華嚴經 白話全本 · 冊7Avataṃsaka Sūtra · Complete Vernacular · Vol. 7

Preface (1): The Place and the Gathering — the World-Honored One in the Palace of the King of the Heaven of Free Enjoyment of Others’ Emanations

At that time the World-Honored One was in the Hall of the Treasury of Maṇi Jewels, in the palace of the king of the Heaven of Free Enjoyment of Others’ Emanations, together in one place with a great assembly of bodhisattvas.

Preface (2): The Virtues of the Bodhisattvas in the Gathering

These bodhisattvas had all attained non-retrogression with respect to unsurpassed perfect awakening (anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi), and had all come together from worlds in other quarters; they dwelt in the realm in which the wisdom of every bodhisattva dwells, and entered into the place into which the wisdom of every tathāgata enters; they cultivated diligently without cease, and were skilled at manifesting every kind of spiritual power and every kind of deed that ought to be done, teaching and taming all sentient beings without ever missing the right moment; for the sake of accomplishing all the great vows of a bodhisattva, in all worlds, all kalpas, and all buddha-lands they cultivated the practices diligently, without a moment’s sloth or rest; they were furnished with the two provisions that aid the path of a bodhisattva, merit and wisdom, and benefited sentient beings universally without ever running short; they had reached the far shore, the ultimate limit of every bodhisattva’s wisdom and skillful means, and manifested entering birth-and-death and manifested entering nirvāṇa, yet never once cast the work aside; they cultivated the practice of a bodhisattva and were skilled at entering all the meditative concentrations of a bodhisattva, the samādhis of liberation, the samāpattis (the attainments · another name for concentration), the spiritual powers and the clear knowledges, and in whatever they did they gained mastery; they had obtained the masterful spiritual might of every bodhisattva, so that in a single thought, without their bodies stirring at all, they could yet go in their entirety to the sites of awakening and the Dharma gatherings of all the tathāgatas, act as the foremost of the assemblies, request the Buddha to preach the Dharma, and guard and uphold the wheel of the true Dharma of the buddhas; with vast minds they made offerings to and served all the buddhas, and constantly and diligently cultivated all the works that a bodhisattva practices; their bodies appeared universally throughout all worlds, their voices carried universally to the Dharma realm of the ten directions, their minds and their wisdom were without obstruction, and they saw universally the three times, past, present, and future; every merit that any bodhisattva possesses they had already cultivated and brought to fullness — and of such merits as these, though one were to speak for kalpas beyond telling, the speaking could not be brought to an end.

Preface (3): The Roll of the Bodhisattva Assembly — Vajragarbha as Their Foremost

Their names were these: the bodhisattva Vajragarbha, the bodhisattva Ratnagarbha (Jewel-Treasury), the bodhisattva Lotus-Treasury, the bodhisattva Virtue-Treasury, the bodhisattva Lotus-Virtue-Treasury, the bodhisattva Sun-Treasury, the bodhisattva Sūrya-Treasury (Sūrya is the sun), the bodhisattva Stainless-Moon-Treasury, the bodhisattva Treasury of Adornments Appearing Universally in All Lands, the bodhisattva Vairocana-Wisdom-Treasury, the bodhisattva Wondrous-Virtue-Treasury, the bodhisattva Sandalwood-Virtue-Treasury, the bodhisattva Flower-Virtue-Treasury, the bodhisattva Kusuma-Virtue-Treasury (kusuma is a flower), the bodhisattva Utpala-Virtue-Treasury (utpala is the blue lotus), the bodhisattva Divine-Virtue-Treasury, the bodhisattva Merit-Virtue-Treasury, the bodhisattva Treasury of the Virtue of Unobstructed Pure Wisdom, the bodhisattva Treasury of Merit, the bodhisattva Nārāyaṇa-Virtue-Treasury (Nārāyaṇa is great strength), the bodhisattva Stainless-Treasury, the bodhisattva Treasury of Freedom from Defilement, the bodhisattva Treasury Adorned with Every Kind of Eloquence, the bodhisattva Treasury of the Net of Great Radiance, the bodhisattva Treasury of the King of the Light of Pure Majestic Virtue, the bodhisattva Treasury of the King of the Light of the Great Merit of Golden Adornment, the bodhisattva Treasury of the Pure Virtue Adorned with All Marks, the bodhisattva Treasury Adorned with the Marks of the Virtue of Adamantine Flame, the bodhisattva Treasury of the Flame of Light, the bodhisattva Treasury Illumined by the Light of the King of the Constellations, the bodhisattva Treasury of the Unobstructed Wisdom of Space, the bodhisattva Treasury of Unobstructed Wondrous Sound, the bodhisattva Treasury of the Dhāraṇī That Holds the Merit and the Vows of All Sentient Beings (a dhāraṇī is a total retention), the bodhisattva Treasury of the Adornment of the Ocean, the bodhisattva Sumeru-Virtue-Treasury, the bodhisattva Treasury That Purifies All Merit, the bodhisattva Tathāgata-Treasury, the bodhisattva Treasury of the Virtue of a Buddha, the bodhisattva Vimukticandra … Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas such as these, numberless, measureless, boundless, without equal, beyond counting, beyond reckoning, beyond thinking, beyond weighing, beyond telling, had Vajragarbha as their foremost.

The Part of Samādhi: Vajragarbha Enters the Samādhi of the Light of a Bodhisattva’s Great Wisdom

At that time the bodhisattva Vajragarbha, by the spiritual power of the Buddha, entered the “samādhi of the light of a bodhisattva’s great wisdom.” Once he had entered this samādhi, straightaway, in the ten directions, beyond worlds each exceeding the number of the dust motes of ten koṭis of buddha-lands, there were in each direction buddhas as many as the dust motes of ten koṭis of buddha-lands, all bearing one and the same name, all named Vajragarbha, who appeared before him and spoke in this way —

The Part of Empowerment (1): The Buddhas of the Ten Directions Give Their Praise — the Ten Things It Is For

“Excellent, excellent, Vajragarbha! That you have been able to enter this samādhi of the light of a bodhisattva’s great wisdom! Good man! This is the buddhas of the ten directions, as many in each direction as the dust motes of ten koṭis of buddha-lands, jointly empowering you — because of the power of the original vow of the Tathāgata Vairocana, the Worthy of Offerings, the Perfectly Awakened One; because of the power of majestic spiritual might; and also because of the power of your own surpassing wisdom; and it is in order that you may set forth for all bodhisattvas the light of the inconceivable Dharma of the buddhas. Namely: for the sake of entering into the ground of wisdom; for the sake of gathering in all roots of goodness; for the sake of discerning well all the teachings of the Buddha; for the sake of knowing widely all dharmas; for the sake of being able to preach the Dharma well; for the sake of the purity of non-discriminating wisdom; for the sake of not being defiled by any dharma of the world; for the sake of the purity of the roots of goodness that transcend the world; for the sake of gaining the realm of inconceivable wisdom; for the sake of gaining the realm of wisdom of one who has omniscience —”

The Part of Empowerment (2): The Ten Things It Is For, Continued — the Beginning and End of the Ten Grounds

“And furthermore, for the sake of your coming to know the beginning and the end of the bodhisattva’s ten grounds; for the sake of setting forth, as they truly are, the characteristics that distinguish the bodhisattva’s ten grounds; for the sake of calling to mind all the teachings of the Buddha; for the sake of cultivating and discerning the dharmas that are without outflows; for the sake of selecting and contemplating well the great light of wisdom and its subtle adornment; for the sake of entering well the gate of settled wisdom; for the sake of setting forth in due order, according to the place where one dwells, without any fear; for the sake of gaining the light of unobstructed eloquence; for the sake of dwelling on the ground of great eloquence and gaining what is well settled; for the sake of keeping in mind the bodhisattva mind without ever losing it; for the sake of bringing to ripeness the whole realm of sentient beings; for the sake of being able to reach everywhere universally and awaken sentient beings with certainty.”

The Part of Empowerment (3): The Charge to Speak — the Ten Clauses of the Empowerment of Body and Mind

“Good man! You should expound this Dharma-gate, this dharma of distinctions and skillfulness. Namely: because you are borne by the spiritual power of the Buddha and empowered by the light of the Tathāgata’s wisdom; because you have purified your own roots of goodness; because you have universally purified the Dharma realm; because you universally gather in sentient beings; because you have entered deeply into the dharma-body and the wisdom-body; because you have received the consecration of all the buddhas; because you have gained the body that is highest and greatest in all the world; because you have passed beyond the path of all the world; because you have purified the roots of goodness that transcend the world; because you have fulfilled the wisdom of omniscience.”

The Part of Empowerment (4): The Ten Virtues Given by the Buddhas of the Ten Directions

At that time the buddhas of the ten directions gave the bodhisattva Vajragarbha a body that none could outshine or take away; gave him unobstructed eloquence in delighted speech; gave him the pure wisdom that discerns well; gave him the power of recalling well and never forgetting; gave him the wisdom that settles well and understands clearly; gave him the wisdom that reaches everywhere and awakens sentient beings; gave him the power of mastery in accomplishing the path; gave him the fearlessness of a tathāgata; gave him the eloquent wisdom of one who has omniscience for contemplating and discerning all the Dharma-gates; and gave him the perfect adornment of the excellent and wondrous acts of body, speech, and mind of all the tathāgatas.

The Part of Empowerment (5): Why They Gave Them — the Ten Reasons

Why did they give these? Because the dharma of gaining this samādhi is originally such; because it is what his original vow set in motion; because his deep mind has been well purified; because the wheel of his wisdom has been well purified; because he has amassed well the provisions that aid the path; because he has cultivated well the work that ought to be done; because they were mindful that he is a vessel of the Dharma beyond measure; because they knew that his faith and understanding are pure; because he has gained the total retention that is free of error and mistake; and because he has been well sealed by the wisdom-seal of the Dharma realm.

The Part of Empowerment (6) and the Part of Arising: The Rubbing of the Crown · Rising from Samādhi and Addressing the Assembly

At that time the buddhas of the ten directions each stretched out his right hand and rubbed the crown of the bodhisattva Vajragarbha’s head. When they had rubbed his crown, the bodhisattva Vajragarbha rose from the samādhi and addressed all the assembly of bodhisattvas universally, saying —

“Sons of the Buddha! The great vows of the bodhisattvas are well settled, unmixed and not to be seen as a form; vast as the Dharma realm, ultimate as space, reaching to the very end of the future, pervading all buddha-lands, rescuing and protecting all sentient beings, guarded and kept in mind by all the buddhas, and able to enter the ground of wisdom of the buddhas of the past, the future, and the present.”

The Part of the Root (1): The Question about the Ground of Wisdom · The Answer of the Ten Ground-Names

“Sons of the Buddha! What is the ground of wisdom of a bodhisattva-mahāsattva? Sons of the Buddha! The grounds of wisdom of a bodhisattva-mahāsattva are ten in number — the buddhas of the past, the future, and the present have already spoken them, will speak them, and are speaking them now; and I too speak in this way. Which ten? The first is the Joyful Ground, the second the Stainless Ground, the third the Luminous Ground, the fourth the Flaming-Wisdom Ground, the fifth the Hard-to-Conquer Ground, the sixth the Manifest Ground, the seventh the Far-Reaching Ground, the eighth the Immovable Ground, the ninth the Excellent-Wisdom Ground, the tenth the Dharma-Cloud Ground.”

The Part of the Root (2): The Buddhas of the Three Times Speak Alike · Every Buddha Must Speak Them

“Sons of the Buddha! These bodhisattva ten grounds the buddhas of the three times have already spoken, will speak, and are speaking now. Sons of the Buddha! I have never seen any buddha-land in which the Tathāgata does not speak these ten grounds. Why is this? Because this is the highest path by which a bodhisattva-mahāsattva heads toward awakening, and it is also the gate of the light of pure dharmas — namely, the discerning exposition of the bodhisattva’s grounds. Sons of the Buddha! This place is inconceivable — namely, the wisdom that the bodhisattvas attain according to what they have realized.”

The Part of Request (1): He Remains Silent · The Great Assembly Thirsts and Longs

At that time the bodhisattva Vajragarbha, having finished speaking the names of these bodhisattva ten grounds, remained silent and made no further discerning explanation. Then all the assembly of bodhisattvas, having heard the names of the bodhisattva ten grounds but not hearing them explained, all gave rise to a mind of thirsting and longing, and thought in this way — “What cause and what condition is it that makes the bodhisattva Vajragarbha speak only the names of the bodhisattva ten grounds and add no explanation?”

The Part of Request (2): Vimukticandra’s First Request — Five Verses

The bodhisattva Vimukticandra, knowing what was in the minds of the great assembly, questioned the bodhisattva Vajragarbha in verse, saying —

“Why is it that this one of pure awakening, fully endowed with the power of recollection, wisdom, and merit, having spoken of those excellent and wondrous grounds, has the power and yet gives no explanation? All here have gained settled minds, valiant and without timidity — why speak only the names of the grounds and not set them forth for the assembly? The subtle and wondrous meaning of the grounds — this whole gathering wishes to hear it; their minds are without timidity: may you discern and set it forth for us! The assembled gathering is wholly pure, far from sloth, adorned and clean, able to stand firm and unmoved, furnished with both merit and wisdom. Looking upon one another they are all reverent, and all with concentrated minds gaze up — like bees that long for good honey, like a thirsty man who longs for sweet dew.”

The Part of Request (3): Vajragarbha’s First Withholding — Five Verses · The Dharma Is Deep and Hard to Receive

At that time the bodhisattva Vajragarbha, of great wisdom and without fear, having heard these words, and wishing to make the assembled gathering glad at heart, spoke verses for the sons of the Buddha, saying —

“The matter of the bodhisattva’s practice of the grounds is the root of the buddhas, who are highest; to display it, discern it, and speak of it is the foremost of rare and difficult things. It is subtle and hard to see, apart from thought and beyond the ground of mind; it can give birth to the realm of a buddha, and those who hear it are all bewildered. One must hold the mind firm as adamant, believe deeply in the surpassing wisdom of the Buddha, and know that the ground of the mind is from the first without a self — only such a one is able to hear this surpassing Dharma. Like painting colors in empty space, like the shape of the wind in empty space, so is the wisdom of the Muni (the Silent One · the Buddha): to discern and explain it is truly most hard to see. When I call to mind the wisdom of the buddhas, most surpassing and hard to conceive, there is no one in the world who can receive it — and therefore I remain silent and do not speak.”

The Part of Request (4): Vimukticandra’s Second Request — Prose Praising the Virtues of the Assembly

At that time the bodhisattva Vimukticandra, having heard these words, said to the bodhisattva Vajragarbha —

“Son of the Buddha! This great gathering is now fully assembled; their deep minds are well purified, their thoughts are well cleansed, their practices are well cultivated, the provisions that aid the path are well amassed, they have been able to draw near to a hundred thousand koṭis of buddhas, they have perfected measureless merits and roots of goodness, they have cast off folly and doubt, they are without stain or defilement, their deep minds have faith and understanding, and in the Buddha’s Dharma they are not turned about by the instruction of another. Excellent, son of the Buddha! You should, borne by the spiritual power of the Buddha, set it forth for the assembly — for these bodhisattvas are able to realize and know places as deep as these.”

The Part of Request (5): The Verses of Vimukticandra’s Second Request — Two Verses

At that time the bodhisattva Vimukticandra, wishing to state this meaning over again, spoke in verse, saying —

“May you set forth what is most secure, the unsurpassed practice of a bodhisattva; discern the grounds for us, that wisdom may be pure and perfect awakening accomplished. This gathered assembly is without any stain, their aspiration and their understanding clear and clean; they have served measureless buddhas, and are able to know the meaning of these grounds.”

The Part of Request (6): Vajragarbha’s Second Withholding — Prose · Pity for the Remaining Beings of Inferior Understanding

At that time the bodhisattva Vajragarbha said —

“Son of the Buddha! Although the great assembly gathered here has thoughts well purified, has cast off folly and doubt, and in the deep Dharma is not turned about by the instruction of another; nevertheless there are still other sentient beings whose understanding is inferior, and when they hear this deep matter, hard to conceive, they will for the most part give rise to doubt, and through the long night will undergo every kind of ruin and harm. I have pity on this kind of being, and therefore I remain silent and do not speak.”

The Part of Request (7): The Verses of Vajragarbha’s Second Withholding — Two Verses

At that time the bodhisattva Vajragarbha, wishing to state this meaning over again, spoke in verse, saying —

“Although this gathering is pure and their wisdom vast, deep, clear, and sharp, able to settle and discern, their minds unshaken like the king of mountains, not to be overturned like the great ocean; yet there are those whose practice is not long, whose understanding is not yet gained, who follow consciousness in their course and do not follow wisdom; hearing this they would give rise to doubt and fall into the evil destinies — I have pity on this kind of being, and therefore I do not speak.”

The Part of Request (8): Vimukticandra’s Third Request — Prose · The Buddhas’ Protective Mindfulness and the Simile of the Letters

At that time the bodhisattva Vimukticandra again said to the bodhisattva Vajragarbha —

“Son of the Buddha! May you, borne by the spiritual power of the Buddha, discern and set forth this inconceivable Dharma — those who hear it will surely gain the protective mindfulness of the Tathāgata and give rise to faith and acceptance. Why is this? Because when the ten grounds are being set forth, the dharma of all bodhisattvas ought to be thus, and they all gain the protective mindfulness of the Buddha; and because through gaining that protective mindfulness they can give rise to a valiant mind toward this ground of wisdom. And why further? Because this is the place where a bodhisattva first practices, and because it is able to accomplish all the teachings of the buddhas. It is like the writing of letters and the reckoning of numbers and speech in the world: all of these take the letters as their root and the letters as their end, and there is not the least part of them that is apart from the letters. Son of the Buddha! All the teachings of the Buddha likewise take the ten grounds as their root; when the ten grounds are ultimately cultivated and accomplished, one gains omniscience. Therefore, son of the Buddha, may you set it forth for the assembly! Those who hear it will surely be held in the protective mindfulness of the Tathāgata, and will be made to give rise to faith and acceptance.”

The Part of Request (9): The Verses of Vimukticandra’s Third Request — Two Verses

At that time the bodhisattva Vimukticandra, wishing to state this meaning over again, spoke in verse, saying —

“Excellent, son of the Buddha, may you set forth the practice of the grounds that head into awakening! Of all the masterful lords of the ten directions (the buddhas), there is none who does not hold in protective mindfulness this root of wisdom. This wisdom in which one abides is likewise ultimate, the place from which all the teachings of the Buddha are born; just as writing and reckoning are gathered up by the letters, so too do the teachings of the Buddha rest upon the grounds.”

The Part of Request (10): The Great Bodhisattvas Request with One Voice — Five Verses

At that time the whole assembly of great bodhisattvas, with one voice at one time, spoke in verse to the bodhisattva Vajragarbha, saying —

“Wisdom excellent, wondrous, and without stain, eloquence boundless and discerning, proclaiming and setting forth deep and beautiful words that accord with the ultimate meaning. Recollecting and upholding the practice of purity, the merits gathered by the ten powers, discerning the meaning with eloquence — pray speak of these most surpassing grounds. By concentration and by the precepts they have gathered up an upright mind, and have left behind conceit and wrong views; this gathering is without a thought of doubt: our only wish is to hear you speak well! As a thirsty man longs for cool water, as a hungry man longs for fine food, as a sick man calls to mind good medicine, as bees crave good honey; so is it with us — may we hear the Dharma of sweet dew! Excellent, you of vast wisdom, may you set forth the entering of the grounds, the accomplishing of the ten powers without obstruction, the fulfilling of every practice of the Well-Gone One!”

The Part of Request (11): The Tathāgata Empowers by Sending Forth Light — the World-Honored One Sends Forth Light from between His Brows

At that time the World-Honored One sent forth from between his brows a pure light named “the bright flame of a bodhisattva’s power,” which had a hundred thousand asaṃkhyeyas of lights as its retinue, and which universally illumined all the worlds of the ten directions so that there was nowhere it did not reach; the suffering of the three evil destinies was all brought to rest; it illumined moreover the gathered assemblies of all the tathāgatas, displaying the inconceivable power of the buddhas; and it illumined moreover, in all the worlds of the ten directions, the bodies of the bodhisattvas who preach the Dharma empowered by all the buddhas; and when it had accomplished these deeds, it formed into a terrace of the net of clouds of great light in the space above, and remained there. Then the buddhas of the ten directions all did likewise, sending forth pure light from between their brows, and the name of that light, its retinue, and its work were all the same as here; and they likewise illumined the buddha and the great assembly of this Sahā world, and the body and the lion seat of the bodhisattva Vajragarbha, and then formed into a terrace of the net of clouds of great light in the space above.

The Part of Request (12): The Terrace of Light Speaks Verses — Five Verses

Then, from within the terrace of light, by the majestic spiritual power of the buddhas, verses were spoken, saying —

“The Buddha is without peer, yet equal to space; his ten powers are measureless and his merits surpassing; among humankind he is the most surpassing, in the world the highest — the Dharma of the Śākya Lion empowers him (Vajragarbha). Son of the Buddha, you should receive the power of the buddhas and open this most surpassing treasury of the Dharma King; and as for the vast wisdom and surpassing wondrous practice of the grounds, discern and set it forth by the majestic spiritual power of the Buddha. If one is empowered by the power of the Well-Gone One, one will gain the jewel of the Dharma entering into one’s mind; the grounds are without stain and are fulfilled in due order, and one is furnished as well with the ten powers of a tathāgata. Even though one dwell amid the waters of the ocean or amid the fire at the kalpa’s end, whoever is able to receive this Dharma will surely get to hear it; but those who give rise to doubt and do not believe will never get to hear a meaning such as this. One should set forth the path of the surpassing wisdom of the grounds — entering the grounds, dwelling on them, and cultivating them in turn and in due order; from practice and from its objects the wisdom of the Dharma is born, and this is for the benefit of all sentient beings.”

The Part of Request (13): Vajragarbha Consents to Speak — He Surveys the Ten Directions and Speaks Twelve Verses

At that time the bodhisattva Vajragarbha surveyed the ten directions, and wishing to make the assembly grow in pure faith, spoke in verse, saying —

“The path of the Tathāgata, the great sage, is subtle and hard to know; it is not an object of thought and is apart from all thoughts; one may wish to see it, but it cannot be found. It is without arising and also without ceasing; its nature is pure and constantly still; only the wise who are free of defilement — theirs is the field in which that wisdom moves. Its own nature is from the first empty and still, without duality and without exhaustion; in the destinies it gains liberation, and in nirvāṇa it dwells in equality. It is neither beginning, nor middle, nor end; it is not what words can set forth; it passes beyond the three times, and its mark is like space. Stillness and cessation are what the Buddha practices, and speech cannot reach so far; the practice of the grounds is likewise, hard to set forth and hard to receive. Wisdom gives rise to the realm of a buddha, which is not an object of thought and is apart from the path of the mind, and which is not encompassed by the gates of the aggregates, the elements, and the sense-fields — what wisdom knows, the mental consciousness cannot reach. Like the track of a bird in the sky, hard to set forth and hard to point out; such is the meaning of the ten grounds, which mind and thought cannot fathom. Kindness and compassion together with the power of vows give birth to the practice that heads into the grounds; step by step the mind is fulfilled, and this practice of wisdom is no field of deliberation. This field is hard to see; it may be realized and known but cannot be told — through the power of the Buddha it is set forth, and you should receive it reverently. Such is the practice into which wisdom enters that though one spoke for koṭis of kalpas the speaking could not be finished; I now speak of it only in summary, yet of the true meaning nothing is left out. Wait, all of you, single-minded and reverent, while I speak, borne by the power of the Buddha; the surpassing Dharma, a wondrous sound, accords with parables and with letters. The spiritual powers of measureless buddhas all come and enter into my body; this field is hard to display, and I now speak of only a small portion.”

Raising the Mind and Entering the Ground: The Moment This Mind Arises, One Enters the First Ground

“Sons of the Buddha! If there are sentient beings who have deeply planted roots of goodness, well cultivated the various practices, well amassed the factors that aid the path, well made offerings to the buddhas, well amassed the pure and immaculate dharmas, been taken in by good friends, and whose deep mind has well attained purity; who have set up a vast resolve, given rise to a vast faith and understanding, with kindness and compassion present before them — for the sake of seeking the wisdom of a buddha, for the sake of gaining the ten powers, for the sake of gaining great fearlessness, for the sake of gaining the dharma of the equality of all buddhas, for the sake of rescuing and protecting all the world, for the sake of purifying great kindness and compassion, for the sake of gaining the wisdom that reaches the ten directions without remainder, for the sake of purifying every buddha-land without obstruction, for the sake of knowing all things of the three times in a single thought, for the sake of turning the great wheel of Dharma without fear.

“Sons of the Buddha! The bodhisattva gives rise to a mind such as this: it takes great compassion as its forerunner, wisdom is preeminent in it, it is embraced by skillful means, it is upheld by the highest deep mind; the power of the Tathāgata in it is measureless, it observes and discriminates well the power of valor and the power of wisdom, unobstructed wisdom is present before it, it accords with spontaneous wisdom, it can receive all the Buddha’s teachings, and by wisdom it teaches and transforms sentient beings; this mind is vast as the Dharma realm, ultimate as space, and reaches to the very end of the future. Sons of the Buddha! The moment the bodhisattva gives rise to a mind such as this, he passes beyond the stage of the ordinary person, enters the position of a bodhisattva, and is born into the family of the Tathāgata; no one can fault his lineage for any flaw; he leaves behind the destinies of the world and enters the path that transcends the world, gains the dharma of a bodhisattva, dwells in the place of a bodhisattva, enters into the equality of the three times, and within the lineage of the Tathāgata is destined to attain unsurpassed awakening. When a bodhisattva dwells in a dharma such as this, he is called: one who dwells on the bodhisattva’s Joyful Ground — because he is in accord with the unshakable.

Dwelling on the Ground with Much Joy: Joy Born of the Ten Recollections

“Sons of the Buddha! A bodhisattva who dwells on the Joyful Ground perfects much joy, much pure faith, much delight, much gladness, much rejoicing, much exultation, much valor, much freedom from contention, much freedom from harming, much freedom from anger. Sons of the Buddha! A bodhisattva dwelling on this Joyful Ground: because he recollects the buddhas, joy arises; because he recollects the Dharma of the buddhas, joy arises; because he recollects the bodhisattvas, joy arises; because he recollects the practices of the bodhisattvas, joy arises; because he recollects the purity of the perfections, joy arises; because he recollects the surpassing excellence of the bodhisattva grounds, joy arises; because he recollects the indestructibility of the bodhisattva, joy arises; because he recollects the Tathāgata’s teaching and transforming of sentient beings, joy arises; because he recollects that sentient beings can be brought to benefit, joy arises; because he recollects entering into the wisdom and skillful means of all tathāgatas, joy arises. He further thinks in this way: ‘Because I have turned away from all the objects of the world, joy arises; because I draw near to all the buddhas, joy arises; because I am far from the stage of the ordinary person, joy arises; because I am close to the ground of wisdom, joy arises; because I have forever cut off all the evil destinies, joy arises; because I can be a place of reliance for all sentient beings, joy arises; because I get to see all the tathāgatas, joy arises; because I am born into the realm of a buddha, joy arises; because I have entered into the equal nature of all bodhisattvas, joy arises; because I am far from all terror and from the standing on end of the hair of the body, joy arises.’

Leaving the Five Fears: Because There Is No Notion of Self, the Fears Are Gone for Good

“Why is this so? Once this bodhisattva has gained the Joyful Ground, all fears are left far behind, namely: the fear of not making a living (the fear of being unable to survive), the fear of a bad reputation (the fear of ill repute), the fear of death (the fear of dying), the fear of the evil destinies (the fear of falling into the evil destinies), and the fear of the majesty of the assembly (the fear of the imposing power of a great gathering) — all these fears are left behind forever. Why is this so? This bodhisattva has left the notion of self behind; he does not even cherish his own body, how much less the goods and property outside the body. Therefore he has no fear of not making a living. He does not seek offerings from others, but with a single mind gives to all sentient beings. Therefore he has no fear of a bad reputation. He is far from the view of a self and has no notion of a self. Therefore he has no fear of death. He knows for himself that after death he will assuredly not be parted from the buddhas and the bodhisattvas. Therefore he has no fear of the evil destinies. In his resolve and delight nothing in all the world is his equal, how much less could anything surpass him! Therefore he has no fear of the majesty of the assembly. It is in this way that the bodhisattva leaves behind every kind of alarm and terror and the standing on end of the hair of the body.

The Thirty Clauses on Purifying the Dharma of the Ground

“Sons of the Buddha! This bodhisattva takes great compassion as his forerunner, and his vast resolve and delight cannot be spoiled by anyone; turning to cultivate all the roots of goodness ever more diligently, he brings them to perfection, namely: because faith is preeminent in him; because his pure faith is abundant; because his faith and understanding are pure; because his faith is settled; because pity arises in him; because he perfects great kindness; because his mind is without weariness or sloth; because he adorns himself with shame and conscience; because he perfects gentleness; because he reveres, follows, and honors the teachings of the buddhas; because day and night he cultivates and gathers roots of goodness and never has enough; because he draws near to good friends; because he constantly delights in the true Dharma; because he seeks to hear much and never has enough; because he contemplates rightly and in accordance with principle the Dharma he has heard; because his mind neither leans upon nor grasps at anything; because he is not infatuated with gain, fame, or reverence; because he does not pursue any of the goods that support life; because he gives rise to a mind like a jewel and never has enough; because he seeks the ground of omniscience; because he seeks the powers, the fearlessnesses, and the dharmas exclusive to a buddha of the Tathāgata; because he seeks the perfections and the factors that aid the path; because he is free of every kind of flattery and deceit; because he is able to act as he has spoken; because he constantly guards true speech; because he does not defile the family of the Tathāgata; because he does not forsake the bodhisattva precepts; because he gives rise to the mind of omniscience, unshakable as the king of mountains; because he does not abandon the affairs of the world and yet perfects the path that transcends the world; because he amasses the factors that aid awakening and never has enough; because he constantly seeks the higher and ever more surpassing path. Sons of the Buddha! A bodhisattva who perfects the dharmas that purify the ground in this way is called: one who dwells on the bodhisattva’s Joyful Ground.

The Ten Great Vows (1): The Vow to Make Offerings

“Sons of the Buddha! A bodhisattva dwelling on this Joyful Ground is able to perfect great vows such as these, great valor such as this, great functioning such as this, namely: ‘To give rise to a vast, pure, and settled faith and understanding, and with every kind of article of offering reverently to make offerings to all the buddhas, leaving none out; vast as the Dharma realm, ultimate as space, to the end of the future through all the numbers of kalpas, without ceasing.’

The Ten Great Vows (2–3): The Vow to Receive and Uphold the True Dharma · The Vow to Serve the Buddhas

“He further makes a great vow: ‘May I receive the wheel of Dharma of all the buddhas, may I embrace the awakening of all the buddhas, may I guard the teachings of all the buddhas, may I uphold and maintain the dharma of all the buddhas; vast as the Dharma realm, ultimate as space, to the end of the future through all the numbers of kalpas, without ceasing.’ He further makes a great vow: ‘In every world where a buddha arises in the world — descending from the palace of the Tuṣita heaven, entering the womb, dwelling in the womb, being born, leaving the household life, attaining the path and preaching the Dharma, and manifesting nirvāṇa — may I in every case go to draw near and make offerings, be the foremost of the assembly, receive and practice the true Dharma, and in all places turn it at one and the same time; vast as the Dharma realm, ultimate as space, to the end of the future through all the numbers of kalpas, without ceasing.’

The Ten Great Vows (4): The Vow to Practice the Two Benefits — the Six Characteristics of Whole and Part, Sameness and Difference, Formation and Disintegration

“He further makes a great vow: ‘May all bodhisattva practices be vast and measureless, indestructible and unmixed, embracing all the perfections and purifying all the grounds — the characteristic of the whole, the characteristic of the parts, the characteristic of sameness, the characteristic of difference, the characteristic of formation, the characteristic of disintegration — and may all bodhisattva practices be expounded just as they are, teaching and transforming all sentient beings so that they receive and practice them and their minds grow; vast as the Dharma realm, ultimate as space, to the end of the future through all the numbers of kalpas, without ceasing.’

The Ten Great Vows (5): The Vow to Ripen Sentient Beings

“He further makes a great vow: ‘May all the realms of sentient beings — those with form and those without form, those with perception and those without perception, those neither with perception nor without perception; those born from eggs, from a womb, from moisture, and by transformation; those bound within the three realms, those entering all the places of birth within the six destinies, those gathered under name and form — may I teach and transform all these kinds, causing them to enter the Dharma of the Buddha, causing them to cut off forever all the destinies of the world, causing them to dwell in the path of the wisdom of omniscience; vast as the Dharma realm, ultimate as space, to the end of the future through all the numbers of kalpas, without ceasing.’

The Ten Great Vows (6): The Vow to Serve the Dharma Realm — Worlds Differentiated Like Indra’s Net

“He further makes a great vow: ‘May all worlds, vast and measureless, the coarse and the fine, those dwelling in disarray, those dwelling inverted, those dwelling upright, some entering, some proceeding, some departing, differentiated like the jeweled net of the heaven of Śakra, measureless in the ten directions and of every kind — may my wisdom know all of them clearly and know and see them directly present; vast as the Dharma realm, ultimate as space, to the end of the future through all the numbers of kalpas, without ceasing.’

The Ten Great Vows (7): The Vow of Purified Lands

“He further makes a great vow: ‘May all lands enter into a single land and a single land enter into all lands; may measureless buddha-lands all be purified, adorned with light and with every kind of appointment, freed from all the afflictions, perfecting the path of purity; may measureless sentient beings of wisdom fill them, universally entering the vast realms of the buddhas, manifesting in accord with the minds of sentient beings so as to make them all rejoice; vast as the Dharma realm, ultimate as space, to the end of the future through all the numbers of kalpas, without ceasing.’

The Ten Great Vows (8): The Vow of One Aim and One Practice

“He further makes a great vow: ‘May I share one aim and one practice with all bodhisattvas, without enmity or jealousy, amassing the roots of goodness together; may all bodhisattvas, equal and of one and the same object, constantly assemble together and never forsake one another; may I manifest at will every kind of buddha-body, and spontaneously, by my own mind, know the majestic power and wisdom that is the realm of all tathāgatas; may I gain the non-retrogressive supernormal power that goes wherever it wishes, travel through all worlds, appear bodily in every assembly, universally enter all the places of birth, perfect the inconceivable Great Vehicle, and cultivate the bodhisattva practices; vast as the Dharma realm, ultimate as space, to the end of the future through all the numbers of kalpas, without ceasing.’

The Ten Great Vows (9): The Vow That the Three Kinds of Action Not Be in Vain

“He further makes a great vow: ‘May I ride the non-retrogressive wheel and practice the bodhisattva practices, so that the actions of body, speech, and mind are never in vain — whoever sees me even for a moment will surely become settled in the Dharma of the Buddha; whoever hears my voice even for a moment will gain true wisdom; whoever gives rise to pure faith even for a moment will forever cut off the afflictions. May I gain a body like the great king of medicine trees (so that all who see, hear, or touch it are benefited), and a body like a wish-fulfilling jewel (so that whatever is sought is fulfilled), and cultivate all the bodhisattva practices; vast as the Dharma realm, ultimate as space, to the end of the future through all the numbers of kalpas, without ceasing.’

The Ten Great Vows (10): The Vow to Attain Perfect Awakening — Buddhahood at a Hair’s Tip

“He further makes a great vow: ‘May I attain unsurpassed perfect awakening in every world without leaving the space of a single hair’s tip; and at the place of every hair’s tip may I manifest being born, leaving the household life, going to the place of awakening, attaining perfect awakening, turning the wheel of Dharma, and entering nirvāṇa; may I gain the great power of wisdom that is a buddha’s realm, and in thought after thought manifest becoming a buddha in accord with the minds of all sentient beings, causing them to attain quiescence. With one and the same perfect awakening may I know that the whole Dharma realm is itself the characteristic of nirvāṇa; with a single sound may I preach the Dharma, causing the minds of all sentient beings to rejoice; may I manifest entering great nirvāṇa without cutting off the bodhisattva practices; may I manifest the ground of great wisdom and establish all dharmas therein. With the penetration of the wisdom of Dharma, the penetration of supernormal travel, and the penetration of illusion, may I transform freely and fill the whole Dharma realm; vast as the Dharma realm, ultimate as space, to the end of the future through all the numbers of kalpas, without ceasing.’

The Ten Clauses of Exhaustion: The Realm of Sentient Beings Cannot Be Exhausted, and Neither Can My Vow

“Sons of the Buddha! A bodhisattva dwelling on the Joyful Ground gives rise to great vows such as these, great valor such as this, great functioning such as this: taking these ten gates of vowing as the head, he fulfills a million asaṃkhyeyas of great vows. Sons of the Buddha! These great vows are perfected by means of ten clauses of ‘exhaustion.’ Which ten? Namely: the exhaustion of the realm of sentient beings, the exhaustion of the realm of worlds, the exhaustion of the realm of space, the exhaustion of the Dharma realm, the exhaustion of the realm of nirvāṇa, the exhaustion of the realm of the appearing of buddhas, the exhaustion of the realm of the wisdom of the tathāgatas, the exhaustion of the realm of the objects of the mind, the exhaustion of the realm that is the object entered by a buddha’s wisdom, and the exhaustion of the realm of the turning of the world, the turning of Dharma, and the turning of wisdom. ‘Were the realm of sentient beings to have an exhausting, only then would my vow be exhausted; were the realm of worlds, and so on down to the realm of the turning of the world, the turning of Dharma, and the turning of wisdom, to have an exhausting, only then would my vow be exhausted. But the realm of sentient beings cannot be exhausted, and so on down to the realm of the turning of the world, the turning of Dharma, and the turning of wisdom, which cannot be exhausted; therefore the roots of goodness of this great vow of mine likewise have no exhausting.’

The Ten States of Mind and the Working of Pure Faith

“Sons of the Buddha! Once the bodhisattva has made great vows such as these, he gains a mind of benefit, a gentle mind, a mind that accords, a still mind, a tamed mind, a quiescent mind, a humble mind, a moistening mind, an unshakable mind, and an unclouded mind. He becomes one who has perfected pure faith, and his faith has this working: he can believe in the place entered by the original practice of the Tathāgata, believe in the perfecting of the perfections, believe in the entering of the surpassing grounds, believe in the perfecting of the powers, believe in the full possession of the fearlessnesses, believe in the growth of the indestructible dharmas exclusive to a buddha, believe in the inconceivable Dharma of the Buddha, believe in the bringing forth of the realm of a buddha that has neither middle nor bound, believe in the following and entering of the measureless realms of the Tathāgata, believe in the perfecting of the fruit. To say it in sum: he believes in all the practices of the bodhisattvas, and on up to the power of expounding of the ground of the Tathāgata’s wisdom.

Contemplating the Suffering of Beings: The Arising of the Wisdom of Great Compassion and the Bright Wisdom of Great Kindness

“Sons of the Buddha! This bodhisattva further thinks in this way: ‘The true Dharma of the buddhas is thus profound, thus still, thus quiescent, thus empty, thus signless, thus wishless, thus undefiled, thus measureless, thus vast. Yet ordinary people let their minds fall into wrong views, are covered and screened by ignorance, set up the high banner of arrogance, fall into the net of craving, walk in the dense thicket of flattery and deceit and cannot get themselves out; their minds, being in league with stinginess and jealousy, do not let go, and they constantly make the causes and conditions for taking birth in the destinies; greed, anger, and delusion amass every kind of karma, growing day and night; with the wind of rage and hatred they fan the fire of mind and consciousness, which blazes without cease; whatever karma they make is in league with inversion. The flood of desire, the flood of existence, the flood of ignorance, the flood of views — these give rise in unbroken succession to the seeds of mind, mentation, and consciousness, and in the field of the three realms there sprout once more the shoots of suffering. That is: name and form arise together and are not apart from each other; this name and form grow and bring forth the village of the six sense-fields; within the six sense-fields faculty and object meet and contact is born; because of contact, feeling is born; because of feeling, craving is born; because craving grows, grasping is born; because grasping grows, existence is born; and because existence arises, there are birth, aging, death, sorrow, lamentation, suffering, and distress. In this way sentient beings grow the mass of suffering — and within all of this there is emptiness, apart from a self and from what belongs to a self, without knowing and without awareness, without an agent and without an experiencer, like grass and trees and stones and walls, and also like a reflected image; yet sentient beings neither realize this nor know it.’ Seeing that sentient beings cannot get free from a mass of suffering such as this, the bodhisattva thereupon gives rise to the wisdom of great compassion. He further thinks in this way: ‘These sentient beings I ought to rescue and set in the place of ultimate peace and happiness.’ And thereupon he gives rise to the bright wisdom of great kindness.

