(1) Then he said to Satyayagña Paulushi: 'O Prâkînayogya, whom do you meditate on as the Self?' He replied: 'The sun only, venerable king.' He said: 'The Self which you meditate on is the Vaisvânara Self, called Visvarûpa (multiform). Therefore much and manifold wealth is seen in your house.

(342) If you have given that which honors you ..., you have given not to man, but you have given for your own pleasure.

(10) Lunar Canopy asked: ‘What is this offering of Dharma?’

The deva replied: ‘Go to the Tathagata Bhaisajya who will explain it fully.’

(1) The Lord Buddha addressed Subhuti, saying: “What think you? If a disciple, having obtained all the treasures of this universe, were to bestow these in the exercise of charity, would such a disciple consequently enjoy a considerable merit?” Subhuti assenting, said: “Honoured of the Worlds! such a disciple would consequently enjoy a very considerable merit.”

(13) The power of your Dharma surpasses all beings and bestows on them the wealth of the Law. With great skill your discernment all while unmoved in Reality.

(18) Hence this bowl of rice will satisfy the whole meeting without being exhausted. The Bodhisattvas, Sravakas, devas and men who take it will experience comfort and joy, like the Bodhisattvas of all blessed pure lands. Their pores will give out profound fragrance which is like the scent of the trees in Fragrant Lands.”

(9) Obeying their father’s order they made offerings to the Tathagata Bhaisajya for five-aeons after which one of the sons called Lunar Canopy, while alone, thought: ‘Is there some other form of offering surpassing what we have made up to now?

Under the influence of the Buddha’s transcendental power a deva in the sky said: “Virtuous man, the offering of Dharma surpasses all other forms of offering.”

(22) World Honoured One, we shall soon realize a great benefit resulting from our meeting and paying obeisance to this man now. And living beings, hearing this sutra now or after the Buddha’s nirvana, will also realize a great benefit; how much more so, if after hearing it, they believe, understand, receive and uphold it or read, recite, explain and preach it, and practice its Dharma accordingly? He who receives this sutra with both hands, will in reality secure the treasure of the Dharma-gem; if, in addition, he reads, recites and understands its meaning and practices it accordingly, he will be blessed and protected by all Buddhas. Those making offerings to this man (Vimalakirti), will through him automatically make offerings to all Buddhas. He who copies this sutra to put it into practice, will be visited by the Tathagata who will come to his house. He who rejoices at hearing this sutra, is destined to win all knowledge (sarvajna). And he who can believe and understand this sutra, or even (any of) its four-line gathas and teaches it to others, will receive the (Buddha’s) prophecy of his future realization of supreme enlightenment.”

(2) 'If Prâna is satisfied, the eye is satisfied, if the eye is satisfied, the sun is satisfied, if the sun is satisfied, heaven is satisfied, if heaven is satisfied, whatever is under heaven and under the sun is satisfied.. And through their satisfaction he (the sacrificer or eater) himself is satisfied with offspring, cattle, health, brightness, and Vedic splendour.

(1) As to those (three gifts of blessings), Immortality, the Righteous Order, and the (established) Kingdom of Welfare, which Thou, O Mazda! hast given through (holy) deeds, words, and the sacrifice unto these (Thy servants here in my sight ), gifts (shall) be offered by us in return to Thee, O Ahura! and with the foremost of them all.

(11) Thereupon, Lunar Canopy came to the Tathagata Bhaisajya, bowed his head at his feet and stood at his side, asking: ‘World Honoured One, (I have heard that) the offering of Dharma surpasses all other forms of offering; what is the offering of Dharma?’

