Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. The famous tigress Jātaka sits at the heart of this 42-minute session, in which Geshe Pema Tsering reads through Chapter 18 of the Sūtra of Golden Light. Prince Mahāsattva, youngest of three princes, encounters a starving tigress about to devour her own cubs and resolves to give his body as food — cutting his throat with bamboo and falling before her. The narrative follows the earth-shaking aftermath, a rain of flowers, and the king and queen’s grief-stricken lamentations. The Buddha then discloses to Ānanda that he was Mahāsattva, that King Śuddhodana and Queen Maya were his parents in that life, Maitreya and Mañjuśrī his two brothers, and the five monks the tiger cubs. The session ends with Chapter 19’s devotional verses praising the golden-bodied Buddha.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 07 S of GL 2002 04 27.mp3
UUID: 6680ecef-1756-42cb-8052-65faecadf9da
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Sūtra of Golden Light (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2002-04-27
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 42.0 minutes
Words: ~5,720
By reason of that good act, they have come here to me, where I have now prophesied them to supreme and perfect enlightenment. Because of their great reverence in hearing the law with delight, faith and joy, they have all obtained prophecies and names. If noble goddess, you should think then that she was another, she was, at that time, at that moment, the tree goddess. It is not to be viewed thus. Why is that?
You, noble goddess, were at that time, at that moment, the tree goddess. By this means, noble goddess, must it thus be made known that while I was revolving in the cycle of existence, I ripened many beings to enlightenment, who will all attain the stage of prophecy to supreme and perfect enlightenment. So ends the seventeenth chapter, the chapter on the previous life of Jalavāhana’s previous life cycles in the excellent Suvarnabhasottama, king of sutras. CHAPTER eighteen CHAPTER ON THE TIGRESS Afterwards, noble goddess, as a bodhisattva, I had to sacrifice myself for the sake of the welfare of others. How is that?
Spreading out over heaven and earth rays of hundreds of pure vast various virtues with unobstructed knowledge and perception, power and prowess, the Lord attended by a thousand monks wandering in his course through the districts in the districts of the Pancalas arrived at a certain part of a wood. There he saw a region of the earth adorned with various flowers on a green soft dark grassy surface. And having seen it, the Lord called to the venerable Ānanda. This is the region of the earth, this region of the earth is beautiful Ānanda, And in it is the mark of the blessing for a sermon. Make ready now the Tathāgata’s seat.
Then he made the seat ready according to the Lord’s command. And having made it ready he spoke thus to the Lord. Seat is ready, be seated, Lord supreme one, excellent, giver of boons to men, matchless, bringer of deliverance. May sermons on the supreme nectar be sent forth for the welfare of men, O you who have been released from the bondage of existence. Then the Lord sat down on the seat and summoned the monks.
Do you desire then, monks, to see the relics of the bodhisattva who has performed difficult acts? When this had been said, the monks spoke thus to the Lord, this time best of seers has come, chief of excellent beings, for us to see the relics of him who delighted in calm and restraint, who excelled in patience and fortitude, who delighted in the mind of recollection, who was established in unlimited virtues, told this well. Then the Lord struck the surface of the earth with his hand, whose palm was marked with a thousand spoked wheel and which was as soft as the blossoming of a new lotus. And as soon as it had been struck the earth moved in six ways, and there arose thence a stupa made of jewels, gold, and silver. Then the Lord summoned the venerable Ānanda.
Open this stupa, Ānanda. Then the venerable Ānanda hearing the Lord opened the stupa. There he saw a container made of gold covered with gold ornaments, gems and pearls and seeing this he spoke thus to the Lord, Lord, a container made of gold has risen up. The Lord said, these are seven containers. Let them all be opened.