The Perfecting of Great Giving: All Things Can Be Given

“Sons of the Buddha! When a bodhisattva-mahāsattva, in accord with great compassion and great kindness such as these, dwells with a deeply weighty mind upon the first ground, he has no stinginess toward any goods, but seeks only the great wisdom of a buddha and cultivates great giving — whatever he has, all of it he is able to give: wealth and grain, storehouses, gold and silver, maṇi jewels, true pearls, lapis lazuli, conch-shell and cowrie, jade discs, coral and the like; precious things, necklaces, and the articles that adorn the body; elephants and horses, carriages and vehicles, servants and subjects, cities, settlements, gardens and groves, terraces and belvederes, wives and concubines, sons and daughters, the retinue within and without, and all the rest of his precious playthings; and on down to his head and eyes, his hands and feet, his blood and flesh, his bones and marrow, every part of his body — toward none of it is he stingy — and this for the sake of seeking the vast wisdom of the buddhas. This is called: the perfecting of great giving by a bodhisattva dwelling on the first ground.

Advancing in the Practices: From Tirelessness to Steadfast Strength

“Sons of the Buddha! With a kind mind, a compassionate mind, and a mind of great giving such as these, and for the sake of rescuing and protecting all sentient beings, the bodhisattva turns to seek out ever more the various matters of benefit, worldly and world-transcending, and is never wearied; and thereupon he perfects the mind that is never wearied. Having gained the mind that is never wearied, his mind does not flinch before any of the scriptures and treatises; and because he does not flinch, he perfects the wisdom of all the scriptures and treatises. Having obtained this wisdom, he is well able to weigh what should be done and what should not be done, and toward sentient beings of the higher, the middling, and the lower kinds he acts as befits each of them, according to their capacity and according to what they are accustomed to — and so the bodhisattva comes to perfect worldly wisdom. Having perfected worldly wisdom, he knows the time and knows the measure, adorns himself with shame and conscience, and diligently cultivates the path that benefits himself and benefits others; and thereupon he perfects the adornment of shame and conscience. Practicing in this way, he diligently cultivates the leaving behind of the world, neither retreating nor turning back, and perfects steadfast strength. Having gained steadfast strength, he is diligent in making offerings to the buddhas and is able to practice the Buddha’s teachings as they are taught.

The Ten Dharmas That Purify the Grounds

“Sons of the Buddha! In this way the bodhisattva perfects the ten dharmas that purify the grounds, namely: faith, compassion, kindness, giving, being never wearied, knowing the scriptures and treatises, understanding well the ways of the world, shame and conscience, steadfast strength, and making offerings to the buddhas and practicing according to their teaching.

Seeing Many Buddhas · The Two Means of Gathering · The Preeminence of Giving · The Simile of the Goldsmith Refining Gold

“Sons of the Buddha! After a bodhisattva has dwelt on this Joyful Ground, by the power of his great vows he gets to see many buddhas, namely: he sees many hundreds of buddhas, many thousands of buddhas, many hundreds of thousands of buddhas, many koṭis of buddhas, many hundreds of koṭis of buddhas, many thousands of koṭis of buddhas, many hundreds of thousands of koṭis of buddhas, many koṭis of nayutas of buddhas, many hundreds of koṭis of nayutas of buddhas, many thousands of koṭis of nayutas of buddhas, many hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of buddhas. All of them he honors and reveres with a great mind and a deep mind, and he serves them and makes offerings to them — robes, food and drink, bedding, and medicine, all the articles that support life he offers up entirely, and with them he makes offerings to the whole assembly of monks as well; and with these roots of goodness he dedicates and directs everything toward unsurpassed awakening. Sons of the Buddha! Because this bodhisattva makes offerings to the buddhas, he attains the perfecting of the dharma that benefits sentient beings: with the first two means of gathering he gathers in sentient beings, that is, giving and kind speech; the latter two means of gathering (beneficial conduct and working alongside) he practices only by the strength of faith and understanding, and he has not yet become skillfully versed in them. Among the ten perfections, in this bodhisattva the dāna-pāramitā (the perfection of giving) is preeminent; it is not that he does not practice the remaining perfections, but he practices them according to his strength and according to his share. Whatever this bodhisattva diligently cultivates — making offerings to the buddhas, teaching and transforming sentient beings — is all for the sake of practicing the dharma that purifies the ground; and all his roots of goodness he dedicates and directs toward the ground of omniscience, whereupon they turn ever brighter and purer, become pliant and accomplished, and are fit for use as he wishes. Sons of the Buddha! It is like a goldsmith who is skilled at refining gold: again and again he puts it into the fire, and the gold turns ever brighter and purer, becomes pliant and accomplished, and is fit for use as he wishes. So it is with the bodhisattva: making offerings to the buddhas and teaching and transforming sentient beings are all for the sake of practicing the dharma that purifies the ground; all his roots of goodness he dedicates and directs toward the ground of omniscience, and they turn ever brighter and purer, become pliant and accomplished, and are fit for use as he wishes.

Knowing Well the Characteristics of the Grounds · The Simile of the Caravan Leader

“Sons of the Buddha! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva who dwells on the first ground should seek out and inquire of the buddhas, the bodhisattvas, and good friends concerning the characteristics of the practice and the attainment of the fruit within this ground, never having enough of it, for the sake of perfecting the dharma of this ground; he should likewise seek out and inquire of the buddhas, the bodhisattvas, and good friends concerning the characteristics of the practice and the attainment of the fruit within the second ground, never having enough of it, for the sake of perfecting the dharma of that ground; and he should in the same way seek out and inquire concerning the characteristics of the practice and the attainment of the fruit within the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth grounds, never having enough of it, for the sake of perfecting the dharma of those grounds. This bodhisattva knows well the obstructions of the grounds and their antidotes, knows well the formation and the disintegration of the grounds, knows well the characteristics and the fruits of the grounds, knows well the attaining and the cultivating of the grounds, knows well the purity of the dharma of the grounds, knows well the advance from ground to ground, knows well what is and what is not the proper place of each ground, knows well the surpassing wisdom of each ground, knows well the non-retrogression of each ground, and knows well the purifying of all the bodhisattva grounds on up to the passing over into the ground of the Tathāgata. Sons of the Buddha! A bodhisattva who thus knows well the characteristics of the grounds sets out in practice from the first ground and never once breaks off, and in this way on up to entering the tenth ground, with no interruption; and because of the light of the wisdom of these grounds, he perfects the light of the wisdom of the Tathāgata.

“Sons of the Buddha! It is like a caravan leader who knows skillful means well and wishes to lead a company of merchants to a great city: before he has set out, he first asks clearly about the merits and the hazards along the road and whether the places of halting and lodging are safe or not, and then he lays in ample provisions for the journey and makes the preparations that ought to be made. Sons of the Buddha! That great caravan leader, though he has not yet taken a step, is already able to know all the matters of safety and danger along the road; he weighs and observes them well with wisdom and prepares everything needed so that nothing is lacking, and thereupon he leads the company of merchants all the way to arrive safely at that great city, so that he himself and the whole company are spared misfortune. Sons of the Buddha! So it is with the bodhisattva caravan leader: dwelling on the first ground, he already knows well the obstructions of the grounds and their antidotes, and on up to knowing well the purity of all the bodhisattva grounds and the passing over into the ground of the Tathāgata; only then does he complete the provisions of merit and wisdom and lead all sentient beings through the perilous places of the wilderness of birth and death, arriving safely at the city of Sarvajñā (the city of omniscience), so that neither he himself nor sentient beings meet with calamity. Therefore the bodhisattva should constantly and without slackening cultivate the surpassing pure deeds of the grounds, on up to entering the ground of the Tathāgata’s wisdom.

The Concluding Words of the Summary Exposition

“Sons of the Buddha! This is called: the summary exposition of the gate by which a bodhisattva-mahāsattva enters the bodhisattva’s first ground. Were it expounded at length, there would be measureless, boundless hundreds of thousands of asaṃkhyeyas of differentiated matters.

The Fruit of Pliancy: King of Jambudvīpa · A Hundred Samādhis

“Sons of the Buddha! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva who dwells on this first ground mostly becomes a king of Jambudvīpa, of great rank and sovereign, who constantly guards the true Dharma; he is able to gather in sentient beings by great giving, is good at removing from sentient beings the stain of stinginess and greed, and constantly practices great giving without end. Giving, kind speech, benefiting, and working alongside — in all the deeds he does he is never apart from the recollection of the Buddha, never apart from the recollection of the Dharma, never apart from the recollection of the Saṅgha, never apart from the recollection of the bodhisattvas who practice together with him, never apart from the recollection of the bodhisattva practices, never apart from the recollection of the perfections, never apart from the recollection of the grounds, never apart from the recollection of the powers, never apart from the recollection of the fearlessnesses, never apart from the recollection of the dharmas exclusive to a buddha, and on up to never being apart from the recollection of the full possession of all modes and of the wisdom of omniscience. He further thinks in this way: ‘Among all sentient beings I ought to be the foremost, the best, the surpassing, the excellent, the sublime, the high, the unsurpassed, the guide, the leader, the commander, and on up to the one on whom they rely for the wisdom of omniscience.’ If this bodhisattva wishes to forsake the household and to practice with vigor within the Dharma of the Buddha, he is able to forsake his household, his wife and children, and the five desires, and to leave the household life and study the path in accordance with the Tathāgata’s teaching. Having left the household life and practiced with vigor, in the space of a single thought he gains a hundred samādhis, gets to see a hundred buddhas, knows the spiritual power of a hundred buddhas, is able to shake a hundred buddha-worlds, is able to pass beyond a hundred buddha-worlds, is able to illumine a hundred buddha-worlds, is able to teach and transform the sentient beings of a hundred worlds, is able to live for a hundred kalpas, is able to know the affairs of a hundred kalpas past and a hundred kalpas to come, is able to enter a hundred gates of Dharma, is able to manifest a hundred bodies, and in each single body is able to manifest a hundred bodhisattvas as his retinue. And if by the sovereign power of a bodhisattva’s surpassing vows he manifests freely, then he surpasses this number — a hundred kalpas, a thousand kalpas, a hundred thousand kalpas, and on up to a hundred thousand koṭis of nayutas of kalpas could not reckon it.”

The Verses in Repetition

At that time the bodhisattva Vajragarbha, wishing to restate and make clear the meaning of this, spoke in verse:

“If a person amasses the many kinds of good and is fully possessed of the pure and immaculate dharmas, makes offerings to the honored one of gods and humans, and follows the way of kindness and compassion; whose faith and understanding are utterly vast and whose resolve and delight are likewise pure — such a one, seeking the wisdom of a buddha, gives rise to this unsurpassed mind. (Raising the mind)

“In order to purify the power of omniscience and the great fearlessness as well, to perfect the dharmas of the buddhas, and to rescue and gather in the host of beings; in order to gain great kindness and great compassion, and to turn the surpassing wheel of Dharma, and to adorn and purify a buddha-land, he gives rise to this most excellent mind. In a single thought he knows the three times through and through, yet without any notion of discrimination; the various kalpas differ one from another, and by this he shows himself to the world. Stated summarily: seeking all the surpassing merits of the buddhas, he brings forth a vast mind whose measure is equal to the realm of space. (What the raising of the mind is for)

“Compassion foremost and wisdom as master, with skillful means in accord with them, a mind of faith and understanding that is pure, and the measureless power of the Tathāgata; unobstructed wisdom present before him, awakening of himself and not through another, fully possessed of what is the same as the Tathāgata, he gives rise to this most excellent mind. When a son of the Buddha first brings forth such a mind, a wondrous jewel, he at once passes beyond the position of the ordinary person and enters where the Buddha walks; born into the family of the Tathāgata, his lineage without blemish, equal and the same as the buddhas, he is destined to accomplish unsurpassed awakening. As soon as such a mind is born, he at once gains entry into the first ground, his resolve and delight unshakable, like a great king of mountains. (Entering the ground)

“Much rejoicing and much delight, and likewise much pure faith, a mind of the greatest valor, together with a mind of gladness and exultation; far from contention, from harming, and from anger, with shame and conscience, reverent and upright, well able to guard the faculties. All the many kinds of wisdom possessed by the peerless one who saves the world — ‘This I shall attain’ — recollecting thus, joy is born. (Much joy)

“First entering the first ground, he at once passes beyond the five kinds of fear: of not making a living, of death, of a bad reputation, of the evil destinies, and of the majesty of the assembly; because he does not cling to a self, nor to what belongs to a self, these sons of the Buddha are far removed from every kind of fear. (Leaving the five fears)

“He constantly practices great kindness and pity, and always has faith and reverence, with shame and conscience and merit complete, day and night his good dharmas growing; he delights in the true benefit of the Dharma and does not delight in receiving the desires; he ponders the Dharma he has heard and stays far from the practice of grasping and clinging. He is not greedy for gain and offerings, but delights only in the Buddha’s awakening, with a single mind seeking the Buddha’s wisdom, focused and without a second thought. He practices the perfections, stays far from flattery and deceit, practices just as he has spoken, and abides within true speech; he does not defile the family of the buddhas, does not forsake the bodhisattva precepts, takes no delight in the affairs of the world, and constantly benefits the world; he cultivates the good and never has enough, turning to seek an ever more surpassing path — thus taking delight in the Dharma, in accord with the meaning of merit. (Purifying the dharma of the ground)

“He constantly gives rise to the mind of great vows: may I get to see the buddhas, guard and uphold the Dharma of the buddhas, and take in the path of the great sage (the Buddha); constantly he gives rise to such vows: to practice the most excellent practice, to ripen the host of beings, and to adorn and purify the buddha-lands. In all the buddha-fields the sons of the Buddha fill them everywhere, equal and of one and the same mind, and all that they do is never in vain; at every place that is a hair’s tip, at one and the same time they attain perfect awakening — such great vows as these are measureless and without bound. (The ten great vows)

“Space and sentient beings, the Dharma realm and nirvāṇa, the arising of a buddha in the world, the realm of a buddha’s wisdom and of the mind, that which the Tathāgata’s wisdom enters, and the exhausting of the three turnings (of Dharma, of wisdom, and of the world) — ‘Were those to have an exhausting, only then would my vow come to be exhausted; as those have no exhausting, so likewise is my vow.’ (The ten clauses of exhaustion)

“Having thus made great vows, his mind is gentle, pliant, and tamed; he is able to believe in the merits of a buddha and to contemplate sentient beings: knowing that sentient beings arise from causes and conditions, he thereupon brings forth a mind of kindly recollection — ‘These sentient beings who suffer thus, I ought now to rescue and set free.’ For the sake of these sentient beings he practices every kind of giving: a royal throne and precious jewels, and on down to elephants, horses, carriages and vehicles, his head and eyes and hands and feet, and on down to the blood and flesh of his body — all of it he is able to relinquish, with a mind free of grief and regret. (The ten states of mind · great compassion · great giving)

“He seeks out every kind of scripture and treatise, his mind never wearying, understands well the purport of their meaning, and is able to accord with what the world does; adorning himself with shame and conscience, his practice turns ever more steadfast, and he makes offerings to measureless buddhas, reverent and honoring. (Advancing in the practices)

“Practicing constantly in this way, day and night without slackening, his roots of goodness turn ever brighter and purer, like true gold refined in fire. A bodhisattva dwelling on this ground purifies and cultivates the ten grounds, and all that he does is without obstruction, complete and unbroken. Just as a great caravan leader, for the benefit of the company of merchants, asks and learns which roads are perilous and which are easy, and arrives safely at the great city; so it should be known of a bodhisattva dwelling on the first ground — valorous and unobstructed, straight on to the tenth ground. (The simile of the goldsmith · the simile of the caravan leader)

“Dwelling within this first ground, he becomes a king of great merit, teaching and transforming sentient beings by the Dharma, his kind mind doing no harm; he governs the land of Jambudvīpa, and his teaching and practice reach everywhere, causing sentient beings all to abide in great giving and to perfect the wisdom of a buddha. Wishing to seek the most excellent path, he forsakes his own royal throne, and is able, within the teachings of the Buddha, to practice with valor and diligence, whereupon he gains a hundred kinds of samādhi and gets to see a hundred buddhas, shakes a hundred worlds, and his illumining and traveling are likewise so, teaches and transforms the sentient beings of a hundred lands, enters a hundred kinds of Dharma gates, is able to know the affairs of a hundred kalpas, manifests a hundred kinds of bodies, and manifests a hundred bodhisattvas to be his own retinue; and if by the sovereign power of his vows, then he surpasses this number without measure. (The fruit of pliancy)

“Of the meaning of the first ground I have set out only a small part; were it to be discriminated at length, a koṭi kalpas could not exhaust the telling. The most excellent path of a bodhisattva benefits all the host of beings — such is the Dharma of the first ground, which I have now finished expounding.” (The concluding exposition)

Praise and Request: The Assembly Scatters Flowers in Praise, and Vimukticandra Asks for the Second Ground

When the bodhisattvas had heard of this most excellent and subtle ground, their minds were all made pure and everything in them gave rise to joy. They all rose from their seats and leapt up to stand in the open sky, scattering fine and wondrous flowers everywhere, and all at the same time praised him together, saying: “Excellent, Vajragarbha! You of great wisdom and without fear! You have well expounded this ground — the dharma practiced by bodhisattvas.”

Vimukticandra Bodhisattva, knowing that the minds of the assembly had been made pure and that they delighted to hear all the characteristics of the practices of the second ground, then asked Vajragarbha, saying: “You of great wisdom, may you expound it! The sons of the Buddha all delight to hear of the second ground on which you dwell!”

The Ten Kinds of Deep Mind: The Gate for Entering the Second Ground

At that time Vajragarbha Bodhisattva said to Vimukticandra Bodhisattva:

“Sons of the Buddha! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva who has already cultivated the first ground and wishes to enter the second ground ought to give rise to ten kinds of deep mind. What are the ten? They are: the upright mind, the pliant mind, the capable mind (able to bear and carry through), the tamed mind, the quiescent mind, the purely good mind, the unmixed mind (mingled with nothing else), the mind without regard or attachment (holding nothing back and clinging to nothing), the vast mind, and the great mind. By means of these ten minds the bodhisattva is able to enter the second ground, the Stainless Ground.

The Ten Courses of Good Action (1): No Killing · No Stealing · No Sexual Misconduct

“Sons of the Buddha! A bodhisattva who abides on the Stainless Ground by his very nature leaves all killing far behind: he keeps no knives or clubs, he harbors no enmity or hatred, he has a sense of shame and a sense of dread, he is fully endowed with benevolence and forbearance, and toward all sentient beings that have life he constantly gives rise to a mind of benefit and of kindly thought; such a bodhisattva does not even vex sentient beings with an evil mind — how much less would he form the notion of a sentient being about another and then deliberately, with weighty intent, carry out killing and harm!

“By his very nature he does not steal: as to his own goods and property the bodhisattva constantly knows how to stop and be content, and toward others he is kind and forbearing, with no wish to encroach upon them or bring them loss; if a thing belongs to another, he forms the notion that it is another’s, and in the end he does not give rise to a thief’s mind toward that thing — down to a single blade of grass or a single leaf, if it is not given he does not take it, how much less the remaining articles that support life!

“By his very nature he does not commit sexual misconduct: the bodhisattva is content with his own wife and does not seek the wife of another; toward the wives and concubines of others, women whom others guard, those whose betrothal has already been settled by a go-between among their kinfolk, and those who are guarded by the Dharma, he does not even give rise to a mind of greedy defilement — how much less would he actually engage in the act! How much less by what is not the way!

The Ten Courses of Good Action (2): No False Speech · No Divisive Speech · No Harsh Speech · No Frivolous Speech

“By his very nature he speaks no falsehood: the bodhisattva constantly speaks words that are true, words that are real, and words that are timely; even in a dream he cannot bear to make a speech that covers something over — he has no mind to do it, how much less to transgress deliberately!

“By his very nature he speaks nothing divisive: the bodhisattva has toward sentient beings no mind that would set them at odds and no mind that would vex or harm them; he does not take the words of this side and speak them to that side in order to break that side, nor take the words of that side and speak them to this side in order to break this side; what has not been broken apart he does not let be broken, and what has already been broken apart he does not let grow; he does not delight in setting at odds, does not take pleasure in setting at odds, does not make speech that sets at odds, does not utter speech that sets at odds — whether it be true or not true.

“By his very nature he speaks nothing harsh: that is to say, words that poison and harm, words that are coarse and rough, words that make others suffer, words that make others angry and hateful, words spoken to the face, words spoken behind the back, words that are base and evil, words that are vulgar and mean, words that are not pleasant to hear, words that displease the hearer, words of anger and rage, words that burn the heart like fire, words that knot up enmity, words that scald and vex, words that cannot be loved, words that cannot be delighted in, words that can ruin oneself and ruin others — all such kinds of speech he casts away entirely; and he constantly speaks words that moisten and enrich, words that are pliant, words that gladden the mind, words that are pleasant to hear, words that make the hearer rejoice, words that enter well into people’s hearts, words that are refined and well formed, words that many love, words that many take delight in, words that make body and mind leap up with gladness.

“By his very nature he speaks nothing frivolous (he makes no meaningless speech): the bodhisattva constantly delights in words weighed with care, words that are timely, words that are true, words that have meaning, words that accord with the Dharma, words that follow reason, words that are skillful in taming, words decided upon after weighing them at the proper time; such a bodhisattva weighs even a jest with constant care — how much less would he deliberately put forth scattered and idle words!

The Ten Courses of Good Action (3): No Covetousness · No Ill Will · Leaving Wrong Views Behind

“By his very nature he is without covetousness: toward the goods and property of others, and toward what others use and enjoy, the bodhisattva gives rise to no greedy mind, does not wish for them, and does not seek them.

“By his very nature he leaves ill will far behind: toward all sentient beings the bodhisattva constantly gives rise to a mind of kindness, a mind of benefit, a mind of pity, a mind of joy, a mind that is harmonious and enriching, and a mind that gathers in; he casts away forever anger and hatred, enmity and harm, and scalding vexation, and constantly thinks to act in accord with reason, benevolently and kindly aiding and benefiting others.

“And he leaves wrong views far behind: the bodhisattva abides on the right path, does not practice divination, does not take up evil precepts (prohibitions that are not in accord with the Dharma), is upright both in mind and in view, without deceit and without flattery, and gives rise to settled faith in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha.

Guarding the Ten Courses of Good Action: Cultivating Them Oneself and Urging Others to Cultivate Them

“Sons of the Buddha! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva who guards and upholds the ten courses of good action in this way, constantly and without interruption, thinks further in this way: ‘Of all sentient beings that fall into the evil destinies, there is not one who does so otherwise than by the ten courses of evil action; therefore I ought to cultivate right conduct myself, and also to urge others on, causing them to cultivate right conduct. Why is this so? If one cannot oneself practice right conduct and yet would cause others to practice it, there is no such possibility.’

The Ten Courses of Good Action of the Highest Grade: One and the Same Ten, the Cause Running Through the Five Vehicles

“Sons of the Buddha! This bodhisattva-mahāsattva thinks further in this way: ‘The ten courses of evil action are the cause of taking birth in the hells, among animals, and among hungry ghosts; the ten courses of good action are the cause of taking birth among humans, among gods, and on up to the Peak of Existence (the highest place of birth in the three realms). Furthermore, these ten courses of good action of the highest grade, cultivated with wisdom — because the mind is narrow and inferior, because there is dread of the three realms, because great compassion is lacking, because understanding comes only after hearing the sound of another’s voice — become the śrāvaka vehicle. Furthermore, these ten courses of good action of the highest grade, cultivated and made pure — because one does not receive teaching from another but awakens by oneself, because great compassion and skillful means are not fully possessed, because one understands the profound dharma of causes and conditions — become the pratyekabuddha vehicle. Furthermore, these ten courses of good action of the highest grade, cultivated and made pure — because the mind is vast and measureless, because pity and compassion are fully possessed, because they are embraced by skillful means, because great vows are given rise to, because sentient beings are not forsaken, because the great wisdom of the buddhas is sought after, because the grounds of a bodhisattva are purified, because all the perfections are purely cultivated — become the vast practice of a bodhisattva. Furthermore, these ten courses of good action of the highest grade — because they are pure in every mode, and on up to because the ten powers and the four fearlessnesses are realized — bring all the dharmas of a buddha to accomplishment. Therefore I now practice the ten courses of good action equally, and ought to cause all of this to be fully possessed and pure; skillful means such as this a bodhisattva ought to study.’

The Fruits of the Ten Courses of Evil Action: The Three Evil Destinies by Highest, Middling, and Lowest · Two Residual Fruits Each Among Humans

“Sons of the Buddha! This bodhisattva-mahāsattva thinks further in this way: ‘Of the ten courses of evil action, those of the highest grade are the cause of the hells, those of the middling grade the cause of the animals, those of the lowest grade the cause of the hungry ghosts. Among them, the offense of killing can cause sentient beings to fall into the hells, among animals, and among hungry ghosts; and if born among humans, they gain two kinds of fruit: the first is a short life, the second is much illness. The offense of stealing likewise causes sentient beings to fall into the three evil destinies; and if born among humans, they gain two kinds of fruit: the first is poverty, the second is holding property in common without being able to dispose of it freely. The offense of sexual misconduct likewise causes sentient beings to fall into the three evil destinies; and if born among humans, they gain two kinds of fruit: the first is a wife who is not chaste and good, the second is not gaining the retinue one would wish for. The offense of false speech likewise causes sentient beings to fall into the three evil destinies; and if born among humans, they gain two kinds of fruit: the first is being much slandered, the second is being deceived by others. The offense of divisive speech likewise causes sentient beings to fall into the three evil destinies; and if born among humans, they gain two kinds of fruit: the first is a retinue that falls apart, the second is kinfolk who are corrupt and evil. The offense of harsh speech likewise causes sentient beings to fall into the three evil destinies; and if born among humans, they gain two kinds of fruit: the first is constantly hearing evil sounds, the second is speech that is much given to disputes. The offense of frivolous speech likewise causes sentient beings to fall into the three evil destinies; and if born among humans, they gain two kinds of fruit: the first is that what one says no one accepts, the second is that one’s words are not clear. The offense of covetousness likewise causes sentient beings to fall into the three evil destinies; and if born among humans, they gain two kinds of fruit: the first is a mind that does not know contentment, the second is many desires that are never satisfied. The offense of ill will likewise causes sentient beings to fall into the three evil destinies; and if born among humans, they gain two kinds of fruit: the first is that others constantly search out one’s strengths and faults, the second is that one is constantly vexed and harmed by others. The offense of wrong views likewise causes sentient beings to fall into the three evil destinies; and if born among humans, they gain two kinds of fruit: the first is being born into a family of wrong views, the second is that one’s mind is crooked and fawning.’

Taking the Ten Courses of Good Action as a Park of Dharma

“Sons of the Buddha! Because the ten courses of evil action can bring forth these measureless and boundless masses of great suffering, the bodhisattva thinks in this way: ‘I ought to leave the ten courses of evil action far behind and take the ten courses of good action as a park of Dharma, loving it and abiding in it at ease; I shall dwell within it myself and also urge others on, causing them to dwell within it.’

The Ten Thoughts of Benefiting Others (1): Right View · Great Kindness · Right Livelihood · Nirvāṇa · The Eye of Wisdom

“Sons of the Buddha! This bodhisattva-mahāsattva further gives rise, toward all sentient beings, to a mind of benefit, a mind of ease and joy, a mind of kindness, a mind of compassion, a mind of pity, a mind that gathers in, a mind that guards and protects, a mind that takes them as himself (seeing sentient beings as his own self), a mind of a teacher, and a mind of a great teacher, thinking in this way: ‘Sentient beings are to be pitied: they have fallen into the dense thickets of wrong views, evil understanding, evil desires, and evil destinies. I ought to cause them to abide in right view and to walk the road of what is real.’

“He thinks further in this way: ‘All sentient beings discriminate between that one and this one, between others and self; they break one another down, quarrel and hate, blazing without cease. I ought to cause them to abide in unsurpassed great kindness.’

“He thinks further in this way: ‘All sentient beings grasp greedily and are never satisfied, seeking wealth and profit alone, keeping themselves alive by a wrong livelihood. I ought to cause them to abide in the dharma of right livelihood, with the deeds of body, speech, and mind made pure.’

“He thinks further in this way: ‘All sentient beings constantly follow after the three poisons of greed, hatred, and delusion, and every kind of affliction blazes up because of them, so that they do not understand how to set their will upon the skillful means of getting out. I ought to cause them to extinguish the great fire of all afflictions and to be set down in the cool place of nirvāṇa.’

“He thinks further in this way: ‘All sentient beings are covered over by the heavy darkness of delusion and by the thick film of false views, and so they enter dense thickets of shadow, lose the light of wisdom, walk the perilous roads of the wilderness, and give rise to every kind of evil view. I ought to cause them to gain the unobstructed and pure eye of wisdom, to know all dharmas as they really are, and not to follow after the teaching of another.’

The Ten Thoughts of Benefiting Others (2): The Perilous Road · The Torrent · The Prison · Grasping at a Self · The Narrow and Inferior Mind

“He thinks further in this way: ‘All sentient beings are within the perilous road of birth and death, about to fall into the hells, among animals, and among hungry ghosts; they fall into the net of evil views, are lost in the dense thicket of delusion, follow after wrong paths and walk in inverted conduct. It is as when a blind man has no guide: what is not the road out they take for the road out, and so they enter the realm of Māra, are gathered in by evil brigands, follow after Māra’s mind, and go far from the Buddha’s intent. I ought to draw them out of perils and difficulties such as these and cause them to abide in the fearless city of omniscience.’

“He thinks further in this way: ‘All sentient beings are drowned by the waves of a great torrent of water and have fallen into the flood of desire, the flood of existence, the flood of ignorance, and the flood of views; within the eddies of birth and death and the drifting current of the river of craving they are swept along and dashed about, with no leisure to look and examine; they are pursued without letting-up by the thought of desire, the thought of hatred, and the thought of harm, and the rākṣasa of the view of self seizes hold of them in midstream and carries them away forever into the dense thicket of craving and desire; toward what they crave they give rise to deep defilement, they dwell upon the highland mound of conceit and settle in the village of the six sense-fields; there is none who is good at rescuing them, none who is able to ferry them across. I ought to give rise to a mind of great compassion toward them, and with every kind of root of goodness bring them relief, causing them to be free of calamity, to leave defilement behind and be quiescent, and to abide on the jewel island of omniscient wisdom.’

“He thinks further in this way: ‘All sentient beings dwell in the prison of the world, with much suffering and vexation of every kind; they constantly harbor love and hate and give rise of themselves to sorrow and fear; they are bound by the heavy fetters of greedy desire and have the dense thicket of ignorance as their covering, and within the three realms not one of them can get out by himself. I ought to cause them to leave the three modes of existence (existence in the realm of desire, existence in the realm of form, existence in the formless realm) forever, and to abide in the unobstructed great nirvāṇa.’

“He thinks further in this way: ‘All sentient beings grasp at a self; they do not seek to get out of the cave-dwelling of the aggregates, they rest upon the empty village of the six sense-fields, they give rise to the conduct of the four inversions, they are afflicted by the poisonous snakes of the four great elements and slain by the enemy brigands of the five aggregates, and so undergo measureless suffering. I ought to cause them to abide in the most excellent place where there is nothing to be attached to — that is to say, the unsurpassed nirvāṇa in which all obstructions are extinguished.’

“He thinks further in this way: ‘All sentient beings are narrow and inferior in mind; they do not walk the highest road of omniscience, and though they wish to get out, they take delight only in the vehicle of the śrāvaka and of the pratyekabuddha. I ought to cause them to abide in the vast dharma of a buddha and in vast wisdom.’

Guarding the Precepts Is Itself the Growth of Kindness and Compassion

“Sons of the Buddha! A bodhisattva who guards and upholds the precepts in this way is well able to make the mind of kindness and compassion grow.

By the Power of Vows He Sees Many Buddhas · Offerings and Dedication · Receiving the Ten Courses of Good Action Again

“Sons of the Buddha! A bodhisattva who abides on this Stainless Ground, by the power of his vows, gets to see many buddhas. That is to say: he sees many hundreds of buddhas, many thousands of buddhas, many hundreds of thousands of buddhas, many koṭis of buddhas, many hundreds of koṭis of buddhas, many thousands of koṭis of buddhas, many hundreds of thousands of koṭis of buddhas, and so on up to seeing many hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas (a name for a great number) of buddhas.

“In the presence of the buddhas, with a vast mind and a deep mind, he honors and reveres them, serves them and makes offerings to them — robes, food and drink, bedding, and medicine, all the articles that support life he offers up entirely, and with them he makes offerings to the whole assembly of monks as well; and with these roots of goodness he dedicates and directs everything toward anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi (unsurpassed perfect awakening). In the presence of the buddhas, with a mind of reverence, he receives and puts into practice the dharma of the ten courses of good action once again; and in accordance with what he has received, on up to the attaining of awakening, he never in the end forgets or loses it.

The Simile of True Gold Placed in Alum · Kind Speech and Keeping the Precepts Are Preeminent

“Through measureless hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of kalpas this bodhisattva, because he has left far behind the stains of stinginess, envy, and the breaking of the precepts, is fully satisfied in the purity of giving and of keeping the precepts. It is as when true gold is placed in alum and refined according to the method: it leaves every stain behind and turns brighter and purer still. So it is with a bodhisattva who abides on this Stainless Ground — through measureless hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of kalpas, because he has left far behind the stains of stinginess, envy, and the breaking of the precepts, he is fully satisfied in the purity of giving and of keeping the precepts.

“Sons of the Buddha! In this bodhisattva, among the four means of gathering, kind speech is preeminent; among the ten perfections, keeping the precepts is preeminent; it is not that he does not practice the rest, but he practices them according to his strength and according to his share.

The Fruit of the Ground: A Wheel-Turning Sage King · The Ten Ways of Being Foremost · Leaving Home and Gaining a Thousand Samādhis

“Sons of the Buddha! This is what is called: a summary account of the second ground of a bodhisattva-mahāsattva, the Stainless Ground. A bodhisattva who abides on this ground mostly becomes a wheel-turning sage king, a great lord of the Dharma, fully possessed of the seven treasures and having the power of sovereignty; he is able to remove from all sentient beings the stains of stinginess, greed, and the breaking of the precepts, and by skillful means he causes them to abide in the ten courses of good action; he becomes a great lord of giving, supplying all around without end. Giving, kind speech, benefiting, and working alongside — in all the deeds he does in this way he is never apart from the recollection of the Buddha, never apart from the recollection of the Dharma, never apart from the recollection of the Saṅgha, and on up to never being apart from the recollection of the full possession of all modes and of the wisdom of omniscience.

“He thinks further in this way: ‘Among all sentient beings I ought to be the foremost, the best, the surpassing, the excellent, the sublime, the high, the unsurpassed, and on up to the one on whom they rely for the wisdom of omniscience.’

“If this bodhisattva wishes to forsake the household and to practice with vigor within the Dharma of the Buddha, he is then able to forsake his household, his wife and children, and the five desires. Having left the household life, he practices with vigor, and in the space of a single thought he gains a thousand samādhis, gets to see a thousand buddhas, knows the spiritual power of a thousand buddhas, is able to shake a thousand worlds, and on up to being able to manifest a thousand bodies, and in each single body able to manifest a thousand bodhisattvas as his retinue; and if by the sovereign power of a bodhisattva’s surpassing vows he manifests freely, then he surpasses this number — a hundred kalpas, a thousand kalpas, and on up to a hundred thousand koṭis of nayutas of kalpas could not reckon and know it.”

The Verses Repeating the Meaning (1): The Ten Minds · The Merit of the Precepts of the Ten Courses of Good Action

At that time Vajragarbha Bodhisattva, wishing to restate this meaning, spoke in verse, saying:

“Upright and pliant and capable, tamed, quiescent, and purely good, with a vast intent that swiftly leaves birth and death — by these ten minds one enters the second ground.

“Abiding on this ground he perfects the merit of the precepts: he leaves killing far behind and does not do harm, he leaves stealing too and sexual misconduct behind, and leaves false speech, harsh speech, divisive speech, and meaningless words. He does not covet goods and property but is constantly kind and pitying, walks the right path with an upright mind and no flattery or falseness, leaves the perilous and crooked behind, casts away arrogance and is utterly pliant and gentle, and practices in accordance with the teaching without heedlessness.

The Verses Repeating the Meaning (2): The Suffering of the Three Evil Destinies · The Ten Courses of Good Action Running Through the Five Vehicles · Keeping the Precepts and Teaching Others

“In the hells and among animals they undergo every kind of suffering, and hungry ghosts burn with fierce flames breaking out from their bodies — all of this is brought on by the offenses they have done; I ought to leave those behind and abide in the dharma that is real.

“Among humans one gets to take birth as one wishes, and on up to the joy of the meditations in the Heaven of the Peak; the paths of the pratyekabuddha, the śrāvaka, and the buddha-vehicle are all accomplished by means of the ten courses of good action.

“Contemplating in this way without heedlessness, he keeps the pure precepts himself and teaches others to guard them; and seeing again the host of beings undergoing every kind of suffering, he turns and increases the mind of great compassion still further.

The Verses Repeating the Meaning (3): The Ten Thoughts Matched in Place · The Four Floods and the Three Realms · Turning the Inferior Mind

“The foolish and ordinary, by wrong understanding, do not understand rightly; they constantly harbor rage and hatred and are much given to disputes, and they crave after objects with no term to their satisfaction — I ought to cause them to remove the three poisons.

“Wrapped and covered by the great darkness of delusion, entering the great perilous road and the net of wrong views, held fast by the cage of birth and death and by their foes — I ought to cause them to crush the brigand Māra.

“Swept along by the four floods, their minds sunk and drowning, the three realms as though ablaze and their suffering measureless, reckoning the aggregates to be a house with a self inside it — in order to ferry them across I diligently practice the path.

“Even when they seek to get out, their minds are low and inferior, and they cast away the highest wisdom of a buddha — I would cause them to abide in the Great Vehicle, giving rise to diligence and valorous vigor without ever having enough.

The Verses Repeating the Meaning (4): Seeing the Buddhas and Refining the Gold · The Fruit of the Wheel-Turning King · Leaving Home and Gaining a Thousand Samādhis · The Concluding Statement

“A bodhisattva abiding on this ground gathers merit, sees measureless buddhas and makes offerings to them all, and cultivating for koṭis of kalpas his roots of goodness grow brighter still, as when one refines true gold with a fine medicine.

“A son of the Buddha abiding on this ground becomes a wheel-turning king, teaching and transforming sentient beings everywhere to practice the ten courses of good action; all the dharmas of goodness he cultivates, and in order to accomplish the ten powers he rescues the world.

“Wishing to cast away the position of a king and his wealth and treasures, he then forsakes the household life and relies upon the teaching of the Buddha; valorous and diligent, in the space of a single thought he obtains a thousand samādhis and sees a thousand buddhas.

“All the various powers of spiritual penetration a bodhisattva of this ground is able to manifest; and what is done by the power of his vows surpasses even these, measurelessly and freely liberating the host of beings.

“The one who benefits all the world, the most excellent practice of a bodhisattva that he cultivates — such is the merit of the second ground, which I have now finished setting forth for the sons of the Buddha.”

The Part of Praise and Request (1): The Assembly Scatters Flowers, Praising the Exposition of the Second Ground

(The compilers relate how the assembly appeared.) The sons of the Buddha, having heard the practice of this ground and knowing that the state of a bodhisattva is hard to fathom and hard to discuss, were every one of them reverent and glad, and so they scattered flowers into the air as an offering.

