Set at the Gate of Samantabhadra's Own Practice
At that time, having shown and taught Sudhana in this way, Mañjuśrī comforted and encouraged him, causing him to leap and bound with joy, and caused him to accomplish asaṃkhyeya Dharma-gates: boundless great light of wisdom, boundless bodhisattva dhāraṇīs, boundless great vows, boundless samādhis, boundless spiritual powers, and boundless wisdom — all of these he now fully accomplished. Mañjuśrī further caused him to enter within the very bodhimaṇḍa where Samantabhadra's own practice is carried out. Having thus established Sudhana in his own proper abiding, Mañjuśrī withdrew his own spiritual power and became no longer visible.
Mañjuśrī Withdraws, Having Set Sudhana at the Threshold
是時，文殊師利為善財童子示教誨已，慰諭令其歡喜踊躍，令得成就阿僧祇法門，得無量大智光明、無量菩薩陀羅尼、無量大願、無量三昧、無量神通、無量智慧，皆已成就；復令得入普賢所行道場之內。既置善財自所住已，文殊師利還攝不現，於是
At that time, having shown and taught Sudhana in this way, Mañjuśrī comforted and encouraged him, causing him to leap and bound with joy, and caused him to accomplish asaṃkhyeya Dharma-gates: boundless great light of wisdom, boundless bodhisattva dhāraṇīs, boundless great vows, boundless samādhis, boundless spiritual powers, and boundless wisdom — all of these he now fully accomplished. Mañjuśrī further caused him to enter within the very bodhimaṇḍa where Samantabhadra's own practice is carried out. Having thus established Sudhana in his own proper abiding, Mañjuśrī withdrew his own spiritual power and became no longer visible.
Mañjuśrī's second and final appearance on Sudhana's own pilgrimage is remarkably brief compared to nearly every other teacher's episode across this entire collection — a single touch, a single teaching on faith, and a single act of establishing Sudhana at the bodhimaṇḍa of Samantabhadra's own practice, before withdrawing without any extended dialogue, hymn, or vision of his own. Fazang reads this brevity as itself meaningful: Mañjuśrī's role here is purely transitional, a bridge rather than a destination, his own spiritual power spent entirely in propelling Sudhana across the final threshold rather than in any teaching of his own content — the mirror image of his very first, extensive appearance at the start of this whole pilgrimage, where he was the one who first set Sudhana walking.
Part 414 Complete
Mañjuśrī's own brief second appearance is now complete. Part 415 turns to what Sudhana beholds next, standing now at the very entrance to Samantabhadra's own practice — the sutra's climactic final teacher, whose approach begins to unfold.
Continue to Part 415 →