Thereupon, a certain goddess who lived in that house, having
heard this teaching of the Dharma of the great heroic bodhisattvas,
and being delighted, pleased, and overjoyed, manifested herself in
a material body and showered the great spiritual heroes, the
bodhisattvas, and the great disciples with heavenly flowers. When
the flowers fell on the bodies of the bodhisattvas, they fell off
on the floor, but when they fell on the bodies of the great
disciples, they stuck to them and did not fall. The great disciples
shook the flowers and even tried to use their magical powers, but
still the flowers would not shake off. Then, the goddess said to
the venerable Sariputra, "Reverend Sariputra, why do you shake
these flowers?"
Sariputra replied, "Goddess, these flowers are not proper for
religious persons and so we are trying to shake them off."
The goddess said, "Do not say that, reverend Sariputra. Why? These
flowers are proper indeed! Why? Such flowers have neither
constructual thought nor discrimination. But the elder Sariputra
has both constructual thought and discrimination.
"Reverend Sariputra, impropriety for one who has renounced the
world for the discipline of the rightly taught Dharma consists of
constructual thought and discrimination, yet the elders are full of
such thoughts. One who is without such thoughts is always
proper.
"Reverend Sariputra, see how these flowers do not stick to the
bodies of these great spiritual heroes, the bodhisattvas! This is
because they have eliminated constructual thoughts and
discriminations.
"For example, evil spirits have power over fearful men but cannot
disturb the fearless. Likewise, those intimidated by fear of the
world are in the power of forms, sounds, smells, tastes, and
textures, which do not disturb those who are free from fear of the
passions inherent in the constructive world. Thus, these flowers
stick to the bodies of those who have not eliminated their
instincts for the passions and do not stick to the bodies of those
who have eliminated their instincts. Therefore, the flowers do not
stick to the bodies of these bodhisattvas, who have abandoned all
instincts."
Then the venerable Sariputra said to the goddess, "Goddess, how
long have you been in this house?"
The goddess replied, "I have been here as long as the elder has
been in liberation."
Sariputra said, "Then, have you been in this house for quite some
time?"
The goddess said, "Has the elder been in liberation for quite some
time?"
At that, the elder Sariputra fell silent.
The goddess continued, "Elder, you are 'foremost of the wise!' Why
do you not speak? Now, when it is your turn, you do not answer the
question."
Sariputra: Since liberation is inexpressible, goddess, I do not
know what to say.
Goddess: All the syllables pronounced by the elder have the nature
of liberation. Why? Liberation is neither internal nor external,
nor can it be apprehended apart from them. Likewise, syllables are
neither internal nor external, nor can they be apprehended anywhere
else. Therefore, reverend Sariputra, do not point to liberation by
abandoning speech! Why? The holy liberation is the equality of all
things!
Sariputra: Goddess, is not liberation the freedom from desire,
hatred, and folly?
Goddess: "Liberation is freedom from desire, hatred, and folly"
that is the teaching of the excessively proud. But those free of
pride are taught that the very nature of desire, hatred, and folly
is itself liberation.
Sariputra: Excellent! Excellent, goddess! Pray, what have you
attained, what have you realized, that you have such
eloquence?
Goddess: I have attained nothing, reverend Sariputra. I have no
realization. Therefore I have such eloquence. Whoever thinks, "I
have attained! I have realized!" is overly proud in the discipline
of the well-taught Dharma.
Sariputra: Goddess, do you belong to the disciple-vehicle, to the
solitary-vehicle, or to the great vehicle?
Goddess: I belong to the disciple-vehicle when I teach it to those
who need it. I belong to the solitary-vehicle when I teach the
twelve links of dependent origination to those who need them. And,
since I never abandon the great compassion, I belong to the great
vehicle, as all need that teaching to attain ultimate
liberation.
Nevertheless, reverend Sariputra, just as one cannot smell the
castor plant in a magnolia wood, but only the magnolia flowers, so,
reverend Sariputra, living in this house, which is redolent with
the perfume of the virtues of the Buddha-qualities, one does not
smell the perfume of the disciples and the solitary sages. Reverend
Sariputra, the Sakras, the Brahmas, the Lokapalas, the devas,
nagas, yaksas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kimnaras, and mahoragas
who live in this house hear the Dharma from the mouth of this holy
man and, enticed by the perfume of the virtues of the
Buddha-qualities, proceed to conceive the spirit of
enlightenment.
Reverend Sariputra, I have been in this house for twelve years, and
I have heard no discourses concerning the disciples and solitary
sages but have heard only those concerning the great love, the
great compassion, and the inconceivable qualities of the
Buddha.
Reverend Sariputra, eight strange and wonderful things manifest
themselves constantly in this house. What are these eight?
A light of golden hue shines here constantly, so bright that it is
hard to distinguish day and night; and neither the moon nor the sun
shines here distinctly. That is the first wonder of this
house.
Furthermore, reverend Sariputra, whoever enters this house is no
longer troubled by his passions from the moment he is within. That
is the second strange and wonderful thing.
Furthermore, reverend Sariputra, this house is never forsaken by
Sakra, Brahma, the Lokapalas, and the bodhisattvas from all the
other buddha-fields. That is the third strange and wonderful
thing.
