大智度論 白話全本 · 冊2Dazhidulun — Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa · Complete Vernacular · Vol. 2

The Fourfold Assembly Rises from Their Seats: Praising Prajñāpāramitā with Sixteen Names

At that time the venerable Śāriputra, the venerable Maudgalyāyana, the venerable Subhūti, the venerable Mahākāśyapa, together with many other bhikṣus of wide knowledge and understanding like them, and also the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, the upāsakas and the upāsikās, rose together from their seats, joined their palms, and said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! This mahāpāramitā, that is, the greatest perfection, is precisely the prajñāpāramitā of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva. The honoured perfection, the foremost perfection, the superior perfection, the wondrous perfection, the unsurpassed perfection, the unequalled perfection, the perfection equal to the unequalled, the perfection like empty space—all are the prajñāpāramitā of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva. World-Honored One! The perfection of the emptiness of specific marks is the prajñāpāramitā of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva. World-Honored One! The perfection of the emptiness of own-nature is the prajñāpāramitā of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva. The perfection of the emptiness of all dharmas, the perfection of the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas, the perfection that opens all merits, the perfection that accomplishes all merits, the perfection that cannot be destroyed—all are the prajñāpāramitā of the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas.’

The Six Perfections Are Likewise: Through Giving Equal to the Unequalled, One Gains a Body and a Dharma Equal to the Unequalled

‘The bodhisattva-mahāsattvas cultivate this prajñāpāramitā, practise giving equal to the unequalled, and fulfil completely the dānapāramitā equal to the unequalled, and thereby gain a body equal to the unequalled and gain a dharma equal to the unequalled, and this dharma is anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. The rest—the śīlapāramitā of upholding morality, the kṣāntipāramitā of patience under insult, the vīryapāramitā of vigour, the dhyānapāramitā of meditative absorption, and the prajñāpāramitā of wisdom—are all likewise: practised as equal to the unequalled, they gain a fruit equal to the unequalled.’

The Buddhas of the Three Times All Cultivated This Prajñā: Whoever Wishes to Cross to the Further Shore of All Dharmas Should Cultivate Prajñā

‘The World-Honored One himself also cultivated this prajñāpāramitā, fulfilled completely the six perfections equal to the unequalled, and gained a dharma equal to the unequalled; he gained form equal to the unequalled, and feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness equal to the unequalled, and so the Buddha turned the Dharma wheel equal to the unequalled. The Buddhas of the past likewise cultivated this prajñāpāramitā, fulfilled completely giving equal to the unequalled, and so on up to turning the Dharma wheel equal to the unequalled. The Buddhas of the future too will cultivate this prajñāpāramitā, will practise giving equal to the unequalled, and so on up to turning the Dharma wheel equal to the unequalled. Precisely because of this, World-Honored One, if a bodhisattva-mahāsattva wishes to cross to the further shore of all dharmas, he should cultivate and train in prajñāpāramitā.’

May the World-Honored One Deign to Listen: Gods, Humans, and Asuras Should All Pay Homage and Make Offerings to the Bodhisattva Who Cultivates Prajñā

‘May the World-Honored One deign to listen! To the bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises prajñāpāramitā in this way, the gods, humans, and asuras of all the world should pay homage and make offerings.’

The Buddha Confirms It and Explains in Person: Because There Are Bodhisattvas, the World Has All These Things

The Buddha told the disciples and the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas: ‘So it is! So it is! Good men, to those who cultivate this prajñāpāramitā, the gods, humans, and asuras of all the world should pay homage and make offerings. Why? Because bodhisattvas come into the world, the human path and the heavenly path arise, and there are the great kṣatriya clans, the great brahmin clans, the great householder families, the wheel-turning sage kings, the heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings, and so on up to the Akaniṣṭha Heaven, the highest of the form realm; and also srota-āpannas arise, and so on up to arhats, pratyekabuddhas, and even the Buddhas. Because bodhisattvas come, food and drink, clothing, bedding, dwellings, and lamps arise in the world, as well as all kinds of treasures such as maṇi jewels, pearls, vaiḍūrya, coral, gold, and silver. Śāriputra! All the means to happiness in the world—whether of the human realm, of the heavens, or the happiness of freedom from desire—all these means to happiness exist because of bodhisattvas. Why? Śāriputra! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva cultivates the bodhisattva path, he abides in the six perfections; he himself practises giving and also by giving brings beings to maturity; and so on up to: he himself cultivates prajñāpāramitā and also by prajñāpāramitā brings beings to maturity. Śāriputra! Precisely because of this, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva appears in the world in order to bring happiness to all beings.’

What follows is the treatise's explanation.

Among the Five Thousand Bhikṣus More Than a Thousand Were Elders; Why Name Only These Four?

Question: Among these five thousand bhikṣus there were more than a thousand elders, such as Uruvilvā-Kāśyapa and others; why are the names of only these four given?

Answer: These four bhikṣus are immeasurable fields of merit in the present world. Śāriputra is the Buddha's right-hand disciple; Maudgalyāyana is the Buddha's left-hand disciple; Subhūti cultivates the samādhi of non-contention and is foremost in practising emptiness; Mahākāśyapa is foremost in cultivating the twelve dhūta practices—the World-Honored One once gave him his robe and also shared half his seat to have him sit with him—and he too constantly pities beings with a deep mind. While the Buddha was in the world, if someone wished to seek recompense in this present life, he had only to make offerings to these four and would often have his wish fulfilled. Precisely because of this, these bhikṣus of wide knowledge and understanding, together with the fourfold assembly, praised prajñāpāramitā together.

The Arhats Have Done What Was to Be Done; Why Do They Still Praise Prajñā?

Question: These arhats are already in their final body, and all that was to be done has been completed; why do they still go on to praise prajñāpāramitā?

Answer: Everyone knows that arhats have already attained the undefiled path; by comparison, although the wisdom of bodhisattvas is vast, because their fetters are not yet fully cut off, worldly people do not esteem bodhisattvas. Now precisely because these arhats have a mind of kindness and compassion and are able to help the Buddha spread his teaching, they are brought forward to bear witness—it is when arhats, who have done what was to be done and seek nothing, come forward to praise it that prajñā is shown to be truly precious.

The Treatise-Author Explains the Sixteen Names One by One (First Part): From ‘Great’ to ‘Equal to the Unequalled’

First, the Buddha path is the most vast in the world, and prajñā is able to accomplish the matter of the Buddha path; therefore it is named ‘the great perfection’. Second, among all dharmas wisdom stands foremost; therefore it is called ‘the honoured perfection’. Third, prajñā is able to set right and guide the other five perfections; therefore it is named ‘the foremost perfection’. Fourth, the other five perfections all fall short of it; therefore it is named ‘the superior perfection’, just as the five sense faculties of eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body fall short of the mind faculty. Fifth, it is able to benefit oneself and also to benefit others; therefore it is named ‘the wondrous perfection’. Sixth, among all dharmas there is none that can surpass it; therefore it is named ‘the unsurpassed perfection’. Seventh, there is not a single dharma that can equal it; therefore it is named ‘the unequalled perfection’. Eighth, the Buddhas are called ‘the unequalled’, and the Buddhas are all born from prajñāpāramitā; therefore it is named ‘the perfection equal to the unequalled’.

The Treatise-Author Explains the Sixteen Names One by One (Last Part): From ‘Like Empty Space’ to ‘Cannot Be Broken or Destroyed’

Ninth, this prajñāpāramitā is ultimately pure and cannot be destroyed by idle discourse; therefore it is named ‘the perfection like empty space’. Tenth, within prajñāpāramitā the specific marks of all dharmas are altogether unfindable; therefore it is named ‘the perfection of the emptiness of specific marks’. Eleventh, within this perfection the own-nature of all dharmas is originally empty—all dharmas arise from the coming together of many conditions and have no own-nature; therefore it is named ‘the perfection of the emptiness of own-nature’. Twelfth, within all dharmas there is no fixed dharma of their own; therefore it is named ‘the perfection of the emptiness of all dharmas’. Thirteenth, precisely because beings are empty and dharmas are empty, all dharmas are broken down so that there is nothing whatsoever, and even this ‘nothing whatsoever’ itself is nothing whatsoever; therefore it is named ‘the perfection of the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas’. Fourteenth, when the bodhisattva cultivates this prajñāpāramitā, there is not a single merit that is not contained in it, just as when the sun comes out the hundred flowers all open; therefore it is named ‘the perfection that opens all merits’. Fifteenth, once the sun-disc of prajñāpāramitā comes out in this bodhisattva's mind, it accomplishes all merits and makes them all pure; prajñāpāramitā is precisely the root of all wholesome dharmas; therefore it is named ‘the perfection that accomplishes all merits’. Sixteenth, there is not a single dharma in the world that can shake it; therefore it is named ‘the perfection that cannot be broken or destroyed’.

The General Cause of the Praise: ‘Incomparable’ Is Precisely ‘Equal to the Unequalled’

The general cause and condition for these arhats' praising prajñā lies in this: the Buddhas of the three times are all born from prajñāpāramitā; it lies also in this: it is incomparable giving and so on up to incomparable wisdom. In the world there is nothing that can equal it, so it is said to be ‘incomparable’; these six perfections are ultimately pure and without fault, so they are named ‘incomparable’, and ‘incomparable’ is precisely ‘equal to the unequalled’. A further explanation: what is called ‘equal to the unequalled’ is so because the Buddhas are named ‘the unequalled’; prajñā is able to be equal to the Buddhas, so it is named ‘equal to the unequalled’.

The Buddhas of the Three Times Already Include Śākyamuni Buddha; Why Mention Him Separately?

Question: Among the Buddhas of the three times, Śākyamuni Buddha is already included; why is he spoken of separately?

Answer: Because the great assembly now present were all ferried across through Śākyamuni Buddha, and they are mindful of how deep the Buddha's kindness is, therefore he is spoken of separately. It is just as Śāriputra once said: ‘If my teacher had not appeared in the world, we would forever have been blind people in darkness!’ The arhats know that the Buddhas of the three times are all born from within prajñāpāramitā; precisely because of this, the arhats say: ‘World-Honored One! If the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas wish to know all dharmas pervasively, they should cultivate and train in prajñāpāramitā.’

The Arhats' Minds Give Rise to Reverence, So They Say One Should Pay Homage and Make Offerings

When the arhats praise the bodhisattva, reverence arises in their minds, and so they say ‘one should pay homage and make offerings’. As for the sūtra's saying ‘gods, humans, and asuras’, it names these three good paths; beings of the three evil paths are unable to discern and understand prajñā, so they are not mentioned.

Having Heard the Arhats' Praise, the Buddha Confirms It: What You Say Is Not Wrong

After hearing the arhats' praise, the Buddha confirmed it, saying: ‘So it is! So it is! One should pay homage and make offerings to those who practise prajñāpāramitā.’ Although the arhats do not yet have all wisdom, what they said here was not wrong, and so the Buddha said it once more: ‘So it is! So it is!’ Why does he confirm it in this way? Because here the Buddha himself explains: precisely because there are bodhisattvas, the human path and the heavenly path arise, and so on up to all the bodhisattvas, who all expound the Dharma and ferry beings across in order to bring happiness to all beings. The kṣatriya great clans up to the Akaniṣṭha Heaven, and srota-āpannas up to the Buddhas, are all as was said in the sūtra above.

If Food, Drink, and Treasures Exist Because of Bodhisattvas, Why Must People Still Labour Hard to Obtain Them?

Question: If it is because there are bodhisattvas that the world has food, drink, and other things, as well as all kinds of treasures, then why must people still put forth their strength in tilling and toil hard for a living, enduring all kinds of hardship before they obtain them?

Answer: In times of the calamity of famine, even if people exert all their strength they obtain nothing at all; this is because the offences of beings are deep and heavy. Life after life the bodhisattva praises the three kinds of meritorious deeds—giving, upholding morality, and a wholesome mind; precisely because the causes and conditions of these three kinds of meritorious deeds are deep or shallow, what is obtained differs as higher, middle, and lower. Those of the higher kind obtain it the moment a thought stirs; those of the middle kind are respected among humans, and offerings come to their door of themselves; those of the lower kind obtain it only by putting forth effort and labour. Precisely because of this it is said ‘obtained because of bodhisattvas’—and these words are true and not false.

Three Kinds of Happiness: Heavenly Happiness, Human Happiness, and the Happiness of Nirvāṇa Are All Obtained through Bodhisattvas

The causes and conditions that can give rise to happiness are too many to count; now the Buddha speaks only in brief: ‘The happiness of the heavens, the happiness of the human realm, and the happiness of nirvāṇa are all obtained through bodhisattvas.’ Here the Buddha himself also says: ‘The bodhisattva abides in the six perfections, himself practises giving, and also teaches beings to practise giving.’ Although it is beings who themselves practise giving, without the bodhisattva's teaching they would never do it at all.

In Teaching Others These Causes of Happiness That Give Rise to Fetters, Is the Bodhisattva Not at Fault?

Question: Apart from the happiness of liberation, the two kinds of happiness—heavenly happiness and human happiness—are precisely where beings give rise to fetters; the causes and conditions of greed in turn give rise to anger; why then does the bodhisattva still teach these causes and conditions that give rise to fetters?

Answer: The bodhisattva is not at fault! Why? The bodhisattva, with a mind of kindness, compassion, and purity, gives beings the causes and conditions of happiness and teaches them to cultivate merit; if beings themselves are unable to cultivate merit purely, what blame is that of the bodhisattva's? It is like someone who kindly digs a well, and a blind man of his own accord loses his footing, falls into the well, and dies—the one who dug the well has no offence; or again, like someone who prepares good food and gives it to another, and the other of his own accord does not know moderation, eats too much, and falls ill—the one who gave has no offence either.

Explained Again from Several Angles: The Bodhisattva Is Blameless in Teaching Merit; Only the Buddha Alone Is without Error and without Fault

Furthermore, if the Buddhas and bodhisattvas did not teach beings to create the causes and conditions of merit, then in the world there would be no gods, no humans, and no asuras; only the three evil paths would increase, and beings would have even less means of escaping offence and suffering. Furthermore, because of the causes and conditions of happiness beings give rise to greed; because of the causes and conditions of greed they give rise to anger; because of the causes and conditions of anger they give rise to suffering; because of the causes and conditions of suffering they give rise to offence; now the bodhisattva wishes precisely to keep beings from falling into this fifth layer, offence, and so he gives them happiness. Furthermore, the causes and conditions of happiness do not necessarily give rise to greed—if there is right recollection, happiness instead becomes a cause and condition of wholesome merit; only wrong recollection gives rise to greed. Now the bodhisattva does this so that beings may receive happiness in accordance with right recollection, and thereby give rise to the causes and conditions of merit. Furthermore, only the Buddha alone is without error and without fault. These bodhisattvas have not yet accomplished the Buddha path and have not yet attained the Buddha eye, and so they use these three kinds of happiness—heavenly happiness, human happiness, and the happiness of nirvāṇa—to teach and transform beings who are fit to be ferried across; as for the Buddhas, they teach and transform beings only with the happiness of liberation.

The World-Honored One Puts Forth the Mark of the Tongue, and Its Light Shines Throughout the Worlds of the Ten Directions

At that time the World-Honored One put forth the broad and long mark of the tongue, covering the whole of the three-thousand great-thousand world; and from this mark of the tongue he emitted countless, immeasurable lights of all kinds of colours, shining everywhere upon Buddha-worlds of the ten directions as many as the sands of the Ganges. At this time, in those worlds of the east as many as the sands of the Ganges, immeasurable, countless bodhisattvas saw this great light, and each asked the Buddha of the world where he dwelt: ‘World-Honored One! Whose spiritual power is this, that there should be such a great light shining everywhere upon the Buddha-worlds?’

The Buddhas of the East Answer: It Is Śākyamuni of the Sahā World in the West, Emitting Light in Order to Speak Prajñā

The Buddhas of those worlds then told these bodhisattvas: ‘Good men! In the west there is a world named Sahā; there is a Buddha there named Śākyamuni. It is precisely his mark of the tongue that emits this great light, shining everywhere upon Buddha-worlds of the east as many as the sands of the Ganges; and the south, the west, the north, the four intermediate directions, the zenith, and the nadir are all likewise. He emits this light for the sake of proclaiming prajñāpāramitā to the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas.’

The Bodhisattvas Ask to Go and Make Offerings and Hear the Dharma, and the Buddhas Consent

At this time those bodhisattvas each said to their own Buddha: ‘I wish to go and make offerings to Śākyamuni Buddha and to the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, and I also wish to go and hear prajñāpāramitā!’ The Buddhas then told these bodhisattvas: ‘Good men! You yourselves know when it is time to go!’

The Bodhisattvas and the Gods Bring Offerings to the Sahā World; the Scattered Flowers Turn into a Great Jewelled Terrace on Four Pillars

At this time those bodhisattva-mahāsattvas took all kinds of implements of offering—immeasurable flower canopies, banners and pennants, necklaces, many incenses, gold and silver, and jewelled flowers—and, heading toward the Sahā world, came to the place where Śākyamuni Buddha was. At that time the gods of the heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings, up to the gods of the Akaniṣṭha Heaven, the highest of the form realm, each likewise took heavenly incense, powdered incense, scented unguent, incense of heavenly trees, and incense of leaves, together with all kinds of heavenly lotus flowers—blue, crimson, red, and white—and came toward the place where Śākyamuni Buddha was. The various flowers scattered by these bodhisattva-mahāsattvas and gods turned, in the empty space of the three-thousand great-thousand world, into a great jewelled terrace held up by four pillars, of all kinds of different colours, adorned and distinct.

A Hundred Thousand koṭi of People Rise from Their Seats and Vow That in the Future They Too Will Speak the Dharma Like This

At this time, in the great assembly of Śākyamuni Buddha, a hundred thousand koṭi of people all rose from their seats, joined their palms, and said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! In a future age we too shall realise a dharma such as this, just like Śākyamuni Buddha now! Even the disciples, the attendants, the great assembly, and the scene of the Dharma being spoken shall all be as they are now!’

The Buddha Knows That in Utmost Sincerity They Have Attained Acceptance of Dharmas, and So Smiles and Emits Light

At this time the Buddha knew that these good men, from a mind of utmost sincerity, were able to realise all dharmas as not arising and not ceasing, not emerging and not made, and had thereby attained such an acceptance of dharmas. The Buddha then smiled, and lights of all kinds of colours issued from his mouth.

Ānanda Asks the Cause of the Smile; the Buddha Answers: These A Hundred Thousand koṭi of People Will Become Buddhas after Sixty-Eight koṭi of Kalpas

Ānanda then said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! Through what cause and condition does the Buddha smile?’ The Buddha told Ānanda: ‘The a hundred thousand koṭi of people in this great assembly have already attained the acceptance of non-arising with respect to dharmas. In a future age, after passing through sixty-eight koṭi of kalpas, these people will all become Buddhas; that kalpa will be named Heap of Flowers, and these Buddhas will all be named Flower of Awakening.’

What follows is the treatise's explanation.

The First Chapter Already Put Forth the Mark of the Tongue; Why Put It Forth Again Here?

Question: In the very first chapter the Buddha already manifested the mark of the tongue; why does he manifest it again here?

Answer: This matter was not spoken to completion in a single day or at a single sitting. The earlier manifesting of the mark of the tongue was in order to bring together this great Dharma assembly and ferry all beings across everywhere; at that time Śāriputra asked and the Buddha answered. Now it is another time, for the sake of another group of people; because Subhūti skilfully proclaims the meaning of emptiness, the Buddha instructs him to speak once more, and so the light of the mark of the tongue is manifested again.

Śāriputra Is Foremost in Wisdom—What, Then, Did He Lack, That Subhūti Is Instructed Instead?

Question: Śāriputra is foremost in wisdom; what did he still lack, that the Buddha should instead instruct Subhūti to speak?

Answer: The Buddha's disciples are many; when one person has finished speaking, he goes on to instruct another. It is like one who is a king: his ministers are many, and he likewise talks with them one after another in turn.

If It Is Conversation in Turn, Why Does It Not Come to Maudgalyāyana, Kāśyapa, and the Others?

Question: If that is so, then Maudgalyāyana, Kāśyapa, and such people are also many; why does the conversation not come round to each of them in turn?

Answer: This sūtra is named Wisdom, and Śāriputra is foremost in wisdom; therefore the question was put to him first.

Subhūti Is Instructed to Speak the Dharma for Two Great Causes and Conditions

As for Subhūti, although he has all kinds of causes and conditions, it is chiefly on the strength of two great causes and conditions: first, he delights in cultivating the samādhi of non-contention and constantly has compassion for beings; although he cannot convert and ferry beings across widely, he constantly assists the bodhisattvas from the side, taking the bodhisattvas' matters to ask the Buddha about them; second, he delights in cultivating the dharma of emptiness deeply, and within prajñā it is precisely the dharma of emptiness that is mostly spoken—therefore the Buddha instructs Subhūti to speak.

The Treatise-author Concludes: The Light of the Mark of the Tongue, the Coming and Going of the Bodhisattvas, and the Offering of the Flower Terrace Are All as Said in the First Chapter

Next the treatise-author concludes: the several points here—‘the light of the mark of the tongue’, ‘the coming and going of the bodhisattvas’, and so on up to ‘the offering of the flower terrace’—have all already been spoken of in the very first chapter, and are not restated here.

Seeing the Great Spiritual Power, Beings at Once Attain the Acceptance of the Non-arising of Dharmas and Make a Vow

At that time beings saw such great spiritual power—that is, the Buddhas in worlds of the ten directions as many as the sands of the Ganges, together with Śākyamuni Buddha, all at once emitting immeasurable light; beings, receiving the Buddha's spiritual power, saw the mark of the tongue covering the whole of the three-thousand great-thousand world, and moreover saw and heard the Buddhas speaking the Dharma in the great assemblies, and at once attained the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas, and made a vow, saying: ‘May our spiritual powers and transformations in a future age also be like those of the Buddha now.’

The Buddha Smiles Because He Knows Beings Have Attained Acceptance; the Meaning of the Smile and the Buddha's Answer Are All as Said Before

The Buddha knew that beings had already attained the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas, and therefore he smiled. As for the meaning of this ‘smile’, and the matter of how the Buddha answered Ānanda, these too have all already been spoken of earlier.

Those Who Attain Acceptance Will Become Buddhas in the Future; Because They Saw the Terrace of Seven-Jewelled Flowers, the Kalpa Is Named Heap of Flowers and the Buddhas Are Named Flower of Awakening

The persons who attained this acceptance will become Buddhas after passing through sixty-eight koṭi of kalpas. It was precisely when these persons saw the bodhisattvas of the ten directions coming with flowers of the seven jewels to make offerings, and these flowers turning into a terrace of seven-jewelled flowers, that, because of seeing this, their minds became pure and they attained the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas. Precisely because of this, when they become Buddhas, that kalpa will be named Heap of Flowers, and these Buddhas will all be named Flower of Awakening.

The Buddha Instructs Subhūti to Expound Prajñāpāramitā for the Bodhisattvas

At that time the Buddha told the venerable Subhūti: ‘You should teach the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas prajñāpāramitā, just as the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas ought to accomplish prajñāpāramitā!’

The Assembly Doubts: Is This Subhūti's Own Power of Wisdom, or the Buddha's Majestic Spiritual Power?

At that very moment the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, together with the great śrāvaka disciples, the gods, and the rest, all had this thought: ‘Is the venerable Subhūti going to expound prajñāpāramitā for the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas by his own power of wisdom? Or by the Buddha's majestic spiritual power?’

Subhūti Explains to Śāriputra: All That the Buddha's Disciples Say Is the Buddha's Power, and the Dharma the Buddha Teaches Is Like a Bright Lamp

The venerable Subhūti, knowing what the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, the great disciples, and the gods were thinking in their minds, told the venerable Śāriputra: ‘Whatever Dharma the Buddha's disciples expound and whatever Dharma they teach is all the Buddha's majestic spiritual power. In the Dharma the Buddha teaches, the marks of dharmas do not contradict one another; these good men train in this Dharma and are able to realise this Dharma, and the Dharma the Buddha teaches is like a bright lamp. Śāriputra! All śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas truly have no power to expound prajñāpāramitā for the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas.’

Subhūti Asks the Buddha: If He Sees No Dharma Called Bodhisattva, How Is He to Teach Him Prajñā?

At that time the venerable Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘As for the bodhisattva and the name bodhisattva of which the World-Honored One speaks, which dharma, after all, is called bodhisattva? World-Honored One! We do not see any such dharma called bodhisattva; how then are we to teach the bodhisattva prajñāpāramitā?’

The Buddha Answers: Prajñā, the Bodhisattva, and the Word Bodhisattva Are All Only Names, Neither Within, Nor Without, Nor in Between (the Thesis of the Whole Chapter)

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘Prajñāpāramitā too only has a name, called prajñāpāramitā; the bodhisattva and the name bodhisattva too only have a name; this name is not within, not without, and not in between.’

Simile One: The Name ‘Self’, When Spoken of, Exists Only Through the Coming Together of Many Conditions; It Is Only a Worldly Provisional Name

The Buddha went on: ‘Subhūti! For example, when the name “self” is spoken of, it exists only through the coming together of many conditions; this name “self” neither arises nor ceases; it is only spoken of by means of a worldly name. So too being, lifespan, life, one who is born, nourisher, one of the multitude, person, doer, one who causes to do, one who rouses, one who causes to rouse, receiver, one who causes to receive, knower, seer, and the like—these too all exist only as dharmas that come together; these names neither arise nor cease; they are only spoken of by means of worldly names. Prajñāpāramitā, the bodhisattva, and the word bodhisattva are also like this: all exist only through coming together, all likewise neither arise nor cease, and are only spoken of by means of worldly names.’

Simile Two: The Body and the Five Aggregates Are Also Provisional Names That Exist Only Through Coming Together

‘Subhūti! For example, the body exists only through coming together; it likewise neither arises nor ceases, and is only spoken of by means of a worldly name. Subhūti! For example, form, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness—these five aggregates—also exist only through coming together; they likewise neither arise nor cease, and are only spoken of by means of worldly names. Subhūti! Prajñāpāramitā, the bodhisattva, and the word bodhisattva are also like this: all exist only through coming together, likewise neither arise nor cease, and are only spoken of by means of worldly names.’

Simile Three: The Six Faculties of Eye, Ear, and the Rest, the Six Objects of Form, Sound, and the Rest, up to the Eighteen Elements, All Exist Through Coming Together and Are Neither Within, Nor Without, Nor in Between

‘Subhūti! For example, the eye exists only through coming together; it likewise neither arises nor ceases, and is only spoken of by means of a worldly name; this eye is not within, not without, and not in between. Ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind also exist only through coming together; they likewise neither arise nor cease, and are only spoken of by means of worldly names. The six objects, from form up to dharmas, are also like this. The eye element exists only through coming together; it likewise neither arises nor ceases, and is only spoken of by means of a worldly name; up to the mind-consciousness element—the eighteen elements—it is also like this. Subhūti! Prajñāpāramitā, the bodhisattva, and the word bodhisattva are also like this: all exist only through coming together, likewise neither arise nor cease, and are only spoken of by means of names; this name too is not within, not without, and not in between.’

Simile Four: The Parts of the Body—Head, Nape, Shoulders, Arms, and the Rest—Are Also Only Names of Things Come Together

‘Subhūti! For example, within the body there is what is called the head; and there are also the nape, shoulders, arms, spine, ribs, thighs, shins, and feet—all exist only through coming together; these dharmas and their names likewise neither arise nor cease, and are only spoken of by means of names; this name too is not within, not without, and not in between. Subhūti! Prajñāpāramitā, the bodhisattva, and the word bodhisattva are also like this: all exist only through coming together and are spoken of only by means of names; they likewise neither arise nor cease, and are not within, not without, and not in between.’

Simile Five: Outer Things—Grass, Trees, Branches, and Leaves—Are Also Spoken of Only by Names

‘Subhūti! For example, outer things—grass, trees, branches, leaves, stems, and joints—all of these are spoken of only by means of names; these dharmas and their names likewise neither arise nor cease; they are not within, not without, and do not abide in between. Subhūti! Prajñāpāramitā, the bodhisattva, and the word bodhisattva are also like this: all exist only through coming together; these dharmas and their names likewise neither arise nor cease; they are not within, not without, and do not abide in between.’

Simile Six: The Names of the Buddhas of the Past Also Exist Only Through Coming Together

‘Subhūti! For example, the names of the Buddhas of the past also exist only through coming together; they likewise neither arise nor cease, and are spoken of only by means of names; they too are not within, not without, and do not abide in between. Prajñāpāramitā, the bodhisattva, and the word bodhisattva are also like this.’

Simile Seven: Dream, Echo, Shadow, Illusion, Mirage, and What the Buddha Conjures Are Also Only Provisional Names of Things Come Together

‘Subhūti! For example, dreams, echoes, shadows, illusions, mirages, and the persons and things conjured by the Buddha all exist only through coming together, and are spoken of only by means of names; these dharmas and their names neither arise nor cease; they are not within, not without, and do not abide in between. Prajñāpāramitā, the bodhisattva, and the word bodhisattva are also like this.’

The Close of the Sūtra Passage: A Bodhisattva Practising Prajñā Should Train in the Designation of Names, the Designation of Receiving, and the Designation of Dharmas

‘Just so, Subhūti! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises prajñāpāramitā should train in this way with regard to the designation of names, the designation of receiving, and the designation of dharmas.’

What follows is the treatise's explanation.

Why the Buddha Does Not Speak Himself but Instructs Subhūti to Speak (Question and Answer 1: Four Causes and Conditions)

Question: Since the Buddha does not speak himself, and the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas surpass the śrāvakas in merit, wisdom, and keenness of faculties, why does he still instruct Subhūti to speak?

Answer: Earlier, in the chapter on the mark of the tongue, there were already two causes and conditions for having Subhūti speak. Furthermore, the Buddha's majestic virtue is noble and grave; the assembly holds him in awe and dares not put questions to the Buddha, fearing that their questions will not be complete. Furthermore, the Buddha knows what the assembly doubts in their minds, while the assembly, in awe of the Buddha and finding it hard to open their mouths, dare not ask. Why? Beings see the Buddha's body higher than Mount Sumeru, his tongue covering the three-thousand great-thousand world, and all kinds of immeasurable light streaming from his body. At that time the assembly were all alarmed and frightened in their minds and dared not ask, each thinking: ‘How shall I be able to hear the Dharma from the Buddha?’ Precisely because of this, the Buddha instructed Subhūti to expound the Dharma for the assembly, saying ‘what you expound is all the Buddha's majestic spiritual power’, just as the sūtra says. Furthermore, prajñāpāramitā is of two kinds: one is spoken together for śrāvakas and bodhisattvas, the other is spoken only for the Dharma-body bodhisattvas. Because it was to be spoken together, he instructed Subhūti to take the lead, extending also to Maitreya, Śāriputra, and Śakra Devānām Indra.

Subhūti Tells Śāriputra: What the Śrāvakas Say All Rests on the Buddha's Majestic Spiritual Power, Like a Messenger Relaying Words, Like One Walking by Night with a Lamp Held for Him

At that time the assembly, hearing that the Buddha had instructed Subhūti to speak, were all startled and doubtful in their minds. Subhūti, knowing the minds of the assembly, told Śāriputra and the others: ‘All that the śrāvakas say and all that they know is the Buddha's majestic spiritual power. We speak for the assembly by virtue of the Buddha's majestic spirit, like a person who relays a message. Why? In the Dharma the Buddha teaches, the marks of dharmas do not contradict one another. These disciples have trained in this Dharma and realised it, and whatever they say is all the Buddha's power; what we say is what the Buddha says. Why? Now we are speaking in the Buddha's presence; though we have the eye of wisdom, if we did not meet the Buddha's Dharma we would see nothing at all. It is like walking a dangerous road at night: if no one holds a lamp for you, you certainly cannot get through; the Buddha is also like this—if he did not illuminate us with the lamp of wisdom, we would see nothing at all.’

Śrāvakas and Pratyekabuddhas Truly Have No Power to Expound Prajñā for Bodhisattvas (Like One Who Eats a Bushel of Rice Begging from One Who Has Only a Peck to Relieve His Hunger)

Subhūti further told Śāriputra: ‘All śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas truly have no power to expound prajñāpāramitā for the bodhisattvas, how much less I alone!’ Why? The bodhisattva's wisdom is very deep, and his questions and answers are profound and far-reaching; even the other, shallower dharmas are hard to speak in the presence of a bodhisattva, how much more the deep Dharma! It is like a person able to eat a bushel of rice who begs from someone who has only a peck of rice, wishing to relieve his hunger with that peck—it cannot be relieved. Precisely because of this it is said ‘śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas have no power to expound prajñā for bodhisattvas’.

Subhūti Speaks Within the Dharma of the Real Mark: The Three Things—Bodhisattva, Word, and Prajñā—Are All Unfindable

Subhūti greatly manifested the nobility of the bodhisattva, and the Buddha also approved him. He wished to have Subhūti speak within the Dharma of the real mark, and so Subhūti said: ‘When one seeks the bodhisattva among all dharmas, he is utterly unfindable; because the bodhisattva is unfindable, the word bodhisattva is also unfindable; because the bodhisattva and the word bodhisattva are unfindable, prajñāpāramitā is also unfindable. These three things are all unfindable; how am I to teach the bodhisattva prajñāpāramitā?’

Subhūti's Saying ‘There Is No Bodhisattva’ Runs Counter to the Buddha's Instruction; Why Does the Buddha Approve It? (Question and Answer 2)

Question: The Buddha instructed Subhūti to expound prajñā for the bodhisattvas, yet Subhūti says there is no bodhisattva; this runs counter to the Buddha, so why does the Buddha still agree with him?

Answer: There are two ways of expounding the Dharma: one is to speak with a clinging mind, the other is to speak with a mind that does not cling. Now Subhūti speaks of emptiness with a mind that does not cling, so the Buddha does not rebuke him. Furthermore, Subhūti constantly cultivates the emptiness samādhi and knows that all dharmas are empty. The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘Expound prajñāpāramitā for the bodhisattvas.’ But the bodhisattva is ultimately empty, so Subhūti said in surprise: ‘Then how is it called bodhisattva?’ The Buddha then at once approved and completed his words, saying: ‘The bodhisattva is just so: from the arousing of the mind up to the accomplishment of the Buddha-path, he is ultimately empty and therefore unfindable; if one teaches in this way, that is precisely teaching the bodhisattva prajñāpāramitā.’

The Simile of Fire: Only When the Two Dharmas, Name and the Meaning of the Name, Come Together Is There the Provisional Name Fire

The treatise-author further says: In general there are two dharmas: the first is the name, the second is the meaning of the name. Take fire: being able to illuminate and being able to burn are its meaning; illuminating is derived form, and burning is the great element of fire; only when these two dharmas come together is it called fire. If apart from these two dharmas there were a separate fire, there ought to be a separate third function; but apart from burning and apart from illuminating there is no third activity, so we know that the two dharmas come together and are provisionally named fire.

The Name Fire Is Not in the Three Places—Within, Without, or in Between—It Is Only a Provisional Name

This name fire is not within the two dharmas. Why? The dharmas are two and fire is one; one cannot be taken as two, and two cannot be taken as one. If the two dharmas, once joined, were called fire, then speaking the word fire ought to burn the mouth; if the two dharmas were separated, then asking for fire one ought instead to get water. From these reasons we know that the name fire is not within the two dharmas. If fire were outside the two dharmas, then on hearing the name fire, the notion of fire ought not to arise with respect to the two dharmas. If it were between the two, there would be no place of support; all conditioned dharmas originally have no place of support, and if it is said to be in between, there would be no way to know it. Precisely because of this, fire is not in the three places—within, without, or in between—it is only a provisional name.

Carrying the Simile of Fire Over to the Bodhisattva: The Two Dharmas, Name and Form, Come Together and Are Provisionally Named Bodhisattva

The bodhisattva is also like this: the two dharmas, name and form, come together and are provisionally named bodhisattva. Form is one thing and name is another; if there truly were a bodhisattva, there ought to be a separate third thing; but there is no third thing, so we know that the bodhisattva is only a provisional name. The name bodhisattva is also like this: it is not within, not without, and not between the two.

The Buddha Himself States the Simile: The Five Aggregates Come Together and Are Provisionally Named Self; a Real Self Is Utterly Unfindable

Here the Buddha stated a simile: ‘Just as the five aggregates come together and only then is there what is called a self, while a real self is utterly unfindable; being, up to knower and seer, are all dharmas of provisional names arising from the coming together of the causes and conditions of the five aggregates; these dharmas in fact neither arise nor cease, and the world only speaks of them by means of names. The bodhisattva, the word bodhisattva, and prajñāpāramitā are also like this: all are dharmas of provisional names from the coming together of causes and conditions.’ Here the Buddha stated a further simile. Someone says: ‘Beings exist only through the coming together of the five aggregates, and beings are empty; there are only the dharmas of the five aggregates.’ The Buddha says: ‘Beings are empty, and the five aggregates too, because of coming together, are provisionally named as existing.’ The twelve sense-fields and the eighteen elements are also like this.

