Chapter 14 : Welling Up Out of the Earth

At that time, the bodhisattva-mahasattvas who had come from lands in other quarters, exceeding in number the sand of eight Ganges rivers, rose up in the midst of the great multitude and, doing obeisance with palms joined, spoke to the Buddha, saying, “O, World-honoured One! If you will listen to us, after the Buddha's extinction, in this Saha World, by striving to devote vigorous effort to keep, read and recite, write and copy and pay homage to this scriptural canon, we will broadly preach it in this land.”

At that time, the Buddha declared to the bodhisattva-mahasattvas, “Stop, O, good men! There is no need for you to keep this sutra. Wherefore? My Saha World itself has bodhisattva-mahasattvas equal in number to the sand of sixty thousand Ganges rivers, each of whom has in turn a retinue equal in number to the sand of sixty thousand Ganges rivers. These men, after my extinction, shall be able to keep, read and recite, and broadly preach this sutra.”

When the Buddha had said this, in the three-thousand-great-thousandfold lands of the Saha World, the earth trembled and split, and from its clefts there welled up simultaneously incalculable thousands of myriads of millions of bodhisattva-mahasattvas. These bodhisattvas all had bodies of golden hue, the thirty-two marks and incalculable rays of light. They all had been dwelling under this Saha World, in an open space. When these bodhisattvas heard the sound of the Buddha's preaching, they emerged from below, each bodhisattva at the head of, and commanding, a great multitude, each leading a retinue equal in number to the sand of sixty thousand Ganges rivers. How much more numerous, then, were those leading retinues equal in number to the sand of fifty, forty, thirty, twenty, or ten thousand Ganges rivers! How much more numerous those leading retinues equal in number from any of these down to the sand of one Ganges river, or half a Ganges river, or one-quarter of a Ganges river, or anything down to one-thousand-myriad-million-nayutath of a Ganges river! How much more numerous those whose retinues numbered a thousand myriad of millions of nayutas! How much more numerous those whose retinues numbered a million myriads! How much more numerous those whose retinues numbered fifty thousands, forty thousands, anything down to ten thousands! How much more numerous those whose retinues numbered a thousand, a hundred, or anything down to ten! How much more numerous those who brought with them five, four, three, two, or one disciple! How much more numerous those who came alone, desiring the practice of self-isolation! The likes of these were incalculable, endless, such as neither numeration nor parable could know.

When these bodhisattvas and their retinues had emerged from the earth, they all went to the wonderful seven-jewelled stupa situated in the space, where were the Tathagata Abundant Treasures and Sakyamuni Buddha. When they had arrived, turning toward the two World-honoured Ones, they worshipped their feet with heads bowed, then did obeisance to everything up through the places prepared for the emanated Buddhas on the lion throne under the jewelled-trees. Doing three turns of rightward circulation and paying humble respects with palms joined, with varied bodhisattva-praises, they lauded the merits of the Buddhas. Then they stood off to one side, with joyful expectation looking up at the two World-honoured Ones.

These bodhisattva-mahasattvas, welling up out of the earth, by resort to bodhisattvas' various ways of praise lauded the Buddha, such time persisting fifty minor kalpas. During this time, Sakyamuni Buddha was seated in silence, and the fourfold multitude were also seated in silence. The fifty minor kalpas, thanks to the Buddha's transcendental power, were made to appear to the great multitudes as if they were half a day. At that time, the great multitude, thanks to the Buddha's transcendental power, saw that the bodhisattvas who welled up out of the earth receive bodhisattvas from the worlds of the ten directions, filling up the open air of incalculable hundreds of thousands of myriads of millions of lands. Within this multitude of bodhisattvas from the ten directions were four leaders; the first named Superior Conduct (Visistacaritra), the second named Limitless Conduct (Anantacaritra), the third named Pure Conduct (Visuddhacaritra), and the fourth named Conduct Standing Firm (Supratisthitacaritra). These four bodhisattvas were the supreme chiefs among that multitude, the masters who commanded and led. In front of his respective great multitude, each of them, together with the others, joined palms and, gazing at Sakyamuni Buddha, inquired after him, saying, “O, World-honoured One! Have you few ailments and few troubles? Are you conducting yourself in comfort or not? Do those worthy of conveyance to salvation accept your doctrine easily, or do they not? Are they not causing the World-honoured One to suffer fatigue and labour?

