大智度論 散華品之上Dazhidulun — Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa · Scattering Flowers, Part 1 of 2

The previous chapter told of prajñā heard by an illusory person; in this chapter the scene suddenly opens wide: the gods of the heavens of the Four Heavenly Kings, of the Trāyastriṃśa, and on to the Akaniṣṭha heaven of the three-thousand great-thousand world have a thought at one time: the venerable Subhūti lets fall this rain of dharma for us; why do we not conjure flowers and scatter them over the Buddha, the bodhisattvas, the assembly of bhikṣus, Subhūti, and prajñāpāramitā? And so conjured flowers fill the whole of space and form a flower terrace, dignified and wondrous. But Subhūti sees through it at a glance: these flowers have never been seen in the heavens; they are conjured flowers, not flowers grown on a tree; they are born of the heart-tree. Śakra Devānām Indra, following his thought, says ‘these flowers are not born flowers, nor are they born of the mind-tree’, but Subhūti turns the question back on him: if they are not a dharma that is born, they are not called flowers. But is it only these flowers that are not born? Form too is not born. If it is not born, it is not called form; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, and on to the six perfections, the eighteen emptinesses, the four foundations of mindfulness up to omniscience of all kinds, each is not born, and of each, ‘if it is not born, it is not called such-and-such’, not one sentence allowed to collapse. The treatise-author then opens up the reason the gods scatter flowers: the gods, having heard prajñā, are like long-parched ground that receives a timely rain; irrigating and planting are always short of water, but when one timely rain falls everywhere nothing is left unsoaked. The teaching of the Small Vehicle is measured and limited, while here Subhūti, from the first arousing of the mind to the Buddha path, teaches only the real mark of all dharmas, just as a great rain filling Jambudvīpa leaves nothing unmoistened. If there is grain already in the ground it will not sprout without rain, and the practitioner is the same: without the rain of dharma, one who has aroused the mind falls back. This rain of dharma can also remove foul winds, dust, and poisonous vapours, clearing away evil initial and sustained thought, the three unwholesome roots, wrong views, and evil friends. The scattering of these flowers also has its several destinations: to scatter them over the Buddha is to make offering to the Buddha-jewel; over the bodhisattvas, Subhūti, and prajñā is to make offering to the Dharma-jewel; over the assembly of bhikṣus is to make offering to the Saṅgha-jewel. Someone asks by whose power this flower terrace is so dignified, and the treatise records two accounts side by side without judging: one says it is the merit and mastery of the gods, the small able to become great; one says it is the Buddha's spiritual power and the merit of prajñā, a small cause bearing a great result. And as for ‘flowers not born’, the treatise points out that this means ‘non-arising, empty, coming forth from nowhere’; ‘the mind-tree’ means that whatever is thought of arrives the moment it is thought. Next it turns to the eye of the whole chapter: Śakra Devānām Indra praises in his heart, ‘Subhūti's wisdom is very deep; without destroying the provisional name he teaches the real mark of all dharmas’, and the Buddha, knowing his thought, answers ‘So it is! So it is!’ Śakra Devānām Indra then asks the Buddha: what is called teaching the real mark of all dharmas without destroying the provisional name? The Buddha himself answers him: form is only a provisional name, and Subhūti, without destroying this provisional name, teaches the real mark of all dharmas; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, and on to the srota-āpanna and on to the Buddha, are all only provisional names, and Subhūti in every case teaches the real mark without destroying the provisional name. Why? The real mark of all dharmas has from the start no destroying and no not-destroying, and so what Subhūti teaches has no destroying and no not-destroying either. This sentence, ‘without destroying the provisional name he teaches the real mark of all dharmas’, is said eight times through the chapter, and is the backbone of the whole: a name is the mundane truth and need not be destroyed; the real mark is the truth of the highest meaning and is of itself just as it is; the noble one knows these two levels and, when teaching the dharma, follows ordinary people in using names, while in the truth of the highest meaning there is neither this nor that and nothing to dispute; and so he can at once leave the provisional name undestroyed and speak the real mark directly, for the two truths were never two separate pieces. Following on this ‘not destroying’, Subhūti further teaches the bodhisattva how to train: to train in this way is in fact ‘not to train in form’, because one does not see any fixed form to be trained