At that time, Universal Worthy Bodhisattva Mahasattva told all other Bodhisattvas: Disciples of the Buddha! A Bodhisattva Mahasattva has ten spiritual powers. What are the ten?
Disciples of the Buddha! With the wisdom-based spiritual power of knowing others’ minds, a Bodhisattva Mahasattva recognizes the varied minds of sentient beings in a trichiliocosm: minds of goodness, minds of evil, expansive minds, narrow minds, immense minds, petty minds, minds that follow birth and death, minds that do not follow birth and death, minds of Hearers, minds of Solitarily Enlightened Sages, minds of Bodhisattvas, Hearer’s minds for practice, Solitarily Enlightened Sage’s minds for practice, Bodhisattvas’ minds for practice, minds of devas, minds of dragons, minds of yakshas, minds of gandharvas, minds of asuras, minds of garudas, minds of kinnaras, minds of mahoragas, minds of humans, minds of nonhumans, minds of beings in the hells, minds of animals, minds of those at the place of King Yama, minds of hungry ghosts, and minds of sentient beings in various places of hardship.
Just as a Bodhisattva Mahasattva can discern the limitlessly many different types of minds of sentient beings in one world, likewise he can do so in a hundred worlds, a thousand worlds, a hundred thousand worlds, a hundred billion nayutas of worlds. He can even discern the minds of sentient beings in worlds as many as dust motes in ineffably ineffable Buddhalands.
This is called a Bodhisattva Mahasattva’s first wisdom-based spiritual power of skillfully knowing others’ minds.
Disciples of the Buddha! With the wisdom-based spiritual power of the unobstructed purity of the heavenly eye, a Bodhisattva Mahasattva sees countless sentient beings in worlds as many as dust motes in ineffably ineffable Buddhalands. He sees infinitely many types of sentient beings, such as beings who die in one place and are born in another,beings in good and evil destinies, beings with blessed or cursed features, beings beautiful or ugly, beings defiled or pure, and other such uncountable kinds of beings. That is to say, he sees devas, dragons, yakshas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans, nonhumans, those diminutive in body, those enormous in body, those small, and those great.
With his unobstructed vision, he clearly discerns the various kinds of sentient beings. He comprehensively and unerringly sees sentient beings according to their accumulations of karma, their experiences of suffering and happiness, their minds, their discriminations, their views, their speech, their causes, their karmic results, their conditions, and what they give rise to.
This is called a Bodhisattva Mahasattva’s second wisdom-based spiritual power of the unobstructed heavenly eye.
Disciples of the Buddha! With the wisdom-based spiritual power of knowing past lives whenever one wishes, a Bodhisattva Mahasattva knows past lives of his own and all sentient beings in worlds as many as dust motes in ineffably ineffable Buddhalands, throughout past eons as many as dust motes in ineffably ineffable Buddhalands.
A Bodhisattva Mahasattva knows everything such as their places of birth, their first names and surnames, their ethnicity, their diet, their pain and pleasure, the causes and conditions under which they have been evolving and transmigrating endlessly in the realms of existence, for life after life since time immemorial. He also knows all matters such as sentient beings’ various types and ranks, nationalities, destinies in rebirth, appearances, karmic deeds, bondage, thoughts, causes and conditions that lead to their different lives.
He also recalls that there are as many Buddhas as dust motes in all Buddhalands, in worlds as many as dust motes in all Buddhalands, throughout eons as many as dust motes in all Buddhalands. The Bodhisattva Mahasattva recalls the name of each Buddha, how that Buddha came into the world, his assemblies, his parents, his attendants, his Hearers, his two best disciples, his cities and counties, his leaving home, his attainment of Utmost Proper Enlightenment under the bodhi tree, the places and thrones where he proclaimed so many sutras, how he benefited sentient beings, his life span at that time, his performance of Buddha-deeds, his entry into parinirvana through reliance on the nonresidual parinirvana and how long his Dharma remained after his entry into parinirvana. The Bodhisattva can recall all of this.
He also recalls the names of Buddhas as many as dust motes in ineffably ineffable Buddhalands. Each name represents Buddhas as many as dust motes in ineffably ineffable Buddhalands. He has complete knowledge of how each of these Buddhas brings forth his initial resolve for bodhi, makes vows and practices, makes offerings to all Buddhas, tames sentient beings, and speaks Dharma for his assemblies. He knows the length of each Buddha’s life, his spiritual powers of transformation, and even his entry into nonresidual parinirvana, the length of time his Dharma remains after he enters parinirvana, and the stupas and monasteries that are constructed with various adornments, causing sentient beings to plant and nurture good roots. The Bodhisattva can know all of this.
This is called a Bodhisattva Mahasattva’s third wisdom-based spiritual power of knowing past lives extending back through eons of time.
