大智度論 夢中不證品之上Dazhidulun — Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa · Not Realising It in a Dream, Part 1 of 2

Not Realising It in a Dream, First Part: The Marks of Not Craving and Not Realising in a Dream; The True and the False of the Oath; Four Subtle Deeds of Māra; The Good Friend Extends to Both Persons and Dharmas

What Is Being Asked

Avaivartika means non-retrogressing. The marks of non-retrogression have already been set out at length in the several chapters before; this chapter goes on to set out more of them, yet the place where it takes hold has changed—to the dream. The moment the sūtra text opens, it says that the bodhisattva 「乃至夢中不貪聲聞、辟支佛地，亦不貪三界」 tr. "even in a dream does not crave the śrāvaka ground or the pratyekabuddha ground, nor craves the three realms", and moreover 「亦不作證」 tr. "also does not realise them". The first question of the First Part, a single unit, lies right here: how can what happens in a dream serve as evidence of non-retrogression? To hold firm while awake can still be said to be a matter of effort; asleep, the mind is not one's own—what could one hold on to there?

The treatise-author's answer is very short, yet it is the pivot of this unit: 「是菩薩晝日常習行空故，夜夢中亦不貪三界。」 tr. "Because this bodhisattva constantly trains in emptiness by day, in his dreams by night too he does not crave the three realms." The dream is not another place; the dream is what was trained in by day showing itself of its own accord. The place where effort is applied is always the daytime; the dream only shows how deep or shallow that effort is. Therefore the seven marks the sūtra text sets out one after another—not craving and not realising in a dream; seeing the Buddha in a dream, hearing the Dharma, and understanding at once; seeing the Buddha manifest great supernormal power in a dream; seeing sufferings in a dream and being neither startled nor terrified; seeing the three evil destinies in a dream and arousing the vow of a pure land; making an oath in a dream so that the hell-fire goes out; setting up an oath by day so that the fire in the city walls goes out—are not a classification of seven kinds of dream; they are one line: from not craving, to being able to receive the Dharma, to the mind being unmoved, to the vow arising, to the oath having power. This number seven is obtained by dividing the passages at the sentence at the end of each mark, 「須菩提！當知是阿鞞跋致菩薩摩訶薩阿鞞跋致相」 tr. "Subhūti! Know that this is the avaivartika mark of an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva"; the passage below it, 「今當更為汝說阿鞞跋致行、類、相貌」 tr. "Now I shall further explain for you the conduct, kind, and appearance of the avaivartika", starts afresh, yet what it makes clear is still the appearance of non-retrogression; among the sectional divisions of old there are those that combine it in and make the number eight—the numbers differ, but what they point to does not.

When the line reaches ‘the oath has power’, the sūtra text at once turns to a harder question. Alike an oath is set up, alike it is fulfilled—how are the true and the false to be told apart? What the sūtra text gives is a pair set against each other: the oath of utmost sincerity drives off the non-human and is fulfilled, and this is a mark of having received the prediction; while another bodhisattva also sets up an oath and the non-human also goes, yet it is evil Māra who commands the non-human to leave; he does not know it, and 「恃是證故」 tr. "relying on this as his realisation" turns instead to make light of the other bodhisattvas—the sūtra text names this 「空誓」 tr. "an empty oath"—and this is the first of the four passages on subtle deeds of Māra. The three passages after it are exactly the same in structure: Māra tells you your name, your clan, and your former lives; Māra tells you the Buddha-name you will have in the future; Māra praises the empty and quiet mountains and marshes where you dwell—every sentence is a good word, and at the end they all stop at the same place: making him give rise to arrogance and look down on others. The second question the First Part must answer is just this: ‘since the marks of the test can be counterfeited, by what are they to be told apart?’

The last passage of the sūtra text turns to the direct remedy: 「當親近恭敬供養善知識。」 tr. "He should draw near to, respect, and make offerings to the good friend." Subhūti asks what the good friend is, and the Buddha's reply counts persons and dharmas in together—the buddhas, the bodhisattvas, and the arhats are good friends, and the six perfections and so on up to suchness, the limit of reality, and the nature of dharmas are good friends too; and with a string of figurative names it is pushed to the utmost: 「六波羅蜜是世尊」 tr. "the six perfections are the World-Honored One" 「是道」 tr. "are the path" 「是大明」 tr. "are the great light" 「是炬」 tr. "are the torch", and so on up to 「是父是母」 tr. "are father, are mother". Here the treatise-author sets two questions and answers to probe the difficulties: since the path of the Small Vehicle is different, how can it serve as a good friend to the bodhisattva? Since the six perfections gather in all dharmas, why are the thirty-seven limbs of the path and so on up to suchness, the nature of dharmas, and the limit of reality spoken of separately? What the First Part must answer is these three questions—how the dream can test, how the oath is told true from false, and how the good friend extends to both persons and dharmas.

Passage by Passage

1. In a dream he does not crave the two grounds and does not crave the three realms; he contemplates dharmas as like a dream, like an illusion, and also does not realise them. The sūtra text sets out the first mark, and within the one sentence there are two layers: 「乃至夢中不貪聲聞、辟支佛地，亦不貪三界」 tr. "even in a dream does not crave the śrāvaka ground or the pratyekabuddha ground, nor craves the three realms" is not craving; 「觀諸法如夢、如幻、如嚮、如焰、如化，亦不作證」 tr. "contemplates dharmas as like a dream, like an illusion, like an echo, like a mirage, like a transformation, and also does not realise them" is not realising. Not craving is easy to understand—not falling into the two vehicles, not clinging to worldly pleasure; not realising needs attention: he is able to realise, the contemplation of the five similes is already accomplished, and he simply does not take that realisation. The name of this chapter is taken precisely from here: of the four Chinese characters 「夢中不證」 tr. "not realising it in a dream", the whole weight lies on the last one, ‘realise’. At the end comes the first stamping of this chapter's seal-sentence: 「須菩提！當知是阿鞞跋致菩薩摩訶薩阿鞞跋致相。」 tr. "Subhūti! Know that this is the avaivartika mark of an avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva." All the marks below close with this sentence, and in reading one can divide the passages by it.

2. In a dream he sees the Buddha teaching the Dharma to the fourfold assembly and the gods, and on hearing the Dharma at once understands its meaning and practises in accordance with the Dharma. The second mark. What he sees in the dream is not only the Buddha's body; he sees the Buddha 「與無數百千萬億比丘、比丘尼、優婆塞、優婆夷、天、龍、鬼神、甄陀羅等說法」 tr. "teaching the Dharma to countless hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭi of bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, upāsikās, gods, nāgas, ghosts and spirits, kiṃnaras, and others", and he himself 「從佛聞法，即解中義、隨法行」 tr. "hears the Dharma from the Buddha, at once understands the meaning within it, and practises in accordance with the Dharma". What must be looked at are the two matters 「即解」 tr. "at once understands" and 「隨法行」 tr. "practises in accordance with the Dharma": to hear the Dharma in a dream and be able to understand it on the spot and follow it in practice is not a special excellence of the dream; it is that the power of hearing the Dharma while awake is not diminished in the dream. If even while awake one forgets the Dharma as soon as one turns one's head, one will not suddenly penetrate it in a dream.

3. In a dream he sees the Buddha's thirty-two marks, his great light, and the conjured persons who do the Buddha's work. The difference between the third mark and the second lies in the object seen: what is seen here is the Buddha's 「三十二相、八十隨形好、大光明」 tr. "thirty-two marks, eighty minor marks, and great light", his 「踊在虛空，於大比丘僧中說法；現大神力，化作化人，到他國土施作佛事」 tr. "leaping up into space and teaching the Dharma in the midst of the great Saṅgha of bhikṣus; manifesting great supernormal power, conjuring conjured persons who go to other lands to do the Buddha's work". The mark before saw the Buddha's teaching of the Dharma; this mark sees the Buddha's supernormal power. That the two marks are set side by side and not merged into one is the sūtra text's intent: receiving the Dharma and seeing the power are each a depth of the mind in its own right.

4. In a dream he sees armies rising, fire, fierce beasts, being killed, and the death of kin, and is neither startled nor terrified; on waking he thinks that the three realms are like a dream. The fourth mark turns to the place that tests a person most—fear in a dream. What the sūtra text lists exhausts the terrors of human life: 「兵起若破聚落、若破城邑」 tr. "armies rising, breaking villages or breaking cities" 「失火」 tr. "fire breaking out" 「虎、狼、師子猛害之獸」 tr. "tigers, wolves, lions, fierce and harmful beasts" 「欲來級其頭者」 tr. "one who comes wishing to cut off his head" 「父母喪亡，兄弟、姊妹及諸親友知識死者」 tr. "father and mother dying, brothers, sisters, and all his kin, friends, and acquaintances dead". Before these the bodhisattva 「不驚、不怖，亦不憂惱」 tr. "is not startled, not terrified, nor grieved and vexed", and on waking at once reflects: 「三界虛妄，皆如夢耳！我得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提時，亦當為眾生說三界如夢。」 tr. "The three realms are false; all are but like a dream! When I obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, I too shall teach beings that the three realms are like a dream." What matters most here is the last half-sentence—he does not only settle himself; at once he turns what he has seen into the content of the Dharma he will teach beings in the future. The fearful object has become teaching material, and only this is the mark of non-retrogression; merely ‘not being afraid’ is not yet it.

5. In a dream he sees the three evil destinies and arouses the vow that there be no three evil destinies in his land; the dream and all dharmas are without duality and without difference. The fifth mark is the first place in this chapter where the reason is stated outright. The bodhisattva dreams of 「地獄、畜生、餓鬼」 tr. "the hells, the animals, the hungry ghosts", and what arises is not revulsion but a vow: 「我當勤精進，得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提時，令我國中無一切三惡道。」 tr. "I shall strive with vigour, and when I obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, may there be none of the three evil destinies at all in my land." At once the sūtra text asks and answers itself: 「何以故？是夢及諸法，無二無別。」 tr. "Why? This dream and all dharmas are without duality and without difference." This sentence is the eye of the whole chapter—the dream and all dharmas are not two, so the suffering seen in a dream and the suffering seen while awake are equally false and equally to be pitied; and therefore the vow made in a dream and the vow made while awake are not two kinds of vow either.

