The Jeweled Robe, and the Priceless Pearl

At that time Pūrṇamaitrāyaṇīputra, having heard from the Buddha this wisdom taught by skillful means according to what is fitting, and having heard as well the bestowal of predictions of unsurpassed, perfect and complete awakening on the great disciples, and having heard further the matter of their karmic connections from past lives, and having heard further of the buddhas' great, self-mastering spiritual power, gained what he had never had before, his heart pure and leaping with joy. He at once rose from his seat, went before the Buddha, bowed his head to the Buddha's feet, and withdrew to one side, gazing up at the Buddha's honored countenance without turning his eyes away, and thought to himself: "The World-Honored One is exceedingly extraordinary, and what he does is rare indeed! According to the every kind of nature found in the world, he teaches the Dharma by skillful means and knowledge and vision, drawing beings out from their attachments wherever they cling. We could never express in words the Buddha's own merit; only the Buddha, the World-Honored One, can know the deep wish at the root of our own minds." At that time the Buddha said to the monks: "Do you see this Pūrṇamaitrāyaṇīputra? I have always called him foremost among those who teach the Dharma, and have always praised his every kind of merit, his diligent upholding and proclaiming of my Dharma, his ability to teach, instruct, benefit, and delight the fourfold assembly, his complete explanation of the Buddha's true Dharma, and his great benefit to his fellow practitioners. Apart from the Tathāgata himself, none can match the full range of his eloquence. Do not suppose that Pūrṇa is able only to uphold and proclaim my own Dharma — in the past, in the presence of ninety koṭis of buddhas, he likewise upheld and proclaimed the true Dharma of those buddhas, and was likewise foremost among those who taught the Dharma there. He is, besides, clear and penetrating in the emptiness taught by every buddha, has attained the four unobstructed wisdoms, and is constantly able to teach the Dharma with careful precision and purity, without any doubt or uncertainty, complete with a bodhisattva's own power of spiritual penetration. Throughout his lifespan he has constantly cultivated pure conduct, so that the people of that buddha's world all took him to be truly a śrāvaka; yet Pūrṇa, by this very skillful means, benefited immeasurable hundreds of thousands of beings, and transformed immeasurable asaṃkhyeyas of people, causing them to establish themselves in unsurpassed, perfect and complete awakening. For the sake of purifying buddha-lands, he has constantly done the work of a buddha, teaching and transforming beings. "Monks! Pūrṇa was likewise foremost among those who taught the Dharma under each of the seven past buddhas, and is foremost among those who teach the Dharma under me now, and will likewise be foremost among those who teach the Dharma under the buddhas yet to come in this Fortunate Kalpa, upholding and proclaiming the Dharma of every one of them. In the future, too, he will uphold and proclaim the Dharma of immeasurable, boundless buddhas, teaching and benefiting immeasurable beings, causing them to establish themselves in unsurpassed, perfect and complete awakening. For the sake of purifying buddha-lands, he will constantly and diligently teach and transform beings, gradually becoming complete in the bodhisattva path. After immeasurable asaṃkhyeya kalpas, he shall, in this very land, attain unsurpassed, perfect and complete awakening, named Dharma Light Tathāgata, Worthy of Offerings, Perfectly and Fully Awakened, Complete in Understanding and Conduct, Well-Gone, Knower of the World, Unsurpassed Being, Tamer of Those to be Tamed, Teacher of Gods and Humans, Buddha, World-Honored One. That buddha will take, as a single buddha-land, a number of trichiliocosms equal to the sands of the Ganges; the ground will be of the seven treasures, level as the palm of a hand, without mountains, ridges, valleys, streams, or ravines, filled everywhere with towers and pavilions of the seven treasures; the palaces of the gods will stand near to the open sky, so that humans and gods intermingle, each able to see the other. There will be none of the evil destinies there, and no women; every being will be born by transformation, without any trace of sexual desire. They will attain great spiritual powers, their bodies emitting light, flying freely wherever they wish, their resolve firm, diligent and wise, every one of them golden in hue, adorned with the thirty-two marks. The beings of that land will constantly take two kinds of nourishment: the joy of the Dharma, and the delight of meditative concentration. There will be immeasurable asaṃkhyeya thousands of myriads of koṭis of nayutas of bodhisattvas there, who have attained great spiritual powers and the four unobstructed wisdoms, skillfully able to teach and transform every kind of being. Its śrāvakas will be beyond any count or calculation, all complete with the six spiritual powers, the three insights, and the eight liberations. That buddha-land will be adorned and accomplished with immeasurable merits such as these. The kalpa will be named Jeweled Light, and the land will be named Good Purity. That buddha's lifespan will be immeasurable asaṃkhyeya kalpas, and his Dharma will remain for a very long time. After that buddha's parinirvāṇa, stūpas of the seven treasures will be raised, filling the whole land." At that time the World-Honored One, wishing to restate this same meaning once more, spoke in verse: "Monks, listen carefully! The path a child of the Buddha practices, having skillfully learned every skillful means, is inconceivable. Knowing that beings delight in a lesser Dharma, and fear the great wisdom, bodhisattvas therefore appear as śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, transforming beings through countless skillful means. Saying of themselves