The
translator: Master Xuangzang, Buddhist monk, in Tang Dynasty of China,
A.D.602-A.D.664. He accepted the emperor's order to translate this Buddhist
scripture from Sanskrit into Chinese.
The modern
translator: Tao Qing Hsu, Buddhist-at-home, living in Taiwan. She translates
this Buddhist scripture from Chinese into English in the year of A.D. 2020.
See the last
page for explanation of terms of this Buddhist scripture.
I heard it like this: some time,
Bhagavan traveled in various countries, educated and enlightened all beings
there, came to Vast-Solemn City, and lived under the music tree. Bhagavan was together
with 8,000 Buddhist monks and 36,000 Bodhisattvas, and kings, ministers,
Brahmins, Buddhists-at-home, celestial-dragons-eight-parts, humans-but-non-humans,
etc. There were countless masses, those who respectfully surrounded Bhagavan.
Bhagavan spoke of Buddha-law for them.
At this time, Buddhalaw-prince Manjusri,
received the majestic power of the Buddha, got up from his seat, exposed his
right shoulder, kneeled on the ground with his right knee, faced Bhagavan, bent
his body and closed his palms, and said, "World Venerable! I hope you can
speak of the names of all Buddhas of such appearances and kinds, and their rare
and transcendental merits of their broad vows, so that everyone who hears can
remove obstacles caused by self evil karma. It is for the sake of benefiting
all sentient beings and making them peace and happiness in the spreading period
of the image of Buddha."
At this time, World Venerable
praised the boy Manjusri and said, "Goodness! Goodness! Manjusri! You
persuade me with great compassion to ask me to talk about the names of all
Buddhas and their original vows and merits. It is for the sake of removing the obstacles
of the evil karma which intertwines the sentient beings, so as to benefit the
sentient beings and make them peace and happiness in the spreading period of
the image of Buddha. Now listen carefully! Think hard with the greatest
ability! I will tell you now.”
Manjusri
said: “All right, I hope you say! We are happy to hear!”
The Buddha told Manjusri:
"From here to the east, after passing through the Buddha land of ten
Ganges Rivers Sands, etc., there is a world named Purity Glaze, and the name of
the Buddha is Tathagata Pharmacist Glazelight, the One who should be supported
by humans and heavens, the righteous equal enlightener, the perfect person with
bright wisdom and virtuous action, good death, the understanding person for the
world, the supreme scholar, great man of taming, the teacher in heavens and humans,
Buddha, and Bhagavan. "
"Manjusri! When the World
Venerable-the Tathagat Pharmacist Glazelight, originally went on Bodhisattva
path, he had his twelve vows to make all sentient beings wishes come
true."
"The First Great Vow: I wish
my future life, when I attain the Supreme Righteous Equality and Righteous Enlightenment,
my body will be bright and ablaze, shining in countless boundless worlds, with
thirty-two kinds great man’s appearances and eighty appending forms so as to
make the body solemn, and let all sentient beings become the same like me."
“The Second Great Vow: I wish
that when I attain Bodhi in the afterlife, my body will be like glazed glass,
which is bright and clear inside and outside, clean without any flaws and dirt.
It is bright, broad and grand. The merit and virtue are lofty. The body is good
at dwelling peacefully. Its flaming web is solemn more than the sun and moon.
The concealed and dusky sentient beings, all can be enlightened and know about
the wisdom, and do all kinds of business according to their respective wishes
and interests."
"The Third Great Vow: I wish
that when I attain Bodhi in the afterlife, with boundless wisdom and
convenience, so that all sentient beings can get endlessly needed and acceptable
things, so that there is no shortage of anything for all beings."
"The Fourth Great Vow: I wish
that when I attain Bodhi in the afterlife, if all sentient beings are going on
the evil path, I will let them dwell peacefully on Bodhi path; if there are
people who take the Sounds-Hearing Boat or take the Alone-Enlightened Boat, I
will let them take the Great Boat so as to make them peace and settle down.”
"The Fifth Great Vow: I wish
that when I attain Bodhi in the afterlife, if there are countless and boundless
sentient beings, to practice the clean action in my Buddha-law, everything will
make them obtain the no-shortage precepts and have the three-accumulated-precepts.
If they destroy or violate any precepts, once they have heard my name, they will
regain pure and clean, and do not fall into the evil-going."
"The Sixth Great Vow: I wish
that when I attain Bodhi in the afterlife, if all sentient beings, their body
is inferior, their all roots are not perfect, such as the ugly, stubbornly stupidity,
blindness, deafness, dumbness, limb contracture, humpbacked, skin disease,
madness, all kinds of sickness. After hearing my name, everything is gained the
upright, perfect, clever and wise, their all roots are complete, which have no
all diseases and pain."
"The Seventh Great Vow: I wish
that when I attain Bodhi in the afterlife, if all the sentient beings are
annoyed and approached by many diseases, and there is no salvation, no belonging,
no cure, no medical treatment, no family members, no family, but poverty and a
lot of suffering; once my name is passing through his ears, many diseases are
eliminated. His physical and mental body is well-being. Family members, assets
and living utensils can richly satisfy him, and even he can prove the supreme Bodhi."
"The Eighth Great Vow: I wish
that when I attain Bodhi in the afterlife, if a woman is annoyed by the
hundreds bad sufferings of a woman, and she has a great dislike for this and is
willing to abandon the female’s body; once she has heard my name, everything
can be transformed from female to male, to have the appearance of a man, and
even she can prove the supreme Bodhi.”
"The Ninth Great Vow: I wish
that I make all the sentient beings out of the entangled and entangled web of
demons when I attain Bodhi in the afterlife, and free all of them from the
entanglement and restraint of the Outer Path; if all sentient beings deprave themselves in
the forest of the various evil views, I will guide, influence and place them in
the right views, and gradually make them practice and learn all the Bodhisattva’s
good deeds, so that they can prove the supremacy of Bodhi as soon as possible!”