6. In a dream he sees hell-fire burning beings, makes an oath, and the fire goes out at once. The sixth mark pushes the dream to the side of ‘having effect’. The bodhisattva sees hell-fire burning beings and makes this oath: 「若我實是阿鞞跋致者，是火當滅！」 tr. "If I am really an avaivartika, may this fire go out!" and 「是火即滅」 tr. "the fire goes out at once". The form of the oath deserves attention: he does not say ‘I will put out the fire’; he takes the going out of the fire as the evidence of whether he himself is non-retrogressing—testing the position by the event, not using the position to command the event. The last sentence, 「若地獄火滅，即是阿鞞跋致相」 tr. "if the hell-fire goes out, this is a mark of the avaivartika", states the evidence with complete clarity.

7. By day he sees fire rising in the city walls, sets up an oath, and the fire goes out; where it does not go out, it is the remaining calamity of having broken the Dharma. The seventh mark moves from the dream to the daytime, an extended verification of the mark before: 「我夢中見阿鞞跋致行、類、相貌，我今實有是者，自立誓言：是火當滅！」 tr. "In a dream I saw the conduct, kind, and appearance of the avaivartika; if I now really have these, I myself set up an oath, saying: may this fire go out!" If the fire goes out, he knows he has already received the prediction and abides in the ground of the avaivartika. Here the sūtra text adds one more layer, a very hard saying: 「若火不滅，燒一家、置一家，燒一里、置一里。」 tr. "If the fire does not go out, it burns one house and leaves one house, burns one lane and leaves one lane." And it explains the reason itself—in the burned houses 「被燒家破法業因緣厚集」 tr. "the causes and conditions of the deed of breaking the Dharma have gathered thick", and they are 「今世受破法餘殃故被燒」 tr. "burned because in this life they suffer the remaining calamity of having broken the Dharma". So when the oath is not fulfilled, it is not necessarily that the oath has no power; it may also be that the deed it faces is too heavy. If this layer is passed over, the treatise-author's explanation below has nothing to attach to.

8. When someone is possessed by a non-human, he drives it off with an oath of utmost sincerity; whether it goes or not tests whether he has received the prediction or not. The sūtra text starts a new passage: 「今當更為汝說阿鞞跋致行、類、相貌。」 tr. "Now I shall further explain for you the conduct, kind, and appearance of the avaivartika." What is described is the thought the bodhisattva forms when a man or a woman is 「為非人所持」 tr. "possessed by a non-human". The content of this long thought must be looked at layer by layer: first the supposition 「若我為過去諸佛所授記」 tr. "if I have been given the prediction by the buddhas of the past"; next the setting out of his own practice, 「我心清淨求阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，行清淨正道，遠離聲聞、辟支佛心」 tr. "my mind is pure in seeking anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi; I practise the pure right path, secluded from the mind of the śrāvaka and the pratyekabuddha"; then the certainty, 「我必得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，非不得」 tr. "I shall surely obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, not fail to obtain it"; and last, the buddhas of the ten directions taken as witness—「諸佛知我深心，審定必當得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提」 tr. "the buddhas know my deep mind, that it is settled and certain I shall obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi". It is such an 「至誠誓」 tr. "oath of utmost sincerity" that makes the non-human go far away. And the sūtra text says both sides fully: if the non-human does not go, he knows he has not yet received the prediction; if the non-human goes, he knows he has already received the prediction.

9. Far removed from the six perfections and skilful means, he sets up an oath; Māra commands the non-human to go; relying on this as his realisation he gives rise to pride—this is the first kind of subtle deed of Māra. This passage is almost the same in wording as the one before, yet the outcome is the complete opposite; it is the most important pair set against each other in this unit. This bodhisattva is 「遠離六波羅蜜及方便力，不久行四念處，乃至不久行空、無相、無作三昧，未入菩薩位」 tr. "far removed from the six perfections and the power of skilful means, has not long practised the four foundations of mindfulness, and so on up to has not long practised the emptiness, signless, and non-action samādhis, and has not entered the bodhisattva's position"; he too sets up an oath, and the non-human too goes—but the reason it goes is that 「惡魔即作方便，勅非人令去」 tr. "evil Māra at once employs a means and commands the non-human to go", because 「惡魔有威力，勝諸非人故」 tr. "evil Māra has majestic power and surpasses the non-humans". Yet the bodhisattva thinks: 「以我誓力故，非人去。」 tr. "It is by the power of my oath that the non-human has gone." The sūtra text names this 「用是空誓」 tr. "using this empty oath". After it the marks of ruin unfold all the way: relying on this as his realisation he slights, mocks, disparages, and scorns the other bodhisattvas, gives rise to overweening pride, goes far from sarvajñā, and falls into the two grounds. And it points out that the root of the sickness is twofold: first, 「不親近依止善知識，不問阿鞞跋致相」 tr. "he does not draw near to and rely on the good friend, and does not ask about the marks of the avaivartika"; second, 「不久行六波羅蜜，無方便力」 tr. "he has not long practised the six perfections and has no power of skilful means". The same oath, the same fulfilment; the dividing line lies not in the outcome but in whether there is a foundation of the six perfections and skilful means, and whether there is a good friend to ask.

10. Māra tells his name and clan, his parents for seven generations, his nature and conduct, and his dhūta practice, and sets the seal of approval on them—this is the second kind of subtle deed of Māra. The sūtra text itself raises the question: 「云何菩薩摩訶薩不久行六波羅蜜，乃至未入菩薩位，為惡魔所嬈？」 tr. "How is a bodhisattva-mahāsattva who has not long practised the six perfections, and so on up to has not entered the bodhisattva's position, troubled by evil Māra?" At once it sets out Māra's methods. What Māra says is all true and verifiable—「汝字某，汝父字某，汝母字某」 tr. "you are named so-and-so, your father is named so-and-so, your mother is named so-and-so", and so on up to 「汝七世父母名字如是」 tr. "the names of your ancestors for seven generations are such", born in such a quarter, such a country, such a city, such a village; going further, seeing that his nature and conduct are gentle, he says that in former lives he was gentle; seeing that he is hasty and rough by nature, he says that in former lives he was so too; seeing that he practises in the araṇya, begs for food, wears robes of cast-off rags, and so on up to speaks little, he says of each, 「汝先世亦有是行」 tr. "in former lives you had this practice too". Since what is said proves true point by point, the bodhisattva 「即歡喜生慢憍心」 tr. "at once rejoices and gives rise to a mind of pride and arrogance", and only then does Māra deliver the last sentence: 「汝實從諸佛受阿耨多羅三藐三菩提記。」 tr. "You have really received from the buddhas the prediction of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi." Māra may appear in the garb of a bhikṣu, or in the form of a householder, or in the body of a father or mother. The sūtra text's verdict is extremely heavy: 「我所說實阿鞞跋致行、類、相貌，是人永無！」 tr. "The conduct, kind, and appearance of the real avaivartika that I have taught, this person forever lacks!"—every single thing in the test is true, and the conclusion is wholly false.

11. Māra tells the Buddha-name he will have in the future, fitting it to his own thoughts—this is the third kind of subtle deed of Māra; its sin exceeds the four prohibitions and the five heinous sins. The third kind of deed of Māra is subtler still: this bodhisattva 「不知名字相，不知色相，不知受、想、行、識相」 tr. "does not know the mark of names, does not know the mark of form, does not know the mark of feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness", and so Māra says that when he becomes a Buddha in the future he will 「有如是名字」 tr. "have such a name", and does so 「隨其本念，說其名號」 tr. "following his own thoughts, telling him his name and title". Thereupon he draws the conclusion himself: 「是人所說合我本念，我必為諸佛所授記。」 tr. "What this person says fits my own thoughts; I must have been given the prediction by the buddhas."—the speaker drew no conclusion; the conclusion was drawn by him himself, and this is exactly the meaning of the word 「微細」 tr. "subtle". The sūtra text then uses the bhikṣu's four grave prohibitions as a comparison: breaking one of them, he is 「非沙門、非釋子」 tr. "no śramaṇa, no son of the Śākya", and 「現身不得四沙門果」 tr. "in this present body does not obtain the four fruits of the śramaṇa"; while of one who clings to the name of emptiness and looks down on others, 「當知是罪重於比丘四禁」 tr. "know that this sin is heavier than a bhikṣu's four prohibitions", and further it says, 「其罪過於五逆」 tr. "its sin exceeds the five heinous sins". The judging of light and heavy lies not in the size of the outward act, but in who is harmed—what is harmed is the other bodhisattvas. The last sentence of the sūtra text calls out directly: 「如是名字等微細魔事，菩薩當覺知！」 tr. "Such subtle deeds of Māra as that of names, the bodhisattva should be aware of and know!"

12. Māra praises the empty and quiet mountains and marshes as the dharma of seclusion; the Buddha says, I do not praise this seclusion. The fourth kind of deed of Māra changes its face: Māra comes to the bodhisattva who is in 「空閑山澤曠遠之處」 tr. "empty and quiet mountains, marshes, and far-off places", 「讚歎遠離法」 tr. "praises the dharma of seclusion", and says 「汝所行，是佛所稱譽遠離法」 tr. "what you practise is the dharma of seclusion that the Buddha praises". The Buddha at once disowns it: 「我不讚是遠離，所謂但在空閑山澤曠遠之處。」 tr. "I do not praise this seclusion, namely merely being in empty and quiet mountains, marshes, and far-off places." The single word 「但」 tr. "merely" is the joint of the whole passage—it is not saying that empty and quiet mountains and marshes are not good; it is saying that ‘only’ empty and quiet mountains and marshes do not count as seclusion.

