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

The Blessed One then entered the absorption known as entering all sounds. Through that absorption, he brought satisfaction to all the beings living in the different places of birth by using that absorption to speak in the 84,000 languages and dialects of those 84,000 places of birth. [F.202.a] The Blessed One said, “Listen to these syllables and expressions! Listen, my friends! My friends, teach the path of happiness and peace that leads to rebirth as a god or a human, to the attainment of the vehicle of the hearers through which all forms of suffering will be extinguished, to the attainment of the vehicle of the solitary buddhas, and to the attainment of unsurpassed and perfect awakening!”

As the Blessed One uttered those melodious words throughout the ten directions in a single statement, they transformed into 84,000 different languages and tones. Through the expression of those languages and dialects, all beings understood that statement in their own words. Those melodious words spread throughout the empty buddha realms of the ten directions inundated with the five impurities that were as numerous as all the grains of sand in the Ganges. They even resounded in the ears of the beings that had been born in the lower realms in those empty buddha realms of the ten directions inundated with the five impurities that were as numerous as all the grains of sand in the Ganges. Those beings understood this statement in their own words, and thought, “Who is this most sublime being who teaches us the path of peace and happiness with such beautiful, pleasant, and delightful words? The path that he has taught will lead to unsurpassed and perfect awakening. What is it like at the level of a hearer?194 What is it like at the level of a solitary buddha? What is it like at the level of unsurpassed and perfect awakening? If we attain such a path, all our pleasant physical sensations and all our suffering will be purified, and all physical distractions will diminish, so we should show our respect and listen!”

The Blessed One said, “My friends, these ten are the path of virtuous actions. Through it you attain rebirth among gods and humans, you attain the vehicle of the hearers that leads to the exhaustion of all forms of suffering, [F.202.b] and all your suffering will be extinguished. Through this path of virtuous actions, you will become the most sacred and eminent of all beings. You will develop great love, great compassion, and the great wisdom of an omniscient one. You will feel affection toward all beings and work for their benefit. What is this path of the ten virtuous actions? Beings who follow the path of virtuous actions will quickly attain everything from rebirth among gods and humans to unsurpassed and perfect awakening. My friends, after being born among god and humans, you should exert yourselves in the path of virtuous actions. You should practice generosity, maintain discipline, and cultivate the ten perceptions. What are those ten perceptions? You should cultivate the perception of a decomposing corpse. That will lead to everything from the result of a stream enterer to the result of a worthy one, and all your suffering will be extinguished. You should also cultivate the perception of a putrefying corpse, the perception of a bluish corpse, the perception of a bloody corpse, the perception of a corpse covered by maggots, the perception of a devoured corpse, the perception of a scattered corpse, the perception of a skeleton, the perception of a burned corpse, and the perception of someone dying. Through those perceptions, you will attain everything from the fruition of the stream enterers to the fruition of the worthy ones, and all your sufferings will be extinguished.

“Once you are born among humans, you should cultivate the twelve perceptions that lead to the attainment of the level of the solitary buddhas. What are those twelve perceptions? You should cultivate the perceptions of the four concentrations, the four immeasurables, the four formless attainments, the recollection of the Buddha, the recollection of the Dharma, the recollection of the Saṅgha, the recollection of discipline, the recollection of generosity, the recollection of world weariness, the recollection of tranquility, the recollection of the movement of the breath, [F.203.a] and the recollection of special insight. Through those perceptions, you will attain the level of the solitary buddhas. Once you are born among humans, you should make all beings feast on the nectar of ambrosia through your generosity, self-control, and restraint, and you should master the six perfections. What are those six perfections? You should master the perfections of generosity up to the perfection of insight. Once you have awakened to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood, you will then act as virtuous friends for all beings by speaking in their languages and dialects, and you will bring them happiness as I am doing now.”

Those beings then thought, “We are definitely witnessing the virtuous eloquence of someone endowed with great compassion!”

