The Most Sublime Excellent Meditation Sūtra

Zàngwài Fójiào Wénxiàn no. 10

Chinese Translator Unknown

Translated into English by Shaku Shingan (5th November, 2025)

Setting

Thus have I heard:

At one time, the Buddha was dwelling at Rājagṛha, together with twenty thousand great bhikṣus, bodhisattva mahāsattvas, fifty in all, the devas, nāgas, and eight classes of beings, and all the devas and humans. Furthermore, there were the Four Great Heavenly Kings, and the four classes of ghosts and spirits; all gathered in the assembly.

Mañjuśrī's Request

At that time, the Bhagavān entered the Samādhi of Radiant Light, quiescent and without a sound. At this time, each in the great assembly harboured doubts. At that time, Mañjuśrī, the Dharma Prince Bodhisattva, rose from his seat, circumambulated the Buddha three times, and spoke a verse in praise:

"O excellent! The King of all the Dharma, 

Quiescently entered into an abode of tranquillity.

Those in this great assembly: 

Their minds all harbour doubt.

"O excellent! The light of the sun and moon, 

Silently shines on nothing.

O excellent! A heap of gold and jewels, 

Yet it is not being bestowed upon the poor and destitute.

"O excellent! The king among humans, 

May now emerge from his dhyāna meditation.

O excellent! A great Nāga King, 

Yet not sending down amṛta.

"O excellent! Honoured One among humans, 

You should swiftly proclaim the Dharma.

O excellent! For the sake of sentient beings, 

Proclaim the meaning of the One Vehicle!"

At that time, the Bhagavān arose from dhyāna meditation and addressed the great assembly: "I am now at ease. I have a great treasure. If any are poor and destitute, you may use it as you wish. Do not give rise to doubt. This so-called treasure is unsurpassed wisdom. You may use it as you wish."

Ānanda's Doubt

At that time, Ānanda rose from his seat and addressed the Buddha, saying: "O Bhagavān! I am now of great learning, [and wish to] quickly attain unsurpassed bodhi. As it is said in the sūtras, for one of great learning and wisdom, one of sharp faculties, attaining the path is extremely difficult, and one is born in the midst of the eight difficulties. How can I now accomplish the unsurpassed path?"

The Buddha addressed Ānanda: "A person of great learning has two kinds of mind. What are these two? The first is a meditative mind; the second is a distracted mind. If the mind is in meditation, great learning is no hindrance. If the mind is distracted, even with great learning, what benefit is there? If a person is skilled and endowed with both meditation and wisdom, they will most quickly attain the unsurpassed path of the Buddha."

Ānanda addressed the Buddha, saying: "O Bhagavān! Why do the sūtras everywhere praise meditation and wisdom as the foremost?"

The Buddha said: "Ānanda, being endowed with meditation and wisdom is like the lion, the first among beasts. It is like the sun's light, illuminating all. It is like Mount Sumeru, the highest among all mountains. Why is this so? Because when endowed with meditation and wisdom, one's power is supreme."

The Supremacy of Meditation

The Buddha addressed Ānanda: "If there were a person who built vihāras of candana [sandalwood], filling the cosmos of three-thousand great-thousand worlds; and there were another person who built vihāras of the seven treasures, also filling the cosmos of three-thousand great-thousand worlds. How do their merits compare? Are they equal or not?"

Ānanda said: "The one who built with the seven treasures has greater merit."

The Buddha again addressed Ānanda, saying: "Furthermore, if there were a person who built vihāras of gold, filling the cosmos of three-thousand great-thousand worlds; and there were another person who built vihāras of purple yellow gold, also filling the cosmos of three-thousand great-thousand worlds. How do these two people's merits compare?"

Ānanda said: "The one who built with purple-yellow gold, their merit is exceptionally great."

The Buddha said: "Ānanda, if there were a person who made images of candana and fragrant wood, filling the cosmos of three-thousand great-thousand worlds, making offerings and prostrations to them; and there were another person who created images of purple-yellow gold and the seven treasures, also filling the cosmos of three-thousand great-thousand worlds, making offerings and prostrations to them. Between these two people, how do their merits compare?"