(With one voice the assembly praised.) They praised him, saying: “Excellent, great king of mountains (a praise of the bodhisattva Vajragarbha as unshakable as the king of mountains)! With a kindly mind you take pity on all sentient beings, and you have skillfully expounded the dharma of the discipline upheld by the wise — that is, the characteristics of practice on the second ground.

“The subtle practices of these bodhisattvas are true and not false, without difference and without discrimination; and for the benefit of the many multitudes you have expounded them thus, most purely of all.

The Part of Praise and Request (2): The Great Assembly Requests the Exposition of the Third Ground

“O you who are honored with offerings by all humans and gods! We pray you, expound for us the third ground — those many kinds of deeds of wisdom that accord with the Dharma — and just as that ground is in itself, we hope you will set it forth in full!

“All the dharmas of giving and of discipline that belong to the great seer (an honorific for the Buddha), patience, vigor, meditation, and wisdom, together with the path of skillful means and of kindness and compassion, and the pure practice of a buddha — we pray you, expound them all!

The Part of Praise and Request (3): The Foremost One, Vimukticandra, Requests Again

At that time the bodhisattva Vimukticandra asked once more, saying: “O Vajragarbha, great being who knows no fear! We pray you, expound the road that enters upon the third ground, and the many kinds of merit possessed by one whose mind-ground is gentle and pliant!

The Part of the Arousing of the Practice of Wearying: The Ten Kinds of Deep Mind by Which One Enters the Third Ground

At that time the bodhisattva Vajragarbha said to the bodhisattva Vimukticandra:

“Sons of the Buddha! When a bodhisattva-mahāsattva has already purified the second ground and wishes to enter the third ground, he should arouse ten kinds of deep mind. What are the ten? They are: the pure mind, the abiding mind, the mind that wearies and relinquishes (a mind that wearies of things and is willing to let them go), the mind free of craving, the non-retrogressing mind, the firm mind, the bright and flourishing mind (a mind bright and blazing), the valiant mind, the vast mind, the great mind. It is by these ten minds that the bodhisattva gains entry into the third ground.

The Part of the Practice of Wearying (1): Contemplating the True Character of the Conditioned — Ten Clauses on Impermanence

“Sons of the Buddha! Once a bodhisattva-mahāsattva has come to abide on the third ground, he contemplates the true character of all conditioned dharmas (dharmas made by causes and conditions). That is to say: they are impermanent, they are suffering, they are impure, they are not secure; they are subject to decay, they do not abide long, they arise and cease within an instant; they are not born from the prior limit, they do not go toward the later limit, nor do they abide in the present.

The Part of the Practice of Wearying (2): Ten Clauses Contemplating the Absence of Rescue — Within the Conditioned There Is No Refuge and No Rescue

“Again he contemplates that these dharmas are without rescue and without reliance, that they are companion to sorrow and companion to grief, that they dwell together with suffering and vexation, that they are bound by love and hate, that anguish and misery grow ever greater with the turning, and that there is nowhere one may halt and lay up a store; that the three fires of craving, anger, and delusion blaze fiercely and have never ceased, that they are bound about by a host of troubles and grow day and night, and that they are unreal, as an illusion is.

The Part of the Practice of Wearying (3): Seeing That the Wisdom of a Buddha Is Measureless, He Turns Toward and Seeks the Great Wisdom

“Having seen the true state of things in this way, he gives rise to a redoubled wearying of all conditioned dharmas and turns toward the wisdom of a buddha. He sees that the wisdom of a buddha is inconceivable, without compare, without limit, hard to gain and unmixed, free of affliction and free of sorrow, able to reach the city of no fear, never again to retrogress, and able to rescue measureless sentient beings who suffer and are in distress.

The Part of the Practice of Wearying (4): The Ten Kinds of Pitying Mind

“The bodhisattva, seeing in this way that the wisdom of the Tathāgata has measureless benefit and that all conditioned dharmas have measureless faults, thereupon gives rise toward all sentient beings to ten kinds of pitying mind. What are the ten? They are: seeing sentient beings orphaned and solitary, with nothing to rely on, he gives rise to a pitying mind; seeing sentient beings poor and destitute, he gives rise to a pitying mind; seeing sentient beings burned by the fire of the three poisons, he gives rise to a pitying mind; seeing sentient beings shut up in the prison of the three kinds of existence (existence in the realm of desire · existence in the realm of form · existence in the formless realm), he gives rise to a pitying mind; seeing sentient beings constantly covered and obstructed by the dense thicket of the afflictions, he gives rise to a pitying mind; seeing sentient beings unable to contemplate well (lacking the power of right contemplation), he gives rise to a pitying mind; seeing sentient beings without desire or delight for good dharmas, he gives rise to a pitying mind; seeing sentient beings who have lost the dharmas of the buddhas, he gives rise to a pitying mind; seeing sentient beings drifting along with the current of birth and death, he gives rise to a pitying mind; seeing sentient beings who have lost the skillful means of liberation, he gives rise to a pitying mind. These are the ten.

The Part of the Practice of Wearying (5): Ten Clauses of the Vow to Deliver

“The bodhisattva, seeing in this way that the realm of sentient beings has measureless suffering and vexation, gives rise to great vigor and thinks thus: ‘These sentient beings — I ought to rescue them, I ought to set them free, I ought to purify them, I ought to bring them across; I ought to place them in a good place, I ought to make them abide, I ought to make them glad, I ought to make them know and see (understand how things stand), I ought to make them tamed (subdue their afflictions), I ought to bring them to nirvāṇa.’

Gathering In by Skillful Means (1): Tracing Back Through Five Steps, All the Way to Skillful and Extensive Learning

“The bodhisattva, wearying in this way of all conditioned dharmas and pitying in this way all sentient beings, knows that the wisdom of omniscience (the wisdom of a buddha) has surpassing benefit, and wishing to rely on the wisdom of the Tathāgata to rescue sentient beings, he thereupon reflects thus: ‘These sentient beings have fallen into the great suffering of the afflictions; by what skillful means can they be drawn out and made to abide in the bliss of ultimate nirvāṇa?’

“Then he thinks further thus: ‘To deliver sentient beings and make them abide in nirvāṇa is not apart from unobstructed wisdom of liberation; unobstructed wisdom of liberation is not apart from the true awakening to all dharmas; the true awakening to all dharmas is not apart from the luminosity of the wisdom of practice that is without practice and without arising (the wisdom of contemplative practice that is without contrivance and without the mark of arising); the luminosity of the wisdom of practice that is without practice and without arising is not apart from the wisdom of skillful and decisive contemplation within meditation; the wisdom of skillful and decisive contemplation within meditation is not apart from skillful and extensive learning.’

Gathering In by Skillful Means (2): The Ten Practices of the Dharma — Day and Night He Makes the Dharma His Only Business

“The bodhisattva, having contemplated and understood in this way, redoubles his diligence in seeking and cultivating the true Dharma, and day and night wishes only to hear the Dharma, delight in the Dharma, take joy in the Dharma, rely on the Dharma, follow the Dharma, understand the Dharma, comply with the Dharma, arrive at the Dharma, abide in the Dharma, and practice the Dharma (from hearing, delighting, and taking joy, on to relying, following, understanding, complying, arriving, abiding, and putting into practice).

Gathering In by Skillful Means (3): For the Sake of Seeking the Dharma, Goods Within and Without Are All Given Away

“The bodhisattva, seeking the Buddha’s teaching diligently in this way, begrudges none of his treasures and goods, and does not regard anything as hard to come by and worth prizing; only toward one who can expound the Buddha’s teaching does he give rise to the thought that such a one is hard to meet. Therefore, as to the goods within his body and the goods outside it, the bodhisattva is able to give them all away for the sake of seeking the Buddha’s teaching. There is no reverence he is unwilling to perform, no arrogance he is unwilling to relinquish, no service he is unwilling to render, no toil and hardship he is unwilling to bear.

“If he hears one phrase of a teaching he has never heard before, he gives rise to great gladness, surpassing that of gaining the treasures that fill a three-thousandfold great-thousand world-system; if he hears one verse of true Dharma he has never heard before, he gives rise to great gladness, surpassing that of gaining the position of a wheel-turning sage king; if he gains one verse he has never heard before that can purify the practice of a bodhisattva, it surpasses gaining the position of Śakra, lord of the gods, or of the great Brahmā king, and dwelling in it for measureless hundreds of thousands of kalpas.

Gathering In by Skillful Means (4): Even Entering a Great Pit of Fire He Does Not Refuse

“If someone should say: ‘I have one phrase of Dharma spoken by a buddha, able to purify the practice of a bodhisattva. If you can now leap into a great pit of fire and undergo the utmost suffering, I will give it to you’ — the bodhisattva then thinks thus: ‘Since it is for the sake of purifying the practice of a bodhisattva by one phrase of Dharma spoken by a buddha, then even if the whole three-thousandfold great-thousand world-system were filled with a great fire, I would still be willing to cast myself down from atop the Brahmā heaven and receive it in person; how much less could I refuse to enter one small pit of fire! And now, for the sake of seeking the Buddha’s teaching, I ought to receive all the sufferings of every hell — how much more the small sufferings and vexations of the human world!’

“The bodhisattva, giving rise in this way to diligent and valiant vigor in seeking the Buddha’s teaching, also contemplates and cultivates in accordance with what he has heard. This bodhisattva, having heard the Buddha’s teaching, gathers in his mind and abides, and in a quiet and unpeopled place reflects thus: ‘It is by practicing in accordance with what has been expounded that the Buddha’s teaching is gained; it is not by mere talk from the mouth that one is made pure.’

The Part of Wearying (1): The Four Dhyānas

“Sons of the Buddha! When this bodhisattva abides on this Luminous Ground, he leaves behind the several desires and the evil and unwholesome dharmas, and, with initial thought (coarse movements of mind) and sustained thought (fine movements of mind), with joy and bliss born of leaving desire behind, he abides in the first dhyāna; extinguishing initial and sustained thought, with the mind inwardly pure and focused on one object, without initial or sustained thought, with joy and bliss born of concentration, he abides in the second dhyāna; leaving joy behind and abiding in equanimity, with right mindfulness and right awareness, his body experiencing bliss, this being what the noble ones call being able to let go, having mindfulness, and experiencing bliss, he abides in the third dhyāna; cutting off bliss, with the former suffering and joy and sorrow already extinguished as well, neither suffering nor blissful, with equanimity and mindfulness both pure, he abides in the fourth dhyāna.

The Part of Wearying (2): The Four Formless Attainments

“Passing beyond all notions of form, extinguishing notions of resistance (notions of material obstruction), not calling to mind the many notions of difference, he enters boundless space and abides in the station of the boundlessness of space; passing beyond every station of the boundlessness of space, he enters boundless consciousness and abides in the station of the boundlessness of consciousness; passing beyond every station of the boundlessness of consciousness, he enters where there is not the least thing whatever and abides in the station of nothing whatever; passing beyond every station of nothing whatever, he abides in the station of neither notion nor absence of notion. But this is done only because he accords with the Dharma, and he does not crave it or take delight in it or attach to it.

The Fruit of Wearying (1): The Four Immeasurable Minds

“Sons of the Buddha! The mind of this bodhisattva accords with kindness, vast and immeasurable and not two, without enmity and without opposition, without obstruction and without harm, spread throughout every place, exhausting the Dharma realm and exhausting the realm of space, reaching everywhere in all worlds; and his abiding in compassion, in sympathetic joy, and in equanimity is likewise the same.

The Fruit of Wearying (2): The First of the Five Superknowledges — the Superknowledge of Spiritual Bases

“Sons of the Buddha! This bodhisattva gains measureless power of spiritual penetration: he is able to shake the great earth; he makes one body into many bodies and gathers many bodies into one body; he vanishes or appears; the obstruction of stone walls and of mountains does not hinder him wherever he goes, as though it were empty space; he goes cross-legged through empty space, as a bird in flight; he enters the earth as though it were water and walks upon water as though it were earth; smoke and flames issue from his body, as from a great mass of fire; and he rains down water, as a great cloud does; the sun and moon in the sky have great majestic power, yet he can stroke and touch them with his hand; his body is masterful, and he can even reach up to the world of Brahmā.

The Fruit of Wearying (3): The Divine Ear

“The divine ear of this bodhisattva is pure, surpassing the ear of a human being, and is able to hear all the sounds of humans and gods, whether far or near; on down to the sounds of mosquitoes, gnats, horseflies, and houseflies, he is able to hear them all.

The Fruit of Wearying (4): Knowing the Minds of Others

“This bodhisattva, by the knowledge of the minds of others, knows as they truly are the minds of other sentient beings. That is to say: a mind with craving he knows truly to be a mind with craving; a mind free of craving he knows truly to be a mind free of craving; a mind with anger and a mind free of anger, a mind with delusion and a mind free of delusion, a mind with affliction and a mind without affliction, a small mind and a broad mind, a great mind and an immeasurable mind, a gathered mind (a mind drawn in) and a mind not gathered, a scattered mind and a mind not scattered, a concentrated mind and a mind not concentrated, a liberated mind and a mind not liberated, a mind with something above it and a mind with nothing above it, a defiled mind and a mind not defiled, a broad mind and a mind not broad — all of these he knows as they truly are. It is thus that the bodhisattva, by the knowledge of the minds of others, knows the minds of sentient beings.

The Fruit of Wearying (5): Knowing Former Abodes

“This bodhisattva is able to recall and know the distinctions of measureless former lives, that is to say: ‘I recall and know one life, I recall and know two lives, three lives, four lives, on up to ten lives, twenty lives, thirty lives, on up to a hundred lives, measureless hundreds of lives, measureless thousands of lives, measureless hundreds of thousands of lives; the kalpa of formation, the kalpa of destruction, the kalpa of formation and destruction, measureless kalpas of formation and destruction. I was once in such and such a place, with such a name, such a family name, such a clan, such food and drink, such a life span, dwelling in the world for so long a time, with such sufferings and such pleasures. I died there and was born in such a place; I died in such a place and was born here; with such a shape, such features, such speech and voice.’ In this way he is able to recall the measureless distinctions of the past.

The Fruit of Wearying (6): The Divine Eye

“The divine eye of this bodhisattva is pure, surpassing the eye of a human being, and he sees sentient beings at the time of their birth and at the time of their death, with good form and with bad form, going to good destinies and going to evil destinies, going each according to his own deeds. If those sentient beings have perfected evil conduct of body, perfected evil conduct of speech, and perfected evil conduct of mind, and have slandered the worthy and the noble; if they are possessed of wrong views and of the deeds and causes and conditions of wrong views, then when the body breaks up and life ends they will assuredly fall into the evil destinies and be born in the hells. If those sentient beings have perfected good conduct of body, perfected good conduct of speech, and perfected good conduct of mind, and have not slandered the worthy and the noble, and are possessed of right views, then by the deeds and causes and conditions of right views, when the body breaks up and life ends they will assuredly be born in the good destinies, among the gods. All of this the bodhisattva’s divine eye knows as it truly is.

The Fruit of Wearying (7): Mastery in Entering and Emerging from Concentration, Without Taking Birth by the Power of Concentration

“With respect to the several dhyānas, the samādhis, and the samāpattis (the attainments of equipoise · the states of concentration made present), this bodhisattva is able to enter with mastery and to emerge with mastery; yet he does not take birth in accordance with the power of these concentrations, but only in accordance with the place where the factors of awakening can be brought to fullness, going there to be born by the power of his intention and his vow.

The Fruit of Pliancy (1): Seeing Many Buddhas, Reverently Making Offerings, Hearing the Dharma and Upholding It

“Sons of the Buddha! This bodhisattva, abiding on this Luminous Ground, gets by the power of his vows to see many buddhas. That is to say: he sees many hundreds of buddhas, sees many thousands of buddhas, sees many hundreds of thousands of buddhas, on up to seeing many hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas (an exceedingly great number) of buddhas. To all of them, with a vast mind and a deep mind, he is reverent and respectful, serves them and makes offerings to them, and presents and gives away clothing, food and drink, bedding, and medicines — every article that sustains life; and with these he also makes offerings to the whole community of monks, and he dedicates and directs these roots of goodness toward unsurpassed perfect awakening. In the presence of those buddhas he reverently hears the Dharma, and having heard it he upholds it without forgetting, and practices according to his ability.

The Fruit of Pliancy (2): The Contemplation of the Nature of Dharmas, and the Thinning of the Bonds

“This bodhisattva contemplates all dharmas as neither arising nor ceasing, existing only through the coming together of causes and conditions; the bonds of view (the bonds that arise from opinions) have already been extinguished before, and all the bonds of desire, the bonds of form, the bonds of existence, and the bonds of ignorance turn thin; and because through measureless hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of kalpas he no longer accumulates (evil deeds and afflictions), wrong craving, wrong anger, and wrong delusion are all cut off, and all his roots of goodness turn brighter and purer.

The Fruit of Pliancy (3): The Simile of Refining True Gold

“Sons of the Buddha! It is like true gold that has been skillfully refined: its weight is not lessened, yet its color turns brighter and purer. So it is with the bodhisattva: abiding on this Luminous Ground, because he no longer accumulates, wrong craving, wrong anger, and wrong delusion are cut off, and all his roots of goodness turn brighter and purer.

The Fruit of Pliancy (4): The Thirteen Minds Turn Pure · The Preeminence of Benefiting Others and of the Perfection of Patience

“This bodhisattva’s mind of patience, gentle mind, harmonious and compliant mind (a mind harmonious and going along with others), pleasing and lovely mind, mind free of anger, unmoving mind, unmuddied mind, mind that holds none high or low, mind that looks for no return (a mind that does not count on being repaid), mind that repays kindness, mind free of flattery, mind free of deceit, and mind free of crooked partiality (a mind without dark and slanted scheming) — all of these turn pure.

“Among the four means of gathering (giving · kind speech · benefiting others · working alongside), this bodhisattva is preeminent in benefiting others; among the ten perfections, he is preeminent in the perfection of patience. It is not that he does not cultivate the rest; he cultivates them only according to his own strength and his own share.

The Fruit of the Recompense Gathered In: He Mostly Becomes a King of the Thirty-Three, and in All He Does He Is Never Apart from the Recollection of the Buddha

“Sons of the Buddha! This is what is called the bodhisattva’s third ground, the Luminous. A bodhisattva abiding on this ground mostly becomes a king of the heaven of the Thirty-Three, and is able by skillful means to cause sentient beings to relinquish craving and desire. Giving, kind speech, benefiting others, working alongside — in all such deeds as these that he does he is never apart from the recollection of the Buddha, never apart from the recollection of the Dharma, never apart from the recollection of the Saṅgha, and on up to never being apart from the recollection of the full possession of all modes and of the wisdom of omniscience.

“He further thinks in this way: ‘Among all sentient beings I ought to be the foremost, the best, the surpassing, the excellent, the sublime, the high, the unsurpassed, and on up to the one on whom they rely for the wisdom of omniscience.’

“If he practices with diligent vigor, then in the space of a single thought he is able to gain a hundred thousand samādhis, able to see a hundred thousand buddhas, to know the spiritual power of a hundred thousand buddhas, able to shake a hundred thousand buddha-worlds, and on up to being able to manifest a hundred thousand bodies, each body having a hundred thousand bodhisattvas as its retinue; and if by the surpassing vow-power of a bodhisattva he manifests with mastery, it exceeds even this number, so that though a hundred kalpas, a thousand kalpas, on up to a hundred thousand koṭis of nayutas of kalpas were to pass, it could not be counted.

The Repeated Verses (1): On the Ten Kinds of Deep Mind

At that time the bodhisattva Vajragarbha, wishing to restate this meaning, spoke these verses:

“The pure, the abiding, and the bright and flourishing mind, the mind that wearies, that is without craving, that is without harm, the firm, the valiant, and the vast mind — with these the wise one enters upon the third ground.

The Repeated Verses (2): On Contemplating the Impermanence and the Suffering of the Conditioned

“The bodhisattva, abiding on this Luminous Ground, contemplates all the formations as suffering and as impermanent, as impure and as decaying and swiftly coming to extinction, without solidity, without halting, neither coming nor going.

“He contemplates all conditioned dharmas as a grave illness, bound about by sorrow, grief, suffering, vexation, and confusion; the fierce fire of the three poisons blazes constantly, and from beginningless time it has never rested.

The Repeated Verses (3): On Wearying of the Conditioned and Seeking the Wisdom of a Buddha Alone

“He wearies of the three kinds of existence and does not crave them, but seeks the wisdom of a buddha alone, with no other thought; that wisdom is hard to measure, hard to conceive, without compare, measureless and boundless, and without any pressing or harming.

The Repeated Verses (4): On the Ten Kinds of Pity

“Having seen the wisdom of a buddha, he then pities sentient beings: they are orphaned and solitary, without reliance and with none to rescue them; the three poisons blaze fiercely and they are constantly worn out; they dwell in the prison of the three kinds of existence and constantly undergo suffering;

“Bound and covered by the afflictions, they are blind and without eyes; their aims and delights are lowly and they have lost the treasure of the Dharma; they follow the current of birth and death and yet dread nirvāṇa — I ought to rescue them, applying vigor diligently.

The Repeated Verses (5): On Tracing Back Through Skillful Means, Coming Home to Extensive Learning

“Being about to attain wisdom in order to benefit sentient beings, he considers by what skillful means they may be set free — it is not apart from the unhindered wisdom of the Tathāgata, and that wisdom in turn arises from the wisdom of non-arising.

“Thinking in his heart that this wisdom is gained from hearing, he reflects thus and urges himself on: day and night he hears and cultivates without a break, taking only the true Dharma as most worthy of honor.

The Repeated Verses (6): On Relinquishing All Things in Order to Seek the Dharma

“Lands and cities and towns, goods and treasures and every kind of jewel, wife and children and retinue, together with the royal throne — for the sake of the Dharma the bodhisattva gives rise to a mind of reverence, and all such things as these he is able to relinquish.

“Head, eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and teeth, hands, feet, marrow, heart, blood, and flesh — that these can be relinquished still does not count as hard; it is seeking to hear the true Dharma that is hardest of all.

The Repeated Verses (7): On Entering the Fire to Seek the Dharma

“Suppose someone were to come and say to the bodhisattva: ‘Whoever can cast himself into a great mass of fire, to him will I give the treasure of the Buddha’s teaching!’ — the bodhisattva, hearing this, casts himself in without dread.

“Even were a great fire to fill the three-thousandfold world, to cast oneself in from the world of Brahmā is, for the sake of seeking the Dharma, not to be counted hard — how much less the small sufferings of the human world!

“From the first arousing of the intention toward the path until the attaining of buddhahood, all the sufferings of the hell of unremitting torment in between can be borne for the sake of hearing the Dharma — how much more the many sufferings of the human world!

The Repeated Verses (8): On the Eight Concentrations, the Four Immeasurables, and the Five Superknowledges

“Having heard, he reflects rightly and in accordance with principle, and gains the four dhyānas and the concentrations of the formless realm; the four equalities (the four immeasurable minds) and the five superknowledges arise in due order, and yet he does not take birth in accordance with the power of these concentrations.

The Repeated Verses (9): On the Fruit of Pliancy

“The bodhisattva, abiding on this ground, sees many buddhas, makes offerings and hears the Dharma and his mind is settled; he cuts off the many wrong delusions and turns pure, as true gold is refined while its substance is not lessened.

The Repeated Verses (10): On the Fruit of the Recompense Gathered In

“Abiding on this ground he mostly becomes the king of Trāyastriṃśa, teaching and guiding measureless multitudes of gods, causing them to relinquish craving and abide in the good path, single-mindedly seeking the merit of a buddha.

“A son of the Buddha abiding on this ground, applying vigor diligently, is fully possessed of a hundred thousand samādhis, and sees a hundred thousand buddhas adorning their bodies with the marks and signs; and if by the power of his vows, it exceeds even this number.

The Repeated Verses (11): The Concluding Statement of the Third Ground

“To benefit all sentient beings everywhere is the highest practice of the bodhisattvas — and all the content of the third ground such as this I have now explained in full, following its meaning.

Praise and Request: Having Heard of the Third Ground, the Heaven King and the Head of the Assembly Ask That the Fourth Be Expounded

(The compiler of the sūtra sets out the aspect of the assembly at that time.) The sons of the Buddha, hearing of this vast gate of practice — this ground that is lovely, profound, and surpassing — were in their hearts all leaping and glad, greatly joyful, and scattered abroad a multitude of flowers as an offering to the Buddha. While a wondrous Dharma such as this was being expounded, the great earth and the waters of the sea alike shook; all the goddesses were glad, and all sent forth beautiful and wondrous sounds to praise together.

The Sovereign Heaven King, greatly delighted and counting himself fortunate, rained down maṇi jewels as an offering to the Buddha, and praised him, saying: “The Buddha has appeared in the world for our sake, expounding the practice of merit of the first order. The meaning of the grounds, spoken by one of wisdom such as this, is exceedingly hard to meet with in a hundred thousand kalpas; today I have suddenly heard it — this is the sound of the wondrous Dharma of the bodhisattva’s surpassing practice. May the one of keen intelligence (that is, the bodhisattva Vajragarbha) expound yet further: the grounds that come after, that road which is determinate and leaves nothing over, for the benefit of all the gods and humans; these sons of the Buddha here present are all glad to hear it!”

The bodhisattva Vimukticandra, valiant and of a great raised mind, asked the bodhisattva Vajragarbha, saying: “Son of the Buddha! Turning from here into the fourth ground — all the aspects of practice therein, may you declare them!”

The Means of Entering the Ground: The Ten Gates of Dharma-Light

At that time the bodhisattva Vajragarbha told the bodhisattva Vimukticandra:

Sons of the Buddha! When a bodhisattva-mahāsattva has cultivated the third ground until it is well purified, and wishes to enter the fourth ground, Flaming Wisdom (arciṣmatī), he should cultivate the ten gates of Dharma-light (“Dharma” is the place that is entered, and “the gate of light” is the gate by which one is able to enter — that is, by the shining of the light of wisdom one passes into the Dharma that the Buddha has spoken). Which ten? They are these: to observe the realm of sentient beings, to observe the Dharma realm, to observe the realm of worlds, to observe the realm of space, to observe the realm of consciousness, to observe the realm of desire, to observe the realm of form, to observe the formless realm, to observe the realm believed in and understood by the vast mind (the sphere believed in and understood by a mind vast enough to succor others as well), to observe the realm believed in and understood by the great mind (the sphere believed in and understood by a mind that guards against the small and seeks the great). By these ten gates of Dharma-light the bodhisattva is able to enter the fourth Flaming-Wisdom Ground.

The Ten Wisdoms That Ripen the Dharmas: Gaining That Inner Dharma, He Is Born into the Family of the Tathāgata

Sons of the Buddha! A bodhisattva dwelling on this Flaming-Wisdom Ground is able, because of the ten kinds of wisdom that ripen the dharmas, to gain that inner Dharma of the Tathāgata (not the dharma of outward aspect, but the Dharma of teaching and transforming that the Tathāgata has spoken), and to be born into the family of the Tathāgata. Which ten? They are these: because his deep mind does not turn back; because in the Three Jewels, the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha, he gives rise to a pure faith that in the end cannot be broken; because he observes that the formations have arising and have ceasing; because he observes that the self-nature of dharmas is from the first unarisen; because he observes that the world has forming and has decaying; because he observes that it is on account of deeds that there is birth; because he observes birth-and-death and nirvāṇa; because he observes the deeds of sentient beings and of lands; because he observes the prior limit and the later limit (the limit of the past and the limit of the future); because he observes that there is nothing at all to be exhausted (within defiled dharmas he sees not one dharma that could be lessened, and within pure dharmas not one dharma that could be increased, and therefore it is said that there is nothing at all to be exhausted). These are the ten.

The Thirty-Seven Factors of the Path (1): The Four Stations of Mindfulness

Sons of the Buddha! A bodhisattva dwelling on this fourth ground observes the inner body, observing it along the body (observing it in accordance with the body’s own character), diligent and valiant, mindful and knowing, and removes covetousness and grief with respect to the world; he observes the outer body, observing it along the body, diligent and valiant, mindful and knowing, and removes covetousness and grief with respect to the world; he observes the inner and outer body, observing it along the body, diligent and valiant, mindful and knowing, and removes covetousness and grief with respect to the world. In this same way he observes inner feelings, outer feelings, and inner and outer feelings, observing them along feeling; he observes the inner mind, the outer mind, and the inner and outer mind, observing them along the mind; he observes inner dharmas, outer dharmas, and inner and outer dharmas, observing them along dharmas — diligent and valiant, mindful and knowing, removing covetousness and grief with respect to the world.

The Thirty-Seven Factors of the Path (2): The Four Right Eliminations

Next, this bodhisattva, with regard to the evil and unwholesome dharmas that have not yet arisen, in order that they may not arise, gives rise to zeal, produces diligent vigor, and sets his mind on right elimination; with regard to the evil and unwholesome dharmas that have already arisen, in order to cut them off, gives rise to zeal, produces diligent vigor, and sets his mind on right elimination; with regard to the wholesome dharmas that have not yet arisen, in order that they may arise, gives rise to zeal, produces diligent vigor, and sets his mind on right conduct; with regard to the wholesome dharmas that have already arisen, in order that they may abide and not be lost, and that by cultivation they may be made to increase and spread, gives rise to zeal, produces diligent vigor, and sets his mind on right conduct.

The Thirty-Seven Factors of the Path (3): The Four Bases of Supernormal Power

Next, this bodhisattva cultivates the concentration of zeal together with the practice of elimination (the concentration in which zeal is the leading power, together with the practice that cuts off obstruction), and accomplishes the base of supernormal power (the foot of accord with wish); he relies upon disgust, relies upon dispassion, relies upon cessation, and dedicates it toward equanimity; he cultivates the concentration of vigor, the concentration of mind, and the concentration of contemplation, together with the practice of elimination, and accomplishes the base of supernormal power, relying upon disgust, relying upon dispassion, relying upon cessation, and dedicating it toward equanimity.

The Thirty-Seven Factors of the Path (4): The Five Faculties

Next, this bodhisattva cultivates the faculty of faith, relying upon disgust, relying upon dispassion, relying upon cessation, and dedicating it toward equanimity; he cultivates the faculty of vigor, the faculty of mindfulness, the faculty of concentration, and the faculty of wisdom, relying upon disgust, relying upon dispassion, relying upon cessation, and dedicating it toward equanimity.

The Thirty-Seven Factors of the Path (5): The Five Powers

Next, this bodhisattva cultivates the power of faith, relying upon disgust, relying upon dispassion, relying upon cessation, and dedicating it toward equanimity; he cultivates the power of vigor, the power of mindfulness, the power of concentration, and the power of wisdom, relying upon disgust, relying upon dispassion, relying upon cessation, and dedicating it toward equanimity.

The Thirty-Seven Factors of the Path (6): The Seven Factors of Awakening

Next, this bodhisattva cultivates the factor of awakening that is mindfulness, relying upon disgust, relying upon dispassion, relying upon cessation, and dedicating it toward equanimity; he cultivates the factor of awakening that is the discernment of dharmas, the factor of awakening that is vigor, the factor of awakening that is joy, the factor of awakening that is ease (the factor of awakening that is pliancy of body and mind), the factor of awakening that is concentration, and the factor of awakening that is equanimity, relying upon disgust, relying upon dispassion, relying upon cessation, and dedicating them toward equanimity.

The Thirty-Seven Factors of the Path (7): The Eightfold Right Path

Next, this bodhisattva cultivates right view, relying upon disgust, relying upon dispassion, relying upon cessation, and dedicating it toward equanimity; he cultivates right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right vigor, right mindfulness, and right concentration, relying upon disgust, relying upon dispassion, relying upon cessation, and dedicating them toward equanimity.

The Ten Purposes for Which the Factors of the Path Are Cultivated: What Marks Them Off from the Two Vehicles

The bodhisattva cultivates merit such as this because he does not forsake any sentient being; because he is upheld by his original vow; because great compassion goes before him; because great kindness is accomplished in him; because he keeps in mind the wisdom of omniscience; because he would accomplish the adorning of a buddha-land; because he would accomplish the Tathāgata’s powers, fearlessnesses, exclusive dharmas of a buddha, marks and signs, and voice, all of them complete; because he seeks the surpassing path that is higher and higher; because he would accord with the most profound liberation of a buddha that he has heard of; because he ponders the skillful means of great wisdom.

Leaving Behind the Clingings That Begin with the View of a Body

Sons of the Buddha! A bodhisattva dwelling on this Flaming-Wisdom Ground — whatever clingings, beginning with the view of a body, arise with respect to self, person, sentient being, life-span, the aggregates, the elements, and the sense-bases, whether emerging or submerged as he reckons and calculates; by reason of contemplating what counters them, by reason of what is mine, by reason of goods and property, by reason of the place clung to — from all these he departs entirely.

The Sifting of Deeds and Practices

If this bodhisattva sees that some deed is one the Tathāgata has rebuked, or one defiled by the afflictions, he relinquishes them all; if he sees that some deed is one that accords with the bodhisattva path, or one the Tathāgata has praised, he cultivates them all.

The Ten States of Mind: Gained by Cultivating the Path and the Aids to the Path with the Wisdom of Skillful Means

Sons of the Buddha! This bodhisattva, according to the wisdom of skillful means that arises in him, cultivates the path (the realizing wisdom of the fourth ground) together with the portions that aid the path (the factors of awakening), and so gains the mind that moistens (deep love and reverence that moisten), the pliant mind, the well-tempered mind, the mind of benefit and ease, the mind free of defilement, the mind that seeks the Dharma higher and higher, the mind that seeks surpassing wisdom, the mind that rescues all the world, the mind that reveres those of virtue and does not go against their instruction (revering a teacher of virtue and not going against what he teaches), and the mind that cultivates well whatever Dharma it has heard.

The Ten Virtues of Knowing Gratitude and of Pliancy

This bodhisattva knows gratitude and knows how to repay gratitude; his mind is exceedingly gentle and good; he dwells together with others in ease; he is plain and upright and pliant; he has no conduct of the dense thicket (before a donor he does not conceal his own faults); he has no conceit of self; he is good at receiving instruction; he is able to grasp the intent of one who expounds the Dharma.

The Three Accomplishments and the Ten Kinds of Vigor

This bodhisattva, having thus accomplished forbearance, having thus accomplished pliancy, having thus accomplished stillness, and having accomplished forbearance, pliancy, and stillness all together, and purifying the deeds of the grounds that come after, gains, when he sets his attention on cultivation, the vigor that does not rest, the vigor free of defilement (not shared with indolence and not shared with attachment, neither exceeding nor falling short but flowing evenly), the vigor that does not turn back, the vast vigor, the boundless vigor, the blazing vigor, the vigor equal to the unequalled, the vigor that cannot be broken, the vigor that ripens all sentient beings, and the vigor that discerns well the path from what is not the path.

The Marks of Virtue at the Fullness of the Ground

The realm of this bodhisattva’s mind is pure; his deep mind is not lost; his awakening and understanding are clear and keen; his roots of goodness increase; he is far from the defilement of the world; he cuts off every doubt; his clarity and decisiveness are complete; joy and bliss fill him; he is guarded and kept in mind by the buddhas themselves; and measureless resolve and delight are all accomplished in him.

The Fruit of Pliancy (1): Seeing Many Buddhas, Making Offerings, Hearing the Dharma, Going Forth

Sons of the Buddha! A bodhisattva dwelling on this Flaming-Wisdom Ground, by the power of his vow, gets to see many buddhas. That is: he sees many hundreds of buddhas, sees many thousands of buddhas, sees many hundreds of thousands of buddhas, on up to seeing many hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of buddhas. To all these buddhas he is reverent and respectful, serving and making offerings — robes, bedding, food and drink, and medicines, every furnishing that sustains life he offers up in giving, and with them he makes offerings also to the whole Saṅgha; and with these roots of goodness he dedicates and directs them all toward unsurpassed perfect awakening. In the presence of those buddhas he reverently hears the Dharma, and having heard it he upholds it and cultivates it completely. Moreover, within the Dharma of those buddhas he goes forth and cultivates the path, and cultivates his deep faith and understanding still further; and over measureless hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of kalpas he causes his roots of goodness to turn ever brighter and purer.

The Fruit of Pliancy (2): The Simile of the Goldsmith Refining Gold and the Simile of the Maṇi Jewel

Sons of the Buddha! It is like a goldsmith who refines true gold and makes of it an ornament: all the rest of the gold cannot come up to it. So it is with the bodhisattva-mahāsattva: the roots of goodness that are his while he dwells on this ground, the roots of goodness of the lower grounds cannot come up to them. Again, it is like the pure orb of light of a maṇi jewel, able to send forth radiance, which none of the other jewels can come up to, and which wind and rain and such outer conditions cannot damage at all. So it is with the bodhisattva-mahāsattva: dwelling on this ground, he is such that the bodhisattvas of the lower grounds cannot come up to him, and the hosts of Māra and the afflictions cannot damage him at all.

The Preeminent Cultivation among the Four Means of Gathering and the Ten Perfections

This bodhisattva, among the four means of gathering, has the sharing of tasks (sharing in the tasks of sentient beings) preeminent; among the ten perfections, he has vigor preeminent; the rest are not uncultivated, only that they follow his strength and follow his portion.

The Concluding Name and the Body of the Fruit of Recompense: He Mostly Becomes a King of the Suyāma Heaven

Sons of the Buddha! This is what is called: a summary account of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva’s fourth ground, Flaming Wisdom. A bodhisattva dwelling on this ground mostly becomes a king of the Suyāma Heaven, able by skillful means to remove from sentient beings the view of a body and such delusions, and to establish them in right view. Giving, kindly speech, beneficial conduct, sharing of tasks — in all the deeds of every kind that he does, he does not depart from keeping the Buddha in mind, does not depart from keeping the Dharma in mind, does not depart from keeping the Saṅgha in mind, on up to not departing from keeping in mind the complete possession of every mode and of the wisdom of omniscience. And he thinks in this way: “I should be, among all sentient beings, the foremost, the excellent, the surpassing, the wondrous, the subtly wondrous, the high, the unsurpassed, on up to being the place of reliance for the wisdom of omniscience.”

The Number of the Spiritual Transformations at the Fullness of the Ground

“If this bodhisattva rouses diligent vigor, then in a single moment of thought he can enter koṭis of samādhis, can see koṭis of buddhas, can know the spiritual power of koṭis of buddhas, can shake koṭis of worlds, on up to manifesting koṭis of bodies, each body having koṭis of bodhisattvas as its retinue; and if by the sovereign manifesting of a bodhisattva’s surpassing power of vow, then it surpasses this number — a hundred kalpas, a thousand kalpas, on up to hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of kalpas could not reckon and know it.”

