The Ratnaketu Dhāraṇī
Chapter 1

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling in Veṇuvana, at the Kalandakanivāpa, near the city of Rājagṛha, with a great saṅgha of a thousand monks, all of whom were noble ones. They had all exhausted defilements, were free from the afflictions, were powerful, had liberated minds, had liberated insight, were of noble birth, were great elephants,12 had done what needed to be done, had completed their mission, had cast off the burden, had achieved their own welfare, had severed the bonds that tied them to existence, had liberated their minds with genuine knowledge, and had perfected all mental powers. There was also a great saṅgha of ten thousand bodhisattvas, including [F.188.a] {TK6} the princely youth Holder of Meru’s Peak, the princely youth Varuṇamati, the princely youth Sumati, the princely youth Jayamati, the princely youth Jinamati, the princely youth Intelligent Light, the princely youth Intelligent Sky, the princely youth Intelligent Lightning, the princely youth Mañjuśrī, the princely youth Durdharṣa, the princely youth Varuṇa, the princely youth Vimala, the bodhisattva great being Maitreya, and others. Each of these ten thousand bodhisattvas had achieved acceptance, retention, and absorption. {TK7} Each possessed the wisdom that is unobscured by any phenomenon, had equal concern for all beings, had transcended all the domains of Māra, and had entered the domain of all the thus-gone ones. Each was knowledgeable, possessed great love and compassion, and was skilled in means.

At the same time, there were two wandering mendicants13 in the city of Rājagṛha who were learned, lucid, and intelligent, had perfected the eighteen branches of knowledge, and had five hundred servants. One was named Upatiṣya and the other Kaulita. These two were heads of their retinues and leaders of pupils. They made each other the promise that “whoever first attains the nectar14 shall let the other know.” {TK8}

Early the next morning, Venerable Aśvajit donned his lower and upper Dharma robes. Carrying his alms bowl, he went to the city of Rājagṛha to collect alms. The wandering mendicant Upatiṣya happened to come across Venerable Aśvajit and saw that he had entered the city of Rājagṛha to collect alms. He thought, “How is it that I have never before seen such beautiful deportment in any other mendicant, brahmin, or person as in this mendicant? [F.188.b] I shall go before him and ask, ‘Venerable One, who is your teacher? With whom did you go forth? Whose doctrine are you devoted to?’”

So the wandering mendicant Upatiṣya went to where Venerable Aśvajit was and engaged in a good deal of friendly conversation. They then sat down to one side. Sitting there, the wandering mendicant Upatiṣya asked Venerable Aśvajit, “Venerable One, who is your teacher? With whom did you go forth? Whose15 doctrine are you devoted to?”

Then Venerable Aśvajit answered the wandering mendicant Upatiṣya: {TK9}

“What does your teacher preach? What does he teach?” asked Upatiṣya.

Venerable Aśvajit responded, “I will answer you. Venerable, listen well and bear what I say in mind. I will answer you.

When the wandering mendicant Upatiṣya heard this teaching, he purified the stainless and immaculate Dharma eye that sees phenomena. A state free from the afflictions arose, and he attained the fruit of stream entry. He then said:

The wandering mendicant Upatiṣya then asked Venerable Aśvajit, “Venerable, where is the thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha right now?”

Venerable Aśvajit answered, {TK11} “Venerable, the Blessed One is now staying in Veṇuvana, at the Kalandakanivāpa, near Rājagṛha. He is residing there with the great monastic saṅgha of one thousand monks who have gone forth and who used to have matted hair.”17

Upatiṣya said, “Once I have seen my best friend and disciples, I will vow to go forth before the Blessed One.”

The wandering mendicant Upatiṣya then bowed his head to the feet of Venerable Aśvajit and circumambulated him three times. He once again departed and went to meet the wandering mendicant Kaulita. The wandering mendicant Kaulita saw the wandering mendicant Upatiṣya coming from far off and exclaimed, “Venerable, given that your faculties look so clear, that your facial complexion looks so pure, and that the tone of your skin looks so light‍—Venerable, you must have found the nectar!”