"The Tenth Great Vow: I wish
that when I attain Bodhi in the afterlife, if all sentient beings are harmed by
the King-Law, tied up with ropes, beaten with whips, imprisoned in prison, or
deserved to be punished or executed, even suffered more kinds of innumerable
disasters and insults, and they feel sad, tragic and sorrowful torture and
persecution in heart, and both of their physical and mental body are in suffering;
if they can hear my name, I will use my blessing, virtuous, prestige and
spiritual power to make them all free from all annoyed suffering! "
"The Eleventh Great Vow: I
wish that when I attain Bodhi in the afterlife, if all sentient beings are
troubled by hunger and thirst, and they will do all kinds of evil karma for the
sake of food; if they can hear my name, concentrate on chanting my name, understanding
and perceiving it in heart, and holding it forever, I should first satisfy their
body with the supremely delicious diet, and then establish it and make it peace
and happiness with the taste of the Buddha-law after all."
"The 12th Great Vow: I wish
that when I attain Bodhi in the afterlife, if all sentient beings are in
poverty and without clothes, bitten by mosquitoes and insects, feel cold in
winter, feel very hot in summer, and persecuted by all these troubles, day by
day and night by night; if they can hear my name, recite my name attentively,
understand and perceive it in heart, and never forget it, they can get all
kinds of supreme wonderful clothes, as well as all of the living utensils with
the treasures and solemn, according to their preferences. Wreaths, spices,
drums, musical instruments and popular skills can all come to study, watch or
enjoy as they wish. All of these will make them feel satisfied."
"Manjusri! These are the
twelve mysterious supreme vows made by the World Venerable-the Tathagata Pharmacist
Glazelight, the One who should be supported by humans and heavens, and the righteous
equal enlightener, while it is going in the Bodhisattva Path."
"Moreover, Manjushri! The
World Venerable-the Tathagata Pharmacist Glazelight, when he went in the path
of Bodhisattva, his great vows and his merit and solemn of his Buddha's land,
if I say it for a long, long time, I still can’t finish it. However, it is
always clean in his Buddha’s land, where is no woman, evil-going, and painful
sounds; glaze as a ground, gold rope as a boundary and road. City, watchtower,
palace, pavilion, windowed promenade, window, light and soft net is composed of
seven kinds of treasures; it is also like the Western Utmost Bliss World, the
merits are solemn, and which are equivalent to each other and no difference. In
this country, there are two Bodhisattva Mahasas: one is named as
Sunshine-Generally, and the other one is named as Moonlight-Generally. Both of
them are in the top position of those innumerable countless Bodhisattvas, are
in the alternate position for the Buddha, and can understand and hold on the righteous
Buddha-law treasures which are taught by the World Venerable, the Tathagata Pharmacist
Glazelight. Therefore, Manjushri! Good men and good women, all those who are
confident in this should wish to rebirth in such Buddha world."
At this time, the World Venerable
also told the boy Manjushri: " Manjushri! There are all kinds of sentient
beings who don't understand the good and the evil, but they have the thought of
greed and stinginess. They don't know about giving and the giving-consequence. They
are stupid, obsessed and without wisdom, lack of faith-root, gathered many
treasures, and worked diligently to guard these treasures. When they saw a
beggar come to them, they felt unhappy. If they did not receive any
compensation when they gave, it was like deeply cutting the flesh of their
bodies, and thus to feel painful and reluctant. There are also countless meant
and greedy sentient beings to accumulate asset which can not be enjoyed by
self, not to mention to give it to parents, wives, and slaves to enjoy it, and
those who come to beg. These kinds of various sentient beings, after the end of
their lives, are re-born in the hungry-ghost world, or in the animal path. Thanks
to, in their previous humans world, they had temporarily heard the name
of the Tathagata Pharmacist Glazelight, they were now in the evil-going, and
were temporarily able to recall the name of this Tathagata, therefore, in the
moment what they had a thought of this, they disappeared from another place and
was born again among the humans world; since that, they got a thought of fate, and
were afraid of suffering in the evil-going, disliked the joy of desire, liked
to give favors, gave praise to those who gave. For everything, they didn’t have
the thought of greed and unwilling, and could gradually use head, eyes, hands,
feet, blood, flesh, body to give to those who demand, not to mention the
remaining property. "
"Moreover, Manjushri! If all
sentient beings are taught and learned in the place where they should learn
Tathagata, but they break the precepts; there are some of them who will not
break the precepts, but they will break the rules; there are precepts and rules
which will not be destroyed, but the righteous views are destroyed; although some
of them does not destroy the righteous views, but they give up broad knowledge,
and it is not clear to understand the deep meaning of the Buddhist scriptures;
there are some of them who obtain the broad knowledge, but increase the arrogance,
because the increased arrogance covers the heart, so they are in the opinion what
they have done is right, but to criticize others unfairly. They despise and
slander the righteous Buddha-laws, to be a devil's partner and its party
member. Such a stupid person, who behaves evil opinions, and makes countless
large sentient beings fall into super dangerous pits. These various sentient
beings should be in hell, animals, and ghosts being endlessly circulating. If
they can hear the name of this Tathagata Pharmacist Glazelight, they will be
able to abandon the evil deeds, practice all kinds of good laws, and do not
fall into the evil-going; suppose that there were some people who could not
give up all evil deeds to practice the virtuous laws, but deprave themselves
in the evil-going, this Tathagata would use the power of his original vows, to
make them appear in front of him, make them temporarily hear the name. Those
people would be born again in the humans after the end of life, and be able to
gain positive insights and diligence, good at adjusting his own intentions, and
able to give away his family, but interested in non-family. In the law of
Tathagata, where they had been taught and practiced as they had learned, there were
no destructors, but positive insights and broad knowledge. Meanwhile, they
understood the very deep meaning, had left the increased arrogance, and no
longer to slander the righteous laws, no longer to be a companion of the devil,
and gradually to be able to practice all kinds of Bodhisattva’s deeds, and to achieve
the perfect completeness as soon as possible. "
"Moreover, Manjushri! If all
sentient beings are stingy, greedy, and jealous, they praise themselves, but
slander others, they should fall into the three evils, and have suffered all
kinds of severe suffering for thousands of years. At the end, come to rebirth
in the world of humans, to become cattle, horses, camels and donkeys, whipped
for a long time. Their heart is forced and worried by hungry and thirsty. And they
often carry heavy loads, follow the road and walk. Or they are fortunately to become
a human being again, born in a humble position, with a low status, to become other
people's servant and maidservant, forced to be forced, enslaved and ordered by
others, they can't be free for long. If in the previous human life they had
heard the name of this Tathagata Pharmacist Glazelight, due to such good
causes, they can now have one thought of this name and return to and rely on it
with their most sincere heart, by the power of the Buddha ’s prestige, many
sufferings were relieved, their all roots became clever and flexible, with
wisdom and broad knowledge; they long-term ask for the special-victory
Buddha-law, often encountered the virtuous friends, always cut off the devil ’s
net, break and destroy the ignorant shell, exhaust the river of trouble, and
free themselves from all the worry of and sorrow of life, aging, disease and
death."
