Great Vehicle Yoga Vajra Nature Ocean Mañjuśrī Thousand-Armed Thousand-Bowl Great King Sutra (大乘瑜伽金剛性海曼殊室利千臂千缽大教王經)

Chapter 10: The Mahayana Yogic Vajra Nature Ocean Manjushri Thousand-Armed Thousand-Bowl Great King of Teachings Sutra

Translated by Master Amoghavajra of the Tripitaka, from Daxingshan Temple, under Imperial Edict

At that time, Shakyamuni Tathagata came down from the palace of Mahesvara, the Great Lord of Heaven, and journeyed to Southern Jambudvipa to preach. He arrived at the grand Dharma assembly in the Jetavana Grove, in the kingdom of Shravasti. The Tathagata sat upon a platform of a hundred precious lotus blossoms, and on his jeweled throne entered the Lion’s Roar Vajra Samadhi. Emerging from that Samadhi, a brilliant light shone upon hundreds of billions of subtle, dust-like worlds, across all pure Buddha-lands and the entire three-realm Dharma-realm. It reached the highest heavens, the realm of Neither Perception Nor Non-Perception, all sentient beings in the Great Brahma Heavens, the Six Desire Heaven Lords, the Emperor Shakra and all heavenly beings, the Four Great Heavenly Kings and their divine hosts, the Four Holy Wheel-Turning Sage Kings, and all the hundreds of millions of Jambudvipa's scattered kings, ministers, military leaders, local officials, and all their people. The World-Honored One’s light of great compassion shone universally, leaving nothing untouched. All Bodhisattvas and all sentient beings were enfolded into the ocean of Dharma, inspired to cultivate the sacred nature and sacred practice of Enlightenment. Good roots grew, calamities and obstacles could not touch them, and all sins—even those of the icchantikas and those who slander the Vaipulya sutras—were entirely eradicated.

Then, the Tathagata emerged from his Samadhi and addressed the great Bodhisattva assembly, with Samantabhadra and Manjushri, the two great beings, as the leaders, and all great Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas: “I now see that in the future, the sacred teachings of all Buddhas will approach their final age, a time of turmoil and confusion. In this world, ghosts and spirits will create chaos. What do you think? Now is exactly that time. If there are kings, ministers, or leaders who do not believe in the Buddha’s Dharma and do not respect their teachers, then the good spirits of the land will be displeased, the dragons will be unhappy, the five grains will not ripen, and the winds and rains will come at the wrong time. Such people who do not respect the Buddha’s Dharma do not believe in creating merit, do not cultivate spiritual practice, crave life and seek pleasure, and are unaware and ignorant. Then, various evil ghosts and spirits will disturb their minds. Such a person will then have a blazing craving for desire, gather wealth without knowing satisfaction. Therefore, you should know that such people must quickly examine themselves, repent with urgency, awaken the Bodhi mind, and broadly create merit through good deeds. They must do so to rescue themselves.”

Furthermore, there are ordinary worldly people who do not respect the Three Jewels and do not believe in the Buddha's teachings. They can also be deluded by ghosts and spirits that enter their minds, causing them to create conflicts and harm good and virtuous people. When such demonic beings possess a person's mind, that person can produce heretical views, argue over right and wrong, and devise secret schemes to sabotage good and upright people—including kings, ministers, and military leaders. These beings confuse and bewilder their victims so they remain unaware of what is happening, and stir up rebellious and perverse thoughts. Why is this? People in this world should know this and must be vigilant. Instead, they should develop faith and perform meritorious acts. Therefore, good people, if you wish to turn your mind toward reverence and cultivate merit, there are three methods. What are these three? The first is the Buddha Jewel, the second is the Dharma Jewel, and the third is the Sangha Jewel. How should you rely on these Three Jewels? How should you practice to gain merit or not? If you make offerings to the Sangha, the merit is multiplied a hundredfold. If you make offerings to the Dharma, the merit is multiplied a thousandfold. If you make offerings to the Buddha, the merit is multiplied ten thousandfold. This is taking refuge in the Three Jewels of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, which brings unlimited merit. Therefore, you should understand this. Good people, if anyone harms the Sangha Jewel, ghosts and spirits will enter their minds. They will lose their human form and their position as ministers, and fall into hell forever, with no hope of escape. If anyone destroys the Dharma Jewel, ghosts and spirits will enter their minds. They will lose their fortune and blessings, and suffer the retribution of being blind, deaf, mute, or foolish. They will constantly be reborn as animals, such as camels, donkeys, pigs, or dogs. If anyone eliminates the Buddha Jewel, ghosts and spirits will enter their minds. They will be filled with excessive lust and desire, prone to anger and lacking in joy. Their minds will be constantly clouded and confused by others. They will lose their royal position, and a human rebirth will be difficult to attain. When they die, they will fall into Avici Hell, not be reborn in heaven, and be forever sunk in the sea of suffering.

