Day 10 concludes Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood, and opens Chapter 7, The Parable of a Magic City.
I’ll again skip over the promises of Buddhahood for Subhuti, Great Katyayana, Great Maudgalyayana and “the five hundred disciples of mine, in order to look closer at the opening of Chapter 7, The Parable of a Magic City.
Having been here before, I know that the previous chapter’s tease
“Now I will tell you
About my previous existence
And also about yours.”
involves 16 princes who were the sons of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha before his enlightenment and the grandsons of a wheel-turning-holy-king.
Each of the sons had various playthings. When the sons heard that their father had attained Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, they gave up the playthings, left home, and came to that Buddha.
No expedient needed to get these princes to put down their toys. I’ll leave the importance of the princes for later and focus now on their statement after the “Dharma of the Buddhas came into the mind of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha.”
Having come [to that Buddha], the princes worshipped him at his feet with their heads, walked around him, joined their hands together towards him with all their hearts, looked up at the World-Honored One, and praised him in gathas:
In order to save all living beings,
You, the World-Honored One,
Who have great powers and virtues,
[Made efforts] for many hundreds of millions of years.
Now you have become a Buddha.
You have finally fulfilled your vows. Congratulations!You, the World-Honored One, are exceptional.
When you were sitting,
You were quiet and peaceful.
You did not move your body, hands or feet
For ten small kalpas.
Your mind was tranquil, not distracted.
You have finally obtained tranquil extinction.
You now dwell peacefully in the Dharma-without-asravas.Seeing that you have peacefully attained
The enlightenment of the Buddha,
We, too, have obtained benefits.
Congratulations! How glad we are!
All living beings are suffering.
Being blind, they have no leader.
They do not know how to stop suffering,
Or that they should seek emancipation.
In the long night fewer people go to heaven,
And more people go to the evil regions.
They go from darkness to darkness, and do not hear
Of the names of the Buddhas.You are the Most Honorable One.
You have obtained the peaceful Dharma-without-asravas.
Not only we but also all gods and men
Will be able to obtain the greatest benefit.
Therefore, we bow and devote ourselves to you,
The Most Honorable One.
Without a Buddha fewer people go to heaven and more people go to the evil regions.