VIMALAKIRTI SUTRA
Translated by Imperial Edict
Tripitaka Master Kumarajiva of Yao Qin
— o O o —
VERSE FOR OPENING THE SUTRA
The unsurpassed, profound, subtle, wondrous Dharma
Is difficult to encounter in hundreds of thousands of myriads of kalpas.
Now that I can see, hear, receive, and uphold it,
I vow to understand the Tathagata’s true meaning.
EIGHT RULES OF THE SUTRA TRANSLATION INSTITUTE
1. A translator must free themselves from motives of fame and gain.
2. A translator must cultivate character and abandon arrogance.
3. A translator must exercise self-restraint, not praising oneself while disparaging others.
4. A translator must not treat oneself as the sole standard and belittle others by fault-finding in their works.
5. A translator must take the Buddha’s mind as one’s own mind.
6. A translator must use the discerning eye of Dharma to judge what is true.
7. A translator must respectfully request eminent monks and great virtuous teachers of the ten directions to attest the translation.
8. A translator must gladly spread the Buddha’s teaching by printing Sutra, Vinaya, and Treatise once one’s translation has been verified as correct.
— o O o —
Upper Volume
— o O o —
Chapter on the Buddha Land
Chapter One
— o O o —
The Buddha Land
— o O o —
Thus have I heard: At one time, the Buddha was in Vaisali, in the Amra grove, together with eight thousand great bhiksus and thirty-two thousand bodhisattvas, all well known among the assembly, all accomplished in great wisdom and fundamental practice.
Established by the majestic spiritual power of all Buddhas, they protected the city of the Dharma, upheld the Right Teaching, could roar like lions, and their renown was heard in the ten directions. Without waiting to be invited, they brought peace to beings. They continued and exalted the Three Jewels so that they would never cease.
Subduing demonic adversaries and restraining non-Buddhist paths, they had become pure, forever free of veils and fetters. Their minds always abided in unobstructed liberation. Mindfulness, concentration, dharani, and eloquence flowed without interruption. Generosity, morality, patience, vigor, meditation, wisdom, and skillful means were all fully complete in them. Though reaching non-attainment, they did not give rise to resistance toward dharmas, and could accord with beings to turn the irreversible wheel. They understood the marks of dharmas and knew the faculties of sentient beings.
They sheltered the great assembly and attained fearlessness. Through merit and wisdom they cultivated their minds. Their bodies were adorned with highest marks, supreme in appearance and form. They had renounced all worldly ornaments and attractions. Their reputation was lofty and far-reaching, surpassing Mount Sumeru. Their deep faith was firm like vajra. Their Dharma treasure shone everywhere and rained nectar-like dew. In every mode of speech and sound, they were unsurpassed in subtle excellence.
They deeply entered dependent arising, cut off all deviant views, and transcended both extremes of existence and non-existence, with no residual habits left. They taught fearlessly, like a lion’s roar. Their preaching resounded like thunder, immeasurable and beyond measure. They gathered the treasure of dharmas like great navigators of the ocean. They penetrated the profound and wondrous meaning of all dharmas. They clearly knew where beings had come from and where they were headed, as well as the movements of their minds. They were near the Buddha’s incomparable wisdom of sovereign freedom, including the ten powers, fearlessnesses, and eighteen unique qualities.
They closed the gates to all evil destinies, yet appeared within the five paths to manifest their bodies. As great kings of healing, they expertly treated all illnesses, prescribing medicine according to each disease so that beings could recover through practice. They perfected immeasurable merit. They purified and adorned immeasurable Buddha lands. Whoever saw or heard of them received benefit. Nothing they did was ever in vain. Thus were all such merits fully complete in them.
