Chapter 6 : Bestowal of Prophecy

At that time, the World-honoured One, having spoken these gathas, addressed the great multitude, “ This disciple of mine, Maha Kasyapa, in time to come shall approach three hundred myriads of millions of World-honoured Buddhas, shall pay homage to them, shall revere, honour, and praise them, shall broadly propagate the Buddhas' great incalculable Dharma, and in his final bodily state, shall be able to become a Buddha named Radiance (Rasmiprabhasa), the Tathagata, the Worshipful, the Right and Universal Wise, the Perfectly Enlightened in Conduct, the Well Departed, the Understander of the World, the Unexcelled Worthy, the Controller and Teacher of Gods and Men, the Buddha, the World-honoured One. His domain shall be named Radiant Virtue (Prabhasaprapta), his kalpa shall be named Great Magnificence (Mahayyuha). The Buddha's life span shall be twelve minor kalpas, his True Dharma shall abide in the world twenty minor kalpas, and his Counterfeit Dharma shall also abide twenty minor kalpas. The territories of his domain shall be well adorned, having no filth or evil, no tiles or pebbles, no thorns or thistles, no excrement or other impurities. Its soil shall be flat and even, having no high or low, no pitfalls or the mounds. It shall have lapis lazuli for earth and jewelled trees in rows. With cords made of gold shall its highways be bordered. It shall be scattered about with jewelled flowers. Everywhere is clean and pure. The bodhisattvas of that domain shall exist in incalculable thousands of millions, and the multitude of sravakas shall also be innumerable. Mara shall have no business there. Though Mara and the subjects of Mara shall be there, they shall all protect the Buddha-dharma.

“I say to you bhikshus
That with my Buddha-eyes
I see that this Kasyapa
In the world to come,
Beyond innumerable kalpas,
Will become a Buddha,
And that in the world to come
He will serve and pay homage to
Three hundred myriad kotis
Of Buddhas, the World-honoured Ones;
For the sake of the Buddha-wisdom
He will purely practise the brahman-conduct,
Serving the highest
Dual Abundant Ones,
Putting into practice all
The peerless karma,
And in his final bodily state
Become a Buddha.
His land will be pure,
With lapis lazuli for ground,
Abundance of jewelled trees
Lining the roadsides,
Golden cords to bound the ways,
Rejoicing the beholders,
Ever-pervading fragrance,
Outstanding flowers strewn everywhere,
Every kind of rarity
Adding to its splendour;
Its land will be level,
Free from mounds and hollows.
Many bodhisattvas,
Of untold number
And gentle mind,
Will attain great transcendental powers
And reverently keep the Buddhas'
Mahayana sutras.
His multitude of sravakas,
Of faultless final form,
Sons of the Dharma King,
Will be beyond count;
Even the eyes of the gods
Cannot know their number.
That Buddha's lifetime will be
Twelve minor kalpas;
His True Dharma will abide in the world
For twenty minor kalpas,
And his Counterfeit Dharma shall also abide
Twenty minor kalpas.
The Radiant World-honoured One
Such will be his matter.”

Thereupon Great Maudgalyayana, Subhuti, Maha Katyayana, and others all tremblingly folded their hands with one mind, and gazing up into the World-honoured One's face, not for an instant lowering their eyes, with united voice spoke thus in gatha:

“Great Hero, O, World-honoured One,
Dharma King of the Sakyas!
Out of compassion for us
Grant us the Buddha-announcement!
If you know the depths of our minds
And predict our future destinies,
It will be like pouring sweet dew
To change the heat to coolness.
Like one from a famine land
Suddenly finding a royal repast,
Not yet instructed by the king
Yet cherishing doubt and fear,
Though suffer from hunger
Not daring at once to eat;
But when instructed by the king,
Then daring to eat.
Thus it is with us;
Ever thinking of the faults of Hinayana,
Do not know how we are
To obtain the supreme wisdom of the Buddha.
Though we hear the voice of the Buddha,
Who says we shall become Buddhas,
Our hearts are still anxious and afraid,
Like him who dare not eat before being instructed
But if we receive the Buddha's prediction,
Then shall we be happy and at ease.
Great Hero, O, World-honoured One!
You always desire to pacify the world;
Be pleased to bestow our prediction,
Like bidding the famished to feast!”

