Sudhana
Encyclopedia
Sudhanakumâra mainly known as Sudhana, translated as Child of Wealth, is the main protagonist in the next-to-last and longest chapter of the Avatamsaka Sutra
. Sudhana appears in Buddhist, Taoist and folk stories; in most of them he is one of the acolytes of the Bodhisattva
Avalokitesvara
(Guan Yin) and is paired with Long Nü
. He and Long Nu being depicted with Guan Yin was most likely influenced by the Jade Maiden and Golden Youth who both appear in the iconography of the Jade Emperor
. A fictionalized account of Sudhana is detailed in the classical novel Journey to the West
, where Sudhana is portrayed as the villainous Red Boy
.
. At the behest of Mañjuśrī
Sudhana takes a pilgrimage on his quest for enlightenment and studies under fifty-three "good friends," those who direct one towards the Way to Enlightenment. The 53 stations
of Japan's Tokaido
are a metaphor for Sudhana's journey. Avalokitesvara is the 28th spiritual master Sudhana visits at Mount Potalaka. Sudhana's quest reaches it climax at when he meets Maitreya
, the Buddha to be who snaps his fingers and opens thereby opening the doors to his marvelous tower. Within the tower Sudhana experiences all the Dharmadhatu
(dimensions or worlds) in a fantastic succession of visions. The final master that he visits is Samantabhadra
who teaches Sudhana that wisdom only exists for the sake of putting it into practice.
The pilgrimage of Sudhana mirrors that of Gautama Buddha
and the Gandavyuha Sutra becomes very popular in China
during the Song Dynasty
when it was adapted and circulated in small amply illustrated booklets, each page dedicated to one of Sudhana's spiritual teachers.
novel, is the first text that connects Shan Cai as being an acolyte of Guan Yin. Here Shan Cai was a disabled boy from India who was very interested in studying the Buddhist teachings and Guan Yin had just achieved enlightenment and retired to Putuoshan. When he heard that there was a Bodhisattva on the rocky island of Putuo he quickly journeyed there to learn despite his disability.
Guan Yin, after having a discussion with Shan Cai, decided to test his resolve to fully study the Buddhist teachings. She has the tree and plants turn into sword wielding pirates running up the hill to attack them. Guan Yin took off and dashed to the edge of a cliff and jumped over with the pirates still in pursuit. Shan Cai, still wanting to save Guan Yin jumped after her.
Shan Cai and Guan Yin managed to reascend the cliff at which point Guan Yin ask Shan Cai to look down. There Shan Cai saw his mortal remains at the foot of the cliff. Guan Yin now asked him to walk and Shan Cai found that he could walk normally and that he was no longer crippled. When he looked into a pool of water he also discovered that he now had a very handsome face. From that day forth Guan Yin taught Shan Cai the entire Buddha Dharma. Next Guan Yin and Shan Cai encounters the third son of the Dragon King
and in the process Guan Yin earns Long Nu as a new acolyte. (see Long Nu for how Shan Cai and Guan Yin aid the Dragon King)
.
A virtuous minister by the name of Chen Bao, and his wife Lady Han, are still childless and not getting any younger. When Chen rejects his wife's suggestion of taking a concubine, she then suggests praying to Guan Yin. Guan Yin, who sees that the couple is destined to remain childless, orders a Boy Who Brings Wealth to be born into the family. Soon Lady Han gives birth to a boy named Chen Lian, but she passes away when he was only 5 years old.
As a child, Chen Lian was interested not in civil or military pursuits, but in religious enlightenment much to his father's disapproval. At the age of 7 his father finally gave into his pleas and allows him to learn under the tutelage of the Yellow Dragon Immortal at Ma Gu
. Here Chen Lian is given the name Shan Cai and becomes a dutiful apprentice, however he rejects all of his father's request for him to visit home.
