Honored Throughout the Three Realms
The catalogue continues: it is like Śakra, lord of the gods, who wears a mani-jewel as an ornament and is thereby honored among the gods; a bodhisattva-mahāsattva is likewise, wearing the jewel-ornament of the mind of bodhi, honored throughout the three realms entire. It is like a person who obtains a wish-fulfilling pearl, thereby removing every poverty and hardship; a bodhisattva-mahāsattva is likewise, having obtained the wish-fulfilling treasure-pearl of the mind of bodhi, removing every poverty of wrong livelihood. It is like a fire-pearl, kindled by the light of the sun to send forth a fierce flame; the pure, bright fire-pearl of the mind of bodhi is likewise, kindled by the light of great wisdom, sending forth the fire of wisdom itself.
The Fire-Pearl Kindled by the Light of Great Wisdom
「善男子！譬如帝釋有摩尼寶，瓔珞其身，於天中尊。菩薩摩訶薩亦復如是，著菩提心寶瓔珞者，悉於一切三界中尊。
「善男子！譬如有人得隨意珠，除滅一切貧窮困苦。菩薩摩訶薩亦復如是，得菩提心隨意寶珠，除滅一切邪命貧苦。
「善男子！譬如火珠，因日光發，能出猛焰，得菩提心。明淨火珠亦復如是，因大慧光所感發故，出智慧火。
"Good man, it is like Śakra, lord of the gods, who has a mani-jewel and wears it as an ornament upon his body, and is thereby honored among the gods. A bodhisattva-mahāsattva is likewise: wearing as an ornament the jewel of the mind of bodhi, he is honored throughout the entirety of the three realms.
"Good man, it is like a person who obtains a wish-fulfilling pearl, thereby removing every poverty and hardship. A bodhisattva-mahāsattva is likewise: having obtained the wish-fulfilling treasure-pearl of the mind of bodhi, he removes every poverty of wrong livelihood.
"Good man, it is like a fire-pearl, kindled by the light of the sun, able to send forth a fierce flame. The pure, bright fire-pearl of the mind of bodhi is likewise: kindled by the light of great wisdom, it sends forth the fire of wisdom itself."
"Wrong livelihood" (邪命, mithyājīva, one of the eight items of the eightfold path stated negatively — a livelihood obtained through deceit, flattery, or improper means) is here paired with "poverty," an unusual combination that treats the wrongness of a livelihood itself as a kind of destitution regardless of the material wealth it might produce. Fazang reads this as characteristic of the catalogue's ethical precision: bodhicitta does not merely provide material sufficiency but corrects the very manner by which a bodhisattva sustains himself, so that "removing poverty" here means removing the need to obtain a livelihood through any improper means at all.
Part 349 Complete
Three more jewel similes are now given in full. Part 350 turns to the moon-pearl that produces cool water from moonlight, the nāga-king's own wish-fulfilling crown, and the mani-jewel called Adornment-Treasury of All Beings, which fulfills every wish without depletion.
Continue to Part 350 →