The Acceptance That Tames Beings with the Sky-Colored Method of Perfect Conduct
Chapter 11

Then, the parivrājaka named Holder of Manifold Light Rays prostrated to the Blessed One with his palms together and addressed these verses to the Blessed One:

The Blessed One then said to the bodhisattva Nature of Space, “Noble son, during the time of the teacher who lived countless eons ago past twenty thousand buddha realms in the southern direction, there was a buddha realm called Melody of the Intellect that was inundated with the five impurities. The beings there had found impassible paths related to different wrong views and suffered great torment. At that time lived a blessed thus-gone one called Lord of the Brahmā Realm. Do you remember the great assembly of three thousand hearers of that worthy, perfect buddha? Just as King Bimbisāra is my great benefactor today, I was the great king Light Holder at that time, and I was the benefactor of the Thus-Gone One Lord of the Brahmā Realm. [F.189.a] Each day, I worshiped the Thus-Gone One Lord of the Brahmā Realm and his retinue with various offerings of flowers, perfumes, jeweled parasols, and music. I hosted that blessed one and his saṅgha of hearers and provided them with provisions for three months. I issued this proclamation on the road: ‘All people present on the road must demonstrate faultless conduct.’

“I knew that there was a brahmin named Gaṅga on that road who was a devotee of the sun and expressed his devotion to the sun by standing on one leg. He performed this conduct day and night and did not want to take refuge in the Blessed One, so I summoned him. Since that brahmin did not follow my command, I declared that he should be punished with severe forms of torture for seven days. My attendants caught him and threw him into jail. For seven days and nights, that brahmin continuously made this aspiration: ‘May this Lord of the Brahmā Realm, who is renowned among all the monks with shaved heads and wearing red robes, come to me in this hidden place! Then, if he enters this jail and frees me from prison along with everyone who is known to be a devotee of the sun, then I will take refuge in the one who saved my life through that power!’

“In the morning, after seven days and nights had passed, the blessed thus-gone one Lord of the Brahmā Realm entered his jail. The gods of the sun and the moon were sitting on his right and left sides, paying homage to him. Śakra and Brahmā were also sitting in front of him, paying homage to him. The Thus-Gone One said to the brahmin who was devoted to the sun, ‘Brahmin, I am renowned among all humans. I teach all of them, and all the gods have their attention focused upon me. I manifest love and compassion for all beings, and I liberate everyone from the prison of saṃsāra and from old age and death. Brahmin, get rid of your mistaken views, make aspirations to reach unsurpassed and perfect awakening, [F.189.b] and summon all beings with the taste of the Dharma! Liberate gods, humans, and other living beings who have acquired dangerous views!’

“Filled with joy, delight, and pleasure, the brahmin then prostrated to the feet of the Thus-Gone One Lord of the Brahmā Realm and exclaimed, ‘Respected Blessed One, I give up the error of following unwholesome, mistaken views, and I take refuge in the Blessed One, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha!’

“The Blessed One replied, ‘Brahmin, it is excellent, truly excellent, that you have perfected all your thoughts for unsurpassed and perfect awakening! For this reason, by wanting to perfect all of the qualities of a brahmin, wanting to make all beings happy, wanting to surpass all three realms, wanting to make offerings to all of the buddhas, wanting to surpass all living beings, wanting to liberate all beings from old age and death, and by giving rise to the mind set on unsurpassed and perfect awakening in this way, you will become endowed with illustrious qualities.’

“The brahmin then said, ‘Respected Blessed One, until I become a blessed one, I shall give rise to the mind set on unsurpassed and perfect awakening!’

“When I heard about this, I summoned the brahmin to provide him with all the necessary provisions. For seven days, that brahmin then stayed in the wilderness and contemplated the aspirations he had made. When those seven days had passed, he went before the blessed thus-gone one Lord of the Brahmā Realm and made aspirations in front of him.”

The Blessed One then asked, “Nature of Space, who was that brahmin devoted to the sun whom I threw into jail?”

The bodhisattva Nature of Space replied, “Blessed One, I was that brahmin devoted to the sun. [F.190.a] I am the one who made those aspirations in front of the blessed thus-gone one Lord of the Brahmā Realm.”

The Blessed One then said, “Noble son, speak those aspirations that you made in the past in the presence of the blessed thus-gone one Lord of the Brahmā Realm!”

