The Questions of Ratnajālin

[F.144.a] [B1]

Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling in Vaiśālī in a mansion located by the Monkey Pond, together with a great assembly of monks. In the assembly were four hundred twenty million bodhisattvas. Some of the bodhisattvas, such as Maitreya, were held back by just one birth, while others were held back by two, three, four, five, ten, thirty, or forty births, with some bodhisattvas even held back by one thousand births. Also in the assembly were six hundred million worthy ones and nine hundred ninety million gods including the gods in the desire realm and form realm, the four great kings, Śakra who rules the gods, Brahmā who rules the Sahā world, the god Great Splendor, the god Candraprabha, the god Sūryaprabha, the god Pinnacle of Renown, and the god Joyful. In attendance were also the nāga kings Anavatapta, Sāgara, Vāsukin, Manasvin, Nanda, Upananda, Mucilinda, and Mahāmucilinda, as well as the asura sovereign Rāhu and the retinues of all the other asura sovereigns.

At that time, in the city of Vaiśālī, there was a Licchavi named Limitless Strength, who was the son of Siṃha the captain. Limitless Strength, son of Siṃha, himself had a son, a young Licchavi boy known as Ratnajālin. Since this child had previously served many buddhas, [F.144.b] he had come to possess the lamp that shines with the immense light of the Dharma way. One time, when he was around eight years old, he had a dream as he slept. In his dream, the god Santuṣita descended from the Heaven of Joy and spoke to him, encouraging Ratnajālin with this melodious song:

In the morning, the Licchavi boy Ratnajālin told his father Limitless Strength, “Father, last night the god Santuṣita arrived from the Heaven of Joy and encouraged me with a melodious song. Father, I am telling you this so that we can begin the practice of worshiping the Thus-Gone One.”

At this point the Licchavi boy Ratnajālin sang these verses to his father Limitless Strength:

The Licchavi Limitless Strength was delighted and addressed the Licchavi Siṃha:

Then the Licchavi boy Ratnajālin left the city of Vaiśālī and went to where the Blessed One was staying. He bowed to the feet of the Blessed One and stood to one side. With him standing there to the side, the Blessed One [F.146.a] delivered a Dharma discourse to the Licchavi boy Ratnajālin that delighted, captivated, and uplifted him, and made him utterly delighted.

The Licchavi boy Ratnajālin then stood up, draped his shawl over one shoulder, and knelt on his right knee. With his palms together he bowed toward the Blessed One and asked, “Would the Blessed One and his monastic saṅgha agree to take tomorrow’s midday meal at my home?”

Out of love for the Licchavi boy Ratnajālin, the Blessed One showed his acceptance of the offer by remaining silent. The Licchavi boy Ratnajālin understood that the Blessed One had accepted through his silence, and so he circumambulated the Blessed One three times before taking his leave.

The Licchavi boy Ratnajālin then entered the city of Vaiśālī along with Śakra who rules the gods, Brahmā who rules the Sahā world, and the god Great Splendor. With enthusiasm and delight, they began to prepare abundant varieties of food. When the night had passed, they set out cushions and decorated Vaiśālī. They then returned to the Blessed One, bowed to him, and stood to one side. The Licchavi boy Ratnajālin then said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, it is time for the midday meal. If it please you, your meal is ready. The time has come.”

Accordingly, on that morning the Blessed One donned his lower garments and Dharma robes. Bearing his alms bowl, with his infinite saṅgha of monks he rose into the sky to the height of seven men [F.146.b] and traveled to the city of Vaiśālī. As soon as he moved, the transformative power of the Thus-Gone One caused all the worlds of the great trichiliocosm to shake six times as they quivered, trembled, and quaked; wobbled, rocked, and swayed; vibrated, shuddered, and reeled; clattered, rattled, and clanged; and tremored, shook, and convulsed. Thus they shook six times with eighteen omens. He also displayed trillions of miracles as he traveled to the city of Vaiśālī. At that time, trillions of gods scattered and tossed blue, pink, red, and white lotuses, flowers made of precious divine substances, the powdered aloewood of the gods, powdered gems, gold from the Jambu river, and powdered divine gems upon the Blessed One. Trillions of divine instruments resounded. Unfathomable divine ornaments adorned him. In the sky above, a steady rain of red sandalwood powder fell to the depth of a chariot axle.

