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Innumerable Bodhisattvas from other Buddhalands join the Assembly. The same manifestation occurs on the peak of Mount Sumeru in other worlds.
The World Honored One emits light from his toes. Dharma Wisdom Bodhisattva arrives. Relying on the Buddha’s awesome might, he speaks verses.
Other Bodhisattvas, receive the Buddha’s empowerment and speak verses.
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Why did the Buddha let the Bodhisattvas expound the Avatamsaka Sutra as well? Why didn’t the World Honored One just speak the entire Sutra himself instead of aiding so many Bodhisattvas to speak it? I think that on a subtle level, the Buddha is teaching living beings not to be so domineering and conceited. The World Honored One is silently inculcating the virtue of humility in his disciples, in cultivators, talented people, and all living beings. The Buddha encourages, instructs, and imperceptibly assists his disciples to speak Dharma. The World Honored One listens to his disciples expounding the Dharma and supports their efforts in a quiet way.
To be proud, boastful, and arrogant is very harmful. With humility, one ‘turns’ the Sutra. Without humility, one is ‘turned’ by the Sutra. The Tripitaka Master Hsuan Hua says,
‘If you forget words,
you can merge with the Way.
And if you have a humble mind,
you are identical with true principle.’
Without humility, the mere acquisition of knowledge becomes an obstruction. An arrogant cultivator is vulnerable to demonic influences. I think the Buddha is also teaching everyone to share what they know with all living beings and not be stingy with (their knowledge)the Dharma.
© 2000 Soo Hoong Liung. All Rights Reserved.
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