華嚴經 白話全本 · 冊6Avataṃsaka Sūtra · Complete Vernacular · Vol. 6

The question raised: what is the dedication of the mark of suchness

The bodhisattva Vajra Banner said to the great assembly:

“Sons of the Buddha! What is the dedication of the mark of suchness of a bodhisattva-mahāsattva (a practitioner who has given rise to the great mind)?

The substance of the practice that is dedicated: the ten clauses of right mindfulness clearly understood

“Sons of the Buddha! This bodhisattva-mahāsattva is rightly mindful and clear in understanding; his mind abides firmly and is far removed from delusion; he cultivates with concentrated intent, and his profound mind does not stir; he accomplishes deeds that cannot be broken, heads toward omniscience, and in the end does not turn back; he aspires to the Great Vehicle, valiant and without fear; he plants the roots of every kind of virtue and settles the world everywhere; he gives rise to surpassing roots of goodness and cultivates the white and pure dharmas; his great compassion grows, and the jewel of his mind is accomplished; he constantly keeps the buddhas in mind and upholds the true Dharma; his faith and delight in the bodhisattva path are firm, he accomplishes measureless pure and subtle roots of goodness, and he diligently cultivates all merit and wisdom; he acts as the tamer and guide of sentient beings, brings forth a multitude of good dharmas, and makes the dedication by wisdom and skillful means.

Universally contemplating with the eye of wisdom the roots of goodness that are dedicated: ten gates of distinction, one flavor without a second

“At this the bodhisattva universally contemplates with the eye of wisdom, and all his roots of goodness are measureless and boundless. When these roots of goodness of his were being gathered and cultivated, it was in some cases the seeking out of helping conditions, in some the procuring of implements, in some the ordering and purifying of them, in some the entering into them, in some the single-minded urging on, in some the rising up and practicing, in some the clear penetration of them, in some the fine examination of them, in some the revealing of them to others; all such as this has its various gates, its various objects, its various marks, its various matters, its various stations, its various practices, its various names, its various discriminations, its various arisings, its various cultivations. All the roots of goodness among them are established by the mind that heads toward the vehicle of the ten powers, and all alike are dedicated to the knowledge of all modes: one flavor only, without a second.

Dedication toward awakening: the twenty vows made for his own person

“The bodhisattva takes these roots of goodness and dedicates them in this way, saying: ‘May I obtain the perfect and unobstructed action of body, and cultivate the bodhisattva practice; may I obtain the pure and unobstructed action of speech, and cultivate the bodhisattva practice; may I obtain the accomplished and unobstructed action of mind, and abide in the Great Vehicle; may I obtain the perfect mind that is without obstruction, and purely cultivate every bodhisattva practice; may I give rise to the measureless and vast mind of giving, and relieve the boundless multitude of sentient beings; may I obtain mastery of mind with regard to all dharmas, and set forth the vast radiance of the Dharma, with none able to veil it; may I obtain a clear penetration of the place of omniscience, give rise to the mind of awakening, and illumine the world everywhere; may I constantly be rightly mindful of the buddhas of the three times, and contemplate as it truly is the Tathāgata constantly appearing before me; may I abide in a perfect and superior aspiration, and be far removed from every demon foe; may I obtain and abide in the knowledge that is the ten powers of a buddha, and gather in sentient beings everywhere without rest; may I obtain samādhi and roam through all the worlds, and yet be unstained by anything in the world; may I dwell in all the worlds without weariness, and teach and transform sentient beings without ever resting; may I give rise to measureless skillful means of the wisdom of reflection, and accomplish the inconceivable path of a bodhisattva; may I obtain the wisdom that is not confused about the directions, able to distinguish every world one by one; may I obtain the masterful knowledge of spiritual powers, able in a single thought to adorn and purify all lands; may I obtain a universal entry into the self-nature of all dharmas, and see every world entirely pure; may I obtain the arising of undifferentiated knowledge, and within a single land enter all lands; may I display all things by the adornments of all lands, and teach and transform measureless, boundless sentient beings; may I display the boundless Dharma realm within a single buddha-land, and so likewise in all buddha-lands; may I obtain the masterful great knowledge of spiritual powers, able to go everywhere to all the buddha-lands.’

Taking up what precedes and setting off what follows (Chengguan's outline): from for his own person to for all sentient beings

“Sons of the Buddha! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva, with these roots of goodness, vows to obtain the adornment of all buddha-lands, vows to obtain a pervading of all worlds, vows to obtain the accomplishment of the contemplation of wisdom. Just as he dedicates in this way for himself, so likewise does he dedicate for all sentient beings.

Dedication to sentient beings (one): eight vows

“That is to say: ‘May all sentient beings be forever apart from every destiny of the hells, of animals, and of Yama the king; may all sentient beings extinguish every obstructing deed; may all sentient beings obtain the mind that reaches everywhere and the knowledge that is equal; may all sentient beings gather in foe and kin alike with an equal mind, causing all to be at ease, their wisdom pure; may all sentient beings have wisdom made perfect, its pure light shining everywhere; may all sentient beings have the wisdom of reflection fulfilled, penetrating the true meaning; may all sentient beings, with a pure aspiration, head toward and seek awakening, and obtain measureless knowledge; may all sentient beings be able to display everywhere the dwelling place of security.’

Dedicating constantly with a good mind: the ten clauses of causing all sentient beings

“Sons of the Buddha! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva constantly dedicates in this way with a good mind: so as to cause all sentient beings to meet with cooling clouds that let fall the rain of Dharma; so as to cause all sentient beings constantly to meet with the field of merit and obtain the surpassing state; so as to cause all sentient beings all to enter well into the treasury of the mind of awakening and be able of themselves to uphold it; so as to cause all sentient beings to leave the various coverings and entanglements and be able to abide well; so as to cause all sentient beings all to obtain the unobstructed knowledge of spiritual powers; so as to cause all sentient beings to obtain a masterful body and be able to manifest everywhere; so as to cause all sentient beings to accomplish the most surpassing knowledge of all modes and raise up benefit everywhere with nothing passed by in vain; so as to cause all sentient beings to gather in everywhere the many classes of beings and make them pure; so as to cause all sentient beings all to reach the ultimate of omniscience; so as to cause all sentient beings to be unshaken in mind and without obstruction.

Practice arising upon contact with objects: seeing what is lovely and delightful

“Sons of the Buddha! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva sees lovely and delightful lands, gardens and groves, grasses and trees, flowers and fruits, famous fragrances, fine garments, precious jewels, wealth and goods, and the various implements of adornment, or sees delightful hamlets and villages, or sees a sovereign of majestic virtue and mastery, or sees a dwelling place far removed from every kind of clamor — having seen these things, he then with the knowledge of skillful means diligently cultivates, brings forth measureless surpassing and subtle merit, diligently seeks good dharmas for the sake of sentient beings, is unremitting in mind, and gathers the multitude of good things widely; like the great ocean, he covers all things everywhere with inexhaustible goodness and becomes the place upon which the multitude of good dharmas depends. With these roots of goodness he dedicates by skillful means and without discriminating; he reveals measureless roots of goodness of every kind, with wisdom constantly contemplates all sentient beings, in his mind constantly keeps in view the sphere of the roots of goodness, and with roots of goodness equal to suchness dedicates to sentient beings without rest.

Dedication to sentient beings (two): the thirty-one vows of what is lovely and delightful

“At this the bodhisattva takes these roots of goodness and dedicates them in this way, saying: ‘May all sentient beings obtain the lovely and delightful seeing of the Tathāgatas, seeing the true nature of the Dharma equal and again equal, with nothing grasped or attached to, perfect and pure; may all sentient beings see the Tathāgatas as most lovely and delightful, and make their offerings perfect; may all sentient beings be born in all the pure buddha-lands that are without affliction and most lovely and delightful; may all sentient beings obtain the sight of the lovely and delightful dharmas of the buddhas; may all sentient beings constantly delight to uphold every lovely and delightful practice of a bodhisattva; may all sentient beings obtain the lovely and delightful eye of the good friend, seeing without any obstruction; may all sentient beings constantly see all lovely and delightful things, with nothing that goes against them; may all sentient beings realize every lovely and delightful dharma and diligently uphold it; may all sentient beings obtain pure radiance within all the delightful dharmas of the buddhas; may all sentient beings cultivate the lovely and delightful mind of every bodhisattva that is able to relinquish all; may all sentient beings obtain fearlessness and be able to speak every lovely and delightful dharma; may all sentient beings obtain the utterly lovely and delightful profound samādhi of the bodhisattvas; may all sentient beings obtain the most lovely and delightful gates of dhāraṇī of the bodhisattvas; may all sentient beings obtain the most lovely and delightful knowledge of good contemplation of the bodhisattvas; may all sentient beings be able to manifest the most lovely and delightful masterful spiritual powers of a bodhisattva; may all sentient beings be able, within the great assemblies of the buddhas, to set forth the lovely and delightful profound and subtle Dharma; may all sentient beings be able by skillful means to reveal and set forth the most lovely and delightful phrases of distinction; may all sentient beings be constantly able to give rise to the most lovely and delightful equal great compassion; may all sentient beings in thought after thought give rise to the most lovely and delightful great mind of awakening, constantly causing their faculties to be glad and joyful; may all sentient beings be able to enter all the most lovely and delightful families of the Tathāgatas; may all sentient beings obtain the lovely and delightful practice that is able to tame, taming sentient beings without rest; may all sentient beings obtain the most lovely and delightful inexhaustible eloquence of the bodhisattvas, and set forth all the dharmas; may all sentient beings, throughout eons unspeakably unspeakable in number, dwell in all the delightful worlds, teaching and transforming sentient beings with a mind that does not weary; may all sentient beings by measureless skillful means be able to awaken everywhere to the most lovely and delightful Dharma-gates of the buddhas; may all sentient beings obtain the lovely and delightful unobstructed skillful means, and know that all dharmas are without root; may all sentient beings obtain the lovely and delightful limit that is apart from craving, knowing that all dharmas are ultimately without duality, and cut off every obstruction; may all sentient beings obtain the lovely and delightful limit that is apart from craving, knowing that all dharmas are equal and true; may all sentient beings fully accomplish every most lovely and delightful dharma of the bodhisattvas that is without frivolous argument; may all sentient beings obtain the vajra-treasury mind of vigor, and accomplish the lovely and delightful path of omniscience; may all sentient beings be furnished with the lovely and delightful unobstructed roots of goodness, and crush every foe that is an affliction; may all sentient beings obtain the lovely and delightful gate of omniscience, and everywhere in the world manifest the accomplishment of right awakening.’

The benefit accomplished by the dedication: obtaining the light of wisdom

“Sons of the Buddha! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva cultivates roots of goodness of these various kinds, he obtains the light of wisdom, is gathered in by the good friend, and the sun of the Tathāgata's wisdom brightly illumines his mind and forever extinguishes the gloom of delusion; he diligently cultivates the true Dharma, enters the deeds of the wisdoms, studies well the ground of wisdom, spreads abroad his roots of goodness so that they fill the Dharma realm, and dedicates by wisdom; he exhausts the very source of the bodhisattvas' roots of goodness, with wisdom enters deep into the ocean of great skillful means, and accomplishes measureless and vast roots of goodness.

The dedication apart from marks (Chengguan's outline): directly making plain the practice that accords with suchness, and its benefit

“Sons of the Buddha! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva takes roots of goodness such as these and dedicates them in this way, saying: ‘He is not attached to the world and does not grasp at sentient beings; his mind is pure and has nothing it depends upon; he is rightly mindful of all dharmas and is apart from discriminating views; he does not forsake the masterful wisdom of any buddha, nor does he go against the gate of right dedication of all the buddhas of the three times; he accords with all the equal and true dharmas, does not damage the true mark of the Tathāgata, and contemplates the three times equally without any mark of a sentient being; he accords well with the path of the buddhas, speaks well of the Dharma, deeply understands its meaning, enters the most surpassing ground, awakens to the true dharma, has wisdom made perfect, and faith and delight made firm; although he cultivates right deeds well, he knows that the nature of deeds is empty, understands that all dharmas are like an illusory transformation, and knows that all dharmas are without self-nature; he contemplates all meanings and the various practices, and accords with the speech of the world without anything grasped at; he extinguishes every causal condition of attachment, knows the principle as it truly is, contemplates the nature of all dharmas as entirely quiescent, understands that all dharmas are of one true mark, and knows that the marks of the dharmas do not go against one another; he dwells together with the bodhisattvas and practices their path, is well able to gather in sentient beings, and enters the gate of dedication of all the bodhisattvas past, future, and present; toward the dharmas of the buddhas his mind is without alarm or dread, and with a measureless mind he causes all sentient beings to obtain purity everywhere; toward the worlds of the ten directions he does not raise the mind that grasps at I and mine, and toward all the worlds he does not discriminate; toward all objects he gives rise to no stain of attachment, and diligently cultivates every world-transcending dharma; toward all the worlds he neither grasps nor depends, and toward the profound and subtle path his right view is firm, far removed from every deluded view, penetrating the true dharma.

The extended discourse over against suchness (one): the sense of pervading fullness (Chengguan's outline · matched to the first of the ten suchnesses of the ten grounds)

“‘Just as suchness pervades all places and is without bound, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it pervades all places and is without bound. Just as suchness has the true as its nature, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it knows that all dharmas have the true as their nature. Just as suchness constantly guards its own nature and does not change, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it guards its own nature and from beginning to end does not change. Just as suchness has as its nature the absence of self-nature in all dharmas, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it knows that all dharmas have naturelessness as their nature. Just as suchness has marklessness as its mark, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it knows that all dharmas have marklessness as their mark. Just as with suchness, if anyone has attained it he in the end does not turn back again, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: if anyone has attained it he never turns back from the dharmas of the buddhas. Just as suchness is the place where all the buddhas walk, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it is the place where all the Tathāgatas walk. Just as suchness is apart from the mark of an object and yet is precisely the object, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it is apart from the mark of an object and yet becomes the perfect object of all the buddhas of the three times. Just as suchness is able to have something established in it, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it is able to establish all sentient beings. Just as the nature of suchness constantly accords, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: to the end of future eons it accords without break.

The extended discourse over against suchness (two): the sense of the most surpassing (Chengguan's outline)

“‘Just as with suchness there is none who can measure it, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: equal to the realm of empty space, exhausting the minds of sentient beings, there is none who can measure it. Just as suchness fills all things, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: within a single instant it pervades the Dharma realm everywhere. Just as suchness constantly abides and is inexhaustible, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it is ultimately inexhaustible. Just as suchness has nothing that can be set beside it, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it is able to perfect all the dharmas of the buddhas, and there is nothing that can be set beside it. Just as the substance and nature of suchness are firm, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: its substance and nature are firm, and no delusion or vexation is able to damage them. Just as suchness cannot be broken, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: no sentient being is able to harm it. Just as suchness has illumination as its substance, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it takes universal illumination as its nature. Just as there is nowhere suchness is not, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: in all places there is nowhere it is not. Just as suchness pervades all times, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it pervades all times. Just as the nature of suchness is constantly pure, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it dwells in the world and its substance and nature are pure.

The extended discourse over against suchness (three): the sense of the surpassing outflow (Chengguan's outline)

“‘Just as suchness is unobstructed with regard to the dharmas, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it moves through all things everywhere and is unobstructed. Just as suchness is the eye of the multitude of dharmas, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it is able to act as an eye for all sentient beings. Just as the nature of suchness is without toil or weariness, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it cultivates all the practices of a bodhisattva and is constantly without toil or weariness. Just as the substance and nature of suchness are profound, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: its nature is profound. Just as within suchness there is not a single thing, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it knows that within its nature there is not a single thing. Just as the nature of suchness is not something that can be brought forth to view, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: its substance is subtle and hard to see. Just as suchness is far removed from the various stains and films, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: its eye of wisdom is pure and far removed from the various films of delusion. Just as the nature of suchness has nothing that can be its equal, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it accomplishes every bodhisattva practice, supreme and without equal. Just as the substance and nature of suchness are quiescent, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it is well able to accord with the quiescent dharma. Just as suchness is without root, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it is able to enter all dharmas that are without root.

The extended discourse over against suchness (four): the sense of being taken in by nothing (Chengguan's outline)

“‘Just as the substance and nature of suchness are boundless, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it purifies sentient beings, and their number is boundless. Just as the substance and nature of suchness are without attachment, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it is ultimately far removed from every attachment. Just as suchness is without obstruction, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it extinguishes every obstruction of the world. Just as suchness is not something the world can move within, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it is not something any world can move within. Just as the substance and nature of suchness have no dwelling place, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: no birth-and-death is the place where it dwells. Just as the nature of suchness makes nothing, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: everything that is made it wholly relinquishes. Just as the substance and nature of suchness abide securely, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it abides securely in the true. Just as suchness is in mutual accord with all dharmas, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it is in mutual accord with the hearing and cultivating of the bodhisattvas. Just as the nature of suchness within all dharmas is constantly equal, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: within all the worlds it cultivates the practice of equality. Just as suchness is not apart from the dharmas, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: to the end of the future it does not forsake the world.

The extended discourse over against suchness (five): the sense of no difference of class (Chengguan's outline)

“‘Just as suchness within all dharmas is ultimately inexhaustible, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: its dedication toward sentient beings is without exhaustion. Just as suchness does not go against any dharma, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it does not go against the dharmas of any buddha of the three times. Just as suchness gathers in all dharmas everywhere, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it gathers in wholly the roots of goodness of all sentient beings. Just as suchness is of one substance and nature with all dharmas, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it is of one substance and nature with the buddhas of the three times. Just as suchness is not forsaken by nor forsakes any dharma, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it holds and sustains all the dharmas of the world and beyond the world. Just as there is nothing that can veil suchness, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: there is nothing in any world that can veil it. Just as suchness cannot be shaken, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: no deed of a demon is able to shake it. Just as the nature of suchness is without stain or turbidity, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it cultivates the bodhisattva practice without stain or turbidity. Just as suchness is without alteration, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it has pity and keeps sentient beings in mind, and its mind is without alteration. Just as suchness cannot be exhausted, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it is not something the dharmas of any world can exhaust.

The extended discourse over against suchness (six): the sense of neither defiled nor pure (Chengguan's outline)

“‘Just as the nature of suchness is constantly awake, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it is able to awaken everywhere to all dharmas. Just as suchness cannot be lost or damaged, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it gives rise to surpassing aspiration toward sentient beings, never to be lost or damaged. Just as suchness is able greatly to illumine, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: with the light of great knowledge it illumines all the worlds. Just as suchness cannot be spoken, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it is what no speech is able to speak. Just as suchness sustains and holds the worlds, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it is able to sustain and hold every practice of a bodhisattva. Just as suchness accords with the world and has speech, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it accords with all the speech of wisdom. Just as suchness pervades all dharmas, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it pervades all the buddha-lands of the ten directions, manifests great spiritual powers, and accomplishes equal right awakening. Just as suchness is without discrimination, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: toward all the worlds it does not discriminate. Just as suchness pervades all bodies, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it pervades the measureless bodies within the lands of the ten directions. Just as the substance and nature of suchness are unborn, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: by skillful means it manifests the taking of birth, and yet in truth nothing is born.

