Then, within that great assembly, Sthāvarā, the goddess of the earth, rose from her seat and said to the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, when this Supremely Victorious King of Sūtras, the Sublime Golden Light is being promulgated, whether it is in the present or the future, or whether in a village, a town, a market town, a king’s palace, or a wilderness, on a mountain, in a cave, or in a forest, Bhagavat, I will go there and make offerings to it, honor it, protect and defend it, and promulgate it widely.
EN
“In whatever place a high throne is made for the dharmabhāṇaka upādhyāya and this sūtra is taught, I will make myself invisible through my miraculous powers and will go there and support his feet with my head.
EN
“When I hear the Dharma, with thoughts of complete trust, I will be overjoyed. Through the power of obtaining the flavor of the Dharma, my magnificence will increase, and I will gain an immeasurable reverence for it. Because I attain such a benefit, this will increase all the goodness of the earth throughout eighty thousand yojanas of this great earth, as far down as the vajra disk. The goodness of the earth will increase throughout the entire great earth as far as the four oceans, becoming potent and greater and exceptionally superior to what it was before.
EN
“In this Jambudvīpa, the various kinds of rivers, ponds, trees, herbs, forests, flowers, fruits, roots, stems, branches, leaves, and grains that exist will have beautiful, attractive forms, and many people will wish to look at them; they will have excellent color and scents, and they will all be useful.
EN
“Those beings who use them for the most perfect food and drink will have their lifespan, complexion, strength, and faculties increased in health and magnificence. They will have no illness, and their minds will have steadfast wisdom and will persevere in anything. Moreover, all of the hundreds of thousands of things that are used to any extent from this great earth will all be perfect.
EN
“Bhagavat, through that cause and condition, Jambudvīpa will have perfect happiness and excellent harvests, and humans will multiply and increase, without any calamities, so that all the beings that exist will experience happiness. In that way, their bodies and minds will experience happiness, and wherever they are, they will have deep reverence for this king of sūtras. Everyone will aspire to possess it, make offerings to it, honor it, venerate it, and speak its praises. Moreover, they will go to the places where great dharmabhāṇaka upādhyāyas will teach the Dharma, and they will supplicate them to teach this sublime king of sūtras for the sake of beings.
EN
“Why would they do that? Bhagavat, through the power of this sūtra being taught, I and my entourage will be benefited. Our light, color, strength, courage, magnificence, and beauty of form will become far superior to what they were before.
EN
“Bhagavat, I, the earth goddess Sthāvarā, will also be satiated by the flavor of the Dharma, and because of that, all the earth for seven thousand yojanas in Jambudvīpa will become potent, and, as stated before, all the beings that exist will experience happiness.
EN
“Therefore, Bhagavat, at that time, in order to repay my kindness, those beings should think, ‘Without a doubt we will listen to, honor, serve, make offerings to, venerate, and praise this sūtra.’ Thinking in that way, they should leave their homes and go to the gathering for the Dharma teaching, whether it be in a village, a town, a market town, a house, or a wilderness. They should bow down their heads to the dharmabhāṇaka upādhyāya and, having paid homage to him, listen to this sūtra.
EN
“When they have listened to the sūtra, they will return to their own homes, and with great joy arisen in their minds they will say, ‘Today, through having heard a profound and unsurpassable, wonderful Dharma, we have gathered an inconceivable accumulation of merit. Through the power of the might of the sūtra, we have offered to and served countless, infinite hundreds of thousands of quintillions of buddhas so that we are freed from the unendurable sufferings of the three lower existences. Also, for a hundred thousand future lifetimes, we will always be reborn as humans in the higher existences and experience supreme happiness.’
EN
“When those many people return to their own homes, if they teach many beings even just one example that is taught in this king of sūtras, or just one chapter, or just one history, or the name of just one tathāgata, or the name of just one bodhisattva, or just one four-line verse, or even a single line of verse, or if they only tell them the name of this sūtra, then, venerable Bhagavat, in all the places where those beings live, the earth will become potent and superior to that in other places, and everything that grows from the great earth will multiply greatly and be vast so that beings will experience the enjoyment of great happiness. There will be many jewels and wealth. They will perform great acts of generosity. Their minds will be constantly steady, and they will have complete conviction in the Three Jewels.”
