大智度論 白話全本 · 冊5Dazhidulun — Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa · Complete Vernacular · Vol. 5

The Gods Praise Three Times Together: Whoever Practises Prajñā without Departing from It They Regard as a Buddha

At that time the heavenly kings and the gods, the Brahmā kings and the Brahmā gods, the Īśāna gods and the divine seers, together with the goddesses, all at once praised three times over: ‘Wonderful! Wonderful! The dharma spoken by the venerable Subhūti (‘wisdom-life’ is an honorific for a venerable one)—it is all by the gracious power of the causes and conditions of the Buddha's appearing in the world that such a teaching is expounded and proclaimed. If there is a bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises this prajñāpāramitā (the perfection of wisdom) and does not depart from it, we regard such a person as a Buddha. Why? Within this prajñāpāramitā, although not a single dharma is findable—that is, form, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds, are all unfindable—there are nevertheless the teachings of the three vehicles, namely the śrāvaka vehicle, the pratyekabuddha vehicle, and the Buddha vehicle.’

The Buddha Approves Their Words: This Bodhisattva Is Regarded as a Buddha, Because of Nothing to Be Attained

At that time the Buddha told the gods: ‘Just so! Just so! Gods! It is as you say: within this prajñāpāramitā, although not a single dharma is findable, there are nevertheless the teachings of the three vehicles, namely the śrāvaka vehicle, the pratyekabuddha vehicle, and the Buddha vehicle. Gods! If there is a bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises this prajñāpāramitā and does not depart from it, such a person ought to be regarded as a Buddha, because of nothing to be attained. Why? Within this prajñāpāramitā the teachings of the three vehicles are extensively spoken, namely the śrāvaka vehicle, the pratyekabuddha vehicle, and the Buddha vehicle. Within dānapāramitā (the perfection of giving) the Buddha is unfindable, and apart from dānapāramitā the Buddha is also unfindable; and so on up to: within prajñāpāramitā the Buddha is unfindable, and apart from prajñāpāramitā the Buddha is also unfindable. 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, and the omniscience of all kinds—these too are all likewise.’

The Buddha Cites His Past Life under Dīpaṃkara Buddha as Proof, and Lists in Full the Ten Titles to Come

The Buddha further told the gods: ‘If a bodhisattva-mahāsattva is able to train in all these dharmas—that is, from dānapāramitā and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds—for this reason this bodhisattva-mahāsattva ought to be regarded as a Buddha. Gods! In the past, at the time of Dīpaṃkara Buddha, within the city of Flower Adornment, at a crossroads open in all four directions, I saw the Buddha and heard the Dharma, and at once attained the practice of not departing from dānapāramitā, which is giving; the practice of not departing from śīlapāramitā (the perfection of morality), which is keeping the precepts, from kṣāntipāramitā (the perfection of patience), which is forbearance, from vīryapāramitā (the perfection of vigour), which is diligence, from dhyānapāramitā (the perfection of meditation), which is meditative concentration, and from prajñāpāramitā, which is wisdom; not departing from inner emptiness and so on up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas; not departing from the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eight limbs of the noble path; not departing from the four dhyānas, the four immeasurable minds, the four formless absorptions, all the gates of samādhi, and all the gates of dhāraṇī (total retention); not departing from the practice of the four fearlessnesses, the ten powers of the Buddha, the four unobstructed knowledges, the eighteen unshared dharmas, great loving-kindness and great compassion, and the rest of the immeasurable dharmas of all the buddhas—and all of it because of nothing to be attained. At that time Dīpaṃkara Buddha gave me the prediction: in a future age, after one asaṃkhyeya kalpa (countless kalpas), you will become a buddha named Śākyamuni—tathāgata (Thus-Come), arhat (Worthy of Offerings), samyaksaṃbuddha (Rightly and Universally Awakened), vidyācaraṇa (Perfect in Knowledge and Conduct), sugata (Well-Gone), lokavid (Knower of the World), Unsurpassed Knight, Tamer of Persons, Teacher of Gods and Humans, Buddha, World-Honored One.’

The gods Praise: Prajñā Enables the Bodhisattva to Attain Sarvajñā without Grasping and without Rejecting

At that time the gods said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! It is truly rare! This prajñāpāramitā is able to make the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas attain sarvajñā (omniscience), because it neither grasps nor rejects form, because it neither grasps nor rejects feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness, and so on up to because it neither grasps nor rejects the omniscience of all kinds.’

What follows is the treatise's explanation.

The Treatise-Author Explains the Threefold Praise, and Explains the Heavenly Kings, the Gods, the Brahmās, Īśāna, the Divine Seers, and the Goddesses

The treatise-author explains: when a person's joy reaches its utmost, he praises three times over; therefore the gods, hearing the greatly virtuous Subhūti proclaim prajñāpāramitā, said with joy: 「快哉！快哉！」 tr. "Splendid! Splendid!"

「天王」 tr. "Heavenly kings" means the four heavenly kings who dwell in the heavens of the Four Heavenly Kings, Śakra Devānām Indra, king of the gods of the Heaven of the Thirty-three, and so on up to the Brahmā kings; above the Brahmā heavens there are no more heavenly kings. 「諸天」 tr. "The gods" means the gods of the desire realm. 「諸梵」 tr. "The Brahmās" means the gods of the form realm. 「伊賒那」 tr. "Īśāna" means the king of the Great Sovereign heaven together with his retinue. 「神仙」 tr. "Divine seers" are of two kinds: either gods or humans. 「天女」 tr. "Goddesses" means the goddesses such as Śacī, the consort of Śakra, lord of the gods.

Where the Praise Lies: Knowing That He Relies on the Buddha's Spiritual Power, and Out of Reverence for the Dharma, They Regard the Practitioner as a Buddha

The reason they praise Subhūti for being able to proclaim the profound prajñāpāramitā is that they know he is able to proclaim it by relying on the Buddha's spiritual power. If someone is able to practise this prajñāpāramitā, we ought to regard such a person as a Buddha. Why? Because of reverence for the Dharma.

The Profound Dharma: Ultimately Empty and Yet Having the Distinction of the Three Vehicles; Neither Falling into Annihilation nor Giving Rise to a Clinging Mind

What is called 「法」 tr. "the Dharma" means the profound prajñāpāramitā. What is called 「深法」 tr. "the profound Dharma" means: although all dharmas are ultimately empty, there is nevertheless the distinction of the three vehicles. Why? If dharmas were ultimate emptiness, one ought not to cultivate and gather the merits of the three vehicles any further—otherwise one falls into annihilation; if one is to cultivate and gather the merits of the three vehicles, then there is distinction, there is difference of high and low, and so it ought not to be ultimate emptiness. This prajñāpāramitā, although ultimately empty, does not fall into annihilation; although it distinguishes three vehicles, it does not give rise to a clinging mind; in both of these matters it does not grasp a fixed mark. This matter is profound and subtle, and so the gods rejoiced greatly and praised, saying: 「快哉！」 tr. "Splendid!"

The Buddha Further Speaks of Profound Causes and Conditions: Because of the Causes and Conditions of Dharmas There Is a Buddha; the Practitioner Is Precisely the Buddha

The Buddha approves their praise and further proclaims the profound causes and conditions: ‘Within the six perfections and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds, the Buddha is unfindable; apart from these, the Buddha is also unfindable; it is by the coming together of the many conditions of dharmas that there is a Buddha, and there is no truly fixed own-nature. If a bodhisattva is able to practise in this way, one should know that this bodhisattva is precisely the Buddha.’ What is called 「即是佛」 tr. "is precisely the Buddha" is a way of speaking used in the world; it is like a crown prince who, although he has not yet formally ascended the throne, is certainly going to become king. Here the Buddha himself cites a matter of his own past as proof: this bodhisattva had already attained the acceptance of non-arising, entered the bodhisattva position, and personally seen the buddhas of the ten directions. When the gods heard the Buddha broadly make clear the meaning they themselves had praised before, their understanding grew deeper, and so they praised once again. Because they see the faults of all dharmas, they do not grasp; because they see that there is benefit, they do not reject; and again, because all dharmas are ultimately empty, neither arising nor ceasing, they neither grasp nor reject.

Returning Below to the Sūtra Text: The Buddha Looks Round on the Fourfold Assembly and Tells Śakra That Māra Cannot Gain an Opening against Those Who Receive and Uphold Prajñā

At that time the Buddha observed the fourfold assembly gathered together—bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, and upāsikās (upāsakas and upāsikās are the lay men and women householders)—together with the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, and the gods from the heavens of the Four Heavenly Kings up to Akaniṣṭha (Akaniṣṭha is the highest heaven of the form realm, the Heaven of the Ultimate of Form), all assembled and seated.

Having looked round over them all, the Buddha told Śakra Devānām Indra: ‘Kauśika (Śakra's original clan name)! Whether bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, whether bhikṣus, whether bhikṣuṇīs, whether upāsakas, whether upāsikās, whether the gods, whether goddesses—if they are able to hear this prajñāpāramitā, receive and uphold it, draw near to it, read it, recite it, proclaim it for others, and rightly bear it in mind, without departing from the mind of omniscience—the gods! Neither Māra nor Māra's gods can gain an opening against such people. Why? These good men and good women truly know that form is empty, and emptiness cannot gain an opening against emptiness; the signless cannot gain an opening against the signless; non-action cannot gain an opening against non-action. They truly know that feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are empty; emptiness cannot gain an opening against emptiness, and so on up to: non-action cannot gain an opening against non-action. And so on up to: they truly know that the omniscience of all kinds is empty; emptiness cannot gain an opening against emptiness, and so on up to: non-action cannot gain an opening against non-action. Why? Because the own-nature of all these dharmas is from the first unfindable, there is not a single thing by which Māra could gain an opening—so who, then, is the one harmed?’

Neither Humans nor Non-humans Gain an Opening; Those Who Receive and Uphold Prajñā Never Die an Untimely Death

‘Again, Kauśika! Against these good men and good women neither humans nor non-humans can gain an opening. Why? Because these good men and good women, among all beings, well cultivate the mind of loving-kindness, together with the minds of compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity—all of it because of nothing to be attained. Kauśika! These good men and good women will never die an untimely death (to lose one's life by accident though without guilt). Why? Because these good men and good women practise dānapāramitā, which is giving, providing for all beings with an equal mind.’

Gods Who Have Aroused the Mind but Not Yet Heard Prajñā Ought Now to Hear It; Dwelling in the Three Places, They Are Never Afraid

‘Again, Kauśika! Within the three-thousand great-thousand world, in the heavens of the Four Heavenly Kings, the Heaven of the Thirty-three, the Yāma heaven, the Tuṣita heaven, the Heaven of Delight in Transformation, and the heaven of the gods Sovereign over Others' Transformations, as well as the Brahmā heaven, the Heaven of Light-Sound, the Heaven of Universal Purity, and the Heaven of Abundant Fruit—among these heavens there are those who have already aroused the mind of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi (the mind of unsurpassed, right, and complete awakening), yet have not heard this prajñāpāramitā, have not received and upheld it or drawn near to it; these the gods ought now to hear it, receive and uphold it, draw near to it, read it, recite it, and rightly bear it in mind, without departing from the mind of omniscience.’

‘Again, Kauśika! Good men and good women who hear this prajñāpāramitā, receive and uphold it, draw near to it, read it, recite it, and rightly bear it in mind, not departing from the mind of omniscience—these good men and good women, whether in an empty house, or in the wilderness, or in a place where people dwell, will never be afraid. Why? Because these good men and good women have penetrated inner emptiness—all of it because of nothing to be attained; and have penetrated outer emptiness and so on up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas—these too all because of nothing to be attained.’

What follows is the treatise's explanation.

The Treatise-Author Explains: Why, Having Looked Round on the Fourfold Assembly, the Buddha Addresses Śakra—He Wishes to Praise the Merits of Prajñā

Someone asks: here, after the Buddha has observed the fourfold assembly, why does he address Śakra Devānām Indra? The treatise-author answers: in the other chapters it is mostly the substance of prajñāpāramitā that is proclaimed; now the merits of prajñā are to be praised, and so he specially addresses Śakra Devānām Indra; it is like first showing someone a fine treasure, and only then praising the treasure's many powers.

Again, what is called 「普觀」 tr. "looking round over them all" is meant to let each of the beings in the assembly know that the Buddha is mindful of him, so that he does not despise himself; because he does not despise himself, he is able to bear hearing the Dharma; therefore the Buddha looks round over them all. It is like a sovereign who turns his gaze in favour upon his ministers, and the ministers are gladdened and count themselves fortunate. Because it is merits that are being proclaimed, the white-robed laity ought to serve as witness; and among the white-robed laity Śakra Devānām Indra is the most honoured. For the proclaiming of prajñā, those who have gone forth serve as witness; among those who have gone forth, Śāriputra, Subhūti, and the like are the most honoured.

Why He Is Called Kauśika and Not Śakra—The Story of Śakra's Original Clan Name

Someone asks: earlier it was said that 「釋」 tr. "Śakra" is a name, and that 「提婆因」 tr. "Devānām Indra" means lord of the gods; why now does the Buddha not say 「釋」 tr. "Śakra", but address him as 「憍尸迦」 tr. "Kauśika"? The treatise-author answers: in the past, in the country of Magadha, there was a brahmin named Magha, of the clan Kauśika, who had merit and virtue and great wisdom; his thirty-three close friends together with him cultivated merit and virtue, and after their lives ended they were all born in the second heaven, on the summit of Mount Sumeru; the brahmin Magha became lord of the gods, and the other thirty-two became his assisting ministers; because of these thirty-three people, it is named the Heaven of the Thirty-three. The Buddha calls him by his original clan name, and so says 「憍尸迦」 tr. "Kauśika"; or he is called 「天主」 tr. "Lord of the Gods", or 「千眼」 tr. "Thousand-Eyed", and so on. When an honoured great one addresses him, he calls him by his clan name.

The Meaning of Prajñāpāramitā: Words and Scrolls Reveal the Wisdom of the Real Mark

The 「般若波羅蜜」 tr. "prajñāpāramitā" spoken of here means the words and names spoken by the buddhas of the ten directions, together with the written scrolls of the sūtra, by which the wisdom of the real mark is propagated and revealed. Why? Prajñāpāramitā itself has no marks of the various contemplations and imaginings or of words; yet it is by relying on words and scrolls that one can attain this prajñāpāramitā, and therefore the names and the scrolls too are named prajñāpāramitā. Here the Buddha's intent is briefly stated: if one is able to hear, receive, and uphold prajñā and so on, one will obtain all kinds of merits, which will be extensively spoken of later. For the sake of delivering beings and for the sake of attaining the Buddha path, one makes offerings to prajñāpāramitā and receives and trains in it; against such a person neither Māra nor Māra's gods can gain an opening.

Who Is Māra, Why He Is an Enemy, and How He Gains an Opening

Someone asks: what is Māra? Why does he want to harm bodhisattvas? And how does he gain an opening? The treatise-author answers: 「魔」 tr. "Māra" means the lord of the gods of the Sovereign heaven. Although Māra was born there by the causes and conditions of merit and virtue, he harbours all kinds of wrong views; he takes the beings of the desire realm to be his own people, and thinks: although beings die and are born again, passing on in turn, none of them leaves my domain; even if they are born upward into the form realm or the formless realm, in the end they must come back and belong to me; even if someone gains the five supernormal powers of the outside paths, he has not yet left my domain—none of this does he count as cause for worry. But if a buddha or bodhisattvas appear in the world, deliver my people, pull out the root of their birth and death, and make them enter nirvāṇa without remainder, never to return again, emptying my domain—therefore Māra gives rise to thoughts of resentment, enmity, and jealousy. Māra further sees the people of the desire realm all going to take refuge in the Buddha and not coming to attach themselves to him; because he loses offerings, his mind grows jealous, and therefore he takes the Buddha and the bodhisattvas to be his enemies.

If this bodhisattva has already entered the dharma-position and attained the body born of dharma-nature, then although Māra gives rise to evil thoughts he cannot ruin him; if he has not yet attained avaivartika (non-retrogressing), Māra uses all kinds of methods to destroy him. If a bodhisattva is able, single-mindedly and without sparing body or life, and with skilful means, to seek the Buddha path, the buddhas of the ten directions and the great bodhisattvas all protect him together, and for this reason he is able to accomplish the Buddha path. If one who is a bodhisattva is lazy, craves worldly pleasures, and cannot seek the Buddha path diligently and with a single mind, this is deceiving oneself, and also deceiving the buddhas of the ten directions and the bodhisattvas. Why? He himself says 「我為一切眾生故求佛道」 tr. "For the sake of all beings I seek the Buddha path", yet he carries out all kinds of mixed practices, ruining the dharma of the bodhisattva; because of such an offence the buddhas and bodhisattvas do not guard him, and Māra gains an opening against him. Why? All the noble ones have entered the right position, practise the path with a single mind, and deeply delight in nirvāṇa; Māra, however, has entered the wrong position and loves and clings to the wrong path; the wrong and the right run counter to each other, and so Māra hates and envies right practice; wild, deluded, and self-exalting, he calls the Buddha 「沙門瞿曇」 tr. "the śramaṇa Gautama", while the Buddha calls Māra by his real name, 「弊魔」 tr. "the wicked Māra". Because they run counter to each other, they are named enemies.

Māra Is of Four Kinds; by the Power of Prajñā the Four Māras Gain No Opening; the Marks of Gaining an Opening

As is said in the sūtras, Māra is of four kinds: first, the Māra of the afflictions; second, the Māra of the five aggregates (the Māra that is the five aggregates); third, the Māra of death; fourth, the Māra who is a son of the gods of the Sovereign heaven. Here, by the power of prajñā, none of the four Māras can gain an opening: attaining the real mark of all dharmas, the afflictions are cut off, and so the Māra of the afflictions is destroyed, and the heavenly Māra too cannot gain an opening; because one enters nirvāṇa without remainder, the Māra of the five aggregates and the Māra of death are destroyed.

What is called gaining an opening? Māra and Māra's hosts come to frighten the bodhisattva, as is said in the sūtras: Māra transforms himself into the body of a nāga, and into all kinds of strange and fearsome shapes, and comes by night to frighten the practitioner; or he displays the finest of the five desires to disturb the bodhisattva; or he turns the minds of worldly people, causing them to make great offerings, and the practitioner, because he craves and clings to offerings, loses the virtue of the path; or he turns people's minds, causing them to slight and harm the bodhisattva—to revile him, or beat him, or wound him, or injure him—and the practitioner, suffering pain, may perhaps give rise to anger or to grief. In all kinds of ways like these, Māra follows the direction in which the mind of the person before him is tending, and goes along with it to destroy him; this is called gaining an opening. It is just as is extensively said in the chapter on Māra.

Why Māra Gains No Opening against a Bodhisattva in a Body of Flesh—He Well Cultivates the Emptiness of Dharmas and Does Not Cling Even to Emptiness

Someone asks: Māra's power is very great, and the power of the path of a bodhisattva in a body of flesh is still very slight; how is it that Māra gains no opening? The treatise-author answers: as was said above, it is because he is protected by the buddhas and bodhisattvas. Here the Buddha himself speaks the causes and conditions: ‘Such a person well cultivates the emptiness of dharmas, and yet does not cling to emptiness; since he does not cling to emptiness, how could Māra gain an opening!’ It is like a body without a sore: it will not be poisoned. The signless and non-action are also like this.

Again, when all dharmas are observed as they truly are, all are of the mark of emptiness, signlessness, and non-action; precisely because all are of the mark of emptiness, signlessness, and non-action, there is no one who gains an opening and no one against whom an opening is gained; therefore emptiness ought not to gain an opening against emptiness, the signless ought not to gain an opening against the signless, and non-action ought not to gain an opening against non-action, because they are of the same mark. It is like fire, which cannot put out fire; only on obtaining water can it be put out, because they are of different marks.

Why One Who Abides in the Three Gates of Liberation Does Not Give Māra an Opening

Someone asks: when a bodhisattva abides in the three gates of liberation, that is precisely the place where an opening is gained against him, because they run counter to all dharmas: emptiness runs counter to 「有」 tr. "existence", the signless runs counter to 「有相」 tr. "having marks", and non-action runs counter to 「有作」 tr. "having action"! The treatise-author answers: in this sūtra the Buddha himself says: ‘The three gates of liberation have no own-nature.’ And in the earlier discussion it was said: one does not cling even to emptiness, signlessness, and non-action. Therefore, although one abides in the three gates of liberation, Māra and Māra's people still cannot gain an opening.

Why "Good Men and Good Women" Are Named and Not "Bodhisattva-Mahāsattvas"—Explaining Also the Five Obstructions of Women

Someone asks: everywhere else it says 「菩薩摩訶薩」 tr. "bodhisattva-mahāsattvas"; why does it now say 「善男子、善女人」 tr. "good men and good women"? The treatise-author answers: what was spoken earlier is the wisdom of the real mark, which is hard to receive; because they are able to receive it, they are bodhisattva-mahāsattvas; what is spoken now is making offerings, receiving and upholding, reading, reciting, and so on—it is spoken with regard to all kinds of mixed practices, and so they may be called 「善男子、善女人」 tr. "good men and good women". Again, the sūtras say that women have five obstructions: they cannot become Śakra Devānām Indra, cannot become a Brahmā king, cannot become a Māra king, cannot become a wheel-turning sage king, cannot become a buddha. Hearing of these five obstructions and that they cannot become a buddha, women's minds shrink back, and they cannot arouse the intention for the path. Or perhaps there are expounders of the Dharma who do not proclaim the Buddha path for women. Therefore the Buddha here says 「善男子、善女人」 tr. "good men and good women". Women can become buddhas; it is not that they cannot turn away from the female body. What is called the 「五礙」 tr. "five obstructions" is a matter spoken only with regard to one and the same body. The meaning of good men and good women has already been extensively spoken of above.

Humans Gain No Opening; There Is No Fixed Order between Emptiness and the Four Immeasurable Minds

What is called 「人不得便」 tr. "humans gain no opening"—here 「人」 tr. "humans" means such people as robbers, as officials, as enemies, and the like, who want to harass the bodhisattva and seek an opening against him.

Someone asks: earlier, in stating the causes and conditions of 「不得便」 tr. "gaining no opening", why was only emptiness spoken of? And now, in saying 「人不得便」 tr. "humans gain no opening", why are only the four immeasurable minds spoken of? The treatise-author answers: some say: what was spoken of earlier is Māra or Māra's people; the enemy is great, and so the remedy is also great, and therefore emptiness is spoken of; the enemy is small, and so the remedy is also small, and therefore the four immeasurable minds are spoken of. Others also say: the four immeasurable minds are what the bodhisattva constantly practises, in order to gather all kinds of merits; after that, by means of the mark of emptiness of prajñāpāramitā, he is made to remove wrong views, to cling neither to beings nor to dharmas. These two dharmas have no fixed order of before and after. Again, the frightening things that Māra, spoken of above, brings about are many; mostly he does not show his original form, but shows thunderclaps, or makes wind and rain, or makes sickness and pain, and so on; therefore the emptiness of dharmas is spoken of; as for causing people to come and revile with harsh speech and strike and cut with swords and staves, the four immeasurable minds are used.

The Meaning of Not Dying an Untimely Death: Dying without Guilt; Because the Bodhisattva Provides with an Equal Mind, He Does Not Die an Untimely Death

What is called 「不橫死」 tr. "not dying an untimely death"—that is, dying without guilt: whether, while one's lifespan is not yet exhausted, it is because the wrong medicine was given, or because the proper rules for taking medicine were not followed, or because there was no one to look after the sick; or whether one dies young because of hunger and thirst, cold and heat, and the like—this is called an untimely death. From his first arousing of the mind onward, the bodhisattva, among all beings, constantly practises dānapāramitā, which is giving: he gives medicine according to the illness, as the sick person needs; he relieves the orphaned, the suffering, and the poor, and gives whatever they beg for; among all beings he is entirely equal, and makes offerings with a good mind; he also practises this prajñāpāramitā. Because of such merits, he does not die an untimely death.

Why Gods Who Have Aroused the Mind Have Not Heard Prajñā—The Five Desires Cover the Mind; They Relish and Cling to Meditative Absorption

Here three kinds of merit have been briefly spoken of in full; next it speaks of the gods within the three-thousand great-thousand world who have aroused the mind yet have not heard prajñāpāramitā—earlier it was said that good men and good women ought to hear it, receive and uphold it, and so on up to rightly bear it in mind; now the causes and conditions of this are made clear. The gods have great merits and still must make offerings—how much more humans? Although all humans and gods ought to hear prajñā, those who are able to arouse the mind of the unsurpassed path ought most of all to hear it with a deep mind. Why? Because prajñā is the root of the Buddha path.

Someone asks: since these gods have already aroused the mind, why have they not heard prajñā? The treatise-author answers: some say: these gods in a former life aroused the intention for the path in the human destiny, and are now born in the heavens, where the five desires cover their minds, and so they do not hear it. Again, although the gods have aroused the mind of the unsurpassed path, their five sense-faculties are keen and the five desires are exquisite; because their defiled clinging is deep, looking east they forget the west, and they cannot aspire to prajñā. The gods of the form realm, although earlier they heard the Dharma and aroused the mind, because they relish and are absorbed in meditative absorption too deeply, likewise cannot aspire to prajñā. Therefore it is said: those who have not heard it ought to hear it, receive, and uphold it.

Inner Causes and Conditions and Outer Causes and Conditions; Dwelling in the Three Places without Fear

Again, what was said earlier—「魔及魔民不能得其便」 tr. "Māra and Māra's people cannot gain an opening against him"—is spoken with regard to inner causes and conditions, namely the samādhi of emptiness and the four immeasurable minds; now 「不得便」 tr. "gaining no opening" is spoken of again with regard to outer causes and conditions, namely the Buddha's telling the gods: ‘You make offerings to prajñā and receive and uphold it, and these good men and good women also receive and uphold prajñā and make offerings to it; because they share the same work with you, if Māra comes to destroy them, you ought to guard them!’ Again, those who receive and uphold prajñā may dwell in an empty house, or in the wilderness, or among human dwellings. Dwelling in an empty house, there are many ghosts and goblins as well as robbers and bandits, and all kinds of evil things readily come; therefore it is spoken of first. Apart from places where people dwell and empty houses, the rest—mountains and marshes, woods and forests, and the like—all count as wilderness; because few people travel there, there are many tigers, wolves, lions, evil bandits, ghosts, and goblins. Places where people dwell, because they are impure, Māra and ghosts and spirits seldom come to; because the various calamities there are fewer, they are spoken of last. The practitioner, dwelling in these three kinds of places, is without any fear, because of two causes and conditions: first, he well cultivates the eighteen emptinesses; second, because of the majestic virtue of prajñāpāramitā.

Returning Below to the Sūtra Text: The Gods Vow to Guard; Because of Bodhisattvas the Three Jewels Appear in the World

At that time, within the three-thousand great-thousand world, the gods of the heavens of the Four Heavenly Kings, of the Heaven of the Thirty-three, of the Yāma heaven, of the Tuṣita heaven, of the Heaven of Delight in Transformation, and the gods Sovereign over Others' Transformations, and so on up to the Śuddhāvāsa gods (Śuddhāvāsa is the Pure Abodes of the form realm), said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! These good men and good women who are able to receive and uphold prajñāpāramitā, draw near to it, read it, recite it, and rightly bear it in mind, and also do not depart from the mind of omniscience—we ought constantly to guard them! Why? World-Honored One! Because there are bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, the three evil destinies can be cut off, the poverty of gods and humans can be cut off, and all kinds of calamities, sicknesses, and famines can be cut off. Because there are bodhisattvas, the ten wholesome paths appear in the world; there are the four dhyānas, the four immeasurable minds, and the four formless absorptions; there are dānapāramitā, which is giving, śīlapāramitā, which is keeping the precepts, kṣāntipāramitā, which is forbearance, vīryapāramitā, which is diligence, dhyānapāramitā, which is meditative concentration, and prajñāpāramitā, which is wisdom; there are inner emptiness and so on up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas; there are the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds. Because there are bodhisattvas, there are in the world those born into great kṣatriya clans (kṣatriya is the royal caste), great brahmin clans, and great householder families; there are kings and wheel-turning sage kings; there are the heavens of the Four Heavenly Kings and so on up to the Akaniṣṭha heaven. Because there are bodhisattvas, there are the srota-āpanna and the fruit of the srota-āpanna, and so on up to the arhat and the fruit of the arhat, the pratyekabuddha and the path of the pratyekabuddha. Because there are bodhisattvas, there is the matter of bringing beings to maturity and purifying buddha-worlds; buddhas appear in the world; there is the turning of the Dharma wheel; and it is known that there are the Buddha jewel, the Dharma jewel, and the bhikṣu Saṅgha jewel. World-Honored One! Because of such causes and conditions, all the gods of the world, together with humans and asuras, ought to guard this bodhisattva-mahāsattva.’

The Buddha Approves Their Words: Making Offerings to a Bodhisattva Is Making Offerings to Me; a Weighing against the Two Vehicles

The Buddha told Śakra Devānām Indra: ‘Just so! Just so! Kauśika! Because there are bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, the three evil destinies can be cut off, and so on up to the three jewels appear in the world. For this reason gods, humans, and asuras ought constantly to guard, make offerings to, revere, honour, and praise this bodhisattva-mahāsattva. Kauśika! To make offerings to, revere, honour, and praise this bodhisattva-mahāsattva is to make offerings to me. For this reason these bodhisattva-mahāsattvas gods, humans, and asuras ought constantly to guard, make offerings to, revere, honour, and praise. Kauśika! Suppose the three-thousand great-thousand world were filled with śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, dense as thickets of bamboo (bamboo that grows in clumps), rice, hemp, and groves; if good men and good women were to make offerings to, revere, honour, and praise them, it would still not equal the merit gained by making offerings to, revering, honouring, and praising a single bodhisattva-mahāsattva who has first aroused the mind and does not depart from the six perfections. Why? It is not because of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas that bodhisattva-mahāsattvas and buddhas appear in the world; rather, it is because there are bodhisattva-mahāsattvas that śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, and buddhas appear in the world. For this reason, Kauśika! these bodhisattva-mahāsattvas all the gods of the world, together with humans and asuras, ought constantly to guard, make offerings to, revere, honour, and praise.’

What follows is the treatise's explanation.

The Treatise-Author Explains the Gods' Mind to Guard: Though the Bodhisattva Has No Power or Might, He Is Able to Speak Wholesome Dharmas

The treatise-author explains: at that time the gods said to the Buddha: ‘We ought to guard this bodhisattva, because he shares the same work with us; and also because one who seeks the Buddha path is able himself to give up his own ease and make all beings attain ease.’

What is called 「因菩薩斷三惡道」 tr. "because of bodhisattvas the three evil destinies are cut off" means: although the bodhisattva has not yet become free of desire, he is able to restrain beings from the ten unwholesome deeds, and so he is able to cut off the three evil destinies, as well as the poverty of gods and humans, all kinds of calamities, and so on. Because he promotes the ten wholesome deeds, he opens the gates of the three good destinies. Some bodhisattvas, seeing the faults of the five desires, are able to become free of desire and attain the four dhyānas; because of their original vows, they give rise to the four immeasurable minds; in order to be free of the bodily suffering born of all kinds of causes and conditions, they give rise to the four formless absorptions. For the sake of the Buddha path, they practise the six perfections and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds. These dharmas they both practise themselves and teach to others; by such merit and dharmas of the path, they are passed on among beings, teaching one another in turn, and remain constantly in the world. Now the fruits of these wholesome dharmas ought to be spoken of: being born into great kṣatriya clans and so on up to the three jewels appearing in the world—as was said in the meaning above. Now this bodhisattva is a body born of life, brought about by fettered karma, still within causes and conditions, without great power or might, and yet he is able to proclaim such wholesome dharmas and cause beings to practise them—how could we not guard him? It is like a crown prince who, although young, is served by every one of the ministers and officials.

Making Offerings to a Bodhisattva Is Making Offerings to the Buddha; Why a Bodhisattva of First Arousing of Intent Surpasses the Two Vehicles—for Three Reasons

The Buddha approves what the gods said, going along with them and fulfilling their meaning. What is called 「若供養菩薩，即是供養佛」 tr. "if one makes offerings to a bodhisattva, this is making offerings to the Buddha" is because prajñā is the mother of the buddhas of the three times; if one makes offerings to a bodhisattva for the sake of prajñā, it is the same as making offerings to the Buddha. What is called 「不如供養、恭敬初發意菩薩」 tr. "it does not equal making offerings to and revering a bodhisattva of the first arousing of intent"—

Someone asks: those of the two vehicles have already realised the limit of reality (the true limit of all dharmas) and are a field of merit for all beings; why are they still not equal to a bodhisattva of the first arousing of intent? The treatise-author answers: they are not equal because of three matters: first, the bodhisattva practises prajñā with the mind of omniscience; second, the bodhisattva constantly does not depart from the six perfections and all kinds of other merits; third, because this bodhisattva is able to cut off the three evil destinies and bring forth the three vehicles. Relying only on people of the two vehicles, one cannot cut off the three evil destinies or bring forth the three vehicles.

Śakra Addresses the Buddha: Receiving and Upholding Prajñā Brings the Merits of This Present Life, and One Transforms One's Body to Be Like a Buddha and Widely Delivers Beings

At that time Śakra Devānām Indra (Śakra, that is, the lord of the Trāyastriṃśa heaven) addressed the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! How exceedingly wondrous, how rare! If the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas are able to hear this prajñāpāramitā, receive and uphold it, draw near to it, read it, recite it, expound it for others, and rightly recollect it, they at that very time obtain such merits of this present life as these. They are also able to bring beings to maturity and purify buddha-worlds; they are able to go from one buddha-realm to another and make offerings to the Buddhas, and whatever implements of offering they wish to offer all appear at once, as their minds intend; from the Buddhas they hear the right Dharma, and until they attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi (unsurpassed, right, and complete awakening) they never forget it midway. They also obtain these ten accomplishments: accomplishment of family, accomplishment of mother, accomplishment of birth, accomplishment of retinue, accomplishment of marks, accomplishment of radiance, accomplishment of the eye, accomplishment of the ear, accomplishment of samādhi, and accomplishment of dhāraṇī (total retention). By the power of skilful means this bodhisattva transforms his own body to be like a Buddha, goes from one world to another, and, reaching places where there is no Buddha, praises dānapāramitā, the perfection of giving, and so on up to prajñāpāramitā, the perfection of wisdom; praises the four meditations, the four immeasurable minds, and the four formless absorptions; praises the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas. By the power of skilful means he expounds the Dharma for beings and delivers beings by the teaching of the three vehicles, namely the śrāvaka vehicle, the pratyekabuddha vehicle, and the Buddha vehicle. World-Honored One! How delightful! How rare! To receive this prajñāpāramitā is already to have gathered in the five perfections and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, and also to have gathered in the fruit of the srota-āpanna and so on up to the fruit of the arhat, the path of the pratyekabuddha, the path of the Buddha, omniscience, and the omniscience of all kinds.’

