The Root Manual of the Rites of Mañjuśrī
Chapter 54

Directing his gaze again at the realm of the Pure Abode, the blessed Śākyamuni said this to Mañjuśrī, the divine youth: {54.1}

“Wherever, Mañjuśrī, this Dharma discourse is disseminated, you should know that I am present there myself, surrounded by the hosts of all the bodhisattvas, taking the place of honor among the congregation of śrāvakas, and attended upon by a retinue of all the gods, nāgas, yakṣas, garuḍas, gandharvas, kinnaras, mahoragas, siddhas, vidyādharas, and other nonhuman and human beings. The Tathāgata resides there for the sake of protecting, sheltering, and defending. {54.2}

“One should know, Mañjuśrī, divine youth, about the ten advantages obtained in any place where this Dharma treasury of the tathāgatas is written down in the form of a book, read aloud, [F.327.b] [F.344.b] memorized, or respectfully and sincerely worshiped with various implements such as yak-tail whisks, streamers, parasols, banners, flags, bells, music, garlands, scented oils, incense, or pleasant fragrances. These ten advantages are obtained in any place where this Dharma treasury is revered, reflected upon, or focused upon with an undivided mind. What are these ten? {54.3}3311

“There will be (1) no danger in that [place] of military invasions or hunger; (2) no pestilence caused by Mahāmārī or other dangers from nonhuman beings; (3) no danger of fire or anything untoward; (4) no danger of drought or excessive rains; (5) no danger of hurricanes, tornadoes, or kravyādas; (6) no danger from Śakra or any rogues or robbers; (7) no danger of untimely death or fear caused by King Yama; (8) no danger from asuras or any gods, nāgas, yakṣas, or gandharvas; (9) no danger from mantras, venoms, or poisons; and (10) no danger of disease, fever, dysentery, indigestion, or other danger to body or limb.3312 One should know that these ten benefits occur wherever this Dharma treasury of the tathāgatas, contained in this great extensive manual, is kept in the form of a book. [F.328.a] [F.345.a] Let us therefore write it down, read it aloud, worship it, memorize it, and rehearse it.3313 {54.4}

“This Dharma treasury of the tathāgatas is extremely occult, as it depends in every respect on the mantras.3314 It must not be taught to those who have not received the samaya from the master3315 or those who do not understand the samaya. Why is this? This is because it is secret; it is an occult teaching. It is a teaching [arising from] omniscience. No beings should ever reject or take it lightly.3316 {54.5}

“If [those who received it] do not worship [this Dharma treasury] and treat it with respect, they will incur a lot of negativity. One must not disclose it to others, as they could commit negative acts, such as suppressing the secret [practices], killing sentient beings, reporting [you] to the king, shortening lives, or causing other misfortunes.3317 It can only be disclosed to beings who have taken up the secret practice of mantras and keep their samaya secret‍—to beings who are well established and trained in the study and practice of the Tathāgata’s instructions, who have good knowledge of the meaning of the Dharma, who keep their samaya concerning the sense bases and psychophysical elements,3318 and who live by the Dharma and are thus true to their promises, firm in their observances, have entered the path of good conduct, and are compassionate. It can be disclosed only to them and not to others.” {54.6}

The bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, the divine youth, rose from his seat, draped his robe over one shoulder, placed his right knee on the ground, and asked the Blessed One with folded hands, “What is this Dharma discourse really,3319 O Blessed One? What should I remember it as?”

The Blessed One replied: {54.7}

“You should remember it as a basket of bodhisattva teachings, the thundering roar of all the buddhas and bodhisattvas.

“You should remember it as a text that contains the marvelous and wondrous Dharma instructions. [F.328.b] [F.345.b]

“You should remember it as the bodhisattvas’ instructions for taking up all the practices of the ‘mantra basket.’3320

“You should remember it as an extensive Mahāyāna sūtra with marvelous instructions.3321

“You should remember it as the root manual of Noble Mañjuśrī.

“You should remember it as the instructions that fulfill all the aims of the Dharma. {54.8}

“ ‘Homage to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas who are perfect teachers!

“As soon as this mantra was pronounced by the great being, the divine youth Mañjuśrī, the earth with its mountains and oceans, up to its farthest reaches, shook in six different ways, and so did all the infinite buddhafields and world spheres up to their farthest limits. All the blessed buddhas empowered the words of the mantra. {54.65}

“Śakra, the lord of gods, his fear gone and body hair bristling, struck with amazement and wonder, his eyes wide open, rose from his seat, bowed down to the feet of the Blessed One, and circumambulated him clockwise three times. Then, turning to and looking at the divine youth Mañjuśrī, he grasped and kept in his mind the words of the mantra. He mounted his chariot and rode to where all the asuras were. Confronted by him in their subterranean paradise, in their capital city that the ocean rests upon, they all attacked. However, seeing the lord of gods blazing like fire, the asuras became smitten and dazed in their minds, [F.331.a] [F.348.a] and their armies were struck with fear. They now grew weak and despondent, their haughty expressions changed, and they lost their weapons. They turned back and retreated to their own abodes.3348 {54.66}

“Śakra, the lord of gods, then addressed the gods in the realm of the Thirty-Three:

“ ‘Do not be afraid, friends, do not be afraid! We have defeated the asuras through the power of the Buddha. Now let us go home. Come, gentlemen! Having returned to your fine houses and abodes, each of you to his own, you can play, rejoice, and move around freely.’

