Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. A royal king’s verse-praise of the Buddha — golden limbs, a voice like rolling thunder, eyes like blue lotuses, hair like sapphire plaited silk — opens this 45-minute reading as Geshe Pema Tsering works through three chapters of the Sūtra of Golden Light. The emptiness chapter that follows deploys a striking double image: the body is an empty village, the six senses are thieves each chasing their own object, while the restless mind runs among them. The twelve links of dependent origination are then enumerated, ending with the call to cut the false view of self with the sword of knowledge. The session closes with the Four Great Kings pledging cosmic protection to any ruler who honors this sūtra, and prescribing the ritual protocol — purified palace, perfumed water, white garments, a lower seat taken in humility — a king must observe when receiving the teaching.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 02 S of GL 2002 04 12.mp3
UUID: 35a7ae0a-1e39-4311-b14b-db0178885b47
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Sūtra of Golden Light (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2002-04-12
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 45.0 minutes
Words: ~6,856
Four. A chapter called abundance of lotuses. Then indeed the Lord spoke thus to the noble goddess, Goddess Vajrasattva Samjaya. Then indeed, noble goddess, at that time, at that moment, there was a king called Suvarṇabhujendra. With this praise of all the Tathagatas, known as abundance of lotuses, he praised the lord buddhas past, present, past, future, and present.
Those buddhas of former times and those who are now and dwell in the ten directions in the world, I do worship to those Buddhas. I will praise all those Buddhas. Each one is an excellent sage, calm, composed, pure. His limbs shine with the color of gold. The Buddha’s voice is the best among all kinds of sounds.
He has the Brahma voice with the sound of thunder. He has hair like a bee, a peacock, or a plume, blue, very curly, like the blue lotus. His teeth are very white with a conch shell or like a conch shell or snow continually shining, brilliant as gold. His eyes are blue, expanded, very flawless, blue like the colour of the blossoming blue lotus. His fine broad tongue is like the lotus or gold, shining like a lotus, resembling a lotus filament.
He has a circle of hair on his face that resembles the conch or a lotus fibre turning to the right and the colour of beryl. The sage’s eyes are fine like a waning moon resembling the shining of bees. His nose has a point which is golden as gold, high on his face continually expanded. All the Buddhas have a taste which is chief of all, excellent, best, always tender. He has excellent hair pores for each hair.
As soon as his fine hair emerges, it turns to the right. Shining like sapphire, his plaited hair shone blue like the beautiful neck of a peacock. His limbs shone at the moment of birth and filled all the worlds in the ten directions so that the endless woe in the three worlds was extinguished and beings were made very content with every blessing, in the hell states, in the animal states, and in the states of ghosts dwelling among the gods, of men, of all the beings in their evil states, were endowed with all blessings and be calmed. His limbs have the brilliance of color of gold and shine like refined gold. He has a face that is gentle like the moon, pure as the moon, a countenance that is smiling, beaming, pure.
He has members that are tender like the crescent moon. He has tender limbs. His excellent heroic gait is like the lion’s. His dangling arms with their dangling hands are like creepers of the śāla tree shaken by the wind. He sends forth a ray beaming and shining the distance of a fathom, blazing like a thousand suns.
He is an excellent sage with choice, pure limbs, shining upon all the endless spheres. By reason of his shining of the brilliance of the Buddhas, the multitude of moons and suns and the endless hundreds of thousands of spheres all became lustreless. May each being see the Tathagatas sun in the endless hundreds of thousands of spheres, the Buddha sun, son, who is like a light to the world among hundreds of thousands of Buddha’s sons. Each Buddha has a body equipped with hundreds of thousands of merits, his limbs adorned with all the virtues. The Buddha’s arm is like that of the best rutting elephant.
The brilliance of his hands and feet is very bright and very pure. Equalling and resembling the dust on the earth’s surface are those past Buddhas who are numerous like the fine dust, and those who will arise numerous like the fine dust, and those who are now numerous like fine dust. To those Buddhas I do worship, faithful in body, voice and mind, with gifts of flowers and with gifts of fine perfumes, with a hundred praises, and with a happy mind. Even with hundreds of tongues, the Buddha’s virtues cannot be told in thousands of eons. For the virtues of the Buddha’s, which have turned out well, are their essence, are excellent, various, numerous.
