Page:Sacred Books of the East - Volume 21.djvu/341

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293
ISSUING OF BODHISATTVAS.
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have their abode; by me alone have they been brought to maturity ; these Bodhisattvas are my sons.

39. All have devoted themselves to a hermit life 1 and are assiduous in shunning places of bustle; they walk detached, these sons of mine, following my precepts in their lofty course.

40. They dwell in the domain of ether, in the lower portion of the field, those heroes who, un- wearied, are striving day and night to attain superior knowledge.

41. All strenuous, of good memory, unshaken in the immense strength of their intelligence, those serene sages preach the law, all radiant, as being my sons.

42. Since the time when I reached this superior (or foremost) enlightenment, at the town of Gayd, at the foot of the tree, and put in motion the all-surpassing wheel of the law, I have brought to maturity all of them for superior enlightenment.

43. These words I here speak are faultless, really true; believe me, all of you who hear me : verily, I have reached superior enlightenment, and it is by me alone that all have been brought to maturity.

The Bodhisattva Mahsattva Maitreya and those numerous hundred thousands of myriads of kotis of Bodhisattvas were struck with wonder, amazement, and surprise, (and thought): How is it possible that within so short a moment, within the lapse of so short a time so many Bodhisattvas, so countless, have been roused and made fully ripe to reach supreme, perfect enlightenment? Then the Bodhi-

Ara?zyadhut&bhiyukta; drawyadhuta, essentially the same

as Pali dranwakanga, is one of the thirteen Dhutdngas.