The qualities of knowledge are briefly described in ten ways. First, the body of knowledge rests on nothing, manifesting characteristics according to the subject. Second, appearances of knowledge are like reflections in essence, without any material conventionality. Third, reflections of knowledge originally do not exist; the subject appears according to the mind. Fourth, knowledge has no “here” or “there”—it responds to objects like an echo. Fifth, sentient beings see it falsely, but that is not the doing of knowledge itself. Sixth, knowledge makes nothing but arises according to illusions. Seventh, magical birth does not involve thoughts of desire. Eighth, the spacelike power of intention appears responsively throughout the ten directions. Ninth, uncontrived, great compassion pervades the ordinary world to benefit beings. Tenth, knowledge is common to all conscious beings, so observation of the ordinary is always real. These ten aspects of the Teaching are Gopa’s practice.
At that time there was in the hall of universal reflections of the light of truth a goddess named Sorrowless who came with ten thousand house goddesses to welcome Sudhana. Ten thousand symbolizes myriad practices, the house goddesses represent the shelter of kindness and compassion. Welcoming represents knowledge and kindness meeting.
Sudhana saw Gopa surrounded by eighty-four thousand maidens of royal lineage, representing the eighty-four thousand afflictions. All of them were engaged in the same practice, through kindness and compassion; and compassion is born of knowledge.
Gopa said she had once been the bride of a prince, who was a previous manifestation of the present Buddha; she and her husband went together to see the buddha of their time and hear the Teaching. This symbolizes the inseparable union of knowledge and compassion in this stage.
She added that she had attained liberty to observe the concentrations of all enlightening beings, yet even after eons she did not completely know the practices of enlightening beings, because the practice of Universal Good is infinite.
The ten teachers who follow Gopa represent the practice of Universal Good in the eleventh stage.
41. MAYA
Then Sudhana saw Lady Maya in this world and realized the method of magical attainment of enlightenment by producing knowledge from compassion.
“This world” symbolizes the realm embraced by great compassion, without distinctions of far and near, inside and outside. Lady Maya represents the effortless great compassion that is always in the world. The fact that she is the mother of Buddha symbolizes great compassion magically producing great knowledge.
A city goddess named Jewel Eyes exhorted Sudhana to guard the citadel of mind, a goddess named Spiritual Lotus eulogized Lady Maya, lights entered Sudhana’s head, and a goblin guarding the teaching hall instructed Sudhana to view body and mind as like dreams or reflections as he sought teachers.
Jewel Eyes represents the eye of knowledge within compassion, the lights symbolize teaching, and the goblin represents devouring the poisons of ignorance. These three principles constitute expedients on the threshold of the eleventh stage, ushering one into the great practice of Universal Good.
When Sudhana put these teachings into practice, he saw a jewel lotus spring up from the earth, with Maya sitting on it manifesting countless incarnations in conformity with the doings of sentient beings. This illustrates the absence of inherent identity of body and mind—this is seeing bodies magically produced by compassion and knowledge.
Maya said that her body, even though in its original state, contained oceans of enlightening beings who traveled freely within her belly, crossing a billion-world universe in a single step. This means that the ocean of great compassionate practices of Universal Good is endlessly vast, like space.
Maya said she was the mother of all buddhas of all times, meaning that the knowledge to help beings spontaneously is all born of the mother of great compassion.
Maya also said she had attained this liberation of the magic of knowledge inconceivable eons before, making it clear that it is not possible to calculate in ordinary relative terms—it is necessary that calculation be forgotten, feelings end, and knowledge become manifest before one could know how long it had been since she had attained this liberation. Therefore only buddhas could know how many eons it had been.
42. SURENDRABHA
Then, in the thirty-three-fold heaven, Sudhana saw the goddess Surendrabha, daughter of the god Smrtimati, and realized unfailing mindfulness of all truths through mastery of knowledge and compassion.
The god Smrtimati (“Mindful”) appeared in an earlier book of The Flower Ornament Scripture, and here is called a king, who also has a daughter. This represents spontaneous wisdom and compassion without thought, spiritual teaching without fixed convention; this freedom is represented as divinity and kingship, which thus do not refer literally to a specific realm or status.
The goddess said she had attained liberation of unimpeded recollection, meaning that the extent of the eons of past, present, and future was perfectly clear to her, manifest in the immediate present. This is natural, by knowledge without thought.
The goddess said that she served all the buddhas in countless eons. This is a description of temporal relativity within the absolute where there is no temporal relativity. Because the timeless realm of knowledge is instantly all-pervasive, this is not a result of fabrication.
After this the teachers are lay people, not presented as supernatural, to show that the Way of transcendence is fulfilled, but there may be lack of breadth of freedom in helping living beings. There is no more will to seek liberation apart from defilement and purity: there is only riding on the ship of the essence of reality and hoisting the sail of great compassion, with great knowledge as the captain, following the wind of the fundamental vow, casting the net of transcendent ways, traveling the ocean of birth and death, hauling out “fish,” those with attachments, and placing them on the shore of independent knowledge, to dwell in the precious hall of the real universe, like the tower of Maitreya described hereafter.