“Respected Blessed One, these were my aspirations when I wished to rise from my seat to worship the Buddha, to listen to the Dharma, and to serve the Saṅgha. When I rose from my seat, I made the following aspiration: ‘May all the views of all beings as numerous as all the tiniest particles of the earth element present in my body, including the view of permanence, the view of annihilation, the views that are overwhelmed by the four errors, the view of existence, the view of freedom from existence, the view of the transitory collection, the views of the extremes, and all the other views related to grasping that are related to worldly defilements, all the views that each of those beings has formed since the beginnings of time, and all the views that all those beings have adhered to in saṃsāra since those myriads of eons‍—may all of them fade away!’175 This was my aspiration. I said, ‘May all those views never arise within any of those beings’ minds or in their thoughts for as long as it takes for them to awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood! May all those views to which I have adhered in the past, including those of the noble ones, never enter my mind or thoughts for as long as it takes for me to attain unsurpassed nirvāṇa!176 Blessed One, when I awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood, I will clear away all the views of each of those beings!’ Those were my aspirations, Blessed One. [F.190.b]

“When I stood up from my seat to gaze upon the Buddha and to serve the Saṅgha, I gave rise to these thoughts: ‘May all the karmic hindrances of all beings as numerous as all the particles of sprinkled water that are as tiny as a fraction of the point of one hair on my body be completely extinguished! Throughout my entire past, I have promoted the hindrances to the six perfections, karmic hindrances, hindrances related to beings, and hindrances related to virtue, and I have not relinquished them. In the future, I will cast aside everything that creates hindrances related to the perfections for as long as it takes to pass into complete nirvāṇa. Due to my past conduct, I have created hindrances related to the six perfections, and hindrances related to the Dharma, mental hindrances, and hindrances to virtue. In the future, in order to ripen all beings, from the moment of my renunciation until I pass into complete nirvāṇa, all of those hindrances will disappear.177 When I awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood, I will cast off teachings related to all those types of hindrances, which are as numerous as all beings, and I will swiftly establish each and every being in just as many absorptions and dhāraṇīs! I will liberate all beings from rebirths, and I will free them all from the ocean of old age and death!’ Respected Blessed One, those are the aspirations I made when I stood up from my seat to serve the Saṅgha.

“When I abandoned my possessions and the comfort of my seat, I made these aspirations: ‘From beginningless time until each being’s present birth, beings as numerous as all the fire particles that are as tiny as a fraction of the point of one hair on my body have all accumulated karma in relation to others.178 [F.191.a] In the future, I will relinquish it for as long as it takes to attain unsurpassed nirvāṇa, and from the moment that all of the karma that leads each being to lower rebirth is used up to when I attain unsurpassed nirvāṇa I shall not be separated from them. From the moment I reach the level of a noble one until I reach the seat of awakening, I shall not be separated from them. I have also completed and accumulated such karma in the past. From the moment this karma is fully formed until I pass into unsurpassed nirvāṇa, all forms of birth will gradually be extinguished.179 When I have awakened to unsurpassed and perfect awakening, I will do everything from liberating beings from the evil domains and the lower realms up to establishing them in the six perfections!’ Respected Blessed One, those were my aspirations.

“When I rose from my seat to gaze upon the Buddha and to serve the Saṅgha, I made these aspirations: “Since the beginning of time, all beings as numerous as all the particles of air that are as tiny as a fraction of the point of one hair on my body have accumulated all kinds of karma related to acting on an incomparably violent impulse toward others. From one life to the next and for as long as it takes for them to pass into unsurpassed, complete nirvāṇa, may those beings never suffer from the illness of a violent disposition! From the moment that I accumulated all of the karma related to acting on a violent disposition toward others in the past, for as long as it takes to pass into unsurpassed, complete nirvāṇa, I will relinquish this karma. When I awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood, I will clear away all the violent dispositions of each and every being by accomplishing just as many absorptions. [F.191.b] I will train each of those beings in the wisdom of skillful means, which is supported by diligence,180 and I will teach them a thousand gateways to the Dharma. I will do everything from making them practice the perfection of generosity up to making them practice the perfection of insight, and I will establish them at the level of nonregression. I will encourage and instruct all those beings as numerous as all those blessed buddhas!’ Respected Blessed One, those were my aspirations.

