Dharma Torch

Translated by the Tripiṭaka Master Devaprajñā from Khotan Country of the Great Tang Dynasty by Imperial Command

At that time, the World-Honored One sat upon the lion throne at the sacred site of Saṅkāśya. At that time, the fourfold assembly of disciples each thought to themselves: “We wish to hear the Tathāgata expound upon the merit of making images. If there are beings who fashion Buddha images, even if they are not similar, how much merit can they obtain?”

At that time, the Bodhisattva-Mahāsattva Maitreya knew their thoughts. He rose from his seat, bared his right shoulder, knelt with palms joined, and said to the Buddha: “World-Honored One! Now King Udayana has fashioned a Buddha image. Whether the Buddha is present in the world or has already entered Nirvāṇa, for those who have faith and, according to conditions, are able to make images, the merit they obtain, we only pray that the World-Honored One will explain in detail the circumstances of this!”

The Buddha told Maitreya Bodhisattva: “Maitreya! Listen carefully, listen carefully! Reflect well and remember! I shall explain it for you.

“If there are virtuous men and virtuous women of pure faith who single-mindedly keep in mind the Buddha’s virtues, constantly contemplating the Tathāgata’s majestic sovereign power, complete with the ten powers, the four fearlessnesses, the eighteen unique qualities, great loving-kindness and great compassion, omniscient wisdom, the thirty-two marks of a great person, and the eighty secondary marks, with each pore emitting immeasurable multicolored radiance, adorned and accomplished with hundreds of trillions of supreme merits, immeasurable wisdom, clearly understanding and penetrating immeasurable Samādhis, immeasurable Dharma patience, immeasurable Dhāraṇīs, and immeasurable supernormal powers.

“All such virtues are without limit or measure, far removed from many faults, and none can equal them. If such a person truly remembers and reflects in this way, giving rise to deep faith and joyful delight, and according to the fine marks fashions a Buddha image, then that person’s merit is vast, immeasurable, boundless, beyond reckoning or calculation.

“Maitreya! If someone uses various multicolored silks to paint and adorn, or melts and casts gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, tin, and such materials, or carves fragrant sandalwood, or mixes in pearls, conch shells, brocades and embroidered fabrics, or uses red earth, white lime, clay, wood, and materials of this kind, and according to his ability fashions a Buddha image, even as small as a single finger, so that those who see it know that this is a venerable image, then I shall now explain that person’s blessings.

“Maitreya! Although such a person still transmigrates within birth and death, he will ultimately never be born in a poor household. He will not be born in remote small countries, in inferior castes, in lonely households. He will not be born among mlecchas, nor in the families of merchants, petty traders, butchers, and such, nor in lowly households of entertainers and artisans, impure lineages, non-Buddhist austerities, wrong views, and such families. Unless it is by vow to return, he will not be born in such places. That person will always be born in the household of a Wheel-Turning Sage King, or in a lineage of great power and influence, or be born among pure-conduct brāhmaṇas, in wealthy and autonomous households without fault. Wherever he is born, he will often meet the Buddhas and attend and make offerings to them.

“Or he will be reborn as a king who is able to uphold the true Dharma, teaching and transforming the people with the Buddhadharma, not practicing evil paths. Or he will become a Wheel-Turning Sage King, with the seven treasures accomplished, complete with a thousand sons, flying through the sky, teaching the four continents, exhausting his lifespan in freedom, abundance, and happiness.

“Or he will become Śakra, lord of devas, or the king of the Yāma Heaven, or the king of the Tuṣita Heaven, or the king of the Heaven of Joy Emanation, or the king of the Heaven of Mastery over Others’ Emanations, enjoying without exception the happiness of the human realm and the heavenly realm, with such blessings continuing without interruption.

