Chapter 4: The Vision in a Dream of Purification Through Regret
EN
Then the bodhisattva Ruciraketu was happy and overjoyed to have heard the extremely sublime Dharma directly from the Bhagavat. He contemplated it one-pointedly and returned to his home. While asleep that night, in a dream he saw a great golden drum that was shining brightly like the disk of the sun. From those light rays, he saw in the ten directions countless buddhas seated upon beryl thrones at the foot of precious trees, encircled by assemblies of many hundreds of thousands, and they were teaching the Dharma.
A brahmin beat that drum, from which came a loud sound; from that sound were taught sublime Dharma verses of the confession of bad actions, which Ruciraketu heard. He kept the entirety of it in his mind and remained in one-pointed mindfulness.
At dawn, he left the city of Rājagṛha. Accompanied by an entourage numbering countless hundreds of thousands, and carrying objects for offering, he went to Vulture Peak Mountain and came into the presence of the Bhagavat. He bowed down to the feet of the Bhagavat and spread out flowers and perfume. He then circumambulated the Bhagavat three times, keeping him to his right, and sat down to one side. He placed his palms together, gazed with veneration upon the face of the Bhagavat, and said, “Bhagavat, I dreamed that a brahmin beat a sublime golden drum from which came a loud sound, and from that sound were taught sublime Dharma verses of the confession of bad actions. I memorized them and remember them. Bhagavat, I request that through your great compassion you give me permission to recite them.”
“ ‘May the sound of the drum of golden light Spread through all world realms in the trichiliocosm, And through the power and might of the golden drum’s sound, May the terrible suffering in the three lower existences,
“ ‘All the many sufferings that humans have, And all the kleśa obscurations permanently cease, And may fear be dispelled and there be happiness, Just as it has been for the Lord of Munis, the Bhagavat.
“ ‘The Bhagavat in saṃsāra’s great ocean Has practiced virtuous conduct and accomplished wisdom. He causes beings to possess the aspects of enlightenment And finally causes them to enter an ocean of good qualities.
“ ‘May all who hear the sound of the great drum Of sublime golden light attain the voice of Brahmā, Attain the result that is the highest enlightenment, And constantly turn the perfect Dharma wheel.
“ ‘May their lives continue for countless eons, And may they teach the Dharma correctly and benefit beings. May they bring to an end numerous kleśas and sufferings, And cause desire, anger, ignorance, and so on, to cease.
“ ‘May beings who are in the lower existences, Their bodies pervaded by a great blazing fire, On hearing the sublime sound of the great drum Be freed from suffering and go to the Buddha for refuge.
“ ‘May all attain knowledge of past lives, Remembering a hundred thousand lifetimes. May they remember the Lord of Munis And hear the profound teaching of the Tathāgata.
“ ‘Through hearing the sublime sound of the golden drum, May they always be reliant upon the buddhas. May they all completely forsake bad actions And practice solely that which is pure and good.
“ ‘May beings who have fallen into Avīci, Whose bodies are tormented by the fires of hell, And those who are in saṃsāra without protector or refuge, On hearing that sound have their sufferings cease.
“ ‘May those born as devas, humans, pretas, and animals, Who are experiencing many obstacles and sufferings, On hearing the sublime sound of the golden drum Free themselves of suffering and attain liberation.
“ ‘I pray that the lords of two-legged beings, who at this time Are continually present in worlds in the ten directions, Will look lovingly upon me With minds of great compassion.
“ ‘In the presence of those with the ten strengths, I confess today, single-mindedly, all of The extremely heavy bad actions, The sins that I have committed in the past.
“ ‘I have constantly committed bad actions By not believing in the buddhas, Not revering gurus and kalyāṇamitras, And I have not performed many good actions.
“ ‘I have constantly committed bad actions By being proud of my high status, Of my family, and of my possessions, And by being conceited about my youth.
“ ‘I have constantly committed bad actions By constantly having a foolish mentality, My mind obscured by the darkness of ignorance, And by following wicked companions.
“ ‘I have committed bad actions because of My delighting in amusements, Because of being in a state of misery, Or being in the bondage of desire and hate.
“ ‘I have committed bad actions because I have relied upon friends who were not virtuous, Because of being motivated by envy and greed, And because of poverty and deception.
“ ‘Though I did not aspire to commit many bad actions, I have committed such actions Through fear and terror, Or because I was under the power of others.