in; if in this way one does not train in emptiness, that is called training in emptiness, because of non-duality; and on to not training for the increase of form or for its decrease, not training for the receiving of form or for its cessation. Śāriputra joins in and asks: training thus, without receiving and without ceasing, how can one reach omniscience of all kinds? Subhūti answers: this form cannot be received and there is no one who receives form, because of inner and outer emptiness, because all dharmas are not received; and precisely for this reason one can reach omniscience of all kinds. When he practises prajñā he does not see form arising or ceasing, does not see receiving or not receiving, does not see stain or purity, does not see increase or decrease, because the nature of form is empty from the start. This non-arising and non-ceasing, non-receiving and non-relinquishing, unstained and unpurified, neither joining nor dispersing, neither increasing nor decreasing, is like the great ocean: all the rivers return to it and it does not increase, the fire-pearl boils it and it does not decrease; dharma-nature abides constantly and its self-nature cannot be found, and so training reaches its end in ‘nothing trained in, nothing reached’. The treatise-author adds a sentence: why speak only of inner and outer emptiness? Because the one who receives form does not exist, inner emptiness is spoken; because form cannot be received, outer emptiness is spoken; and these two, inner and outer emptiness, gather in the emptiness of all dharmas entirely. In the latter half of the chapter Śakra Devānām Indra asks Śāriputra: where should the bodhisattva's prajñā be sought? Śāriputra answers: it should be sought in the chapter of Subhūti. This saying was passed down widely in later ages, because Subhūti constantly enters deeply into emptiness, all he teaches tends toward emptiness, and even the emptiness he teaches is empty; though the prajñā the Buddha teaches everywhere surpasses Subhūti's a hundred thousand times ten thousand times over, what is wanted here is that teaching of one flavour tending toward emptiness, and so it does not say ‘seek it in the chapter of what the Buddha taught’. Śakra Devānām Indra presses on: whose spiritual power is this? Subhūti says it is the Buddha's spiritual power. He then objects: if all dharmas are received nowhere, how can one still speak of the Buddha's spiritual power? Apart from the mark of non-receiving, apart from suchness, even the Tathāgata cannot be found. Subhūti expounds at length following his words, and the treatise-author breaks the Tathāgata down all the way: the five aggregates are not the Tathāgata, apart from the five aggregates is not the Tathāgata, the five aggregates are not in the Tathāgata, the Tathāgata is not in the five aggregates, nor does the Tathāgata contain the five aggregates; it is only because of idle discourse that there is said to be a Tathāgata, and because idle discourse is cut off there is no Tathāgata; the Tathāgata is from the start a dharma non-arising and non-ceasing, so how could one seek him by the idle discourse of existence and non-existence? To seek prajñā one should likewise not seek it in the false five aggregates, just as one who seeks a precious treasure goes to the great ocean or the jewel mountain and does not seek it in ditches and filth. Finally Śakra Devānām Indra praises this prajñā three times: it is the mahāpāramitā, it is the immeasurable perfection, it is the boundless perfection. Subhūti explains each at length: because form is great, prajñā is great, because the prior limit, the later limit, and the middle limit of form cannot be found; ‘immeasurable’ takes space alone as its simile, because some things, though great, have measure, as Sumeru, great as it is, is still only eighty-four thousand yojanas, and only space is immeasurable; form is immeasurable like space and so prajñā is immeasurable; ‘boundless’ says that form is boundless, conditions are boundless, and beings are boundless, and what is called a being is in truth not a single dharma named being but only a provisional name; this name from the start has no dharma and no destination, a name forced upon it, and beings from the very beginning are constantly pure. So the whole chapter closes on one sentence: if the mark of beings can be broken, everything else is easy to break. A grand assembly of gods gathered like clouds and conjured flowers filling the sky points, when all is said, to one thing only: the flowers scattered are flowers of non-arising, the dharma spoken is the dharma that does not destroy the provisional name, the prajñā sought is to be sought in the chapter of Subhūti and in the end cannot be found, and the prajñā praised as great, immeasurable, and boundless is ultimately empty. Not destroying a single provisional name, not concealing a single part of the real mark, everything returning to nothing to be attained and constant purity: this is the heart of the chapter on Scattering Flowers.