“Wherever he is born, he will always be born as a male body, not receiving a female body, nor receiving the lowly body of a eunuch or one with dual organs. The body he receives will have none of the ugly deformities: his eyes will not be blind or one-eyed, his ears will not be deaf or impaired, his nose will not be crooked or twisted, his mouth will not be slanted, his lips will not droop, nor be wrinkled or rough. His teeth will not be sparse or broken, not black or yellow. His tongue will not be short or constricted. His neck will have no tumors or swellings. His body will not be hunched. His skin will have no mottled blemishes. His arms will not be shortened or shrunken. His feet will not be lame or crippled. He will not be overly thin, not overly fat, not excessively tall, and not excessively short. All unpleasing appearances will entirely be absent.

“His body will be upright, his face full and complete. His hair will be dark blue in color, soft, moist, glossy, and pure. His lips will be like red fruit. His eyes will be like blue lotus flowers. His tongue-mark will be broad and long. His teeth will be white, even, orderly, and fine. His speech will be skillful, causing all who hear it to rejoice. His arms and elbows will be long and well-proportioned. His palms will be level and thick. His waist and legs will be full. His chest will be broad. His hands and feet will be soft like tūla cotton. All marks will be complete, without any lack or diminishment, possessing great strength like the Nārāyaṇa.”

“Maitreya! It is like someone who falls into a latrine. After coming out from there, he scrapes away the filth, bathes with clean water, anoints his body with fragrance, and puts on fresh, clean garments. Then compared with when he was still in the latrine and had not yet come out, how great is the difference between purity and impurity, fragrance and stench? The disparity is immense, utterly beyond comparison.

“Maitreya! If someone within the cycle of birth and death is able to arouse faith and fashion a Buddha image, then compared with before he made an image, the difference is likewise immense. One should know that wherever such a person is reborn, he will be able to purify karmic obstacles, and various arts and skills will be understood without a teacher. Although he may be born in the human realm, he will obtain the six faculties like heavenly beings. If he is born in the heavens, he will surpass the other heavenly multitudes. Wherever he is born, there will be no various illnesses and sufferings. There will be no scabies, no leprosy, no boils and ulcers. He will not be invaded or possessed by ghosts and spirits.

“There will be no madness, no diabetes, and no jaundice, malaria, abdominal tumors, malignant sores, hidden diseases, excessive vomiting and diarrhea, indigestion of food, pain throughout the body, paralysis of half the body, and the four hundred and four kinds of diseases, all will be absent. He also will not be harmed by sudden calamities such as poison, weapons, tigers, wolves, lions, water, fire, enemies, and thieves. He will constantly obtain fearlessness and will not commit various sinful karmas.

“Maitreya! If there are beings who in past lives created evil karma, and should have undergone many painful sufferings, such as fetters, shackles, handcuffs and leg irons, beating, scalding, flaying, pulling out hair, binding in reverse and hanging aloft, and even having their limbs dismembered joint by joint, scattered and torn apart, if they arouse faith and fashion a Buddha image, then such painful retributions will all not be undergone. If they encounter places troubled by bandits, where cities are destroyed, evil stars appear in strange transformations, and there are famine and epidemics, they will not be born there. If one says they will be born there, that is false speech.”

At that time, the Bodhisattva-Mahāsattva Maitreya again said to the Buddha: “World-Honored One! The Tathāgata always says that wholesome karma and unwholesome karma will not be lost or destroyed. If there are beings who commit various grave offenses, they should be born in households of lowly caste, suffering poverty and illness, with short lifespans and early death. Later they arouse faith and fashion a Buddha image. Must they still bear the karmic fruits of those offenses, or will they no longer bear them?”

The Buddha told Maitreya Bodhisattva: “Maitreya! Listen carefully now. I shall explain it for you. If those beings, after committing various offenses, give rise to the resolve to make images, beseeching repentance, determining to cut them off themselves, vowing never again to commit them, then the offenses previously committed can all be extinguished.

“I shall now explain this matter in detail for you. Maitreya! It is like someone who in past lives practiced miserliness. Because of that condition, he suffers the pain of poverty, possessing no treasures, with his resources and provisions lacking. Suddenly he encounters a bhikṣu who had previously entered samādhi and has just arisen from meditative concentration. That person immediately, with respect, offers food and drink. After giving in this way, he forever abandons poverty, and whatever he needs is fulfilled according to his wishes. Maitreya! Where then are the evil karmas of that poor person from former lives, and the retributions he should have received now?”

