Buddha Abhāvasamudgata
Chapter 8
Then the Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, “Young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who wish for this samādhi, and wish to attain quickly the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood, should become skilled in the wisdom of the nonexistent nature of all phenomena.
8.2 “Young man, what is being skilled in the wisdom of the nonexistent nature of all phenomena? Bodhisattva mahāsattvas know that all phenomena have no existence, have no essence, have no attributes, have no characteristics, have no origin, have no cessation, have no words, are empty, are primordial peace, and are pure by nature.
8.3 “Young man, when bodhisattva mahāsattvas [F.22.b] know that all phenomena have no existence, have no essence, have no attributes, have no characteristics, have no birth, have no cessation, have no words, are empty, are primordial peace, and are pure by nature, then at that time, young man, those bodhisattva mahāsattvas have become skilled in the wisdom of the nonexistent nature of all phenomena.
8.4 “Young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who have become skilled in the wisdom of the nonexistent nature of all phenomena do not have desire for any form, sound, smell, taste, or touch. They do not become angry. They are never ignorant.
8.5 “Why is that? It is because they do not see phenomena; there is no object to perceive. They do not see the phenomena of desire, the desire, or the desirer; that which angers, the anger, or one who is angry; nor that of which one is ignorant, the ignorance, or the one who is ignorant, and therefore there is no such object to perceive.
8.6 “Because there is nothing to be seen and there is no object to perceive, they have no attachment to anything in the three realms and they will quickly attain this samādhi, and quickly attain the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood.
“On this topic, it has been said:
8.7
“All phenomena have no existence;
They are all devoid of attributes and without characteristics,
Without birth and without cessation.
That is how you should315 perfectly understand phenomena.
8.8
“Everything is without existence, without words,
Empty, peaceful, and primordially stainless.
The one who knows phenomena,
Young man, that one is called a buddha.
8.9
“Therefore, the revealed nature of equality
Is that all phenomena in essence have no nature.
Whoever desires the mother of the sugatas
Will attain this mother of the jinas.
8.10 “Therefore, young man, that is what you should understand through this Dharma teaching.316
8.11 “Young man, in the past, countless, vast, immeasurable, inconceivable, unfathomable, asaṃkhyeya eons ago, at that time, in that time, there appeared in the world the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha Abhāvasamudgata, who was perfect in wisdom and conduct, a sugata, [F.23.a] a knower of the world, an unsurpassable guide who tamed beings, a teacher of devas and humans, a buddha, and a bhagavān.
8.12 “Young man, what do you think? Why was that tathāgata named Abhāvasamudgata?317
“Young man, as soon as he was born he rose in the air up to the height of seven palm trees, took seven steps, and said these words: ‘All phenomena have arisen from nonexistence. From nonexistence have all phenomena arisen.’
8.13 “Young man, the sound of those words was heard in all the worlds in the trichiliocosm. It resounded and was heard by everyone from the devas on the earth up to those in Brahmā’s paradise. ‘Oh, as soon as this tathāgata was born, he rose in the air up to the height of seven palm trees, took seven steps and said the word nonexistence. Therefore he will be Abhāvasamudgata (Arisen from Nonexistence).’ Thus it was that the name Abhāvasamudgata arose, and that he was given the name Abhāvasamudgata.
8.14 “When that bhagavān attained enlightenment, the words ‘arisen from nonexistence’ sounded from the leaves of all the trees, from all the grass,318 bushes, and forests,319 and from the summits of all the mountains.
“Every sound in that world was heard as the words ‘arisen from nonexistence.’
8.15 “Young man, at the time, attending the teachings of the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha Abhāvasamudgata, there was a young prince by the name of Mahākaruṇācintin, who had an excellent body and was handsome and good-looking.
8.16 “Young man, the prince went to the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha Abhāvasamudgata and bowed his head to the Bhagavān’s feet. He circumambulated the Bhagavān three times and then sat down. [F.23.b] Then the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha Abhāvasamudgata, knowing the higher motivation of Prince Mahākaruṇācintin, taught him this samādhi. When he had heard this he had complete faith in it. With complete faith he shaved off his hair and beard, put on the orange robes, and with such faith left home for homelessness. Having entered homelessness he learned this samādhi. He learned it, kept it, read it, understood it, and dedicated himself to the practice of meditation on it. Through that root of merit, he did not fall into the lower existences for two hundred million eons. He served two hundred million buddhas, and he heard this samādhi from all those tathāgatas. Having heard it, he learned it and understood it. He kept it, read it, propagated it, and repeatedly meditated on it with unadulterated meditation, remaining dedicated to that practice of meditation.
8.17 “Through those roots of merit, after twenty eons had passed he appeared in the world as the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha Suvicintitārtha. He ripened countless beings and benefited countless beings, and afterward, like an extinguished flame, he passed away into perfect nirvāṇa.
8.18 “Therefore, young man, this samādhi of that Dharma teaching should be cherished by bodhisattva mahāsattvas. It should be known to cause the unsurpassable perfect wisdom of buddhahood.”
8.19 Then at that time the Bhagavān gave a detailed teaching on the preceding chapter by chanting the following extensive verses to the youth Candraprabha:
8.20
“I remember that countless eons ago
In the past, there appeared a supreme human,
One who benefited the world, a great rishi,
And his name was Abhāvasamudgata. {1}
8.21
“As soon as he was born he rose into the air [F.24.a]
And taught the nonexistence of all phenomena.
He was at that time given a corresponding name
And his words were heard throughout the trichiliocosm. {2}
8.22
“All the devas, they all called out,
‘He will be a jina named Abhāva!
As soon as he was born he took seven steps
And the Jina taught the nonexistence of phenomena.’ {3}
8.23
“When the sage became a buddha, a Dharma king,
Who taught the nature of all phenomena,
From plants, trees, bushes, mountains,320 and rocks
There came the words ‘phenomena have no existence.’ {4}
8.24
“All the sounds there were in the world
Became the words ‘all are nonexistent.’
In that way there sounded
The words of the Guide of the World. {5}
8.25
“At that time there was a prince
Whose name had always been Karuṇāvicintin.
He had an excellent form and was handsome.
He came into the presence of that jina. {6}
8.26
“He bowed to the feet of the sage, that great being,
And respectfully circumambulated him.
In order to hear the stainless, unsurpassable Dharma
He sat there with a devout mind. {7}
8.27
“The heroic321 Jina, knowing his aspiration,
Gave the teaching of this samādhi.
Having listened to this stainless samādhi
He quickly entered homelessness in the supreme Jina’s teaching. {8}
8.28
“Having entered homelessness he possessed,
Read, and understood this samādhi.
For a full two hundred million eons
He did not descend to an unfortunate existence. {9}
8.29
“Through the good karma that he had made
He pleased two hundred million buddhas,
And in the presence of those jinas
He cultivated this samādhi. {10}
8.30
“He afterward became a buddha in the world
Who was always known as Sucintitārtha.
He benefited many millions of beings
And afterward attained nirvāṇa,322 like an extinguished flame.323 {11}
8.31
Conclusion of the eighth chapter, “Buddha Abhāvasamudgata.”324 [B3]