“When I rose from my seat to gaze upon the Buddha, and made those aspirations, I placed both my hands and feet on the ground and made these aspirations: “When I course through space without attachment for as long as I am not afflicted by all manner of latent tendencies, due to which one is bound by afflictions as boundless and infinite as the space element, may all of the inexpressible, innumerable latent tendencies, due to which each and every being is bound by the afflictions, be extinguished!181 May they understand the space-like nature of all phenomena, and may they not be contaminated by any afflictions for as long as it takes for them to pass into unsurpassed, complete nirvāṇa. May they accomplish everything from not lacking recollection of all phenomena182 to not being afflicted by the latent tendencies that cause one to be bound by afflictions as boundless and infinite as space, and may all those latent tendencies that cause one to be bound by afflictions be purified! I will instill in them everything from understanding the space-like nature of all phenomena to passing into unsurpassed, complete nirvāṇa! By thinking things are like space, I will practice the conduct of awakening so that I can attain unsurpassed wisdom in saṃsāra. I will do everything from purifying the afflicted defilements of all beings to causing them to awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood. I will teach each and every being boundless, limitless virtuous teachings. [F.192.a] I will train and establish them in the six perfections that have the same nature as space. For as long as it takes until they pass into unsurpassed, complete nirvāṇa, may those beings’ recollection of the myriads of gateways to the Dharma, which are related to the perfections that have the nature of space, never decline!’ Respected Blessed One, those were my aspirations.

“When I approached to gaze upon Buddha, listen to the Dharma, and serve the Saṅgha, I made these aspirations: ‘In the future may each and every one of the beings, as numerous as all the tiniest particles of dust that the soles of my feet touch while walking and all the tiniest particles of dust in this four-continent world, who do not want to have a deformed body in the next life and have been cast aside because of that karmic hindrance, completely exhaust that karma! From one life to the next, for as long as it takes them to pass into unsurpassed, complete nirvāṇa, may they never be reborn with a deformed body! May I cast off all of the karmic hindrances from the past related to having a deformed body in the next life and may all of them be completely extinguished! Since I have created the cause to attain unsurpassed great wisdom, I will not part from the five limbs of power. When I awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood, I will teach the method of absorption to all beings so that I may completely fill them with the powers, strengths, and factors of awakening. I will teach the three vehicles to all beings, and I will establish them at the level of nonregression!’ Respected Blessed One, those were my aspirations. [F.192.b]

“After I saw the Buddha and saw the Dharma reciters and the Saṅgha of monks, I made these aspirations: ‘May all of the actions toward others that are related to the six sense faculties being impaired be completely cast off by each and every one of the beings, as numerous as the elements of consciousness in the five destinies, three abodes, and four modes of rebirth, who have accumulated such actions in the past! In the future, after they have been cast off, may the sense faculties of those who have obtained the most far-reaching, delightful, and perfect sense faculties remain intact for as long as it takes for them to pass into unsurpassed, complete nirvāṇa! May all the actions toward others related to diminished faculties that I have accumulated in the past be cast off, be completely discarded, and be negated! In order to make beings attain unsurpassed great wisdom, may I never part from the most far-reaching, attractive, delightful, and complete sense faculties! When I awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood, I will then crush all the karmic hindrances of every being into dust!’ Respected Blessed One, those were my aspirations.

“When I knelt on my right knee before the Buddha, the Dharma reciters, and the Saṅgha of monks, I gave rise to these thoughts: ‘May all the beings as numerous as all the shortest instants that I have lived through in the past never experience the karmic ripening of the path of the ten nonvirtuous actions they and I have followed in the past! May all those actions not be made to ripen and not ripen for as long as it takes for them to be discarded and no longer exist! In order for all those beings to master the six perfections, [F.193.a] may all their physical, verbal, and mental formations accumulate virtue! May the path of the ten virtuous actions that I have carried out in the past be made to ripen and may those that have not been discarded fully ripen! May I never part from the path of the ten virtuous actions! For as long as it takes for me to awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood, I will teach the Dharma related to accumulating virtue and nonvirtue to all those beings, and I will instruct them through the three vehicles!’ Respected Blessed One, those were my aspirations.

“When I knelt on my right knee before the Buddha, and knelt on my right knee before the Dharma reciters, I made these aspirations: ‘May all the karmic hindrances that bring about the three lower realms be extinguished for each and every being as numerous as all the countless days and nights that I have lived throughout the past! May those beings be reborn devoid of afflictions in the three higher realms and may they never be born again in the lower realms for as long as it takes them to pass into unsurpassed, complete nirvāṇa! May all the actions that bring about the three lower realms that I have accumulated and not discarded in the past be extinguished! In order to ripen beings, may I, through the power of those different aspirations, never be born in the three lower realms for as long as it takes for me to pass into unsurpassed complete, nirvāṇa! Once I awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood, I will establish beings in the threefold refuge in order to liberate them from the three lower realms!’ Respected Blessed One, those were my aspirations.

