getting to it.

We who have been created by your teaching,   
Put our palms together and wait expectantly,    
Begging you to make wonderful sounds,   
And tell the truth as it really is.

Gods, dragon-gods, and others,   
Numerous as the sands of the Ganges,   
Bodhisattvas seeking to become buddhas,   
Some eighty thousand in number,

And wheel-turning saintly kings   
Have come here from trillions of lands   
With palms together and reverent hearts.   
All want to hear the perfect way.

Then the Buddha said to Shariputra : "Stop, stop! There is no need to say more. If I explain this matter, all of the worlds' heavenly beings as well as human beings will be startled andof mind. People who practice this repentance are pure in body and mind, like flowing water, not attached to things. Whenever they reflect they will be able to see Universal Sage Bodhisattva and the buddhas in all directions."

Then all the world-honored ones, emitting rays of light of great mercy, will teach for followers the Dharma of formlessness. The followers, hearing the first principle of emptiness being taught, are not surprised by hearing this. In due time they will gain the status of true bodhisattvas.

The Buddha said to Ananda: "Practicing in this way is called repentance. This is the method of repentance practiced by buddhas and great bodhisattvas in all ten directions."

The Buddha then said to Ananda: "After the extinction of the Buddha, if his disciples want to repent