The Whole City Sets Out, and a Second Awakening
Having heard his son's hymn, King Delighting to Behold Excellent Wisdom summons the entire city — every prince, minister, and citizen — to go together and behold the Buddha, and every king of every neighboring city, human and non-human alike, follows in procession. Once assembled, the Buddha teaches, and Great Majestic Light Bodhisattva attains a still deeper realization, seeing directly into the Buddha's own past conduct across countless kalpas.
The King Summons the City
「諸佛子！彼大威光太子說此頌時，以佛神力，其聲普遍勝音世界。「時，喜見善慧王聞此頌已，心大歡喜，觀諸眷屬而說頌言：
「『汝應速召集，一切諸王眾，
王子及大臣，城邑宰官等。
普告諸城內，疾應擊大鼓，
共集所有人，俱行往見佛。
一切四衢道，悉應鳴寶鐸，
妻子眷屬俱，共往觀如來。
一切諸城廓，宜令悉清淨，
普建勝妙幢，摩尼以嚴飾。
寶帳羅眾網，妓樂如雲布，
嚴備在虛空，處處令充滿。
道路皆嚴淨，普雨妙衣服，
巾馭汝寶乘，與我同觀佛。
各各隨自力，普雨莊嚴具，
一切如雲布，遍滿虛空中。
香焰蓮華蓋，半月寶瓔珞，
及無數妙衣，汝等皆應雨。
須彌香水海，上妙摩尼輪，
及清淨栴檀，悉應雨滿空。
眾寶華瓔珞，莊嚴淨無垢，
及以摩尼燈，皆令在空住。
一切持向佛，心生大歡喜，
妻子眷屬俱，往見世所尊。』」
Buddha's children! When Crown Prince Great Majestic Light spoke this verse, through the Buddha's own spiritual power, his voice pervaded the entire Supreme Voice World universally. At that time, King Delighting to Behold Excellent Wisdom, having heard this verse, his mind greatly rejoicing, beheld his retinue, and spoke a verse, saying:
"'You should swiftly summon and gather every king and multitude, every prince and great minister, every official of city and town.
Universally proclaim it throughout every city: swiftly the great drums should be struck, gathering together every person, that we might all go together to behold the Buddha.
Along every crossroad in every direction, jeweled bells should be sounded entirely, and, together with wives, children, and retinues, let us go together to behold the Tathāgata.
Every city wall should be made entirely pure, and supreme, wondrous banners raised everywhere, adorned with maṇi.
Let jeweled canopies array every net, and music, like clouds, spread out, adorned and prepared within empty space, filling every single place.
Let every road be made entirely pure, and wondrous garments rain down universally; harness your own jeweled chariot, and come with me to behold the Buddha together.
Each and every one, according to your own power, rain down adorning implements universally, all of it, like clouds, spreading out, filling the whole of empty space.
Canopies of fragrant flame and lotus flowers, half-moon jeweled necklaces, and countless wondrous garments — all of you should rain these down.
Sumeru's own fragrant water ocean, the supreme, wondrous maṇi wheel, and pure sandalwood — all should be rained down, filling the sky entirely.
Necklaces of every jewel and flower, adorned, pure, and free of defilement, and also maṇi lamps — cause them all to abide within the sky.
Carry everything toward the Buddha, your minds giving rise to great joy, and, together with wives, children, and retinues, go to behold the one honored by the world.'"
