SUTRA:

      THEREUPON, AFTER LEAVING HOME, HE DILIGENTLY CULTIVATES WITH VIGOR. WITHIN THE SPACE OF A THOUGHT, HE ATTAINS A HUNDRED SAMADHIS. HE COMES TO SEE A HUNDRED BUDDHAS. HE IS ABLE TO KNOW A HUNDRED BUDDHAS' SPIRITUAL POWERS. HE IS ABLE TO QUAKE A HUNDRED BUDDHA LANDS. HE IS ABLE TO GO BEYOND A HUNDRED BUDDHA LANDS. HE IS ABLE TO ILLUMINE A HUNDRED BUDDHA LANDS. HE IS ABLE TO TEACH AND TRANSFORM THE LIVING BEINGS OF A HUNDRED WORLDS. HE IS ABLE TO LIVE FOR A HUNDRED KALPAS. HE IS ABLE TO KNOW THE BOUNDARIES OF BEFORE AND AFTERWARDS, THE EVENTS OF A HUNDRED KALPAS FOR EACH. HE IS ABLE TO ENTER A HUNDRED DHARMA DOORS. HE IS ABLE TO MANIFEST A HUNDRED BODIES. WITH EVERY BODY HE IS ABLE TO MANIFEST A HUNDRED BODHISATTVAS AS HIS RETINUE.

IF HE EMPLOYS ESPECIALLY SUPREME POWER OF BODHISATTVA VOWS TO MANIFEST AT EASE, HE SURPASSES THAT NUMBER. IN A HUNDRED KALPAS, A THOUSAND KALPAS, A HUNDRED THOUSAND KALPAS, UP TO AND INCLUDING A HUNDRED THOUSAND MILLION NAYUTAS OF KALPAS, IT COULD NOT BE COUNTED OR KNOWN.

AT THAT TIME, VAJRA STORE BODHISATTVA, WISHING TO RESTATE HIS MEANING, SPOKE VERSES SAYING:

Commentary;

THEREUPON, AFTER LEAVING HOME/After the Bodhisattva has brought forth the thought for Bodhi, renounced the world and left the home life in order to seek the unsurpassed Way, HE DILIGENTLY CULTIVATES WITH VIGOR/At that time he very diligently and earnestly cultivates with courageous vigor. WITHIN THE SPACE OF A THOUGHT/Within the interval of a single thought, HE ATTAINS A HUNDRED SAMADHIS/He obtains more than a hundred kinds of proper receptions, proper concentrations, that kind of wisdom. HE COMES TO SEE A HUNDRED BUDDHAS/When in a single interval of thought he is able to attain a hundred kinds of samadhis, then he is able to see a hundred Buddhas of a hundred worlds. HE IS ABLE TO KNOW A HUNDRED BUDDHAS' SPIRITUAL POWERS/He is able to know all of the powers of spiritual penetrations of a hundred Buddhas of a hundred worlds. HE IS ABLE TO QUAKE A HUNDRED BUDDHA LANDS/The Bodhisattva is able to use spiritual penetrations and cause a hundred Buddha lands to tremble and quake in six ways. HE IS ABLE TO GO BEYOND A HUNDRED BUDDHA LANDS/The power of his spiritual penetrations is able to transcend a hundred Buddha lands. HE IS ABLE TO ILLUMINE A HUNDRED BUDDHA LANDS/His light, too, is able to light up as many as a hundred Buddha lands.

HE IS ABLE TO TEACH AND TRANSFORM THE LIVING BEINGS OF A HUNDRED WORLDS/Within a single interval of thought, he can teach and transform as many as a hundred Buddha lands' living beings. HE IS ABLE TO LIVE FOR A HUNDRED KALPAS/He is able to maintain his life for a hundred great kalpas. HE IS ABLE TO KNOW THE BOUNDARIES OF BEFORE AND AFTERWARDS/He can know the boundaries of before and afterwards, knowing a hundred kalpas previous and a hundred subsequent kalpas, THE EVENTS OF A HUNDRED KALPAS FOR EACH/He knows a hundred kalpas before, and he knows a hundred kalpas afterwards, knowing all of the events within them. HE IS ABLE TO ENTER A HUNDRED DHARMA DOORS/He can understand a hundred kinds of Dharma doors. HE IS ABLE TO MANIFEST A HUNDRED BODIES/Within this very world he can make appear a hundred bodies and go to other worlds to teach and transform living beings. WITH EVERY BODY/In each and every body, HE IS ABLE TO MANIFEST A HUNDRED BODHISATTVAS/He can use spiritual penetrations to make appear by transformation a hundred Bodhisattvas AS HIS RETINUE/To act as his retainers.