There Are Two Kinds of Bodhisattva: Those Who Sit in Meditation Take the Bones of the Body as Simile, Those Who Recite Sūtras Take Grass and Trees as Simile

Furthermore, there are two kinds of bodhisattva: one sits in meditation, the other recites sūtras. One who sits in meditation constantly observes that the body, the bones, and the various other parts come together and only then is it called a body, and so he takes what he observes as a simile, saying that the parts of the skull come together and only then is it called a head, the bones of the feet come together and only then are they called feet, and head, feet, bones, and the rest come together and only then is it called a body; examining each one in turn, none has a root. Why? Because this is what he constantly practises and constantly observes, he takes it as a simile. One who does not sit in meditation takes grass, trees, branches, leaves, flowers, and fruit as a simile.

The Buddhas of the Past and the Ten Similes Are Also Only Names (the Meaning of the Ten Similes Is as Said Before)

Just as the Buddhas of the past too only have names, and are spoken of by means of these names. The ten similes too only have names, and the meaning of bodhisattva is also like this; the meaning of the ten similes is as was said before in the first chapter.

The Bodhisattva Should Train in the Three Kinds of Prajñapti (the Expository Treatise's Definition of the Three Designations, First Layer)

The bodhisattva should train in the three kinds of prajñapti in this way: dharmas such as the five aggregates of form, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness—this is called 「法波羅聶提」 tr. "the prajñapti of dharmas". The five aggregates come together through causes and conditions and only then are called a being; the many bones come together and only then are called the skull; as root, stem, branches, and leaves come together and only then are called a tree—this is called 「受波羅聶提」 tr. "the prajñapti of receiving". Using this name to grasp the marks of the two dharmas and to speak of these two—this is called 「名字波羅聶提」 tr. "the prajñapti of names".

The Three Kinds of Prajñapti, Second Layer: From the Subtle to the Coarse, a Name Added upon Names

Furthermore, when the dharmas of many minute particles come together, coarse dharmas arise, as when minute particles come together there is coarse form—this is called 「法波羅聶提」 tr. "the prajñapti of dharmas", because dharma is further born from dharma. When these coarse dharmas come together, a name arises, as the name fire arises from being able to illuminate and being able to burn; with name and form there comes to be a person—name and form are dharmas, the person is a provisional name—this is called 「受波羅聶提」 tr. "the prajñapti of receiving"; because it receives form and receives name, it is called 「受」 tr. "receiving". Beside many names there is yet another name, as beside the names of beams, rafters, tiles, and so on there arises the name house, as beside the names of the branches and leaves of a tree there arises the name tree—this is called 「名字波羅聶提」 tr. "the prajñapti of names".

The Sequence of Practice: First Break the Designation of Names and Arrive at the Designation of Receiving, Then at the Designation of Dharmas, Then at the Real Mark of All Dharmas

The practitioner first breaks down the prajñapti of names and arrives at the prajñapti of receiving; next he breaks the prajñapti of receiving and arrives at the prajñapti of dharmas; breaking the prajñapti of dharmas, he arrives within the real mark of all dharmas. And the real mark of all dharmas is precisely the prajñāpāramitā in which dharmas and names are all empty.

What follows is the sūtra text.

When a Bodhisattva Practises Prajñā He Does Not See the Names of Form, Feeling, Perception, Constructions, and Consciousness as Permanent, Impermanent, Pleasant, Painful, or Any Other Mark

The Buddha went on: ‘Furthermore, Subhūti! When a bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, he does not see the name of form as permanent, does not see the names of feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness as permanent; does not see the name of form as impermanent, does not see the names of feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness as impermanent; does not see the name of form as pleasant, does not see the name of form as painful; does not see the name of form as self, does not see the name of form as non-self; does not see the name of form as empty, does not see the name of form as signless, does not see the name of form as non-action; does not see the name of form as quiescent; does not see the name of form as defiled, does not see the name of form as pure; does not see the name of form as arising, does not see the name of form as ceasing; does not see the name of form as within, does not see the name of form as without, does not see the name of form as abiding in between. Feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are also like this.’

The Eighteen Elements, Contact, and Feeling Are Likewise Not Seen; Neither in the Conditioned Nature nor in the Unconditioned Nature Are They Seen, and He Does Not Discriminate

‘The eye, forms, eye-consciousness, eye-contact, and the various feelings arising from the causes and conditions of eye-contact, up to the mind, dharmas, mind-consciousness, mind-contact, and the various feelings arising from the causes and conditions of mind-contact—these too are likewise not seen. Why? When a bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, the word prajñāpāramitā, the bodhisattva, and the word bodhisattva are not seen in the conditioned nature, and are not seen in the unconditioned nature either. When a bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, he does not discriminate any of these dharmas.’

Dwelling in the Indestructible Dharma and Cultivating the Four Foundations of Mindfulness up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, He Sees Neither Prajñā nor the Bodhisattva; He Knows Only the Real Mark of All Dharmas

‘This bodhisattva, practising prajñāpāramitā and dwelling in the indestructible dharma, when cultivating the four foundations of mindfulness, does not see prajñāpāramitā, does not see the word prajñāpāramitā, does not see the bodhisattva, does not see the word bodhisattva; up to when cultivating the eighteen unshared dharmas, he likewise does not see prajñāpāramitā, does not see the word prajñāpāramitā, does not see the bodhisattva, does not see the word bodhisattva. When a bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā in this way, he knows only the real mark of all dharmas; and the real mark of all dharmas is neither stained nor pure.’

Knowing That Names Are Only Provisional Designations, He Does Not Cling to the Five Aggregates, the Six Sense-Fields, or Any Dharma at All (Because There Is No One Who Clings, No Dharma Clung To, No Place of Clinging)

‘Just so, Subhūti! When a bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, he should know in this way that names are only provisional designations. Having known that names are provisional, he does not cling to form, does not cling to feeling, perception, constructions, or consciousness; does not cling to the eye up to the mind, does not cling to forms up to dharmas; does not cling to eye-consciousness, up to not clinging to mind-consciousness; does not cling to eye-contact, up to not clinging to mind-contact; does not cling to the feeling arising from the causes and conditions of eye-contact, whether painful, pleasant, or neither painful nor pleasant, up to not clinging to the feeling arising from the causes and conditions of mind-contact, whether painful, pleasant, or neither painful nor pleasant; does not cling to the conditioned nature, does not cling to the unconditioned nature; does not cling to the six perfections—the perfection of giving (dāna), the perfection of morality (śīla), the perfection of patience (kṣānti), the perfection of vigour (vīrya), the perfection of meditation (dhyāna), and prajñāpāramitā; does not cling to the thirty-two marks, does not cling to the bodhisattva body; does not cling to the bodhisattva's fleshly eye, up to not clinging to the Buddha eye; does not cling to the perfection of knowledge, does not cling to the perfection of supernormal powers; does not cling to inner emptiness, up to not clinging to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas; does not cling to bringing beings to maturity, does not cling to purifying Buddha-worlds, does not cling to the dharma of skilful means. Why? Because for these dharmas there is no one who clings, no dharma clung to, and no place of clinging.’

Not Clinging to Any Dharma, He Is Able to Increase the Six Perfections, Enter the Bodhisattva Position, Attain Non-Retrogression, and Travel Through Buddha-Lands Bringing Beings to Maturity

‘Just so, Subhūti! When a bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā and does not cling to any dharma, he is able to increase the perfection of giving, the perfection of morality, the perfection of patience, the perfection of vigour, the perfection of meditation, and prajñāpāramitā; he enters the bodhisattva position, attains the non-retrogressing avaivartika ground, and is complete in the bodhisattva's supernormal powers; he travels from one Buddha-land to another Buddha-land, brings beings to maturity, and reveres, honours, and praises the Buddhas; in order to purify Buddha-worlds and in order to behold the Buddhas he makes offerings, and the implements of offering are all obtained at will because his wholesome roots are accomplished; he also hears the Dharma that the Buddhas teach, and having heard it, up to the accomplishment of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, he never forgets it, and he attains all kinds of dhāraṇī gates and all kinds of samādhi gates.’

Closing: When a Bodhisattva Practises Prajñā, He Should Know That All Dharmas Are Only Provisional Designations of Names

‘Just so, Subhūti! When a bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, he should know that all dharmas are only provisional designations of names!’

First Round of Questioning: Is Form, up to the Twelve Links of Dependent Arising, the Bodhisattva? Each Time the Answer Is No

The Buddha asked Subhūti: ‘Subhūti! What do you think? Is form the bodhisattva? Are feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness the bodhisattva?’ Subhūti answered: ‘No, World-Honored One!’ The Buddha asked further: ‘Are the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind—these six faculties—the bodhisattva?’ ‘No, World-Honored One!’ ‘Are form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharmas—these six objects—the bodhisattva?’ ‘No, World-Honored One!’ ‘Are eye-consciousness up to mind-consciousness—these six consciousnesses—the bodhisattva?’ ‘No, World-Honored One!’ ‘Subhūti! What do you think? Is the earth constituent the bodhisattva?’ ‘No, World-Honored One!’ ‘Are the water, fire, wind, space, and consciousness constituents the bodhisattva?’ ‘No, World-Honored One!’ ‘Is ignorance the bodhisattva?’ ‘No, World-Honored One!’ ‘Up to: is old age and death the bodhisattva?’ ‘No, World-Honored One!’ ‘Is what is apart from form the bodhisattva?’ ‘No, World-Honored One!’ ‘Up to: is what is apart from old age and death the bodhisattva?’ ‘No, World-Honored One!’ ‘Is the suchness of form the bodhisattva?’ ‘No, World-Honored One!’ ‘Up to: is the suchness of old age and death the bodhisattva?’ ‘No, World-Honored One!’ ‘Is what is apart from the suchness of form, up to what is apart from the suchness of old age and death, the bodhisattva?’ ‘No, World-Honored One!’

The Buddha Presses: On What Principle Do You Say That None of These Is the Bodhisattva?

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘What principle do you observe, that you say form is not the bodhisattva, up to old age and death is not the bodhisattva; what is apart from form is not the bodhisattva, up to what is apart from old age and death is not the bodhisattva; the suchness of form is not the bodhisattva, up to the suchness of old age and death is not the bodhisattva; what is apart from the suchness of form is not the bodhisattva, up to what is apart from the suchness of old age and death is not the bodhisattva?’

Subhūti Answers: Even a Being Is Ultimately Unfindable, How Much Less Can It Be Said to Be the Bodhisattva!

Subhūti said: ‘World-Honored One! A being is ultimately unfindable, how much less can it be said to be the bodhisattva! Form is unfindable, how much less can form, what is apart from form, the suchness of form, or what is apart from the suchness of form be said to be the bodhisattva! Up to: old age and death are unfindable, how much less can old age and death, what is apart from old age and death, the suchness of old age and death, or what is apart from the suchness of old age and death be said to be the bodhisattva!’

The Buddha Commends Him: Because Beings Are Unfindable, Prajñā Too Is Unfindable; One Should Train Thus

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘Excellent! Excellent! Just so, Subhūti! Because the bodhisattva-mahāsattva and beings are all unfindable, prajñāpāramitā too is unfindable; one should train in this way!’

Second Round of Questioning: Are Form up to Old Age and Death, and Their Permanence, Impermanence, Pleasure, Pain, and the Rest, ‘the Meaning of Bodhisattva’? Each Time the Answer Is No

Then the Buddha asked, one by one, whether these dharmas are the meaning of bodhisattva. First he asked: Is form the meaning of bodhisattva? Are feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness the meaning of bodhisattva? Subhūti answered each time: No, World-Honored One! Then, taking each dharma, he asked whether its various marks are the meaning of bodhisattva—form as permanent, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness as permanent: are these the meaning of bodhisattva? Form as impermanent, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness as impermanent: are these the meaning of bodhisattva? Form as pleasant, form as painful, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness as pleasant, as painful: are these the meaning of bodhisattva? Form as self, form as not-self, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness as self, as not-self: are these the meaning of bodhisattva? Form as empty, form as not empty, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness as empty, as not empty: are these the meaning of bodhisattva? Form as having marks, form as signless, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness as having marks, as signless: are these the meaning of bodhisattva? Form as action, form as non-action, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness as action, as non-action: are these the meaning of bodhisattva? To each of these questions Subhūti answered: No, World-Honored One! Up to old age and death among the twelve links of dependent arising, all were likewise asked one by one and answered one by one in the negative.

The Buddha Presses a Second Time: On What Principle Do You Say That None of These Is the Meaning of Bodhisattva?

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘What principle do you observe, that you say form is not the meaning of bodhisattva, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are not the meaning of bodhisattva; up to the non-action of form, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness is not the meaning of bodhisattva; and so on up to old age and death?’

Subhūti Answers: Even Form Is Ultimately Unfindable, How Much Less Can Its Impermanence, Pain, Not-Self, and the Rest Be Said to Be the Meaning of Bodhisattva!

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! Form is ultimately unfindable, how much less can the formless be said to be the meaning of bodhisattva! Feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are also like this. World-Honored One! The permanence of form is ultimately unfindable, how much less can the impermanence of form be said to be the meaning of bodhisattva! Up to consciousness it is also like this. World-Honored One! The pleasure of form is ultimately unfindable, how much less can the pain of form be said to be the meaning of bodhisattva! Up to consciousness it is also like this. World-Honored One! The self of form is ultimately unfindable, how much less can the not-self of form be said to be the meaning of bodhisattva! Up to consciousness it is also like this. World-Honored One! The existence of form is ultimately unfindable, how much less can the emptiness of form be said to be the meaning of bodhisattva! Up to consciousness it is also like this. World-Honored One! The mark of form is ultimately unfindable, how much less can the signlessness of form be said to be the meaning of bodhisattva! Up to consciousness it is also like this. World-Honored One! The action of form is ultimately unfindable, how much less can the non-action of form be said to be the meaning of bodhisattva! Up to consciousness it is also like this.’

The Buddha Commends Him: The Meaning of Form and the Rest Is All Unfindable; One Should Train in Prajñā Thus

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘Excellent! Excellent! Just so, Subhūti! When a bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, the meaning of form is unfindable, the meaning of feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness is unfindable; up to the meaning of non-action, which is likewise unfindable—one should train in prajñāpāramitā in this way!’

Dharmas Do Not See One Another, and Dharmas and the Dharma-Nature Do Not See One Another; Apart from the Conditioned the Unconditioned Cannot Be Spoken of, and Apart from the Unconditioned the Conditioned Cannot Be Spoken of

‘Subhūti! You say, “I do not see any such dharma called bodhisattva.” Subhūti! Dharmas do not see dharmas. Dharmas do not see the dharma-nature, and the dharma-nature does not see dharmas. The dharma-nature does not see the earth constituent, and the earth constituent does not see the dharma-nature; up to the consciousness constituent does not see the dharma-nature, and the dharma-nature does not see the consciousness constituent. The dharma-nature does not see the nature of the eye, forms, and eye-consciousness, and the nature of the eye, forms, and eye-consciousness does not see the dharma-nature; up to the dharma-nature does not see the nature of the mind, dharmas, and mind-consciousness, and the nature of the mind, dharmas, and mind-consciousness does not see the dharma-nature. Subhūti! The conditioned nature does not see the unconditioned nature, and the unconditioned nature does not see the conditioned nature. Why? Because apart from the conditioned the unconditioned cannot be spoken of, and apart from the unconditioned the conditioned cannot be spoken of.’

The Bodhisattva Sees Nothing in All Dharmas, and Therefore Is Not Alarmed, Not Afraid, Not Terrified, Does Not Sink, and Has No Sorrow or Regret

‘Just so, Subhūti! When a bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā and sees nothing in any dharma, at that time he is not alarmed, not afraid, not terrified, and his mind neither sinks nor is sorrowful and regretful. Why? Because this bodhisattva-mahāsattva does not see form, feeling, perception, constructions, or consciousness; does not see the eye up to the mind; does not see forms up to dharmas; does not see lust, anger, or delusion; does not see ignorance up to old age and death; does not see self up to knower and seer; does not see the desire realm, the form realm, or the formless realm; does not see the śrāvaka mind or the pratyekabuddha mind; does not see the bodhisattva, does not see the bodhisattva's dharmas; does not see the Buddha, does not see the Buddha's dharmas, does not see the Buddha-path. Because this bodhisattva sees none of all dharmas, he is not alarmed, not afraid, not terrified, does not sink, and has no regret!’

Subhūti Asks: Through What Cause and Condition Is the Bodhisattva's Mind Not Terrified, Not Sinking, Without Regret? The Buddha Answers: The Mind and Mental Factors Are Unfindable and Unseeable

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! Through what cause and condition is this bodhisattva's mind not terrified, not sinking, and without regret?’ The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘Because all the mind and mental factors of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva are unfindable and unseeable; precisely because of this, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's mind is not terrified, not sinking, and without regret.’

Subhūti Asks Again About Not Being Alarmed, Afraid, or Terrified; the Buddha Answers That Mind and the Mind Element Are Unfindable, and Sums Up: That the Three Things Are Unfindable in Every Place of Practice Is Itself Teaching the Bodhisattva

Subhūti asked further: ‘World-Honored One! How is it that the bodhisattva's mind is not alarmed, not afraid, not terrified?’ The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘This bodhisattva's mind and mind element are unfindable and unseeable; precisely because of this, he is not alarmed, not afraid, not terrified. Just so, Subhūti! Because all dharmas are unfindable, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva should practise prajñāpāramitā in this way. Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva, in every place where he practises, does not obtain prajñāpāramitā, does not obtain the name bodhisattva, and does not obtain the bodhisattva's mind either—this is precisely teaching the bodhisattva-mahāsattva.’

What follows is the treatise's explanation.

The Treatise-Author Explains: The Bodhisattva Contemplates the Names of Form-Dharmas as Neither Permanent nor Impermanent, and Does Not See That There Is a Bodhisattva or a Word Bodhisattva

The treatise-author explains: When the bodhisattva practises prajñāpāramitā, he contemplates the names of form-dharmas as neither permanent nor impermanent, up to, in the conditioned and unconditioned natures, not seeing that there is a bodhisattva or a word bodhisattva; as was said before, among all dharmas he does not give rise to recollection, imagining, and discrimination.

Dwelling in the Indestructible Dharma, He Practises the Six Perfections up to the eighteen unshared dharmas; Seeking with the Wisdom of the Real Mark, He Does Not See a Single Determinate Dharma

The bodhisattva dwells in the indestructible dharma and practises the six perfections, up to the eighteen unshared dharmas. With the wisdom of the real mark of all dharmas he seeks among all dharmas, and does not see that there is a determinate dharma called prajñāpāramitā, nor does he see the name prajñāpāramitā, nor again does he see the bodhisattva or the name bodhisattva.

With the Wisdom of ‘Not Seeing, and Not Seeing That Not-Seeing’ He Breaks Afflictions and Breaks Clinging; What Is Seen, Heard, and Thought Is All Like Illusion and Conjuration, Empty and Deceptive, and So He Enters the Bodhisattva Position

With this wisdom the bodhisattva breaks ignorance and all the other afflictions; with this wisdom that does not see, and does not see that not-seeing either, he breaks clinging to prajñāpāramitā, the name prajñāpāramitā, the bodhisattva, and the name bodhisattva. The real mark of all dharmas is pure, penetrating and unobstructed. When the bodhisattva attains such wisdom, whatever he sees, hears, or thinks is all like an illusion, like a conjuration; whatever he hears, sees, or thinks is empty, deceptive, and unreal. Precisely because of this, he does not cling to form and the rest. Dwelling in this unobstructed wisdom, the bodhisattva increases the six perfections, enters the bodhisattva position, and attains all such kinds of benefit.

Structural Division: The Above Is One Section, in Which the Buddha Himself Teaches the Bodhisattva to Make Such a Contemplation

The above is one section, in which the Buddha himself teaches the bodhisattva to make such a contemplation.

Structural Division: In the Next Section the Buddha Questions Subhūti in Return, Fearing People Would Mistakenly Think the Buddha Speaks One-Sidedly of the Emptiness of Dharmas

The next section comes about because some people thought the Buddha spoke much of the emptiness of dharmas, and so the Buddha in return asked Subhūti: ‘If dharmas were not empty, would there be a dharma that is determinately the bodhisattva? That is, is form the bodhisattva? Up to: are such various dharmas the bodhisattva?’ Subhūti thought: ‘Only when dharmas come together is there a bodhisattva; how could I say that some one dharma is determinately the bodhisattva?’ Precisely because of this he answered ‘No, World-Honored One!’ Because Subhūti skilfully penetrates the emptiness of beings, the Buddha said ‘Excellent! Excellent!’ Because the bodhisattva knows that the emptiness of beings is unfindable, he should practise prajñāpāramitā in this way.

Answering to the Second Round of Questioning: Form as the Meaning of Bodhisattva up to Non-Action—Their Ultimate Emptiness Is Likewise So

Form as the meaning of bodhisattva, up to non-action as the meaning of bodhisattva—their ultimate emptiness is likewise so. Because Subhūti has entered deeply into the deep emptiness of all dharmas and gives rise to no doubt, he is able to benefit the bodhisattvas, and therefore the Buddha praised him, saying: ‘Excellent! Excellent! The bodhisattva's dharma should train in this way in the prajñāpāramitā of the emptiness in which all dharmas are unfindable.’

Explaining ‘Dharmas Do Not See the Dharma-Nature’: The Dharma-Nature Is Immeasurable and Unseeable; Dharmas Arise from the Coming Together of Causes and Conditions, Have No Own-Nature, and Are Ultimately Empty

Just as Subhūti said ‘I do not see any such dharma called bodhisattva’, the Buddha said ‘It is not only the bodhisattva alone that cannot be seen; there is fundamentally no dharma that can see a dharma’. Because the dharma-nature is immeasurable and unseeable, it is said that dharmas do not see the dharma-nature. Because dharmas arise from the coming together of causes and conditions, have no own-nature, and are ultimately empty, the dharma-nature does not see dharmas. The nature of form does not see the dharma-nature, and the dharma-nature does not see the nature of form; up to the nature of consciousness, it is also like this. The nature of the five aggregates and the dharma-nature share the same name, so all are called nature. The twelve sense-fields, the eighteen elements, conditioned dharmas, and unconditioned dharmas are also like this.

Briefly Stating the Cause and Condition: The Conditioned and the Unconditioned Are Spoken of in Mutual Dependence, and These Two Dharmas Include All Dharmas

To state this cause and condition briefly: apart from the conditioned nature, the unconditioned nature cannot be spoken of; apart from the unconditioned nature, the conditioned nature cannot be spoken of. For within these two dharmas all dharmas are included.

Explaining Non-Fear: Where Something Is Seen and Something Is Not Seen, There Is Fear; Where Nothing at All Is Seen, There Is Nothing to Fear

Although this bodhisattva does not see any dharma, he is also not afraid. Why? Where something is seen and something is not seen, there will be fear; if nothing at all is seen, there is nothing to fear—that is, the five aggregates up to the eighteen unshared dharmas are all like this.

Since the Buddha Has Already Stated the Cause and Condition of Non-Fear, Why Does Subhūti Ask Again? (Question and Answer 3)

Question: Since the Buddha has already stated the cause and condition of non-fear, why does Subhūti ask again?

Answer: Subhūti feared that people would think that dharmas are all empty and that nothing at all exists, and so fall into wrong view. Why? A disciple of the Buddha is called a person who practises the path only when he has attained right view; how could it be said that nothing at all can be seen? The Buddha knew Subhūti's intention, and so he said that all the mind and mental factors are unfindable and unseeable, and that therefore there is no fear.

Ordinary People Entering Emptiness Become Terrified; the Bodhisattva Knows That the Mind and Mental Factors Are False and Unreal and So Is Not Terrified (This Is the Purpose of the Repeated Question)

When ordinary people wish to enter emptiness, they see the mind and mental factors as obtainable while outer dharmas are unfindable, and so they are terrified. The bodhisattva is not terrified because he knows that the mind and mental factors are false and unreal, are the fruit of inversion, and cannot show people anything real. Because there is this difference of meaning, the question is asked again.

Why Is There Still a Third Question? Mind and Mind-Consciousness Are the Root of the Mind and Mental Factors (Question and Answer 4)

Question: If so, why is there still a third question?

Answer: The mind and mental factors can be seen within mind-consciousness; and mind and mind-consciousness are precisely the root of the mind and mental factors. Why? Because within mind-consciousness there is much discrimination, terror arises; when the five consciousnesses arise they are brief and without discrimination. It is in order to break the root of fear that the question is asked again, and this is without fault.

Summary of the Whole Chapter: Not Seeing the Four Things and Being Without Fear by Three Causes and Conditions Is Precisely Teaching the Bodhisattva Prajñā

If a bodhisattva is able to practise prajñāpāramitā in this way—though he does not see the four things, namely the bodhisattva, the word bodhisattva, prajñāpāramitā, and the word prajñāpāramitā—and is able to be without fear by three causes and conditions, this is precisely teaching the bodhisattva prajñāpāramitā. If one is able to penetrate the marks of the bodhisattva and of prajñāpāramitā, this is practising prajñāpāramitā; it is not obtained by seeking in the ten directions, nor does anyone give it, nor is it something that, like gold, silver, and precious things, can be obtained by seeking with strength.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What follows is the treatise's explanation.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What follows is the sūtra text.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Śāriputra Presses Further: What Is Love of Dharma?

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

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

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

What follows is the treatise's explanation.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What follows is the sūtra text.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Śāriputra said: ‘It cannot be found!’

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What follows is the treatise's explanation.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Śāriputra Praises Again, and the Buddha Assents in Silence

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Subhūti: I Do Not See the Gathering and Dispersal of All Dharmas; How Can I Establish a Name for the Bodhisattva? (Sūtra)

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! I do not perceive, and cannot find, any such thing as a bodhisattva practising prajñāpāramitā; for whom, then, should I speak prajñāpāramitā?

‘World-Honored One! I cannot find the gathering and dispersal of all dharmas; if I establish a name for a bodhisattva and call him a bodhisattva, I fear that later there will be regret! World-Honored One! This name does not abide, nor does it not abide. Why? Because this name in itself has no existence. Precisely for this reason, this name does not abide, nor does it not abide.

‘World-Honored One! I cannot find the gathering and dispersal of form, up to the gathering and dispersal of consciousness; since they cannot be found, how can I establish a name for them? World-Honored One! For this reason, this name does not abide, nor does it not abide. Why? Because this name has no existence.

‘World-Honored One! Nor can I find the gathering and dispersal of the eye, up to the gathering and dispersal of the mind; since they cannot be found, how can I establish a name and say that this is a bodhisattva? World-Honored One! The name of the eye, up to the name of the mind, none of them abides, nor do they not abide. Why? Because this name has no existence. For this reason, this name does not abide, nor does it not abide.

‘World-Honored One! I cannot find the gathering and dispersal of forms, up to the gathering and dispersal of dharmas; since they cannot be found, how can I establish a name and say that this is a bodhisattva? World-Honored One! The name of forms, up to the name of dharmas, none of them abides, nor do they not abide. Why? Because this name has no existence. For this reason, this name does not abide, nor does it not abide. Eye-consciousness up to mind-consciousness, eye-contact up to mind-contact, the feeling born with eye-contact as its condition up to the feeling born with mind-contact as its condition—these are all likewise.

‘World-Honored One! I cannot find the gathering and dispersal of ignorance, up to the point that I cannot find the gathering and dispersal of old age and death. World-Honored One! I cannot find the gathering and dispersal of the extinction of ignorance, up to the point that I cannot find the gathering and dispersal of the extinction of old age and death.

‘World-Honored One! I cannot find the gathering and dispersal of lust, anger, and delusion, or the gathering and dispersal of all kinds of wrong views; these are all likewise.

‘World-Honored One! I cannot find the gathering and dispersal of the six perfections; the gathering and dispersal of the four foundations of mindfulness, up to the gathering and dispersal of the eight limbs of the noble path; the gathering and dispersal of emptiness, the signless, and non-action; the gathering and dispersal of the four meditations, the four immeasurable minds, and the four formless absorptions; the gathering and dispersal of the recollection of the Buddha, the recollection of the Dharma, the recollection of the Saṅgha, the recollection of morality, the recollection of relinquishment, the recollection of the gods, the recollection of the good, the recollection of in-and-out breathing, the recollection of the body, and the recollection of death; nor can I find the gathering and dispersal of the Buddha's ten powers, up to the eighteen unshared dharmas. World-Honored One! Since I cannot find the gathering and dispersal of the six perfections up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, how can I establish a name and say that this is a bodhisattva? World-Honored One! This name does not abide, nor does it not abide. Why? Because this name has no existence. For this reason, this name does not abide, nor does it not abide.

‘World-Honored One! I cannot find the gathering and dispersal of the five aggregates that are like a dream, nor can I find the gathering and dispersal of the five aggregates that are like an echo, like a shadow, like a mirage, like a magical transformation; this too is as said before. World-Honored One! I cannot find the gathering and dispersal of separation, nor can I find the gathering and dispersal of quiescence, of non-arising and non-ceasing, of the not-shown, of the neither stained nor pure.

‘World-Honored One! I cannot find the gathering and dispersal of suchness, dharma-nature, the reality-limit, the dharma-mark, and the dharma-position; this too is as said before.

‘I cannot find the gathering and dispersal of wholesome and unwholesome dharmas; I cannot find the gathering and dispersal of conditioned and unconditioned dharmas, of dharmas with outflows and without outflows, the gathering and dispersal of past, future, and present dharmas, and of dharmas that are not past, not future, not present. What are the dharmas that are not past, not future, not present? They are the unconditioned dharmas. World-Honored One! Nor can I find the gathering and dispersal of the unconditioned dharmas.

‘World-Honored One! Nor can I find the gathering and dispersal of the Buddha. World-Honored One! Nor can I find the gathering and dispersal of the Buddhas, together with the bodhisattvas and the saṅgha of śrāvakas, in worlds of the ten directions as many as the sands of the Ganges. World-Honored One! Since I cannot find the gathering and dispersal of the Buddhas, how can I teach bodhisattva-mahāsattvas to practise prajñāpāramitā? World-Honored One! This name of bodhisattva does not abide, nor does it not abide. Why? Because this name has no existence. For this reason, this name does not abide, nor does it not abide.

‘World-Honored One! Nor can I find the gathering and dispersal of the real mark of all these dharmas; how can I establish a name for a bodhisattva and say that this is a bodhisattva? World-Honored One! This name, the real mark of all dharmas, does not abide, nor does it not abide. Why? Because this name has no existence. For this reason, this name does not abide, nor does it not abide.’

Why Say ‘Not Seeing the Bodhisattva’ Again? Of the Four Cravings, the Hardest to Dispel Is Craving for Dharmas (Treatise)

What follows is the treatise's explanation.

Question: The preceding chapters have already said that the bodhisattva, the bodhisattva's name, and prajñāpāramitā are not seen, and that all dharmas are not within, not without, not in between, and so on; why now say it again?

Answer: Beings have four kinds of craving—craving for desire, craving for existence, craving for non-existence, and craving for dharmas. Craving for desire is easy to see; its fault lies in marks such as impurity. Craving for existence has no marks such as impurity to be disgusted by, and is somewhat hard to dispel. Craving for non-existence is able to break down existence and resembles wisdom, and so it is harder still to dispel. As for craving for dharmas, it is craving attached to all kinds of wholesome dharmas that benefit the path; its fault is the hardest of all to see, and therefore it is said again. It is like small grass, which is easily removed with a little effort, whereas a great tree takes deep and heavy effort and is hard to uproot.

Furthermore, the dharma of before and the dharma here are partly the same and partly different: before, what was heard was that the bodhisattva's name cannot be seen; here what is said is that the bodhisattva's name is not perceived and not found—it is because it is not perceived and not found that it is not seen, not because the power of wisdom is weak that it is not seen.

Question: Before one has practised prajñāpāramitā, is there a bodhisattva? Why is it now said that a bodhisattva practising prajñāpāramitā is not seen?

Answer: From beginningless time beings have in their very nature been unfindable; it is not that they become unfindable because prajñāpāramitā has been practised. It is only because of falsehood, deception, and inversion that ordinary people, following this provisional name, take it that there is a bodhisattva. Now, practising prajñāpāramitā, one extinguishes falsehood, deception, and inversion and knows that it was originally non-existent—not that it originally existed and now does not. If one said that it originally existed and now does not, one would fall into annihilation.

Furthermore, the regret in Subhūti's mind is the fear of breaking the precept against false speech. Why? In the Buddha's Dharma all dharmas are definitely without self; if I say that there is a bodhisattva and that I will speak prajñāpāramitā for him, I fall into the offence of false speech—therefore there is regret in his mind.

Furthermore, there is another cause and condition for the regret in his mind: all dharmas, because they are unfindable and empty, are entirely empty. Why? Because there is no gathering and no dispersal.

What Are ‘Gathering’ and ‘Dispersal’? Endless Succession Is Called Gathering; Ceasing Moment by Moment, with No Coming and No Going, Is Called Dispersal (Treatise)

For example, the eye and form serve as causes and conditions and eye-consciousness arises; when the three things, eye, form, and consciousness, come together, eye-contact arises; within the causes and conditions of eye-contact there then arise mental dharmas such as feeling, perception, and construction. Within this, if wrong recollection arises, all kinds of afflictions and wrongdoing arise; if right recollection arises, all kinds of wholesome dharmas arise. Wholesome and unwholesome deeds bring on the recompense of the six paths, and from this body of recompense wholesome and unwholesome deeds are sown again. Continuing in succession like this, endless and inexhaustible—this is called ‘gathering’. The other faculties, of ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind, are all likewise.

What is called ‘dispersal’ means that dharmas such as eye-consciousness arise and cease moment by moment, because their causes and conditions separate and scatter. When these dharmas, such as eye-consciousness, arise, there is no place from which they come—it is not like grain from the fields being carried and gathered together; when they are destroyed, there is also no place to which they go—it is not like grain being distributed to the people, with somewhere to go.

This is, in brief, the mark of the gathering and dispersal of dharmas: when they arise they come from nowhere, and when they scatter and are destroyed they go nowhere; these dharmas are all like magical transformations, merely deceiving people's eyes!

Why Gathering and Dispersal Cannot Be Found: No Coming and No Going, No Arising and No Ceasing, Ultimate Emptiness and the Two Truths (Treatise)

Question: If so, dharmas still have the mark of gathering and dispersal; why does Subhūti say they are not perceived and not found?

Answer: Because there is no place from which they come, gathering cannot be found; because there is no place to which they go, dispersal cannot be found. Furthermore, because arising is originally non-existent, gathering cannot be found; because ceasing is originally non-existent, dispersal cannot be found. Because of ultimate emptiness, gathering cannot be found; because the causes and conditions of deeds are not lost, dispersal cannot be found. Furthermore, because one contemplates the truth of cessation of the world, gathering cannot be found; because one contemplates the truth of the origination of the world, dispersal cannot be found. By meanings of all these kinds, one should know that gathering and dispersal cannot be found—how then can a name be established for a bodhisattva? If a name is forcibly established, this name too has no abiding, and also is not without abiding.

Why the Name Neither Abides Nor Does Not Abide: The Simile of the Cart, the Simile of the Five Aggregates, and the Simile of Fire Burning the Mouth (Treatise)

Question: Why is this name said not to abide?

Answer: A name has to abide upon a dharma, and dharmas are empty, so the name has no place to abide. It is like a cart: only when parts such as the wheels, rims, spokes, and hubs come together is there the name ‘cart’; if this coming together is taken apart, the name ‘cart’ is lost. This name ‘cart’ does not abide in the wheels and other parts, yet neither is it apart from the wheels and other parts; seek this name ‘cart’ in terms of oneness or of difference, and it cannot be found either way! Because the name ‘cart’ is lost, one can know that a name has no place to abide. When its causes and conditions scatter and are destroyed, there is already no name—how much less after the causes and conditions have perished! Beings are also like this: only when the five aggregates, such as form, come together is there this name ‘being’; if the five aggregates separate and scatter, the name has no place to abide. When the five aggregates separate and scatter there is already none—how much less when there are no five aggregates at all!

Question: If it is said that when they scatter and are destroyed the name cannot be found, then while they are together and not yet scattered and destroyed there is a name; why say it cannot be found?

Answer: This name ‘bodhisattva’ is one, while the aggregates are five; one cannot make five, and five cannot make one. If five could make one—it is like five bolts of cloth, which cannot be used as one bolt; if one could make five—it is like one bolt of cloth, which cannot be used as five bolts. For this reason, the one name ‘bodhisattva’ cannot abide in the five aggregates.

