འཕགས་པ་ཀན་རྫབ་དང་དན་དམ་པའ་བདན་པ་བསྟན་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད intro.11

intro.11

At the end of Mañjuśrī’s teaching, the Buddha praises and approves what he has taught. Here, the Buddha is asked by several bodhisattvas to elaborate on some of the themes raised by Mañjuśrī. In general, throughout the sūtra, it is clear that the teachings and trainings of the bodhisattvas are considered preferable, superior, and far vaster in scope than those of the hearers. This is here confirmed by the Buddha, using a series of analogies that illustrate the superiority of the bodhisattva vehicle. For example, the conceptual wisdom of the hearers is compared to a single drop of water, while the nonconceptual wisdom of the bodhisattvas is taught to be infinitely greater, like the great ocean. The reader is left in no doubt as to where the protagonists in this sūtra stand in terms of their devotional allegiance.