TheGaṇḍavyūha Sutra (Tib.sdong po bkod pa'i mdo) is a BuddhistMahayanaSutra of Indian origin dating roughly c. 200 to 300 CE.[1][2] The termGaṇḍavyūha is obscure and has been translated variously asStem Array, Supreme Array, Excellent Manifestation.[3][1][2][4] The Sanskritgaṇḍi can mean “stem” or “stalk” and “pieces” or “parts” or “sections,” as well as "the trunk of a tree from the root to the beginning of the branches").[3][4] Peter Alan Roberts notes that "as the sūtra is composed of a series of episodes in which Sudhana meets a succession of teachers, the intended meaning could well have been 'an array of parts' or, more freely, 'a series of episodes.'"[4] He also notes that the term gaṇḍa can also mean "great" or "supreme" in some circumstances and thus some translators have rendered this compound asSupreme Array.[4] The Chinese translations indicate that the sutra also went by another title in the 7th century (Chinese: 入法界品) which can be reconstructed into Sanskrit asDharmadhātu-praveśana (Entry into theDharmadhatu).[4][5]
The sutra depicts one of the world's most celebrated spiritualpilgrimages, and comprises the 39th chapter of theBuddhāvataṃsaka sutra. 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 andBodhisattvas until his journey reaches full circle and he awakens to teachings of theBuddha.
In his quest for enlightenment, recounted in the last chapter of the Flower Ornament Scripture,Sudhana would converse with a diverse array of 53kalyāṇa-mitra (wise advisors), 20 of whom are female, including an enlightened prostitute named Vasumitrā,[6]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.[7] The antepenultimate master of Sudhana's pilgrimage isMaitreya. It is here that Sudhana encounters the Tower of Maitreya, which — along withIndra's net – is a most startling metaphor for the infinite:
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), 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.[8]
The penultimate master that Sudhana visits is theMañjuśrī Bodhisattva, the bodhisattva of great wisdom. Thus, one of the grandest ofpilgrimages approaches its conclusion by revisiting where it began. TheGaṇḍavyūha 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.
The final master that Sudhana visits is the bodhisattvaSamantabhadra, 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 toAtiśa'sBodhipathapradīpa, the foundation of thelamrim textual traditions ofTibetan Buddhism.[9][10][11]
In a November 1, 2016 article in the Bhutanese newspaper Kuensel[12] mention was made of the annual Moenlam (or Monlam in Tibetan language) as performed by the Drukpa Kagyu denomination of Buddhism.
During this Moenlam a prayer is said that stems from theGaṇḍavyūha. The Himalayan traditions use the translation made byShiksananda, not the earlier version ofBuddhabhadra.The last four lines of theGaṇḍavyūha, as translated by Th. Cleary[13] the text reads:"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."
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.”
The titleGaṇḍavyūha is obscure, being generally interpreted as 'array of flowers', 'bouquet'. it is just possible that the rhetorical calledgaṇḍa, a speech having a double meaning (understood differently by two hearers), should be thought of here.
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