藥師琉璃光如來本願功德經 十二神將

A Seat Left Empty for a Whole Sūtra

The introduction divides the sūtra’s long question-and-answer into five accomplishments, and after the fourth — the Tathāgata’s teaching of the Dharma — there stands one more, called the yakṣas’ requital of kindness. From beginning to end it never appears.

Only in the last passage but one, when twelve yakṣa generals stand up, does anyone sit down in that seat.

And the first thing they say is not what they mean to do; it is what they have already received: by the Buddha’s power they have heard the name of the World-Honored One, and they have no more dread of the evil destinies.

The heading reads requital of kindness. It does not read guarding the Dharma.

The Ones Who Rise Are the Ones Guarded Against

In the introduction’s roll of the assembly, yakṣas come after the gods and the nāgas; among the twelve vows they are not among those the vows are made for. Where the sūtra tells the marks of a realm at peace, one item is that no violent yakṣas or other spirits trouble sentient beings — there, they are on the side of what is guarded against.

Now this same company says: to the end of this bodily life we take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma and the Saṅgha, and we vow to shoulder all sentient beings.

To shoulder is to take the load onto one’s own back. The first to vow of their own accord to guard others are neither gods nor bodhisattvas.

Following the Person, Not Keeping the Place

Earlier the four great heavenly kings all came to that place: what was guarded was where the sūtra lay. Here it is that person who is guarded: the one who upholds the name.

One keeps a place; one follows a man. Wherever he goes, the guard goes with him.

That Cord Is Meant to Be Untied

With a five-colored cord, knot our names; and when the wish has been obtained, then untie the knot.

Untied once the wish is full. The small observance carries its own ending, and nothing is said about leaving it tied.

Kindness Is Requited upon Living Beings

Twice in the whole sūtra the Buddha says “Excellent! Excellent!” — once for the one who asks for the Dharma, once for those who guard it.

And the second time the praise is a conditional sentence: if you would requite the kindness of that World-Honored One, then constantly benefit and bring ease to all sentient beings in just this way.

Requital is not turning back to make offerings to that buddha. It is repaying the kindness upon living beings.

Xuanzang’s translation, T14n0450, from “at that time there were in the assembly twelve yakṣa generals” to “you should constantly benefit and bring ease to all sentient beings in just this way.” The figures in parentheses at the head of each segment give the Taishō page, register, and line. The generals’ names are transcriptions of sound; they are given here in the roman letters of their Chinese reading, with the Chinese beside them.

〔1 · The twelve generals listed by name〕（0408a24）At that time there were in the assembly twelve yakṣa generals, all seated in the gathering, namely: （0408a25）General Gongpiluo〔宮毘羅〕, General Fazheluo〔伐折羅〕, （0408a26）General Miqiluo〔迷企羅〕, General Andiluo〔安底羅〕, （0408a27）General Eniluo〔頞儞羅〕, General Shandiluo〔珊底羅〕, （0408a28）General Yindaluo〔因達羅〕, General Boyiluo〔波夷羅〕, （0408a29）General Mohuluo〔摩虎羅〕, General Zhendaluo〔真達羅〕, （0408b01）General Zhaoduluo〔招杜羅〕, General Pijieluo〔毘羯羅〕.

〔2 · Each has seven thousand attendants〕（0408b02）Each one of these twelve yakṣa generals has seven thousand yakṣas as his attendants; and together they raised their voices and said to the Buddha:

〔3 · By the Buddha’s power they have heard the name〕（0408b03）“World-Honored One! Today, by the Buddha’s power, we have been able to hear the name of the World-Honored One Bhaiṣajyaguru Vaiḍūryaprabha Tathāgata, and we have no more dread of the evil destinies.

〔4 · Leading one another, of one mind, they take refuge〕（0408b05）We lead one another, all of one mind, and to the end of this bodily life take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma and the Saṅgha; （0408b06）and we vow to shoulder all sentient beings, working for their good, their benefit and their ease.

〔5 · Wherever it may be, they will guard〕（0408b07）In whatever village, town, kingdom or empty forest there may be someone who circulates this sūtra, or who upholds the name of Bhaiṣajyaguru Vaiḍūryaprabha Tathāgata and reveres him with offerings, （0408b09）we and our attendants will guard that person, so that all are set free from every suffering and distress; and whatever they wish and seek, we will have it fulfilled.

〔6 · The method of knotting the name in a five-colored cord〕（0408b11）Or if there are those beset by sickness and distress who seek deliverance, they too should read and recite this sūtra, （0408b12）and with a five-colored cord knot our names; and when they have obtained their wish, then untie the knot.”

〔7 · The Buddha’s approval〕（0408b13）At that time the World-Honored One praised the yakṣa generals, saying: “Excellent! Excellent! Great yakṣa generals! （0408b15）If you would requite the kindness of the World-Honored One Bhaiṣajyaguru Vaiḍūryaprabha Tathāgata, you should constantly benefit and bring ease to all sentient beings in just this way.”