As for what is called ‘not non-abiding’: if, where the causes and conditions of a name come together, there were nothing and no name at all, then worldly language and all kinds of affairs would perish; if worldly truth did not exist, the truth of the highest meaning would not exist either; if both truths did not exist, dharmas would be thrown into confusion!

Furthermore, if the name were really contained within the causes and conditions, then as soon as one said ‘fire’ it ought to burn the mouth, and as soon as one said ‘existence’ it ought to stop up the mouth. If the name were not in the dharma at all, then saying ‘fire’ ought not to give rise to the thought of fire, and one who went seeking fire might get water. It is precisely because this name has been commonly passed down and practised by everyone since long ago that one can recognise the thing by following the name. For this reason, it is said that the meaning of a name is neither abiding nor not abiding.

Furthermore, here Subhūti himself states the cause and condition: because it has no existence, this name neither abides nor does not abide.

Just like this name ‘bodhisattva’, all kinds of dharmas—the five aggregates, the twelve sense-fields, the eighteen elements, and so on—are also likewise.

Why the Five Aggregates Are Spoken of Again as Like a Dream, Like an Illusion; Why, of the Ten Similes, Only Five Are Given (Treatise)

Question: As said before, the gathering and dispersal of dharmas such as the five aggregates cannot be found; why now speak of the five aggregates again?

Answer: Before, the five aggregates were only spoken of directly; now it is said that the five aggregates are like a dream, like an illusion. Furthermore, some people think that the five aggregates of ordinary people are false and deceptive, unreal, like a dream, while the five aggregates of the sages are not false and deceptive; for this reason Subhūti says: like a dream, like an illusion, they equally do not abide.

Question: Among the ten similes, why are only five things given?

Answer: If all ten were stated, that too would be acceptable; only, following the minds of beings, five similes are spoken, and since the matter is already clear there is no need to state them all. Or else, because they correspond to the five aggregates, five similes are spoken. The other dharmas are likewise.

Which Meaning Is Taken for Separation, Quiescence, Non-Arising, Non-Ceasing, and the Not-Shown; How Gathering and Dispersal Are Spoken of for Unconditioned Dharmas (Treatise)

Separation is of two kinds: first, bodily separation; second, mental separation. Bodily separation is leaving behind the affection of family, worldly affairs, and the like, and dwelling at leisure in a quiet place; mental separation is being far removed from all kinds of fetters. There are also two further kinds of separation: first, dharmas are separate from names; second, dharmas are each separate from their own specific marks. What is spoken of here is the latter two kinds of separation. Why? Because here the aim is to break down names; as for separation from specific marks, it will be spoken of elsewhere. In the dharma of the Small Vehicle, the former two kinds of separation are mostly spoken of.

Quiescence is also of two kinds: first, with a mark of pure goodness, evil affairs are quiescent; second, the mark of quiescence such as that of nirvāṇa—contemplating the dharmas of the world as being likewise. Here only the latter kind of quiescence is spoken of.

Non-arising is also of two kinds: first, future dharmas and unconditioned dharmas are called non-arising; second, all dharmas in truth have no mark of arising, because arising cannot be found. Here only the latter kind of non-arising is spoken of.

Non-ceasing is of three kinds: cessation through knowledge, cessation not through knowledge, and cessation through impermanence. What is spoken of here is cessation through impermanence; because it runs counter to cessation through impermanence, it is called non-ceasing.

The not-shown means that, because every contemplating mind has ceased and the path of language is cut off, there is no dharma that can be pointed out and said to have such-and-such a mark—whether one says it is existent or non-existent, permanent or impermanent, and so on.

Neither stained nor pure, together with the meaning of suchness, dharma-nature, the reality-limit, the dharma-mark, and the dharma-position, is as said before.

Question: The dharmas of the five aggregates have gathering and dispersal, and it is by running counter to this that ‘neither gathering nor dispersal’ is spoken of; but dharmas such as suchness, dharma-nature, and the reality-limit have nothing to run counter to—why is ‘neither gathering nor dispersal’ said of them too?

Answer: When a practitioner attains suchness, dharma-nature, and the like, it is called gathering; when he loses them, it is called dispersal. It is like space, which originally has no gathering and no dispersal: when a door or window is cut open it is called gathering; when it is stopped up it is called dispersal.

The meaning of the wholesome, the unwholesome, up to the Buddhas of the ten directions as many as the sands of the Ganges, is as said before. These Buddha-dharmas and the Buddha's names all have nothing on which to rely, and so all are empty: they do not abide, nor are they not abiding.

No Name Can Be Spoken Within Dharmas; the Bodhisattva Who Hears and Is Not Alarmed Abides in the Avaivartika Nature (Sūtra)

Subhūti said further: ‘World-Honored One! Dharmas come together through causes and conditions and are merely set up as provisional names; what is called a bodhisattva is no more than a name. This name cannot be spoken within the five aggregates of clinging, cannot be spoken within the twelve sense-fields or the eighteen elements, up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, and cannot be spoken within any kind of dharma that comes together. World-Honored One! A dream, for example, cannot be spoken within dharmas; an echo, a shadow, a mirage, a magical transformation also cannot be spoken within dharmas; and for what is called space, for example, there is likewise no dharma in which it can be spoken.

‘World-Honored One! Just so with the names earth, water, fire, and wind—there is no dharma in which they can be spoken; the names morality, samādhi, wisdom, liberation, and the knowledge and vision of liberation—there is no dharma in which they can be spoken; just so with the name srota-āpanna, up to the names arhat and pratyekabuddha—there is no dharma in which they can be spoken; just so with the name Buddha and the name Dharma—there is no dharma in which they can be spoken: that is, that it is wholesome or unwholesome, permanent or impermanent, suffering or bliss, self or not-self, quiescent or separate, existent or non-existent.

‘World-Honored One! Because of this meaning there is regret in my mind: the mark of gathering and dispersal of all dharmas cannot be found, and yet a name is to be established for a bodhisattva and it is to be said that this is a bodhisattva. World-Honored One! This name does not abide, nor does it not abide. Why? Because this name has no existence. For this reason, this name does not abide, nor does it not abide.

‘If a bodhisattva-mahāsattva hears such a teaching—that prajñāpāramitā has such a mark and such a meaning—and his mind does not sink, does not regret, is not alarmed, not afraid, not terrified, one should know that this bodhisattva surely abides in the avaivartika nature, because he abides by way of the dharma of non-abiding.’

Breaking Down the Bodhisattva's Name Through Another Gate: The Five Aggregates and the Bodhisattva Do Not Include One Another (Treatise)

The treatise-author explains: Before, the bodhisattva's name and all dharmas were broken down through the gate of neither abiding nor not abiding; now the bodhisattva's name is broken down again through another gate, showing that there is no dharma of which it can be said that it is the bodhisattva. Why? The bodhisattva is not the five aggregates, and the five aggregates are not the bodhisattva; in the five aggregates there is no bodhisattva, and in the bodhisattva there are no five aggregates; the five aggregates do not belong to the bodhisattva, and the bodhisattva does not belong to the five aggregates; apart from the five aggregates there is no bodhisattva, and apart from the bodhisattva there are no five aggregates. Seen in this way, the bodhisattva's name cannot be found; one should know that it is empty. Up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, all are likewise.

It is like everything seen in a dream: all of it is false and cannot be spoken, and in this dream there is no fixed mark of any dharma—what are called the five aggregates, the twelve sense-fields, and the eighteen elements are all merely a deceiving of the mind. The rest—shadow, echo, mirage, and magical transformation—are also likewise, merely deceiving the ears and eyes!

Again, it is like space, which cannot be spoken within any dharma, because it has no mark. Space runs counter to form, so it cannot be said to be called form; nor is the point where form comes to an end space, because apart from this there is no further dharma. If it is said that entering and exiting is the mark of space, that too is not right! That entering and exiting is bodily action, not the mark of space; and if it is said to have no mark, then there is no such dharma. For this reason, space merely has a name. The bodhisattva's name is also likewise.

Dream and Space Merely Have Names; Why Do Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind, Which Are Real Dharmas, Also Merely Have Names? (Treatise)

Question: Things like a dream or space can be said merely to have a name; but earth, water, fire, and wind are really existent dharmas—why are they too said merely to have a name?

Answer: People without wisdom take earth and all such things to be really existent; the sages, observing with the wisdom-eye, see that they are all false and deceptive. It is like a small child who sees the image in a mirror and takes it to be really existent, gladly reaching out to take it and treating it as real; when an adult looks, he knows that it is merely deceiving people's eyes. The multitude of ordinary people see fine particles come together to form earth and take it to be really existent earth; another person, who has the divine eye, scatters this earth and sees only fine particles; and when one discriminates and breaks up this earth with the wisdom-eye, none of it can be found at all.

Furthermore, in the discussion of the very first chapter the mark of the body was refuted in all kinds of ways; since the body can be refuted, earth too can be refuted.

Furthermore, if earth were really existent, why does it all become fire when one cultivates the contemplation of everything as fire? If it is said that what is contemplated in meditative absorption is really existent, then would not the Buddha's saying that all dharmas are empty become false? Yet this is not right. Water, fire, and wind are all likewise.

As with the body made of the four great elements—the body itself is already like this; how much more must the various deeds the body performs, such as keeping the precepts, be empty! If coarse deeds such as the precepts are already empty, how much more must meditative absorption, wisdom, liberation, the knowledge and vision of liberation, and the like be empty! If the five aggregates of morality and the rest are empty, how much more must all the fruits of the noble path obtained through causes and conditions be empty! If the fruits of the noble path are empty, how much more must the persons from srota-āpanna up to the Buddha be empty!

For this reason, although the bodhisattva's name is established out of dharmas from the wholesome up to existence and non-existence and so on, it is not called wholesome, up to not being called existent or non-existent, because gathering and dispersal cannot be found.

What Is the Avaivartika Nature? Faith and Delight in Ultimate Emptiness, and the Simile of the Child of a Noble Clan (Treatise)

Since Subhūti has understood the mark of emptiness to be thus, how could he say that there is a bodhisattva and speak prajñāpāramitā for him? If a bodhisattva hears these words and is not alarmed and not afraid, then he abides in the avaivartika nature, because he abides by way of a dharma that is like non-abiding.

What is called the avaivartika nature means that although this bodhisattva has not yet attained the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas and has not yet received a prediction from the Buddhas, yet through the power of merit and wisdom he is able to believe, accept, love, and delight in the ultimate emptiness of all dharmas; this is called abiding in the avaivartika nature, because he has obtained a share of the avaivartika's quality. It is like a small child born into a noble clan: although he has not yet accomplished any undertaking, simply because the clan is noble he counts as noble.

The Bodhisattva Who Wishes to Practise Prajñā Should Not Abide in Form up to Old Age and Death, in the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, or in the Six Perfections (Sūtra)

Subhūti said further: ‘Furthermore, World-Honored One! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva who wishes to practise prajñāpāramitā should not abide in form, should not abide in feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness; should not abide in the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind; should not abide in forms, sounds, smells, tastes, tangibles, and dharmas; should not abide in eye-consciousness up to mind-consciousness; should not abide in eye-contact up to mind-contact; should not abide in the feeling born with eye-contact as its condition up to the feeling born with mind-contact as its condition; should not abide in the earth element, nor in the water, fire, wind, space, and consciousness elements; should not abide in ignorance up to old age and death. Why? World-Honored One! Form—the mark of form is empty; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness—the mark of consciousness is empty. World-Honored One! The emptiness of form is not called form, and apart from emptiness there is also no form; form is emptiness, and emptiness is form. The emptiness of feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness is not called consciousness, and apart from emptiness there is also no consciousness; consciousness is emptiness, and emptiness is consciousness. Up to old age and death—the mark of old age and death is empty. World-Honored One! The emptiness of old age and death is not called old age and death, and apart from emptiness there is also no old age and death; old age and death is emptiness, and emptiness is old age and death. World-Honored One! For this cause and condition, a bodhisattva-mahāsattva who wishes to practise prajñāpāramitā should not abide in form, up to should not abide in old age and death.

‘Furthermore, World-Honored One! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva who wishes to practise prajñāpāramitā should not abide in the four foundations of mindfulness. Why? The four foundations of mindfulness—the mark of the four foundations of mindfulness is empty. World-Honored One! The emptiness of the four foundations of mindfulness is not called the four foundations of mindfulness, and apart from emptiness there are also no four foundations of mindfulness; the four foundations of mindfulness are emptiness, and emptiness is the four foundations of mindfulness. Up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, it is likewise. World-Honored One! For this cause and condition, a bodhisattva-mahāsattva who wishes to practise prajñāpāramitā should not abide in the four foundations of mindfulness up to the eighteen unshared dharmas.

‘Furthermore, World-Honored One! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva who wishes to practise prajñāpāramitā should not abide in the perfection of giving, should not abide in the perfection of morality, the perfection of patience, the perfection of vigour, the perfection of meditation, or the perfection of prajñā. Why? The perfection of giving—the mark of the perfection of giving is empty; up to the perfection of prajñā—the mark of the perfection of prajñā is empty. World-Honored One! The emptiness of the perfection of giving is not called the perfection of giving, and apart from emptiness there is also no perfection of giving; the perfection of giving is emptiness, and emptiness is the perfection of giving. Up to the perfection of prajñā, it is likewise. World-Honored One! For this cause and condition, a bodhisattva-mahāsattva who wishes to practise prajñāpāramitā should not abide in the six perfections.’

From the Gate of Modesty to the Gate of Non-Abiding; the Many Names of Prajñā and the Stages of ‘Practice’ (Treatise)

The treatise-author explains: Before, Subhūti spoke of prajñā through the gate of modesty: although with his mouth he said he would not speak, in fact he was precisely speaking prajñāpāramitā for the bodhisattvas. Now Subhūti changes to the gate of non-abiding and speaks prajñāpāramitā for the bodhisattvas directly.

Prajñāpāramitā has all kinds of names: ‘contemplating’, ‘cultivating’, ‘according’, ‘uniting’, ‘entering’, ‘practising’, ‘abiding’, and so on; all of these are called practising prajñāpāramitā. It is only that it is spoken of with all kinds of names so that the listeners may rejoice.

Furthermore, among them there are also slight differences. What is called ‘practice’ refers to hearing, reciting, writing out, right recollection, expounding, reflecting, weighing, discriminating, cultivating, and so on, up to the point of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi—all of this is together called practice. Within this practice there are finer divisions: the very first is called ‘contemplating’, like first seeing a thing; learning gradually day by day is called ‘practising’; fitting together with prajñāpāramitā is called ‘uniting’; following prajñāpāramitā is called ‘according’; penetrating prajñāpāramitā is called ‘entering’; discriminating and grasping marks, holding that there is such a thing, is called ‘recollecting’; practising constantly without stopping, so that one's own mind resembles prajñā, is called ‘training’; after the training is accomplished, observing with skilful means and knowing right and wrong, gain and loss, is called ‘reflecting’; practising together with prajñā with a mind of meditative absorption is called ‘cultivating’; obtaining the path of prajñāpāramitā and not losing it is called ‘abiding’; running counter to abiding is then called ‘not abiding’.

Since the Emptiness of All Dharmas Is Already Non-Abiding, Why Say Again One Should Not Abide? The Signless Samādhi and the Simile of the Flying Bird (Treatise)

Question: It was said before that all dharmas are empty, which is itself non-abiding; why is it now said again that one should not abide in dharmas?

Answer: Although it was said before, it is said again now only because the mind of craving attached to dharmas is hard to dispel.

Furthermore, there is a signless samādhi: entering this samādhi, one grasps no marks in any dharma, yet does not enter the absorption of cessation. The wisdom of the bodhisattva is inconceivable: although he does not grasp the marks of any dharma, he is able to practise the bodhisattva path. It is like a bird flying in space, which has nothing to rely on yet is able to fly high; the bodhisattva is also like this: he does not abide in dharmas, yet he is able to practise the bodhisattva path.

Question: As soon as a person's mind takes hold of an object it arises; how can the bodhisattva not abide in any dharma and yet not enter the absorption of cessation?

Answer: Here Subhūti himself has said it, namely: form and the mark of form are in themselves empty; the emptiness of form is not form, yet neither is there form apart from emptiness; form is emptiness, and emptiness is form. This meaning has already been spoken of in the second chapter. Up to not abiding in the six perfections, it is likewise: because of emptiness, there is nothing in which to abide.

One Should Not Abide in Letters or in the Supernormal Powers (Sūtra)

Subhūti said further: ‘Furthermore, World-Honored One! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva who wishes to practise prajñāpāramitā should not abide in letters—the one-syllable gate, the two-syllable gate; in all such kinds of syllable-gates he should not abide. Why? Because letters—the mark of letters is empty; this too is as said before.

‘Furthermore, World-Honored One! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva who wishes to practise prajñāpāramitā should not abide in the supernormal powers. Why? The supernormal powers—the mark of the supernormal powers is empty. The emptiness of the supernormal powers is not called the supernormal powers, and apart from emptiness there are also no supernormal powers; the supernormal powers are emptiness, and emptiness is the supernormal powers. World-Honored One! For this cause and condition, a bodhisattva-mahāsattva who wishes to practise prajñāpāramitā should not abide in the supernormal powers.’

Two Kinds of Bodhisattva, Examples of the Syllable-Gates, and Entering the Real Mark on Hearing One Syllable (Treatise)

The treatise-author explains: There are two kinds of bodhisattva: one practises meditative absorption, the other studies reading and recitation. Those who sit in meditation give rise to supernormal powers; those who study reading are able to know and discriminate letters. What is called the one-syllable gate is one syllable forming one word, as when earth is called ‘bhū’; what is called the two-syllable gate is two syllables forming one word, as when water is called ‘jala’; what is called the three-syllable gate is as when water is called ‘boshilan’. In this way there are all kinds of syllable-gates.

Furthermore, when a bodhisattva hears one syllable, he at once enters the real mark of all dharmas. For instance, hearing the syllable ‘a’, he knows that all dharmas are from the very beginning unarisen, and so on; hearing ‘duḥkha’, he gives rise to the mark of suffering in all dharmas and at once gives rise to the mind of great compassion; hearing ‘anizha’, he knows the mark of impermanence of all dharmas and at once enters the noble practice of the path. The rest is as expounded at length in the dhāraṇī-gate of letters.

As for the meaning of the supernormal powers, it has already been spoken of above. Because these two things, letters and supernormal powers, are both ultimately empty, the bodhisattva does not abide in them.

One Should Not Abide in Impermanence up to the Gates of Dhāraṇī and Samādhi; Without Skilful Means One Performs Practices and Does Not Receive Prajñā (Sūtra)

Subhūti said further: ‘Furthermore, World-Honored One! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva who wishes to practise prajñāpāramitā should not abide in form being impermanent, should not abide in feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness being impermanent. Why? Impermanence—the mark of impermanence is empty. World-Honored One! The emptiness of impermanence is not called impermanence, and apart from emptiness there is also no impermanence; impermanence is emptiness, and emptiness is impermanence. World-Honored One! For this cause and condition, a bodhisattva-mahāsattva who wishes to practise prajñāpāramitā should not abide in form being impermanent, should not abide in feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness being impermanent. He should not abide in form being suffering, should not abide in feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness being suffering; should not abide in form being not-self, should not abide in feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness being not-self; should not abide in form being empty, should not abide in feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness being empty; should not abide in form being quiescent, should not abide in feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness being quiescent; should not abide in form being separate, should not abide in feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness being separate; this too is as said before.

‘Furthermore, World-Honored One! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva who wishes to practise prajñāpāramitā should not abide in the mark of suchness. Why? The mark of suchness—the mark of suchness is empty. World-Honored One! The emptiness of the mark of suchness is not called suchness, and apart from emptiness there is also no suchness; suchness is emptiness, and emptiness is suchness. World-Honored One! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva who wishes to practise prajñāpāramitā should not abide in dharma-nature, the dharma-mark, the dharma-position, or the reality-limit. Why? The reality-limit is empty. World-Honored One! The emptiness of the reality-limit is not called the reality-limit, and apart from emptiness there is also no reality-limit; the reality-limit is emptiness, and emptiness is the reality-limit.

‘Furthermore, World-Honored One! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva who wishes to practise prajñāpāramitā should not abide in any dhāraṇī-gate, should not abide in any samādhi-gate. Why? The dhāraṇī-gate—the mark of the dhāraṇī-gate is empty; the samādhi-gate—the mark of the samādhi-gate is empty. World-Honored One! The emptiness of the dhāraṇī-gates and samādhi-gates is not called dhāraṇī-gates and samādhi-gates, and apart from emptiness there are also no dhāraṇī and samādhi-gates; dhāraṇī and samādhi-gates are emptiness, and emptiness is dhāraṇī and samādhi-gates. World-Honored One! For this cause and condition, a bodhisattva-mahāsattva who wishes to practise prajñāpāramitā should not abide even in the dhāraṇī and samādhi-gates.

‘World-Honored One! Suppose a bodhisattva-mahāsattva who wishes to practise prajñāpāramitā, but lacks skilful means, abides in form with a mind that holds there is a self; this bodhisattva then becomes a practitioner who fabricates form. Abiding in feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness with a mind that holds there is a self, this bodhisattva becomes a practitioner who fabricates consciousness. If a bodhisattva becomes one who performs practices, he cannot receive prajñāpāramitā and cannot fulfil prajñāpāramitā; because he does not fulfil prajñāpāramitā, he cannot accomplish sarvajñā. World-Honored One! Such a bodhisattva-mahāsattva, wishing to practise prajñāpāramitā but lacking skilful means, abides with a mind that holds there is a self in the twelve sense-fields up to the dhāraṇī and samādhi-gates; this bodhisattva then becomes a practitioner who fabricates the twelve sense-fields, up to fabricating the dhāraṇī and samādhi-gates. If a bodhisattva becomes one who performs practices, he cannot receive prajñāpāramitā and cannot fulfil prajñāpāramitā; because he does not fulfil prajñāpāramitā, he cannot accomplish sarvajñā. Why? Form is not received; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are not received. If form is not received, it is not form, because its nature is empty; if feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are not received, they are not consciousness, because their nature is empty. The twelve sense-fields are not received, up to the dhāraṇī and samādhi-gates are not received. If the twelve sense-fields are not received, they are not the twelve sense-fields; up to: if the dhāraṇī and samādhi-gates are not received, they are not dhāraṇī and samādhi-gates, because their nature is empty. Prajñāpāramitā too is not received; if prajñāpāramitā is not received, it is not prajñāpāramitā, because its nature is empty. Such a bodhisattva-mahāsattva, wishing to practise prajñāpāramitā, should contemplate the emptiness of the nature of all dharmas. When he contemplates like this, the mind has no place in which to practise; this is called the non-receiving samādhi of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva. Its vast function is not shared with the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas. This wisdom of sarvajñā too is not received, because there is inner emptiness, as well as outer emptiness, inner-and-outer emptiness, the emptiness of emptiness, great emptiness, the emptiness of the highest meaning, the emptiness of the conditioned, the emptiness of the unconditioned, ultimate emptiness, beginningless emptiness, the emptiness of dispersal, the emptiness of nature, the emptiness of specific marks, the emptiness of all dharmas, the emptiness of the unfindable, the emptiness of non-existent dharmas, the emptiness of existent dharmas, and the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas. Why? This sarvajñā cannot be obtained by a practice that grasps marks, because a practice that grasps marks is defiled. What is the defiled mark? The mark of form, up to the marks of the dhāraṇī and samādhi-gates—this is called the defiled mark. If these marks are received, if they are cultivated, one then supposes that sarvajñā can be obtained.’

Why One Should Not Abide Even in Wholesome and Indeterminate Dharmas; the Non-Receiving Samādhi Is Not Shared with the Two Vehicles (Treatise)

The treatise-author explains: The noble practices such as impermanence, together with suchness, dharma-nature, the reality-limit, the dhāraṇī-gates, and the samādhi-gates, have already been spoken of before.

Question: One should not abide in defiled dharmas, because they involve offence; but why should one not abide in wholesome dharmas and indeterminate dharmas either?

Answer: Although these dharmas are not offences, they can give rise to the causes and conditions of offence; just as the Buddha says here: there are bodhisattvas who practise prajñāpāramitā with a mind that holds there is a self, abide in form and crave form, and perform all kinds of deeds in order to increase form; with feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness it is likewise—they practise in order to give rise to the five aggregates. This is not being able to receive prajñāpāramitā. Although such a person says with his mouth, ‘I practise prajñāpāramitā’, in fact it is only worldly practice; because he does not fulfil prajñāpāramitā, he cannot reach omniscience. Up to the dhāraṇī-gates and the samādhi-gates, it is likewise.

Here Subhūti himself states the cause and condition of non-abiding, namely: form is not received; if form is not received, it is not form, because its nature is by origin always empty.

Question: The impermanence, suffering, emptiness, and so on of form are not received because they involve fault and offence; it is like a red-hot ball of gold: although there is gold to be coveted, simply because it is burning hot one knows it cannot be taken. If this is so, what further fault is there, that the dharmas of the five aggregates must be forcibly refuted?

Answer: Attachment is of two kinds: first, attachment of desire; second, attachment of views. Some people contemplate impermanence, suffering, and so on, break the attachment of desire, and attain liberation; others, though they contemplate impermanence and so on, are still attached to dharmas and give rise to views; for the sake of such people the mark of form is expounded analytically as empty, and in this way they can be free of the attachment of views. Up to the dhāraṇī-gates and the samādhi-gates, it is likewise.

Question: The śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas exhaust the outflows because they do not receive any dharma; why is it said here that the non-receiving samādhi is not shared with the two vehicles?

Answer: Although they have the non-receiving samādhi, they lack its vast function; it is neither sharp nor deep, nor is it firm. Furthermore, the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas attain the non-receiving of dharmas only at the time the outflows are exhausted; the bodhisattva has long known that all dharmas are not received, all being like the nirvāṇa without remainder and ultimate emptiness; therefore it is said to be not shared with the two vehicles. Furthermore, because the two vehicles still have residual habits and still have obstruction, although they have the samādhi of no receiving, it is not pure. It is like Mahākāśyapa, who, hearing the music of the bodhisattvas, could not keep himself still in his seat. The bodhisattvas asked him: ‘You are foremost in dhūta; why do you look as if you want to get up and dance?’ Kāśyapa answered: ‘Toward the five desires of humans and gods I am forever free and unmoved; but this is a power manifested by the causes and conditions of the meritorious deeds of great bodhisattvas, and I cannot yet bear it! It is like Sumeru, king of mountains, which can endure winds rising on all four sides; but if the vairambha wind blows, it cannot keep itself still.’ So it can be seen that the residual habits of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas are, from the bodhisattva's point of view, afflictions.

Furthermore, this samādhi of no receiving is known in full only by the Buddha; the bodhisattva, because he seeks the Buddha path, although he cannot yet know it in full, already surpasses the two vehicles; therefore it is said to be not shared with the two vehicles. Because people value this non-receiving samādhi and give rise to an attached mind, Subhūti says: not only is this samādhi not received—form up to omniscience of all kinds are none of them received. Why? Subhūti himself states the cause and condition, namely that they are not received because of the eighteen emptinesses.

Question: Why use these eighteen emptinesses to contemplate all dharmas as empty?

Answer: Here Subhūti himself states the cause and condition: because of grasping marks and craving and attachment, all kinds of fetters arise. What is called a mark is the mark of form, up to the marks of the dhāraṇī-gates and the samādhi-gates—all of these are the root of afflictions. In the Buddha's Dharma there is not even a hair's breadth of a dharma-mark that can be grasped.

The Brahmin ascetic Śreṇika Never Gives Rise to Faith in Omniscience: What Is True Faith? (Sūtra)

Subhūti said further: ‘World-Honored One! The brahmin ascetic Śreṇika, with regard to omniscience, never gives rise to a faith that grasps marks. What is called his faith? He has faith in prajñāpāramitā, is able to discriminate, understand, weigh, and reflect, yet he does not take faith by way of a dharma with marks, nor by way of a dharma without marks. In this way the brahmin ascetic Śreṇika does not grasp marks and abides in the practice of faith; with the wisdom of the emptiness of nature he enters the mark of dharmas, yet does not receive form, and does not receive feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness. Why? Because the specific mark of all dharmas is empty, they cannot be found and received. This brahmin ascetic Śreṇika does not come to see this wisdom by inner contemplation, does not come to see this wisdom by outer contemplation, does not come to see this wisdom by inner-and-outer contemplation, nor does he come to see this wisdom by contemplating with no wisdom at all. Why? Because this brahmin ascetic does not see that there is a dharma that knows, a knower, a dharma that is known, or a place of knowing. This brahmin ascetic does not see this wisdom in inner form, does not see this wisdom in inner feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness; does not see this wisdom in outer form, does not see this wisdom in outer feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness; does not see this wisdom in inner-and-outer form, does not see this wisdom in inner-and-outer feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness; nor does he see this wisdom apart from form, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, because inner and outer are both empty. It is right here that the brahmin ascetic Śreṇika's mind gains faith and understanding in omniscience; for this reason the brahmin ascetic has faith in the real mark of all dharmas, because all dharmas cannot be found. Having had faith and understanding in this way, there is then no dharma that can be received, because all dharmas are without marks and without recollection. This brahmin ascetic also has nothing to attain with regard to dharmas, whether receiving or relinquishing, because receiving and relinquishing both cannot be found. This brahmin ascetic's wisdom too is not bound in thought, because the mark of all dharmas is not bound in thought.

‘World-Honored One! This is called the prajñāpāramitā of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, because on this shore and the other shore alike there is nothing to be crossed. This bodhisattva does not receive form, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, because all dharmas are not received; up to the dhāraṇī and samādhi-gates, he does not receive them either, because all dharmas are not received. This bodhisattva, within this, also does not take nirvāṇa, not yet having fulfilled the four foundations of mindfulness up to the eight limbs of the noble path, not yet having fulfilled the ten powers up to the eighteen unshared dharmas. Why? Because these four foundations of mindfulness are not the four foundations of mindfulness, up to these eighteen unshared dharmas are not the eighteen unshared dharmas; these dharmas are not dharmas, nor are they non-dharmas. This is called the prajñāpāramitā of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva: form is not received, up to the eighteen unshared dharmas are not received.’

Why Cite the Brahmin ascetic Śreṇika? Even the Small Vehicle Has the Emptiness of Dharmas (Treatise)

The treatise-author poses the question: By what cause and condition is the brahmin ascetic Śreṇika spoken of here?

Answer: This sūtra, by all kinds of causes and conditions, speaks of the emptiness of dharmas, up to saying that there is not the slightest fine mark that can be grasped. People's minds doubt this, find it strange, and do not believe it, because this principle is hard to see, being ultimately without marks. For this reason Subhūti cites this as proof: even within the Small Vehicle there is the emptiness of dharmas—how much more must those who practise the dharma of the Great Vehicle believe in the emptiness of dharmas!

Furthermore, there was the brahmin Shanruo, who was skilled at recognising the marks of a person of omniscience; seeing the bodhisattva eat the milk-gruel, he knew that he would become a Buddha that very day. Śreṇika was his maternal uncle.

Śreṇika was advanced in years, of high virtue, and of great renown; after leaving home he read widely in all the scriptures, cultivated his mind, sat in meditation, and trained in the way, and he often went to the hall of debate in order to seek wisdom. The brahmacārins said: ‘The six teachers each proclaim themselves omniscient. Pūraṇa Kāśyapa has great renown and is the teacher of a great multitude; when his disciples die, whether young or old, he does not state where they are reborn. When the disciples of the other five teachers die, whether young or old, they state where they are reborn. The Buddha too is a great teacher and has great renown; when his disciples die, for the young he states where they are reborn, for the old he does not state where they are reborn.’ When Śreṇika heard this, on another day he went to where the Buddha was, and after exchanging greetings sat down to one side.

Śreṇika Questions the Buddha: Seven Questions and Seven Times ‘No’; He Attains the Path and Leaves Home (Treatise)

Śreṇika said: ‘I ask the Buddha's permission; I wish to put a question!’

The Buddha said: ‘Ask as you please.’

Śreṇika said: ‘Once in the past I went to the debating hall and debated with the assembly; what I heard there before, I have told the Buddha truthfully in full. At that time I thought: the Buddha's Dharma says that disciples who are young still receive a later birth and those who are old do not receive a later birth—which of these, after all, is the fixed standard?’

The Buddha told Śreṇika: ‘My Dharma is very deep, subtle, and hard to understand! Through the long night you have been attached to all kinds of differing views, differing desires, and differing dharmas, and therefore you cannot see my Dharma for yourself!’

The brahmin ascetic Śreṇika said to the Buddha: ‘In my heart I revere the Buddha; may the Buddha have compassion on me and speak the subtle Dharma for me, so that I may gain the eye right here in my seat, and not let me have come in vain!’

The Buddha asked the brahmin ascetic: ‘What do you think? Do you see form as the thus-gone?’

Śreṇika answered: ‘No!’

The Buddha asked: ‘Are feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness the thus-gone?’

Śreṇika answered: ‘No!’

The Buddha asked: ‘Is there a thus-gone within form?’

Śreṇika answered: ‘No!’

The Buddha asked: ‘Is there a thus-gone within feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness?’

Śreṇika answered: ‘No!’

The Buddha asked: ‘Is there a thus-gone apart from form?’

Śreṇika answered: ‘No!’

The Buddha asked: ‘Is there a thus-gone apart from feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness?’

Śreṇika answered: ‘No!’

The Buddha asked: ‘Do you see, besides, a thus-gone one who is without form and without feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness?’

Śreṇika answered: ‘No!’

The Buddha said: ‘If through all these gates you do not see a thus-gone one, then ought you to give rise to doubt and say: in the Buddha's Dharma, which, after all, is the fixed standard?’

Śreṇika answered: ‘I ought not to give rise to doubt.’

The Buddha told Śreṇika: ‘If a disciple of mine cannot yet know this Dharma clearly and thoroughly, I say that he has a later birth, because his original residual habits, such as the conceit of self, still remain; if a disciple of mine can clearly and thoroughly understand this meaning, I do not state where he is reborn, because his original residual habits, such as the conceit of self, no longer remain.’

When Śreṇika heard these words, he at once attained the path; having attained the path, he rose from his seat and said to the Buddha: ‘I wish to leave home and cultivate the path!’ At once his hair and beard fell away of themselves, and he became a śramaṇa; before long he attained arhatship, because he had gained the eye from the Buddha, true and not false.

The discussion on this passage of the sūtra is this: what Śreṇika had faith in was faith that the Buddha could enable him to attain the path; this is called the first faith. After that, he heard the Buddha refute the self, and knew that from the very beginning there has always been no self; because there is no self, dharmas belong to no one, are like an illusion, like a dream, false and deceptive, unreal, and cannot be grasped. Having gained this power of faith, he entered the real mark of all dharmas, and no longer received form as the thus-gone, up to consciousness as the thus-gone.

Why the Brahmin ascetic Always Answered ‘No’: The Many Causes and Conditions for Refuting the Self (Treatise)

The treatise-author poses the question: Why did the brahmin ascetic answer ‘No’ to every question of the Buddha?

Answer: The brahmin ascetic had originally taken the general mark to be the self; now the Buddha questioned him item by item, and for this reason he answered the Buddha ‘No’.

Furthermore, the brahmin ascetic had heard people speak of the self in two ways: some say the five aggregates are the self, and some say there is a self apart from the five aggregates. If the five aggregates were the self, there would be no other self. Why? The self is one and the aggregates are five; one cannot make five, and five cannot make one. Furthermore, the five aggregates have the mark of impermanence, of arising and ceasing; if the five aggregates were the self, the self too ought to arise and cease; if it arose and ceased, offence and merit would be lost. These five aggregates arise from the coming together of causes and conditions and are not sovereign; if the self too were like this, what use would this self be? Because it would not be sovereign. Because of faults of all these kinds, one cannot say that form is the thus-gone, or that feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are the thus-gone. As for there being a self apart from the five aggregates, that too ought not to be, because it has no mark. If one speaks of knowing, seeing, receiving, and the like, these are all marks of the five aggregates, not marks of a self; how could a person of wisdom say that there is a self apart from the five aggregates? For this reason he answered ‘No’. If someone says that there is, besides, a separate self that is not the five aggregates, this too is not right; it is all the discrimination of inverted, false views.

By causes and conditions of all these kinds, one can know that there is no self, and the self is just the thus-gone; all dharmas are also thus, all the same as the thus-gone; because there is no owner, dharmas belong to no one.

