The White Lotus of the Good Dharma
Gadgadasvara

Then at that time the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni emitted light from the ūrṇā hair between his eyebrows, which was a sign of a great being. That light shone throughout hundreds of thousands of quintillions of buddha realms in the east, which were as numerous as the grains of sand in eighteen Ganges Rivers. Beyond those hundreds of thousands of quintillions of buddha realms, which were as numerous as the grains of sand in eighteen Ganges Rivers, there was the world realm named Vairocana­raśmi­prati­maṇḍitā, in which there lived, was present, and remained the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha named Kamala­dala­vimala­nakṣatra­rāja­saṃkusumitābhi­jña. He was accompanied and revered by an immeasurably great saṅgha of bodhisattvas. Then the ray of light emitted by the bhagavān tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni from his ūrṇā hair shone at that time throughout the world realm Vairocana­raśmi­prati­maṇḍitā.

In that Vairocana­raśmi­prati­maṇḍitā world realm there was the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara, who had through his past roots of merit seen such light rays from many tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas. The bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara had attained many samādhis: the samādhi of the crest adornment of the victory banner, the samādhi of the white lotus of the good Dharma, the samādhi of the stainless gift, the samādhi of the play of the king of stars, the samādhi like-the-wind, the samādhi of the seal of knowledge, the samādhi of the lamp of the moon, [F.158.b] the samādhi of skill in all sounds, the samādhi of the accumulation of all merit, the samādhi of possessing faith, the samādhi of the display of miraculous powers, the samādhi of the torch of knowledge, the samādhi of the king of arrays, the samādhi of stainless light, the samādhi of stainless essence, the samādhi of completion through water,583 the samādhi of the disk of the sun, and so on, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara having attained hundreds of thousands of quintillions of samādhis, as numerous as the grains of sand in the Ganges River.

The light struck the body of the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara, and then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara said to the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Kamala­dala­vimala­nakṣatra­rāja­saṃkusumitābhi­jña, “Bhagavān, I am going to the Sahā world realm in order to see, pay homage to, and honor the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni, and to see the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta, to see the bodhisattva Bhaiṣajyarāja, to see the bodhisattva Pradānaśūra, to see the bodhisattva Nakṣatra­rāja­saṃkusumitābhi­jña, to see the bodhisattva Vi­śiṣṭa­cāritra, to see the bodhisattva Vyūharāja, and to see the bodhisattva Bhaiṣajya­samudgata.”

Then the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Kamala­dala­vimala­nakṣatra­rāja­saṃkusumitābhi­jña [F.159.a] said to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara, “Noble one, when you go to the world realm Sahā and have arrived there, do not perceive it as inferior. Noble one, the world realm Sahā is uphill and downhill, made of earth, crowded with dark mountains, and filled with cesspools.584 The bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni has a short body; the bodhisattva mahāsattvas have short bodies also. Noble one, the body you have gained is forty-two thousand yojanas high. Noble one, my body is sixty-eight hundred thousand yojanas high. Noble one, you are handsome, attractive, with an excellent body that has an excellent color and is perfectly developed. You have exceptional splendor from a hundred thousand merits. Therefore, noble one, when you go to the Sahā world realm, do not perceive that tathāgata, those bodhisattvas, or that buddha realm as inferior.”

The bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara said to the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Kamala­dala­vimala­nakṣatra­rāja­saṃkusumitābhi­jña, “Bhagavān,585 I go to the Sahā world realm through the Tathāgata’s blessing, through the Tathāgata’s development of power, the Tathāgata’s display, the Tathāgata’s arrays, and the Tathāgata’s superior wisdom.”

Then at that time the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara, without departing from that buddha realm, without rising up from his seat, entered samādhi in this way. [F.159.b] As soon as the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara entered samādhi, at that moment, in front of the Dharma seat of the Tathāgata on Vulture Peak in the Sahā world realm there appeared eighty-four hundred thousand quintillion lotuses with gold stems, silver petals, and pericarps the color of flame of the forest flowers.586

When Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta saw that array of lotuses he asked the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni, “Bhagavān, of whose coming are these eighty-four hundred thousand quintillion lotuses with gold stems, silver petals, and pericarps the color of flame of the forest flowers an omen?”

The Bhagavān answered Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta, “Mañjuśrī, these are an omen that the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara, accompanied by a hundred thousand quintillion bodhisattvas, will come to this Sahā world realm from the east from the world realm Vairocana­raśmi­prati­maṇḍitā, which is the buddha realm of the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Kamala­dala­vimala­nakṣatra­rāja­saṃkusumitābhi­jña, in order to see me, to pay homage to me, to honor me, and to listen to this Dharma teaching The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.”