that they are śrāvakas, far from the buddha-path, they deliver immeasurable beings across, every one of them brought to accomplishment; though these beings seem to have little desire and to be lax, the bodhisattvas gradually cause them to become buddhas. Secretly holding the practice of a bodhisattva, outwardly appearing as a śrāvaka, seeming to want little and to be weary of birth and death, they are in truth purifying their own buddha-land. They show the assembly that they have the three poisons, and manifest even the marks of wrong view — my disciples act in just this way, delivering beings across by skillful means. If I were to state in full every kind of transformation they manifest, beings hearing it would fall into doubt and confusion. Now this Pūrṇa, in the presence of thousands of koṭis of buddhas in the past, diligently practiced the path, proclaiming and upholding the Dharma of every buddha. Seeking the unsurpassed wisdom, in the presence of those buddhas he appeared foremost among their disciples, of broad learning and great wisdom. What he taught was fearless, and able to bring joy to the assembly; never once weary, he thereby aided the buddha's own work. Already having crossed over with great spiritual powers, complete with the four unobstructed wisdoms, knowing beings' faculties, sharp or dull, he constantly taught the pure Dharma. Expounding this same meaning, teaching thousands of koṭis of beings, causing them to abide in the Dharma of the Great Vehicle, he thereby purified his own buddha-land as well. In the future, too, he will make offerings to immeasurable, countless buddhas, upholding and proclaiming the true Dharma, likewise purifying his own buddha-land. Constantly using every skillful means, teaching the Dharma without fear, delivering incalculable beings across, he shall accomplish the wisdom of all modes. Having made offerings to every tathāgata, and upheld the treasury of the true Dharma, he shall afterward attain buddhahood, named Dharma Light. His land will be named Good Purity, formed entirely of the seven treasures; the kalpa will be named Jeweled Light. Its bodhisattvas will be exceedingly many, immeasurable koṭis in number, all having crossed over with great spiritual powers, complete with majesty and virtue, filling that land. Its śrāvakas will likewise be beyond number, complete with the three insights, the eight liberations, and the four unobstructed wisdoms, and these shall form the saṅgha. The beings of that land will have entirely cut off sexual desire, and will be born purely by transformation, their bodies adorned with every mark. Their food will be the joy of the Dharma and the delight of meditative concentration, with no thought of any other kind of food. There will be no women there, and none of the evil destinies. The monk Pūrṇa, his merit entirely fulfilled, shall attain this pure land, with a great multitude of sages and worthies. Such immeasurable matters as these I now speak of only in brief."

At that time the twelve hundred arhats whose minds had attained mastery thought to themselves: "We rejoice, having gained what we never had before. If the World-Honored One were to bestow a prediction on each of us, just as he has for the other great disciples, would this not be a joy!" The Buddha, knowing what was in their minds, said to Mahākāśyapa: "These twelve hundred arhats — I shall now, before you, bestow on them, one after another, a prediction of unsurpassed, perfect and complete awakening. Among this assembly, my great disciple the monk Ājñāta-Kauṇḍinya shall make offerings to sixty-two thousand koṭis of buddhas, and shall afterward attain buddhahood, named Universal Brightness Tathāgata, Worthy of Offerings, Perfectly and Fully Awakened, Complete in Understanding and Conduct, Well-Gone, Knower of the World, Unsurpassed Being, Tamer of Those to be Tamed, Teacher of Gods and Humans, Buddha, World-Honored One. And the five hundred arhats — Uruvilvā-Kāśyapa, Gayā-Kāśyapa, Nadī-Kāśyapa, Kālodāyin, Udāyin, Aniruddha, Revata, Kapphiṇa, Vakkula, Cunda, Svāgata, and the rest — shall all likewise attain unsurpassed, perfect and complete awakening, every one sharing the same single name, Universal Brightness." At that time the World-Honored One, wishing to restate this same meaning once more, spoke in verse: "The monk Kauṇḍinya shall see immeasurable buddhas, and, after asaṃkhyeya kalpas, shall accomplish perfect and complete awakening. Constantly emitting great light, complete with every spiritual power, his renown shall fill the ten directions, revered by all, constantly teaching the unsurpassed path — and for this he shall be named Universal Brightness. His land shall be pure, its bodhisattvas all valiant, ascending together to wondrous towers, roaming through every land of the ten directions, offering unsurpassed gifts to every buddha. Having made these offerings, their hearts filled with great joy, they shall return, in but a moment, to their own land — such shall be their spiritual power. That buddha's lifespan shall be sixty thousand kalpas; the true Dharma shall remain twice that span, and the counterfeit Dharma twice that again; and when the Dharma at last comes to an end, gods and humans shall grieve. His five hundred monks shall, one after another, likewise attain buddhahood, all sharing the same name, Universal Brightness, each in turn receiving this same prediction as the one before him passes it on. 'After my parinirvāṇa, so-and-so shall become a buddha, and the world he transforms shall be just as mine is today.' The adornment and purity of their lands, and their every spiritual power, their bodhisattvas and śrāvakas, the span of their true and counterfeit Dharma, the length of their lifespans — all shall be just as already described above. Kāśyapa, you now know of these five hundred whose minds have attained mastery; the rest of the śrāvakas here shall likewise be just the same. For those not present in this assembly, you should proclaim this to them."