All the virtues of a single Buddha cannot be stated with a thousand tongues. In any case it is impossible to tell the details of a single virtue of all the Buddhas. In the whole world, including that of the gods, should become an ocean full of water as far as the peak of existence, even so the water can be measured to a hair point, yet not a single virtue of the Buddhas can be measured. Praise extolled by me are all the Buddha’s with body, voice and believing mind. Whatever excellent fruits there will be of the merits accumulated by me, may beings thereby touch Buddhahood.
When the king had thus praised the Buddha, he made the following resolve: Wherever birth may occur for me in endless future eons, may I see such a drum in my dream, May I hear such a confession there. May I obtain there in every birth such a eulogy of the Buddhas as excellent abundance of lotuses. May I hear in my dream the endless peerless Buddha virtues which are hard to obtain even in thousands of eons and may I expound this during the day. May I deliver beings from the ocean of woe. May I fulfill the six perfections.
Afterwards may I attain supreme enlightenment. May my sphere be without rival, as the fruit of the fruition resulting from the presentation of the drum and by reason of the praise of all the Buddhas, may I see the face of the Lord Śākyamūni. May I there receive the prophecy. These children, my two sons Kanakabhujendra and Kanaka Prabha, may I obtain together with both children there the supreme enlightenment and prophecy. For those beings who are without dwelling, without protection, deprived of the refuge and plunged in troubles, may I become in future time their protection, resort and refuge.
As one who causes the destruction of arising woes and one who has become a mind of every blessing, may I proceed in a future eon to enlighten ment as so many previous billions have millions have gone. By the exposition of the Suvarṇaprabhāsottama, may the ocean of evil be dried up for me. May the ocean of acts be destroyed for me. May the ocean of impurities be destroyed for me. May the ocean of merit be filled for me.
May the ocean of knowledge be purified for me. By the excellent splendor of false knowledge may I become the ocean of all virtues. Filled with jewel like virtues, with the virtues of enlightenment, by the power of the Suvarṇaprabhāsottama and its confession, may there be for me splendor of merits. May the splendor of enlightenment be pure for me. By the excellent splendor of flawless knowledge, may there be splendor of body for me.
By the shining of the splendor of my merit, may I become distinguished in the whole triple world. Continually endowed with the power of merit, a deliverer from the ocean of woe, and like a sea of all blessing, may I proceed to enlightenment in a future eon. May a field for me in future time be so distinguished by countless virtues, as were the fields of all the Buddhas in the triple world distinguished by countless virtues, however many former millions of them past. So ends the fourth chapter, the chapter called abundance of lotuses, on the praise of all the past, future, and present Tathagatas in the excellent Suvarṇaprabhāsottama, king of sutras. Am I reading on?
Okay. Five. Chapter on emptiness. Then indeed the Lord at that time uttered these verses: In inconceivably many other sutras empty things have been expounded in great detail. Therefore these empty things are expounded briefly in this excellent sūtra.
A being of slight intelligence, ignorant, is incapable of knowing all things. Therefore, here in this excellent chief of sutras the empty things are expounded briefly. By other experience, methods, causes, and for the sake of producing the power of compassion for beings, this excellent sūtra has been expanded so that all beings may understand. And this body is like an empty village. The senses are like the six village thieves.
They all dwell in the one village but they do not perceive one another. The eye sense runs after forms, the ear sense after the consideration of sounds, the nose sense takes up the various smells, the tongue sense runs after taste continually, the body sense runs after sensations sensations of touch, the mind sense after the consideration of things. These are the six senses, which severally approach their own object. The mind is flighty, like magic, and the six senses consider their object just as a man runs about in an empty village and is dependent on the six village thieves. And so the mind, dependent on the six objects, knows fully the spheres of the senses, form, sound, likewise smell, taste, touch, likewise the sphere of things.
And in the case of the six all the six senses of the mind, flighty, like a bird, enters the senses, and whatever sense it bases itself upon, it gives that sense its peculiar knowledge. And the body is motionless, inactive, insubstantial, having its origin through causes unreal arising out of false discrimination. It is like a machine used by acts, like an empty village, Earth, fire, water and wind remaining in a village in various places are always opposed to one another just like the snakes in a single cage. And these snake elements are fourfold, two ascending, two descending. By twos they go in the directions and sub-directions.