The extended discourse over against suchness (seven): the sense of no difference of dharma (Chengguan's outline)

“‘Just as there is nowhere suchness is not, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: within the buddha-lands of the ten directions and the three times it manifests spiritual powers everywhere, and there is nowhere it is not. Just as suchness pervades the night, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: through every night it sends forth a great radiance and performs the work of a buddha. Just as suchness pervades the day, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it causes all the sentient beings who are in the daytime to see the spiritual transformations of the buddhas, sets forth the wheel that does not turn back, is apart from stain and pure, with nothing passed by in vain. Just as suchness pervades the half-month and the month, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: toward the order of the seasons of all the worlds it obtains skillful means, and within a single thought knows all times. Just as suchness pervades the year, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it dwells for measureless eons in clear understanding and ripening, and causes all the faculties to be made perfect. Just as suchness pervades the eon of formation and the eon of destruction, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it dwells throughout all eons pure and unstained, and teaches and transforms sentient beings, causing all to be pure. Just as suchness reaches to the end of the future, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: to the end of the future it cultivates all the pure and subtle practices of a bodhisattva, and fulfills its great vows without turning back. Just as suchness pervades and dwells in the three times, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it causes all sentient beings within a single instant to see the buddhas of the three times, and has never for a single thought forsaken them. Just as suchness pervades all places, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it goes beyond the three realms, moves through all things everywhere, and in all attains mastery. Just as suchness dwells in dharmas that are and dharmas that are not, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it penetrates that all dharmas that are and that are not are ultimately pure.

The extended discourse over against suchness (eight): the sense of neither increasing nor decreasing (Chengguan's outline)

“‘Just as the substance and nature of suchness are pure, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it is able by skillful means to gather the dharmas that aid the path, and purify every bodhisattva practice. Just as the substance and nature of suchness are bright and clean, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it causes all bodhisattvas to obtain the bright and clean mind of samādhi. Just as the substance and nature of suchness are without stain, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it is far removed from the various stains, and satisfies every pure intent. Just as suchness is without I and mine, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: with a pure mind that is without I and without mine it fills the buddha-lands of the ten directions. Just as the substance and nature of suchness are equal, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it obtains the equal knowledge of the knowledge of all, illumines and understands all dharmas, and is far removed from the various films of delusion. Just as suchness goes beyond all number and measure, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it dwells in one place together with the treasury of the dharma of great power of the vehicle of omniscience that goes beyond number and measure, and raises up a vast cloud of Dharma pervading all the worlds of the ten directions. Just as suchness abides equally, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it gives rise to every bodhisattva practice, and abides equally in the path of omniscience. Just as suchness pervades and dwells in the whole realm of sentient beings, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it fulfills the unobstructed knowledge of all modes, and within the realm of sentient beings all of it is present. Just as suchness is without discrimination and dwells everywhere within the knowledge of all sounds, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it is furnished with the knowledge of all speech and sound, and is able everywhere to manifest the various kinds of speech and sound and to reveal them to sentient beings. Just as suchness is forever apart from the world, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it everywhere causes sentient beings forever to come forth from the world.

The extended discourse over against suchness (nine): the sense of mastery of knowledge (Chengguan's outline)

“‘Just as the substance and nature of suchness are vast, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it is able to receive and uphold the vast dharmas of the buddhas of the ages past, future, and present, constantly without forgetting or losing them, and diligently to cultivate all the practices of a bodhisattva. Just as suchness is without break or rest, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: in order to place all sentient beings upon the ground of great knowledge, it cultivates the bodhisattva practice throughout all eons without break or rest. Just as the substance and nature of suchness are broad and wide and pervade all dharmas, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: its pure mindfulness is unobstructed, and it gathers in everywhere all the broad and wide Dharma-gates. Just as suchness gathers in everywhere all the classes of things, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it realizes the knowledge of measureless classes of things, and cultivates every true and subtle practice of a bodhisattva. Just as suchness grasps at nothing, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: toward all dharmas it grasps at nothing, extinguishes every grasping of the world, and everywhere causes purity. Just as the substance and nature of suchness do not stir, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it abides securely in the perfect practices and vows of Samantabhadra, and is ultimately unstirred. Just as suchness is the sphere of the buddhas, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it causes all sentient beings to fulfill every sphere of great knowledge, and extinguishes the sphere of affliction, causing all to be pure. Just as there is nothing that can subdue suchness, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it is not subdued by any deed of the demon hosts or by the false doctrines of the outer paths. Just as suchness is neither something that can be cultivated nor something that cannot be cultivated, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it forsakes every deluded thought and grasping, and does not discriminate between cultivating and not cultivating. Just as suchness is without falling back or forsaking, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it constantly sees the buddhas, gives rise to the mind of awakening, adorns itself with the great vow, and forever is without falling back or forsaking.

The extended discourse over against suchness (ten): the sense of mastery of deeds (Chengguan's outline)

“‘Just as suchness gathers in everywhere all the speech and sound of the world, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it is able to obtain the knowledge of spiritual powers in all the distinctions of speech and sound, and to send forth everywhere all the various kinds of words. Just as suchness seeks after nothing in any dharma, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it causes all sentient beings to ride the vehicle of Samantabhadra and thereby to come forth, and to have no craving after any dharma. Just as suchness dwells upon all grounds, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it causes all sentient beings to forsake the ground of the world, to dwell upon the ground of wisdom, and to adorn themselves with the practice of Samantabhadra. Just as suchness is without break, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: toward all dharmas it obtains fearlessness, and following the kinds and sounds of sentient beings sets forth the Dharma everywhere without break. Just as suchness forsakes the outflows, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it causes all sentient beings to accomplish the knowledge of the Dharma, to penetrate the dharmas, and to make perfect the outflowless merit of awakening. Just as within suchness there is not the least dharma able to damage and disorder it so as to make any part of it not awake, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it everywhere causes all dharmas to be awakened to, and its mind is measureless and pervades the Dharma realm. Just as suchness in the past is not a beginning, in the future is not an end, and in the present is not an alteration, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: for all sentient beings it gives rise, newly and newly without break, to the vow of the mind of awakening, everywhere causing purity, forever apart from birth-and-death. Just as suchness within the three times does not discriminate, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: in the present, in thought after thought, its mind is constantly awake, and past and future are entirely pure. Just as suchness accomplishes all the buddhas and bodhisattvas, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it gives rise to every great vow and skillful means, and accomplishes the vast wisdom of the buddhas. Just as suchness is ultimately pure and does not keep company with any of the afflictions, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness: it is able to extinguish the afflictions of all sentient beings, and to perfect all pure wisdom.’

The benefit accomplished by the dedication: obtaining the ten equalities

“Sons of the Buddha! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva dedicates in this way, he obtains the equality of all buddha-lands, because he adorns and purifies all worlds everywhere; he obtains the equality of all sentient beings, because he turns the unobstructed wheel of the Dharma for them everywhere; he obtains the equality of all bodhisattvas, because he brings forth everywhere the vow of omniscience; he obtains the equality of all buddhas, because he contemplates that the substance of the buddhas is without a second mark; he obtains the equality of all dharmas, because he knows everywhere that the nature of the dharmas is without alteration; he obtains the equality of all worlds, because with the knowledge of skillful means he understands well every way of speech; he obtains the equality of all bodhisattva practice, because whatever roots of goodness are planted are wholly dedicated; he obtains the equality of all times, because he diligently cultivates the work of a buddha and at all times is without break; he obtains the equality of all deeds and their fruits, because toward all the roots of goodness of the world and beyond the world he is without stain of attachment and all of them reach the ultimate; he obtains the equality of all the masterful spiritual powers of the buddhas, because he accords with the world and manifests the work of a buddha.

The concluding of the name and the fruit of the station (Chengguan's outline)

“Sons of the Buddha! This is the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's eighth dedication, the dedication of the mark of suchness. When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva abides within this dedication, he realizes measureless pure Dharma-gates, is able to make the great lion's roar of a Tathāgata, masterful and without fear; by skillful means he teaches and brings to accomplishment measureless bodhisattvas, and at all times has never rested; he obtains the measureless perfect body of a buddha, one body filling and pervading all the worlds; he obtains the measureless perfect voice of a buddha, one sound awakening all sentient beings; he obtains the measureless perfect power of a buddha, and within a single pore is able to contain all the lands everywhere; he obtains the measureless perfect spiritual powers of a buddha, and places sentient beings within a single mote of dust; he obtains the measureless perfect liberation of a buddha, and upon the body of a single sentient being manifests the spheres of all the buddhas and accomplishes equal right awakening; he obtains the measureless perfect samādhi of a buddha, and within a single samādhi manifests everywhere all the samādhis; he obtains the measureless perfect eloquence of a buddha, and speaking a single phrase of the Dharma exhausts the end of the future and yet cannot be exhausted, extinguishing wholly the doubts of all sentient beings; he obtains the measureless perfect sentient beings of a buddha, is furnished with the ten powers of a buddha, and to the end of the realm of sentient beings manifests the accomplishing of right awakening. Sons of the Buddha! This is the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's dedication of all roots of goodness in accord with the mark of suchness.”

The verses (one): verses on the dedication that follows marks (Chengguan's outline · the first two on the substance of the practice dedicated, the latter four on the practice of dedicating)

At this time the bodhisattva Vajra Banner, sustained by the Buddha's majestic power, universally contemplated the ten directions and spoke these verses, saying:

“The bodhisattva's aspiration constantly abides, his right mindfulness firm and far from delusion, his mind well pliant and constantly cool, gathering the boundless practice of merit.

“The bodhisattva is humble and compliant without going against, and all his aspirations are entirely pure; he has obtained the great light of wisdom, and is well able to illumine and understand all deeds.

“The bodhisattva reflects that deeds are vast, that their various distinctions are most rare; he resolves to practice without turning back, and thereby benefits the multitude of beings.

“The distinctions of deeds are measureless in kind, and the bodhisattva diligently cultivates them all; he accords with sentient beings and does not go against their intent, and everywhere causes their minds to be pure and to give rise to joy.

“He has ascended to the ground of the honored tamer of men, is apart from the various fevers and his mind is without hindrance; toward the Dharma and toward its meaning he is well able to understand, and for the benefit of the multitude of beings he cultivates the more diligently.

“The various good practices the bodhisattva cultivates are measureless, numberless, and of various kinds; toward all of them he is able to discriminate and understand, and for the sake of benefiting the multitude of beings he makes the dedication.

The verses (two): verses on the dedication apart from marks (Chengguan's outline · the first nine on the extended discourse over against suchness)

“With subtle wisdom he constantly contemplates the ultimate, vast, and true principle; he cuts off the places of existence with nothing left over, and just like that suchness he well makes the dedication.

“Just as suchness pervades everything, so does he gather in everywhere all the worlds; the bodhisattva dedicates with this mind, and wholly causes sentient beings to be without attachment.

“The bodhisattva's power of vow pervades everything, just as suchness is nowhere absent; whether seen or not seen, in thought after thought it pervades, and wholly with merit he makes the dedication.

“In the night he abides accordingly, in the day too he abides, in the half-month and the month too he abides accordingly, whether year or eon he abides within them all — as suchness is thus, so too is the practice.

“All of the three times and the lands, all sentient beings and all dharmas, all abide within it and yet abide nowhere, and with practice such as this he makes the dedication.

“Just as with the original self-nature of suchness, so does the bodhisattva give rise to the great mind; wherever suchness is, there is nowhere it is not, and with practice such as this he makes the dedication.

“Just as with the original self-nature of suchness, within it there has never been a single dharma; not to attain self-nature is precisely the true nature, and with deeds such as this he makes the dedication.

“As is the mark of suchness, so too are the deeds; as is the nature of suchness, so too are the deeds; as the nature of suchness is originally true, so too are the deeds, the same as suchness.

“Just as suchness is without bound, so too are the deeds, without bound; and within them there is no bondage, and therefore these deeds attain purity.

The verses (three): the latter seven verses on the dedication apart from marks (Chengguan's outline · verses turning back to make the Dharma plain directly)

“A true son of the Buddha, wise as this, whose aspiration is firm and does not stir, by his power of knowledge is well able to penetrate, and enters the treasury of the skillful means of the buddhas.

“He awakens to the true dharma of the Dharma King, and within it is without attachment and without bondage; masterful in this way, his mind is without hindrance, and he has never seen a single dharma arise.

“The deeds performed by the Tathāgata's dharma-body: all the worlds are as the mark of that dharma-body; to say that the marks of all dharmas are markless — to know marks in this way is to know the Dharma.

“The bodhisattva abides within this inconceivable, and within it thinking and reasoning cannot be exhausted; entering this place that cannot be thought or reasoned, thought and what is not thought are entirely quiescent.

“Reflecting in this way upon the nature of the dharmas, he penetrates the distinctions of all deeds; every grasping at self is extinguished, and he abides in merit with nothing able to stir him.

“All the fruits of the deeds of a bodhisattva are wholly sealed by inexhaustible knowledge; being inexhaustible in this way, of their own nature they are exhausted, and therefore the inexhaustible is by skillful means extinguished.

“The bodhisattva contemplates that the mind is not outside, nor can it be found within either; knowing that the nature of his mind has nothing at all, self and dharmas are both left behind and forever quiescent.

The verses (four): verses on the benefit accomplished by the dedication (Chengguan's outline · six verses)

“Those sons of the Buddha understand in this way: the nature of all dharmas is constantly empty and quiescent; there is not a single dharma able to be made, and the same as the buddhas they awaken to no-self.

“Understanding all the worlds to be entirely equal to the nature of suchness, seeing this inconceivable mark, one is then able to know the markless dharma.

“If one is able to abide in this profound dharma, and constantly delights to cultivate the bodhisattva practice, then for the sake of benefiting the multitude of beings he adorns himself with the great vow without turning back.

“This, then, goes beyond the world; he does not give rise to the false discrimination of birth-and-death; he penetrates that their minds are like an illusory transformation, and diligently cultivates the many practices to deliver the multitude of beings.

“The bodhisattva is rightly mindful and contemplates the world, and that all of it is obtained from the conditions of deeds; in order to rescue them he cultivates the practices, and gathers in the three realms everywhere with nothing left out.

“He understands that sentient beings differ in various ways, and that all of it is discriminated by conception and by formation; contemplating this, he understands it all entirely, and yet does not damage the nature of the dharmas.

The verses (five): the concluding of the intent of the dedication (Chengguan's outline · one verse)

“The wise one understands the dharmas of the buddhas, and with practice such as this makes the dedication; he has pity upon all sentient beings, and causes them rightly to reflect upon the true dharma.”

The question raised: what is called the dedication of liberation without attachment and without bondage

“Sons of the Buddha! What is called the dedication of liberation without attachment and without bondage of a bodhisattva-mahāsattva (a practitioner who has given rise to the great mind)?

The mind gives rise to reverence: how the roots of goodness dedicated are regarded

“Sons of the Buddha! This bodhisattva-mahāsattva, toward all roots of goodness, gives rise in his mind to reverence. That is to say: toward going forth from birth-and-death, his mind gives rise to reverence; toward gathering in all roots of goodness, his mind gives rise to reverence; toward seeking all roots of goodness, his mind gives rise to reverence; toward removing by repentance the deeds of transgression of every kind, his mind gives rise to reverence; toward rejoicing in the roots of goodness of others, his mind gives rise to reverence; toward paying reverence to all the buddhas, his mind gives rise to reverence; toward joining the palms in respect, his mind gives rise to reverence; toward bowing the head to stūpas and shrines, his mind gives rise to reverence; toward exhorting the buddhas to expound the Dharma, his mind gives rise to reverence. Toward such various roots of goodness as these he gives rise to reverence in every case, according with them and accepting them (taking them in and holding them fast in the mind).

The ten clauses after according and accepting: from reverence turning into dedication

“Sons of the Buddha! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva gives rise to reverence toward all those roots of goodness and accords with them and accepts them, he delights in them and loves them to the utmost, and his faith and understanding are firm; he himself comes to abide securely, and he causes others to abide securely as well; he diligently cultivates without any grasping, and accumulates roots of goodness sovereignly; he brings to completion a surpassing resolve and delight, and abides in the sphere of the Tathāgata; his strength grows, and all of it comes to be known and seen. With these roots of goodness he dedicates in the following way, that is to say:

Accomplishing the bodily, verbal, and mental activity of Samantabhadra, and his vast vigor

“‘With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he accomplishes the bodily activity of Samantabhadra. With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he purifies the verbal activity of Samantabhadra. With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he fulfils the mental activity of Samantabhadra. With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he gives rise to the vast vigor of Samantabhadra.

The four gates of dhāraṇī: the four capacities that can be held fast

“With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he is complete in Samantabhadra's gate of dhāraṇī of unobstructed sound (the gate of total holding), and his voice is vast and pervades the ten directions. With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he is complete in Samantabhadra's gate of dhāraṇī of seeing all the buddhas, and constantly sees all the buddhas of the ten directions. With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he accomplishes the gate of dhāraṇī of understanding all sounds, and, being one with all the sounds of speech, expounds measureless dharmas. With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he accomplishes Samantabhadra's gate of dhāraṇī of abiding through all kalpas, and cultivates the bodhisattva practice everywhere in the ten directions.

Samantabhadra's sovereign power (1): displaying all practices and all places of awakening within a single body

“With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he accomplishes Samantabhadra's sovereign power: within the body of a single sentient being he displays the cultivation of all bodhisattva practices, and to the very exhaustion of future kalpas he has never once broken off; and as it is within the body of a single sentient being, so it is within the bodies of all sentient beings. With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he accomplishes Samantabhadra's sovereign power: he enters everywhere into all the places of awakening of the great assemblies, and appears everywhere before all the buddhas, cultivating the bodhisattva practice.

Samantabhadra's sovereign power (2): the displaying within one gate and within various gates

“With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he accomplishes the sovereign power of Samantabhadra's buddhahood: within a single gate he displays himself, and through unspeakably unspeakable kalpas there is no exhaustion of it, causing all sentient beings to gain entry and awakening. With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he accomplishes the sovereign power of Samantabhadra's buddhahood: within various gates he displays himself, and through unspeakably unspeakable kalpas there is no exhaustion of it, causing all sentient beings to gain entry and awakening; and his body appears everywhere before all the buddhas.