13. Subhūti asks—if the empty and quiet place is not seclusion, how is there some other seclusion? 「須菩提言：『世尊！若空閑山澤曠遠之處非遠離法者，云何更有異遠離？』」 tr. "Subhūti said: ‘World-Honored One! If empty and quiet mountains, marshes, and far-off places are not the dharma of seclusion, how is there some other seclusion?’" This question is asked on the reader's behalf with great precision. The word seclusion has always referred to the body leaving clamour behind; if now the body's leaving does not count, then what else can be left, and where to go to leave it? What is asked is not about names and marks; it asks whether this word has a second referent besides geography.

14. The Buddha explains true seclusion—to be secluded from the mind of the two vehicles and dwell in empty and quiet places is what the Buddha approves; one whose mind is in clamour is not secluded even though he dwells in utter wilderness. The Buddha's reply changes what 「遠離」 tr. "seclusion" is set against: 「若菩薩摩訶薩遠離聲聞、辟支佛心，住空閑山澤曠遠之處，是佛所許遠離法。」 tr. "If a bodhisattva-mahāsattva is secluded from the mind of the śrāvaka and the pratyekabuddha, and dwells in empty and quiet mountains, marshes, and far-off places, this is the dharma of seclusion the Buddha approves." What is left behind is the mind; the dwelling place merely follows along with it. The reverse side is spoken at greater length: one whose mind is in clamour, 「雖在絕曠百由旬外，禽獸、鬼神、羅剎所住之處，若一歲、百千萬億歲，若過萬億歲」 tr. "though he is in utter wilderness beyond a hundred yojanas, in places where birds and beasts, ghosts and spirits, and rākṣasas dwell, for a year, or for hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭi of years, or for more than a myriad koṭi of years", still does not know true seclusion. More dangerous still, he looks down on the bodhisattva who is 「城傍心清淨」 tr. "at the city's edge, pure in mind". The sūtra text then has evil Māra appear in space and praise him: 「善哉！善哉！善男子！此是佛所說真遠離法」 tr. "Excellent! Excellent! Good man! This is the true dharma of seclusion that the Buddha teaches"—whereupon he goes 「以憒閙為不憒閙，以不憒閙為憒閙，應恭敬而不恭敬，不應恭敬而恭敬」 tr. "taking clamour for non-clamour and non-clamour for clamour, not respecting what should be respected and respecting what should not be respected", and utters the sentence that shakes out what lies at the bottom of the heart: 「住城傍者，誰當稱美汝？」 tr. "You who dwell at the city's edge—who will ever praise you?" The sūtra text's verdict here is the heaviest in the whole chapter: 「當知是名菩薩旃陀羅，污染諸菩薩」 tr. "know that this is called a bodhisattva caṇḍāla, who defiles the bodhisattvas" 「實是天上人中之大賊，亦是沙門被服中賊」 tr. "he is really a great thief among the gods above and the humans among people, and also a thief in the garb of a śramaṇa". At the end it still leaves a way out—toward this person 「當起慈、悲、喜、捨心」 tr. "one should arouse the minds of kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity", and one warns oneself: 「我行菩薩道，不應生如是過罪；若生，當疾滅！」 tr. "I practise the bodhisattva path; I should not give rise to such faults and sins; if they arise, I shall quickly extinguish them!"

15. One who with a deep mind wishes to obtain the unsurpassed path should draw near to, respect, and make offerings to the good friend. The four passages on deeds of Māra having been fully told, the sūtra text turns to the direct side: 「菩薩摩訶薩深心，欲得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提者，當親近恭敬供養善知識。」 tr. "A bodhisattva-mahāsattva who with a deep mind wishes to obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi should draw near to, respect, and make offerings to the good friend." This sentence joins on quite naturally—the common root of sickness in the three marks of ruin before it, the sūtra text has already pointed out: 「不親近依止善知識，不問阿鞞跋致相」 tr. "he does not draw near to and rely on the good friend, and does not ask about the marks of the avaivartika". That deeds of Māra can succeed is mostly because there is no one close at hand to ask.

16. Subhūti asks what the good friend is. 「須菩提白佛言：『世尊！何等是菩薩摩訶薩善知識？』」 tr. "Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! What is the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's good friend?’" Since the remedy lies in the good friend, the bounds of the good friend must be drawn clearly—otherwise the very one from the passage before, who 「魔或作比丘被服、或作居士形、或作父母身」 tr. "Māra may make into the garb of a bhikṣu, or the form of a householder, or the body of a father or mother", would pass for one. This question is not a polite link; it is a question of real weight that comes on from the deeds of Māra.

17. The Buddha answers with the good friends who are persons—the buddhas, the bodhisattvas, the arhats. The Buddha answers first on the side of persons: 「諸佛是菩薩摩訶薩善知識，諸菩薩摩訶薩亦是菩薩善知識。須菩提！阿羅漢亦是菩薩善知識，是為菩薩摩訶薩善知識。」 tr. "The buddhas are the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's good friends; the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas too are the bodhisattva's good friends. Subhūti! The arhats too are the bodhisattva's good friends. These are the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's good friends." All three kinds are listed, and of them the item of the arhats is the most unexpected—the path he practises is one the bodhisattva does not take, yet he still counts as the bodhisattva's good friend. The treatise-author below sets up a question and answer especially to deal with this point.

18. The Buddha answers with the good friends that are dharmas—the six perfections, the limbs of the path, and so on up to suchness, the limit of reality, and the nature of dharmas; the six perfections are the World-Honored One, are the path, and so on up to are father and mother. The Buddha goes on to answer on the side of dharmas, and pushes it higher all the way: 「六波羅蜜亦是菩薩善知識，四念處乃至十八不共法亦是菩薩善知識」 tr. "the six perfections too are the bodhisattva's good friends; the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas too are the bodhisattva's good friends" 「如、實際、法性亦是菩薩善知識」 tr. "suchness, the limit of reality, and the nature of dharmas too are the bodhisattva's good friends". After this comes a long string of figurative names: 「六波羅蜜是世尊，六波羅蜜是道，六波羅蜜是大明，六波羅蜜是炬」 tr. "the six perfections are the World-Honored One; the six perfections are the path; the six perfections are the great light; the six perfections are the torch" 「六波羅蜜是智，六波羅蜜是慧，六波羅蜜是救，六波羅蜜是歸，六波羅蜜是洲，六波羅蜜是究竟道，六波羅蜜是父是母」 tr. "the six perfections are knowledge; the six perfections are wisdom; the six perfections are rescue; the six perfections are refuge; the six perfections are the island; the six perfections are the ultimate path; the six perfections are father, are mother", and it says, 「四念處乃至一切種智，亦如是」 tr. "the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds are likewise". The sūtra text gives the reason itself: the six perfections and the thirty-seven dharmas of the path are the father and mother of the buddhas of the three times and the ten directions, 「六波羅蜜、三十七道法中生過去、未來、現在十方諸佛故」 tr. "because the buddhas of the ten directions of the past, the future, and the present are born from within the six perfections and the thirty-seven dharmas of the path". At the end it comes back to training: one should train in the six perfections and the thirty-seven dharmas of the path, and gather in beings by the four means of gathering—「何等四？布施、愛語、利益、同事」 tr. "What are the four? Giving, kind speech, beneficial action, and shared endeavour"; the sūtra text itself gives the names of the four. Each of the four has its own use, and each must be made clear in turn: giving is to give to others what one has—wealth relieves their bodies, the Dharma relieves their minds; first their want is relieved, and then their minds can be approached; kind speech is to meet them with soft and accommodating words, leading them toward the Dharma according to what they can bear, not wounding their faith with hard words; beneficial action is actually to do what is of benefit to them, not stopping at spoken words; the Dharma one urges on them one first practises oneself, and then one's words can be believed; shared endeavour is to share in what they do and share their sweet and bitter, to take one's place in their position and not hold oneself apart, and then those being transformed are willing to regard one as their own kind. The four support one another in order: the first two open their door, the latter two make their faith firm—this is exactly what ‘gathering’ means: not forcing them to follow, but causing them to come of themselves. The closing sentence is 「當學是般若波羅蜜」 tr. "he should train in this prajñāpāramitā", because 「是般若波羅蜜中廣說諸法，是菩薩摩訶薩所應學處」 tr. "within this prajñāpāramitā all dharmas are explained at length; it is where the bodhisattva-mahāsattva should train".

19. The treatise-author sets a question—the chapter "Avaivartika" has already explained the marks of the avaivartika at length; why are they explained again now? The treatise section opens with just this question: 「〈阿鞞跋致品〉中已廣說阿鞞跋致相，今何以更說？」 tr. "In the chapter ‘Avaivartika’ the marks of the avaivartika have already been explained at length; why are they explained again now?" This is the doubt that must arise in a reader who has read all the way here: the marks of non-retrogression have already been set out several times over; why set them out again? It is asked straight, without going round.

20. The treatise-author answers himself—the meaning of prajñā is in every part a mark of the avaivartika; that chapter mostly speaks of the matter, and the other chapters are not in order. The treatise-author's first answer does not start from ‘what new thing is said’ but from the arrangement: 「所說般若波羅蜜義皆是阿鞞跋致相」 tr. "the meaning of prajñāpāramitā that is spoken is in every part a mark of the avaivartika"—that is, the whole of prajñā speaks of non-retrogression; it is only that the chapter "Avaivartika" 「多說其事」 tr. "mostly speaks of the matter" and is concentrated, while in the other chapters 「處處有說阿鞞跋致相，但不次第」 tr. "the marks of the avaivartika are spoken of here and there, only not in order". Speaking of them again here fills out in order what is scattered in various places; it is not adding new material.

21. The treatise-author records the first of two other views (someone says)—it is spoken in different words for beings who come later. 「有人言：為後來眾生異語說阿鞞跋致相。」 tr. "Someone says: the marks of the avaivartika are spoken in different words for the sake of beings who come later." The same meaning in a different way of speaking, for the sake of later hearers. This is a divergent explanation cited in narrative form; the treatise-author records it and does not refute it.

