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{{MahayanaBuddhism}}The '''''Gaṇḍavyūha Sutra'''''<ref name="Warder">{{cite book|last=Warder|first=A. K. Warder|authorlink=A. K. Warder|title=Indian Buddhism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sE8MgUVGNHkC&pg=PA402|year=2000|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-1741-8|page=402|quote=The title ''Gaṇḍavyūha'' is obscure, being generally interpreted as 'array of flowers', 'bouquet'. it is just possible that the rhetorical called ''gaṇḍa'', a speech having a double meaning (understood differently by two hearers), should be thought of here.}}</ref> or '''''The Excellent Manifestation Sūtra''''' (Tib. sdong po bkod pa'i mdo, Sutra of the Tree's Display; cf. Skt "gaṇḍi", "the trunk of a tree from the root to the beginning of the branches" <ref>https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/tamil/index.html</ref>) is a Buddhist [[Mahayana]] [[Sutra]] of Indian origin dating roughly c. 200 to 300 CE.<ref name=Osto>Osto, Douglas. The Gaṇḍavyūha-sūtra: a study of wealth, gender and power in an Indian Buddhist Narrative, 2004, pg 60</ref><br />
It depicts one of the world's most celebrated spiritual [[pilgrimage]]s, and comprises the 39th chapter of the ''[[Avatamsaka Sutra]], or Flower Ornament Scripture''. In [[Buddhabhadra (translator)|Buddhabhadra]]'s Chinese translation of the Avatamsaka, this 39th chapter is entitled "Entrance into the Dharma Realm".<ref>Osto, pg 29</ref> The Sutra is described as the "[[Sudhana]]'s quest for the ultimate truth", as the sutra chronicles the journey of a disciple, Sudhana ("Excellent Riches"), as he encounters various teachings and [[Bodhisattvas]] until his journey reaches full circle and he awakens to teachings of the [[Buddha]].<br />
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==Overview==<br />
[[File:Avatamsaka Gandavyuha Teaching 1.jpeg|thumb|right|[[Sudhana]] learning from one of the fifty-two teachers along his journey toward enlightenment. Sanskrit manuscript, 11-12th century.]]<br />
In his quest for enlightenment, recounted in the last chapter of the Flower Ornament Scripture, [[Sudhana]] would converse with a diverse array of 53 ''[[kalyāṇa-mittatā]]'' (wise advisors), 20 of whom are female, including an enlightened prostitute named Vasumitrā,<ref name="MW">{{cite book|last=Doniger|first=Wendy |title=Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780877790440|url-access=registration|date=January 1999|publisher=Merriam-Webster|isbn=978-0-87779-044-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780877790440/page/365 365]}}</ref> [[Gautama Buddha]]'s wife and his mother, a queen, a princess and several goddesses. Male sages include a slave, a child, a physician, and a ship's captain.<ref name='Fontein'>{{cite book|last=Fontein|first=Jan|author-link=Jan Fontein|title=The pilgrimage of Sudhana: a study of Gandavyuha illustrations|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jaIhAAAAQBAJ|year=1967|publisher=[[Walter de Gruyter]]|isbn=978-3-11-156269-8}}</ref> The antepenultimate master of Sudhana's pilgrimage is [[Maitreya]]. It is here that Sudhana encounters the Tower of Maitreya, which — along with [[Indra's net]] – is a most startling metaphor for the infinite:<br />
{{quote|In the middle of the great tower... he saw the billion-world universe... and everywhere there was Sudhana at his feet... Thus Sudhana saw Maitreya's practices of... transcendence over countless eons (''[[kalpa (aeon)|kalpa]]''), from each of the squares of the check board wall... In the same way Sudhana... saw the whole supernal manifestation, was perfectly aware of it, understood it, contemplated it, used it as a means, beheld it, and saw himself there.<ref>[[Thomas Cleary|Cleary, Thomas]]. ''The Flower Ornament Scripture 3, Entry into the Realm of Reality'' / Transl. by Thomas Cleary. Boulder: Shambhala, 1987, p. 369.</ref>}}<br />
The penultimate master that Sudhana visits is the [[Mañjuśrī]] Bodhisattva, the bodhisattva of great wisdom. Thus, one of the grandest of [[pilgrimage]]s approaches its conclusion by revisiting where it began. The ''Gaṇḍavyūha'' suggests that with a subtle shift of perspective we may come to see that the enlightenment that the pilgrim so fervently sought was not only with him at every stage of his journey, but before it began as well—that enlightenment is not something to be gained, but "something" the pilgrim never departed from.<br />
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The final master that Sudhana visits is the bodhisattva [[Samantabhadra (Bodhisattva)|Samantabhadra]], who teaches him that wisdom only exists for the sake of putting it into practice; that it is only good insofar as it benefits all living beings. Samantabhadra concludes with a prayer of aspiration to buddhahood, which is recited by those who practice according to [[Atiśa]]'s ''[[Bodhipathapradīpa]]'', the foundation of the [[lamrim]] textual traditions of [[Tibetan Buddhism]].<ref>{{cite web|title=samantabhadracaryāpraṇidhānam|url=http://www.dsbcproject.org/node/4539|publisher=Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon|accessdate=1 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017161735/http://www.dsbcproject.org/node/4539|archive-date=17 October 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=bhadracarīpraṇidhānastotram|url=http://www.dsbcproject.org/bhadracar%C4%ABpra%E1%B9%87idh%C4%81nastotram/bhadracar%C4%ABpra%E1%B9%87idh%C4%81nastotram|publisher=Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon|access-date=2015-02-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141011212122/http://www.dsbcproject.org/bhadracar%C4%ABpra%E1%B9%87idh%C4%81nastotram/bhadracar%C4%ABpra%E1%B9%87idh%C4%81nastotram|archive-date=2014-10-11|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Lung|first=Jang|title=King of Prayers|url=http://kalachakranet.org/teachings/com-King-of-prayers-oct2006-A4.pdf|publisher=Kalachakranet|accessdate=1 June 2013}}</ref><br />
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== Bhutanese Buddhism ==<br />
In a November 1, 2016 article in the Bhutanese newspaper Kuensel <ref>http://www.kuenselonline.com/hh-the-je-khenpo-presides-over-17th-moenlam-chhenmo/</ref> mention was made of the annual Moenlam (or Monlam in Tibetan language) as performed by the Drukpa Kagyu denomination of Buddhism.<br />
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During this Moenlam a prayer is said that stems from the ''Gaṇḍavyūha''. The Himalayan traditions use the translation made by ''Shiksananda'', not the earlier version of ''Buddhabhadra''.<br />
The last four lines of the ''Gaṇḍavyūha'', as translated by Th. Cleary <ref>The Flower Ornament Scripture, Shambala, 1993, p. 1518</ref> the text reads:<br />
''"By the endless surpassing blessing realized from dedication / To the practice of good, / May worldlings submerged in the torrent of passion / Go to the higher realm of Infinite Light."''<br />
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The Bhutanese, i.e. Drukpa version runs as follows: ''“Through the true and boundless merit, attained by dedicating this ‘aspiration to good actions’ may all those now drowning in the ocean of suffering, reach the supreme realms of Amitabha.”''<br />
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==See also==<br />
[[Borobudur]]<br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist|2}}<br />
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{{Buddhism topics}}<br />
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[[Category:Mahayana sutras]]<br />
[[Category:Avalokiteśvara]]<br />
[[Category:Vaipulya sutras]]</div>>Scyrme