“And so the gods, uplifted in their minds, turned around and went to their own abodes. {54.67}

“Śakra, the lord of gods, thought, ‘If I make an effigy in the form of the divine youth and mount it atop a banner, there will be no danger for me from the asuras.’ The lord of gods, with his great might, procured then a precious gem called Shining with the Inner Light,3349 fashioned from it a figure in the form of the divine youth, firmly fixed it on top of a banner, and placed it in Sudharmā, the assembly hall of the gods, at the top of the palace in the middle of his great city Sudarśana. {54.68}

“From then on, the asuras, headed by Prahlāda and Vemacitri, stayed in their subterranean paradise. They did not travel upward, nor did they attack the gods. They were unable to work miracles or confront anyone in battle. This will last, in human reckoning,3350 many hundreds of thousands of billions of years. Thus, there will now be no danger from the asuras. {54.69}

“This celebrated [Dharma treatise] is thus a boon of infinite qualities;3351 [F.331.b] [F.348.b] it promotes long life and good health, as taught by the blessed buddhas and the great beings, the bodhisattvas in the past. It is full of excellent qualities and brings infinite benefits, without beginning and without end.3352 {54.70}

“Anyone who contradicts this Dharma treatise, doubts it, or thoughtlessly steps over it will accumulate boundless nonvirtue. They will fall into one of the great hells or suffer the tribulations of birth in the animal realm or the Yama realm of the pretas. Those who claim that this Dharma treatise is not the word of the Buddha and that the mantras and the remedies in it do not come from the bodhisattvas, who deny the greatness of the bodhisattvas and their power to work miracles, who throw away or abandon this Dharma treatise claiming that it was originally taught by dishonorable people, they will proceed to the lower states of existence where they will be unable to understand this Dharma treatise or even hear it. When they depart from that state, they will have accumulated a great deal of nonvirtue, so it is said. {54.71}

The divine youth Mañjuśrī, the bodhisattva great being, now rose from his seat, draped his upper robe over his shoulder, placed his right knee on the ground, folded his hands,3377 and, with wide open and unblinking eyes, knowing that all the gods who inhabit the Pure Abode and many orders of beings had assembled in order to hear the Dharma, said to Blessed Śākyamuni: {54.97}

“It is wonderful, O Blessed One, that you have presented this Dharma treatise so eloquently. In the future time, O Blessed One, it will come to pass that beings will be overcome by dangerous greed, their minds will be dominated by the five degenerations, they will lack faith, and they will be deceitful, unruly, and undisciplined.3378 They will not believe in the greatness of the of the art of mantras, [F.333.a] [F.350.a] nor will they appreciate the necessity to observe the restrictions regarding the time and the place of worship. Nor will they believe in the elaborate rituals with their injunctions pertaining to the mantra conduct,3379 homa offerings, or mantra recitation. Thinking that this is not the Buddha’s teaching, they will reject it. They will develop mental anguish and die. They will thus experience intense suffering and feel sharp and acute pain. They will end up in the great hells. When beings suffer like this, O Blessed One, how can this be remedied? The lord buddhas are very compassionate, after all.” {54.98}

The blessed Śākyamuni touched Mañjuśrī, the divine youth, on the head, and said, “Good it is, good indeed, that you, Mañjuśrī, are concerned about the welfare and the interests of all beings, and it is also good that you, Mañjuśrī, ask the Tathāgata about it. Listen well, then, and duly reflect upon what I will now tell you for the benefit, welfare, and happiness of all beings and to act kindly toward the world. There is, O divine youth, in your root manual with its detailed chapters, a most secret vidyārāja that should be remembered at the time of death by men and gods who strongly desire to take the final refuge in the supreme body of the dharmadhātu,3380 thus taking the path to awakening that subsumes all mantra practices. So what is this vidyā? {54.99}

“Homage to all the worthy tathāgatas, the fully realized buddhas!

“This, Mañjuśrī, is your ultimate heart essence that makes everything peaceful, removes all negativity, and releases from all suffering. It brings long life, good health, vigor, supreme well-being, and increases the powers of speech. It also stirs up the goodness in all the vidyā kings.”3386

As soon as the blessed Buddha Śākyamuni pronounced this mantra, this great earth with all its mountains, oceans, and animate and inanimate things, up to its farthest reaches, shook in six different ways, and the sufferings of all the beings of the different classes‍—the pretas, the animals, and all the beings in the worlds of Yama3387 ‍—completely ceased.3388 {54.101}

“This king of mantras, Mañjuśrī, should be kept in mind, so that, at that time,3389 there will be no thought of giving up the sacred Dharma, the evil māras will not have any opportunity to cause harm, and all the vighnas and vināyakas will run away.

“The blessed buddhas will know my thoughts, if I should reflect, ‘What am I capable of? Will I accept or reject the inconceivable Dharma of the realization of the blessed buddhas?’ ”3390 {54.102}

When the Blessed One had finished teaching, [F.334.a] [F.351.a] the monks, the bodhisattvas, their retinues, and billions of other beings present above the Pure Abode3393 such as gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, siddhas, and vidyādharas; as well as many prominent ṛṣis and the great bodhisattva beings including the divine youth Mañjuśrī, Avalokiteśvara, Maitreya, Mahā­sthāna­prāpta,3394 Vajrapāṇi, and so forth; the blessed buddhas with the retinues of śrāvakas and pratyeka­buddhas who dwell in innumerable world systems and in the infinite sphere of phenomena; and the inconceivable buddhas dwelling in the sky-like nature and the bodhisattva great beings, were all very pleased and praised the Blessed One’s teaching.3395