Selected Lectures on the Sutra of the Meeting of Father and Son

Chapter Two: The Story of King Anantayaśas

Original Text: Great King, in the past, innumerable koṭis of nayutas of kalpas ago, there was a Wheel-Turning King named Anantayaśas. He was wealthy, noble, and self-sovereign, possessing great majestic virtue. He had elephants, horses, chariots, and carriages adorned with various jewels; his supreme wheel-treasure was indestructible. He had previously drawn near to innumerable Buddhas, planting many roots of goodness at the places of those Buddhas. Whatever he thought of in his mind, he achieved according to his will.

Commentary: The Buddha said: Great King, countless kalpas ago, there was a Wheel-Turning Sage King named Anantayaśas. He was extremely wealthy, noble, self-sovereign, and possessed great majestic power. He had elephant treasures, horse treasures, chariots, and carriages adorned with various jewels, complete with the seven treasures, including the supreme, indestructible wheel-treasure. This King Anantayaśas had previously drawn near to and made offerings to innumerable Buddhas, planting extremely many roots of goodness at the places of so many Buddhas. Consequently, due to the karmic retribution of these roots of goodness and blessings, whatever he thought of in his mind was accomplished; all his thoughts were realized.

The World-Honored One told this story to teach King Śuddhodana to no longer cling to wealth and pleasure, awakening him to the inevitable future suffering for those whose minds are insatiable. The story illustrates the karmic retribution of a mind greedily attached to the world without satisfaction. This story proves that the human mind truly knows no satiety; those who have not eradicated greed find it difficult to know contentment with the five desires and six dusts. Even King Anantayaśas, who had planted roots of goodness at the places of innumerable Buddhas, was like this.

The Indian phrase "koṭis of nayutas of kalpas" refers to an immeasurably long period of time. The formation, abiding, decline, and emptiness of one Earth constitutes one great kalpa, equivalent to 80 times 16.8 million years. Countless great kalpas ago, there was a Wheel-Turning King named Anantayaśas. Wheel-Turning Kings are divided into four types: Gold Wheel-Turning King, Silver Wheel-Turning King, Copper Wheel-Turning King, and Iron Wheel-Turning King. The lowest-ranking Iron Wheel-Turning King rules only one great continent, such as specifically governing Jambudvīpa (the southern continent) or Pūrvavideha (the eastern continent), ruling only one continent. The Copper Wheel-Turning King rules two continents, the Silver Wheel-Turning King rules three continents, and the Gold Wheel-Turning King rules all four continents.

There are four great continents surrounding the base of Mount Sumeru. All small worlds around Mount Sumeru have these four great continents. The Sahā World has a total of one billion Mount Sumerus. This means that in Śākyamuni Buddha's Sahā World, one trichiliocosm contains one billion Earths, one billion Jambudvīpas, one billion Pūrvavidehas, one billion Aparagodānīyas (western continent), and one billion Uttarakurus (northern continent). Thus, there would be one billion Gold Wheel-Turning Kings, while Copper and Iron Wheel-Turning Kings would number even more than one billion. The blessings attained by these Wheel-Turning Sage Kings all came from making offerings to innumerable thousands of koṭis of nayutas of Buddhas. These are blessings within the three realms of the mundane world.

The Wheel-Turning King was extremely wealthy, self-sovereign, powerful, and possessed great majestic virtue. He had the seven treasures: the elephant treasure, horse treasure, chariot treasure, gold, silver, jewels, the jewel-adorned carriage, and others. The Wheel-Turning King, stepping onto the seven-jeweled carriage, could instantly fly from Jambudvīpa on Earth to the other continents, and even instantly reach Trāyastriṃśa Heaven where Śakra, the Lord of the Devas, resides. This was due to the karmic retribution of the Gold Wheel-Turning King's blessings; whatever he desired, he obtained, though this was, of course, within the material scope of the desire realm.

The Wheel-Turning King had drawn near to innumerable Buddhas to cultivate this blessing. Without cultivating blessings, even university students or PhDs, struggling all their lives in this world, still would not succeed. Although they may possess ability, without blessings, they cannot obtain what they need or desire. However, those who cultivate blessings, even if illiterate, can attain great wealth and nobility. Why did many poets in the past complain in their verses about unrecognized talent? Because talent alone is useless; blessings are also necessary. All blessings that sentient beings receive in this life were cultivated in past lives. To have great blessings for one's own use, one must continuously cultivate blessings. All blessings do not fall from the sky; they come from cultivating blessings by benefiting others. Sentient beings seeking the greatest blessings should cultivate blessings extensively within Mahāyāna Buddhism and make offerings to the Three Jewels.

