Dharma Torch

Translated by the Śramaṇa Dharma Torch of the Western Jin Dynasty

At that time, the Buddha told the Mahāsattvas, the devas, and the people: “All of you should listen with single-minded attention.” The Buddha said: “A human body is difficult to obtain, and the unconditioned path is also thus; it is difficult to encounter a Buddha in the world. From asaṃkhyeya kalpas onward, while still a householder, I accumulated virtue through kalpas upon kalpas. In every life I restrained myself, revolving through the five destinies. I did not crave treasures, but gave up my own body in generosity to others, begrudging nothing and cherishing nothing. Later, I became a crown prince. On the eighth day of the fourth month, at midnight when the bright star appeared, I was born. Upon touching the ground, I walked seven steps, raised my right hand, and said: ‘Above heaven and below heaven, I alone am honored. I shall be the unsurpassed guide for devas and humans.’

“When the prince was born, the great earth shook greatly. From the Four Great Heavenly Kings up to Brahmā, and the King of the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven, the devas among them each held twelve kinds of incense mixed with warm water, and also held various famous flowers to bathe the prince. The prince then was able to accomplish the Buddha path, to reveal and manifest the noble Dharma, and to ferry living beings across to liberation.”

The Buddha told the devas and the people: “All Buddhas of the ten directions are born at midnight on the eighth day of the fourth month. All Buddhas of the ten directions renounce at midnight on the eighth day of the fourth month, enter the mountains to study the Path. All Buddhas of the ten directions attain Buddhahood at midnight on the eighth day of the fourth month. All Buddhas of the ten directions enter parinirvāṇa at midnight on the eighth day of the fourth month.”

The Buddha said: “The reason for using the eighth day of the fourth month is that between spring and summer, all sins are ended, and all beings grow. Poisonous vapors have not yet spread. It is neither cold nor hot, the season is balanced and suitable. This is precisely the day of the Buddha’s birth. All virtuous men and virtuous women, after the Buddha’s passing into extinction, should with utmost sincerity recollect the Buddha’s immeasurable power of merit and virtue. Bathing the statues of Buddha as though the Buddha were in the world brings immeasurable merit, beyond naming or counting.”

The Buddha said: “When I practiced the Bodhisattva path in the past, thirty-six times I was Śakra, King of the Devas; thirty-six times I was a Wheel-Turning Noble King; thirty-six times I was a flying sovereign. Among all the Buddha’s disciples, those with faithful and wholesome minds should recollect the merit and wholesome roots of the Buddhas of the ten directions. If they bathe the statues of Buddha with incense, flowers, and various offerings, all that they wish will be attained. The devas, nāgas, and spirits will constantly follow and protect them, and all should bear witness to this.”

The Buddha told all the disciples: “A human body is difficult to obtain, and the Dharma teachings are difficult to hear. If there are devas or humans who can themselves reduce the shares of their wives, children, and the wealth of the five households, and use it to bathe the statues of Buddha as though the Buddha were in the world, then all that they wish can be obtained.

“Those who wish to deliver themselves from the world and attain the unconditioned Path, life after life not meeting with death, can obtain it. Those who wish to be diligent and courageous like Śākyamuni Buddha can obtain it. Those who wish to be like Mañjuśrī, the irreversible Bodhisattva, can obtain it. Those who wish to become a Wheel-Turning Noble King who flies and teaches can obtain it. Those who wish to become a Pratyekabuddha or an Arhat can obtain it. Those who wish to be forever apart from the three evil destinies can obtain it. Those who wish to be born among devas and humans and enjoy wealth and happiness can obtain it. Those who wish for hundreds of sons and thousands of grandsons can obtain it. Those who wish for long life without illness can obtain it.

“The people of the world have craving like the sea. They would rather cut off a piece of their own flesh than give even a single coin or object to others. When a person is born, he does not bring a single coin with him; when he dies, he does not take a single coin with him. Wealth still remains in the world, while the person who dies departs alone. Recollecting suffering in this way, those who bathe the statues of Buddha have this merit accompany them through birth and death, without interruption.”

