大智度論 勸學品Dazhidulun — Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa · Exhortation to Train

The previous chapter, by the contemplation of the three designations, returned ‘bodhisattva’ and ‘prajñā’ to names only, ultimately empty; this chapter carries on, as Subhūti, on the Buddha's behalf, exhorts people to train in this ultimately empty prajñā. He first sets before the Buddha, one after another, everything a bodhisattva wishes to accomplish: to perfect the six perfections; to know completely the five aggregates, the six faculties, the six objects, the six consciousnesses, the six contacts, and the feelings they give rise to; to cut off the three poisons and every fetter and bond; to know the ten wholesome deeds, the four meditations, the four immeasurables, up to the eighteen unshared dharmas; to enter the samādhi of the limbs of awakening, the six supernormal powers, and the many gates of samādhi and dhāraṇī; and even to fulfil the wishes of all beings. Each item he raises is gathered into the same sentence, 「當學般若波羅蜜」 tr. "one should train in prajñāpāramitā". This sentence appears word for word eighteen times in the chapter, and that is how the chapter gets its name: every dharma is brought forward, and at each one you are urged back to train in the prajñā that gives birth to them all. Nāgārjuna first resolves a doubt: the first chapter already said that one should train in prajñā; why say it again here? Because before, prajñā was only praised for the merits it can obtain, and the taste of prajñā had not truly been told; now that its taste has been tasted, one should still train in prajñā in order to accomplish the remaining merits such as the six perfections. He is also afraid that someone, hearing ‘all dharmas are empty’, will mistake the Buddha's Dharma for annihilation, with nothing to be done; so he says expressly that one must still practise merits such as giving; if prajñā really were an annihilating emptiness, there would be no need to go on speaking of practising merits. At this point the Buddha turns the edge of the teaching and points out the subtlest trap of the practitioner: he urges you not to fall into the evil destinies, not to be born in low estate, not to fall to the two vehicles, and beyond these, not to fall from ‘the bodhisattva's summit’. Śāriputra then asks what falling from the summit is. Subhūti answers with great precision: if a bodhisattva does not practise the six perfections with skilful means but only enters the samādhi of emptiness, of signlessness, and of non-action, unwilling to fall back to the stage of śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha yet not having entered the bodhisattva's stage, he is stuck in that middle, neither up nor down; this is called ‘rawness of dharma’, which is ‘falling from the summit’. What is ‘rawness’? Subhūti gives only four characters: 「生名愛法」 tr. "rawness means loving dharma". It turns out that a bodhisattva practising prajñā, plainly seeing that form is empty, yet gives rise to greedy love and grasping toward this ‘emptiness’, and even gives rise to attachment toward signlessness, non-action, quiescence, and every dharma; this is ‘the arising of love of dharma in accord with the path’: walking forward along the path, one falls in love with dharma halfway. Nāgārjuna gives two similes in a row to wake us: love of dharma is like eating too much and failing to digest it; a good thing in itself, it turns into illness when it piles up in the body; or like a man who is bound to die taking medicine, and the medicine itself becoming the disease; love of dharma is a fine good among humans and gods, but at the pass of the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas it becomes a drag. He then gathers the five names ‘summit’, ‘stage’, ‘falling’, ‘rawness’, and ‘ripeness’ into one matter: all the dharmas in the stretch between compliant acceptance and the acceptance of non-arising are called ‘the summit’, just as in the śrāvaka's dharma the stretch between the dharma of warmth and the dharma of acceptance is called the dharma of the summit; to be about to grasp it and yet lose it is called ‘falling’, as in climbing a mountain, once one has reached the top there is no fear of falling, and it is only before reaching the top that the danger is fearful; when this summit is firm and grows it is called ‘the bodhisattva's stage’, which is ‘the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas’; when the mind lacks the fire of wisdom of the real mark of all dharmas it is called ‘raw’, and when it has this fire it is called ‘ripe’, as a fired pot can hold water while a raw pot rots the moment water is poured in. Gathered into one sentence: being able to pull out every discriminating false contemplation of ‘this is permanent, this is impermanent’ is called entering the stage; unable to pull it out, one is in the arising of love of dharma in accord with the path. In the second half Śāriputra asks what the bodhisattva's ‘non-arising’ is, and Subhūti answers marvellously: when a bodhisattva practises prajñā, within inner emptiness he does not see outer emptiness, within outer emptiness he does not see inner emptiness; the eighteen emptinesses face one another two by two and none of them dwells inside another; only so does one enter the bodhisattva's stage. He says further that even if a bodhisattva has obtained ‘the mind of awakening’, ‘the mind equal to the unequalled’, and ‘the great mind’, he should give rise to no thought about them and not exalt himself; why? Because this mind is originally not mind, and the mark of mind is originally and always pure. Śāriputra presses on how the mark of mind is always pure, and Subhūti says: this mind neither joins with nor parts from lust, anger, and delusion, neither joins with nor parts from all the entanglements, outflows, bonds, fetters, and afflictions, and even the minds of the two vehicles; this is called ‘the mark of mind always pure’; asked further about ‘no mark of mind’, the answer is that dharmas neither destroyed nor discriminated is no mark of mind. Nāgārjuna, explaining this passage, matches the three minds with the six perfections: giving and keeping the precepts set up the mind of awakening; patience and vigour, as when someone comes to cut one's flesh and draw out the marrow, or fells one like a tree, and one still holds kind thoughts toward the enemy and one's blood turns to milk, this extraordinary quality resembles the Buddha's mind and is the mind equal to the unequalled; meditation and great compassion, even knowing ultimate emptiness and still being able to practise all practices within emptiness as if planting trees in it, this rare quality is the great mind. He borrows space as a simile too: the mark of space is pure of itself, and smoke, clouds, dust, and mist only drift over and cover it now and then; the mind is the same, originally and always pure, and ignorance and the other afflictions are only guest dust that comes to cover it; remove it and its original purity is restored; this purity is not something you produce by effort, so all the less should you exalt yourself. At the end Śāriputra praises Subhūti as ‘truly a son of the Buddha’, ‘born from the Buddha's mouth’, and Nāgārjuna borrows the simile of the brahmins who claim to be born from the mouth of Brahmā and stand first among the four castes, saying that Subhūti sees the Dharma and knows the Dharma and is therefore said to be born from the Buddha's mouth; and he points out where the whole chapter comes to rest: although prajñā is said to be the bodhisattva's affair, it teaches at length the marks of the three vehicles and states plainly that the real mark of all dharmas is nirvāṇa without remainder, so that whoever wishes to train in the stage of the śrāvaka, the stage of the pratyekabuddha, or the stage of the bodhisattva should come to hear, uphold, read, recite, rightly recollect, and practise as taught this prajñā. Read through, this chapter does two connected things: first it brings forward every dharma to urge you to train in prajñā, since prajñā gives birth to all and gathers the three vehicles; then it turns back to remind you that if in training in prajñā you lack skilful means and give rise to greedy love toward dharma, you will get stuck on the ‘summit’ and fall. To train and be able to practise, to practise and not be attached, to practise prajñā with a mind that attains nothing, returning to the mark of mind always pure and to ultimate emptiness: this is the prajñā that the Chapter on Exhortation to Train wants you to train in.