The Gods Scatter Flowers: They Conjure Heavenly Flowers, Which Fill All of Space and Turn into Flower-Terraces

At that time Śakra Devānām Indra, together with the gods of the three-thousand great-thousand world—from the heavens of the Four Heavenly Kings up to the Akaniṣṭha heaven (the Heaven of Ultimate Form, highest in the form realm)—all gave rise to this thought: ‘The venerable Subhūti (“wisdom-life” is an honorific for a venerable one) is now raining down the Dharma-rain; why should we not conjure heavenly flowers and scatter them over the Buddha, the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, the bhikṣu Saṅgha, Subhūti, and prajñāpāramitā!’ Thereupon Śakra Devānām Indra and the gods of the three-thousand great-thousand world conjured heavenly flowers and scattered them over the Buddha, the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, the bhikṣu Saṅgha, and Subhūti, and with them also made offerings to prajñāpāramitā. At this moment, throughout the three-thousand great-thousand world, the heavenly flowers all filled the whole of space and turned into flower-terraces, upright and adorned, surpassingly beautiful.

Subhūti thought to himself: ‘The flowers scattered by these the gods—even in the heavens such flowers have never been seen. These flowers are conjured flowers, not flowers grown on trees; the flowers these the gods have scattered arise from the heart-tree, they are not flowers arising on trees.’

Śakra Devānām Indra, knowing what Subhūti was thinking, said to Subhūti: ‘Venerable One! These flowers are not arisen flowers, nor do they arise from the mind-tree.’

Subhūti said to Śakra Devānām Indra: ‘Kauśika! You said just now, “These flowers are not arisen flowers, nor do they arise from the mind-tree.” Kauśika! If this is a dharma that does not arise, it cannot be called a flower.’

Śakra Devānām Indra again said to Subhūti: ‘Venerable One! Is it only these flowers that do not arise? Does form also not arise? Do feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness also not arise?’

Subhūti said: ‘Kauśika! It is not only these flowers that do not arise; form also does not arise—if it does not arise, it cannot be called form. Feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness also do not arise—if they do not arise, it cannot be called consciousness. The six sense-fields, the six consciousnesses, the six contacts, and the various feelings born from the condition of the six contacts are all likewise. Dānapāramitā (the perfection of giving) does not arise—if it does not arise, it cannot be called dānapāramitā; and so on up to prajñāpāramitā, which does not arise—if it does not arise, it cannot be called prajñāpāramitā. Inner emptiness does not arise—if it does not arise, it cannot be called inner emptiness; and so on up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas, which does not arise—if it does not arise, it cannot be called the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas. The four foundations of mindfulness do not arise—if they do not arise, they cannot be called the four foundations of mindfulness. And so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, which do not arise—if they do not arise, they cannot be called the eighteen unshared dharmas. And so on up to omniscience of all kinds, which does not arise—if it does not arise, it cannot be called omniscience of all kinds.’

What follows is the treatise's commentary.

Why the Gods Scatter Flowers as an Offering: The Dharma-Rain, Like the Fall of a Timely Rain

Śakra Devānām Indra and the gods had heard the meaning of prajñā spoken by Subhūti—that all dharmas are wholly the real mark, with nothing to discriminate; that although he speaks of emptiness, he destroys nothing in dharmas, nor does he lose the karmic results of the various deeds.