The Buddha Approves His Words and Admonishes Śakra to Listen Attentively with a Single Mind

The Buddha told Śakra Devānām Indra: ‘Just so! Just so! Kauśika (Śakra's original clan name)! To receive this prajñāpāramitā is already to have gathered in the five perfections and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds. Again, Kauśika! If this prajñāpāramitā is received and upheld, drawn near to, read, recited, expounded for others, and rightly recollected, then the merits of this present life that these good men and good women obtain—listen to them attentively with a single mind!’

Śakra Devānām Indra said: ‘Yes, World-Honored One! I wish to receive your teaching!’

When Those of the Outside Paths, Māra, and the Overweeningly Proud Wish to Destroy Prajñā, the Moment This Thought Arises It Is Extinguished; Through the Long Night the Bodhisattva Practises the Six Perfections and Establishes Beings

The Buddha told Śakra Devānām Indra: ‘Kauśika! If there are brahmin ascetics of the outsiders' paths, or Māra, or Māra's people, or people of overweening pride (those who have not attained a noble fruit yet take themselves to have attained it), who wish to thwart and confound, and to destroy, the bodhisattva's mind of prajñāpāramitā, then the moment these people give rise to such a thought, it is extinguished on the spot, and in the end they cannot have their wish. Why? Kauśika! Through the long night the bodhisattva-mahāsattva has practised dānapāramitā, the perfection of giving, and has practised śīla, morality; kṣānti, patience; vīrya, vigour; dhyāna, meditation; and prajñāpāramitā, wisdom. Because beings through the long night are greedily attached and contentious, the bodhisattva gives up all his inner and outer possessions and establishes beings in dānapāramitā, the perfection of giving; because beings through the long night break the precepts, the bodhisattva gives up all inner and outer dharmas and establishes beings in morality; because beings through the long night fight and quarrel, the bodhisattva gives up all inner and outer dharmas and establishes beings in patience; because beings through the long night are lazy, the bodhisattva gives up all inner and outer dharmas and establishes beings in vigour; because beings through the long night have distracted minds, the bodhisattva gives up all inner and outer dharmas and establishes beings in meditation; because beings through the long night are in folly and delusion, the bodhisattva gives up all inner and outer dharmas and establishes beings in prajñāpāramitā. Because beings through the long night are bound by the fetter of craving and wander on in birth and death, this bodhisattva-mahāsattva, by the power of skilful means, cuts off the fetter of craving in beings and establishes them in the four meditations, the four immeasurable minds, the four formless absorptions, the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eight limbs of the noble path, and the emptiness, signless, and non-action samādhis; he establishes beings in the fruit of the srota-āpanna and so on up to the fruit of the arhat, the path of the pratyekabuddha, and the path of the Buddha. Kauśika! These are the merits of the present life that the bodhisattva-mahāsattva obtains by practising prajñāpāramitā. As for the merits of later lives—they are the attaining of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi; the bodhisattva turns the wheel of the Dharma, the vows he has made are all fulfilled, and at the last he enters nirvāṇa without remainder. Kauśika! These are the merits of later lives of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva.’

Where Prajñā Is Received and Upheld, Those Who Wish to Destroy It Never Succeed; the Simile of the moqi Medicine

‘Again, Kauśika! If good men and good women are able to hear this prajñāpāramitā, receive and uphold it, draw near to it, read it, recite it, expound it for others, and rightly recollect it, then in the place where they dwell, Māra, or Māra's people, or brahmin ascetics of the outsiders' paths, or people of overweening pride, who wish to scorn and slander, to harass with hostile questions, and to destroy prajñāpāramitā, in the end cannot succeed; on the contrary, those people's evil minds turn to extinction and their merits turn to increase, and because they have heard this prajñāpāramitā, they gradually, by the paths of the three vehicles, come to put an end to all suffering. It is like this, Kauśika: there is a medicine called moqi. A snake, hungry, goes about everywhere seeking food; it sees a small creature and wishes to swallow it. The small creature flees to where the medicine is, and because of the power of the medicine's vapour the snake cannot advance and can only turn back. Why? Because the power of the medicine can overcome the snake's poison. Kauśika! The moqi medicine has such power as this. So too with these good men and good women: if they are able to receive and uphold this prajñāpāramitā, draw near to it, read it, recite it, expound it for others, and rightly recollect it, then if all kinds of fighting and strife arise, wishing to come and destroy, by the majestic power of prajñāpāramitā, wherever they arise, they are swiftly extinguished; that person at once gives rise to a wholesome mind and increases in merit.’

Prajñā Can Quell the Strife of All Dharmas: Where the Sūtra's Proof for the Chapter's Name Comes From

‘Why? Because this prajñāpāramitā can quell the strife of dharmas. Which dharmas? Namely, lust, anger, and delusion; ignorance and so on up to the great mass of suffering (the one great mass of suffering gathered by the twelve causes and conditions); the hindrances, bonds, latent tendencies, and entanglements (all of them different names for the various afflictions); the view of a self, the view of a person, the view of a being, the view of annihilation and the view of permanence, the view of defilement and the view of purity, the view of existence and the view of non-existence—all views such as these; stinginess, breaking the precepts, anger, laziness, a distracted mind, and lack of wisdom; the perception of permanence, the perception of pleasure, the perception of purity, the perception of self—activities of craving such as these. Clinging to form, clinging to feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness; clinging to the perfections from giving up to prajñā: dānapāramitā, śīlapāramitā, kṣāntipāramitā, vīryapāramitā, dhyānapāramitā, and prajñāpāramitā; clinging to inner emptiness, outer emptiness, inner-and-outer emptiness, and so on up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas; clinging to the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas; clinging to omniscience and the omniscience of all kinds; clinging to nirvāṇa. The strife of all these dharmas prajñā can quell entirely, and does not let it grow.’

What follows is the treatise's explanation.

The Treatise-Author Glosses Word by Word: Hearing, Receiving, Upholding, Drawing Near, Reading, Reciting, Expounding for Others, Right Recollection, Cultivation

The treatise-author explains: 「聞」 tr. "hearing" means hearing prajñāpāramitā whether from the Buddha, or from a bodhisattva, or from some other expounder of the Dharma—and this prajñāpāramitā is the very treasury of the Dharma-jewel of all the Buddhas of the ten directions and the three times. Having heard it, one 「受」 tr. "receives" it by the power of faith; one 「持」 tr. "upholds" it by the power of mindfulness. Having tasted the flavour of the Dharma, one constantly comes to serve and attend, to inquire and receive; therefore it is called 「親近」 tr. "drawing near". Having drawn near, one either looks at the text of the sūtra or receives and learns it by mouth and ear; therefore it is called 「讀」 tr. "reading"; in order to keep it always without forgetting, one 「誦」 tr. "recites" it. Spreading abroad what has not been heard before is therefore called 「為他說」 tr. "expounding for others". The scriptures of the sages, stated plainly, are hard to understand; therefore their meaning must be explained. Seeing that the dharma of the Buddhas is inconceivable, and holding a mind of great compassion toward beings, one therefore expounds the Dharma for them. One does not seek the Buddha's Dharma through wrong views and idle discourse; just as the Buddha intends, because one clings to nothing, one does not cling in expounding the Dharma either. Removing all kinds of wrong recollection such as the four inversions, abiding in the right recollection of the four foundations of mindfulness, solely for attaining the path and not for idle discourse—this is then called 「正憶念」 tr. "right recollection". Right recollection is the root of all wholesome dharmas; the practitioner's first entry is called 「正憶念」 tr. "right recollection"; constantly practising and attaining meditative absorption is therefore called 「修」 tr. "cultivation".

Explaining ‘The Merits of This Present Life’; the Buddha Approves Śakra's Words

As for 「今世功德」 tr. "the merits of this present life", the meaning is as said earlier. Now Śakra Devānām Indra speaks further of the merits of this present life, namely teaching and transforming beings, and so on up to bringing beings to attain the three vehicles. Earlier it was said that prajñāpāramitā gathers in the three vehicles; in order to make people understand this meaning, it is therefore said: 「般若波羅蜜中攝五波羅蜜乃至一切種智。」 tr. "Within prajñāpāramitā are gathered the five perfections and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds." The Buddha approves what he has said in order to make people give rise to faith.

Explaining ‘Listen Attentively with a Single Mind’ and Śakra's Reply ‘Yes, World-Honored One!’

As for 「所得今世功德，汝一心諦聽」 tr. "the merits of this present life that are obtained—listen to them attentively with a single mind", this means: above, the merits of this present life were spoken of only in brief; the Buddha now wishes to speak of them at length, and this matter is hard to believe; therefore he says 「一心諦聽」 tr. "listen attentively with a single mind". Moreover, the cause is small and the fruit great, which is hard to believe; therefore he says 「一心諦聽」 tr. "listen attentively with a single mind". Although Śakra believes and accepts it, others around him do not know this; therefore he says: 「唯！世尊！」 tr. "Yes, World-Honored One!"

Although Prajñā Cannot Be Destroyed, the Words That Proclaim the Real Mark Can Be Broken

Although this prajñāpāramitā in itself cannot be destroyed, the words and letters used to proclaim the real mark can be broken; because words can be broken, people whose faith is not yet firm may also be shaken; therefore it is said: 「若外道梵志等來，欲破壞般若波羅蜜。」 tr. "If brahmin ascetics of the outsiders' paths and others come, wishing to destroy prajñāpāramitā."

Explaining ‘Brahmin Ascetics’, ‘Māra, or Māra's People’, and ‘People of Overweening Pride’

As for 「梵志」 tr. "brahmin ascetics", this refers to all those of the outside paths who have gone forth from the household; if there are those who take up and follow their teaching, they too are called brahmin ascetics. Brahmin ascetics love and cling to their own dharma; hearing the dharma of the emptiness of the real mark, because they do not believe it, they wish to destroy it. 「魔、若魔民」 tr. "Māra, or Māra's people" is as said earlier. As for 「增上慢人」 tr. "people of overweening pride", these are those among the Buddha's disciples who have attained meditative absorption but have not yet attained the noble path, and take themselves to have already attained it. Such people, hearing it said that there is no srota-āpanna and so on up to no arhat, no path, and no nirvāṇa, give rise to overweening pride, raise a mind of resentment, vexation, and anger, and wish to destroy this dharma of the emptiness of the real mark.

By the Spiritual Power of Prajñā the Evil Mind Is at Once Extinguished; the Simile of Blocking a Spear with the Hand; Because the Bodhisattva Does Not Cling to Inner or Outer, They Find No Opening

By the spiritual power of this prajñāpāramitā, their evil minds are at once extinguished, and in the end they cannot have their wish. It is like someone who tries to block a spear with his hand (the weapon here is a spear): he only wounds his own hand, while the spear is not harmed in the least. Why? Because the bodhisattva does not cling to inner or outer dharmas. Beings, from the beginningless world onward, have constantly clung to inner and outer dharmas; therefore fighting and strife arise. The bodhisattva has relinquished the inner and outer places of clinging and himself abides in the six perfections; he further teaches and transforms beings, causing them to relinquish the inner and outer dharmas of fighting and strife, and establishes beings in the six perfections. Because of the power of the merit gathered through immeasurable lifetimes of cultivation, and because the root of fighting and strife is already exhausted, even though occasions of strife and confusion come, they cannot find an opening to exploit.

The Repeated Simile of the Poisonous Snake, the Toad, and the moqi Medicine; the Evil People Who Destroy the Dharma Give Chase and Their Poison Subsides, with Three Kinds of Outcome

It is like a poisonous snake that wishes to eat a toad and constantly chases after it; the toad reaches the place of the moqi medicine, the snake smells the medicine's vapour, and its poison at once subsides. These evil people who ruin the right Dharma are also like this: wishing to ruin the person who practises prajñāpāramitā, they constantly chase after him; because of the force of prajñā, the poison of their anger and wrong views is at once extinguished. Among them there are some who are subdued and attain the path, some who become disciples, and some who turn back halfway and go away.

Prajñā Can Break the Fetters; How Much More Anger and Strife

This prajñāpāramitā can break all the fetters (afflictions) such as ignorance, can quell the view of annihilation, the view of permanence, wrong views, and the like, and can quell clinging to the five aggregates and so on up to nirvāṇa—how much more such things as anger, jealousy, and strife: could it fail to quell those!

Here We Return to the Sūtra Text: The Gods and the Buddhas Guard Those Who Receive and Uphold Prajñā

(The sūtra text continues with the Buddha telling Śakra:) ‘Again, Kauśika! In the three-thousand great-thousand world, all the gods of the heavens of the Four Heavenly Kings, all the Śakras Devānām Indra, all the Brahmā kings, and so on up to the Akaniṣṭha heaven (the summit of the form realm, the heaven of ultimate form), constantly guard the good men and good women who are able to receive and uphold prajñāpāramitā, make offerings to it, read it, recite it, expound it for others, and rightly recollect it; the Buddhas presently in the ten directions also together protect the good men and good women who are able to hear prajñāpāramitā, receive and uphold it, make offerings to it, read it, recite it, expound it for others, and rightly recollect it.’

Unwholesome Dharmas Cease and Wholesome Dharmas Increase; Those Spoken To All Believe and Accept, Friendships Are Firm, and One Keeps Far from the Ten Evils

‘In these good men and good women unwholesome dharmas cease and wholesome dharmas increase further; that is, dānapāramitā, the perfection of giving, increases further, because there is nothing to be attained; and so on up to prajñāpāramitā increases further, because there is nothing to be attained; inner emptiness increases further, and so on up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas increases further, because there is nothing to be attained; the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas increase further, because there is nothing to be attained; all the gates of samādhi, all the gates of dhāraṇī, omniscience, and the omniscience of all kinds increase further, because there is nothing to be attained. What these good men and good women say, people all believe and accept. Their friendships are firm, and they do not speak unprofitable words; they are not covered over by anger, and not covered over by arrogance, stinginess, or jealousy. This person himself does not kill, also teaches others not to kill, praises the dharma of not killing, and also joyfully praises those who do not kill; he himself keeps far from taking what is not given (stealing), also teaches others to keep far from taking what is not given, praises the dharma of keeping far from taking what is not given, and also joyfully praises those who keep far from taking what is not given; he himself does not engage in sexual misconduct, teaches others not to engage in sexual misconduct, praises the dharma of not engaging in sexual misconduct, and also joyfully praises those who do not engage in sexual misconduct; he himself does not lie, teaches others not to lie, praises the dharma of not lying, and also joyfully praises those who do not lie; with divisive speech, harsh speech, and unprofitable speech (frivolous speech) it is likewise (not doing it oneself, teaching others not to do it, praising its dharma, and rejoicing in and praising those who practise it). He himself is not covetous, teaches others not to be covetous, praises the dharma of not being covetous, and also joyfully praises those who are not covetous; with not being angry and vexed and not holding wrong views it is likewise.’

Oneself Practising the Six Perfections, Teaching Others, Praising, and Rejoicing: Complete in the Four Matters

‘He himself practises dānapāramitā, the perfection of giving, teaches others to practise dānapāramitā, praises the dharma of practising dānapāramitā, and also joyfully praises those who practise dānapāramitā; he himself practises śīlapāramitā, the perfection of morality, teaches others to practise śīlapāramitā, praises śīlapāramitā, and also joyfully praises those who practise śīlapāramitā; he himself practises kṣāntipāramitā, the perfection of patience, teaches others to practise kṣāntipāramitā, praises kṣāntipāramitā, and also joyfully praises those who practise kṣāntipāramitā; he himself practises vīryapāramitā, the perfection of vigour, teaches others to practise vīryapāramitā, praises vīryapāramitā, and also joyfully praises those who practise vīryapāramitā; he himself practises dhyānapāramitā, the perfection of meditation, teaches others to practise dhyānapāramitā, praises dhyānapāramitā, and also joyfully praises those who practise dhyānapāramitā; he himself practises prajñāpāramitā, the perfection of wisdom, teaches others to practise prajñāpāramitā, praises prajñāpāramitā, and also joyfully praises those who practise prajñāpāramitā.’

Oneself Cultivating Inner Emptiness and So On Up to the Emptiness of Non-existent and Existent Dharmas

‘He himself cultivates inner emptiness, teaches others to cultivate inner emptiness, praises inner emptiness, and also joyfully praises those who cultivate inner emptiness; and so on up to: he himself cultivates the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas, teaches others to cultivate the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas, praises the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas, and also joyfully praises those who cultivate the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas.’

Oneself Entering the Samādhis and Dhāraṇīs, the Meditations, Kindness, Compassion, Joy, and Equanimity, and the Four Formless Absorptions

‘He himself enters all samādhis, teaches others to enter all samādhis, praises all samādhis, and also joyfully praises those who enter all samādhis. He himself obtains dhāraṇī, teaches others to obtain dhāraṇī, praises dhāraṇī, and also joyfully praises those who obtain dhāraṇī. He himself enters the first meditation, teaches others to enter the first meditation, praises the first meditation, and also joyfully praises those who enter the first meditation. With the second meditation, the third meditation, and the fourth meditation it is likewise. He himself enters the mind of kindness, teaches others to enter the mind of kindness, praises the mind of kindness, and also joyfully praises those who enter the mind of kindness. With the minds of compassion, joy, and equanimity it is likewise. He himself enters the sphere of boundless space, teaches others to enter the sphere of boundless space, praises the sphere of boundless space, and also joyfully praises those who enter the sphere of boundless space. With the sphere of boundless consciousness, the sphere of nothingness, and the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception it is likewise.’

Oneself Cultivating the Four Foundations of Mindfulness and the Rest of the Thirty-Seven Limbs of the Path, the Three Samādhis, the Eight Liberations, and the Nine Successive Absorptions

‘He himself cultivates the four foundations of mindfulness, teaches others to cultivate the four foundations of mindfulness, praises the four foundations of mindfulness, and also joyfully praises those who cultivate the four foundations of mindfulness. With 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 it is likewise. He himself cultivates the emptiness, signless, and non-action samādhis, teaches others to cultivate the emptiness, signless, and non-action samādhis, praises the emptiness, signless, and non-action samādhis, and also joyfully praises those who cultivate the emptiness, signless, and non-action samādhis; he himself enters the eight liberations, teaches others to enter the eight liberations, praises the eight liberations, and also joyfully praises those who enter the eight liberations; he himself enters the nine successive absorptions, teaches others to enter the nine successive absorptions, praises the nine successive absorptions, and also joyfully praises those who enter the nine successive absorptions.’

Oneself Cultivating the Ten Powers of the Buddha and the Rest, Up to the Omniscience of All Kinds: Complete in the Four Matters

‘With himself cultivating the ten powers of the Buddha, the four fearlessnesses, the four unobstructed knowledges, great kindness and great compassion, and the eighteen unshared dharmas it is likewise; he himself practises the dharma of non-error and the dharma of constant equanimity, teaches others to practise the dharma of non-error and the dharma of constant equanimity, praises the dharma of non-error and the dharma of constant equanimity, and also joyfully praises those who practise the dharma of non-error and the dharma of constant equanimity. He himself obtains the omniscience of all kinds, teaches others to obtain the omniscience of all kinds, praises the omniscience of all kinds, and also joyfully praises those who obtain the omniscience of all kinds.’

The Merits of the Six Perfections Are Shared with Beings and Dedicated to Awakening, Because There Is Nothing to Be Attained

‘When this bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises the six perfections, all the giving he does, having shared it with beings, he dedicates to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, because there is nothing to be attained. All his morality, patience, vigour, meditation, and wisdom, having shared them with beings, he dedicates to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi; this too is because there is nothing to be attained.’

The Bodhisattva Reflects: If I Do Not Cultivate the Six Perfections, I Cannot Bring Beings to Maturity, Purify Buddha-Worlds, or Attain the Omniscience of All Kinds

The Buddha went on to say: when these good men and good women practise the six perfections in this way, they have this thought: ‘If I do not give, I shall be born into a poor family, and I shall be unable to bring beings to maturity and purify buddha-worlds, and also unable to attain the omniscience of all kinds. If I do not keep the precepts, I shall fall and be born into the three evil paths; I shall not even obtain a human body—how much less be able to bring beings to maturity, purify buddha-worlds, and attain the omniscience of all kinds! If I do not cultivate patience, my faculties will be impaired and my appearance incomplete; I shall be unable to obtain the complete form-body of a bodhisattva—that form-body which beings, on seeing it, are certain to turn toward anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi—and also unable, with a complete form-body, to bring beings to maturity, purify buddha-worlds, and attain the omniscience of all kinds. If I am lazy, I shall be unable to attain the bodhisattva path, and also unable to bring beings to maturity, purify buddha-worlds, and attain the omniscience of all kinds. If my mind is distracted, I shall be unable to give rise to the meditative absorptions, and unable with these absorptions to bring beings to maturity, purify buddha-worlds, and attain the omniscience of all kinds. If I am without wisdom, I shall be unable to obtain the knowledge of skilful means, unable with the knowledge of skilful means to pass beyond the ground of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, to bring beings to maturity, to purify buddha-worlds, and to attain the omniscience of all kinds.’

The Bodhisattva Reflects Again: Not Following the Afflictions and So Losing the Six Perfections; Thus One Obtains the Merits of This Present Life and of Later Lives

This bodhisattva further reflects thus: ‘I should not follow stinginess and so fail to be complete in dānapāramitā, the perfection of giving; I should not follow the breaking of precepts and so fail to be complete in śīlapāramitā; I should not follow anger and so fail to be complete in kṣāntipāramitā; I should not follow laziness and so fail to be complete in vīryapāramitā; I should not follow a distracted mind and so fail to be complete in dhyānapāramitā; I should not follow a deluded mind and so fail to be complete in prajñāpāramitā. If I am not complete in dānapāramitā, śīlapāramitā, kṣāntipāramitā, vīryapāramitā, dhyānapāramitā, and prajñāpāramitā, I shall never be able to go forth and arrive at the omniscience of all kinds.’ Good men and good women such as these, who receive and uphold this prajñāpāramitā, draw near to it, read it, recite it, expound it for others, and rightly recollect it, and also do not depart from the mind of sarvajñā (omniscience), obtain these merits of this present life and of later lives.

Śakra Addresses the Buddha: Prajñā Is for Dedication to Sarvajñā and for Not Being Haughty; the Buddha Asks Him in Return, ‘How So?’

Śakra Devānām Indra addressed the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! How rare! This bodhisattva-mahāsattva's prajñāpāramitā is for the sake of the mind of dedication to sarvajñā, and also for the sake of not giving rise to a haughty mind.’

The Buddha told Śakra Devānām Indra: ‘Kauśika! How is it that this bodhisattva-mahāsattva's prajñāpāramitā is for the sake of the mind of dedication to sarvajñā, and also for the sake of not giving rise to a haughty mind?’

Śakra Answers Himself (First Part): The Worldly Six Perfections and Limbs of the Path Give Rise to a Haughty Mind through Clinging to I and Mine

(What follows is Śakra himself taking up the Buddha's question and setting it out again before the Buddha:) Śakra Devānām Indra addressed the Buddha: World-Honored One! If a bodhisattva-mahāsattva cultivates worldly dānapāramitā, the perfection of giving, giving to the Buddhas, the pratyekabuddhas, and the śrāvakas, and to the poor, to beggars, and to wayfarers, this bodhisattva, because he is without skilful means, gives rise to a haughty mind. If he cultivates worldly śīlapāramitā, the perfection of morality, saying ‘I cultivate morality, I am able to keep the precepts perfectly’, because he is without skilful means, he gives rise to a haughty mind. Saying ‘I cultivate kṣāntipāramitā, the perfection of patience, vīryapāramitā, the perfection of vigour, and dhyānapāramitā, the perfection of meditation; I practise prajñāpāramitā, I cultivate prajñāpāramitā’, because this is worldly prajñāpāramitā and he is without skilful means, he gives rise to a haughty mind. World-Honored One! When a bodhisattva cultivates the worldly four foundations of mindfulness, he thinks to himself, saying ‘I cultivate the four foundations of mindfulness, I have perfected the four foundations of mindfulness’; because he is without the power of skilful means, he gives rise to a haughty mind. (He further thinks:) ‘I cultivate 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.’ He thinks to himself, saying ‘I cultivate the emptiness, signless, and non-action samādhis; I cultivate all the gates of samādhi, and I shall obtain all the gates of dhāraṇī. I cultivate the ten powers of the Buddha, the four fearlessnesses, and the eighteen unshared dharmas; I shall bring beings to maturity, I shall purify buddha-worlds, I shall attain the omniscience of all kinds.’ Because he clings to I and mine and is without the power of skilful means, he gives rise to a haughty mind. World-Honored One! In this way the bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises worldly wholesome dharmas, because he clings to I and mine, gives rise to a haughty mind.

Śakra Answers Himself (Last Part): The World-Transcending Six Perfections Are Unfindable, and So No Haughty Mind Arises

(Śakra goes on to set it out:) ‘World-Honored One! If a bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises world-transcending dānapāramitā, the perfection of giving, he does not see anyone who gives, does not see anyone who receives the gift, does not see any thing given; the bodhisattva-mahāsattva who practises world-transcending dānapāramitā in this way does so for the sake of dedication to sarvajñā, and so does not give rise to a haughty mind. He practises śīlapāramitā, and morality is unfindable; he practises kṣāntipāramitā, and patience is unfindable; he practises vīryapāramitā, and vigour is unfindable; he practises dhyānapāramitā, and meditative absorption is unfindable; he practises prajñāpāramitā, and prajñā is unfindable; he cultivates the four foundations of mindfulness, and the four foundations of mindfulness are unfindable; and so on up to: he cultivates the eighteen unshared dharmas, and the eighteen unshared dharmas are unfindable; he cultivates great kindness and great compassion, and great kindness and great compassion are unfindable; and so on up to: he cultivates the omniscience of all kinds, and the omniscience of all kinds is unfindable. World-Honored One! In this way the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's prajñāpāramitā is for the sake of dedication to sarvajñā, and also for the sake of not giving rise to a haughty mind.’

What follows is the treatise's explanation.

The Treatise-Author's Question and Answer: The Three Kinds of People Come with Different Intents, So Saying It Again Is Not Repetition

Someone asks: It was already said earlier that Māra, or Māra's people, and the rest—three kinds of people—wish to destroy prajñā; why is it said again now? The treatise-author answers: When the three kinds of people spoken of by the Buddha earlier come, it is to seek an opening, to intimidate and coerce, wishing to make the practitioner grieved, anxious, and distressed. Those spoken of in the middle as coming do not come to harm people; they only wish to break and destroy the dharma of prajñāpāramitā, yet it does not go as they wish and they cannot break it. The three kinds of people spoken of later, though they wish to raise the mind to destroy it, are likewise extinguished on the spot. The intent of their coming differs in the three passages; therefore saying it again is not repetition.

Explaining ‘Those Spoken To All Believe and Accept’ and ‘Friendships Are Firm’; Not Speaking Unprofitable Words

As for 「所語人皆信受」 tr. "those spoken to all believe and accept", this means that this bodhisattva constantly causes unwholesome dharmas to cease and wholesome dharmas to increase further, namely dānapāramitā, the perfection of giving, and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds. Because this person has cultivated and gathered merit and wisdom, he has accomplished great majestic virtue; even if he were occasionally to speak falsely, people would all believe and accept it—how much more when he speaks true words! As for 「親友堅固」 tr. "friendships are firm", this means that this person, among all beings, deeply cherishes a mind of kindness and compassion—how much more toward friends who have shown him kindness and benefit! This bodhisattva reveres and loves the Buddha's path and knows deeply that body and speech are both impermanent; therefore he does not speak unprofitable words.

Because Wholesome Dharmas Increase, the Afflictions Do Not Cover the Mind; Though Lowly, One Is Counted Among Superior Persons (the Merits of This Present Life)

Because wholesome dharmas increase, anger and the other afflictions cannot cover his mind. The practitioner has this thought: even if the fetters (afflictions) arise, I will reflect on them with wisdom and not let them cover the mind; if the fetters arise, they are unwholesome in this life and unwholesome in later lives too, and they obstruct the Buddha's path! Even if the fetters arise in the mind, he does not let them issue as verbal karma; even if verbal karma arises, he does not let it become bodily karma; even if bodily karma arises, it does not go so far as to fall into great evil as ordinary people do. Though this bodhisattva is lowly, mean, and base in station, because he practises superior dharmas he is counted among superior persons. These are the merits of this present life.

Because He Deeply Delights in Wholesome Dharmas He Can Be Complete in the Four Right Practices, Surpassing the Two Vehicles

Because this person deeply loves and delights in wholesome dharmas, he is able, with regard to wholesome dharmas, to cultivate and seek them through four right practices; people of the two vehicles cannot be complete in these four practices, because they do not deeply delight in wholesome dharmas. The four right practices are: he himself does not kill, being kind and compassionate to all; because he deeply benefits himself, he also teaches others; because kindness is the dharma of all the worthy and noble, he constantly praises it; because this bodhisattva always wishes to make people happy, when he sees someone who does not kill, he rejoices and delights. And so on up to the omniscience of all kinds, it is likewise (practising oneself, teaching others, praising, and rejoicing).

In Brief: All Merits Are Gathered into the Six Perfections, and the Results Are Shared with Beings

Above, the four right practices were spoken of at length; now it is said in brief: all merits are gathered into the six perfections, and the results obtained are all shared with beings.

When a Bodhisattva Not Yet in the Right Position Gives Rise to Afflictions, He Should Admonish His Mind; Not Giving, He Loses Four Matters of Merit

Because this bodhisattva has not yet entered the right position and his various afflictions are not yet exhausted, at times he gives rise to stinginess and other afflictions; at that time he should reflect thus, to admonish and instruct his own mind: if I do not give, I myself lose four kinds of merit; that is, in a later body I shall be born into poverty, and because of poverty I cannot even benefit myself—how could I benefit others! If I cannot benefit others, I cannot bring beings to maturity; if I cannot bring beings to maturity, I also cannot purify buddha-worlds. Why? Because it is through the purity of beings that a buddha-world becomes pure. If I am not complete in all these matters, how can I attain the omniscience of all kinds?

The Difference Between Being Without Skilful Means and Having Skilful Means

To put it in essential terms: one who is without skilful means, although he practises the six perfections, cannot inwardly depart from the mind that clings to a self, and outwardly grasps the marks of dharmas, namely 「我是施者，彼是受者，是布施物」 tr. "I am the giver, that one is the receiver, this is the thing given"; because of this he cannot reach the Buddha's path! What runs contrary to this is having skilful means.

The Treatise-Author's Question and Answer: The Worldly Perfections Are the Practitioner's First Gate

Someone asks: If the worldly perfections and the rest are not the right path, why does the Buddha still speak of them within this prajñāpāramitā? The treatise-author answers: This is the practitioner's first gate of entry, because it resembles the right path; first one practises the resembling dharma, and afterwards one attains the true path.

Śakra Receives and Upholds Prajñā: When Two Armies Fight, He Enters the Ranks and in the End Does Not Lose His Life, and Knives and Arrows Do Not Wound Him

At that time the Buddha told Śakra Devānām Indra (Śakra, lord of the gods of the Trāyastriṃśa heaven): ‘If there is a good man or a good woman who hears this profound prajñāpāramitā (the perfection of wisdom) and is able to receive and uphold it, draw near to it, read it, recite it, and rightly recollect it, without parting from the mind of sarvajñā (omniscience), then when two armies face each other and do battle, this good man or good woman, because of reciting and upholding prajñāpāramitā, enters into the ranks of battle and in the end does not lose his life, nor can knives and arrows wound him. Why? Because this good man or good woman, through the long night, has practised the six perfections (giving, keeping the precepts, forbearance, diligence, meditative concentration, and wisdom—these six practices of reaching the other shore): he himself has removed the knife and arrow of lustful craving, and has also removed the knife and arrow of lustful craving from others; he himself has removed the knife and arrow of anger, and has also removed the knife and arrow of anger from others; he himself has removed the knife and arrow of delusion, and has also removed the knife and arrow of delusion from others; he himself has removed the knife and arrow of wrong views, and has also removed the knife and arrow of wrong views from others; he himself has removed the knife and arrow of the defiling entanglements (the defilement of the afflictions that entangle and bind the mind), and has also removed the knife and arrow of the defiling entanglements from others; he himself has removed the knife and arrow of the various fetters (the afflictions that bind people), and has also removed the knife and arrow of the fetters from others. Kauśika (Śakra's clan name)! Because of such causes and conditions, this good man or good woman is not wounded by knives and arrows.’

Prajñā Is the Great Bright Spell and the Unsurpassed Spell; No Evil Can Harm One, and the Buddhas of the Three Times All Train in This Spell and Attain Awakening

‘Again, Kauśika! This good man or good woman hears this profound prajñāpāramitā and is able to receive and uphold it, draw near to it, read it, recite it, and rightly recollect it, not parting from the mind of omniscience; then even if someone fumigates him with poison, harms him with sorcery (the evil craft of venomous spells), burns him in a pit of fire, drowns him in deep water, wishes to kill him with a knife, or brings poisonous things to injure him—none of these many kinds of evil can harm him. Why? Because this prajñāpāramitā is precisely the great bright spell (the divine spell of great radiance), is the unsurpassed spell (the divine spell supreme and unsurpassed). If a good man or good woman trains within this bright spell, he does not afflict himself, does not afflict others, and does not afflict both. Why? Because this good man or good woman does not grasp that there is a 「我」 tr. "self" to be found, does not grasp that there are beings to be found, does not grasp that there is a life-span to be found, and so on up to: the knower and the seer too are all unfindable; he does not grasp that form, feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are to be found, and so on up to: the omniscience of all kinds too is unfindable. Precisely because everything is unfindable, he does not afflict himself, does not afflict others, and does not afflict both. Because of training in this great bright spell, one attains anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi (unsurpassed, right, and complete awakening); and one is further able to observe the minds of all beings and expound the Dharma for them according to their minds. Why? The buddhas of the past trained in this great bright spell and attained anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi; the buddhas to come train in this great bright spell and will attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi; the buddhas now present train in this great bright spell and attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.’

Merely Writing Out the Scroll and Making Offerings: Humans and Non-humans Cannot Find an Opening, and the Gods Guard the Place Where It Rests

‘Again, Kauśika! As for this prajñāpāramitā, if someone merely writes it out as a scroll of the sūtra and places it in his house to make offerings to it, and does not receive and uphold it, does not read it, does not recite it, does not expound it, and does not rightly recollect it either—in such a place, whether humans or non-humans, none can find an opening (to harm him). Why? Because this prajñāpāramitā is guarded by the gods of the heavens of the Four Heavenly Kings in the three-thousand great-thousand world, and so on up to the gods of the Akaniṣṭha heaven (the summit of the form realm, the Heaven of Ultimate Form), as well as by the gods of the heavens of the Four Heavenly Kings in the immeasurable asaṃkhyeya (countless) worlds of the ten directions, and so on up to the gods of Akaniṣṭha. In the place where this prajñāpāramitā rests, the gods all come to make offerings, pay reverence, honour and praise, and only after bowing in homage do they depart. This good man or good woman, toward this prajñāpāramitā, merely writes it out as a scroll of the sūtra and places it in the house to make offerings to it, and does not receive and uphold it, does not read it, does not recite it, does not expound it, and does not rightly recollect it; yet in this present life he gains such merit.’

