Then the Bhagavān said to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Satata­samitābhiyukta, “If any noble man or noble woman possesses, reads, teaches, or asks questions about this Dharma teaching, that noble man or noble woman will gain eight hundred qualities of the eyes, will gain twelve hundred qualities of the nose, will gain eight hundred qualities of the ears, will gain twelve hundred qualities of the tongue, will gain eight hundred qualities of the body, and will gain twelve hundred qualities of mind.

“Through those many hundreds of qualities the combination of the six sensory faculties will be purified, completely purified. The purified faculty of the eye, the ordinary physical eyes that have come from the father and mother, will see the outside and inside of the world realm of a thousand million worlds, with its mountains and forests, seeing all as far down as the Avīci hell and as far upward as the summit of existence. With ordinary eyes of flesh they will see all the birthplaces of beings, and know the ripening of their karma.”

Thereupon the Bhagavān spoke these verses:

“Hear from me what are the qualities in store For those who fearlessly teach this sūtra In the middle of an assembly, Teaching it without idleness. {1}

“Their eyes will be beautified By eight hundred qualities. Therefore those eyes will be stainless, Unpolluted, and pure. {2}

“With the physical eyes That have come from their parents They will see the entire world realm, From the outside and from the inside. {3}

“They will see all of the Merus, Sumerus, and Cakravālas; So, too, will they also see The other well-known mountains, and the oceans. {4}

“Those wise ones will see everything, From as far down as the Avīci hell To as high up as the summit of existence; That is what their physical eyes will be like. {5}

“They will still not have divine eyes And so they will not have that knowledge. But that is the way it will be For the field of vision of their physical eyes. {6}

“Moreover, Satata­samitābhiyukta, the noble man or noble woman who teaches and explains to others this Dharma teaching will have those twelve hundred qualities of the ears. They will hear all the outer and inner sounds that arise in the world realm of a thousand million worlds, from as far down as the Avīci hell to as high up as the summit of existence, such as the sounds of elephants, the sounds of horses, the sounds of camels, the sounds of oxen, the sounds of goats, the sounds of carts, the sounds of weeping, the sounds of misery, the sounds of fear, the sounds of conches, the sounds of bells, the sounds of drums, the sounds of play, the sounds of song, the sounds of music, the sounds of men, the sounds of women, the sounds of boys, the sounds of girls, the sounds of the Dharma, the sounds of that which is not the Dharma, the sounds of happiness, the sounds of suffering, the sounds of fools, the sounds of the āryas, the sounds that are pleasant, the sounds that are unpleasant, the sounds of devas, the sounds of nāgas, the sounds of yakṣas, the sounds of gandharvas, the sounds of asuras, the sounds of garuḍas, the sounds of kinnaras, the sounds of fire, the sounds of water, the sounds of the air, the sounds of villages, the sounds of towns, the sounds of bhikṣus, the sounds of śrāvakas, the sounds of pratyeka­buddhas, the sounds of bodhisattvas, and the sounds of tathāgatas—all the sounds that arise outside and inside within a world realm of a thousand million worlds.

“Although they will not yet have accomplished divine hearing, they will understand the sounds of each and every being and be able to differentiate them and understand them by listening with that ordinary faculty of the ears. That faculty of the ears will hear the sounds that the various beings make but the faculty of hearing will not be overwhelmed by all those sounds. Satata­samitābhiyukta, the bodhisattva mahāsattvas will acquire that kind of sense of hearing, but will not yet at that time have attained divine hearing.”

As soon as the Tathāgata had said these words, the Teacher added these verses:

“Their ordinary faculty of hearing Will becomes unpolluted and purified And they will hear without exception The many different sounds in this world realm. {7}

“They will hear the sounds of elephants and horses, And of carriages, oxen, goats, and sheep, Of bherī drums and mṛdaṅga drums, Vīṇas, flutes, and vallakīs. {8}

“They will hear sweet, melodious song, But the constant ones will have no attachment. They will hear the millions of voices of humans, Whatever they say and wherever they say it. {9}

“They will continually hear the voices of the devas And their sweet and melodious songs. They will hear the voices of men and women, And also the voices of boys and girls. {10}

“They will hear where they are the beautiful songs Of cuckoos, peacocks, and avadavats, Partridges and other birds Living in the mountains or in caves. {11}

“They will hear the dreadful cries Of beings who are suffering in the hells And the sounds that are made by pretas Tormented by the suffering of no food. {12}