Ānanda said: "The one who made images of the seven treasures and purple-yellow gold, their merit is extremely great."

The Buddha said: "Ānanda, if there were a person who gave rise to a great mind of generosity, taking their stores of the seven treasures, as well as their wife and children, and gave them all in dāna; and there were another person who gave their head, eyes, and body, as well as their difficult-to-obtain stores of the seven treasures in dāna. How do these two people's merits compare?"

Ānanda said: "The one who gave the seven treasures and their body has greater merit [than the one who gave] their wife and children."

The Buddha said: "Furthermore, if there were a person who wrote out the twelve divisions of the sūtras, circulating them in the world and causing people to read and recite them, filling the cosmos of three-thousand great-thousand worlds; and there were another person who grasped the texts as they read, and was fluent and skilled in the texts [which were] also filling the cosmos of three-thousand great-thousand worlds. Between these two people, how do their merits compare?"

Ānanda said: "The one who grasped the texts has greater merit."

The Buddha said: "Furthermore, if there were a person who can recite the twelve divisions of the sūtras, all fluently and skilfully, but does not understand their profound meaning, and the sūtra scrolls also fill the cosmos of three-thousand great-thousand worlds; and there were another person who reads and recites the twelve divisions of the sūtras, all fluently and skilfully, and understands the profound meaning, also filling the cosmos of three-thousand great-thousand worlds. Between these two people, how do their merits compare?"

Ānanda said: "The one who reads, recites, and explains, their merit is extremely great."

The Buddha addressed Ānanda, saying: "If there were a person who explains the twelve divisions of the sūtras, but does not practise generosity, upholding the precepts, patience, loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity; and there were another person who explains the twelve divisions of the sūtras, and extensively practises generosity, upholding the precepts, patience, loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity, and towards all sentient beings, has an equal mind, as if for one's own child. Between these two people, how do their merits compare?"

Ānanda said: "The one who [practises] loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity, upholding the precepts, patience, and generosity towards sentient beings, their merit is exceptionally great. "

The Buddha said: "Ānanda, if there were a person who explains the twelve divisions of the sūtras, and preaches the five Veda treatises, proclaiming them for others, and circulating them in the world; and there were another person who is well able to explain the twelve divisions of the sūtras and the fifteen Veda treatises, namely, the Treatise on Arising, the Treatise on Meditation, the Treatise on the Five Aggregates, the Treatise on the Twelve Sense Bases, the Treatise on the Eighteen Gates, the Treatise on Great Emptiness, the Treatise on the Sun and Moon, the Treatise on Moon-Love, the Treatise on Adornment, the Treatise on the Ultimate Truth, the Treatise on the Empty Vajra Mind, the Treatise on the Seeds of All, and the Treatise on the Nature of Emptiness and the Three Gates of Emptiness; and is furthermore able to uphold the precepts, practise generosity, patience, loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity, and towards those who break the precepts, has an equal mind, without duality. Their mind practises equality, just like space, seeing none of the faults or evils of sentient beings. Their mind is equal towards sentient beings, regarding them as one's only child. Towards those who are enemies or objects of hatred, they are as impartial as space. They do not slander the vaipulyas or the twelve divisions of the sūtras. How do these two people's merits compare?"

Ānanda said: "The one who does not slander the vaipulyas or the twelve divisions of the sūtras, that person's merit is immeasurable, boundless, and inconceivable."

The Buddha said: "Furthermore, if there were a person as mentioned above, and all those merits they can completely fulfil, also filling the cosmos of three-thousand great-thousand worlds, and is also able to read and recite the twelve divisions of the sūtras and the fifteen Veda treatises, upholding the precepts, patience, the Treatise on Generosity, upholding the precepts, patience, practise generosity, and great learning, then among all people, they are the foremost. They expound that the myriad dharmas are all empty and quiescent, causing all who listen to attain the five supernormal powers. Although there are these benefits, it is not equal to one person entering meditation for one day and one night. Why is this so? The mind of a person of great learning gives rise to arrogance, like mountains and seas. One who has incredible arrogance will suffer in the evil realms for immeasurable kalpas. If they emerge from hell, they are born as a flying bird. 