Furthermore, the brahmin ascetic searched for the wisdom that can attain the path, seeking it in four places, yet none had a fixed mark—namely: contemplating the five aggregates of one's own body is called inner; contemplating the bodies of others outwardly is called outer; contemplating both this and that together is called inner-and-outer. None of these three kinds of wisdom attains the path, yet having no wisdom at all does not attain the path either. Furthermore, what is called inner is the six inner sense-fields, and outer is the six outer sense-fields. Furthermore, inner is the wisdom that contemplates, and outer is the object contemplated.

This Śreṇika knew that every kind of contemplation has faults. Why? Inwardly, by the power of wisdom, one says of outer dharmas that they are permanent, impermanent, existent, non-existent, and so on; yet in fact outer dharmas have no fixed mark—if they had a fixed mark, there would be no need for wisdom to function. Moreover, this wisdom arises from the causes and conditions of outer dharmas; since the mark of outer dharmas is not fixed, wisdom too is not fixed. It is like a scale, which is set up in order to weigh things, while things are what the scale weighs: the two exist in dependence on each other; apart from things there is no scale, and apart from the scale there are no things. This immeasurable wisdom of the teaching is called the skilful means for attaining the path; by it one attains what is called the fruit of the noble path.

Furthermore, to speak briefly of the meaning of true wisdom, namely: it is not seen in the inner five aggregates, not seen in the outer five aggregates, not seen in the inner-and-outer five aggregates, nor seen apart from the five aggregates—wisdom seen in this way is true.

If one contemplates the impermanence of the five aggregates with the wisdom of impermanence, this wisdom exists from the coming together of causes and conditions and is not true; one who is attached to this contemplation falls into wrong view, and only one who is not attached attains the path. If the mark of impermanence were true, why would one who is attached to it fail to attain the path? For this reason, in all that is inner and outer, no wisdom with a fixed standard is seen.

If it is said that apart from contemplations such as impermanence one can attain the path, then all ordinary people ought also to attain the path; for this reason it is said that apart from this wisdom there is also nothing to be attained.

At that time the brahmin ascetic, with this wisdom, gained in his mind separation from all dharmas, and separated himself from wisdom itself as well; all wrong views that grasp marks, such as the view of self, were extinguished all at once—yet this was not attained from non-wisdom either.

At that time the brahmin ascetic rejoiced, contemplated the mark of the immeasurable dharma-nature, and praised the Buddha as truly the great teacher!

What is called not relinquishing is because in all dharmas there is a power that aids the path; what is called not receiving is because the real mark of all dharmas is ultimately empty and there is nothing to be attained, and therefore one does not receive.

Furthermore, all kinds of fetters and afflictions, being inverted and false, have originally nothing that can be relinquished; one only knows the mark of all dharmas as they truly are, which is without marks and without recollection. This is called the bodhisattva's perfection of neither receiving nor relinquishing, and is also called prajñāpāramitā. Because on this shore and the other shore alike there is nothing to be crossed, the world is the mark of nirvāṇa, and the mark of nirvāṇa is the mark of the world; they are the same one mark, namely the signless. If one knows thus, one ought to enter extinction; it is only because one has not yet fulfilled all kinds of merits that one does not enter extinction, and also because of the power of great loving-kindness and compassion and of one's original vow that one does not enter extinction. Although the bodhisattva seeks the Buddha path, within this dharma he also has no mark of good or bad, nor any mark of receiving or relinquishing. For this reason it is said to be not dharma, nor non-dharma. This is called the bodhisattva's prajñāpāramitā—no mark whatever is received.

Three Questions about Prajñā: What It Is, Why It Is So Named, Whose It Is

Subhūti went on to say to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One, a bodhisattva-mahāsattva who wishes to practise prajñāpāramitā should reflect in this way: What in the end is prajñāpāramitā? Why is it called prajñāpāramitā? And whose is this prajñāpāramitā? If a bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises prajñāpāramitā is able to give rise to the thought: Whatever dharma there is, so long as it is non-existent and unfindable, this is prajñāpāramitā.’

Which Dharmas Are Non-existent and Unfindable: From the Six Perfections and the Five Aggregates, through the Eighteen Emptinesses, to the Omniscience of All Kinds

At that time Śāriputra asked Subhūti: ‘Which dharmas are non-existent and unfindable?’

Subhūti answered: ‘The dharma prajñāpāramitā is non-existent and unfindable; the dharmas that are the perfection of meditation (dhyānapāramitā), the perfection of vigour (vīryapāramitā), the perfection of patience (kṣāntipāramitā), the perfection of morality (śīlapāramitā), and the perfection of giving (dānapāramitā) are likewise all non-existent and unfindable—because there is inner emptiness, and also because there are these emptinesses: outer emptiness, inner-and-outer emptiness, the emptiness of emptiness, great emptiness, the emptiness of the highest meaning, the emptiness of the conditioned, the emptiness of the unconditioned, ultimate emptiness, beginningless emptiness, the emptiness of dispersal, the emptiness of nature, the emptiness of specific marks, the emptiness of all dharmas, the emptiness of the unfindable, the emptiness of non-existent dharmas, the emptiness of existent dharmas, and the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas. Śāriputra, the dharma of form is non-existent and unfindable; the four dharmas of feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are non-existent and unfindable. The dharma of inner emptiness is non-existent and unfindable; and so on up to the dharma of the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas, which is also non-existent and unfindable. Śāriputra, the dharma of the four foundations of mindfulness is non-existent and unfindable; and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, which are also non-existent and unfindable. Śāriputra, the dharmas of the various supernormal powers are non-existent and unfindable; the dharma of the mark of suchness is non-existent and unfindable; the dharmas of dharma-nature, the mark of dharmas, the abiding of dharmas, the position of dharmas, and the limit of reality are likewise non-existent and unfindable. Śāriputra, the Buddha is non-existent and unfindable; the dharma of sarvajñā (omniscience) is non-existent and unfindable; the dharma of the omniscience of all kinds is likewise non-existent and unfindable—all because there are the emptinesses from inner emptiness up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas. Śāriputra, if, when a bodhisattva-mahāsattva reflects in this way and contemplates in this way, his mind does not sink, is not dejected or remorseful, is not startled, not afraid, not terrified, then know that this bodhisattva has never departed from the practice of prajñāpāramitā.’

How One Knows He Does Not Depart from Prajñā: Separated from Nature, Separated from Mark, and Mark and Nature Separated from Each Other

Śāriputra again asked Subhūti: ‘By what causes and conditions should one know that the bodhisattva has never departed from the practice of prajñāpāramitā?’

Subhūti answered: ‘Form is separated from the own-nature of form; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are separated from the own-nature of consciousness; the six perfections are separated from the own-nature of the six perfections; and so on up to the limit of reality, which is separated from the own-nature of the limit of reality.’

Śāriputra asked Subhūti further: ‘What is the own-nature of form? What is the own-nature of feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness? And so on up to: what is the own-nature of the limit of reality?’

Subhūti answered: ‘Non-existence is the own-nature of form; non-existence is the own-nature of feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness; and so on up to: non-existence is the own-nature of the limit of reality. Śāriputra, for this reason one should know that form is separated from the own-nature of form, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are separated from the own-nature of consciousness, and so on up to the limit of reality, which is separated from the own-nature of the limit of reality. Śāriputra, form is also separated from the mark of form, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are also separated from the mark of consciousness, and so on up to the limit of reality, which is also separated from the mark of the limit of reality. Mark too is separated from mark; nature too is separated from nature.’

Training in This Way One Attains Sarvajñā: Dharmas Neither Arise nor Are Accomplished; the Three Purities, Constant Apparitional Birth, Never Departing from the Buddhas

Śāriputra asked Subhūti: ‘If a bodhisattva-mahāsattva trains in this way, can he accomplish sarvajñā?’

Subhūti answered: ‘Just so, just so! Śāriputra, if a bodhisattva-mahāsattva trains in this way, he can accomplish sarvajñā. Why? Because dharmas neither arise nor are accomplished.’

Śāriputra asked Subhūti: ‘By what causes and conditions do dharmas neither arise nor become accomplished?’

Subhūti answered: ‘Form—form is empty, so the arising and accomplishment of form are both unfindable; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness—consciousness is empty, so the arising and accomplishment of consciousness are both unfindable. And so on up to the limit of reality—the limit of reality is empty, so the arising and accomplishment of the limit of reality are both unfindable. Śāriputra, when a bodhisattva-mahāsattva trains in this way, he gradually draws near to sarvajñā and gradually attains purity of body, purity of mind, and purity of marks. Because he gradually attains purity of body, purity of mind, and purity of marks, this bodhisattva does not give rise to a defiled mind, does not give rise to a mind of anger, does not give rise to a mind of delusion, does not give rise to a mind of arrogance, does not give rise to a mind of stinginess, does not give rise to a mind of wrong views. Because this bodhisattva does not give rise to a defiled mind, and so on up to not giving rise to a mind of wrong views, he is never born in a mother's womb but is always born by apparitional birth; from one buddha-land to another, bringing beings to maturity and purifying the Buddha-worlds, all the way up to unsurpassed, right, and complete awakening, he never departs from the Buddhas. Śāriputra, a bodhisattva-mahāsattva should practise prajñāpāramitā in this way, should train in prajñāpāramitā in this way.’

The Substance of Prajñā: The Real Mark of All Dharmas, Which Cannot Be Broken or Destroyed

Question: Prajñāpāramitā has already been expounded at length above; why now does Subhūti again say that a bodhisattva-mahāsattva should reflect on what in the end prajñāpāramitā is?

Answer: Earlier Subhūti spoke of prajñā through the gate of deference, and next through the gate of non-abiding; now he wishes to make clear the substance of prajñāpāramitā—what in the end is prajñāpāramitā?

What is called prajñāpāramitā is the real mark of all dharmas, which cannot be broken and cannot be destroyed. Whether a Buddha appears in the world or no Buddha appears in the world, this mark of dharmas and position of dharmas abide constantly without changing. It is not made by the Buddha, not made by the pratyekabuddhas, not made by the bodhisattvas, not made by the śrāvakas, not made by gods and humans—how much less could it be made by the remaining petty beings!

Leaving the Two Extremes and Walking the Middle Way: Permanence and Annihilation, Form and the Formless, up to Existence and Non-existence—All Leave Both Extremes

Furthermore, permanence is one extreme and annihilation is one extreme—to leave these two extremes and walk the middle way: this is prajñāpāramitā. So too with permanence and impermanence, suffering and pleasure, emptiness and the real, self and no-self, and the like. Form dharmas are one extreme and formless dharmas are one extreme; visible and invisible dharmas, the resistant and the non-resistant, the conditioned and the unconditioned, the contaminated and the uncontaminated, the worldly and the world-transcending, and all such paired dharmas are likewise so.

Furthermore, ignorance is one extreme and the ending of ignorance is one extreme; and so on up to old age and death as one extreme and the ending of old age and death as one extreme; that dharmas exist is one extreme and that dharmas do not exist is one extreme—to leave these two extremes and walk the middle way: this is prajñāpāramitā.

The bodhisattva is one extreme and the six perfections are one extreme; the Buddha is one extreme and awakening is one extreme—to leave these two extremes and walk the middle way: this is prajñāpāramitā.

To put it briefly, the six inner faculties are one extreme and the six outer sense-objects are one extreme; to leave these two extremes and walk the middle way: this is called prajñāpāramitā.

This prajñāpāramitā is one extreme and this non-prajñāpāramitā is one extreme—to leave these two extremes and walk the middle way: this is called prajñāpāramitā. Through gates of pairwise opposition such as these, the marks of prajñāpāramitā can be expounded at length without measure.

Leaving Existence, Leaving Non-existence, Leaving Neither-Existence-nor-Non-existence: The Mark of Prajñā Shown through Three Gates

Furthermore, to leave existence, to leave non-existence, to leave neither-existence-nor-non-existence, and without falling into delusion to be able to practise the wholesome path: this is prajñāpāramitā. Gates of threefold setting-aside such as these are all marks of prajñāpāramitā.

How Non-existent and Unfindable Is Established: Non-existent Because Empty, Unfindable Because Without a Fixed Mark; the Eighteen Emptinesses Break Down All Dharmas

Furthermore, Subhūti himself says here: This dharma is non-existent and unfindable. It is non-existent because prajñāpāramitā is empty; it is unfindable because, through the various contemplations of permanence and impermanence and the like, one seeks and searches and cannot find a fixed mark.

Furthermore, as for ‘non-existent’, here Subhūti himself says: the dharmas of prajñāpāramitā and the other five perfections are non-existent—because they cannot be grasped, cannot be received, cannot be clung to.

Furthermore, because there are the eighteen emptinesses, these six perfections are non-existent and unfindable. Just as a great wind can scatter all kinds of clouds, just as a great fire can burn up dry grass and wood, and just as the vajra jewel can shatter a great mountain, so too the various emptinesses are able to break down all dharmas.

Why It Is Called Prajñā: Foremost among All Wisdom

As for why it is called prajñāpāramitā: what is called prajñā is foremost among all the various kinds of wisdom—unsurpassed, incomparable, unequalled, with nothing that surpasses it, exhausting and reaching the far limit; just as among all beings the Buddha is foremost, among all dharmas nirvāṇa is foremost, among all assemblies the bhikṣu saṅgha is foremost.

No Fault in Speaking of the Cause within the Fruit; Entering the Dharma-Gate of Non-Duality

Question: You said earlier that the real mark of all dharmas is prajñāpāramitā, which is what is called the position of dharmas and the abiding of dharmas, abiding constantly without changing whether there is a Buddha or no Buddha; why now do you say further that among the various kinds of wisdom prajñāpāramitā is foremost, as among all dharmas nirvāṇa is foremost?

Answer: In worldly usage, sometimes the fruit is spoken of within the cause, and sometimes the cause is spoken of within the fruit, and in neither is there any fault. It is like someone who eats several bolts of cloth a day—the cloth itself cannot be eaten, but through the cause and condition of the cloth food can be obtained in exchange; this is called speaking of the fruit within the cause. Again, it is like seeing a fine painting and praising a fine hand; this is called speaking of the cause within the fruit. Wisdom arises from the real mark of all dharmas; this is speaking of the cause within the fruit.

Furthermore, this bodhisattva enters the dharma-gate of entering non-duality; at this time he is able directly to practise this prajñāpāramitā, no longer discriminating this as cause and that as fruit, this as the object and that as the knower, this as inner and that as outer, this as here and that as there, and so on—which is what is called one mark, and in truth is no mark. For this reason, that objection does not stand.

The Three Kinds of Worldly Wisdom Distinguished; Prajñā Is Supreme

Furthermore, the world has three kinds of wisdom. The first is worldly skill and expedience—broad learning in letters and the arts, benevolence, knowledge, propriety, respect, and the like. The second is separation-born wisdom, that is, the absorptions that leave the desire realm, up to the sphere of nothingness. The third is world-transcending wisdom, that is, the wisdom of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, who have left self and what belongs to self and whose contaminants are exhausted. Prajñāpāramitā is the most supreme compared with these three, because it is ultimately pure and clings to nothing, and because it benefits all beings. The wisdom of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, although pure because the contaminants are exhausted, lacks great kindness and compassion and cannot benefit all, and so does not compare; how much less the worldly wisdom that is impure with the grime of wrongdoing and deceptive! None of these three kinds of wisdom reaches this wisdom of prajñā, and therefore it is named prajñāpāramitā.

Furthermore, this wisdom is for the sake of ferrying all beings across and for the sake of attaining the Buddha-path. The feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness that are associated with this wisdom, and the bodily deeds and verbal deeds that arise from wisdom, as well as the various constructions not associated with mind such as arising and abiding—these dharmas coming together are named pāramitā. Among these various perfections, because wisdom predominates, it is named prajñāpāramitā; because mindfulness, concentration, and the like predominate, it is named the perfection of meditation; the principle of the remaining perfections is likewise. For immeasurable causes and conditions of all these kinds, it is named prajñāpāramitā.

Whose Is Prajñā: It Belongs Only to the Bodhisattva, Not to the Buddha, the Two Vehicles, or Ordinary People

As for whose this prajñāpāramitā is: in the highest meaning there is no one who knows, no one who sees, no one who attains; all dharmas are without self and without the mark of what belongs to self; dharmas are only empty, arising in continuity from the coming together of causes and conditions. This being so, to whom should this prajñāpāramitā belong?

The Buddha-Dharma has two kinds: the first is worldly truth, the second is the truth of the highest meaning. For the sake of worldly truth, prajñāpāramitā belongs to the bodhisattva. The dharmas of ordinary people have all kinds of faults and are impure, and so it does not belong to ordinary people. Prajñāpāramitā is ultimately pure, which ordinary people do not delight in; just as flies like to settle on impure places and do not like the lotus. Even though ordinary people have left desire, they still have a mind of I and self and cling to that dharma of leaving desire, and so they do not delight in prajñāpāramitā. Although the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas also wish to delight in prajñāpāramitā, because they lack deep kindness and compassion, greatly weary of the world, and single-mindedly head for nirvāṇa, they are unable to attain prajñāpāramitā in full. This prajñāpāramitā, when the bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, is renamed the omniscience of all kinds. For this reason, prajñā does not belong to the Buddha, does not belong to the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, does not belong to ordinary people; it belongs only to the bodhisattva.

Why the Six Perfections Are Spoken of First: The Simile of the Moon in the Water and the Moon in the Sky

Question: This sūtra usually speaks of the five aggregates first and the omniscience of all kinds last; why now does it speak of the six perfections first?

Answer: Śāriputra asked Subhūti for the explanation of the single meaning of non-existence. The five aggregates must be contemplated through all kinds of causes and conditions and forcibly made to be non-existent, which is hard to understand; whereas prajñāpāramitā is non-existent right here and now, which is easy to understand. It is like the moon in the water, whose emptiness is easy to see; but the moon in the sky is hard to make non-existent.

The five perfections share the same name and the same work as prajñāpāramitā, and so the five perfections are spoken of next, and only after that the non-existence and unfindability of the five aggregates up to the omniscience of all kinds.

Not Departing from Prajñā, the Unobstructed Path: The Three Purities and Apparitional Birth as the Closing on the Ground of the Fruit

The bodhisattva who enters this gate and contemplates the real mark of all dharmas without fear or terror—know that this bodhisattva has never departed from prajñāpāramitā. ‘Not departing’ means constantly practising prajñāpāramitā and not in vain; there will surely be a fruit and recompense. Here Subhūti himself states the causes and conditions of not departing, namely that form is separated from the own-nature of form: in form there is no real mark of form; all is false and deceptive and non-existent. When the bodhisattva is able to understand in this way, he has never departed from true wisdom; and so it is up to the limit of reality.

The bodhisattva who is able to practise this unobstructed path attains to sarvajñā, because all dharmas neither arise nor come forth.

Śāriputra asked Subhūti: ‘How is it said that all dharmas do not arise?’ Subhūti answered: ‘Form—because the mark of form is empty, form has no arising and no accomplishment; and so it is up to the limit of reality.’

If the bodhisattva is able to practise in this way—because this is the foremost purity, unsurpassed and incomparable—he gradually draws near to sarvajñā; because he gradually draws near to sarvajñā, his mind does not give rise to wrong views, afflictions, or idle discourse, and right then he attains purity of mind; as the recompense of purity of mind he attains purity of body; the thirty-two marks and the eighty minor excellences adorn his body. Because he attains these three purities, he breaks down all the false and deceptive dharmas of grasping at marks and receives a body born of dharma-nature, that is, he is always born by apparitional birth and does not enter a mother's womb.

Question: If he has such power, why still take apparitional birth, clinging to his own body and not taking nirvāṇa?

Answer: This has the causes and conditions of two things: first, because the Buddhas are the jewels among beings, and he wishes to make offerings to them without ever being sated; second, because his original vow to ferry beings across and to purify the Buddha-worlds is not yet fulfilled.

Because of the power of merit and of skilful means, this bodhisattva is constantly not apart from the Buddhas.

Subhūti States: If a Bodhisattva Lacks Skilful Means, Whenever He Practises Form, Feeling, Perception, Constructions, and Consciousness, or Even Gives Rise to Views of Permanence, Impermanence, and the Like, All of It Becomes Practising Marks

At that time Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! If a bodhisattva-mahāsattva is without skilful means and yet wishes to practise prajñāpāramitā, then if he practises form, this becomes practising marks; if he practises feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, this too becomes practising marks. If he sees form as permanent and practises, this is practising marks; if he sees feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness as permanent and practises, this too is practising marks. If he sees form as impermanent and practises, this is practising marks; if he sees feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness as impermanent and practises, this too is practising marks. If he sees form as pleasure and practises, if he sees feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness as pleasure and practises, all of it is practising marks. If he sees form as suffering and practises, if he sees feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness as suffering and practises, all of it is practising marks. If he sees form as existent and practises, if he sees feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness as existent and practises, all of it is practising marks. If he sees form as empty and practises, if he sees feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness as empty and practises, all of it is practising marks. If he sees form as self and practises, if he sees feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness as self and practises, all of it is practising marks. If he sees form as not-self and practises, if he sees feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness as not-self and practises, all of it is practising marks. If he sees form as separation and practises, if he sees feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness as separation and practises, all of it is practising marks. If he sees form as quiescent extinction and practises, if he sees feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness as quiescent extinction and practises, all of it is practising marks. World-Honored One! If a bodhisattva-mahāsattva is without skilful means, he practises the four foundations of mindfulness and takes it as practising marks, and so on up to practising the eighteen unshared dharmas and taking it as practising marks. World-Honored One! If, when a bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, he gives rise to this thought, “I am practising prajñāpāramitā; this is a practice in which something is attained,” this too is practising marks. World-Honored One! If a bodhisattva-mahāsattva gives rise to this thought, “Only practising like this is cultivating prajñāpāramitā,” this too is practising marks. In this way it should be known that this bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā without skilful means!’

Subhūti Tells Śāriputra: Without Skilful Means One Falsely Receives and Fixes the Mind on Form and Makes Constructions for the Sake of Form, and Cannot Attain Even the Realisation of the Two Vehicles, Let Alone Awakening

Subhūti said to Śāriputra: ‘If, when a bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, he falsely gives rise to receiving form and fixing his mind on it; once he falsely receives form and fixes his mind on it, he makes constructive activity for the sake of form; once he makes constructive activity for the sake of form, he cannot get free of birth, old age, sickness, death, sorrow, lamentation, suffering, and distress, and of the suffering of later lives. If a bodhisattva-mahāsattva is without skilful means when he practises prajñāpāramitā, he falsely gives rise to receiving and fixing his mind on the eye and so on up to the mind; on forms and so on up to dharmas; on the eye-consciousness element and so on up to the mind-consciousness element; on eye-contact and so on up to mind-contact; on the feeling born with eye-contact as its cause and condition and so on up to the feeling born with mind-contact as its cause and condition; on the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas; and he makes constructive activity for the sake of the eighteen unshared dharmas. Once he makes constructive activity for the sake of dharmas, this bodhisattva cannot get free of birth, old age, sickness, death, sorrow, lamentation, suffering, and distress, and of the suffering of later lives. A bodhisattva such as this cannot attain even the fruit realised on the ground of the śrāvaka or the pratyekabuddha, let alone attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi! There is no such possibility at all. Śāriputra! It should be known that this bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā without skilful means.’

Śāriputra Asks: How Is It Known That a Bodhisattva Practises Prajñā with Skilful Means?

Śāriputra asked Subhūti: ‘How can it be known that this bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā with skilful means?’

Subhūti Answers: Having Skilful Means Is Not Practising Form, Feeling, Perception, Constructions, and Consciousness and Not Grasping Their Various Marks; Form Is Emptiness and Emptiness Is Form; and So On to Not Receiving Practising, and Not Receiving Even Not-Receiving

Subhūti said to Śāriputra: ‘If, when a bodhisattva-mahāsattva wishes to practise prajñāpāramitā, he does not practise form, and does not practise feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness; does not practise the mark of form, and does not practise the marks of feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness; does not practise the permanence of form, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, and does not practise the impermanence of form, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness; does not practise the pleasure of form, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, and does not practise the suffering of form, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness; does not practise the self of form, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, and does not practise the not-self of form, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness; does not practise the emptiness of form, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, does not practise the signlessness of form, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, and does not practise the non-action of form, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness; does not practise the separation of form, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, and does not practise the quiescent extinction of form, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness. Why is this? Śāriputra! The emptiness of this form is not itself form; apart from emptiness there is no form, and apart from form there is no emptiness; form is emptiness, and emptiness is form. The emptiness of feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness is not itself consciousness; apart from emptiness there is no consciousness, and apart from consciousness there is no emptiness; emptiness is consciousness, and consciousness is emptiness. And so on up to: the emptiness of the eighteen unshared dharmas is not itself the eighteen unshared dharmas; apart from emptiness there are no eighteen unshared dharmas, and apart from the eighteen unshared dharmas there is no emptiness; emptiness is the eighteen unshared dharmas, and the eighteen unshared dharmas are emptiness. Just so, Śāriputra! It should be known that this bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā with skilful means; this bodhisattva-mahāsattva, practising prajñāpāramitā in this way, is able to attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. When this bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, he does not receive practising, does not receive not practising, does not receive both practising and not practising, does not receive neither practising nor not practising, and does not receive even not-receiving.’

Śāriputra Asks: When a Bodhisattva Practises Prajñā, for What Reason Does He Not Receive?

Śāriputra said to Subhūti: ‘When a bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, for what reason does he not receive?’

Subhūti Answers: Because the Own-Nature of Prajñā Cannot Be Found, He Does Not Receive; This Is the Vast Function of the Samādhi of Not Receiving Any Dharma (Close of the First Sūtra Section)

Subhūti said: ‘The own-nature of this prajñāpāramitā cannot be found at all; therefore he does not receive. Why is this? The nature of having nothing is itself prajñāpāramitā. Śāriputra! Precisely because of this, when a bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, he does not receive practising, does not receive not practising, does not receive both practising and not practising, does not receive neither practising nor not practising, and does not receive even not-receiving. And why is this? Because the nature of all dharmas is fundamentally that of having nothing; he does not go along with dharmas in practising, and does not receive the marks of dharmas. This is called the vast function of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's 「諸法無所受三昧」 tr. "samādhi of not receiving any dharma", which the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas do not share. This bodhisattva-mahāsattva, practising this samādhi and never parting from it, is able to attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi swiftly.’

What follows is the treatise's commentary.

The Treatise-Author Opens the Explanation: The Previous Chapter Refuted Dharmas by the Gate of Emptiness; This Chapter Will Refute Dharmas by the Gate of Signlessness

The treatise-author explains: The previous chapter used the ‘gate of emptiness’ to refute dharmas; this chapter will use the ‘gate of signlessness’ to refute dharmas. If a bodhisattva contemplates form without skilful means, he falls into marks; because he falls into marks, he loses the practice of prajñāpāramitā. Why is this? Because all dharmas are empty, there is not a single mark that can be grasped.

Question and Answer One: Only by Grasping the Marks of Good and Evil Recompense Can People Discriminate, Take Up, and Reject, and So Practise the Path; Why Then Is It Said That Dharmas Are Signless?

Question: People know the recompense of good and evil; only by grasping the marks of recompense can they discriminate good and evil, receiving the good and rejecting the evil, and so cultivate the path. How then is it said that dharmas have the mark of signlessness?

The Treatise-Author Answers: Grasping Marks Is Taught for Beginners and Signlessness for Those Practising the Path; First the Good Mark Is Grasped to Refute the Unwholesome, Then Signlessness Refutes the Good, and Signlessness Also Refutes Itself (the Simile of Hail Falling and Harming the Grain)

Answer: Speaking of grasping marks is for the sake of people who are beginners in training; speaking of signlessness is for the sake of those who practise the path and abide within the gates of liberation. One should not raise objections by bringing up crude matters! Now the practitioner of the path first grasps the mark of the good to refute the mark of the unwholesome—that is, the causes and conditions of clinging to marks such as male and female, which give rise to all kinds of afflictions—and then uses the mark of signlessness to refute the mark of wholesome dharmas. If one only refutes the unwholesome and does not refute the mark of the good, the good instead becomes a calamity, because it gives rise to all kinds of clinging. When the mark of signlessness is used to refute wholesome dharmas, this signlessness in the end also refutes itself. Why is this? Because signlessness too is a part included among wholesome dharmas. It is like hail falling and ruining the grain: the hail itself also melts away immediately.

Only the Signlessness of All Dharmas Is Real: The Similes of the Impure Body, the Child Taking Something as Pure, the Sphaṭika Crystal Changing with Colours, and Hatred and Love Turning with the Mind

Furthermore, only the mark of signlessness of all dharmas is real. It is like this body: it is full of impurity, its nine openings constantly flow with filth, and there is no mark of purity in it at all; yet because of ignorance people insist on taking it as pure, and so they give rise to afflictions and commit all kinds of wrongdoing. Again, it is like a small child who, amid impure things, grasps a mark of purity and takes it as something to delight in; grown people laugh when they see it, knowing it to be false. Grasping marks of every such kind is entirely false. It is like a sphaṭika crystal, which changes with the colours in front of it and has no fixed colour of its own; dharmas are also like this: they have no fixed mark, but appear different only according to the mind, now showing a mark of permanence, now of impermanence, and so on. It is like looking at someone with a mind of anger and seeing this person as detestable; once the anger has subsided and a mind of sexual desire arises, one sees the same person as lovable. If a mind of arrogance arises, one sees this person as base; hearing that he has virtue, one gives rise to a mind of respect. Hatred and love of this kind, whether with reason or without reason, are all false recollection; if these deceptive marks are removed, then even the mark of emptiness, the mark of signlessness, and the mark of non-action are all gone as well, because there is no longer anything to be refuted.

Form Exists Only Through the Coming Together of Various Causes and Conditions, Like Foam on Water, Like an Illusion, Like a Dream; Clinging to a Single Mark Loses Prajñā

This form exists only through the coming together of various causes and conditions; it is like foam on the surface of water, like an illusion, like a dream. If a bodhisattva clings to a single mark within form, he loses prajñāpāramitā on the spot, because the nature of form is precisely the mark of signlessness. Having received the mark of form, people see form scatter, decay, and wear away, and say it is impermanent; if they see it come together and abide briefly for a moment, they say instead that it is permanent.

Permanence Is of Two Kinds: That Which Abides Long and Then Returns to Extinction, and That Which Abides Permanently Without Decay; Not Extinguishing Extreme and Wrong Views but Clinging to a Real Permanence Is Being Without Skilful Means

‘Permanence’ is of two kinds. One kind, though it abides for a hundred years, or for a thousand myriad koṭi years, and even for one kalpa or eighty thousand kalpas, must in the end return to decay and extinction; the other kind abides permanently without decay. If a bodhisattva has extinguished extreme views and wrong views, he no longer contemplates any real permanence; even if he contemplates permanence, he knows only that it is called permanent because it abides long, and that it is not real permanence. If he does not extinguish extreme views and wrong views, but contemplates form as really permanent and gives rise to this thought: When grass and trees wither they return to earth; there are merely seasons of separating and seasons of coming together—precisely for this reason it is said that this bodhisattva is without skilful means.

Impermanence Is Also of Two Kinds: Perishing Moment by Moment, and the Decay of a Continuum; The Beginner Contemplates the Break of the Continuum, the Long-Practised Contemplates Perishing Moment by Moment

Sometimes the bodhisattva contemplates form as impermanent, and impermanence is also of two kinds. One kind is perishing moment after moment: every conditioned dharma abides for no more than a single moment. The other kind is called impermanence because a continuous dharma decays—like a person's lifespan coming to an end, like fire burning grass and trees, like boiling water until it is boiled dry. If he is a bodhisattva at the first arousing of the mind, he practises this contemplation of the continuum and cuts off the coarse impermanence, because his mind gives rise to revulsion; if he is a bodhisattva who has practised long, he is able to contemplate the impermanence of dharmas arising and perishing moment after moment.

Both of These Bodhisattvas Fall into Grasping Marks, Because the Mark of Permanence and the Mark of Impermanence of Form Cannot Be Found

Both of these kinds of bodhisattva in fact fall into grasping marks. Why is this? Because the mark of permanence and the mark of impermanence of form fundamentally cannot be found, as was said before.

Feeling, Perception, Constructions, and Consciousness Are Likewise, and So Are Suffering and Pleasure, Self and Not-Self

Feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are likewise. Suffering, pleasure, self, and not-self are all the same as well.

Question and Answer Two: Since the Five Aggregates Can Be Contemplated as Permanent, Impermanent, and So On, Why Is It Said That They Have the Mark of Quiescent Extinction and Separation?

Question: Since these five aggregates can be contemplated as permanent, impermanent, and so on, how is it also said that the five aggregates have the mark of quiescent extinction and of separation?

The Treatise-Author Answers: Because the Practitioner Does Not See Marks of Permanence or Impermanence in the Five Aggregates, He Knows That They Are Separate from Their Own Marks; Being Separate from Own Marks Is Quiescent Extinction, Like Nirvāṇa

Answer: Because the practitioner of the path does not see a mark of permanence or a mark of impermanence in the five aggregates, he knows that these five aggregates are separate from their own marks; once he knows that the five aggregates are separate from their own marks, that is quiescent extinction, like nirvāṇa.

Question and Answer Three: Since Dharmas Are Fundamentally Signless, Why Is It Said That One Without Skilful Means Falls into Marks?

Question: If that is so, dharmas are signless from the very beginning; how then is it said that one without skilful means falls into marks?

The Treatise-Author Answers: A Bodhisattva of Dull Faculties Barely Leaves Clinging to the Five Aggregates, Then Turns to Cling to Separation and Quiescent Extinction, Giving Rise to Clinging Again Within Signlessness

Answer: This bodhisattva's faculties are slow and dull, and he does not notice it himself: his mind has only just left clinging to the five aggregates, yet he turns round and clings to separation and quiescent extinction, and so within signlessness he again gives rise to clinging.

The Thirty-Seven Limbs of the Path, up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, Should All Be Discriminated According to Their Meaning in the Same Way

The thirty-seven limbs of the path, and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, should all likewise be discriminated according to their meaning in this way.

Contemplating Outer Dharmas as All Signless Yet Thinking, ‘I Can Make This Contemplation’: Because the Mind of Self Remains, He Also Falls into Marks

If a bodhisattva contemplates outer dharmas as all signless, yet says, ‘I am able to make such a contemplation,’ then because the mind of that ‘I’ still remains, he too falls into marks.

Even Practising True, Pure, Signless Wisdom, If He Thinks, ‘I Can Practise Purely Within and Without,’ He Still Falls into Marks—This Is Called Being Without Skilful Means

If a bodhisattva is able to leave this non-path of clinging to marks and practise true and pure signless wisdom, yet gives rise to this thought, ‘Only practising purely like this, within and without, is cultivating prajñāpāramitā,’ this person too still falls into marks. Why is this? Because he clings where there can be no clinging and grasps where there can be no grasping. This bodhisattva is called one without skilful means, because he relies on craving and views and clings to wholesome dharmas.

Such a Bodhisattva, Though He Has Merit, Does Not Get Free of Old Age, Sickness, and Death; Because His Practice Is Mixed He Does Not Attain Even the Small Vehicle, Let Alone the Great Vehicle

Although this bodhisattva has merit, he still cannot get free of old age, sickness, death, sorrow, lamentation, suffering, and distress; because the path he practises is mixed and impure, he cannot attain even the Small Vehicle, let alone the Great Vehicle!

The Opposite of This Is Called Having Skilful Means: Not Receiving and Not Clinging to Any Dharma, Because Dharmas Arise from Conditions and Have No Own-Nature

The opposite of the above is what is called having skilful means. He does not receive and does not cling to any dharma, because dharmas are all born of causes and conditions coming together and have no own-nature.

Question and Answer Four: Earlier the ‘Samādhi of Non-Receiving’ Was Spoken of, Here the ‘Samādhi of Not Receiving’; What Is the Difference Between Them?

Question: Earlier the 「無受三昧」 tr. "samādhi of non-receiving" was spoken of; here the 「不受三昧」 tr. "samādhi of not receiving" is spoken of. What is the difference between these two?

The Treatise-Author Answers: The Former Is Spoken in Terms of Emptiness, the Latter in Terms of Signlessness

Answer: The former is spoken in terms of ‘emptiness’; this one is spoken in terms of ‘signlessness’.

Explaining ‘Not Parting From’: Practising Constantly Without Stopping or Resting, Out of the Mind of Great Compassion

What is called ‘not parting from’ means practising constantly, without stopping and without resting, because of the mind of great compassion.