Maitreya Bodhisattva said: “World-Honored One! Because of the offering of food and drink, the evil karma of former lives has all been entirely extinguished. He forever departs from poverty and becomes greatly wealthy and abundant.”
The Buddha said: “Maitreya! Just as you have spoken, so it is. One should know that the person who makes images is also thus. Because of making images, those evil karmas are forever removed, without remainder, and the retributions that should be borne are no longer borne. Maitreya! Karma is of three kinds: one is retribution received in the present life; one is retribution received in the next life; one is retribution received in later lives. Within these three kinds of karma, each has distinctions of fixed and unfixed. If someone with faith makes a Buddha image, then only the fixed karma of present-life retribution may still be borne in a small portion. All the rest is not borne.”
At that time, the Bodhisattva-Mahāsattva Maitreya again said to the Buddha: “World-Honored One! The Tathāgata often says that there are five kinds of karma that are the most severe, and that one will certainly fall into the Avīci Hell. These are: killing one’s father, killing one’s mother, killing an Arhat, with an evil and rebellious mind causing the Buddha’s body to bleed, and destroying the harmony of the Sangha. If there are beings who previously committed these offenses, and later, in the presence of the Buddha, give rise to pure faith and fashion a Buddha image, will this person still fall into hell, or will he not fall?”

The Buddha told Maitreya Bodhisattva: “Maitreya! I will now speak for you another parable. It is like someone holding a strong bow, shooting upward through the forest at leaves on the trees. The arrow passes straight through, with absolutely no obstruction. If there are beings who commit these rebellious offenses, yet later make Buddha images, repent with sincerity, and obtain firm faith, with only slight grasping at self, then even if they fall into hell they will quickly depart from it, just as the arrow does not remain. This situation is the same. Again, it is like a bhikṣu who attains the supernormal power of spiritual travel. From this shore of the great ocean he reaches the other shore, roaming the four great continents, with nothing able to obstruct him. This person is also thus. Because of the offenses committed before, he only falls temporarily into hell, and it is not something that the karmic force of his past lives can obstruct.”

At that time, the Bodhisattva-Mahāsattva Maitreya again said to the Buddha: “World-Honored One! The Buddhas, the Tathāgatas, are bodies of Dharma-nature, not bodies of physical form. If one takes the physical form body as the Buddha-body, then Bhikṣu Nanda and a Wheel-Turning Sage King should both count as Buddhas, because they too possess the fine marks. Or if there are beings who destroy the Buddha’s Dharma-body, calling the true Dharma non-Dharma and calling non-Dharma the true Dharma, and later arouse faith and make Buddha images, can such grave offenses also be extinguished, or can they not be extinguished?”

The Buddha told Maitreya Bodhisattva: “Maitreya! If those beings, although they call the true Dharma non-Dharma and call non-Dharma the true Dharma, do so only in speech and do not destroy right view, and later give rise to faith and joyful delight and make Buddha images, then those former evil karmas will only be borne as a light retribution in the present body. They will not fall into the evil destinies, yet within the cycle of birth and death they still cannot immediately attain liberation.”

At that time, the Bodhisattva-Mahāsattva Maitreya again said to the Buddha: “World-Honored One! If someone steals items belonging to a Buddha stūpa, steals items belonging to the Sangha, items belonging to the Sangha of the four directions, or items belonging to the present Sangha, using them himself or giving them to others as though they were his own. The World-Honored One often says that the offense of using stūpa goods and Sangha goods is very grave. Yet if those beings, after committing such offenses, deeply regret and blame themselves, give rise to pure faith, and make Buddha images, can such karmas be extinguished?”