Disciples of the Buddha! With the wisdom-based spiritual power of knowing future eons of time, a Bodhisattva Mahasattva knows all eons in worlds as many as dust motes in ineffably ineffable Buddhalands. In each eon, the Bodhisattva knows everything about how sentient beings continually die and are reborn within the levels of existence, whether the karmic actions and retributions are wholesome or unwholesome, transcendental or mundane, decisive or indecisive. He knows whether sentient beings have wrong or correct concentration, whether or not their good roots are accompanied by defilements, whether or not they are endowed with good roots, whether or not they can be gathered in by their good roots, whether or not they have accumulated good roots, and whether or not they have accumulated offenses.
He knows all such things throughout worlds as many as dust motes in ineffably ineffable Buddhalands, throughout future eons as many as dust motes in ineffably ineffable Buddhalands.
In each eon, there are names of Buddhas as many as dust motes in ineffably ineffable Buddhalands. Each name represents Tathagatas as many as dust motes in ineffably ineffable Buddhalands. He has complete knowledge of how each and every Tathagata will bring forth his initial resolve for bodhi, make vows and practices, make offerings to all Buddhas, tame sentient beings, and speak Dharma for his congregations. He knows the length of each Buddha’s life, his spiritual powers of transformation, and even his entry into nonresidual parinirvana, the length of time his Dharma will remain after he enters parinirvana, and the stupas and temples that will be constructed with various adornments, causing sentient beings to plant and nurture good roots.
This is called a Bodhisattva Mahasattva’s fourth wisdom-based spiritual power of knowing future eons of time.
Disciples of the Buddha! With the perfection of the unobstructed purity of the heavenly ear, a Bodhisattva Mahasattva’s hearing is perfect, extensive, keen, and penetrating. Unhindered and unimpeded in its reach, the heavenly ear is fully endowed and accomplished. With self-mastery, he can hear or not hear any or all sounds as he chooses.
Disciples of the Buddha! Buddhas as many as dust motes in ineffably ineffable Buddhalands exist in the east. The Bodhisattva Mahasattva can accept and practice all of the profound, vast, pure Dharma with its various distinctions, limitless expedients, and limitless skillful means, that all these Buddhas proclaim, reveal, impart, expound, establish, teach, use to discipline beings, recollect, and analyze.
Further, the Bodhisattva Mahasattva can remember and uphold all of this Dharma, both the meaning as well as the words, whether it is spoken for a single person or an assembly, and including the Buddhas' tone of voice, their articulation, their wisdom, their understanding, their manifestations, their ability to tame, their states of mind, their ground of being, and their ways of transcendence. He never forgets this Dharma, nor dismisses it, nor severs it, nor retreats from it, nor becomes confused.
He explains this Dharma for others so that they in turn awaken to understanding and never forget a single word or sentence of this Dharma. Just as he is able to do this in the east, he can do the same in the south, west, north, the four intermediate directions, as well as above and below.
This is called a Bodhisattva Mahasattva’s fifth wisdom-based spiritual power of the unobstructed purity of the heavenly ear.
Disciples of the Buddha! When dwelling in spiritual power devoid of substance, spiritual power devoid of effort, spiritual power based in equality, vast spiritual power, infinite spiritual power, spiritual power devoid of reliance, spiritual power that accord with one’s wishes, spiritual power that arises, spiritual power that does not arise, spiritual power that does not retreat, spiritual power that is not cut off, indestructible spiritual power, increasing spiritual powers, and spiritual powers that reach wherever they are sent, a Bodhisattva Mahasattva hears the names of Buddhas in extremely distant worlds, that is, in countless worlds, measureless worlds, even worlds as many as dust motes in ineffably ineffable Buddhalands. He sees himself in each Buddha’s presence as soon as he hears that Buddha’s name.
Those worlds may be upright or inverted—each unique in shape, locale, and features. Boundless and unobstructed is the assortment of lands and epochs, each adorned with infinite meritorious virtues. Every Tathagata will appear in these worlds to manifest spiritual transformations and praise the unique names of limitless and countless Buddhas. Once this Bodhisattva hears the name of a Tathagata, he sees himself in that Buddha’s presence without leaving his original place. There he bows, pays respect, attends and makes offerings to that Buddha. He asks about the Dharma of Bodhisattvas and enters the Buddha’s wisdom. He thoroughly and utterly knows the assemblies and the Dharma spoken in bodhimandas in all Buddhalands, yet remains unattached.
In this way, he passes through as many eons as dust motes in ineffably ineffable Buddhalands, reaching all places throughout the ten directions without going anywhere. Nonetheless, he travels to every land to see the Buddhas, to listen to the Dharma and to inquire about the Path without pausing, giving up, resting, or growing weary. He cultivates the Bodhisattva’s practice and realizes his vast vows. To fulfill his vows he never retreats, for he does not wish the vast seed-nature of the Tathagatas to be cut off.
This is called a Bodhisattva Mahasattva’s sixth wisdom-based spiritual power of being devoid of substance and unmoving as one reaches to all Buddhalands.
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