1. Of yore, monks, in the past, incalculable, more than incalculable, inconceivable, immense, measureless Æons since, nay, at a period, an epoch far beyond, there appeared in the world a Tathâgata, &c., named Mahâbhigñâgñanâbhibhû, endowed with science and conduct, a Sugata, &c. &c., in the sphere Sambhava i. e. origin, genesis, in the period Mahârûpa. You ask, monks, how long ago is it that the Tathâgata was born? Well, suppose some man was to reduce to powder the whole mass of the earth element as much as is to be found in this whole universe; that after taking one atom of dust from this world he is to walk a thousand worlds farther in easterly direction to deposit that single atom; that after taking a second atom of dust and walking a thousand worlds farther he deposits that second atom, and proceeding in this way at last gets the whole of the earth element deposited in eastern direction. Now, monks, what do you think of it, is it possible by calculation to find the end or limit of these worlds? They answered: Certainly not, Lord; certainly not, Sugata. The Lord said: On the contrary, monks, some arithmetician or master of arithmetic might, indeed, be able by calculation to find the end or limit of the worlds, both those where the atoms have been deposited and where they have not, but it is impossible by applying the rules of arithmetic to find the limit of those hundred thousands of myriads of Æons, so long, so inconceivable, so immense is the number of Æons which have elapsed since the expiration of that Lord, the Tathâgata Mahâbhigñâgñanâbhibhû. Yet, monks, I perfectly remember that Tathâgata who has been extinct for so long a time, as if he had reached extinction to-day or yesterday, because of my possessing the mighty knowledge and sight of the Tathâgata. And on that occasion the Lord pronounced the following stanzas:

2. I remember the great Seer Abhigñâgñânâbhibhû, the most high of men, who existed many kotis of Æons ago as the superior Gina of the period.

3. If, for example, some men after reducing this universe to atoms of dust took one atom to deposit it a thousand regions farther on;

4. If he deposited a second, a third atom, and so proceeded until he had done with the whole mass of dust, so that this world were empty and the mass of dust exhausted;

5. To that immense mass of the dust of these worlds, entirely reduced to atoms, I liken the number of Æons past.

6. So immense is the number of kotis of Æons past since that extinct Sugata; the whole of existing atoms is no adequate expression of it; so many are the Æons which have expired since.

7. That Leader who has expired so long ago, those disciples and Bodhisattvas, I remember all of them as if it were to-day or yesterday. Such is the knowledge of the Tathâgatas.

8. So endless, monks, is the knowledge of the Tathâgata; I know what has taken place many hundreds of Æons ago, by my precise and faultless memory. To proceed, monks, the measure of the lifetime of the Tathâgata Mahâbhigñâgñanâbhibhû, the Arhat, &c. was fifty-four hundred thousand myriads of kotis of Æons. In the beginning when the Lord had not yet reached supreme, perfect enlightenment and had just occupied the summit of the terrace of enlightenment, he discomfited and defeated the whole host of Mâra, after which he thought: I am to reach perfect enlightenment. But those laws of perfect enlightenment had not yet dawned upon him. He stayed on the terrace of enlightenment at the foot of the tree of enlightenment during one intermediate kalpa. He stayed there a second, a third intermediate kalpa, but did not yet attain supreme, perfect enlightenment. He remained a fourth, a fifth, a sixth, a seventh, an eighth, a ninth, a tenth intermediate kalpa on the terrace of enlightenment at the foot of the tree of enlightenment, continuing sitting cross-legged without in the meanwhile rising. He stayed, the mind motionless, the body unstirring and untrembling, but those laws had not yet dawned upon him. Now, monks, while the Lord was just on the summit of the terrace of enlightenment, the gods of Paradise Trâyastrimsas prepared him a magnificent royal throne, a hundred yoganas high, on occupying which the Lord attained supreme, perfect enlightenment; and no sooner had the Lord occupied the seat of enlightenment than the Brahmakâyika gods scattered a rain of flowers all around the seat of enlightenment over a distance of a hundred yoganas; in the sky they let loose storms by which the flowers, withered, were swept away. From the beginning of the rain of flowers, while the Lord was sitting on the seat of enlightenment, it poured without interruption during fully ten intermediate kalpas, covering the Lord. That rain of flowers having once begun falling continued to the moment of the Lord's complete Nirvâna. The angels belonging to the division of the four guardians of the cardinal points made the celestial drums of the gods resound; they made them resound without interruption in honour of the Lord who had attained the summit of the terrace of enlightenment. Thereafter, during fully ten intermediate kalpas, they made uninterruptedly resound those celestial musical instruments up to the moment of the complete extinction of the Lord. Again, monks, after the lapse of ten intermediate kalpas the Lord Mahâbhigñâgñanâbhibhû, the Tathâgata, &c., reached supreme, perfect enlightenment. Immediately on knowing his having become enlightened the sixteen sons born to that Lord when a prince royal, the eldest of whom was named Gñânâkara-which sixteen young princes, monks, had severally toys to play with, variegated and pretty-those sixteen princes, I repeat, monks, left their toys, their amusements, and since they knew that the Lord Mahâbhigñâgñanâbhibhû, the Tathâgata, &c., had attained supreme, perfect knowledge, went, surrounded and attended by their weeping mothers and nurses, along with the noble, rich king Kakravartin, many ministers, and hundred thousands of myriads of kotis of living beings, to the place where the Lord Mahâbhigñâgñanâbhibhû, the Tathâgata, &c., was seated on the summit of the terrace of enlightenment. They went up to the Lord in order to honour, respect, worship, revere, and venerate him, saluted his feet with their heads, made three turns round him keeping him to the right, lifted up their joined hands, and praised the Lord, face to face, with the following stanzas:

