Lotus Sutra
The Life-span of The Tathagata
The Buddha then told the Bodhisattvas and the whole assembly, "O all you good disciples, trust in and comprehend the Truth within my words." He then repeated this to the great assembly, saying, "Have confidence in and discern the Truth within my words." Yet again he admonished all the assembly to have faith in and comprehend the Truth within his, the Tathagata's words.
The great host of Bodhisattvas, led by Maitreya, their hands in gassho, then said to the Buddha, "O World-honored one, we pray that you will explain this statement to us so that we may properly trust in and accept the Buddha's Words." Thus they spoke three times, repeating the words, 'We pray that you will explain this statement to us so that we may properly trust in and accept the Buddha's Words'.
Then the World-honored one, aware that the Bodhisattvas, by having thrice repeated their request, would not cease in their resolve, addressed them, saying, "Listen carefully, all of you, to my profound and spiritually penetrating powers. In all the worlds, devas, men and asuras say that the present Shakyamuni Buddha came forth from the palace of the Shakya clan and, seated in his training place of enlightenment not far from the city of Gaya, attained Perfect and Complete Enlightenment.
"However, my good disciples, in truth, immeasurable and limitless hundreds of thousands of millions of eons have passed since I realized Buddhahood. As an analogy, consider the five hundred thousand million billion and more universes each of which is comprised of three thousand great thousandfold worlds; suppose someone were to grind them all down to dust atoms and then travel eastward through five hundred thousand million billion lands, depositing in each but a single atom of this dust before proceeding on eastward in a similar manner until he had used up all those atoms of dust; do you think it possible, my good disciples, to envision and calculate the exact number of all those worlds?"
Maitreya along with the Bodhisattvas and the others all said to the Buddha, "O World-honored one, the number of those worlds would be immeasurable, limitless and beyond what can be reckoned or encompassed by the power of the mind. All the shravakas and pratyekabuddhas, even with their flawless intellects, would be unable to envision or comprehend the exact number. For us, too, who are abiding at the stage of non-regression, such a task is beyond our reach. O World-honored one, such worlds would indeed be beyond measure and limitless."
Thereupon the Buddha, addressing this great assembly of Bodhisattvas, said, "O good disciples, I will now clarify the issue for you by expressing it in the following words. Suppose those worlds, both those where an atom has been deposited and those where one has not, were pulverized into dust and each single atom of that dust counted as one eon, then the time since I became Buddha still surpasses this number by hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of eons beyond count. From that time forward I have constantly been giving voice to the Dharma and teaching others in this world of suffering how to turn their hearts around as well as guiding and benefiting sentient beings in other places in hundreds of thousands of millions of billions and more domains. O good disciples, during all this time I have ever talked of Buddhas such as Dipankara Buddha, who is the Buddha Who Lights the Lamp to Realization, and have also spoken of their entering into Nirvana; by my use of skillful means, all these points have thus been made clear and distinct.
"O good disciples, whenever sentient beings have come to me, I have scrutinized them with the eye of a Buddha, seeing the degree of their faith, the sharpness of their faculties and so forth. Then, according to the extent of their receptivity to being ferried across to the Other Shore, I have told to them, as seemed suitable, different names that I have gone by and the varying life span of each; moreover I have clearly stated that I am to enter Nirvana. Also by various skillful means I have given voice to the profound and wondrous Dharma which is capable of causing the heart of a sentient being to radiate with joy.
"O good disciples, seeing how sentient beings desire lesser things so that their virtues are slim and their defilements heavy, I, as the Tathagata, have declared for their sake that, while still young, I had left home to realize Perfect and Complete Enlightenment. However, since the time span from when I had actually achieved Buddhahood was ever so long, I have made certain statements in order, by such skillful means, to teach sentient beings how to turn their hearts around that they might enter the path to Buddhahood.
"O good disciples, all the scriptures which I, as Tathagata, have proclaimed are for the liberation of sentient beings. Whether speaking of myself or of others, whether referring to myself or to others, whether referring to my own affairs or to those of others, whatever I say and speak of is all Truth, not empty speech. And for what reason? Because, as a Tathagata, I know and see the character of the Three Worlds as they really are: there is no birth or death in these worlds, no withdrawing from or coming forth into them; there is no 'being in a world' or .'passing into extinction from a world', for the Three Worlds are neither Reality nor some empty void, neither That Which Is nor different from It.