The Simile of the Bodhi Tree: The Buddhas of the Three Times Attained the Path There, and So in That Place Humans and Non-humans Cannot Find an Opening

‘It is just as when anyone, whether a human or an animal, comes beneath the bodhi tree—to all the places within and without on the four sides of the tree; even if humans or non-humans come there, they cannot find an opening. Why? Because in this place the buddhas of the past attained anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, and the buddhas of the future and the buddhas of the present also all attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi in it; after becoming buddhas, they bestow on all beings freedom from fear and freedom from dread, cause immeasurable asaṃkhyeya beings to receive the happiness of gods and humans, and also cause immeasurable asaṃkhyeya beings to attain the fruit of srota-āpanna (the first fruit), and so on up to attaining anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. Because of the power of prajñāpāramitā, this place receives reverence and homage, and offerings are made to it with flowers, incense, necklaces, powdered incense (incense ground into powder), ointment incense (fragrant oil for anointing the body), banners and canopies, and music.’

What follows is the treatise's explanation.

The Treatise-Author Asks and Answers: Why Is One Who Reads and Recites Prajñā Not Wounded on Entering the Ranks of Battle?—Two Kinds of Causes and Conditions of Karma

The treatise-author asks: at present there are indeed people who receive and uphold, read, and recite prajñā, who enter the ranks of battle and are still wounded by weapons, and even lose their lives. Moreover, the Buddha too once said: 「業因緣，非空非海中，無有得免者」 tr. "Causes and conditions of karma: not in the sky, not in the midst of the sea—there is none who escapes them" (once the causes and conditions of a karmic result have ripened, even if one flees into the sky or dives into the sea, there is none who can escape). Why then does the Buddha say here 「讀誦般若者，入軍陣中兵刃不傷，亦不失命」 tr. "One who reads and recites prajñā, entering the ranks of battle, is not wounded by weapons and does not lose his life"?

The treatise-author answers: here there are two kinds of causes and conditions of karma: first, that whose result must certainly be undergone; second, that whose result need not certainly be undergone. It is with regard to the kind whose result must certainly be undergone that the Dharmapada speaks as it does (when karma has ripened there is no escape); whereas what is said here of prajñā concerns the kind whose result need not certainly be undergone, and so it says 「讀誦般若，兵刃不傷」 tr. "Reading and reciting prajñā, one is not wounded by weapons." It is like a person who has committed a grave crime of great rebellion and is sentenced to death: even if he has great power and abundant wealth, he cannot escape; whereas someone whose crime is light, although he too falls under the statute of the death penalty, by right still lies within the range of those who can be saved—if power and wealth are brought to bear, his life can be preserved, and if he is not saved, he dies. The good man too is like this: if he has no death-crime whose result must certainly be undergone, then even if an occasion of death arrives, once he reads and recites prajñāpāramitā he gains deliverance and escapes the danger; if he does not read and recite it, he cannot avoid death. Therefore one cannot say that prajñāpāramitā has no power or function.

One Who Keeps Far from Evil Dharmas and Has Long Cultivated Merit, Wisdom, Loving-kindness, and Compassion Is Not Wounded by Weapons; So Too with Poison, Water, and Fire

Again, if a good man or good woman is able to keep far from evil dharmas, tame his own mind so that the afflictions are broken and diminished, and with one mind, upright, believe and accept wholesome dharmas, without doubt or regretful retreat; and from long ago has cultivated and gathered merit and wisdom, bears a mind of loving-kindness and compassion toward all beings, teaches and transforms beings, and removes their evil minds—such a good man cannot be wounded by weapons, and his life will not be cut off midway. It is just as in the causes and conditions the Buddha himself spoke of: 「長夜行六波羅蜜，除己身及他身三毒刀箭」 tr. "Through the long night practising the six perfections, removing the knives and arrows of the three poisons from one's own body and from others' bodies" (through the long night cultivating the six perfections, removing the knives and arrows of the three poisons—lust, anger, and delusion—from oneself and from others). The five perfections (the first five) are merit, and prajñāpāramitā is wisdom; because of broadly gathering these two things, merit and wisdom, one does not lose one's life midway. As for the harm of poison, water, fire, and the like, the principle is also the same: likewise they cannot harm him.

If the Spell-craft of the Outside Paths Is So, How Much More Prajñā, the Spell-craft by Which All the Buddhas Are Accomplished

Again, it is just as the divine seers of the outsiders' paths, by the power of spell-craft, do not drown on entering water, do not feel the heat on entering fire, and poisonous insects do not come to sting them; how much more is prajñāpāramitā the spell-craft on which the buddhas of the ten directions rely for their accomplishment—its power to protect need hardly be spoken of!

How Does Merely Writing Out and Making Offerings Gain Merit?—The Intention Is the Same as One Who Reads and Recites, and the Buddha Takes the Bodhi Tree as a Simile

The treatise-author asks: those matters spoken of above can still be believed; but the person spoken of here is not able to receive and uphold, read, recite, or recollect prajñā and the rest, and merely writes it out and makes offerings to it—how can he gain such merit?

The treatise-author answers: the merit this kind of person gains is also the same as what was spoken of above. Why? There are people who earlier heard the meaning of prajñā from a teacher, entered deeply into it and delighted in it at heart, yet did not know the written characters, and, having also parted from their teacher, were unable to read and recite; so, not begrudging their wealth, they hire people to write out the scroll of the sūtra and with all their heart make offerings of every kind—their intention is the same as that of one who reads and recites, and so they too are able to gain merit. As for why people cannot find an opening, it is because there are gods who guard it. This matter is hard to believe, and so the Buddha uses the bodhi tree as a simile: because of the power of prajñā the Buddha accomplished the unsurpassed path beneath the bodhi tree; because of the might of the unsurpassed path, that place still retains its majestic virtue to this day, and when beings enter it, no evil of any kind can find an opening; how much more is prajñāpāramitā the mother of all the buddhas—when a good man makes offerings to it with all his heart, how could there be no merit?

Returning Below to the Sūtra: Śakra Asks Whether Offering to Prajñā or Offering to the Relics Brings More Merit, and the Buddha Asks Śakra in Return

At that time Śakra Devānām Indra said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! If a good man or good woman writes out prajñāpāramitā and makes offerings to it with flowers, incense, necklaces, and so on up to music; and another person, after the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, either makes offerings to the Buddha's relics, or raises a jewelled stūpa and makes offerings to it, pays reverence, honours and praises it, making offerings with flowers, incense, necklaces, and so on up to music—of these two, which gains more merit?’

The Buddha told Śakra Devānām Indra: ‘I shall ask you in return; answer me as you think fit. What do you think? The omniscience of all kinds that the Buddha has attained, and this body of the marks and minor marks that he has gained—by training in which path did he attain this omniscience of all kinds and gain this body?’

Because He Has Attained the Omniscience of All Kinds He Is Called a Buddha; the Buddha's Body Is the Place on Which That Omniscience Relies, and So the Relics Ought to Receive Offerings

Śakra Devānām Indra said to the Buddha: ‘It is by training within prajñāpāramitā that the Buddha attained the omniscience of all kinds and the body of the marks and minor marks.’

The Buddha told Śakra Devānām Indra: ‘Just so! Just so! Kauśika! It is by training within prajñāpāramitā that the Buddha attained the omniscience of all kinds. Kauśika! It is not by this form body that one is called a Buddha; it is because of attaining the omniscience of all kinds that one is called a Buddha. Kauśika! This omniscience of all kinds of the Buddha is born from within prajñāpāramitā. For this reason, Kauśika, this Buddha-body is precisely the place on which the omniscience of all kinds relies; relying on this body the Buddha attained the omniscience of all kinds. A good man should reflect thus: 「是身，一切種智所依處」 tr. "This body is the place on which the omniscience of all kinds relies" (this form body is precisely the place on which the omniscience of all kinds relies). For this reason, my relics after my nirvāṇa ought rightly to receive offerings.’

To Hear and Write Out Prajñā Is Precisely to Make Offerings to the Omniscience of All Kinds; Prajñā Gives Birth to the Five Perfections and So On Up to All the Buddhas

‘Again, Kauśika! If a good man or good woman hears this prajñāpāramitā and is able to write it out, receive and uphold it, draw near to it, read it, recite it, and rightly recollect it, and with flowers, incense, necklaces, powdered incense, ointment incense, banners and canopies, and music pays reverence, makes offerings, honours and praises it, this good man or good woman is thereby making offerings to the omniscience of all kinds. For this reason, Kauśika, if there is a good man or good woman who writes out this prajñāpāramitā, or receives and upholds it, draws near to it, reads it, recites it, expounds it, rightly recollects it, makes offerings to it, pays reverence, honours and praises it, with flowers, incense, necklaces, and so on up to music; and if again there is another good man or good woman who, after the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, makes offerings to the relics and raises a jewelled stūpa, pays reverence, honours and praises it, with flowers, incense, and so on up to music—comparing the two, if there is a good man or good woman who writes out and receives and upholds this prajñāpāramitā, makes offerings to it, pays reverence, honours and praises it, with flowers, incense, necklaces, and so on up to music, the merit this person gains is greater! Why? Because from within this prajñāpāramitā the five perfections are born; inner emptiness and so on up to the emptiness of non-existent dharmas and existent dharmas (the eighteen emptinesses) are born; the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, all samādhis, all meditative concentrations, and all dhāraṇī (total retention) are born from within prajñāpāramitā; bringing beings to maturity and purifying buddha-worlds are born from within prajñāpāramitā; the accomplishment of the bodhisattva's family, the accomplishment of the form body, the accomplishment of the things that sustain life, the accomplishment of the retinue, and the accomplishment of great loving-kindness and great compassion are born from within prajñāpāramitā; those born into great kṣatriya clans (the royal caste), great brahmin clans, and great householder families are all born from within this prajñāpāramitā; the heavens of the Four Heavenly Kings and so on up to the Akaniṣṭha heaven, srota-āpanna and so on up to arhat, pratyekabuddhas, the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, the buddhas, and the omniscience of all kinds of the buddhas are all born from within this prajñāpāramitā.’

Śakra Asks Why the People of Jambudvīpa Do Not Make Offerings to Prajñā, and the Buddha Answers with a Chain of Questions in Return

At that time Śakra Devānām Indra said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! The people of Jambudvīpa (the southern continent of Jambudvīpa where we dwell) do not make offerings to prajñāpāramitā, do not pay it reverence, do not honour it, and do not praise it—is it because they do not know that making offerings to it has many benefits?’

The Buddha told Śakra Devānām Indra: ‘Kauśika! What do you think? In Jambudvīpa how many people have unbreakable faith in the Buddha (a faith firm and not to be broken)? Unbreakable faith in the Dharma and in the Saṅgha? How many people are without doubt regarding the Buddha? Without doubt regarding the Dharma and regarding the Saṅgha? How many people have decisive understanding of the Buddha (thoroughly penetrating comprehension)? Decisive understanding of the Dharma and of the Saṅgha?’

Śakra Devānām Indra said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! Among the people of Jambudvīpa, those with unbreakable faith in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha are few, and those who are without doubt and have decisive understanding regarding the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha are also few.’

The Buddha asked further: ‘Kauśika! What do you think? How many people in Jambudvīpa attain the thirty-seven limbs of the path (the thirty-seven factors of the path), the three gates of liberation (emptiness, the signless, and non-action), the eight liberations, the nine successive absorptions, the four unobstructed knowledges, and the six supernormal powers? How many people in Jambudvīpa, because of cutting off the three fetters, attain the path of srota-āpanna (the first fruit)? How many, cutting off the three fetters and with lust, anger, and delusion grown thin, attain the path of sakṛdāgāmin (the second fruit)? How many cut off the five lower fetters and attain the path of anāgāmin (the third fruit)? How many cut off the five higher fetters and attain arhatship (the fourth fruit)? How many people in Jambudvīpa seek to be pratyekabuddhas (the solitarily awakened)? How many arouse the mind of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi?’

Śakra Devānām Indra said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! In Jambudvīpa, those who attain the thirty-seven limbs of the path are few, and so on up to: those who arouse the mind of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi are also few.’

The Buddha Declares and Confirms: Few Are Those Who Believe, Understand, and Attain the Path, Because in Former Lives They Did Not Cultivate Wholesome Dharmas

The Buddha told Śakra Devānām Indra: ‘Just so! Just so! Kauśika! Those with unbreakable faith in the Buddha, unbreakable faith in the Dharma, and unbreakable faith in the Saṅgha are few; those without doubt regarding the Buddha, without doubt regarding the Dharma, and without doubt regarding the Saṅgha are few; those with decisive understanding of the Buddha, decisive understanding of the Dharma, and decisive understanding of the Saṅgha are few; Kauśika, those who attain the thirty-seven limbs of the path, the three gates of liberation, the eight liberations, the nine successive absorptions, the four unobstructed knowledges, and the six supernormal powers are also few. Kauśika! Those who cut off the three fetters and gain srota-āpanna, who cut off the three fetters and with lust, anger, and delusion grown thin gain sakṛdāgāmin, who cut off the five lower fetters and gain anāgāmin, and who cut off the five higher fetters and gain arhatship are also few; those who seek to be pratyekabuddhas are few; among these, those who arouse the mind of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi are also few, and among those who have aroused the mind, those who truly practise the bodhisattva path are also few. Why? Because in their former lives these beings did not see the Buddha, did not hear the Dharma, did not make offerings to the Bhikṣu Saṅgha; did not give, did not keep the precepts, did not practise forbearance, were not diligent, did not practise meditative concentration, and had no wisdom; they never heard of inner emptiness, outer emptiness, and so on up to the emptiness of non-existent dharmas and existent dharmas; nor did they ever hear of or cultivate the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas; nor did they ever hear of or cultivate the gates of samādhi and the gates of dhāraṇī; nor did they ever hear of or cultivate omniscience and the omniscience of all kinds. Kauśika! Because of such causes and conditions, you should know: beings with unbreakable faith in the Buddha, unbreakable faith in the Dharma, and unbreakable faith in the Saṅgha are few; and so on up to: beings who seek the path of the pratyekabuddha are few; among these, beings who arouse the mind of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi are few; among beings who have aroused the mind, beings who practise the bodhisattva path are few; and among these, beings who attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi are also few.’

With the Buddha Eye He Sees That Beings Who Depart from Prajñā Mostly Fall into the Two Vehicles, and So One Should Hear and Uphold Prajñā and All the Other Wholesome Dharmas

‘Kauśika! With the Buddha eye I see immeasurable asaṃkhyeya beings in the east arousing the mind of the path, practising the mind of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, practising the bodhisattva path; because these beings depart from the power of the skilful means of prajñāpāramitā, perhaps one or perhaps two are able to abide in the ground of avaivartika (non-retrogressing), and the rest mostly fall into the ground of the śrāvaka and the ground of the pratyekabuddha. The south, the west, the north, the four intermediate directions (the four corners), the zenith, and the nadir are also all like this. For this reason, Kauśika, a good man or good woman who has aroused the mind to seek anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi should hear prajñāpāramitā, should receive and uphold it, draw near to it, read it, recite it, expound it, and rightly recollect it; and having received and upheld it, drawn near to it, read it, recited it, expounded it, and rightly recollected it, should further write it out as a scroll of the sūtra, and pay reverence, make offerings, honour and praise it, with incense, flowers, necklaces, and so on up to music.

‘Those other wholesome dharmas that can enter into prajñāpāramitā should also be heard, received and upheld, and so on up to rightly recollected. What are the other wholesome dharmas? They are namely dānapāramitā, which is giving; śīlapāramitā, which is keeping the precepts; kṣāntipāramitā, which is forbearance; vīryapāramitā, which is diligence; and dhyānapāramitā, which is meditative concentration; inner emptiness, outer emptiness, and so on up to the emptiness of non-existent dharmas and existent dharmas; the gates of samādhi and the gates of dhāraṇī; the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas; great loving-kindness and great compassion. Immeasurable wholesome dharmas such as these all enter into prajñāpāramitā, and these too should be heard, received and upheld, and so on up to rightly recollected. Why? Because this good man or good woman should give rise to this recollection—when the Buddha was formerly a bodhisattva, he practised thus and trained thus, namely in prajñāpāramitā, dhyānapāramitā, vīryapāramitā, kṣāntipāramitā, śīlapāramitā, and dānapāramitā; in inner emptiness and so on up to the emptiness of non-existent dharmas and existent dharmas; in the gates of samādhi and the gates of dhāraṇī; in the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas; in great loving-kindness and great compassion; immeasurable buddha-dharmas such as these we too should train in, following him. Why? Because prajñāpāramitā is what we revere, and dhyānapāramitā and so on up to the immeasurable other wholesome dharmas are also what we revere; this is the Dharma seal of all the buddhas, and also the Dharma seal of the pratyekabuddhas, arhats, anāgāmin, sakṛdāgāmin, and srota-āpanna; the buddhas trained in this prajñāpāramitā and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds and crossed over to the other shore, and the pratyekabuddhas, arhats, anāgāmin, sakṛdāgāmin, and srota-āpanna also trained in this prajñāpāramitā and so on up to omniscience and crossed over to the other shore. For this reason, Kauśika, a good man or good woman, whether while the Buddha is in the world or after the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, should rely on prajñāpāramitā, dhyānapāramitā, vīryapāramitā, kṣāntipāramitā, śīlapāramitā, and dānapāramitā, and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds, on which too one should rely. Why? Because this prajñāpāramitā and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds is that on which the śrāvakas, the pratyekabuddhas, the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, and all the gods, humans, and asuras of the world can rely.’

What follows is the treatise's explanation.

The Treatise-Author Asks and Answers: Why Does Śakra Weigh Prajñā against the Relics?—The Difference between the Faculty of Faith and the Faculty of Wisdom

The treatise-author asks: the Buddha has already praised the merits of prajñā in many ways; why now does Śakra Devānām Indra still use the relics to weigh how great or small the merits of prajñā are?

The treatise-author answers: people in whom the faculty of faith predominates like to make offerings to relics; people in whom the faculty of wisdom predominates like to read and recite the scriptures. Therefore Śakra asks: 「有人書經供養，有人供養舍利，何所為多？」 tr. "One person writes out the sūtra and makes offerings to it; another person makes offerings to the relics—which is greater?" (one person writes out the scroll of the sūtra and makes offerings to it, another person makes offerings to the relics—which one gains more merit?) As for the meaning of 「華香、瓔珞」 tr. "flowers, incense, necklaces" and the rest, it is as explained before, and is not explained again here. What is called 「於汝意云何」 tr. "What do you think?" means that among the four ways of answering a question, this is the answer by counter-question. Therefore the Buddha asks Śakra Devānām Indra in return. For it may be that someone gains much merit by making offerings to the relics, and it may be that someone also gains much merit by making offerings to prajñāpāramitā; it depends on each person's mind, and the Buddha cannot give one fixed answer, and so he asks in return.

Prajñā Gives Birth to the Five Perfections; Only by Attaining the Real Mark Can One Penetrate Giving and Keeping the Precepts by the Middle Path

What is called 「從般若波羅蜜中生五波羅蜜」 tr. "From within prajñāpāramitā the five perfections are born" is just as the Buddha himself says in a later chapter: 「無方便智慧布施迴向，不名檀波羅蜜」 tr. "Giving and dedication without the wisdom of skilful means is not called dānapāramitā" (giving and dedication without the skilful-means wisdom of prajñā does not count as true dānapāramitā). The eighteen emptinesses are precisely wisdom; because wisdom serves as their cause and condition, the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds are born. Although these dharmas are not all wisdom, because their nature is the same as wisdom's and they take wisdom as their guide, it is said 「從般若生」 tr. "born from prajñā." When one practises prajñāpāramitā and attains the real mark of all dharmas, one is able to penetrate giving, keeping the precepts, and the rest; if one cannot attain the real mark of prajñā, one cannot penetrate giving and keeping the precepts. Why? If one says that all dharmas are empty, then there is no such thing as sin and no such thing as merit—why then bother to give or keep the precepts? If one says that dharmas truly have a fixed mark, then they ought not to arise from causes and conditions, because they already existed beforehand; since they already existed, what need is there for them to arise again? If one says that beings are permanent and unchanging, then they are like space, and there would be no one who dies; if one says they are annihilated and impermanent, then the spirit-consciousness perishes together with the body, and there is no sin or merit in later lives. If one says there are no beings at all, where then would there be the sin of killing? In that case there would also be no precept of not killing and the rest. If one is able to attain the dharma of the real mark of this prajñāpāramitā, one does not fall into the two extremes of 「有」 tr. "existence" and 「無」 tr. "non-existence," but penetrates giving, keeping the precepts, and the rest by the middle path. It is because of the karmic results of this giving, keeping the precepts, and the rest that there are great kṣatriya clans and so on up to the buddhas.

Why Do the People of Jambudvīpa Not Make Offerings to Prajñā?—Because the Wise Are Few; It Is Like the Blind Who Do Not Recognise Gold and Jewels

The treatise-author asks: the people of Jambudvīpa mostly covet benefit and merit; why then do they not make offerings to prajñāpāramitā?

The treatise-author answers: because the wise are few, they do not know how to make offerings to prajñā, and this is not the fault of prajñā; it is like gold and jewels, which the blind do not recognise—it is not that the treasure is not precious, but that the blind have no eyes. For among the people of Jambudvīpa, those who merely believe in the Three Honoured Ones (the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha, the Three Jewels) are already few, how much less those who both know and are able to practise! The Buddha wishes to have Śakra Devānām Indra say it himself, and so he asks in return: 「有幾許人於三尊得不壞信」 tr. "How many people have gained unbreakable faith in the Three Honoured Ones?" and so on—that is, how many people have gained an unbreakable faith in the Three Jewels.

The Difference among the Three Matters of Unbreakable Faith, Being without Doubt, and Decisive Understanding, and Their Results

The treatise-author asks: unbreakable faith, being without doubt, and decisive understanding—what difference is there among these three?

The treatise-author answers: someone says: there is no difference; the Buddha speaks with many kinds of adorned words only in order to awaken people's minds; in fact they are one meaning with different names. Someone says: to gain an unbreakable faith in the Three Jewels is called unbreakable faith. How does one know that he has gained unbreakable faith? Because he has no doubt regarding the Three Jewels. And how does one know that he has no doubt? Because he has decisive and thorough understanding of the Three Jewels.

The treatise-author asks further: what difference is there between being without doubt and decisive understanding?

The treatise-author answers: first believing and accepting the Three Jewels is therefore called being without doubt; wisdom reaching its ultimate and thorough end is therefore called decisive understanding. It is like crossing water: first entering the water is being without doubt; climbing onto the other shore is decisive understanding. By the power of the three parts of noble morality, faith is unbreakable; by the power of the four parts, there is being without doubt; by the power of the one part of right view, there is decisive understanding. Again, in the path of seeing the truths there is unbreakable faith; in the path of reflection there is being without doubt; in the path beyond training there is decisive understanding. In such ways as these there are many kinds of distinction.

What results can these three matters bring? From the thirty-seven limbs of the path and so on up to the six supernormal powers—these are conditioned fruits; the complete cutting off of the three fetters and so on up to the complete cutting off of the afflictions together with their residual habits—these are unconditioned fruits; what is gained is results such as these. As for Śakra Devānām Indra, he has the power, brought about by his karmic result and born with him, of knowing others' minds; he has also, with the divine ear, heard the distinctions among the paths; and further, because he is a great bodhisattva of keen faculties and able to enter the samādhi of contemplating the minds of beings, he is able to know the distinctions among the paths, and so he answers the Buddha: 「深信者少」 tr. "Those of deep faith are few"—that is, the people of deep faith are few.

The Other Wholesome Dharmas Are the Other Sūtras; the Three Vehicles Train Together in Prajñā, Each Training According to Its Share

From srota-āpanna and so on up to those who first arouse the mind to seek the Buddha path, each level is fewer than the one before; precisely because they are so few, they do not know how to make offerings to prajñā. Why are they so few? Because in former lives, in the flow of birth and death, they never heard the names of the Three Jewels, and so on up to never hearing the name of the omniscience of all kinds. The Buddha wishes to confirm what was said above, and so he says: 「我今以佛眼觀十方無量阿僧祇眾生發無上道，離般若方便力故，若一、若二住阿毘跋致地」 tr. "I now with the Buddha eye observe immeasurable asaṃkhyeya beings of the ten directions arousing the unsurpassed path; because they depart from the power of the skilful means of prajñā, perhaps one, perhaps two abide in the ground of avaivartika"—I now with the Buddha eye observe immeasurable asaṃkhyeya beings of the ten directions arousing the mind of the unsurpassed path; because they have departed from the power of the skilful means of prajñā, only one or two are able to abide in the ground of avaivartika; here 「阿毘跋致」 tr. "avaivartika" and the 「阿鞞跋致」 tr. "avaivartika" of the sūtra text above are both transliterations of non-retrogressing.

What is called 「諸餘善法入般若波羅蜜」 tr. "the other wholesome dharmas enter into prajñāpāramitā" refers to the other sūtras, namely the Lotus Sūtra, the Sūtra of the Secret Traces, and so on. Among the twelve divisions of the scriptures, whatever is the same in meaning as prajñā, although it is not called a prajñāpāramitā sūtra, its meaning is nevertheless the same as prajñāpāramitā.

The treatise-author asks: why does even the srota-āpanna train in prajñāpāramitā and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds, and reach the other shore?

The treatise-author answers: the six perfections, the three gates of liberation, the thirty-seven limbs of the path, and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds spoken of here are not dharmas belonging to bodhisattvas alone, but are shared by the three vehicles (the śrāvaka, the pratyekabuddha, and the Buddha); it is only that each trains according to its own share and position.

Returning Below to the Sūtra: Weighing the Stūpa—One Stūpa of the Seven Jewels Is Not Equal to Making Offerings to Prajñā, and So Too When They Fill Jambudvīpa

The Buddha went on to tell Śakra: ‘Kauśika! If there is a good man or good woman who, after the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, in order to make offerings to the Buddha, builds a stūpa of the seven jewels, one yojana high (the yojana is an Indian unit of distance), and with heavenly incense, heavenly flowers, heavenly necklaces, heavenly powdered incense, heavenly ointment incense, heavenly garments, heavenly banners and canopies, and heavenly music makes offerings to it, pays reverence, honours and praises it—Kauśika, what do you think? Is the merit this good man or good woman gains from these causes and conditions much or not?’

Śakra Devānām Indra said: ‘World-Honored One! Very much! Very much!’

The Buddha said: ‘It is not equal to that of a good man or good woman such as this: one who hears this prajñāpāramitā, writes it out, receives and upholds it, draws near to it, rightly recollects it, does not part from the mind of omniscience, and also makes offerings to it, pays reverence, honours and praises it, making offerings with flowers, incense, necklaces, powdered incense, ointment incense, banners and canopies, and music. This good man or good woman's merit is greater.’

The Buddha further told Śakra Devānām Indra, Kauśika: ‘Set aside for now this one stūpa of the seven jewels. If a good man or good woman, in order to make offerings to the Buddha, after the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, raises stūpas of the seven jewels filling the whole of Jambudvīpa, each one yojana high, and pays reverence, honours and praises them, making offerings with flowers, incense, necklaces, banners and canopies, and music—Kauśika, what do you think? Is the merit this good man or good woman gains much or not?’

Śakra Devānām Indra said: ‘World-Honored One! His merit is very much!’

Rising Level by Level: Filling the Four Continents, a Small Thousand World, a Middle Two-thousand World, and the Three-thousand Great-thousand World—None Is Equal to Making Offerings to Prajñā

The Buddha said: ‘It is not equal to that of a good man or good woman such as this, who makes offerings to prajñāpāramitā as described before; his merit is greater. Kauśika! Set aside further these stūpas of the seven jewels filling one Jambudvīpa. There is a good man or good woman who, in order to make offerings to the Buddha, after the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, raises stūpas of the seven jewels filling the four continents, each one yojana high, making offerings as described before. Kauśika, what do you think? Is this good man or good woman's merit much or not?’

Śakra Devānām Indra said: ‘Very much! Very much!’

The Buddha said: ‘It is not equal to that of a good man or good woman such as this, who writes out and receives and upholds prajñāpāramitā, pays reverence, honours and praises it, and makes offerings with flowers, incense, and so on up to music; his merit is greater. Kauśika! Set aside further these stūpas of the seven jewels filling the four continents. If there is a good man or good woman who, in order to make offerings to the Buddha, after the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, raises stūpas of the seven jewels filling a small thousand world, each one yojana high, making offerings as described before—Kauśika, what do you think? Is this good man or good woman's merit much or not?’

Śakra Devānām Indra said: ‘Very much! Very much!’

The Buddha said: ‘It is not equal to that of a good man or good woman such as this, who writes out this prajñāpāramitā, receives and upholds it, pays reverence, honours and praises it, and makes offerings with flowers, incense, and so on up to music; his merit is greater. Kauśika! Set aside further these stūpas of the seven jewels filling a small thousand world. If there is a good man or good woman who, in order to make offerings to the Buddha, after the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, raises stūpas of the seven jewels filling a middle two-thousand world, each one yojana high, making offerings as described before; it is still not equal to the merit of making offerings to prajñāpāramitā, which is greater. Set aside further these stūpas of the seven jewels filling a middle two-thousand world. If there is a good man or good woman who, in order to make offerings to the Buddha, after the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, raises stūpas of the seven jewels filling the three-thousand great-thousand world, each one yojana high, and makes offerings to them for the whole of this life, with heavenly flowers, heavenly incense, heavenly necklaces, and so on up to heavenly music—what do you think? Is the merit this good man or good woman gains much or not?’

Śakra Devānām Indra said: ‘World-Honored One! Very much! Very much!’

Though Each and Every Being in the Three-thousand Great-thousand World Raises a Stūpa of the Seven Jewels, It Is Still Not Equal to Writing Out and Upholding Prajñā

The Buddha said: ‘It is not equal to that of a good man or good woman such as this, who writes out and receives and upholds this prajñāpāramitā, pays reverence, honours and praises it, and makes offerings with flowers, incense, and so on up to music; his merit is greater. Set aside further these stūpas of the seven jewels filling the three-thousand great-thousand world. Suppose the beings in the three-thousand great-thousand world, each and every one of them, in order to make offerings to the Buddha, after the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, each raise a stūpa of the seven jewels, pay reverence, honour and praise it, and make offerings with flowers, incense, and so on up to music. If there is a good man or good woman who writes out and receives and upholds prajñāpāramitā, and so on up to rightly recollecting it, does not part from the mind of omniscience, and also pays reverence, honours and praises it, and makes offerings with flowers, incense, necklaces, and so on up to music, the merit this person gains is still greater.’

Śakra Declares and Confirms: Making Offerings to Prajñā Is Making Offerings to the Buddhas of the Three Times; All Wholesome Dharmas Enter into Prajñā and Are the Dharma Seal of All the Buddhas

Śakra Devānām Indra said to the Buddha: ‘Just so! Just so! World-Honored One! This person, making offerings to, paying reverence to, honouring and praising this prajñāpāramitā, is thereby making offerings to all the buddhas of the three times, past, future, and present!

‘World-Honored One! Suppose the beings of worlds of the ten directions as many as the sands of the Ganges, each and every one of them, in order to make offerings to the Buddha, after the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, each raise a stūpa of the seven jewels, one yojana high, and this person, whether for one kalpa or for nearly one kalpa, pays reverence, honours and praises, and makes offerings with flowers, incense, and so on up to music. World-Honored One! Is the merit such a good man or good woman gains much or not?’

The Buddha said: ‘Very much!’

Śakra Devānām Indra said: ‘If there is a good man or good woman who writes out and receives and upholds this prajñāpāramitā, and so on up to rightly recollecting it, and also pays reverence, honours and praises it, and makes offerings with flowers, incense, and so on up to music, his merit is greater still, by far! Why? World-Honored One! Because all wholesome dharmas enter into prajñāpāramitā, namely the ten wholesome paths; the four dhyānas, the four immeasurable minds, the four formless absorptions; the thirty-seven limbs of the path; the three gates of liberation—emptiness, the signless, and non-action; the four truths—the truth of suffering, the truth of origination, the truth of cessation, and the truth of the path; the six supernormal powers, the eight liberations, the nine successive absorptions; dānapāramitā, which is giving; śīlapāramitā, which is keeping the precepts; kṣāntipāramitā, which is forbearance; vīryapāramitā, which is diligence; dhyānapāramitā, which is meditative concentration; prajñāpāramitā, which is wisdom; inner emptiness and so on up to the emptiness of non-existent dharmas and existent dharmas; the gates of samādhi and the gates of dhāraṇī; the ten powers of the Buddha, the four fearlessnesses, the four unobstructed knowledges, great loving-kindness and great compassion, the eighteen unshared dharmas; omniscience, knowledge of the kinds of paths, and omniscience of all kinds. World-Honored One! This is called the Dharma seal of all the buddhas. Within this Dharma seal, all the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, and the buddhas of the past, future, and present, all train in this Dharma seal and cross over to the other shore.’

What follows is the treatise's explanation.

The Treatise-Author Explains: The Buddha Uses the Stūpa as a Simile to Prove the Merit of Prajñā; Is the Stūpa Real or Hypothetical?

The treatise-author explains: prajñāpāramitā, if one is able to hear it, receive and uphold it, recite it, read it, and so on, has immeasurable merit. Because he wishes to proclaim it further, he uses a matter ready at hand as a simile to prove it. When people see a stūpa built of earth standing tall and great, at once they give rise to this thought: that the merit of the patron who built this stūpa is exceedingly great—how much more one who raises a stūpa of the seven jewels, as high as one yojana! Therefore the Buddha uses the stūpa as a simile.

The treatise-author asks: is this stūpa real, or is it hypothetical?

The treatise-author answers: the Buddha makes this simile only because he wishes to make people understand and distinguish how great or small the merit is; one should not press the question of whether it is unreal or real!

Someone says: some are real and some are hypothetical. For example, after the parinirvāṇa of Kāśyapa Buddha there was a king named Kṛkin. At that time the human life-span was twenty thousand years; this king, in order to make offerings to the relics, built a stūpa of the seven jewels fifty li high. Again, in a past age there was a wheel-turning king named Dezhu, who in a single day built five hundred stūpas, each five hundred yojanas high. Seen in this way, there really are such things; whereas the 「滿三千大千世界」 tr. "filling the three-thousand great-thousand world" spoken of in the sūtra text here—this matter is a hypothetical simile.