By the time a sūtra reaches this point, everything that had to be said has been said: the twelve vows are told, the benefits of hearing the name are told, the method of offering is told, the method of prolonging life is told, and even the nine untimely deaths have been listed out.

Then twelve yakṣa generals stand up.

Ancient Traces on the Sūtra of the Original Vows of the Medicine Buddha, by Taehyŏn, śramaṇa of Ch’ŏnggu, marks this passage as “the accomplishment of the yakṣa generals’ gaining benefit and requiting kindness” — and that heading has to be carried back to the introduction to be seen. At the opening he divided the whole sūtra’s part of question-and-extensive-exposition into five accomplishments, and the fifth was named the yakṣas’ requital of kindness. That seat stood empty for a whole sūtra, and only here does someone sit down in it.

The Five Accomplishments Are Walked Through

After the introduction the text has kept walking inside that frame: the bodhisattva’s request, the Dharma King’s approval, the great assembly’s gladness to hear, the Tathāgata’s teaching of the Dharma — four accomplishments appearing in order. The fifth, named the yakṣas’ requital of kindness, never appeared from beginning to end.

Now it appears, and it begins with a list of names: Gongpiluo, Fazheluo, Miqiluo, Andiluo, Eniluo, Shandiluo, Yindaluo, Boyiluo, Mohuluo, Zhendaluo, Zhaoduluo, Pijieluo — twelve names, and the sūtra sets down every one of them without abbreviation.

Each one of these twelve yakṣa generals has seven thousand yakṣas as his attendants. Twelve times seven thousand: this is the largest company anywhere in the sūtra.

And the first thing said after the names is not what they intend to do, but what they have received: by the Buddha’s power they have been able to hear the name of the World-Honored One, the Tathāgata of beryl radiance, and they have no more dread of the evil destinies.

Benefit first, and only then requital. That order is what the heading means: an accomplishment of requiting kindness, not an accomplishment of guarding the Dharma.

What Standing a Yakṣa Has

To see the weight of this passage, one has to remember in what standing yakṣas have appeared earlier in this sūtra.

The introduction, listing the assembly, puts yakṣas in the series “gods, nāgas, yakṣas, humans, non-humans and the rest,” ranked after the gods and the nāgas. Among the twelve vows, yakṣas are not among those the vows are made for. And in unit 07, where the sūtra tells the marks of a realm at peace, one item is that in the land there are no violent yakṣas or other spirits to trouble sentient beings — there, the yakṣa is on the side of what is guarded against.

Now this same company stands up and says: to the end of this bodily life we take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma and the Saṅgha, and we vow to shoulder all sentient beings, working for their good, their benefit and their ease.

To shoulder is to take the load onto one’s own back.

A sūtra written this far, and the first to vow of their own accord to guard others are not the gods, not the bodhisattvas, but the very class that the earlier text listed as liable to trouble sentient beings.

They Guard a Person, Not a Place

The scope of their vow is written out finely: in whatever village, town, kingdom or empty forest — so long as there is someone who circulates this sūtra, or who upholds this name and reveres it with offerings, they and their attendants will guard that person, so that all are set free from every suffering and distress, and whatever is wished and sought is fulfilled.

Set this beside the earlier text and it becomes interesting. Unit 06 says that the four great heavenly kings with hundreds of thousands of gods will all come to that place, making offerings and standing watch — what is guarded is the place where the sūtra is; here the twelve generals say they will guard that person — what is guarded is the one who upholds the name.

The one keeps a place, the other follows a person. And “in whatever village, town, kingdom or empty forest” amounts to saying: wherever the man goes, the guard goes.

A Cord, Knotted and Then Untied

Then comes the only cord-knotting method in the whole sūtra: if there are those beset by sickness and distress who seek deliverance, they too should read and recite this sūtra, and with a five-colored cord knot the generals’ names; and when they have obtained their wish, then untie the knot.

Knot their names with a cord of five colors; and when the wish is full, undo the knot.

There is one thing in this small observance worth pausing over: it carries its own ending. The sūtra does not say that once knotted it stays tied for good; it says that when the wish has been obtained, then the knot is untied. The matter done, the knot comes off.

Five colors appear five times in this sūtra: once as a bag to hold the sūtra, three times as banners for prolonging life, and here as a cord for knotting a name. One and the same set of colors, in three uses: one holds a scripture, one leads the way, one records a wish.

And this knotting and untying is also the ground of the sūtra’s second name. In the next passage the Buddha himself brings out three names, and the second is “Setting Forth the Twelve Spirit Generals’ Benefiting of Sentient Beings, the Spirit-Spell of the Knotted Vow” — the knot in “knotted vow” points precisely here.

The Buddha’s Second Excellent

At the end of the passage comes the Buddha’s approval: “Excellent! Excellent! Great yakṣa generals!”

In the whole sūtra the Buddha says “Excellent! Excellent!” only twice. The first time is in the introduction, in praise of Mañjuśrī for making the request; this time it is at the close, in praise of the yakṣas for standing guard.