“When I did a full-length prostration to the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha, [F.193.b] I made these aspirations: ‘May all karmic formations from the causal factors of ignorance up to old age and death, which each and every being as numerous as the tiniest boundless and infinite particles of the earth element throughout the ten directions as well as the elements of water, fire, wind, and consciousness has accumulated in the past, be extinguished! For as long as it takes them to pass into unsurpassed, complete nirvāṇa, may none of those who know the manner of the gateway to the Dharma of dependent arising ever forget that Dharma teaching! May all the karmic formations from the causal factor of ignorance up to the causal factor of old age and death that I have accumulated in the past be completely extinguished! I will remember this Dharma topic that is dependent arising in order to attain unsurpassed great wisdom. Once I awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood, I will then introduce all those beings to this teaching on dependent arising!’ Respected Blessed One, those were my aspirations.

“After I knelt on my right knee before the Buddha and the Dharma reciters, I placed my palms together and approached those worthy recipients of generosity with my eyes and face expressing supreme joy. With all my senses focused on worshiping them, I made the following aspiration: ‘May all the karmic results of all beings as numerous as all the pores on my body and on the bodies of all beings be extinguished! May they abandon all the stains of their afflictions! May they abandon all the stains of their delusion! [F.194.a] May they clear away all the stains that hinder their wisdom! May every being be perfectly adorned with merit! May they turn away from the countless hundreds of thousands of existences in saṃsāra! May they revel in the accomplishment of the gateway to the absorptions that are the domain of miraculous power! May they serve the blessed buddhas! May they enter a hundred thousand gateways to the Dharma of the buddhas! May they hold on to their aspirations to amass the virtuous qualities of the buddha realms made in the presence of each buddha! May each and every being come to possess the roots of virtue! May they experience joy and happiness in relation to each other! May their buddha realms be perfected due to amassing the virtuous qualities of the buddha realms! May all beings abandon all rebirths in cyclic existence, and may they swiftly awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood! May the power of my karma also be extinguished! May the stains of my afflictions be purified! May the power of the floods decline! May the power of my wisdom never decline! May my merit become a treasury of merit! May I turn away from the countless hundreds of thousands of existences in saṃsāra! May I accomplish and open the gateway to absorption that is the domain of miraculous power! Every moment, I will serve the blessed buddhas who reside in and preside over the ten directions. I will enter the thousands of gateways to the Dharma of each of those buddhas. [F.194.b] I will adorn all beings with roots of virtue. In order to ripen all beings, may I also be adorned with roots of virtue that cause me to have delightful and pleasing physical, verbal, and mental qualities! When I and all beings practice the conduct of awakening together, I will, through mere words, bring an end to all those beings’ rebirths. I will calm the turbid waters of their mistaken views, and I will heal the diseases of their afflictions. My words will cure the lack of affection of beings whose bodies, concentrations, and faculties are impaired. With a single word, I will establish them in everything from the roots of virtue related to generosity to the roots of virtue related to insight. With a single word, I will establish all the beings as numerous as all the pores on my body and on the bodies of everyone else in the roots of virtue related to generosity.’ Respected Blessed One, those were my aspirations.

“At that time, I also made the following aspiration to have the power to be the person who serves food and drinks to the Buddha, the Dharma reciters, the Saṅgha of monks, the solitary monks, the solitary nuns, the male and female lay practitioners, the men, the women, the sages of other traditions, and all human beings from all castes, and even to distribute food and drinks to all the beings born in the animal realm: ‘I will continue to circle in saṃsāra in order to tame and ripen beings! I will only accept food and drinks in amounts as small as the size of a single hair! The entire assembly of hundreds of thousands of beings‍—those as numerous as all the grains of sand in the Ganges‍—who come to me and want food and drink will enjoy in abundance all the food and drink of any color or flavor they want. [F.195.a] Whether they want anything from a single red color or two pale colors to eighty thousand different colors, each of them will enjoy exactly what they wish for in abundance, and those colors and flavors will not weaken one another.183 I will distribute inexhaustible amounts of any food and drink those beings want. The food and drink that they take from my hand will completely cure all of their physical illnesses. The food and drink they consume will completely cure their mental illnesses. It will pacify all their unwholesome views, and accomplish everything including ending the stream of rebirths for all those beings. May anyone who consumes my food and drink, or accepts any clothes, bedding, flowers, garlands, ointments, medicine, dwelling places, servants, or even a single piece of the point of one of my hairs that I offer to them, be completely liberated from rebirth for as long as it takes for them to pass into unsurpassed nirvāṇa! May I cause all disciples to pass into nirvāṇa!’ Respected Blessed One, those were my aspirations.

