On hearing that very profound Dharma teaching, the goddess Ratnārcī was delighted and overjoyed. She rose from her seat, and, with her upper robe over one shoulder, knelt on her right knee, placed her palms together in homage, bowed toward the Bhagavat, and in order to ask how to practice this profound teaching, spoke these verses to the Bhagavat:

“Jina, supreme two-legged being Who completely illuminates the world, I pray that with compassion you teach me The correct way of enlightened conduct.”

He replied to the noble goddess:

“Whatever doubts you have, Ask questions about that meaning And I will elucidate and teach it.”

Then the noble goddess said to the Bhagavat:

“For the benefit of myself and others: How do the bodhisattvas Practice the enlightened conduct That is free of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa?”

The Bhagavat then said to the noble goddess:

“Goddess, be dedicated to sameness Through practicing enlightened conduct While dwelling in the Dharma realm.” That is what he said to her.

The noble goddess asked the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, how does one practice equanimity by performing enlightened conduct while dwelling in the Dharma realm?”

“Goddess,” replied the Bhagavat, “the five skandhas are said to be the Dharma realm, and the Dharma realm is the five skandhas. However, one cannot say it is the five skandhas and one cannot say it is not the five skandhas. If the Dharma realm itself were the five skandhas, that would be nihilism. If one were to state that it is other than the five skandhas, that would be eternalism. It is devoid of both characteristics. It does not dwell in either of the two extremes. It cannot be viewed; it transcends being an object of view. It has no name or feature. That is what is called the Dharma realm.

“Family goddess, why are the five skandhas called the Dharma realm? The five skandhas are not produced through causes and conditions. If they were produced by causes and conditions, they would be either that which has been produced that is being produced, or that which is not produced that is being produced. If they were a production of what has already been produced, it is logical that causes and conditions would not be needed. If they were that which is not produced that is being produced, then there would be no perceivable production. Why is that? Unproduced phenomena are not existent, and therefore they have no names and no features. They cannot be evaluated, measured, or described through examples. They are not produced by causes and conditions.

“Noble goddess, a drumbeat originates through dependence on wood, skin, and a hand, but the drumbeat’s past is empty, its future is empty, and its present is empty. That drumbeat does not originate from the wood, and it does not originate from the skin or the hand. It is not produced by the three times. Therefore, it is not produced. That which is not produced does not cease. That which does not cease does not come from anywhere. That which does not come from anywhere does not go anywhere. That which does not go anywhere is neither eternal nor nothingness. It is neither one nor separate. Why is that? If the five skandhas were one with the Dharma realm, they would not be different from the Dharma realm. Then childlike, ordinary beings would perceive the ultimate truth and attain the sublime bliss of nirvāṇa. But it is not like that, so they are not one.

“If they were separate from the Dharma realm then the conduct of the buddhas and bodhisattvas would have their same characteristics and they would not become liberated from the bondage of the kleśas and they would not attain the highest, most complete enlightenment of buddhahood.

“Why is that? It is because the āryas have the single nature of the composite and noncomposite, and therefore they are not different. Therefore, the five skandhas are neither existent nor nonexistent. They are neither produced by causes and conditions, nor not produced by causes and conditions. Words cannot reach this. It has no name or features. It has no cause or condition. It cannot be taught through examples. It is devoid of a beginning or an end. It is naturally empty. This is what the āryas know, but it is not within the field of experience of others. Therefore, the Dharma realm is taught through the five skandhas.

“Moreover, noble goddess, any noble son or noble daughter who wishes for the highest, most complete enlightenment, in which the ultimate and the relative are not anything other than each other, that is difficult to comprehend. The nature of the fields of experience of āryas and lower beings are not one, nor are they different. Therefore the conduct of enlightenment should be practiced based on the Dharma realm, without eliminating the relative, and without being apart from the ultimate.”

When the Bhagavat said that, the noble goddess was delighted and happy. She rose from her seat, and, with her upper robe over one shoulder, knelt on her right knee, placed her palms together, bowed down her head in homage, and said to the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, I will train in the bodhisattva conduct that the Bhagavat has taught.”

Then Mahābrahmā, the lord of Sahā, who was among that gathered assembly, asked the noble goddess Ratnārcī, “Goddess, how are you going to master through practice this bodhisattva conduct that is difficult to accomplish?”

The noble goddess replied to Mahābrahmā, “Great Brahmarāja, the meaning that the Bhagavat has taught is very profound, so that no ordinary being can know its meaning. It is the field of experience of āryas, and therefore it is supremely subtle and difficult to know. I will attain a state of bliss through relying on this Dharma. If those words are true then may all the countless, innumerable, numberless beings in this world realm of the five degenerations become golden in color, possess the thirty-two signs, and be neither male nor female, while seated upon precious lotuses and enjoying limitless bliss. May there fall a rain of supreme divine flowers and may there be the spontaneously arising offering of music that resounds from divine musical instruments without their being played.”