Their names were:
Bodhisattva Equivalent Contemplation,
Bodhisattva Inequivalent Contemplation,
Bodhisattva Equivalent-Inequivalent Contemplation,
Bodhisattva King of Sovereign Samadhi,
Bodhisattva King of Dharma Sovereignty,
Bodhisattva Dharma Mark,
Bodhisattva Radiance Mark,
Bodhisattva Radiance Adornment,
Bodhisattva Great Adornment,
Bodhisattva Jewel Heap,
Bodhisattva Eloquence Heap,
Bodhisattva Jewel Hand,
Bodhisattva Jewel Seal Hand,
Bodhisattva Ever-Raised Hand,
Bodhisattva Ever-Lowered Hand,
Bodhisattva Ever-Lamenting,
Bodhisattva Joyful Faculty,
Bodhisattva Joy King,
Bodhisattva Eloquent Sound,
Bodhisattva Treasury of Space,
Bodhisattva Holding the Jeweled Torch,
Bodhisattva Jewel Courage,
Bodhisattva Jewel Vision,
Bodhisattva Indra’s Net,
Bodhisattva Bright Net,
Bodhisattva Unconditioned Contemplation,
Bodhisattva Wisdom Heap,
Bodhisattva Jewel Victory,
Bodhisattva Heavenly King,
Bodhisattva Destroyer of Mara,
Bodhisattva Lightning Virtue,
Bodhisattva King of Sovereignty,
Bodhisattva Adorned with Marks of Merit,
Bodhisattva Lion’s Roar,
Bodhisattva Thunder Voice,
Bodhisattva Mountain-Resounding Sound,
Bodhisattva Fragrant Elephant,
Bodhisattva White Fragrant Elephant,
Bodhisattva Ever-Diligent,
Bodhisattva Never-Resting,
Bodhisattva Wondrous Birth,
Bodhisattva Floral Adornment,
Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara,
Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta,
Bodhisattva Brahma Net,
Bodhisattva Jeweled Staff,
Bodhisattva Unexcelled,
Bodhisattva Adorned Lands,
Bodhisattva Golden Topknot,
Bodhisattva Jewel Topknot,
Bodhisattva Maitreya,
and the Dharma Prince Manjusri.
… There were thirty-two thousand bodhisattvas such as these.
Again, there were ten thousand Brahma-kings, including Sikhin and others, who descended from the other worlds of the four continents to where the Buddha was, in order to hear the Dharma. There were also twelve thousand Sakra-like heavenly emperors who likewise descended from the other worlds to attend the assembly. Together with many other great and mighty devas, naga spirits, yaksas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kinnaras, and mahoragas, all came and took their seats. Bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas, and upasikas also gathered there.
At that time, the Buddha, reverently encircled by immeasurable hundreds of thousands in the assembly, taught the Dharma. He was like Mount Sumeru, king of mountains, towering above the great ocean, seated securely on a lion throne adorned with all jewels, outshining all those who had come.
Then, in the city of Vaisali, there was an elder’s son named Ratnakara (Bao Tich), who together with five hundred other elder sons, each carrying canopies of seven jewels, came before the Buddha and bowed with their heads at his feet.
Each offered his jeweled canopy to the Buddha. By the Buddha’s spiritual power, all those jeweled canopies merged into one canopy that spread over the entire trichiliocosm. Within it appeared the full vast form of this world-system. Also appearing in that canopy were all the Mount Sumerus, Snow Mountains, Mucilinda Mountains, Great Mucilinda Mountains, Fragrant Mountains, Jewel Mountains, Golden Mountains, Black Mountains, Iron-Encircling Mountains, Great Iron-Encircling Mountains, great seas, rivers, streams, springs, and sources, together with the sun, moon, stars, celestial palaces, dragon palaces, and the palaces of various deities. Also visible within it were the Buddhas of the ten directions and those Buddhas teaching the Dharma.
At that moment, all in the great assembly, seeing the Buddha’s spiritual power, praised what had never been seen before. With palms joined, they bowed to the Buddha, gazed upon his honored countenance, and did not turn their eyes away even briefly. Then the elder’s son Ratnakara, right before the Buddha, spoke in verse:
His eyes, pure and vast, are like blue lotuses.
His mind, purified, has gone beyond all meditative absorptions.
His pure karma, amassed over long ages, is immeasurable.
He guides beings through stillness, therefore I bow in homage.
Having seen the Great Sage display spiritual transformations,
Manifesting immeasurable lands throughout the ten directions,
Where all Buddhas proclaim the Dharma,
Everyone here can see and hear it all.
The Dharma King’s power surpasses all beings.
He constantly gives the wealth of Dharma to all.
He can skillfully distinguish the marks of all dharmas,
Yet remains unmoving in the highest truth.
He has attained freedom with respect to all dharmas,
Therefore I bow to this King of Dharma.
He teaches that dharmas are neither existent nor non-existent;
Because of causes and conditions, all dharmas arise.
No self, no maker, no receiver;
Yet karma of good and evil is never lost.
Formerly, at the Bodhi tree, he subdued Mara.
He attained the deathless nectar and fulfilled the path of awakening.
Though without thought, intention, or fabricated action,
He fully overcomes all non-Buddhist paths.
He turned the Dharma wheel three times in the great thousand-world,
And that wheel has always been pure from the beginning.
Gods and humans attained the Way; this is the proof.