"Moreover, Manjushri! If all
the sentient beings are doing things with the exaggerated attitude, not only like
to contradict the goodwill and the good deeds, and deviate from
others, but also more prefer to fight and argue with each other, and to angry and
disturb themselves and others’ peaceful hearts, and to use their own bodies, words
and thoughts so as to create and grow various evil actions. They are repeatedly
impermanent, often do things that neither give others generously, nor give
people rich interests, but plan to plot against each other. They call on the
gods of mountains, trees, tombs, etc ., kill all kinds of beings, take their
blood and flesh so as to sacrifice to the Medicine Fork, Rakshapo, etc .; they
write the names of the people they hate, make those peoples image, curse them
with evil spells, use superstitious methods to pray to ghosts or gods or use Gu
tricks to bewitch or hurt others, or use spells to make ghosts of dead body sit
or lie down, or order them to cut off the lives of others and destroy others
bodies. All these sentient beings, if they can hear the name of this Tathagata Pharmacist
Glazelight, those evil things can't hurt them. All people and things can
repeatedly generate compassion, be able to benefit, comfort and rejoice others.
They have neither intention of damaging or irritating others, nor the mind of
disgust and resentment. They can feel joy and joy each other, have joy and
satisfaction for everything they have used, and no longer infringe and bully
each other, but can give each other generously and give each other a lot of
interests."
"Moreover, Manjushri! If there
are four kinds of sentient beings: Buddhist monks, Buddhist nuns, Buddhist-at-home
of male, Buddhist-at-home of female, and the rest of the pure-faith men,
women, etc., and they are able to comprehend eight pure precepts, and never
forget; or after a year, or after three months, they comprehend in heart in the
place where they learned, and never forget; with such virtuous roots, they wish
to rebirth in the place where Buddha Incalculable-longevity in the world of Western
Utmost Bliss is located, so as to hear the righteous Buddha Law, however, have
not yet made up their minds; if they hear the name of this World Venerable-the
Tathagata Pharmacist Glazelight, and when they are facing the end of their
life, there will be eight great Bodhisattvas which names are: Bodhisattva
Manjushri, Bodhisattva Word-Sound-Perceiving ( to perceive the world sound),
Bodhisattva Great-Power Gaining (to gain the great power), Bodhisattva Endless-Meaning,
Bodhisattva Precious-Epiphyllum, Bodhisattva Medicine-King, Bodhisattva Medicine-Supreme,
Bodhisattva Maitreya. These eight great Bodhisattvas came out of the air to
show these beings the way to the place where this Tathagata Pharmacist Glazelight
is located. In the world of this Tathagata, among the various variegated and
precious flowers, these beings naturally change to be born without dependence and
their new form is thus generated."
"There may be sentient
beings born in heaven for this reason. Although they were born in heaven, and
their original good roots are not exhausted, they are no longer born in various
remaining evil-goings. When their life in heaven ends, they are born again in
the world of humans, or become the Turning Wheel King, take control of the four
continents, freedom in penalty and kindness, and settle countless thousands of sentient
beings down in ten-virtuous paths; or they were born in the big family of Kshatriya,
Brahman, and of Buddhist-at-home, and they are rich in wealth and treasures,
and the warehouse is abundant. Their appearance is dignified and solemn. They have
enough family members. They not only are smart and with wisdom, but also are brave,
strong and powerful, just like a Hercules. If these sentient beings are a
woman, and who can hear the name of this Tathagata Pharmacist Glazelight, and
can comprehend it with her most sincere heart and will never forget, after
that, she will no longer get a female body. "
"Moreover, Manjushri! When
this Tathagata Pharmacist Glazelight, attained the Bodhi, due to the power of
his original vows, he observed all kinds of sentient beings who suffered many
diseases and pains, thinness and spasm, dry in mouth, hunger and thirst, yellow
fever and other diseases; or these beings have been superstitiously prayed to
the ghosts and gods to be confused or hurt, or were stabbed by the poisonous insect
poison; or they were short living, or unusually dying; this Tathagata desired
to eliminate these various sufferings, and to fulfill the wishes of all beings.
"
At this time, this World
Venerable entered into the state of meditation, which name was called To Eliminate
All Sufferings of All Beings. After the state of meditation was completed, a great
light appeared in the bulge above the Buddha's head, and it spoke the great incantation
(by transliteration) which said:" NA MO BAO JIA FA DI, BI SHA SHE JU LU, BI
LIU LI BO LA PO HE LUO SHE YE, DA TUO JIE DUO YE, A LUO HE DI, SAN MIAO SAN BO TUO
YE. DA ZHI TUO: OM, BING SHA SHI, BING SHA SHI, BING SHA SHE, SAN MEI JIE DI SUO
HE.“ At this time, after the mantra was spoken in the light, the earth shook
and amplified the light, and all the sickness and suffering of all sentient
beings were eliminated, and they all enjoyed the happiness of peace and safe.
"Manjushri! If you see men or
women suffering from diseases, you should be single mind for those patients,
often bathe and rinse your mouth cleanly, use their food, medicine, or
without-bacteria water to recite this mantra for 108 times on it, and then give
it to those patients to eat or drink, all the pain of their disease can be
eliminated. If anyone has any prayers and sincere recitation about this
incantation, they can be like this without any disease and can keep their life
continuously; after in the end of their life, they go to rebirth in that world
and achieve the non-retreat and non-turn, even to attain Bodhi. For this reason,
Manjushri! If there are men and women, in the Tathagata Pharmacist Glazelight, with
sincerity and sincere deep heart, with respect and courtesy to give anything,
often to recite this incantation, don't make them discard or forget such
merit."