“They will hear the voices of the asuras, Those who dwell in the ocean, and others. Those dharmabhāṇakas, while staying where they are, Will hear all those sounds without being overwhelmed. {13}

“While staying where they are they will hear The multitude of different sounds That those born as animals make When they communicate with each other. {14}

“They will hear, without exception, All that is said between the devas In the realm of Brahmā, In Akaniṣṭha, and Ābhāsvara. {15}

“They will continually hear the voices Of those bhikṣus who are mendicants in the Sugata’s teaching And are performing their daily recitation, And those who are teaching the Dharma to assemblies. {16}

“They will hear separately all the voices Of bodhisattvas in this world realm Doing daily recitations or speaking with each other, And whatever it is they say about the Dharma. {17}

“The bodhisattvas who possess this sūtra Will also hear at the very same time A buddha bhagavān, a trainer and leader of beings, Teaching the highest Dharma to his assembly. {18}

“The multitude of sounds that beings emit Throughout all these thousand million worlds, Whether they are inside somewhere or outside, As far down as Avīci and up to the summit of existence, {19}

“They will hear all those sounds made by beings Without their hearing being obstructed. Their faculty will be clear and they will know each place of origin, And that will be the nature of their ordinary hearing faculty. {20}

“They will not yet have the divine hearing; Their ordinary hearing faculty will be like this. The ones who fearlessly possess this sūtra Will acquire such qualities as these. {21}

“Moreover, Satata­samitābhiyukta, the bodhisattva mahāsattvas who possess this Dharma teaching, teach it, recite it, or write it will have the eight hundred qualities of the nose; the sensory faculty of their nose will be completely purified.

“That completely pure nasal faculty will sense the multitude of different smells, both inside and outside in the world realm of a thousand million worlds, such as rotten smells, pleasant smells, and unpleasant smells.

“They will smell the scents of different flowers, namely, the scents of royal jasmine, jasmine, magnolias, and bignonia flowers.

“They will smell the scent of water-borne flowers, namely, the scents of blue lotuses, red lotuses, night lotuses, and white lotuses.

“They will smell the scent of the flowers of various fruit- and flower-bearing trees, and the scent of fruits, namely, the scents of sandalwood, bay leaves, valerian, and agarwood.

“If there are a hundred thousand aromas in one place they will smell them all and know them all.

“They will also smell the many different scents of animals, namely, the scents of elephants, horses, oxen, goats, sheep, and cattle.

“They will smell the scents of the bodies of many different kinds of creatures reborn as animals.

“They will smell the scents of the bodies of men and of women. They will smell the scents of the bodies of boys and girls. They will smell the scents of grasses, bushes, herbs, and forests that are far away. They will smell them correctly and know what they are, but they will not be fascinated by those smells; they will not be intoxicated by them.

“While being here in this world, they will smell the scents of the devas, namely, the scents of the divine night-flowering jasmine, orchid tree, coral tree, great coral tree, spider lily, and great spider lily flowers. They will smell the scents of a hundred thousand different kinds of divine flowers and know their names.

“They will smell the scents of the bodies of the devas; namely, they will smell the scent of the body of Śakra, lord of devas, and know if he is enjoying amusements and pleasures in Vaijayanta, his palace; if he is teaching the Dharma to the devas of Trāyastriṃśa in Sudharma, the assembly hall of the devas; or if he has come into the park there for pleasure. They will also smell the scents of the bodies of other devas. They will also smell the scents of the bodies of the deva maidens and the deva wives. They will also smell the scents of the bodies of the deva boys. They will also smell the scents of the bodies of the deva girls. They will not be fascinated by those smells, or intoxicated by them.

“In that way they will smell the scents of the bodies of beings up to the summit of existence. They will smell the scents of bodies of the Brahmakāyika devas and of the Mahābrahmās. In that way they will smell the scents of the bodies of all classes of devas.

“They will smell the scents of the bodies of śrāvakas, pratyeka­buddhas, bodhisattvas, and tathāgatas. They will smell the scents of the thrones of the tathāgatas. They will know where the tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas are seated. Their nasal faculty will not be overwhelmed, impaired, or damaged by those multitudes of smells.”

