爾時世尊 擧金色臂 又摩地藏菩薩摩訶薩頂 而作是言 地藏地藏 汝之神力 不可思議 汝之慈悲 不可思議 汝之智慧 不可思議 汝之辯才 不可思議 正使十方諸佛 讚歎宣說汝之不思議事 千萬劫中 不能得盡 地藏地藏 記吾今日 在忉利天中 於百千萬億不可說不可說 一切諸佛菩薩 天龍八部大會之中 再以人天諸衆生等 未出三界 在火宅中者 付囑於汝 無令是諸衆生 墮惡趣中一日一夜 何況更落五無間地獄 動經千萬億劫 無有出期 地藏 是南閻浮提衆生 志性無定 習惡者多 縱發善心 須臾卽退 若遇惡緣 念念增長 以是之故 吾分是形 百千億 化度如是剛強衆生
Ěr shí shì zūn jǔ jīn sè bì yòu mó dì zàng pú sà mó hē sà dǐng ér zuò shì yán dì zàng dì zàng rǔ zhī shén lì bù kě sī yì rǔ zhī cí bēi bù kě sī yì rǔ zhī zhì huì bù kě sī yì rǔ zhī biàn cái bù kě sī yì zhèng shǐ shí fāng zhū fó zàn tàn xuān shuō rǔ zhī bù sī yì shì qiān wàn jié zhōng bù néng dé jìn dì zàng dì zàng jì wú jīn rì zài dāo lì tiān zhōng yú bǎi qiān wàn yì bù kě shuō bù kě shuō yī qiē zhū fó pú sà tiān lóng bā bù dà huì zhī zhōng zài yǐ rén tiān zhū zhòng shēng děng wèi chū sān jiè zài huǒ zhái zhōng zhě fù zhǔ yú rǔ wú lìng shì zhū zhòng shēng duò è qù zhōng yī rì yī yè hé kuàng gèng luò wǔ wú jiān dì yù dòng jīng qiān wàn yì jié wú yǒu chū qī dì zàng shì nán yán fú tí zhòng shēng zhì xìng wú dìng xí è zhě duō zòng fā shàn xīn xū yú jí tuì ruò yù è yuán niàn niàn zēng zhǎng yǐ shì zhī gù wú fēn shì xíng bǎi qiān yì huà dù rú shì gāng qiáng zhòng shēng
Key Message
The scene of the Buddha personally entrusting all sentient beings of the degenerate age to Kṣitigarbha is the final declaration that Kṣitigarbha is the bodhisattva of great compassion closest to beings of our era.
▸The Chapter on the Final Entrustment of Humans and Devas is the final chapter of the Kṣitigarbha Sūtra — a deeply moving scene in which the Buddha personally strokes Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva's head with his golden arm (金色臂) and delivers his final entrustment.
The Chapter on the Final Entrustment of Humans and Devas is the final chapter of the Kṣitigarbha Sūtra — a deeply moving scene in which the Buddha personally strokes Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva's head with his golden arm (金色臂) and delivers his final entrustment. The Buddha declares: Kṣitigarbha's supernormal power is inconceivable; his compassion is inconceivable; his wisdom is inconceivable; his eloquence is inconceivable — even if all the Buddhas of the ten directions were to praise and expound these inconceivable qualities for tens of millions of kalpas, they could not exhaust them. And now, before this vast assembly at Trāyastriṃśa Heaven of all Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and the eight groups of devas and dragons, the Buddha entrusts to Kṣitigarbha all the humans and devas still trapped within the three realms (三界) — still in the burning house (火宅) — asking that not a single being among them fall into an evil destiny for even one day and one night, let alone into Avīci hell for tens of billions of kalpas. The Buddha notes that the beings of Jambudvīpa are fickle in their aspirations, with many given to evil habits — even when they give rise to a good intention it soon retreats — and charges Kṣitigarbha to guide these stubborn beings with hundreds of billions of manifestation bodies.