Chapter 1 – Prologue
Homage to all the glorious buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Homage to the glorious, blessed, noble perfection of wisdom.
om śrutismṛtigativijaye svāhā (1)
In these teachings, the All-Knowing One
explains the perfections
and the ten supreme good qualities known as the ten stages,
in order to bring joy to the world.
Those whose goal is awakening should listen to this sutra,
this golden light which is communicated purely and clearly,
and which follows the middle way
avoiding annihilation and permanance. (2)
I have heard that the Tathāgata was once at Vulture’s Peak dwelling in the realm of the Dharma, the profound sphere of the buddhas. He was there together with a number of great gods and goddesses, chief amongst them the noble goddess Bodhisattvasamuccayā, the great goddess Sarasvatī, the great goddess Śrī, the great earth goddess Dṛḍhā, and the great goddess Hārītī. A great many other gods, nāgas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, gandharvas, titans, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, human beings, and non-human beings were also there.
The Venerable Ānanda asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, for these goddesses, what is the Dharma and the Vinaya?”
The Blessed One said, “Samādhi and the unblemished essence of the Dharma can been seen clearly, and do not need to be established through laborious questioning.
“Spoken in the presence of the greatest
of the pure, unblemished bodhisattvas,
this is the prologue to the Supreme Golden Light,
the Sovereign King of Sutras,
which is profound when it is heard
and profound when it is studied.
The buddhas of the four cardinal directions
have blessed it –
Akṣobhyarāja in the east,
Ratnaketu in the south,
Amitābha in the west,
Dundubhisvara in the north.
I will expound this blessing,
this supremely auspicious teaching
whose purpose is the eradication of all evil,
and which destroys all evil.
It brings about every kind of happiness
and eradicates every kind of suffering.
It is the root of the state of omniscience,
and is adorned with every kind of glory.
Those living beings whose senses are failing
and whose lives are coming to an end,
those who are besieged by misfortune
and whom the gods have abandoned,
those whose loved ones hate them
and who are tormented by both their families and by others,
those who are hostile to one another
and who are tormented by the loss of their property,
those who are afflicted by sorrow and strife,
poverty and fear,
those who are cursed by the stars
and who are in the vicious grip of malevolent spirits,
those who have evil dreams
filled with sorrow and strife –
all of these living beings should take a purifying bath
and then listen to this supreme sutra.
Those sentient beings who listen to this sutra,
to the profound sphere of the buddhas,
with bright, clear minds,
a positive attitude, and clean clothes,
will find that all of these different kinds
of misfortunes and disasters
are pacified
by this incandescent sutra.
The Protectors of the World and the Divine Lords
together with their attendants
and hosts of yakṣas
will offer protection to those living beings.
The great goddess Sarasvatī,
as well as Nairañjanavāsinī,
the Mother of Existence Hārītī,
and earth goddess Dṛḍhā,
together with the Brahmā-gods, the Thirty-Three Gods,
the great sages, the Lords of the Kinnaras,
the Lords of the Garuḍas,
yakṣas, gandharvas and serpents
will all arrive
with the full might of their legions
and offer their steadfast protection
day and night.
I will illuminate this sutra,
the profound sphere of the buddhas,
the subtle doctrine of all the buddhas
so hard to encounter even throughout millions of eons.
Those who hear this sutra
and those who enable others to hear it,
those who delight in it
and those worship it
will themselves be worshipped
throughout countless millions of eons
by gods, nāgas, human beings,
kinnaras, titans, and guhyakas.
The amount of merit that will flow forth
for the sentient beings
who obtain merit in this way
will be immeasurable, incalculable, and inconceivable.
They will be embraced
by all the buddhas in the ten directions
and by the bodhisattvas
whose practice is profound.
Put on clean robes
and anoint yourself with perfume.
Arouse a mind filled with loving kindness
and worship untiringly.
Make yourself, make your mind,
expansive and pure
and listen to this supreme sutra
with an attitude of serene faith.
Those who hear this sutra
will live good lives
and be welcomed wherever they go.
They have made the most of their human existence.
Those whose ears
are filled with this teaching
will purify their roots of virtue
and will be praised by a great many buddhas.
This is the first chapter of the Supreme Golden Light, the Sovereign King of Sutras, the Prologue.
Notes
As this is a mantra I have left it untranslated. The word śrutismṛtigativijaye should I think be interpreted as being feminine vocative, such that the mantra is invoking a bodhisattva or goddess by the name of Śrutismṛtigativijayā. I have not been able to find any other reference to this name. The literal meaning can I think best be interpreted as “Victory over the states of rebirth described in the sacred texts”. The words śruti and smṛti refer to sacred texts, but only in the Brahminical and later Hindu traditions, not in Buddhism. Śruti “what is heard” refers to the Vedas, which are believed to have been heard by the rishis (i.e. divinely revealed to them), whereas smṛti “what is remembered” refers to sacred texts of human origin such as the Vegāṅgas, Sūtras, Purāṇas etc.
These two verses are given in Bagchi, but not in Nobel.