The Blessed One then arrived at the Licchavi boy Ratnajālin’s home and sat upon the seat that had been prepared for him along with the saṅghas of fully ordained monks and nuns and the assemblies of novice monks and nuns. Seeing that he had arrived, the Licchavi boy Ratnajālin personally served the Blessed One with an abundance of the finest food, drink, and sweets, to please him and serve him everything he wished for. When the Licchavi boy Ratnajālin noticed that the Blessed One had finished eating, he picked up the alms bowl, offered water, and covered the Blessed One’s hands. [F.147.a] He then dressed the Blessed One with a priceless set of the three Dharma robes. He also dressed the saṅghas of fully ordained monks and nuns and the assemblies of novice monks and nuns with sets of the three Dharma robes. Why? He did this because he was moved by the power of the Blessed One.

The Licchavi boy Ratnajālin then asked the Blessed One, “If the Blessed One were to grant me the opportunity to request a teaching, I would like to ask the Blessed Thus-Gone One a few questions.”

The Blessed One responded to the Licchavi boy Ratnajālin, “Young man, you may ask the Thus-Gone One anything you are concerned with. Then I shall delight you with teachings that answer your questions.”

The Licchavi boy Ratnajālin then asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, in other worlds, are there blessed buddhas that through their previous aspirations have names that, when merely heard, help noble sons and daughters who follow the Bodhisattva Vehicle to end all doubt and hesitation, to become irreversible and fully awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood, to gain recollection of past lives, to never have a stingy attitude, to be surrounded by the bodhisattva assembly and to be without the assembly of hearers, to acquire countless trillions of virtues, to satisfy all beings by pleasing all the buddhas, to terrify the māras, to purify all buddha realms, to cleanse the stains in the minds of all beings, [F.147.b] to inspire all beings to the virtuous Dharma, to be protected by the gods, to be considered by the bodhisattvas, to be blessed by the thus-gone ones, to never be separated from the blessed buddhas, to perfect bodhisattva conduct by possessing the finest qualities, to gain the entirety of the 84,000 verbal expressions, to attain the voice of Brahmā, and to gain a voice that is in conformity with all worlds?”

The Blessed One answered the Licchavi boy Ratnajālin, “Excellent, excellent, young man. Your thought to ask the Thus-Gone One about such subjects reflects excellent eloquence and fine analysis. Thus, listen well, young man, and bear what I say in mind. Then I will teach you.”

“Blessed One, I shall do just that.”

The bodhisattva Ratnajālin listened as the Blessed One had instructed, and so the Blessed One said, “Young man, to the east of here there is a world called Pearled. Young man, consider this: There are as many peaks of existence as there are grains of sand in the Ganges. And all those too are filled with the smallest possible particles. If a person then came along and carried away one single such particle and placed it in a spot past as many trillions of buddha realms as there are smallest particles in all those world systems under the peaks of existence‍—then, young man, by repeating this in the same way for a long time, would that great mass of particles eventually run out [F.148.a] and reach its limit? Now, young man, tell me, would it be easy to consider, count, assess, or determine the places in the universe where that person placed or did not place those particles?”

“Blessed One, it would not be easy. Blessed One, for that reason, anyone who gets the right sense of this analogy that you have expressed would gain a great degree of understanding.”

The Blessed One said, “Young man, if all the worlds in which that person placed a particle, or alternatively the worlds in which that person did not place a particle‍—ranging from the mass of water underlying these worlds up to their peaks‍—were filled with minute particles, and if a second person came along and removed a single particle from them at a time and placed it in a spot past as many trillions of buddha realms as there were minute particles in those worlds, then, young man, by repeating this for a long time, eventually that great mass of particles would become dispersed. Young man, by this way of proceeding, the latter person would travel past nine million nine hundred thousand incalculable numbers of worlds and thus arrive past countless trillions of buddha realms.

“That is where the world called Pearled is located. There the thus-gone one, the worthy one, the perfect Buddha Majestic King with the Splendorous Voice of Learning Adorned by Precious Moonlight lives, abides, and teaches the Dharma. Young man, those noble sons or daughters who abide in the Bodhisattva Vehicle, who have no doubt regarding the name of the thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha Majestic King with the Splendorous Voice of Learning Adorned by Precious Moonlight, [F.148.b] and who trust in my vision, will attain the dominion of a universal monarch after their lives are over. A buddha will appear within their dominions. When they see that thus-gone one, they will perform boundless veneration, practice pure conduct, and master the five types of miraculous abilities. Immediately upon beholding that thus-gone one, they will achieve the hundred-swirled dhāraṇī. They will serve as many buddhas as there are grains of sand in the Ganges. They will turn away from saṃsāra for an equivalent number of eons. Their minds will be undeluded, and they will fully awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood. Their bodies will become solid like that of Nārāyaṇa. Residing in a single place, they will possess the four necessities.7 Their bodies will take on golden complexions. They will be adorned with the thirty-two major marks of a great being. They will gain the melodious voice of Brahmā. They will eliminate all unfree states and attain an abundance of leisure.”