At that time the five hundred arhats, having received this prediction before the Buddha, leapt with joy, and at once rose from their seats, went before the Buddha, bowed their heads to his feet, and, repenting and reproaching themselves, said: "World-Honored One! We have constantly thought to ourselves that we had already attained the ultimate extinction; only now do we realize that this was the thinking of one without wisdom. Why is this so? Because we should rightfully have attained the Tathāgata's own wisdom, yet we contented ourselves instead with a lesser wisdom. "World-Honored One! It is like a man who went to the house of a close friend, and, having drunk wine, lay down and fell asleep. At that time his friend, having to leave on official business, sewed a priceless jewel into the lining of the man's robe, and left, giving it to him without his knowing. The man, drunk and asleep, was entirely unaware of it. When he awoke, he wandered off, and came at last to another land. For the sake of clothing and food, he labored and sought with great difficulty; whatever little he managed to gain, he considered enough. Later, his friend happened to meet him again, and said: 'Ah, my good man! Why have you come to such a state, for the sake of mere clothing and food? Long ago, wishing you to find peace and happiness, and to enjoy yourself freely with the five desires, on a certain day of a certain year I sewed a priceless jewel into the lining of your robe. It is still there, right now, and yet you do not know it. Toiling and suffering to keep yourself alive — this is a great folly indeed. You may now exchange this jewel for whatever you need, and always have exactly what you wish, with nothing lacking at all.' "The Buddha is likewise so. When he was a bodhisattva, he taught and transformed us, causing us to give rise to the mind of the wisdom of all modes. Yet we soon forgot and set this aside, unknowing and unaware of it. Having attained the path of the arhat, we supposed ourselves to have reached extinction, our means of livelihood difficult, and were content with the little we had. And yet our original vow toward the wisdom of all modes still remained, and was never lost. Now the World-Honored One has awakened us, saying: 'Monks! What you have attained is not the ultimate extinction. I long ago caused you to plant the good roots of buddhahood, and, by skillful means, showed you the mark of nirvāṇa — yet you supposed that you had truly attained extinction.' "World-Honored One! Only now do we know that we are truly bodhisattvas, and have received a prediction of unsurpassed, perfect and complete awakening. By this cause and condition, we rejoice greatly, having gained what we never had before." At that time Ājñāta-Kauṇḍinya and the others, wishing to restate this same meaning once more, spoke in verse: "We have heard the unsurpassed, peaceful voice of this prediction, and rejoice, having gained what we never had before; we bow before the buddha of immeasurable wisdom. Now, before the World-Honored One, we repent our own past faults: amid the immeasurable treasure of the Buddha's own Dharma, we attained only a small portion of nirvāṇa, and, like foolish people without wisdom, considered it enough of ourselves. It is like a destitute man who went to the house of a close friend, a house of very great wealth, where a full feast was laid out for him; his friend sewed a priceless jewel into the lining of his robe, and silently gave it to him and departed, while he lay sleeping, unaware. This man, once he had risen, wandered off to another land, seeking clothing and food to sustain himself, his livelihood exceedingly hard; whatever little he gained, he considered enough, and wished for nothing better. He did not know that within the lining of his own robe there lay a priceless jewel. The friend who had given him the jewel later met this destitute man again, and, having reproached him sharply, showed him the jewel that had been sewn there. The destitute man, seeing this jewel, was filled with great joy in his heart, now rich with every kind of wealth, free to enjoy himself with the five desires. We too are just the same: the World-Honored One, through the long night of saṃsāra, constantly took pity on us and taught and transformed us, causing us to plant the seed of the unsurpassed vow. Yet, through our own lack of wisdom, we did not perceive it and did not know it; attaining only a small portion of nirvāṇa, we were content with ourselves, and sought nothing further. Now the Buddha has awakened us, telling us that this was not the true extinction, and that only in attaining the Buddha's own unsurpassed wisdom is this the true extinction. Now, hearing from the Buddha of the adornments of this prediction, and of each of us receiving it in turn, our bodies and minds are filled entirely with joy."