When his father's 60th birthday approaches, he is once again asked to visit home. With his master away on business, Shan Cai decides to visit his father since it is a special occasion. On his way down a mountain path to visit his father he hears a voice crying out for help. Upon investigation, it turns out to be the voice of a snake trapped in a bottle for the last eighteen years. The snake begs Shan Cai to release her upon which she turn into her true form, that of a monster and threatens to eat him. When Shan Cai protests at the snake's behavior, it makes the argument that than ēn (恩, a kind act) is repaid by a feud and that is the way of the world. However the snake agrees to submit the argument to three judges.
The first judge the argument is presented to is the human incarnation of the Golden Water Buffalo
Star who agrees with the snake given its past experience with humans. The Buffalo Star relates how it never wanted to descend to earth but was pushed out of the gates of heaven by bodhisattva Ksitigarbha
who took pity on the toiling masses. This bodhisattva vowed that if the humans did not repay a favor with a favor his eyes would fall out and drop to the ground. Because of the Buffalo Star's fall to earth, which was face first, it lost all of its upper front teeth. It suffered greatly at the hands of humans who after years of toiling for its master was butchered and eaten. Because of this, Ksitigarbha's eye did indeed fall out and transformed into snails that the buffaloes trample on when plowing the fields.
The second judge they encounter was the Taoist priest Zhuangzi
who also agreed with the snake citing an experience he had when he resurrected a skeleton who then immediately took Zhuangzi to court and accused him of stealing his money.
The last judge they met was a young girl. The girl told the snake that it could eat her as well if the snake could show her how it was able to fit into the bottle which Shan Cai had released it from. As soon as the snake wormed itself back into the bottle, it was trapped. The girl then reveals herself to be Guan Yin. When the snake begs for mercy, Guan Yin tells it that in order to be saved it must engage itself in religious exercises in the Grotto of the Sounds of the Flood (present day Fayu Temple
) on Mount Putuo
. At this time Guan Yin also gains a new disciple in the Filial Parrot.
Three years later, as Guan Yin returns to Putuoushan, she appears to Shan Cai in the middle of the ocean. Shan Cai then joins her in walking across the ocean and becomes her acolyte. With the confirmation of his faith, his parents are reborn in heaven
. After the snake submitted itself to seven years of austerity, it cleanses itself of its poison and produces a pearl. It then transforms into Long Nu and joins Shan Cai and becomes an acolyte of Guan Yin as well.
. Red Boy was the son of Princess Iron Fan and the Bull Demon King, a former sworn brother of Sun Wukong
prior to his 500-year imprisonment by the Buddha. As an exchange for punishment after kidnapping Xuanzang
and Zhu Bajie
, as well as usurping the lotus throne of Guanyin in irreverence, he became a Buddhist disciple.
Avatamsaka Sutra
The is one of the most influential Mahayana sutras of East Asian Buddhism. The title is rendered in English as Flower Garland Sutra, Flower Adornment Sutra, or Flower Ornament Scripture....
. Sudhana appears in Buddhist, Taoist and folk stories; in most of them he is one of the acolytes of the Bodhisattva
Bodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is either an enlightened existence or an enlightenment-being or, given the variant Sanskrit spelling satva rather than sattva, "heroic-minded one for enlightenment ." The Pali term has sometimes been translated as "wisdom-being," although in modern publications, and...
Avalokitesvara
Avalokitesvara
Avalokiteśvara is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. He is one of the more widely revered bodhisattvas in mainstream Mahayana Buddhism....
(Guan Yin) and is paired with Long Nü
Long Nu
Long Nü , translated as Dragon Daughter, along with Sudhana are considered acolytes of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara within Chinese Buddhism. However there are no scriptural sources connecting both Sudhana and Long Nu to Avalokiteśvara at the same time...
. He and Long Nu being depicted with Guan Yin was most likely influenced by the Jade Maiden and Golden Youth who both appear in the iconography of the Jade Emperor
Jade Emperor
The Jade Emperor in Chinese folk culture, is the ruler of Heaven and all realms of existence below including that of Man and Hell, according to a version of Taoist mythology. He is one of the most important gods of the Chinese traditional religion pantheon...