IF HE EMPLOYS ESPECIALLY SUPREME POWER OF BODHISATTVA VOWS TO MANIFEST AT EASE/Should it be the case that the Bodhisattva has extraordinary and especially supreme vow power and manifests at ease, HE SURPASSES THAT NUMBER/ He goes beyond that number. IN A HUNDRED KALPAS/Going beyond a hundred kalpas, A THOUSAND KALPAS/Going beyond a thousand kalpas, A HUNDRED THOUSAND KALPAS/Going beyond a hundred thousand kalpas, UP TO AND INCLUDING A HUNDRED THOUSAND MILLION NAYUTAS OF KALPAS/Up to and including going beyond as many as a hundred thousand million nayutas of kalpas, IT COULD NOT BE COUNTED OR KNOWN/From this it can be seen that if a Bodhisattva has extraordinary vow power, all of his merit and virtue exceed those of the previously described Bodhisattva to the point that they cannot be counted or known.

AT THAT TIME/Right then, VAJRA STORE BODHISATTVA, WISHING TO RESTATE HIS MEANING/Wanting to repeat those principles, SPOKE VERSES, SAYING/As a consequence used verses to speak for everyone.

SUTRA:

SHOULD SOMEONE ASSEMBLE MULTITUDES OF GOOD,

HE BECOMES ENDOWED WITH WHITE, PURE DHARMAS,

HE MAKES OFFERINGS TO THE HONORED ONE OF GODS AND HUMANS,

AND FOLLOWS THE PATH OF KINDNESS AND COMPASSION.

HIS FAITH AND UNDERSTANDING TO THE UTMOST ARE VAST AND GREAT.

HIS RESOLUTIONS AND INCLINATIONS, TOO, ARE PURE.

INTENT UPON THE SEARCH FORA BUDDHA’S WISDOM,

HE BRINGS FORTH THIS THOUGHT UNSURPASSED.

HAVING PURIFIED ALL THE POWERS OF KNOWLEDGE,

ALONG WITH THE FEARLESSNESSES AS WELL,

AND HAVING ACCOMPLISHED ALL THE BUDDHA DHARMAS,

HE SAVES AND GATHERS IN THE FLOCKS OF BEINGS.

IN ORDER TO OBTAIN GREAT KINDNESS AND COMPASSION,

AND TO TURN THE SUPREME DHARMA WHEEL,

TO ADORN AND PURIFY THE BUDDHA COUNTRIES,

HE BRINGS FORTH THIS THOUGHT MOST SUPREME.

Commentary:

SHOULD SOMEONE ASSEMBLE MULTITUDES OF GOOD/This says that if a Bodhisattva cultivates the doors of practice cultivated by Bodhisattvas and accumulates various kind of good roots, HE BECOMES ENDOWED WITH WHITE, PURE DHARMAS/Because of having a great deal of merit and virtue from good roots, he eliminates all defiled dharmas so that all that remain are pure dharmas. He becomes endowed with pure, white and pure, dharmas, without any defiled dharmas. HE MAKES OFFERINGS TO THE HONORED ONE OF GODS AND HUMANS/He is able to make offerings to all Buddhas, AND FOLLOWS THE PATH OF KINDNESS AND COMPASS ION/He constantly teaches and transforms living beings, using kindness, compassion, joy and renunciation, those four limitless minds, to teach and transform living beings.

HIS FAITH AND UNDERSTANDING TO THE UTMOST ARE VAST AND GREAT/His faith along with the principle that he understands are both extremely vast and great. HIS RESOLUTIONS AND HIS INCLINATIONS, TOO, ARE PURE/All of his resolutions as well as what he likes are pure. INTENT UPON THE SEARCH FOR A BUDDHA'S WISDOM/His intention is to seek wisdom which is the same as that of a Buddha, and so HE BRINGS FORTH THIS THOUGHT UNSURPASSED/He brings forth the thought for unsurpassed Bodhi.

HAVING PURIFIED ALL THE POWERS OF KNOWLEDGE/He has purified all the powers of all wisdom, ALONG WITH THE FEARLESSNESSES AS WELL/In addition to the freedoms from fear: AND HAVING ACCOMPLISHED ALL THE BUDDHA DHARMAS/He has brought to accomplishment all of the Dharma doors spoken by the Buddha. HE SAVES AND GATHERS IN THE FLOCKS OF BEINGS/He saves and protects all living beings.