"Moreover, Manjushri! If
there are men or women with pure faith who can hear the all names of the
Tathagata Pharmacist Glazelight-the One who should be supported by heavens and
humans or the righteous equality enlightener, they can recite this name after
completely hearing all of these names; they chew the teeth-cleaning wood branch
in the morning, have the cleanly bathe and gargle, use flowers of various
aromas, incense that can be burned, and incense that can be applied to the
skin, make a variety of musical instruments and music, to support the image of
this Tathagata; for this Buddhist scripture, if they can copy it with writing
and recite, and if they can teach others to write and recite, they should be
single minded, comprehend it, keep it in mind forever, and hear the meaning of
this scripture; they should practice supporting those who speak and teach this
scripture: all the tools of nurturing oneself can be given and don’t make this
teacher shortage of anything; by
this way, they can receive the protection, support and care from all the
Buddhas and Bodhisattvas; any wishes can be satisfied, and even Bodhi can be
attained.”
At this time, boy Manjushri said
to the Buddha: "World Venerable! I should have vowed in the time of propagating
Buddha-law of Buddha-image, to use various conveniences to enable all kinds
of pure faith good men and women to hear the name of this World Venerable-the Tathagata Pharmacist Glazelight. Even in their dreams, their ears are
enlightened by the name of this Buddha. World Venerable! If there are people
who can understand this Buddhist scripture, never forget and recite it; or who
are able to give speeches and instructions for others about this Buddhist
scripture; suppose that they can write this Buddhist scripture by self, suppose
that they can teach people to write it; they respectfully respect this Buddhist
scripture and the name of the Buddha, and with various floral fragrances,
skin-applicable fragrances, powdery incense, combustible joss sticks, wreaths, necklaces,
decorative items covered with utensils, music, so as to support this Buddhist
scripture and the name of the Buddha; they use five colors of silk fabric to
make a bag and put this Buddhist scripture in there; they sweep the place clean, arrange
and set up a high seat, and use it to place this Buddhist scripture. At this
time, the four great heavenly kings and their families, and the rest of the
hundreds of thousands of heavenly people, came to visit this residence, to
support and protect this Buddhist scripture and this place. World Venerable! Suppose
that this Buddhist Scripture Treasure spreads widely, someone can understand
it, and never forget it, then, with the merits of the original vows of the World
Venerable- the Tathagata Pharmacist Glazelight, and with this name what has
been heard, we should know that there is no longer any abnormal death in this
place, and their spirits and souls are no longer captured by all kinds of evil
ghosts and spirits; assuming that their spirits and souls have been captured, those
can be restored to its original state, and their physical and mental body are
peaceful and happy as before."
Buddha tells Manjushri:
"That's it! That's it! That's what you said. Manjushri! Suppose those who
are good men and good women with pure faith, etc., want to support the World Venerable-the Tathagata Pharmacist Glazelight, they should first build the statue of the
Buddha, arrange the clean seat, and let the Buddha live in this place stably; spread
all kinds of flowers, burn all kinds of incense, and decorate this place with
various curtains; after seven days and seven nights, accept eight pure
precepts, eat clean food, wash the body to be clean and fragrant, and wear
clean clothes; they should have a heart free from dirt, anger, and hurt; for
all sentient beings, they can generate an egalitarian heart with benefit,
peace, mercy, compassion, joy, and abandoning; and then, drumming, music,
singing, praising, encircling the Buddha statue from the right direction; they
should also think of the merit of the original vow, read this Buddhist
scripture, think its meaning, have a speech to all beings and teach them the
meaning of this Buddhist scripture; following the wishes they are interested in,
everything can be fulfilled: if they wish for longevity, they can get
longevity; if they wish for rich, they can get rich; if they wish for official
position, they can get an official position; if they wish for men or women,
they will be able to get men or women."
"Suppose someone suddenly has
nightmares and sees all kinds of evil phenomenon: either strange birds come to
the assembly, or hundreds of monsters appear in the place of residence, if this
person can use all kinds of wonderful resources-life utensils to respectfully
support the World Venerable-the Tathagata Pharmacist Glazelight, nightmares,
evil phenomenon, and various unlucky things would be hidden and disappeared,
and would no longer cause harm; or suppose there are water, fire, knife,
poison, danger and difficult Mountains climbing, evil elephants, lions, tigers,
wolves, bears, brown bears, poisonous snakes, evil scorpions, centipedes,
snails, slugs, mosquitoes, gadfly, and other kinds of fears, if someone can
sincerely remember and recite this Buddha, respect and support this Buddha, it
can be free from all terrors and fears; suppose there are intrusions and
disturbances from other countries, and there are rebels and chaos from the
robbers and thieves in the domestic country, if someone can respectfully
remember and recite this Tathagata, it can be free from all the dangers."
"Moreover, Manjushri! Suppose
that there are good men and good women with pure faith, and even to the end of
their body form, they do not serve other gods, only have single mind to return to
and rely on Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, and accept and hold the prohibitions
and precepts: for example, five precepts, ten precepts, Bodhisattva has four
hundred precepts, Buddhist monk has two hundred precepts, Buddhist nun has five
hundred precepts; suppose that precepts which have been accepted and hold are
damaged or violated, and there is the fear to fall into the evil-going, if they
can concentrate on chanting the name of the Buddha, and respectfully support this
Tathagata, they will certainly not undergo the birth on the three evil-goings; suppose
that there is a woman who suffers greatly pain when facing the childbirth, if
she can sincerely chant the name of this Buddha, and praise and respect for the
merits of this Buddha, and respectfully support this Tathagata, all kinds of
sufferings can be eliminated; the born child will have a full body, a dignified
and upright appearance, and everyone who sees this child is happy, the nimble
root of this child is clever, everything is safe and secure, there are few diseases,
and there is not non-human-being to take away this child’s spirit and soul."
At this
time, the World Venerable told Ananda, "It is as what I praise all the
merits of this Tathagata Pharmacist Glazelight. And it is what the extremely
profound practice of all Buddhas. It is difficult for ordinary beings to
understand and believe. Do you believe it or not?"
Ananda said: "Great-Virtue
World Venerable! I will not have any doubts or confusion about the Buddhist
scriptures said by the Tathagata. Why? All the body, speech, and spiritual
karma of all the Tathagata are clean and pure. World Venerable! The wheel of sun
and moon could be made to fall. The Subtle-High-Mountain-King could be overturned
and shaken. There is no difference in what all the Buddha said."