“ ‘I have committed bad actions because, Though I did not aspire to many bad actions, I did so through fear and terror Or because I was under the power of others.
“ ‘I have committed bad actions because My thoughts were completely distracted, Because I was angry or held a grievance, And because I was tormented by hunger and thirst.
“ ‘All the many bad actions I have done, Such as not having veneration in my mind For the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, Today I individually confess them all.
“ ‘All the many bad actions I have done, Such as not having veneration in my mind For the pratyekabuddhas and bodhisattvas, Today I individually confess them all.
“ ‘All the many bad actions I have done, Such as ignorant criticism of the Dharma And having no respect for my parents, Today I individually confess them all.
“ ‘May the countless buddhas in the realms Of the ten directions, to whom I make offerings, Become guides for all beings And free them from suffering and obstacles.
“ ‘May I, for the sake of all beings, Undergo hardships for a hundred thousand eons, And through the power of wisdom Free them from the ocean of suffering.
“ ‘If someone who has done heavy bad actions Throughout a hundred thousand eons Confesses and repents them, even for one instant, Then they will be purified of all that bad karma.
“ ‘If someone makes a confession As in this Sublime Golden Light, Through its power they will quickly Be purified of an entire multitude of sufferings.
“ ‘May I never tire of constant meditation on A hundred thousand samādhis, Countless powers of mental retention, And the strengths, powers, and aspects of enlightenment.
“ ‘May I obtain from the ocean of buddhas An extremely profound treasure of qualities, A perfection of sublime wisdom That is difficult to conceive of.
“ ‘I pray that all buddhas in the ten directions Will each look upon and regard me With their minds of great compassion And accept the confession that I make.
“ ‘I have committed many bad actions, And misery and fear constantly arise in my mind. Even in all of the four kinds of physical actions, I have no experience of happiness.
“ ‘The buddhas, who have great compassion, Are able to dispel fear within beings. I pray that you accept my confession And free me from misery and fear.
“ ‘I one-pointedly confess and repent The bad actions that I have done in the past And the bad actions I have done in the present; May I be purified of them all.
“ ‘Because I have committed many bad actions, I will experience their ripening and suffering. I sincerely confess each one of them In the presence of the buddhas.
“ ‘I pray that I will reject the ten bad actions, Practice the path of ten good actions, Be established upon the ten bhūmis, And always see the buddhas in the ten directions.
“ ‘Through the power of the good roots That I have accomplished from merit and wisdom Through my body, speech, and mind, May I quickly attain the highest wisdom.
“ ‘Today, in the presence of those who have the ten strengths, I confess and repent many various sufferings and obstacles: The obstacles from the stupidity of the fools in the three existences; The obstacles from always creating heavy bad karma;
“ ‘The obstacles I have accumulated from wrong desires; The obstacles from continually circling through existences; The obstacles from attachment to this world; The obstacles from the kleśas of all childlike beings;
“ ‘The obstacles from a crazed, distracted, erroneous mind; The obstacles from relying upon wicked friends; The obstacles from desire and attachment for saṃsāra; The obstacles from bad actions through anger, stupidity, and idiocy;
“ ‘The obstacles from the eight unfortunate states and wicked friends; And the obstacles from not accumulating merit and good qualities. Today, in the presence of all the jinas, I confess endless bad actions and sins.
“ ‘Today I go for refuge to all the tathāgatas, Who like golden mountains illuminate the ten directions. I pay homage to the unsurpassable ocean of qualities. I pray that all tathāgatas hold me in their love and compassion.
“ ‘They have bodies that are golden, pure, and stainless; Their eyes are pure and are the color of beryl. The lords who have glory, magnificence, and renown— The sun of their compassion and wisdom dispels darkness.
“ ‘The sunlight of the buddhas illuminates everywhere. They are completely pure, stainless, free of impurities. The moons of the munis illuminate and cool, Dispelling the torment of the kleśas in beings.
“ ‘They are perfectly adorned by the thirty-two signs. They have the eighty excellent features, complete. Their qualities are hard to comprehend and have no equal. Like sunlight, they illuminate the world.
“ ‘They have a stainless color like that of beryl. They are present in the sky, like the sun and moon. Their golden bodies are covered by a net of sublime crystals. They are perfectly adorned by light rays of various colors.
“ ‘In saṃsāra’s great river of suffering, One is swept along by the water of aging, illness, and misery. The unendurable ocean of that kind of suffering Is completely dried up by the sunlight of the buddhas.
