Unmoving, and Five Hundred Samādhis in a Single Touch of Light
Sudhana takes leave of King Great Light and journeys to the city Secure Abode, where the light of the laywoman Unmoving's own palace touches his body and grants him five hundred gates of samādhi at once, his body made as tender as a seven-day embryo. She begins to recount a night, ages past, when a passing buddha's own fragrance first moved her — still a princess, still asleep to everyone around her — to wonder what karma could ever produce a body beyond all likeness. The ninth teacher of the Ten Practices.
Farewell to Great Light, and Five Hundred Samādhis in a Single Touch of Light
時，善財童子敬禮彼王，遶無數匝，辭退南行。
爾時，善財童子正念思惟大光王教，思惟菩薩大慈幢行，大慈為首隨順世間三昧；出生不可思議功德願力，長養菩薩不可思議堅固智慧；思惟菩薩不共之法，思惟不可思議諸法實相，思惟菩薩不可思議眷屬，思惟菩薩不可思議眾事。作是思惟已，得歡喜心、離欲心、極踊躍心、謙下心、離垢心、明淨心、堅固心、無畏心、無盡心。作是念時，悲泣流淚。復作是念：「見善知識則能出生一切功德，起菩薩行，清淨正念陀羅尼，出生菩薩三昧光明，見一切佛雨諸佛法雲，分別解說菩薩諸願，出生菩薩不可思議智慧光明，長養菩薩堅固諸根。念善知識，能離險道；念善知識，開示正路；念善知識，順平等法；念善知識，顯摩訶衍；念善知識，究竟普賢菩薩所行；念善知識，現一切智城；念善知識，度一切法界海；念善知識，普照三世一切法海；念善知識，長養一切諸白淨法；念善知識，成滿一切諸賢聖法。」
善財如是悲心念時，如來使天隨菩薩天於虛空中而告之曰：「善男子！其有隨順善知識教，諸佛歡喜！其有隨順善知識教，近一切智！於善知識教，心無厭故，一切諸義悉現在前。善男子！汝詣安住王城不動優婆夷所，是汝知識，不久當見。」
爾時，善財從智慧光明三昧起，漸漸遊行至安住城，推問：「不動優婆夷今在何所？」時，有人言：「善男子！不動優婆夷在其家內，父母守護，親近眷屬周匝圍遶，為無量眾演說正法。」
爾時，善財歡喜無量，即詣其門，入彼家內。見其宮殿金色光明，皆悉普照，觸斯光者，身心柔軟。爾時，善財光明觸身，即得五百三昧門，所謂：覺一切三昧門、奇特幢三昧門、寂靜三昧門、遠離一切眾生三昧門、普眼三昧門、如來藏三昧門。得如是等五百三昧門，身心柔軟，如七日胎。又聞妙香出過天人，前詣其所，合掌恭敬，一心觀察。見彼形色，天龍八部諸采女眾所不能及，十方世界一切女人無與等者；容色妙絕十方無倫，況有勝者？唯除諸佛。其宮殿嚴飾，十方世界無與等者；口出妙香，十方世界無與等者；其莊嚴具，十方世界無與等者；其眷屬眾，十方世界無與等者，何況有勝？除如來眾。如是勝妙，不令眾生起染著心；其有見者，除滅煩惱，如梵天王，欲界煩惱不現在前。其有得見此優婆夷，一切煩惱皆悉除滅，十方眾生樂觀無厭，除明行足。
爾時，善財見彼女人不可思議法，不可思議三昧，不可思議無比妙色，無量光明網，一切無障，不可思議饒益眾生，不可窮盡諸眷屬海，觀察不可思議身，無有厭足。
At that time Sudhana the Boy reverently paid homage to this king, circled him countless times, and, taking his leave, journeyed on to the south.
At that time Sudhana the Boy rightly held in mind King Great Light's own teaching, held in mind the bodhisattva's own Practice of the Banner of Great Loving-Kindness, the samādhi of Great Loving-Kindness as Foremost, According with the World; giving rise to the power of a vow of merit beyond conceiving, nurturing the bodhisattva's own firm wisdom beyond conceiving; he held in mind the bodhisattva's own uncommon Dharma, held in mind the true mark of every dharma beyond conceiving, held in mind the bodhisattva's own retinue beyond conceiving, held in mind the bodhisattva's own multitude of affairs beyond conceiving. Having reflected in this way, he attained a mind of joy, a mind free of desire, a mind of the utmost exultation, a mind of humility, a mind free of defilement, a mind bright and pure, a mind firm, a mind fearless, and a mind inexhaustible. As he thought this, he wept, tears flowing. He thought further: "Beholding a good spiritual friend is able to give rise to every kind of merit, to rouse the bodhisattva's own practice, the dhāraṇī of pure right mindfulness, to give rise to the bodhisattva's own light of samādhi, to behold every buddha and receive the rain of every buddha's own cloud of Dharma, to discern and expound every bodhisattva vow, to give rise to the bodhisattva's own light of wisdom beyond conceiving, and to nurture the bodhisattva's own firm faculties. Holding a good spiritual friend in mind is able to depart from every perilous path; holding a good spiritual friend in mind opens up the true path; holding a good spiritual friend in mind accords with the Dharma of equanimity; holding a good spiritual friend in mind manifests the Great Vehicle itself; holding a good spiritual friend in mind brings Samantabhadra's own practice to its very completion; holding a good spiritual friend in mind manifests the city of omniscience; holding a good spiritual friend in mind crosses the whole ocean of the Dharma-realm; holding a good spiritual friend in mind universally illumines the whole ocean of every dharma across the three times; holding a good spiritual friend in mind nurtures every pure, white Dharma; and holding a good spiritual friend in mind brings every dharma of every sage and worthy to its own complete fulfillment."
