Lotus SutraBuddhismAccepted by Some TraditionsSanskritShareLotus Sutra 6H. Kern 1884 - EnglishMoreVersion - 1 availableH. Kern 1884LanguageEnglishEspañol‹Lotus Sutra 1Lotus Sutra 2Lotus Sutra 3Lotus Sutra 4Lotus Sutra 5Lotus Sutra 6Lotus Sutra 7Lotus Sutra 8Lotus Sutra 9Lotus Sutra 10Lotus Sutra 11Lotus Sutra 12Lotus Sutra 13Lotus Sutra 14Lotus Sutra 15Lotus Sutra 16Lotus Sutra 17Lotus Sutra 18Lotus Sutra 19Lotus Sutra 20Lotus Sutra 21Lotus Sutra 22Lotus Sutra 23Lotus Sutra 24Lotus Sutra 25Lotus Sutra 26Lotus Sutra 27›Chapter 6: ANNOUNCEMENT OF FUTURE DESTINYLotus Sutra 6ListenPlay this chapter in spoken English.Save chapterListen to chapter1After pronouncing these stanzas the Lord addressed the complete assembly of monks: I announce to you, monks, I make known to you that the monk Kâsyapa, my disciple, here present, shall do homage to thirty thousand kotis of Buddhas; shall respect, honour, and worship them; and shall keep the true law of those Lords and Buddhas. In his last bodily existence in the world Avabhâsa (i. e. lustre), in the age (Æon) Mahâvyûha (i.e. great division) he shall be a Tathâgata, an Arhat, &c. &c., by the name of Rasmiprabhâsa (i.e. beaming with rays). His lifetime shall last twelve intermediate kalpas, and his true law twenty intermediate kalpas; the counterfeit of his true law shall last as many intermediate kalpas. His Buddha-field will be pure, clean, devoid of stones, grit, gravel; of pits and precipices; devoid of gutters and dirty pools; even, pretty, beautiful, and pleasant to see; consisting of lapis lazuli, adorned with jewel-trees, and looking like a checker-board with eight compartments set off with gold threads. It will be strewed with flowers, and many hundred thousand Bodhisattvas are to appear in it. As to disciples, there will be innumerable hundred thousands of myriads of kotis of them. Neither Mâra the evil one, nor his host will be discoverable in it, though Mâra and his followers shall afterwards be there; 1.2for they will apply themselves to receive the true law under the command of that very Lord Rasmiprabhâsa. 2And on that occasion the Lord uttered the following stanzas: 1With my Buddha-eye, monks, I see that the senior Kâsyapa here shall become a Buddha at a future epoch, in an incalculable Æon, after he shall have paid homage to the most high of men. 2This Kâsyapa shall see fully thirty thousand kotis of Ginas, under whom he shall lead a spiritual life for the sake of Buddha-knowledge. 3After having paid homage to those highest of men and acquired that supreme knowledge, he shall in his last bodily existence be a Lord of the world, a matchless, great Seer. 4And his field will be magnificent, excellent, pure, goodly, beautiful, pretty, nice, ever delightful, and set off with gold threads. 5That field, monks, (appearing like) a board divided into eight compartments, will have several jewel-trees, one in each compartment, from which issues a delicious odour. 6It will be adorned with plenty of flowers, and embellished with variegated blossoms; in it are no pits nor precipices; it is even, goodly, beautiful. 7There will be found hundreds of kotis of Bodhisattvas, subdued of mind and of great; magical power, mighty keepers of Sûtrântas of great extension. 8As to disciples, faultless, princes of the law, standing in their last period of life, their number can never be known, even if one should go on counting for Æons, and that with the aid of divine knowledge. 9He himself shall stay twelve intermediate kalpas, and his true law twenty complete Æons; the counterfeit is to continue as many Æons, in the domain of Rasmiprabhâsa. 12Thereupon the venerable senior Mahâ-Maudgalyâyana, the venerable Subhûti, and the venerable Mahâ-Kâtyâyana, their bodies trembling, gazed up to the Lord with unblenching eyes, and at the same moment severally uttered, in mental concert, the following stanzas: 10O hallowed one (Arhat), great hero, Sâkya-lion, most high of men! out of compassion to us speak the Buddha-word. 11The highest of men, the Gina, he who knows the fatal term, will, as it were, sprinkle us with nectar by predicting our destiny also. 12(It is as if) a certain man, in time of famine, comes and gets good food, but to whom, when the food is already in his hands, they say that he should wait. 13Similarly it was with us, who after minding the lower vehicle, at the calamitous conjuncture of a bad time, were longing for Buddha-knowledge. 14But the perfectly-enlightened great Seer has not yet favoured us with a prediction (of our destiny), as if he would say: Do not eat the food that has been put into your hand. 15Quite so, O hero, we were longing as we heard the exalted voice (and thought): Then shall we be at rest [And felicitous, blest, beatified (nirvritra)], when we shall have received a prediction. 