Subhūti Tells the Buddha: One Who Wishes to Fulfil the Six Perfections Should Train in Prajñā

At that time Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva who wishes to fulfil the perfection of giving (dāna) should train in prajñāpāramitā! One who wishes to fulfil the perfection of morality (śīla), the perfection of patience (kṣānti), the perfection of vigour (vīrya), the perfection of meditation (dhyāna), and prajñāpāramitā should train in prajñāpāramitā!

One Who Wishes to Know Fully the Five Aggregates, the Six Faculties, Six Objects, Six Consciousnesses, Six Contacts, and Six Feelings Should Train in Prajñā

‘A bodhisattva-mahāsattva who wishes to know form should train in prajñāpāramitā! Up to one who wishes to know consciousness—all should train in prajñāpāramitā! Those who wish to know the six faculties from the eye up to the mind, who wish to know the six objects from forms up to dharmas, who wish to know the six consciousnesses from eye-consciousness up to mind-consciousness, who wish to know the six contacts from eye-contact up to mind-contact, who wish to know the six feelings from the feeling born of the causes and conditions of eye-contact up to the feeling born of the causes and conditions of mind-contact—all should train in prajñāpāramitā!

One Who Wishes to Cut Off the Three Poisons, All the Fetters, and Even the Four Bonds, Four Ties, and Four Inversions Should Train in Prajñā

‘One who wishes to cut off the three poisons of lust, hatred, and delusion should train in prajñāpāramitā! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva who wishes to cut off the view of the body as self, grasping at precepts, doubt, sexual desire, hatred, as well as craving for form, craving for the formless, restlessness, conceit, ignorance, and all the other fetters and entanglements—all should train in prajñāpāramitā! One who wishes to cut off the four bonds, the four ties, and the four inversions should train in prajñāpāramitā!

One Who Wishes to Know Fully the Ten Wholesome Paths, the Four Meditations, the Four Immeasurables, up to the eighteen unshared dharmas Should Train in Prajñā

‘Those who wish to know the ten wholesome paths of action, who wish to know the four meditations, who wish to know the four immeasurable minds, the four formless absorptions, the four foundations of mindfulness, up to the eighteen unshared dharmas—all should train in prajñāpāramitā!

One Who Wishes to Enter the samādhi of the limbs of awakening, the Six Supernormal Powers, up to All Kinds of Samādhi Gates Should Train in Prajñā

‘A bodhisattva-mahāsattva who wishes to enter the samādhi of the limbs of awakening should train in prajñāpāramitā! Those who wish to enter the six supernormal powers, the nine successive absorptions, and the leaping samādhi should all train in prajñāpāramitā! One who wishes to attain the lion's-play samādhi should train in prajñāpāramitā! Those who wish to attain the lion's-stretch samādhi and who wish to attain all the dhāraṇī gates should all train in prajñāpāramitā! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva who wishes to attain the śūraṃgama samādhi, the jewel-seal samādhi, the wondrous-moon samādhi, the moon-banner-mark samādhi, the seal-of-all-dharmas samādhi, the contemplation-seal samādhi, the consummate-dharma-nature samādhi, the consummate-abiding-mark samādhi, the vajra-like samādhi, the entering-the-gate-of-all-dharmas samādhi, the king-of-samādhi samādhi, the king-seal samādhi, the pure-power samādhi, the lofty-emergence samādhi, the entering-completely-into-all-eloquence samādhi, the entering-the-names-of-all-dharmas samādhi, the contemplating-the-ten-directions samādhi, the seal-of-the-dhāraṇī-gates samādhi, the not-forgetting-all-dharmas samādhi, the seal-gathering-the-mass-of-all-dharmas samādhi, the abiding-in-space samādhi, the threefold-purity samādhi, the non-retrogressing-supernormal-power samādhi, the bowl-emerging samādhi, the banner-mark-of-all-samādhi samādhi—those who wish to attain samādhi gates of all these kinds should all train in prajñāpāramitā!