That a śrāvaka should be able to proclaim so profound a Dharma in the presence of the Buddha—for this reason Śakra Devānām Indra and the others all rejoiced, and gave rise to this thought: ‘The Dharma spoken by Subhūti is unobstructed and unhindered, like a timely rain.’ It is like certain lands where irrigation, ploughing and sowing, and all kinds of uses of water constantly suffer from shortage; if a timely rain falls everywhere, there is nothing that is not moistened, nothing that does not have its wish fulfilled. The Small Vehicle Dharma is also like this: at first it praises giving, keeping the precepts, meditative absorption, impermanence, and all kinds of contemplations, which are measured and limited, and only at the end does it speak of nirvāṇa. What Subhūti makes clear here is the path from the very first arousing of the mind right up to becoming a Buddha, proclaiming only the real mark of all dharmas, with nothing to discriminate. It is like a great rain filling all of Jambudvīpa, leaving nothing unmoistened. It is also like the earth: although there are already seeds of grain within it, without rain they will not grow. The practitioner is likewise: although he has the causes and conditions, if he does not obtain the Dharma-rain, those who have already aroused the mind fall back and lose it, and those who have not yet aroused it stop and do not advance; if they obtain the Dharma-rain, those who have already aroused the mind grow, and those who have not yet aroused it arouse it. For this reason it is said, ‘as rain falls, so he rains the Dharma-rain’.

Furthermore, just as foul winds, dust and dirt, all kinds of heat, poisonous vapours, and the like are extinguished when they meet rain, so too with the Dharma-rain: evil initial and sustained thought, which is like dust and dirt; the three kinds of the unwholesome, which are like poison; wrong views, which are like a foul wind; wrong teachers, which are like evil insects; and all kinds of evil friends and the like—once they meet this Dharma-rain of prajñāpāramitā, are all removed and extinguished.

When people receive a timely rain, they go and make offerings to the heavens above; the gods, having heard the Dharma-rain and gained great benefit, wished to make offerings, and gave rise to this thought: ‘Why should we not conjure heavenly flowers and scatter them over the Buddha, the great bodhisattvas, the bhikṣu Saṅgha, and Subhūti, and also make offerings to prajñāpāramitā.’ Because Subhūti is skilled at proclaiming prajñā, and out of reverence for him, his name is singled out specially for the offering.

This prajñāpāramitā for the most part proclaims that dharmas are empty; added to this, earlier the gods wished to hear the Dharma as a conjured person would, in accord with the mark of emptiness; therefore they make their offering with conjured flowers.

Furthermore, when the gods are just rejoicing, they make offerings as their minds wish, and do not allow a long delay only to draw back afterwards; so at once they conjure heavenly flowers and scatter them over the Buddha, Subhūti, the bodhisattvas, the bhikṣu Saṅgha, and prajñāpāramitā—flowers scattered over the Buddha are an offering to the Buddha Jewel; those scattered over the bodhisattvas, Subhūti, and prajñāpāramitā are an offering to the Dharma Jewel; those scattered over the bhikṣu Saṅgha are an offering to the Saṅgha Jewel. Having given rise to this thought, they then transform at will and make offerings to the Three Jewels. Because great merit has been accomplished, the wishes arising in their minds are all fulfilled as they intend, without needing to seek from others.

Someone asks: These flower-terraces are so upright and adorned—whose power is this? The treatise-author answers: It is the power of the gods. Because the gods are sovereign in merit, they can make the small into the great.

Some say: ‘This is the Buddha's spiritual power. Because this prajñāpāramitā has great merit—the time spent on it is short while its fruit is very great, accomplishing the Buddha-path—the Buddha manifests such an extraordinary event.’

Subhūti at once discerned it, and knew that these were not real flowers.

Śakra Devānām Indra, knowing that Subhūti had perceived these to be conjured flowers, said to Subhūti: ‘Venerable One! These flowers are not arisen flowers.’ As to ‘not arisen flowers’, it means: these flowers are non-arising, empty, and have nowhere from which they come forth.