As Sudhana held this compassionate thought in mind, the deva who serves as the Tathāgata's own messenger, and the deva who accompanies the bodhisattva, spoke to him from within the sky, saying: "Good son, whoever accords with a good spiritual friend's own teaching brings joy to every buddha; whoever accords with a good spiritual friend's own teaching draws near to omniscience; toward a good spiritual friend's own teaching, when the mind never tires, every meaning stands present before it entirely. Good son, go to the laywoman Unmoving, at the royal city Secure Abode; she is your own spiritual friend, and you shall behold her before long."
At that time Sudhana, rising from the samādhi of the light of wisdom, gradually journeyed on until he arrived at the city Secure Abode, and sought there, asking: "Where is the laywoman Unmoving now?" Someone answered: "Good son, the laywoman Unmoving is within her own household, guarded by her father and mother, surrounded on every side by her close attendants, expounding the true Dharma for a boundless assembly."
At that time Sudhana, rejoicing beyond measure, went at once to her gate, and entered within that household. He beheld her palace hall shining with a golden light, universally illumining everything, and whoever this light touched had their own body and mind made soft and pliant. At that time, as this light touched Sudhana's own body, he attained at once five hundred gates of samādhi — namely: the gate of the samādhi of Awakening to Everything, the gate of the samādhi of the Banner of the Extraordinary, the gate of the samādhi of Tranquility, the gate of the samādhi of Departing Far from Every Sentient Being, the gate of the samādhi of the Universal Eye, and the gate of the samādhi of the Tathāgata's Own Treasury. Having attained five hundred gates of samādhi such as these, his body and mind were made soft and pliant, as tender as a seven-day embryo. He also caught a sublime fragrance surpassing that of gods and men, and went before her, joining his palms in reverence, single-mindedly beholding her. He beheld her form and coloring, which not even the gods, nāgas, the eightfold host, nor any host of heavenly maidens could equal; no woman in any world throughout the ten directions was her equal; her countenance, sublime beyond compare, had no peer in all the ten directions — how much less could there be anyone still greater? — save only the buddhas themselves. Her palace hall's own splendor had no equal throughout the ten directions; the sublime fragrance issuing from her mouth had no equal throughout the ten directions; her own ornaments had no equal throughout the ten directions; her own retinue had no equal throughout the ten directions — how much less could there be anything still greater? — save only the tathāgatas' own assembly. Sublime splendor such as this never once caused any sentient being to give rise to a defiled, attached mind; whoever beheld her had every affliction extinguished, exactly as before a Brahmā king, the afflictions of the desire realm no longer manifesting at all before them. Whoever was able to behold this laywoman had every affliction entirely extinguished, and sentient beings throughout the ten directions delighted in beholding her without ever tiring — save only one perfect in wisdom and conduct.
At that time Sudhana beheld this woman's own Dharma beyond conceiving, her own samādhi beyond conceiving, her own sublime form beyond compare and beyond conceiving, her net of boundless light, entirely without obstruction, her benefiting of sentient beings beyond conceiving, and the inexhaustible ocean of her own retinue, contemplating her own body beyond conceiving, and never once growing weary.
Fazang marks this as the ninth of the Ten Practices, "the Practice of Good Dharma" (善法行). He glosses her own name directly: 優婆夷名不動者，初發心時不為二乘煩惱所動，因以為名 — "the laywoman is named 'Unmoving' because, from the very moment she first raised the awakening-mind, she was never moved by the afflictions of the two lesser vehicles — and so she bears this name." On Sudhana's own arrival at dusk and entry the following dawn, he reads the timing itself as meaningful: 日沒入城者，表行位終極故也 — "his entering the city at sunset marks that this stage of practice is nearing its very limit" — a detail worth watching as the Ten Practices themselves near their own close, one teacher away.