EN
Then the Bhagavat said to Sthāvarā, the goddess of the earth, “If any being hears even one line from this Supremely Victorious King of Sūtras, the Sublime Golden Light, after they have passed away, they will be reborn in the Trāyastriṃśa or another paradise.
EN
“If any being, because they wish to make offerings to this king of sūtras, perfectly adorns their home by even putting up one canopy or hanging one streamer, then through that cause and condition they will be reborn in accordance with their aspiration, among the six paradises, and enjoy according to their wishes a sublime, supreme divine palace made of the seven jewels. Each one will frolic together with seven thousand devīs and enjoy inconceivable superior bliss constantly, day and night.”
EN
Then Sthāvarā, the earth goddess, said to the Bhagavat, “Therefore, Bhagavat, when anyone among the four classes of followers sits upon a Dharma throne and teaches this Dharma correctly, I will protect and defend that individual day and night. I will make my body invisible and come before their Dharma thrones and will support their feet.
EN
“Bhagavat, those beings, who have planted good roots with many hundreds of thousands of buddhas, will widely promulgate such a sūtra as this so that it will not vanish. Any being who listens to this sūtra will in the time that follows, for countless hundreds of thousands of quintillions of eons, constantly enjoy perfect happiness among devas and humans. They will meet many buddhas and will quickly attain the highest, most complete enlightenment of buddhahood. They will not experience the suffering of the three lower existences or of saṃsāra.”
EN
The earth goddess Sthāvarā then further said to the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, I have a mantra essence that will benefit devas and humans and bring happiness to them all. If any man, woman, or one of the four kinds of followers wishes to truly and directly see my body, if they single-mindedly possess this dhāraṇī, then all their aspirations will be fulfilled exactly as they wish.
EN
“In this way, if they wish for wealth, a treasure of jewels, higher cognitions, the possession of medicine for a long life, healing the illness of many beings, the defeat of adversarial enemies, or the elimination of those who disagree with them, then they should make a circle in a clean building. They should wash their bodies, wear clean, new clothes, sit on a seat made of grass, and in front of an image that contains relics or in front of a stūpa that contains relics, burn incense, scatter flowers, and offer various kinds of food and drink. On the eighth day of the waxing moon, when it is the time of the constellation Puṣya, they should repeat this mantra of invitation:
EN
tadyathā | cili cili curu curu kuru kuru kuṭu kuṭu toṭu toṭu vaha vaha variṣa variṣa svāhā |
EN
“Bhagavat, if anyone among the four classes of followers invites me by repeating this vidyāmantra a hundred and eight times, I will for that reason come to the one who invited me.
EN
“Moreover, Bhagavat, any being who wishes to truly, directly see me and seeks to speak with me should perform the rite in the same way as previously described and repeat this dhāraṇī:
“Bhagavat, if anyone recites this mantra, repeating it a hundred and eight times and then reciting the previous mantra, there is no doubt that I will manifest my body and will completely fulfill all aspirations.
EN
“If someone wishes to recite this mantra, they should first recite this mantra of protection for their body:
“Bhagavat, when reciting this dhāraṇī mantra, take up a cord of five colors and repeat the mantra onto it twenty-one times while making twenty-one knots. Having repeated the mantra in that way twenty-one times, tie them onto the left upper arm, and then from then on, the body will be protected so that there will be no danger.
EN
“If someone repeats this mantra with a single-pointed mind, aspirations will be accomplished exactly as wished. I am not speaking a falsehood. The Three Jewels of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha are my witnesses and know it to be the truth.”
EN
Then the Bhagavat said to the earth goddess Sthāvarā, “It is excellent, excellent that you protect this king of sūtras, which has been sealed by a mantra of pure words and the dharmabhāṇakas. Through this cause and condition, you will attain an immeasurable ripening of merit.”
