大智度論 薩陀波崙品·卷九十七Dazhidulun — Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa · Sadāprarudita, Part 2 of 4

Sadāprarudita, Fascicle 97: Forgetting to Ask Where to Go and Weeping for Seven Days, the Buddha in the Sky Appearing to Point Out the City of Many Fragrances and Dharmodgata's Palace, the Simile of the Poisoned Arrow, and Entering the Samādhi Gates

What Is Being Asked

Fascicle 96 set up the origin of the jātaka: the Buddha answers the difficulty raised in the previous chapter, 「新發意菩薩云何教性空法」 tr. "how is a bodhisattva who has newly aroused the mind to be taught the dharma of the emptiness of nature", not by saying the emptiness of nature over once more in terms of principle, but by putting forward a person—Sadāprarudita—as proof, saying that the dharma that is 「本來常無，更無新異」 tr. "from the first it has always been non-existent; there is nothing new and strange" is not hard to obtain, and that one who with one mind diligently makes vigour and does not spare body or life can obtain it; then the sūtra text sets out the admonitions of the voice in the sky: go east, and do not think of weariness, sleep, food and drink, day and night, cold and heat, inside and outside; as you go do not look left or right, do not destroy the mark of the body or the marks of form, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness; keep far from the evil friend, draw near to and make offerings to the good friend; toward the place from which you hear the Dharma give rise to the notion of a Buddha; do not follow the Dharma teacher with a mind for worldly gain; and it warns him in advance to be aware of the deeds of Māra. The treatise-author for his part analyses point by point what is meant by the 「深心」 tr. "deep mind" and the 「軟心」 tr. "soft mind" of one who has newly aroused intent, and why this person is still now practising the bodhisattva path in the place of the Buddha Great Thunder-Sound.

Fascicle 97 carries on downward from this, and is the second turn of this jātaka thread. The admonitions of the previous fascicle have already been received, and he has already set out on the road; yet before he has gone far, this person suddenly realises that he has forgotten to ask the three most important things—where to go, how far it is, and from whom to hear. So the sūtra text stops at an exceedingly undignified picture: a bodhisattva whom the buddhas had praised as excellent sits down right where he is and weeps, and moreover takes an oath not to rise for seven days and seven nights unless he hears the Dharma. The two questions of the whole fascicle both arise from here. The first is the shape of the mind that seeks the Dharma: why is it 「忘」 tr. "forgetting"? Why does he not look for someone else to ask, but insists on sitting there dry for seven days? Why does the Buddha appear neither earlier nor later but exactly at the end of the seven days? Why does the sūtra text take something like 「喪愛子」 tr. "losing a beloved son", the most painful thing in the world, as its simile, and not a more stately simile? The second is the shape of the realm that is sought: what kind of Buddha is it that appears in the sky, and having appeared, why does he not deliver him at once? Since the City of Many Fragrances is in Jambudvīpa, why is it adorned with the seven jewels and governed without a king? Since Dharmodgata takes his pleasure in the five desires with sixty-eight thousand court maidens, is he in the end a fleshly body or a body born of the Dharma-nature? And when at the end fifty-odd samādhi gates are present all at once, what sort of function does each of them have?

The two questions are in fact two faces of one question. The treatise-author answers 「忘」 tr. "forgetting" not by laying the blame on distraction but by attributing it to 「大歡喜覆心」 tr. "great joy covering the mind"—like great sorrow, the same kind of loss of mindfulness from an excess of force; he answers the dry sitting for seven days not by calling him foolish but by saying 「如本於空閑處一心求般若故，空中有聲；今亦欲一心如本」 tr. "just as it was because he had originally sought prajñā with one mind in a secluded place that there was a voice in the sky, so now too he wished to be of one mind as before"—he is not waiting; he is re-enacting the posture that once evoked the voice. To answer the measure of seven days he uses a thirsty person's knowing the sweetness of water: too few, and vigour is not yet deep; too many, and sorrow obstructs the mind. To answer the simile of losing a son he first sets out the general mark and then sets out eight layers of specific marks, comparing the deepest love in the world with the benefit of prajñā item by item, and when the comparison reaches the point where 「子但是假名」 tr. "the son is only a provisional name" and prajñā's 「空無定實，但有假名」 tr. "empty and without fixed reality, having only a provisional name" shine on each other, simile and Dharma become one matter. As for the City of Many Fragrances and Dharmodgata, the treatise-author on the one hand answers factually the causes and conditions of its geography—the bequeathed Dharma of a past Buddha did not reach throughout Jambudvīpa, and only to places with the causes and conditions for hearing the Dharma did the bequeathed Dharma reach; on the other hand he lets the two accounts, ‘fleshly body / Dharma body’, stand side by side without judging, and only attributes the possibility of 「受五欲而不失禪定」 tr. "receiving the five desires without losing meditative concentration" to the power of skilful means and keen faculties. And the whole fascicle closes on the item-by-item explanation of the fifty-odd samādhis: this long string of names is not a list of merits; it is a map of the realms that appear after 「一心求」 tr. "seeking with one mind"—starting from 「觀一切諸法實性」 tr. "contemplating the real nature of all dharmas", on to 「不著是性」 tr. "not clinging to this nature", on to breaking ignorance, being free from darkness, knowing continuity, entering association with emptiness, and then on to the various functions of transforming others, and closing at the end with 「見諸佛三昧」 tr. "the samādhi of seeing the buddhas", which links back exactly to the sūtra sentence 「即見十方無量阿僧祇諸佛」 tr. "at once saw immeasurable asaṃkhyeya buddhas of the ten directions". The seeker of the Dharma opens the fascicle weeping and closes it seeing the buddhas; what lies between is everything this fascicle teaches.

Passage by Passage

1. Having received the teaching he goes east, and forgets to ask three things. Having received the teaching in the sky, Sadāprarudita went east, and only after he had gone a short way did he remember: why did I not ask the voice in the sky—where I should go, whether the going is far or near, from whom I should hear prajñāpāramitā? So he stopped right where he was, weeping and sorrowing, and took an oath that for one day and one night, and so on up to seven days and seven nights, not thinking of weariness and exhaustion, and so on up to not thinking of hunger and thirst, cold and heat, he would never rise unless he heard the causes and conditions of prajñā. The first stroke of the fascicle writes one Chinese character, 「忘」 tr. "forgetting". The sūtra text does not cover for him, nor does it write this forgetting as a fault; the three things to be asked—where to go, how far, the person from whom to hear—are exactly the three most practical matters for a seeker of the Dharma, and he asked not one of them. From this it can be seen that 「受教」 tr. "receiving the teaching" and ‘knowing how to walk this road’ are two different things: at the time of receiving the teaching his whole strength of mind was on 「我當從教」 tr. "I shall follow the teaching", and not one of the matters of the road had been thought of. This passage sets up the opening move of the whole fascicle.

2. The simile of an only son suddenly dying. The Buddha tells Subhūti: it is as if a person had only one son, and he suddenly died; grieved and in bitter pain, he harbours only anguish and gives rise to no other thought; Sadāprarudita at that time had no other mind, but thought only of when he would be able to hear prajñāpāramitā, and he restates those three questions he had not asked. What is most to be seen in this simile is the four Chinese characters 「不生餘念」 tr. "gives rise to no other thought"—the pain of losing a son is taken as the simile not for its misery but for its singleness. The worldly mind is ordinarily scattered over a hundred matters; only this one pain can gather it into a single bundle. With this the sūtra text depicts the mind that seeks the Dharma, and it means: the seeking of prajñā counts only when it reaches the point of 「更無餘念」 tr. "having no other thought". The restating of the three questions is not a repetition of words; it writes that thought circling in the mind and not leaving.

3. The Buddha appears in the sky and says ‘Excellent’, and points out the adornments of the City of Many Fragrances. While he was thinking thus in sorrow, there was a Buddha in the sky who spoke to him: Excellent, excellent; when the buddhas of the past practised the bodhisattva path and sought prajñā, they too were as you are today; because you practise vigour diligently and love and delight in the Dharma, go east from here; five hundred yojanas from here there is a city named Many Fragrances. What follows describes the adornments of the city to the utmost: sevenfold, of the seven jewels, with terraces and lookouts and railings, moats of the seven jewels and rows of trees surrounding it all round in seven layers; the city twelve yojanas in length and breadth, rich and joyful, peaceful and calm, its people flourishing, with five hundred market wards, streets and lanes matching one another, upright and beautiful as if painted, bridges and fords level as the ground, broad and clean; on the city towers and turrets of the seven jewels, jewelled trees with gold, silver, giant clam, agate, coral, beryl, sphaṭika, and red pearls as their branches and leaves, jewelled cords joined one to another, nets of bells made of gold covering the city, and when the wind blows, the sound of the bells harmonious and refined, like the five kinds of music skilfully played; on the four sides of the city flowing pools, clear and pure, cool and warm in due measure, with boats adorned with the seven jewels enjoyed according to the deeds of former lives; in the pools blue, yellow, red, and white lotus flowers covering everything, and all the flowers there are in the three-thousand great-thousand world within them; on the four sides of the city five hundred parks, each park with five hundred pools, each pool ten li in length and breadth, lotus flowers as large as cartwheels each of the four colours giving off its own light, and wild ducks, wild geese, mandarin ducks, and flocks of birds of other kinds, their voices answering one another. The misunderstanding most easily born in reading this passage is to take it as a display of the pleasures of a reward-land; the sūtra text itself has already blocked this road—「是諸園觀適無所屬，是諸眾生宿業所致，長夜信樂深法，行般若波羅蜜因緣故，受是果報」 tr. "these parks belong to no one at all; they are what these beings' deeds of former lives have brought about—through the long night they have believed in and delighted in the deep Dharma, and because they practised prajñāpāramitā, they receive such retribution". The four Chinese characters 「適無所屬」 tr. "belong to no one at all" are the eye: such adornment is not tied to any possessor; it is the look of the retribution of 「長夜信樂深法」 tr. "through the long night believing in and delighting in the deep Dharma". So this great passage of scenery in fact writes the virtues of the fruit of prajñā; to let the seeker of the Dharma first see the place he is heading for is precisely the way of comforting him.