At that time, the Thus-Gone One Śākyamuni was in the city of Śrāvastī at the Great Way-place of Jetavana Monastery. There were ninety-five kinds of deviant views and practices, such as those taught by the six heterodox teachers like Nirgrantha. The leader of the non-Buddhists, Subhadra, brought his retinue of over five hundred followers and went to the Buddha to renounce the world and become a monk. Subhadra said to the World-Honored One, “I am old and have long been deluded by magic. I sought the divine eye thinking it would lead to liberation, but now I realize it was a wrong view—I could not obtain the noble divine eye of the Tathāgata’s true Dharma. I only ask the Thus-Gone One, in His great kindness and compassion, to accept my intention.”

At that time, the Thus-Gone One Śākyamuni said to him, “Welcome, Subhadra! Those who accept my teaching will attain the right view and the noble divine eye within my Dharma.”

At that time, the non-Buddhist teachers like Nirgrantha disputed the meaning with the Buddha. The non-Buddhists said to the World-Honored One, “In our tradition, those who seek the Dharma attain the divine eye.” They said to the World-Honored One, “Among us here, some have truly attained the divine eye.” The World-Honored One replied, “Foolish non-Buddhists! You constantly deceive people with wrong views and evil deeds. You are born from the perversion of your parents, with an impure consciousness and a mind always confused. How can you claim to have attained the divine eye?”

The Thus-Gone One said to the foolish non-Buddhists, “Now you have encountered the true Dharma of the Buddhas, the Thus-Gone Ones. This great teacher is your true great spiritual friend. In my Dharma, you will be born with right view, not fall into the net of wrong views, and attain the noble divine eye. Why do you non-Buddhists claim to have attained the Way and the divine eye?” The Thus-Gone One said to the Nirgranthas and others, “You are deluded people. It is like someone who has an eye disease—if he meets a good doctor who cures his eyes, he will gain pure eyesight and see the sun and moon. Having seen them, he will perceive all forms. Because of this right view, he gains such merit.”

Therefore, the World-Honored One said to the non-Buddhists, “If a being lacks a foundation of faith and does not know the true Dharma, meeting and encountering it is difficult. If he sees a great spiritual friend but has no faith and wrong views in his mind, he will not recognize the friend even face to face. If a being truly has deep faith and good roots, even from a thousand miles away he will be connected and meet that great spiritual friend. His wrong views will vanish, he will have no obstacles from karma, and his physical eye will become pure. By attaining a pure eye, he will realize the divine eye. Having realized the divine eye, he will recognize all Buddhas, encounter a great spiritual friend, and have orthodox faith and right view, not fall into the net of wrong views. Therefore, you non-Buddhists—day and night you cling to wrong views and deceive the world. An arrow of wrong views has pierced your hearts, and you have not pulled it out. You cultivate different views, flattery and crooked living, clinging to what is not the Dharma. You create unwholesome actions that cannot be liberated, and you will fall into the Avīci hell of relentless suffering. After falling from hell, you will first be reborn as animals—camels, donkeys, pigs, dogs—and in repayment for former support, you will repay for many lifetimes without rest. You should know this: after falling from the animal realm, if you are reborn among humans, you will be poor and lowly, blind, deaf, and mute, receiving such karmic retribution that no one will be pleased to see you. You create unwholesome actions, and the power of past karma brings this.”