“O, World-honoured One! Are you in comfort
With few ailments and few troubles?
When teaching and converting the living beings,
Do you contrive to do so without fatigue or disgust?
Also, do the living beings
Accept conversion with ease, or do they not?
Are they not causing the World-honoured One
To experience fatigue or labour?”

At that time, in the midst of the great bodhisattva-multitude the World-honoured One said, “Verily, verily, good men, the Tathagata is at ease with few ailments and few troubles. The living beings are easy to convert and to convey to salvation. I have neither fatigue nor labour. Wherefore? These living beings, for ages now, having ever accepting conversion by me. Also, in the presence of the past Buddhas, humbly honouring them and holding them in solemn esteem, they have planted wholesome roots. When these living beings first saw my body under the bodhi tree and heard my preaching of the Ekayana, they straightaway accepted it, entering into the wisdom of the Tathagata. Except for those whose previous repeated practice was devoted to learning the Triple Yana, such persons as these I now enable to hear the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Dharma of the Ekayana as well, and thus to enter into Buddha-wisdom.”

At that time, the great bodhisattvas proclaimed gathas, sayng:
“How excellent, how excellent
O, Great Hero, O, World-honoured One
That the living beings
Can be so easily converted and conveyed to salvation,
That they can inquire into the Buddhas'
Profound wisdom
And, having heard about it, carry it out with faith!
We rejoice appropriately!”

At that time, the World-honoured One lauded the chief bodhisattvas, “How excellent, how excellent, O, good men, that you all can produce for the Tathagata thoughts of appropriate joy!”

At that time, the Bodhisattva Maitreya and a multitude of bodhisattvas equal in number to the sand of eight thousand Ganges rivers all thought, “From of old we have never seen nor heard of such a great multitude of bodhisattva-mahasattvas welling up out of the earth, staying in the presence of the World-honoured One, with palms joined, paying homage and inquiring of the Tathagata.”

At that time, the Bodhisattva-mahasattva Maitreya, knowing what the bodhisattvas equal in number to the sand of eight thousand Ganges rivers were thinking in their mind, and also wishig to resolve his own doubts, faced the Buddha with palms joined, then asked him in gathas, saying:

“The incalculable thousands of myriads of millions
Of bodhisattvas, in a great multitude
Such as has never before been seen,
Now whence have they come
The reasons are unknown.
Beg you, O, Dual Abundant Honoured One, to explain!
Whence have come,
For what reason are gathered,
Those of huge bodies and great supernatural penetrations,
Their wisdom beyond reckoning and discussion,
Their resolve firm,
Who have the great power of dhyana-concentration,
Whom the living beings desire to see,
Whence come they?
Each bodhisattva
The number is incalculable
As the sand of the Ganges river.
Each leading his retinues
All in different number,
At the same time emerge.
There are some great bodhisattvas
Leading retainers as numerous as the sand in sixty thousand Ganges.
Such great multitudes,
Single-mindedly seeking the Buddha Path.
These great masters
Equal in number to the sand of sixty thousand Ganges rivers,
Have come together to pay homage to the Buddha
And to guard and keep this sutra.
Leading, equal in number to the sand of fifty thousand Ganges,
Of retinues, the masters
Are in number in excess of the above
Hundreds of thousands of myriads of millions times.
Forty thousand or thirty thousand,
Twenty thousand to ten thousand,
One thousand, one hundred or
Anything down to the sand of one Ganges,
Or a half, or a third, or a quarter,
Or one-myriad-millionth,
Or a thousand myriads of nayutas,
Or a myriad millions of disciples,
Or anything down to half a million,
Are again in number superior to the above.
From forty thousand down to ten thousand,
Or a thousand or a hundred,
Or fifty or ten,
Or anything down to three, two, or one,
Or who, alone and without retinue,
Desiring to remain in isolation,
Come together before the Buddha
Are in number yet again in excess of the above.
Great multitudes like these,
If a man should count them on abacus
For kalpas numbering more than the sand of the Ganges,
Still could not be fully known.
These great, imposingly majestic,
Vigorously persevering multitudes of bodhisattvas,
Who preach the Dharma to them,
Teach, convert, and perfect them?
From whom did they first launch their thoughts,
And to exalt the Dharma of which Buddha?
Whose sutras do they accept, bear, and put into practice?
Which Buddha's Path do they cultivate?
These bodhisattvas,
Having the power of transcendence and great wisdom,
That the earth in all four directions trembles and splits
As they all well up out of its midst.
O, World-honoured One! From of old I
Have never before seen such a thing!
I beg you to state their origin,
The name of the land.
I am always travelling through various realms,
Yet have never before seen this multitude.
Within this multitude, I
Do not recognise even a single person,
Yet here, of a sudden, they emerge from the earth.
I beg you to explain the cause!
Now, in this great assembly
Of incalculable hundreds of thousands of millions,
The bodhisattvas
All wish to know these things,
This bodhisattva-multitude's
Causes and conditions from first to last.
O, World-honoured One of incalculable excellence!
We beg you to resolve our manifold doubts!”

