The Ākāśagarbha Sūtra

Summary

While the Buddha is dwelling on Khalatika Mountain with his retinue, an amazing display of light appears, brought about by the bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha’s liberating activities. As he joins the gathering, Ākāśagarbha manifests another extraordinary display, and the Buddha, praising his inconceivable accomplishments and activities, explains how to invoke his blessings. He sets out the fundamental transgressions of rulers, ministers, śrāvakas, and beginner bodhisattvas, and, after explaining in detail how to conduct the rituals of purification, encourages those who have committed such transgressions to turn to Ākāśagarbha. When people pray to Ākāśagarbha, he adapts his manifestations to suit their needs, appearing to them while they are awake, in their dreams, or at the time of their death. In this way, Ākāśagarbha gradually leads them all along the path, helping them to purify their negative deeds, relieve their sufferings, fulfill their wishes, and eventually attain perfect enlightenment.

Acknowledgments

This sūtra was translated by the Sakya Pandita Translation Group, International Buddhist Academy Division. The text was translated into English by the monastic scholars Jampa Tenzin and Ngawang Tenzin, and by Christian Bernert and Julia C. Stenzel. It was edited by Pamela Gayle White and Vivian Paganuzzi.

This translation has been completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.

Introduction

Ākāśagarbha, the Bodhisattva “Essence of Space”

Ākāśagarbha features among the so-called Eight Close Sons of the BuddhaEight Close Sons of the Buddha ( ཉེ་བའི་སྲས་ཆེན་བརྒྱད )- The eight bodhisattvas Mañjuśrī, Avalokiteśvara, Vajrapāṇi, Kṣitigarbha, Ākāśagarbha, Sarvanivaraṇaviṣkambhin, Maitreya, and Samantabhadra (nye ba’i sras brgyad or nye ba’i sras chen brgyad) who are regarded as the principal bodhisattvas in the Buddha’s retinue, the other seven being Mañjuśrī, Avalokiteśvara, Vajrapāṇi, Kṣitigarbha, Sarvanivaraṇaviṣkambhin, Maitreya, and Samantabhadra. Each bodhisattva fulfills a particular role for the benefit of beings, Ākāśagarbha’s being that of helping them to purify themselves from the results of their negative actions.

The name Ākāśagarbha may be rendered in English as “Essence (garbha) of Space (ākāśa).” To understand his name, it is useful to consider the concept of space in Buddhist thought. In early Buddhist theory, space is non-obstruction, the lack of matter allowing for the unhindered movement of the four great elementsgreat elements (བྱུང་བ་ཆེན་པོ ; mahābhūta ) - The four elements composing the physical world: earth water, fire, and air. of earth, water, fire, and air. Space is also non-obstructible due to its omnipresence and its eternal nature. Apart from being the mere absence of obstruction, it is also counted as one of the three unconditioned dharmas or phenomena in this world, the other two being the two types of cessation. In the Pāli Mahāparinibbānasutta, space is presented as the actual foundation for all other elements of existence. We can understand, therefore, the prominent position that space holds among the elements of existence, and it is an equally prominent position that the bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha holds among his peers, his presence outshining everything else in the world, everything except the buddhas themselves. Just as space is the unlimited capacity to accommodate the entirety of phenomenal existence, so Ākāśagarbha possesses countless inconceivable qualities to benefit sentient beings. As the embodiment of non-obstruction, he helps beings remove obstacles from the path to awakening, in particular the obstacles caused by their own misdeeds, by making them disclose their transgressions.

Due to his relation to space and the purification of negative deeds, Ākāśagarbha has become closely associated with Buddha Vairocana, one of the principal figures in the Buddhist tantric traditions, whose main function is the purification of negativities in general, and in particular those of the deceased. It is particularly in the tantric traditions of China and Japan that Ākāśagarbha has become an important figure of worship.