“ ‘As I cycle through afflicted buddha realms inundated with the five impurities, I will practice the conduct of awakening and liberate beings from inferior forms of conduct. At that time, I will practice in each of those afflicted buddha realms inundated with the five impurities, and I will train in and perform ascetic practices and observances. I will spend one life in the palace of the heaven of Tuṣita, where I will practice with a firm commitment to diligence while engaging in intense physical activities, observances, and austerities. In that buddha realm there is ‘earth infused with delicious morsels’ and the ground is devoid of and lacking even the smallest holes. [F.195.b] The beings who eat meat and are marked by sores dig the earth in that buddha realm.184 After they give up meat, they eat that earth infused with delicious morsels and enjoy a thousand delicious flavors and aromas. In that way, they obtain it however they want, whenever they want, and in any quantity they want. All the physical, verbal, and mental negative tendencies, as well as all the latent patterns of the afflictions, of all those who eat that earth infused with delicious morsels, even those of the smallest birds and the wild animals who eat it, are completely eliminated. There are trees called Victorious Rohiṇī that grow in all of the buddha fields where beings do not eat meat and even the smallest birds and wild animals do not drink blood. When the leaves, twigs, and branches of those trees are cut, colorful, fragrant, and tasty blood flows out, and even when the small birds and wild animals drink that blood, all their physical, verbal, and mental negative tendencies, as well as all the habitual tendencies of their afflictions are completely eliminated. But since no one drinks blood in that entire buddha realm, even the smallest birds and the wild animals do not drink it. Immaculate trees grow in that buddha realm for those who want to drink milk. When their leaves, twigs, and branches are cut, extremely clear, colorful, fragrant, and tasty milk flows out for those who want to drink milk. When beings, including birds and wild animals, drink that milk, all their physical, verbal, and mental negative tendencies, [F.196.a] as well as all the habitual tendencies of their afflictions, are completely eliminated. There is no milk in that entire buddha realm aside from the milk of those trees. In that buddha realm, beings are born in water ponds and there are no womb births. In that buddha realm, beings are free from all the hell realms and the world of the Lord of Death.

“ ‘At that time, I will make it my personal commitment to practice intense observances and perfect conduct in Tuṣita. Since the women in that buddha realm have developed completely pure attitudes, all their envy, stinginess, and deception are completely extinguished. In that buddha realm, those who are born with female bodies do not engage in sexual activity, and that buddha realm is free from quarrels, conflicts, lies, falsehood, slander, harsh words, idle gossip, ill will, attachment, wrong views, famine, drought, thieves, iron and wooden shackles, leg chains, improper pursuits, and actions that cause permanent damage to others. It is completely peaceful in that buddha realm. When I enter the Tuṣita palace and reside in my mother’s womb for ten months,185 beings will revel in the supernormal faculties everywhere in that buddha realm, and they will all remember the roots of virtue they have created before. After ten months have passed and I have emerged from my mother’s womb, I will engage in activities for seven weeks and ripen all the beings of that buddha realm. All the beings including the birds and the wild animals will become weary of old age and death, so they will engage in intense observances and practice virtue, and their minds will be drawn to the forest of the ascetics. [F.196.b] After those seven weeks have passed, on the day I attain unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood, I will turn the wheel of Dharma. When I turn the wheel of Dharma, I will ripen countless myriads of beings using the three vehicles. I will display the turning of the wheel of Dharma to all the gods throughout that entire buddha realm. I will cause beings on every continent to be adorned with acceptances, absorptions, and dhāraṇīs. I will teach the Dharma to the beings on every continent for seven weeks. I will free the animals in that buddha realm from their animal births and make them reach the human world. I will teach the beings in that buddha realm the absorptions, dhāraṇīs, and acceptances for seven weeks, so none of them will be reborn in the animal realms or in the world of the Lord of Death anymore. After they die, they will all be reborn in this buddha realm. Even the smallest one of those beings living in the lower realms will be reborn in this buddha realm after they die. Even the smallest one of those beings will not be cast into a buddha realm that is not perfectly adorned with these qualities. After those seven weeks have passed, I will reach the realm of nirvāṇa and pass into nirvāṇa without remainder of aggregates.’ Those were the aspirations I made in the presence of the Lord of the Brahmā Realm.

“I then said, ‘Respected Blessed One, in the future when I have fulfilled those aspirations, it will enable me to generate various great skills. Respected Blessed One, I eliminated those wrong views long ago. Please issue your prophesy about my unsurpassed and perfect awakening so that it will be evident to this entire assembly!’

