Summary
s.1This sūtra presents a short dialogue between Ānanda and the Buddha on the theme of limitlessness. In response to Ānanda’s persistent inquiries, the Buddha uses analogies to illustrate both the limitlessness of the miraculous abilities acquired by realized beings, and the limitless multiplicity of the world systems in which bodhisattvas and buddhas are to be found.
s.1這部經文呈現了阿難與佛陀之間的一段簡短對話，主題是無限性。在回應阿難的持續提問時，佛陀用譬喻來說明已證悟者所獲得的神通能力的無限性，以及菩薩和佛陀所存在的世界的無限眾多。
s.2The Buddha then concludes his teaching with a further analogy—referenced in the sūtra’s title—to illustrate that although buddhas and bodhisattvas are innumerable, it is nevertheless extremely rare and precious to find a buddha within any given world system, or to find bodhisattvas who engage sincerely in bodhisattva conduct. To encounter such beings, he says, is as rare as finding a single grain of gold dust among all the sands of the ocean, or all the sands of the mighty river Gaṅgā.
s.2佛陀隨後以進一步的比喻來總結他的教導——這個比喻也在經的標題中提到——用以說明雖然佛陀和菩薩數量無限，但在任何特定的世界中尋得一位佛陀，或尋得真誠從事菩薩行的菩薩，仍然是極其罕見而珍貴的。他說，遇到這樣的存在，就如同在海洋的所有沙粒中，或在強大的恆河的所有沙粒中，尋得單一粒金塵一樣罕見。