The Gold Wheel-Turning King had made offerings to innumerable Buddhas and planted so many roots of goodness, yet he only became a Gold Wheel-Turning King. If Buddhist practitioners do not diligently cultivate precepts, concentration, and wisdom, merely reciting one Buddha's name, hoping to be reborn in the Western Pure Land upon death and attain Buddhahood in one lifetime there, can they become Buddhas? Many people have only made offerings to Śākyamuni Buddha, and not even fully, going to the Pure Land to encounter only Amitābha Buddha and a small number of other Buddhas. The blessings obtained are far from sufficient for attaining Buddhahood. Becoming a Gold Wheel-Turning King required making offerings to innumerable Buddhas, let alone achieving the even more supreme fruition of Buddhahood. The Buddha said in the sutras that sentient beings seeking Buddhahood all need to make offerings to immeasurable, boundless Buddhas, listen to the Dharma beside each Buddha, make offerings to Buddhas life after life, so that blessings can be fully perfected, becoming a World-Honored One complete with both blessings and wisdom.

Therefore, it is impossible to say that reciting a Buddha's name and going to the Pure Land means becoming a Buddha. The principles of Buddhahood are not fully known or realized, the experience of liberating sentient beings is incomplete, and without immeasurable samādhis, one cannot easily become a Buddha. If such an easy thing truly existed—reciting the Buddha's name and becoming a Buddha—if disciples wanted to hear the Dharma, yet one couldn't even expound the Hīnayāna teachings, let alone the Mahāyāna, how could one liberate sentient beings? Moreover, where would these disciple sentient beings come from? If one has never liberated disciples or formed affinities with sentient beings, how could there be disciples? Without liberating sentient beings, there are no disciples; without the assistance of disciples, one cannot establish a Buddha-land, much less become a Buddha.

For example, to be a king, if there are no ministers or subjects, one cannot be a king. Merely going to the Pure Land without liberating sentient beings, blessings are incomplete; being unable to expound the sutras and Dharma, wisdom is incomplete—how then can one become a Buddha? When becoming a Buddha, one needs immeasurable, boundless disciples to assist in propagating the Dharma. First, there are the two great disciples on the left and right, who are Equal Enlightenment Bodhisattvas supporting beside the Buddha. There are also numerous Bodhisattvas from the first to the ninth grounds, newly enlightened Bodhisattvas, ordinary Bodhisattvas, Śrāvakas, Pratyekabuddhas, and so on. These disciples should be immeasurable and boundless in number to establish a Buddha-land. Therefore, to become a Buddha, one must make offerings to innumerable Buddhas, constantly follow innumerable Buddhas to learn the Dharma, so that one's blessings may be perfected early.

Before becoming a Buddha, one needs to learn much of the Buddha Dharma; it cannot be completed by learning from just one Buddha. The Tripiṭaka and Twelve Divisions of Scriptures remaining in Jambudvīpa are an extremely small part of the Dharma spoken by the Buddha. The Dharma the Buddha spoke in the Sahā World is as little as the dirt under a fingernail; the Dharma not spoken in Sahā is as vast as the dirt of the great earth. Even so, the Tripiṭaka and Twelve Divisions in Jambudvīpa seem like a vast ocean to sentient beings; many people can only read one-tenth or one-twentieth of it, let alone the immense amount of Dharma not spoken by the Buddhas. The Buddha Dharma is truly boundless and vast. Therefore, we need to make offerings to innumerable Buddhas, constantly follow the Buddhas to cultivate and learn, constantly cultivate blessings, to ultimately accomplish the Buddha Way.

Original Text: Great King, at one time, that King Anantayaśas suddenly thought: I should test the power of my blessings. Due to my blessings, may all trees, flowers, and fruits throughout the four continents flourish abundantly, providing inexhaustible enjoyment. After having this thought, all flowers and fruits in those four continents indeed flourished.

Commentary: The Buddha said: Great King, that Wheel-Turning King Anantayaśas, at a certain time, suddenly thought: I should test how great my blessings are and how strong my power is. With my blessing power, may all flowers, fruits, and trees in the four continents of Jambudvīpa, Pūrvavideha, Aparagodānīya, and Uttarakuru all flourish and grow abundantly, and after growing, may they provide inexhaustible enjoyment, forever plentiful for picking. After King Anantayaśas gave rise to this thought, all trees, flowers, and fruits in the four continents indeed flourished as wished, bearing abundant fruit.