The Verses in Repetition

At that time the bodhisattva Vajragarbha, wishing to declare this meaning over again, spoke in verse:

The bodhisattva has purified the third ground; next he observes the realm of sentient beings, the realm of worlds, the Dharma realm, observes the realm of space and the realm of consciousness, and the three realms of desire, form, and formlessness; the mind’s believing and understanding penetrates them all and is able to enter in. (Repeating the ten gates of Dharma-light)

No sooner has he mounted the Flaming Ground than his strength increases; born into the family of the Tathāgata, he never turns back; his faith in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha cannot be broken; he observes that dharmas are impermanent and have no arising. He observes the forming and decaying of the world, and that it is on account of deeds that there is birth; he observes birth-and-death and nirvāṇa, and the deeds of sentient beings and of lands and the like; he observes the prior limit and the later limit and observes too that there is nothing at all to be exhausted — cultivating in this way, he is born into the family of the Buddha. (Repeating the ten wisdoms and the birth into the family of the Tathāgata)

Having gained these dharmas, his kindness and pity increase, and he turns to cultivate the four stations of mindfulness the more diligently: body, feeling, mind, and dharmas observed throughout, inner and outer, and the covetousness and craving of the world are all removed. (Repeating the four stations of mindfulness)

The bodhisattva cultivates the four practices of right diligence: evil dharmas are extinguished and wholesome dharmas increase; the bases of supernormal power, the faculties, and the powers he cultivates well one and all, and so likewise the seven factors of awakening and the eightfold right path. (Repeating from the four right eliminations through the eightfold right path)

To deliver sentient beings he cultivates those practices, upheld by his original vow, with kindness and compassion going before; he seeks omniscience and a buddha-land, and calls to mind too the Tathāgata’s ten powers, four fearlessnesses, exclusive dharmas of a buddha, and the marks and signs that are singular and the voice deep and beautiful; he seeks too the wondrous path and the place of liberation, and with great skillful means cultivates those practices. (Repeating the ten purposes for which the factors of the path are cultivated)

The sixty-two views that begin with the view of a body, the self and what is mine in measureless kinds, the graspings of every sort at the five aggregates, the eighteen elements, the twelve sense-bases and the like — in this fourth ground all of them are left behind. (Repeating the leaving behind of the clingings that begin with the view of a body · “sixty-two” is a number raised in the verses alone, not listed in the prose)

The afflicted conduct that the Tathāgata rebukes, being without meaning or benefit, is all cut off; one of wisdom cultivates pure deeds, and to deliver sentient beings there is nothing he does not do. (Repeating the sifting of deeds and practices)

The bodhisattva cultivates diligently without slackening, and so gains the ten states of mind complete; he seeks the buddha path single-mindedly and without weariness, setting his aim upon receiving the consecration (receiving the station of a buddha) so as to deliver sentient beings. (Repeating the ten states of mind · “setting his aim upon receiving the consecration” is wording found in the verses alone)

Revering those of virtue, he cultivates the right Dharma; he knows gratitude, is easily instructed, and is without resentment or harshness; he casts off arrogance and departs from flattery and crookedness; his mind is pliant and tempered, and he turns to be the more diligent without turning back. (Repeating the ten virtues of knowing gratitude and of pliancy)

The bodhisattva dwelling on this Flaming-Wisdom Ground — his mind is pure and is never scattered or lost; his awakening and understanding are settled, his roots of goodness increase, and the net of doubt and the defilements are all left far behind. (Repeating the marks of virtue at the fullness of the ground)

The bodhisattva of this ground is the most excellent among humans; he makes offerings to nayutas of measureless buddhas, hears the right Dharma and goes forth to cultivate the path, and cannot be broken down, like true gold. (Repeating the seeing of buddhas, the going forth, and the simile of the goldsmith refining gold)

The bodhisattva dwelling here has merit complete; with wisdom and skillful means he cultivates the dharmas of the path; the hosts of Māra cannot shake his mind so that he turns back — just as a wondrous jewel that none can break. (Repeating the simile of the maṇi jewel)

Dwelling on this ground he mostly becomes a king of the Flaming Heaven (the Suyāma Heaven), sovereign in the Dharma and honored by the assembly; everywhere he teaches and transforms the multitude of beings and removes their evil views, and he seeks the buddha wisdom single-mindedly and cultivates wholesome deeds. (Repeating the body of the fruit of recompense)

The bodhisattva applies himself to the power of vigor, and the samādhis and the rest that he obtains are all in koṭis; if by the power of vow and the power of wisdom he does anything, then it surpasses this number and none can know it. (Repeating the spiritual transformations at the fullness of the ground)

“Such is the bodhisattva’s fourth ground: what is practiced upon it is the pure and wondrous path; merit, meaning, and wisdom accord together — I have declared it in full for you, sons of the Buddha.” (Showing the name and concluding the exposition)

Praise and Request: The Host of Gods Makes Offerings and Praises, and Vimukticandra Asks That the Fifth Ground Be Expounded

The bodhisattvas, having heard of this surpassing practice upon the grounds, understood and awoke to the Dharma and were glad at heart; and from the sky there fell a rain of flowers, and there was praise, saying: ‘Well done, great being Vajragarbha!’ The Sovereign Heaven King and the host of gods, having heard the Dharma, leapt up in gladness and stood in the open sky, and sent forth everywhere clouds of light of every wondrous kind as an offering to the Tathāgata, delight filling them and reaching through them all. The heavenly maidens above struck up the music of the gods, and with words too they sang the Buddha’s praise; and it was because they were carried by the bodhisattva’s awesome spiritual power that they sent forth, amid that music, words such as these:

‘The Buddha’s original vow was long ago, and only now is it fulfilled; the Buddha’s path was long ago, and only now is it gained. Śākyamuni the Buddha has come down to the heavenly palace — this one who benefits gods and humans is seen only after a long while. The great sea was long ago, and only now does it begin to shake; the Buddha’s light was long ago, and only now is it sent forth. Sentient beings were long ago, and only now do they begin to be at ease; the sound of great compassion is heard only after a long while. The far shore of merit has all been reached, and the black darkness of arrogance has all been extinguished; utterly pure like open space, unstained by worldly dharmas as a lotus is unstained. The Great Sage, the World-Honored One, has appeared in the world, just as Mount Sumeru wells up out of the vast sea. To make offerings to the Buddha can exhaust all suffering; to make offerings to the Buddha assuredly gains the wisdom of the buddhas. This is a field worthy of offerings, and to make offerings here has no equal, and therefore with glad hearts we make our offering to the Buddha.’

Immeasurable goddesses such as these, having sent forth these words of praise, and everyone being reverent, delight filling them, gazed up at the Tathāgata and stood silent. Then the great being, the bodhisattva Vimukticandra, once again asked the fearless bodhisattva Vajragarbha: ‘The several aspects of practice within the fifth ground — may the son of the Buddha declare them for us!’

At that time the bodhisattva Vajragarbha told the bodhisattva Vimukticandra:

The Ten Minds for Entering the Ground: One Enters by the Ten Kinds of Equal and Pure Mind

Sons of the Buddha! When a bodhisattva-mahāsattva has well brought to fullness the path practiced on the fourth ground and wishes to enter the fifth ground, Hard to Conquer (sudurjayā), he should turn toward it and enter by the ten kinds of equal and pure mind (minds that, with respect to all dharmas, are equal and without partiality, pure and unstained). Which ten? They are these: the equal and pure mind regarding the Dharma of the buddhas of the past, the equal and pure mind regarding the Dharma of the buddhas of the future, the equal and pure mind regarding the Dharma of the buddhas of the present, the equal and pure mind of discipline, the equal and pure mind of mind itself, the equal and pure mind that removes views and doubt and regret, the equal and pure mind of the wisdom of what is the path and what is not the path, the equal and pure mind of the knowing and seeing of practice, the equal and pure mind that makes an ever higher observation of all the factors of awakening, and the equal and pure mind that teaches and transforms all sentient beings. It is by these ten kinds of equal and pure mind that a bodhisattva-mahāsattva gains entry to the fifth bodhisattva ground.

The Twelve Causes by Which the Mind of Non-Retrogression Is Gained

Sons of the Buddha! When a bodhisattva-mahāsattva abides on this fifth ground: because he well cultivates the factors of awakening, because he well purifies the deep mind, because he turns again to seek the higher and more surpassing path, because he accords with suchness, because he is upheld by the power of his vow, because toward all sentient beings he is kindly and pitying and does not forsake them, because he amasses merit and wisdom, the provisions that aid the path, because he is diligent in cultivation and does not rest, because he brings forth skillful means, because he observes and illumines the ever higher grounds, because he is received and kept in mind by the Tathāgata, and because he is upheld by the power of mindfulness and wisdom — he gains the mind that does not turn back.

The Four Truths and the Ten Truths: He Knows All the Truths as They Really Are

Sons of the Buddha! This bodhisattva-mahāsattva knows as it really is: this is the noble truth of suffering, this is the noble truth of the origination of suffering, this is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering, this is the noble truth of the path that leads to the cessation of suffering; he knows well the truth of the conventional (what the world holds in common), he knows well the truth of the supreme meaning (what is ultimately real), he knows well the truth of characteristics, he knows well the truth of distinctions, he knows well the truth of establishment, he knows well the truth of the actual, he knows well the truth of arising, he knows well the truth of exhaustion and non-arising, he knows well the truth of the wisdom that enters the path, he knows well the truth of the accomplishing in due order of all the bodhisattva grounds, on up to knowing well the truth of the accomplishing of the wisdom of the Tathāgata.

The Ten Truths Explained One by One: Why Each Truth Is Known

Because this bodhisattva accords with what the minds of sentient beings delight in and thereby makes them glad, he knows the truth of the conventional; because he penetrates the one real characteristic, he knows the truth of the supreme meaning; because he is aware of the own-characteristic and the shared characteristic of dharmas, he knows the truth of characteristics; because he understands clearly the distinctions among the positions of dharmas, he knows the truth of distinctions; because he is well able to discriminate the aggregates, the elements, and the sense-bases, he knows the truth of establishment; because he is aware of the suffering and distress of body and mind, he knows the truth of the actual; because he is aware that birth in the destinies continues on unbroken, he knows the truth of arising; because all burning distress is finally at rest and extinguished, he knows the truth of the wisdom of exhaustion and non-arising; because there issues forth non-duality, he knows the truth of the wisdom that enters the path; and because he rightly awakens to all the aspects of practice, he knows well the accomplishing in due order and unbroken continuity of all the bodhisattva grounds, on up to the truth of the accomplishing of the wisdom of the Tathāgata.

The Measure of the Wisdom of the Truths: Known by the Power of the Wisdom of Faith and Understanding, Not by the Power of Ultimate Wisdom

These wisdoms of the truths are known by the power of the wisdom of faith and understanding; they are not known by the power of ultimate wisdom (what is known on this ground is already deep, yet it has not reached the ultimate measure of the ground of buddhahood).

The Conditioned Is False, and Great Compassion Increases

Sons of the Buddha! When this bodhisattva-mahāsattva has gained these wisdoms of the truths, he knows as it really is that all conditioned dharmas are false and deceiving, and that they delude and beguile the foolish. At this the bodhisattva turns to increase great compassion toward all sentient beings, and gives rise to the light of great loving-kindness.

The Contemplation of the Prior and Later Limits: No Self, No One Who Lives

Sons of the Buddha! When this bodhisattva-mahāsattva has gained a power of wisdom such as this, he does not forsake any sentient being, constantly seeks the Buddha’s wisdom, and observes as it really is the prior limit (the past) and the later limit (the future) of all conditioned practices. He knows: from the ignorance and the craving for existence of the prior limit there is birth, and thereupon the flowing on of birth-and-death; within the houses of the aggregates they cannot stir and get out, and only heap up the mass of suffering. Within this there is no self, no one who lives, no one who is nourished and grows, no one who again and again takes up a body in a later destiny; it is apart from self and from what belongs to self. As the prior limit is, so too is the later limit, and both are altogether without anything at all; there is falsity, and there is greedy clinging, and if these can be exhausted there is release; whether it be existence or non-existence, he knows both as they really are.

Compassion for Ordinary Persons (1): Bodies Already Perished, Now Perishing, and Yet to Perish, and Still No Thought of Weariness Arises

Sons of the Buddha! This bodhisattva-mahāsattva thinks further in this way: ‘These ordinary persons are foolish and without wisdom, and are truly to be pitied. They have bodies beyond number, already perished, now perishing, and yet to perish; and though they perish thus utterly, still they are unable to give rise to a thought of weariness toward this body, but rather turn to increase those affairs of suffering that revolve like a contrivance and cannot be stopped; they follow the current of birth-and-death and cannot turn back, and within the houses of the aggregates they do not seek release; they do not know to be anxious and afraid of the four great elements, those four poisonous snakes; they are unable to draw out the arrows of the several conceits and views; they are unable to quench the fire of greed, hatred, and delusion; they are unable to break up the black darkness of ignorance; they are unable to dry up the great sea of craving and desire; and they do not seek out the great sagely guide who possesses the ten powers. Having once entered the dense thicket of Māra’s mind, they are swept away and drowned, in the sea of birth-and-death, by the waves and billows of thought and examination.’

Compassion for Ordinary Persons (2): Destitute and Unsupported, and I Alone Raise This Mind

Sons of the Buddha! This bodhisattva-mahāsattva thinks further in this way: ‘These sentient beings undergo suffering such as this, alone and destitute and hard pressed, with none to save them and none to support them, with no island to climb upon and no house to return to, with none to guide them and no eyes of their own, covered over by ignorance and wrapped about by darkness. I now, for the sake of all those sentient beings, cultivate the dharmas of merit and wisdom that aid the path; alone and by myself I raise this mind and do not seek companions; and by merit such as this I shall bring all sentient beings to a purity that is final, on up to their gaining the Tathāgata’s ten powers and unobstructed wisdom.’

Dedication: All the Roots of Goodness He Cultivates Are for Sentient Beings

Sons of the Buddha! This bodhisattva-mahāsattva, observing with wisdom such as this the roots of goodness he himself has cultivated, sees that they are all of them in order to rescue and protect all sentient beings, to benefit all sentient beings, to bring all sentient beings ease, to have pity on all sentient beings, to bring all sentient beings to accomplishment, to liberate all sentient beings, and to gather in all sentient beings; to make all sentient beings depart from every suffering and distress, to make all sentient beings universally attain purity, to make all sentient beings be tamed one and all, and to make all sentient beings enter parinirvāṇa.

The Names of One Who Dwells on This Ground: Twenty-One Names

Sons of the Buddha! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva who abides on this fifth ground, Hard to Conquer, is named ‘one who is mindful’, because he does not forget the dharmas; named ‘one who is wise’, because he is able to decide and understand skillfully; named ‘one who has the drift of it’, because he knows the intent of the scriptures and can join them together in due order; named ‘one who has shame and conscience’, because he guards himself and guards others as well; named ‘one who is firm’, because he does not forsake the practice of discipline; named ‘one who is aware’, because he is able to observe what is possible and what is not possible; named ‘one who follows wisdom’, because he follows his own wisdom and does not follow others; named ‘one who follows insight’, because he knows well the difference between a phrase that has meaning and a phrase that has none; named ‘one who has supernormal powers’, because he cultivates meditation well; named ‘one skilled in means’, because he is able to act in accordance with the world; named ‘one who is never satiated’, because he is good at amassing merit; named ‘one who does not rest’, because he constantly seeks wisdom; named ‘one who does not tire’, because he amasses great loving-kindness and compassion; named ‘one who cultivates diligently for others’, because he wishes to bring all sentient beings into nirvāṇa; named ‘one who seeks diligently and does not slacken’, because he seeks the Tathāgata’s powers, fearlessnesses, and exclusive dharmas; named ‘one who raises the intent and is able to practice’, because he accomplishes the adorning of a buddha-land; named ‘one who diligently cultivates every sort of good deed’, because he is able to complete the marks and signs; named ‘one who is constantly diligent in cultivation’, because he seeks to adorn the body, speech, and mind of a buddha; named ‘one who greatly honors and reveres the Dharma’, because in the presence of every bodhisattva Dharma master he practices according to the teaching; named ‘one whose mind is without obstruction’, because with great skillful means he constantly acts within the world; and named ‘one who day and night keeps far from other thoughts’, because he constantly delights in teaching and transforming all sentient beings.

The Ten Practices of Teaching and Transforming Sentient Beings

Sons of the Buddha! When a bodhisattva-mahāsattva cultivates with such diligence as this, he teaches and transforms sentient beings by giving; he teaches and transforms sentient beings by kindly speech, by conduct that benefits, and by the sharing of tasks; he teaches and transforms sentient beings by displaying a bodily form; he teaches and transforms sentient beings by expounding the dharmas; he teaches and transforms sentient beings by opening up the bodhisattva’s practice; he teaches and transforms sentient beings by showing the Tathāgata’s great and awesome power; he teaches and transforms sentient beings by opening up the faults and troubles of birth-and-death; he teaches and transforms sentient beings by praising the benefit of the Tathāgata’s wisdom; he teaches and transforms sentient beings by manifesting the power of great supernormal transformation; and he teaches and transforms sentient beings by practices of every sort of skillful means. Sons of the Buddha! This bodhisattva-mahāsattva, being able thus diligently to teach and transform sentient beings by skillful means, keeps his mind unbroken and continuous, turning toward the Buddha’s wisdom; the roots of goodness he brings about do not turn back, and he constantly and diligently cultivates and studies the surpassing dharmas of practice.

The Worldly Arts: Of the Five Sciences There Is Not One He Does Not Take Up

Sons of the Buddha! This bodhisattva-mahāsattva, for the sake of benefiting sentient beings, of the arts of the world takes up and practices them all together. That is: letters, reckoning, charts, and seals; the several treatises upon earth, water, fire, and wind, all of which he penetrates; and further he is skilled in medicines and in the treating of illnesses — madness, wasting disease (an illness in which the body withers and grows thin), possession by sprites, and poisoning by venom, all of which he is able to cut off; composition and writing, praise and chanting, song and dance, entertainment and music, jesting and conversation, in all of which he is skilled; walled cities and villages, palaces and dwellings, gardens and parks, springs and streams, ponds and pools, grasses and trees, flowers and herbs — in whatever is laid out and arranged he is able to hit upon what is fitting; gold, silver, maṇi, pearls, lapis lazuli, conch, jade, coral, and the other hoards of treasure — he knows where they all lie, and takes them out and shows them to others; the sun, the moon, and the constellations, the cries of birds, the shaking of the earth, the good or ill omen of a dream at night, the fair or foul in the marks of a body — all these he observes well, and in not one is he mistaken; keeping the discipline, entering meditation, immeasurable supernormal powers, the four formless concentrations, and every other worldly matter besides — yet all with this for a limit, that it should do no harm or vexation to sentient beings; and for the sake of their benefit he sets it all forth, gradually bringing them to abide in the unsurpassed Buddha-Dharma.

Seeing Many Buddhas · Going Forth and Hearing the Dharma · Long Cultivation of the Roots of Goodness

Sons of the Buddha! A bodhisattva abiding on this Hard-to-Conquer Ground, by the power of his vow, gains sight of many buddhas. That is: he sees many hundreds of buddhas, sees many thousands of buddhas, sees many hundreds of thousands of buddhas, on up to seeing many hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of buddhas. To them all he is reverent and respectful, attending upon them and making them offerings; robes and food, bedding and medicines, all the requisites of life he presents to them, and he makes offerings as well to the whole assembly of monks, and with these roots of goodness he dedicates and directs them toward unsurpassed perfect awakening. In the presence of the buddhas he reverently listens to the Dharma, and having heard it he upholds it and practices according to his own strength. And within the Dharma of those buddhas he gains the going forth; and having gone forth he hears the Dharma yet more, gains dhāraṇī, and becomes a Dharma master of hearing and retention (a Dharma master who hears and is able to retain without forgetting). Abiding upon this ground, through a hundred kalpas, through a thousand kalpas, on up to immeasurable hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of kalpas, all his roots of goodness turn brighter and purer still.

Two Similes: True Gold Polished with a Giant-Clam Gem · The Wind That Upholds the Palaces of the Sun and the Moon; and the Preponderance of the Perfection of Meditation

Sons of the Buddha! It is as when true gold is polished with a giant-clam gem and turns brighter and purer still; so it is with all the roots of goodness of the bodhisattva of this ground: pondered and observed with the wisdom of skillful means, they turn brighter and purer still. Sons of the Buddha! A bodhisattva abiding on this Hard-to-Conquer Ground accomplishes merit by the wisdom of skillful means, and the roots of goodness of the lower grounds cannot come up to it. Sons of the Buddha! And it is as when the radiance of the palaces of the sun, the moon, and the constellations is upheld by the power of the wind and cannot be spoiled, and no other wind is able to tilt or stir it; so it is with all the roots of goodness of the bodhisattva of this ground: followed out and observed with the wisdom of skillful means, they cannot be spoiled, and the roots of goodness of any śrāvaka, of any pratyekabuddha, or of the world are unable to tilt or stir them. In this bodhisattva, among the ten perfections, the perfection of meditation preponderates; the rest are not uncultivated, only that they follow his strength and follow his portion.

The Concluding Name · The Fruit of Being a King of the Tuṣita Heaven · A Thousand Koṭis in a Single Moment of Thought

Sons of the Buddha! What has been said above is called a summary account of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva’s fifth ground, Hard to Conquer. A bodhisattva abiding on this ground mostly becomes a king of the Tuṣita Heaven, is masterful in what he does for sentient beings, crushes all the wrong views of the outer paths, and is able to bring sentient beings to abide within the truth of the real. Giving, kindly speech, conduct that benefits, the sharing of tasks — in all the deeds he does such as these he does not depart from keeping the Buddha in mind, does not depart from keeping the Dharma in mind, does not depart from keeping the Saṅgha in mind, on up to not departing from keeping in mind the possessing in full of all modes and of the wisdom of omniscience. And he thinks further in this way: ‘Among sentient beings I ought to be the foremost, the excellent, the surpassing, the wondrous, the exceedingly wondrous, the higher, the unsurpassed, on up to being the place of reliance for the wisdom of omniscience.’ If this bodhisattva raises up diligent vigor, then in a single moment of thought he gains a thousand koṭis of samādhis, sees a thousand koṭis of buddhas, knows the spiritual power of a thousand koṭis of buddhas, is able to shake a thousand koṭis of buddha-worlds, on up to displaying a thousand koṭis of bodies, and in each single body displaying a thousand koṭis of bodhisattvas as his retinue; and if by the surpassing power of a bodhisattva’s vow he displays them masterfully, then it goes beyond this number, and in a hundred kalpas, a thousand kalpas, on up to a hundred thousand koṭis of nayutas of kalpas one could not reckon and know it.

The Verses in Repetition

At that time the bodhisattva Vajragarbha, wishing to declare this meaning over again, spoke in verse:

The bodhisattva has cultivated the fourth ground until it is pure; he ponders the equality of the dharmas of the buddhas of the three times, and discipline, mind, the removal of doubt, and what is the path and what is not — observing thus, he enters the fifth ground. (Repeating the ten equal minds)

With the four stations of mindfulness for a bow and the five faculties for sharp arrows, with right exertion for a horse and the four bases of supernormal power for a chariot, with the five powers for firm armor to break the foe — valiant and not turning back, he enters the fifth ground. (Repeating the factors of awakening)

With shame and conscience for a robe and the factors of awakening for a garland, with pure discipline for incense and meditation for perfumed unguent, with wisdom and skillful means for a wondrous adornment, he enters the grove of total retention and the park of samādhi. (Repeating the adornments)

With the four bases of accord with wish for feet and right mindfulness for a neck, with loving-kindness and compassion for eyes and wisdom for fangs — the lion among men roars the roar of no-self, breaks the foe that is the afflictions, and enters the fifth ground. (Repeating the simile of the lion)

The bodhisattva abiding on this fifth ground turns to cultivate a yet higher and purer path; he sets his will upon the Buddha-Dharma and does not turn back, and he thinks of loving-kindness and compassion without wearying. (Repeating the abiding on the ground)

Amassing the surpassing merit of merit and wisdom, diligent in skillful means, he observes the higher grounds; upheld by the Buddha’s power he is complete in mindfulness and insight, and knows the four truths all as they really are. (Repeating the causes of non-retrogression)

He knows well the truth of the world and the truth of the supreme meaning, the truth of characteristics, the truth of distinctions, the truth of establishment, the truth of the actual, the truth of arising, the truth of exhaustion, and the truth of the path, on up to the unobstructed truth of the Tathāgata. (Repeating the ten truths)

Observing the truths in this way, though it be wondrous, he has not yet gained the unobstructed and surpassing liberation; yet by this he is able to bring forth great merit, and therefore he goes beyond the wisdom of the world. (Repeating the measure of the wisdom of the truths)

Having observed the truths, he knows that conditioned dharmas are false in their very nature and have no solidity; he gains a portion of the light of the Buddha’s kindness and pity, and for the benefit of beings he seeks the Buddha’s wisdom. (Repeating the falsity of the conditioned)

He observes the prior and later limits of all that is conditioned: the black darkness of ignorance and the bondage of craving, flowing on and lingering within the mass of suffering, with no self, no person, and no life-span. (Repeating the contemplation of the prior and later limits)

With craving and grasping for cause they undergo the suffering to come; one would seek its farther limit and cannot find it; deluded and adrift, with no season of returning — these are to be pitied, and I ought to deliver them. (Repeating the compassion)

The house of the aggregates, the snakes of the elements, the arrows of the views; the fire of the mind fiercely blazing and the darkness of delusion deep; the river of craving sweeping them along with no leisure to observe; sunk in the sea of suffering and lacking a bright guide. (Repeating the several similes)

Knowing this, he grows diligent and vigorous, and all that he does is for the deliverance of sentient beings; he is named one who is mindful and one who has insight, on up to one who is aware, one who understands, and one who is skilled in means. (Repeating the twenty-one names)

Practicing merit and wisdom without being satiated, reverent and widely learned without tiring, adorning both the land and the marks and signs — all of this is for the sake of sentient beings. (Repeating the excellence of his cultivation)

In order to teach and transform the several worlds, he knows well the dharmas of writing, reckoning, seals, and the like, and understands well the several medicines, treating the many illnesses and bringing them all to health. (Repeating the first and second of the five sciences)

In composition and song and dance he is skilled, and in palaces and dwellings, gardens and pools, all is secure; the hoards of treasure are not of one kind alone, and he shows them all to others, for the sake of benefiting immeasurable sentient beings. (Repeating the third and fourth of the five sciences)

The sun, the moon, and the constellations, the shaking of the earth, on up to the marks of a body, he observes them all; the four meditations, the formless concentrations, and the supernormal powers, for the benefit of the world he displays them all. (Repeating the fifth of the five sciences)

The wise one abiding on this Hard-to-Conquer Ground makes offerings to nayutas of buddhas and hears their Dharma as well; just as true gold is polished with a wondrous gem, so all his roots of goodness turn brighter and purer still. (Repeating the seeing of buddhas and the long cultivation · the simile of true gold)

It is as when the constellations stand in open space, upheld by the power of the wind and suffering no harm or stirring; and as the lotus does not cling to the water — such is the great being who walks within the world. (Repeating the two similes)

Abiding on this ground he mostly becomes a king of the Tuṣita Heaven, and is able to crush the several wrong views of the divergent paths; all the goodness he cultivates is for the Buddha’s wisdom, and his vow is to gain the ten powers so as to rescue sentient beings. (Repeating the fruit of recompense)

If he cultivates further with great vigor, then at once he makes offerings to a thousand koṭis of buddhas; his gaining of concentrations and his shaking of lands are likewise so; and what he brings about by the power of his vow goes beyond even this. (Repeating the thousand koṭis in a single moment of thought)

Such is the fifth ground, Hard to Conquer, the true path that is highest among men; with every sort of power of skillful means, I have finished declaring it for the sons of the Buddha. (Concluding the exposition)

Praise and Request (1): The Bodhisattvas and the Gods Scatter Jewels as an Offering

The bodhisattvas, having heard the many surpassing gates of practice of the fifth ground before this, the Hard-to-Conquer Ground, were glad in their hearts and rained down wondrous flowers, sent forth pure light and scattered jewel-pearls as an offering to the Tathāgata, praising the goodness of what the Buddha had spoken. The hundreds of thousands of gods too were all delighted and glad, and together in the sky scattered a multitude of jewels — flower garlands, necklaces, and banners and pennants, jewelled canopies and perfumed unguents, all of them used as an offering to the Buddha. The Heaven King of Free Enjoyment of Others’ Emanations, together with his retinue, gave rise to gladness in their hearts and abode in the sky; the precious things they scattered gathered into clouds, and holding these up as an offering they praised him, saying: “Son of the Buddha, declare it, and freely!”

Praise and Request (2): The Goddesses Sing in Praise — The Nature of Dharmas Is from the First Still, and toward Existence and toward Non-Existence the Mind Does Not Stir

Measureless goddesses abiding in the sky sang together in praise of the Buddha with the sound of music, and within the sound they all made words such as these —

“The Buddha’s speech can remove the sickness of the afflictions. The nature of dharmas is from the first still and without any marks, like space, which raises no discrimination; it goes beyond all grasping and cuts off the road of speech — real, equal, and constantly pure. If one can penetrate the nature of dharmas, then toward ‘existence’ and toward ‘non-existence’ the mind does not stir. To rescue the world he practises with diligence — such a one is a true son of the Buddha, born from the Buddha’s mouth.

“He does not grasp at the multitude of marks, and so he gives; he has cut off evils from the first, and so he keeps the precepts firmly; he understands that dharmas do no harm, and so he is constantly able to bear; he knows that the nature of dharmas is apart, and so he is fully endowed with vigor; he has exhausted the afflictions, and so he enters the dhyānas; he penetrates well the emptiness of self-nature and yet is able to discriminate dharmas; being fully endowed with the power of wisdom, he is able to succor beings far and wide and to extinguish the multitude of evils — such a one is called a great being.”

Wondrous sounds such as these were of a thousand myriad kinds; the praising done, they were silent and gazed up at the Buddha.

The Request for the Ground to Come: By What Aspect of Practice Does One Enter the Sixth Ground

The bodhisattva Vimukticandra said to the bodhisattva Vajragarbha: “By what aspect of practice can one enter the ground that comes after?”

The Ten Equalities: What Is Contemplated in Entering the Sixth Ground

At that time the bodhisattva Vajragarbha told the bodhisattva Vimukticandra —

“Sons of the Buddha! When a bodhisattva-mahāsattva has already fulfilled the fifth ground and wishes to enter the sixth ground, Manifest (abhimukhī), he should contemplate ten equalities. Which ten? They are these: all dharmas are equal because they are without marks; equal because they are without substance; equal because they are unarisen; equal because they are unaccomplished; equal because they are from the first pure; equal because they are without conceptual proliferation (words and notions get no purchase upon them); equal because there is in them no taking up and no laying down; equal because they are still; equal because they are like an illusion, like a dream, like a shadow, like an echo, like the moon in water, like an image in a mirror, like a mirage, and like a conjured thing; equal because ‘existence’ and ‘non-existence’ are not two. When the bodhisattva contemplates in this way and sees that all dharmas are pure in their self-nature, conforming to them and not going against them, he gains entry to the sixth ground, Manifest, and gains the bright and keen forbearance of conformity — but he has not yet gained the forbearance of the non-arising of dharmas.

Contemplating the World with Great Compassion: Beings Take Birth in the World Only because They Cling to a Self

“Sons of the Buddha! When this bodhisattva-mahāsattva has contemplated in this way, he further makes great compassion his forerunner, great compassion preeminent, great compassion fulfilled, and contemplates the arising and the ceasing of the world, thinking thus: ‘Beings take birth in the world only because they cling to a self; if this clinging is left behind, there is no place of birth.’

“He thinks further thus: ‘Ordinary beings are without wisdom and cling to a self; they constantly seek among ‘existence’ and ‘non-existence’, do not think rightly, give rise to false conduct and walk the wrong road; and deeds of sin, deeds of merit, and unmoving deeds are heaped up layer upon layer and increase, so that within the manifold formations the seed of mind is planted — having outflows and having grasping — whereupon there arise again the birth and the old age and death of a further existence. That is to say: deeds are the field, consciousness is the seed, ignorance covers it over into darkness, the water of craving moistens it, conceit irrigates it, and the net of views makes it grow, so that the sprout of name-and-form is born; when name-and-form grows, the five faculties are born; when the faculties meet their objects, contact is born; when contact meets, feeling is born; when after feeling there is longing, craving is born; when craving grows, grasping is born; when grasping grows, becoming is born; and becoming having arisen, there arises within the destinies a body of the five aggregates, which is named ‘birth’; born, it decays and changes, and this is ‘old age’; it perishes at the last, and this is ‘death’. At the time of old age and death all manner of burning distresses are born; because of the burning distresses there are sorrow and lamentation, and the multitude of sufferings are all gathered together. By this cause and condition there is a gathering — a gathering, yet with no one who gathers; and there is a ceasing that runs its own course — a ceasing, yet with no one who ceases.’ Thus does the bodhisattva contemplate, in conformity with it, the aspect of dependent origination.

The Gate of the Truth of the Supreme Meaning: From Ignorance to Old Age and Death There Is Only the Tree of Suffering Growing

“Sons of the Buddha! This bodhisattva-mahāsattva thinks further thus: ‘Not to penetrate the truth of the supreme meaning is named ignorance; the fruit of the deeds done by ignorance is the formations; the first thought of mind upon which the formations depend is consciousness; the four aggregates of grasping that arise together with consciousness are name-and-form; the growth of name-and-form is the six sense-fields; the coming together of the three, faculty and object and consciousness, is contact; what arises together with contact is feeling; defiled attachment toward feeling is craving; the growth of craving is grasping; the deeds with outflows that grasping gives rise to are becoming; the arising of the aggregates out of deeds is birth; the ripening of the aggregates is old age; the decaying of the aggregates is death. At the time of death there is parting from what is loved; the foolish infatuation and greedy longing, the breast oppressed and stifled, is grief; the flowing of tears and the ceaseless sighing is lamentation; what is felt in the five faculties is suffering; what is felt in the ground of the mind is unhappiness; and unhappiness and suffering turning ever more numerous is distress. Thus there is only a tree of suffering growing — no self, no what is mine, no one who acts, and no one who feels.’

“He thinks further thus: ‘If there were one who acts, then there would be a thing done; if there is no one who acts, then there is no thing done either — in the supreme meaning both of these are altogether unobtainable.’

The Sentence on Mind Only: Whatever Belongs to the Three Realms Is Only One Mind

“Sons of the Buddha! This bodhisattva-mahāsattva thinks further thus: ‘Whatever belongs to the three realms is only one mind. The Tathāgata, upon this, sets forth in discrimination the twelve links of existence, and these too all depend upon one mind, being established thus. Why is it so? Greed that arises upon the matter at hand arises together with mind — mind is consciousness, the matter is the formations, and delusion about the formations is ignorance; what arises together with ignorance and with mind is name-and-form; the growth of name-and-form is the six sense-fields; the joining of the three parts of the six sense-fields is contact; what arises together with contact is feeling; feeling that does not know satisfaction is craving; craving that takes in and will not let go is grasping; the arising of those links of existence is becoming; what becoming gives rise to is named ‘birth’; the ripening of birth is old age, and the decaying of old age is death.’

The Two Functions of Each of the Twelve Links

“Sons of the Buddha! Herein ignorance has two functions: the first is to make beings deluded about the object it takes as its support; the second is to act for the formations as their cause of arising. The formations too have two functions: the first is that they are able to give birth to the recompense to come; the second is to act for consciousness as its cause of arising. Consciousness too has two functions: the first is to make the manifold existences continue unbroken; the second is to act for name-and-form as its cause of arising. Name-and-form too has two functions: the first is that they help one another to be brought about; the second is to act for the six sense-fields as their cause of arising. The six sense-fields too have two functions: the first is that each takes in its own object-realm; the second is to act for contact as its cause of arising. Contact too has two functions: the first is that it is able to touch the object it takes as its support; the second is to act for feeling as its cause of arising. Feeling too has two functions: the first is that it is able to receive things lovable and hateful and the like; the second is to act for craving as its cause of arising. Craving too has two functions: the first is defiled attachment to lovable things; the second is to act for grasping as its cause of arising. Grasping too has two functions: the first is to make the afflictions continue unbroken; the second is to act for becoming as its cause of arising. Becoming too has two functions: the first is that it is able to make one take birth among the other destinies; the second is to act for birth as its cause of arising. Birth too has two functions: the first is that it is able to give rise to the aggregates; the second is to act for old age as its cause of arising. Old age too has two functions: the first is to make the faculties alter; the second is to act for death as its cause of arising. Death too has two functions: the first is that it is able to destroy the formations; the second is that, because there is no awareness and no knowing, it keeps the continuity unbroken.

Flowing On and Ceasing: Because They Help to Bring About, There Is No Cutting Off; Because They Do Not Help to Bring About, There Is Cutting Off

“Sons of the Buddha! Herein, that ‘ignorance conditions the formations’ and so on up to ‘birth conditions old age and death’ says this: because ignorance and so on up to birth act as conditions, the formations and so on up to old age and death are not cut off — because they help to bring them about. That ‘when ignorance ceases the formations cease’ and so on up to ‘when birth ceases old age and death cease’ says this: because ignorance and so on up to birth no longer act as conditions, the formations and so on up to old age and death are cut off and cease — because they no longer help to bring them about.

The Three Paths · The Three Times · The Three Sufferings: Three Ways of Regarding the Twelve Links

“Sons of the Buddha! Herein, that ignorance, craving, and grasping are not cut off is the path of the afflictions; that the formations and becoming are not cut off is the path of deeds; that the remaining links are not cut off is the path of suffering. When the discriminating of the prior limit and the later limit ceases, the three paths are cut off. These three paths are apart from a self and from what is mine; there is only arising and ceasing, as when a bundle of reeds stands by leaning together.

“Next, that ‘ignorance conditions the formations’ is the contemplation of the past; consciousness on up to feeling is the contemplation of the present; craving on up to becoming is the contemplation of the future. From this onward they turn about and follow one another without end. That ‘when ignorance ceases the formations cease’ is the cutting off by way of dependence.

“Next, the twelve links of existence are also named the three sufferings: herein, ignorance and the formations on up to the six sense-fields are the suffering of formation; contact and feeling are the suffering of suffering; the rest are the suffering of decay. That ‘when ignorance ceases the formations cease’ is the cutting off of these three sufferings.

“Next, that ‘ignorance conditions the formations’ says that ignorance, as cause and condition, is able to give birth to the formations; that ‘when ignorance ceases the formations cease’ says that, ignorance being gone, the formations too are gone — and so it is with the remaining links. Again, that ‘ignorance conditions the formations’ is the arising of bondage; that ‘when ignorance ceases the formations cease’ is the ceasing of bondage — and so it is with the remaining links. Again, that ‘ignorance conditions the formations’ is the contemplation that conforms to ‘there is nothing at all’; that ‘when ignorance ceases the formations cease’ is the contemplation that conforms to ‘exhaustion and cessation’ — and so it is with the remaining links.

The Ten Gates of Contemplating Dependent Origination in Reverse and in Order

“Sons of the Buddha! In this way the bodhisattva-mahāsattva contemplates the manifold dependent originations in reverse and in order, in ten ways. They are these: because the links of existence follow one another unbroken; because they are gathered in by one mind; because each has its own distinct function of deeds; because they do not let go of one another; because the three paths are not cut off; because he contemplates the past, the present, and the future; because the three sufferings are gathered together; because there is arising and ceasing by cause and condition; because arising and ceasing are bondage; and because of the contemplation of ‘there is nothing at all’ and of exhaustion.

The Three Gates of Liberation Become Manifest in Turn

“Sons of the Buddha, when the bodhisattva-mahāsattva contemplates the manifold dependent originations by these ten aspects, he knows that there is no self, no person, no life-span, that self-nature is from the first empty, that there is no one who acts and no one who feels — and at once the gate of liberation of emptiness becomes manifest before him. He contemplates that all the links of existence are still in their self-nature and are in the end liberated, and that there is not the least mark of a dharma that could arise — and at that time the gate of liberation of signlessness becomes manifest before him. Having thus entered emptiness and entered signlessness, he has nothing more to wish for, save only this one thing: to make great compassion his forerunner and to teach and transform beings — and at that time the gate of liberation of wishlessness becomes manifest before him. Cultivating the three gates of liberation in this way, the bodhisattva leaves behind the notion of ‘other’ and of ‘self’, leaves behind the notion of one who acts and of one who feels, and leaves behind the notion of ‘existence’ and of ‘non-existence’.

Great Compassion Turns and Increases · Prajñā Becomes Manifest — Where the Name of the Ground Lies

“Sons of the Buddha! The great compassion of this bodhisattva-mahāsattva increases yet further, and he cultivates with diligence, so that the factors of awakening not yet fulfilled may be fulfilled, thinking thus: ‘All conditioned things: where there is combining they turn, and where there is no combining they do not turn; where the conditions gather they turn, and where the conditions do not gather they do not turn. Knowing thus that conditioned dharmas have manifold faults, I ought to cut off these causes and conditions of combining; yet, for the sake of bringing beings to accomplishment, I do not in the end extinguish the formations altogether.’

“Sons of the Buddha! When the bodhisattva contemplates in this way that conditioned dharmas have manifold faults, are without self-nature, and neither arise nor cease, and yet constantly gives rise to great compassion and does not forsake beings — thereupon prajñā-pāramitā becomes manifest before him, named: the light of unobstructed wisdom. Having accomplished a light of wisdom such as this, though he cultivates the causes and conditions of the factors of awakening he does not dwell within the conditioned; though he sees that conditioned dharmas are still in their self-nature he does not dwell within stillness — because the factors of awakening are not yet fulfilled.

