[善财童子五十三参][English] 第三十四回 拜普德净光主夜神

Samantagambhirashrivimalaprabha

Realizing the purity of the sphere of the night goddess Vasanti’s initial stage of determination to be an enlightening being, contemplating the origin of the embryo of enlightenment, entering into the ocean of vows of enlightening beings, purifying the path of transcendent ways of enlightening beings, going into the sphere of stages of enlightening beings, extending the sphere of practice of enlightening beings, remembering the ocean of ways of emancipation of enlightening beings, looking over the vast ocean of light of omniscience, extending the cloud of great compassion of enlightening beings intent on the salvation of all sentient beings, putting Vasanti’s vow of practice of universally good enlightening action into effect throughout all lands forever, Sudhana went to the night goddess Samantagambhirashrivimalaprabha, paid his respects to her, and said, “Noble goddess, I have set my mind on supreme perfect enlightenment, but I do not know how an enlightening being acts in the stage of enlightening practice, or how one proceeds, and how one perfects it.”

　She said, “It is good that, aspiring to enlightenment, you ask how to proceed and how to fully accomplish the stages of enlightening beings. By the fulfillment of ten things is the practice of enlightening beings accomplished: by purification of attainment of concentration in which all buddhas are seen face to face; by purification of the eye viewing the infinite body of all buddhas resplendent with marks of distinction; by entering into the manifestation of the infinite ocean of qualities of buddhas; by realizing the cosmic dimensions of the ocean of spheres of the infinite manifestations of the teaching of buddhas; by entering the emanation of multitudes of beams of light, as many as beings, from the pores of all buddhas, aiding sentient beings in various ways; by seeing oceans of flames the colors of all jewels coming from each pore; by penetrating the my stical manifestation of oceans of emanations of buddhas pervading all universes and guiding sentient beings in each mental moment; by penetrating the sounds of thunder of all the scriptures proclaimed in the past, present, and future cycles of teachings of the buddhas, using the myriad languages of all sentient beings; by entry into the infinite ocean of buddha-names; by penetrating the guidance of sentient beings by manifestation of inconceivable miraculous transformations of buddhas. By attainment of these ten things, enlightening beings become fully accomplished in enlightening practice.

　“I have attained the enlightening liberation ‘bliss of tranquil meditation boldly going everywhere.’ By this I see the buddhas of past, present, and future, and enter into their oceanic congregations, their oceanic projections by concentration, their oceanic efforts in the past, and the oceans of their names. I also comprehend the differences of the teaching cycles of those buddhas, the variety of their life spans, the differences in their voices, and their embodiment of the infinite realm of reality. Yet I do not become attached to those buddhas in terms of state of being. Why? Because those buddhas do not go, having stopped all worldly courses of action; they do not come, because of the nonbecoming of intrinsic nature; they are not present, being physically equal to the unoriginated nature of reality; they are not extinct, being characterized by nonorigination; they are not real, because they convey the vision of phenomena as in illusion; they are not false, because of accomplishing the welfare of all beings; they do not pass from one condition to another, because they are free from death and birth; they do not perish, because of the imperishable nature of things; they are uniform, because they are beyond all manner of speech; they are formless, because of being done with the forms and natures of things.

　“Furthermore, while thus understanding all buddhas, by the light of the sphere of meditation of buddhas I expand this enlightening liberation ‘bliss of tranquil meditation boldly going everywhere’; I extend it, enter into it, follow it, live up to it, accomplish it, make it consistent, delve into it, develop it, meditate on it, contemplate it, internalize it, make it my sphere of action, stabilize it, make it manifest, illumine it, order it, analyze it, fulfill its requirements, and effect it.

　“Therein, based on great compassion without any false conceptions, to focus my mind solely on carrying out the salvation of all beings, I cultivate the first stage of meditation. To cease all mental action and focus my mind solely on joy and happiness in taking care of all sentient beings with the power of knowledge, I cultivate the second stage of meditation. To realize the purity of inherent nature of all beings with equanimity detached from the mundane world, I cultivate the third stage of meditation. To extinguish the burning of the pain of afflictions of all sentient beings I cultivate the fourth stage of meditation. To extend the sphere of the vow for omniscience, for skill in producing the ocean of all concentrations, to enter the means of access to the ocean of liberation of all enlightening beings, to know the science of occult powers of all enlightening beings, to effect the mystic projection of practices of all enlightening beings, I cultivate the enlightening liberation that goes everywhere through tranquil meditation, purifying the knowledge that enters into every realm of reality.

　“Furthermore, as I cultivate this liberation, I develop sentient beings to maturity by a variety of means. In people engrossed in sex play in the still of the night I induce the thought of impurity, the thought of disappointment, the thought of weariness, the thought of trouble, the thought of bondage, the thought of bedevilment, the thought of impermanence, the thought of pain, the thought of selflessness, the thought of ownerlessness, the thought of offense, the thought of old age and death, and the thought of indifference to all objects of desire. And those people, developing this state of mind, indifferent to all pleasures, coming to enjoy spiritual pleasure, go forth from home to homelessness. When they have gone into the forest and are following spiritual principles, I foster faith in them. I cause a lull in all disturbing, frightening, loud sounds, and in the quiet of the night I reveal to them the profundity of the buddha-teaching. I provide them with circumstances conducive to effort, open the door of renunciation, show the path, provide light, dispel darkness, put a stop to fear, praise renunciation, speak of the qualities of the Buddha, the Teaching, and the Community, and of spiritual benefactors, and praise going to spiritual benefactors.