“The Thus-Gone One Lord of the Brahmā Realm replied, [F.197.a] ‘This is extremely profound! This is amazing! Those vast aspirations you have made are like a thunderclap in the sky that brings rain to satiate beings, fills lakes and ponds, and satiates the beings, medicinal plants, leaves, forests, and thickets that are tormented by scorching heat. Noble son, those extremely profound aspirations that are like a thunderclap resounding in the sky nourish this entire assembly. Noble son, those who make aspirations with intense enthusiasm will fulfill all of their aspirations. In the future, you will appear in the buddha realm Utterly Magnificent during the eon Great Light. Noble son, you will take birth as the buddha in that world, and you will be the wise and venerable thus-gone one, the worthy, perfect buddha, the unsurpassed guide who tames beings, and teacher of both gods and humans known as the blessed thus-gone one Sovereign King of all Melodies.’

“As soon as I did a full-length prostration at the feet of the thus-gone one Lord of the Brahmā Realm, right when I touched the ground with the top of my head, the ground of ten thousand buddha realms started to tremble like the reflection of the moon in water.”

Then, all the assemblies of gods, gandharvas, asuras, and humans applauded, saying, “Holy being endowed with the excellent Dharma and great compassion, those extremely difficult aspirations you made with firm diligence, strong enthusiasm, and great power are excellent, excellent!”

“Respected Blessed One, just as you served the thus-gone one Lord of the Brahmā Realm and his saṅgha of hearers in that place for three months by offering them all kinds of provisions, I also treated that Blessed One as an object of worship every day by offering him various types of flowers, perfumes, garlands, and incense. [F.197.b] Respected Blessed One, I too became a renunciant in the same way that you renounced all your royal possessions and duties after those three months had passed and shaved your head and facial hair, donned the saffron robes, and became a renunciant out of sincere faith in the presence of the thus-gone one Lord of the Brahmā Realm together with ten thousand beings. From that point until the blessed Thus-Gone One wandered and went to another land, I went begging for alms in another town where a great sacrifice was taking place. There, great compassion arose in me toward those who wanted to kill living beings. I thought, ‘If I don’t prevent them from killing those beings, I will not awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood, and I will not traverse the rivers of old age and death, and I will not be able to ripen beings.’186 I approached them and said, ‘Hey! Why are you performing this sacrifice?’

“They replied, ‘No rain is falling in this land, there is a famine, and many beings here are struck by diseases, blind, or crippled. There is internal conflict and the king’s attendants, ministers, villages, districts, and leaders are fighting with each other. We are going to perform this sacrifice to dispel those bad omens, to cure diseases, and to reconcile everyone.’

“I then said to them, ‘Good people, you can prevent those beings from being killed! Do not kill in this sacrificial enclosure! I shall completely pacify all your famines, droughts, diseases, and internal wars!’

“They asked, ‘Are shaven-headed monks capable of such things?’

“I then made the sacrificial enclosure disappear before those beings [F.198.a] and made the following aspiration: ‘Since the Blessed One speaks the truth, may the prophecy he made about my awakening to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood be fulfilled! If I am killed for this sacrifice with a completely pure aspiration, I will offer this body to as many local protector gods, nāgas, and yakṣas as there are pores on my entire body. As my abundant, fresh blood spills, may those local protectors drink the blood! By drinking it, may each of those local protectors pacify the bad omens of this land! May they provide happiness, good harvests, and good health to this land! May that bring about prosperity as an antidote to fighting, bondage, harm, and disputes! May all the beings living in this place be happy and satisfied! May they have no physical, verbal, or mental negative tendencies! May all beings in this entire land be fulfilled with the most supreme forms of happiness! When I awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood, I will liberate all these beings from old age and death! May I be sacrificed in the sacrificial enclosures in each of the four-continent worlds of this great eon, as numerous as all the pores of all beings. May I be killed for the sake of the people in those sacrificial enclosures and may I be killed for the sake of the animals in those sacrificial enclosures! May my body then disappear from this land, and may things in this land such as killings, diseases, famines, droughts, conflicts, [F.198.b] extreme cold, extreme heat, poisons, curses, untimely winds, untimely rain showers, untimely swarms of flies, biting flies, mosquitoes, killer locusts, unrestrained pursuits of material possessions, attachment to unlawfulness, deceit, slander, harsh speech, idle gossip, covetousness, ill will, and wrong views be completely pacified! May all the beings there be pleasant, gentle, accommodating, detached, and generous toward each other, and may they never wish to be separated from each other, like the ground!187 May they have an attitude of renunciation, discipline, tranquility, diligence, patience, concentration, and one that is devoted to the cultivation of insight! May the preceding good omens arise from the moment that I am killed for the sacrifice and for as long as it takes for me to act with great skill in all the empty buddha realms and buddha realms that are inundated with the five impurities of the ten directions as numerous as all the grains of sand in the Ganges! May rain fall from the sky!’

