In the troubled world of the Age of [the Decadent Dharma]
There are many fearful things.
People possessed by evil spirits
Will scorn and slander us.
But we shall wear the armor of patience
Because we trust and revere the Buddha;
And we will persevere under these difficulties
In order to teach this sutra.
We will not be attached to our bodies or lives
We only desire the highest path.
In the future we will preserve
What the Buddha has entrusted us with.
The Bhagavat himself must know
That the erring monks in the troubled world
Will not understand the Dharma
Taught by the Buddha through skillful means,
According to what is appropriate to sentient beings.
They will utter evil words with angry countenances,
And they will repeatedly expel us,
And keep us away from the monasteries and stupas.
There will be many evils such as this.
We will all endure in these matters
Because we remember the Buddha’s decree.
If there are any people seeking this Dharma
In villages or cities, we will all go there
And teach the Dharma entrusted to us by the Buddha.
Because we are the Bhagavat’s ambassadors,
Wherever we go we have nothing to fear.
We will skillfully teach the Dharma.
We entreat you, O Buddha, to be at ease.
In the presence of the Bhagavat,
And all of the buddhas who have come
From the ten directions,
We make this declaration.
O Buddha! You know our intentions!