“ ‘Today, I pay homage and bow down to the omniscient ones, The wonderful lords of the trichiliocosm world realm. Their bodies are the color of gold with bright light rays And adorned by the various sublime features.
“ ‘Just as the water of the ocean is immeasurable, Just as the particles in the earth are uncountable, Just as the heaviness of Sumeru is unweighable, And just as the extent of space has no end,
“ ‘That is how the qualities of the buddhas are. There is not a single being who can know them. Even if they were contemplated for countless eons, The limits of the ocean of their qualities could not be known.
“ ‘All the mountains on this great earth Could be crushed into the smallest particles and counted, The waters of the ocean could be calculated with a hair tip, But no one could count the qualities of a buddha.
“ ‘If all beings were to be gathered together And were to praise all the renowned qualities And the rare, pure, excellent characteristics of the bhagavats, They would never reach the end of listing them.
“ ‘Through the numerous good actions that I have done, May I quickly accomplish being an unsurpassable lord Who teaches the true Dharma, brings benefit to beings, And frees them from all their many sufferings.
“ ‘May I subjugate Māra’s powerful army And turn the wheel of the sublime, highest Dharma. May I remain for countless, innumerable eons And satisfy beings with the flavor of amṛta.
“ ‘May I bring to completion the six perfections In the same way as the jinas of the past have done. May I bring desire, anger, and ignorance to an end, Subjugate the kleśas, and eliminate suffering.
“ ‘May I always remember my lifetimes; May I remember a hundred thousand past lifetimes. May I always remember the lords of munis And hear the profound Dharma of the buddhas.
“ ‘May I, through these good actions, Attend upon countless jinas, Forsake completely the causes that are bad actions, And always practice the true Dharma.
“ ‘May all the beings throughout every world Become free of suffering and attain happiness. May all those with incomplete faculties Have their physical features made complete.
“ ‘May beings with no protector, and bodies Weakened by the suffering of their illness, All have the suffering of their illness cease And have improved faculties, color, and power.
“ ‘May those to be executed for breaking the king’s law, Who are tormented by many sufferings and in extreme misery, Who are experiencing this unendurable suffering Without having anyone to protect or save them—
“ ‘And those who are struck by weapons and bound, Whose bodies are tortured by various harmful instruments And are experiencing countless thousands of miseries, Their bodies in pain and without the slightest happiness—
“ ‘May all of them become freed from their bonds, From the beatings, suffering, and torments. May the lives of those to be killed be saved And all their many sufferings completely cease.
“ ‘May beings who are pained by hunger and thirst Obtain various kinds of the sublime, best flavors. May the blind see forms, the deaf hear sounds, The crippled walk, and the mute speak.
“ ‘May poor beings obtain a treasure of jewels, Have a treasury that increases and never diminishes, And may all beings attain sublime, supreme happiness And never experience suffering.
“ ‘May they obtain a beautiful, sublime appearance That all devas and humans will wish to see, And may they directly experience limitless happiness And possess pleasures, prosperity, and merit.
“ ‘May there arise many kinds of perfect music That are the exact music those beings wish to hear. If they wish for water, may there appear perfectly cool pools Upon which float flowers of gold.
“ ‘May what those beings wish for— Food, drink, clothes, thrones, and seats; Gold, silver, and beryl jewels, And every string of jewelry—perfectly appear.
“ ‘May beings not hear anything unpleasant And not see any disharmony between anyone. May all their physical features be beautiful, And may each being be kind and loving.
“ ‘May they obtain, as soon as they think of them, Every possession and requisite that brings happiness in the world. May they find wealth and without ever being in need Divide their possessions and give them to beings.
“ ‘May incense and perfumes, powders and ointments, Various flowers of every kind of color Fall from the trees three times each day, And may there be happiness from the enjoyments wished for.
“ ‘May all beings make offerings to the jina lords In the ten directions; to the three yānas, The pure and sublime doors to the Dharma; and to the saṅgha of Bodhisattvas, pratyekabuddhas, and śrāvakas.
“ ‘May they never have a low rebirth Or fall into the eight unfortunate states, But gain a supreme human’s riches and freedoms And attend on the buddhas in the ten directions.
“ ‘May they always be reborn into a wealthy family With a vast treasury of wealth and jewels, With a body and fame that are without equal And a long life that lasts for countless eons.
“ ‘May all women become males, Heroic, with sharp minds and great intelligence. May they all practice the bodhisattva’s path And be dedicated to accomplishing the six perfections.