"World Venerable! There are
all kinds of sentient beings with insufficient of faith-roots; after hearing
all the profound practices of all Buddha, they thought about this by self: why
can I obtain the said merit and victory just only by chanting the name of this
Buddha-the Tathagata Pharmacist Glazelight? Owing to they did not have
confidence in this, yet generate the mind to slander it, they lost great
profits and joy in the long night, and depraved self into all kinds of evil-goings,
where to experience the successive variations with no end!"
The Buddha told Ananda: "If
all these sentient beings can hear the name of the World Venerable-the
Tathagata Pharmacist Glazelight, sincerely accept and keep it without
forgetting, without any doubt or confusion, there is no such reason to deprave self
into the evil-going. "
"Ananda! This is the deepest
practice of all Buddhas, it is difficult to believe and understand; which you
can accept it today, you should know that it is the majestic power of the
Tathagata. Ananda! All the Sounds-Hearing, Alone-Enlightened, and all the
Bodhisattvas who have not yet step on land, etc., can’t truly believe and
understand this, except for a Bodhisattva who is in an alternate Buddha
position in whole life. Ananda! The human body is difficult to obtain; in the
three treasures, those who can believe, love and respect it, it is hard to get;
to hear the name of World Venerable-the Tathagata Pharmacist Glazelight, it is
harder more than the aforesaid.”
"Ananda! The immeasurable
Bodhisattva’s practices of, the immeasurable goodwill ingenious convenience of,
and immeasurable great vows of this Tathagata Pharmacist Glazelight, suppose
that I can speak it widely in one eon, and suppose to be more than one eon, a eon
could be ended quickly, the vows practiced by this Buddha and its goodwill
ingenious convenience are never ended! "
At this time, among the crowd,
there was a Bodhisattva Mahasa, whose name was Rescue-Disengage, and he got up
from his seat, exposed his right shoulder, kneeled down with his right knee,
bent his body to merge his palm, and told the Buddha, "Great-Virtue World
Venerable! When the Buddha-law of Buddha image is spread and circulated,
various beings were suffering from various hardships and disasters, they were
ill, thin and weak for a long time and could not eat and drink; their throats
and lips were dry; all the places they looked at were dim; the phenomenon of
death appeared in front of him; parents, relatives, friends, and the
knowledgeable person cried and mourned around him; however, he lay down in his
original place and saw the messenger of King Yama who led his spiritual
consciousness to the front of the King Yama; however, all sentient beings have
the co-existed Spirit who was born with him; everything he did, whether it was
sin or blessing, was recorded by the co-existed Spirit, and which are all taken
to the King Yama; at this time, this King Yama interrogated this person and
planned to consider everything he did, so as to judge based on his sins or
blessings; at this time, the relative or knowledgeable person of the patient,
if he can help this patient return to and rely on the World Venerable-the
Tathagata Pharmacist Glazelight, please all monks and nuns to read and chant
this Buddhist scripture, kindle seven layers of lights, hang spiritual flags of
life-extending with five colors, there may be such an existence, his
consciousness can recover to be the original clear state, as if in a dream seeing all
these changes clearly, so that after 7 days, 21 days, 35 days, or 49 days, when
his consciousness recovers, it is like waking up from a dream, he can recall
and knowing all the good and bad karma of his own acts and such results what he
has obtained; because he proves by himself to see the result of his karma, and
even he suffers the disaster of life and death, he did not dare to commit all
kinds of evil acts; for this reason, good men and good women with pure faith
should realize and never forget the name of the Tathagata Pharmacist
Glazelight, and according to the individual's ability, respectfully support
this Tathagata. "
At this time, Ananda asked
Bodhisattva Rescue-Disengage and said, "Good man! How should we
respectfully support the Tathagata Pharmacist Glazelight? How can the flag and
lamp that extends life be made?" The Bodhisattva Rescue-Disengage said,
"Great Virtue! If there is patient who wants to disengage from the pain of
the disease, we should be for this person, in seven days and seven nights to realize
and maintain eight kinds of pure precepts at home; we should prepare anything according
to the personal abilities with food and other daily life equipment, so as to
support the Picchu monk; six hours each day and night, we worship and practice
Dao so as to support the World Venerable-the Tathagata Pharmacist Glazelight, and
to read and chant this Buddhist scripture for 49 times, light 49 lamps, and
create seven bodies' form of that Buddha-statue, each with 7 lamps in front of each
statue; the light amount of a lamp is as large as a wheel, and even after 49
days, the light is endless; the flag made of five colors of silk fabric has a
length of 49 palms, and miscellaneous beings should be released to 49 species; all
of this will make this person survive from dangerous and distressing disasters,
and make him not to be controlled by all kinds of unexpected evil spirits."
"Moreover, Ananda! If when
Ksatriya, King Head-Watering, etc., meet the disaster beginning which is
so-called: disasters of epidemic infectious diseases, disasters of invaded and
persecuted by other countries, disasters of betrayed and violated within their
own borders, disasters from the strange change of stars in the sky, disasters
from the eclipse of sun and moon, disasters of abnormally wind and rain, and
disasters of no rain more than the certain time, at this time, Ksatriya, King
Head-watering, etc., should generate all compassionate hearts for all sentient
beings and should pardon all kinds of captivity, and according to the method of
support mentioned earlier, support the World Venerable-the
Tathagata Pharmacist Glazelight; because of such good roots and the power of
the original vows of this Tathagata, it can make their country secure
immediately, make the wind and rain meet the needs of the time, and make the planted
grain ripen, all sentient beings are free from diseases, and are joyful and
happy; in their country, there is no cruel and evil Medicine Fork and other
gods to anger sentient beings, all evil phenomenon are hidden and disappeared; moreover,
the life and energy of the Kshatriya and King Head-Watering, etc., without
disease but at ease, get plus benefits. "
"Ananda! If empresses,
concubines, king of reserves, princes, ministers, auxiliary ministers, eunuch,
maids, hundreds of officials, and civilians, suffer from disease, and other
distress and disasters, five colors of god flags should also be built, light up
the lights to keep shining, release all kinds of life, scatter flowers with
various colors everywhere, and burn all kinds of famous incense; diseases can
be thus removed and healed, and various disasters can be disengaged. "
At this time, Ananda asked
Bodhisattva Rescue-Disengage and said, "Good man! Why can people who are almost
ending their lives increase their longevity?" Bodhisattva Rescue-Disengage
said, "Great Virtue! Didn’t you hear that there are nine kinds of abnormal
deaths? So persuade sentient beings to make life-extending flags and lamps, to
practice various kinds of blisses and virtues. For this reason, even if they
reach the end of their life, they will not experience pain and disease."
