The Treasure House

Bodhisattva Kasyapa said to the Buddha: "Oh World Honored One! What is pure action?"

The Buddha said: "All things are nothing but pure actions."

Bodhisattva Kasyapa said: "Oh World Honored One! All things are not fixed in meaning. Why? The Tathagata calls them either good or not-good. Sometimes, he says that such is the meditation of the four remembrances, or sometimes, the 12 spheres, or the Good Teacher of the Way, or the 12 links of interdependence, or the being, right view, wrong view, the 12 types of sutra, or the two truths, or the Tathagata now says that all things are pure actions. All in all, what do you mean by 'all things'?"

The Buddha said: "Well spoken, well spoken, Oh good man! The All-Wonderful Sutra of Great Nirvana is the Treasure House of all dharmas. It's like the great sea, which stores up all the treasures. It's the same with this Nirvana Sutra. This is the secret repository which contains all the meanings of all words.

Oh good man! Just as Mount Sumeru is the root source of all medicines, so this Sutra is the root source of the precepts of the Bodhisattva.

Oh good man! It's like with the Void, wherein rests all that exists. So it is with this Sutra, which is the abode of the Good Dharma.

Oh good man! It's like the great wind, which no one can hold or quit. So it is with all the Bodhisattvas who practice this sutra. No defilement or evil teaching can suppress them or arrest them.

Oh good man! It is like the diamond, which no one can destroy. Such is the situation with this Sutra, which neither tirthikas or men of evil notions can destroy.

Oh good man! It's like (the grains of) the sands of the Ganges River, which nobody can count. So it is with the meanings of this Sutra. Nobody can truly count them completely.

Oh good man! This Sutra is the banner of the Dharma of all Buddhas, just as things happen with the hoisted ensigns of Shakra.

Oh good man! This Sutra is the merchant who travels the divisions of nirvana, or the great guide which sails the great sea with all merchants.

Oh good man! This Sutra is the light of Dharma of all Bodhisattvas, just like the light of the sun and moon truly destroy the darkness all around.

Oh good man! This sutra serves as the best [medicine] for all beings who are suffering from illness. It's like the All-Wonderful King of Medicine of (Mount) Gandhamadana, which thoroughly cures all illnesses.

Oh good man! This Sutra truly serves as a walking stick to the icchantika, as in the case of a weak person who can easily support himself and stand up.

Oh good man! This Sutra truly serves as a bridge for all evil people, just like a bridge even allows all the evil people of the world to pass over it.

Oh good man! This Sutra truly serves as a cool shade to all those who carry their lives in the five realms, where they feel heat due to defilements, serving them as a sunshade that protects well the persons from the heat.

Oh good man! This Sutra is the King of fearlessness, which thoroughly crushes all the devils of defilement, acting as the Lion King, who truly subdues all animals.

Oh good man! This Sutra is a great charmer who can thoroughly crush out all the devils of defilement, just as a charmer makes away with the mountain elf.

Oh good man! This Sutra is like the unsurpassed frost and hail, which crush out all the karmic results of birth and death, just as the hail destroys the fruit trees.

Oh good man! This Sutra is the greatest of medicines to a person who violates sila [the moral precepts], just as the Ajata can truly cure pain of the eyes.

Oh good man! This Sutra keeps all the good dharmas, just like the earth, which serves as a support for all things.

Oh good man! This Sutra is a bright mirror for all beings which violate the precepts, just like a mirror which reflects well all colors and forms.

Oh good man! This Sutra serves as clothing for those who do not feel ashamed of what they did, just like clothing that can well cover and hide the carnal form.

Oh good man! This Sutra serves as a great Treasure House for those who are lacking of good things, just like Gunadevi provides benefits to the poor.

Oh good man! This Sutra serves as the water of amrta [immortality] for those who feel thirst for the Dharma, as the water of the eight tastes, which thoroughly quenches a thirsty person.

Oh good man! This Sutra serves as a bed of Dharma for those who have the worries of defilement, just like the bed of peace that serves the people of the world.

Oh good man! Through this Sutra, the Bodhisattva rises from the first stage up to the tenth. It is the cart upon which are laden the jewelry, paste incense, powdered incense, burning incense and flowers, and the cart in which those of pure castes can ride. It truly surpasses the six paramitas. This is a wonderful land of bliss. It's like the parijata tree of Trayastrimsa Heaven.

Oh good man! This sutra is an adamantine and sharpened hatchet, which can indeed bring down the great tree of all defilements. This is a sharp sword that can truly make away with the taint of ill smell. This is the brave and strong that can thoroughly crush out the adversity of Mara. This is the fire of Wisdom, which burns up the fuel of defilement. This is the storehouse of the causal relations which gives birth to the Pratyekabuddha. This is the storehouse of hearing which gives birth to the Sravakas. This is the eye of all gods which serves as the Right Path to all beings. This is a refuge for all animals. This is where the hungry ghosts gain Emancipation, the holiest of hells, and the unsurpassed utensil for all beings of the ten directions. This is the parent of all Buddhas of the ten directions of past, future, and present. Oh good man! Thus, this Sutra holds within itself all dharmas."

Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 44 - On Bodhisattva Kasyapa 5.

the treasure house.mp3