Sudhana

Sudhanakumâra (simplified Chinese: 善财童子; traditional Chinese: 善財童子; pinyin: Shàncáitóngzǐ; Wade–Giles: Shan-ts'ai-t'ung-tzu), mainly known as Sudhana and Shancai or Shancai Tongzi in Chinese, and translated as Child of Wealth, is the 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 (Guanyin) and is paired with Longnü (Dragon Girl). He and Longnü being depicted with Guanyin was most likely influenced by the Jade Maiden (Chinese: 玉女; pinyin: Yùnǚ) and Golden Youth (Chinese: 金僮; pinyin: Jīntóng) who both appear in the iconography of the Jade Emperor. A fictionalised account of Sudhana is detailed in the classical novel Journey to the West, where Sudhana is portrayed as a villain, Red Boy, who is eventually subdued by Guanyin and becomes the bodhisattva's attendant.

Sudhana was a youth from India who was seeking enlightenment. At the behest of the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, Sudhana takes a pilgrimage on his quest for enlightenment and studies under 53 "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 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.

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