22. The treatise-author records the second of two other views (someone says)—the two kinds of avaivartika and the four positions of the prediction. The second divergent explanation gives a table of levels, opening each level into two: the avaivartika are of two kinds—「一者、已得記，二者、未得記」 tr. "first, those who have already obtained the prediction; second, those who have not yet obtained the prediction"; obtaining the prediction is of two kinds—「一者、現前授記，二者、不現前授記」 tr. "first, prediction given in one's presence; second, prediction not given in one's presence"; and prediction not given in one's presence is again of two kinds—「一者、具足授記因緣，二者、未具足授記因緣」 tr. "first, the causes and conditions of the prediction fulfilled; second, the causes and conditions of the prediction not yet fulfilled". Three levels opened into two, four positions in all at the end; the names all come from the treatise itself, and there is no need to look outside for them.

23. The distinction between fulfilled and not fulfilled; what this chapter speaks of is the one not yet fulfilled who is also called non-retrogressing. The table of the item above once set out, the treatise-author at once comes down to definition: the one whose causes and conditions of the prediction are fulfilled 「知諸法實相，具足六波羅蜜」 tr. "knows the real mark of all dharmas and has fulfilled the six perfections"; the one not fulfilled 「但知諸法實相，得般若波羅蜜分，餘波羅蜜未具足」 tr. "only knows the real mark of all dharmas and has obtained a share of prajñāpāramitā; the other perfections are not yet fulfilled". Then it joins on to the end of the previous chapter—「是菩薩能如阿鞞跋致菩薩答」 tr. "this bodhisattva can answer as an avaivartika bodhisattva does" is what was said at the end of the previous chapter, and so this chapter says next in order that 「夢中不貪二地，雖未具足阿鞞跋致法，亦名阿鞞跋致」 tr. "one who in a dream does not crave the two grounds, though he has not yet fulfilled the dharmas of the avaivartika, is also called avaivartika". With this the first question and answer is complete: what this chapter fills in is exactly this one position of ‘not yet fulfilled and yet already named’; since the previous chapter spoke of those already fulfilled, this chapter goes on to speak of those not yet fulfilled, and so it is not a repetition.

24. Why he does not crave in a dream—because he trains in emptiness by day he does not crave in his dreams by night; there are two places of retrogression, and this person turns at neither. This is the pivotal sentence of the whole unit: 「是菩薩晝日常習行空故，夜夢中亦不貪三界。」 tr. "Because this bodhisattva constantly trains in emptiness by day, in his dreams by night too he does not crave the three realms." And it adds another branch—「常行慈悲心於眾生、深樂佛法故，不貪二乘」 tr. "because he constantly practises the mind of kindness and compassion toward beings and deeply delights in the Buddha-Dharma, he does not crave the two vehicles". The two powers of emptiness and of kindness and compassion each remedy one place, because 「菩薩於二處退轉：一者、著世間樂故轉，二者、取二乘故轉」 tr. "the bodhisattva retrogresses at two places: first, he turns because of clinging to worldly pleasure; second, he turns because of taking the two vehicles". The names of the two places come from the treatise-author himself. The closing sentence states the weight of the dream precisely: 「乃至夢中亦不貪三界、二乘，何況覺時！」 tr. "Even in a dream he does not crave the three realms or the two vehicles—how much less when awake!" The dream is the lower limit, not the upper limit—hold the lower limit, and the upper limit is naturally included within it.

25. Why, seeing the Buddha teach the Dharma in a dream, he understands at once—what is taught is the meaning of the real mark of all dharmas; mind and Dharma unite. This explains the second mark of the sūtra text. The Dharma heard in the dream, the treatise-author names for what it really is: 「所謂諸法實相義」 tr. "namely, the meaning of the real mark of all dharmas"; and what is called 「即解中義」 tr. "at once understands the meaning within it", the treatise-author explains as 「菩薩知是義，心與法合」 tr. "the bodhisattva knows this meaning, and his mind unites with the Dharma". Understanding is not having memorised it; it is the mind and the Dharma uniting—and this also explains why it can hold in a dream: the uniting of mind and Dharma is in its nature not tied to waking or sleeping.

26. Why he sees the Buddha manifest great supernormal power in a dream—the secret dharmas of the buddhas are seen in a dream. This explains the third mark of the sūtra text. What is seen the treatise-author lays out in great detail: 「見佛身無量，過須彌山，色如閻浮檀金」 tr. "he sees the Buddha's body, immeasurable, surpassing Mount Sumeru, its colour like jambūnada gold", adorned with the thirty-two marks and the eighty minor marks, sending forth immeasurable light, 「梵音聲說法，及身毛孔出無量化佛至十方」 tr. "teaching the Dharma with the Brahmā voice, and from the pores of his body sending forth immeasurable conjured buddhas to the ten directions". But the key point is at the end: because he sees the supernormal power, the bodhisattva 「深心清淨問佛法，得諸法實相，是名阿鞞跋致」 tr. "with a deep and pure mind asks about the Buddha-Dharma and obtains the real mark of all dharmas; this is called avaivartika". Seeing the supernormal power is not itself non-retrogression; asking because of seeing, and obtaining the real mark because of asking—that is.

27. Why he is not startled when he sees sufferings in a dream—because he constantly practises ultimate emptiness, I and mine are thinned. This explains the fourth mark of the sūtra text. The mechanism of not being startled and not terrified the treatise-author states very concretely: 「常行畢竟空故，我、我所等諸煩惱折薄，乃至自身不惜，何況餘親！」 tr. "Because he constantly practises ultimate emptiness, I and mine and the other afflictions are broken and thinned, so that he does not spare even his own body—how much less his other kin!"—it is not boldness; it is that I and mine have already been thinned. What he thinks on waking the treatise-author also restates in its meaning: 「不死而見死、不畏而見畏，一切三界皆爾，何但夢中！」 tr. "Not dying and yet seeing death, not fearing and yet seeing fear—the whole of the three realms is like this; why only in a dream!" The example of the dream is only a simile taken from near at hand; what it points to is the whole of the three realms.

28. Why, seeing the three evil destinies in a dream, he makes a vow—the power of the vow from the time of planting the causes and conditions of a pure land appears in the dream. This explains the fifth mark of the sūtra text. The treatise-author ties this mark to the season of 「種清淨國土因緣」 tr. "planting the causes and conditions of a pure land": because in ordinary times he 「積集淨國土行，是心修習故」 tr. "has accumulated the practice of purifying the land, and this mind is cultivated", as soon as he sees the beings of the three evil destinies in a dream, he at once obtains the mind 「我作佛時，令我國土乃至無三惡道名」 tr. "when I become a Buddha, may my land not have even the name of the three evil destinies". It is still the same principle: what appears in the dream is the mind cultivated by day coming of itself.

29. Why he puts out the fire in a dream—because he constantly cultivates the mind of kindness and compassion. This explains the sixth mark of the sūtra text, in a single sentence: 「是菩薩常修慈悲心故，夢中見地獄火燒眾生，作誓，火即滅。」 tr. "Because this bodhisattva constantly cultivates the mind of kindness and compassion, when in a dream he sees hell-fire burning beings and makes an oath, the fire goes out at once." That the oath has power is tied to the long cultivation of kindness and compassion, not to the wording of the oath.

30. Why he puts out the fire by day—he takes the mark from the dream; dream and waking are without difference; ghosts and spirits and nāga kings help put it out; where it does not go out, the deed of breaking the Dharma is heavy. This explains the seventh mark of the sūtra text, and is the longest explanation in the treatise, with four layers. First, the mechanism is 「覺已，取是相」 tr. "on waking, he takes up this mark"—bringing the evidence from the dream into the daytime for use, and what he relies on is 「佛說夢、覺無異故」 tr. "because the Buddha has said that dream and waking are without difference". Second, where the power comes from—「於無量劫修集福德，得諸法實相故，鬼神、龍王等助滅是火」 tr. "because for immeasurable kalpas he has cultivated and gathered merit and has obtained the real mark of all dharmas, ghosts and spirits, nāga kings, and others help put out this fire"; it is not his power alone. Third, why some fires do not go out—「是眾生重罪故」 tr. "because of these beings' heavy sin", and the heavy sin is the 「破法業」 tr. "deed of breaking the Dharma"; the treatise-author further explains why breaking the Dharma is heaviest: 「法者，般若波羅蜜；諸餘法利益無及般若波羅蜜者，是故破者罪重。」 tr. "The Dharma is prajñāpāramitā; among all the other dharmas none equals prajñāpāramitā in benefit; therefore the sin of one who breaks it is heavy." Fourth, that it does not go out does not prove the oath ineffective—「以菩薩誓力故，不次第燒，惟罪重者不救，不妨是阿鞞跋致相」 tr. "by the power of the bodhisattva's oath it does not burn in sequence; only those of heavy sin are not saved; this does not hinder its being a mark of the avaivartika". That the burning does not follow in sequence is itself the trace of the power of the oath made manifest.

31. The passage on possession by a non-human is also like the spell over the fire. A one-sentence transition: 「非人所持，亦如呪火。」 tr. "Possession by a non-human is also like the spell over the fire." Taking the preceding passage, in which the fire can go out or not go out, as the example, it compares the non-human that can go or not go—both are tests of the oath, and both have times when the test does not come true. The treatise-author fastens the two passages together in the most economical way.

32. One who has not obtained the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas hears the spell and imitates it; Māra sends the ghosts and spirits away and he presumes it to be his own power. This explains the marks of ruin in the first kind of subtle deed of Māra. The treatise-author states the cause of the sickness more concretely than the sūtra text: this person 「未得無生法忍」 tr. "has not obtained the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas", and merely 「聞是阿鞞跋致呪故鬼去，便作呪」 tr. "hears that because of the spell of this avaivartika the ghost went away, and so makes a spell"—it is imitation, not his own realisation. Thereupon 「自未有力，魔來遣鬼神故，自恃為己力」 tr. "he himself has no power as yet; because Māra came and sent the ghosts and spirits away, he presumes it to be his own power". The last sentence makes plain why the Buddha had to speak this passage: 「有如是失故，佛示令覺知。」 tr. "Because there are such faults, the Buddha shows them so that people may be aware and know." The Buddha sets out the marks of ruin so that people can recognise themselves.