The World-Honored One said to the foolish non-Buddhists like Nirgrantha, “In this life, you receive a wrong view; in every lifetime, you are not on the right path. You constantly practice wrong paths, destroying yourselves and others. It is like a blind person who tells another blind person, ‘I will lead you.’ Both will fall into a deep pit. The wise should know that these two blind people will inevitably fall and suffer hardship on the wrong road. The blind non-Buddhists are likewise.”

Therefore, the World-Honored One, in the great assembly, said to the Bodhisattvas and all beings, “These ninety-five kinds of fundamental wrong teachings of the six heterodox teachers, like Nirgrantha, fall into six main schools. What are the six schools of wrong teaching? 1. The Nirgranthas practice a ‘natural’ method called ‘born of nature,’ based on no cause and no conditions for a long life and immortality. 2. The Vairājīputras practice emptiness as the path, leading to the extinction of the body and the belief in no rebirth. Their method is called ‘attaining the way.’ 3. The Kaṭāyanas practice fivefold heat to burn the body and lying on thorns as asceticism, burning the body as sacrifice to gods, hoping to attain the way and return to emptiness without rebirth. 4. The Pūraṇa Kāśyapa-Maśkakālis practice impure actions, strictly observing dog precepts, pig precepts, nakedness, and smearing with ashes. They lie in filth without shame. They claim that recognizing shame is the true path. Therefore, they constantly keep impure dog precepts, hoping to achieve liberation and attain the fruit. 5. The Kauśātyas practice self-starvation, enduring hunger without eating. They tell others, ‘We who have attained the way are not hungry or thirsty.’ This is called the method of self-starvation. 6. The Nirgrantha-Jñātiputras practice wrong views, worship gods and spirits at temples, revere the sun and moon, serve fire, look for signs, visions, and seek states at night. They claim, ‘Seekers attain the way; I have the divine eye and see past and future lives.’ They delight in offering sacrifices to spirits, hoping to gain wealth and blessings, thinking that the gods will help them succeed. They seek karmic rewards from wrong paths.

These six heterodox teachers and their followers all practice wrong teachings. They do not know they are false outsiders and claim, ‘I have attained the holy way.’ They also tell others, ‘If you cultivate my teaching, you will soon attain the fruit of the holy way.’ Such words cannot be trusted.”

Therefore, the World-Honored One said to these non-Buddhists, “Such wrong views and improper teachings are indeed untrustworthy, destroying beings’ innate right view. They are false and flattering, forcibly acting as teachers of the way. They are not truly enlightened but claim enlightenment; they do not truly know the path that transcends the world but claim to know; they do not have true vision but claim vision; they claim to be teachers for beings. Such non-Buddhists not only destroy their own good fortune from wholesome paths but also cause others to lose the path to a good rebirth. Therefore, they are not true teachers; they all fall into wrong paths. The teacher is fallen, and you, his followers, also fall.”

At that time, the Thus-Gone One said to all the Bodhisattvas, great beings, and to all sentient beings and the fourfold assembly, “Listen carefully and remember well. I will now explain to you the cause-and-effect that you will receive. In the present life, the body, actions, and tendencies all have habitual energies. Therefore, these non-Buddhists do not believe that the Thus-Gone One taught about cause and effect and past karmic conditions. How then can they claim to have such characteristics? Hence, you should know that if a person emerges from hell and is reborn among humans, certain characteristics will appear. The wise should recognize them: his voice is hoarse, like a donkey or mule; his speech is loud, hurried, shouting, and impatient. His mind lacks trust and is full of deceit. He is unreliable, has no close friends, is ugly, disrespects teachers and elders, does not believe in the Buddha-Dharma, is unfilial, unrighteous, shameless, delights in killing and often commits evil. He will have a short life and not live long. Seeing what is good, he does not generate the mind of enlightenment. After death, he falls into various realms, always sinking in the three evil paths.”