"One should know what benefit there is in great learning. If one has dhyāna meditation, one can eradicate the evil karma and grave transgressions of saṃsāra. Great learning is like grass; dhyāna meditation is like fire; great learning is like iron; dhyāna meditation is like gold; great learning is like a poisonous plant; dhyāna meditation is like a medicinal tree; great learning is like a river; dhyāna meditation is like the great ocean. If I were to speak of them, the merits of dhyāna meditation would be inexhaustible."

The Buddha's Past Life

The Buddha addressed Ānanda: "I myself recall that in the past, I was a scholar of great learning and contended with Mañjuśrī, debating the two truths of existence and non-existence. Mañjuśrī proclaimed existence; I proclaimed non-existence. Because of this debate, we could not figure out the two truths of existence and non-existence. After death, I fell into the three evil realms and swallowed hot iron balls. After immeasurable kalpas, I emerged from hell. I met Kāśyapa Buddha, who explained the two truths of existence and non-existence to me. 

"Kāśyapa Buddha said: 'All dharmas are without a fixed nature. Your speaking of existence or non-existence is not the correct meaning. Why is this so? All myriad dharmas are empty and quiescent. As for these two truths, there is both existence and non-existence. Your current understanding is only of the literal meaning, not the profound meaning. You, regarding this meaning, are like one who is blind and deaf. How can you understand this most profound meaning?' 

"When I heard this, I immediately went into the forest and reflected by myself, entering into dhyāna meditation. After seven days had passed, within the four dhyānas, [I realised] samādhi, the three meditations, the three wisdoms, the three emptinesses, the great emptiness, and the emptiness of the ultimate truth. Having understood this emptiness, [I saw that] all myriad dharmas are also all empty and quiescent. Why is this so? Because the original nature of all myriad dharmas is empty. 

"One should know that cultivating dhyāna is the most sublime and the most supreme. If a person practices mindfulness and cultivates dhyāna meditation for one day or up to seven days, their extremely heavy, evil karma from immeasurable kalpas will gradually be lightened. 

"Furthermore, there are five kinds of grave transgressions: 

"First, killing one's father, killing one's mother, killing a true arhat, destroying a stūpa or damaging a monastery, and burning down a saṅgha dwelling. 

"Second, transgressing the four, eight, five, or six grave precepts of lineage [e.g., śrāvaka, bodhisattva, etc.].

"Third, slandering the Vaipulya sūtras.

"Fourth, speaking of the faults of others, not giving rise to reverence, and constantly giving rise to arrogance. 

"[Fifth], the five naturally grave offences, as already explained. By simply cultivating dhyāna meditation, they naturally disappear. 

"Apart from the power of dhyāna meditation, there is no other way to eliminate them. In seven days, one can still obtain such immeasurable merits; how much more so for one who, for their entire life, in a quiet dwelling, in the mountains, or under a tree in the forest, sits upright in contemplation, observing, eliminating, entering, and letting go. Why is this so? The mind is like flowing water; it never stops for a moment. It is also like a monkey, letting go of one thing to grasp another. 

"One must rely on a meditative mind to make it immovable. If the mind moves, one gives rise to delusion, false thinking, and confusion regarding all dharmas. If the mind is in meditation, one can know the worldly thoughts of arising, abiding, and ceasing. All myriad dharmas are all empty and quiescent, impermanent and changing, suffering, empty, and without self. All dharmas that exist are like lightning, like the wind, like the foam on water, like a mirage in the heat, like an echo, like the tracks of a bird in the sky. All that is in the world—the mountains, forests, rivers, ponds, springs, and the great ocean— when the fire kalpa arises, all will be burned up. Apart from the four dhyānas and the four formless absorptions, the myriad dharmas are all empty and quiescent. 

The Inconceivable Power of Meditation

"One should know that the power of dhyāna is inconceivable. If the mind is meditative, one can see the cosmoses of the three-thousand great-thousand worlds of the ten directions, sun, moon, stars, rivers, great oceans, mountains, streams, forests, and valleys, as if seeing an āmalaka fruit in one's palm. 