The text of the Ākāśagarbhasūtra

In his work on Ākāśagarbha in China and Japan (unfortunately unfinished), M. W. de Visser gives a comprehensive list of texts related to this bodhisattva. The first among them to appear in Chinese was the Sūtra on the Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha, translated by Buddhayaśas between 403 and 413 CE. This is the earliest version of the text we have, for the Sanskrit is no longer extant.

The Chinese version of this text differs significantly from the Tibetan translation found in the Kangyur. Although the basic content of both texts is the same, their structures are very different and the Chinese contains numerous passages not found in the Tibetan, and vice versa. It is justified, therefore, to speak of two different versions of the Ākāśagarbhasūtra.

The Tibetan text was prepared by Śākyaprabha and Ratnarakṣita, two monks who probably flourished around the 9th century CE. But even though the Kangyur contains only one Ākāśagarbhasūtra, we do have alternative translations of some of its passages. The Śikṣāsamuccaya by Śāntideva, of which the Sanskrit has survived as well as its translation into Tibetan, quotes extensively from the sūtra.

Key points of the Ākāśagarbhasūtra

The sūtra is widely known in the Tibetan Buddhist community, at least by name. This stems from the fact that it is mentioned in Śāntideva’s highly celebrated and widely studied Bodhicaryāvatāra (Tib. byang chub sems pa’i spyod pa la ’jug pa). In the fifth chapter on ‘Guarding Alertness,’ Śāntideva advises the reader to study the sūtras, beginning with the Ākāśagarbhasūtra, in order to learn about the training.

The Ākāśagarbhasūtra is a Mahāyāna sūtra that emphasizes spiritual practice. It thus can be said to have a strong affinity with the so-called meditative concentration Mahāyāna sūtras, of which the Śūraṃgamasamādhisūtra is a prominent representative. Our text indeed repeatedly mentions the meditative concentrationmeditative concentration ( ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན; samādhi ) - A general term for the practice of meditative absorption aimed at developing profound states of concentration. of brave progression (Skt. śūraṃgamasamādhi) of the bodhisattvas abiding on the tenth bodhisattva ground. Furthermore, in the discussion of the transgressions of beginner bodhisattvas, among other corrupt habits the confinement of monks’ practice to the mere recitation of scriptures is criticized.

The main topic of this sūtra, however, is not meditation‌ but faith in and devotion to a bodhisattva as a means of purification. Because the principal activity of Ākāśagarbha, as mentioned above, is the removal of obstructions on the path to awakening, followers are strongly advised to generate pure faith in him. It is this faith, supported by the devotional practices of worship and offering, that will invoke his presence and blessings. Once invoked, the bodhisattva will help devotees according to their capacities and inclinations by first making them disclose their negative actions.

This practice of disclosure or confession of negative deeds is regarded as a fundamental element of Buddhist practice. Essential for the purification of the mind, it forms the third part of the seven-limbed practiceseven-limbed practice ( ཡན་ལག་བདུན་པ ) - A set of practices found in many textual forms for recitation, often daily. The seven limbs are paying homage to the buddhas, presenting them with offerings, disclosing one’s negative deeds, rejoicing in the positive deeds of all beings, requesting the Dharma, supplicating the enlightened ones to remain with us, and dedicating all virtues to the benefit of sentient beings. (Tib. yan lag bdun pa), a preliminary practice recited daily by most practitioners in the Tibetan tradition. The seven limbs are: paying homage to the buddhas, presenting them with offerings, disclosing one’s negative deeds, rejoicing in the positive deeds of all beings, requesting the Dharma, supplicating the enlightened ones to remain with us, and dedicating all virtues to the benefit of sentient beings.