“ ‘May they always see all the countless buddhas in the ten directions Who have gone to the feet of victorious, precious trees, Who are seated perfectly upon their thrones of beryl, And who are turning their wheels of the Dharma.
“ ‘If I have committed actions in past lives or the present While in the circle of the three existences That I am unaware of but that result in the lower existences, May I be purified of them all, without remainder.
“ ‘May all beings who are in the ocean of existence, Tightly bound by the noose of saṃsāra, Be cut free by the sword of wisdom And, freed from suffering, quickly attain enlightenment.
“ ‘I rejoice in the entirety of all The perfect, continuous merits That are accomplished by beings in Jambudvīpa Or in any other world realm whatsoever.
“ ‘I pray that the merit and rejoicing in The many good actions of body, speech, and mind, And this sublime, perfect action, constantly increase, So that the highest, great enlightenment will be attained.
“ ‘By the merit of homage and praising a buddha’s qualities, With a mind that is pure and unpolluted, And by making dedications and prayers, I pray that for sixty eons the lower existences will be transcended.
“ ‘If noble men and noble women, brahmins, And the other sublime, supreme classes Single-pointedly praise the buddhas with palms together, Then in all their lives they will remember their lifetimes.
“ ‘They will have complete faculties and perfect bodies And will have a perfection of all sublime qualities. Throughout all their future lifetimes, may they Always be looked up to by devas and humans.
“ ‘This Dharma of purity through regret is not heard By attaining the accomplishment of good roots With just one buddha or with ten buddhas, But through generating good roots with a hundred thousand buddhas.’ ”
Then the Bhagavat, having listened to what was addressed to him, praised the bodhisattva Ruciraketu by saying, “Excellent, excellent! Noble one, those who hear the Dharma teaching of praises of the qualities of the tathāgatas and purification through regret, which you saw emerge from a great golden drum in your dream, will attain extremely great merit, will bring a vast benefit to beings, and will be purified of all sins.
“Know that all of this sublime, perfect activity of yours is because of the causes and conditions of your previously established propensities for praising and praying in past lives, and through the power of the blessing of the tathāgatas through which these causes and conditions have been revealed to you.”
Chapter 4: The Vision in a Dream of Purification Through Regret
EN
Then the bodhisattva Ruciraketu was happy and overjoyed to have heard the extremely sublime Dharma directly from the Bhagavat. He contemplated it one-pointedly and returned to his home. While asleep that night, in a dream he saw a great golden drum that was shining brightly like the disk of the sun. From those light rays, he saw in the ten directions countless buddhas seated upon beryl thrones at the foot of precious trees, encircled by assemblies of many hundreds of thousands, and they were teaching the Dharma.
A brahmin beat that drum, from which came a loud sound; from that sound were taught sublime Dharma verses of the confession of bad actions, which Ruciraketu heard. He kept the entirety of it in his mind and remained in one-pointed mindfulness.
At dawn, he left the city of Rājagṛha. Accompanied by an entourage numbering countless hundreds of thousands, and carrying objects for offering, he went to Vulture Peak Mountain and came into the presence of the Bhagavat. He bowed down to the feet of the Bhagavat and spread out flowers and perfume. He then circumambulated the Bhagavat three times, keeping him to his right, and sat down to one side. He placed his palms together, gazed with veneration upon the face of the Bhagavat, and said, “Bhagavat, I dreamed that a brahmin beat a sublime golden drum from which came a loud sound, and from that sound were taught sublime Dharma verses of the confession of bad actions. I memorized them and remember them. Bhagavat, I request that through your great compassion you give me permission to recite them.”
“ ‘May the sound of the drum of golden light Spread through all world realms in the trichiliocosm, And through the power and might of the golden drum’s sound, May the terrible suffering in the three lower existences,
“ ‘All the many sufferings that humans have, And all the kleśa obscurations permanently cease, And may fear be dispelled and there be happiness, Just as it has been for the Lord of Munis, the Bhagavat.
“ ‘The Bhagavat in saṃsāra’s great ocean Has practiced virtuous conduct and accomplished wisdom. He causes beings to possess the aspects of enlightenment And finally causes them to enter an ocean of good qualities.
“ ‘May all who hear the sound of the great drum Of sublime golden light attain the voice of Brahmā, Attain the result that is the highest enlightenment, And constantly turn the perfect Dharma wheel.