(12) “The Tathagata replied:

‘Virtuous one, the offering of Dharma is preached by all Buddhas in profound sutras but it is hard for worldly men to believe and accept it as its meaning is subtle and not easily detected, for it is impeacable in its purity and cleanness. It is beyond the reach of thinking and discriminating; it contains the treasure of the Bodhi-sattva’s Dharma store and is sealed by the Dharani-symbol; it never backslides for it achieves the six perfections (paramitas); discerns the difference between various meanings; is in line with the bodhi Dharma; is at the top of all sutras; helps people to enter upon great kindness and great compassion; to keep from demons and perverse views, and to conform with the law of causality and the teaching on the unreality of an ego; a man, a living being and life and on voidness, formlessness, non-creating and non-uprising. It enables living beings to sit in a bodhimandala to turn the wheel of the law. It is praised and honoured by heavenly dragons, gandharvas, etc. It can help living beings to reach the Buddha’s Dharma store and gather all knowledge (sarvajna realized by) saints and sages, preach the path followed by all Bodhisattvas; rely on the reality underlying all things; proclaim the (doctrine of) impermanence, suffering; voidness and absence of ego and nirvana. It can save all living beings who have broken the precepts and keep in awe all demons, heretics and greedy people. It is praised by the Buddhas, saints and sages for it wipes out suffering from birth and death; proclaims the joy in nirvana as preached by past; future and present Buddhas in the ten directions.

(2) 'If Vyâna is satisfied, the ear is satisfied, if the ear is satisfied, the moon is satisfied, if the moon is satisfied, the quarters are satisfied, if the quarters are satisfied, whatever is under the quarters and under the moon is satisfied. And through their satisfaction he (the sacrificer or eater) himself is satisfied with offspring, cattle, health, brightness, and Vedic splendour.

(204) Health is the greatest of gifts, contentedness the best riches; trust is the best of relationships, Nirvâna the highest happiness.

(4) As it approached the hour for the morning meal, Lord Buddha, Honoured of the Worlds, attired himself in a mendicant’s robe, and bearing an alms-bowl in his hands, walked towards the great city of Shravasti, which he entered to beg for food. Within the city he proceeded from door to door, and received such donations as the good people severally bestowed. Concluding this religious exercise, the Lord Buddha returned to the grove of Jeta, and partook of the frugal meal received as alms. Thereafter he divested himself of his mendicant’s robe, laid aside the venerated alms-bowl, bathed his sacred feet, and accepted the honoured seat reserved for him by his disciples.

(4) “Subhuti, what the Lord Buddha referred to as the first Paramita (charity), is not in reality the first Paramita , it is merely termed the first Paramita ”

(6) Excellent Virtue:

The Buddha then said to a son of an elder called Excellent Virtue:

“You call on Vimalakirti to inquire his health on my behalf.”

Excellent Virtue said:

“World Honoured One, I am not qualified to call on him to inquire after his health. The reason is that once I held a ceremonial meeting at my father’s house to make offerings to the gods and also to monks, brahmins, poor people, outcastes and beggars. When the meeting ended seven days later, Vimalakirti came and said to me:

‘O son of the elder, an offering meeting should not be held in the way you did; it should bestow the Dharma upon others, for what is the use of giving alms away?’

I asked:

‘Venerable Upasaka, what do you mean by bestowal of Dharma?’

He replied:

‘The bestowal of Dharma is (beyond the element of time, having) neither start nor finish and each offering should benefit all living beings at the same time. This is a bestowal of Dharma.’

I asked:

‘What does this mean?’

He replied:

‘This means that bodhi springs from kindness (maitri) toward living beings; the salvation of living beings springs from compassion (karuna); the upholding of right Dharma from joy (mudita); wisdom from indifference (upeksa); the overcoming of greed from charity–perfection (dana-parmita); ceasing to break the precepts from discipline-perfection (sila-paramita); egolessness from patience-perfection (ksanti-paramita); relinquishment of body and mind from zeal-perfection (virya-paramita); realization of enlightenment from serenity-perfection (dhyana-paramita); realization of all-knowledge (sarvajna) from wisdom–perfection (prajna-paramita); the teaching and converting of living beings spring from the void; non-rejection of worldly activities springs from formlessness; appearance in the world springs from inactivity; sustaining the right Dharma from the power of expedient devices (upaya); the liberation of living beings from the four winning virtues; respect for and service to others from the determination to wipe out arrogance; the relinquishment of body, life and wealth from the three indestructibles; the six thoughts to dwell upon from concentration on the Dharma; the six points of reverent harmony in a monastery form the straightforward mind; right deeds from pure livelihood; joy in the pure mind from nearness to saints and sages; non-rising of hate for bad people from the effective control of mind; retiring from the world from the profound mind; practice in accordance with the preaching from the wide knowledge gained from hearing (about the Dharma); absence of disputation from a leisurely life; the quest of Buddha wisdom from meditation; the freeing of living beings from bondage from actual practice; the earning of all excellent physical marks to embellish Buddha lands from the karma of mortal excellence; the knowledge of the minds of all living beings and the relevant expounding of Dharma to them, from the karma of good knowledge; the understanding of all things commensurate with neither acceptance nor rejection of them to realize their oneness, from the karma of wisdom; the eradication of all troubles (klesa), hindrances and evils from all excellent karmas; the realization of all wisdom and good virtue from the contributory conditions leading to enlightenment. All this, son of good family, pertains to the bestowal of Dharma. A Bodhisattva holding this meeting that bestows the Dharma, is a great almsgiver (danapati); he is also a field of blessings for all worlds.’