Samantabhadra's sovereign power (3): causing beings to abide in the knowledge of the ten powers · displaying spiritual powers · making the speech of beings · containing the bodies of beings

“With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he accomplishes Samantabhadra's sovereign power: in thought after thought he causes unspeakably unspeakable sentient beings to abide in the knowledge of the ten powers, and in his mind there is no weariness. With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he accomplishes Samantabhadra's sovereign power: within the bodies of all sentient beings he displays the sovereign spiritual powers of all the buddhas, causing all sentient beings to abide in the practice of Samantabhadra. With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he accomplishes Samantabhadra's sovereign power: within the language of each and every sentient being he makes the language of all sentient beings, causing all sentient beings one by one to abide in the ground of omniscience. With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he accomplishes Samantabhadra's sovereign power: within the body of each and every sentient being he everywhere contains the bodies of all sentient beings, causing them all to know of themselves that they have accomplished the body of a buddha.

Samantabhadra's sovereign power (4): adorning with a single flower · a great voice pervading · entering all worlds · displaying the accomplishment of buddhahood

“With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he accomplishes Samantabhadra's sovereign power: he is able with a single flower to adorn all the worlds of the ten directions. With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he accomplishes Samantabhadra's sovereign power: he sends forth a vast voice that pervades the Dharma realm and is heard throughout all the buddha-lands, gathering in and taming all sentient beings. With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he accomplishes Samantabhadra's sovereign power: to the exhaustion of the future, through unspeakably unspeakable kalpas, in thought after thought he is able to enter pervasively into all worlds, and by the divine power of the buddhas he adorns them according to his thought. With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he accomplishes Samantabhadra's sovereign power: throughout the kalpas in which he abides to the exhaustion of the future, he is constantly able to enter pervasively into all worlds, displaying the accomplishment of buddhahood and arising in the world.

Accomplishing the practice of Samantabhadra: one light shining everywhere · measureless wisdom · entering the knowledge of the Tathāgata · abiding where the buddhas are · expounding the Dharma without destroying it

“With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he accomplishes the practice of Samantabhadra: one shaft of light shines everywhere upon all the worlds to the exhaustion of the realm of empty space. With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he accomplishes the practice of Samantabhadra: he obtains measureless wisdom, is complete in all spiritual powers, and expounds dharmas of every kind. With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he accomplishes the practice of Samantabhadra: he enters into the spiritual powers and knowledge of the Tathāgata, which cannot be measured though all kalpas be exhausted. With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he accomplishes the practice of Samantabhadra: he abides in the presence of all the tathāgatas throughout the Dharma realm, and by the divine power of the buddhas cultivates all the practices of bodhisattvas; and in bodily activity, verbal activity, and mental activity he has never been slack or weary. With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he accomplishes the practice of Samantabhadra: he does not go against the meaning, he does not destroy the Dharma, his words are pure, and he delights in expounding the Dharma without exhaustion; he teaches and tames all sentient beings, causing them all in time to come to obtain the unsurpassed awakening of all the buddhas.

Cultivating the practice of Samantabhadra · abiding in the bodhisattva practice: to enter one gate of Dharma is to enter all gates of Dharma

“With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he cultivates the practice of Samantabhadra: when he enters a single gate of Dharma he releases measureless light and illumines and sees the inconceivable totality of the gates of Dharma; and as it is with a single gate of Dharma, so it is with all gates of Dharma, penetrated without obstruction, and in the end he will obtain the ground of omniscience. With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he abides in the bodhisattva practice: he is sovereign with regard to dharmas and reaches the far shore of Samantabhadra's adornment; within each and every sphere he contemplates and enters with omniscience, and yet omniscience is not thereby exhausted.

From this life to the exhaustion of the future: abiding in the practice of Samantabhadra · cultivating the work of Samantabhadra

“With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, from this very life on to the exhaustion of the future he abides in the practice of Samantabhadra and constantly does not rest; he obtains omniscience and enters into and awakens to unspeakably unspeakable true dharmas, and with regard to dharmas he is ultimate and without confusion. With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he cultivates the work of Samantabhadra: skillful means are sovereign to him, he obtains the light of the Dharma, and with regard to the practices practiced by all bodhisattvas he illumines, sees, and understands without obstruction.

The ten kinds of skillful means: knowing all skillful means

“With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he cultivates the practice of Samantabhadra: he obtains the knowledge of all skillful means and knows all skillful means, that is to say: measureless skillful means, inconceivable skillful means, bodhisattva skillful means, the skillful means of omniscience, the skillful means of taming all bodhisattvas, the skillful means of turning measureless wheels of Dharma, the skillful means of unspeakable time, the skillful means of expounding dharmas of every kind, the skillful means of the borderless treasury of fearlessness, and the skillful means of expounding all dharmas without remainder.

Bodily activity · the pure knowledge of language · vast spiritual powers and wisdom

“With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he abides in the practice of Samantabhadra and accomplishes bodily activity, causing all sentient beings who see him to rejoice and not to give rise to slander; they give rise to the mind of awakening, never turn back from it, and are ultimately pure. With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he cultivates the practice of Samantabhadra: he obtains the pure knowledge that understands the language of all sentient beings, all his words and phrases are complete in adornment, they answer everywhere to sentient beings, and all are caused to rejoice. With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he abides in the practice of Samantabhadra: he sets up a surpassing resolve, is complete in a pure mind, and obtains vast spiritual powers and vast wisdom, going everywhere to all vast worlds, vast lands, and the places of vast multitudes of sentient beings, and expounding the unspeakable vast dharmas of all the tathāgatas and the treasury complete in vast adornment.

Perfectly accomplishing the practices and vows of Samantabhadra's dedication: obtaining the buddhas' pure body, mind, and understanding

“With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he perfectly accomplishes the practices and vows of Samantabhadra's dedication, obtaining the pure body, the pure mind, and the pure understanding of all the buddhas; he gathers in the merits of the buddhas, abides in the sphere of the buddhas, the seal of wisdom shines everywhere, he displays the pure work of a bodhisattva, he is skilled in entering deeply into the meanings of all differentiated phrases, he reveals the vast sovereignty of the buddhas and bodhisattvas, and for all sentient beings he displays the accomplishing of right awakening.

The fourteen kinds of faculty: diligently cultivating the practices and vows of Samantabhadra's faculties

“With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he diligently cultivates the practices and vows of Samantabhadra's faculties, obtaining the keen and sharp faculty, the tamed and compliant faculty, the faculty of sovereignty in all dharmas, the inexhaustible faculty, the faculty of diligently cultivating all roots of goodness, the faculty of the equality of the spheres of all buddhas, the faculty of great vigor that confers upon all bodhisattvas the prediction of non-retrogression, the faculty of understanding the vajra-realm of all buddha-dharmas, the faculty of the vajra-flame illumined by the light of the wisdom of all tathāgatas, the faculty of sovereignty in discriminating all faculties, the faculty of establishing measureless sentient beings in omniscience, the borderless and vast faculty, the faculty complete in all things, and the pure and unobstructed faculty.

The ten kinds of spiritual power: obtaining the spiritual powers of all bodhisattvas

“With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he cultivates the practice of Samantabhadra and obtains the spiritual powers of all bodhisattvas, that is to say: the spiritual power of measureless vast strength, the spiritual power of measureless sovereign knowledge, the spiritual power of displaying all buddha-lands everywhere without moving his body, the spiritual power of unobstructed and unbroken sovereignty, the spiritual power of gathering all buddha-lands together and placing them in a single spot, the spiritual power of a single body filling all buddha-lands, the spiritual power of the play of unobstructed liberation, the spiritual power of sovereignty in a single thought without any contriving, the spiritual power of abiding in what is without nature and without support, and the spiritual power of establishing in order, within a single pore, unspeakable worlds, of roaming everywhere through the places of awakening of all the buddhas of the Dharma realm, and of revealing this to all sentient beings so that they all gain entry into the gate of great wisdom.

Entering the gate of Samantabhadra · cultivating Samantabhadra's practice of skillful means: in a single thought entering everywhere into measureless lands

“With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he enters the gate of Samantabhadra and gives rise to the bodhisattva practice: with sovereign knowledge, in a single thought he enters everywhere into measureless buddha-lands, a single body receives and holds measureless buddha-lands, he acquires the wisdom that is able to purify and adorn buddha-lands, he constantly beholds with wisdom the borderless buddha-lands, and he never gives rise to the mind of the two vehicles. With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he cultivates Samantabhadra's practice of skillful means: he enters the sphere of wisdom, is born in the family of the Tathāgata, abides in the bodhisattva way, is complete in unspeakably unspeakable measureless and inconceivable surpassing minds, upholds measureless vows without ever resting, and knows in full all the Dharma realms of the three times.

A single hair-tip · a single thought-moment · a single body: containing the whole Dharma realm

“With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he accomplishes Samantabhadra's pure gate of Dharma: within a place the size of a single hair-tip he wholly contains all the unspeakably unspeakable lands throughout empty space and pervading the Dharma realm, and causes them all to be clearly seen; and as it is with a place the size of a single hair-tip, so it is likewise with each and every place the size of a hair-tip throughout the Dharma realm and the realm of empty space. With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he accomplishes the skillful means of Samantabhadra's profound mind: within a single thought-moment of mind he displays the thought-moments of mind of a single sentient being through unspeakably unspeakable kalpas, and so on to displaying the thought-moments of mind of all sentient beings through that many kalpas. With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he enters Samantabhadra's dedication and practices upon the ground of skillful means: within a single body he is able to contain the unspeakably unspeakable bodies of the whole Dharma realm, and yet the realm of sentient beings is thereby neither increased nor diminished; and as it is with a single body, so it is likewise with all bodies pervading the whole Dharma realm.

Casting off the three inversions: seeing the pure dharma-body of all the buddhas

“With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he accomplishes the skillful means of Samantabhadra's great vow: he casts off every inversion of conception, inversion of mind, and inversion of view, and enters everywhere into the spheres of all the buddhas; he constantly sees the pure dharma-bodies of all the buddhas, equal to the realm of empty space, adorned with the marks and signs, sovereign in divine power; he constantly reveals and expounds with a subtle and wondrous voice, unobstructed and unbroken, causing those who hear to receive and hold it just as it is expounded, and yet with regard to the body of the Tathāgata there is nothing at all that is obtained.

Entering the upturned worlds and the overturned worlds: discriminating the Dharma realm by the net of Indra

“With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he cultivates the practice of Samantabhadra and abides on the bodhisattva ground: in a single thought he enters into all worlds, that is to say: he enters the upturned worlds, the overturned worlds, and the unspeakably unspeakable vast worlds of every place woven like a net in the ten directions; with the skillful means of discrimination that is the net of Indra (the net of the palace of the god Śakra, whose every opening mirrors every other) he universally discriminates the whole Dharma realm; with worlds of every kind he enters into a single world, with unspeakably unspeakable measureless worlds he enters into a single world, with the measureless worlds established throughout the Dharma realm he enters into a single world, with the measureless worlds established throughout the realm of empty space he enters into a single world — and yet he does not destroy the marks of their several establishings, and causes them all to be clearly seen.

Receiving the buddhas' consecration: knowing forty-eight kinds of conception in a single thought

“With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he cultivates the practices and vows of Samantabhadra's bodhisattvahood and obtains the consecration of the buddhas: in a single thought he enters the ground of skillful means and perfectly accomplishes the jewel of wisdom that abides in the multitude of practices; he is wholly able to understand all conceptions, that is to say: the conception of sentient beings, the conception of dharmas, the conception of lands, the conception of directions, the conception of buddhas, the conception of ages, the conception of deeds, the conception of practices, the conception of realms, the conception of understandings, the conception of faculties, the conception of times, the conception of holding, the conception of afflictions, the conception of purity, the conception of ripening, the conception of seeing the buddhas, the conception of turning the wheel of Dharma, the conception of hearing the Dharma and understanding it, the conception of taming, the conception of the measureless, the conception of going forth, the conception of the various grounds, the conception of measureless grounds, the conception of a bodhisattva's understanding, the conception of a bodhisattva's cultivating, the conception of a bodhisattva's samādhi, the conception of a bodhisattva's rising from samādhi, the conception of a bodhisattva's forming, the conception of a bodhisattva's disintegrating, the conception of a bodhisattva's passing away, the conception of a bodhisattva's being born, the conception of a bodhisattva's liberation, the conception of a bodhisattva's sovereignty, the conception of a bodhisattva's upholding, the conception of a bodhisattva's sphere, the conception of the forming and disintegrating of kalpas, the conception of light, the conception of darkness, the conception of day, the conception of night, the conception of the alterations of a half-month, a month, a season, and a year, the conception of going, the conception of coming, the conception of standing, the conception of sitting, the conception of sleeping, and the conception of waking — such conceptions of every kind as these he is wholly able to understand in a single thought, and yet he is apart from all conceptions and discriminates nothing; he cuts off all obstructions and grasps at nothing; all buddha-knowledge fills his mind, all buddha-dharmas increase his roots of goodness, he is of one body with all the tathāgatas, he is gathered in by all the buddhas, he is free of defilement and pure, and he follows and studies all buddha-dharmas and reaches the far shore.

Knowing measureless minds in a single mind · measureless places in a single place · measureless deeds in a single deed

“With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, for the sake of all sentient beings he cultivates the practice of Samantabhadra and brings forth the jewel of great wisdom: within each and every mind he knows measureless minds, according to what they rest upon, according to their discriminations, according to their lineage, according to what they do, according to the working of their deeds, according to their aspects, and according to their thinking and perceiving, and of all their kinds and differences there is none that he does not clearly see. With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he accomplishes the jewel of knowledge of Samantabhadra's great vow: within a single place he knows measureless unspeakable places; and as it is with a single place, so it is likewise with all places. With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he cultivates the ground of knowledge of Samantabhadra's practice and work: within a single deed he is able to know measureless unspeakably unspeakable deeds, and those deeds are each made by causes and conditions of every kind, which he clearly understands, knows, and sees; and as it is with a single deed, so it is likewise with all deeds.

Knowing all dharmas in a single dharma · knowing all spoken sounds in a single spoken sound

“With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he cultivates Samantabhadra's wisdom that knows dharmas: within a single dharma he knows unspeakably unspeakable dharmas, and within all dharmas he knows a single dharma; such dharmas as these are each and every one differentiated, without obstruction, without contrariety, and without attachment. With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he abides in the bodhisattva practice and comes to be complete in Samantabhadra's unobstructed faculty of hearing: within a single spoken sound he knows unspeakably unspeakable spoken sounds, measureless and borderless and differentiated in every kind, and yet he grasps at nothing; and as it is with a single spoken sound, so it is likewise with all spoken sounds.

Expounding unspeakable dharmas within a single dharma: expounding according to the faculties and according to the time

“With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he cultivates the wisdom of Samantabhadra, gives rise to the practice of Samantabhadra, and abides on the ground of Samantabhadra: within each and every dharma he expounds unspeakably unspeakable dharmas; those dharmas are vast and differentiated in every kind, they teach and gather in, and they answer to inconceivable skillful means; through measureless times and through all times, according to whatever desires and understandings sentient beings have, according to their faculties and according to the time, he expounds the Dharma for them with the voice of a buddha; with a single wondrous sound he causes the measureless sentient beings in unspeakable assemblies at the places of awakening all to rejoice, and in the presence of a single tathāgata measureless bodhisattvas fill the Dharma realm; he sets up a surpassing resolve, gives rise to a vast seeing, ultimately understands all practices, abides on the ground of Samantabhadra, and, according to whatever Dharma he expounds, in thought after thought he is able to enter into realization of it, and in a single instant increases measureless unspeakably unspeakable masses of great wisdom; and on to the exhaustion of future kalpas he expounds in this way, cultivating in all lands practices as vast as empty space, and accomplishing them in fullness.

The gate of the practice of the faculties: becoming the great king of practice

“With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he cultivates Samantabhadra's gate of the practice of the faculties and becomes the great king of practice: within each and every faculty he is wholly able to understand measureless faculties, the measureless delights of the mind, and the wondrous practices born of inconceivable spheres.

The first gate of subtle knowledge · the dharmas of the world are exceedingly subtle: form · body · lands · kalpas · ages · directions · times · numbers · the retribution of deeds · purity

“With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he abides in the mind of the great dedication of the practice of Samantabhadra, and obtains the exceedingly subtle knowledge of form, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of body, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of lands, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of kalpas, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of ages, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of directions, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of times, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of numbers, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of the retribution of deeds, and the exceedingly subtle knowledge of purity — all such exceedingly subtle things as these he is wholly able to understand in a single thought, and yet his mind is not terrified, his mind is not confused, not disturbed, not scattered, not turbid, not base; his mind is tied to a single object, his mind is well settled in quiescence, his mind discriminates well, and his mind abides well.

The second gate of subtle knowledge · the destinies of sentient beings are exceedingly subtle: destinies · dying · being born · standing · dwelling · kinds · spheres · practices · grasping · clinging to conditions

“With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he abides in the bodhisattva knowledge and cultivates the practice of Samantabhadra without slackness or weariness, and is able to know that the destinies of all sentient beings are exceedingly subtle, that the dying of sentient beings is exceedingly subtle, that the being born of sentient beings is exceedingly subtle, that the standing of sentient beings is exceedingly subtle, that the dwelling-places of sentient beings are exceedingly subtle, that the kinds of sentient beings are exceedingly subtle, that the spheres of sentient beings are exceedingly subtle, that the practices of sentient beings are exceedingly subtle, that the grasping of sentient beings is exceedingly subtle, and that the clinging to conditions of sentient beings is exceedingly subtle — all such exceedingly subtle things as these he is wholly able to understand in a single thought.

The third gate of subtle knowledge · the practices and virtues of bodhisattvas are exceedingly subtle: ten several kinds and eleven samādhis

“With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he sets up a profound resolve and delight and cultivates the practice of Samantabhadra, and is able to know that all bodhisattvas' cultivating of the bodhisattva practice for all sentient beings from the first arousing of the mind is exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's dwelling-place is exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's spiritual powers are exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's roaming through measureless buddha-lands is exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's light of the Dharma is exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's pure eye is exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's accomplishing of a surpassing mind is exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's going to the assemblies at the places of awakening of all the tathāgatas is exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's knowledge of the gates of dhāraṇī is exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's expounding from the treasury of all eloquence on the ground of measureless fearlessness is exceedingly subtle, that the aspects of a bodhisattva's measureless samādhis are exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's samādhi-knowledge of seeing all the buddhas is exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's samādhi-knowledge of profound depth is exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's samādhi-knowledge of great adornment is exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's samādhi-knowledge of the Dharma realm is exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's samādhi-knowledge of great sovereign spiritual powers is exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's samādhi-knowledge of upholding vast practice to the exhaustion of the future is exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's samādhi-knowledge of bringing forth measureless differentiations is exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's samādhi-knowledge of being born before all the buddhas and diligently cultivating offerings without ever leaving them is exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's samādhi-knowledge of cultivating all that is profoundly deep and broad, without hindrance and without obstruction, is exceedingly subtle, and that a bodhisattva's samādhi-knowledge of the ultimate ground of omniscience, the ground of upholding practice-knowledge, the ground of great spiritual powers, the ground of determined meaning, and the freedom from cataracts is exceedingly subtle — all such exceedingly subtle things as these he is able to understand.