The Blessed One knew the thought that had arisen in the minds of those beings. In that instant, he entered the absorption known as proceeding as a hero. He used that absorption to send forth emanations to all of the realms empty of a buddha, where beings are inundated with afflictions, that there are throughout the ten directions and which are as numerous as all of the grains of sand in the Ganges. He stood in the form of Brahmā before each of those beings who were devoted to Brahmā, and taught the Dharma. He led some of them to adopt the path of unsurpassed and perfect awakening and established them on it. He established other beings in the vehicle of the solitary buddhas, and others in the vehicle of the hearers. Some of them practiced the path of virtuous actions so that they would be born among gods and humans. He taught the Dharma in front of those who were devoted to Īśvara and to elephants, horses, pretas, and hell beings while assuming the physical appearances of Īśvara, an elephant, a horse, a preta, and a hell being. [F.203.b] Some of those hell beings were led to direct their thoughts toward unsurpassed and perfect awakening and some practiced the path leading to rebirth among gods and humans. Those who had created roots of virtue in the past made them become more stable, and those who had not created roots of virtue in the past created them. Because of their faith, beings in the three lower realms were reborn among gods and humans after they died.

At that time, in all the buddha realms of the ten directions inundated with the five impurities that were as numerous as all the grains of sand in the Ganges, myriads of beings in each of those buddha realms, who were as numerous as all the grains of sand in immeasurable, countless Ganges Rivers, gave rise to the mind set on unsurpassed and perfect awakening and created roots of virtue. Some of them reached the level of nonregression, and some attained acceptances, absorptions, and dhāraṇīs. Through the strength and the miraculous power stemming from the attainment of those acceptances, absorptions, and dhāraṇīs, they arrived in front of the Thus-Gone One Śākyamuni in this Sahā buddha realm. Among the myriads of beings as numerous as all the grains of sand in countless Ganges Rivers who had given rise to the mind set on the vehicle for which they had set forth the conditions and had created roots of virtue, some departed to other buddha realms in which blessed buddhas resided, thrived, offered sustenance, and taught the Dharma to beings. Others abided on the level of nonregression. Similarly, through the power of their aspirations, myriads of beings as numerous as all the grains of sand in immeasurable, countless Ganges Rivers who had given rise to the mind set on the vehicle of the hearers and created roots of virtue; beings in buddha realms as numerous as all the grains of sand in immeasurable, countless Ganges Rivers who abided on the path of the ten virtuous actions and had been born among gods and humans; and myriads of other beings as numerous as all the grains of sand in countless Ganges Rivers who lived in the different buddha realms were reborn in this buddha realm of the Thus-Gone One Śākyamuni after they died. [F.204.a] Through the power of their aspirations, some beings were reborn in other pure buddha realms where blessed buddhas resided, offered sustenance, and taught the Dharma while being surrounded by multitudes of bodhisattvas. In all those buddha realms, beings enjoyed all kinds of possessions, resources, and provisions in countless, immeasurable amounts.

Then the Blessed One arose from that absorption and uttered these verses:

The bodhisattva great being Maitreya then stood up, prostrated to the Blessed One with his palms joined, and said, “Blessed One, this is the second turning of the Dharma wheel after you awakened to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood! Blessed One, please empower this Dharma teaching!”

As the Blessed One remained silent, [F.204.b] the melodies of myriads of divine cymbals resounded everywhere. Showers of flowers and clouds of powders of aloeswood, takara, yellow sandalwood, and uragasāra sandalwood fell from the sky. Divine garments, wish-fulfilling garments, silk streamers, golden girdles, pearl necklaces, and armlets adorned the expanse of the sky. Many myriads of nāgas exerted themselves in the ritual activity of worshiping the Blessed One, raining down showers of myriads197 of different kinds of pearl necklaces.

All the bodhisattvas who had gathered from the ten directions, including Maitreya, Mañjuśrī, Samantabhadra, and the rest, stood up together, joined their palms in the direction of the Blessed One, and supplicated him in unison, “Respected Blessed One, out of affection for the sake of future beings, please empower this Dharma teaching!”

