(The World Honored One said) “I teach and transform obstinate beings such as these within the evil worlds of the Five Turbidities, causing their minds to be regulated and subdued so they renounce the deviant and return to the proper. But one or two of ten still cling to their bad habits. For them I again divide into billions of bodies and use numerous additional expedient means…I may appear in a male body. I may appear in a female body. I may appear in the body of a god or dragon. I may appear in the body of a spirit or ghost. I may appear as a mountain, as a forest, as a stream, as a spring, as a river, as a lake, as a fountain, or as a well in order to benefit people. I use all these ways to save beings. I may appear in the body of God Shakra. I may appear in the body of Lord Brahma. I may appear in the body of a Wheel-Turning King. I may appear in the body of a lay person. I may appear in the body of a national leader. I may appear in the body of a prime minister. I may appear in the body of an official. I may appear in the body of a Bhikshu, a Bhikshuni, an Upasaka, an Upasika, and so forth to my appearing in the body of a Soundhearer, an Arhat, a Pratyekabuddha, or a Bodhisattva in order to teach and rescue beings. It is not that I only appear to them in the body of a Buddha.”

(The Sutra of the Past Vows of Earth Store Bodhisattva)