. ******************************************************* TO READ THIS FILE SAVE IT TO DISK FIRST; AND READ IT USING NOTEPAD OR ANY OTHER TEXT EDITOR. ******************************************************* . A Praise On The Twelve Exemplary Deeds Of The Lord Buddha By Acarya Nagarjuna . ******************************************************* . \ Homage to you, King of the Shakyas, whose body is radiant \ like a mountain of gold; who, through compassion and skill in means, \ took birth in the Shakyan clan and \ vanquished the hosts of evil that others could not conquer. . \ Homage to you who awakened first the resolve to attain enlightenment, \ then fully perfected the accumulation of merit and \ transcendental wisdom to become the protector \ of living beings through your vast spiritual works in this age. . \ Homage to you who, as the ruler of the gods, knew that the time \ had come to bring the Law to living beings; descending from \ the realms of celestial, you foresaw the clan into which you would \ take birth and, like a great elephant, entered the womb of Mayadevi. . \ Homage to you, Scion of the Shakya clan, \ at whose birth in the grove of Lumbini ten full months thereafter, \ Brahma and Shakra came to pay homage and Sages \ proclaimed with certainty that you belong to the race of Great Beings. . \ Homage to you, Incomparable One, who, \ as a youthful, powerful Lion among men, \ showed the miracle of Anga-maga-dhara and \ deflated the pride of conceited persons. . \ Homage to you who, through skill in means, \ sustained a kingdom and assumed a retinue and \ queen to accord with the customs of worldlings and \ helped them to become free from errors. . \ Homage to you who perceived that worldly affairs are insubstantial, \ renounced the householder's life and \ went forth to accomplish the stages of renunciation \ at each one of the immaculate Stupas. . \ Homage to you who dwelt in austerity \ for six years beside the Nairanjana River, \ diligently intent on attaining enlightenment and \ perfect in vigor, attained there the highest stage of meditation. . \ Homage to you who, in order to bring fruit \ to the efforts you made throughout beginningless time, \ sat beneath the Bodhi Tree in Magadha and \ awakened to Perfect Enlightenment. . \ Homage to you who then quickly looked upon beings \ with compassion and, at Varanasi and other holy places, \ turned the Wheel of the Doctrine to help them also \ (traverse to liberation by relying on) the Three Vehicles. . \ Homage to you, Sage victorious in spiritual battle, \ who vanquished the demons in the land of Khormo Jik and \ put an end to the erroneous wranglings of Devadatta, \ the six heretical sages and others. . \ Homage to you who, with virtues unequalled in the three worlds, \ manifested the Great Miracle at Shravasti and \ cause the Doctrine to be greatly enhanced by the reverence of gods, \ humans and all other beings. . \ Homage to you who, to move lazy disciples to hasten their efforts, \ manifested the perishing of your deathless, \ adamantine Body at the pure abode of Kushinagara, \ and passed beyond into Peace. . \ Homage to you who left behind eight aspects of your Body and \ many relics to show that, in Reality, you \ had not perished and to help future beings \ acquire merit through their worships. . \ Through the merit of this brief eulogy \ in praise of the deeds of the Blessed One, \ our Master in the Holy Teaching, may all living beings \ also become equal to the Buddha in their own works. . \ May I and all living beings become like you, \ O King of Shakyas, endowed with a form like yours, \ a span of life like yours, a retinue like yours, a Pure Land like yours, \ and marks of perfection like yours alone. . (Written by Acarya Nagarjuna, a great scholar from Nalanda Monastery, who had found the important Mahayana school of thought - Madhyamaka school. He is also a famous yogin, and being one of the 84 Mahasiddhas of Indian Buddhism.) . ******************************************************* . Prayers to request for blessings . \ By the coming of the Teacher into the world, \ by the sunshine-like glowing of the Teachings, and \ by the concord of the Sangha, upholders of the Teaching and \ disciples, may it be our good fortune that the Teaching long endures. . \ By the force of praise and supplication to you, \ in such places as I and others dwell, \ I pray that illness, demons, poverty, and \ conflict are pacified, Dharma and well-being increased. . ******************************************************* . [End]