Thus the Three Jewels appeared in the world.
With this wondrous Dharma he rescues all beings.
Once received, it does not regress, abiding in constant quiescence.
Great King of Physicians who saves from old age, sickness, and death,
To the boundless virtue-ocean of Dharma we should bow.
Unmoved by praise or blame, like Mount Sumeru,
He extends compassion equally to good and not-good alike.
His conduct of mind is equal like empty space.
Who, hearing this Jewel among men, would not revere and uphold him?
Now I offer this jeweled canopy to the World-Honored One;
Within it, my three-thousand great-thousand world appears.
Palaces where devas, dragons, and spirits dwell,
Gandharvas and yaksas and the rest,
All things in the world are seen within it.
These transformations are shown by the skillful means of the Ten Powers.
Seeing such wonders, the assembly praises the Buddha.
Now I bow to the Honored One of the Three Realms,
The Great Sage, King of Dharma, refuge of all.
With pure mind, who would not rejoice in beholding the Buddha?
All see the World-Honored One before them.
Such spiritual power is an unequaled Dharma.
The Buddha teaches with a single sound,
Yet each kind of being understands.
Each says, “The World-Honored One speaks my own language.”
Thus this spiritual power is unequaled.
The Buddha teaches with one sound,
And each being understands according to capacity.
All receive, practice, and gain benefit.
Thus this spiritual power is unequaled.
The Buddha teaches with one sound;
Some hear it with fear, others with joy.
Some give rise to renunciation, some cut off doubts.
Thus this spiritual power is unequaled.
I bow to the Ten Powers, great in vigor.
I bow to the One who has attained fearlessness.
I bow to the One abiding in unique, incomparable qualities.
I bow to the great Teacher of all.
I bow to the One who can sever all bonds and fetters.
I bow to the One who has reached the other shore.
I bow to the One who ferries all worlds across.
I bow to the One forever free from the path of birth and death.
He fully knows beings’ coming and going,
And is skillful in liberation through all dharmas.
Unattached to the world, like a lotus,
Always adept in entering the practice of emptiness and stillness,
He penetrates all dharma-marks without obstruction.
I bow to the One like space, relying on nothing.
At that time, after the elder’s son Ratnakara had spoken these verses, he said to the Buddha: “World-Honored One, these five hundred elder’s sons have all brought forth the mind of unsurpassed, right, and perfect awakening. We wish to hear how one attains a pure Buddha land. We pray that the World-Honored One will explain the practices by which bodhisattvas purify their lands.”
The Buddha said: “Excellent, Ratnakara! You are able, on behalf of the bodhisattvas, to ask the Thus Come One about the practices of a pure land. Listen carefully, listen carefully, and reflect well. I will explain it for you.”
Thereupon Ratnakara and the five hundred elder’s sons received the teaching and listened.
The Buddha said: “Ratnakara, the various kinds of sentient beings are the bodhisattva’s Buddha land. Why is this so? A bodhisattva takes a Buddha land according to the beings he transforms. He takes a Buddha land according to the beings he disciplines. He takes a Buddha land according to what kind of land beings need in order to enter Buddha wisdom. He takes a Buddha land according to what kind of land beings need in order to arouse bodhisattva roots. Why is this so? A bodhisattva takes a pure land entirely in order to benefit beings. It is like someone wishing to build palaces and houses on open ground: he may build freely without obstruction. But in empty space, in the end, he cannot build. So it is with bodhisattvas: because they wish to bring beings to accomplishment, they vow to take a Buddha land. To vow for a Buddha land is not to build in empty space.”
Ratnakara, you should know: a straight mind is the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva attains Buddhahood, beings free of flattery and crookedness are born there. A deep mind is the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva attains Buddhahood, beings complete in merit are born there. The bodhi-mind is the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva attains Buddhahood, Mahayana beings are born there. Giving is the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva attains Buddhahood, beings able to relinquish all things are born there.
Moral precepts are the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva attains Buddhahood, beings who fulfill the ten wholesome paths are born there.
Patience is the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva attains Buddhahood, beings adorned with the thirty-two marks are born there.
Vigor is the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva attains Buddhahood, beings diligent in cultivating all merit are born there.
Meditative concentration is the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva attains Buddhahood, beings whose minds are gathered and unscattered are born there.
Wisdom is the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva attains Buddhahood, beings in right concentration are born there.
The four immeasurable minds are the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva attains Buddhahood, beings who perfect loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity are born there. The four methods of gathering are the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva attains Buddhahood, beings gathered and liberated thereby are born there.