33. The explanation of the second kind of subtle deed of Māra—Māra shows and speaks according to his thoughts, and he gives rise to overweening pride. The treatise-author distils Māra's method into a single sentence: 「魔作種種形，隨其念而示語」 tr. "Māra takes on all kinds of forms and shows and speaks according to his thoughts", and the words he says are 「汝已得授記，汝有是相，但以肉眼故不知」 tr. "you have already been given the prediction; you have these marks, only because of your fleshly eye you do not know it". The last clause is the most poisonous—it sets ‘you yourself cannot see it’ in place beforehand, so that there is no way to check. The outcome is still 「生增上慢，輕蔑餘人」 tr. "he gives rise to overweening pride and looks down on others".

34. The root of the sickness in the third kind of subtle deed of Māra—he has not obtained the real mark and does not know that at the edge of the coming together of the five aggregates there is further a mark of names. The treatise-author picks out a single sentence as the root of the sickness: 「菩薩不得諸法實相，不知色等五眾和合邊更有名字相。」 tr. "The bodhisattva has not obtained the real mark of all dharmas and does not know that at the edge of the coming together of the five aggregates, form and the rest, there is further a mark of names." A name is set up at the edge of the coming together of the five aggregates and has no real substance of its own; not knowing this, one takes a name and title for a thing that can be obtained. The errors of the next two passages all come out of this.

35. Māra comes to give the prediction and tells the name under which he will become a Buddha. 「魔來與授記：『汝當作佛，字名某甲。』」 tr. "Māra comes and gives the prediction: ‘You will become a Buddha, named so-and-so.’" The treatise-author compresses a long passage of the sūtra text into one sentence—the point is not what Māra said, but that what he said hit the mark.

36. Because it fits his own thoughts he believes it true, gives rise to arrogance and slights the other great bodhisattvas, goes far from the unsurpassed path, and falls into the two vehicles. The bodhisattva's own reasoning the treatise-author records word for word: 「我本有是名字念，今所說者，同我所願，必是諸佛授記。」 tr. "I originally had the thought of this name; what is now said is the same as what I wished; it must be the prediction given by the buddhas." The form of the reasoning is without error, but its premise is his own wish—to take one's own wish as the evidence is to set the seal of approval on oneself. After this 「心生憍慢，輕餘大菩薩」 tr. "his mind gives rise to arrogance, and he slights the other great bodhisattvas", and for this reason he 「遠離無上道；受罪畢，墮於二乘」 tr. "goes far from the unsurpassed path; when he has finished undergoing the sin, he falls into the two vehicles".

37. If he repents in this very body, the sin comes to an end and he can still become a Buddha; if he repents only after changing bodies, the sin is heavy and hard to extinguish; the comparison of the four grave prohibitions and why it exceeds the five heinous sins; the gloss of subtle. In this passage the treatise-author explains four matters in one breath. First, the season of repentance: 「若即此身悔，當久久償罪畢，還依止般若波羅蜜，得作佛」 tr. "if he repents in this very body, after a long, long time he will have repaid the sin in full, and again relying on prajñāpāramitā, he will become a Buddha"; conversely, 「若轉身乃悔，則罪重叵滅，不得作佛」 tr. "if he repents only after changing bodies, then the sin is heavy and hard to extinguish, and he does not become a Buddha". Second, why the comparison of the four grave prohibitions fits: because 「是四禁中，妄語稱『我是阿羅漢』」 tr. "among these four prohibitions, false speech is to claim, ‘I am an arhat’", while here it is 「著是受莂名字，自言『我當作佛』」 tr. "clinging to this name of the prediction received, to say of oneself, ‘I shall become a Buddha’"—alike it is taking what is not obtained as obtained, and the position claimed is higher, 「是故重於四禁」 tr. "therefore it is heavier than the four prohibitions". Third, why it exceeds the five heinous sins—the treatise-author points to earlier text: 「如〈地獄品〉中破般若波羅蜜罪說。」 tr. "As is said in the chapter ‘The Hells’ about the sin of breaking prajñāpāramitā." Fourth, the gloss of the word 「微細」 tr. "subtle": 「細名不逆其意，隨其本念，助成其心。」 tr. "Subtle means not going against his intent; following his own thoughts, it helps his mind along." Māra's subtlety lies in never going against—every sentence goes along with the mind you already had. The last sentence is an exhortation: 「是微細魔事，利根菩薩應覺、除遠！」 tr. "These subtle deeds of Māra the bodhisattva of keen faculties should be aware of, remove, and keep far from!"

38. The explanation of the fourth kind of deed of Māra—Māra praises seclusion; the seclusion the Buddha speaks of is the mind leaving the two vehicles and the three realms. Māra's words the treatise-author restates as: 「汝能遠離親族、同學，獨在深山林中，為佛道故，是為真菩薩道行。」 tr. "You are able to leave your kin and fellow students far behind and be alone in the deep mountain forest for the sake of the Buddha path; this is the true practice of the bodhisattva path." And the mark of ruin is still the same one—「生憍慢心，輕餘在眾中住菩薩」 tr. "he gives rise to a mind of arrogance and slights the other bodhisattvas who dwell among the assembly". The treatise-author also points out why the Buddha passes so heavy a verdict: 「佛種種因緣，訶是菩薩是賊、是旃陀羅等，如經中說，不應親近。」 tr. "The Buddha, by all kinds of causes and conditions, rebukes this bodhisattva as a thief, a caṇḍāla, and the like; as is said in the sūtra, one should not draw near to him." At the end it gives the correct explanation: 「佛所說遠離，心離二乘、三界，是名真遠離。」 tr. "The seclusion the Buddha speaks of is the mind leaving the two vehicles and the three realms; this is called true seclusion." The four passages on deeds of Māra close here, and the treatise-author's closing words are 「應當覺而遠離」 tr. "one should be aware of them and keep far from them"—what is to be kept far from is not the mountain forest or the city's edge, but the deeds of Māra.

39. Explaining 「深心」 tr. "deep mind"—a single mind, a weighty mind, deeply loving the Buddha path, beyond all that the world delights in. The treatise-author cites the sūtra phrase 「復次，菩薩欲深心得無上道」 tr. "Further, the bodhisattva who wishes with a deep mind to obtain the unsurpassed path" and explains the word: 「深心名一心、重心，……」 tr. "Deep mind means a single mind, a weighty mind, …"; then he adds its substance: 「深愛佛道，出於一切世間所樂。」 tr. "Deeply loving the Buddha path, beyond all that the world delights in." Depth is not the thickness of an emotion; it is that what is loved has already gone beyond the class of things the world can delight in—once this mind is established, the names and positions promised by the four kinds of deeds of Māra before are none of them enough to move him.

40. The two causes and conditions, inner and outer—inner means right recollection, outer means the good friends. The treatise-author sets up a general frame for 「當親近善知識」 tr. "one should draw near to the good friend": 「有二因緣故得無上道：一者、內，二者、外。」 tr. "Because of two causes and conditions one obtains the unsurpassed path: first, inner; second, outer." The inner is 「正憶念，思惟、籌量諸法」 tr. "right recollection, considering and reckoning dharmas"; the outer is 「諸善知識」 tr. "the good friends". Both names come from the treatise itself. Neither of the two can be lacking: to have only the inner without the outer is exactly that person in the text before who 「不問阿鞞跋致相」 tr. "does not ask about the marks of the avaivartika"; to have only the outer without the inner is to count whatever anyone says.

41. Why Subhūti asks this—the Buddha elsewhere speaks in all kinds of ways of the marks of the good friend. The treatise-author accounts for where the question comes from: 「佛餘處種種說善知識相，是故須菩提問佛：『世尊！何等是菩薩善知識？』」 tr. "The Buddha elsewhere speaks in all kinds of ways of the marks of the good friend; therefore Subhūti asks the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! What is the bodhisattva's good friend?’" Here the treatise-author is restating the question in the sūtra in the third person; it is not another speaker speaking on the spot, and in reading one should not mistake it for a new dialogue.

42. The restatement of the Buddha's answer—persons and dharmas side by side; because dharmas can accomplish the matter they are called good friends. The treatise-author restates the Buddha's answer: 「諸佛、大菩薩及聲聞是菩薩善知識。六波羅蜜乃至一切種智、如、法性、實際等諸法亦是善知識。」 tr. "The buddhas, the great bodhisattvas, and the śrāvakas are the bodhisattva's good friends. The six perfections and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds, suchness, the nature of dharmas, the limit of reality, and the other dharmas are also good friends." And he explains why dharmas get this name: 「法能成辦其事，故說六波羅蜜等諸法名善知識。」 tr. "Because dharmas can accomplish the matter, the six perfections and the other dharmas are said to be called good friends." The criterion is 「能成辦」 tr. "can accomplish"—whatever can bring the matter to accomplishment, whether person or dharma, falls within this name.

43. The three kinds of noble ones make the bodhisattva practise by the six perfections; therefore dharmas and persons are alike called good friends. The treatise-author gathers it into one general rule: 「三種聖人以此六波羅蜜法令菩薩奉行，得作佛；是故法及人通名『善知識』。」 tr. "The three kinds of noble ones, by the dharma of these six perfections, cause the bodhisattva to practise it and become a Buddha; therefore dharmas and persons are alike called ‘good friends’." The number of the three kinds of noble ones is the side of persons in the Buddha's answer in the item before—the buddhas, the great bodhisattvas, the śrāvakas, which the treatise itself names. Persons teach by the Dharma, and the Dharma is practised through persons; therefore the two share one name—this is the settled conclusion of this passage.

44. The treatise-author sets a question—the path of the Small Vehicle is different; how can it serve as a good friend to the bodhisattva? 「佛及菩薩、六波羅蜜能成菩薩故，應是善知識；小乘道異，云何能與作善知識？」 tr. "Because the Buddha, the bodhisattvas, and the six perfections can bring the bodhisattva to accomplishment, they should be good friends; the path of the Small Vehicle is different—how can it serve as a good friend?" The question is fairly put: the first two items are as they should be, while the third must be accounted for. What is doubted is not the śrāvaka's realisation but the difference of path—since what they tend toward is different, how can they lead the way?

