The Stem Array · Gaṇḍavyūha

Sudhana had a mind that followed the vast conduct of bodhisattvas. He had the nature of longing for the scope of the wisdom of the bodhisattva Ananyagāmin. He saw the special qualities of accomplishing great higher cognition. He had attained joy in the armor of stable diligence. He had the aspiration to follow the displays¹²⁷¹ of inconceivable liberations. He practiced the qualities of the bodhisattva level. He analyzed on the level of samādhi. He was established on the level of the power of retention. He engaged in the level of prayer. He trained in the level of discernment. He was accomplishing the level of power.

He eventually arrived at the city named Dvāravatī. He inquired about the deity Mahādeva, and many people declared to him, “Noble one, this¹²⁷² deva Mahādeva is in the temple¹²⁷³ at the crossroads of the city, and with greatness of being he is teaching the Dharma to beings.”

Then Sudhana went to where the deity Mahādeva was. He bowed his head to the feet of Mahādeva, stood before him with his hands together in homage, and said, “Ārya, I have developed the aspiration for the highest, complete enlightenment. How does a bodhisattva train in bodhisattva conduct? In what way does a bodhisattva practice it? Ārya, I have heard that you teach and give instructions to bodhisattvas. Therefore, Ārya, teach me how bodhisattvas train in bodhisattva conduct and in what way they practice it!”

The deity Mahādeva extended his four arms, and from the four great oceans and with the power of great speed he brought water and washed his mouth. He then scattered golden flowers on Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, and said, “Noble one, it is very difficult to see the bodhisattvas. It is difficult to hear them. The appearance of the white lotuses that are supreme beings is a great marvel because of its greatness. They are a support for the world, a refuge for beings; they create a great light for beings; they teach the path of truth to those on the path of ignorance; they are guides for those who follow the way of the Dharma; and they are great guides for going to the city of omniscience.

“Noble one,¹²⁷⁴ this is what I think: The bodhisattva mahāsattvas are called the destroyers of wrong views because, with stainless minds, they manifest the appearance of their pure bodies; they manifest the activities¹²⁷⁵ of their pure bodies; they shine the light of eloquence of their faultless speech; and with a pure motivation they remain manifest at all times.

“Noble one, I have attained the bodhisattva liberation called the net of clouds.”

Sudhana asked him, “What is the scope of the bodhisattva liberation called the net of clouds?”

In every direction in front of Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, the deva Mahādeva manifested mountain-sized heaps of gold, heaps of silver, heaps of beryls, heaps of crystals, heaps of white corals, heaps of emeralds, heaps of precious asteria jewels, heaps of precious vimalagarbha jewels, heaps of precious vairocana jewels, heaps of precious topknot jewels, heaps of crowns, heaps of necklaces made of various precious jewels, heaps of armlets, heaps of earrings, heaps of bracelets, heaps of girdles, heaps of anklets, heaps of strings of red pearls,¹²⁷⁶ heaps of various precious jewels, heaps of adornment for the greater and smaller parts of the body, heaps of the kings of wish-fulfilling precious jewels, all flowers, all perfumes, all incenses, all garlands, all ointments, all powders, all cloths, all parasols, all banners, all flags, all musical instruments, all percussion instruments, all that is desirable, and countless trillions of maidens.

Mahādeva said to Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, “Noble one, take these, and with them perform acts of great generosity! Create much merit! Make offerings to the tathāgatas! Gather many beings through generosity as a method of gathering pupils! Practice the perfection of generosity! Teach the world through generosity!¹²⁷⁷ Give that which is difficult to give!¹²⁷⁸

“Noble one, I gather for you this manner of things, and in that same way I establish in generosity an incalculable number of beings whose minds have an unceasing motivation to give. I cause them to generate roots of merit in the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha and the bodhisattvas and kalyāṇamitras, and I inspire them toward the highest, complete enlightenment.

“Moreover, noble one, I bless with the ugliness of sensory objects those beings who are intoxicated by the joys of desire and have attachment to the enjoyment of sensory objects.

“I manifest terrifying wrathful bodies like rākṣasas, eating flesh and drinking blood, to those who are possessed by anger, who are proud, arrogant, conceited, and haughty, and who are to be guided through destruction, pacifying all who are agitated by pride and arrogance.¹²⁷⁹

“I manifest the danger of being harmed by fire, water, kings, and thieves for beings who are lazy and abandon diligence, causing them to be distressed and become diligent.

“In that way, through those methods, I turn them away from that which is not virtuous and establish them in a perfection of virtue so that they may defeat all that is adverse to the perfections, gather all the accumulations of the perfections, transcend all the paths of the mountain precipices of obscurations, and enter the unobscured Dharma.

“Noble one, I know only the bodhisattva liberation called the net of clouds. How could I know the conduct or describe the qualities of bodhisattvas¹²⁸⁰ who are like Indra defeating the asuras of the kleśas, who are like water extinguishing the mass of fire of the suffering of all beings, who are like a mass of flames drying up the water of the cravings of all beings, who are like a wind scattering the mountain of all clinging to attachment, and who are like thunderbolts shattering the hard rock of the perception of a self?

“Depart, noble one. In this Jambudvīpa, in the land of Magadha, at the bodhimaṇḍa, there is the goddess of the earth who is named Sthāvarā. Go to her and ask her, ‘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 deva Mahādeva, circumambulated the deva Mahādeva many hundreds of thousands of times, keeping him to his right, and, looking back again and again, departed from the deva Mahādeva.