. A fictionalized account of Sudhana is detailed in the classical novel Journey to the West
Journey to the West
Journey to the West is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. It was written by Wu Cheng'en in the 16th century. In English-speaking countries, the tale is also often known simply as Monkey. This was one title used for a popular, abridged translation by Arthur Waley...
, where Sudhana is portrayed as the villainous Red Boy
Red Boy
Red Boy was a character featured in the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West. Red Boy was also known as the Boy Sage King , and had been the son of Princess Iron Fan and the Bull Demon King, a former sworn brother of Sun Wukong...
.
The Gandavyuha Sutra
Sudhana was a youth from India who was seeking enlightenmentBodhi
Bodhi is both a Pāli and Sanskrit word traditionally translated into English with the word "enlightenment", but which means awakened. In Buddhism it is the knowledge possessed by a Buddha into the nature of things...
. At the behest of Mañjuśrī
Manjusri
Mañjuśrī is a bodhisattva associated with transcendent wisdom in Mahāyāna Buddhism. In Esoteric Buddhism he is also taken as a meditational deity. The Sanskrit name Mañjuśrī can be translated as "Gentle Glory"...
Sudhana takes a pilgrimage on his quest for enlightenment and studies under fifty-three "good friends," those who direct one towards the Way to Enlightenment. The 53 stations
53 Stations of the Tokaido
The are the rest areas along the Tōkaidō, which was a coastal route that ran from Nihonbashi in Edo to Sanjō Ōhashi in Kyoto.-Stations of the Tōkaidō:...
of Japan's Tokaido
Tokaido (road)
The ' was the most important of the Five Routes of the Edo period, connecting Edo to Kyoto in Japan. Unlike the inland and less heavily travelled Nakasendō, the Tōkaidō travelled along the sea coast of eastern Honshū, hence the route's name....
are a metaphor for Sudhana's journey. Avalokitesvara is the 28th spiritual master Sudhana visits at Mount Potalaka. Sudhana's quest reaches it climax at when he meets Maitreya
Maitreya
Maitreya , Metteyya , or Jampa , is foretold as a future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. In some Buddhist literature, such as the Amitabha Sutra and the Lotus Sutra, he or she is referred to as Ajita Bodhisattva.Maitreya is a bodhisattva who in the Buddhist tradition is to appear on...
, the Buddha to be who snaps his fingers and opens thereby opening the doors to his marvelous tower. Within the tower Sudhana experiences all the Dharmadhatu
Dharmadhatu
Dharmadhatu may be defined as the 'dimension', 'realm' or 'sphere' of Dharma and denotes the collective 'one-taste' dimension of Dharmata.-Nomenclature, orthography and etymology:...
(dimensions or worlds) in a fantastic succession of visions. The final master that he visits is Samantabhadra
Samantabhadra
Samantabhadra , is a bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism associated with Buddhist practice and meditation. Together with Shakyamuni Buddha and fellow bodhisattva Manjusri he forms the Shakyamuni trinity in Buddhism...
who teaches Sudhana that wisdom only exists for the sake of putting it into practice.
The pilgrimage of Sudhana mirrors that of Gautama Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
and the Gandavyuha Sutra becomes very popular in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
during the Song Dynasty
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
when it was adapted and circulated in small amply illustrated booklets, each page dedicated to one of Sudhana's spiritual teachers.
Tale of the Southern Seas
Chapter 18 of the Complete Tale of Guan Yin and the Southern Seas , a sixteenth century Ming DynastyMing Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
novel, is the first text that connects Shan Cai as being an acolyte of Guan Yin. Here Shan Cai was a disabled boy from India who was very interested in studying the Buddhist teachings and Guan Yin had just achieved enlightenment and retired to Putuoshan. When he heard that there was a Bodhisattva on the rocky island of Putuo he quickly journeyed there to learn despite his disability.
