by Donald Lopez
At that point, having heard the four divine kings revere and [pledge] to make offerings to the Sūtra of Golden Light, as well as to support and protect those individuals who uphold the sūtra, the World-Honoured One praised them, saying, ‘Excellent! Well done! In times past you four kings have already venerated, made offering, esteemed and sung praises before countless hundreds of thousands of tens of thousands of millions of buddhas. You have planted roots of goodness, cultivated the true dharma, preached the true dharma, and by means of the dharma you [rule over and] transform the world. In the course of the long enduring night, you constantly think of the benefit of other living beings; and arousing a heart of great loving-kindness and compassion, you vow to bring them peace and happiness. It is causes and conditions such as these that have enabled you to receive in this current incarnation such an excellent [karmic] retribution as this. If a human king makes offering to and venerates this marvellous and sublime Sūtra of Golden Light, you should strive to extend to him your protection so that he may know peace and security. If you four kings and your retinues, with your countless and boundless hundreds of thousands of yakṣṣs protect this sūtra, then it is tantamount to protecting the true dharma of all the buddhas of the past, future and present. Whenever you four kings, together with your hosts of gods and the yakṣaṣ do battle with the asuras, you will always gain the victory. If you are able to protect and uphold this sūtra, you will be able through the power of this sūtra to eliminate malicious brigands, famine, illness and a host of other miseries. If among the fourfold saṅgha you find persons who receive, uphold, read and recite this king among sūtras, you should also energetically extend your protection to them, eliminating their afflictions and bestowing on them peace and happiness.’
Thereupon, the four kings got up from their seats, bared their right shoulders, and with right knee placed on the ground and palms joined [in supplication], they addressed the Buddha, saying, ‘To whatever place this Sūtra of Golden Light, king among sūtras, should in the future happen to find its way or be distributed, whether sovereign country, city, hamlet, mountain forest, or wilderness, if the kings of those lands reverently listen to, receive, praise and make offering to this sūtra, and if, moreover, they provide support for those persons of the fourfold saṅgha who receive and uphold this sūtra, protecting them with solemn purpose and ensuring that they are free of disturbance, then by dint of these causes and conditions we will watch over those kings and their peoples, making certain that they are all secure and free from suffering, extending their lives, and perfecting their awe-inspiring virtue. World-Honoured One, if a king of those lands should come upon a member of the fourfold saṅgha who keeps this sūtra, and should he choose to revere and protect that person as if it were his own parent, providing for his or her each and every need, then we four kings will constantly protect him, ensuring that there is no living being that does not esteem and revere him. It is for this reason that we [divine kings] and our countless yakṣa spirits will conceal our bodies and provide protection wherever that sūtra happens to circulate, ensuring that it suffers no harm. Moreover, we will guard and listen intently to this sūtra and the human sovereign, etc. [who receives it], expelling their troubles and ensuring their security. Whatever malevolent brigands may approach from other lands, we will cause them all to flee.
‘When a human sovereign listens to this sūtra, malicious enemies in neighbouring countries will think thus: “I will raise four armies to destroy that country!” World-Honoured One, due to the awesome spiritual power of this king of sūtras, other neighbouring enemies will also give rise to unusual feelings of malice and will come to harass [the first enemy’s] borders. Numerous natural disasters and anomalies will take place, and plagues will break out. Once he has experienced these things, the [malevolent] king will organize his four armies and set out for that [righteous king’s] land, with the intention of punishing him. We [four kings], together with our company of boundless and inestimable numbers of yakṣṣ spirits, will each make himself invisible and [come to] lend him protective assistance, causing that malicious enemy to submit of his own accord. Never again will he dare to come into this country’s domain, much less be able to obtain soldiers and weapons to attack it….’
Thereupon the four divine kings addressed the Buddha saying, ‘World-Honoured One, if a human sovereign will revere the true dharma and listen to this king of sūtras, and if he will, likewise, revere, make offering to, esteem and extol persons from the fourfold saṅgha who uphold this sūtra, then should he truly wish to please us, he should sprinkle and purify with perfumed water a spot to one side of the [main] altar. He should strew fine flowers around it, and having prepared this site, set up altar-seats for [we] four divine kings so that we may come to join that [human] king in listening to the true dharma. Whatever wholesome roots that king may [come to] possess by way of personal benefit, he also should donate a portion of those blessings to us. World-Honoured One, when that king invites the person designated to preach the dharma to ascend the high seat [and begin recitation of the sūtra], he should thereupon burn all manner of famous incenses and make offering to the sūtra on our behalf. World-Honoured One, the very instant that that incense begins to [send up its] smoke, in a flicker of thought it will rise through the empyrean and reach our heavenly palaces. Suffusing through the air, it will form [a vast] canopy of fragrance, and we heavenly hosts will all smell its sublime fragrance. This cloud of incense will also emit a golden light, the radiance of which will illuminate the palaces in which we dwell, even up to the palace of Brahmā and the abodes of Indra, Sarasvatī, the goddess Śrī [and the other great gods].’