Every King Comes to Behold the Buddha
「爾時，喜見善慧王，與三萬七千夫人、采女俱，福吉祥為上首；五百王子俱，大威光為上首；六萬大臣俱，慧力為上首……。如是等七十七百千億那由他眾，前後圍遶，從焰光明大城出。以王力故，一切大眾乘空而往，諸供養具遍滿虛空。至於佛所，頂禮佛足，却坐一面。復有妙華城善化幢天王，與十億那由他眷屬俱；復有究竟大城淨光龍王，與二十五億眷屬俱；復有金剛勝幢城猛健夜叉王，與七十七億眷屬俱；復有無垢城喜見乾闥婆王，與九十七億眷屬俱；復有妙輪城淨色思惟阿脩羅王，與五十八億眷屬俱；復有妙莊嚴城十力行迦樓羅王，與九十九千眷屬俱；復有遊戲快樂城金剛德緊那羅王，與十八億眷屬俱；復有金剛幢城寶稱幢摩睺羅伽王，與三億百千那由他眷屬俱；復有淨妙莊嚴城最勝梵王，與十八億眷屬俱……。如是等百萬億那由他大城中，所有諸王，并其眷屬，悉共往詣一切功德須彌勝雲如來所，頂禮佛足，却坐一面。」
"At that time, King Delighting to Behold Excellent Wisdom, together with thirty-seven thousand consorts and court ladies, with Fortune and Auspiciousness foremost among them; together with five hundred princes, with Great Majestic Light foremost among them; together with sixty thousand great ministers, with the Power of Wisdom foremost among them... such as these, seventy-seven hundred thousand millions of nayutas of the multitude, surrounding him before and behind, went forth from the great city of Flame's Light. Through the king's own power, the whole great assembly traveled upon empty space, and every offering-implement filled the whole of empty space. Reaching the Buddha's own place, they bowed in homage at the Buddha's feet, and withdrew to sit to one side. Further, there was the Deva King of Excellent Transformation's Banner from the City of Wondrous Flowers, together with a hundred million nayutas of his retinue; further, the Dragon King of Pure Light from the Great City of Ultimate, together with twenty-five hundred million of his retinue; further, the Yakṣa King of Vajra's Supreme, Valiant Banner from the City of Vajra's Supreme Banner, together with seventy-seven hundred million of his retinue; further, the Gandharva King Delighting to Behold from the City Free of Defilement, together with ninety-seven hundred million of his retinue; further, the Asura King of Pure Form's Contemplation from the City of the Wondrous Wheel, together with fifty-eight hundred million of his retinue; further, the Garuḍa King of the Ten Powers' Conduct from the City of Wondrous Adornment, together with ninety-nine thousand of his retinue; further, the Kinnara King of Vajra's Virtue from the City of Playful Bliss, together with eighteen hundred million of his retinue; further, the Mahoraga King of the Jeweled Banner's Renown from the City of the Vajra Banner, together with three hundred thousand million nayutas of his retinue; further, the Supreme Brahmā King from the City of Pure, Wondrous Adornment, together with eighteen hundred million of his retinue... such as these, throughout hundreds of thousands of millions of nayutas of great cities, every king that existed, together with their retinues, all together went to the place of the Tathāgata, the Supreme Cloud of Sumeru, the Mountain of Every Merit, bowed in homage at the Buddha's feet, and withdrew to sit to one side."
The procession names kings from every one of the eight classes of non-human beings first catalogued back in fascicle one — dragons, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas — alongside a Brahmā king and a deva king, all traveling from cities established, in Part 31, around the very same forest. Nothing in this ancient world's assembly is exclusively human; the Buddha's first appearance draws every kind of being capable of drawing near.
A Second, Deeper Realization
「時，彼如來為欲調伏諸眾生故，於眾會道場海中，說普集一切三世佛自在法修多羅，世界微塵數修多羅而為眷屬，隨眾生心，悉令獲益。是時，大威光菩薩聞是法已，即獲一切功德須彌勝雲佛宿世所集法海光明。所謂：得一切法聚平等三昧智光明，一切法悉入最初菩提心中住智光明，十方法界普光明藏清淨眼智光明，觀察一切佛法大願海智光明，入無邊功德海清淨行智光明，趣向不退轉大力速疾藏智光明，法界中無量變化力出離輪智光明，決定入無量功德圓滿海智光明，了知一切佛決定解莊嚴成就海智光明，了知法界無邊佛現一切眾生前神通海智光明，了知一切佛力、無所畏法智光明。」
"At that time, that Tathāgata, wishing to tame every living being, within the ocean of the assembly at the awakening-site, taught the sūtra Universally Gathering the Sovereign Dharma of Every Buddha of the Three Periods of Time, with sūtras as numerous as the fine motes of dust in a world as its retinue, causing every living being, according to their own mind, to gain benefit entirely. At that time, Great Majestic Light Bodhisattva, having heard this Dharma, then attained the light of the ocean of Dharma that the Buddha, the Supreme Cloud of Sumeru, the Mountain of Every Merit, had gathered across ages past. That is to say: he attained the wisdom-light of the samādhi of the equality of the whole gathering of every dharma; the wisdom-light of every dharma entirely entering and abiding within the very first mind of bodhi; the wisdom-light of the pure eye, the treasury of universal light of the Dharma-realm of the ten directions; the wisdom-light of contemplating the great ocean of vow of every buddha-dharma; the wisdom-light of the pure conduct entering the boundless ocean of merit; the wisdom-light of the treasury of great, swift power, hastening toward non-regression; the wisdom-light of the wheel of going-forth, the power of immeasurable transformation within the Dharma-realm; the wisdom-light of definitively entering the perfect, complete ocean of immeasurable merit; the wisdom-light of thoroughly understanding the ocean of the accomplished adornment of every buddha's own resolute understanding; the wisdom-light of thoroughly understanding the ocean of spiritual transmutation by which boundless buddhas of the Dharma-realm manifest before every living being; and the wisdom-light of thoroughly understanding every buddha's own power and fearless dharma."
