Overall Teaching

Indriyeśvara plays by a river and has been taught all forms of practical knowledge.

Summary

1. Reflecting upon Sudarśana’s teachings, Sudhana saw the boy Indriyeśvara[1] at Sumukha near a river junction[2] playing[3] in the sand with ten thousand other boys.

2.     Sudhana asked Indriyeśvara to teach him the practice of bodhisattvas.

3. Indriyeśvara explains that he has been taught all practical forms of knowledge by Mañjuśrī such as writing, mathematics, sciences, civic sciences, and so forth. He explains in detail his knowledge, even knowing how many grains of sand there were on the shore before him.[4] But he asked how could he know the purity of higher transcendent ways of bodhisattvas who may know the number of all worlds, beings, and dharmas.

4. Thus, Indriyeśvara instructed Sudhana to proceed to Samudrapratiṣṭhāna, where Prabhūta lives.

a. Respecting him, Sudhana left.

[1] Represents the second practice: beneficial practice.

[2] Li: “The land symbolizes the fragrance of morality scenting everywhere, the river symbolizes the undefiled discipline to enter the world autonomously, eventually to enter the ocean of knowledge, just as rivers flow to the sea.”

[3] Li: “Because play is buddha-work, Sudhana saw the boy playing the sand.”

[4] Li: “For him the substance of discipline was in using physical and artistic genius to enter the world and yet go beyond the world, just as for Sagaramegha the substance of discipline was in identifying the ocean of birth and death with the ocean of knowledge. … According to the rank, progress is not the same; but when knowledge penetrates, every rank is included. Therefore the boy said he knew the teaching of higher knowledge of all practical arts…” (1584-5)