The Twelve Buddhas opens at Rājagṛha with a dialogue between the Buddha Śākyamuni and the bodhisattva Maitreya about the eastern buddhafield of a buddha whose abbreviated name is King of Jewels. This buddha prophesies that when he passes into complete nirvāṇa, the bodhisattva Incomparable will take his place as a buddha whose abbreviated name is Victory Banner King. Śākyamuni then provides the names of the remaining ten tathāgatas, locating them in the ten directions surrounding Victory Banner King’s buddhafield Full of Pearls. After listing the full set of names of these twelve buddhas and their directional relationship to Victory Banner King, the Buddha Śākyamuni provides an accompanying mantra-dhāraṇī and closes with a set of thirty-seven verses outlining the benefits of remembering the names of these buddhas.
The Translation
Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was residing on Vulture Peak at Rājagṛha with a great saṅgha of one thousand two hundred and fifty monks and a great saṅgha of twelve thousand bodhisattvas that included the bodhisattva Ajita and others. [F.26.b] The Blessed One addressed the bodhisattva great being Maitreya, saying, “Maitreya, to the east of this buddhafield, past as many buddhafields as there are grains of dust in ten inexpressible billions of buddhafields, there is a world system called Full of Pearls. In that buddhafield there is a tathāgata, arhat, completely perfect buddha named King of Jewels Devoid of Desire Whose Supreme Emanation Has Arisen from the Expanse of Phenomena, Who Is Ornamented by Boundless Sunlight from the Top of His Crown Protuberance and by an Aspiration Like Moonlight, Whose Body Is Bedecked and Elegantly Ornamented with Offerings of Excellent Perfumes, Who Has a Body Like a Lotus Flower Lovely as a Resplendent Blue Beryl Gemstone, the Light of the Good Qualities of Whom Are as Beautiful as a Glorious Pure Sky Free of Dust. He nurtures and teaches the Dharma to the beings who live there. Whoever remembers the name of that victorious one will renounce cyclic existence for a great eon that consists of eons equal to the number of grains of dust in Jambudvīpa.
“That tathāgata issued the following prophecy about the bodhisattva great being Incomparable:9
“ ‘As soon as the tathāgata, arhat, perfect and complete buddha King of Jewels Devoid of Desire Whose Supreme Emanation Has Arisen from the Expanse of Phenomena, Who Is Ornamented by Boundless Sunlight from the Top of His Crown Protuberance and by an Aspiration Like Moonlight, Whose Body Is Bedecked and Elegantly Ornamented with Offerings of Excellent Perfumes, Who Has a Body Like a Lotus Flower Lovely as a Resplendent Blue Beryl Gemstone, the Light of the Good Qualities of Whom Are as Beautiful as a Glorious Pure Sky Free of Dust passes into parinirvāṇa and his teachings fade away, the bodhisattva Incomparable will attain unsurpassed, perfect, completely manifest awakening. He will appear in the world as a tathāgata, arhat, perfect and complete buddha endowed with perfect knowledge and conduct, a sugata, [F.27.a] a knower of the world, an unsurpassed guide who tames beings, a teacher of gods and humans known as the blessed buddha Victory Banner King Whose Light Rays Illuminate All the World Realms in the Ten-Directional Unimpeded Circular Maṇḍala, Adorned with Completely Illuminating Sunlight, Endowed with a Space-Like Body Resembling Youthful Varuṇa,10 the Light of the Sun, a Moon Flower,11 and a Beautiful Golden Lotus.’