And he accordingly opened them all. Then he saw relics whose color resembled snow or white water lilies and seeing them he spoke thus to the Lord, Lord, there are relics present. And the Lord said, bring hither, Ānanda, the relics of the great being. Then taking these relics, the Venerable Ānanda brought them to the Lord Buddha. And the Lord took hold of the relics and put them down before the assembly and said: These were the bones of one endowed with a mass of excellent virtue, with rare restraint, meditation and patience, good mind, energy and fame, who has continually acted more and more with his mind on full enlightenment, of one whose energy was steadfast, of one who was resolute, of one who delighted always in liberality.
Then the Lord summoned the monks, Worship monks the bodhisattva’s relics, which are fragrant with morality and virtue, which are extremely difficult to behold and which have become fields of merit. Then the monks put their hands in the gesture of reverence and with devoted minds did homage their head to those relics. Then the Venerable Ānanda, placing his hands in the gesture of reverence, spoke thus to the Lord. The Lord, the Tathagatas, has risen above the whole world and therefore is worshipped by all beings. But how is it that Tathagatas worships these bones?
Then the Lord spoke thus to the venerable Ānanda. It is because of these bones Ānanda that I quickly thus awoke to supreme and perfect enlightenment. Formerly Ānanda in past time there was a king called Maharata who was possessed of much wealth, grain, chariots, power and whose power and prowess were unobstructed. He had three sons who resembled princes of the gods, Mahaprananda, Mahādeva and Mahāsattva. Then the king went out to a place in a park for sport and the princes through their attainment to the virtues of this park and through their desire for flowers running to and fro entered the great Dava Savanna VanaGoma forest.
Then when the king’s son had gone off the prince’s servants went off by themselves dismissed by the princes. They entered the Dava Savanna VanagOma in the great protected park. Then Mahaprananda spoke to his two brothers. Fear enters my heart. Come let us not find destruction here by wild beasts.
Mahādeva said I have no fear except for the separation from my beloved folk. This thought prevails in my heart, Mahāsattva said, I have no fear here nor even anxiety in this opening in the forest, praised by seers, lonely. This heart of mine rejoices on account of the acquisition of supreme vast great benefits. Then the Princes, wandering about in that opening of the Dava Savanna VanagOma, saw such a tigress had given birth seven days ago, surrounded by her five offspring, tortured by hunger and thirst, her body extremely weak. And seeing her, Mahaprananda said, ‘Ah, alas, this wretch has given birth six or seven days ago.
If she doesn’t find food, she will devour her own cubs or will die of starvation, ‘ Mahāsattva said. What food would suit this wretch? Mahaprananda said. Warm flesh and hot blood would be what is said to be food of tigers, hyenas, bears and lions. Mahādeva said: This wretch here has a body afflicted with hunger and thirst, has little life left and is very weak.
She cannot search for food in her position. Who would sacrifice himself for the sake of saving her life? Mahaprananda said, difficult good fellow is self destruction. Mahāsattva said, this course is difficult for a small minded person like us who are attached to life and body but for others embarked upon self sacrifice, good people devoted to the welfare of others, it is not difficult. Moreover, noble beings rising out of pity and compassion take up their body in heaven and here on earth.
A hundred times without changing here they work with joyful minds for the sake of the life of others. Then the princes, extremely depressed, examined the Tigress for a long time without blinking and set off. Then this occurred to Mahāsattva. It is now time for my self sacrifice. Why?
For a very long time has this putrid body been maintained with very costly beds, clothes, food, drink and vehicles, characterised by decay and ruin. Finally splitting itself up, having an evil end, it does not, for the first time, give up its own nature. Ungrateful as it is, moreover, there is nothing to be gained from it because it is wholly impure. I will now use it for a good act. Therefore it will be for me a boat for crossing the ocean of birth and death.
Moreover sacrificing this body which has become an abscess possessed of hundreds of existences, loaded with excrement and urine, without substance like foam bearing hundreds of worms, consuming its ooze, I will obtain the body of the law, which is free of grief, changeless, without agglomerations, pure, fully endowed with the virtues such as meditation, loaded with hundreds of virtues, flawless. Having thus made up his mind, his heart full of excellent compassion he distracted those two. You two go off. I will enter the Dava Savanna VanagOma on my own business. Then Prince Mahāsattva returned from the part of the forest, went to the abode of the tigress, laid aside his clothing on a forest creeper and made a resolve.
