Upholding the Roots of Virtue
The Perfect Declaration of Going Forth
Toh 101
Degé Kangyur vol. 48 (mdo sde, nga), folios 1.a–227.b
- Leki Dé
- Prajñāvarman
- Jñānagarbha
- Yeshé Dé
Imprint
Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
First published 2020
Current version v 1.2.28 (2024)
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Table of Contents
Summary
This sūtra, one of the longest scriptures in the General Sūtra section of the Kangyur, outlines the path of the Great Vehicle as it is journeyed by bodhisattvas in pursuit of awakening. The teaching, which is delivered by the Buddha Śākyamuni to a host of bodhisattvas from faraway worlds as well as a selection of his closest hearer students, such as Śāradvatīputra and Ānanda, elucidates in particular the practice of engendering and strengthening the mind of awakening, as well as the practice of bodhisattva conduct for the sake of all other beings.
Acknowledgements
Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the guidance of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. Thomas Doctor and James Gentry produced the translation and Andreas Doctor compared the draft translation with the Tibetan and edited the text.
This translation has been completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The generosity of the sponsors who made work on this text possible is gratefully acknowledged. Their dedication is as follows: For Huang Yi-Hsong, Huang Tsai Shun-Ching, and all sentient beings.
Text Body
Upholding the Roots of Virtue
The Perfect Declaration of Going Forth
Then, seven years after a child called Vijayarakṣa was born, he joined that very same assembly and took his seat. The boy Vijayarakṣa now rose from his seat, bowed with palms joined to the Blessed One, and requested in verse:
The Blessed One then asked Vijayarakṣa, “Child, do you want to go forth from home to homelessness under this teaching of mine?”
“Indeed, Blessed One,” Vijayarakṣa replied.
The Blessed One said:
The venerable Śāradvatīputra then thought, “How long has that child, to whom the Blessed One has just taught profound points, practiced them?” The venerable Śāradvatīputra therefore spoke these verses to the Blessed One:
The Blessed One then answered the venerable Śāradvatīputra with these verses:
The venerable Śāradvatīputra then said to the child Vijayarakṣa, “Boy, will you go forth under the Thus-Gone One’s teaching?”
Vijayarakṣa responded to the venerable Śāradvatīputra, “Venerable Śāradvatīputra, since I have already gone forth, I will not go forth.”
The venerable Śāradvatīputra then spoke these verses to the child Vijayarakṣa:
The child Vijayarakṣa answered the venerable Śāradvatīputra with these verses:
The Blessed One then glanced at the child Vijayarakṣa. No sooner had he looked at him than the boy was clad in ochre robes, sat down, and it seemed as if his hair had been shaved for seven days. At that very moment he attained the five superknowledges. Then, while seated on that very spot, the boy Vijayarakṣa vanished. As soon as he vanished, the earth quaked, and everyone felt tingling waves of trepidation. Gods appeared from the sky, playing drums and singing divine melodies, and the earth was flooded with a bright light.
At that moment the Blessed One smiled. From the Blessed One’s mouth streamed light rays of many different colors, [F.199.a] which circled the entire buddha realm three times before dissolving back into his crown protuberance.
The venerable Ānanda then rose from his seat, draped his robe over one shoulder, knelt on his right knee, and said to the Blessed One in verse:
The Blessed One asked Ānanda, “Ānanda, did you see on this very spot the child Vijayarakṣa wearing ochre?”
“Yes, Blessed One, I did,” Ānanda replied.
“Ānanda,” said the Blessed One, “that child Vijayarakṣa is sitting with that very same body in the world system of Abhirati, the buddha realm of the thus-gone one Akṣobhya. Having practiced pure conduct in that buddha realm for his entire life, he will acquire dominion with that very body, just as Śakra, lord of the gods, has acquired dominion now. [F.199.b] Even after he dies and departs from that buddha realm, he will travel from buddha realm to buddha realm with that same body, never parting from the buddhas. Wherever he goes with that body he has obtained, he will acquire dominion. Then, after a countless eon he will fully awaken to unexcelled and perfect buddhahood, becoming the thus-gone one, the worthy one, the perfect buddha who perpetually illuminates the world systems called Anantajñānavicita. Ānanda, the lifespan of the thus-gone one Anantajñānavicita will be immeasurable, such that its precise number of eons will not be possible to measure, calculate, or imagine. The beings who dwell in that thus-gone one’s buddha realm will not be born from a womb. Rather, they will be miraculously born, appearing cross-legged upon lotuses. Ānanda, that buddha realm will be adorned with other immeasurable, exalted qualities.
