Then the Bodhisattva Foremost in Virtue and Goodness rose from his seat in the midst of the assembly, prostrated himself at the feet of the Buddha, circled the Buddha three times clockwise, knelt down, joined his palms, and said: ”O world Honored One of great compassion! You have broadly revealed to us and sentient beings in the Dharma Ending Age such inconceivable things. World Honored One, what should this Mahayana teaching be named? How should one receive and observe it? When sentient beings practice it, what merit will they gain? How should we protect those who keep and recite this sutra? What will the extent of the benefit be if one spreads this teaching?” Having said these words, he prostrated himself on the ground. He made the same request three times, each time repeating the same procedure.

At that time the World Honored One said to the Bodhisattva Foremost in Virtue and Goodness: “Excellent, excellent! Virtuous man, for the benefit of the multitude of bodhisattvas and sentient beings in the Dharma Ending Age, you have asked the Tathagata the name and merit of this teaching. Listen attentively now. I shall explain it to you.”

Hearing this, the Bodhisattva Foremost in Virtue and Goodness was filled with joy and listened silently along with the assembly.

“Virtuous man, this sutra is expounded by hundreds of thousands of millions of Buddhas as innumerable as the grains of sand of the Ganges. It is esteemed by all Tathagatas in the past, present, and future. It is the refuge of all bodhisattvas in all ten directions. It is the pure eye of the twelve divisions of the Buddhist scriptures.

“This sutra is called the Dharani of Complete Enlightenment of the Mahavaipulya Teaching. It is also called the Sutra of the Ultimate Truth, the Mysterious King Samadhi, the Definitive Realm of the Tathagata, and the Distinctions within the Intrinsic Nature of the Tathagatagarbha. You should respectfully receive and observe it.

“Virtuous man, this sutra reveals only the realm of the Tathagatas and can only be fully expounded by the Buddha, the Tathagata. If bodhisattvas and sentient beings in the Dharma Ending Age rely on it in their practice, they will gradually progress and reach Buddhahood.

“Virtuous man, this sutra belongs to the sudden teaching of the Mahayana. From it sentient beings of sudden [enlightenment] capacity will attain awakening. This sutra also embraces practitioners of all other capacities who engage in gradual cultivation; it is like a vast ocean which allows small streams to merge into it. All who drink this water, from gadflies and mosquitoes to asuras, will find fulfillment.

“Virtuous man, if there were a man who, with the purest intentions, gathered enough of the seven treasures [1] to fill a great chiliocosm and gave them all as alms, he could not be compared to another man who hears the name of this sutra and understands the meaning of a single passage. Virtuous man, if someone teaches hundreds of sentient beings as innumerable as the grains of sand of the Ganges such that they attain arhatship, his merit cannot be compared to that of an expounder of half a gatha of this sutra.

“Virtuous man, if a man hears the name of this sutra and has faith in it without any doubt, you should know that he has sown the seeds of merit and wisdom not with just one or two Buddhas; indeed he has cultivated roots of goodness and heard the teaching of this sutra from Buddhas as innumerable as the grains of sand of the Ganges. Virtuous man, you should protect all practitioners of this sutra in the Dharma Ending Age so that evil demons and heretical practitioners will not disturb their bodies and minds and cause them to regress.”

At that time in the assembly, the Fire Head Vajra, the Wrecking Vajra, the Nila [2] Vajra, and other vajra [guardians] numbering eighty thousand, together with their retinues, rose from their seats, prostrated themselves at the feet of the Buddha, circled him three times clockwise, and said in unison: “World Honored One! If in the Dharma Ending Age there are sentient beings who practice this definitive Mahayana teaching, we will guard and protect them as we would our own eyes. We will lead our retinues to their place of practice to guard and protect them day and night so that they will not regress. We will see to it that their families will forever be free from all calamities and hindrances, that they will never have any plagues and illnesses, that their wealth and treasures will be ample, and that they will not be in need.”

Then Mahabrahma-devaraia, [3] the king of the twenty-eight heavens, [4] the king of Mount Sumeru, and the [four] Lokapalas rose from their seats, prostrated themselves at the feet of the Buddha, circled him three times to the right and said in unison: “World Honored One! We too will guard and protect those who observe this sutra so that they can live in security and peace without regression.”

Then the powerful king of demons, Kumbhanda, and one hundred thousand other demon kings rose from their seats, prostrated themselves at the feet of the Buddha, circled him three times to the right and said: “World Honored One! We also will guard and protect those who observe this sutra from morning to night so that they will not fall back in their practice. If ghosts and spirits approach within one yojana [5] of their dwelling, we shall pulverize them.”

When the Buddha had preached this scripture, all who were in the assembly, including bodhisattvas, devas, nagas, and others of the eight groups [6] with their retinues, as well as the deva kings and Brahma kings, having heard the teaching of the Buddha, were filled with great joy. With faith, they respectfully received and practiced this teaching.