A King Who Governs by the Dharma
Universal Eye names a seventeenth teacher unlike any before him — not a monk, elder, or maiden, but a reigning king — and Good-Wealth's own reflection on gratitude carries him all the way to Tāla-Banner city, where the people describe a ruler who governs entirely through justice and the dharma.
A Seventeenth Teacher — a King
Universal Eye's own confession opens onto a name that breaks the pattern of every teacher so far — not a bhikṣu, an elder, or a laywoman, but a king reigning over a great city.
「善男子！於此南方，有一大城，名：多羅幢；彼中有王，名：無厭足。汝詣彼問：菩薩云何學菩薩行、修菩薩道？」時，善財童子禮普眼足，遶無量匝，慇懃瞻仰，辭退而去。
"Good son, to the south of here, there is a great city named Tāla-Banner; within it there is a king named Never Satisfied. You should go to him and ask: how does a bodhisattva learn the bodhisattva practices, and cultivate the bodhisattva path?" At that time, Good-Wealth bowed at Universal Eye's feet, circumambulated him countless times, gazed up at him with deep reverence, and took his leave and departed.
A Mind of Gratitude, and a Just King's Reputation
Good-Wealth's own reflection on his good spiritual friends is unusually rich in named states of mind, before the people of Tāla-Banner city describe a king who seems, by their account, to be the very picture of a righteous ruler.
爾時，善財童子憶念思惟善知識教，念善知識：「能攝受我，能守護我，令我於阿耨多羅三藐三菩提無有退轉。」如是思惟，生歡喜心、淨信心、廣大心、怡暢心、踊躍心、欣慶心、勝妙心、寂靜心、莊嚴心、無著心、無礙心、平等心、自在心、住法心、遍往佛剎心、見佛莊嚴心、不捨十力心。漸次遊行，經歷國土、村邑、聚落，至多羅幢城，問無厭足王所在之處，諸人答言：「此王今者在於正殿，坐師子座，宣布法化，調御眾生，可治者治，可攝者攝，罰其罪惡，決其諍訟，撫其孤弱，皆令永斷殺、盜、邪婬，亦令禁止妄言、兩舌、惡口、綺語，又使遠離貪、瞋、邪見。」
At that time, Good-Wealth recalled and reflected upon his good spiritual friends' own teaching, thinking of his good spiritual friends: "They are able to embrace me, able to protect me, causing me never to regress from anuttara-samyak-sambodhi." Reflecting in this way, he gave rise to a mind of joy, a mind of pure faith, a mind vast and expansive, a mind at ease, a mind that leaps for joy, a mind of delight, a mind of supreme excellence, a mind of tranquility, a mind of adornment, a mind free of attachment, a mind free of obstruction, a mind of equality, a mind of sovereign freedom, a mind abiding in the dharma, a mind that travels throughout every buddha-land, a mind that beholds every buddha's own adornment, and a mind that never abandons the ten powers. Journeying onward by stages, passing through lands, towns, and villages, he arrived at Tāla-Banner city, and asked where King Never Satisfied could be found, and the people answered him: "This king is now in his main hall, seated upon a lion-throne, proclaiming the transformation of the dharma, taming and governing every being — disciplining whoever should be disciplined, gathering in whoever should be gathered in, punishing every wrongdoing, settling every dispute, and caring for the orphaned and the weak, causing everyone to forever cut off killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct, and also forbidding false speech, divisive speech, harsh speech, and idle chatter, and causing them to stay far from greed, hatred, and wrong views."
皆令永斷殺、盜、邪婬 — causing everyone to forever cut off killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct. The people's own account of King Never Satisfied lists exactly the ten wholesome courses of action in reverse, as prohibitions he enforces — a description that sounds, so far, like an ideal dharma-king rather than the figure his own name might suggest.
Part 1015 Complete
This continues chapter thirty-nine, 入法界品, in fascicle sixty-six. Part 1016 brings Good-Wealth face to face with the king himself, on a throne of vajra surrounded by a scene that will test everything he has just been told.