The Bodhisattva as Cloud, City, and Garuḍa
Five more images unfold: great compassion as a dense cloud raining down the water of eight merits, a walled city of true dharma no army of māra can enter, a garuḍa whose talons lift devas, humans, and nāgas out of the ocean of the three states of existence and onto the shore of nirvāṇa, a sun that dries up the ocean of craving, and a moon unequaled even among the stars of the two lesser vehicles.
A City No Māra Can Enter
The walled-city image gives every element of a fortress a dharma counterpart — prajñā as the wall, shame and conscientiousness as the moat, the six superknowledges as weapons — and closes with a claim no literal fortress could make: not one army of māra, from any of the three states of existence, is able to enter it at all.
菩薩大慈悲，譬如重密雲，
三明發電光，神足震雷音，
普以四辯才，雨八功德水，
潤洽於一切，令除煩惱熱。
菩薩正法城，般若以為牆，
慚愧為深塹，智慧為却敵，
廣開解脫門，正念恒防守，
四諦坦王道，六通集兵仗，
復建大法幢，周迴遍其下；
三有諸魔眾，一切無能入。
"The bodhisattva's great compassion is like a dense, layered cloud; the three insights flash forth like lightning, spiritual superknowledge thunders like rolling thunder; universally, through the four unobstructed eloquences, he rains down the water of the eight merits, soaking and nourishing everything, causing the heat of affliction to be removed.
The bodhisattva is a city of the true dharma: prajñā its wall, shame and conscientiousness its deep moat, wisdom what repels every enemy; the gate of liberation is opened wide, right mindfulness constantly stands guard, the four truths its level royal road, the six superknowledges its gathered weapons and arms; a great banner of dharma is further raised, its shadow circling all around beneath it — and no army of māra from any of the three states of existence is able to enter.
菩薩迦樓羅，如意為堅足，
方便勇猛翅，慈悲明淨眼，
住一切智樹，觀三有大海，
搏撮天人龍，安置涅槃岸。
菩薩正法日，出現於世間，
戒品圓滿輪，神足速疾行，
照以智慧光，長諸根力藥，
滅除煩惱闇，消竭愛欲海。
菩薩智光月，法界以為輪，
遊於畢竟空，世間無不見；
三界識心內，隨時有增減；
二乘星宿中，一切無儔匹。
The bodhisattva is a garuḍa: the wish-fulfilling jewel his own firm feet, skillful means and courage his wings, loving-kindness and compassion his bright, clear eyes; he perches upon the tree of all-knowing wisdom, surveying the great ocean of the three states of existence, seizing devas, humans, and nāgas in his talons, and setting them safely upon the shore of nirvāṇa.
The bodhisattva is a sun of the true dharma, appearing in the world; the precepts its complete, perfect disc, spiritual superknowledge its swift movement; it shines with the light of wisdom, causing every medicinal herb of the faculties and powers to grow, extinguishing the darkness of affliction, and drying up the ocean of craving and desire.
The bodhisattva is a moon of wisdom's light, the dharma-realm its own disc, wandering through ultimate emptiness, seen by the entire world without exception; within the mind and consciousness of the three realms, it appears to wax and wane according to the season, yet among the very stars of the two lesser vehicles, it has no equal at all.
三界識心內，隨時有增減 — within the mind and consciousness of the three realms, it appears to wax and wane according to the season. The moon image locates the waxing and waning not in the moon itself but in the minds of those who perceive it — the bodhisattva's own light is constant, and what shifts is only how much of it a given mind, at a given time, is able to take in.
Part 806 Complete
This continues chapter thirty-eight, 離世間品, in fascicle fifty-nine. Part 807 continues the metaphor sequence with the bodhisattva as a great dharma-king adorned with every excellent mark, a Brahmā king uprooting wrong views, and an Īśvara deva whose fame reaches everywhere.