"Also, as in dhyāna meditation, one can manifest supernormal transformations and fly to the worlds of the ten directions, [numerous as] the sands of the Ganges. In the worlds of the ten directions, all the wind, fire, earth, water, sun, moon, stars, mountains, rivers, forests, trees, deva palaces, and nāga palaces can all be transformed. One should know that the power of dhyāna is inconceivable. Within dhyāna meditation, one can move these cosmoses of three-thousand great-thousand worlds of the ten directions."

The Buddha said: "Ānanda, Mahāmaudgalyāyana, in dhyāna meditation, can do all kinds of things. He can move the great earth, like a spinning wheel of fire. You should know that a person of great learning is not able to do this."

The Buddha addressed Ānanda, saying: "You too can now move this great earth."

Ānanda said: "I have no dhyāna meditation, how could I be able to do this?"

The Buddha said: "Ānanda, if one cultivates dhyāna meditation, although one may not immediately attain the four fruits of a śramaṇa, it is still superior to great learning by hundreds, thousands, and millions of times."

The Bhikṣus' Misunderstanding

At that time, in the Veṇuvana Vihāra, there were some bhikṣus, five hundred in number. All of them were students of great learning. Now, hearing the Bhagavān tell Ānanda that Maudgalyāyana's supernormal powers from dhyāna meditation were foremost, they went to where the Buddha was, prostrated with their heads at his feet, and addressed the Buddha, saying: "O Bhagavān! We bhikṣus have studied and practised great learning, and are now proficient in the twelve divisions of the sūtras. The sixteen great kingdoms revere us as they would a Buddha. So, why does the Bhagavān say that 'great learning can never attain unsurpassed bodhi?'" 

The five hundred bhikṣus said in unison: "We will abandon great learning and practise dhyāna meditation."

The Buddha said: "Bhikṣus, do not say such a thing as: 'We will abandon great learning and enter dhyāna meditation.' 

"I see that your knowledge is like the wing of a mosquito wishing to obstruct the sun and moon. You are like a blind person wishing to ascend Mount Sumeru, like one without a boat, desiring to cross the great ocean, like a bird with broken wings, hoping to fly in the sky. You are just like this."

The Wondrous Medicine: Observing, Eliminating, Entering, and Letting Go

At that time, the bhikṣus were alarmed and frightened in their hearts, like people about to die. The Buddha said: "Bhikṣus, you must not be alarmed or frightened. You should steady your minds."

The bhikṣus said: "We have no dhyāna meditation. How can we obtain it?"

The Buddha said: "I have a wondrous medicine to enable you to attain meditation."

The bhikṣus said: "We only pray that you speak of it. We will cultivate it."

The Buddha said: "This good medicine is called 'observing, eliminating, entering, and letting go."

The bhikṣus said: "'Observing, eliminating, entering, and letting go'— we do not understand this now. We only pray that the Bhagavān will explain it for us. We will take up and bear it."

The Buddha said: "The first mind is 'observing,' the arising of the second mind is 'eliminating,' the arising of the third mind is 'entering,' the arising of the fourth mind is called 'letting go.'

"Furthermore, what does this refer to? The first dhyāna is 'observing,' the second dhyāna is 'eliminating,' the third dhyāna is 'entering,' the fourth dhyāna is 'letting go.'

"Furthermore, what does this refer to? The first dhyāna is called the mindfulness of the body; the second, the mindfulness of the mind; the third, the mindfulness of mental-dharmas; the fourth, the mindfulness of feelings.

"These four dharmas pervade all dharmas. Namely, the four right efforts, the four bases of supernormal power, the four truths, the four emptinesses, the four perceptionlessnesses, and the four bodhis. You are not even clear about the first dhyāna, let alone the four dhyānas and all dharmas.

Meditation, Visions, and Repentance

"Bhikṣus, through various skilful means, one can enter dhyāna meditation. When practising the contemplation of impurity, one sees the body's four great elements—spleen and stomach, bones and joints—and the flow of blood, like flowing water. From the nine orifices flow impure substances. Excrement and urine, foul and filthy, are extremely loathsome. In this meditation, one sees various things: some moving, some still, some blue, some yellow, some white, some black. Various and strange changes distract the mind. Having seen this, one gathers [the mind] and brings it back. The white bones streaming with light and ānāpāna are also just like this. 