The Ten Gates of the Samādhi of Emptiness

“Sons of the Buddha! A bodhisattva dwelling on this Manifest Ground is able to enter the samādhi of emptiness, the samādhi of the emptiness of self-nature, the samādhi of the emptiness of the supreme meaning, the samādhi of the first emptiness, the samādhi of great emptiness, the samādhi of combined emptiness, the samādhi of arisen emptiness, the samādhi of the emptiness that in accordance with reality does not discriminate, the samādhi of the emptiness that is not let go of, and the samādhi of the emptiness of apartness and of non-apartness. This bodhisattva, having gained these ten gates of the samādhi of emptiness as his head, has hundreds of thousands of samādhis of emptiness all become manifest before him; and in the same way, with the ten gates of the samādhi of signlessness and the ten gates of the samādhi of wishlessness as his head, hundreds of thousands of gates of the samādhi of signlessness and of the samādhi of wishlessness all become manifest before him.

The Ten States of Mind Made Complete

“Sons of the Buddha! A bodhisattva dwelling on this Manifest Ground cultivates yet further, so that the mind that cannot be broken, the settled mind, the purely good mind, the most profound mind, the mind that does not turn back, the mind that does not rest, the vast mind, the boundless mind, the mind that seeks wisdom, and the mind joined with skillful means and wisdom are all made complete.

Conforming to the Buddha’s Awakening · Gaining the Third, the Bright and Keen Forbearance of Conformity

“Sons of the Buddha! With such a mind the bodhisattva conforms to the awakening of the Buddha; he does not fear the divergent doctrines of the outsiders; he enters the manifold grounds of wisdom, departs far from the path of the two vehicles, and heads toward the wisdom of a buddha; the māras of the afflictions have no power to thwart or break him; he abides within the light of the bodhisattva’s wisdom; in the dharmas of emptiness, of signlessness, and of wishlessness he cultivates well; skillful means and wisdom are constantly joined with one another; and the factors of awakening he practises constantly and does not forsake. Sons of the Buddha! A bodhisattva dwelling on this Manifest Ground gains the ascendancy of the practice of prajñā-pāramitā and gains the third, the bright and keen forbearance of conformity — because toward the aspect of dharmas as they really are he conforms and does not go against them.

Seeing Many Buddhas · Hearing and Upholding the Dharma · The Roots of Goodness Turn Ever Brighter and Purer

“Sons of the Buddha! A bodhisattva who dwells on this Manifest Ground, by the power of his vows, gains the sight of many buddhas. That is: he sees many hundreds of buddhas, on up to seeing many hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of buddhas. Toward all of them, with a vast mind and a deep mind, he makes offerings and pays reverence, honors and praises them, and presents clothing, food and drink, bedding, and medicines — all the goods that sustain life he offers up; and he offers them as well to the whole assembly of monks, and with these roots of goodness he dedicates and directs them toward unsurpassed perfect awakening. In the presence of the buddhas he listens to the Dharma with reverence; having heard it he upholds it, gains the light of wisdom of the samādhi that accords with reality, practises in conformity with it, and keeps it in mind without forgetting. He gains further the most profound treasury of Dharma of the buddhas; and through a hundred kalpas, through a thousand kalpas, on up to measureless hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of kalpas, all his roots of goodness turn ever brighter and purer.

Two Similes: True Gold Polished · The Cool Light of the Moon

“It is as with true gold: polished again and again with a beryl gem, it turns ever brighter and purer. So too are all the roots of goodness of the bodhisattva of this ground — with skillful means and wisdom he follows after them and contemplates them, and they turn ever brighter and purer, ever more still, and there is nothing that can overshadow them.

“It is as with the light of the moon: shining upon the bodies of beings it makes them gain coolness, and the four kinds of wind-wheel cannot destroy it. So too are all the roots of goodness of the bodhisattva of this ground — they are able to extinguish the blazing fire of the afflictions of measureless hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of beings, and the four kinds of path of Māra cannot destroy them. This bodhisattva, among the ten perfections, has prajñā-pāramitā in preponderance; it is not that he does not practise the rest, but that he practises them according to his strength and according to his share.

The Concluding Statement in Brief · The Fruit of Pliancy: He Mostly Becomes a King of the Good Transformation Heaven

“Sons of the Buddha! This is named: the sixth ground, Manifest, of a bodhisattva-mahāsattva, spoken in brief. A bodhisattva dwelling on this ground mostly becomes a king of the Good Transformation Heaven (the heaven that delights in what it emanates), sovereign in what he does; all the questions and challenges of the śrāvakas have no power to make him shrink back; he is able to make beings put away conceit and enter deeply into dependent origination. Giving, kind speech, beneficial conduct, and the sharing of tasks — all the deeds he does in these do not depart from keeping the Buddha in mind, on up to not departing from keeping in mind the being fully endowed with all modes and with the wisdom of omniscience. He thinks further thus: ‘I ought to be, among all beings, the foremost and the most excellent, on up to being the place of reliance for the wisdom of omniscience.’ If this bodhisattva applies himself with diligence and vigor, then in the space of a single thought he gains a hundred thousand koṭis of samādhis, on up to manifesting a hundred thousand koṭis of bodhisattvas as his retinue; and if by the power of his vows he manifests sovereignly, then he surpasses this number, so that even in a hundred thousand koṭis of nayutas of kalpas it could not be reckoned and known.”

The Verses in Repetition (1): Entering the Ground by the Ten Equalities

At that time the bodhisattva Vajragarbha, wishing to declare this meaning over again, spoke in verse —

“The bodhisattva, having fulfilled the fifth ground, sees that dharmas are without marks and without nature, unarisen, unaccomplished, from the first pure, without conceptual proliferation and without taking up or laying down; substance and mark are still, like an illusion and the rest; existence and non-existence are not two, and he is apart from discrimination. Conforming to the nature of dharmas he contemplates in this way, and when this wisdom is accomplished he enters the sixth ground. (The ten equalities · entering the ground)

The Verses in Repetition (2): The Aspect of the Flowing On of Dependent Origination

“The wisdom of the bright and keen forbearance of conformity being fully endowed, he contemplates the aspect of the arising and the ceasing of the world: by the power of dark delusion the world arises; if dark delusion is extinguished, the world is not. He contemplates that the real meaning of the causes and conditions is empty, and yet he does not destroy the function of the combining of provisional names; there is none who acts, none who feels, and none who thinks, and yet the formations rise up everywhere like clouds.

“Not to know the true truth is named ignorance; the deeds of thought that are done are the fruit of dark delusion; consciousness arises, and what arises together with it is name-and-form — and so it goes on, on up to becoming the mass of the multitude of sufferings. (The contemplation of dependent origination · the gate of the truth of the supreme meaning)

The Verses in Repetition (3): Penetrating That the Three Realms Exist in Dependence upon Mind

“He penetrates that the three realms exist in dependence upon mind, and that the twelve links of dependent origination are likewise; birth-and-death is all made by mind, and if mind is extinguished, birth-and-death is exhausted. (The sentence on mind only, shown forth in verse)

The Verses in Repetition (4): The Two Functions · The Three Paths · The Three Times · The Three Sufferings

“What ignorance does is of two kinds: not to penetrate amid the conditions, whereby it becomes the cause of the formations; and so it goes on, on up to old age, on up to perishing at the last — from this the arising of suffering has no end. While ignorance acts as condition it cannot be cut off; when that condition is exhausted, then all is extinguished. Dark delusion, craving, and grasping are the links of affliction; the formations and becoming are deeds; the rest are all suffering.

“From dark delusion up to the six sense-fields is the suffering of formation; contact and feeling increasing are the suffering of suffering; the remaining links of existence are the suffering of decay; if one sees that there is no self, the three sufferings are extinguished. Ignorance and the formations belong to the past; from consciousness to feeling turns in the present; craving, grasping, becoming, and birth are the suffering to come; when the dependence is cut off, the limits are exhausted.

The Verses in Repetition (5): Bondage · Conformity · The Ten Ways of Thinking

“While ignorance acts as condition, that is the arising of bondage; when apartness is gained amid the conditions, then bondage is exhausted. From cause the fruit is born; when the cause is apart, the fruit is cut off; contemplating this, one knows that the nature is empty. Conforming to ignorance, the manifold existences arise; not conforming to it, the manifold existences are cut off. This being, that is; this not being, that too is not — thinking in these ten ways, the mind is apart from attachment.

“The links of existence following one another, gathered in by one mind; each with its own function of deeds, not letting go of one another, and the three paths; the three periods, the three sufferings, what is born of causes and conditions, bondage, arising and ceasing, conformity and inexhaustibility — contemplating universally in this way the practice of dependent origination: there is none who acts, none who feels, nothing that is real; it is like an illusion, like a dream, like the play of light and shadow, and like a fool chasing a mirage.

The Verses in Repetition (6): The Three Gates of Liberation · Great Compassion · The Samādhis · Prajñā

“Contemplating in this way he enters into emptiness; knowing that the nature of the conditions is apart, he gains signlessness; penetrating that they are false, he has nothing to wish for, save only this one thing: to be kind and pitying toward beings. The great being cultivates the gates of liberation, and turns to increase great compassion and to seek the Dharma of the buddhas; knowing that all conditioned things are made by combining, his aim and delight are settled and he practises the path with diligence.

“The gates of the samādhi of emptiness are fully a hundred thousand, and those of signlessness and of wishlessness are likewise; prajñā and the forbearance of conformity both grow in ascendancy, and liberation and wisdom are brought to fullness.

The Verses in Repetition (7): Offerings to the Buddhas · The Two Similes · The Fruit of Recompense · The Concluding Praise

“With a deep mind, further, he makes many offerings to the buddhas, and within the teaching of the buddhas he cultivates the right path; he gains the treasury of the Dharma of the buddhas and increases his roots of goodness, as true gold is polished by beryl. As the moon, cool, covers the multitude of things, and the four winds coming upon it cannot destroy it, so the bodhisattva of this ground passes beyond the path of Māra and stills as well the burning distress of the afflictions of the host of beings.

“On this ground he mostly becomes a king of the Good Transformation Heaven, teaching and guiding beings to put away conceit; all that he does is for the seeking of omniscience, and all of it has already surpassed the path of the śrāvakas. The bodhisattva of this ground applies himself with diligence and vigor, and obtains samādhis by the hundred thousand koṭis; he sees too buddhas in numbers measureless — like the sun in the sky in the height of summer.

“This ground is most profound and subtle, hard to see and hard to know; the śrāvakas and the pratyekabuddhas cannot penetrate it — such is the bodhisattva’s sixth ground, which I have declared in full for the sons of the Buddha.”

The Host of Devas Scatter Jewels: In Praise of the Lotus Among Men

At that time the great host of devas rejoiced in their minds and scattered down precious jewels that turned into clouds and rested in empty space; everywhere they sent forth all kinds of lovely sounds, and announced to that most excellent and pure one, saying:

“His wisdom that penetrates the ultimate truth is free and unobstructed; the merits he has perfected are hundreds of thousands of koṭis in number; he is the lotus among men, dwelling in the world and yet stained by nothing, and for the benefit of sentient beings he expounds this most profound practice.”

The Sovereign Heaven King, in the midst of empty space, sent forth a great radiance that shone upon the Buddha’s body, and scattered down clouds of the finest wondrous incense, making offerings everywhere to that one who removes sorrow, suffering, and affliction. At that time the great host of devas all rejoiced, and every one of them sent forth lovely sounds and together praised and declared:

“Having heard the merits of this ground, we have thereby gained a great good benefit.

The Goddesses Make Music: In Praise of the Practice Where Stillness and Function Do Not Obstruct

The goddesses at that time were glad in their minds and vied with one another in playing ten million kinds of music; all of this was by the spiritual power of the Tathāgata, and within the music they together made these words:

“His deportment is still and quiet, beyond all comparison; he can tame those hard to tame, and is worthy of the offerings of the world; he has already transcended every world, and yet he still moves within the world and sets forth the wondrous path.

“Though he manifests all kinds of measureless bodies, he knows that each single body is nothing at all; with skill he proclaims the dharmas in words, and yet he does not grasp at the marks of letters and sounds.

“He goes to hundreds of thousands of buddha-lands and makes offerings to the buddhas with all kinds of fine gifts; his wisdom is free and stained by nothing, and he does not give rise to the thought, ‘This is my buddha-land.’

“Though he diligently teaches and transforms all sentient beings, in his mind there is no discrimination whatever between ‘him’ and ‘me’; though he has already brought vast wholesome dharmas to completion, he gives rise to no attachment toward wholesome dharmas.

“Because he sees that in every world the three fires of greed, hatred, and delusion blaze without ceasing, he is far removed from every kind of notion, and gives rise to the power of great compassion and of vigor.

The Assembly Falls Silent: Vimukticandra Requests the Teaching of the Seventh Ground

All the devas and the goddesses, having made their various offerings and praises, all at the same time remained silent, gazing up at the honored one among men, wishing to hear the Dharma. At that time the bodhisattva Vimukticandra asked once again, saying:

“The minds of this great assembly are pure; as for the various marks of practice within the seventh ground, we only pray that the Son of the Buddha will proclaim them for all.

The Ten Kinds of Wisdom in Skillful Means: Within Emptiness Not Abiding in Emptiness, Within Existence Not Abiding in Existence

At that time the bodhisattva Vajragarbha told the bodhisattva Vimukticandra, saying:

“Sons of the Buddha! When a bodhisattva-mahāsattva has completed the practice of the sixth ground and wishes to enter the seventh, the Far-Reaching Ground, he should cultivate ten kinds of wisdom in skillful means, and thereby give rise to the surpassing path. Which ten? They are, namely:

“Though he well cultivates the three samādhis of emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness, yet in kindness and compassion he does not forsake sentient beings; though he has realized the dharma of the equality of the buddhas, yet he delights in constantly making offerings to the buddhas; though he enters the gate of the wisdom that contemplates emptiness, yet he diligently amasses merit; though he is far removed from the three realms, yet he adorns the three realms; though he has utterly extinguished in himself the various fires of the afflictions, yet for all sentient beings he can give rise to the gate of practice that extinguishes the fires of the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion; though he knows that the dharmas are like an illusion, like a dream, like a shadow, like an echo, like a mirage, like a magical transformation, like the moon in water, like an image in a mirror, without duality in their own nature, yet he follows the minds of sentient beings and does measureless and various kinds of work; though he knows that all lands are like empty space, yet he can adorn a buddha-land with pure and wondrous practice; though he knows that the dharma-body of the buddhas is by nature bodiless, yet he adorns his body with the marks and signs; though he knows that the voice of the buddhas is empty and quiescent in nature and cannot be spoken, yet he can send forth all kinds of distinct and pure sounds in accord with all sentient beings; though he follows the buddhas in knowing that the three times are but a single thought, yet in accord with the understanding of sentient beings he discriminates, and cultivates the practices with all kinds of marks, all kinds of seasons, and all kinds of numbers of kalpas.

“By ten kinds of wisdom in skillful means such as these the bodhisattva gives rise to surpassing practice and passes from the sixth ground into the seventh; and once he has entered, this practice is constantly present before him — and this is called: dwelling on the seventh ground, the Far-Reaching.

Having Dwelt on This Ground: The Twenty ‘Enterings of the Measureless’

“Sons of the Buddha! When a bodhisattva-mahāsattva dwells on this seventh ground, he enters the measureless realms of sentient beings; enters the measureless work of the buddhas in teaching and transforming sentient beings; enters the measureless net of worlds; enters the measureless pure lands of the buddhas; enters the measureless dharmas of every kind and distinction; enters the measureless wisdom by which the buddhas awaken in the present; enters the measureless numbers of kalpas; enters the measureless wisdom by which the buddhas comprehend the three times; enters the measureless distinctions in the faith and understanding of sentient beings; enters the measureless bodies of name and form that the buddhas manifest; enters the measureless distinctions in the desires, delights, and faculties of sentient beings; enters the measureless speech and sounds of the buddhas that gladden sentient beings; enters the measureless workings of mind of every kind in sentient beings; enters the measureless vast wisdom that the buddhas comprehend; enters the measureless faith and understanding of the vehicle of the śrāvakas; enters the measureless proclaiming by the buddhas of the path of wisdom that brings beings to faith and understanding; enters the measureless attainments of the pratyekabuddhas; enters the measureless proclaiming by the buddhas of the gates of profound wisdom that brings beings to enter in; enters the measureless practices of skillful means of the bodhisattvas; enters the measureless matters of the assembling of the Great Vehicle spoken by the buddhas, whereby bodhisattvas are able to enter in.

“This bodhisattva thinks in his mind: ‘Such measureless realms of the Tathāgata cannot be known even on through hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of kalpas; I should bring them all to fulfillment with a mind free of exertion and free of discrimination.’

Unbroken in Thought After Thought: The Ten Perfections Complete Within a Single Thought

“Sons of the Buddha! This bodhisattva contemplates in this way with profound wisdom, constantly and diligently cultivating the wisdom of skillful means and giving rise to the surpassing path, dwelling unshaken, without a single thought of rest or of putting it aside; walking, standing, sitting, lying down, and even in sleep and dream, he never for a moment consorts with the covering obstructions (the obstructions that cover over the nature of the mind), and constantly does not forsake this recollection. In thought after thought this bodhisattva is constantly able to complete the ten perfections. Why is this so? Because in thought after thought he takes great compassion as his forerunner, practices the Buddha’s Dharma, and turns toward the wisdom of a buddha.

“All his roots of goodness, given to sentient beings for the sake of seeking the wisdom of a buddha — this is called: the perfection of dāna (giving); the ability to extinguish the burning of every affliction — this is called: the perfection of śīla (discipline); taking kindness and compassion as forerunner and doing no harm to sentient beings — this is called: the perfection of kṣānti (patience); seeking the surpassing wholesome dharmas without ever having enough — this is called: the perfection of vīrya (vigor); the path of omniscience constantly present before him and never scattered — this is called: the perfection of dhyāna (meditative concentration); the ability to accept that the dharmas neither arise nor cease — this is called: the perfection of prajñā (wisdom); the ability to bring forth measureless wisdom — this is called: the perfection of skillful means; the ability to seek the higher and ever more surpassing wisdom — this is called: the perfection of vows; that no divergent doctrine whatever and no host of Māra can break him down — this is called: the perfection of power; knowing all dharmas as they really are — this is called: the perfection of knowledge.

“Sons of the Buddha! These ten perfections the bodhisattva is able to complete in thought after thought; and in the same way the four means of gathering (giving · kindly speech · beneficial conduct · the sharing of tasks), the four holdings, the thirty-seven factors, and the three gates of liberation — stated briefly, on up to all the factors of awakening — are likewise brought to fullness in thought after thought.

Vimukticandra Asks: Is It Only the Seventh Ground That Fulfills the Factors of Awakening?

At that time the bodhisattva Vimukticandra asked the bodhisattva Vajragarbha, saying:

“Son of the Buddha! Is it only within this seventh ground that a bodhisattva brings all the factors of awakening to fullness, or is he able to bring them to fullness within the other grounds as well?

Vajragarbha Answers: All Ten Grounds Fulfill Them, and the Seventh Is the Most Excellent

The bodhisattva Vajragarbha said:

“Sons of the Buddha! Within all ten grounds a bodhisattva is able to bring the factors of awakening to fullness; and yet the seventh ground is the most excellent. Why is this so? Because on this seventh ground the practice of exertion is complete, so that he gains entry into the practice in which wisdom is free.

“Sons of the Buddha! On the first ground a bodhisattva brings the factors of awakening to fullness because he takes all the Buddha’s dharmas as his object and vows to seek them; the second ground because he is far from the stains of the mind; the third because his vows increase further and he gains the radiance of the Dharma; the fourth because he enters the path; the fifth because he accords with what is done in the world; the sixth because he enters the profound gate of the Dharma; the seventh because he gives rise to all the Buddha’s dharmas — these grounds too bring the factors of awakening to fullness in the same way.

“Why is this so? From the first ground up to the seventh a bodhisattva accomplishes that one portion which is exertion possessed of wisdom; and by the power of this, from the eighth ground up to the tenth, practice without exertion is accomplished in its entirety.

“Sons of the Buddha! Suppose there were two worlds, one of them defiled and one of them wholly pure: the space between the two is hard to pass through, and only a bodhisattva who is furnished with great skillful means, spiritual powers, and the power of vows can pass through it. Sons of the Buddha! So it is with the grounds of a bodhisattva: there is defiled practice and there is pure practice, and the space between the two is hard to pass through; only a bodhisattva furnished with the power of great vows, with skillful means, and with wisdom can pass through it.

Vimukticandra Asks: Is the Seventh Ground Defiled Practice or Pure Practice?

The bodhisattva Vimukticandra said:

“Son of the Buddha! Is this bodhisattva of the seventh ground one of defiled practice, or one of pure practice?

Vajragarbha Answers: The Simile of the Wheel-Turning King and the Brahmā King

The bodhisattva Vajragarbha said:

“Sons of the Buddha! From the first ground to the seventh, all the practices he cultivates have forsaken the deeds that are afflictions, because he dedicates and directs them toward unsurpassed awakening and because he has gained a portion of the path of equality; and yet they still cannot be called practice that has surpassed the afflictions.

“Sons of the Buddha! It is like a wheel-turning sage king who rides the jewel that is the heavenly elephant and travels the four continents, and who, knowing that there are people poor and in distress, is not defiled by those many troubles — and yet he still cannot be called one who has surpassed the station of a human. But if he casts off the body of a king and is born in the Brahmā world, riding a celestial palace, gaining sight of a thousand worlds and travelling a thousand worlds, and manifesting the radiance and majestic virtue of the Brahmā heaven — this is what is called surpassing the station of a human.

“Sons of the Buddha! So it is with the bodhisattva: from the first ground up to the seventh he rides the vehicle of the perfections and travels the world, and knows the faults and troubles of the afflictions of the worlds; because what he rides is the right path, he is not defiled by the faults of the afflictions — and yet he still cannot be called one whose practice has surpassed the afflictions. But if he forsakes every practice that has exertion and passes from the seventh ground into the eighth, riding the pure vehicle of the bodhisattva and travelling the world, knowing the faults of the afflictions and yet undefiled by them — this is what is called practice that has surpassed the afflictions, because he has gained a surpassing of them that is complete in every respect.

“Sons of the Buddha! This bodhisattva of the seventh ground has already surpassed in full the host of afflictions, much greed and the rest, and dwells on this ground; and yet he is not called one who has afflictions, nor is he called one who is without afflictions. Why is this so? Because none of the afflictions actively operate, he is not called one who has them; because his mind that seeks the wisdom of the Tathāgata is not yet fulfilled, he is not called one who is without them.

The Three Kinds of Action Made Pure: A Great Illumining Master in the Great-Thousand World-System

“Sons of the Buddha! A bodhisattva who dwells on this seventh ground, with a deep and pure mind, perfects the action of body, perfects the action of speech, and perfects the action of mind. Every unwholesome course of action — those that the Tathāgata reproves — he has already forsaken; every wholesome deed — those that the Tathāgata praises — he constantly and well cultivates. All the books and arts there are in the world, just as was said within the fifth ground, he carries out of themselves, without needing recourse to exertion.

“Within the three-thousandfold great-thousand world-system this bodhisattva acts as a great illumining master; apart from the Tathāgata and the other bodhisattvas of the eighth ground and above, there is none whose deep mind and wondrous practice can equal his; the various dhyānas, samādhis, samāpattis (attainments), spiritual powers, and liberations are all able to appear before him. And yet these are accomplished by cultivation; they are not like the eighth ground, which accomplishes them by recompense. In thought after thought the bodhisattva of this ground completes his cultivation of the power of the wisdom of skillful means and of all the factors of awakening, so that they turn ever more excellent and full.

The Ten Samādhis: Entering a Million Samādhis and Purifying This Ground

“Sons of the Buddha! A bodhisattva who dwells on this ground enters the bodhisattva samādhi of well discerning and selecting, the samādhi of well selecting the meaning, the samādhi of supreme wisdom, the samādhi of distinguishing the treasury of meaning, the samādhi of distinguishing the meaning as it really is, the samādhi of well abiding in firm faculties, the samādhi of the gate of wisdom and spiritual powers, the samādhi of the action of the Dharma realm, the samādhi of the excellent benefit of the Tathāgata, and the samādhi of the gate of the manifold treasury of meaning, of birth-and-death and nirvāṇa; he enters a million samādhis such as these, furnished with the gate of great wisdom and spiritual powers, and thereby purifies this ground. Having gained these samādhis, because he is well able to purify the wisdom of skillful means and because of the power of great compassion, this bodhisattva surpasses the ground of the two vehicles and gains the ground of discerning wisdom.

“Sons of the Buddha! Because a bodhisattva who dwells on this ground well purifies the signless practice of measureless action of body, well purifies the signless practice of measureless action of speech, and well purifies the signless practice of measureless action of mind, he gains the radiance of the acceptance that dharmas do not arise.

Vimukticandra Asks: Have the Three Kinds of Action Since the First Ground Not Already Surpassed the Two Vehicles?

The bodhisattva Vimukticandra said:

“Son of the Buddha! Have not all the measureless actions of body, speech, and mind that a bodhisattva has had since the first ground already surpassed the two vehicles?

Vajragarbha Answers: The Simile of the Prince — the King’s Power and His Own Power

The bodhisattva Vajragarbha said:

“Sons of the Buddha! Those have all surpassed them; and yet that was only because he vowed to seek the dharmas of the buddhas, and not by the power of his own wisdom in discerning. Now, on the seventh ground, it is by the power of his own wisdom, and so none of the two vehicles can come up to him.

“It is like a prince born into the house of a king, born of the queen, furnished with the marks of a king, who from the moment he is born surpasses all the host of ministers — and yet that is only by the power of the king and not by his own power. But when his body has grown up and his arts and studies are all complete, then it is by his own power that he surpasses everyone. So it is with the bodhisattva-mahāsattva: at the time when he first gives rise to the mind, because he sets his will on seeking the great Dharma he surpasses all śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas; now, dwelling on this ground, it is by the power of the wisdom of his own practice that he passes out beyond all the two vehicles.

“Sons of the Buddha! A bodhisattva who dwells on this seventh ground gains the action of body, speech, and mind that is profound, far removed, without practice, and constantly coursing, and he diligently seeks the higher path without forsaking it — and therefore the bodhisattva, though he courses in the real limit (the true limit of the dharmas), does not take realization of it.

Vimukticandra Asks: From Which Ground Onward Can He Enter the Concentration of Cessation?

The bodhisattva Vimukticandra said:

“Son of the Buddha! From which ground onward is a bodhisattva able to enter the concentration of cessation (the concentration of complete cessation)?

Vajragarbha Answers: The Simile of Boarding a Ship and Entering the Sea — Entering in Thought After Thought Without Making Realization of It

The bodhisattva Vajragarbha said:

“Sons of the Buddha! From the sixth ground onward a bodhisattva is able to enter the concentration of cessation. Now, dwelling on this ground, he is able to enter it in thought after thought and also to rise from it in thought after thought, and yet he does not take realization of it. Therefore this bodhisattva is called: one who has perfected inconceivable action of body, speech, and mind, who courses in the real limit and does not take realization of it. It is like a man who boards a ship and enters the sea and, by the power of his skill, meets with no disaster in the water; so it is with the bodhisattva of this ground, who rides the ship of the perfections and sails the sea of the real limit, and who, by the power of his vows, does not realize quiescent cessation.

The Virtue of the Twofold Practice: Though … Yet …

“Sons of the Buddha! Having gained the power of the wisdom of samādhis such as these, this bodhisattva, with great skillful means: though he manifests birth-and-death, yet he constantly dwells in nirvāṇa; though he is surrounded by a retinue, yet he constantly delights in solitude; though by the power of vows he takes birth in the three realms, yet he is not defiled by the dharmas of the world; though he is constantly in quiescent cessation, yet by the power of skillful means he blazes up again, and though he blazes he is not burned; though he accords with the wisdom of a buddha, yet he manifests entering the grounds of the śrāvaka and the pratyekabuddha; though he has gained the treasury of the realm of a buddha, yet he manifests dwelling in the realm of Māra; though he has passed beyond the path of Māra, yet he manifests carrying out the dharmas of Māra; though he manifests conduct in common with the outsiders, yet he does not forsake the Buddha’s Dharma; though he manifests according with every world, yet he constantly carries out all the dharmas that transcend the world. All the affairs of adornment that are his surpass whatever belongs to the devas, the dragons, the yakṣas, the gandharvas, the asuras, the garuḍas, the kiṃnaras, the mahoragas, humans and nonhumans, Śakra, the Brahmā kings, and the four heaven kings; and yet he does not forsake the mind that delights in the Dharma.

Seeing Many Buddhas · The Simile of True Gold · The Simile of Sunlight: The Perfection of Skillful Means Preeminent

“Sons of the Buddha! A bodhisattva who has perfected wisdom such as this and dwells on the Far-Reaching Ground gains, by the power of his vows, the sight of many buddhas. That is: he sees many hundreds of buddhas, on up to seeing many hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of buddhas. In the presence of those buddhas, with a vast mind and a mind of increasing excellence, he makes offerings and pays reverence, honors and praises them, and presents as gifts clothing, food and drink, bedding, and medicine — everything needed to support life — and with these he makes offerings to the whole assembly of monks as well, dedicating and directing such roots of goodness toward unsurpassed perfect awakening. Again, in the presence of the buddhas he reverently listens to the Dharma, and having heard it he receives and upholds it, gaining the radiance of the wisdom of samādhi as it really is, and practices in accord with it. In the presence of the buddhas he guards and upholds the true Dharma, and is constantly praised and delighted in by the tathāgatas; no question or challenge that the two vehicles may raise can make him fall back; he benefits sentient beings, and his acceptance of the dharmas is pure.

“In this way, through measureless hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of kalpas, all his roots of goodness turn ever more excellent. It is like true gold that is adorned with many wondrous jewels set in among it, so that it turns ever more excellent and its radiance is doubled, and none of the other ornaments can come up to it; so it is with all the roots of goodness of a bodhisattva who dwells on this seventh ground: by the power of the wisdom of skillful means they turn ever brighter and purer, and the two vehicles cannot come up to them.

“Sons of the Buddha! It is like sunlight, which the light of the stars and the moon cannot come up to, and which can dry up all the mire and standing water (mud and pooled water) upon the great earth of Jambudvīpa; so it is with the bodhisattva of this Far-Reaching Ground, whom none of the two vehicles can come up to, and who is able to dry up every kind of deluding mire and standing water in all sentient beings. Among the ten perfections this bodhisattva has the perfection of skillful means preeminent; it is not that he does not practice the rest, but only that he does so according to his power and his portion.

The Conclusion of the Ground and Its Fruit of Recompense: He Mostly Becomes a Sovereign Heaven King

“Sons of the Buddha! What has been said above is called: a brief statement of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva’s seventh ground, the Far-Reaching. A bodhisattva who dwells on this ground mostly becomes a Sovereign Heaven King, and is skilled at proclaiming for sentient beings the dharma of realizing wisdom, causing them to enter into realization. Giving, kindly speech, beneficial conduct, and the sharing of tasks — every work he does in this way does not depart from the recollection of the Buddha, on up to not departing from the recollection of the perfect possession of all modes and of the wisdom of omniscience.

“He further thinks in this way: ‘I should be, among all sentient beings, the foremost and the most excellent, on up to being the one upon whom they rely for the wisdom of omniscience.’ If this bodhisattva gives rise to diligent vigor, then in the space of a single thought he can gain hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of samādhis, on up to manifesting hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of bodhisattvas as his retinue; and if by the surpassing power of a bodhisattva’s vows he manifests freely, then he surpasses even this number, so that through hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of kalpas it could not be counted and known.

Verses in Repetition (1): Entering the Seventh Ground by the Ten Wondrous Practices

At that time the bodhisattva Vajragarbha, wishing to proclaim this meaning once again, spoke in verse, saying:

“The samādhi path of the wisdom of the ultimate meaning: on the sixth ground the mind of practice is fulfilled, and at once the wisdom of skillful means is perfected — by this the bodhisattva enters the seventh ground.

“Though he understands the three gates of liberation, yet he gives rise to kindness and compassion; though he is equal to the Tathāgata, yet he diligently makes offerings to the buddhas; though he contemplates emptiness, yet he amasses merit — by this the bodhisattva ascends to the seventh ground.

“Far removed from the three realms, yet adorning the three realms; extinguishing the fire of delusion, yet giving rise to the flame of the Dharma; knowing that the dharmas are without duality, yet diligently doing works; comprehending that the buddha-lands are all empty, yet delighting to adorn and purify a buddha-land; understanding that the body of a buddha is unmoving, yet furnished with all the marks; penetrating that the nature of sound is apart, yet skilled at setting it forth; entering into a single thought, yet each matter distinct — by this the wise one ascends to the seventh ground. (the verses gathering the ten wondrous practices)

Verses in Repetition (2): Entering the Measureless · Perfecting the Perfections in Thought After Thought

“Contemplating this Dharma he gains clear understanding, and raises up benefit widely for the deluded multitudes; he enters the realm of sentient beings, which has no bound, and the work of the buddhas in teaching and transforming is measureless as well.

“Lands, dharmas, and the numbers of kalpas; faith and understanding, desires and delights, and the workings of mind — into all of these he can enter; his proclaiming of the dharmas of the three vehicles is without limit as well, and thus he teaches and transforms the manifold multitudes of beings. (the verses gathering the twenty enterings)

“The bodhisattva diligently seeks the most surpassing path, and in motion and in rest he does not forsake the wisdom of skillful means; each and every one he dedicates and directs toward the awakening of a buddha, and in thought after thought he perfects the perfections.

“To give rise to the mind and to dedicate it is giving; to extinguish delusion is discipline, and to do no harm is patience; to seek the good without weariness is the spur of vigor; to be unmoved upon the path is the cultivation of dhyāna; to accept in peace what does not arise is called prajñā; to dedicate and direct is skillful means, and to long for is the vow; that none can crush is power, and to be well able to comprehend is knowledge — thus all ten perfections are brought to fullness. (the verses gathering the ten perfections)

Verses in Repetition (3): A Conspectus of the Virtues of the Ten Grounds and the Transcendence of the Eighth

“The first ground takes all the Buddha’s dharmas as its object and its merit is full; the second is free of stain, the third has contention stilled, the fourth enters the path, the fifth accords in its practice, the sixth shines with the light of the wisdom of non-arising, the seventh dwells in awakening and its merit is full, and all the great vows are complete in every kind; and by this it can bring it about that within the eighth ground everything done is pure. (a conspectus of the virtues of the ten grounds)

“This ground is hard to pass; only great wisdom can cross beyond it, as with the space between two worlds; and it is also like that sage king who, though stained by nothing, still cannot be called one who has crossed over entirely.

“Only when he dwells within the eighth, the ground of wisdom, has he leapt beyond the realm of mind; like the Brahmā king who looks upon the world and surpasses the station of a human, like the lotus that rests in the water and is stained by nothing. (the simile of the space between two worlds · the simile of the wheel-turning king and the Brahmā king · the simile of the lotus in the water)

Verses in Repetition (4): Neither Having Nor Lacking Delusions · The Arts of the World · Surpassing the Two Vehicles

“Though on this ground he has surpassed the host of delusions, he is not called one who has delusions, nor is he one without them; because he is without afflictions and yet courses within them, while the mind that seeks the wisdom of a buddha is not yet fulfilled.

“All the many arts there are in the world, the books and the discourses, he understands throughout; meditative concentration, samādhi, and the spiritual powers — such cultivation is accomplished in its entirety.

“The bodhisattva brings to completion the path of the seventh dwelling, surpassing every practice of the two vehicles; the first ground was by the power of vows, while this ground is by wisdom — as with the prince whose strength is complete. (the simile of the prince)

Verses in Repetition (5): Not Taking Realization · Offerings to the Buddhas · The Fruit of Recompense and the Concluding Words

“He perfects the profound Dharma and still advances upon the path; thought after thought is quiescent, and yet he does not take realization of it; it is like boarding a ship and entering the midst of the sea, where the body is in the water and yet is not drowned by the water. (the simile of boarding a ship and entering the sea)

“The merit of the practice of the wisdom of skillful means is complete, and no one in any world can comprehend it; making offerings to many buddhas, his mind grows brighter and purer, as when true gold is adorned with wondrous jewels. (the simile of true gold)

“The wisdom of the bodhisattva of this ground is the brightest of all, as the sun spreads its radiance and dries up the water of craving; and he becomes the lord among the Sovereign devas, transforming and guiding the multitudes of beings to cultivate right wisdom. (the simile of sunlight · the fruit of recompense)

“If by the power of valorous and diligent vigor he gains many samādhis and sees many buddhas, as many as hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas; and manifesting freely by the power of vows, he surpasses even this number.

“This is the bodhisattva’s Far-Reaching Ground, the pure path of the wisdom of skillful means; none in any world, neither devas nor humans, neither śrāvakas nor pratyekabuddhas, is able to comprehend it.” (the conclusion of the ground)

The Gods Make Offerings and Praise: Within a Single Hair-Tip Measureless Tathāgatas Abide

At that time the heaven king and the host of gods, having heard of this surpassing gate of practice, all gave rise to gladness; and in order to make offerings to the Tathāgata and to the boundless, limitless great bodhisattvas, they rained down lovely and wondrous flowers, pennants, banners, and canopies, garlands of incense, necklaces, and jeweled robes, measureless and boundless thousands of myriads of kinds, all of them adorned with maṇi jewels. The goddesses at the same time struck up heavenly music, sending forth everywhere all manner of beautiful and wondrous sounds, making offerings to the Buddha and to the sons of the Buddha, and together speaking thus in praise:

“Seer of all (the Buddha, from whom nothing is hidden), Most Honored among the Two-Footed (most honored among beings that go on two feet), out of pity for sentient beings you display your spiritual power, causing these many musics of the gods to send forth everywhere a wondrous sound that every one of them can hear. Upon the tip of a single hair there are Tathāgatas as many as the dust-motes of hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of lands, abiding therein and expounding the wondrous Dharma. Within a single pore there are measureless buddha-fields, each with its four great continents and its great seas, and Mount Sumeru and the encircling ring of iron are within them too, all of them plainly seen and yet not in the least crowded. In the space of a single hair-tip there are the sentient beings of the six destinies — the three evil destinies together with humans and gods — the dragons, the hosts of spirits, and the asuras, each of them receiving its recompense according to its own deeds. Within all those fields there are Tathāgatas expounding wondrous sounds, according with the minds of all sentient beings and turning for them the supreme and pure wheel of the Dharma. Within the fields there are bodies of sentient beings of every kind, and within those bodies there are again fields of every kind; the destinies of humans and gods are each unlike the other, and the Buddha knows them all and expounds the Dharma for them. A great field, following upon a thought, becomes a small field; a small field, following upon a thought, becomes a great field as well; spiritual power such as this has no limit, and though the people of the world should speak of it together they could not speak it to the end.”

Having sent forth everywhere these wondrous sounds and praised the merit of the Tathāgata, the great assembly was glad and abode in silence, gazing up with one mind, wishing to hear the exposition.

Vimukticandra Asks: May You Expound the Aspects of Practice within the Eighth Ground

At this the bodhisattva Vimukticandra asked once more, saying: “Now that the assembly of this Dharma gathering has all become still, may you expound what is to be entered in due sequence — the many aspects of practice within the eighth ground.”

The Aspect of the Fullness of the Seventh Ground: From the Wisdom of Skillful Means to the Forbearance of the Non-Arising of Dharmas

At that time the bodhisattva Vajragarbha told the bodhisattva Vimukticandra, saying:

“Son of the Buddha! Upon the seventh ground the bodhisattva-mahāsattva is good at cultivating the wisdom of skillful means (the strength in which expedient artfulness and wisdom are carried on together), good at purifying the paths, good at gathering the dharmas that aid the path. He is taken up by the strength of the great vows, sustained by the strength of the Tathāgata, upheld by the strength of his own roots of goodness; he constantly keeps in mind the Tathāgata’s powers, his fearlessnesses, and the dharmas of a buddha not shared with others; he is good at purifying the thought and the awareness of the profound mind; he is able to accomplish merit and wisdom; with great kindness and great compassion he does not forsake sentient beings; he enters the path of measureless wisdom; he enters into all dharmas — all dharmas which from the beginning are without arising, without rising up, without mark, without formation, without breaking down, without exhaustion, without turning, and which have no intrinsic nature as their nature; whose beginning, middle, and end, the three limits, are all alike equal; which are the place entered by the undiscriminating wisdom of suchness; which are apart from every discriminating notion of mind, mentation, and consciousness, without any grasping at all, like empty space; he enters into all dharmas as being of the very nature of empty space — and this is called gaining the forbearance of the non-arising of dharmas.

