Overall Teaching

Mahādeva manifests treasures for beings to give away to teach them relinquishment and to plant the seeds for attaining bodhicitta.

Summary

1. Sudhana, wishing to embody the practice of Anyagāmin and full of joy, proceeded to the city of Dvaravati^[1] and asked for the celestial Mahādeva.^[2]

a. The people of the city told him that he is at a table and teaches beings in a giant body.

b. Going to him, Sudhana requested he teach him bodhisattva practice.

2. Mahādeva extended four hands in four directions and brought water from the oceans and washed his face and scattered flowers over Sudhana.³ He explained:

a. How rare spiritual teachers are and how they are refuges for the world. He says ‘killer of wrong views’ is the right name of bodhisattvas and they appear to those whose roots are ripe.

b. He explained that he attained the liberation called ‘cloud net.’^[3] He showed a heap of gold, silver, lapis, crystal, coral, emerald, various jewels, necklaces, bracelets, belts, anklets, flowers, incenses, garlands, scents, and other things and said that Sudhana should take these and give gifts to buddhas and beings and get them to practice transcendent relinquishment. He said that just as he gives these goods, he teaches beings to practice relinquishment, encouraging them to give to buddhas and aspire to perfect awakening.⁵

c. He said that those who are intoxicated with desire and objects, he makes objects appear impure. He makes flesh eating ghouls appear to those who are arrogant. He shows the dangers of kings, brigands, and so forth to those who are negligent. In this way he teaches people to practice good transcendent ways and cross over the barriers to awakening and enter the unobstructed state.

3. He explained he knows this liberation, but cannot tell the virtues of beings who are like Indra, crushing the titans of affliction, thus he should go south to the site of awakening in Magadha in Jambudvīpa, where he should ask the earth goddess Sthāvarā to teach him.

4. Paying his respects, Sudhana moved on.

[1] “Dvaravati means ‘Having a Door,’ the name of the place deriving from the fact that in the rank of teacher ther eis a great door of truth that opens up to awaken sentient beings.”

[2] He represents the ninth dedication: “Without bondage or attachment.” (1603) His name means Great God. He “had knowledge like the celestials, showing signs of good and evil, rewarding and punishing in a timely manner, always responding spiritually to myriad beings, yet without deliberate contrivance. This is why he is portrayed as a celestial spirit. All nature spirits are reflections of bodhisattvas, beyond the psychic power of mundane ghosts.” ³ “This symbolizes using the four integrative methods to receive sentient beings with careful consideration.”

[3] This showers “teachings as rain from clouds of great compassion and rescuing sentient beings as with a net.” 5 “This illustrates how the function of acts is inexhaustible with the magical great compassion born of uncontrived knowledge.”