Chapter 23: Sarvagamin
Then Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, visualizing in his mind the upāsikā Acalā, remembering the instruction of the upāsikā Acalā, with conviction in and no doubt about what the upāsikā Acalā had taught, proclaimed, instructed, described,1081 sanctioned, established, explicated, stated, and elaborated upon, he followed it, contemplated it, comprehended it, meditated on it, was absorbed in it,1082 was fixed upon it, understood it, illuminated it, and became equal to it.1083
Eventually, traveling from district to district, going from land to land, Sudhana arrived at the land called Amitatosala. He searched for the town named Tosala, and at sunset he arrived at the town of Tosala. He entered the town of Tosala and went to the crossroads in the center of the town. He wandered from one street to another, from one crossroads to another, from one lane to another, searching and inquiring. When it was night and people were asleep, he saw to the north of the town of Tosala a hill called Sulabha. Its summit was adorned by a delightful variety of grasses, bushes, and herbs, and it shone as brightly as the sun. Seeing that light, he felt a powerful joy and thought, “I will without doubt see the kalyāṇamitra on the summit of that hill.” He came out of the town and went to Sulabha Hill, and he climbed up Sulabha Hill and arrived at the very bright summit of the hill. He saw in the distance the parivrājaka Sarvagamin, who shone with splendor and whose appearance was superior even to that of Mahābrahmā, and ten thousand brahmins were walking in circumambulation around him.
Sudhana approached him, bowed his head to his feet, circumambulated him many hundreds of thousands of times, and sat down before him. With his hands placed together in homage, he said, “Ārya, I have developed the aspiration for the highest, complete enlightenment, but I do not know how bodhisattvas should train in bodhisattva conduct and in what way they should practice it.
“Ārya, I have heard that you give instruction and teachings to bodhisattvas. Explain to me how bodhisattvas should train in bodhisattva conduct and how they should practice it!”
Sarvagamin said, “Noble one, it is excellent, excellent, that you have in that way set out upon the highest, complete enlightenment!
“Noble one, I, Sarvagamin, remain within the all-pervading bodhisattva conduct. I am endowed with the gateway of the samādhi called the light of the practice of all gateways, with being established in the absence of existence, with noncomposite miraculous powers, and with the gateway of the knowledge of the perfection of wisdom that has reached the basis of the entire realm of the Dharma.
“Noble one, in that way I benefit beings in the entire array of worlds inhabited by beings, in all the states of existences that beings are in, in all the gateways of the deaths of beings, in all the gateways of the births of beings, in all the different existences, in the various different abodes, and in the worlds that are habitations—beings who have various colors, shapes, heights, and widths and who have entered various kinds of rebirths, have different practices, and have different aspirations, which means those within existence as a deva, those within existence as a nāga, those within existence as a yakṣa, those within existence as a gandharva, those within existence as an asura, those within existence as a garuḍa, those within existence as a kinnara, those within existence as a mahoraga, those within existence as a hell being, those within existence as an animal, those within existence in the world of Yama, those within existence as a human, those within existence as a nonhuman, those who have various false views, those who aspire to the Śrāvakayāna, those who aspire to the Pratyekabuddhayāna, and those who aspire to the Mahāyāna—benefiting them through various methods and through various introductions to the way of wisdom.
“This means that I benefit some beings with the light of the power of mental retention1084 that possesses all the knowledge of the various crafts so that they will learn the various worldly crafts.
“I benefit some beings through the application of the four methods of gathering pupils, which means leading them to omniscient wisdom.
“I benefit some beings by describing the perfections, thus generating the light of the gateway1085 of the wisdom that transforms into omniscience.
“I benefit some beings by describing the aspiration to enlightenment, thus developing an imperishable, strengthened seed of enlightenment.
“I benefit some beings by describing all the aspects of bodhisattva conduct, thus generating the aspiration to purify all buddha realms and ripen all beings.
“I benefit some beings by causing dismay, by teaching the sufferings experienced by beings in the hells caused by the ripening of their bad conduct.
“I benefit some beings by causing delight, by describing all the qualities that arise in the tathāgatas,1086 which are the ultimate result of definite omniscience.
“I benefit some beings by speaking praises of the qualities of all the tathāgatas, thus generating the aspiration to omniscience and the longing for the qualities and body of a buddha.
“I benefit some beings by describing the greatness of the buddhas, thus generating the longing to attain the body of a buddha that possesses the power to undertake continuous, irresistible buddha activity.
“I benefit some beings by describing the dominance of the buddhas, thus generating the aspiration to attain the perfect body of a buddha, which cannot be surpassed but surpasses all others.
“Moreover, noble one, I manifest a body of the size and shape that accords with the aspirations, activities, powers, and conducts of all the men, women, boys, and girls who are gathered in all the crossroads, streets, junctions, side streets, houses, trades, districts, and dwellings in the districts of this town of Tosala, and I teach them the Dharma. Those beings do not know who has taught them or where he has come from, but otherwise having heard me, they all practice correctly.1087
“Moreover, noble one, I go everywhere in this Jambudvīpa in order to ripen those who are attached to the ninety-six varieties of heretical1088 views.
“Noble one, in the same way that I benefit beings in this town of Tosala, I benefit beings in all the villages, markets,1089 towns, lands, kingdoms, and capitals in Jambudvīpa. In the same way that I benefit beings in Jambudvīpa, I do so in the entire four-continent world realm, and in a thousand such world realms, and in a million, and in the great world realms of a billion such world realms. In the same way, I benefit beings according to their aspirations in all the world realms in the ten directions, in all the habitations of beings, in all the dwellings of beings, in all the locations of beings, in all that are known as the abodes of beings, in all the residences of beings, in all the congregations of beings, in all the oceans of beings, in all the lineages of beings, in all the directions of beings, in all the intermediate directions of beings, and in all the conducts of beings. I benefit beings through various methods, various ways, various gateways, various kinds of logic, various connections, various ways of methods, and various actions. I benefit beings through the manifestation of various attractive physical forms and colors. I benefit beings through speaking in various languages.
“Noble one, in that way, I know this bodhisattva conduct that is all-pervasive1090 and omnipresent, but how could I know the conduct or describe the qualities of those bodhisattvas who possess bodies that are the same as those of all beings; who have attained the samādhi called identical to the bodies of all beings; who pervade all the classes of existence with a vast wheel of emanations; who perform in their own bodies all worldly births; who are dedicated to the wheel of beautiful emanations that all beings delight to see; who manifest births in the families, clans, and lives of all beings; who possess the unimpeded wheel of aspiration to dwell in all kalpas; who have attained the radiance of the display of conduct that is like an illusion; who are dedicated to benefiting all beings and yet remain stainless; who have realized the equality of all the realms of beings in the three times; who possess the essence of infinite compassion illuminated by the realm of the wisdom of selflessness; and who are dedicated to generating the roots of merit of all beings?
“Depart, noble one. In this southern region, in a land called Pṛthurāṣṭra, there dwells a perfume-seller head merchant by the name of Utpalabhūti. Go to him and ask him, ‘How should a bodhisattva train in bodhisattva conduct? How should a bodhisattva practice it?’ ”
Then Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, bowed his head to the feet of the parivrājaka Sarvagamin, circumambulated the parivrājaka Sarvagamin a hundred thousand times, keeping him to his right, and, looking back again and again, departed from the presence of the parivrājaka Sarvagamin.