「爾時，大威光菩薩，得如是無量智光明已，承佛威力而說頌言：
「『我聞佛妙法，而得智光明，
以是見世尊，往昔所行事。
一切所生處，名號身差別，
及供養於佛，如是我咸見。
往昔諸佛所，一切皆承事，
無量劫修行，嚴淨諸剎海。
捨施於自身，廣大無涯際，
修治最勝行，嚴淨諸剎海。
耳鼻頭手足，及以諸宮殿，
捨之無有量，嚴淨諸剎海。
能於一一剎，億劫不思議，
修習菩提行，嚴淨諸剎海。
普賢大願力，一切佛海中，
修行無量行，嚴淨諸剎海。
如因日光照，還見於日輪，
我以佛智光，見佛所行道。
我觀佛剎海，清淨大光明，
寂靜證菩提，法界悉周遍。
我當如世尊，廣淨諸剎海，
以佛威神力，修習菩提行。』」
At that time, Great Majestic Light Bodhisattva, having attained such immeasurable wisdom-light, sustained by the Buddha's own power, spoke a verse, saying:
"'I have heard the Buddha's own wondrous Dharma, and thereby attained the light of wisdom,
and through this beheld the World-Honored One, and the deeds he practiced in ages past.
Every place of his birth, his every distinct name and body,
and his making offering to buddhas — all of this I have entirely beheld.
At the place of every buddha in ages past, he served and attended every one entirely,
cultivating practice across immeasurable kalpas, adorning and purifying every land-ocean.
Giving up and bestowing his very own body, vast and without any boundary,
cultivating the most supreme conduct, adorning and purifying every land-ocean.
His ears, nose, head, hands, and feet, and also every palace,
he gave up without any measure, adorning and purifying every land-ocean.
Able, within each and every land, across a hundred million inconceivable kalpas,
to cultivate the conduct of bodhi, adorning and purifying every land-ocean.
Through the power of Samantabhadra's own great vow, within the ocean of every buddha,
cultivating immeasurable practice, adorning and purifying every land-ocean.
Just as, through the sun's own light shining, one thereby sees the sun's own disc,
so I, through the Buddha's own light of wisdom, behold the very path the Buddha has practiced.
I behold the ocean of the Buddha's own lands, pure and greatly luminous,
tranquilly realizing bodhi, pervading the Dharma-realm entirely.
I too shall, like the World-Honored One, vastly purify every land-ocean,
and, through the Buddha's own majestic, spiritual power, cultivate the conduct of bodhi.'"
The first hymn, in Part 31, was entirely addressed outward — every line urging the crowd to "behold" the Buddha. This second hymn turns inward: Great Majestic Light now sees, through the Buddha's own wisdom-light, "the deeds he practiced in ages past" — his self-sacrifice, his cultivation across kalpas, the very path that led to this moment. The bodhisattva's own aspiration follows directly from that vision, closing on a resolution stated almost as a simple fact: "I too shall, like the World-Honored One, vastly purify every land-ocean." What was witnessed becomes, in the space of one stanza, a vow to do the same.