43. VISHWAMITRA
Then Sudhana saw the young teacher Vishwamitra in the city of Kapilavastu and realized how to be a teacher of worldly principles everywhere.
Vishwamitra did not tell Sudhana anything but sent him to see Shilpabhijna, illustrating the rule for teacher-exemplars, which is properly not to instruct personally but to leave this to assistant mentors, just answering questions about unresolved matters. This represents the fact that the virtuous are never alone, always having associates to assist in the development of education.
44. SHILPABHIJNA
Then Sudhana saw Shilpabhijna and realized universal knowledge of writing.
Shilpabhijna was a student of Vishwamitra. He said he had attained liberation with higher knowledge of arts. Constantly reciting forty-two phonemes, he entered into countless facets of transcendent wisdom. Because these phenomena include all writings, to hold one in mind is to hold all in mind, and to hold all in mind is to hold one in mind—this is the portal of wisdom.
For example, in reciting A, he entered the facet of transcendent wisdom in which there are no distinctions in the power of enlightening beings. A is the negative prefix: realizing the truth that all is empty and not really existent is the realm of nondifferentiation in the power of enlightening beings. Pronouncing Ra, he entered the facet of transcendent wisdom in which there are infinite differentiations, as Ra represents the realm of differentiated knowledge and practice of Universal Good.
45. BHADROTTAMA
Then Sudhana saw the Buddhist laywoman Bhadrottama and realized how to help people by conventional and mystical arts and sciences.
Bhadrottama is called Best of the Good because she understood all principles. Because she was in the material world helping beings, sometimes she was a diviner, sometimes a curer, sometimes an appraiser of jewels, sometimes a writer.
Understanding all genius and effective knowledge, able to control all pernicious influences, containing the ocean of knowledge of Universal Good, equaling the spiritual body
of Manjushri, embodying buddhahood, spiritualizing myriad beings, reaching everywhere and performing all practices, in accord with the saying that buddhas have reality for their body, only when one arrives at all realities and knows all truths can one be a teacher of gods and humans.
But reality has no place of abode, so the body also has no anchor—though it pervades myriad existences, it has no substance itself. Therefore Bhadrottama said she had only realized liberation of the baseless sphere.
46. MUKTASARA
Then Sudhana saw the goldsmith Muktasara in the city of Bharukaccha and realized the way to pure liberation by being in the world without clinging thoughts.
Adorn thoughts with formless knowledge and thoughts will naturally not cling to phenomena. This is liberation.
47. SUCHANDRA
Then Sudhana saw the householder Suchandra in the same city and realized the way to illumination by pure knowledge working in the world.
The practical great compassion represented in this meeting is one with the formless liberation of the preceding meeting, so it takes place in the same city. In the ten abodes, ten practices, ten dedications, and ten stages, the seventh and eighth steps merge into each other; in this eleventh stage, the sixth and seventh grades are one body. Using the light of great compassion to break through the confusion of sentient beings is liberation of the illumination of pure knowledge.
48. AJITASENA
Then Sudhana saw the householder Ajitasena in the city of Roruka and realized the method of finding infinite forms in formlessness.
The city Roruka represents the great vows that produce spiritual practices. The householder Ajitasena represents victory over the demons of birth and death.
The totality of states of mind are the infinite forms of buddha. These are the infinite forms in formlessness.
49. SHIVARAGRA
Then Sudhana saw the Brahmin Shivaragra in Dharma village and realized the way of speaking in such a manner that truth is revealed.
Dharma village represents the rank of a teacher of Dharma whose village is the real universe. The Brahmin Shivaragra represents transcendent power—in the ordinary without being ordinary, in the clamor without making clamor.
The liberation of speech revealing truth is attained by realization that the essence of all words and speech is inherently real and that persons and things are all thus—so there is no empty talk.
50. SHRISAMBHAVA AND SHRIMATI
Then Sudhana went to the city of Sumanamukha, saw the boy Shrisambhava and the girl Shrimati, and realized illusoriness, living in the world with complete knowledge and compassion.
The city represents subtle practice within knowledge, the boy and girl represent desireless, unaffected gentility and humility, with equal knowledge and compassion.
The boy and girl said they had attained the liberation of illusoriness, meaning they had realized that the realms of buddhas and sentient beings are both illusory products of knowledge.
In the illusory state, there is neither real nor false; mind and objects merge, essence and appearance do not interfere: the body and the environment interpenetrate, their radiance and reflections multiply ad infinitum. The being pervading the sacred and the profane, the essence complete through all time, they abide in the world permanently yet without resting on anything. Therefore they said that the essence of illusory states in inconceivable.
After this they directed Sudhana to see Maitreya, who is to fulfill buddhahood in one lifetime. This one lifetime is the birthless lifetime, not a lifetime in the temporal order. The three principles represented by Maitreya, Manjushri, and Samantabhadra are the body of all causes and effects of the fifty ranks, not principles that exist outside the fifty ranks.
51. MAITREYA
Shrisambhava and Shrimati used the inconceivable power of faculties for goodness to make Sudhana feel at ease and aglow, then directed him to the great building called chamber of adornments of Vairocana in the Great Array Park in Samudrakaccha, at the edge of the ocean, where he saw the enlightening being Maitreya and realized the way to buddhahood in one lifetime.
