Then the Buddha said to Kasyapa: "Oh good man! Listen clearly, listen clearly! I shall now tell you the cause of the Tathagata’s longevity of life. The Bodhisattva, through this action, gains long life. For this reason, listen to it with your best attention. Having heard it, speak about it to others. Oh good man! Having practiced thus, I attained unsurpassed Bodhi. I, for the sake of all beings, now speak about it. Oh good man! As an example: a prince transgresses against the state laws and is chained up in prison. The king took pity on him and, riding on a palanquin, condemns himself to prison because he loves the prince. The same with the Bodhisattva. If he wants to have a long life, he should guard and protect beings, seeing them as if they were his only son, and abide in the great lovingkindness, great compassion, great joy, and great equanimity. Also, he should impart them to the precept of non-harming and teach them to practice all good things. Also, he should let all beings abide peacefully in the five moral precepts and the ten good deeds. Furthermore, he should enter the realms of hell, hungry preta, animality, and asura, and free all these beings from wherever they are suffering, emancipate those not yet emancipated, cross over those who have not yet reached the other shore, give Nirvana to those who have not yet attained it, and comfort all those who live in fear. Acting thus, the Bodhisattva gains longevity of life and unmolested freedom in knowledge. And when the end comes, he will gain life in the high heavens."
Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 4 - On Long Life.
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