Skillful means are the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva attains Buddhahood, beings unobstructed in applying expedient means to all dharmas are born there. The thirty-seven factors of awakening are the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva attains Buddhahood, beings possessing the four foundations of mindfulness, four right efforts, four bases of spiritual power, five faculties, five powers, seven factors of enlightenment, and eightfold noble path are born there.
Dedication of merit is the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva attains Buddhahood, he gains a land complete with every merit. Teaching the removal of the eight difficulties is the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva attains Buddhahood, that land has none of the three evil destinies or the eight difficulties. Keeping one’s own precepts while not criticizing others’ faults is the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva attains Buddhahood, in that land there is not even the name of violating precepts.
The ten wholesome deeds are the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva attains Buddhahood, beings with long life (not dying young), great wealth, pure conduct, truthful speech, gentle speech, harmonious families, skill in reconciling disputes, beneficial speech, and freedom from greed, anger, and wrong views are born there.
Thus, Ratnakara, according to straightness of mind, a bodhisattva can give rise to practice.
According to arising practice, he attains deep mind.
According to deep mind, his intention is tamed.
According to tamed intention, he practices in accord with what is taught.
“According to practicing as taught, he can dedicate merit.
According to dedication, he has skillful means.
According to skillful means, he brings beings to accomplishment.
According to bringing beings to accomplishment, his Buddha land becomes pure.
“According to purity of Buddha land, teaching of Dharma becomes pure.
According to purity of teaching, wisdom becomes pure.
According to purity of wisdom, mind becomes pure.
According to purity of mind, all merits become pure.
Therefore, Ratnakara, if a bodhisattva wishes to attain a pure land, he should purify his mind. As his mind is purified, so his Buddha land is purified.”
At that time, Shariputra, upheld by the Buddha’s spiritual power, thought: “If the bodhisattva’s mind is pure, then the Buddha land is pure. Did our World-Honored One, when practicing as a bodhisattva, have an impure intention, such that this Buddha land appears impure like this?”
Knowing his thought, the Buddha said: “What do you think? Are the sun and moon not pure and bright, and yet blind people do not see them?”
Shariputra said: “No, World-Honored One. The fault lies with the blind, not with the sun and moon.”
Buddha said: “Shariputra, because of beings’ karmic obscurations, they do not see the Tathagata’s land as adorned and pure. The fault is not the Tathagata’s. Shariputra, my land is pure, but you do not see it.”
Then Brahma King Sikhin said to Shariputra: “Do not think this Buddha land is impure. Why? I see Shakyamuni Buddha’s land as pure, like the palace of the Sovereign Heaven.”
Shariputra said: “What I see in this land are hills, pits, thorns, gravel, earth and stone mountains, filled with all manner of filth and evil.”
Brahma King Sikhin said: “Venerable one, your mind still has highs and lows and does not rely on Buddha wisdom. Therefore you see this land as impure. Shariputra, when a bodhisattva regards all beings with equality, with deep and pure mind, and relies on Buddha wisdom, then he can see this Buddha land as pure.”
At that moment, the Buddha pressed the ground with his toe. Instantly, the great trichiliocosm became adorned with hundreds of thousands of precious jewels, like the jeweled adornment land of Buddha Ratnavyuha with immeasurable merits. The entire assembly exclaimed, “Never before!” and each saw himself seated upon a jeweled lotus.
The Buddha said to Shariputra: “Can you now see this Buddha land as adorned and pure?”
Shariputra replied: “Indeed, World-Honored One. What I had never seen before and never heard before, I now see fully manifested: the Buddha land adorned and pure.”
The Buddha said to Shariputra: “My Buddha land is always pure like this. But to liberate inferior beings, I manifest a land that appears impure and full of defilements. It is like devas sharing food in precious bowls: according to their merits, the appearance of the food differs. So it is, Shariputra. If a person’s mind is pure, he then sees the meritorious adornments of this land.”
When the Buddha revealed this adorned and pure land, the five hundred elder’s sons led by Ratnakara all attained the patience of non-arising dharmas. Eighty-four thousand people in the assembly all brought forth the mind of unsurpassed, right, and perfect awakening.
Then the Buddha withdrew his spiritual power, and the world returned to its former state.
Among those seeking the Shravaka vehicle, thirty-two thousand devas and humans understood that all conditioned dharmas are impermanent. They became free of dust and defilement and attained the pure Dharma-eye. Eight thousand bhiksus, no longer grasping at dharmas, exhausted all outflows and were liberated in mind.