Gandavyuha Sutra
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 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.
Read more about this topic: Sudhana