For the sake of the welfare of the world, desirous of awakening to matchless blessed enlightenment, Out of compassion with unwavering mind, I give up my body, which is which is so hard for others to sacrifice. May I obtain an enlightenment, which is free of disease, revered by the Buddha sons, free of illness. May I deliver the triple world from the ocean of existence, from fear. Then mahasattva fell down before the tigress. Then the tigress did nothing to the compassionate bodhisattva.
Then the bodhisattva, thinking she is weak, alas, and capable, rose up and looked for a knife. The merciful minded one nowhere found a knife, taking hold of a very strong bamboo stick a hundred years old, and with it cutting open his throat, he fell down before the tigress. And as soon as the bodhisattva had fallen down, this earth, like a ship buffeted by the wind in the midst of the ocean, shook in six ways. The sun, as if devoured by Rāhu, did not shine with its rays, and a rain of flowers mingled with divine perfumes and powders fell down. Then a certain goddess, her mind overcome with amazement, praised the bodhisattva.
As your good minded one, has gone forth here to all beings, as you sacrifice joyfully your body here, here are among men. Here you will, free from trouble, peaceful, attain ere long the blessed excellent fair place that is devoid of the meaning of birth and death. Then indeed the tigress seeing the bodhisattva whose body was smeared with blood in a moment left only the bones without flesh or blood. Then Mahaprananda perceiving the earthquake, spoke thus to Mahādeva. As this earth with its seas as far as the ocean shook in the ten directions and the sun has been robbed of its rays, a shower of flowers has fallen, and my mind is troubled.
My brother has now given up his body here. Mahādeva said, and as he spoke with compassionate voice when he saw the tigress ready to devour her own cubs full of hunger consumed by hundreds of troubles, my mind is very weak, and I have doubt here. Then the two princes overcome with extreme grief, their eyes suffused with tears, went back along that very path and came to the very presence of the tigress. They saw all his clothing laid upon a bamboo shoot, his bones filthy with blood scattered about, and his hair dispensed in the various directions and subdirections. Seeing this, they became faint and fell down upon his bones.
When regaining consciousness, after a very long time they stood up with arms upraised, they uttered a wretched cry. Alas for our beloved brother and the king, likewise for his mother who is devoted to her son. His mother will ask us, where is the third one of you, he whose eyes are long like the lotus? Alas, better for us in this part of the earth would be death than life. How will we, without Mahāsattva, look at our mother and father?
Then the two princes set off, lamenting pitiably in many various ways. Then the servants of the prince, running about in the directions and subdirections in search of prince, on seeing each other asked, where is the prince? Where is the prince? At that moment, the queen, lying on top of her bed, saw a dream showing separation from a loved one. It was like this.
Her breasts were being cut off and her teeth were being wrenched out. The three young doves she was holding were afraid and one was being seized by a falcon. Then when her heart was terrified by the earthquake, the queen suddenly woke up and became lost in thought. Why does the sustainer of beings whose garments are the oceans shake violently? The sun has been robbed of its rays, pointing as to where, as it were, to the sorrow my breast, my limbs cause me distress, my eye quivers, and my breast is, as it were, cut off.
May there be for me the well-being of my sons who went for sport into that forest clearing. And then when she was so reflecting, a servant whose heart was agitated entered and informed the queen, queen, the attendants of the prince are searching for the prince. It is heard that your beloved son has perished. And as soon as she heard this, the queen, her heart trembling, her eyes and face full of tears, went up to the king and said, Lord, it is heard that my beloved son has perished. The king too, his heart trembling, was reduced to extreme distress.
Alas, woe, I have been separated from my beloved son. Then the king comforted the queen. Do not be distressed, good queen. We will be energetic in searching for the prince. Many people there having set out in search of the prince and having given up.
