Page:Sacred Books of the East - Volume 21.djvu/348

 be those worlds where that man deposits those atoms of dust and where he does not, there are not, young men of good family, in all those hundred thousands of myriads of kotis of worlds so many dust atoms as there are hundred thousands of myriads of kotis of Æons since I have arrived at supreme, perfect en- lightenment 1. From the moment, young men of good family, when I began preaching the law to creatures in this Saha-world and in hundred thousands of myriads of kotis of other worlds, and (when) the other Tathdgatas, Arhats, &c, such as the Tathgata Dlpahkara and the rest whom I have mentioned in the lapse of time (preached), (from that moment) have I, young men of good family, for the complete Nirva of those Tathdgatas, &c., created all that with the express view to skilfully preach the law 2. Again, young men of good family, the Tathdgata, considering the different degrees of faculty and strength of succeeding generations,

akyamuni here declares, in the most emphatic manner, not only that he has existed from eternity, but that he is the All-wise, the Buddha from the beginning. The world thinks that he has become all-wise at Gay, a short time before, but in reality he has been the All-wise from eternity. In other words, the meaning of his being a common man who had reached enlightenment under the Bodhi-tree near Gay, is declared by himself to be a delusion. Further, it will be remarked that Sakyamuni and the Tathagata MahdbhiTidwdnabhibhu in chapter VII are identical, though apparently diversified. Teshim fa Tath&gat&ndm Arhal&w samyaksambuddhanam parinirvawaya mayaiva t&ni, kulaputrd, upayakaujalyadharmadejanayd (abhi) nirMranirmitani. Burnouf translates as if he read te — °nirmit££, so that 'those Tathigatas — have been created.' Both readings come essentially to the same; in either case kya- muni is the creator, the really existing being; the other Tathagatas are emanations from him or apparent beings.