XVI
Project Gutenberg EPUB edition
Soothill, William Edward and Kumārajīva
In reply to these questions Śakyamuni now makes his great revelation. This chapter is the climax. It contains the author’s declaration that the Buddha is Eternal, beyond all limits of time and space. It is the Eternal Buddha who is in Śakyamuni. His is the voice that speaks, His the vast host, His the Eternal Life which gives its name to this chapter.
Then says the Buddha to the Bodhisattvas and the vast assembly:
“Believe and discern, all you good sons, the Tathagata’s word of Truth.”
Thrice he repeats it.
Maitreya, with folded hands, implores the Buddha, and all the disciples cry with him three times,
“We beseech thee explain; we will believe the Buddha’s word.”
“Then the World-honoured, perceiving that the bodhisattvas thrice without ceasing repeated their request, addressed them saying:
“‘Listen then each of you attentively to the secret, mysterious and supernatural power of Tathagata. All the worlds of gods, men and asuras declare: “Now has Śakyamuni-Buddha, coming forth from the palace of the Sakya-clan, and seated at the place of enlightenment, not far from the city of Gaya, attained to Perfect Enlightenment.” But, good sons, since I veritably became Buddha, there have passed infinite, boundless, hundreds, thousands, myriads, kotis, nayutas of kalpas. For instance, suppose there were five hundred thousand myriad kotis, nayutas of numberless Three-Thousand-Great-Thousandfold-Worlds; let some one grind them to atoms, pass eastward through five hundred thousands, myriads, kotis, nayutas of numberless countries, and then drop one of those atoms; suppose he thus proceeded eastward till he had finished those atoms,—what do you think, good sons, is it possible to imagine and calculate all those worlds so as to know their number?’
.....
“‘Good sons! Now I must clearly announce and declare to you. Suppose you take as atomized all those worlds, everywhere that an atom has been deposited, and everywhere that it has not been deposited, and count an atom as a kalpa, the time since I became the Buddha still surpasses these by hundreds, thousands, myriads, kotis, nayutas of numberless kalpas. From that time forward I have constantly been preaching and teaching in this Saha-world, and also leading and benefitting the living in other places in hundreds, thousands, myriads, kotis, nayutas of numberless domains. Good sons! During this time, I have spoken of the Buddha “Burning Light” and other Buddhas, and also have told of their entering Nirvana. Thus have I tactfully described them all. Good sons! Whenever living beings came to me, I beheld with a Buddha’s eyes all the faculties, keen or dull, of their faith, and so forth; and I explained to them, in stage after stage, according to their capacity and degree of salvation, my different names and the length of my lives, and moreover plainly stated that I must enter Nirvana. I also, with various expedients, preached the Wonderful Law which is able to cause the living to beget a joyful heart. Good sons! Beholding the propensities of all the living towards lower things, so that they have little virtue and much vileness, to these the Tathagata declares: ‘I, in my youth, left home and attained to Perfect Enlightenment.’
But since I veritably became Buddha, thus have I ever been, only by my expedient methods teaching and transforming all the living, so that they may enter into Buddhahood, and thus have I made declaration.
“Good sons! All the sutras which the Tathagata preaches are for the deliverance of the living—whether they speak of himself or speak of others, whether they indicate himself or others, and whether they indicate his own affairs or those of others; whatever they say is all real, and not empty air. Wherefore? Because the Tathagata knows and sees the character of the triple world as it really is; to him there is neither birth nor death, neither going away nor coming forth; neither existence in the world nor cessation of existence; neither reality nor unreality; neither thus nor otherwise. Unlike the way the triple world beholds the triple world, the Tathagata sees clearly such things as these without mistake. Because all the living have various natures, various desires, various activities, various ideas and reasonings, so, desiring to cause them to produce the roots of goodness, the Tathagata by so many reasonings, parables, and discourses has preached his various Truths. The Buddha-deeds which he performs never fail for a moment. Thus it is, since I became Buddha in the far distant past, that my lifetime is of numberless kalpas, forever existing and immortal.
“Good sons! The lifetime which I fulfil in following the Bodhisattva-Way is not even yet completed, but will be again twice the previous number of kalpas. But now in this unreal Nirvana, I announce that I must enter the real Nirvana. In this expedient way the Tathagata teaches all living. Wherefore? If the Buddha abides long in the world, men of little virtue—who do not cultivate the roots of goodness and are spiritually poor and mean, greedily attached to the five desires, and caught in the net of wrong reflection and false views—if they see the Tathagata constantly present and not extinct, will become puffed up and lazy, and unable to conceive the idea that it is difficult to meet a Buddha, and be unable to develop a mind of reverence for him. Therefore the Tathagata tactfully says: “Know, Bhikshus! The appearance of a Buddha in the world is a rare occurrence.” Wherefore? In the course of countless hundreds, thousands, myriads, kotis of kalpas, some men of little virtue may happen to see a Buddha, or none may see him. For this reason I say: “Bhikshus! A Tathagata may rarely be seen!” All these living beings, hearing such a statement, must indeed realize the thought of the difficulty of meeting a Buddha and cherish a longing and a thirst for him; thus will they cultivate the roots of goodness. Therefore the Tathagata, though he does not in reality become extinct, yet announces his extinction.’”