Then Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta asked the Bhagavān, “Bhagavān, what accumulation of good karma has that noble one created such that through that creation of an accumulation of good karma he has attained this excellence? Bhagavān, what samādhi has that bodhisattva practiced? Bhagavān, we should587 listen to what that samādhi is. Bhagavān, we should practice that samādhi. [F.160.a] What is that bodhisattva mahāsattva like? What is his color? What is his form? What kind of characteristics588 does he have? What kind of shape does he have? What kind of practice does he have? We should see what this bodhisattva is like. Bhagavān, what cause will inspire this bodhisattva mahāsattva to come to the Sahā world realm? I request that the Tathāgata create that cause.”

Then at that time the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni requested of the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna, who had passed into nirvāṇa, “Bhagavān, create a cause to inspire the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara to come to this Sahā world realm.”

Then at that time the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna created this cause to invoke the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara: “Come, noble one, to this Sahā world realm! This Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta will delight in seeing you!”

Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara bowed his head to the feet of the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Kamala­dala­vimala­nakṣatra­rāja­saṃkusumitābhi­jña, circumambulated him three times and, leading a retinue of a hundred thousand quintillion bodhisattvas, they all at the same time vanished from the Vairocana­raśmi­prati­maṇḍitā world realm and came to this Sahā world realm. The worlds shook. [F.160.b] A rain of lotuses fell. A hundred thousand quintillion musical instruments played. Gadgadasvara arrived in the sky at the height of seven palm trees, leading a retinue of bodhisattvas, residing in a kūṭāgāra made of the seven precious materials, with eyes that were like the petals of a blue lotus; with a face that was superior to a hundred thousand quintillion moons;589 with a body the color of gold; with a body adorned by a hundred thousand merits, shining with splendor, with an exceptional brilliance; with a body adorned by the signs of a superior being; and with a body as indestructible as Nārāyaṇa’s.

He came to where Vulture Peak is in the Sahā world realm, and having arrived he descended from the kūṭāgāra and, holding a string of pearls worth a hundred thousand silver coins, he approached the Bhagavān and bowed his head down to the Bhagavān’s feet, circumambulated him seven times, and gave the string of pearls to the Bhagavān as an offering.

When Gadgadasvara had given the string of pearls to the Bhagavān he said to him, “Bhagavān, the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Kamala­dala­vimala­nakṣatra­rāja­saṃkusumitābhi­jña asks after your welfare, saying, ‘Are you free from harm, free from distress, and in good health?590 Do you remain strong and happy?’ The bhagavān asks, ‘Bhagavān, do you have that which you must be patient with? That you have to wait for? Are your elements in harmony? Are the beings who follow you able to understand easily? Are they easy to guide? Are they easy to nurture? Do they wish for purity? Do they avoid the conduct of very strong desire? Do they avoid the conduct of very strong anger? Do they avoid the conduct of very strong ignorance? Bhagavān, are your beings without strong envy? Are they without greed? Do they have no disrespect for their mothers? Do they have no disrespect for their fathers? Do they have no disrespect for bhikṣus? Do they have no disrespect for brahmins? [F.161.a] Do they have no wrong views? Do they not have untamed minds? Do they not have uncontrolled senses? Bhagavān, have your beings banished the adversary who is Māra? Has the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna, who has passed into nirvāṇa, and who resides in a stūpa made of the seven precious materials, come to the Sahā world realm in order to listen to the Dharma?’

“The bhagavān also asked the bhagavān, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna, ‘Bhagavān, Tathāgata591 Prabhūtaratna, do you have that which you must be patient with? That you have to wait for? Bhagavān Tathāgata Prabhūtaratna, are you going to remain long? We also wish to see the body that is the relic of the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna, and therefore may the Tathāgata reveal well the body that is the relic of the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna.’ ”

Then the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni said to the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna, who had passed into nirvāṇa, “Bhagavān, this bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara has come wishing to see the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna, who has passed into nirvāṇa.”

Then the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna said to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara, “Noble one, [F.161.b] it is excellent that you have come because you wish to see the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni and myself, to listen to The White Lotus of the Good Dharma, and to see Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta.”

Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Padmaśrī asked the Bhagavān, “Bhagavān, what kind of roots of merit has the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara created in the past, and in the presence of which tathāgata?”

Then the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni replied to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Padmaśrī, “Noble one, in the past, in a time gone by,592 in an eon called Priyadarśa, in the world realm Sarva­rūpa­saṃdarśanā, there appeared in the world the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha, the one with perfect wisdom and conduct, the sugata, the knower of the world, the unsurpassable guide who tamed beings, the teacher of gods and humans, the buddha, the bhagavān named Megha­dundubhi­svara­rāja.

“Noble one, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara, for eighty-four thousand years, made an offering with a hundred thousand musical instruments to the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Megha­dundubhi­svara­rāja, and gave him eighty-four thousand bowls made of the seven precious materials.

“Noble one, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara attained that kind of faith593 in the teaching of Tathāgata Megha­dundubhi­svara­rāja. If you are you uncertain, unsure, or undecided, thinking that it was someone else who at that time, on that occasion, made an offering to the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Megha­dundubhi­svara­rāja, [F.162.a] and gave him those eighty-four thousand bowls, noble one, do not have such a view. Why is that? Noble one, the one who made the offering to the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Megha­dundubhi­svara­rāja, and gave him those eighty-four thousand bowls, was this bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara.

