Relinquishment, at Sea Tide

"...called Sea Tide; there is a grove there named Universal Adornment; there is a laywoman there, named Relinquishment. Go to her and ask how a bodhisattva cultivates the bodhisattva path, and purifies the bodhisattva path." At that time Sudhana the Boy, his joy beyond measure, in the presence of the monk Sāgaradhvaja, attained firmness within what is unfirm; attained truth within what is unreal; reaching the very end of the sublime treasury of merit's own domain, he attained bright, pure wisdom, universally illumining everything; attaining the light of profound samādhi, he reached pure liberation; through skillful means he contemplated every world, purifying every Dharma-gate; his bright, pure wisdom universally illumining the ten directions. He bowed his head at his feet, circled him countless times, and, gazing up at him with longing, took his leave and traveled south.

At that time Sudhana the Boy, rightly holding Sāgaradhvaja in mind and reflecting on him, his mind never once relinquishing that memory, delighting to see him without ever tiring, longing for his sacred voice, his eyes still picturing that kind countenance; rightly holding in mind and reflecting on his own mind's domain, the samādhi's own domain, the domain of vow and practice; rightly holding in mind and reflecting on bright, pure wisdom, revering the good spiritual friend, turning toward the good spiritual friend, holding the good spiritual friend's own teaching in mind; toward the good spiritual friend raising a mind of love and reverence. He thought further: "Through a good spiritual friend, one comes to see every buddha. A good spiritual friend opens and reveals every buddha-dharma; a good spiritual friend is an extraordinary Dharma, causing one to come to see every buddha-dharma; a good spiritual friend is a bright, pure eye, causing one to see the Buddha as one sees space itself; a good spiritual friend is a good ferry-crossing, causing one to reach the very bottom of the Buddha's own lotus pond." Gradually traveling south, he arrived at Sea Tide, and beheld the grove Universal Adornment.

Seven-jeweled walls surrounded it on every side; every kind of marvelous jeweled tree stood in adorned rows; every flowering tree rained down flowers like clouds, scattering them across the ground; fragrant trees, sweetly perfumed, spread their scent through the ten directions; garland-trees hung with garlands, jewel-trees rained jewels, spreading adornment everywhere; every kind of jeweled-robe tree covered everything entirely; every kind of music-tree sent forth subtle, marvelous sounds — with treasures such as these it was adorned. Within this grove there were ten thousand lecture halls, formed entirely of every jewel; ten thousand pavilions, covered over with Jambū-river gold; ten thousand palaces, adorned with the treasury of Vairocana's own jewels. There were ten thousand bathing pools, formed entirely of every jewel, surrounded on every side by balustrades of the seven treasures; the water of the eight virtues filled them, calm and complete; Jambū-river golden sand and pure, jeweled pearls covered the bottom of every pool entirely; jeweled stairways on all four sides, dignified and orderly; jeweled tāla-trees stood in rows all around; wild geese, swans, mandarin ducks, peacocks, and cranes, and every kind of bird, played within them, sending forth harmonious, elegant sounds, covered over with golden nets; the wind arose spontaneously, sending forth subtle, marvelous sounds; every kind of jeweled canopy was set up, jeweled trees spreading everywhere. Countless supreme and excellent jeweled banners were raised, releasing great light, illumining a hundred yojanas and a million pools; black sandalwood mud lay settled at the bottom of the pools, from which jeweled lotuses grew, filling them entirely; from those lotuses came forth great light, universally illumining everything.

Within this grove there was a great palace, named the Banner of Adornment; the treasury of the ocean's own sublime jewels formed its ground; pillars of lapis lazuli, adorned most sublimely, towered majestically, high and vast, like a mountain of gold; whatever sentient being beheld it could not help but rejoice. There were maṇi jewels beyond number, pure and universally illumining everything; spontaneous fragrances arose from it — the fragrance of bright appearance, the fragrance of the king of fragrances, the fragrance of awakening, and others — and thrones of every jewel were spread out: the throne of the lotus-treasury, the throne of the treasury illumining every direction, the throne of the bright, pure treasury, the throne of the treasury delighting every sentient being, the throne of the lion-treasury, the throne of the stainless jeweled treasury, the throne of the inconceivable treasury, the throne of the universal-gate maṇi jewel-treasury, the throne of the light-adorned treasury, the throne of the great-ocean treasury, and the throne of the vajra lion-treasury; countless windows, adorned with sublime jewels. Further, ten thousand marvelous jeweled canopies were hung: the canopy of jeweled robes, the canopy of sublime jeweled flowers, the canopy of jeweled tree-branches, the canopy of maṇi jewels, the golden canopy, the adorned canopy, the fragrant canopy, the canopy of entertainment, the canopy of the sovereign nāga king, the canopy of the horse-king, and the canopy adorned by Śakra himself; ten thousand jeweled nets were strung above them: the net of golden bells, the net of the canopy of every treasure, the net of every jeweled image, the net of the ocean-treasury pearl, the net of blue-lapis maṇi jewels, the net of the lion's roar, the net of moon-maṇi, the net of the fragrant elephant, the net of every jeweled mountain, and the net of the king of jewels; ten thousand lights universally illumined the world: the light of the night-radiant maṇi, the light of the pure jewel of the sun-treasury maṇi, the light of the sublime jewel of the moon-banner maṇi, the light of fragrant flame, the light of the sublime treasury maṇi jewel, the light of the red lotus, the light of the pure jewel of the night-radiant maṇi, the light of the pure jewel of the great-lamp maṇi, and the light of the maṇi universally illumining every direction. Further, ten kinds of great, fragrant lightning came forth, raining down ten kinds of clouds surpassing even the heavens: ten kinds of black-sandalwood clouds, ten kinds of mandārava-flower clouds, ten kinds of adorned clouds, ten kinds of garland clouds, ten kinds of many-colored robe clouds, ten kinds of jeweled clouds, ten kinds of clouds of heavenly youths, ten kinds of clouds of heavenly maidens, and ten kinds of clouds of bodhisattvas — all of them constantly delighting to hear the Dharma.