45. The answer—among those of the Small Vehicle there are some who, because they sought the Buddha path in former lives, have keen faculties and a mind of pity; the three examples of Śāriputra, Subhūti, and Mahākāśyapa. The treatise-author's answer goes in two steps. First he lays down a general rule: 「有小乘人先世求佛道故利根，雖是小乘，有憐愍心，觀應成大乘者為說大乘法，知報佛恩故，令佛種不斷。」 tr. "There are people of the Small Vehicle who, because they sought the Buddha path in former lives, have keen faculties; although they are of the Small Vehicle, they have a mind of pity; seeing those who should become followers of the Great Vehicle, they teach them the Dharma of the Great Vehicle; because they know to repay the Buddha's kindness, they keep the seed of the Buddha from being cut off." Then he gives three examples to make it concrete: Śāriputra 「六十劫求佛道，雖退轉作阿羅漢，亦利根智慧，能為諸菩薩說大乘」 tr. "sought the Buddha path for sixty kalpas, and although he retrogressed and became an arhat, he too has keen faculties and wisdom and can teach the Great Vehicle to the bodhisattvas"; Subhūti 「常行無諍三昧，常有慈悲心於眾生故，亦能教化菩薩大乘法」 tr. "constantly practises the samādhi of non-contention, and because he constantly has the mind of kindness and compassion toward beings, he too can teach and transform bodhisattvas in the Dharma of the Great Vehicle"; Mahākāśyapa 「以神通力持此身至彌勒出世，於九足山中出，與大眾作得道因緣」 tr. "by the power of the supernormal powers holds this body until Maitreya appears in the world, when he will come out from within the Nine-Footed Mountain and make for the great assembly the causes and conditions of attaining the path". The last sentence, 「如是等甚多」 tr. "there are very many such as these", makes clear that those cited are not isolated cases. The three examples each prove one face: having once aroused the great mind, having the practice of kindness and compassion, being able to continue the seed of the Buddha.

46. The treatise-author sets a question—since the six perfections gather in all dharmas, why are the limbs of the path and so on up to suchness, the nature of dharmas, and the limit of reality spoken of separately? 「六波羅蜜攝一切法，今何以別說三十七品至如、法性、實際？」 tr. "The six perfections gather in all dharmas; why now are the thirty-seven limbs of the path through to suchness, the nature of dharmas, and the limit of reality spoken of separately?" This is a question of arrangement: if the six perfections already gather in everything, then is the sūtra text's setting of the other dharmas side by side as good friends not a repetition?

47. The answer—a fourfold distinction: brief and extended, far and near, great and wondrous, conditioned and unconditioned. The treatise-author's answer comes down layer by layer, four layers in all. First, brief and extended: 「六波羅蜜是略說；四念處等是廣說，解六波羅蜜。」 tr. "The six perfections are the brief statement; the four foundations of mindfulness and the rest are the extended statement, explaining the six perfections." Second, far and near: 「六波羅蜜是菩薩初道，小遠；三十七品是近因緣。」 tr. "The six perfections are the bodhisattva's first path, somewhat far; the thirty-seven limbs of the path are the near causes and conditions." Third, within the six perfections the greater are taken—the two perfections of meditation and prajñā are the greatest, 「譬如雖有星宿，日、月最勝」 tr. "just as, although there are the stars and constellations, the sun and moon are the most excellent"; and within these two the more wondrous are taken again—「四念處、佛十力等法最妙，能大利益，現世令人得道故」 tr. "the four foundations of mindfulness, the ten powers of the Buddha, and such dharmas are the most wondrous, because they can greatly benefit and cause people to attain the path in this present life", while 「持戒、布施等不如故」 tr. "because keeping the precepts, giving, and the rest are not their equal". Fourth, why suchness and the other unconditioned dharmas are brought out separately—「實、不虛誑故，能成菩薩事」 tr. "because they are real and not false or deceptive, they can accomplish the bodhisattva's matter"; practising the four foundations of mindfulness and the rest, one obtains such dharmas as these, which 「令菩薩得出虛誑法，故名善知識」 tr. "cause the bodhisattva to get out of false and deceptive dharmas; therefore they are called good friends". Of the four layers, the first three distinguish the coarse and fine, the far and near among conditioned dharmas; the last brings out why unconditioned dharmas are entered in the list.

48. Explaining 「六波羅蜜是世尊」 tr. "the six perfections are the World-Honored One"—no different from the Buddha; what they teach cannot be broken. From here on the treatise-author explains, sentence by sentence, that string of figurative names in the sūtra text. The reason for the first sentence is: 「是六波羅蜜等法如佛無異，佛現在亦以是法度人」 tr. "these dharmas, the six perfections and the rest, are no different from the Buddha; the Buddha at present also delivers people by these dharmas", and so, citing the sūtra, he says 「如世尊所說不可壞，六波羅蜜等所說亦不可壞」 tr. "just as what the World-Honored One teaches cannot be broken, so what the six perfections and the rest teach cannot be broken either", and therefore it says 「六波羅蜜是世尊」 tr. "the six perfections are the World-Honored One". The point of comparison lies in 「不可壞」 tr. "cannot be broken"—it is not saying the six perfections are the Buddha; it is saying that what they teach is unbreakable in the same way as the Buddha's.

49. Explaining 「是道」 tr. "are the path"—practising this path, one enters straight into the immeasurable dharmas of the Buddha. A single sentence: 「是道者，行是道，徑入無量佛法中。」 tr. "‘Are the path’: practising this path, one enters straight into the immeasurable dharmas of the Buddha." The one word 「徑」 tr. "straight" is the eye—it does not go round, and so it is called the path.

50. Explaining 「是大明」 tr. "are the great light"—they cause people to obtain great wisdom and break the ignorance of the world. The treatise-author explains the mechanism of this name: what is spoken in the six perfections, when 「人籌量、思惟、分別、常修行，令人得大智慧，破諸世間無明」 tr. "people reckon, consider, distinguish, and constantly cultivate it, causes them to obtain great wisdom and break all the ignorance of the world", and so it is called the great light. What makes light light lies in what it breaks—ignorance. Here too one can see where the work of the earlier item, 「內名正憶念，思惟、籌量諸法」 tr. "the inner means right recollection, considering and reckoning dharmas", comes to rest.

51. Are the torch, are knowledge, are wisdom, are rescue, are refuge, are the island, are the ultimate path—as said above. For these seven names the treatise-author gives no further explanation one by one, and says 「如上說」 tr. "as said above"—the pattern of meaning is already clear, and the reader can work them out by the method of the first two names. Here the treatise abbreviates, and the exposition does not make additions on its behalf either.

52. Explaining 「六波羅蜜是父母」 tr. "the six perfections are father and mother"—prajñāpāramitā is the mother, the five perfections are the father; because they come together they are named together. This sentence is the only one in the whole string of figurative names that divides the six perfections and matches them: 「般若波羅蜜是母，五波羅蜜是父，……」 tr. "Prajñāpāramitā is the mother, the five perfections are the father, …"; the mother gives birth and the father brings to completion, and so they are named together as father and mother. The treatise-author further adds a general rule: 「如六波羅蜜說，四念處等亦如是」 tr. "as is said of the six perfections, so it is of the four foundations of mindfulness and the rest"—the names listed above apply equally to the limbs of the path.

53. The sūtra itself gives the causes and conditions—the six perfections and the other dharmas are also the father and mother of the buddhas of the three times and the ten directions. The treatise-author points out that the sūtra text here carries its own reason: 「是中說因緣：『六波羅蜜等法亦是三世十方佛父母。』」 tr. "Here the causes and conditions are stated: ‘The six perfections and the other dharmas are also the father and mother of the buddhas of the three times and the ten directions.’" The name of father and mother is not a word of praise; it has its ground—the buddhas are born from within them.

54. Self-benefit and benefiting others—the six perfections are dharmas of self-benefit, and the four means of gathering gather in beings. The treatise-author makes a distinction: 「是六波羅蜜等是自利法」 tr. "the six perfections and the rest are dharmas of self-benefit"; if one wishes to use them to teach and transform beings and purify buddha-worlds, then 「應以四攝法攝取眾生」 tr. "one should gather in beings by the four means of gathering". The meaning of the four means of gathering is 「如先說」 tr. "as said before", and it is not repeated here—the present-day explanation of the four, giving, kind speech, beneficial action, and shared endeavour, has already been given above in item eighteen, and the reader may turn back to it; here the treatise-author takes them only as dharmas of benefiting others, set against the six perfections as dharmas of self-benefit. The last sentence joins the two sides: 「如是自利、利他故，佛說『六波羅蜜、三十七品等諸法是世尊、是道』等。」 tr. "Because they thus benefit oneself and benefit others, the Buddha says ‘the six perfections, the thirty-seven limbs of the path, and the other dharmas are the World-Honored One, are the path’ and so on."—that long string of figurative names holds precisely because these dharmas are complete on both sides, benefiting self and benefiting others.

55. Explaining 「不隨他教」 tr. "does not follow another's teaching"—he knows of himself the real mark of all dharmas, so that even if one changes into the body of a Buddha to teach a different mark of dharmas, he does not believe and does not follow. The treatise-author explains this phrase not from ‘not listening to what people say’ but from 「自知」 tr. "knowing of himself": 「不隨他教名自知諸法實相，……」 tr. "‘Does not follow another's teaching’ means knowing of himself the real mark of all dharmas, …"; only with knowing of himself can one speak of not following; and he pushes the limit to the utmost—「乃至變作佛身來說異於法相，亦不信不隨」 tr. "even if someone changes into the body of a Buddha and comes to teach what differs from the mark of dharmas, he does not believe and does not follow". This phrase turns back to close the four passages on deeds of Māra: Māra can take the form of a bhikṣu, a householder, a father or mother, even the body of a Buddha, and the criterion throughout is only one—whether what is taught differs from the mark of dharmas.