Without blessings, one cannot even make a single sapling grow vigorously, let alone the flowers, fruits, and trees of the four great continents. The Wheel-Turning King could make all flowers, fruits, and trees in the four continents grow extremely luxuriantly, the melons and fruits produced were all very rich and abundant, and the sentient beings of the four continents could not exhaust their enjoyment. The Wheel-Turning King could accomplish this with just one thought—how strong must his mental power be? Is it the function of mental power? Actually, it is the power of blessings.

Original Text: Great King, King Anantayaśas then thought: I shall now further test the power of my own roots of goodness, so that all people throughout the four continents may have their wishes fulfilled according to their will without obstruction. After having this thought, all people in those four continents had all their desires fulfilled as they wished.

Commentary: Great King, that King Anantayaśas again gave rise to a thought, thinking thus: I now wish to see how great the power of my roots of goodness truly is. May all people in the four continents, if they have wishes, obtain whatever they desire according to their will, without their wishes being obstructed. After King Anantayaśas gave rise to such a thought, all people in the four continents had all their wishes completely realized as desired.

Can the four continents be counted? They are beyond counting. Now, Jambudvīpa alone has billions of people; the populations of the other three great continents are even larger. If every single wish of every person could be satisfied, how immense must this power of thought be? This is considered benefiting and bringing joy to sentient beings. After King Anantayaśas made this thought, the people of the four continents indeed obtained whatever they desired. In our present world, because sentient beings have meager blessings, they cannot summon the appearance of a Wheel-Turning Sage King, so there is no Wheel-Turning Sage King now.

Original Text: Great King, King Anantayaśas further thought: By the power of all my roots of goodness, may exquisite flowers rain down throughout the four continents. After having this thought, various supreme divine flowers rained down upon the four continents.

Commentary: The Buddha said: Great King, that King Anantayaśas again gave rise to a mental thought, thinking thus: By the power of all my roots of goodness, may exquisite flower rain fall everywhere throughout the four continents. After giving rise to such a mental thought, various extremely exquisite divine flowers indeed rained down upon the four continents, as numerous as rain.

The flowers on Earth are not beautiful enough; compared to the divine flowers of the heavens, they appear coarse. The flowers of the heavens are extremely exquisite and splendid, their fragrance and colors far more magnificent than those in the human realm. Nevertheless, King Anantayaśas doing this also consumed an immense amount of his own blessings. He was cashing out the blessings he had cultivated at the places of innumerable Buddhas, leaving no savings. Once there are no savings in the ālaya-vijñāna, his blessings vanish, and all his actions fail to succeed. Therefore, we Buddhist practitioners must not casually consume our blessings; we should enjoy blessings as little as possible, reserving them for attaining Buddhahood.

Original Text: Great King, King Anantayaśas further thought: By the power of all my roots of goodness, may jeweled garments rain down throughout the four continents. After having this thought, jeweled garments rained down everywhere upon the four continents.

Commentary: Great King, that King Anantayaśas again gave rise to such a thought: By the power of all my roots of goodness, may exquisite jeweled garments rain down throughout the four continents, like rain. After giving rise to such a thought, jeweled garments indeed rained down everywhere upon the four continents.

Original Text: Great King, King Anantayaśas further thought: By the power of all my roots of goodness, may silver rain down throughout the four continents. After having this thought, silver rained down everywhere upon the four continents.

Commentary: Great King, that King Anantayaśas again thought as follows: By the power of all my roots of goodness, may silver rain fall throughout the four continents. After giving rise to this thought, silver indeed rained down everywhere upon the four continents, like rain. His greed continuously increased; after this thought of raining silver arose, silver truly rained from the sky.

Original Text: Great King, King Anantayaśas further thought: By the power of all my roots of goodness, may gold rain down throughout the four continents. After having this thought, gold rained down everywhere upon the four continents. Why was this so? It was all because King Anantayaśas, in the past, together with sentient beings, cultivated good karma, and thereby obtained this.

Commentary: Great King, that King Anantayaśas again thought as follows: By the power of all my roots of goodness, may gold rain fall throughout the four continents. After giving rise to such a thought, gold indeed rained down everywhere upon the four continents. Why was he able to do this—raining gold when he wished for gold, raining silver when he wished for silver? All this was because this Wheel-Turning Sage King, in the past, together with all those sentient beings who received benefits, had collectively cultivated good karma, thus enabling him to attain such karmic retribution.

This time, the Wheel-Turning King wished for gold rain; his greed grew larger, no longer coveting small things. If his greedy thought could become reality, what does it indicate? It shows that his blessings were immense, enabling him to realize these greedy thoughts. If a person had a thought to make gold rain from the sky, and it truly rained gold, under what circumstances would this occur? It would require that all people under heaven possess such great blessings; not only must the one having the thought possess blessings, but the others who are to benefit must also have blessings to enjoy these benefits. If those jointly receiving do not have blessings to enjoy, the gold rain cannot fall; even if it could fall, those without blessings would not obtain it. Without the karmic seeds of blessings, the fruition of blessings cannot manifest. Sentient beings must have sufficient blessings; this is a prerequisite. During the era when the Wheel-Turning Sage King lived, his common people all had great blessings; they had that fortune in their destiny to summon the gold rain from heaven.