The seashore represents gradually ascending progress to buddhahood in one lifetime, facing the shore of the ocean of birth and death. The Park of the Great Array symbolizes adornment of buddhahood with the knowledge and compassion to enter birth and death.
The name Vairocana includes both the meaning of differentiated light, symbolizing knowledge of distinctions, and ubiquitous illumination shining everywhere, symbolizing fundamental knowledge.
The building represents the universally enlightening knowledge of the substance and function of the real universe, working in various ways for the maximum benefit of living beings. Therefore its size is equal to space, so that all worlds and their beings are living in it—though unaware of each other—as told in detail in the scripture, represented by the various worlds seen by Sudhana in the tower.
The building was made by the great compassion of the ocean of enlightened knowledge, the great vow to help the living, and it was situated in the park of birth and death of all sentient beings. Therefore Maitreya said its manifestation is produced from skill in means, from virtue and knowledge; it comes from nowhere and goes nowhere. These are all characteristics of presence in the midst of origination and destruction with knowledge of illusoriness. It is like the power of actions of sentient beings, which arises and disappears without any graspable substance or appearance of coming and going.
Maitreya is the Loving One, of whom buddhahood in the next lifetime was foretold. In the realm of knowledge of illusory states in the real universe, in every particle of every land there are infinite oceans of buddhas, but their unique enlightenment is always as is, without origin or disappearance, without past, future, or present. It is only through the great practice of Universal Good that there are manifestations of attainment of buddhahood, nirvana, and giving instructions for the future, according to what is timely and appropriate for sentient beings. That is why Maitreya appears to be in the position of successorship before the present buddha’s mission is ended, while in reality Maitreya is already equal to the buddhas.
Shrisambhava and Shrimati extolled the virtues of Maitreya at length to induce Sudhana to approach and attend Maitreya, and warned him not to try with a limited mind to practice the six ways of transcendence, dwell in the ten stages, purify a buddha-field, or serve teachers. This makes it clear that the six transcendent ways and the ten stages are not yet free from the transcendental partial view of purity; do not yet fully embody the practice of Universal Good; and are not the same as the body of virtues of the ocean of fruits of rewards of Vairocana Buddha, the ocean of blessings represented as flower crowns, necklaces, bracelets, and so on. Through them one only attains equality with the emanation buddhas transcending the world, giving up the mortal body that likes and dislikes.
Therefore when the eleventh stage is fulfilled, the Teaching leads into the real universe, to merge with the complete embodiment of the fundamental root and arrive at the realm of the great knowledge of the real universe that originally underlies unawareness, thus naturally to be rewarded with boundless virtues.
In addition, the infinitely adorned body of enjoyment developed by the differentiating knowledge of the ocean of practical vows of Universal Good would not allow Sudhana to stick to limited practices projected to inspire ordinary people.
Now Sudhana prostrated himself in front of the building, using various modes of praise to extol this building as the abode of great sages with measureless virtues. This illustrates the fruits of buddhahood as being such that they can never be fully described.
The enlightening being Maitreya came from elsewhere and lauded Sudhana’s virtues to the crowd, then extolled at length the virtues of the thought of enlightenment. “Coming from elsewhere” means that when adapting to conventions in order to teach people, one does not dwell on one’s own rewards. The process of using all spiritual capacities, enlightenment power, and the myriad practices of enlightening bei
ngs to turn the ocean of afflictions into the ocean of all knowledge is all based on the thought of enlightenment.
The thought of enlightenment is independent, and knowledge is also independent, so all that is done is without dependence or obsession—myriad practices are like projections, helping the living is like magic, spiritual capacities and enlightened powers are like the moon in the sky appearing in waters everywhere. All these are functional capacities of the thought of enlightenment. Anything attained through any agency but the thought of enlightenment is not natural law, so the virtues of the thought of enlightenment are inconceivable.
Maitreya made a sound by snapping his fingers, and the door to the building opened up. Snapping the fingers has the meaning of dismissing material sense, sound has the meaning of stirring awake. When material sense is removed and attachment gone, the door of knowledge spontaneously opens.
Once Sudhana had entered the building, the door then reclosed. Opening means the disappearance of delusion and the appearance of knowledge. Reclosing means that in knowledge there is no inside or outside, no exiting or entering, no delusion or enlightenment. This means wholly returning to the source.
Sudhana saw the interior of the building to be infinitely vast as space. This represents the infinity of the realm of knowledge. The ornaments were all made of precious substances, representing the value of practical acts of kindness and wisdom.
In the building Sudhana saw spiritually projected scenes: the past, present, and future practices of Maitreya, as well as the buddhas with whom he worked and his spiritual friends, who also expounded various truths to Sudhana. Because the realm of knowledge of the body of reality is by natural law always so, no thing is not spiritual, no phenomenon is not wonderful—these are spiritual scenes. Because past, present, and future are not beyond a moment, Sudhana saw events of all times. Because the nature of past, present, and future is perfect, they clearly always teach—so Sudhana heard past buddhas teaching.
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