Toh 104 — Expounding the Qualities of the Thus-Gone Ones’ Buddhafields
Buddhakṣetraguṇoktadharmaparyāya
Translated by the Subhashita Translation Group under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
The Noble Dharma Discourse
Expounding the Qualities of the Thus-Gone Ones’ Buddhafields
F.285.b Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling at the seat of awakening,[1] in a Dharma hermitage in the land of Magadha,[2] where he was seated upon a lion throne in the center of a lotus, inlaid with jewels and vajras. He was accompanied by a great bodhisattva assembly of as many bodhisattva great beings as there are atoms throughout tens of trillions of indescribable buddhafields.
Present within that assembly of bodhisattvas was a bodhisattva great being by the name of Acintyaprabharāja. Through the power of the Buddha, the bodhisattva great being Acintyaprabharāja rose from his seat and addressed the group of bodhisattvas: F.286.a “O children of the Victorious One, an eon in this Sahā world is but a single day in the realm of Sukhāvatī, the buddhafield of the blessed Thus-Gone One Amitābha.
“O children of the Victorious One, an eon in Sukhāvatī is but a single day in the realm of Abhirati, the buddhafield of the blessed Thus-Gone One Akṣobhya.[3]
“O children of the Victorious One, an eon in the realm of Abhirati is but a single day in the realm of Kaṣāyadhvajā,[4] the buddhafield of the blessed Thus-Gone One Vajrasārapramardin.
“O children of the Victorious One, an eon in the realm of Kaṣāyadhvajā is but a single day in the realm of Avaivartikacakranirghoṣā, the buddhafield of the blessed Thus-Gone One Suniścitapadmaphullitagātra.
“O children of the Victorious One, an eon in the realm of Avaivartikacakranirghoṣā is but a single day in the realm of Virajā, the buddhafield of the blessed Thus-Gone One Dharmadhvaja.
“O children of the Victorious One, an eon in the realm of Virajā is but a single day in the realm of Pradīpā, the buddhafield of the blessed Thus-Gone One Siṃha.
“O children of the Victorious One, an eon in the realm of Pradīpā is but a single day in the realm of Suprabhā, the buddhafield of the blessed Thus-Gone One Vairocana.
“O children of the Victorious One, an eon in the realm of Suprabhā is but a single day in the realm of Duratikramā, the buddhafield of the blessed Thus-Gone Dharmaraśmiprajvalitagātra.
“O children of the Victorious One, an eon in the realm of Duratikramā is but a single day in the realm of Vyūhā, F.286.b the buddhafield of the blessed Thus-Gone One Sarvābhijñāmatirāja.
“O children of the Victorious One, an eon in the realm of Vyūhā is but a single day in the realm of Ādarśamaṇḍalacakranirghoṣā, the buddhafield of the blessed Thus-Gone One Candrabuddhi.
“O children of the Victorious One, continuing with this system of examining and calculating realms, after a distance equal to the total atoms in one million buddhafields we arrive at the equivalent of a single day in the realm of Padmaśrī, the buddhafield of the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, and completely perfect Buddha Bhadraśrī. This is a land where the bodhisattvas who follow the conduct of Samantabhadra make special preparations for the bodhisattva levels.[5]
“O children of the Victorious One, if any son or daughter of noble family holds, memorizes, recites,[6] masters, or teaches in detail to others this Dharma discourse, Expounding the Qualities of the Thus-Gone Ones’ Buddhafields,[7] then blessed buddhas from infinite oceans of limitless buddhafields throughout the ten directions will be seated before them at the time of their death. They will recollect their lifetimes until they fully awaken to unsurpassed and completely perfect buddhahood.”
This was spoken with joy by the bodhisattva great being Acintyaprabharāja with the authorization of the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect Buddha. The entire assembly of bodhisattva great beings praised what he had taught.
This completes the noble Dharma discourse “Expounding the Qualities of the Thus-Gone Ones’ Buddhafields.”[8]Colophon
This was translated, edited, and finalized by the Indian preceptors Jinamitra and Dānaśīla and the senior translator-editor, the venerable monk Yeshé Dé.
Notes
Tib. byang chub kyi snying po na; Skt. bodhimaṇḍale. The Tibetan term is typically a translation of bodhimaṇḍa, referring to the “seat of awakening.” The Skt. bodhimaṇḍala can be taken as either a variant or scribal corruption that conveys the same meaning.
backTib. mnyam dga’. On the use of the Tib. term mnyam dga’/mnyam dka’ as a translation of the Skt. term magadha, see Hahn 2012, an article dedicated to precisely this equivalence. The Skt. text confirms magadheṣu, “in Magadha.”
backThis line is not found in the Skt. witness.
backBecause the previous line was not included in the Skt. text, the Skt. sūtra proceeds from Sukhāvatī here instead of Abhirati. The Skt. reads, “an eon in the realm of Sukhāvatī is but a single day in the realm of Kaṣāyadhvajā…” (sukhāvatyāṃ lokadhātau kalpaṃ tat kaṣāyadhvajāyāṃ lokadhātau … ekaṃ rātridivasam).
backSkt. yatra samantabhadracaritrāṇām bodhisattvānām mahāsattvānām bhumīparikarmaviśeṣaḥ.
backHere the Skt. text includes “promotes it” (bhāvayiṣyati), which is not found in the Tib. translation.
backIn this line the Skt. text attests to a near-identical rendering of the title of the sūtra as provided in the Tib. translation: Tathāgatānām buddhakṣetraguṇodbhāvanadharmaparyāyam.
backThe colophon of the Skt. sūtra reads, “This completes the seventeenth sūtra, the Mahāyāna sūtra titled Proclaiming the Qualities of the Infinite Buddhafields, which belongs to the extensive collection, the Ornaments of the Buddhas (buddhāvataṃsakād vaipulyapiṭakād anantabuddhakṣetraguṇodbhāvanaṃ nāma mahāyānasūtram saptadaśaṃ samāptam).
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