Subhūti proclaims this prajñāpāramitā, in which dharmas are non-arising, empty and quiescent; therefore the offering is made with non-arising flowers.

As to ‘mind-tree’, it means that the gods obtain whatever their minds think of. To put it briefly, the trees in the heavens, according to whatever the mind desires, bring it the moment it is thought of; therefore they are called ‘mind-trees’.

Śakra Devānām Indra, in order to challenge Subhūti, said ‘these flowers are non-arising’; how then does he also say ‘these flowers do not arise from trees’?

Subhūti questioned him back in turn, saying: ‘If they do not arise, how can they still be called flowers?’ Within a dharma that does not arise, there is no discrimination at all—of the kind ‘this is a flower, this is not a flower’.

At this Śakra Devānām Indra was inwardly won over, and asked: ‘Is it only these flowers that are non-arising, or are all dharmas non-arising too?’ Subhūti answered: ‘It is not only these flowers that do not arise; form also does not arise.’

Why? If one dharma is empty, then all dharmas are empty; if the practitioner, within one dharma, knows clearly and decisively that it is empty, then within all dharmas too he penetrates and understands clearly. If the five aggregates do not arise, they are not the mark of the five aggregates. And so on up to omniscience of all kinds, which is likewise.

The five aggregates arise from the coming together of causes and conditions; they have no fixed own-nature, and have only a provisional name. As to ‘the real mark of provisional names’, it is the suchness, the dharma-nature, and the limit of reality of the five aggregates. What Subhūti says does not go against this principle. Why? The noble ones know that names are the mundane truth (the truth commonly accepted by the world) and that the real mark is the truth of the highest meaning (the ultimate truth); what they proclaim is in accord with ordinary people, while within the truth of the highest meaning there is no this and that, and no dispute either. And so on up to omniscience of all kinds, which is likewise. Because beings are empty, up to the knower and the seer being empty, the srota-āpanna too is only a provisional name, and so on up to the Buddha, who is likewise.

Returning Now to the Sūtra Text: Śakra Praises Subhūti's Wisdom as Profound—Without Destroying Provisional Names, He Proclaims the Real Mark of All Dharmas

At that time Śakra Devānām Indra gave rise to this thought: ‘This venerable Subhūti—his wisdom is profound; he is able, without destroying provisional names, to proclaim the real mark of all dharmas.’

The Buddha, knowing what Śakra Devānām Indra was thinking, said to Śakra Devānām Indra: ‘Just so! Just so! Kauśika! Subhūti's wisdom is profound; he is able, without destroying provisional names, to proclaim the real mark of all dharmas.’

Śakra Devānām Indra addressed the Buddha: ‘How is it that the venerable Subhūti, without destroying provisional names, proclaims the real mark of all dharmas?’

The Buddha told Śakra Devānām Indra: ‘Form is only a provisional name; Subhūti does not destroy this provisional name, yet proclaims the real mark of all dharmas. Feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are only provisional names; Subhūti likewise does not destroy the provisional names, yet proclaims the real mark of all dharmas. Why? Because this real mark of all dharmas is fundamentally without destroying or not destroying, what Subhūti says is also without destroying or not destroying. The eye, up to the various feelings born from the condition of mind-contact, are likewise; 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, are all likewise. The fruit of srota-āpanna up to the fruit of arhat, the path of the pratyekabuddha, the path of the bodhisattva, the path of the Buddha, omniscience, and omniscience of all kinds are all likewise. The srota-āpanna up to the arhat, the pratyekabuddha, and the Buddha—these are all only provisional names; Subhūti does not destroy provisional names, yet proclaims the real mark of all dharmas. Why? Because this real mark of all dharmas is without destroying or not destroying, what Subhūti says is also without destroying or not destroying. It is just so, Kauśika! Subhūti does not destroy provisional names, yet proclaims the real mark of all dharmas.’