Then after a short time, the king saw the two princes coming from afar. Having seen them, the king said, the princes appear, but not all of them. Alas, woe. Certainly, am bereaved of my son. Joy does not so rise for men on gaining a son as misery arises from loss of a son.
Surely, indeed, blessed are they who are childless in this world or those men who have reached death with their sons still living. Then the queen, overcome with extreme grief, like a she camel smelling her vital part, uttered a wretched cry. If my three sons with their band of servants have entered this forest clearing full of flowers. Where is the third who is like my own heart, my fine son, if my youngest does not come? And when those two had arrived, the king who was eager to question them questioned the two princes.
Where is our youngest son? Then afflicted with grief, their eyes clouded by tears, their palates, lips, teeth, and mouths parched, those two said nothing. The queen said, speak at once. My mind fails me, and my body is very severely oppressed. Where is the third one, my beloved son, this heart of mine desires as if as it were to burst?
Then the two princes made known the occurrences in detail. As soon as they had heard it, the king and queen became senseless. And as soon as they had returned to their senses weeping in a pitiful voice, they went to that place. Then the king and the queen, seeing his bones without blood, bloodless sinews and his hairs scattered in the directions and subdirections, fell to the ground like trees buffeted by the wind. Then the priests and the ministers, seeing the situation, revive the body of the king and of the queen with water and salves of Malaya sandal, then regaining consciousness.
After a very long time, the king rose up and lamented in a pitiful voice. Alas, beloved son, delightful, handsome, why have you come too quickly under the power of death? Why did death not come first to me? There will be for me no other woe greater than this. And the queen having regained her senses with disheveled hair beating her breast with her arms, writhing on the ground like a fish thrown up onto dry land, like a female buffalo who has lost her young, like a she camel who has lost her offspring, wailed in a pitiful voice.
Alas, beloved son, by whom has this lotus been broken and scattered over the ground? Who is my enemy on the earth? Who has now slain my son? Whose eyes were captivating the heart, whose face resembled the moon. Alas, why does not this body now perish since I behold my excellent son slain upon the ground?
Quite clearly, this heart of mine is made of iron since having perceived such disaster, it has not broken. Alas, this fruit has resulted from that evil dream when today in the midst of my dreams, someone cut off my two breasts with a sword and wrenched out my teeth. Today, my beloved son has swiftly perished just as one of the three doves I held here was snatched away by a falcon, today, when surrounded by my three sons, one has been taken away by death. Then the king and the queen made laments of many kinds of beautiful voice. Having taken off all the ornaments, they paid homage to the relics of their son in the company of a large crowd and deposited the king’s relics in this place.
If indeed, Ānanda, you should think that he was another, he was at that time, at that moment, the royal prince of mahasattva. Yet it is not to be viewed thus. Why is that, at that time, at that moment, I was the royal prince called mahasattva? Even then, Ānanda, when I was not wholly free from passion, hatred and folly, I helped the whole world with their woes, such as hells. How much more would I now, when I am free of every defect and have attained perfect enlightenment, endure in the hells of aeon for the sake of every single being or deliver them from the cycle of birth.
I, the best of beings, have helped the whole world with numerous very difficult acts. Then the Lord at that time uttered these verses: During many eons I have sacrificed myself while seeking this supreme enlightenment. Just as I became king or prince, so I sacrificed my body. I remember in former births there was a king called Mahāratha, and he had a very generous son called the excellent mahasattva. And then he had two brothers called Mahādeva and Mahapranda.
And the brothers went together into a wild forest. They saw a tigress overcome by hunger. Compassion arose in that excellent being. Wherefore now I will sacrifice myself, for this tigress, oppressed by hunger and thirst, will devour her own offspring. And mahasattva, the son of Mahāratha, fell down the mountainside when he saw the hungry tigress in order to save the cubs of tigress out of compassion.
The earth with its mountains shook, various flocks of birds flew off, a herd of deer was terrified. This world was filled with darkness. His two brothers, Mahaprananda and Mahādeva, having looked in that great excellent forest, did not find mahasattva. With extreme grief and pain in their hearts, they wandered about senseless in the forest. They searched for their brother, their faces covered with tears.
