Megha

7.1Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, was filled with the power and might of faith in the Dharma. He was focused on the idea of following the Buddha; he was sincerely dedicated to the lineage of the Three Jewels; his mind illuminated the worlds of the three times; he was focused on following the great aspiration; he was continuously dedicated to saving all the realms of beings; his mind did not dwell on composite pleasures; he was devoted to contemplating the nature of all phenomena; he never deviated from the aspiration to purify all world realms; he dwelled without attachment in the circles of the assemblies of all the buddhas; he remembered the light of the Dharma; he remembered his kalyāṇamitras; and he proclaimed the lineage of freedom from desire.

7.2Eventually he arrived at Vajrapura in the Draviḍa region. He searched and searched for the Dravidian Megha until he saw him in one of the courtyards in the town. He was seated on a lion throne in order to teach the Dharma, and he was teaching the Dharma teaching called the display of the rotating wheel of syllables to about ten thousand beings. [F.338.a]

7.3Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, bowed his head to the feet of the Dravidian Megha , circumambulated the Dravidian Megha to his right many hundreds of thousands of times, sat before him, and with palms together said, “Ārya, I have developed the aspiration for the highest, complete enlightenment. However, I do not know how bodhisattvas should train in bodhisattva conduct; how they should practice it; how bodhisattvas do not lose the aspiration to enlightenment; how they keep their motivation firm within all the states of existence so that they do not lose heart; how they purify their resolve so that they do not become oppressed; how they develop the power of great compassion so that they do not lose heart; how they gain the power of retention so that all gateways are purified; how they develop the light of wisdom, the light that frees all phenomena from darkness, so that the darkness that obscures omniscience will be dispersed; how they gain the power of discernment so that they perfect the domain of voice through being skilled in meaning, Dharma, definitions, and eloquence; how they gain the power of memory so that they will possess without differentiation all the Buddha’s Dharma wheels; how they purify states of rebirth so that they will realize and follow the light in all rebirths and phenomena in all directions; and how the power of bodhisattvas’ samādhi is brought forth so as to have the highest certainty and analysis of all the meanings of the Dharma.”

7.4Then the Dravidian Megha , [F.338.b] in order to show respect to the bodhisattva, rose from his throne, stepped down, and with his entire body prostrated before Sudhana, the head merchant’s son. He scattered a heap of golden flowers toward Sudhana, the head merchant’s son. He scattered many priceless precious jewels and supreme sandalwood powder. He draped him in many hundreds of thousands of cloths that had been dyed in various colors. He scattered many beautiful and delightful perfumed flowers of many different colors. He also made offerings with other kinds of offerings, showing him respect, honor, and veneration.

7.5He said to Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, “Noble one, it is excellent, excellent, that you have developed the aspiration for the highest, complete enlightenment and that you have an unceasing dedication to the lineage of all the buddhas, you are dedicated to correctly imparting knowledge of the lineage of freedom from desire, you practice the purification of the classes of realms, you are prepared for ripening and guiding all classes of beings, you are dedicated to correctly examining all the traditions of the Dharma, you maintain a state of not contravening all the classes of karma, you are dedicated to perfecting the classes of bodhisattva conduct, you correctly engage in a continuity of all classes of prayers, you engage in comprehending through wisdom all the classes of three times, and you are dedicated to making firm the classes of motivations. [F.339.a]

7.6“That is the blessing of all the many tathāgatas, that is the intention of all the buddhas, that is the attainment of equality of all the bodhisattvas, that is what all the āryas rejoice in, that is what delights all the Brahmakāyika lords, that is what is offered to by all the deva lords, that is what is protected by all the yakṣa lords, that is what is honored by all the rākṣasa lords, that is what is welcomed by all the nāga lords, that is what is praised by all the kinnara lords, and that is what is praised by all the lords of the world.

7.7“It is what prevents the entire realm of beings from being reborn in the three lower existences and turns them away from all paths to unfortunate and lower existences. It turns them away from the paths that lead to poverty. It brings the attainment of the good fortune of devas and humans.

7.8“Through it there will be no separation from seeing the kalyāṇamitra, no separation from the vast ocean of the Buddhadharma; it purifies the aspiration for enlightenment, it accomplishes the cause of the aspiration for enlightenment, it obtains the illumination of the bodhisattva path, it brings the realization of bodhisattva wisdom, and it brings the relief of being on the level of a bodhisattva.

7.9“Noble one, this is what I think: the bodhisattvas accomplish what is difficult, they are the manifestation of a sight that is difficult to obtain, and they are a comfort to the world; [F.339.b] the bodhisattvas are like fathers and mothers to all beings; the bodhisattvas are like adornments for this world and its paradises; the bodhisattvas save beings from the torments of suffering; the bodhisattvas remain in order to protect all beings; the bodhisattvas are a refuge from the misfortune of various kinds of danger; the bodhisattvas are like the disk of air because it prevents beings from falling into the lower existences; the bodhisattvas are like the earth because they increase the roots of merit of all beings; the bodhisattvas are like the ocean because they contain an inexhaustible treasure of precious merit; the bodhisattvas are like the sun because they shine with the light of wisdom; the bodhisattvas are like Sumeru because of the great height of their roots of merit; the bodhisattvas are like the moon because they rise as the moon of the wisdom of the essence of enlightenment; the bodhisattvas are like warriors because they defeat the armies of the māras; the bodhisattvas are like heroes because they reach the self-arisen city of the Dharma; the bodhisattvas are like Agni because they dry up the wetness of the self-love of all beings; the bodhisattvas are like clouds because they send down rain from the vast cloud of the Dharma; the bodhisattvas are like rain because they increase the sprouts of the faculties, faith, and so on of beings; the bodhisattvas are like mariners because they reveal the point of embarkation for crossing the ocean of the Dharma; [F.340.a] the bodhisattvas are like a bridge because they enable all beings to cross over the ocean of saṃsāra; and the bodhisattvas are like fords because they enable beings to cross over.”