Furthermore, reverend Sariputra, this house is never empty of the
sounds of the Dharma, the discourse on the six transcendences, and
the discourses of the irreversible wheel of the Dharma. That is the
fourth strange and wonderful thing.
Furthermore, reverend Sariputra, in this house one always hears the
rhythms, songs, and music of gods and men, and from this music
constantly resounds the sound of the infinite Dharma of the Buddha.
That is the fifth strange and wonderful thing.
Furthermore, reverend Sariputra, in this house there are always
four inexhaustible treasures, replete with all kinds of jewels,
which never decrease, although all the poor and wretched may
partake to their satisfaction. That is the sixth strange and
wonderful thing.
Furthermore, reverend Sariputra, at the wish of this good man, to
this house come the innumerable Tathagatas of the ten directions,
such as the Tathagatas Sakyamuni, Amitabha, Aksobhya, Ratnasri,
Ratnarcis, Ratnacandra, Ratnavyuha, Dusprasaha, Sarvarthasiddha,
Ratnabahula, Simhakirti, Simhasvara, and so forth; and when they
come they teach the door of Dharma called the "Secrets of the
Tathagatas" and then depart. That is the seventh strange and
wonderful thing.
Furthermore, reverend Sariputra, all the splendors of the abodes of
the gods and all the splendors of the fields of the Buddhas shine
forth in this house. That is the eighth strange and wonderful
thing.
Reverend Sariputra, these eight strange and wonderful things are
seen in this house. Who then, seeing such inconceivable things,
would believe the teaching of the disciples?
Sariputra: Goddess, what prevents you from transforming yourself
out of your female state?
Goddess: Although I have sought my "female state" for these twelve
years, I have not yet found it.
Reverend Sariputra, if a magician were to incarnate a woman by
magic, would you ask her, "What prevents you from transforming
yourself out of your female state?"
Sariputra: No! Such a woman would not really exist, so what would
there be to transform?
Goddess: Just so, reverend Sariputra, all things do not really
exist. Now, would you think, "What prevents one whose nature is
that of a magical incarnation from transforming herself out of her
female state?"
Thereupon, the goddess employed her magical power to cause the
elder Sariputra to appear in her form and to cause herself to
appear in his form. Then the goddess, transformed into Sariputra,
said to Sariputra, transformed into a goddess, "Reverend Sariputra,
what prevents you from transforming yourself out of your female
state?"
And Sariputra, transformed into the goddess, replied, "I no longer
appear in the form of a male! My body has changed into the body of
a woman! I do not know what to transform!"
The goddess continued, "If the elder could again change out of the
female state, then all women could also change out of their female
states. All women appear in the form of women in just the same
way
as the elder appears in the form of a woman. While they are not
women in reality, they appear in the form of women. With this in
mind, the Buddha said, 'In all things, there is neither male nor
female.'"
Then, the goddess released her magical power and each returned to
his ordinary form. She then said to him, "Reverend Sariputra, what
have you done with your female form?"
Sariputra: I neither made it nor did I change it.
Goddess: Just so, all things are neither made nor changed, and that
they are not made and not changed, that is the teaching of the
Buddha.
Sariputra: Goddess, where will you be born when you transmigrate
after death?
Goddess: I will be born where all the magical incarnations of the
Tathagata are born.
Sariputra: But the emanated incarnations of the Tathagata do not
transmigrate nor are they born.
Goddess: All things and living beings are just the same; they do
not transmigrate nor are they born!
Sariputra: Goddess, how soon will you attain the perfect
enlightenment of Buddhahood?
Goddess: At such time as you, elder, become endowed once more with
the qualities of an ordinary individual, then will I attain the
perfect enlightenment of Buddhahood.
Sariputra: Goddess, it is impossible that I should become endowed
once more with the qualities of an ordinary individual.
Goddess: Just so, reverend Sariputra, it is impossible that I
should attain the perfect enlightenment of Buddhahood! Why? Because
perfect enlightenment stands upon the impossible. Because it is
impossible, no one attains the perfect enlightenment of
Buddhahood.
Sariputra: But the Tathagata has declared: "The Tathagatas, who are
as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, have attained perfect
Buddhahood, are attaining perfect Buddhahood, and will go on
attaining perfect Buddhahood."
Goddess: Reverend Sariputra, the expression, "the Buddhas of the
past, present and future," is a conventional expression made up of
a certain number of syllables. The Buddhas are neither past, nor
present, nor future. Their enlightenment transcends the three
times! But tell me, elder, have you attained sainthood?
Sariputra: It is attained, because there is no attainment.
Goddess: Just so, there is perfect enlightenment because there is
no attainment of perfect enlightenment.
Then the Licchavi Vimalakirti said to the venerable elder
Sariputra, "Reverend Sariputra, this goddess has already served
ninety-two million billion Buddhas. She plays with the
superknowledges. She has truly succeeded in all her vows. She has
gained the tolerance of the birthlessness of things. She has
actually attained irreversibility. She can live wherever she wishes
on the strength of her vow to develop living beings."