All these snake elements disappear. The earth snake and the water snake both proceed downward to destruction. The fire snake and the wind snake are both ascendant. Thought and perception being dependent, having gone according to the action done previously among gods, mens, and in the three evil states, have entered existence according to the act done. When the phlegm, wind, and bile have attained their final destruction, the dead body is full of urine and excrement.
It gives no pleasure. Having become a heap of worms, it is thrown down in a cemetery like a piece of wood. Behold these things, goddess. What here is a being or an individual? All these things are indeed empty and have arisen only by reason of ignorance.
These great elements have great non origination. Having originated from the unoriginated, they are without origination. Therefore they have been proclaimed great elements by me, because having originated they are without origination. Ignorance, avidyā, a thing, is never found, yet it arises, but it arises by reason of ignorance. Being thus not found and due to ignorance, therefore it has been called ignorance by me.
Predisposition and consciousness associated with name and form, the six senses, contact, likewise feeling, desire, grasping, likewise the rising of birth, old age and death, grief and affliction constitute the chain of causation. Inconceivable are the woes in the cycle of existence, and as they reside in the circle of existence, they have originated from the unoriginated and hence they are without origination, without conception, merely the discrimination of the mind. Cut out the false view of self with the sword of knowledge, sever the net of afflictions. Regard the abode of the aggregates, and become empty. Touch the noble virtue of enlightenment.
I have opened the door of the city of nectar. I have fully revealed the vessel of nectar juice. I have entered the fair city of nectar. I have sated myself with nectar juice. I have beaten the drum of the good law.
I have blown the conch of the good law. I have lighted the lamp of the good law. I have rained down with the rain of the good law. I have conquered the foreign enemies of affliction. I have raised the unmatched banner of the law.
I have rescued beings from the ocean of existence. I have closed the three paths to the evil evil states. I have extinguished for beings of conflagration of the fire of their afflictions, whereby previously during numerous eons I have honored inconceivably many leaders, I have proceeded by firm vow to enlightenment seeking the body of the good law. I gave up my hands, feet, wealth, gold, gems, pearls, ornaments, eyes, the supreme member, the head, the blood of sons and daughters, gold, beryl, and various jewels. If one should cut up in the triple thousand world from all the trees, grass, and woods, and of the tree, and if one should crush it all, make it like fine dust, making a heap of powder extending into the sphere of the sky, is capable of analysing it into its three parts, equal to the dust of the earth.
But even men with greater knowledge than all beings are not able to count up all the knowledge of the Buddha. Whatever knowledge belongs to the Buddha in a single moment cannot at all be counted up in numerous millions of eons. So ends the fifth chapter, the chapter on emptiness. In the excellent Suvarṇaprabhāsottama, king of sutras. Sixth.
Chapter on the four great kings. Then indeed the great king Vaisravana, the great king Dhritarastra, the great king Virūḍhaka and the great king Virupaksha, getting up from their seats, put their cloaks over one shoulder, placed their right knees on the ground, and making a reverential gesture with their hands towards the Lord, they spoke thus to the Lord. Lord, this excellent Suvarṇaprabhāsottama, King of Sutras, has been spoken by the Tathagatas, has been watched over by all the Tathagatas, has been protected by all the Tathagatas, has been taken care of by all the multitudes of Bodhisattvas, has been worshipped by all the multitudes of the gods, has been honoured by all the multitudes of the chief gods, has been honoured by all the world protectors, has been praised, eulogized, extolled, shines in the dwellings of all the gods, bestows supreme blessing on all beings, dries up all the woes of the hells, repels all foreign armies, removes all the oppression of hunger, removes all the oppression of illness, overthrows all the planets, creates supreme tranquility, removes grief and trouble, removes the various afflictions, destroys the hundreds of thousands of afflictions. When, dear Lord, this excellent Suvarṇaprabhāsottama, King of Sutras, is being expounded in detail in the assembly, By merely hearing this law and by the nectar juice of the law, the divine bodies of us four great kings, together with our armies and retinues, will wax with great might.