The fourth gate of subtle knowledge · the great functioning of the virtues of a bodhisattva's station is exceedingly subtle: from the knowledge of establishing to the Tathāgata's sovereign knowledge in the three times

“With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he cultivates the practice of Samantabhadra and wholly knows that a bodhisattva's knowledge of establishing is exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's grounds are exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's measureless practices are exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's bringing forth of dedication is exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's obtaining of the treasury of all buddhas is exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's knowledge of contemplation is exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's spiritual powers and the strength of his vows are exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's expounding of samādhi is exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's sovereign skillful means are exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's seal is exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's being a final-birth bodhisattva is exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's being born in the Tuṣita Heaven is exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's abiding and staying in the heavenly palace is exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's purifying and adorning of buddha-lands is exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's contemplating of the human realm is exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's releasing of great light is exceedingly subtle, that the excellence of a bodhisattva's clan is exceedingly subtle, that the assembly at a bodhisattva's place of awakening is exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's taking birth throughout all worlds is exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's displaying within a single body the ending of the life of all bodies is exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's entering the mother's womb is exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's abiding in the mother's womb is exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's sovereign displaying within the mother's womb of the assemblies at the places of awakening of the whole Dharma realm is exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's displaying within the mother's womb of the divine powers of all buddhas is exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's displaying of the matter of being born is exceedingly subtle, that the knowledge of a bodhisattva's lion-walk of seven steps is exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's knowledge of the skillful means of displaying his dwelling in the royal palace is exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's going forth from the household and cultivating the practice of taming is exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's sitting at the place of awakening beneath the tree of awakening is exceedingly subtle, that a bodhisattva's breaking of the hosts of Māra's army and accomplishing of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi (unsurpassed, right and universal awakening) is exceedingly subtle, that a tathāgata's sitting on the seat of awakening and releasing great light that illumines the worlds of the ten directions is exceedingly subtle, that a tathāgata's displaying of measureless miraculous transformations is exceedingly subtle, that a tathāgata's lion-roar and great parinirvāṇa is exceedingly subtle, that a tathāgata's taming of all sentient beings without any obstruction is exceedingly subtle, that a tathāgata's inconceivable sovereign power, like the vajra mind of awakening, is exceedingly subtle, that a tathāgata's guarding in mind everywhere the spheres of all the worlds is exceedingly subtle, that a tathāgata's doing of buddha-work everywhere in all worlds to the exhaustion of future kalpas without rest is exceedingly subtle, that a tathāgata's unobstructed divine power pervading the Dharma realm is exceedingly subtle, that a tathāgata's displaying everywhere in all the worlds to the exhaustion of the realm of empty space the accomplishing of buddhahood and the taming of sentient beings is exceedingly subtle, that a tathāgata's manifesting within a single buddha-body of measureless buddha-bodies is exceedingly subtle, and that a tathāgata's sovereign knowledge that dwells at the place of awakening throughout the three times of past, future, and present is exceedingly subtle — all such subtle things of every kind he is able to understand; he accomplishes purity and is everywhere able to display himself in all worlds; in thought after thought his wisdom increases, is fulfilled, and does not turn back; with skillful means he cultivates the bodhisattva practice without rest; he accomplishes the ground of Samantabhadra's dedication, is complete in the merits of all the tathāgatas, never grows weary of and casts aside what bodhisattvas practice, and brings forth the sphere present before bodhisattvas; his measureless skillful means all become pure, and he wishes everywhere to bring peace to all sentient beings; he cultivates the bodhisattva practice, accomplishes the ground of a bodhisattva's great majestic virtue, obtains the delights within the minds of all bodhisattvas, acquires the gate of the vajra-banner dedication, brings forth the treasury of all the merits of the Dharma realm, and is constantly guarded in mind by all the buddhas; he enters the profound and wondrous gates of Dharma of all bodhisattvas, expounds every true meaning, is skilled with regard to dharmas and never at fault, and gives rise to great vows without abandoning sentient beings; in a single thought he wholly knows the treasury of the spheres of all mind and of the ground of non-mind, and in the place of non-mind he displays the arising of mind; departing from language he abides in wisdom, is one with the practices practiced by all bodhisattvas, and with sovereign power displays the accomplishing of the buddha-way, to the exhaustion of the future constantly without rest; and the kalpa-numbers of all the sentient beings of the world, which are established by deluded conception and speech, he is able by the strength of his spiritual powers and vows to display in full.

The fifth gate of subtle knowledge · the realm of sentient beings is exceedingly subtle: nine knowledges of the realm of sentient beings

“With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he cultivates the practice of Samantabhadra and obtains the exceedingly subtle knowledge of the whole realm of sentient beings, that is to say: the exceedingly subtle knowledge of the discriminations of the realm of sentient beings, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of the speech of the realm of sentient beings, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of the attachments of the realm of sentient beings, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of the differing kinds within the realm of sentient beings, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of the same kinds within the realm of sentient beings, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of the measureless destinies of the realm of sentient beings, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of the inconceivable doings of every kind of discrimination in the realm of sentient beings, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of the measureless defilement of the realm of sentient beings, and the exceedingly subtle knowledge of the measureless purity of the realm of sentient beings — all such exceedingly subtle things of the spheres of the realm of sentient beings as these he is able in a single thought to know with wisdom just as they truly are; he gathers in sentient beings broadly and expounds the Dharma for them, revealing pure gates of Dharma of every kind and causing them to cultivate the vast wisdom of a bodhisattva; his emanated bodies are measureless, and those who see them rejoice; with the sunlight of wisdom he illumines the minds of bodhisattvas, causing them to awaken and to be sovereign in wisdom.

The sixth gate of subtle knowledge · the worlds are exceedingly subtle: twenty-one knowledges of the worlds

“With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, for the sake of all sentient beings he cultivates the practice of Samantabhadra in all worlds, and obtains the exceedingly subtle knowledge of the whole realm of empty space, the Dharma realm, and all worlds, that is to say: the exceedingly subtle knowledge of small worlds, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of great worlds, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of defiled worlds, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of pure worlds, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of incomparable worlds, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of worlds of every kind, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of broad worlds, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of narrow worlds, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of worlds of unobstructed adornment, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of the buddhas' appearing throughout all worlds, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of the expounding of the right Dharma throughout all worlds, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of the manifesting of bodies everywhere throughout all worlds, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of the releasing of great light throughout all worlds, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of the displaying of the sovereign spiritual powers of all the buddhas throughout all worlds, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of displaying all sounds with a single sound throughout all worlds, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of entering the assemblies at the places of awakening of all the buddha-lands of all worlds, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of making the buddha-lands of the whole Dharma realm into a single buddha-land, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of making a single buddha-land into the buddha-lands of the whole Dharma realm, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of knowing all worlds as a dream, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of knowing all worlds as a reflected image, and the exceedingly subtle knowledge of knowing all worlds as an illusion; and understanding thus, he brings forth the way of all bodhisattvas, enters the wisdom and spiritual powers of the practice of Samantabhadra, is complete in the contemplation of Samantabhadra, cultivates the bodhisattva practice, and is constantly without rest; he obtains the sovereign miraculous transformations of all the buddhas, is complete in an unobstructed body, abides in a wisdom that rests upon nothing, grasps at nothing among wholesome dharmas, and in whatever his mind practices there is nothing at all that is obtained; toward every place he gives rise to the thought of leaving it far behind, toward the bodhisattva practice he gives rise to the thought of pure cultivation, toward omniscience he gives rise to the thought of grasping at nothing, with all samādhis he adorns himself, and his wisdom accords with the whole Dharma realm.

The seventh gate of subtle knowledge · the Dharma realm is exceedingly subtle: eleven knowledges of the Dharma realm

“With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he enters the gate of the practice of the bodhisattva Samantabhadra and obtains the exceedingly subtle knowledge of the measureless Dharma realm, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of expounding the whole Dharma realm, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of entering the vast Dharma realm, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of discriminating the inconceivable Dharma realm, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of discriminating the whole Dharma realm, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of pervading the whole Dharma realm in a single thought, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of entering everywhere into the whole Dharma realm, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of knowing that in the whole Dharma realm nothing at all is obtained, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of contemplating that in the whole Dharma realm there is nothing that obstructs, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of knowing that in the whole Dharma realm there is no arising, and the exceedingly subtle knowledge of manifesting miraculous transformations throughout the whole Dharma realm — all such exceedingly subtle things of every kind throughout the Dharma realm he knows with vast wisdom just as they truly are; he is sovereign with regard to dharmas and displays the practice of Samantabhadra, causing all sentient beings to be fully satisfied; he does not abandon the meaning and does not cling to the Dharma, and brings forth an equal and unobstructed knowledge; he knows the root of the unobstructed, does not abide in any dharma, does not destroy the nature of dharmas, is undefiled just as things truly are, is like empty space, and accords with the world in giving rise to speech; he reveals the true meaning and shows the nature of quiescence, and with regard to every sphere is without support, without abiding, and without any discrimination; he clearly sees the vast establishing of the Dharma realm, understands that all worlds and all dharmas are equal and not two, and departs from every attachment.

The eighth gate of subtle knowledge · the kalpas are exceedingly subtle: ten knowledges of kalpas

“With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he cultivates the practice of Samantabhadra and gives rise to the exceedingly subtle knowledge of the kalpas, that is to say: the exceedingly subtle knowledge of making unspeakable kalpas a single thought, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of making a single thought unspeakable kalpas, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of entering asaṃkhyeya kalpas (numberless kalpas) into a single kalpa, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of entering a single kalpa into asaṃkhyeya kalpas, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of entering long kalpas into short kalpas, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of entering short kalpas into long kalpas, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of entering kalpas that have buddhas and kalpas that have none, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of knowing the numbers of all kalpas, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of knowing that all kalpas are not kalpas, and the exceedingly subtle knowledge of seeing all the kalpas of the three times within a single thought — all such exceedingly subtle things of every kind among the kalpas as these he knows with the knowledge of a tathāgata, in a single thought, just as they truly are; he obtains the mind of the king of practice in which all bodhisattvas are fulfilled, the mind that enters the practice of Samantabhadra, the mind that is apart from all discriminating, from differing paths, and from frivolous debate, the mind of great vows without slackness or ceasing, the mind that sees everywhere measureless nets of worlds filled with measureless buddhas, the mind that is able to hear and hold the roots of goodness of all buddhas and the practices of all bodhisattvas, the mind that, having heard the vast practice that comforts all sentient beings, does not forget it, the mind that is able within all kalpas to display the buddhas' arising in the world, the mind that within each and every world practices the unmoving practice to the exhaustion of the future without rest, and the mind that in all worlds fills the bodies of bodhisattvas with the bodily activity of a tathāgata.

The ninth gate of subtle knowledge · all dharmas are exceedingly subtle: ten knowledges of dharmas

“With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he cultivates the practice of Samantabhadra, accomplishes non-retrogression, and obtains the exceedingly subtle knowledge of all dharmas, that is to say: the exceedingly subtle knowledge of profound dharmas, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of vast dharmas, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of dharmas of every kind, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of adorning dharmas, the exceedingly subtle knowledge that all dharmas are without measure, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of all dharmas entering a single dharma, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of a single dharma entering all dharmas, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of all dharmas entering non-dharma, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of establishing all dharmas within non-dharma without contrariety, and the exceedingly subtle knowledge of entering the skillful means of all buddha-dharmas without remainder — such subtle knowledges of the dharmas established by all worlds and all speech, and equal to them, his knowledge is unobstructed and knows them all just as they truly are; he comes to enter the mind of the borderless Dharma realm, within each and every Dharma realm abides firmly with profound mind, and accomplishes unobstructed practice; with omniscience he fills his faculties, enters the knowledge of the buddhas, is right in mindfulness and in skillful means, and accomplishes the vast merits of all the buddhas; he fills the Dharma realm, enters everywhere into the bodies of all the tathāgatas, manifests all the bodily activity of bodhisattvas, and, according with the speech of all worlds, expounds the Dharma; he obtains the wisdom-mental-activity sustained by the divine power of all the buddhas, and brings forth the Sarvajñā knowledge (omniscience) that discriminates dharmas by measureless skillful means.

The tenth gate of subtle knowledge · bringing forth all exceedingly subtle knowledge: ten things known and ten knowledges brought forth

“With a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he cultivates the practice of Samantabhadra and brings forth all exceedingly subtle knowledge, that is to say: the exceedingly subtle knowledge of knowing all lands, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of knowing all sentient beings, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of knowing the fruits and retributions of all dharmas, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of knowing the minds of all sentient beings, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of knowing all the times for expounding the Dharma, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of knowing the whole Dharma realm, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of knowing the three times throughout the whole realm of empty space, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of knowing all the ways of language, the exceedingly subtle knowledge of knowing all worldly practice, and the exceedingly subtle knowledge of knowing all world-transcending practice, and so on to the exceedingly subtle knowledge of knowing the whole way of the tathāgatas, the whole way of bodhisattvas, and the whole way of sentient beings; he cultivates the bodhisattva practice and abides in the way of Samantabhadra, and whether in letter or in meaning he knows just as things truly are; he brings forth the knowledge that is like a shadow, brings forth the knowledge that is like a dream, brings forth the knowledge that is like an illusion, brings forth the knowledge that is like an echo, brings forth the knowledge that is like a conjuration, brings forth the knowledge that is like empty space, brings forth the knowledge of quiescence, brings forth the knowledge of the whole Dharma realm, brings forth the knowledge that rests upon nothing, and brings forth the knowledge of all buddha-dharmas.’

The ten pairs of not discriminating: dedicating all the way to the true limit

“Sons of the Buddha! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva dedicates with a mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage, he does not discriminate the world or the dharmas of the world, does not discriminate awakening or the bodhisattva (one who seeks awakening), does not discriminate the bodhisattva practice or the way of going forth, does not discriminate the buddhas or all buddha-dharmas, does not discriminate taming sentient beings or not taming sentient beings, does not discriminate roots of goodness or dedication, does not discriminate self or other, does not discriminate the thing given or the one who receives what is given, does not discriminate the bodhisattva practice or perfect awakening, does not discriminate dharma or knowledge.

The ten liberations without attachment and without bondage: from mind to knowledge

“Sons of the Buddha! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva dedicates those roots of goodness in this way, that is to say: ‘the mind is liberated without attachment and without bondage, the body is liberated without attachment and without bondage, speech is liberated without attachment and without bondage, deeds are liberated without attachment and without bondage, retribution is liberated without attachment and without bondage, the world is liberated without attachment and without bondage, the buddha-lands are liberated without attachment and without bondage, sentient beings are liberated without attachment and without bondage, dharmas are liberated without attachment and without bondage, knowledge is liberated without attachment and without bondage.’ When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva dedicates in this way, he practices dedication as the buddhas of the three times practiced dedication when they were still bodhisattvas; he studies the dedication of the buddhas of the past, accomplishes the dedication of the buddhas of the future, and abides in the dedication of the buddhas of the present; he abides securely in the way of dedication of the buddhas of the past, does not abandon the way of dedication of the buddhas of the future, and accords with the way of dedication of the buddhas of the present; he diligently cultivates the teaching of the buddhas of the past, accomplishes the teaching of the buddhas of the future, and understands the teaching of the buddhas of the present; he fulfils the equality of the buddhas of the past, accomplishes the equality of the buddhas of the future, and abides in the equality of the buddhas of the present; he practices the spheres of the buddhas of the past, abides in the spheres of the buddhas of the future, and is equal to the spheres of the buddhas of the present; he obtains the roots of goodness of all the buddhas of the three times, is complete in the lineage of all the buddhas of the three times, abides in what all the buddhas of the three times practice, and accords with the spheres of all the buddhas of the three times.

The concluding of the name, and the benefit accomplished by the dedication

“Sons of the Buddha! This is called the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's ninth dedication of the mind of liberation without attachment and without bondage. When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva abides in this dedication, none of the vajra encircling mountains is able to destroy him; among all sentient beings he is first in form and appearance, with none who can equal him; he is able to crush all the evil works of Māra and to appear everywhere in all the worlds of the ten directions; he cultivates the bodhisattva practice, and in order to awaken all sentient beings expounds the dharmas of the buddhas with skillful means; he obtains great wisdom, and with regard to the dharmas of the buddhas his mind is without confusion; wherever he is born, whether walking or standing, he constantly meets with a retinue that will not be broken up; the right Dharma expounded by the buddhas of the three times he is able with pure mindfulness to receive and hold; to the exhaustion of future kalpas he cultivates the bodhisattva practice, constantly without rest and without any support; the practices and vows of Samantabhadra grow and become complete in him; and he obtains omniscience, does the work of a buddha, and accomplishes the sovereign spiritual powers of a bodhisattva.”

The verses restating (1): the roots of goodness dedicated — reverence, and not for oneself

At that time the bodhisattva Vajra Banner, sustained by the divine power of the Buddha, contemplated the ten directions everywhere and spoke these verses, saying:

“Toward all the peerless honored ones of the ten directions, he has never once given rise to a slighting mind; and toward the works of merit that they cultivate, he likewise is respectful and gives rise to reverence.

“All the merits that he cultivates are not for himself and not for others; constantly, with a mind of the highest faith and understanding, for the benefit of sentient beings he dedicates them.

“He has never for a moment given rise to a haughty mind, nor does he give rise to any base intention; as for the bodily and other activities that the Tathāgata has, he asks about them all and cultivates them diligently.

The verses restating (2): restating the practice of dedicating — Samantabhadra's own portion, and the subtlety of the world

“All the various roots of goodness that he cultivates are wholly for the benefit of all that is conscious; abiding in profound mind and vast understanding, he dedicates them to the station of merit of the honored one among men.

“Of all the measureless distinctions there are in the world, and the various skillful and marvelous matters, the coarse, the fine, the vast, and the profound — there is none he does not practice and penetrate.

“Into all the various bodies there are in the world he enters with a body that is equal to them; here he practices and gains understanding, and the gate of wisdom is accomplished in him without retrogression.

“The lands of the world are of measureless kinds — subtle, vast, upturned, and overturned, each distinct; the bodhisattva is able, with the gate of wisdom, to see them all within a single pore.

The verses restating (3): restating the destinies of sentient beings and the realm of sentient beings

“The practices of the minds of sentient beings are without measure; he is able to cause them equally to enter into a single mind, and with the gate of wisdom all are awakened, so that in the practices they cultivate they do not turn back.