But what precisely are those negative actions that are to be disclosed by the followers of the Buddha? In this sūtra, the Buddha himself gives the answer to this question: they are the transgressions (Tib. ltung ba; Skt. āpatti), also referred to as downfalls. The so-called downfalls are violations of vows or principles of conduct specific to different kinds of Buddhist followers. In Buddhism, vows are forms of spiritual commitment taken to ensure steady progress on the path. They are the “practical applications and outcomes of different Buddhist theories.” Thus, transgressions are not actions judged as morally objectionable by some higher authority; rather, they are actions of body, speech, and mind that result in a serious impediment on the spiritual path of the one who commits them. They cause one to ‘fall from’ the path to awakening, so to speak, and in the worst cases fall to the lower realms of existence. These transgressions need to be disclosed and purified at the very outset of the path, and helping people do so is precisely the expertise of Ākāśagarbha.

An individual enters the Mahāyāna when he or she produces bodhicitta, the resolve to attain buddhahood for the sake of all sentient beings. Thus, the first step in the training is the production of this intention, called the bodhicitta of aspiration (Tib. smon pa’i byang chub kyi sems; Skt. bodhipraṇidhicitta), which is later followed by active engagement in the path, called applied bodhicitta (Tib. འཇུག་པའི་བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་སེམས ; ’jug pa’i byang chub kyi sems; Skt. bodhiprasthānacitta). In the detailed explanation of the training in applied bodhicitta found in Sakya Paṇḍita’s (Tib. [[]] ) Elucidation of the Sage’s Intent (thub pa dgongs gsal), the author explains the cause of its arising, the way to cultivate the conditions conducive to its increase, and the methods for preventing its decline. It is in the latter section that he mentions the fundamental transgressions listed in the Ākāśagarbhasūtra. They are the transgressions committed by rulers, politicians, and śrāvakas, or disciples, and, in particular, those of beginner bodhisattvas. This entire list, excluding the śrāvakas’ transgressions, became a prominent feature of the Mahāyāna training known as the fourteen fundamental transgressions. As the text is commonly studied in all Tibetan Buddhist schools, authors of all lineages refer to the Ākāśagarbhasūtra as the source for understanding the bodhisattva transgressions.

The sūtra mentions the following list of transgressions:

a) For kṣatriyakṣatriya ( རྒྱལ་རིགས ; kṣatriya) - A member of the ruling caste of classical Indian society. rulers:

1. Stealing from a place of worship or the saṃgha, or inciting others to do so.

2. Forcing others to give up the Dharma and creating obstacles for the teachings.

3. Forcing monastics to give up their monastic robes and abusing them.

4. Committing any of the five heinous deeds.five heinous deeds ( མཚམས་མེད་པ་ལྔ ; pañcānantaryāṇi) - Five actions that bring immediate and severe consequences at death. The person will experience a rebirth in the lower realms directly after death. The five are: (1) killing one’s father, (2) killing one’s mother, (3) killing an arhat, (4) causing schism in the saṃgha, and (4) with evil intention making a buddha bleed.

5. Advocating the philosophy of the non-existence of causality.

b) For ministers:

1. Stealing from a place of worship or the saṃgha.

2. Destroying a village, district, or town.

3. Forcing others to give up the Dharma and creating obstacles for the teachings.

4. Harming monastics by taking away their robes, punishing, or even killing them.

5. Committing any of the five heinous deeds.

c) For śrāvakas:

1. Killing.

2. Taking what is not given.

3. Impure conduct.

4. Lying.

5. Harming a buddha.

d) For beginner bodhisattvas:

1. Teaching the profound Dharma of emptiness to spiritually immature people.

2. Discouraging people from practicing the Mahāyāna path.

3. Discouraging people from practicing the vinaya of individual liberation.

4. Disparaging the śrāvaka path, saying it obstructs one from attaining enlightenment and from eradicating the afflictions.

5. Praising oneself and lying out of jealousy and for the sake of gain and honor.

6. Deceiving others, claiming one has realized the profound teachings on emptiness when one has not.

7. Causing fines to be imposed on monastics and offering the bribes received to the kṣatriyas.

8. Causing monastics to abandon their contemplative training and diverting offerings intended for contemplative monastics to benefit monastics engaged in mere recitation practice.

