My Blessing and Vow

I have already built for everyone a heavenly ladder for ascending the peak of the Buddha-dharma. This ladder is the most direct and most secret passage for obtaining all great wisdom, drawing nearest to the sun and moon—so close that it is almost within arm's reach. As long as your physical strength and mental capacity allow, climb up by yourselves and, from a commanding height, observe the workings of the Buddha-dharma, and you will obtain great wisdom. In worldly terms, I have provided this secret passage—so how much patent fee and usage fee should I charge to be fair and reasonable? In truth, whatever fee I charge would be too little: even if all the jewels in the world were given to me, I would still be at a loss. Since any fee now would be inappropriate—and besides, I am not very good at spending money, nor do I need that much—I shall cast a long line to catch a big fish and claim the greatest and greatest benefit of all.

Now I make this vow: whoever partakes of even a single drop of my dharma-grace shall, throughout the three great immeasurable kalpas of the future, follow in my footsteps, emulate my way, and walk my walk, reckoning no personal gain whatsoever, performing the myriad practices of a bodhisattva, and liberating all beings who can be liberated. Even after the three great asaṃkhyeya kalpas, you must still spare no toil and reckon no cost, liberating all beings who can be liberated, without the slightest reluctance or resistance.

The vow has been made, and no one can escape it. It is already too late to run away; even those who ran away in the past cannot escape the power of this vow. All people, whether willing or not, are within the power of my vow, fulfilling it consciously or unconsciously; no matter how many distant kalpas pass, none shall escape. You may slack off for a day, a year, a lifetime, but you cannot slack off forever under the power of my vow—the vow's power does not permit it—until you attain buddhahood, until all suffering beings are liberated.

Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva did not become a Buddha; as a bodhisattva, He taught and brought forth seven World-Honored Buddhas, and may even again, in the body of a bodhisattva, teach and bring forth countless World-Honored Buddhas. But when the time comes for Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva to attain buddhahood, His buddha-land will cover all buddha-lands, and all buddha-lands will exist within Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva's buddha-land. And I now do not wish to harvest, do not wish to receive even a speck of return; I want the greatest and greatest return in the future. Those who receive my grace must, for kalpa upon kalpa without end, emulate my conduct and repay my grace—just as I unconditionally emulate the Buddha's conduct and repay the Buddha's grace—without complaint. Even if there are complaints, after grumbling, you must still reckon no cost and toil on forever, whether before attaining buddhahood or after.

The power of my vow is a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand times greater than the power of Māra's spell. Those who receive my vow are freed from Māra's spell and will never again be disturbed by Māra. The power of my vow subdues Māra's spell: Māra's power becomes the Buddha's power, jointly blessing practitioners on their path—courageous and diligent, never retrogressing!