　“Furthermore, as I cultivate this liberation, I develop sentient beings to maturity by a variety of means. In people engrossed in sex play in the still of the night I induce the thought of impurity, the thought of disappointment, the thought of weariness, the thought of trouble, the thought of bondage, the thought of bedevilment, the thought of impermanence, the thought of pain, the thought of selflessness, the thought of ownerlessness, the thought of offense, the thought of old age and death, and the thought of indifference to all objects of desire. And those people, developing this state of mind, indifferent to all pleasures, coming to enjoy spiritual pleasure, go forth from home to homelessness. When they have gone into the forest and are following spiritual principles, I foster faith in them. I cause a lull in all disturbing, frightening, loud sounds, and in the quiet of the night I reveal to them the profundity of the buddha-teaching. I provide them with circumstances conducive to effort, open the door of renunciation, show the path, provide light, dispel darkness, put a stop to fear, praise renunciation, speak of the qualities of the Buddha, the Teaching, and the Community, and of spiritual benefactors, and praise going to spiritual benefactors.

　“As I cultivate this liberation, I put a stop to sentient beings’ wrong passions and wrong feelings and thoughts. I put a stop to the ideas and thoughts of those dominated by wrongful gain, those who act on false notions. I see to it that evil does not arise in those in whom it has not yet arisen, and that the false conceptions of those in whom evil has arisen are stopped. For those in whom thoughts of roots of goodness have not yet arisen, I motivate thoughts of the ways of transcendence, spiritual practice, achievement of the aspiration for omniscience and release, the principle of kindness, suffusing all sentient beings with great compassion, and producing the various bases of celestial and human happiness. For those to whom such thoughts already occur, I provide various means of guidance. I motivate all the appropriate thoughts and intentions until they are in accord with the way to omniscience.

　“I know only this enlightening liberation of the bliss of tranquil meditation boldly going everywhere. How can I know the practice or tell of the virtues of the enlightening beings who are completely conversant with the vows of practice of universally good enlightening beings, who have attained knowledge of the cosmos with its endless forms, in whose minds all roots of goodness are developed, who have attained awareness of the knowledge and powers of all buddhas, whose minds abide in the sphere of all buddhas, whose minds are unhindered wherever they may be, who have fulfilled the resolve for omniscience, whose minds have entered the ocean of all lands, whose minds see all buddhas and take in the teachings of all buddhas, who dispel the darkness of all ignorance, whose minds generate the light of omniscience as the way to effect the final destruction of craving for repetitious mundane enjoyment?

　“Right by me, on the right side of the site of enlightenment of Vairocana, there lives a night goddess named Pramuditanayanajagadvirocana. Go ask her how an enlightening being should work on the deeds of enlightening beings.”

　Then the night goddess Samantagambhirashrivimalaprabha spoke these verses to Sudhana, further revealing the enlightening liberation of the bliss of tranquil meditation boldly going everywhere:

The buddhas, supreme in all times,
Appear to those with faith.
Their eye is vast and pure;
Thereby they enter the oceans of buddhas.

See the undefiled body of Buddha,
Beautifully adorned with distinctive marks;
And see the miracle of the Buddha
Pervading the cosmos in every moment.

The felicitous one Vairocana has become enlightened
Sitting at this enlightenment tree;
Throughout the vast cosmos,
He teaches according to mentality.

The Buddha has realized true nature
As bodiless, utterly quiet, nondual;
His physical body, adorned with marks of distinction,
He manifests throughout the world.

The body of Buddha is vast, inconceivable,
Filling the entire cosmos:
It is seen everywhere equally,
Showing all the buddhas everywhere.

The Buddha’s auras of light,
Numerous as atoms in all lands,
Reflecting each other’s radiant colors,
Pervade the cosmos every moment.

Inconceivable, vast clouds of light
Stream endlessly from the Buddha’s pores;
They pervade all worlds and extinguish
The heat of afflictions of all beings.

Infinite oceans of emanations of Buddha,
Emerging from Buddha’s pores,
Go throughout the cosmos and stop the suffering
Of all miserable states of being.

Buddha’s voice thunders pleasantly,
And the light of the ocean of good sayings
Showers the widespread rain of truth
And produces the will for enlightenment in sentient beings.

Those who have been guided by him in the past
And practiced the ways of enlightenment for eons
See Vairocana Buddha’s features
Reflected in all lands.

The Buddha, appearing in all worlds,
Stands before all beings:
I cannot know all
Their various realms of attention.

All the exalted enlightening beings
Are together in one pore of Buddha:
That way of liberation, which is inconceivable,
I cannot know in full.

My neighbor goddess
Stands rapt before the Buddha,
Her eyes like starry fire—
Go ask her how to practice enlightenment.

　Then Sudhana paid his respects to the night goddess Samantagambhirashrivimalaprabha and took leave of her.