Then, within that great assembly, Sthāvarā, the goddess of the earth, rose from her seat and said to the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, when this Supremely Victorious King of Sūtras, the Sublime Golden Light is being promulgated, whether it is in the present or the future, or whether in a village, a town, a market town, a king’s palace, or a wilderness, on a mountain, in a cave, or in a forest, Bhagavat, I will go there and make offerings to it, honor it, protect and defend it, and promulgate it widely.
EN
“In whatever place a high throne is made for the dharmabhāṇaka upādhyāya and this sūtra is taught, I will make myself invisible through my miraculous powers and will go there and support his feet with my head.
EN
“When I hear the Dharma, with thoughts of complete trust, I will be overjoyed. Through the power of obtaining the flavor of the Dharma, my magnificence will increase, and I will gain an immeasurable reverence for it. Because I attain such a benefit, this will increase all the goodness of the earth throughout eighty thousand yojanas of this great earth, as far down as the vajra disk. The goodness of the earth will increase throughout the entire great earth as far as the four oceans, becoming potent and greater and exceptionally superior to what it was before.
EN
“In this Jambudvīpa, the various kinds of rivers, ponds, trees, herbs, forests, flowers, fruits, roots, stems, branches, leaves, and grains that exist will have beautiful, attractive forms, and many people will wish to look at them; they will have excellent color and scents, and they will all be useful.
EN
“Those beings who use them for the most perfect food and drink will have their lifespan, complexion, strength, and faculties increased in health and magnificence. They will have no illness, and their minds will have steadfast wisdom and will persevere in anything. Moreover, all of the hundreds of thousands of things that are used to any extent from this great earth will all be perfect.
EN
“Bhagavat, through that cause and condition, Jambudvīpa will have perfect happiness and excellent harvests, and humans will multiply and increase, without any calamities, so that all the beings that exist will experience happiness. In that way, their bodies and minds will experience happiness, and wherever they are, they will have deep reverence for this king of sūtras. Everyone will aspire to possess it, make offerings to it, honor it, venerate it, and speak its praises. Moreover, they will go to the places where great dharmabhāṇaka upādhyāyas will teach the Dharma, and they will supplicate them to teach this sublime king of sūtras for the sake of beings.
EN
“Why would they do that? Bhagavat, through the power of this sūtra being taught, I and my entourage will be benefited. Our light, color, strength, courage, magnificence, and beauty of form will become far superior to what they were before.
EN
“Bhagavat, I, the earth goddess Sthāvarā, will also be satiated by the flavor of the Dharma, and because of that, all the earth for seven thousand yojanas in Jambudvīpa will become potent, and, as stated before, all the beings that exist will experience happiness.
EN
“Therefore, Bhagavat, at that time, in order to repay my kindness, those beings should think, ‘Without a doubt we will listen to, honor, serve, make offerings to, venerate, and praise this sūtra.’ Thinking in that way, they should leave their homes and go to the gathering for the Dharma teaching, whether it be in a village, a town, a market town, a house, or a wilderness. They should bow down their heads to the dharmabhāṇaka upādhyāya and, having paid homage to him, listen to this sūtra.
EN
“When they have listened to the sūtra, they will return to their own homes, and with great joy arisen in their minds they will say, ‘Today, through having heard a profound and unsurpassable, wonderful Dharma, we have gathered an inconceivable accumulation of merit. Through the power of the might of the sūtra, we have offered to and served countless, infinite hundreds of thousands of quintillions of buddhas so that we are freed from the unendurable sufferings of the three lower existences. Also, for a hundred thousand future lifetimes, we will always be reborn as humans in the higher existences and experience supreme happiness.’
EN
“When those many people return to their own homes, if they teach many beings even just one example that is taught in this king of sūtras, or just one chapter, or just one history, or the name of just one tathāgata, or the name of just one bodhisattva, or just one four-line verse, or even a single line of verse, or if they only tell them the name of this sūtra, then, venerable Bhagavat, in all the places where those beings live, the earth will become potent and superior to that in other places, and everything that grows from the great earth will multiply greatly and be vast so that beings will experience the enjoyment of great happiness. There will be many jewels and wealth. They will perform great acts of generosity. Their minds will be constantly steady, and they will have complete conviction in the Three Jewels.”