“ ‘May their lives continue for countless eons, And may they teach the Dharma correctly and benefit beings. May they bring to an end numerous kleśas and sufferings, And cause desire, anger, ignorance, and so on, to cease.
“ ‘May beings who are in the lower existences, Their bodies pervaded by a great blazing fire, On hearing the sublime sound of the great drum Be freed from suffering and go to the Buddha for refuge.
“ ‘May all attain knowledge of past lives, Remembering a hundred thousand lifetimes. May they remember the Lord of Munis And hear the profound teaching of the Tathāgata.
“ ‘Through hearing the sublime sound of the golden drum, May they always be reliant upon the buddhas. May they all completely forsake bad actions And practice solely that which is pure and good.
“ ‘May beings who have fallen into Avīci, Whose bodies are tormented by the fires of hell, And those who are in saṃsāra without protector or refuge, On hearing that sound have their sufferings cease.
“ ‘May those born as devas, humans, pretas, and animals, Who are experiencing many obstacles and sufferings, On hearing the sublime sound of the golden drum Free themselves of suffering and attain liberation.
“ ‘I pray that the lords of two-legged beings, who at this time Are continually present in worlds in the ten directions, Will look lovingly upon me With minds of great compassion.
“ ‘In the presence of those with the ten strengths, I confess today, single-mindedly, all of The extremely heavy bad actions, The sins that I have committed in the past.
“ ‘I have constantly committed bad actions By not believing in the buddhas, Not revering gurus and kalyāṇamitras, And I have not performed many good actions.
“ ‘I have constantly committed bad actions By being proud of my high status, Of my family, and of my possessions, And by being conceited about my youth.
“ ‘I have constantly committed bad actions By constantly having a foolish mentality, My mind obscured by the darkness of ignorance, And by following wicked companions.
“ ‘I have committed bad actions because of My delighting in amusements, Because of being in a state of misery, Or being in the bondage of desire and hate.
“ ‘I have committed bad actions because I have relied upon friends who were not virtuous, Because of being motivated by envy and greed, And because of poverty and deception.
“ ‘Though I did not aspire to commit many bad actions, I have committed such actions Through fear and terror, Or because I was under the power of others.
“ ‘I have committed bad actions because, Though I did not aspire to many bad actions, I did so through fear and terror Or because I was under the power of others.
“ ‘I have committed bad actions because My thoughts were completely distracted, Because I was angry or held a grievance, And because I was tormented by hunger and thirst.
“ ‘All the many bad actions I have done, Such as not having veneration in my mind For the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, Today I individually confess them all.
“ ‘All the many bad actions I have done, Such as not having veneration in my mind For the pratyekabuddhas and bodhisattvas, Today I individually confess them all.
“ ‘All the many bad actions I have done, Such as ignorant criticism of the Dharma And having no respect for my parents, Today I individually confess them all.
“ ‘May the countless buddhas in the realms Of the ten directions, to whom I make offerings, Become guides for all beings And free them from suffering and obstacles.
“ ‘May I, for the sake of all beings, Undergo hardships for a hundred thousand eons, And through the power of wisdom Free them from the ocean of suffering.
“ ‘If someone who has done heavy bad actions Throughout a hundred thousand eons Confesses and repents them, even for one instant, Then they will be purified of all that bad karma.
“ ‘If someone makes a confession As in this Sublime Golden Light, Through its power they will quickly Be purified of an entire multitude of sufferings.
“ ‘May I never tire of constant meditation on A hundred thousand samādhis, Countless powers of mental retention, And the strengths, powers, and aspects of enlightenment.
“ ‘May I obtain from the ocean of buddhas An extremely profound treasure of qualities, A perfection of sublime wisdom That is difficult to conceive of.
“ ‘I pray that all buddhas in the ten directions Will each look upon and regard me With their minds of great compassion And accept the confession that I make.
“ ‘I have committed many bad actions, And misery and fear constantly arise in my mind. Even in all of the four kinds of physical actions, I have no experience of happiness.
“ ‘The buddhas, who have great compassion, Are able to dispel fear within beings. I pray that you accept my confession And free me from misery and fear.
“ ‘I one-pointedly confess and repent The bad actions that I have done in the past And the bad actions I have done in the present; May I be purified of them all.
“ ‘Because I have committed many bad actions, I will experience their ripening and suffering. I sincerely confess each one of them In the presence of the buddhas.
