(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.

(1) Thereupon, Sakra who was in the assembly, said to the Buddha:

“World Honoured One, although I have listened to hundreds and thousands of sutras expounded by you and Manjusri, I did not hear of this inconceivable sutra of supramundane sovereign power and absolute reality. As I understand from your present preaching, if living beings listening to the Dharma of this sutra, believe, understand, receive, uphold, read and recite it, they will surely realize this Dharma. How much more so if someone practices it as expounded; he will shut all doors to evil destinies and will open up all doors to blessing; will win the Buddha’s perfection; will overcome heresy; destroy the demons; cultivate bodhi; set up a place of enlightenment (bodhimandala) and follow in the Tathagata’s footsteps.

(6) The Buddha said: “Sakra, you should know that if another virtuous man or woman, after hearing this sutra of inconceivable liberation, believes, understands, receives, keeps, reads, recites and practices this sutra, his or her merits will surpass those of the former man or woman. Why? Because the bodhi (enlightenment) of all Buddhas originates from this Dharma, and since enlightenment is beyond all measuring, the merits of this sutra cannot be estimated.”

(3) The Buddha said: “Excellent, Sakra, excellent; it is gratifying to hear what you have just said. This sutra gives a detailed exposition of the inconceivable supreme enlightenment realized by past, future and present Buddhas.

(1) The Buddha then said: to Maitreya:

“Maitreya, I now entrust you with the Dharma of supreme enlightenment which I have collected during countless aeons. In the third (and last) period of the Buddha kalpa you should use transcendental power to proclaim widely in Jambuvipa (the earth) (profound) sutras such as this one, without allowing them to be discontinued. For in future generations there will be virtuous men and women, as well as heavenly dragons, ghosts, spirits, gandharvas, and raksasas who will take pleasure in the great Dharma and will set their minds on the quest of supreme enlightenment; if they do not hear about such sutras they will miss a great advantage. For these people are fond of and believe in these sutras, which they will readily accept by placing them on their heads and which they will widely proclaim for the profit of living beings.