“Respectable ones,” the Blessed One replied, “do not say such words! In the future, during the final five hundred years, there will be assemblies of unfaithful beings belonging to the four castes who engage in unwholesome conduct, observe unwholesome discipline, and solicit payment. They will have little learning, they will be stingy, their behavior will be inappropriate, they will maintain evil views, and most of them will adhere to views of permanence and annihilation. They will not be afraid of the afterlife, they will deny the existence of causes and effects, they will harbor ill will toward each other, they will praise themselves,198 and they will follow the path of the ten nonvirtuous actions. There will be no kings who practice the Dharma. Kings will insatiably pursue the objects of their desires, and they will look for opportunities to deceive others. They will show great contempt for the mendicants, brahmins, and householders who are worthy of worship, and they will have faith in those who are not worthy of worship. Those kings will respect, honor, revere, venerate, and support mendicants, brahmins, and householders who solicit payment, who are hypocrites, who observe unwholesome discipline, [F.205.a] who have little learning and weak compassion, who are dull-minded, and who are involved with mistaken practices. They will discard happiness day and night, and they will promptly engage in inappropriate royal duties. Those kings will not be afraid of the afterlife, and many will be liars.

“Due to the defects of those kings, some bodhisattvas will go to other worlds. Some bodhisattvas will maintain their ascetic virtues, contentment, and impartiality in remote places and forests. The deities who protect those lands will become displeased and disregard the welfare and needs of those lands. In those lands, the assemblies will engage in mutual conflicts. Due to the faults of those kings, beings will contract many diseases. They will be separated from the accumulations, their ability to recollect will be impaired, they will pursue that which opposes the Dharma, they will quickly become old and decrepit, and they will quickly die. To whom should this Dharma teaching be entrusted for the future during the final five hundred years when there will be such conflict?

“In the future, during the final five hundred years, there will be kings who are not worthy of adoration, whose insight is confused, who are rough and greedy, who enjoy wealth but not the Dharma, who have no need for faith in words, who are thoughtless, who solicit payment, who are great liars, and who plot to deceive others. They will not venerate and look after the mendicants, brahmins, householders, and scholars who seek the Dharma, or Dharma reciters. Instead, they will enjoy lying about them and abusing them. When they hear words that are not the Dharma, they will think about putting them into practice. They will support with heaps of wealth the kings and royal priests who have little merit or insight, who observe unwholesome discipline, who solicit payment, who are rough, who praise themselves, [F.205.b] who criticize others, who adhere to inappropriate views, who think about immediate necessities without restraining their bodies and speech, who do not think about upholding the Dharma, who delight in negative actions, and who do not venerate those mendicants, brahmins, and householders. Through the power of wealth and lies, they will worship and serve royal priests who should not be venerated. They will listen to and act upon the words of royal priests who should not be venerated, they will worship them, and those priests will be worshiped and become an object of worship for those kings. Due to the faults of those who should not be venerated, the tenets of the Dharma will be obliterated, and the tenets of false Dharma will rise. If the bodhisattva great beings are going to dwell in states of indifference and practice concentration, to whom should I entrust this Dharma teaching?

“In the future, during the final five hundred years when the sacred Dharma will be no more than a reflection of itself, there will be people who renounce householder life and who strive for their own interests, lack faith, and observe unwholesome discipline; whose insight is confused; and who are stingy about the Dharma as they crave houses, status, domains, land, and profit. They will harbor ill will toward each other, and they will look for opportunities to deceive others. They will delight in receiving gifts and being venerated by others. They will denigrate monks who have reached sublime levels of realization, and they will be deceitful about others’ dwelling places, cities, preceptors, and teachers. They will interrupt the peace and happiness that comes from contemplation and the discernment of yogic practice. They will crave food and drinks, they will strive for profit and honor, and they will worship householders. Since they will denigrate those who seek the Dharma, [F.206.a] the Dharma reciters will abandon the monasteries. They will become hermits and settle into states of concentration upon indifference in their beds. At that time, when the tenets of false Dharma are thriving, some bodhisattva great beings will leave for other worlds, and some others will dwell in remote areas in a state of indifference. The deities who protect those lands will also dwell in states of indifference, and those lands will experience famines, diseases, and conflict. Beings in those places will bind and kill each other, and they will take refuge in mistaken views out of fear of each other. So, to whom should I entrust an acceptance of the way of all profound teachings such as this one?”