“ ‘I pray that I will reject the ten bad actions, Practice the path of ten good actions, Be established upon the ten bhūmis, And always see the buddhas in the ten directions.
“ ‘Through the power of the good roots That I have accomplished from merit and wisdom Through my body, speech, and mind, May I quickly attain the highest wisdom.
“ ‘Today, in the presence of those who have the ten strengths, I confess and repent many various sufferings and obstacles: The obstacles from the stupidity of the fools in the three existences; The obstacles from always creating heavy bad karma;
“ ‘The obstacles I have accumulated from wrong desires; The obstacles from continually circling through existences; The obstacles from attachment to this world; The obstacles from the kleśas of all childlike beings;
“ ‘The obstacles from a crazed, distracted, erroneous mind; The obstacles from relying upon wicked friends; The obstacles from desire and attachment for saṃsāra; The obstacles from bad actions through anger, stupidity, and idiocy;
“ ‘The obstacles from the eight unfortunate states and wicked friends; And the obstacles from not accumulating merit and good qualities. Today, in the presence of all the jinas, I confess endless bad actions and sins.
“ ‘Today I go for refuge to all the tathāgatas, Who like golden mountains illuminate the ten directions. I pay homage to the unsurpassable ocean of qualities. I pray that all tathāgatas hold me in their love and compassion.
“ ‘They have bodies that are golden, pure, and stainless; Their eyes are pure and are the color of beryl. The lords who have glory, magnificence, and renown— The sun of their compassion and wisdom dispels darkness.
“ ‘The sunlight of the buddhas illuminates everywhere. They are completely pure, stainless, free of impurities. The moons of the munis illuminate and cool, Dispelling the torment of the kleśas in beings.
“ ‘They are perfectly adorned by the thirty-two signs. They have the eighty excellent features, complete. Their qualities are hard to comprehend and have no equal. Like sunlight, they illuminate the world.
“ ‘They have a stainless color like that of beryl. They are present in the sky, like the sun and moon. Their golden bodies are covered by a net of sublime crystals. They are perfectly adorned by light rays of various colors.
“ ‘In saṃsāra’s great river of suffering, One is swept along by the water of aging, illness, and misery. The unendurable ocean of that kind of suffering Is completely dried up by the sunlight of the buddhas.
“ ‘Today, I pay homage and bow down to the omniscient ones, The wonderful lords of the trichiliocosm world realm. Their bodies are the color of gold with bright light rays And adorned by the various sublime features.
“ ‘Just as the water of the ocean is immeasurable, Just as the particles in the earth are uncountable, Just as the heaviness of Sumeru is unweighable, And just as the extent of space has no end,
“ ‘That is how the qualities of the buddhas are. There is not a single being who can know them. Even if they were contemplated for countless eons, The limits of the ocean of their qualities could not be known.
“ ‘All the mountains on this great earth Could be crushed into the smallest particles and counted, The waters of the ocean could be calculated with a hair tip, But no one could count the qualities of a buddha.
“ ‘If all beings were to be gathered together And were to praise all the renowned qualities And the rare, pure, excellent characteristics of the bhagavats, They would never reach the end of listing them.
“ ‘Through the numerous good actions that I have done, May I quickly accomplish being an unsurpassable lord Who teaches the true Dharma, brings benefit to beings, And frees them from all their many sufferings.
“ ‘May I subjugate Māra’s powerful army And turn the wheel of the sublime, highest Dharma. May I remain for countless, innumerable eons And satisfy beings with the flavor of amṛta.
“ ‘May I bring to completion the six perfections In the same way as the jinas of the past have done. May I bring desire, anger, and ignorance to an end, Subjugate the kleśas, and eliminate suffering.
“ ‘May I always remember my lifetimes; May I remember a hundred thousand past lifetimes. May I always remember the lords of munis And hear the profound Dharma of the buddhas.
“ ‘May I, through these good actions, Attend upon countless jinas, Forsake completely the causes that are bad actions, And always practice the true Dharma.
“ ‘May all the beings throughout every world Become free of suffering and attain happiness. May all those with incomplete faculties Have their physical features made complete.
“ ‘May beings with no protector, and bodies Weakened by the suffering of their illness, All have the suffering of their illness cease And have improved faculties, color, and power.