“As soon as I had said those words, milk flowed from all the pores of my body and rain started to fall from the sky. The beings holding the sacrifice did not kill me and then asked to be under the Blessed One’s power.188 Everyone in that land prospered, flourished, and was well provisioned and harmonious. Diseases, fights, famines, and droughts disappeared. I also asked the Blessed One to witness my confession189 of all the sacrifices I had performed as a human in sacrificial enclosures as numerous as all the grains of sand in the Ganges. I took rebirth as each of the 84,000 different animal births where I offered myself in sacrifices as numerous as all the grains of sand in the Ganges while assuming the physical appearances of animals such as horses, yaks, [F.199.a] bulls, pigs, wolves, cows, rhinoceroses, buffaloes, and foxes. I demonstrated my great skill and satisfied beings in afflicted buddha realms of the ten directions that are inundated with the five impurities by providing them with all manner of necessities. [B11]

“Furthermore, respected Blessed One, during that difficult time when the pure meat of a goat was requested for some sick people but that country had no goats, I made the following aspiration: ‘So long as I have not attained unsurpassed great insight, may this aspiration be fulfilled: I will climb this big tree, jump from it, and be miraculously reborn as a goat. The gods will then tell those humans that the goat’s meat is the medicine that will cure their diseases, and that they should therefore eat that meat. It will cure their diseases. When I appear in the world as a buddha, may the beings in my buddha realm not eat meat! May there be nothing that is not medicine for those who contract diseases! May no cries of distress be heard! May beings in that buddha realm never hear cries of being destitute of resources and possessions! Just as I serve those sick beings today by assuming the form of a goat, for as long as beings in saṃsāra who have contracted diseases can be cured by meat, blood, milk, or butter, may I be reborn as an animal to cure their diseases!’

“I climbed the tree and jumped from it, [F.199.b] and this entire great trichiliocosm shook in six ways. Śakra, Brahmā, and myriads of gods rained showers of divine flowers, incense, garlands, and powders of aloeswood, takara, and yellow sandalwood. They sat before me with their palms joined and said, ‘Holy being, may no beings be slaughtered!190 We will liberate sick beings in every buddha realm from all their diseases, and we will liberate them from everything from droughts, famines, sicknesses, deaths, fights, and disputes to the path of the ten nonvirtuous actions! We will cause beings to practice the path of the ten virtuous actions!’ When I jumped from that tree, the gods caught me in the air. Then I instructed those beings in a way that caused them to practice the Dharma and caused fifty trillion of them to develop the supernormal faculties. Because of what I had said, the gods led and placed the beings in all those buddha realms on the path of the ten virtuous actions. Respected Blessed One, those were my aspirations.”

The Blessed One gave his approval to the bodhisattva Melody of Space,191 saying, “Noble son, it is as though your aspirations about conduct that is difficult to perform are resounding like a lion’s roar. This is excellent, excellent! Noble son, in the past when you were called Gaṅga and were devoted to the sun, did I not exhort you to give rise to the mind set on awakening for the first time?”

“Respected Blessed One, I never gave rise to the mind set on unsurpassed and perfect awakening in the past. Respected Blessed One, [F.200.a] the first time I became a bodhisattva was when I was before the Thus-Gone One Lord of the Brahmā Realm and made the aspirations I have just mentioned.”

“Noble son,” asked the Blessed One, “if you had not previously given rise to the mind set on awakening, then who taught you those aspirations?”

“At that time, I went to the wilderness. I sat on the ground and reflected about the aspirations I might make. Then the Thus-Gone One Lord of the Brahmā Realm instructed me to make those aspirations in a dream, so I made them before that thus-gone one. I developed compassion for beings and I realized the defects of saṃsāra. After that, because of that consideration, I performed these acts of generosity for the proponents of sacrificial rituals, and I made those aspirations.”

“Did you adhere to mistaken views?” asked the Blessed One.

“No, I did not.”

“Whose power prevented this?”

“Respected Blessed One, it was the power of those extraordinary aspirations.”