Guan Yin, after having a discussion with Shan Cai, decided to test his resolve to fully study the Buddhist teachings. She has the tree and plants turn into sword wielding pirates running up the hill to attack them. Guan Yin took off and dashed to the edge of a cliff and jumped over with the pirates still in pursuit. Shan Cai, still wanting to save Guan Yin jumped after her.
Shan Cai and Guan Yin managed to reascend the cliff at which point Guan Yin ask Shan Cai to look down. There Shan Cai saw his mortal remains at the foot of the cliff. Guan Yin now asked him to walk and Shan Cai found that he could walk normally and that he was no longer crippled. When he looked into a pool of water he also discovered that he now had a very handsome face. From that day forth Guan Yin taught Shan Cai the entire Buddha Dharma. Next Guan Yin and Shan Cai encounters the third son of the Dragon King
Dragon King
The four Dragon Kings are, in Chinese mythology, the divine rulers of the four seas . Although Dragon Kings appear in their true forms as dragons, they have the ability to shapeshift into human form...
and in the process Guan Yin earns Long Nu as a new acolyte. (see Long Nu for how Shan Cai and Guan Yin aid the Dragon King)
The Precious Scrolls
The Precious Scroll of Shan Cai and Long Nu , an eighteenth-nineteenth century scroll comprising 29 folios, gives a different legend for how Shan Cai and Long Nu come to be acolytes of Guan Yin and seems to have a Taoist origin. The text is set during the Qianfu period of the Tang DynastyTang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
.
A virtuous minister by the name of Chen Bao, and his wife Lady Han, are still childless and not getting any younger. When Chen rejects his wife's suggestion of taking a concubine, she then suggests praying to Guan Yin. Guan Yin, who sees that the couple is destined to remain childless, orders a Boy Who Brings Wealth to be born into the family. Soon Lady Han gives birth to a boy named Chen Lian, but she passes away when he was only 5 years old.
As a child, Chen Lian was interested not in civil or military pursuits, but in religious enlightenment much to his father's disapproval. At the age of 7 his father finally gave into his pleas and allows him to learn under the tutelage of the Yellow Dragon Immortal at Ma Gu
Ma Gu
Ma Gu is a legendary Taoist xian associated with the elixir of life, and symbolic protector of females in Chinese mythology. Stories in Chinese literature describe Ma Gu as a beautiful young woman with long birdlike fingernails, while early myths associate her with caves...
. Here Chen Lian is given the name Shan Cai and becomes a dutiful apprentice, however he rejects all of his father's request for him to visit home.
When his father's 60th birthday approaches, he is once again asked to visit home. With his master away on business, Shan Cai decides to visit his father since it is a special occasion. On his way down a mountain path to visit his father he hears a voice crying out for help. Upon investigation, it turns out to be the voice of a snake trapped in a bottle for the last eighteen years. The snake begs Shan Cai to release her upon which she turn into her true form, that of a monster and threatens to eat him. When Shan Cai protests at the snake's behavior, it makes the argument that than ēn (恩, a kind act) is repaid by a feud and that is the way of the world. However the snake agrees to submit the argument to three judges.
The first judge the argument is presented to is the human incarnation of the Golden Water Buffalo
Water Buffalo
The water buffalo or domestic Asian water buffalo is a large bovine animal, frequently used as livestock in southern Asia, and also widely in South America, southern Europe, northern Africa, and elsewhere....
Star who agrees with the snake given its past experience with humans. The Buffalo Star relates how it never wanted to descend to earth but was pushed out of the gates of heaven by bodhisattva Ksitigarbha
Ksitigarbha
Ksitigarbha is a bodhisattva primarily revered in East Asian Buddhism, usually depicted as a Buddhist monk in the Orient. The name may be translated as "Earth Treasury", "Earth Store", "Earth Matrix", or "Earth Womb"...
who took pity on the toiling masses. This bodhisattva vowed that if the humans did not repay a favor with a favor his eyes would fall out and drop to the ground. Because of the Buffalo Star's fall to earth, which was face first, it lost all of its upper front teeth. It suffered greatly at the hands of humans who after years of toiling for its master was butchered and eaten. Because of this, Ksitigarbha's eye did indeed fall out and transformed into snails that the buffaloes trample on when plowing the fields.
