The original translator is unknown and is now cataloged in the Qin records.
Thus have I heard:
At one time, the Buddha was in the land of Magadha, at the Place of Quiescent Liberation, in the village of Mikaniyo, within the monastery at the shrine of Īśvara.
At that time, there was a brāhmaṇa named Kapali, whose son was named Maitreya. Maitreya’s body was golden in color and adorned with the thirty-two marks of excellence. He radiated silver light and was ornamented with gold. He resembled a silver mountain, resplendent with immeasurable radiance, and he came before the Buddha.
At that time, the World-Honored One was together with twelve hundred fifty bhikṣus, walking and moving through the forest. Accompanying them were also five hundred matted-haired brāhmaṇas. From a distance, they beheld Maitreya and saw that his demeanor was majestic, his conduct refined, and his physical marks pure and excellent. Maitreya, upon seeing the Buddha, prostrated with his five limbs touching the ground, as if a silver mountain had collapsed, adorned with golden flowers and various precious jewels embedded within it. It was also like golden flowers blooming atop a golden pavilion, bearing fruits made of the seven precious substances. From that pavilion came forth exquisite sounds, reciting the following verse:
“I see the venerable Śākyamuni, whose countenance is ever pure,
His body bears a hundred auspicious and wondrous marks, none in the world can compare.
He has forever extinguished afflictions, with wisdom fully perfected.
From the beginning you have always served as a refuge for all beings, never weary in body or mind.
Therefore, I prostrate with my five limbs, wishing to attain supreme bliss,
Be free from suffering and no longer be afraid. I pay homage to the Buddha Śākyamuni.”
At that time, the brāhmaṇas, having seen and heard this, asked the Buddha: “World-Honored One, this youth’s appearance is majestic, his conduct refined, and he radiates immeasurable light. He is no different from the Buddha himself. In the beginning, under which Buddha did he give rise to the resolve for the true path? And which scripture did he uphold? We only wish the World-Honored One would explain it to us.”
The Buddha said to the brāhmaṇa named Śikhaṇḍin: “You all should listen attentively and reflect well. I will now explain it for you in detail, so that your minds may give rise to joy.
“In measureless and boundless asaṅkhyeya kalpas ago, there was a world named ‘Blossoming of Supreme Flowers,’ and a Buddha by the name of Maitreya. That Buddha constantly used loving-kindness and the Four Immeasurables to guide and transform all sentient beings. The scripture taught by that Buddha was called The Ocean Cloud of Great Compassion and Light of the Samādhi of Loving-Kindness. Whoever hears it will immediately transcend the karmic offenses of birth and death accumulated over hundreds of trillions of kalpas and will most certainly attain Buddhahood—there is no doubt.
“At that time, in that land, there was a great brāhmaṇa named All-Knowing Radiance. He was intelligent and deeply wise, broadly read in many scriptures, and was thoroughly proficient in the sixty-four worldly arts. Upon hearing that a Buddha had appeared in the world and was expounding The Ocean Cloud of Great Compassion and Light of the Samādhi of Loving-Kindness, he brought forth all worldly theories and approached that Buddha to debate. The brāhmaṇa exhausted all his arguments but could not surpass the Buddha. Thus he submitted and became a disciple of the Buddha. He then gave rise to the aspiration for Anuttarā Samyaksaṃbodhi, saying: ‘Now that I am within the Buddha’s Dharma, reciting and upholding The Ocean Cloud of Great Compassion and Light of the Samādhi of Loving-Kindness, by this merit, I shall certainly attain Buddhahood in future countable kalpas, and my name shall be Maitreya.’ Thereupon, that brāhmaṇa renounced his household and entered the deep mountains. He kept his hair long and practiced the pure conduct. For eight thousand years, he lived with few desires and without distractions, sustaining himself by alms. He recited and upheld this scripture, with focused mindfulness, eliminating scattered thoughts.
“At that time, two suns appeared in the world. The king was absurd and licentious. Comets streaked across the sky, and unending rain fell day after day, causing floods to rise. The sage sat in meditation and could not go out to beg for alms, and so seven days passed in this manner.
“At that time, in the forest there were five hundred white rabbits, led by a queen rabbit. The queen rabbit and her child, seeing that the sage had not eaten for seven days, said, ‘This sage, for the sake of upholding the Buddha-path, has gone without food for many days. His life is nearing its end. The banner of the Dharma is about to fall; the ocean of the Dharma is about to dry up. Today, for the sake of the unsurpassed great Dharma, to allow the sage to remain longer in the world, I shall not begrudge my body or life.’
