Megha Prostrates Before Good-Wealth
Before answering a single question, the teacher on the lion-throne abandons it entirely — hastily descending, throwing all five limbs to the ground before the boy who came to ask him something, and burying him in flowers, jewels, and incense before a single word of teaching is spoken.
The Teacher Bows First
Every prior teacher has received Good-Wealth's own bow. Megha inverts the pattern entirely: upon hearing that Good-Wealth has given rise to the mind of enlightenment, he abandons his own lion-throne mid-teaching and prostrates himself, showering Good-Wealth with offerings before rising to speak a single word.
爾時，彌伽告善財言：「善男子！汝已發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心耶？」善財言：「唯！我已先發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心。」彌伽遽即下師子座，於善財所五體投地，散金銀華無價寶珠，及以上妙碎末栴檀、無量種衣以覆其上，復散無量種種香華、種種供具以為供養，然後起立而稱歎言：「善哉善哉！善男子！乃能發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心。
At that time, Megha said to Good-Wealth: "Good son! Have you already given rise to the mind of unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment?" Good-Wealth said: "Yes! I have already, before this, given rise to the mind of unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment." Megha at once hastily descended from his lion-throne, and before Good-Wealth threw all five limbs to the ground, scattering flowers of gold and silver and priceless jewels, and covering him with the finest powdered sandalwood and measureless kinds of garments, and further scattering measureless kinds of incense and flowers, every kind of offering-implement, as his own offering; and only then did he rise to his feet and exclaim in praise: "Excellent, excellent! Good son! You have actually been able to give rise to the mind of unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment.
彌伽遽即下師子座，於善財所五體投地 — Megha at once hastily descended from his lion-throne, and before Good-Wealth threw all five limbs to the ground. The word "hastily" marks this as unplanned, almost involuntary — a teacher mid-lecture, before ten thousand of his own listeners, abandoning the seat of his own authority the instant he learns who is standing before him.
Twenty-One Things, Accomplished at Once
Megha's own praise unfolds into a list without pause — twenty-one things that are already true the moment anyone gives rise to the mind of enlightenment, ranging from never severing a buddha's own seed to being welcomed by nāga kings and sung of by kiṃnaras.
善男子！若有能發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心，則為不斷一切佛種，則為嚴淨一切佛剎，則為成熟一切眾生，則為了達一切法性，則為悟解一切業種，則為圓滿一切諸行，則為不斷一切大願，則如實解離貪種性，則能明見三世差別，則令信解永得堅固，則為一切如來所持，則為一切諸佛憶念，則與一切菩薩平等，則為一切賢聖讚喜，則為一切梵王禮覲，則為一切天主供養，則為一切夜叉守護，則為一切羅剎侍衛，則為一切龍王迎接，則為一切緊那羅王歌詠讚歎，則為一切諸世間主稱揚慶悅，則令一切諸眾生界悉得安隱。
Good son! If there is anyone able to give rise to the mind of unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment, then this is to never sever the seed of every buddha; this is to adorn and purify every buddha-land; this is to bring every sentient being to maturity; this is to comprehend the nature of every dharma; this is to awaken to and understand every seed of karma; this is to bring every practice to full completion; this is to never sever every great vow; this is to truly understand the nature that departs from craving; this is to clearly see the distinctions among the three times; this is to cause faith and understanding to become forever firm; this is to be upheld by every tathāgata; this is to be held in mind by every buddha; this is to be equal to every bodhisattva; this is to be praised and delighted in by every sage and worthy; this is to be paid homage to by every Brahmā king; this is to receive offerings from every lord of the devas; this is to be guarded and protected by every yakṣa; this is to be attended and guarded by every rākṣasa; this is to be welcomed by every nāga king; this is to be sung of and praised by every kiṃnara king; this is to be extolled and rejoiced over by every lord of every world; and this is to cause the entire realm of sentient beings to attain peace and security entirely.
則為不斷一切佛種 — this is to never sever the seed of every buddha. Every item in this list is phrased in the same completed tense — not "this will lead to," but "this already is." The mind of enlightenment, in Megha's telling, does not point toward twenty-one future accomplishments; it already constitutes them the moment it arises.
Part 918 Complete
This continues chapter thirty-nine, 入法界品, in fascicle sixty-three. Part 919 turns to Megha's own account of how rare and difficult it is even to encounter a bodhisattva, before he begins to answer Good-Wealth's own eleven-fold question.