4. Dharmodgata's palace, the four parks and eight pools, and teaching prajñā three times a day. In the City of Many Fragrances there is a great high terrace, and the palace of the bodhisattva Dharmodgata is upon it: one yojana in length and breadth, made of the seven jewels; its walls sevenfold, its railings sevenfold, towers and pavilions, jewelled moats sevenfold, rows of trees sevenfold; in the palace four kinds of pleasure parks—Ever Joyful, Free from Sorrow, Flower Adornment, Fragrance Adornment; in each park eight pools—Worthy, Supreme Worthy, Joy, Supreme Joy, Peace and Security, Much Peace and Security, Separation, Avaivartika; each side of the pools of one jewel, meigui jade forming the bottom with golden sand spread over it, eight flights of steps adorned with wondrous jewels, rows of plantain trees of jambūnada gold between the flights of steps, lotus flowers of the four colours spread over the pools, fine flowering trees on the four sides whose flowers the wind blows down into the water, the pools complete with eight kinds of merit, fragrant like sandalwood and complete in colour and flavour. Then Dharmodgata, with sixty-eight thousand court maidens, complete with the five desires, takes his pleasure together with them, and the men and women of the city all enter the parks and the pools and share in the pleasure; having played and taken his pleasure, three times a day he teaches prajñāpāramitā. The men and women of the city set out a great Dharma seat in a place where many people gather, its four legs of gold or silver or beryl or sphaṭika, spread with embroidered coverlets and cushions of mingled colours, hung with curtains and sashes, covered with fine white cotton cloth, scattered with mingled wondrous flowers and incense, the seat five li high, with a canopy of white pearls set up over it; on the four sides of the pool flowers of five colours are scattered, many famous incenses are burnt, and the ground is smeared with perfumed ointment, for the sake of making offerings to and revering prajñāpāramitā. Thereupon a great assembly of hundreds of thousands of myriads, gods and people of the world, gathers in one place; among them there are those who hear, those who receive, those who hold, those who recite, those who write out, those who rightly contemplate, and those who practise as it is taught; at this time, by these causes and conditions, none of the beings falls into the evil destinies, and they do not retrogress from anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. The sequence of this passage deserves attention: first the pleasure is described, then the teaching of the Dharma, then the seven kinds of hearers and their fruit—「不墮惡道，不退轉」 tr. "do not fall into the evil destinies, do not retrogress". The names of the eight pools especially deserve notice: beginning from 「賢」 tr. "Worthy", passing through Joy, Peace and Security, and Separation, and closing at the end with 「阿鞞跋致」 tr. "Avaivartika"—the names of the pools are the stages of the path, and the very names of the gardens are a map of practice and realisation. As for the doubt raised by the sentence 「五欲具足，共相娛樂」 tr. "complete with the five desires, taking their pleasure together", the treatise-author below (sections 26 to 28) sets up a question specially in order to answer it; here the sūtra text only narrates and does not explain.

5. He is urged to go to Dharmodgata—life after life he is your good friend. The Buddha in the sky urges him: go to the bodhisattva Dharmodgata, and you shall hear prajñāpāramitā; life after life Dharmodgata has been your good friend, and can teach you anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, showing, teaching, benefiting, and gladdening; this Dharmodgata, when he originally sought prajñāpāramitā, was also as you are now; go, and do not reckon day and night, do not give rise to a mind of obstruction; before long you shall hear prajñāpāramitā. Here the third of those three questions is answered—from whom he should hear. And the sentence 「世世是汝善知識」 tr. "life after life he has been your good friend" puts this stretch of road before his eyes back into the context of immeasurable lifetimes: the good friend is not a chance meeting; he is the continuation of a past-life affinity. The four Chinese characters 「亦如汝今」 tr. "also as you are now" appear for the second time—first it was said that the buddhas of the past, seeking prajñā, were also as you are now; now it is said that Dharmodgata, originally seeking prajñā, was also as you are now; the hardship of seeking the Dharma is not an exception for him alone; it is the original shape of this road. The closing 「莫計晝夜，莫生障礙心」 tr. "do not reckon day and night, do not give rise to a mind of obstruction" goes straight at the sickness of his sitting dry for seven days just now: those seven days were utmost sincerity, and were also stagnation and clinging; the Buddha, while commending his sincerity, also loosens his stagnation.

6. Glad and delighted in mind, and the simile of the poisoned arrow. Sadāprarudita, glad and delighted in mind, thought: when shall I be able to see this good man and hear prajñāpāramitā? The Buddha uses the poisoned arrow as a simile: as a person struck by a poisoned arrow has no other thought, thinking only of when he will be able to meet a good physician to draw out the poisoned arrow and remove this pain of his; Sadāprarudita too had no other thought, and made only this vow—when shall I be able to see the bodhisattva Dharmodgata, so that I may hear prajñāpāramitā; when I hear this prajñāpāramitā, I shall sever every mind that clings to existence. This is the second simile of this fascicle, set against the simile of losing a son in section 2: the simile of losing a son takes its 「不生餘念」 tr. "gives rise to no other thought", the simile of the poisoned arrow takes its 「急」 tr. "urgency". The former is the pain of losing what one loves, the latter the danger of having poison in the body; one writes longing, the other writes saving one's life. Taking the two similes together, the mind that seeks prajñā thereby has both faces—as keen as thinking of one's son, and as urgent as drawing out an arrow. And the sentence 「斷諸有心」 tr. "sever every mind that clings to existence" is where this passage comes home: what is sought is not to obtain one thing more; it is to sever that mind that everywhere clings to existence.

7. Abiding in thought of Dharmodgata, he obtains unobstructed knowledge and vision, enters immeasurable samādhi gates, and sees the buddhas of the ten directions. Sadāprarudita then, abiding in this place and thinking of the bodhisattva Dharmodgata, having obtained unobstructed knowledge and vision within all dharmas, at once obtained immeasurable samādhi gates present before him, and the sūtra text enumerates fifty-odd gates—starting from the samādhi of contemplating the nature of dharmas, the samādhi of the nature of dharmas being unfindable, and the samādhi of breaking the ignorance of dharmas, passing through dharmas not being different, indestructible and sovereign, able to illuminate, free from darkness, continuity without difference, unfindable, scattering flowers, non-self, illusion-like majestic power, like mirror images, the languages of all beings, the joy of all beings, entering into the discrimination of sounds, the adornment of all kinds of words, letters, and phrases, fearlessness, a nature ever silent, unobstructed liberation, free from dust and defilement, the adornment of names, words, and phrases, seeing dharmas, the unobstructed summit of dharmas, like space, like a vajra, not fearing clinging to form, gaining victory, turning the eye, culmination in the nature of dharmas, able to give peace and security, the lion's roar, surpassing all beings, flower adornment, severing doubt, following all that is firm, going beyond dharmas and obtaining supernormal power and fearlessness, able to penetrate dharmas, the wealth-seal of dharmas, seeing dharmas without discrimination, free from all views, free from all darkness, free from all marks, liberation from all clinging, removing all slackness, obtaining the light of the deep Dharma, cannot be taken away, breaking Māra, not clinging to the three realms, and giving rise to light, and ending with the samādhi of seeing the buddhas; abiding in these samādhis, he at once saw immeasurable asaṃkhyeya buddhas of the ten directions teaching prajñāpāramitā for the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas. In this passage two things must be seen. First, the cause of obtaining the samādhis is 「住念曇無竭菩薩」 tr. "abiding in thought of the bodhisattva Dharmodgata"—not a technique of entering concentration but one thought of the good friend; second, the order of the fifty-odd gates is not a random heap: it starts from contemplating the nature, continues with not clinging to the nature, in between are gates of breaking the defilements and gates of transforming others, and it closes with 「見諸佛」 tr. "seeing the buddhas", while the sūtra text immediately follows with 「即見十方無量阿僧祇諸佛」 tr. "at once saw immeasurable asaṃkhyeya buddhas of the ten directions"—the names and the events interlock here. The treatise-author below (section 33 onward) explains them item by item; this is the backbone of the latter half of the fascicle.

8. Why he forgot and did not ask the voice in the sky. The treatise-author poses the question: why did Sadāprarudita forget, and not ask the voice in the sky? The answer: he forgot because great joy covered his mind; just as when people are in great sorrow or great joy, by reason of these two things they forget. This answer moves 「忘」 tr. "forgetting" from a fault over to the force of the mind: sorrow and gladness are two opposite feelings, yet their effect of losing mindfulness is the same—in both, the mind is for a time filled by one matter, and other matters then do not enter. In reading this one need not make excuses for Sadāprarudita, but must know that what sūtra and treatise write is the true face of the mind of one seeking the path, not a flawless model.

9. Why he stayed here seven days and did not go on to seek a place to ask. The question: the voice in the sky had already ceased; why did he stay here seven days, and not go on to seek a place to ask? The answer: just as it was because he had originally sought prajñā with one mind in a secluded place that there was a voice in the sky, so now too he wished to be of one mind as before, hoping to hear the voice again and sever his doubts. This answer brings out the line of reasoning behind his dry sitting: it is not that he did not know he could look elsewhere; it is that he knew where that voice came from—it came from 「一心」 tr. "one mind". So what he did was return to that posture that can evoke. Herein lies a general rule of seeking the Dharma: matters of stimulus and response cannot be forced from outside; they can only be sought again within.

10. The simile of a small child who gets a little taste of something delicious. The treatise-author goes on with ‘further’: Sadāprarudita had already relinquished worldly pleasure and entered deeply into the Buddha path, and his love and delight had reached the utmost; the voice in the sky told him and showed him a little, and before his doubts had ever been severed, the voice ceased. Just as a small child who has had a little taste of something delicious, because it clings to that taste, cries again wanting to get it; Sadāprarudita too was like this: having obtained the flavour of the causes and conditions of prajñāpāramitā, unable to penetrate it, not knowing where to go, he therefore stayed and wept. This simile is extremely honest: in his weeping there is an element of 「著味」 tr. "clinging to the taste". Having obtained a little flavour of the Dharma without having penetrated it, he gives rise to thirsting admiration and also to stagnation and clinging—the treatise-author does not hide this. This is more beneficial than simply praising his vigour: the purity and impurity of the mind that seeks the path are often present at the same time.

11. Why it was only when it came to seven days that the Buddha's body appeared. The question: why was it only when it came to seven days that the Buddha's body appeared? The answer: it is like a person who knows the sweetness of water only because of great thirst. If it were two or three days, his desire for vigour would not yet be deep; if it went beyond seven days, it was feared that his sorrow would obstruct his mind so that he could not bear to seek the path. Therefore he sorrowed for seven days. This answer sets up a 「量」 tr. "measure": seven days is not a mysterious number; it is the dividing line between vigour and sorrow. Too few, and his desire is not yet deep, and the flavour of the Dharma cannot show its preciousness; too many, and sorrow becomes an obstruction, and he can no longer bear to seek the path. It can be seen that the response of the buddhas looks not only at whether one is sincere, but also at whether one can bear it.

12. As for the simile, the sūtra speaks of it. The treatise-author notes: as for the simile, the sūtra speaks of it. This is a phrase citing authority—the simile cited has its own separate source. The treatise-author's writing is often like this: he does not take his own words as sufficient; whatever has a source he always returns to its source.

13. Why he sorrowed like one who has lost a beloved son. The question: why did Sadāprarudita sorrow to such a degree, like one who has lost a beloved son? The answer: prajñāpāramitā is the foremost reality among all dharmas, the real Dharma Jewel of the buddhas of the ten directions; Sadāprarudita had obtained only a little of its scent and flavour and was not yet complete with it, so he sorrowed. Just as one who has lost a beloved son thinks how, when the son had grown up, he would have accomplished many things, and hoped to obtain his help; the bodhisattva too is like this: he thinks of increasing the power of prajñāpāramitā, and, having become avaivartika, accomplishing the Buddha's work. This answer first sets up the preciousness of what is sought—「第一實」 tr. "the foremost reality", 「真實法寶」 tr. "the real Dharma Jewel"—and next sets up the reason for sorrow—「得少氣味，未具足」 tr. "had obtained only a little of its scent and flavour and was not yet complete with it". And the first point of the simile lies in 「冀得其力」 tr. "hoped to obtain his help": what the one who has lost a son grieves for is not only the loss of the person but the loss of what he would accomplish in the future; the bodhisattva's sorrow is the same—what he sorrows over is not having obtained nothing, but that what he has obtained is not yet enough to accomplish the Buddha's work.

