Chapter 15 : The Life Span of the Tathagata

At that time, the Buddha declared to the bodhisattvas and all the vast assembly, “O, Good men! You all must believe and discern the Tathagata's word of truth!” Again he declared to the vast assembly, “You all must believe and discern the Tathagata's word of truth!” Again he declared to all the vast assembly, “You all must believe and discern the Tathagata's word of truth!” At that time, the great multitude of bodhisattvas, Maitreya as their head, with palms joined spoke to the Buddha, saying, “O, World-honoured One! We beseech you to explain. We will believe and accept the Buddha's word.” When they had thus spoken three times, they again said, “We beseech you to explain. We will believe and accept the Buddha's word.”

At that time, the World-honoured One, knowing that the bodhisattvas four times without ceasing repeated their request, addressed them, saying, “Listen then all of you attentively to the secret, mysterious and supernatural power of the Tathagata. All of you, gods, men and asuras of the worlds say that now I have come forth from the palace of the Sakya-clan, not far from Gaya city, seated at the Platform of the Path, attained to Anuttarasamyaksambodhi. But, good men, since I veritably became Buddha, there have passed infinite, boundless of hundred thousands of myriad of kotis of nayutas of kalpas. For instance, suppose there were five hundred thousand myriad kotis, nayutas of asamkhyeyas three-thousand-great-thousandfold worlds. Let some one grind them to dust, pass eastward through five hundred thousand myriad kotis of nayutas of asamkhyeya countries, and then drop one dust particle. Suppose he thus proceeded eastward till he had finished those dust particles - good men, what do you think, is it possible to imagine and calculate all those worlds so as to know their number?”

The Bodhisattva Maitreya and the others together said to the Buddha, “O, World-honoured One! These world-spheres are incalculable, limitless, no calculation can know nor the power of mind can reach. All the sravakas and pratyekabuddhas, with their wisdom-without-flaws, cannot think on or know their limit or their number. We, too, dwelling in avaivartya, cannot arrive at anything where this matter is concerned. O, World-honoured One! So incalculable and limitless are these world-spheres!”

