爾時善財童子 一心思惟 文殊師利所說法門 行不退轉 辯才無盡 普入三世 了達諸佛 一切智海 從文殊師利所 展轉南行 經由一百一十城已 到普賢菩薩所 見普賢菩薩 坐寶蓮華師子之座 十方諸佛 悉於其前 現神變已 入於如來 功德大海
ěr shí shàn cái tóng zǐ yī xīn sī wéi wén shū shī lì suǒ shuō fǎ mén xíng bù tuì zhuǎn biàn cái wú jìn pǔ rù sān shì liǎo dá zhū fó yī qiē zhì hǎi cóng wén shū shī lì suǒ zhǎn zhuǎn nán xíng jīng yóu yī bǎi yī shí chéng yǐ dào pǔ xián pú sà suǒ jiàn pǔ xián pú sà zuò bǎo lián huā shī zǐ zhī zuò shí fāng zhū fó xī yú qí qián xiàn shén biàn yǐ rù yú rú lái gōng dé dà hǎi
Key Message
The path of seeking does not end with one teacher. The very open-mindedness to meet fifty-three diverse teachers and learn from each is itself the gate to entering the Dharmadhātu.
▸Chapter 39, 'Entering the Dharmadhātu' (入法界品), is the vast concluding movement of the entire 80-fascicle Avatamsaka Sutra.
Chapter 39, 'Entering the Dharmadhātu' (入法界品), is the vast concluding movement of the entire 80-fascicle Avatamsaka Sutra. It contains the great pilgrimage of a young seeker named Sudhana (善財童子), who receives the teaching of Mañjuśrī and sets forth to visit fifty-three spiritual friends (善知識) in succession, seeking the Dharma. Sudhana travels southward, passing through 110 cities, until he finally arrives at Samantabhadra's presence, where he sees Samantabhadra seated upon a jeweled lotus lion-throne, with all the Buddhas of the ten directions manifesting supernatural transformations before him. He then enters the vast ocean of the Tathāgata's merits. Sudhana's pilgrimage to fifty-three spiritual friends has become a symbol of the open spirit of seeking instruction without discriminating among teachers, exerting a profound influence on East Asian Buddhist art and literature.