Entering the Eighth Ground, the Immovable: All Effort Comes to Rest

“Son of the Buddha! When a bodhisattva has accomplished this forbearance, he at once gains entry to the eighth ground, the Immovable. He is a bodhisattva of deep practice (a bodhisattva whose place of practice is deep and far), hard to make out, without differentiation, apart from every mark, every notion, and every clinging, measureless and boundless, such that no śrāvaka and no pratyekabuddha can reach him; he is far removed from all wrangling and dispute, and quiescence is present before him.

“It is as with a monk who is complete in the spiritual penetrations, who has gained mastery of mind, and who in due sequence enters at last into the concentration of cessation, where every moving of the mind and every remembering thought and discrimination has wholly come to rest. So it is with this bodhisattva-mahāsattva: abiding on the Immovable Ground, he lets go of every practice that requires effort (practice that must be carried out by putting forth strength) and gains the dharma that requires no effort; the deliberations and the labors of the activity of body, of speech, and of mind have wholly come to rest, and he abides in the practice of the fruit (the practice cultivated on the earlier grounds, which now ripens of itself).

“It is as with a man who in a dream sees his own body fallen into a great river, and who, in order to cross over, gives rise to great valor and sets up great skillful means; and because of that great valor and that setting up of skillful means he wakes on the instant; and having woken, all that he was doing comes to rest. So it is with the bodhisattva: he sees the bodies of sentient beings in the four torrents, and in order to deliver them he gives rise to great valor and raises up great vigor; and because of that valor and vigor he arrives at the Immovable Ground; and having arrived at this ground, there is no effort of his that does not come to rest, and the twofold practice (practice that has doing in it) and the practice concerned with marks are no longer present before him.

“Son of the Buddha! Just as with one born into the world of Brahmā, for whom the afflictions of the realm of desire are not present before him, so it is with one abiding on the Immovable Ground: all the workings of mind, of mentation, and of consciousness are not present before him. This bodhisattva-mahāsattva does not even give rise to the mind of a bodhisattva, the mind of a buddha, the mind of awakening, or the mind of nirvāṇa — how much less would he give rise to a worldly mind!

The Buddhas Appear before Him: Seven Exhortations

“Son of the Buddha! Because of the strength of his original vows, the buddhas, the world-honored ones, appear in person before the bodhisattva of this ground, give him the wisdom of a Tathāgata, and cause him to gain entry to the gate of the Dharma-stream (the gate of realization which runs on unbroken like a stream of Dharma), speaking thus:

“‘Excellent, excellent! Good man! This forbearance is the first of all, and it accords with the dharmas of the buddhas. Nevertheless, good man! All that we have — the ten powers, the fearlessnesses, the eighteen dharmas of a buddha not shared with others — you have not yet gained; you should therefore add diligence and vigor in order to accomplish these dharmas, and do not for this let go of the gate of this forbearance.

“‘Again, good man! Though you have gained this liberation that is quiescence, ordinary beings are not yet able to realize it; every sort of affliction is present before them, and awareness and examination are constantly wounding one another — you should have pity upon sentient beings such as these.

“‘Again, good man! You should keep in mind the vows you originally made, benefiting all sentient beings everywhere and vastly, and causing them all to gain entry to the gate of inconceivable wisdom.

“‘Again, good man! The dharma-nature of these dharmas, whether a buddha appears in the world or does not appear, abides constantly and does not alter; the buddhas are not called Tathāgatas because they have gained this dharma, and those of the two vehicles are also able to gain this undiscriminated dharma.

“‘Again, good man! Look upon us: the marks of our bodies are measureless, our wisdom is measureless, our lands are measureless, our skillful means are measureless, our radiance is measureless, and our pure sounds are without limit as well; you should now accomplish these things.

“‘Again, good man! What you have just now gained is a single light of the Dharma, namely that all dharmas are without arising and without discrimination. Good man! The Tathāgata’s light of the Dharma has measureless enterings, measureless functionings, measureless turnings, which even in hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of kalpas could not be known; you should cultivate the practice and accomplish this dharma.

“‘Again, good man! You should observe the measureless lands, the measureless sentient beings, and the many differences among the measureless dharmas of the ten directions, and should penetrate all those matters as they truly are.’

The Gate That Raises Wisdom: Were It Not Given, He Would Enter Nirvāṇa

“Son of the Buddha! The buddhas, the world-honored ones, give this bodhisattva measureless gates that raise wisdom such as these, and cause him to be able to raise up measureless, boundless works of differentiated wisdom. Son of the Buddha! Were the buddhas not to give this bodhisattva the gates that raise wisdom, he would at that time enter final nirvāṇa and cast away every work of benefiting sentient beings. Because the buddhas give him measureless, boundless gates that raise wisdom such as these, the work of wisdom that he brings forth in the space of a single thought is such that, set beside it, all the practices cultivated from the first arousing of the mind up to the seventh ground do not come up to one part in a hundred of it, nor to one part in hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of it; and just so, the asaṃkhyeya fraction, the kalā fraction (a fraction of the utmost fineness), the fraction of calculation, the fraction of likeness, and the upaniṣad fraction (a fraction slight to the last degree) do not come up to one part of it either.

“Why is this? Son of the Buddha! Formerly this bodhisattva raised up his practice with a single body; now that he abides on this ground he gains measureless bodies, measureless sounds, measureless wisdom, measureless births, measureless pure lands; he teaches and transforms measureless sentient beings, makes offerings to measureless buddhas, enters measureless gates of the Dharma, is complete in measureless spiritual penetrations, has the differences of measureless assemblies and sites of the Path, and abides in measureless activity of body, of speech, and of mind, gathering together the whole of the bodhisattva’s practice — and this because he has gained the dharma of immovability.

“Son of the Buddha! It is as when one takes ship in order to enter the great ocean: before reaching the ocean much strength must be used; but once the ocean is reached one goes only as the wind carries one, and without borrowing human strength any further one can reach the great ocean; the distance travelled in a single day is such that the distance before the ocean was reached — even were a hundred years spent upon it — could not come up to it. Son of the Buddha! So it is with the bodhisattva-mahāsattva: he gathers together the vast provision of roots of goodness, takes ship in the Great Vehicle and arrives at the ocean of the bodhisattva’s practice, and in the space of a single thought enters by the wisdom that requires no effort into the realm of the wisdom of omniscience; while the practice that formerly required effort, though it pass through measureless hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of kalpas, could not reach it.

Observing the Realm Traversed by the Wisdom of Omniscience: The Forming and Breaking Down of Worlds · Dust-Motes · The Three Realms

“Son of the Buddha! A bodhisattva abiding on this eighth ground, by the awareness requiring no effort which is born of the wisdom of great skillfulness in means, observes the realm traversed by the wisdom of omniscience. That is: he observes the forming of worlds and observes the breaking down of worlds — that because deeds such as these are gathered together there is forming, and because deeds such as these are exhausted there is breaking down. How long is the forming? How long the breaking down? How long the abiding after the forming? How long the abiding after the breaking down? All this he knows as it truly is.

“He knows further the small aspect, the great aspect, the measureless aspect, and the differentiated aspect of the earth element, and knows the small aspect, the great aspect, the measureless aspect, and the differentiated aspect of the water element, the fire element, and the wind element, and knows the fine aspect, the differentiated aspect, and the measurelessly differentiated aspect of dust-motes. Take any world you please: the masses of dust-motes within it and the differentiated aspects of those dust-motes he knows entirely as they truly are; take any world you please: how many dust-motes there are to each of the earth, water, fire, and wind elements within it, how many dust-motes to all the precious things, how many dust-motes to the bodies of sentient beings, how many dust-motes to the body that is the land — all this he knows as it truly is. He knows of how many dust-motes the great bodies and the small bodies of sentient beings are severally composed, and knows of how many dust-motes the bodies of the hells, the bodies of animals, the bodies of hungry ghosts, the bodies of asuras, the bodies of gods, and the bodies of humans are severally composed — and thus he gains this wisdom of the differentiation of dust-motes.

“He knows further the forming of the realm of desire, of the realm of form, and of the formless realm; knows the breaking down of the realm of desire, of the realm of form, and of the formless realm; and knows the small aspect, the great aspect, the measureless aspect, and the differentiated aspect of the realm of desire, of the realm of form, and of the formless realm — and thus he gains this wisdom of observing the differences of the three realms.

Raising the Light of Wisdom to Teach and Transform: He Displays a Body according to What Is Fitting

“Son of the Buddha! This bodhisattva raises up further the light of wisdom and teaches and transforms sentient beings. That is: he is good at knowing the differences among the bodies of sentient beings, good at distinguishing the bodies of sentient beings, good at observing the places into which they are born; and according to what will bring each of them to deliverance, he displays a body for that one’s sake, teaching, transforming, and bringing him to ripeness.

“Within a single three-thousandfold great-thousand world-system this bodhisattva, according to the differences among the bodies of sentient beings and among their faith and understanding, displays everywhere by the light of wisdom his taking birth; and just so within two, or three, and on up to a hundred thousand, and on up to unspeakably many three-thousandfold great-thousand world-systems, according to the differences among the bodies of sentient beings and among their faith and understanding, he displays everywhere within them his taking birth. Because this bodhisattva has accomplished wisdom such as this, upon a single buddha-field his body does not move, and yet within the assemblies of unspeakably many buddha-fields he displays his body in every one.

“Son of the Buddha! This bodhisattva, following upon the many differences among the bodies and the minds and the faith and understanding of sentient beings, displays his body within the assemblies of those buddha-lands. That is: within a host of śramaṇas he displays the form of a śramaṇa, within a host of brahmins the form of a brahmin, within a host of kṣatriyas (those of the royal caste) the form of a kṣatriya; and just so within a host of vaiśyas (merchants), a host of śūdras (those who labor), a host of householders, a host of the Four Heavenly Kings, a host of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, a host of the Yāma Heaven, a host of the Tuṣita Heaven, a host of the Heaven of Delight in Emanations, a host of the Heaven of Free Enjoyment of Others’ Emanations, a host of Māra, a host of Brahmā, and on up to a host of the Akaniṣṭha Heaven (the Heaven of the Ultimate of Form), he displays for each of them a form according to its kind.

“Again, for one who is to be brought to deliverance by the body of a śrāvaka he displays the form of a śrāvaka; for one who is to be brought to deliverance by the body of a pratyekabuddha he displays the form of a pratyekabuddha; for one who is to be brought to deliverance by the body of a bodhisattva he displays the form of a bodhisattva; for one who is to be brought to deliverance by the body of a Tathāgata he displays the form of a Tathāgata. Son of the Buddha! Just so does the bodhisattva, within all the unspeakably many buddha-lands, following upon the differences among the delight and the faith of sentient beings, display a body for them thus and thus.

The Wisdom of the Ten Bodies: From the Body of Sentient Beings to the Body of Empty Space

“Son of the Buddha! This bodhisattva is far removed from every discriminating notion about bodies, and abides in equality. This bodhisattva knows the body of sentient beings, the body that is the land, the body of the recompense of deeds, the body of the śrāvaka, the body of the pratyekabuddha, the body of the bodhisattva, the body of the Tathāgata, the body of wisdom, the dharma-body, and the body of empty space.

“This bodhisattva knows what is delighted in within the minds of sentient beings, and is able to make the body of sentient beings his own body, and to make it also the body that is the land, the body of the recompense of deeds, and on up to the body of empty space. He knows further what is delighted in within the minds of sentient beings, and is able to make the body that is the land his own body, and to make it also the body of sentient beings, the body of the recompense of deeds, and on up to the body of empty space. He knows further what is delighted in within the minds of sentient beings, and is able to make the body of the recompense of deeds his own body, and to make it also the body of sentient beings, the body that is the land, and on up to the body of empty space. He knows further what is delighted in within the minds of sentient beings, and is able to make his own body the body of sentient beings, the body that is the land, and on up to the body of empty space. Following upon the differences in what sentient beings delight in, he displays upon this body a form such as that.

“This bodhisattva knows of sentient beings the body that gathers deeds, the body of recompense, the body of the afflictions, the body having form, and the body without form; knows further of the body that is the land the small aspect, the great aspect, the measureless aspect, the defiled aspect, the pure aspect, the broad aspect, the aspect of standing upside down, the aspect of standing upright, the aspect of universal entering, and the differentiated aspect of a net of the quarters; knows the differences of the provisional names of the body of the recompense of deeds; knows the differences of the provisional names of the body of the śrāvaka, the body of the pratyekabuddha, and the body of the bodhisattva; knows that the body of the Tathāgata has the body of awakening, the body of the vow, the emanation body, the body of sustaining power, the body adorned with the marks and signs, the body of majestic might, the mind-made body, the body of merit, the dharma-body, and the body of wisdom; knows of the body of wisdom the aspect of good deliberation, the aspect of settling upon things as they truly are, the aspect of being gathered in by the practices that are its fruit, the aspect of the difference between the worldly and the world-transcending, the aspect of the difference among the three vehicles, the shared aspect, the unshared aspect, the aspect of going forth, the aspect of not going forth, the aspect of the learner, and the aspect of the one beyond learning; knows of the dharma-body the aspect of equality, the aspect of not being broken down, the aspect of the differences of provisional names according to the times and according to what is customary, the aspect of the difference between the dharmas of sentient beings and of what is not a sentient being, the aspect of the difference between the dharmas of the Buddha and the dharmas of the noble Saṅgha; knows of the body of empty space the measureless aspect, the all-pervading aspect, the formless aspect, the aspect without otherness, the boundless aspect, and the aspect of making a form-body appear.

The Ten Masteries and the Four Kinds of Wise One

“Son of the Buddha! When the bodhisattva has accomplished the wisdom of the bodies such as this, he gains mastery over life-span, mastery over mind, mastery over goods, mastery over deeds, mastery over birth, mastery over vows, mastery over understanding, mastery over what accords with his wish, mastery over wisdom, and mastery over the Dharma. Because he has gained these ten masteries, he becomes one of inconceivable wisdom, one of measureless wisdom, one of vast wisdom, one whose wisdom none can break down.

The Three Kinds of Activity without Fault · The Ten Strengths of Abiding Well

“When this bodhisattva has entered thus and has accomplished thus, he gains activity of body that is finally without fault, activity of speech without fault, and activity of mind without fault. His activity of body, speech, and mind all proceed in accord with wisdom; the perfection of wisdom is preeminent in him; he takes great compassion as his forerunner; he is skillful in means, well able to distinguish, good at raising up great vows, guarded and sustained by the power of the buddhas, constantly and diligently cultivating the wisdom that benefits sentient beings, and abiding everywhere within worlds of boundless difference. Son of the Buddha! To raise the essential point: whatever a bodhisattva abiding on this Immovable Ground does with his body, his speech, and his mind, by all of it he is able to gather together every dharma of a buddha.

“Son of the Buddha! A bodhisattva abiding on this ground gains the strength of abiding well in the profound mind, because the afflictions no longer operate at all; gains the strength of abiding well in the surpassing mind, because he does not part from the path; gains the strength of abiding well in great compassion, because he does not forsake the benefiting of sentient beings; gains the strength of abiding well in great kindness, because he rescues and guards all the world; gains the strength of abiding well in dhāraṇī, because he does not forget or lose the Dharma; gains the strength of abiding well in eloquence, because he is well able to observe and distinguish all dharmas; gains the strength of abiding well in the spiritual penetrations, because he goes everywhere to boundless worlds; gains the strength of abiding well in the great vows, because he does not forsake anything that a bodhisattva ought to do; gains the strength of abiding well in the perfections, because he accomplishes every dharma of a buddha; and gains the strength of the Tathāgata’s guarding and keeping in mind, because all modes and the wisdom of omniscience are present before him. Having gained the strength of wisdom such as this, this bodhisattva is able to display every manner of thing to be done, and among all those things there is no fault.

Ten Explanations of the Name of the Ground: Why It Is Named Immovable

“Son of the Buddha! The wisdom-ground of this bodhisattva is named the Immovable Ground, because there is nothing that can spoil or break it; it is named the Ground That Does Not Turn Back, because wisdom does not retreat; it is named the Ground Hard to Attain, because nothing in all the world can take its measure; it is named the Ground of Youthful Truth, because it is apart from every fault; it is named the Ground of Birth, because he is masterful according to what he delights in; it is named the Ground of Completion, because there is nothing further to be done; it is named the Ultimate Ground, because wisdom is settled; it is named the Ground of Transformation, because things are accomplished according to his vow; it is named the Ground of Sustaining Power, because others cannot move him; it is named the Ground of No Effort, because it was already accomplished beforehand.

Entering the Realm of the Buddhas · Entering the Assembly of the Great Vehicle

“Son of the Buddha! When a bodhisattva has accomplished wisdom such as this, he enters the realm of the buddhas, is illumined by the merit of the buddhas, accords with the deportment of the buddhas, has the realm of the buddhas present before him, and is constantly guarded and kept in mind by the Tathāgatas; Brahmā, Śakra, the Four Heavenly Kings, and the vajra-strong men constantly attend and guard him; he never forsakes the many great samādhis; he is able to display the differences of measureless bodies, and upon each single body there is great might; the spiritual penetrations and the mastery of samādhi that he gains by recompense are such that wherever there are sentient beings who can be transformed, there he displays the accomplishing of right awakening.

“Son of the Buddha! Thus does the bodhisattva enter the assembly of the Great Vehicle, obtain great spiritual penetrations, send forth great radiance, enter the unobstructed Dharma realm, know the differences of worlds, display all the great merits, be masterful according to his wish, be well able to penetrate the prior limit and the later limit, subdue everywhere every path of Māra and of the wrong, enter deeply into the realm traversed by the Tathāgata, and cultivate the bodhisattva’s practice within measureless lands — and because he is able to obtain the dharma of non-retrogression, he is therefore said to abide on the Immovable Ground.

The Fruit of the Ground: Seeing Buddhas without Forsaking Them · The Simile of the Crown of True Gold · The Simile of the Radiance of the Brahmā King

“Son of the Buddha! When a bodhisattva abides on this Immovable Ground, by the strength of samādhi he is constantly able to see measureless buddhas present before him, and never forsakes attending upon them and making offerings to them. Within each single kalpa and each single world this bodhisattva sees measureless hundreds of buddhas, measureless thousands of buddhas, and on up to measureless hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of buddhas; he reveres them, honors them, attends upon them, makes offerings to them, and bestows upon them all the goods that sustain life. In the presence of those buddhas he gains the profound treasury of the Dharma of the Tathāgata, and receives measureless lights of the Dharma such as the differences of worlds and the like; and should anyone put hard questions to him upon such matters as the differences of worlds, there is none who can make him yield. Passing thus through measureless hundreds of kalpas, measureless thousands of kalpas, and on up to measureless hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of kalpas, all his roots of goodness turn ever more to increase in brightness and purity.

“It is as when true gold is refined and made into a jeweled crown and set upon the head of the sage king who is lord of Jambudvīpa: none of the ornaments of all his ministers and people can be its equal. So it is with all the roots of goodness of the bodhisattva of this ground: none of the roots of goodness of those of the two vehicles, nor even of a bodhisattva of the seventh ground, can come up to them — and this because the great light of wisdom of one abiding on this ground everywhere extinguishes the darkness of the afflictions of sentient beings, and because he is well able to throw open the gate of wisdom.

“Son of the Buddha! It is as with a great Brahmā heaven king who is lord of a thousand worlds, who is able to raise up a mind of kindness everywhere and to send forth radiance everywhere, filling a thousand worlds. So it is with the bodhisattva of this ground: he is able to send forth radiance that illumines worlds as many as the dust-motes of a million buddha-fields, causing sentient beings to extinguish the fire of the afflictions and to gain coolness.

“Among the ten perfections, in this bodhisattva the perfection of vows is preeminent; the remaining perfections are not that he does not cultivate them, but only that he does so as strength and measure allow. This is called the brief exposition of the eighth ground of the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, the Immovable; but were it to be expounded at length, measureless kalpas would not exhaust it.

The Fruit of Pliancy: He Mostly Becomes a Great Brahmā Heaven King

“Son of the Buddha! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva abiding on this ground mostly becomes a great Brahmā heaven king, holding sway over a thousand worlds, most surpassing and masterful, good at expounding every manner of meaning, able to give to śrāvakas, to pratyekabuddhas, and to bodhisattvas the path of the perfections; and should anyone put hard questions to him upon the differences of worlds, there is none who can make him fall back. Giving, kind speech, beneficial conduct, working alongside — in all these works that he does, he never departs from keeping the Buddha in mind, and on up to never departing from keeping in mind all modes and the wisdom of omniscience. He thinks further thus: ‘I should be, among all sentient beings, the foremost and the most surpassing, and on up to the one upon whom they rely for the wisdom of omniscience.’

“Should this bodhisattva raise up the strength of great vigor, then in the space of a single thought he gains samādhis as many as the dust-motes of a million three-thousandfold great-thousand world-systems, and on up to displaying bodhisattvas as his retinue as many as the dust-motes of a million three-thousandfold great-thousand world-systems; and should he display them masterfully by the strength of a bodhisattva’s surpassing vow, then it exceeds even this number, so that in hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of kalpas one could not count and know them.”

The Verses in Repetition

At that time the bodhisattva Vajragarbha, wishing to declare this meaning over again, spoke in verse, saying:

“Upon the seventh ground he cultivates and refines the wisdom of skillful means, is good at gathering the dharmas that aid the path and the strength of the great vows, and gains besides the sustaining of the Honored One among men (the Buddha); seeking the surpassing wisdom, he ascends to the eighth station. (the aspect of the fullness of the seventh ground)

“Merit is accomplished and there is constant kindness and pity; wisdom is vast and equal to empty space; hearing the Dharma, he can give rise to the strength that is settled — and this is quiescent forbearance of the non-arising of dharmas. He knows that dharmas are of the aspect of not arising and not rising up, without formation, without breaking down, without exhaustion, without turning; apart from being, equal, and cut off from discrimination, he passes beyond the workings of mind and abides as empty space abides. (the forbearance of the non-arising of dharmas)

“Accomplishing this forbearance, he passes beyond frivolous talk; profound, immovable, and constantly quiescent, all the world is unable to know him; the aspects of mind and every grasping are wholly left behind. Abiding on this ground he does not discriminate, as a monk who has entered the concentration of cessation; as one who crossed a river in a dream and, waking, finds it gone; as one born into the Brahmā heaven, cut off from the desires of the realm below. (the three similes)

“By the strength of his original vow he receives their urging; they praise his forbearance as surpassing and consecrate him, saying: ‘All the dharmas of a buddha that we have, you have not yet obtained; you should add diligence and vigor. Though you have extinguished the fire of the afflictions, the flames of delusion in the world still blaze; you should keep your original vow in mind and deliver sentient beings, causing them all to cultivate the cause and to turn toward liberation. The dharma-nature is truly constant and apart from thoughts of mind, and those of the two vehicles can gain it here as well; it is not because of gaining this that one becomes a world-honored one, but rather by that profound and unobstructed wisdom.’ (the seven exhortations of the buddhas)

“One thus worthy of the offerings of gods and men (the Buddha) gives this bodhisattva wisdom and causes him to observe; boundless dharmas of a buddha are all of them accomplished; in the space of a single thought he passes beyond all his former practices. (the gate that raises wisdom, and the comparison)

“The bodhisattva abides on this subtle ground of wisdom, and thereupon obtains vast strength of spiritual penetration; in a single thought his divided body fills the ten directions, as a ship entering the ocean is carried across by the strength of the wind. (the simile of taking ship)

“His mind requires no effort and moves of itself along with the strength of wisdom; he knows entirely the forming, the breaking down, and the abiding of lands; the many elements are each of them unlike the other, and the small, the great, and the measureless he can all make out. The four great elements of the three-thousandfold worlds, the bodies of the sentient beings of the six destinies each apart, and the number of dust-motes in all the many jewels — observing with wisdom, he leaves nothing over. (observing the forming and breaking down · dust-motes · the three realms)

“The bodhisattva is able to know all bodies, and in order to teach and transform sentient beings he becomes the same as their forms; the lands are measureless and of every sort of difference, and for all of them he displays a form and there is nowhere he does not reach. It is as when the sun and moon abide in empty space and there appears a reflection in every water; abiding in the Dharma realm he does not move, and yet the reflections he displays according to the minds of beings are just so. According to the differences of what each delights in within his mind, within all assemblies he displays his body; śrāvaka, pratyekabuddha, and bodhisattva, and the body of a buddha as well — there is none he does not display. (displaying a body according to kind)

“The body of sentient beings, the body that is the land, the body of the recompense of deeds, and the many kinds of body of wisdom and dharma-body of the noble ones, and the aspects of the body of empty space, are all of them equal, and everywhere for the sake of sentient beings he displays their functioning. (the ten bodies)

“With the ten kinds of noble wisdom he observes everywhere, and further, according with kindness and compassion, he does the many works that benefit beings; all the dharmas of a buddha are accomplished, and he upholds the precepts unmoved as Sumeru. The ten powers are accomplished and he does not waver; the whole host of Māra is unable to turn him; the buddhas guard and keep him in mind, the heaven kings pay him reverence, and the vajra-bearers of secret trace constantly attend upon him. (the ten masteries · the three kinds of activity · the ten strengths of abiding well · the name of the ground)

“The merit of this ground is without any bound; in thousands of myriads of koṭis of kalpas it could not be expounded to the end; and because he makes offerings to the buddhas his roots of goodness grow the brighter, like the ornaments upon a king’s head. (the fruit of the ground · the simile of the crown of true gold)

“The bodhisattva abiding on this eighth ground mostly becomes a Brahmā king, lord of a thousand worlds; he expounds the three vehicles and there is no exhausting it; the radiance of his compassion shines everywhere and removes the delusions of beings. The many samādhis obtained in a single thought are equal to the number of the dust-motes of a million worlds, and the many things he does are likewise so; and displaying them by the strength of his vow, he exceeds even this number. (the fruit of pliancy)

“The bodhisattva’s eighth ground, the Immovable — I have now expounded it to you in brief; but were one to distinguish it at length and in due sequence, one could not exhaust it in a koṭi of kalpas.” (the concluding exposition)

The Eighth Ground Having Been Expounded: The Tathāgata Displays Great Spiritual Penetration, and the Ten Directions Shake

　　When this bodhisattva’s eighth ground was being expounded, the Tathāgata displayed the power of great spiritual penetration,
　　shaking all the lands of the ten directions, measureless koṭis of them, hard to conceive.
　　That unsurpassed Honored One who knows and sees all things sent forth from his body a great light everywhere,
　　illumining those measureless and numberless lands, and causing sentient beings all to gain peace and ease.

Bodhisattvas, Heaven Kings, and Goddesses Raise Up Offerings: With Wondrous Offerings They Honor the Most Excellent among Expounders

　　Measureless hundreds of thousands of koṭis of bodhisattvas at one and the same time leapt up and stood within empty space,
　　and with fine and wondrous offerings surpassing those of the gods they made offerings to the most excellent one among those who expound.
　　The Great Sovereign King and the king of the Heaven of Free Enjoyment of Others’ Emanations were all of one mind and measurelessly glad,
　　and each with all manner of many offering-things made offerings to that merit deep as the sea.
　　And there were thousands of myriads of koṭis of goddesses, and the gladness of body and of mind filled them through and through,
　　and each played measureless kinds of music, making offerings to the great guide among men.

The Music of the Gods Sends Forth a Wondrous Sound in Praise: Quiescent and Pliant · Appearing Everywhere as the Moon Does

　　At that time the many musics were played at one and the same time, hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭis of measureless differences,
　　and all of them, by the awesome spiritual power of the Well-Gone One, sent forth a subtle sound and spoke in praise:
　　“Quiescent, pliant, without stain or vexation, cultivating well according to the ground he has entered,
　　his mind going to the ten directions as empty space goes, he expounds the buddha-path at large and awakens sentient beings.
　　In all places among gods and among men he displays a wondrous adornment beyond compare,
　　and because it is born from the merit of the Tathāgata, it makes those who see it delight in the wisdom of a buddha.
　　Without leaving one buddha-field he goes everywhere to many lands, as the moon appears everywhere and shines upon the world,
　　his voice and his thought wholly quiesced, like the echo in a valley, which answers to everything.

The Goddesses’ Praise (Continued): Expounding the Three Vehicles According to the Occasion · The Conjuring of Bodhisattva Wisdom

　　“If there are sentient beings whose minds are low and mean, then for them he expounds the practice of the śrāvakas;
　　if a mind is bright and keen and delights in the pratyekabuddha, then for it he expounds the path of the middle vehicle.
　　If there is kindness and compassion and a delight in benefiting sentient beings, then for that one he expounds what the bodhisattvas practice;
　　if there is a mind of the most excellent wisdom, then to that one he sets forth the unsurpassed dharma of the Tathāgata.
　　Just as a conjuror conjures up all manner of things, and the manner of forms is in every case not real,
　　so it is with the conjuring of bodhisattva wisdom: though it displays all things, it is apart from being and from non-being.”
　　Wondrous sounds such as these were of a thousand myriad kinds; and having sung the Buddha’s praises, they abode in silence.

Vimukticandra Asks for the Ninth Ground to Be Expounded

The bodhisattva Vimukticandra said: “Now that the great assembly has become pure, may you expound the path of practice of the ninth ground!”

Entering the Ninth Ground: Weighing and Contemplating with Measureless Wisdom, Seeking the Turn to the Surpassing Quiescent Liberation

At that time the bodhisattva Vajragarbha told the bodhisattva Vimukticandra, saying:

“Son of the Buddha! When a bodhisattva-mahāsattva weighs and contemplates with measureless wisdom such as this, wishing to seek further the turn to the surpassing quiescent liberation, and again cultivates the wisdom of a Tathāgata, enters into the secret dharma of a Tathāgata, contemplates the nature of the inconceivable great wisdom, purifies the gates of the dhāraṇīs (the all-holdings) and of the samādhis, is complete in vast spiritual penetration, enters into the worlds of every difference, cultivates the powers, the fearlessnesses, and the dharmas not shared with others, turns the wheel of the Dharma in accord with the buddhas, and does not forsake the strength of the original vow of great compassion — by this he gains entry to the ninth ground of the bodhisattvas, the Excellent-Wisdom Ground.

The Ten Kinds of Course of Dharmas: Knowing as They Really Are the Good, the Bad, and the Indeterminate, on to the Conditioned and the Unconditioned

“Son of the Buddha! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva abiding on this Excellent-Wisdom Ground is able to know as they really are the aspects of the courses of ten kinds of dharmas, namely: the aspects of the courses of the three classes of dharmas, the good, the bad, and the indeterminate; the aspects of the courses of dharmas with outflows and without outflows; the aspects of the courses of dharmas worldly and world-transcending; the aspects of the courses of dharmas conceivable and inconceivable; the aspects of the courses of dharmas settled and unsettled; the aspects of the courses of the dharmas of the śrāvakas and of the pratyekabuddhas; the aspects of the courses of the dharmas that are the bodhisattvas’ practice; the aspects of the courses of the dharmas of the ground of a Tathāgata; the aspects of the courses of conditioned dharmas; the aspects of the courses of unconditioned dharmas.

The Eleven Dense Thickets: The Aspects of the Conduct of Sentient Beings, Close-Grown as a Wood

“This bodhisattva, with wisdom such as this, is able to know as they really are the dense thicket of the minds of sentient beings (thoughts close-grown and hard to get out of, as in a wood), the dense thicket of the afflictions, the dense thicket of deeds, the dense thicket of the faculties, the dense thicket of faith and understanding (the wood of conviction), the dense thicket of dispositions (the wood of habitual character), the dense thicket of delights and desires (the wood of what is liked and longed for), the dense thicket of the latent tendencies (the wood of the afflictions that lie dormant), the dense thicket of the taking of birth, the dense thicket of the continuance of habit-energies, and the dense thicket of the differences of the three groups (the wood of the three classes: fixed in rightness, fixed in wrongness, and unfixed).

The Many Aspects of the Minds of Sentient Beings: All Ten Aspects Known as They Really Are

“This bodhisattva knows as they really are the many aspects of the minds of sentient beings, namely: the aspect of arising in a jumble (arising all mixed together); the aspect of swift turning (changing with speed); the aspect of breaking down and not breaking down; the aspect of being without form or substance (having no bodily substance or resistance); the aspect of being without bound or limit; the aspect of purity; the aspect of being stained and unstained; the aspect of being bound and unbound; the aspect of being made as a conjuring is made (formed as by conjuring); the aspect of being born following the several destinies (born following the six destinies) — and aspects such as these, to the number of hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭis and on to measurelessness, he knows in every case as they really are.

The Many Aspects of the Afflictions: Following Along from Far Back, on to Eighty-Four Thousand

“He knows also the many aspects of the afflictions, namely: the aspect of following along from far back (following in pursuit all the way from long ago); the aspect of drawing forth without bound (giving rise to what is boundless); the aspect of being born together with the mind and not being let go (born together with the mind and never parting from it); the aspect of lying dormant and rising up being of one sense (lying dormant and becoming active are one and the same thing); the aspect of being and of not being associated with the mind; the aspect of abiding by taking birth according to the destinies; the aspect of the differences of the three realms; the aspect of the fault of craving, views, delusion, and conceit entering deep as arrows do (of craving, evil views, delusion, and haughtiness entering deep as an arrow enters); the aspect of the causes and conditions of the three kinds of deeds not being cut off — and, told in brief, on to eighty-four thousand kinds, he knows them in every case as they really are.

The Many Aspects of Deeds: The Cause Breaks Down, Yet the Fruit Is Gathered and Not Lost

“He knows also the many aspects of deeds, namely: the aspects of the good, the bad, and the indeterminate; the aspects of being manifest and not being manifest (able and not able to be shown outwardly); the aspect of being born together with the mind and not parting from it; the aspect of the intrinsic nature of the cause breaking down in an instant while the fruit is gathered in due sequence and not lost (the cause that is a deed perishes in the very instant of itself, and yet the fruit it brings on is gathered up in due sequence and not lost); the aspects of having recompense and having no recompense; the aspect of receiving the many recompenses of the black and the black and the rest (receiving the several fruits, such as black recompense for black deeds); the aspect of being measureless as a field is (bringing forth measureless growth as a field does); the aspect of the difference between the common man and the sage; the aspects of receiving in the present, receiving upon birth, and receiving afterward (received in this life, in the life to come, in later lives); the aspects of vehicle and not-vehicle, settled and unsettled — and, told in brief, on to eighty-four thousand kinds, he knows them in every case as they really are.

The Many Aspects of the Faculties: Weak, Middling, and Surpassing, on to Following Along at a Distance and Being Born Together

“He knows also the aspects of the faculties as weak, middling, and surpassing; the aspects of the difference and the non-difference of the earlier limit and the later limit (whether there is a difference between before and after); the aspects of superior, middling, and inferior; the aspect of being born together with the afflictions and not parting from them; the aspects of vehicle and not-vehicle, settled and unsettled; the aspect of ripening to fullness and becoming pliant; the aspect of turning and breaking down easily according to the net of the faculties (changing readily according to the net in which the faculties are bound up); the aspect of being ascendant and unable to be broken down; the aspect of the difference between falling back and not falling back; the aspect of following along at a distance and being born together and yet not being the same — and, told in brief, on to eighty-four thousand kinds, he knows them in every case as they really are.

Faith and Understanding · Dispositions · Delights and Desires: The Three Grades of Weak, Middling, and Superior

“He knows also the faith and understanding of beings as weak, middling, and superior; their dispositions (their habitual character) as weak, middling, and superior; their delights and desires (what they like and long for) as weak, middling, and superior — all told in brief on to eighty-four thousand kinds.

The Many Aspects of the Latent Tendencies: Only by the Noble Path Are They Drawn Out

“He knows also the many aspects of the latent tendencies, namely: the aspect of being born together with the profound mind; the aspect of being born together with the mind; the aspect of the difference between being and not being associated with the mind; the aspect of following along from far back; the aspect of never having been drawn out since the beginningless (never once uprooted from time without beginning); the aspect of being at odds with all the meditative concentrations, the liberations, the samādhis, the samāpattis, and the spiritual penetrations (running counter to every realm of concentration and every penetration); the aspect of the bondage of taking birth in continuance within the three realms; the aspect of causing boundless minds to arise in continuance; the aspect of opening the gates of the several bases (opening the gates of the several bases of entry); the aspect of being solid and hard to cure; the aspect of the place of the ground being accomplished and not accomplished; the aspect of being drawn out only by the noble path (only the noble path is able to uproot them).

The Many Aspects of the Taking of Birth: Deeds Are the Field, Craving the Water, Consciousness the Seed

“He knows also the many aspects of the taking of birth, namely: the aspect of taking birth according to deeds; the aspect of the differences of the six destinies; the aspect of the difference between having form and being formless; the aspect of the difference between having perception and being without perception; the aspect in which deeds are the field, the water of craving moistens it, the darkness of ignorance covers it, and consciousness is the seed, so that the sprout of further existence is born (deeds are like a field, craving like the water that moistens the field, ignorance like the darkness that covers it, consciousness like a seed, and out of these the sprout of the life to come is born); the aspect of name-and-form being born together and not parting; the aspect of the seeking of delusion and craving continuing existence on (the seeking of delusion and of craving carries further existence on); the aspect of desiring to receive and desiring to be born and of clinging with delight from time without beginning; the aspect of falsely supposing oneself out of the three realms while still seeking greedily (falsely supposing that one has left the three realms and yet still seeking with greed).

The Many Aspects of the Habit-Energies: The Ten Aspects of Perfuming

“He knows also the many aspects of the habit-energies, namely: the aspect of the difference between what is active and what is not active (the difference between what has become active and what has not); the aspect of perfuming according to the destinies; the aspect of perfuming according to the conduct of sentient beings; the aspect of perfuming according to deeds and afflictions; the aspect of perfuming as good, bad, and indeterminate; the aspect of perfuming according to entry into further existence; the aspect of perfuming in due sequence; the aspect of perfuming by afflictions that are not cut off, that travel far, and that are not let go; the aspect of perfuming by the real and the unreal; the aspect of perfuming by seeing, hearing, and drawing near to śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, bodhisattvas, and Tathāgatas.

The Differences of the Three Groups: Fixed in Rightness · Fixed in Wrongness · Unfixed

“He knows also the aspects of sentient beings as fixed in rightness, fixed in wrongness, and unfixed, namely: the aspect of right view and being fixed in rightness; the aspect of wrong view and being fixed in wrongness; the aspect of being neither of the two and so unfixed; the aspect of the five acts of immediate retribution and being fixed in wrongness; the aspect of the five faculties and being fixed in rightness; the aspect of being neither of the two and so unfixed; the aspect of the eight wrong factors and being fixed in wrongness; the aspect of the right nature and being fixed in rightness; the aspect of doing neither of the two and being apart from both and so unfixed; the aspect of deep attachment to wrong dharmas and being fixed in wrongness; the aspect of practicing the noble path and being fixed in rightness; the aspect of casting off both and so unfixed.

The Conclusion on Abiding on the Excellent-Wisdom Ground: Knowing the Differences of the Conduct of Sentient Beings

“Son of the Buddha! When a bodhisattva accords with wisdom such as this, it is called: abiding on the Excellent-Wisdom Ground; and having come to abide on this ground, he knows the differences in the several kinds of conduct of sentient beings, transforms and subdues them, and causes them to gain liberation.

Well Able to Expound the Dharma of the Four Vehicles: Expounding According to the Occasion

“Son of the Buddha! This bodhisattva is well able to expound the dharma of the śrāvaka vehicle, the dharma of the pratyekabuddha vehicle, the dharma of the bodhisattva vehicle, and the dharma of the ground of a Tathāgata; and because in every place of practice his wisdom turns along with what is being practiced, he is able to expound the Dharma for sentient beings in accord with their faculties, their delights and desires and their faith and understanding, the differences of what they practice, and the differences of the several groups, and in accord also with their taking of birth, their afflictions, their latent tendencies, their bonds, their deeds, and their habit-energies, causing them to give rise to faith and understanding, to increase in wisdom, and each within the vehicle that is his own to gain liberation.