Subhūti said to Śakra Devānām Indra: ‘Just so! Just so! Kauśika! As the Buddha has said, all dharmas are only provisional names; the bodhisattva-mahāsattva should know thus: all dharmas are only provisional names; and he should train in prajñāpāramitā in this way. Kauśika! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva trains in this way, this is not to train in form, not to train in feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness. Why? Because he does not see that there is any form that can be trained in, does not see that there are feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness that can be trained in. When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva trains in this way, this is not to train in dānapāramitā. Why? Because he does not see that there is any dānapāramitā that can be trained in. And so on up to not training in prajñāpāramitā. Why? Because he does not see that there is any prajñāpāramitā that can be trained in. Training in this way, this is not to train in inner emptiness up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas. Why? Because he does not see that there is inner emptiness up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas that can be trained in. Training in this way, this is not to train in the four foundations of mindfulness up to the eighteen unshared dharmas. Why? Because he does not see that there are the four foundations of mindfulness up to the eighteen unshared dharmas that can be trained in. Training in this way, this is not to train in the fruit of srota-āpanna up to omniscience of all kinds. Why? Because he does not see that there is the fruit of srota-āpanna up to omniscience of all kinds that can be trained in.’

At that time Śakra Devānām Indra said to Subhūti: ‘For what reason does the bodhisattva-mahāsattva not see form, up to not seeing omniscience of all kinds?’

Subhūti said: ‘Form is precisely the emptiness of form; up to omniscience of all kinds is precisely the emptiness of omniscience of all kinds. Kauśika! The emptiness of form does not train in the emptiness of form; up to the emptiness of omniscience of all kinds does not train in the emptiness of omniscience of all kinds.

‘Kauśika! If one can in this way not train in emptiness, this is called training in emptiness, because emptiness and what is trained in are not two. This bodhisattva-mahāsattva trains in the emptiness of form by way of non-duality; up to training in the emptiness of omniscience of all kinds by way of non-duality. If he trains in the emptiness of form by way of non-duality, up to training in the emptiness of omniscience of all kinds by way of non-duality, this bodhisattva-mahāsattva is then able to train in dānapāramitā by way of non-duality, up to being able to train in prajñāpāramitā by way of non-duality; able to train in the four foundations of mindfulness by way of non-duality, up to being able to train in the eighteen unshared dharmas by way of non-duality; able to train in the fruit of srota-āpanna by way of non-duality, up to being able to train in omniscience of all kinds by way of non-duality. This bodhisattva is then able to train in immeasurable, boundless, asaṃkhyeya (countless) Buddha-dharmas.

‘If he is able to train in immeasurable, boundless, asaṃkhyeya Buddha-dharmas, this bodhisattva does not train for the increase of form, does not train for the decrease of form, up to not training for the increase of omniscience of all kinds, not training for the decrease of omniscience of all kinds. If he does not train for the increase or decrease of form, up to not training for the increase or decrease of omniscience of all kinds, this bodhisattva does not train for the sake of receiving form, does not train for the sake of eliminating form; nor does he train for the sake of receiving feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, nor train for the sake of eliminating them. And so on up to omniscience of all kinds: he neither trains for the sake of receiving it nor trains for the sake of eliminating it.’

Śāriputra said to Subhūti: ‘When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva trains in this way, does he not train for the sake of receiving form, not train for the sake of eliminating form, up to omniscience of all kinds, neither training for the sake of receiving it nor training for the sake of eliminating it?’

Subhūti said: ‘If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva trains in this way, he does not train for the sake of receiving form, does not train for the sake of eliminating form, up to omniscience of all kinds, neither training for the sake of receiving it nor training for the sake of eliminating it.’

Śāriputra asked again: ‘Subhūti! For what reason does the bodhisattva-mahāsattva not train for the sake of receiving form, not train for the sake of eliminating form, up to omniscience of all kinds, neither training for the sake of receiving it nor training for the sake of eliminating it?’

