The Entrustment of the Samādhi
Chapter 18
The Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, “Young man, in that way know that there are four beneficial qualities possessed by bodhisattva mahāsattvas who obtain this samādhi, understand it, preserve it, recite it to others, promote it, proclaim it, chant it, and make it widely known to others.
18.2 “What are those four beneficial qualities? They will be unsurpassable in merit, they will be undefeatable by opponents, they will have unlimited wisdom, and they will have unending confidence of speech.
18.3 Young man, you should know719 that bodhisattva mahāsattvas [F.65.a] who obtain this samādhi, study it, keep it, read it out loud, disseminate it, teach it, chant it, and make it widely known to others will possess these four beneficial qualities.”
The Bhagavān then recited these verses:
18.4
“Throughout time they will be
Unsurpassable in merit
Through attaining this samādhi of peace.
That is the range of activity of all the buddhas. {1}
18.5
“Throughout time these heroes
Will be protected by merit,
Practicing supreme, pure,
Unique bodhisattva conduct. {2}
18.6
“There will be no adversary
Whatsoever who can harm them.
They will, throughout time,
Be in the care of the buddhas. {3}
18.7
“Throughout time their wisdom
Will be immeasurable.
Their confidence will be eternal
Through their possessing this state of peace. {4}
18.8
“They will have an eternally unsurpassable accumulation of merit.
They will have most excellent bodhisattva conduct.
They will not be attacked by adversaries,
Having come into possession of this samādhi of supreme peace. {5}
18.9
“They will have vast and sharp wisdom
And thus will have eternal confidence and pure sight.
Those wise ones will always have
The power of memory and the power of retention. {6}
18.10
“The meaningful words that they teach
Will be most beautiful to the minds of the wise.
Many beings with wisdom will know
This supreme peaceful samādhi that is taught. {7}
18.11
“They will obtain perfect, excellent Dharma robes,
Bedding, invitations, and hard and soft food.
The ones who possess this supreme samādhi of peace
Will be very youthful and handsome. {8}
18.12
“They will see many buddhas, lords of worlds,
And make unequaled offerings to those guides.
In seeking this supreme samādhi of peace
They will encounter no impediment. {9}
18.13
“They will be in the presence of the lords of worlds
And made happy by hundreds of beautiful verses. [F.65.b]
Having gained this supreme samādhi of peace
They will never experience decline. {10}
18.14
“A Lord of the World will be present before them
With the beautiful primary and secondary signs of the body.
Having gained this supreme samādhi of peace
There will be no decline in their wisdom. {11}
18.15
“They will never be disheartened.
They will always be wealthy and never poor.
Having gained this supreme samādhi of peace
There will be no attachment in their mind. {12}
18.16
“They will never have an unfavorable existence.
They will be world rulers, cakravartin kings.
Having gained this supreme samādhi of peace
Their kingdoms will always be happy. {13}
18.17
“They will have vast wisdom free of uncertainty
Through unceasing teachings for hundreds of eons.
Having heard this samādhi, this level of peace,
Constant, they will follow whatever has been taught. {14}
18.18
“Though one were to describe the benefits of the ten strengths
Throughout countless, endless millions of eons,
One would not have spoken of even a fraction of them.
It would be like taking a drop of water from the ocean.” {15}
18.19
At that time the young man, with great joy,
Stood up and paid homage with his palms together.
Joyfully standing before the one with the ten strengths
He uttered these inspired words: {16}
18.20
“Inconceivable great hero,
Lord of the World, illuminator,
These benefits have been taught to me
By you, the Lord of humans. {17}
18.21
“Compassionate one who wishes to bring benefit,
Great hero, pray tell me,
Who, in the future,
Will listen to this samādhi?” {18}
18.22
The one with a voice like the avadavat’s song,
The Teacher who had taught this to him,
The Bhagavān, who had unimpeded wisdom,
Answered him with these words: {19}
18.23
“Listen, young man, and I will explain
That which is the highest practice.
Those who follow the Dharma
Will be the ones who listens to this sūtra. {20}
18.24
“They will make offerings to the lords of humans;
They will seek the wisdom of buddhahood.