Conclusions

The Ākāśagarbhasūtra can be understood as a devotional Mahāyāna text, devotion being a skillful means on the path to awakening in Buddhism. The text was eminently important in China and Japan, where the bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha became an important figure of veneration, and in the Tibetan tradition, where it served as a primary source for the list of bodhisattva transgressions. The sūtra predates the development of the tantric Buddhist movement in India, but nevertheless contains certain elements that gained in importance and were further developed in Vajrayāna Buddhism.

Ākāśagarbha is the essence, the womb of space. Limitless, he provides beings with whatever they need; knowing no obstacles, he removes whatever may hinder them from seeing reality.

The Translation

For this work, the translators relied on the Degé edition of the Kangyur, supported by the Beijing and Narthang editions with the help of the comparative edition of the Kangyur (see bibliography). Whenever confronted with problematic or difficult passages, we discussed the variants with the Tibetan scholars we worked with in order to find what is most probably the correct reading of the text.

The task of translation inevitably coincides with the task of interpretation, and any translation will be only one of the possible readings of the text. In this case, the task was rendered difficult by the many obscure and somewhat esoteric poetic verses the sūtra contains. With all of the resources at our disposal, we have tried our best to understand and translate those lines; but the clarity we have aimed for in the resultant English verses does not reflect the ambiguous nature of the Tibetan text, cryptic in many places. We apologize for all instances where we did not do it justice.

Specialized terminology, such as the types of beings present in the Buddha’s audience as well as certain technical terms, is given in Sanskrit when we thought that no English rendering would convey the exact meaning. The Tibetan version of the sūtra also contains a number of dhāraṇīs in transliterated Sanskrit, and like the Tibetan translators we have left them as they are. In the process of trying to reconstruct their most correct Sanskrit reading, we faced many problems despite the assistance of a Sanskrit expert. Solving them would entail a separate research project, well beyond the scope of the present translation work.

The Noble Mahāyāna
Ākāśagarbha Sūtra

[F.264.a] Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!

Thus did I hear at one time. The Bhagavān was dwelling on the KhalatikaKhalatika ( ཁ་ལ་ཏི་ཀ་ ; khalatika ) - Name of a mountain in present day Bihar, possibly at Barabar Mountain, in the abode of the Sage’s hermits, together with an incalculably large assembly of monks and of great śrāvakas. Great bodhisattva mahāsattvas in numbers as limitless as the sands of the River Ganges, forming an incalculably immense assembly of bodhisattvas, were also staying there. The moment the Bhagavān completed his prophecy on the splendid vows of the tathāgatas, the Indranīla jewel appeared in the west. Many hundreds of thousands of precious wish-fulfilling jewels spread out and surrounded it. [F.264.b] The light of that precious jewel rendered invisible the totality of manifest form in the whole trichiliocosmtrichiliocosm ( སྟོང་གསུམ་གྱི་སྟོང་ཆེན་པོའི་འཇིག་རྟེན་གྱི་ཁམས ; trisāhasramahāsāhasralokadhātu ) - The world system of a thousand million (10 to the power of 3) worlds.. Thus, with the exception of the tathāgatas, all gods and humans, śrāvakas, and bodhisattvas, as well as the manifest forms of the great elements great elements (བྱུང་བ་ཆེན་པོ ; mahābhūta ) - The four elements composing the physical world: earth water, fire, and air. of earth, water, fire, and air—however many manifestations there were of the great elements—all without exception were obliterated, and only the precious jewel remained visible. Everything appeared to be limitless, boundless, and ineffable like space. The Bhagavān, too, became most radiant, clear, and brilliant.