“The faculties and the desires and delights of sentient beings are each different in high, middling, and low degree; all of them are profound and hard to know, yet according to their very natures he is able to understand them all.

“All the various deeds that sentient beings have differ in high, middling, and low degree; the bodhisattva enters deeply into the power of the Tathāgata, and with the gate of wisdom sees them all clearly.

The verses restating (4): restating the practices and virtues of bodhisattvas

“The inconceivable and measureless kalpas he is able to cause to enter equally into a single thought; having seen thus, he pervades the ten directions and practices every pure work.

“Past, future, and present — he understands that their aspects are each different, and yet he does not go against the principle of equality: this is the practice of the great mind that clearly penetrates.

“The practices of the sentient beings of the world are not the same, some manifest and some hidden, of measureless kinds; the bodhisattva knows in full their differentiated aspects, and knows too that those aspects are all without aspect.

The verses restating (5): restating the great functioning of the virtues of the station — the buddhas' appearing and their miraculous transformations

“All the buddhas of the worlds of the ten directions, the sovereign spiritual powers that they display, are vast and hard to conceive of, yet the bodhisattva is able to discriminate and know them all.

“Within the Tuṣita Heaven of every world, the lion among men who awakens of himself, whose merits are vast and pure and peerless — just as his substance and aspect are, so is he able to see them all.

“Or he displays the descent of the spirit and the dwelling in the mother's womb, measureless sovereign and great transformations, becoming a buddha, expounding the Dharma, and displaying his passing into extinction, pervading the world without ever pausing.

“When the lion among men is first born, all the men of surpassing knowledge come to serve him; the gods, Śakra, the Brahmā kings, and the rest — there is none who does not reverently gaze upon him and attend him.

“Throughout the ten directions with nothing left over, within the measureless and borderless Dharma realm, without beginning and without end, without far and without near, he displays the sovereign power of the Tathāgata.

“When the honored guide among men has been born, he walks about in every direction, seven steps each way, wishing to awaken the multitude of beings with the wondrous Dharma, and therefore the Tathāgata contemplates everywhere.

“Seeing sentient beings sunk in the sea of desire, covered over by blindness, darkness, and ignorance, the sovereign one among men displays a subtle smile, thinking that he will save them from the suffering of the three realms of existence.

“The great lion's roar sends forth a wondrous sound: I am the first honored one of the world; I should light the bright and pure lamp of wisdom and extinguish for them the dark ignorance of birth-and-death.

“When the lion-king among men comes forth into the world, he releases everywhere measureless great light, causing all the evil destinies to be brought to rest and forever extinguishing the multitude of sufferings of the world.

“At times he displays his dwelling in the royal palace, or displays his leaving the household to study the way; for the sake of benefiting sentient beings he displays such sovereign power as this.

“When the Tathāgata first sits at the place of awakening, the whole great earth shakes and trembles, the worlds of the ten directions all receive his light, and the sentient beings of the six destinies are all set free from suffering.

“He shakes all the palaces of Māra and awakens the minds of the sentient beings of the ten directions; those who in the past received his teaching and practiced it he causes all to understand the true meaning.

“All the lands there are in the ten directions enter into a single pore with nothing left over; the lands within every pore are borderless, and there he displays everywhere his spiritual power.

“All that the buddhas set forth, and their measureless skillful means, he awakens to in accordance with them; and even what the tathāgatas have not expounded he is also able to understand and to cultivate diligently.

“Filling the three-thousandfold great-thousand world-system, all the armies of Māra rise up in strife; the measureless evils of every kind that they do, the gate of unobstructed knowledge is able to extinguish them all.

“The Tathāgata may be within the buddha-lands, or again display his dwelling within the heavenly palaces, or manifest his body within the palace of Brahmā — the bodhisattva sees them all without obstruction.

“The Buddha displays measureless bodies of every kind and turns the pure and wondrous wheel of Dharma; and on through all the kalpas of the three times, one may seek its border and never obtain it.

“The jewelled seat is high and broad and utterly peerless, filling the measureless worlds of the ten directions, adorned with wondrous marks of every kind; that the Buddha dwells upon it is hard to conceive.

“The multitudes of the sons of the Buddha surround him together, and to the exhaustion of the Dharma realm they pervade it everywhere; they reveal the measureless practices of awakening, which are the way by which all that is most excellent comes to be.

“The works that the buddhas do as is fitting are measureless and borderless and equal to the Dharma realm; the wise one is able, by a single skillful means, to know them all with nothing left unexhausted.

“The sovereign spiritual power of the buddhas displays all bodies of every kind, now displaying measureless births within the destinies, now displaying a multitude of court women surrounding him.

“Or within measureless worlds he displays his leaving the household and accomplishing the buddha-way, and on to his final parinirvāṇa, distributing his body and raising up stūpas and shrines.

“Such borderless practices of every kind the guide sets forth as what the buddhas abide in; the great merits that the World-Honoured One has, he vows to practice until he has exhausted them all.

“When with those roots of goodness he dedicates, he abides in such a method of skillful means, and cultivating in this way the practice of awakening, his mind is in the end without weariness or sloth.

“The great spiritual powers that the Tathāgata has, together with his borderless surpassing merits, and on to the practices of every knowledge in the world — all of these he knows with nothing left unexhausted.

“Of all such lords among men as these, according to whatever spheres they have, within a single thought he understands them all, and yet he does not abandon the practice of awakening.

“The subtle practices that all the buddhas have, and the dharmas of every kind within all lands — to these he is able to accord and to know them, and dedicating to the utmost he reaches the far shore.

The verses restating (6): restating the knowledge that knows kalpas, worlds, the Dharma realm, and dharmas

“All the kalpas, numbered and numberless, the bodhisattva understands to be a single thought; herein he enters well into the practice of awakening, and constantly and diligently cultivates without turning back.

“All the measureless lands there are in the ten directions, some defiled and some pure, together with all the tathāgatas therein — the bodhisattva is able to discriminate and know them all.

“In thought after thought he clearly sees the inconceivable and measureless kalpas; the three times thus with nothing left over, he fully cultivates and refines the bodhisattva practice.

“Into all minds he enters equally, and enters all dharmas equally too; the buddha-lands to the exhaustion of empty space are likewise so, and that most excellent practice he is able to know in full.

“The bringing forth of sentient beings and of dharmas, and all the various wisdoms there are — the spiritual power of the bodhisattva is likewise so, and all of this is without exhaustion.

The verses restating (7): restating how the knowledge of all dharmas accomplishes benefit

“The subtle knowledges are each differentiated, and the bodhisattva gathers them all in with nothing left over; the mark of sameness and the mark of difference he is well able to know, and thus he practices the vast practice.

“Within the measureless buddha-lands of the ten directions the sentient beings therein are each measureless; their destinies and births, their clans and kinds, differ in every way, and their abiding, their practice, and their strength he is already able to know in full.

The verses restating (8) (Chengguan's outline): restating how practice accomplishes benefit, and the fruit of the station

“Past, future, and present ages, and all the guides there are within them — if a person knows this and dedicates, then he is equal to the practice of those buddhas.

“If a person is able to cultivate this dedication, then he is studying the way that the buddhas practice; he will obtain all the merits of the buddhas, and all the wisdom of the buddhas as well.

“Nothing in all the world is able to destroy him, everything he studies is brought to accomplishment, he is constantly able to be mindful of all the buddhas, and constantly sees all the lamps of the world.

“The surpassing practice of the bodhisattva cannot be measured, and his merits and dharmas are likewise so; already abiding in the unsurpassed practice of the Tathāgata, he knows in full the sovereign power of all the buddhas.”

The question raised: what the tenth dedication is called

The bodhisattva Vajra Banner goes on to say:

“Sons of the Buddha! What is called the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's (one who practices with the great mind aroused) measureless dedication equal to the Dharma realm?

The binding of the head and the standing in the station: how one comes to stand in the station of a Dharma master

“Sons of the Buddha! This bodhisattva-mahāsattva binds upon his own head a stainless silk band (a length of silk clean and free of stain), abides in the station of a Dharma master, practices the giving of Dharma at large (giving by way of the Dharma), rouses great loving-kindness and compassion and sets sentient beings up in them, and upon the mind of awakening (the mind that seeks awakening) constantly does what benefits them, with never a time of rest; with the mind of awakening he nourishes and grows the roots of goodness; he acts for all sentient beings as the master who tames and guides, and shows sentient beings the path of omniscience; he acts for all sentient beings as a sun holding the treasury of the Dharma, and the light of the roots of goodness shines everywhere upon all; toward all sentient beings his mind is equal, and he cultivates every kind of good practice with never a time of rest; his mind-ground is pure and undefiled, his wisdom is sovereign, and he does not cast away a single undertaking of the path that is a root of goodness; he acts as the greatly wise caravan leader of all sentient beings (the leader who takes a party out to seek treasure), and everywhere causes them to be able to enter the safe and settled right path; he acts for all sentient beings as the head that goes before them, and causes them to cultivate the Dharma-practice of all roots of goodness; he acts for all sentient beings as a firm good friend who cannot be broken, and causes their roots of goodness to grow and be accomplished.

The practice accomplished and the dedication: the vows roused with the giving of Dharma as foremost

“Sons of the Buddha! This bodhisattva-mahāsattva takes the giving of Dharma as foremost, gives rise to all the pure white dharmas (the dharmas that are good and clean), gathers in and turns toward the mind of omniscience, and the power of his surpassing vow is firm to the very end; he accomplishes it and increases it, is furnished with great majesty and virtue, relies upon good friends (the fine teachers and beneficial companions who can instruct one), has in his mind no crookedness of flattery or deceit, and ponders and contemplates the boundless realms of the gate of omniscience. With roots of goodness such as these he dedicates in this way (turning the roots of goodness toward the place they are to go) —

“ ‘May I be able to cultivate, accomplish, and increase all realms, vast and unhindered; may I be able, within the Buddha's true teaching, though I hear but a single sentence or a single verse, to receive and uphold it and to expound it; may I be able to call to mind all the buddhas, past, future, and present, of all the measureless and boundless worlds equal to the Dharma realm, and having called them to mind, to cultivate the practice of a bodhisattva. And may I, with these roots of goodness of calling the buddhas to mind, cultivate the practice of a bodhisattva for one sentient being in one world through all the kalpas of the future; and as in one world, so throughout the whole Dharma realm, the whole realm of empty space, and all worlds alike; and as for one sentient being, so for all sentient beings alike. With skillful means, in every single case adorning myself with the great vow that runs through all the kalpas of the future, never once giving rise to the thought of parting from the buddhas and from good friends, constantly seeing the buddhas present before me, with not one buddha arising in the world whom I fail to draw near to. The pure practice of purity (the pure carrying-out of conduct) praised and expounded by all the buddhas and by all the bodhisattvas I vow to practice and to bring wholly to fullness, that is to say: the practice of purity unbroken, the practice of purity without gap, the practice of purity unmixed, the practice of purity without a blot, the practice of purity without loss, the practice of purity that nothing can screen, the practice of purity praised by the buddhas, the practice of purity with nothing relied upon, the practice of purity with nothing gained, the practice of purity that increases the bodhisattva's purity, the practice of purity practiced by the buddhas of the three times, the practice of purity unhindered, the practice of purity without attachment, the practice of purity without contention, the practice of purity without cessation, the practice of purity that abides, the practice of purity beyond compare, the practice of purity unmoving, the practice of purity unconfused, the practice of purity without anger.’

One's own practice just is for others: first ask whether you yourself stand firm

“Sons of the Buddha! If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva is able to practice for himself a pure practice of purity such as this, then he is able everywhere to act for all sentient beings, causing all sentient beings to attain an abiding; causing all sentient beings to attain an opening of understanding (a clear understanding and release); causing all sentient beings to attain accomplishment; causing all sentient beings to attain purity; causing all sentient beings to attain stainlessness; causing all sentient beings to attain illumination; causing all sentient beings to be free of every dust and defilement; causing all sentient beings to have no screening hindrance of any kind; causing all sentient beings to be free of every burning affliction; causing all sentient beings to be free of every entangling bond; causing all sentient beings to be forever free of every evil; causing all sentient beings to have no vexation or harm of any kind, and to be pure to the very end.

“Why? If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva is not himself able to be pure in the practice of purity, he cannot cause another to attain purity; if he himself turns back from the practice of purity, he cannot cause another to be without turning back; if he himself suffers loss and ruin in the practice of purity, he cannot cause another to be without loss and ruin; if he himself grows distant from the practice of purity, he cannot cause another constantly not to grow distant; if he himself is slack in the practice of purity, he cannot cause another not to give rise to slackness; if he himself gives rise to no faith and understanding in the practice of purity, he cannot cause another's mind to give rise to faith and understanding; if he himself does not abide in the practice of purity, he cannot cause another to attain an abiding; if he himself does not realize and enter the practice of purity, he cannot cause another's mind to attain realization and entry; if he himself lets go of the practice of purity, he cannot cause another constantly not to let it go; if he himself is scattered and stirred in the practice of purity, he cannot cause another's mind not to be scattered and stirred.

“Why? The bodhisattva-mahāsattva abides in practice without inversion, expounds Dharma without inversion, and what he says is truthful and not false; as he says, so he cultivates; he purifies his own deeds of body, of speech, and of mind, is free of every mixed defilement, abides in practice that is unhindered, and extinguishes every hindrance. When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva himself obtains a pure mind, he then expounds for others the Dharma of the pure mind; he himself cultivates concord and forbearance, and with all his roots of goodness tames his own mind, and he causes others too to be concordant and forbearing, and with all their roots of goodness to tame their minds; he himself is free of doubt and regret, and causes others too to be forever free of doubt and regret; he himself obtains pure faith, and causes others too to obtain a pure faith that cannot be broken; he himself abides in the true Dharma, and causes sentient beings too to abide in the true Dharma.

The vow to obtain the Dharma and expound it at large: to take the Dharma in hand, and to speak the Dharma out

“Sons of the Buddha! Again, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva dedicates in this way the roots of goodness born of the giving of Dharma, that is to say —

“ ‘May I obtain the inexhaustible Dharma-gates of all the buddhas, and everywhere set them out and explain them for sentient beings, causing all of them to rejoice and their minds to be satisfied, crushing and destroying every divergent argument of the outsider ways. May I be able to expound for all sentient beings the ocean of Dharma of the buddhas of the three times: as to the arising of each single dharma, the meaning and principle of each single dharma, the name and word of each single dharma, the establishing of each single dharma, the explaining of each single dharma, the showing forth of each single dharma, the doorway of each single dharma, the awakening into each single dharma, the contemplating of each single dharma, and the position and division of each single dharma, may I obtain the boundless and inexhaustible treasury of Dharma, obtain fearlessness, be furnished with the four kinds of eloquence, and set them out and explain them at large for sentient beings, to the very end of the future without any exhausting. In order that all sentient beings may set up surpassing aspirations and give birth to eloquence unhindered and free of error; in order that all sentient beings may all give rise to gladness; in order that all sentient beings may accomplish the light of every pure dharma, expounding without a break, following the speech of each of their kinds; in order that all sentient beings may deeply believe and be glad, abide in omniscience, discern and understand every dharma and forever be without confusion, he then gives rise to this thought and says: I shall everywhere, in all worlds, cultivate diligently for the sake of sentient beings, and obtain a measureless sovereign body that fills the Dharma realm, obtain a measureless vast mind that fills the Dharma realm, be furnished with measureless pure sounds of voice equal to the Dharma realm, manifest measureless assembly-sites equal to the Dharma realm, cultivate measureless deeds of a bodhisattva equal to the Dharma realm, obtain measureless abidings of a bodhisattva equal to the Dharma realm, realize the measureless equality of a bodhisattva equal to the Dharma realm, study measureless dharmas of a bodhisattva equal to the Dharma realm, abide in measureless practices of a bodhisattva equal to the Dharma realm, and enter measureless dedications of a bodhisattva equal to the Dharma realm.’

“This is the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's dedicating with all his roots of goodness, and it is for the sake of causing sentient beings all to accomplish omniscience.

The vow that the practice of the two benefits be full: what I obtain, may sentient beings obtain just the same

“Sons of the Buddha! Again, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva dedicates his roots of goodness in this way, that is to say —

“ ‘In order to see the measureless buddhas equal to the Dharma realm, to tame the measureless sentient beings equal to the Dharma realm, to hold and sustain the measureless buddha-lands equal to the Dharma realm (the lands of the buddhas), to realize the measureless wisdom of a bodhisattva equal to the Dharma realm, to obtain the measureless fearlessnesses equal to the Dharma realm, to accomplish the measureless dhāraṇīs of the bodhisattvas equal to the Dharma realm (the power of total holding without loss), to obtain the measureless inconceivable abidings of the bodhisattvas equal to the Dharma realm, to be furnished with measureless merit equal to the Dharma realm, and to bring to fullness the measureless roots of goodness that benefit sentient beings equal to the Dharma realm; and may I, moreover, by reason of these roots of goodness, obtain equality of merit, equality of wisdom, equality of power, equality of fearlessness, equality of purity, equality of sovereignty, equality of right awakening, equality of expounding the Dharma, equality of meaning, equality of certainty, and equality of every spiritual penetration, so that all such dharmas are wholly brought to fullness. And as I myself obtain, so may all sentient beings obtain, no different from me.’

The vow that the practice match the Dharma realm: as the Dharma realm is, so is the dedication of roots of goodness

“Sons of the Buddha! Again, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva dedicates his roots of goodness in this way, that is to say —

“ ‘As the Dharma realm is measureless, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness, and the wisdom obtained is in the end without measure; as the Dharma realm is boundless, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness, and he sees all the buddhas, and there is no bound to it; as the Dharma realm is without limit, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness, and he goes to the buddha-lands without a set limit; as the Dharma realm is without border, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness, and he cultivates the practice of a bodhisattva in all worlds without a shore; as the Dharma realm is unbroken, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness, and he abides in omniscience forever unbroken; as the Dharma realm is of one nature only, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness, and he is of one nature of wisdom together with all sentient beings; as the Dharma realm is by its own nature pure, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness, and it causes all sentient beings to be pure to the very end; as the Dharma realm accords, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness, and it causes all sentient beings wholly to accord with the practices and vows of Samantabhadra; as the Dharma realm is adorned, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness, and it causes all sentient beings to take the practice of Samantabhadra for their adornment; as the Dharma realm cannot suffer loss and ruin, so too is the dedication of roots of goodness, and it causes the bodhisattvas never to lose and ruin any of their pure practices.’