“So it is, Venerable One!” Upatiṣya responded. “I have found the nectar! Therefore, Venerable, listen well and bear what I say in mind. I will tell you of what I have found.”

The wandering mendicant Kaulita then rose from his seat, draped his shawl over one shoulder, and knelt on his right knee. With palms together he bowed toward Upatiṣya and said: {TK12}

The wandering mendicant Upatiṣya then said:

Kaulita responded:

Upatiṣya said:

The wandering mendicant Kaulita then purified the stainless and immaculate Dharma eye that sees phenomena. As he was thus purified and his afflictions were eliminated, he attained the fruit of stream entry. Then he proclaimed:

Kaulita asked, “Where is the thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha right now?”

“Venerable,” Upatiṣya answered, “I have heard that the Blessed One is now staying in Veṇuvana, at the Kalandakanivāpa, near Rājagṛha, with a great saṅgha of monks and a great saṅgha of bodhisattvas. {TK14} What if we go forth in the presence of the Blessed One?”

“Venerable One,” replied Kaulita, “we should do so. With our followers in mind, let us go forth.”

The wandering mendicants Upatiṣya and Kaulita then went to their followers.

Just then in the land of Aṅga-Magadha, Māra the evil one heard that the learned, well-spoken, eloquent, [F.190.a] and renowned good men Upatiṣya and Kaulita, along with their followers, were on their way to take ordination under the teachings of the monk Gautama. He thought, “Alas! If those two become students of the monk Gautama, they will empty my māra realm. So I must go there and dissuade those two good men from going forth. {K1}18 I must make them embrace the view of the evil one.”19

At the same moment, Māra, the evil one, disappeared from his abode and took on the apparel, attributes, and behavior of Venerable Aśvajit. He stood in the road before the two good men, and declared:

Upatiṣya and Kaulita then thought, “It must be Māra, the evil one, who has approached us in order to dissuade us from entering the religious life.”

Upatiṣya turned around and addressed his followers. “Listen, my pupils, and remember the shortcomings of saṃsāra:

Kaulita, for his part, spoke to Māra:

Those gods who were able to behold truth hovered in the sky and {K3} applauded these two good men: “Good, good it is, O good men! This path whereby one leaves home to embrace the life of a wandering mendicant is eminent throughout the entire world. It quells all suffering. It is the path leading into the domain of all the thus-gone ones. {TK16} It has been explained and praised by all the blessed buddhas as the path that leads from home to the life of a wandering mendicant.”

Māra, the evil one, unhappy, dejected, and sullen, disappeared then from that very spot.

The two wandering mendicants, Upatiṣya and Kaulita, directed their gaze at their followers and said, “You ought to know, pupils, that owing to the Thus-Gone One23 the two of us are setting forth into the wandering mendicant’s life in order to reach the far shore of the ocean of aging, sickness,24 and death. Any of you who do not wish to go forth in line with the teachings of the Blessed One should turn back here and now.”

Then the five hundred pupils all said, “Whatever we know is through your authority. If the two of you are embracing the wandering mendicant’s life on account of someone great, we too shall become wandering mendicants on account of the same person.”

The two wandering mendicants Upatiṣya and Kaulita, together with their retinue of five hundred,25 then set out to go forth under the Blessed One. Māra, the evil one, knew this, and so he conjured up a huge chasm outside of the great city of Rājagṛha one hundred leagues deep {K4} so that the two would be unable to go before Gautama the monk. The Blessed One, however, performed a miraculous feat whereby the wandering mendicants Upatiṣya and Kaulita did not see that great chasm [F.191.a] and could travel by the most direct route.

Māra, the evil one, further conjured a mountain range in front of them‍—stable, solid, unbreakable, without valleys, singularly thick, hard, and26 one thousand leagues tall. {TK17} In addition, he conjured one thousand fierce lions, vicious and terrible, making a great din.27 But the two good men, thanks to the force of the Blessed One’s splendor and miraculous powers, did not see that mountain. Nor did they see the lions or hear their roaring. Instead, they arrived where the Blessed One was by the straightest possible route.