“Then the queen rabbit said to the rabbit group: ‘All conditioned things are impermanent. Sentient beings cherish their bodies, yet they are born empty and die empty, and in between have never once acted for the sake of the Dharma. Today I wish to become a great bridge for all beings, to make offerings to the Dharma teacher, so that the Dharma may long abide in the world.’
“At that time, the queen rabbit then spoke a verse to the group of rabbits:
‘If any animal is able to hear the name of the Buddhas,
Then it will forever leave the three evil destinies, and not be born into the eight kinds of difficulties.
If after hearing the Dharma it can practice accordingly, then in every lifetime it will often encounter the Buddha.
Believing in the Dharma without doubt, relying on the noble Saṅgha,
Observing the many precepts, thus one can quickly attain Buddhahood,
Surely reaching Great Nirvāṇa, and forever enjoying unsurpassed peace and bliss.’
“After the queen rabbit finished reciting the verse, she said to the group of rabbits: ‘Today I am preparing to offer my body in support of the Buddha-Dharma. You should all rejoice accordingly. Why do I say this? Because over many kalpas, I have countless times lost my body and life. It was always due to the three poisons that I was reborn in the forms of birds and beasts. Thus I was born in vain and died in vain, never once acting for the sake of the Dharma. Today, for the sake of the unsurpassed Dharma, I am prepared to give up my life to make offerings to the Dharma teacher.’
“At that time, the mountain spirit gathered fragrant wood and lit a fire. The queen rabbit and her child circumambulated the sage seven times and said, ‘Great master, today for the sake of the Dharma, I offer myself in support of you, the venerable one.’ The sage replied, ‘You are but an animal. Though you have a kind heart, what can you really do?’ The queen rabbit said to the sage, ‘For the sake of allowing the Dharma to remain long in the world, and for the benefit of all beings, I am prepared to offer my body to you, the noble one.’ After saying this, she turned to her child and said, ‘You may go freely in search of water and grass, but you must always restrain your thoughts and intentions, and properly recollect the Three Jewels.’ At that time, the child rabbit, hearing his mother’s words, knelt and replied, ‘I am also fully willing, as the honored mother has said, to offer my body in support of the unsurpassed great Dharma.’ Having said this, he leapt into the fire. The mother followed and leapt in as well. At the very moment when the Bodhisattva gave up the body, the earth shook greatly. All the heavenly realms, even up to the Form Realm heavens, rained down celestial flowers in offering to the queen rabbit and her child.
“When the meat was cooked, the mountain tree deity said to the sage, ‘The queen rabbit and her child have cast themselves into the fire to make an offering to you. Now that the meat is cooked, you may partake of it.’
“Hearing the words of the tree deity, the sage was overcome with sorrow and could not speak. He put the scripture on leaves and spoke a verse:
‘I would rather burn my own body, and destroy my own eyes, than bear to kill or eat sentient beings.
In the scriptures of compassion spoken by the Buddhas, it is said:
“One who cultivates loving-kindness would rather have their skull smashed and brains spilled out, than bear to eat the flesh of sentient beings.”
According to the Buddha’s words, those who eat meat have yet to fully practice loving-kindness.
Such people often suffer short lifespans and many illnesses. They are lost in saṃsāra and cannot attain Buddhahood.’
“After reciting the verse, the sage vowed: ‘In all future lives, I will never again give rise to thoughts of killing, and I will never eat meat. I vow to enter the White Radiant Samādhi of Loving-Kindness, to uphold the precept of abstaining from meat until I attain Buddhahood.’ Having made this vow, the sage then cast himself into the fire pit, giving up his life together with the queen rabbit and her child. At that moment, the earth experienced six kinds of tremors. By the power of the deities, the tree emitted light, golden rays flashing and illuminating a thousand realms.
“At that time, the people of that country saw golden light radiating from the mountain tree and followed the light to its source. They found that the sage and the queen rabbit with her child had died in the fire. They also discovered the verses spoken by the rabbit and the sage, and recovered the Buddhist scripture the sage had recited during his life. The people brought all this to the king. Upon hearing the Dharma contained in these texts, the king issued a proclamation to the entire realm, encouraging all people to share and propagate it. All who heard the Dharma thus gave rise to the aspiration for the unsurpassed true path.