The fourteen vows of seeing the Buddha: may sentient beings constantly see the Buddha

“Sons of the Buddha! Again, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva dedicates these roots of goodness in this way, that is to say —

“ ‘May I, with these roots of goodness, serve all the buddhas and bodhisattvas and cause them all to be glad; may I, with these roots of goodness, swiftly be able to enter the nature of omniscience; may I, with these roots of goodness, be everywhere in every place and cultivate omniscience; may I, with these roots of goodness, cause all sentient beings constantly to be able to go and behold all the buddhas; may I, with these roots of goodness, cause all sentient beings constantly to see the buddhas and be able to do the work of a buddha; may I, with these roots of goodness, cause all sentient beings constantly to be able to see the Buddha and give rise to no mind of neglect toward the work of a buddha; may I, with these roots of goodness, cause all sentient beings constantly to be able to see the Buddha, their minds glad and pure and without turning back; may I, with these roots of goodness, cause all sentient beings constantly to be able to see the Buddha, their minds well understanding; may I, with these roots of goodness, cause all sentient beings constantly to be able to see the Buddha and give rise to no clinging; may I, with these roots of goodness, cause all sentient beings constantly to be able to see the Buddha and to penetrate without hindrance; may I, with these roots of goodness, cause all sentient beings constantly to be able to see the Buddha and to accomplish the practice of Samantabhadra; may I, with these roots of goodness, cause all sentient beings constantly to see the buddhas present before them, never for a moment casting them aside; may I, with these roots of goodness, cause all sentient beings constantly to see the buddhas and give birth to the measureless powers of a bodhisattva; may I, with these roots of goodness, cause all sentient beings constantly to see the buddhas and never to forget or lose any dharma.’

Dedicating as the ten natures of the Dharma realm: a dedication with not one thing that can be pointed to

“Sons of the Buddha! Again, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva dedicates all his roots of goodness in this way, that is to say —

“ ‘Dedicating as the unarisen nature of the Dharma realm; dedicating as the root nature of the Dharma realm; dedicating as the self-substance nature of the Dharma realm; dedicating as the unsupported nature of the Dharma realm; dedicating as the unforgetting nature of the Dharma realm; dedicating as the empty and nonexistent nature of the Dharma realm; dedicating as the still and quiet nature of the Dharma realm; dedicating as the placeless nature of the Dharma realm; dedicating as the unshifting nature of the Dharma realm; dedicating as the undifferentiated nature of the Dharma realm.’

The twenty vows for Dharma masters: may all sentient beings become those who speak the Dharma

“Sons of the Buddha! Again, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva dedicates in this way whatever showing forth and whatever awakening the giving of Dharma has, together with all the roots of goodness that arise therefrom, that is to say —

“ ‘May all sentient beings become bodhisattva Dharma masters, constantly guarded and kept in mind by the buddhas; may all sentient beings become unsurpassed Dharma masters, setting all sentient beings up in omniscience by means of skillful means; may all sentient beings become unyielding Dharma masters, whom no question or challenge can exhaust; may all sentient beings become unhindered Dharma masters, obtaining the unhindered light of all dharmas; may all sentient beings become Dharma masters who are treasuries of wisdom, able skillfully to expound all the Dharma of the buddhas; may all sentient beings become Dharma masters sovereign among the Tathāgatas, well able to set out and distinguish the wisdom of the Tathāgata; may all sentient beings become Dharma masters who are like the eye, expounding the Dharma as it truly is, not taught by another; may all sentient beings become Dharma masters who hold all the Dharma of the buddhas in memory, expounding it in accord with principle and not going against the meaning of the words; may all sentient beings become Dharma masters who cultivate the path of the markless, adorning themselves with all the wondrous marks, sending out measureless light, and well able to enter into all dharmas; may all sentient beings become Dharma masters of the great body, their bodies pervading all lands, raising up the great cloud of Dharma and letting fall the rain of Dharma of the buddhas; may all sentient beings become Dharma masters who guard the treasury of Dharma, setting up a banner that cannot be overcome, guarding the Dharma of the buddhas and causing the ocean of the true Dharma to suffer no diminishing; may all sentient beings become Dharma masters who are the sun of all dharmas, obtaining the eloquence of a buddha and skillfully expounding all dharmas; may all sentient beings become Dharma masters of wondrous voice and skillful means, well expounding the treasury of the boundless Dharma realm; may all sentient beings become Dharma masters who reach the further shore of the Dharma, opening the treasury of the true Dharma by wisdom and spiritual penetration; may all sentient beings become Dharma masters who abide in the true Dharma, expounding the ultimate wisdom of the Tathāgata; may all sentient beings become Dharma masters who penetrate all dharmas, able to expound measureless and inexhaustible merit; may all sentient beings become Dharma masters who do not deceive and delude the world, able by skillful means to cause others to enter the true limit; may all sentient beings become Dharma masters who break the hosts of Māra, well able to be aware of every deed of Māra; may all sentient beings become Dharma masters gathered in by the buddhas, free of the mind that grasps at a self and what belongs to a self; may all sentient beings become Dharma masters who bring peace and safety to all the world, accomplishing the power of the bodhisattva's vow to expound the Dharma.’

The ten non-clingings: to dedicate without seizing upon dedication

“Sons of the Buddha! Again, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva dedicates all his roots of goodness in this way, that is to say —

“ ‘He does not dedicate by way of clinging to deeds; he does not dedicate by way of clinging to the fruits of reward; he does not dedicate by way of clinging to mind; he does not dedicate by way of clinging to dharmas; he does not dedicate by way of clinging to affairs; he does not dedicate by way of clinging to causes; he does not dedicate by way of clinging to speech and sound; he does not dedicate by way of clinging to names, phrases, and the body of letters; he does not dedicate by way of clinging to dedication; he does not dedicate by way of clinging to benefiting sentient beings.’

Seventeen “not for” and eleven “only for”: what he does not dedicate for, and what he dedicates only for

“Sons of the Buddha! Again, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva dedicates his roots of goodness in this way, that is to say —

“ ‘He does not dedicate for the sake of being engrossed in the realm of form; he does not dedicate for the sake of being engrossed in the realms of sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharmas; he does not dedicate for the sake of seeking birth among the gods; he does not dedicate for the sake of seeking the pleasures of desire; he does not dedicate for the sake of clinging to the realms of desire; he does not dedicate for the sake of seeking a retinue; he does not dedicate for the sake of seeking sovereignty; he does not dedicate for the sake of seeking the pleasures of birth-and-death; he does not dedicate for the sake of clinging to birth-and-death; he does not dedicate for the sake of delighting in the states of existence; he does not dedicate for the sake of seeking the pleasure of coming together; he does not dedicate for the sake of seeking a place that is lovely and to be clung to; he does not dedicate for the sake of harboring a mind of poison and harm; he does not dedicate for the sake of ruining roots of goodness; he does not dedicate in reliance upon the three realms; he does not dedicate clinging to the meditations, liberations, and samādhis; he does not dedicate abiding in the vehicle of the śrāvakas or the vehicle of the pratyekabuddhas.

“ ‘He dedicates only for the sake of teaching and taming all sentient beings; he dedicates only for the sake of bringing to fullness the wisdom of omniscience; he dedicates only for the sake of obtaining unhindered wisdom; he dedicates only for the sake of obtaining pure roots of goodness free of hindrance; he dedicates only for the sake of causing all sentient beings to pass beyond birth-and-death and to realize great wisdom; he dedicates only for the sake of causing the great mind of awakening to be unbreakable like vajra; he dedicates only for the sake of accomplishing the ultimate deathless Dharma; he dedicates only for the sake of adorning the lineage of the buddhas with measureless adornment and manifesting the sovereignty of omniscience; he dedicates only for the sake of seeking the bodhisattva's great wisdom of spiritual penetration that illumines all dharmas; he dedicates only for the sake of practicing, in all the buddha-lands throughout the whole Dharma realm and the whole realm of empty space, the practice of Samantabhadra full and without turning back, putting on the armor of firm great vows, and causing all sentient beings to abide in the ground of Samantabhadra; he dedicates only for the sake of delivering sentient beings through all the kalpas of the future with never a rest, and of manifesting the unhindered light of the ground of omniscience forever unbroken.’

The ten equal minds and the twenty “so that”: with what mind he dedicates, and for what he dedicates

“Sons of the Buddha! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva dedicates with those roots of goodness, it is with a mind such as this that he dedicates, that is to say —

“ ‘He dedicates with a mind equal as to root nature; he dedicates with a mind equal as to the nature of dharmas; he dedicates with a mind equal and measureless as to all sentient beings; he dedicates with a mind equal and without contention; he dedicates with a mind equal as to the arising of nothing from its own nature; he dedicates with a mind that knows all dharmas to be unconfused; he dedicates with a mind equal as to entering the three times; he dedicates with a mind that gives birth to the lineage of the buddhas of the three times; he dedicates with a mind that obtains spiritual penetrations that are not lost or turned back from; he dedicates with a mind that gives rise to the practice of omniscience.

“ ‘And he dedicates so that all sentient beings may be forever free of all the hells; he dedicates so that all sentient beings may not enter the destiny of animals; he dedicates so that all sentient beings may not go to the place of Yama the king; he dedicates so that all sentient beings may extinguish every dharma that hinders the path; he dedicates so that all sentient beings may satisfy every root of goodness; he dedicates so that all sentient beings may be able to turn the wheel of Dharma at the fitting time and cause all sentient beings to be glad; he dedicates so that all sentient beings may enter the wheel of the ten powers; he dedicates so that all sentient beings may satisfy the bodhisattva's boundless pure vows for the Dharma; he dedicates so that all sentient beings may follow the instruction of every good friend and have the vessel of the mind of awakening filled full; he dedicates so that all sentient beings may receive, uphold, and practice the most profound Dharma of the Buddha and obtain the light of the wisdom of all the buddhas; he dedicates so that all sentient beings may cultivate the bodhisattva's practices free of hindrance and have them constantly present before them; he dedicates so that all sentient beings may constantly see the buddhas present before them; he dedicates so that all sentient beings may have the light of the pure Dharma constantly present before them; he dedicates so that all sentient beings may have the fearless great mind of awakening constantly present before them; he dedicates so that all sentient beings may have the bodhisattva's inconceivable wisdom constantly present before them; he dedicates so that all sentient beings may rescue and guard sentient beings everywhere and have the pure mind of great compassion constantly present before them; he dedicates so that all sentient beings may adorn all the buddha-lands with adorning articles surpassing and wondrous beyond speaking, beyond speaking; he dedicates so that all sentient beings may crush and destroy every deed of the net of the strife of the hosts of Māra; he dedicates so that all sentient beings may, in all the buddha-lands, cultivate the practice of a bodhisattva with nothing relied upon; he dedicates so that all sentient beings may give rise to the mind of the wisdom of all modes and enter the vast gate of the Dharma of the Buddha.’

Dedicating with right mindfulness and purity: twenty-two things it is for, counted straight down

“Sons of the Buddha! Again, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, with these roots of goodness, dedicates with right mindfulness and purity; he dedicates with wisdom that is decided; he dedicates with the exhaustive knowing of all the skillful means of the Dharma of the buddhas; he dedicates for the sake of accomplishing measureless and unhindered wisdom; he dedicates for the sake of satisfying the pure and surpassing mind; he dedicates for the sake of all sentient beings abiding in great loving-kindness; he dedicates for the sake of all sentient beings abiding in great compassion; he dedicates for the sake of all sentient beings abiding in great joy; he dedicates for the sake of all sentient beings abiding in great equanimity; he dedicates for the sake of being forever free of the two clingings and abiding in surpassing roots of goodness; he dedicates for the sake of pondering, contemplating, setting out, and expounding all the dharmas of dependent origination; he dedicates for the sake of setting up the mind that is a banner of great valor; he dedicates for the sake of setting up the treasury that is a banner none can overcome; he dedicates for the sake of breaking the hosts of Māra; he dedicates for the sake of obtaining a mind pure and unhindered in all dharmas; he dedicates for the sake of cultivating every bodhisattva practice without turning back; he dedicates for the sake of obtaining a mind that delights in seeking the foremost and most surpassing Dharma; he dedicates for the sake of obtaining a mind that delights in seeking all the dharmas of merit and the sovereign, pure wisdom of omniscience; he dedicates for the sake of fulfilling every vow and removing every contention, obtaining the sovereign, unhindered, pure Dharma of a buddha, and turning for all sentient beings the wheel of Dharma that does not turn back; he dedicates for the sake of obtaining the sun of the wisdom of the Tathāgata's highest and most surpassing Dharma, adorned by a hundred thousand lights and shining everywhere upon the sentient beings of the whole Dharma realm; he dedicates for the sake of taming all sentient beings, constantly satisfying whatever they delight in, not casting away his original vow, to the very end of the future hearing the true Dharma and cultivating the great practice, obtaining the stainless light of pure wisdom, cutting off all conceit, extinguishing every affliction, tearing the net of craving and desire, breaking the darkness of delusion, and being complete in the Dharma that is stainless and unhindered; he dedicates for the sake of all sentient beings, that through asaṃkhyeya kalpas they may constantly and diligently cultivate the practice of omniscience without turning back, and that each and every one of them may obtain unhindered subtle wisdom and manifest the sovereign spiritual penetrations of the buddhas without any rest.

The nine roots of goodness dedicated: no greed may be carried in the mind that dedicates

“Sons of the Buddha! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva dedicates all his roots of goodness in this way, he should not cling with greed to the three states of existence (existence in the three realms) or to the realms of the five desires. Why? The bodhisattva-mahāsattva should dedicate with roots of goodness that are without greed; should dedicate with roots of goodness that are without anger; should dedicate with roots of goodness that are without delusion; should dedicate with roots of goodness that do no harm; should dedicate with roots of goodness free of conceit; should dedicate with roots of goodness without flattery; should dedicate with roots of goodness that are straight and honest; should dedicate with roots of goodness of diligent effort; should dedicate with roots of goodness of cultivation.

“Sons of the Buddha! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva dedicates in this way, he obtains a pure mind of faith, gladly forbears in the practice of a bodhisattva, and cultivates the pure great path of a bodhisattva; he is furnished with the lineage of a buddha and obtains the wisdom of a buddha; he casts away every evil and is free of the deeds of Māra; he draws near to good friends and accomplishes his own great vow; he invites all sentient beings and sets up a great assembly of giving.

The vows of voice: may sentient beings obtain the forty-four kinds of voice

“Sons of the Buddha! Again, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva dedicates in this way the roots of goodness born of this giving of Dharma, that is to say —

“ ‘May all sentient beings obtain a pure and wondrous voice, obtain a soft and gentle voice, obtain a voice like the drums of the gods, obtain a voice measureless, numberless, and inconceivable, obtain a voice to be loved and delighted in, obtain a pure voice, obtain a voice that pervades all the buddha-lands, obtain a voice adorned with the merit of a hundred thousand nayutas beyond speaking, obtain a high and far-carrying voice, obtain a vast voice, obtain a voice that extinguishes all scattering, obtain a voice that fills the Dharma realm, obtain a voice that gathers in the speech of all sentient beings; may they obtain the wisdom of the boundless sounds of voice of all sentient beings, obtain the wisdom of all pure speech and sounds of voice, obtain the wisdom of measureless speech and sounds of voice, obtain the most sovereign voice and the wisdom that enters all sounds of voice; may they obtain a voice of every pure adornment, obtain a voice of which all the world does not tire of hearing, obtain a voice that in the end belongs to nothing in all the world, obtain a voice of gladness, obtain the voice of the Buddha's pure speech, obtain a voice that expounds all the Dharma of the buddhas, is far removed from the film of delusion, and whose name is heard everywhere, obtain a voice that causes all sentient beings to obtain the adornment of the dhāraṇī of all dharmas, obtain a voice that expounds all measureless kinds of Dharma, obtain a voice that reaches everywhere to the measureless assembly-sites of the Dharma realm, obtain a voice that everywhere holds and sustains the vajra sentences of the inconceivable Dharma, obtain a voice that opens and shows forth all dharmas, obtain a voice that is able to expound the treasury of wisdom that distinguishes letters and phrases beyond speaking, obtain a voice that expounds all dharmas with nothing clung to and without breaking off, obtain a voice of the shining brightness of all dharmas, obtain a voice that is able to cause all the world to be pure and to reach in the end to omniscience, obtain a voice that everywhere holds and sustains the phrases and meanings of all dharmas, obtain a voice guarded and sustained by spiritual power, sovereign and unhindered, obtain the voice of the wisdom that reaches the further shore of all the world.

“ ‘And again, with these roots of goodness, may all sentient beings obtain a voice that is not lowly, obtain a voice without fear, obtain a voice without stain or clinging, obtain a voice at which all assembly-sites are glad, obtain a voice concordant and beautiful, obtain a voice that expounds well all the Dharma of the buddhas, obtain a voice that cuts off the doubting thoughts of all sentient beings and causes them all to awaken, obtain a voice complete in eloquence, obtain a voice that everywhere awakens all sentient beings from the sleep of the long night.’

The ten freedoms from faults and evils: may sentient beings be free of every fault and evil

“Sons of the Buddha! Again, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva dedicates all his roots of goodness in this way, that is to say —

“ ‘May all sentient beings obtain a pure dharma-body free of every fault and evil; may all sentient beings obtain pure and wondrous merit free of every fault and evil; may all sentient beings obtain pure and wondrous marks free of every fault and evil; may all sentient beings obtain pure fruits of deeds free of every fault and evil; may all sentient beings obtain a pure mind of omniscience free of every fault and evil; may all sentient beings obtain a measureless pure mind of awakening free of every fault and evil; may all sentient beings obtain the pure skillful means of knowing the faculties, free of every fault and evil; may all sentient beings obtain pure faith and understanding free of every fault and evil; may all sentient beings obtain pure, diligently cultivated, unhindered practices and vows free of every fault and evil; may all sentient beings obtain pure right mindfulness and wisdom and eloquence free of every fault and evil.’

The ten pure and wondrous bodies: a body like a mirror

“Sons of the Buddha! Again, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, with all his roots of goodness, dedicates in this way for the sake of all sentient beings —

“ ‘May they obtain every kind of pure and wondrous body, that is to say: a body of light, a body free of turbidity, a body without stain, a pure body, an utterly pure body, a body free of dust, a body utterly free of dust, a body free of defilement, a body to be loved and delighted in, a body without hindrance. In all worlds he manifests the reflected images of every kind of deed; in all the world he manifests the reflected images of speech; in all palaces he manifests the reflected images of what is set up there. Just as in a pure bright mirror colors and images of every kind appear of themselves, so he shows sentient beings the practice of great awakening, shows sentient beings the most profound and wondrous Dharma, shows sentient beings every kind of merit, shows sentient beings the path of cultivation, shows sentient beings the practice that accomplishes, shows sentient beings the practices and vows of a bodhisattva, shows sentient beings the arising of buddhas in the world in one world and on to all worlds, shows sentient beings the spiritual transformations of all the buddhas, shows sentient beings the inconceivable majestic power of the liberation of all bodhisattvas, and shows sentient beings the nature of omniscience that brings to fullness the practices and vows of the bodhisattva Samantabhadra.’