The entire assembly of bodhisattvas, great hearers, and powerful gods, gandharvas, and asuras exclaimed, “Blessed One, please entrust this acceptance of the way of the profound Dharma to our hands! We will spread out and prevent fights, disputes, famines, droughts, diseases, and assemblies of non-Buddhists in any royal palaces and lands where this acceptance of the way of the profound Dharma is practiced! We shall protect those people who recite the Dharma, who seek the Dharma, and who establish the Dharma! We shall convert the kings, ministers, royal attendants, and all those who live in towns and in the countryside into followers of the Dharma!”

The Blessed One replied, “Respectable ones, this is excellent, excellent! Your eloquence and diligence are excellent, and you are fearless. Even if you are tormented by beings who display nasty aggression, by beings who are extremely abusive, or by hunger and thirst; even if you are beaten up with sticks; and even if you are tormented by cold, by heat, or by wind, until you attain the state of the sublime Dharma eye, in all the lands, cities, towns, country villages, and buddha realms, who among you will enthusiastically strive for this Dharma eye? [F.206.b] Who among you will reveal this acceptance that is the foundation of the gateway to all the profound Dharma teachings, convert beings to this acceptance, spread out among all those who cultivate it, read it aloud, impart the textual transmission to others, encourage others read it, encourage everyone to listen to it, write it down, make others write it down, and spread out to protect, guard, and provide shelter for those who follow the Dharma?”

At that moment, the ten thousand bodhisattvas led by Maitreya stood up, prostrated with their palms joined in the direction of the Blessed One, and exclaimed, “Respected Blessed One, we will convert all of the beings in every buddha realm until they are patrons of the holy Dharma. We will spread out to convert them into followers of the Dharma so that they commission this Dharma teaching to be written down in a book!”

The Blessed One said, “Noble sons, you perform the activities of great beings, and you have attained this acceptance of taming beings through the sky-colored method of perfect conduct. This is excellent, excellent! Noble sons, as you diligently maintain the power and endeavor of this acceptance, your diligent maintenance of that power and endeavor will ripen beings in all the buddha realms, all the four-continent worlds, all the lands, all the villages, all the cities, all the towns, and all the provinces. Do not deceive kings, and do not abandon ministers and royal attendants. Noble sons, from today until the banner of the Dharma is unfurled in the buddha realms inundated with the five impurities, spread out to ripen beings without becoming weary. Introduce those beings who seek out misdeeds and adhere to wrong views to the path of virtuous actions and place them on it. Encourage beings with numerous faults to becoming renunciants and embrace peace, [F.207.a] and establish them in the fundamental precepts. Prepare beings who are afflicted with many faults but whose bodies, speech, and minds are ready for training in the concentrations, liberations, dhāraṇīs, and acceptances. Encourage beings to delight in making their bed in solitary places as hermits and encourage them to benefit others. Do everything from converting stingy beings to the practice of generosity, to converting those with confused insight who are involved with evil domains and adhere to dense views to the power of noble insight, and establish them in each one.