One falls on the one who asks for the Dharma, one on those who guard it. Between them lies the whole sūtra.

And the content of the praise is not a commendation of how remarkable they are; it is a conditional sentence: if you would requite the kindness of the World-Honored One, the Tathāgata of beryl radiance, you should constantly benefit and bring ease to all sentient beings in just this way.

If you wish to requite that buddha’s kindness, then you should constantly do just this: benefit and bring ease to all beings.

The way to requite kindness is to go and benefit others. It is not to turn back and make offerings to that buddha — that buddha has no need of them; the kindness is to be repaid upon living beings.

This one sentence closes the passage very steadily: the yakṣas, having heard the name, are freed from dread; being freed from dread, they vow to guard others; and the Buddha tells them that this is requital itself.

Transmission — One Eye Says Nothing, the Other Says Why There Is Nothing to Say

What stands above is the meaning of this passage itself. Below, three eyes cast their light on it from the side.

Ancient Traces on the Sūtra of the Original Vows of the Medicine Buddha (by Taehyŏn, śramaṇa of Ch’ŏnggu) follows Xuanzang’s recension, and at this passage brings out only three divisions — 「此中有三：初經家列名、次藥叉誓願、後如來讚許」—“there are three within this: first the compiler’s listing of the names, next the yakṣas’ vow, last the Tathāgata’s approval” 〔T38n1770 0262c09〕 — and then says 「文相可知」—“the shape of the text can be known” 〔T38n1770 0262c11〕. He glosses no name one by one, and cites neither sūtra nor treatise.

The names of the twelve generals are transcriptions of Sanskrit sound, and anyone wishing to expatiate would find much to say here; he says not a word. Set beside the word-by-word density of unit seven — the name and sense of Yama, the four image-objects, lamp as light and banner as leading — this is the briefest stretch of the mirror in the whole edition.

And the anonymous Dunhuang commentary that follows the Sui recension (T85n2767) carries a full section here — and what it writes is precisely why there is nothing here to gloss.

It says of these names 「是鬼神語天竺諸人亦自不解」—“this is the language of the spirits, which the people of India do not themselves understand” 〔T85n2767 0327a27〕; and therefore 「此三譯家皆悉不翻」—“all three translators left them untranslated” 〔T85n2767 0327a27〕 — the translators, reaching this point, kept the sounds and rendered none of them. (Which three the commentary means it does not say, and this edition does not supply the answer.) As for why the three recensions keep those sounds a little differently, it gives the reason too: 「諸來三藏音有楚夏」—“the tripiṭaka masters who came had accents of Chu or of Xia” 〔T85n2767 0327a28〕.

That statement can be checked. Set the twelve names of the three recensions side by side (Topic II of the Apparatus): of the twelve, only the first, 宮毘羅, and the tenth, 真達羅, are written the same way in all three; the other ten each go their own way — where the base text has 「伐折羅」 the Sui and Yijing have 「跋折羅」, where the base text has 「毘羯羅」 the Sui has 「鼻羯羅」, and so on. And the order and the number do not vary by a hair. The order holds because it is the same string of names; the graphs differ because the men writing the sounds down did not speak alike. Nobody miscopied. One sound passed through three mouths.

⇒ The two commentators followed different translations and arrived at the same verdict: there is nothing here to be explained. One shows it by silence; the other says the reason out loud. Where Taehyŏn said “no reason is stated” at the seven tiers and five colors, here he does not even say that much — full where fullness is due, brief where brevity is due, and this time the measure has a second witness.

That scroll also glosses the title — 「能大將領鬼神故名大將」—“because they are able to lead the hosts of spirits as great commanders, they are named great generals” 〔T85n2767 0327a25〕 — and records their retinues, 「各有七千夜叉以為眷屬」—“each has seven thousand yakṣas as his retinue” 〔T85n2767 0327b02〕. It judges this passage 「第五大將解衛」—“the fifth, the generals’ deliverance and guard” 〔T85n2767 0327a22〕, closing on it as the fifth just as Ancient Traces closes on it with the yakṣas’ requital — two different sūtras, and the fifth falls in the same place. (One more such convergence waits in unit nine.)

The scroll following the Consecration recension ends with the gloss on the twelve vows and has no text here. What is not found is recorded as not found.

Three eyes: one with a full section, one that passes on quickly, one with nothing.

And what the sūtra asks of a person here was never to understand. What it says is 「以五色縷，結我名字」—“with a five-colored cord, knot my names” 〔T14n0450 0408b12〕, and then 「得如願已，然後解結」—“when what was wished for has been obtained, afterward untie the knot” 〔T14n0450 0408b12〕. A name whose sense you cannot open can still be knotted onto a cord and carried; when the matter is done, the knot comes undone. Twelve names, seven thousand attendants apiece, a cord knotted and untied, two Excellents — the sūtra keeps the last passage to say for itself.