They wandered about in middle of the forest, both those princes, Mahaprananda and Mahādeva, went to where the weak tigress lay. Seeing the tigress and her cubs, the lips of the tigress smeared with blood, and seeing some hairs and bones scattered and fallen on the ground, since a few drops of his blood had fallen on the ground, the two princes beheld the blood sprinkled ground. Made faint and with their minds impaired, they fell there upon the ground, their limbs smeared with mud and dust, bereft of their sense of memory with confused thoughts. And their attendants, lamenting in pitiable voice, oppressed with grief, they sprinkled them with water and wept standing with arms upraised. And as soon as he had fallen, his mother and bearer, the beloved chief queen, together with five hundred women, went inside the palace and sat down in comfort.
Produced from both the nipples on her breasts, milk suddenly flowed for all her body was tormented as if being pricked by needles. Her heart full of extreme grief, pierced by the arrow of the extreme grief of the loss of her son, she approached the king with very sorrowful mind, consumed by grief, weeping in pitiful voice, and then she said to king Mahāratha, listen to me, king, lord of men, my body burns with fire of grief. From both nipples on my breasts, milk has suddenly been produced. My body is tormented, and if being pricked by needles as if being pricked by needles, and my heart is bursting. Since the sign was such, I will not again behold the sight of my beloved sons.
In my separation from my sons, give me my life. Have compassion. In a dream today I saw my three young doves. The third young dove is beloved and attracted to me. A falcon entered there and the young dove was snatched away by the falcon.
In my dream such grief entered this heart of mine. As a result of thinking too much on the fire of my grief, there will ere long be death for me. In my separation from my sons, give me my life. Let there be compassion. Having spoken thus, the chief queen fainted and fell upon the ground there, for she was bereft sense of memory, her thoughts failed, and her mind was unconscious.
And the whole crowd in the harem wept and wailed in pitiful voice on seeing the chief queen fallen unconscious thereupon the ground. Immediately, the king, afflicted with the grief of losing his son, went with his ministers in attendance to find out about the princes. The people in the whole city came out of their various houses and stood there. Thus did they come, their faces covered with tears, weeping. They inquired after Mahāsattva on the roads.
Is he alive or dead? Where now has Mahāsattva gone? Will I see today him who is charming, who is beloved and pleasing to the sight of beings? Suddenly the wind of grief, which cannot be heard, went forth in this region, fierce without making a noise, yet with a sharp sound due to limitless magic. King Mahāratha rose up, weeping, afflicted with grief, and besprinkled his chief queen, who had fallen on the ground, with streams of water.
He besprinkled her with water until she regained her memory, and she rose up and with unhappy mind she asked, have my sons died or do they live? And King Mahāratha spoke thus to his chief queen. The ministers and attendants have gone in the sub directions to find out about the princes. Do not be too unhappy in mind or continually with grief in your heart. And thus did Mahāratha console his chief queen.
He went out of the royal palace with his face covered with tears, weeping, sick with grief, attended by the group of ministers with very unhappy mind and with unhappy eyes. Going out of the excellent city to find out about the princes, many hundreds of thousands of beings, with their faces covered with tears, weeping, ran off. Seeing that the king had gone out, they joined up behind the king. The king Mahāratha departed from the city immediately. With rolling eyes, he looked in the ten directions to see his beloved son.
He was coming towards him, a certain man whose head had been shaved, whose limbs were smeared with blood, whose body was smeared with mud, his face covered with tears, weeping, and fierce grief arose in the heart of the king Mahāratha. With his face covered with tears, he wept, and standing with arms upraised, he lamented. Then a certain minister came hurriedly quickly from afar. He approached the Lord of Men and spoke to king Mahāratha. Do not have grief in your mind, king.
Your charming sons are alive. Soon you will see your excellent delightful son coming here into your presence. The king went on for just a moment. Then there came a second minister. Covered with dust and clad in filthy garments, with his face bathed in tears, he said this to the king.