Someone Says All Are Actually Real: From Petty Kings to the Brahmā King and Bodhisattvas Raising Stūpas; Explaining 「滿」 tr. "Filling" and 「一一眾生」 tr. "Each and Every Being"

Someone says: these are all actually real. For example, a petty king builds a stūpa of the seven jewels according to his own strength; a great king can build a stūpa of the seven jewels one yojana high, or more than one yojana; a lesser wheel-turning king can build stūpas of the seven jewels filling the four continents; a greater wheel-turning king can build stūpas of the seven jewels exceeding the four continents; the Brahmā king governs the three-thousand great-thousand world and is also a disciple of the Buddha, and he is able, with a single movement of thought, to transform and build stūpas reaching as high as the Brahmā heaven, filling the three-thousand great-thousand world; or there are bodhisattvas who have attained the gates of dhāraṇī and the gates of samādhi, and because they practise the six perfections deeply, after the Buddha's passing into extinction they are able to build stūpas of the seven jewels filling the three-thousand great-thousand world.

What is called 「滿」 tr. "filling" is said only to indicate the great number; it does not mean that the stūpas are so dense that not the slightest gap is left between one stūpa and the next, nor that they fill the space seamlessly. The 「一一眾生」 tr. "each and every being" spoken of afterwards means that because the patrons are many, the merit is great.

The Buddha Himself States the Causes and Conditions of Gaining Merit: Prajñā Gives Birth to the Buddha, While the Relics Are Indeterminate and Await a Later Result

Here the Buddha himself states the causes and conditions of gaining merit: 「十善道乃至一切種智皆攝在般若波羅蜜中」 tr. "The ten wholesome paths and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds are all gathered within prajñāpāramitā"—that is, from the ten wholesome paths and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds, all are gathered within prajñāpāramitā. When these dharmas come together, that is called prajñāpāramitā.

In this prajñā, even if one speaks only of the single point that it gives birth to the Buddha, it still ought rightly to receive offerings; how much more since it also gives birth to the three vehicles (the śrāvaka, the pratyekabuddha, and the Buddha) and to the many kinds of happiness among humans and gods—all of which exist only because there is prajñāpāramitā—how could one not make offerings to it!

The relics are an indeterminate dharma, a neutral dharma that is neither wholesome nor unwholesome; only because they are the place on which wholesome dharmas rely can they later give people a karmic result, which must await causes and conditions and pass through time; whereas practising prajñāpāramitā gains its fruit immediately in the present, and later still gains a karmic result as well—gaining both a present fruit and a later result.

Receiving, Upholding, and Making Offerings to Prajñā Gains Boundless Merit; All the Dharmas of the Buddhas Are Born from within Prajñā

At that time the Buddha told Śakra Devānām Indra (Śakra, that is, the lord of the Trāyastriṃśa heaven): ‘Just so! Just so! Kauśika (Śakra's original clan name)! These good men and good women who write out this prajñāpāramitā (the perfection of wisdom), hold the scroll of the sūtra, receive it and study it, draw near to it, read and recite it, expound it, and rightly recollect it, and who further make offerings of flowers and incense, necklaces, powdered incense (incense pounded into powder), scented ointment (fragrant oil for anointing the body), banners and canopies, and music, will gain merit immeasurable, innumerable, inconceivable, incalculable, and boundless! Why? The omniscience and the omniscience of all kinds of the buddhas are all born from within prajñāpāramitā. The bodhisattva-mahāsattvas' dhyānapāramitā of meditative concentration, vīryapāramitā of diligence, kṣāntipāramitā of forbearance, śīlapāramitā of keeping the precepts, and dānapāramitā of giving are all born from within prajñāpāramitā. Inner emptiness and so on up to the emptiness of non-existent dharmas and existent dharmas, and the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, are all born from within prajñāpāramitā. The five eyes of the buddhas (the flesh eye, the heavenly eye, the wisdom eye, the Dharma eye, and the Buddha eye) are all born from within prajñāpāramitā. Bringing beings to maturity, purifying buddha-worlds, the knowledge of the kinds of paths, the omniscience of all kinds, and the dharmas of the buddhas are all born from within prajñāpāramitā. The śrāvaka vehicle, the pratyekabuddha vehicle, and the Buddha vehicle are all born from within prajñāpāramitā.’

The Merit of Receiving and Upholding Prajñā Surpasses Making Offerings to Stūpas of the Seven Jewels

‘For this reason, Kauśika! Good men and good women who write out this prajñāpāramitā, receive and uphold the scroll of the sūtra, draw near to it, read and recite it, expound it, and rightly recollect it, and who further make offerings of flowers and incense and so on up to music, surpass the merit of the earlier offering (the one spoken of in the previous chapter) to stūpas of the seven jewels—even if it is compared as a hundredth part, a thousandth part, or a thousand-koṭi-ten-thousandth part, and so on up to calculation and simile, it cannot reach it!’

When Prajñā Is in the World the Three Jewels Do Not Perish, and the Myriad Goods Appear in the World

‘Why? Kauśika! If prajñāpāramitā is in the world, the Buddha Jewel, the Dharma Jewel, and the Jewel of the Bhikṣu Saṅgha will never perish. If prajñāpāramitā is in the world, the ten wholesome paths, the four dhyānas, the four immeasurable minds, the four formless absorptions, dānapāramitā, which is giving, and so on up to prajñāpāramitā, which is wisdom, the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, omniscience, and the omniscience of all kinds all appear in the world. If prajñāpāramitā is in the world, the world then has great kṣatriya clans (the royal clan), great brahmin clans, and great householder families (families of wealth and rank); it has the heavens of the Four Heavenly Kings and so on up to the Akaniṣṭha heavens (the summit of the form realm, the Heaven of Ultimate Form); it has the fruit of srota-āpanna and so on up to the fruit of arhat, the pratyekabuddha path, bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, the unsurpassed Buddha path, the turning of the Dharma wheel, the bringing of beings to maturity, and the purifying of buddha-worlds.’

What follows is the treatise's explanation.

The Treatise-Author Explains the Chapter's Name: The Buddha Declares and Seals What Śakra Praised, and So It Is Named "Declaring the Truth"

The treatise-author explains: above, Śakra answered the Buddha, saying: ‘The merit of making offerings to prajñā is very great.’ Since Śakra had spoken thus, and there were in the assembly still greater gods—and because Śakra is not an omniscient person, what he said might be mistaken—therefore the Buddha himself sealed what he had said, saying: ‘Just so! Just so!’—this phrase is precisely the root meaning of this chapter's name, 「述誠」 tr. "Declaring the Truth": the Buddha declares and confirms Śakra's words of weighing.

First Difficulty: The Mark of Prajñā Is Quiescent like Space—Why Say That While It Is in the World the Three Jewels Do Not Perish?

Someone asks: if the substance and mark of prajñāpāramitā is that all contemplations cease, the path of speech is cut off, it neither arises nor ceases, and it is like the mark of space, then why is it now said 「般若在世者，三寶不滅」 tr. "when prajñā is in the world, the Three Jewels do not perish"?

The treatise-author answers: the nature of prajñāpāramitā, whether a Buddha appears in the world or no Buddha appears in the world, abides always and does not perish. What is here called 「在世」 tr. "in the world" refers to the scroll of the prajñā sūtra, the scroll that can be studied, read, and recited—this is speaking of the result in the cause (speaking of the result in the cause: taking 「般若」 tr. "prajñā", the name that belongs to the ground of the result, and placing it upon the scroll, a thing that belongs to the ground of the cause).

The Simile of the Deep Well: The Real Mark Is like a Deep Well, the Scroll like a Rope

It is like a well that is very deep, and the rope for drawing water (the well-rope) is too short to reach the water, so one says the well-water is lost; yet in truth the well-water is not lost. The real mark of prajñāpāramitā is like that deep well, and the scroll is like that rope; it is because practitioners cannot write it out or study it that one says (prajñā) has perished—what perishes is the condition for studying it, not the real mark of prajñā itself.

Second Difficulty: Since the Three Jewels Already Include All Wholesome Dharmas, Why Further List the Ten Wholesome Paths and So On up to the Omniscience of All Kinds?

Someone further asks: if it is said that the Three Jewels already include in full all wholesome persons and wholesome dharmas, why is it further said 「般若在世者，世間有十善道乃至一切種智」 tr. "when prajñā is in the world, the world has the ten wholesome paths and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds"?

The treatise-author answers: these dharmas and these paths are all the broad explanation of the meaning within the Three Jewels. The Buddha Jewel is the five aggregates of one beyond training, included in the Buddha's dharmas (the body made of the five aggregates of a noble one beyond training). The Dharma Jewel is the third truth among the four truths, that is, nirvāṇa; excluding the merits of those in training and beyond training included in the four fruits of the śramaṇa (those belong to the Saṅgha Jewel), the remaining merits of the pratyekabuddha and merits of the bodhisattva (are also included in the Dharma Jewel). The Saṅgha Jewel is the five aggregates of those in training and beyond training of the four directions and four fruits.

The Rest Are All Gates of Skilful Means to the Path, and Therefore They Are Spoken of Separately

As for the rest—the ten wholesome paths, the four dhyānas, the four immeasurables, and so on—they are all gates of skilful means that lead toward the path, and therefore they are set up separately and spoken of (not merged into the Three Jewels).

The Gods Exhort Śakra to Receive and Uphold Prajñā: Because It Is Received and Upheld, Wholesome Dharmas Are Complete, the Three Jewels Are Not Cut Off, and the Myriad Goods Appear in the World

At that time all the gods of the three-thousand great-thousand world, from the heavens of the Four Heavenly Kings and so on up to the Akaniṣṭha heaven, the Heaven of Ultimate Form, said to Śakra Devānām Indra (Śakra, the lord of the Trāyastriṃśa heaven): ‘You ought to receive this prajñāpāramitā (the perfection of wisdom), you ought to uphold it, you ought to draw near to it, you ought to read it, recite it, expound it, and rightly recollect it! Why? Because one receives and upholds prajñāpāramitā and so on up to rightly recollecting it, all the wholesome dharmas one has cultivated and gathered will be complete and full; it can increase the numbers of the gods and diminish the asuras (a class of beings hostile to the gods). Gods! Because one receives and upholds prajñāpāramitā and so on up to rightly recollecting it, the seed of the Buddha is not cut off, and the seed of the Dharma and the seed of the Saṅgha are not cut off either; because the seed of the Buddha, the seed of the Dharma, and the seed of the Saṅgha are not cut off, there are in the world dānapāramitā (the perfection of giving), which is giving, śīlapāramitā (the perfection of morality), which is keeping the precepts, kṣāntipāramitā (the perfection of patience), which is forbearance, vīryapāramitā (the perfection of vigour), which is diligence, dhyānapāramitā (the perfection of meditation), which is meditative concentration, and prajñāpāramitā, which is wisdom, all appearing in the world; the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, and the bodhisattva path, all appear in the world; the fruit of srota-āpanna, the fruit of sakṛdāgāmin, the fruit of anāgāmin, the fruit of arhat, the path of the pratyekabuddha, and the Buddha path—from the srota-āpanna and so on up to the Buddha—all appear in the world.’

The Buddha Exhorts Śakra to Receive and Uphold It: When the Asuras Wish to Fight, Recite It and Their Evil Minds Cease; When the Five Signs of Death Appear, Recite and Read It and They Are Born Again in Their Own Place

At that time the Buddha told Śakra Devānām Indra: ‘Kauśika (Śakra's original clan name)! You ought to receive this prajñāpāramitā, uphold it, read it, recite it, expound it, and rightly recollect it! Why? If the asuras give rise to the thought of wishing to do battle with the Heaven of the Thirty-three (the Trāyastriṃśa heaven), Kauśika, you ought at that time to recite prajñāpāramitā, and the evil minds of the asuras will at once cease and not arise again. Kauśika! If the five signs of death appear before gods or goddesses, and they are about to fall to an undesirable destination, you ought, in their presence, to recite and read prajñāpāramitā; these gods and goddesses, because of hearing the power of the merit of prajñāpāramitā, will still be born again in their original heavenly place. Why? Because hearing prajñāpāramitā brings great benefit.’

Hearing Prajñā Once Passing Through the Ear Faculty, One Gradually Attains Awakening: The Buddhas of the Three Times All Train in Prajñā, and Prajñā Gathers In All Wholesome Dharmas

‘Again, Kauśika! If there are good men or good women, or gods or goddesses, who hear this Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra once passing through the ear faculty, because of this merit they will gradually attain unsurpassed, right, and complete awakening (anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi). Why? Kauśika! The buddhas of the past, together with their disciples, all trained in this prajñāpāramitā, attained unsurpassed, right, and complete awakening, and entered nirvāṇa without remainder. Kauśika! The buddhas of the future age and the buddhas of the ten directions now present, together with their disciples, all train in this prajñāpāramitā, attain unsurpassed, right, and complete awakening, and enter nirvāṇa without remainder. Why? Kauśika! This prajñāpāramitā gathers in all wholesome dharmas, whether the dharmas of the śrāvaka, the dharmas of the pratyekabuddha, the dharmas of the bodhisattva, or the dharmas of the Buddha.’

Śakra Declares for Himself: Prajñā Is the Great Bright Spell, the Unsurpassed Bright Spell, the Bright Spell Equal to the Unequalled

Śakra Devānām Indra said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! Prajñāpāramitā is 「大明呪、無上明呪、無等等明呪」 tr. "the great bright spell, the unsurpassed bright spell, the bright spell equal to the unequalled" (a bright spell that can break through darkness and remove obstructions, unsurpassed and beyond all compare). Why? World-Honored One! This prajñāpāramitā can remove and extinguish all unwholesome dharmas, and can bestow all wholesome dharmas.’

The Buddha Seals It and Explains It Broadly: Because It Is the Bright Spell, the Ten Wholesome Paths and All Dharmas, up to the Omniscience of All Kinds, Appear in the World

The Buddha told Śakra Devānām Indra: ‘Just so! Just so! Kauśika! Prajñāpāramitā is 「大明呪、無上明呪、無等等明呪」 tr. "the great bright spell, the unsurpassed bright spell, the bright spell equal to the unequalled". Why? Kauśika! The buddhas of the past, because of this bright spell, attained unsurpassed, right, and complete awakening; the buddhas of the future age and the buddhas of the ten directions now present also, because of this bright spell, attain unsurpassed, right, and complete awakening. Because of this bright spell, there are in the world the ten wholesome paths; there are the four dhyānas, the four immeasurable minds, and the four formless absorptions; there are dānapāramitā, which is giving, and so on up to prajñāpāramitā, which is wisdom, and the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas; there are the nature of dharmas, suchness, the mark of dharmas, the abiding of dharmas, the position of dharmas, and the limit of reality (various other names for the true and unchanging of all dharmas); there are the five eyes, the fruit of srota-āpanna and so on up to the fruit of arhat, the path of the pratyekabuddha, the Buddha path, omniscience, and the omniscience of all kinds. Kauśika! Through the causes and conditions of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, the ten wholesome paths appear in the world, and the four dhyānas, the four immeasurable minds, and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds, and from the srota-āpanna and so on up to the buddhas, appear in the world. It is like the full moon, which can send forth light and illuminate, and the stars too can send forth light and illuminate. Just so, Kauśika! All the wholesome dharmas and true dharmas of the world, from the ten wholesome paths and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds, when no buddha has appeared in the world, are all born from the bodhisattva; and the power of skilful means of this bodhisattva-mahāsattva is in turn all born from prajñāpāramitā. With this power of skilful means the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises dānapāramitā, which is giving, and so on up to dhyānapāramitā, cultivates inner emptiness and so on up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas, and cultivates the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, and yet does not realise and take hold of the ground of the śrāvaka or the pratyekabuddha, but is able to bring beings to maturity, purify buddha-worlds, and fulfil the accomplishment of lifespan, the accomplishment of the world, and the accomplishment of the bodhisattva retinue, and to attain the omniscience of all kinds; all of these are born from prajñāpāramitā.

Receiving and Upholding Prajñā Brings Merit in This Life: Poison, Weapons, Water, Fire, and the Four Hundred and Four Sicknesses Cannot Harm One

‘Again, Kauśika! If good men and good women hear prajñāpāramitā, receive and uphold it, draw near to it, and so on up to rightly recollecting it, these people will attain merit in this life and in later lives.’

Śakra Devānām Indra said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! What kind of good men and good women, receiving and upholding prajñāpāramitā, and so on up to rightly recollecting it, are able to attain merit in this life and in later lives?’

The Buddha told Śakra Devānām Indra: ‘If there are good men and good women who receive and uphold prajñāpāramitā, and so on up to rightly recollecting it, they will never die of poison, weapons and blades cannot wound them, water and fire cannot harm them, and so on up to: the four hundred and four kinds of sickness cannot strike them—excepting only the karmic result fixed by their former lives (that has other causes and conditions, and is not something the power of prajñā holds back).

In Official Matters, Kings and Ministers All Greet Them with Gladness: Because Their Minds of Loving-Kindness, Compassion, Sympathetic Joy, and Equanimity Are Turned toward Beings

‘Again, Kauśika! If some official matter arises, these good men and good women, because they read and recite prajñāpāramitā, go to where the officials are, and the officials do not reprove them. Why? It is because of the power of prajñāpāramitā! If good men and good women who read and recite this prajñāpāramitā come to where the king is, or where the crown prince or the great ministers are, the king and the crown prince and the great ministers all greet them with gladness and speak with them with a kindly and pleasant countenance. Why? Because these good men and good women constantly hold minds of loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity turned toward beings. Kauśika! If good men and good women receive and uphold prajñāpāramitā, and so on up to rightly recollecting it, they are able to attain such various kinds of merit in this life.

Receiving and Upholding Prajñā Brings Merit in Later Lives: Not Falling into the Evil Destinies, a Body Whole and Complete, Born by Transformation in Buddha-Worlds, Gradually Attaining Awakening

‘Kauśika! What is the merit in later lives of good men and good women? These good men and good women never depart from the ten wholesome paths, the four dhyānas, the four immeasurable minds, the four formless absorptions, the six perfections, and the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas. These people never fall into the three evil destinies; the body they receive is whole and complete; they are never born into families that are poor and lowly, of artisans, of latrine-cleaners, or of corpse-bearers. They constantly obtain the thirty-two marks, and are constantly born by transformation into the worlds of the buddhas now present; they never depart from the supernormal powers of the bodhisattva. If they wish to go from one buddha-world to another buddha-world to make offerings to the buddhas and to hear the buddhas expound the Dharma, they are at once able to do so as their minds intend; in the buddha-worlds through which they travel they bring beings to maturity and purify buddha-worlds, and gradually attain unsurpassed, right, and complete awakening. Kauśika! This is called the merit in later lives.

Concluding Exhortation: One Ought to Receive, Uphold, and Make Offerings, Constantly Not Parting from the Mind of Sarvajñā

‘For this reason, Kauśika, good men and good women ought to receive and uphold prajñāpāramitā, draw near to it, read it, recite it, expound it, and rightly recollect it, make offerings to it with flowers and incense and so on up to music, and constantly not part from the mind of omniscience (sarvajñā). These good men and good women, and so on up to the accomplishment of unsurpassed, right, and complete awakening, are all able to attain the accomplishment of merit in this life and in later lives.’

What follows is the treatise's explanation.

The Treatise-Author Explains: Because Many Praise It One after Another, People's Faith Grows Ever Deeper

The treatise-author explains: the Buddha is the king within the Dharma; after he praised those who receive and uphold prajñāpāramitā, next the heavenly king Śakra praised them; after Śakra praised them, now in turn the gods praise them. Because many people praise it one after another, people's faith grows ever deeper. Therefore the gods say: ‘You ought to receive this prajñāpāramitā.’

The Treatise-Author Explains the Causes and Conditions of Receiving and Upholding, and the Buddha's Approval of the Gods' Praise

Here the causes and conditions of receiving and upholding are set out: ‘cultivating various kinds of merit, increasing the gods, diminishing the asuras, the Three Jewels not being cut off, and various kinds of merit such as the six perfections appearing in the world.’

At that time the Buddha approved the gods' praise and told Śakra: ‘You ought to receive and uphold this prajñāpāramitā.’

Here the causes and conditions are set out: if the asuras give rise to evil minds and wish to do battle with the Heaven of the Thirty-three, and you at that time read and recite prajñā, the evil minds at once cease. If you read and recite prajñā at the time when the two armies face each other in battle array, the asuras at once withdraw.

Question and Answer One: Why Not Recite It Constantly So That Evil Minds Do Not Arise, Rather Than Letting the Two Armies Face Each Other?

Someone asks: if that is so, why not constantly recite prajñā, so that the evil minds of the asuras do not arise? Why must one wait until the two armies face each other in battle array (before reciting it)?

The treatise-author answers: the gods for the most part are greedily attached to the joys of merit, and their thoughts stained with desire are fierce and sharp; although they know that prajñā has great merit, they are not able to recite it constantly. Again, because the Trāyastriṃśa heaven has the causes and conditions of impure karma, it invites enemies, and they cannot but do battle.

The Teaching of the Five Signs of Death: Hearing the Real Mark in Prajñā, the Mind Becomes Pure, and So They Are Born Again in Their Own Place

When the lifespan of the gods is about to end, the five signs of death appear before them: first, the flower garlands on their heads wither; second, sweat flows from under their arms; third, flies come and settle on their bodies; fourth, they see another god seated in their own seat; fifth, they themselves take no delight in their own seat. When the gods see these signs of death, they cling with regret to the joys of heaven, and further see that they are about to be born in an evil place, and their hearts are filled with sorrow and suffering as if poisoned. At that time, if they hear the real mark spoken of in prajñāpāramitā—that all dharmas are false and unreal, impermanent, empty and still—and so believe and accept this Buddha-dharma, then because their minds become pure, they are born again in their original heavenly place. These gods are not only born again in their own place; moreover, because of hearing prajñā, they receive the joys of merit life after life, and gradually accomplish the unsurpassed great path.

The causes and conditions here (of receiving and upholding and obtaining merit) are just as made clear by the phrase in the sūtra 「般若波羅蜜為大明呪」 tr. "prajñāpāramitā is the great bright spell".

Question and Answer Two: Why Prajñā Is Called the Great Bright Spell—the Great Spell Can Give Beings the Joy of the Path and Virtue

Someone asks: for what reason does Śakra Devānām Indra call 「般若」 tr. "prajñā" 「大明呪」 tr. "the great bright spell"?

The treatise-author answers: the outsiders' paths and the holy men have various kinds of spell-craft that can benefit the people; because they recite this spell-craft, they can command the ghosts and spirits as they please. The seers, because they have this spell-craft, gain great renown, and the people submit to them. Because the people of the world esteem spell-craft, Śakra said to the Buddha: ‘Among all spell-crafts, prajñāpāramitā is the great spell-craft.’ Why? Because prajñā can constantly give beings the joy of the path and virtue. As for the other spell-crafts, the causes and conditions of the joy they obtain can instead give rise to afflictions, and further, because they are unwholesome karma, they cause people to fall into the three evil destinies.

Great Bright, Unsurpassed, Equal to the Unequalled: The Three Meanings Distinguished

Again, the other spell-crafts can go along with greed and hatred and freely do evil; but this spell of prajñāpāramitā can extinguish the various attachments to meditative concentration, to the Buddha path, and to nirvāṇa—how much more such coarse and heavy sicknesses as greed and hatred! Therefore it is called 「大明呪、無上呪、無等等呪」 tr. "the great bright spell, the unsurpassed spell, the spell equal to the unequalled".

Again, this spell can cause people to be far removed from old age, sickness, and death, can establish beings in the Great Vehicle, and can make the practitioner the most honoured and great among all beings; therefore it is said to be 「大呪」 tr. "the great spell". Because it can benefit beings in this way, it is called 「無上」 tr. "unsurpassed". Formerly there were spell-crafts made by seers: the spell that can know the thoughts of others' minds, called Īkṣaṇī; the spell that can fly and transform, called Gāndhārī; the spell that can prolong life beyond ten million years—among all spells this was already beyond compare.

Among these spell-crafts that are already beyond compare, prajñāpāramitā surpasses them still further, beyond measure; therefore it is called 「無等等」 tr. "equal to the unequalled".

Again, the dharmas of the buddhas are called unequalled, and prajñāpāramitā is the cause and condition for attaining buddhahood; therefore it is said to be 「無等等」 tr. "equal to the unequalled".

Again, the buddhas are called unequalled among all beings, and this spell-craft of prajñā, because it was made by the Buddha, is called 「無等等呪」 tr. "the spell equal to the unequalled".

Again, this sūtra itself states the causes and conditions of the three spells, namely: ‘this spell can abandon all unwholesome dharmas, and can bestow all wholesome dharmas.’

The Buddha, Following What Was Praised, Praises It Broadly; the Simile of the Full Moon and the Stars

Because the Buddha goes along with what Śakra praised, he says: ‘Just so! Just so!’ And he further expounds broadly the meaning of what Śakra praised, namely: ‘because of prajñā, the ten wholesome paths and so on up to the buddhas are born.’

Because this prajñāpāramitā belongs to the bodhisattva (it is what the bodhisattva practises), the Buddha then speaks a simile: the buddhas can greatly break through the darkness of ignorance, and so they are like the full moon; the bodhisattva's breaking through the darkness is not equal to that of the buddhas, and so he is like the stars. Just as whatever is seen at night is all by the power of the stars and the moon, so whatever is known and seen in the long night of birth and death in the world is all by the power of the buddhas and bodhisattvas. When there is no buddha in the world, the bodhisattva at that time expounds the Dharma for beings, first causing them to settle in the joys of humans and gods, and then gradually causing them to attain the joy of nirvāṇa. All the wisdom the bodhisattva has is the power of prajñāpāramitā.

Although the Bodhisattva Practises the Limbs of the Path and the Eighteen Emptinesses, He Does Not Realise the Two Vehicles: All Is the Power of Skilful Means and Prajñā

Again, although this bodhisattva practises the thirty-seven limbs of the path and the eighteen emptinesses, and knows that all dharmas ultimately cannot be grasped, yet he does not realise and take hold of the path of the śrāvaka or the pratyekabuddha, but is able to give rise to wholesome dharmas anew, to teach and transform beings, to purify buddha-worlds, to fulfil lifespan, and so forth; all of these are the power of skilful means and of prajñāpāramitā.

If this person is able to receive and uphold prajñā, and so on up to rightly recollecting it, he obtains merit in this life and in later lives.

What is called 「今世功德」 tr. "merit in this life" is precisely never dying of poison, and so forth.

Question and Answer Three: Not Dying an Untimely Death Was Already Spoken of—Why Speak of It Again? Blades, Poison, Water, and Fire Are Inflicted by Others or Brought On by Oneself

Someone asks: not dying an untimely death has already been spoken of earlier; why is it spoken of again now (not dying of poison and so on)?

The treatise-author answers: prajñāpāramitā has already been spoken of earlier, only it was not fully spoken in a single assembly; here it is explained again for those who come later.

Again, blades, poison, water, and fire are of two kinds: those inflicted by others, and those brought on by oneself. What was spoken of earlier were the weapons, poison, water, fire, and so on inflicted by others; what is spoken of now is not coming to harm oneself. How is this known? It is known from what is said next, 「四百四病」 tr. "the four hundred and four sicknesses". Although earlier it was said, ‘others cannot find the means to harm him’, it was not said that ‘that person instead further receives (from kings and ministers) reverence and offerings’.

Explaining the Four Hundred and Four Sicknesses and the Exception of Karmic Result: Karmic Result the Buddha Cannot Save One From, How Much Less Prajñā

What is called 「四百四病」 tr. "the four hundred and four sicknesses": the four great elements (earth, water, fire, and wind) come together as this body and constantly encroach upon and harm one another. Within each great element, one hundred and one sicknesses arise: the cold sicknesses are two hundred and two, because they arise from water and wind; the hot sicknesses are two hundred and two, because they arise from earth and fire. Fire has the mark of heat, earth has the mark of solidity; because of the mark of solidity it is hard to digest, and because it is hard to digest it can give rise to hot sicknesses. Blood and flesh, sinews, bones, skeleton, marrow, and so forth all belong to the portion of the earth element.

What is called 「除其業報」 tr. "excepting his karmic result": all dharmas are the coming together of many conditions, born of causes and conditions, and there is no maker at all; precisely because there is no maker, one (according to one's karma) must undergo the karmic result; from this even the Buddha cannot save one, how much less prajñā!

Karmic results that must be undergone and karmic results that need not be undergone have already been spoken of earlier.

When official matters arise, because of the power of reciting prajñāpāramitā, whatever arises can be extinguished.

Question and Answer Four: It Was Already Said That Others Cannot Gain an Opening—Why Say It Again? Kings and Great Ministers Moreover Show Reverence and Make Offerings

Someone asks: earlier it was said, ‘others cannot find the means to harm him’; why is it said again now?

The treatise-author answers: although earlier it was said that others cannot find the means against him, it was not said that people such as kings and great ministers not only cannot harm him but on the contrary further show him reverence and make offerings to him. Why? Because this bodhisattva constantly holds minds of loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity turned toward beings.

Explaining the Merit in Later Lives; Concluding Exhortation Not to Part from the Mind of Sarvajñā

What is called 「後世功德」 tr. "merit in later lives": wherever one is born, life after life, one constantly does not depart from the ten wholesome paths and so forth, and therefore constantly does not fall into the evil destinies; because this person has subdued the evil mind, the body he receives is whole and complete, and he is not born into lowly families and the like. Because he trains in the path the Buddha trained in, he obtains a transformation body resembling the Buddha's, possessing the thirty-two marks and the eighty minor marks.

What is called 「常得化生現在佛國」 tr. "constantly obtaining birth by transformation in the buddha-lands now present": in the worlds of the ten directions, wherever the mind goes, one makes offerings to the buddhas, hears and receives the dharmas, teaches and transforms beings, and gradually attains the Buddha path.

Therefore the practitioner ought to hear, receive and uphold, and so on up to rightly recollect, not parting from the mind of omniscience (sarvajñā). In this way one obtains merit in this life and in later lives.

Brahmin Ascetics of the Outsiders' Paths Come Seeking the Buddha's Faults; Śakra Recites Prajñā, and Those of the Outside Paths Circle the Buddha at a Distance and Depart

At that time a great many brahmin ascetics of the outsiders' paths came to where the Buddha was, wishing to seek out the Buddha's faults and pick at the Buddha's shortcomings. Then Śakra Devānām Indra (Śakra, lord of the gods of the Trāyastriṃśa heaven) thought in his mind: these brahmin ascetics of the outsiders' paths have come to where the Buddha is, wishing to pick at the Buddha's shortcomings; I ought now to recite the prajñāpāramitā (the perfection of wisdom) that I received from the Buddha, and these brahmin ascetics of the outsiders' paths will in the end be unable to make an obstacle midway and cut off the Buddha's proclaiming of prajñāpāramitā. Having thought thus, Śakra Devānām Indra at once recited prajñāpāramitā. Then the many brahmin ascetics of the outsiders' paths circled the Buddha once at a distance, and went back by the way they had come.

Śāriputra Asks the Cause and Condition, and the Buddha Answers with the Majestic Power of Prajñā—Because Gods and Humans Are All Born from Prajñā, They Guard It

At that time Śāriputra thought in his mind: what cause and condition is there here, that the many brahmin ascetics of the outsiders' paths circle the Buddha at a distance and then go back by the way they had come?

The Buddha, knowing the thought in Śāriputra's mind, told Śāriputra: this is Śakra Devānām Indra reciting prajñāpāramitā; because of this cause and condition the many brahmin ascetics of the outsiders' paths circled the Buddha at a distance and went back by the way they had come. Śāriputra! I do not see in these brahmin ascetics of the outsiders' paths a single thought of wholesome mind; these brahmin ascetics of the outsiders' paths came only harbouring evil minds, wishing to seek out and pick at the Buddha's shortcomings. Śāriputra! I do not see, at the time when prajñāpāramitā is being proclaimed, anyone in all the world—whether gods, or Māra, or the Brahmā gods, or the assembly of śramaṇas, or the assembly of brahmins—who comes harbouring evil intent and is able to find a shortcoming! Why? Śāriputra! Within this three-thousand great-thousand world, the heavens of the Four Heavenly Kings and so on up to the Akaniṣṭha heaven, the Heaven of Ultimate Form, the śrāvakas, the pratyekabuddhas, the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, and the like, all guard this prajñāpāramitā. For what reason? Because these gods and humans are all born from within prajñāpāramitā.

Again, Śāriputra! In the worlds of the ten directions as many as the sands of the Ganges, the buddhas, together with the śrāvakas, the pratyekabuddhas, the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, the gods, the nāgas, the ghosts and spirits, and the like, all guard this prajñāpāramitā. For what reason? Because these buddhas and the rest are all born from within prajñāpāramitā.

Evil Māra Conjures the Four Kinds of Troops to Ruin the Bodhisattvas' Resolve; Śakra Perceives the Counterfeit and Recites, and Māra Gradually Goes Back

At that time evil Māra thought in his mind: now the Buddha's fourfold assembly (bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, and upāsikās) is gathered before him face to face, and there are also the gods of the desire realm and the form realm; among them there must be bodhisattva-mahāsattvas who have received the prediction from the Buddha that they will attain unsurpassed, right, and complete awakening (anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi). I had better go to where the Buddha is and ruin his resolve.

Then evil Māra conjured the four kinds of troops (elephant troops, cavalry, chariot troops, and infantry) and came to where the Buddha was. At that time Śakra Devānām Indra thought in his mind: these four kinds of troops may be a conjuration of evil Māra, wishing to come toward the Buddha. Why? The array and adornment of these four kinds of troops are not like the four kinds of troops of King Bimbisāra, nor are they like the four kinds of troops of King Prasenajit, and they are wholly unlike the four kinds of troops of the Śākyans and the four kinds of troops of the Lichang (the Licchavi clan). This evil Māra has all through the long night been seeking the Buddha's shortcomings, wishing to trouble and disturb beings; I had better recite prajñāpāramitā. Śakra Devānām Indra at once recited prajñāpāramitā, and evil Māra, following the sound of prajñā as it was recited and heard, gradually went back by the way he had come.

The Gods Conjure Heavenly Flowers and Scatter Them on the Buddha, Wishing That Prajñā Long Abide in Jambudvīpa—Because Prajñā Abides, the Three Jewels Do Not Perish, and the Written Scroll Gives Illumination

At that time the gods of the Four Heavenly Kings in the assembly, and so on up to the gods of Akaniṣṭha, conjured heavenly flowers and scattered them in the sky over the Buddha's body, speaking thus: World-Honored One! May prajñāpāramitā long abide in Jambudvīpa (the southern Jambu continent, that is, the world of humans)! For what reason? As long as the people of Jambudvīpa receive and uphold prajñāpāramitā and it abides in the world, the Buddha Jewel abides in the world and does not perish, and the Dharma Jewel and the Saṅgha Jewel likewise abide in the world and do not perish.