One Who Wishes to Fulfil the Vows of All Beings Should Train in Prajñā (Close of the First Sūtra Section)

‘Furthermore, World-Honored One! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva who wishes to fulfil the vows of all beings should train in prajñāpāramitā!’

What follows is the treatise's explanation.

The First Chapter Already Said One Should Train in Prajñā; Why Is It Said Again Now? (Question and Answer One)

Question: In the first chapter it was already said, ‘whatever one wishes to attain, of all kinds, one should in every case train in prajñāpāramitā’; why is it repeated now?

Answer: Before, it only praised: ‘one who wishes to attain these various merits should practise prajñāpāramitā’; it had not yet spoken directly of what prajñāpāramitā is. Now the assembly has already heard the Dharma-taste of prajñāpāramitā, and because they wish to attain the remaining merits—that is, the six perfections and so on—they should train in prajñāpāramitā.

A Further Answer: Prajñā's Teaching of Emptiness Is Not Annihilation, So Giving and the Other Merits Are Still Taught

Furthermore, earlier the emptiness of all dharmas was spoken of through all kinds of causes and conditions, and some then thought: ‘The Buddha's Dharma is annihilated; there is nothing more to be done.’ To cut off such people's doubt, it is said: ‘one who wishes to attain giving and the other merits of all kinds should practise prajñāpāramitā.’ If prajñāpāramitā were truly empty, altogether without anything, annihilated, it should not go on to say that one should practise giving and the other merits. A wise person would say: first emptiness is spoken of, and afterwards the practice of merits is spoken of; if these two ends did not each have their own principle, how could they contradict each other, before and after?

A Further Answer: The Earlier Was Extensive, This Is Brief; the Earlier Was Spoken by the Buddha, This by Subhūti; Prajñā Is Profound and Subtle, Hence It Is Said Again

Furthermore, what came before was an extensive statement, and this here is a brief one; what came before was spoken by the Buddha, and this here is spoken by Subhūti. Furthermore, prajñāpāramitā is extremely profound and subtle, and so it is said again; it is like praising the beauty of virtue, and so repeatedly exclaiming ‘Excellent! Excellent!’

The Names in the Sūtra Explained One by One: The Meaning of the Six Perfections Is as Said Before

As for the meaning of the ‘six perfections’, it is as has been said before.

Explaining ‘Knowing the Five Aggregates’: Seeing Impermanence, Suffering, Emptiness, and the General and Particular Marks; Feeling Is the Master of the Fetters, Hence Feeling Alone Is Named

As for ‘knowing the five aggregates’, this means seeing the impermanence, suffering, and emptiness of the five aggregates, as well as their general marks, particular marks, and so on. The ‘six senses’ (the six faculties), the ‘six dusts’ (the six objects), the ‘six consciousnesses’, the ‘six contacts’, and the ‘six feelings’ are likewise. All worldly bondage has ‘feeling’ as its master; because there is feeling, all kinds of fetters arise: pleasant feeling gives rise to greed, painful feeling gives rise to hatred, and feeling that is neither painful nor pleasant gives rise to delusion; these three poisons in turn give rise to all kinds of afflictions and to the causes and conditions of making karma. Precisely because of this, the sūtra speaks only of ‘feeling’ and does not speak of the other mental concomitants—that is, perception, recollection, and so on.

Explaining the Terms: The Three Poisons, the Ten Fetters, the Proclivities, the Entanglements, up to the eighteen unshared dharmas Are All as Said Before

As for the ‘three poisons’, the ‘ten fetters’, the ‘proclivities’, the ‘entanglements’, up to the ‘eighteen unshared dharmas’, all are as has been said before.

Explaining the Terms: The Limbs of Awakening, Leaping, and Lion's-Play Samādhi Will Be Spoken of Later; Fulfilling the Vows of Beings Has Been Spoken of Already

As for the ‘samādhi of the limbs of awakening’, the ‘leaping samādhi’, and the ‘lion's-play samādhi’, these are the various samādhi of the bodhisattva, and they will be spoken of again later. As for ‘wishing to fulfil the vows of all beings’, it has already been spoken of before.

What follows is the sūtra text.

One Who Wishes Not to Fall into the Evil Destinies, Low Birth, or the Two Vehicles, Nor Even to Fall from the Bodhisattva's Summit, Should Train in Prajñā

The Buddha went on to say: ‘Those who wish to be complete in wholesome roots such as these and never to fall into the evil destinies; who wish not to be born in low and mean families; who wish not to halt in the grounds of the śrāvaka and the pratyekabuddha; who wish not to fall from the bodhisattva's summit—all should train in prajñāpāramitā!’

Śāriputra Asks: What Is Meant by a Bodhisattva's Fall from the Summit?

At that time the venerable Śāriputra asked Subhūti: ‘What is meant by a bodhisattva-mahāsattva's fall from the summit?’

Subhūti Answers: Practising the Six Perfections and Entering the Three Samādhi without Skilful Means Is Called Dharma-Rawness, Hence the Fall from the Summit

Subhūti said: ‘Śāriputra! If a bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises the six perfections without skilful means and enters the three samādhi of emptiness, the signless, and non-action, he does not fall into the grounds of the śrāvaka and the pratyekabuddha, yet neither can he enter the bodhisattva's position; this is called the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's 「法生」 tr. "dharma-rawness", and so he falls from the summit.’

