(2) He who thus knows the Râgana, as interwoven in the deities, obtains the same world, the same happiness, the same company as the gods, he reaches the full life, he lives long, becomes great with children and cattle, great by fame. His rule is, 'Do not speak evil of the Brâhmanas.'

(16) The Buddha said: “It is so, Ananda, it is so.”

(11) As for the common worldly folk, what need is there to mention them! By fleeing, through fear, terror, and awe, they fall over the precipices into the unhappy worlds and suffer. But the least of the least of the devotees of the mystic mantrayand doctrines, as soon as he sees these blood-drinking deities, will recognize them to be his tutelary deities, and the meeting will be like that of human acquaintances. He will trust them; and becoming merged into them, in at-one-ment, will obtain Buddhahood.

(12) As the assembly admired and wished to see the Immutable Tathagata, the Bodhisattvas and sravakas of the pure land of Profound Joy.

(2) Gargya said. 'The Person who is here in wind — him, indeed, I worship as Brahma! ' Ajatasatru said: ' Talk not to me about him! Verily, I worship him as Indra, the terrible (vaikuntha), and the uncon- quered army. He who worships him as such becomes indeed triumphant, unconquerable, and a conqueror of adversaries/

(4) Oh Râ, who smileth cheerfully, and whose heart is delighted with the perfect order of this day as thou enterest into Heaven and comest forth in the East: the Ancients and those who are gone before acclaim thee

(10) All those present, who witnessed the Buddha’s supernatural powers, praised the rare occurrence which they had never seen before, brought their palms together and gazed at Him without pausing for an instant. Thereupon, Ratna-rasi chanted the following gatha of praise:

(12) The gods come to thee, bowing down, the fear of thee possesses them; they see thee with the might of Rā, and the valour of thy majesty fills their hearts

(4) If one is fortunate among men and wealthy, lord over others, best provided with all human enjoyments — that is the highest bliss of men. Now a hundredfold the bliss of men is one bliss of those who have won the fathers' world. Now a hundredfold the bliss of those who have won the fathers' world is one bliss in the Gandharva- world. A hundredfold the bliss in the Gandharva-world is one bliss of the gods who gain their divinity by meritorious works. A hundredfold the bliss of the gods by works is one bliss of the gods by birth and of him who is learned in the Vedas, who is without crook- edness, and who is free from desire. A hundredfold the bliss of the gods by birth is one bliss in the Prajapati- world and of him who is learned in the Vedas, who is without crookedness, and who is free from desire. A hundredfold the bliss in the Prajapati-world is one bliss in the Brahma-world and of him who is learned in the Vedas, who is without crookedness, and who is free from desire. This truly is the highest world. This is the Brahma-world, O king/ — Thus spake Yajnavalkya, [Janaka said:] c I will give you, noble Sir, a thousand [cows]. Speak further than this, for my release.' Then Yajnavalkya feared, thinking: ' This intelligent king has driven me out of every corner.' l

(2) Gargya said: 'The Person who is yonder in lightning — him, indeed, I worship as Brahma! ' Ajatasatru said: 'Talk not to me about him! I worship him, verily, as the Brilliant. He who worships him as such becomes brilliant indeed. His offspring becomes brilliant/

(6) Come hither, come hither! the brilliant oblations say to him, and carry the sacrificer on the rays of the sun, while they utter pleasant speech and praise him, saying: 'This is thy holy Brahma-world (Svarga), gained by thy good works.'

(27) Mahakasyapa who had heard of this Dharma of inconceivable liberation, praised it and said it had never been expounded before. He then said to SariputANSWER: “Like the blind who do not see images in various colours shown to them, all sravakas hearing this Dharma door to inconceivable liberation will not understand it. Of the wise men hearing about it, who will not set his mind on the quest of supreme enlightenment? What should we do to uproot for ever the rotten sravaka root as compared with this Mahayana, so that all sravakas hearing this doctrine of inconceivable liberation, shed tears of repentance and scream so loudly as to shake the great chiliocosm? As to the Bodhisattvas, they are all happy to receive this Dharma reverently by placing it on the tops of their heads. If a Bodhisattva believes and practices this Dharma door to inconceivable liberation, all demons cannot oppose him.”

(10) (And since these champions thus join in that reward), then therefore will I place as well in Thy protection (Thy) Good Mind (in the living) and the spirits (of the dead. Yea, I confide our very) self-humbling praises, (which we offer, unto Thee), by which (Thine) Âramaiti (who is our Piety, exists), and likewise sacrificing zeal. And this would we do to further Thy great Sovereign Power (among Thy folk), and with undying (?) strength.

(9) Their Buddha replied:

“There is a world called saha, which is below and is separated from here by Buddha lands as countless as the sand grains in forty-two Ganges rivers, whose Buddha is called Sakyamuni and is now staying in the midst of five turbid conditions, where he teaches the supreme Dharma to those clinging to the small vehicle. Over there is a Bodhisattva called Vimalakirti who has achieved inconceivable liberation and is expounding the Dharma to other (young) Bodhisattvas. Hence, he has created an illusory messenger to extol my name and praise this land so that they can earn more merits.”

(20) To the assembled Deities, to the Tutelaries, to the Gurus, Humbly is obeisance paid: May Liberation in the Intermediate State be vouchsafed by Them.

(24) Others who have accumulated merit, and devoted themselves sincerely to religion, will experience various delightful pleasures and happiness and ease in full measure. But that class of neutral beings who have neither earned merit nor created bad karma will experience neither pleasure nor pain, but a sort of colourless stupidity of indifference. O nobly-born, whatever cometh in that manner — whatever delightful pleasures thou mayst experience — be not attracted by them; dote not [on them]: think, 'May the Guru and the Trinity be worshipped [with these merit-given delights]'. Abandon all dotings and hankerings.

(4) Thereafter, the “Honoured of the Worlds” delivered this sublime Gatha:

(13) 'A mortal who has heard this and embraced it, who has separated from it all qualities, and has thus reached the subtle Being, rejoices, because he has obtained what is a cause for rejoicing. The house (of Brahman) is open, I believe, O Nakiketas.'

(2) Ananda asked the Buddha: “World Honoured One, what is the cause of these auspicious signs, why does this place become extensive and majestic and why does the assembly turn golden hued?”

The Buddha replied: “This is because Vimalakirti and Manjusri, with their followers circumambulating them, want to come here; hence these auspicious signs.”

(21) The Buddha then said to SariputANSWER: “Have you seen the world of Profound Joy and its Immutable Tathagata?”

Sariputra replied: “Yes, World Honoured One, I have. May all living beings win a pure land similar to that of the Immutable Buddha and achieve supramundane powers like those of Vimalakirti!