14. The three matters of the causes and conditions of the general mark. The treatise-author goes on to list: just as a son toward his father is filial all his life and has no other mind; prajñāpāramitā toward the bodhisattva is also like this: if he can enter it, then even until he becomes a Buddha, it is never far from him. Just as a father rejoices in his heart when he sees his son; though the bodhisattva obtains all kinds of dharmas, none is like the gladness of seeing prajñāpāramitā. Just as a son is a name set up by borrowing; prajñāpāramitā too is like this: empty and without fixed reality, having only a provisional name. Such things as these are the causes and conditions of the general mark. The three matters are: never far from him all his life, rejoicing on seeing, having only a provisional name. The first two take the simile on the side of feeling; the third, however, takes the simile on the side of the Dharma—the son's name is provisionally set up, and prajñā too is 「空無定實，但有假名」 tr. "empty and without fixed reality, having only a provisional name". When the simile is taken to this layer, the simile is no longer only rhetoric: even the name of the dearest and most real thing in the world is provisional, and what makes prajñā 「第一實」 tr. "the foremost reality" is precisely this 「空無定實」 tr. "empty and without fixed reality". Here the general mark comes to its knot.

15. The specific marks, in eight layers. The treatise-author further sets out the differences: though a father loves his son, he cannot give him his head and eyes; the bodhisattva, for the sake of prajñā, through immeasurable lifetimes gives his head, eyes, marrow, and brain to beings. A son may perhaps be unable to repay his father's kindness; if he can repay the kindness, it is no more than a small benefit in the present life, of clothing, food, pleasure, and the like; the bodhisattva within prajñā obtains everything, even all wisdom—how much more the bodhisattva's power and might and worldly wealth and pleasure. A son's repaying his father extends his kindness to one lifetime at most; the benefit of prajñā reaches through immeasurable lifetimes, even until becoming a Buddha. A son toward his father may be good or bad; prajñāpāramitā has none of these faults. The son is only a provisional name, a false, deceptive, and unreal dharma; prajñāpāramitā is the real holy Dharma, without deception. Though a son repaying kindness gains a small happiness in the present life, there is the immeasurable suffering of sorrow, distress, suffering, and vexation; prajñāpāramitā gives only the real happiness of gladness, even the happiness of the Buddha. A son can only benefit his father by providing for him; he cannot free him from birth, old age, sickness, and death; prajñāpāramitā makes the bodhisattva ultimately pure, no longer having the calamities of old age, sickness, and death. A son can only enable his father to obtain worldly happiness and be at ease; prajñāpāramitā can make the bodhisattva the lord of gods and humans in all the world. Such things as these are the marks of difference among the causes and conditions and similes of all kinds. This passage is a model of the method of taking similes: whenever a simile is taken, something is taken and something is not taken. The previous passage took the likeness in ‘not far from, rejoicing, provisional name’; this passage counts the differences in eight or nine layers in ‘giving up the body, what is obtained, long and short, good and bad, false and real, suffering and happiness, birth and death, being at ease’. If a reader of similes remembers only the likenesses and not the differences, he will read prajñā as a bigger worldly good thing; the treatise-author distinguishes them item by item precisely to guard against this. One may further notice the fifth layer: the previous passage took the likeness between 「子但是假名」 tr. "the son is only a provisional name" and prajñā's 「但有假名」 tr. "having only a provisional name", while this passage takes the difference between 「子但是假名，虛誑不實」 tr. "the son is only a provisional name, false, deceptive, and unreal" and 「般若波羅蜜真實聖法，無有虛誑」 tr. "prajñāpāramitā is the real holy Dharma, without deception"—taking likeness and difference together for the same matter is not self-contradiction; it speaks separately of the two meanings 「無定實」 tr. "without fixed reality" and 「不虛誑」 tr. "not deceptive"; that a provisional name does not obstruct reality is exactly what makes prajñā prajñā.

16. Worldly people all know the sorrow of losing a son, so this is used as a simile. The treatise-author concludes this portion: worldly people all know that losing a son is sorrowful, so this is used as a simile. This one sentence explains why the simile was taken—not for its being lamentable, but for its being known to everyone. The use of a simile lies in its being commonly understood; if the matter used as a simile is not understood by the many, the simile is of no use.

17. The question of what kind of Buddha appeared in the sky. The treatise-author poses three questions in one place: the Buddha who appeared in the sky—what kind of Buddha was he? Why was there earlier only a voice, while now he appears in his body? Since the Buddha appeared in his body, why did he not deliver him at once, but instead send him to Dharmodgata's place? These three questions press one upon another layer by layer: the first asks about his substance, the second asks why before and after differ, the third asks why, being able to appear in his body, he could not accomplish the matter. Below, the answer is given in four sections.

18. Someone says it was not a true Buddha, only an image appearing. The first part of the answer: someone says: it was not a true Buddha, only an image appearing—either a conjuration sent by the buddhas, or something manifested and made by a great bodhisattva. This is the account of one school; the treatise-author records it and does not judge. One must know that 「像現」 tr. "an image appearing" is not the same as false: whether a conjuration sent by the buddhas or a manifestation made by a great bodhisattva, the teaching and admonition is in each case true; what is distinguished lies only in whether its substance is conjured or true.

19. Earlier he only heard a voice, and now he is able to see the body. The second part of the answer: because his earlier roots of goodness and merit were not yet accomplished, he only heard a voice; now, because for seven days and seven nights he was mindful of the Buddha with one mind and his meritorious virtue was accomplished, he was able to see the Buddha's body. This answers the second question. The difference between voice and body does not lie on the Buddha's side; it lies in the merit of the one who evokes. Here the seven days of dry sitting gain their real meaning: that was not sitting in vain; it was what brought his meritorious virtue to accomplishment.

20. Why he did not deliver him at once, and why he praised him as excellent. The third part of the answer: the reason the Buddha did not deliver him at once is that he had causes and conditions with Dharmodgata life after life, and should be delivered by him. There are people who should be delivered by Śāriputra; even if the buddhas appeared in their bodies, they could not open their understanding. The Buddha's praise, saying ‘Excellent’, was because Sadāprarudita, with utmost sincerity, sought to know where to go and the causes and conditions for hearing prajñā; so the Buddha appeared in his body and praised him, ‘Excellent’. This answers the third question, and explains along with it the reason for 「善哉」 tr. "Excellent". The account of the conditions for deliverance most deserves attention: whether one is delivered or not is not tied to the height of the one who teaches the Dharma, but to the matching of capacity and condition—so even if the buddhas appear in their bodies, those for whom they are not the condition cannot be brought to understanding. This is precisely the reason the Buddha sends him to Dharmodgata's place, and is also the treatise's explanation of the phrase in the passage above, 「世世是汝善知識」 tr. "life after life he has been your good friend".

21. The buddhas of the past likewise toiled in hardship, and the Buddha's words of comfort. The fourth part of the answer: when the buddhas of the past practised the bodhisattva path and sought this prajñā, there were likewise all kinds of diligent hardship, because at the first arousing of the mind the sinful deeds of former lives were heavy and merit was not yet accumulated. The Buddha comforts his mind: 「汝求般若波羅蜜，雖勤苦，莫懈怠，莫生退沒心！一切眾生行異，因時皆苦，受果時樂。當思惟諸佛無量功德果報，以自勸勉。」 tr. "Although you seek prajñāpāramitā with diligent hardship, do not be slack, do not give rise to a mind of retreat and sinking! What all beings practise differs; in the causal stage it is all suffering, and when receiving the fruit it is happiness. You should think on the retribution of the immeasurable merit of the buddhas, and use it to encourage yourself." This part explains the meaning of the sūtra sentence 「過去諸佛行菩薩道時，求般若波羅蜜，亦如汝今日」 tr. "when the buddhas of the past practised the bodhisattva path and sought prajñāpāramitā, they too were as you are today". What is comforted is twofold: one is that the diligent hardship is attributed to 「先罪厚重，福德未集」 tr. "the sinful deeds of former lives were heavy and merit was not yet accumulated", not to the path being unfindable; the other is that the general rule 「因時皆苦，受果時樂」 tr. "in the causal stage it is all suffering, and when receiving the fruit it is happiness" is set up, so that he encourages himself by the fruit. The way of comforting lies not in lessening his suffering but in changing his way of understanding suffering.

22. Having comforted him, he tells him to go east. The treatise-author continues: having comforted him thus, he spoke these words: 「汝從是東行，去此五百由旬，有城名眾香，乃至不久當聞般若波羅蜜。」 tr. "Go east from here; five hundred yojanas from here there is a city named Many Fragrances; and so on up to: before long you shall hear prajñāpāramitā." These are the treatise-author's words taking up the sūtra text to connect with what follows. First to settle his mind and then to show him the road—the order cannot be reversed; if the road is shown while the mind is not yet settled, the road too becomes a sorrow.

23. Where is the City of Many Fragrances? The question: where is the City of Many Fragrances? The answer: after a Buddha of the past had passed into extinction, there was only the bequeathed Dharma; this Dharma did not reach throughout Jambudvīpa, but reached the places where beings had the causes and conditions for hearing the Dharma. At that time the land of Many Fragrances was rich and joyful, and because it produced the seven jewels in abundance, the city was built of the seven jewels. At that time, though Sadāprarudita was likewise in Jambudvīpa, he was born in a place without the Buddha's Dharma and without the seven jewels, and had only heard by report the Buddha's name and that prajñāpāramitā is the Buddha path. Because this person had widely gathered merit in former lives and his afflictions were slight, as soon as he heard he believed and delighted in it, loathed worldly pleasure, left his relatives, went to dwell in an empty forest, and wished to go to a land where there was the Buddha's Dharma. As for showing and telling him by a voice, it was for fear that he would go elsewhere and not reach the place of the bodhisattva Dharmodgata, so he was told; afterwards the Buddha appeared in his body for him and pointed out where to go. This answer brings a place-name that seems mythical back down into the human world: the City of Many Fragrances is likewise in Jambudvīpa; the abundance of its seven jewels comes from the land producing the seven jewels in abundance, and its having the Buddha's Dharma comes from 「有聞法因緣處則到」 tr. "reaching the places where there were the causes and conditions for hearing the Dharma". Within one continent, one place has the Dharma and one place does not; what distinguishes them is only the causes and conditions of beings. And the reason Sadāprarudita 「聞即信樂」 tr. "believed and delighted in it as soon as he heard" the treatise-author attributes to 「先世廣集福德，煩惱輕微」 tr. "had widely gathered merit in former lives and his afflictions were slight"—this runs through with the 「深心發意」 tr. "arousing intent with a deep mind" set up in Fascicle 96. At the end he explains the order of the voice and the appearing of the body: first with the voice to keep him from going the wrong way, afterwards with the body to show him the right road; the two are two stages of one matter.

24. What now are the causes and conditions of Dharmodgata? The question: the causes and conditions of Sadāprarudita have been fully heard above; what now are the causes and conditions of Dharmodgata? This question takes up what precedes and turns: the protagonist of the first half of the fascicle is the seeker of the Dharma; where the second half heads is the teacher of the Dharma; since the sūtra text has already described his city and his palace to the utmost, the treatise-author then supplies the causes and conditions of the person. Seeking the Dharma is from the first a matter of two people.