9. Thou art the great physician, having no superior, rendered perfect in endless Æons. Thy benign wish of saving all mortals from darkness has to-day been fulfilled.

10. Most difficult things hast thou achieved during the ten intermediate kalpas now past; thou hast been sitting all that time without once moving thy body, hand, foot, or any other part.

11. Thy mind also was tranquil and steady, motionless, never to be shaken; thou knewest no distraction;thou art completely quiet and faultless.

12. Joy with thee! that thou so happily and safely, without any hurt, hast reached supreme enlightenment. How great a fortune is ours! we congratulate ourselves, O Lion amongst kings!

13. These unhappy creatures, vexed in all ways, deprived of eyes, as it were, and joyless, do not find the road leading to the end of toils, nor develop energy for the sake of deliverance.

14. Dangers are for a long time on the increase and the laws or phenomena, things are deprived of the possession of a celestial body; the word of the Gina is not being heard; the whole world is plunged in thick darkness.

15. But to-day or now hast thou, Majesty of the world, reached this hallowed, high, and faultless spot; we as well as the world are obliged to thee, and approach to seek our refuge with thee, O Protector! When, O monks, those sixteen princes in the condition of boys, childlike and young, had with such stanzas celebrated the Lord Mahâbhigñâgñanâbhibhû, the Tathâgata, &c., they urged the Lord to move on the wheel of the law: Preach the law, O Lord; preach the law, O Sugata, for the weal of the public, the happiness of the public, out of compassion for the world; for the benefit, weal, and happiness of the people generally, both of gods and men. And on that occasion they uttered the following stanzas:

16. Preach the law, O thou who art marked with a hundred auspicious signs, O Leader, O incomparable great Seer! thou hast attained exalted, sublime knowledge; let it shine in the world, including the gods.

17. Release us as well as these creatures; display the knowledge of the Tathâgatas, that we also and, further, these beings may obtain this supreme enlightenment.