“With a pure body wondrous as this the bodhisattva-mahāsattva gathers in all sentient beings by skillful means, causing them all to accomplish the body of omniscience of pure merit.

The vow that the body abide wherever it goes: wherever the body is, there the practice is cultivated

“Sons of the Buddha! Again, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva dedicates in this way the roots of goodness born of the giving of Dharma —

“ ‘May my body abide wherever it goes, in all worlds cultivating the practice of a bodhisattva, so that sentient beings who see it are none of them left empty-handed, and give rise to the mind of awakening never to turn back, and, according with the truly real meaning, cannot be shaken; may I, in all worlds, through all the kalpas of the future, abide in the path of a bodhisattva without weariness; may my great compassion be even and everywhere, its measure equal to the Dharma realm; may I know the faculties of sentient beings and expound the Dharma at the fitting time, constantly without rest; may my mind hold good friends constantly in right mindfulness, not casting them aside for so much as the moment of a single thought; may all the buddhas be constantly present before me, my mind holding them constantly in right mindfulness and never for a moment slack, cultivating every root of goodness with nothing false in it; may I set sentient beings up in omniscience and cause them not to turn back; may I be complete in the light of all the Dharma of the buddhas, holding the great cloud of Dharma and receiving the great rain of Dharma, and cultivate the practice of a bodhisattva; may I enter all sentient beings, enter all buddha-lands, enter all dharmas, enter all the three times, enter the wisdom of the deeds and rewards of all sentient beings, enter the wisdom of the skillful means of all bodhisattvas, enter the wisdom of the arising of all bodhisattvas, enter the wisdom of the pure realms of all bodhisattvas, enter the sovereign spiritual penetrations of all the buddhas, and enter the whole boundless Dharma realm, and abiding herein cultivate the practice of a bodhisattva.’

The jeweled adornment of the buddha-lands: to adorn every buddha-land

“Sons of the Buddha! Again, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva dedicates in this way the roots of goodness cultivated by the giving of Dharma —

“ ‘May all the buddha-lands be wholly pure, adorned with adorning articles beyond speaking, beyond speaking. Each single buddha-land, its measure vast and equal to the Dharma realm, is purely good and without hindrance, pure and shining, and the buddhas within it manifest the accomplishing of right awakening. The pure realms within one buddha-land are all able to manifest all buddha-lands; and as with one buddha-land, so with all buddha-lands alike. Each and every one of those lands is decked out with measureless and boundless pure and wondrous jeweled adorning articles equal to the Dharma realm.

“ ‘That is to say: asaṃkhyeya (numberless) pure jeweled seats, spread with garments woven of many jewels; asaṃkhyeya jeweled curtains, with jeweled nets hanging down; asaṃkhyeya jeweled canopies, all the wondrous jewels shining through one another; asaṃkhyeya jeweled clouds, letting fall everywhere a rain of many jewels; asaṃkhyeya jeweled flowers, pervading everywhere and pure; asaṃkhyeya railings, balustrades, galleries, and thresholds made of many jewels, pure and adorned; asaṃkhyeya jeweled bells, constantly sending out the subtle sounds of the buddhas' voices, flowing throughout the Dharma realm; asaṃkhyeya jeweled lotus flowers, opening in glory in every kind of jeweled color; asaṃkhyeya jeweled trees, ranged in rows all around, with measureless wondrous jewels for their flowers and fruits; asaṃkhyeya jeweled palaces, in which measureless bodhisattvas dwell; asaṃkhyeya jeweled towers and pavilions, broad and lofty and fair, stretching away far or near; asaṃkhyeya jeweled parapets (the battlements that ward off the foe), made of great jewels, adorned and fair; asaṃkhyeya jeweled gates and doorways, hung about with wondrous jeweled garlands; asaṃkhyeya jeweled windows, purely adorned with inconceivable jewels; asaṃkhyeya jeweled tāla ornaments (ornaments shaped like the tāla tree), their form like the half-moon, gathered together out of many jewels. All such things as these are decked out with many jewels, stainless and pure and inconceivable, and there is not one of them that does not arise from the roots of goodness of the Tathāgata; they are complete in the adornment of numberless jeweled treasuries.

“ ‘And there are asaṃkhyeya jeweled rivers, flowing forth every pure and good dharma; asaṃkhyeya jeweled seas, brimming with the water of the Dharma; asaṃkhyeya jeweled puṇḍarīka flowers (white lotus flowers), constantly sending out the sound of the wondrous Dharma of the puṇḍarīka; asaṃkhyeya jeweled Sumeru mountains, the mountain kings of wisdom rising up pure; asaṃkhyeya eight-faceted wondrous jewels, strung on jeweled threads, adorned and pure beyond compare; asaṃkhyeya jewels of pure light, constantly sending out the great unhindered light of wisdom, shining everywhere upon the Dharma realm; asaṃkhyeya jeweled bells and clappers, striking one another and giving out wondrous sounds; asaṃkhyeya pure jewels, the jewels of the bodhisattvas complete and filling all; asaṃkhyeya jeweled silks and colored stuffs, hanging down in every place, their colors lustrous; asaṃkhyeya wondrous jeweled banners, decked out with half-moons made of jewels; asaṃkhyeya jeweled pennants, all of them able to let fall everywhere a rain of measureless jeweled pennants; asaṃkhyeya jeweled sashes, spread out in the sky, adorned and surpassingly wondrous; asaṃkhyeya jeweled spreads and coverings, able to give rise to every kind of subtle and pleasing touch; asaṃkhyeya wondrous jeweled whorls, manifesting the eye of omniscience of the bodhisattvas; asaṃkhyeya jeweled garlands, upon each single garland the surpassingly wondrous adornment of a hundred thousand bodhisattvas; asaṃkhyeya jeweled palaces, passing beyond all others and wondrous beyond compare; asaṃkhyeya jeweled adorning articles, decked out with vajra and maṇi; asaṃkhyeya adorning articles of every kind of wondrous jewel, constantly manifesting every pure and wondrous color; asaṃkhyeya pure jewels, their forms unlike one another and their colors unalike, their luster shining through; asaṃkhyeya jeweled mountains, serving as walls, encircling all around, pure and unhindered; asaṃkhyeya jeweled incenses, whose fragrance perfumes all worlds everywhere; asaṃkhyeya jeweled works of transformation, each single work of transformation pervading the Dharma realm; asaṃkhyeya jeweled lights, each single light manifesting every light.

“ ‘And again there are asaṃkhyeya jeweled lights, illumining all dharmas with the light of pure wisdom. And again there are asaṃkhyeya unhindered jeweled lights, each single light pervading the Dharma realm. There are asaṃkhyeya jeweled places, where every jewel is complete. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled treasuries, opening and showing the jewel of the treasury of all true Dharma. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled banners, the banner-marks of the Tathāgata standing out high and far. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled worthies, images of the greatly wise and worthy, complete and pure. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled gardens, giving rise to the pleasures of the samādhis of the bodhisattvas. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled voices, the wondrous voice of the Tathāgata, showing itself everywhere to the world. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled forms, each single form sending out the light of measureless wondrous Dharma. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled marks, each single mark passing beyond all marks. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled bearings, at the sight of which all give rise to the joy and delight of a bodhisattva. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled heaps, at the sight of which all give rise to a heap of the jewels of wisdom. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled abidings, at the sight of which all give rise to a jeweled mind of good abiding. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled garments, and whoever puts them on gives birth to the samādhis of the bodhisattvas beyond compare. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled kaṣāya robes, and whoever puts them on, as soon as he rouses the mind, obtains the dhāraṇī gate of good seeing. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled cultivations, and whoever sees them knows that all jewels are the fruit of deeds, and is decidedly pure. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled unhindered knowings and seeings, and whoever sees them is able to penetrate the pure eye of Dharma. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled treasuries of light, and whoever sees them then attains the accomplishing of the great treasury of wisdom. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled seats, upon which a buddha sits and makes the great lion's roar. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled lamps, constantly sending out the pure light of wisdom.

“ ‘Asaṃkhyeya jeweled tāla trees, ranged in rows in order, wound about with jeweled cords, adorned and pure. And those trees have again asaṃkhyeya jeweled trunks, rising up from the body of the tree, upright and round and clean; asaṃkhyeya jeweled branches, adorned thickly with every kind of jewel, in which inconceivable birds gather and fly, constantly pouring out wondrous sounds that proclaim the true Dharma; asaṃkhyeya jeweled leaves, sending out the great light of wisdom that reaches everywhere; asaṃkhyeya jeweled flowers, and upon each single flower there are measureless bodhisattvas sitting cross-legged and roaming everywhere through the Dharma realm; asaṃkhyeya jeweled fruits, and whoever sees them shall obtain the fruit of the wisdom of omniscience from which there is no turning back. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled villages, and whoever sees them casts off the dharmas of the villages of the world. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled cities, filled full with unhindered sentient beings. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled palaces, in which kings dwell, complete in the body of a bodhisattva's Nārāyaṇa (a strong man of great might), valiant and firm, wearing the armor of the Dharma, their minds without turning back. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled houses, and whoever enters them is able to remove the mind that is fond of dwelling-houses. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled clothing, and whoever wears it is made to understand nonattachment. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled palaces, filled full with bodhisattvas who have left the household life. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled precious things, and whoever sees them gives rise to measureless gladness. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled wheels, sending out inconceivable light of wisdom and turning the wheel from which there is no turning back. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled bhadra trees, purely adorned with the net of Indra. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled grounds, adorned with inconceivable jewels set among one another. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled wind instruments (instruments that are blown), whose sound is clear and fills the Dharma realm. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled drums, their wondrous sounds in perfect accord, unceasing to the end of the kalpas.

“ ‘Asaṃkhyeya jeweled sentient beings, all able to hold and sustain the unsurpassed jewel of the Dharma. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled bodies, complete in the wondrous jewel of measureless merit. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled mouths, constantly expounding the jeweled voice of every wondrous Dharma. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled minds, furnished with the great jewel of the vows of wisdom of the pure intent. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled mindfulnesses, cutting off every folly and confusion, the jewel of omniscience firm to the very end. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled understandings, reciting and upholding the jewel of the Dharma of all the buddhas. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled wisdoms, deciding and penetrating the treasury of the Dharma of all the buddhas. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled knowledges, obtaining the greatly full jewel of omniscience. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled eyes, beholding the jewel of the ten powers without hindrance. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled ears, hearing measurelessly, to the ends of the sounds of the Dharma realm, pure and unhindered. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled noses, constantly smelling the jeweled fragrance of pure according. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled tongues, able to expound the measureless Dharma of every kind of speech. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled bodies, roaming through the ten directions without let or hindrance. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled intents, constantly and diligently cultivating the practices and vows of Samantabhadra. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled voices, pure and wondrous sounds pervading the worlds of the ten directions. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled deeds of body, taking wisdom as foremost in all that is done. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled deeds of speech, constantly expounding the jewel of the cultivation of unhindered wisdom. Asaṃkhyeya jeweled deeds of mind, obtaining the vast jewel of wisdom free of hindrance, full to the very end.’

Adornment by the jewel that is people: the real jewel is the bodhisattvas within

“Sons of the Buddha! In all those buddha-lands, within one buddha-land, one quarter, one place, one space the size of the tip of a hair, there are measureless, boundless, unspeakably many great bodhisattvas, who have all accomplished pure wisdom and dwell there filling it full. And as with one buddha-land, one quarter, one place, one space the size of the tip of a hair, so it is with every single buddha-land, every quarter, every place, every space the size of the tip of a hair throughout the whole of empty space and pervading the Dharma realm.

“This is the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's dedicating with all his roots of goodness, vowing everywhere that all the buddha-lands may be furnished with every kind of wondrous jeweled adornment. As with the jeweled adornment, so it is expounded at large; so too with adornment by fragrance, adornment by flowers, adornment by garlands, adornment by unguent incense, adornment by burning incense, adornment by powdered incense, adornment by garments, adornment by canopies, adornment by banners, adornment by pennants, adornment by maṇi jewels, in due order and on to a hundredfold beyond this, all of them as with the jeweled adornment, so expounded at large.

What the dedication is for, one: twenty-three clauses for the sake of sentient beings

“Sons of the Buddha! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva, with the roots of goodness gathered by the giving of Dharma and the rest, dedicates for the sake of nourishing and growing every root of goodness; dedicates for the sake of adorning and purifying all buddha-lands; dedicates for the sake of accomplishing all sentient beings; dedicates so that all sentient beings may have pure and unshaken minds; dedicates so that all sentient beings may enter the most profound Dharma of the Buddha; dedicates so that all sentient beings may obtain pure merit that none can surpass; dedicates so that all sentient beings may obtain pure power of blessedness that cannot be broken; dedicates so that all sentient beings may obtain inexhaustible power of wisdom and deliver sentient beings and cause them to enter the Dharma of the Buddha; dedicates so that all sentient beings may obtain equal and measureless pure speech and voice; dedicates so that all sentient beings may obtain an equal and unhindered eye and accomplish an equal wisdom that reaches to the ends of empty space and pervades the Dharma realm; dedicates so that all sentient beings may obtain pure mindfulness and know all the worlds of the kalpas of the earlier limit; dedicates so that all sentient beings may obtain unhindered great wisdom and be wholly able to decide and penetrate every treasury of Dharma; dedicates so that all sentient beings may obtain a great awakening without limit or measure, pervading the Dharma realm with nothing to hinder it; dedicates so that all sentient beings may obtain equal, undifferentiated roots of goodness of one same substance; dedicates so that all sentient beings may obtain pure deeds of body, speech, and mind, adorned with every merit complete; dedicates so that all sentient beings may obtain what is the same as the practice of Samantabhadra; dedicates so that all sentient beings may be able to enter all the pure buddha-lands of one same substance; dedicates so that all sentient beings may wholly contemplate omniscience and all tend toward its fullness; dedicates so that all sentient beings may be able to be far removed from unequal roots of goodness; dedicates so that all sentient beings may obtain equality without any differing mark, and with a profound mind bring omniscience in due order to fullness; dedicates so that all sentient beings may be able to abide in every white dharma; dedicates so that all sentient beings may in a single thought realize omniscience and attain its very end; dedicates so that all sentient beings may bring to fullness the pure path of omniscience.

What the dedication is for, two: fourteen clauses for the sake of awakening

“Sons of the Buddha! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, with all his roots of goodness, has dedicated in this way everywhere for the sake of all sentient beings, he then, with these roots of goodness, dedicates for the sake of wishing to bring wholly to fullness the power of expounding all the dharmas of pure practice; dedicates for the sake of wishing to accomplish the majestic power of pure practice and to obtain oceans of Dharma beyond speaking, beyond speaking; dedicates for the sake of wishing to be complete, within each single ocean of Dharma, in the measureless light of pure wisdom equal to the Dharma realm; dedicates for the sake of wishing to open and show and expound the phrases and meanings that distinguish all dharmas; dedicates for the sake of wishing to accomplish the boundless and vast samādhi of the light of all dharmas; dedicates for the sake of wishing to accord with the eloquence of the buddhas of the three times; dedicates for the sake of wishing to accomplish the sovereign body of all the buddhas past, future, and present; dedicates for the sake of honoring the lovable and unhindered Dharma of all the buddhas; dedicates for the sake of satisfying the mind of great compassion, rescuing and guarding all sentient beings constantly without turning back; dedicates for the sake of wishing to accomplish inconceivable, distinguished dharmas and unhindered wisdom, with a mind free of stain and defilement and faculties pure, entering everywhere into all assembly-sites; dedicates for the sake of wishing, in all the buddha-lands — whether overturned or upright, whether coarse or fine, whether broad or narrow, whether small or great, whether defiled or pure — constantly to turn the equal wheel of Dharma from which there is no turning back; dedicates for the sake of wishing, in thought after thought, to obtain fearless and inexhaustible eloquence of every kind, and with the light of the wondrous Dharma to open and show and expound; dedicates for the sake of delighting to seek every goodness, rousing the mind to cultivate it, so that the faculties turn surpassing and he obtains the great wisdom of spiritual penetration in all dharmas and is wholly able to penetrate all dharmas; dedicates for the sake of wishing, in all assembly-sites, to draw near and make offerings, and to expound all dharmas for all sentient beings and cause them all to be glad.

Dedicating to the true limit: twenty-nine clauses of abiding in the measurelessness of the Dharma realm

“Sons of the Buddha! Again, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva dedicates these roots of goodness in this way, that is to say —

“ ‘He dedicates by abiding in the measureless abiding of the Dharma realm; he dedicates by abiding in the measureless deeds of body of the Dharma realm; he dedicates by abiding in the measureless deeds of speech of the Dharma realm; he dedicates by abiding in the measureless deeds of mind of the Dharma realm; he dedicates by abiding in the measureless equality of form of the Dharma realm; he dedicates by abiding in the measureless equality of feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness of the Dharma realm; he dedicates by abiding in the measureless equality of the aggregates of the Dharma realm; he dedicates by abiding in the measureless equality of the elements of the Dharma realm; he dedicates by abiding in the measureless equality of the sense-fields of the Dharma realm; he dedicates by abiding in the measureless equality of the inward of the Dharma realm; he dedicates by abiding in the measureless equality of the outward of the Dharma realm; he dedicates by abiding in the measureless equality of arousing of the Dharma realm; he dedicates by abiding in the measureless equality of the profound mind of the Dharma realm; he dedicates by abiding in the measureless equality of skillful means of the Dharma realm; he dedicates by abiding in the measureless equality of faith and understanding of the Dharma realm; he dedicates by abiding in the measureless equality of the faculties of the Dharma realm; he dedicates by abiding in the measureless equality of the earlier limit, the middle limit, and the later limit of the Dharma realm; he dedicates by abiding in the measureless equality of deeds and their rewards of the Dharma realm; he dedicates by abiding in the measureless equality of the defiled and the pure of the Dharma realm; he dedicates by abiding in the measureless equality of sentient beings of the Dharma realm; he dedicates by abiding in the measureless equality of buddha-lands of the Dharma realm; he dedicates by abiding in the measureless equality of dharmas of the Dharma realm; he dedicates by abiding in the measureless equality of the light of the world of the Dharma realm; he dedicates by abiding in the measureless equality of the buddhas and bodhisattvas of the Dharma realm; he dedicates by abiding in the measureless equality of the practices and vows of a bodhisattva of the Dharma realm; he dedicates by abiding in the measureless equality of the going forth of a bodhisattva of the Dharma realm; he dedicates by abiding in the measureless equality of the teaching and taming of a bodhisattva of the Dharma realm; he dedicates by abiding in the measureless equality of the not-twoness of the Dharma realm of the Dharma realm; he dedicates by abiding in the measureless equality of the assembly-sites of the Tathāgata of the Dharma realm.’