Ananda asked, "What are the nine kinds of abnormal deaths?"
Bodhisattva Rescue-Disengage said, "If all kinds of sentient beings get
sick, the disease they get is mild, but there is no medicine or no person who
can heal him. Suppose he meets the doctor again, but the medicine given to him
cannot cure his illness; this person should not die; however, he finally died abnormally.
Someone believes masters of the world ’s demons and of those who harm the
society with outer Dao, who arbitrarily talk about disasters and blessings,
which makes people feel terrified and disturbed; this person ’s heart is not
upright, but he uses divination to ask questions, finding trouble by self and
killing all beings, informing the gods, calling all kinds of elves and ghosts
in the mountains, asking them to give blessings and protections, and hoping to
prolong life, which is impossible to be obtained after all. People are stupid
and confused, believing in the upside-down views of unjust people, so they die
abnormally and enter hell without a deadline to leave; this is called the
anomaly of the beginning. The second, people are abnormally killed by the king
’s law. The third, people hunt birds and beasts in the wild, played games,
indulged in pornography and craved drinking, indulged in enjoyment without
restraint, and their mental strength is abnormally captured by non-humans. The
fourth, people are abnormally burned by fire. The fifth, people are abnormally
drowned by water. The sixth, people are abnormally eaten by various evil
beasts. The seventh, people abnormally fall from steep cliffs. The eighth,
people abnormally are harmed by poison, witchcraft to pray ghosts, curses,
ghouls, etc. The ninth, people trap by hunger and thirst, can't get food and
die abnormally. This is the abnormal death as outlined above, there are these
nine kinds, the rest are all kinds of immeasurable accidents, it is difficult
to be able to fully specify! "
"Moreover, Ananda! The King
Yama mainly leads the records of the name of and household registration of the
worldly human beings. If there are sentient beings who do not respect and love or are not filial to their
parents and elders, or who have five kinds of violations, or who destroy and
insult Three Treasures, or who undermine the law between rulers and ministers, or
who destroy the self discipline, King Yama will punish them after considering, based
on lightness or severity of individual’s sin of what they have done. So for
this reason, I persuade all sentient beings today to light the lights, create
flags, release beings, and practice blessings and virtues, so that they can pass
through pain and disaster, and no longer suffer from various disasters. "
At this time, there were twelve
generals of Medicine Forks among the masses, who were sitting together in this
gathering, the so-called: General Gongpiro, General Fazhero, General Meikiro,
General Antiro, General Eniro, General Sandiro, General Indaro, General Boyiro,
General Mohuro, General Gendarro, General Zhaoduro, General Pijiemo: these 12
generals, each of them has 7,000 Medicine Forks as his family members.
At the same time, all of them
said to the Buddha, "World Venerable! Today, we accept the majestic power
of Buddha, so can hear the name of the World Venerable-the Tathagata Pharmacist
Glazelight, and no more horror about evil-going. We are one after another, all
in one heart, and even our body forms end, to return to and rely on Buddha,
Dharma, and Sangha, and vow to shoulder all the sentient beings, to do moral
benefits for them, and benefit them more, and make them peace and happy. No
matter what kind of villages, cities, towns, or idle forests, if anyone spreads
this Buddhist scripture, or there are people who also accept and never forget
the name of this Tathagata Pharmacist Glazelight by respectfully supporting, we
and our family members will guard and protect this person, and will relieve him of
all his sufferings, and all his wishes and prayers will satisfy him. Those who
are suffering and want to pray for relief from the disaster should also read
and chant this Buddhist scripture and use five colors of thread to tie our names.
When his wish is fulfilled, then untie this knot. "
At this time, the World Venerable
praised the generals of Medicine Fork and said, "Good! Good! Great generals
of Medicine Fork! You always want to repay the kindness of the World Venerable-the Tathagata Pharmacist Glazelight, and you should always be like this to
benefit all sentient beings and to make them peace and happy."
At this time, Ananda said to the
Buddha: "World Venerable! How should we name this method-door? How can we
keep it respectfully?" The Buddha said to Ananda:”This method-door is
named as The Merit of The Original Vows of The Tathagata Pharmacist Glazelight;
which is also named as The Spiritual Mantra of Twelve Spiritual Generals to
More Benefit Sentient Beings and of Combined With Vows; which is also named as
The Removal of Obstacles of All Karma; which should be kept and maintained like
this! "
At this time, Bhagavan finished
speaking these words. All Bodhisattva Mahasa, and the big Sound-Hearing, kings,
ministers, Brahmins, Buddhister-at-home, celestial dragons, Medicine Forks, Gandharva,
Asura, Garuḍa, Kimnara, Mahoraga, humans-but-non-humans, etc., all the masses who
heard what the Buddha said, felt great joy and believed, accepted, and
respectfully implemented it.
Explanation of terms of this
Buddhist scripture:
Tathagata: The another name of the Buddha
in Sanskrit. It means, come like this, go like this. Mind, thought or all
things come and go like this. It also means the natural wisdom without any
pretending.
Bhagavan: The another name of the Buddha in Sanskrit. It means World
Venerable.
The ten names of Buddha: the One who should be supported by humans and heavens, the righteous equal enlightener, the perfect person with bright wisdom and virtuous action, good death, the understanding person for the world, the supreme scholar, great man of taming, the teacher in heavens and humans, Tathagata, Bhagavan.
The ten names of Buddha: the One who should be supported by humans and heavens, the righteous equal enlightener, the perfect person with bright wisdom and virtuous action, good death, the understanding person for the world, the supreme scholar, great man of taming, the teacher in heavens and humans, Tathagata, Bhagavan.
Glazelight: The glaze which can shine by
self or shine under the light.
World Venerable: It names Bhagavan in Sanskrit.
It means the person who completely has all virtue, worthy to be respected by
beings in the world, so called World Venerable. The most noble saint in the
world.
Buddhist-at-home: The person who learns Buddhism
at home and who is not monk or nun.
celestial-dragons-eight-parts: Refers to the protectors who
have the spiritual and wondrous power, also known as the eight dragon gods, the
eight types of protector for protecting the Buddhists.
humans-but-non-humans: The beings who is similar to
humans, but is non humans, such as there is the human head, but the horse or
bird body.
