འཕགས་པ་བད་མད་འགྱར་བ་ལང་བསྟན་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད intro.6

intro.6

Later in the sūtra, two of the laywoman’s young male disciples cross paths with Subhūti. They explain the greatness of bodhisattvas in comparison to the hearers and recite verses in praise of their teacher and her skillful means. This skillfulness becomes strikingly clear when Strīvivarta assumes a handsome male form, showing Subhūti the body with which she teaches women. With this, she stuns the monk to the point that he admits he is at a loss for words; and once again, he tries to leave to complete his alms rounds before it grows too late in the day. In response, Strīvivarta confounds his sense of time by showing various buddha realms in various times and by moving the sun’s position in the sky. Convinced of the truth of her teachings, and no longer concerned about time, Subhūti remains.