At that time, Manjushri Bodhisattva asked Worthy Leader Bodhisattva, “Disciple of the Buddha, all Buddhas, World Honored Ones, were liberated by means of a single path. Why, then, do we perceive that the Buddhas’ lands, and their multitudes of deeds, are all different, with none the same? That is to say: their worlds, the sentient beings in them, the Dharma that they speak to tame and regulate beings, their life spans, the light they emit, their spiritual powers, their assemblies, the ways in which they teach, and the durations of their Dharma are all different. And yet, not one has failed to perfect all of the Buddhadharma and to realize anuttarasamyaksambodhi.”
Then Worthy Leader Bodhisattva answered in verse.
Manjushri, the Dharma is always like this:
The Dharma Kings transcended with only one Dharma;
Everyone who unburdens himself
Can escape birth and death on this One Path.
Each and every Buddha’s body
Is the one Dharma body;
They are of one mind and one wisdom.
Their powers and fearlessnesses are also thus.
Based upon their original wish to seek bodhi
And all their dedications of merit,
They attain a corresponding kind of Buddhaland,
With its assemblies and Dharma proclamations.
The lands of all Buddhas
Are adorned to perfection.
According to beings’ different practices,
Their perceptions are likewise different.
The Buddhas’ lands together with the Buddhas’ body,
Their assemblies, including what they speak,
As well as all Buddhas’ Dharmas,
Cannot be seen by sentient beings.
But, once their minds are made pure,
And all their vows perfected,
They reach complete understanding
And are thereby able to see.
According with what makes them happy,
As well as their karmic retributions,
Sentient beings perceive things differently.
This is due to the Buddhas’ awesome spiritual power.
The Buddhalands are devoid of distinctions,
Of dislikes and of fondnesses.
It is only due to the sentient beings’ minds
That differences are perceived.
Within the mundane world,
What each one perceives is different.
All the Thus Comes Ones,
The Great Immortals, are not to blame for this.
Within each and every world,
Those who are ready to be transformed
Constantly see the hero among men.
Thus is the Dharma of all Buddhas.
At that time, all those Bodhisattvas said to Manjushri Bodhisattva, “Disciple of the Buddha, we have each finished speaking about what we understand. We only hope that the Humane One, using wonderful eloquence, will extensively elucidate all the states of the Thus Come Ones.
“What is the state of being of a Buddha like? What are the causes of the states of a Buddha like? What are the states of a Buddha’s rescuing like? What is the entry into the state of a Buddha like? What is the wisdom of the state of a Buddha like? What are the dharmas within the state of a Buddha like? What are the words used in the state of a Buddha like? What is the knowledge of the states of a Buddha like? What is the realization enjoyed in the state of a Buddha like? What are the manifestations found in the state of a Buddha like? What is the vastness of the state of a Buddha like?”
Then Manjushri Bodhisattva answered in verse.
The Thus Come Ones’ profound state
Is equal in measure to empty space.
All sentient beings enter within it,
Yet actually nothing is entered.
The Thus Come Ones’ profound state,
Results from sublimely wonderful causes.
Describing them ceaselessly for a million eons
Would still not elucidate them all.
Attuned to sentient beings’ wisdom, the Buddhas
Induce them to advance, to gain good benefit;
In that way they rescue sentient beings.
Such is the state of all the Buddhas.
Into every land in all the worlds,
The Buddhas enter in accord with beings there.
Yet those beings are unable to perceive
The Buddhas’ formless wisdom body.
The Buddhas’ wisdom is free and at ease,
Unimpeded in the Triple Realm.
This state of their wisdom
Is equal and impartial, just like space.
The Dharma Realm and the realms of sentient beings
Are ultimately undifferentiated,
And yet are fully understood.
Thus is the Thus Come Ones’ state.
All the different sounds
Throughout the various worlds,
The Buddhas, in their wisdom, constantly discern,
Without making any distinctions.
Imperceptible to our subjective consciousness,
This state cannot be cognized by the mind.
It is from the clarity of the pure, inherent nature
That instructions to benefit beings well forth.
Without karma, without afflictions,
With nothing whatsoever, and no place to dwell,
Without reflection or any activity,
They travel impartially through all worlds.
The minds of all sentient beings,
Exist throughout the three periods of time.
The Thus Come Ones, in a single thought,
Comprehend them one and all.
At that time, in this Saha world, all sentient beings’ distinct dharmas, distinct karma, distinct worlds, distinct bodies, distinct dispositions, distinct births, distinct results from maintaining precepts, distinct results from violating precepts, and distinct results of lands, were clearly manifested by the Buddhas’ spiritual power.
Just as to the east, in hundreds of thousands of millions of nayutas of numberless, measureless, boundless, incomparable, innumerable, inestimable, inconceivable, immeasurable, ineffable worlds pervading space throughout the Dharma Realm, all sentient beings’ distinct dharmas, up to and including their distinct results of lands, were clearly manifested by the Buddhas’ spiritual power, so, too, was this the case in the south, west, north, the four intermediate directions, above, and below.
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