7.10In that way, Megha the Dravidian, while sitting before Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, praised the bodhisattvas with those words and congratulated Sudhana, the head merchant’s son.

7.11As he was proclaiming those words that brought delight to bodhisattvas, a mass of light rays was emitted from his mouth in this fashion: that mass of light rays spread throughout the billion worlds. Those beings who saw it and were illuminated by that great radiance‍—devas and devas with great miraculous power, nāgas and nāgas with great miraculous power, yakṣas and yakṣas with great miraculous power, gandharvas and gandharvas with great miraculous power, asuras and asuras with great miraculous power, garuḍas and garuḍas with great miraculous power, kinnaras and kinnaras with great miraculous power, mahoragas and mahoragas with great miraculous power, humans and humans with great miraculous power, nonhumans and nonhumans with great miraculous power, Brahmakāyikas and Brahmakāyikas with great miraculous power‍—came into the presence of Megha the Dravidian.

7.12Their thoughts were thus blessed by Megha the Dravidian, and they placed their palms together in homage. Their bodies and minds were refreshed, they felt vast joy, they showed great veneration, they had cast down the banner of pride, they were free of deceit, and their senses were serene. Megha the Dravidian taught them extensively the Dharma teaching called The Display of the Rotating Wheel of Syllables. [F.340.b] He made it known to them, introduced them to it, led them into it, and caused them to understand it. Having heard it, they all gained irreversible progress toward the highest, complete enlightenment.

7.13Then Megha the Dravidian sat again upon the Dharma throne and said to Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, “Noble one, I have attained Sarasvatī’s power of retention. Through its power I know the divine languages of the devas in these world realms of the billion-world universe. In the same way, I know the languages of the nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans, and nonhumans and the Brahmakāyika language of the Brahmakāyika devas.

7.14“I know the various divine languages of the devas, and similarly I know the various languages of the nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans, and nonhumans and the various Brahmakāyika languages of the Brahmakāyika devas.

7.15“I know the different divine languages of the devas, and similarly I know the different languages of the nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans, and nonhumans and the different Brahmakāyika languages of the Brahmakāyika devas.

7.16“I also know the different signs, languages, and names of the beings who have been reborn as animals. I also know the different languages and names of the beings who have been reborn in the hells. I also know the different languages and names of the beings in the realm of Yama. [F.341.a] I also know the languages and names of the āryas. I also know the languages and names of those who are not āryas. I also know the words, signs, and definitions of bodhisattvas that arise in accordance with the wishes of beings.

7.17“In each instant of mind, I perceive and comprehend the aspects of the voices and the oceans of speech of all the tathāgatas in the three times, and the words, the sound of conversations, and the languages that are used by all beings.

7.18“Just as I perceive and know the ocean of terms, definitions, languages, and names of beings in this world realm of a billion worlds, in the same way, I perceive and know the ocean of terms, definitions, languages, and names of beings in a quintillion world realms, a measureless number of world realms, innumerable world realms, an inconceivable number of world realms, an unequaled number of world realms, an infinite number of world realms, limitless world realms, and an inexpressible number of world realms in the eastern direction, and it is the same for the south, the west, the north, the northeast, the southeast, the southwest, the northwest, below, and above.

7.19“In that way, I know the deva language of the devas, and so on, up to knowing the Brahmakāyika language of the Brahmakāyika devas.

7.20“Noble one, I know the light of Sarasvatī’s power of retention that the bodhisattvas have, but how could I know the conduct or describe the qualities of the entry by the bodhisattvas into an ocean of different terms, [F.341.b] their entry into an ocean of terms and languages of various beings, their entry into an ocean of taught names of various beings, their entry into an ocean of an array of descriptions by various beings, their entry into an ocean of conducts, their entry into an ocean of the conjunctions of all words, their entry into an ocean of the literal meaning of words, their entry into an ocean of single terms for perceptions that include all perceptions in the three times, their entry into an ocean of teaching through assembling a single word, their entry into an ocean of teaching through assembling two words, their entry into an ocean of teaching through dividing words, their entry into an ocean of teaching that brings guidance through categorizing the words for all phenomena, their entry into an ocean of the languages of all beings, their entry in the entire pure display of the field of speech, and what arises in the categories of the apex of the wheel of words?

7.21“Now depart, noble one. In this southern region, in the land of Vanavāsī, there dwells a head merchant by the name of Muktaka. Go to him and ask him, ‘How should bodhisattvas train in bodhisattva conduct? How should they set forth? How should their minds rest in meditation?’ ”

7.22Then Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, bowed his head to the feet of Megha the Dravidian, and showing respect for his Dharma, showing that Megha was the source for the signs of the arising of his faith, and seeing the omniscience that has come from the kalyāṇamitra, [F.342.a] weeping, with his face covered in tears, he circumambulated Megha the Dravidian a hundred thousand times, keeping him to his right, and, looking back a hundred thousand times, departed from Megha the Dravidian. [B29]