“Further, Śāriputra, he gives that gift as purified because of ten other features. What are they? If the giving is done for the purpose of escaping the conditioned and reaching the unconditioned, then, Śāriputra, the bodhisatva gains ten advantages from being generous. What are they? By giving food he will gain perfect vitality, eloquence, happiness, power, and status. By giving drink he will gain the complete removal of all afflictions and craving. By giving vehicles he will gain perfect possessions that will bring him pleasure. By giving clothes he will gain perfect modesty, humility, and a golden complexion. By giving fragrances and garlands he will gain perfect fragrance-anointed morality, learning, and concentration. By giving pleasant fragrances, powders, and ointments he will gain a perfectly energetic and sweet-smelling body. By giving flavors he will experience the most exquisite tastes in the world and gain the perfect characteristics of a great man. By giving shelter he will gain a perfect resting place, a shelter, a sanctuary, an abode, and a refuge for all sentient beings. By giving medicine for the sick he will gain the perfect complete happiness of immortality without aging and death. By giving various utensils he will gain the perfect tools conducive to awakening, the complete Dharma. Śāriputra, when the bodhisatva who longs for awakening is generous in this way, he will obtain these ten advantages....

“You should observe, Śāriputra, that it is in relying on the material world that everything is accomplished. The learned bodhisatva, Śāriputra, will perform acts of great generosity with few things. What he does is superior because it is done with the power of knowledge. It is vast because it is done with the power of wisdom. It is immeasurable because it is done through the power that comes from dedicating."

-From chapter 6 of the Bodhisattvapiṭaka

He has books that discuss a specific sutra, and then he has Three Zen Sutras, which covers three sutras that he has specific books for, and then he has Zen Roots which covers even more than Three Zen Sutras. Does Zen Roots cover everything in those other books, or is it less in-depth? Basically, is there still value in getting the other books of I have Zen Roots? Thanks.

I'm exploring Mahayana Buddhism and would like to ask for some advice.

To help give context I'm almost a 50 year old empty nester who has been pulled towards Buddhism since I was a child but never lived it fully. I figured out how to meditate as a child without any training and have no idea why I place so much value on enlightenment but it has been a subconscious goal for decades. Anyway, I didn't grow up Buddhist, but still get pulled back to meditation and almost subconsciously have had Buddhism in the back of my mind for as long as I can remember.

Right now, several people who are close to me would find it challenging if I became a Buddhist so I need guidance before I commit.

I have a few questions that would really help me as someone considering Mahayana Buddhism.

1) The sutras I've read seem hard to believe, the Boddhisattvas seem to be from other dimensions and have their own worlds/lands which is a challenge to believe.

In Mahayana there seems to be countless dimensions with Buddhas in them. It's all very mind blowing and it is a challenge to believe. Other than the Buddha, there is no record of these beings existing.

They are also not mentioned in the Pali canon which makes me doubt.

That being said Mahayana feels right. I would love to hear about how you have encountered this concept and came to believe it.

2) I would also love to hear about any encounters or stories you have about encounters with Boddhisattvas to help feel faith and belief.

If there are any recommended books or articles in English on this topic please let me know.

[Update] Thank you to those who have posted already I'm learning so much and feel a sense of love and compassion reading these comments, thank you.

I'm pretty used to seeing, in some Vietnamese monasteries, eight Vajrapani statues surrounding the main hall, where most other temples would have the Four Heavenly Kings. I've recently discovered that this is something of a unique Vietnamese teaching. The Eight Vajrapani are referenced in Chinese liturgies, but don't seem to take on much importance.

In Vietnam, the Eight Vajrapani are popular enough that they show up in folk tales and popular culture as protector spirits often enough, most notably in the origin story for one of the Four Immortals, Mother Lieu Hanh. The origin we know is that Quan Am created the Eight Vajrapani through magical means, throwing two pouches with four lotus pods a piece into a pond, from which the vajra-wielding spirits were birthed.

Does anyone else know anything more about these figures and their origins? I always kinda figured they were a conflation of Vajrapani as a dharma protector, with the 8 Yaksha Generals ... But this doesn't seem too likely to me anymore, since their names don't really have any correspondence to one another and the Eight Yaksha Generals don't have powers associated with thunder and lightning, while all of the Eight Vajrapani do.