This was the collective karma (sādhāraṇa-karma) of the Wheel-Turning Sage King and the people of the four continents. Collective karma means having collectively accumulated the same blessings, enabling them to jointly enjoy the shared karmic retribution. For example, spouses have collective karma; without collective karma, they cannot come together. Spouses share the same good or bad karma, enabling them to jointly summon wealth and nobility or poverty. It is impossible for one to be wealthy and noble and the other poor; they would not come together. If the collective karma of a couple ceases—one destined for the karmic retribution of wealth and nobility, the other for poverty—they cannot live together. Parents and children also have collective karma. If parents and children lack collective karma—for example, parents should receive the karmic retribution of poverty, while a child should enjoy the karmic retribution of wealth and nobility—then when the child grows up and leaves home, he becomes prosperous and noble elsewhere, while the parents cannot enjoy it, indicating they lack collective karma. Sentient beings living together on Earth share collective karma for the human realm on Earth. Or those living in a small city share collective karma for that small city.

Therefore, to obtain the karmic retribution of wealth and nobility, one need not seek it; one only needs to truly practice giving and cultivate blessings. Whoever cultivates receives; whoever does not cultivate does not receive. Good karma is boundless and limitless; it is not that if you cultivate this blessing of wealth and nobility, I will not have it. Whoever cultivates receives; if all cultivate, all receive. Therefore, collective karma enables sentient beings to gather in one place; non-collective karma causes sentient beings to separate. In the Pure Land, the collective karma of sentient beings causes heavenly garments and food to appear naturally, with the seven treasures filling the land and gold paving the ground. That is the collective karma of sentient beings in the Pure Land. In contrast, people on Earth treasure gold and wear it on their bodies. When the blessings of Earth's people are almost exhausted, the best thing on Earth will be iron. At that time, humans will treasure a piece of broken iron and wear it on their bodies because sentient beings lack blessings; the collective karma of no blessings summons inferior things, without treasures.

When Earth first formed, it was covered with sweet springs, and the earth-nectar grew naturally. At that time, humans descended from the second dhyāna heaven, possessing great blessings. Later, sentient beings gave rise to greedy minds, blessings diminished, the sweet springs and earth-nectar disappeared, and natural rice began to grow. Later, blessings further diminished, natural rice no longer grew, and humans had to cultivate the five grains, continuing until now, all relying on human labor to plant crops. Nowadays, the highly nutritious five grains and plants of ancient times are not even heard of; this is the result of consuming blessings. Sentient beings of the present era all belong to those with meager blessings. Sentient beings in the future will have even fewer blessings than present beings; delicious grains and rice will all disappear. They will neither eat nor see them, nor even hear of them. Therefore, everything we need in life comes from our blessings.

Where are these blessings stored? They are all stored in the tathāgatagarbha. The tathāgatagarbha is our blessing bank. If we deplete all the savings in the bank, we will become poor and lowly people. If we do not withdraw or withdraw little from the blessings stored in the bank for enjoyment, we are wealthy and noble elders. Practitioners should strive to store much and use little. After withdrawing blessings, use them to benefit sentient beings, thereby depositing blessings back in. Then the savings in the bank will grow increasingly abundant; interest compounds, and when blessings are perfected, one can attain Buddhahood.

If comparing, do not compare who enjoys more wealth; compare whose savings in the tathāgatagarbha bank are the most. Whoever has the most savings in the tathāgatagarbha bank is the wealthiest and noblest and will attain Buddhahood first. Even if we now do not have much wealth to enjoy, if the savings in our tathāgatagarbha are very abundant, then we are greatly wealthy and noble. Whether one is wealthy and noble depends on savings, not entirely on cash. Therefore, one should enjoy as little as possible, making the savings in the tathāgatagarbha increasingly abundant, or withdraw these savings to benefit sentient beings, thereby cultivating and storing blessings again.

