Monthly Archives: November 2015

Equanimeous Benevolence

Posted on November 30, 2015 by Vajragoni

Mahaprabha

Like most of the spiritual benefactors we have encountered in this series, King Mahaprabha lives in a celestial-city magnificent to behold. However, the point of these settings is not to become wholly immersed and enamored of them, but to eventually remain centered-in-mind and not to be distracted by them: read more

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Hallowed Perfume and the Noble Executioner

Posted on November 29, 2015 by Vajragoni

Samantanetra

The kind readers of this series hopefully have grasped the dynamic significance of Sudhana’s quest for ‘supreme perfect enlightenment’ amidst the vast array of noble spiritual benefactors. After each visitation he grows exponentially in Noble Wisdom. Let us observe and break down what he has thus accumulated in today’s opening stanzas. As we do so, bear in mind that what is being transmitted accounts for a proper foundation for all who aspire towards Bodhisattvahood. read more

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The Treasury of Mind

Posted on November 26, 2015 by Vajragoni

Vidvan

While searching for his next Spiritual Benefactor, Sudhana takes account of its full meaning:

Looking for Vidvan, his whole being perfumed by the sight of spiritual
benefactors, finding strength in spiritual benefactors, relying on spiritual
benefactors, striving to follow spiritual benefactors, with tireless vigor in
attending spiritual benefactors, all his roots of goodness due to spiritual
benefactors, all his stores of virtue sustained by spiritual benefactors, his
practice of skill in means developed by spiritual benefactors, all his roots of
goodness growing by skill in attendance of spiritual benefactors without
depending on others… read more

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Numerations

Posted on November 25, 2015 by Vajragoni

Indriyeshvara

This next particular kalyānamitra is another example of the agelessness behind transcendent beings who carry the imageless mark of bodhikaya. Sudhana makes his way “to the city of Sumukha in the land of Shramanamandala, looking for the boy Indriyeshvara.” He finds him “playing in the sand” with thousands of other boys. “Playing in the Sand” is an appropriate designation for the “effortlessness” exhibited by those wunderkind characters who bespeak the multifaceted expressions of the Buddhadharma. Here we have a mere boy, yet one incurred with a perfected-wisdomocity bestowed by non-other than the premier proponent and embodiment of Wisdom itself, Mañjuśrī: read more

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Facing in all Directions

Posted on November 24, 2015 by Vajragoni

Maitrayani

Sudhana gradually made his way to the city Simhavijurmbhita, looking for the girl Maitrayani. read more

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Invincible Ascetics

Posted on November 23, 2015 by Vajragoni

Bhishmottaranirghosha

At that time Bhishmottaranirghosha was sojourning in a retreat, a pleasant
place with countless diverse trees and plants, shaded by the leaves of
various trees, with flowering trees perpetually blooming in various colors
and fruit trees perpetually bearing, the ground made of the finest jewelfruits
from various jewel trees, well distributed with great sandalwood trees,
graced with fragrance constantly coming from pleasant aloeswood trees,
adorned with trumpet-flower trees distributed in the four directions, with
beautifully formed fig trees, with perpetually ripe fruits raining from rose
apple trees, beautified by fresh water lilies and lotus blossoms.
Sudhana saw the seer Bhishmottaranirghosha wearing matted hair, sitting
on a seat of bark, rags, fragrant grass, and antelope skin on a layer of
straw in a but built at the foot of a sandalwood tree, surrounded by ten thousand seers… read more

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Sorrowless Well-Being

Posted on November 22, 2015 by Vajragoni

Asha

Sudhana enters a glorious-sparkling Park known as Samantavyuha (arrangement of the Totality):

He saw the park surrounded by fences made of all kinds of jewels, in the
midst of rows of all kinds of jewel trees, adorned throughout with beautiful
delicate flowers like sets of all kinds of jewels releasing pollen, adorned by all
kinds of jewel trees, strewn with the various blossoms of the flowers of all
kinds of jewel trees, with rows of trees of all kinds of fragrances giving off
their scents in all directions, trees of garlands of all jewels with their flower
buds bursting forth streaming a rain of garlands of various jewels, the
ground beautifully spread with various decorations made of jewels from
trees of all kinds of diamonds, the area well distributed with cloths of various
colors hanging down from trees of flowers of various forms, with trees of all
kinds of musical instruments making beautiful sounds surpassing the heavens when stirred by the wind… read more

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Manifestation of Universal Purification

Posted on November 19, 2015 by Vajragoni

Saradhvaja

Sudhana’s next Transcendent Exposure is with the monk named Saradhvaja.

He saw Saradhvaja by the side of a place for walking at a retreat, sitting in
concentration, following his breath, not stirring, not thinking, his body
straight, his mindfulness on the immediate present, by the inconceivable
power of concentration producing to the left, right, and above an inconceivable infinite body in each successive mental moment manifesting an infinite variety of bodies. Sudhana saw an inconceivable miraculous display of the liberation of enlightening beings coming forth from every pore of the
ecstatic body of Saradhvaja, who had attained such profound tranquility,
silence, and objectlessness. With this miraculous display of the medium of
liberation, Saradhvaja filled the cosmos moment to moment with endless
varieties of mystic projections, to perfect all beings, to honor all buddhas, to
purify all buddha-fields, to do away with the mass of suffering of all sentient
beings, to cut off the courses of all bad conditions, to open the door to good
conditions for all beings, to extinguish the burning of afflictions of all
beings, to dissolve all beings’ obstructions to knowledge, and to introduce
all beings into omniscience. read more

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Collection of all Buddha-fields

Posted on November 18, 2015 by Vajragoni

Muktaka

Sudhana’s next visitation with another layman, Muktaka (The Liberated One), is anything other than an ordinary occurrence. The lines of this astonishing text is revealing something quite extraordinary. Sudhana has advanced to such a stage that since his departure from Megha and his arriving at the splendid abode of Mukata a miraculous transformation has gradually occurred within his own mindset: read more

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Navigators of Dharmadhātu

Posted on November 17, 2015 by Vajragoni

Mehga

Then Sudhana, mindful of the light of the Teaching, steeped in intensity of
faith in the Teaching, his attention focused on thoughts of Buddha, intent
on perpetuating the lineage of the three treasures, remembering spiritual
friends, his mind having illumined the worlds of past, present, and future,
thinking of great vows, striving for the salvation of all beings, his mind
unattached to enjoyment of any created things, praising the tradition of
dispassion, intent upon contemplation of the instrinsic essence of all things,
firm in the commitment to purify all worlds, sojourning without attachment
in the congregations of all buddhas, gradually approached the Dravidian city Vajrapura, looking for the grammarian Megha. read more

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