The Buddha told Maitreya Bodhisattva: “Maitreya! If those beings once used such goods, and later examine themselves, deeply holding shame and remorse, repay them in double according to the original amount, and vow never again to commit such acts, then I will speak for you a parable. It is like a poor man who previously owed many debts, and suddenly encounters a hidden treasure, obtaining immeasurable wealth. After repaying his debts, he still long possesses remaining riches. One should know that this person is also thus. Having repaid those goods twofold and then made Buddha images, he will be able to avoid all kinds of sufferings and calamities, and forever obtain peace and happiness.”

At that time, the Bodhisattva-Mahāsattva Maitreya again said to the Buddha: “World-Honored One! As the Buddha has said, if within the Buddha-Dharma one commits a Pārājika offense, one is no longer counted as having life. If someone commits such an offense, and afterward arouses the resolve to remember the Buddhas’ virtues and make Buddha images, can he again obtain life within the Buddha-Dharma? And in this present life, the second life, the third life, or the fourth life, can he realize the Buddha-Dharma?”

The Buddha told Maitreya Bodhisattva: “Maitreya! It is like someone whose body is bound by five ropes. If he gains release, it is like a bird flying out of a net and reaching a place without obstruction. This person is also thus. If he gives rise to faith, remembers the Buddha’s virtues, and makes Buddha images, then all karmic obstacles can be extinguished, and within birth and death he will swiftly depart, without obstruction.

“Maitreya, you should know! Vehicles are of three kinds: the Śrāvaka Vehicle, the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle, and the Buddha Vehicle. According to whichever vehicle this person gives rise to vows and joyful aspiration for, within that vehicle he will attain liberation. If he seeks only Buddhahood and does not pursue other fruits, then although he has severe karmic obstacles, they can swiftly be extinguished. Though within birth and death, there will be no suffering, and in the future he will realize unsurpassed Bodhi, obtain a pure Buddha land, be complete with all fine marks, and the lifespan he attains will have no end.”

At that time, within the Dharma assembly there were also those who had not yet aroused the Mahāyāna mind, and they all gave rise to doubt: “Has the Tathāgata in the past ever made Buddha images? If He has made them, why is His lifespan limited, why does He have illness and suffering? And why is the land in which He dwells often impure and turbid, not attaining purity?”

At that time, King Prasenajit, supported by the Buddha’s majestic power, rose from his seat, knelt with palms joined, and said to the Buddha: “World-Honored One! I see the Tathāgata’s faculties and fine marks, and also His lineage of birth, all of them being of the highest rank, and in my heart I have no doubt of this. Yet the Buddha, the World-Honored One, once was pierced in the foot by a thorn of khadira wood. Another time, Devadatta pushed down a great rock, and the shattered stones wounded the foot and drew blood. In the past there was also a time when the World-Honored One declared illness and had the physician Jīvaka prescribe a purgative medicine. There was also a period when you suffered back pain, and only when Mahākāśyapa recited the seven factors of awakening did the pain cease. Another time, when your body was unwell, you sent Ānanda to a brāhmaṇa’s house to beg for cow’s milk. Another time, in the village of Vīraṇa, during a three-month rains retreat, you ate only the barley meant for feeding horses. Another time, when begging for food, you obtained none and returned with an empty bowl.

“Yet as the World-Honored One has said: ‘If someone makes Buddha images, all karmic obstacles can be eliminated, far removed from many sufferings, with no various illnesses.’ Then did the World-Honored One in former times truly make Buddha images, or did you not? If you made Buddha images in the past, why did such things still occur?”

The Buddha told King Prasenajit: “Listen carefully, listen carefully! Reflect well and remember! I shall explain it distinctly for the great king. Great King! In past worlds, in order to seek Bodhi, I used precious treasures, sandalwood, painted adornments, and various materials to make Buddha images in numbers exceeding all the humans and devas present in this Dharma assembly. By virtue of that merit, although I was still within the cycle of birth and death and had not yet cut off all afflictions, the body into which I was born was firm like vajra, indestructible.