“Noble one, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara honored many buddhas, generated roots of merit, and trained under many hundreds of thousands of buddhas. This bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara has seen as many buddha bhagavāns in the past as there are grains of sand in the Ganges River.

“Padmaśrī, do you see the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara?”

“Bhagavān, I see him,” replied Padmaśrī. “Sugata, I see him.”

“Padmaśrī,” said the Bhagavān, “this bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara teaches this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma in many forms: He teaches this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma sometimes in the form of Brahmā, sometimes in the form of Śakra, sometimes in the form of Īśvara, sometimes in the form of Maheśvara,594 sometimes in the form of a general, sometimes in the form of Vaiśravaṇa,595 sometimes in the form of a cakravartin, sometimes in the form of a king of a region, sometimes in the form of a head merchant, sometimes in the form of a householder, sometimes in the form of a townsman, and sometimes in the form of a brahmin.

“The bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara teaches beings this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma [F.162.b] sometimes in the form of a bhikṣu, sometimes in the form of a bhikṣuṇī, sometimes in the form of an upāsaka, sometimes in the form of an upāsikā, sometimes in the form of the wife of a head merchant, sometimes in the form of the wife of a householder, sometimes in the form of the wife of a townsman, sometimes in the form of a boy, and sometimes in the form of a girl.

“Noble one, through teaching in these numerous forms, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara teaches beings this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.

“The bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara teaches this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma to beings, teaching some in the form of an asura, some in the form of a garuḍa, some in the form of a kinnara, and to some in the form of a mahoraga.

“The bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara is even the protector of beings in the unfortunate existences of the hells, rebirths as animals, and the realm of Yama.

“The bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara even teaches this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma to the beings in the royal harems by manifesting in the form of a woman.

“The bodhisattva mahāsattva Gagdadasvara teaches the Dharma to beings in this Sahā world realm by teaching this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.

“Padmaśrī, the bodhisattva [F.163.a] mahāsattva Gadgadasvara is a protector of the beings who have been born into the Sahā world realm. The bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara has emanated in such numerous forms in this Sahā world realm and taught beings this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.

“The miraculous powers of this excellent being do not decline. His wisdom does not decline. Noble one, the lights of the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara’s wisdom illuminate this Sahā world realm. And in other world realms as numerous as the sand grains in the Ganges River, he has taught the Dharma in the form of a bodhisattva for the beings who are to be guided by a bodhisattva. He has taught the Dharma as a śrāvaka for the beings who are to be guided by a śrāvaka. He has taught the Dharma as a pratyeka­buddha for the beings who are to be guided by a pratyeka­buddha. He has taught the Dharma as a tathāgata for the beings who are to be guided by a tathāgata. And so on up to manifesting the relics of a tathāgata for beings who are to be guided by the relics of a tathāgata. And so on up to passing into nirvāṇa for beings who are to be guided by his passing into nirvāṇa.

“Padmaśrī, in that way the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara has attained the development of the power of wisdom.”

Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Padmaśrī asked the Bhagavān, “Bhagavān, what samādhi does the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara remain in for this creation of roots of merit? What is the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara’s samādhi for guiding this many beings?” [F.163.b]

The bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni replied to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Padmaśrī, “Noble one, the samādhi that the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara remains in so as to benefit in that way countless beings is this samādhi called manifestation of all forms.”

When this “Gadgadasvara” chapter was taught, the eighty-four hundred thousand quintillion bodhisattvas who had come with the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara into this Sahā world realm all attained the samādhi called manifestation of all forms. Also, the countless bodhisattva mahāsattvas who dwelled in this Sahā world realm attained the samādhi called manifestation of all forms.

The bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara made vast, extensive offerings to the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni and to the stūpa of the relics of the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna. Then he entered his kūṭāgāra made of the seven precious materials. The realm shook, a rain of lotuses fell, and there was the music of a hundred thousand quintillion musical instruments. Leading his retinue of a hundred thousand quintillion bodhisattvas, they returned together to their own buddha realm.

When they had arrived there, he said to [F.164.a] the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Kamala­dala­vimala­nakṣatra­rāja­saṃkusumitābhi­jña, “Bhagavān, I have benefited beings in the Sahā world realm. I also saw the stūpa of the relics of the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna, and paid homage to it. I also saw and paid homage to the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni. I also saw Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta. I also saw the bodhisattva mahāsattva Bhaiṣajyarāja, who has attained the might of the power of diligence, and the bodhisattva mahāsattva Pradānaśūra. All those eighty-four hundred thousand quintillion bodhisattvas attained the samādhi called manifestation of all forms.”

When the chapter of the coming and going of the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara was being taught, forty-two thousand bodhisattvas attained receptivity to the nonarising of phenomena, and the bodhisattva mahāsattva Padmaśrī attained the white lotus of the good Dharma samādhi.