Myo ho ren ge kyo. Hoben-pon. Dai Ni.

1) Niji seson. Ju sanmai. Anjo ni ki. Go shari-hotsu. Sho-but^chi-e. Jinjin muryo. Go chi-e mon. Nange nannyu. Issai shomon. Hyaku-shi-butsu. Sho fu no chi.

At this time the World-Honored One serenely arose from meditation and addressed Shariputra: "The wisdom of all Buddhas is infinitely profound and immeasurable. The portal to this wisdom is difficult to understand and difficult to enter. Neither men of Learning (shomon) nor men of Realization (engaku) are able to comprehend it."

(2) Sho-i sha ga. Butsu zo shingon. Hyaku sen man noku. Mushu sho butsu. Jin gyo sho-butsu. Muryo doho. Yumyo shojin. Myosho fu mon. Joju jinjin. Mi-zo-u ho. Zui gi sho setsu. Ishu nange.

"The reason is this. A Buddha has carried out countless austerities under many hundred thousand myriads of kotis of Buddhas. He devoted himself to these practices so valiantly and untiringly that his name is universally known. He realized the profound, unparalleled Law and preaches it according to the people's capacity, yet his intention is very difficult to understand."

(3) Shari-hotsu. Go ju jo-butsu irai. Shuju innen. Shuju hiyu. Ko en gonkyo. Mu shu hoben. Indo shujo. Ryo ri sho jaku.

"Shariputra, ever since I attained Buddhahood, I have widely expounded my teachings through many stories of past relationships and many parables, and by countless means have led the people to renounce all their attachments.

(4) Sho-i sha ga. Nyorai hoben. Chiken hara-mitsu. Kai i gu-soku.

The reason for this is that the Tathagata is possessed of both means and perfect wisdom."

(5) Shari-hotsu. Nyorai chiken. Kodai jinnon. Muryo muge. Riki. Mu-sho-i. Zenjo. Gedas.^Sanmai. Jin nyu musai. Joju issai. Mi-zo-u ho.

"Shariputra, the wisdom of the Tathagata is all-encompassing and profound. His mercy is infinite, and his teaching knows no bounds. Endowed with power, fearlessness, concentration, emancipation [from sufferings and desires] and the capacity to meditate, he dwells in the boundless and awakens to the never before-realized Law."

(6) Shari-hotsu. Nyorai no. Shuju fun-betsu. Gyo ses^sho ho. Gonji nyunan. Ekka shushin. Shari-hotsu. Shu yo gon shi. Muryo muhen. Mi-zo-u ho. Bus^shitsu joju.

"Shariputra, the Tathagata has the power to perceive which among the various teachings [is suited to his audience], to preach the teachings in a skillful way, and to gladden the hearts of the people with warm and tender words. That is to say, Shariputra, the Buddha has realized the infinite, boundless and unparalleled Law."

(7) Shi shari-hotsu. Fu shu bu setsu.^Sho-i sha ga. Bus^sho joju. Dai ichi ke-u. Nange shi ho.

"Shariputra, I will say no more, because that which the Buddha has achieved is the rarest and most difficult Law to comprehend."

(8) Yui butsu yo butsu. Nai no kujin. Shoho jisso. Sho-i shoho. Nyo ze so. Nyo ze sho. Nyo ze tai. Nyo ze riki. Nyo ze sa. Nyo ze in. Nyo ze en. Nyo ze ka. Nyo ze ho. Nyo ze honmak^kukyo to.

"The true entity of all phenomena can only be understood and shared between Buddhas. This reality consists of appearance, nature, entity, power, influence, internal cause, relation, latent effect, manifest effect, and their consistency from beginning to end."

Ji-Gage

Myo ho ren ge kyo. Nyorai ju-ryo-hon. Dai ju-roku.

Ji ga toku bur^rai. Sho kyo sho kosshu. Muryo hyaku sen man. Oku sai asogi. Jo seppo kyoke Mushu oku shujo. Ryo nyu o butsu-do. Nirai muryo ko.

At that time the World-Honored One, desiring to emphasize this teaching once more, spoke in verse.

"Since I attained Buddhahood,
countless aeons have passed,
a hundred, thousand, ten thousand,
hundred thousand, asogi aeons.
I have taught the Law continuously
during these countless aeons
and caused infinite millions
to enter on the road to Buddhahood."

(26) I do shujo ko. Hoben gen nehan. Ni jitsu fu metsu-do. Jo ju shi seppo.

"I let the people witness my nirvana
as a means to save them,
but in truth I do not die;
I am here always, teaching the Law."

(27) Ga jo ju o shi. I sho jin-zu-riki. Ryo tendo shujo. Sui gon ni fu ken.

"I am here always,
yet because of my mystic powers
the deluded people cannot see me
even when I am close by."

(28) Shu ken ga metsu-do. Ko kuyo shari. Gen kai e renbo. Ni sho katsu-go shin.

"When the people witness my passing,
they pay widespread reverence to my relics
All of them harbor thoughts of yearning,
and in their hearts a thirst for me is born."

