Explanation of the Mahāyāna Sūtra of the Revelation 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 emitted light that shone upon Bhadrapāla. When the Buddha emits light, He has a purpose: this was to encourage Bhadrapāla to request the Dharma from the Buddha, so that Bhadrapāla would be free of fear and could ask questions before the Buddha. Because after he raised his questions, the Buddha, by this condition, could then expound a supremely wondrous Dharma. Sometimes the Buddha wishes to teach a certain Dharma, but no one requests it; without cause and condition, the Buddha cannot teach. So the World-Honored One deliberately gives a hint to someone, causing him to give rise to doubt, and then to request the Dharma and raise a question; the Buddha then, based on the question he has raised, expounds a Buddhist teaching. Receiving the Buddha's blessing, Bhadrapāla circumambulated the Buddha to the right three times, showing reverence and respect for the Buddha, then bowed at the Buddha's feet and began to ask questions and request the Dharma.

Beings' faith in the Buddha is sometimes impure and sometimes pure. Those who are new to studying the Buddhadharma have impure faith in the Buddha. What kind of impurity is this? They blindly believe in the Buddha with requests of the Buddha; they do not yet understand the Buddha's merits, nor do they understand the Buddha's divine powers, great wisdom, and all His virtues. Therefore they cannot give rise to pure faith, and there remain many doubts in their minds; this is why it is not called pure faith. After the Buddha's whole body emitted light shining upon Bhadrapāla, Bhadrapāla gave rise to pure faith in the Buddhadharma, and in his mind he hoped to hear the Buddha expound the wondrous Dharma and wished to inquire about the Buddhadharma.