Like an Auspicious Cloud, Wherever It Covers
Boundless bodhisattvas, across uncountable kalpas, cultivate the bodhisattva's own practice — yet Sudhana, within this single lifetime, has gained it entirely, through the power of an upright mind and diligence alone. Maitreya declares this path open to anyone who studies exactly as Sudhana has studied, comparing it to an auspicious cloud that sends down sweet rain wherever it happens to cover.
"Whoever Wishes to Attain a Dharma Such as This Should Study Exactly as Sudhana Has"
「……不久當得大果報故；無量菩薩，於無數劫，修菩薩行；汝今一生，皆悉具得，皆由直心精進力故。其有欲得如是法者，當如善財之所修學，便得究竟諸菩薩行，滿一切願，達一切法；譬如慶雲，隨所覆處，能降甘澤；隨智慧願，具菩薩行，亦復如是。善財！當知我所……」
"… because you shall soon attain a great fruit of retribution; boundless bodhisattvas, across uncountable kalpas, cultivate the bodhisattva's own practice, yet you, within this single lifetime, have gained it entirely, all through the power of an upright mind and diligence. Whoever wishes to attain a Dharma such as this should study and learn exactly as Sudhana has done, and will then be able to consummate every one of the bodhisattva's own practices, fulfill every vow, and penetrate every dharma; it is like an auspicious cloud, which, wherever it covers, is able to send down sweet rain — according with wisdom and vow, being endowed with the bodhisattva's own practice, is likewise so. Sudhana! You should know that what I … [the address continues]"
"Whoever wishes to attain a Dharma such as this should study exactly as Sudhana has done" universalizes this whole pilgrimage's own method beyond Sudhana himself — Fazang reads this line as the sūtra's own explicit statement of its didactic purpose, addressed past the immediate narrative to any future reader willing to seek out good friends with the same undivided diligence. The auspicious-cloud simile that follows reframes the entire compressed timeline just described — a single lifetime accomplishing what boundless kalpas elsewhere require — not as a special exception granted to Sudhana alone, but as a natural consequence of practice matched to wisdom and vow, exactly as rain falls wherever a cloud happens to pass.
Part 315 In Progress
Maitreya's own confirmation continues to build toward its most significant revelation yet. Part 316 continues with a declaration that everything just described is entirely Samantabhadra's own conduct.
Continue to Part 316 →