At that time, the World-honoured One, knowing what the great disciples were thinking at heart, declared to the bhikshus, “This Subhuti in ages to come shall approach three hundred myriad millions of nayutas of Buddhas, shall make offerings to them and venerate them, shall honour and praise them, and shall ever cultivate brahman-conduct and perfect the Bodhisattva Path, in his final bodily state contriving to become a Buddha named Name Sign Tathagata, the Worshipful, the Right and Universal Wise, the Perfectly Enlightened in Conduct, the Well Departed, the Understander of the World, the Unexcelled Worthy, the Controller and Teacher of Gods and Men, the Buddha, the World-honoured One. His kalpas shall be named Having Jewels (Ratnavabhasa), and his domain shall be named Birthplace of Jewels (Ratnasambhava). Its soil shall be flat and even. It shall have sphatika for earth and shall be adorned with jewelled trees. It shall have no mounds or crevices, no pebbles or thorns, no filth or excrement. Its soil covered with jewelled flowers, it shall be everywhere clean and pure. The people of that land shall all dwell in rare and wondrous towers on jewelled terraces. Its sravaka disciples shall be incalculable and limitless, such as cannot be known by resort to either number or parable. Its multitude of bodhisattvas shall be in the numberless thousands of myriads of millions of nayutas. That Buddha's life span shall be twelve minor kalpas. His True Dharma shall abide in the world twenty minor kalpas, and his Counterfeit Dharma shall also abide twenty minor kalpas. That Buddha shall ever dwell in the space, preaching the Dharma for the multitude, saving incalculable bodhisattvas and multitudes of sravakas.

“All you host of bhikshus!
I have something to tell you.
All with one mind
Listen to what I say!
My senior disciple,
Subhuti,
Will become a Buddha
Whose title will be Name Sign.
He will pay homage to numberless
Myriads kotis of Buddhas,
And following the practice of the Buddhas,
Will become perfect in the Bodhisattva Path.
In his final bodily state
He will obtain the thirty-two signs,
And be erect and beautiful
Like a mountain of jewels.
The domain of that Buddha
Will be peerless in pure splendour,
Living beings who behold it
None will not love and delight in it.
The Buddha in its midst
Will save innumerable living beings;
In his Buddha-dharma
Many will be the bodhisattvas,
All of keen faculties,
Who roll the never-receding wheel.
His domain is ever
Adorned with bodhisattvas;
His sravakas host is
Beyond expression and count,
Who all attain the three clarities
Perfect the six transcendental faculties,
Abide in the eight deliverances,
And are greatly awe-inspiring.
That Buddha preaches the Dharma
Revealing himself in infinite
Inscrutable
Transcendental transformations.
Gods and people
As the sand of the Ganges in number
All with folded hands
Listen to that Buddha's words.
That Buddha's life span will be
Twelve minor kalpas,
His True Dharma will abide in the world
For twenty minor kalpas;
And the Counterfeit Dharma will also abide
For twenty minor kalpas.”

At that time, the World-honoured One again declared to the bhikshus, “I now tell you that this Great Katyayana in an age to come, with divers implements, shall pay homage to and reverently serve eight thousand millions of Buddhas, doing them deference and honour. After the Buddhas' extinction, for each he shall erect a stupa-shrine, whose height shall be a thousand yojanas, whose length and breadth shall be each five hundred yojanas, and which shall be filled with gold, silver, vaidurya, giant clam shell, agate, pearl, and carnelian, these precious seven. With a multitude of flower garlands, paint incense, powdered incense, burnt incense, cotton canopies, and banners shall he pay homage to those stupa-mausoleums. When that is past, he shall again pay homage to two myriads of millions of Buddhas, in the same way. Having paid homage to these Buddhas, he shall perfect the Bodhisattva Path, and shall be able to become a Buddha named Jambunada Gold Glow (Jambunadaprabhasa), the Tathagata, the Worshipful, the Right and Universal Wise, the Perfectly Enlightened in Conduct, the Well Departed, the Understander of the World, the Unexcelled Worthy, the Controller and Teacher of Gods and Men, the Buddha, the World-honoured One. His land shall be flat and even, with sphatika for soil, adorned with jewelled trees, with cords made of gold bordering its highways, its ground covered by wondrous flowers, so that it is everywhere clean and pure, and so that they who see it shall rejoice. It shall have none of the four evil destinies, to wit, hell, hungry ghosts, beasts, or asuras. It shall have many gods and men; and multitudes of sravakas, as well as bodhisattvas, in the number of incalculable myriads of millions shall adorn that domain. The Buddha's life span shall be twelve minor kalpas, his True Dharma shall abide in the world twenty minor kalpas, and his Counterfeit Dharma shall also abide twenty minor kalpas.