At that time Ānanda and Rāhula thought to themselves: "We have each constantly reflected: would it not be a joy, if we too were to receive a prediction?" They at once rose from their seats, went before the Buddha, bowed their heads to his feet, and together said to him: "World-Honored One! We too should have a share in this; the Tathāgata alone is our refuge. And we are, besides, well known to every god, human, and asura in the whole world — Ānanda has constantly served as your attendant, upholding the treasury of the Dharma; Rāhula is the Buddha's own son. If the Buddha would bestow on us a prediction of unsurpassed, perfect and complete awakening, our own wish would be fulfilled, and the hopes of the whole assembly satisfied as well." At that time the two thousand śrāvaka disciples, whether still in training or beyond it, all rose from their seats, bared their right shoulders, went before the Buddha, joined their palms with one mind, and, gazing up at the World-Honored One, just as Ānanda and Rāhula had wished, stood to one side. At that time the Buddha said to Ānanda: "In a future age you shall attain buddhahood, named Mountain-Sea-Wisdom, Self-Mastering, Penetrating King Tathāgata, Worthy of Offerings, Perfectly and Fully Awakened, Complete in Understanding and Conduct, Well-Gone, Knower of the World, Unsurpassed Being, Tamer of Those to be Tamed, Teacher of Gods and Humans, Buddha, World-Honored One. You shall make offerings to sixty-two koṭis of buddhas, uphold the treasury of the Dharma, and only afterward attain unsurpassed, perfect and complete awakening. You shall teach and transform twenty thousand myriad koṭis of bodhisattvas, as many as the sands of the Ganges, causing them to accomplish unsurpassed, perfect and complete awakening. Your land will be named Ever-Raised Victory-Banner, its ground pure, of lapis lazuli. The kalpa will be named Wondrous Sound Filling Everywhere. That buddha's lifespan shall be immeasurable thousands of myriads of koṭis of asaṃkhyeya kalpas — were a person to count and calculate it for thousands of myriads of immeasurable asaṃkhyeya kalpas, he could not reach its number. The true Dharma shall remain in the world twice the span of his lifespan, and the counterfeit Dharma shall remain twice the span of the true Dharma again. Ānanda! This Buddha Mountain-Sea-Wisdom, Self-Mastering, Penetrating King shall be praised together by the buddha-tathāgatas of the ten directions, immeasurable thousands of myriads of koṭis of them, as many as the sands of the Ganges, who shall proclaim his merit." At that time the World-Honored One, wishing to restate this same meaning once more, spoke in verse: "I now declare, in the midst of the saṅgha, that Ānanda, upholder of the Dharma, shall make offerings to the buddhas, and only afterward accomplish perfect awakening, named the Buddha Mountain-Sea-Wisdom, Self-Mastering, Penetrating King. His land shall be pure, named Ever-Raised Victory-Banner, and he shall teach and transform bodhisattvas whose number is like the sands of the Ganges. That buddha shall have great majesty and virtue, his renown filling the ten directions. His lifespan shall be without measure, for out of pity for beings; the true Dharma shall last twice his lifespan, and the counterfeit Dharma twice that again. Beings as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, countless in number, shall, within this buddha's Dharma, plant the cause and condition of the buddha-path." At that time the eight thousand newly-resolved bodhisattvas in the assembly all thought to themselves: "We ourselves have not yet heard of the great bodhisattvas receiving a prediction such as this — for what cause and condition do these śrāvakas receive such a prophecy?" At that time the World-Honored One, knowing what was in the bodhisattvas' minds, said to them: "Good sons! Ānanda and I, in the presence of the Buddha Empty King, gave rise, at the same time, to the resolve for unsurpassed, perfect and complete awakening. Ānanda constantly delighted in broad learning, while I constantly applied myself with diligence; and for this reason I have already accomplished unsurpassed, perfect and complete awakening, while Ānanda upholds my own Dharma, and shall likewise uphold the treasuries of the Dharma of buddhas yet to come, teaching and bringing to accomplishment the assembly of bodhisattvas. Such was his original vow, and for this reason he has received this prediction." Ānanda, before the Buddha, hearing in person this prediction and the adornments of his future land, his own wish now fulfilled, was