“Bodhisattvas who liberate these beings overwhelmed by various forms of suffering increase their mass of merit many times over. Bodhisattvas who demonstrate acceptance in the face of weariness for seven days and nights in order to ripen beings, ripen beings through the power of this acceptance, and lead beings in afflicted realms inundated with the five impurities to adopt a small amount of this acceptance during the time when the sacred Dharma is in decline, and who teach it to beings and have them recite it and write it in a book, increase their merit many times over. The countless bodhisattvas as numerous as all the grains of sand in ten Ganges Rivers who practice the six perfections in pure buddha fields do not increase their heap of merit to that extent. Why? Because those bodhisattvas are naturally endowed with great compassion. Those great beings are striving for a great goal, and they are adorned with great diligence and insight. Those bodhisattva great beings will quickly awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood. The power they generate in relation to the acceptance that tames beings with the sky-colored method of perfect conduct does everything from ripening beings in afflicted buddha realms inundated with the five impurities to getting them to commission it to be written in a book. Since they will light the lamp of the Dharma when the Dharma is in decline, [F.207.b] they will be known as bodhisattvas endowed with great compassion, and they will quickly awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood.”

When the Blessed One had praised the conduct of the bodhisattvas in the afflicted buddha realms, bodhisattva great beings as numerous as all the grains of sand in the Ganges prostrated to the blessed Śākyamuni with their palms together and said, “Respected Blessed One, we have undertaken the practice of bodhisattva conduct while dwelling in countless pure buddha realms. We had forsaken all those beings in afflicted buddha realms inundated with the five impurities who are disconnected from roots of virtue, and taken the vow to reside in pure buddha realms from that day until the end of time. Today, we take the following vow before the Blessed One: We shall not practice bodhisattva conduct in pure buddha realms anymore until the end of time! Through the power of our aspirations, we shall practice that conduct in impure and afflicted buddha realms inundated with the five impurities, and we shall ripen all those beings who lack roots of virtue!”

“Holy beings,” replied the Blessed One, “bodhisattvas who focus their attention on great diligence and ripen all the beings who are disconnected from roots of virtue are excellent, excellent! They are endowed with great compassion, they practice the great perfections, they are endowed with the supernormal faculties, they have the great means of attracting disciples and do not depend on others,199 and they possess the source of great wisdom. Bodhisattva great beings who practice the six perfections in impure and afflicted buddha realms inundated with the five impurities, and who ripen those whose roots of virtue are corrupted and who are afflicted by all kinds of suffering, are known as bodhisattva great beings. [F.208.a] Therefore, noble sons, ripen beings using this acceptance that tames beings with the sky-colored method of perfect conduct!

“Noble sons, in the lands where this acceptance of taming beings with the sky-colored method of perfect conduct will be taught, it will give rise to various types of extraordinary qualities and glorious prosperity, and the kings will experience four qualities and praiseworthy circumstances. What are those four? The kings will be healthy; they will live a long life while experiencing little harm; they will be pure and have no opponents or enemies; and their strength and skills will be unimpeded, they will experience a lot of joy, and they will wish for the Dharma. Why? Because those lands will be protected by nāgas, Śakra, Brahmā, the world protectors, and the lords of the yakṣas, and those respectable ones are unequaled!”

Śakra, Brahmā, the world protectors, and the lords of the yakṣas then exclaimed in unison, “That is correct, Blessed One! We will accompany and protect from harm those who are kings in the lands where this acceptance is taught! We will cure their diseases, preserve their lives, protect them from enemies, and show them glory, good fortune, and joy in the Dharma! We will make them acquire excellent and unimpeded strength and skills!”

The Blessed One said, “Respectable ones, this is excellent, excellent! Do just as you have said! Why? Because in the lands where those worthy kings follow the Dharma, our splendor, strength, magnificence, and assemblies will increase.”

“That is correct, Blessed One!” they replied. “In the lands where this acceptance is taught, [F.208.b] the royal attendants and ministers will also experience four qualities and excellent circumstances. What are those four? In those lands, the royal attendants and ministers will be perfectly patient, gentle, joyful, and respectful; their kings will be loving; the mendicants, the brahmins, the people living in towns and in the countryside, the women, the boys, and the girls will be pleasant and joyful, and they will not seek the Dharma for material gain; and their fame and praises will spread far and wide throughout the ten directions and they will live long lives, experiencing a lot of happiness and pleasures. Those are the qualities and praiseworthy circumstances that the royal attendants and ministers will experience in the lands where this acceptance is taught.