"If one has transgressed the four grave precepts, a bhikṣuṇī has broken the eight grave precepts, an upāsikā has broken the five kinds of precepts, a śrāmaṇera has broken the ten precepts, a śikṣamāṇā has broken the six grave precepts, or one has stolen the property of the Buddha, the property of the Dharma, the property of the saṅgha of the four quarters, the property of one's teachers, elders, and parents, or the property of the great saṅgha, or has slandered the vaipulya sūtras, saying they have no authoritative power—such a person, in dhyāna meditation, will see within their own bodies that their breath is like a black wind, their blood like a raging fire, their bones like mountain rocks, their veins like forest trees, and their five viscera like vipers and snakes. They see their hands grasping a great fire, running as if against the wind. Their head wears a great mountain, and as they go, they seem to fall. From their mouth come lions, from their eyes come rākṣasas, from their nose come pythons, and from their ears come jackals and wolves. From their urinary and excretory tracts, water flows like the ocean. If there are all the buddhas of the ten directions, they all turn black. If this sign is seen, one should arise from dhyāna meditation, go to an empty and quiet place in the forest, read the vaipulya sūtras, and repent one's past transgressions. For perhaps one week, two weeks, three weeks, four weeks, five weeks, six weeks, or seven weeks.

"Once the many transgressions are eliminated, one can then enter dhyāna meditation. If the transgressions are light, one will gradually see one's body like a mountain of vaiḍūrya. If one has not broken the four or the five grave precepts, in dhyāna meditation, one will see the buddhas of the ten directions simultaneously speaking the Dharma. Perhaps they speak of the four truths, the four right efforts, the four bases of supernormal power, the dharma of suffering, the dharma of patience, the dharma of the peak, or the dharma of the highest in the world. Perhaps they speak of the seven factors of awakening, the four dhyānas, the eight liberations, the four emptinesses, the three samādhis, or the eight stages of mastery. In dhyāna meditation, one sees darkness and sees light. Arising from dhyāna meditation, the mind gives rise to joy and bliss."

The Attainment of the Bhikṣus

At that time, the bhikṣus returned to the forest and cultivated dhyāna meditation. Within seven days, they all attained arhatship. They came to where the Buddha was, and addressed the Buddha, saying: "O Bhagavān! We have received the Buddha's teaching, which has enabled us to be liberated from saṃsāra and attain the unsurpassed fruit."

The Buddha said: "If you have attained it, you should now manifest it."

At that time, the five hundred bhikṣus manifested incredible supernormal transformations, sitting and lying in the sky, or walking, or standing, performing the eighteen transformations. At that time, the bhikṣus of great learning all practised dhyāna meditation, and just like Maudgalyāyana, their supernormal powers were no different.

The Buddha's Prophecy of Dharma Decline

At that time, Ānanda addressed the Buddha, saying: "O Bhagavān! How long will this wondrous Dharma circulate in this evil world after the Tathāgata's parinirvāṇa? How many sentient beings who cultivate this Dharma will attain the four fruits of a śramaṇa?"

The Buddha said: "Ānanda, in two months, after I pass into parinirvāṇa in the city of Kuśinagara, for eighty years, this Dharma will circulate. There will be many sentient beings among the graves and under the trees, contemplating this Dharma, observing, eliminating, entering, and letting go. Of one billion sentient beings, nine koṭis will attain the four fruits of a śramaṇa. 

"In three hundred years, of a hundred koṭis of sentient beings, one koṭi will attain the four fruits of a śramaṇa. 

"After three hundred years, and before five hundred years, my disciples will gradually become attached to evil dharmas, harbouring jealousy in their minds, and sustaining their lives through wrong mindfulness. Of five hundred koṭis of people, ten koṭis will attain the four fruits of a śramaṇa. 