In our body there will be produced prowess, strength and energy. Brilliance, glory and splendour will enter our body. We, dear Lord, the four great kings will be law abiding, will preach the law and will rule by the law. By the law, dear Lord, we will exercise our sovereignty over the gods, nagas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kinaras and mahoragas. We will rout the hordes of enemies who are pitiless, whose minds are without compassion, who take their glory from others.
We, four great kings, dear Lord, together with the twenty eight thousand generals of the Yakshas and with numerous hundreds of thousands of Yakshas, will continually watch over, guard and protect the whole of Jambudvipa with our divine eye, which is pure and surpasses human eyes. For this reason, dear lord, the name world protector has been ascribed to us four great kings. Whatever regions, dear lord, in this Jambudvipa will be smitten by a foreign army, will be oppressed by the affliction of hunger, by the affliction of illness, by hundreds of different oppressions, by thousands of oppressions, by hundreds of thousands of oppressions. We, dear Lord, the four great kings will give encouragement to those monks who keep the Suvarṇaprabhāsottama, King of Sutras. And when, dear Lord, these monks preaching the law, by the magic power, influence and encouragement of us four great kings approach those regions, they will proclaim in detail in those regions this excellent Suvarṇaprabhāsottama, King of Sutras.
These and similar various hundreds of thousands of oppressions afflicting those regions will cease. Whichever region of a king of men, dear Lord, those monks who hold the chief sutras and preach the law shall enter. This excellent Suvarṇaprabhāsottama, King of Sutras will be brought to those regions. And when, dear Lord, a king of men should hear this excellent Suvarṇaprabhāsottama, King of Sutras, and having heard it should give protection, should give salvation, assistance, defense from all their enemies to those monks who hold the chief sutras. We, dear Lord, the four great kings will give protection, will give salvation, assistance, defense, peace, welfare to that king of men and to the beings in all regions.
And when, dear Lord, the king of men should make blessed with the gift of every blessing those monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen who hold the chief sutras, we, dear lord, the four great kings will make blessed with all blessings and endowed with all commodities the beings in every district of that king of men. And when, dear Lord, the king of men should honor, respect, reverence, worship the monks, nuns, laymen, laywomen who hold the chief sutras, We dear Lord, the four great kings will make that king of men more honoured than all kings and will cause him to be respected, cause him to be reverenced, and will cause him to be worshipped, and will cause him to be praised in all regions. Then indeed the Lord congratulated the four great kings. Bravo, bravo, great kings. Bravo, bravo, you great kings.
As you have rendered services to previous Buddhas, have planted merit roots, have been honored by many hundreds of thousands of millions of Buddhas, are law abiding, preach the law and exercise sovereignty over gods and men according to the law. As for a long time previously your minds have been devoted to the welfare, blessing and love of all beings. You are endowed with disposition to the welfare and blessing of all beings. You eliminated every discomfort. You were intent upon bringing complete welfare to all beings.
As you, the four great kings, will give protection to those kings of men who are intent upon worship and honour to this excellent Suvarṇaprabhāsottama, King of Sutras, will give salvation, assistance, defence, peace, therefore the way of the law of the past, future and present Lord Buddhas will be protected, will be guarded and preserved by you, the four great kings, with your armies and retainers and with numerous hundreds of thousands of Yakshas. Therefore there will be victory for you, the four great kings, together with your armies and retainers and numerous hundreds of thousands of Yakshas when you enter conflict with the gods and asuras. There will be defeat for the asuras. Thus, for the sake of this excellent Suvarṇaprabhāsottama, King of Sutras, which overcomes all foreign armies, you will give protection, will give assistance, defence, peace, welfare to those monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen who hold the chief sutras. Then the great king Vaisravana, the great king Dhritarastra, the great king Virūḍhaka and the great king Virupaksha, getting up from their seats, covered one shoulder with their cloaks, placed their right knees on the ground, and putting their hands in the gesture of reverence towards the lord, they spoke thus to the lord.