"Unlike the way the Three Worlds behold the Three Worlds, I, as a Tathagata, clearly see such things without error, free from mistaken views. Because sentient beings are distinct as to their various natures, desires, dispositions and activities, recollections, notions and ideas, I, as a Tathagata, give voice to the Dharma in a variety of ways such as by stories and parables, from a desire to help them produce good roots. The work of a Buddha which I do I have never stopped doing even for a moment. Thus it is that my life since I became Buddha in the very far distant past is of immeasurable eons, constantly abiding and without extinction.
"O good disciples, the lifetime to which I succeeded by traveling the Bodhisattva Path is not even yet exhausted but will still be twice the past number of eons. Yet now, even though the real I does not truly become extinct, I have declared, for convenience' sake, that I will act as though I am extinct. In this skillful way I, as a Tathagata, teach sentient beings to turn their hearts around; for, if a Buddha abides too long in the world, those of meager virtue fail to cultivate good roots while those in great poverty or of lowly birth become attached to desires for wealth, sex, food and drink, fame or sleep; they are thereby caught in the meshes of yearning thoughts and distorted views. Were they to see a Tathagata as someone constantly present and never extinct, they would then become self-indulgent and unrestrained, cherishing satiety and indolence, unable to conceive of the notion of just how hard it is to meet a Buddha and to cultivate a reverent heart for such a one.
"Therefore, as a Tathagata, I have skillfully said, 'O monks, know that the appearance of Buddhas in the world is indeed a rare event!' since, in the course of countless hundreds of thousands of millions of eons, those of meager virtue may or may not succeed in seeing a Buddha; this is why I have said, 'O monks, a Tathagata may rarely be met with!' All those sentient beings, hearing such a statement, will undoubtedly conceive of the thought of how difficult it is to come by such an encounter and cherish a fond desire to meet one, a thirst to know one, thereby sowing the seeds of good roots.
"Therefore, even though, as a Tathagata, I do not really become extinct, yet I speak of my becoming extinct. O good disciples, so that sentient beings may be ferried to the Other Shore, the Dharma of all Buddhas as Tathagatas is also always the same as this; It is all Truth, not vain or empty preachings.
"For the sake of analogy, imagine a good physician, one who is intelligent and perceptive, astute and caring, well-practiced in the use of curatives, skilled in healing all sorts of ills. Say he has many sons, ten, twenty, even a hundred. While he is away on business in distant parts, his sons, whom he has left behind, drink some poisonous drug which causes them to writhe in agony and become delirious as they roll upon the ground.
At this moment their father returns home. Some of the sons who drank the poison have lost their senses and their powers of sound judgment while others still remain sensible. Upon seeing their father approaching in the distance the latter are all overjoyed and, reverently kneeling, greet him, saying, 'How good it is that you have returned safely! In our foolishness, we have taken some poison by mistake. We beg you to help heal us and restore our lives.'
The father, seeing his sons in such pain and distress, trusts to prescribed methods and seeks for good medicinal herbs that are altogether perfect in color, aroma and fine flavor. Then pounding, sifting and blending them, he has his sons take the mixture, saying to them, 'This excellent medicine whose color, aroma and fine flavor are altogether perfect is ready for you to take, for immediately it will rid you of your pain and distress so that you will be troubled no more.'
Those among his sons who have remained sensible, seeing how fine the color and aroma of this excellent medicine are, take it immediately and are completely healed. The ones who have lost their senses and power of sound judgment, upon seeing their father come, are also delighted and, having greeted him, beg him to heal their distress, yet when he offers them the medicine, they are unwilling to take it. And for what reason? Because the poisonous tincture has penetrated deeply into them causing them to lose their senses and power of sound judgment. Despite the excellent color and aroma of the medicine they say that it is distasteful to them.
The father reflects thus, 'My heart goes out to these sons of mine; due to this poison their thinking has been turned all upside-down. Although they are glad to see me and implore me to heal them, they are nevertheless unwilling to take such fine medicine as this. I must now devise some expedient means so that they will take this medicine.'
Thus he speaks these words to them, 'You surely know that I am now worn out with old age and the time of my death is already at hand. This fine medicine I now leave here. You may take it without fear that it will not make you better.'
Having given them these instructions, he departs again for a place some distance off and sends back a messenger to inform them, 'Your father is dead.' When those sons now hear that their father has died, their minds are sorely disturbed with grief and thus they reflect, 'If our father were alive, he would take pity on us and be able to save and protect us but now he has forsaken us and died in some distant place. We have now lost our father and are orphaned, without anyone to rely on.'
