Then the Bhagavat said to the great goddess Śrī, “Any noble man or noble woman who has a trusting mind and faith and wishes to make an inconceivable, vast, and great offering of requisites to the past, future, and present buddhas, and wishes to know and realize the profound field of activity of the buddhas of the three times, whether dwelling in a town, in a market town, or on a mountain, should without doubt and single-mindedly teach extensively and promulgate this king of sūtras there. Those who listen to the Dharma should avoid distraction and be single-minded.”

The Bhagavat then recited these verses to the goddess and the great assembly:

“Someone who wishes to make an Inconceivable offering to many buddhas And wishes to know the profound Field of activity of all the tathāgatas,

“If they see that someone is Teaching this Sublime Golden Light, They should go to that place And come before that person.

“This sūtra is inconceivable And gives rise to an ocean of qualities, And it liberates all beings From the endless ocean of suffering.

“I have looked upon this sūtra, And it is good in its beginning, middle, and end. It is very profound and beyond evaluation. There is no analogy that is equal to it.

“The Ganges sands and the great earth’s particles, The water in the oceans and the sky, And even all the mountains and rocks Cannot serve as even a fraction of an analogy for it.

“If someone wishes to enter the Dharma realm, They should first listen to this sūtra. A stūpa that is the nature of the Dharma Is a profound and extremely blissful location.

“And they will see me, Śākyamuni, inside this stūpa, Teaching this sūtra with a Sublime, beautiful voice.

“They will then be reborn as devas and humans And will experience perfect happiness For an incalculable number Of many millions of eons.

“They should think this thought: ‘Through listening to this sūtra, I have attained an inconceivable Accumulation of merit.’

“If there is a great mass of fire That is a hundred yojanas across, They should, in order to listen to this sūtra, Traverse it without hesitation.

“When they have arrived at that place And have heard such a sūtra as this, They will be purified of their bad karma, And bad dreams will be dispelled.

“The malevolent planets and lunar asterisms, Bad omens, spirits from sorcery, evil demons, And so on, will all forsake their evil actions At the time when this sūtra is heard.

“Perfectly adorn an excellent high throne That is perfectly clean and resembles a lotus. The dharmabhāṇaka should ascend it, Like a great seated nāga.

“When he is seated there comfortably, He should give the teaching of this sūtra. He should have it written out, read it out loud, And give the teaching of its meaning.

“When the dharmabhāṇaka has left that seat, Even if he has gone to another land There will be many miraculous signs That will appear from that high throne.

“Sometimes the dharmabhāṇaka’s form Will be seen sitting on that high throne. Sometimes it will be the Buddha Bhagavat Or a bodhisattva who is seen.

“Sometimes it will be the form of Samantabhadra. Sometimes it will resemble Mañjuśrī. Sometimes Lord Maitreya Will be seen upon that high throne.

“Sometimes marvelous signs, The forms of many devas, Will be seen for just a moment And then will instantly disappear.

“This will perfect many good fortunes; All deeds will be successful, as wished for; Good qualities will be perfected— That is what the Bhagavat has said.

“There will be supreme victory and renown. Many kleśas will come to an end. Opposing enemies will be completely dispelled, And there will always be victory in battle.

“There will not be any bad dreams. Many poisons and harms will cease to be. Whichever of the three bad actions is done, They will be purified by the power of the sūtra.

“There will be fame that will spread Throughout the entirety of this Jambudvīpa. All the enemies that hold grievances Will direct their grievances toward each other.

“Even if there is an enemy that comes, Just through hearing its name they will be repelled. The two parties will become happy And not rely on waving weapons.

“The Brahmā king and Śakra, The world guardians, the Four Mahārājas, The yakṣa Vajrapāṇi, and The great general Saṃjñeya;

“The king of nāgas, Anavatapta; The king of nāgas, Sāgara; The kinnaras and devas of music; The asuras and the lord of the garuḍas;

“The great goddess Sarasvatī And the great goddess Śrī— Those and the other lords of devas, Leading their own deva assemblies,

“Will make offerings to the buddhas, And with minds that are always joyful, They will render homage to the sūtra, To this inconceivable jewel of the Dharma.