Wherever, dear lord, in future time, this excellent Suvarṇaprabhāsottama, King of Sutras will go forth to the villages, cities, settlements, districts, lands, royal palaces, and whichever king of men’s region it may reach, whichever king of men, dear lord, there may be who will exercise sovereignty in accordance with the treatises on kingship called instruction concerning divine kings. Who will hear, reverence, honour this excellent Suvarṇaprabhāsottama, King of Sutras, and will respect, venerate, reverence, honour those monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen who hold the chief sutras and who will listen to the excellent Suvarṇaprabhāsottama sutras. By this flowing water of the hearing of the law, and by the nectar juice of the law, he will magnify with great might these divine bodies of us four great kings of our armies and retinues, and those of the numerous hundreds of thousands of yakṣas, and he will produce in us great prowess, energy and power. He will magnify our brilliance, glory and splendour. Therefore we, dear Lord, the four of our armies and retinues, and with numerous hundreds of thousands of yakṣas of invisible bodies now and in future times, wherever we come upon villages, cities, settlements, districts, lands and royal palaces, there this excellent Suvarṇaprabhāsottama, King of Sutras will go forth and we will give protection, will give salvation, assistance, defence, escape from punishment, escape from the sword, peace, welfare to their royal palaces, their lands and their region.
And we will deliver those regions from all fears, oppressions and troubles, and we will turn back foreign armies. If there should be another hostile king neighbouring upon that king of men who hears reverence honours this excellent Sivana BLhasa, king of sutras. And if, dear lord, this neighbouring hostile king should produce such a thought, I will enter that region with a fourfold army to destroy it, then indeed, dear lord, at that time, at that moment, by the power of the brilliance of that excellent Suvarṇaprabhāsottama, King of Sutras, there will arise a conflict between that neighbouring hostile king and other kings, and there will be regional disturbances in his own regions. There will be fierce troubles with kings and diseases caused by planets will various distractions and if, dear Lord, that neighbouring hostile king should employ his fourfold army to go against a foreign power and it should leave his own area and if that hostile king together with his fourfold army should desire to enter, should desire to destroy that region where this excellent Suvarṇaprabhāsottama, King of Sutras may be, we dear Lord, the four great kings, with our armies and retinues, with numerous hundreds of thousands of yakṣas and with be enter this region, much less cause destruction to that region.
Then indeed the Lord congratulated those four great kings. Bravo, bravo, great kings, bravo, bravo again, great kings, since you will, for the sake of that supreme and perfect enlightenment acquired through incalculable hundreds of thousands of millions of eons, give protection, give salvation, assistance, defence, escape from punishment, peace, welfare to those kings of men who hear, reverence and honour this excellent Suvarṇaprabhāsottama, King of Sutras. And you will protect, endow with salvation, assistance, defence, escape from punishment, peace and welfare those royal palaces, those cities, those lands and those regions. And you will deliver those regions from all fears, oppressions and troubles. And you will turn back foreign armies and you will exert zeal for the removal of quarrel strife, hostility and contention among the kings of men in the whole of Jambudvipa.
And since this Jambudvipa that belongs to you, the four great kings with your armies and retinues, the eighty four thousand kings and the eighty four thousand cities will rejoice in their own regions and will rejoice sovereignty over their own realm, and in their own accumulation of objects, and will not injure one another, will not cause injury to one another, will obtain kingship according to their own accumulation of former acts, and will be contented with sovereignty over their own realm, not harm one another, will not advance for the harm of regions. And if in this Jambudvipa, in the eighty four thousand regions and cities, the eighty four thousand kings will have minds devoted to the welfare of one another, minds full of love and blessing, will rejoice with one another without quarrels, without hostility and contention in their own regions. Then this Jambudvipa that belongs to you, the four great kings, with your armies and retinues, be flourishing, will be plentiful, happy, will be full of many people and men, and the earth will become mightier. The seasons, months, half months and the years will all be associated with the proper time. Day and night, planets, asterism, moon and sun will move properly.
In due time, showers of rain will fall down upon the earth. The beings in the whole of Jambudvipa will become rich with every provision and grain. They will have great enjoyment and be without envy. They will be liberal. They will follow the path of the ten good acts.
For the most part they will be born in the good state of heaven. The dwellings of the gods will become full of gods and divine sons. Whatever great kings, kings of men there will be who will hear this excellent Suvarṇaprabhāsottama, King of Sutras, will reverence and honour it, and who will give respect, veneration, reverence and honour to those monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen who hold the chief sutras, and who by reason of sympathy for you, the four great kings, with your armies and retinues and numerous hundreds of thousands of yakṣas, will continually hear this excellent Suvarṇaprabhāsottama, King of Sutras with this flowing water of the hearing of the law and with the nectar juice of the law he will satisfy these bodies of yours and he will increase these your divine bodies with great might. He will produce in you great prowess, energy and power. He will increase your brilliance, glory and splendour.
