The Fortunate Aeon: How the Thousand Buddhas Became Enlightened

502 Pages·1986·20.227 MB·English

by  Dharma Publishing

N3§ |
*■S
I
THE
FORTUNATE
AEON
HOW THE THOUSAND BUDDHAS
BECOME ENLIGHTENED
VOLUME ONE
Fortunate Aeon
At the end of the previous kalpa,
when the world was engulfed by
flood, one thousand golden lotuses
arose from the great ocean. Beings
residing in the heavens, seeing this
auspicious sign, understood it as a
harbinger of the thousand Buddhas
who would brighten the coming
aeon. This kalpa would be known
as the Fortunate Aeon, a time when
thousands of generations would
have the opportunity to free them­
selves from all forms of suffering.
The Bhadrakalpa is our present
aeon, and Sakvamuni, the Buddha of
our present age, is the fourth of the
one thousand Buddhas. Appearing
in India twenty-five centuries ago,
the Buddha taught the Dharma for
nearly five decades. Through his
teachings on stupas and images he
presented the body of the Buddha;
through the Sutras he communi­
cated the sound of enlightened
knowledge, the Buddha’s speech;
through his own awakened aware­
ness he transmitted the receptacle
of the inner light of Bodhicitta,
the mind established in the enlight­
ened view. Thus he revealed the path
that purifies and transforms body,
speech, and mind.
Among the teachings given by
Sakyamuni Buddha is the Bhadra-
kalpika Sutra, a celebration of the
great procession of Buddhas who
will appear in the world. In its
teaching it reveals the inner heart of
liberation and the path followed by
continued on back flap)
Ärya-bhadrakalpika-näma-mahäyäna-sütra
Fortunate Aeon
How the thousand Buddhas Become Enlightened
Homage to the great Jinn, the Buddha Säkyamuni.
THE FORTUNATE AEON
How the Thousand Buddhas
Become Enlightened
Volume One
Translated into English
by
Dharma Publishing Staff
Under the Auspices of the Yeshe De Project
Dharma Publishing
TIBETAN TRANSLATION SERIES
Dhammapada
Golden Zephyr
Calm and Clear
Elegant Sayings
Master of Wisdom
Legend of the Great Stupa
The Life and Liberation of Padmasambhava
Buddha’s Lions: The Lives of the Eighty-Four Siddhas
Kindly Bent to Ease Us
The Marvelous Companion
Mind in Buddhist Psychology
The Voice of the Buddha: The Beauty of Compassion
Mother of Knowledge: Enlightenment of Ye-shes mTsho-rgyal
Copyright © 1986 by Dharma Publishing
All rights reserved. No part of this book, including text, art, reproductions,
and illustrations, may be reproduced in any form without the publisher’s
written permission. For information, write: Dharma Publishing, 2425
Hillside Avenue, Berkeley, California 94704 USA.
Frontispiece: Lord Sâkyamuni Buddha,
courtesy of the St. Louis Art Museum.
Purchase: W. K. Bixby Fund.
Printed in the United States of America by Dharma Press.
Typeset in Mergenthaler Zapf Book Light.
ISBN: 0-89800-136-6
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
will be found at the end of Volume One
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
his meritorious creation containing the life
Stories of the Thousand Buddhas, the precious
Bhadrakalpika sütra; is offered on this auspicious oc­
casion to our dear Holiness bDud-j’oms Rin-po-che,
who left his body for Zangs-mdog dPal-ri on the 18th
day of the 11th month of the fire-tiger year, the very
day this publication was completed.
May this meritorious activity bring the blessings of
peace and harmony to all beings in the three realms.
May the enlightened lineage and those who aspire to
enlightenment endure and prosper until all beings
reach complete and perfect Awakening.

CONTENTS
Publisher’s Preface ix
Introduction xiii
VOLUME ONE
The Samadhi: The Way of All Dharmas 2
The Teaching of the Ten Strengths 52
The Previous Teaching of This Samadhi 80
Enumerating the Paramitas 96
The Extensive Teaching on the Paramitas 118
VOLUME TWO
Naming the Thousand Buddhas 488
The Extensive Teaching on the Thousand Buddhas 518
Buddha Krakucchanda (1) — Buddha Suryaprabha (482)
VOLUME THREE
The Extensive Teaching on the Thousand Buddhas 968
Buddha Vimalaprabha (483) — Buddha Sudhana (972)
VOLUME FOUR
The Extensive teaching on the Thousand Buddhas 1448
Buddha Pradlpa (973) — Buddha Roca (1004)
The First Thoughts of Enlightenment 1480
The Prophecies 1732
Lists of the Buddhas 1753
Glossary 1853
Index 1865