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Vision of the Jeweled Stupa
Chapter 11
At that time, there manifested before the Buddha, a Stupa made of the seven jewels. It was five hundred yojanas in height and two hundred and fifty yojanas in breadth. It welled up out of the earth and stood in empty space, adorned with all kinds of jeweled objects. It had five thousand railings and thousands of myriads of alcoves.
Countless banners and pennants adorned it as well. Jeweled beads were hung from it and myriads of millions of jeweled bells were suspended from its top. The scent of Tamalapatracandana issued from all four sides and filled the entire world. All its banners and canopies were made of the seven jewels: gold, silver, lapis lazuli, mother of pearl, carnelian, pearls and agate reaching up to the palace of the four heavenly kings.
From the Heaven of the Thirty-Three there rained heavenly mandarva flowers as an offering to the jeweled Stupa. All the gods, dragons, yakshas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans, non-humans and so forth, thousands of myriads of millions of them, made offerings to the jeweled Stupa of all kinds of flowers, incense, beads, banners, canopies, and instrumental music, reverently honoring it and praising it.
At that time, a loud voice issued from the Stupa speaking in praise, saying, “Good indeed, good indeed, Shakyamuni, World Honored One, that you are able, by means of your undifferentiating great wisdom, to speak for the great assembly, The Wonderful Dharma Flower Sutra, a Dharma for teaching Bodhisattvas of whom the Buddhas are protective and mindful. So it is, so it is, Shakyamuni, World Honored One, that all you say is true and real.”
Just then the four assemblies, seeing the great jeweled Stupa standing in mid-air and hearing the voice from within it, all gained Dharma joy and marveled at this unprecedented occurrence. They rose from their seats, reverently placed their palms together and withdrew to one side.
Just then a Bodhisattva Mahasattva by the name of Great Delight in Speaking, knowing the doubts in the minds of all the gods, humans, and asuras and others from all the worlds, spoke to the Buddha saying, “World Honored One, by means of what causes and conditions has this jeweled Stupa welled up out of the earth and produced this loud sound?”
Then the Buddha told the Bodhisattva Great Delight in Speaking: within this jeweled Stupa is the complete body of the Thus Come One. Long ago, limitless thousands of myriads of millions of asamkheya worlds to the east, in a land called Jeweled Purity, there was a Buddha by the name of Many Jewels. When this Buddha was practicing the Bodhisattva Path, he made a great vow saying, “After I have become a Buddha and passed into extinction, in any of the ten direction lands where The Dharma Flower Sutra is spoken, my Stupa shall appear there, that I may hear the Sutra and certify it, praising it, saying, ‘Good indeed! Good indeed!’”
After that Buddha had realized the Way, when he was about to enter into extinction, in the great assembly of gods and humans he spoke to the Bhikshus saying, “After my extinction, those who wish to make offerings to my complete body should build a large Stupa.”
By the power of his spiritual penetrations and his vow, throughout the ten direction worlds wherever anyone speaks The Dharma Flower Sutra that Buddha’s jeweled Stupa containing his complete body wells up from the earth before the one speaking and expresses praise by saying, “Good indeed! Good indeed!”Great Delight in Speaking! Because he has heard The Dharma Flower Sutra being spoken, the Stupa of the Thus Come One Many Jewels has now welled up out of the earth with these words of praise, “Good indeed! Good indeed!”
Just then, the Bodhisattva Great Delight in Speaking, by means of the spiritual power of the Thus Come One, spoke to the Buddha saying, “World Honored One, we all wish to see this Buddha’s body.”
The Buddha told the Bodhisattva Mahasattva Great Delight in Speaking: The Buddha Many Jewels has made a profound and solemn vow: “When my jeweled Stupa manifests in the presence of the Buddhas because The Dharma Flower Sutra is heard, if there is anyone who wishes me to show my body to the four assemblies, then the division body Buddhas of that Buddha who is speaking Dharma in the worlds of the ten directions, must all return and gather together in one place. Afterward, my body will appear.
Great Delight in Speaking, my division body Buddhas present in the ten direction worlds speaking Dharma, should now gather together.
Great Delight in Speaking said to the Buddha, “World Honored One, we also wish to see the division bodies of the World Honored One so that we may bow to them and make offerings.”
At that time the Buddha emitted a white hair-mark light in which were seen the Buddhas of the lands in the eastern direction equal in number to the grains of sand in five hundred myriads of millions of nayutas of Ganges rivers.
All the Buddhalands had crystal for soil, and were adorned with jeweled trees and jeweled clothing. Countless thousands of myriad of millions of Bodhisattvas filled them. They were covered with jeweled canopies and jeweled nets. The Buddhas in those lands with a great and wonderful sound were speaking the Dharma. Also seen were limitless thousands of myriads of millions of Bodhisattvas filling those lands speaking the Dharma for the multitudes. Thus it was also in the south, west, north, the four intermediate directions, as well as upward and downward wherever the white hair-mark light shone.
At that time all the Buddhas of the ten directions addressed the host of Bodhisattvas saying, “Good men! We should now go to the Saha world, to the place of Shakyamuni Buddha and make offerings to the Stupa of the Thus Come One Many Jewels.”
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