16Utter a prediction, O great hero, so benevolent and merciful! let there be an end of our feeling of poverty! 20And the Lord, who in his mind apprehended the thoughts arising in the minds of those great senior disciples, again addressed the complete assembly of monks: This great disciple of mine, monks, the senior Subhûti, shall likewise pay homage to thirty hundred thousand myriads of kotis of Buddhas; shall show them respect, honour, reverence, veneration, and worship. Under them shall he lead a spiritual life and achieve enlightenment. After the performance of such duties shall he, in his last bodily existence, become a Tathâgata in the world, an Arhat, &c. &c., by the name of Sasiketu [moon-signal]. 21His Buddha-field will be called Ratnasambhava and his epoch Ratnaprabhâsa. And that Buddha-field will be even, beautiful, crystalline, variegated with jewel-trees, devoid of pits and precipices, devoid of sewers, nice, covered with flowers. And there will men have their abode in palaces (or towers) given them for their use. In it will be many disciples, innumerable, so that it would be impossible to terminate the calculation. Many hundred thousand myriads of kotis of Bodhisattvas also will be there. The lifetime of that Lord is to last twelve intermediate kalpas; his true law is to continue twenty intermediate kalpas, and its counterfeit as many. That Lord will, while standing poised in the firmament [Properly, standing as a great meteor], preach the law to the monks, and educate many thousands of Bodhisattvas and disciples. 22And on that occasion the Lord uttered the following stanzas: 17I have something to announce monks, something to make known; listen then to me: The senior Subhûti, my disciple, shall in days to come be a Buddha. 18After having seen of most mighty Buddhas thirty myriads of kotis in full, he shall enter upon the straight course to obtain this knowledge. 19In his last bodily existence shall the hero, possessed of the thirty-two distinctive signs, become a great Seer, similar to a column of gold, beneficial and bounteous to the world. 20The field where that friend of the world shall save myriads of kotis of living beings will be most beautiful, pretty, and delightful to people at large. 21In it will be many Bodhisattvas to turn the wheel that never rolls back (or never deviates); endowed with keen faculties they will, under that Gina, be the ornaments of the Buddha-field. 22His disciples are so numerous as to pass calculation and measure; gifted with the six transcendent faculties, the triple science and magic power; firm in the eight emancipations. 23His magic power, while he reveals supreme enlightenment, is inconceivable. Gods and men, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, will always reverentially salute him with joined hands. 24He shall stay twelve intermediate kalpas; the true law of that most high of men is to last twenty intermediate kalpas and the counterfeit of it as many. 31Again the Lord addressed the complete assembly of monks: I announce to you, monks, I make known that the senior Mahâ-Katyâyana here present, my disciple, shall pay homage to eight thousand kotis of Buddhas; shall show them respect, honour, reverence, veneration, and worship; at the expiration of those Tathâgatas he shall build Stûpas, a thousand yoganas in height, fifty yoganas in circumference, and consisting of seven precious substances, to wit, gold, silver, lapis lazuli, crystal, red pearl, emerald, and, seventhly, coral. Those Stûpas he shall worship with flowers, incense, perfumed wreaths, ointments, powder, robes, umbrellas, banners, flags, triumphal streamers. Afterwards he shall again pay a similar homage to twenty kotis of Buddhas; show them respect, honour, reverence, veneration, and worship. Then in his last bodily existence, his last corporeal appearance, he shall be a Tathâgata in the world, an Arhat, &c. &c., named Gambûnada-prabhâsa (i.e. gold-shine), endowed with science and conduct, &c. His Buddha-field will be thoroughly pure, even, nice, pretty, beautiful, crystalline, variegated with jeweltrees, interlaced with gold threads, strewed with flowers, free from beings of the brute creation, hell, and the host of demons, replete with numerous men and gods, adorned with many hundred thousand disciples and many hundred thousand Bodhisattvas. 