The Buddha said to Śikhaṇḍin, “You should now understand: the white queen rabbit of that time is none other than I, Śākyamuni Buddha. The rabbit child of that time is now Rāhula. The sage who recited scriptures then is now the brāhmaṇa’s son within this assembly—Maitreya Bodhisattva-Mahāsattva. Maitreya, fifty-six billion years after my parinirvāṇa, will attain Buddhahood beneath the Dragon Flower Bodhi Tree, at the Vajra Seat in the Grove of Blossoming Flowers, within the realm of the Wheel-Turning Sacred King. He will turn the wondrous Dharma wheel. The five hundred rabbits of that time are now the five hundred bhikṣus including Mahākāśyapa. The two hundred fifty mountain tree deities are now the two hundred fifty bhikṣus including Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana. The thousand kings of that time are now the thousand Bodhisattvas including Bhadrapāla. The citizens of that country who heard the Dharma back then are the disciples who, from the time of my appearance in the world until the arising of the Buddha Rucika, will receive the Dharma and attain realization.”
The Buddha said to Śikhaṇḍin, “Bodhisattvas seek the Dharma with great effort. Even if they must undergo countless kalpas of hardship, they do not spare their lives. Though they may, due to karmic retribution, once again take birth as animals, they are still ever willing to offer up their lives for the sake of the Dharma. Because that Bodhisattva offered his body into the fire pit as an act of devotion, he transcended the karmic offenses accumulated over nine hundred trillion of kalpas of saṃsāra. He attained Buddhahood before immeasurable Buddhas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, and even before Maitreya. So why then do you not strive diligently to cultivate and seek the Dharma?”
After the Buddha finished speaking, Śikhaṇḍin and the five hundred brāhmaṇas requested to renounce the household life and join the Buddha’s path. The Buddha said, “Come!” Instantly, the brāhmaṇas’ beards and hair fell off naturally, and they became śramaṇas. The Buddha expounded the Dharma for them, and their minds were opened with clarity. They attained the fruition of Arhatship. Eighty thousand devas also gave rise to the aspiration for Anuttarā Samyaksaṃbodhi.
At that time, after hearing the Buddha’s discourse, the entire assembly praised the Bodhisattva’s actions.
Śāriputra said to the Buddha, “When that sage cast himself into the fire pit back then, where was he reborn?” The Buddha replied to Śāriputra, “After casting himself into the fire pit, that sage was reborn in the Brahmā Heaven. There, he taught the Buddhist scriptures and doctrines extensively to all beings until he ultimately attained Buddhahood and turned the Great Brahmā Wheel. After his rebirth, the scripture he will expound is also called The Ocean Cloud of Great Compassion and Light of the Samādhi of Loving-Kindness. In that scripture, the prātimokṣa will be established. Those who do not practice loving-kindness accordingly are considered violators of the precepts. As for those who eat meat, they are even greater violators of grave precepts. In their future rebirths, they will often be forced to drink scalding molten copper, until the time when that sage attains Buddhahood—as described in The Sūtra of the Descent of Maitreya Bodhisattva.”
The venerable Ānanda, upon hearing the Buddha’s words, immediately rose from his seat, bared his right shoulder, placed his right knee on the ground, and knelt upright with palms joined in reverence. He said to the Buddha, “World-Honored One, Maitreya’s attainment of Buddhahood and the precepts he proclaims are indeed extraordinary: they require sentient beings to uphold the grave precept of compassion—not eating meat. It is truly remarkable.”
At that time, the assembly all spoke in unison, praising the precept of abstaining from meat observed by the people of that land, and they expressed their wish to be reborn there. The World-Honored One gave them all assurances that they would certainly be reborn in that land in the future.
The venerable Ānanda further asked the Buddha, “What should this scripture be named, and how should it be upheld?”
The Buddha said to Ānanda, “According to the essential theme of this Dharma text, it should be named The Bodhisattva White Rabbit Queen’s Self-Sacrifice for the Unsurpassed Path. It may also be titled The Sutra on the Cause of the All-Knowing Radiance Sage’s Compassion and Abstaining from Meat. You should uphold it according to this essential meaning.”
The venerable Ānanda and the bhikṣus, having heard the Buddha’s teaching, joyfully received and practiced it.
Dharma Torch 