In order to elaborate on the meaning of what he had taught, the Blessed One then spoke in verse:

“Young man, located in the south, past twelve buddha realms reckoned as twice the number of smallest particles in the previous analogy, there is a world called Adorned by the Moon. There resides the thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha King of Knowledge of Floral Light Displays. He is alive and well and teaches the Dharma. Young man, when those noble sons or daughters who abide in the Bodhisattva Vehicle hear the name of the blessed one, the thus-gone one King of Knowledge of Floral Light Displays‍—as long as they do not doubt this but trust in my vision‍—they will achieve the absorption of emitting light rays once they have passed away. They will become knowledgeable in ten thousand countless trillions of methods to gain absorption. [F.152.a] They will become knowledgeable in sixty countless trillions of dhāraṇī methods‍—from the oceanic dhāraṇī to the precious treasury dhāraṇī. They will be undeluded in this regard until reaching final awakening. When they die, ten million buddhas will come from the east and reveal themselves, and the same will occur from all other directions. They will retain the Dharma that these blessed buddhas teach. Until they reach awakening they will not lose this Dharma way. Having worked to turn away from cyclic existence for five hundred eons starting from the time they began as bodhisattvas, they will reach unsurpassed and perfect awakening.”

The Blessed One then expressed this in verse:

“Young man, located in the west, past worlds numbering three times the number of smallest particles in the previous analogy, there is a world called Citraratna. There the thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha King of Blossoming Sal Tree Flowers lives. He is alive and well and teaches the Dharma. Young man, when those noble sons or daughters who abide in the Great Vehicle hear the name of the thus-gone one King of Blossoming Sal Tree Flowers‍—as long as they do not doubt this but trust in my vision‍—they will acquire five qualities once they have passed away. What are these five? When their bodies are destroyed, buddhas will appear and they will attain the position of a universal monarch, the five forms of miraculous abilities, the recall of Dharma teachings, the thousand-swirled dhāraṇī, and the thirty-two marks of a great being until they attain awakening. They will achieve these five qualities.”

The Blessed One then expressed the meaning of this in verse: [F.153.a]

“Young man, located in the north, past sixty buddha realms reckoned as thrice the number of smallest particles in the previous analogy, there is a world called Covered with a Jewel Net. There the thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha Pure Moon Disk lives. He is alive and well and teaches the Dharma. Young man, when those noble sons or daughters who abide in the Great Vehicle hear the name of the thus-gone one Pure Moon Disk‍—as long as they do not doubt this but trust in my vision‍—they will obtain the absorption called source of jewels and behold as many buddhas as there are grains of sand in the Ganges once they have passed away. For as many millions of eons, they will turn away from cyclic existence. Such beginning bodhisattvas will reach unsurpassed and perfect awakening. They will also attain the absorption called pleasant melody. They will not turn away from unsurpassed and perfect awakening.

“Should women hear the name of the blessed thus-gone one Pure Moon Disk without feeling any hesitation or doubt and with trust in my vision, they will abandon their female faculties and gain male faculties once they have passed away. They will establish many beings in unsurpassed and perfect awakening. They will achieve the absorption called pleasant melody. They will not turn back from unsurpassed and perfect awakening.”

The Blessed One then expressed this in verse:

“Young man, located below us, past ninety-nine times the number of particles in the previous analogy, there is a world called Lord of the Supreme Banner. There resides the thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha King Who Is Peaceful and Splendorous in His Learning and Rich in Melody. He is alive and well and teaches the Dharma. Young man, when those noble sons or daughters who abide in the Great Vehicle hear the name of the thus-gone one King Who is Peaceful and Splendorous in His Learning and Rich in Melody‍—as long as they do not doubt this but trust in my vision‍—they will achieve the absorption called utterly illuminating once they have passed away. At the time of death, they will see trillions of buddhas. In all directions, as in the east, they will see trillions of buddhas. They will retain all the Dharma teachings given by these blessed buddhas. Until reaching awakening, they will be blessed by trillions of buddhas. Such beginning bodhisattvas, having turned from cyclic existence for ninety-nine trillion eons, will reach unsurpassed and perfect awakening.”

