Commentary on the Sutra of the Buddha's Discourse on Maitreya Bodhisattva's Ascent to Tusita Heaven
To relieve suffering and bestow joy, this is the great Dharma of compassion. Great loving-kindness takes the root of non-anger as its essence; great compassion takes the nature of non-anger and non-delusion as its character. Each of these has three aspects:
First, the compassion for sentient beings, which arises from regarding all beings as the object of care.
Second, the compassion for the Dharma, which arises from seeing not beings, but only the Dharma.
Third, the compassion without object, where even the appearance of Dharma is absent, and only the ultimate truth remains.
Alternatively, compassion for sentient beings arises from regarding beings; compassion for the Dharma arises from regarding the twelve divisions of the teachings; compassion without object arises from regarding Suchness. Because there is no object of attachment, Maitreya guides all beings with compassion, thus expounding the Dharma of loving-kindness and compassion.
Tan Chen said: "Within this jeweled tree, there are also golden luan birds, precious phoenixes, white lions, and red lions." This is mentioned briefly and not elaborated upon; further investigation is needed.
The Dragon King arrived at the magnificent palace walls.
It is said: This is the rain of treasure trees. Because the five faculties give rise to the seven treasures, they cause the dragon kings to rain down trees as adornments. The seven noble treasures are: faith, virtue, learning, generosity, wisdom, moral shame, and moral dread. For a detailed explanation, see the *Xianyang Lun*.