Chapter 18 : The Merits of the Dharma Preacher

At that time, the Buddha declared to the Bodhisattva-mahasattva Ever Zealous (Satatasamitabhiyukta), “If any good man or good woman shall accept and keep this Sutra of the Dharma Blossom, whether reading it, reciting it, explaining it, or copying it, that person shall attain the merits of the purity of the six faculties and with these merits he shall adorn his six faculties, causing them all to be pure. That good man or good woman, with the normal eyes engendered by his parents, will see whatever exists within and without the three-thousand-great-thousandfold world, mountains, forests, rivers, and seas, down to the Avici Hell and up to the Summit of Existence, and also see all the living beings in it, as well as see and know in detail all their karmic causes and rebirth states of retribution.

“If, in the midst of the great multitude, anyone,
With a heart free of fear,
Shall preach this Sutra of the Dharma Blossom
Listen now to his merits.
This man shall gain pure
Meritorious and distinguishing eyes.
Because of these endowments
His eyes shall be very bright
With the eyes engendered by father and mother
He shall thoroughly see the three-thousandfold world
Its inner and outer mounts Meru,
Sumeru, and Iron-Rim,
As well as all other mountains, forests,
Great seas, rivers, streams, and forests,
Down as far as the Avici Hell
And up to the Summit of Existence.
The living beings in their midst,
Every one of them, shall he see.
Though he may not yet have acquired divine eyes,
Such shall be the power of his fleshly eyes.

“Further, O, Ever Zealous! If a good man or good woman shall accept and keep this sutra, whether reading it, reciting it, explaining it, or copying it, he shall attain the merits of pure ears by which he shall hear in the three-thousand-great-thousandfold world, down to the Avici Hell and up to the Summit of Existence, all manner of speech and sounds, both inner and outer: the sounds of beasts, the sounds of gods and ghosts, the sounds of pain and pleasure, the sounds of bhikshus, the sounds of bhikshunis, the sounds of sravakas, the sounds of pratyekabuddhas, the sounds of bodhisattvas and the sounds of Buddhas. Essentially speaking, whatever sounds there may be within and without the three-thousand-great-thousandfold world; though he has not obtained the divine ears, yet by the ordinary ears received at birth from his parents, all these he will hear and know. And thus he discriminates all these various sounds without harm to his organ of hearing.

“His ears, received from parents,
Are serene and untainted.
By these ordinary ears he hears
The sounds in the three-thousandfold world,
All the host of bhikshus
And of bhikshunis
Reading or reciting the sutra,
Or preaching it to others.
The preacher here abiding
Hears them in every detail.
Again there are the bodhisattvas
Who read and recite this sutra dharma
Or preach it to others,
Collating and expounding its meaning -
All such sounds as these
He hears in every detail.
The Buddhas, great and holy Honoured Ones,
Transformers of the living beings,
Who, in their great assemblies,
Proclaim the mystic dharma
He who keeps this Dharma Blossom
Hears in every detail.
In the three-thousand-great-thousandfold world,
Its sound within and without,
Down to the Avici Hell,
Upward to the Summit of Existence
All these sounds he will hear
Without harm to his organ of hearing,
And because his ears are acute,
He can discriminate and know them all.
He who keeps this Dharma Blossom
Though not yet possessed of divine ears
And only using his ordinary ears,
Has already such merits as these.

“Again, O, Ever Zealous! If a good man or good woman accepts and keeps this sutra, whether reading it, reciting it, explaining it, or copying it, he shall achieve the merits of the pure nose, and shall, by the use of his pure nasal organ in the three-thousand-great-thousandfold world, zenith and nadir, within and without, he will smell all kinds of fragrance, as well as the fragrance of sravakas, the fragrance of pratyekabuddhas, the fragrance of bodhisattvas, and the fragrance of Buddha-bodies: these also shall he smell from afar, thus knowing where they are. Though he may smell these fragrance, yet his nasal organ shall not suffer or be misled. If he wishes to preach of them to others with discrimination, his memory shall not err.