The Buddha's Own Response
「諸佛子！時，大威光菩薩，以見一切功德山須彌勝雲佛，承事供養故，於如來所心得悟了，為一切世間，顯示如來往昔行海，顯示往昔菩薩行方便，顯示一切佛功德海，顯示普入一切法界清淨智，顯示一切道場中成佛自在力，顯示佛力無畏、無差別智，顯示普示現如來身，顯示不可思議佛神變，顯示莊嚴無量清淨佛土，顯示普賢菩薩所有行願，令如須彌山微塵數眾生發菩提心，佛剎微塵數眾生成就如來清淨國土。「爾時，一切功德山須彌勝雲佛，為大威光菩薩而說頌言；
「『善哉大威光，福藏廣名稱，
為利眾生故，發趣菩提道。
汝獲智光明，法界悉充遍，
福慧咸廣大，當得深智海。
一剎中修行，經於剎塵劫，
如汝見於我，當獲如是智。
非諸劣行者，能知此方便，
獲大精進力，乃能淨剎海。
一一微塵中，無量劫修行，
彼人乃能得，莊嚴諸佛剎。
為一一眾生，輪迴經劫海，
其心不疲懈，當成世導師。
供養一一佛，悉盡未來際，
心無暫疲厭，當成無上道。
三世一切佛，當共滿汝願，
一切佛會中，汝身安住彼。
一切諸如來，誓願無有邊，
大智通達者，能知此方便。
大光供養我，故獲大威力，
令塵數眾生，成熟向菩提。
諸修普賢行，大名稱菩薩，
莊嚴佛剎海，法界普周遍。』」
"Buddha's children! At that time, Great Majestic Light Bodhisattva, through beholding, serving, and making offering to the Buddha, the Supreme Cloud of Sumeru, the Mountain of Every Merit, attained understanding and awakening at the place of the Tathāgata, and, for the sake of the whole world, revealed the ocean of the Tathāgata's own conduct in ages past, revealed the skillful means of bodhisattva conduct in ages past, revealed the ocean of every buddha's own merit, revealed the pure wisdom that universally enters the whole Dharma-realm, revealed the sovereign power of accomplishing buddhahood within every awakening-site, revealed the Buddha's own power, fearlessness, and undifferentiated wisdom, revealed the Tathāgata's body universally manifest, revealed the Buddha's own inconceivable spiritual transformation, revealed the adornment of immeasurable, pure buddha-lands, and revealed Samantabhadra Bodhisattva's every conduct and vow — causing living beings as numerous as the fine motes of dust in Sumeru to give rise to bodhicitta, and living beings as numerous as the fine motes of dust in a buddha-land to accomplish the Tathāgata's own pure land. At that time, the Buddha, the Supreme Cloud of Sumeru, the Mountain of Every Merit, spoke a verse for the sake of Great Majestic Light Bodhisattva, saying:
"'Excellent, Great Majestic Light, treasury of blessing, of vast renown,
for the benefit of living beings, you have set forth upon the path of bodhi.
You have attained the light of wisdom, filling the Dharma-realm entirely,
your blessing and wisdom both vast — you shall attain the profound ocean of wisdom.
Cultivating practice within a single land, across kalpas as numerous as the motes of dust in a land,
just as you have beheld me, you shall attain wisdom such as this.
It is not every inferior practitioner who is able to know this skillful means;
only one who attains the power of great diligence is thereby able to purify the ocean of lands.
Within each and every mote of dust, cultivating practice across immeasurable kalpas —
only such a person is thereby able to adorn every buddha-land.
For the sake of each and every living being, turning through an ocean of kalpas in transmigration,
their mind never wearying or growing lax, they shall become a guide of the world.
Making offering to each and every buddha, exhausting the very bounds of the future,
their mind never once wearying or growing tired, they shall accomplish the unsurpassed path.
Every buddha of the three periods of time shall together fulfill your vow,
and within the assembly of every buddha, your own body shall abide securely there.
Every Tathāgata's own vow is without any bound,
and one of great wisdom who has thoroughly penetrated it is able to know this skillful means.
Great Light, through making offering to me, has thereby attained great, majestic power,
causing living beings as numerous as motes of dust to ripen and turn toward bodhi.
Every bodhisattva of great renown who cultivates Samantabhadra's own conduct
adorns the ocean of every buddha-land, pervading the Dharma-realm universally.'"
Part 32 Complete
This closes Part 32, continuing fascicle eleven and the sūtra's sixth chapter, "The Chapter on Vairocana" (毘盧遮那品第六): the king's proclamation, the arrival of countless kings from every kind of being, Great Majestic Light Bodhisattva's own second realization, and the Buddha's hymn confirming his path. Part 33 continues as this same buddha's era draws to a close, and Great Majestic Light — now grown into a great king himself — encounters three further buddhas across successive lifetimes.