“These and many other devas Will all gather together, Look at those who accomplish merit, And then they will say to one another:

“ ‘Regard these beings well! They have great merit and qualities! Through the power of their diligence in good roots, They will be reborn with us in our paradises.

“ ‘With veneration they have gone there To listen to this profound sūtra. They make offerings to the stūpa of the Dharma In order to pay homage to the true Dharma.

“ ‘They have compassion for all beings And therefore create a great benefit for them, Thus creating vessels for the Dharma jewel That is comprised of these profound sūtras.

“ ‘Those who enter this Dharma gate Will have entered into the nature of the Dharma. They will listen with a one-pointed mind To this Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light.

“ ‘As those individuals have made offerings To countless hundreds of thousands of buddhas, It is through the power of those good roots That they are listening to this sūtra.

“ ‘In this way, the lords of devas, And the goddess Sarasvatī, And the goddess Śrī, And the devas of the Four Mahārājas,

“ ‘And countless retinues of yakṣas Who have courage and miraculous powers Will always come from each of the Four directions and give protection.

“ ‘Sūrya, Soma, Śakra, the lord of devas, Vāyu, Varuṇa, and Agni, Viṣṇu, and Skanda, And Yama and the goddess Sarasvatī,

“ ‘The world guardians, and so on, All those who have splendor and magnificence Protect those who keep the sūtra, And so are never apart from them day or night.

“ ‘The mighty lords of the yakṣas, Nārāyaṇa and Maheśvara, Lord Saṃjñeya, and all the others; The twenty-eight yakṣas;

“ ‘And also the hundred thousand yakṣas Who have miraculous powers and great might Will always come to places of danger And give protection to those individuals.

“ ‘Vajrapāṇi, the king of yakṣas, With a retinue of five hundred And a great assembly of bodhisattvas Will always come and give protection to them.

“ ‘Maṇirāja, the lord of yakṣas, And similarly, King Complete Excellence, Aṭāvika, Kubera, Piṅgala, and Kapila—

“ ‘These and other yakṣa kings, Together with retinues of five hundred yakṣas, Will all come and give their protection.

“ ‘Citrasena and Gandharva, Jinarāja and Jinarṣabha, Maṇikaṇṭha and Nīlakaṇṭha, Varṣādhipati, all those,

“ ‘And Supremely Victorious and Mahākāla, And similarly also Svarṇakeśin, Pāñcika, and Chagalapāda, And similarly also Mahābhāga,

“ ‘Praṇālin and Dharma Protector, King of the Monkeys, Sūciroma and Sūryamitra, And also Ratnakeśa will give protection.

“ ‘Great Pranili and Nakula, Candana and Kāmaśreṣṭha, Nārāyaṇa and Haimavata, And similarly also Sātāgirista—

“ ‘All of them have great miraculous powers, Are very courageous and mighty. If they see someone who keeps this sūtra, They will all come and give their protection.

“ ‘Anavatapta, the nāga king, The king of nāgas Sāgara, Elapatra and Mucilinda, And Nanda and Upananda,

“ ‘These among a hundred thousand nāgas Possessing miraculous powers and majesty Give their protection to keepers of the sūtra And are therefore always present day and night.

“ ‘Bali and Rāhu, Vemacitra and Saṃvara, Kharaskandha and Great Hollow, And similarly also Prahlādana,

“ ‘And all the other asura kings, A countless assembly of devas With great might and supreme courage, Will all come and give their protection.

“ ‘Hārītī, the mother of spirits, With her retinue of five hundred yakṣas, Will always come and give their protection Whether the person is asleep or awake.