Explaining ‘Swiftly Attaining the Buddha Path’: Entering This Samādhi There Is No Obstruction and One Can Leap over Kalpas in Attaining It, as Śākyamuni Leapt over Nine Kalpas Through Praising Puṣya Buddha (Close of the First Commentary Section)

What is called ‘swiftly attaining the Buddha path’ means that once one has entered this samādhi there is no longer any obstruction, and the wisdom one practises resembles the Buddha's; what should have been attained only after immeasurable asaṃkhyeya kalpas can be attained by leaping over one asaṃkhyeya kalpa, leaping over a hundred kalpas, and even leaping over sixty-one kalpas—just as, in the past, through the cause and condition of praising Puṣya Buddha, Śākyamuni Buddha leapt over nine kalpas.

What follows is the sūtra text.

Śāriputra Asks: Is It Only Not Parting from This Samādhi That Enables a Bodhisattva to Attain Awakening Swiftly, or Are There Other Samādhi?

Śāriputra said: ‘Is it only not parting from this samādhi that enables a bodhisattva-mahāsattva to attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi swiftly, or are there other samādhi besides?’

Subhūti Answers: There Are Other Samādhi, and a Bodhisattva Who Practises Them Can Also Attain Awakening Swiftly

Subhūti said to Śāriputra: ‘There are other samādhi besides; a bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises these samādhi can also attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi swiftly.’

Śāriputra Asks: What Samādhi Are They, Such That a Bodhisattva Who Practises Them Can Attain Awakening Swiftly?

Śāriputra said: ‘What samādhi are they, such that a bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises them can attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi swiftly?’

Subhūti Answers: Beginning from the Śūraṃgama Samādhi, He Enumerates More Than a Hundred Gates of Samādhi and Gates of Dhāraṇī; Practising Them, All Can Attain Awakening Swiftly

Subhūti said: ‘The bodhisattva-mahāsattvas have a samādhi named Śūraṃgama; practising this samādhi enables a bodhisattva-mahāsattva to attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi swiftly. There are also samādhi of every kind, named: the Jewel Seal samādhi, the Lion's Play samādhi, the Wondrous Moon samādhi, the Moon-Banner Mark samādhi, the Seal of All Dharmas samādhi, the Contemplating the Summit samādhi, the Consummate Dharma-Nature samādhi, the Consummate Banner Mark samādhi, the Vajra samādhi, the Entering the Dharma Seal samādhi, the King of Samādhi Firmly Established samādhi, the Emitting Light samādhi, the Power Advancing samādhi, the Bringing Forth samādhi, the Certain Entry into Eloquence samādhi, the Entering Names samādhi, the Contemplating the Directions samādhi, the Dhāraṇī Seal samādhi, the Unforgetting samādhi, the Ocean Seal Gathering All Dharmas samādhi, the Covering All Space samādhi, the Vajra Wheel samādhi, the Jewel Cutting samādhi, the Universal Illumination samādhi, the Not Seeking samādhi, the Abiding Nowhere samādhi, the No-Mind samādhi, the Pure Lamp samādhi, the Boundless Light samādhi, the Able to Make Light samādhi, the Universally Pervading Light samādhi, the Firmly Purifying All Samādhi samādhi, the Stainless Light samādhi, the Making Joy samādhi, the Lightning samādhi, the Inexhaustible samādhi, the Majestic Virtue samādhi, the Free of Exhaustion samādhi, the Immovable samādhi, the Adornment samādhi, the Sunlight samādhi, the Moon-Pure samādhi, the Pure Light samādhi, the Able to Make Light samādhi, the Making Practice samādhi, the Knowing Marks samādhi, the Like Vajra samādhi, the Mind Abiding samādhi, the Illuminating Everywhere samādhi, the Firmly Established samādhi, the Jewel Summit samādhi, the Wondrous Dharma Seal samādhi, the Dharma Equality samādhi, the Giving Rise to Joy samādhi, the Reaching the Dharma Summit samādhi, the Able to Scatter samādhi, the Destroying the Places of All Dharmas samādhi, the Equal Mark of Letters samādhi, the Free of Letters samādhi, the Cutting Off Objects samādhi, the Indestructible samādhi, the Without Kinds of Marks samādhi, the Practising Nowhere samādhi, the Free of Darkness samādhi, the No Going samādhi, the Immovable samādhi, the Crossing Beyond Objects samādhi, the Gathering All Merits samādhi, the Abiding in No-Mind samādhi, the Wondrous Pure Flower samādhi, the Limbs of Awakening samādhi, the Immeasurable Eloquence samādhi, the Equal to the Unequalled samādhi, the Crossing All Dharmas samādhi, the Discriminating All Dharmas samādhi, the Scattering Doubt samādhi, the No Abiding-Place samādhi, the One Mark samādhi, the One Nature samādhi, the Giving Rise to Practice samādhi, the One Practice samādhi, the Not One Practice samādhi, the Wondrous Practice samādhi, the Penetrating and Scattering All Existence to Its Bottom samādhi, the Entering Speech samādhi, the Free of Sounds, Letters, and Speech samādhi, the Lit Torch samādhi, the Pure Mark samādhi, the Breaking Marks samādhi, the Wondrous Sufficiency of All Kinds samādhi, the Not Delighting in Suffering or Pleasure samādhi, the Inexhaustible Practice samādhi, the Many Dhāraṇīs samādhi, the Gathering All Wrong and Right Marks samādhi, the Extinguishing Hatred and Love samādhi, the Against and With the Current samādhi, the Pure Radiance samādhi, the Firm samādhi, the Full Moon Pure Radiance samādhi, the Great Adornment samādhi, the Able to Illumine All Worlds samādhi, the Samādhi Equal to Samādhi samādhi, the Practice Without Contention samādhi, the Delight of No Abiding-Place samādhi, the Abiding in Absorption as It Is samādhi, the Destroying the Body's Decline samādhi, the Destroying Speech like Space samādhi, and the Free of Attachment, Undefiled as Space samādhi. Śāriputra! This bodhisattva-mahāsattva, practising these samādhi, is able to attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi swiftly. There are, besides, immeasurable asaṃkhyeyas of gates of samādhi and gates of dhāraṇī; a bodhisattva-mahāsattva who trains in these gates of samādhi and gates of dhāraṇī can also attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi swiftly.’

Subhūti, Following the Buddha's Mind, Says: The Buddhas of the Past and Present All Confer the Prediction on the Bodhisattva Who Practises These Samādhi, Precisely Because He Neither Sees Nor Thinks of These Samādhi

The venerable Subhūti, receiving the Buddha's intent, said: ‘It should be known that the Buddhas of the past have already conferred the prediction on the bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises these samādhi, and the Buddhas now present in the ten directions also confer the prediction on this bodhisattva. This bodhisattva does not see these samādhi, nor does he fix his mind on these samādhi; nor does he give rise to this thought, “I am about to enter this samādhi, I am now entering this samādhi, I have already entered this samādhi.” This bodhisattva-mahāsattva has no discriminating thought whatsoever.’

Śāriputra Asks: Having Abided in These Samādhi, Does the Bodhisattva Receive the Prediction from the Buddhas of the Past?

Śāriputra asked Subhūti: ‘After a bodhisattva-mahāsattva abides in these samādhi, does he receive the prediction from the Buddhas of the past?’

Subhūti Answers: No—Prajñā, Samādhi, and the Bodhisattva Are Not Different; Each Is the Other

Subhūti answered: ‘No! Śāriputra! Why is this? Prajñāpāramitā is not different from the samādhi, and the samādhi are not different from prajñāpāramitā; the bodhisattva is not different from prajñāpāramitā and samādhi, and prajñāpāramitā and samādhi are not different from the bodhisattva; prajñāpāramitā is samādhi, and samādhi is prajñāpāramitā; the bodhisattva is prajñāpāramitā and samādhi, and prajñāpāramitā and samādhi are the bodhisattva.’

Śāriputra Asks Again: Since Samādhi and the Bodhisattva Are Identical and Not Different, How Can the Bodhisattva Know the ‘Samādhi of the Equality of All Dharmas’?

Śāriputra said to Subhūti: ‘If samādhi is not different from the bodhisattva, and the bodhisattva is not different from samādhi, samādhi is the bodhisattva and the bodhisattva is samādhi, then how can the bodhisattva know this 「一切諸法等三昧」 tr. "samādhi of the equality of all dharmas"?’

Subhūti Answers: When the Bodhisattva Enters Samādhi He Does Not Think, ‘By This Dharma I Enter This Samādhi’; Therefore He Neither Knows Nor Thinks of the Samādhi

Subhūti said: ‘If the bodhisattva enters this samādhi, at that time he does not give rise to this thought, “By this dharma I have entered this samādhi.” Precisely because of this, Śāriputra, this bodhisattva, among the samādhi, neither knows nor thinks of them.’

Śāriputra Asks: Why Does He Neither Know Nor Think?

Śāriputra said: ‘Why does he neither know nor think?’

Subhūti Answers: Because the Samādhi Fundamentally Have Nothing, He Neither Knows Nor Thinks

Subhūti said: ‘Because the samādhi fundamentally have nothing, this bodhisattva neither knows nor thinks.’

The Buddha Praises Subhūti as Foremost in the Samādhi of Non-Contention and Urges Bodhisattvas to Train in This Way in the Six Perfections up to the eighteen unshared dharmas (Close of the Second Sūtra Section)

At that time the Buddha praised him, saying: ‘Good! Good! Subhūti! Just as I have said that you are foremost in practising the samādhi of non-contention, this accords exactly with the meaning here. A bodhisattva-mahāsattva should train in this way in prajñāpāramitā, in the perfection of meditation, the perfection of vigour, the perfection of patience, the perfection of morality, and the perfection of giving; and in the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, he should likewise train in this way!’

What follows is the treatise's commentary.

Question and Answer Five: Since the Buddha Has Said That Nirvāṇa Has Only One Path (Emptiness, Signlessness, Non-Action), Why Does Śāriputra Still Ask Whether Other Samādhi Can Make a Bodhisattva Attain Buddhahood Swiftly?

Question: Since the Buddha has said that nirvāṇa has only one path—namely emptiness, signlessness, and non-action—why does Śāriputra still ask again, ‘Are there other samādhi that can make a bodhisattva attain buddhahood swiftly?’

The Treatise-Author Answers: Before One Nears Nirvāṇa There Are Many Other Paths; On Nearing Nirvāṇa There Is Only One; All the Other Samādhi Are Gathered into the Three Gates of Liberation (the Two Similes of a Great City's Many Gates and Myriad Streams Returning to the Sea)

Answer: Before one has drawn near to nirvāṇa, there are many other paths; when one has drawn near to nirvāṇa, there is only one path: emptiness, signlessness, and non-action; all the various other samādhi return into these three gates of liberation. It is like a great city with many gates, through any one of which one can enter the city; again, it is like the many rivers and the myriad streams, which in the end all return into the great sea.

What Are the Other Samādhi—the Śūraṃgama and the Rest, Which the Buddha Himself Spoke of in the Mahāyāna Chapter; What Is Profound and Hard to Understand Is Left for Detailed Explanation in That Chapter

What are those other samādhi? They are the Śūraṃgama samādhi and the various other samādhi, which the Buddha himself spoke of in the Mahāyāna chapter; those among them that are profound and hard to understand are left to be spoken of in that chapter.

If One Can Practise the Hundred and Eight Samādhi and Such Gates of Dhāraṇī, the Buddhas of the Ten Directions All Confer the Prediction—Because the Bodhisattva, Though He Attains Samādhi, Has No Mind of Self Made of Recollection, Imagining, and Discrimination

If a bodhisattva is able to practise these hundred and eight samādhi and the various gates of dhāraṇī, the Buddhas of the ten directions will all confer the prediction on him. Why is this? Because, although this bodhisattva has attained these samādhi, he truly has no ‘I’-mind of recollection, imagining, and discrimination of any kind, and does not give rise to this thought: ‘I am about to enter this samādhi, I am now entering it, I have already entered it; I am about to abide in this samādhi; this is my samādhi.’ Precisely because this mind is pure and does not cling to the subtle and wondrous Dharma, the Buddhas confer the prediction on him.

Śāriputra Again Uses the Wisdom of Emptiness to Challenge: Does the Bodhisattva Abide in Samādhi and Grasp the Mark of Samādhi, and Receive the Prediction Thus?

At that time Śāriputra again used the wisdom of ‘emptiness’ to challenge Subhūti, saying: ‘Does the bodhisattva abide in this samādhi and grasp the mark of this samādhi, and is it thus that he receives the prediction?’

Subhūti Answers: No—Prajñā, Samādhi, and the Bodhisattva, These Three, Are Not Different; Only If the Three Were Different Could There Be Talk of a Prediction; Precisely Because They Are Not Different, There Is No Prediction to Be Grasped

Subhūti said: ‘No! Why is this? Because prajñā, samādhi, and the bodhisattva, these three things, are fundamentally not different: prajñā is not different from samādhi, and samādhi is not different from prajñā; prajñā is not different from the bodhisattva and samādhi, and the bodhisattva and samādhi are not different from prajñā; prajñā and samādhi are the bodhisattva, and the bodhisattva is prajñā and samādhi. If samādhi and the bodhisattva were different, then the Buddhas could confer his prediction; precisely because they are not different, there is no prediction that can be grasped.’

Śāriputra Asks Again: Put This Way, Are Samādhi and All Dharmas Equal and Not Different?

Śāriputra asked again: ‘If it is so, are samādhi and all dharmas equal and without difference?’

Subhūti Answers: Bodhisattvas Have the ‘Samādhi of the Equality of Dharmas’; Having Entered This Samādhi, Dharmas Are All Without Difference

Subhūti said: ‘The bodhisattvas have a 「諸法等三昧」 tr. "samādhi of the equality of dharmas"; having entered into this samādhi, dharmas are all without difference.’

Furthermore: Toward the Samādhi No Recollection or Discrimination of ‘Aware or Not Aware’ Is Made; Because the Own-Nature of Samādhi Has Nothing, He Neither Knows Nor Thinks

Furthermore, as was said before: toward the samādhi, he does not make the recollection and discrimination of ‘aware’ and ‘not aware’; because the own-nature of the samādhi fundamentally has nothing, the bodhisattva neither knows nor thinks.

Because Subhūti, Though He Had Not Himself Attained This Samādhi, Could Speak of It Well, and Neither Thought of Nor Clung to Anything Within Prajñā, the Buddha Praises Him as Foremost in the Samādhi of Non-Contention, Name Matching Reality (Close of the Second Commentary Section)

Because Subhūti, although he had not himself attained this samādhi, was able to speak skilfully of the subtle and wondrous samādhi and dhāraṇīs of the bodhisattva, and within prajñāpāramitā did not fix his mind on anything or cling to anything, the Buddha praised him, saying: ‘Good! I have said that you are foremost in attaining the samādhi of non-contention; it is just as I praised, and not false.’

What follows is the sūtra text.

Śāriputra Asks the Buddha: When a Bodhisattva Trains Like This, Is This Training in Prajñāpāramitā?

Śāriputra said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! When a bodhisattva-mahāsattva trains like this, is this training in prajñāpāramitā?’

The Buddha Answers: Training Like This Is Training in Prajñā, Because the Dharma of Prajñā Cannot Be Found; So Too the Perfection of Giving, the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, up to the eighteen unshared dharmas—None Can Be Found

The Buddha told Śāriputra: ‘When a bodhisattva-mahāsattva trains like this, this is training in prajñāpāramitā, because the dharma of prajñā cannot be found; and so on up to training in the perfection of giving, also because this dharma cannot be found; training in the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to training in the eighteen unshared dharmas, all because these dharmas cannot be found.’

Śāriputra Asks: Put This Way, When a Bodhisattva Trains in Prajñā, Is This Dharma Something That Cannot Be Found?

Śāriputra said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! Put this way, when a bodhisattva-mahāsattva trains in prajñāpāramitā, is this dharma something that cannot be found?’

The Buddha Answers: Just So—When a Bodhisattva Trains in Prajñā, This Dharma Cannot Be Found

The Buddha said: ‘Just so! When a bodhisattva-mahāsattva trains in prajñāpāramitā, this dharma cannot be found.’

Śāriputra Asks: What Dharma Cannot Be Found?

Śāriputra said: ‘World-Honored One! What dharma cannot be found?’

The Buddha Answers: The Self up to the Knower and the Seer; the Five Aggregates, Twelve Sense-Fields, and Eighteen Elements; the Twelve Links of Causes and Conditions; the Four Truths; the Three Realms; the Limbs of the Path; the Six Perfections; the Four Fruits and the Two Vehicles, up to the Bodhisattva and the Buddha—None Can Be Found, Because of Ultimate Purity

The Buddha said: ‘The “self” cannot be found, and so on up to the “knower” and the “seer”, which also cannot be found, because of ultimate purity. The five aggregates cannot be found, the twelve sense-fields cannot be found, the eighteen elements cannot be found, because of ultimate purity. Ignorance cannot be found, because of ultimate purity; and so on up to old age and death, which cannot be found, because of ultimate purity. The truth of suffering cannot be found, because of ultimate purity; the truth of origination, the truth of cessation, and the truth of the path cannot be found, because of ultimate purity. The desire realm cannot be found, because of ultimate purity; the form realm and the formless realm cannot be found, because of ultimate purity. The four foundations of mindfulness cannot be found, because of ultimate purity; and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, which cannot be found, because of ultimate purity. The six perfections cannot be found, because of ultimate purity. The srota-āpanna cannot be found, because of ultimate purity; the sakṛdāgāmin, the anāgāmin, the arhat, and the pratyekabuddha cannot be found, because of ultimate purity. The bodhisattva cannot be found, because of ultimate purity; the Buddha cannot be found, because of ultimate purity.’

Śāriputra Asks: What Is Ultimate Purity?

Śāriputra said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! What is ultimate purity?’

The Buddha Answers: Not Emerging, Not Arising, No Attaining, No Making—This Is Called Ultimate Purity

The Buddha said: ‘Not emerging, not arising, no attaining, no making: this is called ultimate purity.’

Śāriputra Asks: If a Bodhisattva Trains Like This, What Dharma Is He Ultimately Training In?

Śāriputra said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! If a bodhisattva-mahāsattva trains like this, what dharma is he ultimately training in?’

The Buddha Answers: Training Like This, He in Fact Trains in Nothing with Regard to Dharmas—Because the Mark of Dharmas Is Not as Ordinary People Cling to It

The Buddha told Śāriputra: ‘When a bodhisattva-mahāsattva trains like this, with regard to dharmas he in fact trains in nothing. Why is this? Śāriputra! The mark of dharmas is not the way ordinary people cling to it.’

Śāriputra Asks: Then How Does the Real Mark of Dharmas ‘Exist’?

Śāriputra said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! Then in what way does the real mark of dharmas exist?’

The Buddha Answers: Dharmas Exist Just So, as ‘Having Nothing’; Not Knowing This ‘Having Nothing Existing Just So’ Is Called Ignorance

The Buddha said: ‘Dharmas fundamentally have nothing, and they exist just so; if this matter of such having-nothing is not understood, that is called ignorance.’

Śāriputra Asks: What Is This Having-Nothing, Not Knowing Which Is Called Ignorance?

Śāriputra said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! What kind of having-nothing is it, such that not understanding this matter is called ignorance?’

The Buddha Answers: Form, Feeling, Perception, Constructions, and Consciousness up to All Dharmas Have Nothing; Ordinary People, Bound by the Two Extremes, Cling Falsely, and So Do Not Know and Do Not See, Do Not Emerge, Do Not Believe, Do Not Abide; They Are Called Ordinary People Like Small Children, and Clingers

The Buddha told Śāriputra: ‘Form, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness fundamentally have nothing, because of inner emptiness and so on up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas; the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas fundamentally have nothing, also because of inner emptiness and so on up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas. Here, ordinary people, by the power of ignorance and because of thirsting craving, falsely give rise to views and falsely make discriminations; this is called ignorance. These ordinary people are bound by the two extremes of existence and non-existence; these people do not know and do not see that dharmas fundamentally have nothing, but recollect, imagine, discriminate, and cling to form and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas; because they cling, these people, with regard to dharmas that fundamentally have nothing, go and produce consciousness, knowing, and seeing; this is how these ordinary people do not know and do not see. What do they not know and not see? They do not know and do not see form, and so on up to not knowing and not seeing the eighteen unshared dharmas; and so they fall among the ranks of ordinary people, like small children. These people do not emerge. From where do they not emerge? They do not emerge from the desire realm, do not emerge from the form realm, do not emerge from the formless realm; and within the dharmas of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas they also do not emerge. These people also do not believe. What do they not believe? They do not believe that form is empty, and so on up to not believing that the eighteen unshared dharmas are empty. These people do not abide. Where do they not abide? They do not abide in the perfection of giving, and so on up to not abiding in prajñāpāramitā; they do not abide on the avaivartika ground, and so on up to not abiding in the eighteen unshared dharmas. For these reasons they are called ordinary people, like small children, and are also called “clingers”. What is called clinging? Clinging to form and so on up to clinging to consciousness; clinging to the eye sense-field and so on up to clinging to the mind sense-field; clinging to the eye element and so on up to clinging to the mind-consciousness element; clinging to lust, anger, and delusion; clinging to all kinds of wrong views; clinging to the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to clinging to the Buddha path.’

Śāriputra Asks: If a Bodhisattva Trains Like This, Does It Also Not Count as Training in Prajñā, and Does He Not Attain Omniscience?

Śāriputra said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! If a bodhisattva-mahāsattva trains in this way, does it also not count as training in prajñāpāramitā, and does he not attain sarvajñā?’

The Buddha Answers: Training Like This Indeed Also Does Not Count as Training in Prajñā, and He Does Not Attain Omniscience

The Buddha said to Śāriputra: ‘When a bodhisattva-mahāsattva trains in this way, it indeed also does not count as training in prajñāpāramitā, and he does not attain sarvajñā.’

Śāriputra Asks: Why Does It Thus Not Count as Training in Prajñā, and Why Does the Bodhisattva Not Attain Omniscience?

Śāriputra said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! Why does it thus not count as a bodhisattva-mahāsattva's training in prajñāpāramitā, and why does he not attain sarvajñā?’

The Buddha Answers: Because Without Skilful Means He Thinks and Discriminates, Clinging to Prajñā, to the Six Perfections, the eighteen unshared dharmas, and the Omniscience of All Kinds, Discriminating and Clinging as Thoughts Arise; Therefore It Does Not Count as Training in Prajñā

The Buddha told Śāriputra: ‘Because the bodhisattva-mahāsattva is without skilful means, he gives rise to thinking and discrimination, clings to prajñāpāramitā, clings to the perfection of meditation, the perfection of vigour, the perfection of patience, the perfection of morality, and the perfection of giving, and so on up to clinging to the eighteen unshared dharmas and the omniscience of all kinds, discriminating and clinging as thoughts arise. For these reasons, a bodhisattva-mahāsattva who trains like this also does not count as training in prajñāpāramitā, and does not attain sarvajñā.’

Śāriputra Asks Again: Then If a Bodhisattva Trains Like This, Does It Also Not Count as Training in Prajñā, and Does He Not Attain Omniscience?

Śāriputra said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! Then if a bodhisattva-mahāsattva trains like this, does it also not count as training in prajñāpāramitā, and does he not attain sarvajñā?’

The Buddha Answers: Training Like This Does Not Count as Training in Prajñā, and He Does Not Attain Omniscience

The Buddha told Śāriputra: ‘When a bodhisattva-mahāsattva trains like this, it does not count as training in prajñāpāramitā, and he does not attain sarvajñā.’

Śāriputra Asks: Then How, in the End, Should a Bodhisattva Train in Prajñā in Order to Attain Omniscience?

Śāriputra said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! Then how, now, in the end, should a bodhisattva-mahāsattva train in prajñāpāramitā in order to attain sarvajñā?’

The Buddha Answers: When Training in Prajñā, He Does Not See That There Is a Prajñā—Only Training Like This Is Training in Prajñā and Attains Omniscience, Precisely Because It Cannot Be Found

The Buddha told Śāriputra, saying: ‘If, when a bodhisattva-mahāsattva trains in prajñāpāramitā, he does not see that there is a prajñāpāramitā—Śāriputra! only when a bodhisattva-mahāsattva trains like this is it training in prajñāpāramitā, and only then does he attain sarvajñā, precisely because it cannot be found.’

Śāriputra Asks: What Is Called ‘Cannot Be Found’?

Śāriputra said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! What is called “cannot be found”?’

The Buddha Answers: Because of Dharmas' Inner Emptiness up to the Emptiness of Non-existent and Existent Dharmas (Close of the Third Sūtra Section)

The Buddha said: ‘Because of dharmas, from inner emptiness up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas.’

What follows is the treatise's commentary.

The Treatise-Author Opens the Explanation: Looking Back on the Three Passages Above—Śāriputra's Question, Subhūti's Answer, and the Buddha's Praise

The treatise-author explains: Above, Śāriputra asked: ‘Is it only this samādhi of non-receiving that can bring swift attainment of buddhahood, or are there other samādhi?’ Subhūti said: ‘There are other samādhi that can bring swift attainment of buddhahood. This bodhisattva does not fix his mind on these samādhi and does not cling to them, and the Buddhas of the past and present all confer the prediction on him.’ The Buddha praised him, saying: ‘Good! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva should train in this way in prajñāpāramitā, and so on up to all the Buddha-dharmas.’

The Doubt in Śāriputra's Mind: Prajñā Has the Mark of Emptiness, While the Samādhi Have Marks of Various Discriminations; How Can Training in Samādhi Be Training in Prajñā?—Hence He Asks

At this point Śāriputra had this thought: ‘Prajñāpāramitā has the mark of emptiness, while the samādhi have marks of various kinds of discrimination; how can training in the samādhi count as training in prajñāpāramitā?’ Therefore he asked.

The Buddha Answers: Training in Prajñā Like This Is Always Because It Cannot Be Found; the Marks of Prajñā's Pervading Savour Are All Within the Samādhi; One Who Can Train Like This Is Training in Prajñā, and the Buddha Then Approves

The Buddha answered Śāriputra: ‘Training in prajñāpāramitā like this is always because it cannot be found.’ Because the marks of the pervading savour of prajñāpāramitā are all within the samādhi, one who can train like this is training in prajñāpāramitā. And so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, which are likewise. The Buddha then approved him.

Śāriputra Asks Further: What Dharma Cannot Be Found?

Śāriputra asked further: ‘What dharma cannot be found?’

The Buddha Himself Says Here: Because Beings Are Empty and Ultimately Pure, the ‘Self’ up to the Buddha Cannot Be Found; Because Dharmas Are Empty and Ultimately Pure, the Five Aggregates up to the eighteen unshared dharmas Cannot Be Found

The Buddha himself says here: ‘Because beings are empty, because of ultimate purity, the “self” cannot be found, and so on up to the “knower”, the “seer”, the srota-āpanna, and so on up to the Buddha, none of which can be found. Because dharmas are empty, because of ultimate purity, the five aggregates cannot be found, and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, none of which can be found.’

The Treatise-Author Explains That ‘Ultimate Purity’ Is ‘Not Emerging, Not Arising, Not Attaining, Not Making’ and So On

What is called ‘ultimate purity’ is 「不出、不生，不得、不作」 tr. "not emerging, not arising, not attaining, not making", and so on.

Not Arising from the Side of the Cause Is Called Not Emerging; Not Arising from the Side of the Condition Is Called Not Arising; Because a Fixed Mark of Arising Cannot Be Found, It Is Called Not Emerging and Not Arising

Because nothing arises from the side of the ‘cause’, it is called ‘not emerging’; because nothing arises from the side of the ‘condition’, it is called ‘not arising’. Because a fixed mark of arising cannot be found at all, it is called ‘not emerging and not arising’.

From Not Emerging and Not Arising to No Making and No Rising: How This Chain of Ultimate Purity Follows Through

Because there is no emerging and no arising, it is called ‘cannot be found’; because it cannot be found, it is called ‘no making and no rising’.

All Dharmas of Rising and Making Are Deceptive; Being Free of Such Marks Is Called Ultimate Purity

All such dharmas of rising and making are entirely deceptive; being free of such marks is called 「畢竟清淨」 tr. "ultimate purity".

Śāriputra Asks the Buddha: A Bodhisattva Who Can Practise This Ultimately True and Pure Path—What Does He Train In, What Does He Attain?

Śāriputra asked the Buddha: ‘A bodhisattva who is able to practise the ultimately true and pure path in this way—what dharma does he train in? What dharma does he attain?’

The Buddha Answers: Being Able to Train Like This Is Training in Nothing and Attaining Nothing

The Buddha answered: ‘Being able to train like this is training in nothing and attaining nothing.’

Question and Answer Six: Since the Bodhisattva Uses Ultimate Emptiness to Train in the Six Perfections up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, Why Is It Said That There Is No Dharma to Be Trained In?

Question: Since the bodhisattva uses this ultimate emptiness to train in the six perfections and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, how is it also said that ‘there is no dharma to be trained in’?

The Treatise-Author Answers: The Buddha Himself Says Dharmas Are Not as Ordinary People Cling to Them; Ordinary People's Minds Have Ignorance, Wrong Views, and Fetters, So What They Hear, See, and Know All Differ from the Mark of Dharmas; Even on Hearing the Buddha Teach They Give Rise to Clinging and Defile the Path

Answer: Here the Buddha himself says: ‘Dharmas are not the way ordinary people cling to them.’ In the minds of ordinary people there are fetters such as ignorance and wrong views; what they hear, what they see, and what they know all differ from the true mark of dharmas; and even when they hear the Buddha teach the Dharma, they give rise to clinging both within the noble path and within its fruits, and instead defile the path.

Śāriputra Asks: Since What Ordinary People See Is All Unreal, How Then Do These Dharmas Now ‘Exist’?

Śāriputra said to the Buddha: ‘If what ordinary people see is all unreal, how then do these dharmas now exist?’

The Buddha Answers: Dharmas Fundamentally Have Nothing, Yet Ordinary People Take Even Where There Is Nothing as Existent

The Buddha said: ‘Dharmas fundamentally have nothing, yet ordinary people take even this place where there is nothing as existent.’

Why?—Once Ordinary People Leave Ignorance and Wrong Views They Can Contemplate Nothing; Clinging to Having-Nothing Is Called Ignorance (the Simile of the Empty Fist Deceiving a Small Child)

Why is this? Once these ordinary people leave ignorance and wrong views, they are unable to contemplate anything at all; therefore it is said: clinging to having-nothing is called ignorance. It is like raising an empty fist to trick a small child: because the child clings, he thinks there is really something there.

Śāriputra Asks: What Dharma Has Nothing, Clinging to Which Is Called Ignorance?

Śāriputra asked the Buddha: ‘What dharma fundamentally has nothing, such that clinging to it is called ignorance?’

The Buddha Answers: Form up to the eighteen unshared dharmas—Within Them One Recollects and Discriminates Clarity and Ignorance, Falls into the Two Extremes of Existence and Non-existence, and Loses the Clarity of Wisdom; Clinging to Noble Dharmas Just as to Worldly Dharmas (the Simile of the Finger Pointing at the Moon: the Fool Looks at the Finger, Not the Moon, Clinging to Words and Missing the Real Meaning)

The Buddha answered: ‘It is form and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas.’ Within these, because of ignorance and craving, one recollects and discriminates, ‘This is clarity, this is ignorance,’ falls into the extreme of existence and the extreme of non-existence, and loses the clarity of wisdom; because one has lost the clarity of wisdom, one does not see and does not know that form has the mark of ultimate emptiness, of having nothing, and one gives rise to recollection and discrimination oneself and clings; and so on up to the aggregate of consciousness, the twelve sense-fields, the eighteen elements, and the twelve links of causes and conditions, which are likewise. Or one hears of wholesome dharmas—that is, the six perfections and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas—and treats them too as worldly dharmas, recollecting, discriminating, and clinging to these noble dharmas in just the same way. For these reasons one is said to fall among the ranks of ordinary people, like small children, and to be laughed at by others. It is like someone pointing at the moon with a finger: the fool looks only at the finger and does not look at the moon; the wise person laughs at him and says: ‘Why can you not grasp the intent of the one who is pointing? The finger is only a cause and condition for knowing the moon, yet you look at the finger instead and do not look at the moon.’ The Buddhas and the worthies and sages teach the Dharma for ordinary people, but ordinary people cling to the sounds and the words and do not receive the intent of the sages, and so do not attain the real meaning; because they do not attain the real meaning, they instead give rise to clinging again within what is real.

Here the Buddha Speaks of What Ordinary People Lose; Therefore He Says They ‘Cannot Pass Beyond the Three Realms, Nor Get Free of the Two Vehicles’

The Buddha now speaks of what ordinary people lose; therefore he says that they ‘cannot pass beyond the three realms, nor emerge from the two vehicles’.

Because They Do Not Grasp the Sages' Intent, on Hearing That Dharmas Are Empty They Do Not Believe; Not Believing, They Do Not Practise or Abide in the Six Perfections up to the eighteen unshared dharmas

Because they do not grasp the intent of the sages, they hear it said that dharmas are empty and do not believe it; because they do not believe, they do not practise and do not abide in the six perfections and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas.

Because They Lose These Merits They Are Called Ordinary People, Small Children; Because They Cling to the Aggregates, Sense-Fields, and Elements, to the Afflictions of the Three Poisons, and Even to the Six Perfections and Awakening, They Are Called Clingers

Because they lose these merits, they are called ‘ordinary people, small children’. These small children cling to the five aggregates, the twelve sense-fields, the eighteen elements, and the afflictions of the three poisons, and even cling to the six perfections, the eighteen unshared dharmas, and anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi; therefore they are called ‘clingers’.

Śāriputra Asks: If a Bodhisattva Practises Like This, Is This Called Not Practising Prajñā, and Therefore Not Attaining Omniscience?

Śāriputra asked: ‘If a bodhisattva practises like this, is this called not practising prajñāpāramitā? And not practising prajñāpāramitā, does he not attain sarvajñā?’

The Buddha Approves Śāriputra, Saying: Just So, Just So

The Buddha approved Śāriputra, saying: ‘Just so! Just so!’

The Buddha Then States Its Causes and Conditions: The Newly Practising Bodhisattva, Lacking the Power of Skilful Means, Seeks and Wishes to Grasp Prajñā and Falls into ‘Losing Both’; Again, with Various Views He Clings to Prajñā up to the Omniscience of All Kinds; Because He Trains in Dharmas with a Clinging Mind, He Does Not Attain Omniscience

The Buddha then set out the causes and conditions of this for him, namely: the newly practising bodhisattva lacks the power of skilful means; hearing of this prajñāpāramitā, he recollects and discriminates, and seeks, wishing to grasp it, giving rise to this thought: ‘I have given up worldly pleasure, and yet I do not attain prajñāpāramitā; this is losing on both sides!’ And so he single-mindedly pursues it, wishing to attain it. Some say that ‘emptiness’ is prajñāpāramitā; some say that ‘emptiness is also empty’ is prajñāpāramitā; some say that ‘dharmas as their real mark’ is prajñāpāramitā. In this way, with the afflicted mind of the sixty-two views and the ninety-eight latent tendencies, he clings to this prajñāpāramitā, and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds, which is likewise. Because he trains in dharmas with this clinging mind, he does not attain sarvajñā.

The Opposite Can Practise Prajñā and Can Attain Omniscience—Namely, Not Seeing Prajñā, Not Seeing a Practitioner, Not Seeing a Dharma That Is the Object, and Not Seeing Even ‘Not Seeing’

The person who is the opposite of this is able to practise prajñāpāramitā and also able to attain sarvajñā, namely: he does not see that there is a prajñāpāramitā, does not see that there is one who practises, does not see that there is a dharma that is the object, and does not see even this ‘not seeing’ itself.

Śāriputra Asks Further for the Reason of This ‘Not Seeing’

Śāriputra went on to ask further for the reason of this ‘not seeing’.

The Buddha Answers: This Bodhisattva Does Not See Because He Has Entered the Eighteen Emptinesses, Not Because He Lacks Wisdom (Close of the Third Commentary Section and of the Whole Chapter)

The Buddha answered: this bodhisattva does not see because he has entered the eighteen emptinesses, not because he lacks wisdom.

Subhūti Poses the Question on Behalf of the Assembly: If Someone Asks, ‘Can an Illusory Person Who Trains in Prajñā, Up to the Omniscience of All Kinds, Attain Sarvajñā?’, How Should I Answer?

At that time the venerable Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! If someone were to ask, “Can a person conjured by illusion, training in prajñāpāramitā, attain sarvajñā (omniscience)? Can an illusory person training in the perfection of meditation (dhyāna), the perfection of vigour (vīrya), the perfection of patience (kṣānti), the perfection of morality (śīla), and the perfection of giving (dāna), training in the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas and the omniscience of all kinds, attain sarvajñā?”—how, again, should I answer him?’

The Buddha Does Not Answer Directly but Asks Back, Layer by Layer: Is There Any Difference between Form, and So On Up to Unsurpassed Awakening, and Illusion?—Subhūti Answers Each Time ‘There Is No Difference’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘I shall ask you in return; answer me as you see it. Subhūti! What do you think? Is there any difference between form and illusion? Is there any difference between feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness and illusion?’