25. The name Dharma Flourishing, and his country having no king. The answer: 「欝伽陀」 tr. "Yujiatuo" in the language of Qin is 「盛」 tr. "flourishing"; 「達磨」 tr. "Dharma" in the language of Qin is 「法」 tr. "Dharma". This bodhisattva, in the City of Many Fragrances, teaches the Dharma for beings according to their minds and makes beings widely plant roots of goodness; therefore he is called 「法盛」 tr. "Dharma Flourishing". That country has no king; its people are all without I and self, like the people of Uttarakuru; they take only the bodhisattva Dharmodgata as king. That country is hard to reach; Sadāprarudita did not spare body and life, and also obtained the guidance and help of the buddhas and bodhisattvas, and so could reach it. The great bodhisattva, for the sake of delivering beings, is born in such a country, because the beings there lack nothing, their minds are tamed and gentle, and they are easy to deliver. This part has three matters: first, it explains the name, and the name comes from his practice—because he 「隨意說法，令眾生廣種善根」 tr. "teaches the Dharma according to their minds and makes beings widely plant roots of goodness" he is called Dharma Flourishing; the name is not set up in vain. Second, it explains how his country is governed: 「人民皆無吾我」 tr. "its people are all without I and self" and yet 「唯以曇無竭菩薩為王」 tr. "they take only the bodhisattva Dharmodgata as king"—to have no king is not to have no master; it is to take the Dharma as master, and so the king set up is the person who teaches the Dharma. Third, it explains why a great bodhisattva is born in this country so easy to deliver—not choosing ease to dwell in, but because 「眾生無所乏短，其心調柔，易可得度」 tr. "the beings lack nothing, their minds are tamed and gentle, and they are easy to deliver", speaking in accord with capacity. Further, the sentence 「其國難到」 tr. "that country is hard to reach" shines on the sūtra text's 「去此五百由旬」 tr. "five hundred yojanas from here": the difficulty lies not in the distance but in its being unreachable except by merit and help.

26. The question: a fleshly body or the Dharma body? The question: is the bodhisattva Dharmodgata in a fleshly body? Or is he the Dharma body, transforming into this body by supernormal power for the sake of delivering beings? If it is a transformation body, why must he use sixty thousand court maidens, parks, bathing pools, and all kinds of adornment to take his pleasure? If it is a fleshly body, how could he make Sadāprarudita's offerings all transform in the sky into a great terrace, and enter the samādhis for as long as seven years? This question is set very tightly: each end has its difficulty—if it is a transformation body there is no need to receive the five desires; if it is a fleshly body he could not manifest such supernormal transformations. The questioner takes events from two places in the sūtra text and sets them against each other as an objection, which is precisely the treatise-author's habitual method. The two matters cited, 「供養具皆在空中化成大臺」 tr. "the offerings all transformed in the sky into a great terrace" and 「入諸三昧乃至七歲」 tr. "entered the samādhis for as long as seven years", lie in a later sūtra section; citing them here first to make an objection is the treatise-author asking with a view over the whole chapter.

27. The first explanation: a fleshly body that receives the five desires by the power of skilful means. The first school of the answer: someone says: this is a bodhisattva in a fleshly body; because he has obtained the real mark of all dharmas and the power of meditative concentration and supernormal powers, he wishes to deliver the beings of this city. Just as other bodhisattvas, because of keen faculties, can enter meditative concentration and can also enter the dharmas of the desire realm; for the sake of gathering beings, they receive the five desires without losing meditative concentration. Just as a person, to escape the heat, lies in mud, and on returning washes clean and is as before. Ordinary people, because of dull faculties, cannot do this. Therefore he, by supernormal power, transformed things into a flower-terrace and entered concentration for seven years; and because of the power of skilful means, he can receive the five desires, as the meaning was explained before. The bodhisattva does not practise only one path; for the sake of beings he practises all kinds of paths to guide them. Just as a nāga raises clouds and can send down great rain, thunder and lightning, and thunderbolts; the bodhisattva too is like this: though he is in a fleshly body, not yet apart from the afflictions, he can cultivate wholesome dharmas, and for the sake of beings does not exhaust the fetters. The key of this explanation lies in the two matters 「利根」 tr. "keen faculties" and 「方便力」 tr. "the power of skilful means". The simile of lying in mud and on returning washing clean and being as before speaks of freedom in going in and out: entering the dharmas of the desire realm without being detained by the dharmas of the desire realm. The simile of the nāga raising clouds speaks of one body being able to perform many functions. And the last sentence is the weightiest—「為眾生故不盡結使」 tr. "for the sake of beings does not exhaust the fetters": it is not that he cannot exhaust them; it is that he does not exhaust them; this stands in exact contrast with the two vehicles' haste to exhaust the outflows. Yet this explanation still keeps its measure: it says he is 「未離煩惱」 tr. "not yet apart from the afflictions", and does not hide that he is a fleshly body.

28. The second explanation: a body born of the Dharma-nature that delivers by transformation. The second school of the answer: someone says: this bodhisattva is a body born of the Dharma-nature; for the sake of delivering the people of the City of Many Fragrances, he transforms himself to deliver them. If he were in a fleshly body, how could he cause the buddhas of the ten directions to praise him and send Sadāprarudita to receive the Dharma from him, obtaining sixty thousand samādhis? Therefore it is known that this is the transformation body of a great bodhisattva. It is like this: in the great ocean, when the mark of a nāga's death appears, like fruit that is ripe and should fall, the golden-winged bird comes and devours it; beings too are like this: because the causes and conditions of their deeds have ripened, the great bodhisattva comes to deliver them. This explanation turns the second difficulty in the question around into proof: to be praised by the buddhas of the ten directions and have someone sent to receive from him, with what is obtained reaching sixty thousand samādhis, is not something a fleshly body can do. The simile of the mark of a nāga's death appearing and the golden-winged bird devouring it speaks of response when the capacity is ripe—it is not that the great bodhisattva chooses people to come to; it is that the causes and conditions of beings' deeds have ripened, and the one who comes comes of himself. The two explanations are set side by side, and the treatise-author does not judge; the reader too need not judge. What should be taken is the meaning both explanations allow: Dharmodgata's receiving the five desires is undefiled for himself and beneficial to beings.

29. Great joy, and a mind of great desire arises. The treatise-author explains the sūtra text: at that time Sadāprarudita, hearing the teaching of the Buddha in the sky, was greatly glad, and because a mind of great desire arose: 「我何時當得見曇無竭菩薩——說般若波羅蜜者，能令我心中愛、見等諸煩惱箭出？」 tr. "When shall I be able to see the bodhisattva Dharmodgata—the one who teaches prajñāpāramitā—who can draw out from my mind the arrows of love, views, and the other afflictions?" Here the three Chinese characters 「大欲心」 tr. "mind of great desire" must not be misread as greedy desire: desire is wholesome and unwholesome, and desire for the Dharma is the wholesome kind, precisely the root of vigour. And what he desires is also marked clearly—to 「愛、見等諸煩惱箭出」 tr. "draw out the arrows of love, views, and the other afflictions". Love and views: the one is the bondage of feeling, the other the bondage of understanding; with these two the treatise-author sums up all the afflictions.

30. The simile of the poisoned arrow, and the mind of possession. The treatise-author explains the simile: to make this matter clear, here the Buddha tells the simile of the poisoned arrow: just as a person with a poisoned arrow in his body has no other thought: first, the pain is pressing; second, if the poison is not quickly drawn out, it spreads through the whole body and he loses his life. Sadāprarudita too is like this: the arrows of wrongness, doubt, and the rest have entered his mind, and the poison of greed and the rest is smeared on the arrows. He heard that the bodhisattva Dharmodgata could draw out these arrows. This person's mind was wounded by the poison of the arrow of wrong views; people fear the poison of greed and the rest spreading into the body, taking away the life of wisdom, and dying the same as ordinary people; therefore he urgently wished to see the bodhisattva Dharmodgata and had no other thought. What is spoken of here is severing every mind of possession. The mind of possession means grasping at marks and clinging, and even within wholesome dharmas there is this sickness. In this passage one must look closely at its assignment: the arrow is wrongness and doubt, the poison is greed and the rest—the arrow is the view that pierces the heart, the poison is the defilement that follows it and spreads through the body. What is feared is not the pain of a moment, but 「奪智慧命，與凡人同死」 tr. "taking away the life of wisdom, and dying the same as ordinary people"—the death of the life of wisdom is more to be feared than the death of the fleshly body. And at the end 「斷諸所有心」 tr. "severing every mind of possession" is explained as 「取相著」 tr. "grasping at marks and clinging", with one sentence added, 「乃至善法中亦有是病」 tr. "even within wholesome dharmas there is this sickness"—this sentence is one of the things most to be remembered in the whole fascicle: the sickness of the mind of possession is not limited to evil; grasping at marks and clinging upon wholesome dharmas is equally the mind of possession.

31. Unobstructed knowledge and vision is not the Buddha's unobstructedness. The treatise-author explains: Sadāprarudita saw the Buddha's body with his own eyes, which he had never seen before; because he heard the teaching from the Buddha and obtained the joy of the Dharma, he parted from the joy of the five desires, and at once obtained unobstructed knowledge and vision in all dharmas. Unobstructed knowledge and vision is the unobstructedness obtained by Sadāprarudita's power, not the Buddha's unobstructedness. This part has two matters: one is 「得法喜故，離五欲喜」 tr. "because he obtained the joy of the Dharma, he parted from the joy of the five desires"—exchanging joy for joy; it is not forcibly suppressing the five desires, but obtaining a greater joy and letting them go of themselves; the other is the four Chinese characters 「非佛無礙」 tr. "not the Buddha's unobstructedness", which fix in advance the limit for the long string of samādhis below. The names listed in the sūtra text are exceedingly lofty; if this one limit were not set first, the reader would mistake what a bodhisattva who has newly aroused the mind obtains for the ultimate. Whenever the treatise-author meets such a place he always sets down a limiting word; this is his consistent care.

32. At this time he could enter the samādhi gates. The treatise-author marks the start of what follows: at this time he could enter the samādhi gates—this one sentence is the general heading, and the fifty items below are all fastened to it. One should notice the word 「門」 tr. "gate": the samādhis are called gates, meaning that they are places of entry and not places of abiding; entering without abiding is what makes them run through with 「不著是性」 tr. "not clinging to this nature" above.

33. The samādhi of contemplating the nature of dharmas. 「諸法性觀三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of contemplating the nature of dharmas" means being able to contemplate the real nature of all dharmas. As for the real nature, it is as was said before by all kinds of causes and conditions. This is the first of the fifty items, and what it contemplates is 「實性」 tr. "the real nature". The treatise-author does not say again here what the real nature is, but points back to the earlier text—the explanation of the real mark has appeared repeatedly in this treatise, and not repeating it is its form. Making this the first gate shows exactly that the order of the whole list begins from contemplating the nature.

34. The samādhi of the nature of dharmas being unfindable. 「諸法性不可得三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of the nature of dharmas being unfindable" means: the samādhis obtained at first are, namely, emptiness, non-arising, and non-ceasing; now, having obtained this samādhi, he does not cling to this nature and does not grasp its fixed mark. The second gate overturns the first: the first gate contemplates the nature; this gate does not cling to its nature. Why must it be overturned? Because once 「性」 tr. "nature" is set up, there is a mark that can be found; contemplating emptiness and clinging to emptiness, emptiness becomes a bond. These two gates following one upon the other are the skeleton of the teaching of prajñā—setting up and at once breaking, and the breaking does not destroy what is set up; it keeps it from becoming an attachment.

35. The samādhi of breaking the ignorance of dharmas. 「破諸法無明三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of breaking the ignorance of dharmas" means: dharmas, in the minds of ordinary people, because of the causes and conditions of ignorance, are crooked and not upright, namely permanence, happiness, self, and purity; because he has obtained this samādhi, the ignorance associated with the inversions of permanence and the rest is broken, and he contemplates only that all dharmas are impermanent, empty, and non-self. What this gate breaks is the ignorance associated with the four inversions. The key is in the phrase 「於凡夫人心中」 tr. "in the minds of ordinary people": dharmas themselves are not crooked; the crookedness is in their shadow in the mind. So breaking ignorance is not remaking dharmas; it is removing what covers them.