Indeed, the sentient beings assembled there could not even see themselves, or each other. For them, all visible manifestations of the great elements also ceased and became imperceptible to the eye. They could not perceive their bodies, their features, or shape, nor did they have a sense of touch. Whatever they observed, howsoever they observed it, they saw as empty. They did not even see the orbs of the sun or the moon. The stars and the earth element, water element, fire element, and air element also became invisible to their eyes. Sounds did not resonate in their ears. Odors were not perceived by their noses. They did not take their minds and their mental events as “me,” or take them as “mine,” and the perceptions of the six cognitive bases did not arise. The great elements were also imperceptible. Instead, in whichever direction they looked, in all those directions they saw everything as the physical marks, colors, shapes, and bodies of the tathāgatas. Only the precious Indranīla encircled by wish-fulfilling jewels appeared from afar; apart from that, nothing at all was visible.

[F.265.a] At that place, the bodhisattvas dwelling on the tenth ground ground ( ས་ ; bhūmi ) - The path of a bodhisattva is divided into ten stages of spiritual attainment called grounds. The eleventh ground corresponds to complete enlightenment., who had achieved the meditative concentration meditative concentration ( ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན; samādhi ) - A general term for the practice of meditative absorption aimed at developing profound states of concentration. of brave progression, and who were bound by one more life and in their last existence, looked and saw, yet were not at all frightened, afraid, or terrified, because they realized that all phenomena are by nature endowed with final reality final reality ( ཡང་དག་པའི་མཐའ; bhūtakoṭi ) - A synonym for ultimate reality., suchness , and emptiness. Therefore, they were not at all frightened, afraid, or terrified.

The remaining great bodhisattva mahāsattvas, the śrāvakas, devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kinnaras, mahoragas, kimbhāṇḍas, pretas, piśācas, pūtanas, kaṭapūtanas—all of the assembled humans and non-humans—were very frightened and in despair. They were bewildered about what was here and what was there, and in their confusion they were not able to perceive one another. In that state, they asked questions such as “What is this?”, “How did this come about?”, and “What is the nature of this?”, but could find nothing.

At that time, the great bodhisattva mahāsattva known as “Great Nail of Brahmā” bowed down toward the Bhagavān with folded hands and said:

“Ordinary beings do not recognize
the nature of all phenomena.
They live in the form aggregate,
and so their six sense faculties become deluded.
There is not a single aggregate to be seen,
yet ordinary beings conceptualize the form aggregate.
Consequently, some of these people
develop doubts about the Buddha’s teaching.
It is for them that the Bhagavān
taught the characteristics of the suchnesssuchness ( དེ་བཞིན་ཉིད།...དེ་ཁོ་ན་ཉིད། ; tathatā, tattvatā ) - The ultimate nature of things, or the way things are in reality, as opposed to the way they appear to non-enlightened beings. of phenomena.
Thus, here and there
they come to know the characteristics of space, which bears everything.
This indeed is brave equipoisemeditative concentration of brave progression ( དཔའ་བར་འགྲོ་བའི་ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན ; śuraṅgamasamādhi ) - A special type of samādhi (meditative absorption).<br/>variants: brave equipoise,
[F.265.b] a state that cannot be expressed.

“A most precious wish-fulfilling jewel
rests on the crown of his head.
Those who perceive a precious Indranīla jewel from afar
are very fortunate beings:
they will perfect the brave progression.

“All who have come to see the Teacher are wise indeed.
Today in this place, a profound discourse
will undoubtedly be proclaimed.

“O Bhagavān, please give relief
to the sentient beings who have come here.
Bringing them to full maturation
is the heroes’ sphere of activity.”

The Bhagavān replied:

“It is just as you have said.
The place where the all-basisall-basis ( ཀུན་གཞི་ ; ālaya ) - Literally, the foundation of all things of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa. Sometimes synonym for dharmakāya or emptiness. is heard,
and where, with wisdom, sentient beings are established,
that place is the sphere of activity of meditative concentrationmeditative concentration ( ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན; samādhi ) - A general term for the practice of meditative absorption aimed at developing profound states of concentration..

“It is the sphere of activity
of the Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha,
who has demonstrated the meditative concentration free of appearances
and free of proliferations.