Subhūti said: ‘No, World-Honored One! There is no difference.’

The Buddha said: ‘What do you think? Is there any difference between the eye and illusion? And so on up to: is there any difference between the mind and illusion? Is there any difference between forms, and so on up to dharmas, and illusion? Is there any difference between the eye-element, and so on up to the mind-consciousness element, and illusion? Is there any difference between eye-contact, and so on up to mind-contact, and between the feeling produced by the conditions of eye-contact, and so on up to the feeling produced by the conditions of mind-contact, and illusion?’

Subhūti said: ‘No, World-Honored One! There is no difference.’

The Buddha asked again: ‘What do you think? Is there any difference between the four foundations of mindfulness and illusion? And so on up to: is there any difference between the limbs of the noble eightfold path and illusion?’

Subhūti said: ‘No, World-Honored One!’

The Buddha asked again: ‘What do you think? Is there any difference between emptiness, signlessness, and non-action and illusion?’

Subhūti said: ‘No, World-Honored One!’

The Buddha asked again: ‘Subhūti! What do you think? Is there any difference between the perfection of giving and illusion? And so on up to: is there any difference between the eighteen unshared dharmas and illusion?’

Subhūti said: ‘No, World-Honored One!’

The Buddha asked again: ‘Subhūti! What do you think? Is there any difference between anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi (unsurpassed, right, and complete awakening) and illusion?’

Subhūti States the Reason: Form Is Illusion and Illusion Is Form, and So On Up to Unsurpassed Awakening, Which Is Also Illusion (in the Sentence Pattern of the Heart Sūtra)

Subhūti said: ‘No, World-Honored One! There is no difference. For what reason? Form is not different from illusion, illusion is not different from form; form is illusion, illusion is form. World-Honored One! Feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are not different from illusion, illusion is not different from feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness; consciousness is illusion, illusion is consciousness. World-Honored One! The eye is not different from illusion, illusion is not different from the eye; the eye is illusion, illusion is the eye. The feeling produced by the conditions of eye-contact, and so on up to the feeling produced by the conditions of mind-contact, are all likewise. World-Honored One! The four foundations of mindfulness are not different from illusion, illusion is not different from the four foundations of mindfulness; the four foundations of mindfulness are illusion, illusion is the four foundations of mindfulness; and so on up to: anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi is not different from illusion, illusion is not different from anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi; anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi is illusion, illusion is anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.’

The Buddha Tests It Further by Illusion's Having No Stain or Purity, No Arising or Ceasing: Can a Dharma That Neither Arises nor Ceases Train and Attain the Fruit?—The Answer Is No

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘What do you think? Does illusion have defilement, have purity?’

Subhūti said: ‘No, World-Honored One!’

The Buddha said: ‘Subhūti! What do you think? Does illusion have arising, have ceasing?’

Subhūti said: ‘No, World-Honored One!’

The Buddha said: ‘If a dharma neither arises nor ceases, can this dharma train in prajñāpāramitā and come to attain sarvajñā?’

Subhūti said: ‘No, World-Honored One!’

The One Question Answered ‘Yes’: The Provisional Name of the Five Aggregates of Clinging Is the Bodhisattva; but Does This Provisional Name Have Arising and Ceasing, Defilement and Purity, and Can a Dharma That Is Only a Name Train and Attain the Fruit?—Still the Answer Is No

The Buddha said: ‘What do you think? Is the provisional name of the five aggregates of clinging the bodhisattva?’

Subhūti said: ‘Yes, World-Honored One!’

The Buddha said: ‘What do you think? Does the provisional name of the five aggregates of clinging have arising and ceasing, have defilement and purity?’

Subhūti said: ‘No, World-Honored One!’

The Buddha said: ‘What do you think? If a dharma is only a name—not body, not bodily action; not speech, not verbal action; not mind, not mental action; neither arising nor ceasing, neither stained nor pure—can such a dharma train in prajñāpāramitā and attain sarvajñā?’

Subhūti said: ‘No, World-Honored One!’

The Buddha Sets Out the Meaning Directly: If a Bodhisattva Can Train in Prajñā in This Way, He Will Attain Sarvajñā, Precisely Because There Is Nothing to Be Attained

The Buddha said: ‘If a bodhisattva-mahāsattva is able to train in prajñāpāramitā in this way, he will attain sarvajñā, precisely because there is nothing to be attained.’

Subhūti Responds: The Bodhisattva Should Train in Prajñā and Attain Awakening as an Illusory Person Does, Because the Five Aggregates Are the Illusory Person and the Illusory Person Is the Five Aggregates

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva should train in prajñāpāramitā in this way and attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi—training just as an illusory person trains. For what reason? World-Honored One! One should know that the five aggregates are the illusory person, and the illusory person is the five aggregates.’

The Buddha Tests It in Order by the Five Aggregates, by Dream, and by Echo, Shadow, Mirage, and Conjuration: Can They Train in Prajñā and Attain Sarvajñā?—Each Time the Answer Is No, Because Their Nature Is Without Anything

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘What do you think? Will these five aggregates, training in prajñāpāramitā, attain sarvajñā?’

Subhūti said: ‘No, World-Honored One! For what reason? The nature of these five aggregates is without anything, and even this nature of being without anything is unfindable.’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘What do you think? Will the five aggregates that are like a dream, training in prajñāpāramitā, attain sarvajñā?’

Subhūti said: ‘No, World-Honored One! For what reason? The nature of a dream is without anything, and even this nature of being without anything is unfindable.’

The Buddha said: ‘What do you think? Will the five aggregates that are like an echo, like a shadow, like a mirage, like a conjuration, training in prajñāpāramitā, attain sarvajñā?’

Subhūti said: ‘No, World-Honored One! For what reason? The nature of echo, shadow, mirage, and conjuration is without anything, and even this nature of being without anything is unfindable. The six faculties are likewise. World-Honored One! Consciousness is the six faculties, and the six faculties are the five aggregates. These dharmas are all unfindable because of inner emptiness, and so on up to unfindable because of the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas.’

What follows is the treatise's commentary.

Question and Answer One: That an Illusory Person Is Empty and Deceptive Is Easy to Answer, So Why Must Subhūti Ask the Buddha?—The Treatise-Author Answers: The Doubt Arose from the Profound Meaning of Emptiness in the Previous Chapter

The treatise-author explains. Question: Why does Subhūti take this matter to ask the Buddha? If someone asks, ‘Can an illusory person who trains in prajñāpāramitā attain becoming a Buddha?’, one should only answer him, ‘He cannot.’ An illusory person is false and deceives people; he has no root or branch, no real substance. This matter is very easy to answer, so why go and ask the Buddha?

Answer: In the previous chapter the Buddha answered Śāriputra with the profound meaning of emptiness, and Subhūti then had this thought: ‘All dharmas are only of one mark, without distinction. If that is so, then there is no difference between an illusory person and a real bodhisattva; and yet the bodhisattva cultivates all kinds of merit and is able to become a Buddha, whereas the illusory person has no real substance, only deceives people's eyes, and cannot become a Buddha’—this is the origin of Subhūti's posing the doubt and asking the Buddha.

Question and Answer Two: The Illusory Person Has No Mind or Consciousness; How Can He Be Said to ‘Practise’?—The Treatise-Author Answers: Although He Does Not Really Practise, People See Him Seeming to Practise, So It Is Called Practice (the Simile of the Illusory Person Doing Good)

Question: An illusory person cannot cultivate merit, because he has no mind or consciousness; how can he be said to ‘practise’?

Answer: Although he really does not practise, people see him seeming to practise, and so it is called practice. It is like an illusory person giving food and drink, wealth, and the seven jewels, leaving home and keeping the precepts, being patient, being vigorous, sitting in meditation, teaching the Dharma, and so on; people without wisdom then take this to be true practice, not knowing that it is only an illusion.

Subhūti's Doubt Continues: Since All Dharmas Are of One Mark and Empty and Deceptive, What Distinguishes an Illusory Person Conjuring Himself into a Buddha from a Real Bodhisattva Becoming a Buddha?

Subhūti again had this thought: ‘If it is truly as the Buddha says, “All dharmas are only of one mark, without anything, only false,” then there is no difference between an illusory person and a real bodhisattva, or even a Buddha. It is like this: an illusory person can also conjure himself into a Buddha, practise the six perfections, subdue Māra's troops, sit at the seat of awakening, accomplish the Buddha path, emit great light, and teach the Dharma to ferry people across; a real bodhisattva practises the real path, is able to become a Buddha, and ferries beings to liberation—what, then, is the difference between the two?’

The Buddha Asks Back and Does Not Answer Directly; Question and Answer Three Explains Why: Subhūti Has the Wisdom of Emptiness Yet Still Esteems the Buddha-Dharmas, So the Buddha Uses the Emptiness of the Five Aggregates as a Simile to Make Him Understand That the Buddha-Dharmas Are Likewise

So the Buddha said: ‘I shall ask you in return; answer me as you see it.’

Question: Why does the Buddha not answer directly, but instead asks in return and lets Subhūti answer as he sees it?

Answer: Subhūti, with the wisdom of emptiness, contemplates the five aggregates of the three realms as all empty, and a mind of revulsion and detachment arises in him; only because the residual habits of all kinds of afflictions still remain, although he is able to know in general terms that the dharmas of the Buddhas are empty, he still holds something in esteem and cannot contemplate the Buddha-dharmas too as being, like an illusion, without anything; therefore the Buddha speaks by way of a simile. It is as if to say, ‘You take the emptiness of the five aggregates as your proof: the dharmas of the Buddhas are likewise. As you contemplate the worldly five aggregates as empty, I contemplate the Buddha-dharmas likewise.’

So the Buddha asks Subhūti: ‘What do you think? Is there any difference between form and illusion? Is there any difference between illusion and form? And so on up to feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, likewise.’ If there were a difference, only then should you ask; if there is no difference, you should not ask in this way.

Subhūti Answers ‘Not Different’; Question and Answer Four: Feeling, Perception, Constructions, and Consciousness Have No Shape, So How Are They Also Said to Be Like Illusion and Not Different?—The Treatise-Author Answers: The Illusory Person Displays Marks of Joy, Pleasure, Sorrow, and Pain, and People without Wisdom Then Think There Are Feeling, Perception, Constructions, and Consciousness

Subhūti answers: ‘There is no difference.’

Question: To say that form is not different from illusion is still acceptable, because the illusory person has form; but feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness have no shape or form, so how can they be said also to be like illusion and not different?

Answer: The illusory person displays all kinds of marks of joy, pleasure, sorrow, and pain; people without wisdom see them and think that feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness truly exist there.

The Main Text of the Simile of the Conjuring Art: The Conjurer, with a Little Spell, a Few Props, and Words, Displays All Kinds of City Walls and Towers; the Five Aggregates of Clinging Likewise Appear as Constructions, Consciousness, and Name-and-Form on the Conditions of the Art of Ignorance from Former Lives

Furthermore, the Buddha makes this simile so that people may know that the five aggregates of clinging are false, like an illusion. Although the five aggregates of clinging are not different from illusion, the Buddha, wishing people to understand, makes a simile for this very purpose. Beings always take it that only illusion is false, not knowing that the five aggregates of clinging, though they seem to exist, are in fact not different from illusion. Therefore Subhūti, concentrating his mind and weighing it, came to know that ‘the five aggregates are not different from illusion’. For what reason? Just as the form of an illusory person can deceive the fleshly eye and make people give rise to sorrow, joy, pain, and pleasure, the five aggregates of clinging can also deceive the wisdom eye and make people give rise to all kinds of afflictions such as greed and angry vexation. Again, it is like the conjuring art: with only a little spell, a few objects, and words as its basis, it can display all kinds of scenes—city walls, towers, and so on; the five aggregates of clinging are also like this: on the conditions of only a little art of ignorance from former lives, there come to be constructions, consciousness, name-and-form, and all kinds of marks of body and mind—precisely because of this, it is said that the five aggregates of clinging are not different from illusion.

The Simile of Clinging to the Conjured Thing and Regretting When the Illusion Vanishes: Beings Cling to the Five Aggregates of Clinging Just as Onlookers Cling to a Conjured Scene, and Only When Impermanence Destroys Them Do They Regret Having Lost the Real Mark

It is like someone who sees conjured things, gives rise to a mind of greedy clinging, and neglects his own livelihood, and only when the conjuration vanishes does regret arise; the five aggregates of clinging are also like this: the conditions of deeds in former lives conjure up the five aggregates of this present life, and people then enjoy the five desires and give rise to greed and anger, and only when impermanence destroys them does regret arise in their minds: ‘How could I have clung greedily to these conjured five aggregates, and lost the real mark of all dharmas?’

The Buddha Asks and Subhūti Answers ‘Illusion and Form Are Not Different’; If Not Different, Form Is Emptiness and Enters Non-arising and Non-ceasing—Then How Does One Practise Prajñā and Become a Buddha?

When the Buddha asks this, Subhūti, for the sake of the gateway of delight in explaining, answers: ‘Illusion and form are not different.’

If they are not different, then this form-dharma is emptiness and enters into the dharma of non-arising and non-ceasing; and if a dharma neither arises nor ceases, how can one practise prajñāpāramitā and become a Buddha?

Subhūti Further Doubts Why the Bodhisattva Must Practise the Path in All Kinds of Ways; the Buddha Answers His Thought: The Five Aggregates Are Only Provisionally Named the Bodhisattva, and within the Provisional Name There Is No Deed and No Condition of Deeds, Because of Ultimate Emptiness

Subhūti again had this thought: ‘If that is so, why then must the bodhisattva practise the path in all kinds of ways, seeking anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi?’

The Buddha, knowing his thought, answered: ‘The five aggregates are false; only because of a provisional name are they called a bodhisattva. Within this provisional name there is no deed and no condition of deeds, no mind and no mental-factor dharmas, without stain and without purity, because of ultimate emptiness.’

The Buddha States the General Meaning: The Bodhisattva Should Practise Prajñā as an Illusory Person Does; the Five Aggregates Are the Illusory Person, Coming Forth from Deeds and from Illusory Deeds, and Because Their Nature Is Without Anything They Cannot Become a Buddha; Dream, Conjuration, Shadow, and Echo Are Likewise

The Buddha further said: ‘The bodhisattva should practise prajñāpāramitā as an illusory person does; these five aggregates are the illusory person, with no difference, all coming forth from the conditions of deeds in former lives, from illusory deeds. These five aggregates also cannot accomplish becoming a Buddha. For what reason? Because their nature is without anything.’ The rest—like a dream, like a conjuration, like a shadow, like an echo, and so on—are all likewise.

Question and Answer Five: Why Is It Said, ‘Consciousness Is the Six Faculties, and the Six Faculties Are the Five Aggregates’?—The Treatise-Author Explains by the Third Member of the Twelve Causes and Conditions That the Six Faculties Are Not Apart from the Five Aggregates

Question: Why is it said, ‘Consciousness is the six faculties, and the six faculties are the five aggregates’?

Answer: This consciousness is the third member among the twelve causes and conditions; within it there is also form, and there are also mental-factor dharmas, but only because they are not yet mature does it receive the name ‘consciousness’; from consciousness arise the six sense-fields, and in both of these stages the five aggregates are all present. When form is accomplished it is called the five faculties, and when name is accomplished it is called the mind-faculty; the six faculties are not apart from the five aggregates, and precisely because of this it is said, ‘Consciousness is the six faculties.’

Question and Answer Six: The Five Aggregates Are Present Everywhere in the Twelve Causes and Conditions; Why Is It Said Only That the Six Faculties Have the Five Aggregates?—The Treatise-Author Answers: Consciousness Is the Root of the Present Body, and the Six Faculties Can Produce Offence and Merit, So They Alone Are Spoken Of

Question: If that is so, the five aggregates are present everywhere among the twelve causes and conditions; why is it said only that the six faculties have the five aggregates?

Answer: This consciousness is the root of the present body, and beings are much in error about the dharmas present before them; name-and-form is not yet mature and does not yet have any function, so it is not spoken of; the six faculties can receive pain and pleasure and can give rise to offence and merit, so they are spoken of. As for the remaining eleven members of the causes and conditions, they too are said in this way to have the five aggregates.

The Treatise-Author Again Clarifies ‘Consciousness Is the Six Faculties, the Six Faculties Are the Five Aggregates’ by Three Meanings: to Refute the View, Five Hundred Years Later, of Consciousness Apart from Form and Form Apart from Consciousness; the Successive Continuity from Former Lives; and, Finally, the Return to Unfindability in Inner Emptiness

Furthermore, the Buddha knew that five hundred years later, those who study the Dharma would discriminate the marks of all dharmas as each different from the others, speaking of consciousness apart from form-dharmas and speaking of form apart from consciousness-dharmas; the Buddha, wishing to refute these wrong views and to bring people to enter ultimate emptiness, therefore says ‘consciousness is the six faculties’ even though the five faculties are not within consciousness; and says ‘the six faculties are the five aggregates’ even though the five aggregates are not complete within the six faculties.

Furthermore, in former lives the mind simply dwelt upon the six faculties and engaged in all kinds of recollection, imagining, and discrimination, and thereby produced the body of the six faculties and the five aggregates of this present life; and again, from the body of this present life all kinds of fetters arise, producing the six faculties and the five aggregates of later lives; and so it continues in succession. Precisely because of this it is said, ‘Consciousness is the six faculties, and the six faculties are the five aggregates.’

And this dharma is unfindable within inner emptiness, and so on up to unfindable within the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas.

What follows is the sūtra text.

Subhūti Asks: Will a Bodhisattva Who Has Newly Aroused the Mahāyāna Intent Be Startled and Frightened on Hearing Prajñā Taught?—The Buddha Answers: If He Has No Skilful Means and No Good Friend, He Will Be Startled, Frightened, and Afraid

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! Will a bodhisattva who has newly aroused the Mahāyāna mind, on hearing someone teach this prajñāpāramitā, be startled, be frightened, be afraid?’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘If a bodhisattva who has newly aroused the Mahāyāna mind has no skilful means with regard to prajñāpāramitā, and moreover does not find a good friend, this bodhisattva may be startled, may be frightened, may be afraid.’

Subhūti Asks What Skilful Means Is; the Buddha Answers with the Many Gates of Contemplation That Make Up Skilful Means: Contemplating the Impermanence, Suffering, Non-self, Emptiness, Signlessness, Non-action, Quiescence, and Separation of Form and So On Up to Consciousness, All as Unfindable

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! What is skilful means, such that a bodhisattva who practises this skilful means is not startled, not afraid, not frightened?’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘There is the bodhisattva-mahāsattva who, practising prajñāpāramitā, with a mind conjoined with sarvajñā, contemplates the mark of impermanence of form, and this contemplation too is unfindable; he contemplates the mark of impermanence of feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, and this too is unfindable. Subhūti! This is called the skilful means within the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's practice of prajñāpāramitā.

Furthermore, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva, with a mind conjoined with sarvajñā, contemplates the mark of suffering of form, and this too is unfindable; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are likewise; with a mind conjoined with sarvajñā, he contemplates the mark of non-self of form, and this too is unfindable; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are likewise.

Furthermore, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva, with a mind conjoined with sarvajñā, contemplates the mark of emptiness of form, and this too is unfindable; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are likewise; he contemplates the mark of signlessness of form, and this too is unfindable; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are likewise; he contemplates the mark of non-action of form, and this too is unfindable; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are likewise; he contemplates the mark of quiescence of form, and this too is unfindable, and so on up to consciousness, likewise; he contemplates the mark of separation of form, and this too is unfindable, and so on up to consciousness, likewise. This is called the skilful means within the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's practice of prajñāpāramitā.’

The Buddha Matches the Eight-Mark Contemplation to the Six Perfections: Teaching the Dharma as Unfindable Is Giving; Not Contemplating with the Mind of the Two Vehicles Is Morality; Patient Acceptance and Delight in All Dharmas Is Patience; Neither Abandoning nor Resting Is Vigour; Not Giving Rise to the Two Vehicles or to Unwholesome Minds Is Meditation

The Buddha went on: ‘Furthermore, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva practising prajñāpāramitā contemplates the mark of impermanence of form, and this too is unfindable; he contemplates the mark of suffering, the mark of non-self, the mark of emptiness, the mark of signlessness, the mark of non-action, the mark of quiescence, and the mark of separation of form, and these too are all unfindable. Feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are likewise. At this time the bodhisattva has this thought, “I shall proclaim to all beings this dharma of impermanence, and this too is unfindable; I shall proclaim to all beings the mark of suffering, the mark of non-self, the mark of emptiness, the mark of signlessness, the mark of non-action, the mark of quiescence, and the mark of separation, and this too is unfindable.” This is called the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's perfection of giving.

Furthermore, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva does not, with the mind of a śrāvaka or a pratyekabuddha, contemplate the impermanence of form, and this too is unfindable; does not, with the mind of a śrāvaka or a pratyekabuddha, contemplate the impermanence of consciousness, and this too is unfindable; does not, with the mind of a śrāvaka or a pratyekabuddha, contemplate the suffering, non-self, emptiness, signlessness, non-action, quiescence, and separation of form, and these too are all unfindable; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are likewise. This is called the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's perfection of morality.

Furthermore, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva practising prajñāpāramitā, with regard to the mark of impermanence of these dharmas, and so on up to the mark of separation, is able to bear them patiently and to delight in them; this is called the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's perfection of patience.

Furthermore, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva practising prajñāpāramitā, with a mind conjoined with sarvajñā, contemplates the mark of impermanence of form as also unfindable, and so on up to the mark of separation as also unfindable; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are likewise. With a mind conjoined with sarvajñā, he neither abandons nor rests; this is called the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's perfection of vigour.

Furthermore, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva practising prajñāpāramitā does not give rise to the intention of a śrāvaka or a pratyekabuddha, nor to any other unwholesome mind; this is called the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's perfection of meditation.

Finally, the Skilful Means of Original Emptiness: It Is Not That Form Is Made Empty—Form Is Emptiness and Emptiness Is Form, and So On Up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, All Likewise; Therefore He Is Not Startled, Not Afraid, Not Frightened

Furthermore, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva practising prajñāpāramitā reflects in this way: ‘It is not that form is made empty and only then called the emptiness of form; form itself is emptiness, and emptiness is form; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are likewise. It is not that the eye is made empty and only then called the emptiness of the eye; the eye is emptiness, and emptiness is the eye; and so on up to the feeling produced by the conditions of mind-contact: it is not that feeling is made empty and only then called the emptiness of feeling; feeling is emptiness, and emptiness is feeling. It is not that the four foundations of mindfulness are made empty and only then called the emptiness of the four foundations of mindfulness; the four foundations of mindfulness are emptiness, and emptiness is the four foundations of mindfulness; and so on up to: it is not that the eighteen unshared dharmas are made empty and only then called the emptiness of the eighteen unshared dharmas; the eighteen unshared dharmas are emptiness, and emptiness is the eighteen unshared dharmas.’ In just this way, Subhūti, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practising prajñāpāramitā is not startled, not afraid, not frightened.

Subhūti Asks What Protection by a Good Friend Is; the Buddha Answers: One Who Teaches That All Dharmas Are Impermanent, Suffering, Non-self, Empty, Signless, Without Action, Quiescent, and Separated, All as Unfindable, and Who Holds the Wholesome Roots and Directs Them Only to Omniscience, Is a Good Friend

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! What is it for a bodhisattva-mahāsattva, because of the protection of a good friend, on hearing someone teach this prajñāpāramitā, not to be startled, not afraid, not frightened?’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘The good friend of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva teaches that form is impermanent and that this too is unfindable, and holds to this wholesome root, not heading toward the path of the śrāvaka or the pratyekabuddha, heading only toward omniscience; this is called the good friend of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva. He teaches that feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are impermanent and that this too is unfindable, holds to this wholesome root, not directing it toward the path of the śrāvaka or the pratyekabuddha, directing it only toward omniscience; this is a good friend. Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva has yet other good friends, who teach that form is suffering and that this too is unfindable, and teach that feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are suffering and that this too is unfindable; who teach that form is non-self and that this too is unfindable, that feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are non-self and that this too is unfindable; who teach that form is empty, signless, without action, quiescent, and separated, and that this too is unfindable, and teach that feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are empty, signless, without action, quiescent, and separated, and that this too is unfindable; and who hold to this wholesome root, not directing it toward the path of the śrāvaka or the pratyekabuddha, directing it only toward omniscience. Subhūti! This is called the good friend of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva. Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva has yet other good friends, who teach that the eye is impermanent, and so on up to separated, and that this too is unfindable; and so on up to the feeling produced by the conditions of mind-contact, teaching that it is impermanent, and so on up to separated, and that this too is unfindable; holding to this wholesome root, not directing it toward the path of the śrāvaka or the pratyekabuddha, directing it only toward omniscience; this is a good friend. Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva has yet other good friends, who teach that cultivating the dharma of the four foundations of mindfulness, and so on up to separation, is also unfindable; holding to this wholesome root, not directing it toward the path of the śrāvaka or the pratyekabuddha, directing it only toward omniscience. Subhūti! This is a good friend. And so on up to teaching that cultivating the eighteen unshared dharmas and cultivating omniscience is also unfindable; holding to this wholesome root, not directing it toward the path of the śrāvaka or the pratyekabuddha, directing it only toward omniscience; this is called the good friend of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva.’

What follows is the treatise's commentary.

Question and Answer One: Why Does Subhūti Give Rise to This Doubt?—The Treatise-Author Answers: Because He Heard That No Bodhisattva Practises Prajñā, and That Even the Empty Five Aggregates Cannot Practise It, He Doubted Who Could Practise It

Question: Why does Subhūti give rise to such a doubt and ask the Buddha, ‘Will a bodhisattva who has newly aroused intent be frightened on hearing this Dharma?’

Answer: Because he heard that there is no bodhisattva practising prajñāpāramitā, and that even the dharma of the five aggregates, merely emptied, cannot practise prajñāpāramitā, the doubt arose, ‘Who, in the end, can practise prajñāpāramitā?’, and therefore he asked the Buddha.

The Buddha Shows the Cause of Fear: Inner and Outer Causes and Conditions Are Incomplete—Within, No Right Recollection, Wisdom, or Compassionate Mind; Without, No Birth in the Middle Country, No Hearing of Prajñā, No Meeting with a Good Friend

The Buddha says: If a bodhisattva's inner and outer causes and conditions are incomplete, there will be fear. The inner causes and conditions mean having no right recollection, having no sharp wisdom, and having no deep compassion for beings—within, there are no such skilful means. The outer causes and conditions mean not being born in the land of the Middle Country, not getting to hear prajñāpāramitā, and not finding a good friend who can cut off doubts—without, there are no such causes and conditions. Precisely because the inner and outer causes and conditions cannot come together, one is startled, frightened, and afraid.

Question and Answer Two: Why Is It Said Only That Contemplating Dharmas with a Mind Conjoined with Sarvajñā Frees One from Fear?—The Treatise-Author Answers: Earlier the Mind Contemplating Emptiness Was Coarse and Gave Rise to Clinging; Now, as the Buddha Intends, Great Compassion Arises and There Is No Clinging (the Simile of the Physician Compounding Medicines)

Now Subhūti asks about this skilful means, and the Buddha answers: ‘With a mind conjoined with the omniscience of all kinds, one contemplates dharmas, and at the same time does not grasp dharmas.’

Question: Skilful means originally included contemplating form as impermanent and all kinds of other marks, and only so did it keep one from fear; why is it now said only, ‘With a mind conjoined with sarvajñā one contemplates dharmas, and therefore is not fearful and not frightened’?

Answer: Earlier the bodhisattva only contemplated the emptiness of dharmas, and because his mind was still coarse, clinging arose; now he contemplates with recollection, imagining, and discrimination, just as the Buddha intends—giving rise to great compassion among beings, not clinging to any dharma, unobstructed in wisdom, wishing only to ferry beings to liberation; he contemplates dharmas by way of impermanence, emptiness, and all the rest, and at the same time does not grasp these dharmas.

Having contemplated dharmas in this way, he has this thought: ‘I shall use this Dharma to ferry beings to liberation and make them leave the inverted views.’ Precisely because of this, the mind does not cling and does not see a single definitely real dharma; it is like a physician compounding many medicines, who gives hot medicine to a patient who suffers from cold, yet in a hot illness this same hot medicine becomes, on the contrary, no medicine at all.

Of the Two Kinds of Giving, the Giving of Dharma Is Greatest and Is Giving; the Other Five Perfections Are Distinguished according to Their Meaning; Original Emptiness, Not Manufactured Emptiness: Form Has from the Beginning Always Been Empty of Itself, and Therefore Emptiness Is Form

Of the two kinds of giving, the giving of wealth and the giving of Dharma, the giving of Dharma is greatest, and so it is called the perfection of giving.

The other five perfections—morality and so on up to prajñā—are likewise distinguished according to their meaning.

Furthermore, what is called the bodhisattva's skilful means is not using the eighteen emptinesses to make form empty. For what reason? It is not that a mark of emptiness forcibly makes form empty; form itself is emptiness; this form has from the beginning always been empty of itself, and precisely because the mark of form is empty, emptiness is form; and so on up to the dharmas of the Buddhas, all likewise.

The Key to the Good Friend Lies in ‘Dedication’: Teaching People to Dedicate This Wisdom to Anuttarā Samyaksaṃbodhi—This Is Where It Differs from the Contemplations Before

What is called a good friend is one who teaches people to dedicate this wisdom to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. The bodhisattva already knew the contemplations of impermanence, emptiness, and all the rest; now only ‘dedication’ is singled out and spoken of, as the point of difference.

What follows is the sūtra text.

Subhūti Asks: Why Is One Who Lacks Skilful Means and Follows a Evil Friend Startled, Frightened, and Afraid on Hearing Prajñā?—The Buddha Answers with the Marks of Lacking Skilful Means: Apart from the Mind of Omniscience, Cultivating, Attaining, and Fixing the Mind on Prajñā and the Six Perfections, and Having Something Fixed in Mind and Something Attained with Regard to the Emptiness of All Dharmas

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! How is it that a bodhisattva-mahāsattva practising prajñāpāramitā, lacking skilful means and following a evil friend, is startled, frightened, and afraid on hearing someone teach this prajñāpāramitā?’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘The bodhisattva-mahāsattva, apart from the mind of omniscience, cultivates prajñāpāramitā, attains this prajñāpāramitā, fixes his mind on this prajñāpāramitā; with regard to the perfection of meditation, the perfection of vigour, the perfection of patience, the perfection of morality, and the perfection of giving, he likewise has something attained, has something fixed in mind.

Furthermore, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva, apart from the mind of sarvajñā, contemplates the inner emptiness of form, and so on up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas, and contemplates the inner emptiness of feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, and so on up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas; he contemplates the inner emptiness of the eye, and so on up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas, and so on up to contemplating the inner emptiness of the feeling produced by the conditions of mind-contact, and so on up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas; and upon these emptinesses of dharmas he still has something fixed in mind, something grasped as attained.

Furthermore, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva practising prajñāpāramitā, apart from the mind of sarvajñā, cultivates the four foundations of mindfulness, and also fixes his mind on them and grasps them as attained; and so on up to cultivating the eighteen unshared dharmas, and also fixing his mind on them and grasping them as attained. In just this way, Subhūti, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practising prajñāpāramitā, because he lacks skilful means, is startled, frightened, and afraid on hearing someone teach this prajñāpāramitā.’

Subhūti Asks the Marks of a Evil Friend; the Buddha's First Answer: He Teaches People to Depart from the Six Perfections, and Does Not Expose the Matter of the Evil Māra Taking the Form of a Buddha to Teach Departure from the Six Perfections

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! How is it that a bodhisattva-mahāsattva following a evil friend is startled, frightened, and afraid on hearing someone teach prajñāpāramitā?’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘The evil friend of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva teaches people to depart from prajñāpāramitā, to depart from the perfection of meditation, the perfection of vigour, the perfection of patience, the perfection of morality, and the perfection of giving. Subhūti! This is called the evil friend of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva. Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva has yet other evil friends, who do not speak of the deeds of Māra, do not speak of Māra's offences, and are unwilling to say this: “The evil Māra conjures the form of a Buddha and comes to teach the bodhisattva to depart from the six perfections, saying to the bodhisattva, ‘Good man! Why must you cultivate prajñāpāramitā? Why must you cultivate the perfection of meditation, the perfection of vigour, the perfection of patience, the perfection of morality, and the perfection of giving?’”—such a person should be known as the evil friend of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva.

The Various Marks of a Evil Friend (Continued): The Evil Māra Takes the Form of a Buddha to Teach the Sūtras of the Two Vehicles, to Say ‘You Are Not a True Bodhisattva’, and to Say ‘All Is Empty, So What Use Is Awakening?’; He Takes the Body of a Pratyekabuddha to Say There Are No Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, or Śrāvakas in the Ten Directions

Furthermore, Subhūti! That evil Māra again conjures the form of a Buddha, comes to where the bodhisattva is, and proclaims to him the sūtras of the śrāvaka vehicle—namely from the sūtra up to the upadeśa—teaching him to analyse and expound such sūtras; yet he never speaks to him of the deeds of Māra or Māra's offences—this should be known as the evil friend of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva.

Furthermore, Subhūti! The evil Māra conjures the form of a Buddha, comes to where the bodhisattva is, and says this: ‘Good man! You do not have the real bodhisattva mind, nor are you at the stage of avaivartika, nor can you attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.’ Yet such deeds of Māra and Māra's offences are not spoken of to him—this should be known as the bodhisattva's evil friend.

Furthermore, Subhūti! The evil Māra conjures the form of a Buddha, comes to where the bodhisattva is, and says to the bodhisattva: ‘Good man! Form is empty, without self and without what belongs to self; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are empty, without self and without what belongs to self; the eye is empty, without self and without what belongs to self; and so on up to the feeling produced by the conditions of mind-contact is empty, without self and without what belongs to self; the perfection of giving is empty, and so on up to prajñāpāramitā is empty; the four foundations of mindfulness are empty, and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas are empty; why must you seek anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi?’ Such deeds of Māra and Māra's offences he neither speaks of nor teaches—this should be known as the bodhisattva's evil friend.

Furthermore, Subhūti! The evil Māra conjures the body of a pratyekabuddha, comes to where the bodhisattva is, and says to the bodhisattva: ‘Good man! The ten directions are all empty; within them there are no Buddhas, no bodhisattvas, no śrāvakas.’ Such deeds of Māra and Māra's offences he neither speaks of nor teaches—this should be known as the evil friend of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva.

The Various Marks of a Evil Friend (Continued): Māra Takes the Form of a Preceptor or Teacher to Teach Departure from the Bodhisattva Path into the Two Vehicles; Takes the Form of Parents to Say That Seeking Awakening Means Suffering the Cutting Off of Hands and Feet for Immeasurable Kalpas; Takes the Form of a Bhikṣu to Teach the Dharma by Grasping Marks with Something to Be Attained—Once This Is Known, One Should Keep Far Away

Furthermore, Subhūti! The evil Māra conjures the body of a preceptor or an ācārya, comes to where the bodhisattva is, and teaches him to depart from the bodhisattva path, teaches him to depart from the omniscience of all kinds; teaches him to depart from the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the limbs of the noble eightfold path; teaches him to depart from the perfection of giving, and so on up to teaching him to depart from the eighteen unshared dharmas; teaches him to enter emptiness, signlessness, and non-action; and says: ‘Good man! Cultivate these dharmas and fix your mind on them, and it is enough to attain the realised fruit of a śrāvaka; why must you seek anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi?’ Such deeds of Māra and Māra's offences he neither speaks of nor teaches—this should be known as the bodhisattva's evil friend.

Furthermore, Subhūti! The evil Māra conjures the form of parents, comes to where the bodhisattva is, and says to the bodhisattva: ‘Child! Strive diligently for the realisation of the fruit of srota-āpanna, and so on up to striving diligently for the realisation of the fruit of arhat; why must you seek anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi? To seek anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, you must undergo birth and death for immeasurable asaṃkhyeya kalpas, have your hands cut off and your feet cut off, and suffer all kinds of pain!’ Such deeds of Māra and Māra's offences he neither speaks of nor teaches—this should be known as the bodhisattva's evil friend.

Furthermore, Subhūti! The evil Māra conjures the form of a bhikṣu, comes to where the bodhisattva is, and says to the bodhisattva: ‘The eye is the impermanence of an obtainable dharma, and so on up to: the mind is the impermanence of an obtainable dharma; the eye is suffering, the eye is non-self, the eye is empty, signless, without action, quiescent, and separated—all obtainable dharmas; and so on up to the mind, likewise.’ He teaches the four foundations of mindfulness by way of dharmas that are obtainable; and so on up to teaching the Buddha's eighteen unshared dharmas by way of dharmas that are obtainable. Subhūti! Such deeds of Māra and Māra's offences he neither teaches nor speaks of—this should be known as the bodhisattva's evil friend. Once this is known, one should keep far away from him!