36. If he has broken the ignorance in all dharmas, why go to Dharmodgata's place? The question: if this bodhisattva has broken the ignorance in all dharmas, this person need not even see the Buddha; why must he go to the place of the bodhisattva Dharmodgata? The answer: breaking ignorance is not of only one kind—there is restraining it so that it does not rise up, which is also named breaking, and there is breaking ignorance by obtaining the real mark of all dharmas. Further, the kinds and numbers of ignorance are very many: there are portions broken by bodhisattvas and portions broken by buddhas, portions broken by small bodhisattvas and portions broken by great bodhisattvas; as in the simile of the lamp spoken of before. Further, a srota-āpanna is also named as having broken ignorance, while only with the arhat is it truly broken; in the dharma of the Great Vehicle it is also like this: a bodhisattva who has newly aroused the mind, because he has obtained the real mark of all dharmas, is also named as having broken ignorance, and so on up to the Buddha, in whom ignorance is broken completely without remainder. Therefore Sadāprarudita, because within the Buddha's Dharma wrong views, ignorance, and the view of self were all removed, obtained the name of the samādhi of breaking ignorance, and there is no fault. This question arises from making names absolute, and the answer breaks it with 「分」 tr. "portions": breaking is of two kinds, breaking by restraint and true breaking; ignorance differs in portions for bodhisattvas, for buddhas, for small bodhisattvas, and for great bodhisattvas; in the śrāvaka dharma a srota-āpanna is already named as breaking while only the arhat truly breaks, and the Great Vehicle is the same. So the same name 「破無明」 tr. "breaking ignorance" is in reality uneven in depth. The two Chinese characters 「無咎」 tr. "no fault" in the last sentence are a verdict—the name is not at fault; the fault lies in the reader reading the name as a full score. This part is the pivot of the way of reading the whole fascicle: the names of the forty-odd gates below should all be understood in this way.

37. The samādhi of dharmas not being different. 「諸法不異三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of dharmas not being different" means: having obtained this samādhi, he contemplates all dharmas as of one mark, namely the signless. What is called 「不異」 tr. "not different" is not seeing the myriad dharmas as one and the same thing; it is seeing that they return alike to the signless. One mark is precisely the signless—if 「一」 tr. "one" becomes a mark, it is difference again.

38. The samādhi of dharmas being indestructible and sovereign. 「諸法不壞自在三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of dharmas being indestructible and sovereign" means: having obtained this samādhi, because he contemplates the marks of suchness, the nature of dharmas, the limit of reality, and the unconditioned in all dharmas, it is named indestructible. Having obtained this dharma, he attains sovereign mastery and knows dharmas clearly and distinctly; for the sake of the Buddha path, he does not realise this dharma. 「不壞」 tr. "Indestructible" is said with respect to suchness, the nature of dharmas, the limit of reality, and the unconditioned—these four are not dharmas that can be destroyed. And the last sentence, 「為佛道故，不證是法」 tr. "for the sake of the Buddha path, he does not realise this dharma", is the most crucial: able to realise and yet not realising is where the bodhisattva and the two vehicles part ways. Only attaining sovereign mastery and not taking realisation is named the bodhisattva's sovereign mastery.

39. The samādhi of being able to illuminate dharmas. 「諸法能照明三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of being able to illuminate dharmas" means knowing all dharmas by the general mark and the specific mark. The meaning of illumination lies in ‘knowing both the general and the specific’: knowing only the general mark is vague; knowing only the specific mark is fragmentary. The illumination of prajñā lies precisely in leaning toward neither of the two.

40. The samādhi of dharmas being free from darkness. 「諸法離闇三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of dharmas being free from darkness" means: ignorance is of two kinds: first, thick; second, thin. The thin is named ignorance; the thick is named black darkness. Because thick ignorance is broken, it is named being free from darkness; because thin ignorance is broken first, it is named breaking the ignorance of dharmas. This part turns back to draw a distinction from the gate of section 35: both are breaking ignorance, yet the thin is named ignorance and the thick black darkness, so two gates are set up. It can be seen that the profusion of names in the sūtra text is not repetition but demarcation; first breaking the thin and then breaking the thick—this order too cannot be reversed. This is exactly the concrete working-out of 「無明種數甚多」 tr. "the kinds and numbers of ignorance are very many" above.

41. The samādhi of the continuity of dharmas without difference. 「諸法無異相續三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of the continuity of dharmas without difference" means: the five aggregates cease from thought to thought and arise in continuity resembling one another; at the time of death, they arise in continuity but do not resemble one another. Having obtained this samādhi, he knows that the dharma of the thought-to-thought continuity of dharmas is not different. This gate discerns continuity: the five aggregates arise and cease from thought to thought and continue resembling one another, so ordinary people see them as one; at the time of death they continue but do not resemble one another, so ordinary people see them as cut off. One who obtains this samādhi knows that 「相續法不異」 tr. "the dharma of continuity is not different"—falling neither into the view of permanence nor into the view of annihilation. At the juncture of birth and death the notion of being cut off arises most easily, and this gate counteracts precisely that.

42. The samādhi of dharmas being unfindable. 「諸法不可得三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of dharmas being unfindable" is precisely the samādhi associated with the emptiness of all dharmas. This gate points directly with one sentence: being unfindable is association with emptiness. The earlier gate of section 34 is 「性不可得」 tr. "the nature being unfindable"; this gate is 「法不可得」 tr. "dharmas being unfindable"; one speaks of the nature, the other of dharmas, and they do not overlap.

43. The samādhi of scattering flowers. 「散華三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of scattering flowers" means: one who has obtained this samādhi can, before the buddhas of the ten directions, scatter flowers of the seven jewels upon the buddhas. From here on it gradually turns into the gates of function. Scattering flowers seems a matter of ceremony, but it is in fact the power to appear before the buddhas of the ten directions and make offerings—without supernormal powers it cannot be done. The mind of making offerings anyone can have; the matter of making offerings requires its power; what the samādhi gives is precisely this power.

44. The samādhi of the non-self of dharmas. 「諸法無我三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of the non-self of dharmas" means contemplating all dharmas as non-self. This gate is the simplest, and the treatise-author adds no words to it either. Simple is not shallow—non-self is the pivot of the three seals of the Dharma; the permanence, happiness, self, and purity broken by the gates before and after, and the grasping at marks they part from, are all established by this one contemplation.

45. The samādhi of illusion-like majestic power. 「如幻威勢三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of illusion-like majestic power" means: one who has obtained this samādhi can make all kinds of transformation bodies. Just as a great conjurer can lead beings to give rise to a mind of wonder; just as a great conjurer, by the power of conjuring, can transform the minds of the people of a whole country. This gate puts forward two similes of the conjurer side by side: one likens his being able to make people give rise to a mind of wonder, the other his being able to transform the minds of the people of a whole country. What is taken is the 「威勢」 tr. "majestic power" of illusion, not the deceptiveness of illusion—though the transformation bodies are like an illusion, their effect of transforming people's minds is real.

46. The samādhi of obtaining the likeness of mirror images. 「得如鏡像三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of obtaining the likeness of mirror images" means: one who has obtained this samādhi contemplates all that exists in the three realms as like images in a mirror, false and deceptive and without reality. It forms an exact pair with the previous gate: the previous gate is oneself being able to make illusions to transform others; this gate is contemplating others as all illusion and not being deluded by them. Being able to make and being able to contemplate—lacking either, one is lopsided: able only to make and not to contemplate, one is oneself deluded by what one manifests; able only to contemplate and not to make, one has no means of delivering people.

47. The samādhi of obtaining the languages of all beings. 「得一切眾生語言三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of obtaining the languages of all beings" means: because he has obtained this samādhi, he can understand the languages of all beings. The several gates from here on are all instruments for transforming others. Before teaching the Dharma, one must be able to understand their language; teaching without understanding their language, though the Dharma is wondrous, it does not go in.

48. The samādhi of the joy of all beings. 「一切眾生歡喜三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of the joy of all beings" means: having entered this samādhi, he can transform the angry minds of beings and make them glad. After understanding their language, one must remove their anger. While the angry mind has not subsided the Dharma cannot be received—what this gate prepares is the ground before the teaching of the Dharma.

49. The samādhi of entering into the discrimination of sounds. 「入分別音聲三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of entering into the discrimination of sounds" means: having entered this samādhi, he can discriminate all the sounds of gods and humans, great and small, coarse and fine, and so forth. Its difference from the gate of section 47 is: that one understands their meaning; this one distinguishes the greatness and smallness, coarseness and fineness of their sounds. The coarseness and fineness of sound is where the keenness and dullness of capacity appears; only after distinguishing it can one respond to it.

50. The samādhi of obtaining the adornment of all kinds of words, letters, and phrases. 「得種種語言字句莊嚴三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of obtaining the adornment of all kinds of words, letters, and phrases" means: one who has obtained this samādhi, even if the meaning is shallow, can adorn the letters, phrases, and words and make people glad—how much more with deep meaning! What this gate gives is the power of expression. The treatise-author specially marks 「義理雖淺」 tr. "even if the meaning is shallow", and yet one can still make people glad—saying that expression has its own independent effect; and with the turn 「何況深義」 tr. "how much more with deep meaning" he again does not permit expression to stand in for meaning. The dividing line between expression and meaning lies within this one sentence.

51. The samādhi of fearlessness. 「無畏三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of fearlessness" means: one who has obtained this samādhi does not fear any of Māra's people, those of the outside paths, treatise masters, or the afflictions. What is not feared is four: Māra's people, those of the outside paths, treatise masters, the afflictions—the first three are outside, the last one inside. Outer difficulties are easy to see; inner difficulties are hard to notice; putting the four together says that fearlessness does not stop at daring to teach the Dharma before the assembly.

52. The samādhi of a nature ever silent. 「性常默然三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of a nature ever silent" means: one who has entered this samādhi is always silent and gathers the mind; for the sake of delivering beings, he utters sounds according to what they ought to hear, like the music of the heavens, which sounds forth in response to the mind. This gate forms an exact pair with the 「能語」 tr. "being able to speak" of the previous several gates: by nature ever silent, uttering sound only to deliver beings. The simile of the music of the heavens sounding forth in response to the mind is most apt—not prepared in advance, not forced, arising in response to capacity. The silence of one who teaches the Dharma is not not speaking; it is not speaking of himself.

53. The samādhi of obtaining unobstructed liberation. 「得無礙解脫三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of obtaining unobstructed liberation" means: one who has obtained this samādhi obtains unobstructed wisdom within all dharmas. What this gate gives is wisdom without stagnation. It must be read together with the limiting word of section 31 above: what is called unobstructed is the unobstructedness within the reach of his portion of power, not the Buddha's unobstructedness.

54. The samādhi of being free from dust and defilement. 「離塵垢三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of being free from dust and defilement" means: for one who has obtained this samādhi, the afflictions, fetters, and dust and defilement are all extinguished; this is precisely the samādhi of the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas. At this gate the treatise-author sets down a verdict—this is precisely the samādhi of the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas. Among the fifty items, only this gate is tied directly to the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas, and its position is the highest. It can be seen that this list is not laid out flat; within it there is lighter and weightier.

55. The samādhi of the adornment of names, words, and phrases. 「名字語句莊嚴三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of the adornment of names, words, and phrases" means: one who has obtained this samādhi can adorn verses, phrases, and words in all kinds of ways and teach the Dharma. It is close to the gate of section 50 and yet different: that one speaks in terms of 「種種語言」 tr. "all kinds of words", this one in terms of ‘names and verse-phrases’; the one lies in the manifoldness of responding to capacity, the other in the beauty and excellence of composed text.