“ ‘Caṇḍā and Caṇḍālikā, And also the yakṣiṇī Caṇḍikā, Great Conch and Kūṭadantī, And Thief of All Beings’ Complexion—

“ ‘The multitudes of those kinds of deities, All with great might and miraculous power, Always protect the holders of this sūtra And are never apart from them day and night.

“ ‘The great lady Sarasvatī And innumerable goddesses; The lady, the goddess Śrī, And her numerous entourage;

“ ‘The goddess of this great earth; The goddesses of harvests, parks, and forests; The goddesses of trees, rivers, and winds; And the goddesses of caityas, and so on—

“ ‘These and all other goddesses, With great joy arising in their minds, Will all come and give their protection To those who are holders of this sūtra.

“ ‘If they see holders of this sūtra, they will Increase their life, color, and strength And will adorn them, day and night, With magnificence and good qualities.

“ ‘They will also bring to an end All bad signs from planets and lunar asterisms, The occurrence of ruin and disasters, And seeing bad omens in dreams.

“ ‘Also, the goddess of this great earth, Who has enduring majesty and might, Will always be satisfied by the Dharma’s flavor Through the power of this sūtra.

“ ‘Even if the earth’s fertility has sunk As far as a hundred yojanas, She will cause the earth’s fertility to ascend And bring enrichment to this great earth.

“ ‘The fertility of the earth will rise From sixty-eight hundred thousand Yojanas deep in the earth, From as far as its vajra foundation.

“ ‘Through the power of hearing this king of sūtras, A great accumulation of merit is obtained, And everyone in the vast assemblies Of the devas will obtain the benefit.

“ ‘Moreover, the multitudes of devas Will be endowed with might and light. They will always be happy with perfect joy And will eliminate all signs of degeneration.

“ ‘The goddesses of fruits, harvests, and forests That are within this Jambudvīpa Will constantly be joyful in mind Through the blessing of this sūtra.

“ ‘All the harvests will be excellent, And everywhere sublime flowers And all grains will multiply So that this great earth will flourish.

“ ‘The multitudes of fruit trees And all the many parks and forests Will all have perfect flowers, And lovely aromas will be always pervading.

“ ‘The multitude of plants and the trees Will grow excellent flowers And grow delicious fruits; Everywhere will be filled with them.

“ ‘Throughout this Jambudvīpa, All the innumerable nāga maidens Will experience minds filled with joy; They will enter everywhere,

“ ‘And all the ponds will be filled with The growth of many kinds of flowers, And similarly with white lotuses And with both blue and red lotuses.

“ ‘Through the blessing of this sūtra, The sky will be clear and unobscured. Clouds and mists will be completely dispelled, And all darkness will be illuminated.

“ ‘A thousand rays of sunlight will radiate So that an unblemished pure light, Through the power of this king of sūtras, Will brighten the entire circle of the four continents.

“ ‘Through the blessing of this sūtra, All the devas will together Create a divine palace Made of Jambū River gold.

“ ‘When the sun and moon first arise, When they see this continent, they will be overjoyed, And they will completely illuminate it With a constant great light.

“ ‘Of all of the lotus ponds There are on this great earth, There is none that will not blossom When they are brightened by the sun.

“ ‘Within this Jambudvīpa, All harvests, fruits, and herbs Will ripen and be excellent And will fill the entire great earth.

“ ‘Through the blessing of this sūtra, The lunar asterisms will not pass beyond The locations of the light of the moon and sun, And the winds will blow and the rains fall at the right times.

“ ‘Throughout all of this Jambudvīpa, Excellent harvests will grow in the lands Wherever this sūtra is present. It will be superior to other places.

“ ‘Whoever promulgates and recites This Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light Will obtain superior merit, As will the places where it is taught.’ ”

Then the great goddess Śrī and the multitude of other devas, having heard the words spoken by the Bhagavat, were all overjoyed, and they all aspired to single-mindedly protect completely those who hold this king of sūtras so that they will not be afflicted by misery and will always gain happiness.