Her Heart Was Unmoved
The prince, overjoyed at the name of a buddha newly arisen nearby, showers the maiden in jewels she shows no sign of noticing at all — and her mother answers with one more hymn of praise before the story moves on.
Her Heart Was Unmoved
The dream the maiden revealed in the last Part turns out to name a buddha the prince already knows of, and his joy at the name spills out in jewels — met with no reaction at all.
「爾時，太子聞勝日身如來名，生大歡喜，願見彼佛，以五百摩尼寶散其女上，冠以妙藏光明寶冠，被以火焰摩尼寶衣。其女爾時，心不動搖，亦無喜相；但合掌恭敬，瞻仰太子，目不暫捨。
At that time, when the prince heard the name of the tathāgata Victorious Sun Body, he was filled with great joy, and wished to see that buddha. He scattered five hundred maṇi jewels over the maiden, crowned her with a jeweled crown of wondrous treasury-light, and clothed her in a robe of flame-maṇi jewels. The maiden, at that time, was unmoved in heart and showed no sign of joy at all; she only joined her palms in reverence, gazing up at the prince, her eyes never leaving him for a single moment.
其女爾時，心不動搖，亦無喜相 — the maiden, at that time, was unmoved in heart and showed no sign of joy at all. Showered in maṇi jewels, a jeweled crown, and a robe of flame-maṇi, she does not react. Her mother's own hymn, only lines later, closes by praising exactly this: a heart that relies on neither its own beauty nor its retinue.
A Second Hymn of Praise
Her mother speaks once more — not to plead for acceptance this time, since that has already been granted, but simply to praise what has already been won.
「其母善現，於太子前而說頌言：「『此女極端正，
功德莊嚴身；
昔願奉太子，
今意已滿足。
持戒有智慧，
具足諸功德；
普於一切世，
最勝無倫匹。
此女蓮華生，
種姓無譏醜，
太子同行業，
遠離一切過。
此女身柔軟，
猶如天繒纊；
其手所觸摩，
眾患悉除滅。
毛孔出妙香，
芬馨最無比；
眾生若聞者，
悉住於淨戒。
身色如真金，
端坐華臺上；
眾生若見者，
離害具慈心。
言音極柔軟，
聽之無不喜；
眾生若得聞，
悉離諸惡業。
心淨無瑕垢，
遠離諸諂曲，
稱心而發言，
聞者皆歡喜。
調柔具慚愧，
恭敬於尊宿，
無貪亦無誑，
憐愍諸眾生。
此女心不恃，
色相及眷屬；
但以清淨心，
恭敬一切佛。』
Her mother, Wholesome Manifestation, spoke a hymn before the prince, saying: "This daughter is supremely upright and fine,
her body adorned with merit;
the vow she made long ago, to serve the prince,
has now been entirely fulfilled.
She upholds the precepts and possesses wisdom,
fully endowed with every merit;
throughout the whole world,
she is supreme, without a single equal.
This daughter was born from a lotus flower,
her lineage without blemish or reproach;
her karma accords with the prince's own,
and she is far removed from every fault.
This daughter's body is soft and supple,
just like heavenly silk-floss;
wherever her hand comes to touch,
every affliction is entirely dispelled.
From her every pore comes a wondrous fragrance,
its sweetness beyond all compare;
whichever being should smell it
comes to abide entirely in the pure precepts.
Her body's hue is like true gold,
and she sits upright upon a flower-throne;
whichever being should see her
leaves harm behind and is filled with a mind of loving-kindness.
Her speech and voice are utterly gentle,
and none who hear it are anything but glad;
whichever being comes to hear it
leaves behind every unwholesome deed.
Her mind is pure and without the slightest stain,
forever removed from every flattery and deceit;
she speaks only what accords with the heart,
and all who hear her rejoice.
Gentle and tamed, she is fully endowed with conscience and shame;
she is reverent toward the venerable and the aged,
without greed and without deceit,
and full of pity for every being.
This daughter's heart relies upon
neither her own beauty nor her retinue;
with a pure and undefiled mind alone,
she reveres every buddha."
但以清淨心，恭敬一切佛 — with a pure and undefiled mind alone, she reveres every buddha. This is the mother's second hymn in the story, and it does none of the work the first one did: no refrain of "accept her," no catalogue of skills to prove her worth. It closes instead on the one thing the rest of the scene is about to test directly — whether that reverence holds once they are standing in front of the buddha himself.
Part 1218 Complete
This continues chapter thirty-nine, 入法界品, in fascicle seventy-five. Part 1219 follows the prince and the maiden out of the Garden of Fragrant Shoots to the awakening-site of Dharma-Cloud Light, where the buddha Victorious Sun Body awaits.