filled with great joy in his heart, having gained what he never had before. At that very moment he recalled the treasuries of the Dharma of immeasurable thousands of myriads of koṭis of buddhas in the past, penetrating them without obstruction, as clearly as what he had just now heard, and recognized as well his own original vow. At that time Ānanda spoke in verse: "The World-Honored One is exceedingly rare, causing me to recall the immeasurable Dharma of buddhas past, as clearly as what I hear today. I now have no more doubt, and abide securely in the buddha-path; by skillful means I became your attendant, upholding the Dharma of every buddha." At that time the Buddha said to Rāhula: "In a future age you shall attain buddhahood, named Treading-on-Seven-Jeweled-Flowers Tathāgata, Worthy of Offerings, Perfectly and Fully Awakened, Complete in Understanding and Conduct, Well-Gone, Knower of the World, Unsurpassed Being, Tamer of Those to be Tamed, Teacher of Gods and Humans, Buddha, World-Honored One. You shall make offerings to buddha-tathāgatas as numerous as the fine dust motes of ten worlds, and shall constantly be the eldest son of each of those buddhas, just as you are now. This Buddha Treading-on-Seven-Jeweled-Flowers — his land's adornments, his lifespan and kalpas, the disciples he transforms, and the span of his true and counterfeit Dharma, shall all be no different from those of the Tathāgata Mountain-Sea-Wisdom, Self-Mastering, Penetrating King; and you shall likewise be the eldest son of that buddha as well. After this, you shall attain unsurpassed, perfect and complete awakening." At that time the World-Honored One, wishing to restate this same meaning once more, spoke in verse: "When I was a prince, Rāhula was my eldest son; now that I have accomplished the buddha-path, he has received my Dharma and become my son in the Dharma. In ages to come, he shall see immeasurable koṭis of buddhas, and shall be the eldest son to every one of them, single-mindedly seeking the buddha-path. Rāhula's own hidden practice, I alone am able to know it; he now appears as my eldest son, to show this to every being. His merits, immeasurable koṭis of thousands of myriads, are beyond counting, and he abides securely in the Buddha's own Dharma, seeking the unsurpassed path."

At that time the World-Honored One saw the two thousand śrāvakas, whether still in training or beyond it, their minds gentle and pliant, tranquil and pure, gazing at the Buddha with one mind. The Buddha said to Ānanda: "Do you see these two thousand, in training and beyond it?" "Yes, I see them." "Ānanda! These people shall make offerings to buddha-tathāgatas as numerous as the fine dust motes of fifty worlds, honoring and revering them, upholding the treasury of the Dharma. At the very end, at one and the same time, in lands throughout the ten directions, each shall attain buddhahood, all sharing the same single name, Jeweled Mark Tathāgata, Worthy of Offerings, Perfectly and Fully Awakened, Complete in Understanding and Conduct, Well-Gone, Knower of the World, Unsurpassed Being, Tamer of Those to be Tamed, Teacher of Gods and Humans, Buddha, World-Honored One. Their lifespan shall be one kalpa. Their lands' adornments, their śrāvakas and bodhisattvas, and the span of their true and counterfeit Dharma, shall all be entirely the same." At that time the World-Honored One, wishing to restate this same meaning once more, spoke in verse: "These two thousand śrāvakas, now standing before me, I now bestow on every one of them a prediction: in the future, they shall become buddhas. The buddhas they shall make offerings to are as numerous as the dust motes already described; upholding the treasury of that Dharma, they shall afterward accomplish perfect awakening. Each in a land of the ten directions, all sharing one and the same name, they shall together, at one time, sit at the seat of enlightenment, and realize the unsurpassed wisdom, every one named Jeweled Mark. Their lands and their disciples, their true Dharma and their counterfeit Dharma, shall all be equal, with no difference between them. Every one of them, by every kind of spiritual power, shall deliver beings of the ten directions across, their renown spreading everywhere, and shall gradually enter nirvāṇa." At that time the two thousand, in training and beyond it, hearing the Buddha's prediction, leapt with joy, and spoke in verse: "The World-Honored One, lamp of wisdom, bright and shining — hearing the voice of this prediction, our hearts are filled with joy, as though bathed in sweet dew."