Withdrawing one yuan from the tathāgatagarbha savings to benefit sentient beings yields a return rate of over a thousandfold, or immeasurable times. Giving one yuan to a non-practitioner yields a return of one thousand yuan, a thousandfold return. Giving to a practitioner yields a return of a hundred thousandfold, millionfold, or immeasurable times, all deposited back into the tathāgatagarbha bank. Understanding this principle, we know how to cultivate blessings. If one yuan is spent on oneself, the savings in the bank decrease by one yuan. If spent on others, the bank deposits one thousand, two thousand, ten thousand, a million, or immeasurable tens of thousands. Those who understand blessing cultivation should enjoy as little as possible—the more one enjoys, the fewer blessings remain. Let others enjoy; benefit others more. Your return will be tens of millions, immeasurable times over. When blessings are sufficient, bank savings sufficient, and conditions complete, can one realize enlightenment, or become a first-ground, second-ground, or tenth-ground Mahāsattva Bodhisattva, until attaining Buddhahood.

Cultivating blessings is inherently not easy. If blessings are all used on oneself, they diminish. If one seizes others' property or steals others' belongings, one must repay with a thousandfold or immeasurable cost; blessings must be consumed that many times over. Thinking about it, it is truly not worthwhile. If reborn in the heavenly realm as a deva-king, blessings accumulated over many lives may be completely depleted. Born as a high official or minister among humans, blessings are also nearly consumed. When enjoying blessings, they are consumed very quickly. Accepting one prostration and bow diminishes savings considerably. Having others serve by washing clothes and cooking reduces blessings. Or being hailed as "long live" depletes the accumulated blessings. Blessings are consumed bit by bit like this. Buddhist practitioners must understand the principle of accumulating and cultivating blessings, considering the path and Buddhahood, widely accumulating provisions for the path.

Original Text: Great King, this Jambudvīpa land measures eighteen thousand yojanas in length and breadth. Moreover, there are sixty koṭis of great cities. Among them is one city named Ratnavyūha, measuring twelve yojanas square in length and breadth. Its four sides are level and well-formed, skillfully perfected. Outside the city are rows of tāla trees, seven rows deep, formed of four treasures: gold, silver, vaiḍūrya, and sphāṭika. Adorned and decorated, they are most delightful.

Commentary: Great King, this Jambudvīpa land measures eighteen thousand yojanas in length and breadth. Moreover, there are sixty koṭis (six hundred million) of great cities. Among them is one city named Ratnavyūha, with the land measuring twelve yojanas in length and breadth. Its four sides are very level, skillfully constructed. Outside this city are rows of tāla trees formed of the seven treasures, in seven rows. There are gold, silver, vaiḍūrya, sphāṭika, and so on, adorned very splendidly and delightfully.

Original Text: Those gold trees have leaves, flowers, and fruits all of silver. Those silver trees have leaves, flowers, and fruits all of gold. Those vaiḍūrya trees have leaves, flowers, and fruits all of sphāṭika. Those sphāṭika trees have leaves, flowers, and fruits all of vaiḍūrya. The city has seven layers, with jeweled nets, jeweled bells, and various exquisite precious ornaments covering it above.

Commentary: The leaves, flowers, and fruits of those gold trees are all made of silver; the leaves, flowers, and fruits of those silver trees are all made of gold; the leaves, flowers, and fruits of those vaiḍūrya trees are all made of sphāṭika; the leaves, flowers, and fruits of those sphāṭika trees are all made of vaiḍūrya. This city has seven layers of jeweled nets, jeweled bells, and many exquisite precious ornaments covering it.

The above wondrous realms should be familiar through reciting the Amitābha Sūtra; the Pure Land is like this. The southern Jambudvīpa during the Wheel-Turning King's era was this splendid, indicating that humans at that time had great blessings. Present-day sentient beings have few blessings and cannot summon such sublime living environments.

Original Text: Outside the city, there are seven moats formed of jewels, all jointly made of the seven treasures. Each jeweled moat is half a yojana deep and one yojana wide. Golden sand covers the bottom. Water of eight virtues, clear and pure, fills them to the brim. Various melodious birds soar and gather within. Utpala flowers, kumuda flowers, padma flowers, puṇḍarīka flowers bloom everywhere. Surrounding the steps, formed of four treasures: gold for the steps, silver for the risers; silver for the steps, gold for the risers; vaiḍūrya for the steps, sphāṭika for the risers; sphāṭika for the steps, vaiḍūrya for the risers. Each flight of steps is made of the seven treasures. Beside them, golden banana trees are planted. Moreover, at the head of the path, jeweled seats are placed, skillfully adorned, most delightful.