The benefit accomplished by the dedication: eight abidings, giving rise to two functions

“Sons of the Buddha! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva dedicates in this way, he abides in the measureless, equal, and pure body of the Dharma realm; abides in the measureless, equal, and pure speech of the Dharma realm; abides in the measureless, equal, and pure mind of the Dharma realm; abides in the measureless, equal, and pure practices and vows of the bodhisattvas of the Dharma realm; abides in the measureless, equal, and pure assembly-sites of the Dharma realm; abides in the measureless, equal, and pure wisdom that expounds all dharmas at large for all bodhisattvas of the Dharma realm; abides in the measureless, equal body that is able to enter all the worlds of the whole Dharma realm of the Dharma realm; abides in the measureless, equal, and pure fearlessness of the light of all dharmas of the Dharma realm; he is able with a single voice to cut off entirely the net of doubts of all sentient beings, and following their faculties and their desires to cause them all to be glad; and he abides within the unsurpassed wisdom of all modes, the ten powers, the four fearlessnesses, the sovereign spiritual penetrations, the vast merit, and the dharmas of going forth.

The concluding of the name and the fruit of the station: this station is here brought to fullness

“Sons of the Buddha! This is the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's tenth dedication of abiding in the measurelessness equal to the Dharma realm.

“When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva dedicates in this way with all the roots of goodness of the giving of Dharma and the rest, he brings to fullness the measureless and boundless practices and vows of a bodhisattva of Samantabhadra, and is wholly able to adorn and purify all the buddha-lands throughout the whole of empty space and equal to the Dharma realm, and to cause all sentient beings likewise to attain this, complete in boundless wisdom and penetrating all dharmas; in thought after thought he sees all the buddhas arising in the world, and in thought after thought he sees the measureless and boundless sovereign powers of all the buddhas, that is to say: the sovereign power that is vast, the sovereign power that is unattached, the sovereign power that is unhindered, the sovereign power that is inconceivable, the sovereign power that purifies all sentient beings, the sovereign power that establishes all worlds, the sovereign power that manifests speech beyond speaking, the sovereign power that appears in response to the time, the sovereign power that abides in the spiritual penetrations and wisdom from which there is no turning back, the sovereign power that expounds the whole boundless Dharma realm with nothing left over, the sovereign power that gives birth to the borderless eye of the bodhisattva Samantabhadra, the sovereign power that with unhindered ear-consciousness hears and holds the true Dharma of measureless buddhas, the sovereign power whereby with one body he sits cross-legged pervading the measureless Dharma realms of the ten directions and yet crowds none of the sentient beings, and the sovereign power that with full and complete wisdom enters everywhere the measureless dharmas of the three times.

“And he obtains measureless purity, that is to say: the purity of all sentient beings, the purity of all buddha-lands, the purity of all dharmas, the purity of the wisdom that knows everywhere in all places, the purity of the boundless wisdom that pervades the realm of empty space, the purity of obtaining the wisdom of all distinguished speech and voice and responding everywhere to sentient beings with every kind of speech and voice, the purity of sending out measureless and full light that shines everywhere upon all the boundless worlds, the purity of giving birth to the wisdom of the practice of the bodhisattvas of all three times, the purity of the wisdom that in a single thought enters everywhere the assembly-sites of all the buddhas of the three times, and the purity of entering the boundless worlds and causing all sentient beings to do all that they ought to do.

“All such things as these are attained complete, are attained accomplished, have been cultivated and put in order, are attained equal, are all present before him, are all known and seen, are all awakened into, have been contemplated, are attained pure, and reach the further shore.”

The auspicious responses (1), the quaking of the earth (Chengguan's outline): the worlds of the ten directions quake in six ways, and the eighteen aspects appear together

(Narration by the compilers of the scripture:) At that time, because of the spiritual power of the Buddha, in each of the ten directions worlds as many as the dust motes of a million buddha-lands ground to dust quaked in six ways, that is to say: quaking, quaking throughout, quaking throughout equally; rising, rising throughout, rising throughout equally; surging, surging throughout, surging throughout equally; shaking, shaking throughout, shaking throughout equally; roaring, roaring throughout, roaring throughout equally; striking, striking throughout, striking throughout equally.

The auspicious responses (2), the cause of the raising of offerings and the offering of outer things (Chengguan's outline): from the heavens there rain down all manner of offerings

Because of the spiritual power of the Buddha, and also because the Dharma is of itself just so, there rained down from the heavens all manner of heavenly flowers, heavenly garlands (strings of flowers of the heavens), heavenly powdered incense (incense ground to powder), heavenly incenses of every kind, heavenly garments, heavenly precious things, heavenly adornments, heavenly maṇi jewels (wish-fulfilling gems), heavenly aloeswood incense, heavenly candana incense, heavenly canopies of the most surpassing excellence, heavenly banners of every kind, heavenly pennants of mingled colors, and bodies of the gods as many as asaṃkhya (a number beyond counting).

The auspicious responses (3), the offering of inner things by the three kinds of action: heavenly sounds, bowing down, calling the buddhas to mind, music, and the sending forth of light (Chengguan's outline)

There were measureless hundreds of thousands of koṭis of unspeakable numbers of heavenly sounds of the wondrous Dharma, sounds beyond thought of praising the Buddha, and sounds of the gods' rejoicing as many as asaṃkhya, all of them crying out in praise, “Good indeed!” There were gods as many as measureless asaṃkhya hundreds of thousands of nayutas (the name of a great number) who reverently bowed down. There were numberless sons of gods who constantly called the buddhas to mind, longing for the measureless merits of the Tathāgata, and in their minds would not let go of them. There were numberless sons of gods who made all manner of music, singing praises and making offerings to the Tathāgata. There were gods as many as hundreds of thousands of asaṃkhya who sent forth a great radiance, illumining everywhere all the buddha-lands to the ends of space and throughout the Dharma realm, and manifesting realms of the buddhas as many as measureless asaṃkhya.

The auspicious responses (4), the emanation body rises beyond all the gods (Chengguan's outline)

The emanation body of the Tathāgata rose beyond all the gods.

The concluding extension to the ten directions: what is expounded in this assembly is the same in the palaces of the Tuṣita Heaven of the ten directions (Chengguan's outline)

Just as in the palace of the Tuṣita Heaven of this world such a Dharma is expounded, so throughout all the worlds of the ten directions, in the palaces of the Tuṣita Heaven within them, it is likewise so.

The attestation (1), the bodhisattvas of the ten directions come together (Chengguan's outline)

At that time, again because of the spiritual power of the Buddha, beyond worlds as many as the dust motes of a million buddha-lands in each of the ten directions, there were in each bodhisattvas as many as the dust motes of a million buddha-lands who came together to the assembly, filling the ten directions, and all of them said this:

The attestation (2), the first sentence (Chengguan's outline): praising the Dharma, and declaring that they are of one name and one title

“Good indeed! Good indeed! Son of the Buddha! You are actually able to expound these great dedications. Son of the Buddha! We are all of one and the same title, called Vajra Banner, and we have all come to this land from the presence of the buddha Vajra Banner in the world Vajra Light.

The attestation (3), the second sentence (Chengguan's outline): the ten directions expound alike, neither increased nor diminished

“In those worlds too, all because of the spiritual power of the Buddha, this Dharma is expounded, and the assemblies of the Dharma gathering with their retinues, and the words and the sense of the sentences that are expounded, are likewise all just as they are here, not one part more, nor one part less.

The attestation (4), the third sentence (Chengguan's outline): bearing witness for you, and the ten directions bearing witness alike

“We have all received the spiritual power of the Buddha, and have come from those lands to bear witness for you. Just as I have come to this Dharma assembly to bear witness for you, so the multitudes of bodhisattvas who come to bear witness in the jeweled and adorned halls of the palaces of the Tuṣita Heaven in all the worlds there are in the ten directions are likewise all just so.”

The occasion of the verses: Vajra Banner, sustained by the spiritual power of the Buddha, contemplates the ten directions and speaks the verses

(Narration by the compilers of the scripture:) At that time the bodhisattva Vajra Banner, having received the spiritual power of the Buddha, having contemplated all the assemblies of the Dharma gathering of the ten directions and on to the whole Dharma realm, knew well the meaning of the words and the sentences, enlarged his vast mind, with great compassion covered over and guarded all sentient beings everywhere, bound his mind and abode securely within the lineage of the buddhas of the three times, entered well into the merit-dharmas of all the buddhas, accomplished the sovereign body of the buddhas, contemplated what the minds of sentient beings delight in, and was able to know discerningly all the roots of goodness they had planted; and, according with the dharma-body, he manifested for sentient beings a body of pure and wondrous form; and at that very time he spoke these verses, saying:

Verses, part one: versifying the roots of goodness dedicated (Chengguan's outline · verses 1–9): that the bodhisattva is able to dedicate lies first in what he has accomplished in the Dharma

“The bodhisattva has accomplished wisdom in the Dharma, and awakens to and understands the boundless gates of the true Dharma; he is the light of the Dharma, a tamer able to tame sentient beings, and knows fully the real Dharma that is without obstruction.

“The bodhisattva is a great guide in the Dharma, revealing the Dharma that is profound and hard to obtain, leading measureless multitudes of the ten directions, and causing them all to abide in the true Dharma.

“The bodhisattva has already drunk the great ocean of the Buddha's Dharma, and the cloud of the Dharma rains everywhere upon the worlds of the ten directions; the sun of the Dharma appears in the world, expounding the wondrous Dharma and benefiting sentient beings.

“He is constantly a lord of the giving of Dharma who is hard to meet with, and knows the skillful means of entering the gates of the Dharma; the light of the Dharma, pure, illumines his mind, and he expounds the Dharma in the world constantly and without fear.

“He is able to cultivate well a mind sovereign in the Dharma, and is able to awaken into and enter all the gates of the Dharma; he has accomplished the profound and wondrous ocean of the Dharma, and everywhere for sentient beings he beats the drum of the Dharma.

“He expounds the profound and rarely met Dharma, and with the Dharma nourishes every kind of merit; he is complete in a pure mind of delight in the Dharma, and displays to the world the treasury of the Buddha's Dharma.

“He is anointed on the crown by the buddhas, the Dharma kings, and has accomplished a body that is the treasury of the wisdom of the nature of dharmas; he is able to understand fully the real mark of all dharmas, and abides in all the dharmas of the multitude of good things.

“The bodhisattva cultivates the foremost giving, which all the tathāgatas praise and rejoice in; all that he does receives the Buddha's approval, and by this he accomplishes the honored one among men.

“The bodhisattva has accomplished a wondrous dharma-body, born of transformation directly from the Dharma of the buddhas; for the benefit of sentient beings he becomes a lamp of the Dharma, expounding measureless and most surpassing Dharma.

Verses, part two: versifying the practice of dedication (Chengguan's outline · verses 10–16): how the goodness cultivated is turned over and given to sentient beings

“Following upon the wondrous giving of Dharma that he cultivates, he then contemplates those roots of goodness he has accomplished; every kind of goodness he does is for the sake of sentient beings, and all of it he dedicates with wisdom.

“All the merit-dharmas of accomplishing buddhahood he dedicates and gives over entirely to sentient beings, wishing to cause all sentient beings to attain purity, and to reach the further shore of the adornment of the Buddha.

“The buddha-lands of the ten directions are without limit, and all are complete in measureless great adornments; adornments such as these are beyond thought, and all of them are taken to adorn one single land.

“All the pure wisdom that the Tathāgata has, may it cause sentient beings to be complete in it, so that like Samantabhadra, a true son of the Buddha, they are adorned of themselves with every merit.

“He accomplishes vast powers of spiritual penetration, going to all worlds and reaching everywhere without omission; not one of all sentient beings is left out, and he causes them all to cultivate the bodhisattva path.

“The measureless sentient beings of the ten directions whom the buddhas, the tathāgatas, have awakened, all of them he causes to be like Samantabhadra, complete in cultivating the most supreme practice.

“The various differentiated merits that the buddhas and bodhisattvas have accomplished, merits such as these are without bound, and may they cause sentient beings all to be fulfilled in them.

Verses, part three: versifying the fruit of the station · seeing the buddhas' sovereignty (Chengguan's outline · verse 17): only when one is oneself sovereign does one see the buddhas' sovereignty

“The bodhisattva is complete in the power of sovereignty, and wherever he ought to learn he goes and learns; he displays all the great spiritual penetrations, and goes everywhere to the measureless lands of the ten directions.

Verses, part four: versifying the fruit of the station · the attainment of purity (Chengguan's outline · verses 18–34): the purity of the wisdom that in a single thought enters everywhere the assemblies of the buddhas of the three times

“The bodhisattva is able, within a single thought, to attend upon buddhas beyond number, equal in number to sentient beings; and again, within a single hair-tip, he gathers in all dharmas entirely and sees them plainly and clearly.

“The sentient beings of the world are without limit, and the bodhisattva is able to know them all discerningly; the buddhas are measureless in number and equal to sentient beings, and with a vast mind he makes offerings to them all until they are exhausted.

“Every kind of famed incense and surpassing flower, garments made of the multitude of jewels, and pennants and canopies, he spreads throughout the Dharma realm until all is filled, and gives rise to the mind to make offerings everywhere to the buddhas of the ten directions.

“Within a single pore he sees plainly and entirely the measureless buddhas of a number beyond thought, and so it is with every pore; and he bows everywhere to all the lamps of the world.

“Raising his whole body he bows reverently in due order to such boundless most excellent ones, and with words too he extols and praises them everywhere, to the exhaustion of all the kalpas of the future.

“The offerings set out in the presence of one tathāgata are measureless in number and equal to sentient beings; and as he makes such offerings to one tathāgata, so it is also with his offering to all the tathāgatas.

“He makes offerings to and praises the tathāgatas, to the exhaustion of all the kalpas of that world; the number of the world's kalpas may yet come to an end, but the bodhisattva's offering knows no rest or slackening.

“Through every kind of kalpa of all the worlds, through so many kalpas he cultivates every kind of practice, reverently making offerings to one tathāgata, and to the exhaustion of all kalpas he gives rise to no satiety.

“As with measureless kalpas he makes offerings to one buddha, so it is also with his offering to all the buddhas; nor does he discriminate what number of kalpas these are, nor toward what he offers does he give rise to weariness.

“The Dharma realm is vast and without bound, and the bodhisattva contemplates it and knows it all clearly; with great lotus flowers spread throughout it, he sets out measureless offerings to buddhas equal in number to sentient beings.

“The fragrance and the color of the jeweled flowers are perfect, pure and adorned and exceedingly wondrous, and in all the world there is nothing that can be likened to them; he takes them to offer to the honored one among men.

“Measureless buddha-lands equal in number to sentient beings, with every kind of wondrous jeweled canopy filling them, he takes them all to make offering to one tathāgata; and so it is also with his offering to all the buddhas.

“Unguent incense beyond compare and most surpassing, such as the whole world has never had, with this he makes offering to the teacher of gods and men, to the exhaustion of kalpas equal in number to sentient beings.

“Powdered incense, burning incense, surpassing flowers, garments made of the multitude of jewels, and adornments — with such things he makes offering to the most excellent ones, joyfully serving them and giving rise to no satiety.

“Lamps that light the world, equal in number to sentient beings, in thought after thought accomplish great awakening; and with boundless verses too he extols and sets them forth, making offering to the tamer among men.

“Buddhas, world-honored ones, as many as the number of sentient beings, all cultivate unsurpassed and wondrous offerings; and through measureless kalpas as many as the number of sentient beings, such praising has no exhaustion.

“At the time when he makes such offerings to the buddhas, by the spiritual power of the Buddha it reaches everywhere, and he sees entirely the measureless buddhas of the ten directions, abiding in the practice of the bodhisattva Samantabhadra.

Verses, part five: versifying the fruit of the station · gathering up the tenth dedication (Chengguan's outline · verses 35–36): dedicating the roots of goodness of the three times to the practice of Samantabhadra

“All the roots of goodness there are, past, future, and present, may they cause me constantly to cultivate the practice of Samantabhadra, and swiftly to come to abide on the ground of Samantabhadra.

“The measureless sentient beings of the world that all the tathāgatas know and see, may they all be complete in being like Samantabhadra, and be praised by those who have understanding.

Verses, part six: praising its excellence and exhorting to practice · praising its excellence by raising up the persons and going by the practice (Chengguan's outline · verses 37–42): this is the practice that the great beings of the ten directions cultivate together, and therefore it is most unsurpassed

“This is the practice of dedication that the great beings of the ten directions cultivate and perfect together; the buddhas, the tathāgatas, have expounded it for me: this practice of dedication is the most unsurpassed.

“In the worlds of the ten directions nothing is left out, and of all the sentient beings within them, there is not one whom it does not cause to attain awakening and understanding, and it causes them all to be constantly like the practice of Samantabhadra.

“As he dedicates in this way, so he practices giving, and likewise firmly upholds the precepts; with vigor through long ages he does not shrink back; in patience he is gentle and his mind is unmoved,

“concentration holds his mind constantly upon one object; wisdom fully knows the object and is one with samādhi; past, future, and present he penetrates without obstruction, and in the world there is none who can reach his bound.

“The bodily action of the bodhisattva, and his mind and his verbal action — all that he does in this way is pure, and of all his cultivation nothing is left out; it is all equal to that of the bodhisattva Samantabhadra.

“Just as the Dharma realm is without discrimination, and frivolous talk and defiled attachment are forever exhausted; and just as nirvāṇa is without obstruction, so is his mind constantly, apart from all graspings.

Verses, part seven: praising its excellence and exhorting to practice · concluding the praise and exhorting to practice (Chengguan's outline · verses 43–45): one who learns this dedication well is called Samantabhadra

“All the dedication-dharma that the wise have, the buddhas, the tathāgatas, have already revealed; every kind of root of goodness is wholly dedicated, and therefore he is able to accomplish the bodhisattva path.

“If a son of the Buddha is able to learn this dedication skillfully, measureless practices and vows will all be fulfilled and accomplished; he gathers in the Dharma realm to the last remainder, and therefore he is able to accomplish the power of the Well-Gone.

“If you would accomplish the vast and surpassing practice of a bodhisattva that the Buddha has expounded, then you should abide skillfully in this dedication; such sons of the Buddha are named Samantabhadra.

Verses, part eight: the comparative measure of merit (Chengguan's outline · verses 46–47): what can be counted can all be counted, but this cannot be measured

“All sentient beings may still be counted out, and the measure of the mind's thoughts in the three times may still be known; but of such sons of the Buddha, of Samantabhadra, the bound of their merit none is able to fathom.

“A single hair measuring space may still reach its bound, and the multitude of buddha-lands ground to dust may still have its number known; but of such sons of the Buddha, the great seers, the practices and vows in which they abide none is able to measure.”