Bhadrakalpika Sutra

[Bodhicitta]

From the Preface of the four volume Dharma Publishing edition, translated as The Fortunate Aeon:

 

The Bhadrakalpika Sūtra occupies a special place in the

hearts of the Tibetan people. Its teachings support the

efforts of all who seek enlightened knowledge, and its presentation

of the one thousand Buddhas of our aeon inspires

confidence in the enduring nature of the Dharma. The teachings

emphasize the pāramitās, the perfections that culminate

in the prajñāpāramitā: the perfection of enlightened

knowledge, “mother of all the Buddhas.” The pāramitās are

the keys that open our hearts to the meaning and value of

the Buddha, and reveal a direct channel to complete and

perfect enlightenment.

 

Reading, reciting, and listening to the Bhadrakalpika Sūtra

invokes the blessings of all the Buddhas whose coming it

heralds; thus the Bhadrakalpika has always been counted

among the most auspicious of texts. So important has this work

been considered in Tibet, that the original compilers of the

Tibetan Buddhist Canon placed the Bhadrakalpika first in the

general Sutra section, immediately preceding the Lalitavistara

Sūtra, the detailed account of the life and teachings of the

Buddha Sakyamuni.

Edited June 4, 2016 by Bodhicitta

[Bodhicitta]

The bodhisattvas surrounding Buddha in the assembly - from 1:5:

 

For innumerable kalpas they had amassed powerful aspirations

for enlightenment. Their faces were smiling, their words

straightforward; they were never irritated, and they spoke in

musical cadences. Their minds were overwhelmingly brilliant,

and they had ceaseless inner confidence in their knowledge.

They had obtained patient conviction concerning the integral

sameness of all constituents of reality and with their fearlessness

overawed boundless assemblies. They had ways of

teaching across the furthest reaches of ten million kalpas with

a single word. They delighted in seeing how all dharmas are like

illusions, mirages, the moon in water, dreams, and echoes.

Immeasurably fearless was their knowledge, and they fully

understood all the intricacies of behavior and subtle moods of

living beings.  

Edited June 5, 2016 by Bodhicitta

[Bodhicitta]

Vast was their virtue, their minds unhindered; they were

without egocentric pride, and were endowed with patience.

Their virtue was like a great wave billowing, and they embraced

all the holy aspirations existing within the limitless array of the

Buddha-fields. They were continuously present in the samādhi

that recollects the Buddhas of the innumerable world systems,

and they were wise in the ways of communicating with the

countless Buddhas. They were skilled in quieting all forms of

emotional turmoil, karmic propensities, and destructive belief systems.

They were skilled in displaying by their samādhi

hundreds of thousands of playful actions.

 

From 1:5