At that time, the World-Honored One said to the foolish non-Buddhists, “You should know these characteristics. If a person dies from the animal realm and is reborn among humans, these characteristics will appear: he is dull, foolish in handling matters, lacking wisdom, methodless, lazy, greedy for food, not discriminating between coarse and fine, stubborn in nature, blunt in speech. He is strong, always carrying heavy loads, and always makes friends with foolish people. He likes to draw up his legs and lie down anywhere, not avoiding filth, wanting to be naked without shame. His mind is deceitful; he makes false promises and slanders others with flattering words. He takes others’ property and always loves to incur debts. Seeing what is good, he cannot generate the mind of faith, does not believe in the true Dharma, constantly commits the ten unwholesome deeds, drifts in birth and death, and rarely gains a human body. After death, he sinks into the sea of suffering and falls again into the animal realm. Considering this, you must awaken. Therefore, know that you foolish non-Buddhists cannot understand this; it is beyond the understanding of the foolish.

If a person dies from the ghost realm and is reborn in the world, these characteristics will appear: he is black, thin, and without luster on his face. His hair is short, ugly, yellow or red, disordered. He has a turned-up nose, angry eyes with the whites showing, staring directly. He is constantly hungry and thirsty, thinking much of food and drink. He is miserly, jealous, fearful of authority, clings to wrong views, speaks behind others’ backs, discusses others’ faults, is greedy for sensual pleasures and accumulation, and cannot give up or share with beings. He does not enjoy goodness; he only loves wrong beliefs. When he sees wealth, his mind desires to take it. He is always greedy and stealing, never satisfied. If he gains a little wealth from others, he becomes joyful; if he cannot gain it, he becomes jealous and harmful. Such a person will not generate the mind of faith: he believes in wrong views, practices flattery and crooked lives, does not cultivate good dharmas, does not respect the Buddha-Dharma, exclusively believes in ghosts and spirits, and delights in making offerings. Such a person still falls into hell. After emerging from hell, he becomes a ghost again, revolving in birth and death, entering the sea of suffering without rest.”

Therefore, the World-Honored One said to the non-Buddhists, “You are bent on wrong views, foolish and deluded, not understanding cause and effect, not recognizing goodness.” The Thus-Gone One said, “I tell you, this matter is difficult to believe. There are countless characteristics; the wrong views of non-Buddhists cannot know them. This principle is beyond the understanding of the foolish. Hence you should know: if someone falls from the state of spirits or asuras, hears little faith from the Buddha, and is reborn among humans, these characteristics will appear: he is arrogant, with a great sense of self-importance, always delighting in anger and quarrels, bear grudges, is jealous and creates evil, flatters and is dishonest, practices deceit, incurs debts, deceives people. He is tall and robust, with round, angry white eyes, sparse and protruding teeth. He is bold and forceful, his mind fond of conflict and battle. He always delights in fighting and hitting, never resting from anger. He uses double speech to cause discord, splits the wholesome, slanders good people. He lacks compassion, hatred is constant. Although he is among humans, he constantly does unwholesome deeds. Such conduct leads to death in hell with no chance to emerge. According to karma, he falls into various states and is reborn again in the state of asuras.”

The Buddha said to the non-Buddhists, “Listen carefully. Therefore, you should know: if someone dies from the human state and is reborn in the world, these characteristics will appear: he is virtuous and upright, draws near to good friends. By nature, he always has faith, loyalty, and filial piety. If an evil person slanders or reviles him, he will never retaliate with evil. Why? He always cherishes the reputation of his family, knows shame and disgrace, is sincere and trustworthy, delights in good fame and praise, and is skillful in arts. He respects the wise, has a sense of shame, and a gentle mind. He knows gratitude and wants to repay favors. Towards spiritual friends, his mind is compliant. He is kind and compassionate, cares for his parents, respects teachers, preceptors, and superiors, knows the urgency of others, handles affairs skillfully, and is good at creating harmony. He constantly delights in revering the Buddha, practices generosity, and makes offerings. He cannot tolerate debts; he does not owe even a little to others. He delights in good works and guides others, bringing them peace and happiness, not causing them suffering. Such a person acts in this way, and after death, he will be reborn in heaven, not fall into hell, and then be reborn among humans, enjoying great happiness, free from all suffering. In life after life, he always obtains a human body.

