Chapter 30: Avalokiteśvara
Then Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, contemplating the instruction of the householder Veṣṭhila, knowing that treasury of bodhisattva aspiration, remembering that power of bodhisattva memory, keeping in his mind the power of that successive lineage of the way of the buddhas, comprehending the continuous succession of the lineage of the buddhas, remembering the names of the buddhas that he had heard,1246 being in accord with the way of the Dharma taught by the buddhas, comprehending the array of attainments through the Dharma1247 of the buddhas, having confidence in the proclamation1248 of complete buddhahood by the buddhas, and focused on the inconceivable activity of the tathāgatas, eventually came to the Potalaka Mountain. He ascended the Potalaka Mountain and searched and searched for the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara.
He saw Avalokiteśvara on the upper slope1249 of the western side of the mountain. It was a fresh, gentle, verdant pasture like a circular area of blue beryl and was beautified by springs, waterfalls, and streams,1250 an open grove within a great forest. He was teaching the Dharma, seated cross-legged upon a diamond rock encircled by a countless assembly of bodhisattvas seated upon rocks that were various jewels. He was giving the Dharma teaching called The Clear Teaching of the Gateway to Love and Compassion, which has as its scope the gathering of all beings into the Dharma.
On seeing him, Sudhana was filled with joy, delighted, elated, pleased, and happy. With increasing rapture, he kept his eyes wide open. He placed his hands together in homage. His mind was at peace through being endowed with the power of faith in kalyāṇamitras. He believed that to see kalyāṇamitras was to see all the buddhas. He believed that the acquisition of the entire cloud of Dharma originated from the kalyāṇamitras. He believed that all qualities and practices depended on the kalyāṇamitras. He believed that it was difficult to encounter kalyāṇamitras. He believed that the attainment of the precious wisdom of the ten strengths came from the kalyāṇamitras. He believed that the inexhaustible light of wisdom1251 came from the kalyāṇamitras. He believed that the continuous increase of merit was dependent on the kalyāṇamitras. He believed that the gateway to omniscience was revealed by the kalyāṇamitras. He believed that entry into the great ocean of wisdom was taught by the kalyāṇamitras. He believed that the gathering of the accumulation of omniscience was born from the kalyāṇamitras.
He went toward the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. The bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara could see Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, coming in the distance and said, “Come here! You are welcome,1252 you who have entered the inconceivable, vast Mahāyāna, which is beyond any analogy; you who have the motivation to be a refuge for all beings who are tormented by various sufferings that arise through being born and who have no refuge; you who wish to witness all the Dharmas of the buddhas, which transcend the world, are beyond analogy, and are beyond measure; you who are filled with the power1253 of great compassion and intend to liberate all beings; you in whom the completely good conduct is evidently seen; you who aspire to make pure a domain of great prayers; you who wish to possess the clouds of Dharma of all the buddhas; you whose motivation to accumulate roots of merit is never satisfied; you who follow perfectly the instructions of kalyāṇamitras; you who are the source of a lotus1254 of good qualities, arising from the ocean of the wisdom of Mañjuśrī; you who are focused on attaining the blessing of the buddhas; you who have attained the light and power of samādhi; you who aspire to obtain the rain1255 from the clouds of Dharma of all the buddhas; you whose mind is made happy by the power of faith and delight on seeing the buddhas; you whose mind is moistened by the power of immeasurable, inconceivable conduct; you who have become the lord of a treasure of pure merit and wisdom through the power of the practice of good qualities; you who are motivated to teach others the power of the path to seeing omniscient wisdom; you who possess the root that is the undiminishing power of great compassion; you who are intent on possessing the power of the light of the wisdom of the tathāgatas.”
Then Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, approached the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. He bowed his head to the feet of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. He circumambulated the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara many hundreds of thousands of times, keeping him to his right. Then he stood before him and, with his hands placed together in homage, 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!”