World Honoured One, as Vimalakirti was expounding the Dharma, two hundred Brahmins who listened to it, set their minds on the quest of supreme enlightenment.

I myself realized purity and cleanliness of mind, which I had never experienced before. I then bowed my head at his feet and took out my priceless necklace of precious stones, which I offered to him but he refused it. I then said:

‘Venerable Upasaka, please accept my present and do what you like with it.’ He took my necklace and divided it in two, offering half to the poorest beggar in the assembly and the other half to the ‘Invincible Tathagata’, whose radiant land was then visible to all those present, who saw the half-necklace transformed into a precious tower in all its majesty on four pillars which did not shield one another.

After this supernatural transformation, Vimalakirti said:

‘He who gives alms to the poorest beggar with an impartial mind performs an act which does not differ from the field of blessings of the Tathagata, for it derives from great compassion with no expectation of reward. This is called the complete bestowal of Dharma.’

After witnessing Vimalakirti’s supernatural power, the poorest beggar who had also listened to his expounding of the Dharma developed a mind set on supreme enlightenment. Hence, I am not qualified to call on Vimalakirti to inquire after his health.”

Thus, each of the Bodhisattvas present related his encounter with Vimalakirti and declined to call on him to inquire after his health.

(43) When, through violent anger, [we are] wandering in the Sangsara, Along the bright light-path of the Mirror-like Wisdom, May the Bhagavan Vajra-Sattva lead us, May the Mother Mamakl be our rear-guard, May we be saved from the fearful narrow passage-way of the Bardo, May we be placed in the state of the perfect Buddhahood.

(16) To this gods and men who were saved attested, thus, the Three Treasures appeared in the saha world to save living beings with this profound Dharma which, when applied, fails never to Nirvana lead. You are the king physician who destroys old age, illness and death. So your unfathomable Dharma of boundless merits, I salute.

(1) Thus have I heard, once upon a time the Buddha sojourned in the Amra park at Vaisali with an assembly of eight thousand great bhiksus. With them, here were thirty-two thousand Bodhisattvas, who were well known for having achieved all the perfections that lead to the great wisdom. They had received instructions from many Buddhas and formed a Dharma-protecting citadel. By upholding the right Dharma, they could fearlessly give the lion’s roar to teach sentient beings; so their names were heard in the ten directions. They were not invited but came to the assembly to spread the teaching on the Three Treasures to transmit it in perpetuity. They had overcome all demons and defeated heresies; and their six faculties, karmas of deeds, words and thoughts were pure and clean; being free from the (five) hindrances and the (ten) bonds. They had realized serenity of mind and had achieved unimpeded liberation. They had achieved right concentration and mental stability, thereby, acquiring the uninterrupted power of speech. They had achieved all the (six) paramitas: charity (dana), discipline (sila), patience (ksanti), devotion (virya), serenity (dhyana) and wisdom (prajna), as well as the expedient method (upaya) of teaching which completely benefit self and others. However, to them, these realizations did not mean any gain whatsoever for themselves, so, that they were in line with the patient endurance of the uncreate (anutpattika-dharma-ksanti). They were able to turn the wheel of the Law that never turns back. Being able to interpret the (underlying nature of) phenomena, they knew very well the roots (propensities) of all living beings; they surpassed them all and realized fearlessness.