At that time the laywoman Relinquishment sat upon a throne of golden treasury, a net adorned with the ocean-treasury's own jewels covering her body; adorned with arm-seals, surpassing even the heavens; a great maṇi net adorned her head; lion-pearls and jewels beyond measure, fulfilling every wish, and pure maṇi jewels adorned her body; a retinue beyond a hundred million, reverently surrounding her, stood with joined palms. From the east, sentient beings beyond measure, every king of the Brahmā heavens, Brahmā-bodied and Great Brahmā, Brahmā's own ministers, and the Heaven of Free Enjoyment of Others' Emanations, and every king down to humans and non-humans, came before her; and from the south, west, and north, the four intermediate directions, above and below, it was exactly the same.

Whoever was able to see this laywoman had every one of their illnesses entirely cured; their minds became pure, free of stain, the thorn of wrong view drawn out, every hindrance extinguished, reaching the unobstructed ground. Within that very ground, they nurtured every root of goodness, perfected every faculty, and through skillful means gathered in omniscience; every dhāraṇī-gate and every samādhi-gate appeared directly before them; they raised every gate of vow, reached the very end of every gate of practice, and gave rise to every gate of purity; their minds vast and great, giving rise to everything, attaining an unobstructed body that reaches everywhere without exception. At that time Sudhana the Boy entered the grove Universal Adornment, and, looking everywhere, beheld the laywoman Relinquishment seated upon her golden throne; going before her, he bowed his head at her feet, circled her countless times, and said: "Great sage! I have already raised the mind of unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, and I do not yet know how a bodhisattva learns the bodhisattva's own practice, and cultivates the bodhisattva path — I ask only that you, for my sake, fully expound it."

She answered: "Good son, I have accomplished only a single Dharma-gate: whoever sees me, hears of me, remembers me, knows me, or draws near to me, none of it is ever in vain. Good son, if there are sentient beings who have not planted roots of goodness, who have not drawn near to good spiritual friends, and who are not held in the mindful protection of the buddhas, those sentient beings are unable to see me. Good son, whatever sentient being is able to see me will attain non-retrogression from unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening. The buddhas of the east constantly come to where I am, seated upon a jeweled lion-throne, expounding the Dharma for my sake; and every buddha of the south, west, and north, the four intermediate directions, above and below, likewise all come to where I am, seated upon a jeweled lion-throne, expounding the Dharma for my sake. Good son, I constantly behold every buddha and bodhisattva, never once departing from them. Good son, within this great assembly of mine there are eighty-four thousand koṭis of bodhisattvas, all of them my own fellow practitioners, who have attained non-retrogression from unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening; and this entire assembly of the grove Universal Adornment has likewise attained non-retrogression from unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening."

Sudhana said: "Great sage, how long has it been since you raised the mind of awakening?"

She answered: "Good son, I recall that, in the past, at the presence of the Buddha Dīpaṃkara, I went forth from home and sought the path, purely cultivating pure conduct, reverently making offerings, hearing the Dharma and upholding it; then, at the presence of the Buddha Vimalā, I went forth from home and sought the path, purely cultivating pure conduct, reverently making offerings, hearing the Dharma and upholding it; then at the presence of the buddhas Sublime Banner, Sublime Virtue, Treasury of Merit, Vairocana, Universal Eye, Brahmā-Lifespan, Sovereign, and Excellent Heaven. Good son, at the presence of buddhas such as these, as numerous as the sands of thirty-six Ganges Rivers, I went forth from home and sought the path, purely cultivating pure conduct, reverently making offerings, hearing the Dharma and upholding it, coming to understand entirely the wisdom of every buddha. From my very first raising of the bodhisattva mind, filling the Dharma-realm, with boundless great compassion gathering sentient beings in; raising every bodhisattva's own boundless great vow, reaching the very end of the Dharma-realm of the ten directions, boundless great compassion universally covering sentient beings. Throughout every land and every eon, cultivating the bodhisattva's own boundless practices, boundless power of samādhi, never abandoning or turning from the bodhisattva's true path; the bodhisattva's own boundless power of dhāraṇī, skillfully able to guard and uphold every sentient being; the bodhisattva's own boundless power of pure wisdom, skillful means and right mindfulness, universally illumining the three times; the bodhisattva's own boundless power of every spiritual brightness, traveling everywhere throughout the net of every world; the bodhisattva's own boundless power of every eloquence, able, with a single word, to delight every being. Good son, I possess the bodhisattva's own boundless, sovereign spiritual power, able, with a single body, to fill every land."