勸發菩提心集 2.90

2.90

The *Dharmapada-sūtra* states: "Good sons! A kalyāṇamitra is your father and mother, because they nurture your bodhi-body; a kalyāṇamitra is your eyes, because they guide you onto the path of bodhi (below, the words 'a kalyāṇamitra' are omitted in part; understand it in this way); they are your feet, because they carry you away from saṃsāra; they are your ladder, because they support you to reach the other shore; they are your food and drink, because they can make your Dharma-body grow; they are your precious clothing, because they cover your body of virtues; they are your bridge, because they convey you across the ocean of existence; they are your wealth and jewels, because they thoroughly gather you and free you from the suffering of poverty; they are your sun and moon, because they shine upon you and free you from darkness; they are your bodily life, because they protect and cherish you so that there is no time of fear; they are your armor and weapons, because they subdue the māras so that you attain fearlessness; they are your heavy rope, because they pull and extract you out of the hells; they are your wondrous medicine, because they cure your disease of afflictions; they are your sharp sword, because they cut off all your nets of craving; they are your rain, because they moisten your sprouts of bodhi; they are your lamp, because they can destroy the darkness of your five hindrances; they are your good marker, because they instruct you to proceed toward the right path; they are your firewood, because they ripen your food of nirvāṇa; they are your bow and arrow, because they shoot and kill your thieves of afflictions; they are your brave general, because they can break your army of saṃsāra; they are your Tathāgata, because they crush your afflictions and bring you to nirvāṇa. Good sons! A kalyāṇamitra possesses such immeasurable virtues as these; therefore, I now teach you to draw near [to them]." Thereupon Baoming and the great assembly, having heard the Buddha preach this wondrous Dharma and these essential phrases concerning kalyāṇamitras, lifted up their voices and wept aloud, tears falling like rain, grieving, weeping, and distressed, unable to contain themselves. They thought to themselves: "From vast eons past, our bodies have been guarded and protected by kalyāṇamitras, and for this reason we have today encountered the Tathāgata and been able to hear the deep Dharma; encountering them in this way is through the power of kalyāṇamitras, not through our own power." They thought to themselves: "From the beginning until now, we have never repaid their kindness through skillful means of drawing near." Having spoken these words, they once more raised their voices [in weeping]. The general text on kalyāṇamitras is the same as in the *Yogācārabhūmi*.