“All of you host of bhikshus!
Listen to me with one mind!
The words that I speak
Are true and infallible.
This Katyayana
Will, with various kinds
Of excellent offerings,
Pay homage to Buddhas.
After the Buddhas are extinct
He will erect stupas of the precious seven
And also, with flowers and perfumes,
Pay homage to their sariras.
In his final bodily state
He will obtain the Buddha-wisdom
And accomplish Perfect Enlightenment.
His land will be pure
And he will save innumerable
Myriad kotis of the living beings;
In the ten directions,
Being paid homage by all.
The Buddha's lustre
None can surpass,
And his Buddha-title will be
Jambunada Gold Glow.
Bodhisattvas and sravakas
Free from all existence,
Numberless, uncountable,
Will adorn his domain.”

At that time, the World-honoured One again declared to the great multitude, “I now tell you that this Great Maudgalyayana with divers implements shall pay homage to eight thousand Buddhas, doing them deference and honour. After the Buddha's extinction, for each he shall erect a stupa-mausoleum, whose height shall be a thousand yojanas, whose length and breadth shall be each five hundred yojanas, and which shall be filled with gold, silver, vaidurya, giant clam shell, agate, pearl, and carnelian, these precious seven. With a multitude of flower garlands, paint incense, powdered incense, burnt incense, cotton canopies, and banners he shall pay homage. When that is past, he shall again pay homage to two hundred myriads of millions of Buddhas, in the same way, and shall be able to achieve Buddhahood. His name shall be Tamalapatracandana Fragrance (Tamalapatracandanagandha), the Tathagata, the Worshipful, the Right and Universal Wise, the Perfectly Enlightened in Conduct, the Well Departed, the Understander of the World, the Unexcelled Worthy, the Controller and Teacher of Gods and Men, the Buddha, the World-honoured One. His kalpas shall be named Full of Joy (Ratipurna), and his domain shall be named Mind-pleasing (Manobhirama). Its ground shall be flat and even, with sphatika for soil, adorned with jewelled trees, strewn with pearl flowers, everywhere clean and pure, so that those who see it shall rejoice. It shall have many gods and men, and its bodhisattvas and sravakas shall be of incalculable number. The Buddha's life span shall be twenty-four minor kalpas, his True Dharma shall abide in the world forty minor kalpas, and his Counterfeit Dharma shall also abide forty minor kalpas.

“This my disciple
Great Maudgalyayana,
After casting aside this body,
Will see eight thousand
Two hundred myriads of kotis
Of World-honoured Buddhas,
And, for the sake of the Buddha Path,
Will pay homage and revere them.
Among these Buddhas,
Ever practising the brahman-conduct.
For innumerable kalpas,
He will keep the Buddha-dharma.
After these Buddhas are extinct,
He will erect stupas of the precious seven,
Displaying afar their golden spires,
And, with flowers, perfumes, and music
Pay homage to
The stupas of the Buddhas.
Having gradually accomplished
The Bodhisattva Path,
In the domain Mind-pleasing
He will become a Buddha,
Styled Tamala
Sandal Fragrance.
The life span of that Buddha
Will be twenty-four kalpas.
Constantly to gods and men
He will preach the Buddha Path.
Sravakas will be innumerable
As the sand of the Ganges,
Having the three clarities, the six transcendental faculties,
And awe-inspiring powers.
Bodhisattvas will be numberless,
Firm in their will, and zealous
In the Buddha-wisdom,
Who never backslide.
After this Buddha is extinct,
His True Dharma will abide
For forty minor kalpas
And the Counterfeit Dharma the same.
My disciples
Of perfect excellence,
Five hundred in number,
All will receive their prediction
In the world to come
All become Buddhas.
Of my and your
Development in previous worlds
I will now make declaration.
Do you all listen well!”