ON ENTERING THE INCONCEIVABLE STATE
OF LIBERATION THROUGH
The Practices and Vows of The Bodhisattva Samantabhadra
(THE AVATAMSAKA SUTRA, CHAPTER 40)
Translated from Sanskrit into Chinese by Dharma Master Prajna (8th Century)
Translated from Chinese into English by Upasika Chihmann (Miss. P.C. Lee)
NAMO HWA-YEN HUEN SANG FO PU SA
(three times)
The Youth Sudhana Meets his First Teacher (Avatamsaka Sutra, Ch 39)
The Ten Great Vows extolled by Bodhisattva Samantabha in Chapter 40 is the last and longest chapter of the Avatamsaka Sutra. The Avatamsaka Sutra has been described as the epitome of Buddhist thought, Buddhist sentiment and Buddhist experience, and is quoted by all schools of Mahayana Buddhism, in particular, Pure Land and Zen. It is important to learn about the journeys described in the next-to-last Chapter 39, where the main protagonist in that previous chapter is the youth Sudhana. Seeking Enlightenment, Sudhana visited and studied with fifty-three spiritual advisors and attained the equal of the Buddhas in one lifetime. When he was born, myriad treasures suddenly appeared in his father's home. Thus the name "Sudhana" or "Good Wealth".
Read the excerpts of Chapter 39 from the Avatamsaka Sutra, the Youth Sudhana Meets his First Teacher, to understand what Sudhana had encountered in his journeys.