31.2The measure of his lifetime shall be twelve intermediate kalpas; his true law shall continue twenty intermediate kalpas and its counterfeit as many. 32And on that occasion the Lord uttered the following stanzas: 25Listen all to me, ye monks, since I am going to utter an infallible word. Katyâyana here, the senior, my disciple, shall render worship to the Leaders. 26He shall show veneration of various kinds and in many ways to the Leaders, after whose expiration he shall build Stûpas, worshipping them with flowers and perfumes. 27In his last bodily existence he shall be a Gina, in a thoroughly pure field, and after acquiring full knowledge he shall preach to a thousand kotis of living beings. 28He shall be a mighty Buddha and illuminator, highly honoured in this world, including the gods, under the name of Gâmbunada-prabhâsa, and save kotis of gods and men. 29Many Bodhisattvas as well as disciples, beyond measure and calculation, will in that field adorn the reign of that Buddha, all of them freed from existence and exempt from existence. 38Again the Lord addressed the complete assembly of monks: I announce to you, monks, I make known, that the senior Mahâ-Maudgalyâyana here present, my disciple, shall propitiate twenty-eight thousand Buddhas and pay those Lords homage of various kinds; he shall show them respect, &c., and after their expiration build Stûpas consisting of seven precious substances, to wit, gold, silver, lapis lazuli, crystal, red pearl, emerald, and, seventhly, coral; (Stûpas) a thousand yoganas in height and five hundred yoganas in circumference, which Stilpas he shall worship in different ways, with flowers, incense, perfumed wreaths, ointments, powder, robes, umbrellas, banners, flags, and triumphal streamers. 39Afterwards he shall again pay a similar worship to twenty hundred thousand kotis of Buddhas; he shall show respect, &c., and in his last bodily existence become in the world a Tathâgata, &c., named Tamâlapatrakandanagandha, endowed with science and conduct, &c. The field of that Buddha will be called Manobhirâma; his period Ratipratipûrna. And that Buddha-field will be even, nice, pretty, beautiful, crystalline, variegated with jewel-trees, strewn with detached flowers, replete with gods and men, frequented by hundred thousands of Seers, that is to say, disciples and Bodhisattvas. The measure of his lifetime shall be twenty-four intermediate kalpas; his true law is to last forty intermediate kalpas and its counterfeit as many. 40And on that occasion the Lord uttered the following stanzas: 30The scion of the Mudgala-race, my disciple here, after leaving human existence shall see twenty thousand mighty Ginas and eight (thousand) more of these faultless beings. 31Under them he shall follow a course of duty, trying to reach Buddha-knowledge; he shall pay homage in various ways to those Leaders and to the most high of men. 32After keeping their true law, of wide reach and sublime, for thousands of kotis of Æons, he shall at the expiration of those, Sugatas worship their Stûpas. 33In honour of those most high Ginas, those mighty beings I so beneficial to the world, he shall erect Stûpas consisting of precious substances, and decorated with triumphal streamers, worshipping them with flowers, perfumes, and the sounds of music. 34At the period of his last bodily existence he shall, in a nice and beautiful field, be a Buddha bounteous and compassionate to the world, under the name of Tamâlapatrakandanagandha. 35The measure of that Sugata's life shall be fully twenty-four intermediate kalpas, during which he shall be assiduous in declaring the Buddha-rule to men and gods. 36That Gina shall have many thousands of kotis of disciples, innumerable as the sands of the Ganges, gifted with the six transcendent faculties and the triple science, and possessed of magic power, under the command of that Sugata. 37Under the reign of that Sugata there shall also appear numerous Bodhisattvas, many thousands of them, unable to slide back (or to deviate), developing zeal, of extensive knowledge and studious habits. 38After that Gina's expiration his true law shall measure in time twenty-four intermediate kalpas in full; its counterfeit shall have the same measure. 39These are my five mighty disciples whom I have destined to supreme enlightenment and to become in future self-born Ginas; now hear from me their course. [In this chapter only four disciples are mentioned; the fifth must be Sâriputra, whose destination has been predicted before]. ‹Previous chapterLotus Sutra 5Next chapterLotus Sutra 7›Similar passagesBy tradition and source labelFind similarCompare selectedCompare with similarAsk Deep ThoughtSelect passages to search for parallels.Tap any verse to select it, then compare selected passages or ask Deep Thought. Public-domain 1884 English translation