“Since this man's nose is pure,
Within this world-sphere,
Be there fragrant or fetid,
All manner of things he smells and knows:
The multitudes of bhikshus
Ever progressing in dharma,
Whether sitting or walking,
Whether reading or reciting the scriptural canon
Or whether, at beneath trees in the forest
With single-minded vigour sitting in dhyana,
He who keeps this sutra, by smelling their fragrance
Knows in every case where they are.
The bodhisattvas of firm intent,
Seated in dhyana, whether reading or reciting
Or preaching dharma to others,
By smelling their fragrance, he can know completely.
Wherever is the World-honoured One,
By all beings revered
Preaching the Dharma out of compassion for the multitude,
By smelling his fragrance he can know completely.
The living beings who, in the Buddha's presence,
Hearing the sutra, all rejoice
And practise according to the Dharma,
By smelling their fragrance he can know completely.
Though he has not yet attained the bodhisattva's
Faultless, dharma-begotten nose
Yet this person who keeps this sutra
First attains this nasal mark.

“Further, O, Ever Zealous! If a good man or good woman accepts and keeps this sutra, whether reading it, reciting it, explaining it, or copying it, he shall attain the merits of pure tongue. Whatever pleasant or unpleasant, sweet or not sweet, bitter or astringent things meet his tongue will become of the finest flavour, like celestial dew; nothing will be unpleasant. If with his lingual organ in the midst of a great multitude he has anything to expound, then, producing a profound and subtle sound, he shall be able to penetrate their hearts, causing them all to rejoice and be cheerful. Also, the male and female gods, as well as Sakra and Brahma and other gods, hearing of this profound and subtle voice, all the preaching and the order in the words and remarks, shall all come to listen. And the male dragons and female dragons, the male and female yaksas, the male and female gandharvas, the male and female asuras, the male and female garudas, the male and female kinnaras, the male and female mahoragas, in order to listen to the dharma shall all come and approach him, revere him, and pay homage to him. And the bhikshus, bhikshunis, upasakas, and upasikas, the kings and princes of realms, the assembled ministers and their retinues, the lesser Wheel-rolling Kings and the greater Wheel-rolling Kings, their thousands of sons all endowed with the seven jewels, and the inner and outer retinues of these latter, riding in their palaces, shall all come to listen to the dharma. Since this bodhisattva shall skilfully preach the dharma, the Brahmans, householders, and citizens within the realm shall follow him for the full length of their bodily lives, rendering service and offerings. Also, the sravakas, pratyekabuddhas, bodhisattvas, and Buddhas shall ever delight to see him. Wherever this person may be, the Buddhas shall all preach the dharma towards him and he shall be able to accept and keep completely all the Buddha-dharmas. He shall also be able to give forth the profound and subtle sound of dharma.

“Pure is this man's organ of tongue
Never receiving ill flavours
Whatsoever he eats
Shall all turn into sweet dew.
With his profound, pure, and fine voice,
In the great multitude he preaches the dharma,
And by resort to causes, conditions, and parables
He leads the minds of the living beings.
All his hearers rejoice
And make him the best of offerings.
The gods, dragons, yaksas,
And asuras,
All with reverent mind
Come together to listen to the dharma.
This preacher of dharma
If he wishes with his subtle sound
To permeate the three-thousandfold world,
Shall be able to do so directly, exactly as he wishes.
The greater and lesser Wheel-rolling Kings,
As well as their thousands of sons and their retinues,
With palms joined and with hearts humbly reverent,
Shall ever come to listen receptively to the dharma.
The gods, dragons, yaksas,
Raksasas and pisacas
Shall also, with rejoicing heart,
Ever delight to come and make offerings.
Brahma, the king of the gods, and Mara King,
The Self-Master and Great Self-Master,
And a multitude of gods like these
Shall all come to him.
The Buddhas and their disciples,
Hearing the sound of him preaching dharma
Shall, ever mindful, protect him,
And at times shall reveal themselves to him.

