigor with unyielding vigor and elucidated this very cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva, traveling through villages, towns, cities, countries, kingdoms, and royal courts for sixty years. In the course of these sixty years he established ten million beings, gods and men, in the three vehicles, and when the time of his death arrived, he made the following prayer: ‘May I share the same fate as the human beings in this very buddha realm.’ As he was passing away he said, ‘I am to be reborn yet again in a family of merchants on the Jambu continent.’ Immediately after his birth he spoke these words: ‘I will be a practitioner of the Dharma. I will be a practitioner of the Dharma.’ And so, as before, he was given the name Dharmacārin, ‘practitioner of the Dharma.’

“When he reached the age of six he followed his conviction, left ordinary household life behind, and become a renunciant, and not long after his going forth, the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva revealed itself to him again. For sixty years [MS.107.a] he continually proclaimed this very cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva in village after village, town after town, country after country. During these sixty years, another ten million beings, gods and human beings, gained maturity in the three vehicles—the Śrāvakayāna, the Pratyekabuddhayāna, and the unsurpassable Mahāyāna.

“Again, when the time of his death arrived, he made a vow to return as a human being, and through the power of this vow, he was reborn yet again in a royal family on the Jambu continent. Immediately after his birth, these words issued from the heavenly realms: ‘Oh! A being of the unsurpassed Dharma has been born in the world. Ah! A being of the unsurpassed Dharma has been born in the world. Dharmottara, “unsurpassed Dharma,” shall be his name.’

“When he reached maturity, around the age of twenty, he followed his conviction, left ordinary household life behind, and become a renunciant. Having become a renunciant, the mendicant Dharmottara’s power of mindfulness was rekindled, his power of wisdom was rekindled, and again the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva revealed itself to him. Thereupon, Śāriputra, the mendicant Dharmottara proclaimed the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva, the cycle of teachings that severs doubt, in various villages, towns, cities, countries, and royal courts for a full sixty thousand years. During those sixty thousand years another ten million beings—gods, humans, and asuras—matured to the stage of unsurpassed perfect awakening.

“Again, when the time of his death arrived, he made a vow to return as a human being, and after he died he was reborn in a family of householder lords on the Jambu continent. Immediately after his birth, these words issued from the heavenly realms: ‘Ah! A being who has mastered mindfulness has appeared in the world. Ah! A being who has mastered mindfulness has appeared in the world.’ Because of this, he was given the name Smṛtipratilabha, ‘the one who has mastered mindfulness.’

“When he reached maturity, around the age of twenty, he followed his conviction, left ordinary household life behind, and become a renunciant. Because he did not lose his mindfulness, he went on to accumulate inconceivable, unsurpassed great learning. He taught the Dharma for sixty thousand years, visiting villages, towns, cities, countries, kingdoms, and royal courts. He proclaimed the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva, which severs all doubts, in villages, towns, cities, countries, kingdoms, and royal courts. During those sixty thousand years, he was responsible for forty million beings—gods, humans, and asuras— [MS.107.b] reaching maturity by means of the three vehicles: the Śrāvakayāna, the Pratyekabuddhayāna, and the unsurpassed Buddhayāna. Śāriputra, he was a mendicant who relied upon the Dharma, and when the time of his death arrived, he was reborn in the eastern buddha realm of the Tathāgata Ratnagarbha.

“Śāriputra, this bodhisatva, this great being, had helped to bring a full sixty million beings—gods, human beings, and asuras—to maturity by means of the three vehicles, and, Śāriputra, as soon as he was born in that buddha realm, he came to possess the inconceivable and unsurpassable great learning of the Tathāgata Ratnagarbha. He remained there for a considerable number of years, and when the time of his death arrived, he was again reborn in a buddha realm, in the world where the Lord, the Tathāgata Padmottara, had appeared, this time in a royal family. Those sixty million beings whom he had previously helped bring to maturity now became his assistants in that rebirth.

“Then the time came when a tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished buddha by the name of Atyuccagāmin appeared in that world, in that buddha realm. The extent of the lifespan of the Lord, the Tathāgata Atyuccagāmin, Śāriputra, was a full eight hundred forty million years, and the extent of the lifespan of the human beings there at that time was also a full eight hundred forty million years. Śāriputra, the tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished Buddha Atyuccagāmin had a great assembly of śrāvakas consisting of eight hundred forty million śrāvakas who were arhats. For every ten million years that passed, there would be another assembly of śrāvakas. In each assembly of śrāvakas there would be eight hundred million śrāvakas who were all arhats.

“At that time there appeared a prince, a bodhisatva, by the name of Śūradatta, who was very learned and erudite and who had attained mastery of analytical abilities. Śāriputra, accompanied by a devoted retinue of eighty million, the prince went to where the Lord Atyuccagāmin, the tathāgata, the arhat, the fully accomplished Buddha, was staying, and when he arrived there he honored him by touching his head at the feet of the Lord, the Tathāgata Atyuccagāmin, and sat down to one side. When the prince Śūradatta and his retinue had sat down, Śāriputra, the Lord, the Tathāgata Atyuccagāmin, acknowledged the excellent intentions of the prince Śūradatta and then gave a talk about the connections between his present existence and his past existences.

“Śāriputra, listening to this talk about the connections between his present existence and his past existences, the prince Śūradatta developed trust. With a mind of faith, he, [MS.108.a] together with his retinue of eighty million beings, followed his conviction, left ordinary household life behind, and become a renunciant. From then on he lived the life of purity and devoted himself to the pursuit of awakening.

“A prophecy was then made by the Lord, the Tathāgata Atyuccagāmin: ‘Mendicants, this bodhisatva, this great being Śūradatta, will attain unsurpassed perfect awakening after me, and he will appear in the world as a tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished buddha by the name of Mahāvīrya, and so forth. He will be awakened, a lord.’

“When the Lord, the Tathāgata Atyuccagāmin, attained final nirvāṇa, Śūradatta honored his relics, preserved the true Dharma, and did eventually attain unsurpassed perfect awakening, becoming a tathāgata by the name of Mahāvīrya. The lifespan of the tathāgata Mahāvīrya, Śāriputra, was half an eon. He had countless saṅghas of śrāvakas, and each assembly was made up of one billion two hundred million arhats, and no one who was not an arhat.

“That bodhisatva, Śāriputra, practiced the perfection of vigor with unrelenting vigor, studying the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva in great detail, learning it, memorizing it, reading it, and absorbing it, until he eventually became the tathāgata named Mahāvīrya.

“This, Śāriputra, is why sons or daughters of good family who are established in the Mahāyāna and who wish to attain unsurpassed perfect awakening quickly should study the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva in great detail, memorize it, and so forth, and teach it in great detail and do so with unyielding vigor. Why should they do this? This, Śāriputra, is the bodhisatvas’ perfection of vigor, and it is with this kind of unyielding vigor that they search for the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva. This, Śāriputra, is the perfection of vigor of bodhisatvas, by means of which bodhisatvas practice the way of the bodhisatva.”