Chapter 22: Entrustment

The Buddha rises from his Dharma seat within the treasure tower and, employing his supernatural power, touches the heads of all the assembled bodhisattvas with his right hand. This gesture of touching the head is a traditional act of transmission, conveying authority and blessing. Three times the Buddha strokes their heads and speaks to them, saying that over countless kalpas he has cultivated the Dharma of supreme enlightenment, which is rare and difficult to encounter. Now he entrusts it to them all, and they must wholeheartedly propagate it so that its benefits may spread far and wide.

The Buddha repeats this charge three times, emphasizing the gravity of the entrustment. He instructs the bodhisattvas to ensure that all sentient beings hear this teaching and awaken to it, for the compassion of the Tathagata is great and unstinting. He holds nothing back. The bodhisattvas respond with a unified voice, vowing three times to carry out the Buddha's command without fail, and they ask the World-Honored One to set his mind at ease.

With the entrustment complete, the Buddha sends all the emanation Buddhas who had gathered from the ten directions back to their respective worlds, saying, "May all the Buddhas be at ease." The treasure tower of Many Treasures is closed, and the assembly returns from the air to Vulture Peak. This chapter marks the formal conclusion of the Ceremony in the Air, which began in Chapter 11. The remaining six chapters take place back on Vulture Peak and consist of supplementary teachings and narratives that further reinforce the sutra's themes.