Thereupon the Bhagavān spoke these verses:

“The nasal faculty will be purified And they will smell the many kinds of smells, The pleasant and unpleasant smells that there are In this entire realm of worlds, {22}

“The scent of jasmine and royal jasmine, Sandalwood and bay leaves, Valerian and agarwood, And many kinds of flowers and fruits. {23}

“In that way they will know the smells of beings, Those of men and of women who are far away. And by the smells of boys and of girls They will know where they are located. {24}

“They will know the smells of cakravartin kings, Bala­cakra­vartin kings, and rulers of regions. In the same way they will know the smells of The princes, the princesses, and the harems. {25}

“The bodhisattvas will know through their smells The many kinds of jewels that are enjoyed: Those that have been deposited under the ground And those that are owned by women. {26}

“The bodhisattvas will know through their smells Whatever are used as adornments, The different materials that are worn on the body: Clothing, garlands, ointments, and perfumes. {27}

“The ones who possess this supreme sūtra, Those resolute ones will know through the power of smell All who are standing, sitting, or lying down, Enjoying pleasures, or in possession of miraculous powers. {28}

“Similarly, they will instantly smell The aroma of perfumed sesame oil And the various aromas of fruits and flowers, And know the particular places those aromas are. {29}

“The wise ones will know from their scents The multitudes of blossomed sandalwood trees In the various declivities of mountains, And the various beings that dwell among them. {30}

“The wise ones will know from their scents Those beings who dwell on the Cakravāla mountains, Those who dwell in the middle of the ocean, And those who dwell in the center of the earth. {31}

“In that way, through the power of their nose They will know the devas and asuras, And they will know the asura maidens, And know the delights of the asuras. {32}

“Through their sense of smell they will know the dwellings Of the four-legged animals in the forests: The lions, tigers, and likewise, supreme elephants, Wild water buffalo, oxen, and gaurs. {33}

“They will know through their smells Those women who are pregnant And whether it is a boy or a girl Carried inside their weary bodies. {34}

“They will know that a being has entered the womb. They will know if that being is going to be destroyed. They will know if the woman is going to be free of suffering And will give birth to a meritorious boy. {35}

“In that way they will smell the aromas of wishes And know the many wishes of people. They will also smell the aromas of desire, Anger, hypocrisy, and peaceful minds. {36}

“The bodhisattvas will know from their aromas Whatever treasures there are in the earth: Chests of iron that are filled with wealth— With gold, with silver, and with cowries. {37}

“They will know through their aromas All pearls, jewels, short and long necklaces, Priceless jewels of many kinds, And their names and lusters. {38}

“In the same way, the heroes, while in this world, Will smell the divine flowers that are above, Which are the coral tree, the spider lily, And the night-flowering jasmine flowers. {39}

“While in this world, through their nasal faculty They will smell the aromas of the airborne palaces, The greater, the medium, and the lesser, And whatever kinds of forms they have. {40}

“They will know also where the devas are— The park, Sudharma, or Vaijayanta— And in that way know the excellent palaces In which the devas are enjoying delights. {41}

“While in this world, through smelling aromas They will know through those aromas Where the devas are and what they are doing, Whether they are sitting, walking, or lying down. {42}

“The bodhisattvas will know through their smells The bodies of deva maidens beautified by many flowers, Wherever they go, wherever they enjoy themselves, Adorned and beautified by constantly worn garlands. {43}

“And they will also know through their aromas The devas above, up to the summit of existence; Brahmās and Mahābrahmās traveling in their airborne palaces; And those resting in dhyāna and those who have arisen from it. {44}

“They will know the devas of Ābhāsvara, Their deaths and rebirth, and those there for the first time. That is what the sense of smell will be like For bodhisattvas who possess this sūtra. {45}

“Those bodhisattvas will know every one Of the bhikṣus who, whether walking or sitting, Are dedicated to the Sugata’s teaching, The bhikṣus who delight in reciting the scripture. {46}

“The wise ones will know by their aroma All śrāvakas, the sons of the jinas— Some of whom stay always at the foot of a tree— Thinking, ‘That bhikṣu is in that place.’ {47}

“The bodhisattvas will know by their aromas The bodhisattvas with mindfulness and dhyāna Who are constantly reciting the scriptures And teaching the Dharma in the assemblies. {48}

“They will know a lord of the world through his aroma: A sugata, a great muni, who in whatever direction Is teaching the Dharma with compassionate altruism In the midst of a śrāvaka saṅgha that is looking at him. {49}

“The bodhisattvas while in this world will know Also all of the followers of a jina, Those beings who listen to his Dharma, And having heard it are overjoyed. {50}

“That is the power of smell that they will acquire, But they still will not have the divine sense of smell. They will have that which is the forerunner Of the immaculate divine sense of smell. {51}

“Moreover, Satata­samitābhiyukta, the noble man or noble woman who possesses this Dharma teaching, teaches it, explains it, and has it written out will attain twelve hundred qualities of the sensory faculty of the tongue.