Therefore, the Thus-Gone One says to these non-Buddhists and to the unwise evil beings, that this is not to be understood by the foolish, not to be measured by ordinary thought. If a being observes the five precepts and the ten good deeds, he will be reborn in heaven, enjoying supreme bliss. After falling from heaven, if he is reborn in the world, he will be dignified, with one-pointed right view, good physical marks, and excellent qualities. He is intelligent, delights in cleanliness, likes to wear garlands and fragrances and anoint his body with perfumes. He always loves purity and chooses good and wise companions. He delights in music, song, dance, and praise. He likes to be in high places, not low. He becomes a leader, smiling without anger. He has virtue; his speech is gentle, eloquent, and sincere. He delights everyone without harming others. He has great wisdom and always loves fine clothes and adornments. He has good roots and delights in renouncing the householder life. If he becomes a teacher, he is diligent and maintains pure conduct, studies the Buddha’s way, and seeks enlightenment. Such a person is wise, cultivating for many kalpas; his virtue is immeasurable, not to be measured by mind or seen by eye. This is a virtuous person who receives blessings in this life. If he cultivates pure precepts, he will soon attain the supreme perfect enlightenment.”

At that time, the Thus-Gone One Śākyamuni said to the Bodhisattvas and the fourfold assembly of good men and good women, “You should know these six heterodox teachers like Nirgrantha—the leaders of wrong views and evil dharmas. Among ninety-five different sects, there are six fundamental schools on which they rely. The six teachers—Nirgrantha, Kauśātya, Vairājīputra, Kaṭāyana, Pūraṇa Kāśyapa-Maśkakālin, and Nirgrantha-Jñātiputra—had nine thousand five hundred followers who clung to wrong teachings. Nine thousand non-Buddhists were deeply poisoned by the arrow of wrong views and did not return to the noble path of the Thus-Gone One. Only one leader among them, the foremost Subhadra, brought five hundred followers, took refuge with the Thus-Gone One, renounced the world, donned the Dharma robe, and cultivated the holy path with right conduct and right wisdom. The other non-Buddhists—Nirgrantha, Jñātiputra, and others—deeply attached to wrong views, did not believe the true teaching, withdrew, and sat back.

At that time, the Thus-Gone One, in the middle of the great assembly, said to the Bodhisattvas, the great beings, and the fourfold disciples—monks, nuns, male and female lay followers—and good men and good women: “These non-Buddhists are truly foolish and unwholesome people. In the past, they received the cause of evil karma and fell into hell without abandoning wrong views. Therefore, now is the time to expose and awaken from this; otherwise, they will continue to drift.”

At that time, the fourfold disciples—good men and good women—wholeheartedly took refuge in the Thus-Gone One, cultivated the ten good deeds, and received the pure precepts of the secret true teaching of all Buddhas. Thus, they will not fall into hell, not become animals, not be reborn as ghosts, not be reborn in the various evil states, not be born in families with non-Buddhist wrong views. In each life and for many lives, they will encounter Buddhas, hear the true Dharma, gradually cultivate the noble teachings of the Thus-Gone One and the noble wisdom and conduct, and realize enlightenment. Eventually, they will become Buddhas and attain unexcelled, perfect enlightenment.

At that time, the Thus-Gone One Śākyamuni said, “In the past, for immeasurable kalpas, I have cultivated this sublime wisdom of yoga, the Vajra Samādhi Dharma of the Buddhas, the secret enlightenment, the profound three secrets of the Thus-Gone One’s teaching.”