Commentary: Outside the city are seven moats formed of jewels, all made jointly of the seven treasures. Each moat is half a yojana deep—twenty miles deep—and one yojana wide—forty miles wide—with golden sand covering the bottom. The water of eight virtues within is clear and pure, filling the moats. Birds with wonderful songs fly and gather within, singing harmonious, elegant, and pleasing sounds. There are also utpala flowers, kumuda flowers, padma flowers, and puṇḍarīka flowers blooming everywhere. The surrounding steps are made of four treasures: gold for the steps, silver for the risers; silver for the steps, gold for the risers; vaiḍūrya for the steps, sphāṭika for the risers; sphāṭika for the steps, vaiḍūrya for the risers. Each flight of steps is made of the seven treasures. Beside the steps, golden banana trees are planted. Moreover, at the head of the path, a jeweled seat is placed, decorated and arranged skillfully, evoking joy and delight.

One great Indian yojana equals forty Chinese miles; a small yojana equals twenty Chinese miles. The seven-jeweled ponds in the Pure Land also have golden sand covering the bottom. The water in the jeweled ponds possesses eight virtues, described in the Infinite Life Sūtra: The water of eight virtues follows sentient beings' minds—reaching the knees when wished, reaching the waist when wished—clear, soft, and filling the jeweled ponds. Many Buddha-lands in the ten directions are inhabited by blessed sentient beings. Sentient beings without blessings summon Buddha-lands that are dirty, filthy, and poor. Sentient beings' living environment is determined by their roots of goodness and blessings.

Original Text: Such wealth, joy, and various adornments were all obtained by King Anantayaśas through accumulating vast roots of goodness and the power of blessings. Moreover, surrounding that Ratnavyūha city are eighty-four thousand pure gardens. In each garden, there are eight great ponds. Each pond is half a yojana wide.

Commentary: Such wealth, wonderful joy, and various adornments were all obtained by King Anantayaśas in past lives through accumulating vast roots of goodness and the power of blessings. That Ratnavyūha city is surrounded by eighty-four thousand pure gardens; each garden has eight great ponds; each pond is half a yojana wide.

Original Text: The banks of each pond have four flights of steps, made of four treasures, skillfully adorned. Water of eight virtues fills them. Multicolored lotuses bloom and spread profusely. On the banks of those ponds, there are also various flowers: atimuktaka flowers, campaka flowers, mālatī flowers, sumanā flowers, aśoka flowers, mallikā flowers, and so forth—such various exquisite fragrant flowers. King Anantayaśas, together with his ministers and people, dwelled in the gardens, enjoying recreation together.

Commentary: The banks of each pond have flights of steps made of four treasures, skillfully adorned with four kinds of jewels. Water of eight virtues fills them. Multicolored lotus flowers bloom profusely along the pond banks. On the banks of those ponds are even more flowers, such as atimuktaka flowers, campaka flowers, mālatī flowers, sumanā flowers, aśoka flowers, mallikā flowers, and so on—such various exquisite fragrant flowers. King Anantayaśas and his ministers and people dwelled in the gardens, enjoying games and recreation together.

Original Text: Great King, that king's palace city was lofty, vast, majestic, and splendid. Precious tāla trees were planted in rows upon it. Jeweled nets spread everywhere; jeweled bells chimed harmoniously, emitting wonderful sounds, like the music of five instruments. At that time, the people, relying on the king's virtuous influence, lived in wealth, joy, self-sovereignty, and peaceful security.

Commentary: Great King, King Anantayaśas's palace city was tall, vast, majestic, and splendid, with precious tāla trees planted in rows upon it. Jeweled nets covered the city everywhere; jeweled bells chimed harmoniously, emitting subtle and wonderful sounds, like the music of five instruments playing together. The people of that time, relying on King Anantayaśas's blessings and influence, lived lives of wealth, joy, self-sovereignty, and peaceful security.

Original Text: Great King, at another time, King Anantayaśas thought: I should now go to Pūrvavideha. Having thought this, the king, leading the four divisions of his army, all riding through the sky, immediately arrived there. The various lesser kings there all came to offer welcome, each sincerely presenting their lands. The king dwelt there for hundreds of thousands, millions of years.

Commentary: Great King, that King Anantayaśas, at a certain time, gave rise to such a thought: I should now go to Pūrvavideha (eastern continent). After giving rise to this thought, King Anantayaśas led the four divisions of his army riding on precious horses, elephants, chariots, and other flying vehicles, flying through the sky to Pūrvavideha. The lesser kings of Pūrvavideha all came out to welcome him, each sincerely presenting his own land to King Anantayaśas. King Anantayaśas dwelt there for hundreds of thousands of years.

