20. Indraketudhvajarāja

Overall Teaching

Practising this Dharma teaching requires reliance on wholesome teachers and avoidance of distractions and unwholesome companions. He recounts a past Buddha, Indraketudhvajarāja, who taught a samādhi emphasising that all dharmas are like the moon in water, leading to great wisdom and dhāraṇīs. Upholding this teaching and maintaining bodhicitta, with the support of good friends, leads to the unsurpassed fruit of bodhi.

Summary

• The Buddha explains to Candraprabha:

  • In practising this Dharma teaching, one should rely on wholesome teachers who teach it and avoid distractions ("many things") and unwholesome companions.

  • If someone can uphold this Dharma teaching, they will attain eloquence, faith, and enter the ocean of the Buddha-Dharma.

• In verse, the Buddha relates a story of the past:

  • Inconceivably long ago, there was a Buddha called Indraketudhvajarāja (Indra-ketu-dhvaja-rāja; King of Indra's Flag and Banner).

  • That Buddha taught this samādhi, which holds that all dharmas are like the moon in water. Despite all beings thus being empty, karma and its retributions are not lost.

    • This samādhi gives rise to endless dhāraṇīs and great wisdom, and all sūtras arise from it. Therefore, all buddhas respect it. 

    • Speaking the truth and praising precepts one will obtain the unsurpassed wealth of the buddha ancestors.

  • A Dharma master bhikṣu followed that Buddha's teachings and gave rise to bodhicitta (the aspiration for buddhahood).

  • That Buddha told him that the first difficulty of the path is giving rise to bodhicitta. Thereafter, associate with good friends, accord with awakening, and stay away from bad friends: then one can obtain the unsurpassed fruit of bodhi.

Commentary

Thrangu Rinpoche points out that because of the emphasis on bodhicitta (aspiring to attain buddhahood to help and liberate all sentient beings) this chapter highlights the fact that compassion is the natural quality of this samādhi.

All beings have buddha nature but endlessly experience saṃsāra and create negative karma. Once we realise the nature of our minds as buddha nature, we can end suffering. 

This realisation results in spontaneous compassion for beings—in seeing our own buddha nature, we realise others' buddha nature. Thus, true samādhi is the unity of emptiness and compassion.

Discussion

Discussion that includes this will be found at the end of the next chapter's summary page.