“Ānanda, there are four qualities bodhisattvas may possess that will ensure that in their future lives too they will succeed in going forth, and will be told, ‘Monk, come join me!’ What are those four qualities? Ānanda, bodhisattvas, having gone forth themselves, should also cause others to go forth and lead them to rely on going forth in all of its aspects. Once they have gone forth, bodhisattvas should delight them with a Dharma discourse and encourage them to uphold it. Ānanda, bodhisattvas with this first quality will succeed in going forth in their next lives too, and will be told, ‘Monk, come join me!’
“Second, Ānanda, bodhisattvas should themselves apply diligence in pursuit of the qualities of the buddhas, [F.200.a] and also lead others to uphold the application of diligence in pursuit of the qualities of the buddhas. Ānanda, bodhisattvas with this second quality will succeed in going forth in their next lives too, and will be told, ‘Monk, come join me!’
“Third, Ānanda, bodhisattvas themselves should be forbearing and gentle, while also causing others to perfect forbearance and gentleness. They themselves should observe the quality of austerity, while they also establish others in the perfect quality of austerity. They themselves should be insightful, while they also establish others in perfect insight. Ānanda, bodhisattvas with that third quality will succeed in going forth in their next lives too, and will be told, ‘Monk, come join me!’
“Fourth, Ānanda, bodhisattvas themselves should be skilled in means and possess the power of aspiration, while also leading others to uphold skill in means and imbuing others with the power of aspiration. Ānanda, bodhisattvas with these four qualities will succeed in going forth in their next lives too, and will be told, ‘Monk, come join me!’ and travel from buddha realm to buddha realm, attaining dominion wherever they go in that very body, while also remaining circumspect throughout.
“Ānanda, there are four qualities bodhisattvas may possess that will ensure that their progress toward unexcelled and perfect awakening will never relapse or be reversed. What are those four qualities? Ānanda, bodhisattvas should altruistically engender the mind set on unexcelled and perfect awakening. They should delight in a thus-gone one’s teaching. They should not rest content with merely hearing the Dharma. They should speak the truth without deception. [F.200.b] Ānanda, if bodhisattvas have those four qualities their progress toward unexcelled and perfect awakening will never be reversed or relapse.”
The Blessed One then spoke these verses:
“Ānanda, there are four qualities that ensure that the mindfulness of those who have perfectly embarked on the Great Vehicle will not deteriorate, that they receive encouragement from the gods, that they do not part from objects of generosity, and that they can serve as objects of generosity themselves in case there is no object of generosity present. The four are as follows: Ānanda, bodhisattva great beings are delighted to make others uphold unexcelled and perfect awakening. They are delighted to honor the thus-gone ones. They are delighted to pursue the Dharma. They also provide Dharma preachers with pleasant objects and upon seeing beings suffer they comfort them with fearlessness. [F.201.a] Ānanda, if bodhisattvas who have perfectly embarked on the Great Vehicle have those four qualities, then in their future lives they will not forget, and they will not part from objects of generosity. And even if no object of generosity can be found, they themselves will serve as objects of generosity.”
The Blessed One then spoke these verses:
“That is why, Ānanda, according to that explanation, bodhisattva great beings by all means should obtain those qualities and thus be understood to bring benefit through those qualities.
“Ānanda, a countless eon ago there appeared in this world a king called He Who Resounds Throughout the Quarters. Ānanda, a son was born to the main wife of that king. Ānanda, as soon as the boy was born, the gods proclaimed in unified cadence and wording, ‘A being who practices the Dharma has come into the world!’ Ānanda, upon hearing those words, the prince was scared, thinking, ‘What is this, Dharma or non-Dharma?’
“Ānanda, when about seven years had passed after the prince was born, he went before the king, prostrated to his feet, and sat to one side. Seated there, he said to the king, ‘Father, what is this, Dharma or non-Dharma?’
“The king responded to the boy with this verse:
This concludes the eleventh chapter.
Colophon
Translated by the Indian preceptor Prajñāvarman and the translator Bandé Leki Dé, then revised and finalized by the Indian preceptors Prajñāvarman and Jñānagarbha, and the chief editor-translator Bandé Yeshé Dé.
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