“You should also remember the name of the tathāgata, arhat, perfect and complete buddha of the quarter to the east from there called Stainless Light of the Entire Array,12 and you should recite it and prostrate to him. You should also remember the name of the tathāgata, arhat, perfect and complete buddha of the southern quarter called Thought Adorned with Eloquence,13 and you should direct your attention toward him.14 You should also remember the name of the tathāgata of the western quarter called Renowned Victor Crowned with a Clear Moon, and you should prostrate to him. You should also remember the name of the tathāgata of the northern quarter Manifesting an Array of Flowers, and you should prostrate to him. You should also remember the name of the tathāgata of the southeastern quarter called Light Maker, and you should prostrate to him. You should also remember the name of the tathāgata of the southwestern quarter called Renowned Supreme Jewel Crown, and you should prostrate to him. You should also remember the name of the tathāgata of the northwestern quarter called Fearless and All-Seeing, and you should prostrate to him. You should also remember the name of the tathāgata of the northeast quarter called Bristling with Fearless Confidence,15 and you should prostrate to him. You should also remember the name of the tathāgata of the nadir called Throat of the Yawning Lion, and you should prostrate to him. You should also remember the name of the tathāgata of the zenith called Fearless King Majestic Golden Radiance, and you should prostrate to him. [F.27.b]
“Maitreya, sons or daughters of the lineage with sincere faith should recite the names of these twelve tathāgata, arhat, perfect and complete buddhas, and over the course of ten days as they confess all their misdeeds, they should rejoice in all roots of virtue. They should make requests to all the buddhas, supplicate all the buddhas, and dedicate all these roots of virtue by dedication to the expanse of phenomena.
“All their misdeeds will be exhausted and all their karmic obscurations will be purified.
“Later, they will obtain the excellent conditions of a buddhafield with a vast array of good qualities, the excellent conditions of the fearlessnesses, the excellent conditions of the marks of an awakened being, the excellent conditions of a saṅgha of bodhisattvas, the excellent conditions of the dhāraṇīs, and the excellent conditions of meditative concentrations.
“In the immediate, they will have the support of the excellent conditions of a pure buddhafield in accordance with their aspirations, and the excellent conditions of a spiritual teacher. Their progress toward unsurpassed complete and perfect awakening will not fall back and will never be lost. As they take rebirth in cyclic existence, they will have the support of the excellent conditions of good looks and wealth, the excellent conditions of family line, the excellent conditions of social standing, the excellent conditions of family traits,16 the excellent conditions of appearance, and the excellent conditions of having a retinue of people around them who are of similar disposition.
“On this topic, it is said:
“In all lifetimes,
No matter where they are reborn,
They will be a joyful sight, a bringer of joy,
Radiant, have great influence,
And have abundant wealth.
“They should recite the mantra words of this dhāraṇī:
tadyathā akhe makhe [F.28.a] samantamukhe sautiyukte nirukte prabhe samayoge citavivarte17 ame khame madane vivarte samantaguṇe18 satyārame yukte prayukte hili mili masale ānale came aciṭi aciṭi19 coce arahe bahudche20 māyugrahe hemavati jyotivati dharmaciti21 cyutapaṅke22 avikṣepe radhikṣa23 me skandhavibhakte24
Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas. With the blessing of the Buddha, may these mantra words be accomplished.
“On this topic, it is said:
“The six hundred million sages
Who dwell in the ten directions
Will pay heed to those
Who bear these dhāraṇī verses in mind.
“In all their rebirths
They will encounter a spiritual teacher,
And whatever little virtue they possess
Will accomplish all their goals.
“Those who bear these dhāraṇī verses in mind
Will see the buddhas seated
In the center of lotuses before them
And be wise, fortunate, and take miraculous birth.
“Their recollection, intellect, understanding,
Devotion, and insight will increase.
They will understand all they have studied,
And their understanding of all they have studied will not diminish.25
“Those who recite the names
Of these world protectors
Will be free from all lower rebirths
And quickly proceed to the higher realms;
“There they will realize
The supreme meditative concentrations and dhāraṇīs,
And they will attain supreme awakening.
Compared to filling a thousand million buddhafields
“With gold and making offerings with it,
Those who bear the names
Of these tathāgatas in mind
Will have a much greater heap of merit.
“They will always remember their past lives.
When they practice the conduct of a bodhisattva,
They will abandon all unfree states,
And the exquisite emergence of buddhas is achieved.