As soon as she had said that, all the beings present throughout the world realm of the five degenerations became golden in color, had the signs of a great being, were neither male nor female, were seated on precious lotuses, and enjoyed limitless bliss. It was just as in the palace of the Paranirmita­vaśavartin deities. There were no lower existences. The world realm was beautified by a variety of precious trees. It was covered by lotuses made of the seven precious materials. There fell a rain of the seven precious materials and divine flowers, and the beings remained, enjoying divine music of various kinds.

The noble goddess Cittaratnārcī also transformed from having a female body to having the body of Brahmā.

Brahmarāja asked the bodhisattva Cittaratnārcī, “Venerable one, how did you practice bodhisattva conduct?”

The bodhisattva Cittaratnārcī replied, “Great Brahmarāja, I practiced enlightened conduct like a moon on water would practice enlightened conduct. I practiced enlightened conduct like a dream would practice enlightened conduct. I practiced enlightened conduct like a mirage would practice enlightened conduct. I practiced enlightened conduct like an echo would practice enlightened conduct.”

When Mahābrahmā heard that, he asked the bodhisattva, “Venerable one, based on what meaning did you say those words?”

The goddess replied, “Brahmarāja, any phenomenon has no existing characteristic of reality, because they are created through causes and conditions.”

“If that is so,” said Brahmarāja, “then it would be logical that all ordinary beings would attain the highest, most complete enlightenment of buddhahood.”

“Sir, why do you say that?” asked the goddess. “Although childlike beings are one thing and the wise are another, although enlightenment is one thing and nonenlightenment another, although liberation is one thing and nonliberation another, still, Brahmarāja, they are all the same and not separate in the Dharma realm. They remain and are fixed as truly inseparable; there is no gap between them, and they have no increase or decrease.

“O Brahmarāja! It is like a conjurer, or a conjurer’s pupil, who is skilled and trained in manifesting illusions, and who, at a crossroads, gathers into one place earth, sand, wood, plants, leaves, and so on, and creates magical illusions of various kinds, such as herds of horses and elephants, soldiers and chariots, and so on, and a heap of the seven precious materials, and various other kinds of treasure. When the childlike, stupid, and ignorant see them, they do not know that they are illusions, and they think, ‘The horses, elephants, and so on that I see and hear are real, and anything else is a lie!’ Even afterward they don’t investigate it.

“Those who are wise and knowing are not like that. They know that they are magical illusions, so when they see and hear them, they think, ‘These horses, elephants, and so on that I see are not real. It is a magical illusion that deceives the eyes of beings. These horses, elephants, treasuries, and so on are nothing but appearances in that place.’ They believe that what they see and hear are not real, and afterward, when they examine them in detail, they know that they were false and deceptive phenomena.

“Therefore, the wise realize the nature of unreality of all these phenomena. They think, ‘Whatever is seen and heard is merely a correct meaning known on the basis of representations and the terminology of words merely on a relative level, but ultimately it is not like that.’

“Mahābrahmā, childlike, ordinary beings who have not attained the world-transcending wisdom eyes of the āryas do not know the inexpressible nature of phenomena. Therefore, however they examine what they see or hear, whether composite or noncomposite phenomena, they become attached to it as real, and they are unable to know the ultimate, inexpressible true nature of phenomena.

“Whatever the āryas see or hear, and whatever the power and activity of the composite and noncomposite phenomena may be, they do not become attached to them as real. The composite phenomena are not real and the noncomposite phenomena are not real. They are simply characteristics and names of the composite and noncomposite as a result of an examination of them by invalid thought. They have no real nature, but the āryas teach that true meaning by relying on relative terminology.

“In the same way, Mahābrahmā, the āryas see, with their superior knowledge and superior vision, the inexpressible true nature of phenomena, and they see the composite and noncomposite phenomena in the same way. Yet, on the relative level, they teach others by relying on various names and terms.”

Then Mahābrahmā asked the bodhisattva Ratnārcī, “How many beings are able to realize and know this kind of profound Dharma?”

“Mahābrahmā,” replied Ratnārcī, “this profound Dharma is known by the minds and mental events of numerous illusory beings. That is how many.”

“Those illusory beings are nonexistent by nature,” said Brahmarāja, “so from where do their minds and mental events arise?”

“Those who truly know that the Dharma realm is neither existent nor nonexistent are able to know the meaning of that profundity,” replied Ratnārcī.

Mahābrahmā then said to the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, this bodhisattva Ratnārcī is inconceivable. She is wise in this profound Dharma teaching.”

“It is like that, Mahābrahmā, it is just as you have said,” replied the Bhagavat. “Diligently practice what this bodhisattva Ratnārcī has taught, and you will attain the patience toward the quality of birthlessness.”

