A Jeweled Lotus Rises From the Earth
Following the rākṣasa king's teaching, Sudhana beholds a great jeweled lotus emerging from the earth itself — a stem of vajra, leaves of maṇi-jewel, a calyx of pure jewel, covered over with a net of asaṃkhyeya jewels. Atop it rises a thousand-pillared pavilion, named Gathering the Dharma-Realm's Own Treasury of Direction.
A Lotus of Vajra, and a Pavilion of a Thousand Pillars
「爾時，善財隨順其教，即時覩見大寶蓮華從地涌出。金剛為莖，摩尼為葉，淨寶為臺，眾妙香鬚，以阿僧祇摩尼寶網羅覆其上。蓮華臺上有一樓觀，名曰攝取法界方藏。金剛為地，樓有千柱，一切摩尼眾寶合成，種種莊嚴，懸阿僧祇妙寶、瓔珞、阿僧祇寶以為欄楯。」
At that time, Sudhana, according with this teaching, at once beheld a great jeweled lotus flower emerging from the earth. Its stem was of vajra, its leaves of maṇi-jewel, its calyx of pure jewel, its sublime, fragrant stamens covered over with a net of asaṃkhyeya maṇi-jewels. Atop the lotus's own calyx there was a pavilion-tower, named Gathering the Dharma-Realm's Own Treasury of Direction. Its ground was of vajra, and the tower had a thousand pillars, formed entirely of every maṇi-jewel, adorned in every kind of way, hung with asaṃkhyeya sublime jewels and necklaces, with asaṃkhyeya jewels forming its own balustrade.
A lotus rising directly from the earth, rather than from a pond or garden, marks this vision as belonging to a register beyond the merely miraculous accounts this collection has already told — Gopā's own lotus-born girl, or Māyā's own future womb holding the trichiliocosm. The pavilion's own name, "Gathering the Dharma-Realm's Own Treasury of Direction," announces its function before Sudhana ever steps inside: not simply a residence, but a structure that itself organizes and holds the whole Dharma-realm's own orientation.
Part 195 In Progress
The lotus and its pavilion are now beheld. Part 196 turns to what Sudhana finds within the pavilion itself — a lion-throne of maṇi-jewel, its every ornament alive with sound, light, and vision.
Continue to Part 196 →