“With that sense of the tongue, whatever taste is experienced, whatever taste is perceived, and any taste with which the sensory organ of the tongue comes into contact, will all become an excellent divine taste. Any delightful taste that has not been experienced before will be experienced. Whatever taste is unpleasant will be transformed, when it comes in contact with the tongue, into a divine flavor.

“When they teach the Dharma in the midst of an assembly, they will bring pleasure to the senses of those beings. They will be satisfied, completely satisfied and overjoyed. The words they hear will be beautiful, delightful, and profound. They will touch the heart and be beloved. They will make those beings happy and they will rejoice.

“Whenever they teach the Dharma to anyone, the devas, hearing the beautiful, delightful sound, will come to them so as to see them, pay homage to them, honor them, and listen to the Dharma. Male and female devas will wish to come to them so as to see them, pay homage to them, honor them, and listen to the Dharma. Śakras, Brahmās, and Brahmakāyika devas will wish to come to them so as to see them, pay homage to them, honor them, and listen to the Dharma. Male and female nāgas will wish to come to them so as to see them, pay homage to them, honor them, and listen to the Dharma. Male and female garuḍas will wish to come to them so as to see them, pay homage to them, honor them, and listen to the Dharma. Male and female kinnaras, male and female mahoragas, male and female yakṣas, and male and female piśācas will wish to come to them so as to see them, pay homage to them, honor them, and listen to the Dharma. They will revere them, venerate them, admire them, make offerings to them, praise them, and show them respect.

“They will also wish to see the bhikṣus and bhikṣuṇīs, and the upāsakas and upāsikās. They will wish to see the kings, the princes, and the king’s ministers. They will wish to see and to revere the bala­cakra­vartin king, the cakravartin who possesses the seven jewels, with his princes, his ministers, his harem, and his attendants.

“Those dharmabhāṇakas will teach the beautiful Dharma exactly as it was spoken by the Tathāgata. Brahmins, householders, and other people of the towns and the land will always, continuously be their followers, and attendants of the dharmabhāṇakas, until the end of their lives.

“The Tathāgata’s śrāvakas will also wish to see them. The pratyeka­buddhas will also wish to see them. The buddha bhagavāns will also wish to see them.

“Wherever that noble man or noble woman is, they will be teaching the Dharma in the presence of the Tathāgata. They will have become vessels for the Buddha’s Dharma. They will emit the profound, beautiful words of the Dharma.”

Thereupon the Bhagavān spoke these verses:

“The faculty of their tongue will be excellent: They will never experience an inferior taste, For as soon as there is contact with it, food will become divine And acquire a divine flavor. {52}

“They will speak with a voice that is gentle and pleasant, Beautiful and pleasing to the ear. In the midst of the assembly they will always teach With profound words that bring delight, {53}

“Whoever hears the Dharma that they teach, By means of many quintillions of parables, Will experience there the greatest joy And make countless offerings. {54}

“Devas, nāgas, asuras, and guhyakas Will wish to always look upon them And they will listen to the Dharma with great reverence: They will have all those qualities. {55}

“If they wish it, in this world realm Everyone will hear their voice. Their pleasant, sweet, profound, And beautiful words will bring them joy. {56}

“The cakravartin sovereign kings Will come before them to make offerings. With their children and wives, hands together in homage, They will constantly listen to the Dharma. {57}

“Crowds of yakṣas, nāgas, and gandharvas Will constantly be honoring them. Male and female piśācas will honor them, Revere them, and make offerings to them. {58}

“Even Brahmā will be obedient to them. Maheśvara, the deva Īśvara, Śakra, and similarly other devas— A multitude of devas will come to them. {59}

“The buddhas, the compassionate benefiters of the world, And their śrāvakas will hear their voices, Reveal their faces to them, protect them, And be pleased with their teaching of the Dharma. {60}

“Moreover, Satata­samitābhiyukta, the bodhisattva mahāsattvas who possess this Dharma, read it, teach it, explain it, or write it out, will attain eight hundred qualities of the body. Their bodies will be purified. Their skin will be the pure color of beryl, and will bring happiness to those beings who see it.