At that time, the Buddha declared to the multitude of great bodhisattvas, “O, Good men! Now I will declare it to you plainly. If these world-spheres, whether a dust particle was deposited in them or not, were all ground to dust, and if each dust particle were a kalpa, the time since my achievement of Buddhahood would exceed even this for a hundred thousand myriads of millions of nayutas of asamkhyeya kalpas. Since then I have been constantly dwelling in this Saha World, preaching the dharma, teaching and converting. These bodhisattvas welling up out of the earth, were taught, converted and perfected when I first attained Buddhahood. Also elsewhere, in a hundred thousand myriads of millions of nayutas of asamkhyeyas of realms, I have been guiding and benefiting the living beings. O, good men! In this interval, I preached of the Buddha Torch-Burner and the Buddha Victorious through Great Penetrating Wisdom and others, and I also said of them that they had entered into nirvana. Things like this are all discriminations made as an expedient device. O, good men! If the living beings come before me, I, with my Buddha-eyes observe the keenness or dullness of their faith and other faculties and, in keeping with their degrees of receptiveness to salvation, I preach the dharma to them. And I everywhere ascribe myself with different names, with different ages and with different realms. I also declare openly that I will enter into nirvana. Further, by resort to sundry expedient devices I preach the subtle dharma, being thus able to cause the living beings to launch their thoughts of joy. O, good men! The Tathagata, seeing the living beings' desire for the lesser dharma, their merits thin and their defilements grave, preaches to such persons, saying, ‘In my youth I left household and attained Anuttarasamyaksambodhi in a very short time.’ However, since in fact I achieved Buddhahood it has been as long as stretch of time as this. It is merely by resort to an expedient device, in order to teach and convert the living beings, to enable them to enter upon the Buddha Path, that I speak such words as these. O, good men! The scriptural canon preached by the Tathagata is all for the deliverance of the living beings. At times he speaks of himself, at times other's; at times he shows his own body, at times other's body; at times he shows his own affairs, at times other's affairs. Everything he says is reality, not vanity. All is performed by virtue of my secret penetrating power. Wherefore? The Tathagata in full accord with the reality knows and sees the marks of the Triple Realm. There is no birth-and-death, whether withdrawal from or emergence into the world, nor is there any being in the world nor anyone who passes into extinction; neither reality nor vanity; neither likeness nor difference. Not in the manner of the Triple Realm does he view the Triple Realm. Such matters as these the Tathagata sees clearly, without confusion or error. Since the living beings have sundry natures, sundry desires, sundry actions, sundry recollections, notions, and discriminations; wishing to enable them to produce wholesome roots, by resort to divers causes and conditions, parables and expressions with various expedient devices he preaches the dharma. The Buddha-deeds that he does he has never stopped doing. In this way, since my attainment of Buddhahood it has been a very great interval of time. My life span is of kalpas as incalculable as the dust particles of the worlds, ever enduring, never perishing. O, good men! The life span that I achieved in my former treading of the Bodhisattva Path even now is not exhausted, for it is twice the above number. Yet even now, though in reality I am not to pass into extinction, yet I proclaim that I am about to accept extinction. By resort to these expedient devices the Tathagata teaches and converts the living beings. Wherefore? If the Buddha were to dwell long in the world, men of little virtue would not plant wholesome roots. Being poor and mean, they would crave the objects of the five desires and enter into the net of recollections, notions, and unwarranted views. If they were to see that the Tathagata is ever present and unperishing, then they would conceive pride and willfulness and harbour impatience and negligence, unable to produce notions of something difficult to encounter or thoughts of humble reverence. It is for this reason that the Tathagata by resort to expedient devices says, ‘O, bhikshus! Know that a Buddha's emergence into the world is a thing difficult to encounter.’ Wherefore? Men of little virtue may pass through incalculable hundreds of thousands of myriads of millions of kalpas, some having occasion to see a Buddha, but do not cultivate merits and virtue, and others may not see him. For this reason I say to them, ‘O, bhikshus! A Tathagata cannot easily be seen!’ These living beings, hearing such words, will invariably produce the notion of something difficult to encounter, and they will harbour longing in their hearts, looking up with thirst to the Buddha; then they will plant wholesome roots. It is for this reason that the Tathagata, though in fact he is never extinct, yet speaks of passage into extinction. Also, O, good men, the dharma of the Buddhas, the Tathagatas, is in every manner the same, having the sole purpose of conveying the living beings to salvation, is in every case reality, not vanity.

“Suppose, for instance, there is a good physician, who is wise and perspicacious, conversant with medical art, and skilful in healing all sorts of diseases. He has many sons, say ten, twenty, even up to a hundred. Because of some matter he goes abroad to a distant country. After his departure, his sons drink his other poisonous medicines, which send them into a delirium, and they lie rolling on the ground. At this moment their father comes back to his home. Of the sons who drank the poison, some have lost their senses, others are still sensible, but on seeing their father in the distance they are all greatly delighted, and kneeling, salute him, saying, ‘How good it is that you are returned in safety! We, in our foolishness, have mistakenly dosed ourselves with poison. We beg that you will heal us and give us back our lives.’ The father, seeing his sons in such distress, in accordance with his prescriptions seeks for good herbs altogether perfect in colour, scent, and fine flavour, and then pounds, sifts, and mixes them and gives them to his sons to take, speaking thus, ‘This excellent medicine, with colour, scent, and fine flavour altogether perfect, you may take, and it will at once rid you of your distress so that you will have no more suffering.’ Those amongst the sons who are sensible, seeing this excellent medicine with colour and scent both good, take it immediately and are totally delivered from their illness. The others, who have lost their senses, seeing their father come, though they are also delighted, salute him, and ask him to heal their illness, yet when he offers them the medicine, they are unwilling to take it. Wherefore? Because the poison has entered deeply, they have lost their senses, and even in regard to this medicine of excellent colour and scent they acknowledge that it is not good. The father reflects thus, ‘Alas for these sons, afflicted by this poison, and their minds all unbalanced. Though they are glad to see me and implore to be healed, yet they are unwilling to take such excellent medicine as this. Now I must arrange an expedient plan so that they will take this medicine.’ Then he says to them, ‘You should know that I am now worn out with old age and the time of my death has now arrived. This excellent medicine I now leave here. You may take it and have no fear of not being better.’ After thus admonishing them, he departs again for another country and sends a messenger back to inform them, ‘Your father has passed away.’ And now, when those poisoned sons hear that their father has passed away, their minds are greatly distressed and they thus reflect, ‘If our father were alive he would have pity on us, and we should be saved and preserved. But now he has left us and died in a distant country. Now we feel we are orphans and have no one to rely on.’ Continuous grief brings them to their senses, and they recognised the colour, scent, and excellent flavour of the medicine and thereupon take it, their poisoning being entirely relieved. The father, hearing that the sons are all recovered, seeks an opportunity and returns so that they all see him. O, good men! What is your opinion? Are there anyone who could say that this good physician had committed the sin of falsehood?”