“Great King! I recall that in immeasurable kalpas of saṃsāra, I made Buddha images. At that time I still had immeasurable afflictions such as greed and anger corresponding with me. Yet I never, in any single thought, because of evil karma, experienced even the slightest illness or suffering from imbalance of the four great elements of earth, water, fire, and wind, nor from disturbance by evil spirits and ghosts. All necessities were always fully complete, how much more now that I have already realized unsurpassed right and equal awakening. How could there still be such unfavorable matters?

“Great King! If in the past I had made Buddha images, and even now there remained karmic force to receive such retribution, how could I make fearless proclamation and decisively declare that making Buddha images certainly extinguishes all evil karma? Great King! In the past I have given immeasurable food and treasures. If it were truly the case that I begged for food and did not obtain it, and ate horse barley, then why would I in immeasurable sūtras repeatedly praise the pāramitā of giving, saying that its meritorious fruit is never false? Great King! I am one who speaks truthful words, not one who speaks deceitful words. If I were to lie and deceive, how much more would that apply to others?

“Great King! I have long since cut off all evil karma. I have been able to relinquish what is difficult to relinquish, able to practice the austerities difficult to practice. The bodies and lives I have given up exceed hundreds of thousands of koṭis. I have already made immeasurable Buddha images. I have already repented of immeasurable offenses and karmic obstacles. How then could there still be these matters of injury, illness, eating horse barley, hunger, and thirst? If one could obtain a supreme fruition and yet later lose it, then what need would there be to exhort people to cultivate these many meritorious wholesome deeds?

“Great King! The constant body and Dharma body of the Buddhas, the Tathāgatas, are such that, in order to guide beings, they manifest these events. It is not truly so. Wounding the foot, suffering back pain, begging for cow’s milk, taking medicine, and even after Nirvāṇa distributing relics and erecting stūpas for offerings, are all the Tathāgata’s skillful means, so that beings may see such manifestations.

“Great King! I manifest in the world these many appearances of hardship in order to show beings the principle that karmic retribution does not fail, causing them to give rise to fear, cut off all evil karma, cultivate all kinds of wholesome deeds, and only then understand that the lifespan of the constant body and Dharma body is limitless, and that the Buddha land is pure. Great King! The Buddhas, the Tathāgatas, have no falsity. They are wholly great compassion, wisdom, and skillful means, and thus are able to manifest in these various ways.”

At that time, when King Prasenajit heard this explanation, he rejoiced and leapt with delight. Together with immeasurable hundreds of thousands of beings, he aroused the mind of Anuttarā-Samyak-Saṃbodhi.

At that time, the Bodhisattva-Mahāsattva Maitreya again said to the Buddha: “World-Honored One! Some women have narrow intentions, and they often harbor jealousy, resentment, and hatred. Their dispositions are frivolous and harsh, flattering and improper. They cling to resentment and do not let it go. Though they know kindness, they do not repay it. Even if they seek Bodhi, they cannot firmly uphold it. They constantly wish to deceive and delude all beings, and they themselves are also deceived and deluded by others.

“World-Honored One! If such women make Buddha images, can these karmic obstacles be eliminated? In the future, can they become courageous great men and seek the fruit of Buddhahood? Can they become those who know gratitude and repay gratitude? Can they fully possess wisdom and great compassion? Can they give rise to revulsion toward the Dharma of birth and death? Apart from cases of returning by vow, can they cease to receive a woman’s body, like Gautamī and the Buddha’s mother Lady Māyā?”

The Buddha told Maitreya Bodhisattva: “Maitreya! If there are women who are able to make Buddha images, then they will forever not again receive a woman’s body. Suppose they must still receive such a body, then they will become a treasure among women, noble, supreme, and foremost. Moreover, such women can obtain five kinds of virtues surpassing other women. What are the five? First, they can bear children. Second, their lineage of birth will be noble. Third, their innate character will be steadfast and wholesome. Fourth, their appearance and qualities will be supremely excellent beyond measure. Fifth, their bearing will be beautiful, upright, and proper.

