DESCRIPTION

This brief chapter, called Parīndanā (’Entrustment’), is a common feature to many Mahayana sutras, in which the Buddha ‘entrusts’ the teaching just given, usually to Ānanda. It should be noted that the parīndanā typically comes at the end of a sutra, adding credence to the opinion that this chapter may have once been the conclusion of the sutra.

A particular point of interest is that the Buddha stands. Almost every sutra includes the occasion of someone rising from their seats, but it is rare that the Buddha, the object of reverence, does. Following this, the Buddha touches of the heads of the bodhisattvas.

At the end of the chapter, Śākyamuni Buddha’s transformation bodies, which all came to the Sahā World to see the jewel stupa in Chapter Eleven, return to their original locations, and the jewel stupa is restored.