Translated by Monk Fazhong of Northern Liang in Gaochang Commandery
Furthermore, good man! At that time, the leader extensively expounded to Ganga this greatly beneficial Dharma, and Ganga, filled with joy and delight, received this wondrous precept. Good man! Such individuals were your virtuous friends in the past, and therefore I shall now explain this to you. Good man! The leader at that time is now the Bodhisattva Flower-Gathering. As for who Ganga was, could it be anyone other than yourself? The king of precious sandalwood at that time is now the Precious King Buddha of the East. As for the forest fruits, know that they are now my own body. As for the children at that time, they are now the thousand Buddhas of the present fortunate kalpa. And the nine hundred and twenty million devas—could they be anyone other than the nine hundred and twenty million demon kings present here today? Good man! These demon kings came to obstruct you in order to remind you of the power of the wholesome actions you cultivated in the past, to cause me to explain the causes and conditions of former times, and to enable me to expound the Great Vaipulya Dharani Sutra to rescue and deliver sentient beings in suffering in the future. For these reasons, they came to disturb you.
At that time, the five hundred great disciples, the assembly of bodhisattva-mahasattvas, upasakas, upasikas, laymen, laywomen, devas, humans, demon kings, the great being Vasu, and yakshas—this great assembly, filled with joy and delight, received and upheld these teachings with reverence.