The Blessed One, attended upon by a congregation of many hundreds28 of thousands of followers, was expounding the Dharma.29 “Look, O monks, at these two good men, surrounded by followers, who are the heads of their assembly!”

“We see them, O Blessed One,” they replied.

The Blessed One foresaw, “Of these two good men who are here, along with their retinues, to enter the wandering mendicant’s life by my side, one will become the best of those endowed with insight among all the hearers, {K5} and the other will become the best of those endowed with miraculous powers.”

One of the monks recited on that occasion the following stanza:

The monk then got up from his seat and, together with many other monks, householders, and wandering mendicants, welcomed the two good men and honored them. The two men, for their part, moved near to the Blessed One, bowed their heads to his feet, circumambulated him clockwise three times, and, standing before him, said, “Please allow us to go forth and bestow the monk’s ordination upon us. Close to you, [F.191.b] {TK18} let us practice celibacy.”

“What are your names, O noble sons?” asked the Blessed One.

Upatiṣya replied, “I am the son of the brahmin Tiṣya, and so I am called Upatiṣya.31 My mother’s name is Śārikā. As I was born of her, my given name is Śāriputra.32 {K6} I already have my parents’ permission to go forth.”

Kaulita replied, “My father’s name is Kauṇḍinya, and so I am called Kaulita. My mother’s name is Mudgalā, so the common name given to me is Maudgalyāyana. Some people know me as Kaulita, while others as Maudgalyāyana.33 I already have my parents’ permission to go forth.”

“Śāriputra, Maudgalyāyana, and your retinues, you may live the holy life by my side,” said the Blessed One.

This is how they went forth and received their ordination as monks.34

Not long after Śāriputra, Maudgalyāyana, and their retinues had gone forth, Māra, the evil one, assuming the form of Maheśvara, stood in front of the Blessed One and said:

The Blessed One replied: {K7}

Māra, the evil one, then disappeared in his form of Maheśvara, and again reappeared in front of the Blessed One in the guise of Brahmā, saying:

The Blessed One replied:

Māra, the evil one, again became unhappy, dejected, and sullen. He vanished on the spot and went back to his abode. He sat there, sinking into despondency. Immediately, all the beings who inhabited Māra’s abode started asking one another, “What could be the reason that our great king just sits there, sinking into despondency? Nobody knows why.”

Then the five hundred daughters of Māra, wearing clothes and adornments most pleasing to the mind, brought flower garlands and unguents capable of giving supreme pleasure. They played celestial instruments with the most captivating sounds that totally thrill the mind, danced, and sang songs. With sounds of a great celestial orchestra composed of five types of instruments that amuse and delight, they stood in front of the evil Māra. But he, the evil one, stretched forth his arms and cried out, “Stop this noise! Stop this noise!”

At these words, the celestial nymphs fell silent for a moment, but then broke into song again, striking and strumming their instruments. At that, Māra, the evil one, once again threw up his arms and began to bellow. Seven times the nymphs began to sing, dance, and play instruments, in ways bound to give pleasure, and seven times Māra, the evil one, threw {K9} his arms in the air and hollered, “Stop this noise! Stop this noise!” Thus commanded, the nymphs fell silent. However, one nymph called Vidyudvalgusvarā bowed in the direction of the evil Māra and asked:

Māra replied:

The nymphs inquired:

Māra replied:

Having heard this description of the Blessed One’s virtues from the evil Māra, all of his five hundred daughters attained the bodhisattva absorption formless bolt of lightning. {K11} To offer worship to the Blessed One, they cast in his direction items such as celestial instruments, flowers, perfume,44 garlands, fragrant oils, adornments, and jewelry. They cast them in the direction of the Blessed One, by whose magical power these instruments [F.193.a] and so forth rained down onto Veṇuvana, and the daughters themselves, along with their retinues, could see it raining. Seeing that such rain was falling upon Veṇuvana, they were delighted and delighted even more.