This Wheel-Turning Sage King, so wealthy and self-sovereign, was still unsatisfied; he wanted to go to Pūrvavideha for leisure and pleasure. The lesser kings there all came to welcome him; because his blessings were great, they immediately submitted to him. If the local lesser kings had great blessings, they would surely have driven him away. When blessings are similar, they wage war against each other. Many families are like this too; whoever has greater blessings is obeyed. Those lesser kings all presented their lands to him, letting him rule. His lifespan far exceeded hundreds of thousands of years; his lifespan at that time was extremely long, measured in kalpas. When Maitreya Buddha comes, the lifespan of humans in Jambudvīpa will be eighty-four thousand years, and there are lifespans even longer than this. According to Buddhist scriptures, when a Buddha predicts his disciples' future Buddhahood, his subjects' lifespans are twenty kalpas, forty kalpas, or immeasurable kalpas. One kalpa is sixteen million eight hundred thousand years; their lifespans are immensely long.

Original Text: Great King, King Anantayaśas further thought: I should now go to Aparagodānīya. Having thought this, leading the four divisions of his army, all riding through the sky, he immediately arrived there. The various lesser kings there all came to offer welcome, each sincerely presenting their lands. The king dwelt there for hundreds of thousands, millions of years.

Great King, King Anantayaśas further thought: I should now go to Uttarakuru. Having thought this, leading the four divisions of his army, all riding through the sky, he immediately arrived there. The people there joyfully submitted and were transformed. The king dwelt there for hundreds of thousands, millions of years.

Commentary: The Buddha said: Great King, that King Anantayaśas again gave rise to such a thought: I should now go to Aparagodānīya (western continent). After giving rise to this thought, he led the four divisions of his army riding on precious horses, elephants, chariots, and other flying vehicles, flying through the sky to Aparagodānīya. The lesser kings of Aparagodānīya all came to welcome him, each sincerely presenting his own land to him. King Anantayaśas dwelt there for hundreds of thousands of years. Then King Anantayaśas again gave rise to such a thought: I should go to Uttarakuru (northern continent). After giving rise to this thought, he led the four divisions of his army together flying through the sky to Uttarakuru. The people there joyfully submitted to King Anantayaśas, and he dwelt there for hundreds of thousands of years.

Original Text: Great King, King Anantayaśas further thought: I have heard of the Thirty-Three Heavens dwelling atop Mount Sumeru. I should now go there. Having thought this, he mounted a dragon-elephant and, with the four divisions of his army, soared into the sky, ascending to the summit of Mount Sumeru. At that time, King Anantayaśas asked his charioteer: Do you see Mount Sumeru, the great ocean, and the four continents? How do they appear? The charioteer replied: I see their appearance rotating unsteadily, like a potter's wheel. The king said to the charioteer: What you see is because this dragon-elephant king is still moving swiftly.

Commentary: Great King, King Anantayaśas again gave rise to such a thought: I previously heard of the Thirty-Three Heavens dwelling on the summit of Mount Sumeru; I should now go there. After giving rise to this thought, he mounted a dragon-elephant and, with the four divisions of his army, soared into the sky towards Mount Sumeru. At this time, King Anantayaśas asked the minister beside him: How do you see Mount Sumeru, the four great oceans, and the four continents? The minister replied: I see those appearances all rotating unsteadily, like the wheel used in pottery making. King Anantayaśas said: The reason you can see such an appearance is due to the swift flight of the dragon-elephant we are riding.

Original Text: The king proceeded further and asked the charioteer: How do Mount Sumeru and the others appear now? The charioteer replied: I now see that Mount Sumeru and the great ocean are all shaking. The king said to the minister: We are about to reach the summit of Mount Sumeru. This dragon-elephant king is still moving slowly. The king proceeded further and asked the charioteer: How do Mount Sumeru and the others appear? The charioteer replied: I now see that Mount Sumeru and the great ocean are neither moving nor rotating. The king said to the minister: This dragon-elephant king has now reached the summit of Mount Sumeru.

Commentary: King Anantayaśas continued flying forward and asked the minister: What appearance do you see Mount Sumeru and others having now? The minister replied: I now see Mount Sumeru and the great ocean all shaking. King Anantayaśas said: That is because we are nearing the summit of Mount Sumeru. King Anantayaśas, riding the dragon-elephant, continued flying slowly without stopping. King Anantayaśas again asked the minister: What appearance do you see Mount Sumeru having now? The minister replied: I now see Mount Sumeru and the great ocean neither moving nor rotating. King Anantayaśas said: The dragon-elephant king has now reached the summit of Mount Sumeru.

Original Text: When King Anantayaśas and the four divisions of his army reached Mount Sumeru, Śakra, Lord of the Devas, immediately saw King Anantayaśas from afar. Joyfully coming to welcome him, he said: Well come, Great King! Then he divided his throne in half and invited the king to sit. King Anantayaśas immediately took that seat. Dwelling in the heavens for immeasurable years, he shared half the rule with that Lord of the Devas.

