A Commentary on the Mahāyāna Sūtra on the Manifestation of Consciousness

Original text: 佛见贤护。举身放光。流照贤护。贤护尔时。便获无畏。绕佛三匝。顶礼佛足。而白佛言。唯愿世尊。悲愍教授。我今始于佛所。得净信心。心悕妙法。欲有所问。而我久处生死。溺烦恼苦。乱念纷杂。于戒等业。无作冥资。虽心奇重。我今不知。于此愚惑。疑网之中。如何超出。得度生死。世尊是一切智。普见一切,。佛出甚难。希有逢遇。如如意珠。施众生乐。佛是大如意宝。 一切众生。咸由依佛。得大安乐。是大父母,。众生善本。因佛父母。得见正路。唯愿悲愍。开晓疑闇。

佛告贤护。汝有所疑。恣汝意问。我当为汝。分别解说。尔时贤护。蒙佛听许。心专请问。在一面住。

Explanation: After the Buddha saw the Bodhisattva Bhadrapāla, His whole body radiated light that shone upon Bhadrapāla. The Buddha's emission of light had a purpose: it was to encourage Bhadrapāla to request the Dharma from the Buddha, so that Bhadrapāla would be free of fear and could pose his questions before the Buddha. Because once he raised his questions, the Buddha, through this condition, could then expound a supremely wonderful Dharma. Sometimes the Buddha wished to teach a certain Dharma, but no one requested it; without cause or condition, the Buddha could not teach it. So the World-Honored One would deliberately prompt a certain person, causing doubts to arise in his mind, leading him to request the Dharma and pose questions; the Buddha would then, based on the questions he raised, expound a body of Buddhist teaching. Having received the Buddha's blessing, Bhadrapāla circumambulated the Buddha to the right three times, expressing his reverence and respect for the Buddha, then bowed at the Buddha's feet and began to pose his questions and request the Dharma.

Sentient beings' faith in the Buddha is sometimes impure and sometimes pure. For beginners in the Buddha-Dharma, their faith in the Buddha is impure. In what way is it impure? They believe in the Buddha superstitiously, seeking things from the Buddha; they do not yet understand the Buddha's merits, nor do they understand the Buddha's spiritual powers, great wisdom, and all His virtuous conduct. Therefore they cannot give rise to pure faith, and many doubts still remain in their minds; this is why it is not called pure faith. After the Buddha radiated light from His whole body that shone upon Bhadrapāla, Bhadrapāla gave rise to pure faith in the Buddha-Dharma, and in his mind he hoped to hear the Buddha expound the wonderful Dharma and wished to inquire about the Buddha-Dharma.