A Verse for the Woman Bright as the Full Moon
爾時，善財以偈頌曰：
「常持清淨戒， 精進修忍辱，
譬如盛滿月， 星中獨明耀。」
爾時，善財偈讚歎已，白言：「大聖！我已先發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心，而未知菩薩云何學菩薩行、修菩薩道，我聞大聖善能解說，願為敷演。」
爾時，彼女以善語、愛語答善財言：「善哉！善哉！善男子！乃能發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心。我成就菩薩無壞法門，修學菩薩堅固之行，得一切法平等地陀羅尼，得一切法平等法門，得離有莊嚴三昧。」
善財白言：「菩薩無壞法門，乃至離有莊嚴三昧境界云何？」
「善男子！是處難知，難說！」
善財白言：「唯願大聖承佛神力，為我解說；我當因善知識，信知分別，正念觀察，一心隨順，遠離虛妄，解了平等。」
爾時，優婆夷答言：「善男子！於過去世離垢劫中，有如來、應供、等正覺，號曰脩臂，出興於世；時，有國王名曰電光，我為王女。中夜寂靜，廢音樂時，五百侍女皆悉昏寐。我在樓上，仰觀星宿；見彼如來在虛空中，如寶山王；天、龍、八部不可思議大菩薩眾恭敬圍遶，放大光明網，普照十方。彼佛毛孔出微妙香；我聞是香，身體柔軟，心大歡喜，恭敬禮拜，一心合掌，仰觀彼佛，不見頂相，觀身左右，不見邊際，相好莊嚴，見無厭足。善男子！我於爾時作如是念：『修何等業出生如是身、長養如是身、具足如是身、清淨如是身、自在如是身，光明眷屬諸莊嚴具，功德智慧三昧陀羅尼，諸辯才藏，不可譬諭？』
At that time Sudhana spoke this verse:
"Ever upholding the pure precepts, diligently cultivating patience —
like the full moon at its very fullest, alone in brightness among every star."
At that time, having praised her with this verse, Sudhana 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, cultivates the bodhisattva path; I have heard that the great sage is well able to explain this — I beg you to expound it."
At that time this woman, with gentle and loving words, answered Sudhana: "Excellent, excellent, good son! You have indeed been able to raise the mind of unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening. I have accomplished the bodhisattva's own Dharma-gate of the Indestructible, cultivating and learning the bodhisattva's own firm practice, attaining the dhāraṇī of the ground of the equanimity of every dharma, attaining the Dharma-gate of the equanimity of every dharma, and attaining the samādhi that is free of the adornment of mere existence."
Sudhana said: "What is the domain of the bodhisattva's own Dharma-gate of the Indestructible, even up to the samādhi that is free of the adornment of mere existence?"
"Good son, this matter is difficult to know, difficult to speak of!"
Sudhana said: "I beg only that the great sage, sustained by the Buddha's own spiritual power, explain it for my sake; through this good spiritual friend I shall come to believe and understand it through discernment, to contemplate it with right mindfulness, to accord with it single-mindedly, to depart far from falsehood, and to understand equanimity fully."
At that time the laywoman answered: "Good son, in an age past, within the eon called Free of Defilement, there arose in the world a tathāgata, worthy of offerings, perfectly and fully awakened, named Excellent Arm. At that time there was a king named Lightning-Light, and I was his daughter, a princess. In the still quiet of midnight, when the music had ceased, my five hundred attendant women had all fallen into slumber. I was upon a tower, gazing up at the stars and constellations, when I beheld this tathāgata within the sky, like a king of jeweled mountains; gods, nāgas, the eightfold host, and a great assembly of bodhisattvas beyond conceiving surrounded him in reverence, and he released a great net of light, universally illumining the ten directions. From this buddha's own pores issued a sublime, subtle fragrance; catching this fragrance, my body was made soft and pliant, my mind rejoicing greatly, and I paid reverent homage, joining my palms single-mindedly, gazing up at this buddha — yet I could not see the mark at the crown of his head, and, beholding his body to left and right, I could find no edge or limit to it; his excellent marks, adorned, I beheld without ever tiring. Good son, at that time I thought thus: 'What karma must one cultivate to give rise to a body such as this, to nurture a body such as this, to be fully endowed with a body such as this, to purify a body such as this, to attain sovereign mastery over a body such as this — its light, its retinue, its every ornament, its merit, wisdom, samādhi, and dhāraṇī, and its every treasury of eloquence, all beyond any likeness or comparison?'
Fazang names this Dharma-gate's own substance directly: 無壞法門者，所修大行非緣能壞，故以為名 — "the Dharma-gate of the Indestructible: the great practice she has cultivated cannot be destroyed by any condition whatsoever — hence this name." He then unpacks "cultivating and learning" into four separate grounds for that one word "indestructible": her practice is firm, and so indestructible; her retention is sublime, her total recall matching her own nature exactly; her realization is profound, having realized principle as free of duality; and her samādhi is deep, far removed from the samādhi that merely adorns ordinary existence. He reads Sudhana's insistent, repeated request — met first with "this is difficult to know, difficult to speak of" — as the necessary hinge before an answer this large can even begin: only after Sudhana asks a second time, invoking the Buddha's own sustaining power, does the laywoman's extended reply begin — an entire account of the very cause, ages past, from which her own indestructible practice first grew.
Part 39 In Progress
Part 39 continues in Part 40: the laywoman Unmoving's account of the ten minds a buddha once taught her beneath the night sky, the countless eons of practice that followed, and the demonstration — worlds shaking in six ways, buddhas displayed throughout the whole Dharma-realm — that closes this ninth teacher of the Ten Practices.
Continue to Part 40 — Ten Minds, and Buddhas Displayed Throughout the Dharma-Realm →