The Śūraṅgama Sūtra, Volume Five: The Dharma Gate of Perfect Penetration of Bodhisattva Samantabhadra among the Twenty-Five Sages

Original text: 普贤菩萨即从座起。顶礼佛足。而白佛言。我已曾与恒沙如来。为法王子。十方如来。教其弟子。菩萨根者。修普贤行。从我立名。世尊。我用心闻。分别众生所有知见。若于他方恒沙界外。有一众生。心中发明普贤行者。我于尔时。乘六牙象。分身百千。皆至其处。纵彼障深。未合见我。我与其人暗中摩顶。拥护安慰。令其成就。佛问圆通。我说本因。心闻发明。分别自在。斯为第一。

Explanation: The Bodhisattva Samantabhadra rose from his seat, bowed at the Buddha's feet, and said to the Buddha: "I have formerly served as a Dharma Prince to as many Tathāgatas as the sands of the Ganges. The Tathāgatas of the ten directions teach their disciples who possess the spiritual faculties of bodhisattvas to cultivate the practices of Samantabhadra, which are named after me. World-Honored One, I can hear with the mind and discern all the views held by sentient beings. If, beyond worlds as numerous as Ganges sands in other Buddha-lands, there is a single sentient being in whose mind the aspiration to cultivate the practices of Samantabhadra arises, at that very moment I will ride a six-tusked elephant and manifest hundreds of thousands of transformation bodies, all gathering at that person's place. Even if that person's karmic obstructions are so deep that he is unable to see me, I will still secretly stroke his crown, comforting and protecting him, so that his cultivation of the practices of Samantabhadra may be brought to accomplishment. Now the Buddha asks me about the perfect penetration through which I attained realization. Let me speak of the fundamental cause through which I was able to cultivate it: it is hearing with the mind, clearly understanding the thoughts and aspirations within sentient beings' minds, and being able to freely discern the mental states of sentient beings. This is my foremost perfect penetration dharma gate."