56. The samādhi of seeing dharmas. 「見諸法三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of seeing dharmas" means: one who has entered this samādhi knows dharmas by seeing worldly truth and the truth of the highest meaning. This gate sets up the two truths. The reason 「見諸法」 tr. "seeing dharmas" forms a samādhi is precisely that what is seen includes both worldly truth and the truth of the highest meaning—seeing only the highest meaning abandons the conventional; seeing only worldly truth does not get out. Only seeing the two truths together is named seeing dharmas.

57. The samādhi of the unobstructed summit of dharmas. 「諸法無礙頂三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of the unobstructed summit of dharmas" means: just as a person on a mountain summit looks out over all four directions; the bodhisattva, abiding in this samādhi, sees all dharmas everywhere without obstruction. The simile of the mountain summit takes its being 「高而遍」 tr. "high and all-pervading": without dwelling high, what is seen is screened. This gate follows on from the gate of section 56—that one sets up the two truths of what is seen; this one speaks of the all-pervadingness of what is seen.

58. The like-space samādhi. 「如虛空三昧」 tr. "The like-space samādhi" means: for one who has entered this samādhi, his body and outer dharmas are all like space, and he attains sovereign mastery over all. Putting body and outer dharmas together is the emptiness of both inner and outer. The reason sovereign mastery arises is precisely that there is nothing obstructing—space is taken as the simile because it refuses no mark and no mark can obstruct it.

59. The like-vajra samādhi. 「如金剛三昧」 tr. "The like-vajra samādhi" means: just as the vajra can break mountains; this samādhi too is like this: it can break the dharmas that obstruct the six perfections, all the way to the Buddha path. What it breaks is marked very concretely—「障礙六波羅蜜法」 tr. "the dharmas that obstruct the six perfections". It can be seen that this gate is not speaking generally of firmness and sharpness; it is aimed specifically at the obstructions to the gates of practice. The four Chinese characters 「直至佛道」 tr. "all the way to the Buddha path" speak of the thoroughness of its power.

60. The samādhi of not fearing clinging to form. 「不畏著色三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of not fearing clinging to form" means: one who has obtained this samādhi does not cling even to the forms of the heavens, how much less to other forms! The name of this gate must be read closely: what is not feared is the trouble of 「著色」 tr. "clinging to form". The forms of the heavens are the most clingable among forms; if even these are not clung to, other forms need no saying. Taking the most excellent as the standard is an inference the treatise-author often uses.

61. The samādhi of gaining victory. 「得勝三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of gaining victory" means: whatever he wishes to do, he can gain victory in all of it and not be defeated. This gate speaks in terms of 「作事」 tr. "doing things". Cultivating the path is not only sitting at peace; whatever one does—teaching the Dharma, subduing Māra, delivering people—has success and failure; what this samādhi gives is its certain success.

62. The samādhi of turning the eye. 「轉眼三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of turning the eye" means: for one who has obtained this samādhi, when Māra and Māra's people wish to see the bodhisattva's shortcomings, he turns this and makes them see what is good. This gate is quite remarkable: what is turned is not oneself but other people's seeing. Māra wishes to see his shortcomings and is instead made to see what is good. It can be seen that the bodhisattva's protection is not only protecting himself; he can also turn others' evil seeing—this too is one gate of transforming others.

63. The samādhi of the culmination in the nature of dharmas. 「畢法性三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of the culmination in the nature of dharmas" means: one who has obtained this samādhi sees all dharmas entering completely into the nature of dharmas. 「畢」 tr. "Culmination" has the meaning of the ultimate: all dharmas in the end enter into the nature of dharmas, and not one dharma is outside the nature of dharmas. This follows on from the gate of section 38, 「觀一切法如、法性、實際、無為相」 tr. "contemplates the marks of suchness, the nature of dharmas, the limit of reality, and the unconditioned in all dharmas", and goes one layer further—that one contemplates their marks; this one sees their final return.

64. The samādhi of being able to give peace and security. 「能與安隱三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of being able to give peace and security" means: having obtained this samādhi, though he comes and goes and turns round within the six destinies, he knows of himself that he will surely become a Buddha, and is at peace and joyful, without worry. What this gate gives is the peace of 「自知」 tr. "knowing of himself". It is not that the bodhisattva coming and going within the six destinies does not undergo suffering; it is that he undergoes suffering without worry—what he relies on is only the one self-knowledge, 「必當作佛」 tr. "he will surely become a Buddha". This answers exactly the weeping at the opening of the fascicle: the source of sorrow is 「未具足」 tr. "not yet complete"; the source of peace is 「自知必當」 tr. "knowing of himself that he surely will".

65. The samādhi of the lion's roar. 「師子吼三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of the lion's roar" means: one who has entered this samādhi can subdue all Māra's people and those of the outside paths, and none dare match him. It stands against the gate of section 51, 「無畏」 tr. "fearlessness": fearlessness is not being afraid; the lion's roar is being able to subdue. Not being afraid keeps oneself; being able to subdue reaches to others; the two gates are one inner and one outer.

66. The samādhi of surpassing all beings. 「勝一切眾生三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of surpassing all beings" means: having obtained this samādhi, he is the most excellent among all beings. All is of two kinds: first, all in name; second, all in reality. He surpasses ordinary people whose minds cling within the three realms, as well as śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, and those at the first arousing of intent who have not yet obtained this samādhi; therefore it says all. At this gate the treatise-author specially distinguishes the two meanings of 「一切」 tr. "all", precisely to keep readers from reading 「勝一切眾生」 tr. "surpassing all beings" as surpassing the buddhas and bodhisattvas. What he surpasses is in fact limited—ordinary people with clinging minds, the two vehicles, and those at the first arousing of intent who have not yet obtained this samādhi. This is the same pattern as the limiting word of section 31, 「非佛無礙」 tr. "not the Buddha's unobstructedness", and is said in more detail. Wherever the sūtra text uses extreme words such as 「一切」 tr. "all", 「最」 tr. "most", 「無上」 tr. "unsurpassed", one should seek their dividing line.

67. The samādhi of flower adornment. 「花莊嚴三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of flower adornment" means: one who has obtained this samādhi sees the buddhas of the ten directions seated upon lotus flowers of the seven jewels, while in space he rains jewelled lotus flowers upon the buddhas. This gate is close to the scattering of flowers of the gate of section 43 but broader: that one says only that before the buddhas of the ten directions he scatters flowers of the seven jewels upon the buddhas; this one says both that he sees the buddhas of the ten directions seated on lotus flowers of the seven jewels and that in space he rains flowers upon them. Seeing and making offerings are both present, so it is named adornment.

68. The samādhi of severing doubt. 「斷疑三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of severing doubt" means: one who has obtained this samādhi, though he has not yet attained Buddhahood, can sever the doubts of all beings. The four Chinese characters 「雖未得佛」 tr. "though he has not yet attained Buddhahood" are again a limit—severing the doubts of others does not wait for becoming a Buddha. For one who teaches the Dharma this is most essential: knowing oneself not yet to have reached the ultimate, and being able, within the portion one has understood, to sever doubts for people—the two things do not hinder each other.

69. The samādhi of following all that is firm. 「隨一切堅固三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of following all that is firm" means: the real mark of all dharmas is named the firm; one who has obtained this samādhi follows the real mark of all dharmas and does not follow other dharmas. This gate first explains 「堅固」 tr. "the firm" as the real mark of all dharmas, and only then does the word 「隨」 tr. "follow" have something to rest on: what is followed is only the real mark, not other dharmas. If this name were not fixed first, the three Chinese characters 「隨一切」 tr. "following all" could very easily be read as going along with everything.

70. The samādhi of going beyond dharmas and obtaining supernormal power and fearlessness. 「出諸法得神通力無畏三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of going beyond dharmas and obtaining supernormal power and fearlessness" means: one who has obtained this samādhi goes beyond all the dharmas of ordinary people and obtains the bodhisattva's six supernormal powers, ten powers, and four fearlessnesses. The name of this gate is long and its meaning has three stages: going beyond the dharmas of ordinary people, obtaining supernormal powers, obtaining fearlessness. The ten powers and four fearlessnesses obtained are all tied to the two Chinese characters 「菩薩」 tr. "bodhisattva"—they are not the Buddha's ten powers and four fearlessnesses, and this is still a word of limit.

71. The samādhi of being able to penetrate dharmas. 「能達諸法三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of being able to penetrate dharmas" means: one who has obtained this samādhi, even within the suchness, the nature of dharmas, and the limit of reality of all dharmas, penetrates and does not abide, and so on up to the equality of all dharmas. The four Chinese characters 「通達不住」 tr. "penetrates and does not abide" are the eye: to penetrate and abide becomes something attained; only to penetrate without abiding is penetrating. The last phrase 「乃至諸法平等」 tr. "and so on up to the equality of all dharmas" is where it arrives.

72. The samādhi of the wealth-seal of dharmas. 「諸法財印三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of the wealth-seal of dharmas" means: wealth is named wholesome dharmas, and the seal is named the mark. Just as when a person has obtained a seal and ribbon of office, no one dares to offend or slight him; the bodhisattva who has obtained the wealth-seal of wholesome dharmas likewise has no one who can make a hindrance for him. The treatise-author first glosses the two Chinese characters—wealth is wholesome dharmas, the seal is the mark—and then takes the seal and ribbon of office as a simile. One who has obtained the seal and ribbon is not offended by people, not because the person is strong but because of the credential he holds. The bodhisattva's meeting no hindrance is the same: what he relies on is the mark of wholesome dharmas, not his own power.

73. The samādhi of seeing dharmas without discrimination. 「諸法無分別見三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of seeing dharmas without discrimination" means: if one discriminates dharmas, one gives rise to a mind of hatred and love; one who has obtained this samādhi sees all dharmas and does not discriminate. This gate points directly at the joint liability of discrimination with hatred and love: hatred and love have no separate root; they arise from discrimination. So the counteraction lies not in enduring one's hatred and love but in stilling one's discrimination. Yet it must be read together with the earlier gate of section 39, 「以總相、別相知一切法」 tr. "knowing all dharmas by the general mark and the specific mark"—the 「別相」 tr. "specific mark" there is illumination, the 「分別」 tr. "discrimination" here is delusion; the same character with a different meaning, not to be confused.

74. The samādhi of being free from all views. 「離諸見三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of being free from all views" means: 「見」 tr. "views" are the sixty-two wrong views, and grasping at marks within form and the other dharmas, and so on up to the view of the Buddha, the view of the Dharma, the view of the Saṅgha, the view of nirvāṇa—all are named views. Why? Because grasping at marks can give rise to a clinging mind. What most needs attention in this gate is that it brings 「佛見、法見、僧見、涅槃見」 tr. "the view of the Buddha, the view of the Dharma, the view of the Saṅgha, the view of nirvāṇa" all together into the 「見」 tr. "views" to be parted from. Why must the views of the Three Jewels and of nirvāṇa also be parted from? The treatise-author answers himself—「取相能生著心故」 tr. "because grasping at marks can give rise to a clinging mind". What is parted from is not the Three Jewels but the mind that grasps at marks with regard to the Three Jewels. This seals exactly with section 30's 「乃至善法中亦有是病」 tr. "even within wholesome dharmas there is this sickness".