Then the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara extended his right hand, which was the color of gold from the Jambu River and emanated a display of clouds of countless networks of lights of various colors, and upon Sudhana’s head he placed his hand, which had the multicolored light rays that shine from the signs and features of a great being and bring stainless, measureless physical and mental bliss.
The bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara said, “Noble one, it is excellent, excellent, that you have in that way developed the aspiration for the highest, complete enlightenment!
“Noble one, I know the gateway to bodhisattva activity called the unimpeded gateway to great compassion.
“Noble one, my gateway to bodhisattva activity called the unimpeded gateway to great compassion ripens and guides beings without making any distinctions among all beings, and it gathers and guides beings through their completely hearing and knowing this gateway.
“Noble one, in that way, being established in the gateway to bodhisattva activity called the unimpeded gateway to great compassion, though I never depart from being at the feet of all the tathāgatas, I remain focused on what should be done for all beings. I gather beings through generosity. I gather beings through pleasant words, through benefiting them, and through practicing what I teach.
“I also ripen beings through manifesting physical bodies. I gladden and ripen beings through manifesting countless pure1256 colors, shapes, and forms and through radiating a net of light rays. I speak to them in accordance with their aspirations. I manifest whatever path of conduct they delight in. I teach them the Dharma in accordance with their various wishes. I manifest various forms of miracles so as to inspire beings who have not been attentive in accumulating virtuous qualities. I manifest a variety of countless emanations in accordance with their wishes. I gather and ripen beings by manifesting forms that accord with the states of the beings born in the various classes of existence and by living with them in the same place.
“Noble one, in that way I have purified the gateway to bodhisattva activity called the unimpeded gateway to great compassion and therefore prayed to be a support for all beings. I have accomplished the prayer to be a support for all beings in order that I end for all beings the fear of precipices, cause fears1257 within all beings to cease, eliminate fear from confusion in all beings, eliminate in all beings the fear of being in bondage, dispel in all beings the fear of circumstances1258 that cause loss of life, banish from all beings the fear of being deprived of material necessities, end in all beings the fear of being without a livelihood, dispel in all beings the fear of ill repute,1259 dispel in all beings the fear of being in saṃsāra, cause the fear of timidity within an assembly to cease in all beings, cause all beings to transcend the fear of death, dispel in all beings the fear of the lower existences, shine the light of irreversibility upon those whose path has degenerated in great1260 darkness, completely eliminate in all beings the fear of meeting misfortune, extinguish in all beings the fear of being apart from what is liked, eliminate in all beings the fear of having to be with what is disliked, separate all beings from the fear of physical torment, free all beings from mental torment, and cause all beings to transcend suffering, unhappiness, and disturbances.
“I manifest the gateway to mindfulness in all worlds in order to dispel fear in all beings. I have made the wheel of my name known in all worlds in order to free all beings from fear. I miraculously manifest my body to be the same1261 as the distinct forms of all endless beings in order to be perceived by beings at the appropriate times.
“Noble one, through this method, I liberate all beings from fear and cause them to develop an irreversible aspiration for the highest, complete enlightenment so that they will attain all the Dharmas of the buddhas.
“Noble one, I know this gateway to bodhisattva activity called the unimpeded gateway to great compassion, but how could I know the conduct or describe the qualities of the completely good bodhisattvas who have the pure domain of the prayers of all buddhas; who have realized the completely good conduct of bodhisattvas; who have an unbroken continuity of creating virtuous qualities; who are always resting in a continuity of the samādhi of all bodhisattvas; who have nonregressing conduct while residing in all kalpas; who have the continuous understanding of the ways of all three times; who are skilled in the continuity of the turning of the cycle of all world realms; who have the continuity of ending nonvirtuous mentalities in all beings; who have a continuity of increasing the virtuous mentalities of all beings; and who have the continuity of countering the continuity of saṃsāra for all beings?”
