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436
SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA.
XXVI.
gods of paradise, and at that birth shall eighty-four thousand heavenly nymphs immediately come near them. Adorned with a high crown, they shall as angels dwell amongst those nymphs. Such is the mass of merit resulting from writing this Dharmaparyâya; how much greater will be the mass of merit reaped by those who recite, study, meditate, remember it! Therefore, young men of good family', one ought to honour this Dharmaparyâya of the Lotus of the True Law, and write it with the utmost attention. He who writes it with undistracted attention shall be supported by the hands of a thousand Buddhas, and at the moment of his death he shall see another thousand of Buddhas from face to face. He shall not sink down into a state of wretchedness, and after disappearing from this world he shall enter the company of the Tushita-gods, where the Bodhisattva Mahâsattva Maitreya is residing, and where, marked by the thirty-two sublime characteristics, surrounded by a host of Bodhisattvas, and waited upon by hundred thousands of myriads of kotis of heavenly nymphs he is preaching the law. Therefore, then, young men of good family, a wise young man or young lady of good family should respectfully write this Dharmaparyâya of the Lotus of the True Law, respectfully recite it, respectfully study it, respectfully treasure it up in his (or her) mind. By writing, reciting, studying this Dharmaparyâya, and by treasuring it up in one's mind, young men of good family, one is to acquire innumerable good qualities. Hence a wise young man or young lady of good
· Burnouf's reading has, O Lord. The reading of the Cambridge MS. is no mere mistake, for we find it repeated in the sequel
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