Buddhalaw-prince: The prince of Buddha-law. The
status of being the first among all Bodhisattvas, and which is like to be born
in the home of Buddha and will inherit the status of Buddha. Buddha is as like
the king, lord or monarch. That is why it is called as Buddhalaw-prince.
Ananda: the cousin of Buddha Shakyamuni, named Ananda, was also a disciple of Buddha, and a Buddhist monk. Ananda was famous for remembering the words spoken by the Buddha. After the death of Buddha Shakyamuni, Ananda recorded what the Buddha said. At the beginning of each Buddhist scripture, there is a sentence said by Ananda: this is how I heard it. According to legend, Ananda lived to be over a hundred years old.
Bodhi: the supreme wisdom;
the righteous equality and the righteous enlightenment
karma: the action or the behavior or
what have done in the present life or in the past life. No matter it is good or
evil, it would be formed an invisible strength to help or hinder our life.
obstacles of evil karma: The self obstacles and disasters
caused by self evil actions of present life and past life.
Manjusri: One of the names of
Bodhisattvas in Sanskrit. It means Gentle Glory. Bodhisattva Manjusri is well
known about his wisdom in Buddhism. His appearance showed that he rides on a lion at ease, holding a sword in one hand and the satisfied wishful (satisfied-will) hold in the other. The sword is meant to and described to cut off the 84000 invisible tangled thread of personal worrying.
The spreading period of the image of Buddha: The period of spreading of
Buddha statue. After the death of Buddha Sakyamuni, there is five hundred years
of right Buddha-law. After that, there is a period of a thousand years of
Buddha Law of Buddha statue, so as to promote and spread the Buddha Law. After
that, it is the last period of Buddha-law. According to the teaching of Buddha,
Buddha-law can be generated and also can be eliminated. Buddha Law is
convenient method to save people and liberate them from suffering. Buddha Law
itself is not permanent.
The Supreme Righteous Equality
and Righteous Enlightenment: Its Sanskrit is anuttarā-samyak-sambodhi. It refers to the
highest realm of enlightenment and highest Nirvana in the practice of Buddhism,
and such proving is equivalent to attain Buddhahood.
Bodhisattva: the person who can enlighten to
liberate self from suffering and also can enlighten others and help sentient
beings liberate from suffering. However, Bodhisattva has not yet completely and
perfectly enlightened as Buddha. Bodhisattva also can be called as Pusa, Posa or Busa, Bosa in pronunciation
by Chinese. And such pronunciation is extensively used in the society speaking
in Chinese.
Went on Bodhisattva path: to practice and implement the wisdom and virtuous action of
Bodhisattva with all convenient methods.
thirty-two kinds great man’s
appearances: The
Sanskrit is mahā-puruṣa lakṣaṇa, which means thirty-two major marks of a Buddha.
Please refer to and search mahā-puruṣa
lakṣaṇa on Internet.
eighty appending forms: The Sanskrit is aśītyanuvyañjanāni,
which means the eighty appearances of a Buddha. Please refer to and search aśītyanuvyañjanāni on Internet.
do all kinds of business: to do all kinds of career.
The body is good at dwelling
peacefully: The
body is completely perfect and it is at ease.
going in the evil path: doing the evil things.
take the
Sounds-Hearing Boat: a person who is enlightened by hearing from the Buddha’s
teaching and let self liberate from suffering, but has no enough ability to
liberate others from suffering. It is classified as Theravada.
take the
Alone-Enlightened Boat: a person who is alone enlightened without hearing the Buddha’s
teaching. It can let self liberate from suffering, but has no enough ability to
liberate others from suffering. It is classified as Theravada.
take the
Great Boat: a
person who not only can liberate self from suffering, but also can liberate
others from suffering. It is classified as Mahayana.
the no-shortage precepts: All precepts which to prevent
illegal things and to stop evil things can be strictly held.
the three-accumulated-precepts: its Sanskrit is tri-vidhani
silani. It is as follows:
Hold
discipline-ritual precept: obey the commandments of the Buddha, and therefore
do not do all evil.
Hold virtue
law precept: obey and do all virtuous things
Hold more to
benefit sentient beings precept: extensively practice all good to benefit all
beings
The above
three precepts are the method to benefit self and others.
the evil-going: going in the evil path; the place
where the self spirit or soul rebirths in the torture world of hungry-ghost,
animal or hell, which is the result of doing the evil thing in its previous
life.
the entangled web of demons: the evil views coming from self
or others and thus to form the invisible entangled web to tie and limit the
self, and to make self suffer.
Outer Path: Outer Dao. Dao or Tao.
Dao is transliterated from the Chinese character. The meaning of Dao is path,
road and way. And the meaning of Dao is extended to be religious teachings.
Generally, according to the Buddha's teaching, Dao means the truth and the
virtue. Those who set up the religious teachings outside of Buddhism, and those
who act outside the truth and the reasonable, are all called the outer Dao. The
more deeply meaning about the Dao in Buddhism, which means the enlightened
about the truth and self-practicing the truth, others knowledge or teachings
outside this is called the outer Dao. In Buddhism, Dao is wisdom, not
knowledge. The most deeply meaning about the Dao in Buddhism is that there is
no outer Dao. All is Buddha’s teaching. That is because there is no binary
opposition in the completely and perfectly enlightened and all situations is
equal, whatever it is the good or the evil situation, which will make people
enlighten the self-nature.
evil karma: do the evil things in the present life or in the previous life,
which will form some kinds of invisible power to hinder the self’s life and
make yourself suffer all kinds of disaster.
increased arrogance: to increase the arrogance is
that people already have arrogance, and for some reason they have increased the
role of arrogance, and they are even more arrogant.
non-family: to be Buddhist monk or nun; the
mind is not obsessed in family’s things and its worry.
the devil ’s net: the evil views; the evil
thoughts; the unreasonable opinion; specious point of view. Seem to be righteous
views, but actually not righteous views.
Medicine Fork: beings in the ghost’s world in Buddhism,
who have ever been the evil ghost to harm humans, but are tamed by Buddha and
become the protectors to protect the Buddhist.
Rakshapo: one kind of beings in the
ghost’s world in India, who is violent, evil and fearful and can harm humans
with ghost's power.