18. Thou knowest every course of duty and knowledge; thou knowest the mental and moral disposition and the good works done in a former state; the natural bent of all living beings. Move on the most exalted, sublime wheel! Then, monks, as the Lord Mahâbhigñâgñanâbhibhû, the Tathâgata, &c., reached supreme, perfect enlightenment, fifty hundred thousand myriads of kotis of spheres in each of the ten directions of space were shaken in six different ways and became illumined with a great lustre. And in the intervals between all those spheres, in the dreary places of dark gloom, where even the sun and moon, so powerful, mighty, and splendid, have no advantage of the shining power they are endowed with, have no advantage of the colour and brightness they possess, even in those places a great lustre arose instantly. And the beings who appeared in those intervals behold each other, acknowledge each other, and exclaim: Lo, there are other beings also here appearing! lo, there are other beings also here appearing! The palaces and aerial cars of the gods in all those spheres up to the Brahma-world shook in six different ways and became illumined with a great lustre, surpassing the divine majesty of the gods. So then, monks, a great earthquake and a great, sublime lustre arose simultaneously. And the aerial cars of the Brahma-angels to the east, in these fifty hundred thousand myriads of kotis of spheres, began excessively to glitter, glow, and sparkle in splendo,ur and glory. And those Brahma-angels made this reflection: What may be foreboded by these aerial cars so excessively glittering, glowing, and sparkling in splendour and glory? Thereupon, monks, the Brahma-angels in the fifty hundred thousand myriads of kotis of spheres went all to each other's abodes and communicated the matter to one another. After that, monks, the great Brahma-angel, named Sarvasattvatrâtri i.e. Saviour of all beings, addressed the numerous host of Brahma-angels in the following stanzas:

19. Our aerial cars to-day or now are all bristling with rays in an extraordinary degree, and blazing in beautiful splendour and brilliancy. What may be the cause of it?

20. Come, let us investigate the matter, what divine being has to-day sprung into existence, whose power, such as was never seen before, here now appears?

21. Or should it be the Buddha, the king of kings, who to-day has been born somewhere in the world, and whose birth is announced by such a token that all the points of the horizon are now blazing in splendour? Thereupon, monks, the great Brahma-angels in the fifty hundred thousand myriads of kotis of spheres mounted all together their own divine aerial cars, took with them divine bags, as large as Mount Sumeru, with celestial flowers, and went through the four quarters successively until they arrived at the western quarter, where those great Brahma-angels, O monks, stationed in the western quarter, saw the Lord Mahâbhigñâgñanâbhibhû, the Tathâgata, &c., on the summit of the exalted terrace of enlightenment, seated on the royal throne at the foot of the tree of enlightenment, surrounded and attended by gods, Nagas, goblins, Gandharvas, demons, Garudas, Kinnaras, great serpents, men, and beings not human, while his sons, the sixteen young princes, were urging him to move forward the wheel of the law. On seeing which the Brahma-angels came up to the Lord, saluted his feet with their heads, walked many hundred thousand times round him from left to right, strewing flowers and overwhclming both him and the tree of enlightenment, over a distance of ten yoganas, with those flower-bags as large as Mount Sumeru. After that they presented to the Lord their aerial cars with the words: Accept, O Lord, these aerial cars out of compassion to us; use, O Sugata, those cars out of compassion to us. On that occasion, monks, after presenting their own cars to the Lord, the Brahma-angels celebrated the Lord, face to face, with the following seasonable stanzas:

22. A or the wonderful, matchless Gina, so beneficial and merciful, has arisen in the world. Thou art born a protector, a ruler and teacher, a master; to-day all quarters are blessed.

23. We have come as far as fully fifty thousand kotis of worlds from here to humbly salute the Gina by surrendering our lofty acriel cars all together.

24. We possess these variegated and bright cars, owing to previous works; accept them to oblige us, and make use of them to thine heart's content, O Knower of the world! After the great Brahma-angels, monks, had celebrated the Lord Mahâbhigñâgñanâbhibhû, the Tathâgata, &c., face to face, with these seasonable stanzas, they besought him, saying: May the Lord move forward the wheel of the law! May the Lord preach final rest! May the Lord release all beings! Be favourable, O Lord, to this world! Preach the law, O Lord, to this world, including gods, Mâras, and Brahma-angels; to all people, including ascetics and Brahmans, gods, men, and demons! It will tend to the weal of the public, to the happiness of the public; out of mercy to the world, for the benefit and happiness of the people at large, both gods and men. Thereupon, monks, those fifty hundred thousand myriads of kotis of Brahma-angels addressed the Lord, with one voice, in common chorus, with the following stanza:

25. Show the law, O Lord; show it, O most high of men! Show the power of thy kindness; save the tormented beings.

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