The Highest Vow of the Tathagata

"If any bhiksu, upasaka or upasika aspires to the highest vow of the Tathagata, know that such person will not have ignorance and will be worthy of receiving offerings. By dint of the power of the vow, the virtues and fruits of the actions of that person in the world, will be like those of an Arhat. Anyone who cannot meditate on the eternity of the Three Treasures is a Candala. If a person can indeed conceive the eternity of the Three Treasures, such a person will leave behind the suffering that arises from the causality of existence, will attain peace, and there will be no temptation, difficulties or troubles of worries, which will be left behind."

Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 17 - On the Questions Raised by the Crowd.

I'm Always Here

Then, all those gathered there, in accordance with the wish of the Buddha, thought so: ‘The Tathagata now accepts our offerings. Before long, he will enter Nirvana.’

Thinking thus, they were both glad and sad. Through the divine power of the Buddha, in a space the size of the tip of a needle, there were gathered together innumerable Buddhas and their retinues, who all sat and ate. What they ate was all equal [the same food], without difference.

Then the devas, asuras and all others wept and were sad. They said: ‘The Tathagata has received our final offerings. Having received them, he will enter Nirvana. To whom can we make offerings now? Now, with the unsurpassed Trainer parted from us, we are all like blind men.’

Then the World Honored One, in order to comfort all those gathered there, spoke in a gatha:

"Do not weep! The Dharma of all Buddhas is thus.
There are already innumerable kalpas since I entered Nirvana.
I have reached the best of the Bliss
and rested myself forever in the peace.

Now, listen with all your heart!
I shall now speak about Nirvana.
I am now segregated from the sense of [the tasting] food;
I now do not feel thirsty.
I shall now, for your sake,
Speak about the vows, step by step

and cause all to be blessed with peace

Listen carefully and practice the eternal Dharma of all Buddhas.
If crows and owls live in a tree
and become friends of each other like brothers,
I will enter Nirvana for eternity.
The Tathagata sees all beings as he sees Rahula.
I will always be the most honored to all beings.
How could I enter Nirvana for eternity?

If snakes, rats and wolves live in a hole
and become friends of each other like brothers,
I will enter Nirvana for eternity.
The Tathagata sees all beings as he sees Rahula.
He always becomes the most honored by the beings.
How can he stay long in Nirvana?

If saptaparna [a bitter plant] transmutes into varsika [jasmine],
if karu [gentian] transmutes into tinduka [diospyros embryoteris],
then I might well enter Nirvana.
The Tathagata sees everyone as he sees Rahula.
How could he abandon compassion
and enter Nirvana for a long time?

If an icchantika could, in his present body,
attain Enlightenment and Bliss in first-grade,
then surely I would enter Nirvana.
The Tathagata sees everyone as he sees Rahula.
How could he abandon compassion
and enter Nirvana for a long time?

If everyone at once attain Enlightenment,
and abandon all evils,
I certainly would reach Nirvana.
The Tathagata sees everyone as he sees Rahula.
How could he abandon compassion
and enter Nirvana for a long time?

If the water (impure) of mosquitoes and flies
could indeed wet the whole earth
and fill the rivers, valleys and seas,
I would enter Nirvana.
My compassionate heart sees everyone as I see Rahula.
I'm always the most honored of all beings,
How could I stay long in Nirvana?

For this reason, seek deeply for the Wonderful Dharma.
Do not be overmuch worried, do not cry, do not weep.
If you desire to act properly,
practice the eternity of the Tathagata;
keep the thought that such a Dharma lives long
and that there is no change.

Also, be aware of the fact that the Three Treasures are all eternal.
This will beget a great protection.
It is as in the case of a dead tree
which, as a result of magic charms, brings forth fruit.
These are the Three Treasures.
 
All of you, the four classes of people! Listen up!
On listening well, the joy will arise and Bodhicitta will come about.
If the Three Treasures come about as (being) eternals
and are like 'Paramartha-satya’ [Ultimate Reality],
This is the utmost of vows of all the Buddhas."

Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 17 - On the Questions Raised by the Crowd.

The Unique Taste of the Three Treasures

Then, the Buddha said to Kasyapa: "Oh good man! Do not see the Three Treasures as all the Sravakas and common mortals do. In this Mahayana, there is no distinction between the Three Treasures. Why not? The Buddha-Nature contains within it the Dharma and the Sangha. To teach Sravakas and common mortals, is resorted to discrimination and the three different aspects are spoken about the Three Treasures. Following the way of the world, the distinction is preached regarding the Three Treasures. Oh good man! The Bodhisattva will think: 'This ‘I’ now takes refuge in the Buddha. If this ‘I’ attains Enlightenment and Buddhahood, I shall not respect, worship or make offerings to all the Buddhas. Why not? Because all Buddhas are all-equal. They are taken as a refuge for all beings. If one desires to pay respect to the Dharma-Body and the sharira [relics], one should also pay respect to the stupas of all the Buddhas. Why? To guide all beings. This also makes beings conceive a thought of the stupa in me, to make them worship and make offerings. Such beings will make of my Dharma-Body the place wherein they take refuge. All beings are rooted in what is not true and what is false. I shall now reveal, step by step, the true Dharma. If there are people who take refuge in Monks who are not of the right caliber, I shall become the true refuge for them. If there are those who see the Three Refuges as distinct, I shall become a unique place wherein they can take refuge. Therefore, there can be no any distinction between the Three Refuges. For one born blind, I shall be your eyes, and to Sravakas and Pratyekabuddhas, I shall become the true refuge '.”

Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 12 - On the Nature of the Tathagata.

The Noble Truth of the Way

“We say 'Noble Truth of the Way'. This is nothing more than the treasures of Buddha, Dharma, Sangha and the right emancipation. Everyone say with an upside-down mind: 'There is no Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, or right emancipation. Birth and death are like ghosts’. They hold such views. As a result, they recycle between birth and death through the three worlds [of desire, matter and spirit], suffering greatly there for a long time to come. If a person awakens and comes to see that the Tathagata is Eternal, that no change affects him, and that the same applies to the Dharma, Sangha and emancipation, by this thought the person will get unrestricted freedom through countless ages to come and it will enjoy it as wills. Why? Because once in the past, due to the four inversions, I took the non-Dharma as Dharma and suffered by innumerable karmic consequences. When I made away with such views, I attained the true awakening to the Buddhahood. This is the Noble Truth of the Way. Any person who says that the Three Treasures are non-eternal, and holds this view of life, this is a false way of practice and is not the Noble Truth of the Way. If a person practices the Way so, having it as Eternal, such a person is my disciple. It abides in the true view of life and practice the teaching of the Four Noble Truths."

Bodhisattva Kasyapa said to the Buddha: "Oh World Honored One! Now, for the first time, I come to know and practice the great depths of the Four Noble Truths."

Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 10 - On the Four Noble Truths.