I Wish Only to Swiftly Return
Leaping with boundless delight, Sudhana speaks a short verse of his own: what is difficult to hear of or see even across boundless, uncountable kalpas, he has now been able to attend upon — the unsurpassed good friend, Mañjuśrī, whom he reveres, who has reached the far shore of merit. Having been graced to see this good friend once more, he wishes only to swiftly return and draw near to him again.
"Having Been Graced to See This Good Friend"
爾時，善財踊躍無量，以偈頌曰：
「無量無數劫， 難得聞見者，
我今得奉覲， 無上善知識。
文殊我所尊， 究竟功德岸，
蒙見善知識， 願速還親近。」
At that time, Sudhana, leaping with boundless delight, spoke a verse, saying:
"One difficult to hear of or see, even across boundless, uncountable kalpas —
I have now been able to attend upon and behold the unsurpassed good friend.
Mañjuśrī, whom I revere, who has reached the far shore of merit —
Having been graced to see this good friend, I wish only to swiftly return and draw near."
Sudhana's own short verse here stands in deliberate contrast to the two vast hymns he has already sung in this same episode — where the earlier hymn spanned more than fifty stanzas praising Maitreya at cosmic scale, this one is only two, and its own scope is entirely personal: a single teacher, a single wish. Fazang reads this brevity as itself expressive — the emotion Sudhana feels toward Mañjuśrī, unlike the reverent awe the tower's own hymn required so much language to convey, needs almost none at all.
Part 319 Complete
Sudhana's own verse of longing is now given in full. Part 320 turns to what happens next — rather than departing immediately, Sudhana bows before Maitreya once more and asks his question yet again, this time appending an extensive list of Maitreya's own already-attained qualities.
Continue to Part 320 →