by Rev. Shoji Matsumoto and Ruth Tabrah Honolulu, 1984

(A translation of the essential meaning of Shinran Shonin's interpretation of this gatha from the Larger Pure Land Sutra)

From the beginningless beginning
Of time itself, Dharma -- the true reality of suchness -- 
Has constantly been evolving 
In its infinite way.

Our ancestor, Dharmakara Bodhisattva, 
He who is the treasure house of Dharma, 
Took this name 
Upon realizing his true identity 
After having heard from Lokesvararaja Buddha 
The teachings that pierce all illusions.

At his first encounter 
With the wisdom and reality 
That is our fundamental nature 
And the nature of all that exists, 
Dharmakara Bodhisattva experienced such happiness, 
Such joy, 
That he abandoned his former way of life and thought. 
With his whole body, 
His total being, 
All energy, complete determination -- 
He concentrated on the ultimate state 
Of becoming a Buddha, 
One fully awakened to the truth 
Of the reality that is the same 
Throughout the universe.

Again seeking out his great teacher 
Lokesvararaja Buddha, 
The Buddha who is always 
Emancipating the world, 
Dharmakara first respectfully bowed, 
Placed his forehead on the Buddha's feet 
And then, 
Rising to walk around the Buddha three times 
While he gazed in awe from all directions 
At this Buddha whom he wished to become, 
Feeling the Buddha's inconceivable power, 
Dharmakara put his palms together in gassho 
And sang in praise.

"You, like whom I wish to become, 
Have a countenance radiant with a light 
Of utter sincerity, a light of boundless wisdom 
Which shines on all beings 
Transforming vices into virtues! 
Your light is the light of compassion, 
The ever-burning light-source 
Of peace and happiness, 
Penetrating me with its warmth.

When compared to your never-failing light 
That of the most precious jewels, 
That of the fiercest flames, 
That of the sun and brightest stars 
Are like tie black holes of the universe.

Your shinny countenance, 
Your most excellent features, 
Your color -- which embraces all colors -- 
Are beyond compare. 
Your voice, emerging from the depths 
Of your boundless compassion, 
Resounds like a lion's roar throughout the universe 
Proclaiming that Buddha-ness 
Is my true self, 
The true self of each and every being everywhere!

That sublime, most rare compassion 
Arising from the wisdom-flow 
Of your ceaseless activity in perfecting 
Mindfulness and awareness: 
Your ceaseless activity in perfecting patience, 
Strength, 
And reflection; 
Take you beyond this world of birth-and-death 
To the stage of joy and bliss 
At having become the dharma.

How inconceivable that this last stage, 
The fulfillment of Buddha-hood, 
You, a perfected Buddha, made the choice -- 
Out of Great Compassion -- 
To return to this world as a bodhisattva 
Whose dedication and yearning 
Is to awaken and free each and every one of us.

In your samadhi, 
So deep, so total and yet so subtle, 
Having become one 
With the dharma-ocean of all the Buddhas, 
You fathomed its fathomless depths, 
You measured its inmeasurability, 
You perceived its most profound truths.

In you Abhijna, the wisdom of a Buddha 
Has for all time replaced the darkness of ignorance. 
In you, Mahakaruna, the compassion of a Buddha, 
Has for all time replaced the darkness of lust. 
In you, through selflessness, Maha-atman, the Great Self of a Buddha 
Has for all time replaced the darkness 
Of Self-centeredness.

Indeed, you are Bhagavat! 
The Tathagata! 
The world-honored one whose cosmic virtues, 
Whose profound and subtle wisdom radiates 
Throughout the immeasurable reaches 
Of all the galaxies, 
Touching the inconceivable depths of all that exists.

The impact of your enlightenment, like lightning 
Striking throughout the universe, 
With neither exception nor distinction transforms 
All that exists in every world with Bodhi, 
The innate nature of Buddha-ness, 
The potential to realize what is true and real.

I, Dharmakara, yearn to experience the samadhi 
Which you are experiencing. 
In it, I shall open the gate of the six perfections, 
The gate which includes all dharmas" 
Dana-Awareness, 
And the resolve to open this awareness to all:

Sila-Restraint practiced with 
Ksanti, patience, 
Virya, strongest effort, 
Dhyana, contemplation that opens the eye of samadhi 
To Prajna, the wisdom that frees and emancipates, 
The wisdom of things-as-they-are. 
Endlessly, without ceasing, 
I shall yearn to attain 
Anuttara samyak sambodhi -- 
The unparalleled Great Awakening 
That transforms the universe 
With immeasurable light and life.

This I shall carry out through my practice. 
I will endure whatever must be endured 
To attain this for everyone everywhere.

To all who are in need of help and guidance, 
For all who are lost and confused, 
Hopelessly wandering in these worlds of illusion, 
I vow 
They will become enabled to restore their confidence, 
To awaken to their true identity, 
Their great and total Buddha-ness, 
Their oneness 
With the Dharma that includes all dharmas, 
Their oneness with me.

In every land, 
Offerings to gods and buddhas are assumed 
To insure the highest benefit to a devotee, 
But I now establish this superior way 
Of becoming a Buddha, 
Which I shall follow firmly and forthrightly, 
Though it is the most difficult of all difficulties. 
It is a way which cannot be rivaled 
Even by making offerings to gods and Buddhas 
More numerous than the sand grains 
In the River Ganges.

- Rev. Shoji Matsumoto and Ruth Tabrah Honolulu, 1984