Then Mahābrahmā, the king of devas, and also his entourage of Brahmās, rose from their seats and with their robes over one shoulder, and with palms together, they bowed down their heads to the bodhisattva Ratnārcī’s feet. They said, “On this day we have met such a great being as you and have heard this sublime Dharma. It is a wonder!”

The Bhagavat then said to Brahmarāja, “In the future, this Cittaratnārcī will become a tathāgata, an arhat, a samyaksaṃbuddha, one with wisdom and virtuous conduct, a sugata, a knower of the world, an unsurpassable being, a guide who tames beings, a teacher of devas and humans, a buddha, a bhagavat, by the name of Essence of Illustrious Precious Radiance.”

When he said this, thirty million bodhisattvas attained irreversibility from the highest, most complete enlightenment. Eighty million devas and countless, innumerable kings, ministers, and so on became free of dust and attained pure Dharma eyes for the dust-free Dharma.

At that time, in that vast assembly, five hundred thousand bhikṣus, whose minds were irreversible from the practice of bodhisattva conduct and from the enlightenment mind, and who had heard the Dharma teaching of the bodhisattva Ratnārcī, developed continuous stability in their aspiration for enlightenment, and perfected supreme, inconceivable prayers. In developing the aspiration for enlightenment, each one took off his robes and offered them to the bodhisattva and they made this highest, supreme aspiration: “We dedicate all the roots of merit we have accumulated to the highest, most complete enlightenment.”

The Bhagavat said, “Mahābrahmā, those bhikṣus, on the basis of that merit, will practice diligently as they have said, and after ninety great eons have passed, there will arise the knowledge that transcends saṃsāra.”

Then the Bhagavat prophesied to that multitude of bhikṣus, “Bhikṣus, after thirty asaṃkhyeya eons have passed you will become unsurpassable buddhas during an eon by the name of Difficult to Conquer King of Radiance in a realm by the name of Vimalaprabhā. You will all attain the highest, most complete enlightenment of buddhahood simultaneously and you will all have the same name—King Array of Pure Prayers—and you will have the complete ten features of qualities.

“Moreover, Mahābrahmā, whoever listens to and possesses this Lord King of Sūtras, the Sublime Golden Light will possess great power and majesty.

“If someone without method were to practice the six perfections for eighty great eons, and a noble man or noble woman were to write a volume of this Lord King of Sūtras, the Sublime Golden Light, and every half-month one-pointedly read and recited it, the previous accumulation of merit would not be even a hundredth of this accumulation of merit. It could not even be used to enumerate it or be an analogy for it.

“Therefore, Mahābrahmā, always keep it in mind, practice it diligently, retain it, and teach it widely to others.

“Why is that? In the past when I was practicing the path of a bodhisattva, just as a warrior in battle has no concern for his life or body, in the same way I obtained, possessed, read, recited, and taught widely to others this king that is the lord of sūtras.

“Mahābrahmā, while a cakravartin is in the world, his seven jewels do not cease to exist, but if the king is no longer present, then the seven jewels will also vanish at that same time.

“Mahābrahmā, in that same way, while this Lord King of Sūtras, the Sublime Golden Light is in the world, all of the unsurpassable, precious Dharma will not cease to be. When this king of sūtras ceases to be, then the rest will also vanish. Therefore, with a one-pointed mind, listen to, obtain, read, and teach widely to others this king of sūtras and have them write it out—without concern for life and body, ignoring tiredness and exhaustion, practice the perfection of diligence. This is supreme among all merit and therefore my followers similarly should diligently train and be dedicated in that way.”

Then great Brahmarāja and the rest, the innumerable Brahmā entourage, the deva lord Śakra, the Four Mahārājas, and also the yakṣa lords, and so on, rose from their seats. With their robes over one shoulder, kneeling on their right knees, and with palms together, they bowed and said to the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat we will protect and spread this Lord King of Sūtras, the Sublime Golden Light. When it is being taught, we will dispel hindrances and obstacles. We will create goodness, perfect complexion and strength, unimpeded eloquence, happiness in body and mind, and also make the assemblies experience happiness. In the land where such teachers dwell, if there is famine, fear of enemies, or harm from nonhumans, we, the entourage of devas, will protect them so that they will be blissful and happy, and no harm will occur. That is the power that we devas have. If anyone makes an offering to or honors this sūtra, we will make offerings to them and honor them as if they were the same as the buddha bhagavat.”

Then the Bhagavat said, “Excellent!” to great Mahābrahmā, the king of devas, and the rest—the Brahmā entourage, the Four Mahārājas, the yakṣa lords, and so on: “Excellent! Excellent! Noble ones, you have heard the profound, sublime Dharma. Through your aspiration to guard and protect this lord of sūtras and the various holders of the sūtra, you will attain measureless, special merit, so that you will quickly attain the highest, most complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood.”

When the Bhagavat had said that, Brahmarāja and the others praised the Bhagavat’s words.