Two of your sons, great king, are alive, but blazing with the fire of grief. One excellent son of yours is not visible, king. mahasattva was consumed by impermanence, and when he saw the tigress who had recently given birth, desirous of eating her very own cubs, the excellent prince mahasattva produced a great power of compassion for them and made a noble resolve for enlightenment. And I will deliver all the beings here. May I, in future time, attain the profound, noble enlightenment which I have desired.
Then mahasattva fell down the mountainside. The tigress arose, overcome with hunger. In a moment she made his body without flesh and left the prince with only some bones remaining. And having heard thus the very dreadful speech, King Mahāratha fainted, and he fell upon the ground, his thoughts having failed, and the fire of his grief blazed very fiercely. His ministers and attendants, weeping in pitiable voice, afflicted with grief, besprinkled him with water.
Standing with upraised arms and lamenting, a third minister said to the king, I have seen today both princes in the faint there in that great forest. They both fell upon the ground, their thoughts having failed, and we besprinkled them with water, until they regained their memory. Ablaze they looked in the four directions. For a moment they stood, then they fell to the ground and wailed with a pitiful voice. Those two continually stood with upraised arms and uttered praise for this brother.
And the king had sad thoughts in his heart. His thoughts were distraught because of the loss of his son. Burning with grief, he lamented, for thus the king was reflecting, One of my sons, beloved, delightful, has been devoured by the great rakasa of impermanence. May these, my other two sons, not attain the destruction of their life through the fire of their grief. Wherefore now I will quickly proceed there, I will behold those two sons of beloved appearance.
And I will bring them with a speedy vehicle to the capital and make them enter the royal palace speedily. May the heart of their mother and bearer not burst on account of the fire of her grief, and seeing her two sons, may she obtain peace and not find loss of life. And the king, together with the group of ministers, mounted his elephant and went to see his sons. And seeing his two sons crossing the path together, he lamented their brother’s name in a pitiful voice. The king took his two sons and weeping proceeded to the city.
Very quickly, like one in a hurry, he showed the queen her own two sons. And I, the Tathāgata Śākyamūni, was formerly the excellent Mahāvajrasattva, the son of king Mahāratha, by whom the tigress was made happy. For Śuddhodana, the excellent king, was king Mahāratha by name, and the excellent queen Maya was the chief queen. Likewise, Maitreya was Mahaprananda. Then there was the king’s son, Mahādeva.
He was Mañjuśrī, the the prince. Mahaprajapati was the tigress there. The five monks were the cubs of the tigress. Then the great king and the great queen made many different pitiful lamentations, took off all their ornaments, and together with that large crowd, they did homage the relics of their son. They deposited those relics of Mahāvajrasattva in that palace in that place and built the stupa made of the seven jewels.
And when Mahāvajrasattva gave up his body to the tigress, he made the following resolve through compassion. Through the sacrifice of my body, may all beings in future time during eons exceeding calculation be caused to perform the Buddha act. While this exposition was being expounded, innumerable beings, creatures, including men and gods, raised their thought to supreme and perfect enlightenment. And for this and this is the reason. This is the cause of the revelation of the stupa here.
And that stupa through Buddha’s blessed blessing entered the ground at that very spot. So ends the eighteenth chapter, the chapter on the previous vow. CHAPTER NINETEEN. The Tathāgata Suvarnaratna Karachakuta.. Having approached, they worshipped with their head the feet of Suvarnaratna Karachakuta and stood at one side. Having stood on one side, the numerous hundreds of thousands of bodhisattvas placed their hands in the gesture of reverence and praised the Tathāgata, Suvarnaratna Karachakuta in the following verses. The Buddha’s body is like the color of gold.
His members are brilliant for the color of gold. He has the color of gold like golden lord of mountains. A series of white lotus of golden color. His members are adorned with major marks that are good. His members are decorated with various good minor marks.