Subhūti said: ‘Because this form cannot be received, and there is also no one who can receive form, up to: omniscience of all kinds cannot be received, and there is also no one who can receive it—this is because of inner-and-outer emptiness. It is just so, Śāriputra! Because the bodhisattva-mahāsattva receives nothing in all dharmas, he is able to arrive at omniscience of all kinds.’

At this Śāriputra again said to Subhūti: ‘When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva trains in prajñāpāramitā in this way, is he able to arrive at omniscience of all kinds?’

Subhūti said: ‘When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva trains in prajñāpāramitā in this way, he is able to arrive at omniscience of all kinds, because he receives nothing in all dharmas.’

Śāriputra asked again: ‘If the bodhisattva-mahāsattva trains neither receiving nor eliminating all dharmas, how can the bodhisattva-mahāsattva arrive at omniscience of all kinds?’

Subhūti said: ‘When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, he does not see form arise, does not see form cease; does not see form received, does not see form not received; does not see form defiled, does not see form pure; does not see form increase, does not see form decrease. Why? Śāriputra! Because form is the emptiness of the nature of form. Of feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, too, he sees neither arising nor ceasing, sees neither receiving nor not receiving, sees neither defilement nor purity, sees neither increase nor decrease. Why? Because consciousness is the emptiness of the nature of consciousness. And so on up to omniscience of all kinds: he sees neither its arising nor its ceasing, sees neither its being received nor its not being received, sees neither its defilement nor its purity, sees neither its increase nor its decrease. Why? Because omniscience of all kinds is the emptiness of the nature of omniscience of all kinds. It is just so, Śāriputra! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva, for the sake of all dharmas being neither arising nor ceasing, neither received nor relinquished, neither stained nor pure, neither combining nor scattering, neither increasing nor decreasing, trains in prajñāpāramitā and is able to arrive at omniscience of all kinds, because there is nothing trained in and nothing arrived at.’

What follows is the treatise's commentary.

Why the Buddha Praises Subhūti: Showing That a Teacher Does Not Exalt Himself, and, out of Great Compassion, Causing Beings to Believe and Accept

Śakra Devānām Indra said joyfully: ‘Subhūti's wisdom is profound; he is able, without destroying provisional names, to proclaim the real mark of all dharmas.’

At that time the Buddha praised Subhūti, saying: ‘Just so! Just so! It is as Śakra has said.’

Someone asks: Why does the Buddha praise Subhūti? The treatise-author answers: It is to show that the teacher does not exalt himself, and that the disciple follows the teacher's Dharma. There are cases where what the teacher says, the disciple does not accept; and what the disciple says, the teacher does not allow. It is like ordinary people who, when speaking the Dharma in a great assembly, refute everything others say and accept none of it. Because the Buddha has no mind of clinging to a ‘self’, he praises Subhūti, saying: ‘Just so! Just so!’

Furthermore, the Buddha, with a mind of great compassion, wishes to cause beings to believe and accept what Subhūti says, and therefore praises him, saying: ‘His wisdom is profound.’

The bodhisattva, knowing that all dharmas are provisional names, should then train in prajñāpāramitā. Why? Because all dharmas have only provisional names, and all accord with the mark of the ultimate emptiness of prajñāpāramitā.

As to ‘training thus, he does not train in form’, it means: within the dharma of provisional names there is no fixed form; if there is no form, how could one ‘train in form’? Why? The bodhisattva seeks form with the five eyes, yet does not see in this form such marks as ‘self or non-self’; and so on up to omniscience of all kinds, which is likewise. As to ‘why does he not see form’, the answer is: the mark of form within form is empty; because it is unfindable, it cannot be seen—this is the emptiness of specific marks. And so on up to omniscience of all kinds, which is likewise.

Furthermore, as to ‘does not train in form’, it means: this emptiness of form cannot itself train in the emptiness of form, because dharmas act only upon other marks, not upon their own marks; it is like a man riding a horse—it is not a horse riding a horse.