What follows is the treatise's commentary.

The Treatise-Author Explains Lacking Skilful Means at Length: Apart from the Mind Conjoined with the Omniscience of All Kinds, One Grasps a Fixed Mark of Prajñā; Lacking Skilful Means Oneself, One Also Meets the Teaching of a Evil Friend

The treatise-author explains: Earlier, lacking skilful means was spoken of briefly; now lacking skilful means is to be spoken of at length—that is, practising prajñāpāramitā apart from the mind conjoined with the omniscience of all kinds, grasping at a definite mark of this prajñāpāramitā; and likewise with regard to the five perfections and so on up to the dharmas of the Buddhas. This is lacking skilful means in oneself; and in addition one also receives the teaching of a evil friend.

The Evil Friend Greatly Destroys Benefit and Ruins People in All Kinds of Ways: Some Do Not Believe in Offence and Merit, Some Cling to Ultimate Emptiness and Say There Is Nothing to Practise, Some Praise the Small Vehicle and Make One Abandon Beings

Furthermore, the evil friend greatly destroys benefit and ruins people in all kinds of ways; because this is a cause and condition of great evil, the Buddha further uses all kinds of causes and conditions to speak of the marks of the evil friend. What is called a evil friend teaches people to depart from the six perfections. Some, because they do not believe in the recompense of offence and merit, teach people to depart from them; some, because they cling to prajñāpāramitā, say: ‘All dharmas are ultimately empty; what is there for you still to practise?’ Some praise the Small Vehicle, saying: ‘It is enough that you yourself escape the suffering of old age, sickness, and death; what have the affairs of beings to do with you?’ Teaching people to depart through all kinds of causes and conditions such as these—this is called a evil friend.

The Evil Friend Does Not Teach His Disciples to Recognise That ‘Māra Is the Buddha's Bandit’: Māra Takes the Body of a Buddha, the Body of a Pratyekabuddha, and All Kinds of Forms—Preceptor, Parents, Arhat—to Ruin the Bodhisattva's Practice, Making Him Enter the Two Vehicles and Teach the Dharma by Grasping Marks

Furthermore, the evil friend does not teach his disciples to recognise and know that ‘Māra is the Buddha's bandit’. Māra is the lord of the desire realm, has great power, and constantly hates those who practise the path. Only because the Buddha's majestic power is great is Māra helpless against him, but he can ruin minor bodhisattvas. Māra goes so far as to conjure the form of a Buddha to ruin the bodhisattva's practice of the six perfections. Sometimes he praises, opens up, and discourses upon the sūtra teachings that accord with what śrāvakas should learn. Sometimes he conjures the body of a Buddha and says to him: ‘You are not fit to become a Buddha.’ Sometimes he says: ‘All dharmas such as the eye are empty; why must you seek this anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi?’ Sometimes he conjures the body of a pratyekabuddha; sometimes he says: ‘In the worlds of the ten directions the people of the three vehicles are all empty; for one who seeks the Buddha path there is only an empty name—how can you still wish to become a Buddha?’ Sometimes he teaches people to depart from the bodhisattva's thirty-seven limbs of the path, making them enter the śrāvaka's three gates of liberation, saying: ‘If you enter these three gates and realise the limit of reality, you can put an end to all suffering; you strive diligently in order to attain the four fruits—why must you seek anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi?’ Sometimes he conjures himself into a preceptor, an ācārya, or parents, and comes to teach people to depart from the Buddha path, saying: ‘You would have to undergo the cutting off of hands, feet, ears, nose, and so on, to give to those who beg; if you do not give, you ruin the mind that seeks buddhahood; if you do give, you must undergo this hardship.’ Sometimes he conjures the dress of an arhat bhikṣu and comes to say to him: ‘The eye is of a definite mark of impermanence, of the marks of suffering, emptiness, and non-self, of non-action, quiescence, and separation; and so on up to the dharmas of the Buddhas, likewise.’ All of this is taught by way of something to be attained, grasping marks, and recollection and discrimination. Deeds of Māra of all kinds such as these, immeasurable, the evil friend does not teach people to recognise and know—this is a evil friend.

Explaining ‘Keep Far Away’ and the Closing Line of the Whole Chapter: The Evil Friend Is Like a Soft-Spoken Bandit; a Bandit Harms Only One Life and Seizes Wealth, but the Evil Friend Harms People Life after Life and Seizes the Wisdom-Life and the Immeasurable Treasures of the Buddha-Dharma, So One Should Swiftly Keep Far Away in Body and Mind

What is called ‘keeping far away’ is because he brings no benefit. It is like a bandit who speaks soft words, gradually drawing close; once close, he harms people—and the evil friend is worse than this bandit! For what reason? The bandit can harm only one body in this present life, but the evil friend harms people life after life; the bandit can only harm life and seize wealth, but the evil friend damages the life-faculty of wisdom-mindfulness and seizes the immeasurable treasures of the Buddha-dharma. Once this is known, one should swiftly keep far away from him, both in body and in mind.

Subhūti Asks ‘What Is the Bodhisattva's Meaning of the Phrase?’; the Buddha Answers in Sum: ‘Having No Meaning of the Phrase Is the Bodhisattva's Meaning of the Phrase’

At that time Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! What is the meaning of the phrase ‘bodhisattva’?’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘Having no meaning of the phrase—this is the meaning of the phrase ‘bodhisattva’. Why? Because within anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi there is no place where a ‘meaning’ could be established, nor is there any ‘self’ to be obtained; precisely because of this, it is said that having no meaning of the phrase is the meaning of the phrase ‘bodhisattva’.

A Chain of Similes Showing That the Bodhisattva's Meaning of the Phrase Is Nothing at All: a Bird Flying through Space, What Is Seen in a Dream, Illusion, Mirage, Echo, Shadow, and the Buddha's Conjurations, and Even Suchness, Dharma-Nature, the Mark of Dharmas, the Position of Dharmas, and the Limit of Reality—None Has a Meaning

‘Subhūti! It is like a bird flying in space, which leaves no footprints: the meaning of the phrase ‘bodhisattva’ is likewise nothing at all. Subhūti! It is like what is seen in a dream, which has no real place: the meaning of the phrase ‘bodhisattva’ is likewise nothing at all. Subhūti! It is like an illusion, which has no true meaning; like a mirage, like an echo, like a shadow, like what the Buddha conjures—none of them has a true meaning: the meaning of the phrase ‘bodhisattva’ is likewise nothing at all.

‘Subhūti! It is like suchness, dharma-nature, the mark of dharmas, the position of dharmas, and the limit of reality, none of which has a meaning that could be grasped: the meaning of the phrase ‘bodhisattva’ is likewise nothing at all.

‘Subhūti! It is like a conjured person: his form has no meaning, and the illusory person's feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness also have no meaning; when the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, the meaning of the phrase ‘bodhisattva’ is likewise nothing at all. Subhūti! It is just as the illusory person's eye has no meaning, and so on up to the illusory person's mind also has no meaning. Subhūti! It is just as the illusory person's form has no meaning, and so on up to dharmas also have no meaning, and from eye-contact up to the feeling born with mind-contact as its cause and condition also has no meaning; when the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, the meaning of the phrase ‘bodhisattva’ is likewise nothing at all. Subhūti! It is just as when the illusory person practises inner emptiness there is no meaning, and so on up to when he practises the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas there is also no meaning; when the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, the meaning of the phrase ‘bodhisattva’ is likewise nothing at all. Subhūti! It is just as the illusory person's practice of the four foundations of mindfulness, up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, has no meaning; when the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, the meaning of the phrase ‘bodhisattva’ is likewise nothing at all.

From the Level of the Illusory Person on to the Level of the Tathāgata: the Five Aggregates, Six Faculties, Emptinesses, and Thirty-seven Limbs of the Tathāgata Also Have No Place—Ordinary and Sage Alike Have No Meaning of the Phrase

‘Subhūti! It is just as the form of the tathāgata, arhat, samyaksaṃbuddha has no meaning, because this form is originally nothing at all; when the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, the meaning of the phrase ‘bodhisattva’ is likewise nothing at all. Subhūti! It is just as the feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness of the tathāgata, arhat, samyaksaṃbuddha have no meaning, because this consciousness is originally nothing at all; when the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, the meaning of the phrase ‘bodhisattva’ is likewise nothing at all. Subhūti! It is just as the Buddha's eye has no place, and so on up to the mind has no place; form up to dharmas have no place; from eye-contact up to the feeling born with mind-contact as its cause and condition has no place; when the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, the meaning of the phrase ‘bodhisattva’ is likewise nothing at all. Subhūti! It is just as the Buddha's inner emptiness has no place, and so on up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas has no place; when the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, the meaning of the phrase ‘bodhisattva’ is likewise nothing at all. Subhūti! It is just as the Buddha's four foundations of mindfulness have no place, and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas have no place; when the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, the meaning of the phrase ‘bodhisattva’ is likewise nothing at all.

The Conditioned and the Unconditioned Do Not Include Each Other: Neither Side Has a Place for the Other's ‘Meaning’

‘Subhūti! It is just as within conditioned nature there is no meaning of unconditioned nature, and within unconditioned nature there is also no meaning of conditioned nature; when the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, the meaning of the phrase ‘bodhisattva’ is likewise nothing at all.

How This String of ‘Meaning Has No Place’ Is Gathered Up: from Non-arising and Non-ceasing to Unstained and Unpurified, There Is No Ground on Which to Set a Meaning

‘Subhūti! It is just as the meaning of non-arising and non-ceasing has no place; when the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, the meaning of the phrase ‘bodhisattva’ is likewise nothing at all. Subhūti! It is just as not-made, not-issuing, not-obtained, undefiled, and unpurified all have no place: the meaning of the phrase ‘bodhisattva’ is likewise nothing at all.’

Subhūti Presses: ‘Which Dharmas, Because They Neither Arise nor Cease, Have No Place?’ The Buddha Answers: Form, Feeling, Perception, Constructions, and Consciousness, up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, Are All So

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘Which dharmas, because they neither arise nor cease, have no place? Which dharmas, because they are not made, do not issue, are not obtained, are unstained, and are unpurified, have no place?’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘Form, because it neither arises nor ceases, has no place; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, because they neither arise nor cease, have no place; and so on up to undefiled and unpurified, it is all likewise. The twelve sense-fields and the eighteen elements, because they neither arise nor cease, have no place; and so on up to undefiled and unpurified, it is all likewise. The four foundations of mindfulness, because they neither arise nor cease, have no place; and so on up to undefiled and unpurified, it is all likewise. And so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, which, because they neither arise nor cease, have no place; and so on up to undefiled and unpurified, it is all likewise. Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, the meaning of the phrase ‘bodhisattva’ is likewise nothing at all.

The Meaning of Purity of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness up to the eighteen unshared dharmas Is Ultimately Unfindable; within Purity a Self Is Unfindable, and a Knower and a Seer Are Unfindable

‘Subhūti! It is just as the meaning of purity of the four foundations of mindfulness is ultimately unfindable; Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, the meaning of the phrase ‘bodhisattva’ is likewise nothing at all. Subhūti! It is just as the meaning of purity of the four right efforts, up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, is ultimately unfindable; when the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, the meaning of the phrase ‘bodhisattva’ is likewise nothing at all.

‘Subhūti! It is just as within purity a ‘self’ is unfindable, because a self is originally nothing at all; and so on up to within purity a knower and a seer are unfindable, because knowing and seeing are originally nothing at all. Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, the meaning of the phrase ‘bodhisattva’ is likewise nothing at all.

Five Similes: When the Sun Rises There Is No Darkness; When the Kalpa Burns Nothing Remains; within the Buddha's Morality There Is No Breaking of Morality; within the Buddha's Light the Other Lights Do Not Appear

‘Subhūti! It is like the time when the sun rises, when there is no darkness; when the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, the meaning of the phrase ‘bodhisattva’ is likewise nothing at all.

‘Subhūti! It is like the time when the great fire at the end of the kalpa has burned everything up, when no things at all remain; when the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, the meaning of the phrase ‘bodhisattva’ is likewise nothing at all.

‘Subhūti! Within the Buddha's morality there is no breaking of morality. Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, the meaning of the phrase ‘bodhisattva’ is likewise nothing at all. Subhūti! It is just as within the Buddha's concentration there is no distracted mind, within the Buddha's wisdom there is no delusion, within the Buddha's liberation there is no non-liberation, and within the knowledge and vision of liberation there is no absence of the knowledge and vision of liberation. Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, the meaning of the phrase ‘bodhisattva’ is likewise nothing at all.

‘Subhūti! It is like the way that within the Buddha's radiance the light of the sun and moon cannot appear, and within the Buddha's radiance the light of the heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings, the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, the Yāma Heaven, the Tuṣita Heaven, the Heaven of Delight in Transformation, the Heaven Sovereign over Others' Transformations, the Heaven of Brahmā's Retinue, and so on up to the Akaniṣṭha Heaven, all cannot appear. Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, the meaning of the phrase ‘bodhisattva’ is likewise nothing at all.

The Overall Gathering-Up: Unsurpassed Awakening, the Bodhisattva, and the Bodhisattva's Meaning of the Phrase Neither Combine nor Disperse; They Are of One Mark, Namely No Mark, and in the Unobstructed Mark of All Dharmas One Should Train and Should Know

‘Why? Anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, the bodhisattva, and the meaning of the phrase ‘bodhisattva’—all these dharmas neither combine nor disperse; they are without form, without shape, without anything that stands in opposition; they are of one mark—namely, no mark. Thus, Subhūti! In the unobstructed mark of all these dharmas, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva should train, and should also know!’

What follows is the treatise's explanation.

Question: Above, the Word ‘Bodhisattva’ Was Refuted by All Kinds of Causes and Conditions; Why Now Ask Again about the Bodhisattva's Meaning of the Phrase?

The treatise-author explains. Question: Earlier the Buddha and Subhūti refuted the word ‘bodhisattva’ by all kinds of causes and conditions; why now ask again about ‘the meaning of the phrase ‘bodhisattva’’?

Answer: Subhūti Refuted the Word ‘Bodhisattva’, the Buddha Did Not—the Word ‘Bodhisattva’ Is Ultimately Empty, Merely a Provisional Name among the Five Aggregates, Which Beings Grasp as Real

Answer: Subhūti refuted the word ‘bodhisattva’, but the Buddha did not refute it. The Buddha said: ‘The word ‘bodhisattva’ is from the very beginning ultimately empty; it is only among the five aggregates that the name ‘bodhisattva’ is provisionally established by reckoning, yet beings take this provisional name to be really existent.’ The Buddha also said: ‘A provisional name has no substance; it is only a name set up from the coming together of the enumerated dharmas.’

Two Further Points: Because the Word ‘Bodhisattva’ Is Empty, the Mark of Prajñā Was Taught, and Now He Wishes to Hear the Meaning of the Word ‘Bodhisattva’; the Buddha's Voice Has Sixty Kinds of Adornment and Makes All the Beings in the Assembly Delight to Hear of Great Benefit

Furthermore, the Dharma of the Buddhas is immeasurable, boundless, and inconceivable. Subhūti earlier taught the mark of prajñāpāramitā on the basis of the emptiness of the word ‘bodhisattva’; now he wishes to hear the Buddha teach the meaning of the word ‘bodhisattva’, and so prajñāpāramitā is taught on this basis.

Furthermore, the causes and conditions for this question are immeasurable and boundless: namely, the Buddha's voice has sixty kinds of adornment and can make the gods listen attentively with a single mind—how much more humans! By his voice alone he makes people delight to listen—how much more when he proclaims a meaning of great benefit! Subhūti hears this matter from the Buddha in order that those who have not yet aroused the mind should arouse the mind of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi; that those who have aroused the mind but do not yet practise the six perfections should be made to practise them; that those who practise but not purely should be made pure; that those who practise purely should be made to abide in the stage of the avaivartika, bring beings to maturity, and fulfil the Buddha-dharmas, and so on up to being bound to buddhahood in one more birth. It is for causes, conditions, and benefits of all these immeasurable kinds that the Buddha takes Subhūti as the questioner and teaches all the beings in the assembly from the worlds of the ten directions.

The Sūtra Is Cited Again to Restate ‘Having No Meaning of the Phrase Is the Bodhisattva's Meaning of the Phrase’; the Śrāvaka Who Attains Arhatship through No-Self and Nothing Belonging to a Self Is Taken as an Example for the Bodhisattva, and the Simile of the Bird Flying through Space Restates It

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘Having no meaning of the phrase is the meaning of the phrase ‘bodhisattva’; anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi has no place, and also has no self and no name.’ Within this there is no place to rely on—this is the emptiness of dharmas; there is no name ‘self’, and so there is also no person who attains the path.

The Buddha also said: ‘Subhūti! If you attained arhatship through knowing that there is no self and nothing belonging to a self, the bodhisattva is likewise: within anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi there is no self and nothing belonging to a self. It is like a bird flying in space, leaving no footprints; the meaning of the phrase ‘bodhisattva’ is likewise: in the space of all dharmas there is no place to rely on and nothing to cling to. Precisely because of this, it is said that there is no bodhisattva's meaning of the phrase.’

Question and Answer: What Is the Bodhisattva's Meaning of the Phrase?—in the Grammar of India Many Letters Form a Word and Many Words Form a Phrase; the Gloss of ‘Bodhisattva’; Two Words Combined Are Called a Meaning

Question: What is ‘the meaning of the phrase ‘bodhisattva’’?

Answer: In the grammar of India, many letters combine to form a word, and many words combine to form a phrase. For example, 「菩」 tr. "bo" is one letter and 「提」 tr. "dhi" is one letter; if these two letters do not combine, they do not form a word; if they combine, it is called 「菩提」 tr. "bodhi", which in the language of Qin is ‘unsurpassed wisdom’. 「薩埵」 tr. "sattva" is sometimes called ‘beings’ and sometimes ‘the great mind’. Arousing the great mind for the sake of unsurpassed wisdom is called 「菩提薩埵」 tr. "bodhisattva". Wishing to make beings practise the unsurpassed path together—this is called ‘bodhisattva’.

Furthermore, in this chapter the Buddha and the Buddha's disciples teach the meaning of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva through all kinds of causes and conditions. ‘Bodhi’ is one word and ‘sattva’ is one word; the two words combined are called a ‘meaning’. As for names, word and phrase are one and the same; neither has a fixed location.

Now He Asks Which Dharma with a Fixed Mark Is to Be the Bodhisattva's Meaning of the Phrase; ‘Pada’ in the Language of Qin Is ‘Phrase’, and It Has All Kinds of Meanings

Now Subhūti asks: which dharma with a fixed mark is to be taken as the meaning of the phrase ‘bodhisattva’?

In the language of India one says 「波陀」 tr. "pada"; in the language of Qin it is called ‘phrase’. This ‘pada’ has all kinds of meanings, as is said in the similes that follow.

Question and Answer: The Single Simile of a Bird Flying through Space Already Suffices to Make the Meaning of the Phrase Clear; Why Teach So Broadly in So Many Ways?—Because Beings' Faculties Differ, and Similes Can Unfold a Meaning

Question: The single simile of ‘a bird flying through space’ already suffices to make ‘meaning of the phrase’ clear; why teach so broadly in so many ways?

Answer: The faculties with which beings hear and receive are of all different kinds: some delight in meanings and some delight in similes. Similes can help people understand the meaning; by means of similes the mind delights to enter. It is like a person born handsome who then adds adornment, which further increases his splendour.

In this section similes are mostly used to make the meaning clear, as is said later on—namely, like a dream, like a shadow, like an echo, like what the Buddha conjures; these things are all deceptive, as said before. The bodhisattva's meaning is likewise: it can only be heard with the ear, but in truth it is deceptive and without reality; precisely because of this, the bodhisattva should not exalt himself.

Suchness, Dharma-Nature, the Mark of Dharmas, the Limit of Reality, and Other Such Phrases All Have No Fixed Meaning; Clinging to the Thirty-seven Limbs and the Like Becomes a Fetter

Suchness, dharma-nature, the mark of dharmas, the limit of reality, and other such phrases all have no definite meaning. It is just as the illusory person has no five aggregates, up to having no Buddha-dharmas. It is just as the Buddha has no five aggregates, up to having no dharmas at all. It is just as within conditioned dharmas there are no unconditioned dharmas, and within unconditioned dharmas there are also no conditioned dharmas. Unconditioned dharmas are non-arising, non-ceasing, and so forth; yet among dharmas there is no fixed mark of ‘non-arising and non-ceasing’, nor any other fixed mark. It is just as the thirty-seven limbs of the path also have no mark of purity. Why? If someone clings to the dharmas of these thirty-seven limbs, that very clinging is a fetter. It is just as with ‘self’, up to the knower and the seer: their mark of purity is also unfindable.

Question and Answer: How Are Self, up to Knower and Seer, Pure?—Seeking the Mark of Self and Not Obtaining It Is the Purity of Self; the Simile of Washing a Stinking Dead Dog

Question: How are ‘self’, up to the knower, the seer, and the rest, to be counted pure?

Answer: Seeking the mark of ‘self’ in every way and not obtaining it—this is called ‘the purity of self’; in the highest meaning there is neither purity nor impurity. It is like washing a stinking dead dog, washing it until skin, hair, blood, flesh, bone, and marrow are all gone; at that time it is neither a dog nor a pig, and one can neither say it is pure nor say it is impure. ‘Self’, up to knower and seer, is likewise. When one seeks the mark of ‘self’ with the empty wisdom of no-self and does not obtain it, at that time there is neither a self nor no self.

When the Sun Rises There Is No Darkness; When the Kalpa Ends Nothing Remains; within the Buddha's Morality Breaking of Morality Is Unfindable; the Lights of the Gods Do Not Appear within the Buddha's Light, and the Bodhisattva's Meaning of the Phrase, Entering the Light of Prajñā, Also Does Not Appear

It is just as when the sun rises there is no darkness. When the kalpa ends in burning there are no things at all. It is just as with the Buddha's five aggregates: within the Buddha's morality, breaking of morality is unfindable. It is just as the sun, the moon, the stars and constellations, pearls, and so on—the lights of the gods, ghosts and spirits, and dragon kings—cannot appear within the Buddha's light, because the Buddha's light is born from the power of great merit and supernormal power; the meaning of the phrase ‘bodhisattva’ is likewise: entering the light of wisdom of this prajñāpāramitā, it cannot appear.

The Close of the Treatise's Explanation of This Section: Through These Similes the Bodhisattvas Are Taught That They Should Train in Not Grasping Marks in All Dharmas, Nothing Being Attained

By means of these similes the bodhisattvas are taught that they should train in not grasping the marks of any dharmas, because there is nothing to be attained.

What follows is the sūtra text.

Subhūti Asks ‘What Are All Dharmas?’; the Buddha Answers with Ten Heads in Pairs, and in the Unobstructed Mark of All Dharmas the Bodhisattva Should Train and Should Know

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! What are all dharmas? How does one, within all dharmas, train and know by means of the unobstructed mark?’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘All dharmas means wholesome dharmas and unwholesome dharmas, determinate dharmas and indeterminate dharmas, worldly dharmas and world-transcending dharmas, dharmas with outflows and dharmas without outflows, conditioned dharmas and unconditioned dharmas, shared dharmas and unshared dharmas. Subhūti! These are called all dharmas. In the unobstructed mark of all these dharmas the bodhisattva-mahāsattva should train and should know!’

What Are Called Worldly Wholesome Dharmas—Filial Obedience to Parents, Offering to Śramaṇas and Brahmins, the Ten Paths of Wholesome Action, the Nine Marks, the Four Meditations, the Four Immeasurables, the Four Formless Absorptions, and the Ten Recollections

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! What are called worldly wholesome dharmas?’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘Worldly wholesome dharmas are: filial obedience to parents; making offerings to śramaṇas and brahmins; respectfully serving elders; the field of merit of giving, the field of merit of keeping the precepts, the field of merit of cultivating concentration, and the meritorious work of exhorting and guiding others; producing merit by skilful means; the worldly ten paths of wholesome action; and also the nine marks—the mark of bloating, the mark of blood, the mark of decay, the mark of festering, the mark of blue-black discoloration, the mark of being devoured, the mark of scattering, the mark of bones, and the mark of burning; the four meditations, the four immeasurable minds, and the four formless absorptions; and also the ten recollections—recollection of the Buddha, recollection of the Dharma, recollection of the Saṅgha, recollection of morality, recollection of relinquishment, recollection of the gods, recollection of the good, recollection of in-and-out breathing, recollection of the body, and recollection of death. These are called worldly wholesome dharmas.’

What Are Unwholesome Dharmas, Determinate Dharmas, and Indeterminate Dharmas

‘What are unwholesome dharmas?’ ‘Taking the life of others, taking what is not given, sexual misconduct, false speech, divisive speech, harsh speech, untimely speech, covetousness, malice, and wrong views; these ten unwholesome paths and the like are called unwholesome dharmas.’

‘What are determinate dharmas?’ ‘Whether wholesome dharmas or unwholesome dharmas, these are called determinate dharmas.’

‘What are indeterminate dharmas?’ ‘Indeterminate bodily action, verbal action, and mental action; the indeterminate four great elements; the indeterminate five aggregates, twelve sense-fields, and eighteen elements; indeterminate fruits of retribution—these are called indeterminate dharmas.’

What Are Called Worldly Dharmas—the Five Aggregates, the Twelve Sense-fields, the Eighteen Elements, the Ten Paths of Wholesome Action, the Four Meditations, the Four Immeasurables, and the Four Formless Absorptions

‘What are called worldly dharmas?’ ‘Worldly dharmas are the five aggregates, the twelve sense-fields, the eighteen elements, the ten paths of wholesome action, the four meditations, the four immeasurable minds, and the four formless absorptions; these are called worldly dharmas.’

What Are Called World-Transcending Dharmas—the Thirty-seven Limbs, the Three Gates of Liberation, the Three Faculties without Outflows, the Three Samādhi, Clarity, Liberation, Recollection, Wisdom, and Right Remembrance, the Eight Liberations, the Nine Successive Absorptions, and Further World-Transcending Dharmas

‘What are called world-transcending dharmas?’

‘The four foundations of mindfulness, the four right efforts, the four bases of supernormal power, the five faculties, the five powers, the seven limbs of awakening, and the eight limbs of the noble path.

‘The gate of liberation of emptiness, the gate of liberation of signlessness, and the gate of liberation of non-action.

‘The three faculties without outflows: the faculty of coming to know what is not yet known, the faculty of knowing, and the faculty of having known.

‘The three samādhi: the samādhi with initial and sustained thought, the samādhi without initial thought but with sustained thought, and the samādhi with neither initial nor sustained thought.

‘Clarity, liberation, recollection, wisdom, and right remembrance.

‘The eight liberations. What are the eight? Having form, one contemplates forms: this is the first liberation. Without the perception of form within, one contemplates forms without: this is the second liberation. The pure liberation, realised in one's own body: this is the third liberation. Passing beyond all perceptions of form, extinguishing all perceptions of resistance, not attending to any perceptions of diversity, one enters the sphere of boundless space: this is the fourth liberation. Passing beyond the whole sphere of boundless space, one enters the whole sphere of boundless consciousness: this is the fifth liberation. Passing beyond the whole sphere of boundless consciousness, one enters the sphere of nothingness: this is the sixth liberation. Passing beyond the whole sphere of nothingness, one enters the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception: this is the seventh liberation. Passing beyond the whole sphere of neither perception nor non-perception, one enters the absorption of the cessation of feeling and perception: this is the eighth liberation.

‘The nine successive absorptions. What are the nine? Separated from desires and separated from evil and unwholesome dharmas, with initial and sustained thought, with joy and pleasure born of separation, one enters the first meditation. Extinguishing initial and sustained thought, because the mind within is pure, one-pointed, without initial and without sustained thought, with joy and pleasure born of concentration, one enters the second meditation. Because of separation from joy, one practises equanimity and experiences pleasure in the body—what the sages are able to speak of and able to relinquish—mindful, abiding in pleasure, one enters the third meditation. Because pain and pleasure have been cut off and sorrow and joy have already ceased before, neither painful nor pleasant, abiding in equanimity, with mindfulness purified, one enters the fourth meditation. Passing beyond all perceptions of form, extinguishing perceptions of resistance, not attending to any perceptions of diversity, one enters the sphere of boundless space. Passing beyond the whole sphere of boundless space, one enters the whole sphere of boundless consciousness. Passing beyond the whole sphere of boundless consciousness, one enters the sphere of nothingness. Passing beyond the whole sphere of nothingness, one enters the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception. Passing beyond the whole sphere of neither perception nor non-perception, one enters the absorption of the cessation of feeling and perception.

‘There are also further world-transcending dharmas: from inner emptiness up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas; the Buddha's ten powers, four fearlessnesses, four unobstructed knowledges, and eighteen unshared dharmas; and also omniscience. These are called world-transcending dharmas.’

What Are Dharmas with Outflows and Dharmas without Outflows

‘What are dharmas with outflows?’ ‘The five aggregates of clinging, the twelve sense-fields, the eighteen elements, the six elements, the six contacts, the six feelings, and the four meditations up to the four formless absorptions; these are called dharmas with outflows.’

‘What are dharmas without outflows?’ ‘The four foundations of mindfulness up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, together with omniscience of all kinds; these are called dharmas without outflows.’

What Are Conditioned Dharmas and Unconditioned Dharmas

‘What are conditioned dharmas?’ ‘Whatever dharmas have arising, abiding, and ceasing; the desire realm, the form realm, and the formless realm; the five aggregates up to the feeling born with mind-contact as its cause and condition; the four foundations of mindfulness up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, together with omniscience; these are called conditioned dharmas.’

‘What are unconditioned dharmas?’ ‘Non-arising, non-abiding, non-ceasing; the exhaustion of lustful attachment, the exhaustion of hatred, the exhaustion of delusion; and also suchness, non-difference, the mark of dharmas, dharma-nature, the abiding of dharmas, and the limit of reality; these are called unconditioned dharmas.’

What Are Shared Dharmas and Unshared Dharmas

‘What are shared dharmas?’ ‘The four meditations, the four immeasurable minds, the four formless absorptions—things of this kind are called shared dharmas.’

‘What are unshared dharmas?’ ‘The four foundations of mindfulness up to the eighteen unshared dharmas; these are called unshared dharmas.’

The Overall Gathering-Up: The Bodhisattva Should Not Cling to or Be Moved within Dharmas Empty of Specific Marks; All Dharmas Are of Non-dual Mark—This Is Called the Bodhisattva's Meaning

‘The bodhisattva-mahāsattva should not cling to these dharmas that are empty of specific marks, because they do not move; the bodhisattva should also know that all dharmas are of non-dual mark, because they do not move. This is called the bodhisattva's meaning.’

What follows is the treatise's explanation.

Question and Answer: Why First Ask about Worldly Wholesome Dharmas and Afterwards about World-Transcending Dharmas?—First the Coarse Is Asked, Then the Subtle; Only After Knowing the Marks of the World Can One Know the Marks of What Transcends the World

Question: Why does Subhūti first ask about ‘worldly wholesome dharmas’ and afterwards about ‘world-transcending dharmas’?

Answer: First the coarse is asked about, and only then the subtle; first one knows the marks of the world, and only then can one know the marks of what transcends the world.

Explaining Worldly Wholesome Dharmas: Knowing That There Are Fruits of Retribution for Wrongdoing and Merit, This Life and Later Lives, and So On; Śramaṇas Are Renunciants Seeking the Path, Brahmins Are Learned Householders, Elders Are Uncles, Elder Sisters, and Elder Brothers

Worldly wholesome dharmas means knowing that there are fruits of retribution for wrongdoing and for merit; that there is this life and there are later lives; that there is the world and there is nirvāṇa; that there are the Buddhas and all the worthies and sages, with their this life and later lives; and the realised knowledge of the real mark of all dharmas. That is, filial obedience to parents and so on, up to the ten recollections.

Obtaining wealth in accordance with the Dharma, one uses it to make offerings to and provide for śramaṇas and brahmins. Śramaṇas are those who have left home to seek the path; brahmins are those who pursue learning while remaining in the household. Because these two kinds of people do what is hard to do in the world and benefit beings, they should be given offerings. Elders means uncles, elder sisters, elder brothers, and the like. Respectfully making offerings to them—this is the whole way of keeping a household.

Giving, Keeping the Precepts, Cultivating Concentration, and Exhorting and Guiding; Producing Merit by Skilful Means; the Ten Paths of Wholesome Action up to the Four Formless Absorptions; Eight Items among the Ten Recollections, and Recollection of the Good; Recollection of the Body Is the Foundation of Mindfulness of the Body

Giving, keeping the precepts, cultivating concentration, and exhorting and guiding are as said in the very first chapter.

Producing merit by skilful means is, for example, repentance and rejoicing, and requesting the Buddha to remain long and not enter nirvāṇa, and requesting him to turn the Dharma wheel; and again, for example, though practising emptiness one does not cling to emptiness, and still cultivates all that is good. In all these kinds of skilful means one produces merit of every kind.

The ten paths of wholesome action up to the four formless absorptions are as said before.

Among the ten recollections, eight items are as said before. ‘Recollection of the good’ means reflecting on and discriminating the causes and conditions of wholesome action in order to subdue one's own mind; furthermore, nirvāṇa is the true wholesome dharma, and constantly binding the mind to recollect nirvāṇa—this is ‘recollection of the good’.

‘Recollection of the body’ is the foundation of mindfulness of the body.

Explaining Unwholesome Dharmas and Indeterminate Dharmas: the Deportment-Mind, the Craft-Mind, the Transformation-Mind, and the Bodily and Verbal Action They Give Rise To; the Five Aggregates Other Than the Wholesome and Unwholesome Five Aggregates; and So On

What runs contrary to wholesome dharmas is called unwholesome dharmas.

Indeterminate dharmas are the deportment-mind, the craft-mind, and the transformation-mind, together with the bodily and verbal action arising from them; apart from the wholesome and unwholesome five aggregates, the remaining five aggregates; and also space, cessation not due to deliberation, and so on.

Worldly Dharmas: the Threefold Distinction of Moral Quality in the Five Aggregates, Twelve Sense-fields, and Eighteen Elements; Why the Ten Paths of Wholesome Action, the Four Meditations, and the Rest Are Called Worldly Dharmas

As for worldly dharmas: speaking of the five aggregates, they are wholesome, or unwholesome, or indeterminate. Speaking of the twelve sense-fields, eight sense-fields are indeterminate and four sense-fields span all three kinds. Speaking of the eighteen elements, eight elements are indeterminate and ten elements span all three kinds.

The ten paths of wholesome action, the four meditations, the four immeasurable minds, and the four formless absorptions are wholesome dharmas, because ordinary people too can obtain and accomplish them; and because they themselves cannot leave the world, they are called ‘worldly dharmas’.

World-Transcending Dharmas Explained Item by Item: the Explanation of Clarity, Liberation, Recollection, Wisdom, and Right Remembrance; the Mind Made One-pointed for the Path; With and Without Outflows; Conditioned Dharmas Briefly Stated as Three Marks

‘World-transcending dharmas’ are the thirty-seven limbs of the path, the three gates of liberation, the three faculties without outflows, and the three samādhi, as said before. As for ‘clarity, liberation’: ‘clarity’ is the three clarities; ‘liberation’ is conditioned liberation and unconditioned liberation. ‘Recollection’ is the ten recollections. ‘Wisdom’ is the eleven kinds of wisdom. ‘Right remembrance’ is contemplating in accordance with the real mark of all dharmas—like the dharma that accompanies the body—contemplating the root of all wholesome dharmas. Furthermore, the eight liberations, the nine successive absorptions, the eighteen emptinesses, the ten powers, the four fearlessnesses, and the eighteen unshared dharmas have already been explained at length in the meanings set out earlier.

These, the four foundations of mindfulness and the rest, are so called because the mind is made one-pointed and directed toward the path; and again the eight liberations, the nine successive absorptions, and the rest are what ordinary people cannot obtain; therefore they are called world-transcending. Although ‘recollection, wisdom, and right remembrance’ are of two kinds, worldly and world-transcending, what is spoken of here is the world-transcending. Dharmas with outflows are the five aggregates and the like, and also the four meditations, the four immeasurables, and the four formless absorptions. Dharmas without outflows do not belong to the world: they are the four foundations of mindfulness up to the eighteen unshared dharmas. Conditioned dharmas, briefly stated, have three marks, namely arising, abiding, and ceasing. What is bound to the three realms, and so on up to the four foundations of mindfulness, and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas—although these are dharmas without outflows, because they are made dharmas they are still counted as conditioned dharmas.