At that time the gods in the worlds of the ten directions as many as the sands of the Ganges also all scattered flowers, speaking thus: World-Honored One! May prajñāpāramitā long abide in Jambudvīpa! If prajñāpāramitā long abides in the world, the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha will also long abide in the world, and the path of the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas can also be distinguished and known. Again, wherever there is a dwelling-place in which good men and good women write out and hold the scroll of the sūtra of prajñāpāramitā, that place becomes a place of illumination, already far removed from all kinds of darkness and gloom.

The Buddha told Śakra Devānām Indra and the gods: Just so! Just so! Kauśika (Śakra's original clan name), and you gods! As long as the people of Jambudvīpa receive and uphold prajñāpāramitā and it abides in the world, the Buddha Jewel so abides in the world, and the Dharma Jewel and the Saṅgha Jewel likewise so abide in the world; and so on up to: wherever the place of dwelling, if good men and good women write out and hold the scroll of the sūtra of prajñāpāramitā, that place becomes a place of illumination, already far removed from all kinds of darkness and gloom.

The Gods Conjure Flowers and Vow to Guard Those Who Receive and Uphold It—They Regard This Person as Being the Buddha, or as Next to a Buddha

At that time the gods conjured heavenly flowers and scattered them over the Buddha's body, speaking thus: World-Honored One! If there are good men and good women who receive and uphold prajñāpāramitā, and so on up to rightly recollect it, neither Māra nor Māra's gods can gain an opening against them (seize a chance to do them harm). World-Honored One! We too shall protect and guard these good men and good women! Why? If good men and good women receive and uphold prajñāpāramitā, and so on up to rightly recollect it, we regard this person as a Buddha, or as one next to a Buddha.

Śakra Declares That Prajñā and Omniscience Are Not Two and Not Different, and the Buddha Himself Seals It

Then Śakra Devānām Indra said to the Buddha: World-Honored One! Of the good men and good women who receive and uphold prajñāpāramitā, and so on up to rightly recollect it, one should know that in former lives these people made merit in the presence of buddhas, drew near to and made offerings to many buddhas, and were protected by good friends. World-Honored One! The omniscience of the buddhas ought to be sought from within prajñāpāramitā, and prajñāpāramitā too ought to be sought from within omniscience! For what reason? Prajñāpāramitā is not different from omniscience, and omniscience is not different from prajñāpāramitā; prajñāpāramitā and omniscience are not two and not different. Therefore we regard this person as a Buddha, or as one next to a Buddha.

The Buddha told Śakra Devānām Indra: Just so! Just so! Kauśika! The omniscience of the buddhas is precisely prajñāpāramitā, and prajñāpāramitā is precisely omniscience. Why? Kauśika! The omniscience of the buddhas is born from within prajñāpāramitā. Prajñāpāramitā is not different from omniscience, and omniscience is not different from prajñāpāramitā; prajñāpāramitā and omniscience are not two and not different.

What follows is the treatise's explanation.

The Treatise-Author Explains: The Previous Chapter Said That Māra and Those of the Outside Paths Cannot Gain an Opening; This Chapter Now Gives the Proof Before Their Eyes

The treatise-author explains: in the previous chapter ("Exhortation to Receive and Uphold") it was said that against those who hear and receive prajñā, neither Māra, nor Māra's people, nor brahmin ascetics of the outsiders' paths can gain an opening; now, because he wishes to display and prove this matter face to face, by majestic spiritual power the host of Māras and those of the outside paths are summoned and drawn in (to come, so that it may be seen on the spot that they gain no opening).

Those of the Outside Paths Come with Wrong Views to Attack the Teaching of Ultimate Emptiness—Like a Madman Wishing to Wound Empty Space, Only Wearying and Tormenting Himself in Vain

Therefore the brahmin ascetics of the outsiders' paths thought thus: the Buddha, on Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa (Vulture Peak), proclaims prajñāpāramitā—that is, that all dharmas are ultimately empty and without anything existent—and with it draws in and attracts the beings of the ten directions. Let us go together to challenge and question him and refute this teaching of emptiness; if his teaching is refuted, the Buddha will of himself be defeated, and we shall return to what we were before (in standing and position). These people of the outside paths come only harbouring wrong views, evil minds, and arrogance, wishing to find fault and blame in this ultimately pure prajñāpāramitā. It is like a madman wishing to wound empty space: he only wearies and torments himself in vain!

Śakra Receives, Upholds, and Recites, and Those of the Outside Paths Circle at a Distance and Depart—To Prove Its Truth and Make People Believe and Know

At that time Śakra, in accordance with the Buddha's teaching, received and upheld prajñā, and those of the outside paths could not gain an opening. Now it is because he wishes to prove its truth and to make people believe and know (that this display takes place). Śakra, having accomplished immeasurable merit, with the keen faculties of a god, deeply believed in prajñā and at once recited it; because he gained the power of prajñā, those of the outside paths circled the Buddha at a distance and went back by the way they had come.

Question and Answer One: Why Do They Circle the Buddha Instead of Going Straight Back?—The Spiritual Power of Prajñā Subdues Them from Afar, and They Feign Offering to Cover Their Timidity

Someone asks: why did those of the outside paths not simply go straight back, but instead circled the Buddha and departed?

The treatise-author answers: because of the spiritual power of prajñā, they were already subdued from afar, and those of the outside paths thought thus: the majestic virtue of the Buddha's great assembly is exceedingly great; if we go there now, we shall only bring humiliation on ourselves in vain and accomplish nothing at all; if we now, seeing it from afar, simply leave directly, people will say we are cowardly and weak, that we came and went away empty-handed. For this reason they feigned the manner of making offerings, circled the Buddha, and went back by the way they had come.

Śāriputra Was Originally a Brahmin Ascetic; Seeing Those of the Outside Paths Go Back Empty, He Feels Pity and Asks the Buddha the Cause and Condition

Śāriputra was originally a brahmin ascetic by birth; seeing those of the outside paths go away at a distance, a little pity arose in his mind, yet he could not, for so small a matter, enter samādhi to seek to know (the reason for it), and so he thought thus: what cause and condition brought these people of the outside paths here, that they go back empty-handed without receiving deliverance?

The Buddha said: this is the power of prajñāpāramitā.

Śāriputra thought in his mind: by prajñāpāramitā there is no matter the Buddha cannot accomplish; why then does he let these people of the outside paths come in vain and go away (without delivering them)?

The Buddha Answers: Those of the Outside Paths Have Not a Single Thought of Wholesome Mind, Cling to Wrong Views, and Seek Fixed Marks, and So Are Not Fit to Be Delivered—Like a Fatal Sickness a Good Physician Cannot Cure

The Buddha, knowing what Śāriputra was thinking, told Śāriputra: these brahmin ascetics have not even a single thought of wholesome mind; they harbour only evil intent, wrong views cling to their minds, and they wish to seek a fixed mark in dharmas (a truly existent, fixed mark); therefore they are not fit to be delivered. It is like a fatal sickness: although there are good physicians and medicines of wondrous effect, it cannot be cured.

Śāriputra! When prajñāpāramitā is being proclaimed, it is not only these brahmin ascetics: all the people of the world who come harbouring evil minds are unable to gain an opening. Why? Because all the buddhas, together with the bodhisattvas and the gods, constantly guard prajñā. For what reason? The buddhas, bodhisattvas, gods, and humans think thus: we are all born from prajñā, and therefore (we guard prajñā).

When Māra comes wishing to challenge and destroy prajñā, it is likewise (he cannot gain an opening).

The Gods, Seeing the Proof, Rejoice and Conjure Flowers, and Vow of Themselves to Guard Those Who Receive and Uphold It

Then the gods in the assembly, having earlier heard the merits of prajñā and now seeing the proof with their own eyes, rejoiced greatly in their minds, conjured flowers as an offering, and made this wish: may prajñāpāramitā long abide in Jambudvīpa! This matter is explained in detail in the text below. The Buddha then sealed it.

The gods, before the Buddha, vowed of themselves, saying: if a practitioner hears and receives prajñāpāramitā, and so on up to rightly recollects it, we shall constantly guard him! For what reason? We regard this person as a Buddha, or as one next to a Buddha.

The Meaning of ‘As a Buddha’ and ‘Next to a Buddha’—The Dharma-Nature Body Abiding at Non-retrogression and on up to the Ten Grounds; the Bodhisattva in a Fleshly Body Who Can Expound the Right Meaning of Prajñā

The person spoken of as 「如佛」 tr. "as a Buddha" is the bodhisattva of the Dharma-nature body, who abides at avaivartika (the position of non-retrogression), has attained the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas, and so on up to has ascended the ten grounds. The person spoken of as 「次佛」 tr. "next to a Buddha" is a bodhisattva in a fleshly body who is able to proclaim prajñāpāramitā together with its right meaning.

Śakra Praises the Bodhisattva; Explaining the Two Meanings ‘Omniscience of All Kinds Is Sought from Within Prajñā’ and ‘Prajñā Is Sought from Within Omniscience’

At that time Śakra, with the merit and wisdom gathered through the causes and conditions of his former lives, praises this bodhisattva; here the causes and conditions of the praise are further set out.

What is called 「諸佛一切種智應從般若中求」 tr. "the omniscience of all kinds of the buddhas ought to be sought from within prajñā" is because the bodhisattva practises prajñāpāramitā to full completion, so that when he attains buddhahood, prajñā transforms into the omniscience of all kinds; therefore it is said 「一切種智當從般若中求」 tr. "the omniscience of all kinds should be sought from within prajñā".

Because the Buddha is able to proclaim prajñāpāramitā, it is said 「般若波羅蜜當從一切智中求」 tr. "prajñāpāramitā should be sought from within omniscience".

The Simile of Milk and Curd—Because Prajñā and the Omniscience of All Kinds Are Not Separate as Cause and Result, They Are Not Two and Not Different

It is like milk changing into curd: apart from milk there is no curd, and yet one cannot say that milk is curd; prajñāpāramitā changes into the omniscience of all kinds: apart from prajñā there is likewise no omniscience of all kinds, and yet one cannot say that prajñā is the omniscience of all kinds. Prajñā serves the omniscience of all kinds as the cause of its coming to birth (the cause that gives birth); the omniscience of all kinds serves prajñā as the cause of its being proclaimed (the cause that is spoken of); because cause and result are not separate from each other, it is said 「不二不別」 tr. "not two and not different".

Ānanda Asks the Buddha Why He Praises Prajñā Alone—the Buddha Answers That Prajñā Is the Honoured Guide among the Five Perfections and So On up to the Eighteen Unshared Dharmas

At that time the venerable Ānanda said to the Buddha: World-Honored One! Why do you not praise dānapāramitā (giving), śīlapāramitā (keeping the precepts), kṣāntipāramitā (forbearance), vīryapāramitā (diligence), dhyānapāramitā (meditative concentration), and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, but praise prajñāpāramitā alone?

The Buddha told Ānanda: Among these five perfections and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, prajñāpāramitā is the honoured one, is the guide! Ānanda! What do you think? If it is not dedicated to sarvajñā (omniscience), can giving still be called dānapāramitā?

Ānanda answered: No, World-Honored One!

The Buddha asked further: If it is not dedicated to sarvajñā, can keeping the precepts, forbearance, diligence, meditative concentration, and so on up to wisdom still count as prajñāpāramitā?

Ānanda answered: No, World-Honored One!

The Buddha said: For this reason one knows that among the five perfections and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas prajñāpāramitā is the honoured one and the guide, and that is why I praise it.

Ānanda Asks How Giving Dedicated Becomes Dānapāramitā—the Buddha Answers: Dedicating by Non-Duality, Non-Arising, and Unfindability

Ānanda said to the Buddha: World-Honored One! What kind of giving, dedicated to sarvajñā, becomes dānapāramitā, and so on up to becoming prajñāpāramitā?

The Buddha told Ānanda: Giving by the dharma of non-duality and dedicating it to sarvajñā—this is called dānapāramitā; giving dedicated to sarvajñā by way of non-arising and unfindability—this is called dānapāramitā. And so on up to: wisdom of the dharma of non-duality dedicated to sarvajñā—this is called prajñāpāramitā; wisdom dedicated to sarvajñā by way of non-arising and unfindability—this is called prajñāpāramitā.

Ānanda asked further: World-Honored One! How is it that giving dedicated to sarvajñā by the dharma that is not two is called dānapāramitā, and so on up to wisdom dedicated to sarvajñā by the dharma that is not two is called prajñāpāramitā?

The Buddha told Ānanda: Because form is a dharma that is not two; because feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are dharmas that are not two; and so on up to because anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi (unsurpassed, right, and complete awakening) is a dharma that is not two.

Ānanda asked: World-Honored One! How is form a dharma that is not two, and so on up to how is anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi a dharma that is not two?

The Buddha Answers That the Mark of Form Is Empty and All Dharmas Are Not Two and Not Different—As Seeds Are Born in Dependence on the Earth, the Five Perfections Are Born in Dependence on Prajñā

The Buddha said: Form—its mark of form is by origin empty. Why? Dānapāramitā and form are not two and not different; and so on up to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi and dānapāramitā are also not two and not different; the other five perfections are likewise. For this reason, Ānanda, I praise prajñāpāramitā alone; among the five perfections and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds it is the honoured one and the guide! Ānanda! It is like the great earth: seeds are scattered in it, and when they meet the coming together of causes and conditions they are able to grow; these seeds are all born in dependence on the great earth. Just so, Ānanda, the five perfections arise only in dependence on prajñāpāramitā, and the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds also arise only in dependence on prajñāpāramitā. For this reason, Ānanda, prajñāpāramitā is the honoured guide of the five perfections and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas!

Śakra States That the Merits of Receiving and Upholding Prajñā Have Not Been Told in Full—the Unsurpassed Path of the Buddhas of the Three Times, All the Good Things of the World, and So On up to the Buddhas, All Come Forth from It

At that time Śakra Devānām Indra (Śakra) said to the Buddha: World-Honored One! The merits you have spoken of, of good men and good women receiving and upholding prajñāpāramitā and so on up to rightly recollecting it, have not yet been told in full. Why? To receive and uphold prajñāpāramitā and so on up to rightly recollecting it is to receive the unsurpassed great path of the buddhas of the three times. And why is that? Whoever wishes to attain sarvajñā should seek it within prajñāpāramitā; whoever wishes to attain prajñāpāramitā should seek it within sarvajñā. World-Honored One! Because of receiving and upholding prajñāpāramitā and so on up to rightly recollecting it, the ten wholesome paths appear in the world, and the four dhyānas, the four immeasurable minds, the four formless absorptions, and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas appear in the world. Because of receiving and upholding prajñāpāramitā and so on up to rightly recollecting it, there are in the world great kṣatriya clans, great brahmin clans, great householder families, and the gods of the heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings and so on up to the Akaniṣṭha heaven. Because of receiving and upholding prajñāpāramitā and so on up to rightly recollecting it, there are srota-āpanna and so on up to arhats, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattva-mahāsattvas. Because of receiving and upholding prajñāpāramitā and so on up to rightly recollecting it, the buddhas appear in the world.

The Buddha Broadly Shows the Merits of One Who Receives and Upholds—the Five Aggregates of the Dharma Body Accomplished, One Should Know This Person Is as a Buddha, Surpassing the Two Vehicles

At that time the Buddha told Śakra Devānām Indra: Kauśika (Śakra's original clan name)! As for good men and good women who receive and uphold prajñāpāramitā and so on up to rightly recollecting it, I do not say they have only this much merit. Why? Kauśika! These good men and good women who receive and uphold prajñāpāramitā and so on up to rightly recollecting it, not parting from the mind of sarvajñā, accomplish an immeasurable aggregate of morality, and also accomplish the aggregate of concentration, the aggregate of wisdom, the aggregate of liberation, and the aggregate of the knowledge and vision of liberation. Again, Kauśika! These good men and good women who are able to receive and uphold prajñāpāramitā and so on up to rightly recollecting it, not parting from the mind of sarvajñā—one should know that this person is as a Buddha. Again, Kauśika! The aggregate of morality, the aggregate of concentration, the aggregate of wisdom, the aggregate of liberation, and the aggregate of the knowledge and vision of liberation possessed by all the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas do not reach the aggregate of morality and so on up to the aggregate of the knowledge and vision of liberation of these good men and good women—not by a hundredth part, a thousandth part, a thousand-koṭi-ten-thousandth part, and so on up to what calculation and simile cannot compare! Why? Because these good men and good women have their minds liberated within the grounds of the śrāvaka and the pratyekabuddha, and do not further seek the dharma of the Great Vehicle. Again, Kauśika! If there are good men and good women who write out and hold the scroll of the sūtra of prajñāpāramitā, make offerings to it, pay reverence to it, and honour it, making offerings with flowers and incense, necklaces, and so on up to music, they too can obtain merits in this life and in later lives.

At that time Śakra Devānām Indra said to the Buddha: World-Honored One! These good men and good women who receive and uphold prajñāpāramitā and so on up to rightly recollecting it, not parting from the mind of sarvajñā, who make offerings to prajñāpāramitā, pay reverence to it, and honour it, making offerings with flowers and incense and so on up to music—I shall always guard such a person!

What follows is the treatise's explanation.

The Treatise-Author Explains Why Ānanda Asked—Though Learned, He Was Not Yet Free of Desire; Because the Buddha Praised Prajñā, He Then Asked

The treatise-author explains: although Ānanda was greatly learned and also had the ability to discriminate the meaning of emptiness, yet because he was not yet free of desire he could not enter deeply, and although he constantly attended at the Buddha's side, he had not often questioned him on the matter of emptiness. Now the Buddha praises prajñāpāramitā and also praises those who practise it, and so Ānanda said to the Buddha: World-Honored One! Why do you not praise the other perfections and the other dharmas, but praise prajñāpāramitā alone?

Question and Answer One: The Buddha Always Speaks the Names of the Six Perfections—Why Say He Does Not Praise Them? Though He Speaks Their Names, It Is Not to Extol Them; It Is All for Entering Prajñā

Someone asks: from the very beginning the Buddha has constantly proclaimed the names of the six perfections; why does Ānanda now say that the Buddha 「不稱說」 tr. "does not praise" them?

The treatise-author answers: although the Buddha spoke the names of the six perfections, it was not in order to extol them; he spoke them all in order to lead people into prajñā.

The Buddha said to Ānanda: among all conditioned dharmas, wisdom is foremost; among all wisdoms, prajñāpāramitā, which is able to cross over to the other shore, is foremost. It is like travelling a long road: though there are many companions, the guide who leads the way is foremost. Prajñā is likewise: although all wholesome dharmas each have their own power and function, only prajñāpāramitā is able to point out the way and lead people out of the three realms and to the three vehicles. If there were no prajñāpāramitā, then although one practised giving and the other wholesome dharmas, the fruit of recompense, following the karmic deeds one has undertaken, would in the end be exhausted; because it is exhausted, one cannot even attain the nirvāṇa of the Small Vehicle—how much less the unsurpassed great path!

If giving and the other wholesome dharmas are able to contemplate, as the mark of the Buddha path is, what is not two, neither arising nor ceasing, neither gained nor lost, ultimately empty and still—this is called 「迴向薩婆若」 tr. "dedicating to sarvajñā". The merit of such giving constantly receives its fruit of recompense life after life without being exhausted, and in the future one will attain the omniscience of all kinds. As with giving, so too all dharmas have this same mark.

Question and Answer Two: Why Does the Buddha Not Answer the Causes and Conditions of Not-Two, but Explain Again by Not-Two? Ānanda Only Asked Which Dharmas Are Not Two

Someone asks: why does the Buddha not answer with the causes and conditions of 「不二」 tr. "not two", but instead explain again by means of 「不二」 tr. "not two"?

The treatise-author answers: Ānanda was not asking about the causes and conditions of 「不二」 tr. "not two"; he only asked ‘which dharmas are not two’, and therefore the Buddha answered: because form and the other dharmas are not two.

Prajñāpāramitā is able to make the five things all become perfections, and therefore the Buddha praises prajñāpāramitā alone.

The Simile of the Great Earth Giving Birth to the Ten Thousand Things—Prajñā Is Able to Hold the Seeds of All Wholesome Dharmas; Because Causes and Conditions Come Together, the Matter Is Accomplished

The Buddha wished to make this meaning plain and easy to understand, and so he made this simile: just as the great earth is able to give birth to and grow the ten thousand things, prajñāpāramitā is likewise.

What is called ‘able to hold the seeds of all wholesome dharmas’ refers to all the other wholesome dharmas apart from prajñāpāramitā, from the arousing of the mind onward. What is called 「因緣和合」 tr. "the coming together of causes and conditions" means that on the Buddha path there are single-mindedness, faith, acceptance, diligence unresting and unceasing, aspiration, receiving, penetration, and indestructibility—there are such various dharmas as these. What is called 「事得成辦」 tr. "the matter is accomplished" means that the person who is growing, from the arousing of the mind onward, trains in the perfections, from one ground to the next ground, and so on up to the ground of the Buddha.

Question and Answer Three: Why Does Śakra Say the Merits Have Not Been Told in Full? Prajñā Is Immeasurable and Boundless; Earlier, Disturbed by Those of the Outside Paths and Māra, It Was Broken Off and Not Brought to Completion

Someone asks: why does Śakra say, ‘the merits of the practitioner's receiving and upholding prajñā that the Buddha has spoken of have not yet been told in full’?

The treatise-author answers: prajñāpāramitā is immeasurable and boundless, and its merits too are immeasurable and boundless. What was said before was not yet complete; in the middle, because the brahmin ascetics of the outsiders' paths and the evil Māra came, it turned aside to other matters, and now he wishes to go on hearing it. Śakra deeply loves the fruits of recompense of merit, delights in hearing the merits of prajñā, and having heard them is never sated.

Now he wishes to hear the Buddha proclaim them further, and so he himself states the causes and conditions: World-Honored One! If a person receives and upholds prajñāpāramitā and so on up to rightly recollecting it, this is receiving the unsurpassed path, the merits, and the wisdom of the buddhas of the three times. And why is that? Within prajñā one should seek the omniscience of all kinds; within the omniscience of all kinds one should seek prajñā. This is as was said at the end of the previous chapter.

If a practitioner receives and upholds prajñāpāramitā, arouses the mind to seek anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, and for the sake of delivering beings gathers prajñāpāramitā and all kinds of other merits—namely the ten wholesome paths and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas—these appear in the world. By the causes and conditions of these wholesome dharmas, there are in the world great kṣatriya clans, and so on up to there are the buddhas.

The Meaning of the Aggregate of Morality—Among All Beings the Bodhisattva Cultivates the Ultimate Giving of Fearlessness, and Therefore Obtains an Immeasurable Aggregate of Morality

The Buddha told the lord of the heavens: this person obtains not only the merits spoken of above, but also the merits of an immeasurable aggregate of morality and the rest.

What is called the aggregate of morality means that the bodhisattva, practising prajñāpāramitā, cultivates among all beings the ultimate giving of fearlessness. Beings in the ten directions are immeasurable and boundless in number; in the three times they are also immeasurable and boundless in number; the kinds of the six destinies and the four modes of birth, each with its own marks, are also immeasurable and boundless. Among these immeasurable and boundless beings, he gives what beings most love and delight in, namely life (bestowing fearlessness and freeing them from the terror of death), and therefore he obtains the fruit of recompense of an immeasurable aggregate of morality. Such precepts as not killing, if only their names are spoken, number two hundred and fifty; in the Vinaya (the collection of the precepts), stated briefly, they number eighty-four thousand, and stated at length they are immeasurable and boundless. Such precepts ordinary people may receive and uphold for one day, or for one lifetime, or for a hundred thousand ten thousand lifetimes; the bodhisattva, however, life after life bestows fearlessness among all beings, and so on up to entering nirvāṇa without remainder—only this is called an immeasurable aggregate of morality. And so on up to the aggregate of the knowledge and vision of liberation: it too is distinguished according to its meaning in this way.

The merits of these five aggregates of the Dharma body—morality, concentration, wisdom, liberation, and the knowledge and vision of liberation—surpass the two vehicles and cannot be reckoned.

If a person writes out prajñāpāramitā and makes offerings to it, he can obtain merits in this life and in later lives.

Question and Answer Four: The Merits Are Deep and Weighty While Writing, Holding, and Making Offerings Are Slight—How Can One Obtain the Merits of Two Lives? The Two Kinds of Offering: in Imitation of Others and from a Deep Mind

Someone asks: the merits of this life and of later lives are deep and weighty, while writing out, holding, and making offerings are very slight; how can one obtain the merits of two lives?

The treatise-author answers: offerings are of two kinds: first, offering in imitation of others (making offerings by following others); second, offering from a deep mind. Because one knows the merits of prajñā and makes offerings from a deep mind, one obtains the merits of two lives. This prajñā has all kinds of gates by which it may be entered: hearing, holding, and so on up to rightly recollecting enter by the gate of wisdom and diligence; writing out and making offerings enter by the gate of faith and diligence. If one believes deeply with a single mind, then making offerings to the scroll of the sūtra is superior; if one is not single-minded, then even receiving and upholding it does not equal that.

The Simile of the Wish-Fulfilling Jewel—an Indeterminate Jewel Can Still Let People Obtain Whatever They Wish; How Much More Prajñā, the Mother of the Buddhas

Again, take the wish-fulfilling jewel: it is an indeterminate form-dharma, without mind and without consciousness, and yet, arising by the causes and conditions of beings' merit, when someone makes offerings to it, it can let people obtain whatever they wish. How much more prajñāpāramitā, which is unsurpassed wisdom and the mother of the buddhas, the foremost jewel among all the jewels of the Dharma—if a person, in accord with what he has heard, receives it in faith with a single mind and makes offerings to it, how could he fail to obtain the merits of two lives? Only, if a person does not make offerings with a single mind, and also because of heavy offences of former lives, then although he makes offerings to prajñā he does not obtain the merits described above; this is the person's fault, and prajñā is without blame.

The Buddha Shows the Merits of This Life, the First—When One Reads, Recites, and Teaches the Dharma, the Gods Increase One's Courage

The Buddha told Śakra Devānām Indra: Kauśika! When these good men and good women wish to read, recite, and expound prajñāpāramitā, immeasurable hundreds of thousands of gods all come to hear the Dharma. When these good men and good women expound the Dharma of prajñāpāramitā, the gods increase their courage. If these Dharma-masters are utterly exhausted and do not wish to teach the Dharma, the gods increase their courage and they are able to go on speaking. Because good men and good women receive and uphold this prajñāpāramitā and so on up to rightly recollecting it, and make offerings with flowers and incense and so on up to music, they also obtain these merits of this life.

The Merits of This Life, the Second—Teaching the Dharma amid the Fourfold Assembly, the Mind Is Not Timid, and No One Can Refute or Break It Down

Again, Kauśika! When these good men and good women expound prajñāpāramitā amid the fourfold assembly (bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, and upāsikās), there is no timidity in their minds; if someone comes to dispute with them, they have no thought of fear. Why? Because these good men and good women are protected by prajñāpāramitā. Within prajñāpāramitā all dharmas are also distinguished: whether worldly or world-transcending, whether with outflows or without outflows, whether wholesome or unwholesome, whether conditioned or unconditioned, whether dharmas of the śrāvaka or dharmas of the pratyekabuddha, whether dharmas of the bodhisattva or dharmas of the Buddha. Because good men and good women abide in inner emptiness and so on up to abiding in the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas, they do not see anyone who could come and dispute prajñāpāramitā, nor do they see anyone who is disputed, nor do they see prajñāpāramitā. In this way, because good men and good women are protected by prajñāpāramitā, no one can dispute and break them down.

The Merits of This Life, the Third—One Who Receives and Upholds Does Not Sink, Does Not Fear, and Is Not Terrified

Again, when good men and good women receive and uphold prajñāpāramitā and so on up to rightly recollecting it, they do not sink, do not fear, and are not alarmed. Why? Because these good men and good women do not see any such dharma of sinking or dharma of terror. Kauśika! Good men and good women who receive and uphold prajñāpāramitā and so on up to rightly recollecting it, and make offerings with flowers and incense and so on up to banners and canopies, also obtain these merits of this life.

The Merits of This Life and Later Lives, the Fourth—One Who Writes and Holds Is Loved and Revered by Parents and the Buddhas, and Practises the Six Perfections without Interruption

Again, Kauśika! Good men and good women who receive and uphold prajñāpāramitā and so on up to rightly recollecting it, who write out and hold the scroll of the sūtra and make offerings with flowers and incense and so on up to banners and canopies—such a person is loved by father and mother, cherished by kin and acquaintances, respected by the śramaṇas and brahmins, loved and revered by the buddhas of the ten directions and the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, pratyekabuddhas, arhats, and so on up to srota-āpannas, and loved and revered also by all the world, whether gods, Māra, Brahmā, asuras, and the rest. This person practises dānapāramitā, and there is no time when dānapāramitā is interrupted; for keeping the precepts, forbearance, diligence, meditative concentration, and prajñāpāramitā too there is no time of interruption; he cultivates inner emptiness without interruption, and so on up to cultivating the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas without interruption; he cultivates the four foundations of mindfulness without interruption, and so on up to cultivating the eighteen unshared dharmas without interruption; he cultivates the gates of samādhi without interruption and cultivates the gates of dhāraṇī without interruption; the supernormal powers of the bodhisattvas are not interrupted, bringing beings to accomplishment and purifying buddha-worlds are not interrupted, and so on up to cultivating the omniscience of all kinds is not interrupted. This person is also able to subdue those who come to dispute and to slander. Good men and good women who receive and uphold prajñāpāramitā and so on up to rightly recollecting it, not parting from the mind of sarvajñā, who write out and hold the scroll of the sūtra and make offerings with flowers and incense and so on up to banners and canopies, also obtain these merits of this life and of later lives.

The Merits of This Life, the Fifth—Wherever the Written Scroll Is, the Gods of the Three-Thousand Great-Thousand World and of the Ten Directions All Come to See Prajñā, Make Offerings, and Pay Homage

Again, Kauśika! Where good men and good women write out and hold the scroll of the sūtra, in the place where they dwell, all those in the heavens of the Four Heavenly Kings within the three-thousand great-thousand world who have aroused the mind of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi all come to this place, see prajñāpāramitā, receive, read, recite, expound, make offerings, and pay homage, and then return. Those within the Heaven of the Thirty-three, the Yāma heaven, the Tuṣita heaven, the Heaven of Delight in Transformation, and the heaven of the gods Sovereign over Others' Transformations; the Heaven of Brahmā's Assembly, the Heaven of Brahmā's Ministers, the Heaven of Brahmā's Gathering, and the Great Brahmā heaven; the Light heaven, the Heaven of Lesser Light, the Heaven of Immeasurable Light, and the Heaven of Light-Sound; the Purity heaven, the Heaven of Lesser Purity, the Heaven of Immeasurable Purity, and the Heaven of Universal Purity; the Heaven of Going without Shade, the Merit heaven, and the Heaven of Abundant Fruit, who have aroused the mind of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, all come to this place, see prajñāpāramitā, receive, read, recite, expound, make offerings, and pay homage, and then return. The gods of the Pure Abodes—namely the Heaven without Deceit, the Heaven without Heat, the Heaven of Wondrous Seeing, the Heaven of Joyful Seeing, and the Heaven of Ultimate Form—also all come to this place, see this prajñāpāramitā, receive, read, recite, expound, make offerings, and pay homage, and then return. Again, Kauśika! Those in the worlds of the ten directions, in the heavens of the Four Heavenly Kings and so on up to the Heaven of Abundant Fruit, who have aroused the mind of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, and the gods of the Pure Abodes, together with the other gods, nāgas, ghosts and spirits, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, and mahoragas, also come to see prajñāpāramitā, receive, read, recite, expound, make offerings, and pay homage, and then return. These good men and good women should think thus: those in the worlds of the ten directions, in the heavens of the Four Heavenly Kings and so on up to the Heaven of Abundant Fruit, who have aroused the mind of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, and the gods of the Pure Abodes together with the other gods, nāgas, ghosts and spirits, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, and mahoragas, all come to see prajñāpāramitā, receive, read, recite, expound, make offerings, and pay homage—I have thereby already made the giving of the Dharma. Kauśika! All those within the three-thousand great-thousand world, in the heavens of the Four Heavenly Kings and so on up to the Akaniṣṭha heaven, and so on up to those in the worlds of the ten directions, in the heavens of the Four Heavenly Kings and so on up to the Akaniṣṭha heaven, who have aroused the mind of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, protect these good men and good women, so that no evil can gain an opening against them, and remove the heavy offences of their former lives. Kauśika! These good men and good women also obtain these merits of this life, namely that the gods who have aroused the mind of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi all come to this place. Why? Kauśika! The gods arouse the mind of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi for the sake of saving and protecting all beings, not abandoning all beings, and bringing ease and happiness to all beings.

Śakra Asks How One Knows the Gods Have Come—the Buddha Answers: One Sees a Great Pure Light, Smells a Strange and Wondrous Fragrance, and the Petty Ghosts Withdraw

At that time Śakra Devānām Indra said to the Buddha: World-Honored One! How can good men and good women know the time when the gods of the heavens of the Four Heavenly Kings and so on up to the Akaniṣṭha heaven come, and when the gods of the heavens of the Four Heavenly Kings and so on up to the Akaniṣṭha heaven in the worlds of the ten directions come, to see prajñāpāramitā, receive, read, recite, expound, make offerings, and pay homage?

The Buddha told Śakra Devānām Indra: Kauśika! If good men and good women see a great pure light, they will certainly know that it is the time when gods of great virtue have come to see prajñāpāramitā, receive, read, recite, expound, make offerings, and pay homage.

Again, Kauśika! If good men and good women smell a strange and wondrous fragrance, they will certainly know that it is the time when gods of great virtue have come to see prajñāpāramitā, receive, read, recite, expound, make offerings, and pay homage.

Again, Kauśika! Because good men and good women conduct their affairs purely and cleanly, the gods come to their place, see prajñāpāramitā, receive, read, recite, expound, make offerings, rejoice, and pay homage. If there are petty ghosts and their like in that place, they withdraw at once, because they cannot bear the majestic virtue of these gods of great virtue. Because these gods of great virtue come, these good men and good women give rise to a vast mind. For this reason, in the place where prajñāpāramitā abides there should be no impurity of any kind on the four sides; one should light lamps, burn incense, scatter many famous flowers, anoint the ground with many fragrances, and adorn it in all kinds of ways with many canopies, pennants, and banners.

