Page:Sacred Books of the East - Volume 21.djvu/449

 Mahâsattva Gadgadasvara preaches this Dharmaparyâya of the Lotus of the True Law under many shapes he assumes; sometimes under the shape of Brahma, sometimes under that of Indra, sometimes under that of Siva, sometimes under that of Kubera, sometimes under that of a sovereign, sometimes under that of a duke, sometimes under that of a chief merchant, sometimes under that of a citizen, sometimes under that of a villager, sometimes under that of a Brâhman. Sometimes again the Bodhisattva Mahâsattva Gadgadasvara preaches this Dharmaparyâya of the Lotus of the True Law under a monk's shape, sometimes under a nuns, sometimes under a male lay devotee's, sometimes under a female lay devotee's, sometimes under that of a chief merchant's wife, sometimes under that of a citizen's wife, sometimes under a boy's, sometimes under a girl's shape. With so many variations in the manner to show himself, the Bodhisattva Mahâsattva Gadgadasvara preaches this Dharmaparyâya of the Lotus of the True Law to creatures. He has even assumed the shape of a goblin to preach this Dharmaparyâya to such as were to be converted by a goblin. To some he has preached this Dharmaparyâya of the Lotus of the True Law under the shape of a demon, to some under a Garuda's, to some under a Kinnara's, to some under a great serpent's shape. Even to the beings in any of the wretched