“Whoever is attached to the two views
will later be in a realm of delusion.
Attachment to eternalism info and nihilism info
is utter delusion about here and there.

“Those who wish to free themselves
completely from both of these views
should meditate on that which is inexpressible,
thereby swiftly attaining the grounds.

“Listen well, O companions, for bodhisattva mahāsattvas who are beginners one must explain the six perfections info with a reference point, with the notion that suchness is expressible. That is to say, they must understand the nature of the great elements to be arising and perishing. Only then should they familiarize themselves with the idea that all phenomena are in essence inexpressible, non-arising, non-ceasing, not perceptible, and not in the slightest way existing.

“Thus will they definitively abandon eternalism and nihilism, and they will not be at all frightened or terrified. Once they have ceased to relate to phenomena with attachment, [F.266.a] they will swiftly perfect the six perfections and henceforth not remain in either nihilism or eternalism.”

No sooner had the Bhagavān spoken than all those assembled in the retinue saw the manifestations in the same way they had previously seen, heard, understood, and known them. Thereupon, extending his right arm, the Bhagavān proclaimed:

“The bodhisattva mahāsattva Ākāśagarbha’s meditative concentration is like an ocean. This bodhisattva’s training is like Mount Meru info, his primordial wisdom info like space, his vigor like wind, and his tolerance info like a vajra info. He is like a supreme victory banner among all bodhisattvas. For voyagers to nirvāṇa, he is like a captain. He is like a treasure of all the roots of virtue. For all who suffer, he is like a wishing vase; for those engulfed in darkness, like the sun; for those who have lost their way, like the moon; for the frightened, like Mount Meru; for those severely tormented by the sickness of afflictions, like a medicinal elixir; for those who have severed the roots of virtue and fallen, like a walking stick. For those who make a living by weaving garlands, he is like a flower; for those who observe vows, like a mirror; for those who have conscientiousness and modesty, like clothing; for travelers to nirvāṇa, like a footbridge; for voyagers to the other shore, like a boat; for travelers to the higher realms, like a staircase. For those suffering from insults and slander, he is like a parasol; for those facing opposition, like a lion; for the rains, like water; for those fighting against Māra info, like armor; for those who have mistaken the precepts, like the opening of their eyes; for all harvests of the roots of virtue, like the earth. [F.266.b] For the sick he is like a doctor; for the hungry, like grain; for the thirsty, like a water crystal; for the exhausted, like a bed; for those in meditative concentration, like a fire lens; for those who have entered the path to enlightenment, like a chariot; for those playing in parks, like a pool; for those striving toward enlightenment, like a rosary. Thus does he appear.