The Merits of This Life, the Sixth—Teaching the Dharma without Weariness, at Ease Lying Down and Waking, Dreaming of the Buddhas, the Bodhi Tree, Parinirvāṇa, Stūpas, and Other Good Signs

Again, Kauśika! When good men and good women teach the Dharma, they are never utterly exhausted; they feel their bodies light and at ease and their minds happy; they rest in accord with the meaning of the Dharma; lying down and waking they are at ease, and they have no bad dreams of any kind. In their dreams they see the thirty-two marks and eighty minor marks of the buddhas; they see the bhikṣu Saṅgha reverently surrounding a Buddha while he teaches them the Dharma, and at the side of the buddhas they hear and receive the teaching of the Dharma, namely the six perfections, the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas; the meaning of the six perfections is distinguished, and of the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas the meaning too is distinguished. They also see the bodhi tree, adorned and wondrous; they see the bodhisattvas going toward the bodhi tree and attaining anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi; they see the buddhas, after attaining the path, turning the Dharma wheel; they see hundreds of thousands of ten thousands of bodhisattvas gathered together discussing the meaning of the Dharma, saying that one should seek sarvajñā in this way, should bring beings to accomplishment in this way, should purify buddha-worlds in this way; they also see countless hundreds of thousands of ten thousands of koṭi of buddhas of the ten directions, and also hear their names—such-and-such a Buddha of such-and-such a world in such-and-such a direction, reverently surrounded by so many hundreds of thousands of ten thousands of bodhisattvas and so many hundreds of thousands of ten thousands of śrāvakas while he teaches them the Dharma; they also see countless hundreds of thousands of ten thousands of koṭi of buddhas of the ten directions entering parinirvāṇa; they also see the stūpas of the seven jewels of countless hundreds of thousands of ten thousands of koṭi of buddhas; they see people making offerings to the stūpas of the buddhas, paying reverence, honouring and praising, making offerings with flowers and incense and so on up to pennants and canopies.

The Merits of This Life, the Seventh—Seeing Good Dreams, the Gods Increase One's Strength, One Does Not Crave the Four Requisites; This Surpasses Making Offerings to the Buddhas of the Ten Directions and Raising Stūpas of the Seven Jewels

Kauśika! When these good men and good women see such good dreams, they are at ease lying down and at ease waking; the gods increase their strength, they feel their bodies light and nimble, they do not greatly crave food and drink, clothing, bedding, and medicine, and toward these four kinds of offerings their minds are light; it is like a bhikṣu sitting in meditation who, rising from meditative concentration, his mind at one with concentration, does not crave food and drink, and his mind is light. Why? Kauśika! It is the way of the gods to increase such a person's strength with the essence of all kinds of flavours. The buddhas of the ten directions, and gods, nāgas, ghosts, spirits, asuras, gandharvas, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, and mahoragas also increase his strength.

In this way, Kauśika, good men and good women who wish to obtain such merits of this life should receive and uphold prajñāpāramitā, draw near to it, read it, recite it, expound it, rightly recollect it, and also not part from the mind of sarvajñā. Kauśika! Although good men and good women may be unable to receive and uphold it and so on up to rightly recollecting it, they should still write out and hold the scroll of the sūtra, pay reverence to it, make offerings to it, honour and praise it, and make offerings with flowers and incense, necklaces, and so on up to banners and canopies. Kauśika! Suppose good men and good women hear this prajñāpāramitā, receive and uphold it, read it, recite it, expound it, rightly recollect it, write out the scroll of the sūtra, pay reverence to it, make offerings to it, honour and praise it, and make offerings with flowers and incense and so on up to pennants and canopies. The merits of these good men and good women are very many; they surpass making offerings to the buddhas of the ten directions and their disciples—paying reverence, honouring and praising, making offerings with clothing, food and drink, bedding, and medicine; they surpass raising stūpas of the seven jewels after the parinirvāṇa of the buddhas and their disciples, paying reverence, making offerings, honouring and praising, and making offerings with flowers and incense and so on up to pennants and canopies.

What follows is the treatise's explanation.

Question and Answer Five: The Heavens Have Prajñā of Their Own—Why Come to Increase the Dharma-Master's Courage? The Gods Come out of Compassion for Beings

Someone asks: the heavens have prajñā of their own from the start; why do they still come to the place of the one who teaches the Dharma to increase his courage?

The treatise-author answers: although there is prajñā in the heavens, the gods come because they have compassion for beings; as soon as the gods come, the evil ghosts go far away; they increase the Dharma-master's courage and make him delight in proclaiming. They can also make beings increase in faith and reverence; for this reason they come.

Someone says: the taste of the gods' nectar is subtle and moistening; it is able to enter each and every pore, making the four great elements and the faculties of the good man supple, light, and keen, so that he delights in proclaiming.

Question and Answer Six: Do All Who Teach Prajñā Obtain the Taste of Nectar? No—One Must Seek the Path with a Single Mind, Subdue the Fetters, and Keep the Place Pure

Someone asks: does everyone who proclaims prajñā obtain the taste of the gods' nectar, so that he delights in proclaiming?

The treatise-author answers: No! If a practitioner seeks the Buddha path with a single mind, subdues the afflictions and fetters, keeps his clothing pure and clean, and the place where he teaches the Dharma is also pure, furnished with flowers, incense, banners, and canopies, the ground sprinkled with scented water, with no impurity of any kind—for this reason the gods rejoice and also benefit all those who hear the Dharma.

Although the one who teaches the Dharma has not read many of the inner and outer scriptures, yet because he has entered deeply into the meaning of prajñāpāramitā, his mind is not timid; he does not sink, does not fear, and is not terrified.

Why? Because within prajñāpāramitā there is no fixed dharma that can be grasped, disputed, or refuted.

Again, within this prajñāpāramitā all dharmas are also distinguished and proclaimed: worldly and world-transcending, permanent and impermanent, wholesome and unwholesome, and so on; there is not a single dharma that is not contained within it. Because all dharmas are furnished there, one is not timid and not fearful; if there were only one dharma, there would be much that was lacking, and therefore there would be fear.

Because this bodhisattva practises prajñāpāramitā, his afflictions are broken down and made thin, and all kinds of merits increase and perfume his body; therefore his majestic virtue is worthy of reverence. Since the body is the dwelling-place of merit, even if his form were ugly and he could do nothing, he would still be loved and valued by people—how much more if he is upright of form by nature and also able to benefit people!

Question and Answer Seven: Why Is Being Loved by Parents Worth Mentioning? Within Filial Compliance the Bodhisattva Is Doubly Superior, and His Virtuous Conduct Is Loved and Revered by Gods and Humans

Someone asks: to be loved and revered by the buddhas, the śramaṇas, and the brahmins may be worth saying; but being loved and cherished by one's parents—why is that worth mentioning?

The treatise-author answers: although a person is born of his parents, if he does not follow his parents' instruction, his parents do not love and cherish him; within respectful compliance the bodhisattva is doubly superior.

Because he makes offerings to, pays reverence to, and honours the Way and virtue, the śramaṇas and brahmins love and revere him.

He is plain and utterly sincere, and his mouth speaks no falsehood; he deeply loves the merits of later lives and does not crave the pleasures of this life; he receives and provides for people of low station and does not exalt himself; if he sees that others have faults, he does not even state the facts of them—how much less would he slander them! If he truly cannot avoid it, he still in the end does not say everything. He relieves and comforts the orphaned, the suffering, and the poor, and does not favour those who attach themselves to him. All such matters as these are the power of prajñāpāramitā. Because this person's merits are heard of far away, gods and people of the world all love and revere him.

Because he makes offerings to prajñāpāramitā, life after life he constantly obtains the six perfections and the rest, and there is no time when they are interrupted. Because this person's merit and wisdom and his fame are heard of far away, if someone comes to dispute or slander, he is able to subdue them all.

The Treatise Explains Why Gods, Ghosts, and Spirits Come Following—All Belong to the Four Heavenly Kings; It Also Dispels the Doubt of People of the Fleshly Eye

Again, the gods, in order to make offerings to prajñāpāramitā, come to the place where prajñā abides.

Again, all the ghosts and spirits of mountains and rivers, trees, the land, and cities belong to the Four Heavenly Kings; because the Four Heavenly Kings come, the ghosts and spirits all follow and come along with them.

Among these ghosts and spirits there are those who have not yet obtained the scroll of the prajñā sūtra, and so they come to the place of prajñāpāramitā to make offerings, read and recite, and pay homage; it is also for the sake of benefiting the good man. This too is a merit of this life, because the gods and good spirits come.

The lord of the heavens, in order to dispel the doubts of ordinary people of the fleshly eye, therefore asks: how does one know that gods of great virtue have come?

Answer: at that time one sees a great light, or smells an extraordinary fragrance, and it is also because, as was said before, the dwelling-place is pure.

Question and Answer Eight: The Human Body Is Filled Within with Impurity—What Good Is Outward Purity? Purifying the Dwelling and Clothing Leaves No Impurity Outside; As When a King Comes, the Common Folk Withdraw

Someone asks: the inside of the human body is filled with impurity; what benefit is there in outward purity?

The treatise-author answers: if one purifies one's dwelling-place and clothing, then outwardly there is no impurity; because outwardly there is no impurity, the gods rejoice. It is like the place where a king or a great man comes: the common folk of low and humble station withdraw and go away; when the gods of great virtue come, the petty ghosts withdraw in the same way. Because the majestic virtue of the great gods is deep and weighty, the petty ghosts who formerly lived there withdraw and go away. Because these great gods come and draw near, this person's mind becomes pure and vast.

If a practitioner wishes the gods of great virtue to come, he should do as is said in the sūtra (purifying his dwelling-place and clothing).

Because the evil ghosts go far away, body and mind become light and nimble. And why is that? Drawing near to evil ghosts makes a person's body and mind gradually turn evil; it is like drawing near to an angry person, which easily makes one give rise to anger; drawing near to beautiful forms easily stirs a person's lustful feelings.

Because this person has already left behind the evil causes and conditions within and without, he is at ease lying down and at ease waking, and has no bad dreams of any kind; even if he dreams, he sees only the buddhas, as is said in the sūtra.

Question and Answer Nine: Prajñā Is in the Buddha's Body, and Making Offerings to One Buddha Is Making Offerings to Prajñā—Why Say That Making Offerings to the Buddhas of the Ten Directions Does Not Equal Making Offerings to Prajñā?

Someone asks: prajñāpāramitā is in the body of the Buddha; if one makes offerings to one Buddha, that is making offerings to prajñāpāramitā; why then is it said: 「供養十方佛，不如供養般若波羅蜜」 tr. "making offerings to the buddhas of the ten directions does not equal making offerings to prajñāpāramitā"?

The treatise-author answers: the crux lies in the mind of the one who makes offerings. If one makes offerings to the Buddha, one grasps the mark of a person; but the person is ultimately unfindable, and because one grasps a mark, although the field of merit is vast, the merit is thin and small. The one who makes offerings to prajñāpāramitā, in accord with the prajñā he has heard, does not grasp the mark of a person and does not grasp the mark of a dharma; because he makes offerings with such a mind, his merit is vast.

Again, prajñāpāramitā is the mother of all the buddhas of the ten directions and is also the teacher of the buddhas. That the buddhas attain the thirty-two marks and eighty minor marks of this body, together with immeasurable light and supernormal transformations, is all the power of prajñāpāramitā. For this reason, making offerings to prajñāpāramitā is still more superior.

Because of these various causes and conditions, making offerings to prajñā surpasses making offerings to the buddhas of the ten directions, and yet it is not that one does not revere the Buddha.

Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Fascicle Fifty-Eight.

The Relics and the Scroll of Prajñā as Two Portions, and Śakra Takes Prajñā: The Relics Are Born from Prajñā

The Buddha told Śakra Devānām Indra (Śakra), saying: ‘Kauśika (another name for Śakra)! If the Buddha's relics filling Jambudvīpa (the great continent on which we live) were made one portion, and a scroll of the prajñāpāramitā sūtra written out by someone were made another portion, which of these two portions would you take?’

Śakra Devānām Indra addressed the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! If the Buddha's relics filling Jambudvīpa were made one portion, and the scroll of the prajñāpāramitā sūtra were made another portion, of these two portions I would rather take the scroll of the prajñāpāramitā sūtra. Why? World-Honored One! It is not that I am without reverence for the Buddha's relics, nor that I am without esteem for them; it is only because the relics are born from prajñāpāramitā and are perfumed and cultivated by prajñāpāramitā that these relics receive offerings, reverence, esteem, and praise.’

At that time Śāriputra asked Śakra Devānām Indra: ‘Kauśika! This prajñāpāramitā cannot be taken; it is without form, without shape, without resistance (having no object standing over against it), and has only one mark, namely the signless. Why then would you take it? Why do I say this? Because this prajñāpāramitā does not appear for the sake of taking, does not appear for the sake of relinquishing, and does not appear for the sake of increase, decrease, gathering, dispersal, loss, gain, defilement, or purity. This prajñāpāramitā does not give the dharmas of the buddhas, nor does it abandon the dharmas of ordinary people; it does not give the dharmas of the pratyekabuddha, the dharmas of the arhat, or the dharmas of those in training, nor does it abandon the dharmas of ordinary people; it does not give the nature of the unconditioned, nor does it abandon the nature of the conditioned; it does not give inner emptiness and so on up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas, it does not give the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds, nor does it abandon the dharmas of ordinary people.’

Śakra Devānām Indra answered Śāriputra: ‘Just so! Just so! Śāriputra! If someone knows that this prajñāpāramitā does not give the dharmas of the buddhas and does not abandon the dharmas of ordinary people, and so on up to: does not give the omniscience of all kinds and does not abandon the dharmas of ordinary people—such a bodhisattva-mahāsattva can practise prajñāpāramitā and can cultivate prajñāpāramitā. Why? Because prajñāpāramitā does not settle upon 「二法」 tr. "dual dharmas"; the mark of non-dual dharmas is prajñāpāramitā, and the mark of non-dual dharmas is dhyānapāramitā and so on up to dānapāramitā (the perfection of giving).’

At that time the Buddha praised Śakra Devānām Indra, saying: ‘Excellent! Excellent! Kauśika! It is just as you say: prajñāpāramitā does not settle upon dual dharmas, and therefore the mark of non-dual dharmas is prajñāpāramitā, and the mark of non-dual dharmas is dhyānapāramitā and so on up to dānapāramitā. Kauśika! If someone wishes to attain “two marks of the nature of dharmas”, this person wishes to attain two marks of prajñāpāramitā. Why? Kauśika! The nature of dharmas and prajñāpāramitā are without duality and without difference; and so on up to dānapāramitā, which is likewise. If someone wishes to attain “two marks of the limit of reality and of the nature of the inconceivable”, this person wishes to attain two marks of prajñāpāramitā. Why? Because prajñāpāramitā and the nature of the inconceivable are without duality and without difference.’

Śakra Devānām Indra addressed the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! All the people of the world, together with the gods and the asuras, ought to worship and make offerings to prajñāpāramitā! Why? Because the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas train within prajñāpāramitā and only thereby attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi (unsurpassed, right, and complete awakening). World-Honored One! I often sit at ease in the Hall of Good Dharma; when I am not on my seat, the gods, for the sake of making offerings to me, pay homage to my seat, and only when they have finished circling it do they depart. The gods give rise to this thought: “Śakra Devānām Indra sits on this very seat and expounds the Dharma for the gods of the Heaven of the Thirty-three.” Just so, World-Honored One! Wherever this scroll of the prajñāpāramitā sūtra is written out, received and upheld, read, recited, and expounded for others, to that place the gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, and mahoragas of the worlds of the ten directions all come to worship prajñāpāramitā, and only when they have finished making offerings do they depart. Why? Because from within this prajñāpāramitā are born the buddhas and the requisites of peace and happiness of all beings, and the relics of the buddhas too are the cause and condition of the place where the omniscience of all kinds dwells. For this reason, World-Honored One, of these two portions I take prajñāpāramitā.

‘Furthermore, World-Honored One! If I receive and uphold, read, and recite prajñāpāramitā, and my mind enters deeply into the Dharma, at that time I do not see any mark to be feared. Why? World-Honored One! This prajñāpāramitā is without mark and without appearance, without words and without speech. World-Honored One! To be without mark and without appearance, without words and without speech—this is prajñāpāramitā, and so on up to: this is the omniscience of all kinds. World-Honored One! If prajñāpāramitā truly had marks and were not signless, then the buddhas ought not to have known 「一切法無相無貌、無言無說」 tr. "all dharmas are without mark and without appearance, without words and without speech" and so attained anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, nor ought they to have proclaimed to their disciples 「諸法無相無貌、無言無說」 tr. "dharmas are without mark and without appearance, without words and without speech". World-Honored One! It is precisely because prajñāpāramitā is truly without mark and without appearance, without words and without speech, that the buddhas know that all dharmas are without mark and without appearance, without words and without speech, and attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi; and only thereby do they proclaim to their disciples that dharmas are likewise without mark and without appearance, without words and without speech. For this reason, World-Honored One, this prajñāpāramitā ought to receive the offerings, reverence, esteem, and praise of all the gods, humans, and asuras of the world, with flowers and incense, necklaces, and so on up to banners and canopies.

‘Furthermore, World-Honored One! If someone receives and upholds prajñāpāramitā, draws near to it, reads it, recites it, expounds it, rightly recollects it, and also writes it out and makes offerings to it with flowers and incense and so on up to banners and canopies, this person does not fall into the destinies of hell, animals, or hungry ghosts, and does not fall into the ground of the śrāvaka or the pratyekabuddha; and so on up to: he attains anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi and constantly sees the buddhas; going from one buddha-land to another buddha-land, he makes offerings to the buddhas, with reverence, esteem, and praise, with flowers and incense and so on up to banners and canopies.

‘Furthermore, World-Honored One! If the Buddha's relics filling the three-thousand great-thousand world were made one portion, and a written scroll of the prajñāpāramitā sūtra were made another portion, of these two portions I would still take prajñāpāramitā. Why? World-Honored One! Because from within this prajñāpāramitā the relics of the buddhas are born; for this reason the relics receive offerings, reverence, esteem, and praise. These good men and good women, because they make offerings to and revere the relics, receive the blessings and happiness of the heavens and of the human world, and never fall into the three evil destinies; according to what they wish, they gradually enter nirvāṇa by the dharma of the three vehicles. Therefore, World-Honored One, if someone sees the present Buddha, or sees the scroll of the prajñāpāramitā sūtra, the two are equal and without difference. Why? World-Honored One! Because this prajñāpāramitā and the Buddha are without duality and without difference.’

What follows is the treatise's explanation.

Treatise ①: The Relics Weighed against the Scroll, and Śakra as the Most Honoured among Householders; the Meaning of the Mark of Non-dual Dharmas

Someone asks: Above, offerings to prajñāpāramitā have already been weighed by means of raising stūpas of the seven jewels, and the meaning is already complete; why does the Buddha now again set the relics and the scroll against each other?

The answer: Earlier it was pointed out that the stūpa of the seven jewels is the dwelling place of the relics; now the relics alone are set against the scroll. Although the relics do not equal prajñā, they can fill Jambudvīpa; since prajñā is surpassing and wondrous, only the scroll is pointed to (the few surpassing the many).

Furthermore, those who have left the household mostly crave wisdom, because wisdom is the cause and condition of liberation; householders mostly crave merit, because merit is the cause and condition of happiness. Those who have left the household mostly crave the things known by mind-consciousness; householders mostly crave the things known by the five consciousnesses. Śakra Devānām Indra has already realised the greatest result of blessings and happiness, and among householders he is the most honoured and supreme; for this reason the Buddha asks Śakra Devānām Indra.

Śakra Devānām Indra says: ‘Of these two portions I take the scroll of the prajñāpāramitā sūtra.’

Here Śakra himself states the reason: ‘World-Honored One! I do not dare to slight the relics or to be without reverence for them; I know that making offerings to relics the size of a mustard seed brings merit that is immeasurable and boundless, and so on up to: even the merit of attaining buddhahood is not exhausted—how much more relics filling Jambudvīpa! World-Honored One! The body the bodhisattva receives at birth has relics too, yet people do not esteem them; only when he becomes a Buddha are the relics, because they have been perfumed and cultivated by prajñā, revered, esteemed, and given offerings by people. Therefore of these two portions I take the surpassing portion.’

Someone asks: Śāriputra knew perfectly well that Śakra Devānām Indra spoke of 「取般若波羅蜜」 tr. "taking prajñāpāramitā" in terms of worldly truth (the principle commonly accepted in the world); why did he still raise a challenge?

The answer: Śakra Devānām Indra lives in the household, bound by the afflictions and covered by the five desires, and yet he is able to proclaim prajñāpāramitā—this is a rare thing! For this reason Śāriputra questioned him, wishing to make Śakra Devānām Indra go further and ask the Buddha about deeper meaning; therefore he raised the challenge.

Śakra Devānām Indra, following Śāriputra's intention, answers, saying: ‘Just so!’

Śakra Devānām Indra's intention is this: within all dharmas there are no two marks; he does not regard the relics as small, and does not regard prajñāpāramitā as great. Prajñāpāramitā has the mark of non-duality and non-discrimination; it is only in order to benefit bodhisattvas who have newly aroused the mind that he speaks thus in terms of worldly truth: ‘Prajñāpāramitā can make the minds of beings free of duality and free of discrimination; because of this benefit, I take prajñā.’

At this the Buddha praises Śakra Devānām Indra: ‘Excellent! Excellent!’ Because Śakra is able both to discriminate dharmas and to proclaim skilfully the mark of prajñā, which is precisely 「無二相」 tr. "the mark of non-duality", the Buddha therefore praises him.

Here the Buddha himself gives a simile: ‘If someone wishes to divide the nature of dharmas, the limit of reality, and so on into two portions, this person wishes to divide prajñāpāramitā into two portions.’

Śakra had himself proclaimed prajñā, and further heard the Buddha make it clear again; his mind was pure, and with deep faith and joy he said: all the world ought to worship prajñā.

Here Śakra himself states the reason: ‘All bodhisattvas train in this prajñā and only thereby attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.’

Again, here he takes his own person as a simile: his own person is a simile for the Buddha, and the scroll of the prajñā sūtra is a simile for the seat.

There are also those who say: his own person is a simile for prajñā, and the seat is a simile for the relics.

‘Therefore of these two portions I take prajñā.’

‘Furthermore, World-Honored One! If I receive and uphold prajñā, read and recite it, at that time I do not see even a mark to be feared—how much more a fear that is real! Why? Because all dharmas are signless, without words and without speech. Prajñāpāramitā can make a person attain this signless dharma, and therefore there is nothing to be feared.’

The person who receives, upholds, and makes offerings to prajñā does not fall into the three evil destinies or into the paths of the two vehicles; life after life he is not parted from the buddhas, and he constantly makes offerings to the buddhas of the ten directions. Therefore prajñāpāramitā is what all the world ought to make offerings to.

Furthermore, the Buddha first made a beginning, taking the relics filling Jambudvīpa as the example. Śakra, having understood which of these two things surpasses the other, for the sake of all beings widens the scope to the three-thousand great-thousand world; here Śakra himself states the reason: ‘To see prajñāpāramitā is no different from seeing the Buddha.’

Sūtra ②: The Three Kinds of Manifestation and the Twelve Divisions of the Scriptures Are All Born from Prajñā; the Simile of the Debtor Who Relies on the King; the Simile of the Maṇi Jewel

‘Furthermore, World-Honored One! Just as the Buddha, by the three kinds of manifestation (the three kinds of guidance: supernormal power, reading minds, and instruction), proclaims the twelve divisions of the scriptures—sūtra, geya, and so on up to upadeśa—so too there are good men and good women who receive and uphold, recite, and expound this prajñāpāramitā; the two are equal and without difference. Why? World-Honored One! Because from within this prajñāpāramitā are born the three kinds of manifestation and the twelve divisions of the scriptures: sūtra and so on up to upadeśa.

‘Furthermore, World-Honored One! The buddhas of the ten directions, by the three kinds of manifestation, proclaim the twelve divisions of the scriptures: sūtra and so on up to upadeśa; so too there are those who receive prajñāpāramitā and proclaim it for others; the two are equal and without difference. Why? Because from within prajñāpāramitā the buddhas are born, and the twelve divisions of the scriptures too are born: sūtra and so on up to upadeśa.

‘Furthermore, World-Honored One! If someone makes offerings to the buddhas in worlds of the ten directions as many as the sands of the Ganges, with reverence, esteem, and praise, with flowers and incense and so on up to banners and canopies; and again someone writes out the scroll of the prajñāpāramitā sūtra, with reverence, esteem, and praise, with flowers and incense and so on up to banners and canopies, the blessings of these two are exactly equal. Why? Because the buddhas of the ten directions are all born from prajñāpāramitā.

‘Furthermore, World-Honored One! Good men and good women who hear this prajñāpāramitā, receive and uphold it, read it, recite it, rightly recollect it, and also proclaim it for others—these people do not fall into the destiny of hell, of animals, or of hungry ghosts, nor do they fall into the ground of the śrāvaka or the pratyekabuddha. Why? It should be known that it is because these good men and good women are abiding rightly in the ground of avaivartika (non-retrogressing). This prajñāpāramitā keeps far away from all suffering and vexation, decline and sickness.

‘Furthermore, World-Honored One! If good men and good women write out this scroll of the prajñāpāramitā sūtra, receive and uphold it, draw near to it, make offerings to it, revere it, esteem it, and praise it, these people then keep far away from all fear. World-Honored One! It is like a debtor who draws near to the king, supplying him and attending him at his left and right: the creditors, on the contrary, make still more offerings to this person and revere him, and this person no longer fears. Why? World-Honored One! Because this person relies on and is close to the king, and depends on the king's having power. Just so, World-Honored One! The relics of the buddhas receive offerings and reverence only because they have been perfumed and cultivated by prajñāpāramitā. World-Honored One! It should be known that prajñāpāramitā is like the king, and the relics are like the debtor; as the debtor, relying on the king, receives offerings, so the relics too, relying on prajñāpāramitā, are cultivated and perfumed and only thereby receive offerings. World-Honored One! It should be known that the omniscience of all kinds of the buddhas too is accomplished only through being cultivated and perfumed by prajñāpāramitā. For this reason, World-Honored One, of these two portions I take prajñāpāramitā. Why? World-Honored One! Because from within prajñāpāramitā are born the relics of the buddhas and the thirty-two marks; from within prajñāpāramitā are also born the Buddha's ten powers, the four fearlessnesses, the four unobstructed knowledges, the eighteen unshared dharmas, and great loving-kindness and great compassion. World-Honored One! From within prajñāpāramitā are born the five perfections, and it makes them receive the name 「波羅蜜」 tr. "pāramitā"; from within prajñāpāramitā is born the omniscience of all kinds of the buddhas.

‘Furthermore, World-Honored One! Wherever within the three-thousand great-thousand world someone receives and upholds, makes offerings to, reveres, esteems, and praises prajñāpāramitā, in that place neither humans nor non-humans can find an opening against him (there is no gap for them to exploit), and this person then gradually enters nirvāṇa. World-Honored One! Prajñāpāramitā has such great benefit that it can do the work of a Buddha within the three-thousand great-thousand world! World-Honored One! Wherever prajñāpāramitā is, it is the same as the Buddha being there. World-Honored One! It is like the priceless maṇi jewel: in the place where it dwells, non-humans cannot find an opening. If a man or a woman has a fever and this jewel is placed on the body, the fever is healed at once; if there is wind sickness, if there is cold sickness, if there is sickness of mixed heat, wind, and cold, and the jewel is placed on the body, all are healed. If it is dark, this jewel can make it bright. When it is hot it can make it cool, and when it is cold it can make it warm; in the place where the jewel dwells, that place is neither cold nor hot, and the seasons are harmonious and fitting. In that place, too, there are none of the various other poisons and stings; if a man or a woman is bitten by a poisonous snake and the jewel is shown to him, the poison is removed at once.

‘Furthermore, World-Honored One! If a man or a woman has pain in the eyes, a film grown over the eyes, or blindness, and the jewel is shown to him, he is healed at once. If there are leprous sores or malignant swellings, and the jewel is placed on his body, the sickness is healed at once.

‘Furthermore, World-Honored One! When this maṇi jewel is placed in water, the water accordingly shows one colour: if it is wrapped in something blue and placed in the water, the water becomes blue; if it is wrapped in something yellow, red, white, crimson, or pale blue (a light bluish colour) and placed in the water, the water accordingly shows yellow, red, white, crimson, or pale blue. Thus, wrapped in things of various colours and put into the water, the water accordingly shows the various colours. World-Honored One! If the water is turbid and the jewel is put into it, the water at once becomes clear—such are the merits of this jewel!’

At that time Ānanda asked Śakra Devānām Indra: ‘Kauśika! Is this maṇi jewel a jewel of the heavens? Or a jewel of Jambudvīpa?’

Śakra Devānām Indra answered Ānanda: ‘It is a jewel of the heavens. The people of Jambudvīpa also have this kind of jewel, but its marks of merit are few and not complete; the jewel of the heavens is pure, light, and subtle, and cannot be compared by any simile.

‘Furthermore, World-Honored One! If this maṇi jewel is placed in a casket (a small box), then after the jewel is taken out, because its merit has perfumed the casket, people all love and revere that casket. Just so, World-Honored One! Wherever a written scroll of the prajñāpāramitā sūtra dwells, that place is without the troubles of many vexations, just as the place where the maṇi jewel is placed is without many calamities. World-Honored One! After the Buddha's parinirvāṇa (nirvāṇa), that the relics receive offerings is entirely the power of prajñāpāramitā; dhyānapāramitā and so on up to dānapāramitā, 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, omniscience, the mark of dharmas, the abiding of dharmas, the position of dharmas, the nature of dharmas, the limit of reality, the nature of the inconceivable, and the omniscience of all kinds—all these are the power of these merits. Good men and good women give rise to this thought: “These relics of the Buddha are the dwelling place of the merits of the buddhas: omniscience, the omniscience of all kinds, great loving-kindness and great compassion, the cutting off of all fetters together with their residual habits, the practice of constant equanimity, the dharma of never erring, and the like.” For this reason the relics receive offerings. World-Honored One! The relics are the dwelling place of the pāramitā of the jewels of all merits, the dwelling place of the pāramitā that is neither stained nor pure; they are the dwelling place of the pāramitā that neither arises nor ceases, the pāramitā that neither enters nor exits, the pāramitā that neither increases nor diminishes, and the pāramitā that neither comes nor goes nor abides; these relics of the Buddha are the dwelling place of the pāramitā of the marks of all dharmas; it is because they have been perfumed and cultivated by this pāramitā of the marks of all dharmas that the relics receive offerings.

‘Furthermore, World-Honored One! Set aside the relics filling the three-thousand great-thousand world. If the relics filling worlds as many as the sands of the Ganges were made one portion, and a scroll of the prajñāpāramitā sūtra written out by someone were made another portion, of these two portions I take prajñāpāramitā. Why? Because from within this prajñāpāramitā the relics of the buddhas are born; because of being cultivated and perfumed by this prajñāpāramitā, the relics receive offerings. World-Honored One! If good men and good women make offerings to the relics, with reverence, esteem, and praise, the result of their merit cannot be exhausted to its limit; they receive the blessings and happiness of the human world and of the heavens, that is, they receive blessings and happiness among the great kṣatriya clans, the great brahmin clans, and the great householder families, and in the heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings and so on up to the gods Sovereign over Others' Transformations; and through the causes and conditions of this merit they will in the end be able to put an end to all suffering. If one receives this prajñāpāramitā, reads it, recites it, expounds it, and rightly recollects it, this person can then fulfil dhyānapāramitā and so on up to fulfilling dānapāramitā, can fulfil the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to fulfilling the eighteen unshared dharmas; he passes beyond the grounds of the śrāvaka and the pratyekabuddha and abides in the bodhisattva position; having abided in the bodhisattva position, he attains the bodhisattva's supernormal powers and goes from one buddha-land to another buddha-land; this bodhisattva, for the sake of beings, takes on a body, and according to what beings require he brings beings to accomplishment: now as a wheel-turning sage king, now in a great kṣatriya clan, now in a great brahmin clan, he brings beings to accomplishment. For this reason, World-Honored One, it is not out of slighting or irreverence that I do not take the relics; it is because good men and good women who make offerings to prajñāpāramitā are thereby making offerings to the relics.

‘Furthermore, World-Honored One! If someone wishes to see the Dharma body and the form body of the buddhas now present in the immeasurable asaṃkhyeya (countless) worlds of the ten directions, this person ought to hear and receive and uphold prajñāpāramitā, read it, recite it, rightly recollect it, and expound it widely for others. Such good men and good women will see the Dharma body and the form body of the buddhas in the immeasurable asaṃkhyeya worlds of the ten directions. These good men and good women who practise prajñāpāramitā ought also to cultivate the samādhi of recollecting the Buddha by way of the mark of dharmas. Furthermore, if good men and good women wish to see the buddhas now present, they ought to receive this prajñāpāramitā, and so on up to: rightly recollect it.’

What follows is the treatise's explanation.

Treatise ②: Among the Twelve Divisions of the Scriptures Prajñā Is Most Surpassing; the Nineteenfold Matching of the Simile of the Wish-fulfilling Jewel; Prajñā as the Head and the Bright Guide

Furthermore, concerning the phrase ‘the Buddha, by the three kinds of manifestation, proclaims the twelve divisions of the scriptures’.

Someone asks: Among all who expound the Dharma, there is none who can equal the Buddha; the twelve divisions of the scriptures spoken by the Buddha lack nothing; why is it that a good man who merely receives and upholds, reads, and recites prajñā is equal to the Buddha and without difference?

The answer: Here it is because the Buddha wishes to praise prajñā as great. Among the twelve divisions of the scriptures, prajñā is the most surpassing. Why? Because proclaiming this prajñāpāramitā mostly makes people arouse the bodhisattva mind, whereas proclaiming the twelve divisions of the scriptures arouses the intentions of the three vehicles all mixed together. Here it is not the bodhisattva's merit being compared with the Buddha's immeasurable body; it is spoken with regard to the Dharma body. The bodhisattva proclaims only prajñā and exhorts to the Great Vehicle; the Buddha proclaims in a mixed way and exhorts to the three vehicles; therefore it is said that the two are equal and without difference.

Furthermore, the root of the three kinds of manifestation and of the twelve divisions of the scriptures is precisely what is called 「般若波羅蜜」 tr. "prajñāpāramitā".

Making offerings to buddhas as many as the sands of the Ganges in the ten directions, and again someone making offerings to the scroll of the prajñā sūtra—the two are also equal and without difference.

Here the Buddha states the reason why the merit of prajñā is surpassing, namely that prajñā can break all suffering and vexation, decline and sickness, fear, and the like. It is like a debtor who relies on the king: the king is a simile for prajñā, and the debtor is a simile for the relics. The relics are formed by the causes and conditions of karma in former lives, and within those causes and conditions they ought to repay all kinds of requital; but because they have been perfumed and cultivated by prajñāpāramitā, the various requitals of the causes and conditions of past lives, as well as hunger and thirst, cold and heat, cannot come near them, and on the contrary they receive the offerings seen by the gods and the people of the world. It is like a debtor who relies on the king and is on the contrary revered by his creditors.