The monks, however, became suspicious and asked the Blessed One, “How is it, O Blessed One, that such a marvelous and extraordinary rain, never seen or heard before, is showering upon Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana along with their retinues? What could be the cause of it? What is the occasion?”

The Blessed One replied, “It is not by the will of these two noble sons that this great rain of flowers and so forth is falling. Rather, it was released from the abode of the evil Māra by his five hundred daughters along with their retinues, {TK23} in order to worship me. Soon they will come here and receive from me the prophecy regarding their attainment of the unsurpassed and perfect awakening.” {K12}

The five hundred daughters of Māra, the evil one, heard the Blessed One’s discourse from his own mouth and were overjoyed.45 Through faith and intense joy, which they developed in his presence, they attained the absorption not losing the mind of awakening. Subsequently, right there in Māra’s abode, they each donned a robe of a single piece of material, and they placed their right knees on the ground, folded their hands, and, looking in the direction where the Blessed One was seated, said:

The daughters then rose from their seats and, in one voice, said this to Māra, the evil one: {TK24}

But the evil Māra, his mind absolutely corrupted, thought this: “I must now think of such force, within the power of Māra, that these five hundred along with their retinues49 will each be snared and bound with five fetters and turned back at this very point, not being able to proceed any further.”

However, Māra was unable to bind them. Why was that? Because these five hundred with their retinues50 had been blessed by the Thus-Gone One. He was unable to stop them, and the five hundred, along with their retinues, went before Māra, the evil one, {K14} who became even more enraged.51 He thought, “I must now think of such force, within the power of Māra, {TK25} that this entire area becomes covered in thick black clouds and pummeled by violent gusts of wind, so that they get lost wandering in all directions with their retinues and, unable to see the monk Gautama, will return to my abode.”

However, because of the power of the Buddha’s blessing, he was unable to raise sufficient wind to stir even a single hair tip, not to mention anything more. The evil Māra then became even more unhappy, dejected, and sullen. Crying, he bellowed in a forceful voice [F.194.a] to the hosts of his sons along with their retinues, engulfing the entire abode of Māra with these words:

At these words, all of Māra’s daughters and servant girls, as well as all {K15} his sons with their retinues, {TK26} making haste, swiftly approached and stood in front of Māra, the evil one. There was in that gathering a son by the name Jayamati. With folded hands he inquired:

Māra replied:

All the sons of Māra with their numerous retinues folded their hands and promised, “We will do it. What we can do is put on a display of our magical powers, strength, dominion, [F.194.b] authority, and miracles. If we are able to turn the son of the Śākyas to ashes, that’s good. If we are unable to, we shall take refuge in him. You yourself, O Father, have witnessed that we, surrounded by our huge army, have previously been defeated by the son of the Śākyas acting alone, without a companion, using merely his magical powers. What then can we expect if he is surrounded by his followers?”

Māra, the evil one, replied, “You should go anyway, my good sons! If you manage to kill that monk Gautama, come back again. If you can’t manage this, you should still return, as we will have to defend our abode.” {TK28}

Then Māra’s twelve trillion attendants, {K17} in a formation stretching upward for more than three hundred and twenty leagues and spreading over an area of thousands of leagues, displayed the magical power and speed of Māra’s army. They filled the entire space over the four continents with thick black clouds and struck the king of mountains, Sumeru, with their hands, releasing black tornadoes and lightning bolts and making all the four continents shake violently.59 They uttered the most terrifying cries. Subsequently, the nāgas, great nāgas, yakṣas, and great yakṣas assembled in the sky when they witnessed that the entire great earth with its rocks, mountains, and mountain ranges‍—including even Sumeru, the king of mountains‍—was quaking, and that the lakes, great lakes, rivers great and small, and the great oceans were churning. The great assembly of Māra’s followers stood on top of Mount Sumeru, conjured up rain pellets one league in size,60 and released them onto the country of Aṅga-Magadha. They also conjured up and released a great rain of swords, clubs, stones, lances, javelins, razor blades, razors mounted on objects, razor-like objects, adzes mounted on objects, adze blades, and terrible wheels armed with teeth‍—a downpour of solid, hard, rough objects.61