IN ORDER TO OBTAIN GREAT KINDNESS AND COMPASS ION/In order to acquire a mind of great kindness and compassion, AND TO TURN THE SUPREME DHARMA WHEEL/ And also in order to turn the wheel of all the most supreme Dharmas, TO ADORN AND PURIFY THE BUDDHA COUNTRIES/So that he may adorn and purify all Buddhas' lands, HE BRINGS FORTH THIS THOUGHT MOST SUPREME/He therefore brings forth this thought for most supreme Bodhi.

SUTRA:

HE IN ONE THOUGHT KNOWS THE THREE PERIODS OF TIME,

YET HE HAS NO DISCRIMINATIONS;

THEIR VARIOUS TIMES WHICH ARE NOT THE SAME

HE EMPLOYS TO APPEAR WITHIN THE WORLD.

TO SPEAK IN SUMMARY, HE SEEKS ALL BUDDHAS'

SUPREME MERIT AND VIRTUE, EACH AND ALL;

HE BRINGS FORTH THE THOUGHT VAST AND GREAT

WHOSE MEASURE EQUALS REALMS OF EMPTY SPACE.

WITH COMPASSION FOREMOST, AND WISDOM PRINCIPAL,

AND EXPEDIENTS ALONG WITH INTERACTIVES,

HIS MIND OF FAITH AND UNDERSTANDING PURE,

HE HAS THE THUS COME ONE'S LIMITLESS POWERS.

UNOBSTRUCTED WISDOM THEN APPEARS.

ENLIGHTENED OF HIMSELF, NOT DUE TO OTHERS,

IDENTICALLY ENDOWED AS THE THUS COME ONES,

HE BRINGS FORTH THIS THOUGHT MOST SUPREME.

THE DISCIPLE OF THE BUDDHA WHO FIRST BRINGS FORTH

THE WONDERFULLY PRECIOUS THOUGHT SUCH AS THIS

THEN TRANSCENDS THE COMMONER'S POSITION,

ENTERING THE PLACE OF BUDDHAS' PRACTICE.

Commentary:

HE IN ONE THOUGHT KNOWS THE THREE PERIODS OF TIME, Within a single instant of thought he is able to know the past, the present and the future--the three periods of time. YET HE HAS NO DISCRIMINATIONS/He uses wisdom to know them; he does not use the discriminations of consciousness to know, and so he has no discriminations. THEIR VARIOUS TIMES WHICH ARE NOT THE SAME/All of the times within the three periods of time, which are not identical, HE EMPLOYS TO APPEAR WITHIN THE WORLD/He uses them to appear within the world.

TO SPEAK IN SUMMARY, THE SEEKS ALL BUDDHAS'/In a very general way to describe it, he seeks the unsurpassed Way of all Buddhas. SUPREME MERIT AND VIRTUE, EACH AND ALL/Along with the Buddhas' especially supreme merit and virtue. HE BRINGS FORTH THE THOUGHT VAST AND GREAT, WHOSE MEASURE EQUALS REALMS OF EMPTY SPACE/He brings forth the most vast and great thought for Bodhi, the measure of which is the same as that of empty space.

WITH COMPASSION FOREMOST, AND WISDOM PRINCIPAL/He makes great compassion of foremost importance, and relies on wisdom as his principal necessity. AND EXPEDIENTS ALONG WITH INTERACTIVES/He practices all clever and expedient dharmas, along with all mutually interactive dharmas. HIS MIND OF FAITH AND UNDERSTANDING PURE/He is able to have a pure mind of faith and understanding. HE HAS THE THUS COME ONE'S LIMITLESS POWERS/He obtains the limitless powers of spiritual penetrations of a Buddha.

UNOBSTRUCTED WISDOM THEN APPEARS/He has obtained unobstructed wisdom.  ENLIGHTENED OF HIMSELF, NOT DUE TO OTHERS/He himself obtains the hundreds of thousands of millions of samadhis, and they are not bestowed upon him by anyone else. IDENTICALLY ENDOWED AS THE THUS COME ONES/Those powers of spiritual penetrations--that unobstructed wisdom—are the same as those of the Buddha. HE BRINGS FORTH THIS THOUGHT MOST SUPREME/He brings forth this especially supreme thought for Bodhi.

THE DISCIPLE OF THE BUDDHA WHO FIRST BRINGS FORTH/The disciple of the Buddha who has just brought forth the thought for Bodhi, THE WONDERFULLY PRECIOUS THOUGHT SUCH AS THIS/Such a precious thought which is as solid as vajra, THEN TRANSCENDS THE COMMONER'S POSITION/Then he is no longer the same as an ordinary person, ENTERING THE PLACE OF BUDDHAS' PRACTICE/He enters upon the Way traveled by the Buddhas.