2. Śalendrarāja

Overall Teaching

The Buddha informs Candraprabha that in a past life, he was a cakravartin named Bhīṣmottara, who for countless kalpas venerated successive buddhas on Vulture Peak and learnt this sūtra from each of them, with the last buddha being Śālendrarāja. He explains that serving the buddhas in such a manner is essential for achieving buddhahood and that future adherents of this sūtra will be reborn in Sukhāvatī.

Summary

• The Bhagavān recalls in a past kalpa, sixty million Buddhas born on Gṛdhrakūṭa Mountain, from whom he learned meditation.

  • The last of these Buddhas, Śālendrarāja Buddha, served as a world illuminator whom the Bhagavān queried about meditation.

  • During that time, the Bhagavān was a king, called King Bhīṣmottara, revered among people, with 500 sons, skilled in all arts. He built one hundred million monasteries from precious materials as an offering to the Buddha.

  • He reigned for eighteen hundred billion years, providing extensive offerings to the Buddha Śālendrarāja, who lived for seven hundred and sixty million years.

  • This kalpa was characterized by eight billion śrāvakas who possessed deep meditation skills and were beyond reproach. King Bhīṣmottara sought to benefit sentient beings and devas by pursuing this meditation (i.e. this sūtra and samādhi).

  • Eventually, he renounced his royal life and all possessions, maintaining the Buddha's teachings over fourteen trillion years while focusing on understanding and cultivating this meditation.

  • The merits of this meditation were praised through eighty thousand nayutas of gāthās and eight hundred trillion different verses by that Buddha.

• He remembered past kalpas where ten billion tathāgatas and other Buddhas dwelt on Gṛdhrakūṭa Mountain, all sharing names like Śākyamuni and expounded on this tranquil meditation.

  • The attributes of these Buddhas, their close associates, and their worlds were identical, all emerging in a corrupt, evil world.

• Achieving this meditation depends on practising and abiding in various virtuous conducts like non-attachment, compassion, adherence to precepts, energy in practice, and a mind free from distractions.

  • Attaining this meditation leads to the manifestation of a Tathāgata's excellent marks, distinct qualities, and powers.

  • One upholding this meditation gains protection from buddhas, devas, and obedience from earthly kings.

  • Mastery in this meditation enables one to teach countless sūtras continually.

  • This samādhi allows for beings to be born in Amitābha Buddha's realm, especially in future troubled times.

• The Bhagavān personally emphasizes the importance of adhering to this meditation, especially after his nirvāṇa, as it is the path followed by all Buddhas to achieve enlightenment.

Commentary

According to Thrangu Rinpoche, this chapter highlights the importance of devotion, respect, and trust in one's guru, as illustrated by the Buddha's own practices in his past life. These teachings underscore the critical role of these qualities in cultivating samadhi and achieving enlightenment, as reflected in the Vajrayana practice of Mahamudra, where similar devotion and practices like guru yoga are emphasized to accumulate merit and advance spiritually. He says that devotion is like the "head" of one's practice, one cannot progress without it. Moreover, even if we do not possess countless things to offer, we can visualise them (e.g. offering the whole world in a gurumaṇḍala offering). This is the "preliminary practice."

Discussion

1. The sutra emphasizes compassion and detachment from worldly desires. How do these teachings compare with the contemporary understandings of mindfulness and detachment in modern interpretations of Buddhism?

2. The sutra describes numerous buddhas with identical names, sons, attendants, and attributes. What might this suggest about the nature of Buddhahood?

3. The text implies that samādhi is achievable by adhering to certain virtues and practices. How inclusive do you think these teachings are? Can anyone achieve this state, or is it reserved for those with specific conditions or capacities?