To me, Śākyamūni Tathāgata perfectly enlightened one, enlightened one, that king of men will do inconceivable vast, vast, extensive homage with all services to numerous hundreds of thousands of millions of past, future and present Tathagatas. Thereby will great protection be given to that king of men. Thereby to that king of men will be given protection, salvation, assistance, defence, escape from punishment, peace and welfare. And great protection will be given salvation, assistance, defence, escape from punishment, peace and welfare will be given to his chief queen. The king’s sons, the whole harem and the whole palace.
And all the deities dwelling in the palace will become mightier, more powerful and endowed with inconceivable blessings and happiness. They will experience various pleasures. The cities, lands and regions will be protected, be guarded, will be unoppressed, will be without enemies, will be unconquered by all foreign powers, without misfortunes and without troubles. When he had so spoken, the great king Vashravana, the great king Dhritarastra, the great king Virūḍhaka, the great king Virupaksha spoke thus to the Lord. If, dear Lord, any king of men should exist who should be desirous of hearing this excellent Sivana Vasha, king of sutras, be desirous of giving himself great protection, should be desirous of giving great protection to his chief queen, princes, princesses, and his whole harem, should be desirous of giving great inconceivable, supremely distinguished peace and welfare to his whole palace should be desirous of increasing in his life great, inconceivable sovereignty should possess inconceivable royalty should be desirous of obtaining an unlimited heap of merit should be desirous of protecting all his own regions, should be desirous of guarding them, should be desirous of wholly protecting all his own regions, should be desirous of guarding them, should be desirous of making his own region unoppressed, without enemies undefeated by all foreign powers, without misfortune and without trouble.
That King of men, dear Lord, with his mind undistracted with honour and respect, must do homage and listen to this excellent SivanabLhasa, King of Sutras. In order to hear this excellent SivanabLhasa, King of Sutras, that King of men must enter the chief palace, and having entered that palace he must sprinkle it well with waters of various perfumes and bestow it with various flowers. In that place, when it has been well sprinkled with waters of various perfumes and has been strewn with various flowers, a seat of the law is to be provided, set up high and well adorned with various adornments. That place must be well adorned with various umbrellas, banners, and flags. And that King of men must wash his body well, wear well perfumed clothes, be clad in new and brilliant garments, be endorned with various ornaments.
For himself a lower seat must be provided. When he has sat down on that seat he must not be elated by his sovereignty. There he must not have passion for royal dominion. He must listen to this excellent Suvarṇaprabhāsottama, King of Sutras, with a mind that is free from all pride, elation and haughtiness. In the presence of that monk who is preaching the law, he must produce the thought that the monk is his teacher.
The king of men must that time, at that moment, look with affection and kindness upon his chief queen, princes, princesses, and the whole group attached to the harem. With affectionate words he must converse with his chief queen, the prince, and princesses. He must affectionate words converse with the whole group attached to the harem. He must command to be done various acts of honour on account of hearing the law. He must satisfy himself with inconceivable unrivalled affection.
He must be blessed with inconceivable affection and happiness. He must have happy senses. He must meditate on grasping the meaning of the sūtra. His self must be gladdened with great gladness. He must stand up before the preacher of the law with great abundance of joy.
When this had been said, the Lord spoke thus to the four great kings. At that time, moreover, great kings, at that moment, the king of men must clothe himself holy in white, light coloured new brilliant garments, must adorn himself well with various ornaments and adornments, must obtain white umbrellas, must depart from that place with great royal power, with great display of royalty, and taking very auspicious items. He must go to meet that monk who is preaching the law. Why is that? For so many hundreds of thousands of millions of eons will he avoid the cycle of existence, so many hundreds of thousands of millions of places of kings will he obtain.
However many steps he will take there he will increase with inconceivable great royal power over so many present rulers. For numerous hundreds of thousands of millions of eons he will obtain exalted residences, divine palaces made of the seven jewels. He will obtain numerous hundreds of thousands of noble divine and human palaces. He will acquire great dominion in all his births. He will be long lived.