At that time, the Sakyamuni Buddha declared to the Bodhisattva Maitreya, “How excellent, how excellent, O, Ajita, that you are able to inquire the Buddha of such a great matter as this! You should all together with a single mind don the armour of vigorous perseverance and launch a firm resolve, for the Tathagata now wishes to lay open and to proclaim the Buddhas' wisdom, the Buddhas' powers of self-mastery and supernatural penetration, the Buddhas' power to move with the resolute speed of a lion, the Buddhas' power of imposing great strength.

“You should strive vigorously for single-mindedness,
For I wish to state this matter.
Allow yourselves no doubts or regrets,
For the Buddha-wisdom is beyond reckoning or discussion.
Put forward now the power to believe,
Dwelling in the midst of the tolerant and the good,
For a Dharma never before heard
You shall all now be able to hear.
I am now reassuring you.
Do not allow yourselves to harbour doubts or fears,
For the Buddha speaks no falsehood,
And his wisdom is incalculable.
The prime Dharma that I have gained
Is profound, not subject to discrimination.
As such I will now preach it.
All of you, listen single-mindedly!”

At that time, the World-honoured One, having proclaimed these gathas, declared to the Bodhisattva Maitreya, “Now in this great multitude I will make a declaration to you all. O, Ajita! These great bodhisattva-mahasattvas, number in incalculable, numberless asamkhyeyas, who have welled up out of the earth, and whom you have never seen before, I, in this Saha World, after attaining Anuttarasamyaksambodhi, I had guided and showed the way to these bodhisattvas. I tamed their minds, causing them to launch thoughts of the Path. These bodhisattvas all dwell beneath this Saha World, in the midst of the space of this world. Where the Mahayana sutra is concerned, they read and recite it, gaining fluency and advantage, they think about it with discrimination, and are rightly mindful of it. O, Ajita! These good men have no desire to be in a multitude, there to have much talk, but they ever desire a quiet place, for they strive to practise vigorous perseverance, never allowing themselves to rest. Nor do they take up residence among men and gods, for they ever desire profound wisdom without obstacles. They also constantly desire the Dharma of the Buddhas, vigorously and single-mindedly persevering in their quest of the Unexcelled Wisdom.

“O, Ajita! Know
That these great bodhisattvas
For numberless kalpas
Have been practising and perfecting Buddha-wisdom.
All were converted by me
And enabled to launch the thought towards the Great Path.
These are my sons,
Abiding in this world-sphere.
Ever performing dhuta-deeds,
They aspire to quiet places,
Rejecting the hustle-bustle of great multitudes,
And having no desire for much talk.
It is such sons as these
Who study and practise the Dharma of my Path.
Day and night ever persevering,
In order to seek the Buddha Path,
On the Saha World's
Under side, in open space, they dwell.
Hard and firm of resolve and mindfulness,
Ever do they strive in their quest for wisdom,
Preaching a variety of wonderful dharmas,
Their hearts knowing no fear.
In Gaya city, I,
Seated under the bodhi tree,
Was able to achieve the supremely perfect enlightenment
And to turn the wheel of the Unexcelled Dharma.
Only then did I teach and convert them,
Enabling them for the first time to launch the thought towards the Path.
Now all, dwelling in the unreceding,
Shall without fail becomes Buddhas.
I now preach the true word.
Do you all single-mindedly believe it.
For, since time long past, I
Have been teaching and converting these multitudes.”

At that time, the Bodhisattva-mahasattva Maitreya and the innumerable bodhisattvas, at heart doubtful and confused, suspicious of what had never been before, thought, “How can the World-honoured One in such a short period of time, have taught and converted such great bodhisattvas equal in number to sand of incalculable, limitless Ganges rivers, causing them to dwell in Anuttarasamyaksambodhi?”

