Thus  I have  heard:  At  one  time  the  World-Honoured  One  sojourned  at  the Trayastrimsa, or Tavatimsa, Heaven, and was preaching on His mother’s behalf. At that  time,  innumerable  Buddhas  and  Maha-Bodhisattvas  from  infinite  worldsystems in the ten quarters of space convened harmoniously, admiring the fully Enlightened One, Shakyamuni, for His transcendental wisdom and Infinite powers in guiding erring beings to understand the dissimilarity between the bases of happiness and sorrow in the world. They all escorted their attendants to offer homage to the Honoured One.

 

The  Honoured  One  smiled  and  radiated  multi-radiant  beams  of  infinite compassion,  supreme  wisdom,  benevolence,  etc.,  dispatching  forth  into  space sounds of the six paramitas; sounds of infinite compassion; sounds of charity; sounds  of  emancipation;  sounds  of  bliss;  sounds  of  transcendental  wisdom; emitting lion-roars; emitting great lion-roars; emitting thunderous sounds; and a great number of other indescribable sounds.   Many beings from the ten quarters of space in this world and additional worlds had assembled jointly at Trayastrimsa Heaven,  Tusita  Heaven,  Nirmanarati  Heaven,  Paranirmita-vasavartin  Heaven, Brahmaparisadya Heaven, Brahmapurohitas Heaven, Mahabrahman Heaven, and from numerous other Heavens.

 

All Devas, spirits and dragons from the seas had combined together, as also beings from various worlds and this human world, such as spirits of the sea, storms, rivers, trees, hills, earth, spring, spirits of the fields, day, night, spirits of the empty spaces, the skies, of drink and food, spirits of the grass and woods, and all the other spirits. Likewise, there came beings from different worlds and the human one--such beings as great kings of pretas, asuras, succubus pretas, preta spirits of sickness, the pretas of poison, the kings of the pretas of joy and prosperity, the kings of pretas of carnal love and prestige, and many pretas and kings of pretas had  gathered  happily together.