“They will serve the perfect buddhas. [F.28.b]
They will obtain unsurpassed faith.
They will express their faith in the buddhas
And make supreme offerings to them.
“Delighted by the emergence of buddhas,
They shall see them and have faith in these teachers.
They will see these lamps that illuminate the world
And make excellent offerings to them.
“Those who bear these names in mind
Will be free from cyclic existence
For innumerable millions of eons
And quickly attain awakening.
“If they bear these names in mind
For a total of seven days and nights,
The extensive vision of whoever sees these guides
Will be purified.
“Those who bear the names
Of the world protectors in mind
Will be worthy of veneration
Wherever they might take rebirth.
“Those who bear these names in mind
Will not fall into disrepute
For unimaginable millions of eons,
But will be famous throughout all worlds.
“Those who bear these names in mind
Will be honored by the gods
For many eons
And quickly attain awakening.
“Those who bear these names in mind
Will not lack faith or lose insight,
Will give up deviation and deceit,
And will always see the buddhas.
“Those who bear these names in mind
Will always be protected
By gods, gandharvas, the nāga lords,
Garuḍas, asuras, and guhyakas.
“They will have excellent bodily forms and names
And will be born into wealthy households.
They will be generous to all beings
And will be brave, magnanimous, and selfless.
“For many millions of eons,
They will always have the pleasant scent
Of divine red sandalwood,
And their breath will have the scent of perfume.
“Those who bear these names in mind
Shall be endowed with the melodious voice of Brahmā
For millions of eons
And maintain the status [F.29.a] of a Dharma king.
“Those who bear these names in mind
Will have divine bodies,
And great riches will spring from the many-million petals
Of the lotus of the seven royal treasures.
“Those who bear these names in mind
Will never find themselves
Without fathers, mothers, siblings, loved ones,
And a multitude of good people.
“If a woman has borne the names
Of these great sages in mind,
She will be freed from her feminine form
And become an intelligent man.
“After attaining the next human rebirth,
She will attain unsurpassed awakening,
Turn the wheel of the Dharma,
And easily attain nirvāṇa.26
“Those who bear these names in mind
Cannot be harmed
By weapons, poison,
Fire, kings, or criminals.
“The thoughts of those
Who bear these names in mind
Will never be troubled
By Māra, mounted on his chariot with his retinue.
“Human beings who bear
The names of these buddhas in mind
Can course through space
Across infinite millions of buddhafields.
“After making offerings to the buddhas who teach there,
They must fearlessly petition them.
The victors will understand their wishes
And issue prophecies of their awakenings.
“After they receive prophecies
From those buddha lords,
They will be exceedingly joyful
And have no doubt in the Victor’s teaching.
“Those who bear these names in mind
Will hear the profound Dharma
From all the world protectors
And retain all they have heard.
“Then they will perfect
All the perfections and the grounds,
The four types of fearlessness, the powers,
And the major and minor marks.
“They will go to the field
Of one of those buddhas. [F.29.b]
They will realize unsurpassed, perfect,
Complete awakening and become a buddha.
“A buddha could describe
These and the other qualities
Of any man or woman
Who bears these names in mind for an entire eon.
“People who heed this teaching
And learn about these excellent qualities
Should bear the names of these renowned
Perfect buddhas in mind.
“Anyone who hears the names
Of these buddhas who are glorious by nature,
Who are world protectors, supreme among human beings,
And celestial kings in the course of an eon,
“And those who hear and learn their names
Will be moved by devotion,
Will develop great insight into all things,
And will become supreme among human beings.
“What wise, insightful person,
Having learned the names of these great sages
And heeded this teaching,
Would not bear them in mind?”
After the Blessed One had spoken, the bodhisattva great being Maitreya, the entire retinue of monks and bodhisattvas, and the whole world with its gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas were delighted and praised his words.
This concludes the noble Mahāyāna sūtra “The Twelve Buddhas.”