The Bodhi-Mind Nāga-King Rises into the Sky of the Dharma-Realm
Maitreya's hymn continues: with valiant power, Sudhana dispels every terror for the beings of the three realms, establishing them in a place of peace; as a captain upon the sea, he builds the great ship of Dharma, crossing the ocean of fixed views to bring beings to dwell upon the pure jeweled isle; as a pure sun within the Dharma-realm, he illuminates every class of being with the light of vowed wisdom; as an awakened moon, every wondrous Dharma fully perfected, his cool light of compassion-concentration extinguishes the heat of every affliction. Resting upon the ocean of his own wisdom, upon the vajra ground of his upright mind, the bodhisattva's own practice deepens by degrees, bringing forth the wondrous jewel of the Dharma; the bodhi-mind nāga-king rises into the sky of the Dharma-realm, raising clouds and raining ambrosia, nurturing the pure white fruit.
Raising Clouds and Raining Ambrosia, Nurturing the Pure White Fruit
「善財勇猛力， 普為三界眾，
除滅諸恐怖， 令置安隱處。
善財為海師， 造立大法船，
越度爾焰海， 令住淨寶洲。
善財為一切， 法界中淨日，
以願智慧光， 普照眾生類。
善財為覺月， 妙法悉圓滿，
慈定清涼光， 滅諸煩惱熱。
善財智海依， 直心金剛地，
菩薩行漸深， 出生妙法寶。
菩提心龍王， 昇於法界空，
興雲雨甘露， 長養白淨果。」
"With valiant power, Sudhana, for the sake of the beings of the three realms,
Dispels every terror, establishing them in a place of peace.
Sudhana becomes a captain upon the sea, building the great ship of Dharma,
Crossing the ocean of fixed views, bringing beings to dwell upon the pure jeweled isle.
Sudhana becomes, for the sake of all, a pure sun within the Dharma-realm,
Universally illuminating every class of being with the light of vowed wisdom.
Sudhana becomes an awakened moon, every wondrous Dharma fully perfected,
Whose cool light of compassion-concentration extinguishes the heat of every affliction.
Sudhana rests upon the ocean of wisdom, upon the vajra ground of an upright mind,
The bodhisattva's own practice deepening by degrees, bringing forth the wondrous jewel of the Dharma.
The bodhi-mind nāga-king rises into the sky of the Dharma-realm,
Raising clouds and raining ambrosia, nurturing the pure white fruit."
The nāga-king image closing this stretch — bodhicitta itself rising into the sky and raining ambrosia — is among the most visually striking in the entire hymn, and Fazang reads it as deliberately building toward the still grander cosmic imagery of the coming teaching, where bodhicitta will be likened at length to seeds, fields, oceans, and mountains in a formal doctrinal register. Here the imagery remains personal, describing Sudhana himself as this nāga-king, rather than describing bodhicitta in the abstract — the transition from person to principle is what the hymn's final stanzas, and the teaching that follows, will complete.
Part 329 In Progress
Maitreya's hymn continues to build toward its close. Part 330 turns to the embryonic growth of the bodhi-mind itself, likened to the stages of gestation, and to Sudhana's great adornment, rarely seen even among gods and humans.
Continue to Part 330 →