Someone asks: If one does not train in all dharmas in this way, how does one ‘train in omniscience’? The treatise-author answers: What is said here is this: if one can be without clinging within the emptiness of dharmas, this is truly training in the emptiness of form. If one clings to emptiness, that is refuting dharmas without refuting emptiness. If a person refutes form yet does not cling to emptiness, then form and emptiness are not two and not different, and this is being able to train in the emptiness of form—because by way of unfindable emptiness, one also does not see that there is emptiness. And so on up to omniscience of all kinds, which is likewise.

As to ‘immeasurable, boundless, asaṃkhyeya Buddha-dharmas’, this praises omniscience of all kinds. The omniscience of all kinds spoken of earlier is, in the bodhisattva's mind, still measured and limited; in the Buddha's mind it is measureless and limitless. For this reason, although ‘training in the Buddha-dharmas’ was already spoken of earlier, here it is spoken of once more, separately.

If one can train in this way, one is rightly practising the bodhisattva path, and does not train for the increase or decrease of form. As to ‘not increasing’, it means: if one merely sees the four great elements and the form derived from them coming together to make up a body, one will not give rise to clinging. If within this body one gives rise to marks of male and female, beautiful and ugly, long and short, takes them to be fixed and real, and gives rise to a mind of defiled attachment, this is ‘increase’. If one refutes form so that it becomes empty, and the mind then clings to this emptiness, this is ‘decrease’. And so on up to omniscience of all kinds, which is likewise.

As to ‘not receiving, not eliminating’, it means: because of emptiness, ‘not receiving’; because the causes and conditions of deed and fruit continue in succession, ‘not eliminating’. Here Subhūti himself states the causes and conditions: the receiver of form is unfindable, and therefore there is no receiving. Again, because of the inner-and-outer emptiness of form, ‘not receiving’; because the inner-and-outer emptiness within form is also empty, ‘not eliminating’.

Someone asks: One ought to use the eighteen emptinesses to empty and dispel dharmas; why here speak only of ‘inner and outer emptiness’? The treatise-author answers: There is no one who can receive form, so it is said to be ‘inner emptiness’; form cannot be received, so it is called ‘outer emptiness’. This inner and outer emptiness gathers in the emptiness of all dharmas. And so on up to omniscience of all kinds, which is likewise.

If the bodhisattva can train in this way, he gives birth to omniscience of all kinds. Omniscience of all kinds is the mark of non-obstruction; if the bodhisattva contemplates all dharmas as unobstructed like space, this is training in omniscience of all kinds, because cause and fruit resemble each other.

Śāriputra gave rise to this thought: ‘The bodhisattva's Dharma ought to eliminate all afflictions and ought to receive all wholesome dharmas; now, training without receiving and without eliminating, how can he go forth and arrive at sarvajñā (omniscience)?’ Having given rise to this thought, he asked Subhūti.

Subhūti answered: ‘Because the mark of arising of all dharmas is refuted, there is no arising; because the mark of impermanence of all dharmas is refuted, there is no ceasing; because all kinds of faults in all dharmas are contemplated, there is no receiving; because all kinds of benefits in all dharmas are contemplated, there is no relinquishing; because the nature of all dharmas is always pure, there is no stain; because all dharmas can give rise to a clinging mind, there is no purity. Although all dharmas have action and non-action, rising and ceasing, entering and exiting, coming and going, and so on, yet they are neither more nor fewer, neither increasing nor decreasing. It is like the great ocean: the many streams flow into it and it does not grow more; fire-pearls boil it and it does not grow less. Dharmas are likewise, because the dharma-nature always abides, and because the own-nature of all dharmas is unfindable. One who can train in this way goes forth and arrives at sarvajñā, yet does not see a mark of being able to train, does not see a mark of going forth, does not see a mark of a bodhisattva, does not see a mark of prajñāpāramitā.’

Because this is said in brief, only ‘no training, no going forth’ is said.