Commentary: After King Anantayaśas and the four divisions of his army reached the summit of Mount Sumeru, Śakra, Lord of the Devas of the Thirty-Three Heavens, immediately saw King Anantayaśas from afar and joyfully came forward to welcome him, saying: "Well come, Great King, welcome!" He then divided his throne in half for King Anantayaśas to sit. At this time, King Anantayaśas immediately sat upon it and dwelt there for immeasurable years, sharing the rule of the Thirty-Three Heavens equally with Śakra, Lord of the Devas.

Original Text: After dwelling there long, he thought: I should depose that deva-lord and rule alone. Having thought this, the king and his army immediately fell back down into the Ratnapiṇḍika garden in Ratnavyūha city. When the garden keeper saw this, he informed the city people, proclaiming: Now, a deva has fallen here.

Commentary: King Anantayaśas, dwelling long in the Thirty-Three Heavens, thought thus: I should drive away Śakra, Lord of the Devas, and rule this heaven alone as its lord. After giving rise to this thought, King Anantayaśas and his four divisions of the army fell down to the human realm, into the Ratnapiṇḍika garden in Ratnavyūha city. When the guardian of the garden saw them fall down, he told the city people, saying: Just now, devas fell from the heavens.

Original Text: Hearing this, the king of that land named Priyaka quickly prepared his carriage and went to that garden. Seeing the events as described, he marveled at the unprecedented occurrence. He then ordered the preparation of various fragrant flowers, powdered incense, and paste incense. Going to that king, he bared his right shoulder, placed his right knee on the ground, knelt respectfully with palms joined, comforted and inquired, saying to that king: Holy deva, who are you who has come here?

He replied: Have you heard of the Wheel-Turning King named Anantayaśas? King Priyaka said: I have heard from the elders that there was once a king named Anantayaśas, majestic and self-sovereign, ruling the four continents. With his four divisions of the army, he rode through the sky to the Thirty-Three Heavens. The one you heard of—is it someone else? It is I.

Commentary: The king of Ratnavyūha at that time was named Priyaka. Hearing of this event, he immediately prepared his carriage and hurried to the garden. Seeing such an occurrence, he found it strange, as it had never happened before. The king ordered people to prepare various fragrant flowers, powdered incense, and paste incense. Arriving beside King Anantayaśas, he bared his right shoulder, placed his right knee on the ground, knelt respectfully with palms joined, inquired, comforted King Anantayaśas, and said to him: Holy deva who has come here, who are you? King Anantayaśas said: Have you ever heard of the former King Anantayaśas? King Priyaka said: I have heard elders say that there was once a King Anantayaśas, majestic and self-sovereign, ruling the four continents, who with his four divisions of the army flew through the sky to the Thirty-Three Heavens. King Anantayaśas said: The one you heard of is none other than me.

Original Text: At that time, King Anantayaśas, having fallen from heaven, initially could not endure the smell of human food and drink, like pouring ghee into hot sand. King Priyaka, seeing his sudden decline and inability to survive, asked: What good words do you have? What should I proclaim for you in the future? King Anantayaśas said to King Priyaka: From the past, I have been wealthy and self-sovereign, ruling the four continents. All my needs were fulfilled according to my wishes. I ascended to Trāyastriṃśa Heaven, and Śakra shared his throne with me. Due to insatiable greed, I fell from heaven. You should proclaim the above events exactly as they happened.

After saying this, he immediately passed away. The Buddha said: Great King, that King Anantayaśas of the past—who else could it be? It is I now. Therefore, know that the sense faculties are like illusions, the sense objects are like dreams. Restrain the mind in right contemplation; do not give rise to doubts.

Commentary: At this time, King Anantayaśas, having just fallen from heaven, initially could not endure the smell of human food and drink, his mind unable to bear it, like hot ghee flowing into hot sand. King Priyaka, seeing King Anantayaśas's body weakened, knew he would not live long and asked him: Do you have any last words to leave? How should I proclaim you in the future? King Anantayaśas said: From the past, I have been wealthy and self-sovereign, ruling the four continents. All my needs were as I wished. After ascending to Trāyastriṃśa Heaven, Śakra shared half his throne with me. Because I was insatiably greedy, I fell from heaven. You should proclaim the above events exactly as they happened.

After King Anantayaśas finished speaking, he passed away.

Finally, Śākyamuni Buddha said: Great King, this Wheel-Turning King Anantayaśas is none other than my former self as Śākyamuni Buddha. Therefore, you all should know that the sense faculties are like illusions, the sense objects are like dreams. You should gather the mind in one place, contemplate with right mindfulness, and give rise to no doubts.