“Again, O, Ever Zealous! If a good man or good woman accepts and keeps this sutra, whether reading it, reciting it, explaining it, or copying it, he shall attain the merits of pure body, a body as pure as unblemished vaidurya, one which the living beings will delight to see. Because his body shall be pure, the living beings in the three-thousand-great-thousandfold world, whether at the time of birth or at the time of death, whether superior or inferior, fair or ugly, born in a good place or in a bad place, shall all be visible therein. And Mount Iron-Rim, Mount Great Iron-Rim, Mount Meru, Mount Mahameru, and other mountains, as well as the living beings in their midst, shall all be visible therein. Downward to the Avici Hell and upward to the Summit of Existence, whatever there is, and whatever living beings there are, all shall be visible therein. If sravakas, pratyekabuddhas, bodhisattvas, or Buddhas preach dharma, they shall all reveal their physical images within that body.

“If anyone keeps the Dharma Blossom,
His body shall be very pure,
Like that unblemished vaidurya
All the living beings will delight to see it.
Also, as in a pure, bright mirror
One sees all physical images,
The bodhisattva, in his pure body,
Sees whatever is in the world.
He himself alone sees clearly
What others do not see.
Within the three-thousandfold world,
All germinating things,
Gods, men, asuras,
Hell-dwellers, ghosts, beasts,
Physical forms such as these
Can all be seen in his body.
The palaces of the gods,
To the Summit of Existence
The Iron-Rim and Meru,
Mount Mahameru,
The great oceans and waters
Can all be seen in his body.
Buddhas and sravakas
Buddha-sons and bodhisattvas,
Whether alone or in a multitude,
Preaching dharma, can all be seen.
Though not yet acquired the flawless
Subtle body of dharmahood,
Yet in his pure ordinary body
Everything is revealed.

“Again, O, Ever Zealous! If a good man or good woman after the extinction of the Tathagata accepts and keeps this sutra, whether reading it, reciting it, explaining it, or copying it, he shall attain the merits of pure mind. With this pure mental faculty, by hearing so much as a single gatha or a single phrase, he shall penetrate incalculable, limitless meanings; and after having understood these meanings, he shall be able to expound a single phrase or a single gatha for as much as a month, or four months, or even for a year, and the dharmas that he preaches shall be in accord with the import of that meaning, standing in absolutely no contradiction to the truth of Ekayana. If he preaches secular classics, pronouncements on the governance of the world, occupations that sustain life, and things of this sort, he shall in every case do so in accord with the True Dharma. In the three-thousand-great-thousandfold world, among the living beings of the six destinies, the actions they perform in thought, the motions they make in thought, and the frivolous assertions to which they resort in thought are all known to him. Though he has not yet attained flawless wisdom, yet his mental faculty shall be as pure as this. Whatever intentions, or calculations, or speech this man has, shall all match the Buddha-dharma, none of it being no truth and all shall have been preached in the sutras of the previous Buddhas.

“This man's mind shall be pure,
Clear, sharp, and undefiled.
With this fine mental faculty,
He shall know superior, middle, and inferior dharmas.
By hearing so much as a single gatha,
He shall penetrate incalculable meanings,
In due sequence and in keeping with the dharma preaching them
A month, four months, as long as a year.
Within and without this world-sphere,
All the living beings -
Whether gods, dragons, or men,
Yaksas, ghosts, spirits, and the like -
Within the six destinies
And the thoughts they think, in their sundry varieties,
As a reward for keeping the Dharma Blossom
He knows all at once.
The countless Buddhas in the ten directions
With their hundreds of felicitous signs,
Preaching dharma to the living beings,
He hears and retains it all.
He thinks on incalculable meanings,
And his preaching of dharma is also incalculable,
For from the beginning to the end he neither forgets nor confuses,
And this because he keeps the Dharma Blossom.
He is thoroughly aware of the forms of the dharmas,
And recognizes their order according to their meaning.
He has penetrated names and words
And, as he knows them, so he expounds them.
What this man has to preach
Is all in accord with the dharma of previous Buddhas.
Because he sets forth this dharma,
Within the multitude he is without fear.
He who keeps the Sutra of the Dharma Blossom
Has a mental faculty as pure as this.
Though he has not yet contrived to be flawless,
Yet he has such a mark.
This man, keeping this sutra
And dwelling securely on rare ground,
Is by all the living beings
Rejoiced, loved, and revered,
For he can, by resort to thousand myriads of varieties
Of skilful words,
Expound with discrimination,
Because he keeps this Sutra of the Dharma Blossom.”