(29) Shujo ki shin-buku. Shichi-jiki i nyunan. Isshin yok^ken butsu. Fu ji shaku shinmyo. Ji ga gyu shuso. Ku shutsu ryojusen.

"When they have become truly faithful, honest and upright, gentle in mind, single-mindedly yearning to see the Buddha, not begrudging their lives to do so, then I and the assembly of monks appear together on Eagle Peak."

(30) Ga ji go shujo. Jo zai shi fu-metsu. I hoben-rik^ko. Gen u metsu fu-metsu. Yo-koku u shujo. Kugyo shingyo sha. Ga bu o hi chu. I setsu mujo ho.

"Then I tell the people
that I am always here never dying ,
that l seem at times to live, at times to die,
merely as all expedient means.
If there are those in other worlds who are reverent and sincere in faith,
among them also I teach the highest Law of all."

(31) Nyoto fu mon shi. Tan ni ga metsu-do. Ga ken sho shujo. Motsu-zai o kukai. Ko fu i gen shin. Ryo go sho katsu-go. In go shin renbo. Nai shutsu i seppo.

"But you refuse to heed my words
and insist upon thinking that I die.
I see the mass of people
drowned in a sea of woe,
and for that reason I do not show myself,
causing them to thirst for me
When their hearts commence to yearn,
I appear to once to teach the Law."

(32) Jin-zu riki nyo ze. O asogi ko. Jo zai ryo jusen. Gyu yo sho jusho. Shujo ken ko jin. Dai ka sho sho ji. Ga shi do annon. Tennin jo juman. Onrin sho do-kaku. Shuju ho Shogon. Hoju ta keka. Shujo sho yu-raku. Soten gyaku tenku. Jo sas^shu gi-gaku. U mandara ke. San butsu gyu daishu. Ga jodo bu ki. Ni shu ken sho jin. Ufu sho kuno. Nyo ze shitsu juman.

"Such are my mystic powers.
For innumerable kotis of aeons
I have always been on Eagle Peak
and have lived in various other lands
When men witness the end of an aeon
and all is consumed in a great fire,
this, my land, remains safe and unharmed,
constantly filled with gods and men.
The halls and palaces in its gardens and groves
are adorned with all kinds of gems.
Precious trees bear plentiful flowers and fruit,
and the people there are happy and at ease.
The gods strike heavenly drums
making a ceaseless symphony of sound.
A rain of white mandara blossoms
scatters over the Buddha and the people.
My pure land is indestructible yet men see it as consumed in fire,
filled with sorrow fear and woe,
a place of countless troubles."

(33) Ze sho zai shujo. I aku-go innen. Ka asogi ko. Fu mon sanbo myo.

"These people with their various crimes,
because of the effects of their evil deeds,
will never even hear the name of the three treasures,
though countless aeons go by."

(34) Sho u shu ku-doku. Nyuwa shichi-jiki sha. Sokkai ken gashin. Zai shi ni seppo. Waku-ji i shi shu. Setsu butsu-ju muryo. Ku nai ken bussha. I setsu butsu nan chi.

"But those who follow meritorious ways,
who are gentle, peaceful and upright,
all of them will see me
here in person, teaching the Law.
At times I will teach these people the immeasurable length of the Buddha's life,
and to those who see me only after a long while
I will explain how difficult it is to meet the Buddha."

(35) Ga chi-riki nyo ze. Eko sho muryo. Jumyo mushu ko. Ku shugo sho toku.

"Such is the power of my wisdom
that it illuminates infinitely far.
This life that endures for countless aeons
I gained as the result of lengthy practice."

(36) Nyoto u chi sha. Mot^to shi sho gi. To dan ryo yo jin. Butsu-go jip^puko. Nyo i zen hoben. I ji o shi ko. Jitsu zai ni gon shi. Mu no sek^komo. Ga yaku i se bu. Ku sho kugen sha.

"You men of wisdom,
rid yourselves of all doubts about this!
Cut them off once and for all.
The Buddhas words are true not false,
He is like the skilled physician
suing some devices to cure his deluded children.
He lives but tells them he has died.
No one can call his teaching false.
I am the father of this world,
saving those who are suffering and afflicted."

(37) I bonbu tendo. Jitsu zai ni gon metsu. I joken ga ko. Ni sho kyoshi shin. Ho-itsu jaku go-yoku. Da o aku-do chu. Ga jo chi shujo. Gyo do fu gyo do. Zui o sho ka do. I ses^shuju ho.

"Because of the delusions of ordinary people,
I say I have departed though in fact I live,
for if they see me constantly,
arrogance and selfishness arise in their hearts,
Abandoning themselves to the five desires,
they fall into the paths of evil.
I am ever aware of which people practice the Way, and which do not."

(38) Mai ji sa ze nen. I ga ryo shujo. Toku nyu mu-jo do. Soku joju busshin.

"This is my constant thought:
how I can cause all living beings
to gain entry to the highest Way
and quickly attain Buddhahood."

Go Back