The Śrāvakas and World-Rulers
After the vast bodhisattva roll call, the assembly widens further: five hundred śrāvakas, each with a mind still as empty space and doubt forever cut off in the presence of every buddha, and countless world-rulers, each one having become an unasked friend to every sentient being, guarding and protecting without ever being requested to do so.
A Friend Who Was Never Asked
Among the qualities given to the countless world-rulers gathered here, one stands out for what it does not require: becoming an unasked friend to every sentient being. Nothing about this friendship depends on being sought out — protection and diligence are offered before anyone has thought to request them.
「及與五百聲聞眾俱，悉覺真諦，皆證實際，深入法性，永出有海；依佛功德，離結、使、縛，住無礙處；其心寂靜猶如虛空，於諸佛所永斷疑惑，於佛智海深信趣入。及與無量諸世主俱，悉曾供養無量諸佛，常能利益一切眾生，為不請友，恒勤守護，誓願不捨；入於世間殊勝智門，從佛教生，護佛正法，起於大願，不斷佛種，生如來家，求一切智。」
"And together with an assembly of five hundred śrāvakas as well, all of whom had awakened to the true truth, every one having realized ultimate reality, penetrating deeply into the nature of dharma, forever emerging from the ocean of existence; relying on the buddha's own merit, they were free of every fetter, affliction, and bond, abiding in a place without obstruction; their minds were still, exactly like empty space, having forever cut off doubt in the presence of every buddha, entering with deep faith into the ocean of the buddha's own wisdom. And together with measureless world-rulers as well, all of whom had once made offerings to measureless buddhas, constantly able to benefit every sentient being, becoming an unasked friend to them, constantly and diligently guarding and protecting, never abandoning their own vow; entering the gateway of the world's own most excellent wisdom, born from the buddha's own teaching, guarding the buddha's own true dharma, arousing the great vow, never letting the buddha's own seed be cut off, being born into the tathāgata's own household, seeking all-knowing wisdom.
為不請友 — becoming an unasked friend. This four-character phrase carries an entire ethic in miniature: friendship offered before any request is made, protection given before it is sought, the initiative always resting with the one who helps rather than waiting on the one in need to ask first.
Part 832 Complete
This continues chapter thirty-nine, 入法界品, in fascicle sixty. Part 833 opens the entire assembly's shared, unspoken reflection on the tathāgata's own inconceivable state, and their collective request that the Buddha reveal it.