Śāriputra Asks: What Is Meant by a Bodhisattva's Rawness?

Śāriputra asked Subhūti: ‘What is meant by a bodhisattva's rawness?’

Subhūti Answers: What Is Called ‘Rawness’ Is Love of Dharma

Subhūti answered Śāriputra, saying: ‘What is called “rawness” is love of dharma.’

Śāriputra Presses Further: What Is Love of Dharma?

Śāriputra said: ‘What is called love of dharma?’

Subhūti's Long Answer: Giving Rise to Clinging toward Form as Empty, Signless, and Non-Action, up to All Dharmas, Is the Arising of Love of Dharma in Accord with the Path (Close of the Second Sūtra Section)

Subhūti said: ‘When a bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, he sees that form is empty, and yet gives rise to a clinging that receives it and fixes the mind on it; he sees that feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are empty, and also gives rise to a clinging that receives them and fixes the mind on them. Śāriputra! This is called the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's “the arising of love of dharma in accord with the path”. Furthermore, Śāriputra! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva sees that form is signless, and yet gives rise to a clinging that receives it and fixes the mind on it; he sees that feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are signless, and also gives rise to a clinging that receives them and fixes the mind on them. He sees that form is non-action, and gives rise to a clinging that receives it and fixes the mind on it; he sees that feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are non-action, and also gives rise to a clinging that receives them and fixes the mind on them. He sees that form is quiescent, and gives rise to a clinging that receives it and fixes the mind on it; he sees that feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are quiescent, and also gives rise to a clinging that receives them and fixes the mind on them. He sees form as impermanent, up to consciousness; sees form as suffering, up to consciousness; sees form as not-self, up to consciousness—and in every case gives rise to a clinging that receives it and fixes the mind on it: this is the bodhisattva's arising of love of dharma in accord with the path. Even to the point that he sees “this is suffering, which should be known; this is origination, which should be abandoned; this is cessation, which should be realised; this is the path, which should be cultivated”; sees “these are defiled dharmas, these are pure dharmas”; sees “this should be approached, this should not be approached”; sees “this is what a bodhisattva should practise, this is what is not for a bodhisattva to practise”; sees “this is the bodhisattva path, this is not the bodhisattva path”; sees “this is the bodhisattva's training, this is not the bodhisattva's training”; sees “this is the bodhisattva's perfection of giving up to prajñāpāramitā, this is not the bodhisattva's perfection of giving up to prajñāpāramitā”; sees “this is the bodhisattva's skilful means, this is not the bodhisattva's skilful means”; sees “this is the bodhisattva's ripeness, this is not the bodhisattva's ripeness”. Śāriputra! When a bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā and gives rise to a clinging that receives these dharmas and fixes the mind on them, this is the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's arising of love of dharma in accord with the path.’

What follows is the treatise's explanation.

By What Wholesome Roots Does One Not Fall into the Evil Paths, Poverty and Low Birth, or the Two Vehicles, Nor Fall from the Summit? (Question and Answer Two)

Question: By what wholesome roots does one not fall into the evil paths, not fall into poverty and low birth, not fall into the śrāvaka or the pratyekabuddha, and also not fall from the summit?

Answer: Some say: because one practises the wholesome root of non-greed, craving and the other fetters grow weak and thin, and so one enters deeply into meditative absorption; because one practises the wholesome root of non-hatred, hatred and the other fetters grow weak and thin, and so one enters deeply into the mind of kindness and compassion; because one practises the wholesome root of non-delusion, ignorance and the other fetters grow weak and thin, and so one enters deeply into prajñāpāramitā. In this way, by the power of meditative absorption, of kindness and compassion, and of prajñāpāramitā, there is nothing that cannot be attained—how much more these mere four matters of not falling!

Of the Four Matters, Why Is Only the Fall from the Summit Asked About? (Question and Answer Three)

Question: Of the four matters, why is only the fall from the summit asked about?

Answer: Those three matters (not falling into the evil paths, not falling into poverty and low birth, not falling into the two vehicles) have all been spoken of before; only the fall from the summit has not yet been spoken of, and so it is asked about.

The Meaning of the Summit Was Given Before; Why Is It Said Again? — The Meaning Is the Same but the Names Differ (Question and Answer Four)

Question: The ‘summit’ is a dharma-position, and this principle has already been spoken of before; why is it said again now?

Answer: Although the meaning has been spoken of, the names each differ (sometimes it is called the summit, sometimes the position, sometimes not raw). As for whether or not one enters the three gates of liberation with skilful means, that too has been spoken of before.

Explaining ‘Raw’: Dharma-Love Is of No Benefit within the Acceptance of the Non-arising of Dharmas, Hence It Is Called Raw (The Simile of Overeating without Digesting)

Dharma-love is of no benefit whatever within the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas, and so it is called ‘raw’. It is like eating too much and failing to digest it: if it is not treated, it turns instead into a calamity for the body. The bodhisattva is also like this: at the time of the first arousing of the mind, he is greedily attached to receiving the food of the Dharma—that is, he practises all kinds of wholesome dharmas without skilful means, his deep mind bound to them—and within the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas this becomes rawness, becomes a sickness.