EN
Then the Bhagavat said to Sthāvarā, the goddess of the earth, “If any being hears even one line from this Supremely Victorious King of Sūtras, the Sublime Golden Light, after they have passed away, they will be reborn in the Trāyastriṃśa or another paradise.
EN
“If any being, because they wish to make offerings to this king of sūtras, perfectly adorns their home by even putting up one canopy or hanging one streamer, then through that cause and condition they will be reborn in accordance with their aspiration, among the six paradises, and enjoy according to their wishes a sublime, supreme divine palace made of the seven jewels. Each one will frolic together with seven thousand devīs and enjoy inconceivable superior bliss constantly, day and night.”
EN
Then Sthāvarā, the earth goddess, said to the Bhagavat, “Therefore, Bhagavat, when anyone among the four classes of followers sits upon a Dharma throne and teaches this Dharma correctly, I will protect and defend that individual day and night. I will make my body invisible and come before their Dharma thrones and will support their feet.
EN
“Bhagavat, those beings, who have planted good roots with many hundreds of thousands of buddhas, will widely promulgate such a sūtra as this so that it will not vanish. Any being who listens to this sūtra will in the time that follows, for countless hundreds of thousands of quintillions of eons, constantly enjoy perfect happiness among devas and humans. They will meet many buddhas and will quickly attain the highest, most complete enlightenment of buddhahood. They will not experience the suffering of the three lower existences or of saṃsāra.”
EN
The earth goddess Sthāvarā then further said to the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, I have a mantra essence that will benefit devas and humans and bring happiness to them all. If any man, woman, or one of the four kinds of followers wishes to truly and directly see my body, if they single-mindedly possess this dhāraṇī, then all their aspirations will be fulfilled exactly as they wish.
EN
“In this way, if they wish for wealth, a treasure of jewels, higher cognitions, the possession of medicine for a long life, healing the illness of many beings, the defeat of adversarial enemies, or the elimination of those who disagree with them, then they should make a circle in a clean building. They should wash their bodies, wear clean, new clothes, sit on a seat made of grass, and in front of an image that contains relics or in front of a stūpa that contains relics, burn incense, scatter flowers, and offer various kinds of food and drink. On the eighth day of the waxing moon, when it is the time of the constellation Puṣya, they should repeat this mantra of invitation:
EN
tadyathā | cili cili curu curu kuru kuru kuṭu kuṭu toṭu toṭu vaha vaha variṣa variṣa svāhā |
EN
“Bhagavat, if anyone among the four classes of followers invites me by repeating this vidyāmantra a hundred and eight times, I will for that reason come to the one who invited me.
EN
“Moreover, Bhagavat, any being who wishes to truly, directly see me and seeks to speak with me should perform the rite in the same way as previously described and repeat this dhāraṇī:
“Bhagavat, if anyone recites this mantra, repeating it a hundred and eight times and then reciting the previous mantra, there is no doubt that I will manifest my body and will completely fulfill all aspirations.
EN
“If someone wishes to recite this mantra, they should first recite this mantra of protection for their body:
“Bhagavat, when reciting this dhāraṇī mantra, take up a cord of five colors and repeat the mantra onto it twenty-one times while making twenty-one knots. Having repeated the mantra in that way twenty-one times, tie them onto the left upper arm, and then from then on, the body will be protected so that there will be no danger.
EN
“If someone repeats this mantra with a single-pointed mind, aspirations will be accomplished exactly as wished. I am not speaking a falsehood. The Three Jewels of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha are my witnesses and know it to be the truth.”
EN
Then the Bhagavat said to the earth goddess Sthāvarā, “It is excellent, excellent that you protect this king of sūtras, which has been sealed by a mantra of pure words and the dharmabhāṇakas. Through this cause and condition, you will attain an immeasurable ripening of merit.”
Sutraya