Acting as a Great Master of the Dharma: Giving Rise to the Four Unobstructed Knowledges

“Son of the Buddha! A bodhisattva abiding on this Excellent-Wisdom Ground acts as a great master of the Dharma, is complete in the conduct of a master of the Dharma, is well able to guard the Dharma-treasury of the Tathāgata, and with measureless skillful wisdom gives rise to the four unobstructed eloquences, expounding the true Dharma in a bodhisattva’s words. This bodhisattva constantly turns along with the four unobstructed knowledges, and does not for a moment let go of them. Which are the four? They are: the unobstructed knowledge of dharmas, the unobstructed knowledge of meaning, the unobstructed knowledge of language, and the unobstructed knowledge of delighted speech.

The Ten Gates of the Four Unobstructed Knowledges (1): The Own-Aspect and the Aspect of Difference

“This bodhisattva, with the unobstructed knowledge of dharmas, knows the own-aspect of the dharmas; with the unobstructed knowledge of meaning, knows the aspect of difference of the dharmas; with the unobstructed knowledge of language, expounds without error; with the unobstructed knowledge of delighted speech, expounds without exhaustion.

The Ten Gates of the Four Unobstructed Knowledges (2): Intrinsic Nature · Arising and Ceasing

“Again, with the unobstructed knowledge of dharmas he knows the intrinsic nature of the dharmas; with the unobstructed knowledge of meaning he knows the arising and the ceasing of the dharmas; with the unobstructed knowledge of language he establishes all dharmas and proclaims them without break; with the unobstructed knowledge of delighted speech he makes, according to what has been established, a boundless exposition that cannot be broken down.

The Ten Gates of the Four Unobstructed Knowledges (3): The Differences of the Dharmas of the Three Times

“Again, with the unobstructed knowledge of dharmas he knows the differences of present dharmas; with the unobstructed knowledge of meaning he knows the differences of past and future dharmas; with the unobstructed knowledge of language he proclaims past, future, and present dharmas without error; with the unobstructed knowledge of delighted speech he proclaims, within each single time, boundless dharmas with full clarity.

The Ten Gates of the Four Unobstructed Knowledges (4): The Differences of Dharma · The Differences of Meaning

“Again, with the unobstructed knowledge of dharmas he knows the differences of dharma; with the unobstructed knowledge of meaning he knows the differences of meaning; with the unobstructed knowledge of language he expounds according to the speech-sounds of sentient beings; with the unobstructed knowledge of delighted speech he expounds according to what the minds of sentient beings delight in.

The Ten Gates of the Four Unobstructed Knowledges (5): The Knowledge of Dharma · Inferential Knowledge · Worldly Knowledge · The Knowledge of the Highest Meaning

“Again, the unobstructed knowledge of dharmas is that by which, with the knowledge of dharma, he knows differences without their being at variance; the unobstructed knowledge of meaning is that by which, with inferential knowledge (the knowledge that knows by inferring), he knows differences as they really are; the unobstructed knowledge of language is that by which, with worldly knowledge (the knowledge of common convention), he discerns and expounds; the unobstructed knowledge of delighted speech is that by which, with the knowledge of the highest meaning, he expounds with skill.

The Ten Gates of the Four Unobstructed Knowledges (6): One Aspect Not Broken Down · The Aggregates, Elements, Bases, Truths, and Dependent Origination

“Again, the unobstructed knowledge of dharmas knows the dharmas as of one aspect and not broken down; the unobstructed knowledge of meaning knows with skill the aggregates, the elements, the bases, the truths, and dependent origination; the unobstructed knowledge of language expounds with beautiful and wondrous sounds and letters that all the world finds easy to understand; the unobstructed knowledge of delighted speech expounds with a boundless light of the Dharma that turns ever more surpassing.

The Ten Gates of the Four Unobstructed Knowledges (7): The Sameness of the One Vehicle · The Differences of the Several Vehicles

“Again, the unobstructed knowledge of dharmas knows the nature of the One Vehicle as being the same throughout; the unobstructed knowledge of meaning knows the nature of the several vehicles as different; the unobstructed knowledge of language proclaims that all the vehicles are without difference; the unobstructed knowledge of delighted speech proclaims for each single vehicle boundless dharmas.

The Ten Gates of the Four Unobstructed Knowledges (8): The Practice of the Bodhisattvas · The Stations and Divisions of the Ten Grounds

“Again, the unobstructed knowledge of dharmas knows all the practice of the bodhisattvas, the practice of wisdom, and the practice of dharma, entering into realization according to wisdom; the unobstructed knowledge of meaning knows the differences of meaning among the stations and divisions of the ten grounds; the unobstructed knowledge of language proclaims that the grounds and the path are of an aspect without difference; the unobstructed knowledge of delighted speech proclaims for each single ground boundless aspects of practice.

The Ten Gates of the Four Unobstructed Knowledges (9): The Tathāgatas Accomplish Right Awakening in a Single Thought

“Again, the unobstructed knowledge of dharmas knows that all the Tathāgatas accomplish right awakening within a single thought; the unobstructed knowledge of meaning knows the several times, the several places, and the like, each with its own differences; the unobstructed knowledge of language proclaims the differences of the accomplishing of right awakening; the unobstructed knowledge of delighted speech, within each single phrase of Dharma, proclaims for measureless kalpas and yet does not exhaust it.

The Ten Gates of the Four Unobstructed Knowledges (10): The Tathāgatas’ Speech, Powers, Fearlessnesses, and Dharmas Not Shared with Others

“Again, the unobstructed knowledge of dharmas knows all the Tathāgatas’ speech, powers, fearlessnesses, and dharmas of a buddha not shared with others, their great kindness and great compassion, their eloquence and skillful means, their turning of the wheel of the Dharma, and the wisdom of omniscience — all entered into realization according to wisdom; the unobstructed knowledge of meaning knows the sounds the Tathāgata sends forth in accord with the differences of the minds, the conduct, the faculties, and the faith and understanding of eighty-four thousand sentient beings; the unobstructed knowledge of language, in accord with the conduct of all sentient beings, expounds with the differences of the Tathāgata’s sounds; the unobstructed knowledge of delighted speech, in accord with the faith and understanding of sentient beings, expounds with the fullness of the pure practice of a Tathāgata’s wisdom.

Gaining the Ten Gates of Dhāraṇī: A Million Asaṃkhyeyas of All-Holdings All Made Full

“Son of the Buddha! A bodhisattva abiding on the ninth ground, having gained skillful and unobstructed wisdom such as this, having gained the treasury of the wondrous Dharma of the Tathāgatas, and acting as a great master of the Dharma, gains the dhāraṇī of meaning, the dhāraṇī of dharma, the dhāraṇī of wisdom, the dhāraṇī of the illumining light, the dhāraṇī of excellent wisdom, the dhāraṇī of the many riches, the dhāraṇī of awesome virtue, the dhāraṇī of the gate that is unobstructed, the dhāraṇī of what has no bound or limit, and the dhāraṇī of the several meanings — and gates of dhāraṇī such as these, to the number of a million asaṃkhyeyas, are all made full in him, so that with a million asaṃkhyeyas of gates of skillful sound and eloquence he expounds the true Dharma.

Hearing and Holding without Forgetting: Not What the Great Śrāvakas Could Receive in a Hundred Thousand Kalpas

“This bodhisattva, having gained a million asaṃkhyeyas of gates of dhāraṇī such as these, in the presence of measureless buddhas, before each single buddha, hears the true Dharma by these very million asaṃkhyeyas of gates of dhāraṇī; and having heard it he does not lose it, but expounds it for others through measureless gates of difference. When this bodhisattva first sees a buddha and bows his head in reverence, he gains at once in the presence of that buddha measureless gates of Dharma; and the gates of Dharma so gained are not what those great śrāvakas renowned for hearing much and holding it fast could receive in a hundred thousand kalpas.

Sitting upon the Seat of the Dharma and Expounding: Only the Buddhas and the Bodhisattvas Who Have Received Consecration Excepted

“This bodhisattva, having gained dhāraṇīs such as these and unobstructed wisdom such as this, sits upon the seat of the Dharma and expounds the true Dharma; and for all the sentient beings that fill the three-thousandfold great-thousand world-system he expounds according to the differences of what their minds delight in. Only the buddhas and the bodhisattvas who have received consecration are excepted; among all the rest of that assembly there is none whose awesome virtue and light can be compared with his.

The Ten Wishes of the Mind, and Mastery in Expounding: A Single Sound · Many Sounds · Light · Pores · A Single Letter · Dust-Motes

“This bodhisattva, seated upon the seat of the Dharma, if he wishes with a single sound to cause the great assembly all to gain understanding and clarity, gains it for them at once; at times he wishes with sounds of every kind to cause the great assembly all to be awakened; at times his mind wishes to send forth a great light and to expound the gates of Dharma; at times his mind wishes that within every single pore upon his body there should be sent forth the sound of the expounding of the Dharma; at times his mind wishes that all things of whatever kind within the three-thousandfold great-thousand world-system, those having form and those without form, should all send forth the wondrous words and sounds of the expounding of the Dharma; at times his mind wishes to send forth a single word and sound that reaches everywhere throughout the Dharma realm and causes all to gain understanding and clarity; at times his mind wishes that all words and sounds should become sounds of the Dharma, abiding constantly and not perishing; at times his mind wishes that in all worlds the flutes and pipes, the bells and drums, and the singing, all the sounds of music, should send forth the sounds of the Dharma; at times his mind wishes that within a single letter all the differences of the phrases, words, and sounds of the Dharma should be complete; at times his mind wishes that of all the dust-motes within the gatherings of the four great elements — earth, water, fire, and wind — in unspeakably many measureless worlds, each single dust-mote should send forth unspeakably many gates of Dharma. Everything he thus keeps in mind is accomplished according to his mind, and there is nothing that is not gained.

Answering All with a Single Sound: The Hard Questions of the Three-Thousandfold Great-Thousand World-System and on to Unspeakably Many Worlds

“Son of the Buddha! Suppose that all the sentient beings within the three-thousandfold great-thousand world-system were to come before this bodhisattva, and that each of them were to raise hard questions with measureless words and sounds, and that no one of those hard questions were the same as another: the bodhisattva within a single thought is able to receive them all, and still with a single sound explains for them all together, causing each of them, according to what his mind delights in, to gain gladness. And on to the sentient beings within unspeakably many worlds, who within a single instant each raise hard questions with measureless words and sounds, no one of those hard questions being the same as another: the bodhisattva within a single thought is able to receive them all, and with a single sound too explains for them all together, causing each of them, according to what his mind delights in, to gain gladness.

Everywhere Becoming a Support and Refuge for All

“And on to the sentient beings that fill unspeakably unspeakably many worlds, the bodhisattva is able to expound the Dharma for them all in accord with what their minds delight in, in accord with their faculties, and in accord with their faith and understanding; and taking up the Buddha’s spiritual power he does the work of a buddha at large, and everywhere becomes a support and refuge for all sentient beings.

The Assemblies of Buddhas within a Single Hair-Tip: All the Gates of Dharma Expounded Are Received and Nothing Is Forgotten

“Son of the Buddha! This bodhisattva then goes further in vigor and accomplishes the light of wisdom. Suppose that within a single hair-tip there were assemblies of buddhas as many as the dust-motes of unspeakably many worlds, and that within each single assembly there were sentient beings as many as the dust-motes of unspeakably many worlds, and that each single sentient being had dispositions and delights as many as the dust-motes of unspeakably many worlds, and that those buddhas each gave gates of Dharma in accord with those dispositions and delights: as it is within a single hair-tip, so it is likewise in all places throughout the Dharma realm. Measureless gates of Dharma such as these the bodhisattva is able within a single thought to receive them all, and nothing is forgotten.

Diligent by Day and Night: Constantly within Samādhi · Constantly Seeing the Buddhas

“Son of the Buddha! A bodhisattva abiding on this ninth ground is single-mindedly diligent by day and by night and has no other thought at all; he only enters the realm of the buddhas and draws near to the Tathāgatas, enters the profound liberation of the bodhisattvas, is constantly within samādhi, constantly sees the buddhas, and has never once forsaken them. Within each single kalpa he sees measureless buddhas, measureless hundreds of buddhas, measureless thousands of buddhas, and on to measureless hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of buddhas; he reveres them, honors them, attends upon them, and makes offerings to them; in the presence of those buddhas he asks and seeks instruction with hard questions of every kind, and gains the dhāraṇī of the expounding of the Dharma; and all his roots of goodness turn ever more to brightness and purity.

The Simile of the Goldsmith’s Jeweled Crown: Roots of Goodness That Have No Equal

“It is as with true gold: a skillful goldsmith takes it and makes of it a jeweled crown, and a wheel-turning sage king uses it to adorn his head, and among the four continents none of the many adornments of the lesser kings, the ministers, and the common people can be its equal. So it is with the roots of goodness of the bodhisattva of this ninth ground: none of the roots of goodness of any śrāvaka, any pratyekabuddha, or any bodhisattva of a lower ground can be their equal.

The Simile of the Radiance of the Great Brahmā Heaven King: Illumining the Minds of Sentient Beings · The Darkness of the Afflictions Comes to Rest and Is Extinguished

“Son of the Buddha! It is as with a great Brahmā heaven king, lord of two thousand worlds: he sends forth radiance from his body, and the deep and distant places within those two thousand worlds are all able to be illumined by it, and the darkness there is removed. So it is with all the roots of goodness of the bodhisattva of this ground: they are able to send forth radiance that illumines the minds of sentient beings, causing the darkness of the afflictions all to come to rest and be extinguished.

The Preeminence of the Perfection of Power

“Among the ten perfections, in this bodhisattva the perfection of power is the most excellent; the remaining perfections are not that he does not cultivate them, but only that he does so as strength and measure allow.

The Concluding Praise of the Brief Exposition: Were It Expounded at Length, Measureless Kalpas Would Not Exhaust It

“Son of the Buddha! This is called: the brief exposition of the ninth ground of the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, the Excellent-Wisdom Ground; but were it to be expounded at length, measureless kalpas would not exhaust it.

The Fruit of Pliancy: He Mostly Becomes a Great Brahmā Heaven King, Lord of Two Thousand Worlds

“Son of the Buddha! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva abiding on this ground mostly becomes a great Brahmā heaven king, lord of two thousand worlds; he is good at governing, and with mastery he benefits sentient beings; he is able for all śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas to discern and expound the practice of the perfections; and in accord with the minds of sentient beings, there is none who can make him yield in any hard question at all.

The Four Means of Gathering, and Never Apart from Mindfulness of the Buddha: On to Never Apart from Mindfulness of the Wisdom of Omniscience

“Giving, kind speech, beneficial conduct, and working alongside them — all the works he does, such as these, are never apart from mindfulness of the Buddha, and on to never apart from mindfulness of all modes and of the wisdom of omniscience.

The Ascendant Vow: To Be Foremost · To Be Most Excellent · To Be the Support of the Wisdom of Omniscience

“And he thinks further in this way: ‘Among all sentient beings I should be the foremost, the most excellent, and on to being the place of support of the wisdom of omniscience.’

Raising Up Diligent Vigor: The Number of the Samādhis and of the Retinue · The Strength of the Vow Surpasses This

“If this bodhisattva raises up diligent vigor, then within a single thought he gains samādhis as many as the dust-motes of a million asaṃkhyeyas of lands, and on to displaying bodhisattvas as his retinue as many as the dust-motes of a million asaṃkhyeyas of lands; and if by the excellent strength of a bodhisattva’s vows he displays them with mastery, it goes beyond even this number, so that on through a hundred thousand koṭis of nayutas of kalpas one could not reckon and know it.

The Verses in Repetition (1): The Causes of Entering the Ninth Ground

At that time the bodhisattva Vajragarbha, wishing to declare this meaning over again, spoke in verse, saying:

　　“Contemplating well with the strength of measureless wisdom, supreme and subtle and hard for the world to know,
　　entering everywhere into the secret place of the Tathāgatas, for the benefit of sentient beings he enters the ninth ground.
　　The all-holdings and the samādhis he gains with mastery, he obtains great spiritual penetration and enters many buddha-fields,
　　the powers, the wisdom, the fearlessnesses, the dharmas not shared with others — by the strength of his vows and the mind of compassion he enters the ninth ground.

The Verses in Repetition (2): Holding the Dharma-Treasury · Knowing the Ten Courses of Dharmas

　　“Abiding on this ground he upholds the Dharma-treasury, and knows the good, the bad, and the indeterminate,
　　with outflows and without outflows, worldly and world-transcending, the conceivable and the inconceivable — all he is well able to know.
　　Whether dharmas be settled or unsettled, all that the three vehicles do he is able to contemplate,
　　the differences of the courses of the conditioned and the unconditioned — knowing them so, he enters the world.

The Verses in Repetition (3): The Many Aspects of the Minds of Sentient Beings

　　“If he wishes to know the minds of the many sentient beings, he can know them with wisdom as they really are,
　　the many aspects of mind, its swift turning, its breaking down and not breaking down, its being without substance or resistance and without bound or limit, and aspects of every kind.

The Verses in Repetition (4): The Afflictions · Deeds · The Faculties

　　“The afflictions are boundless and constantly keep company with him, lying dormant and rising up are of one sense, and they carry on through the several destinies,
　　the substance of deeds is of many kinds, each with its differences, and though the cause that is a deed breaks down, its recompense is gathered — all this he clearly knows.
　　The faculties are of many kinds, inferior, middling, and superior, and the earlier limit and the later limit have measureless differences,
　　and so it is too with faith and understanding, dispositions, and delights and desires — of the eighty-four thousand kinds there is none he does not know.

The Verses in Repetition (5): The Thicket Not Yet Cleared · The Latent Tendencies Are Ended Only by the Adamantine Path

　　“The delusion and views of sentient beings constantly follow and bind them, the dense thicket from time without beginning has never been cut away,
　　together with their aims and born along with their minds, they constantly hobble and bind and are not cut off.
　　Yet this is only false imagining and not a real thing; it is not apart from the mind and has no place of its own,
　　the realms of concentration can only push them off and one still falls back — it is the cessation by the adamantine path that is final.

The Verses in Repetition (6): The Taking of Birth · The Habit-Energies · The Three Groups

　　“The taking of birth in the six destinies has its several differences: deeds are the field, craving the moistening, ignorance the covering,
　　consciousness is the seed and the sprout of name-and-form is born, and the three realms from time without beginning constantly carry on.
　　Delusion, deeds, and the habit-energies of mind give birth within the several destinies, and were one apart from these there would be no more taking of birth;
　　sentient beings are all of them within the three groups, some sunk in evil views, some walking the right path.

The Verses in Repetition (7): Unobstructed Eloquence Expounding with Differences as Is Fitting

　　“Abiding on this ground he contemplates well, in accord with what the minds of sentient beings delight in and with their faculties and their faith and understanding,
　　and all with unobstructed and wondrous eloquence he expounds with differences as is fitting to each.

The Verses in Repetition (8): The Four Similes of the Seat of the Dharma · Knowing Well the Nature of Dharma and Its Deep Meaning

　　“Seated upon the seat of the Dharma he is like a lion, and like a bull-king too, and like a king of jeweled mountains,
　　and like a dragon king spreading dense clouds and pouring down a rain of sweet dew that fills the great sea.
　　He knows well the substance and nature of the Dharma and its deep meaning, and following upon the words he is able to expound,
　　his all-holdings are a million asaṃkhyeyas in number, as the great sea receives the many rains.

The Verses in Repetition (9): Seeing Many Buddhas in a Single Thought · Hearing the Dharma and Expounding It Fully

　　“The all-holdings and the samādhis are both made pure, and within a single thought he can see many buddhas,
　　and in the presence of each single buddha he hears the true Dharma, and with a subtle sound expounds it fully once again.

The Verses in Repetition (10): Transforming the Three-Thousandfold World-System, Spread Wide as Clouds Are Spread

　　“If he wishes within the three-thousandfold great-thousand world-system to transform all sentient beings,
　　like clouds spread wide he reaches everywhere, and in accord with their faculties and delights he makes them all glad.

The Verses in Repetition (11): The Buddha-Assemblies at a Hair-Tip · Throughout the Dharma Realm It Is the Same

　　“The buddha-assemblies at a single hair-tip are without number, and the delights of the minds of sentient beings are without end,
　　and to all of them he gives gates of Dharma according with their minds; throughout all places in the Dharma realm it is the same.

The Verses in Repetition (12): Vigor in Hearing and Holding, as the Earth Holds Seeds

　　“By the strength of a bodhisattva’s diligent vigor, he gains merit that turns ever more to increase,
　　and hearing and holding so many gates of Dharma, he is as the great earth that can hold all seeds.

The Verses in Repetition (13): A Single Sound Answers All and Satisfies Them Fully

　　“The measureless sentient beings of the ten directions all come and draw near and are seated in the assembly,
　　and within a single thought each questions according to his mind, and a single sound answers all of them and fully satisfies them.

The Verses in Repetition (14): Being a King of the Dharma · Seeing Buddhas by Day and Night

　　“Abiding on this ground he is a king of the Dharma, teaching and drawing them on as the occasion asks, and never wearying,
　　by day and by night he sees the buddhas and has never forsaken them, and enters the profound and quiescent wisdom and liberation.

The Verses in Repetition (15): Roots of Goodness Like a Jeweled Crown · Like the Radiance of the Brahmā King

　　“Making offerings to the buddhas, his roots of goodness turn ever brighter and purer, like the wondrous jeweled crown upon a king’s head,
　　and he causes besides the afflictions of sentient beings to come to rest, as the radiance of the great Brahmā heaven king illumines everywhere.

The Verses in Repetition (16): He Mostly Becomes a Great Brahmā King · Transforming Sentient Beings with the Three Vehicles

　　“Abiding on this ground he mostly becomes a great Brahmā heaven king, transforming sentient beings with the dharma of the three vehicles,
　　and the good deeds he does benefit all everywhere, and on to accomplishing omniscience in the time to come.

The Verses in Repetition (17): The Number of the Samādhis · The Strength of the Vow Surpasses This

　　“The samādhis he enters within a single thought are as the dust-motes of asaṃkhyeyas of buddha-fields in number,
　　and so it is too with his seeing buddhas and hearing the Dharma; and what is done by the strength of his vows goes beyond even this number.

The Verses in Repetition (18): The Concluding Praise of the Ninth Ground, Excellent Wisdom

　　“This is the ninth ground, Excellent Wisdom, the place of practice of bodhisattvas of great wisdom,
　　profound and subtle and hard to see; for the sons of the Buddha I have now expounded it.”

Praise and Request (1): The Gods Gather in Clouds and Scatter Flowers in Offering to the Buddha

The ninth ground having been expounded, the hosts of the gods of the Pure Abodes, as many as a nayuta (the highest reach of the form realm, the heavens where the noble ones dwell), having heard of the many surpassing practices within that ground, leapt up in gladness in empty space, and all of them made offerings to the Buddha with reverence. The great assembly of bodhisattvas, in number beyond conceiving, likewise rejoiced greatly in the sky, and together kindled the finest and most delightful incense, perfuming the whole Dharma gathering everywhere and making the gathering pure. The king of the Heaven of Free Enjoyment and his hosts of gods, measureless koṭis in number, were all of them in empty space, scattering heavenly robes everywhere in offering to the Buddha, hundreds of thousands of myriads of kinds of heavenly robes coming down in profusion. The heavenly maidens of the gods were measureless and boundless, and there was not one of them who did not gladly make offerings to the Buddha; each of them played all manner of beautiful and wondrous music, and all of them used the words below to give praise.

Praise and Request (2): The Verses of the Goddesses in Praise of the Buddha — the Body Pervades the Dharma Realm While Its Substance Is the Same as Empty Space

“The body of the Buddha sits at ease within a single land, and yet within all the worlds his body appears throughout; his bodily marks are upright and adorned, of measureless koṭis of kinds, and the vast Dharma realm is filled with them entirely.”

“From within a single pore he sends out light, and everywhere he extinguishes the darkness of the afflictions of the world; a land may be ground to dust-motes and the number of those dust-motes can still be known, but the number of this light cannot be measured.”

“Some sentient beings see the Tathāgata complete with his many wondrous marks, turning the unsurpassed wheel of the true Dharma; some see the Tathāgata journeying through the lands of the buddhas, and some see the Tathāgata abiding in stillness and unmoving.”

“Some see the Tathāgata now dwelling in the palace of the Tuṣita Heaven, some see the Tathāgata now descending in birth and entering the womb of his mother; some see him display his dwelling in the womb, some see him display his coming forth from the womb — and all of it he lets the sentient beings within measureless lands see.”

“Some see him display his leaving the household life and cultivating the path of the world, some see him display his accomplishing perfect awakening at the seat of the way; some see him display the expounding of the Dharma, some see him display nirvāṇa — and everywhere he makes it so that in the ten directions there is none who does not see.”

“Just as a conjuror who understands the art of conjuring makes many things appear in the midst of a great crowd, so it is with the wisdom of the Tathāgata: within the world he everywhere makes his body appear.”

“The Buddha abides within the deep and true nature of dharmas, still and quenched and without marks, the same as empty space; and yet within the first and true meaning he displays all manner of things that are done.”

“The deeds that are done for the benefit of sentient beings are all of them established in reliance upon the nature of dharmas; having marks and being without marks are not different at all, and once one has entered the ultimate they are all without marks.”

“If there is one who wishes to gain the wisdom of a Tathāgata, he should part from every false discrimination; being and non-being he penetrates alike, all of it level and equal — such a one can swiftly become the great guide of humans and gods.”

Praise and Request (3): Vimukticandra, on Behalf of the Assembly, Requests the Exposition of the Tenth Ground

The measureless and boundless assembly of goddesses, having finished their praise with all manner of tongues and sounds, were still in body and mind, at ease together, gazing up at the Tathāgata and abiding in silence.

Just then the bodhisattva Vimukticandra, knowing that the assemblies had all become still, turned toward the bodhisattva Vajragarbha and made his request, saying: “O true son of the Buddha, greatly fearless one! All the merits and the many aspects of practice by which one enters the tenth ground from the ninth, and the matters of spiritual penetration and transformation as well — may you in your keen understanding expound them for us!”

The Part of the Skillful Means That Make the Ground Full: The Wisdom of the First Nine Grounds as the Means of Entering the Tenth

At that time the bodhisattva-mahāsattva Vajragarbha told the bodhisattva Vimukticandra, saying:

“Son of the Buddha! When a bodhisattva-mahāsattva, from the first ground all the way to the ninth, has observed and awakened to things with measureless wisdom such as this, and is good at pondering and cultivating, good at fully completing the pure and white dharmas, gathers boundless dharmas that aid the path, increases vast merit and wisdom, practices great compassion broadly, knows the many differences among the worlds, enters deeply into the thicket-like tangle of the realm of sentient beings, enters the place where a Tathāgata walks, accords with the still and quenched practice of a Tathāgata, and constantly observes the ten powers, the fearlessnesses, and the exclusive dharmas of a Tathāgata — this is called: gaining the station of consecration of all modes and of the wisdom of omniscience (the station at which one may receive consecration and be given office).”

The Part of the Fullness of the Samādhis: The Ten Great Samādhis and the Last Samādhi of Consecration

“Son of the Buddha! When a bodhisattva-mahāsattva has entered the ground of consecration with wisdom such as this, he thereupon gains the bodhisattva samādhi of parting from defilement, the samādhi of entering the differences of the Dharma realm, the samādhi of adorning the seat of the way, the samādhi of the flower-radiance of all modes, the samādhi of the treasury of the sea, the samādhi of the seal of the sea, the samādhi of the vastness of the realm of empty space, the samādhi of observing the own-nature of all dharmas, the samādhi of knowing the mental conduct of all sentient beings, the samādhi in which all buddhas appear before him — samādhis such as these, a million asaṃkhyeya (beyond number) of them, all appear before him. As for all these samādhis, whether he is entering them or rising from them, the bodhisattva has them at his command, and he is also good at knowing the many differences among the workings of all the samādhis. The last one among them is named: receiving the surpassing station of omniscience.”

“When this samādhi appears before him, a great jeweled lotus flower is suddenly born. This flower is vast, its measure equal to a million three-thousandfold great-thousand world-systems, adorned with many wondrous jewels set among one another, surpassing the realms of all the world; it arises from roots of goodness that transcend the world, and is accomplished by the many practices that know the conjuring-like nature of dharmas; it constantly sends out light that illumines the Dharma realm everywhere, and it is not something that the places of the gods can possess. It has beryl and maṇi jewels for its stalk, the king of sandalwood (sandalwood of the highest kind) for its calyx, carnelian for its filaments, and Jambū-river gold for its petals; this flower always has measureless light, has the many jewels for its inner store, and is covered over with a net of jewels; and it has as its retinue lotus flowers as many as the dust-motes of ten three-thousandfold great-thousand world-systems.”

“At this the bodhisattva takes his seat upon this flower, and the size of his bodily form and the flower-seat are exactly fitted to each other; measureless bodhisattvas as his retinue each take their seats upon the remaining lotus flowers, encircling him all around, and each of them gains a million samādhis and gazes up with one mind toward this great bodhisattva.”

The Part of Gaining the Station (1): When He Takes the Flower Seat, the Dharma Realm Quakes

“Son of the Buddha! When this great bodhisattva together with his retinue takes his seat upon the flower, all the light and the sounds of speech fill the Dharma realm of the ten directions everywhere, all the worlds quake, the suffering of the evil destinies is put to rest, the lands are adorned and pure, there is not one of the bodhisattvas of like practice who does not come and gather, the music of humans and of gods sounds out at the same time, all sentient beings gain ease and joy, sentient beings make offerings to all the buddhas with implements of offering beyond conceiving, and the assemblies of all the buddhas are made to appear.”

The Part of Gaining the Station (2): Light Sent Out from the Parts of His Body, Everywhere Extinguishing the Suffering of Sentient Beings

“Son of the Buddha! When this bodhisattva sits upon that great lotus seat, from beneath the soles of his two feet he sends out a million asaṃkhyeya rays of light, which illumine everywhere all the great hells of the ten directions and extinguish the suffering of sentient beings; from the wheel-marks of his two knees he sends out a million asaṃkhyeya rays of light, which illumine everywhere all the destinies of animals in the ten directions and extinguish the suffering of sentient beings; from within the wheel of the navel he sends out a million asaṃkhyeya rays of light, which illumine everywhere the realms of King Yama in the ten directions and extinguish the suffering of sentient beings; from his left and right flanks he sends out a million asaṃkhyeya rays of light, which illumine everywhere all the human destinies of the ten directions and extinguish the suffering of sentient beings; from within his two hands he sends out a million asaṃkhyeya rays of light, which illumine everywhere all the palaces of all the gods and asuras of the ten directions; from above his two shoulders he sends out a million asaṃkhyeya rays of light, which illumine everywhere all the śrāvakas of the ten directions; from his neck and his back he sends out a million asaṃkhyeya rays of light, which illumine everywhere the bodies of the pratyekabuddhas of the ten directions; from his face he sends out a million asaṃkhyeya rays of light, which illumine everywhere the bodies of the bodhisattvas of the ten directions from the first arising of the mind up to the ninth ground; from between his two brows he sends out a million asaṃkhyeya rays of light, which illumine everywhere the consecrated bodhisattvas of the ten directions and cause the palaces of Māra all to be hidden away and not appear; from above the crown of his head he sends out rays of light as many as the dust-motes of a million asaṃkhyeya three-thousandfold great-thousand world-systems, which illumine everywhere the assemblies at the seats of the way of all the buddha-tathāgatas in all the worlds of the ten directions, circle them ten times to the right, and abide in empty space, becoming a net of light named: blazing light, which raises up all manner of offerings and makes them to the buddhas.”

“If all the offerings of the other bodhisattvas, from the first arising of the mind up to the ninth ground, are brought and set against this one, they do not amount to one part in a hundred, and even by counting and by simile one cannot reach it. This net of light, before each and every Tathāgata’s assembly in the ten directions, rains down many wondrous kinds of incense, flower-garlands, robes, banners, pennants, jeweled canopies, and maṇi jewels and other implements of adornment as offerings, all of them born from roots of goodness that transcend the world and surpassing the realms of all the world. If there are sentient beings who see and know of this matter, all of them gain non-retrogression with respect to unsurpassed perfect awakening.”

The Part of Gaining the Station (3): The Light Enters the Feet of the Buddhas, and the Consecrated Bodhisattvas of the Ten Directions Sustain Him

“Son of the Buddha! When this great light has finished making offerings such as these, it circles once more the assemblies at the seat of the way of each and every buddha in all the worlds of the ten directions, and after ten circuits it enters in beneath the feet of the tathāgatas. At this the buddhas and the bodhisattvas all know: within such and such a world, such and such a bodhisattva-mahāsattva is able to carry out vast practice such as this and has arrived at the station of consecration.”

“Son of the Buddha! At this the measureless and boundless hosts of bodhisattvas of the ten directions, up to those of the ninth ground, all come and encircle him, revere and make offerings to him, and observe him with one mind. While they are observing him, those bodhisattvas thereupon each gain ten thousand samādhis. At that time all the consecrated bodhisattvas of the ten directions send out from within the diamond-adorned mark of virtue upon their own breasts a great light named: able to destroy the enemy Māra, with a million asaṃkhyeya rays of light as its retinue; it illumines the ten directions everywhere and displays measureless spiritual penetrations and transformations; and when this is done, it comes and enters into the diamond-adorned mark of virtue upon the breast of this bodhisattva-mahāsattva; and once that light has entered, it makes all the wisdom and power of this bodhisattva increase and surpass what it was a hundred thousandfold.”

The Part of Gaining the Station (4): The Light from Between the Brows of the Buddhas Enters through the Crown of His Head — He Falls within the Number of the Buddhas

“At this all the buddhas of the ten directions send out from between their brows a pure light named: increasing omniscience and spiritual penetration, with numberless rays of light as its retinue; it illumines everywhere all the worlds of the ten directions, circles them ten times to the right, displays the vast mastery of a Tathāgata, awakens measureless hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of hosts of bodhisattvas, quakes all the buddha-fields throughout, extinguishes the suffering of all the evil destinies, hides away all the palaces of Māra, and shows forth the adornment and majestic virtue of the assemblies at the seat of the way where all the buddhas gained awakening; and having illumined in this way all the worlds to the ends of empty space and throughout the Dharma realm, it comes to the assembly of this bodhisattva, circles it all around to the right, and displays all manner of adornments; and when these have been displayed, it enters in through the crown of the head of this great bodhisattva, while the rays of light of its retinue each enter in through the crowns of the heads of the other bodhisattvas.”

“At that time this bodhisattva gains a million samādhis never gained before, named: having gained the station of consecration, entering the realm of the buddhas, complete in the ten powers, fallen within the number of the buddhas.”

The Part of Gaining the Station (5): The Simile of the Wheel-Turning King Consecrating the Prince

“Son of the Buddha! It is as with the prince born to a wheel-turning sage king, whose mother is the chief queen and whose bodily marks are complete. That wheel-turning king has this prince sit upon a seat made of the white elephant treasure and of wondrous gold, raises a great curtained net, sets up great banners and pennants, burns incense and scatters flowers, has all manner of music played, takes the water of the four great seas and puts it within a golden vase, and with his own hand holds that vase and consecrates the crown of the prince’s head — and at this time it is called: receiving the station of the king, falling within the number of the consecrated kṣatriya kings; and thereupon he is able to carry out fully the way of the ten good deeds, and gains too the name: wheel-turning sage king.”

“So it is too with the bodhisattva’s receiving of consecration: because the buddhas consecrate the crown of his head with the water of wisdom, it is called: receiving consecration; because he is complete in the ten kinds of power of a Tathāgata, he falls within the number of the buddhas. Son of the Buddha! This is called: the bodhisattva’s receiving of the consecration of great wisdom. Because of this consecration of great wisdom, the bodhisattva is able to carry out measureless hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭis of nayutas of practices hard to carry out, and to increase measureless wisdom and merit — and this is called: abiding on the Dharma-Cloud Ground.”

The Part of Entering the Great Exhaustion (1): Knowing as It Really Is Every Aggregation

“Son of the Buddha! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva abiding on this Dharma-Cloud Ground knows as they really are the aggregation of the desire realm, the aggregation of the form realm, the aggregation of the formless realm, the aggregation of the worlds, the aggregation of the Dharma realm, the aggregation of the conditioned realm, the aggregation of the unconditioned realm, the aggregation of the realm of sentient beings, the aggregation of the realm of consciousness, the aggregation of the realm of empty space, the aggregation of the realm of nirvāṇa. This bodhisattva knows as they really are the aggregation of the many views and of the conduct of the afflictions, knows the aggregation of the forming and breaking down of the worlds, knows the aggregation of the practice of the śrāvakas, the aggregation of the practice of the pratyekabuddhas, the aggregation of the practice of the bodhisattvas, the aggregation of the ten powers, the fearlessnesses, the form-body and dharma-body of a Tathāgata, the aggregation of all modes and of the wisdom of omniscience, the aggregation of the display of gaining awakening and turning the wheel of the Dharma, the aggregation of the wisdom that enters into the discriminating and deciding of all dharmas. To state the essential point: it is that with omniscience he knows every aggregation.”

The Part of Entering the Great Exhaustion (2): Knowing the Transformations, the Sustainings, the Subtle Wisdoms, and the Secrets

“Son of the Buddha! This bodhisattva-mahāsattva, with an awakened understanding higher and higher such as this, knows as they really are the transformation of the deeds of sentient beings, the transformation of the afflictions, the transformation of the views, the transformation of the worlds, the transformation of the Dharma realm, the transformation of the śrāvakas, the transformation of the pratyekabuddhas, the transformation of the bodhisattvas, the transformation of the tathāgatas, the transformation of all that is discriminated and undiscriminated — all such things as these he knows as they really are.”

“He knows too as they really are the sustaining of the Buddha, the sustaining of the Dharma, the sustaining of the Saṅgha, the sustaining of deeds, the sustaining of the afflictions, the sustaining of time, the sustaining of vows, the sustaining of offerings, the sustaining of practice, the sustaining of kalpas, the sustaining of wisdom — all such things as these he knows as they really are.”

“He knows too as they really are the subtle wisdoms into which the buddha-tathāgatas enter, namely: the subtle wisdom of cultivation, the subtle wisdom of the ending of life, the subtle wisdom of taking birth, the subtle wisdom of leaving the household life, the subtle wisdom of displaying spiritual penetrations, the subtle wisdom of accomplishing perfect awakening, the subtle wisdom of turning the wheel of the Dharma, the subtle wisdom of abiding in the life-span, the subtle wisdom of parinirvāṇa, the subtle wisdom of the teaching’s abiding in the world — all such things as these he knows as they really are.”

“He enters too into the secret places of a Tathāgata, namely: the secret of the body, the secret of speech, the secret of the mind, the secret of deliberating upon the time when a thing is to be said and when it is not, the secret of conferring a prediction upon a bodhisattva, the secret of gathering in sentient beings, the secret of the various vehicles, the secret of the differences in the faculties and conduct of all sentient beings, the secret of what is done by deeds, the secret of the practice of gaining awakening — all such things as these he knows as they really are.”

The Part of Entering the Great Exhaustion (3): The Wisdom of Entering Kalpas and the Wisdom of Entering Places

“He knows too all the wisdoms of entering kalpas that the buddhas have, namely: one kalpa entering asaṃkhyeya kalpas, asaṃkhyeya kalpas entering one kalpa, numbered kalpas entering numberless kalpas, numberless kalpas entering numbered kalpas, a single thought entering a kalpa, a kalpa entering a single thought, a kalpa entering a non-kalpa, a non-kalpa entering a kalpa, kalpas with a buddha entering kalpas without a buddha, kalpas without a buddha entering kalpas with a buddha, past and future kalpas entering the present kalpa, the present kalpa entering past and future kalpas, past kalpas entering future kalpas, future kalpas entering past kalpas, long kalpas entering short kalpas, short kalpas entering long kalpas — all such things as these he knows.”