Explaining ‘Raw’, Continued: Clinging to Dharma-Love, One Gives Rise to Love Even toward Non-arising and Non-ceasing (The Simile of Medicine for One Bound to Die)

Because of clinging to dharma-love, one gives rise to love even toward non-arising and non-ceasing. It is like a person who is bound to die: though all kinds of medicine are given him, the medicine instead becomes sickness; this bodhisattva gives rise to love within the acceptance of dharmas that are ultimately empty, non-arising and non-ceasing, and this love instead becomes his calamity! Among humans and gods dharma-love counts as good, but within the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas it becomes an encumbrance.

Defining ‘Raw’ against ‘Ripe’: Loving in the Wake of Dharmas Is Raw; What Runs Counter to Raw Is Ripe

To recollect, imagine, and discriminate among all dharmas, to examine in all kinds of ways what is right and what is wrong, and to give rise to love in the wake of dharmas—this is called ‘raw’; such a mind cannot hold the water of the real mark of all dharmas. What runs counter to ‘raw’ is called ‘the bodhisattva's ripeness’.

One Matter, Why Called Summit, Position, and Not Raw? — What Lies between Compliant Acceptance and the Acceptance of Non-arising Is the Summit (Cross-reading with Heat and Acceptance in the Śrāvaka Teaching)

Question: This is one and the same matter; why is it sometimes called the ‘summit’, sometimes the ‘position’, and sometimes 「不生」 tr. "not raw"?

Answer: All the dharmas lying between compliant acceptance and the acceptance of non-arising are called the ‘summit’; abiding on this summit, one heads straight upward toward the Buddha path and no longer fears falling. It is like the śrāvaka teaching, in which what lies between the stage of heat and the stage of acceptance is called the stage of the summit.

If One Who Has Attained the Summit Does Not Fall, Why Speak of a Summit-Fall? — Only Losing It When Near Is Called Falling (The Simile of Climbing a Mountain)

Question: If one who has attained the summit does not fall, why is ‘summit-fall’ spoken of now?

Answer: To be on the verge of attaining it and then to lose it—only this is called ‘falling’; one who has truly attained the summit has secure and stable wisdom and does not fear falling. It is like climbing a mountain: once one has reached the top of the mountain, one does not fear falling; it is while one has not yet reached the top that one is tilting and in danger, and fears falling.

Explaining ‘the Bodhisattva's Position’ as ‘the Acceptance of the Non-arising of Dharmas’: When the Summit Is Firm, Neither the Fetters nor Māra's People Can Move One

When the summit grows and becomes firm, it is called ‘the bodhisattva's position’. Once one has entered this position, no fetter and none of Māra's people can shake one, and this is also called 「無生法忍」 tr. "the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas". Why? Because it runs counter to 「生」 tr. "raw". Craving and the other fetters mixed in among all kinds of wholesome dharmas—only that is called ‘raw’.

Raw and Ripe Explained Further: Lacking or Having the Fire of Wisdom of the Real Mark of Dharmas (The Simile of the Fired Jar Holding Water)

Furthermore, because there is no fire of the wisdom of the real mark of all dharmas, it is called ‘raw’; because there is the fire of the wisdom of the real mark of all dharmas, it is called ‘ripe’. This person is able to believe and accept the Buddhas' wisdom of the real mark, and so is called ‘ripe’; it is like a jar that has been fired, which can hold water, whereas an unfired jar crumbles to ruin as soon as it meets water.

Explaining ‘the Acceptance of the Non-arising of Dharmas’: Relying on the Wisdom of Arising and Ceasing, One Leaves the Inversions; Being Able to Believe, Accept, and Hold Is Called Acceptance

Furthermore, relying on the wisdom of arising and ceasing, one is able to leave the inversions; leaving the wisdom of arising and ceasing, there is neither arising nor ceasing—this is called ‘the non-arising dharma’. Because one is able to believe, able to accept, and able to hold, it is called ‘acceptance’.

Explaining ‘Position’, Concluded: Uprooting All Contemplations Such as Impermanence Is Called the Position; Failing in This Is the Arising of Love of Dharma in Accord with the Path (Echoing the Close of the Second Sūtra Section)

Furthermore, what is called the ‘position’ is so called because all the contemplations such as impermanence have been uprooted; if one cannot do so, that is the arising of love of dharma in accord with the path.

What follows is the sūtra text.

Śāriputra Asks: What Is Meant by a Bodhisattva's Not Being Raw? Subhūti Answers That the Eighteen Emptinesses Do Not See One Another

Śāriputra asked Subhūti: ‘What is meant by a bodhisattva-mahāsattva's not being raw?’

Subhūti said: ‘When a bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, in inner emptiness he does not see outer emptiness, and in outer emptiness he does not see inner emptiness; in outer emptiness he does not see inner-and-outer emptiness, in inner-and-outer emptiness he does not see outer emptiness; in inner-and-outer emptiness he does not see the emptiness of emptiness, in the emptiness of emptiness he does not see inner-and-outer emptiness; in the emptiness of emptiness he does not see great emptiness, in great emptiness he does not see the emptiness of emptiness; in great emptiness he does not see the emptiness of the highest meaning, in the emptiness of the highest meaning he does not see great emptiness; in the emptiness of the highest meaning he does not see the emptiness of the conditioned, in the emptiness of the conditioned he does not see the emptiness of the highest meaning; in the emptiness of the conditioned he does not see the emptiness of the unconditioned, in the emptiness of the unconditioned he does not see the emptiness of the conditioned; in the emptiness of the unconditioned he does not see ultimate emptiness, in ultimate emptiness he does not see the emptiness of the unconditioned; in ultimate emptiness he does not see beginningless emptiness, in beginningless emptiness he does not see ultimate emptiness; in beginningless emptiness he does not see the emptiness of dispersal, in the emptiness of dispersal he does not see beginningless emptiness; in the emptiness of dispersal he does not see the emptiness of nature, in the emptiness of nature he does not see the emptiness of dispersal; in the emptiness of nature he does not see the emptiness of all dharmas, in the emptiness of all dharmas he does not see the emptiness of nature; in the emptiness of all dharmas he does not see the emptiness of specific marks, in the emptiness of specific marks he does not see the emptiness of all dharmas; in the emptiness of specific marks he does not see the emptiness of the unfindable, in the emptiness of the unfindable he does not see the emptiness of specific marks; in the emptiness of the unfindable he does not see the emptiness of non-existent dharmas, in the emptiness of non-existent dharmas he does not see the emptiness of the unfindable; in the emptiness of non-existent dharmas he does not see the emptiness of existent dharmas, in the emptiness of existent dharmas he does not see the emptiness of non-existent dharmas; in the emptiness of existent dharmas he does not see the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas, in the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas he does not see the emptiness of existent dharmas. Śāriputra! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises prajñāpāramitā in this way attains entry into the bodhisattva's position.

This Is How One Should Train: Not Thinking of the Five Aggregates up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, Because the Mind Is Not a Mind and the Mind's Mark Is Ever Pure

‘Furthermore, Śāriputra! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva who wishes to train in prajñāpāramitā should train thus: not thinking of form, feeling, perception, constructions, or consciousness; not thinking of the eye up to the mind; not thinking of forms up to dharmas; not thinking of the perfection of giving, the perfection of morality, the perfection of patience, the perfection of vigour, the perfection of meditation, or prajñāpāramitā, up to the eighteen unshared dharmas. Just so! Śāriputra! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva practising prajñāpāramitā who has attained this mind of awakening should not cling to it in thought and should not exalt himself; having attained the mind equal to the unequalled, he should not cling to it in thought and should not exalt himself; having attained the great mind, he should not cling to it in thought and should not exalt himself. Why? Because this mind is from the outset not a truly existing mind, and the mark of the mind is from the outset ever pure.’

Śāriputra Asks: What Is Meant by the Mind's Mark Being Ever Pure? Subhūti Answers: Neither Joined with nor Separate from the Fetters

Śāriputra said to Subhūti: ‘What is meant by the mark of the mind being ever pure?’

Subhūti said: ‘If a bodhisattva knows this mark of the mind—that it is neither joined with nor separate from lust, anger, and delusion; neither joined with nor separate from the entanglements, the floods, the bonds, and all the other fetters and all afflictions; neither joined with nor separate from the minds of the śrāvaka and the pratyekabuddha—Śāriputra! this is called the bodhisattva's mark of the mind being ever pure.’

Whether There Is a Mind without the Mind-Mark: Examined Back and Forth, Neither Existence nor Non-existence Can Be Found

Śāriputra said to Subhūti: ‘Is there such a mind, one without the mark of mind?’

Subhūti answered Śāriputra: ‘Within the absence of the mark of mind, can either the mark of mind or the absence of the mark of mind be found?’

Śāriputra said: ‘It cannot be found!’

Subhūti said: ‘Since it cannot be found, you should not ask “is there such a mind, one without the mark of mind?”!’

What Is the Absence of the Mind-Mark? All Dharmas Are neither Destroyed nor Discriminated

Śāriputra asked further: ‘What is the absence of the mark of mind?’

Subhūti said: ‘All dharmas are neither destroyed nor discriminated—this is called the absence of the mark of mind.’

Is It Only the Mind That Is neither Destroyed nor Discriminated, or Is Form up to the Buddha Path Likewise?

Śāriputra asked Subhūti: ‘Is it only this mind that is neither destroyed nor discriminated, or is form also neither destroyed nor discriminated, and up to the Buddha path also neither destroyed nor discriminated?’

Subhūti said: ‘If one is able to know that the mark of the mind is neither destroyed nor discriminated, this bodhisattva is also able to know that form up to the Buddha path is likewise neither destroyed nor discriminated.’

Śāriputra Praises Subhūti as a True Son of the Buddha and Urges That All Three Vehicles Should Hear and Uphold Prajñā (Close of the Sūtra Portion)

At that time the venerable Śāriputra praised Subhūti: ‘Excellent! Excellent! You are truly a son of the Buddha! Born from the Buddha's mouth, born from seeing the Dharma, born from the transformation of the Dharma, taking only the share of the Dharma and not the share of wealth; within the Dharma you are able of yourself to give rise to faith, and have realised it in your own body. As the Buddha said: “Among those who have attained the samādhi of non-contention, you are the very foremost.” Truly it is just as the Buddha extolled. Subhūti! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva should train in prajñāpāramitā thus, and within it should also know each thing distinctly. If a bodhisattva practises as you have said, he does not depart from prajñāpāramitā. Subhūti! Good men and good women who wish to train in the śrāvaka ground should also hear prajñāpāramitā, receive and uphold it, read it, recite it, rightly recollect it, and practise as it teaches; those who wish to train in the pratyekabuddha ground should also hear prajñāpāramitā, receive and uphold it, read it, recite it, rightly recollect it, and practise as it teaches; those who wish to train in the bodhisattva ground should also hear prajñāpāramitā, receive and uphold it, read it, recite it, rightly recollect it, and practise as it teaches. Why? Because in prajñāpāramitā the three vehicles are spoken of extensively; within it, bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, śrāvakas, and pratyekabuddhas should all train!’

What follows is the treatise's explanation.

The Treatise-Author Begins: Inner and Outer Emptiness Do Not See Each Other, and the Other Seventeen Emptinesses Are Likewise

The treatise-author explains: In inner emptiness one does not see outer emptiness; in outer emptiness one does not see inner emptiness. Some say: the outer four great elements turn into food and drink and enter the body, and so are called inner; if the body dies, they return again to being outer. Because all dharmas fundamentally have no mark of coming or going, outer emptiness is not within inner emptiness. The other seventeen emptinesses are likewise: because they neither arise nor cease, have no mark of difference, and neither come nor go, each does not abide within any other.

The Mark of the Bodhisattva's Position Explained: Not Thinking of Any Dharma as Existent

Furthermore, the mark of the bodhisattva's position is not to think of any form as truly existent, and up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, not to think of them as truly existent either. The meaning of ‘not thinking of them as existent’ is as has been said before.

How Do the Mind of Awakening, the Mind Equal to the Unequalled, and the Great Mind Differ? — The First Arousing of the Mind, Taking the Unsurpassed Path as Object, Is Called the Mind of Awakening (Question and Answer Five)

Question: The ‘mind of awakening’, the ‘mind equal to the unequalled’, and the ‘great mind’—what difference is there among these three?

Answer: When a bodhisattva first arouses the mind, taking the unsurpassed path as his object and vowing ‘I shall become a Buddha’, this is called the ‘mind of awakening’. ‘The Unequalled’ is a name of the Buddha. Why? Because among all beings and all dharmas there is none that can equal the Buddha; this mind of awakening resembles the Buddha. Why? Because the cause resembles the fruit; and so it is called the ‘mind equal to the unequalled’. There is nothing this mind is unwilling to do; it seeks no favour or return from others; it is deep, firm, and decided.

Again, the Six Perfections Matched to the Three Minds: The Similes of Cut Flesh Whose Blood Turns to Milk and of Planting a Tree in Empty Space

Furthermore, the perfection of giving and the perfection of morality are called the ‘mind of awakening’. Why? Because by the causes and conditions of the perfection of giving (dāna) one is able to attain great wealth and lack nothing; by the causes and conditions of the perfection of morality (śīla) one is able to leave the three evil paths and be honoured among humans and gods; abiding in the power of the fruition of these two perfections, one is able to establish and accomplish great matters, and so it is called the ‘mind of awakening’. The mark of the perfection of patience (kṣānti) and the perfection of vigour (vīrya) is to display extraordinary deeds among beings—as when someone comes to cut his flesh and draw out his marrow, as though chopping a tree, and yet he regards this enemy with kindness, and his very blood turns into milk; this mind resembles the mind of the Buddha, and in the six destinies throughout the ten directions he ferries across each and every being with deep mind; again, he knows that all dharmas are ultimately empty, and yet with great compassion carries out all kinds of practices—this is truly extraordinary! It is like someone wishing to plant a tree in empty space: how rare a thing this is. By the force of all kinds of perfection of vigour such as these, he resembles the one who has no equal, and so it is called ‘equal to the unequalled’. Entering meditative absorption and practising the four immeasurable minds, he pervades the ten directions; because this is joined with great compassion and skilful means, he removes the suffering of all beings; again, he illuminates the real mark of all dharmas, extinguishes every view that contemplates, cuts off all the paths of speech, and yet does not fall into annihilation—this is called the ‘great mind’.

A Second Account: The First Arousing of the Mind, Practising the Six Perfections, and Entering the Mind of Skilful Means Are Distinguished as the Three Minds

Furthermore, the first arousing of the mind is called the ‘mind of awakening’; practising the six perfections is called the ‘mind equal to the unequalled’; entering into the mind of skilful means is called the ‘great mind’. In this way the three minds each have their distinction.

Explaining the Mind's Not Exalting Itself: Attaining Great Wisdom, the Mind Is Not Lifted Up, Because the Mind's Mark Is Ever Pure (The Simile of Smoke and Cloud in Empty Space)

Furthermore, the bodhisattva attains great wisdom such as this, and yet his mind does not exalt itself, because the mark of the mind is from the outset ever pure. It is like the mark of empty space, which is from the outset ever pure, and only because smoke, clouds, dust, and fog come as borrowed things is it covered over and made impure; the mind is also like this: from the outset it is ever pure of itself, and only because ignorance and the other afflictions arrive like guests and cover it over does it appear impure; when the afflictions are removed, it is pure just as it was from the outset. The effort the practitioner puts in is in truth slight; this purity is not something you have made, and so one should not exalt oneself and should not cling in thought. Why? Because of ultimate emptiness.

Śāriputra Already Knew the Mind's Mark Is Ever Pure; Why Did He Still Ask? — Because of Deep Attachment to Awakening, Discrimination Still Arises (Question and Answer Six)

Question: Śāriputra himself already knew that the mark of the mind is ever pure; why did he still ask?

Answer: Because bodhisattvas who have aroused the mind of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi—unsurpassed, right, and complete awakening—enter deeply and cling deeply, so that although they have heard that the mind is ultimately empty and ever pure, they still recollect, imagine, and discriminate, grasping at the mark of ‘the absence of the mark of mind’; precisely because of this, (Śāriputra, on behalf of the assembly,) asked: this mind without the mark of mind—does it exist, or does it not exist? If it exists, how can it be said to be without the mark of mind? If it does not exist, why then praise this mind equal to the unequalled as able to accomplish the Buddha path?

Subhūti Answers: Within the Absence of the Mind-Mark All Is Ultimately Pure; Neither Existence nor Non-existence Can Be Found

Subhūti answered, saying: ‘Within this absence of the mark of mind all is ultimately pure; neither existence nor non-existence can be found; you should not raise such a challenge!’

What Is the Absence of the Mind-Mark? — Ultimate Emptiness, All Dharmas without Discrimination

Śāriputra asked further: ‘What is the absence of the mark of mind?’

Subhūti answered, saying: ‘Ultimate emptiness, all dharmas without discrimination—this is called the absence of the mark of mind.’

Only the Mind's Mark, or Are the Other Dharmas Likewise neither Destroyed nor Discriminated? — Awakening Too Is like Empty Space

Śāriputra asked further: ‘Is it only the mark of the mind that is neither destroyed nor discriminated, or are the other dharmas likewise?’

Subhūti answered, saying: ‘All dharmas are likewise.’ If this is so, then anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi too is like empty space, without destruction and without discrimination.

Bodhisattvas Deeply Attached to Awakening Instead Suspect It of Being False; Subhūti, Having Reflected, Answers According to Reality

Because the bodhisattvas were deeply attached to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, they had this thought: ‘The dharmas of ordinary beings can be said to be false and deceptive, because they are not real; the bodhisattvas' outflows are not yet exhausted, and so they too can be said to be impure; but how can even anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi be false and deceptive?’ At this time their minds were startled, doubtful, and displeased. Subhūti knew their minds, and reflected and weighed: ‘Should I now speak the Dharma of the real mark for them, or not?’ Having reflected, he thought to himself: ‘Now we are in the Buddha's very presence; I should answer with the real mark; if I have any fault, the Buddha himself will point it out.’ Having reflected on it again and again and settled it, he therefore said: ‘Although anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi is foremost, it too arises from the side of false and deceptive dharmas, and so it too is empty, a mark neither destroyed nor discriminated.’ Precisely because of this, the practitioner should practise in accordance with the mark of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, and should not grasp at marks and exalt himself.

Śāriputra Praises Again, and the Buddha Assents in Silence

At that time Śāriputra praised Subhūti, saying: ‘Excellent! Excellent!’ The Buddha at that time was silent, on the one hand permitting what Subhūti had answered, and on the other approving what Śāriputra had praised.

Explaining ‘Born from the Buddha's Mouth’: The Brahmins' Birth from the Mouth of Brahmā Borrowed as a Simile, Praising Him for Seeing and Knowing the Dharma

As for ‘born from the Buddha's mouth’, some say: the brahmins were born from the mouth of the Brahmā king, and so among the four castes they are foremost. Borrowing this, Śāriputra praised him, saying: ‘You are truly born from the Buddha's mouth.’ Why? Because he sees the Dharma and knows the Dharma.

Explaining ‘Taking the Share of Wealth’, ‘Taking the Share of the Dharma’, ‘Having Faith of Oneself within the Dharma’, and ‘Realising It in One's Own Body’

Some who have not yet attained the path also obtain offerings by relying on the Buddha—this is called ‘taking the share of wealth’; it is also like an unworthy son who does not follow his father's teaching and knows only to take the share of wealth. As for ‘taking the share of the Dharma’, it is to take the wholesome dharmas such as the various meditative absorptions, the five faculties, the five powers, the seven limbs of awakening, and the eightfold right path—this is called ‘taking the share of the Dharma’. Because one has attained the four faiths, it is called ‘having faith of oneself within the Dharma’. Because one has attained the various supernormal powers, the absorption of cessation, and so on, which can be made manifest in the body, this is called ‘realising it in one's own body’.

Explaining ‘Foremost in the Samādhi of Non-contention’: The Four Great Disciples Each Foremost in Something, Subhūti Foremost in Non-contention

Just as Śāriputra is foremost in wisdom, Maudgalyāyana foremost in the supernormal power of travel, and Mahākāśyapa foremost in the austerities (dhūta), so Subhūti is foremost in attaining the samādhi of non-contention. An arhat who has attained the absorption of non-contention constantly observes the minds of others and does not let people give rise to contention toward him. This samādhi is included within the four fundamental meditations, and can also be used within the desire realm.

Prajñā Is the Bodhisattva's Concern; Why Say All Three Vehicles Should Train in It? — The Real Mark Is Nirvāṇa without Remainder (Question and Answer Seven)

Question: Prajñāpāramitā is the bodhisattva's concern; why say ‘those who wish to attain the three vehicles should all train in it’?

Answer: In prajñāpāramitā it is said, ‘the real mark of all dharmas is nirvāṇa without remainder’, and people of all three vehicles diligently train and practise for the sake of nirvāṇa without remainder. Furthermore, in prajñāpāramitā the meaning of the gate of liberation of emptiness is spoken of through all kinds of causes and conditions. As a sūtra says: ‘If one departs from the gate of liberation of emptiness, there is no path and no nirvāṇa.’ Precisely because of this, people of all three vehicles should train in prajñā.

Conclusion of the Whole Chapter: Prajñā Extensively Teaches the Marks of the Three Vehicles, and People of the Three Vehicles Should Train in It and Accomplish It (Echoing the Chapter Title ‘Exhortation to Train’)

Furthermore, Śāriputra himself stated the reason: ‘In prajñāpāramitā the marks of the three vehicles are spoken of extensively, and within it people of the three vehicles should all train and accomplish it.’