Always the Mother, Across Every Past Life
Māyā's fourth form of sovereign mastery is the most intimate yet: her own pores reveal that at every one of this bodhisattva's past rebirths, in every world, she has always been his mother. Two further forms then reveal his every past bodily form and conduct, and every extreme act of giving he has ever made — his own body, limb by limb, given away entirely.
Every Past Rebirth, and She Has Always Been His Mother
「復次，佛子！摩耶夫人一一毛孔中，顯現如來於過去世諸世界中，城邑、聚落、山林、河池、一切諸處，行菩薩行，隨彼諸劫所值諸佛，清淨善根壽命名號，及善知識如是等事，皆悉顯現，菩薩於彼諸受生時，摩耶夫人常為其母，是為菩薩第四受生自在。」
"Furthermore, Child of the Buddha, within each and every one of Lady Māyā's own pores, there will be manifested the tathāgata, in ages past, throughout every world, in every city, town, mountain forest, river, and pond, and in every other place, practicing the bodhisattva's own practice; and, according to whatever buddhas he met within those kalpas, his pure roots of goodness, his lifespan, his name, and his good and wise friends — every matter such as this will be entirely manifested; and, at every one of those times he took rebirth, Lady Māyā was always his mother. This is the bodhisattva's own fourth form of sovereign mastery in taking rebirth."
The fourth form of mastery makes explicit something the previous three only implied: this is not a single mother witnessing a single momentous birth, but a bond that has held across every one of the bodhisattva's own past lives, in every world, regardless of what buddha he met or what name he bore in that life. "Māyā was always his mother" is stated here as a settled fact of an unbroken relationship reaching back through every prior rebirth, not a role she is only now, for the first time, stepping into.
Every Past Body, and Every Past Act of Giving
「復次，佛子！摩耶夫人一一毛孔中，顯現如來於過去世為菩薩時，其身色相行業威儀所受苦樂，是為菩薩第五受生自在。
「復次，佛子！摩耶夫人一一毛孔中，顯現如來於過去世為菩薩時，所行布施，身體、手足、眼耳、鼻舌、骨齒、髓腦、心血、皮肉、妻子、眷屬、城邑、聚落、宮殿、寶物、一切內外并諸受者，皆悉顯現，又聞求者所言音聲，是為菩薩第六受生自在。」
"Furthermore, Child of the Buddha, within each and every one of Lady Māyā's own pores, there will be manifested the tathāgata, in ages past, at the time he was a bodhisattva — his body's own form and marks, his conduct and karma, his dignified bearing, and every suffering and joy he underwent. This is the bodhisattva's own fifth form of sovereign mastery in taking rebirth.
"Furthermore, Child of the Buddha, within each and every one of Lady Māyā's own pores, there will be manifested the tathāgata, in ages past, at the time he was a bodhisattva, practicing giving — his own body, hands and feet, eyes and ears, nose and tongue, bones and teeth, marrow and brain, heart's blood, skin and flesh, wife and children, retinue, cities, towns, palaces, and every treasure, every internal and external thing, together with everyone who received them — every one of these will be entirely manifested; and, further, the very voice of those who came asking for them will be heard. This is the bodhisattva's own sixth form of sovereign mastery in taking rebirth."
The sixth form of mastery names, in full, the traditional inventory of what a bodhisattva's own past lives of extreme generosity have given away — body, hands and feet, eyes and ears, nose and tongue, bones and teeth, marrow and brain, heart's blood, skin and flesh, and, beyond the body itself, wife, children, retinue, cities, and every treasure. This project has translated similarly exhaustive giving-lists in full at earlier teachers rather than abbreviate them, and does so again here; the added detail this passage carries beyond the body-part inventory itself is a small, precise touch — not only what was given, but "the very voice of those who came asking for them" is heard within Māyā's own pores, the petitioner's own request preserved alongside the gift.
Part 129 In Progress
Six of Māyā's ten forms of sovereign mastery are now complete. Part 130 continues with the seventh through ninth — the bodhisattva's own final-life adornments filling this very forest, the palaces of every nonhuman being gathering here, and countless bodhisattvas identical to Vairocana himself emerging from her body to praise him.
Continue to Part 130 →