The Buddha said: “If someone has even a single wholesome thought and performs this merit, then the devas and wholesome spirits, the eight classes of devas and nāgas, the Four Great Heavenly Kings, and others will all together protect them. Bathing the statues of Buddha, wherever the reward is born, one will always obtain purity. Through this cause and condition one will be able to accomplish the Buddha path.” (The following thirty-one lines of scripture are not found in the Tengyur version; the Song edition has them. They are preserved here.)

The Buddha said: “Those who hold fine incense and bathe the statues of Buddha will obtain blessings for themselves. Their wisdom will rest in pure merit and virtue, and their good name will be heard far and wide. Those who hold fine flowers and scatter them upon the Buddha will obtain blessings for themselves. They will be upright and beautiful in appearance, with none able to compare. Those who hold silk banners and make offerings to the Buddha will obtain blessings for themselves. Wherever they are born, they will naturally obtain fine clothing, without end.”

The Buddha said: “Through successive lives I have accumulated merit and virtue, practicing goodness with utmost sincerity, upholding precepts, patience, diligence, meditative concentration, and wisdom. Therefore I myself was able to become a Buddha. Today, this worthy one, such-and-such, with a compassionate mind and wholesome intention, has faith and inclines toward the Buddha path, seeking deliverance. He holds various kinds of incense and flowers to bathe the statues of Buddha. All of this is for the sake of the parents of seven generations, for five kinds of relatives, for brothers and wives in times of hardship, for the suffering living beings in the ten directions and the five destinies, and for the foolish people who do not believe in the Buddha path.

“It is so that in future lives, when they are born as humans, they will be upright and pure white, revered by all, with no dust or defilement clinging to their bodies. Wherever they are born, they will always meet with the Buddha; wherever they are born, they will always meet with the Dharma; wherever they are born, they will always meet with the bhikṣu Sangha.

“It is so that such-and-such may clearly understand the scriptures, with wisdom penetrating the Buddha’s twelve divisions of the canon, the Four Āgamas, ānāpāna and concentration, the thirty-seven factors of enlightenment, the four foundations of mindfulness, the four right abandonments, the four bases of supernormal power, the five roots, the five powers, the seven awakenings, and the Noble Eightfold Path. If he can seek the Buddha path with utmost sincerity, then he will swiftly attain Avinivartanīya.

“It is so that he may obtain the Buddha’s thirty-two marks, the eighty kinds of excellence, the purple-golden color, the ten powers, the four fearlessnesses, and the eighteen unique qualities. From his mouth will issue eight kinds of sounds. He will fly and see through all things, going wherever he arrives. The devas, nāgas, ghosts, spirits, Hārītī and her offspring and retinue will protect his body, so that his comings and goings are peaceful and secure.

“If he travels in the mountains, he will not encounter tigers or wolves. If he enters an army, he will not be harmed by weapons. If he travels upon rivers and lakes, he will not meet with winds and waves. Upon his bed there will be no sick or emaciated person. In the offices of government there will be no summons issued against him. If wives or daughters have difficulty in childbirth, then they will be made peaceful and safe. If he engages in trade and commerce, his profits will increase a hundredfold. All evil beings will not be able to recklessly disturb him. Water and fire, thieves and bandits, enemies and creditors will not be able to recklessly harm him. Disputes and slander will all be extinguished and subdued. He will be made diligent, and will not regret halfway along the path. He will practice like a Bodhisattva, and attain the path like a Buddha.”

(This sūtra in the Song canon is titled the “Mahāsattva Sūtra,” translated by Shengjian. Now, according to the Kaiyuan Catalogue, the Song canon contains disorder, so it has been revised on the basis of the Tengyur edition and changed to the “Sūtra on Bathing the Statues of Buddha,” translated by Dharmadīpa. Moreover, in the Song canon, the beginning of this sūtra, which speaks of “Mahāsattva” through two pages of text, is entirely the wording of the “Mahāsattva Sūtra,” with no difference between the two sūtras. Now, based on the Tengyur version, the two pages of text from “At that time the Buddha told the Mahāsattva” through “Through this cause and condition one will be able to accomplish the Buddha path.” have been substituted. From the “The Buddha said bathing the statues of Buddha” the following thirty-one lines of scripture were originally present in the Song edition and are still preserved here.)