འཕགས་པ་གསར་གྱ་བྱ་མ་ལྟ་བ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད intro.4

intro.4

In response to Ānanda’s persistent inquiries, the Buddha illustrates, by means of analogy, both the limitlessness of the miraculous abilities acquired by realized beings, and the limitless multiplicity of the world systems in which bodhisattvas and buddhas are found. The analogy he uses to illustrate miraculous abilities is the extraordinary speed with which his disciple Mahāmaudgalyāyana can travel across world systems. As a starting point for trying to imagine such speed, the Buddha offers a vivid description of a fine chariot racing through water so fast that the water does not even touch the rims of its wheels. This, he goes on to explain, is but a vanishingly small fraction of the speed with which Mahāmaudgalyāyana can traverse world systems.²