Śākyamuni Buddha. [The fourth Buddha of the Fortunate Aeon.] His clan was Kṣatriya; his father was Pure-Rice Deva, and his mother was Great Purity, Wondrous Rank. Having ascended to the rank of successor, he was born in Tuṣita Heaven, where he was named the Deva Victorious in Goodness, and was also called the Great Being Protector of Light. He liberated the hosts of devas, expounded the practices of a successor, and manifested bodies throughout the worlds of the ten directions to teach the Dharma.

The Sūtra of Universal Illumination says: “When the Buddha was first born into the household of a Kṣatriya king, he emitted the light of great wisdom, illuminating the worlds of the ten directions. Golden lotuses sprang from the earth and naturally supported his two feet. He took seven steps each toward east and west, south and north. Pointing one hand to heaven and the other to earth, he gave a lion’s roar: ‘Above and below, and throughout the four directions, none is more venerable than I.’” This was the eighth day of the fourth month in the jiayin year, the twenty-fourth year of King Zhao of Zhou.

By the eighth day of the second month in the forty-second year, at the age of nineteen, he wished to leave home. Reflecting to himself, he said, “What further encounter should I seek?” He then toured and observed the four gates, saw four kinds of events, and, with sorrow and joy in his heart, reflected: “Old age, sickness, and death are ultimately to be renounced.” Then, at midnight, a deva named Pure Abode joined his palms at the window and said, “The time to leave home has come; you may go.”

Having heard this, the prince rejoiced. He scaled the city wall and departed, cultivating the Way on Mount Dāṇṭaka. He first spent three years with Ārāḍa Kālāma, studying the samādhi of the sphere of nothingness; knowing that it was not the way, he abandoned it. He then spent three years with Udraka Rāmaputra, studying the samādhi of neither perception nor nonperception; knowing that it too was not the way, he abandoned it. He next went to Elephant-Head Mountain, where, together with various non-Buddhist ascetics, he ate sesame and wheat each day for six years.

Therefore, the sūtra says: “With neither mind nor intention, neither sensation nor volitional activity, he completely subdued all non-Buddhist paths.” He first experienced and tested erroneous teachings, displayed various skillful means, brought forth diverse views, and led them to bodhi. Thus, the Sūtra of Universal Assembly says: “On the eighth day of the second month, when the morning star appeared, the bodhisattva realized the Way. He was called Teacher of Humans and Devas, and he was then thirty years old.” This was the guiwei year, the third year of King Mu.

Thereafter, in Deer Park, he turned the wheel of the Dharma of the Four Noble Truths for Kauṇḍinya and the other four, and they realized the fruit of the Way. He remained in the world teaching the Dharma for forty-nine years. Later, he told his disciple Mahākāśyapa: “I now entrust to you the pure dharma eye, the wondrous mind of nirvāṇa, the reality-mark of no mark, and the subtle, wondrous, right Dharma. You must preserve and uphold them!” He also instructed Ānanda: “Assist in the transmission and transformation; do not allow it to be cut off.”

He then spoke this verse: “The Dharma that is fundamentally Dharma is not Dharma; the Dharma of no Dharma is also Dharma. Now that I entrust the time of no Dharma, when have dharmas ever been dharmas?” Having spoken this verse, the World-Honored One again told Kāśyapa: “I shall transmit to you my gold-threaded saṃghāṭī robe. Pass it on in turn to the successor, until Maitreya Buddha appears in the world. Do not allow it to decay.” Having heard the verse, Kāśyapa bowed with his head at the Buddha’s feet and said, “Excellent! Excellent! I shall follow your instruction and comply reverently, out of respect for the Buddha.”

Then the World-Honored One arrived at the city of Kuśinagara and told the great assembly: “My back now aches; I wish to enter nirvāṇa.” He then went to the bank of the Hiraṇyavatī River, beneath the twin śāla trees, lay on his right side with his feet crossed, and serenely entered repose. He later rose from the coffin and taught the Dharma to his mother. He specially revealed his two feet to convert Poqi, and spoke this verse on impermanence: “All conditioned phenomena are impermanent; they are dharmas of arising and ceasing. When arising and ceasing have ceased, quiescent cessation is bliss.”

The disciples then competed to cremate him with fragrant firewood, but after the fire had burned out, the golden coffin remained as before. The great assembly then praised the Buddha in verse: “How could the fierce flames of ordinary people set him ablaze? We beseech the Venerable One to use the fire of samādhi to cremate the golden-colored body.” Then the entire coffin and bier rose seven tāla-tree heights into the air; moving back and forth in space, he manifested the fire samādhi. Before long, ashes appeared, and eight hu and four dou of relics were obtained. This was the fifteenth day of the second month in the renshen year, the fifty-second year of King Mu. One thousand and seventeen years after the World-Honored One’s passing, the teaching reached China, in the wuchen year, the tenth year of Yongping in the Later Han dynasty.