Maha Prajnaparamita Sastra
by Gelongma Karma Migme Ch枚dr枚n | 2001 | 941,039 words
This page describes 鈥渓egend of the buddha lokeshvararaja and the bhikshu dharmakara鈥� as written by Nagarjuna in his Maha-prajnaparamita-sastra (lit. 鈥渢he treatise on the great virtue of wisdom鈥�) in the 2nd century. This book, written in five volumes, represents an encyclopedia on Buddhism as well as a commentary on the Pancavimsatisahasrika Prajnaparamita.
Appendix 6 - The Legend of the Buddha 尝辞办别艣惫补谤补谤腻箩补 and the 产丑颈办峁 顿丑补谤尘腻办补谤补
Note: this appendix is extracted from Chapter XV part 10.9:
鈥淎lthough the Buddha 尝辞办别艣惫补谤补谤腻箩补 guided the 产丑颈办峁 顿丑补谤尘腻办补谤补 in the ten directions to contemplate the pure universes, the qualities (驳耻峁嘺) and the power (bala) of this 产丑颈办峁 were too weak and he was unable to see the supremely pure universes鈥�.
See Mpp艣, k. 50, p. 418a鈥揵:
鈥淭he Buddha Che tseu tsai wang (尝辞办别艣惫补谤补谤腻箩补) led the 产丑颈办峁 Fa tsi (顿丑补谤尘腻办补谤补) in the ten directions and showed him the pure universes.鈥�
This 产丑颈办峁 is none other than the future Buddha 础尘颈迟腻产丑补 whose births are told in the Sukh膩vat墨vy奴ha (ed. M. M眉ller and B. Nanjio in Anecdota Oxoniensis, vol. I, part II, Oxford, 1883; tr. M. M眉ller, Buddhist 惭补丑腻测腻苍补 厂奴迟谤补蝉, SBE, vol. 49, part II) and its six Chinese translations (T 360, 361, 362, 363, 364, 310[5]).
The H么b么girin, Amida, p. 26, summarizes this work as follows:
At the time of the Buddha 尝辞办别艣惫补谤补, the 53rd Buddha after 顿墨辫补峁僰补谤补, a king had the thought of enlightenment from having heard the sermons of this Buddha. He abandoned his throne and became a monk under the name of 顿丑补谤尘腻办补谤补. Upon the prayer of this monk, the Buddha 尝辞办别艣惫补谤补谤腻箩补 showed him the good and the evil of gods and men and the merits and demerits of the different realms of the 210 million Buddha realms which he showed him.
The monk spent five kalpas reflecting in order make a choice and to acquire the pure practices with which one can adorn a Buddha realm; then he went again to the same Buddha and pronounced the 48 vows, the main one of which is the 18th, formulated by T 360 as follows:
鈥淪upposing that I succeed in becoming Buddha, if beings of the ten directions, believing in me and loving me wholeheartedly, make the wish to be reborn in my realm to the extent of ten thoughts, if they are not reborn there, may I not receive supreme perfect enlightenment, except only for those guilty of the five sins of immediate retribution and slander against the holy Dharma.鈥�
In the Sanskrit text, this vow is the 19th and is formulated in v. 8, no. 10 as follows: Sa can me bhagav膩n bodhipr膩ptasy膩pramey膩sa峁僰hyeye峁 buddhak峁tre峁 鈥� samyaksa峁僢odhim abhisa峁僢uddheyam. Then he accumulated the practices so that his vows were realized and he became the perfect Buddha Amit膩yus in his western paradise where he he has already reigned for ten kalpas.