Straighatway they spoke to the Buddha, “O, World-honoured One! The Tathagata, when he was a prince, left the Sakya palace and, in a place not far from Gaya city, sat on the Platform of the Path and contrived to achieve Anuttarasamyaksambodhi. Since that time, it is only a bit more than forty years. How in that little time could you accomplish so much of the Buddha-business, with the might of a Buddha and the merits of a Buddha teach and convert so many incalculable multitudes of great bodhisattvas, destining them to achieve Anuttarasamyaksambodhi? O, World-honoured One! The great bodhisattva multitude is such that, were a man to count them for a thousand myriads of millions of kalpas, he could not finish doing so, nor reach their limit. Since remote time, in the presence of incalculable, limitless Buddhas, they have been planting wholesome roots, achieving the Bodhisattva Path, ever practising brahman-conduct. O, World-honoured One! Such a thing as this the world finds it hard to believe!

“It is as if there were a man, his colour fair and his hair black, twenty-five years of age, who pointed to men hundred years of age and said, ‘These are my sons!’ The hundred-year-old men likewise point to the youngster and say, ‘This is our father! He begot and reared us.’ This thing would be hard to believe. So also is the Buddha. It is in fact not long since his attainment of the Path. Now the bodhisattvas in this great multitude for incalculable thousands of myriads of millions of kalpas, for the sake of the Buddha Path, have already striven to practise with vigorous perseverance; have skilfully entered, or left, or remained in incalculable hundreds of thousands of myriads of millions of samadhis; have attained great supernatural penetration; have long perfected brahman-conduct; well and ably by degrees have practised sundry wholesome dharmas; and have acquired skill in questioning and answering. They are veritable gems of mankind, such that all the worlds regard them as very rare. Today the World-honoured One tells us that it was when he attained the Buddha Path that he caused them to launch their thought; that he taught and converted them, showed them and guided them; that he caused them to turn to Anuttarasamyaksambodhi. Since the World-honoured One's attainment of Buddhahood it is no long time, yet he has been able to do these very meritorious things! Although we for our own part believe that the Buddha's preaching is true, the words uttered by the Buddha have never been false, and that what the Buddha knows is all thoroughly penetrating, yet the bodhisattvas who have but newly launched their thought, if after the Buddha's extinction they hear these words, may not accept them in faith, but may on the contrary produce the causes and conditions of the sinful act of maligning the Dharma. Very well, O, World-honoured One! We beg you to explain, both in order to remove our own doubts and in order that good men of ages yet to come, when they hear these things, may also experience no doubt.

“At one time, the Buddha, issuing from the Sakya seed,
Left his household, and near Gaya
He sat by a bodhi tree,
Since then it is still no long time.
These Buddha-sons,
Their number incalculable,
Long ago having trodden the Buddha Path,
Dwell in the power of supernatural penetration.
They have well learned the Bodhisattva Path, and
They are untainted by worldly dharmas,
Like the lotus blossom in the water.
Out of earth welling up,
They all produce the thought of humble veneration,
Staying in the presence of the World-honoured One.
This thing is hard to reckon or to discuss.
How may it be believed?
The Buddha's attainment of the Path is very recent,
Yet his achievements are a lot.
We beg you, in order to dispel the multitude's doubts,
To explain with discrimination in accord with reality.
It is as if there is a young man in the prime of life,
His years only just twenty-five,
Who points to men of a hundred years,
Their hair white, their faces wrinkled,
Saying, ‘These are my begotten sons!’
The sons also say, ‘This is our father!’
That the father is young and the sons old
Is a thing the whole world will refuse to believe.
So also is the World-honoured One,
For his attainment of the Path is still very recent,
While these bodhisattvas,
Of firm resolve and fearing nothing,
For incalculable kalpas have
Been treading the Bodhisattva Path,
Skilled in expedient devices,
Their hearts fearless,
The mind of dhyana-concentration is firm,
Good demeanour with imposing majesty,
Praised by the Buddhas of the ten directions,
Well able to preach with discrimination,
Having no desire to be in a human multitude,
Ever loving to be in dhyana-concentration,
In order to seek the Buddha Path
Dwelling in the open space below.
For our own part, we, having heard it from the Buddha,
Have no doubts regarding this matter,
But we beg the Buddha, for the future's sake,
To expound, causing clear understanding.
If with regard to this sutra
Anyone engenders doubt and disbelief,
Straightaway he shall fall into an evil course.
We beg you now, on this account, to explain,
With regard to these incalculable bodhisattvas,
How in little time
You taught and converted them, enabling them to launch their thought
And to dwell on the unreceding ground.”