Explanation of 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: The Buddha's appearance in the world is indeed extremely rare and difficult to encounter. The Buddha told us in the sutras that in the Saha world, a Buddha only appears after a very long span of time. In the Auspicious Kalpa (Bhadra-kalpa), one thousand Buddhas will appear; Śākyamuni Buddha is the fourth, and the fifth Buddha is Maitreya Buddha. According to the sutras, the time between Śākyamuni Buddha's appearance and Maitreya Buddha's appearance is 9.6 billion years, and this gap between the appearances of these two Buddhas is considered the shortest. Often, not a single Buddha appears within many great kalpas, and sometimes not even one Buddha appears within several tens of great kalpas. How long is several tens of great kalpas? One complete cycle of the earth's formation, abiding, destruction, and void is one great kalpa. Such a span of time is 16.8 million years (one small kalpa), multiplied by eighty, which makes one great kalpa. If not a single Buddha appears within several tens of great kalpas, then how suffering must be for the sentient beings living in this world—no one to rescue them from birth and death, and no end to their transmigration in saṃsāra. For such a long time no Buddha appears in the world, so the appearance of a Buddha in this world is truly rare and extremely difficult to encounter.

"Sentient beings rely on the Buddha to attain great peace and bliss; the Buddha is the great father and mother"—this is said from the perspective of appearances. From the perspective of ultimate reality, all sentient beings can attain great peace and bliss only by relying on the Tathāgata Buddha within the five-aggregate body. The tathāgatagarbha is the father and mother who gives birth to the five aggregates, the parents who bring all dharmas to sentient beings. The Buddha within the five-aggregate body can bring the Tripitaka and the twelve divisions of the canon, the dharma of attaining buddhahood, and the dharma of liberation to sentient beings; when sentient beings cultivate and study in accordance with it, they can attain great peace and bliss. All sentient beings can attain great bliss only by relying on their own tathāgatagarbha. The tathāgatagarbha is also the parents of sentient beings, bringing them everything. The tathāgatagarbha is the root of goodness for sentient beings; only because of the tathāgatagarbha can sentient beings cultivate wholesome dharmas. Because of the Buddha, these parents, sentient beings are able to see the correct path of cultivation; once on the correct path, there is hope for liberation. May the World-Honored One compassionately pity us, enlighten us, dispel the darkness of our doubts, and let us remove our ignorance and doubts.

The Buddha told Bhadrapāla: "If you have any doubts, you may ask as you wish; whatever you ask, I shall answer one by one." In fact, the Buddha already knew what Bhadrapāla was going to ask, which is why He spoke this way. Knowing that the Buddha had permitted him to ask questions, Bhadrapāla stood to the side of the Buddha, single-mindedly ready to pose his questions.