Overall Teaching

Bhīṣmottaranirghoṣa^[1] lives by the sea and after touching Sudhana’s head, Sudhana sees countless buddhas.

Summary

1. Sudhana reflecting upon Āśā’s instructions proceeded to Nalayur^[2] on the cost.^[3] The seer Bhīṣmottaranirghoṣa^[4] was living there, in a land beautified by fresh water, fruits, trees, and lotus blossoms^[5] surrounded by ten thousand people.^[6] (1214)

2. Sudhana went up to him and thinking he was a true spiritual benefactor and thus source of omniscience, he paid respects and requested that he teach him the practice of bodhisattvas.

(1214-5)

a. Bhīṣmottaranirghoṣa addressed the people surrounding him and said that Sudhana wants to extinguish his defilements, develop his roots of goodness, and attain awakening to benefit all beings.

b. Those people then scattered flowers over and circumambulated Sudhana, praising him as someone who will show the Dharma to the world.

c. Bhīṣmottaranirghoṣa said that those who aspire to omniscience help all beings and declared that Sudhana will attain buddhahood.

3. Bhīṣmottaranirghoṣa declared that he attained the liberation called Unsurpassed Banner,^[7] whereby, when he touched Sudhana with his right hand, Sudhana saw countless buddhalands with himself at the feet of the buddhas in those lands, which were greatly adorned and featured countless bodhisattvas, learning those buddhas’ teachings.^[8] Sudhana spent a short time with some, and others aeons, and some for inconceivable lengths of time.

a. With his mind illumined by this absorption, Sudhana was imbued with the sphere of jewels of knowledge of the three times.

b. Sudhana’s head was let go of by Bhīṣmottaranirghoṣa.^[9]

c. When asked whether he remembers or not, Sudhana said that he remembers. (1216)

4. Bhīṣmottaranirghoṣa said he knew this liberation, but could not explain the excellence of vows or know the structure of lands of greater bodhisattvas. Thus Sudhana should go south to Iśana, and learn from the priest Jayoṣmāyatana. 5. Gratefully, Sudhana left. (1217)

[1] Li: Representing the eighth abode: youthful nature, or innocence.

[2] Li: Meaning Not Lazy, in the sense of the homeland of the seer being the use of effortless knowledge to help beings tirelessly. (1578)

[3] Li: The seer lived on the seacoast because he had used transcendent vows to initiate works of wisdom to compassion, merging them into one, and only thus had attained effortless great function, benefiting multitudes without even thinking about it, like the ocean tide thundering and washing effortlessly.

[4] Li: Meaning “He who Utters a Fearsome Sound,” in the sense that when he spoke, he crushed followers of aberrant doctrines. Because he used knowledge to adapt to different religions, without having different views, he is represented as a seer (ṛṣī—speakers of vedas).

[5] Li: The grove’s various adornments represent the virtues that protect beings, such as knowledge and compassion.

[6] Li: Having ten thousand followers represents having myriad practices in him.

[7] Li: Effortless knowledge is unshakable and invisible, hence the name of this liberation.

[8] Li: Because of the seer’s union of knowledge and environment, when he touches Sudhana, Sudhana sees himself going to the buddhas in the ten directions. The hand represents mystic empowerment, because the eighth stage is the beginning of effortless knowledge, people at this stage may linger in quietude and be unable to let knowledge and compassion work simultaneously. Then it is necessary for sages to support and promote inspiration. Thus when the seer touched him, Sudhana was helped and supported by the sage in his entry into the Dharma. (1578)

[9] Li: Just as with the simile of the raft (one does not carry a boat about after crossing a river with it), once one has entered reality, one is always thus of one’s own power and can return to where one was before. (1579)