56. He himself obtains the bodhisattva path and severs the doubts of beings, therefore he should train in prajñā; within prajñā there is nothing not taught. The last passage comes to rest on the place of training: 「自得菩薩道，漸漸具足諸佛法，淨佛世界、成就眾生。得佛道，能斷一切眾生疑。」 tr. "He himself obtains the bodhisattva path, gradually fulfils the dharmas of the buddhas, purifies buddha-worlds and brings beings to accomplishment. Obtaining the Buddha path, he can sever the doubts of all beings." One who wishes to obtain this 「當學般若」 tr. "should train in prajñā", the reason being that 「般若波羅蜜中，世間出世間、若大若小，無事不說」 tr. "within prajñāpāramitā, the worldly and the world-transcending, the great and the small—there is nothing not taught". The whole unit, which began from a single thought in a dream, returns here to one matter—training in prajñā.

Do Not Misread

Do not read 「夢中不證」 tr. "not realising it in a dream" as being unable to realise in a dream. What the sūtra text says is 「亦不作證」 tr. "also does not realise them"—he is able to realise and does not take realisation; it is not that he lacks the strength to realise. The 「觀諸法如夢、如幻、如嚮、如焰、如化」 tr. "contemplates dharmas as like a dream, like an illusion, like an echo, like a mirage, like a transformation" listed in the same passage shows precisely that the contemplation of the five similes is already at hand; the gate of realisation is right before him and he does not enter—only this is the mark. If it is read as the mind being dim in a dream and unable to accomplish anything, then the seven marks this chapter sets out all become nothing worth recording.

Do not read the marks in a dream as a practice of dreaming. The treatise-author's one sentence, 「是菩薩晝日常習行空故，夜夢中亦不貪三界」 tr. "because this bodhisattva constantly trains in emptiness by day, in his dreams by night too he does not crave the three realms", has already fixed the place of effort in the daytime. Not craving in a dream, not being startled in a dream, making a vow in a dream, making an oath in a dream—all four are the showing of what was trained in by day, not a separate method of practice within dreams. To put one's mental effort into managing the dream is precisely to invert result and cause.

Do not read 「是火即滅」 tr. "the fire goes out at once" and 「非人當去」 tr. "the non-human should go" as magic one may take up to test oneself. The sūtra text itself gives the reverse side: the fire may 「燒一家、置一家」 tr. "burn one house and leave one house", and the non-human may also go because evil Māra commands it. The treatise-author further says that the fire's going out is because 「於無量劫修集福德，得諸法實相故，鬼神、龍王等助滅是火」 tr. "because for immeasurable kalpas he has cultivated and gathered merit and has obtained the real mark of all dharmas, ghosts and spirits, nāga kings, and others help put out this fire"—what it rests on is long-cultivated merit and the real mark, not the wording of the oath. For one who learns only the wording and sets up an oath, the sūtra text already has a ready example: that person 「用是空誓」 tr. "using this empty oath".

Do not take the fulfilment of the oath as the whole of the evidence. The most important pair set against each other in the First Part is the oath of utmost sincerity and the empty oath: the two passages are almost the same in wording, and in both the non-human went; one is a mark of having received the prediction, the other is the beginning of a deed of Māra. The dividing line lies not in whether it was fulfilled or not, but in whether there is the foundation of 「久行六波羅蜜」 tr. "having long practised the six perfections" and 「方便力」 tr. "the power of skilful means", and whether one draws near to and relies on the good friend and is willing to ask about the marks of the avaivartika. Whoever fixes his own position by a single fulfilment is exactly the one this passage speaks of.

Do not read the four passages on deeds of Māra as four kinds of interference from outside. Looked at closely, the words Māra says in the four passages mostly take a form that seems true—name, clan, and former lives, the dhūta practice, a future Buddha-name that fits his own thoughts; as for 「汝所行，是佛所稱譽遠離法」 tr. "what you practise is the dharma of seclusion that the Buddha praises", the Buddha at once states plainly, 「我不讚是遠離」 tr. "I do not praise this seclusion"—it is a false certification within Māra's words. What Māra does is to add the sentence ‘you already are’, or to speak of what the Buddha has not approved as approved by the Buddha. And the step that really does the damage, in every passage, is taken by the bodhisattva himself—「即歡喜生慢憍心」 tr. "at once rejoices and gives rise to a mind of pride and arrogance" 「我必為諸佛所授記」 tr. "I must have been given the prediction by the buddhas" 「輕餘在眾中住菩薩」 tr. "slights the other bodhisattvas who dwell among the assembly". The treatise-author's explanation of the word 「微細」 tr. "subtle" says it most clearly: 「細名不逆其意，隨其本念，助成其心。」 tr. "Subtle means not going against his intent; following his own thoughts, it helps his mind along." Any seal of approval that goes entirely along with one's own original intent and happens to raise oneself up, from whosever mouth it comes, should first be met with doubt.

Do not read 「我不讚是遠離」 tr. "I do not praise this seclusion" as the Buddha not permitting one to dwell in the mountains. The Buddha's answer says plainly, 「遠離聲聞、辟支佛心，住空閑山澤曠遠之處，是佛所許遠離法」 tr. "to be secluded from the mind of the śrāvaka and the pratyekabuddha and dwell in empty and quiet mountains, marshes, and far-off places is the dharma of seclusion the Buddha approves"—dwelling in the mountains is still within what is approved; what is set aside is only, in 「但在空閑山澤」 tr. "merely being in empty and quiet mountains and marshes", that word 「但」 tr. "merely". Conversely, of the one who is 「城傍心清淨」 tr. "at the city's edge, pure in mind", the sūtra text also states plainly that he is 「具足禪定、解脫、智慧、神通」 tr. "complete in meditative concentration, liberation, wisdom, and the supernormal powers". What is left behind lies in the mind, and the dwelling follows it; what judges right and wrong has never been the location.

Do not read the listing of arhats as good friends as there being no difference between great and small. The treatise-author's answer is conditional: it refers to that class who, 「先世求佛道故利根」 tr. "because they sought the Buddha path in former lives, have keen faculties", 「有憐愍心」 tr. "have a mind of pity", and can, 「觀應成大乘者為說大乘法」 tr. "seeing those who should become followers of the Great Vehicle, teach them the Dharma of the Great Vehicle", and cites Śāriputra, Subhūti, and Mahākāśyapa as examples. The conditions are clearly set out; it is not so of everyone of the Small Vehicle. Likewise, this does not say that the difference of path does not exist; it says that on the one point of 「能成辦其事」 tr. "being able to accomplish the matter", they can indeed lead the way for the bodhisattva.

Do not read the string of figurative names of the six perfections as a single undifferentiated exaltation. Each name is set up with respect to one particular share of virtue; they are not a general praise. Read as a general praise, one will miss the division of labour between prajñā and the five perfections in the one sentence 「是父是母」 tr. "are father, are mother".

Bearing on Practice

Test the day by the dream; do not make the dream one's practice. The cause and effect the treatise-author gives run one way—by day one trains in emptiness, and at night the dream then does not crave. So if in a dream one sees oneself startled and afraid, craving and clinging, taking realisation, what should be turned back to and corrected is the day's work, not some scheme to manage the dream. Conversely, an occasional good dream need not be taken as proof of a stage either; at most it shows that recent work has found a little way in. Treat the dream as a thermometer, not as a tool.

Use ‘the fearful object is teaching material’ to transform alarm in dreams and in daily life. The bodhisattva of the fourth mark in the sūtra text is not only unafraid; on waking he at once reflects, 「三界虛妄，皆如夢耳」 tr. "the three realms are false; all are but like a dream", and turns it into the sentence 「我得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提時，亦當為眾生說三界如夢」 tr. "when I obtain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, I too shall teach beings that the three realms are like a dream". This turn is very usable: when something truly alarming happens in daily life, do not rush to suppress the feeling; ask instead what this alarm can teach me, and for whom it can later be used to explain something. Once the alarm is put to use, it is no longer only a loss.

Use 「是夢及諸法，無二無別」 tr. "this dream and all dharmas are without duality and without difference" to check one's own discriminating of objects. Practitioners often have two standards—one for formal practice, one for scattered moments; one for waking, one for the edge of sleep. The sūtra text gives only one. Whenever one feels ‘this does not count’, discrimination has already arisen; this sentence can be taken up on the spot as a question: between this matter and that, is there really a twofold division in their falseness?

Before setting up an oath, first ask about the foundation. The content of the sūtra text's oath of utmost sincerity is a setting out of one's own practice—a pure mind, practising the right path, secluded from the mind of the two vehicles—and only then does he dare take the buddhas as witness. The empty oath has only the one sentence, 「若我實從諸佛受記者」 tr. "if I have really received the prediction from the buddhas". This gives a very practical order: when one wishes to set up a vow or an oath, first count clearly the few things one has actually done; when they cannot be counted, what needs making up is practice, not the words of the oath.

Take the four Chinese characters 「合我本念」 tr. "fits my own thoughts" as the alarm for self-approval. In the third kind of deed of Māra, that bodhisattva's reasoning is 「是人所說合我本念，我必為諸佛所授記」 tr. "what this person says fits my own thoughts; I must have been given the prediction by the buddhas". In daily life this thread can be seen everywhere—others' words, a sentence in a book, a chance sign—as long as it happens to fit what I thought before, it is taken as confirmation. Take the treatise-author's gloss as the measure: whatever 「不逆其意，隨其本念，助成其心」 tr. "does not go against one's intent, follows one's own thoughts, and helps one's mind along", set aside for a while before going on; the more pleasing it is to the ear, the more one should slow down a step.

Take ‘looking down on others’ as the general warning signal. The four passages on deeds of Māra close in exactly the same place—slighting, mocking, disparaging, and scorning the other bodhisattvas; 「輕蔑餘人」 tr. "looking down on others"; slighting the other great bodhisattvas; slighting the other bodhisattvas who dwell among the assembly. And the sūtra text judges the sin extremely heavy, saying it is heavier than the four prohibitions and exceeds the five heinous sins. This gives a very useful self-check: there is no need to judge whether one's own state is true or false; only look whether lately the thought ‘they are not as good as I am’ has arisen in the mind. Once it has, however real the experience it rests on, one is already on the line of the deeds of Māra.