“Maitreya! Women have eight kinds of causes and conditions that lead them to long endure a woman’s body. What are the eight? First, delighting in and craving the female body. Second, clinging greedily to feminine desire. Third, constantly praising with the mouth the appearance and qualities of women. Fourth, having an unstraight mind, concealing one’s own deeds. Fifth, despising and belittling one’s own husband. Sixth, in thought after thought, valuing others above oneself. Seventh, clearly knowing that others have shown kindness, yet abandoning and opposing them. Eighth, adorning oneself with false and deviant embellishments, wishing others to become infatuated.

“If one can forever cut off these eight matters and make Buddha images, then until Buddhahood one will always be a male body. To receive a woman’s body again is absolutely impossible.

“Maitreya! There are four kinds of causes and conditions that cause a man to receive a woman’s body. What are the four? First, using a woman’s voice to mockingly call out and ridicule the Buddha, the Bodhisattvas, and all noble ones. Second, toward those who uphold the pure precepts, speaking with a slandering mind that they have violated the precepts. Third, delighting in flattering conduct, deceiving and deluding others. Fourth, upon seeing others surpass oneself, giving rise to jealousy.

“If a man practices these four matters, then after life ends he will certainly receive a woman’s body, and will also undergo immeasurable suffering in the evil destinies. If he can deeply arouse faith, repent of what was previously done, and make Buddha images, then these offenses can all be extinguished, and he will certainly no longer receive the retribution of a woman’s body.

“Maitreya! There are four kinds of causes and conditions that cause a man to receive the body of a eunuch. What are the four? First, injuring and mutilating the bodies of others, even the bodies of animals. Second, toward precept-holding śramaṇas, angrily mocking, slandering, and reviling them. Third, being excessive in lust and greed, deliberately violating the precepts. Fourth, oneself associating with those who violate the precepts, and also encouraging others to violate the precepts.

“If a man first does these matters, and later gives rise to faith and makes Buddha images, then until Buddhahood he will not receive such a retribution, always being a great man with complete faculties.

“Maitreya! There are four kinds of karma that cause a man to receive a body possessing both sexual characteristics, the most inferior among all people. What are the four? First, performing impure acts in places where reverence should be shown. Second, clinging with lust toward the improper places of male body. Third, engaging in lustful acts toward one’s own body. Fourth, enticing and selling female sexuality to others.

“If beings have once done these matters, and deeply reproach themselves, repent of former offenses, give rise to pure faith, and make Buddha images, then until Buddhahood they will not receive such a body.

“Maitreya! There are further four conditions that cause a man’s mind constantly to give rise to women’s desire, delighting in others performing the acts of a husband toward him. What are the four? First, whether through hatred or play, slandering and reviling others. Second, delighting in making women’s clothing and adornments. Third, committing impure acts with women among one’s relatives. Fourth, in truth possessing no supreme virtue, yet falsely accepting the reverence of others.

“Because of these causes and conditions, such men give rise to these distorted afflictions. If they repent of former offenses, do not create new evil karma, give rise to faith and joy, and make Buddha images, then once the offenses are extinguished, these thoughts will also cease.

“Maitreya! There are five kinds of miserliness that can harm beings. What are the five? First, being miserly toward the neighboring villages and towns where one dwells. Because of this, in the future one will be reborn in desolate wilderness. Second, being miserly toward one’s own house and residence. In the future one will become the body of a parasitic worm, constantly dwelling amid filth. Third, being miserly toward one’s own upright and beautiful appearance. In the future one will obtain an ugly and displeasing body. Fourth, being miserly toward one’s own wealth and possessions. In the future one will suffer poverty, with clothing and food lacking. Fifth, being miserly toward the Buddhadharma that one knows. In the future one will have the retribution of stubborn dullness, or even the fruit of being an animal, and such like.

“If one repents of one’s former karmic obstacles and fashions the honored countenance of a Buddha image, then one will forever depart from a miserly mind and will not undergo the retributions spoken of above.