He will reach old age. He will be eloquent. He will be of agreeable speech. He will be famous. He will have a very widespread reputation.
He will be praiseworthy. He will be blessed in the world of Gods, men and asuras. He will obtain the noblest blessings of Gods and men. He will have great power. He will have the power and might of a great crowd and will be handsome.
He will be amiable and good looking. He will have supreme magnificence of fair colour. In all his births he will meet with Tathagatas. He will obtain every spiritual adviser. He will possess an unlimited heap of merit.
O great king, seeing these blessings resulting from virtues, the king must rise up a league before the preacher of the law. He must rise up a hundred leagues, a thousand leagues before him. In the presence of that preacher of the law he must produce the thought that the preacher is his teacher. He must think thus: Today will Śākyamūni, the Tathāgata arhat, fully enlightened one, enter my palace here. Today will Śākyamūni, the Tathāgata arhat, fully enlightened one, in my palace here enjoy his food.
Today I will hear from Śākyamūni, the Tathāgata arhat, the fully enlightened one, the law which is acceptable to the whole world. Today by hearing this law I will become a non returner in supreme and perfect enlightenment. Today I will propitiate numerous hundreds of thousands of millions of Tathagatas. Today I will do inconceivable great vast extensive homage to past, future and present Lord Buddhas. Today I will completely cut off all the woes of the hells, animalhood and the world of Yama.
Today I will plant the seed of the merit root for numerous attainments of hundreds of thousands of millions of billions, of bodies with the sovereignty of Brahma kings. Today I will plant the seeds of the merit roots for the numerous attainments of hundreds of thousands of millions of bodies in the position of Shakra. Today I will plant the seeds of merit roots for numerous attainments of hundreds of thousands of millions of bodies having the sovereignty of a Chakravartin king. Today I will deliver from the cycle of existence numerous hundreds of thousands of millions of beings. Today I will obtain a heap of merit that is inconceivable, great, vast, extensive, unlimited.
Today I will give great protection to the whole group of my harem. Today I will give here in the palace inconceivable, supreme, excellent, matchless, great peace and welfare. Today I’ll protect my whole region. I will make it guarded, unoppressed, free of enemies, and undefeated in all foreign powers. I will make it free of misfortune and troubles.
And if great kings, that king of men, with this and similar reverence for the good law should venerate, respect, worship and honour those monks, nuns, laymen, laywomen who hold the excellence of Suvarṇaprabhāsottama, king of Sutras, should give the best share of the merits so acquired to you, the four great kings, with your armies and retinues to the multitude of gods and to numerous hundreds of thousands of yakṣas, then that king of men, by the accumulation of merits and by the accumulation of good, will prosper with regard to his body and his present inconceivable great royal dominion. He will be endowed with present, inconceivable great royal splendor. He will be adorned with glory, brilliance and splendor. All his adversaries and all his enemies will be thoroughly overcome in accordance with the law. When had spoken thus, the four great kings said this to the Lord, If there should be, dear Lord, a king of men, who should hear this excellent Suvarṇaprabhāsottama, King of Sutras, with this and similar reverence for the Lord, and he should venerate, revere, respect and worship those monks, nuns, laymen, laywomen who hold the chief sutras, if he should thoroughly purify his palace for the sake of us four great kings, if he should thoroughly sprinkle it with water of various perfumes, if he should hear this law together with us the four great kings, if for his own sake and for that of all the gods he should give away even only a small share of merit.
If, dear Lord, for the sake of us four great kings, that king of men should immediately after the monk who is preaching the law has come to the seat of the law and sat down, cause the spread of various perfumes. As soon as he has caused the various perfumes to spread, dear Lord, for the sake of honour and this excellent Suvarṇaprabhāsottama, King of Sutras, creepers having various perfumes and odours will come forth. At that very moment, instant second, in the sky above the several palaces of us four great kings there will arise umbrellas of creepers of various perfumes and odours. They will snow exalted perfumes. Gold coloured lights will shine, and with that light our dwellings will be lit up.