Developing a loving mind,
They will listen to this sūtra. {21} [F.66.a]
18.25
“Those who have the qualities of mendicancy720
And the qualities of austerity,721
And who maintain this practice,
Will be ones who listen to this sūtra. {22}
18.26
“They will not listen to this sūtra
When it is in the hands of those whose acts are evil,
Nor of those who have lost their correct conduct
Regarding the teaching of the lords of worlds. {23}
18.27
“They will hear it when in the hands
Of the celibates, the heroes,
Those who have a mind free of craving
And who have been consecrated by the buddhas. {24}
18.28
“In future times they will hear
This sūtra when it is in the hands
Of those who have served the buddhas,
The lords of the world, in the past. {25}
18.29
“Those who in previous lifetimes
Have been tīrthikas
Will experience no joy
When they hear this sūtra. {26}
18.30
“Those who have entered homelessness
In my teaching in order to have a livelihood
Will be under the power of gain and honor,
And they will criticize each other. {27}
18.31
“Many bhikṣus with unrestrained senses,
Who covet the wives of others,
Who wish for gain and have poor conduct,
Will have no faith in this sūtra. {28}
18.32
“Those who do not intend to attain
Merit for buddhahood or to attain dhyāna,
And who maintain the conception of a self,
Will have no faith in this sūtra. {29}
18.33
“In future times there will be those
Who are intent on the result of worldly dhyānas.
They will eat the alms food of arhats
And criticize the enlightenment of buddhahood. {30}
18.34
“One who rejects this sūtra
Will have greater bad karma
Than someone who destroys
All the caityas in this Jambudvīpa. {31}
18.35
“One who rejects this sūtra
Will have greater bad karma
Than someone who kills as many arhats
As there are grains of sand in the Ganges. {32}
18.36
“Who among you has the fortitude
To teach this sūtra
In the dreadful future time
When the Dharma is ruined?”722 {33}
18.37
The young man stood up, weeping,
And at that time spoke to the Jina.
This heart-born son of the Buddha
Roared thus this lion’s roar: {34} [F.66.b]
18.38
“In the dreadful time in future
When the Buddha has passed away,
Without concern for my life or body
I will spread this sūtra widely. {35}
18.39
“I will endure
The false talk of fools
And, Guide, I will undergo
Their abuse and threats. {36}
18.40
“I shall cleanse myself of whatever bad actions
I have done in the past
And any maliciousness
Toward other bodhisattvas.” {37}
18.41
The Buddha, who was the color of gold,
Placed his hand upon Candraprabha’s head.
The Tathāgata, who had a gentle voice,
The Teacher, then said to him, {38}
18.42
“I give you my blessing.
Young man, in the future
There will be no obstacle to your celibacy
Nor will there be to your life.” {39}
18.43
Eight hundred dharmabhāṇakas
Who were present stood up and said,
“In future times we also
Will be holders of this sūtra.” {40}
18.44
Eight hundred million
Devas, nāgas, and yakṣas stood up,
And another six trillion,
And said to the guide of the world, {41}
18.45
“Guide, in future times
We will protect
These bhikṣus who
Stood up today.” {42}
18.46
When this sūtra was taught,
Through the blessing of the Teacher,
Buddha realms shook, in numbers
Equal to the Ganges sands. {43}
18.47
The Lord of the World sent
To all those shaken buddha realms
Emanations of the Buddha
Who taught the Dharma there. {44}
18.48
In each of those realms
Countless millions of beings
Were established in the wisdom of buddhahood
When they had heard that Dharma. {45}
18.49
In those buddha realms
Nine hundred million devas723
Developed the aspiration to enlightenment
And scattered flowers on the Buddha. {46}
18.50
The Lord of men prophesied that
After eight hundred million eons
They would all, within the same eon,
Become guides of the world.724 {47}
18.51
Bhikṣus and bhikṣuṇīs,
Upāsakas and upāsikās— [F.67.a]
Seven hundred and sixty million beings—
All heard this sūtra. {48}
18.52
The Lord of humans725 prophesied
That they would see as many guides of the world
As there are grains of sand in the Ganges
While practicing bodhisattva conduct. {49}
18.53
“They will make offerings to them all,
Seeking the wisdom of enlightenment,
And here and there they will hear
This unsurpassable sūtra. {50}
18.54
“They will make unsurpassable offerings
To Buddha Maitreya.
They will possess the highest Dharma
And they will go to Sukhāvatī. {52}726
18.55
“There they will make offerings
To the stainless buddha,
The Tathāgata Amitāyus,
For the sake of supreme enlightenment. {53}
18.56
“Having heard this unsurpassable sūtra
They will not go in future
To the lower existences
For seventy-three727 countless eons. {54}
18.57
“Those who in future times
Listen to this unsurpassable sūtra,
And keep it and read it,728
Will all be honoring729 me. {55}
18.58
“I make this declaration730
To all those who are standing before me.
I bestow this enlightenment gained731 with difficulty.” {56}
18.59
Conclusion of the eighteenth chapter, “The Entrustment of the Samādhi.”