Continually harboring feelings of grief they finally come to their senses and, recognizing that the color, aroma and flavor of the medicine is indeed fine, they forthwith take it and are cured of their poisonous illness. The father, hearing that his sons are fully recovered, endeavors to return home so that they may all see him.
My good disciples, what do you think? Are there any of you who can bring yourself to say that this good physician has defiled the Precept against telling falsehoods?"
"No, World-honored one!"
The Buddha then said, "I am also like this physician. Because immeasurable, limitless hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of eons ago I became Buddha for the sake of all sentient beings, I have therefore used the power of my skillful means to declare that I must become extinct yet there is no one who can, with any resemblance to the Dharma, say that I have erred by speaking vain lies."
The World-honored one, then desiring to reiterate the Teaching's meaning, spoke thus in verse:
"Since I have realized Buddhahood,
the eons through which I have passed
are immeasurable hundreds of thousands of millions of billions.
Continuously have I voiced the Dharma,
teaching untold billions of beings
how to turn their hearts around
that they might enter the Buddha's path;
to ferry these sentient beings to the Other Shore
I reveal to them, by skillful means,
my parinirvana
yet truly I am not extinct
but always abiding here
giving voice to the Dharma.
I continue to abide in this world,
using my spiritual powers
to make confused creatures not see me,
though I am near,
so that they may look on me as extinct
and make offerings to my relics,
cherishing longing desires
and giving rise to hearts thirsting for hope.
When these sentient beings in faith and humility,
honest and forthright in manner,
gentle in thought,
wholeheartedly yearn to see the Buddha,
not begrudging even their own lives,
then I, with all the Sangha,
appear together on the Divine Vulture Peak.
I then tell these sentient beings
that I continue to abide here without extinction;
by the power of my skillful methods
I show myself as extinct,
even though [I am] not extinct.
If in some other region
there are beings reverent and with faith beseeching,
again I am in their midst
to proclaim the unsurpassed Dharma,
though you who do not hear this
will say that I am extinct.
When I behold sentient beings
sunk in their suffering and distress,
I do not show myself
but set them all to look up in their thirsting
and, when their hearts are filled with fervent longing,
I then appear and proclaim the Dharma.
Such are my spiritually pervading powers
that, throughout the boundless eons,
I abide on the Divine Vulture Peak
as well as in every other dwelling place.
When sentient beings see, at kalpa's ending,
the raging fires consuming all,
tranquil will this realm of mine be,
ever filled with devas and humans
in parks and groves,
among towers and palaces
bedecked with gems of every kind.
Under bejewelled trees,
heavy with blossoms and fruit,
may these beings take their delight and play,
while devas beat their heavenly drums,
ever making pleasing music,
and showering down coral tree flowers
upon the Buddha and His great assembly.
My Pure Land will not be destroyed,
though sentient beings may see it as utterly consumed by fire,
letting themselves be filled
with grief and horror, distress and fear.
All these besmirched creatures
pass through countless eons,
hearing not the name of the Triple Treasure
due to their wretched karma.
Those who practice deeds of merit
and are gentle, honest and forthright,
all see me in body
and hear me voice the Dharma.
At times for the sake of that assembly
I tell them that a Buddha's life is immeasurable,
then to those who, at long last, see a Buddha
I say that a Buddha is rarely met.
Such is the power of my wisdom and intelligence
that my light of insight shines forth beyond measure,
my life of countless eons
is due to the karma of long practice and training.
You who have intelligence and wit,
do not let doubts arise in this regard,
but sever them from yourself
and bring them forever to an end,
for the Buddha's Words are true,
not something that is empty and vain.
Just as the physician
who would cure his demented sons
by clever and skillful methods
proclaims his own death
while, in fact, he is alive,
and none can say he willfully lies,
I, too, being as a parent to this world,
as one who helps all those in misery and affliction
because of the topsy-turvy views of these ordinary people,
say I am extinct, though I am truly alive.
I do this lest, by always seeing me,
they should beget hearts unrestrained and self-indulgent,
be dissolute and only fixed upon the five forms of desire
and thereby fall into evil ways.
I know at all times
whether a sentient being is treading the Path
or walks in other ways
and, according to what needs to be done to aid that one,
voice Teachings of various kinds,
making for each this, my intention,
'How may I help this being
enter the unsurpassed Way
and quickly realize Buddhahood?'"
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