“Maitreya! There are also five kinds of causes and conditions that cause beings to be reborn in remote barbarous lands and in times when there is no Buddha-Dharma. What are the five? First, not giving rise to pure faith toward the fertile field of the Three Jewels. Second, going against the facts and right principle, giving instruction in a reckless and confused manner. Third, not teaching others in accordance with reason and reality. Fourth, destroying the harmonious Sangha, causing it to split into two factions. Fifth, even to the smallest extent, destroying the relationship between two bhikṣus, causing them not to be in harmony.

“If one can forever cut off these karmic actions and make Buddha images, then one will constantly meet Buddhas appearing in the world, and will continually hear the essential meaning of the Dharma.

“Maitreya! Beings also have five kinds of causes and conditions by which they are constantly hated and driven away by others, so that even those closest to them do not wish to see them. What are the five? First, divisive speech. Second, harsh speech. Third, delighting in disputation. Fourth, giving rise to much anger and resentment. Fifth, speaking clever words that are half true and half false, thereby engaging in slander.

“If later one arouses the resolve to make Buddha images, repents of former evil karma, and vows never again to commit it, then all the offenses one has created can be extinguished, and one will be loved, respected, and honored by all people. Why is this? Because the Buddhas possess immeasurable and boundless supreme merit, immeasurable and boundless vast wisdom, immeasurable and boundless Samādhi liberations, and all such rare virtuous Dharma qualities.

“Virtuous man! Suppose someone were to grind a trichiliocosm into fine dust, and then crush that dust again into powder, so that the number of powder particles produced from each single mote of dust equaled the total number of dust motes in that trichiliocosm. Thus there would be as many trichiliocosms as there are such powder particles.

“Suppose further that someone were to take one single particle of that crushed dust, and by supernormal power travel eastward. In a single kṣaṇa he would pass beyond as many trichiliocosms as the number of those powder particles spoken of above. In the second kṣaṇa, the third kṣaṇa, and in every kṣaṇa thereafter it would be the same, until he had passed through kalpas as numerous as all those powder particles. And within those kalpas, every kṣaṇa would itself be taken as a kalpa. Passing through such kalpas, in each kṣaṇa, kṣaṇa after kṣaṇa, he would again pass beyond as many trichiliocosms as the number of those powder particles, just as before.

“Only after completing all of this would he finally set down that single particle of dust. He would then return, take another particle of dust, and again travel eastward, the distance passed being twice that of the first. After setting down that particle, he would return. When taking the third particle, the distance passed would again be twice that of the second particle. In this way, proceeding forward, doubling successively, until all of those powder particles were exhausted.

“Just as it is said of the east, so it is also thus in the south, west, and north. Wherever this person passes in the four directions, all those lands are ground into fine dust. All of these dust motes, if all beings together were to calculate and measure, perhaps they could know their number. Yet as for the merit possessed in the measure of a single pore upon the Tathāgata’s body, it cannot be known at all! Why is this? Because all the merits of the Buddhas, the Tathāgatas, are without limit and are inconceivable.

“Virtuous man! Suppose there were wisdom, as numerous as those dust motes spoken of above, belonging to all persons like Śāriputra. Even that would not equal the wisdom of a single thought of the Tathāgata. Why is this? Because within each single thought, the Tathāgata is constantly able to manifest immeasurable and supreme virtues, surpassing even those dust numbers, such as Samādhis, liberations, Dhāraṇīs, and the like. The virtues of the Buddhas are such that all Śrāvakas and Pratyekabuddhas cannot even fully know their names. Therefore, if one has pure faith and fashions Buddha images, there is no karmic obstacle that will not be eliminated and extinguished. The merit obtained is immeasurable and boundless, and in the future one will accomplish unsurpassed right and equal awakening, forever uprooting all the sufferings of beings.”

When the Buddha had finished expounding this sūtra, Maitreya Bodhisattva, the multitudes of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, King Udayana, and all the devas, humans, asuras, gandharvas, and others in the world, upon hearing what the Buddha had spoken, all greatly rejoiced, believed, received, and upheld it.