75. The samādhi of being free from all marks. 「離一切相三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of being free from all marks" is precisely the samādhi associated with the signless gate of liberation. The treatise-author matches this samādhi directly with the gate of signlessness among the three gates of liberation. Its difference from the gate of section 74: that one parts from 「見」 tr. "views", this one parts from 「相」 tr. "marks"; views are what grasps, marks are what is grasped, so the two gates follow each other without overlapping.

76. The samādhi of being free from all clinging. 「離一切著三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of being free from all clinging" means: because he is free from all marks, he does not cling to any dharma either. This gate follows down from the previous gate: once marks are parted from, clinging is of itself absent. The two gates complete each other as cause and effect—if one seeks to part from clinging without first parting from marks, clinging will surely arise again.

77. The samādhi of removing all slackness. 「除一切懈怠三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of removing all slackness" means: one who has obtained this samādhi is like what is said here—even for seven years neither sitting nor lying down. The bodhisattva who has obtained this samādhi is always without a slack mind, and even until he attains Buddhahood never ceases at all. At this gate the treatise-author cites an event from later in this chapter as proof—seven years neither sitting nor lying down. It can be seen that the names of the samādhis are not set up in vain; the sūtra text itself has their events. The sentence 「乃至得佛，初不止息」 tr. "even until he attains Buddhahood, he never ceases at all" marks the measure of vigour to the utmost.

78. The samādhi of obtaining the light of the deep Dharma. 「得深法明三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of obtaining the light of the deep Dharma" means: the deep Dharma is named the dharmas of the buddhas, all wisdom, and so forth; the bodhisattva, because he has obtained this samādhi, can see the Buddha's dharmas from afar, ponders and weighs them, and knows that they are deep and wondrous beyond compare. The two Chinese characters 「遙見」 tr. "see from afar" are the limit of this gate: not yet arrived and yet able to see, having seen able to ponder and weigh, having weighed knowing their depth and wonder. The mind that seeks the Dharma arises precisely from this—one who has never seen from afar has no way to give rise to thirsting admiration.

79. The samādhi that cannot be taken away. 「不可奪三昧」 tr. "The samādhi that cannot be taken away" means: one who has obtained this samādhi practises the bodhisattva's dharma, and no one can take away his resolve. What cannot be taken away is 「志」 tr. "resolve". The preceding gates mostly speak in terms of wisdom and of power; this gate alone speaks in terms of resolve. The bodhisattva path is long and far; wisdom and power are at times not yet enough; if resolve could be taken away, everything would be lost.

80. The samādhi of breaking Māra. 「破魔三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of breaking Māra" means: by the power of having obtained this samādhi, although Māra is the lord of the desire realm, the bodhisattva can, with a human body, break the deeds of Māra. The wonder of this gate lies in the contrast: Māra is the lord of the desire realm, the bodhisattva no more than a human body; to break the lord of the desire realm with a human body, what he relies on is not the superiority of the body but the power of the samādhi. The admonition in the sky in the preceding fascicle has already foretold being aware of the deeds of Māra; this gate is what accomplishes it.

81. The samādhi of not clinging to the three realms. 「不著三界三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of not clinging to the three realms" means: having obtained this samādhi, though his body is within the three realms, his mind is always in nirvāṇa, and therefore he does not cling. The body is there and the mind does not cling—this is the same line of reasoning as 「如人避熱故，在泥中臥，還洗則如故」 tr. "just as a person, to escape the heat, lies in mud, and on returning washes clean and is as before" cited in section 27, and is precisely the ground on which Dharmodgata receives the five desires without losing meditative concentration.

82. The samādhi of giving rise to light. 「起光明三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of giving rise to light" means: one who has obtained this samādhi can emit immeasurable light, illuminating the ten directions. Emitting light is the mark of transforming others, and what it illuminates is the ten directions—shining against the next gate, 「見諸佛」 tr. "seeing the buddhas", with its seeing of the ten directions: one going and one coming, the light goes out and the buddhas are seen.

83. The samādhi of seeing the buddhas. 「見諸佛三昧」 tr. "The samādhi of seeing the buddhas" means: having obtained this samādhi, though he has not yet obtained the divine eye and the divine ear, he can see the buddhas of the ten directions, hear the Dharma taught by the buddhas of the ten directions, and consult them about his doubts. This is the last of the fifty items, and also the destination of the whole list. The sentence 「雖未得天眼、天耳」 tr. "though he has not yet obtained the divine eye and the divine ear" is most noteworthy: seeing the buddhas and hearing the Dharma do not wait upon the completeness of supernormal powers—what he relies on is the samādhi, not eye and ear. And the reason he can 「諮問所疑」 tr. "consult them about his doubts" comes straight from the severing of doubt of the gate of section 68: only when one's own doubts are severed can one sever doubts for others.

84. Abiding in these samādhis, he sees the buddhas of the ten directions teaching prajñā. The treatise-author concludes: Sadāprarudita, abiding in such samādhis as these, at once saw immeasurable asaṃkhyeya buddhas of the ten directions teaching prajñāpāramitā for the bodhisattvas in the great assembly. This one sentence gathers up the whole fascicle: the fascicle opens with one person sitting dry on empty ground and weeping, and closes with the buddhas of the ten directions present before him teaching the Dharma in the great assembly. What lies between is seven days of utmost sincerity, the teaching of one appearance of the body, the destination of one stretch of road, and the opening of fifty-odd gates. And the buddhas seen are 「為諸菩薩說般若波羅蜜」 tr. "teaching prajñāpāramitā for the bodhisattvas"—what is sought is prajñā, and what is seen is also an assembly teaching prajñā; the seeking and what is sought here match each other.

Do Not Misread

Do not read Sadāprarudita's 「忘」 tr. "forgetting" as a scattered mind. The treatise-author says it clearly: 「薩陀波崙大歡喜覆心故忘；如人大憂愁、大歡喜，以此二事故忘。」 tr. "Sadāprarudita forgot because great joy covered his mind; just as when people are in great sorrow or great joy, by reason of these two things they forget." Sorrow and gladness can alike cover the mind; this is a lapse from an excess of the mind's force, not a lapse of slackness. If on reading the sūtra up to this point one first gives rise to disdain, one will not see the sincerity of the seven days of dry sitting below.

Do not read the seven days without rising as the Buddha being slow to respond. The treatise-author sets up its measure: 「若二日、三日，精進欲未深；若過七日，恐其憂愁妨心，不任求道。」 tr. "If it were two or three days, his desire for vigour would not yet be deep; if it went beyond seven days, it was feared that his sorrow would obstruct his mind so that he could not bear to seek the path." Seven days is the dividing line between vigour and sorrow; earlier, and the flavour of the Dharma does not show its preciousness; later, and sorrow of itself becomes an obstruction. Whether stimulus and response come slow or fast looks to whether the capacity can bear it or not.

Do not read the seven-jewelled adornment of the City of Many Fragrances as a realm of pleasure to be coveted. The sūtra text itself explains where it comes from: 「是諸園觀適無所屬，是諸眾生宿業所致，長夜信樂深法，行般若波羅蜜因緣故，受是果報。」 tr. "These parks belong to no one at all; they are what these beings' deeds of former lives have brought about—through the long night they have believed in and delighted in the deep Dharma, and because they practised prajñāpāramitā, they receive such retribution." The four Chinese characters 「適無所屬」 tr. "belong to no one at all" have already cut off the thought of possession; what is described is the mark of the virtues of the fruit of prajñā, not an exhortation to seek birth within it.

Do not read 「曇無竭菩薩與六萬八千婇女，五欲具足，共相娛樂」 tr. "the bodhisattva Dharmodgata, with sixty-eight thousand court maidens, complete with the five desires, takes his pleasure together with them" as meaning that a holy one may indulge his passions. The treatise-author lets two explanations stand together: one says he is a fleshly body that by the power of skilful means 「受五欲而不失禪定」 tr. "receives the five desires without losing meditative concentration"; the other says he is a body born of the Dharma-nature that 「變化而度」 tr. "transforms himself to deliver them". What the two explanations both allow is that it is undefiled for himself and beneficial to beings; whoever compares it with the clinging mind of ordinary people is permitted by neither explanation.

Do not read 「有人言」 tr. "someone says" as this treatise's settled judgement. The two accounts of fleshly body and Dharma body are set side by side and the treatise-author does not judge; the reader too should record them side by side without judging. Whatever this treatise puts forward with 「有人言」 tr. "someone says" is preserving an account, not establishing a tenet.

Do not read 「破諸法無明三昧」 tr. "the samādhi of breaking the ignorance of dharmas" as ignorance being already exhausted. The treatise-author himself sets up this difficulty and answers it: breaking is breaking by restraint and true breaking; ignorance has portions for bodhisattvas, for buddhas, for small bodhisattvas, and for great bodhisattvas, 「乃至佛無明盡破無餘」 tr. "and so on up to the Buddha, in whom ignorance is broken completely without remainder". The same name is uneven in depth—this point is the master key for reading the names of the forty-odd gates that follow.

Do not read 「勝一切眾生」 tr. "surpassing all beings" as surpassing all. The treatise-author divides 「一切」 tr. "all" into all in name and all in reality, and himself limits the sphere of what is surpassed: 「於三界著心凡夫及聲聞、辟支佛及初發意未得是三昧者中勝，故言一切。」 tr. "He surpasses ordinary people whose minds cling within the three realms, as well as śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, and those at the first arousing of intent who have not yet obtained this samādhi; therefore it says all." Wherever the sūtra text uses extreme words, first seek their dividing line.

Do not read 「無礙知見」 tr. "unobstructed knowledge and vision" as the Buddha's unobstructedness. The treatise-author follows at once with a sentence: 「如薩陀波崙力所得無礙，非佛無礙。」 tr. "It is the unobstructedness obtained by Sadāprarudita's power, not the Buddha's unobstructedness." Though the realm obtained by a bodhisattva who has newly aroused the mind is high, it is still an attainment within a portion.

Do not read 「所有心」 tr. "the mind of possession" as a mind of evil dharmas. The treatise-author explains it as 「取相著」 tr. "grasping at marks and clinging", and adds 「乃至善法中亦有是病」 tr. "even within wholesome dharmas there is this sickness". Grasping at marks and clinging is especially hard to notice upon wholesome dharmas—this is also why the gate of section 74 brings even 「佛見、法見、僧見、涅槃見」 tr. "the view of the Buddha, the view of the Dharma, the view of the Saṅgha, the view of nirvāṇa" into the 「見」 tr. "views" to be parted from.

Do not read 「諸法無分別見」 tr. "seeing dharmas without discrimination" and 「以總相、別相知一切法」 tr. "knowing all dharmas by the general mark and the specific mark" as contradicting each other. The 「分別」 tr. "discrimination" negated by the former is the delusion that gives rise to hatred and love; the 「別相」 tr. "specific mark" taken up by the latter is the illumination that clearly understands dharmas; the same character with different meanings, not to be mixed into one matter.

Bearing on Practice

Take 「大歡喜覆心故忘」 tr. "he forgot because great joy covered his mind" and examine yourself in favourable circumstances. People mostly set up defences in adversity and drop their guard in favourable circumstances. When things go smoothly and the joy of the Dharma wells up, it is easiest to leave out the three things most needing to be asked—where to go, how far it is, from whom to learn. When gladness is at its height, add one question: what is the next step after this step of mine?

Take 「今亦欲一心如本」 tr. "so now too he wished to be of one mind as before" and settle the method of seeking the Dharma. In whatever way of applying the mind you once gained benefit, go back into that way of applying the mind; do not look elsewhere for something new and strange. Sadāprarudita did not go and ask someone else; he only returned to the place of secluded one-mindedness—this is the plainest and also the most effective move.

