Verses from the North
The fourth bodhisattva, Unobstructed Victorious Treasury King, arriving from the north, reaches for images of abundance rather than scale — a jewel-mountain, an ocean holding every treasure, a wish-fulfilling gem — closing on wisdom that arises without ever needing a teacher.
A Wisdom That Needs No Teacher
Among these ten similes of abundance — a jewel-mountain, a treasure-filled ocean, a wish-fulfilling gem — one phrase names something more specific than any of the images around it: 無師智, wisdom that arises without a teacher, the self-arisen knowing distinctive to a buddha's own awakening.
爾時，無礙勝藏王菩薩，承佛神力，觀察十方而說頌言：
譬如大寶山，
饒益諸含識；
佛山亦如是，
普益於世間。
譬如大海水，
澄淨無垢濁；
見佛亦如是，
能除諸渴愛。
譬如須彌山，
出於大海中；
世間燈亦爾，
從於法海出。
如海具眾寶，
求者皆滿足；
無師智亦然，
見者悉開悟。
如來甚深智，
無量無有數；
是故神通力，
示現難思議。
譬如工幻師，
示現種種事；
佛智亦如是，
現諸自在力。
譬如如意寶，
能滿一切欲；
最勝亦復然，
滿諸清淨願。
譬如明淨寶，
普照一切物；
佛智亦如是，
普照群生心。
譬如八面寶，
等鑒於諸方；
無礙燈亦然，
普照於法界。
譬如水清珠，
能清諸濁水；
見佛亦如是，
諸根悉清淨。
At that time, Unobstructed Victorious Treasury King Bodhisattva, sustained by the Buddha's own spiritual power, surveyed the ten directions and spoke these verses:
It is like a great mountain of jewels, which benefits and enriches every sentient being; the mountain of the Buddha is exactly the same, universally benefiting the whole world.
It is like the water of the great ocean, clear and pure, free of any stain or murkiness; seeing the Buddha is exactly the same, able to remove every thirsting craving.
It is like Mount Sumeru, rising up out of the great ocean; the lamp of the world is exactly the same, arising out of the ocean of dharma.
Just as the ocean holds every kind of jewel, satisfying everyone who seeks them, the wisdom that needs no teacher is exactly the same, awakening everyone who beholds it.
The tathāgata's own profound wisdom is measureless and beyond all number; and therefore his own spiritual superknowledge, when manifested, is inconceivable.
It is like a skilled illusionist, who conjures every kind of scene; the Buddha's own wisdom is exactly the same, manifesting every kind of sovereign power.
It is like a wish-fulfilling jewel, able to satisfy every desire; the Most Excellent One is exactly the same, fulfilling every pure vow.
It is like a bright, pure jewel, universally illuminating every object; the Buddha's own wisdom is exactly the same, universally illuminating every living being's own mind.
It is like an eight-faced jewel, reflecting every direction equally; the unobstructed lamp is exactly the same, universally illuminating the entire dharma-realm.
It is like a water-clarifying pearl, able to purify every murky water; seeing the Buddha is exactly the same, every one of the senses becoming entirely pure.
無師智 — wisdom that needs no teacher. Set between two similes about oceans of treasure, this single term names what makes a buddha's own awakening distinct from any wisdom passed down through instruction: it arises from within, unassisted, the way Sumeru itself is said to rise directly out of the great ocean rather than being placed there by anyone.
Part 860 Complete
This continues chapter thirty-nine, 入法界品, in fascicle sixty. Part 861 turns to the fifth bodhisattva, Manifesting-the-Dharma-Realm Vow-Moon King, arriving from the northeast, who describes a single mote of dust in which the Buddha manifests his own spiritual power without limit.