Māras and the Kings of Sovereignty Give Their Own Testimony
Following the Brahmā gods, ten thousand māras and then ten thousand kings of the heaven of sovereignty descend from the sky, each confessing the same experience — Fierce-Heat's fire outshone their own palace's every adornment until it seemed like nothing more than a heap of black ink.
Even the Māras Scatter Jewels Upon Him
Rather than opposing Fierce-Heat, the māras themselves come bearing gifts — heavenly maṇi jewels scattered over the very brahmin Good-Wealth suspected might be one of their own agents — and testify that his fire brought them and countless sons and daughters of gods to non-retrogression.
復有十千諸魔，在虛空中，以天摩尼寶散婆羅門上，告善財言：「善男子！此婆羅門五熱炙身時，其火光明映奪於我所有宮殿諸莊嚴具皆如聚墨，令我於中不生樂著，我與眷屬來詣其所。此婆羅門為我說法，令我及餘無量天子、諸天女等，皆於阿耨多羅三藐三菩提得不退轉。」
There were further ten thousand māras, in the sky above, scattering heavenly maṇi jewels over the brahmin, who said to Good-Wealth: "Good son, when this brahmin was scorching his own body with the five fires, the light of that fire outshone and eclipsed every adornment in our own palaces, making them all seem like heaps of black ink, causing us no longer to delight in or cling to them, so I, together with my own retinue, came to his place. This brahmin taught the dharma for us, causing me and every other one of the immeasurable sons of gods and goddesses to all attain non-retrogression in anuttara-samyak-sambodhi."
以天摩尼寶散婆羅門上 — scattering heavenly maṇi jewels over the brahmin. Good-Wealth's own doubt in Part 966 wondered whether Fierce-Heat might be Māra's own agent. The māras' first act here answers that suspicion directly — not by attacking Good-Wealth or defending themselves, but by paying homage to the very being Good-Wealth feared might belong to them.
Sovereignty, Attained Through Watching Fire
The kings of the heaven of sovereignty testify to the same broken attachment, but their own liberation carries a fitting irony — the very quality their heaven is named for, sovereignty, is what Fierce-Heat's teaching actually gives them, this time over mind, affliction, karma, and even their own lifespan.
復有十千自在天王，於虛空中，各散天華，作如是言：「善男子！此婆羅門五熱炙身時，其火光明映奪我等所有宮殿諸莊嚴具皆如聚墨，令我於中不生愛著，即與眷屬來詣其所。此婆羅門為我說法，令我於心而得自在，於煩惱中而得自在，於受生中而得自在，於諸業障而得自在，於諸三昧而得自在，於莊嚴具而得自在，於壽命中而得自在，乃至能於一切佛法而得自在。」
There were further ten thousand kings of the heaven of sovereignty, in the sky above, each scattering heavenly flowers, who spoke these words: "Good son, when this brahmin was scorching his own body with the five fires, the light of that fire outshone and eclipsed every adornment in all of our own palaces, making them all seem like heaps of black ink, causing us no longer to feel any love or attachment for them, so we, together with our own retinues, came at once to his place. This brahmin taught the dharma for us, causing us to attain sovereignty over our own mind, to attain sovereignty amid every affliction, to attain sovereignty amid every rebirth, to attain sovereignty over every karmic obstruction, to attain sovereignty over every samādhi, to attain sovereignty over every adornment, to attain sovereignty over our own lifespan, and even to attain sovereignty over every buddha-dharma."
令我於心而得自在 — causing us to attain sovereignty over our own mind. These are the kings of the very heaven named for sovereignty itself, and yet it takes watching a mortal brahmin burn his own body for them to discover what sovereignty actually means — not rule over a palace, but mastery over one's own mind.
Part 968 Complete
This continues chapter thirty-nine, 入法界品, in fascicle sixty-four. Part 969 turns to the kings of the Nirmāṇarati heaven, who arrive with heavenly music, testifying that Fierce-Heat's fire touched even their own palace-maidens.