The second judge they encounter was the Taoist priest Zhuangzi
Zhuangzi
Zhuangzi was an influential Chinese philosopher who lived around the 4th century BCE during the Warring States Period, a period corresponding to the philosophical summit of Chinese thought — the Hundred Schools of Thought, and is credited with writing—in part or in whole—a work known by his name,...
who also agreed with the snake citing an experience he had when he resurrected a skeleton who then immediately took Zhuangzi to court and accused him of stealing his money.
The last judge they met was a young girl. The girl told the snake that it could eat her as well if the snake could show her how it was able to fit into the bottle which Shan Cai had released it from. As soon as the snake wormed itself back into the bottle, it was trapped. The girl then reveals herself to be Guan Yin. When the snake begs for mercy, Guan Yin tells it that in order to be saved it must engage itself in religious exercises in the Grotto of the Sounds of the Flood (present day Fayu Temple
Fayu Temple
Fayu Temple , also called Stone Temple, is one of three major temples in Mount Putuo, Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China.Its grand hall was rebuilt in Kangxi 38th year , Qing Dynasty.-History:...
) on Mount Putuo
Mount Putuo
Mount Putuo is an island southeast of Shanghai, in Zhoushan prefecture of Zhejiang province, China. It is famous in Chinese Buddhism, and is considered the bodhimanda of Avalokitesvara , a revered Bodhisattva in many parts of East Asia...
. At this time Guan Yin also gains a new disciple in the Filial Parrot.
Three years later, as Guan Yin returns to Putuoushan, she appears to Shan Cai in the middle of the ocean. Shan Cai then joins her in walking across the ocean and becomes her acolyte. With the confirmation of his faith, his parents are reborn in heaven
Tian
Tian is one of the oldest Chinese terms for the cosmos and a key concept in Chinese mythology, philosophy, and religion. During the Shang Dynasty the Chinese called god Shangdi or Di , and during the Zhou Dynasty Tian "heaven; god" became synonymous with Shangdi...
. After the snake submitted itself to seven years of austerity, it cleanses itself of its poison and produces a pearl. It then transforms into Long Nu and joins Shan Cai and becomes an acolyte of Guan Yin as well.
As Red Boy
Sudhana is the Buddhist name of Red Boy, also known as Hong Haier, in the classical Chinese novel Journey to the WestJourney to the West
Journey to the West is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. It was written by Wu Cheng'en in the 16th century. In English-speaking countries, the tale is also often known simply as Monkey. This was one title used for a popular, abridged translation by Arthur Waley...
. Red Boy was the son of Princess Iron Fan and the Bull Demon King, a former sworn brother of Sun Wukong
Sun Wukong
Sun Wukong , also known as the Monkey King is a main character in the classical Chinese epic novel Journey to the West . In the novel, he is a monkey born from a stone who acquires supernatural powers through Taoist practices...
prior to his 500-year imprisonment by the Buddha. As an exchange for punishment after kidnapping Xuanzang
Xuanzang (fictional character)
The fictional character Xuanzang is a central character of the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West.For most of the novel he is known as Táng-sānzàng, the title Sānzàng referring to his mission to seek the Sānzàngjīng, the "Three Collections of Scriptures"...
and Zhu Bajie
Zhu Bajie
Zhu Bajie, also named Zhu Wuneng, is one of the three helpers of Xuanzang in the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West. He is called "Pigsy" or "Pig" in many English versions of the story....
, as well as usurping the lotus throne of Guanyin in irreverence, he became a Buddhist disciple.