Good-Wealth Finds Bhīṣmottaranirghoṣa
The road brings Good-Wealth to a forest adorned with asaṃkhyeya trees of every kind — flowering, fruiting, jewel-bearing — and there, seated beneath a sandalwood tree on a bed of grass, surrounded by ten thousand disciples dressed in deerskin, bark, and woven grass, he finds the sage he has been sent to find.
A Forest of Asaṃkhyeya Trees
Eleven kinds of tree fill this forest — leaf, flower, fruit, jewel, sandalwood, aloeswood, and more by name — each one doing something different: raining maṇi fruit, releasing fragrance, or simply towering upward, while utpala and padma flowers adorn the ponds between them.
漸漸遊行，至那羅素國，周遍推求毘目瞿沙。見一大林，阿僧祇樹以為莊嚴，所謂：種種葉樹扶疎布濩，種種華樹開敷鮮榮，種種果樹相續成熟，種種寶樹雨摩尼果，大栴檀樹處處行列，諸沈水樹常出好香，悅意香樹妙香莊嚴，波吒羅樹四面圍遶，尼拘律樹其身聳擢，閻浮檀樹常雨甘果，優鉢羅華、波頭摩華以嚴池沼。
He gradually journeyed on, and arrived at the land of Nalasu, searching everywhere for Bhīṣmottaranirghoṣa. He saw a great forest, adorned with asaṃkhyeya trees, namely: trees of every kind of leaf, spreading and luxuriant; trees of every kind of flower, blooming fresh and flourishing; trees of every kind of fruit, ripening one after another; trees of every kind of jewel, raining down maṇi fruit; great sandalwood trees standing in rows everywhere; aloeswood trees constantly emitting good fragrance; delightful incense-trees adorned with wondrous fragrance; pāṭalā trees surrounding on every side; nyagrodha trees, their trunks towering upward; jambū trees constantly raining sweet fruit; and utpala and padma flowers adorning the ponds.
Ten Thousand Disciples, Dressed in Bark and Grass
Beneath a sandalwood tree, seated on a bed of spread grass, Good-Wealth finally sees the sage — surrounded not by any single kind of follower, but by ten thousand disciples in deerskin, tree-bark, and woven grass alike, their hair bound in coiled rings.
時，善財童子見彼仙人在栴檀樹下敷草而坐，領徒一萬，或著鹿皮，或著樹皮，或復編草以為衣服，髻環垂鬢，前後圍遶。善財見已，往詣其所，五體投地，作如是言：「我今得遇真善知識。
At that time, the boy Good-Wealth saw that sage seated beneath a sandalwood tree upon spread grass, leading ten thousand disciples — some wearing deerskin, some wearing tree-bark, and some further wearing clothing woven from grass, their hair bound in coiled rings hanging at their temples, surrounding him on every side. Having seen him, Good-Wealth went to his place, threw himself to the ground with his five limbs, and spoke these words: "I have now encountered a true good spiritual friend.
或著鹿皮，或著樹皮，或復編草以為衣服 — some wearing deerskin, some wearing tree-bark, and some further wearing clothing woven from grass. Unlike earlier teachers surrounded by a single kind of retinue — nāgas, bodhisattvas, palace-maidens — this sage's ten thousand disciples are grouped only by what little they wear, a detail that marks them as forest ascetics rather than any celestial or royal assembly.
Part 955 Complete
This continues chapter thirty-nine, 入法界品, in fascicle sixty-four. Part 956 turns to Good-Wealth's own ten-fold praise of the good spiritual friend — gate, vehicle, boat, torch, path, lamp, bridge, canopy, eye, and tide — spoken before he rises and asks his standard question.