“ ‘May those to be executed for breaking the king’s law, Who are tormented by many sufferings and in extreme misery, Who are experiencing this unendurable suffering Without having anyone to protect or save them—
“ ‘And those who are struck by weapons and bound, Whose bodies are tortured by various harmful instruments And are experiencing countless thousands of miseries, Their bodies in pain and without the slightest happiness—
“ ‘May all of them become freed from their bonds, From the beatings, suffering, and torments. May the lives of those to be killed be saved And all their many sufferings completely cease.
“ ‘May beings who are pained by hunger and thirst Obtain various kinds of the sublime, best flavors. May the blind see forms, the deaf hear sounds, The crippled walk, and the mute speak.
“ ‘May poor beings obtain a treasure of jewels, Have a treasury that increases and never diminishes, And may all beings attain sublime, supreme happiness And never experience suffering.
“ ‘May they obtain a beautiful, sublime appearance That all devas and humans will wish to see, And may they directly experience limitless happiness And possess pleasures, prosperity, and merit.
“ ‘May there arise many kinds of perfect music That are the exact music those beings wish to hear. If they wish for water, may there appear perfectly cool pools Upon which float flowers of gold.
“ ‘May what those beings wish for— Food, drink, clothes, thrones, and seats; Gold, silver, and beryl jewels, And every string of jewelry—perfectly appear.
“ ‘May beings not hear anything unpleasant And not see any disharmony between anyone. May all their physical features be beautiful, And may each being be kind and loving.
“ ‘May they obtain, as soon as they think of them, Every possession and requisite that brings happiness in the world. May they find wealth and without ever being in need Divide their possessions and give them to beings.
“ ‘May incense and perfumes, powders and ointments, Various flowers of every kind of color Fall from the trees three times each day, And may there be happiness from the enjoyments wished for.
“ ‘May all beings make offerings to the jina lords In the ten directions; to the three yānas, The pure and sublime doors to the Dharma; and to the saṅgha of Bodhisattvas, pratyekabuddhas, and śrāvakas.
“ ‘May they never have a low rebirth Or fall into the eight unfortunate states, But gain a supreme human’s riches and freedoms And attend on the buddhas in the ten directions.
“ ‘May they always be reborn into a wealthy family With a vast treasury of wealth and jewels, With a body and fame that are without equal And a long life that lasts for countless eons.
“ ‘May all women become males, Heroic, with sharp minds and great intelligence. May they all practice the bodhisattva’s path And be dedicated to accomplishing the six perfections.
“ ‘May they always see all the countless buddhas in the ten directions Who have gone to the feet of victorious, precious trees, Who are seated perfectly upon their thrones of beryl, And who are turning their wheels of the Dharma.
“ ‘If I have committed actions in past lives or the present While in the circle of the three existences That I am unaware of but that result in the lower existences, May I be purified of them all, without remainder.
“ ‘May all beings who are in the ocean of existence, Tightly bound by the noose of saṃsāra, Be cut free by the sword of wisdom And, freed from suffering, quickly attain enlightenment.
“ ‘I rejoice in the entirety of all The perfect, continuous merits That are accomplished by beings in Jambudvīpa Or in any other world realm whatsoever.
“ ‘I pray that the merit and rejoicing in The many good actions of body, speech, and mind, And this sublime, perfect action, constantly increase, So that the highest, great enlightenment will be attained.
“ ‘By the merit of homage and praising a buddha’s qualities, With a mind that is pure and unpolluted, And by making dedications and prayers, I pray that for sixty eons the lower existences will be transcended.
“ ‘If noble men and noble women, brahmins, And the other sublime, supreme classes Single-pointedly praise the buddhas with palms together, Then in all their lives they will remember their lifetimes.
“ ‘They will have complete faculties and perfect bodies And will have a perfection of all sublime qualities. Throughout all their future lifetimes, may they Always be looked up to by devas and humans.
“ ‘This Dharma of purity through regret is not heard By attaining the accomplishment of good roots With just one buddha or with ten buddhas, But through generating good roots with a hundred thousand buddhas.’ ”
Then the Bhagavat, having listened to what was addressed to him, praised the bodhisattva Ruciraketu by saying, “Excellent, excellent! Noble one, those who hear the Dharma teaching of praises of the qualities of the tathāgatas and purification through regret, which you saw emerge from a great golden drum in your dream, will attain extremely great merit, will bring a vast benefit to beings, and will be purified of all sins.
“Know that all of this sublime, perfect activity of yours is because of the causes and conditions of your previously established propensities for praising and praying in past lives, and through the power of the blessing of the tathāgatas through which these causes and conditions have been revealed to you.”
Sutraya