"After five hundred years, and before eight hundred years, my disciples will wear lay clothing, raise cattle, sheep, cats, raccoon dogs, donkeys, and horses, accumulate grain, prepare their own food and eat it, and have male and female servants. At that time, of a thousand koṭis of people, ten thousand will attain the four fruits of a śramaṇa. 

"After eight hundred years, and before one thousand years, my disciples will study and practise evil dharmas, and will befriend kings, princes, great ministers, and householders. They will act as envoys, plough fields and plant crops, accumulate grain, gold, silver, and the seven treasures. They will drink wine and eat meat, nourishing their four great elements, and wear brightly coloured robes. They will be like promiscuous women, like sprites and demons. Of a koṭi of a koṭi of ten thousands of people, one hundred will attain the four fruits of a śramaṇa. 

"After one thousand years, for three hundred years, it will be utter chaos. My disciples will wear lay clothing; although they wear the kaṣāya, it will be like a banner on a wooden pole, without any authority. When the white-robed laity see them, they will not give rise to reverence, regarding them as butchers. At that time, kingdom will war with kingdom, killing one another. They will not show regard for rulers or ministers, fathers or sons, or brothers, and will be without a thought of compassion. The people will be in turmoil, starving and in hardship. There will be no wives, no husbands, no men, no women. They will be deaf, blind, and mute, and their bodies will not be whole. There will be runaway slaves and servants, and those who have lost their countries. Many who enter my Dharma will not survive. When the white-robed laity see them, they will regard them as hunters. 

"Likewise, throughout the continent, they will be like wild animals—wicked horses or mad elephants—uncontrollable, going wherever they please. Although there are teachers and disciples, they will be like wicked, mad thieves. Their greed and desire will be insatiable, showing no regard for seniority. They will be like insects and beasts, without any difference. They will create evil karma and fear neither the three evil realms nor the consequences of their actions. Wherever they go, they will take as their companions those who sell wine, butchers, hunters, and harlots. Their mouths will utter evil words, and their minds will give rise to evil thoughts. Or, with the power of state officials, they will coerce and threaten the good. They will seize wealth and goods to support their livelihoods. Or they will hunt, shoot, and cast nets to catch fish. They will kill them themselves, cook them themselves, take them themselves, and eat them themselves. 

"At the new moon and the half moon, they will not gather to recite the precepts, perform poṣadha, or pravāraṇā. When the precepts are recited, there will be fighting, quarrelling, and anger. Those of the high, middle, and low seats, teachers and disciples, will argue with one another about right and wrong, good and bad. They will be like vipers gathered in one pit. They will form factions and insult and curse one another. There will be no respect for seniority, just like a band of thieves. They will rob the good. Their minds will be greedy for offerings, and they will never be satisfied. 

"At that time, the twelve divisions of the sūtras will sink into the earth, no longer read or recited. My disciples will study and practise the military arts, the art of painting, the art of sculpture, the art of woodworking, the art of riding, the art of divination, the art of chess, the art of singing, the art of comedy, the art of dancing, the art of archery, and the art of horse racing. By studying and practising such wrong dharmas, upon death, they will enter the evil realms. For countless kalpas, they will be born as animals, suffering the hardships of hunger and thirst, and carrying heavy burdens. 

"Those who practise the dhūtas will mostly not be in accord with the Dharma. They will constantly roam the villages, and not dwell in the mountains and forests, among the graves, or under the trees. Their minds will continually be thinking of, spying for, and seeking offerings. They will be greedy for wealth and goods, never satiated, never satisfied. 

"Even the Dharma masters who explain the Buddha's words will not get it right one in ten thousand times. They will lead large retinues, roaming the villages and going to the houses of the laity, exhorting them to make many offerings. They will drink wine and eat meat, like caṇḍālas. 

"At that time, there will be many white-robed laity, whether male or female, who uphold the pure conduct of the precepts and do not consume wine or meat. They will admonish the bhikṣus: 'You, O great virtuous ones, who have left the household life, your minds are without compassion, and you do so many of these undharmic things. I regard you, [supposedly] wise ones, as being just like butchers.' 

"When the bhikṣus hear this, they will compete with one another to beat and curse them, and say among themselves: 'When the Tathāgata was alive, he did not allow us to drink wine or eat meat.' 

