Ten Buddhas Rest-and-Release Once Served
Asked how long ago she gave rise to the mind of awakening, Rest-and-Release names ten buddhas in reverse order back through her own memory — Dīpaṃkara, Vairocana, Varuṇa-Deva among them — before admitting that thirty-six Ganges' sands of buddhas lie even further back than she can trace.
Ten Names, Reaching Back Through Memory
Rest-and-Release answers by counting backward — Dīpaṃkara first, then nine further buddhas each named only as "before that," until even her own memory of thirty-six Ganges' sands of buddhas gives way to a plain admission that what lies beyond is a buddha's own knowledge alone.
善財白言：「聖者發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心為久近耶？」答言：「善男子！我憶過去，於然燈佛所，修行梵行，恭敬供養，聞法受持；次前，於離垢佛所，出家學道，受持正法；次前，於妙幢佛所；次前，於勝須彌佛所；次前，於蓮華德藏佛所；次前，於毘盧遮那佛所；次前，於普眼佛所；次前，於梵壽佛所；次前，於金剛𪗇佛所；次前，於婆樓那天佛所。善男子！我憶過去，於無量劫無量生中，如是次第三十六恒河沙佛所，皆悉承事，恭敬供養，聞法受持，淨修梵行。於此已往，佛智所知，非我能測。」
Good-Wealth said: "Noble one, how long ago did you give rise to the mind of anuttara-samyak-sambodhi?" She replied: "Good son, I recall that in the past, at the place of the Buddha Dīpaṃkara, I cultivated pure conduct, respectfully made offerings, and heard and upheld the dharma; before that, at the place of the Buddha Stainless, I left the household life to study the path and upheld the true dharma; before that, at the place of the Buddha Wondrous Banner; before that, at the place of the Buddha Supreme Sumeru; before that, at the place of the Buddha Lotus Virtue-Treasury; before that, at the place of the Buddha Vairocana; before that, at the place of the Buddha Universal Eye; before that, at the place of the Buddha Brahmā-Lifespan; before that, at the place of the Buddha Vajra-Navel; before that, at the place of the Buddha Varuṇa-Deva. Good son, I recall that in the past, across measureless kalpas and measureless lifetimes, I served buddhas in this same sequence, numbering thirty-six Ganges' sands, in every case respectfully attending them, making offerings, hearing and upholding the dharma, and purely cultivating pure conduct. Beyond this, what a buddha's own wisdom knows is not something I myself am able to fathom."
次前 — "before that." After naming Dīpaṃkara and Stainless in full sentences, the answer collapses into this same two-word phrase eight times running, each one opening onto a further buddha, as though the memory itself were simply peeling back one layer after another rather than recalling anything new each time.
Part 949 Complete
This continues chapter thirty-nine, 入法界品, in fascicle sixty-four. Part 950 turns to Rest-and-Release's own teaching on the bodhisattva's measureless qualities — the mind of awakening, great compassion, and great vows, each one said to be as boundless as the dharma-realm itself.