Use the two conditions, inner and outer, together, neglecting neither side. The treatise-author says it plainly: the inner is 「正憶念，思惟、籌量諸法」 tr. "right recollection, considering and reckoning dharmas", the outer is 「諸善知識」 tr. "the good friends". To rely only on one's own thinking with no one to ask is exactly the root of the sickness the sūtra text points out in one place, 「不親近依止善知識，不問阿鞞跋致相」 tr. "he does not draw near to and rely on the good friend, and does not ask about the marks of the avaivartika"; to rely only on asking others without thinking oneself is to be shaken by anyone's words. Each side has one thing to be done: regularly take one's points of doubt to someone who can be asked and get them made clear, and think them through once oneself before asking.

Use 「不隨他教名自知諸法實相」 tr. "‘does not follow another's teaching’ means knowing of himself the real mark of all dharmas" to set the bottom line for choosing among teachings. The treatise-author pushes the limit to 「乃至變作佛身來說異於法相，亦不信不隨」 tr. "even if someone changes into the body of a Buddha and comes to teach what differs from the mark of dharmas, he does not believe and does not follow"—the criterion is only one: look at whether what is said differs from the mark of dharmas, not at who says it. In choosing among teachings in daily life, set ‘who said it’ aside for the moment, and first ask whether these words accord with the mark of dharmas one is learning; if they accord, take them in; if they do not, then even from the body of a Buddha, do not follow them. Once this one line is established, the four passages on deeds of Māra before have nowhere to ply their craft.

Further Resonances

The First Part, a single unit of one sūtra passage and one treatise passage, establishes the pivot of this chapter and the first half of the marks of non-retrogression. The sūtra text begins from not craving and not realising in a dream, passes through seven marks to the true and false of the oath, follows with the four passages on subtle deeds of Māra, and at the end returns to the good friend and the names of the six perfections; the treatise-author explains mark by mark why each is so, and fixes the pivot of the whole chapter by 「晝日常習行空故，夜夢中亦不貪三界」 tr. "because he constantly trains in emptiness by day, in his dreams by night too he does not crave the three realms", fixes the position this chapter fills in by the two kinds of avaivartika and the four positions of the prediction, divides the oath of utmost sincerity from the empty oath by long practice of the six perfections and the power of skilful means, glosses the subtle deeds of Māra by 「細名不逆其意，隨其本念，助成其心」 tr. "subtle means not going against his intent; following his own thoughts, it helps his mind along", and at the end closes with the two causes and conditions, inner and outer, and 「法及人通名『善知識』」 tr. "dharmas and persons are alike called ‘good friends’". The weight of the whole passage can be gathered into one sentence: the marks of the test can be counterfeited; the foundation of one's work cannot.

On the chapter title the editions are not uniform. The base text titles it "Not Realising It in a Dream", while the proper title in the sūtra text of the Larger Sūtra and Jizang's Commentary on the Larger Sūtra both title it "The Dream Oath"; the sūtra text further has an interlinear note beneath the chapter title, 「丹夢中不證品」 tr. "the Khitan edition: Not Realising It in a Dream", which accords with the wording of the base text. The treatise titles of the four editions, Song, Yuan, Palace, and Ming, all likewise use 「夢誓」 tr. "the dream oath", and the Ming edition further notes beneath the title that the wording of the sūtra text still reads 「夢中」 tr. "in a dream". The two sides' names each have their basis; here they are recorded side by side without judgement.

Jizang deals with the double name at the very opening of this chapter, and ties this chapter back to the dream of the earlier text: 「前云夢行者，如文夢中脩行，今是夢中發願，故兩品行願各舉也。」 tr. "Earlier it was called ‘Dream Conduct’ because, as the text has it, one cultivates practice in a dream; now it is making a vow in a dream; therefore the two chapters each bring up one of practice and vow." And he explains the name of this chapter directly: 「此品亦云夢中不證者，不證明覺時不證，今夢中亦不證也。」 tr. "This chapter is also called ‘Not Realising It in a Dream’: ‘not realising’ made clear that one does not realise while awake; now one does not realise even in a dream." And he gathers it up by the two pairs of dream and waking, vow and practice: 「上云證據覺不證，今明夢誓就夢中發願，明此菩薩善根純厚，非但覺行般若，亦夢中亦行，即夢覺相對，亦是願行一雙，亦是上不證是自行，今發誓是化他也。」 tr. "Above, realisation was spoken of with reference to not realising while awake; now it makes clear the dream oath, which is making a vow within a dream, making clear that this bodhisattva's roots of goodness are pure and rich: he practises prajñā not only while awake but also practises it in a dream. That is, dream and waking are set against each other; it is also a pair of vow and practice; it is also that the not realising above is one's own practice, while the making of the oath now is the transforming of others." Jizang here further sets a question, asking why, since the previous chapter has already made the marks of non-retrogression clear at length, they are spoken of again now, and his answer says 「此體始終皆說般若……」 tr. "the substance of this, from beginning to end, is all the teaching of prajñā …"—it runs parallel in meaning to the question and answer the treatise-author sets himself at the opening of this unit, but the wording is not borrowed; the two are seen side by side and recorded without judgement. Jizang also adds an explanation: 「但佛隨眾生信悟故，或就人門說，或就法門說，或就人法門雜說也。」 tr. "It is only that the Buddha, following the faith and understanding of beings, speaks sometimes by way of the gate of persons, sometimes by way of the gate of dharmas, and sometimes by way of the gates of persons and dharmas mixed together." He explains the reason for the re-telling by the different kinds of gate of teaching, and this and the treatise-author's answer 「但不次第」 tr. "only not in order" each make a view of their own.

Huiying's Commentary has a dedicated section on this chapter, and it matches the range of the sūtra and treatise of this unit. His explanation of the title and the order says: 「第六十品釋論者，名為夢中不證品。何故次學空不證品後明於此品？不退菩薩乃至夢中尚不取證，何況晝日明白心學而當取證？故次此品後明此品也。」 tr. "The sixtieth chapter explaining the treatise is named the chapter ‘Not Realising It in a Dream’. Why is this chapter made clear next, after the chapter ‘Training in Emptiness without Realising It’? The non-retrogressing bodhisattva does not take realisation even in a dream—how much less would he take realisation while training by day with a clear and bright mind? Therefore, following that chapter, this chapter is made clear." His sectional division divides this chapter into three, and this unit corresponds to the first two: 「就此品中大有三分」 tr. "within this chapter there are broadly three parts"—the first part makes clear the conduct, kind, and appearance of non-retrogression and the marks that are not non-retrogression, and 「對挍而辨」 tr. "distinguishes them by setting them against each other and comparing" (in this sentence the base text writes a transliterated name with a composed character of the Continued Canon; the discipline of this collection does not replace it with a standard character, so it is given here in present-day words and not entered as a verbatim quotation); the second and third parts read word for word: 「第二、明脩學之來須託善知識；第三、明波若體扶脩學儀軌。」 tr. "Second, it makes clear that the coming of cultivation and training must rely on the good friend; third, it makes clear the substance of prajñā, which supports the rules of cultivation and training." Within the first part he again opens two: 「第一、有八復次，明不退相貌；第二、從遠離六波羅蜜及方便力已下，明非不退相。」 tr. "First, there are eight ‘furthermore’s, making clear the appearance of non-retrogression; second, from ‘far removed from the six perfections and the power of skilful means’ onward, it makes clear the marks that are not non-retrogression." And he closes the first meaning of the first part with 「乃至夢中亦無貪證，名不退相也」 tr. "even in a dream there is no craving and no realising; this is called the mark of non-retrogression", and judges the setting of the two parts against each other with 「上明是不退相即是佛事，今明非不退相即是魔事也」 tr. "above it made clear that the marks of non-retrogression are the deeds of the Buddha; now it makes clear that what are not the marks of non-retrogression are the deeds of Māra". On the passage of burning one house and leaving one house, Huiying separately cites worldly books and his teacher's words to make clear the distinction between fire and calamity, and explains 「破法餘殃者，即是破波若等法，執義自是，各隨其見，不依經論」 tr. "‘the remaining calamity of having broken the Dharma’ is breaking prajñā and such dharmas: holding to one's own interpretation as right, each following his own views, not relying on the sūtras and treatises"—explaining breaking the Dharma as holding to one's own interpretation as right; with the treatise-author's explanation of it as 「破般若波羅蜜」 tr. "breaking prajñāpāramitā", the two are seen together, one fuller and one briefer. On the passage on seclusion, Huiying judges: 「若雖在城湟，能離二乘心，即是菩薩脩遠離行。若不爾者，雖處山間，猶名散亂也。」 tr. "If, though he is within the city and its moat, he can leave the mind of the two vehicles, this is the bodhisattva's cultivating the practice of seclusion. If it is not so, then though he dwells among the mountains, he is still called scattered." This accords with the seclusion the sūtra text approves. On the passage on the good friend, Huiying records the treatise-author's twofold division—「有二：第一、明三乘聖人等為人善知識，六度及實際等屬法善知識」 tr. "There are two: first, it makes clear that the noble ones of the three vehicles and the like are the good friends who are persons, and the six perfections, the limit of reality, and the like belong to the good friends that are dharmas"—and records another school's threefold division, taking the noble ones of the three vehicles as the good friends who are persons, the six perfections and the like as the good friends that are dharmas, and the limit of reality and the like as the good friends that are principle, and says 「此亦無妨也」 tr. "this too is no hindrance". The two views, the twofold division into persons and dharmas and the threefold division into persons, dharmas, and principle, stand together, recorded without judgement. Huiying's own chapter numbers are consistently one place fewer than the base text's; reading his 「第六十品」 tr. "sixtieth chapter", one should know that it is this chapter, not the previous one; his book's system of chapter numbering differs from the base text, and this is recorded here as it is, without re-attaching it on his behalf.

As for such topics as the mark of prajñāpāramitā being like space, the sameness and difference of the mark of dharmas and the mark of prajñā, and on to the depth or shallowness of faith and understanding in prajñā of the one who receives the prediction—the Last Part of this chapter goes on to unfold them; they are not anticipated here.