“No, O, World-honoured One!”

The Buddha said, “I am also like this. Since I became Buddha, infinite boundless of hundreds of thousands of myriads of kotis of nayutas of asamkhyeya kalpas ago, for the sake of the living beings, by my tactful power, I have declared that I must enter nirvana, yet there is none who can lawfully accuse me of the sin of falsehood.

“Since I attained Buddhahood,
The kalpas through which I have passed
Are infinite hundreds of thousands of myriads
Of million times asamkhyeya.
Ceaselessly preached I the dharma and taught
Countless kotis of living beings
To enter the Buddha Path;
Since then are unmeasured kalpas.
In order to save the living beings,
By tactful methods I reveal nirvana,
Yet truly I am not yet extinct
But forever here preaching the dharma.
I forever remain in this world,
Using the powers of supernatural penetration
So that the perverted living beings
Though I am near, yet fail to see me.
All looking on me as extinct
Everywhere worship my sariras,
All cherishing longing desires,
And beget thirsting hearts of hope.
When the living beings have believed and obeyed,
In character upright, in mind gentle,
Wholeheartedly wishing to see the Buddha,
Not caring for their own lives,
Then I with all the sangha
Appear together on the Divine Vulture Peak.
And then I tell the living beings
That I exist forever in this world,
By the power of expedient devices
Revealing myself extinct and not extinct.
If in other regions there are living beings
Reverent and with faith aspiring,
Again I am in their midst
To preach the Supreme Dharma.
You, not hearing this,
Only say I am extinct.
I behold all living beings
Sunk in suffering,
Hence I do not reveal myself
But set them all aspiring,
Till, when their hearts are longing,
I appear to preach the Dharma.
In such supernatural pervading power,
Throughout asamkhyeya kalpas
I am always on the Divine Vulture Peak
And in every other dwelling places.
When the living beings see, at the kalpa's end,
The conflagration when it is burning,
Tranquil is this land of mine,
Ever filled with heavenly beings,
Parks and groves, halls and towers,
With every kind of gem adorned,
Precious trees full of blossoms and fruits,
Where the living beings take their pleasure;
All the gods beat the heavenly drums
And ever make music,
Showering mandarava flowers
On the Buddha and his great multitude.
My Pure Land will never be destroyed,
Yet all view it as being burned up,
And grief and horror and distress
Fill them all like this.
All those sinful living beings,
By reason of their evil karma,
Throughout asamkhyeya kalpas,
Hear not the name of the Triple Gems.
But those who perform virtuous deeds
And are gentle and of upright nature,
These all see that I exist
And am here expounding the Dharma.
At times for all this throng
I preach that the Buddha's life is eternal;
To those who at length see the Buddha
I preach that a Buddha is rarely met.
My wisdom-power is such,
My wisdom-light shines infinitely,
My life span is of countless kalpas,
From long-cultivated karma obtained.
You who have wisdom,
Do not in regard to this beget doubt.
If you have any doubt,
Bring it forever to an end,
For the Buddha's words are true, not false,
Believe them, merits and virtue will increase.
Like the physician who with expedient device,
In order to cure his demented sons,
Though indeed alive announces death,
Yet cannot be charged with falsehood,
I, too, being the Teacher of the world,
Who heals all misery and affliction,
For the sake of the perverted people,
Though truly alive, say I am extinct;
Lest, because always seeing me,
They should beget arrogant minds,
Be dissolute and set in their five desires,
And fall into evil paths.
I, ever knowing the living beings,
Those who thread or thread not the Path,
According to the right principles of salvation
Expound the various dharmas,
Ever making this thought:
‘How shall I cause the living beings
To enter the Supreme Wisdom
And speedily perfect their Buddha-body?’”