"After the laity have left, they will say among themselves: 'What I understand now is just as the Buddha spoke it from his own mouth.' 

"Or they will speak wrong words, frivolous speech, meaningless words, confused words and frivolous speech, and take them as meaningful words. They will be like a blind person pointing to the sun in the sky, saying whether it is large or small, wide or narrow. They will be like a deaf person saying to himself: 'I hear the sound of the Dharma being spoken in the heavens.' There will be like a group of blind people gathered, staying together to listen, each one proclaiming: 'I see the sun and moon,' and whether they are large or small. These bhikṣus will be just like this.

"If Mañjuśrī, Mahākāśyapa, and others were present in the world, manifesting among them, they would compete with one another to beat and curse them, driving them out and expelling them, not allowing them to stay. It is like the lion dwelling on the Gandhamādana Mountain; all the insects and beasts do not come near. After the lion leaves, the hundred beasts and venomous insects roar together and enter Gandhamādana Mountain. They take its sweet fruits and drink its flowing springs, causing them all to dry up. The spirits and ṛṣis of Gandhamādana Mountain no longer protect it. Poisonous plants then grow, and those who eat them die.

"After my parinirvāṇa, all the bhikṣus will take my twelve divisions of the sūtras and compete with one another to read and recite them. They will put the higher parts in the middle, the middle parts at the bottom, the lower parts at the top, and the middle parts before and after. Non-meaningful words will be taken as meaningful, and meaningful words as non-meaningful. They will be like the tīrthikas, each claiming, 'I am right.' 

"At that time, although the twelve divisions of the sūtras circulate in the world, they will have no virtue. Even if there are those who read and recite them, not a single person will attain the four fruits of a śramaṇa. My disciples will be like those who have lost their king, or like birds without wings. Stūpas and monasteries will be empty and desolate, with no one to manage them. Even if there are images, banners, flowers, and jewelled canopies, they will be like spoils from a defeated army. Pigeons, sparrows, pigs, and sheep will compete to enter them. Such bhikṣus will dwell in their own houses, plastered clean, excellent, and fine, [claiming to] cultivate according to the sūtra explanations."

The Entrustment of the Sūtra

The Buddha addressed Ānanda: "I have, for your sake, briefly explained this matter."

When Ānanda heard the Buddha speak these words, tears flowed, and he was choked with grief. At that time, Ānanda wept unceasingly. The Buddha addressed Ānanda: "Do not grieve and mourn so much. You should bear this sūtra and circulate it in the world."

Ānanda wiped away his tears and said: "I now take up and bear it."

At that time, the devas, humans, and Śakra addressed [Ānanda], saying: "Venerable One, we too will take up and bear it. If a person is in the mountains and forests, under a tree, in an empty place, or among the graves, reading and reciting it, we will lead the devas and humans, along with the spirits and ghosts, to go to that place, and not allow them to lose a single sentence or a single verse wrongly."

When this sūtra was spoken, five thousand bhikṣus attained the four fruits of a śramaṇa, fifteen hundred bhikṣuṇīs attained the first fruit, and five hundred upāsakas attained pure faith. The devas, nāgas, and yakṣas made obeisance and departed.

Translator's Note

The Most Sublime Excellent Meditation Sūtra, a Buddhist sūtra with unknown authorship, emerged during the Northern and Southern Dynasties (c. 439–589). It emphasises the importance of dhyāna meditation as the supreme practice within the Buddha-Dharma, arguing against the sole focus on doctrinal understanding. The sūtra asserts that even the gravest transgressions can be overcome through meditation. Historically, it significantly influenced the Tiantai school, particularly its forerunner, Huisi, and is frequently referenced by later scholars such as Zhiqing and Zhanran. However, it faced scepticism regarding its authenticity, being categorised as a doubtful or apocryphal text in various compilations. Eventually, it was lost, but two items were rediscovered among the Dunhuang manuscripts. The sūtra also has a Tibetan version (Toh. 137), translated from the Chinese. This translation is based on a collated edition by Fang Guangchang, with Bei Xin 330 as the base text and Bei Lin 1757 as the collation text.