He is very brilliant with a fine splendor of gold. He is very pure, placid like the lord of mountains. He has the Brahma voice, the sound of pleasant voiced Brahma. He has the lion’s voice, the sound of a thundering cloud. His sixty fold thundering voice is a very pure voice.
The Buddha’s voice is the sound of a peacock or an Indian cuckoo. The Buddha is very pure, very brilliant, with very flawless splendor, fully adorned with the marks of hundreds of merits. The Buddha is an ocean of very pure, very flawless knowledge, is endowed with all the fine virtues of Sumeru. The Buddha has supreme compassion for the welfare of beings. He’s an excellent giver of blessing in the world, a good expositor of the highest truth, a leader to the blessing of complete nirvana.
He is a giver of the blessing of nectar. The Buddha is an excellent expositor of the nectar of the law, a leader to the city of nectar, a mine of all blessings, a place of blessing. The Buddha delivers beings from woe, releases creatures from the ocean of woe, leads creatures excellently on the path of peace, and gives every blessing to creatures. It is impossible in your case to make comparison with the extent of the ocean of virtue and knowledge of the Buddha. You have compassion for all beings, the power of love, expedience, and heroism.
It is not possible in the midst of the world of the gods to expound in many thousands of millions of eons, one by one, the merits from a drop out of the ocean of your virtue and knowledge. This has been expounded briefly by me. What is it about a drop of virtue arising from an ocean of virtue and whatever heap of merit I have heaped up, though that may that may through that may beings touch supreme enlightenment. Then indeed, the bodhisattva, Ruchiroketu, rose from his seat, covered one shoulder with his upper garment, placed his right knee on the ground, put his hands in the gesture of reverence towards the lord, and at that time, praised the Lord in the following verses. Lord of sages, you have the marks of hundreds of merits and are adorned with thousands of splendid brilliant virtues.
You have a noble complexion, an excellent placid appearance, a brightness issued as if as if issued as it were by a thousand suns. Your brightness is filled with the burning of numerous rays. You resemble jewels full of various colors. You have the brilliance of blue, white or gold, the brilliance of beryl, coppery dawn or crystal. You illuminate Sumeru mountains.
You lift up numerous millions of fields. You quell the fierce, severe woes. You satisfy beings with an excellent blessing. Your complexion and senses are pure, and you are beautiful to behold. Your beauty causes insatiableness.
You are pleasing for people to behold. The hair on your head shines with the color of peacock. Its splendor is like a lotus full of bees. You are adorned with pure virtues of compassion. You have accumulated excellent merits by meditation and love.
You are equipped with minor marks in various colors. You are adorned with such virtues as the seven members of enlightenment including meditations and teachings. For you are a bringer of joy, a bringer of good, a bringer of blessing, the source of mind of every blessing. You are adorned with various profound virtues. You shine in thousands of millions of fields.
You blaze with beams, which as it were causes fire, and you are like the sun’s full orb in the sky, endowed with all virtues like Sumeru. You appear in all the world spheres, resembling cow milk, a conch, a white lily, or the moon, having the color of snow like a beautiful white lotus. the rope of your teeth shines out from your face just as the sky as it were, brightened by royal geese. The hair circle in the middle of your placid face, your moonlight countenance turns to the right, is very curly, beryl colored black. With its rays, it shines like the sun in the sky.
And indeed, the noble goddess Bodhisattva Samantabhādra at that moment praised the Lord in the following verses. Homage be to the Buddha whose enlightenment is pure, who has realized eloquence in the pure law, who has realized a self free from the paths of lawlessness, who has a pure realization of a knowledge of existence and non existence. Endless is the Buddha’s glory! How he resembles the ocean or Meru. How endless is the Buddha’s fame.
Difficult to obtain as is the flower of the Udumbara tree. How compassionate is the Tathāgata, a banner in the family of Sakya kings, a son among the lord of men. Since he has spoken such an excellent sūtra for the aid of all beings, with his senses calm, the Tathāgata Śākyamūni, calm, excellent, entered the calm city. Profound, calm, flawless was his meditation. Meditation.
He entered that sphere of the victorious Buddha.