What Runs Contrary to the Conditioned Is the Unconditioned; the Extinction of the Three Poisons and Other Afflictions, the Five Aggregates No Longer Continuing in Succession, and Suchness, the Mark of Dharmas, Dharma-Nature, the Abiding of Dharmas, and the Limit of Reality

What runs contrary to the conditioned is unconditioned dharmas. Furthermore, the extinction of the three poisons and all the other afflictions, the five aggregates and the rest no longer continuing in succession; and also suchness, the mark of dharmas, dharma-nature, the abiding of dharmas, the limit of reality, and so on—these are called unconditioned dharmas.

Question and Answer: Form and Suchness Are Not Apart; Form Is Conditioned, So How Is It Also Unconditioned?—Form Is of Two Kinds: the Form Ordinary People Recollect, Imagine, and Discriminate, and the Real Mark of Form Known in the Minds of the Sages

Question: As for form and suchness, form is not apart from suchness and suchness is not apart from form; yet form is conditioned, so how can it be said to be unconditioned?

Answer: Form is of two kinds: one is the form that ordinary people, with the fleshly eye, recollect, imagine, and discriminate; the other is the real mark of form known in the minds of the sages, which is like nirvāṇa. The form that ordinary people know is called ‘form’; when this form enters suchness, it no longer arises or ceases. It is just as conditioned dharmas, though they are only the five aggregates, have all kinds of names, namely the twelve sense-fields, the eighteen elements, causes and conditions, and so on; and unconditioned dharmas, though they are only of three kinds, also have all kinds of distinguishing names, namely suchness, the mark of dharmas, the abiding of dharmas, the limit of reality, and so on.

Explaining Shared Dharmas and Unshared Dharmas

Shared dharmas are so called because ordinary people and sages share them in common, both in the places where they are born and in the absorptions they enter; therefore they are called shared dharmas. Unshared dharmas are the four foundations of mindfulness up to the eighteen unshared dharmas.

The Treatise's Explanation of the Last Sentence of the Whole Chapter: The Bodhisattva Discriminates and Knows the Individual Mark of Each Dharma; All Arise from the Coming Together of Causes and Conditions, Are without Own-Nature, and So Are Empty of Own-Nature; He Abides Unmoving within the Unobstructed Dharma

The bodhisattva discriminates and knows the individual mark of each of all these dharmas: these dharmas all arise from the coming together of causes and conditions, and therefore have no own-nature; having no own-nature, they are by their own nature originally empty. The bodhisattva abides unmoving within this unobstructed dharma, because, by the non-dual gate of entering dharmas, he enters all dharmas without moving.

Subhūti Asks ‘Why Is One Called Mahāsattva?’—the Buddha Answers ‘Because He Is the Leader in the Assembly of the Assured’

At that time Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! For what reason is one called a mahāsattva?’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘This bodhisattva is the leader in the assembly of the assured; precisely because of this, he is called a mahāsattva.’

Who Make Up the Assembly of the Assured—Nine Positions: the Person at the Stage of Nature, the Person of the Eight, the Four Fruits, the Pratyekabuddha, and the Bodhisattva from the First Arousing of the Mind up to Avaivartika; Within Them ‘He Gives Rise to a Great Mind, Indestructible like Vajra’

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! What is the assembly of the assured, in which this bodhisattva-mahāsattva is the leader?’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘The assembly of the assured is, namely: the person at the stage of nature, the person of the eight, the srota-āpanna, the sakṛdāgāmin, the anāgāmin, the arhat, the pratyekabuddha, and the bodhisattva of the first arousing of the mind, up to the bodhisattva of the avaivartika ground. Subhūti! This is the assembly of the assured, in which the bodhisattva is the leader. Within this assembly of the assured the bodhisattva-mahāsattva gives rise to a vast mind, firm and indestructible like vajra, and should become the leader of the assembly of the assured.’

What Is That Great Mind, Indestructible like Vajra—the Bodhisattva's Ten Vows to Himself

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! What is the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's giving rise to a great mind indestructible like vajra?’

The Buddha told Subhūti: ‘The bodhisattva-mahāsattva should give rise to a mind such as this: I shall, within immeasurable births and deaths, adorn myself with the great vow; I shall give up all that I possess; I shall regard all beings with an equal mind; I shall, by the dharma of the three vehicles, ferry all beings across and lead them to enter nirvāṇa without remainder; when I have ferried all beings across, in truth there is not even one person who enters nirvāṇa; I shall understand the mark of non-arising of all dharmas; I shall practise the six perfections purely with the mind of sarvajñā (omniscience); I shall train in wisdom and penetrate all dharmas; I shall penetrate the gate of knowledge of the single mark of all dharmas; I shall penetrate the gates of knowledge up to immeasurable marks. Subhūti! This is called the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's giving rise to a great mind indestructible like vajra. Abiding in this mind, this bodhisattva-mahāsattva is the leader within the whole assembly of the assured; this is because, with regard to this dharma, there is nothing to be attained.

He Further Vows to Undergo the Sufferings of Hell in Place of the Beings of the Ten Directions, Ferrying Them All Across in Turn Before Becoming a Buddha Himself

‘Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva should give rise to a mind such as this: I shall, in place of all beings of the ten directions—whether hell beings, animal beings, or hungry-ghost beings—undergo all kinds of pain; for each and every being, through immeasurable hundreds of thousands of koṭi of kalpas, I shall undergo the sufferings of hell in its place, until that being enters nirvāṇa without remainder. Because of a dharma such as this, I undergo all kinds of toil and suffering for these beings; after these beings have entered nirvāṇa without remainder, I shall then plant roots of goodness myself, and only after passing through immeasurable hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭi of asaṃkhyeya kalpas shall I attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi (unsurpassed, right, and complete awakening). Subhūti! This is the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's great mind indestructible like vajra. Abiding in this mind, he becomes the leader of the assembly of the assured.’

The Mind of Great Gladness—from the First Arousing of Intent up to Awakening, Giving Rise to No Mind of Defilement, Anger, Delusion, or Vexation, nor to the Mind of the Two Vehicles

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva gives rise to a vast mind of free-flowing ease; abiding in this mind of great gladness, he becomes the leader of the assembly of the assured.’

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! What is the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's mind of great gladness?’

The Buddha said: ‘From the first arousing of intent up to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva does not give rise to a defiled mind, an angry mind, or a deluded mind; he does not give rise to a vexing mind; he does not give rise to the mind of the śrāvaka or the pratyekabuddha—this is called the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's mind of great gladness. Abiding in this mind, he becomes the leader of the assembly of the assured, and he does not cling to the thought that there is such a mind.

The Unmoving Mind—Moment after Moment Bound to the Omniscience of All Kinds, yet Not Grasping ‘There Is This One Thought’

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva should give rise to an unmoving mind!’

Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘What is called the unmoving mind?’

The Buddha said: ‘The mind that constantly keeps in mind the omniscience of all kinds, and yet does not cling to the thought that there is such a mind—this is called the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's unmoving mind.

The Mind of Benefit and Ease—Rescuing and Not Abandoning All Beings, ‘Foremost Leader within the Assembly of the Assured’

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! Toward all beings the bodhisattva-mahāsattva should give rise to a mind of benefit and ease. What is called the mind of benefit and ease? Rescuing all beings and not abandoning all beings, and in this matter too not clinging to the thought that there is such a mind—this is called the mind of benefit and ease that the bodhisattva-mahāsattva gives rise to toward all beings. In this way, Subhūti! This bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā and is the foremost leader within the assembly of the assured!

The Mind of Desiring the Dharma, Rejoicing in the Dharma, and Delighting in the Dharma—the Dharma Is Not Breaking the Real Mark of All Dharmas; Believing, Accepting, and Receiving It Is Desiring and Rejoicing; Constantly Practising It Is Delighting

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva should cultivate the mind of desiring the dharma, rejoicing in the dharma, and delighting in the dharma. What is the ‘dharma’? It is, namely, not breaking the real mark of all dharmas—this is called the dharma. What is called desiring the dharma and rejoicing in the dharma? Believing this dharma, accepting this dharma, and receiving this dharma—this is called desiring the dharma and rejoicing in the dharma. What is called delighting in the dharma? Constantly practising this dharma—this is called delighting in the dharma. In this way, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā and is able to be the leader within the assembly of the assured; this is because, with regard to this dharma, there is nothing to be attained.

Abiding in the Eighteen Emptinesses, in the Limbs of the Path up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, and in the Vajra-like Samādhi—in Each He ‘Is Able to Become the Leader of the Assembly of the Assured’

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, he abides in inner emptiness up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas, and is able to become the leader of the assembly of the assured; this is because, with regard to this dharma, there is nothing to be attained.

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, he abides in the four foundations of mindfulness up to abiding in the eighteen unshared dharmas, and is able to become the leader of the assembly of the assured; this is because, with regard to this dharma, there is nothing to be attained.

‘Furthermore, Subhūti! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, he abides in the vajra-like samādhi up to the samādhi free of attachment, like space, undefiled, and is the leader within the assembly of the assured; this is because, with regard to this dharma, there is nothing to be attained.

The Close of the Sūtra Text—Abiding in These Dharmas and Standing at the Head of the Assembly of the Assured, the Name Mahāsattva Is Established by This

‘In this way, Subhūti! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva abides in these dharmas and is able to become the leader of the assembly of the assured. Because of causes and conditions such as these, he is called a mahāsattva.’

What follows is the treatise's explanation.

The Treatise-Author Begins His Explanation—Subhūti Has Already Heard the Meaning of ‘Bodhisattva’ and Now Asks the Meaning of ‘Mahāsattva’

The treatise-author explains. Subhūti had earlier already heard from the Buddha the meaning of ‘bodhisattva’; now he comes to ask the meaning of ‘mahāsattva’.

Glossing ‘Mahāsattva’—Mahā in the Language of Qin Means Great, Sattva in the Language of Qin Means Mind or Being; Because He Is First and Highest among Beings, and Because with a Great Mind He Knows Dharmas and Ferries Beings Across, He Is Called Great

「摩訶」 tr. "mahā", in the language of Qin, means 「大」 tr. "great"; 「薩埵」 tr. "sattva", in the language of Qin, means 「心」 tr. "mind", or else it means 「眾生」 tr. "being". This being is first and highest among all beings in the world, and so is called ‘great’. Furthermore, knowing all dharmas with a vast mind and wishing to ferry all beings across—this too is called ‘great’.

Furthermore, because he is a bodhisattva he is called a mahāsattva, and because he is a mahāsattva he is called a bodhisattva; this is because he arouses the mind and heads toward the unsurpassed path.

Furthermore, as is said in the chapter ‘Praising the Meaning of Bodhisattva-Mahāsattva’, it should be explained at length here.

The Buddha Himself States the Meaning of Mahāsattva—Beings Fall into Three Divisions, and Because He Is Greatest among Those Rightly Assured He Is Called Mahāsattva

Furthermore, the Buddha here himself explains the meaning of mahāsattva: beings fall into three divisions—the first is the rightly assured, who will certainly enter nirvāṇa; the second is the wrongly assured, who will certainly enter the evil paths; the third is the unassured. Because he is greatest among the rightly assured beings, he is called a mahāsattva.

Explaining the Assembly of the Assured Position by Position (I)—the Great Assembly Is All the Worthies and Sages Apart from the Buddha; the Person at the Stage of Nature Is like a Small Child Born into a Noble House; Question and Answer on the Person of the Eight

The great assembly means all the rest of the worthies and sages, apart from the Buddha.

The ‘person at the stage of nature’ is born within the nature of the sages, and so is called ‘nature’. It is like a small child born into a noble house: though still small and not yet capable of anything, later he is certainly expected to accomplish great things. This stage of nature runs from the stage of heat up to the highest worldly dharma.

The ‘person of the eight’ refers to the path of seeing the truths, proceeding within the fifteen mind-moments.

Question: Within these fifteen mind-moments, why is it called ‘the person of the eight’?

Answer: In the path of contemplation knowledge is used more; in the path of seeing the truths the acceptance of seeing is used more, and knowledge follows along with acceptance. Why is this? Because the function of acceptance is great.

Furthermore, acceptance and knowledge—these two things—are able to cut off afflictions and able to realise the truth; because one abides within the eight acceptances, one is called ‘the person of the eight’.

Explaining the Assembly of the Assured Position by Position (II)—the Four Fruits and the Pratyekabuddha Are as Said Before; Two Accounts of the Bodhisattva of the First Arousing of Intent (the Simile of the Wheel-Turning Sage King's Crown Prince); Avaivartika

The meaning of ‘srota-āpanna, sakṛdāgāmin, anāgāmin, arhat, pratyekabuddha’ is as has been said earlier.

As for the ‘bodhisattva of the first arousing of intent’, some say: the one of the first arousing of intent is one who has attained the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas and arouses the mind in accord with the mark of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi—this is called the first arousing of intent, and it is called the true arousing of the mind. He knows clearly and distinctly the real mark of all dharmas and knows the mark of the mind, because he has broken through the afflictions; the mind that accords with anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, because it is unbroken and not inverted—this mind is called the first arousing of the mind.

Some say: although ordinary people still dwell among all kinds of fetters, hearing of the Buddha's merits they give rise to a mind of great compassion, pitying beings: I shall become a Buddha. Although this mind is among the afflictions, because the mind is noble it is revered by gods and humans. It is like the crown prince of a wheel-turning sage king: at the moment he is first conceived he already surpasses all the other sons, and the gods, ghosts, and spirits all together honour him; the bodhisattva's mind is also like this—although it is among the fetters, it surpasses the gods and the sages with supernormal powers.

Furthermore, among bodhisattvas from the first arousing of the mind up to before attaining anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, those who have received the prediction, who have entered the dharma-position, or who have attained the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas are called ‘avaivartika’. The marks of the avaivartika should be explained at length later.

Great assemblies of all these kinds—the bodhisattva should become their leader, and so he is called ‘mahāsattva’.

Explaining the Vajra Mind (I)—‘Unmoved by All Fetters and Afflictions’, like a Vajra Mountain Not Shaken by the Wind; Though Reviled, Stabbed, and Pierced, and Even Asked for Head, Eyes, Marrow, and Brain, This Mind Endures and Does Not Waver

Because this bodhisattva wishes to become the lord of all the sages, he gives rise to a great mind and undergoes all suffering, because his mind is firm like vajra and does not move.

The ‘vajra mind’ is one that no fetter or affliction can shake, like a vajra mountain that is not tilted, moved, or shaken by the wind. When evil beings and people of Māra come, the bodhisattva does not follow their intentions and does not believe and accept their words; though they are angry and revile him, slander him, beat him, bind him, stab and pierce him, cut and sever him, the bodhisattva's mind does not change. When someone comes begging for head, eyes, marrow, brain, hands, feet, skin, and flesh, the bodhisattva is able to give him all of it; the one who asks is still not satisfied and grows even angrier and more abusive, and at this time the bodhisattva's mind endures and does not move. It is like a firm vajra mountain: people come to chisel, dig, and damage it, insects come to gnaw it, yet it suffers no loss at all—this is called the ‘vajra mind’.

The Buddha Himself States the Ten Matters of the Mark of the Vajra Mind—from Adorning Himself with the Great Vow to Penetrating Immeasurable Dharma-Gates, without Regret, Timidity, or Doubt, like the Vajra Jewel That Can Shatter the Mountains

Furthermore, the Buddha himself explains ‘the mark of the vajra mind’, namely that the bodhisattva should think in this way:

I should not adorn myself with the great vow only for one month, one year, one lifetime, two lifetimes, or even a thousand myriad kalpa-lifetimes; I shall, within the births and deaths of immeasurable, countless, boundless lifetimes, benefit and ferry across all beings.

Second, I shall give up everything precious that I possess, inner and outer.

Third, I shall be equal toward all beings, without aversion or attachment.

Fourth, I shall, by the dharma of the three vehicles, ferry all beings across according to what befits each.

Fifth, when I have ferried such beings across, in truth there is nothing ferried across and there is no accomplishment in it; and here too my mind neither regrets nor sinks.

Sixth, I shall know that all dharmas neither arise nor cease, neither come nor go, are neither stained nor pure, and all such marks.

Seventh, I shall practise the six perfections with a pure, unmixed mind, dedicating it to sarvajñā.

Eighth, I shall know well all that is done in the world and what ought to be known beyond the world, and be able to penetrate and know all of it.

Ninth, I shall understand the gate of knowledge of the single mark of all dharmas, namely that all dharmas are ultimately empty, contemplating all dharmas as like the mark of nirvāṇa without remainder, and far removed from all recollection, imagining, and discrimination.

Tenth, I shall know the dharma-gates of the two marks, three marks, up to immeasurable marks of all dharmas, and penetrate them clearly.

The two marks means that all dharmas are of two kinds: existent or non-existent, arising or ceasing, made or unmade, form or formless, and so on.

The three gates means: one, two, or many—from three upward, all are called many. Existent, non-existent, or neither existent nor non-existent; upper, middle, or lower; past, future, or present; the three realms, the three dharmas; wholesome, unwholesome, and indeterminate—three gates such as these.

The four gates, the five gates—immeasurable dharma-gates of all such kinds—he penetrates without obstruction.

Here his mind does not regret, is not timid, and does not doubt; he believes, accepts, and penetrates without obstruction. He constantly practises without ceasing, extinguishes the afflictions together with their retributions, and brings all kinds of obstructing matters to ruin, as the vajra jewel is able to shatter the mountains.

Abiding in the Vajra Mind He Is the Leader by the ‘Emptiness of the Unfindable’—If Arrogance Arose His Fault Would Exceed an Ordinary Person's, So It Is Said ‘by Means of Nothing to Be Attained’, and All Dharmas Are like an Illusion, like a Conjuration

Abiding in this vajra mind, he should be the leader within the great assembly; this is by the emptiness of the unfindable.

As for the ‘emptiness of the unfindable’: if the bodhisattva, giving rise to such a vajra-like great mind, gave rise to arrogance, his fault would exceed that of an ordinary person. For this reason it is said ‘by means of nothing to be attained’: dharmas have no fixed mark; they are like an illusion, like a conjuration.

Explaining the Vajra Mind (II)—Undergoing Toil and Suffering in Place of the Beings of the Three Evil Paths, Ferrying Them All Across in Turn and Only Then Gathering Merits for Himself; like the Vajra Ground That Upholds the Great-Thousand World Without Shaking

Furthermore, as for ‘the mind like vajra’: for all the beings who have fallen into the three evil paths, I shall undergo toil and suffering in their place; for the sake of each and every being I shall undergo the sufferings of hell in its place, until this being comes forth from the three evil paths, gathers the roots of goodness, and reaches nirvāṇa without remainder; and then I shall go on to save all beings. Proceeding in turn like this, after all beings have been ferried across, only then shall I gather merits for myself, and only after passing through immeasurable asaṃkhyeya kalpas shall I become a Buddha; and here the mind neither regrets nor shrinks back.

Being able in this way to undergo toil and suffering in place of beings, to cultivate merits himself, and to dwell long within birth and death with a mind that neither regrets nor sinks—as the vajra great ground is able to uphold the three-thousand great-thousand world and keep it from shaking—because this mind is firm and solid, it is called ‘like vajra’.

Explaining the Mind of Great Gladness—Firmness Is Not Yet Great Gladness, as a Horse with Great Strength Is Not Yet Greatly Glad; Because He Has Attained the Two Kinds of Equal Mind He Has No Defilement, No Anger, No Delusion, No Vexation, and Does Not Give Rise to the Mind of the Two Vehicles

As for the ‘mind of great gladness’: although there is a firm mind, it is not yet great gladness; just as a horse, though it has great strength, is not yet at great gladness.

Because he has attained the two kinds of equal mind toward beings, he does not give rise to a mind of greedy defilement; if there were partial love, it would become a thief, breaking my equal mind, and this equal mind is the root of the Buddha path. Because he constantly practises the mind of loving-kindness and compassion, he has no angry mind. Because he constantly contemplates that dharmas arise from the coming together of causes and conditions and have no own-nature, he has no deluded mind. Because he loves beings more than one's own infant, he has no vexing mind. Because he does not abandon beings and holds the Buddha path in high regard, he does not give rise to the mind of the śrāvaka or the pratyekabuddha.

Why, Beyond Firmness, Is the Unmoving Mind Also Spoken Of—Firmness Still Increases and Decreases, like a Tree That Can Be Shaken; Only When He Constantly Keeps the Wisdom of the Buddha Path in Mind Is This Mind Unmoving

Question: If the mind is firm like vajra, it is already unmoving; why now speak further of the ‘unmoving mind’?

Answer: At times, although it is still firm, the mind still increases and decreases; just as a tree, though firm, can still be shaken. Moving is of two kinds: the first is moving by outer causes and conditions, as said above; the second is moving by inner causes and conditions, namely all kinds of wrong views, doubt, and so on. If one constantly keeps in mind the Buddha path of all wisdom—I shall attain this fruit—then the mind does not move.

The Mind of Benefit and Ease, Delighting in the Dharma, Abiding in the Eighteen Emptinesses, Abiding in the Limbs of the Path, Entering the Vajra Samādhi—Explaining Item by Item Why He Is Able to Be the Leader

Furthermore, the bodhisattva should benefit beings through all kinds of causes and conditions, from food and drink up to the bliss of a Buddha, all used to benefit beings; constantly not abandoning beings, wishing to free them from suffering—this is called the mind of ease; and he does not cling to the thought that there is such a mind.

Furthermore, the bodhisattva delights in the dharma, and is called the leader. The ‘dharma’ is not breaking the mark of all dharmas. The reason for not breaking the mark of all dharmas is that there is no dharma that can be clung to and no dharma that can be received—that is, it is unfindable. This emptiness of the unfindable is itself nirvāṇa; constantly believing, receiving, and accepting it—this is called ‘desiring the dharma’ and ‘rejoicing in the dharma’. Constantly practising the three gates of liberation is called ‘delighting in the dharma’.

Furthermore, the bodhisattva abides in these eighteen emptinesses, and because he does not follow the eighteen kinds of mental activity, he does not give rise to wrongful deeds.

He abides in the four foundations of mindfulness up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, and because he extinguishes the afflictions and gathers wholesome dharmas, he is able to be the leader.

Furthermore, the bodhisattva enters the vajra samādhi, receives bliss with an equal mind, and turns away from worldly pleasure; because he increases roots of goodness, wisdom, and skilful means, he is the leader within the great assembly of sages.

The Final Close of the Whole Chapter—If He Can Be the Leader Even of the Great, How Much More of the Small; the Name Mahāsattva Is Settled Here

If he is able to be the leader of the great, how much more of the small! Precisely because of this, he is called ‘mahāsattva’.

Śāriputra Asks to Say Why One Is Named Mahāsattva: He Lists the Views, from the View of a Self to the View of Turning the Dharma Wheel, and Teaching the Dharma to Cut Off These Views Is What Makes a Mahāsattva

At that time the venerable Śāriputra said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! I too wish to say why a bodhisattva is named a mahāsattva!’

The Buddha told Śāriputra: ‘Say it, then!’

Śāriputra said: ‘The views in question are these: the view of a self, the view of a being, the view of a lifespan, the view of a life, the view of one born, the view of one nourished, the view of a numbered one, the view of a person, the view of an agent, the view of one who causes action, the view of one who arises, the view of one who causes arising, the view of one who receives, the view of one who causes receiving, the view of a knower, the view of a seer; the view of annihilation, the view of permanence; the view of existence, the view of non-existence; the view of the aggregates, the view of the sense-fields, the view of the elements; the view of the truths, the view of causes and conditions; the view of the four foundations of mindfulness, all the way up to the view of the eighteen unshared dharmas; the view of the Buddha-path; the view of bringing beings to maturity, the view of purifying Buddha-worlds; the view of the Buddha; the view of turning the Dharma wheel. To teach the Dharma to beings in order to cut off views of these kinds—this is what is named a mahāsattva.’

Why Are the View of Form up to the View of Turning the Dharma Wheel False Views? Without Skilful Means One Gives Rise to Views about Form, Because Something Is Attained; by the Power of Skilful Means One Cuts Off the Views, Because Nothing Is Attained

Subhūti said to Śāriputra: ‘For what reason is the view of form a false view? For what reason are feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, all the way up to the view of turning the Dharma wheel, called false views?’

Śāriputra said to Subhūti: ‘When a bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, because he lacks skilful means, he gives rise to views about form—this is because there is something to be attained; he gives rise to views about feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, all the way up to turning the Dharma wheel—this too is because there is something to be attained. Here, a bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises prajñāpāramitā cuts off the views by the power of skilful means and teaches the Dharma to beings—this is because there is nothing to be attained.’

What follows is the treatise's explanation.

The Treatise-Author Poses a Question: Śāriputra's Wisdom Falls Far Short of the Buddha's, So Why Does He Too Say ‘I Too Would Gladly Speak’? (Introduced by Three Episodes with Maudgalyāyana: the Nāga Lake, the Sewing of the Robe, and the Waistband)

The treatise-author explains. Question:

The Buddha led five hundred great arhats to the lake of the nāga king Anavatapta, to receive the bliss of seclusion, wishing to tell the original karmic causes and conditions of himself and of his disciples in past lives; but Śāriputra was not in the assembly, so the Buddha had Maudgalyāyana go and call him.

At that time Maudgalyāyana, by the power of spiritual penetration, arrived at the Jetavana; at that time Śāriputra was sewing a robe, and he said to Maudgalyāyana: ‘Wait a little! When I have finished sewing the robe I will go.’ Maudgalyāyana urged him to go quickly; then Maudgalyāyana stroked the robe once with his hand, and the robe was finished.

Śāriputra, seeing that Maudgalyāyana set store by his own spiritual penetrations, threw his waistband on the ground and said to him: ‘Lift this band up.’ Maudgalyāyana lifted the band with both hands, but could not make it leave the ground; so he entered all kinds of deep absorptions to lift it, and the great earth shook because of it, yet the band still stayed on the ground.

At that time Kauṇḍinya asked the Buddha: ‘For what reason does the great earth shake so greatly?’ The Buddha said: ‘Maudgalyāyana has entered a very deep meditative absorption and is exerting great spiritual power, wishing to lift Śāriputra's band, and he cannot lift it.’

The Buddha told the bhikṣus: ‘Of the meditative absorptions that Śāriputra enters and leaves, Maudgalyāyana does not even know the names; of the meditative absorptions that the Buddha enters, Śāriputra does not even know the names.’

Since Śāriputra's wisdom is as far removed from the Buddha's as this, why does he nevertheless say ‘I too would gladly speak’?

The Treatise-Author's Three Answers: Not to Display His Wisdom or Give Rise to a Lofty Mind, but Because He Follows the Buddha in Benefiting Beings Broadly, Because Many People Trust and Delight in His Words, and Because the Buddha in Compassion Permits It

Answer:

Śāriputra does not speak because he wishes to display his own wisdom in the midst of the great assembly and give rise to a lofty mind; Śāriputra is one who follows the Buddha in turning the Dharma wheel, benefiting beings broadly. What the meaning of this ‘mahāsattva’ benefits is exceedingly vast, so when the Buddha had finished speaking, Śāriputra spoke next.

Furthermore, many people trust and gladly follow Śāriputra's words. Why is this? Because of causes and conditions from past lives, many people aroused the bodhisattva mind through him.

Because of the Buddha's mind of great compassion, and because the mind of self and the root of the habitual tendencies have already been uprooted, and moreover because love of dharma has already been cut off—for causes and conditions of all these kinds, he permits Śāriputra to speak.

Śāriputra Himself States the ‘Three Kinds of Views’ to Be Cut Off; from Beginningless Worlds Their Habitual Clinging Has Entered the Bone Marrow

Śāriputra says: ‘The view of a self, together with the view of a knower, the view of a seer, the view of the Buddha, the view of a bodhisattva—the views of beings and the like; and wrong views such as the view of existence, the view of non-existence, the view of annihilation, and the view of permanence; and views of dharmas such as the five aggregates, all the way up to the dharmas of the Buddhas and turning the Dharma wheel—because this bodhisattva is able to cut off these three kinds of views, he ought to teach the Dharma in the midst of the great assembly.’ These three kinds of views, from beginningless worlds onward, have been practised and clung to until they have entered deep into the bone marrow.

Subhūti Raises a Difficulty: Since These Are Said to Be What the Bodhisattva Practises, Why Teach the Dharma in Order to Cut Off Views? Answer: Although He Contemplates Form, He Does Not Give Rise to False Views, and He Is Able to Cut Off the Views

Subhūti thought thus: ‘The Buddha says that the five aggregates and the rest, all the way up to the dharmas of the Buddhas, are all what the bodhisattva practises; why then is the Dharma to be taught for the sake of cutting off views?’ Having thought this, he asked Śāriputra.

Śāriputra answered: ‘A bodhisattva without skilful means who wishes to practise prajñāpāramitā contemplates form and seeks to grasp a fixed mark in it, grasping and clinging to all the marks of form, and so gives rise to the view of form. What runs contrary to this is named having skilful means; this bodhisattva, although he contemplates form, does not give rise to false views, and is able to cut off the views.’

What follows is the sūtra text.

Subhūti Asks to Speak: The Mind of Anuttarā Samyaksaṃbodhi, the Mind Equal to the Unequalled, the Mind Not Shared with the Two Vehicles; the Mind of Omniscience Is without Outflows and Unbound, and Yet One Does Not Cling within It

At that time Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! I too wish to say why a bodhisattva is named a mahāsattva!’

The Buddha said: ‘Say it, then!’

Subhūti said: ‘World-Honored One! It is the mind of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, the mind equal to the unequalled, the mind not shared with śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas. Why is this? Because this mind of omniscience is without outflows and unbound. Within this mind of omniscience that is without outflows and unbound, one also does not cling; through causes and conditions such as these, one is named a mahāsattva.’

What Is the Mind Equal to the Unequalled, the Mind Not Shared with the Two Vehicles? Not Seeing Dharmas Arise or Cease, Increase or Decrease, Be Defiled or Pure; Within This There Are None of the Four Kinds of Mind

Śāriputra said to Subhūti: ‘What is the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's mind equal to the unequalled, the mind not shared with śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas?’

Subhūti said: ‘From the first arousing of intent onward, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva does not see any dharma that has arising, has ceasing, has increase, has decrease, has stain, or has purity. Śāriputra! If a dharma is without arising, without ceasing, all the way up to without stain and without purity, then within this there is no śrāvaka mind, no pratyekabuddha mind, no mind of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, no Buddha mind. Śāriputra! This is called the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's mind equal to the unequalled, the mind not shared with śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas.’

Form up to the eighteen unshared dharmas Are All Not Clung To, So Why Say Only That This Mind Is Not Clung To? Subhūti Assents That Form Too Is Not Clung To

Śāriputra said to Subhūti: ‘As Subhūti has said: the mind of omniscience is a mind without outflows, an unbound mind, and one does not cling within it. Subhūti! Form too is not clung to; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness too are not clung to; the four foundations of mindfulness too are not clung to; all the way up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, which too are not clung to. Why then do you say only that this mind is not clung to?’

Subhūti said: ‘Just so! Just so! Śāriputra! Form too is not clung to, all the way up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, which too are not clung to.’

The Mind of Ordinary People, the Minds of the Two Vehicles, and the Minds of the Buddhas Are All without Outflows, Unbound, and Empty in Nature: Subhūti Assents Point by Point

Śāriputra said to Subhūti: ‘The mind of ordinary people too is without outflows and unbound, because it is empty in nature; the minds of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, and the minds of the Buddhas, too are without outflows and unbound, because they are empty in nature.’

Subhūti said: ‘Just so! Śāriputra!’

Śāriputra said: ‘Subhūti! Then form too is without outflows and unbound, because it is empty in nature; feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness too are without outflows and unbound, because they are empty in nature; all the way up to the feeling produced by the condition of mind-contact, which too is without outflows and unbound, because it is empty in nature.’

Subhūti said: ‘It is so!’

Śāriputra said: ‘The four foundations of mindfulness too are without outflows and unbound, because they are empty in nature; all the way up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, which too are without outflows and unbound, because they are empty in nature.’

Subhūti said: ‘It is so! As Śāriputra has said: the mind of ordinary people too is without outflows and unbound, because it is empty in nature; all the way up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, which too are without outflows and unbound, because they are empty in nature.’

A Turn to ‘Because It Is Empty and No-Mind, One Does Not Cling’: Because Dharmas Are Nothing Whatever, One Does Not Cling to Dharmas

Śāriputra said to Subhūti: ‘As Subhūti has said: because it is empty and no-mind, one does not cling to this mind. Subhūti! Because form is nothing whatever, one does not cling to form; because feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, all the way up to the feeling produced by the condition of mind-contact, are nothing whatever, one does not cling to feeling; because the four foundations of mindfulness are nothing whatever, one does not cling to the four foundations of mindfulness; all the way up to: because the eighteen unshared dharmas are nothing whatever, one does not cling to the eighteen unshared dharmas.’

The Sūtra Text Draws to a Close: Practising Prajñāpāramitā with the Three Minds, Neither Dwelling on Nor Clinging to Them, One Is Named Mahāsattva Because Nothing Is Attained in Any Dharma

Subhūti said: ‘Just so! Śāriputra! Because form is nothing whatever, one does not cling within form; all the way up to: because the eighteen unshared dharmas are nothing whatever, one does not cling within the eighteen unshared dharmas. In this way, Śāriputra! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises prajñāpāramitā, it is with the mind of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, the mind equal to the unequalled, the mind not shared with śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas; he does not dwell on the thought that there is such a mind, nor does he cling to such a mind, because in all dharmas there is nothing to be attained; precisely because of this, he is named a mahāsattva.’

What follows is the treatise's explanation.

The Treatise-Author Explains ‘Within This Mind Too One Does Not Cling’: One Does Not See That Any Dharma Has a Fixed Mark; This Mind Is Ultimately Empty, and Therefore There Are None of the Four Kinds of Mind

The treatise-author explains.

What Subhūti has said is the mahāsattva's mind equal to the unequalled, and that within this mind too one does not cling.

As for ‘not clinging’: from the first arousing of the mind onward, this bodhisattva does not see that any single dharma has a fixed mark—whether arising or ceasing, increasing or decreasing, defiled or pure. This mind is ultimately empty; within it there is no mark of mind and no mark of non-mind, because all marks are ultimately pure. For this reason there is no śrāvaka mind, pratyekabuddha mind, bodhisattva mind, or Buddha mind. Subhūti extols and treasures the bodhisattva, saying that such a mind is fine, and saying that the bodhisattva's not clinging to this mind is also worthy of honour.

Śāriputra Raises a Difficulty: The Mind of Ordinary People Too Is without Outflows and Unbound, So the Bodhisattva Should Not Exalt Himself; Dark Clouds Cover the Sun and Moon but Cannot Stain Them

Wishing to challenge Subhūti, Śāriputra speaks thus: ‘It is not only the mind of omniscience that is without outflows and unbound; the bodhisattva should not exalt himself. Why is this? The mind of ordinary people too is without outflows and unbound, because its nature is always empty; just as the minds of the śrāvakas, the pratyekabuddhas, and the Buddhas are without outflows and unbound, so the real mark of the mind of ordinary people is likewise empty in nature. The real mark, empty in nature, is pure and receives no taint; as was said earlier: dark clouds cover the sun and moon, yet they cannot stain the sun and moon. Furthermore, the real mark of the afflictions is no different from the mark of the mind whose nature is always empty. It is only while dwelling on the ground of ordinary people that there is this discrimination of defiled and pure. Dwelling on the ground of the sages, because one cultivates signless wisdom, there is no discrimination at all; only out of pity for beings, although one still says something, the mind clings to nothing. It is not only the mind of ordinary people that is without outflows and unbound; the five aggregates, all the way up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, are likewise.’

Subhūti assents to his words.

Śāriputra Advances Further: ‘This Mind Is No-Mind; Because the Mark of Mind Is Empty, One Does Not Cling’; the Bodhisattva Is Able to Contemplate All Dharmas as Always Empty in Nature, as the Emptiness of the Unfindable, as Ultimately Pure

Śāriputra says further: ‘This mind is in fact no-mind; because the mark of mind is empty, one does not cling to it; within form, because the mark of form is nothing whatever, one likewise does not cling, and so it is all the way up to the dharmas of the Buddhas.’ Subhūti says: ‘Just so!’ For this reason the bodhisattva is able to contemplate and see all dharmas as always empty in nature, as the emptiness of the unfindable, as ultimately pure.

The Final Close of the Whole Chapter: Neither Dwelling on Nor Clinging to This Mind, One Is Able to Reach Anuttarā Samyaksaṃbodhi Swiftly

For this reason it is said: ‘The mind of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, the mind equal to the unequalled, the mind not shared with śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas—not dwelling on the thought that there is such a mind, nor clinging to such a mind, one is able to reach anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi swiftly.’