Good Treasures
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Good Treasures
[善財童子] (Skt Sudhana-shreshthi-daraka or Sudhana; Jpn Zenzai-doji)
A bodhisattva described in the Flower Garland Sutra. According to the sutra, when he was born, gold, silver, emeralds, and other treasures suddenly appeared in his father's house; therefore he was called Good Treasures. On meeting Bodhisattva Manjushri, he conceived the desire for enlightenment and then sought out one teacher after another to receive their instruction. Finally he met the fifty-third teacher, Bodhisattva Universal Worthy, and on hearing his ten great vows, attained enlightenment. Good Treasures' pilgrimage was popularized in both art and literature, and in Japan it is thought to have inspired the building of the fifty-three post stations along the Tokaido Road, the highway linking Edo (now Tokyo) and Kyoto, during the Edo period (1600-1867).