The Buddha told the four divine kings, ‘Not only will the golden radiance of this incense reach our heavenly palaces, but as soon as the human sovereign takes censer in hand and lights the incense in offering to this sūtra, the smoke of that incense will immediately spread through the entire universe… its fragrant vapours turning into cloud-like canopies of golden hue that universally illuminate heavenly palaces [everywhere]. All of these cloud canopies of incense that thereby fill the universe are [produced by] the awesome spiritual power of this Sūtra of Golden Light.
‘When this human king takes in hand the incense censer to make offering to this sūtra, that cloud of incense will not only pervade the universe of this world-realm, but in a flicker of thought, it will spread through countless and inestimable hundreds of thousands of tens of thousands of millions of buddha-lands as numerous as the sands of countless and illimitable numbers of Ganges rivers. As it fills the air above those buddhas, it will transform into canopies of incense, the golden light of which will shine everywhere, just as it did [for the gods of our realm]. Upon smelling this sublime fragrance and seeing these cloud canopies and their golden lights produce supernatural manifestations in the presence of buddhas throughout the ten directions as countless in number as sands of the Ganges, they will together look into [this phenomenon] and, with a single unified voice, they will extol that dharma-master, saying, “Well done! Excellent! You are [truly] a great spiritual hero. To be able to disseminate such an exceedingly profound and marvellous sūtra as this, then you have succeeded in [acquiring] an inestimable, illimitable and inconceivable mass of meritorious blessings. Should someone listen to this sūtra, the amount of the merit that he or she receives will be truly numerous. How much the more so if he or she should copy [this sūtra], receive and uphold [it], expound [it] for others and practise as [it] instructs. Why is that? Good son, if a being should hear this Sūtra of Golden Light, a king among sūtras, then he will never again slide back from supreme perfect enlightenment.” ’
Thereupon the four divine kings again addressed the Buddha, saying, ‘World-Honoured One, this Sūtra of Golden Light, the most excellent king among all the sūtras, is able to perfect such countless merits as this, both in the present and in the future. Thus, if a human king is able to obtain the hearing of this sublime sūtra, then it is due to the meritorious roots that h
e has already planted in the presence of countless hundreds of thousands of tens of thousands of millions of buddhas. We will protect such a sovereign. Moreover, because we see that he enjoys the benefit of countless blessings and virtues, we four kings, together with the hundreds of thousands of tens of thousands of millions of [yakṣṣ] spirits who make up our retinues, upon spying the myriad spiritual transformations produced by this cloud of incense, will conceal our physical forms, and in order to hear the dharma, we will come to that place in the royal palace for preaching the dharma that has been duly purified and adorned by the king. And so will [such gods as] Brahmā, Indra, Sarasvatī, Śrī, Dṛdhā the Earth Goddess [and so forth].’
Translated by Daniel Stevenson from Jinguangming zuishengwang jing, trans. Yijing, T 665, vol. 16, pp. 426C–429C (abridged).
6
ONE BUDDHA PER UNIVERSE
The selection below is drawn from the famous Questions of Milinda (Milindapañha), a dialogue between a Bactrian Greek king named Milinda and a Buddhist monk named Nāgasena. It is uncertain whether such a dialogue ever took place. There was indeed a famous king named Menander (Milinda in Indian sources) who ruled over a large region that encompassed parts of modern India, Pakistan and Afghanistan during the middle of the second century BCE. There is no historical evidence of Nāgasena. The text itself was probably composed or compiled around the beginning of the Common Era.
Whether or not the conversation ever took place, the Questions of Milinda is one of the best-known texts of the Theravāda tradition. It is presented as a series of questions by the king and answers by the monk on a wide range of topics, with each of the interlocutors displaying an impressive knowledge of Buddhist doctrine and literature. Nāgasena always provides a satisfying answer to each of the king’s queries. His presentation of the dharma is so successful in fact that at the end of the dialogue King Milinda placed his son upon the throne, entered the religious life, and became an arhat.
In the passage below, the king asks why the Buddha said that there can be only one buddha in the universe at a time, making the sensible point that if there were two they might be able to share the labour and be of assistance to one another. Nāgasena’s answer includes predictable points about the dangers of factionalism and questions of seniority. But his first and most extensive explanation concerns the sheer gravity of the presence of a buddha in the universe. The appearance of a buddha is such a rare and momentous event in the history of the universe that the cosmos is stretched to its limit by his majesty. If a second buddha were to appear simultaneously, the universe would collapse.
Here, the coming of a buddha – not necessarily Gautama Buddha, but any buddha – is portrayed as an epoch-making moment which transforms the entire universe, requiring all of its resources to sustain his brief presence. A buddha, clearly, is not simply another teacher.
With the rise of the Mahāyāna came accounts of other buddhas present in other universes and buddha-lands, the most famous of whom was Amitābha of the pure land called Sukhāvatī (see Chapter 8). This proliferation of buddhas did not so much contradict the claim made here that our universe can sustain only one buddha, but instead multiplied the number of universes that sustained a buddha, and provided means for coming into their presence.