Concerning this it is said:
Sudhana, who was self-disciplined, circumambulated,
Praised reverently, and departed on the southern road—
He saw, residing in a cleft in a precious mountain,
Avalokiteśvara, a ṛṣi who abided in compassion. {1}
Extending his stainless hand, adorned by a hundred merits,
Which emitted excellent, vast networks of clouds of light,
And placing it upon Sudhana’s head, that pure being,
The wise one Avalokiteśvara, spoke these words: {4}
“Son of the buddhas, I know one gateway to liberation,
Which is the mass of compassion, the essence of wisdom of all the jinas,
Which arises in order to gather and liberate all beings,
And my love for them thus courses everywhere. {5}
“I protect all beings from every suffering.
Those who are tightly bound, who are in the hands of enemies,
Whose bodies are struck, and who are put into prisons
On hearing my name are freed from bondage. {6}
“Those who have broken the law will escape execution
When at that time they remember my name.
Arrows that are fired will not hit their bodies.
Weapons that strike them will not pierce them. {7}
“Those who remember my name will be invincible.
Though they enter the courts of lords, no matter who disputes with them,
They will be victorious over all adversaries and attain excellence,1264
And their fame, friends, families, and wealth will increase. {8}
“Anyone who remembers my name
Entering forests fearful with thieves, fearful with enemies,
With lions, bears, leopards, wild beasts, yaks, and snakes,
Will be free of fear and victorious over enemies. {9}
“Anyone who instantly remembers my name
When thrown into the sea will not die there.
They will not be swept away by rivers or burn in the midst of fire.
In everything they will not fail but will be successful. {11}
“Those who remember my name will attain liberation
From stocks, chains, manacles, and unjust punishments;
Dishonor, disrespect, constraints, and deception;
Abuse, beatings, threats, and scolding. {12}
“All those who are hostile and seek to harm,
Who are always angry and speak unpleasant words,
Will become friendly the moment they see
Those who have heard and remember my name and will praise them. {13}
“Those who remember my name for a moment
Will not become separated from parents, friends, and relatives,
And will not be in the company of those who dislike them;
Their wealth will not be exhausted, and they will not become poor. {16}
“Those who remember my name will become humans
Who are not blind, one-eyed, deaf, unable to walk,
Or with a limp, but who speak clearly and have a pleasant appearance,
And they will possess all faculties for many millions of kalpas. {18}
{19}1266
“Anyone who remembers my name
Will be a pure being who on passing away will be reborn
In the presence of buddhas in world realms in the ten directions,
Will see the buddhas, and will hear their Dharma. {20}
“These and all my many other methods
For guiding beings in worlds are endless and innumerable.
Son of the buddhas, I meditate on this one liberation,
But I do not know all the qualities of those with qualities.” {21}
{22}1267
At that time the bodhisattva Ananyagāmin came from the east through the sky and resided on a peak of the Cakravāla mountain range in the Sahā world realm. The moment that the bodhisattva Ananyagāmin’s feet landed on a peak of the Cakravāla mountain range in the Sahā world realm, the Sahā world realm shook in six ways and transformed into being composed of many jewels.
The bodhisattva Ananyagāmin outshone the light of the sun and moon. The light from his body outshone devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, Śakra, Brahmā, the world guardians, fire, jewels, lightning, and starlight.
He even illuminated the great hells. He illuminated all dark existences in the realm of animals and the world of Yama. He caused all the sufferings in the lower existences to instantly cease. All beings ceased to be tormented by the kleśas. Various kinds of misery, pain, and suffering were alleviated. Rain from clouds of jewels fell over all of this buddha realm, and there also fell rain from clouds of a variety of offerings, the entire display of flowers, perfumes, incense, garlands, ointments, powders, clothing, parasols, banners, and flags.
He then went to where the Bhagavat was, and the image of his body appeared in the residences of all beings, appearing so as to satisfy them in accordance with their wishes. He also appeared to come before the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara.
Then the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara said to Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, “Noble one, did you see the bodhisattva Ananyagāmin coming to the gathering of this assembly?
“Depart, noble one. Go to the bodhisattva Ananyagāmin 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 bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, circumambulated the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara many hundreds of thousands of times, keeping him to his right, and, looking back again and again, departed from the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara.