大智度論 無生品之下Dazhidulun — Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa · Non-arising, Part 2 of 2

The previous chapter sifted the bodhisattva through ten layers to where nothing could be found; in this chapter Śāriputra opens his mouth and asks once more the three most elementary things: what is a bodhisattva? what is prajñāpāramitā? what is contemplation? As if everything were starting over from the beginning. The treatise-author says it plainly: the emptiness of the bodhisattva is like a deep-rooted great tree that no single stroke of the axe can fell; and the Buddha's Dharma is like a great cool and lovely pool, where those in front have drunk their fill and gone while those behind have not yet drunk. To ask again is not to repeat. Subhūti's answer takes the three names apart one by one: to arouse the great mind for unsurpassed awakening and yet cling to no dharma, that is a bodhisattva; separation, separation from the five aggregates, separation from the six perfections, separation from omniscience, and ‘separation’ is precisely another name for ‘emptiness’, that is prajñā; to contemplate form as neither permanent nor impermanent, neither pleasant nor painful, neither self nor non-self, falling into none of the eight, that is contemplation. Then the edge turns to the chapter's title: the non-arising of form is not form, the non-duality of form is not form, form enters the count of non-dual dharmas. Why? The mark of form is empty at root, and within the emptiness of form there is no form and no arising; to refute the duality of form is called non-dual, to refute the arising of form is called non-arising, one and the same emptiness entered by different gates. It is like tearing down a privy to build a house: though the privy is gone, the impression of impurity remains; only when one knows that the privy was from the start a conjured thing is that impression truly set down. Form is non-arising from the start; it is not that today wisdom has made it non-arising. So Subhūti says to the Buddha: a bodhisattva who contemplates all dharmas in this way sees the non-arising of form as ultimately pure, and on to seeing the non-arising of the Buddha and the Buddha's dharmas as ultimately pure. Śāriputra at once seizes the crux: if all dharmas are non-arising, why does the srota-āpanna cut off the three fetters and cultivate the path? why does the bodhisattva undertake difficult practices? why does the Buddha turn the wheel of Dharma? Subhūti answers cleanly: I do not wish that there be anything attained within the non-arising dharma. But this is not not-knowing and not-attaining: there is knowing and there is attaining, only not by way of a dual dharma; because of worldly names there are srota-āpanna on to the buddhas, while in the truth of the highest meaning there is no karma and no result, no arising and no ceasing. Asked again whether it is an arisen dharma that arises or an unarisen dharma that arises: an arisen dharma has already arisen and should not arise again; an unarisen dharma does not yet exist and should not have arising; half arisen and half unarisen does not arise either. The mark of arising is sifted through, and arising is like an illusion, like a dream, arising from false and deceptive dharmas. Here the treatise-author supplies two ladders: the contemplation of non-arising has two kinds, the compliant acceptance and the acceptance of non-arising, and ultimate purity is the purity of the acceptance of non-arising; from arousing the mind, subduing the mind, illumination, going forth and arriving, to the unsurpassed, the five kinds of awakening are laid out all the way to sitting at the seat of awakening. And the acceptance of non-arising is not cold: the bodhisattva regards beings as father and mother, as children, as his own body, and love arises of itself, not love by exertion; one who gives rise to a mind of difficulty and a mind of suffering cannot accomplish even the small affairs of the world, let alone the Buddha path. In the latter half of the chapter Śāriputra praises Subhūti as one who should stand foremost among teachers of the Dharma, and Subhūti replies with a single sentence: because all dharmas have nothing to rely on. The nature of form is always empty, relying neither on the inner, nor on the outer, nor on what is between the two, and so whatever is asked is answered, like wind moving through space, with nothing to obstruct it. The six perfections then divide into the worldly and the world-transcending: clinging to the mark of self, the mark of other, and the mark of giving, unmoving and unemerging within the world, this is worldly giving; purified in three parts, the self unfindable, no recipient seen, the thing given unfindable and no reward hoped for, able to move and able to emerge, this is world-transcending giving. What moves is the compliant acceptance; what emerges is the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas. The six perfections, mixed with giving and morality, are the far path; the thirty-seven limbs, having only concentration and wisdom, are the near path. Where does all this power come from? It is the power of prajñāpāramitā: apart from the two extremes of annihilation and permanence, existence and non-existence, it can give rise to and can receive all wholesome dharmas, as the great ocean can receive the myriad rivers and streams; as in compounding medicines, the croton seed has the greatest force. Nor do the thought of great compassion and the thought of ultimate emptiness hinder each other: because beings are empty the thought too is empty, the names differ but the meaning is one, and objectless compassion is born exactly from ultimate emptiness. At this point the Buddha, who has been sitting and listening all along, speaks: excellent! excellent! The prajñāpāramitā as you have taught it is all by receiving the Buddha's intent; those who train in prajñāpāramitā should train as you have taught. The three-thousand great-thousand world quakes in six ways, and the Buddha smiles and declares: as I teach prajñā in this world, so too do the buddhas of the immeasurable worlds of the ten directions teach it. Why does the earth quake? When a bodhisattva arouses the mind, when a nāga king comes out of the water, by the Buddha's spiritual power, when gods and humans attain the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas; and to take the essential, the earth quakes always because the real mark of all dharmas is being taught, that is, prajñāpāramitā. Non-arising taught to its very end is not a dead stillness but a living word at which the great earth quakes in six ways.

Why He Can Answer Whatever Is Asked: All Dharmas Have Nothing to Rely On, Because Their Nature Is Always Empty

At that time Śāriputra said to Subhūti: ‘Subhūti, among those who expound the Dharma, ought to be the very highest! Why? Whatever people ask Subhūti, he is able to answer.’

Subhūti said: ‘This is because all dharmas have nothing to rely on.’

Śāriputra said to Subhūti: ‘Why is it said that all dharmas have nothing to rely on?’

Subhūti said: ‘The nature of form is always empty; it does not rely on the inner, does not rely on the outer, and does not rely on what is between the two; the nature of feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness is always empty; it does not rely on the inner, does not rely on the outer, and does not rely on what is between the two. The nature of the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind is always empty; it does not rely on the inner, does not rely on the outer, and does not rely on what is between the two. The nature of form (here meaning form among the six outer sense-objects) is always empty, and so on up to: the nature of dharmas is always empty; it does not rely on the inner, does not rely on the outer, and does not rely on what is between the two. The nature of dānapāramitā (the perfection of giving) is always empty, and so on up to: the nature of prajñāpāramitā (the perfection of wisdom) is always empty; it does not rely on the inner, does not rely on the outer, and does not rely on what is between the two. The nature of inner emptiness (the first of the eighteen emptinesses) is always empty, and so on up to: the nature of the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas (the last of the eighteen emptinesses) is always empty; it does not rely on the inner, does not rely on the outer, and does not rely on what is between the two.

‘Śāriputra! The nature of the four foundations of mindfulness is always empty, and so on up to: the nature of omniscience of all kinds is always empty; it does not rely on the inner, does not rely on the outer, and does not rely on what is between the two.

‘For this cause and condition, Śāriputra, all dharmas have nothing to rely on, because their nature is always empty. In just this way, Śāriputra, when the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises the six perfections, he ought to purify form, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, and so on up to: he ought to purify omniscience of all kinds.’

Worldly Giving and World-Transcending Giving: Bound by Three Hindrances, Pure in Three Parts

Śāriputra asked Subhūti: ‘How does the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, when practising the six perfections, purify the bodhisattva path?’

Subhūti said: ‘There is a worldly dānapāramitā, and there is a world-transcending dānapāramitā; śīlapāramitā (the perfection of morality), kṣāntipāramitā (the perfection of patience), vīryapāramitā (the perfection of vigour), dhyānapāramitā (the perfection of meditation), and prajñāpāramitā likewise each have a worldly and a world-transcending kind.’

Śāriputra asked Subhūti: ‘What is the worldly dānapāramitā? What is the world-transcending dānapāramitā?’

Subhūti said: ‘Suppose the bodhisattva-mahāsattva acts as a donor and is able to give to śramaṇas, to brahmins, to the poor, and to those who beg—giving food to those who need food, drink to those who need drink, clothing to those who need clothing, bedding, couches, dwellings, incense and flowers, necklaces, medicines, and all kinds of requisites for living that they need; and so on up to wife and children, kingdom and lands, head, eyes, hands, feet, and limbs—things inner and outer—all of these he gives away. When giving, he thinks thus: 「我給與、他領取，我不慳貪，我是施主，我能捨掉一切，我依隨佛的教導布施，我修行檀波羅蜜。」 tr. "I give, he receives; I am not stingy; I am the donor; I am able to give up everything; I give in accordance with the Buddha's teaching; I practise dānapāramitā." Having given in this way, he shares the dharma thus gained with all beings and dedicates it to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi (unsurpassed, right, and complete awakening), saying in his mind: 「以這布施的因緣，使眾生得到今世的安樂，此後還要使他們得以進入涅槃。」 tr. "By the causes and conditions of this giving, may beings gain happiness in this present life, and after this may they further be enabled to enter nirvāṇa." This person's giving has three kinds of hindrance. What are the three? The mark of self, the mark of the other, and the mark of giving. Giving while clinging to these three marks is called the worldly dānapāramitā. By what cause and condition is it called worldly? Because within the world it does not move and does not go out, it is called the worldly dānapāramitā.

‘What is called the world-transcending dānapāramitā? It is purity in three parts. What are the three parts? When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva gives, the 「我」 tr. "I" is unfindable, he does not see the person who receives the gift, the thing given is unfindable, and he does not hope for any reward—this is called the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's dānapāramitā pure in three parts. Furthermore, Śāriputra, when the bodhisattva-mahāsattva gives, he gives to all beings, and yet beings too are unfindable; he dedicates this giving to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, and so on up to: he does not see even the subtlest mark of a dharma. Śāriputra! This is called the world-transcending dānapāramitā. Why is it called world-transcending? Because within the world it is able to move and able to go out, it is called the world-transcending dānapāramitā.

All Six Perfections Are Divided into Worldly and World-Transcending; the Path to Awakening, from the Four Foundations of Mindfulness to Great Kindness and Great Compassion

‘Śīlapāramitā that has something to rely on is the worldly śīlapāramitā; that which has nothing to rely on is the world-transcending śīlapāramitā. The rest is as was said concerning dānapāramitā. Kṣāntipāramitā, vīryapāramitā, dhyānapāramitā, and prajñāpāramitā, when they have something to rely on, are called worldly; when they have nothing to rely on, they are called world-transcending; the rest is likewise as was said concerning dānapāramitā. In just this way, Śāriputra, when the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises the six perfections, he purifies the bodhisattva path.’

Śāriputra asked Subhūti: ‘What is the path that the bodhisattva-mahāsattva cultivates for the sake of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi?’

Subhūti said: ‘The four foundations of mindfulness are the path that the bodhisattva-mahāsattva cultivates for the sake of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, and so on up to the eight limbs of the noble path; the gate of liberation of emptiness, the gate of liberation of signlessness, and the gate of liberation of non-action; inner emptiness up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas; all the samādhi gates and all the dhāraṇī gates; the Buddha's ten powers, four fearlessnesses, four unobstructed knowledges, eighteen unshared dharmas, and great kindness and great compassion. Śāriputra! This is called the path that the bodhisattva-mahāsattva cultivates for the sake of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.’

The Commentary on Each Being Foremost: Among the Five Hundred Arhats, Why Is Subhūti Alone Praised?

What follows is the treatise-author's explanation.

Someone asks: Of the five hundred arhats, the Buddha declared each of them foremost in some particular respect—as Śāriputra is foremost in wisdom, Maudgalyāyana foremost in supernormal power, Mahākāśyapa foremost among those who practise the dhūta practices, Subhūti foremost in attaining the samādhi of non-contention, Mahākātyāyana foremost in analysing the sūtras, and Pūrṇa foremost among those who expound the Dharma. Why now does Śāriputra praise Subhūti as the one who ought to be the very foremost among those who expound the Dharma?

The answer: The Buddha, with the Buddha-eye, observes the sharp faculties and dull faculties of all beings, and weighs the general marks and specific marks of all dharmas; according to the dharma each has attained, he declares them foremost one by one, without error!

The treatise-author explains: Pūrṇa, among the fourfold assembly, expounds the Dharma with the twelve divisions of scripture, all kinds of Dharma-gates, and all kinds of causes, conditions, similes, and parables, and is foremost in being able to benefit beings. Subhūti, however, constantly practises the samādhi of non-contention, shares in the same deeds and practice as the bodhisattvas, and is skilful in means and delights in expounding the Dharma-gate of 「一種空相」 tr. "the single mark of emptiness"; in this he surpasses Pūrṇa. It is like a skilled craftsman who has many talents: precisely because he can do so much, he cannot master and perfect every one of them; whereas if a person is devoted to one thing alone, he will certainly bring that thing to utmost perfection. Although Pūrṇa is capable in many ways, he is not equal to Subhūti, who, because he constantly delights in practising emptiness, is therefore able to speak skilfully of emptiness. Therefore, when Śāriputra heard Subhūti skilfully explaining the meaning of emptiness, he praised him, saying: ‘You ought to be foremost among those who expound the Dharma!’ Śāriputra saw that Subhūti was able to answer whatever people asked, like the wind moving through space, without any hindrance.

The Commentary on Neither Declining Nor Accepting: Established in What Is Even and True, the Mark of a Good Person

The treatise-author explains: At this time Subhūti neither declined modestly nor accepted the praise. Why? Because he was established in what is even and true, and this is the mark of a good person. The so-called mark of a good person: he does not praise himself and does not disparage himself, and toward others he likewise does not falsely praise and does not falsely disparage. If he praises himself, that is not the mark of a great person—no one has praised him, yet he goes ahead and extols himself; if he disparages himself, he is a person of artful self-abasement. If he slanders others, he is a person who harms by slander; if he does nothing but praise others, he is a flatterer. Because what Subhūti spoke of was the dharma of non-arising, Śāriputra's praise, though it was praise, was not flattery.

Because Śāriputra's praise was praise according to the truth, Subhūti did not decline it modestly; and because he had already cut off the love of dharma, his mind was not elated and did not cling to it with love; he simply answered with the causes and conditions of his own being without hindrance and without obstruction: namely, that all dharmas have nothing to rely on; because there is nothing to rely on, there is no obstruction and no hindrance.

The meaning of ‘having nothing to rely on’ is as was said earlier. Here Subhūti himself explains: ‘Because inner dharmas are empty, form does not rely on the inner; because outer dharmas are empty, form does not rely on the outer; because what is between has nothing at all, form does not rely on what is between.’ As with form, so too, up to omniscience of all kinds.

If the bodhisattva knows that all the three realms, because they are impermanent and empty, are not worth relying on, then at that time the afflictions are crushed, and he is able to purify the bodhisattva path. Therefore Subhūti said: ‘When the bodhisattva practises the six perfections, he ought to purify form, up to omniscience of all kinds.’

The Commentary on the Two Kinds of Perfection: Reliance Is Like an Old, Sick Man Leaning for Support; Purifying the Path Is Like Clearing Away Thorns

Someone asks: Purifying form up to purifying omniscience of all kinds is already purifying the bodhisattva path; why ask again?

The answer: For the bodhisattva to be able to make form ultimately empty is called purifying; this matter is deep and subtle, and cannot be done all at once. Therefore what Śāriputra asks is: ‘How should the newly training bodhisattva cultivate this first path of skilful means?’

Subhūti's answer is: ‘If the bodhisattva is able to practise the two kinds of perfection.’ The six perfections are what first open up the bodhisattva path; to be able, through the emptiness of nothing to be attained, to practise the thirty-seven limbs of the path is what opens up the Buddha-path. What is called ‘purifying’ is called opening; just as clearing away the thorns from a road is called opening the road.

What are the two kinds of perfection? The first is worldly, the second is world-transcending.

As for the worldly perfection, Subhūti himself stated its meaning, namely ‘giving food to those who need food’ and so on. This meaning is as was said in the First Chapter. If, when giving, there is something relied on—like an old and sick man who relies on the strength of others and only so is able to walk, only so is able to stand; the giver, because he is apart from true wisdom and the strength of his mind is thin and slight, therefore has something relied on. What is called reliance is this: taking up marks in such dharmas as one's own body, one's wealth, and the recipient, the mind giving rise to clinging, and arrogance and all kinds of other afflictions arising—this is called worldly, not moving and not going out. What moves is compliant acceptance; what goes out is the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas. In the Dharma of the śrāvakas, what moves is the person still in training; what goes out is the person beyond training.

The remaining five perfections are likewise.

This is called first opening up the bodhisattva path.

The Commentary on the Far Path and the Near Path: The Six Perfections Are Far Because Mixed, the Thirty-Seven Limbs Near Because Pure

Someone asks: The bodhisattva path is precisely the path of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi; why ask again?

The answer: While one is a bodhisattva, there is a path to walk; the Buddha has already arrived, and no longer needs a path. Because this path is for the sake of attaining anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, it is called the path to awakening; because the bodhisattva walks this path, it is called the bodhisattva path.

Here the Buddha has spoken: the far path is the bodhisattva path of the six perfections; the near path is the path to awakening of the thirty-seven limbs. Within the six perfections, giving, morality, and the rest are mixed together with one another, so it is far; the thirty-seven limbs have only meditation and wisdom, so they are near. The six perfections have the worldly and the world-transcending mixed together with one another, so they are far; the thirty-seven limbs, the three gates of liberation, and so on up to great kindness and great compassion, are ultimately pure, so they are near.

Furthermore, what is called the path of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi: from the first arousing of intent up to the vajra samādhi, the bodhisattva practices carried out in between for the sake of awakening are all the path to awakening.

This Is the Power of Prajñāpāramitā: It Can Give Rise to All Wholesome Dharmas, It Can Receive All Wholesome Dharmas

At that time Śāriputra praised Subhūti, saying: ‘Excellent! Excellent! Of which perfection is this the power?’

Subhūti said: ‘This is the power of prajñāpāramitā. Why? Prajñāpāramitā is able to give rise to all wholesome dharmas: whether the dharmas of the śrāvakas, the dharmas of the pratyekabuddhas, the dharmas of the bodhisattvas, or the dharmas of the Buddhas. Śāriputra! Prajñāpāramitā is able to contain and receive all wholesome dharmas: the dharmas of the śrāvakas, the dharmas of the pratyekabuddhas, the dharmas of the bodhisattvas, and the dharmas of the Buddhas. Śāriputra! The Buddhas of the past practised prajñāpāramitā and attained anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi; the Buddhas of the future will also practise prajñāpāramitā and will attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi; Śāriputra! The Buddhas now present in the lands of the ten directions also practise this prajñāpāramitā and attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. Śāriputra! If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, when hearing prajñāpāramitā explained, does not doubt and does not object, you should know that this bodhisattva-mahāsattva is walking the path to awakening. What is called the bodhisattva path is: for the sake of saving all beings, the mind does not abandon all beings, because there is nothing to be attained. This bodhisattva ought constantly not to be apart from this thought, namely the thought of great compassion.’

You Wished to Refute Me and Instead Established My Meaning: Because Beings Are Non-existent, the Thought Too Is Non-existent

Śāriputra asked again: ‘You wish to make the bodhisattva-mahāsattva constantly not apart from this thought, namely the thought of great compassion; but if the bodhisattva-mahāsattva is constantly not apart from the thought of great compassion, that would make all beings bodhisattvas. Why? Subhūti! Because all beings too are not apart from all kinds of thoughts.’

Subhūti said: ‘Excellent! Excellent! Śāriputra! You wished to refute me, and instead you have established my meaning. Why? Because beings are non-existent, the thought too is non-existent; because the nature of beings is non-existent, the thought too is non-existent in nature; because the dharma of beings is non-existent, the thought too is non-existent as a dharma; because beings are apart, the thought too is apart; because beings are empty, the thought too is empty; because beings cannot be known, the thought too cannot be known. Śāriputra! Because form is non-existent, the thought too is non-existent; because the nature of form is non-existent, the thought too is non-existent in nature; because the dharma of form is non-existent, the thought too is non-existent as a dharma; because form is apart, the thought too is apart; because form is empty, the thought too is empty; because form cannot be known, the thought too cannot be known; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are likewise; the eye up to the mind, form up to dharmas, the earth element up to the consciousness element (the six elements of earth, water, fire, wind, space, and consciousness), dānapāramitā up to prajñāpāramitā, inner emptiness up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas, the four foundations of mindfulness up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, all the samādhi gates, all the dhāraṇī gates, omniscience, omniscience of all kinds, and so on up to: because anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi is non-existent, the thought too is non-existent; and so on up to: because anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi cannot be known, the thought too cannot be known. Śāriputra! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva walks such a path, it is precisely this that I wish: to make him not apart from this thought, namely the thought of great compassion.’

The Buddha Himself Gives His Seal: One Should Train as You Have Said; the Great Earth Shakes in Six Ways, and the Buddha Smiles and Speaks of the Ten Directions

At that time the Buddha praised Subhūti, saying: ‘Excellent! Excellent! This is the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's prajñāpāramitā; those in the future who explain it ought also to explain it in this way. The prajñāpāramitā as you have spoken it is all because you receive the Buddha's intent. The bodhisattva-mahāsattva who trains in prajñāpāramitā ought to train as you have said!’

When Subhūti was explaining this chapter of prajñāpāramitā, the three-thousand great-thousand world shook in six ways: the east rose up and the west sank down, the west rose up and the east sank down, the south rose up and the north sank down, the north rose up and the south sank down, the centre rose up and the four edges sank down, the four edges rose up and the centre sank down.

At that time the Buddha smiled. Subhūti addressed the Buddha, saying: ‘For what cause and what condition do you smile?’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘Just as I, in this world, expound prajñāpāramitā, so the Buddhas of the immeasurable asaṃkhyeya worlds of the east are also now expounding prajñāpāramitā for the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas; in the south, west, and north, the four intermediate directions, above and below, they are also expounding this prajñāpāramitā. When this chapter of prajñāpāramitā was expounded, twelve nayuta of gods and humans attained the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas. When the Buddhas of the ten directions expound this prajñāpāramitā, immeasurable asaṃkhyeya beings also arouse the mind of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.’

The Commentary on the Praise in Joy and the Power of Prajñā: Like the Great Sea Receiving the Many Rivers, Like the Croton Seed Having the Greatest Strength

The treatise-author explains: Śāriputra thought thus: ‘What Subhūti has said distinguishes the worldly and world-transcending in the six perfections, as well as the path to awakening, and greatly benefits beings.’ Therefore, in joy, he praised him, saying: ‘Excellent! Excellent!’ Saying it twice shows that the excellence has reached its utmost.

Then he asked: ‘Of which perfection is this the power?’

Subhūti reflected thus: ‘Among all the mental-factor dharmas (the dharmas associated with mind), apart from wisdom, there is nothing that can distinguish in this way, cut off doubt, and open the path; among the perfections, apart from prajñāpāramitā, each cannot even accomplish its own substance—how much less could it distinguish and open the path!’ Having reflected thus, he answered Śāriputra: ‘It is the power of prajñāpāramitā.’

As was said earlier: within all dharmas there is no self, no knower, no seer; now by this it is known with certainty: this is the power of prajñāpāramitā, not the power of the Buddha, nor the power of Subhūti. Why? Subhūti stated the causes and conditions: what is called prajñāpāramitā, because it is apart from the two extremes of annihilation and permanence, existence and non-existence, and so on, is able to give rise to all wholesome dharmas, namely the mark of certainty of the dharmas of the three vehicles, the mark of their being firm and indestructible. Again, because prajñāpāramitā is immeasurable and boundless, it is able to contain and receive all wholesome dharmas, just as the great sea is able to contain and receive the many rivers and the ten thousand streams.

What is called ‘the wholesome dharmas of the three vehicles’ is the six perfections up to the eighteen unshared dharmas.

The Buddhas of the ten directions and the three times, because they practised prajñāpāramitā, all attained anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi; although they also practised the other perfections, prajñāpāramitā is the most honoured and the greatest, having the power of distinguishing and penetrating. It is like a compounded purgative medicine, within which the croton seed has the greatest strength; prajñāpāramitā is likewise: although it is combined with the other perfections, in breaking all kinds of afflictions, pulling out wrong views, and abandoning idle discourse, the power of prajñāpāramitā is the most surpassing. Therefore it is said: ‘It is all the power of prajñāpāramitā.’

The Commentary on Who Can Practise Prajñā: Great Compassion and Ultimate Emptiness Go Together Without Obstructing Each Other

Someone asks: Prajñāpāramitā is thus praised in all kinds of ways as subtle, wondrous, and extremely deep; who is able to practise in conformity and in accord with prajñāpāramitā?

The answer: There are bodhisattvas who, over immeasurable lifetimes, have accumulated all kinds of merit, whose faculties are keen and sharp, and whose various afflictions have already been crushed and thinned; although they have not yet reached the ground of avaivartika (non-retrogressing), as soon as they hear prajñāpāramitā they at once believe and accept it and penetrate it deeply. One who penetrates marks such as these is able to walk the path of prajñāpāramitā, namely saving all beings and freeing them from the sorrows and troubles of the world; because of the mind of great compassion, he is not apart from all beings. The bodhisattva ought constantly not to be apart from these two thoughts, great compassion and ultimate emptiness—ultimate emptiness breaks the various afflictions of the world and reveals nirvāṇa; while great compassion leads him back to enter into wholesome dharmas, so as to benefit beings.

At that time Śāriputra raised a difficulty against Subhūti: ‘If the bodhisattva is not apart from this thought of great compassion and the thought of ultimate emptiness, then all beings ought to be bodhisattvas! Why? This ultimate emptiness is signless and has nothing to discriminate; it should not be that the bodhisattva has it and beings do not have it! If it exists, all beings ought to have it in common; if it does not exist, the bodhisattva too ought not to have it.’

Subhūti answered: ‘You wished to refute me, and instead you have helped to establish my meaning. Why? Because the mark of all dharmas is ultimately empty, beings too are empty; because beings are empty, the thought of ultimate emptiness too is empty. If all dharmas are ultimately empty, where would there still be real beings—they are in fact empty—to come and refute me, saying 「眾生不離這個念，都應當是菩薩」 tr. "since beings are not apart from this thought, they all ought to be bodhisattvas"?’ Therefore it is said: ‘Because beings are without anything at all, the thought of ultimate emptiness too is without anything at all; beings are without nature, beings are apart, beings are empty, beings cannot be known, and the thought of ultimate emptiness too is ultimately empty.’ Form up to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi is likewise.

Someone asks: The thought here is not being apart from the thought of great compassion; why is it also said, ‘not apart from the thought of ultimate emptiness’?

The answer: The bodhisattva is not apart from this thought, and his mind does not abandon beings, because there is nothing to be attained. The emptiness of nothing to be attained and ultimate emptiness differ in name but are one in meaning. The emptiness of the unfindable comes first, ultimate emptiness comes after; because ultimate emptiness is great, the compassion it gives rise to is also great. As for great compassion, as is said in the Akṣayamati Sūtra, there are three kinds of compassion: compassion that takes beings as its object, compassion that takes dharmas as its object, and compassion without an object. Compassion without an object arises from ultimate emptiness, and with this the difficulty Śāriputra raised is answered.

The Commentary on the Buddha's Attestation and Receiving the Buddha's Intent: Without Receiving the Buddha's Intent, One Could Not Even Ask

The treatise-author explains: The Buddha bears witness to what he has said, and therefore praises him, saying: ‘Excellent! If one wishes to explain prajñāpāramitā, one ought to do so as you have said.’

At that time the gods, humans, and bodhisattvas in the assembly thought thus: ‘Prajñāpāramitā is extremely deep, and the Buddhas of the three times are all born from within it; Subhūti is a person of the Small Vehicle—why does the Buddha praise him, saying 「想要解說般若波羅蜜，應當如你所說」 tr. "if one wishes to explain prajñāpāramitā, one ought to do so as you have said"?’ Therefore it goes on to say: ‘What Subhūti has said is all by receiving the Buddha's intent.’ Even Maitreya and the other bodhisattvas, the Brahmā king and the others—if they did not receive the Buddha's intent, they could not even ask a question; how much less could Subhūti, before the Buddha, freely and at will delight in speaking!

It further says: ‘The bodhisattvas who wish to train in prajñāpāramitā ought also to train as you have said!’

The Commentary on the Six Causes and Conditions of the Earth's Shaking: To Take the Essentials, All Come from Expounding the Real Mark of All Dharmas

The treatise-author explains: As for ‘when this chapter was expounded, the great earth of the three-thousand great-thousand world shook in six ways’—at that time many bodhisattvas in the assembly aroused the mind of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, and all of them were going to become Buddhas. The Buddha is the great lord of heaven and earth, and the earth-spirits rejoiced: ‘Our lord has now been born!’ Therefore they made the great earth shake greatly.

Furthermore, a human mind able to believe and accept the extremely deep prajñāpāramitā is hard to find and rare; by the causes and conditions of the merit of such people, a great wind is stirred which moves the great waters; because the waters move, the earth moves.

Furthermore, the great nāga kings beneath the earth, wishing to come and hear prajñāpāramitā, emerge from the waters, so the waters move; because the waters move, the earth moves.

Furthermore, the Buddha by his spiritual power makes the great earth shake, because prajñāpāramitā is hard to see and hard to know, and he wishes to lead the assembly and make them believe and delight in it all the more.

The other causes and conditions of the earth's shaking are as was said earlier.

Here the Buddha himself states the causes and conditions, namely: I expound prajñāpāramitā, and the Buddhas of the ten directions also expound this prajñāpāramitā. Twelve nayuta of gods and humans attained the ground of avaivartika and entered the dharma-position, so the earth moved; again, the beings of the worlds of the ten directions also aroused the intention for the unsurpassed path, so the earth moved.

At that time the gods too scattered all kinds of lotus flowers, as well as all kinds of mixed incense, heavenly garments, and heavenly canopies, and played a thousand myriad kinds of heavenly music; the nāga kings and others surged forth from the waters of the four great seas, and the yakṣas, rākṣasas, and others all gave rise to minds of kindness, joined their palms, and praised the Buddha. Again, when the Buddha smiled, immeasurable light spread over and covered worlds of the ten directions as many as the sands of the Ganges—there were this many rare events.

To take the essentials and say it: the shaking of the great earth all comes from the expounding of the real mark of all dharmas, namely prajñāpāramitā.