A Single Day and Night, Across Buddha-Lands
Chapter thirty-one is short enough to open and close in a single part. The Bodhisattva Mind King relates ten buddha-lands in a chain, each one's full kalpa lasting only a single day and night in the next — ending on a world beyond a million asaṃkhyeyas, filled entirely with Samantabhadra and his companions.
A Chain of Ten Worlds
Chapter thirty-one, 壽量品, opens and closes here. The Mind King relates a single chain: what is a full kalpa in one buddha-land passes as only a day and night in the next, world after world, until the chain reaches past a million asaṃkhyeyas.
爾時，心王菩薩摩訶薩於眾會中告諸菩薩言：「佛子！此娑婆世界釋迦牟尼佛剎一劫，於極樂世界阿彌陀佛剎為一日一夜；極樂世界一劫，於袈裟幢世界金剛堅佛剎為一日一夜；袈裟幢世界一劫，於不退轉音聲輪世界善勝光明蓮華開敷佛剎為一日一夜；不退轉音聲輪世界一劫，於離垢世界法幢佛剎為一日一夜；離垢世界一劫，於善燈世界師子佛剎為一日一夜；善燈世界一劫，於妙光明世界光明藏佛剎為一日一夜；妙光明世界一劫，於難超過世界法光明蓮華開敷佛剎為一日一夜；難超過世界一劫，於莊嚴慧世界一切神通光明佛剎為一日一夜；莊嚴慧世界一劫，於鏡光明世界月智佛剎為一日一夜。佛子！如是次第，乃至過百萬阿僧祇世界，最後世界一劫，於勝蓮華世界賢勝佛剎為一日一夜，普賢菩薩及諸同行大菩薩等充滿其中。」
At that time, the Bodhisattva-Mahāsattva Mind King addressed the assembled bodhisattvas, saying: "Sons of the Buddha! One kalpa in this Sahā world, the buddha-land of Śākyamuni Buddha, is a single day and night in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, the buddha-land of Amitābha Buddha. One kalpa in the Land of Ultimate Bliss is a single day and night in the world of the Kāṣāya Banner, the buddha-land of Vajra-Firm Buddha. One kalpa in the world of the Kāṣāya Banner is a single day and night in the world of the Wheel of Non-Retreating Sound, the buddha-land of the buddha of Supreme Light Where the Lotus Opens. One kalpa in the world of the Wheel of Non-Retreating Sound is a single day and night in the world Free of Defilement, the buddha-land of Dharma-Banner Buddha. One kalpa in the world Free of Defilement is a single day and night in the world of the Good Lamp, the buddha-land of Lion Buddha. One kalpa in the world of the Good Lamp is a single day and night in the world of Wondrous Light, the buddha-land of Light-Treasury Buddha. One kalpa in the world of Wondrous Light is a single day and night in the world Hard to Surpass, the buddha-land of the buddha of Dharma Light Where the Lotus Opens. One kalpa in the world Hard to Surpass is a single day and night in the world of Adorned Wisdom, the buddha-land of the buddha of the Light of Every Spiritual Power. One kalpa in the world of Adorned Wisdom is a single day and night in the world of Mirror Light, the buddha-land of Moon-Wisdom Buddha. Sons of the Buddha! Continuing in this same sequence, on through a million asaṃkhyeya worlds, one kalpa in the very last of those worlds is a single day and night in the world of the Supreme Lotus, the buddha-land of Worthy-and-Supreme Buddha, where Samantabhadra Bodhisattva and every great bodhisattva who practices alongside him fill that world entirely."
普賢菩薩及諸同行大菩薩等充滿其中 — Samantabhadra Bodhisattva and every great bodhisattva who practices alongside him fill that world entirely. The chain of ten relative timescales is not really about astronomy — it ends by locating Samantabhadra, whose name has anchored the acceptances of chapter twenty-nine and the vast numbers of chapter thirty, at the far end of a scale of time that has already passed beyond a million asaṃkhyeyas. The measure built across the last two chapters turns out to have been leading somewhere specific.
Part 577 Complete — Chapter Thirty-One Complete
This completes chapter thirty-one, 壽量品, of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, in fascicle forty-five. Part 578 opens chapter thirty-two, 諸菩薩住處品, naming the mountains and lands across the world where bodhisattvas have always dwelled and taught.