And there will arise umbrellas of creepers of various perfumes and odours. They will smell exalted perfumes. Gold coloured lights will shine, and with that light our dwellings will be lit up. And there will arise umbrellas of creepers of various perfumes and odours, arriving at that instant moment second in the sky above the several palaces. Dear Lord of Brahma, Lord of the world sphere of Shaka, King of the gods of Sarasvatī, the great goddess of Drdha, the great goddess of Sri, the great goddess of Samjnaya, great general of the Yakshas, of the twenty eight great generals of the Yakshas, of Mahasvara, the divine son, of vajrapani, great general of the Yakshas of Manipadra, great general of the Yakshas of Harita, with her retinue of five hundred sons of Anavatapta, the great king of the Nagas, and of Sāgara, great king of the Nagas.
And they will smell the various exalted perfumes, and gold coloured lights will become visible inside their dwellings. With this light all their dwellings will be lit up. When this had been said, the Lord spoke thus to the four great kings. Not only will there arise umbrellas of creepers of various perfumes and odours in the sky above dwellings of you, great kings, the four great kings. Why is that?
As soon, great kings, as those various perfumes have been spread by that king of men for the sake of honouring this excellent Suvarṇaprabhāsottama, King of Sutras, and creepers of various perfumes and odours arise from the one perfumed spoon that he has taken in his hand, then at that very moment, instant second, in this whole triple thousand great thousand world sphere in which there are a hundred million moons, suns, great oceans, kings of mountains, kings of of mountains, world spheres of four great continents, gods belonging to the group of the gods of the four great kings, thirty three gods, Yamagods, Tuśita gods, Nirmanarati gods, Paranirmita Vasavartin gods, gods dwelling in the stage of endlessness of space, gods dwelling in the stage of endlessness of consciousness, God is dwelling in the stage of nothingness, God is dwelling in the stage of neither consciousness nor unconsciousness. Among all these in this triple thousand, great thousand world sphere, among hundreds of millions of groups of thirty three gods in the sky above the several dwellings of all the groups of gods, nagas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kinnaras and maharagas, those umbrellas of creepers of various perfumes and odours will arise, and they will smell exalted perfumes.
In the dwellings of all the gods gold coloured lights will become visible, and with that light the dwelling of all the gods will be lit up. And just as in the sky above the dwellings of all the gods in the triple thousand great thousand world sphere, those umbrellas of creepers of various perfumes and odours will arise. So, great kings, by the power of the brilliance of this excellent Suvarṇaprabhāsottama, King of Sutras, as soon as the various perfumes have been spread by the King of men for the sake of honouring this excellent Suvarṇaprabhāsottama, King of Sutras, creepers of various perfumes will come forth. At that moment, instant second, on all sides in the ten directions in numerous world spheres, in as many hundreds of thousands of millions of buddha fields as there are grains of sand in the Ganges River, there will arise umbrellas of creepers of various perfumes and odours in the sky above as many hundreds of thousands of millions of tathagatas as there are grains of sand in the Ganges River. And among those numerous hundreds of thousands of millions of buddhas they will smell various exalted perfumes and odors.
Gold colored lights will become visible, and with that light those numerous hundreds of thousands of millions of buddha fields as many as the grains of sand in the Ganges River will be lit up. As soon great kings as these and similar great miracles will become manifest, those numerous hundreds of thousands of millions of Tathagatas, as many as the grains of sands in the river Ganges, will think that preacher of the law they will congratulate him. Bravo, bravo, good fellow, bravo again, you good fellow, since you are desirous of making known in detail in this way this excellent Sivana BLhasa, King of Sutras, whose meaning is so profound, whose luster is so deep, which is so endowed with inconceivable virtues, and those beings will not be endowed with a lesser merit root who merely hear this excellent Suvarṇaprabhāsottama, King of Sutras, much less those who take it up, hold it, recite it, understand it and expound it in detail in the assembly. Why is that? As soon, good fellow, as they they hear this excellent Suvarṇaprabhāsottama, King of Sutras, numerous hundreds of thousands of millions of bodhisattvas will become non returners in supreme and perfect enlightenment.
Then indeed, those numerous hundreds of thousands of millions of Tathagatas on all sides in the ten directions, in as many hundreds of thousands of millions of Buddha fields as there are grains of sand in the river Ganges, established each in his Buddha field, at that time, at that moment, with one speech, with one voice, with one resounding sound, spoke thus to that monk who is preaching the law, on the seat of the law.