Take 「如小兒得少美味」 tr. "just as a small child who has had a little taste of something delicious" and shine it on your own mind for the path. In obtaining a little flavour of the Dharma and giving rise to thirsting admiration, there is mixed within it clinging to the taste as well. The treatise-author does not hide it, and neither need we. Being aware of this portion of clinging to the taste keeps thirsting admiration from turning into greed for realms.

Take 「因時皆苦，受果時樂」 tr. "in the causal stage it is all suffering, and when receiving the fruit it is happiness" to understand the diligent hardship before you. When you apply yourself and see no result, do not first doubt the path, but remember this general rule; then 「思惟諸佛無量功德果報，以自勸勉」 tr. "think on the retribution of the immeasurable merit of the buddhas, and use it to encourage yourself"—the way of comforting lies not in lessening the suffering but in changing the way of understanding suffering.

Take 「應當從彼度故」 tr. "because he should be delivered by him" and put down comparison in choosing a teacher. Being delivered is not tied to the height of the one teaching the Dharma, but to the matching of capacity and condition—「有人應從舍利弗度，假使諸佛現身，不能令悟。」 tr. "There are people who should be delivered by Śāriputra; even if the buddhas appeared in their bodies, they could not open their understanding." Rather than comparing who is more brilliant, recognise the one with whom you have affinity and give your whole heart.

Take 「毒不疾出，則遍滿身中而失命」 tr. "if the poison is not quickly drawn out, it spreads through the whole body and he loses his life" and look at procrastination. Wrongness and doubt are the arrows, greed and the rest are the poison; what is feared is not the pain of a moment but 「奪智慧命」 tr. "taking away the life of wisdom". Knowing what arrow has struck your own mind, do not wait—the person urgently seeking to have the arrow drawn out is the whole teaching of this simile.

Take 「乃至善法中亦有是病」 tr. "even within wholesome dharmas there is this sickness" and examine your own goodness. After keeping the precepts, giving, reciting sūtras, applying yourself, that bit of grasping at marks in the mind, ‘I have done it’, is the sprout of the mind of possession. Clinging upon wholesome dharmas, because it wears the skin of goodness, is the hardest to notice in oneself.

Take 「為佛道故，不證是法」 tr. "for the sake of the Buddha path, he does not realise this dharma" and caution yourself when realms appear. Able to realise and yet not realising is where the bodhisattva and the two vehicles part ways. When your practice gains strength and realms appear, remember that what is sought is the Buddha path, not a good place in which you can abide at ease.

Take 「雖未得佛，能斷一切眾生所疑」 tr. "though he has not yet attained Buddhahood, he can sever the doubts of all beings" and settle your own mind for teaching the Dharma. Knowing oneself not yet to have reached the ultimate, and severing doubts for people within the portion one has understood, do not hinder each other. There is no need to wait until one has penetrated everything before being willing to open one's mouth, nor to think, because one is willing to open one's mouth, that one has already penetrated everything.

Take 「乃至得佛，初不止息」 tr. "even until he attains Buddhahood, he never ceases at all" and measure the span of vigour. Seven years neither sitting nor lying down is a matter of one period; 「乃至得佛」 tr. "even until he attains Buddhahood" is the true measure of this gate of samādhi. Measure today's diligence and laxity against this measure, and you will not become self-satisfied because of a moment's progress.

Further Resonances

Among the explanations of the ancient masters, one can be recorded for this unit. Jizang's Commentary on the Larger Sūtra divides the latter half of this chapter into two layers of stimulus and response; his text says: 「爾時薩陀波崙下，第二、感應。」 tr. "From ‘At that time Sadāprarudita’ onward: second, stimulus and response." And again: 「住是諸三昧中下，第三、感應，以三昧能感故十方佛應也。」 tr. "From ‘abiding in these samādhis’ onward: third, stimulus and response—because the samādhis can evoke, the buddhas of the ten directions respond." —with the two Chinese characters 「感應」 tr. "stimulus and response" he threads together the bones of this fascicle: grieving and weeping evoke, and the Buddha in the sky appears; obtaining the samādhis evokes, and the buddhas of the ten directions appear. This takes a different route from this treatise's analysis point by point through question and answer: this treatise asks why things are so; Jizang marks the order of the divisions; the two do not hinder each other.

On the measure of seven days, Jizang says: 「就應中為二：初、秤歎安；次、答其三問。今是初所以七日方應者，自少則精進未深，過多則愁憂妨心，故七日而應。」 tr. "Within the response there are two: first, praise and comfort; next, answering his three questions. This is now the first. The reason the response comes only after seven days is that with fewer, vigour is not yet deep, and with too many, sorrow obstructs the mind; therefore the response comes at seven days." —his explanation of why seven days agrees in sense with this treatise's 「若二日、三日，精進欲未深；若過七日，恐其憂愁妨心，不任求道」 tr. "if it were two or three days, his desire for vigour would not yet be deep; if it went beyond seven days, it was feared that his sorrow would obstruct his mind so that he could not bear to seek the path", and he further divides the words of the Buddha in the sky into two stages with 「秤歎安」 tr. "praise and comfort" and 「答其三問」 tr. "answering his three questions", which is the fineness of his divisions.

On the passage where the Buddha appears and does not deliver him at once, Jizang poses a question and answers: 「問間：空中既感佛現，何不即為說般若耶？答：以其人與法尚有深重因緣，故佛不能度之。」 tr. "The question: since in the sky the Buddha was evoked to appear, why did he not at once teach him prajñā? The answer: because that person has deep and weighty causes and conditions with Dharma-Esteeming, the Buddha cannot deliver him." —its ground is the same as this treatise's 「以其與曇無竭世世因緣，應當從彼度故」 tr. "because he had causes and conditions with Dharmodgata life after life, and should be delivered by him"; only, this treatise has 「不即度」 tr. "did not deliver him at once" while Jizang has 「不能度之」 tr. "cannot deliver him", a difference of weight in tone, recorded side by side without judgement. Further, in this chapter Jizang uses both names for this bodhisattva, 「法尚」 tr. "Dharma-Esteeming" and 「曇無竭」 tr. "Dharmodgata": 「法尚」 tr. "Dharma-Esteeming" follows the chapter name of the sūtra version he used, while 「曇無竭」 tr. "Dharmodgata" is the same as this treatise's transliteration.

On the substance of the Buddha in the sky, Jizang says: 「問：空中是何等佛？答：有解云：非真佛，是諸化佛身及大菩薩化作佛取。或云：即是真佛也。」 tr. "The question: what kind of Buddha is the one in the sky? The answer: one explanation says: not a true Buddha; it is the bodies of conjured buddhas, and Buddha-forms made by the transformation of great bodhisattvas. Another says: it is in fact a true Buddha." —the former explanation corresponds to what this treatise records, 「有人言：非真佛，但是像現耳——或諸佛遣化，或大菩薩現作」 tr. "someone says: it was not a true Buddha, only an image appearing—either a conjuration sent by the buddhas, or something manifested and made by a great bodhisattva"; while the explanation 「或云：即是真佛也」 tr. "another says: it is in fact a true Buddha" is not given here in this treatise; it is a separate account handed down by Jizang, recorded without judgement.

On where the City of Many Fragrances is, Jizang says: 「問：眾香城在何處？答：過去佛滅後，遺法未滅，爾時佛法不遍閻浮提，故閻浮提中別有眾香國土也。」 tr. "The question: where is the City of Many Fragrances? The answer: after a Buddha of the past had passed into extinction, his bequeathed Dharma had not yet perished; at that time the Buddha's Dharma did not pervade Jambudvīpa; therefore within Jambudvīpa there was separately the land of Many Fragrances." —the same line of reasoning as this treatise's answer, and more concise. As for the passage of Dharmodgata taking his pleasure with the court maidens, Jizang does not pose the question of fleshly body or Dharma body, but explains it directly by what it signifies: 「先受俗樂，次明受樂。此意顯般若能生世出世樂」 tr. "first he receives worldly pleasure, next it makes clear the receiving of pleasure; the intent of this is to show that prajñā can give rise to worldly and world-transcending pleasure" —by the order 「先受俗樂，次明受樂」 tr. "first he receives worldly pleasure, next it makes clear the receiving of pleasure" he shows that prajñā can give rise to both the worldly and the world-transcending pleasures; this treatise, at this place, sets up the difficulty of fleshly body or Dharma body and gives the divergent accounts of two schools. What the two ask differs: Jizang asks what the text signifies, this treatise asks to what kind of body he belongs; both may stand.

On the simile of the only son, Jizang says: 「譬中一子正喻波若也。」 tr. "In the simile, the only son is precisely a simile for prajñā." And again: 「論云以三義喻也」 tr. "The treatise says it is a simile by three meanings" —gathering it under three meanings; while this treatise here first sets out the three matters of 「總相因緣」 tr. "the causes and conditions of the general mark", and then sets out eight or nine layers of 「種種因緣譬喻差別相」 tr. "the marks of difference among the causes and conditions and similes of all kinds", its distinctions far finer. On the simile of the poisoned arrow, Jizang says: 「譬中毒箭者，以邪見云毒，疑為箭」 tr. "As for the poisoned arrow in the simile, wrong views are called the poison, and doubt is the arrow" —wrong views as the poison and doubt as the arrow; this treatise says 「諸邪、疑等箭入心，貪欲等毒塗箭」 tr. "the arrows of wrongness, doubt, and the rest have entered his mind, and the poison of greed and the rest is smeared on the arrows", taking wrongness and doubt together as the arrows and greed and the rest as the poison. The two assign them differently; recorded side by side without judgement.

On the samādhis, Jizang's explanation does not reach the completeness of this treatise; he gives only a few items: 「論云得六萬三昧也。諸法性觀三昧者，了法無生滅也。」 tr. "The treatise says he obtained sixty thousand samādhis. The samādhi of contemplating the nature of dharmas: understanding that dharmas are without arising and ceasing." 「法性不可得三昧者，亦不著無生滅觀也。」 tr. "The samādhi of the nature of dharmas being unfindable: not clinging even to the contemplation of no arising and ceasing." 「破無明三昧者，由破無明故得上三昧也。」 tr. "The samādhi of breaking ignorance: it is by breaking ignorance that the samādhis above are obtained." 「離暗三昧者，上破輕無明，今破重無明也。」 tr. "The samādhi of being free from darkness: above, light ignorance was broken; now heavy ignorance is broken." 「無相續三昧者，五陰一期念念相似相續，故言無異也。」 tr. "The samādhi of non-continuity: the five aggregates through one lifetime continue from thought to thought resembling one another, therefore it says without difference." —among these, the gate of being free from darkness divides ignorance by light and heavy, the same in intent as this treatise's dividing it by thick and thin; while the explanation 「破無明三昧者，由破無明故得上三昧也」 tr. "the samādhi of breaking ignorance: it is by breaking ignorance that the samādhis above are obtained" differs from this treatise's establishing a meaning gate by gate—it speaks of the order in which the samādhis give rise to one another. The other gates Jizang does not give.

Huiying's Commentary lacks an explanation of this chapter—what his extant commentary covers does not reach this far, so for this fascicle there is no text of his to cite; Junzheng's Profound Meaning of the Four Mahāyāna Treatises is not in the form of a chapter-by-chapter commentary, and for this chapter nothing is found in it. All are recorded according to the facts, and are not filled with text from elsewhere.