“They will see the world realm of a thousand million worlds within their purified bodies. They will see in their bodies all the beings in the world realm of a thousand million worlds, whether they are dying or being born, good or bad, of a good color or a bad color, in the higher existences or the lower existences, dwelling on the Cakravāla or Mahācakravāla Mountains, on the kings of mountains, Meru or Sumeru, or who live as far down below as the Avīci hell or as high above as the summit of existence.

“They will see in their own bodies the bodies that have been attained by the śrāvakas, pratyeka­buddhas, bodhisattvas, and tathāgatas who are present in the world realm of a thousand million worlds, and of those to whom the tathāgatas are teaching the Dharma, and the beings who are honoring those tathāgatas. Why is that? It is because their bodies will have become completely purified.”

Thereupon the Bhagavān spoke these verses:

“The ones who possess this vast sūtra Will have bodies that are completely purified, As pure as if they were made of beryl And will always bring joy to the beings who see them. {61}

“Just as a reflection appears in a clean mirror, In that way they will see the worlds appear in their bodies. They, the self-arisen ones, will see that and no other being; That is what these purified bodies will be like. {62}

“They will see within their bodies the images of Whatever beings there are in this world realm: Humans, devas, asuras, and guhyakas, Hell beings, pretas, and those born as animals. {63}

“In that way they will see in their bodies All the airborne palaces of devas up to the summit of existence, The mountains of rock, the Cakravāla mountains, The Himalayas, Sumeru, and the great Meru. {64}

“In that way they will see the buddhas in their bodies, With their śrāvakas and other offspring of the buddhas, The bodhisattvas who are dwelling alone, And those teaching the Dharma among crowds. {65}

“They will acquire that kind of pure body, In which appears the entire world realm. They will still not have acquired the divine body; Such will be their natural body. {66}

“Moreover, Satata­samitābhiyukta, the bodhisattva mahāsattvas who possess this Dharma, read it, teach it, explain it, or write it out will attain twelve hundred qualities of mental activity, and their mental faculty will be purified. Those who have a purified mental faculty will understand many meanings from hearing just one verse. And, comprehending that, they will be able to teach it for a month, for four months, or for a year. They will never forget any Dharma that they have been taught. They will be able to apply to the Dharma all of the world’s languages, incantations, and mundane terminology. They will know all the movement and activity in the minds of all those beings born in the six classes of existence in the world realm of a thousand million worlds.

“Even though they will not yet have attained the wisdom of the āryas, they will still have acquired that kind of purified mental faculty. Whatever Dharma definition they have contemplated, they will teach, and they will teach all of that correctly. They will teach all that the Tathāgata has taught. They will teach all the Dharma teachings taught by the jinas of the past.”

Thereupon the Bhagavān spoke these verses:

“Their mental faculty will become pure, Clear, bright, and unobscured. They will know the many kinds of phenomena: The good, the bad, and the neutral. {67}

“When the resolute ones hear one verse They will know many meanings within it. They will be able to teach that correctly and consistently, Continually for four months or a year. {68}

“The devas, humans, asuras, and guhyakas, The nāgas and those born as animals, The beings dwelling in this world realm, Whether they are outside or inside— {69}

“All those beings who dwell in the six existences— Whatever kinds of thoughts they have, The wise ones will know them all in one instant. These are the benefits from possessing this sūtra. {70}

“The Dharma that is taught in all worlds by The Buddha who has the signs of hundreds of merits, They will hear even those completely pure words, And they will remember everything that has been taught. {71}

“They will contemplate many supreme dharmas. They will always teach many dharmas, And they will never have any confusion. These are the benefits from possessing this sūtra. {72}

“They will know the major and minor connections And the differing qualities within all the dharmas. They will know the meanings and the definitions, And they will teach exactly what it is they know. {73}

“Without being timorous, in the center of the assembly They will always give the teaching of the Dharma That is the sūtra that has been taught in this world For a long time by previous masters of the world. {74}

“Their mental faculty will become like that Through possessing and reading this sūtra. They will still not have attained unimpeded wisdom, But this is what will presage it. {75}

“The holders of this sūtra of the Sugata Will reach the level of an ācārya, Teach the Dharma to all beings, And be skilled in millions of definitions.” {76}