Overall Teaching

The Bodhisattva approaches the Bodhi Tree which is the seat of awakening. On his way the various gods adorn the path. The Bodhisattva receives grass for his seat from the grass seller Svastika. The Bodhisattva makes himself manifest in all directions on Bodhi Trees visible to all beings. He sets the grass down and sits facing the east and resolves not to arise until he attains awakening.

Summary

1.     After regaining his strength the Bodhisattva walked towards the great Bodhi tree which was the seat of awakening.

2.     He walked with a stride of a great being, which is praised with many qualities, e.g. the stride that destroys all lower realms.

3.     While walking towards the Bodhi tree the gods sprinkled his path with water and flowers and the trees bowed towards the seat of awakening and the road had been beautified by the gods with divine adornments such as jeweled garlands and ponds.

4.     Brahmā told his retinue that the Bodhisattva had achieved all that was required for awakening, which are given at length in both prose and verse. He said that for this reason they should go to pay homage to and assist the Bodhisattva.

a.     Brahmā made the world appear exquisitely adorned, entirely smooth, and pure; he made all oceans as peaceful as land and all beings became free from harm. All worlds became united together and became one single buddha realm, permeated by the Bodhisattva’s light.

b.    Sixteen gods protected the seat of awakening and they adorned that location by surrounding it with seven rows of railings, seven circles of palm trees, bells, and threads.

c.     The seat was made with cloth from gold from the Jambū River and adorned with fragrances and covered by a jeweled canopy. All kinds of flowers appeared there and all bodhisattvas also appeared there.

d.    When the various other gods beheld that site they thought of their own lands as charnel grounds.

5.     The Bodhi Tree was inhabited by four gods who adorned it with seven other rows of various adornments. The seat itself had become indestructible diamond harder than anything in the triple world.

6.     As the Bodhisattva approached the site all who were struck with fear or disease or other difficulties caused by attachment were relieved.

a. This is recounted with more elaboration in verse form.

7.     The realm of Kālika, king of the nāgas, was illuminated by the Bodhisattva’s light. Kālika said the light is just like the past Buddhas. Until then their realm was dark from the fruit of their negative actions and it was not illuminated with the light of even Brahmā’s realm. He said it was clear that the bodhisattva is now walking towards the seat of awakening.

a.     Kālika told his nāgas to go and make offerings to the Bodhisattva.

b.    Kālika and his daughters themselves also made offerings to the Bodhisattva.

c.     Kālika praises the Bodhisattva and says that his signs are like that of the past Buddhas and that today he will defeat Māra. He said that today is the reason he practiced so hard for so many aeons.

d.    He noted that since all things in the world worship and venerate him today, today he will attain Buddhahood and become king of physicians who will release beings from the lower realms.

e.     He also noted that demons cannot move him since he made billions of offerings in his past lives.

f.      He also noted that the Bodhisattva walks like an elephant in rut, and wishes that he and his wives and children would walk like him on this day.

g.     Kālika’s queen, Suvarṇaprabhāsā, and their daughters, sprinkled the Bodhisattva with water and flowers and praised him in verse form.

8.     The Bodhisattva reflected that when previous buddhas attained awakening they sat on a bed of grass.

a.     The gods knew this thought and agreed that this is what past buddhas sat on.

b.    By the road the grass seller Svastika was cutting grass. 

i. The Bodhisattva spoke to Svastika in an extremely pleasing way, which are enumerated. 

ii. The Bodhisattva asked Svastika to give him some grass, so that he will conquer Māra and attain awakening which would be accomplishment of the powers he developed.

iii. Svastika in reply said that if the grass can help him, he should wait just a moment while he first attains to the supreme state of immortality. 

iv. The Bodhisattva replied that without practicing for many aeons he won’t attain awakening by just sitting on the grass: if it were possible to simply distribute immortality, he would, but rather Svastika must, after listen and then apply himself to the teaching.

v. The Bodhisattva departed with a bundle of soft grass and the gods and nāgas praised him and said today he will attain immortality.

9.     As the Bodhisattva was walking towards the Bodhi tree, in order to adorn the path more, the gods made eighty thousand other Bodhi trees appear around, each with a lion throne or lotus throne, some of which were millions of leagues high.

10.  The Bodhisattva rested in the samādhi known as playful array, by which each throne on the trees surrounding him had manifestations of the Bodhisattva appear, each at the root of their own Bodhi tree. By his power al beings in the lower and higher realms witness the Bodhisattva sitting on the lion throne at the root of the Bodhi tree.

11.  In order to satisfy the intellect of those without dedication, he held the bundle of grass and circumambulated the tree seven times. He arranged the grass and sat down like a lion and many other kinds of being (which are listed).

a.     He sat facing the east, straightened his back, and collected himself one-pointedly.

b.    He formed the resolve that while his body may rot, but until he attains awakening he would not move his body from that seat.