“He knows too the various wisdoms of entering that a Tathāgata has, namely: the wisdom of entering the path of a hair, the wisdom of entering a dust-mote, the wisdom of entering the perfect awakening of the body that is a land, the wisdom of entering the perfect awakening of the bodies of sentient beings, the wisdom of entering the perfect awakening of the minds of sentient beings, the wisdom of entering the perfect awakening of the conduct of sentient beings, the wisdom of entering the perfect awakening that accords with every place, the wisdom of entering the display of conduct that pervades, the wisdom of entering the display of conduct that goes with the grain, the wisdom of entering the display of conduct that goes against the grain, the wisdom of entering the display of conduct that can be conceived and that cannot be conceived and that the world knows and does not know, the wisdom of entering the display of the wisdom of the śrāvakas, the wisdom of the pratyekabuddhas, the practice of the bodhisattvas, and the practice of the tathāgatas. Son of the Buddha! All the wisdom that all the buddhas have is vast and measureless, and the bodhisattva of this ground is able to enter into all of it.”

The Ten Gates of Liberation: Measureless Liberations, Samādhis, Dhāraṇīs, and Spiritual Penetrations All Accomplished on This Ground

“Son of the Buddha! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva abiding on this ground thereupon gains the bodhisattva liberation beyond conceiving, the liberation without obstruction, the liberation of pure observation, the liberation of universal illumination, the liberation of the Tathāgata-womb, the liberation of according with the unobstructed wheel, the liberation of penetrating the three times, the liberation of the treasury of the Dharma realm, the liberation of the wheel of light, the liberation of the realm in which nothing is left over; and with these ten at their head there are measureless hundreds of thousands of asaṃkhyeya gates of liberation, all of them gained within this tenth ground. And in the same way, even to measureless hundreds of thousands of asaṃkhyeya gates of samādhi, measureless hundreds of thousands of asaṃkhyeya gates of dhāraṇī, and measureless hundreds of thousands of asaṃkhyeya gates of spiritual penetration, all of them are accomplished.”

The Part of the Explanation of the Name (1): Only the Great Sea Can Receive the Rain of the Dragon King

“Son of the Buddha! This bodhisattva-mahāsattva penetrates wisdom such as this, accords with measureless awakening, and accomplishes the power of skillful recollection: all the great Dharma-radiance, the great Dharma-illumination, and the great Dharma-rain that the measureless buddhas of the ten directions have, he is able in a single thought to settle it all, to receive it all, to gather it all, and to hold it all.”

“It is as with the great rain poured down by the dragon king Sāgara: apart from the great sea alone, all other places whatever cannot settle it, cannot receive it, cannot gather it, cannot hold it. So it is too with the great Dharma-radiance, great Dharma-illumination, and great Dharma-rain of the secret treasury of a Tathāgata: apart from the bodhisattva of the tenth ground alone, all other sentient beings, śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, and even the bodhisattvas up to the ninth ground cannot settle it, cannot receive it, cannot gather it, cannot hold it.”

“Son of the Buddha! It is as with the great sea, which can settle, can receive, can gather, and can hold the great rain poured down by a single great dragon king; and if it be the rain of two, of three, or of measureless dragon kings poured down all at once in a single thought, the great sea can settle it, receive it, gather it, and hold it all as well. Why is this? Because it is a vessel measureless and vast. So it is too with the bodhisattva abiding on the Dharma-Cloud Ground: he can settle, receive, gather, and hold the Dharma-radiance, Dharma-illumination, and Dharma-rain of one buddha; and if it be of two, of three, or of measureless buddhas expounding all at once in a single thought, it is entirely so as well. And this is why this ground is named: Dharma Cloud.”

The Part of the Explanation of the Name (2): The Dharma Received in a Single Thought Is Beyond What Counting Can Know

The bodhisattva Vimukticandra said: “Son of the Buddha! In a single thought, at how many tathāgatas can the bodhisattva of this ground settle, receive, gather, and hold the great Dharma-radiance, great Dharma-illumination, and great Dharma-rain?”

The bodhisattva Vajragarbha said: “Son of the Buddha! This is not something that counting can know; let me speak a simile for you. Son of the Buddha! Suppose that in each of the ten directions there were worlds as many as the dust-motes of ten unspeakable hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of buddha-fields, and that each and every sentient being within those worlds had gained the dhāraṇī of hearing and retaining (the power of total retention by which nothing heard is forgotten), and were all of them attendants of a buddha, and foremost in learning among the assembly of the śrāvakas, like the monk Great Victory in the presence of the Buddha upon the Diamond Lotus; and yet the Dharma received by one sentient being would not be received over again by the rest. Son of the Buddha! What do you think? Is the Dharma received by these sentient beings a measured amount, or is it measureless?”

The bodhisattva Vimukticandra said: “That number is exceedingly great, measureless and boundless.”

The bodhisattva Vajragarbha said:

“Son of the Buddha! I shall speak for you, so as to let you understand. Son of the Buddha! As for what this bodhisattva of the Dharma-Cloud Ground settles, receives, gathers, and holds in a single thought in the presence of a single buddha — the great Dharma-radiance, great Dharma-illumination, great Dharma-rain, and the Dharma-treasury of the three times — the Dharma heard and retained by all the sentient beings of all those many worlds spoken of before does not, set against this, amount to one part in a hundred, and even by simile one cannot reach it. And if this is so in the presence of a single buddha, then in this way, throughout the ten directions as spoken of before, the buddhas as many as the dust-motes of all those worlds, and beyond that number, measureless and boundless — in the presence of each and every one of those tathāgatas, all the Dharma-radiance, Dharma-illumination, Dharma-rain, and Dharma-treasury of the three times, he is able to settle, to receive, to gather, and to hold. And this is why this ground is named: Dharma Cloud.”

The Part of the Explanation of the Name (3): He Raises the Cloud of Great Compassion and Pours Down the Rain of Sweet Dew

“Son of the Buddha! The bodhisattva of this ground, by the power of his own vows, raises up the cloud of great compassion, rolls the thunder of the great Dharma, takes spiritual penetration, clear knowing, and fearlessness for his lightning, and merit and wisdom for his dense banks of cloud; he displays all manner of bodies, going to and fro, and in a single thought pervades lands as many as the dust-motes of hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of worlds in the ten directions, expounding the great Dharma and crushing the enemy Māra; and beyond that number too, within lands as many as the dust-motes of measureless hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of worlds, according with what the minds of sentient beings delight in, he pours down the rain of sweet dew and extinguishes all the dust and flame of the many delusions. And this is why this ground is named: Dharma Cloud.”

“Son of the Buddha! The bodhisattva of this ground, within a single world, from the descent from the Tuṣita Heaven all the way to nirvāṇa, displays the deeds of a buddha according with the minds of the sentient beings who are to be liberated; and if it be two worlds, or three, or even lands as many as the dust-motes spoken of above, and beyond that number too, even lands as many as the dust-motes of measureless hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of worlds, it is entirely so as well. And this is why this ground is named: Dharma Cloud.”

The Part of the Power of Spiritual Penetration (1): The Mastery by Which Worlds Are Made into One Another and a Single Dust-Mote Holds a World

“Son of the Buddha! The bodhisattva of this ground is clear and penetrating in wisdom and has mastery of spiritual penetration. Following upon his thought: he can make a narrow world into a vast world and a vast world into a narrow world; make a defiled world into a pure world and a pure world into a defiled world; and worlds that abide in disorder, that abide in due sequence, that abide upside down, that abide upright — measureless worlds of every kind such as these he is able to make into one another.”

“Or else, following upon his thought, he sets within a single dust-mote a world together with Mount Sumeru and all its mountains and rivers, and yet the appearance of the dust-mote remains as it was and the world is not diminished; or again he sets within a single dust-mote two worlds, or three, or worlds unspeakable in number, together with Mount Sumeru and all their mountains and rivers, and yet the substance and appearance of that dust-mote remain as they were, while the worlds within it are all plainly made to appear.”

“Or else, following upon his thought, within a single world he displays the adornments of two worlds, and even the adornments of unspeakably many worlds; or within the adornments of a single world he displays two worlds, and even unspeakably many worlds. Or else, following upon his thought, he sets the sentient beings of unspeakably many worlds within a single world; or, following upon his thought, he sets the sentient beings of a single world within unspeakably many worlds, and yet does not disturb or harm the sentient beings at all. Or else, following upon his thought, within a single pore he displays all the adornments of the realms of the buddhas.”

“Or else, following upon his thought, in a single thought he displays bodies as many as the dust-motes of unspeakably many worlds, and each and every body displays hands as many as those dust-motes again, and each and every hand holds flower-caskets, incense-boxes, garlands and canopies, and banners and pennants as many as the sands of the Gaṅgā, pervading the ten directions and making offerings to the buddhas; and each and every body displays heads as many as those dust-motes again, and each and every head sends forth tongues as many as those dust-motes again, which in thought after thought pervade the ten directions and praise the merits of the buddhas.”

“Or else, following upon his thought, in a single thought he pervades the ten directions and displays the accomplishing of perfect awakening and even nirvāṇa, together with the adornments of the lands; or he makes his own body appear pervading the three times, while within that body there are measureless buddhas and the adornments of the buddha-lands, and there is nothing of the forming and breaking down of worlds that is not made to appear; or from a single pore of his own body he blows forth all the winds, and yet does not vex or harm sentient beings at all.”

“Or else, following upon his thought, he takes boundless worlds for a single great sea, and within the water of that sea a great lotus flower appears, of radiant beauty, covering over measureless and boundless worlds, and within it he displays the adornments of the great tree of awakening and even displays the accomplishing of the knowledge of all modes; or upon his own body he makes appear all the light of the worlds of the ten directions, and there is no light of maṇi jewels, of sun and moon and stars and constellations, of clouds and lightning, that is not made to appear; or with his mouth he blows out breath and can quake measureless worlds in the ten directions, and yet does not let sentient beings have any thought of fright; or he displays the disasters of wind, of fire, and of water in the ten directions; or, according with what the minds of sentient beings delight in, he displays a form-body complete in its adornments; or upon his own body he displays the body of a buddha, or upon the body of a buddha he makes his own body appear; or upon the body of a buddha he makes his own land appear, or upon his own land he makes the body of a buddha appear. Son of the Buddha! This bodhisattva of the Dharma-Cloud Ground is able to display spiritual powers of mastery such as these, and measureless hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of others besides.”

The Part of the Power of Spiritual Penetration (2): The Assembly Doubts, Then What of the Buddha — and Vajragarbha Displays the Spiritual Power of a Samādhi

At this the bodhisattvas within the assembly, and the gods, dragons, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, the four world-guarding kings, Śakra Devānām Indra, Brahmā, the gods of the Pure Abodes, the sons of the gods of Maheśvara and the rest, all thought thus: “If the wisdom and power of spiritual penetration of a bodhisattva can be such as this, then what of the Buddha?”

At this the bodhisattva Vimukticandra, knowing what the assemblies were thinking in their minds, said to the bodhisattva Vajragarbha: “Son of the Buddha! This great assembly, having now heard of the wisdom and power of spiritual penetration of that bodhisattva, has fallen into a net of doubt. It would be well, worthy sir, if for the sake of cutting off their doubt you were to display a little of the adornments of the spiritual power of a bodhisattva.”

Thereupon the bodhisattva Vajragarbha entered the samādhi of the substance-nature of all buddha-lands. When he entered this samādhi, the bodhisattvas and the whole great assembly all saw their own bodies within the body of the bodhisattva Vajragarbha, and within it saw all the manifold adornments of the three-thousandfold great-thousand world-system, so many that even the passing of a koṭi of kalpas could not tell them to the end. And within it they saw too a tree of awakening, the girth of whose trunk was as great as a hundred thousand three-thousandfold great-thousand world-systems, and whose height was as great as a million three-thousandfold great-thousand world-systems, the shade of whose boughs and leaves reached just as far. Fitted to the shape and measure of the tree there was a lion seat, and upon the seat there was a buddha whose name was: King of the Penetration of Omniscience. The whole great assembly saw that buddha seated upon the lion seat beneath the tree of awakening, adorned with all manner of marks, so that even a koṭi of kalpas could not tell them to the end. Having displayed great spiritual power such as this, the bodhisattva Vajragarbha caused the assemblies each to return to their own places. At that time the great assembly gained what they had never had before, gave rise to a thought of wonder, and abode in silence, gazing up with one mind toward Vajragarbha.

The Part of the Power of Spiritual Penetration (3): The Question of the Name of the Samādhi and of Its Realm

At this the bodhisattva Vimukticandra said to the bodhisattva Vajragarbha: “Son of the Buddha! This samādhi is exceedingly rare and has great power; what is its name?”

Vajragarbha said: “This samādhi is named: the substance-nature of all buddha-lands.”

He asked again: “And what is the realm of this samādhi?”

The answer was:

“Son of the Buddha! If a bodhisattva cultivates this samādhi, then following upon what he thinks in his mind he is able to make appear within his body buddha-fields as many as the dust-motes of worlds as many as the sands of the Gaṅgā, and beyond that number too, measureless and boundless.”

“Son of the Buddha! A bodhisattva abiding on the Dharma-Cloud Ground gains measureless hundreds of thousands of great samādhis such as these, and therefore the body of this bodhisattva and the deeds of his body cannot be fathomed, and his speech and the deeds of his speech, and his mind and the deeds of his mind, cannot be fathomed either; he has mastery of spiritual penetration, observes the samādhi-realms and the wisdom-realms of the three times, and plays within all the gates of liberation; and as for what is done by his transformations, what is done by his spiritual power, what is done by his light — to state it briefly, even to the raising of a foot and the setting down of a foot — all such things as these that he does are not known even by a bodhisattva who is a prince of the Dharma-king abiding on the Excellent-Wisdom Ground. Son of the Buddha! All the realms that this bodhisattva of the Dharma-Cloud Ground has are, briefly stated, such as this; and if they were stated at length, even measureless hundreds of thousands of asaṃkhyeya kalpas could not tell them to the end.”

The Wisdom of a Buddha Beyond Comparison (1): The Simile of One Clod of Earth from the Four Continents

The bodhisattva Vimukticandra said: “Son of the Buddha! If the realm of spiritual penetration of a bodhisattva is such as this, then what of the power of spiritual penetration of a buddha?”

Vajragarbha said:

“Son of the Buddha! It is as if someone were to take one clod of earth from the four continents and then ask thus: is the earth of the great ground of the boundless worlds the greater, or is this clod the greater? I see that your question is of just this kind — the wisdom of a Tathāgata is boundless and without equal; how could it be brought and measured against that of a bodhisattva?”

“Further, son of the Buddha! As with taking a little earth from the four continents, the rest of the earth being measureless: so with the wisdom of spiritual penetration of this Dharma-Cloud Ground, even in measureless kalpas one could speak of but a small part of it — how much more so the ground of a Tathāgata!”

“Son of the Buddha! I shall now cite a matter for you as a proof, so as to let you know the realm of a Tathāgata. Son of the Buddha! Suppose that in each and every one of the ten directions there were buddha-lands as many as the dust-motes of the boundless worlds, and that each and every land were filled with bodhisattvas such as those of this tenth ground, as thick as a grove of sugarcane, bamboo, reeds, rice, and hemp; the wisdom born of the bodhisattva practice cultivated by those bodhisattvas through hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of kalpas would not, set against the realm of wisdom of a single Tathāgata, amount to one part in a hundred, and even the utterly minute part of an upaniṣad could not reach it.”

The Wisdom of a Buddha Beyond Comparison (2): No Different from the Three Kinds of Deed of a Tathāgata · The Goldsmith’s Adornments and the Light of the Heaven King

“Son of the Buddha! This bodhisattva, abiding within wisdom such as this, is no different from a Tathāgata in the deeds of body, of speech, and of mind, and yet he does not cast away the power of the bodhisattva samādhis; for numberless kalpas he serves and makes offerings to all the buddhas, and in each and every kalpa he makes offerings with implements of offering of every kind. He is sustained by the spiritual power of all the buddhas, so that the light of his wisdom becomes more surpassing still; and every difficult question within the Dharma realm he is good at resolving, so that for hundreds of thousands of koṭis of kalpas there is none who can make him yield.”

“Son of the Buddha! It is as when a goldsmith makes adornments for the body out of the finest true gold, setting great maṇi jewels among them, and the king of the Heaven of Free Enjoyment wears them upon himself, so that the adornments of the other gods and humans cannot compare with them; so it is too with the bodhisattva of this ground: from the first ground all the way to the ninth, all the wisdom and practice that the bodhisattvas have cannot compare with his. The light of wisdom of the bodhisattva of this ground is able to bring sentient beings even to enter the wisdom of omniscience, and there is no other light of wisdom that can do so.”

“Son of the Buddha! It is as with the light of Maheśvara, king of the gods, which is able to make the bodies and minds of sentient beings cool and clear, and with which no other light can compare; so it is too with the light of wisdom of the bodhisattva of this ground, which is able to bring sentient beings all to gain coolness and clarity, and even to abide in the wisdom of omniscience — and the light of wisdom of all the śrāvakas, of the pratyekabuddhas, and even of the bodhisattvas up to the ninth ground cannot compare with it.”

“Son of the Buddha! For this bodhisattva-mahāsattva, who is already able to abide within wisdom such as this, the buddhas, the world-honored ones, expound further the wisdom of the three times, the wisdom of the differences of the Dharma realm, the wisdom that pervades all the worlds, the wisdom that illumines all the worlds, the wisdom that thinks upon all sentient beings with loving-kindness; to state the essential point, they expound for him even the dharma of gaining the wisdom of omniscience. Among the ten perfections, for this bodhisattva the perfection of knowledge is the most preeminent; and it is not that the other perfections are not cultivated.”

The Brief Conclusion and the Fruit of Pliancy: For the Most Part He Becomes Maheśvara, King of the Gods

“Son of the Buddha! This is called: the brief statement of the tenth ground of a bodhisattva-mahāsattva, the Dharma-Cloud Ground; and if it were stated at length, even measureless asaṃkhyeya kalpas could not tell it to the end.”

“Son of the Buddha! A bodhisattva abiding on this ground for the most part becomes Maheśvara, king of the gods, having mastery with respect to the Dharma, able to confer upon sentient beings, śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, and all bodhisattvas the practice of the perfections, and there is none who can make him yield with any difficult question within the Dharma realm. Giving, kind speech, beneficial conduct, and working alongside — all deeds such as these that he does are not apart from mindfulness of the Buddha, and even not apart from mindfulness of being complete in all modes and in the wisdom of omniscience. He thinks moreover thus: I should be, among all sentient beings, the head and the foremost, and even the support of the wisdom of omniscience. If he applies diligence and vigor, then in a single thought he gains samādhis as many as the dust-motes of ten unspeakable hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of buddha-fields, and even displays bodhisattvas as many as those dust-motes as his retinue; and if by the power of a bodhisattva’s surpassing vows he displays with mastery, then he surpasses even that number — namely in cultivation, adornment, faithful understanding, what is done, body, speech, light, faculties, transformations, sounds, and the places of his practice, so that even hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of kalpas could not count and know them.”

The Part of the Images of the Grounds (1): The Simile of the Four Great Rivers of Lake Anavatapta — Flowing Out from the Mind of Awakening and Entering the Sea of Omniscience

“Son of the Buddha! When for this bodhisattva-mahāsattva the aspects of practice of the ten grounds appear before him in due sequence, he is then able to proceed into the wisdom of omniscience. It is as with the four great rivers that flow out from Lake Anavatapta: the water of those rivers flows on and reaches throughout Jambudvīpa (the continent in which we dwell), and it neither dries up nor fails but increases the more, and flows on until it enters the great sea and makes the great sea full. Son of the Buddha! So it is too with the bodhisattva: out from the mind of awakening flows the water of roots of goodness and of great vows, and with the four means of gathering — giving, kind speech, beneficial conduct, and working alongside — he fills sentient beings, without ever coming to an end but increasing the more, and flows on until he enters the sea of omniscience and makes it full.”

The Part of the Images of the Grounds (2): The Simile of the Ten Mountain Kings — the Ten Grounds Stand within One and the Same Omniscience

“Son of the Buddha! The ten grounds of a bodhisattva have their differences by reason of the wisdom of a buddha, as by reason of the great earth there are the ten mountain kings. Which ten? Namely: the snow mountain king, the fragrance mountain king, the Vaidharī mountain king, the divine sages’ mountain king, the Yugandhara mountain king, the horse-ear mountain king, the Nimindhara mountain king, the Cakravāḍa mountain king, the Ketumatī mountain king, and the Sumeru mountain king.”

“Son of the Buddha! As with the snow mountain king, in which all medicinal herbs are found and cannot be taken to exhaustion, so it is too with the Joyful Ground on which the bodhisattva abides: all the scriptures, arts, writings and hymns, and spells of the world are found in it and cannot be spoken to exhaustion. Son of the Buddha! As with the fragrance mountain king, in which all fragrances whatever are gathered and cannot be taken to exhaustion, so it is too with the Stainless Ground on which the bodhisattva abides: all the practice of the precepts and the deportment of a bodhisattva are found in it and cannot be spoken to exhaustion. Son of the Buddha! As with the Vaidharī mountain king, made purely of jewels, in which all the many jewels are found and cannot be taken to exhaustion, so it is too with the Luminous Ground on which the bodhisattva abides: all the meditative concentrations and spiritual penetrations of the world, the liberations, the samādhis, and the samāpattis (the attainments) are found in it and cannot be spoken to exhaustion. Son of the Buddha! As with the divine sages’ mountain king, made purely of jewels, in which the sages complete in the five spiritual penetrations all dwell and are without end, so it is too with the Flaming-Wisdom Ground on which the bodhisattva abides: the surpassing wisdom within all paths is found in it and cannot be spoken to exhaustion. Son of the Buddha! As with the Yugandhara mountain king, made purely of jewels, in which the yakṣas and great spirits all dwell and are without end, so it is too with the Hard-to-Conquer Ground on which the bodhisattva abides: all the spiritual penetrations that are masterful and as one wishes are found in it and cannot be spoken to exhaustion. Son of the Buddha! As with the horse-ear mountain king, made purely of jewels, in which all fruits whatever are found and cannot be taken to exhaustion, so it is too with the Manifest Ground on which the bodhisattva abides: the deep entering into the principle of dependent origination, and the fruits realized by the śrāvakas, are found in it and cannot be spoken to exhaustion.”

“As with the Nimindhara mountain king, made purely of jewels, in which the mighty dragon spirits all dwell and are without end, so it is too with the Far-Reaching Ground on which the bodhisattva abides: skillful means and wisdom, and the fruits realized by the pratyekabuddhas, are found in it and cannot be spoken to exhaustion. As with the Cakravāḍa mountain king, made purely of jewels, in which the hosts of those who have mastery all dwell and are without end, so it is too with the Immovable Ground on which the bodhisattva abides: all the practice of a bodhisattva’s mastery and the differences among the worlds are found in it and cannot be spoken to exhaustion. As with the Ketu mountain king, made purely of jewels, in which the asura kings of great majestic virtue all dwell and are without end, so it is too with the Excellent-Wisdom Ground on which the bodhisattva abides: all the wisdom and practice concerning the arising and ceasing of the world are found in it and cannot be spoken to exhaustion. As with the Sumeru mountain king, made purely of jewels, in which the gods of great majestic virtue all dwell and are without end, so it is too with the Dharma-Cloud Ground on which the bodhisattva abides: the ten powers, the fearlessnesses, the exclusive dharmas, and all the deeds of a buddha are found in it, and question and answer and exposition cannot exhaust them.”

“Son of the Buddha! These ten jeweled mountain kings stand within one and the same great sea, and yet gain their names each according to its difference; so it is too with the ten grounds of a bodhisattva: they stand within one and the same omniscience, and yet gain their names each according to its difference.”

The Part of the Images of the Grounds (3): The Simile of the Ten Aspects of the Great Sea

“Son of the Buddha! It is as with the great sea, which gains the name of great sea by reason of ten aspects, and it cannot be shifted or taken away. Which ten? First, it grows deeper by degrees and in due sequence; second, it does not hold a corpse; third, the other waters that flow into it all lose their former names; fourth, it is everywhere of one and the same salt taste; fifth, it has measureless precious jewels; sixth, there is none who can reach its bottom; seventh, it is vast and measureless; eighth, it is where the great of body dwell; ninth, its tides do not pass their bounds; tenth, it receives the great rains everywhere and yet does not overflow.”

“So it is too with the practice of a bodhisattva: by reason of ten aspects it is named the practice of a bodhisattva, and it cannot be shifted or taken away. Which ten? Namely: the Joyful Ground, because it gives birth to great vows and enters deeper by degrees; the Stainless Ground, because it does not hold the corpse of any breaking of the precepts; the Luminous Ground, because it casts away the false names of the world; the Flaming-Wisdom Ground, because it is of one and the same taste with the merits of a buddha; the Hard-to-Conquer Ground, because it gives birth to the many precious jewels of measureless skillful means, spiritual penetration, and the doings of the world; the Manifest Ground, because it observes the deep principle of arising by conditions; the Far-Reaching Ground, because with vast awakened understanding it observes well; the Immovable Ground, because it displays vast adornments; the Excellent-Wisdom Ground, because it gains deep liberation and moves within the world, knowing as it really is and not passing the bounds; the Dharma-Cloud Ground, because it can receive the great Dharma-radiance rain of all the buddha-tathāgatas and never have enough of it.”

The Part of the Images of the Grounds (4): The Simile of the Ten Natures of the Great Maṇi Jewel

“Son of the Buddha! It is as with the great maṇi jewel, which has ten natures and surpasses the many jewels. Which ten? First, it comes out from the great sea; second, it is worked by a skilled craftsman; third, it is round and complete without flaw; fourth, it is pure and parted from defilement; fifth, it is clear and translucent within and without; sixth, it is skillfully bored through; seventh, it is strung upon a thread of jewels; eighth, it is set upon a high banner of beryl; ninth, it sends out all manner of light everywhere; tenth, it can rain down the many jeweled things following upon the mind of the king, filling their wishes according to what the minds of sentient beings desire.”

“Son of the Buddha! It should be known that so it is too with the bodhisattva, who has ten things that surpass the many sages. Which ten? First, he raises up the mind of omniscience; second, he keeps the precepts and the ascetic practices, his right conduct clear and pure; third, his meditative concentrations and samādhis are round and complete without flaw; fourth, his conduct on the path is clear and white, parted from every defilement and stain; fifth, his skillful means and spiritual penetration are clear and translucent within and without; sixth, his wisdom of dependent origination is skillfully able to bore through; seventh, he is strung upon a thread of all manner of skillful means and wisdom; eighth, he is set upon the high banner of mastery; ninth, he observes the conduct of sentient beings and sends out the light of hearing and retaining; tenth, he receives the consecration of the wisdom of a buddha, falls within the number of the buddhas, and is able to do the deeds of a buddha widely for sentient beings.”

The Part of the Benefit of the Grounds (1): This Dharma-Gate Cannot Be Heard by One Who Has Not Planted Roots of Goodness

“Son of the Buddha! As for this chapter, the Dharma-gate of the practice of a bodhisattva that gathers the merits of all modes and of omniscience: if sentient beings do not plant roots of goodness, it cannot be heard by them.”

The bodhisattva Vimukticandra said: “How much merit does one gain from hearing this Dharma-gate?”

The bodhisattva Vajragarbha said: “As with the merit gathered by omniscience, so it is too with the merit of hearing this Dharma-gate. Why is this? Because there is none who, without hearing this Dharma-gate of merit, is able to have faith and understanding, to receive and keep it, and to read and recite it — how much less to be vigorous and to cultivate as it is expounded! Therefore it should be known: one must gain the hearing of this Dharma-gate that gathers the merits of omniscience before one can have faith and understanding, receive and keep it, and cultivate it, and thereafter arrive at the ground of omniscience.”

The Part of the Benefit of the Grounds (2): The Great Earth Quakes, and Bodhisattvas of the Same Name from Other Quarters Come to Bear Witness

At this, by the spiritual power of the Buddha, and because the Dharma is so of itself, in each of the ten directions worlds as many as the dust-motes of ten koṭis of buddha-fields quaked with the six kinds of quaking in eighteen aspects. Namely: they moved, moved throughout, moved throughout alike; they rose, rose throughout, rose throughout alike; they surged, surged throughout, surged throughout alike; they shook, shook throughout, shook throughout alike; they roared, roared throughout, roared throughout alike; they struck, struck throughout, struck throughout alike. From above there rained down many heavenly flowers, heavenly garlands, and heavenly robes, together with the adornments of the jewels of the gods, banners, pennants, and silken canopies. The music of the heavens was played, its sound harmonious and refined, sounding out at the same time, praising all the merits of the ground of omniscience. Just as this Dharma was expounded in the palace of the king of the Heaven of Free Enjoyment in this world, so it was too in all the worlds of the ten directions.

At this, again by the spiritual power of the Buddha, from beyond worlds as many as the dust-motes of ten koṭis of buddha-fields in each of the ten directions, bodhisattvas as many as the dust-motes of ten koṭis of buddha-fields came to this Dharma gathering and spoke thus: “Excellent, excellent, Vajragarbha! Well have you expounded this Dharma. We are all alike named: Vajragarbha, and the worlds in which we dwell, though each differing from the others, are all alike named: Diamond Virtue, and the names of the buddhas are all: Diamond Banner. Dwelling within our own worlds, we all expound this Dharma borne by the majestic spiritual power of a Tathāgata, and the assemblies are all alike, and the words and the meaning of the sentences have nothing added and nothing taken away from what is expounded here; and all of us have come to this Dharma gathering by the spiritual power of the Buddha to bear witness for you. Just as we have today entered this world, so too in all the worlds of the ten directions do they all likewise go and bear witness.”

The Manner and the Intent of the Speaking of the Verses

At this the bodhisattva Vajragarbha, observing all the assemblies of the ten directions and pervading the Dharma realm everywhere, wishing to praise the raising of the mind of the wisdom of omniscience, wishing to display the realms of a bodhisattva, wishing to purify the power of a bodhisattva’s practice, wishing to expound the path that gathers in the knowledge of all modes, wishing to destroy the defilements of all the world, wishing to bestow omniscience, wishing to display the adornments of wisdom beyond conceiving, wishing to show forth all the merits of the bodhisattvas, wishing to cause the meaning of the grounds such as these to be opened out more fully still — borne by the spiritual power of the Buddha, he spoke in verse, saying:

The Verses in Repetition (1): General Praise and Exhortation to Listen

“His mind is still and quenched and constantly well tamed, level and unobstructed like empty space, parted from the many defilements and abiding upon the path — this surpassing practice you should listen to well. (general praise and exhortation to listen)”

The Verses in Repetition (2): Verses on the Wisdom of Good Selection of the First Nine Grounds

“Through hundreds of thousands of koṭis of kalpas he cultivates good things and makes offerings to measureless and boundless buddhas, and to the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas likewise he makes offerings, and for the benefit of sentient beings he raises up the great mind.”

“Diligently he keeps the precepts, always bearing gentleness and forbearance, and shame, merit, and wisdom are all complete in him; he sets his will upon seeking the wisdom of a buddha and cultivates a vast understanding, and vowing to gain the ten powers he raises up the great mind.”

“The buddhas of the three times he makes offerings to entirely, all the lands he adorns and purifies entirely, he knows all dharmas to be level and equal, and for the benefit of sentient beings he raises up the great mind. (the above are the general verses on the merit of good selection cultivated alike upon the first nine grounds)”

“Abiding upon the first ground he gives rise to a mind such as this, forever parted from the many evils and constantly bearing gladness, and by the power of his vows he cultivates widely the many good dharmas, and because of his pity he enters into the stations that come after. (the first ground)”

“Precepts and much learning are complete in him and his mindfulness is upon sentient beings, he washes away defilement and his mind-ground is clear, he observes the fire of the three poisons in the world — the one of vast understanding proceeds toward the third ground. (the second ground)”

“All within the three kinds of existence (existence in the desire realm, in the form realm, and in the formless realm) is impermanent, like an arrow shot into the body, its pain fierce and burning; wearied of the conditioned he seeks the dharma of a buddha — the one of vast wisdom proceeds toward the Flaming-Wisdom Ground. (the third ground)”

“Recollection and wisdom being complete in him he gains the wisdom of the path, he makes offerings to hundreds of thousands of measureless buddhas, and he constantly observes the most surpassing merits — such a one proceeds into the Hard-to-Conquer Ground. (the fourth ground)”

“With wisdom and skillful means he observes well, and with displays of every kind he saves sentient beings, and he makes offerings again to the unsurpassed honored one complete in the ten powers, and proceeds into the Manifest Ground of non-arising. (the fifth ground)”

“What the people of the world find hard to know he is able to know; he does not grasp at a self and parts from the two extremes of being and non-being; the nature of dharmas is from the first still and quenched and yet turns along with conditions — gaining this subtle understanding he turns toward the seventh ground. (the sixth ground)”

“With wisdom and skillful means his mind-ground is vast; hard to practice, hard to subdue, hard to know; though he has realized the still and quenched he is diligent in cultivation still, and is able to proceed toward the Immovable Ground that is like empty space. (the seventh ground)”

“The buddhas urge him to rise up out of the still and quenched, and widely he cultivates the many deeds of wisdom, and complete in the ten kinds of mastery he observes the world, and by this he ascends into the Excellent-Wisdom Ground. (the eighth ground)”

“With subtle and wondrous wisdom he observes sentient beings, observing the thickets of their mental conduct, deeds, and delusions; and in order to convert them and make them proceed toward the path, he expounds the treasury of the surpassing meaning of the buddhas. (the ninth ground)”

“Cultivating in due sequence he is complete in the many good things, and up to the ninth ground he gathers merit and wisdom, and constantly seeking the highest dharma of the buddhas he thereupon gains the water of a buddha’s wisdom to consecrate the crown of his head. (the conclusion, entering the tenth ground)”

The Verses in Repetition (3): Verses on the Part of the Samādhis and the Part of Gaining the Station

“He gains numberless samādhis and is good too at knowing their workings; the last samādhi is named receiving the station, and he abides in a vast realm and is constantly unmoving. (the part of the samādhis)”

“When the bodhisattva gains this samādhi, a great jeweled lotus flower suddenly appears; the measure of his body is fitted to the flower-seat and he sits within it, and the sons of the Buddha encircle him and observe together.”

“He sends out hundreds of thousands of koṭis of great rays of light, which extinguish the suffering of all sentient beings; and again from above the crown of his head he sends out light, which enters everywhere the Dharma gatherings of the buddhas of the ten directions, and all of it abides in the sky and becomes a net of light, and having made offerings to the buddhas it enters in through their feet; and at that time the buddhas all know: this son of the Buddha has now ascended to the station of consecration.”

“The bodhisattvas of the ten directions come and observe; the great being receiving consecration spreads out his light and illumines; and from between the brows of the buddhas too there comes forth light, which illumines everywhere and comes and enters in through the crown of his head.”

“The worlds of the ten directions all quake, and the suffering of all the hells is all extinguished; at this time the buddhas confer upon him the station, as a wheel-turning king does upon his first son.”

“If one is granted consecration by the buddhas, this is called ascending to the Dharma-Cloud Ground, and his wisdom increases without any bound, and he awakens all the worlds. (the part of gaining the station)”

The Verses in Repetition (4): Verses on the Part of Entering the Great Exhaustion

“The desire realm, the form realm, and the formless realm, the Dharma realm, the worlds, and the realm of sentient beings, the numbered, the numberless, and empty space — all such things as these he penetrates entirely.”

“The great and majestic power of all the workings of transformation, the subtle wisdom of the sustaining of the buddhas, the secrets, the numbers of the kalpas, the paths of a hair and the rest — all of it he is able to observe as it really is.”

“Taking birth, forsaking the household, accomplishing the right path, turning the wondrous wheel of the Dharma, entering into nirvāṇa, and even the dharma of still and quenched liberation, together with what has not yet been expounded — all of it he is able to know. (the part of the great exhaustion)”

The Verses in Repetition (5): Verses on the Part of the Explanation of the Name

“The bodhisattva abiding on this Dharma-Cloud Ground is complete in the power of recollection and holds the dharma of the buddhas; as the great sea receives the rain of the dragon king, so it is too with this ground’s receiving of the Dharma.”

“The measureless sentient beings of the ten directions all gain the hearing and retaining and keep the dharma of the buddhas; the Dharma that he hears in the presence of a single buddha surpasses that number of theirs and is without limit.”

“By the majestic spiritual power of his wisdom and vows of former times, in a single thought he pervades the lands of the ten directions and pours down the rain of sweet dew that extinguishes the afflictions — and this is why the Buddha says that this ground is named Dharma Cloud. (the part of the explanation of the name)”

The Verses in Repetition (6): Verses on the Part of the Power of Spiritual Penetration, with and without Anything above It

“His spiritual penetrations displayed fill the ten directions, going beyond the realms of humans, gods, and the world; and beyond that number too by measureless koṭis, so that the wisdom and thinking of the world must surely be confounded.”

“The merit of the wisdom in a single raising of his foot is not known even by a bodhisattva of the ninth ground — how much less by all sentient beings, and by the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas. (the part of the power of spiritual penetration)”

The Verses in Repetition (7): Verses on the Fruit of the Station

“The bodhisattva of this ground makes offerings to the buddhas, pervading entirely the lands of the ten directions, and makes offerings too to the hosts of the noble ones before him, complete in adorning the merits of a buddha.”

“Abiding upon this ground, the buddhas expound for him again the unobstructed wisdom of the Dharma realm of the three times, and sentient beings and the lands are all so too, and even all the merits of a buddha.”

“The light of wisdom of the bodhisattva of this ground is able to show sentient beings the road of the true Dharma; as the light of the king of the Heaven of Free Enjoyment is able to remove the darkness of the world, so it is too with this light of wisdom that extinguishes the darkness.”

“Abiding upon this ground he for the most part becomes king of the three realms and is well able to expound the dharma of the three vehicles, and measureless samādhis he gains in a single thought, and the buddhas he sees are just as many. (the fruit of the station)”

“This ground I have now stated briefly; if one wished to state it at length it could not be exhausted.”

The Verses in Repetition (8): Verses on the Part of the Images of the Grounds — the Ten Mountains, the Ten Grounds, the Ten Practices

“The grounds such as these within the wisdom of a buddha stand lofty as the ten mountain kings.”

“The arts and learning of the first ground cannot be exhausted, as the snow mountain gathers the many medicinal herbs; the precepts and much learning of the second ground are like the fragrance mountain; the third is like the Vaidharī mountain putting forth wondrous flowers; the jewels of the path of the Flaming-Wisdom Ground are without end, as the sages’ mountain has the good and the humane abiding upon it; the spiritual penetrations of the fifth ground are like the Yugandhara mountain; the sixth is like the horse-ear mountain complete with the many fruits; the great wisdom of the seventh ground is like the Nimindhara mountain; the mastery of the eighth ground is like the encircling ring mountain; the ninth is like the Ketu mountain gathering the unobstructed; the tenth is like Mount Sumeru complete with the many virtues. (the simile of the mountains)”

“The first ground has vows for its head, the second the keeping of the precepts; the third merit, the fourth singleness; the fifth subtlety, the sixth depth; the seventh vast wisdom, the eighth adornment; the ninth the pondering of subtle and wondrous meaning, going beyond every path of the world; the tenth the receiving and keeping of the dharma of the buddhas — a sea of practice such as this is never dried up. (the simile of the sea)”

“The ten practices go beyond the world, and the raising of the mind is the first, keeping the precepts the second, meditative concentration the third, purity of conduct the fourth, accomplishment the fifth, arising by conditions the sixth, the boring through the seventh, the eighth being set upon the diamond banner, the ninth the observing of the thickets of sentient beings, the tenth consecration following upon the mind of the king — jewels of merit such as these grow pure by degrees. (the simile of the jewel)”

The Verses in Repetition (9): The Concluding Statement That It Cannot Be Exhausted

“Though the lands of the ten directions be ground to dust-motes, their number may still be known in a single thought; though empty space be measured with the tip of a hair, its measure may still be known — but the dharma of this ground, though told for koṭis of kalpas, cannot be exhausted.”