Forest of Merits ［功徳林菩薩］ ( Kudokurin-bosatsu): One of the four great bodhisattvas depicted in the Flower Garland Sutra, the other three being Dharma Wisdom, Diamond Banner, and Diamond Storehouse. The preaching of the Flower Garland Sutra is described as occurring in eight successive assemblies in seven different locations, beginning at the place of Shakyamuni Buddha’s enlightenment and then shifting to various heavens. At the fourth assembly, held in the Yāma Heaven, the bodhisattva Forest of Merits expounds the doctrine of the ten stages of practice, or the twenty-first through the thirtieth of the fifty-two stages of bodhisattva practice.