‘Revered Nāgasena, this too was said by the Lord: “This is impossible, monks, it cannot come to pass that in one world-system two arahants who are perfect buddhas should arise simultaneously – this possibility does not exist.” When they are teaching, revered Nāgasena, all tathāgathas [buddhas] teach the thirty-seven things helpful to enlightenment, and when they are talking they talk about the four [noble] truths, and when they are making [disciples] train themselves they make them train themselves in the three trainings [ethics, meditation and wisdom], and when they are instructing they instruct in the practice of diligence. If, revered Nāgasena, one is the teaching, one the talk, one the training and one the instruction of all tathāgathas, for what reason do two tathāgathas not arise at the same moment? Already by the arising of one buddha is this world illuminated; if there were a second buddha all the more would this world be illumined by the light of them both. And two tathāgathas, when exhorting [monks] could exhort at ease, and when instructing could instruct at ease. Tell me the reason for this that I may be without perplexity.’
‘This ten-thousand-world-system, sire, is the sustainer of one buddha, it sustains the special qualities of one tathāgatha only. If a second buddha were to arise, the ten-thousand-world-system could not sustain him; it would tremble, shake, bend, bow down, twist, disperse, dissolve, scatter, it would disappear. Suppose, sire, there should be a boat for taking [only] one man across; for so long as [only] one man had embarked in it it would go along evenly. But suppose a second man were to come along, similar to the first in age, appearance, stage of life, size, and lean and strong in all his limbs – if he too were to embark in the boat, could that boat, sire, sustain the two of them?’
‘No, revered sir, it would tremble, shake, bend, bow down, twist, disperse, dissolve, scatter, it would disappear, it would sink into the water.’
‘Even so, sire, this ten-thousand-world-system is the sustainer of [only] one buddha, it sustains the special qualities of one tathāgatha only. If a second buddha were to arise, the ten-thousand-world-system could not sustain him; it would tremble, shake, bend, bow down, twist, disperse, dissolve, scatter, it would disappear. Or suppose, sire, a man were to eat as much food as he wanted, and was filled up to his throat with what he had appreciated and that, though he were satiated, regaled and quite full with no room left for more, drowsy and rigid as a stick that cannot bend, he nevertheless again ate even as much food as before. Would that man be at ease, sire?’
‘Certainly not, revered sir. If he ate even once more he might die.’
‘Even so, sire, this ten-thousand-world-system is the sustainer of [only] one buddha, it sustains the special qualities of one tathāgatha only. If a second buddha were to arise, the ten-thousand-world-system could not sustain him; it would tremble, shake, bend, bow down, twist, disperse, dissolve, scatter, it would disappear.’
‘But, revered Nāgasena, does the earth tremble at an overburdening of dhamma?’
‘As to this, sire, there might be two carts filled to capacity with precious things; if [people] took the precious things from one cart and piled them into the other, would that cart, sire, be able to sustain the precious things that had been in the two of them?’
‘No, revered sir, its nave would split, and its spokes would break, and its rims would fall to pieces, and its axle would break.’
‘So, sire, a cart breaks with an overburdening of precious things?’
‘Yes, revered sir.’
‘Even so, sire, does the earth tremble at an overburdening of dhamma. And, sire, this is a reason propounded for illustrating the power of the buddhas. And listen to another reason why two perfect buddhas do not arise at the same moment. If, sire, two perfect buddhas were to arise at the same moment, dispute would arise among their assemblies and [on these] saying: “Your buddha, our buddha”, a two-fold faction might be brought into existence. As, sire, dispute might arise in the companies of two powerful ministers and [on these] saying: “Your minister, our minister”, a two-fold faction might be brought into existence – even so, sire, if two perfect buddhas were to arise at the same moment, dispute might arise among their assemblies and [on these] saying: “Your buddha, our buddha”, a two-fold faction might be brought into existence. This, sire, is one reason why two perfect buddhas do not arise at the same moment.
‘And, sire, listen to another and a further reason why two perfect buddhas do not arise at the same moment. If, sire, two perfect buddhas were to arise at the same moment, false would be the statement which says: “The Buddha is the foremost, the Buddha is the eldest, the Buddha is the best, the Buddha is the [most] eminent, the Buddha is the supreme… the most distinguished… without an equal… equal to the unequalled… matchless… without
a counterpart, the Buddha is unrivalled.” Accept according to its meaning this reason too, sire, why two perfect buddhas do not arise at the same moment.
‘Moreover, sire, this is the natural individual essence of buddhas, of lords, that only one buddha arises in the world [at a time]. And why? By reason of the might of the special qualities of omniscient buddhas. Other things that are mighty in the world, sire, are also unique: the earth, sire, is mighty and is unique; the sea is mighty and is unique; Sineru, monarch of the mountains, is mighty and is unique; space… Sakka… Māra … great Brahmā is mighty and is unique;… the tathāgata, arahant, perfect buddha is mighty and is unique in the world. Where these uprise there is no occasion for a second. Therefore, sire, only one tathāgata, arahant, perfect buddha arises in the world [at a time].’