The Blessed One then expressed the meaning of this in verse:

“Young man, located above this buddha realm, as in the previous analogy, past as many realms as there are grains of sand in the Ganges, there is a world called Wide Open. There the thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha Stable in Immeasurable Diligence lives. He is alive and well and teaches the Dharma. Young man, when those noble sons or daughters who abide in the Great Vehicle hear the name of the thus-gone one Stable in Immeasurable Diligence‍—as long as they do not doubt this [F.155.b] but trust in my vision‍—their diligence will never decrease once they have passed away. Never again will they indulge in desire. Never again will they be stained by the suffering of a mother. Never again will they be stained by the suffering of a father, relative, and friend. Never will they be stained by the suffering of a sister. Never again will they be stained by the suffering of a companion, ally, clansman, or kinsman. Never will their bodies not be adorned by the thirty-two marks of a great being. Never again will their attachment, aggression, and ignorance increase. Never again will any diseases proliferate. Never again will any anguish grow. Instead, they will gain limitless happiness. On the way to awakening, they will gain countless trillions of limitless virtues.”

The Blessed One then expressed the meaning of this in verse:

Once the Young Licchavi Ratnajālin had heard these well-spoken teachings of the Blessed One, he draped the Blessed One in priceless fabrics ornamented with gold. Then the Blessed One performed a miracle such that from every pore of the Blessed One’s body, light streamed forth, illuminating all the countless, infinite worlds in the east. All the beings born in those buddha realms beheld this buddha realm, and all the beings gathered in the Thus-Gone One’s [F.156.b] assembly in this buddha realm also beheld this buddha realm. At that moment as many blessed buddhas, including their fourfold assemblies, were illuminated as ninety-nine times the number of grains of sand in the Ganges. Such was the miracle that he performed.

The Blessed One then asked the young Licchavi Ratnajālin, “Young man, when you look above, do you see all the blessed buddhas, who are so unfathomably, innumerably, limitlessly, immeasurably, and indescribably many?”

“Blessed One, I see them. Well-Gone One, I see them.”

“Noble son, the names of these thus-gone ones vastly outnumber the names of the gods and humans gathered in the worlds of the great trichiliocosm. Each of them has an inconceivable and boundless agglomeration of names. This also applies to the thus-gone one Majestic King with the Elegant Peaceful Voice in the east, and likewise to the thus-gone one Pure Moon Disk, the thus-gone one King of Knowledge of Floral Light Displays, the thus-gone one King of Blossoming Sal Tree Flowers, and the thus-gone one Majestic King with the Splendorous Voice of Learning Adorned by Precious Moonlight. Just as it is with the name of a single thus-gone one, so it is with that of any thus-gone one. Do you see that?”

“Blessed One, I see it. Well-Gone One, I see it. So it is in the south, in the west, in the north, below, [F.157.a] and above‍—in each of the ten directions there are countless names of the individual thus-gone ones and myriad different names of the thus-gone ones.”

“Young man, do you see how the blessed buddhas vastly exceed those who abide in the realm of a universal monarch?”

“Blessed One, I see it. Well-Gone One, I see it.”

The young Licchavi Ratnajālin became pleased, delighted, joyful, and happy. At that moment when he was happy and delighted the earth quaked. A great burst of light appeared that benefitted all beings, brought them happiness, pleased their minds, and aroused roots of virtue in them. Trillions of gods stationed in the sky cast down powdered gold from the divine Jambu River. Trillions of brahmā gods tossed, scattered, and sprinkled divine red sandalwood powder upon the Blessed One. Trillions of gods tossed, scattered, and sprinkled divine blue, pink, red, and white lotuses, as well as smaller and larger māndārava flowers. Trillions of gods offered thousands of jeweled parasols. Trillions of gods wept as they bowed their heads to the Blessed One’s feet, recalling trillions of their past lives. It was the blessings of the Blessed Buddha that allowed these trillions of miracles to occur.

About this, it was said,

Once the Blessed One gave this teaching, the young Licchavi Ratnajālin as well as four hundred million bodhisattvas such as Maitreya, and also six hundred million worthy ones and nine hundred ninety million gods rejoiced and praised what the Blessed One had said.