འཕགས་པ་བསད་ནམས་ཐམས་ཅད་བསྡས་པའ་ཏང་ང་འཛན་ཅས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད intro.14

intro.14

The Buddha then concludes the general discussion on the three practices, identifying learning as the most crucial practice. The conversation between Vimalatejā and the Buddha, which is now firmly grounded in the topic of insight and its pursuit, then turns to the notion of “acceptance that phenomena are unborn” (anutpattika­dharma­kṣānti) and what leads to it. This could be said to be the buildup to the major turning point in the sūtra’s storyline: at the conclusion of the discussion, Vimalatejā has an epiphany that leads him to levitate high up in the air, which in turn induces the Buddha to display a cosmic smile that illuminates the universe. Afterward the Buddha, prompted by Ānanda, relates the key moments in Vimalatejā’s past lives that brought him to where he is now, and furthermore prophesies Vimalatejā’s future awakening.