“This son of noble family is like the fruition of the perfections, like a wish-fulfilling jewel for those on the tenth ground, like a wish-fulfilling tree for those who have achieved the meditative concentration of brave progression. For all who are engaged in negative views, he is like a weapon because he severs; for those afflicted beings entangled in latent tendencies, he is like a vajra because he overcomes. The demons cannot conquer him. For those of skillful means, he is the measure of time; for primordial wisdom, he is discernment. For the entire Buddhadharma, he is the abode; for pratyekas, like a garland; for all śrāvakas, like the robes; for gods, like an eye; for humans, like a path; for those born in the animal realm, a shelter; for pretas, a support; for hell beings, a protector. For those sentient beings who receive donations, he transforms into a container; for bodhisattvas, into a chariot. For all the tathāgata, arhat arhat ( དགྲ་བཅོམ་པ ; arhat ) - One who has achieved the fourth and final level of attainment on the śrāvaka path, and who has attained liberation with the cessation of all mental afflictions., perfectly complete buddhas of the three times, this son of noble family is like a minister. He is the gatekeeper of the city of Dharma. This son of noble family possesses the perfect buddhas’ primordial wisdom complete with all adornments, including the eighteen excellent qualities eighteen excellent qualities ( སངས་རྒྱས་ཀྱི་ཆོས་མ་འདྲེས་པ་བཅོ་བརྒྱད ; 18 āveṇikabuddhadharma ) - Eighteen qualities that are exclusively possessed by a buddha. These are listed in the Dharmasaṃgraha as follows: The tathāgata does not possess: </br>(1) confusion; </br>(2) noisiness; </br>(3) forgetfulness; </br>(4) loss of meditative equipoise; </br>(5) cognition of distinctness; or </br>(6) nonanalytical equanimity.</br></br>A buddha totally lacks:</br></br>(7) degeneration of motivatedness; </br>(8) degeneration of perseverance; </br>(9) degeneration of mindfulness; </br>(10) degeneration of samādhi; </br>(11) degeneration of prajñā; </br>(12) degeneration of complete liberation; and </br>(13) degeneration of seeing the wisdom of complete liberation. </br>(14) A tathāgata’s every action of body is preceded by wisdom and followed through with wisdom; </br>(15) every action of speech is preceded by wisdom and followed through with wisdom; </br>(16) a buddha’s every action of mind is preceded by wisdom and followed through with wisdom. </br>(17) A tathāgata engages in seeing the past through wisdom that is unattached and unobstructed and </br>(18) engages in seeing the present through wisdom that is unattached and unobstructed. unique to a buddha. This son of noble family is someone whom all sentient beings, with the exception of the tathāgatas, should worship with every supreme offering. Therefore, all of you who have gathered here should now welcome him. [F.267.a]

“Using every mode of worship and respect, honor him as much as you can with jeweled umbrellas, victory banners, flags, flowers, incense, garlands, ointments, divine garments, ornaments, and vessels of many kinds. Honor, venerate, and revere him. Sweep his path, adorn him with ornaments, and praise him in different ways. All of you will also acquire excellent qualities like his, and before long become vessels like him.”

All in the assembly without exception then rose from their seats and turned towards where the bodhisattva mahāsattva Ākāśagarbha appeared. With overjoyed hearts, happily smiling faces, and eyes full of admiration, they stood with palms joined and gazed at him. In that assembly were bodhisattva mahāsattvas and śrāvakas, the lord of devas, the lord of nāgas, the lord of yakṣas, the lord of gandharvas, the lord of asuras, the lord of garudas, the lord of kinnaras, the lord of mahoragas, and hermits in possession of the five kinds of supernatural knowledge. All of them were thinking the same thought, “What kind of sublime display shall we prepare to honor him with?”

At that very moment, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Ākāśagarbha manifested this buddhafield, the sahā world, as being made entirely of seven precious materials. It was free of mountains, high lands, rocky landscapes, caves, ravines, abysses, grasses, walls, soil, thorns, unpleasant odors, and so on, and was smooth like the palm of a hand. He manifested melodies sung by the glorious gandharvas; [F.267.b] and all the trees, made of seven precious materials, bore delicious fragrances, leaves, flowers, and fruits. He also caused all of the trees, grass, dry wood, and leaves, everything on the ground, to appear as if made of the seven precious materials.

Moreover, he completely healed the diseases of the entire sahā world. He pacified all the sufferings of hell beings, and of those abiding in the animal realms and in the world of Yama, the lord of death. These beings received food, drink, clothing, Dharma robes, and ornaments. At that moment, the wishes of all beings in the realm of the sahā world were completely fulfilled. They were possessed of good bodies, alluring beauty, sublime excellent complexions, and perfect limbs. The bright radiance of an illuminating orb of light, free of dust and dimness, made them even more beautiful. They were free of mental afflictions, their minds were very calm, inclined to every kind of virtue, and their faith in the Three Jewels deepened.

Next, he manifested precious jewels in the hands of all the beings gathered in this assembly, each jewel radiating its own light rays. The entire realm of the sahā world was completely pervaded by that great light. Different kinds of melodious sounds also emanated from those jewels as a rain of a multitude of jewels showered down.