The Blessed One then said, “Thus it is, noble son! Your aspirations will liberate beings from all manner of paths to wrong views, and no other power can liberate beings from all manner of paths to wrong views. Noble son, to whose aggregates of form up to consciousness in the three times is this prophecy of awakening related? To whose six sense fields associated with feelings of the three times, which are pleasant, unpleasant, or neither pleasant nor unpleasant, is it related? To whose absence of feeling is it related? Whose prophecy of awakening is this?”

“Respected Blessed One, my request for this prophecy, the prophecy I made, and the prophecy of my unsurpassed and perfect awakening do not exist. [F.200.b] Why do I say this? Just as space is immaterial, insubstantial, without intrinsic nature, utterly nonexistent, wordless, without attainment, and inexpressible, those phenomena are also everything from immaterial and insubstantial to inexpressible and unborn. Respected Blessed One, everything from form to consciousness does not arise across the three times. They are free from visible characteristics and are unborn. Respected Blessed One, everything from the eyes to the internal mental faculty of the three times does not arise and is free from visible characteristics. Feelings that are pleasant, unpleasant, and neither pleasant nor unpleasant are everything from unborn to free from visible characteristics. Respected Blessed One, I do not apprehend an ultimate nature of forms related to the three times, or arising, abiding, and disintegrating in the nature of reality. I do not apprehend anything that dwells in the realm of phenomena. I do not see name and form. I cannot see the characteristics of form, which are mere labels. The same goes for feelings, perceptions, and formations. Respected Blessed One, I do not see the characteristics of consciousness, which are mere labels, in the ultimate reality of the consciousnesses of the three times. Blessed One, I do not see the ultimate reality of the eye related to the three times; the characteristics of the eye, which are mere verbal designations; the collection of the internal mental faculty related to the three times; or contact that is pleasant, unpleasant, or neither pleasant nor unpleasant. Respected Blessed One, I do not apprehend arising, abiding, and disintegrating as being related to ultimate reality, the true nature of phenomena, or the faultlessness of phenomena. I do not apprehend the elements related to mind and mental phenomena. [F.201.a] I do not see the abiding characteristics of the mind. Why? Because all phenomena are like echoes. Like characteristics superimposed on space, they are without coming and going, and they are not apprehended in any way. All phenomena are like optical illusions, mirages, dreams, and reflections of the moon in water. Like characteristics superimposed upon space, they do not come and go, and they cannot be apprehended anywhere in any way.

“Respected Blessed One, bodhisattva great beings have an absorption called the nonexistence of apprehended objects and freedom from characteristics,192 which is not shared with any of the hearers or solitary buddhas. What is this absorption that is free from the characteristics of forms and lacks apprehended objects? Apprehending the emptiness of the inner, the emptiness of the outer, the emptiness of both the inner and the outer, the emptiness of emptiness, great emptiness, the emptiness of the ultimate truth, the emptiness of conditioned phenomena, the emptiness of unconditioned phenomena, supreme emptiness, the emptiness that is devoid of beginning and end, immutable emptiness, the emptiness of intrinsic nature, the emptiness of inherent characteristics, the emptiness of all phenomena, the emptiness of nonapprehension, the emptiness of insubstantiality, the emptiness of essential nature, and the emptiness of insubstantial essential nature is the absorption known as freedom from characteristics and absence of an apprehended object, which is not shared with any of the hearers or solitary buddhas. Respected Blessed One, it should be explained in the following way: It is a verbal designation for what does not exist in that I do not think, ‘That prophecy of unsurpassed, perfect awakening was directed at me, the prophecy will come to pass, or the prophecy has come to pass.’ Why? [F.201.b] Because I do not see any prophecy. I do not see any expression, prophecy, or saṃsāra. I do not see nirvāṇa, yoga practice, what is not yoga practice, the path, or what is not the path. Just as the path of suchness is nonexistent and I do not see the path of unmistaken suchness, the realm of phenomena, the true nature of phenomena, or the faultlessness of phenomena, so too I do not see anything from form to consciousness. I do not see anything from the eyes to mental consciousness. I do not see a specific occasion or opportunity wherein this prophecy was proclaimed. I do not see this prophecy in relation to anything from form to consciousness, or in relation to anything from the eyes to the mind, or as a prophecy of someone’s awakening.”

As this teaching of the bodhisattvas was being delivered by the Blessed One,193 the parivrājaka Allotted Ground saw him and attained the acceptance that tames beings with the sky-colored method of perfect conduct. Thirteen thousand non-Buddhists who had conquered their pride gave rise to the mind set on unsurpassed and perfect awakening and reached the level of nonregression.