Gu tricks: poisonous magic. Gu is
transliterated from Chinese character, which means some kinds of tricks and is
raised many different poisoned insects so as to punish, curse and harm humans.
eight pure precepts: the eight kinds of precepts
regulated by Buddha and which should be obeyed and held by the Buddhist, which
are as follows:
1. Not
killing
2. Don't
steal
3. Don't have improper (evil) sex
4. Don't lie
5. Do not
drink alcohol
6. Without
fragrant flowers, without fragrant oils, and without singing and dancing, and not
to watch it.
7. Do not
sit on the high and great bed
8. Not to
eat after the time of twelve at noon
Buddha Incalculable-longevity: this Buddha has immeasurable
lifespan, that is why it is called Incalculable-longevity; the another name of Amitabha.
Western Utmost Bliss: the world and place created by
the vows of Amitabha. Those who wish
to be reborn in Western Utmost Bliss will have the solemn appearance like
Amitabha and can learn Buddha following Amitabha. It is the best convenient and
simple method for humans to learn Buddha in the present life and in the
afterlife.
Bodhisattva Word-Sound-Perceiving: the Bodhisattva who can perceive
the world sounds of suffering; Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara
Bodhisattva Great-Power-Gaining: the Bodhisattva who can make
humans gain the great power; Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta
Bodhisattva Precious-Epiphyllum: Epiphyllum is flower name, which is bloomed in the midnight and is
withered at the moment, so it is rare to be seen by humans, that is why it is
so precious. In Buddhism, it is always to be described that Buddha law is like
Epiphyllum which is so precious and is almost impossible to be heard and
learned for those who are less blessing.
Bodhisattva Maitreya: the Bodhisattva who is mercy,
kind and compassionate for all sentient beings. Maitreya is Sanskrit, which means
mercy.
Turning Wheel King: the Sanskrit is cakravartin or
Chakravartin. Wheel-king; A king who turns the treasures wheels to conquer the
enemy; Referred to as a King of Wheels, it is the best blessed person in the
world. It appeared in the time of human’s age being 84,000 years of life, and
ruled the world for four great continents. There are four kinds of blessings:
1. Riches,
treasures, wealth, fields and many others, ranking first in the world
2. The
appearance is solemn, with thirty-two appearances and similar to a Buddha;
3. Healthy, peaceful,
stable and happy;
4. The
longevity is the first in the world.
When the
Wheel-King appeared, the world was peaceful, the people were at ease, and there
was no natural disaster or man-made disaster. This is because in the past life,
it practiced more blessings, but unfortunately it did not cultivate the wisdom
of world, so it only became the king who ruled the world with blessings, but
could not practice the evidence of enlightenment.
ten-virtuous paths: ten kinds of virtue; ten
virtuous deeds; no killing, no stealing, no evil sex, no two tongues, no malicious
speech, no lying, no greed, no hatred, no envy, no stupid obsession. Please
refer to the article: Understand
the goodness and evil at the same time
Kshatriya: One of the four castes in
India; the military aristocracy in the ancient Indian caste system; belongs to
the upper class.
Brahman: One of the four castes in
India; the priestly class in the caste system of ancient India is the highest
position in society; belongs to the upper class.
mantra: incantation
the three treasures: Buddha, Buddha-law, Buddhist
monk and nun; Buddha, Dharma, Sangha. These three treasures can help humans
liberate from suffering, self prove the enlightenment of Buddha-nature, and
attain the Bodhi. That is why those are called three treasures. Today,
Buddhist-at-home is also respected as Sangha. There is Buddhist-at-home (of
male or female) as Buddhist master, due to being enlightened of wisdom and self
prove the Buddha-nature.
Bodhisattva Rescue-Disengage: the Bodhisattva who can rescue
and disengage humans from any disasters or misfortune; that why it is named as
Rescue-Disengage.
King Yama: a bodhisattva in the world of hell
to judge the good or evil of a human being according to the acts what a human
being had done in the world of humans, and thereafter judge the person which
world it should go and rebirth.
respectfully support: the best respectfully support is
the heart incense of pure precept, meditation stability and wisdom.
eight kinds of pure precepts: it is the same as eight pure precepts. Please see “eight pure precepts”.
Picchu monk: the male who is
Buddhist-not-at-home, the Buddhist monk. It is the representative for the
Buddhist. Don’t forget the female who is Buddhist-not-at-home, the Buddhist nun.
King Head-Watering: the prince; king of reserves.
Sangha: Samgha; usually refer to Buddhist monk;
the broadly meaning can refer to Buddhist, no matter who is male or female, at
home or not at home.
method-door: the term used in Buddhism; the
door of Buddha-law; the door of method; it seems to pass through the door of
method (Buddha-law) so that we can learn something from it.
the Bodhisattva who have not yet step on land: the general people who still have been suffered in the invisible sea of pain
disaster, because of shortage of wisdom, and required to be saved by the
invisible boat of wisdom, that is why they have not yet step on invisible land
of wisdom. The invisible wisdom land can birth everything and can birth all
merits and virtue.
Mantra of Buddha Pharmacist:
NA MO BAO JIA
FA DI, BI SHA SHE JU LU, BI LIU LI BO LA PO HE LUO SHE YE, DA TUO JIE DUO YE, A
LUO HE DI, SAN MIAO SAN BO TUO YE. DA ZHI TUO: OM, BING SHA SHI, BING SHA SHI, BING
SHA SHE, SAN MEI JIE DI SUO HE.
【annotation of mantra】
(1) NA MO:
return to and rely on
(2) BAO JIA FA
DI: Bhagavan; the World Venerable.
(3) BI SHA SHE
JU LU: pharmacist.
(4) BI LIU LI:
glaze.
(5) BO LA PO:
The meaning of light.
(6) HE LUO SHE
YE: The meaning of king.
(7) DA TUO JIE
DUO YE: the meaning of Tathagata.
(8) A LUO HE
DI: the One who should be supported by heavens and humans.
(9) SAN MIAO
SAN BO TUO YE: the righteous equality and the righteous enlightening.
(10) DA ZHI TUO
: that is to say mantra.
(11) Om: to
focus on the body and mind and to the three treasures; to pay attention; that
is, to concentrate the spirit and pay attention to a place.
(12) BING SHA
SHI, BING SHA SHI, BING SHA SHE: That is to say, medicine! medicine! medicine!
(13) SAN MEI
JIE DI: generally save all sentient beings.
(14) SUO HE:
quick achievement to Bodhi.