At this time, the Blessed One entered the absorption grinding the hosts of Māra. Through [F.195.a] its blessing power the whole rain of stones and weapons {TK29} turned into a rain of celestial flowers, such as lotuses and water lilies in white, red, and blue varieties and flowers of the coral tree and the great coral tree.62 63{K18} He also transformed through his blessing all the different yells and noises into melodious sounds, the sounds of the Buddha, the Dharma, the Saṅgha, the perfections, the superknowledges, the state of not turning back, consecration, victory over the four māras, going to the seat of awakening,…64 the state of clinging to existence, and the state without clinging. All the wind, darkness, and dust settled down. All the grasses, bushes, herbs, trees, soil, rocks, and mountains‍—whatever there were in the four continents‍—turned into the seven precious gems by the power of his blessing.

The Blessed One, endowed with an uṣṇīṣa that is not fully visible,65 extended his control by means of his body as far as the realm of Brahmā. From each of the Blessed One’s major marks a light issued forth of such a kind that the world spheres of the great trichiliocosm became clearly and distinctly visible, illuminated by their great radiance. And whatever gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, pretas, piśācas, kumbhāṇḍas, humans, nonhuman beings, animals, {TK30} and denizens of the hells and the realms of Yama there were in the great trichiliocosm, all were able to see the Blessed One. Many hundreds of thousands of gods, nāgas, yakṣas, and human and nonhuman beings66 arrayed in the sky threw flowers, circumambulated the Blessed One clockwise, praised him, and bowed to him.67 Many hundreds of thousands of millions of hell beings, [F.195.b] animals, and denizens of Yama’s realms attained recollection. Recollecting the roots of virtue planted in former lives, they chanted, “Homage to the Buddha!” {K19} Having died and transmigrated from the lower realms, they were reborn as gods.

Twenty-two hundred thousand68 of the soldiers of Māra, along with their numerous retinues, witnessed this display of miracles by the Blessed One and developed deep faith in his presence.69 They approached him accompanied by the five hundred daughters of Māra. Together they bowed their heads to the Blessed One’s feet and with folded hands uttered these stanzas for him:

All the sons and daughters of Māra, together with their numerous retinues, then sprinkled flowers over the Blessed One. Through the Blessed One’s magical power, however, the scattered flowers turned into many thousands of millions of billions of flower parasols, exceeding in number even the sand grains in the Gaṅgā. The flower parasols remained in midair above the crowns of the heads of all the living buddhas75 in the ten directions.

The daughters of Māra with their retinues beheld {K22} these flower parasols positioned above the crowns of the heads of the living blessed buddhas, who were expounding the Dharma, surrounded by their followers, in innumerable and infinitely vast buddha fields in every direction. They were all sitting down, resplendent with light. They all had the same color, attributes, form, and appearance. {TK33} The only differences that the daughters could see were among the individual lion thrones of these blessed buddhas, their retinues, and the marvelous characteristics of their individual buddha fields. They also heard the stanzas recited by the blessed buddhas to the sound of lutes.76

And so this retinue of Māra, having seen such a miraculous display through the power of the Blessed One, developed strong faith.77 [F.196.b] They bowed their heads to his feet and sat down in front of him to listen to the Dharma.

However, from among Māra’s sons, along with their retinues, ten trillion78 returned back to Māra’s abode and relayed to Māra, the evil one, this detailed account: “We weren’t able to harm even a single pore of the skin of that monk Gautama, let alone kill him.79 And furthermore, twenty thousand of your children have taken refuge with him and are now sitting in front of him to hear the Dharma.”

The evil Māra, enraged, unhappy, dejected, and even more sullen, lamented:

Then Māra, the evil one, sat down, sinking into despondency.