What was said earlier, ‘there are none of the various declines and sicknesses, nor fear’, is said with regard to the inner; what is now said of the maṇi jewel, that neither humans nor non-humans can find an opening, is said with regard to the outer. Because this person makes offerings to prajñāpāramitā, whether in this life or in later lives, if the body has decline or the mind has sickness, all can be removed; all kinds of matters of wholesome wishes can be obtained as one wishes.

Having obtained this great jewel of prajñāpāramitā, one is therefore without the various fears and without any lack; it is like the priceless jewel, by which every wish can be fulfilled.

Someone asks: The maṇi jewel—among sphaṭika (crystal), gold, silver, giant clam shell, agate, beryl, coral, amber, vajra, and the like, which kind of jewel is it?

The answer: Someone says: this jewel comes forth from the brain of a nāga king; when a person obtains this jewel, poison cannot harm it and fire cannot burn it; it has such various merits.

Someone says: this is the vajra held by Śakra, which, when he fought with the asuras, broke and fell into Jambudvīpa.

Someone says: these are the relics of the buddhas of the distant past; when the Buddha-Dharma had already perished, the relics turned into this jewel, to benefit beings.

Someone says: because of the causes and conditions of beings' merit, this jewel exists spontaneously. It is like how, because of the causes and conditions of sin, the instruments for punishing sin exist spontaneously in the hells.

This jewel is named 「如意」 tr. "as one wishes"; it has no fixed colour, is clear, light, and subtle, and the myriad things of the four continents are all reflected upon it. The meaning of the wish-fulfilling jewel is as was said before. This jewel can constantly produce all precious things; clothing and food, whatever one wishes, it can give; it can also remove the various declines, vexations, sicknesses, sufferings, and the like.

This jewel is of two kinds: there is the wish-fulfilling jewel of the heavens, and there is the wish-fulfilling jewel of the human world. Because the merit of the gods is deep and thick, the merits of their jewel are complete; because the merit of humans is shallow and thin, the merits of their jewel are not complete.

In the rooms and caskets where this jewel is placed, that place too has majestic virtue.

As is said: ‘Prajñāpāramitā too is like this.’

Just as the wish-fulfilling jewel can give householders wealth and happiness in this life, according to whatever their minds wish, so prajñāpāramitā can give those who have left the household to seek the path the happiness of liberation of the three vehicles, according to whatever their minds aspire to.

Wherever the wish-fulfilling jewel is placed, non-humans cannot find an opening; prajñāpāramitā is also like this: if the practitioner's mind is in accord with it, evil and wrong rākṣasas cannot enter his mind to destroy his intent for the path and rob him of his wisdom-life. Furthermore, wherever prajñāpāramitā is, Māra, or Māra's people, earth spirits, yakṣas, the evil ghosts, and the like all cannot find an opening.

Just as the jewel can remove the four hundred and four sicknesses, whose root is four sicknesses—wind, heat, cold, and the mixed—so prajñāpāramitā can also remove the eighty-four thousand sicknesses, whose root is four sicknesses: greed, hatred, delusion, and their equal mixture (the three poisons arising together in equal measure). The sickness of lust divides into twenty-one thousand, the sickness of anger and hatred divides into twenty-one thousand, the sickness of delusion divides into twenty-one thousand, and the sickness of the equal mixture divides into twenty-one thousand. By the contemplation of impurity one removes greed and desire; by the mind of kindness and compassion one removes anger and hatred; by the contemplation of causes and conditions one removes delusion; and by combining the three medicines above—whether impurity, or kindness and compassion, or the contemplation of causes and conditions—one removes the sickness of the equal mixture.

Just as the jewel can remove darkness, prajñā too is like this: it can remove the darkness of the three realms.

Just as the jewel can remove heat, prajñā too is like this: it can remove the heat of lust and of anger and hatred.

Just as the jewel can remove cold, prajñā too is like this: it can remove the cold minds of ignorance, lack of faith, lack of reverence, laziness, and the like.

The sun and the moon are both made of jewels; the sun can give forth heat and the moon can give forth cold, and although both benefit beings, because they cannot combine both (the use of cold and the use of heat), they are not called ‘as one wishes’.

Wherever the jewel is, poisonous snakes and all the evil vermin cannot harm; prajñā too is like this: the poisons of greed and desire and the like cannot make one sick.

If someone is bitten by a poisonous snake and the jewel is shown to him, he is healed at once; if someone is bitten by the poisonous snakes of greed and desire and the like and obtains prajñāpāramitā, the poison of greed and hatred is removed at once, as with Nanda, Aṅgulimāla (the same name in another transliteration), and others.

If someone has pain in the eyes or is blind and the jewel is shown to him, he is healed at once; prajñāpāramitā too is like this: if someone's wisdom-eye has been destroyed by ignorance, doubt and regret, inverted wrong views, and the like, on obtaining prajñā it at once becomes clear.

Just as when a person has leprous sores or ulcerous swellings and the jewel is shown to him he is healed at once, prajñā too is like this: the five heinous sins, the leprosy of sin, and the like are extinguished at once on obtaining prajñā.

Just as, when the jewel is wrapped in various colours and placed in water, the water accordingly shows one colour, prajñā too is like this: because the practitioner has obtained the power of prajñā, his mind becomes soft and pliant and clings to nothing; he goes along with the hand of faith (the hand of faith among the five faculties beginning with faith), the five faculties, and so on, and also goes along with the four dhyānas, the four immeasurable minds, the liberations, the spheres of mastery, and the all-encompassing spheres. Furthermore, in the grounds of the srota-āpanna, the sakṛdāgāmin, the anāgāmin, the arhat, and the pratyekabuddha, he goes along with them and trains in them all, without any opposition. The sixth, the pale-blue colour, is the colour of space. The practitioner, having obtained prajñā, contemplates dharmas as empty, and his mind too goes along with this and does not cling. All such things as these say: entering into all dharmas, one goes along with them all without obstruction.

Just as when water is turbid, mixed in colour and impure, and the jewel is put into it, it all becomes pure and of one colour, prajñā too is like this: when a person has various afflictions, wrong views, and idle discourse that disturb his mind and make it turbid, on obtaining prajñā it becomes pure and of one colour.

Just as the wish-fulfilling jewel has immeasurable merits, the merits of prajñā too are like this.

Now, in terms of their particular marks, the merits of prajñā are spoken of: this wish-fulfilling jewel can only remove evil ghosts, and cannot destroy the Māra-gods; prajñā can remove both of these. The jewel can cure sicknesses of the body; prajñā can cure sicknesses of the body and sicknesses of the mind. The jewel can cure sicknesses that humans and spirits are able to cure; prajñā can cure sicknesses that no gods, nāgas, ghosts, or spirits are able to cure. The jewel can cure sicknesses that have been cured before in life after life; prajñā can cure sicknesses that have never been cured since the beginningless world. There are such various differences as these.

The jewel can illuminate the darkness of night in the place where it dwells; prajñā can illuminate the black darkness of ignorance associated with all the afflictions, as well as the black darkness of delusion, the unshared ignorance that does not penetrate all dharmas.

The jewel can only break the heat in the place where it dwells, and cannot break heat elsewhere; the power of prajñā can, with a single breath, extinguish even the great fire at the end of the kalpa in immeasurable worlds—how much more the heat of a single place!

The jewel can only remove the heat of fire and sun that have physical substance; prajñā can remove the heat of mind of the three poisons.

The jewel can remove wind and rain, cold and snow; prajñā can remove the cold of the minds of lack of faith, lack of reverence, laziness, and the like, of beings in the immeasurable worlds of the ten directions.

The jewel can drive off poisons and stings coming from outside, but cannot remove the poisonous snake of the four great elements (a simile for the afflictions of the four great elements within the body); prajñā can ultimately remove both of these poisons.

The jewel cannot cure the poison of wrong views; prajñā can remove it.

The jewel can cure the fleshly eye; prajñā can cure the wisdom-eye.

The jewel can cure the eye that sees what is near; prajñā can cure the eye that sees what is far.

The jewel can cure the fleshly eye, but the fleshly eye does not turn into the jewel; prajñā can cure the wisdom-eye, and the wisdom-eye at once becomes prajñā.

The jewel can cure the fleshly eye, and later the sickness returns; prajñā cures the wisdom-eye, and it is ultimately pure.

The jewel can cure leprous sores and malignant swellings; prajñā can cure the leprosy of the body and the leprosy of the mind.

Someone asks: Among the four kinds of sickness, all sicknesses are already included; why further speak separately of 「眼痛」 tr. "pain in the eyes", 「癩病」 tr. "leprosy", and so on?

The answer: The eye is foremost in the body and the most precious in use, so it is spoken of separately. Among all sicknesses leprosy is the heaviest; because of the causes and conditions of sin in past lives it is hard to cure, so it is spoken of again separately.

The jewel can make water follow the colour in which it is wrapped; prajñā can go along with wholesome mental-factor dharmas (the mental concomitants).

The jewel cannot turn people's minds; prajñā can turn what the mind-nature of all beings delights in and desires.

The jewel can make the turbid water in the place where it is placed become clear, but not all water; the power of prajñā can make the mind disturbed and made turbid by the six thoughts (six kinds of discursive thinking) pure at once; and it can further make pure the turbid minds of greed and hatred of the nāga kings, the kings of ghosts and spirits, the kings of humans, and the like.

The jewel can give majestic virtue to the caskets and rooms where it is placed; the power of prajñā can deliver asaṃkhyeya beings in the immeasurable worlds of the ten directions and give them majestic virtue.

The power of the jewel's merit enters the casket, but the casket cannot give people merit according to their wishes; because the relics have obtained the perfuming and cultivation of prajñā, if someone makes offerings to them, he will surely in turn obtain prajñā and become a Buddha.

This casket is esteemed by ordinary people; the relics are esteemed by ordinary people and noble ones alike.

The casket is esteemed by worldly people who enjoy pleasure; the relics are esteemed both by those who transcend the world and by worldly people who enjoy pleasure.

Prajñā is that wish-fulfilling jewel, and the casket is the relics; although there is no prajñā within the relics, because they have been perfumed by prajñā they receive offerings.

Furthermore, among all the noble dharmas, prajñā is foremost and beyond any simile; it is only because the people of the world esteem this jewel that the jewel is taken as a simile.

When a person sees the wish-fulfilling jewel, every wish can be fulfilled; if he sees the place where the jewel dwells, he can also obtain a small share of his wishes. The practitioner too is like this: having obtained the meaning of this prajñāpāramitā, he at once enters the Buddha path; if he sees the relics where prajñā dwells and makes offerings to them, he then obtains immeasurable blessings and happiness in this life and in later lives, and in time will surely attain the path.

Such general marks and particular marks as these should be understood.

Someone asks: If prajñā has such merits, why is it further said, ‘the relics are the dwelling place of the five perfections and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds, and therefore receive offerings’?

The answer: It has already been said earlier: of all dharmas, prajñāpāramitā is the head and acts as the bright guide; it is like a king who comes, always with a retinue following him: one needs only to name the lord, and all the rest are already included.

The principle of praising prajñāpāramitā has already been spoken of earlier.

The Mark of Conditioned Dharmas and the Mark of Unconditioned Dharmas: The Self-Nature of Dharmas Is a Nature Without Anything Existent

‘Furthermore, World-Honored One! There are two kinds of marks of dharmas: one is the mark of conditioned dharmas, and one is the mark of unconditioned dharmas. What is called the mark of conditioned dharmas? It is the wisdom within inner emptiness, and so on up to the wisdom within the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas; the wisdom within the four foundations of mindfulness, and so on up to the wisdom within the eight limbs of the noble path; the wisdom within the Buddha's ten powers, the four fearlessnesses, the four unobstructed knowledges, and the eighteen unshared dharmas; the wisdom within wholesome dharmas and within unwholesome dharmas; the wisdom within dharmas with outflows and within dharmas without outflows; the wisdom within worldly dharmas and within world-transcending dharmas—this is called the mark of conditioned dharmas. What is called the mark of unconditioned dharmas? It is the self-nature of dharmas, which is without arising and without ceasing, without abiding and without changing, without stain and without purity, without increase and without decrease. And what is called the self-nature of dharmas? That nature in which all dharmas are without anything existent—that is the self-nature of dharmas; this is called the mark of unconditioned dharmas.’

The Buddhas of the Three Times All Attain the Path Through Prajñā, Yet Prajñā Is Neither This nor That

At that time the Buddha told Śakra Devānām Indra: ‘Just so! Just so! Kauśika! The buddhas of the past attained anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi (unsurpassed, right, and complete awakening) through this prajñāpāramitā; the disciples of the buddhas of the past also attained the path of the srota-āpanna through prajñāpāramitā, and so on up to the path of the arhat and the path of the pratyekabuddha. The immeasurable asaṃkhyeya buddhas of the ten directions of the future and present ages also attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi through this prajñāpāramitā; the disciples of the buddhas of the future and present also attain the path of the srota-āpanna, and so on up to the path of the pratyekabuddha, through prajñāpāramitā. Why? Because within prajñāpāramitā the meaning of the three vehicles is expounded at length—by way of the signless dharma; by way of the dharma without arising and without ceasing; by way of the dharma without stain and without purity; by way of the dharma without making and without originating, neither entering nor exiting, neither increasing nor diminishing, neither grasping nor relinquishing. This is said by way of worldly dharma, not by way of the highest meaning. Why? Because this prajñāpāramitā is neither this nor that, neither high nor low, neither equal nor unequal, neither marked nor signless, neither worldly nor world-transcending, neither with outflows nor without outflows, neither conditioned nor unconditioned, neither wholesome nor unwholesome, neither past nor future nor present. Why? Kauśika! Prajñāpāramitā does not grasp the dharmas of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, nor does it relinquish the dharmas of ordinary people.’

The Bodhisattva Practising Prajñā Does Not Find Beings, Nor Does He Find Any Dharma

Śakra Devānām Indra said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva practising prajñāpāramitā can know the minds of all beings, yet he does not find beings, and so on up to: the knower and the seer are also not found. This bodhisattva does not find form; does not find feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness; does not find the eye up to the mind; does not find forms up to dharmas; does not find the feeling born from the condition of eye-contact, up to the feeling born from the condition of mind-contact; does not find the four foundations of mindfulness up to the eighteen unshared dharmas; does not find anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi; does not find the dharmas of the buddhas; does not find the Buddha. Why? Because prajñāpāramitā does not come forth for the sake of attaining any dharma. And why again? Because prajñāpāramitā is in its nature without anything existent and unfindable; the dharma it uses is also unfindable, and its place is also unfindable!’

The Buddha told Śakra Devānām Indra: ‘Just so! Just so! Kauśika! It is just as you say! The bodhisattva-mahāsattva cultivates and practises prajñāpāramitā through the long night, and even anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi is unfindable—how much less the bodhisattva and the dharmas of the bodhisattva!’

Does He Practise Prajñā Alone? All Six Perfections Take Prajñā as Their Bright Guide

At that time Śakra Devānām Indra said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! Does the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practise only prajñāpāramitā, and not practise the other perfections?’

The Buddha told Śakra Devānām Indra, saying: ‘Kauśika! The bodhisattva must practise the dharmas of the six perfections in full, with nothing to be attained. When he practises dānapāramitā, he does not find a giver, does not find a receiver, does not find the goods given; when he practises śīlapāramitā, he does not find morality, does not find a person who keeps the precepts, does not find a person who breaks the precepts; and so on up to: when he practises prajñāpāramitā, he does not find wisdom, does not find a person possessed of wisdom, does not find a person without wisdom.

‘Kauśika! When the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises giving, prajñāpāramitā acts as his bright guide and can bring dānapāramitā to fulfilment; when the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises keeping the precepts, prajñāpāramitā acts as his bright guide and can bring śīlapāramitā to fulfilment; when the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises patience, prajñāpāramitā acts as his bright guide and can bring kṣāntipāramitā to fulfilment; when the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises vigour, prajñāpāramitā acts as his bright guide and can bring vīryapāramitā to fulfilment; when the bodhisattva-mahāsattva practises meditation, prajñāpāramitā acts as his bright guide and can bring dhyānapāramitā to fulfilment; when the bodhisattva-mahāsattva contemplates all dharmas, prajñāpāramitā acts as his bright guide and can bring prajñāpāramitā to fulfilment. This is because all dharmas are with nothing to be attained—that is to say, form, up to omniscience of all kinds. Kauśika! It is like the various trees of Jambudvīpa, with various leaves, various flowers, various fruits, and various colours, yet their shade is without difference; the perfections, entering into prajñāpāramitā and reaching sarvajñā (omniscience), are without difference in just this way, with nothing to be attained.’

Writing Out the Sūtra and Reciting It Oneself, or Writing It Out and Giving It to Others: Which Has More Merit

Śakra Devānām Indra said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! Prajñāpāramitā is accomplished in great merit! World-Honored One! Prajñāpāramitā is accomplished in all merit! World-Honored One! Prajñāpāramitā is accomplished in immeasurable merit! Accomplished in boundless merit! Accomplished in unequalled merit! World-Honored One! Suppose there are good men and good women who write out the scroll of this prajñāpāramitā sūtra, revere it, make offerings to it, honour it, and praise it, with flowers and incense up to banners and canopies, and rightly recollect it as prajñāpāramitā teaches; and again there are good men and good women who write out the scroll of the prajñāpāramitā sūtra and give it to others—of these two, which has more merit?’

The Buddha told Śakra Devānām Indra: ‘Kauśika! I shall ask you in return; answer me as you see fit. Suppose there are good men and good women who make offerings to the relics of the buddhas, revere, honour, and praise them, with flowers and incense up to banners and canopies; and again suppose someone divides off from the relics a portion the size of a mustard seed and gives it to others, causing them to make offerings, revere, honour, and praise, with flowers and incense up to banners and canopies—of these two, which has more merit?’

Śakra Devānām Indra said to the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! According to the meaning within the Dharma that I have heard from the Buddha, suppose there are good men and good women who themselves make offerings to the relics, up to with banners and canopies; and again suppose someone divides off from the relics a portion the size of a mustard seed and gives it to others, causing them to make offerings—the merit of the one who divides the relics and gives them to others is very great! World-Honored One! Because the Buddha saw that such merit could benefit beings, he entered the vajra samādhi and broke his vajra body into relics of fine powder. Why? Because if someone, after the Buddha's passing into extinction, makes offerings to the Buddha's relics even as little as the size of a mustard seed, his reward of merit is boundless, and so on up to: until suffering is exhausted.’

Writing Out the Sūtra and Giving It to Others to Learn, and Expounding It Widely for Others: The Merit Grows Ever Greater

The Buddha told Śakra Devānām Indra: ‘Just so! Just so! Kauśika! Suppose good men and good women write out the scroll of the prajñāpāramitā sūtra, make offerings to it and revere it, with flowers and incense up to banners and canopies; and again suppose someone writes out the scroll of the prajñāpāramitā sūtra and gives it to others, causing them to cultivate and learn it—then the merit of this latter good man or good woman is very great!

‘Furthermore, Kauśika! Good men and good women who, according to the meaning within prajñāpāramitā, explain it for others, reveal and show it, and analyse it, making it easy for people to understand—such good men and good women surpass the merit of the good men and good women before. As for the person from whom one hears prajñāpāramitā, one should regard him as a Buddha, and also as one of lofty and excellent pure conduct. Why? Because it should be known that prajñāpāramitā is the Buddha; prajñāpāramitā is not different from the Buddha, and the Buddha is not different from prajñāpāramitā. The buddhas of the past, future, and present all cultivate and learn within prajñāpāramitā and attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. As for one of lofty and excellent pure conduct—what is called one of lofty and excellent pure conduct is the avaivartika bodhisattva-mahāsattva; he too cultivates and learns this prajñāpāramitā and will attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. The śrāvakas too cultivate and learn this prajñāpāramitā and attain the path of the arhat; those who seek the path of the pratyekabuddha too cultivate and learn this prajñāpāramitā and attain the path of the pratyekabuddha; bodhisattvas too cultivate and learn this prajñāpāramitā and gain entry into the bodhisattva position. For this reason, Kauśika! Good men and good women who wish to make offerings to the present buddhas, to revere, honour, and praise them, with flowers and incense up to banners and canopies, should make offerings to prajñāpāramitā!

‘Seeing such benefit, when I first attained anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi I had this thought: 「有誰是可供養、恭敬、尊重、讚歎、依止安住的呢？」 tr. "Who is there to whom I may make offerings, whom I may revere, honour, and praise, on whom I may rely and in whom I may abide?" Kauśika! Among all the world, whether among gods, Māra, or Brahmā, or among śramaṇas and brahmins, I did not see anyone equal to me—how much less anyone surpassing me! I reflected to myself: 「我所得之法，自能致我作佛；我供養這法，恭敬、尊重、讚歎，當依止安住，依這法。什麼是這法呢？就是所謂般若波羅蜜。」 tr. "The Dharma that I have attained is itself able to bring me to become a Buddha; I make offerings to this Dharma, revere, honour, and praise it, and shall rely on it and abide in it—relying on this Dharma. What is this Dharma? It is what is called prajñāpāramitā." Kauśika! I myself, having made offerings to this prajñāpāramitā and revered, honoured, and praised it, then relied on it and abided in it; how much less should good men and good women who wish to attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi fail to make offerings to prajñāpāramitā, fail to revere, honour, and praise it, fail to use flowers and incense, necklaces, up to banners and canopies! Why? Because from within prajñāpāramitā the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas are born, and from within the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas the buddhas are born. For this reason, Kauśika! Good men and good women, whether they seek the Buddha-path, or seek the path of the pratyekabuddha, or seek the path of the śrāvaka, should all make offerings to prajñāpāramitā, revere, honour, and praise it, with flowers and incense up to banners and canopies.’

The Treatise Explains Why the Two Marks of Dharmas, Conditioned and Unconditioned, Are Spoken Of

What follows is the treatise-author's explanation.

Someone asks: What is the cause and condition for speaking of this mark of conditioned dharmas and of unconditioned dharmas?

The answer: Śakra praised prajñāpāramitā as able to gather all dharmas together; here the cause and condition of this is to be spoken of.

What is called the mark of conditioned dharmas is the eighteen emptinesses, the thirty-seven limbs of the path, up to the eighteen unshared dharmas; to put it briefly, it is the wholesome, the unwholesome, and so on, up to the worldly and the world-transcending—all these are called the mark of conditioned dharmas. Why? Because this is the mark of being made: formerly it was not, now only does it exist, and having existed it returns again to non-existence.

The reverse of what was said above is the mark of unconditioned dharmas.

These two kinds of dharmas are both gathered within prajñāpāramitā.

The Conditioned Is the Place Where Practice Moves, the Unconditioned the Place on Which It Relies; He Does Not Rely on Nirvāṇa

Conditioned wholesome dharmas are the place where practice moves; unconditioned dharmas are the place on which it relies. The remaining indeterminate dharmas and unwholesome dharmas are not spoken of, because they are to be relinquished. This is what a bodhisattva who has newly aroused the mind should learn.

If he has gained the power of skilful means of prajñāpāramitā and accords with the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas, then he does not crave the dharmas that are practised and does not loathe the dharmas that are relinquished; he does not, apart from conditioned dharmas, have unconditioned dharmas elsewhere; therefore he does not rely on nirvāṇa.

So the sūtra says: ‘Within prajñāpāramitā the three vehicles are expounded at length, by way of the signless dharma, by way of being without arising and without ceasing, and so on. This is said thus by way of worldly truth, not by way of the truth of the highest meaning.’

The bodhisattva practising this real mark of all dharmas, although able to contemplate the minds of all beings, yet does not find beings; although able to practise all dharmas, yet does not find any dharma. Why? Because he has gained the prajñāpāramitā in which there is nothing to be attained.

The Buddha affirms what he has praised: ‘The bodhisattva constantly cultivates such practice, and even anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi is unfindable—how much less the other dharmas!’

If One Practises Prajñā Alone, the Merit Is Not Complete: The Simile of the Flavour of Salt

Śakra thought in his mind: ‘If prajñā is the ultimate dharma, then the practitioner need only practise prajñāpāramitā; what use are the other dharmas?’

The Buddha answers: ‘The bodhisattva practises the six perfections because the dharma of nothing to be attained of prajñāpāramitā comes together with them; this is practising prajñāpāramitā.’ If one practises only prajñā and does not practise the other five dharmas, then the merit is not complete, neither fine nor wondrous.

It is like a foolish person who does not know the various ways of seasoning food and drink; hearing that salt is the master of all flavours, he eats salt alone, and instead loses the flavour and brings on harm. The practitioner is also like this: for the sake of removing the attached mind, he practises only prajñā, and instead falls into wrong view and cannot advance in wholesome dharmas; if he can join it with the five perfections, then the merit is complete, and the flavour of its meaning is also balanced. Although it is the coming together of the many practices, prajñā is always the master.

Apart from Prajñā, Dharmas Are Different; Entering Prajñā, They Are of One Taste: The Great Rivers Returning to the Sea, and the Shade of Trees Without Difference

If giving and the other dharmas are apart from prajñāpāramitā, they have all kinds of differences; once they reach prajñāpāramitā, they are all of one mark, without difference. It is like Lake Anavatapta in Jambudvīpa and the flow of the four great rivers: into each great river five hundred small streams also return, and together they flow into the great sea; then they all lose their original names and merge into one taste, without distinction. Again, it is like trees: branches, leaves, flowers, and fruits, with all kinds of colours, each distinct and each different, yet the shade is without distinction.

Someone asks: The shade of trees also has differences! If the tree is large, the shade is large; the branches, leaves, flowers, and fruits, large and small, each have various different shapes—how can you say there is no difference?

The answer: It is because light is blocked that a shadow appears; the place without light is called shade, and shade is not given its meaning by size or by differing shape.

Why Writing Out the Sūtra and Giving It to Others Has Surpassing Merit: Because It Is Without Self and With the Mind of Great Compassion

Someone asks: To cultivate and practise prajñāpāramitā, to receive and uphold it, read and recite it, up to rightly recollecting it—this is difficult; to write out a scroll of the prajñā sūtra and give it to others is easy. In terms of merit they should not even be equal; how is it said, on the contrary, that it surpasses?

The answer: Although reading, reciting, and rightly recollecting alone are difficult, they may be mixed with the mind of self, and so the merit is small. The one who gives the scroll to others has the mind of great compassion; it is a cause and condition for making the Buddha-path, and because there is no view of self, the merit is great. It is as when the Buddha asked Śakra: ‘If a person himself makes offerings to the relics, and again someone gives relics to others to make offerings, which of these two has more merit?’ Śakra answered: ‘Giving to others to make offerings has more merit.’ This is precisely because it is given without self and with a mind of kindness and compassion.

Although the Buddha himself has no need of merit, because he saw so great a matter of benefiting beings, he therefore entered the vajra samādhi and broke his own body into pieces.

The Two Conditions of Inner Right Recollection and an Outer Good Field of Merit Coming Together: The Simile of a Good Field and Good Seed

Someone asks: If merit lies in the mind, why did the Buddha need to break his body into pieces like mustard seeds and have people make offerings to it?

The answer: The mind of pure faith is born from two causes and conditions: first, inner right recollection; second, an outer good field of merit. It is like having good seed-grain and a fertile field as well: the harvest is sure to be great. Therefore, although the mind is good, it must still rely on the relics, and only then does it gain the great result.

The Buddha, having affirmed his words, further speaks himself: ‘Someone writes out a scroll and gives it to people, and again someone within the great assembly explains its meaning at length; the merit of the latter surpasses the former. One should regard this person as a Buddha, or as one next to a Buddha.’

As for the meaning of ‘as a Buddha, or next to a Buddha’, it is as was said before.

Two Causes and Conditions Prove Prajñā Supreme: The Sages of the Three Times Learn from It, and the Buddha Still Honours This Dharma as His Teacher

The Buddha proves by two causes and conditions that prajñāpāramitā is supreme: first, the sages of the three times all cultivate and learn within it and accomplish the holy path; second, because of this Dharma I attained the unsurpassed holy state, and I now still turn back and honour this Dharma as my teacher. What is called the Dharma is the real mark of all dharmas, which is also prajñāpāramitā.

‘Kauśika! I, who seek nothing further, still esteem and revere prajñā and make offerings to prajñā; how much less can good men fail to make offerings to prajñāpāramitā with all kinds of necessities for offerings!’

Here the cause and condition of this is spoken: ‘Prajñā is the root cause and condition of the bodhisattvas; the bodhisattvas are the root cause and condition of the buddhas; the buddhas are the cause and condition of great benefit and ease for all the world. Therefore even the people of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas who wish to enter the three gates of liberation quickly and securely make offerings to prajñāpāramitā—how much more the bodhisattvas!’

What are called the necessities for offerings are hearing and receiving with a single mind, up to rightly recollecting, together with flowers and incense up to banners and canopies.

Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, fascicle fifty-nine.

The Buddha Weighs the Gift of Wealth against the Gift of Dharma—Teaching the People of One Jambudvīpa to Practise the Ten Wholesome Paths Does Not Equal Writing Out and Holding the Scroll of Prajñā and Giving It to Others

The Buddha told Śakra Devānām Indra: Kauśika (Śakra's original clan name)! Suppose there are good men and good women who teach the people of one Jambudvīpa to cultivate the ten wholesome paths. What do you think? Because of this, is the merit they obtain much or not?

Śakra answered: Very much, World-Honored One!

The Buddha said: This still does not equal the merit obtained by good men and good women who write out and hold the scroll of the sūtra of prajñāpāramitā and give it to others, causing them to read it, recite it, and expound it. Why? Because within this prajñāpāramitā all kinds of dharmas without outflows are broadly expounded, and good men and good women train in them—have trained, now train, and will train—and enter the position of the right Dharma—have entered, now enter, and will enter—and attain the fruit of srota-āpanna—have attained, now attain, and will attain; and so on up to the fruit of arhat, and seeking the path of the pratyekabuddha is likewise. The bodhisattva-mahāsattvas seek anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi (unsurpassed, right, and complete awakening), enter the position of the right Dharma—have entered, now enter, and will enter—and attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi—have attained, now attain, and will attain. Kauśika! What are the dharmas without outflows? They are the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eight limbs of the noble path and the four noble truths; inner emptiness and so on up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas; the ten powers of the Buddha and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas. Good men and good women who train in these dharmas attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi—have attained, now attain, and will attain.

Teaching One Person to Attain Srota-āpanna Surpasses Teaching the People of One Jambudvīpa to Practise the Ten Wholesome Paths—the Ten Wholesome Paths Do Not Leave the Suffering of the Three Evil Destinies, the Noble Fruits Leave It

The Buddha said: Kauśika! If there are good men and good women who teach one person and cause him to attain the fruit of srota-āpanna, the merit this person obtains surpasses that of teaching the people of one Jambudvīpa to cultivate the ten wholesome paths. Why? Kauśika! Teaching the people of one Jambudvīpa to practise the ten wholesome paths still does not leave the suffering of the hells, the animals, and the hungry ghosts; Kauśika! Teaching one person to attain the fruit of srota-āpanna is because it leaves the three evil destinies. And so on up to the fruit of arhat and the path of the pratyekabuddha, it is likewise. Kauśika! If good men and good women teach the people of one Jambudvīpa and cause them to attain the fruit of srota-āpanna, the fruit of sakṛdāgāmin, anāgāmin, arhat, and the path of the pratyekabuddha, this still does not equal the merit obtained by good men and good women who teach one person and cause him to attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi! Why? Kauśika! Because there are bodhisattvas, the fruit of srota-āpanna and so on up to arhats and pratyekabuddhas are born; because there are bodhisattvas, the buddhas are born. For this reason, Kauśika! One should know that the merit obtained by good men and good women who write out the scroll of the sūtra of prajñāpāramitā and give it to others, causing them to write it out, hold it, read it, recite it, and expound it, is much! Why? Because within this prajñāpāramitā all kinds of wholesome dharmas are broadly expounded. Training in these wholesome dharmas, there then come forth the great kṣatriya clans, the great brahmin clans, the great householder families, the heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings and so on up to the heaven of neither perception nor non-perception; there are then the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds; there are then the srota-āpanna and so on up to arhats and pratyekabuddhas; there are then the buddhas.

The Range of the Gift of Wealth Widens Step by Step—from the Four Continents up to Worlds as Many as the Sands of the Ganges, None Equals Writing Out and Holding Prajñā

The Buddha said: Kauśika! Set aside for now the people of this one Jambudvīpa. If there are good men and good women who teach the beings in the world of the four continents to cultivate the ten wholesome paths, what do you think? Because of this, is the merit this person obtains much or not?

Śakra answered: Very much, World-Honored One!

The Buddha said: This still does not equal the merit obtained by good men and good women who write out the scroll of the sūtra of prajñāpāramitā and give it to others, causing them to write it out, hold it, read it, recite it, and expound it! The rest is as said above. Kauśika! Setting aside the beings in the world of the four continents, if one teaches the beings in a small thousand world to practise the ten wholesome paths, it is likewise. Kauśika! Setting aside the beings in the small thousand world, if one teaches the beings in a middle two-thousand world to practise the ten wholesome paths; and if there are good men and good women who write out the scroll of the sūtra of prajñā and give it to others, causing them to write it out, hold it, read it, and recite it, this person's merit is much! The rest is as said above. Kauśika! Setting aside the beings in the middle two-thousand world, if one teaches all the beings in the three-thousand great-thousand world to practise the ten wholesome paths; and again there is someone who writes out the scroll of the sūtra of prajñā and gives it to others, causing them to write it out, hold it, read it, and recite it, this person's merit is much! Kauśika! Setting aside the beings in the three-thousand great-thousand world, if one teaches all the beings in worlds as many as the sands of the Ganges to practise the ten wholesome paths; and if again there is someone who writes out the scroll of the sūtra of prajñā and gives it to others, causing them to write it out, hold it, read it, and recite it, his merit is much! The rest is as said above.

Teaching Others to Establish the Four Dhyānas and the Five Supernormal Powers Also Does Not Equal It—Receiving, Upholding, and Drawing Near to Prajñā, Not by Way of Dual Dharmas and Not by Way of Non-Dual Dharmas

The Buddha said: Again, Kauśika! Someone teaches the beings of one Jambudvīpa, causing them to establish themselves in the four dhyānas, the four immeasurable minds, the four formless absorptions, and the five supernormal powers. What do you think? Is the merit of these good men and good women much or not?

Śakra said: Very much, World-Honored One!

The Buddha said: This still does not equal the merit obtained by good men and good women who write out the scroll of the sūtra of prajñā and give it to others, causing them to write it out, hold it, read it, recite it, and expound it! Why? Because within this prajñāpāramitā all kinds of wholesome dharmas are broadly expounded. The rest is as said above. Kauśika! Set aside the beings of Jambudvīpa, and further set aside the beings in the four continents, in a small thousand world, in a middle two-thousand world, and in the three-thousand great-thousand world. Kauśika! If someone teaches the beings in the worlds of the ten directions as many as the sands of the Ganges, causing them to establish themselves in the four dhyānas, the four immeasurable minds, the four formless absorptions, and the five supernormal powers, what do you think? Is this person's merit much or not?