“In the lands where this acceptance is taught, the mendicants and brahmins will also experience four qualities and praiseworthy circumstances. What are those four? In those lands, the mendicants and brahmins will receive Dharma robes, alms, bedding, medicine, and provisions; they will exert themselves in the concentrations; they will enjoy the mountains and live in complete seclusion; and they will abide in the four types of mental happiness.

“In the lands where this acceptance is taught, the people living in towns and in the provinces will also experience four excellent circumstances. What are those four? They will have wells and springs; they will be free from harm; they will accomplish their tasks; and they will never be separated from those who are worthy recipients of generosity.

“In the lands where this acceptance is taught, women will also experience four excellent circumstances. What are those four? The women in those lands will abandon envy and aggression; they will be patient toward all beings; they will give birth to sons; and they will have few diseases. For those women who hear about this acceptance, develop faith in it, and say they will benefit those who recite the Dharma, [F.209.a] it will be the last time that they are born as a woman. Except for those who wish for it, they will not be reborn as a woman for as long as it takes to ascend to the seat of awakening.

“Furthermore, the lands where this acceptance is taught will not be harmed by external or internal groups. In those lands, there will be no harm caused by droughts, famines, untimely winds, rain, cold, heat, biting flies, mosquitoes, flies, rats, aggressive beings, aggressive snakes, aggressive predators, insipid tastes, rough substances, mongooses, unpleasant tactile objects, food, drinks, clothes, iron or wooden shackles, clubs, verbal abuse, insults, beatings, premature deaths, or diseases. The gods, nāgas, yakṣas, asuras, and garuḍas will protect those lands.

“Noble sons, any land where this acceptance of taming beings with the sky-colored method of perfect conduct is taught and explained will not be affected by those ten harms. Why? Because, noble sons, this acceptance perfects the entire conduct of awakening of all the bodhisattvas. It does everything from causing them to master the six perfections to making them achieve the realization of the buddhas in its entirety. The persons who merely hear the name of this acceptance will be free from the eight inopportune situations for as long as it takes to reach the seat of awakening. Those who hear about the cultivation of this acceptance in its entirety will be empowered by the buddhas, and they will not regress from unsurpassed and perfect awakening. It is therefore very powerful! Noble sons, this acceptance thus brings joy to the bodhisattvas. It makes them enter the stream, it brings them to the level of nonregression, it brings easy mastery, it makes them gain understanding, it makes them pacify forms, it makes them ripen beings, it makes them part from saṃsāra,200 and it leads them to nirvāṇa.” [F.209.b]

When this acceptance had been revealed, the bodhisattva great beings who had assembled from the buddha realms in the ten directions exclaimed, “Respected Blessed One, we will teach this acceptance of taming beings with the sky-colored method of perfect conduct to beings in our buddha realms, and we will establish them on the level of no longer regressing from unsurpassed and perfect awakening!”

The Blessed One replied, “Noble sons, I think the time has now come for you to do so!”

The bodhisattva great beings who had assembled from buddha realms in the ten directions then worshiped the Blessed One using the great magical powers and manifestations of bodhisattvas. They said, “Respected Blessed One, please empower these pentapetes flowers! These pentapetes flowers will be enjoyed in all the places, villages, cities, and provinces where this acceptance will be taught.”

The Blessed One replied, “Noble sons, in that case I will empower both.201 In any buddha realm where noble sons or daughters pursue awakening, and in the four-continent worlds, lands, cities, villages, provinces, and countryside villages where noble sons or daughters pursue awakening, this acceptance will be cultivated, explained, taught, written down, read aloud, remembered, and practiced. These pentapetes flowers will be enjoyed in the places where this acceptance will be practiced.”

When the Blessed One had spoken, the bodhisattvas who had assembled from the ten directions, and the entire world with its gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas, were delighted and praised the words of the Blessed One.