Śakra answered: Very much, World-Honored One!

The Buddha said: This still does not equal the merit obtained by good men and good women who write out the scroll of the sūtra of prajñā and give it to others, causing them to write it out, hold it, read it, recite it, and expound it! Why? Because within this prajñāpāramitā all kinds of wholesome dharmas are broadly expounded. The rest is as said above. Again, Kauśika! If there are good men and good women who receive this prajñāpāramitā, write it out, hold it, read it, recite it, expound it, and rightly recollect it, this person's merit surpasses teaching the people of Jambudvīpa to practise the ten wholesome paths and to establish themselves in the four dhyānas, the four immeasurable minds, the four formless absorptions, and the five supernormal powers. What is called right recollection is this: to receive, uphold, and draw near to prajñāpāramitā, and so on up to rightly recollecting it, all not by way of dual dharmas and not by way of non-dual dharmas; to receive, uphold, and draw near to dhyānapāramitā, vīryapāramitā, kṣāntipāramitā, śīlapāramitā, and dānapāramitā, and so on up to rightly recollecting them, also not by way of dual dharmas and not by way of non-dual dharmas; for the sake of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, to rightly recollect inner emptiness and so on up to the omniscience of all kinds, also not by way of dual dharmas and not by way of non-dual dharmas.

The Meaning of Prajñā Is Neither a Dual Mark nor a Non-Dual Mark—Expounding It for Others, Revealing It So That It Is Easily Understood, Surpasses Receiving and Upholding It Oneself

The Buddha said: Again, Kauśika! Suppose there are good men and good women who, for others, by all kinds of causes and conditions expound the meaning of prajñāpāramitā, reveal it, and analyse it, causing them to understand it easily. Kauśika! What is the meaning of prajñāpāramitā? Kauśika! The meaning of prajñāpāramitā is not to be contemplated by way of a dual mark and is not to be contemplated by way of a non-dual mark; it is neither with marks nor without marks; it neither enters nor exits; it neither increases nor diminishes; it is neither stained nor pure; it neither arises nor ceases; it neither grasps nor relinquishes; it does not abide and yet is not non-abiding; it is neither real nor false; it is neither joined nor dispersed; it is neither attached nor unattached; it is neither a cause nor not a cause; it is neither a dharma nor not a dharma; it is neither suchness nor not suchness; it is neither the limit of reality nor not the limit of reality. Kauśika! If good men and good women are able, with this meaning of prajñāpāramitā, to expound it for others by all kinds of causes and conditions, to reveal it, and to analyse it, causing them to understand it easily, the merit these good men and good women obtain is very much, and surpasses receiving and upholding prajñāpāramitā oneself, drawing near to it, reading it, reciting it, expounding it, and rightly recollecting it.

The Buddha said: Again, Kauśika! Good men and good women who themselves receive and uphold prajñāpāramitā, draw near to it, read it, recite it, expound it, and rightly recollect it, and who also, for others, by all kinds of causes and conditions expound the meaning of prajñāpāramitā, reveal it, and analyse it, causing them to understand it easily—the merit these good men and good women obtain is very much!

Expounding Prajñā Obtains Immeasurable Merit, Surpassing Offerings to the Buddhas of the Ten Directions for a Whole Lifetime—the Buddhas All Trained in Prajñā and Attained Awakening

At that time Śakra Devānām Indra said to the Buddha: World-Honored One! Good men and good women ought in this way to expound the meaning of prajñāpāramitā, reveal it, and analyse it, causing people to understand it easily!

The Buddha told Śakra Devānām Indra: Just so, Kauśika! These good men and good women ought in this way to expound the meaning of prajñāpāramitā, reveal it, and analyse it, causing people to understand it easily. Kauśika! Good men and good women who in this way expound the meaning of prajñāpāramitā, reveal it, and analyse it, causing people to understand it easily, obtain immeasurable, boundless, asaṃkhyeya merit. Suppose there are good men and good women who make offerings to the immeasurable asaṃkhyeya buddhas of the ten directions for the whole span of their lives, according to what they need, paying reverence to them, honouring them, and praising them, making offerings with flowers and incense and so on up to banners and canopies; and suppose again there are good men and good women who by all kinds of causes and conditions broadly expound for others the meaning of prajñāpāramitā, reveal it, and analyse it, causing them to understand it easily—the merit of these good men and good women is still more! Why? Because the buddhas of the past, the future, and the present all trained within this prajñāpāramitā and attained anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi—have attained, now attain, and will attain.

Giving with Something to Be Attained Obtains Only the Name of Giving—Practising the Six Perfections with a Mind That Has Something to Be Attained, None Obtains the Pāramitā

The Buddha said: Again, Kauśika! If good men and good women cultivate dānapāramitā for immeasurable, boundless asaṃkhyeya kalpas, this still does not equal good men and good women who, by means of prajñāpāramitā, expound its meaning for others, reveal it, and analyse it, causing them to understand it easily; this merit is greater, because it is with nothing to be attained. What is called with something to be attained? Kauśika! If a bodhisattva-mahāsattva gives with a mind that has something to be attained, and at the time of giving has this thought: ‘I give, he receives, and this is the thing given’—this is called obtaining the name of giving but not obtaining the pāramitā; having the thought ‘I keep the precepts, and this is morality’, this is called obtaining the name of morality but not obtaining the pāramitā; having the thought ‘I practise patience, I practise patience for this person’, this is called obtaining the name of patience but not obtaining the pāramitā; having the thought ‘I practise vigour, I exert vigour for this matter’, this is called obtaining the name of vigour but not obtaining the pāramitā; having the thought ‘I cultivate meditation, and what is cultivated is meditation’, this is called obtaining the name of meditation but not obtaining the pāramitā; having the thought ‘I cultivate wisdom, and what is cultivated is wisdom’, this is called obtaining the name of wisdom but not obtaining the pāramitā. Kauśika! Good men and good women who practise in this way do not then fulfil dānapāramitā, śīlapāramitā, kṣāntipāramitā, vīryapāramitā, dhyānapāramitā, or prajñāpāramitā.

How Does One Cultivate So as to Fulfil the Pāramitās—Only When All Three Wheels Are Unfindable Is It Called Fulfilled

Śakra Devānām Indra said to the Buddha: World-Honored One! How does a bodhisattva-mahāsattva cultivate so as to fulfil dānapāramitā, śīlapāramitā, kṣāntipāramitā, vīryapāramitā, dhyānapāramitā, and prajñāpāramitā?

The Buddha told Śakra Devānām Indra: When a bodhisattva-mahāsattva gives, he does not find the one who gives, does not find the one who receives the gift, and does not find the thing given; only then does this person fulfil dānapāramitā; and so on up to: when cultivating prajñāpāramitā, he does not find wisdom and does not find the wisdom that is cultivated; only then does this person fulfil prajñāpāramitā. Kauśika! This is the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's fulfilling of dānapāramitā and so on up to prajñāpāramitā. Good men and good women who cultivate prajñāpāramitā in this way ought to expound its meaning for others, reveal it, and analyse it, causing them to understand it easily; dhyānapāramitā, vīryapāramitā, kṣāntipāramitā, śīlapāramitā, and dānapāramitā—they also expound their meaning, reveal it, and analyse it, causing others to understand it easily. Why? Kauśika! In the future age there will be good men and good women who wish to expound prajñāpāramitā but instead expound a resembling prajñāpāramitā; and there will be good men and good women who have aroused the mind of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, who, hearing this resembling prajñāpāramitā, then lose the right path. Good men and good women ought, for these people, to expound fully the meaning of prajñāpāramitā, reveal it, and analyse it, causing them to understand it easily.

What Is Resembling Prajñā, the First—Teaching That the Five Aggregates and the Rest Are Impermanent, Suffering, and Without Self, Causing One to Seek the Marks and Practise

Śakra Devānām Indra said to the Buddha: World-Honored One! What is resembling prajñāpāramitā?

The Buddha said: There are good men and good women who expound a prajñāpāramitā with something to be attained; this is resembling prajñāpāramitā.

Śakra Devānām Indra said to the Buddha: World-Honored One! What kind of good men and good women expound a prajñāpāramitā with something to be attained that is resembling prajñāpāramitā?

The Buddha said: The good men and good women who expound a prajñāpāramitā with something to be attained, which is resembling prajñāpāramitā, teach that form is impermanent, and say these words: ‘To be able to practise in this way is to practise prajñāpāramitā.’ The practitioner then seeks the mark of the impermanence of form; this is practising resembling prajñāpāramitā. They also teach that feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are impermanent, and say these words: ‘To be able to practise in this way is to practise prajñāpāramitā.’ The practitioner then seeks the mark of the impermanence of feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness; this is practising resembling prajñāpāramitā. They teach that the eye is impermanent and so on up to teaching that the mind is impermanent; they teach that form is impermanent and so on up to teaching that dharmas are impermanent; they teach that the eye element is impermanent, that the form element and the eye-consciousness element are impermanent, and so on up to teaching that the mind element, the dharma element, and the mind-consciousness element are impermanent. They teach that the earth element is impermanent and so on up to teaching that the consciousness element is impermanent; they teach that the eye-consciousness element is impermanent and so on up to teaching that the mind-consciousness element is impermanent; they teach that eye-contact is impermanent and so on up to teaching that mind-contact is impermanent; they teach that the feeling born from the condition of eye-contact is impermanent and so on up to teaching that the feeling born from the condition of mind-contact is impermanent; it is taught broadly as with the five aggregates. They teach that form is suffering and so on up to teaching that the feeling born from the condition of mind-contact is suffering; they teach that form is without self and so on up to teaching that the feeling born from the condition of mind-contact is without self—all taught as with the five aggregates. When the practitioner cultivates dānapāramitā, they teach him that form is impermanent, suffering, and without self; and so on up to the feeling born from the condition of mind-contact—they teach that all are impermanent, suffering, and without self. Śīlapāramitā and so on up to prajñāpāramitā is likewise. When he cultivates the four dhyānas, the four immeasurable minds, and the four formless absorptions, they teach him that these are impermanent, suffering, and without self; when he cultivates the four foundations of mindfulness, they teach him that these are impermanent, suffering, and without self. And so on up to: when he cultivates sarvajñā (omniscience), they teach him that it is impermanent, suffering, and without self. They give this instruction: ‘One who can practise in this way is practising prajñāpāramitā.’ Kauśika! This is called resembling prajñāpāramitā.

Resembling Prajñā, the Second to the Sixth—One Will Attain the Ten Grounds, Pass beyond the Two Vehicles, Attain the Acceptance of the Non-Arising of Dharmas, Attain Immeasurable Merits, and Dedicate to Awakening

The Buddha said: Again, Kauśika! Suppose good men and good women in the future age expound resembling prajñāpāramitā, saying these words: ‘You, good man! Practise prajñāpāramitā; when you practise prajñāpāramitā, you will attain the first ground and so on up to attaining the tenth ground.’ Dhyānapāramitā and so on up to dānapāramitā they teach likewise. The practitioner, with a resembling something-to-be-attained, cultivates this prajñāpāramitā by way of the general mark. Kauśika! This is called resembling prajñāpāramitā.

Again, Kauśika! Good men and good women wishing to expound prajñāpāramitā say these words: ‘You, good man, having practised prajñāpāramitā, will pass beyond the grounds of the śrāvaka and the pratyekabuddha.’ This is called resembling prajñāpāramitā.

Again, good men and good women say thus to those who seek the path of the Buddha: ‘You, good man, good woman, having practised prajñāpāramitā, will enter the bodhisattva position and attain the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas; having attained the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas, you will then abide in the bodhisattva's supernormal powers, go from one buddha-world to another buddha-world, and make offerings to the buddhas, paying reverence to them, honouring them, and praising them.’ To teach thus is called resembling prajñāpāramitā.

Again, Kauśika! Good men and good women say thus to those who seek the path of the Buddha: ‘You, good man, good woman, training in this prajñāpāramitā, receiving it, upholding it, reading it, reciting it, expounding it, and rightly recollecting it, will attain immeasurable, boundless, asaṃkhyeya merits.’ To teach thus is called resembling prajñāpāramitā.

Again, good men and good women say to those who seek the path of the Buddha: ‘Just as the merits and roots of goodness of the buddhas of the past, the future, and the present, from the very first arousing of the mind to the accomplishment of the fruit of buddhahood, are all gathered together and dedicated to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.’ To teach thus is called resembling prajñāpāramitā.

How Does One Not Expound Resembling Prajñā—Form Is Empty of Nature, and Not-a-Dharma Is Itself Prajñā; Do Not Pass beyond Anything, Do Not Abide in Anything

Śakra Devānām Indra said to the Buddha: World-Honored One! What kind of good men and good women do not expound resembling prajñāpāramitā to those who seek the path of the Buddha?

The Buddha said: Suppose good men and good women expound prajñāpāramitā to those who seek the path of the Buddha: ‘Good man, good woman! When you practise prajñāpāramitā, do not contemplate the impermanence of form. Why? Form—the self-nature of form is empty. Since this self-nature of form is not a dharma, and what is not a dharma is called prajñāpāramitā. Within prajñāpāramitā, form is neither permanent nor impermanent. Why? Here even form itself is unfindable—how much more permanence and impermanence!’ Kauśika! Good men and good women who teach thus are called not expounding resembling prajñāpāramitā. Feeling, perception, constructions, and consciousness are likewise.

The Buddha said: Again, Kauśika! Good men and good women say to those who seek the path of the Buddha: ‘You, good man, good woman, when you practise prajñāpāramitā, do not pass beyond anything among the dharmas and do not abide in anything. Why? Within prajñāpāramitā there is not a single dharma that can be passed beyond or abided in. Why is it so? The self-nature of all dharmas is empty; since emptiness of self-nature is not a dharma, and what is not a dharma is prajñāpāramitā. Within prajñāpāramitā there is not a single dharma that can enter or exit, that can arise or cease.’ Kauśika! These good men and good women who teach thus are called not expounding resembling prajñāpāramitā. It is taught broadly as above: what runs contrary to the resembling is called not expounding resembling prajñāpāramitā.

The Buddha said: Thus, Kauśika! Good men and good women ought in this way to expound the meaning of prajñāpāramitā. If they expound the meaning of prajñāpāramitā in this way, the merit they obtain surpasses that of the persons before.

What follows is the treatise's explanation.

The Treatise-Author Explains the Causes and Conditions of Its Surpassing—Prajñā, Being without Outflows, Accomplishes the Three Vehicles and Enters Nirvāṇa; the Ten Wholesome Paths, Being with Outflows, Fall Back into Suffering

The treatise-author explains: the Buddha wished further to use another approach to make clear the surpassing excellence of prajñāpāramitā, and so he asked Śakra: ‘If someone teaches the people of one Jambudvīpa to practise the ten wholesome paths, is his merit much or not?’—as is broadly said in the sūtra.

Here the causes and conditions of its surpassing are stated, namely: prajñāpāramitā broadly expounds all kinds of dharmas without outflows, accomplishes the noble paths of the three vehicles, and enters nirvāṇa, never again turning back; the ten wholesome paths are only wholesome dharmas with outflows, which receive the impermanent merit and happiness of the world and still fall back into suffering; therefore they do not equal it.

Five Pairs of Difference between the Worldly and the World-Transcending—the Dharmas without Outflows Are the Thirty-Seven Limbs of the Path and So On up to the Immeasurable Dharmas of the Buddhas

Again, the former is a worldly dharma, the latter a world-transcending dharma; the former is a dharma that can give birth to birth and death, the latter a dharma that can extinguish birth and death; the former is the cause and condition of impermanent happiness, the latter the cause and condition of permanent happiness; the former is a dharma shared by ordinary people and noble ones, the latter is only the dharma of the noble ones. There are various differences of this kind. What are called the dharmas without outflows are the thirty-seven limbs of the path, the eighteen unshared dharmas, and so on up to the immeasurable dharmas of the buddhas.

Teaching One Person to Attain a Noble Fruit Surpasses Teaching the Multitude to Practise the Ten Wholesome Paths—from Srota-āpanna to Pratyekabuddha, All Are Born from Bodhisattvas

The treatise-author explains: to make this matter perfectly clear and easy to understand, he further states causes and conditions, namely: ‘Teaching one person and causing him to attain the fruit of srota-āpanna obtains great merit, surpassing teaching the people of Jambudvīpa to practise the ten wholesome paths—because although they practise the ten wholesome paths, they are not yet free of the three evil destinies. And so on up to attaining arhatship and the path of the pratyekabuddha, it is likewise.’

The Buddha further gave a comparison: ‘If someone teaches the people of one Jambudvīpa and causes them to attain the path of the śrāvaka and the pratyekabuddha, this still does not equal someone who teaches one person and causes him to attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi; this person's merit is much. Why? Because from srota-āpanna to pratyekabuddha all are born from bodhisattvas.’

Within this prajñāpāramitā the causes and conditions of the path of the Buddha are expounded in all kinds of ways; therefore writing out the scroll of the sūtra of prajñāpāramitā and giving it to people surpasses transforming, with the ten wholesome paths, the four continents and so on up to worlds as many as the sands of the Ganges.

The Four Dhyānas and the Rest Belong to People Free of Desire and Differ from the Ten Wholesome Paths—Practising Prajñā Oneself Surpasses Giving the Scroll of Prajñā to Others

Again, teaching the people of Jambudvīpa and so on up to the people of worlds as many as the sands of the Ganges to cultivate the four dhyānas and the rest, and so on up to the five supernormal powers, is likewise. Only, the four dhyānas and the rest belong to people who are free of desire, and so they differ from the ten wholesome paths.

Again, if someone teaches the people of one Jambudvīpa and so on up to worlds like the sands of the Ganges, causing them to practise the ten wholesome paths, the four dhyānas, the four immeasurable minds, the four formless absorptions, and the five supernormal powers, this still does not equal the merit obtained by this person who himself receives and upholds prajñāpāramitā, reads it, recites it, expounds it, and rightly recollects it. The reason it is said that the merit obtained is much is that what was said above was giving the scroll of prajñā to others, while what is said now is practising prajñā oneself; there is a difference. Before, the ten wholesome paths and so on up to the five supernormal powers were spoken of separately; now they are spoken of together.

First Question and Answer: Why Explain Only Right Recollection—Right Recollection Can Fulfil Both Merit and Wisdom, Like Taking Medicine and Being Healed

Someone asks: why does he not explain 「受、持、讀、誦、說」 tr. "receiving, upholding, reading, reciting, and expounding", but explains only 「正憶念」 tr. "right recollection"?

The treatise-author answers: receiving, upholding, reading, reciting, and expounding have much merit in themselves; but right recollection can fulfil two things together, namely merit and wisdom, and so it is explained specially. It is like a person who has gathered medicinal herbs, and so on up to having compounded them, but has not yet taken them; for the sickness there is no reduction at all; only when they are taken can the sickness be removed. Right recollection is like taking the medicine and being healed of the sickness; therefore only right recollection is explained.

The mark of what is called right recollection is to practise prajñāpāramitā by way of neither the dual nor the non-dual. The meaning of the dual and the non-dual is as said before.

Three Stages of Advance, and Because the Field of Merit Is Great the Merit Is Great—With Something to Be Attained Does Not Equal With Nothing to Be Attained

The treatise-author explains: first, writing out the scroll of the sūtra surpassed making offerings to relics; in the middle, giving the scroll of the sūtra to people surpassed teaching people to practise the ten wholesome paths and so on up to the five supernormal powers; now, among receiving, upholding, reading, reciting, and expounding, on the side of receiving and upholding, right recollection is the most surpassing. Now, explaining its meaning for people and causing them to understand it easily, as the buddhas have compassion for beings, surpasses cultivating right recollection oneself.

At this point the Buddha wished to analyse merit broadly, and so he said: ‘If someone makes offerings to the buddhas of the ten directions for the whole of his life, it does not equal explaining the meaning of prajñā for others.’ Here the causes and conditions of its surpassing are stated: ‘The buddhas of the three times all trained in this prajñā and accomplished the unsurpassed path.’

Again, ‘If a bodhisattva cultivates the six perfections for immeasurable kalpas, because it is with something to be attained, it does not equal explaining prajñāpāramitā for people.’ What is called with something to be attained is grasping at marks among the dharmas with the mind of self-grasping.

The Buddha Further Expounds the Right Meaning of Prajñā—Practising the Six Perfections with Nothing to Be Attained Is Fulfilment; He Foretells the Marks of Resembling Prajñā to Rescue the Future

The Buddha further wished to expound the right meaning of prajñā, and so he answered Śakra: ‘Only when a bodhisattva cultivates the six perfections with nothing to be attained does he attain fulfilment.’ Fulfilment is the right meaning of prajñāpāramitā.

There will be people in the future age who expound resembling prajñā; and the people in the assembly, having heard the right recollection the Buddha spoke of, then had this reflection: ‘What is wrong recollection?’ Therefore the Buddha expounded the marks of resembling prajñāpāramitā. It is just as when a person knows which is the path and which is not the path, and only then can he abandon the non-path and practise the right path.

Again, the Buddha had compassion for the beings of the future age who cannot see the Buddha or the great bodhisattvas, and can see only the scriptures; because of wrong recollection, following the sounds of the words, they expound resembling prajñāpāramitā. What is called resembling is that the names and words are the same, but the meaning in the mind is different. For example, to teach with an attached mind and grasping at marks that the five aggregates and the rest are impermanent, and so on up to without arising and without ceasing—this is resembling prajñā; if with an unattached mind and not grasping at marks one teaches that the five aggregates are impermanent, only in order to break the inversion of permanence, yet without being attached to impermanence—this is true prajñā.

The person who teaches the Dharma in this way, teaching beings to abandon resembling prajñāpāramitā and to cultivate true prajñāpāramitā, is only then called expounding the right meaning of prajñāpāramitā, and surpasses the merits before.

What follows is the sūtra text.

Teaching Others to Attain the Śrāvaka Path and So On up to Abiding in Avaivartika—None Equals Expounding Prajñā for People; the Noble Ones Are Born from Prajñā

The Buddha said: Again, Kauśika! Suppose all the beings in Jambudvīpa are taught and caused to attain srota-āpanna. What do you think? Is the merit this person obtains much or not?

Śakra answered: Very much, World-Honored One!

The Buddha said: This still does not equal good men and good women who, by means of prajñāpāramitā, expound its meaning for others by all kinds of causes and conditions, reveal it, and analyse it, causing them to understand it easily; saying thus: ‘Good man! Come! Receive this prajñāpāramitā, diligently read it, recite it, expound it, and rightly recollect it, and practise as is said within prajñāpāramitā.’ Why? Because within this prajñāpāramitā the srota-āpanna are born. Kauśika! Set aside the beings in Jambudvīpa, and further set aside the beings of the four continents, and the beings in a small thousand world, a middle two-thousand world, and the three-thousand great-thousand world. Suppose someone teaches the beings in the worlds of the ten directions as many as the sands of the Ganges, teaching them all and causing them to attain srota-āpanna. What do you think? Is the merit this person obtains much or not?

Śakra answered: Very much, World-Honored One!

The Buddha said: This still does not equal good men and good women who, by means of prajñāpāramitā, expound its meaning for others, reveal it, and analyse it, causing them to understand it easily, and in this way encourage them to receive it and practise it. Why? Within prajñāpāramitā the srota-āpanna are born.

The Buddha said: Again, Kauśika! If there are good men and good women who teach the people in Jambudvīpa and cause them to attain sakṛdāgāmin, anāgāmin, and arhat—it likewise still does not equal expounding its meaning for others by means of prajñāpāramitā, revealing and analysing it so that it is easily understood, because within prajñāpāramitā the sakṛdāgāmin, anāgāmin, and arhats are born; and so on up to teaching the beings in the worlds of the ten directions as many as the sands of the Ganges, it is likewise. If one teaches the beings in one Jambudvīpa and causes them to attain the path of the pratyekabuddha—it still does not equal expounding prajñā for them, because within prajñā the paths of the pratyekabuddhas are born; the beings of the four continents and so on up to the worlds of the ten directions as many as the sands of the Ganges are likewise.

The Buddha said: Again, Kauśika! Good men and good women teach the beings in one Jambudvīpa and cause them to arouse the mind of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi—it still does not equal good men and good women who, by means of prajñāpāramitā, expound its meaning for others, reveal it, and analyse it, and say thus: ‘You should train in accordance with prajñāpāramitā, and you will attain the dharma of omniscience; if you attain the dharma of omniscience, you will then be able to practise prajñāpāramitā, increase it, and fulfil it; if you are able to practise prajñāpāramitā, increase it, and fulfil it, you will attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.’ Why? Kauśika! Because within prajñāpāramitā the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas of the first arousing of intent are born. And so on up to the worlds of the ten directions as many as the sands of the Ganges, it is likewise. Again, to teach the beings in one Jambudvīpa and cause them to abide in the ground of avaivartika (the ground of non-retrogression)—it still does not equal expounding prajñā for them and encouraging them to receive, uphold, and practise it and so on up to attaining awakening, because within prajñāpāramitā the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas of the ground of avaivartika are born; and so on up to the worlds of the ten directions as many as the sands of the Ganges, it is likewise.

All Arouse the Intent to Seek Awakening and All Attain Avaivartika—Still Not Equal to Expounding It for People; the Merit of Expounding It for One Who Will Swiftly Attain Awakening Is the Greatest

The Buddha said: Again, Kauśika! The beings in one Jambudvīpa arouse the intent to seek anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi; suppose there are good men and good women who expound prajñāpāramitā for these people, together with its meaning and explanation, revealing it and analysing it, and encourage them to receive it and practise it, so that having trained they will attain awakening. And again someone expounds prajñāpāramitā for one avaivartika bodhisattva, together with its meaning and explanation, revealing it and analysing it, and likewise encourages him to receive it and practise it, so that having trained he will attain awakening. The merit obtained by this good man who expounds it for that one non-retrogressing bodhisattva is greater. And so on up to within the worlds of the ten directions as many as the sands of the Ganges, it is likewise.

Again, Kauśika! Suppose the beings in one Jambudvīpa all attain avaivartika and are heading toward anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi; and again there are good men and good women who, by means of prajñāpāramitā, expound its meaning for these people. Among them there is one bodhisattva who will swiftly attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi; if there are good men and good women who expound prajñāpāramitā for this bodhisattva, together with its meaning and explanation, this person's merit is the greatest. And so on up to the worlds of the ten directions as many as the sands of the Ganges, it is likewise.

Śakra States That One Ought to Teach and Make Offerings More and More; Subhūti Praises Śakra for Benefiting Bodhisattvas with the Two Gifts of Wealth and Dharma

Śakra Devānām Indra said to the Buddha: World-Honored One! As a bodhisattva-mahāsattva draws nearer and nearer to anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, one ought in this way to encourage him more and more to cultivate dānapāramitā, śīlapāramitā, kṣāntipāramitā, vīryapāramitā, dhyānapāramitā, and prajñāpāramitā; one ought to teach him 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 eight limbs of the noble path, the ten powers of the Buddha, the four fearlessnesses, the four unobstructed knowledges, and the eighteen unshared dharmas; and one ought also to make offerings of clothing, bedding, food and drink, and medicine, according to what he needs. The merit obtained by these good men and good women who make offerings to this bodhisattva with the gift of Dharma and the gift of wealth surpasses that of the persons before. Why? World-Honored One! Because this bodhisattva-mahāsattva will swiftly attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.

At that time the venerable Subhūti said to Śakra Devānām Indra: Excellent! Excellent! Kauśika! You, being a noble disciple, comfort the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas who practise for the sake of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, and benefit them with the gift of Dharma and the gift of wealth; this dharma ought by its nature to be so. Why? The buddhas and the noble assemblies are all born from among the bodhisattvas. If bodhisattvas did not arouse the mind of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, these bodhisattvas could not train in the six perfections and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas; if they did not train in the six perfections and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, they could not attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi; if they could not attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, there would be no śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas. For this reason, Kauśika! The bodhisattva-mahāsattvas train in the six perfections and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, and while training in the six perfections and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas, they attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi; because of attaining anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, the paths of the hells, the animals, and the hungry ghosts are cut off, and in the world there are then the great kṣatriya clans, the great brahmin clans, the great householder families, the heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings and so on up to the heaven of neither perception nor non-perception; there then appear in the world dānapāramitā, śīla, kṣānti, vīrya, dhyānapāramitā, prajñāpāramitā, inner emptiness and so on up to the emptiness of non-existent and existent dharmas, and the four foundations of mindfulness and so on up to the eighteen unshared dharmas; the Śrāvaka Vehicle, the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle, and the Buddha Vehicle all appear in the world.

What follows is the treatise's explanation.

The Treatise Explains—the Worthy and Noble All Come Forth from Prajñā; Prajñā Is the Real Mark of All Dharmas

The treatise-author explains: teaching the people of Jambudvīpa and so on up to the people in worlds as many as the sands of the Ganges and causing them to attain the path of the śrāvaka and the pratyekabuddha still does not equal expounding the meaning of prajñāpāramitā for others.

Here the causes and conditions are stated: ‘Because these worthy and noble ones all come forth from within prajñāpāramitā.’ Prajñāpāramitā is the real mark of all dharmas; the one who knows it fully and completely is called the Buddha; slightly less than the Buddha are the great bodhisattvas, the pratyekabuddhas, and the arhats; less again in turn are the anāgāmin, the sakṛdāgāmin, and the srota-āpanna; those who can cherish and make offerings to the one who knows the real mark of all dharmas are the people of the world who have merit, such as the kings of the gods and the kings of humans. Therefore it is constantly said: 「般若波羅蜜出生諸賢聖、剎利大姓，乃至一切諸天。」 tr. "Prajñāpāramitā gives birth to the worthy and noble ones, to the great kṣatriya clans, and so on up to all the gods."

Second Question and Answer: Teaching Others to Arouse the Unsurpassed Path and Attain Avaivartika Is a Matter of the Path of the Buddha—Why Does It Not Equal It? The Distinction of Two Kinds of Bodhisattvas

The treatise-author explains: again, teaching the people in one Jambudvīpa and so on up to worlds as many as the sands of the Ganges to arouse the mind of the unsurpassed path and so on up to attaining avaivartika still does not equal explaining the right meaning of prajñāpāramitā for one person who is avaivartika.

Someone asks: above it was said that the dharmas of ordinary people and the dharmas of the two vehicles do not equal it—that is still acceptable; now it is said that teaching people to arouse the unsurpassed path and to attain avaivartika, which is a matter of the path of the Buddha, why does that still not equal it?

The treatise-author answers: in expounding the right meaning of prajñā, there are two kinds of bodhisattvas: first, the bodhisattva in a fleshly body within birth and death; second, the bodhisattva whose body is born of the Dharma-nature, who has left the three realms and is neither born nor dies.

The Matters of the Bodhisattva beyond Avaivartika—Transforming Beings, Purifying Lands, and the Rest Surpass Teaching Others to Arouse the Mind; the Merit Is Greatest for One Near the Path of the Buddha Who Will Swiftly Become a Buddha

The treatise-author explains: this bodhisattva whose body is born of the Dharma-nature expounds only the matters of the bodhisattvas beyond avaivartika and above, namely transforming beings, purifying buddha-worlds, discriminating the causes and conditions of the mental movements and karma of all beings over immeasurable kalpas in the three times, discriminating how many kalpas there are in the arising, ceasing, formation, and destruction of the worlds, great kindness and great compassion, omniscience, and the other immeasurable dharmas of the buddhas. Teaching the Dharma for one such person surpasses teaching the beings of Jambudvīpa and so on up to worlds like the sands of the Ganges and causing them to arouse the mind, and further on up to avaivartika.

From avaivartika and above up to the path of the Buddha, there is further in between one person who is near the path of the Buddha and urgently wishes to become a buddha. Teaching this person the right meaning of prajñāpāramitā, one's merit is the greatest! Why? Because the field of merit is great, the merit is also great.

The Comparison of Offerings to the Noble Ones of the Ten Directions and the Comparison of Offerings to the Crown Prince and the King—Because the Field of Merit Is Deep and Rich, the Merit Too Is Great

The treatise-author explains: it is like making offerings to all the noble ones in the worlds of the ten directions as many as the sands of the Ganges, and so on up to the bodhisattvas about to sit at the seat of awakening—this still does not equal making offerings to one Buddha.

It is like offending the crown prince: the fault incurred exceeds that of offending all other people; if one makes offerings to the crown prince, the favour obtained surpasses that of making offerings to all ordinary people. If one offends the king, the fault incurred exceeds that of offending the crown prince; if one makes offerings to the king, it surpasses making offerings to the crown prince.

Just so, teaching and making offerings to the bodhisattva who is about to become a buddha surpasses the merit of making offerings to and teaching avaivartika bodhisattvas as many as the sands of the Ganges. Why? Because the field of merit is deep and rich, and its Dharma can cause beings to grow.

Śakra Says to the Buddha That the Power of the Dharma Is Great; Subhūti Praises Śakra—the Definitions of the Gift of Wealth and the Gift of Dharma

At that time Śakra, knowing that the power of this Dharma is great, said to the Buddha: ‘As a bodhisattva draws nearer and nearer to the unsurpassed path, one ought in this way to teach him and make offerings to him, and the merit grows more and more.’

At that time Subhūti praised Śakra, saying: ‘Excellent! Excellent! You are able to comfort and encourage the bodhisattvas who practise for the sake of anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi with the two kinds of giving, the gift of wealth and the gift of Dharma.’

What is called the gift of wealth is necessities for offerings, clothing, food, and the like; what is called the gift of Dharma is teaching the six perfections and the like.

Śakra Is Called a Noble Disciple; the Noble Assemblies All Come Forth from Among the Bodhisattvas—the Bodhisattva's Expounding the Right Meaning of Prajñā and Teaching Those Near the Path of the Buddha Has the Greatest Merit

Because Śakra has attained the path, he is called a noble disciple. The dharma of a noble disciple is that he ought to comfort and encourage the bodhisattvas.

Here the causes and conditions are stated: ‘These noble assemblies are all born from among the bodhisattvas. Why? If the bodhisattvas did not practise the six perfections and did not accomplish the unsurpassed path, there would be no srota-āpanna and so on up to pratyekabuddhas. Because there are bodhisattvas, the ten wholesome paths and so on up to the immeasurable dharmas of the Buddha appear in the world; therefore the three evil destinies are cut off, and only then are there the great kṣatriya clans and so on up to the buddhas appearing in the world.’

Therefore the bodhisattva's expounding the right meaning of prajñāpāramitā, teaching people to draw near to the path of the Buddha, has the greatest merit.

Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, Fascicle Sixty.